People Of Israel Had
First Labor Union
A I^abor Day sermon, deliv
Asheville in 1919. has been
uncovered by a local friend of
l*bor who has handed it to
The Charlotte Labor Journal
for review and The Journal
^editor passes it on to its read
•crs as being what he thinks
►one of the finest sermons on
Irtbor ever delivered by any
churchman in North Carolina.
Rev. Clark was at that time
pastor of the Episcopal church
of Asheville. The sermon fol-,
lows:
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the
•wray, the truth, and the life; no man
someth unto the Father, but by
.me.” St. John 14:6.
The great need ia for all of us to
•draw nearer to the Father than we ^
Jiave ewer been before. The cry to
day that ia being heard above the
noise cm mating from the chaotic
condition of the world ia the cry
demanding the application to life
«f the doctrine of the Brotherhood
«f Man. But the worlds’ history
has shown that such an applica
tion is impossible without a deeper
sense than we now have of the ;
Fatherhood of God. Men must
come into the realization that God
Is the Father of us all, for only in
the consciousness of a common Di
wine Fatherhood can be bom the
sense of Brotherhood that is so es
sential for the peace of the world.
Vt must come into the conscious
ness of this Divine Fatherhood
through, and only through the way
Jesus Christ hap revealed.
Tomorrow is^a holiday. It is a
slay set apart in our national cal
endar and dedicated to labor. It is
•» day that stands for the recogni
tion on the part of the people of
the United States of the importance I
■«»f labor as the very woof in the
fabric that is being woven by the j
Master Weaver as He works out ;
the design of our country’s pur- \
prse.
It seems that the Omnipotent
F*ower, which controls the destiny
of the-world, is sitting at the loom
of our life opening and closing the 1
•warp of opportunities; and as they
open and close, the shuttle hearing
the woof of labor is shot restlessly
and turbulently through and
through, weaving the fabric that
contains the design for our great
country to fulfill.
Who can gainsay that the design
which our country is called to ful
fill in the assemblage of the na
tions of the ekrth is nothing less I
than to manifest in the political,
aocial and economic life of its citi
*ens the liberty and love, the truth j
w*d justice, the equal rights and
abundant life which belong to the |
Brotherhood of Man ? It is true ;
that the times are chaotic, noisy, j
and full of contention; it is true
that it seems that there are efforts
to disrupt order and harmony, and
overthrow peace, but it is no more j
true than the fact of uproar and
confusion which exists in the loom !
room of any weaving plant in the
world. But even ta the casual ob
server of any working loom there
comes, amidst the deafening and
harassing noise, a conviction that
n plan is being worked out in the
fabric, which is being woven be
fore his eyes. Even so to one who
looks upon the working loom of
life today there cornea the convic
tion that a plan is in ita formation,
end that the strife will not cease
until the fabric is complee and the
design meets the approval of the
Master Weaver of the destiny of
mankind.
We are faced with a great prob
lem, as great and complex as any
generation in the world has seen.
The conclusion is almost unanimous
that it is the labor problem. Call it
a labor problem if you will, call it
a trades union problem if you will.
By whatever name you may call it,
you cannot cover the outstanding
fact that it is a Christian problem.
For we can see in the ideals of its
demands an effort of the Christian
spirit to work out its purpose—
which purpose is to enrich life and
*■ hein *»very man live it more
abundantly.
It is a problem calling for the
freedom of man from bondage of
the sin of selfishness and from the
fetters of a gross materialism. This
piohlem demands a solution. Only
i i its solution can the many other
trying problems of life be absolute
ly and permanently dissolved.
This problem cannot Ire solved by
force. There is only one authority !
Who can give the formula for its
solution and that authority is the
One who proclaims: “Not by might,
nor by power, but by my spirit,!
saith the Lord.” The assertions
and revelations of that authority
are contained in the book which we
revere as the Word of God.
I call your attention to some- j
thing very interesting in this boo*
(holding up the Bible). It is the
record which shows that the first
movement in the world's history
pre-figuring the ultimate deliver- I
once of man from the bondage of
sin and oppression of materialism
was a labor movement. It was the j
movement of a great labor union
organized as the Mrotherhood of
the Select of God. The Israelites
were working for the capitalistic j
We Buy and Sell Only the Best Upright and
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(Out of the high rent district)
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J \MES F. B *m>«TT
SOUTHERN PUBLICITY DIRECTOR of the AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR. Mr. Barrett
ha* been busy for several weeks getting thing* in re idiness for the Southern Labor Conference meeting in
Asheville May 11-12. "Uncle Jim." as he is familiarly known, has spent a life-time in promoting the inter
ests of the workers and is a former editor of a Char !otte labor paper: His home is in Asheville and the
Conference meeting. THE JOURNAL predicts, will be a huge success becaue Jim has made the platis.
Pharoah. He imposed upon them
unbearable conditions of hard work,
long hours and poor pay. They
first appealed to him for better
terms, but were answered by the
imposition of increased hardships.
Their first strike resulted in the
refusal of Pharoah to longer fur
nish them with the straw for the
making of brick. The more they
protested the harder their life was
made for them. They then adopted
a method which is so greatly need
ed today on the part of those who
are struggling for a better chance
to live. They entered into a con
certed appeal through prayer to
God. He heard them, and raised
up for them a labor leader who was
no less a personage than MoseS
himself. Moses championed their
cause. He became the first “walk
ing delegate” known to the world.
