JUNE 11 , 1903.
THE NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT
HOT WAGES BUT CHRIST
Paitor Bigelow' IprleBe at a Prach
rs' Monday Mornlnj Meeting La
borer Need Jeu Bather Than
Better TVagei
Cincinnati, June 7. "A Morning
With the Preachers." At the Vine
Street Congregational church, the
pastor, Herbert S. Bigelow, told of a
morning which he spent with the
members of aministerial association,
discussing social problems. Mr.
Bigelow said in part:
It was in the city of J . I hap
pened to be There for. a course of i lec
tures and accepted an invitation; tD
speak at the preachers' Monday
morning meeting. 'A
My theme was the labor problem.
I ottomntPii tn sh.Yw that mllliCUS Cf
our fellow creatures, by reason of
their scant , wage, are compelled; , to
work and live in conditions which
stunt the mind and discourage if not.
prohibit, the formation of m.oril
character. I declared that it was the
plain duty of the preachers, to en-
courage every wise and just plan oi
economic betterment, in order that
the discouragements to right living
may be diminished and a more
wholesome environment provided for
the masses.
According to the custom in this as
sociation the address of the day .wa;
followed by a general discussion.
Then it was my turn to listen. That
general discussion threw no light o a
the labor problem. But it threw a
flood of light on the preachers.
Without the slightest shade of col
oring I want to report the substance
of their remarks on this - important
theme.
One preacher, with breezy optim
ism, brushed aside my contention as
to low wages and bad conditions, with
the assertion that the miners in the
neighborhood of J were getting J31
a week.
It seems that he had heard of some
miner who was said -to have made
tiat much. He could not tell how
many weeks during the year he had
made that. He could not tell hovv'
many, if any, helpers this miner had
with whom he was compelled to di
vide his $34. It is true that the spe
cial commission, appointed by the
president, reported that the average
wage of the contract miner is from
fourteen to sixteen dollars a week.
This commission ought to . know. But
this preacher thought the .commission
must have been mistaken because Le
had heard of a miner who got more.
How trustful men are of any evidence
which . justifies their prejudices!
The next speaker was still more
optimistic. His assertion was that
laborers in and around J were mak
ing from $2.50 5to $10 a day. "More
over," said he, "if there are a feV
who do not get enough, we can't rem
edy the matter. I believe Baer and
Morgan and Carnegie and Rockefeller
are good conscientious Christians and
are dping as well as they can for thi
workingmen. What do we know
about business? How can we give
them any suggestions? I tell you the
preachers are all right. The trouble
is with the people. They need mori
of Jesus in their heart. That's what's
the matter. If the people will treat
Jesus right, he will treat the people
right." This remark elicited vigor
ous Amens from the brethren.
Almost every preacher who took
part in the discussion voiced this sen
timent that the thing needed was not
economic betterment, but Individual
salvation. One and all they declared
"The great need of the workingman is
Jesus Christ and him crucified."
What truth is there in this jthread
bare ohrase? If a workingman were
dissipated and conversion to Chris
tianity made him sober, to that ex
tent his economic condition would be
improved. But suppose he is already
a sober and hard-working man. How
will his conversion raise his wages?
There can be no general and perma
nent increase in wages save through
legislation which destroys mpnopoiy
and thereby increases the opportuni
ties for remunerative employment.
But that cannot be done without, a
iknnwledere of oolitlcal economy, vvi t
to Christianity teach a
man political economy? Will it teach
him to run an engine? Will it teach
him to pilot a steamer? It requires
fcrnjrhf to exerr.isfi intelligently th'i
rights of citizenship. The man wro
does not give earnest thougnt to tne
rrnhlpm nf imnroving the social con
ditions of his fellowmen is a bad citi
zen, although he may be a goo!
rhnrrh member or even a nreacher.
Another preacher referred in his
remarks, to the parable of the man
who, having been relieved of one
riovii was nossessed of seven other
devils. The application he made ol
the parable was this: xne working
men, many of them, get a beggarly
wage. That he conceded, lie ai
firmftd that thev ought to get more.
Indeed he went so far as to assert
You to Be the Judge,
- m
"VW have the broods here arc the prices. Will it not oav vou to do business here? JUDGE
1 OK YOUKSELF.
Baby Shoesi
We have everything that mothers
like in Baby Shoes. We have slides,
sandals, slippers, tiny ones, soft-soled,
patent leather, colored top3, soft kid,,
and colonial - slippers. The prettiest,
assortment of Baby Footwear a moth-. ,
er ever laid her eyes on, and not high
in price either,
30c to $I.G0 a Pair.;
43c fra Men's Shirt made out of black hide twill, 3 in.
long, double over the shoulder and full size sleeve, worth
50c; sale price 43c
10c Stark Mills Russian crash 18 in, wide; no Btarch in it;
sale price, per yard 7o
17c per yard for Silk Gingham, 40 pieces in all, in solid col
ors and stripes, worth 25c and some 35c; this week only,
per yard . 17c
6?q per yard for dark Percales, 31 inches wide, good pat-
terns, 05 pieces to select from; price, this week oniy . . . . QHc
900 yards Simpson's and American Prints in blue, black and
gray; these are mill lengths from 1 to 9 yards ina piece,
worth Gc. Pick out what you want at, per yard ........ 41c
14c for 32 in. Mercerized Black Satine.good quality and
worth 20c
In a Great
Variety.
AT
$1.00 $1.25 $1.50
$1.75 $2.00 $2.25
$2.75 $3.00 $3.75
lit V-JT J"T-
h MM
s; 411, tiM-wv
fJ Ill .xFm
Children's Dresses.
t ' A nice line of them.
