The Wealth makers of the world. (Lincoln, Nebraska) 1894-1896, July 18, 1895, Page 4, Image 4

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    THE WEALTH MAKERS.
July 18, 1895
THE WEALTH MAKERS.
Ntw Series of
THE ALLHSCEINDEPEXDEST.
Consolidation of ttas
Farmers Alliance and Neb. Independent.
PUBLISHED EVERT THURSDAY BI
Till Wealth Makers Publishing Company,
1X2 M Bt, Lincoln. Nebraska.
Gtotai Howau Gibson....... Editor
J. 8. liTiTT........................... Business Manager
JV. I. P. A.
"If an man must fall for me to rise,
Then seek I not to climb. Another'! pain
t chooae not (or m good. A golden cbaln,
A robe of honor, li too good a prise
To tempt my hasty hand to do wrong
Untu a fellow man. Thla life bath woe
bnfflclent, wrooicbt by man'e eatanlc foe;
And who that bath a heart would dare prolong
Or add a aorrow to a stricken soul
That seeks a healing balm to make It whole?
iij boeom owni the brotherhood of man."
Publishers' Announcement.
The sobacrtptlon price of Tub Wialth Uak
III le tl.OO par year, In ailrnnre.
AKnt In soliciting; auliNcrlptlona should be
Very eareful that all numi-s are correctly spelled
and proper poatomee vlren. Blanks for return
atisurlptlons, ri'tum envelope!, etc, can be had
on application to this olltee. i
Always iIkd your name. No matter how often
you write ui do not nexlect thli important mat
ter. Every week we receive letters with incom
plete addresses or .without stirnnturos and 11 Is
sometimes dltfli-iilMo locate thtn,
Cuanoc or auiihkiis. Subscribers wishing to
chniw their postufflce address mnst always irlve
their former as well as their present address when
chauge will be promptly mad.
Advertising Kates,
$1.12 per Inch. 8 cents per Agate line, 14 lines
to ths Inch. Liberal discount on large space or
long time contracts.
Address all advertising communications to
WEALTH 11AK.EU8 PUBLISHING CO.,
J. S. Hyatt, Bus. Mgr.
NOTICE.
All delinquent subscribers to
THE WEALTH MAKERS are
asked to pay their subscription
immediately. DON'T be negli
gent about this matter, friends.
We know that times are hard
and it is not EASY to get
money; but you must make
SOME EFFORT to pay us. Re
member the responsibility that
rests upon you. It is the ONE
DOLLAR that we get from
each one of our subscribers
that makes it possible for us
to keep up and make valuable
this paper. We are wholly in
your power, and we want you
to realize it. Again we say,
DON'T be thoughtless negli
gent. If you care anything at
all for the success of the Pop
ulist party and this paper,
RIGHT NOW is the time to
"show your faith by your
works."
For the past two years we
have battled against fearful
odds. We have had to fight
enemies without and foes with
in. Designing men, selfish jnen,
unprincipled men, in and out of
the party, have done everything
they could to destroy us; but
we are here yet, and how well
we have "kept the faith" the
"middle of the road" you your
self know. Is the paper worthy
your support? Then let us have
it NOW WHEN WE NEED IT.
All through f he panic of '93
and the crop failure of '94- we
have fought a battle royal: but
our hardest time is yet to come
before this year's crop is har
vested. Friends, we depend on
you. Let every man who owes
us a dollar on back subscrip
tion pay up now and renew for
another year. Let every man
who is able, pay for a few
copies of THE WEALTH MAKERS
to be sent to doubtful voters
during the campaign. There
ought to be five hundred men
in Nebraska who would give
$5.00 each to ' pay for cam
paign subscriptions to this
paper. How many will do this
and do it NOW?
Address,
THE WEALTH MAKERS,
J. S. HYATT, Bus. Mgr.
LIHCOLH, HEB.
' THE COMING GONVEHTI05
The Populists of Nebraska are soon to
meet in state convention and undermost
favorable conditions and circumstances.
