The Ogden standard. [volume] (Ogden City, Utah) 1902-1910, 1909-03-15
SER RMON AT
UNITARIAN
CHURCH
Dew WILLIAM rHURsToN BROWN
TALKS TO CONGREGATION.
conaIders the Theme, "What Our In
dustriallsm Means and What
II Might Mean"


men. II is talking to them every day In
the week. and 1t uses language easy
10 understand. 1t does not talk about
a sweet bye and bye" 1t does not
know anything more about that than
churches do. But it does talk abou.
what is. And 1t tells these men and
women and children so plainly that
they do not fail to understand that
the forces which are omnipotent here
on earth do not caro- anything ABOUT
human life, except to exploit II II
does not know anything about an i'm
mortal soul In fact, 1t does not care
whether there is such a thing as a soul
Soul isn't what il is looking for. There
is no market for souls. There is
market for bodies And 1t Informs
mon and women and children that
their bodies must be banded over TO
the industrial machine. And when it
hangs out It's sign, "Sman girls want
ed" 1t does not mean exactly what
the churches mean when by the lips
of their priests and ministers they
say: Come to jesus
"Mr. Rockefeller has given about
never earned to establish Chicago uni
versity, but there Is probably not a
dozen families out of the twenty thous-
and employees of the Standard OIL COM
pany that can AFFORD to send a son or
daughter to that institution. And
there are comparatively few of the
users OF this oll-the consumers whose
tribute helps to create Mr.. Rockefel-
ler's miilions-who can avail them
selves Of the opportunities of that In
stitution. 1t is not at all certain that
they would be greatly the gamers II
they could. At least. 1t Is not at all
certain that they would learn within
the walls Of Chicago university any
thing that would help to hasten the
one thing which needs most to be Sc
cured. the emancipation Of the work
ing class.
TT ought not to take us so long to
find out that there is something bet
ter that our industrial system might
mean for boys and girls and men and
women. something that 1t must mean
If this is to be a tolerable world. l
maintain that every factory. mine,
railroad, shop, store, farm. OF other
form of industrial life ought to be de
voted to one purpose, and under any
thing worthy TO be called sane ciyili-
zation they Will be. And that purpose
Is the education of human life
Il mean that the only justification
of industry is the education of human
beings, the unfolding of their possibil-
tiles. That is precisely what every
branch OF industry should mean and
ic ,gir
left in men that is what 1t Is going TO
mean. And the time Is not fur off as
many think We need sound, strong.
healthy, well-jeveloped bodies. That
need Is just as sacred as any other
that can be named No church of any
sort and no ecclesiastics ever enun-
ciated more sacred need than that,
GymnasiumS today are confessions
that our whole system is wrong.
There is no good reason why the var
ious industries should not do what
gpmnasimus now try To do. And they
ought to do 1t a great deal better. 1t
is incomparably more interesting to
get ones exercise in the process OF
doing something useful than In going
mechanically through the various mo
tions of a gymnasium.
But we need also the symmetrical
development of intellect We are
more than bodies We are minds. We
think We aspire to know. We have
a right to know. 1t is good for us TO
know and to know all that is to be
known Ignorance is not a good thing.
! 1t is a misfortune If human being
| has any right at all, it is the right of
| knowledge We have the right to see
the world we live In, to know lis mean
| ing, to be conscious OF its use and
beauty. That is a part of life. That
| is our inheritance as humans.
But we are more than minds and
bodies. We have at least the rudi-
ments of a moral sense. We have
some consciousness OF ethical beauty
and worth. 1t is our right to unfold
within the atmosphere and environ
ment of a moral world. | maintain
that 1t is a crime against the human
soul that the occupation at which one
must he engaged more than half ones
waking hours should be one that Vio-
lates our sense Of Justice and truth
| Our modern industrlaliSm absolutely
forblds man 10 be man. 1t compels
| him to sti1e conscience. 1t necessi-
tates the sacrifice Of that which Is
dearer than life. Indeed, it declares
! that q nan shall not live at all. unless
he viii part with his manhood And
when he has become utterly incapable
OF doing anything. 1t pauperizes him
and stamps out any remaining vestiges
Of manhood under the Guise Of charity.
1t is doing worse than that, for ii Is
making men the objects of charity
long before they are incapable of
work
Today we are trying to have re-
ligion without any ethics. And we are
succeeding perfectly. Our religion Is
very largely insulated from all vital
contacts with life. The fact that a
man belongs to this or that church
argues nothing whatever as to his
ethical relation to his fellow men. Do
not misunderstood me. | do not ques.
ton he influence which religion has
eXerted in many ways on the individ-
ual soul But It has not touched the
Industrial system The operations OF
that system are as independent of its
power as the motions of the constella-
tions are
We may be sure hat we will have
nothing ethical In our lives until We
change their economic basis Nothing
is more certain than that the ethical
life OF men Is not being fed today. It
is not being enriched either among
the people who possess the bulk of the
worlds wealth OF among those who are
now exploited OF their products. On
the contrary. II Is being smothered
and withered and destroyed. And the
reason is not that we are not capable
OF ANYTHING bettor. not at all that in.