The Washington herald., 1912-08-11

Some weeks ago there was reproduced
in these columns portions of sermon
on The Church and Labor" by DIR. Nc
Kim. rector of the Church of the Epiph-
any. Radical ground was taken by the
honored rector. and dissenting voices
have been heard through the columns
of the Episcopal Journal. which original
ly published the sermon.
Last week the leading editorial OF The
Churchman dealt with the question,
What Can the Church Do in Industrial
Disputes"
The editor says: THE incessant in
dustrial agitation in England during the
past year, with the frequent bitterly
contested strikes, have led to great
searchings of heart. All classes of So
ciety are affected and it is natural that
the church itself should be drawn in
a more real way than usual to consider
its social functions in a modern democ-
racy where the conflicts between capital
ism and labor have taken such an acute
form. One of the most interesting phe-
nomena in the social evolution of the
day is the general recognition that the
church has an obligation to perform as
champion of industrial peace. Much
quickening of the general conscience has
been the result of the important places
leaders both in the United States and
in England. 1t will be remembered how
Bishop Potter stood forth as a COM
manding personality when he spoke in
this city on crucial questions involving
the demands of labor. The same po-
sition has been attained by men such
as Bishop Westcott and Bishop Gore in
England.
"A striking exposition Of the labor
l.
and democracy has come from the hand
of Mr.. Vernon Hartshorn. a well-known
leader of the South Wales miners. who
has been explaining in the London
Church Family Newspaper that the main
reason for labor agitation is the demand
for living wage. The modern attitude
of the workingman to the popular sug-
gestion for general arbitration is point
edly summed up in the remark: There
Ia a tendency to hail arbitration as
specific for all the ills society is heir
to. We have been ruled by oligarchies
and aristocracies. There are people who
would now urge US to create a caste of
arbitrators. and be ruled by them. After
all, arbitrators are not infallible.'
The great crux is the method to be
applied by the church. If moral suasion
itself is enough, why is it that moral
suasion in the past has not been held
to be sufficient by those who, on Chris
tisn grounds, urged the abolition of slav-
cry and advocated the use of factory
Legislation for the protection of women
and children? Mr.. Hartshorn will accept
no milo palliative. The man who is en-
gagged in a fight in which the welfare
of himself and his family Is concerned
Is not in the fittest mood to listen to a
moral disquisition upon himself" Mr.
thinks that in this war
fare the church can do no more than
create the atmosphere in which the
solution of the industrial problem be-
comes possible" His words may be
called opportunism. but II, in its relation
with democracy, the church can bring
men into a frame of mind that will
force them to press on patriotically to-
ward the solution. has 1t played so mar
row a part?
The religious theory that lies behind
the pressing demand that industrial con-
ditions shall no longer be representative
of a chaotic individualism is put vigor-
ously and In condensed shape In a pa