Evening star., 1947-02-19
|Church Conference
Sets Economic Goal
Differs on Approach
BY Caspor Names
BY Staff Correspondent Of The stor

PITTSBURGH, Feb. 19.-Sharply
divergent points of view character
lied today's meeting of the National
Conference on the Church and Eco
nomic Life here as delegates worked
toward a common ground concern
ing the function of the church in
the present economic world.
The approximately 400 church,
political, business and labor leaders
all agreed the church has definite
part In the practical side of the
world in which man lives. The dis
agreements arose when the particu-
lar approaches to the problem were
debated.
The manufacturer and the labor
leader, the farm representative and
the lawyer kept the debating pot
boiling as each suggested avenues,
rejecting his background, toward
the common goal.
The conference is divided into
three sections, presided over by Paul
G. Hoffman, president of the Stude-
baker Corp; Kermit Eby, CIO re-
search director, and Howard Coon
LEY, former president of the Nation
al Association of Manufacturers.
Agree on Responsibility.
Mrs. Harper Sibiey OF Rochester,
m. Y, told a section of the meeting
that everybody is willing to confess
the defects OF everybody else, but
nobody Is willing to confess his
own sins.
Most delegates to the conference,
sponsored by the Federal Council of
Churches of Christ in America,
agreed the churches must accept re-
|sponsibility as a matter of faith ip
the practical welfare of man. They
also agreed christianity draws no
sharp line between the material and
the spiritual" and by the same
token there is no sharp line of di-
vision between the economic and the
religious realms"
The willingness of delegates Of
sharply differing viewpoints to work
together toward a point of action
united by Christian ideals was illus
'trated when an NAM official, a CIO
director and a divinity professor
hammered out a resolution in 10
minutes in private conference after
hours of debate in the section
meeting.
Resolution Changed Slightly.
The resolution, which was &C
cepted by its section after the word
"fulp' had been replaced by "equi-
table" before distribution" read:
"The church Is properly concerned
with full production, full employ
ment and equitable distribution of
things produced. 1t is concerned
with any restrictions which would
interfere with the complete imple-
|mentation of this program"
The three-man committee consist
ed of Noel Sergeant of New York,
secretary of the NAM; Stanley II.
Ruttenberg of Washington, CIO as
sistant research director, and DR.
Liston Pope OF the Yale Divinity
School.
At a press conference this morn
lIlS, tlCGCE 1tCUtk1cl, CouCdtfOA1dl III.
rector of the United Auto Workers,
declared there is an awareness that
the appropriate solution to the in
ternational, industrial, social and
racial problems must be approached
not in isolation but as collective
question based on the interests of
people as individuals" Mr.. Reuther
suggested this was an area where
the church could lead in co-ordinat-
ing the thinking of the people.
Similarity of Thinking Noted.
Mr.. Sargent said the delegates
showed similarity of thinking on
desirability of compulsory labor
arbitration and on the Importance
of the individual in the solution Of
any dispute.
A question to be debated today
concerned the stand the church
should take to assure the full utili-
zation of our economy and at the
same time enlarge the essential lib