power which I need not go into. Do you
mean to tell me, on the plea that business is business and hence
a department by itself, that deception, cheating, and stealing are
justified and necessary? The awakened conscience of the public is
condemning you.

"The time is at hand, though neither you nor I may live to see it,
when the public conscience itself is beginning to perceive thin higher
justice hidden from you. And you are attempting to mislead when you
do not distinguish between the men who, for their own gain and power,
mismanage such corporations as are mismanaged, and those who own stock
and are misled.

"The public conscience of which I speak is the leaven of Christianity at
work. And we must be content to work with it, to await its fulfilment,
to realize that no one of us can change the world, but can only do his
part in making it better. The least we can do is to refuse to indulge
in practices which jeopardize our own souls, to remain poor if we cannot
make wealth honestly. Say what you will, the Christian government we
are approaching will not recognize property, because it is gradually
becoming clear that the holding of property delays the Kingdom at which
you scoff, giving the man who owns it a power over the body of the man
who does not. Property produces slavery, since it compels those who have
none to work for those who have.

"The possession of property, or of sufficient property to give
one individual an advantage over his fellows is inconsistent with
Christianity. Hence it will be done away with, but only when enough have
been emancipated to carry this into effect. Hence the saying of our
Lord about the needle's eye--the danger to the soul of him who owns much
property."

"And how about your Christian view of the world as a vale of tears?"
Eldon Parr inquired.

"So long as humanity exists, there will always be tears," admitted the
rector. "But it is a false Christianity which does not bid us work for
our fellow-men, to relieve their suffering and make the world brighter.
It is becoming clear that the way to do this effectively is through
communities, cooperation, through nations, and not individuals. And
this, if you like, is practical,--so practical that the men like you,
who have gained unexampled privilege, fear it more and more. The old
Christian misconception, that the world is essentially a bad place, and
which has served the ends of your privilege, is going by forever. And
the motto of th