The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1934-03-22
CRAFTSMANSHIP AND RELIGION.

Toa greater degree than ever before,
men today are seeing visions of a more
perfect society, when there shall be less
injustice in the affairs of mankind,
when all children shall be well born,
when there shall be more equality of
opportunity. and when much of the
sorrow and crime and misery that now
prevails shall be thing of the past.
This is a dream of coming Utopia and
many sober-minded men and women
are confident it will some day be
achieved
Secretary Henry A. Wallace, secre-
tary of agriculture, is one who is actu-
ated by these visions of better day.
An address delivered by Secretary
Wallace before the Federal Council of
Churches of Christ in America last
December has just fallen into our
hands. This address was SO superlative-
ly fine that we reprint excerpts from
it below. Said Mr.. Wallace.
ITO enter the Kingdom of Heaven
brought to earth and expressed in terms
Of rich material life it will be nee
essary to have Reformation even
greater than that of Luther and Calvin.
/ am deeply concerned in this because
/ know that the social machines set
up by this administration will break
down unless they are inspired by men
who in their hearts catch a larger vision
than the hard driving profit motives
of the past More than that the men in
the street must change their attitude
concerning the nature of man and the
nature of human society They must
develop the capacity to envision a CO.
operative objective and be willing to
pay the price to attain it. They must
have the intelligence and the will power
to turn down simple solutions appeal
ing to the short time selfish motives of
particular class
1t is possible for powerful men in
positions Of financial influence or in
control of certain fundamental me-
chanical processes to pose as hard
headed men Of affairs when as a
matter of fact they have all too often
created temporary illusions; they have
been merely blowing bubbles BY the
manipulation Of money, the floating of
bonds, they have distorted the judy
ment Of our people concerning the true
state of future demand and future sup
ply. Oftentimes with excellent motives
and on looking on themselves as real
lists, they were in fact sleight-o hand
performers and hort-change artists
Yes, we have all sinned in one way or
another and we are all sick and sore at
heart as we look at the misery of so
many millions of people, including
among them many of our close friends
and relatives; and we ask again and
again why this should be so in nation
SO hlest with great resources, with
nearly half the worlds gold, with great
factories, with fertile soil and no en-
barrassing external debt We look at all
this and ask what handspring inside of
us is broken, and where can we get a
new handspring to drive us forward
Neither socialism nor communism
meets the realities of human nature as
/ sense them. Both Of them have an
emotional dryness, a dogmatic thinness
which repels me. They deal in the dry
bones Of the economic man., and |
crave in addition the flesh and blood
and spirit of the religious and the artis-
tic man. want to see whole realms of
being kept out of the sphere of econom-
les and business. The economic and
business machine should be subjected