is foolishly spent in a week, or even a day, by one with an income of one hundred and fifty thousand a year would support a maximum family in plenty and comfort a whole twelvemonth. What ought our lawmakers do? Our preachers? Our editors? Put under ban such foolishness-such criminality-such waste such idiocy! Instead of "bully boy" for the wasteful rich, let the word be "shame!" Let public opinion demand and enforce the building, and conservation of modest homesteads for all and early marriages of all young people. Instead of planning great warships and barracks for idle and useless young men, plan peaceful homes for the industrious. How despicable is he who prides himself on being better off than his neighbor. There is nothing to be proud of but helping his neighbor onto his feet. Give us legislation that will set up civil service in all branches of industry. Close every business, compel into bankruptcy every firm that can only be run by starving the laborers. Whatever business does not return to each and all dependent on it a wage sufficient to support a home ought to be closed out for good. "He has so many employed in his laundry," it is said, "that he cannot pay more than five dollars a week to each of the women workers." Then shut up and nail fast the doors of the building, O magistrate! Let the women take in the washings at their homes. Go back to the distaff and the old-style loom, if the factory must grind the faces of the toilers at the spindles and the power looms. If the railroads cannot pay a wage that will enable the brakemen to marry and bring up families, go back to the old ox team and the four-horse stage coach. Those old-time teamsters and stage drivers married and brought up large families of children. Larger incomes than of old would come to all toilers today but for the building up of millionaires and billionaires. That leak must be stopped-must be closed. We have no use for that order of society. And it must be done away with by popular will. Let the rights of all be conserved. What is the amount of production of wealth in the United States? Not above five thousand dollars per annum to each adult male citizen. Then permit no one to seize, by any means. upon more than his equitable portion. Ninety per cent of this wealth is the product of machinery. This product cannot be the property of one. It must be equally the property of each and all. Men must work cooperatively and divide equally among themselves the common product, as do fishermen the common catch. What is the duty of society? It is to set all to work and to see that each receive his equitable portion of the benefits of machinery and that "distribution be made to each according to his need," in the old Pentecostal Christian way. YE 77TH LESSON. The word "Pure re What do the words "Religion" and "Religious" mean? "Religion" is defined but once in the Bible-James 1:27: ligion and undefiled before God and the Father is this. To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction and to keep himself unspotted from the world." I have heard men who are said to be and who profess to be religious say: "Where the Bible speaks, I speak, and where the Bible is silent, I am silent." With them, then, this one definition of religion must suffice. How far forth they are "religious," as in this single instance is defined, I am unable to say. But one thing I do know and that is that in this Christian land of ours many fatherless and widows have great affliction from poverty and are left to carry baskets or wheel baby-carts to the office "RELIGION" AND "RELIGIOUS." 115 of the overseers of the poor in which to bear to their homes and little ones the pittance of meal and befouled rice, rotten pork, and navy beans grudgingly doled out to them by the authorities while the same "orphans and widows" are clothed in ragged garments, housed in shacks, and their beds scant of covering. Now, if the thousands of "professors of religion" that crowd the fashionable churches on the "Lord's Day" visit them in their afflictions, their visits are merely formal. They go into the tenements and stare at the distressed, as into a museum to stare at the curios, from curiosity. To be sure, that "fills the bill;" for the Bible says only "visit" and further than this "is silent." As to keeping "unspotted from the world," does it mean unspotted from befoulment of filthy habits-as of tobacco? of worldliness whist clubs, vaudeville shows at the parks, and absence of altruistic devotion to "going about doing good," etc.-thoughtless devotion to fashion and reading popular fiction?-literature evanescent as the daily news and much less instructive and less beneficial-yea, harmful rather, misleading the mind with false ideals of lifeas far removed from the practical as were the delusions of Don Quixote that sprang from the same harmful source-fiction. ing popular novels and beer guzzling are at par in harmfulness. Read "Religion," one says, "is devotion to God." We read that "Paul plants and Apollus waters; but God giveth the increase." Here is "devotion to God"-planting and watering. Here God is by inference symbolized by the sun. The farmer and his sons plant and water, but the sun causes the growth of the grain. Devotion to the sun is the plowing, planting and watering. How much benefit is that to the sun? Is this work done to help the sun? Surely not. The sun needs nothing the farmer has to give. So, too, God can get on right well without our "adoration." But we need the help of God, as the farmer the help of the sun. In what respect do we need God's help as the farmer the sun's? God-("good," one letter's difference in the spelling)—is the “GOOD." Without the "GOOD" we are nothing. The good in us is our all-our "character." An ex-convict has a hard row to hoe; a girl from the reformatory-where can she get work? But there is another, still worse off, "abandoned" why abandoned? It is because the people