jae 
 
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 The church and labor. 
 
 olin 
 
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SOCIAL ACTION SERIES I. 
 
 THE CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
 
 NEW YORiC ' BOSTON • CHICAGO • DALLAS 
 ATLANTA • SAH FRANCISCO 
 
 MACMILLAN & CO., Limitbd 
 
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THE CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 PREPARED AND EDITED FOR 
 
 THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL ACTION OF THE 
 
 NATIONAL CATHOLIC WELFARE COUNCIL 
 
 BY 
 
 JOHN A. RYAN, D.D., LL.D. 
 
 Professor of Moral Theology at the Catholic University of America 
 
 Author of "A LiriDfi: Waee," "Distributive Juitice," 
 
 "Social Reconstruction." etc., etc. 
 
 AND 
 
 JOSEPH HUSSLEIN, S.J., Ph.D. 
 
 Associate Editor of "America," Lecturer on Industrial History 
 
 at Fordham University 
 
 Author of "The World Problem," "Democratic Industry," etc., etc. 
 
 jl3eiD gotfe 
 
 THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
 1920 
 
 AU rights reserved 
 

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 COPTBIQHT, 1920, 
 BT THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
 
 Set up and electrotyped. Published, October, 1920 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 By Eev. John A. Eyan, D.D. 
 
 'J 
 
 This volume is ttie first o£ a series which will endeavor to 
 present adequately and authoritatively the Catholic doctrine 
 on industrial, social and political institutions and relations. 
 The attitude of the Church toward the individual and the sal- 
 vation of the individual soul is fairly well understood, not 
 only by Catholics but by intelligent non-Catholics. What is 
 not so generally realized is the fact that the Church has a 
 comprehensive and definite attitude toward group life, and all 
 the great forms and manifestations of group organization. At 
 no time in her history has the Church overlooked or ignored the 
 fundamental moral fact that individuals live and act in society, 
 as members of social groups, and involved in a great variety of 
 social relations ; therefore, that the individual's conduct is in a 
 large measure social. As a member of the existing industrial 
 organization, the individual enters into one set of relations and 
 performs one set of actions; as a member of civil society, he 
 enters another set of relations and performs another set of 
 actions ; as a member of society in general, the great society, or 
 the unspecified society, he has other relations and follows an- 
 other line of conduct. 
 
 Precisely because the supreme object of the Church is to 
 teach and help the individual to save his soul, she interests 
 herself in social relations and the various forms of social or- 
 ganization. She maintains that the individual saves his soul 
 not by faith alone but by works as well, by conduct, by obedi- 
 ence to the moral law. And she teaches that the moral law 
 applies to every one of man's actions, those which bring him 
 into relation with his neighbor, as well as those which affect 
 only himself; those which arise out of his place in industry 
 and in the State, as well as those which he performs as son, 
 husband, or father. 
 
vi INTRODUCTION 
 
 Therefore the Church has a formal and definite teaching con- 
 cerning the great social organizations which affect and de- 
 termine individual conduct. She has a definite teaching con- 
 cerning the relations into which men enter as members of 
 these societies. 
 
 In the present volume her attitude and teaching are set forth 
 in relation to one form of society, the industrial. The presen- 
 tation does not, however, take in all the religious and moral 
 aspects of industrial society. The book is entitled, " The 
 Church and Labor," not, " The Church and Industry," nor 
 " The Church and Capital," nor, " The Church and Agricul- 
 tural Society." On each of these subjects a volume might be 
 published, and in each case it would have a different scope from 
 that of the one now offered to the public. Nevertheless, the 
 labor problem is so intimately connected with the other prob- 
 lems and aspects of industrial society that the latter receive 
 herein considerable attention and discussion. 
 
 The book is essentially a collection of documents, issued by 
 Popes, cardinals, bishops, and lesser authorities, but it is more 
 than a simple collection. It presents, indeed, all the authorita- 
 tive Catholic doctrine on the subject that it covers, but it also 
 enables the reader to trace the continuity of the doctrine and 
 its essential unity. To the student of industrial thought this 
 is almost as important as the advantage of having all the im- 
 portant productions assembled between the covers of a single 
 volume. 
 
 One of the first reflections likely to occur to the discriminat- 
 ing reader is that the earliest production contained in the volume 
 was written considerably less than a century ago. Neverthe- 
 less it would be wrong to draw therefrom the inference that 
 Frederic Ozanam was the first prominent Catholic to discuss 
 the labor question. In the thirteenth century, — to go no fur- 
 ther back — St. Thomas Aquinas dealt with the ethics of wages ; 
 the great writers on justice in the sixteenth and seventeenth cen- 
 turies, for example, Lugo and Lessius, treated the same sub- 
 ject with considerable particularity. The series of documents 
 begins with the works of Ozanam and Ketteler because these 
 were the first important Catholic authors who dealt with the 
 
INTRODUCTION vii 
 
 labor question in its modem form. When we think of labor, 
 the condition of labor, or the laboring class today, we have in 
 mind the present industrial system. We are concerned with the 
 arrangement in which commodities are produced by wage 
 earners under the direction and in the pay of another indus- 
 trial class called variously employers, capitalists, entrepre- 
 neurs. It is the system known as capitalism. Inasmuch as 
 this system originated less than a century and a half ago, 
 it is not surprising that the first important discussions of its 
 moral and religious aspects appeared only in the first half of 
 the nineteenth century. 
 
 A still more significant fact, but one which probably will 
 not occur to the majority of readers, is that the doctrines of 
 Ozanam and Ketteler on social and industrial questions were at 
 once original and traditional. They were original in the sense 
 that they had not been enunciated by any previous Catholic 
 authority. Ozanam and Ketteler had before them no papal 
 encyclical as a guide and inspiration. The moral judgments 
 that they uttered on contemporary industrial practices and on 
 current proposals of reform, many of the moral principles 
 that they enunciated for the abolition of industrial evils, and 
 most of the economic proposals of betterment that they de- 
 fended, had never been expressed by a Pope, nor indeed by 
 any important Catholic. 
 
 On the other hand, their teaching contains no innovation and 
 is in complete harmony with the traditional doctrines of the 
 Fathers and the theologians. From their own explicit assur- 
 ances we should know this to be the case, even if we were un- 
 acquainted with the ancient doctrines. Bishop Ketteler in- 
 sisted again and again that he was teaching nothing essentially 
 new, that he was proposing no principle that he had not de- 
 rived from the patristic and mediaeval authorities. A com- 
 parison of his account and conception of the traditional prin- 
 ciples with the discussion of the same principles in Cardinal 
 Bourne's pastoral, will show that the two historical interpreta- 
 tions are in complete agreement. A striking confirmation of 
 the dependence of Ozanam upon tradition is seen in the cir- 
 cumstance that his utterances on social and labor questions oc- 
 
viii INTRODUCTION" 
 
 cur not in a formal treatise in this field, but in lectures and dis- 
 cussions on historical subjects. In the history of the Church 
 and her social teachings, he found the basis for those views 
 to which he gave expression on the social question. 
 
 The explanation of this apparent contradiction, the recon- 
 ciliation of originality with traditionalism in the social doc- 
 trines of Ozanam and Ketteler, is very simple. In Catholic 
 tradition they found, indeed, no specific discussion of the 
 capitalist system or its constituent elements, but they did find 
 therein the general moral principles pertinent to all forms 
 of indvistrial organization. Their task was to apply these to 
 the new industrial order. The principles were old and tra- 
 ditional because they were derived from the Decalogue and the 
 natural law. The application was new and original because 
 the system of industry and industrial relations had been in 
 existence for only half a century. 
 
 Still another striking fact about Ozanam and Ketteler is 
 that their social teachings, not only in the general outlines but 
 in most of the specific details, are in complete agreement with 
 the pronouncements, even the most recent, of the Popes, cardi- 
 nals and bishops who came after them. Their writings are 
 the connecting link between the social principles of Catholic 
 tradition and the authoritative and explicit Catholic social 
 teaching of the present day. Ozanam and Ketteler are com- 
 petent and convincing witnesses to the continuity of Catholic 
 social principles. They bear witness that Pope Leo, Pope 
 Pius and Pope Benedict, and the bishops of France, Ireland, 
 Germany and the United States invented no arbitrary or make- 
 shift doctrines to fit the new social conditions. ISTo such ex- 
 pedient was necessary. An ample supply of sound and effica- 
 cious principles was found in the ancient treasury of the Church. 
 
 The' agreement between the doctrines and the reforms ad- 
 vocated by Ozanam and Ketteler and those set forth in the 
 encyclicals of Pope Leo XIIT, is truly remarkable, especially 
 as regards specific measures of industrial betterment. Ozanam 
 emphasized the importance of the social question, declared 
 that it could not be solved by mere palliatives, saw clearly the 
 
INTRODUCTION ix 
 
 evils of Socialism, demanded a living wage for all workers and 
 something more where the labor involved unusual risk, hard- 
 ship, or other special circumstances, and favored both State 
 intervention and labor unions as means of improving the con- 
 dition of the working classes. Bishop Ketteler expounded and 
 defended all these views at greater length, rejected supply and 
 demand as a determinant of justice; demanded secunty of a 
 permanent livelihood for the worker ; favored laws providing a 
 shorter work day, Sunday rest and the abolition of child labor 
 in factories under fourteen years of age ; was opposed to woman 
 labor in factories; and advocated cooperative associations of 
 workingmen for the ownership and operation of productive 
 enterprises. These he regarded as the most important ele- 
 ment in his program of reforms, and he insisted that they were 
 the modem embodiment of the guild idea, and the natural ap- 
 plication of the traditional Catholic social principles to modem 
 industrial conditions. 
 
 When we read Ketteler's discussion of cooperative produc- 
 tion, written more than half a century ago, and then reflect that 
 not a few prominent persons of today, including some Catho- 
 lics, denounce the whole idea of cooperative production as 
 "Socialistic," and even as "Bolshevistic," — we are forcibly 
 reminded that the great Bishop of ilayence was truly a pioneer, 
 and that he anticipated many of the proposals and projects of 
 industrial betterment that are still contested and still unreal- 
 ized. Indeed, his program of social and political reform is 
 still regarded as " advanced " by a considerable portion of 
 society. And yet it was all based upon traditional Catholic 
 principles and institutions. 
 
 So much space has been devoted to Ozanam and Ketteler, 
 both in this introduction and in the main text of the volume, 
 chiefly because they are concrete witnesses to the continuity 
 and the unity of Catholic social doctrine. From the viewpoint 
 of ofiicial authority, it would have sufliced to begin our com- 
 pilation with the pronouncements of Pope Leo XIII, since he 
 was sovereign teacher, and since we know that he would have 
 taught nothing that was out of harmony with the doctrine of 
 
X INTRODUCTION 
 
 his predecessors. jSTevertheless, it is very helpful and satisfying 
 to trace the actual connection and agreement between the ancient 
 and the modem teaching. 
 
 More interesting to the average reader than the historical 
 continuity of Catholic social teaching is its content. What 
 has the Church to say today concerning our industrial system, 
 and especially concerning the condition and aspirations of 
 labor? The volume in hand is the answer to those questions. 
 It contains practically every document of present importance 
 issued by any Pope or bishop on these subjects since the Indus- 
 trial Revolution. 
 
 By far the most important of the documents is Pope Leo's 
 encyclical on the " Condition of Labor." While his two suc- 
 cessors have supplemented his teaching in details, and have 
 given it important specific applications to particular condi- 
 tions and problems, they have added nothing essential. To 
 this fact both of them have given explicit testimony. The 
 various bishops and groups of bishops whose pronouncements 
 are contained in the volume, have likewise acknowledged and 
 maintained that they have followed the lead of this great ency- 
 clical, and have sought to interpret and apply it in the oir- 
 cimistances of their several conditions and countries. 
 
 The encyclical is not merely a code of moral principles appli- 
 cable to industrial conditions and relations. It is at once a 
 description of industrial evils, a condemnation of the spurious 
 remedies proposed by Socialism, a statement of the leading 
 moral and religious principles that underlie all sound economic 
 life, and a proposal of concrete measures of social reform. 
 
 Three general propositions found in the encyclical constitute 
 the main reason why it was vn-itten. First is the statement 
 concerning the evils of the present industrial system. Very few 
 summary indictments of these evils have been more severe than 
 the words of Pope Leo : " a small number of very rich men have 
 been able to lay upon the teeming masses of the laboring poor a 
 yoke that is little better than slavery." The second proposition 
 sums up the Pope's condenmation of Socialism as a remedy for 
 the evils: "it only injures those whom it would seem meant 
 to benefit, is directly contrary to the natural rights of mankind, 
 
INTRODUCTION" 
 
 XI 
 
 and would introduce confusion and disorder into the common- 
 wealth." The third general statement indicates the one indis- 
 pensable remedial agency : " no practical solution of this ques- 
 tion will be found apart from the intervention of religion and 
 the Church." 
 
 Considered as a formal justification of the encyclical, this is 
 the most important of the three- declarations. It is likewise 
 the justification of every other pronouncement on the industrial 
 problem by Pope, bishop or priest. Precisely because the indus- 
 trial relations and industrial systems involve moral problems and 
 have moral aspects, the Church enters this field, and lays down 
 formal and authoritative doctrine. If the relations between 
 capital and labor, and between producer and consumer, and all 
 the other conditions of industry were merely economic in their 
 nature and implications, they would be outside the province 
 of churchmen. Indeed, it was largely because the leaders of 
 thought and of affairs, economists, politicians and business 
 men, denied or ignored the moral aspects of industrial rela- 
 tions for more than half a century following the Industrial 
 Revolution, that modern capitalism has produced so much 
 misery, oppression and revolutionary discontent. In the 
 words of Cardinal Bourne's Pastoral Letter, " all thought of 
 the rights of each individual soul or of the community as a 
 whole were obliterated, and men felt no qualms about the prac- 
 tical enslavement and degrading impoverishment of multitudes 
 in order that a few might possess and command the resources 
 of almost unrestricted wealth." 
 
 Pope Leo and every other churchman whose utterances ap- 
 pear in this volume, proceed from the principle that industrial 
 actions and relations are quite as definitely within the field 
 of responsible conduct and quite as definitely governed by the 
 moral law as any other kind of human activity. Hence all 
 these writers apply the principles and precepts of the moral 
 law to the conditions of industry, pass moral judgments upon 
 reform proposals, and even recommend practical measures of 
 betterment. In following this course they maintain that they 
 are fulfilling their proper and divinely ordained mission, which 
 is to teach men not only what to believe but how to live. And 
 
xii INTRODUCTION 
 
 economic activities make up a very large part of life. There- 
 fore, the official teachers of the Catholic Church repudiate 
 utterly the theory of the autocratic and anarchical captain of 
 industry, that the Church " has nothing to do with business." 
 It has everything to do with business, insofar as business in- 
 volves questions of right and wrong, of justice and injustice. 
 
 Turning now from the fundamental reasons of the interven- 
 tion of the Church in the labor question, let us examine 
 briefly the content of its teaching as exhibited in the docu- 
 ments composing this volume. In this exercise it will be con- 
 venient and sufficient to confine ourselves in the main to the 
 encyclical " On the Condition of Labor." " The first and 
 most fundamental principle," says Pope Leo, " must be the 
 inviolability of private property." Again and again the im- 
 portance of private property is stressed in the encyclical. It 
 is likewise emphasized in the great majority of the other papers 
 in the book. The utility and necessity of private property 
 are set forth not merely as propositions having the sanction 
 of economic experience, but as implications of the moral law. 
 The institution of private ownership is declared to be so vitally 
 bound up with right human life that to abolish it would be 
 a violation of human rights. To destroy this institution would 
 be to impair fundamentally men's capacity for right living. 
 Therefore it would be an act of gross immorality. Hence the 
 clear and uncompromising condemnation of Socialism. 
 
 On the other hand, the right of private ownership is not 
 defended in these documents as an unlimited monstrosity. It 
 is sharply restricted by the rights of the neighbor and the com- 
 munity. The stewardship of wealth is asserted, not as a high 
 sounding phrase, but as a clear cut principle. The primary 
 right of property is not that of private ownership at all, but 
 that of use. And this right is natural, inherent, congenital 
 in every hiiman being that is bom into this world. Whenever 
 the individual right of ownership comes into conflict with this 
 common right of use, the former, not the latter, must take second 
 place. In this connection we recall the statement of St. Thomas 
 Aquinas, that goods should be privately owned, but subject 
 always to community of use. 
 
INTEODUCTION xiii 
 
 Doubtless the duties of ownership with respect to the claims 
 of common use differ in different circumstances. Sometimes 
 they^ merely require the owner to distribute his surplus in 
 charity. In other circumstances the stewardship of wealth 
 means that the owners of capital are obliged to put it at the 
 disposal of the community on reasonable terms, and that they 
 should not exact extortionate interest or profits for this service. 
 For mauy centuries the Church prohibited interest on loans, 
 and fostered the doctrine that labor and risk were the only law- 
 ful titles of gain. It is quite probable that Pope Leo had in 
 mind the excessive gains of monopolists, stock inflationists, and 
 profiteers generally, when he condemned in the encyclical that 
 we are now considering " rapacious usury which, although 
 more than once condemned by the Church, is nevertheless under 
 a different guise but with the like injustice, still practiced by 
 covetous and grasping men." 
 
 The reader will turn the pages of the present volume in 
 vain to find any justification for the perverted modem notion 
 of property, that a man may do what he likes with his own. 
 
 In another very important respect the teaching on property 
 by the authorities represented in this volume differs from that 
 which is now held by many of our captains of industry. The 
 latter think of private ownership as existing mainly for the few, 
 as an institution that can function properly, even though it 
 is not shared in by the great majority. This is not the view 
 of Pope Leo, nor of the other Catholic authorities. According 
 to the former, the State ought to make the owners of property 
 as numerous as possible. In more than one place in the en- 
 cyclical that we are considering, he points out the utility of 
 private property for all, including the humbler classes. When 
 cooperative ownership of the tools of production is recommended 
 by Bishop Ketteler, by the four American Bishops in their 
 " Program of Social Eeconstruction," and by Father Husslein 
 in his " Catholic Social Platform," we see merely the traditional 
 Catholic conception of ownership stated and applied in modem 
 terms to modern conditions. Neither in the writings of Pope 
 Leo nor in the utterances of any other Catholic authority will 
 be found a single sentence to support the detestable notion that 
 
xiv INTRODUCTION 
 
 the institution of private cwnership should be entrusted ex- 
 clusively to the guardianship of a few super men. 
 
 Another fundamental doctrine in these documents declares 
 the right of the wage earner to decent conditions of life and 
 labor. He is to be treated always as a person, never as a mere 
 instrument of production. Because he is a person he has cer- 
 tain rights, natural rights, God-given rights, which may not be 
 ignored by those who control either industry or the State. 
 Among them is the right to such conditions and terms of em- 
 ployment as will provide and safeguard a reasonable and 
 humane kind of life. Hence we see Pope Leo demanding that 
 the laborer's spiritual welfare be protected, that he be permitted 
 rest from toil on Sundays and holydays, that he have " leisure 
 and rest in proportion to the wear and tear of his strength," and 
 that the length of the working day be proportioned to the 
 nature of the work axxd the capacity of the worker. Woraen 
 should not be employed in occupations that are unsuited to their 
 sex, and children should not be placed " in workshops and 
 factories until their bodies and minds are sufficiently de- 
 veloped." 
 
 In the matter of wa^es the doctrine of these documents is 
 particularly humane, distinctive and definite. " There is," says 
 Pope Leo, " a dictate of nature more ancient and more im- 
 perious than any bargain between man and man, namely, that 
 remuneration ought to be sufficient to maintain the wage earner 
 in reasonable and frugal comfort. If through necessity or 
 fear of a worse evil the workman accepts harder conditions be- 
 cause an employer or contractor will offer him no better, he is 
 made the victim of force and injustice." 
 
 This is the famous principle of the living wage, which is 
 now almost universally accepted. When Pope Leo enunciated it 
 more than twenty-nine years ago, it was looked upon by men 
 of affairs as impertinent and Utopian. 
 
 On the other hand, the moral duty of the laborer to give a 
 fair day's work in return for a fair day's pay, is strongly in- 
 sisted upon in most of the documents, as also is the obligation 
 to refrain from violence during industrial disputes, and to 
 respect the rights of property in all circumstances. 
 
INTRODUCTIOJSr xv 
 
 Another fundamental principle which is enunciated and 
 applied again and again in these documents defines the indus- 
 trial functions of the State. It is thus formulated by Pope 
 Leo: "Whenever the general interest or any particular class 
 suffers or is threatened with mischief which can in no other 
 way be met or prevented, the public authority must step in and 
 deal with it." This is a far cry from the doctrine of non- 
 intervention, and from the shallow theory which opposes " class 
 legislation." This principle justifies and authorizes the legal 
 minimum wage, social insurance, public housing of the work- 
 ing classes, prevention and control of monopolies, and all the 
 other reforms defended in the American Bishops' " Social Re- 
 construction Program " and in Father Husslein's " Catholic 
 Social Platform." It is a complete refutation of the calumny 
 that the Catholic Church has no faith in State intervention. 
 
 The right of labor to organize could hardly be more ex- 
 plicitly aiBrmed than it is in the encyclicals of Pope Leo and in 
 many of the other documents. Pope Leo declares that " work- 
 ingmen's associations should be so organized and governed as 
 to furnish the best and most suitable means for attaining what 
 is aimed at, that is to say, for helping each individual member 
 to better his condition to the utmost in body, mind and prop- 
 erty." The Pastoral Letter of the American Hierarchy af- 
 firms " the right of the workers to form and maintain the kind 
 of organization that is necessary and that will be most effectual 
 in securing their welfare." 
 
 The moral aspect of industrial relations, the necessity and 
 limitations of private property, the indestructible right of labor 
 to the means and conditions of decent living, the duty of the 
 _State to remove industrial evils that can be abolished in no 
 other way, and the right of labor to organize, — may be re- 
 garded as the main propositions expounded and defended in 
 these papers and documents. Naturally they are not set forth 
 with equal emphasis in all ; for special circumstances of author- 
 ship, country and occasion have caused special stress to be laid 
 here on one doctrine, there on another. Moreover, the teaching 
 of the documents is in full harmony with the traditional prin- 
 ciples of Catholic doctrine from the beginning. It is not too 
 
xvi INTRODUCTION 
 
 mucli to say that the spirit and trend of the documents is ali 
 in accord with the aspirations of all those persons of our tin 
 who long for a saner and juster industrial order. If the! 
 men, to quote Cardinal Bourne, " take their stand upon tl 
 dignity of man, whether rich or poor, we can show them ho 
 every human being, created by God and redeemed by Chris 
 has a much greater dignity than they had dreamt of. If the 
 claim for every human being a right to a share in the frui 
 of the earth, a right to live a life worthy of man, we endori 
 that claim with divine sanction. If they protest against i: 
 dustrial insecurity and the concentration of capital in a fe 
 hands, we point out how they are suffering from the blow aime 
 at the Catholic Church in the 16th century. If they have he 
 a hard fight to establish the right of association in Tradi 
 Unions, it was because the Catholic voice had been silenced i 
 the land." 
 
 There is one very important proposal of reform which a 
 pears in the writings of Bishop Ketteler, in the " Program ( 
 Social Reconstruction " of the four American Bishops, and i 
 the papers by the Editors, which receives little or no specific mei 
 tion in any of the other documents. It is the individual owne 
 ship, at least partial, of the means of production by the worker 
 In practice this project could be realized either by the worker 
 participation in ownership of the stock of corporations, a 
 though holding only a minority of the shares, or by comple 
 cooperative ownership and management of industrial concern 
 However, the reader who will study carefully the statements i 
 the encyclical, " On the Condition of Labor," concerning tl 
 benefits of widely diffused private ownership, cannot escape tl 
 conclusion that Pope Leo would have regarded copartnershi 
 and cooperation as the best practical application and realizatic 
 of this policy. Considered as a fundamental and consistei 
 industrial system, cooperative ownership has a greater clai: 
 to the title of Catholic than any other. For the system th; 
 developed and that seemed destined to prevail in the da^ 
 when Catholic principles and the social influences of the Chun 
 were at their zenith, in the later Middle Ages, was that i 
 which the masses of the workers both in town and count] 
 
INTEODUCTION xvii 
 
 owned and managed the tools and the land. \ It is no longer 
 possible for the majority of urban workers to become inde- 
 pendent owners of separate industrial establishments. But they 
 can exercise individual ownership and management through 
 cooperation. It is such a system, and not either Socialism or 
 present-day capitalism, that is in harmony with Catholic tra- 
 ditions and Catholic social principles. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAOE 
 
 Introduction by Eev. John A. Kyan, D.D ^ » v 
 
 I. THE TWO GEEAT PEECURSOES OF MODEEN 
 CHEISTIAN DEMOCEACY 
 
 By Eev. Joseph Husslein, S.J., Ph.D. 
 
 1. The Apostolate of Socal Action 1 
 
 2. Fhedeeio Ozanam on the Labor Question 9 
 
 a. Liberalism and Socialism » . 9 
 
 b. Labor and Wages * . . 14 
 
 c. Employers and Employed . 18 
 
 3. William Emmanuel von Ketteler 24 
 
 a. The Friend of the People 24 
 
 b. The Question of Property Eights 27 
 
 c. Cooperative Production 34 
 
 d. Ketteler's Labor Program 89 
 
 IL THEEE SOVEEEIGN PONTIFFS 
 
 1. Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII on the Condition of Labor . 57 
 
 2. Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII on Christian Democracy . . 95 
 
 3. Apostolic Letter of Pope Pius X to the Bishops of Italy on 
 
 Catholic Sooul Action 110 
 
 4. Extracts from the Letter of Pope Pius X CoNDEMNma 
 
 Le Sillon 118 
 
 6. Encyclical Letter of Pope Pius X to the Bishops of 
 
 Germany on Trade Unions 122 
 
 6. Letter of Pope Benedict XV to the Hierarchy of France 133 
 
 7. Letter of Pope Benedict XV to M. Eugene Duthoit . . 135 
 
 8. Letter of Pope Benedict XV to the Bishop of Bergamo . 138 
 
CONTENTS 
 III. FOUK CARDINALS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 1. Memorial Presented to the Holy See on the Knights of 
 
 Labor 145 
 
 By His Eminence, James Cardinal Gibbons 
 
 2. Eeview of Pope Leo's Encyclical on the Condition of Labor 159 
 
 By His Eminence, Henry Edward Cardinal Manning 
 
 3. Pastoral Letter on the Laborer's Eights 177 
 
 By His Eminence, William Cardinal O'Connell 
 
 4. Pastoral Letter on Catholics and Social Reform . . . 187 
 
 By His Eminence, Francis Cardinal Bourne 
 
 IV. THE BISHOPS OF FOUR COUNTRIES 
 
 1. Pastoral Letter of the Bishops of Ireland on the Labor 
 
 Question 207 
 
 2. The Socl^l Reconstruction Program Issued by the Four 
 
 American Bishops Constituting the Administrative Com- 
 mittee OF the National Catholic War Council . . . 220 
 
 3. Extract from the Pastoral Letter op the Bishops of 
 
 France on Conditions After the War 240 
 
 4. Declaration of the American Hierarchy on Industrial 1/ 
 
 Relations in Their Pastoral Letter 242 
 
 5. Pastoral Letter of the German Bishops on Socialism . . 249 
 
 V. PAPERS BY THE EDITORS 
 
 1. A Living Wage 259 
 
 By Rev. John A. Ryan, D.D., LL.D. 
 
 2. The Reconciliation of Capital and Labor 272 
 
 By Rev. John A. Ryan, D.D., LL.D. 
 
 3. A Catholic Socl\l Platform 291 
 
 By Rev. Joseph Husslein, S.J., Ph.D. 
 
I. THE TWO GEEAT PRECUESOES OF MODEEN 
 CHEISTIAN DEMOCEACY 
 
 By Eev. Joseph Husslein, S.J., Ph.D. 
 
CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 1. THE APOSTOLATE OE SOCIAL ACTION 
 
 The ideal of Christian Democracy is old as the Church. It 
 existed in the days of the Apostles, and flowered into mighty 
 institutions over all the earth, in the gildhood of the Middle 
 Ages. Its two great precursors, in our modem Catholic social 
 movement, were Erederic Ozanam and Bishop von Ketteler. 
 
 Layman and ecclesiastic, these two men represent the com- 
 bined leadership required within the Church to-day, when all 
 the forces of Christianity must be mobilized for effective action. 
 Social work was for them more than the practical solution of a 
 mere material problem. It was a sacred and religious obliga- 
 tion. Lifted far above the realm of pure philanthropy and 
 economics, their lives were dedicated and consecrated to the 
 task of restoring justice and charity to the earth. More even 
 than all this, they looked upon the work they had undertaken 
 as the first and indispensable condition for winning back to 
 Christianity the modem civilized world. Yet this did not 
 lessen, but only heightened their interest in the concrete prob- 
 lems of poverty, wages and labor. 
 
 They were prophets in Israel, clear-visioned, far-sighted men, 
 who came with a message for their generation, a message 
 equally imperative for us today. " Back to the masses ! " was 
 the cry with which Ozanam startled his age. " My lot is cast 
 with the people ! " was the exclamation with which the social 
 mission of the nobly born and titled Ketteler began. They were 
 but working out in their o-«ti lives the example of Christ, who 
 though He came to bring salvation to all, rich and poor alike, yet 
 cast His own lot with the laboring classes. His doctrine and 
 example were the social leaven that quietly transformed society, 
 and as surely can transform it again in our day. It was there- 
 fore with a thrill of eager enthusiasm that Ketteler threw him- 
 
 1 
 
2 CHUECH AND LABOR 
 
 self into this work when at the First Catholic Congress of 
 Germany in 1848, he made this bold declaration : 
 
 Allow me to suggest a task for the immediate future, the task of 
 religion in regard to social conditions. The most difBcult question, 
 which no legislation, no form of government has been able to solve, is 
 the social question. The difficulty, the vastness, the urgency of this 
 question fill me with the greatest joy. It is not indeed the distress, 
 the wretchedness of my brothers — with whose condition, God knows, 
 I sympathize with all my heart — that affords me this joy, but the 
 fact that it must now become evident which Church bears within it 
 the power of Divine truth. 
 
 The masses of the people, both Ozanam and Ketteler insisted, 
 will judge the Church by the external works accomplished by 
 her members. They will test the truth of our Faith by the 
 sincere fulfilment of our duties towards our fellowmen. This 
 truth every great Catholic social worker has understood. Thus, 
 for instance, it was grasped at once by the keen mind of Count 
 Albert de Mun in his very first close contact with the Cercle 
 Montpamasse, the Catholic workingmen's club of Paris, and 
 under his inspiration it forthwith issued its memorable " Ap- 
 peal to Men of Good Will," on December 23, 1871 : 
 
 Shall we leave these children — for the people are a child, sublime 
 or egotistic — shall we leave these workmen, flattered in their pas- 
 sion or their pride, to complete the ruin of France and the world? 
 Or drawing invincible strength from the Heart of Jesus, the Work- 
 ingman, and calling to mind the glories of France and her title to 
 Eldest Daughter of the Church, shall we make a last effort to save 
 the people and to assert the reign of God in regenerated workshops 
 and factories. 
 
 That is the question. It is no time for talking. We must act. To 
 subversive doctrines, to disastrous teaching, we must oppose the holy 
 lessons of the Gospel; to materialism, the notion of sacrifice; to cos- 
 mopolitanism, the idea of patriotism. 
 
 We appeal to all hearts of good will. The sons of darkness are form- 
 ing associations, we too must form them. They found revolutionary 
 clubs, we must found Catholic clubs. It will cost a hundred thousand 
 francs, five hundred thousand, a million. No matter! Did it not cost 
 more to recapture Paris from the Commune? 
 
 Though in this last mentioned event Albert de Mun had been 
 forced into the field that civic order might again be restored in 
 France; though his heart had bled at the fearful sights he 
 
THE APOSTOLATE OF SOCIAL ACTION 3 
 
 ■witnessed : " the fratricidal slaughter, the wild outbursts of 
 hatred against authority and religion, the massacer of priests 
 and hostages, the profaned churches and crosses," as a writer 
 in the Irish Rosary describes them, yet his soul was filled with 
 nothing but pity : " Society is dying of irreligion. The rich 
 are utterly selfish. The poor are filled with hate. Is it the 
 fault of the poor ? " 
 
 De Mun had gone at once to the core of the entire problem. 
 There can be no hope for society except through a renewal of 
 religion. But the religion that we, in our own persons, rep- 
 resent to the world must be active, alert and keen to see the 
 economic as well as the moral evils of our day; for both have 
 their root, so far indeed as men are at fault, in the great 
 defection of the modem world from Christ and His Gospel. 
 We must do more; we must bring the remedy. Charity alone 
 is not sufficient. Social justice too must be restored by us with 
 fearless impartiality. 
 
 Ozanam placed the greater stress upon charity as the means 
 of restoring justice; Bishop Ketteler more directly sought for 
 social justice, with charity as a supreme motive. Both equally 
 insisted upon the necessity of these two great virtues which must 
 be the foundation of every Christian social order. Both saw 
 in the fidelity with which Catholics will fulfill the obligations 
 which these virtues impose upon them one of the most convinc- 
 ing arguments for our Faith, an argument, moreover, which 
 the world imperatively demands of us. It will be instructive to 
 study how each conceived of this same idea and made of it a 
 new apostolate, a lever wherewith to move the world. 
 
 We are concerned in this volume with the labor question 
 alone. Our consideration of Ozanam must therefore be from 
 this point of view exclusively. But the motive that urged him 
 to take so keen an interest in the industrial question was the 
 same that propelled him to undertake the great works of charity 
 for which he is most generally known to-day. 
 
 Why Ozanam, who was above all things a student, a man of 
 books, a historian living in the past, a lover of scholarly quiet 
 and seclusion, should have founded a society whose activities 
 were, to all appearances, almost completely outside the sphere of 
 his own natural inclinations, may often have seemed perplexing 
 
4 CHURCH AND LABOK 
 
 to us. Probably we vaguely satisfied ourselves by seeking the 
 explanation in that delicate gentleness and supernatural charity 
 which so sweetly blended in him to form the charm of his 
 character. Undoubtedly the Christian refinement of his early 
 home, and the examples of heroic self-sacrifice which he was 
 privileged to witness there must have left indelible impressions 
 upon him. But it was none of these causes which gave the de- 
 termining direction to his labors in the cause of charity. 
 
 Ozanam was truly a many-sided genius. The most varied 
 undertakings entered into the compass of his interests. Yet 
 there was one purpose to which all were subordinated ; one ob- 
 ject in which his whole life was centered: the demonstration of 
 the truth of Catholicity. Literature, history, philosophy, 
 science, mathematics, law, economics and languages were all 
 made contributory to this one end. It was his determination 
 to convince the world of the splendor and divinity of Catholic 
 truth which inspired the thought of gathering together into the 
 Cathedral of Notre Dame the intellectual elite of Paris that 
 they might be won by the impassioned and persuasive eloquence 
 of the young Abbe Lacordaire. It was the same purpose which 
 gave the first impulse that led to the foundation of the confer- 
 ences of St. Vincent de Paul. 
 
 We are familiar with the historic incident which so largely 
 determined the course of his life: the challenge thrown out to 
 him by the Saint Simonians and materialists of the Paris Uni- 
 versity. " You have good reasons," said they to the young 
 Cathodic students, " to talk of the past. There was a time 
 when Christianity worked wonders; but now it is dead. In 
 fact, what are you doing, you who boast of your Catholicity ? 
 Where are your works that prove your faith, that can make us 
 respect and accept it ? " 
 
 Ozanam had hitherto been easily able, by the mere force of 
 truth and logic, to refute all their arguments against the Church. 
 Here, however, was an objection which called for a different 
 answer. It was a personal argument. An argumentum ad 
 Jiominem, as they say in the schools. It called for nothing less 
 than visible, tangible facts, not from remote periods of history, 
 not even from distant countries or provinces, but from the lives 
 of the students themselves. 
 
THE APOSTOLATE OF SOCIAL ACTION 5 
 
 Ozanam might readily have pointed to the many great 
 institutions of charity within the Catholic Church, then as now; 
 to the lives and labors of countless zealous priests, religious 
 and laymen. But such an answer would not satisfy him, how- 
 ever much it might silence his adversaries. They were right in 
 looking to his own life for a proof of the faith that was in 
 him; and he would give it to them. His friends were of one 
 mind with him. Their own conduct must be made to square 
 with the ideals of Christianity. Though ardent in the prac- 
 tice and defence of their religion, they felt that the reproach 
 was fairly merited. But what were they to do? 
 
 " Ah, well then," was Ozanam's only remark, " set to work ! 
 Let our acts be in conformity with our faith. But what are 
 we to do? What, indeed, are we to do to be true Catholics, 
 if not the one thing which pleases God most ? Let us help our 
 neighbor, as did Jesus Christ, and place our faith under the 
 protection of charity." It was, therefore, no less than a living 
 argument of their faith which they were going to give to the 
 world. The religion of Christ was not dead. 
 
 The scoffing words of the Saint Simonians, the Socialists of 
 his day, had been for Ozanam a flash in the dark. They were 
 one of those providential means which God uses to compass 
 great ends. Balaam had again become His prophet. Out of 
 the mouth of scoffers the Lord had taught wisdom to His chil- 
 dren. The star which had been shown to Ozanam and his com- 
 rades they now followed faithfully. It led directly to the 
 house of poverty, where they found, like the wise men of old, 
 " the Child with Mary His Mother." The gold of their love, 
 the frankincense of their prayer, the myrrh of sacrifice they 
 offered to Christ in His poor. In their hearts they were truly 
 performing an act of faith; but for the world their external 
 action was nothing less than a proof of the Divine and ever- 
 vital power of the Church. 
 
 Yet it is not, as we have said, with the peculiar work of 
 charity, which was in great part the fine flowering of the mind 
 and heart of Ozanam, that we are to deal in the pages here 
 devoted to him, but rather with his detailed views upon the 
 vital industrial question. These it has been possible to gather 
 from a careful survey of his works. The latter, in fact, con- 
 
6 CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 tain some of the most pertinent reflections upon modem labor 
 problems, and an outline of a Catholic social system upon 
 which, in certain ways, we have made but slight advances even 
 in our days. It shows how Catholic social principles are of 
 necessity always the same, whether we find them in the 
 Pathers of the early Church; in the medieval economics of 
 Saint Antonio composed at Florence, six hundred years ago; 
 or in the latest pastoral of the Catholic Bishops. They are 
 rooted alike in the Gospel of Christ and in the laws of nature, 
 that do not change. The progress we ourselves are called upon 
 to make consists in the constantly new application of these 
 principles to the new conditions. This requires on our 
 part careful study, accurate information, and often the most 
 delicate discrimination. 
 
 But to pass now from O'zanam to his great contemporary, the 
 illustrious prelate who has been justly honored with the title 
 of " The Bishop of the Workingmen." 
 
 It is remarkable that the same argument which was brought 
 against Ozanam by the enemies of religion was likewise put 
 by Bishop Ketteler, some decades of years later, into the mouth 
 of the infidel workingman of his day. His purpose was to 
 arouse the Catholics of Germany to a realization of their social 
 mission. Maintaining at the historic F'ulda Conference of 
 1869, in the presence of almost all the Bishops of Northern and 
 Southern Germany, that the Church is bound in charity to aid 
 in the solution of the labor problem, he drove home his conclu- 
 sion with the very objection urged by the Saint Simonians. 
 If the Church, as represented by her leaders, he solemnly 
 warned the chief pastors of Christ's Flock, should fail in her 
 duty, then may she well expect to hear the unbelieving laborer 
 say to her: 
 
 Of what use are your fine teachings to me? What is the good of 
 your referring me by way of consolation to the next world, if in this 
 world you let me and my wife perish with hunger? Tou are not 
 seeking my welfare, you are looking for something else. 
 
 He went further, and in express words referred to the ac- 
 complishment of this duty as an argument for the Divinitv 
 of the Church ; as a proof, not in words, but in works, that 
 Christ is indeed her Founder: 
 
THE APOSTOLATE OF SOCIAL ACTION 7 
 
 By solving this problem, -whicli is too diiEcult for mankind left to 
 its own resources; by accomplishing this work of love, which is the 
 most imperative work of our century; the church will prove to the 
 world that she is really the institution of salvation founded by the 
 Son of God; for, according to His own words, His disciples shall be 
 known by their works of charity. 
 
 The taunt whicli spurred on Ozanam, and the same difSculty 
 placed by Bishop Ketteler in the mouth of the iniidel working- 
 man, have been frequently enough repeated in a later day. 
 We must answer them by deeds. The countless institutions of 
 Catholic charity, the lives of the unnumbered men and women 
 who have given up all to follow Christ, who have devoted their 
 means, their energies, their whole earthly existence to the love 
 of God and of their neighbor, are indeed a sufBcient argument 
 to show that Catholicity is not dead, that it is a Divine and 
 living Faith. But the world is too apt to pass by all these 
 evidences and to ask of the priest, the layman, and the Catholic 
 woman in the world, for still another and a personal proof. 
 That proof likewise we must be prepared to give. Our religion, 
 no less than charity, demands it of us. 
 
 A host of Catholic social workers is arising on every side. 
 Catholic social and ind\istrial organizations are being estab- 
 lished in Europe and America. There is work for all, whether 
 we wish to labor in the field particularly chosen by Ozanam or 
 in that wherein Bishop Ketteler stands supreme. 
 
 " Enkindle again the fire of charity," pleads Ozanam, " and 
 justice will reign on the earth." " Interest yourself in the 
 laborer," warns Ketteler, " or others will do it in your stead 
 who are hostile to the Church and to Christianity." Both 
 have the same object; both are animated by the same spirit; 
 both are equally inflamed with zeal in the cause of the laborer 
 and the poor. Both have only one supreme desire, to bring 
 the world to Christ. They are the preachers of a new crusade, 
 a social apostolate among the masses, and their strong cry 
 " God wills it ! " rings down through the years to us. Succes- 
 sive Pontiffs have given their approval. It is a campaign of 
 charity, a campaign of justice, not for one class, but for all 
 classes alike. It is above all a campaign of religion to renew 
 all things in Christ. 
 
 " Can and should the Church help to solve the social ques- 
 
8 CHURCH AND LAEOE 
 
 tion?" asks Bishop Ketteler in the address to which we have 
 referred, and he replies: 
 
 There is only one answer to this question. If the Church is power- 
 less here, we must despair of ever arriving at a peaceful settlement 
 of the social problem. 
 
 The Church can and should help; all her interests are at stake. 
 True, it is not her duty to concern herself directly with capital and 
 industrial activity, but it is her duty to save eternally the souls of 
 men by teaching them the truths of faith, the practice of Christian 
 virtue and true charity. Millions of souls cannot be influenced by her 
 if she ignores the social question and contents herself with the tradi- 
 tional pastoral care of souls. The Church must help to solve the social 
 question, because it is indissolubly bound up with her mission of 
 teaching and guiding mankind. 
 
 That task the Church has taken up anew today. The move- 
 ments begun in modern times by Ozanam and Ketteler will be 
 carried on by thousands of zealous workers, men and women, 
 Iny and clerics. The purpose of the present volume is to afford 
 them the authentic and authoritative direction which the 
 Church herself has to give them. With this in their pos- 
 session they need but the two great virtues of patience and per- 
 severance in their work of brotherly love. The life of de 
 j\Iun was thus beautifully summed up by a fellow countryman : 
 
 " De Mun understood how to wait and to worlc. He never doubted. 
 He knew neither religious, nor social, nor political doubt. He always 
 went forward, his eyes fixed upon the Holy City of his dreams." 
 
 The following sections will deal in detail with the industrial 
 teachings, respectively, of Ozanam and Ketteler. 
 
2. FEEDEEIC OZANAM 0^" THE LABOR 
 QUESTION 
 
 a. Liberalism and Socialism 
 
 " The question which agitates the world to-day," Ozanam 
 had written long before the fateful events of the year 1848, 
 " is not a question of persons, nor of politics, but a social ques- 
 tions." Carefully and accurately he had read the signs of the 
 time. When the great industrial system of our age was far 
 from its present development and when many of the clearest 
 minds in Europe were but little dreaming of the coming issues, 
 he had already sounded the problem of the future. In a letter 
 to Foisset occur the following memorable lines : 
 
 The questions which will occupy the minds of men are the questions 
 of labor, of wages, of industry, of economics.^ 
 
 When the Revolution broke out Ozanam beheld the realiza- 
 tion of what he had long foreseen : that it is impossible for any 
 modem government to endure, no matter what may be its form, 
 if it does not give to social questions a first place in its con- 
 siderations. In a letter addressed to his brother, the Abbe 
 Ozanam, dated March 6, 1848, and published for the first 
 time by Duthoit, in Livre du Centenaire, he contrasted the 
 revolutions of 1830 and 1848. The former, he held, was 
 political ; the latter, social. The one was of interest to the 
 educated classes, but the other of intense moment for the com- 
 mon people. It was all a question of labor organization, of 
 hours of work and of wages. 
 
 We must not imagine that we can escape these problems. If men 
 think that they can satisfy the people by giving them primary as- 
 semblies, legislative councils, new magistrates, consuls or a president, 
 they are sadly mistaken. Within a decade of years, and perhaps 
 sooner, the old difficulties will return. 
 
 1 Eugfene Duthoit in Ozanam, Livre du Centenaire, p. 354. 
 
 9 
 
10 CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 On the other hand, he candidly confessed that these prob- 
 lems cannot be touched without involving the entire financial, 
 commercial and industrial order: 
 
 If the State intervenes between employers and employed to deter- 
 mine the wages, that liberty by which commerce has hitherto been 
 nourished will cease to exist, until it can reestablish itself under the 
 new laws. God knows what times, what difficulties, what sufferings 
 we shall have to pass through!^ 
 
 History has since borne evidence to the truth of all these 
 statements, and the vporld has again been facing the crisis here 
 described. There can be no question of peace until we have 
 solved the problem presented by our modern industrial system, 
 and have provided for a more reasonable distribution of wealth. 
 No coercive features can be of any avail. So, after the days 
 of the bloody Revolution, Ozanam wrote: 
 
 The danger which you congratulate yourselves that you no longer 
 see upon the public streets has hidden itself in the larders of the 
 houses that stirt them. Tou have crushed the revolt; there remains 
 an enemy with which you are not sufficiently acquainted, Misery.^ 
 
 In his description of the two extreme and contradictory eco- 
 nomic systems then proposed for the solution of the social ques- 
 tion, Ozanam was no less happy and accurate than Bishop Ket- 
 teler. The first of these was that individualism, or Liberalism, 
 as it was ordinarily called, which left the weak at the mercy of 
 the strong in the bitter economic struggle. Non-interference, ex- 
 cept to safeguard the individual labor contract, no matter how 
 unnatural and irrational, was held to be the sole duty of the 
 State in the industrial question. Labor organizations were 
 strictly interdicted and hunted to the earth, as preventing the 
 normal development of supply and demand which it was be- 
 lieved would of itself solve all problems. 
 
 The connection between the Reformation and the evils of 
 modem industrialism is already clearly traced by Ozanam. 
 Individual reason, he argues, became supreme under the new 
 doctrine. The effect was indifference in matters of Faith, lead- 
 
 tmd., pp. 349, 350. 
 s Milanges, I, p. 264. 
 
LIBERALISM AND SOCIALISM 11 
 
 ing to deism, pantheism and atheism. To these succeeded the 
 utilitarian doctrines of the economists and the dreams of hu- 
 nianitarianism. Thus through many transformations rational- 
 ism finally sprang into being. The will of the individual was 
 confounded with the Divine will, private rights knew no limits 
 except private pleasure. With the disappearance of the idea 
 of right that of duty likewise vanished. The way was clear 
 for the system of individualism or Liberalism to which the 
 origin of all our modern economic evils must be ascribed. 
 Socialism itself is the child of Liberalism, sprung from the 
 parent it hates, like Death from the brain of Sin. Where 
 Liberalism has transgressed, Socialism reaps the havoc. 
 
 The equal unsoundness of the Socialistic system Ozanam 
 recognized at first glance. In his description of it, in spite of 
 the changes which years have wrought, we still find those 
 very characteristics which to-day call for the condemnation not 
 merely of Socialism, but of all the measures of exaggerated State 
 control, destructive alike of the best interests of family and 
 community. Ozanam writes : 
 
 Never has Christianity consented to that enforced Communism 
 which seizes upon the human person at his birth, thrusts him into 
 the national school and the national workshops, makes of him nothing 
 more than a soldier, without any will of his own, in the industrial 
 army, a wheel without intelligence in the machine of the State. 
 Thus between the individualism of the last century and the Socialism 
 of the present, Christianity alone has foreseen the only possible solu- 
 tion of the formidable question which we are now facing, and alone has 
 arrived at the point to which the more intelligent minds return to-day, 
 after their wide circuit, when they insist upon association, but volun- 
 tary association.* 
 
 Especially worthy of note is his summary of the character- 
 istics of the two schools we have here considered : 
 
 The old [i. e. the individualistic] school of economics knew no 
 greater social danger than insufficient production; no other welfare 
 than to urge and multiply it by an unlimited competition; no other 
 law of labor than personal interest : the interest of the most insatiable 
 of masters. On the other side, the school of modern Socialism traced 
 all evil to a vicious distribution, and believed it could save society 
 
 * Les Origines du Socialisme, Melange, I, pp. 246, 247. 
 
12 CHURCH AND LABOE 
 
 by suppressing competition, by making of the organization of labor 
 a prison wliich ■would feed its prisoners; by urging the pieople to 
 exchange their liberty for the certainty of bread and the promise of 
 pleasure. These two systems, of which one made the destiny of man 
 to consist in production, the other in enjoyment, lead by two differ- 
 ent ways into the same materialism.^ 
 
 This indeed is an accurate analysis of the entire situation, 
 and deserves the closest study. These two schools are with us 
 still, though other elements must also be considered in our day, 
 such as a really harmful underproduction and the danger of 
 organized labor forgetting the supreme interest of the common 
 good. 
 
 In his discussion on property the great Trench layman bases 
 all his arguments upon Saint Thomas, and in defining its 
 duties and circumscribing its rights he speaks in terms which 
 anticipate in a striking way the statements of Pope Leo XIII, 
 in his encyclical upon Labor.^ 
 
 With keen insight he remarks that when " an error touches 
 property it is not far from laying its hands upon the family," 
 a fact we see so fully realized in the actual propaganda of 
 Socialism. This latter theory, he shows, is nothing new; but 
 under various semblances had been incorporated in ancient 
 paganism and in the sects of the early Church. But the sec- 
 taries at least did not pretend that by suppressing property they 
 would save the family. Between Manicheism and Socialism 
 he sees more than an accidental similarity. Both were a men- 
 ace to the cradle and the hearth. While Socialism, it is true, 
 deals only with productive property, yet its principles, as we 
 find them propounded by many of its leading exponents and 
 often put in practice, strike directly at the Seventh and Tenth 
 Commandments, while its attitude towards matrimony, as ex- 
 pressed in the official organs of the party and the literature 
 circulated by it, is sufficiently familiar. 
 
 From the insistence, however, with which this error per- 
 petually returns through the centiiries, he argues that we would 
 strive in vain to put it down by the anathemas of authority 
 or the rigors of the law, that it is seated in the deepest and most 
 
 B Extraits de L'Ere Nouvelle, Melanges, I, p. 280. 
 eMilanges, I, pp. 224r-226. 
 
LIBERALISM AND SOCIALISM 13 
 
 piteous -wounds of human nature. Theology, philosophy and 
 jurisprudence may refute it, as they have done in the past, but 
 it will perpetually reassert itself. It is one of the great prob- 
 lems which Providence uses to Its own wonderful ends. But 
 in the very persistence of this error he likewise sees the reason 
 for confidence: ' 
 
 Since the doctrines subversive to the family and to property, which 
 ever waited at tbe gate of Christian society ready to seize the favor- 
 able moment for falling upon it, have bad circumstances so favorable 
 to their designs as the ruin of the Eoman Empire and the barbarian 
 invasion, as the internal dissensions of France from the time of the 
 Shepherds to the uprising of the Farmers, and as the wars of re- 
 ligion and the ruin of the social order in the north of Europe; since, 
 furthermore, in spite of all this daring, bravery and strength, they 
 have in every instance been wrecked upon the soundness of civiliza- 
 tion, there is consequently no reason any longer for being fright- 
 ened at them as at some new unwonted peril. We may count upon 
 the conscience and the good sense of the people who have resisted 
 these temptations throughout eighteen centuries. We may count 
 upon the power of Christianity, which has never failed to reject with 
 the same firmness Socialistic errors and egoistic passions, which 
 contains all the truths preached by modern reformers and none of 
 their illusions, which alone is able to realize the ideal of fraternity 
 without sacrificing liberty, of seeking the greatest earthly good for 
 man without robbing him of that sacred gift of resignation, the 
 surest remedy of sorrow and the last word in a life which must end.' 
 
