Article April 3, 1909 Issue

TRUTH'S ANSWER

CHARLES A. BLAKE.

In the Boston American of July 23, 1908, was an editorial accompanied by a cleverly drawn illustration,—a figure of a man, the familiar type of the unemployed of every city and of all time. The subject of the editorial was, "Who is going to answer this man?" and it was suggested by a question which had been put to Mr. Taft after he had delivered an address at Cooper Union in New York city. The question was, "If a man is out of work, and has a family starving, what is he to do?" The answer given was, "God knows; I don't." The editorial comment on this answer was, that it was honest but not satisfying. It graphically pictured this man's condition, and definitely placed the responsibility for "the plight of honest men willing to work faithfully but unable to work." It implied that such a one is not satisfied with simply an honest answer, but demands a satisfactory one also. The editorial was a pathetic and touching appeal for the man in question, a sincere and vivid portrayal of the hopeless misery of his condition, but its writer failed to give a clue to the remedy, and I believe he was as ignorant of the real solution as was the one commented upon.

In the first place, I do not think that there ever was a man strictly honest and absolutely faithful who was unable to find work and receive a fair reward for his labor. Whether the conditions of business be prosperous or otherwise, we have the unemployed. Perhaps the number is greater in a time of depression, yet they are always with us. Wherever and whenever there is free bread, there we find the bread line. Whence, then, comes this condition? As seen in Christian Science it is state of the human mind, a sense of lack, fear, etc., and until that "perfect love" which "casteth out fear" is realized and practised universally, the problem of the unemployed will remain unsolved.

Having been through a similar experience to that of the subject of the editorial, with one exception, that of the family, and because I have found a solution of the problem which has proven satisfactory and which is available to every one, I will relate a little of my experience. A few years ago, although equipped with a high school education, with a working knowledge of two trades, with admitted talent and ability, of good family and careful training, as free from bad habits as the majority of young men of similar advantages, I found myself far from home, out of money, out of employment, poorly clad, seemingly friendless, and hopelessly in debt; a young man under twenty-five, a failure. About this time I fortunately came in contact with a Christian Scientist, who, seeing my need, endeavored to show me that my condition was the result of wrong thinking.

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