THE CHURCH AND THE MASSES.

NZ Truth, Issue 170, 19 September 1908, Page 4

THE CHURCH AND THE MASSES.

' The rumble of tram-cars m Cathedralsqiiarc, the impious marching of a secular band through the ' streets— drawing children, from Sunday school — to a 'handy Park, and the political orators m the open air, all serve to assure the pious that the city is given over to the devil. The holy church is attacked , m. its stronghold, particularly by the bold, had street talkers, whp mishandle things religious under the very shadow of the Cathedral. Workers' advocate, Thorn, who ie. a Socialist, ,is a prime offender m this respect, and; strikes at the very foundation of Christendom. The local Trades and Labor Council is divided ,m its allegiance to the Government, to an independent Labor Party, and to Socialism,, 'and Thorn, while orating lor . higher wages and flirting with present-day economic conditions generally, is secretly, in love with the red-haired maiden of Soc> ialism, whose image he would like to see enshrined m everybody's heart. Certainly . an impartial lover. It is when speaking on Socialism that he. /feels privileged to attack the churches as being opposed to National progress. Thorn said on Sunday that he was not finding fault with religion or with Christ, hut he recognised m the churches the most impeachable opponents of any movement instituted- to benefit the Avorker 4 They represented the shrines wherein there gathered to "worship" a capitalistic class who fractured every law of God on the other days m the week. ' 'Thou shalt -not steal!" was a meaningless mouthing to every business man, who was compelled, by the ruling system to steal the product of the workers' labor. "Thou shalt not -kill— thou shalt not murder" was represented as a grim satire upon capitalistic control of our industries,, which m America alone sweated m factories two million, children between the ages of six and twelve years. John D. Rockfcller. like J.-J. North, is a devout Baptis,!;. In' London, the heart of the greatest Empire m the world, there were 120,000 women who sold their bodies for gain to the profligate rich, and m the same Christian city two million workers existed under the poverty line of wages below £1 a week. The churches upheld a system which encouraged ' prostitution, and Thorn asked for his working sisters the same social and educational advantages enjoyed by those made rich by the workers' labor. This paper was pleased to hear Thorn remove a misconception with regard to his services m the Farm Laborers' dispute before the Arbitration Court. He has been spoken of viciously throughout New Zealand by the Tory press as a ".dangerous paid agitator." The moaning organ of the vulgar rich m Wellington, run by Pierce C. Froth, has been particularly wroth about these ' 'mischievous agitators" who are pa^d to jaw. Mow, Thorn says he didn't get a cent for his services m the farm laborers' interest, but mentions that Fat's agitator l:e"ore the Court, who owns 100,000 acres m bis own right, was presented with a cheque for £500. Of course, a person like this, who helps the bloated capitalist tc retain the wealth he has pilfered from labor, is not a "paid agitator" ; he is an honorary advocate for the employers, who, m the goodness of their hearts, find work for the labah person — if he is good.. What a terrific lot of hypocrisy there is m this world ; and what an enormous proportion of it is to be found hidden under the daily smooge of the yelping newspapers that do the bidding of Fat !