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CONFLICT BETWEEN CHURCH AND SOCIALISM, By Charles Pye
lis Ante Bellum Attitude Toward Slave System Par
allels Its Present View of Wage System.
A recent tssu of a religious publication
In this city contained an editorial criti
cism of the Socialist programme entitled,
"The Changing Socialism." wherein It
concedes "that there is danger that the
habit of denouncing the false dicta of
certain Socialistic apologists will grow
Into a habit of denouncing certain politi
cal and economic aspects of Socialism
which are not to be condemned out of
hand." And that "There are Socialistic
principles upon which the church has not
pronounced Judgment, and which are, to
say the least, open to discussion." Also,
"that a duty we owe to Socialism Is to
rive it a hearing." k
This is a hitherto unheard of concession
from this source.
We will now note some of the changes
of the church, and see why It opposes
Socialism.
"In every historical epoch the prevailing
mode of economic production and ex
change, and the social organization neces
sarily following from It, form the basis
upon which is built up and from which
alone can be explained the political and
intellectual history 01 that epoch." Karl
Marx and Frederick Engels.
When Marx and Engels put forth this
statement, as embodying the essential
feature of their discovery of the underly
ing forces of the movement of society,
they laid down the gage of battle around
which the forces of radicalism and pro
gress have rallied for over half a century.
To disprove the historical truth of this
proposition means that you have captured
the Socialists' strongest position. Shake
the accuracy of this thesis and you have
shattered the philosophy of the scientific
Socialist. Up to this Ima the opponents
of Socialism have been unable to disprove
Its accuracy, while on the other hand,
history abounds with Illustrations dem
onstrating its truth.
In the evolution of the American people
from the primitive life of the early colon
ists to our modern complex civilization
the entire social, political, intellectual and
religious structure of the Nation con
formed to the methods of producing the
material necessities of life. We will dis
cuss particularly the influence which this
economic base of society has had upon the
religious Institutions and thought of
America, and point out how they have
constantly changed to suit the varying
Disease, Patent Medicines and the Doctors
Perplexities of the Plain People Over Advice Given by Men Who Get Paid for It.
BY J. L. JONES.
THAT the curing of disease is one
of the most important industries
of the country is attested by the
amount of advertising in sight- Adver
tising; must be paid for out of the re
turns from the business.
We have a bewildering display of
medicines and a fascinating assortment
of methods for dispensing with the use
of medicine. We are told that we all
eat too much, that we are dying of
gluttony, and on the other hand that a
majority of people never have enough
to eat.
It is said that the American consti
tution Is being prematurely broken
by overwork and that the people are
perishing from sheer laziness and lux
ury. We are advised to drink more
water and not to take so much; to eat
plenty of beef and to avoid the use of
animal food; to drink a better brand
of whisky and to abstain wholly from
alcoholic beverages.
We are earnestly exhorted to be very
careful about our diet and miles of
columns of painstaking essays on this
subject are spread before us, but on
the otner hand we are solemnly coun
seled to eat with thankfulness and res
ignation whatever the purveyors and
providers nappen to set before us.
trusting in the Lord and asking no
questions, and we are assured that
nothing will hurt us. not even deviled
ham or potted floor scrapings, so long
as we don't think about It, and keep
on working.
We arc advised to live In the open
air all the time and avoid exposure to
the weather. Then there is hot water
cure, cold water cure, massage, rub
bing, rolling, straining, stretching,
pushing, pounding, breathing, bathing,
, running, walking, lying, telling the
truth and keeping still in the silence.
DruR stores abound and prosper and
nni XT
l.ne iNecessity
Housekeepers Would "Wlcome
BY J. H. DAVIS.
THE middleman can be eliminated
largely so far as local trade and
the consumer is directly concerned
and Interested by the establishment of
market-houses, such as are found in all
cities of importance at the East. All will
agree that a market-house one or more
is needed In a city of the size and pre
tensions of Portland, and is needed badly.
A market-house would be a convenience
to every housekeeper in the city, and
bring some revenue to the city as well.
At the East, going to market is one of
the delights of the wife, and even the
husband is fond of it. Here are for sale
fresh eggs, nice butter, all the vegeta
bles, fruits, meats, poultry. Ash and many
other articles of food. In Eastern mar
kets one finds home-made bread, all
kinds of pies, cakes and Jellies strictly
homs-made Jellies, not the sort made out
of glucose and glue and colored with
analine but the pure stuff. Then there
is hogshead cheese, pigs' feet, tripe, spare
ribs, pondhorse. and even cornmeal mush
In nice shape for slicing and frying.
