The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-02-29
MUST Be RIGHTED
BY INDIVIDUAL
F. Lewis Duncan Believes
Present Conditions Wrong
but Can Be Remedied.
SOFT WORDS ARE USELESS
COLD FACTS ARE WHAT WORLD
FACES.

]. Lewis Duncan OF Butte delivered an
address last night in Unity hail on
Modern Individualism." Mr.. Duncan
presented the conditions as he said they
are and handled without gloves the eco
nomic problems that confront the world.
After describing the organizations of
capital on the one side and the organ
izations of labor on the other, Mr.. Dun
can said: In this battle, il is craft
on the one hand and often violence on
the other. The great trusts as they are
called are filled with mercileSs graft.
Why, up in Butte only a short time ago,
there were laid off thousahdsfof men by
the corporations. No regard was given
to the merit of these men as workmen,
to the length of their service or to their
domestic relations or necessities. These
men are turned loose in the world seek
ing for a man to be their master, TO
give them an opportunity to work so
that their wives and babies at home
may have food and shelter. Some of
these men had grown gray in the ser
vice, but when the corporation interest
was at stake, all this was forgotten, and
it was case of the corporation first.
Soft Words Useless.
at is all right to talk about the over
soul, and preach the Fatherhood of God
and the Brotherhood of Man, and TO
counsel people to keep d civil tongue in
their head when they are asking for a
job. but the fact is the iron of the indus
trial sordidness has entered the souls
of these men and soft talk is like so
much cold mush.
I'VE hear that the laboring man does
not attend the churches. Perhaps that
is true. 1t is the misfortune of both
the laboring men and the churches. Let
us take an example. A man out of a
job enters one of the great churches in
one of our metropolitan cities His soul
is embittered, and he goes there for re-
ligious consolation. And what does he
see? All about him are men and women
who are socially useless. They hold
high positions in the church. but they
are the ones who, he knows, have
bought legislatures, juggled franchises,
given brides and are responsible for the
continuation of the influx of immi-
grants. He sees the men who hire the
strike breakers, the lowest scum of the
earth, the men whose incomes are en-
larged by rents from the parasites of
the underworld. Is it any wonder that
he begins to doubt much that is said
about the brotherhood of man?
These are individuals of the world of
graft. They are the individuals who
get something for nothing. They are
possessed of brutal strength. the wis
dom of hell and the oppression of the
tyrant."
Revision of Individual Idea.
Mr.. Duncan related the incident of the
younger Rockefeller when he said that
to produce a single American Beauty
rose thousands of other roses had been
sacrificed.
We have these individuals with us.
Compare the American Beauty rose
with humanity, and then will YOU saw
that the single rose is worth the sacri-
tice of the thousands of other roses?
There must be a revision of the idea
of individualism. To the weakest must
be restored that of which he has be-
come dispOssessed. 1t is for the indi-
vidual of the American citizenship to
bring this about. / think it can be
done"
Mr.. Duncan will give a lecture this
evening in Ogden and on Sunday morn
ing will speak again in Unity hall.
Tuesday evening he will entertain at
"A Lyric Evening with Browning" at
which time he will be assisted by Mrs.
Bessie S. Browning. soprano; Miss Pearl
Allenbaugh, cOntraltO, and Miss Irma
b. Watson, accOmpanist.