s itiu-ri I ^^fev s v^ * jrfi urTj Capital's Duties and Responsibilities A SUNDAY LECTURE BY THK RABBI OF THE Rodef Shalom Congregation PITTSBURGH, PA. SERIES 12 DECEMBER 8, 1912 No. 6 These Sunday Lectures are distributed Free of Charge in the Temple to all who attend the Services. Another edition is distributed free in Pitttsburgh to friends of liberal religious thought, on written application to the Rabbi. An extra edition is printed for those wishing to have these lec- tures mailed to friends residing out of the City. Apply to B. CALLOMON, The Temple, Fifth and Morewood Aves., Pittsburgh, Pa. Sunday Lectures Before Rodeph Shalom Congregation. SERIES IX. 1. The Way of the Reformer. 2. Rather Doubt than Hyprocrlsy. 3. The Modern Maccabee. 4. A Twentieth Century Ideal. 6. A Little Child Shall Lead Them 6. Sail On! (Sectarianism and the Public Schools.) 7. The Land of the Heart's Desire 8. Except the Lord build the house. 9. Prisoners of Self. 10. An Ounce of Prevention. 11. What We Owe to Woman, 12. What Woman Owes to Us. 13. Conventional Lies. 14. Paying the Price, 15. Abraham Lippman A Tribute. 16. The New Religion. I. The Prophetic Reformation. 17. II. The Pauline Reformation. 18. III. The Christian Reformation SERIES X. 1. Politics and Morals. 12. 2. Why Convert the Jew. 13. The Right Kind of Religion. 14. Rev. John H. Dietrich. 15. 3. Ought a Jew Speak in a Chris- 16. tian Pulpit. 17. 4. Evolution or Revolution. 18. 6. Chantecler I. The Story. 19. 1. Chantecler II. An Interpreta- tion. v 20. 7. The Successful Wife. 21. 8. To Do and to Dare. 9. God in the Constitution. 22. 70. God's Word and Man's World. 23. 11. Money. Chasing Rainbows. Our Greatest Modern Need. The Message of Lincoln. Civic Pride and Civic Peace. Missions and Missionaries. The Rose and the Thorn. The Jew's Enemies. There's a Divinity that Shapei Our Ends. America and Russia. They Shall Learn War No More. Say unto Israel, Go Forward! Friends of the Friendless. SERIES XI. i. As a Man Thinks. Z. Do It for Pittsburgh. 3. Hating Alan for God's Sake. 4. Children of Tomorrow. 5. Whom God Joins Kone Can Put Asunder. 6. Not Jacob But Israel. 7. What is the Use of Worship. 8. Hearts Courageous. 9. Toward the Rising Sun. 10. Business Honor and Honorable Business. 11. False Attacks Upon ReHgion. 12. Every woman.. 13. The Great God, Success. 14. 15. 16. 17. The Alphabet of Life. By Rabbi Ger.son B. Levi, Ph. D. God's Promise to Abraham. By Rev. Dr. A. <;utt:nacher A Jewish Poem of Browning. By Rabbi I Y ouis Wolsey Our Missionary Problem. By Rabbi George Zepin Charles Dickens An Appre- ciation. The Little Things of Life. The Help That Counts. Home Memories. SERIES XII. 1. The Appeal for Social Justice. 2. Wanted-A Man. 3. The Spoilt Child. 4. The Climbers. 5. Labor's Hopes and Ideals. 6. Capital's Duties and Responsibilities. 5019068 CAPITAL'S DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.' AN ADDRESS IN THE RODEF SHALOM TEMPLE PITTSBURGH, SUNDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1912. Scripture Reading: Isaiah xi and Micah iv. They shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid. (Micah iv, 4.) The remarkable phenomenon known as Hebrew prophecy was for many centuries believed to be but a medium through which God delivered a message to the, world by using some apparently insignificant Jew as a phonograph. For many centuries the various denomina- tions taught that every word uttered by the Prophets was produced, as it were by some mechanical human con- trivance ; that every message which left the prophet's lips represented words which God had literally placed in his mouth ; and that, therefore, the words of Scripture were not truths discovered by men but pronouncements made bv God. *By the Rev. J. Leonard Levy. Rabbi of the Congregation. Stenographically reported by Caroline Loewenthal. Inspired Prophecy. Within the past century, we have come to change our point of view, and the most advanced scholars teach that Hebrew prophecy was a product of spiritual genius of the same character, though of a different order, as every other form of inspiration. The great poet, artist and sculptor were inspired when, in each case, those chosen men, gave to humanity some magnificent proof of human genius ; and the prophet's inspiration was after the same manner. The test of the value of prophecy is its power of endurance, just as the test of genius in every direction is the continued persistence of its product even when the once popular form it assumed has departed. The rag- time march will soon disappear, though it may please for an hour; but the sonatas of Beethoven will ever con- tinue to charm humanity. The marble figures which decorate our public buildings will crumble into dust; but the Pieta of Michael Angelo and the Venuses of Praxiteles will bring joy to untold generations yet to be born. So, too, the frothy orations of mediocre speakers will live for a day, while the flights of genius of the Jewish Prophets will ever be a living force stirring men to higher ideals and nobler deeds. The Prophetic View of Religion. It is passing strange that no class or set of men dreamed of social amelioration, no nation in any land conceived of a time when all men should enter into the enjoyment of the fruit of their labor, until this handful of Hebrew prophets pointed the way. These men identified