The Church of Christ

Front matter

CHURCH

OF

CHRIST

Contents

PAGE

Biographical Sketch of the Author of "The Church of Christ," Thomas W. Phillips (Feb. 23, 1835— July 21, 1912) 11

Tributes Paid to the Life and Work of Hon. Thomas W. Phillips 38

Chapter II. — The Kingdom of Heaven

The Desire of Life and Happiness Deeply Implanted in the Human Heart — Jesus Came According to Prophecy to Establish a Kingdom — Introduced by John the Baptist — First Case of Gentile Healing — Rejection of the Jews — First Record of Pardon — Apostles — Second Record of Pardon — Healing on the Sabbath — Prophecy Regarding the Gentiles — The Kingdom — Second Case of Gentile Healing... 86

Chapter III. — Preparatory Teaching

The Confession of Peter and the Church of Christ — Significance of the Transfiguration — Sending Out the Seventy — The Prodigal Son — Forgiveness in the Church — Jesus and the Little Children — First Inquiry After Eternal Life... 95

Chapter XXVIII. — Paul at Corinth

Paul in Corinth — Establishes a Church — Paul in Ephesus — His Third Missionary Journey — Apollos and the Baptism of John — Paul Arrested in Jerusalem and His Defense — Imprisoned at Cesarea — Speeches Before Festus, * Felix and Agrippa 282

Chapter XXIX. — The Prisoner of the Lord

From Cesarea to Rome as a Prisoner — Preaches Two Years and is Released — Paul's Last Days — Prayer — Its Place — Terms of Pardon Divine and Unchangeable 292

Chapter XXX. — The Assurance of Pardon

Importance of Pardon — Different Views of Pardon — Consciousness of Sin — The Scripture the Only Evidence — Scripture Terms the Only Way of Pardon — Knowledge of Pardon — Promise Cannot Fail — Senses Versus Testimony 301

CONTENTS 9

Chapter XXXI. — The Proof of Pardon page

Feelings not Evidence — The Testimony of the Spirit — Conscience — Sanctification — Revivals — A Sure Foundation — Penalty for Disobedience 308

Chapter XXXII. — The Church of Christ

The Church of Christ as an Organic Institution — Its Supreme Importance — First, the Name — Second, the Officers and Their Duties — Bishops or Elders — Deacons — Ministers or Evangelists 324

Chapter XXXIII. — Church Ordinances The Ordinances and Their Observance — The Lord's Supper — The First Day of the Week — Christian Baptism — All Monumental 333

Chapter XL. — The Uniqueness of Jesus page

Christianity's Great Author Contrasted with Other Founders of Religions 396

The Kingdom in Preparation and Fulfillment 403

A Personal Tribute to James A. Garfield 451

Comments and Commendations on "The Church of

Christ" 470

Index 493

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Of the Author of "The Church of Christ," Thomas W. Phillips (Feb. 23, 1835-July 21, 1912)

By THOMAS W. PHILLIPS, Jr.

The book entitled "The Church of Christ" was written by Hon. Thomas W. Phillips, of New Castle, Pa., and published, June, 1905, by Funk & Wagnalls Company, the author concealing his identity by attributing its authorship to "A Layman" in order that it might be read without prejudice, and judged solely upon its merits. Under the caption "The Church of Christ, by a Layman," fourteen editions, comprising a total of more than fifty-two thousand copies, were published. After the death of the author, his family purchased the copyright and plates from the Funk & Wagnalls Company, and arranged to have a new edition, with much new material, published by The Standard Publishing Company. "The Church of Christ" is used as a text-book in several colleges ; it has been translated into the Chinese, the Japanese and the Hindu languages, and is now (19 15) being translated into the Russian language. Hundreds of commendations, some of which are printed at the back of this volume, were received from editors, professors,

missionaries and clergymen, who differed widely in their religious beliefs, which clearly indicates that the author has handled his subject in a logical and convincing manner, having built upon the plain and unequivocal statements contained in God's holy and eternal word.

While still a young man, and long before the innovation came in vogue, to use his own expression, "of teaching the Bible by the 'hop, step, skip and jump' method," Thomas W. Phillips taught in the Bible -school the entire New Testament through twice consecutively. During this teaching he made copious notes which were filed away together with a few carefully prepared sermons which he preached when a boy or a very young man. After he had retired from politics and largely from business also, he collected all that he could find of his old notes and manuscripts, and used them as a basis in the preparation of this epoch-making volume. It was on the 23rd day of February, 1905, his seventieth birthday, that he took his manuscript, just completed, to the Funk & Wagnalls Company, and arranged for the publication of "The Church of Christ." Subsequent to this date he prepared and had published two articles which are reprinted in this volume, one entitled "The Kingdom in Preparation and Fulfillment," and the other "The Lord's Supper." His last illness came upon him when he was engaged in preparing an article on "The Resurrection."