The rapid march of events has prepared
the way for our national movement to
command the attention and inspire the
hope of the people. The latest ceusus
report shows that fifty-one per cent of
the families in the United States are land
less, have no home of their own and
therefore no country, except what they
pay rent for. The railroad strike a year
ago developed the fact that the railroads
now own not only monopoly franchises
which enable them to stand as legalized
highwaymen and rob all producers and
consumers, but that they also practically
own the courts of justice, so-called, and
by a new use of injunctions can (do, at
least) imprison without jury trial the
loaders of organized labor and effectu
ally break upall importantstrikes. They
also have through the present adminis
tration, the United States army at their
beck and call, and are enthroned beyond
reach of the people so long as either of
the two old party machines continue in
power, 'i'iiey exercise a controlling
voice in all state conventions and legisla
tures, and have a thumb on almost
every Republican and Democrat in con
gress. The bankers' panic and unequal
led hard times of the last two years have
also awakened millions to realize that
something must be done to deliver the
industries of the nation from the money
loaners' power.
Land, transportation and money mon
opolists and the lesser trusts and com
bines of corporate power, the people see
are fast absorbing our liberties and ex
propriating and pauperizing the masses.
The rich refuse even to be taxed their
share, and the Supreme Court changesite
mind in a month to save theselt-accumu-lating
millions from any check on their
increasingly rapid absorbing power.
The old party leaders have been forced
to lay the cause of the commercial para
lysis, falling prices and distressing lack
of demand for labor to something, and
the trouble could not be charged up to
the tariff. So they have declared it to be
too much and too little silver, the gold
standard and the fear of a silver stand
ard. The tight over these statements
has waxed warm and the people outside
of the Populist party have been reading
and thinking as nover before. The agita
tion is beyond control of the politicians
and no machine tricks, trades and com
promises, such as were recently resorted
to in Kentucky, will hold the rank and
file together. The strife in each of the
old parties over silver will drive hund
dreds of thousands of voters out of each
of them and into the Populist party; be
cause it is perfectly plain now that there
will be no change in the attitude of the
old parties on the money question.
Then, too, the Populist party has been
directly served by the public utterances
of such men as Lyman Trumbull, Judge
Gaynor and Justices Harlan and Brown
of the Supreme Court of the nation. The
words of the latter especially are of great
weight iu advertising the necessity of
swift action to secure public ownership
and operation of public utilities, such as
railroads, telegraphs, telephones, express
business, street railways, waterworks,
city lighting, etc., etc. This public con
trol of natural monopolies is a very im
portant part of the Populist demands,
and the people, great and small, are by
millions and millions coming to see that
the Omaha platform is the greatest and
wisest political platform that was ever
put together. The people who are honest
and intelligent must all come to it.
It is a time for us to be proud that we
are Populists, proud of our principles
and zealous in promulgating them. The
times are ripe for a great movement to
us if we stand united on the Omaha de
mands and bear proudly aloft the banner
first flung to the breeze the 4th of July
three years ago. It is not a time to
look backward, or to the right or left
hand. Let us go into the coming con
vention at Lincoln with enthusiasm for
our great principles, and consider our
party the first party in the nation, as in
truth it is. On the Omaha platform we
can agree. On anything less we cannot
agree. There is no opportunity for us
to disagree among ourselves if we keep
moving straight onward and refuse alli
ance with either division or subdivision
of our political enemies.
The Populist party, judged by its press,
which comes to us from all organized
states, is standing splendidly true to the
great trinity of demands, regarding
money, land and transportation, the
three-branching monopoly question
which must be all disposed of in order
to get either one settled.
THE NEW MO
As everybody is having a joke, a fling,
or a good word for "the new woman,"
we are constrained to say something
about the new man. "The old man with
his deeds" (of selfishness) ought to pass
away, and we believe is passing away
The procession, however, is a world em
bracing one, and it will be a long time
before we shall see the last of the selfish,
unmanly mau.
All hail the new man, the noble man,
the strong, unselfish man.
He will think of others flrsv, not simply
in matters of courtesy, but in all the act
ivities of his life. He will put the mean
men to shame by seeking to serve in
stead of to gain. He will startle the
business world by calling its wisdom
folly. The church will be angered by the
criticism of his higher standard. He
will seem to the selfish an insane or ill-
balanced man, bnt to the oppressed he
will come as one who brings good news
from a far country.