the progress of humanity with religion, but re- ligion to them did not mean what religion means to so many others. To many men, religion seems to be a debt which we owe to an institution, a matter which can be bought and paid for; or it represents membership in some church; or it means wearing the badge of some denomination. To many of us religion seems to refer to the mode of life spent a few hours on a Sabbath, and it is identified with the praise and worship of God, and with the hopes and consolations it may bring to men in the hour of their trials, difficulties and sorrows. It is still only the fewest among men who identify religion with life, or hold that a man's life is the testimony of his religion. Most men, like our own fathers in the days of Isaiah and Micah, seem to be satisfied when they have paid tribute to their temple, church, or cathedral, relieving themselves of moral obligations by, as it were, entering into a bargain with priests, ecclesiastics, or ministers, for whose sus- tenance they pay so that these hirelings may be, officially, religious for others. Economic Ideal of the Prophets. Our Prophets taught individual and personal re- sponsibility to God. They declared that while these factors in the religious life, to which I just referred, may be of some value, they can never take the place of justice, mercy and truth. They announced that religion must color, influence and inspire every thought, word and act of human life ; and they made it as clear as daylight that there is nothing in human life that is not to be made re- ligious, except sin which can never be a religious act. The prophets dreamed their dream in their day, and left it to us to take hope therefrom, that religion would so influence life that a righteous society would some day grow upon earth, that ultimately economic life would be touched by religious idealism, and that the right of every individual to the fruit of his toil would be admitted as an axiom in civilized society. They, therefore, spoke of a day, yet to come, when the brute element in man, would be overcome by God's children, and in our first Scripture reading, one of their most illustrious representatives portrays the age when the spirit of the child, confidence, faith, hope, trustful- ness, simplicity, would be the controlling force jn hu- man society ; when man's animal inheritance would be made to lie low before the beneficent power of the spirit of righteousness ; when all noxious influences would be removed from society ; when the world would be full of the knowledge of God, which is wisdom, which would lead men to be fair to one another. Taking up the same theme, or, perhaps, suggesting it, another prophet of Isaiah's time, Micah, predicts that, some day, the development of the divine element in man will cause the abolition of war, fraticidal war, whether industrial or international, and promises that the forces controlling society will not be destructive, but con- structive, so that ultimately every man will sit under his vine and under his fig-tree, and none will make them afraid. Pray Well, But Also Pay Well. You see, then, that these prophets who made our religion for us, these prophets who are our teachers and the guides of every honest minister of religion in the modern pulpit, identify religion not only with the Tem- ple, but with the market ; not only with the House of God, but with the shop ; not only with praying well to the Father in heaven, but also with paying well for ser- vices rendered. They stressed in the religious life not the creed and ceremonial, but righteous living, moral pursuits and ethical purpose, without which religion is as nothing. Although this aspect of religion is now better under- stood than in the age in which Micah and Isaiah and the other prophets lived and preached, the necessity of repeat- ing their messages still exists. Their point of view must be learned and accepted in our day, just as much as it had to be learned in the day when the inspired and in- spiring words bubbled forth from the lips of the great teachers of Israel. That lesson Capital must learn, as must also Labor. That lesson the man who serves with his mind and money must apply to life, as must the man who toils with his head and hands. It is the lesson of reciprocity, of an honest return for honest effort, of an equivalent compensation for valuable service. Until we learn this lesson, there will be no peace in society. Until we introduce this teaching- into the practical affaire of daily life, there can be no possibility of contentment among the masses. In a word, until we make society religious, in the sense in which the Prophets of Israel used the term, we shall not be able to realize the millennium which these men promised us in the name of the God of righteous- ness, to be enjoyed, not by the Jews alone, but by all the families of men. For, in passing, let me ask you to consider the texts read here this morning, and you will find that we are not promised that only Palestine is to be full of the knowledge of God as the Mediterranean waters cover the sea, but "the world" shall be full of the knowledge of God as the "waters" cover all seas. Nor is it promised that every "Jew" shall sit under his own vine and under his own fig-tree, but every "man" shall become economically free to enjoy the fruit of his