 The Church, he writes, as if in answer to the latest jibe 
 against her, has preached the duty of brotherhood and the honor 
 of poverty throughout the ages; but she has pleased neither 
 the unprincipled rich, who trembled at the vae divitibus, " Woe 
 to you that are rich," nor the evil-minded poor, who see in the 
 doctrine of resignation only an artifice of the clergy, and who, 
 therefore, accuse the Church of holding the Gospel captive, 
 while they themselves give it their own materialistic sense, sub- 
 stituting " a community of pleasures for a community of 
 sacrifice." 
 
 We have thus far considered mainly the general attitude of 
 Ozanam towards the two great schools of economic thought 
 which, in their basic principles, still exist to-day. In the fol- 
 
 ^ Melanges, I, p. 255. 
 
14 CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 lowing section we shall describe in detail his own economic 
 system as applied to the crucial question of labor and wages. 
 
 b. Labor and Wages 
 
 In the second volume of Ozanam's miscellaneous writings, 
 the eighth of his complete works, can be found the notes of a 
 course of commercial law delivered by him while a young 
 professor at Lyons, eight years before the outbreak of the Revo- 
 lution of 1848. A brief sketch of the topics treated by him 
 in each discourse is given, while now and then a striking 
 thought is presented in ampler outline. The twenty-fourth lec- 
 ture deals with the labor question, Des Ouvriers. Its impor- 
 tance in the mind of Ozanam is evident from the fact that it 
 is followed by a " Recapitulation " hardly less comprehensive, 
 and in many details more searching than the original discourse. 
 Although it was the custom of Ozanam always to give a care- 
 fully prepared review of his previous lecture, the present repe- 
 tition has been particularly chosen by his editors for reproduc- 
 tion as the most favorable examples of his methods. We have, 
 therefore, sufficient material to form an accurate estimate of 
 Ozanam's economic theory of labor and wages. 
 
 It would be impossible, as well as impracticable, to offer here 
 in full the minute and undeveloped plans of lectures and repe- 
 tition. The object is to select from his notes and jottings the 
 leading economic ideas which are more strictly the coinage of 
 his own mind, and to present them with their proper interpreta- 
 tion. 
 
 It is not necessary to delay long upon the first section which 
 treats of the general character of labor and its part in produc- 
 tion. Labor is for him " the sustained act of man's will apply- 
 ing his faculties to the satisfaction of his wants." The decree 
 of work is written for all ages and for all mankind on the first 
 page of the world's history, but pagan pride has always rebelled 
 against it. In the ancient world it became the lot of the lower 
 castes, of the helot and the slave. Only with Christianity 
 and by the example of the Divine Artisan in the workshop of 
 Joseph, the carpenter, was labor rehabilitated and lifted up 
 to its true dignity. Labor, we must, however, bear in mind. 
 
LABOR AND WAGES 15 
 
 is of many kinds. It is not necessary, as Ozanam well says, 
 that our hands be black with soot ; they may be stained with ink. 
 
 Great stress is, therefore, laid by him upon the fact that 
 there are three classes of labor : physical, intellectual and moral, 
 and that all three are truly productive, in as far as they 
 satisfy the threefold need of man, which is moral and intellectual 
 as well as physical. A solidarity must be established between 
 these classes. Intellectual and moral needs are as real as any 
 others, and they who devote their lives to satisfying them are 
 neither idlers nor unproductive members of society. Their 
 work endures beyond the passing action in the influences they 
 exercise and the institutions which they found. 
 
 In pointing to labor, capital and nature as the three elements 
 which must enter into every process of production he agrees with 
 the most modem economists. The capital of the moral worker 
 would evidently, according to the mind of Ozanam, consist of 
 bis education and his moral qualifications which have been 
 accumulated with not less care than the wealth of the capitalist, 
 and are now productive of moral good. Ozanam's wide diver- 
 gence from the Liberal and Socialistic schools is at once ap- 
 parent. 
 
 In the second part of his discussion, however, which deals 
 with the question of wages, this divergence becomes still wider 
 and more pronounced. Yet nowhere shall we find a deeper 
 appreciation of the miseries of the toiling classes, of the in- 
 justice to which they are so frequently subjected, and of the 
 indignity with which they have been treated by liberalism, than 
 in the pages of Ozanam. Nowhere, likewise, is there shown 
 a more sincere determination and a more fearless courage in 
 championing their rights. "It is time," he wrote in Les 
 Origines du Socmlisme, " to prove that we can plead the 
 cause of the proletariat, to pledge ourselves to the solace of the 
 suffering classes, to seek the abolition of poverty, without be- 
 coming a participant of the doctrines which unchained the 
 tempest of June and which still are spreading their dark clouds 
 about us." * That poverty can never be entirely abolished 
 he well knew and clearly stated, but he no less strongly taught 
 
 8 Melanges, I, p. 212. 
 
16 CHURCH AND LAEOR 
 
 the duty of abolishing to the utmost of our power all the 
 causes that culpably lead to it. 
 
 Leaving aside Ozanam's technicalities, which at times are 
 perplexing, if not confusing, we shall come immediately to 
 the vital question of wages. The terms " living," " personal " 
 or " family " wage belong to the present stage of the con- 
 troversy. Instead we find in Ozanam the distinction made be- 
 tween what he equivalently calls the " natural " wage, taux 
 naturel du salaire, and the " actual " wage, taux reel du salaire. 
 
 The wages, according to Ozanam, should pay the laborer 
 for all that he places at the disposition of industry. They are 
 three things. First, the " meritorious will," or as he likewise 
 calls it, volonte courageuse. While this title now sounds fanci- 
 ful, it evidently implies nothing more than the ready and faith- 
 ful actual service which the wage-earner renders to his em- 
 ployer. For this the least that can be given him is a payment 
 which will afford him the possibilities of existence. In the 
 second place, he offers his education. This is equivalently his 
 capital, and therefore gives him a title to interest, an interest 
 which will enable him to pay for the education of his own chil- 
 dren in their turn. Thirdly, he sacrifices his vital strength, 
 which cannot endure when old age approaches. He has, there- 
 fore, a natural right to a wage which besides providing for his 
 living expenses and the education of his children will likewise 
 enable him to retire in old age. This is, as it were, the rent 
 paid upon his life which was placed at the disposition of his 
 employer. Were he not to receive this rental he would prac- 
 tically have sold his life, which, Ozanam argues, is a sacred pos- 
 session of the laborer. 
 
 However much this method of argumentation, with its touch 
 of poetry, may appeal to the reader, the conclusion is clear. 
 The laborer is entitled, according to Ozanam, to a wage which 
 will provide for his o-mi proper living and for the education of 
 his children, and which will permit him to retire from work 
 in his declining years to live upon his savings. Thus he will 
 not stand in need of an old age pension by which to support 
 himself when his " vital force " has been exhausted in the 
 service of industry. That the wages may suffice for all these 
 
LABOR AND WAGES 17 
 
 purposes, Ozanam, however, supposes thrift and virtuous living 
 on the part of labor. The first of these conditions, to go no 
 farther, Socialists spurn in order to keep the wage-earner in 
 his indigence, even when wages are just and satisfactory. Only 
 in this way can they hope to bring about the revolution under 
 all circumstances. 
 
 Thus far, however, we have only considered what Ozanam 
 calls the " absolute conditions " detei-mining wages, but there 
 are likewise " relative conditions " to be taken into account. 
 Special wages are demanded according to the difficulties or 
 hardships of the work: when it is painful, disagreeable or 
 dangerous; when it is subject to interruptions, like the trade 
 of the mason ; when it requires extraordinary strength, dexterity, 
 study, or long years of apprenticeship. 
 
 The fact, however, is that the actual wage is often beneath 
 the natural wage. This leads Ozanam to a searching considera- 
 tion of the relations between employer and employed and a 
 discussion of the necessity and limitation of State interference. 
 To these subjects we shall return in the following section. 
 
 The views of Ozanam upon the leading economic issues of 
 our day have far more than a mere historic interest. They 
 bring us face to face with the great Catholic social principles 
 and demonstrate the continuity of Catholic teaching. Even 
 where changes have openly been made, as in the question of 
 interest, there has not been the least sacrifice of principle on 
 the part of the Church. In the application itself of funda- 
 mental Catholic truths to new economic conditions, as in the 
 instance given, the change is often more apparent than real. 
 Much of the terminology in the lectures of Ozanam, delivered 
 over three-quarters of a century ago, will appear strange to the 
 modem reader, and calls for interpretation. But his doctrines 
 themselves are not new to us ; they perfectly agree in substance 
 with the teaching of our Catholic economists. 
 
 If we sum up, therefore, what has thus far been said by him 
 upon the wage problem, and express it in the language of our 
 own day, we arrive at the conclusion that he demands more than 
 a mere personal or living wage, that, as closely as we can ap- 
 proximate to his idea in this important question, he is a de- 
 
18 CHUECH AND LABOR 
 
 fender of the family wage. It is true that he speaks only of 
 a wage which must suffice for the education of the laborer's 
 children, while no express mention is made of the support of 
 the mother of the family. But the latter demand is naturally 
 included in the former, especially since much of the education 
 of the laborer's offspring, in the broad sense in which Ozanam 
 employs the term " education," must depend upon her. His 
 severe strictures, moreover, upon woman labor as well as child 
 labor can leave no reasonable doubt upon this point. There 
 was then, of course, no question of prolonging the common edu- 
 cation to the fourteenth, much less to the sixteenth year. 
 
 c. Employees and Employed 
 The reasons given by Ozanam why a just wage is often denied 
 the laborer are reducible to two main classes: inability on the 
 part of the employer and wilful exploitation of labor. As 
 remedies for the former he suggests a more adequate knowledge 
 of the laws of supply and demand, a more rigid economy in 
 avoiding waste, and a more perfect distribution of money for 
 rent, interest, tax and profit ; in brief a better understanding of 
 industrial and commercial questions. The second difficulty is 
 not solved so easily, since it is the result of a perverted human 
 will. It is due to the greed of capitalist and dividend-hunters, 
 and must therefore be met by a definite action on the part of the 
 State, of the community and of the labor unions. 
 
 In his definition of exploitation Ozanam is eminently clear 
 and to the point. The employer becomes guilty of this crime 
 " when he does not consider the worker as an associate and an 
 auxiliary, but as a tool from which he is to derive as much 
 service as possible at the least expense possible." This is 
 Catholic doctrine in its integrity. 
 
 Such exploitation of man by man Ozanam calls by no other 
 name than slavery. The human laborer, the masterpiece of the 
 Creator, the image of God, the immortal heir of heavenly glory, 
 has in such a system been reduced to a mere machine. His 
 service has become servitude. He is " only a part of capitalism, 
 like the slave of the ancient pagans." ISTo more therefore is 
 done for him that for the machine at which he stands. It is all 
 
EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYED 19 
 
 a question of the greatest economy. Child labor follows, and 
 the mother likewise is torn from her home. The moral and 
 intellectual needs of the toiling masses are of no consequence 
 and the family is disintegrated without a qualm of conscience. 
 Sanitary conditions are neglected and the workshop becomes a 
 veritable prison house where man, woman and child are con- 
 demned to a systematic and progressive degradation. Such 
 must of necessity be the conditions wherever the Liberalistic 
 form of capitalism is allowed full freedom without the inter- 
 ference of State action and labor unionism. Such have been 
 and still are the actual results in many instances. Need we 
 wonder that the great Catholic social leaders all with one voice 
 more bitterly condemn the vices of individualism or Liberalism 
 than even the errors of Socialism. The first are the cause, the 
 latter only the effect. 
 
 What then is to be done ? Clearly the Government must inter- 
 fere. The policy of absolute liberty, Laissez faire, laissez 
 passer, can not be tolerated. The individual laborer, says 
 Ozanam, is under a threefold disadvantage. He has less to 
 spare than the capitalist, and therefore is urged by need to 
 accept the terms which are offered him. He has a more limited 
 horizon than his employer and is consequently more subject 
 to alarm and intimidation. He is finally more restricted in 
 his choice of occupation. The capitalist can find many ways 
 of investing his wealth, the laborer is bound to his machine 
 or at least to the trade which he has learned. 
 
 While such is the condition of the laborer, there is no less 
 danger, on the other hand, to be apprehended from a paternal- 
 istic government. Experience has shown that it hampers in- 
 dustry and strangles commerce. No worse form of universal 
 slavery could finally be imagined than the paternalism to 
 which Socialist agitators would subject the entire himian race. 
 The solution therefore of the problem must consist in a proper 
 balancing of liberty and authority. Government intervention 
 is necessary, but must be restricted to extraordinary circum- 
 stances. It is called for to just the extent that the common 
 welfare requires it. So far and no further. Much can be 
 accomplished by the education of the worker and by proper 
 
20 CHUECH AND LABOE 
 
 labor organizations. The employer likewise needs to be taught 
 that liberal wages encourage the workingman, make him take 
 more pride and pleasure in his task and help him to identify 
 his interest with his occupation. 
 
 The laborer will be attached to his work as to something that is his 
 own, industry will advance in perfection, and that demoralization 
 which we make at the same time a reproach and a necessity for the 
 proletarian will ceaso with the prospect of his going forth one day 
 from his state of helotism." 
 
 It must be borne in mind that the conditions of which 
 Ozanam wrote are not to be indiscriminately compared with 
 those of our time. It is only the Socialistic writer, and men 
 who have similarly become infected with a false radicalism, 
 who will condemn the entire employing class as guilty of heart- 
 less exploitation. Ozanam, as we may judge from his many 
 writings, had no thought of attacking the principle of wages in 
 itself, but only the abuses to which it had given occasion and 
 which had become common in the factory system of his day. 
 Nothing could be more terrible than the moral, intellectual 
 and physical degradation implied in the picture given of it 
 by Kolping in Germany ; while Manchester and other great in- 
 dustrial centres of England were veritable studies for a new 
 Inferno. We are not, therefore, surprised at the bold and un- 
 qualified assertion which we find twice repeated in the notes 
 of Ozanam that the great industrial captains of his day could 
 only be compared to " those barbarian royalties who were borne 
 about upon a shield on the shoulders of the people." ^° 
 
 It is difficult for us to conceive the horror with which the 
 Catholic mind at this period contemplated the transition from 
 the domestic to the factory system. The danger and degrada- 
 tion it implied for the laborer were not essential parts of the 
 new system itself; but under the pagan individualism of the 
 times, which the Eeformation had brought about, the laborer 
 was practically handed over as a slave into the hands of the fac- 
 tory owner. The economic philosophy of the day forbade the 
 
 « Melanges, II, p. 582. 
 10 lUd., p. 586. 
 
EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYED 21 
 
 State to interfere and suppressed the labor tinion, so that no 
 redress could be had. The conscience of the employer, deadened 
 by what he knew to be the custom of the time, was the only 
 court of appeal which labor had. Such a condition could never 
 have been brought about, except by the rejection of Catholic 
 philosophy and Catholic faith. There is hope for labor only 
 in as far as Catholic principles are adopted. That, however, 
 in the stress of unlimited competition and amid the surround- 
 ings we have here described, the Catholic employer should often 
 himself have yielded to the principles which were almost forced 
 upon him, is suiBciently intelligible. 
 
 In his own day Ozanam beheld capital and labor facing each 
 other as two hostile armies. On the one side he pictured the 
 power of wealth ; on the other, the force of numbers. The acts 
 of physical violence and the strikes of the toiling multitudes re- 
 called to his mind the historical scenes of the seceding Roman 
 plebeians. 
 
 We have already briefly indicated Ozanam's economic solu- 
 tion. It would be wrong, however, to convey the impression 
 that he believed the question to be mainly an economic one. 
 He well understood that the evils of the time were all reducible 
 to a want of charity and justice. The restoration of economic 
 justice, where it is violated, depends largely upon the power of 
 law and of organization. But justice can never be restored 
 without charity, the absence of which is the radical reason for 
 the existence of the social question itself. To pastor and peo- 
 ple alike therefore Ozanam reads the great lesson of charity. 
 They must go out into the world and take an active part in 
 relieving misery wherever they find it. They must move the 
 hearts of the rich and cheer the hearts of the poor. In both 
 they must enkindle that fire of charity which Christ came to 
 bring into the world. Charity then will return to earth lead- 
 ing Justice by the hand. But it must be a charity founded 
 upon faith and religion. 
 
 We have spoken only of the faults to be found in certain 
 classes of employers. Ozanam well knew that labor likewise 
 is not always blameless. Want of fidelity and of application 
 
22 CHURCH AND LABOE 
 
 to its employment, thriftlessness and dissipation, and even 
 worse evils were often justly set to its account, but tenderly he 
 dealt with them as a mother might, yet no less resolutely. 
 Labor indeed had not then attained the position which it not 
 unfrequently holds today, when the tables are turned at times 
 and the employer may find himself helpless against a power- 
 ful trade union, defying the' public itself, and demanding, it 
 may be, its own arbitrary price. This would be the Liberalism 
 of labor succeeding the Liberalism of capital, a danger against 
 which every Catholic trade unionist must be upon his guard. 
 
 As a final rule Ozanam demands that a fair proportion be 
 observed between the profits of the employer and the wages of 
 the laborer. There is usury, he argues, as well in excessive 
 profits, which do not correspond to any eq\iivalent labor on the 
 part of the employer, as in excessive interests which exceed the 
 use-value of the money loaned. The danger of harming less 
 fortunately circumstanced competitors must of course, within 
 reasonable limits, be borne in mind. Allowance must likewise 
 be made for the additional rent derived from the land and for 
 the interest on the capital invested, which belong to the em- 
 ployer if he is both owner and manager. If, however, for these 
 reasons and because of extraordinary intellectual labor and 
 ability he accumulates a fortune exceeding the needs of his 
 station in life he has no right to use it selfishly, but must con- 
 sider the common good. As long as such fortunes are acciunu- 
 lated, and used as an absolute personal possession and not as 
 a stewardship for God, the war between capital and labor will 
 continue, no matter what economic transformations may take 
 place. 
 
 Ozanam made no pretence to profound economic knowledge. 
 When asked to assume political leadership he expressly pleaded 
 that he was insufficiently versed in these questions. This was 
 true only in so far as he was mainly a student of past events, 
 with the one great purpose of bringing into evidence the glor- 
 ious role of the Catholic Church in the world's history. But 
 we must not forget that he was always closely in touch with the 
 actual life of labor and poverty, and a shrewd observer of all 
 he saw. Even while delivering his economic lectures his habit- 
 
EMPLOYEES AND EMPLOYED 23 
 
 ual modesty asserted itself. " The humble words," he said, 
 " which come from this chair are only an imperceptible scat- 
 tering of seed. Yet who knows but it may ripen in the secret 
 depths of your thoughts and unfold itself one day in effective 
 plans." 
 
3. WILLIAM EMMANUEL VON KETTELER 
 
 a. The Fbibi^d of the People 
 
 " We joyfully confess," wrote Bishop Ketteler in answer to 
 the slur of a Ereemasonic journal that his audience on a cer- 
 tain occasion was composed mainly of laboring men, " that every 
 dock-hand, every day-laborer, every peasant is of as much mo- 
 ment to us as any prince or king, and that we place human 
 dignity far above all class distinctions. We feel nothing but 
 inexpressible pity for those who esteem the wealthy manufac- 
 turer higher than the poor farmhand." ^ 
 
 That will suffice to introduce the " Bishop of the Working- 
 men." He spoke not for himself alone, but for all the Church 
 which still continues to fulfil Christ's mission upon earth: 
 " and the poor have the Gospel preached to them." Yet from 
 the lowliest worker in the realm to the Iron Chancellor all, 
 whether they wished it or not, were obliged to listen to the 
 voice of Ketteler. " Consult the writings of the Bishop of 
 j\Iainz," said Bismarck misinterpreting their sense in his Kul- 
 turkampf speech ; " they are cleverly written, pleasant to read 
 and in everyone's hands." No mean compliment from a bitter 
 enemy. 
 
 In the realm of industrial relations, to which we are here 
 confining ourselves, the name of Bishop William Emmanuel 
 von Ketteler must ever stand recorded as that of the pioneer 
 of modem Catholic action in the industrial field. " He was 
 my great precursor in the labor cause," Pope Leo XIII justly 
 said of him. In seeking to quote from his many viTitings on 
 the greatest of modem questions we are hopelessly bewildered 
 by the abundance of matter that still remains of enduring value 
 in his works. 
 
 Of magnificent and com m anding appearance, with clear-cut 
 
 1 KoMU ein glauhiger Christ Freimaurer sein, p. 95. Liesen, Bishof 
 Ketteler und die soziale Frage, p. 25. 
 
 24 
 
THE FEIEND OF THE PEOPLE 25 
 
 features and kindly yet penetrating glance, Bishop Ketteler 
 exercised an irresistible power wherever he appeared. His voice 
 could sway the largest audiences and his written word was 
 eloquently persuasive. " You wield a good pen, my son," the 
 aged Pope Pius IX said to him on his last visit to Eome, 
 shortly before his death. His first great social utterance will 
 never be forgotten in the annals of the Catholic social move- 
 ment It was delivered in the fateful year 1848, when as 
 pastor of Hopsten and Eepresentative of the Frankfurt Parli- 
 ament he was called upon to speak at the grave of two deputies 
 who had been brutally murdered by an enraged mob for their 
 free public utterances. Seventy years later, in 1918, his ringing 
 words might again have been spoken with equal truth under very 
 similar circumstances.^ 
 
 Who, I ask, are the murderers of our friends? Is it indeed tliey 
 ivho have riddled their bodies with bullets? No, it is not they. 
 It is the thoughts that bring forth good and wicked deeds on earth 
 — and the thoughts that have brought forth these deeds are not 
 the thoughts of our people. My lot is cast with the people; I 
 know it in its pains and in its sorrows. I have devoted my whole 
 life to the service of the people, and the more I have learned to know 
 them, the more also I have learned to love them. No, I repeat again, it 
 is not our noble, honest German people from whom this horrible deed 
 has gone forth. The murderers are the men who sneer at Christ, 
 at Christianity and the Church before the people; who try to pluck 
 the blessed message of Redemption out of the hearts of the people; 
 who raise rebellion, revolution, to the dignity of a principle; who 
 tell the people that it is not their duty to govern their passions, to 
 subject their actions to the higher law of virtue. The murderers are 
 the men who set themselves up as the lying idols of the people, in 
 order that these may fall down and adore them. 
 
 On all sides I hear the cry for universal peace — and whose soul 
 would not joyfully join in the cry ? — and I see men ever more and 
 more divided against themselves, the father against the son, the 
 brother against the sister, the friend against the friend; I hear the 
 cry for equality among men, an equality which the message of salva- 
 
 2 The translations of Bishop Ketteler's words throughout this section 
 are taken from the excellent renditions contained in George Metlake's Ket- 
 teler'a Social Reform, published hy the Dolphin Press, Philadelphia. A 
 somewhat similar work in German, though less ample, is the centenary 
 volume, Bishof v. Eetteler als VorMmpfer der christlichen Sozialreform, 
 by J. Mundwiler, S. J. 
 
26 CHUECH AND LABOK 
 
 tion has been teaching for thousands of years, and I see man striving 
 frantically to raise himself above his fellow-man; I hear the beauti- 
 ful, the sublime cry for brotherhood and love, a cry borne down to 
 us from Heaven, and I see hatred and calumny and lying running 
 riot among men; I hear the cry to hold out a helping hand to our 
 poor suSering brotlier, — and who, if he has not plucked out both 
 his eyes, can deny that his need is great, and who that has not torn 
 his heart out of his bosom, will not join all his soul in this cry for 
 help ? — and I see avarice and covetousness increase, and pleasure- 
 seeking grow more and more. I see men who call themselves ' friends 
 of the people ' adding to the general distress, undermining the love 
 of work, and setting their poor deluded brother at the pockets of his 
 fellow-man, keeping their own money-bags tight sealed the while; 
 I hear the cry for liberty, and before me I see men murdered for 
 having dared to utter an independent word; I hear the cry for hu- 
 manity, and I see a brutality which fills me with horror. 
 
 O .yes, I believe in the truth of all those sublime ideas that are 
 stirring the world to its depths to-day; in my opinion not one is too 
 high for mankind; I believe it is the duty of man to realize them all, 
 and I love the age in which we live for its mighty wrestling, how- 
 ever far it is from attaining them. But there is only one means of 
 realizing these sublime ideals ■ — • return to Him who brought them 
 into the world, to the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Christ proclaimed 
 those very doctrines which men, who have turned their backs on 
 Him and deride Him, are now passing ofF as their own inventions; 
 but He not only preached them — He practised them in His life, and 
 showed us the only way to make them a part and parcel of our own 
 lives. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life; outside of Him 
 is error, and lying, and death. Through Him mankind can do all 
 things, even the highest, the most ideal; without Him it can do 
 nothing. With Him, in the Truth which He taught, on the Way 
 which He pointed out, we can make a paradise of earth, we can wipe 
 away the tears from the eyes of our poor suffering brother, we can 
 establish the reign of love, of harmony and fraternity, of true hu- 
 manity ; we can — I say it from the deepest conviction of my soul — 
 we can establish community of goods and everlasting peace, and at 
 the same time live under the freest political institutions; without 
 Him we shall perish disgracefully, miserably, the laughing-stock of 
 succeeding generations. This is the solemn truth that speaks to us 
 out of these graves; the history of the world bears it out. May we 
 take it to heart.' 
 
 The history of the years that were to follow has indeed 
 abundantly borne out the truth of Bishop Ketteler's word. His 
 ^Predigten, II, pp. Wl -ff. Metlake, pp. 21 ff. 
 
THE QUESTION OF PEOPERTY EIGHTS 27 
 
 warning is as needful to the nations of the earth today as when 
 it was fearlessly uttered in the presence of an audience thrilled 
 and awed by his living eloquence. 
 
 b. The Question oar Peopeety Rights 
 
 In the speech just quoted we find a striking reference to 
 the possibility of establishing under Christianity a true com- 
 munity of goods. This suggested Communism differs essen- 
 tially from the Communism of Marx, and when carefully 
 analyzed will be found to be nothing more than what Pope Leo 
 XIII has described in a word more suitable for our own day, 
 as " Christian Democracy." 
 
 Communism, in the year 1848, was a word to conjure by. 
 In this same year, a few weeks before the French Eevolu- 
 tion, Marx and Engels had flung upon the world their " Com- 
 munist Manifesto," the future gospel of Socialism. These 
 founders of the modem Socialist movement deliberately chose 
 the word " Communist " as summing up the extreme radical- 
 ism of their day. Their doctrine itself was soon, however, to 
 be known as Socialism the world over, though the present Com- 
 munism, too, is its legitimate offspring. In opposition to the 
 " false Communism " of the times Bishop Ketteler therefore 
 proposed the " true Communism," or as we should say today, 
 the " Christian Democracy " of the Catholic Church. The con- 
 trast between the two chief founders of these opposing social 
 movements, the Socialist and the Catholic, Marx and Ketteler, 
 presents indeed a picture of absorbing interest. 
 
 Both were working simultaneously, independently, and from 
 different points of view, at the solution of the same problem. 
 Both were born leaders of most remarkable gifts, of originality 
 in thought, of boundless capacity for work, of fiery tempera- 
 ment, of utter fearlessness in the enunciation of their prin- 
 ciples. Each was supreme in his field. " Marx stood higher, 
 saw further, took a wider, clearer, quicker survey than all of 
 us," said Engels, his co-laborer ; " Marx was a genius, we others 
 were, at best, men of talent." Ketteler, on the other hand, 
 was no less unquestionably the greatest prelate in the social 
 liphere. Marx, inspired with the hatred of the lost archangel, 
 
28 CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 casting off all religion and belief in God, fulminated his thun- 
 ders against the entire state of existing society. Confusing 
 abuses with inherent evils, he strove, under cover of materialistic 
 evolution, to set class against class in a deadly conflict, lifting 
 up the battle cry which was to arouse every latent passion of 
 envy, greed and hatred in the hearts of his followers : " Ex- 
 propriate the expropriators ! " Ketteler, on the contrary, urged 
 on by the Spirit of God, came to bring peace and blessing to 
 the world. With all the power of his high office, his majestic 
 presence and his stirring eloquence, he fearlessly set his face 
 against the oppression of the poor, the injustice of the law, 
 the godlessness of the schools, and the usurpation of the author- 
 ity of the Church by the State. To these last two causes he 
 rightly attributed in largest measure the abject poverty of the 
 masses. He came to minister spiritually and temporally to 
 the wants of the poor and to reorganize the working classes. 
 That many of the conditions he describes no longer exist is due 
 in no small degree to his initiative, and the future devel- 
 opment both of industry and of organization, which he 
 clearly foretold, has introduced mighty changes in the social 
 problem. 
 
 According to Marxian philosophy, the root of all the world's 
 evil, of vice as well as of poverty, is purely or overwhelmingly 
 economic, and therefore a state of prosperity and universal vir- 
 tue can be effected only by economic causes. This is the essen- 
 tial doctrine of the Marxian theory. If men remain such 
 as they are the Socialistic commonwealth must clearly be im- 
 possible. The Socialists themselves confess it. Ketteler's 
 mind saw further. He, too, recognized the economic causes and 
 pointed them out ; but beneath them all. In the soil untouched by 
 Marx or Engels, he found the real root of all disorder, original 
 sin. In strong words he asked : 
 
 How is it possible that on the one hand we see rich men, in the 
 face of the most elementary laws of nature and without a qualm of 
 conscience, wasting their substance riotously, while the poor are 
 starving and ihe children degenerate? How is it possible for us to 
 relish superfluities whilst our brothers are in want of the barest 
 necessaries of life? How is it possible that our hearts do not break 
 in the midst of revelry and song when we think of the sick poor who 
 
THE QUESTION OF PROPEETY EIGHTS 29 
 
 in the heat of the fever are stretching out their hands for refresh- 
 ment and no one is by to give it to them? 
 
 Then, after describing the saddest of all sights, the little 
 children growing up in vice and sin, he continues : " And on 
 the other hand, how is it possible that the poor and their 
 godless seducers, contrary to all natural right and all common 
 sense, embrace the absurd theory of false Communism, and look 
 to it for salvation, though it is so evident that it would drag 
 all humanity down to its ruin ? " The answer, he says, is to 
 be found in the doctrine of original sin, without which man 
 must remain a mystery to himself.* 
 
 It was the question of property rights, therefore, which first 
 engaged Bishop Ketteler's attention in his famous sermons 
 on " The Great Social Questions of the Day," which were de- 
 livered during the same memorable year, 1848. The first of 
 these dealt with " The Christian Idea of the Eight of Property." 
 The second contained in detail an exposition of the principles 
 enunciated 600 years before by the great Catholic doctor, St. 
 Thomas. These principles of necessity remain the same today, 
 for principles do not change. It is their application only that 
 must ever be newly made to keep pace with the varying cir- 
 cumstances of time and peace. 
 
 All creatures, and therefore all goods of the earth, Ketteler 
 argues, can of their very nature belong to God alone. He alone 
 can have essential and complete ownership over them. Man's 
 right is strictly limited to the use and enjoyment of them, the 
 " usufruct," as throughout the sermons, it is technically called. 
 In no other respect can any human being claim a right in their 
 regard. Nor is this right to the use and enjoyment of the 
 goods of earth unrestricted, since it may be exercised only ''' as 
 God wills and as He has ordained." Since God is the only 
 absolute owner, it follows obviously that no one may do just 
 as he pleases with the earthly goods in his possession. These 
 truths Ketteler develops further in the following crucial pas- 
 sage: 
 
 To God therefore belongs, to conclude with St. Thomas's own words, 
 *Predigten, II, pp. 136 ff. 
 
30 CHUECH AND LABOR 
 
 the sovereign proprietorship over all things. But in His Providence 
 
 He has destined some of these things for the sustenance of man, and 
 for this reason man also has a natural right of ownership, viz. the 
 right to use things. Two very important conclusions follow from 
 these premises. 
 
 In the first place, the Catholic doctrine of private property has 
 nothing in common with the conception current in the world accord- 
 ing to which man looks on himself as the unrestricted master of his 
 possessions. The Church can never concede to man the right of us- 
 ing at his pleasure the goods of this world, and when she speaks 
 of private property and protects it, she never loses sight of the three 
 essential and constituent elements of her idea of property, viz. 
 that the true and complete right of property pertains to God alone, 
 that man's right is restricted to the usufruct, and that man is bound, 
 in regard to this usufruct, to recognize the order established by God. 
 
 Secondly, this doctrine of the right of property, having its root 
 and foundation in God, is possible only where there is living faith 
 in God. It is only since the men who call themselves the friends 
 of the people, though steadily compassing the public ruin, and their 
 spiritual progenitors, have shaken mankind's faith in God, that the 
 godless doctrine could gain ground which malies man the god of his 
 possession. Separated from God, men regarded themselves as the ex- 
 clusive masters of their possessions and looked on them only as a 
 means of satisfying their ever-increasing love of pleasure; separated 
 from God, they set up sensual pleasures and the enjoyment of life 
 as the end of their existence, and worldly goods as the means of 
 attaining this end; and so of necessity a gulf was formed between 
 the rich and the poor such as the Christian world had not known 
 till then. While the rich man in his refined and pampered sensuality 
 dissipates and wastes his substance, he suffers the poor man to lan- 
 guish for very lack of the barest necessaries of life and robs him of 
 what God intended for the nourishment of all. A mountain of in- 
 justice, like a heavy malediction, rests on property thus abused and 
 diverted from its natural and supernatural purpose. Not the Catholic 
 Church, but infidelity or atheism has brought about this state of 
 things, and just as they have destroyed in the poor man the love 
 of work, so are they destroying in the rich man the spirit of active 
 charity.^ 
 
 Man's right of o-miership, then, is nothing more than " a 
 right conceded him by God to use the goods of earth as the 
 Creator has ordained." This right, Ketteler continues, men 
 can exercise in either of two ways : " Men can either exercise 
 their property, or rather usufructuary, rights in common, that 
 
 sPredigten, II, pp. 120 ff. Metlake, pp. 32 jf. 
 
THE QUESTION OF PROPERTY RIGHTS 31 
 
 is, administer the goods of earth in common and divide the 
 profits (Communism) ; or they can possess them divided, so that 
 each man has property rights over a specified portion of them 
 and is at liberty to dispose of the profits derived from them." 
 Which of these two systems, Communism or private property, 
 he asks, is destined for man ? In answering this question he 
 again follows St. Thomas and divides the sole right to property 
 that man can possess into: 
 
 I. The right of management and administration. 
 II. The right of enjoying the profits. 
 
 Of the first of these rights he affirms with St. Thomas that 
 in regard to the management and administration of property 
 the individual right of ownership over the goods of the earth 
 is to be upheld. His reasons are, in the first place, that " it is 
 the only way to secure good management, for every one takes 
 better care of what belongs to himself than of that which he 
 possesses jointly with other." To this he adds the lack of 
 improvement and incentive that would follow from a common 
 ownership, and the laziness that must gain the upper hand 
 from the loss of any counterpoise. The other reasons, briefly 
 stated, are that the right to private property alone can guarantee 
 the order required for fruitful management, and finally that it 
 alone can preserve peace among men. " For we know from 
 experience how easily joint possession of property leads to 
 disputes and quarrels," even where the inmates of the same 
 house " share with each other nothing but the air they breathe 
 and the water they draw from the common well." 
 
 Coming then to the second of these rights, that of enjoying the 
 profits, he lays down the rule which is the very foundation 
 stone of Christian Democracy: 
 
 But in regard to the enjoyment of the fruits derived from the ad- 
 ministration of earthly goods, St. Thomas lays down a very differ- 
 ent principle. Man, according to him, should never look upon these 
 fruits as his exclusive property, but as the common property of all, 
 and should therefore be ready to share them with others in their 
 need. Hence the Apostle says : " Charf!re the rich of this world to 
 give easily, to communicate to others." * Thus, on the one hand, 
 
 « I Tim. xvii, 18. 
 
32 CHUECH AI^D LAEOR 
 
 we see Christianity opposing the false doctrines of Communism, and 
 on the other no less strenuously combating the false doctrine concern- 
 ing the right of ownership, and setting up true Communism.^ 
 
 This true and voluntary Communism, carried to the height of 
 a complete oblation of all earthly goods, -which the Church 
 would forcibly impose upon no man, Ketteler thus described 
 in his well-known sermon for the Feast of Pentecost : 
 
 There must be something great about community of temporal goods, 
 seeing that it was one of the first fruits of the Holy Ghost. But 
 how different was this communism in the first Christian Church 
 from its caricature in our days. The men who practised community 
 of goods in those days were vessels of the Holy Ghost. Through the 
 Holy Ghost they had become one heart and one soul, and the owners 
 of the lands and houses sold these of their own free will and laid 
 the price at the feet of the AjKistles. Hence St. Peter said to Ananias, 
 who had lied to him concerning the prices of the land : " Whilst it 
 remained, did it not remain to thee? And after it was sold, was 
 it not in thy power ? " But now those who speak of community of 
 goods are not men filled with the Spirit of God, but with the spirit 
 which the world serves. They do not want to give up what is their 
 own, but to rob others of what by right belongs to them. In those 
 days the idea of community of goods sprang from the spirit of love, 
 whereas now it springs from the spirit of avarice. It is the giant 
 task of our age to fill up again the abyss that divides the rich from 
 the poor, and woe to us if it is not filled up: years will come com- 
 pared to which the year 'forty-eight was only a childish plaything. 
 But this abyss can be filled up only by the same spirit that wrought 
 in the first Christian community. We must become one heart and one 
 soul again.^ 
 
 The Communism which Ketteler had in mind while giving 
 the course of sermons on " The Great Social Questions of the 
 Day " must therefore be clearly distinguished from the Social- 
 ism of a later date. In the development of the argument from 
 St. Thomas, as quoted in this chapter, he dealt with that ex- 
 treme form of Communism which would extend to an actual 
 common management of industries. In certain instances, dur- 
 ing its initial stages, Bolshevism apparently attempted this 
 absurdity. The necessity of leaving the direction of manu- 
 facturing plants in the hands of experts, appointed by 
 
 7 nid. St. Thomas, Summa Theologia, II, II, Q. 66, A. 1 and 2. 
 
 8 Predigten, I, pp. 381 ff Metlake, pp. 67 ff. 
 
THE QUESTION OF PEOPEETY EIGHTS 33 
 
 the Conmiunist representatives, however, soon became evi- 
 dent. Such would, in general, be the Socialist idea. The 
 more actual a radical movement becomes, the less Commun- 
 istic it is likely to be in its administration. But Socialism, 
 in proportion as it plans a more or less universal socialization 
 of the means of production, still remains economically refuted 
 by the first argument of Bishop Ketteler, which it has never 
 been able to answer, and which experience has proved to be 
 incontrovertible — namely, that collective ownership leads to 
 a far greater expenditure, waste, inefficiency and laziness than 
 private ownership. Our real problem is to retain the efficiency 
 of the latter, and to render impossible the excessive abuses and 
 profiteering that have been connected with it under the Liber- 
 alistic capitalism which Bishop Ketteler condemned with all 
 the power of his eloquence. 
 
 His opposition to Socialism must not, however, be construed 
 as implying a condemnation of every form of State ownership. 
 The fact is that in later years we find him formally advocating 
 the Government ownership of the railroads in Germany. In 
 spite of its great drawbacks and its inevitably greater expendi- 
 ture. Government ownership of certain definite industries may 
 be demanded for the common good. So far, but no further, 
 is it then to be accepted, due compensation being made to pre- 
 vious owners. But special care must be taken not to conclude 
 rashly, that because Government ownership in one industry — 
 say the railroads — is successful in one country, that therefore 
 it will be equally successful in every country and all times. 
 
 Bishop Ketteler's opposition to Socialism, we must add, was 
 based furthermore upon the atheistic nature of the Socialism of 
 his day, which the International has always maintained in its 
 constant opposition to Christianity, and upon his great personal 
 love for liberty. Hatred of despotism and absolutism, under 
 every form, was one of the strongest traits of his manly charac- 
 ter, even as devotion to the cause of human freedom was a 
 consuming passion with him. Socialism, therefore, must of 
 necessity have been abhorrent to his finely sensitive nature 
 which could never permit the rights of others to be trampled 
 under foot. "Were ever stronger words than these penned in 
 the cause of popular freedom ? 
 
34 CHUKCH AND LABOR 
 
 Even if all the Utopian dreams of the Socialists were realized, and 
 every one was fed to his heart's content in this universal labor State, 
 yet should I for all that prefer to eat in peace the potatoes planted 
 by my hand and be clothed with the skins of the animals I reared, 
 and therewith remain free, than to fare sumptuously in the slavery 
 of the labor State. This makes the collectivist theory utterly de- 
 testable. Slavery come to life again; the State an assemblage of 
 slaves without personal liberty — that is Socialism I ° 
 
 Socialism, as Bishop Ketteler constantly insisted, was but the 
 child of atheistic Liberalism, and should it ever attain to any 
 temporary power, as he believed was quite probable, would not 
 seek to accomplish the popular will, but true to its Liberalistic 
 origin, would impose its own will upon the people. History 
 has here again proved the truth of his words. Communism 
 and Socialism are in practice to be numbered among the worst 
 forms of human tyranny to which a country can be subjected. 
 Bishop Ketteler had profoundly fathomed the new movement. 
 
 C. COOPERA.TIVE PeODUCTION 
 
 Strongly as Bishop Ketteler condemned the fallicies of Social- 
 ism, he no less ardently championed the Christian system of co- 
 operative production. Not the public, but the individual 
 workers, would thus be the joint owners of the industries that 
 could be rightfully acquired or established by them. Such a 
 system, obviously, is not more Communistic or Socialistic than 
 any trust or corporation, but is strictly based on the principle of 
 private property, inflexibly defended by Ketteler. It is not to 
 be confused with that " joint possession " which he deprecates 
 in his argument against Communism, but is strictly a private 
 ownership by the workers, who choose their own management 
 and draw their own profits. The time, however, was not as yet 
 ripe for working out the details of and successfully applying 
 this idea which so greatly appealed to him. 
 
 On this subject, as is well known, he even addressed an 
 anonymous letter to Lassalle, who was then agitating for co- 
 operative production in Germany. Bishop Ketteler had 50,- 
 
 » From the fragments of an unfinished pamphlet by Bishop Ketteler on 
 the subject: "Can a Catholic Workingman be a Member of the Socialist 
 Party?"— Otto Pffllf, S. J., Biehof von Ketteler, III, p. 302. 
 
COOPERATIVE PRODUCTION 35 
 
 000 Gulden at his disposal which he intended to spend in found- 
 ing five cooperative productive associations for the workers. 
 Incidentally it is interesting to note here that women workers 
 were included as a special division, in his scheme. He de- 
 sired Lassalle's advice as to a practicable method of procedure, 
 stating at the same time that his position did not make it pru- 
 dent to mention his name. Lassalle highly praised the Bishop's 
 purpose, hut would not enter into details while the name of 
 his correspondent was unknown to him. The Bishop sought 
 counsel elsewhere, and the money finally had to be expended 
 upon a work of charity whose obligation rested upon him. 
 
 His interest in the subject did not end here. But the inci- 
 dent just recorded formed the basis of the oft-repeated rumors 
 of an alleged connection between Ketteler and Lassalle. The 
 latter was even said to have been baptized by the Bishop. The 
 fact is that the two men never personally met each other. Las- 
 salle, indeed took public occasion to praise the great ecclesiastic 
 in the most unstinted way for his years of scientific research, 
 his great learning and the reverence with which his words were 
 everywhere received. Yet in their fundamental principles these 
 two most prominent social leaders of their day were worlds apart. 
 Lassalle, in fact, though a foremost promoter of cooperative pro- 
 ductive societies, plainly stated at a later period that he had 
 advocated them only as a sop thrown to the people, who de- 
 manded something tangible and definite.^" Of Lassalle's solu- 
 tion by State subventions Bishop Ketteler said: 
 
 We believe that a decision to help the working classes by means of 
 subventions such as Lassalle proposes would exceed the competence 
 of a legislative body and encroach on a domain over which the State 
 exercises no power. 
 
 Here in brief is the discussion of the question of cooperative 
 productive societies, as we find it given in Ketteler's celebrated 
 book on the relation of the labor question to Christianity : 
 
 It is superfluous to insist on the importance of Productive Associa- 
 tions of Workingmen. We cannot foresee whether it will ever be 
 possible to make the whole labor world, or even the bulk of it, share 
 
 loMetlake, p. 104. 
 
36 CHURCH Al^D LABOE 
 
 in the benefits they offer. But there is something so grand in the 
 idea itself that it deserves our sympathy in the highest degree. So 
 far as it is realizable, it holds out the most palpable solution of the 
 problem under discussion, assuring as it does to the workman, over 
 and above his daily wages, which competition has practically reduced 
 to a minimum, a new source of revenue. Lassalle wishes to carry 
 out his project with the help of capital advanced by the State. This 
 expedient, at least if carried out on a large scale, appears to us, as 
 we have said before, an unjustifiable encroachment on the rights of 
 private property and impossible of realization without the gravest 
 danger to the public peace. Professor Huber relies partly on the 
 initiative of the workingmen themselves, partly on private donations, 
 and is in favor of beginning everywhere on a small scale. 
 
 The question of cooperative societies is, therefore, primarily a 
 question of funds. The great manufacturers of to-day are rich cap- 
 italists or companies with millions at their command. The enter- 
 prises of the poor workingmen, with little or no capital, will be liter- 
 ally crushed and trampled upon by the giant business concerns which 
 are becoming more numerous every day. Where can the workingmen 
 get the necessary capital to compete with them? If Lassalle's plan 
 is unjustifiable and impracticable, as we are convinced it is, and if 
 there are no other means available than those proposed by Huber, 
 one were inclined to give up the whole idea of cooperative production 
 as a beautiful but barren day-dream, or, at any rate, to cast aside 
 all hope of realizing it to such an extent as would bring relief to 
 any considerable part of the vast army of wage-earners. . . . 
 
 As often as I weigh these difiiculties, the certainty and the hope 
 spring up within me that the forces of Christianity will take hold 
 of this idea and realize it on a grand scale. Vast sums will be re- 
 quired, and I am far from entertaining the notion that the working- 
 classes will be suddenly and everywhere relieved from their distress 
 by this means. But I see this consummation in the future and hope 
 that Christian souls will begin to lay the foundations for it, now in 
 one place, now in another. Christianity is a force that works from 
 within, advances slowly, but infallibly succeeds in accomplishing the 
 most sublime and unlooked-for things for the welfare of mankind. 
 No doubt many things will happen before the influence of Christianity 
 has gained sufficient ground to attain the desired end. It took cen- 
 turies before the ancient Romans could be induced to set their slaves 
 free. Perhaps many a Schulze-Delitzsch ^'^ will have to appear on the 
 
 11 Hermann Schulze, a Mancheatrian economist, was born in Delitzach, 
 Saxony, 1808. The workingmen's unions founded by him are known as 
 Schulze-Delitzsch associations. He founded the first German loan associa- 
 tion at Eilenberg. His trade unions were based upon the false, Liberalistic 
 principles of non-interference on the part of the State in industrial ques- 
 tions. All that the masses needed to hold their own against capital, he 
 claimed, was culture. Societies were consequently founded everywhere to 
 
COOPERATIVE PEODUCTION 37 
 
 scene and announce salvation to the working-classes, before the last 
 tower built by the last of them crumbles to pieces and brings home 
 to the workingman that he has been duped once more and that his 
 hopes were vain. Perhaps the world will even have to give Lasalle's 
 program a trial. The disastrous consequences sure to result from this 
 dangerous experiment, especially if it is directed by unscrupulous 
 demagogues, will convince it that the [Social] Democrats are just 
 as powerless to cure it of its ills as are the Liberals, because their 
 philanthropic ideas, too, are built on the quicksands of human specu- 
 lation and not on the rock of Christianity. We cannot, therefore, tell 
 how and when Christianity will help the working-classes by means of 
 cooperative societies. However, we do not doubt that it will one day 
 realize what is true and good and feasible in the idea. It is true, 
 at the present moment the class that could do most in this matter, 
 viz. the rich merchants, the captains of industry, and the moneyed 
 men generally, is for the most part estranged from Christianity and 
 committed body and soul to the principles of Liberalism. But Chris- 
 tianity counts faithful followers here, too, and its enemies need not 
 always remain such. There was a time when the ancient patrican 
 families of Eome were far removed indeed from Christianity; when 
 a Roman matron daily employed hundreds of slaves to adorn her 
 person ; but a time came when the children of these families liberated 
 their slaves, with their fortunes covered Italy with institutions for 
 the poor, and even sacrificed their lives for the love of Christ. 
 Christianity is so wonderful! Its enemy of yesterday falls down 
 today at the foot of the Cross, and the son gives his blood for the 
 love of the God whom his father blasphemed! The resources of 
 Christianity are so boundless that, if God wills to incline the hearts 
 of the Christians to these ideas, the capital required for the creation 
 of productive associations will be gradually provided. 
 
 There are two systems of taxation. The one is used by the State, 
 the other by Christianity. The State levies taxes by force. It makes 
 revenue-laws, draws up tax rolls, sends out tax-collectors. Christian- 
 give a smattering of irreligious, anti-Christian education to the laborer. 
 Trade unionism was thus developed as a part of the Liberalist campaign 
 to promote rationalism and atheism among the masses. The consequence 
 was that the workingman was left hungry as before, but without any 
 consolation of religion to give him strength and comfort in life, so that 
 he might firmly struggle upward towards a true solution of the problem 
 of his own social betterment. Although doubtless of some service, yet 
 these associations were preparing the way for the equally atheistic Social- 
 ist unions destined to supplant them. Schulze-Delitzsch was for a time 
 lifted upon a pedestal as the hero of the hour, until Lassalle ruthlessly 
 broke the clay feet of this idol and he camo crushing down to earth. Las- 
 salle's doctrines were equally atheistic and equally subversive of the real 
 good of the workingman. Both parties, as Bishop Ketteler said, were 
 right in pointing out the faults of the existing system, and both were 
 wrong in the solutions they themselves proposed. 
 
38 CHURCH AND LAEOR 
 
 ity levies taxes by the law of charity. Its assessors and collectors are 
 free-will and conscience. The States of Europe are staggering under 
 the huge burdens of public debt in spite of their compulsory system 
 of taxation, and their financial-embarrassments have given birth to 
 that mystery of iniquity, gambling on the stock-exchange, with all 
 its attendant moral corruption. Christianity, on the contrary, with 
 its system of taxes, has always found abundant means for all its 
 glorious enterprises. Look at our churches and monasteries, our 
 charitable institutions for the relief of every human ailment and dis- 
 tress, our parishes and bishoprics spread over the surface of the 
 globe; think of all the money that has been gathered for the poor, 
 for our schools, our colleges and ancient universities; and remember 
 that all this, with scarcely an exception, is the result of personal 
 sacrifice, and you will have some idea of the life-giving power of 
 Christianity. What Christianity was in past times, sucli it still is 
 today, If we were to count up all the works of charity founded and 
 supported by voluntary contributions during our own lifetime, what a 
 vast sum should we not arrive at? During the last five years alone 
 tlie Catholics of the world have sent twenty million florins to the 
 Holy Father. How can we, in the face of these facts, suppose that 
 Christianity will not be able to raise the necessary funds for setting 
 on foot enterprises for the benefit of the working-classes? . . . 
 
 In our day, just as in former days, there is no dearth of men 
 who feel impelled to do good to their fellow-men. It seems to me 
 there could hardly be anything more Christian, more pleasing to 
 God, than a society for the organization of cooperative associations 
 on a Christian basis in districts where the distress of the work- 
 people cries loudest for relief. 
 
 Above all things, it is necessary that the idea of cooperative 
 associations and the ways and means of organizing them be examined 
 on every side. For only when their importance for the working- 
 classes shall have been recognized on all hands, not least of all by 
 the people themselves, and their feasibility demonstrated, can we hope 
 that the attempts to establish them will be multiplied.^^ 
 
 Not only did Bishop Ketteler develop the idea of Christian co- 
 operative productive associations, but he likewise drafted a 
 scheme of copartnership that outlines the essentials of our 
 modern plans. Ketteler would have the business operated 
 under one employer and manager, who should originally be the 
 exclusive owner of it. While retaining for himself a limited 
 immber of shares, this employer would then dispose of all 
 
 12 Metlake, pp. 129-133. Die Arleiterfrage und das Christentum, pp. 
 138-148. 
 
KETTELER'S LABOR PROGRAM 39 
 
 the rest upon easy terms to his own employees. In view 
 of the difficulties which cooperative production presented, par- 
 ticularly in his day when the workingman was hopelessly im- 
 poverished and helplessly held to his grinding task hy the 
 Liberalism of the wealthy capitalists, this latter scheme ap- 
 peared to him as more feasible : 
 
 The advantages of these associations are obvious : on the one hand 
 the better class of workmen will in time become owners of the busi- 
 ness; whilst, on the other, tlie drawbacks of the productive associations 
 are obviated by uniformity of management and sufficiency of capital.^' 
 
 He thus hoped to combine the good features of the various 
 organizations, and was determined to begin the work him- 
 self, as Metlake says, " by founding a grand central association 
 for the organization of workingmen's associations. From his 
 own revenue he is ready to contribute 5,000 florins annually for 
 six years. . . . He also projected the founding of a People's 
 Bank to be controlled entirely by the workingmen." ^^ Such 
 were some of the schemes found among his papers by his 
 biographer, the Eev. Otto Pfiilf, S. J., whose great historical 
 work, in three volumes, was published in 1899.^'* 
 
 Ear in advance of his time, and building in a glorious optim- 
 ism on his firm hope that the future must belong to Christianity, 
 Bishop Ketteler's loftiest plans were not realizable in his own 
 day. They have been repeated, in a way accommodated to our 
 own times, in the American Bishops' program of " Social Re- 
 construction." 
 
 d. Kettele'e's Laboe Peogram 
 While Ketteler looked far into the future he did not neglect 
 the social needs of the immediate present. First and foremost, 
 as he understood, was the need of labor organization. But such 
 associations, to be truly conducive to the common good, must 
 be based upon the principles of Christianity and inspired by 
 its ideals. This truth, so strongly enunciated by Pop© Leo 
 
 i3Metlake, p. 141. 
 
 itliid., p. 142. 
 