think wrongly that the "GOOD" has departed from her that she is "Godless." Then, to be "Godless," is to have lost the GOOD." The stake, the cross, the prison pen-these for those whom society determines have "lost the GOOD," But society has ever been ignorantly at fault. The "GOOD" is in all and is never lost-no more than when Jesus was nailed to the cross-not lost to society to Jesus. "Father forgive them, for they know not what they When it is the universal belief that God (the "GOOD") is in nor do." all, there will be no more burnings at the stake, or hangings, nor hopeless life imprisonments. Religion, then, is devotion to the GOOD (God.) To be religious is devotion to DOING GOOD. The GOOD (God) "was manifested in Jesus "went about doing good." How? the flesh." "Feeding the hungry, healing the sick, dispelling madness (casting out devils), and was raising the dead." But the higher good was the Word. He But the ob What He is jector asks, "Do you mean to make of God an idea?" in substance is spirit. But He exists in the mind of man ideallydefined "Love" and "Truth." Scientists define Him "The Unknowable." Not so is He defined by St. John. He says "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and every one that loveth is born of God and KNOWETH GOD. He that loveth not KNOWETH NOT GOD; for God is love." (1 John iv: 7 and 8.) So, if I understand aright the teaching of the New Testament in respect to this content, the Christian religion is altruism and to be religious is to "go about doing good." God dwelleth in us." "If we love one another, YE 78TH LESSON. An Imperial Decree. What advantage is it to a great man to have prestige of wealth or the helps arising from party behind him? When he is dead all that artificial backing that gave him prominence while living is of no avail. He finds his level. He is weighed and estimated in accordance with his real worth. Will not every man be finally estimated according to his real deserts? If he have done well, will he not be in due time appreciated? He surely will. No man need be discouraged if he receive no recognition during his life-time. He may be poor and despised, but, if he go forward to the accomplishment of some great and useful work for the bettering of the condition of humanity he will surely have his reward. The world will not let die the good done. It will one day be said: "See what this man hath wrought." Every word that he has uttered will be precious. He will live, though he be dead. The good man toils, hoping against hope. What is his life? He understands it not. He is pushed forward by an unseen power to do a work not of his own designing. But who is the designer? Columbus said that he was pushed on to do what the good angels bade him. What said Martin Luther before the Emperor Charles V., and the august Diet at Worms? "Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise; God help me!", Happy is the man so called of Jehovah. So were Washington, Lincoln and John Brown called. Those whose works have come down to us from the early times, like the works of Isaiah and Jeremiah, were men of this kind. There are poets and prophets still. But the poet that is to live is not he who receives the highest price for his compositions from the magazine editors. The true poet of today is not regarded by the literary guilds. Why not? Because he has a way of his own. He belongs not with those who have now the ear of the world. He is not of their school. He is unique. He is alone. He will have followers. He will have disciples. But his day is not yet. It is in the future. It is no compliment to any writer to have it said that his works are highly commended by the grand and wealthy of his day. If he is the poet of the poor he will be held in the same contempt as the many toilers are held by their rich oppressors. And the toilers themselves have not reached the plane whereon their friends can stand and be commended by them alone. They have no opinion to express. They accept the decision of the four hundred as law in the domain of literature. But it will not always be so. The time is near when the people will speak, and their voice will have. the weight of an imperial decree. There is a new literature not now recognized, the literature of labor. The authors of the new era are about to be heard and their works commended by the great multitude of the common people, who will decide all questions of any weight in the future. It is coming more and more that numbers do really count. Of course, superficially, it appears to be otherwise, as if one rich man weighs more than a million poor men. And for many years the few rich have had their way, the multitude being driven before them like a flock of sheep. These have done the bidding of the monopolists. So the railroad kings, the banking kings, the manufacturing kings, the oil kings, the mining kings, have been enabled to govern America. But slowly and surely the people are advancing. "Organize" is SOCIAL ANARCHY AND UNITED EFFORT. 117 their watchword. They begin to perceive that they are slaves. They begin to realize, too, that God helps those only who help themselves. You can do nothing by argumentation to move the working men. They only respond to the lash. They may for a long time be cajoled; but when the truth dawns on their minds that they are indeed slaves they will awaken and stand together and speak with one voice for their just rights. From the Atlantic to the Pacific their voice will be heard and from the Lakes to the Gulf. Every hand will be raised to put an end to the existing order. I believe that the time has come in which, if the millions of the American people who work to make a living do not unite and take the control of government out of the grasp of the speculators that is to say, incorporated wealth, that now is the ruling power of this republic, as it is of all the other governments of Christendom, our liberties will inevitably