The new man will undoubtedly be call
ed at first an anarchist, although be
comes to bring divine order out of uni
versal strife and disorder He will be
met by the monopolists of the earth,
the rulers of every grade and rank of
power, with their hireling parasites, and
they will take counsel together and leave
nothing undone to destroy his influence
and check his progress. But in the ma
jesty of truth and right he will move for
ward and overthrow all opposition. The
new man will be seen to be of the family
of "the sons of God," for the manifesta
tion of whom the whole creation groans.
The sons of God (new men) will shout
for joy over the work of laying the foun
dations of the "new earth." They will see
its completion by faith, and be jubilant
over the organization of men in justice.
There will be no sad faces among them
as they see the work of the new social
order increase. They will be children of
nature, healthful and simple, with moral
reason emancipated, and by the power
of union they will master all forces and
transform the entire earth into a garden
in which each shall enjoy to the full the
creations of God and the perfect produc
tions and porfect power of united hu
manity. "UNION OF EErOEM FORCES"
The Prohibition party of this state has
some grand men in it, and they are pro
gressive men. It is a question if their
progressiveness, manifested iu their re
cent convention discussion and platform,
will not take them out of touch and re- A
lationsbip with the party as a whole.
Their expression of willingness to unite
with other reform forces and their decla
rations on the land, money and transpor
tation questions put them in practical
harmony with the Populists. They are
Populists of the best, most consistent
and intelligent kind on these three great
fundamental questions of our party. On
the questions we agree on, it is such a
pity not to be able to mass our ballots.
How may the good honest people of all
parties get together, seems to be the
question that in a sense includes all
other questions, because it is the ques
tion that must first be answered. Sepa
rated, no reform is possible, and with
our present intelligence (and ignorance)
we cannot seem to unite in either of the
parties. The writer is perfectly clear in
his own mind that the Populist party is
where every voter should now be found;
but equally honest men are found in
great numbers in other parties who are
of opinion that in their particular party
most effective results can be obtained.
It is certain that PopuliBts, Prohibition
ists, Republicans and Democrats, fighting
as political enemies, cannot be all wise;
and distinct, ununited, they must op.
pose each other. Those of one mind
on the question of government banks.
silver, transportation, land, natural
monopolies of every kind, the liquor
question, etc., ought to be able to ex
press themselves, authoritatively if in a
majority, on these, on each and every
question agitating the public mind.
To us there seems to be but one way to
doit. And that is, to place at the head of
our platform the demand for "Direct Leg
islation." We all believe in it. The best
people of all parties believe in it. It is
government by the people, instead of by
the politicians. And we believe that party
which first invites all people to join it on
that vital pivotal question of the Initia
tive and Refenendum, to help electa legis
lature to turn back the lawmaking and
vetoing power to the people, so putting a
stop to party rule, as has been done in
Switzerland, will draw from all parties to
its ranks and give victory to its candi
dates. This may be doneiext year. Let
us test the public mmd on this matter ot
a campaign that shall unite the reform
forces by calling a state conference, to
meet next December at Lincoln, to discuss
the question of Direct Legislation and
how we may secure it. Who favors this?
Multi-Millionaire McKean, one of
Philadelphia's 400 and a leading director
of the Philadelphia and Reading Rail
road, gave, July 10, $50,000 to the Uni
versity of Pennsylvania in response to
the call for a $5,000,000 endowment
fund. It will be remembered by our
readers that this road three years and
more ago fixed up a deal with other
roads to control the anthracite coal
business. Having secured the power
through lease, Reading Railroad stock
was sold in New York at an $8,000,000
advance in one day. That was in Feb
ruary, 1893, aifd following the deal hard
coal in a few mouths was advanced
about a dollar a ton. It is in such ways
as this that McKean, now many times a
millionaire, made his money. It was by
monopoly force taken from the pockets of
every man who buys anthracite coal. And
now $50,000 of it is placed as a perma
nent tribute demanding endowment, an
endowment that will force western farm
ers or others to contribute about $3,000
a year to support college professors like
Laughlin of Chicago and Sumner of
Tale to defend plutocracy and plundering
schemes in the name ot liberty. And
McKean and his crew are all the time
posing as philanthropists! Wake up,
Americans!
