The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1909-05-22
.LAWlEss wealth. 4 !. !.
MENACE TO nation
Philadelphia Pastor Declares the
United States is Facing a =
National C1iss !"
INORDINATE RICHES "A
BREEDER OF ANARCHY
Purity Must be Placed Above
Power and Manhood Above
Dividends. J.

appeal to the laboring classes to be-
come church members the Rev. DR..
Edwin Heyl Delk, pastor OF st. Mat
thew's Lutheran church, declares
that the people of thu country today
face a national crisis. At present he
says there Is death srapple between
the commercial spirit and the spirit
Of Christianity.
DR.. Delk's remarkable article was
distributed at the mems meeting Of the
Y. M. c. A., at 1421 Alch street.
Never have wealth ard luxury on
one hand and rectitude an6 brother
hodd on the other been SO much in
evidence said DR.. De'k. ''The battle
in its industrial phase is between cap
1talism and the proletariat, but In its
deepest antagonism it IS between God
and Mammom.' The church is sup
posed to stand for the worth Of man
rather than the worth OF material
greatness.
1T is time for a thorough heart
searching on the part Of the church
and clear understanding Of her duty
in the present social crisis.
Draws Social Contrast.
''The result of the rapid concentra-
tion of wealth (real and fictitious),
has been the creation of exasperating
luxury on the one hand and a bitter
fight for higher wages and decent liv-
ing on the other. A writer in the At.
lantic Monthly recently told Of So
ciety woman who built Upon her sum-
fof4 o%
ing's entertainment pavilion which,
together with it's decorations, cost
$4,000. The whole affair was dis
mantled and demolished the following
day.
I'm contrast nearby, the villagers
Of Portuguese settlement battled ON
a. wrecked steamer for fire wood for
the coming winter. The: old time plea
that $4,000 spent upon the pavilion
went: for wages: to architect; 5carpe4s-s
ters, masons, upholsterers and florists
is no longer an economic justification
for such barbaric personal luxury.
"The same amount might have built
20 worthy homes for the fisher folk
at easy rental. It is this Haunting Of
senseless extravaganza and barbaric
luxury in the faces of thousands Of
men and women out Of work, which
has bred the hatred and anarchistic
spirit in the hearts of our day laborers
| Our poor may not be gr1wing poorer,
| but our rich are cectainl growing
richer which just as surely creates
the social differences between the two
classes.
Outlines church's Part.
|
and political corruption what part has
the church played and what is her
true relation to social betternent?
First in order Of Importance we
should have a clear vision Of the ulti-
mate purposes Of the church. Is the
church an end in itself CT means to
an end? Is her self-preservation and
enrichment to be the first considera-
tion. Is even winning men from sin
and building them into the structure
of the church the ultimate end of
her preaching and organization?
'1n> answering such a question we
! cannot stop with the answer Of the
theologian or eccleseiaslic The deter
minative answer to SUCH an elemental
question can be taken only from the
lips of Jesus himself
"Only a first hand reading of the
Bible In its large purposes and final
result can we find the answer to our
! Artisan Class Estranged.
when we come to study the New
Testament we naturally turn to the
teashings Of our Lor1 70 determine
the true aims of Christianity. Human
nature is a pretty constant quantit,
and We find only q few centuries after
the establishment of the Christian
faith an almost complete obscuratiot
of its original intent. It becomes thel
a vital matter for the church in al
| ages to hold to the central aim o
| Jesus in life Of his disciples and tn,
} purpose Of the church. =:
Whatever may have been the nee,
and Justification in tho past, for tn,
consuming and often bitter contention
about dogma forms OF church govern
ment, ritual, religious experience: an,
methods of evangelism, to1ay one VIII
lays the stress of his work upon til
past history Of the church has misse'
the mark. r. II
= To-day the church stands face t
1 san class estranged from organize,
!, Christianity. A vast seae Of povert
l and crime moves restlessly and threat
;. eningly about the church. Some Of tn
most hated members Of the giganti
1 corporations sit in her pews and Civ
3 color to the type Of sermons that ar
preached. E %G .!5$.s ;#&t
Many of her individual member
are unconscious or indifferent partici
pants in corporate injustice. a Scalcu
lated or uncalculated %sel.ishness per
mits many Of our great civic and re
;, ligious benefactions to languish. Her
l and there some noble, rich man real
8 ICES his stewardship but The vast bod
:. Of our American wealth is still I'm
consecrated to- God. 4. III .tS II s.y.
The vision Of the one family ia