The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-08-26

One is your master, even
Christ and all We are brothers,
| He that is greatest among you
| shall be your servant and whose
ever shall exait himself, shall be
ahased and he that shall humble
himself shall be exalted.--(Matt
XXIII., 1912.
Bear ye one another's burdens
and SO fulfill the law of Christ
-(Gal. VI. q
A thoughtful man said seriously
as he laid down MS newspaper, We'll.
we've reached the crisis. The world
is at the crossroads and things look
ominoun." A while ago Mr.. Asquith,
lcf England, said something Of the
same sort. as later did Lloyd-Gaorge
and C1emenceau. Now President Will
son utters kindred word of warn
lag to congress, to labor and to our
great free people.
First, let us note that the question
or questions suggested by the subject
ere at bottom moral and even relig-
icus. The revolt of labor" springs
cut of the workers awakening con-
seriousness that he is a man and not
a machine: that his labor Is not
merely a commodity to be bought
and sold, hut something proceeding
from personality and that should be
| allowed to express personality. The de-
n &c in which the laborer is conscious
lGf these great basic truths Is in reality
the measure of his revolt against the
present system of emi-ownership and
exploitation In which he feels HIM
self to be entangled and in a sense
held in bondage 1t may involve a
lnenace, but it Is not In itself n mem
lace. II harks back 10 the birth ofathe
Z ~ \
1.-THE INN ortal Declaration of lndepend-
erce by our revolutionary forefathers,
1t parallels the historic rise OF the
business or middle class" from The
fcudal social orcer--that class that
Eventually dug the grave in which
the gallant barons were to rest from
their labors. 1t Is the most salient
and most characteristic fact of
present day history not even ex-
ccpting the downfall of autocracy.
when. then, should the churches and
the ministry of Christ not feel right
t. deal with 1t? May they not, and
should they not thus render much
needed service to this generation. as
1.-The prophets Of Old did to theirs, as
Christ and His Apostles did to theirs :?
Mr.. Arthur Henderson. labor leader
icf England, is right when he says
that the argument that the churches
cannot take sides in Industrial dis
putes is valid only SO far as 1t is an
lexcuse Tor doing nothing at all when
society is rent by industrial crises
4 he church is tee one institution left
Ia the world today that must not
be partisan, of course-that must not
take sides in a partisan spirit: but
that means that. size must, as occaslc 4
eit mands, stand above the battle" in
order to interpret the struggle in
terms of moral progress and spiritual
vision.
1t hehooves us as Christians to try
to understand the revolt of the work.
ing classic get at the root causes"
a.; some one has tut IT, Mr. Taft was
right certainly when he said of Boil
shevism: We owe ii to ourselves as
we'll as to 1he Bolshevists at least to
try to understand it, and this involves
showing something Of its family his
tory as well as it's clinical history
Msich of the prevailing fever and un-
rest is due beyond question to- the
privations and social dislo-
caused by the war, involving
hot the working class only. but or
kanized society the world over.
would deal with something Less coIos- :,
eal and all-inclusive and more specific
ard palpabie-namely, the present
day industrial unrest and upheaval
Ir sense. of course, that Ii organi-
cally part of the tremendous politi-
cal and social upheaval going on In
che form or another everywhere. But
u thought It least and for Tn Dur-
Z