The Washington times., 1922-09-02
PEACE IS TEXT
Of MESSAGE ON
LABOR TROUBLE
Church Council Calls for Chris.
tian Cooperation by All
contending Forces.

| tidn So-opeTdtionp py HH
contending Forces.
A year ago the Commission on
the Church and Social Service Is.
sued a Labor Sunday message on
the responsibility Of the church in
industry. That message explained
the necessity for the increasing ex-
ercise of the church's influence In
industrial controversy and summar.
lied the teaching of Christianity
with reference to industrial prob.
lens
The church has a message ap-
plicable to human conduct to all
its phases and to every variety OF
human relationships. Industrial re.
lations are but one form Of human
relations and industrial problems
are very largely human problems.
A gospel that does not embrace life
| I'm it's entirety Is not sufficient to
save men or to express the full
meaning Of religion.
Not only SO, but the industrial
and economic factors in the life
| of our people condition, to a very
| great extent, their religious inter
ests and activities. Health and
happiness are, generally speaking,
necessary to the attainment OI
the higher life. The church can
not be indifferent to the physical
well.being of its people which de-
pends so largely on their economic
status. nor to those relationships
within industry which constitute
for vast numbers of people the
chief sphere Of moral activity.
Labor Sunday Message for 1922.
| Brotherhood in industry expresses
itself in cooperation between work.
| ers and employers as between
human beings who possess immehs'
urable spiritual worth. II Is the
spiritual content of democracy.
We are still in the period where
| the dominant note in the industrial
world is one Of strife and controversy.
| There probably never was a time
when there was more bitterness and
conflict, some of II due to misunder-
| standing between employers and
workers, and some Of II, unfortunate
ly, due to a very clear understanding
of hostile aims and purposes. EN-
ployers and workers have too COM
monly arrayed themselves in hostile
| camps, and have been inclined to
fight out their differences by sheer
economic force. This has been mani
fest especially during the last twelve
months.
Opportunity For The Church.
The church has a very patent on.
portunity to study and interpret
the moral issues of Industrial con-
troversy, to interpret each group
to the other and to the public at
:arge, and to teach the principles
Of sound, human relationships in
Industry. 1t is probably safe to
say that the majority Of our people
have an ill.informed attitude Of
hostility to one or the other. or TO
both of the parties in any industrial
conflict with interferes with the
public's convenience.
Another serious aspect OF the
labor situation is the growing
hostility of organized labor to the
courts. A large number Of injunc.
tions Of the most contrary character
against strike activities have been
issued in the past year, which have
been strongly resented by labor as
aimed at depriving the unions OF
their chief method Of defense. The
strike is in its nature so drastic
a weapon and its grave possibilities
are so far reaching, that 1t is diff
ficult to secure on the part of the
public or Of the courts, a balanced
judgment in time Of crisis.
The attitude of the courts. how
ever, has been by no means uni.
formly hostile to labor. In num-
Der Of strikes the courts have al.
lowed much freedom in union
activities. The recent decision
Taft of the Supreme Court in the
famous Coronado case, while 1t
maintains the responsibility Of labor
j unions for acts Of violence COM
mitted by their authority and may
work great hardship to unions whose
officials pursue a rash course, has
made IL clear that a labor organiza.
ton should not be held responsible
for the unauthorized acts of IN
dividuals belonging to II.
Nevertheless, labor finds its posi-
ton rendered insecure by the unpre.
dictable attitude OF the lower courts
in particular controversies. The
protests of the labor unions against
government by injunction" which
are often Incorporate and sometimes
unjust, are not without ground and
call for careful and sympathetic con-
sideration.
Moral Burden Of Church.
The nation still carries the moral
burden of the twelve-hour day in the
steel industry, affecting large mum.
! bers OF workers. The officials OF the
United States Steel Corporation have
given the public reason to hope that
a serious effort will yet be made to
eradicate this acknowledged evil. as
has already been accomplished by
some Of the independent companies.
Apparently It will require the con.
tinued moral pressure of the
churches to complete the reforma.
ton Of the industry.
looking back on the year and into
a future which is uncertain and tur.
bulent, is It not clear that the church