Everything wanted or needed Is on sale.
All fresh and sweet and at reasonable
prices.
By the market-house method the con
fumer Is supplied directly from 'the pro
ducer. There is no middleman, no dou
ble or treble profits on the food the con
sumer uses. The vegetables have not
lain for days In stores, exposed to dust
and the sun to wilt and lose their flavor.
With an established market-house, there
Is no running up and down the streets
for blocks hunting something, and then
at last be forced to purchase stale stuff
or go without.
Of course, market-baskets would be in
demand, and people not used to "toting"
a market basket might not like it. It
might hurt the false modesty or foolish
pride of some people on the Coast; but.
views and economic needs of the domi
nant class. In pre-revolutionary times
the church supported the divine right of
Kings and feudal lords to rule and tax
the people, during ante-bellum days the
church, with not a single exception, sup
ported and fought for the "peculiar in
stitution" of slavery, which gave one
class of men the right and power to take
from another and larger class of men all
that the latter produced, save barely
enough to support a physical existence;
and today the church supports this same
system of exploitation in a slightly al
tered form. "What matters It whether a
landlord employing ten laborers on his
farm gives them annually as much as will
buy the necessaries of life, or gives them
those necessaries at short hand? They are
slaves in either case." John Adams. 177S,
from "Lost Principles of Sectional Equili
brium." by Barbarossa. I860. P. 39.
No nation in the world furnishes so
strong a proof of the materialistic basis
of history as does our own. No country
in any epoch of Its existence ever fur
nished so striking an example of the
complete change in social, political and
religious thought as our own when the
change was made from the slave method
of production to that of the wage system.
Let us consider the attitude of the
church to the institution of slavery. Did
the church oppose it? Did the church
support it? It did Both and, strange as
it may seem to us at this time, it opposed
slavery because It was wrong and went
to the Scriptures to support its position;
It supported and defended It because it
was right for it was a divine institution,
inaugurated by God himself, and it (the
church) went to the Scriptures to prove
this position.
The General Conference of the Meth
odist Church in 1780 passed the following
resolution: "The conference acknowledges
that slavery is contrary to the laws of
God. man and nature and hurtful to so
ciety, contrary to the dictates of con
science and true religion, and doing what
we would not that others would do to us."
Remember, at this time the church was
composed of a mere handful of believers
most of them fresh from England, poor
in this world's goods. "One-half of the
community was totally bankrupt, the oth
er half plunged in the depths of poverty."
McMahon's History of the People of
the United States. Some of them had
but recently escaped from slavery as bond
servants, and all of them were threatened
with the prospect of falling into the hands
medicines for the cure of all human Ills
are on tap everywhere, while many
earnest people urge upon us that drugs
and medicines are wholly Injurious and
that all diseases exist In the mind.
Then we have the regular doctors,
who do not advertise nor rustle for
crade. Neither do postmasters nor tax
collectors; but they all do business, and
their open season is all the year round.
No one ever took any advice or medi
cine from me. so I am Innocent of any
death or disaster that might have oc
curred In consequence. When I give
advice it is always received with re
sentment or suspicion. The patient
seerns to think I am trying to put up a
Job on him. He loses his patience, gets
mad and tells me to mind my own
business.
But if I was ordained to preach or
paid to give advice as to what the
seeker should choose from the above
assortment, I would say: Try every
thing. Experiment. Prove all things.
By experiments you gain experience.
If you keep it up long enough you will
be an expert.
There is probably some virtue or
merit in all the things recommended
if you can discover it. There is a
chance in your favor. There ts a fasci
nation about it. like a lottery. The
oftener you miss the better your chance
of winning the next time.
Then all the people employed in the
work of distributing cures and reliev
ing the afflicted of their ailments (and
their coin) are engaged in legitimate
business. They dwell in our midst.
They are of us and with us always.
They need our patronage. They have
to live. The more medicine and ad
vice that are sold the greater the vol
ume of business and prosperity. This
argument is a clincher. It appeals to
one's patriotism as well as to his
philanthropy.
