The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1921-04-21
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
Prepared Especially for The Republi-
can By DIR. U. S. Wright.

1Sd. OsO-lO5 EAltlOS SA@NthAS $500 -
For where your treasure is, there will
your heart be alsO.-Luke 1884.
U. S. WRIGHT.
POVERTY AND THE POOR.
Did not Christ say, "The poor al
ways We have with you?" Why then
should the church take account of
perpetual condition? Is it not step
ping outside its rightful sphere when
it considers a topic like that of the
present lesson? Is it part Of its
work to abolish poverty? Certainly,
for whatever affects life is thing Of
interest to Christians 1t is true that
Christ spoke of the presence Of the
poor in terms OF perpetuity, but poor
is a relative term that will persist as
long as man has differing endow
ments. There are differences that will
be found even in heaven. The talents
were given in accordance to the sew
eral ability and no stigma attached to
the person who secured eleven in the
final distribution. But poverty is an
economic disease and as such it must
be attacked as consistently and per-
sistently as smallpox and tuberculosis
have been. And it will as surely be-
come thing of the past as these will
ultimately be found only in few indi-
vidual cases. The poor in health and
the poor in wealth will always be true
but neither will be the prevailing con-
dition. In the old age of individual
ism there was widespread impossi-
bility of acquiring a competence, but
so long as labor was free to work each
person earned living and the poverty
that exists today had no place.Such
statement is only relatively true
for universal slavery deprived I'M
countd millions of their chance and
rotted the foundations upon which So
ciety rested. But there came a day
when man discovered a way to null
tiply his power to an unlimited eX-
tent through machinery and the use
of steam, electricity and other nat
ural forces. As there was no in
crease of consumption he was at once
enabled to produce a surplus per-
fectly staggering from the old pos
sibiliaies that lay in mere muscle and
wealth began its march that enabled
the United States to accumulate intwo
years two thousand million dollars
more than all the wealth accumulated
in this country in two and a-half
centuries. In the face of such an
amount the presence of poverty be
comes a distinct challenge to the
church to see that the principles Of
brotherhood shall rule in its distri-
button. For there is no question
about the inequality of distribution.
Professor King. in 1915, divided the
people Of the United States into four
classes: those who have only personal
possessions; those who own prop
erty worth $1,000; those owning val
ues from $4,000 to $4,000; those hav-
ing over $4,000. In the first class
are two-thirds of the population. In
the second, fifteen per cent hold four
per cent of the wealth. In the third
eighteen per cent have third of the
property, while the remaining two
per cent hold sixty per cent of the
wealth. One-fourth of the property
is in the hand of one four-hundredtA
part of the people The largest pri-
vate fortune aggregates the holdings
of 100000 Of those in the first class
mentioned. 1t is such disparity that
produces a sense of injustice in the
minds of those who must see luxury
that is out of all proportion to what
they must live upon Certainly there
is sufficient wealth in our land to keep
hunger away from each door. vet
there are millions who go to bed hun
CRY daily. Perhaps fifty per cent OF
our families receive less than $500
annual income and that makes ends
that must be perpetually stretched to
the breaking point.
THE PROBLEMS OF WEALTH
SELFISHNESS.
Isaiah found the same condition
that exists today. The Hebrew proph-
ct was fearless in his denunciation
of conditions that destroyed his fell
lows, and thought this young leader
was certainly among the wealthy
class he condemned bitterly the seek.
ing to evict the small holder that a
great estate might be built up for
ones own gratifation. With nc
thought of service, wealth over-rode
the rights of others to a chance to
live. Large land holdings with alb.
sentee overs often and tenant toll
ers are as much present day thing
as when the lines were written
Brotherhood cannot exist where con-
ditions are controlled for selfish ends
In the industrial field where most OF
our life is the United States Steel
Corporation reported wage increases
of Id per cent between 1914-1919
but profits increased ABS per cent ac.