It is because inspiration can be drawn not only from that which the good or great have written, but also from the lives they lived, the ideals toward which they rose, the esteem in which they were held by their contemporaries and associates, and the practical results they accomplished, that we give a brief sketch of the author of this volume.

That in Thomas W. Phillips were embodied many of the traits characteristic of the stock from which he descended, will be recognized by glancing at his family history. His first American ancestor was Rev. George Phillips, the founder of the Congregational Church in America. The Rev. George Phillips was the son of Christopher Phillips, of Rainham, district of Gallow, county of Norfolk, England, and Wendell Phillips is authority for the statement that this family could be traced back to the twelfth century in England. Rev. George Phillips was born in 1593, and very early in life he gave indications of deep piety and love of learning. On Apr. 20, 16 10, at the age of seventeen, he entered Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he became distinguished for his remarkable scholarship, being especially proficient in theological studies. He was graduated B.A. 16 13, and M.A. 161 7. After leaving the university he was settled in the ministry at Boxford, Suffolk County, but his strong attachment to the principles of the old Nonconformists soon brought him into difficulty, and, as the storm of persecution grew darker and more threatening, he decided to cast his lot with the Puritans who were about to depart for the New World. On April 12, 1630, he, with his wife, daughter of Richard Sergent, and their two children, Samuel and Elizabeth, embarked for America in the "Arbella" as fellowpassenger with Governor Winthrop, Sir Richard Saltonstall and other assistants of the Massachusetts Company, arriving at Salem on June 12, 1630, where his wife very soon died.

The Rev. George proceeded up the Charles River, and with others founded the settlement called Watertown, and was the greatly respected and beloved minister of the Watertown Church for fourteen years, until the time of his death, July 1, 1644. He was independent and conscientious in forming and maintaining his opinions and was renowned for his learning in the original languages of the Scriptures and in theological doctrines. His hearers counted him "The Irrefragable Doctor," and the historian says he was "mighty in the Scriptures and very diligent to search out the mind of Christ therein contained." He entertained more enlightened views of civil and religious liberty, or had a more just appreciation of it, than that which prevailed among the other planters of Massachusetts Bay, and had repeated theological controversies in which he was characterized by candor and Christian urbanity. This great, good and gifted man lived during the formative period of our history, was the earliest advocate of the Congregational order and discipline, in which he was, says Hubbard, "deeply versed and very skillful," and, with his ruling elder, Mr. Richard Browne, stood almost unaided and alone until the arrival of Mr. John Cotton in firmly maintaining what was, and still is, the Congregationalism of New England. He took a leading part in, and oftentimes an advanced position on, civic affairs, and was upon one occasion put in jail by Governor Winthrop for advocating a plan of government which afterwards became what is known as Representative Government; that is, a form of government where the official is nominated and elected, not directly by the populace, but by their representatives, and this country is indebted more to him than to any other one man for our form of Representative Government. The tendency to-day to do away entirely with the form of Representative Government advocated by Rev. George Phillips and substitute therefor both nominations and elections of all officers by the direct vote of the populace is fraught with grave perils, for it opens the way for mob rule, making it possible for the demagogue to first rule, then ruin this Republic, and bring upon it the common fate of all the Republics of history.

Rev. George Phillips and his numerous progeny have had a remarkable influence on the religious, educational and political developments of our country, for from him descended a long line of ministers, educators, philanthropists, judges, counselors, statesmen, soldiers, and the highest* type of business men — "a sterling race, temperate, just and highminded."

