MR. EDWIN MARKHAM, the author of the much-discussed poem, "The Man with the Hoe," at the Howard M. E. Church, San Francisco, June 4, said:—
"I have been asked to say a few words about 'The Man with the Hoe,' and my solution of that problem. I have no new solution. The problem is as old as humanity. The men who built the pyramids struggled with that problem. The men who are building London are struggling with it to-day. I have but one solution—that is the application of the Golden Rule. We have committed the Golden Rule to heart; now let us commit it to life. [Applause.] That is the only solution.
"As to what steps should be taken, I can not say. Various solutions are offered. The Republicans offer one solution, the Democrats another, the Socialists another, and the single-tax people have their solution. In my judgment it is wise for us all to consider all these questions, and try to find some way of enlarging the sphere of justice for all men.
"I believe that the industrial question is a religious question. [Applause.] I believe that everything that has to do with the welfare of men, in politics, in industry, is religious at the bottom; that everything shows our relation to one another and our relation to the Father of life.
"I believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the Father, the Saviour of the human race. In His principles of justice, in His principles of brotherhood, we find the solution of these questions. Fraternity to me is the dearest of all words, and in that word is the hope of the human race."
But all these principles must be applied in Christ's way. The Golden Rule must be applied in the individual life before it can be applied in the collective life. It must be inwrought in the heart before it can be reduced to deeds. The Golden Rule is the solution, but its power must be the Spirit of God received by faith. Politics or human science is powerless.