Well, after you have taken all the
advice you can get free from your
friends and all you can afford to pay
for from irregular professionals; after
f TVT1.TT
or a iviarKer-oouse m rortian
a Central Depot for the Sale of Perishable iFoods at First Hands.
at the East, which embraces the Middle
and Western States to the Texas and
Colorado lines, all the people tote mar
ket baskets, and are glad to do it. No
one's pride revolts against the market
basket. Ministers. professors, profes
sional men men and women of all de
grees and stations go to market with a
big basket on arm, and like it. It is
no uncommon sight to see well-dressed
ladies and gentlemen coming from mar
ket with basketfuls of eatables. Once,
while on a visit to Atchison. Kan., I saw
a tall. slim, spectacled gentleman carry
ing a big basket of market stuff, and he
was pointed out to me as John J. Ingalls.
United States Senator. He was laughing
and conversing with two ladies, both of
whom carried baskets, and were as merry
as though at a picnic. Deprive an East
ern woman of the joy of going to market
and you abridge her happiness. And. as
a rule, the men are built the same way.
Portland should get Into the market
going habit. And. if the authorities have
a real and sincere desire to eliminate the
middleman, let them get together and fig
ure on a market-house, one or more. At
Dayton, Ohio, which has two market
houses, the larger and more central one
runs through the center of a block, from
Main to Jefferson street. Above the mar
ket are the city offices and some other
offices. "Market wagons back up to the
curb around the entire block (four
squares). The market Is wide, roomy and
up-to-date. Other Eastern cities have
market-houses constructed similarly, with
the city offices above.
Now. what's the matter with Portland
becoming Easternized to this extent? Of
course, there will be kickers against the
proposition. It has been so in every city
where a market-house was ever talked of.
But the houses were built all the same.
They were built for the accommodation
of the thousands of consumers who were
enabled to get fresher food at cheaper
of the civil authorities by reason of their
failure or inability to meet their obliga
tions. Hence you can readily understand
why slavery, in any of its hideous forms,
appeared to them as a crime against so
ciety. '
In 1784 the church was fully organized,
and this sentiment was reiterated. A res
olution was passed without a dissenting
voice proscribing slave-owners from mem
bership and refusing to admit them to
the Lord's Supper.
In 1785 the conference resolved: "We
hold in the deepest abhorrence the prac
tice of slavery, and shall not cease to
seek its destruction by all wise and pru
dent means."
Again, in 1S01, the conference declared
"That we are more than ever convinced
of the great evil of African slavery,
which still exists in the United States."
Now comes to ub the startling part of
the programme .of the Methodist Epis
copal Church. A complete somersault was
turned between the years 1801 and 1836.
In 1836. at the General Conference of
the Methodist Church, the following .pre
amble and resolutions were presented:
"Whereas, great excitement has per
vaded the country on the ubject of mod
ern abolitionism, which Is reported to
have been increased in this city recently
by the unjustifiable conduct of two mem
bers of the General Conference lecturing
upon and in favor of that agitating topic;
and
"Whereas, such a course on the part
of any of Its members is calculated to
bring upon this body the suspicion and
distrust of the community and misrepre
sent Its setiments In regard to the point
at issue: and.
"Whereas, in this aspect of the case, a
due regard for its own character, as well
as a just concern for the interests of the
church confided to its care, demands a
full, decided and unequivocal expression
of the views of the General Conference
in the premises: -therefore,
"Be it resolved, by the delegates of the
Annual Conference. That they disapprove
in the most unqualified sense, the conduct
of the two members of the General Con
ference who are reported to have lectured
in this city (Cincinnati. Ohio) upon and
in favor of modern abolitionism.
"Resolved, by the delegates of the An.
r.ual Conference. That they are decidedly
opposed to modern abolitionism, and
wholly disclaim any right, wish or inten
tion to interfere in the civil and political
you "have read all the books printed
and tried all the medicine advertised,
if you are still not dead nor feeling
any better, go to a regular doctor.
Take your chances again and give him
a chance.
This is the common custom. No one
will go to a regular doctor so long as
he thinks fte can "help himself" by
taking something over the bar or out
of a drug store. Bottled stuffs have
a fascination for the human mind;
whether this is due to the enticement
of taste or the mystery of their com
position is useless to inquire.
But the desire to be independent, to
lielp one's self. Is Inherent in human
nature. A man wants to be his own
physician, to control his own life, to
be free. To go to a doctor is to give
up. It is an admission of need, of in
sufficiency, of defeat. The next move
may be to the undertaker. It often
ends that way.