labor. Perish the thought that these chosen men of Israel spoke only to Israel and for Israel alone, and not for humanity ! Capital's Duties Considered. . As last week I endeavored, however feebly, to indi- cate some of the duties and obligations incumbent on, some of the hopes and ideals cherished by, men who labor for others, I feel that I ought also speak to this congregation on some of the duties and responsibilities which devolve on men whose services are largely men- tal, who conduct great plants, who manage large indus- tries, who are directors of employees, who, in a word, are capitalists. My humble words apply not only to the men of my congregation but, in the spirit of the Prophets who would urge a much wider application, they concern the industrial life of Pittsburgh and all other cities of our country. The Benefits of Capital. It were a little late in the day for me to say more than a word of the necessity for, and benefits of, capital in the existing social system. Every train running over" the continent; every ship steaming or sailing over any sea; every mine whose deposits have been worked; and every factory which has been built, owe their origin to capital. There is not a public school in which children are taught ; nor a university in which young men and women are being trained to meet future responsibility ; nor a museum which contains the evidence of humanity's progress ; nor a synagOigue, church or cathedral any- where on the earth ; there is not a classical statue or pic- ture, a jewel, curtain, or carpet, but came into existence because some member of society amassed some form of capital. The Reverse Side of the Picture. We must, however, remember the other side of the picture which indicates that surplus capital has not always been honestly or righteously made. In fact as we consider the methods all too often used our souls recoil in horror. Exploitation has been one of the hand- maids of the ruling class, and in ages when toilers were sufferers from enforced ignorance, and possessed no civil rights or economic opportunities, oppression was easy. Pharaohs, in all lands and ages, have ordered the em- ployed class to make bricks, and when, intelligence hav- ing spread among the despoiled, they asked for improved conditions, even the straw with which they made the bricks was taken from them; so that, amid depressing and degrading conditions, they were forced to turn out, as the Bible tells us of our fathers, the daily tale of bricks, providing moreover their own straw therefor. Robber Barons. No one familiar with the story of European morals, or who has read aught of the history of the Middle Ages, no one who has studied the circumstances of the rise of the states which are now called civilized Europe, but knows that the vast wealth possessed by certain noble families of Europe was obtained, in the first place, by the malefactions, the exactions and the exploitations of what are known as the robber barons. If, at some time, you visit the city of Vienna and are permitted to gaze upon the remarkable picture gallery of von Liechten- stein, one of the old barons of the Austrian Empire, you will be shown in an obscure corner an oil painting of the founder of that baronial family who is well known in the history of Austria as a robber baron. Dick Turpin and Claude Duval were not the only highwaymen exe- crated by society's producers. Such robbers have existed in every land and invariably amassed their surplus capi- tal by compelling the mass of mankind to stand and de- liver. Nor could the masses resist the force employed by those in power. Possessing practically no legal 8 status, the despoiled toilers could but bow to the will of those who were determined to maintain the status quo. Theological Blunders Help the Despoilers. Moreover the theological doctrines of those ages were a shield to the exploiting classes, a wrong per- petrated by teachers of religion blameworthy in the ex- treme. The pulpits taught that poverty was a blessing created by God as the means of enabling the rich to bestow the charity which might procure their salvation. The masses were also led to understand whenever, in sheer despair, they spoke rebelliously of their sad con- dition and groaned under their burdens, that the "king- dom of heaven" could not be established on earth, that mundane iniquities and inequities could only be solved in the life to come, that social justice was an impossible ideal, and that only in the next life could man hope for the institution of justice and for the full reward of all his efforts on earth. The masses were trained, in an ec- clesiastical sense, to "deal in futures," and the struggle for human rights was long deferred by promises, deftly and craftily made, that the dispossessed poor would sit in heaven in eternal glory to enjoy the gnashing of teeth and wailing of the souls of the exploiters as they endured an eternity of torment. Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. Again we turn to our Prophets who promise that every man shall sit under his own vine and under his own fig-tree. They have little to say about the compensations to be meted out in the next world to those who have been despoiled in this life; not because, forsooth, Israel's masters did not believe in a future existence beyond the tomb, nor because they did not believe in immortality as an axiom of religion, nor because they denied the beati- tude awaiting the departed spirits of men in a glorified state after death. They addressed themselves so little to the theme of ''Rewards and Punishments," or "Heaven and Hell," because they did not wish to distract the at- tention of their hearers, by promises of eternal glory, from their duty to endeavor to institute glory for man- kind in the world. The earth is to be filled with the knowledge of God : every man is to sit under his own vine and under his own fig-tree, in this world; the king- dom of God to prevail in another life after death is in- significant, in the eyes of the prophet, in comparison with the kingdom of God which is to be established in this life. And I conceive it to be one of the chief duties and responsibilities of Capital that it toil and labor to usher in that age of glorious prediction, "when every man shall sit under his vine and under his fig-tree and none shall make them afraid." Wealth a Blessing and a Curse. We must not forget that, in the final analysis, Capi- tal is useless without Labor which earns for it the val- uable increment. It is as foolish to regard Labor as the sole source of wealth as to hold that Capital alone is wealth. Neither one nor the other would be serviceable without the ideals which have inspired the race in its pursuit of happiness and blessing. Society has been a 10 tremendous force in the creation of those desires which have made both Capital and Labor necessary, and So- ciety is largely responsible for the unearned increase of wealth. At the present stage of human development it is foolish to inveigh against Capital. Correctly em- ployed, and with an ever-widening vista of opportunity for a more equitable distribution, it is a blessing. Only when it is corruptly, selfishly and ignobly used is it a curse to its possessor and to society in general. Surplus Social Wealth. I think that these truths are gradually dawning on the consciousness of many, but we perceive that ex- ploitation is still an active condition. It has, by no means, ceased, nor will it cease immediately, although we may continue to hope that, some day, the prophets' ideal will be made real. In the meantime it is well for us to realize that without surplus wealth there will be no democracy, (Cf. Patten's "The Theory of Social Forces.") For untold ages surplus wealth was a thing unknown from a social standpoint. The amount of capital called into existence from year to year rarely met social needs. Mankind was distressingly poor except in an infinitesimally small number of cases. But, gen- erally speaking, men were contented to have it so. Peace- ful agricultural pursuits, active military services, and domestic manufactures, afforded all the opportunities that were sought with any degree of eagerness. Labor unions were unknown. Factory systems were undreamed of. Trusts were not conceivable. 11 The New Age. But those bucolic days passed away, and a new era dawned. This new age introduced with the application of steam to manufactures, and the still newer age which began with the use of electricity as a productive force have created a new era for humanity. For the first time in the world's history progressive nations are provided with a surplus of wealth. Without such surplus pro- gressive social ideals are impossible ; it forms the very heart of the system which will result, if men will it to be so, in the general spread of knowledge and the conse- quent uplift which promises so much for humanity. The growth of Capital in the United States has been phe- nomenal. Nothing like it has ever occurred in the world's history. Labor claims that it has created all this wealth. Capital claims that it belongs to it; and this discussion concerning the source of Capital will not be easily set- tled. Time alone will show the justice of the claim and counter-claim. But it remains true that no matter what labor has converted from raw material into finished pro- duct, the potential wealth of the world has ever been here. The mines which have been opened up, the foods which have been reaped from the surface of the earth, have been here potentially from time immemorial. Both Capital and Labor depend upon a new element but rarely considered in this connection, the dynamic power of an idea. In the last analysis brain counts for more than brawn, for all the capital in the world without the brain behind it would be almost valueless. It was the creation 12 of the social surplus by means not only of Labor, by men's hands, but by the more valuable labor of men's minds, which made a democracy possible. The Cost of Democracy. ^With the growth of wealth liberal government be- gan to develop, and as America throve democratic ideals grew apace. It has always cost something to do any- thing, and as the machinery of democracy is costly, schools, for instance, represent an expenditure far in excess of the cost of standing armies, its ideals are only realizable in a land where a social surplus has been ac- cumulated. This social surplus in America has grown in leaps and bounds, and it is surely not without some points of interest to us to consider, for a moment, the manner of its growth, being due, as it is, largely, to the ideas of one man, Alexander Hamilton. The Origin of the Temporary Tariff. In his