The sun., 1919-10-03
CHURCHES PLAN TO
HALT LABOR UNREST
Education Held as Only Means
of Fighting Influence Of
BOlshevism.
WORLD MOVE LAUNCHED
Conference Representing rs
Denominations Seeks End to
Industrial Troubles.

Inc national Industrial conference OF
Protestant churches and organizations.
held under auspices Of the interchurch
world movement of North America. was
begun yesterday in the Hotel Pennsyl-
vania and will continue until this eve
ming to discuss the industrial crisis and
how 1t can be met by the church
The interchurch world movement IL a
plan to coordinate all the resources Of
men, money and material Of all the
evangelistic Protestant churches of the
United States, and 1t has been approved
by church societies of 76 denominations
consisting of a total Of 100000 Protes-
tant churches with an estimated men,
bership of $4,000, 900.
Two hundred delegates were present
when the meeting opened yesterday
morning. Churches. labor interests and
employees were represented. The morn
Ing session was presided over by Fred
erick Fisher. head of the Industrial re-
lations department of the interchurch
world movement
Mr.. Fisher said there were three
things which would be discussed princi-
pally. The first would be democracy in
industry from the point of view of labor
employers and the public. The second.
he said, would be concerned with forces
ton Of the industrial unrest. The rela-
ton of the church to the Industrial
crisis would be the third topic.
Canada Settles Unrest.
John p. Afford, member of the
Canadian Department Of Labor. said
that Canada had been suffering from
the same kind Of labor unrest which Is
at present disturbing this country. He
said that after the great strike in Win
nipeg, however, the Government called a
conference of labor and employers In
Ottawa which resulted in clarifying the
situation a good deal, and added that
there ought to be more conferences be-
tween labor and the employers here.
Social conditions in continental Eu-
rope were discussed by Julius Hecker,
secretary of the publication department
of the Y. NJ. c. A. for Russia. He said
that the influence of Bolshevism was
enormous In continental Europe and
that 1t was due to a large extent to the
failure of President Wilson's fourteen
points which Continental labor had
looked upon as ray of hope.
Mr.. Hecker assured the gathering that
the Bolshevik movement was strong
in America and that~its adherents were
sick of talk of characterization. 1t was
his opinion that It would be impossible
to break down the deep seated philos-
ophies of this movement by force. Edu-
cation, he said. would be the only way
In which it could be accomplished. and
to this end he urged that the church
unite on a philosophy as u labor. which
would tend to direct the Polshevik mind
to solid economic basis.
When asked what effect allied inter-
vention had in promulgating Bolshevism
in Russia he said that It had made a
national movement Of 1t and had caused
many prominent royalists to jump into
its ranks. He characterized this inter-
vention as a colossal blunder.
Gives Views of Labor.
Labor and its right were upheld by
]. II. Walker OF Illinois He blamed
the lack OF economic laws for the in
justices In industry. He said there
were no laws which prevented an en-
ployer from working men at the lowest
possible wage and making them accept
It because 1t was all they could get and
| others would take the Jobs II they did
not. He said there were no laws which
stopped merchants from charging ex-
orbitant prices which the men could not
AFFORD to pay on the wage they were
| getting. The alternative, In the absence
of necessary laws. he said, was force.
A finding committee was appointed.
1t is comprised of Mrs. Raymond Rob-
bins, Mrs. John d. Rockefeller, Jr.
]. H Melish. z. d. Dlssendorfer, Charles
Thompson, John McGlann, b. Lennon,
Ralph HARRISON, Samuel Lindsay. John
Walker. jeremiah jerks. James Joy,
Charles Sickle, J. w. Nixon. George
| Hawley. Paul Strayer. Alfred Marling,
]. w. Kline, ]. H. Causey and Frank
North, president OF the committee.
This committee will draw UP recon-
mendations which the Inter Church Con-
ference movement will lay before the
Presidents industrial conference next
Monday.
Bishop F. ]. Mcconnell Of the Denver
Methodist Episcopal Church was elected
chairman for the rest of the conference.