There is an everlasting search, a
universal quest among mankind, for
something undiscovered, some talisman
or occult power a secret spring where
man can be made whole, self-sufficient
and secure and keep his bones from
Davy Jones. So be instinctively shrinks
from getting into tho hands of the
police, the Sheriff, the doctor or the
undertaker. But the poorhouse is worst
of all.
T'lis Is the struggle for existence.
This is the problem of life. And it al
ways ends In disaster and defeat. We
may keep out of the public poorhouse
by living in poorer ones of our own.
We may escape the penitentiary by
working harder on the outside and do
ing constant penance at the shrine of
misdirected individual enterprise.
But to the undertaker and grave we
must surrender. Death makes no dis
tinction between King Edward the
monarch and Edward King the pauper.
He stows them both in a narrow space.
Till we can look this last enemy in
the face, throttle him. conquer and
drive him out of his lair, our boasting
is vainglory, our pride must perish.
Our medicines cannot heal and our
prosperity will not save.
Ctrvallis. October 21.
Portland
rates, because of the elimination of the
middleman.
Once get a market-house in Portland,
and people will wonder how they ever
got along under the old method of sprint
ing all over the city for something to
eat. And they will refer to the "days be
fore the market-house" came, just as peo
ple talk of the days of stage coaches and
tallow candles "way back before the
war."
A lady friend, writing from Ohio, said:
"Of course, Portland has a market
house." I sorrowfully informed her that
I did not think so. I had looked for it,
but, so far. had not met up with.it. If
I found it I would let her know. You see.
cities and market-houses are intimately
associated in the minds of Eastern peo
ple, who imagine a city without such
universal convenience as lacking In prog
ress. But the beauty of the market-house,
next to its elimination of the middleman
by giving the people cheaper food, is, that
all know just where to go to get what
they want. There is no uncertainty, no
guesswork. The market-house is a grand
central depot, open to all at certain hours.
There has never been a case of an East
ern city abolishing a market-house, but
other markets have been added to accom
modate certain sections. Yet people of
the big cities go miles to market. Anyone
who has visited the Fulton-street or
Washington-street market-houses in New
York, or the old French market-house or
the Poldras-street markets in New Or
leans, know what sights are to be seen
there and how intensely interesting such
a visit is. During a week's stay at the
Mardi Gras at New Orleans I did not fail
to visit these market-houses every day,
as did hundreds of other sightseers.
Eliminate the middleman with an up-to-date
market-house. That is the best way
and the cheapest way. Allow the con
sumer to purchase directly from the pro
ducer and the thing is done. And the
relation between master and slave, as it
exists in the slave-holding states of this
Union."
The resolutions were adopted by a vote
of 122 to 11!
Now you do not have far to go to dis
cover the cause of this two-faced atti
tude of the great Methodist Church, with
Its. at that time, 700.000 members. The
slave system of production was now the
economic method of production. It was
the base of society. The black slaves
were the mudsills. They dug the wealth
from mother earth and It was taken by
the mister. The dominant thought of this
nation, at that time, was the thought
arising from this system. The majority
of the supporters of the Methodist chu?ch
were slave-owners. Can you not see that
these preachers of the gospel of the lowly
Nazarene were influenced by economic
and financial considerations? Was there
any other cause?
Now listen to this, you people who deny
that men are influenced in their views by
their economic environment, and who
deny that our institutions are founded
upon and influenced by the base material
means of producing the food and clothes
which wo must have to maintain a phy
sical existence:
During the general conference of this
same Methodist Church held in 1840, four
years after the one just referred to, Rev.
Capers. D. D., read from the reports of
the 17S0, 1784 and 1785 conferences and
attempted to show, because of the small
ness of the church and the little con
nection it had with slavery in 1785, that
it adopted the language which was pre
cisely consistent witli Its circumstances,
but when the church had extended fur
ther and become more entangled with
slavery there was a corresponding falter
ing in the language of the church
against it.
"But in 1RO0 the church fell into a great
error on this subject," continued the Rev.
Mr. Capers. D. D. "The conference au
thorized addresses to the Legislatures
and memorials to be circulated to all
ministers, and instructed them to continue
those measures from year to year until"
slavery was abolished." He had no doubt
but that the men who were engaged in
this work were sincere and pious, but
they soon perceived "it was a great erroT
and abandoned it." "We know our
work," says Rev. Capers. "It is to preach
and pray for the slaves."