25c 'or Dresses made of colored jercale and '
white muslin, nicely trimmed; price, only 25c
50c for white lawn Dresses.made with tucked
' yoke and finished with embroidery, a
very nice garment; price 50c
$1 25 fr colored Lawn Dresses in blue and
pink, made up with tucked yoke and
finished with ribbon and lace, a showy
garment, at $125
Summer Corsets.
1 lot of Summer Corsets in sizes 19, 20, 21, 22,
23 white worth 50c; to close out at. ; . 37c
1 lot of Summer Corsets, in small sizes white
regular 35c quality to close them out 25c
A Great Selection of Colored Wash Goods.
27-inch Tissue, solid colors, silk embroidered dot
and lace stripe; GOc a yard.
25-inch silk dot Tissue, solid colors, GOc a yard.
27-inch mercerized Gerandice, solid colors, 50c yd.
29- inch lisle Tissue, with satin stripe and floral de
sign, 50c a yard.
27- inch silk Tissue, with silk dots, 50c a yard.
30- inch Madonna mercerized Novelties, iOc a yard.
28- inch silk Tissue, solid colors, 35c a yard.
22-inch Larraine Swiss Novelties, 35c a yard.
32-inch St. Gall Swiss Novelties, 35c a yard.
27- inch Persian Foulard, 30c a yard.
30- inch Tissue Massu, solid ground, with 1-inch
mercerized lace stripe, 30c a yard.
28- inch silk emb. linen, natural color, 30c a yard.
28-inch lace embroidered Swiss, 30c a yard;'
31- inch lisle Tissue, 28c a yard.
30- inch pineapple Tissue, 23c a yard.
- 28-inch mercerized Soie Tricote, 25c a yard.
28 inch mercerized Manru, 25c a yard.
28- inch Tambour Batiste, 20c a yard.
31- inch lace Tissue, 20c a yard.
29- inch Swiss Silks, 20c a yard.
28-inch mercerized Lace Fillet Baye, 20c a yard.
29 inch Thistle Crown Dimity, 15c a yard. -
28 inch dotted Swiss Muslin, lc a yard.'
28- inch Windsor Batiste, 15c a yard.
29 inch Point a Jour La ce Stripes, 15c a yard.
27-inch Cordelia OrgandieJ 124c a yard.
31-inch Fauna Batiste, 124c a yard.
30- inch Mousselaine Romaine, 124c a yard.
29- inch Gortel Batiste, 10c a yard.
29 inch blue bell Dimity, 10c a yard.
29-inch Polenta Dimity and Sligo Dimity-, 8c a yd.
Other Lawns and Dimities, 7 and 5c
hi
K
I
917-921 0, OPPOSITE POST OFFICE. K
1 14
that it was the duty of the preach
ers to see that they got more. "But,"
said he, "suppose we should increase
their pay, what then? There would
be- just that much more that they
would have to squander on the sa
loon and theatre. If we did nothing
more than to increase their wage we
would make them seven times more
devilish. Let us preachers demanl
more pay for the workingmen, but ldt
us also demand that we have som3
control over their wages; let us havo
charge of their money; let us save it
and invest it for them, for we know
better than they how to take care
of it."
These preachers look upon them
selves as the shepherds of their flock,
until they get to thinking of the peo
ple as sheep. They are long on ben
evolence and short on liberty. They
never doubt their fitness to manage
the affairs of others. They would be
foster-fathers rather than brothers to
the multitude.
The preacher who thus delivered
himself was one of the leading clergy
men of the city. If the teachers aro
capable of such childish utterances,
what can be expected of their pupils?
'If the light that is in thee' be dark
ness how great is that darkness!" !t
the men from, whom light is supposed
to come are so hopelessly Ignorant,
what chance Is there for the illumina
tion of the mass?
Still another preacher deprecated
the agitation of these questions since
there was danger of the poor becom
ing discontented.
When Hager ned from her jealous
and cruel mistress and took refuge in
the desert it is said that she was vis
ited by the angel of the Ixrd. "And
the angel of the Lord said unto he.',
return to thy mistress, and submit
thyself under her hands." That vas
a bogus angel. To the workingmen
who are trying to escape from a con
dition of virtual slavery this preacher
like that false angel would say, "Re
turn to your masters and submit
yourselves under their hands."
Too long that has been the coward
ly advice of the clergy. And still th;
preachers wonder why workingmen
shun the church!
Jake Robey. Ben Davis, Ind.: The
Independent is good but too many
good things spoil the soup. If demo
crats, populists, jsilver republicans an!
all other elements that mean good
would unite, then we might do some
thing. But we fight one another.
Karl Marx Edition, July 23, 1903.
Yellowstone National Park
"The Yellowstone Park is some
thing absolutely unique in this world,
as far as I know. Nowhere else in
any civilized country is there to bo
found such a tract of veritable won
derland, made Accessible to all visi
tors, where at the same time not only
the scenery of the wilderness, but tito '
wild creatures of the park, are scrup
ulously preserved." President ItoocC
velt. .
This delightful spot is more easily
reached via th-3 Union Pacific than by
any other line. The stage ride from
Monida, by the splendid Concord"
Coaches of the Monida & Yellowstor.u
Stage Co., is through scenery hardly
inferior to the park itself.
The popular route to Yellowstone
Park is now via the Union Pacific.
Very low rates during June, July and
August.
For further information call on or
address E. B. SLOSSON.
1044 O st, Lincoln, Neb.
II. M. Looney, Gering, Neb.: Am
sorry to have to leave the populists,
but see no- other course, as I believe
fusion has wrecked the populists. In
future shall cast my lot with the socialists.