 15 Bischof von Kettel^. Mine geschichtliche DarstdUinff. See pp. 197- 
 
 199. 
 
40 CHUECH AND LABOR 
 
 XIII, was no less clearly expressed by Bisliop Ketteler, and 
 led to his repeated and in many ways successful efforts, to found 
 Christian labor unions. These, in fact, had reached an exten- 
 sive development when the Kulturkamf, with its Liber alistic 
 aims, practically destroyed them on the absurd contention that 
 they were Socialistic institutions. The Liberalism of today is no 
 less prompt to condemn as Socialistic whatever would limit its 
 arbitrary power or lessen its possibilities of exploiting the 
 laborer or the public. Christian social leaders need never hope 
 to find favor in its eyes. Even Bishop Ketteler himself, like 
 Our Divine Saviour, was accused of stirring up the masses. 
 In the following passage he traces historically the suppres- 
 sion of the gilds in modem times. These, institutions, he well 
 knew, could not have continued in their old form, but called for 
 a transformation and adaptation that would still have enabled 
 them to retain their original spirit. It was this that had made 
 them so effective in the days of their highest development. 
 
 The working-classes have passed through the same phases as the 
 old State and the old social order. The Physiocrats of the last cen- 
 tury made the organization of labor responsible for all the economic 
 evils of the people, instead of looking for their true origin in its 
 degeneration, its egotistical ossification and in the patent fact that 
 this organization had not been developed to meet changed conditions. 
 And so they annihilated the grand constitution of labor handed on 
 to them by the Middle Ages, instead of reforming it and incorporat- 
 ing with it all those portions of the toiling masses that were still 
 excluded from it. This demolition they called restoration of the 
 natural order — le gouvernement de la nature. Organization of labor 
 was in their eyes contrary to nature. They were confident that the 
 destruction of the old organization of labor and the inauguration of 
 their pretended order of nature would bring about world-wide wel- 
 fare and contentment among the working-classes. They applied their 
 so-called system of nature with such fanaticism that the French 
 National Convention forbade the artisans to discuss their interests 
 in common, because they looked upon such a proceeding as an 
 obstacle to freedom of trade and of intercourse between man and 
 man, and as a revival of the gild system. The politicians acted in 
 exactly the same manner in their province. Complete disorganization 
 of the State, of society, and of labor; the powers of the State 
 vested in a bureaucratic ofiicialdom on the one side, and on the 
 other, unbridled competition amongst the people dissolved into 
 isolated individuals under the sole Control of an absolute monarch 
 
KETTELEE'S LABOR PEOGEAM 41 
 
 or an equally absolute National Assembly,— this is the natural law 
 of the Eevolution. Such too is the spirit of Liberalism, not merely 
 the spirit of its economic teachings but also of its politics and of 
 its social theories. The tendency of our times to return to corpora- 
 tive forms, far from being a product of Liberalism, is on the con- 
 trary a reaction against the unnaturalness of its pretended natural 
 law.^^ 
 
 In his book on Christianity and the labor problem Bishop 
 Ketteler thus further develops his views on labor unionism : 
 
 Whoever works for another and is forced to do so all his life, has 
 a moral right to demand security for a permanent livelihood. All 
 the other classes of society enjoy such security. Why should the 
 working-classes alone be deprived of it? Why should the toiler alone 
 have to go to his work, day after day, haunted by the thought : " I 
 do not know whether to-morrow I shall still have the wages on 
 which my existence and the existence of my wife and children de- 
 pend. Who knows? perhaps to-morrow a crowd of famished work- 
 men will come from afar and rob me of my employment by imder- 
 bidding me, and my wife or children must work or starve." The 
 wealthy capitalist finds protection a hundredfold in his capital, com- 
 petition is scarcely more than an idle word for him; but the work- 
 man must have no protection : hence the fierce abuse so persistently 
 heaped on the trade gilds. I am far from pretending that the gild 
 system had no weak points. Authority has often been abused; but 
 it has not on that account been abolished. Many abuses, too, crept 
 into the trade gilds for want of proper supervision and timely ad- 
 justment to new conditions; but the system itself rested on a right 
 principle, which should have been retained, and could have been re- 
 tained without detriment to a healthy development of industrial 
 liberty. . . . 
 
 The fundamental characteristic of the labor movements of our 
 day, that which gives them their importance and sig^nificance and 
 really constitutes their essence, is the tendency, everywhere rife 
 among the workingmen, to organize for the purpose of gaining a 
 hearing for their just claims by united action. I To this tendency, 
 which is not only justified but necessary unde* existing economic 
 conditions, the Church cannot but gladly give her sanction and sup- 
 port. 
 
 It would be a great folly on our part if we kept aloof from this 
 movement merely because it happens at the present time to be 
 promoted chiefly by men who are hostile to Christianity. The air 
 remains God's air though breathed by an atheist, and the bread we 
 
 isMetlake, pp. 210, 211. From analysis of Article XII of Ketteler'a 
 socio-political program, published in 1873. 
 
42 CHUECH AND LABOE 
 
 eat is no less the nourishment provided for us by God though kneaded 
 by an unbeliever. It is the same with unionism: it is an idea that 
 rests on the Divine order of things and is essentially Christipn, 
 though the men who favor it most do not recognize the finger of 
 Grod in it and often even turn it to a wicked use. 
 
 Unionism however is not merely legitimate in itself and worthy tof 
 our support, hut Christianity alone commands the indispensable ele- 
 ments for directing it properly and making it a real and lasting 
 benefit to the working classes. Just as the great truths which up- 
 lift and educate the workingman, his individuality and personality, 
 are Christian, truths, so also Christianity has the great ideas and 
 living forces capable of imparting life and vigor to the working- 
 men's associations. . . . 
 
 When men combine in a Christian spirit, there subsists among 
 them, independently of the direct purpose of their association, a 
 nobler bond which, like a beneficent sun, pours out its light and 
 warmth over all. Faith and charity are for them the source of life 
 and light and vigor. Before they came together to attain a ma- 
 terial object, they were already united in this tree of life planted 
 by God on the earth; it is this spiritual union that gives life to 
 their social union. In a word, Christian- associations are living 
 organisms; the associations founded under the auspices of modern 
 Liberalism are nothing but agglomerations of individuals held to- 
 gether solely by the hope of present mutual profit or usefulness. 
 
 The future of unionism belongs to Christianity. The ancient 
 Christian corporations have been dissolved and men are still zeal- 
 ously at work trying to remove the last remnants, the last stone, of 
 this splendid edifice; a new building is to replace it. But this is 
 only a wretched hut — built upon sand. Christianity must raise 
 a new structure on the old foundations and thus give bacTc to the 
 workingmen's associations their real significance and their real use- 
 fulness.^^ 
 
 Bishop Ketteler was right in pronouncing the doom of the 
 labor unions founded by Liberalism. He was right also in 
 maintaining that while Socialism would probably have its day, 
 the future must belong to Christianity, Certainly there can 
 be no solution of the social problem until the principles of 
 Christianity are recognized. The failure of godless Socialism 
 is as certain as the failure of Liberalistic capitalism. Through 
 sufferings, dissapointments and disillusionments, if in no other 
 way, must mankind again be brought back to Christ, the one 
 
 IT Die Arheiterfrage und das Christentum, pp. 2&jf. and 130^. Metlake, 
 pp. 134, 127 #. 
 
KETTELER'S LABOR PROORAM 43 
 
 Truth, and Life and Light of all the world, the one Way for all 
 our social relations, and even for labor unionism. 
 
 Here then are some of the principles laid down for capital 
 and labor by the great Bishop, the first leader of the modem 
 Christian social movement. They are taken from his famous 
 sermon on the relation of the' labor movement to religion and 
 Christianity, which was preached before about 10,000 work- 
 ingmen at the popular shrine of Our Lady, at the Liebfrauerir 
 
 He begins by justifying the demand made for an increase of 
 wages, at a time when capitalism was. heartlessly despoiling the 
 worker. " Economic Liberalism," he says, " making abstrac- 
 tion of all religion and morality, not only degraded labor to the 
 level of a commodity, but looked on man himself, with his 
 capacity for work, simply as a machine bought as cheaply as 
 possible and driven until it will go no more." Human labor, 
 he proclaims, is not an article of merchandise and may not be 
 simply appraised according to the fluctuations of supply and de- 
 mand. But while defending the just cause of labor, he no less 
 unerringly points out its duty and the restrictions that religion 
 and morality necessarily place npon it, both for its own and 
 for the common good : 
 
 In your efforts to obtain higher wages, you have need of religion 
 and morality in order not to carry your demands too far. We have 
 already seen that there is a limit to the increase of wages. Hence, 
 in our time, when the movements among the working-classes for 
 the amelioration of their material condition are assuming larger 
 proportions from day to day, it is of the highest importance not to 
 exaggerate this demand: the workingman can he only too easily 
 imposed upon and the power of organization used to wrong purposes. 
 The object of the labor movement must not he war between the 
 workingman and the employer, but peace on equitahle terms be- 
 tween both. 
 
 The impiety of capital, which would treat the workingman like 
 a machine, must be broken. It is a crime against the working- 
 classes; it degrades them. It fits in with the theory of those who 
 would trace man's descent to the ape. But the impiety of labor 
 must also be guarded against. If the movement in favor of higher 
 
 IS Die Arleiterleyjegtmg und ihr Streben, im Verhaltniss zur Religion 
 und Sittlichheit, pp. 4-22. Metlake, pp. 15&-171. 
 
44 CHUECH AND LABOR 
 
 wages oversteps the bounds of justice, catastrophes must necessarily 
 ensue, the whole weight of which will recoil on the working-classes. 
 Capitalists are seldom at a loss for lucrative investments. When it 
 comes to the worst they can speculate in Government securities. 
 But the workman is in a far different position. When the busi- 
 ness in which he is employed comes to a standstill, unemployment 
 stares him in the face. Besides, exorbitant wage-demands affect not 
 only the large business concerns controlled by the capitalists, but 
 also the smaller ones in the hands of the middle classes and the 
 daily earnings of master-workmen and handicraftsmen. But if the 
 working-classes are to observe just moderation in their demands, 
 if they are to escape the danger of becoming mere tools in the hands 
 of ambitious and unscrupulous demagogues, if they wish to keep 
 clear of the inordinate selfishness which they condemn so severely 
 in the capitalist, they must be filled with a lofty moral sense, their 
 ranks must be made up of courageous, Christian, religious men. 
 The power of money without religion is an evil, but the power of 
 organized labor without religion is just as great an evil. Both lead 
 to destruction.^' 
 
 This certainly is a wholesome lesson that retains its full 
 force today, or rather is doubly applicable now. 
 
 In the next place he considers the workingman's demand for 
 shorter hours. Hours of labor were then, as a consequence of 
 the irreligious Liberalism, often inhumanly long. A Trade 
 Law was enacted in 1869 which at least limited the work of 
 boys between fourteen and sixteen years to ten hours. But 
 the law itself was not observed, and Ketteler protested that it 
 must be applied to all workers alike. This was a step vastly 
 in advance of his time. He further insisted on the inexorable 
 enforcement of such legislation by the most feasible means, to 
 which we shall later have occasion to refer. 
 
 While the demand for reasonable hours is strongly sustained 
 by Ketteler, he would never have countenanced the exaggerated 
 demands so common today for an unreasonable shortening of 
 hours which means under-production in industry and suffer- 
 ing for the people, and which can only end in moral as well 
 as economic ruin for the workers. There is a limit beyond 
 which hours cannot be shortened, though in some industries 
 there is doubtless reason for shorter hours than in others. 
 Shorter hours themselves, as Ketteler earnestly warns the 
 
 i» Ibid. 
 
KETTELEE'S LABOR PROGRAM 45 
 
 workers, -will be of no avail to them if they squander their 
 leisure time in irreligion and immorality. This again is a 
 truth to be brought home today, when the deflection from the 
 Eaith of their fathers has robbed men both of joy in their work 
 and of happiness in their homes, which in countless instances 
 are broken up by the pagan evil of divorce. To quote the 
 words of Bishop Ketteler: 
 
 Wherever capitalists, ignoring the dignity of man, have acted on 
 the principles of modem political economy, wages have been reduced 
 to a minimum and working hours have been prolonged to the limits 
 of human endurance, and beyond them. The workman cannot be 
 kept going day and night, like a machine, but for all that the im- 
 possible was expected from him. Hence, wherever the hours of work 
 are lengthened beyond the limits fixed by nature, the workingmen 
 have an indisputable right to combat this abuse of the power of 
 wealth by well-directed concerted action. 
 
 But here again, my dear workmen, the real value of your efforts 
 depends on religion and morality. If the workman uses the hour 
 thus put at his disposal to fulfil in the bosom of his family the 
 duties of a good father or a dutiful son, to tend to the affairs of 
 the house, to cultivate the plot of ground he calls his own, then this 
 hour will be of untold value to himself and his family. If, on the 
 contrary, he throws it away in bad company, on the streets, in the 
 tavern, it will neither profit his health nor his temporal or spiritual 
 prosperity. It will simply serre to undermine his constitution, to 
 disfigure the image of God in his soul, and to dissipate his wages all 
 the more quickly and surely.^" 
 
 These truths are again insisted upon where he speaks of the 
 third demand of the working people: days of rest. This de- 
 mand, he says, is perfectly legitimate. " The culprits are not 
 merely the wealthy entrepreneurs who force their workmen 
 to work on Sundays, but also all tradesmen, landowners and 
 masters generally who deprive their servants, ' hands ' or clerks 
 of their well-earned Sunday rest." Liberalism counted up the 
 Sundays and holydays of the Church and lamented hypocriti- 
 cally the loss in wages they implied to the worker. The simple 
 solution, Bishop Ketteler tells them, "would be to give the 
 worker as much pay for six days' work as he now receives for 
 seven." The logic of such an argument was beyond the capa- 
 
46 CHUKCH AND LABOE 
 
 city of Liberalism to comprehend. Yet for the workman, too, 
 the great friend of labor has a word of earnest counsel : 
 
 But, my dear workmen, it is not enough that the labor leaders and 
 the labor organs insist on days of rest. Each one of you must work 
 to this end by scrupulously keeping holy the Sabbath Day. There 
 are still, unfortunately, very many workmen, who, without being 
 obliged, and simply for lucre's sake, work on Sundays. Such men 
 sin not merely against God and His commandment, but really and 
 truly against the whole body of work-people, because by their base 
 cupidity they furnish the employers with a ready-made excuse 
 for refusing days of rest to all without exception. May all the 
 workpeople, not excepting the servant-girl whom a heartless mis- 
 tress over-burdens with work, and the humble railway-employee for 
 whom wealthy corporations have made Sunday a dead letter, with 
 one voice reclaim this right as a right of man. To what purpose have 
 the so-called rights of man been laid down in our Constitutions so 
 long as capital is free to trample them under foot ? 
 
 It is certain that you have religion on your side in your demand 
 for dajs of rest; it is certain also that all the efforts of the work- 
 ing-classes would be of no avail if tbey were not sustained by the 
 power of religion and the Divine Precept: '' Eemember thou keep 
 boly the Sabbath Day." But it is no less certain that this weekly day 
 of rest will profit you, your health, your sold, your families, from 
 wbom your work keeps you away so much during the week, only if you 
 remain intimately united with the Church. Without religion the 
 days of rest will serve no other purpose than to bring ruin on the 
 workman and his family. What is called "blue Monday" is noth- 
 ing else but Sunday spent without religion. . . . Tour own experi- 
 ence is able to furnish you with examples enough of the vast dif- 
 ference between a workingman's family in which the day of rest is 
 spent in harmony with the principles of religion and one in which 
 religion is ignored. A Christian Sunday is a blessing; a Sunday 
 passed in the saloon, in bad company, in drunkenness, in impurity, 
 is a curse.^^ 
 
 These thoughts are further developed by him in a pastoral let- 
 ter that incidentally describes, in Ketteler's happy vein, the 
 spiritual significance of the change from work-a-day clothes to 
 the Sunday attire. Labor, he says, recalls to mind the punish- 
 ment God has attached to sin. No one is to seek to avoid his 
 due task, or fail religiously to perform it, in whatever trade, 
 profession, or employment he may be engaged. On the other 
 n Hid. 
 
KETTELER'S LABOR PROGRAM 4Y 
 
 hand, the days of rest are to be regarded as a foretaste of the 
 time when God would lift from us our burdens. So, therefore, 
 he tells the laborer : 
 
 When you lay aside your work-day clothes and put on your Sunday 
 c^ess. It should remind you that you are approaching the day when 
 the Saviour Himself wiU divest you of the garments of servitude 
 and sm, and will put upon you, for all eternity, the robe and the ring 
 of a chdd of God. the veritable Sunday attire.^^ 
 
 On the fourth demand made by the working classes of the day 
 the prohibition of child labor in factories — he expresses him- 
 self in strongest terms. As early as the year 1869 he lays down 
 the rule that no child should be permitted to work in a fac- 
 tory under the age of fourteen, and in his discussion elsewhere 
 of the Trade Law of June 21, 1869, he positively states that 
 even the age of fourteen is too early to remove a child from 
 the atmosphere of the home. The child's character, he there 
 argues, is not sufficiently formed as yet to resist the tempta- 
 tions and evil influences to which factory life is likely to expose 
 it. In the following statement concerning the workers' demand 
 in this matter he obviously insists merely upon what he re- 
 gards the maximum then attainable : 
 
 I regret to say that this demand is not as general as it ought to 
 be, and that many workmen send their children to the mills and 
 factories in order to increase their income. It would be more cor- 
 rect to say that it is a demand made by certain spokesmen of the 
 labor organizations. Fritzsche, the president of the Cigar Makers' 
 Union, has been especially active in this matter. He brought in a 
 motion in the Parliament of the North German Confederation to have 
 child labor prohibited by law. Unfortunately his motion was thrown 
 out. Child labor was restricted but not forbidden. I deplore this 
 action of the legislature profoundly, and look on it as a victory of 
 materialism over moral principles. My own observations are in full 
 accord with the statements of Fritzsche on the bad efFects of factory 
 labor on children. I know right well what arguments are brought 
 forward to excuse it, and I am also aware that even some who are 
 well-disposed toward the working-classes wish to see child labor 
 tolerated to a certain extent. Children are in duty bound, these 
 men argue, to help their parents in the labors of the house and 
 the field, why debar them from the factory? These people forget 
 
 32 Eirtenhriefe, pp. 169, 170. 
 
48 CHimCH AND LABOR 
 
 that there is a vast difference between work at home and work in 
 a factory. Factory work quenches, as it were, the family spirit 
 in the child, and this is, as we shall see presently, the greatest 
 danger that threatens the working-classes in our day. Moreover, 
 it robs the child of the time it should devote to innocent, joyous 
 recreation so necessary at this period of life. Lastly, the factory 
 undermines the bodily and spiritual health of the child. I regard 
 child labor in factories as a monstrous cruelty of our time, a cruelty 
 committed against the child by the spirit of the age and the selfish- 
 ness of parents. I look on it as a slow poisoning of the body and 
 the soul of the child. With the sacrifice of the joys of childhood, 
 with the sacrifice of health, with the sacrifice of innocence, the child 
 is condemned to increase the profits of the entrepreneur and often- 
 times to earn bread for parents whose dissolute life has made them 
 incapable of doing so themselves. Hence I rejoice at every word 
 spoken in favor of the workingman's child. Religion in its great 
 love for children cannot but support the demand for the prohibition 
 of child labor in factories. You, my dear workmen, can second this 
 demand most efficaciously by never permitting your own children 
 under fourteen years of age to work in a factory.^^ 
 
 The fifth demand of the workers to which he calls attention 
 is " that women, especially mothers of families, be prohibited 
 from working in factories." With this desire Ketteler heartily 
 sympathized, although he fully understood the economic stress 
 that often drove woman into the factory. Like every Catholic 
 sociologist he insists : " Religion wants the mother to pass the 
 day at home in order that she may fulfill her high and holy 
 mission towards her husband and her children," and so, as he 
 needed not to add, towards society. This did not imply that 
 other social duties were not incumbent upon her, but only in 
 such measure as would not interfere with her first and greatest 
 duty in the home. Aside from the considerations of wifehood 
 and motherhood, " the proportion of women in industry," as 
 the American Bishops have well said, " ought to be kept within 
 the smallest practical limits." ^* But the duty of motherhood 
 is entirely incompatible with such work : " If the mother is 
 snatched from her sacred home duties," said Bishop Ketteler in 
 connection with the Trade Law referred to above, " and turned 
 into a wage-earning workwoman, there can be no question of 
 
 25 Die Arheierbewegung , etc., I. c. 
 2* Social Reconstruction, p. 13. 
 
KETTELEE'S LABOR PEOGEAM 49 
 
 a Christian family." Destroying the Christian family you de- 
 stroy all hope of true social progress. 
 
 Hence also the complete agreement on the part of Bishop 
 Ketteler with the sixth demand of labor which he says follows 
 as a corollary from the former, that : " Young girls should not 
 in future be employed in factory work." In this connection 
 he already mentions the argument that because girls can live 
 for far less than a workingman, their indiscriminate employ- 
 ment must necessarily have a depressing effect upon the scale 
 of wages paid to men. But his great reason is drawn from 
 the prejudicial consequences to the morals of the girls and so 
 of the future families of the land : 
 
 VTorlimen themselves have repeatedly called attention to these sad 
 consequences. In their meetings such striking argumentation as the 
 following has been heard: "We want good and happy families; but 
 to have good and happy families we must have pure, virtuous 
 mothers ; now, where can we find these if our young girls are lured 
 into the factories and are there inoculated with the germs of im- 
 pudence and immorality ? " I cannot tell you, my dear workmen, 
 bow deeply such words coming from the ranks of the working- 
 classes touched and gladdened my heart. Ten years ago, when the 
 labor movement was still in its infancy among us, such sentiments 
 were hardly heard anywhere except from our Christian pulpits. The 
 Liberals were insensible to the moral dangers to which the daughters 
 of the workman were exposed. When these poor creatures were 
 utterly corrupted in the factory, their employers still had the 
 effrontery to pose as their benefactors, because, thanks to them, they 
 were earning so many cents a day. The dangers of factory life to 
 the morals of the young working-girls, and therefore to the family 
 of the workman, are beginning to be recognized more and more 
 even by the factory-owners themselves. This is a happy symptom and 
 shows once more that the labor question, like all other great social 
 questions, is in the last analysis a question of religion and moral- 
 ity.2= 
 
 At the famous Fulda Conference of the German Bishops, 
 in September, 1869, Bishop Ketteler read his epoch-making 
 paper " On the Care of the Church for Factory Workpeople, 
 Journeymen, Apprentices and Servant Girls." After showing 
 the duty of the Church to help in the solution of this problem, 
 
 25 Op. cit. 
 
50 CHURCH AND LABOE 
 
 he descended to a consideration of specific measures to be 
 adopted. Mentioning the eleven divisions under which the 
 official report of the Prize Jury of the Paris Exposition had 
 grouped its proposed remedies, he added the following pro- 
 gram of " Legal Protections for Workingmen " : 
 
 1. Prohibition of child labor in factories. 
 
 2. Limitation of working-hours for lads employed in factories, 
 in the interest of their corporal and intellectual welfare. 
 
 3. Separation of the sexes in the workshops. 
 
 4. Closing of unsanitary workshops. 
 
 5. Legal regulation of working hours. 
 
 6. Sunday rest. 
 
 1. Obligation of caring for workmen who, through no fault of 
 theirs, are temporarily or forever incapacitated for work in the busi- 
 ness in which they are employed. 
 
 8. A law protecting and favoring cooperative associations of 
 workingmen. 
 
 9. Appointment by the State of factory inspectors.^® 
 
 It will be noticed that we have not progressed far, if at all, 
 beyond the position occupied more than half a century ago by 
 this progressive Catholic Bishop. He drew up his program, 
 let us further remember, almost a quarter of a century before 
 the publication of the great Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII, on 
 the " Condition of the Working Classes." ISTor have we gone 
 beyond him in our methods of enforcing such legislation as has 
 been passed by us, when indeed we do not merely accumulate 
 a ridiculous mass of petty regulations and forthwith forget all 
 about them, or conveniently ignore their existence. On this 
 point the Bishop says elsewhere> in his famous draught of a 
 political program which he hoped might be accepted by all men 
 of good will: 
 
 But all these laws will afford no efficacious protection to the work- 
 ing classes unless- their observance is everywhere assured by legal 
 control. Whether the best means of control would be to appoint 
 factory inspectors, as is done in England, or to choose supervisors 
 from among the workpeople themselves, as some propose to do, or 
 to combine both systems, is a question we do not venture to pro- 
 nounce upon. Whatever be the method adopted, however, the con- 
 
 26MetIake, pp. 180, 181. 
 
KETTELER'S LABOB PROGRAM 51 
 
 trol must be extended to moral and sanitary conditions in the work- 
 shops.^'' 
 
 In the brochure referred to here Bishop Ketteler lays down 
 a complete national program, political, religious, educational, 
 as well as social. Under the latter subject we may group the 
 two following clauses: 
 
 XI. E«gulation of the public debt, diminution of the public 
 burdens, proper adjustment of taxes. We propose the following 
 ameliorations : 
 
 1. Introduction of a stock exchange tax. (Such laws were later 
 introduced in 1885, 1894, 1900, 1905.) 
 
 2. Introduction of an income tax for joint stock companies. 
 (Actualized in the law of July 27, 1885.) 
 
 3. State management of railways. (Actualized at the end of the 
 'seventies.) 
 
 4. Eeduction of the war budget. (Bishop Ketteler's advice was 
 not followed. Well for all if it had been!) 
 
 5. Exemption of the necessaries of life from taxation. 
 XH Corporate reorganization of the working classes. 
 
 1. Legal protection of the children and wives of workmen against 
 the exploitation of capital. 
 
 2. Protection of the workman's strength by laws regulating hours 
 of labor and Sunday rest. 
 
 3. Legal protection of the health and morality of work people in 
 mines, factories, workshops, etc. 
 
 4. Appointment of inspectors to watch over the carrying out of 
 the factory laws.^* 
 
 If in answer to these demands for social legislation Bis- 
 marck gave Germany the KuUurhamf, yet Ketteler and not 
 Bismarck triumphed in the end ; and his reforms won the day. 
 But great was to be the sea of bitterness that was to engulf the 
 people when in spite of the voice of Ketteler and his Catholic 
 countrymen, so many turned from Christianity to the godless 
 Socialism of Marx, Engels, Bebel, Liebknecht and the rest. 
 The same was to be true of other great nations. Labor, in turn- 
 ing from Christ, can only find its own undoing. Splendidly 
 did Ketteler express this truth in the very last Pastorals ad- 
 dressed to his flock. Here is his chain of social logic whose 
 every link is purest gold: 
 
 27 Die KathoUken im deutschen Beiche. Metlake, 213, 214. 
 2S Ibid. Metlake, p. 208. 
 
52 CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 The most fatal error of our time is tlie delusion that mankind can 
 be made happy without religion and Christianity. There are cer- 
 tain truths which cling together like the links of a chain: they 
 cannot be torn asunder because God has joined them. Among these 
 truths are the following: 
 
 There is no true morality without God, no right knowledge of 
 God without Christ, no real Christ without His Church. Where 
 the Church is not, there true knowledge of God perishes. Where 
 true knowledge of God is not, there morality succumbs in the struggle 
 with sin, with selfishness and sensuality, with the lust of the eyes, 
 the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. But where morality is 
 not, there is no means left of making the people happy and pros- 
 perous. In such a state men are ruled by their passions. They are 
 the slaves of the tyrants of avarice and lust, in whose service the 
 powerful oppress the weak, and the weak in their turn rise up against 
 the powerful, and if they conquer, become the willing tools of the self- 
 same tyrants, their passions. War without end will be waged between 
 the Bich and the poor; peace on earth among them is impossible. 
 Intimately, inseparably, is the welfare of the people bound up with 
 religion and morality. 
 
 A perfectly just distribution of the goods of earth will never 
 take place, because God has entrusted the higher moral order to the 
 free will of men, only a portion of whom subject their will to God. 
 But in a truly Christian nation the difference between the rich and 
 poor will always be adjusted in the best possible way.^' 
 
 There are finally those who believe today, as in the days 
 of Ketteler, that the one solution of all our problems is ulti- 
 mately to be found in education. Not religion, but educa- 
 tion, they tell us, is the need of the masses. The school of 
 Schulze-Delitzsch still exists among us. Its followers are 
 legion. Into their teeth Ketteler casts the hard and obsti- 
 nate fact of Original Sin, digest it as they may : 
 
 Of course the children of the world will not admit this. They 
 laugh at the doctrine of original sin and its consequences; they 
 deny the origin and the power of the passions, and pretend that these 
 are only the result of ignorance. According to them, a better or- 
 ganization of the school would suffice to destroy the empire of the 
 passions ; and by a better organization of the school they understand, 
 in the first place, the separation of the school from the Church and 
 the diffusion of the so-called general culture. . . . 
 
 But I ask you, what assertion strikes truth more insolently in 
 
 20 Hirtcniriefr, p. 92.3. Metlake, p. 224. 
 
KETTELER'S LABOR PROGRAM 53 
 
 the face than this? If it were true, it would follow that there 
 must be two classes of men on earth: the men furnished with gen- 
 eral human culture, a race without passions, without vices, acting 
 only^ conformably to the dictates of higher reason, and the men 
 deprived of general culture, and in consequence the slaves of all 
 kinds of passions and vices. Now I ast you, is this true? Or can 
 you think of a more impudent lie ? How can such assertions be made 
 at a time when the most accurate statistics in France and Germany 
 have proved that neither the degree of culture nor the degree of 
 material well-being have the slightest influence on the number of 
 crimes committed in a country. But why be at pains for proofs 
 when daily experience speaks louder than statistical tables? Is the 
 miser who heaps treasures upon treasures; is the young man who 
 traverses the habitable globe, learns all the languages of men, knows 
 all peoples, and sacrifices thousands a year to his pleasures without 
 bestowing even a passing thought on his poor brothers; is the young 
 girl who shines in society, who makes a golden calf of her body and 
 adores it and offers it sacrifice of gold and precious stones while 
 she pitilessly leaves her poor sisters to die of want and exposure, — 
 are all these perhaps too Christianly educated, or do they lack 
 general human culture? 
 
 Where is this boasted general human culture that makes the 
 miser benevolent, that fills the breast of the profligate youth, the 
 vain-glorious maiden, with true charity for their neighbor ? Where 
 is the doctrine, where is the book that can implant in the human 
 heart the spirit of Christian renouncement, of self-denial? Show 
 me, show me the generation imbued with the true charity, reared 
 without Christianity by our worldly wisdom alone, and I am ready 
 to cast Christianity overboard with you. 
 
 The world has separated itself from Christ; it has rejected Re- 
 demption in Christ; it has submitted to he dominion of its passions; 
 this is the last, the profoundest, and truest reason of our social 
 misery. It is not because he is ignorant and without general hu- 
 man culture, but because he has become the wretched slave of avarice 
 and pleasure-seeking, that the rich man despises the command of God: 
 Thou shalt give of thy abundance to the poor. And it is not be- 
 cause he did not learn his lessons well at school, but because he 
 serves sloth like a slave, that the poor man stretches out his hand 
 after the goods of others and despises the command of God : Thou 
 shalt not steal. Guided by their sinful passions, men are no longer 
 able to apprehend even the simplest natural truths that run counter 
 to these passions. Apostasy from Christianity is the cause of our 
 wretched state : if we shut our eyes to this truth we are undone. 
 Just as the individual can make true progress only if he recognizes 
 that he cannot fulfil the high purpose of his existence unless aided 
 from without so the world will not raise itself out of its present 
 
54 CHUKCH AND LABOE 
 
 desperate state until it is convinced that, without external aid, it 
 cannot solve the great prohlems which it must solve at any cost or 
 relapse into barbarism.^" 
 
 Bishop Ketteler more than contributed his share towards 
 the solution of this problem. No references whatsoever have 
 been made here to his numberless works of charity. Among the 
 labor projects undertaken or actively urged by him may be 
 nimibered the founding of homes for servant girls ;*^ the intro- 
 duction of the journeyman's associations, which owed no little 
 to the advice given by him to their worthy founder, Father 
 Kolping;^^ the proposed establishment of a society for the 
 building of workingmen's homes, that was a favorite plan with 
 him;^^ the creation of workingmen's associations, which ulti- 
 mately resulted in the development of the flourishing Christian- 
 social labor unions with almost 200,000 members in 1870, and 
 promising to soar high into the hundreds of thousands when they 
 were ruthlessly trampled to death under the cloven heel of the 
 Kulturhampf J and finally, to proceed no further, the promotion 
 of loan and credit banks for the welfare of the laboring classes.^* 
 His still larger schemes of cooperative production by the workers 
 and copartnership plans were not to ripen in his own day. He 
 clearly saw the difficulties and hoped that Christianity would 
 in due time afford the solution. His immediately practical 
 and specific labor measures, however, were to be successfully 
 championed by the Center that gave to Bishop Ketteler the 
 credit of its enlightened social program. But his influence was 
 to extend much farther and reach out over all the world, for 
 rightly did Pope Leo XIII call him " my precursor in the 
 social field." 
 
 "0 Predigten, II, pp. 136-142. Metlake, pp. 44^8. 
 31 J. Mimdwiler, S. J., Bishof v. Ketteler, p. 52. 
 »ilUd., pp. 54, 55, 110. 
 »3lUd., p. 101. 
 »* Hid., p. 104. 
 
II. THEEE SOVEEEIGN PONTIFFS 
 
 1. EircTcxicAi OF Pope Leo XIIL On thb Condition op 
 
 THE WOEJONG ClASSES ^ \^JU\A^.^^ VyJ\-V^\\^ -^ 
 
 2. ENCYCxjcAi OF Pope Leo' XIII, On Chsistian Demoo 
 
 EACY 
 
 3. Apostoilic Lettee of Pope Pius X to the Bishops of 
 
 ItaeYj On Catholic Social Action 
 
 4. ExTEACTS Feom thb Letteb of Pope Pitisi X, Condemn- 
 
 ing Le Sillon 
 
 5. Encyclicax Letteie of Pope Pitrs X to the Bishops of 
 
 GeemajvYj On Trade Unions 
 
 6. Letteb of Pope Benedict XV to the Hieeaechy of 
 
 Feance 
 
 7. Lettee of Pope BEOsrEDiCT XV toi M. Ettgene EhjTHOiT 
 
 8. Lettee of Pope Benedict XV to the Bishop of 
 
 Beegako 
 
 55 
 
1. THE CONDITION OF THE WORKING CLASSES ^ 
 
 Encyclical Letter Rerum Novarum, May 15, 1891 
 
 By Pope Leo XIII 
 
 That the spirit of revolutionary change, which has long been 
 disturbing the nations of the world, should have passed beyond 
 the sphere of politics and made its influence felt in the cognate 
 sphere of practical economics is not surprising. The elements 
 of the conilict now raging are unmistaiiable : in the vast expan- 
 sion of industrial pursuits and the marvellous discoveries of 
 science; in the changed relations between masters and work- 
 men; in the enormous fortunes of some few individuals, and 
 the utter poverty of the masses; in the increased self-reliance 
 and closer mutiial combination of the working classes ; as also, 
 finally, in the prevailing moral degeneracy. The momentous 
 gravity of the state of things now obtaining fills every mind 
 with painful apprehension ; wise men are discussing it ; prac- 
 tical men are proposing schemes ; popular meetings, legislatures, 
 and rulers of nations are all busied with it — and actually there 
 is no question which has taken a deeper hold on the public mind. 
 
 Therefore, Venerable Brethren, as on former occasions when 
 it seemed opportune to refute false teaching, We have ad- 
 dressed you in the interests of the Church and of the com- 
 monwealth, and have issued Letters bearing on " Political 
 Power," " Human Liberty," " The Christian Constitution of 
 the State," and like matters, so have We thought it expedient 
 now to speak on the condition of the working classes. It is a 
 subject on which We have already touched more than once, 
 
 iThis is the greatest pronouncement made by any of the Popes on the 
 social question. It is as pertinent today as when it was written, more 
 than twenty-nine years ago, because it sets forth the eternal principles of 
 social justice. The reader is urged to read the review of the Encyclical 
 by Cardinal Manning which appears on a later page of this volume. 
 
 57 
 
58 CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 incidentally. But in the present Letter, the responsibility of 
 the Apostolic office urges us to treat the question of set purpose 
 and in detail, in order that no misapprehension may exist as to 
 the principles which truth and justice dictate for its settlement. 
 The discussion is not easy, nor is it void of danger. It is no 
 easy matter to define the relative rights and mutual duties of the 
 rich and of the poor, of capital and of labor. And the danger 
 lies in this, that crafty agitators are intent on making use of 
 these differences of opinion to pervert men's judgments and to 
 stir up the people to revolt. 
 
 But all agree, and there can be no question whatever, that 
 some remedy must be found, and found quickly, for the misery 
 and wretchedness pressing so heavily and unjustly at this 
 moment on the vast majority of the working classes. 
 
 For the ancient workingmen's guilds were abolished in the 
 last century, and no other organization took their place. Pub- 
 lic institutions and the very laws have set aside the ancient 
 religion. Hence by degrees it has come to pass that working- 
 men have been surrendered, all isolated and helpless, to the 
 hard-heartedness of employers and the greed of unchecked com- 
 petition. The mischief has been increased by rapacious usury, 
 which, although more than once condemned by the Church, is 
 nevertheless, under a different guise, but with the like injus- 
 tice, still practised by covetous and grasping men. To this 
 must be added the custom of working by contract, and the con- 
 centration of so many branches of trade in the hands of a 
 few individuals ; so that a small number of very rich men have 
 been able to lay upon the teeming masses of the laboring poor 
 a yoke little better than that of slavery itself. 
 
 SOCIAXISTS AND PRIVATE PEOPEETT 
 
 To remedy these wrongs the Socialists, working on the poor 
 man's envy of the rich, are striving to do away with private 
 property, and contend that individual possessions should become 
 the common property of all, to be administered by the State 
 or by municipal bodies. They hold that by thus transferring 
 property from private individuals to the community, the pres- 
 ent mischievous state of things will be set to rights, inasmuch 
 
CONDITION OF THE WORKING CLASSES 59 
 
 as each citizen will then get his fair share of whatever there 
 is to enjoy. But their contentions are so clearly powerless to 
 end the controversy that were they carried into effect the 
 workingman himself would be among the first to suffer. They 
 are, moreover, emphatically unjust, because they would rob the 
 lawful possessor, bring State action into a sphere not within its 
 competence, and create utter confusion in the community. 
 
 It is surely undeniable that, when a man engages in remunera- 
 tive labor, the impelling reason and motive of his work is to 
 obtain property, and thereafter to hold it as his very own. If 
 one man hires out to another his strength or skill, he does so 
 for the purpose of receiving in return what is necessary for 
 sustenance and education; he therefore expressly intends to 
 acquire a right full and real, not only to the remuneration, but 
 also to the disposal of such remuneration, just as he pleases. 
 Thus, if he lives sparingly, saves money, and, for greater 
 security, invests his savings in land, the land, in such case, 
 is only his wages under another form; and, consequently, a 
 workingman's little estate thus purchased should be as com- 
 pletely at his full disposal as are the wages he receives for his 
 labor. But it is precisely in such power of disposal that owner- 
 ship consists, whether the property consist of land or chattels, 
 s^ocialists, therefore,; by endeavoring to transfer the possessions 
 of individuals to the community, strike at the interests of every 
 wage earner, for they deprive him of the liberty of disposing 
 of his wages, and thus of all hope and possibility of increasing 
 his stock and of bettering his condition in life. 
 
 man's natural eight to private property 
 
 What is of still greater importance, however, is that the 
 remedy they propose is manifestly against justice. Eor every 
 man has by nature the right to possess property as his own. 
 This is one of the chief points of distinction between man and 
 the animal creation. For the brute has no power of self-direc- 
 tion, but is governed by two chief instincts, which keep his 
 powers alert, move him to use his strength, and determine him 
 to action without the power of choice. These instincts are self- 
 preservation and the propagation of the species. Both can at- 
 
GO CHUECH AND LAEOR 
 
 tain their purpose by means of things which are close at hand ; 
 beyond their surroundings the brute creation cannot go, for they 
 are moved to action by sensibility alone, and by the things which 
 sense perceives. But with man it is different indeed. He pos- 
 sesses, on the one hand, the full perfection of animal nature, 
 and therefore he enjoys, at least, as much the rest of the animal 
 race, the fruition of the things of the body. But animality, 
 however perfect, is far from being the whole of humanity, and 
 is indeed humanity's humbled handmaid, made to serve and 
 obey. It is the mind, or the reason, which is the chief thing 
 in us who are human beings ; it is this which makes a human 
 being human, and distinguishes him essentially and completely 
 from' the brute. And on this account — viz., that man alone 
 among animals possesses reason — it must be within his right 
 to have things not merely for temporary and momentary use, 
 as other living beings have them, but in stable and permanent 
 possession; he must have not only things which perish in the 
 using, but also those, which though used, remain for use in 
 the future. 
 
 This becomes still more clearly evident if we consider man's 
 nature a little more deeply. For man, comprehending by 
 the power of his reason things inmmierable, and joining the 
 future with the present — being, moreover, the master of his 
 own acts — governs himself by the foresight of his counsel, 
 under the eternal law and the power of God, Whose Providence 
 governs all things. Wherefore it is in his power to exercise his 
 choice not only on things which regard his present welfare, but 
 also on those which will be for his advantage in time to come. 
 Hence man not only can possess the fruits of the earth, but also 
 the earth itself; for of the products of the earth he can make 
 provision for the future. Man's needs do not die out, but 
 recur; satisfied to-day, they demand new supplies to-morrow. 
 Nature, therefore, owes to man a storehouse that shall never fail, 
 the daily supply of his daily wants. And this he finds only 
 in the inexhaustible fertility of the earth. Nor must we, at this 
 stage, have recourse to the State. 
 
CONDITION OF THE WORKING CLASSES CI 
 
 MAN IS OLDEE THAN THE STATE 
 
 -And he holds the right of providing for the life of his body prior 
 to the formation of any State. And to say that God has given 
 the earth to the use and enjoyment of the universal human race 
 is not to deny that there can he private property. For God 
 has granted the earth to mankind in general ; not in the sense 
 that all without distinction can deal with it as they please, but 
 rather that no part of it has been assigned to any one in par- 
 ticular, and that the limits of private possession have been left 
 to be fixed by man's own industry and the laws of individual 
 peoples. Moreover, the earth, though divided among private 
 owners, ceases not thereby to minister to the needs of all; 
 for there is no one who does not live on what the land brings 
 forth. Those who do not possess the soil, contribute their 
 labor; so that it may be truly said that all human subsistence 
 is derived either from labor on one's own land, or from some 
 laborious industry which is paid for either in the produce of 
 the land itself or in that which is exchanged for what the land 
 brings forth. 
 
 Here, again, we have another proof that private ownership 
 is according to nature's law. For that which is required for 
 the preservation of life and for life's well-being, is produced 
 in great abundance by the earth, but not until man has brought 
 it into cultivation and lavished upon it his care and skill. 
 Now, when man thus spends the industry of his mind and the 
 strength of his body in procuring the fruits of nature, by that 
 act he makes his own that portion of nature's field which he 
 cultivates — that portion on which he leaves, as it were, the 
 impress of his own personality ; and it cannot but be just that 
 he should possess that portion as his ovm, and should have 
 a right to keep it without molestation. 
 
 These arguments are so strong and convincing that it seems 
 surprising that certain obsolete opinions should now be revived 
 in opposition to what is here laid down. We are told that it 
 is right for private persons to have the use of the soil and the 
 fruits of their land, but that it is unjust for anyone to possess 
 aa owner either the land on which he has built or the estate 
 which he has cultivated. But those who assert this do not 
 
62 CHURCH AND LABOE 
 
 perceive that they are robbing man of what his own labor 
 has produced. For the soil which is tilled and cultivated with 
 toil and skill utterly changes its condition; it was wild before, 
 it is now fruitful; it was barren, and now it brings forth in 
 abundance. That which has thus altered and improved it be- 
 comes so truly part of itself as to be in a great measure indis- 
 tinguishable and inseparable from it. Is it just that the fruit 
 of a mau's sweat and labor should be enjoyed by another? As 
 effects follow their cause, so it is just and right that the results 
 of labor should belong to him who has labored. 
 
 With reason, therefore, the common opinion of mankind, 
 little affected by the few dissentients who have maintained the 
 opposite view, has found in the study of nature, and in the 
 law of nature herself, the foundations of the division of prop- 
 erty, and has consecrated by the practice of all ages the prin- 
 ciple of private ownership, as being preeminently in conform- 
 ity with human nature, and as conducing in the most unmis- 
 takable TQanner to the peace and tranquility of human life. 
 The same principle is confirmed and enforced by the civil laws 
 — laws which, as long as they are just, derive their binding force 
 from the law of nature. The authority of the Divine Law adds 
 its sanction, forbidding us in the gravest terms even to covet 
 that which is another's: — Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's 
 wife; nor his house, nor his field, nor his man-servant, nor* 
 his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything which is 
 his.^ 
 
 man's natural eight and his social and domestic 
 
 DUTIES 
 
 The rights here spoken of, belonging to each individual man, 
 are seen in a much stronger light if they are considered in re- 
 lation to man's social and domestic obligations. 
 
 In choosing a state of life, it is indisputable that all are at 
 full liberty either to follow the counsel of Jesus Christ as to 
 virginity, or to enter into the bonds of marriage. No human 
 law can abolish the natural and primitive right of marriage, 
 or in any way limit the chief and principal purpose of mar- 
 
 " Deuteronomy v, 21. 
 
CONDITION OF THE WORKING CLASSES 63 
 
 riage, ordained by God's authority from the beginning. In- 
 crease and multiply.^ Thus we have the Family ; the " society " 
 of a man's own household; a society limited indeed in nimi- 
 bers, but a time " society," anterior to every kind of State or na- 
 tion, with rights and duties of its own, totally independent of 
 the commonwealth. 
 
 That right of property, therefore, which has been proved 
 to belong naturally to individual persons, must also belong to 
 a man in his capacity of head of a family ; nay, such a person 
 must possess this right so much the more clearly in proportion 
 as his position multiplies his duties. For it is a most sacred 
 law of nature that a father must provide food and all neces- 
 saries for those whom he has begotten; and, similarly, nature 
 dictates that a man's children, who carry on, as it were, and 
 continue his own personality, should be provided by him with 
 all that is needful to enable them honorably to keep themselves 
 from want and misery in the uncertainties of this mortal life. 
 Now, in no other way can a father effect this except by the 
 ownership of profitable property, which he can transmit to his 
 children by inheritance. A family, no less than a State, is, 
 as we have said, a true society, governed by a power within it- 
 self, that is to say, by the father. Wherefore, provided the 
 limits be not transgressed which are prescribed by the very 
 purposes for which it exists, the Family has, at least, equal 
 rights with the State in the choice and pursuit of those things 
 which are needful to its preservation and its just liberty. 
 
 We say, at least equal rights; for since the domestic house- 
 hold is anterior both in idea and in fact to the gathering of men 
 into a commonwealth, the former must necessarily have rights 
 and duties which are prior to those of the latter, and which 
 rest more immediately on nature. If the citizens of a State — 
 that is to say, the Families — on entering into association and 
 fellowship, experienced at the hands of the State hindrance in- 
 stead of help, and found their rights attacked instead of being 
 protected, such association were rather to be repudiated than 
 sought after. 
 
 3 Genesis i, 28. 
 
64: CHUECH AND LABOK 
 
 THE STATE MAT NOT ABOLISH NOE ABSOEB PATEESTAL 
 
 EIGHTS 
 
 The idea, then, that the civil government should, at its ovsti 
 discretion, penetrate and pervade the family and the house- 
 hold, is a great and pernicious mistake. True, if a family 
 finds itself in great difSeulty, utterly friendless, and without 
 prospect of help, it is right that extreme necessity be met by 
 public aid ; for each family is a part of the commonwealth. In 
 like manner, if within the walls of the household there occur 
 grave disturbance of mutual rights, the public power must 
 interfere to force each party to give the other what is due; for 
 this is not to rob citizens of their rights, but justly and properly 
 to safeguard and strengthen them. But the rulers of the State 
 must go no further: nature bids them stop here. Paternal au- 
 thority can neither be abolished by the State nor absorbed ; for 
 it has the same source as human life itself; " the child belongs 
 to the father," and is, as it were, the continuation of the father's 
 personality; and, to speak with strictness, the child takes its 
 place in civil society not in its own right, but in its quality as 
 a member of the family in which it is begotten. And it is for 
 the very reason that " the child belongs to the father," that, as 
 St. Thomas of Aquin says, "before it attains the use of free- 
 will, it is in the power and care of its parents." * The So- 
 cialists, therefore, in setting aside the parent and introducing 
 the providence of the State, act against natural justice, and 
 threaten the very existence of family life. 
 
 And such interference is not only unjust, but is quite certain 
 to harass and disturb all classes of citizens, and to subject them 
 to odious and intolerable slavery. It would open the door 
 to envy, to evil speaking, and to quarrelling; the sources of 
 wealth would themselves run dry, for no one would have any 
 interest in exerting his talents or his industry ; and that ideal 
 equality of which so much is said would, in reality, be the 
 leveling down of all to the same condition of misery and dis- 
 honor. 
 
 Thus it is clear that the main tenet of Socialism, the com- 
 munity of goods, must be utterly rejected; for it would injure 
 
 *St. Thomas, Summa Theologica, 2a 2se Q. i. Art. 12. 
 
CONDITION OF THE WORKING CLASSES 65 
 
 those whom it is intended to benefit, it would be contrary to 
 the^ natural rights of mankind, and it would introduce con- 
 fusion and disorder into the commonwealth. Our first and 
 most fundamental principle, therefore, when we undertake to 
 alleviate the condition of the masses, must be the inviolability 
 of private property. This laid down. We go on to show where 
 we must fiLad the remedy that we seek. 
 
 THE CHUKCH AiOWE CAW SOiLVE THE SOCIAL PEOBLEM 
 
 We approach the subject with confidence, and in the exercise 
 of the rights which belong to Us. For no practical solution 
 of this question will ever be found without the assistance of 
 Eeligion and of the Church. It is We who are the chief guard- 
 ian of Eeligion, and the chief dispenser of what belongs to the 
 Church, and we must not by silence neglect the duty which 
 lies upon Us. Doubtless this most serious question demands 
 the attention and the efforts of others besides Ourselves — 
 of the rulers of States, of employers of labor, of the wealthy, 
 and of the working population themselves for whom We plead. 
 But We afiirm without hesitation that all the striving of men 
 will be vain if they leave out the Church. It is the Church 
 that proclaims from the Gospel those teachings by which the 
 conflict can be put an end to, or at least made far less bitter; 
 the Church uses its efforts not only to enlighten the mind, but 
 to direct by its precepts the life and conduct of men ; the 
 Church improves and ameliorates the condition of the working 
 man by numerous useful organizations; does its best to enlist 
 the services of all ranks in discussing and endeavoring to meet, 
 in the most practical way, the claims of the working classes; 
 and acts on the decided view that for these purposes recourse 
 should be had, in due measure and degree, to the help of the 
 law and of State authority. 
 
 Let it be laid down, in the first place, that humanity must 
 remain as it is. It is impossible to reduce human society to 
 a level. The Socialists may do their utmost, but all striving 
 against nature is vain. There naturally exist among mankind 
 innumerable differences of the most important kind; people 
 differ in capability, in diligence, in health, and in strength; 
 
66 CHUECH AND LABOE 
 
 and unequal fortune is a necessary result of inequality in con- 
 dition. Such inequality is far from being disadvantageous 
 either to individuals or to the community; social and public 
 life can only go on by the help of various kinds of capacity and 
 the playing of many parts, and each man, as a rule, chooses the 
 part which peculiarly suits his case. As regards bodily labor, 
 even had man never fallen from the state of innocence, he would 
 not have been wholly unoccupied; but that which would then 
 have been his free choice, his delight, became afterwards com- 
 pulsory, and the painful expiation of his sin. Cursed he the 
 earth in thy worTc; in thy labor thou shalt eat of it all the days 
 of thy life.^ In like manner, the other pains and hardships 
 of life will have no end or cessation on this earth; for the 
 consequences of sin are bitter and hard to bear, and they must 
 be with man as long as life lasts. . To suffer and to endure, 
 therefore, is the lot of humanity; let men try as they may, no 
 strength and no artifice will ever succeed in banishing from 
 human life the ills and troubles which beset it. If any there 
 are who pretend differently — who hold out to a hard-pressed 
 people freedom from pain and trouble, undisturbed repose, and 
 constant enjoyment — they cheat the people and impose upon 
 them, and their lying promises will only make the evil worse 
 than before. There is nothing more useful than to look at the 
 world as it really is — and at the same time look elsewhere for 
 a remedy to its troubles. 
 
