The Daily Worker Newspaper, December 4, 1926, Page 12

_ THE USE VALUE OF GOD BLIGION was first used by capi- talism in England. The greatest results were achieved, tho, when it married American business. ,Altho freedom of religious belief’ was writ- ten into the constitution, Christianity is the accepted opium. Once estab- lished in power, the new ruling class embraced religion fervently, not for itself, but for the good of the masses. There is no state church in the United States. All religions (because they ali uphold capitalism) are sanc- tioned by the state. And thereby the rulers of society are able to. co-ordi- nate their religious propaganda in favor of the exploitive system to an extent that would have been impos- sible were a particular brand favored. This peculiar situation exists: the catholic assures the protestant he is consigned to hell because he is out- side of the mother church; the Jew promises both they will sojourn in Gehenna, while he is reserved for Abraham's bosom, because he has the original dope. Yet all join in one cherubic chorus in proclaiming that god protects the present order; that private property is a divine institu- tion; that exploitation of the work- ers is necessary for the remission of sins; and that imperialism and war are gifts of god. Self-taxation of the bourgeoisie in the United States for religion exceeds ' the compuisory taxation of many Eu- ropean capitalists, Consequently we find a monstrous religious structure working under many forms, influenc- ing little children before they go to school, reaching the masses thru the various denominations, and penetrat- ing the very heart of the proletariat in the-shops and industry thru the Y. M. C. A. and the Salvation Army. The chureh very early laid down its policy toward labor and has fol- lowed it ever since with such modifi- cations as new ruling classes demand- ed. Jesus has been’ called a rebel and a “labor leader.” Let us remem- ber that he said, when tested “Give “ht CWedar the things that are Cae- sar’s, and Wnto god the things that) are god's.” In short, obey and sub- mit to the boss whether he be earthly or divine. The K. K. K. simplifies this expression by declaring itself, “One Hundred Percent American and One Hundred, Pereent Christian.” The English and American capital- ists particularly have made a fine art of befuddling the workers with re- ligion. Dr. Ure, an English economist, speaking to factory owners in the ear- ly nineteenth century said: “It is e excessivély to the interest of , every mill owner to organize his mo- ral machinery on equally sound prin- ciples with his mechanical There is, in fact, no case to which the gospel truth ‘godliness is great gain,’ is more applicable than in the administration of an extensive fac- tory.” The American capitalists have followed this advice to an astound- ing degree. Roger W. Babson, statistical ex- pert and financial adviser of probably more capitalists than anyone else, has written several books urging the use of religion more intensively in Ameri- can industry. Here are a few gems from his book, “Religion and Busi- ness”; “The value of our investments de pends not on the strength of our banks, but rather upon the strength of our churches. ... For our own sakes, for our chiidren’s sakes, for the na- tion’s sake, let us business men get behind the churches and their preach- ers . By all that we hold dear, let us from this very day, give more time, more money and thot to the churches of our city, for upon these the value of all we own ultimately de- pends.” Jwst one more quotation from a sec* tion of the church itself before we proceed to scan the extent of the American bourgeoisie’s self-taxation for religious purposes. The National Committee of the Northern Baptist Laymen, New York, tolls what it does for the workers in a letter sent to American business men asking for funds: “Your business: would be in a fine way, wouldn’t it, if it were not for the stabilizing influence of the church and its preachers, who put ambition and determination and love of honest service in the hearts of your working men?” What is the sizeof this opium vend- ing machine? How much money does it get from American capitalists to carry on its “stabilizing work?” The latest available figures on the church in the United States (1923) show that there are 237,945 churches with 219,876 sky pilots spouting re- ligious