The Penn's Grove record., 1914-12-18
JUSTICE TO LABOR
Workman Should Be Counted
Among the Honorable of
Mankind.

Fol these workmen maintain the
fabric Of the world, and In the handi-
work OF their craft is their prayer
Ecclesiasticns 1894.
Here is q very different idea Of
work from that contained in the OPEN
ing chapters OF Genesis. According
to this prophet, labor is not a curse
laid upon man for his sin, but a sery-
ice 50 holy that the very doing of it
constitutes q prayer" Therefore
does he sound the praises Of the work
ingman as others have sounded the
praises Of king and soldier. The plow-
man, the jewel cutter, the blacksmith.
the potter-aH these, although they
are not sought for in the council Of
the people nor exalted in the assembly.
though they sit not in the seat of
the judges not understanding the cove
nant Of Judgment" are still to be num-
bered among the great and honorable
Of mankind!
In order to understand the Justice
Of this tribute, we only have to re-
mind ourselves that it is work which
has made the world what it actually
is at the present moment. All that
we mean by civilization, in the ma
terial sense, Is the result of toll In
the sweat Of mems brows. For ages
East the men who have labored with
their hands-the farmers, the woods
nen, the blacksmiths, the spinners.
the builders-haye been contemptu-
Ously regarded as an inferior grade
Of humanity, as little better, indeed.
than animalsl And yet while kings
have fought and noblemen hunted.
while gilded couriers have twirled
their scented handkerchiefs and toyed
with their jeweled swords, while
~so-called superior classes of all ages
and countries have sported, gambled.
and debauched, these same inferior la
borers have made the world what
we see it today! It is their toll
which has cleared away forests,
cultivated farm lands. opened mines.
constructed railroads, laid out and
built cities. It is their work which
has created wealth. founded nations,
redeemed the waste places of the
earth reared the vast monuments of
civilization. Not more surely are the
pyramids Of Egypt the memorial not
Of Pharaohs, but Of their driven slaves,
than are the huge piles of stone and
steel in our modern cities, the memo
rails Of the unnamed toilers of this
later age.
Maintain Fabrics of the World.
And not only is 1t work which has
made the world what it is today but
It is work also which keeps the world
going from hour to hour. 1 have food
upon my table, clothing upon my back,
a roof over my head books upon my
shelves only because a million hands
are toiling In my service. Let this
labor be suspended but for a little time
and death aad destruction would
stand towering at my threshold. With
out these" says the author of Eccles-
iasticus shall not a city be inhabit-
ed o shall men sojourn or walk up
and down therein; these maintain the
fabric of the world"
1t is these facts which are slowly
teaching the supreme dignity of Ia
Dor. Carlyle had these in mind when
he declared that work and work alone
il truly noble; Ruskin, when he re-
vealed the beauty gained through toll;
Morris, when he peached and prac-
ticed the gospel OF skilled craftsman
ship; Millet, when he painted the
"Sower." the Reaper the Clean
ers Abbey. when he used the steel
worker and coal miner for his symbol
10 frescoes In the Harrisburg CAPT
toll. Idleness is doomed as a badge
of distinction. Work must henceforth
be the sole title to nobility. Whit
mar is the true prophet when in his
Song Of Occupations" he chants the
Homeric catalogue. "housebuilding,
hlacksmithing, glass-blowing, ship
building, ~piledriving, f~shcuring," and
declares that there is nothing which
leads to greater than these lead to-
John Haynes Holmes.