 THE CHEISTIAW INTEEDEPENDBNCE OF CAPITAL AND 
 LABOR 
 
 The great mistake that is made in the matter now under con- 
 sideration, is to possess oneself of the idea that class is naturally 
 hostile to class; that rich and poor are intended by nature to 
 live at war with one another. So irrational and so false is this 
 view, that the exact contrary is the truth. Just as the sym- 
 metry of the human body is the result of the disposition of 
 the members of the body, so in a State it is ordained by na- 
 ture that these two classes should exist in harmony and agree- 
 ment, and should, as it were, fit into one another, so as to 
 
 s Genesis iii, 17. 
 
CONDITION OF THE WOEKING CLASSES 67 
 
 maintain the equilibrium of the body politic. Each requires 
 the other; capital cannot do without labor, nor labor without 
 capital. Mutual agreement results in pleasantness and good 
 order; perpetual conflict necessarily produces confusion and 
 outrage. Now, in preventing such strife as this, and in mak- 
 ing it impossible, the efficacy of Christianity is marvelous and 
 manifold. First of all, there is nothing more powerful than 
 Religion (of which the Church is the interpreter and guardian) 
 in drawing rich and poor together, by reminding each class 
 of its duties to the other, and especially of the duties of justice. 
 Thus Eeligion teaches the laboring man and the workman to 
 carry out honestly and well all equitable agreements freely 
 made, never to injiire capital, nor to outrage the person of an 
 employer; never to employ violence in representing his own 
 cause, nor to engage in riot and disorder; and to have nothing 
 to do with men of evil principles, who work upon the people 
 with artful promises, and raise foolish hopes which usually 
 end in disaster and in repentance when too late. Eeligion 
 teaches the rich man and the employer that their work-people 
 are not their slaves; that they must respect in every man his 
 dignity as a man and as a Christian ; that labor is nothing to be 
 ashamed of, if we listen to right reason and to Christian phi- 
 losophy, but is an honorable employment, enabling a man to 
 sustain his life in an upright and creditable way; and that 
 it is shameful and inhuman to treat men like chattels to make 
 money by, or to look upon them merely as so much muscle or 
 physical power. Thus, again, Eeligion teaches that, as among 
 the workmen's concerns are Eeligion herself, and things spirit- 
 ual and mental, the employer is bound to see that he has time 
 for the duties of piety ; that he be not exposed to corrupting in- 
 fluences and dangerous occasions; and that he be not led away 
 to neglect his home and family or to squander his wages. Then, 
 again, the employer must never tax his work-people beyond their 
 strength, nor employ them in work unsuited to their sex or 
 age. His great and principal obligation is to give to every one 
 that which is just. Doubtless before we can decide whether 
 wages are adequate many things have to be considered ; but rich 
 men and masters should remember this — that to exercise pros- 
 
68 CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 sure for the sake of gain, upon the indigent and destitute, 
 and to make one's profit out of the need of another, is con- 
 demned by all laws, human and divine. To defraud any one 
 of wages that are his due is a crime which cries to the avenging 
 anger of Heaven. Behold, the hire of the laborers . . . which 
 hy fraud has teen Icept hack hy you, crieth; and the cry of them 
 hath entered the ears of the Lord of the Sahaoth.^ Finally, 
 the rich must religiously refrain from cutting down the work- 
 man's earnings, either by force, fraud, or by usurious dealing; 
 and with the more reason because the poor man is weak and 
 unprotected, and because his slender means should be sacred in 
 proportion to their scantiness. 
 
 Were these precepts carefully obeyed and followed would not 
 strife die out and cease? 
 
 But the Church, with Jesus Christ for its Master and Guide, 
 aims higher still. It lays down precepts yet more perfect, and 
 tries to bind class to class in friendliness and good understand- 
 ing. The things of this earth cannot be understood or valued 
 rightly without taking into consideration the life to come, the 
 life that will last forever. Exclude the idea of futurity, and 
 the very notion of what is good and right would perish ; nay, 
 the whole system of the universe would become a dark and 
 unfathomable mystery. The great truth which we learn from 
 Ifature herself is also the grand Christian dogma on which reli- 
 gion rests as on its base - — that when "we have done with this 
 present life then we shall really begin to live. God has not 
 created us for the perishable and transitory things of earth, but 
 for things heavenly and everlasting ; He has given us this world 
 as a place of exile, and not as our true country. Money and 
 the other things which men call good and desirable — we may 
 have them in abundance or we may want them altogether; as 
 far as eternal happiness is concerned, it is no matter; the only 
 thing that is important is to use them aright. Jesus Christ, 
 when He redeemed us with plentiful redemption, took not away 
 the pains and sorrows which in such large proportion make up 
 the texture of our mortal life; He transformed them into mo- 
 tives of virtue and occasions of merit; and no man can hope 
 
 8 St. James v, 4. 
 
CONDITION OF THE WORiaNG CLASSES 69 
 
 for eternal reward unless he follow in the blood-stained foot- 
 prints of his Saviour. If we suffer with Him, we shall also 
 reign with Him.'' His labors and His sufferings, accepted by 
 His own free will, have marvelously sweetened all suffering and 
 all labor. And not only by His example, but by His grace and 
 by the hope of everlasting recompense, He has made pain and 
 grief more easy to endure ; for tJiat which is at present momen- 
 tary and light of our tribulation, worJceth for us aiiove measure 
 exceedingly an eternal lueight of glory.^ 
 
 CHRISTIANITT TEACHES PRACTICALLY THE EIGHT USE OP 
 
 MONEY 
 
 Therefore, those whom fortune favors are warned that free- 
 dom from sorrow and abundance of earthly riches are no guar- 
 antee of the beatitude that shall never end, but rather the con- 
 trary; ^ that the rich should tremble at the threatenings of 
 Jesus Christ — threatenings so strange in the moiith of our 
 Lord,^" and that a most strict account must be given to the 
 Supreme Judge for all that we possess. The chiefest and 
 most excellent rule for the right use of money is one which the 
 heathen philosophers indicated, but which the Church has traced 
 out clearly, and has not only made kaovra to men's minds, but 
 has impressed upon their lives. It rests on the principle that 
 it is one thing to have a right to the possession of money, and 
 another to have a right to use money as one pleases. Private 
 ownership, as we have seen, is the natural right of man; and 
 to exercise that right, especially as members of society, is not 
 only lawful but absolutely necessary. H is lawful, says St. 
 Thomas of Aquin, for a man to hold private property; and it 
 is also necessary for the carrying on of human life.^^ But if 
 the question be asked. How must one's possessions be used? 
 the Church replies without hesitation in the words of the same 
 holy Doctor: Man should not consider his outward possessions 
 as his own, hut as common to all, so as to share them without 
 
 7 II Timothy il, 12. 
 
 8 II Corinthians iv, 17. 
 
 St. Matthew lii, 23, 24. 
 
 10 St. Luke vi, 24, 25. 
 
 11 2a 2se Q. Ixvi. Art. 2. 
 
70 CHURCH AND LABOE 
 
 difficulty when others are in need. Whence the Apostle saith. 
 Command the rich of this world . . . to give with ease, to com- 
 municate.'^'^ True, no one is commanded to distribute to others 
 that which is required for his own necessities and those of his 
 household; nor even to give away what is reasonbly required 
 to keep up becomingly his condition in life ; for no one ought to 
 live unbecomingly.^^ But when necessity has been supplied, 
 and one's position fairly considered, it is a duty to give to the 
 indigent out of that which is over. That which remaineth give 
 alms.^* It is a duty, not of justice (except in extreme cases), 
 but of Christian charity — a duty which is not enforced by 
 human law. But the laws and judgment of men must give place 
 to the laws and judgment of Christ, the true God; Who in 
 many ways urges on His followers the practice of almsgiving — 
 It is more blessed to give than to receivej^^ and Who will count 
 a kindness done or refused to the poor as done or refused to 
 Himself — As long as you did it to one of My least brethren, 
 you did it to Me.^^ Thus to sum up what has been said : — 
 Whoever has received from the Divine bounty a large share of 
 blessings, whether they be external and corporal, or gifts of 
 the mind, has received them for the purpose of using them 
 for perfecting his own nature, and, at the same time, that he 
 may employ them, as the minister of God's Providence, for 
 the benefit of others. He that hath a talent, says St. Gregory 
 the Great, let him see that he hideth not; he that hath abun^ 
 dance, let him arouse himself to mercy and generosity j he that 
 hath art and sTcill, let him do his best to share the Mse and utility 
 thereof with his neighbor. ^^ 
 
 THE DIGNITY OF LABOB 
 
 As for those who do not possess the gifts of fortune, they 
 are taught by the Church that, in God's sight poverty is no 
 disgrace, and that there is nothing to be ashamed of in seeking 
 
 ^2 Ibid., Q. Ixv, Art. 2. 
 13 2a 2s, Q. xxxii, Art. 6. 
 i*St. Luke xi, 41. 
 
 15 Acts XX, 35. 
 
 16 St. Matthew xxv, 40. 
 
 17 St. Gregory the Great, Horn, ix, in Evangel, n. 7. 
 
CONDITION OF THE WOEKING CLASSES 11 
 
 one's bread by labor. This is strengthened by what we see 
 in Christ Himself. Who whereas He was rich, for our sokes 
 became poor,^^ and Who, being the Son of God, and God Him- 
 self chose to seem and to be considered the son of a carpenter — 
 nay, did not disdain to spend a great part of His life as a car- 
 penter Himself. Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary ? ^' 
 Erom the contemplation of this Divine example, it is easy to 
 understand that the true dignity and excellence of man lies in 
 his moral qualities, that is, in virtue ; that virtue is the common 
 inheritance of all, equally within the reach of high and low, 
 rich and poor; and that virtue, and virtue alone, wherever 
 found, will be followed by the rewards of everlasting happiness. 
 Nay, God Himself seems to incline more to those who suffer 
 evil ; for Jesus Christ calls the poor blessed f'^ He lovingly in- 
 vites those in labor and grief to come to Him for solace ;^^ 
 and He displays the tenderest charity to the lowly and oppressed. 
 These reflections cannot fail to keep down the pride of those 
 ■who are well off, and to cheer the spirit of the afflicted; to 
 incline the former to generosity, and the latter to tranquil resig- 
 nation. Thus the separation which pride would make tends 
 to disappear, nor will it be difficult to make rich and poor join 
 hands in friendly concord. 
 
 But, if Christian precepts prevail, the two classes will not 
 only be united in the bonds of friendship, but also in those of 
 brotherly love. For they will understand and feel that all men 
 are the children of the common father, that is, of God ; that all 
 have the same last end, which is God Himself, Who alone can 
 make either men or angels absolutely perfectly happy ; that aU 
 and each are redeemed by Jesus Christ, and raised to the dignity 
 of children of God, and are thus united in brotherly ties both 
 with each other and with Jesus Christ, the first horn among 
 many brethren; that the blessings of nature and the gifts of 
 grace belong in common to the whole human race, and that to all, 
 except to those who are unworthy, is promised the inheritance of 
 
 18 II Corinthians viii, 9. 
 
 19 St. Mark vi, 3. 
 
 20 St. Matthew v, 3 : " Blessed are the poor in spirit." 
 
 21 Hid., xi, 28 : " Come to Me, all you that labor and are hurdened, and 
 I will refresh you." 
 
n CHUECH AND LABOK 
 
 the Kingdom of Heaven. If sons, heirs also; heirs indeed of 
 God, and co-heirs of Christ?^ 
 
 Such is the scheme of duties and of rights which is put forth 
 to the world by the Gospel. Would it not seem that strife must 
 quickly cease were society penetrated with ideals like these? 
 
 SOCIAX. HVrLS TO BE KBMEDIBD OOSTLT BY EETURN TO 
 CHEISTIAN LIFE' AJSTD INSTITUTIONS 
 
 But the Church, not content with pointing out the remedy, 
 also applies it. For the Church does its utmost to teach and to 
 train men, and to educate them; and by means of its Bishops 
 and clergy it diffuses its salutary teachings far and wide. It 
 strives to influence the mind and heart so that all may willingly 
 yield themselves to be formed and guided by the commandments 
 of God. It is precisely in this fundamental and principal mat- 
 ter, on which everything depends, that the Church has a power 
 peculiar to itself. The agencies which it employs are given it 
 for the very purpose of reaching the hearts of men by Jesus 
 Christ Himself, and derive their efficiency from God. They 
 alone can touch the innermost heart and conscience, and bring 
 men to act from a motive of duty, to resist their passions and 
 appetites, to love God and their fellowmen with a love that is 
 unique and supreme, and courageously to break down every 
 barrier which stands in the way of a virtuous life. 
 
 On this subject We need only recall for one moment the ex- 
 amples written down in history. Of these things there cannot 
 be the shadow of doubt; for instance, that civil society was 
 renovated in every part by the teachings of Christianity; that 
 in the strength of that renewal the human race was lifted up 
 to better things — nay, that it was brought back from death to 
 life, and to so excellent a life that nothing more perfect had 
 been known before or will come to pass in the ages that are yet 
 to be. Of this beneficent transformation, Jesus Christ was at 
 once the first cause and the final purpose; as from Him all 
 came, so to Him all was to be referred. For when, by the light 
 of the Gospel message, the human race came to know the grand 
 mystery of the Incarnation of the Word and the redemption 
 
 22 Romans viii, 17. 
 
CONDITION OF THE WORKING CLASSES 73 
 
 of man, the life of Jesus Christ, God and Man, penetrated every 
 race and nation, and impregnated them with His faith. His pre- 
 cepts, and His laws. And, if Society is to be cured now, in 
 no other way can it be cured but by a return to the Christian 
 life and Christian institutions. When a society is perishing, 
 the true advice to give to those who would restore it is, to recall 
 it to the principles from which it sprung ; for the purpose and 
 perfection of an association is to aim at and to attain that 
 for which it was formed; and its operation should be put in 
 motion and inspired by the end and object which originally gave 
 it its being. So that to fall away from its primal constitution 
 is disease; to go back to it is recovery. And this may be as- 
 serted with the utmost truth both of the State in general and of 
 that body of its citizens — by far the greater number — who 
 sustain life by labor. 
 
 THE CHUKCH SBEXS THE MATERIAL WELFARE OF THE POOE 
 
 Neither must it be supposed that the solicitude of the Church 
 is so occupied with the spiritual concerns of its children as to 
 neglect their interests temporal and earthly. Its desire is that 
 the poor, for example, should rise above poverty and wretched- 
 ness, and should better their condition in life; and for this it 
 strives. By the very fact that it calls men to virtue and forms 
 them to its practice, it promotes this in no slight degree. Chris- 
 tian morality, when it is adequately and completely practiced, 
 conduces of itself to temporal prosperity, for it merits the bless- 
 ing of that God who is the source of all blessings ; it powerfully 
 restrains the lust of possession and the lust of pleasure — twin 
 plagues, which too often make a man without self-restraint 
 miserable in the midst of abundance ; ^^ it makes men supply 
 by economy for the want of means, teaching them to be con- 
 tent with frugal living, and keeping them out of the reach of 
 those vices which eat up not only merely small incomes, but 
 large fortunes, and dissipate many a goodly inheritance. 
 
 Moreover, the Church intervenes directly in the interest of 
 the poor, by setting on foot and keeping up many things which 
 it sees to be efficacious in the relief of poverty. Here, again, it 
 
 23 " The root of all evils is cupidity." — I Tim. vi, 10. 
 
74 CHUECH AND LABOR 
 
 has always succeeded so well that it has even extorted the praise 
 of its enemies. Such was the ardor of brotherly love among 
 the earliest Christians that numbers of those who were better 
 off deprived themselves of tbeir possessions in order to re- 
 lieve their brethren; whence neither was there any one needy 
 among them?'^ To the order of Deacons, instituted for that 
 very purpose, was committed by the Apostles the charge of the 
 daily distributions; and the Apostle Paul, though burdened 
 with the solicitude of all the churches, hesitated not to under- 
 take laborious journeys in order to carry the alms of the faith- 
 ful to the poorer Christians. Tertullian calls these contribu- 
 tions, given voluntarily by Christians in their assemblies, de- 
 posists of piety; because, to cite his words, they were employed 
 in feeding the needy, i/n hurying them, in the support of hoys 
 and girls destitute of means and deprived of their parents, in 
 the care of the aged, and in the relief of the shipwrecked.^^ 
 
 Thus by degrees came into existence the patrimony which 
 the Church has guarded with jealous care as the inheritance of 
 the poor. Nay, to spare them the shame of begging, the com- 
 mon Mother of the rich and poor has exerted herself to gather 
 together funds for the support of the needy. The Church has 
 stirred up everywhere the heroism of charity, and has estab- 
 lished Congregations of Religious and many other useful in- 
 stitutions for help and mercy, so that there might be hardly 
 any kind of suffering which was not visited and relieved. At 
 the present day there are many who, like the heathen of old, 
 blame and condemn the Church for this beautiful charity. 
 They would substitute in its place a system of State-organized 
 relief. But no human methods will ever supply for the devo- 
 tion and self-sacrifice of Christian charity. Charity, as a vir- 
 tue, belongs to the Church ; for it is no virtue unless it is drawn 
 from the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ; and he who turns his 
 back on the Church cannot be near to Christ. 
 
 THE state's SHAEE IN THE EELIECF OF POVEETT 
 
 It cannot, however, be doubted that to attain the purpose of 
 which We treat, not only the Church, but all human means 
 
 2* Acts iv, 34. 
 
 25 Apologia Secunda, xxxix. 
 
CONDITION OF THE WOEXING CLASSES 75 
 
 must conspire. All wlio are concerned in the matter must be 
 of one mind and must act together. It is in this, as in the 
 Providence which governs the world; results do not happen 
 save where all the causes co-operate. 
 
 Let us now, therefore, inquire what part the State should 
 play in the work of remedy and relief. 
 
 By the State We here understand, not the particular form 
 of government which prevails in this or that nation, but the 
 State as rightly understood; that is to say, any government 
 conformable in its institutions to right reason and natural law, 
 and to those dictates of the Divine wisdom which We have 
 expounded in the Encyclical on the Christian Constitution of 
 the State. The first duty, therefore, of the rulers of the 
 State should be to make sure that the laws and institutions, the 
 general character and administration of the commonwealth, shall 
 be such as to produce of themselves public weU-being and private 
 prosperity. This is the proper office of wise statesmanship and 
 the work of the heads of the State. Now a State chiefly pros- 
 pers and flourishes by morality, by well-regulated family life, 
 by respect for religion and justice, by the moderation and equal 
 distribution of public burdens, by the progress of the arts and 
 of trade, by the abundant yield of the land — by everything 
 which makes the citizens better and happier. Here, then, it 
 ifi in the power of a ruler to benefit every order of the State, 
 and amongst the rest to promote in the highest degree the 
 interests of the poor ; and this by virtue of his office, and with- 
 out being exposed to any suspicion of undue interference — for 
 it is the province of the commonwealth to consult for the com- 
 mon good. And the more that is done for the working popu- 
 lation by the general laws of the country, the less need will 
 there be to seek for particidar means to relieve them. There 
 is another and a deeper consideration which must not be lost 
 sight of. 
 
 TO THE STATE THE IWTMKESTS OF ALL AEE EQTTAL. 
 
 Whether high or low. The poor are members of the national 
 community equally with the rich : they are real component parts, 
 living parts, which make up, through the family, the living 
 
76 CHUECH AND LABOE 
 
 body; and it need hardly be said that they are by far the ma- 
 jority. It would be irrational to neglect one portion of the 
 citizens and to favor another; and therefore the public adminis- 
 tration must duly and solicitously provide for the welfare and 
 the comfort of the working people, or else that law of justice 
 will be violated which ordains that each shall have his due. 
 To cite the wise words of St. Thomas of Aquin: As the part 
 and the whole are in a certain sense identical^ the par't may 
 in same sense claim what belongs to the whole.^^ Among the 
 many and grave duties of rulers who would do their best for the 
 people, the first and chief is to act with strict justice — with 
 that justice which is called in the Schools distributive — 
 towards each and every class. 
 
 But although all citizens, without exception, can and ought to 
 contribute to that common good in which individuals share so 
 profitably to themselves, yet it is not to be supposed that all 
 can contribute in the same way and to the same extent. No 
 njatter what changes may be made in forms of government, 
 there will always be differences and inequalities of condition in 
 tlie State ; Society cannot exist or be conceived without them. 
 Some there must be who dedicate themselves to the work of 
 the commonwealth, who make the laws, who administer justice, 
 whose advice and authority govern the nation in times of peace, 
 and defend it in war. Such men clearly occupy the foremost 
 place in the State, and should be held in the foremost estima- 
 tion, for their work touches most nearly and effectively the 
 general interests of the community. Those who labor at a trade 
 or calling do not promote the general welfare in such a fashion 
 as this; but they do in the most important way benefit the 
 nation, though less directly. We have insisted that, since it is 
 the end of Society to make men better, the chief good that 
 Society can be possessed of is Virtue. Nevertheless, in all 
 well-constituted States it is a by no means unimportant matter 
 to provide those bodily and external commodities, the use of 
 which is necessary to virtuous action.^'' And in the provision 
 of material well-being, the labor of the poor — the exercise of 
 
 2« 2a 2ae, Q. Ixi, Art. 1 and 2. 
 
 27 St. Thomas of Aquin. De Regimine Principum, I, cap. 15. 
 
CONDITION or THE WORKING CLASSES 11 
 
 their skill and the employment of their strength in the culture 
 of the land and the workshops of trade — is most efficacious and 
 altogether indispensable. Indeed, their co-operation in this re- 
 spect is so important that it may be truly said that 
 
 IT IS ONLT BY THE LABO'H OF THE ■WOEKING MAN THAT 
 STATES GEOW EICH 
 
 Justice, therefore, demands that the interests of the poorer 
 population be carefully watched over by the Administration, so 
 that they who contribute so largely to the advantage of the 
 community may themselves share in the benefits they create — 
 that being housed, clothed, and enabled to support life, they 
 may find their existence less hard and more endurable. It 
 follows that whatever shall appear to be conducive to the well- 
 being of those who work, should receive favorable consideration. 
 Let it not be feared that solicitude of this kind will injure any 
 interest; on the contrary, it will be to the advantage of all; 
 for it cannot but be good for the commonwealth to secure from 
 misery those on whom it so largely depends. 
 
 THE CHRISTIAN- IDEA OF A STATE 
 
 We have said that the State must not absorb the individual 
 or the family; both should be allowed free and untrammelled 
 action as far as is consistent with the common good and the 
 interests of others. Nevertheless, rulers should anxiously safe- 
 guard the community and all its parts ; the community, because 
 the conservation of the community is so emphatically the busi- 
 ness of the supreme power, that the safety of the commonwealth 
 is not only the first law, but it is a Government's whole reason 
 of existence; and the parts, because both philosophy and the 
 Gospel agree in laying down that the object of the administra- 
 tion of the State should be not the advantage of the ruler, but 
 the benefit of those over whom he rules. The gift of authority 
 is from God, and is, as it were, a participation of the highest 
 of all sovereignties; and it should be exercised as the power 
 of God is exercised — with a fatherly solicitude which not only 
 guides the whole but reaches to details as well. 
 
 Whenever the general interest or any particular class suffers, 
 
78 CHURCH AND LABOK 
 
 or is threatened with, evils which can in no other way be met, 
 the public authority must step in to meet them. Now, among 
 the interests of the public, as of private individuals, are these : 
 that peace and good order should be maintained; that family 
 life should be carried on in accordance with God's laws and 
 those of nature ; that Religion should be reverenced and obeyed ; 
 that a high standard of morality should prevail in public and 
 private life; that the sanctity of justice should be respected, 
 and that no one should injure another with impunity; that 
 the members of the commonwealth should grow up to man's 
 estate strong and robust, and capable, if need be, of guarding 
 and defending their country. If by a strike, or other combina- 
 tion of workmen, there should be imminent danger of disturb- 
 ance to the public peace; or if circumstances were such that 
 among the laboring population the ties of family life were 
 relaxed ; if Keligion were found to suffer through the workmen 
 not having time and opportunity to practice it; if in work- 
 shops and factories there were danger to morals through the 
 mixing of the sexes or from any occasion of evil; or if em- 
 ployers laid burdens upon the workmen which were unjust, or 
 degraded them with conditions that were repugnant to their 
 dignity as human beings; finally, if health were endangered 
 by excessive labor, or by work unsuited to sex or age — in these 
 cases there can be no question that, within certain limits, it 
 would be right to call in the help and authority of the law. 
 The limits must be determined by the nature of the occasion 
 which calls for the law's interference — the principle being 
 this, that the law must not undertake more, nor go further, 
 than is required for the remedy of the evil or the removal of 
 the danger. 
 
 SPECIAI, CONSIDEEATION DUE TO THE POOE 
 
 Rights must be religiously respected wherever they are found ; 
 and it is the duty of the public authority to prevent and punish 
 injury, and to protect each one in the possession of his own. 
 
 Still, when there is question of protecting the rights of in- 
 dividuals, the poor and helpless have a claim, to special con- 
 sideration. The richer population have many ways of pro- 
 
CONDITION OF THE WORKING CLASSES 19 
 
 tecting themselves, and stand less in need of help from the 
 State; those who are badly off have no resources of the their 
 own to fall back upon, and must chiefly rely upon the assistance 
 of the State. And it is for this reason that wage-earners, 
 who are, undoubtedly, among the weak and necessitous, should 
 be specially cared for and protected by the commonwealth. 
 
 Here, however, it will be advisable to advert expressly ■ to 
 one or two of the more important details. 
 
 THE STATE SHOULD SAPE'GTJAED PRIVATE PEOPEETT 
 
 It must be borne in mind that ,the chief thing to be secured 
 ia the safe-guarding, by legal enactment and policy, of private 
 property. Most of all it is essential in these times of covetous 
 greed, to keep the multitude within the line of duty; for if 
 all may justly strive to better their condition, yet neither 
 justice nor the common good allows anyone to seize that which 
 belongs to another, or, under the pretext of futile and ridiculous 
 equality, to lay hands on other people's fortimes. It is most 
 true that by far the larger part of the people who work prefer 
 to improve themselves by honest labor rather than by doing 
 wrong to others. But there are not a few who are imbued with 
 bad principles and are anxious for revolutionary change, and 
 whose great purpose it is to stir up tumult and bring about a 
 policy of violence. The authority of the State should inter- 
 vene to put restraint upon these disturbers, to save the workmen 
 from their seditious arts, and to protect lawful owners from 
 spoliation. 
 
 THE STATE MUST PEOTECT THE LABOEEEs' EIGHTS 
 
 When work-people have recourse to a strike, it is frequently 
 because the hours of labor are too long, or the work too hard, 
 or because they consider their wages insufficient. The grave 
 inconvenience of this not uncommon occurrence should be ob- 
 viated by public remedial measures; for such paralysis of 
 labor not only affects the masters and their work-people, but is 
 extremely injurious to trade, and to the general interests of 
 the public; moreover, on such occasions, violence and disorder 
 are generaUj not far off, and thus it frequently happens that 
 
80 CHURCH AND LABOE 
 
 the public peace is threatened. The laws should be before- 
 hand, and prevent these troubles from arising; they should lend 
 their influence and authority to the removal in good time of 
 the Causes which lead to conflicts between masters and those 
 whom they employ. 
 
 But if the owners of property must be made secure, the 
 workman, too, has property and possessions in which he must 
 be protected ; and, first of all, there are his spiritual and mental 
 interests. Life on earth, however good and desirable in itself, 
 is not the final purpose for which man is created; it is only 
 the way and the means to that attainment of truth, and that 
 practice of goodness in which the full life of the soul consists. 
 It is the soul which is made after the image and likeness of 
 God; it is in the soul that sovereignty resides, in virtue of which 
 man is commanded to rule the creatures below him, and to 
 use all the earth and ocean for his profit and advantage. Fill 
 the earth and subdue it; and rule over the fishes of the sea and 
 the fowls of the air, and all living creatures which move upon 
 the earth.^^ In this respect all men are equal ; there is no 
 difference between rich and poor, master and servant, naler and 
 ruled, for the same is Lord over all.^^ ISTo man may outrage 
 with impunity that human dignity which God Himself treats 
 with reverence, nor stand in the way of that higher life which is 
 the preparation for the eternal life of Heaven. Nay, more; a 
 man has here no power over himself. To consent to any treat- 
 ment which is calculated to defeat the end and purpose of his 
 being is beyond his right; he cannot give up his soul to servi- 
 tude; for it is not man's own rights which are here in ques- 
 tion, but the rights of God, most sacred and inviolable. 
 
 From this follows the obligation of the cessation of work and 
 labor on Sundays and certain festivals. This rest from labor 
 is not to be understood as mere idleness; much less must it 
 be an occasion of spending money and a vicious excess, as 
 many would desire it to be; but it should be rest from labor 
 consecrated by religion. Eepose united with religious observ- 
 ance disposes man to forget for a while the business of this 
 
 28 Genesis i, 28. 
 
 29 Eomans x, 12. 
 
CONDITION OF THE WORKING CLASSES 81 
 
 daily life, and to turn his thoughts to heavenly things and to 
 the worship which he so strictly owes to the Eternal Deity. It 
 is this, above all, which is the reason and motive of the Sunday 
 rest ; a rest sanctioned by God's great law of the ancient cove- 
 nant, Remember thou keep holy the Sabbath day,^" and taught 
 to the world by His own mysterious "rest" after the crea- 
 tion of man; He rested on the seventh day from all His worh 
 which He had done.^''- 
 
 SAVE THE lABOEEES FEOM THE CETJELTT OCF SPECULATOBS 
 
 IN LABOR 
 
 If we turn now to things exterior and corporeal, the first con- 
 cern of all is to save the poor workers from the cruelty of 
 grasping speculators, who use human beings as mere instru- 
 ments for making money. It is neither justice nor humanity 
 so to grind men down with excessive labor as to stupefy their 
 minds and wear out their bodies. Man's powers like his 
 general nature, are limited, and beyond these limits he can- 
 not go. His strength is devoted and increased by use and exer- 
 cise, but only on condition of due intermission and proper 
 rest. Daily labor, therefore, must be so regulated that it 
 may not be protracted during longer hours than strength ad- 
 mits. How many and how long the intervals of rest should 
 be, will depend upon the nature of the work, on circumstances 
 of time and place, and on the health and strength of the work- 
 man. Those who labor in mines and quarries, and in work 
 within the bowels of the earth, should have shorter hours in 
 proportion, as their labor 'is more severe and more trying to 
 health. Then, again, the season of the year must be taken into 
 account; for not unfrequently a kind of labor is easy at one 
 time which at another is intolerable or very difficult. Finally, 
 work which is suitable for a strong man cannot reasonably be 
 required from a woman or a child. 
 
 A WOED OW CHILD-LABOE 
 
 And, in regard to children, great care should be taken not 
 to place them in workshops and factories until their bodies and 
 »o Exodus XX, 8. 
 31 Ganeeis ii, 2, 9. 
 
82 CHUECH AND LABOE 
 
 minds are sufficiently mature. For just as rough weather de- 
 stroys the buds of spring, so too early an experience of life's 
 hard work blights the young promise of a child's powers, and 
 makes any real education impossible. Women, again, are not 
 suited to certain trades; for a woman is by nature fitted for 
 home-work, and it is that which is best adapted at once to 
 preserve her modesty, and to promote the good bringing up of 
 children and the well-being of the family. As a general prin- 
 ciple, it may be laid down, that a workman ought to have 
 leisure and rest in proportion to the wear and tear of his 
 strength ; for the waste of strength must be repaired by the 
 cessation of work. 
 
 In all agreements between masters and work-people, there is 
 always the condition*, expressed or understood, that there be 
 allowed proper rest for soul and body. To agree in any other 
 sense would be against what is right and just; for it can never 
 be right or just to require on the one side, or to promise on 
 the other, the giving up of those duties which a man owes to 
 his God and to himself. 
 
 EMPLOTKRS' MOKAXi OBLIGATIOir TO PAY FAIR WAGES 
 
 We now approach a subject of very great importance and one 
 on which, if extremes are to be avoided, right ideas are ab- 
 solutely necessary. Wages, we are told, are fixed by free con- 
 sent; and, therefore, the employer when he pays what was 
 agreed upon, has done his part, and is not called upon for 
 anything further. The only way, it is said, in which injustice 
 could happen, would be if the master refused to pay the whole 
 of the wages, or the workman would not complete the work 
 undertaken; when this happens the State should intervene, to 
 see that each obtains his own, but not in any other circumstances. 
 
 This mode of reasoning is by no means convincing to a fair- 
 minded man, for there are important considerations which it 
 leaves out of view altogether. To labor is to exert one's self 
 for the sake of procuring what is necessary for the purposes of 
 life, and most of all for self-preservation. In the sweat of thy 
 hrow thou shalt eat hread.^^ Therefore, a man's labor has two 
 >3 Genesis iii, 1. 
 
CONDITION OF THE WOEXING CLASSES 83 
 
 notes or characters. First of all, it is personal; for the exer- 
 tion of individual power belongs to the individual who puts it 
 forth, employing this power for that personal profit for which 
 It was given. Secondly, man's labor is necessary; for with- 
 out the results of labor a man cannot live ; and self -conservation 
 is a law of Nature, which it is wrong to disobey. Now, if we 
 were to consider labor merely so far as it is personal, doubt- 
 less it would be within the workman's right to accept any rate 
 of wages whatever ; for in the same way as he is free to work 
 or not, so he is free to accept a small remuneration or even 
 none at all. But this is a mere abstract supposition ; the labor 
 of the working man is not only his personal attribute, but it 
 is necessary; and this makes all the difference. The preserva- 
 tion of life is the bounden duty of each and all, and to fail 
 therein is a crime. It follows that each one has a right to 
 procure what is required in order to live; and the poor can 
 procure it in no other way than by work and wages. 
 
 Let it be granted, then, that, as a rule, workman and em- 
 ployer should make free agreements, and in particular should 
 freely agree as to wages ; nevertheless, there is a dictate of na- 
 ture more imperious and more ancient than any bargain be- 
 tween man and man, that the remuneration must be enough 
 to support the wage-earner in reasonable and frugal comfort. 
 If through necessity or fear of a worse evil, the workman ac- 
 cepts harder conditions because an employer or contractor will 
 give him no better, he is the victim of force and injustice. In 
 these and similar questions, however — such as, for example, 
 the hours of labor in different trades, the sanitary precautions 
 to be observed in factories and workshops, etc. — in order to 
 supersede undue interference on the part of the State, especially 
 as circumstances, times, and localities differ so widely, it is ad- 
 visable that recourse be had to Societies or Boards such as We 
 shall mention presently, or to some other method of safe-guard- 
 ing the interests of wage-earners ; the State to be asked for ap- 
 proval and protection. 
 
84 CHURCH AND LABOE 
 
 THE STATE SHOULD J-AVOE MULTIPLICATION OF PEOPEETY 
 
 OWNEES 
 
 If a workman's wages be sufficient to enable him to main- 
 tain himself, his wife, and his children in reasonable com- 
 fort, he will not find it difficult, if he is a sensible man, to 
 study economy ; and he will not fail, by cutting down expenses, 
 to put by a little property : nature and reason would urge 
 him to do this. We have seen that this great Labor question 
 cannot be solved except by assuming as a principle that private 
 ownership must be held sacred and inviolable. The law, there- 
 fore, should favor ownership, and its policy should be to induce 
 as many people as possible to become owners. 
 
 Many excellent results will follow from this ; and first of all, 
 property will certainly become more equitably divided. For 
 the effect of civil change and revolution has been to divide 
 society into two widely different castes. On the one side there 
 is the party which holds the power because it holds the wealth ; 
 which has in its grasp all labor and trade; which manipulates 
 for its own benefit and its own purposes all the sources of 
 supply, and which is powerfully represented in the councils of 
 the State itself. On the other side there is the needy and 
 powerless multitude, sore and suffering, always ready for dis- 
 turbance. If working people can be encouraged to look for- 
 ward to obtaining a share in the land, the result will be that 
 the gulf between vast wealth and deep poverty will be bridged 
 over, and the two orders will be brought nearer together. An- 
 other consequence will be the greater abundance of the fruits of 
 the earth. Men always work harder and more readily when 
 they work on that which is their own; nay, they learn to love 
 the very soil which yields in response to the labor of their 
 hands, not only food to eat, but an abundance of the good things 
 for themselves and those that are dear to them. It is evident 
 how such a spirit of willing labor would add to the produce 
 of the earth and to the wealth of the community. And a third 
 advantage would arise from this: men would cling to the coun- 
 try in which they were bom; for no one would exchange his 
 country for a foreign land if his own afforded him the means 
 of living a tolerable and happy life. These three important 
 
CONDITION or THE WOEKING CLASSES 85 
 
 benefits, however, can only be expected on the condition that 
 a man's means be not drained and exhausted by excessive taxa- 
 tion. The right to possess private property is from nature, not 
 from man; and the State has only the right to regulate its use 
 in the interests of the public good, but by no means to abolish 
 it altogether. The State is, therefore, unjust and cruel, if, in 
 the name of taxation, it deprives the private owner of more 
 than is just. 
 
 MTJLTIPLT WOEKINGMEn's ASSOCIATIONS 
 
 In the last place — employers and workmen may themselves 
 effect much in the matter of which We treat, by means of 
 those institutions and organizations which afford opportune as- 
 sistance to those in need, and which draw the two orders more 
 closely together. Among these may be enumerated: Societies 
 for mutual help; various foundations established by private 
 persons for providing for the workman, and for his widow or 
 his orphans, in sudden calamity, in sickness, and in the event 
 of death ; and what are called " patronages," or institutions for 
 the care of boys and girls, for young people, and also for those 
 of more mature age. 
 
 The most important of all are Workmen's Associations; for 
 these virtually include all the rest. History attests what ex- 
 cellent results were effje,eted by the Artificers' Guilds of a 
 former day. They were- the means not only of many advantages 
 to the workmen, but in no small degree of the advancement of 
 art, as numerous monuments remain to prove. Such associa- 
 tions should be adapted to the requirements of the age in which 
 we live — an age of greater instruction, of different customs, 
 and of more numerous requirements in daily life. It is grati- 
 fying to know that there are actually in existence not a few 
 Societies of this nature, consisting either of workmen alone, 
 or of workmen and employers together; but it were greatly 
 to be desired that they should multiply and become more 
 effective. We have spoken of them more than once; but it 
 will be well to explain here how much they are needed, to show 
 that they exist by their own right, and to enter into their or- 
 ganization and their work. 
 
86 CHUECH AND LABOR 
 
 The experience of his own weakness urges man to call in 
 help from without. We read in the pages of Holy Writ: It is 
 better that two should he together than one; for they have the 
 advantage of their society. If one fall he shall he supported 
 hy the other. Woe to him that is alone, for when he falleth\ 
 he hath none to lift him up.^^ And further: A brother that 
 t« helped by his brother is like a strong city.^* It is this natural 
 impulse which unites men in civil society; and it is this also 
 which makes them band themselves together in associations of 
 citizen with citizen ; associations which, it is true, cannot be 
 called societies in the complete sense of the word, but which 
 are societies nevertheless. 
 
 These lesser societies and the society which constitutes the 
 State differ in many things, because their immediate purpose 
 and end is different. Civil society exists for the common good, 
 and, therefore, is concerned with the interests of all in general, 
 and with the individual interests in their due place and pro- 
 portion. Hence, it is called public society, because by its 
 means, as St. Thomas of Aquin says. Men communicate with 
 one another in the setting up of a commonivealth.^^ But the 
 societies which are formed in the bosom of the State are called 
 private, and justly so, because their immediate purpose is the 
 private advantage of the associates. Now, a private society, 
 says St. Thomas again, is one which is fofmed for the purpose 
 .of carrying out private business; as when two or three enter 
 into partnership with the view of trading in conjunction.^'^ 
 Particular societies, then, although they exist within the State, 
 and are each a part of the State, nevertheless cannot be pro- 
 hibited by the State absolutely and as such. For to enter 
 into " society " of this kind is the natural right of man ; and 
 the State must protect natural rights, not destroy them ; and if 
 it forbids its citizens to form associations, it contradicts the 
 very principle of its own existence; for both they and it exist 
 in virtue of the same principle, viz., the natural propensity 
 of man to live in society. 
 
 33 Ecclesiastes iv, 9, 10. 
 s* Proverbs xv, 3, 19. 
 
 35 Contra impugnantes Dei cultum et religionem, cap. II. 
 
 36 lUd. 
 
CONDITION OF THE WORKING CLASSES 87 
 
 There are times, no doubt, when it is right that the law should 
 interfere to prevent association; as when men join together for 
 purposes which are evidently bad, unjust or dangerous to the 
 State. In such cases the public authority may justly forbid 
 the formation of associations, and may dissolve them when they 
 already exist. But every precaution should be taken not to 
 violate the rights of individuals, and not to make unreasonable 
 regulations under the pretense of public benefit. Eor laws only 
 bind when they are in accordance with right reason, and there- 
 fore with the eternal law of God.^^ 
 
 THE ADVAITTAGES OT' LAWFUL COMBINATION 
 
 And here we are reminded of the Confraternities, Societies, 
 and Religious Orders which have arisen by the Church's author- 
 ity and the piety of the Christian people. The annals of every 
 nation down to our own times testify to what they have done 
 for the human race. It is indisputable on grounds of reason 
 alone, that such associations, being perfectly blameless in their 
 objects, have the sanction of the law of nature. On their re- 
 ligious side, they rightly claim to be responsible to the Church 
 alone. The administrators of the State, therefore, have no 
 rights over them, nor can they claim any share in their manage- 
 ment; on the contrary, it is the State's duty to respect and 
 cherish them, and, if necessary, to defend them from attack. 
 It is notorious that a very different course has been followed, 
 more especially in our own times. In many places the State 
 has laid violent hands on these communities, and committed 
 manifold injustice against them; it has placed them under the 
 civil law, taken away their rights as corporate bodies, and 
 robbed them of their property. In such property the Church 
 had her rights, each member of the body had his or her rights, 
 and there were also the rights of those who had founded or 
 endowed them for a definite purpose, and of those for whose 
 benefit and assistance they existed. Wherefore, We cannot re- 
 
 f Human law is Iwic only in virtue of its accordance with right reason: 
 wnd thus it is manifest that it flows from the eternal law. And in so far 
 as it deviates from right reason it is called an unjust laic; in such case it 
 is not law at all, hut rather a species of violence. — St. Thomas of Aquin, 
 Summa Theologioa, la 2x, Q. xciii, Art. 3. 
 
88 CHURCH AND LABOE 
 
 f rain from complaining of such spoliation as unjust and fraught 
 v.ith evil results ; and with the more reason because, at the very 
 time when the law proclaims that association is free to all, 
 We see that Catholic societies, however peaceable and useful, are 
 hindered in every way, whilst the utmost freedom is given to 
 men whose objects are at once hurtful to Religion and danger- 
 ous to the State. 
 
 Associations of every kind, and especially those of working 
 men, are now far more common than formerly. In regard to 
 many of these there is no need at present to inquire whence 
 they spring, what are their objects or what means they use. 
 But there is a good deal of evidence which goes to prove that 
 many of these societies are in the hands of invisible leaders, 
 and are managed on principles far from compatible with 
 Christianity and the public well-being; and that they do their 
 best to get into their hands the whole field of labor and to force 
 workmen either to join them or to starve. Under these cir- 
 cumstances the Christian workmen must do one of two things: 
 cither join associations in which their religion will be exposed 
 to peril, or form associations among themselves — unite their 
 forces and courageously shate off the yoke of unjust and 
 intolerable oppression, ^o one who does not wish to expose 
 man's chief good to extreme danger will hesitate to say that 
 the second alternative must by all means be adopted. 
 
 CATHOLIC BEETTEFIT AJTD IlSrSUEjLNCH SOCTEiTIES 
 
 Those Catholics are worthy of all praise — and there are 
 not a few — who, understanding what the times require, have, 
 by various enterprises and experiments, endeavored to better 
 the condition of the working people without any sacrifice of 
 principle. They have taken up the cause of the working man, 
 and have striven to make both families and individuals better 
 off; to infuse the spirit of justice into the mutual relations of 
 employer and employed ; to keep before the eyes of both classes 
 the precepts of duty and the laws of the Gospel — that Gospel 
 which, by inculcating self-restraint, keeps men within the 
 bounds of moderation, and tends to establish harmony among 
 the divergent interests and various classes which compose the 
 
CONDITION" OF THE WORKING CLASSES 89 
 
 State. It is with such ends in view that We see men of emi- 
 nence meeting together for discussion, for the promotion of 
 united action, and for practical work. Others, again, strive to 
 unite working people of various kinds into associations, help 
 them with their advice and their means, and enable them to ob- 
 tain honest and profitable work. The Bishops, on their part, 
 bestow their ready good-will and support; and with their ap- 
 proval and guidance many members of the clergy, both secular 
 Jind regular, labor assiduously on behalf of the spiritual and 
 mental interests of the members of Associations. And there 
 are not wanting Catholics possessed of aiBuence, who have, as 
 it were, cast their lot with the wage-earners, and who have spent 
 large sums in founding and widely spreading Benefit and In- 
 surance Societies, by means of which the working man may 
 without diflficulty acquire by his labor not only many present 
 advantages, but also the certainty of honorable support in time 
 to come. How much this multiplied and earnest activity has 
 benefited the community at large is too well known to require 
 ITs to dwell upon it. We find in it the grounds of the most 
 cheering hope for the future; provided that the Associations 
 We have described continue to grow and spread, and are well 
 and wisely administered. Let the State watch over these So- 
 cieties of citizens united together in the exercise of their right ; 
 but let it not thrust itself into their peculiar concerns and their 
 organization, for things move and live by the soul within them, 
 and they may be killed by the grasp of a hand from without. 
 
 In order that an Association may be carried on with a unity 
 of purpose and harmony of action, its organization and govern- 
 ment must be firm and wise. All such Societies, being free to 
 exist, have the further right to adopt such rules and organiza- 
 tion as may best conduce to the attainment of their objects. 
 We do not deem it possible to enter into definite details on the 
 subject of organization ; this must depend on national character, 
 on practice and experience, on the nature and scope of the work 
 to be done, on the magnitude of the various trades and em- 
 ployments, and on other circumstances of fact and of time — 
 all of which must be carefully weighed. 
 
90 CHUECH AND LAEOE 
 
 FOUND THE ORGANIZATIONS ON BEUQION 
 
 Speaking summarily, we may lay it down as a general and 
 perpetual law, that Workmen's Associations should be so or- 
 ganized and governed as to furnish the best and most suitable 
 means for attaining what is aimed at, that is to say, for help- 
 ing each individual member to better his condition to the ut- 
 most, in body, mind and property. It is clear that they must 
 pay special and principal attention to piety and morality, and 
 that their internal discipline must be directed precisely by these 
 considerations; otherwise they entirely lose their special char- 
 acter, and come to be very little better than those societies which 
 take no account of religion at all. What advantage can it be 
 to a Workman to obtain by means of a Society all that he 
 requires, and to endanger his soul for want of spiritual food? 
 What doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world and suffer 
 the loss of his own soul? ^* 
 
 This, as Our Lord teaches, is the note or character that dis- 
 tinguishes the Christian from the heathen. After all these 
 things do the heathens seek. . . . Seeh ye first the Kingdom of 
 God and His justice, a.nd all these things shall he added Umio 
 you}^ Let our Associations, then, look first and before all to 
 God; let religious instruction have therein a foremost place, 
 each one being carefully taught what is his duty to God, what 
 to believe, what to hope for, and how to work out his salva- 
 tion; and let all be warned and fortified with especial solici' 
 tude against wrong opinions and false teaching. Let the work- 
 ing man be urged and led to the worship of God, to the earnest 
 practice of religion, and, among other things, to the sanctifica- 
 tion of Sundays and festivals. Let him learn to reverence and 
 love Holy Church, the common Mother of us all; and so to 
 obey the precepts and frequent the Sacraments of the Church, 
 those Sacraments being the means ordained by God for obtain- 
 ing forgiveness of sin and for leading a holy life. 
 
 The foundations of the organization being laid in Religion, 
 We next go on to determine the relations of the members, one 
 to another, in order that they may live together in concord, and 
 
 38 St. Matthew xvi, 26. 
 so St. Matthew vi, 32, 33. 
 
CONDITION OF THE WORKING CLASSES 91 
 
 go on prosperously and successfully. The offices and charges 
 of the Society should be distributed for the good of the Society 
 itself, and in such manner that difference in degree or position 
 should not interfere with unanimity and good-will. Office- 
 bearers should be appointed with prudence and discretion, and 
 each one's charge should be carefully marked out ; thus no mem- 
 ber will suffer wrong. Let the common funds be administered 
 with strictest honesty, in such way that a member receives 
 assistance in proportion to his necessities. The rights and 
 duties of employers should be the subject of careful considera- 
 tion as compared with the rights and duties of the employed. 
 If it should happen that either a master or a workman deemed 
 himself injured, nothing would be more desirable than that 
 there should be a committee composed of honest and capable 
 men of the Association itself, whose duty is should be, by the 
 laws of the Association, to decide the dispute. Among the 
 purposes of a Society should be to try to arrange for a continu- 
 ous supply of work at all times and seasons; and to create a 
 fund from which the members may be helped in their necessities, 
 not only in case of accident, but also in sickness, old age, and 
 misfortune. 
 
 Such rules and regulations, if obeyed willingly by all, will 
 sufficiently ensure the well-being of poor people; whilst such 
 Mutual Associations among Catholics are certain to be produc- 
 tive, in no small degree, of prosperity to the State. It is not 
 rash to conjecture the future from the past. Age gives way 
 to age, but the events of one century are wonderfully like those 
 of another; for they are directed by the Providence of God, 
 ^^^lo overrules the course of history in accordance with His pur- 
 poses in creating the race of man. We are told that it was cast 
 as a reproach on the Christians of the early ages of the Church, 
 that the greater number of them had to live by begging or by 
 labor. Yet, destitute as they were of wealth and influence they 
 ended by winning over to their side the favor of the rich and 
 the good-will of the powerful. They showed themselves indus- 
 trious, laborious and peaceful, men of justice, and, above all, 
 men of brotherly love. In the presence of such a life and such 
 an example, prejudice disappeared, the tongue of malevolence 
 
92 CHURCH AND LABOE 
 
 was silenced, and the lying traditions of ancient superstition 
 yielded little by little to Christian truth. 
 
 At this moment the condition of the working population is the 
 question of the hour ; and nothing can be of higher interest to all 
 classes of the State than that it should be rightly and reasonably 
 decided. But it will be easy for Christian working men to de- 
 cide it aright if they form Associations, choose wise guides, and 
 follow the same path which with so much advantage to them- 
 selves and the commonwealth was trod by their fathers before 
 them. Prejudice, it is true, is mighty, and so is the love of 
 money; but if the sense of what is just and right be not de- 
 stroyed by depravity of heart, their fellow-citizens are sure to 
 be won over to a kindly feeling towards men whom they see to be 
 so industrious and so modest, who so unmistakably prefer hon- 
 esty to lucre, and the sacredness of duty to all other consider- 
 ations. 
 
 And another great advantage would result from the state of 
 things We are describing; there would be so much more hope 
 and possibility of recalling to a sense of their duty those work- 
 ing men who have either given up their faith altogether, or 
 whose lives are at variance with its precepts. These men, in 
 most cases, feel that they have been fooled by empty promises 
 and deceived by false appearances. They cannot but perceive 
 that their grasping employers too often treat them with the 
 greatest inhumanity, and hardly care for them beyond the profit 
 their labor brings; and if they belong to an Association, it is 
 probably one in which there exists, in place of charity and love, 
 that intestine strife which always accompanies unresigned and 
 irreligious poverty. Broken in spirit and worn down in body, 
 how many of them would gladly free themselves from this gall- 
 ing slavery ! But humau respect, or the dread of starvation, 
 makes them afraid to take the step. To such as these. Catholic 
 associations are of incalculable service, helping them out of 
 their difficulties, inviting them to companionship, and receiving 
 the repentant to a shelter in which they may securely trust. 
 
 We have now laid before you, Venerable Brethren, who are 
 the persons, and what are the means, by which this most diffi- 
 cult question must be solved. Every one must put his hand to 
 
CONDITION OF THE WORKING CLASSES 93 
 
 the -work whicli falls to his share, and that at once and im- 
 mediately, lest the evil -which is already so great may by delay 
 become absolutely beyond remedy. Those who rule the State 
 mnst use the law and the institutions of the country; masters 
 and rich men must remember their duty; the poor, whose in- 
 terests are at stake, must make every lawful and proper effort ; 
 since Religion alone, as We said at the beginning, can destroy 
 the evil at its root, all men must be persuaded that the primary 
 thing needful is to return to real Christianity, in the absence of 
 which all the plans and devices of the wisest will be of little 
 avail. 
 
