The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1924-12-20

Ian. Over there, also, the ordinary peo-
pie apparently are being condemned
for spending some of their money on
things that strike the critics as I'M
necessary.
The bishop of Gloucester, DR.. Head
lam, published a letter condemning
as wasteful, money spent by wage
earners on attending moving pictures
and on "charabances," the British high
falutin name for motor buses, which
are patronized very freely by the work
Ing classes for pleasure rides In the
evenings, at week-ends and during
holidays. American GROWERS likewise
lecture you and me about spending
money on automobile travel and on
the movies, as was commented on In
the previous column.
The ditor of we'll known church
weekly, who Is described as "knowning
as much of as many different
classes in England as any man living,
goes after the bishop unsparingly. The
Manchester Guardian article proceeds:
ITO condemn as wasteful the money
spent by the workers on charabance and
on visits to the pictures" the church
editor declares, "is to show complete
ignorance of the conditions OF the
workers in a great town today" And
he goes on to say that the bishop knows
and can know, nothing of those con-
ditions, as his whole life has been spent
in university common-rooms and lee
ture rooms"
Then the writer broadens out thus:
"A little while ago I received letter
which contained the most sweeping in
dictments of the wealthy classes. AS
the letter, thought essentially wrong
headed, was politely written and OBJ
viously the work of a perfectly sincere
and honest man, wrote and asked the
writer what knowledge he had Of
wealthy people. He did not merely
acknowledge that he know nothing Of
them at first hand; he gloried in the
fact that he never associated with such
people"
Then the writer relates the follow
ing incident, not unlike experiences
some of the rest of us have had:
81 had valuable experience when I
was quite a boy. I used often to visit
at the home of an old South country
squire, who devoted most of his after
dinner harangues to the iniquities of
the working classes. His grown up son
would sometimes try to controvert his
view of working men by adducting the
example of his gardner, or the cabman
who some times drove him up from the
station. This always made the old gen
tleman very much annoyed. mot one,
he would declare, has ever heard
me say a word against him. AS steady
and decent a man as you could find
Five minutes after he would be back
at his condemnation. In short, all the
workingmen he knew he liked and re-
spected it was those he did not know,
or rather a creation of his own fancy,
corresponding to nothing in real life,
which stirred his indignatiOn."
There are still employers in our own
country who denounce wage earners as
a pack of this, that and the next con-
demnable thing, and there are wage
earners who vow that all employers are
robbers and worse.
Both attitudes are, of course, grossly
wrong. My experiences have brought
me into intimate contact with many emf
ployers and with still larger num-
Der of workmen. 1t is my honest be-
lief that the majority of the employers
and also a majority of the employers
decent, well intentioned fe..ows, sin
cerely striving to do the right thing by
every one. n
Pejudice usually springs from igno-
rance. No distrust which we do not
know, and very often, those whom we
do not know. Often 1 have had private
secretaries and others say to me of
the head of a concern not popular with
his workers, "If the men only knew
Mr., as 1 Enow him, they would be
for him every time, not against him"
The remedy? Fuller knowledge, fuller
understanding. Also, does it not be-
hoove us to think twice before condemn
ing any one until we have absolute
knowledge instead of a mere "hunch"
fostered, perhaps, by some entirely ire
sponsible gossip?
We are approaching the season of
peace on Earth, Good Will Towards
Men" We human beings would get
more happiness out of life If we exer-
cised this spirit all the year round.