The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-06-30
PASTORS MEET
CONDEMNS The
. PRESENT SYSTEM
Ministers Show Power of
Wealthy Donors
BY CARL HAEssLER.


where an investment loses the odor Of
sanctity and takes on a diabolic
stencil could not be determined by the
national 3-day conference on. the
preacher and the economic order held
in Evanston by the Methodist FEEDER
alton for Social Service. The gentle
men of the cloth more or less agreed
in vague terms that "the present eco
nomic order, like war, is so sinful
that we must reject it." But in con-
crete cases they were not so sure.
Securities VS.. Golden Rule.
1t was generally conceded that the
church must look to safety first and
be sure to get it's interest and princi-
pal back. The gilt-edge security thus
displaces the golden rule. Beyond
that the church should keep away
from shady Investments but border
line securities like the steel trust
should be bought because it is better
that socially-minded stockholders like
church boards should have a voice in
corporations like those presided over
by the eminent Methodist Ebert
Gary. And If the church doesn't itself
accept and invest funds, then less So
cially useful agencies will do so, the
Rev. F. Ernest Johnson pointed out.
Predicts End of Private Property.
1.-THE future belongs to the Com
munists," chimed in Rev. Ray Allen Of
Rochester, N. Y, who said that when
the people get ready they will tax all
private property out Of existence by
imposing 1000 levies first on income
and then on principal.
Endowments are good thing,
bishop Francis Mcconnell, the chair
man, said in passing, because they
give the church chance to waste
money on social experiments instead
of having to be eternally careful with
every nickel. "Give me all the tainted
money you WISH" he said, "and I'll
turn it right over to the Methodist
Federation for Social Service"
"The trouble with tainted money"
replied Secy. Harry Ward of the fed
GRAFTON, "is that no matter how well
you use it you can never completely
wash out the social harm caused by
the way it was made. We will put it
to socially revolutionary purposes,
but that is one reason so little tainted
money comes our way"
alb Favor Pooling Wages.
The conference was attended by
more than 100 preachers from all
parts Of the country, not excluding
the south. Besides discussing capital
ism It considered the preachers rela'
ton to it as preacher, as individual.
as part of the church institution and
therefore as in part employer and in
weston. Propositions for pooling wages
so that rich parishes would help to
support pastors in poor ones, were
favorably approached.
Very frank recognition Of the pre-
ponderant power Of wealth in deter
mining church utterances was made
Rev. Reinhold Niebuhr Of Detroit, not
Methodist but an invited speaker,
declared that every man taking the
pulpit in a rich church fools himself
into believing it gives him wider so
cial opportunity. The rich control, ne
said, but in a gentlemanly way. The
best way for a pastor to keep his
freedom in a rich church is to refuse
wage increases, he advised, adding
that the rich had discovered the most
painless way of getting uncomfortable
utterances modified was to keep on
giving wage boosts.
Harry Ward, who is professor al
Union Theological seminary in New
York, closed the conference with re
marks favoring a minimum income
and a maximum also. This should ap
ply not only to teachers and many
workers as now, but to preachers ant
ultimately to business men also, ne
said, as has been done in Russia.
Capitalism is a good economic sys
tenn during expanding markets Ware
wound up. "But with the world indus
trialized, capitalism breaks down ant
cooperation and communism will re
place it," The capitalist order, hi
maintained, rests on getting ahead o
the other fellow and concentrates OF
grabbing wealth and thus is unchrist
ian in both respects.