 As far as regards the Church, its assistance will never be 
 wanting, be the time or the occasion what it may ; and it will 
 intervene with greater effect in proportion as its liberty of 
 action is the more unfettered; let this be carefully noted by 
 those whose office it is to provide for the public welfare. Every 
 minister of holy Religion must throw into the conflict all the 
 energy of his mind, and all the strength of his endurance ; with 
 your authority, Venerable Brethren, and by your example, they 
 must never cease to urge upon all men of every class, upon 
 the high as well as the lowly, the Gospel doctrines of Chris- 
 tian life; by every means in their power they must strive for 
 the good of the people ; and above all they must earnestly cherish 
 in themselves, and try to arouse in others, Charity, the mis- 
 tress and queen of virtues. For the happy results we all long 
 for must be chiefly brought about by the plenteous outpouring 
 of Charity; of that true Christian Charity which is the ful- 
 filling of the whole Gospel law, which is always ready to sacri- 
 fice itself for others' sake, and which is man's surest antidote 
 against worldly pride and immoderate love of self ; that Charity 
 whose ofiice is described and whose God-like features are drawn 
 by the Apostle St. Paul in these words : Charity is patient, is 
 kind,. . . . seeheth not her own, . . . suffereth all things, . . . 
 endureth all things.*^ 
 
 On each of you, Venerable Brethren, and on your Clergy and 
 people, as an earnest of God's mercy and a mark of our affec- 
 
 «» I Corinthians xiii, 4-7. 
 
94 CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 tion, We lovingly in the Lord bestow the Apostolic Benediction. 
 Given at St. Peter's in Rome, the fifteenth day of May, 1891, 
 the fourteenth year of our Pontificate. 
 
 LEO XIII., Pope. 
 
2. CHKISTIAN DEMOCKACY 
 
 By Pope Leo XIII 
 
 Apostolic Letter Graves de Communi, January 18, 1901 
 
 The grave discussions on economic questions which for some 
 time past have disturbed the peace of several countries of the 
 world are growing in frequency and intensity to such a degree 
 that the minds of thoughtful men are filled, and rightly so, vnth 
 worry and alarm. These discussions take their rise in the bad 
 philosophical and ethical teaching which is now widespread 
 among the people. The changes also which the mechanical in- 
 ventions of the age have introduced, the rapidity of communica- 
 tion between places, and the devices of every kind for diminish- 
 ing labor and increasing gain, all add bitterness to the strife ; 
 and lastly matters have been brought to such a pass by the 
 struggle between capital and labor, fomented as it is by pro- 
 fessional agitators, that the countries where these disturbances 
 most frequently occur, find themselves confronted with ruin 
 and disaster. 
 
 At the very b^inning of Our Pontificate, We clearly pointed 
 
 out what the peril was which confronted society on this head, 
 
 and We deemed it'Our duty to warn Catholics in unmistakable 
 
 language how great the error was which was lurking in the 
 
 utterances of Socialism, and how great the danger was that 
 
 threatened not only their temporal possessions, but also their 
 
 morality and religion. That was the purpose of Our Encyclical 
 
 Quod Apostolici Muneris which We published on the 28th of 
 
 December in the year 1878 ; but as these dangers day by day 
 
 threatened still greater disaster, both to individuals and the 
 
 commonwealth, We strove with all the more energy to avert 
 
 them. This was the object of Our Encyclical Rerum Novarum 
 
 of May 15th, 1891, in which We dwelt at length on the rights 
 
 and duties which both classes of society — those namely, who 
 
 95 
 
96 CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 control capital, and those who contribute labor — are bound in 
 relation to each other ; and at the same time We made it evident 
 that the remedies which are most useful to protect the cause 
 of religion, and to terminate the contest between the different 
 classes of society, were to be found in the precepts of the Gos- 
 pel. 
 
 THE WORK DONE AND THE QUESTION OF NAME 
 
 ISTor, with God's grace, were Our hopes entirely frustrated. 
 Even those who are not Catholics, moved by the power of 
 truth, avowed that the Church must be credited with a watch- 
 ful care over all classes of society, and especially those whom 
 fortune had least favored. Catholics of course profited abun- 
 dantly by these Letters, for they not only received encourage- 
 ment and strength for the admirable enterprises in which they 
 were engaged but also obtained the light which they desired, 
 by the help of which they were able with greater safety and with 
 more plentiful blessings to continue the efforts which they had 
 been making in the matter of which We are now speaking. 
 Hence it happened that the differences of opinion which pre- 
 vailed among them were either removed or their acrimony 
 diminished and the discussion laid aside. In the work which 
 they had undertaken this was effected, viz. : that in their efforts 
 for the elevation of the poorer classes, especially in those places 
 where the trouble is greatest, many new enterprises were set 
 on foot; those which were already established were increased 
 and all reaped the blessing of a greater stability imparted to 
 them. Some of these works were called Bureaus of the Peo- 
 ple, their object being to supply information. Rural savings 
 banks had been established, and various associations, some for 
 mutual aid, others of relief, were organized. There were work- 
 ing men's societies and other enterprises for work or benefi- 
 cence. Thus under the auspices of the Church, united action 
 of Catholics was secured as well as wise discrimination exer- 
 cised in the distribution of help for the poor who are often as 
 badly dealt with by chicanery and exploitation of their neces- 
 sities, as they are oppressed by indigence and toil. These 
 schemes of popular benevolence were, at first, distinguished by 
 
CHEISTIAN DEMOCRACY 97 
 
 no particular appellation. The name of Christian Socialism 
 with its derivatives which was adopted by some, was very prop- 
 erly allowed to fall into disuse. Afterwards some asked to have 
 it called The Popular Christian Movement. In the countries 
 most concerned with this matter, there are some who are known 
 as Social Christians. Elsewhere the movement is described 
 as Christian Democracy, and its partisans Christian Democrats, 
 in contradistinction to those who are designated as Socialists, 
 and whose system is known as Social Democracy. Not much 
 exception is taken to the former, i.e.. Social Christians, but 
 many excellent men find the term Christian Democracy objec- 
 tionable. They hold it to be very ambiguous and for this rea- 
 son open to two objections. It seems by implication to covertly 
 favor popular government, and to disparage other methods of 
 political administration. Secondly, it appears to belittle re- 
 ligion by restricting its scope to the care of the poor, as if the 
 other sections of society were not of its concern. More than 
 that, under the shadow of its name, there might easily lurk a 
 design to attack all legitimate power either civil or sacred. 
 Wherefore, since this discussion is now so widespread, so ex- 
 aggerated and so bitter, the consciousness of duty warns Us to 
 put a check on this controversy and to define what Catholics 
 are to think on this matter. We also propose to describe how 
 the movement may extend its scope and be made more useful 
 to the commonwealth. 
 
 CHEISTIABT DEMOCEACT VS. SOCIAi DEMOCRACY 
 
 What Social Democracy is and what Christian Democracy 
 ought to be, assuredly no one can doubt. The first, with' due 
 consideration to the greater or less intemperance of its utter- 
 ance, is carried to such an excess by many as to maintain that 
 there is really nothing existing above the natural order of 
 things, and that the acquirement and enjoyment of corporal 
 and external goods constitute man's happiness. It aims at 
 putting all government in the hands of the people, reducing 
 all ranks to the same level, abolishing all distinction of class, 
 and finally introducing community of goods. Hence, the right 
 of ownership is to be abrogated, and whatever property a man 
 
98 CHURCH AifD LABOR 
 
 possesses, or whatever means of livelihood he has, is to be com- 
 mon to all. 
 
 As against this, Christian Democracy, by the fact that it is 
 Christian, is built, and necessarily so, on the basic principles of 
 divine faith, and provides for the betterment of the masses, 
 with the ulterior object of availing itself of the occasion to 
 fashion their minds for things which are everlasting. Hence, 
 for Christian Democracy justice is sacred; it must maintain 
 that the right of acquiring and possessing property cannot be 
 impugned, and it must safeguard the various distinctions and 
 degrees which are indispensable in every well-ordered com- 
 monwealth. Finally jit must endeavor to preserve in every 
 human society the form and the character which God ever im- 
 presses on it. It is clear, therefore, that there is nothing in 
 common between Social and Christian Democracy. They dif- 
 fer from each other as much as the sect of Socialism differs from 
 the profession of Christianity. 
 
 CHBISTIAJSr DEMOCKACT NOT POLITICAI- 
 
 Moreover it would be a crime to distort this name of Chris- 
 tian Democracy to politics, for although democracy, both in 
 its philological and philosophical signification, implies popular 
 government, yet in its present application it is so to be employed 
 that, removing from it all political significance, it is to mean 
 nothing else than a benevolent and Christian movement in be- 
 half of the people. For the laws of nature and of the Gospel, 
 which by right are superior to all human contingencies, are 
 necessarily independent of all modifications of civil government, 
 while at the same time they are in concord with everything 
 that is not repugnant to morality and justice. They are, there- 
 fore, and they must remain absolutely free from political parties, 
 and have nothing to do with the various changes of administra- 
 tion which may occur in a nation; so that Catholics may and 
 ought to be citizens according to the constitution of any State, 
 guided as they are by those laws which command them to love 
 God above all things, and their neighbors as themselves. This 
 has always been the discipline of the Church. The Roman 
 Pontiffs acted upon this principle, whenever they dealt with 
 
CHEISTIAN DEMOOEACY 99 
 
 difierent countries, no matter what might be the character of 
 their governments. Hence, the mind and the action of Catho- 
 lics who are devoted to the amelioration of the working classes, 
 can never be actuated with the purpose of favoring and intro- 
 ducing one government in place of another. 
 
 NOT A MEEE CLASS MOVEMEU'T 
 
 In the same manner, from Christian Democracy We must 
 remove another possible subject of reproach, namely : that while 
 looking after the advantage of the working people they should 
 act in such a manner as to forget the upper classes of society; 
 for they also are of the greatest use in preserving and per- 
 fecting the commonwealth. As We have explained, the Chris- 
 tian law of charity will prevent Us from so doing. For it ex- 
 tends to all classes of society, and all should be treated as mem- 
 bers of the same family, as children of the same heavenly 
 Father, as redeemed by the same Saviour, and called to the same 
 eternal heritage. Hence the doctrine of the Apostle who warns 
 us that : " We are one body and one spirit called to the one 
 hope in our vocation ; one Lord, one Faith and one Baptism ; one 
 God and the Father of all who is above all, and through all, 
 and in us all." Wherefore on account of the nature of the 
 union which exists between the different classes of society and 
 which Christian brotherhood makes still closer, it follows that 
 no matter how great Our devotion may be in helping the peo- 
 ple, We should all the more keep Our hold upon the upper 
 classes, because association with them is proper and necessary, 
 as We shall explain later on, for the happy issue of the work 
 in which We are engaged. 
 
 H0« A m:ove.mbt!TT go? sedition 
 Let there be no question of fostering under this name of 
 Christian Democracy any intention of diminishing the spirit 
 of obedience, or of withdrawing people from their lawful rulers. 
 Both the natural and the Christian law command us to revere 
 those who, in their various grades are above us in the State, 
 and to submit ourselves to their just commands. It is quite in 
 keeping with our dignity as men and Christians to obey, not 
 
100 CHUE.CH AND LABOE 
 
 only exteriorly but from the heart, as the Apostle expresses it, 
 for conscience's sake, when he commands us to keep our soul 
 subject to the higher powers. It is abhorrent to the profession 
 of a Christian for any one to be unwilling to be subject and 
 obedient to those who rule in the Church, and first of all to the 
 bishops whom (without prejudice to the universal power of 
 the Eoman Pontiff) the Holy Ghost has placed to rule 
 the Church of God which Christ has purchased by His 
 blood. -^ He who thinks or acts otherwise is guilty of ignor- 
 ing the grave precept of the Apostle who bids us to 
 obey our rulers and to be subject to them, for they watch, 
 having to give an account of our souls. Let the faithful every- 
 where implant these principles deep in their souls, and put them 
 in practice in their daily life, and let the ministers of the Gospel 
 meditate them profoundly, and incessantly labor not merely by 
 exhortation but especially by example to make them enter into 
 the souls of others. 
 
 We have recalled these matters which on other occasions We 
 have made the subject of Our instructions, in the hope that 
 all dissension about the name of Christian Democracy will cease 
 and that all suspicion of any danger coming from what the 
 name signifies will be put at rest. And with reason do We 
 hope so; for neglecting the opinions of certain men, with re- 
 gard to the power and the efficacy of this kind of Christian 
 Democracy, which at times are exaggerated and are not free 
 from error, let no one, however, condemn that zeal which, ac- 
 cording to the natural and divine law, has this for its object, 
 viz. : to make the condition of those who toil more tolerable ; 
 to enable them to obtain, little by little, those means by which 
 they may provide for the future; to help them to practice in 
 public and in private the duties which morality and religion 
 inculcate ; to aid them to feel that they are not animals but men, 
 not heathens but Christians, and so to enable them to strive more 
 zealously and more eagerly for the one thing which is necessary, 
 viz. : that ultimate good for which we are all bom into this 
 world. This is the intention; this is the work of those who 
 wish that the people should be animated by Christian sentiments 
 
 lActs XX, 28. 
 
CHBISTIAN DEMOCEACY 101 
 
 and should be protected from the contamination of socialism 
 which threatens them. 
 
 IMPOETANCB OF EEXIGION AMD MOKALITT 
 
 ^ We have designedly made mention here of virtue and reli- 
 gion. For, it is the opinion of some, and the error is already 
 very common, that the social question is merely an economic 
 one, whereas in point of fact, it is above all a moral and re- 
 ligious matter, and for that reason must be settled by the prin- 
 ciples of morality and according to the dictates of religion. 
 For even though wages are doubled and the hours of labor are 
 shortened and food is cheapened, yet if the working man 
 hearkens to the doctrines that are taught on this subject, as 
 he is prone to do, and is prompted by the example set before 
 him to throw off respect for God and to enter upon a life 
 of immorality, his labors and his gain will avail him naught. 
 Trial and experience have made it abundantly clear that many 
 a workman lives in cramped and miserable quarters, in spite of 
 his shorter hours and larger wages, simply because he has 
 cast aside the restraints of morality and religion. Take away 
 the instinct which Christian virtue has planted and nurtured 
 in men's hearts, take away prudence, temperance, frugality, 
 patience, and other correct, natural habits, no matter how much 
 he may strive, he will never achieve prosperity. That is the 
 reason why We have incessantly exhorted Catholics to enter 
 these associations for bettering the condition of the laboring 
 classes, and to organize other undertakings with the same ob- 
 ject in view; but We have likewise warned them that all this 
 should be done under the auspices of religion, with its help and 
 under its guidance. 
 
 THE lAW OP CHARITY 
 
 The zeal of Catholics on behalf of the masses is especially 
 noteworthy by the fact that it is engaged in the very field in 
 which, under the benign inspiration of the Church, the active 
 industry of charity has always labored, adapting itself in all 
 classes to the varying exigencies of the times. For the law of 
 mutual charity perfects, as it were, the law of justice, not 
 
102 CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 merely by giving each man his due and in not impeding him in 
 the exercise of his rights, but also by befriending him in case 
 of need, " not with the word alone, or the lips, but in deed and 
 in truth " ; being mindful of what Christ so lovingly said to 
 His own : " A new commandment I give unto you, that you love 
 one another as I have loved you, that yoii love also one another. 
 By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you 
 have love one for the other." This zeal in coming to the 
 rescue of Our fellow men should, of course, be solicitous, first 
 for the imperishable good of the soul, but it must not neglect 
 what is necessary and helpful for the body. 
 
 We should remember what Christ said to the disciples of 
 the Baptist who asked him : " Art Thou He that art to come 
 or look we for another ? " He invoked as the proof of the mis- 
 sion given to Him among men. His exercise of charity, quoting 
 for them the text of Isaias : " The blind see, the lame walk, the 
 lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead rise again, the 
 poor have the Gospel preached to them." ^ And speaking also 
 of the Last Judgment and of the rewards and punishments He 
 will assign. He declared that He would take special account 
 of the charity men exercised towards each other. And in that 
 discourse there is one thing that especially excites our sur- 
 prise, viz. : that Christ omits those works of mercy which com- 
 fort the soul and refers only to external works which, although 
 done in behalf of men, He regards as being done to Himself. 
 " For I was hungry and you gave Me to eat ; I was thirsty and 
 you gave Me to drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 
 naked and you covered Me; sick and you visited Me; I was in 
 prison and you came to me." ^ 
 
 To the teachings which enjoin the twofold charity of spiritual 
 and corporal works, Christ adds His own example so that no one 
 may fail to recognize the importance which He attaches to it. 
 In the present instance we recall the sweet words that came from 
 His parental heart: I have pity on the multitude,^ as well as 
 the desire He had to assist them even if it were necessary to 
 invoke His miraculous power. Of His tender compassion we 
 
 2 Matt, xi, 5. 
 
 3 Matt. XXV, 35. 
 *Mark vii, 2. 
 
CHRISTIAN DEMOCEACY 103 
 
 have the proclamation made in Holy Writ, viz, : that He vs^ent 
 about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the 
 devil. ^ This law of charity which He imposed upon His 
 apostles, they in the most holy and zealous way put into prac- 
 tice ; and after them those who embraced Christianity originated 
 that wonderful variety of institutions for alleviating all the 
 miseries by which mankind is afflicted. And these institutions 
 carried on and continually increased their powers of relief and 
 vv'ere the especial glories of Christianity and of the civilization 
 of which it was the source, so that right-minded men never 
 fail to admire those foundations, aware as they are of the prone- 
 ness of men to concern themselves about their own and neglect 
 the needs of others. 
 
 ISTor are we to eliminate from the list of good works the giving 
 of money for charity, in pursuance of what Christ has said: 
 " But yet that which remaineth, ' give alms." * Against this, 
 the Socialist cries out and demands its abolition as injurious 
 to the native dignity of men. But if it is done in the manner 
 which the Scripture enjoins,'' and in conformity with the true 
 Christian spirit, it neither connotes pride in the giver nor 
 inflicts shame upon the one who receives. Ear from being dis- 
 honorable for man, it draws closer the bonds of human society 
 by augmenting the force of the obligation of the duties which 
 men are under with regard to each other. ITo one is so rich 
 that he does not need another's help; no one so poor as not 
 to be useful in some way to his fellow man; and the disposi- 
 tion to ask assistance from others with confidence, and to grant 
 it with kindness is part of our very nature. Thus justice and 
 charity are so linked with each other, under the equal and 
 sweet law of Christ, as to form an admirable cohesive power in 
 human society and to lead all of its members to exercise a sort 
 of providence in looking after their own and in seeking the 
 common good as well. 
 
 5 Acts X, 38. 
 
 6 Luke xi, 41. 
 
 7 Matt, vi, 2. 
 
104 CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS 
 
 As regards not merely the temporary aid given to the labor- 
 ing classes, but the establishment of permanent institutions in 
 their behalf, it is most commendable for charity to undertake 
 them. It will thus see that more certain and more reliable 
 means of assistance will be afforded to the necessitous. That 
 l<ind of help is especially worthy of recognition which forms 
 the minds of mechanics and laborers to thrift and foresight 
 so that in course of time they may be able, in part at least, to 
 look out for themselves. To aim at that is not only to dignify 
 the duty of the rich towards the poor, but to elevate the poor 
 themselves ; for while it urges them to work for a better degree 
 of comfort in their manner of living, it preserves them mean- 
 time from danger by checking extravagance in their desires, and 
 acts as a spur in the practice of the virtues proper to their 
 state. Since, therefore, this is of such great avail and so much 
 in keeping with the spirit of the times, it is a worthy object 
 for charity to undertake with all prudence and zeal. 
 
 Let it be understood, therefore, that this devotion of Catho- 
 lics to comfort and elevate the mass of the people is in keeping 
 with the spirit of the Church and is most conformable to the 
 examples which the Church has always held up for imitation. 
 It matters very little whether it goes under the name of " The 
 Popular Christian Movement," or " Christian Democracy," if 
 the instructions that have been given by Us be fully carried 
 out with the submission that is due. But it is of the greatest 
 importance that Catholics should be one in mind, will, and 
 action in a matter of such great moment. And it is also of 
 importance that the influence of these undertakings should 
 be extended by the multiplication of men and means devoted 
 to the same object. 
 
 COOPEEATION OF SOCIAXLT POWEEFUL 
 
 Especially must there be appeals to the kindly assistance of 
 those whose rank, worldly wealth, and culture give them im- 
 portance in the community. If their help is excluded, scarcely 
 anything can be done which will be of any assistance for the 
 wants which now clamor for satisfaction in this matter of the 
 
CHRISTIAN DEMOCRACY 105 
 
 -well-being of the people. Assuredly the more earnestly many 
 of those who are prominent in the State conspire effectively to 
 attain that object the quicker and surer will the end be reached. 
 We wish them to understand that they are not at all free to look 
 after or neglect those who happen to be beneath them, but 
 that it is a strict duty which binds them. For no one lives 
 only for his personal advantage in a community; he lives for 
 the common good as well, so that when others cannot contribute 
 tlieir share for the general object, those who can do so are 
 obliged to make up the deficiency. The very extent of the 
 benefits they have received increases the burden of their re- 
 sponsibility, and a stricter account will have to be rendered to 
 God who bestowed those blessings upon them. What should 
 also urge all to the fulfilment of their duty in this regard is 
 the widespread disaster which will eventually fall upon all 
 classes of society if this assistance does not arrive in time ; and 
 therefore is it that he who neglects the cause of the distressed 
 poor is not doing his duty to himself or to the State. 
 
 If this social movement extends its scope far and wide in a 
 true Christian fashion, and grows in its proper and genuine 
 spirit, there will be no danger, as is feared, that those other 
 institutions which the piety of our ancestors have established 
 and which are now flourishing, will decline or be absorbed by 
 new foundations. Both of them spring from the same root 
 of charity and religion, and not only do not conflict with each 
 other, but can be made to coalesce and combine so perfectly 
 as to provide by a union of their benevolent resources in a more 
 efficacious manner against the graver perils and necessities of 
 the people which confront us to-day. 
 
 DAWGEE OF EEVOLTJTIOITAET MOVEMENTS 
 
 The condition of things at present proclaims, and proclaims 
 vehemently, that there is need for a imion of brave minds with 
 all the resources they can command. The harvest of misery 
 is before Our eyes, and the dreadful projects of the most dis- 
 astrous national upheavals are threatening IJs from the grow- 
 ing power of the socialistic movement. They have insidiously 
 worked their way into the very heart of the State, and in the 
 
106 CHURCH AND LABOE 
 
 darkness of their secret gatherings, and in the open light of 
 day, in their writings and their harangues, they are urging the 
 masses onward to sedition ; they fling aside religious discipline, 
 they scorn duties and clamor only for rights ; they are working 
 incessantly on the multitudes of the needy which daily grow 
 greater, and which, because of their poverty, are easily deluded 
 and hurried off into ways that are evil. It is equally the con- 
 cern of the State and of religion, and all good men should deem 
 it a sacred duty to preserve and guard both in the honor which 
 is their due. 
 
 That this most desirable agreement of wills should be main- 
 tained, it is essential that all refrain from giving any causes 
 of dissension in hurting and alienating the minds of others. 
 Hence in newspapers and in speeches to the people, let them 
 avoid subtle and useless questions which are neither easy to 
 solve nor to understand except by minds of unusual ability and 
 only after the most serious study. It is quite natural for 
 people to think differently in doubtful questions, but those 
 who address themselves to these subjects in a proper spirit will 
 preserve their mental calm and not forget the respect which is 
 due to those who differ from them. If minds see things in an- 
 other light it is not necessary to become alienated forthwith. 
 To whatever opinion a man's judgment may incline, if the mat- 
 ter is yet open to discussion let him keep it, provided his mental 
 attitude is such that he is ready to yield if the Holy See should 
 otherwise decide. 
 
 NECESSITT FOE UNITED ACTION 
 
 This Catholic action, of whatever description it may be, 
 will work with greater effect if all of the various associations, 
 while preserving their individual rights, move together under 
 one primary and directive force. 
 
 In Italy We desire that this directive force should emanate 
 from the Catholic Congresses and Rennions so often praised by 
 Us, to further which Our predecessor and We Ourselves have 
 ordered that these meetings should be controlled and guided by 
 the bishops of the country. So let it be for other nations, in 
 
CHRISTIAN DEMOCRA.CY 107 
 
 ease there be any leading organization of this description to 
 which this matter has been legitimately entrusted. 
 
 Now in all questions of this sort where the interests of the 
 Church and the Christian people are so closely allied, it is 
 evident what they who are in the sacred ministry should do, 
 and it is clear how industrious they should be in inculcating 
 right doctrine and in teaching the duties of prudence and char- 
 ity. To go out and move among the people, to exert a healthy 
 influence on them by adapting themselves to the present condi- 
 tion of things is what more than once in addressing the clergy 
 We have advised. More frequently also in writing to the 
 bishops and other dignitaries of the Church, and especially of 
 late (to the Minister General of the Minorites, November 25, 
 1898) We have lauded this affectionate solicitude for the peo^ 
 pie and declared it to be the especial duty of both the secular 
 and regular clergy. But in the fulfilment of this obligation let 
 there be the greatest caution and prudence exerted, and let it 
 be done after the fashion of the saints. Francis, who was poor 
 and humble, Vincent of Paul, the Father of the afflicted classes, 
 and very many others whom the Church keeps ever in her 
 memory, were wont to lavish their care upon the people, but 
 in such wise as not to be engrossed overmuch or to be un- 
 mindful of themselves, or to let it prevent them from laboring 
 with the same assiduity in the perfection of their own soul and 
 the cultivation of virtue. 
 
 PRACTTCAI. PEINCIPLES 
 
 There remains one thing upon which We desire to insist 
 very strongly, in which not only the ministers of the Gospel, 
 but also all those who are devoting themselves to the cause 
 of the people, can with very little difficulty bring about a most 
 commendable result. That is to inculcate in the minds of the 
 people, in a brotherly way and whenever the opportunity pre- 
 sents itself, the following principles, viz.: to keep aloof on 
 all occasions from seditious acts and seditious men; to guard 
 inviolate the rights of others; to show a proper respect to 
 superiors ; to willingly perform the work in which they are em- 
 
108 CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 ployed ; not to grow weary of the restraint of family life which 
 in many ways is so advantageous ; to keep their religious prac- 
 tices above all, and in their hardships and trials to have re- 
 course to the Church for consolation. In the furtherance of 
 all this, it is very eflScacious to propose the splendid example of 
 the Holy Family of Nazareth, and to advise the invocation 
 of its protection, and it also helps to remind the people of the 
 examples of sanctity which have shone in the midst of poverty, 
 and to hold up before them the reward that awaits them in the 
 better life to come. 
 
 UNDEE THE CONTKOL OF THE BISHOPS 
 
 Finally, We recur again to what We have already .declared 
 and We insist upon it most solemly, viz. : that whatever pro- 
 jects individuals or associations form in this matter should be 
 done with due regard to Episcopal authority and absolutely 
 under Episcopal guidance. Let them not be led astray by an 
 excessive zeal in the cause of charity. If it leads them to be 
 wanting in proper submission it is not a sincere zeal ; it will 
 not have useful result and cannot be acceptable to God. God 
 delights in the souls of those who put aside their own designs 
 and obey the rulers of His Church as if they were obeying Him ; 
 He assists them even when they attempt difficult things and 
 benignly leads them to their desired end. Let them show also 
 examples of virtue, so as to prove that a Christian is a hater 
 of idleness and indulgence, that he gives willingly from his 
 goods for the help of others, and that he stands firm and un- 
 conquered in the midst of adversity. Examples of that kind 
 have a power of moving people to dispositions of soul that 
 make for salvation, and have all the greater force as the condi- 
 tion of those who give them is higher in the social scale. 
 
 We exhort you, Venerable Brethren, to provide for all this, 
 as the necessities of men and of places may require, according 
 to your prudence and your zeal, meeting as usual in coun- 
 cil to combine with each other in your plans for the further- 
 ance of these projects. Let your solicitude watch and let your 
 authority be effective in controlling, compelling, and also in 
 preventing; lest any one imder the pretext of good should 
 
CHRISTIAN DEMOCRACY 109 
 
 cause the vigor of sacred discipline to be relaxed or the order 
 which Christ has established in His Church to be disturbed. 
 Thus by the correct, concurrent, and ever-increasing labor of 
 all Catholics, the truth will flash out more brilliantly than ever, 
 viz. : that truth and true prosperity flourish especially among 
 those peoples whom the Church controls and influences; and 
 that she holds it as her sacred duty to admonish every one of 
 what the law of God enjoins to unite the rich and the poor 
 in the bonds of fraternal charity, and to lift up and strengthen 
 men's souls in the times when adversity presses heavily upon 
 them. 
 
 Let Our commands and Our wishes be confirmed by the 
 words which are so full of apostolic charity which the blessed 
 Paul addressed to the Romans : " I beseech you therefore, breth- 
 ren, be reformed in the newness of your mind ; he that giveth, 
 with simplicity ; he that ruleth, with carefulness ; he that showeth 
 mercy with cheerfulness. Let love be without dissimulation 
 — hating that which is evil ; clinging to that which is good ; lov- 
 ing one another with the charity of brotherhood; with honor 
 preventing one another ; in carefulness, not slothful ; rejoicing 
 in hope ; patient in tribulation ; instant in prayer. Communi- 
 cating to the necessities of the saints. Pursuing hospitality. 
 Rejoice with them that rejoice; weep with them that weep; be- 
 ing of one mind to one another; to no man rendering evil 
 for evil; providing good things not only in the sight of God 
 but also in the sight of men." 
 
 As a pledge of these benefits receive the Apostolic Benedic- 
 tion which, Venerable Brethren, We grant most lovingly in the 
 Lord to you and your clergy and people. 
 
3, APOSTOLIC LETTEE OF POPE PIUS X TO THE 
 BISHOPS OF ITALY OE" CATHOLIC SOCIAL 
 ACTION 1 
 
 A. Inteoductiokt 
 
 1. Social Worh Deserves High Praise 
 
 In our first encyclical to the Bishops of the world, in which 
 we echoed all that our glorious predecessors had laid down 
 concerning the Catholic action of the laity, we declared that 
 this action was deserving of the highest praise, and was indeed 
 necessary in the present condition of the Church and of society. 
 And we cannot but praise warmly the zeal shown by so many 
 illustrious personages who have for a long time dedicated them- 
 selves to this glorious task, and the ardor so many brilliant 
 young people who have eagerly hastened to lend their aid to 
 the same. The nineteenth Catholic Congress lately held at 
 Bologna, and by us promoted and encouraged, has sufficiently 
 proved to all the vigor of the Catholic forces as well as what 
 useful and salutary results may be obtained among the faithful 
 people, when this action is well governed and disciplined, and 
 when unity of thought, sentiment, and action prevail among 
 those who take part in it. 
 
 2. Unity and Harmony are Necessary in Social Work 
 But we are very sorry to find that certain differences which 
 arose in the midst of them, have produced discussions unfor- 
 tunately too vivacious, which, if not stopped in time, might 
 serve to divide those forces of which we have spoken, and render 
 them less efficacious. Before the Congress we recommended 
 above all things unity and harmony, in order that it might 
 
 1 The greater part of this document is drawn from the two immediately 
 preceding. It is included here because it shows that the social teaching of 
 Leo was explicitly confirmed by Pius, and because it presents a convenient 
 summary of the most important principles contained in that teaching. 
 
 110 
 
APOSTOLIC LETTER OF POPE PIUS X 111 
 
 be possible to lay down by common accord the general lines for 
 tbe practical working of the Catholic movement; we cannot 
 therefore be silent now. And since divergences of view in mat- 
 ters of practice have commonly their origin in the domain of 
 theory, and indeed, find their support in the latter, it is neces- 
 sary to define clearly the principles on which the entire Catho- 
 lic movement must be based. 
 
 3. \ Rules Oiven hy Leo 
 Our illustrious predecessor, Leo XIII, of holy memory, 
 traced out luminously the rules that must be followed in the 
 Christian movement among the people in the great encyclicals 
 Quod Apostolici Muneris, of December 28, 1873; Rerum 
 Novarum, of May 15, 1891, and Graves de Communi, of Jan- 
 uary 18, 1901 ; and further in a particular Instruction emanat- 
 ing from the Sacred Congregation for Extraordinary Affairs, 
 of January 27, 1902. 
 
 4. Strict Ohligation to Observe These Rules 
 And we, realizing, as did our predecessor, the great need 
 that the Christian movement among the people be rightly 
 governed and conducted, desire to have those most prudent 
 rules exactly and completely fulfilled, and to provide that no- 
 body may dare depart from them in the smallest particular. 
 Hence, to keep them more vividly present before people's minds, 
 we have deemed it well to summarize them from those same 
 documents in the following articles, which will constitute the 
 fundamental plan of the Catholic popular movement, and must 
 form the constant rule of their conduct for all Catholics. 
 
 B. The ISTineteen Eules 
 1. Fundamental Truths 
 
 HUMAN SOCIETT 
 
 1) Human society, as established by God, is composed of 
 unequal elements, just as the different parts of the human body 
 are unequal; to make them all equal is impossible, and would 
 mean the destruction of human society itself. (Encyclical, 
 Ouod Avostolici Muneris.) 
 
112 CHURCH AND LABOE 
 
 PERSONAL EQUAUTT 
 
 2) The equality existing among the various social members 
 consists only in this : that all men have their origin in God the 
 Creator, have been redeemed by Jesus Christ, and are to be 
 judged and rewarded or punished by God exactly according to 
 their merits or demerits, (Encyclical, Quod ApostoUci 
 Mwneris.) 
 
 SOCIAX, INEQUALITY 
 
 3) Hence it follows that there are in human society, a3Cord- 
 ing to the ordinance of God, princes and subjects, masters and 
 proletarians, rich and poor, learned and ignorant, nobles and 
 plebeians, all of whom, united in the bonds of love, are to help 
 one another to attain their last end in Heaven, and their 
 material and moral welfare here on earth. (Encyclical, Quod 
 ApostoUci Muneris.) 
 
 PRIVATE OWNERSHIP 
 
 4) Of the goods of the earth man has not merely the use, 
 like the brutes, but he has also the right of permanent pro- 
 prietorship; and not merely of those things which are con- 
 sumed by use, but also of those not consumed by use. (En- 
 cyclical, Rerum Novarwm.) 
 
 5) The right of private property, the fruit of labor or in- 
 dustry, or of concession or donation by others, is an incon- 
 trovertible natural right; and everbody can dispose reasonably 
 of such property as he thinks fit. (Encyclical, Berwm 
 Novarwm. ) 
 
 JUSTICE AND CHARITY 
 
 6) To heal the breach between the rich and the poor, it 
 is necessary to distinguish between justice and charity. There 
 can be no claim for redress except when justice is violated. 
 (Encyclical, Rerum. Novarwm.') 
 
 2. Obligations of Justice 
 
 DUTIES OF EMPLOYEES 
 
 T) The following are obligations of justice binding on the 
 proletarian and on the workingman : to perform fully and faith- 
 
APOSTOLIC LETTEE OE POPE PIUS X 113 
 
 fully the work which has been freely and, according to equity, 
 agreed upon ; not to injure the property or outrage the person 
 of masters ; even in the defense of their own rights to abstain 
 from acts of violence, and never to make mutiny of their de- 
 fense. (Encyclical, Rerum Novarum.) 
 
 DUTIES 05' EMPLOYEES 
 
 8) The following are obligations of justice binding on capi- 
 talists and masters: To pay just wages to their workingmen; 
 not to injure their just savings by violence or fraud, or by 
 overt or covert usuries; to give them liberty to fulfill their 
 religious duties; not to expose them to corrupting seductions 
 and danger of scandal ; not to alienate them from the spirit 
 of family life and f ro'm love of economy ; not to impose on 
 them labor beyond their strength, or unsuitable for their age or 
 sex. (Encyclical, Berum Novarum.) 
 
 3. Obligations of Charity 
 
 THE RICH 
 
 9) It is an obligation for the rich and those who own prop- 
 erty to succor the poor and the indigent, according to the 
 precepts of the Gospel. This obligation is so grave that on 
 the Day of Judgment special account will be demanded by its 
 fulfillment, as Christ Himself has said. (Matthew xxv., 
 14-46.) (Encyclical, Berum Novarum.) 
 
 THE POOB 
 
 10) The poor should not be ashamed of their poverty, nor 
 disdain the charity of the rich ; for they should have especially 
 in view Jesus the Eedeemer, who, though He might have been 
 bom in riches, made HimseK poor in order that He might 
 ennoble poverty and enrich it with incomparable merits for 
 Heaven. (Encyclical, Berum Novarum.) 
 
 4. Christian Democracy 
 
 SOCIAL AIDS SOUGHT BY CHBISTIAN DEMOCRACY 
 
 11) For the solution of the social question much can be 
 done by the capitalists and the workmen themselves through 
 
114 CHURCH AND LABOE 
 
 meanc of institutions designed to provide timely aid for the 
 needy and to bring together and unite mutually the two classes. 
 Among these institutions are mutual aid societies, various kinds 
 of private insurance societies, unions for the protection of 
 youth, and, above all, associations among the different trades 
 and professions. (Encyclical, Berum Novarum.) 
 
 CHBISTIAN DEMOC'EACT BUILT ON CHiUSTIAN PEINCIPLB 
 
 12) This end is especially aimed at by the Christian Popular 
 Movement or Christian Democracy in its many and varied 
 branches. But Christian Democracy must be taken in the sense 
 already authoritatively defined. Totally different from that 
 of Social Democracy, it has for its basis the principles of 
 Catholic faith and morals, especially the principle of not in- 
 juring in any way the inviolable right of private property. 
 (Encyclical, Graves de Communi.) 
 
 CHEISTIAN DEMOCEACY TO AVOID POLITICS 
 
 13) Moreover, Christian Democracy must have nothing to 
 do with politics, and never serve political ends or parties; this 
 is not its field ; but it must be a beneficent movement for the 
 good of the people, founded on the law of nature and the pre- 
 cepts of the Gospel. (Encyclical, Graves de Communi and 
 Instruction of the S. Cong, for E.E. Affairs.) 
 
 Christian Democrats in Italy must abstain from participat- 
 ing in any political action whatsoever which is under present 
 circumstances forbidden to every Catholic for reasons of the 
 highest order. (Instruction of the S. Cong, for E.E. Affairs.) 
 
 CHRISTIAN DEMOCEACY TO DEPEND O'N E'CCLESIASTICAl, 
 AUTHOIEITY 
 
 14) In performing its functions. Christian Democracy is 
 most strictly bound to depend upon Ecclesiastical Authority, 
 and to render full submission and obedience to the Bishops and 
 those who represent them. There is no meritorious zeal or 
 sincere piety in enterprises, however beautiful and good in 
 themselves, when they, are not approved by the legitimate pastor. 
 (Encyclical, Graves de Communi.) 
 
APOSTOLIC LETTER OF POPE PIUS X 115 
 
 CHElSTlAJSr DBIMOCEACT IN ITALY 
 
 15) In order that the Christian Democratic movement in 
 Italy may be united in its efforts, it must be under the direc- 
 tion of the Association of Catholic Congresses and Commit- 
 tees, which, during many years of praiseworthy labor, has de- 
 served so well of Holy Church, and to which Pius IX, and 
 Leo XIII, of holy memory, have entrusted the charge of di- 
 recting the whole Catholic movement, always, of course, under 
 the auspices and guidance of the Bishops. (Encyclical, Graves 
 de Communi.) 
 
 5. Duties of Catholic Social Writers 
 
 SUBJECTIO?r TO THE HOLT SEE 
 
 16) Catholic writers must, in all that touches religious in- 
 terests and the action of the Church in society, subject them- 
 selves entirely in intellect and will, like all the other faithful 
 Catholics, to their bishops and to the Eoman Pontiff. They 
 must, above all, take care not to anticipate the judgments of the 
 Holy See in any important matter. (Instruction of the Cong, 
 for E.E. Affairs.) 
 
 ECCLESIABTTCAL, PEEMISSIOOSr FOE THEIE PUBLICATIONS 
 
 17) Christian Democratic writers must, like all other Cath- 
 olic writers, submit to the previous examination of the Ordinary 
 all writings which concern religion. Christian morals, and nat- 
 ural ethics, by virtue of the Constitution Oficorum et Munerum 
 (Art. 41). By the same Constitution ecclesiastics must obtain 
 the previous consent of the Ordinary even for the publication 
 of writings of a merely technical character. (Instruction of the 
 Cong, for E.E. Affairs.) 
 
 CHARITY AND HAEMdNY AMONG THEMSELVES AND OBEDIENCE 
 TO ECCLESIASTICAL AUTHORITY 
 
 18) They must, moreover, make every effort and every sacri- 
 fice to ensure that charity and harmony may reign among them, 
 avoiding every kind of injurious and censorious language. 
 When causes of disagreement arise, they should, instead of 
 printing anything on the matter in the papers, refer if to the 
 
lie CHURCH AND LABOE 
 
 ecclesiastical authority, which will then act with justice. When 
 taken to task hy the ecclesiastical authority, let them obey 
 promptly without evasion or public complaints, the right of 
 appeal to a higher authority being understood when the case 
 requires it and when made in the right way. (Instruction of 
 the Cong, for E.E. Affairs.) 
 
 19) Finally, let Catholic writers take care, when defend- 
 ing the cause of the proletariat and the poor, not to use lan- 
 guage calculated to inspire among the people aversion to the 
 upper classes of society. Let them refrain from speaking of 
 redress and justice when the matter comes within the domain 
 of charity only, as has been explained above. Let them remem- 
 ber that Jesus Christ endeavored to unite all men in the bond 
 of mutual love, which is the perfection of justice, and which 
 carries with it the obligation of working for the welfare of 
 one another. (Instruction of the Cong, for E.E. Affairs.) 
 
 C. CoNCLtrSION 
 
 1. All Social WorJcers Ought to Know and Observe These 
 
 Rules 
 The foregoing fundamental rules we of our own initiative 
 and with certain knowledge do renew by our apostolic authority 
 in all their parts, and we ordain that they be transmitted to 
 all Catholic Committees, Societies, and Unions of whatever 
 kind and form. All these societies are to keep them exposed in 
 their rooms and to have them read frequently at their meetings. 
 We ordain, moreover, that the Catholic papers publish them in 
 their entirety, declare their own observance of them reli- 
 giously; failing to do this they are to be gravely admonished 
 and if they do not then amend, let them be interdicted by 
 ecclesiastical authority. 
 
 2. Social Worlcers Mu^t Lead an Exemplary Life 
 But as words and energetic action are of no avail unless 
 preceded, accompanied and followed constantly by example, the 
 necessary characteristic which should shine forth in all the 
 members of every Catholic association, is that of openly mani- 
 festing their faith by the holiness of their lives, by the spotless- 
 
APOSTOLIC LETTER OE POPE PIUS X llY 
 
 ness of their morals, and by the scrupulous observance of the 
 laws of God and of the Church. And this because it is the duty 
 of every Christian, and also in order " that he who is on the 
 contrary part, may be afraid, having no evil to say of us." 
 (Tit. 11:8.) 
 
 3. God's Blessing on the Worh 
 From this solicitude of ours for the common good of Catho- 
 lic action, especially in Italy, we hope, through the blessing of 
 God, to reap abundant and happy fruits. 
 
 Given at Rome, at St. Peter's, on December 18, 1903, in the 
 first year of our Pontificate. 
 
 PIUS X., Pope. 
 
4. EXTRACTS FEOM LETTER OF POPE PIUS X 
 CONDEMNING LE BILLON ^ 
 
 THE SILLON AJTD CATHOLICISM 
 
 And now, penetrated with the keenest sorrow, we ask you, 
 Venerable Brethren, what has become of the Catholicism of 
 the Sillon? Alas! that which once held out such fair hopes, 
 this clear rushing stream has been captured in its course by the 
 modem enemies of the Church, and only forms a miserable 
 ti'ibutary of the great movement of apostasy, organised in every 
 country, for the establishment of a universal Church, which shall 
 have neither dogmas nor hierarchy, neither rule for the mind 
 nor bit for the passions; which, under the pretexts of liberty 
 and human dignity, and if it could have its way, would bring 
 into the world the legal reign of deceit and might, and oppres- 
 sion of the weak and of those who suffer and toil. 
 
 We know but too many dark laboratories where these noxious 
 doctrines, which should deceive no clear-minded man, are con- 
 
 iThia document was issued August 25, 1910. Le Sillon ("The Fur- 
 row") was an organization of French Catholics, founded by M. Marc 
 Sangier, to improve the condition of the working classes in response to 
 the call of Pope Leo XIII. Within a few years it became exceedingly 
 powerful, but the zeal and enthusiasm of its leaders were not tempered by 
 that moderation, sound doctrine and religious loyalty which are essential 
 in a movement truly Catholic. Despite the counsel and admonitions of 
 the French Bishops, Le Sillon continued to exhibit dangerous tendencies 
 and to preach dangerous doctrines. At length it was condemned by Pope 
 Pius X, as disloyal to ecclesiastical authority, as propagating social doc- 
 trines contrary to those laid down by Pope Leo XIII, and as attempting 
 to commit the Church to the support of democratic forms of government 
 exclusively. Inasmuch as these errors were, upon the publication of the 
 Pope's Letter, promptly renounced by M. Sangier and the other leaders of 
 Le Sillon, and inasmuch as the errors never obtained a serious foothold In 
 Catholic social movements outside of France, the greater part of the Letter 
 has been omitted from this volume. The two sections that have been in- 
 cluded are pertinent to-day, and have a universal and permanent appli- 
 cation to social movements and conditions. 
 
 118 
 
FEOM THE LETTER OF POPE PIUS X 119 
 
 cocted. The leaders of the Sillon are unable to defend them- 
 selves against them : the exaltation of their sentiments, the blind 
 goodness of their hearts, their philosophical mysticism mingled 
 with illuminism, have dragged them towards a new gospel, in 
 which they think they see the true Gospel of the Saviour, so 
 much so, that they dare to treat Our Lord Jesus Chrich with the 
 most disrespectful familiarity; and their ideal being the off- 
 spring of the Eevolution, they do not fear to make blasphemous 
 conciliations between the Gospel and the Revolution, which have 
 not the excuse of being done in excitement and sudden hurry. 
 We would draw your close attention, Venerable Brethren, 
 to this defacement of the Gospel and the sacred character of 
 Our Lord Jesus Christ, God and Man, carried on in the Sil- 
 lon and elsewhere. As soon as the social question is broached, 
 it is the fashion in certain quarters first to make away with 
 tbe divinity of Jesus Christ, and then only to speak of His 
 sovereign gentleness. His compassion for all human misery, His 
 pressing calls to love of our neighbour and to brotherhood. 
 Jesus has indeed loved us with a boundless and infinite love; 
 He came upon earth to suffer and die that all men, united round 
 Him in justice and love, might live in peace and happiness. 
 But for the realisation of this temporal and eternal happiness. 
 He has, with sovereign authority, laid down the condition that 
 men should be of His flock, accept His doctrine, practise vir- 
 tue, ajid take their teaching and guidance from Peter and his 
 successors. If, again, Jesus was kind to those who have strayed 
 and sinned. He showed no tolerance for their erroneous con- 
 victions, however sincere they appeared to be ; He has loved all 
 to instruct, convert and save them. If He called those who 
 labour and are heavy-burdened to Him to relieve them, it was 
 not to preach to them an insane ambition for equality. If 
 He raised the lowly, it was not to inspire them with the feel- 
 ing of an independent dignity that refuses obedience. If His 
 heart overflowed with gentleness for men of goodwill. He also 
 knew how to arm Himself with a righteous indignation against 
 those who profane the house of God, against the wretches who 
 scandalise little ones, against governors who overwhelm the 
 people under the weight of heavy burdens without raising a 
 
120 CHUECH AND LABOK 
 
 finger to relieve them. He was as strong as He was tender; 
 He reprimanded, threatened and chastised, knowing and teach- 
 ing us that oftentimes fear is the beginning of wisdom, and that 
 sometimes it is well to cut off a limb to save the body. Lastly, 
 He never announced a reign of ideal felicity, which would 
 know no suffering for the society of the future ; rather did He, 
 by precept and example, point the way of possible happiness 
 on earth and perfect happiness in heaven — the royal road 
 of the Cross. This is teaching which it would be wrong to 
 apply only to individual life and eternal salvation ; it is teach- 
 ing which is eminently social, and reveals to us in Our Lord 
 Jesus Christ something quite different from a mere humani- 
 tarianism utterly lacking in stability and authority. 
 
 THE CUEEGY A17D SOCIAI, ACTION 
 
 For yourselves. Venerable Brethren, do you actively continue 
 the work of the Saviour of mankind by the imitation of His 
 sweetness and strength. Look tenderly on all human miseries, 
 let no sorrow escape your pastoral solicitude, no cry find you 
 indifferent. But, at the same time, preach their duties boldly 
 to great and small; it is your duty to form the conscience of 
 the people and of the public powers. The social question will 
 be very near solution when both these, grown less exacting about 
 their mutual rights, shall fulfill their duties more exactly. And 
 as, moreover, in the conflict of interests, and especially in 
 the struggle with dishonest forces, a man's virtue or sanctity 
 even may not be sufficient to ensure him daily bread, and as 
 social machinery ought to be so organized that by its natural 
 play it should paralyse the efforts of the vicious and put their 
 legitimate share of temporal happiness within the reach of all 
 men of goodwill, it is our earnest wish that you shall take an 
 active part in the organisation of society for this purpose. To 
 this end, whilst your priests devote themselves with ardour to 
 work for the sanctification of souls, the defence of the Church 
 and works of charity strictly so-called, choose some from 
 amongst them, men who are active and stable-minded, possess- 
 ing the degrees of doctor in philosophy and theology, and a 
 thorough knowledge of the history of ancient and modem civili- 
 
FROM THE LETTER OF POPE PIUS X 121 
 
 sation, and apply them to the less elevated and more practical 
 study of social science, in order that at the right time they may 
 be put at the head of your Catholic action. And let not these 
 priests allow themselves to be led away in the maze of con- 
 temporary opinion, by the mirage of a false democracy ; let them 
 not borrow from the rhetoric of the worst enemies of the Church 
 and of the people an emphatic language which is crammed 
 with promises as high-sounding as they are impossible. Let 
 them remember that the social question and social science were 
 not bom yesterday ; that at all times the Church and the State, 
 happily working together, have established for this purpose or- 
 ganisations that have proved fruitful ; that the Church which has 
 never betrayed the happiness of the people by compromising 
 alliances, has not to sever herself from the past, and that she 
 has only to take up again, with the assistance of the true 
 workers of the social restoration, the organisms destroyed by the 
 Revolution, and in the same Christian spirit which inspired 
 them, to adapt them to the new situation created by the material 
 development of contemporary society; for the true friends of 
 the people are neither revolutionaries nor innovators, but tradi- 
 tionalists. 
 
5. ENCYCLICAL LETTEE OF POPE PIUS X TO THE 
 GERMAN HIEEARCHY ON CATHOLIC AND CHEIS- 
 TIAN LABOE UNIONS 
 
 Editor's Introduction 
 
 EoB an intelligent understanding of this Encyclical of Pope 
 Pius X, written in 1912, an explanation of the trade union con- 
 ditions in Germany at this period is necessary. It will afford 
 an occasion at the same time of explaining the nature of the 
 Catholic and Christian labor unions that have long been in 
 existence in various parts of Europe. 
 
 The modern labor movement in Germany was unfortunately 
 dominated, almost from its inception, by atheistic influences. 
 The two earliest classes of workingmen's associations, one 
 Liberalistic and playing into the hands of the capitalists, the 
 other frankly Socialistic, were equally bent upon destroying 
 every vestige of faith in the hearts of the German people. 
 These dangers were met at once by the organizations formed 
 under the inspiration of the great Bishop Ketteler. Later de- 
 velopments did not change the antagonistic attitude towards re- 
 ligion assumed by the trade unions of the country. Catholics 
 were thus obliged to form their own labor unions, whether in 
 conjunction with members of other Christian denominations, or 
 exclusively among themselves. Thus two classes of labor unions 
 arose with Catholic membership, the one known as the Chris- 
 tian syndicates (Christliche Oewerkschaften) , including Prot- 
 estants who subscribed to their economic program, and the 
 other retaining the name Catholic. 
 
 To explain the origin of the latter we must refer to the 
 
 ■Workingmen's Associations (Arheitervereine). To these the 
 
 Pope also alludes, making the membership in them obligatory 
 
 for every trade unionst belonging to the Christian syndicates, 
 
 while the Socialist organizations are of course banned entirely. 
 