How much variety and delight is there
in the life of the average individual? Is
it not what is frequently called a "demni
tion grind" from year's end to year's
end? All work and no play takes from
us the power to enjoy. The lack of inde
pendence, the uncertainty that the work
which enslaves us will be continued and
the fear that we may be forced lower than
our present rank or position even to
pauperism and beggary, destroys wnat
pleasure we might take in what we have.
And on the other hand the rich can grasp
only the lower forms of pleasure. Grati
fications that are bought are not the
gratifications of fellowship, of love. The
world is all wrong. "Wherefore do ye
Bpend your money for that which is not
meat, and your labor for that which
eatisfieth not?"
Mb. W. H. Skaggs, chairman of the
Populist state committee of Alabama,
has visited every county in that state
with a stenographer, and has taken the
affidavits of hundreds of reputable citi
eens, none of whom were" negroes and
only one of whom was a Republican. He
is about to give the public in book form
the evidence he has collected showing
fraud In elections. His information, he
says, has been obtained from citizens of
high character who have heretofore been
identified with the Democratic party and
many of whom were confederate soldiers.
While pursuing this work of investiga
tion he has received many letters con
taining threats of personal violence.
His book will be a sensational revela
tion. We reprinted last week an article from
The Voice on America's Uncrowned King,
J. Pierpont Morgan. One of the great
plutocrat's schemes and enterprises is the
Cataract Construction Company of Niag
ara Falls. A few millionaires under his
leading have got possession of that
mighty force and all the real estate near
to build a great city on, and they can
soon dispense with a vast multitude of
workers, and compel them to beg for less
than slaves' wages. They have now by
tunnels and turbines got 100,000 horse
ppwer harnessed up and can use 180,000
more without reducing the hight of the
cataract volume more than two inches
an indistinguishable amount. .
We read the Southern Mercury with
interest each week. It is one of the best
and wisest Populist papers in the nation
It strikes out squarely for the Omaha
platform, all of it, and is death on who
ever comes between. In the last number
it "rubs up against" Mr. Taubeneck, criti
cising his recent letter in 'Sound Money.'
The Populists of Texas are in numbers a
tenth part of the entire party, and they
are after the next national convention.
Shall we have it at Dallas?
President Debs is devoting his time in
jail to study and writing. He said re
cently to a Chronicle reporter, "I intend
to use all my influence, and it is very
little, toward the co-operative common
wealth and against monopoly ownership
I have given my liberty for my convic
tions and I am ready to give up my life
for them."
The Times-Herald of Chicago, date of
April 15, contained an advertisement
calling for canvassers for the new city
directory. There were 2,500 responses
to it, and 318 selected from the number.
This item of news indicates that in Chi
cago there are eight men and more after
every job.
The fight of the citizens with the water
works company of Denver promises now
to end in the city buying the plant. The
company has a capitalization, with
bonds, of $15,000,000. But this is two
thirds fictitious value. The mayortliinks
$5,000,000 a fair valuation.
The O'Neill Beacon Light wants the
Populist convention of the 15th judicial
district held August 26th, so that dele
gates can attend it on their way to the
state convention at Lincoln. There is
economy in the plan if the same men are
chosen delegates to both conventions.
The Western Union Telegraph Com
pany and the Bell Telephone Company
are beginning what seems like a big
fight. Sic 'era.