Samuel, the eldest son of Reverend George, was also a minister and officiated repeatedly at the great public ceremonies which put in requisition the abilities of the first men in the New England colonies. Descendants of Rev. Samuel Phillips include his grandson, Rev. Samuel Phillips (born at Salem, 1689; died at Andover, 1771), who was pastor of the Andover Church without intermission from the date of his ordination, Oct. 17, 171 1, to the day of his death, June 5, 1 771, an unbroken ministry at one church for almost sixty years, and who left more published discourses and tracts than any of his predecessors or contemporaries; Hon. Samuel and Judge Samuel Phillips, father and son, founders of Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass.; Hon. John Phillips, who joined with his brother and nephew in founding Phillips Academy, was the sole founder of Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, N. H., and through his bequests was instrumental in the founding of Andover Theological Seminary; Lieutenant- Governor William Phillips, of Boston, of whom it was said at the time of his death, in 1827, that "no man of wealth lived and died in this country who has, in proportion to his ability, done so much for the cause of charity"; Wendell Phillips, the great orator of the Abolitionist cause; and Phillips Brooks, the distinguished bishop of the Episcopal Church and renowned lecturer and writer. In the halls of the Andover and Exeter Academies and in Memorial Hall at Harvard may be seen upon the walls the portraits of various men and women of this family, every one of whom belongs among the untitled nobility of New England, representing the best element of life there, not always that which dwells in the brightest glare of publicity, but that which directs and shapes the current of public opinion.

As before stated, the first wife of Rev. George Phillips died at Salem very soon after landing. His second wife was Elizabeth Weldon, and their children were : Zerobabel, born at Watertown, Mass., Apr. 6, 1632, died at Southampton, L. I., subsequent to 1689; Jonathan, born Nov. 16, 1633, a magistrate of Watertown, lived on the homestead with his mother, died 1704, leaving numerous children; Theophilus, born May 28, 1636, lived at Watertown, and had more than a dozen children ; Annabel, buried Apr. 11, 1638, aged four months; Ephraim, born and died June, 1641 ; Obadiah, buried Apr. 5, 1 64-; Abigail, birth not recorded, married Oct. 8, 1666, James Barnard, no children.

It will thus be seen that there were four sons surviving the Rev. George Phillips ; namely, Samuel, Zerobabel, Jonathan and Theophilus. Some of Samuel's descendants have been herein above mentioned. Jonathan's line is fully accounted for in local histories of Massachusetts, and the family history of Theophilus is recorded in a book written in 1885 by Albert M. Phillips, one of his descendants.

Zerobabel Phillips, above mentioned, the eldest son of Rev. George Phillips and Elizabeth Weldon Phillips, was born in 1632, and when sixteen years of age, four years after his father's death, moved to Southampton, L. I., where he died subsequent to 1689. He was married three times; the name of his first wife is unknown, as there are no marriage records of Southampton extant of that time, but by this marriage he had a son Theophilus.

Zerobabel was the progenitor of the Maidenhead (New Jersey) Phillips family. The old town book of Maidenhead shows that this family was more numerous than any other family in Maidenhead from its settlement down as far as the book runs. At one period Maidenhead was entitled to three freeholders, and the book shows on one occasion that all three of these freeholders were members of this family. This family has from generation to generation contained men of notable physical development, of independent and conscientious inclination in forming and maintaining their opinions, of great will power and of exceptional tenacity of purpose.

The Maidenhead Phillips family enjoys the distinction of having the best military record of any family in the State of New Jersey. In the Colonial period this branch of the family was represented by Maj. Philip Phillips and Theophilus Phillips, and in the Revolutionary War by Capt. John Phillips, Col. Joseph Phillips, Capt. Philip Phillips, Capt. and Maj. Henry Phillips, in whose regiment were Edmund, Andrew and Lott Phillips, Capt. Jonathan Phillips, Adj. Elias Phillips, Capt. and Maj. John Phillips, Samuel, Asher and Ralph Phillips, Samuel and Asher being younger brothers of the three last named officers. While many members of the Maidenhead branch of the Phillips family reside in New Jersey, some are located in various other sections of the country — in Pittsburgh, Pa., and other localities in western Pennsylvania, in the State of Ohio, in the West and in the South.

Theophilus Phillips, above mentioned, son of Zerobabel Phillips, was born in Southampton, L. I., in 1653, and died at Newtown, L. I. He married in 1 67 1 Ann, daughter of Ralph Hunt, a descendant of Thomas Hunt, a colonel in Cromwell's army, and had several children.

Theophilus Phillips, son of Theophilus and Ann Hunt Phillips, was born at Newtown, L. I., May 15, 1672, died at Maidenhead, N. J., in 1709. (Maidenhead, both village and township, was changed to Lawrenceville and Lawrence, respectively, by an Act of the Legislature, Jan. 24, 18 16.) In the year 1694 Theophilus Phillips and his cousin Ralph Hunt jointly purchased land at Maidenhead (the richest agricultural section of New Jersey), and were the founders of Maidenhead. Quickly following them came their kinsfolk Philip Phillips, younger brother of Theophilus Phillips, and Samuel and Edward Hunt, brothers of Ralph Hunt. In 1697 the settlers had become sufficiently numerous to form a new township, and by 1698 religious worship was maintained. The children of Theophilus and his wife Frances were Theophilus, John, William, Joseph, Philip, Francis and three daughters.

