The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-05

I admire him exceedingly. I firmly be- lieve that his coming out for equal suf- frage is purely and simply to further his own political aspirations.
 He wants the votes of the six states already allowing their women to have a say so in the choice of electoral dele gates and this grandstand play is too plainly evident to hoodwinl1 the ma jority of the women voters into allying ,..sssss.......s.....s.. needs of such that the church will be severely tested in coming days"
 Rev. Stelzle drew a number of strong examples to accentuate his talk. Hav- ing studied labor conditions in prac- tically every city in the United States and many in foreign lands, the speaker was able to draw strong picture of general conditions and bring the mat ter before the men in the strongest manner. He gave two forces that have been challenging the church for su- premacy in the hearts of the people.
 Organized Labor
 First of these.' said Rev. Sickle, Ifs organized labor. Because the working man sees so much that is good in unionism, and because it is so vitally concerned about his moral as we'll as his social and physical condition, we can readily understand that often he ina zines that he has in his union a fairly good substitute for his church. Here he finds developed to the highest degree the three great principles for which Christianity stands; namely, the value of human life, the care of the human body and the development of the human soul. Frequently there comes to me suggestion from working men that the labor union itself be formed into religious organization, admin istered to by officers chosen from thelr own ranks The time will come when parents will dedicate their children to the cause of labor as Samuel was dedi- cated to the temple service, and when Christian men will enter the labor movement as they now enter into the work of Christian ministry"
 MT. Stelzle said that the complaint of the MacNamara brothers being the tool of labor unions and that the dynamiting case in Los Angeles was an example of labor rule, was unjustified.
 "The case of the McNamara brothers was no more indicative of labor unions than the case of the Boston minister, Richeson, who murdered the young girl, Is indicative of the ordinary Christian minister" said the speaker.
 "The other element besides labor unions that is challenging the church for the ip bo of hn and far more significant than any other element is socialism. There are today something like 1000 socialist officeholders in the United States. The election just held in Germany indicates the remarkable advance among the socialists in that coun- try Socialists conduct more open air meetings than are held by all of the churches combined"
 The Rev. Stelzle here gave a number of personal experiences that brought out his point forcibly. He told of how there were 500 socialists that got up every sun day morning in Milwaukee and went from house to house distributing socialist lt- erature, printed in various languages. Every socialist convert becomes q so- cialist propagandst, and for enthusiasm and devotion they are putting the Chris tian workers to shame" he declared.
 Quotes Facts
 To make the position of the church in this matter more realistic, the Rev. Stel- gle gave the following facts:
 "1he church is slowly but surely losing ground in the great centers of population where the masses live. Nearly every city in America has witnessed the removal of churches from the densely populated sec tions where the church is most needed We say that our gospel is universal gos- pei, but when the foreigners move in the church moves out. practically convinced that our gospel is effective fsr the for eigner only when it is exported, and that it it non-effective i'll so-called Christian country If the tendency of the population is toward the city. and it is, and if the cities are to dominate the nation, 1t does not require a prophet or son of prophet to foretell the inevitable result if the failure of the church in the city is to continue. Socialism is religion as well as an economic system. The great mass of workingmen are naturally relig- ious, even though that religion may not always be expressed in strictly ortho- dox manner"
 To bring the matter of the standpoint of the church more clearly before the audi ence, the speaker said: God is not de- pendent upon the church for carrying out His plans for the redemption of the world. The church of Jesus Christ will ultimate ly triumph. but it may not be in it's pres ent form of organization. It is a great privilege to have committed to the church this great gospel, but if we are not faith ful to that commission, God may raise up some other agency to yrebuke us. It re- quired distinct revelation from heaven to convince even large hearted Peter that God is no respector of persons, but he that feareth Him and worketh righteous ness is accepted with Him. Often has God rebuked those who considered them selves the elect in the matter of inter- preting His will.
 Francis of Assist Savonorala. Wv cliffe. Luther and Knox each were com pelled to withstand those whose on position was based upon a narrow con ception of the true significance and com prehensiveness of the Kingdom of God |"
 tHs urch that Is responsible for sf4 of social unrest which exiets in far world today" said Rev Ste M eft are no labor troubles in