The Washington times., 1907-08-04

habits.-BISHOP POTTER.
CHAUTAUQUA. Aug. 3.--Caustic criti-
cism of the church for indifference TO
the mental, physical and social needs Of
, the masses was made by Bishop Henry
c. Potter. OF New York, in an address
on the Relation of the Church to Social
Unrest" at the Chautauqua Assembly
What is the relation of the church
Of God to the social unrest Of the coun-
try?" he asked There Is no more
righteous arraignment OF the church Of
cur time than its indifference to the
social conditions of the classes made up
Of less favored men and women down
in the gutter.
THE task of the. church is to trans
late the mind Of Christ first by sym
pathy, then by painstaking curiosity.
This sympathetic curiosity would lead
men into the church to know something
of the strata of life below that IN
which we are won't TO move. Such
sympathetic curiosity will sooner or
later lead to the only hope for the
social unrest of our time, and that is
personal service.
The trend OF our generation to me-
chanical devices and the elimination OF
the personality Of the workman now
ever clever and valuable in its material
results. is a trend to be afraid Of The
modern tendency 10 insutuuonallsm is
destroying the habit and instinct OF per
sonal service. 1t Is only by personal
service that we can lift the man In the
gutter
What is the relation or the church
of Gud to these facts? First OF all IT
should be a profoundly sympathetic re-
lation. In our ecclesiastical relations
we have been intimidated from trans
lating our relation to the world into
human sympathy for fear Of dropping
into what has been called the insti-
tutionaI church.
But il an institutional church be a
means of bringing the church into pro-
found sympathy with human life, then
the founder of our religion instituted
the institutional church.
when Christ found the hungry He
fed them: when He saw the diseased He
healed them; when He found the blind
He made them to see. Note how in
variabIy He did this Himself. how often
He illustrated the principles Of the New
Testament by means Of the human
hand.
The church should take active steps
to cure the physical and mental as well
as the religious Ills of the people. The
church's neglect Of this vita work can
4 not be remedied too soon 1t has ne
elected its most important functions.
"As a further and great cause Of So
cial unrest, there comes that monstrous
profusion and extravaganza of exnendi-
ture which / am at times inclined to
consier the worst note Of our American
civilization.
"A friend of mine, ae lawyer of New
York. went into the mayors office dur
ing Tweeds administration. A large
diamond stud dropped On the floor and
rolled toward him. He picked II up and
turned to one of the gentlemen in the
room-it would be inviduous TO mention
their names, they are all dead-'Did one
of you drop this? NO. was the reply,
but one OF them, hitching up his vest,
q said. Yes, 1t is one Of my suspender
buttons
This was twenty-five years ago, and
conditions are worse instead OF better.
In such conditions of social life you
have come very close to the origin of a
great deal of social unrest.
a
profoundly convinced that the impa-
thence of the masses comes more from
the abuse of wealth than from any
other cause Many of Us who claim to
be Christ's disciples are guilty in this
particular. We fail to set the pace for
the community in which We live by our
own habits.
1.-The presence Of luxury in the midst
i of tenement life has become to the aver
age worker a source of irritation. He
sees wealth open lavishly around him.
while he struggles in misery. Is it any
s wonder he becomes wrought up at what
he considers the great injustice OF So
ciety?
''Tnen again, as a cause of social un-
rest. we are bound 10 recognize the
enormous revolution that has taken
place in our life because Of the indus
4 trial change A physician friend of mine
told me recently Of a mechanical trained
nurse, which is soon to be expected,
wound like a music box, and which will
bathe the brow and administer the medi-
cine according to the will of the physi-
clan. The human element is increas-
ingly being eliminated.
''The conditions of modern life are
making the average workman a bonds
man to machinery. When you have re-
duced a man to a mere machine. it is
impossible for him TO sustain life except
by artificial methods more destructive
even than the industries in which he is
employed.
Every gain in the way of strength
and cheapness is bought at the price OF
the individuality OF the workman. The
result is that the modern workman is
most fnfammable material for social 1rn-
rest The wonder is not that we have
produced such results, but that those
results have not been Infinitely worse. -