by Kathrine Stokes
Kathrine Dewar was born near Dary in Scotland in 1852. She immigrated to the United States in the 1880s. In 1888, she married Walter Stokes in Coal Creek, Colorado outside of Canon City, and the next year gave birth to her only child William. In 1898, the Stokes family moved to Pear Park (near Palisade), and staked the Stoke’s Coal mine. Her son would eventually take on the family business when Walter died in 1913. Over one-hundred years ago, in 1921 Kathrine Stokes locally published a small booklet of poems that included this gem.
If Jesus would come to this world to-day,
And make a social speech,
I guess His text to all would be,
Do you practice what you preach?
Our Savior was a Socialist
On the shores of Galilee-
He preached the socialist doctrine
Just as plain as it could be.
He told the Scribes and Pharisees,
That sat in Moses seat,
That though teachers of the people
They did not practice what they preached.
He told the Scribes and Pharisees
What hypocrites they were.
How they robbed poor widow’s houses
And for pretence they made long prayers.
He told them when they went to feasts
The uppermost rooms they would hug ;
And when they went to worship God
They had chief seats in the syna- gogue.
And when they went on market days,
They all dressed up so gay,
That poor men would look after them,
“That’s a robber” , they would say.
He told them that they gave their alms
For to be seen of man,
And enlarged their garment’s borders
As they traveled through the land.
Now in this world of ours today,
Men are just as bad you know ;
As were the Scribes and Pharisees,
In the dark days long ago.
Remember how He told them of the
grievous burdens borne
On the shoulders of their brother man
That by themselves would scorn.
To touch with one of their fingers much less to carry along
He told them that their earthly laws
Were nothing but a sham.
They had no love for their God above
Or justice enough for the brother man.
Now in this world of ours today
There are lots of laws, you see,
But when it comes to justice,
There is little for you or me.
He told the Scribes and Pharisees,
What hypocrites they were
They were like white sepulchers,
Most beautiful they appear.
But you know our Savior was divine,
And could see far ahead.
He told them the sepulchers were unclean,
And full of the bones of the dead.
God put you in this world
To do what is just and right,
And not to wrong your brother man,
And crush him in your might.
And never blame your brother man
If he speaks up when in pain
For the measure that you mete to him
Will come back to you again
You know if god is your father
Man is your brother too
And our present actions, good or bad,
Shall judge both you and me.
Then let us all be Socialists,
And Socialism teach,
And take our brother by the hand
And practice what we preach.
His hand it may be bruised and soiled,
From laboring hard and sore;
But let us take him to our hearts,
And love him all the more.
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