Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-08-29
CHURCH MESSAGE
PLEADS FOR LABOR
,.cIares Coal and Railway Tur-
n,oiI js Due to lnade-
quate Pay
wolJLD REFORM INDUSTRY

J. .,,,sd mon TO exert It's efforts to the
n,r,oyt ~ to bring the Christian spirit Of
s.irness and good will into the economic
order, to teach Christian principles and
>, insist upon their application to in
s,,,rv. in the Labor Day Sunday mes
..,s Of the commission on the Church
I'D I Social Service Of the Federal
Council Of Churches.
rearlessly and frankly the message
,..,s with industrial conditions during
Ma last year. It expresses sympathy
, nth organised labor In the coal and
v.nwoy situations, saying that both
10 dne TO the inadequacy Of earnings
~ ss tbe men. That the financial condi-
u tons Of certain Of the railroads may
toue made the reductions for their en-
NAV ninves appear desirable, It says, adds
pnIy pt to the seriousness Of the situation.
WI" Tbe message declares that the shop
men are fighting for the very. Life Of
their union and that where such q war
~ determination is being waged en-
p'OrIl' ppoyal defeat. The message deplores
noa" .bo, the twelve hour working day Is
..;il ..a In effect In the steel industry and
osserts that apparently it will require
al The continued moral pressure of the
church to complete the reformation OF
'nI After pointing out that health and
,.nniness are, generally speaking,
nscsssary to the attainment Of the
bisher life and that the church cannot
hs indifferent to the physical we'll being
y; ;ts people, which depends so largely
on their economic status, the message
declares that Christian teachings as
snplied to industry include three car
dnal principles: the worth Of per.
sonality, brotherhood as between all
those engaged in industry, and the
motive Of service. =.
Regretting that I'VE are still in
period where the dominant note in the
Industrial world is one OF strife and
controversy" tho message says, there
nrobably never was a time when there
Was more bitterness and conflict, some
n Il due to misunderstanding between
employers and workers and some Of it
unfortunately due to very clear un-
derstanding of hostile aims md pur-
After stating that the public Is more
conscious of the unpleasant and dis
sstrous results Of industrial disputes
Is often ignorant of the major facts and
It's Judgment dictated by considera-
tons Of self f-interest rather than of
Justice and right.
Many of the strikes which have oc-
Cured during the period Of depression
have resulted from a tendency to "de-
fate" labor--a tendency which In part
Is to be taken for granted with the
recession Of prices and Of living costs
and q corresponding defauon Of the
farmer.
Continuing, It says: 1T cannot be
TOO often repeated that high wages
during tho war were by no means so
general as believed and that the de-
mand for a reduction of wages in pro-
portion to the reduction in living costs
has been made without reference 10 the
fact that wages prior to the war were
too low and cannot fairly be taken as
basis Of wage determination
Deploring as most unfortunate the
fact that no more general effort has
been made to approach settlement OF
disputes in co operative spirit and to
appeal to justice and fair play rather
than to trial by economic combat, the
statement says: ''In moral world.
force can settle nothing permanently.
The conferences by which most dis
putes end would contribute much more
10 the stability of industrial relations
il they were held at the beginning
rather than at the end Of contro-
verSy."
Regretting the tendency on both sides
IN industry to break agreements (which
indicates the message says. "a lack
of fundamental integrity which is all
100 prominent in the industrial world
and which augurs i'll for the future
t,o a,tn .
The growing hostility of organized la
Tor to the courts, especially the lower
courts, the message states, however,
mat the courts have been by no means
uniformly hostile to labor and that
me labor unions have gained much
,Ihring the year before the courts. The
lower courts arc held largely respon-
SlbIe for the dstrust.
II, The message, however. closes with
the declaration that "there are dis
met signs of hope and progress In
me industrial situation in America"
Earnest and courageous employers are
Tt work on constructive experiments.
Employers organizations and labor
union: are conqucring the old psychol-
ogy OF fear and force and are seeking
more social ends by much more social
means. The. workers educational
movement and the new interest of la
Dor unions in scientific research give
much promise.
paragraph devoted to the press
says: The press, sharply criticize
ana often Justly so, for partisanship in
,aoor disputes, shows signs of greater
iatiness and discrimination and in some
instances of moral leadership. The new
role that is being played by the re-
.glous press in this connection is spe.
clal!y gratifying.'