Yes. the gentlemen knew their work,
and the obeyed their masters the men
fame of Portland's market-house will go
abroad just as the fame of other market
houses Is world-wide talk.
Portland. October 24.
THOUGHTS ABOUT AUTUMN.
Plaintive Moaning by a Prose-Poet
From Missouri.
St. Louis Globa-Demoerat.
Th leaves are swiftly falling::
They are falling in the Fall,
And the soot Is also falling
And the paper on the wall.
Eke the temperature's falling.
Though not enough to brag on.
And many men are falling
From the jolting water wagon.
Some are falling by the waypide.
Seems that everything must fall
This Fall: but still the prices
They do not fall at all.
The season of change draweth nigh
small change which is all we will have
left after we have laid in the coal and
bought our flannels and redeemed our
overcoats. The blackbird has arrived
and is singing joyously in yonder tree,
a pean of praise to these days of crim
son and gold. He can well afford to
sing; he doesn't have to pay rent or buy
new clothes, or dissemble with the coal
man.
The katydid and cicada, fiddler and
drummer, orchestrals a farewell tune,
and stegomia sings a song of parting.
But why should we weep? Climex lec
tularis and the noiseless, ghostly cock
roach we have with us always. An oc
casional "devil horse" flits In at the
open window, and the dragon fly on shin
ing wing flies southward in the sun. The
devil wagon toots a defiant toot as it
knocks the pedestrian into a better world,
for before snow flies it will have estab
lished a record that the trolley car cannot
beat all Winter.
The song of the coal trust is heard In
the land, and the plumber sings a merry
roundelay. Aster and goldenrod bedeck
the common in profusion, but milady
scorns their loveliness for - "American
beauties," which are going up. The oys
ter and the actor are In our midst, but
we will have better varieties of both when
it gets colder.
Baseball will soon give place to foot
ball, and both to the perennial highball.
The mothball is already making its pres
ence known, betraying that the clothes
are not new. Autumn is upon us.
That melancholy time U here
Of which the poets hum.
But let us be of goodly cheer.
The worst is yet to come.
CONSIDERATE OF THE COOK
Rural Guest Surprises Hotel Clerk
by His Thoughtfulness.
"Washington Post.
"This story may sound a bit fishy, but
it is true nevertheless," said a clerk at
the National hotel. . "A few days ago a
young man came in and registered and I
Immediately sized him up as a resident of
the rural districts. He was very verdant
and that was demonstrated beyond doubt
later when he asked me what time dinner
would be ready. I told htm the hours
for meals, and he left the desk. Shortly
afterward he came back. I saw, there was
something on his mind and thought I'd
help him out.
" 'Is there anything I can do for you,
sir?' I inquired.
" 'Well. I dunno.' he replied, 'but I was
Just thinking I'd tell you I won't be here
at dinner time, so you needn't bother
about waiting for me. I've got to meet
a feller about the time you said was
meal time and I don't know whether I'll
be able to get back. I don't want to put
folks to any trouble, so you had better
tell the cook about it. I guess I can get
along without dinner for one day any
how." "We don't often have guests who are so
considerate of the cook," mused the hotel
man.
Socialism and Convictions.
Paris Matin.
A very rich and Socialistic Deputy, who
had rented a property by the sea, closed
his park to pedestrians, and excluded the
public from a part of the shore, which
he reserved to himself.
"What!" says one to him; "you a So
cialist, to do this!"
"Oh, pardon," repjies the Deputy;
my convictions are enjoying a vacation-"
who put up the salaries and built the
churches. And in exchange for this the
preachers were to preach and pray for
the slaves, to make them contented with
their lot and make them an easier prey
for the masters of the lash.
What do you think of the record?
'You now begin to understand something
of what the Socialist means when he
speaks of "economic determinism." do you
not? Individuals here and there may be
swayed by high ideals and a lofty con
ception of duty history records in every
age some personage of this kind butthe
actions of a class, or of a group, or of
a nation, can only be determined and un
derstood by understanding the methods
by which this particular class or group
secure their living. Strange as It may
seem, this problem of securing food and
clothes has been the great liuman prob
lem since the time man emerged from
savagery to the present and It will con
tinue to be until we get sane and wake
up to the possibilities within our grasp.
In 1R60. amid the crash and rumble of
the decaying system of chattel slavery,
the Rev. Dr. Armstrong, in his "Christian
Doctrine of Slavery," said:
"It may be that Christian slavery Is
God's solution of the problem about which
the wisest statesmen of Europe confess
themselves at fault."