Report to Congress on Manufactures in 1791, Hamilton, then Secretary of the Treasury, showed that a nation devoted almost wholly to agricultural pursuits could not create the social surplus necessary for the de- velopment of a democracy; that while an agricultural people might be happy and contented, it would never be rich enough to accumulate a national surplus to carry on the vast undertakings which democracy demanded. Money is needed to build schools, to pay teachers, to buy books, to train men in the learned professions, to obtain the concomitants of a progressing civilization. In a word, it takes money, as I said before, to get anything and everything, and Hamilton urged the Protective Policy, as iniquitous as a principle as it has been help- ful as a temporary expedient and governmental policy. To Hamilton's credit be it said he suggested his econo- mic policy only as a temporary measure. The Burden on the Land. If I here refer to economic matters, let me add, in passing, that I am but following the example, although the application is different, of my masters, Isaiah and Micah. These prophets could not dissociate religion from the economic life of the people; nor can we, nor ought we. But to continue. Hamilton felt that, as the American agriculturists were comparatively rich and as they had received an economic advantage over the farmers of all lands by the governmental gift of free land, they could best bear the burden of a tariff. There- fore, urged this father of modern Protection, we can safely use the surplus of the agriculturists as a means of fostering manufactures. Thus out of our primary industry, agriculture, has been developed, by means of the Protective Tariff, our secondary industry, manu- factures. A One-Sided Tariff. It cannot be denied that the protective policy has worked like a charm for manufacturers. It is also true that the American farmers did, originally, receive free grants of land from the government. While conditions in land-ownership have changed since Hamilton's days, the 14 Tariff, however, remains; and I think that it cannot be successfully proved that the ultimate cost of Protection does not fall most oppressively upon the population en- gaged in the business of producing the staples of agri- culture which are sold at the world's international, free- trade price. When such men, by an economic device or policy, are forced to be content with a free-trade income while they are compelled to buy in a market whose prices are artificially appreciated by a Tariff on Manu- factures, there is an element of inequity maintained by governmental procedure which demands correction. Real Free Trade. The wealth created from the soil has, therefore, been the ultimate source of the social surplus, and some day there will be a more equitable distribution of it if the Tariff is to be tolerated by the American people. There- fore, I look forward to the age when Free Trade will supplant the present economic policy of our country. Xow do not let prejudice or mere selfishness meet this statement with derision. I do not mean by Free Trade what so often passes for it. As a lad I heard, from men like Prof. Thorold Rogers and Prof. Fawcett, what these great economists mean by that great commercial princi- ple. Free Trade does not even consider the question of Tariffs; they do not come with its purview. Some day society will be so civilized that an international congress will determine, in humanity's behalf, what each country is best fitted to produce, what each land can yield for the general good with the maximum efficiency and mini- mum expenditure of effort. That is the basic and funda- 15 mental thought of Free Trade. Products thus raised will not compete with one another but will be freely ex- changed for reciprocal advantage. A Mere Vision. A dream, you say, only a dream ! It may be so, but it has this advantage, that it is a dream thoroughly worthy of realization through the ablest efforts of man- kind's noblest members. Some day a social condition will prevail, due to the equitable distribution of the social surplus of wealth, when the knowledge of God will fill the earth as the waters cover the sea, when every man will dwell under his vine and under his fig-tree and none shall make them afraid. The approach of that day is growing nearer and nearer, though its actual existence is still remote. In the meantime it is both the duty and responsibility of Capital to toil for mankind's good by directing human energy toward the creation of the social surplus which will most surely and most rapidly make that day a reality. The Increasing Social Surplus. That social surplus is being accumulated at an ex- traordinary rate. "New York today is twice as. rich as was the whole of the United States in 1850. This coun- try possesses fifteen times as much wealth as it did in 1860. From 1870 to 1890, wealth increased in America at the rate of two billions a year, while from 1900 to 1904, it increased five billions a year. The latest Government reports, which give information up to the year 1907, tell 16 us that, in each eighteen months between 1900 and 1904, the increased wealth of the United States, in eighteen months remember, was greater than the whole wealth of America in 1850. Xow, to come a little nearer home. In 1840 we pro- duced less than two million tons of