Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1914-07-03
THE BOSS, TOO, HAS
HIS L|TTLEW WORRIES
Let Us Not Indulge in Mad De-
lirium of Attack on Cap
ital, Says Ellis
The International Sunday School Les.
son for July 5 is THE Laborers I'm
the Vineyard Matt. 2O:1-f8,
BY William IT. Ellis

Dy Nllilam Il. EIIS
The wage question and the whole
idustrial issue is mirrored in the old
story told by the worlds greatest
Teacher and is the theme of to-day's
Sunday school lesson. There are per-
plexities in the parable as in the facts
OF to-day. but there seems to be a clear
trail out in both cases.
The picture is thai of the MANY who
come into the service of the kingdom
OIL heaven where the rewards of the
latest acceSsions are as great as those
OF the earliest. Thus the nations that
have most recently become Christian,
like the Fiji Islands and Korea, for in
stance nave partaken of the fruits of
the gospel even more fully than the
ancient nations of Europe The young
est convert may know all the joys of
christ service as fully as one who has
abored long in the vineyard.
The Burdens of the Boss
From the fact hat Jesus so often
took the standpoint of the employer
IN paraples the present one, and
from the further fact that he So easily
handled men. it has been inferred hat
ne was q master carpenter with work.
men under. him. Certainly. he under
stood perfectly the problem of the
man on who's shoulders rests respon-
sibility.
This householder in the story who
needed laborers for his vineyard. and
VINO went again and again to the mar
ket place, hiring all he could find, had
the same anxiety as has to-day the
farmers of western America. He had
10 get in his crop in time. His need
Tor labor was as real as the laborer's
need for wages. This side of the
parable may not be overlooked for
MANY of lis often foil fa r,,.r- -
perpleXities n cares and broad re-
Sponslbllity to society which EMPLOYERS
DfaVely accept as their share of tho
burden of life. Let us not indulge i'm
u mao del1rlum of attack upon capital
ana employers. The man who runs n
business is not often a rogue, although
there are selfish and ruthless men in
business, even as in labor unions. This
graphic little story from out of the
Iong-ago brings with it a lesson of
tolerance.
The Will TO Work
some of the laborers in this vine.
yard put in a full days work as long
as uayllght lasted. Another batch went
on duty in the middle of the morning.
another at noon: another in the mid
ole OF the afternoon, and still another
Wltnin an hour of closing time. All
were given the same wage by this gen
erous employer, grateful because his
harvest had been gathered.
All were paid a living wage-the
union rate. Let rs get thai clearly in
MIND. Nobody received less than his
due. Those who worked Longest co,,I5
not complain that they were under
pald; their only objection was that the
ldte corners were overpaid, which was
not a very generous state of mind.
Inc fact was hat all the laborers
mman'ep work II waited for it, ana
mad the same need of wages. The
man taken on at the eleventh hour
had as real a need for a DAYS 49,.
as those who had spent the whole dav
anna the vines. OF course, the mean.
ing hes on the surface of the parable
lhat God pays for purpose as well as
performance. The good we would do
ana cannot is recorded in heavens
ieuger. Let us be glad that there is A
higher scale of justice than prevails on
earth, and that Gods standa rd Of
values is not ours.
me parable is a parable of mercy
ana not OF economies. 1t portravs tho
gracious consideration of God. even as
IL reveals the ungenerous and unbroth-
cry complaining of the workers in tho
Niheyard VINO were not glad because
their fellow-workmen were eomaI
Sharers IN thelr own good fortune.
"A Modern Instance
when a Detroit automobile manu-
1acturer recently stirred the world bv
announcing that nobody in his employ
would receive less than SIS "A day there
widespread criticism from other
employers who would not, or could
not pay such a rate. Why should wa
IIot al rejoice that some thousands of
men are getting even more than thev
earn The man who sweeps the floors
o. thls automobile factory cannot earn
20 a DAY according to prevailing stand
ARDS any more than the eleventh-hour
tollers In the vineyard could earn their
denarius. "'H
We search deep into the social nm
ieSt ol our time when we ask whether
mans good fortune, due, perhans
no special merit of his own h,,t
wholly to tire generosity of his en-
pIoyer, or other circumstances shall
make MS less fortunate brother bitter
why not eXult in the grace which gives
10 some far beyond their deserving?
me generous spirit which is sin
elad Tor the prosperity of other
people is a social and national asset
of unreasonable value. There arc
grave reasons why we should "reioice
with them that do rejoice" When we
take pleasure in u neighbours good
fortune we not only increase his ban~
plness bat u own as we'll Every
of pleasure in a~nother's
pioSpe NY our own charac-
Ter: Inere prevails widely a ner-
nlclous habit of jealousy and detrac-
and envy which is not wholesome.
me spirit of good will make for king
dom character and temporal welfare
Ihis was the clear teaching of :Jesus
IN this parable and in many other
'no
In the highest economy Willingness
ana readiness count OF a part with
service itself. The men in the market
place We're eager to toll and ready to
be employed. Shall these be denied
their need of sustenance?
Jesus applied the parable to one of
his favorite themes. that because men
not opportunity they shall moi he
denied reward. The last shall be first
and the first last A final readiust-
will be equitable in both worlds.