The Centory for July has a portrait
of William Cullen Bryant for a frontis
piece, and Arthur Lawrence contributes
an article on "Bryant and the Berkshire
Hills," which region sent out so many
men noted in our history. Mrs. Burton
Harrison writes of "American Rural Fes
tivals;" "A Japanese Life of General
Grant" has eleven reproductions of
Japanese pictures which are novel and
amusing; Edmund Gosse furnishes "Per
sonal Memories of Robert Louis Steven
son;" "Books in Paper Covers," by
Brander Matthews, is illustrated with
eight reproductions of book-covers;"
"The Future of AVar," is predicted by
Fitzhugh Lee who thinks that the new
weapons invented areso destructive that
men will be loth to make war and will
settle their difficulties iu a peaceful way;
Henry L. Dawes writes of "Two Vice
Presidents," John C. Breckenridge and
Hannibal Hamlin; James E. Keeler of
Lick Observatory has an article on
"Picturing the Planets" with portraits
of Jupiter. Mars and Saturn; W. D. How
ells gives Part Second of the "Tribula
tions of a Cheerful Giver;" The "Life of
Napoleon" describes the close of his
Egyptian campaign; the serials are con
tinued and there are the usual number of
short stories and poems. The depart
ments, Topics of the Times and Open
Letters, are of especial interest this
month.
The New York legislature at its last
session passed an aet which declares that
at the next general election "there shall
be submitted to a vote of the duly quali
fied electors of each city of the state the
question of the ownership by such city of
the franchises within its boundaries of
all street railroads, whether operated on
or below the surface of the street, and
including also elevated railroads, and
irrespective of the motive power which
may be used by such railroads."
Christian Co-operation or Labor Com
munloa
Continued from 1st page,
But it is a fact that Christ's teaching
is not accepted now, even by those who
profess to accept it. We and our fathers
have been turned from the divine simpli
city of his words, and in consequence are
groping in moral perplexity and contra
dictions into which God never led us. Is
it possible to convince the church today
that her business wisdom is the wisdom
of the selfish world, is not divine but
human, and that what she has thrown
aside as folly is the true wisdom? They
who would save themselves and others
from the respectable selfishness of the
everyday business world must throw the
weakness of their minds and the alleged
foolishness of their hearts against the
stronghold of established things, against
universal prejudice, against the tradi
tions of practical wisdom which govern
all men in the business world and which
have governed both the church and the
world through many centuries of wrong
and suffering. The members of Christ's
body must be brought together and re
formed. Christ's first sermon to the people of
his own town of Nazareth made plain
what he came for, and what those who
will receive his Spirit are to do. It was
wonderful in the comprehensiveness and
thoroughness of the salvation under
taken. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, be
cause he hath anointed me to preach
good news to the poor; He hath sent me
to heal the broken-hearted, to preach de
liverance to the captives, and recovery
of sight to the blind, to set at liberty
them that are bruised, to preach the ac
ceptable year of the lord."
, "Good news to the poor!" What was
it? Christ and his disci pies were to love
and care for them. They would not al
low them to lack anything, and they
would fearlessly and faithfully condemn
the selfishness and injustice under which
"the common people" suffer. The un
loved and heart-broken were to be clasp
ed to their loving hearts. The captive
debtors were to be freed from bondage.
The bliud of all classes were to be en
lightened, the bruised or broken were to
be unbound, and the perpetual jubilee
was proclaimed, in which all debts to
God and God's children would be for
given, and the meek restored to their in
heritance in the earth. There was to be
beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for
mourning, the garment of praise for the
spirit of heaviness, a garden of delights
for a world of desolations. The host
who were to follow Christ, in removing
the yoke and loosing the bands of
wickedness, in unselfishly loving and serv
ing, were to "build the old waste places
and raise up the foundations of many
generations." This was to be done not
by pursuing gain, which is the supreme
wisdom of the secular world, but by self
forgetfuliiess and sacrifice, which in busi
ness life is still scoffed at as lunacy.
The rich young man who wanted more
than the earth and who was ready to
purchase his title to life beyond perhaps
by endowing a school of the prophets,
was not peculiar, was not different from
others who have property. He would, in
fact, seem to have been decidedly better
than the average. But Christ told him
plainly that God's law, "Thoushalt love
thy neighbor as thyself," had not been
repealed, and that therefore he must dis-,
tribute his property among those who
needed it. Obeying this law of the King
is the only way into the kingdom.
The disciples were "astonished out ot
measure tnat all individual property
must be parted with in order to enter the
kingdom of God, and said to Jesus, "who
then can be saved?" But he showed them
that what seemed folly was the highest
wisdom, in his reply to Peter, who stated
that they had left all.
