Middletown transcript., 1915-09-04
LABOR TROUBLEOLD
Disturbances Go Far Back Into
History.
Apostle Paul ls on Record as Having
Created DissensIon Among the
People Of Ephesus by His
Preaching Of Christianity.

While the matter of Labor day is
under consideration, the question
arises: What is labor? Webster
gives as his first definition: Toll or
exertion, physical OF mental"
William B. Wilson, secretary of the
department Of labor, gave the follow
Ing as his conception Of the idea:
Labor is any mental or physical &C.
tivity other than that engaged in sole
ly for pleasure"-a definition showing
a brain at once practical and analytic.
Mr.. Powderly would narrow this
somewhat by defining labor as ANY
exertion, mental or physical, not in
dulged in for pleasure and for the ben
oht Of mankind"
Doctor Coulter Of the census bureau,
an expert on such matters, would give
an even broader scope to the word. He
defines labor as: IAN effort, whether
mental or physical"
The question of Labor day naturally
brings to mind the collateral labor
questions of labor union protests and
strikes. There is a tendency among
latter-day philosophers to prophesy
all manner Of evil to come to mankind
by the way of labor unions and their
troubles, both among themselves and
with others, and to hold forth these
troubles as a proof of human deca-
dence, peculiar only to this degenerate
age.
In this connection, while the early
history of Rome and the tribulations
of the workman of that day show that
labor troubles have always been with
us, there is most interesting pass
age in the Acts of the Apostles, which,
when read with an eye to modern la
Dor dissensions, shows that mankind
has not varied one whit in his striving
for what he considers the fruits of his
labor, since the days of st. Paul.
Paul, together with other apostles,
went up in the Ephesus country, seek
Ing converts to the Christian faith,
Now, Ephesus was the favorite city
OF Diana. or Artemis, as she was also
called. Here was her famous temple;
here was her famous statue, said by
the priests to have fallen from heaven
Thither every year came pilgrims by
the tens of thousands to worship al
the shrine Of the tutelary deity-and
here goodly number of silversmiths
found their calling a most lucrative
one. For, there being no photographs
nor postal cards, these pilgrims tool
away with them small silver fac
simile statuettes of the great goddess
as souvenirs. Now observe the nine
teenth chapter of Acts, according tC
the twentieth century version of the
New Testament:
Nov a silversmith named Demet
rius, who made silver models of thu
shrine Of Artemis (Diana), and 81
gave great deal of work to the arti
sans, got these men together, as vel
as the workmen engaged in similar
occupations, and said: Men. you know
that our prosperity depends upon thi.
work, and you see and hear that, no
only in Ephesus, but in almost thu
whole OF Roman Asia, this Paul hai
convinced and won over great mum
bers of people by his assertion tina
those gods which are made by hand
are not gods at all, so that not only 4
this business of ours likely to fal
into discredit, but there is the furthe
danger that the temple of the grea
goddess, Artemis (Diana), will b.
thought nothing of, and that she hel
self will be deprived of her splendor
though all Roman Asia and the who'll
world worship her.
When they heard this the mel
were greatly enraged and began shout
ing: Great is Artemis of the Ephe
slams! The commotion spread througl
the whole city, and the people rushe
with one accord into the theater, DRAG
ging WITH them the companions O
Paul"
Certainly there cannot be found Il
any modern newspaper a more perfec
account Of a sympathetic strike and
labor riot And that was two thousan
years ago.