St. Johns review. (Saint Johns, Or.) 1904-current, 1910-03-18

BY DR.. A. W. VINCENT

ing to overpower, rob and destro,
the otherl Would 1t be possible
here to carry out all those grant
and noble principles which h
taught Should they smite hin
Upon one cheek, would he turn thu
otherl Would he say, in effect
"Smite also my wife. destroy m,
childr eve must consider th'
problem from the standpoint of |
husband and father.)
We think at least any human
follower of Christ would fight
would use deception. would lie
would even kill, If necessary, tc
protect his own. From any human
standpoint he would be justified
In fact, to do otherwise would be
culpable. To fight in good cause
is justified in all religious teachings.
II violates the commandments. il
is far from carrying out the prin.
ciples which Christ taught, it mere
ly recognizes the impossibility of
doing so under certain circum-
stances. Yet to do his whole duty
under the circumstances, a man
must spare no effort to change
those unfavorable circumstances.
II among savages, by teaching
them, not only the beauties Of love
and all the virtues, but a definite
form of government, which by put
ting an end to individual struggles
renders II possible to develop those
virtues.
What would Jesus do in the busi-
ness competition OF to dayl Are
there not the same individualistic
struggles here rendering II neces.
sary to protect self and loved ones
at the expense Of others' Is II here
any more possible to carry out
Christian principles, or do we not
merely justify the failure to do so
on the grounds Of necessity II is
just as much a duty to provide for
as TO defend our loved ones. hence,
we justify the means by the end.
Would Jesus, by most honorable
methods to be sure. seek to attract
trade away from his brother across
the street, Would he look with
satisfaction upon the growth of his
own business and his own fortune
to immense proportions, and con.
graduate himself upon his superior
ability In the arts and cunning
tricks Of the trade, well knowing
that his success means failure TO
others, who because OF relatively
inferior ability In those arts 20 |
down to ruin and poverty Would
he upon any terms accept wealth.
which means the power to COM
mand the services OF others, and |
implies that others must be in a
position OF necessity to perform that
or would he with his loved |
ones go down to poverty and the
necessity to server
Financial SUCCESS Is entirely rela.
tive. II each had a million they
would be in the same position as IL
each had nothing. II Is the hunger
Of the unfortunate that gives wealth
is power.
The business man will contend
hat he Is not responsible for the
ncapacity OF his rival. and the
'avage might with equal force
that he Is not responsible
or the relative physical incapacity
u his enemy. Each must defend
himself. Neither Is he his brother $
Ieeper. He can't be. II he tries
,e will only fail to care for himself
md family,
So in this condition of industrial
nd financial savagery. the business
nan is perhaps justified to fight for
lis own protection; but why pre-
end that IL is carrying out Chris
ian principles. and why make no
fort to change business conditions
rom that of feudalism to Democ-
acy. OF some condition that will
endeT a more Christian life posi-
lel
Business life is a gamble. a game /,
{ chance and skill. A man may
york with hands or brain at some /
hing useful to mankind, he will
ot be rewarded fairly unless he {
lso successfully plays the game. :
Ind In this game, the winnings q
lay be SO used to control the deal
nat II becomes a "sure thing" l.
unko game. "a square deal' is c
lore impossible than among the :
ard sharps in the days of certain b
ieriff in our county who did not a
y to enforce square dear but u
stop the whole nefarious y
lsiness.
A square deal, indeed Is this 9,
ar highest conception of justice. Il
lat the securing of bread for our p
we'd ones remains a competitive
,me to which the slang of gam ~ y
ers SO aptiy applies, while we n' ,s
ly and Intellectually talk about a
square deall" Among savages. m
fair field. no favors, aud let them =
yht 1t out Among business gam y
ers, whether willing or unwilling ST
lrticipants, a square deal, aud let pl