How specious, how glaringly false ap
pears this line of argument to you to
day! Christian slavery! And yet we
should remember that our grandfathers
and gome of our fathers as well believed
these things, and they Joined mobs to
do violence to the "infidel dogs" who
dared to question the holy scriptures, as
interpreted by these good men.
By the way. it should be observed In
passing that church conferences, eynods,
associations, etc.. take no notice what
ever of the question of chattel slavery
today and have not since 1S63.' Why?
Because the economic form of production
the method of producing food and
clothes has changed from chattel slave.-y
to the wage system. The church follows
thie form, and upon th3 new base a new
system of ethics, a new code of morals
has been built. Chattel slavery being
abolished, it ceased to be a system whlh
needed deference and support and so the
church neglected to resolve that it was
not a moral evil that it had existed from
time immemorial: that it was instituted
by God himself, and other arguments of
that sort that our forefathers believed.
Absurd as they appear now to us. we to
The Secrets of
DeKoltra's Disappearing
THERE! Is a modest little shop on
Sixth avenue, with playing cards,
goblets, boxes and other innocent
looking objects in the window, in whtch
is manufactured most of the magicians'
apparatus used in North and South Amer
ica and a good deal of that used in Eu
rope and the Orient, says the New York
Sun.
Persons interested in the occult would
be surprised to see on the books of the
establishment the orders from India itself
for apparatus to be used in conjuring
tricks by native Indians.
The little shop is the headquarters of
magic In America. The walls are covered
with portraits of famous performers, the
place is full of souvenirs of them and
the proprietor can tell many stories of
them and their art.
He has. for instance, the vanishing cage
of Buatier de Kolta. which Mrs. de Kolta
presented to Mm after the death of the
conjuror. Sleight of hand men declare
that de Kolta was the greatest prestidig
itator that ever lived. He never used a
trick invented by any other person, and
he is said to have invented more tricks
which have been copied by other perform
ers than any other man.
This vanishing cage was a favorite.
It was simply a bird cage, containing a
live canary, which he held out in. plain
view of the audience. Then the whole
thing disappeared.
That was all there was to It, but it was
most mysterious. The cage was collapsi
ble and disappeared up de Kolta's sleeve.
The art consisted in making it disappear
invisibly and without hurting the ca
nary. '
De Kolta made this cage wirtl his own
hands. Most prestidigitators have been
expert mechanicians. Many of them have
originally been watchmakers or optical
instrument manufacturers. The next
most prolific sources of supply have been
the professions of chemistry and medi
cine. . .
A souvenir of "Alexander the Great"
Hermann shows the pleasure which that
prince of the art -took in his own hocus
pocus. This was too small a trick to use
on the stage, and he invented it merely
to amuse his friends in his own home.
It is a- little cabinet of ebony, inlaid
with mother of pearl, containing 32 small
drawers, just the size of a playing card,
all numbered. The observer was asked
to choose one of 32 cards and to name
the drawer in which he would have it
appear. The card always appeared in
the right drawer.
The conjurer's art lay in compelling
the selection of the right card. The draw
ers had 'false bottoms and springs, and a
;ard like that selected had been previous
ly concealed in all of them, waiting for
a deft pressure to bring it to light In the
drawer selected.
Heller's Great Mystery.
Visitors to the proprietor of this little
shop of. magic sometimes sit down una
wares upon a plain, old-fashioned sofa
which they are surprised to learn was
once the throne of a high priestess of the
occult. Miss Haldie Heller, in her famous
second sight act with Robert Heller. The
trick awakened wide interest 30 years ago.
It seemed most mysterious and inexplic
able and puzzled even t.hose who knew
that it was a trick.
Miss Heller sat upon the sofa blind
folded and with her back to the audi
ence. Heller, In the audience, borrowed
objects from spectators, and Miss Heller
described them sometimes. Not a word
was spoken by Heller, nor could she see
h4m to get her cue by his gestures.
The apparatus did it all. The sofa was
wired for an electric battery. A confed
erate sat in the audience his chair con
nected with the battery, the electric push
button under the seat. A code was ar
ranged by which Miss Heller knew ex
actly what to say.
The performance was rendered more
mysterious by Heller's talking to her in
part of the tests. Some people supposed,
of course, that he was giving her the cue
with his 'questions. But when the same
results were obtained in silence the sus
picious were also mystified.
