The Spirit of Worldly Confederacies
By L. A. S.
A story told by a woman in New York City, who after her husband had been on a strike for a month found herself obliged to apply to the city's authorities for relief, reveals the crushing tyranny which may be and is exercised by the labor unions not only over those outside of their ranks, but over their own members. The woman's husband, Mahr, by name, was an electrical worker. He was ordered out on a strike, and his money was soon exhausted. Then, being unable to pay his dues, he was discharged from the union of which he was a member; after which, not being a union man, he was unable to get any work. Mrs. Mahr and her four young children were evicted from their apartments, and after wandering about all day in the rain, were obliged to seek shelter in a police station. The children were turned over to the care of the Gerry society. This unfortunate man first lost his work by order of the union, and then as a direct result of obeying the union's order, he was placed by the union where he could not get any work. Yet he was supposed to belong to the union for his personal benefit. Another similar incident in the same city shows another phase of union tyranny. A man named Gowan, a member of the teamsters' union, was arrested for stealing door knobs. In court he told the magistrate that he stole the knobs to keep his family from starving. He was out on a strike with other union teamsters because they had been refused a holiday on Labor day. “I can't get any work now,” he said, “and the union has ordered me to stay out. When I went home last night, I found my children crying for food, and my wife so weak she could hardly walk.” In order to save them from starving, I went out and sold the door knobs, hoping to save them.” An officer was sent out to investigate the man's story, and found it to be strictly true. It was also learned that at the time Gowan was called out on strike, there was due him $4.12, and that of this amount four dollars was deducted by the union for a cap, belt, and cane which Gowan was to wear in the Labor-day parade, leaving him twelve cents with which to buy food for his family, this being all the money that he had. When the magistrate learned this, he discharged the prisoner with an admonition. Was there any mistake made in the language of the spirit of prophecy which recently said to us: “The trades unions and confederacies of the world are a snare. Keep out of them and away from them, brethren. Have nothing to do with them”? Such incidents reveal the spirit by which these confederacies are controlled, and show how foreign it is to the spirit of Christianity. Those who trust in them will find that vain is the promised help of man. “Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.” It is time now to learn to trust wholly in the Lord.