coal ; in 1909, T^our hundred and eleven million tons of coal were mined. Comparing 1907 with 1906, we find that the coal produc- tion for that one single year was equal to the entire out- put in America for the eighty-five years from the found- ing of our government to the time of the Civil War ; or, in a word, in that one single year as much coal was mined in this country as was mined from 1776 to 1861. In 1870 three million tons of iron ore were mined ; in 1909, fifty-one million tons were mined. Pig iron never reached one million tons in one year before 1864; in 1907, twenty-seven million tons of pig iron were made. Up to 1880 at no time had the United States made one mil- lion tons of steel in a year; in 1909 twenty-four million tons of steel were manufactured in the United States. Before the war, sometimes, in unusual years, one hundred million gallons of petroleum were pumped in one year; in 1909 the almost unthinkable amount of seven hundred and fifty thousand million gallons, seven and a half billion gallons of oil were raised from the earth. The population, according to the United States reports, has not increased one hundred per cent in thirty- three years ; but the railroad traffic, passenger and freight, increased over one hundred per cent in nine years, and in 1909 the railroad freight mileage alone 17 would represent the work done by the 92,000,000 people in the United States carrying a load weighing four hun- dred pounds a distance of thirty miles." (Cf. "The New Democracy," by Dr. W. E. Weyl, pp. 204, 205.) Social Surpltus Becoming Universal. This increase of wealth in America is phenomenal and surpasses all experiences of like kind among any people. The total wealth of our country in 1904 was es- timated at one hundred and seven billions of dollars. While the United States has increased its social surplus other nations have not been idle. The total wealth of Great Britain in the same year is estimated to have been fifty-eight billions of dollars; of France, fifty billions of dollars; of Germany, forty-eight billions of dollars.* This increase of wealth is the source of the social surplus on which economists base their hopes of the coming ideal democratic commonwealth. When machinery was first applied to manufactures, Labor was found with great difficulty. The rural com- munities were scoured for help, and every inducement had to be held out to the agricultural population to leave the farm for the city. The reward for toil brought larger financial returns, but no sympathetic person can read *Mr. Gladstone is authority for the statement that all the wealth, which could be handed down to posterity, produced during the first eighteen centuries of the Christian era, was equalled by the production of the first fifty years of the nine- teenth century, and that as much more was produced from 1850-1870. The increase of wealth, in America alone, since 1870. is almost enough to challenge one's belief. 18 of the various steps in the development of the Factory System without a thrill of horror. Oppose Oligarchies! The French say "L' appetit vient en mangeant," Appetite comes while eating; desire for money grew on what it fed on. The growing intelligence of Labor led them! to cry that "Capital gets the cream. Labor the skim- milk." This is no anarchist's denunciation of rich men, but a commentary, more or less just, on prevailing econo- mic conditions. The ages which were most destructive of human liberty were those in which a few controlled the nation's wealth. Out of such a condition grew des- potism and consequent revolution. Will not statistics prove that we are on the eve of a return to such a con- dition? Is it healthy for any nation to have so much wealth in the hands of so few people, as is the case in our land today? When Labor had no rights which Capital was bound to respect such a condition may have been tolerated for centuries ; but today, in a democracy, can such an economic condition long prevail without projecting a crisis? It is, therefore, Capital's duty to help to secure a more equitable distribution of the nation's wealth, so -that Labor receive a more generous return for its efforts, lest our Republic degenerate into an oligarchy which will involve the whole world in disaster. From the Rich Much is Expected. -' Capital is entitled to all the legal rights due to' Labor; but in this age ethical concepts are also to be 19 given a place. We ought to know that the law of com- pensation is absolute and that every right involves a reciprocal duty. He who is endowed with the ac- quisitive faculty must now realize that he to whom much is given is expected to do much, and he who enjoys wide opportunity of leisure, through personal or inherited effort, must use what he has for the benefit of others as well as self. Our Indifference to Duty. This is no new gospel of wealth, but a new em- phasis on an old truth. Many hear it proclaimed, and are heedless. They call such men as myself, who repeat this truth, "mere theorists." They say that we know nothing about business. They tell me that were I to enter business I would be bankrupt in a month. I admit every objection; I am a theorist, if you will; I know nothing about business, and I might go bankrupt in a short time after entering upon a business career. But let me tell you that I would rather be an honest