Apparatus is an elastic term when used
In connection with legerdemain. Some
pieces of apparatus can be concealed be
tween two fingers. Others fill boxes ten
feet long.
The earlier magicians used cumbersome
apparatus. Frikell, a Finn, born in 1S18,
who was knighted by the King of Den
mark and received diamond rings and the
day would believe them had it not been
discovered that chattel slavery is a los
ing game and fhat there Is a better way
io exploit labor.
But so long as chattel slavery was the
form of economic production: so lqng as
deacone. elders, preachers and bishops
were slave owners; It held the center of
the Mage.
The economic interests of the slave-owners
were responsible for the church's at
titude. The church simply built Us re
ligious tenets upon, and to conform with,
the economic mode of production, and
was always willing to promise the slave
a place in heaven, provided he would be
docile and work willingly and faithfully
for the master who supported the church.
Now it must not be assumed that the
Methodist Church was alone In its de
fense of slavery, nor that it was the only
church organization influenced by its eco
nomic environment. The history of one
at this point is the history of all. The
church always comes to the rescue of the
dominant class and protects Its financial
interests, and these acrobatic perform
ances can only be understood by under
standing the economic base of the Nation.
Today the Socialists stand for the com
plete overthrow of the wage system,
which is a difference in degree only from
chattel slavery. Under chattel slavery
the master owned the body of the slave,
and took what he produced. Today the
capitalist owns the machines, the mines,
the factories, the railroads and the great
er share of the land. The worker can
produce only upon his terms and his terms
are the entire product save enough to
live upon. These were the terms of the
slave owner only he was more generous.
He provided shelter and food and medical
care when the worker ha'i nothing to do
and was sick. The slave had decidedly
the best of it.
The Socially says that the worker is
entitled to the full social value of his
labor and that this can only be accom
plished by the collective ownership of
the machines of production, eliminating
the private capitalist entirely, as we have
done with our school system and our pub
lic road system, and partially by our
public postoffice syetem.
The church today supports the wage
system why? For the same reason that
the church supported the chattel slave
system. The church draws Its support
from the Rockefellers, the Morgans, the
Carnegles. the Depews, the McCurdys,
Famous Tricks
Bird Cage and Heller's Second Sight;
like from most of the sovereigns of Eu
rope, revolutionized the art. He used no
apparatus at all.
This tendency prevailed for many years,
but at the present time the tendency to
ward big, showy effects and gorgeous
stage settings is bringing in the use of
more complicated apparatus than ever. A
first-class magician now travels with a
railroad car full of apparatus. Fifteen
thousand dollars is not an unusual sum to
pay for staging a first-class magician's
show nowadays.
Too Much Apparatus.
It Is a mechanical age. present-day
prestidigitators in no way excel the old
fellows in pure legerdemain, but a flood
of mechanical Inventions has come to help
them, and all the conjurers have to do
is to manipulate these skillfully and
gracefully. Their task is no easier, how
ever, for It is a sharper arid more skep
tical age than the earlier men played to,
and one used to mechanism of all kinds.
The little shop carries a thousand dif
ferent kinds of apparatus in stock. Then
there are thousands of others which it is
called upon to make, some of them very
old. Every day some book or leaf out of
a book will arrive from Kalamazoo or
Calcutta, with a letter stating that the
writer wants to do the trick described,
and wants the apparatus for it construct
ed. Some of these tricks were Invented
centxiries ago.
The great present-day inventions in the
art are illusions and levltation, both of
which require elaborate devices. Harry
Keller's levitatlon act, in which the body
of a man rose slowly into midair and re
mained suspended there while the hypno
tizer fanned him, required a complicated
machine behind the scenes to work it.
De Kolta's illusion in which every ob
ject on the stage appeared and disap
peared in a seemingly unaccountable man
ner, ending with the decapitation of a
woman whose head thereupon danced un
cannily through the air without any vis
ible means of support, required an elab
orately set stage. Everything was draped
in black velvet, and the arrangement of
light was such that nothing that was not
light in color could be distinguished
against this mass of black. A black bag
thrust over the head of a woman in a
white dress decapitated her, while a black
bag pulled off the head of a woman in a
black dress at the same Instant, revealed
a head without any support.
