Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1915-11-19
BROTHERHOOD
Dur Weakness Brought to Light
The Outlook for Universal Brother
hood Is Not Very Promising at
Present The Distinctions Which
Must Be RemOved-The Foundation
of Brotherhood Is the Will of God.

of Brotherhood Is the Will of God.
Many times of late we have heard
bout certain things breaking down,
ind one of them, we have been told
With strong emphasis; is the
of man. The European war
las brought to light our weakness, and
nstad of being found equal to the
strain of our day, we have been found
wanting and surprisingly frail. At
tonished as well as every else. We
we're not so far advanced as we
thought we were. We were not so
firmly fixed in the paths of brother
hood as we believed we were. The
savage of our nature was closer to
the surface that we thought it was.
There was certain enmity, certain
jealousy, certain greed, lurking in
some corner of our souls of which we
were not aware. Our personal in |
vestigation of our own strength had
not been done with sufficient care.
We were ignorant of their existence
the powers that destroy-and when
the hour of trial struck, we were
swept from off our feet byoa torrent
which we have every reason to call,
the torrent of hate. Instead of being
brotherly, we were in reality hateful.
Instead of being ready to help, we
were prepared to destroy; and now
the world is in the grip of the despair
that savagery breeds. The animal of
our nature has forced himself to the
forefront of our lives when we
thought that he had been slain, and
the atmosphere we breathe is the at
mosphere of malignity. Surely, then,
as we have been told so many times,
the brotherhood of man has failed to
prove sit efficacy. 1t is still only the
beautiful dream of the past.
This is not all. While we realize
that the European war is big, black
spot on our civilization, vet is it by
no means all of our troubles. There
are other troubles which are very
detrimental to our well-being, and
every one of them speaks directly
against brotherhood Their testi-
monies are pregnant with meaning.
From their point of view the outlook
is not at all promising. The labor
world is agitated from it's center to
its circumference. The financial world
is disturbed to its very bottoms. Capt.
tai and labor are at the throat of
each other. The social world is in
the grip of one contention after the
other, and the religious world is no
better. Discomfort and strife seem to
| be the rulers of the earth, and look
ing in the direction of these domin-
ions, we are certainly not encouraged
to believe in the brotherhood of man
| II is easier for US to believe in ill-will
and avarice. 1t is easier for us to be.
lieve that the purpose of mans life is
to rob plunder and kill than to be.
lieve that he has been appointed tC
be a brother. In accordance with the
lsigns we are discouraged to believe
that he has been ordained to be help
full, considerate and kind. To believ,
that he was made to be manly in hi!
manner is almost too much for US.
The other day leader in the ranks
of labor testified before one of ou
courts that the day had arrived whel
workingmen should take over to them
selves all things belonging to their oc
cupation, and if they could not &C
complish the task without fighting
they were justified in fighting. The,
had suffered long enough, and thei
circumstances were no better nov
than years ago. 1t was still a dar
age for the laboring man, and revolu
ton was the only avenue open to hir
for amelioration. He should rist
therefore, and demand his own.
On the same day, before the sam
court, representative of the financis
world said that the tyranny of unior
ism was so great and bitter ths
there was nothing for the employer t
do save fight. They had no choic
in the matter. Trade unionism wa
forcing the employers of the land t
! the battlefield, and they were read
for the fray. They were prepare
for the combat. If the employees wer
ready for revolution, revolution the
would have. The employers were NJ
going to put up with their despotisl
any longer. They had suffered lon
enough, and they were resolved I
suffer no longer.
III Turning now to the social worl,
and what do we see there? Do W
see much to encourage us to beliey
in the brotherhood of man? Rattle
we see that the race is divided int
classes, and woe to the one that vel
lures to go beyond his confines. Ever
one is obliged to remain within h
well-measured lines. The bitternes
and the jealousy are rank and deel
seated. There is no feeling of frate
nifty there. The lines are drawn ar
established without showing a grai
of sympathy, and the striving fl
position goes on. One class is held
contempt by the other, and to col
slider the idea of brotherhood is OF
of the question. The Jews have I
dealings with the Samaritans. Thes
words are fully as modern as whe
they were uttered first of all. The
are in truth very fitting to us. The
are not ancient at all, and if they hs
been spoken purposely for US, the
could not have been truer to the spir
of the social world of our age.
Glancing again at the religion
| world, and instead of seeing harmon
reigning supreme the midst of it, a
cording to our fair expectation, v
see it very much like the worlt
which we have already considere
The stupid striving is there, and
is the rank and deep-seated bite
ness. Jealousy shows its teeth {
every corner, and while we belle
that this domain is better and pur
than any other domain, yet, we a
i far from believing that it is
brotherhood to the extent that it oug
to be. 1t is not up to the standard
! our desires. The battle of doctrine
. still fought, and this or that meth,
is still denounced simply because
is not the method of this or that clas
Whatever defense we are willing