Judge Theophilus, son of Theophilus and Frances Phillips, was born in Maidenhead about 1695, and died there in 1762. He was Burgess of Trenton under King George's charter and judge of the Hunterdon County courts from 1723 to 1749. His first wife was Elizabeth Betts and his second wife was her sister, Abigail Betts. The Betts family were from Newtown, L. L, and were very prominent in the early history of that region. His children were John, William, Richard, Joseph, Frances (married Edmund Bainbridge) and Keziah (married Capt. John Moore).

Capt. John Phillips, eldest son of Judge Theophilus and Elizabeth Betts Phillips, was born at Maidenhead, N. J., about 172 1. He was an officer in the Continental line and captain of the First Regiment, Hunterdon County Militia, Revolutionary War, and was guide to Washington at the battle of Trenton. This regiment was in the brigade of General Dickinson and participated in the battles of Trenton, Assanpink, Princeton, Germantown, Springfield and Monmouth. In 1760 he married Abigail Tindall, and their children were Thomas, Joseph, John, Theophilus and William.

Thomas Phillips, eldest son of Capt. John and Abigail Tindall Phillips, was born at Maidenhead on a three-hundred-acre homestead, deeded Feb. 3, 1752, to his father and uncle by their father, which homestead is still owned by a member of the Phillips family. The wife of Thomas Phillips was Catherine Phillips, who was not related to the "Maidenhead Phillips family," but was descended from Joseph Phillips, a Welshman, who with his wife and family came to Maidenhead about the year 1736, where he shortly afterwards died. Thomas Phillips and his wife moved to Hopewell, Hunterdon County, N. J. Their children were William, John, Elijah, Ephraim, Enoch and Sarah (who married Joseph Moore).

Ephraim Phillips, born Sept. 20, 1795, died Dec. 20, 1835, fourth son of Thomas and Catherine (Phillips) Phillips, married Ann Newton of Philadelphia, Pa., who was born May 11, 1797, and died June 14, 1867. Ann Newton's parents were Ferdinand (born in England) and Ann Maria Tarpine Newton (born in Philadelphia, Pa.). Ann Newton had three brothers and one sister, as follows : Joseph, Ebenezer, Isaac and Sarah. In 18 18 Ephraim, with his wife, Ann Newton Phillips, and their babe, Catherine, moved from New Jersey to western Pennsylvania, settling on the site of Old Enon, then Beaver County, now Lawrence County, where he erected a fulling-mill and sawmill. Ten years later the family moved to a farm of one hundred acres near Mt. Jackson, a few miles north of Enon, where, in 1835, Ephraim Phillips died, survived by his widow and eight children, as follows: Catherine, born May 30, 1817; Isaac N., born July 19, 1820; Sarah M., born Feb. 28, 1822; Ephraim, born Feb. 23, 1824; John, born Jan. 6, 1826; Mary Ann, born Oct. 6, 1830; Charles M., born Jan. 1, 1833, and Thomas W., who was born Feb. 23, 1835, and died at New Castle, Pa., July 21, 19 12, being in his seventy-eighth year. In 1862 he married Clarinda, daughter of David W. and Nancy Rebecca Arter Hardman. She died in 1866, leaving two sons,

Herbert C. (1864-1912) and Norman A. (1865- 1903). In 1870 he married Pamphila, a younger sister of his first wife, from which union there were three sons and one daughter, Victor K. ( 1 872-1901 ) , Thomas W. (1874), Clarinda Grace (1877), wife of Charles H. Johnson, and Benjamin D. (1885). 1 Thomas W., son of Ephraim and Ann Newton Phillips, was a babe only ten months old at the time of his father's death. Both his father and mother w T ere intensely, though sanely, religious, and early became identified with the great Restoration movement, inaugurated about the year 1809 by Thomas and Alexander Campbell, which has changed the course of religious thought and has given the world a broader, fuller and more rational conception of the word of God.* His mother was a woman of exceptionally forceful character, who, holding the strictest ideas of honesty, taught her children that it was wrong to take even a pin that did not belong to them. Her homely virtues and the philosophical manner in which she faced problems and perplexities made an indelible impression upon her son Thomas. With eight children to raise on a farm encumbered by debt, Mrs. Phillips had a heavy burden to carry for many years, and under such circumstances her boys could not obtain the educational advantages

* In March, 1866, Mr. Phillips, sitting in the lobby of a Philadelphia hotel, overheard a stranger, who had picked up the morning paper announcing the death of Alexander Campbell, remark, "Alexander Campbell was the first man that ever tried to reconcile religion with common sense."

that even under slightly more favorable circumstances would have been theirs.