Some of the apparatus is amazingly sim
ple, considering the thousands whom it
has held spellbound. Prestidigitators de
clare that De Kolta's neatest trick was a
little one In which he took a handkerchief
out of a candle. The beauty of this wa
that he showed both his hands, palms and
backs, with nothing in them. Then he
lit the candle, snuffed it with thumb and
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Van Noy Hotel, Third Street,
the Mitchells, the Clarks. and all the lit
tle capiiaiists who hope some day to be
big capitalists. Their economic interests
are at stake: they are afraid they will
lose the support needed to maintain their
institutions. And so they either'sllently
Ignore it or openly espouse it. and. for
this same reason, the church opposes and
misrepresents socialism. The church is
referred to here as an official organiza
tionmaking no exceptions.
There are many noble men among the
ministry who with courage stand out
boldly against these iniquitous wrongs
but they soon find themselves without
Jobs.
A few months ago the Methodist Rocl
River Conference of Illinois met. One
of the questions which occupied the at
tention of the conference to the exclu
sion of all others was the one presented
by the employes of the Methodist Book
Concern, one of the largest printing
plants in the United States. The print
ers asked for an eight-hour day: not an
unreasonable request. What was the re
ply of these ministers of the gospel? An
emphatic "No!" It was not so much a
question between the Methodist Book
Concern and their printers as it was a
question between the employing printers
of the United States and their employes.
On the floor of that conference a Method
ist minister arose to his feet and in an
impassioned address told the conference
that they must resist these demands of
the wageworkers; they must stand by
the employers, as their interest was the
church's interest. And so the Methodist
Church, for the first time since industrial
wage slavery was inaugurated, officially
took its stand in favor of the master
class and against the working class. Do
you wonder there is a conflict between
the socialists and the church?
It. therefore, naturally follows that
there is a conflict between the church and
socialists. The church stands for the or
der of yesterday. (The late Mark Hanna,
when he prophesied that socialism would
be the paramount Issue In 1913. said th
Catholic Church and he might as well
have said all churches would be the final
bulwark between capitalism and social
ism.) The Socialists stand for the order
of tomorrow.
We look across the border and see there
the emancipator of the workers of the
world. We see a new interpretation of
the Scriptures .and we behold a nation
of real brothers and Christians, such as
the Christ hoped would inhabit the world.
Woodstock, Or.
Fully Exposed
Peeps Into the Occult.
finger, and said gravely to the audience:
"The handkerchief is here in the bit of
ash I have taken from the candle."
Instantly the handkerchief appeared.
For this De Kolta invented a tiny bag,
no larger than a man's thumb, in which
the handkerchief was compressed. It
hung over his thumb by an invisible
thread, and his dexterity consisted In
keeping it out of sight as he displayed
his hands.
There are 200 members in the Society of
American Magicians, but there are thou
sands in the country at large. They range
all the way from Harry Kellar to the poor
clerk who learns a few tricks and does
them of an evening to add a few dollars
to his income. Seven-eighths of the whola
profession are of the latter variety.
This kind of entertainment- Is peren
nially popular for church socials, chil
dren's parties and all manner of private
or semi-public functions. A man who can
fill 20 minutes or half an hour acceptably
In this way can often increase his income
by a third by one evening's work a week
through the Winter.
The amateurs who never work for
money but like to amaze their friends are
innumerable. There are a number of men
in New York who, though they never
appear upon the stage, make very good
money at entertainments. A German
much in demand to amuse guests after
dinner manipulates cards, watches, hand
kerchiefs and such things in a way to
mystify even professionals. A certain me
chanical engineer is an expert at elec
trical tricks.
GLAD THE MINT IS WORKING
Hobo Lays His Small Tribute Upon
the Altar of Labor.
He was a seedy-looking individual and
reminded a casual observer of a man
who. with Kipling's "tramp royale," had
more than once found "his mate the wind
which tramps the world." He wandered
into a small lunchroom In Washington
not far from Pennsylvania avenue and
in a low voice ordered a mug of milk.
xie eij))cu iiie ucvciagts biuwiy una il whs
evident that he was trying to make it do
for a square meal.
Throwing down a, dime on the counter,
he waited for his change. The spry and
observing waiter tossed a nickel out to
him. but observing the corn's brilliancy;
picked it up and looked at the date.
"That's a 1906 nickel," he announced to
the tramp.
The tramp verified his words by looking
at the date for himself, then muttered
sadly as he started out: "Thank God
the mint's still working!"
ED
th-
Corner Pine, Portland, Or.