perish. The contest today of the many against the few is the same as that of 1776. Then it was against the king and aristocracy; now it is against the kings of incorporate wealth and plutocracy. But, in fact, it is the same contest renewed, as of old the same as was fought out in the war of 1640 in England, 1776 in America, and 1789 in France. Now, I think it not necessary today we resort to arms, as did the lovers of liberty who won the victories of Roundhead against Cavalier, Buckskin against Britian, and of the lower order of France against the higher. We can and will achieve our rights through the ballot. It may be that the enemy of our freedom will, in the end, resort to arms; that is, call on the regulars and national guard to support a dictatorship, rather than yield to the popular will. Still this usurpation will not succeed. The people are too intelligent to be much longer held under the yoke. YE 79TH LESSON. Social Anarchy and United Effort. That is the condition of the world today, and especially of the American world-social anarchy. The initiative is taken by the individual. It is individualism run wild. It is as if it had been announced that a great show would take place in a certain locality on a certain day. All the world turns out to see it. A vast multitude is assembled. Wonderful preparation has been made by the individuals for the exhibition, but nothing in concert. A company of Women have gotten together and have partially learned a play; men have brought together material for erecting gymnastic fixtures; but everything is at loose ends a great assembly, but no unity, no leadership. The time has come for the exercises to begin, but nobody The audience is impatient. An attempt, by the women, to moves. enact the play is made, but it fails, for they do not fully know their parts. Great efforts are made by some to have the exercises go forward, but in vain. The audience rise and disperse to their homes displeasure. That is the condition today. All is chaos, and yet expectancy, looking for the show to begin, but none are ready, with all is for there is no concert of effort. How many parties! How many How many lodges! How many clubs! How many newspapers, magazines, reviews, political and religious! And books count churches! in number! less views! exist. And schools and colleges! How many differing How great the discord-all business chaotic. Yet trusts Advanced pickets are they of an army ready to move. And thanks to the dead-to the martyrs who have perished by thousands hundreds of battle-fields, and on the gallows, and at the stake, and many defamed as was the patriot, reformer' and philanthropist, on Thomas Paine-thanks to them—that we are free today-free to speak, free to write. Yes, if the press were not owned and muzzled by the plunderers of the people. Here, at the present moment, is the ice gorged. Here the flow of the great river of truth is checked, but not for long. The gorge will give way. The river will continue its course after an overflow. The Methodist believes that he has a better form of religion than the Baptist; the Baptist than the Presbyterian; the Presbyterian than the Unitarian; the Unitarian (like all the others) believes he has a better than any besides his own. So we have them standing apart in the same sunshine. And this one has a better house to live in than has his neighbor, or he desires and tries to have. This is all anarchy-all wrong. No one can assume to have a better quality of sunshine than another has. If a chemist could analyze it he would find all sunshine the same. Is it not so also of the light of the "Sun of Righteousness?" The Methodist has coralled no better light -if it be of that sun-than has the Baptist of the same sun; the Baptist than the Presbyterian, etc., etc. Anarchy! The old back-woods cabin was as happy a home, too, as a Gould's or a Vanderbilt's mansion on the Hudson today-a better home for children; and the rearing of children is the only real purpose of a home. But ought all associations of Christian people be of one name? No more than the American Union be but one individual state. "Many in one" is better. Greece was divided into strictly separate and independent states ever at war with one another. So it has been of religious sects. That day has happily passed. Yet individualism remains. The narrowness of churchism still remains. It ought not be So. The initiative should be with the people. "Ye are priests; ye are kings!" Good enough! Then let anarchy be done away. Let the show be not gotten up at random, but by systematized co-operative effort-all movements be like the planetary motions. Let there be well-ordered society and no waste of effort. Old ways are out of date. There must be reconstruction. New wine wants new bottles. We have left the past behind as the Children of Israel left Egypt behind. We wander now in the wilderness. But the Promised Land is in sight. Let us enter upon it. Let us take possession of our inheritance. Now that we are agreed that righteousness alone is the saving grace, or at least, that it "exalteth a nation," let us, therefore, in Sunday-school, common school, high school and college, make righteousness the main feature of the curriculum, and the main feature of religious instruction from the pulpit by the clergy, mediaevalism buried out of sight forever and the Disciples of the Master one. YE 80TH LESSON. Paradox and Piety. Pope's paradoxes have always been a source of wonderment to me: "All nature is but art unknown to thee; All chance direction which thou can'st not see; All discord, harmony not understood, All partial evil universal good; And spite of pride, in erring reason's spite, One truth is clear, WHATEVER IS, IS RIGHT." True, if God is the "Infinite," comprehending all, and is “infinitely good," there is no place left for evil. Religion is devotion-devotion to the Infinite in all His attributes. That devotion must apply |