Evening journal., 1908-06-06
THE WASTE OF
DEGRADING POVERTY
Remarks Of the Rev. Hubert w. Wells
at the Episcopal Church Congress
in Detroit.

At the Episcopal Church Congress
held recently in Detroit, the Rev. HUI
bert w. Wells. rector OF st. Andrews
Church, of this city, was one of the
speakers. He said in part:
1T is because we feel that we are
confronted with some sort Of failure
that we ask ourselves: What is the
place of organized Christianity in mod
ern life?' Thirty years ago there was
no need to ask 1t. for then organized
Christianity made a powerful appeal 10
all sorts and conditions of men in
America, but to-day, to thousands OF
men in this fair land, the Church OF
God seems at best a respectable anti
guilty, as little connected with the
great human interests, and meaning as
little for them, as the old queens arm
picked from Concord battlefield shall
have to-day in the next war that sum-
mons the devoted youth of America to
make true mans sacrifice for the
nation.
"The earliest Church was organized
to declare and to embody love and low
ing service as the spirit and law OF
life. Her power was the power of en-
thusiasm for the immense vital, i'm
portant possibilities which the accept
ance of this. message revealed, and her
task was the reconstruction of society
after the mind Of Christ; and she nobly
attempted that reconstruction.
I'VE are aware that amelioration OF
actual conditions in society is not the
main business of the Church. Her mis-
sion is not chiefly within society as
constituted. but chiefly without society
moulding it after the mind of Christ.
Physical science has taught us Ia
think of life as all Of a piece. No time
has more eternity in it than t0ts dnal
no place is holier than where we stand
to-day; there is no heaven in the
heavens whose foundations are not
built broad upon the earth. In a sense
that comes strangely to the theolo.
CLANS ear, we believe that now is ths
accepted time and now is the day OF
salvation. To redeem the time because
the days are evil was st. Paul's coun-
sci to his converts long ago. To re-
deem the time is the best counsel that
he or any other could offer were he
among us to-day.
That is our task, and when we turn
to face the details of our task we find
the answer to our question not so sim
pie. We find a vast and hitherto un-
suspected waste Of degrading poverty
Some millions of persons under-fed
'under-bred. half clad, i'll sheltered; ex-
listing, but diseased, discouraged, and
unhappy; and along with this we find
a relatively small number of persons
over-fed, over-clad, living a life of idle
ness and ease and wanton luxury; and
between the two extremes, a large
class of folks more or less prosperous
who are trying to avoid the one ex-
treme and to attain the other, and the
means that they take are selfish al
ways. They concern themselves with
what they call 'business'-a thing with
a code of its own and a department of
life by itself and unrelated to what we
commonly include in the title Of ethics
and distinctly distant from all that
goes by the name of religion. The ma
ture of business is always to make
money, and If it fails to do that it is
careless Of whom or how many may
go unfed, unsheltered, and unshod."