The aptitude and desire for learning, however, was part of their inheritance, and Thomas supplemented the little education he could obtain at the district schools, and from his older brothers, by earnest independent study. It is often the case that where a boy is driven to seek learning under great difficulty by the force of his own desire, that he acquires a broader and more thorough knowledge than if fortune had made it possible for him to meander more or less aimlessly through a specific college curriculum. Thomas Phillips was, even in his teens, exceptionally well read in history, biography and scientific literature, was the leading debater in the Mt. Jackson literary society, and had acquired a reputation as an original thinker. At the age of about fourteen years he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Master, to whom he remained intensely loyal through all the vicissitudes of his long and eventful life. Many and severe were the trials through which he was called to pass, but neither prosperity nor adversity, neither ingratitude nor calumny dwarfed his noble instincts or turned him from his worthy ambitions. The Almighty, that "spake the world from naught, and guides the planets in their course," had, he knew, the power even to raise him up at the last day. He took his stand firmly and securely on God's promises, knowing that He could, believing that He would, fulfill every covenant made to those who trust and obey Him. He was ambitious ; as a boy he had his castles in the air, many varied and fantastic, and when a man he looked forward through faith to what was more than a castle, a home whose maker and builder is God, the description of which transcends the language of man and the highest flights of human imagination, for u eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." He aspired to grow, develop and broaden, to work on and do good to the very end of his journey here, and at last to attain that state where somewhere in the boundless universe of God his mind could grow and grow forever, and forever bless.

The great desire of Thomas W. Phillips in his early life was to obtain a college education and become a preacher, but an injury to his lungs, compelling him to seek healthful outdoor employment, together with a number of other circumstances, prevented the realization of this ambition. He preached frequently when young, and on one occasion was forced to continue a meeting for a few days after the evangelist had left. The subject of his closing address, delivered to a crowded house, was "Christian Union." At the close of the services Elder John D. Rany, who had heard Alexander Campbell and many other great preachers of the Restoration, congratulating him, said, "Campbell couldn't have done better." Mr. Rany did not know that although the speaker was only a boy, he had read all that

Campbell had ever written on that subject, and much more in addition. Odd it is that a rather obscure passage in the Bible had much to do in determining the course of his career. The, to him, unintelligible passage in Job, u And the rock poured me out rivers of oil," excited his imagination, and no doubt taxed his credulity. Soon after he learned that "rock-oil" had been found in this country, he drilled for it along the Mahoning River in Lawrence County, not far from wells, since drilled, that are now (19 15) producing oil. Either he did not have patience to drill to a sufficient depth with the crude spring-pole drilling outfit of that early day, or he was unfortunate in choosing the locations of his first ventures, for the rocks underlying the Mahoning valley failed to pour him out even one little river of oil, and he lost all of his meager savings. Determined to find what he lost where he lost it, and fascinated by the uniqueness and possibilities of the petroleum industry, he went to Oil Creek in 1861, two years after Colonel Drake had made his discovery, and with his brothers engaged in the oil business. In this business, w T ith varying degrees of success and failure, he remained until his death, completing the longest term of service that the oil industry had seen. He often remarked with reference to his experience in the oil fields, "Counting both good luck and bad luck, I have had plenty of it." The firm of Phillips Brothers at first met with great success, and within a few years their holdings were among the largest in the oil country.

These brothers, generous by nature, used their profits largely to build churches, endow colleges, support missionaries, pay teachers and help the poor, a very unusual course of procedure for men in the very beginning of their business careers. They were on the flood-tide of fortune when the Jay Cook panic occurred simultaneously with the discovery of great deposits of oil, the price of petroleum dropped from $4.55 to 65 cents a barrel, and the firm of Phillips Brothers found itself half a million dollars in debt. To the paying off of that debt, which, with interest, finally amounted to $800,- 000, Thomas W. Phillips devoted the next fourteen years of his life. Practically none of this indebtedness could have been collected through process of law, and much of it he was under no moral obligation to pay, being made up of doubtful claims which were paid contrary to the advice of his attorneys and business confidants. He persisted in doing so, however, saying that he wanted his settlements to be such that there would be no man whom he could not look straight in the eye. Before the entire debt was paid his eldest brother Isaac had died, and the firm of Phillips Brothers, originally composed of Isaac, John, Charles and Thomas, had been dissolved, and for a number of years he continued in the oil business on a very large scale individually. Later the T. W. Phillips Gas & Oil Company was organized, with Mr. Phillips as president, which company, at the time of his death, owned some 850 gas and oil wells, about 900 miles of gas lines, and had besides a large amount of valuable oil and gas lands in Pennsylvania under lease.