poison to 48,224,014 members, with a yearly graft of $547,560,562. According to Roger W. Babson, the value of church prosperity in the United States is well over three bil- lion dollars. H. K. Carroll, L. & D., of the “Christian Herald,” says that the Sun- day School membership is 19,951,675. How thoro ig the grasp.of religion on the children is perceived when it is remembered that the total public school registery comprises 23,000,000 of whom 18,000,000 actually attend school. The wealthy drape themselves in a religious cloak, Babson says that those who paid 80 per cent of the income taxes are prominent church members. J. D.. Rockefeller, Payne Whitney, Mrs. Andrew Carnegie, and a long list of other capitalists contri- bute liberally to religious institutions. There is a double reason for this. They have a desire, first, to subdue the workers, and second, (held by those who have any faint hope of a future life) to reserve for themselves as favored a place in the land of shades as sacs’ held on the earth of *| slaves. Here is a list for 1924 of donations to religion by capitalists: Donations of over $25,000 to Religious Institutions in 1924, a Name of doner Purpose Am Mrs. M. G. E. Aldrich, P, E. Cathe- dral, $70,000. _ Mrs. Mary C. Burnett, Christian U. Fort Worth, $4,000,000. Mrs. Andrew Carnegie, Union Theo. Seminary, $100,000. Mrs. A, G. Cutter, Mothoatets, $25,- 000. Rev. D. S. Dodge, ‘Syrian Protest- ants, $25,000. Geo. A. Draper, Unitarian church, $25,000. (iP, A. Ewart, Y. M. C, A., $1,000,000 Anna L, Houston, various religious institutions, $320,000. Ralph Leininger, ¥Y. M. C. A, $50,- 000. Martin Maloney, Catholic U., $100,- 000. T. J. Mumford, Y. M. C. A., $25,000, Frank Munsey, P. HB. Cathedral, $100,000. - Murphy, Catholic church, T; Ri $125,000 J. D. Rockefeller, Jr., various religi- ous institutions, $3,511,334, Laura 8. Rockefeller, Y. W. ©, A. $1,000,000, Mort Schiff, various religious inst tutions, $350,000. J. Schonthal, Hebrew Seminary, $50,000. Ben Selling, Hebrew Cons., $50,000. Mrs, Elliot F. Shepard, various re- mt.j of the bosses. The Salvation Army has 16,298 offices with over 5,000 -pie- in-the-sky preachers on the stfeet. 000. ligious institutions, $180,000. ‘Wm. Sloan, various religious insti- tutions, $120,000. Mary -G. Thompson, P. BE. Cathedral, $200,000. Payne Whitney, Y. W. C, a, $100, The total sum being $11,526,334. This is by»no means a complete statement of how much is donated in one year by American capitalists to religious opium injectors. .A low to- tal estimate for individual contribu- tions from a small group of capital- ists would be $25,000,000, outside of the regular contributions, amounting to about $500,000,000 a year. Besides the regular church bodies there are special subsidiary organiza- tions which concern themselves with keeping the workers in check. Fore- most among these are the Y.M.C. A, the Knights of Columbus, the Ku Klux Klan, the Salvation Army, the Y. M. H. A., and the Catholic Welfare Conference, The Y. M. C. A. is the most im- portant of these subsidiary institu tions. It claims one million mem- bers. Early in its career thig body recognized the necessity of organizing on the job and with the aid of the boss has been able to construct head- quarters in or near every important industry. The U. 8S. Steel Corporation not tong ago donated $300,000 for a “Y” at its Gary plant; Julius Rosenwald, tho a Jew, donated more than $500,- 000 to the Christian Y. M. C. A. to keep the young wage slaves of Sears & Roebuck contented. Most of the $50,000,000 which the Y. M. CG. A. gets yearly comes out of the pockets of capitalists. 2 In many plants,.Y preachers use up the lunch hour preaching to the Workers and instilling lové for the boss. Special books of instruction have been issued on how to conduct this work. Instances of the “Y'%s” pro- tecting and furnishing scabs are plen- tiful., counter-revolutionary force was prov- ed by its activities in Siberia where it directly aided Kolchak in his at- tack on Soviet Russia. The Y. W. C. A., tho ostensibly 1i- beral, in reality conducts the same type of work ‘that the ¥ is noted for and receives support from precisely the same sources, For over nine years the Knights of Columbus has. been carrying on a fight against what it calls “extreme radicalism.” It is the duty of the K. of C. to keep the workers con- tented, sooth them and groom