caa a22 4500 388088893 CHVBK 20180307125241.0 cr unu---uuuuu 161130e199903 xx s 000 0 eng 10.2307/3170110 doi S0009640700071055 pii (NATIONALLICENCE)cambridge-10.2307/3170110 Lending a Hand to Labor: James Myers and the Federal Council of Churches, 1926-1947 [Elektronische Daten] On 31 September 1929, James Myers, the industrial secretary of the Federal Council of Churches (FCC), arrived in Marion, North Carolina, to investigate the causes for the continuing industrial unrest that had swept across the southern textile industry since the spring. Shortly after Myers's arrival, as the textile workers attempted to picket the plant, sheriff's deputies fired into the crowd, killing six strikers and wounding twenty-five others. Myers's eulogy for the slain workers admonished the mill owners for the harsh working conditions and low wages, but mostly for their opposition to their workers' right to organize. He also scolded clergymen who argued that industrial conflict was "not the Church's business.” Over the ensuing months, Myers set an example of Christian involvement in labor unrest. He investigated the strike's impact on the community, he met with the governor, and he offered to help mediate the conflict. Dismayed by the suffering that he had uncovered, Myers also organized a relief campaign among church people on behalf of the families of the striking workers. Reflecting on Myers's efforts, the Christian Century declared that Myers stood "almost alone as representative of any active concern in the churches” in the midst of "appalling industrial warfare.” Otherwise, "the forces of organized religion would have to confess to an amazing indifference when confronted by the most acute industrial conflict of the year.” Copyright © American Society of Church History 1999 Fones-Wolf Elizabeth associate professor of history at West Virginia University. Fones-Wolf Ken associate professor of labor studies at West Virginia University. Church History: Studies in Christianity and Culture Cambridge University Press 68/1(1999-03), 62-86 0009-6407 68:1<62 1999 68 CHH https://doi.org/10.2307/3170110 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.2307/3170110 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Fones-Wolf Elizabeth associate professor of history at West Virginia University NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Fones-Wolf Ken associate professor of labor studies at West Virginia University NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Church History: Studies in Christianity and Culture Cambridge University Press 68/1(1999-03), 62-86 0009-6407 68:1<62 1999 68 CHH CC0 http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0 nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-cambridge