The examples of Moses should be
followed by every leader of labor
today. Moses had the courage to
stand before the capitalist and de
clare to him that unless he prac
ticed the teachings of Jehovah in
his relations to his employes he
would lose his kingdom and his
soul. Many a modern labor leader
has such courage as he challenges
the capitalist to the practice of a
more brotherly consideration of
thoee in his employ. But Moses
had even a greater courage. He
stood also before his own labor
union and told them in very posi
tive terms of the need on their part
of a more real recognition of God
as the controlling factor in their
lives; and that they must render
Jehovah worship and service, sur
rendering their wills to His fr lose
both the fulfillment of their hopes
and their souls.
If a labor leader would stand be
fore his union and talk to them like
that, would his followers murmur
09 the children of Israel did?
But Moses lined them up, almost
to a man, to the expression of a
willingness to follow the guidance
of God. Then Moses made more
appeals to Pharoah. who in turn
made agreements with his em
ployes. But time and time again
Pharaoh failed to fulfill these
agreements until the situation be
came unbearable. Then it was that
there took place the first "walk-j
out” known in the history of the '
laboring man. Moses led that
“walkout” under the guidance of
God. It ended in deliverance of the
laborer and disaster to the cruel
capitalist and his constituency, and
became the prototype of the ulti
mate deliverance ot man through
the “way, the truth and the life” of
Jesus Christ. *
There is another interesting rec
ord in this connection. After Mos
Cf reached the border of the wilder
ness he organized these laborers
into a new commonwealth. He was
then called by Jehovah to the top
of Mount Sinai. There he received
from God, direct, the laws of the
new constitution. In the midst of
these laws stands an act of labor
legislation. It is the fourth com
mandment. As this commandment
i* recorded in the fifth chapter of
Deuteronomy we see that the peo
ple who are thought of in it are the
laboring people. God urges the
keeping of one day in seven as a
day of rest, telling His people to
observe this law so that those who
work for them “may rest as well as
thou.” This commandment shows
God’s concern for the wage-earner,
and is the first act, known to man,
to regulate the hours of labor by
legislation. Remember that this act
cf legislation came from God Him
self.
Is God with the labor movement
today? We answer that God is
with every movement which choos
es a leadership that is willing to
follow His divine guidance in the
quest for truth and justice, right
eousness and peace, liberty and the
abundant life, along the “way, the
tiuth and the life” revealed in the
teachings of the Savior of the
world.
GET ABOARD THE
CHARLOTTE 8FECIAL
FOR ASHEVILLE!
For Clerk of Superior Court
Vote For
T. IKVEN GALLOWAY
■ad
Retain Twelve Ye*r Limit Rule on
This Job Now Fifty Years Old, and
Invoked in 1934 by Present Clerk.
Subject Democratic Primary,
May 25. 194#
GET ABOARD THE
CHARLOTTE SPECIAL
FOR ASHEVILLE!
Use
Fall Fruits
—— By Frances Lee Barton —
USE rail traits liberally — no)
merely because they taste
food but because you need theii
mineral* and
vitamin* non
that th* market
1* no ionget
loaded wltt
Sum mertlme't
fruits anu greet
vegetables.
Two of,.thea<
Pali traits -
■ cranberries ant
wum — com nine wun easyto
prepare packaged pudding to pro
ride a simple denaert; see recip«
below. Incidentally, this parfait it
as “pretty as a picture”, with itt
appetite appealing color contrast
and its intriguing diagonal design
Cranberry Pudding Parfait
Prepare powdered vanilla pud
ding as directed on package. Cool
Tp make diagonal design, hold par
fait glass at 45* angle and par
tlally fill with pudding. Still hold
lug glass at same angle, add H
inch layer of Cranberry Orange
Sauce; then fill with pudding. Chill
Makes 4 servings.
Cranberry Orange Sauce. Cut I
small whole orange Into wedges;
remove seeds. Put through food
chopper with 1 cup cranberries.
Add Mt cup sugar and dash of salt
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Makes % cup sauce.
AFL IS PRAISED BY ELLIS
FOR HELP IN KEEPING ORDER
Washington, D. C.—Warm trib
ute to the American Federation of
Labor for its “worthwhile contri
bution toward keeping our eco
nomic situation in order” was
voiced on the House floor by Rep.
Hubert Ellis of West Virginia.
Pointing out that there is an in- ;
clination to overlook commendable
service on the part of others during
these trying times. Rep. Ellis laud
ed AFL unions for their conduct
after V-J Day.
“It is indeed gratifying to note
that this great labor organization
has stayed on the job and bargain
ed within the price ceilings while
others struck and . caused not
a bulge but a definite and serious
break in the price-inflation lines,”
Rep. Ellis declared.
GET ABOARD THE
CHARLOTTE SPECIAL
FOR ASHEVILLE!
GET ABOARD THE
CHARLOTTE SPECIAL
FOR ASHEVILLE!
Re-Elect
ARTHUR GOODMAN
To
House of Representatives
Your Support Solicited
Vote For
J. CLYDE HUNTER
(A World War Veteran)
FOR SHERIFF
Mecklenburg County
Well Qualified For The Office
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