The oil industry in Pennsylvania probably benefited more from the presence of Thomas W. Phillips than from that of any other one man. He was a leader in every movement for its protection and improvement. In 1866 he was directly responsible for the removal of the Internal Revenue tax on oil of one dollar per barrel, and he was at the head of the committee from the oil country, formed in 1879, which successfully opposed a direct tax on oil-well rigs of $1,000, or the alternative oil tax of ten cents per barrel, proposed in the Pennsylvania Legislature. In 1888 he refused to join the "Shut-in" movement to restrict production and curtail drilling operations until satisfactory provision was made to compensate and protect the laborers engaged in the industry, who would thereby be thrown out of employment, and his influence and oil production were sufficient to dominate the situation. After the debts incurred by Phillips Brothers were all paid, he devoted the major portion of his time and energy to work connected with religious, educational and political questions, rather than to business. His activities and attainments might therefore be placed under the three heads of religion, politics and business, and he considered his accomplishments in the political field secondary to those in the religious field, and his business attainments of less importance than his political attainments. His political career was brilliant, and its influence far-reaching. He first came into prominent political notice in 1880.

General Garfield* was probably his most intimate personal friend, and when Garfield was nominated for President, Mr. Phillips laid aside his business, and devoted his entire time to the canvass. He conceived, planned and assisted in bringing out the Republican text-book used so extensively in that campaign, the first campaign text-book ever published, but which has since become a prominent feature in the campaigns of both parties. He was given credit for the organization of the party in Indiana, which carried the State for the Republican nominee for Governor, and for Garfield. His name was repeatedly mentioned and voted for in the Pennsylvania Legislature for the United States Senatorship. While he was not elected he was instrumental in securing the election of a Senator favorable to the Garfield administration. In 1890 he was nominated for Congress, but was defeated owing to the presence of two Republican candidates in the field. However, in 1892 he was elected to Congress by a very substantial plurality, and in 1894 was re-elected by a plurality of nearly twelve thousand, larger than

*Nov. 19, 1911, on the occasion of the eightieth anniversary of the birth of James A. Garfield, Mr. Phillips delivered at Hiram, O., an address (published in the Garfield number of the bulletin of Hiram College, of which college Garfield was an alumnus and former president) for a twofold purpose : First, to pay a final personal tribute to a friend he knew and loved as a brother. Second, to clear up some misapprehensions about his political, religious and personal history before death removed one of the* last competent witnesses. The address will be found on page 118 of this volume.

that ever before received by any candidate in the Twenty-fifth Pennsylvania District. As soon as he was elected to Congress he planned to be appointed on the Committee on Labor, a committee at that time of comparatively little importance, but which he believed was the one on which he could render the greatest service. He introduced into the fifty-third Congress an important bill authorizing the creation of a non-partisan Industrial Commission, but was unable to secure its passage, as many Congressmen thought it was designed to intermeddle with their prerogatives, while the head of the powerful and notorious Senatorial clique, which represented special interests, frankly told Mr. Phillips that it was presumptuous for him, a new member, to expect to have such an important bill enacted into law, and that members who remain in Congress many terms rarely succeeded in passing any important or far-reaching measure. Mr. Phillips again introduced his bill in the fifty-fourth Congress, and was successful in securing its passage through the Senate during the closing hours of the final session. President Cleveland refused to sign the bill, stating that its provisions would demand careful examination on his part, and that it would create important offices for his successor to fill. Mr. Phillips had spent too much time and energy on his pet measure to accept this as a final defeat. Although he was no longer a member of Congress, he still had many influential friends in both the House and Senate, and had through labor organizations and otherwise ereated a public sentiment strongly favorable to his bill, and therefore requested a member of Congress, who had previously served with him, to introduce the bill for the third time, but its passage, which was then brought about, was due largely to his own influence and personal effort. The scope of the work to be undertaken by this commission can best be appreciated by quoting the first three paragraphs of the Act, approved June 18, 1898, which created the Commission: