Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1913-12-10
LABOR ATTACKS CHURCH.
President and Secretary of Virginia
Federation Yitriotic.

Newport News, Va, Dec. 10.-A
bitter attack upon he church as the
friend of the wealthy, as against the
workingmzn. by Secretary u. I.
Colvin. of the Virginia State reGera-
ton af Labor, a,. tn. i, f"::e OF tho
church by several !atai ministers.
threw the annual Sta, Conference of
Charities snd CorsL": Gins INTO an
| uproar yesterday afternoon at the
You"2 Mems Christian association.
Secretary GOWN was backed up in
his denunc:ation CT t;c church ~
President E c. Davidson. rf he Nir-
yinia Federation OF ! ahor.
Rev. E. 7. Wexford j. D., pastor
of he largest Presbyterian Church in
| Tidewater, ar. ore If the lai rest in
The State, replied 20 Secretary Col
vim with heated address. in which
i he declared tn. the assertions %: the
labor secretary wouil mot STAN the
tes; of truth
President Davidson referred to the
J recent meeting Of the Episcopal hlsh-
OPS of New York, at which the JisAop>
refused to endorse the law against
.h:'d labor, and then said THAI the
bishops SIT own 10 a dinner costing
$4,000, while hundreds of men, wo-
men and children were literally arv-
ing in the streets of New York city.
The secretary charged that the
churches are using Christianity as
cloak to protect the we'l-to-do, the
men who are waxing rich while they
pay starvation wages an force wo-
men and children 20 the lowest stand
ard of morality in order that they
may make food for themselves and
.heir depens ents,
Referring to the Titanic disaster,
re said that preachers the couEty'
ever had held up John Jacob Astor
as a wonderful hero because ne re-
fused to leave the Titanic until he
women and chiz;ren were safe, but
declared that he had never heard Of
single preachers character Izing as
heroes the SeamAn who stood by and
:::sr; E;.cs s.!a d.JD While the vorne:.
and children were saved, and then
went down to watery graves
He declared that he had heard
wo,,len damn the church in one
brea h an: then raise voice in pray
er to Jesus in the next, thus showing
that they have not forsaken Chris
tianity simply because the church
IS rome to be the worshippingf
place for the rich to the exclusion Of
the poor.
Rev. T. c. Darst. an Episcopal
minister, defended the bishops meet
ing in New York, and denied tnat
they ha' sat down to $4,000 din
ner as charged. while Dr.. Wexford en-
tered a general denial that the church
of today is for the rich man. He de-
clared that he church is a frlens OF
the laboring man and that the labor
ing people are the backbone Of the
chulch. Rev. J. +. Degaffrelly, of
.:the Christian Church, said that he
realized that all ministers are not
what they should be, but tina: the
laboring men should not condemn the
church for what few ministers 90.
Rev. W. A. Cooper, of Danvlllc. pres
;; ident of the conference. said that tfe
workingmen he,i lost faith and conf
dence in the church because the MN
isters do not study he conditions of
.the working classes and preach to
them often enough. He to!.% the
ministers that if they would attend
A meeting of labor union they would
find that he laboring men looked on
them with suspicion, fearing that they
had come to spy for the rich.
He advised that the pastors and
the laboring men get c.oser together,
and that The ministers find out the
true conditions and endeavor to aid
and lift up the workingmen and bet
fer their conditions.