bankrupt enjoying my ideals, than some millionaires I know. At least, there would be no human blood on the little I might have, nor would there be any widows' curses on it, nor the condemnation of honorable men. It is good, in the present period of social evolution, to make money; but it is Capital's duty to be able to hold itself answerable without fear to righteous men concern- ing the manner in which it has been made. The Duty of Thinking. Some capitalists tell us that practical business is vastly different from the study of economics, that theory 20 and practice cannot always be made to harmonize, that in dealing with the human being a new element is intro- duced which is an unknowable factor. It is all very well to theorize, they say; but one cannot always bend facts to meet ideals. If men were machines, they say, it would be different ; one might get them to perform one's will ; but human nature is variable and it is not always easy to meet the demands made of us. I have often heard and read such statements, but, for one, I thank God that man is not a machine and that he is capable of rebelling against tyrannical and oppressive conditions. Men may argue how they will, the larger opportunity brings greater responsibilities not only toward those depended upon us, but also toward those who are not members of our immediate family. Every man should, of course, feel that the duty he owes to his own family is imperative; but we must also realize that we are, in each case, a link in the social chain. Because we must provide for our own, we do not, there- fore, have to lead the life of a mental hermit. We are, under all circumstances members of the social organism. How many books have we read touching its develop- ment and our relation to it? What discussions do we hold concerning it? How often have we even considered the matter? We set up our little, petty prejudices, we advance our own selfish interests born of our narrow experiences, against the mature thought of the world's masters. We read only a Ledger, and discuss only with drummers or commercial travellers, and we impudently believe that we have a solution for all world-problems because we made a success, God alone knows how, of 21 our little business. There are about one hundred million persons in our country, not one family; let Capital never forget this! Righteousness, the All-Inclusive Duty. Capital must realize its social obligation expressed in one single word coined in the spiritual mint of Jewish experience, a word which covers all that is to be said on the subject of Capital and Labor. That word is Ts'dakah. You have heard the term used to convey the idea of charity; our Bible uses it in the sense of righteousness, that commingling of justice and mercy which is the highest charity and has nothing about it of the degrading and brutalizing charity which has so long prevailed. Righteousness, to do it and live it and be inspired by it, this is Capital's duty, just as it is Labor's duty. Without its spirit social evolution is impossible ; through its spirit, every man will yet dwell under his vine and under his fig-tree ; and none shall make them afraid. The Divine Call. I believe in what is known as the divine call. We act under divine guidance when we listen to the inner voice pleading to us to do service for man. The prophet can no more help uttering his message though to speak means death, than the nightingale can help singing sweetly, or the maid can help loving her mate, or the river can help flowing toward the sea. Beethoven must write sonatas and Angelo must carve sculptures, and Paganini must play his violin, and Mozart must com- pose his musical writings, even though to follow the Muse means starvation. The capitalist follows his call- 22 ing in devoting himself to the accumulation of wealth. The acquisitive faculty is given to some and denied to others. It has ever been so; it will long continue to be so. The ability to accumulate brings with it rights that must be respected, but rights also bring with them duties and responsibilities which must be fulfilled. Capital will long continue to r^ake capital, but with the increase of wealth comes an increase of social obligations. As the poet, the painter, the sculptor, the writer, is, in each case, under obligation to use his gift for the social good, so is the capitalist responsible for the use of his ability and accumulation, to that society which enabled him to ac- cumulate wealth. Moreover, what joy has the singer who sings to himself alone? What happiness has the poet who keeps his poems to himself? No more joy in life can he expect who makes money and keeps it for himself. Men are stewards of their talents, financial and mental, and the gains made by the few from the many must be shared with the many by the few. Some day this blessed gospel of reciprocity will be lived. Some day men will realize how much they owe to others, to the social organization, to the humblest toiler. Some day righteousness will prevail on earth. Yes, there shall come a day when Capital will have as much conscience as it now demands of Labor, and in that day the world will be full of the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea, and they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig-tree; and none shall make them afraid. 