 The essential purpose of the Workingmen's Association is 
 
 122 
 
LETTER TO THE GEEMAN HIERARCHY 123 
 
 not to champion the economic interests of the workers in their 
 respective trades, hut to offer the laborers an opportunity for 
 the desired intellectual, moral and religious education, and 
 to further their development in a manner that will make of 
 them good citizens, loyal Catholics, and socially enlightened 
 members of their own industrial class. Special work of an 
 economic nature, that does not embrace trade-union activities, is 
 also undertaken, such as the promotion of an active interest in 
 the solution of the housing problem, and countless similar ques- 
 tions. The following detailed description of their manifold 
 purpose is translated from their statutes as they existed at the 
 date of the Encyclical, and is taken from the authoritative 
 work upon this subject, by Dr. Otto Miiller:^ 
 
 (1) Preservation and furtherance of religion' and morality on the 
 part of the members, in close connection with the Church. 
 
 (2) Instruction and enlightenment of members concerning the 
 aims of Christian social reform and the combating of Socialistic 
 errors. 
 
 (3) Instruction of members concerning their rights and duties as 
 citizens. 
 
 (4) Protection and furtherance of the economic interests of the 
 ■workingmen, particularly by educating them to cooperate practically 
 in the efforts made for the social and economic uplifting of their 
 state. 
 
 (5) Promotion of general education and vocational trade educa- 
 tion among the members. 
 
 (6) Creation of benevolent institutions. 
 
 X?) I'urtherance of the virtues of their state in life and a Chris- 
 tian refinement of their class-consciousness. 
 
 (8) Cultivation of a genuine fellowship, and promotion of enno- 
 bling entertainment and sociability. 
 
 Political purposes are strictly excluded. The organization 
 is therefore an excellent application of the concept of Chris- 
 tian Democracy given to the world by Pope Leo XIII. The 
 methods of attaining the purposes here described are : 
 
 (1) Solemn Communion on set days. 
 
 (2) Lectures upon topics mentioned for instruction. 
 
 (3) Social instruction courses for members able to follow them 
 
 1 KathoUsche Arheitervereine. Ihre Noticendigkmt, Aufgabe und Bin- 
 riohtungen, Soziale Tagesfragen, No. 22. 
 
124 OHUECH AKD LABOR 
 
 witb advantage. Establishment of commissions for carrying out 
 practical social measures, etc. 
 
 (4) Foundation of a society library and the propagation of Catho- 
 lic workingmen's literature. 
 
 (5) The founding, so far as possible, of savings banks or affilia- 
 tion with those already in existence. Affiliation with central in- 
 surance organizations for cases of sickness and death. 
 
 (6) Arrangement of family feasts to which the wives of the mem- 
 bers are also to be invited. 
 
 Meetings are held every fourteen days in winter, and as 
 often as may be determined upon in summer. Annual general 
 meetings take place to decide financial matters, etc., make 
 changes in the statutes, etc. The guidance of the society rests 
 with a priest duly appointed by his ecclesiastical superiors, 
 known as the Prases. The pastor is honorary Prases. 
 
 What is here of particular importance is their relation to the 
 trade unions. The Workingmen's Associations were soon 
 federated into three great unions comprising separately the 
 western, the southern and the so-called Sitz-Berlin sections.^ 
 The former two preferred to leave all active participation in 
 trade union interests, concerning wages and labor, to the Chris- 
 tian syndicates, or trade unions, already described. Their 
 method was to promote membership in the latter while the Chris- 
 tian syndicates were to reciprocate by urging their own Catholic 
 trade unionists to join in turn the Workingmen's Association, 
 Thus a friendly cooperation existed between these two separate 
 organizations, each active within its own sphere, but working 
 together for the religious, moral and intellectual, as well as 
 for the economic and strictly trade-union interests of the laborer. 
 All these purposes, with the exception of the last, were included 
 within the scope of the Workingmen's Associations (Arheiter- 
 vereine) themselves. 
 
 The group of these latter organizations, however, known as 
 Sitz-Berlin, wished also to include trade-union interests within 
 their scope. Since the members of the Arbeitervereine are 
 necessarily Catholics, a system of strictly Catholic trade unions 
 thus spontaneously sprang into being, by merely extending the 
 sphere of the Workingmen's Associations to an active participa- 
 2 Staatslexicon, II, 764-765. Third edition, 1909. 
 
LETTER TO THE GEEMAIT HIERARCHY 125 
 
 tion in wage and labor interests. The contention now raised 
 was that all Catholic laborers should unite in Catholic Syn- 
 dicates or labor unions and relinquish the prospering Christian 
 syndicates, with their partly Protestant membership. The act- 
 ual proportion of Catholic and Protestant members in the 
 Christian syndicates at the particular time when the Encyclical 
 of Pope Pius X appeared may be gauged from the fact that 
 among approximately 350,000 members, there were only from 
 70,000 to 90,000 Evangelicals. 
 
 The hope had been entertained that the Christian trade 
 unions woidd in time become as strong as those of a Socialistic 
 nature. The opposition to them on the part of the Catholic 
 trade imions began with Savigny, who in 1891 maintained in 
 the Mdrischen Eirchenhlatt that interdenominational unions 
 were not reconcilable with the Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII, 
 issued that same year. This contention he again defended in 
 a brochure published in 1900.^ 
 
 The Christian syndicates, on the other side, were expressly 
 endorsed both by Bishop Fritzen of Strassburg and Cardinal 
 Eisher of Cologne. The latter is regarded as the great pioneer 
 and protector of the Christian labor movement of Cologne, and 
 his views became identified with the thought processes of the 
 Christian labor movement in his archdiocese. This movement 
 may really, therefore, be considered as consisting of two co- 
 ordinate branches: the Workingmen's Associations, hatJiolische 
 Arbeit ervereine, for the work of a general economic enlighten- 
 ment and progress, together with a religious and moral develop- 
 ment of the Catholic laborer, on the one hand ; and the Chris- 
 tian syndicates, or interdenominational trade unions, christliche 
 Geiverkschaften, on the other, for the purely economic trade- 
 union issues as interpreted in the spirit of Bishop Ketteler and 
 Pope Leo XIIL* 
 
 The decision of the Holy Father, which has a pertinent ap- 
 plication also in our time, can be thus briefly summarized : 
 
 While Catholic labor unions are the obvious ideal for Catholic 
 workingmen, the conditions existing in Germany at the time 
 
 3 Arbeitervereine imd Oewerkschaften im Lichte der Encyklika rerum 
 
 novarum. 
 i Kolnische Volkszeitung, Dec. 9, 1919. 
 
126 CHUKCH AND LABOE 
 
 are such that Christian, i.e. interdenominational, labor unions 
 are not to be condemned. Catholics may with a free con- 
 science join them, and their loyalty to the Catholic Faith is not 
 therefore to be impugned. But it is necesssary that proper 
 provisions be taken to safeguard their religion and teach them 
 the correct moral principles, since the social question is emi- 
 nently a religious and moral question. 
 
 Hence every German Catholic laborer who joins a Christian 
 union must also join a Catholic Workingmen's Association. 
 Such is the express ruling wisely made in these circumstances. 
 
 Its application to countries where not even Christian labor 
 unions, but purely neutral trade unions exist, is clear. The 
 Catholic workingman belonging to such a union stands even 
 much more in need of Catholic social instniction and every 
 effort must be made to see that his faith is guarded, while cor- 
 rect economic principles are given to him and he is helped to 
 realize all his justified ideals and ambitions. Where Social- 
 ism absorbs the trade-union movement of a country it becomes 
 imperative for Catholic workingmen to have their own Catholic 
 or Christian unions, accordingly as circumstances may require 
 and justify. Such unions may then cooperate with the anti- 
 Christian organizations in so far as just measures are defended, 
 and the law of Christian charity is maintained. Splendid re- 
 sults have been achieved by them in many sections of Europe, 
 although they have naturally been traduced by the Socialist 
 internationals with all the unscrupulous methods of falsification 
 at their command.'' 
 
 Socialist unions in Germany would not prevent their mem- 
 bers from acting as strike-breakers when there was question of 
 a strike declared by Christian unions, while they would insist 
 that their own strikes must be respected, as if the decision could 
 rest with them alone. Such is the confusion Socialism has 
 brought into the labor camps, preventing the harmonious co- 
 operation of all the labor elements. 
 
 5 See: Church and Trade Unions in Germany, an Attack and a Rejoinde'r. 
 An answer to such calumnies spread among American labor unionists. 
 Published by tbe Central Bureau of tbe Central Verein, St. Louis. 
 
LETTER TO THE GERMAN HIERARCHY 127 
 
 THE LETTER 
 To Our Beloved Son, George Cardinal Kopp, Bishop of Breslau, 
 and to Our Venerable Brothers, the other Archbishops and 
 Bishops of Germany — Pius PP.X. 
 Beloved Son and Venerable Brothers, Health and the Apostolic 
 Benediction : 
 (SingvJari quadam). Our special love and good will towards 
 the Catholics of Germany, who are united to the Apostolic See 
 by ties of closest allegiance and obedience, and who have al- 
 ways fought generously and strenuously for the Church, have 
 impelled Us, Venerable Brothers, to devote all Our attention 
 and care to the settlement of the controversy which exists among 
 them concerning labor unions. It is a question that has fre- 
 quently been brought to Our notice during recent years by 
 several of yourselves and by prudent and sensible men belong- 
 ing to both parties. We have devoted Ourselves all the more 
 earnestly to this matter inasmuch as the sense of Our Apostolic 
 office makes Us feel that it is Our sacred duty to strive and 
 to ensure that these beloved children of Ours keep the Catholic 
 doctrine unadulterated and entire, and on no account allow 
 their faith to be endangered. For there is evident danger 
 that if they are not promptly stimulated to be on their guard 
 they may gradually and, as it were, unconsciously, settle down 
 into that species of vague and indefinite Christianity, known 
 as " Interconfessionalism," which is now being diffused on the 
 false plea of a common Christian faith, whereas nothing could 
 be more clearly opposed to the preaching of Jesus Christ. More- 
 over, as it is Our most ardent desire to foster and consolidate 
 harmony among Catholics, we wish to see every possible cause 
 removed which can breed those dissensions that divide the 
 energies of the good, and serve only the interests of the enemies 
 of religion. So too We desire that, together with their fellow- 
 countrymen who do not profess the Catholic faith, they culti- 
 vate that peace without which neither social order nor national 
 prosperity can exist. 
 
128 CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 ASKED FOE OPINIONS 
 
 But although, as We have said, We understood the state of 
 this question. We have been pleased, before deciding it, to ask 
 each of you. Venerable Brothers, for his opinion, and you at Our 
 request have individually answered with the diligence and care 
 that the importance of the matter called for. 
 
 In the first place, we therefore insist that it is the duty of all 
 Catholics, a duty to be faithfully and inviolately observed both 
 in private and in common and public life, to hold firmly and 
 to profess unshrinkingly the principles of Christian truth en- 
 trusted to the teaching authority of the Catholic Church. We 
 refer especially to those principles set forth most advisedly 
 by Our Predecessor in the encyclical Rerum novarum, which, as 
 We know, the Bishops of Prussia, who met at Pulda in 1900, 
 closely followed in their deliberations, and which We realize 
 you yourselves have also had in mind in writing back to Us 
 your opinion on this question. To wit: 
 
 That whatever a Christian may do, even in the order of 
 earthly things, he is never permitted to disregard the good 
 that is above nature, but according to the dictates of Chris- 
 tian wisdom must look to the supreme good as to his ulti- 
 mate end; and that all his actions, in as far as they are good 
 or bad in the order of morals, — i.e. in as far as they are in 
 harmony or in conflict with the natural and Divine law — come 
 under the judgment and jurisdiction of the Church. 
 
 That all who, as individuals or as members of an organiza- 
 tion, glory in the Christian name should be mindful of their 
 duty to promote among the classes of society not enmities and 
 hidden grudges, but mutual peace and charity. 
 
 That the social question and the controversies connected with 
 it regarding the conditions and hours of labor, salaries or 
 strikes, are not of a purely economic character and therefore 
 not of a kind that can be settled without reference to the au- 
 thority of the Church, " since on the contrary, it is altogether 
 true that [the social question] is first of all a moral and reli- 
 gious one, and therefore to be settled mainly by the moral law 
 and the judgment of religion." ^ 
 8 Encyclical Grcwes de Communi. 
 
LETTEE TO THE GEKMAN HIEKAECHY 129 
 
 ■WOEKINGMEISr''s SOCIETIES 
 
 Now, with reference to workingmen's societies, although their 
 object is to secure temporal advantages for their members, those 
 are to be regarded as worthy of the highest approval, and as 
 the best fitted to promote the real and solid utility of their 
 members, which are founded chiefly on the basis of the Catholic 
 religion and openly follow the leadership of the Church. This 
 We have Ourselves several times declared for different nations, 
 as occasion offered. Hence it follows that such Catholic as- 
 sociations should be established and favored in every way, 
 certainly in Catholic countries and in all other places also where 
 it appears that through them provision can be made for the 
 various needs of their members. In the ease of associations 
 which directly or indirectly touch the cause of religion or 
 morals, We cannot in any way approve the attempt to promote 
 or propagate mixed associations, that is, those which are made 
 up of Catholics and non-Catholics, in the countries just men- 
 tioned. For, to say nothing of other reasons, the integrity of 
 the faith of Our own people and their just respect for the laws 
 and precepts of the Church are, or certainly may be, greatly 
 endangered through such societies. Of the existence of these 
 dangers We find an open acknowledgment. Venerable Brothers, 
 in many of your answers on this question. 
 
 THE CAHTBL. 
 
 Hence We gladly bestow all praise on the purely Catholic 
 workingmen's associations in Germany, and We wish them suc- 
 cess in all their efforts to promote the welfare of the toiling 
 multitudes, and hope they will develop ever more and more 
 happily. But in saying this We do not deny that, to better the 
 state of the worker, and his wages, the conditions of labor, or 
 for any other honest and useful purpose, it is lawful for 
 Catholics to work in common with non-Catholics for the com- 
 mon welfare, provided the proper precaution is taken. But We 
 prefer that in doing this. Catholic societies and non-Catholic 
 societies be united in that kind of happily devised understand- 
 ing known as the Cartel. 
 
130 CHUBCH AND LABOR 
 
 CHBISTIAW SYNDICATES 
 
 But here, Venerable Brothers, many of you ask Us that you 
 be permitted by Us to tolerate what are known as the Chris- 
 tian Syndicates [i.e. Christian Trade Unions],'^ as they exist 
 at present in your dioceses, on the ground that the number of 
 workingmen they contain is far greater than that of the purely 
 Catholic associations and that grave inconveniences would fol- 
 low if such permission were withheld. This petition We think 
 well to grant in view of the special conditions of Catholicism 
 in Germany, and We declare that it is tolerated and permitted 
 for Catholics to join these mixed societies which exist in your 
 dioceses, as long as new circumstances do not make this tolerance 
 inopportune and unjust. This, however, We grant on condi- 
 tion [ita tamen] that suitable precautions be taken to obviate 
 those dangers which, as We have said, are to be found in such 
 organizations. The chief of these precautions are as follows; 
 First of all, care is to be taken that the Catholic workers who 
 are members of those syndicates be enrolled also in those Cath- 
 olic societies for workingmen which are called Workingmen's 
 Associations [Arbeitervereine]. Should this entail some sacri- 
 fice to them, especially of money, we take it for certain that, 
 eager as they are for the preservation of their faith, they will 
 willingly make it. For experience happily shows that these 
 Catholic associations, thanks to the clergy under whose leader- 
 ship and vigilance they are conducted, contribute greatly to- 
 wards preserving the purity of the faith and the good moral 
 conduct of their members and towards fostering their religious 
 spirit by various pious exercises. Thus there can be no doubt 
 that the leaders of these associations, with their knowledge of 
 present conditions, vtdll communicate to the workingmen those 
 precepts and prescriptions which they know to be necessary or 
 useful for them, so that they may properly be members of the 
 syndicates and live according to the principles of Catholic 
 teaching. 
 
 7 Chrittliche Qewerhschaften. 
 
LETTER TO THE GERMAN HIERARCHY 131 
 
 DUTIES O'F BISHOPS 
 
 Moreover, these syndicates, to be fit for Catholic members, 
 must refrain from all methods and acts out of harmony with 
 the doctrines and commands of the Church or of legitimate 
 sacred authority, and their writings, utterances or doings must 
 in this respect contain nothing reprehensible. Hence the 
 Bishops are to consider it a most sacred duty, to observe care- 
 fully how these societies are conducted and to see that Catholics 
 take no harm from intercourse with them. And the Catholic 
 members of these syndicates in their own turn, must never 
 permit the syndicates, even as such, while looking after the 
 earthly advantages of their members, to profess or do things 
 in anyways contrary to the precepts entrusted to the supreme 
 teaching authority of the Church, and especially to those 
 maxims we have mentioned above. To this end, whenever ques- 
 tions arise affecting moral topics, that is, of justice or charity, 
 the Bishops shall watch most carefully that the faithful do not 
 disregard the Catholic code of morals or depart so much as a 
 hair's breadth from its observance. 
 
 We are, indeed, certain. Venerable Brothers, that you will 
 eee that these prescriptions of Ours are religiously and in- 
 violately observed, and that you will diligently and assiduously 
 keep Us informed on a matter of such moment. Since We have 
 taken this question upon Ourselves, We reserve to Ourselves 
 all decisions concerning it. With the advice of the Bishops, 
 we enjoin upon all good Catholics to abstain hereafter from 
 all controversy among themselves on the subject. We are 
 pleased to believe that, observing fraternal charity and showing 
 entire obedience to Our authority and that of their pastors, 
 they will carry out fully and heartily what We order. Should 
 any difficulty arise they have a ready means for settling it: let 
 them approach their Bishops and lay the matter before them 
 and let the latter submit the question to this Apostolic See, 
 which will decide it. 
 
 PEACE AJTD PEOGEESS 
 
 We need but add, as indeed is clear from what We have said, 
 that no Catholics who are constant in their defense of the teach- 
 
'13"2 CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 ings and rights of the Church, and who, with a proper inten- 
 tion, wish to he or are members of the mixed syndicates in 
 places where the religious authority has seen fit to permit mem- 
 bership in them because of local conditions, shall be attacked 
 or accused as suspect in the Faith, — understanding that all 
 necessary precautions are taken. So, too, it would be highly 
 reprehensible to pursue with hostility the purely Catholic as- 
 sociations — which indeed are to be helped and promoted in 
 every way, and to try to introduce and, as it were, to impose the 
 interconfessional trade unions, on the pretext, among other 
 reasons, of reducing all the societies of Catholics in the various 
 dioceses to one and the same form. 
 
 Meanwhile, in Our desire that Catholic Germany may enjoy 
 great progress, both religious and civil, We implore for this 
 happy end the special assistance of Almighty God and the 
 protection of the Virgin Mother of God, who is the Queen of 
 Peace, and as an augury of Divine gifts and a pledge of Our 
 special affection, We most lovingly impart the Apostolic Bene- 
 diction to you. Beloved Son and Venerable Brothers, and to your 
 clergy and people. 
 
 Given at Rome at St. Peter's, September 24th, 1912, in the 
 tenth year of Our Pontificate. 
 
 PIUS, PP. X. 
 
6. LETTEE SENT BY POPE BENEDICT XV 
 THROUGH CAEDINAL GASPAKRI TO CARDINAL 
 LUCON, ARCHBISHOP OE RHEIMS ^ 
 
 YouE Eminejstce, — The Holy Eather has duly received the 
 copy which Your Eminence sent to him, of the recent Joint Let- 
 ter of the Erench Episcopate, reminding the Catholics of 
 Erance of the principles which should govern families, societies 
 and States. In addressing, in the person of Your Eminence, 
 the Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops of France, his thanks 
 for that communication, the Sovereign Pontiff not only ap- 
 proves the exposition of those principles which will be developed 
 and stated in detail according to circumstances, but he praises 
 the opportuneness of the moment chosen for their recall to 
 the French people. 
 
 And indeed, as the letter of the Bishops so well puts it, after 
 the victory achieved by force of arms at the cost of a five years' 
 struggle unparalleled in history, it is now a question of restoring 
 the material and moral ruins wrought by the war. If the 
 former can be restored by the resumption of economic activity 
 and the financial assistance of the State, the latter are only 
 to be remedied by bringing back the people to the principles 
 of the Christian faith and morality. Thence it is seen how 
 large a factor for the uplifting of the country is the influence 
 of the Catholic Church, with the unceasing assistance of the 
 Holy Spirit. 
 
 Coming to a particular point, who does not see that hence- 
 forth the current flows ever more and more strongly towards 
 democracy? The proletariat, as it is called, having taken a 
 preponderant part in the war, is anxious in every country to 
 obtain from it the greatest possible advantages. Unfortunately, 
 
 1 This letter was written in the summer of 1919, and was addressed to the 
 French Episcopate in acknowledgment of the receipt of the Pastoral Letter 
 issued by that body. An extract from the Pastoral appears on a later page 
 of this volume. It will be observed that this and the other two pronounce- 
 ments by Pope Benedict on the social question were called forth by special 
 occasions, and that the principal note in all three of them is insistence upon 
 the authority and efficacy of the social doctrines of Pope Leo XIII. 
 
 133 
 
134 CHTJUCH AND LABOR 
 
 they are often deceived and pushed to excesses which, in over- 
 turning the social order that is conformable to human nature 
 itself, turn finally to the detriment of all, and are especially 
 damaging to the workers and those les^ fortunately placed. 
 That has happened to other nations which till recently were 
 prosperous, but are now reduced to an extremity of misery 
 which they would like to extend to all Europe, and even the 
 whole world ; and is not this a plain proof of what we say ? 
 
 The Catholic Church has ever been the friend of those who 
 are in trouble; she has always taught that the public authori- 
 ties, established for the welfare of all, should strive especially 
 for the betterment of the condition of those who suffer. That 
 is why, as the Bishops so well say, the clergy and people, in- 
 stead of merely opposing the claims of the proletariat, ought 
 to support them, provided that they are within the bounds of 
 what is just and honest, as set forth clearly in the immortal 
 encyclical Rerum Novarum of Leo XIII. In order that 
 these bounds be the more surely respected and the direful ex- 
 cesses above referred to avoided, the Bishops give the Catholics 
 of France the pertinent counsel of cultivating union amongst 
 themselves and with other citizens of good will, whilst follow- 
 ing the directions given by the Popes in the past and never re- 
 voked. 
 
 The Holy Father is confident that French Catholics will show 
 quite special readiness to remain faithful to the exhortations, 
 counsels, and commands of the Holy See and of their zealous 
 pastors. They will thus work for the general good of their 
 beloved country, for present harmony amongst all classes 
 which is an essential condition of the happiness of peoples, and 
 at the same time will bring back to Jesus Christ those who to 
 their own misfortune have strayed away from their adorable 
 Master. 
 
 In this hope His Holiness renews with all his paternal heart 
 his blessings to the venerable Episcopate of France ; and I my- 
 self take occasion to offer to Your Eminence the homage of 
 profoujid veneration with which I kiss your hand and remain. 
 Your Eminence's humble and devoted servant, 
 
 P. CARDINAL GASPAERL 
 
r. LETTER SENT BY POPE BENEDICT XV 
 THROUGH CARDINAL GASPARRI TO M. EUGENE 
 DUTHOIT, PRESIDENT OE THE SE MAINE 8 
 80CIALE8 DE FRANCE "■ 
 
 Me. Peesidknt: 
 
 The Holy Father was not surprised at the step so respectful 
 and trusting you were eager to take in his regard at the moment 
 when, as president of the general commission of the Semaines 
 de France, you succeeded the late lamented Henri Larin. By 
 coming in your own name and that of your colleagues to place 
 at the feet of His Holiness the homage of your common filial 
 piety and faithful adherence to his directions, you were carry- 
 ing out a tradition most dear to the friend whom you cannot 
 forget, and you made evident your intention of never depart- 
 ing from it. 
 
 At the same time you showed how lively and how enlight- 
 ened is your consciousness of your Christian responsibilities. 
 According to the words which are, as it were, the device of your 
 semaines sociales, you have in view the cultivation of knowl- 
 edge for practical ends, and you attentively observe the com- 
 plete and changing reality of social facts: thus you neglect 
 nothing which could make clear the positive data of the prob- 
 lems which are of as vital concern to the Church as to civil 
 society, the salvation of souls and the common welfare of your 
 country. But you are profoundly convinced that although these 
 problems arise in the material order of economic interests, yet 
 they are moral problems in their very essence, and for this 
 reason their solution is governed by the doctrine of which the 
 Church is the infallible guardian. Therefore, your heart and 
 mind are always disposed to receive eagerly the teachings of 
 him to whom the Divine Master has entrusted the care of safe- 
 guarding all the members of His flock against error. What 
 characterizes particularly all your work is the constant care to 
 
 1 In tho summer of 1919. 
 
 135 
 
136 CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 attain a most scientific accuracy in the study of facts, a deli- 
 cate and manly docility towards the authority of the Church, 
 find this line of conduct, in fact, is incumbent on whomsoever, 
 in accordance with the explicit desire quite recently expressed 
 by His Holiness Benedict XV, intends to make easy for the 
 people the concrete solution of the problems which confront 
 them. 
 
 Animated by such dispositions, you could not fail to receive 
 with gratitude the recent manifestations of the Pope's judg- 
 ment on the importance, more timely than ever before, of the 
 encyclical Rerum Novarum The Holy Father praises you un- 
 reservedly for having understood so well — as he himself said 
 in the discourse to which I have just alluded — that the length 
 of time already elapsed since the publication of this document 
 has not detracted from its force, nor diminished its pertinence, 
 and that on the contrary the very series of events, while justify- 
 ing the sombre colors with which he depicted the various 
 classes of modern society, has brought out in still more strik- 
 ing relief the fact that agreement among the social classes can- 
 not be realized save by the triumph of justice and charity. 
 
 If then, one wishes to restore to society the balance which 
 seems almost everywhere disturbed, one must, more than ever, 
 have recourse to this admirable document of pontifical wis- 
 dom, in which are recalled the rights and duties of each one; 
 rights in all their fulness but with their limits; duties insep- 
 arable from rights and like them shared by every member of 
 the human family. For the encyclical Rerum Novarum does 
 not speak only of the rights of employers or only of the duties 
 of workmen, — His Holiness, Benedict XV, expressly insists 
 on this, — but to employers it is therein said that if they have 
 rights, they must not forget that they have duties which bind 
 them strictly, and to the workman. It is therein said that if 
 the workers must fulfill the duties proper to their condition 
 they must not derive from them a feeling of discouragement 
 as if they also had no rights. There is no one who does not 
 perceive the reasonableness of these teachings ; it were in fact 
 a proceeding equally harmful, as the august Pontiff strongly 
 expresses it, to attribute only rights to the various classes of 
 
LETTEE TO M. EUGENE DUTHOIT 137 
 
 society, or to wish to assign to them duties only. " Now," 
 continues the Pope, " if this opportuneness was rightly praised at 
 the time of the publication of the encyclical, Rerum Novarum, 
 it seems that it should be no less praised in our day when the 
 common heritage of rights and of duties is not yet generally 
 accepted as an inevitable disposition of Divine Providence." 
 
 You are come, Mr. President, to repeat to the Vicar of Jesus 
 Christ your firm resolve and that of all your colleagues, to be 
 always guided by his teachings in all the lectures of your 
 Semaines Sociales and in every movement which emanates there- 
 from. The Holy Father knows that in receiving from you 
 these assurances freely offered he heard the very echo of your 
 souls, and that he can count on them in .the great work which 
 the charity of Christ urges him to accomplish — I mean, the 
 practical realization through the ministry of the Apostolic See 
 of the misereor super turham which the Heart of Our Lord 
 Jesus Christ breathes forth in presence of the bewildered human 
 multitude. Therefore does the august Pontiff ask Our Divine 
 Savior to bless your good-will, to fill your souls with a zeal 
 ever purer and more enlightened, and to reward your fidelity 
 to the Holy See by the growing fruitfulness of your social 
 apostolate. He is pleased to give this interpretation to the 
 very paternal blessing which he himself grants you most cor- 
 dially, and which I am most happy to transmit to you, as well 
 as to the organizers, professors and members of the Semaines 
 Sociales de France. 
 
 Devotedly yours in Christ, 
 PETER CARDINAL GASPAEEI. 
 
8, LETTER OF POPE BENEDICT XV TO THE RIGHT 
 REVEREND ALOYSIUS MARY MARELLI, BISHOP 
 OF BERGAMO, CONCERNING PRESCRIPTIONS OF 
 THE APOSTOLIC SEE ON THE SOCIAL QUES- 
 TION ^ 
 
 Veneeable Beothee, Health and Apostolic Benediction. 
 We, being accustomed to consider our dear Bergamaschiana 
 Math great favor on account of their high repute for morals 
 and traditions exemplarily Christian, have heard with great 
 pain unfavorable reports concerning certain disturbances 
 among the people which are said to have taken place there 
 recently. Of course, it is not to be wondered at that the enemy, 
 who has long been pining away with envy at the fertility of 
 this part of the Lord's field, and who has been eagerly awaiting 
 the opportunity of doing it harm, should have made use of 
 the occasion offered by these most unfortunate times to over- 
 sow this joyful and fruitful grain with tares. But since, 
 indeed, bad seed when once it has taken root can choke even 
 the good grain, we must by every means in our power check 
 its growth. For to us the Lord has entrusted the care of this 
 entire mystical field. Accordingly, we appeal to you, with this 
 letter, not that we have any doubts of your pastoral solicitude, 
 
 1 This letter was called forth by the violent actions and revolutionary 
 utterances of a group of Catholic laborers and members of the Popular 
 Party (Catholic) in Bergamo. The former attacked the factories in which 
 they were employed and the houses of the factory owners ; the latter passed 
 resolutions in favor of Russian bolshevism, and the socialization of land 
 and industries. Two priests as well as one Catholic member of the Italian 
 parliament, took a prominent part in the meeting at which these reso- 
 lutions were adopted. In a sense this letter supplements the two preceding 
 documents of Pope Benedict on the social question. While the others are 
 devoted mainly to the subject of reforms, the present statement emphasizes 
 the necessity of employing lawful and moderate methods, of opposing So- 
 cialism, and of remembering always that material well being is only a 
 means to, not the true end of, human life. At the same time, the Pope 
 reaffirms the obligation of all who occupy positions of influence, especially 
 the clergy, to the work of Christian social reform. 
 
 138 
 
TO REVEREND ALOYSIUS MARY MARELLI 139 
 
 of which you have given public proof in this very affair, but 
 because we deem it timely to exhort our beloved children, by 
 means of you, to persevere in their duty; this we trust they 
 will do with even more alacrity when they see that your author- 
 ity has the backing of ours 
 
 At the outset, we desire that all should know that we approve 
 completely the course of action which you took, when at the 
 end of the war, as all were returning to their usual occupations 
 interrupted by the war, you, hastening to the assistance of the 
 needy and having employed the diocesan Council, established a 
 special bureau of labor, which had for its object to take care of 
 the interests of the various classes of workingmen. An excel- 
 lent institution, indeed, and exceedingly profitable, if it be 
 managed rightly, -that is, according to the dictates of religion ; 
 otherwise, it is abundantly evident of how much disorder it may 
 be the cause. Therefore, before all else it is necessary that 
 those who are in charge of this bureau of labor, which is 
 closely bound up with the common welfare, should ever have 
 before their eyes and most religiously observe the principles 
 of social science inculcated by the Holy See in the memorable 
 Encyclical, Rerum Novarwm, and in other documents. Let 
 them, in particular, bear in mind these fundamental points: 
 to no one is it given to her perfectly happy in this brief mortal 
 life, which is subject to misery of every sort; true, absolute, and 
 everlasting happiness, as the reward of a life well-spent 
 has been promised us in heaven; thither we must direct our 
 gaze in all our actions ; for that very reason we must not be so 
 insistent upon demanding our rights as in discharging our 
 obligations; on the other hand, even in this life it is allowed 
 us, as far as we can, to better our condition, and seek for 
 ourselves greater comforts ; but for promoting the common weal 
 nothing is of greater value than concord and harmony among 
 the various classes of society; in this Christian charity is the 
 prime mover. 
 
 Let them see how badly those consult for the interests of the 
 working-man who, professing to have as their program to amel- 
 iorate his condition, try simply to aid him in securing transient 
 and perishable possessions, and not only fail to regulate his 
 
140 CHURCH AND LABOE 
 
 mind by warning him of his duties as a Christian, but actually 
 set him against the rich, bringing this about by the cogency 
 and bitterness of that type of speech by means of which our 
 adversaries have been wont to excite the masses to social revo- 
 lution. Towards averting so great a calamity. Venerable 
 Brother, it shall be the part of your vigilant solicitude to 
 warn, as you- have already begun to do, all those who are 
 championing the cause of the workingmen, that, avoiding the 
 intemperat« language of the Socialists, they thoroughly leaven 
 their undertaking and propaganda with the Christian spirit, 
 without which, however much they may harm, certainly they 
 cannot help. It pleases us to hope that all will be guided by 
 you; however, should any one refuse to heed you, you will, 
 without hesitation, remove him from office. 
 
 However, towards bringing about the Christian uplift of the 
 lower classes, it behooves those to contribute more who have 
 been furnished -with greater means by Divine favor and bounty. 
 Thus, let those who are raised above the rest either in social 
 position or in education not refuse to aid the workman by their 
 advice, prestige and authority, by fostering particularly those 
 various institutions which have been providentially established 
 for his advantage. Let those who aboimd in riches be unwilling 
 to demand their rights from the proletariat according to the 
 strict interpretation of law, but rather let them be guided by 
 the norm of equity. Nay, we earnestly exhort that in this 
 matter they act even indulgently, generously and liberally, giv- 
 ing way and relaxing as much as they can, in their demands. 
 What St. Paul says to Timothy is appropriate here : " Charge 
 the rich of this world ... to give easily, to communicate to 
 others." * 
 
 In this way, they will gradually win back the affections of 
 the poor, whom the consciousness of their avarice had 
 estranged. Moreover, let those who belong to a lower rank of 
 society or who are poor be thoroughly convinced that the dis- 
 tinction of social classes springs from nature, and in the last 
 analysis is to be traced back to the will of God, quoniam pusil- 
 lum et magnum ipse fecit ^ and this works most aptly both for 
 
 iTim. vi, 17-18. 2 Wia., vi, 8. 
 
TO EEVEKEND ALOYSIUS MARY MAEELLI 141 
 
 the good of the individual and of the community. Let them 
 also he persuaded that, however much they have done towards 
 bettering their condition by their own industry and with the 
 help of the good, there shall ever be left for them, as for others, 
 not a little to suffer. Therefore, if they are wise, they will 
 not strive in vain to realize the unattainable, but will rather 
 strive peacefully and courageously to bear those evils which 
 they cannot escape, having the hope of eternal possessions ever 
 in view. 
 
 Accordingly, we implore and beseech the Bergamaschians by 
 their signal devotion and esteem for this Holy See not to suffer 
 themselves to be deceived by the trickery of those who with 
 certain wonderful promises endeavor to tear them from their 
 ancestral faith, that in turn they may drive them on to violence 
 and social revolution. Not by employing violence or by greatly 
 menacing the social order is the cause of justice and truth 
 served, for these are arms that badly wound those, first of all, 
 who use them. 
 
 iN'ow it is the duty of priests and particularly of pastors to 
 combat vigorously such pernicious enemies of Catholic and civil 
 society, with united effort among themselves, and cooperating 
 zealously under your leadership. Venerable Brother. Let no 
 one of these think that there is question here of an activity 
 which is foreign to the sacred ministry because it has to do 
 with economics ; for in this very social question the eternal sal- 
 vation of souls is imperilled. Wherefore we desire that they 
 count among their duties to apply themselves as much as they 
 can, in their studies and by their vigilance and activities, to the 
 theory and practice of social science, and that they aid with all 
 their resources those who were engaged in our organizations. 
 At the same time, let them diligently teach those entrusted to 
 their care the laws of Christian life and both apprise them of 
 the snares of the Socialists and promote everything that may 
 tend to their economic betterment, reminding them always, how- 
 ever, of what the Church prays for : that we may so pass through 
 temporal goods as not to lose the eternal. 
 
 In the meantime, we shall not cease to implore the divine 
 goodness for favors in your behalf; as a pledge of which and 
 
142 CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 as a sign of our particular goodwill, we most lovingly impart, 
 Venerable Brother, the Apostolic Benediction to you and to 
 jour people. 
 
 Given at Rome on the 11th day of March in the year 1920 
 and the 6th of our pontificate. 
 
 BENEDICT XV, Pope. 
 
Ill FOUE CARDINALS 
 
 1. Memorial Presented to the Holy See on the Knights of 
 
 Labor by His Eminence, James Cardinal Gibbons. 
 
 2. Review of Pope Leo's Encyclical on the Condition of Labor, 
 
 by His Eminence, Henry Edward Cardinal Manning. 
 
 3. Pastoral Letter on the Laborer's Rights, by His Eminence, 
 
 William Cardinal O'Connell. 
 
 4. Pastoral Letter on Catholics and Social Reform, by Hia 
 
 Eminence, Francis Cardinal Bourne. 
 
1. MEMOEIAL PRESENTED TO THE HOLY SEE BY 
 CARDINAL GIBBONS ON THE KNIGHTS OF 
 LABOR! 
 
 Peegfatoky Note \ v^ 
 
 A FEW words ol explanation will be necessary that the reader 
 may understand the causes which led up to my presenting the 
 following document to the Sacred Congregation of the Propa- 
 ganda. 
 
 Ever since the Reformation the democratic and co-operative 
 institutions of medieval Europe have been upon their death- 
 bed. In the year 1500 most Englishmen, for instance, owned 
 their own homes, but by 1600 between two-thirds and three- 
 fourths only were still in possession of their own lands. By 
 lYOO one-half still had the economic buttress of a home be- 
 hind them; but by the year 1900 less than one-tenth of the 
 population possessed all the land of the country. 
 
 And what is true of real property is true also of the means 
 of production. Trade and business in the middle ages were 
 conducted on the principles of mutual help and assistance, and 
 unlimited competition was never thought of. But with the 
 breaking down of the corporate feeling of united Christendom, 
 methods of business were introduced which would have seemed 
 deeply immoral 100 years before. 
 
 The discovery of the New World with its abounding riches 
 and consequent opportunities for exploitation was another factor 
 which greatly increased the evil. But what brought these eco- 
 nomic evils to a head was the invention of machinery in the 
 last half of the eighteenth and the first half of the nineteenth 
 century. 
 
 "- From A Retrospect of Fifty Tears, by James Cardinal Gibbons. Pub- 
 lished by John Murphy Company, Baltimore. The kind permission of the 
 publisher to include this matter in this volume is gratefully acknowledged. 
 
 146 
 
146 CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 Those who live in these days cannot conceive the state of 
 society in the seventies and the eighties. The money of the 
 country was not only concentrated into the hands of a very few 
 people, but by means of this money this small oligarchy was 
 put in the position of getting complete control of our free 
 institutions. The mass of people dispossessed of land and of 
 the means of production, and retaining only a figment of 
 political power, were by no means satisfied with this arrange- 
 ment. All the more so, as large numbers of the working people, 
 that is to say the dispossessed, were members of the Catholic 
 Church, and among Roman Catholics there is and must always 
 be a memory of a better tradition which preserved to every 
 man as much individual liberty as was compatible with the 
 rights of his fellow men. 
 
 Accordingly numerous societies for the protection of the 
 working-man rose during the administration of President 
 Cleveland — societies to which working people began to ad- 
 here more and more steadfastly as their only protection from 
 economic slavery, but which were vehemently attacked upon 
 the other side as destructive, revolutionary and even anarchic; 
 and indeed the oppression of the wealthy was driving the poor 
 into excesses of which the anarchist riots of Chicago were but 
 one example. 
 
 These societies could not long escape the wise oversight of 
 the Church, and it was a foregone conclusion that in a few 
 years the principle of such organizations of working people 
 must either be approved or condemned. On the one hand, great 
 numbers of Ecclesiastics were alarmed at the revolutionary 
 principles which undoubtedly disgraced some members of the 
 trade unions; the more so, as many of them were at least 
 nominally secret societies. So great was this alarm in Canada 
 that the Canadian Bishops obtained from the Holy See a con- 
 demnation of the Knights of Labor for Canada. But if many 
 Bishops were alarmed at what they considered the revolutionary 
 tendencies of these associations, many other Bishops, including 
 Cardinal Manning and myself, were equally alarmed at the 
 prospect of the Church being presented before our age as the 
 friend of the powerful rich and the enemy of the helpless 
 
MEMOEIAL TO THE HOLY SEE 147 
 
 poor; for not only would such an alliance or even apparent 
 alliance, have done the Church untold harm, but it would have 
 been the bouleversement of our whole history. Moreover, to 
 us it seemed that such a thing could never take place. The 
 one body in the world which had been the protector of the 
 poor and the weak for nearly 1800 years, could not possibly 
 desert these same classes in their hour of need. 
 
 It was under such circumstances that I consulted with Mr. 
 Cleveland, President of the United States, and Mr. Powderly, 
 who was head of the Knights of Labor, and at a meeting of 
 the Archbishops of the country I asked Mr. Powderly to tell 
 their Graces exactly what the obligation of secrecy consisted 
 in. This he very kindly consented to do, and he showed us 
 plainly on that occasion, first, that secrecy was only enjoined 
 upon the members by a simple pledge, and not by an oath; 
 secondly, that this secrecy was only approved by the society 
 of the Knights of Labor in so far as it was necessary to pro- 
 tect their business from enemies, thirdly; that there was noth- 
 ing in the obligation of secrecy which would prevent any indi- 
 vidual manifesting his conscience in the tribunal of Penance 
 privately, or which would prevent the heads of the order from 
 giving the necessary assurances and manifesting everything to 
 competent ecclesiastical authority even outside of confession. 
 
 Only two out of the twelve Archbishops were for condemna- 
 tion; the rest agreed with me that we must do all in our power 
 to prevent any such condemnation of the Knights of Labor in 
 our own country, as would drive them into the camp of revolu- 
 tion. 
 
 Accordingly when I sailed for Europe in 1887 to receive the 
 Cardinal's Hat it was part of my mission to present the plea of 
 organized labor, which I did by presenting the following docu- 
 ment to the Cardinal Prefect of Propaganda. I cannot say 
 that the task which I had imposed upon myself was an easy 
 one, but I am thankful to say that it proved not an impossible 
 one, and that the Knights of Labor in the United States were 
 not condemned. 
 
 It was a great consolation to me when a few years after- 
 ward the late Pontiff, Leo XIII, annunciated the principles 
 
148 CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 whicli underlie the Church's moral teaching with regard to 
 economics, in his famous Encyclical Rerum Novarum.^ 
 
 THE MEMORIAL 
 
 " To His Eminence Cardinal Simeoni, Prefect of the Sacred 
 Congregation of the Propaganda: 
 
 " Your Eminence — In submitting to the Holy See the con- 
 clusions -which, after several months of attentive observation 
 and reflection, seem to me to sum up the truth concerning the 
 association of the Knights of Labor, I feel profoundly convinced 
 of the vast importance of the consequences attaching to this 
 question, which is but a link in the great chain of the social 
 problems of our day, and especially of our country. 
 
 " In treating this question I have been very careful to follow 
 as my constant guide the spirit of the encyclical letters, in 
 which our Holy Father Leo XIII has so admirably set forth 
 the dangers of our times and their remedies, as well as the 
 principles by which we are to recognize associations condemned 
 by the Holy See. Such was also the guide of the Third 
 Plenary Council of Baltimore in its teachings concerning the 
 principles to be followed and the dangers to be shunned by 
 the faithful either in the choice or in the establishment of those 
 various forms of association toward which the spirit of our 
 popular institutions so strongly impels them. And, consider- 
 ing the evil consequences that might result from a mistake in 
 the treatment of organizations which often count their members 
 by thousands and hundreds of thousands, the council wisely 
 ordained (n. 225) that, when an association is spread over 
 several dioceses, not even the bishop of one of these dioceses 
 shall condemn it, but shall refer the case to a standing com- 
 mittee consisting of all the archbishops of the, United States; 
 and even these are not authorized to condemn, unless their 
 sentence be unanimous; and in case they fail to agree unani- 
 mously, then only the supreme tribunal of the Holy See can 
 
 2 In preparing this Memorial, I gratefully acknowledge the valuable aid 
 of the venerable Archbishop Ireland, of St. Paul, and of Rt. Kev. Bishop 
 Eeane, who were then in Rome. 
 
MEMORIAL TO THE HOLY SEE 149 
 
 impose a condemnation: all this in order to avoid error and 
 confusion of discipline. 
 
 " This committee of archbishops held a meeting towards the 
 end of last October, at which the association of the Knights 
 of Labor was specially considered. To this we were not im- 
 pelled by the request of any of our bishops, for none of them 
 had asked it; and I must add that among all the bishops we 
 know of but two or three who desire the condemnation. But 
 our reason was the importance attached to the question by the 
 Holy See itself, and this led us to examine it with all possible 
 care. After our deliberations, the result of which has already 
 been communicated to the Sacred Congregation of the Propa- 
 ganda, only two out of the twelve archbishops voted for con- 
 demnation, and their reasons were powerless to convince the 
 others of either the justice or the prudence of such condemna- 
 tion. 
 
 " In the following considerations I wish to state in detail the 
 reasons which determined the vote of the great majority of the 
 committee — reasons whose truth and force seem to me all 
 the more evident after this lapse of time; nor will I fail to do 
 justice to the arguments advanced on the other side : " 
 
 [Here follows a brief description of the main features of the 
 society: no oath taken in the initiation; only a qualified se- 
 crecy in the deliberations; no promise of blind obedience; no 
 hostility to religion, nor to the authority and laws of the 
 country. After a short statement of the grievous social evils 
 which the Knights of Labor sought to abolish, and of the 
 necessity of organization for that purpose, His Eminence con- 
 tinues] : 
 
 " 4. Let us now consider the objections made against this 
 sort of organization. 
 
 " (a) It is objected that in such organizations. Catholics 
 are mixed with Protestants, to the peril of their faith. 
 Naturally, yes; they are mixed with Protestants at their work; 
 for, in a mixed people like ours the separation of religious 
 creeds in civil affairs is an impossibility. But to suppose 
 that the faith of our Catholics suffers thereby is not to know 
 the Catholic working men of America, who are not like the 
 
150 CHURCH AKD LABOR 
 
 working men of so many European countries — misgu/ided 
 children, estranged from their Mother, the Church, and regard- 
 ing her with suspicion and dread — but intelligent, well-in- 
 structed and devoted Catholics, ready to give their blood, if 
 necessary, as they continually give their hard-earned means, 
 for her support and protection. And, in fact, it is not here 
 a question of Catholics mixed with Protestants, but rather 
 that Protestants are admitted to share in the advantages of an 
 association, many of whose members and officers are Catholics; 
 and, in a country like ours, their exclusion would be simply 
 impossible. 
 
 "(b) But it is asked, instead of such an organization, could 
 there not be confraternities, in which the working men would 
 be imited under the direction of the clergy and the influence 
 of religion? I answer frankly that I do not consider this 
 either possible or necessary in our country. I sincerely ad- 
 mire the efforts of this sort which are made in countries where 
 the working people are led astray by the enemies of religion, 
 but, thanks be to God, that is not our condition. We find that 
 in our country the presence and direct influence of the clergy 
 would not be advisable where our citizens, without distinction 
 of religious belief, come together in regard to their industrial 
 interests alone. Short of that we have abundant means for 
 making our working people faithful Catholics, and simple good 
 sense advises us not to go to extremes. 
 
 " (c) Again, it is objected that, in such organizations, 
 Catholics are exposed to the evil influences of the most danger- 
 ous associates, even of atheists, communists and anarchists. 
 That is true, but it is one of those trials of faith which our 
 brave American Catholics are accustomed to meet almost daily, 
 and which they know how to face with good sense and firmness. 
 The press of our country tells us, and the president of the 
 Knights has related to us, how these violent, aggressive elements 
 have endeavored to control the association, or to inject poison 
 into it principles ; but they also inform us with what determina- 
 tion these machinators have been repulsed and beaten. 
 
 " The presence among our citizens of those dangerous social 
 elements, which have mostly come from certain countries of 
 
MEMOEIAL TO THE HOLY SEE 151 
 
 Europe, is assuredly for us an occasion of great regret and of 
 vigilant precautions; it is a fact, however, which we have to 
 accept, but which the close union between the Church and her 
 children that exists in our country renders comparatively free 
 from danger. In truth, the only thing from which we would 
 fear serious danger would be a cooling of this relationship 
 between the Church and her children, and I know nothing that 
 would be more likely to occasion it than imprudent condemna- 
 tions. 
 
 "(d) A^ specially weighty charge is drawn from the out- 
 bursts of violence, even to bloodshed, which have accompanied 
 several of the strikes inaugurated by labor organizations. Con- 
 cerning this, three things are to be remarked — first, strikes 
 are not an invention of the Knights of Labor, but a means 
 almost everywhere and always resorted to by the working classes 
 to protect themselves against what they consider injustice, and 
 in assertion of what they believe to be their just rights; secondly, 
 in such a struggle of the poor and indignant multitudes against 
 hard and obstinate monopoly, outbursts of anger are almost as 
 inevitable as they are greatly to be regretted ; thirdly, the laws 
 and the chief authorities of the Knights of Labor, far from 
 encouraging violence or the occasions of it, exercise a powerful 
 influence to hinder it, and to retain strikes within the limits 
 of good order and of legitimate action. 
 
 " A careful examination of the acts of violence accompany- 
 ing the struggle between capital and labor last year leaves us 
 convinced that it would be unjust to attribute them to the asso- 
 ciation of the Knights of Labor, for this association was but 
 one among the numerous labor organizations that took part 
 in the strikes, and their chief officers used every possible effort, 
 as disinterested witnesses testify, to appease the anger of the 
 multitudes, and to hinder the excesses which, therefore, in my 
 judgment, could not justly be attributed to them. Doubtless, 
 among the Knights of Labor, as among the thousands of other 
 workingmen, there are to be found passionate or even wicked 
 men who have committed inexcusable deeds of violence, and 
 have instigated their associates to the same, but to attribute 
 this to the association would, it seems to me, be as unreasonable 
 
152 CHURCH AND LABOE 
 
 as to attribute to the Church the follies or the crimes of her 
 children against which she strives and protests. 
 
 " I repeat that, in such a struggle of the great masses of the 
 people against the mail-clad power which, as it is acknowledged, 
 often refuses them the simple rights of humanity and justice, 
 it is vain to expect that every error and every act of violence 
 can be avoided ; and to dream that this struggle can be hindered, 
 or that we can deter the multitudes from organizing, which is 
 their only hope of success; would be to ignore the nature and 
 forces of human society in times like ours. Christian prudence 
 evidently counsels us to hold the hearts of the multitudes by 
 the bonds of love, in order to control their actions by the prin- 
 ciples of faith, justice and charity, to acknowledge franldy 
 what is true and just in their cause, in order to deter them 
 from what is false and criminal, and thus to turn into a legiti- 
 mate, peaceable and beneficent contest that might easily, by 
 a course of repulsive severity, become for the masses of our 
 people a dread volcanic force like unto that which society fears 
 and the Church deplores in Europe. 
 
 " Upon this point I insist strongly, because, from an intimate 
 acquaintance with the social conditions of our country I am 
 profoundly convinced that here we are touching upon a subject 
 which not only concerns the rights of the working classes, who 
 ought to be especially dear to the Church which our Lord sent 
 forth to preach His Gospel to the poor, but with which are 
 intimately bound up the fundamental interests of the Church 
 and of human society for the future. This is a point which I 
 desire, in a few additional words, to develop more clearly. 
 
 " 5. Whoever meditates upon the ways in which divine 
 Providence is guiding mankind in our days cannot fail to re- 
 mark how important is the part which the power of the people 
 takes in shaping the events of the present, and which it is 
 evidently destined to take in molding the destinies of the future. 
 We, behold, with profound regret, the efforts of the prince of 
 darkness to make this power dangerous to the social weal by 
 withdrawing the masses of the people from the influence of 
 religion, and impelling them towards the ruinous paths of 
 license and anarchy. Hitherto our country has presented a 
 
MEMOEIAL TO THE HOLY SEE 153 
 
 spectacle of a most consoling different character — that of a 
 popular power regulated by love of good order, respect for re- 
 ligion, by obedience to the authority of the laws, not a democracy 
 of license and violence, but that true democracy which aims at 
 the general prosperity through the means of sound principles 
 and good social order. 
 
 " In order to preserve so desirable a state of things it is 
 absolutely necessary that religion should continue to possess the 
 affections, and thus rule the conduct of the multitudes. As 
 Cardinal Manning has well written, ' A new task is before us. 
 The Church has no longer to deal with Parliaments and princes, 
 but with the masses and with the people. Whether we will or 
 no this is our work ; we need a new spirit and a new law of life.' 
 To lose influence over the people would be to lose the future 
 altogether ; and it is by the heart, far more than by the under- 
 standing, that we must hold and guide this immense power, so 
 mighty either for good or for evil. 
 
 " Among all the glorious titles which the Church's history 
 has deserved for her, there is not one which at present gives her 
 so great influence as that of ' Friend of the People.' Assuredly, 
 in our democratic country, it is this title which wins for the 
 Catholic Church not only the enthusiastic devotedness of the 
 millions of her children, but also the respect and admiration 
 of all our citizens, whatever be their religious belief. It is 
 the power of this title which renders persecution almost an 
 impossibility, and which draws towards our Holy Church the 
 great heart of the American people. 
 
 " And since it is acknowledged by all that the great questions 
 of the future are not those of war, of commerce or finance, but 
 the social questions — the questions which concern the improve- 
 ment of the condition of the great popular masses, and especially 
 of the working people — it is evidently of supreme importance 
 that the Church should always be found on the side of humanity 
 — of justice towards the multitudes who compose the body of 
 the human family. As the same Cardinal Manning has wisely 
 written, ' I know I am treading on a very difiicult subject, but 
 I feel confident of this, that we must face it, and that we must 
 face it calmly, justly, and with a willingness to put labor and 
 
154 CHURCH AND LAEOR 
 
 the profits of labor second — the moral state and domestic life 
 of the whole working; population first. I will not venture to 
 draw up such an act of Parliament further than to lay down 
 this principle. These things (the present condition of the poor 
 in England) cannot go on; these things ought not to go on. 
 The accumulation of wealth in the land, the piling up of wealth 
 like mountains, in the possession of classes or individuals, can- 
 not go on. No commonwealth can rest on such foundations.' 
 (Miscellanies, Vol. 2, p. 81). 
 
 " In our country, above all, this social amelioration is the 
 inevitable programme of the future, and the position which the 
 Church should hold towards it is surely obvious. She can cer- 
 tainly not favor the extremes to which the poor multitudes are 
 naturally inclined but, I repeat, she must withhold them from 
 these extremes by the bonds of affection, by the maternal desire 
 which she will manifest for the concession of all that is just 
 and reasonable in their demands, and by the maternal bless- 
 ing which she will bestow upon every legitimate means for 
 improving the condition of the people. 
 
 " 6. Now let us consider for a moment the consequences 
 which would inevitably follow from a contrary course — from 
 a course of want of sympathy for the working class, of suspicion 
 for their aims, of ready condemnation for their methods. 
 
 " (a) First, there would be the evident danger of the 
 Church's losing in popular estimation, her right to be considered 
 the friend of the people. The logic of the popular heart goes 
 swiftly to its conclusions, and this conclusion would be moat 
 pernicious both for the people and for the Church. To lose the 
 heart of the people would be a misfortune for which the friend- 
 ship of the few rich and powerful would be no compensation. 
 
 " (b) There would be a great danger of rendering hostile 
 to the Church the political power of our country, which has 
 openly taken sides with the millions who are demanding justice 
 and the improvement of their condition. The accusation of 
 being un-American — that is to say, alien to our national spirit 
 — is the most powerful weapon which the enemies of the Church 
 can employ against her. It was this cry which aroused the 
 Know-Nothing persecution thirty years ago, and the same would 
 
MEMORIAL TO THE HOLY SEE 155 
 
 be used again if the opportunity offered. To appreciate the 
 gravity of this danger it is well to remark that not only are the 
 rights of the working classes loudly proclaimed by each of our 
 two great political parties, but it is not improbable that, in our 
 approaching national elections there will be a candidate for the 
 office of President of the United States as the special repre- 
 sentative of the popular complaints and demands. 
 
 " Now, to seek to crush by an ecclesiastical condemnation an 
 organization which represents more than 500,000 votes, and 
 which has already so respectable and so universally recognized 
 a place in the political arena, would, to speak frankly, be 
 considered by the American people as not less ridiculous than 
 rash. To alienate from ourselves the friendship of the people 
 would be to run great risk of losing the respect which the 
 Church has won in the estimation of the American nation, and 
 of forfeiting the peace and prosperity which form so admirable 
 a contrast with her condition in some so-called Catholic coun- 
 tries. Angry utterances have not been wanting of late, and 
 it is well that we should act prudently. 
 
 " (c) A third danger — and the one which most keenly 
 touches our hearts — is the risk of losing the love of the children 
 of the Church, and of pushing them into an attitude of resis- 
 tance against their Mother. The world presents no more beau- 
 tiful spectacle than that of their filial devotion and obedience; 
 but it is well to recognize that, in our age and in our country, 
 obedience cannot be blind. We would greatly deceive ourselves 
 if we expected it. Our Catholic working men sincerely be- 
 lieve that they are only seeking justice, and seeking it by legiti- 
 mate means. A condemnation would be considered both false 
 and unjust, and, therefore, not binding. We might preach to 
 them submission and confidence in the Church's judgment, but 
 these good dispositions could hardly go so far. They love the 
 Church, and they wish to save their souls, but they must also 
 earn their living, and labor is now so organized that without 
 belonging to the organization it is almost impossible to earn 
 one's living. 
 
 "Behold, then, the consequences to be feared. Thousands 
 of the Church's most devoted children, whose affection is her 
 
156 CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 greatest comfort, and whose free offerings are her chief support, 
 ■would consider themselves repulsed by their Mother, and would 
 live without practising their religion. Catholics who have 
 hitherto shunned the secret societies, would be sorely tempted 
 to join their ranks. The Holy See, which has constantly re- 
 ceived from the Catholics of America proofs of almost im- 
 paralleled devotedness, would be considered not as a paternal 
 authority, but as a harsh and unjust power. Surely these are 
 consequences which wisdom and prudence counsel us to avoid. 
 
 " 7. But, besides the dangers that would result from such a 
 condemnation, and the impracticability of putting it into effect, it 
 is also very important that we should carefully consider an- 
 other reason against condemnation, arising from the unstable 
 and transient character of the organization in question. It is 
 frequently remarked by the press and by attentive observers 
 that this special form of association has in it so little perma- 
 nence that, in its present shape, it is not likely to last many 
 years. Whence it follows that it is not necessary, even if it 
 were just and prudent, to level the condemnations of the Church 
 solely against so evanescent an object. The social agitation 
 itself will, indeed, last as long as there are social evils to be 
 remedied; but the forms of organization meant for the attain- 
 ment of this end are naturally provisional and short-lived. 
 They are also very numerous, for I have already remarked that 
 the Knights of Labor is only one among many labor organiza- 
 tions. 
 
 " To strike, then, at one of these forms would be to commence 
 a war without system and without end; it would be to exhaust 
 the forces of the Church in chasing a crowd of changing and 
 uncertain spectres. The American people behold with perfect 
 composure and confidence the progress of our social contest, 
 and have not the least fear of not being able to protect them- 
 selves against any excesses or dangers that may occasionally 
 arise. Hence, to speak with the most profound respect, but 
 also with the frankness which duty requires of me, it seems 
 to me that prudence suggests, and that even the dignity of the 
 Church demands that we should not offer to America an ecclesi- 
 
MEMOEIAL TO THE HOLY SEE 157 
 
 astical protection for which, she does not ask, and of which she 
 believes she has no need. 
 
 " 8. In all this discussion I have not at all spoken of Canada, 
 nor of the condemnation concerning the Knights of Labor in 
 Canada ; for we would consider it an impertinence on our part 
 to meddle with the ecclesiastical affairs of another country 
 which has an hierarchy of its own, and with whose social con- 
 ditions we do not pretend to be acquainted. We believe, how- 
 ever, that the circumstances of a people almost entirely Catholic, 
 as in lower Canada, must be very different from those of a 
 mixed population like ours; moreover, that the documents sub- 
 mitted to the Holy Office are not the present constitution of 
 the organization in our country, and that we, therefore, ask 
 nothing involving an inconsistency on the part of the Holy See, 
 which passed sentence localiter et juxta exposita. 
 
 " It is of the United States that we speak, and we trust 
 that we are not presumptuous in believing that we are com- 
 petent to judge about the start;e of things in our own country. 
 jSTow, as I have already indicated, out of the seventy-five arch- 
 bishops and bishops of the United States, there are about five 
 who desire the condemnation of the Knights of Labor, such 
 as they are in our own country; so that our hierarchy are al- 
 most unanimous in protesting against such a condemnation. 
 Such a fact ought to have great weight in deciding the ques- 
 tion. If there are difficulties in the case, it seems to me that 
 the prudence and experience of our bishops and the wise rules 
 of the Third Plenary Council ought to suffice for their solu- 
 tion. 
 
 " Finally, to sum up all, it seems to me that the Holy See 
 could not decide to condemn an association under the follow- 
 ing circumstances: 
 
 " 1. When the condemnation does not seem to be justified 
 either by the letter or the spirit of its consitution, its laws and 
 the declaration of its chief. 
 
 " 2. When the condemnation does not seem necessary, in 
 view of the transient form of the organization and the social 
 condition of the United States. 
 
158 CHURCH AND LAEOE 
 
 " 3. When it does not seem to be prudent;, because of the 
 reality of the grievances complained of by the working classes, 
 and their acknowledgment by the American people. 
 
 " 4. When it would be dangerous for the reputation of the 
 Church in our democratic country, and might even lead to 
 persecution. 
 
 " 5. When it would probably be inefficacious, owing to the 
 general conviction that it would be unjust. 
 
 " 6. When it would be destructive instead of beneficial in 
 its effects, impelling the children of the Church to disobey their 
 Mother, and even to enter condemned societies, which they 
 have thus far shunned. 
 
 " 7. When it would turn into suspicion and hostility the 
 singular devotedness of our Catholic people towards the Holy 
 See. 
 
 " 8. When it would be regarded as a cruel blow to the 
 authority of bishops in the United States, who, it is well known, 
 protest against such a condemnation. 
 
 " Now, I hope the considerations here presented have suf- 
 ficiently shown that such would be the effect of condemnation 
 of the Knights of Labor in the United States. 
 
 " Therefore, I leave the decision of the case, with fullest 
 confidence to the wisdom and prudence of your Eminence and 
 the Holy See." 
 
 J. CARD. GIBBONS, 
 
 ArchbiS'hop of Baltimore. 
 
 Rome, February 20, 1887. 
 
2. REVIEW OF THE ENCYCLICAL OE POPE LEO 
 XIII ON THE CONDITION OF LAEOE ^ 
 
 By CAEDijiTAL Manning 
 
 Since the Divine words, " I have compassion on the multi- 
 tude," were spoken in the wilderness, no voice has heen heard 
 throughout the world pleading for the people with such pro- 
 found and loving sympathy for those that toil and suffer as 
 the voice of Leo XIII. This is no rhetorical exaggeration, 
 but strict truth. None but the Vicar of our Divine Lord could 
 so speak to mankind. No Pontiff has ever had such an oppor- 
 tunity 80 to speak, for never till now has the world of labor 
 been so consciously united, so dependent upon the will of the 
 rich, so opposed to the fluctuations of adversity and to the 
 vicissitudes of trade. Leo XIII looking out of the watch-tower 
 of the Christian world, as St. Leo the Great used to say, has 
 before him what no Pontiff yet has ever seen. He sees all 
 the kingdoms of the world and the sufferings of them. 
 
 The moan of discontent, of toil, of sorrow, goes up before 
 him. The modem world, by every agency of knowledge, and 
 by every bond of interest and of intellect, has become con- 
 fluent. It has one intelligence, one conscience, one will, for it 
 is under one law: "In the sweat of thy face thou shalt eat 
 bread " ; and for millions that bread is scant. Its sufferings 
 are the same, and its needs and demands are the same. This 
 interchange of knowledge is so rapid and complete, not only 
 as of old by messengers and by letters, but by the electric wire 
 and instantaneous transit, that the workers and toilers of all 
 languages and all lands are united by one living consciousness 
 and by a continual participation in the various changes of 
 labor and of trade. The world of to-day is a world of enor- 
 mous wealth and endless labor. The Holy Father, at the out- 
 set of the Encyclical, recognizes this character of the nineteenth 
 century. He says that " the growth of industry and the sur- 
 
 iFrom the Dublin Review, July, 1891. 
 
 159 
 
IGO CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 prising discoveries of science; the changed relations of masters 
 and workmen; the enormous fortunes of individuals and the 
 poverty of the masses ; the increased self-reliance and the closer 
 mutual combination of the working population," have created 
 a new condition in the world full of elements of conflict; and 
 this is rendered more menacing by " a general moral deteriora- 
 tion " that is in all classes and in all nations. It is upon such 
 a world that he looks down; and his heart is with the poor; 
 " I have compassion on the multitude " — on the poor, who, as 
 he says, are " the majority of mankind." 
 
 " All a^ree," he says, " and there can be no question what- 
 ever that some remedy must be found, and that quickly found, 
 for the misery and wretchedness which press so heavily at this 
 moment on the large majority of the very poor. The ancient 
 workmen's gilds were destroyed in the last century, and no 
 other organization took their place. Hence by degrees it has 
 come to pass that workingmen have been given over, isolated 
 and defenceless, to the callousness of employers and the greed 
 of unrestrained competition. The evil has been increased by 
 rapacious usury, which though more than once condemned by 
 the Church, is nevertheless under a different form, but with 
 the same guilt, still practised by avaricious and grasping men ; 
 and to this must be added the custom of working by contract, 
 and the concentration of so many branches of trade in the 
 hands of a few individuals, so that a number of very rich men 
 have been able to lay upon the masses of the poor a yoke little 
 better than slavery itself." This is no new pronouncement of 
 leo XIII. It is perhaps not hnown to many that the study of 
 this question has long occupied his mind. During his episco- 
 pate at Perugia he issued pastorals, even stronger and more ex- 
 plicit, on the sufferings of the workers and the callousness of 
 employers. By a happy providence, what he then wrote in a 
 pastoral to an Umbrian flock, he now promulgates with Apos- 
 tolic authority to the whole world. 
 
 Before we speak of the text of the Encyclical, we must make 
 two preliminary remarks. 
 
 Some public critics have censured it for vagueness and gen- 
 erality. They are disappointed because they do not find de- 
 
ENCYCLICAL OF POPE LEO XIII 161 
 
 tailed and particular solutions, remedies, and schemes of action. 
 But they forget that the diversities of nations, in civilization, 
 in maturity, in climate, in character, in the diversities of natural 
 and industrial products, also in mode of life and in a multitude 
 of other conditions and circtmistances, make it as impossible to 
 prescribe remedies for all nations as it would be to dispense a 
 score of prescriptions for all the hospitals of Europe. It was 
 of absolute necessity to lay down broad principles which serve 
 as major premises in all arguments of the social order. 
 
 The other remark is this: that the Holy Father has lifted 
 Political Economy from the low level of selfishness in profit 
 and loss, labor and wages, and replaced it on the right and 
 true level of Social Economy. The very word economy is 
 a protest against the narrowness of the last hundred years. 
 Economy is the administration of a household. He is a bad 
 householder who attends only to weekly bills, and neglects the 
 health, morals, and welfare of the household. There is noth- 
 ing needed for the well-being and happiness of the family 
 for which domestic economy does not vigilantly provide The 
 finances of the household are necessary, but subordinate. They 
 are only details of administration. When we speak of " politi- 
 cal " economy we speak in metaphors. A State is metaphori- 
 cally a family, a household; and metaphorically it has an ad- 
 ministration which is to the commonwealth what economy ia 
 to the household. It includes every form of material and 
 moral provision for the public health and welfare. In this, 
 finance and conunerce are an important but a subordinate part. 
 The Holy Father has carefully defined this economy and its 
 bearing upon Socialism, both the thing and the term, as we 
 shall see hereafter. 
 
 The Encyclical divides itself into four parts. The first 
 treats of the origin and constitution of human society. The 
 second shows the unnatural, abnormal, and subversive nature 
 of what is called Socialism. The third treats of the intervention 
 of the State in social questions. The fourth and last treats 
 of the liberty, duties, and co-operation of workers, both men 
 and women. We will follow this order in commenting upon 
 it. 
 
162 CHUE-CH AND LABOR 
 
 1. As to the origin of human society, it is much to be 
 feared that many will read the Encyclical without weighing its 
 deep and far reaching enunciation of primary truths. Many 
 also will call them truisms and fail to weigh them. For in- 
 stance : 
 
 1. " Man is older than the State, and he holds the right of pro- 
 viding for the life of his body, prior to the formation of any State." 
 
 2. " To say that God has given the earth to the use and enjoy- 
 ment of the universal human race is not to deny that there can be 
 private property." 
 
 3. " When man spends the industry of his mind and the strength 
 of his body in procuring the fruits of nature by that act he makes 
 his own that portion of nature's field which he cultivates, that por- 
 tion ou which he leaves, as it were, the impress of his personality." 
 
 4. " As effects follow their cause, so it is just and right that the 
 results of labor should belong to him who has labored." 
 
 5. " With reason therefore the common opinion of mankind. . . . 
 has foimd, in the study of nature and in the law of nature herself, 
 the foundations of the division of property, and has consecrated by 
 the practice of all ages the principle of private ownership." 
 
 6. " That we have the family : the society of a man's own house- 
 hold ; a society limited indeed in numbers, but a true ' society ' an- 
 terior to every State or nation, with rights and duties of its own, 
 totally independent of the commonwealth." 
 
 7. " It is a most sacred law of nature that a father must provide 
 food and all necessaries for those whom he has begotten. ... A 
 man's children carry on, as it were, and continue his own personal- 
 ity." 
 
 8. " The family has at least equal rights with the State in the 
 choice and pursuit of those things which are needful to its pres- 
 ervation, and to its just liberty." 
 
 9. "We say at least equal rights, for since the domestic house- 
 hold is anterior, both in idea and in fact, to the gathering of men 
 into a commonwealth, the former must necessarily have rights and 
 duties which are prior to those of the latter, and which rest more 
 immediately on nature." 
 
 10. " The idea, then, that the civil government should, at its own 
 discretion, penetrate and pervade the family and the household is 
 a great and pernicious mistake." 
 
 11. "Paternal authority can neither be abolished by the State nor 
 absorbed, for it has the same source as human life itself." 
 
 12. " The child ... is, as it were, the continuation of the father's 
 personality." 
 
 13. " To speak with strictness, the child takes its place in civil 
 
ENCYCLICAL OF POPE LEO XIII 163 
 
 society, not in its own right, but in its quality as a member of the 
 family . . . before it attains the use of freewill, it is in the power 
 and care of its parents." 
 
 We have thoug;ht it best to extract these passages, and to 
 place them in an orderly series, because, embedded in a con- 
 text full of manifold and various interest, their full force 
 may be easily lost. They are like the axioms of mathematics, 
 the^ immovable foundations of all reasoning. They are the 
 basis and the constructive lines of human society, which is a 
 Divine creation in the order of nature. 
 
 The Encyclical then proceeds to describe Socialism by the 
 doctrines of its first teachers and chief writers. The essence 
 of Socialism, according to this statement, consists in the denial 
 of the natural right of property or of private ownership, and 
 in the assertion that it is lawful to reform and constitute human 
 society on the basis of the universal equality of man, and the 
 community of goods. 
 
 2. The Encyclical goes on to show the false and destructive 
 character of Socialism. 
 
 The law of property or of private ownership, both in land 
 and in the product of his own labor, is founded in nature, and 
 cannot be abolished by any human authority without a violation 
 of the Divine order of nattiral society. Neither land nor wage 
 can be nationalized. Property existed before the nation; and 
 rests immediately on nature itself. This does not deny the 
 lawfulness of taxing all property by the State for the safety or 
 welfare of the commonwealth. It denies only the lawfulness 
 of uprooting the right of property which is in its origin founded 
 on nature itself. There are many kinds of nominal Socialism, 
 which we need not deal with now ; but of the original Socialism 
 there are two sections: the one that holds the lawfulness of 
 nationalizing both land and the wages of labor; the other that 
 holds the lawfulness of nationalizing the land only, but admits 
 the right of private property in the wages and products of per- 
 sonal labor. The Encyclical denies both these claims. Social- 
 ism therefore affects to reconstitute human society upon a new 
 foundation and by new laws, and this, whether accomplished 
 by force or by fallacy, is destructive of the natural and normal 
 
164 CHURCH AND LABOK 
 
 society of man. For this cause the terms Socialistic and Social- 
 ism have an essentially ill signification. Socialism is to society 
 what rationalism is to reasoning. It denotes an abuse, an ex- 
 cess, a de-ordination in human society, as rationalism denotes 
 a misuse and an abuse of reason. All reasoning must be ra- 
 tional that is in conformity with the laws of reason, and all 
 legislation for human society must be both human and social 
 by the necessity and nature of mankind. \ Inhimian and anti- 
 social law is not law, but tyranny or anarchy. It implies there- 
 fore a laxity of thought, or at least of terminology, to speak of 
 Christian Socialism, of Catholic Socialism. The Holy Father 
 is too keen in his apprehension and too exact in his reasoning to 
 admit such confusion even in terms. This will be seen in the 
 third part of the Encyclical, which treats of the intervention of 
 the State in social questions. 
 
 Leo XIII points out that the equality of all men is contra- 
 dicted by every fact and condition of human life. Both the 
 gifts of nature and the products of human freewill introduce, 
 at every moment, inequalities which are lawful, innocent, and 
 fruitful of every kind of good. Society itself would not grow, 
 nor would its prosperity and power be developed, if all men 
 were equal. And as society unfolds its own perfections, men 
 at once become unequal. The inequalities of age alone would 
 daily multiply the inequalities of early and middle and mature 
 life. If we were all equal to-day, inequalities would spring 
 up to-morrow. And these very inequalities are the spirit and 
 the means of growing perfection. " It is impossible to reduce 
 human society to a level. The Socialists may do their utmost, 
 but they are striving against nature in vain." 
 
 If the right of private ownership were violated, no one would 
 suffer so much as the poor working-man. It is his ambition 
 and his prayer to possess as his own the roof over his head 
 and the patch of garden which now pays his rent. In absorb- 
 ing rich landlords, the poor cottager is also sacrificed. Prop- 
 erty is more vital to those who have little than to those who 
 have much. The rich may make great losses, and yet have 
 enough to live; but they who live always on the brink of 
 want, are ruined by one privation. 
 
ENCYCLICAL OF POPE LEO XIII 165 
 
 Socialism properly so-called, by the equality of all and the 
 community of goods invades also the domestic life and the rights 
 of parents. "The Socialists therefore in setting aside the 
 parent, and introducing the providence of the State, act against 
 natural justice, and therefore the very existence of family life." 
 
 The Holy Father goes on to point out the remedy of these 
 social evils. He says: "There is nothing more useful than 
 to look at the world as it is, and at the same time to look elser 
 •where for a remedy to its troubles." It is certain that the 
 world cannot heal itself; it is more certain that Socialism, which 
 violates the primary laws of nature, cannot heal our social 
 evils. Socialism is in itself the master evil in the society of 
 men, being the destroyer of the first laws of the natural order. 
 Therefore, to find a remedy we are bid to look away from the 
 world, and to look " elsewhere." It is certain, therefore, that 
 neither legislation, nor civilization, nor any simple human in- 
 fluence or natural agency, can restore society which is sick 
 with manifold diseases. The Holy Father tells us where to 
 look. He says : " When a society is perishing, the true advice 
 to give to those who would restore, is to recall it to the purpose 
 and principles from which it sprang." " So that to fall away 
 from its primal constitution is disease; to go back to it is re- 
 covery," " If society is to be cured now, in no other way can 
 it be cured but by a return to the Christian life, and to the 
 Christian institutions." Therefore, " no practical solution of 
 this question wiU ever be found without the assistance of re- 
 ligion and of the Church." God created the Church and the 
 Church created the Christian world. For three centuries the 
 world has been in revolt against the Church, and has thrown 
 off the first principles from which it sprang; they are: faith, 
 indissoluble matrimony, Christian education, obedience to the 
 Head of the Christian world. The consequence of this revolt 
 is schism, divorce, schools without religion, and the weaken- 
 ing of all moral laws. The natural society of man fell from 
 its normal state into manifold corruptions. The merely human 
 civilization in its most refined state in Greece, and in its loftiest 
 attainments in the Eoman world, perished by its own suicidal 
 corruptions. " There cannot be the shadow of doubt . . . that 
 
166 CHURCH 'AND LABOR 
 
 civil society was renovated in every part by the teaching of 
 Christianity; that in the strength of that renewal the human 
 race was lifted up to better things; nay, that it was brought 
 back from death to life." " Of this beneficent transformation 
 Jesus Christ was at once the first cause and the final purpose ; 
 as from Him all came, so to Him all was to be refen-ed." 
 These sentences are full of meaning. They affirm: 
 
 1. That into the fallen and perverted society of men a new 
 life and a new legislation entered, which expelled the evils of 
 human corruption and elevated society to a supernatural state; 
 in other words, that the society and law of nature were not only 
 restored to their first principles, but were elevated to a higher 
 law and state. Human society was made perfect in the super- 
 natural society that is in the Church. Separation therefore 
 from the Church has deprived a great part of the Christian 
 world of its supernatural perfection in life and constitution. 
 
 2. That the Christian law made perfect the natural law of 
 justice any mercy, which may be enforced by human tribunals. 
 
 3. That it superadded the law of charity, the highest and 
 most perfect law which, though it cannot be enforced by hu- 
 man tribunals, has a Divine sanction to enforce it in the con- 
 science of all men. 
 
 4. That without the teaching of Christianity, the moral re- 
 lations of human society become unsympathetic, hard, and 
 selfish. 
 
 When, then, Leo XIII says that the only remedy for the 
 social evils of States is to be found in the Church, he means 
 that " without God there is no society " ; without a legislator, 
 human laws are powerless to restrain the selfish passion of 
 men; and without charity all laws are cold, unpersuasive, and 
 inefficacious. Justice alone without mercy is heartless, and 
 mercy without charity is constrained and repulsive. Without 
 the Church, this higher moral law is not to be found. The 
 condition of the labor world, or of the " labor market," as 
 political economists have taught us to call it, is proof enough. 
 
 The Encyclical then points out two other explicit reasons 
 why the actions of the Church, in its teaching, spirit and sanc- 
 tion, is of the highest moment to society, and especially to 
 
ENCYCLICAL OF POPE LEO XIII 167 
 
 the millions of the world. The poor are the special charge 
 of the Church. "God hath chosen the poor of this world." 
 " Hearken, my beloved brethren, hath not God chosen the poor 
 of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which 
 God hath promised to them that love Him ? " Every living soul 
 is in His immediate care, the rich as well as the poor ; there is 
 no distinction of class or privilege vrith Him. Every soul, 
 whether refined or rude, is in His keeping. But with an 
 especial care He watches over those who "eat bread in the 
 sweat of their brow." They are under the habitual penance of 
 Adam in privation, toil, poverty, often in want, living in hard- 
 ness, and bearing many sufferings. They live perpetually on 
 the brink of want, in the midst of vicissitudes of human for- 
 tune. K"one needs the Paraclete, the Consoler, more than they ; 
 and none needs the sympathy of the Church as they do. " The 
 Church has guarded with religious care the inheritance of the 
 poor." At the present day there are many who, like the heathen 
 of old, condemn the Church for this beautiful charity. We 
 are told that it demoralizes the people. " They would substi- 
 tute in its place a system of State organized relief. But no 
 human methods will ever supply for the devotion and self- 
 sacrifice of Christian charity." 
 
 Another reason is this. The creative power of the Church 
 has in all ages formed for itself organized bodies, incorporat- 
 ing and fulfilling its manifold works of charity. A religious 
 order springs from the bosom of the Church, and is sustained 
 by it. And as religious orders have sprung up within it, so 
 also have guilds, confraternities, sadalities, unions, both sacred 
 and beneficial. Association and co-operation are of the spirit 
 of brotherhood; and the greatest brotherhood in the world is 
 the Church itself. Therefore the Church blesses and encour- 
 ages every form of lawful and Christian association. It con- 
 demns secret societies as such, because they walk in darkness; 
 but it sanctions the open uniting of men for a lawful object, such 
 as mutual protection agaiust those who make the largest profits 
 out of the lowest wages, or intolerable hours of work, and the 
 like. In a word, the Church recognizes the liberty of the hu- 
 man will in all its lawful actions, individual and collective; 
 
168 CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 and It encourages men to use that liberty for their self-defence 
 and for the defence and help of others. 
 
 But finally, the Church alone deals not only with the bodily, 
 but also with the spiritual life of man; and no people can be 
 peaceful or contented with a life of labor who do not know, and 
 hope for, an eternal rest. And it thereby teaches men, the 
 poorest and the humblest, their true dignity. " No man may 
 outrage with impunity that human dignity which God Himself 
 treats with reverence ; nor stand in the way of that higher life 
 which is the preparation for the eternal life of heaven." It 
 is certain that in the measure in which these truths pervade the 
 mind of people, in that measure they are elevated, refined, and 
 independent. In the measure in which they are lost, a people 
 becomes animal, gross and intractable, or, it may be, slavish. 
 '■ To consent to any treatment which is calculated to defeat the 
 end and purpose of his being, is beyond his right. He cannot 
 give up his soul to servitude; for it is not man's own rights 
 which are here in question, but the rights of God." " Therefore 
 no man can contract to work so many hours and so many days a 
 week as to render it impossible for him to live a Christian and 
 human life." From this follows the obligation of the cessation 
 of work and labor on Sundays and certain festivals. From 
 this also it follows that to work sixteen or eighteen hours a 
 day is contrary both to natural and to Christian law. It springs 
 either from the recklessness of the employed, or the covetous- 
 ness of the employer. This is a just condemnation of the state 
 of many of our industries, under which till now our people 
 have suffered in silence. But they are now bid to make their 
 burdens and sufferings known. 
 
 3. The Encyclical then treats of the intervention of the 
 State in matters of political economy. If a century of nar- 
 row and commercial mistreatment had not contracted the range 
 and fulness of political economy to the " dismal science " of 
 supply and demand, wage-funds and labor markets, the very 
 title would have affirmed the duty of the State to intervene 
 whensoever the welfare of the commonwealth is in any part 
 at stake. All political economy contains financial and com- 
 mercial economy, but neither commerce nor finance are co- 
 extensive with political economy. Political economy watches 
 
ENCYCLICAL OF POPE LEO XIII 169 
 
 indeed over the whole commercial and financial economy, but 
 it watches also over the welfare of all classes. Classes revolve 
 round their own interests. It is in reaction from this organized 
 selfishness that some men have recoiled into Socialism. The 
 Encyclical having carefully defined Socialism, both name and 
 tbing, goes on to show how the legislation of human society 
 must be essentially social. " It is in the power of a ruler to 
 benefit every order of the State, and among the rest to pro- 
 mote in the highest degree the interests of the poor ; ... for it 
 is the province of the commonwealth to consult for the common 
 good, and the more that is done for the working population by 
 the general laws of the country, the less need will there be to 
 seek for particular means to relieve them." 
 
 " The richer population have many ways of protecting them- 
 selves, and stand less in need of help from the State. Those 
 who are badly off have no recourse of their own to fall back 
 upon, and must chiefly rely upon the assistance of the State, 
 and it is for this reason that wage^eamers, who are undoubtedly 
 among the weak and necessitous, should be especially cared for 
 and protected by the commonwealth." It is to be doubted 
 whether in any country of the Christian world these truths are 
 better realized than in our own. Ever since the abolition of 
 slavery in 1834, our legislation has entered more and more 
 minutely into the social needs and sufferings of our people. 
 Our poor-law incorporates the primary laws of nature, that a 
 man has a right to live and a right to the food necessary to 
 sustain life, either by gift or by wage. But nobody dreams of 
 calling these laws socialistic. The mining and factory legisla- 
 tion protects millions of men, women and children; the aboli- 
 tion of Com Laws impoverished a class for the welfare of the 
 people; a dozen laws protect children from noxious trades and 
 the like; but no man till now has been blind enough to accuse 
 our Statute-Book of Socialism. The State educations of 
 France, America and Belgium are denounced as godless; but 
 though they are the worst form of Socialism, nobody says so 
 or sees it. But if any man would protect the world of labor 
 from the oppression of " free contracts " or " starvation wages," 
 he is a Socialist. So obscure from want of thought, or so 
 warped by interest, or so prejudiced by class feeling are the 
 
170 CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 minds of men. Our legislation hitherto and the programme of 
 the Berlin Conference are supremely conservative, social, and 
 anti-socialistic. 
 
 4. The Encyclical comes lastly to the liberty, duties, and 
 co-operation of workers. The treatment of this is paternal in 
 its compassion and minute in its detail. It shows both the 
 heart and the head of the Good Shepherd. First, as to liberty. 
 Work is the condition of bread. But in the choice of the kind 
 of work, the master for whom, the wages for which a man shall 
 work, all this rests with himself. The employer has the dead 
 capital of gold and silver. The workman has the living capital 
 of strength and skill. If strength and skill are unproductive 
 without gold and silver, gold and silver are dead without 
 strength and skill. A free and faithful contract between them 
 is necessary for the productiveness of both. A man has a 
 right and an absolute liberty to work for such wages as he thinks 
 just; to refuse to work for less. Men have both right and 
 liberty to unite with others of the same trade or craft, and to 
 demand a just wage for their labor. If this just wage is re- 
 fused, they have both right and liberty to refuse to work — that 
 is, to strike. Leo XIII fully recognizes this liberty. So long 
 as the cause is right, the right to strike is undeniable. He 
 " is free to work or not." 
 
 But next arises the question. What is a just wage? The 
 Encyclical has given a very explicit and definite answer. It is 
 impossible to define the maximum. It is only necessary to de- 
 fine the minimum. The Encyclical says : " Let it be granted 
 then, that, as a rule, workmen and employer should make free 
 agreements, and in particular should freely agree as to wages; 
 nevertheless there is a dictate of nature, more imperious and 
 more ancient than any bargain between man and man, that the 
 remuneration must be enough to support the wage-earner in 
 reasonable and frugal comfort." This is immediately further 
 explained as, " sufficient to enable him to maintain himself, his 
 wife, and his children." 
 
 We have here the measure of the minimum wage. It must 
 be sufficient to maintain a man and his home. This does not 
 mean a variable measure, or a sliding scale according to the 
 number of children, but a fixed average sum. " If through 
 
ENCYCLICAL OF POPE LEO XIII 171 
 
 necessity or fear of worse evil the workman accepts harder 
 conditions because an employer or contractor will give him no 
 better, he is the victim of force and injustice." The founda- 
 tion of this judgment is in the law of nature. It is clear that 
 the normal state of man in the natural order is that every man 
 should have and should dwell in his own home, surrounded by 
 the duties and charities of life. If the civil population of the 
 country were debarred from marriage, like the standing army, 
 the face of the country would be visited with all the evils of 
 a garrison town. Homeless men are reckless. There would 
 be but little patriotism in a country where no man caxes to 
 stand pro aris et focis. The hearth-money of our forefathers 
 was the sure pledge of their loyalty. The policy of the law — 
 that is, its aim and spirit — is that homeless men be few, and 
 that the homes of the people be the broad and solid founda- 
 tion on which the commonwealth, in all its social and political 
 life, shall repose. We may therefore take the maintenance of 
 a home as a minimum of a just wage. 
 
 It follows, therefore, that an employer who should take single 
 men without homes at a lower wage would commit a social 
 injustice, full of immoral and dangerous consequences to so- 
 ciety. 
 
 Beyond this it is impossible to go. Every kind of industry 
 and of labor, skilled and unskilled, in all the diversities of 
 toil or danger, will have its special claims; but the lowest 
 line is the worker and his home. 
 
 It is well to bear in mind that the oldest free contract be- 
 tween landowner and laborer is the metayer system, by which 
 the annual produce of the soil is halved between the landlord 
 and the producer. This still exists abroad. It bears witness 
 to a law of proportion which is just, and it is a source of con- 
 tentment and good will. Where there is no proportion, or 
 known proportion, between enormous and increasing wealth and 
 scanty and stationary wages, to be contented is to be super-hu- 
 man. Leo XIII without naming any one, warmly commends 
 the works of those in France and elsewhere who are giving to 
 their workmen a share in the profits and prosperity of their com- 
 merce and industry. 
 
 On the liberty of strike, Leo XIII is equally explicit. 
 
172 CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 " When work-people have recourse to a strike, it is frequently 
 because the hours of labor are too long, or the work too hard, 
 or because they consider their wages insufficient." 
 
 " Such paralysis of labor not only afPects the masters and 
 their work-people, but is extremely injurious to trade and to 
 the general interests of the public." A strike is like war. If 
 for a just cause, a strike is right and inevitable ; it is a healthful 
 constraint imposed upon the despotism of capital. It is the 
 only power in the hands of working men. We have been for 
 years blinded or dazed by the phrases of " free contract," " the 
 independence of adult labor," " free labor," and the like. The 
 meaning is this : Let working men maintain their independence 
 of one another, and of all associations, and of all unions, and of 
 all united action, and of all intervention of law in their be- 
 half. The more perfectly they are isolated, the more indepen- 
 dent of all defenders, the more dependent they are on capitalists. 
 Starving men may be locked out with impunity. The hunger 
 of their wives, the cries of their children, their own want of food 
 will compel them to come in. It is evident that between a capi- 
 talist and a working man there can be no true freedom of 
 contract. The capitalist is invulnerable in his wealth. The 
 working man without bread has no choice but either to agree 
 or to hunger in his hungry home. For this cause " freedom 
 of contract " has been the gospel of employers ; and they have 
 resented hotly any intervention of any peacemaker. They have 
 claimed that no one can come between them and their men ; that 
 their relation to them is a private, almost a domestic affair. 
 They forget that when thousands of women and children suffer 
 while they are refusing to grant a penny more in wages, or 
 an hour less in work, there is a wide field of misery caused 
 by their refusal, which prolongs a strike. It is then no private 
 affair, but a public evil which excites the public condemnation. 
 And more than this — a handful of miserable men harshly 
 treated grows to a mob, and a mob soon grows to a multitude, 
 and a multitude soon grows beyond its own control, and when 
 batoned by police and angered by the ostentatious presence of 
 soldiers, horse and foot, breaks into flight and scours the streets, 
 wrecking, robbing, and looting, without aim or reason. Again, 
 as more recently, for a month the streets of London were choked 
 
ENCYCLICAL OF POPE LEO XIII 173 
 
 day by day with processions of tens of thousands. Disorder, 
 and horse play, which at any moment might turn to collisions 
 with the people or the police, were imminent; these were 
 sharpened by disappointment, and irritated by refusal of an 
 additional penny an hour. At any moment a drunkard, or a 
 madman, or a fool, might have set fire to the docks and ware- 
 houses. The commercial wealth of London and the merchan- 
 dise of the world, the banks and wharves of the Thames, might 
 have been pillaged ; and the conflagration might have spread for 
 hours before order, at unimaginable loss, could be restored. 
 And all this because a strike is " a matter between us and our 
 men." They were reminded that there were two other parties 
 interested between masters and men, the multitude of suffering 
 women and children, and the whole peaceful population of Lon- 
 don. At a certain stage of such a conflict, either or both of 
 these parties have a social, civic, and natural right to inter- 
 vene to protect the public safety. Leo XIII in such cases goes 
 beyond the intervention of peacemakers in a voluntary effort 
 to reconcile contending parties. He affirms that the State may 
 intervene. " If," he says, " by a strike or other combination 
 of workmen, there should be imminent danger of disturbance 
 to the public peace, or if circumstances were such that among 
 the laboring population the ties of family life were relaxed 
 . . . finally, if health were endangered by excessive labor, or 
 by work unsuited to sex or age, in these cases there can be no 
 question that within certain limits it would be right to call 
 in the help and authority of the law." So little does the En- 
 cyclical recognize the absolutism of employers, and so fully 
 does it justify the action of Parliament in the Commission on 
 Sweating, in the Commission on the Hours of Labor, and now 
 in the Commission of Labor in all its relations to Capital. Leo 
 XIII gives to legislators a supreme counsel : 
 
 " The laws should be beforehand and prevent these troubles 
 from arising, they should lend their infiuence and authority 
 to the removal in good time of the causes which tend to con- 
 flicts between masters and those whom they employ." 
 
 This, as he especially urges, ought to be provided for by 
 voluntary tribunals of arbitration, composed of employers and 
 employed in their respective unions or associations; and when 
 
174 CHUUCH AND LABOK ' 
 
 no such provisions of previous legislation exist, if Parliament 
 is not assembled and danger is urgent, it is the right and the 
 duty of every loyal man, who loves his country and his people, 
 at any cost or danger to himself, to come between the parties 
 in conflict, and to bring them, if he can, to peace. 
 
 The Encyclical then, in a few sympathetic words, treats of 
 the employment of women and children. Of women it says: 
 " They are not suited to certain trades : for woman is by nature 
 fitted for home work, and it is that which is best adapted at 
 once to preserve her modesty, and to promote the good bring- 
 ing-up of children and the well-being of the family." As we 
 read these words, the chainmakers of Cradley Heath, the pit- 
 brow women of the mines, and the mothers in our factories 
 rise before us. Here is a moral case to be solved. A woman 
 enters for life into a sacred contract with a man before God and 
 the altar, to fulfill to him the duties of wife, mother, and head 
 of his home. Is it lawful for her, even with his consent, to 
 make afterwards a second contract for so many shillings a week 
 with a mill owner, whereby she becomes unable to provide her 
 husband's food, train up her children, or do the duties of her 
 home? It is no question of the lawfulness of gaining a few 
 more shillings for the expenses of a family, but of the lawful- 
 ness of breaking a prior contract — the most solemn between 
 man and woman. jSTo arguments of expediency can be admitted. 
 It is an obligation of conscience to which all things must give 
 way. The duties of home must first be done, then other 
 questions may be entertained. Till then nothing. Some peo- 
 ple seem to think that our statute law is of high perfection, 
 because it forbids mothers to return to work for three weeks 
 or a month after childbirth. By a higher law, the law of na- 
 ture, the whole care and time of the mother is due to the child ; 
 a mother's instincts ought to prevail over all lower motives. 
 There can be no home where a mother does not nurture her own 
 infant; and where there is no home, there is no domestic life, 
 and where the domestic life of a people is undermined, their 
 social and political life rests on sand. To this it will be an- 
 swered: that without the mother's earnings the children would 
 not be fed. To this there are many answers. The minimum 
 of wages would suffice, if the relations of capital and labor were 
 
ENCYCLICAL OF POPE LEO XIII 1Y5 
 
 even juat; much more, if generous. Already men have com- 
 plained that employers prefer the cheaper work of women, and 
 women are finding that employers prefer the cheaper work of 
 children. It is the old formula of modem political economy, 
 " sell in the dearest market, and buy in the cheapest." What 
 is cheaper than the work of women and half-timers ? A normal 
 state of wage earning woidd put back every wife into her home 
 in the midst of her children. 
 
 Finally, the Encyclical speaks in few but comprehensive 
 words of the labor of children. " In regard to children, great 
 care should be taken not to place them in workshops and fac- 
 tories until their bodies and minds are sufficiently mature. For 
 just as rough weather destroys the buds of spring, so too early 
 an experience of life's hard work blights the young promise 
 of a child's powers, and makes any real education impossible." 
 There is a tenderness and wisdom in these words which makes 
 all comment needless. Indeed, they exhaust the subject. The 
 condition of child-labor fifty years ago cannot now be conceived 
 by those who have only seen the half-timers of Lancashire and 
 Yorkshire. Children hardly out of infancy were then over- 
 crowded in rooms, ill-ventilated, the air of which became poison- 
 ous. They were set to picking cotton and other like materials, 
 of which the filaments and the fluff affected the organs of res- 
 piration. Our Legislature very tardily and after long conten- 
 tion made such child-labor imlawful. Names of political his- 
 tory are to be found resisting every advance of this humane 
 legislation. They prophesied the ruin of our manufacturers if 
 the labor of infants were forbidden, as men are prophesying now 
 the downfall of our commerce if we save the half-timers from 
 the premature toil which mars their education, exhausts their 
 health, and checks the normal development of body and of 
 brain. All the chief Powers of Europe, and many of the lesser 
 States, agreed at Berlin to raise the minimum age for child- 
 labor to twelve years. Many have done it : some have raised it 
 to thirteen. We voted, and therefore pledged our honor and 
 our humanity, to raise the minimum age to twelve. We have 
 not done it. Our rulers have refused to do it. With a niggard 
 will we are raising it after a year's delay to eleven. The words 
 of Leo XIII wiU sear us till we raise it at least to twelve. 
 
176 CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 Such then in outline is the teaching of Leo XIII. We have, 
 at the risk of breaking the continuity of narrative, given the 
 very words of the Encyclical, arranging them in the main order 
 of the subject-matter as to human society and its morbid parasite 
 of Socialism; as to the Church, the supernatural Society, and 
 the salvation of the political order of the world ; as to the State 
 in its relation to the world of labor; and fiaially, as to the 
 workers, their liberty and their homes. 
 
 The Voice of the Good Shepherd has been heard by the 
 flock spread throughout the world with a loving, thankful, and 
 joyous assent. It has been heard by sovereigns and statesmen, 
 and men of every calling and of every measure of culture, with 
 a respectful attention never before given to any Pontifical 
 utterance. It has been heard by the millions of the world of 
 labor, and they have recognized the accents of the Father's love 
 and sympathy. In truth, the Encyclical, both in matter and 
 in manner of treatment, comes home to the Intelligence and 
 heart of this day with the simplicity of a household world. 
 Who does not know what labor is ? And who is not a sharer in 
 its interests or sympathies or sufferings? Now, there is only 
 one person who represents two things which men think irrecon- 
 cilable — power and poverty; the Vicax of our Lord "who, 
 though he was rich, yet for our sakes became poor," — he only 
 knows both and can speak to both as a partaker in both. 
 
 For a century the civil Powers in almost all the Christian 
 world have been separating themselves from the Church, claim- 
 ing and glorying in their separation. They have set up the 
 State as a purely lay and secular society, and have thrust the 
 Church from them. And now of a sudden they find that the 
 millions of the world sympathize with the Church, which has 
 compassion on the multitude, rather than with the State, or the 
 plutocracy which has weighed so heavily upon them. 
 
3. PASTORAL LETTER ON THE LABORER'S 
 
 EIGHTS ^ .y^ 
 
 By Caedinal O'ConnelIj Akchbishop op Boston 
 
 The time of Advent set apart by the Church to prepare the 
 minds of men for the coming of the Prince of Peace seems an 
 appropriate one, Venerable Brethren of the clergy and laity, to 
 open my pastoral heart to you on a subject vitally connected 
 with jour domestic, civil and spiritual peace. 
 
 The social problem of the relations between employers and 
 employed appears to be the one most fraught with danger to 
 our peaceful living. It has been many times in the past the 
 source of widespread discord and disorder, and may in the 
 future prove a danger to the public peace unless some remedy 
 can be found to better our social conditions. The hostile atti- 
 tude of one set of men against another is always prejudicial to 
 the permanence of peaceful relations ; but when two classes 
 are arrayed in antagonism and distrust, each against the other, 
 the one with the resources of wealth and power behind it, the 
 other with the force of numbers to make its influence felt, society 
 is menaced by impending outbreaks, and the peace of families, 
 the tranquillity of the State and the normal calm engendered 
 by religion are imperiled. 
 
 To find a way out of these social dangers, to reconcile con- 
 flicting interests, to lay down a basis for the just and equit- 
 able settlement of differences between employers and workers is 
 a call to an apostolate of the highest service, which every lover 
 of his faith and of his country should heed, and to which every 
 Christian and every patriot may well consecrate his best en- 
 deavors. 
 
 Justice and charity, two of the noblest Christian virtues, 
 hold a foremost place in any genuine crusade for social better- 
 ment, and make the cause a holy one that appeals even more 
 stronglv to the churchman than to the statesman. 
 "•^ 177 
 
178 CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 The proper csonsideration of the problem depends nmch on 
 the way in which we approach it. The initial mistake that is 
 made in trying to find a solution is in viewing the question as 
 a merely economic one. The lives and happiness of millions 
 of human beings are involved in the issue; and this gives it a 
 moral aspect which cannot be ignored. It is much more than 
 an economic problem. From the moment that the well-being 
 of individuals and families is concerned in any question at 
 issue, it is lifted out of the domain of mere economics. Bald 
 political economy, with its inflexible law of supply and de- 
 mand, can no longer cope with it. The reciprocal rights and 
 duties inhering in the personality and position of those who 
 are making claims and of those who are resisting them, enter 
 in and create at once a moral issue. In the long run dollars 
 and cents are powerless before a just human right, and must 
 give way in every community ruled by principles of justice. 
 
 The question of human rights that is involved in the issue 
 between capital and labor goes deeper down than any legal 
 enactment concerning them. In fact, much of the confusion 
 of thought surrounding the problem springs from a faulty con- 
 ception of the fundamental sources of human society. There is 
 a tendency to-day to exalt unduly the State, and to regard it 
 as the creator of all the rights and privileges which we enjoy, 
 and to look to it for the solution of all our problems. Such a 
 position is philosophically and historically false. The family 
 is, by nature and in fact, anterior to the State. There are cer- 
 tain inherent individual and family rights that spring from 
 nature itself and from the fundamental relations established 
 by the Creator in the universe which antedate the constitution of 
 States or the enactments of civil law. The authority of the 
 parent over his child, his right to provide for his family, the 
 choice of the kind of education his children shall receive -r- 
 all these fundamental rights are rooted in the very nature of 
 family life. So also the rights of conscience are inherent 
 in the individual. They were not created by the State. They 
 are anterior to it by nature and in fact. But if the State is 
 not the creator of them, the State should be the conserver and 
 respecter of them. For it was precisely to safeguard these 
 primary rights of the individual and of the family that States 
 
LETTER ON- THE LABORER'S RIGHTS 1Y9 
 
 \vere formed. To the fact that man is by nature a social be- 
 ing, made so by his Creator, and to the natural need of in- 
 dividuals and families of protecting their primary and natural 
 rights, which alone and isolated they had not the strength to 
 defend against unjust aggression, States owe their origin and 
 formation. It is the province of the State in consonance with 
 its origin to protect those fundamental, individual and family 
 rights, not to invade them 
 
 Now, the right of a man to provide for his family is a nat- 
 ural one. In the exercise of this right he may sell his labor 
 for what he considers just compensation, or may refuse his 
 labor for what he deems an inadequate return. The measure 
 which he must use in determining his decision is that imposed 
 by nature itself. He must support his family ; and the living 
 wage which he has a right to demand according to the teach- 
 ing of Leo XIII, of blessed memory, is the one which will 
 maintain his family in decent and frugal comfort. The man 
 who accepts less through necessity or fear of harder conditions 
 is the victim of force and injustice. This general norm of 
 wage does not exclude the special claims of labor, skilled and 
 unskilled, which according to the degree of toil or danger in- 
 curred has a right to greater compensation. It simply means 
 that the lowest measure of compensation must be the decent 
 maintenance of a man and his home. 
 
 This principle is based on sound political economy and the 
 highest political wisdom.. The safety of the State depends upon 
 the integrity of its homes. To build up contented homes should 
 bo the aim of enlightened legislation as well as the scope of 
 every movement for social betterment. The source of the na- 
 tion's strength lies in the stable and well-ordered home, and with- 
 out it national greatness swiftly hastens to decay. The homeless 
 man, free from the restraints of domestic life, may easily be- 
 come a menace, and to diminish such a danger becomes the 
 duty of comprehensive patriotic statesmanship. 
 
 The maintenance of a home, then, is the minimum wage dic- 
 tated by the law of nature, and prompted by the highest public 
 policy. It is the clear right of the wage-earner, and to protect 
 this right he may make use of all legitimate means. He may 
 combine with others to enforce it and form a union with his fel- 
 
180 CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 low-workers to exert the adequate moral power to maintain 
 it or to better his condition within the limits of justice. To 
 deny him this right is a tyranny and an injustice. He has no 
 other way to safeguard his interests. The rich and the power- 
 fuJ have many ways which they do not hesitate to employ to 
 protect their investments; the working man has only the sup- 
 port of peaceful combination. 
 
 Moreover, workmen's associations may peacefully agitate and 
 seek to mold public opinion in their favor to bring about a 
 redress of real grievances. A campaign of this kind must, 
 however, be legitimately conducted, free from violations of jus- 
 tice and of charity and of the public peace. Finally, the 
 worker, in the last resort, has the right to refuse to work, that is 
 to strike, and to induce by peaceful and lawful methods others 
 to strike with him, when this extreme measure becomes neces- 
 sary to mitigate unendurable conditions, or to wrest from an 
 unreasonable employer just compensation for his labor, after 
 all other measures have failed. 
 
 All this is the teaching of the illustrious Pontiff Leo XIII, 
 in his now famous encyclical " On the Condition of the Work- 
 ingmen." It has its root in the la,w of nature, which dictates 
 that a man has a natural right to a wage which will main- 
 tain his home in frugal and reasonable comfort. All the other 
 conclusions which we have laid down are but corollaries flowing 
 from this fundam.ental principle, on the ground that anyone 
 who possesses a natural right may make use of all legitimate 
 means to protect it, and to safeguard it from violation. 
 
 These are the objective principles which may serve as guiding 
 ones in contests between workers and employers, and if loyally 
 accepted by both sides would undoubtedly mitigate the bitter- 
 ness that often arises in labor disputes. 
 