"There is no man, said ne, "tnat natn
left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father,
or mother, or wife, or children, or lands,
for my sake and the gospel's, but he shall
receive a hundred fold now in tnis time,
houses, and brethren, and sisters, and
mothers, and children, and lands, with
persecutions; and in the world to come
eternal life."
He thusshowed them thatgiving all is
gaining all, that sacrificing uncertain and
insufficient private property secures the
hundred fold abundance of common prop
erty, while loving service takes the place
of compulsory hired service, and an wnoni
we freely serve become to us brethren
and sisters, fathers, mothers and child
ren. .
Later, when Peter preached at Pente
cost, the sacrifice of Christ in both life
and death being shown, and the wicted
ness of the ruling class who killed him,
the one who had made known to men the
ways of life and the fullness of joy (Acts
2:28; Psa. 16), three thousand souls re
pented of their selfishness, their separate
ness, from God and one another, and
were "added together. (Notice the
Greek word.) It was three thousand
made one, and that one Christ. Observe
theevidence that they were really Christ's
body, i. e., that they were filled with the
Spirit that the Jews had tortured out of a
body and thought thev had driven from
theearth. It was their perfect oneness.the
unity of their daily life, that gaveevidence
to all the world of Christ's resurrection
and that he is king of men.
What did they do which manifested
convincingly that they were Christ's
body, controlled by Christ's Spirit?
Let us turn to the record, twice given in
particular detail.
"And they continued steadfastly in the
apostles' doctrine and fellowship the
doctrine and fellowship of sacrifice, and
in breaking of bread which signified it,
and in prayers. And all that be
lieved were together, and had all things
common; and sold their possessions and
goods, and parted them to all, as every
man had need. And they, continuing
daily in the temple, and breaking bread
from house to house, did eat their meat
with gladness and singleness of heart,
praising God, and having favor with all
the people."
They sacrificed all, they communicated
their individuality, they served one an
other with everything they had, and so
had the blessed fellowship of human love
that was divinely sacrilicial and richly
complementary in its gifts and services;
and by unselfish labor, working daily with
the natural energies, each became a
Eriest, a receiver and dispenser of Divine
,ove. They broke the bread of God, the
life of God, for one another, what each by
laboring with the Infinite in His labora
tory and universal workshop had
gathered and was gathering each day,
and by sharing it freely with one another
contributed individually to the revela
tion of the All-Father and to the life of
one another. All things were thus made
holy, whole, harmonious, divine.
Let me emphasize the fact that there
was a complete sacrifice on the part of
the early Christians in giving up of pri
vate property and person. It was spirit
ual, mental and muscular, with title deed
and pocketbook added. And they were
not made sad, or poor, or anxious for
the morrow. In caring for one another
thev were each and all abundantly pro
vided for. Not oneof them was permitted
to lack anything. Tbey were the richest
and happiest family the world ever con
tained. Each member of it had about
3,000 brothers and sisters who loved and
served him, and this number was being
daily added to. Life was a simple, joyous
thing to them. It was service, sacrifice;
and they were free from the moral per
plexities which we declare confront us.
Would not any sane person exchange his
experience, yes, and his property, too, for
their "gladness and singleness of heart,"
and their "great grace," thegraceof sac
rificing all (so fulfilling the law), which
gave them favor with the people?
We no longer have in the churches
and few think it possible to have-that first
labor communion which complete self
sacrifice gave, that perpetual seven days
in the week sacrament of joy which divid
ing with and unreservedly serving one
another brought. And the church is
blind to the fact that her communion
with God is cut off, is made formal and
unreal, because we have refused commun
ion with our brothers, the communion of
weak-day constant service. Communion
with God ceases when we cease to love
one another as we love ourselves. The
communion of words and emblems is a
lie, because the communion of labor is,
bv self-worshiD. cut off. Talk does not-
cost any thing; labor is life ami love.
