The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-10-28
The Church's Relation

books will open up.
 The Church's Relation
 "The church's relation to the social life of the people as to their morals is, how ever, of chief importance. Crimes and criminals should receive more attention in our church study.
 "The theory that crime is simply result of the depravity of the heart is not satisfactory. A man may be a crim- nal by nature, but where social condi- tions furnish occasion and indictments for crime, the crime itself becomes part of the social structure-bone of our bone. To say that the poor servant who takes some food from her mistress pantry to feed some hungry friend, when she sees
 it going to waste, does 1t simply out of a mean heart, is not putting it squarei.'.
 "The man who works hard. goes half glad, struggles for bread for his half starved children shut up by poverty away from health and sunshine, although he loves them like he loves his life, he sees no prospect for their health, educa- tion or anything. They have no clothes fit to wear to Sunday school, etc. This man sees his employer with plenty, even to waste, and spending for the comfort of some dog what would be to him and his children a luxury. To find this man thinking of unkind things, saying bad words doing wrong, may not be just because he is mean. No, that is not full explanation. If that was all he might be turned over to the cold arm of law without so much sympathy.
 .The idea of law is to help, not harm; to protect the innocent, not to crush the guilty. to make the pathway to virtue and righteousness plain and easy and to crime difficult and full of peril And as law has it's Mosiac basis this corree- tive feature must play it's part in the social structure of the church. Yes, it's preventative value must be utilized.
 Tt Is much easier and cheaper some times to prevent trouble than it is to cure it. The church needs to ring out clear and unmistakaby upon the wrong and unjust discrimination between the higher ups and the lower downs and the claim -to-be inevitable inequalities of ex- treme poverty and the over rich
 II read the other day about Harry Payne Whitney spending $75,00O on one pleasure hunting trip, and the same day of a woman strangling herself to death when she was notified to give up her house on the failure to pay rent. Her husband had been sick four months and she with her two children were compelled to beg.
 UnwhOlesOme Situation
 This unwholesome poverty on one side and unhealthful wealth on the other con- stitutes a present day problem crying out for treatment where the skill of church doctors will also be tested. It becomes a moral issue Preventatives against cor porate crime in the way of wise legisla- tion regulating taxation on an ascend ing scale in geometrical progression as to increasin riches with, rather than protected monopolies, special liberal consideration for each child born in the home (poor people are generally more | ,l x..{n ,alyn t1 hapft ming. A $40 salary on an $50 expense per month will drive to desperation. Public sentiment as engendered by the church life is of infinite importance here, as also in preventatives against Sabbath dissertation and drunkenness. l under stand of course, that we cannot hope to see the masses converted, except as in- dividuals; we cannot fence off a crowd whitewash them and label them by church pales and church rolls without their need of further treatment; that we cannot pick up tough, filthy Bill, clean him up and put on him a new suit and set him down in the best society, telling him that his name is not Bill now, but Tom, and make it so. But I do know that when you tell him that his name is now not dirty Bill but clean Bill, he will feel it is true. The truth of my contention is seen in the fact that 90 per cent of the crimes committed today, according to the latest statistics, are those that not only did not but could not have happened in the days of our own fathers. They are social and corporate crimes that were out of reach then. Now, if society is par ticeps criminus, if we since the death of our church founders and writers of theology. interpreters of Gods holy book have in the building of our home, church. state and society been guilty of construct ing into our sociology more than half the crimes committed today. is it not self evident that If we would think some our selves, and today emphasize new truths for new sins, that we might at least undo some of the devilment that we have done? Yes, go further! Cannot the same power that corrupts make clean a heart? God hasn't anything to do with conversion. In fact, His regeneratng the heart seems to be limited to mans work of confess sion If any man will open the door Rev. 3:20.
 This conversion from bad to good ways, from evil social custom. habits and conditions to those that are better is of infinite importance today. A dream of a beautiful regenerate society is worthless, as Carlyle would say. until it shows some ability to walk
 That has been the trouble with all our efforts. We are great dreamers. some times the dream breaking out into diff ferent kinds of ologies hard to under stand, but we can't, it seems, get them down to walking
 "Once it was thought that the form of government determined some of our so- cal problems. We hoped that changes here would help to solve them. But the patriarchal form was tried and par tiality still remained they tried tribal and favorites still existed. They tried monarchies but soon there were serfs; then constitutional government was de-. veloped, but opposing parties appeared Republicanism then came to our relief, but alas here these problems grew more acute and forced upon us as never before issues Governments cant settle them until they can change human hearts.
 Education it would seem could help. as it makes possible a more thorough search for relief. If it was problem of production education could assist more. but enough is produced to relieve .. sl.a .l.araa lie. af e.