23 Sunday Lectures Before Rodeph Shalom Congregation. SERIES V. 1. Forward! 12. 2. What We May Learn From 13. Japan. 14. 3. My Religion. 15. 4. The Jew in America. 16. 5. Why Does God Permit Suffer- 17. ing? 6 The Good Father. 18. 7. The Loving Mother. 19. 8. In the Twilight. 9. When the Shadows Flee Away. 20. 10. A Jewish View of Prayer. 21. 11. A Jewish View of Creed. 22. The Pace that Kills. The Light that Failed. Religion for the Rich. If Sinners Entice Thee. Counting the Cost. False Friends and Friendly Foes. A Criticism of the Clergy. A Criticism of the Congrega- tion. The Sympathy of Religions. The Jew and the Christian. The Man with the Muck-Rake. SERIES VI. 1. Hearts and Creeds. I 11. 2. Blessed are the Discontented. 3. Man and Superman. 12. 4. Give the Child a Chance. 13. 6. The Making of an American. 14. 6. If Men were Honest. 15. 7. A Jewish View of Salvation. 16. 8. A Jewish View of God. 17. 9. Hallowed by Thy Name! 18. 10. I. The Greatest Thing In the 19. World. 20. II. The Greatest Thing in th World. The Poet of the Heart. An Epistle to the Gentiles. The New Theology. Rejected of Men. The Might of Right. The Life that Counts. Those Who Are For Us. Those Who Are Against Us. The Faith of All Good Men. SERIES VII. 1. Through Love to Light. 14. 2. The Road to Happiness. 3. The Midnight Sun. 15. 4. If I Were You. 16. 6. Heroes. 17. 6. The Holy Trinity. 18. 7. Try Again. 19. 8. A Jewish View of the Messiah. 20. 9. The Revolt of Reason. 21. 10. Peace, Peace, yet there is no 22. Peace. 23. 12. The Choir Invisible. 24. 12. It Pays. 25. 13. Public Opinion. The Founders of the Faiths. I. Moses. II. Confucius. III. Buddha. IV. Zoroaster. V. Jesus. VI. Mahommed. VII. The Holy Catholic Church Unfortunate Success. Blessed are the Faithful. Cursed are the Slanderers. The President and His Policies The Ascent of Man. SERIES VIII. 1. Co-operative Creed for Jew and 12. Christian. 12. 2. Let us Reason Together. 13. 3. Trust and Try. 14. 4. Through Telescope and Micro- 15. scope. 16. 5. Home, Sweet Home. 17. 6. Brother Against Brother. 18. 7. Milton's Message to Our Age. 19. 8. Keep Up Your Courage. 20. 9. Innocent or Guilty? 21. 10. Old Arrows from New Quivers. 22. I. Mr. Crewe's Career. II. Electra. III. The Broken Lance. IV. The Saint. IV. The Tether. Abraham Lincoln's Religion. Charles Darwin A Tribute. VI. The Simple Life. VII. The Iron Heel. VIII. Lay Down Your Arms. IX. Father and Son. X. A Book of Noble Women Let Well Enough Alone! Sunday Lectures Before Rodeph Shalom Congregation. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 8. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. SERIES For What Do We Stand? 14. The Consequences of Belief. 15. The Modern Millionaire. 16. The Wandering Jew. 17. A Father's Power. 18. A Mother's Influence. 19. The Child's Realm. 20. The Chosen of the Earth. 21. Atheism and Anarchism. A Jewish View of Jesus. 23. The Doom of Dogma. 24. The Dawn of Truth. 25. Friendships. j 26. Emile Zola; A Tribute. 15. The Highest Gifts. 16. Art and the Synagogue. 17. Prejudice. 18. Touth and Its Visions. 19. Age and Its Realities. 20. Is Life Worth Living? 21. Is Marriage a Failure? 22. The True and Only Son of God. The Conquering Hero. 23. The Truth in Judaism. 24. The One Only God. 25. The Holy Bible. 26. The Vast Forever. 1. What Do We Gain by Reform? 13. 2. "Making Haste to be Rich." 14. 3. Mobs. 15. 4. "What All the World's a seek- 16. ing." 17. 6. May we Criticize the Bible? 18. 6. II. Results of Bible Criticism. 7. Religion and the Theater. 19. 8. The Continuous Warfare. 20. 9. Reform Judaism and Primitive 21. Christianity. 22. 10. A Child's Blessing. 23. 11. Hsrbert Spencer; A Tribute. 24. 12. It, God Divided? Zionism. Gone, but Not Forgotten. Pleasures and Pastimes. Marriage. Intermarriage. What is the Good of Religion? Love and Duty. The Miracle of the Ages. A Jewish View of Easter. The Spirit of Modern Judaism. The Ideal Home. The Prophets of Israel. Marching On. SERIES II. Our Neighbor's Faith. The Messiah. The Future of Religion. The Liberators. Man and Na.ture. What Woman May Do. The School of Life. Sowing the Wind Reaping the Whirlwind. The World's Debt to Israel. The Man Without a Religion. The Prize and the Price. Samson. SERIES III. SERIES IV. 15. 16. 1. The Blue Laws. 2. The City and the Teacher. 3. Believe Not All You Hear. 17. 4. A Jewish View of Life. 5. A Jewish View of Death. IS. 6. The Cry of the Children. 19. 7. While There's Life There's 20. Hope. 21. 8. Marriage and Divorce. 23. 9. Birthdays. 2-1. 10. The Peace of Justice. 22. 11. The Jewish Home. 25. 12. To Have and To Hold. 26. 13. The Success of Negro Educa- 27. tion Booker T. Washington. 28. 14. The Fatherhood of God. "NATMNAL." Pltttbunh Cruel, to be Kind. Hypocrisy. War or Peace? The Strenuous Life. The Parent and the Child. The Politician or the People Which? The Use of Life. The Jew. Social Purity. The Noblest Work of God. Crimes of the Tongue. Self-Respect. The Brotherhood of Man. Unity, Not Uniformity. Plain Living and High Think- ing. I. Prophets and Prophecy. II. Thomas Carlyle. III. Ralph Waldo Emerson. IV. Alfred Tennyson. VI. Isaac M. Wise. VII. John Ruskin. V. Theodore Parker. VIII. Lyof N. Tolstoy. IX. Abraham Lincoln. Jesus and His Brethren. The Gospel of Common Sense. UNIV. OF CALIF. LIBRARY, LOS ANGELES f^ >- I ,OFCA| Illlllll Illl Mill UNI Mill IIMI II '' A 000 072 490 6