The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-05-02
LABOR AND WORSHIP,

! strong words look 80 we'll In print that 1t is
pity that circumstances so often make them
iunny when they are intended to be tremen-
dously thrilling and impressive Some time ago
( the Baltimore Neus described the majority of
the Democratic voters of Virginia as having
oeeh so long held In thrall' by political ring
AS we have an open. Statewide primary. the
beautiful language of our esteemed contem.
porary was obviously absurd in the grinninp faro
. or the facts. The other day socialist CORES
pondent of The Virointan was writing to us that
the lsraelites brought out Of Egypt were mt
commanded or expected, to worship God until
after they had been delivered from b,ndape
With burst of what is known 10 enthusiastic
po'1tcai Notwithstanding the oratorical
outbursts from their own side-as "impassioned
eioquence," he told the preachers of the country
that God knows cannot worship Him
whose body Is racked and broken by labor and
whose mind Is dued by increasing toll" This
is ON a line with the attempts of the tenn.
porarily distinguished Mr. O'Hara. of Illinois tn
fix a scale of weekly earnings whereby the
virtue OF working women might be assured
and as dangerous 1t Is a kind of strike de-
mand against the Almighty. The purport of it
is give us higher wages and we will be chaste:
otherwise we will be ewd Give us easier work,
o; none. and we will worship Thee. Otherwise
We Will refuse to worship and Will serve satan
and take the consequences by way of protest
against conditions"
As q matter of cold fact, the Tsraelites were
delivered from Egypt because they worshiped
Jehovah and served Him as they knew, as their
ancestors had done before them. They were not
offered deliverance as a bride to induce them
to worship. They led with wonderful
mercy for their disobedience, their murmurs and
fears, rebellons and longngs for the flesh pots
they had left. because they were my people"
my servants" AS another matter OF cold fact
good many of the very preachers to whom
our correspondent addresses his exhortation are
men whose bodies racked by labor and who
do ceaseless toll. but whose minds are not dulled
whose faith Is not diminished and whose prayers
ascend unceasing. More than half the preachers
Of this country live and support their families
on wages any skilled mechanic would reject and
have no work day limits. Yet they worship.
Probably the great majority of the employers
of labor work longer hours than any of those
they employ. YETI impossible as 1t may seem
from the extreme socialistic point of View, these
very men find time and occasions to worship
very humbly and serve faithfully. 1t is the
record of all the history Of religion, written In
thousands of shining chapters that the hard
working people OF the world have been the most
diligent and useful servants of God
4 Taken literally. the theory OF our correspon-
dent would mean that In this country none but
the tramps and the idle rich should be expected
to worship and serve. They the only people
we have who expect to live without "ceaseIess
toll" and whose bodies are not tracked" some
times-if by tracked" is meant being tired. 1t
would be interesting to have an exact schedule
of the hours and terms which people are
supposed TO pray and to perform their other
duties to their Creator and their neighbors,
outside Of which they to be exempted and
allowed free license to ignore those duties Is
the man who works eight hours day six days
OF the week supposed to be released from all
religious obligations until he can get shorter
hours and more pay? Or is 1t nine. ten or twelve
hours at which the line should be drawn? There
are IN THIS state ana elsewhere, FARMERS whose
work day is from sunup to sunset, and then some.
who manage to drive from two to six miles
Sunday to attend church and who are active too.
in church work.
There are in this life wrong, oppression, heart
less greed cruelty and poverty. There are weak
and helpless, strong and masterfu people, hard
hearts and tender, good and bad among all
classes and conditions. We face many condi-
lions we cannot understand. Human nature and
life are crowded with mysteries and problems
There are tangles to be untangled and wrongs
to be righted, problems OF vast complexity to
be worked out. Yet, surely, nothing Is to be
gained and everything is to be lost by grandilo
quent proclamation of the doctrine that the
wage slave" is to be different from all other
men. that the man who must work hard for his
living for that Is TO be freed from obliga
ton to his Creator and entitled to treat Him
with contempt That doctrine is spread with
some blatant vehemence and much assiduity. II
it was accepted it would destroy our civilization
and undo all our progress a people and would
leave the condition of the individual toiler
lamentable indeed, without faith or a conso