Our brothers cannot be reached by mere.
words mi KnndavH: neither will dotl near
us, if we separate our interests from theirs
in the working days between. And
charity, or love that appears as charity,
can never bridge over and unite the
hearts which week-day selfishness sepa
rates. Despite our proiessions, tne prac
tical assumption that we own ourselves
and that the property we produce or
can command belongs to us and our in
dividual families, except what is needed
to pay preachers for talking, leaves us
little save words and charitv with which
to commune with others, and our week
day selfishness digs impassable gulfs be
tween us. Charity repels all except beg
gars, and words'that are not backed by
unmistakably unselfish deeds are as
sounding brass. The basis of commun
ion or communication to unite all men,
is not knowledge, or culture, or charity.
The one common power and life medium
is labor. But there are two kinds of
labor. The labor that is bought and
sold brings no communion, calls forth
no love on either side.
But how can we live without sellings
our services and purchasing one of an
other to supply our needs?
The Holy Spirit, or Spirit of the whole,
has shown a way. "The multitude of
them that believed," in Jerusalem, "were
of one heart and one mind." How was
it shown? "Not one of them said that
aught of the things that he possessed
was his own; but they had all things
common. And with great power gave
the apostles their witness of the resurrec
tion of the Lord Jesus; and great grace,
was upon them all."
What does "great grace" do? What
was its manifestations
any that lacked; for as many as were
possessors of lands or houses sold them,
and brought theprices of the things that
were sold and laid them at the apostles'
feet; and distribution was made as any
one had need."
The disciples of Jesus who did this were
Ued with the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of
perfect wisdom, take notice, and it was
following Christ'sexampleand teachings.
He taught the divine political economy
of all helping all and caring for all in the
present, which does away with compett
tive waste and strife, and the seeming
necessity of individual or family hoard
ing, in the presence of need and suffer
ing, against an uncertain future whose
losses and needs we cannot know or esti
mate. Even the selfish corporations are
to-day teaching in part the economy of
cooperation; and we must realize that
the unavoidable waste of unorganized
love is an almost immeasurable sin. We
are wasting the life of God, the energies
of God, and are guilty of the blasphemy
of putting a price on Him and His work,
which the poor and plundered cannot
pay; and because of this there is hunger
of every sort, there is intensified and
multiolied temptation, there is anxietv
and agony and death every where. And
will not "the Just One" bring us to ac
count for all of this? ,
The world cannot be made any better
under the present competitive or selfish
method of doing business. Thechurches,
if they remain attached to this method
and refuse to break with it, are apos
tate. It cannot be denied that about
all the evils which afflict men are btei
and fostered by the each-for-himfself
struggle for gain, for a living, and'tLhat
the system makes Ishmaelites of usi
Tt la iiniiiocififinhlv Tno fh a f .V10 PHpn
tian communism or muor uuuimuuiuu uu
the apostolic church was according tol
the will of God, the Holy Spirit, and the
will of God has not been changed, cannot
change. That first social organism,
filled with the divine Spirit, was not un
natural or in any wise a failure. Perse
cution broke up the first Christian body,
and as the disciples wherever they .went
met with persecutions, it was not possible
for them in those times to stay organized
as communes and live openly in un
obstructed helpfulness. Life, neverthe
less, depends on contact, association,
exchange of services. So it was in the
power of enthroned selfishness to scatter
the disciples, suppress their freedom,
divide their forces, destroy their leaders
and crowd them back into the habits and
weakness of individual isolation. But,
when first scattered, wherever they went
they held up Christ as the world's exam
ple and preached the law not alone of
Christ's sacrjflce but of mutual and uni-
Tomnl afirrifi(A DR t.hft means of flal vninn
It was not an individual gospel, but a
social gospel. It was not a mystical or
metaphysical gospel, but asimpleand na
tural gospel. It was both spiritual and
material, material things being therecog
nized medium of the spiritual, and there
fore of very great importance. Paul par
ticularly taught that first fundamental
law given to man, that each should work, in
order to be honest, in order to be helpful.
"Eat your own bread." "If any will not
work neither let him eat." And do you
think Paul would say, the question of
what is our bread may be settled ("by
efther competitive or monopoly foj-ce?
Yet these are the forces which uiotJ all
prices and establish all market values to
day. Paul writing to the Corinthian Chris
tians in the year 60, A. D., concerning the
drouth sufferers at Jerusalem, said:
"For I mean not that other mea be
eased and yet burdened; but by an
equality, that now at this time your