them for the bosses’ war whenever the call is issued. The labor program of the K. of C, is laid down by the mother church. A little more of this later. The Salvation Army concerns itself mainly with the slum proletariat. It does not fail to take advantage of every opportunity to exhort the work- ers to be meek and accept the yoke With the penetration of capital in- to colonial and undeveloped _ terri- tories we see a growth in missionary work. In 1923 Mrs. Netty. F. McCor- mick, of International Harvester fame, donated $250,000 for Y. M. C. A. work abroad. J. D. Rockefeller gives liberally for saving the souls and en- slaving the bodies of the Chinese. Standard Oil sources in 1928 donated over $1,000,000 for this work; the U. S. Steel $300,000. The latest is the attempt of the Hebrews to raise $50,000 for a Jewish theological and talmudical school in Eastern Europe “to fight the advance of bolshevistic culture.” ism which threatens particularly the weltare of ‘the youth of Masters Bs- ‘owish.” from theology, in the direction of so- ciology. Conditions of the working class have forced the church, which exploits millions of workers the world And that. the Y. M. C. A. is a program. This kind, gentle mother of many oppressed children knows she cannot-subdue those children without giving them some sort of soothing syrup. The rulers of this powerful insti- tution, remembering thatthe heydey ‘| of the church was in the Middle Ages, constantly plead for a return to the guild system of that time. Their la- bor program today is that laid down by Leo XI, which boosts this meth- od of Class collaboration. But noth- ing dangerous. Oh, no! “Our first and most fundamental principle,” says the holy father, question that, within certain limits, it would be right to call in the help and authority of the law.” Nor is this the only way in which “when we undertake to alleviate the condition of the mas8es must be the inviolability of private property.” Strikes, of course, tamper with this sacred institution, private property. “If by a strike, or other combina- tion of workmen, there should be im- minent danger of disturbance to the public peace . . . there can be no the modern St. Peter would protect the capitalist from the workers. “Re- ligion teaches the working man . .. never to injure. capital, nor to outrage the person of an employer; never to employ vielence in representing his own cause, nor to engage in riot and disorder; and to. have nothing to do with men of evil principles who work upon the people with artful promis- Ee a These men of “evil principles” are hose who tell the workers to help hemselves, and not to wait for the generous capitalist and their ally oe to help them. Now, where, in all this, is the sbimhe ing syrup Mother Church promises ner children? So far it looks like a pretty bitter dose—a stiff physic, But listen: . There are several ways (to say nothing of going to church regularly) by which a ».worker can)be ;»made ; healthy, wealthy and . wise. The * church urges co-operation with the bosses. She endorses company: un- ions, and all organizations which have a tendency to smother the class strug- gle. She preaches economy, thrift, and tells the workers “to be content with frugel living.” She supports mild reforms, as “living wage” cries. But on one point she is emphatic. “Whatever may be the industrial and social remedies which will ap- prove themselves to the American people, there is one that, we feel con- fident, they will never adopt. That is the method of ? ? ? For it there is neither justification nor excuse . . . Thru the ordinary and orderly processes all _ social wrongs can be righted.” “! The most modern dréss of the church militant is the sheet and pil- low case of the Ku Klux Klan. These are the “Four Hundred” of religion; native, white, protestant and gentle, and as is proper tothe elite—espe- cially hostile to labor. The Ku Klux Klan sprang up in the South after the Civil War, to ter- rify the Negroes into submission, and warn them against taking advantage of their newly gained freedom. It has recently been revived as a fas- cist organization. A small group of men make a com- fortable profit from the sale of unt- forms and other organizational clap- trap. The senate investigation of the Klan (May 16, 1924) disclosed their payroll to be follr million a year, _ This organization of native Ameri- (g eed wo pomnyno;)