 The principles governing the conduct of employers are well 
 known, and are generally accepted as the only safe ones which 
 may be followed. They may be summed up as follows : Capital 
 has a right to a just share of the profits, but only to a just share. 
 Employers should treat those who work under them with hu- 
 manity and justice; they should be solicitous for the health- 
 ful conditions of the places where workmen daily toil ; they 
 should use all reasonable means to promote the material and 
 
LETTER ON THE LABORER'S RIGHTS 181 
 
 moral well-being of their employees. They should be kindly, 
 huniane and just in all their relations with them. 
 
 We are well aware that some of these principles find no 
 place m a political and commercial economy which has become 
 wholly pagan. We are convinced, however, that the social 
 problem of the relations between employers and workers can 
 never be settled on any other than a Christian basis. The at- 
 titude of each towards the other must radically change round 
 to a Christian one, else we shall have the spectacle of two op- 
 posing forces facing each other in a hostile spirit, each stub- 
 bornly insisting on its pound of flesh, with no thought of the 
 Christian brotherhood which ought to bind them together. 
 
 The present deplorable situation in the world of labor has 
 been brought about by neglect of Christian principles, and by 
 the attempt to put this question on a material basis only. On 
 the other hand, riches and power bring danger in their train 
 unless moral rectitude and moral standards are accepted as 
 guiding sign posts along the way of life. Money gives power, 
 and it may be sought after too anxiously without due regard to 
 the principles of justice. 
 
 St. Paul has declared in the sixth chapter of his first epistle 
 to Timothy that " the desire of money is the root of all evil," 
 meaning, of course, its inordinate and greedy desire. Men are 
 forgetting these principles. They are making too much of 
 money for money's sake. They have forgotten the injunction 
 of the Saviour given in the twelfth chapter of St. Luke: " Take 
 heed and beware of all covetousness ; for a man's life doth not 
 consist in the abundance of things which he possesseth." There 
 is need of this solemn warning. 
 
 Men with money should be careful to regard it as a means 
 to do good rather than an end. They should beware lest its 
 possession make them arrogant, tyrannical and despisers of 
 their less fortunate brethren. The great restraining force 
 against these natural tendencies is the spirit of religion, which 
 subdues while it strengthens, and sanctifies while it chastens. 
 Whether as individuals or as members of corporate bodies, men 
 of wealth must remember that the Christian law obliges them 
 in one capacity as in the other. There is no double moral 
 standard, no loophole of escape from the sanctions which the 
 
182 CHURCH AND LABOE 
 
 moral law of Christ imposes. Men of wealth should not buy 
 tliat which is not sellable according to Christian ethics. It is 
 an abuse of their wealth and an infraction of the moral code, 
 and a crime against society. 
 
 The merely natural outlook has produced another idea of 
 wealth which is a source of danger. Men regard themselves as 
 absolute owners of what they possess, and claim the right to do 
 with it what they please. In one sense this is true. They are 
 OAvners, and exclusive owners. But there is a law higher than 
 themselves, and there is a God above them. To stand stub- 
 bornly upon individual ground and because they are owners 
 to absolve themselves from all obligations to society and their 
 weaker brethren, is paganism pure and simple. In reality they 
 are, according to the Divine Word, stewards of God. The 
 greater their wealth, the greater their responsibilities. 
 
 Before the so-called Reformation this was the Christian con- 
 ception of wealth, as anyone who will read the records of his- 
 tory will readily see. There was poverty, but no pauperism. 
 The rich man saw in the poor his brethren in Jesus Christ, and 
 was well content to share his treasures on earth, that he might 
 lay up for himself treasures in heaven. 
 
 The individualistic principle of life was introduced by the 
 revolt against the authority of the Church. The unity of faith 
 was broken and Christendom ceased to be one great organic 
 social body, one brotherhood in Christ. Once granted the prin- 
 ciple that man can choose, as he would a garment, his own re- 
 ligion, the most supreme issue of life, the way is open for him 
 to have his own way in things of all moral import. The di- 
 rect tendency of the spirit of individualism is to breed self- 
 BiifBciency and selfishness. That it does not always do so is 
 owing solely to the fact that it is not always carried out to its 
 logical outcome. 
 
 There is need of a return to old Catholic ideals. Men must 
 learn to give to every cause of religion and charity and mutual 
 help, in proportion to their means. Eich men should bear in 
 mind that they shall one day hear the voice of the Master of 
 all saying, " Bender an account of thy stewardship." There 
 must be a generous recognition, on the part of those whom God 
 has blessed with abundance, of their obligations to society and 
 
LETTER ON THE llSoEER'S EIGHTS 183 
 
 the poorer members of the human family. The Christian spirit 
 mnst be enkindled in the soul, and this will of itself arouse the 
 noble and generous disposition to approach conflicts with a 
 calm and balanced mind, and with a readiness to listen to higher 
 impulses than the mere desire for victory over helpless and 
 oftentimes maddened men, who, alas, too often have good rea- 
 son to believe that the rich have lost all sense of kindly feeling 
 and think only of themselves. 
 
 On the other hand, workers are just as much bound by the 
 Christian law as their employers. This fact seems to be lost 
 sight of at times, and men give way to their baser impulses. 
 The spirit of envy generates discontent, and the attitude of 
 the laborer towards his employer becomes un-Christian and 
 pagan. There is a disposition, too, to regard work as an intoler- 
 able burden to be gotten rid of as soon as possible, and with 
 as little effort as possible. This is contrary to Christian teach- 
 ing. The Wise Man in Ecclesiastes, who had tasted all the 
 pleasures of life, was forced to confess : " For I have found that 
 there is nothing better for a man than to rejoice in his work." 
 This natural discontent is fomented and intensified by the 
 noisy agitators of Socialism, the enemies of God and man, who 
 would overturn the foundations upon which human society is 
 built, and exile God from His universe. 
 
 This singular set of men, who seek to conceal the malice 
 of their real principles, but who cannot, are a brood of dis^ 
 turbers. Their doctrines are an abomination striking at the 
 foundations of family life and religion. Their spirit is not 
 new. A similar class of men were graphically described by 
 St. Paul, in his second epistle to the Thessalonians : "For 
 also when we were with you, this we declared unto you: that 
 if any man shall not work, neither let him eat. For we have 
 heard there are some among you who walk disorderly, working 
 not at all, but curiously meddling. ISTow we charge them that 
 are such, and beseech them by the Lord Jesus Christ, that work- 
 ing with silence, they would eat their own bread." 
 
 There is not, and cannot be a Catholic Socialist. Leo XIII 
 has rejected such a fellowship in his immortal encyclical. The 
 principles of Socialism are utterly opposed to the principles of 
 Christianity. They are mutually destructive of each other. 
 
184 CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 Certain misguided Christians may call themselves Socialists, but 
 objectively, a Catholic Socialist is an utter impossibility. 
 
 Another source of unrest among working people, and one 
 against which they must be warned, is the desire to give them- 
 selves over too much to the pleasures of life. It is directly 
 contrary to the Christian, Catholic spirit. It leads people to 
 live beyond their incomes, and is the fruitful source of family 
 troubles and discontent with one's station of life. A Christian 
 people should ever remember that the Christian life is one of 
 restraint. Legitimate recreations are good, but not the sur- 
 render of the heart to the pleasures of this life. They should 
 bear in mind the warning of St. Paul, that among those who 
 make dangerous times in the history of the world are " lovers 
 more of pleasures than of God." More economy at home and 
 less perpetual seeking of empty pleasure would remove much 
 of the unnecessary discontent and murmuring which, even with- 
 out real cause, we hear on many sides. 
 
 The social problem of the relations between employers and 
 workers must be solved on a Christian basis, or not at all. 
 They must face each other in the proper frame of mind spring- 
 ing from a Christian spirit, before even an initial step toward 
 permanent betterment can be effected. Employers and workers 
 must regard each other as brothers in the same great brotherhood 
 of Christ. The Church by her teaching inculcates the only 
 sure method of social regeneration. She would purify the 
 hearts of men of selfishness, greed, envy and hatred, which stand 
 in the way of a better understanding. She abolished slavery, 
 in spite of opposition coming from human interests, and made 
 men socially free. She protected and fostered the working- 
 men's guilds of the Middle Ages, using every means in her 
 power to keep the workers under the gracious and mellowing 
 influence of religion. She alone can be the regenerator of the 
 social commonwealth in the conditions which confront us to- 
 day. 
 
 When the worker imbibing her spirit will look upon labor 
 as a conscientious duty to be done with care and diligence, and 
 when the employer accepting her teaching will be content with 
 reasonable profit and treat the laborer generously and hu- 
 
LETTER OJSr THE LAEOREH'S EIGHTS 185 
 
 manely, the tattle will be already won, and peace will descend 
 and bless both for their loyal Christian and Catholic spirit. 
 
 We exhort all, both employers and workmen, to enter upon 
 this holy crusade of Christian emulation, to make every effort 
 for a lasting peace, to shut out from their ranks Socialistic dis- 
 turbers, to be loyal adherents to the Church, faithfully follow- 
 ing and carrying; out in their daily lives the teachings of tlie 
 illustrious Leo, that, human passion laid aside and put out of 
 the lives of the Church's children, the Prince of Peace may reign 
 over a tranquil and contented people. 
 
 Let the Societies of the Holy Name, now so well established 
 and so flourishing throughout this diocese, serve as the great 
 spiritual centres whence shall radiate this spirit of religious, 
 domestic and social peace and harmony. Let the doctrines of 
 the Church and the principles of her Pontiffs and Bishops, 
 elucidating the economic conditions of her children and their 
 corresponding duties, be studied and learned well at the meet- 
 ings of this Confraternity. 
 
 When our people have begun to understand better the malice 
 of those who, under the cover of friendship, stir up strife, and 
 when they realize that the law of Christ alone can make them 
 all free, and that not dollars, but peace and contentment, are 
 the richest and most precious possessions in life, then will 
 the clamor of these noisy hawkers of poisonous social panaceas 
 appear what it is in very truth, the vicious propaganda of 
 enemies of the Christian faith, and deceitful disturbers of the 
 peace of States. 
 
 During the Holy Season of Advent we charge those having 
 care of souls to instruct their people in the true doctrine of the 
 Church concerning their duties in the realm of labor; to pro- 
 claim again to the workman that the consolations which reli- 
 gion holds out to him are the only real and lasting foundations 
 of true happiness below; and that the envy, the jealousy and 
 hatred of class only render more and more bitter the contest 
 which, even were it victorious, would end only in the ashes of 
 disillusionment. 
 
 Let them annoimce fearlessly to the rich the duties of their 
 station, and the responsibility of their stewardship. Let them 
 
18fi CHUECH AND LABOR 
 
 be courageous and stand, as the Church has ever stood, aa 
 the defender of the weak, the poor and the oppressed, warning 
 them, however, of their solemn duty and just obligations. 
 
 So may these days be sacredly employed to bring about that 
 peace to men of good will, which the Christ Child came to 
 establish on earth when the first Christmas dawned over Beth- 
 lehem. 
 
 May the Blessed Saviour and Redeemer of men send among 
 us, during these days of preparation, the fire of His Holy love, 
 that its glow and warmth may cast out the darkness of false 
 doctrines and the chill of un-Christian distrust and unfriendli- 
 ness, so that we may all, rich and poor, employer and employed, 
 gather around the crib of the Divine Child with Mary and 
 Joseph to adore our God, Whose first law is that of light and 
 love. And may the blessings of God be with you always. 
 
 Given at Boston, on the Feast of 8t. Clement, November 23d, 
 1912. 
 
4. PASTOEAL LETTER ON CATHOLICS AND 
 
 SOCIAL REFORM *- | ^ V? 
 
 By Caedinal BotteitEj Aechbishop op Westminster 
 Editoe''s Inteoduction 
 
 The first appeal for a post-war Catholic reconstruction of 
 the social order, heard the world over, was the ringing mes- 
 sage of Cardinal Bourne, sent out in the early part of the 
 year 1918, months before the end of the gigantic struggle of 
 the nations. The words of the English Prelate, written with 
 the history and conditions of his own country primarily in 
 mind, are filled with wise counsel, encouragement and inspira- 
 tion for all. Their bold and pregnant statements recalled, at 
 the time, the pronouncements of another great churchman who 
 had occupied the same official position, as Archbishop of West- 
 minster, the famous Cardinal Manning. To this the editor of 
 the London Month felicitously alluded in a passage which may 
 here best serve our purpose of introduction. We quote from 
 the issue of March, 1918, as it records the impression then 
 created and describes the circumstances of the Pastoral : 
 
 Just over forty-four years ago the Archbishop of Westminster 
 delivered a memorable lecture at the Mechanics' Institution, Leeds, 
 on " The Dimity and Rights of Labor." It was a bold pronounce- 
 ment for those days, when the shadow of the old political economy 
 lay heavy on the worker, but Archbishop Manning never lacked 
 courage in defense of the oppressed and, in that lecture, he claimed 
 not only reverence for the dignity of labor but a full acknowledg- 
 ment of its rights. Moreover, he showed that those rights were 
 exactly the same as those possessed by capital: the right of personal 
 ownership, the right of liberty, the right of association. It was a 
 clear declaration, as far as it went, of the Christian ideal as opposed 
 to that of the Servile State. 
 
 Now in days far different, another Archbishop of Westminster has 
 with even greater force and clearness and fullness come forward to 
 state for the benefit of his flock the judgment of Christianity on 
 
 187 
 
188 CHUECH AND LABOK 
 
 present social and industrial conditions, and the principles which 
 must be followed in the coming reconstruction of society, if it is to 
 be built upon peace and justice. 
 
 This keen diagnosis of our social and economic ills, wherein their 
 origin and history are carefully traced and their remedies boldly 
 prescribed, comes with all the freshness of a real, living and life- 
 giving Evangel in the midst of the earth-found projects of the 
 modern economist, long unaccustomed to regard man as God's crea- 
 ture and to base human rights on the Divine eternal law. Into this 
 masterly document, in brief compass yet without confusion, are 
 compressed the fundamental doctrines of Catholic social reform, so 
 eloquently voiced by Leo XIII and Pius X, and the spirit of Him 
 who " had compassion on the multitudes " breathes through the 
 whole. 
 
 Through the splendid enterprise of the Westminster Catholic Feder- 
 ation this great pronouncement was promulgated, urhi if not orhi, by 
 its insertion ^ in the Times of February 15, and, we understand, in 
 other leading papers, and it cannot fail to bring before the eyes of 
 thousands of outsiders, the stirring message which Catholicity has for 
 a war-weary and sin-cursed world. 
 
 The Pastoeal 
 
 The times through which we are passing are fraught with 
 anxiety of every kind. It is not necessary to gaze upon the 
 conflict of nations which afflicts the world to find matter of 
 serious concern. At home, in our own midst there are signs of 
 trouble and disturbance, only very partially revealed in the 
 public press, but well known to those in authority, which por- 
 tend the possibility of grave social upheaval in the future. 
 
 It is admitted on all hands that a new order of things, new 
 social conditions, new relations between the different sections 
 into which society is divided, will arise as a consequence of the 
 destruction of the formerly existing situation. In this trans- 
 formation, which will be for better or worse, the Catholic 
 Church has her own special duty to perform, and her own part 
 to play. What is that part to be in our own nation, and in 
 the Empire? 
 
 Before we answer this momentous question it is important 
 tbat we should understand how the present conflict has arisen, 
 and endeavor to trace its causes, summarily at least, far be- 
 yond the events of the summer of 19 li. 
 
 1 The insertion referred to was possible only as a paid advertisement. 
 
CATHOLICS AND SOCIAL EEEOEM 189 
 
 We may in this summary consider first the principles which 
 in the main governed the various classes of this nation, and 
 of other Christian nations, in their dealings with one another, 
 prior to the religious disruption of the sixteenth century. Men 
 then, as now, desired to make their way in life ; they entered 
 into competition with one another; they were prone, then as 
 now, to yield to temptation, to overreach or to deal unfairly 
 with their fellows. But the good and well-disposed had a guide, 
 the self-seeking found a check, in the accepted principles that 
 environed them. Competition in trade or industry, perfectly 
 legitimate in itself, had yet so to be coordinated that the right 
 of the individual worker to a true human existence should not 
 bo made dependent upon the unrestricted gain of him for whom 
 he toiled, nor the interests of the community sacrificed to the 
 aggrandizement of the successful individual. And before the 
 minds of all — peasant, laborer, manual worker, tradesman, 
 landowner, professional man, titled peer of the realm, and 
 Sovereign of the Kingdom — there was ever present the cer- 
 tainty of a complete account to be one day rendered to a Just 
 Judge, the Maker of rich and poor alike. 
 
 England's instinctive cheistianitt 
 These principles of Christianity have remained deeply im- 
 bedded in the mind and heart of the English people. They 
 have influenced for a long space, and still influence to some 
 extent, instinctively rather than consciously, the legislation of 
 this country. But with the gradual disappearance of the au- 
 thority which alone could enforce and give sanction to them, 
 those who still follow these principles very often do not know 
 why they do so, neither can they give an answer should their 
 validity be challenged. 
 
 Thus gradually and almost imperceptibly a new relation of 
 society came into being; and men and women, of high aim 
 and of avowedly Christian belief, came to be dominated by 
 ideas which had no ground in, or dependence upon, any Chris- 
 tian principle. Those who have studied the matter in detail 
 have told us at length of the terrible conditions existing in this 
 country less than a hundred years ago, in which conditions all 
 thought of the rights of each individual soul or of the com- 
 
190 CHURCH AND LAEOR 
 
 munity as a whole was obliterated, and men felt no qualms about 
 the practical enslavement and degrading impoverishment of 
 multitudes in order that a few might possess and command 
 the resources of almost unrestricted wealth. Desire of gain 
 at all cost, without reference to the consequences thereby en- 
 tailed upon vast numbers of the nation, became a ruling prin- 
 ciple. The true end and purpose of existence were forgotten; 
 the right of the individual received little thought ; the interests 
 of the community were sacrificed to the exaggerated well-being 
 of the few. Wealth and material prosperity to be obtained by 
 those who were able to attain them were a sufficient object for 
 this life. In too many cases any higher aim was deliberately 
 excluded or regarded as so problematical as to be undeserving 
 of serious thought. An enormous development of trade took 
 place. On the surface there was prosperity which seemed to 
 admit of no limit or setback, and our teachers of even only 
 forty years ago told us complacently that the economic system 
 and development of England were of a very perfect kind, and 
 worthy of imitation by less enlightened and less progressive 
 nations. 
 
 A LESSON FEO'M THE ENEMY 
 
 Other nations had been learning the lesson — notably the 
 confederation of nations which is now our chief enemy. With 
 the thoroughness of purpose and scientific determination that 
 characterize her, Germany has sought a world-wide predomi- 
 nance by setting boldly and consistently before herself those 
 materialistic aims which for too long deluded and misled our 
 English people. She desires " her place in the sun " ; and, as 
 might was only too often right in the industrial struggles 
 within the limits of our own people, so imbued with the same 
 principles, happily to an increasing extent now discarded among 
 us, she claims that might is right in the world domination for 
 which she is now struggling to her doom. 
 
 Happily, do we say, are those false principles being dis- 
 carded among us ; for, were it not so, the future of our peoples 
 would be as overcast as is the future which the economic lusts 
 of our enemies are bringing rapidly upon them. 
 
 The last thirty years have shown a surprising return to 
 
CATHOLICS AND SOCIAL EEFOEM 191 
 
 saner doctrines and sounder principles in the teachings of 
 our economists, and in the practice of our people, a return all 
 the more astonishing because it has been instinctive rather 
 than logical, and has little definite relation to religious teach- 
 ing. God has watched over us in this respect, in spite of all 
 our national sins and shortcomings, as He has so often done 
 in the history of the past. Youthful ardor, self-sacrifice in 
 face of common danger, recognition of the rights of all who 
 do their part in the nation's struggles, no less than the com- 
 pelling necessity of the moment, have led the peoples of the 
 Empire to an abandonment of materialistic aims, and to a 
 giving up of desires based purely on the present life, which 
 would have seemed incredible not so many years ago. 
 
 APTEE THE WAE WHAT ? 
 
 But in every mind the cry is insistent. " The war will one 
 day end. What then? What is the future of our country 
 to be ? Are all our sacrifices to go for nothing ? Is our world 
 to be a truer, a better, a happier place than it was before ? " 
 We proclaim loudly that we are now fighting not so much 
 against the German people as against the principles which have 
 impelled them to wage an unjustifiable war. We have to be 
 on our guard lest those same principles, the desire of power 
 and gain at the cost of the moral law, should reassert their 
 sway in our own national and social life. Such desire once 
 led us into practices at which the conscience of the nation now 
 revolts. That reawakened conscience has been strengthened by 
 the dread happenings of this war ; and to some extent — though, 
 alas ! not wholly — ■ these evil principles have been exorcized. 
 
 In making these comments on the order of things which too 
 long prevailed in England, it is in no way necessary, nor would 
 it be right, to impute conscious injustice to those who upheld 
 and perpetuated the wrongs that all now regretfully recog- 
 nize. Just as there must be countless numbers in Germany 
 today who would condemn with the same execration as we do 
 the crimes of which their rulers are guilty, could they only 
 gaze upon them from the same point of view from which we 
 contemplate them, so, when a false social and political economy 
 still held unrestrained sway in England, many God-fearing and 
 
192 CHURCH AND LAEOR 
 
 honorable men were the unwitting accomplices of a system 
 ■uhich had blinded and mastered them. 
 
 It is not, then, in any spirit of censure, either of master 
 or servant, or of capitalist or workman, of employer or trades 
 unionists — not with any desire to blame either the past or the 
 present — but solely to prepare for and safeguard the future, 
 that we venture to approach the problem that we are placing 
 before you today. 
 
 What is that future to be — how is the social and political 
 order to be reconstructed among us ? There are some, a small 
 minority as yet, but with increasing influence, who are pro- 
 claiming a policy of despair. They have looked, they will tell 
 us, in various directions for a solution of the problem in vain. 
 Those who in this country are the official representatives of 
 religious teaching have failed — so these despairing voices as- 
 sure us — to give any coherent answer to their questions. Thus 
 they are compelled — again it is their voice that speaks — 
 to the unwelcome conclusion that the existing relations of so- 
 ciety are incapable of being remedied, and that things cannot 
 be worse than they are at the present time. Let then, they 
 proclaim, the existing order be overthrown and destroyed in 
 the hope, baseless or well-founded, that out of the chaos and 
 destruction some better arrangement of men's lives may grow 
 up. It is the policy of which we see the realization and the 
 first-fruits at the present time in Russia. 
 
 The vast majority of our people are held back, if not by 
 religious motives, at least by their inborn practical sense, from 
 suicidal projects of this kind. In this turmoil of uncertainty, 
 in this longing for teaching and guidance, what is the place 
 of those to whom God has given, and who have accepted, the 
 fulness of the Divine Revelation under the authority of the 
 Church of Jesus Christ? Will their voice be heard if, amid 
 the clamor, it be upraised. If they be beard, have they a 
 real message to deliver? 
 
 THE BETTEE WAY 
 
 There can, we think, be no doubt at all as to the readiness 
 of our countrymen to listen to the teachings of the Catholic 
 
CATHOLICS AND SOCIAL EEFOEM 193 
 
 Church if an opportunity can be given to them of knowing what 
 that teaching is. Their attitude towards the Church is rapidly 
 ceasing to be one of indifference. Widespread interest is shown 
 in our doctrines and practices, especially in all that we may 
 say about the grave dangers that now threaten the world. 
 The very circimistaiices, too, of the war have brought hun- 
 dreds of thousands of Englishmen into new and closer con- 
 tact with the Catholic Church. British soldiers in Belgium 
 and France have been profoundly affected by all that they have 
 seen of her influence in those countries. 
 
 They are impressed with a new sense of the reality of 
 religion. They observe its effectiveness in the face of danger 
 and death; its power to heal, tranquilize and uplift ; the detinite- 
 ness and uniformity of Catholic teaching. In England, too, 
 many have adopted Catholic emblems, beliefs, and practices 
 which before the war would probably have repelled them. The 
 message of war-shrines, crucifixes, and rosaries finds an echo 
 in the heart of the people, a stirring, it may be, of the old 
 Catholic tradition, never wholly obliterated. Belief in the 
 efiicacy of prayers for the dead is becoming more frequent; 
 and it is dawning upon many that their choice must be be- 
 tween the religion of Catholics and no religion at all. 
 
 Again, social reformers of every school are turning more 
 and more to Catholic tradition for their inspiration ; and even 
 in the aspirations and demands of extremists we may often 
 discern that belief in the value of human personality, that 
 insistence upon human rights, that sense of human brother- 
 hood, and that enthusiasm for liberty which are marked fea- 
 tures of Catholic social doctrine. 
 
 Another cause has been at work to remove the prejudices 
 of former days. During the war Catholics, many of them 
 suffering hitherto from a certain shyness and isolation, have 
 been brought into intimate contact with the rest of the nation. 
 The shouldering of common burdens, daily association with 
 others in the manifold works of relief and organization, com- 
 radeship in the army, and cordial co-operation at home, have 
 conduced to mutual respect and dissipated the old atmosphere 
 of suspicion. 
 
194 CHUECH A:tfD LABOR 
 
 EEITJCTAJSTT EVIDEETCE 
 
 It was, perhaps, inevitable that this growing sympathy with 
 Catholic ideals should have irritated that small but noisy sec- 
 tion of fanatics who are always ready to play upon the fears 
 of the credulous or to re-echo those " No Popery " cries which 
 we, in common with all men of right feeling,, would very 
 readily forget. At a moment when national unity is of vital 
 importance, these people are seeking to stir up popular re- 
 sentment against a loyal section of the population, regardless 
 not only of justice and charity, but of the effect which such 
 bigotry cannot fail to have upon the Catholics of other nations 
 whose good-will we desire to retain. 
 
 With such calumniators as these, appeals to reason and 
 justice appear to be unavailing. But they and the press which 
 represents them are, we think, discredited by the bulk of the 
 nation, to whose sense of fair-play we confidently appeal. And 
 indeed we only refer here to the anti-Catholic agitation be- 
 cause it is an indirect evidence of that growing popular sym- 
 pathy with Catholic ideals which has, by reaction, stirred it 
 to life. 
 
 Our concern, at the moment, is not with exclusively Catholic 
 interests, but with those common problems of national im- 
 portance which have recently become so acute. ,It is a mo- 
 ment when all Catholics should reflect very seriously upon 
 their duties as citizens and upon that special contribution to 
 the common welfare which they are enabled to make as rep- 
 resentatives of an age-long and world-wide tradition. The 
 Catholic Church has helped to bring social order out of chaos 
 in times past ; many of our countrymen feel that her help is 
 much to be desired in the coming reconstruction. They rec- 
 ognize, for instance, that she is able to combine social stability 
 ■ft^th liberty, and thus to avoid the calamities both of anarchy 
 and tyranny, into one or the other of which this country might 
 easily drift. 
 
 It is well for us to recall that the present social dislocation 
 has arisen precisely because the teaching of the Catholic Church 
 had been forgotten. In the sixteenth century England broke 
 away from the religious unity of Europe The popular faith 
 
CATHOLICS AND SOCIAL KEFORM 195 
 
 was violently ousted, and the spiritual authority of the Pope 
 rejected. In course of time religious individualism gave place 
 to religious indifference, and the twentieth century found the 
 bulk of the people in this land frankly uninterested in church 
 or chapel. 
 
 But the old Catholic social ideals and practices had also 
 vanished; and here, too, a fierce individualism produced dis- 
 astrous consequences. England came under the dominion of a 
 capitalistic and oligarchic regime, which would have been un- 
 thinkable had Catholic ideals prevailed, and against which 
 the working classes are now in undisguised revolt. 
 
 Capitalism began really with the robbery of church property 
 in the sixteenth century, which threw the economic and social 
 advantage into the hands of the land-owning and trading classes. 
 The industrial revolution in the eighteenth century found 
 England already in the hands of the well-to-do classes. Since 
 then the effect of competition uncontrolled by morals has been 
 to segregate more and more the capitalist from the wage-earn- 
 ing classes, and to form the latter into a " proletariat," a people 
 owning nothing but their labor-power and tending to shrink 
 more and more from the responsibilities of both ownership and 
 freedom. Hence the increasing lack of self-reliance and the 
 tendency to look to the State for the performance of the ordinary 
 family duties. 
 
 OLIGAECHT AND INDUSTEIAXISM 
 
 The English oligarchic spirit took its rise from the same 
 sources as English capitalism, and by the beginning of the 
 twentieth century was closely bound up and dependent on it. 
 The territorial oligarchy had by then thoroughly fused with 
 the commercial magnates, and the fusion had produced plu- 
 tocracy. While the Constitution had increasingly taken on 
 democratic forms, the reality underlying those forms had been 
 increasingly plutocratic. Legislation under the guise of " social 
 reform" tended to mark off all wage-earners as a definitely 
 servile class. The result, even before the war, was a feeling 
 among the workers of irritation and resentment, which mani- 
 fested itself in sporadic strikes, but found no very clear expres- 
 sion in any other way. 
 
196 CHURCH AND LAEOR 
 
 During the war tlie minds of the people have been profoundly 
 altered. Dull acquiescence in social injustice has given way 
 to active discontent. The very foundations of political and 
 social life, of our economic system, of morals and religion, 
 are being sharply scrutinized; and this not only by a few 
 writers and speakers, but by a very large number of people 
 in every class of life, especially among the workers. Our in- 
 stitutions, it is felt, must justify themselves at the bar of 
 reason; they can no longer be taken for granted. 
 
 The army, for instance, is not only fighting, it is also think- 
 ing. Our men have gained immensely in self-respect, in per- 
 sonal discipline, in a wider comprehension of national and 
 social issues. They have met and made friends with members 
 of other classes and occupations. Many for the first time in 
 their lives have been properly fed and clothed, have learnt 
 the pleasure and health that come from an out-door life, have 
 realized what it means to belong to a body with great traditions. 
 They have learnt the characteristic army scorn for the self- 
 seeking politician and empty talker; they have learnt the wide 
 difference between the facts as they have seen them and as 
 the daily press reports them; and they have learnt to be sus- 
 picious of ofEcial utterances and bureaucratic ways. Above 
 all, they have faced together hardship, pain and death; and 
 the horror of their experience has forced them back to for- 
 gotten religious instincts. And the general effect of all this 
 on the young men who are the citizens of " after the war " is 
 little short of revolutionary. 
 
 A similar change has taken place in the minds of our people 
 at home. The munition-workers, hard working but over- 
 strained by long hours and heavy work, alternately flattered 
 and censured, subjected sometimes to irritating mismanage- 
 ment, and anxious about the future, tend to be resentful and 
 suspicious of public authorities and political leaders. They, 
 too, are questioning the whole system of society. The voluntary 
 war-workers, again, have had their experience widened; not 
 only are many of them doing useful work for the first time 
 in their lives, and doing it well, but they are working in com- 
 panionship with and sometimes under the direction of those 
 with whom they would not, in normal times, have dreamt of 
 
CATHOLICS A^TD SOCIAL KEFORM 197 
 
 associating. They are readjusting their views on social ques- 
 tions. 
 
 There is, in short, a general change and ferment in the 
 mind of the nation. Few suppose that after the war the social 
 order will automatically adjust itself. Most realize that we 
 must make a combined and determined effort to right it. 
 
 It is here that Catholic guidance, if offered with understand- 
 ing and sympathy, is likely to commend itself. But this means 
 that Catholics must clear their own minds of prejudice, and 
 must deliver not their own message, but the message of the 
 Catholic Church. If their minds are formed in accord, for 
 instance, with the great Encyclicals of Leo XIII, they will 
 seize the opportunity with courage and vsdth a great trust in 
 the people, and a still greater trust in God. They will work 
 for social stability and liberty, for jiistice and charity, and 
 help to draw together in national unity the sundered and em- 
 bittered classes. 
 
 CATHOLIC SOCIAL EEFOEM 
 
 The Catholic principles of social reform cannot fail to com- 
 mend themselves to the millions of men and women in this 
 country, in whom a passion for social righteousness has been 
 stirred: who, in the shock of war, have discovered and have 
 revolted at the social unfairness which has prevailed for so 
 long. 
 
 Is it surprising that these people, suddenly awakened to the 
 un-Christian features of our civilization, should in their zeal 
 for reform and their consciousness of power be tempted to 
 root up the wheat with the tares ? If some of them, cut adrift 
 as they have been from Christian influences, are suspicious 
 of all religious, a^ well as all political, organizations, our task 
 must be, not to denounce them as impious revolutionaries, but 
 to show them that the Catholic Church alone can purify and 
 realize their aspirations. They simply do not know, for in- 
 stance, that Leo XIII has denounced in terms as strong as 
 they themselves are likely to use, the greed and self-seeking 
 which have laid upon the working classes " a yoke little better 
 than slavery itself." 
 
 'Now there are certain leading features of the modem labor 
 
198 CHURCH AND LABOE 
 
 unrest whicli, tliougli their expressions may be crude and ex- 
 aggerated, we recognize as the true lineaments of the Christian 
 spirit. Its passion for fair treatment and for liberty; its re- 
 sentment at bureaucratic interferences with family life; its 
 desire for seK-realization and opportunities of education ; above 
 all, its conviction that persons are of more value than property 
 — these surely give us points of contact and promise a sympa- 
 thetic welcome to our message. 
 
 We have only to show what is involved in these excellent 
 ideals, for which we ourselves have labored and suffered — 
 how there can be no rights without duties, how liberty implies 
 responsibility, how suicidal is class war, how the Command- 
 ments of God are not only an obligation but a protection for 
 man. 
 
 If we review the main principles of Catholic social teaching 
 we shall observe how many of the utterances of " modern un- 
 rest " are merely exaggerated or confused statements of those 
 very principles ; and since, as has been truly said, " the Cath- 
 olic Church is not afraid of enthusiasm," we should not find 
 it hard to put before the most ardent their own ideals, in a 
 more coherent and satisfying form than they could do it for 
 themselves. 
 
 If they take their stand upon the dignity of man, whether 
 rich or poor, we can show them how every human being, cre- 
 ated by God and redeemed by Christ, has a much greater dignity 
 than they had dreamt of. If they claim for every human 
 being a right to a share in the fruits of the earth, a right to 
 live a life worthy of man, we endorse that claim with Divine 
 sanctions. If they protest against industrial insecurity and the 
 concentration of capital in a few hands, we point out how they 
 are suffering from the blow aimed at the Catholic Church in 
 the sixteenth century. If they have had a hard fight to estab- 
 lish the right of association in trades unions, it was because 
 the Catholic voice had been silenced in the land. If their in- 
 stinct for education and self-realization has been stirred, it is 
 but the awakening of an instinct developed among the people 
 in Catholic days before our universities and secondary schools 
 were diverted from their original purpose. 
 
 When once people come to see that we share their aspira- 
 
CATHOLICS AND SOCIAL REFORM 199 
 
 tions they will be more ready to listen M'ben we show them what 
 those aspirations involve. They will learn to distrust false 
 prophets and specious theorists. They will understand how 
 might is not right ; how society is not a conglomeration of war- 
 ring atoms, but a brotherhood; how the family, which is the 
 bulwark of liberty, would be injured by the introduction of 
 divorce or the weakening of parental authority; how property 
 has its rights, however much those rights may have been exag- 
 gerated; that cordial co-operation among all classes of society 
 is necessary if their ideals are to be realized. 
 
 Understanding all these truths as parts of one Christian 
 scheme of life, may we not hope that the people of this coun- 
 try will come to have a new conception of what Christianity 
 means ? Finding a guide whom they can trust in the complex 
 social problems of today, will they not examine the claims of 
 the Catholic Church to guide them in those religious perplex- 
 ities which, under the pressure of war, they are beginning to 
 feel? 
 
 THE CRISIS FOE CATHOLICS 
 
 If, then, it be true that there are many ears open to receive 
 our voice, should we Catholics remain apathetic at this critical 
 moment? The opportunity may never come again. If we 
 stand aside from the social movements of the day, they will 
 go forward without us, and our message may never be delivered. 
 Can we face such a responsibility when we remember the fate 
 that might overtake a country which has abjured Christian 
 teachings ? Pope Leo XIII has described it to us in his letter 
 on " The Duties of Christians as Citizens " : 
 
 " Nations and even vast empires themselves cannot long re- 
 main unharmed, since, upon the lapsing of Christian institu- 
 tions and morality, the main foundation of human society must 
 necessarily be uprooted. Force alone will remain to preserve 
 public tranquility and order; force, however, is very feeble 
 when the bulwark of religion has been removed; and, being 
 more apt to beget slavery than obedience, it bears within itself 
 the germs of ever-increasing troubles. The present century 
 has encountered notable disasters: nor is it clear that some 
 equally terrible are not impending. The very times in which 
 
200 CHURCH AND LABOK 
 
 we live are warning us to seek remedies there where alone 
 they are to be found — namely, by re-establishing in the family 
 circle and throughout the whole range of society, the doctrines 
 and practices of the Christian religion. In this lies the sole 
 means of freeing us from the ills now weighing us down." 
 
 Catholics who have rallied with such splendid patriotism to 
 the defense of the country will, we are confident, labor no less 
 generously to reestablish that country on a Christian basis, to 
 seize the opportunities and avert the dangers of the present 
 social unrest. There is a place for every man and woman in 
 this work. In the words of Leo XIII: 
 
 " Civil society, no less than religion, is imperiled ; it is the 
 sacred duty of every right-minded man to be up in defense of 
 both the one and the other." (" The Condition of the Work- 
 ing Classes.") 
 
 In earnest prayer, in the frequentation of the Sacraments, 
 and in the example of a good Catholic life we place our chief 
 confidence. But with these we must combine a real understand- 
 ing both of present social conditions and tendencies, and of 
 the principles which will enable us to deal with them aright. 
 
 The experience of the past few years has shown how much 
 may be done by the formation of social study circles among 
 Catholics of all classes. By this method, far more than by 
 attendance at occasional lectures or by desultory reading, the 
 student obtains a real grasp of modern problems and the prin- 
 ciples underlying them, and is able to exercise a marked in- 
 fluence on local opinion. Such study circles may well be or- 
 ganized among Catholic women also, who will now have the 
 responsibility of the vote and take a more prominent part in 
 public life. It is too much to expect a busy, overburdened 
 priest to undertake in all cases the entire guidance of such 
 study circles : but the clergy can encourage their formation and 
 be ready to advise when occasion arises. 
 
 Again, we have the singularly effective instrument of Cath- 
 olic social literature. Admirable Catholic text-books and man- 
 uals are now available, and every effort should be made to 
 give them as wide a circulation as possible. 
 
CATHOLICS AND SOCIAL EEFORII 201 
 
 AMOWG CATHOLICS AND NON-CATHOLICS 
 
 Of great importance, too, are those general Catholic organi- 
 zations, such as the Catholic Federations, the Catholic Young 
 Men's Society, and the Catholic Women's League, which aim 
 at bringing together all Catholics, irrespective of their political 
 views or social circuzastances, upon the common platform of 
 Catholic public life. The strengthening of their respective 
 branches would enable us not only to forward Catholic inter- 
 ests and to protect religious liberties, but to set before the coun- 
 try in an effective way those Christian principles by which 
 alone can be secured the orderly welfare of a free people. The 
 work of such associations is intended to be constructive. Their 
 aim is not merely to counteract false principles or to protest 
 against injustice, but to build up, positively, a Christian social 
 order. Hence they should be educative, and their members 
 should fit themselves by assiduous study for the task of en- 
 lightening others. 
 
 Finally, we should co-operate cordially with the efforts which 
 are being made by various religious bodies to remedy our 
 unchristian social conditions. Without any sacrifice of reli- 
 gious principles, we may welcome the support of all men of 
 good-will in this gi'eat and patriotic task. Already, certain 
 important Christian organizations have been occupied in the 
 endeavor to build up a common platform of social reform. 
 Such efforts certainly deserve all the help, guidance, and co- 
 operation that we can afford them. 
 
 Such then is the task, such the aim that we desire to place 
 before you, that you may consider it in God's presence. Never 
 has a greater responsibility been given to the Catholics of these 
 lands than at the present time. We have it in our power to 
 render to our fellow-countrymen, to the nation, to the Empire, 
 services of immense value for the common well-being, no less 
 than for the salvation of innumerable souls. 
 
 The ultimate end of nation and Empire, as of the individuals 
 that compose them, is to give glory to God, and to promote 
 that glory by aiding and not checking men in the fulfillment 
 of the purpose for which God made them. 
 
202 CHUEGH AKD LABOK 
 
 So long as the teaching of the Catholic Church embodied 
 the religious sentiments of the English people, this ideal was 
 never deliberately set aside; and the religious edifices that 
 grew up in the midst of a very sparse population, with the 
 charitable and educational purposes which they once sheltered, 
 are an abiding witness to what our forefathers accepted as 
 principles of life and conduct. 
 
 Externally and superficially in our social structure, in the 
 Government and Constitution of the Empire, the old order 
 has not wholly disappeared. The recognition of God's part 
 and place in civil ruling is less obliterated than in most other 
 nations. But for nearly 400 years the action of the vivifying 
 spirit that once animated rulers and ruled alike, has grown 
 gradually weaker, and not so long ago seemed doomed to en- 
 tire failure. God is now again, in His mercy, out of the 
 very horrors of war, showing us how we may retrace our steps 
 and rebuild the commonwealth on the teaching given to all 
 generations for their healing in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, 
 His Son. 
 
 We are once more reminded by the voice of the Catholic 
 Church — that we, in our turn, may remind others who, per- 
 chance, may never have heard, or hearkened to, that voice — 
 that there is no safety for the individual, or for society, ex- 
 cept in the teachings of Christ Our Lord. 
 
 Each man receives from his Creator freedom to attain the 
 end for which he was created. He has a right to a true human 
 life, and to the labor whereby materially, that life may be 
 maintained; and to that labor is due a wage proportionate at 
 least to the maintenance of such true human life. In the 
 same way he is entitled to have and to retain property as his 
 own personal possession, and at the same time it is his duty 
 to render to the society of men in the midst of which he lives, 
 the service and obedience without which all corporate exist- 
 ence would be impossible. 
 
 In like manner Christ teaches us the sanctity and inviola- 
 bility of family life; the diversity of the gifts that r^an re- 
 
CATHOLICS AND SOCIAL EEFOEM 203 
 
 ceivea, with the consequent inevitable difference in position, 
 learning, acquirements and possessions which has ever char- 
 acterized, and must always characterize the members of the 
 human race; and the mutual dependence which must exist 
 between all ranks of society if God's purpose is to be fulfilled. 
 
 If these things be remembered, if they be accepted as the 
 basis of that rebuilding of our public life and government, 
 then may we look forward with confident hope for the future. 
 If they be forgotten, still more if they be deliberately set 
 aside, greater calamity will come upon us than any war could 
 inflict. 
 
 It is a part of your mission, dear Eeverend Fathers, to bring 
 these matters clearly and plainly before your flocks, so that 
 they may exercise any influence that they possess in accordance 
 with the social teachings of Christ and of His Church, and 
 be the messengers to others outside the flock of what the Church 
 actually teaches on these vitally important subjects. In ac- 
 complishing this mission much use should be made of the ex- 
 cellent publications of the Catholic Social Guild, which is ever 
 ready to render aid in making known the sound principles which 
 must underlie all true social reform. 
 
 May Our Divine Master, ever kind and considerate to rich 
 and poor, to the learned and to the simple, and to all who seek 
 Him with single heart, be your Guide and Teacher. May His 
 Holy Mother, honored once throughout this realm of England 
 as its Queen by right Divine and by the people's choice, be with 
 ua aa we learn again the lessons that He alone can teach. May 
 the whole nation take the lesson to heart, so that out of the 
 sorrows and bitterness and tragedy of this time of war a new 
 England may be built up which will give to God all the things 
 that are God's, and to the commonwealth all that both society 
 and the individual may justly claim. 
 
IV. THE BISHOPS OF FOUR COUNTRIES 
 
 1. Pastoral Letter of the Bishops of Ireland on the Labor 
 
 Question. 
 
 2. The Social Eeconstruction Program Issued by the four 
 
 American Bishops Constituting the Administrative Com- 
 mittee of the National Catholic War Council. 
 3- Extract from the Pastoral Letter of the Bishops of France 
 on Conditions after the War. 
 
 4. Declaration of the American Hierarchy, on Industrial Re- 
 
 lations in their Pastoral Letter. 
 
 5. Pastoral Letter of the German Bishops on Socialism. 
 
 205 
 
1. PASTORAL LETTER OF THE BISHOPS OF IRE- 
 LAND ON THE LABOR QUESTION ^ 
 
 Veey Reveeend and Reyeeewd Fathers xsn I>eae Beeth- 
 EEJsr iisr Christ: 
 
 Aa pastors of the faithful children of St. Patrick we have 
 deeply felt the pain and sorrow which a prolonged labor dis- 
 pute, of singular mischief in its various complications, has 
 brought on our people. Hence the responsibility now devolves 
 upon us of addressing to you this pastoral letter in reference 
 to the means by which such great evils, spiritual and temporal, 
 as this deplorable quarrel has unfortunately produced may, 
 through the divine mercy, be prevented in the years to come. 
 
 The great lesson from this sad experience is the imperative 
 need of well-formed conciliation boards, duly representative of 
 both sides, to adjust differences as they arise. Masters and 
 men have a common interest in industry: and that is the way 
 to maintain it for the common good. For the requisite organi- 
 zation strong Irish trade unions, conducted on sound principles, 
 can do much in industrial centres, as they can likewise to 
 serve other useful purposes of a kindred nature. 
 
 A strong association of workers is not likely either to accept 
 less than a living wage or to plead compulsion when a collective 
 bargain is authorized by a regular ballot of its members. The 
 sense of Christian duty, as of manly self-respect and honor, 
 has then fair play to influence conduct, and to develop a 
 Bound tone and tradition in industrial relations. The employ- 
 ers, likewise, need their unions. But disputes there will be. 
 The making of a bargain in which a multitude is concerned, 
 and the varying circumstances of persons and events, naturally 
 lead to sharp divergences from time to time; and then a fair 
 jury should have a chance of bringing in its verdict before the 
 protagonists on either side let loose the horrors of war, Noth- 
 
 1 February 11, 1914. 
 
 207 
 
208 CHUUCH AND LABOE 
 
 ing less is demanded by the interests of the parties themselves. 
 Nothing less is fair to the public. 
 
 In connection with the labor question, it is the laborers who 
 have the first claim on our consideration. Though there is no 
 counting the number of unsuccessful manufacturers and of 
 unprosperous merchants, business and trade make men rich, and 
 industry will not flourish and will not give employment unless 
 it brings wealth in its train. But for our part, when we 
 desire ardently to see suitable industries thrive in town and 
 country, our desire is not for the enrichment of any class, but 
 for such employment and remuneration of Irish labor at home 
 as will afford our working people a worthy livelihood, and 
 stem the tide of depopulating emigration. 
 
 In backward districts, or where foreign competitors have 
 got far ahead, or where from other reasons existing circum- 
 stances are unfavorable, the workers need not expect at the start 
 the full measure of remuneration to which they are entitled 
 when the industry has reached normal conditions. But out of 
 the average thriving business the workman may well claim, 
 in return for his honest day's work, what will at least procure 
 worthy maintenance for himself and his little family, with 
 such " outlet and outlook," to use the phrase of a living states- 
 man in a like connection, as are implied in a reasonable op- 
 portunity to improve steadily the condition of his household. 
 
 ISTothing less is fair recompense for hard work, temperance, 
 and thrift. As a rule the laborers who toil at the heaviest 
 work for the lowest pay have not received a fair share of the 
 wealth they do so much to produce. Under the sway of materi- 
 alist economics, less than a hundred years ago men and machin- 
 ery were treated as one in the greatest manufacturing centres, 
 except, indeed, that the machinery was better cared for. 
 
 But the Catholic Church has never accepted and never could 
 accept the doctrine that there was any body of human beings 
 that no one was bound to look after ; and among the classes that 
 compose lay society, apart from the infirm and destitute, no 
 class has ever had from her the same warm, watchful, coura- 
 geous care as those who literally earn their bread in the sweat 
 of their brow. They needed it most, and they had it most. 
 They had it when they were not the great power in the State 
 
BISHOPS OF IRELAND ON LABOR 209 
 
 that they are now, that they need to be in our time for the 
 protection of their interests, and that they deserve to be be- 
 cause^ of their essential services to the community. 
 
 Friendship for honest toil is seen from the first in the life 
 of the Church. Amidst a perverse world that held manual 
 labor in dishonor her Divine Founder was a carpenter by trade, 
 the Prince of the Apostles and many of his colleagues were 
 humble fishermen, the Doctor of the Gentiles was a tentmaker. 
 The Fathers of the Church extolled the rights and dignity of 
 labor. Her monks preached and practised manual toil. In the 
 course of her combat with oppression, lasting through centuries, 
 she emancipated labor by abolishing slavery, and kept it free 
 by banning usury and by encouraging unions among different 
 classes of workers for improvement and defence. 
 
 The combined action of the members of these associations 
 was all the more effective in that they were welded together 
 in the practice of religion, and conscious of the freedom which 
 the truth of the Gospel brings to men. And when, in con- 
 sequence of mechanical invention and the dominance of in- 
 human economics, the old protective associations were dissolved, 
 or became unsuited to the circumstances of a new industrial 
 era, and workmen were left to survive, if they could, where 
 labor-saving machinery had supplanted them, the Church re- 
 joiced at every legitimate combination of the toilers to uphold 
 their rights and demand redress for their many grievances. 
 Her zeal for them, her respect and love for them in the twenti- 
 eth century flow from the same divinely established source from 
 which sprang the demands for liberty and ji;stice to the op- 
 pressed and enslaved toilers which her pastors uttered in the 
 first centuries in face of a scornful pagan world. ~No absolu- 
 tion of capital, no utter dependence of labor can be laid to 
 her charge. A sharp division between the employer and the 
 employed is none of her work. But since the dividing line 
 has been so rigidly drawn she ever fosters harmony between 
 labor and capital, as the sound basis of their common interest 
 in industry, and she earnestly desires that each of them should 
 have a fair return from the joint contributions of both. 
 
 The Encyclical of Leo XIII, issued in 1891, " On the Con- 
 dition of Labor," contains great lessons for workers and em- 
 
210 CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 plovers alike. It is rightly called the charter of the working 
 classes. Their rights, their duties, their dangers, their safe- 
 guards are set forth in it by the successor of the fishermen, 
 the Vicar of Christ; by one who had their welfare at heart, 
 as His Master had, and who was fortified with ample knowledge 
 and fuU authority to uphold their interests within the full 
 compass of the divine law. 
 
 Employers and men should not be content with such frag- 
 ments of that noble Christian philosophy of social and indus- 
 trial life as seem to suit them at the moment. They should 
 read the encyclical over and over again ; and the boys and girls 
 of the industrial classes as they grow up should be thoroughly 
 schooled in a teaching that is so appropriate to their condition 
 in life, if they are to be trained aright for the duties of Chris- 
 tian citizenship. 
 
 [The Bishops then quote passages from Pope Leo's great 
 encyclical calling for a quick remedy for the present misery 
 and vsTetchedness of the poor; demonstrating the mistake of 
 the Socialists in setting class against class and advocating the 
 dispossession of those who possess; insisting on the power 
 of religion to adjust the relations between employers and em- 
 ployed; insisting on the respect of rights wherever they are 
 found, the security of owners of property on the one hand and 
 the protection of the workmen on the other. Whilst contracts 
 may be left free, there is a dictate of nature more imperious 
 and ancient than any bargain: the remuneration should be a 
 living wage.] 
 
 As might be expected, many foolish words, many unfair 
 and wicked things, were said and written during the recent 
 labor troubles. One of the most unbecoming and most un- 
 grateful utterances was an attempt to belittle Leo XIII's great 
 encyclical. It will be treated as of no account, or as a mere 
 primer on the labor question by none but those who aim at 
 destruction and not at construction, or who have never given 
 it careful study, or who are incapable of realizing that a brief 
 statement of fundamental truths in social and industrial life 
 from a master mind and master authority may present its 
 most far-reaching principles better than libraries of wild theory 
 that cannot stand practical examination and must dissolve under 
 
BISHOPS OF IRELAND ON LABOR 211 
 
 the scrutiny of reason, to say nothing of revelation. With the 
 lapse of time questions must arise that will need their own 
 solutions in the light of their own circumstances. But none 
 is likely to emerge in the domain of industrial disputes that 
 will fail to be helped towards a solution by a reference to the 
 basis of right, declared as the law of divine justice in that 
 courageous pronouncement. 
 
 In sorrow, not in anger, does the Holy Father endeavor to 
 save men from following a will-o'-the-wisp into the quagmire 
 of Socialism. But the evils that lead so many to embrace the 
 Socialist creed, which, as a body of teaching, centres human 
 existence on an impossible equality, or that impel them to have 
 recourse to the ruinous strikes and lock-outs which are becom- 
 ing more and more frequent, and the remedies for these evils, 
 were not hidden from the keen vision of Leo XTII. If he 
 has exposed the injustice and the folly of Socialist doctrine, 
 which since then has considerably moderated its official tone, 
 and vindicated man's rights to private property, proving it 
 to be necessary in the interests of the workman, not less than 
 of anyone else, he has also proclaimed the need for a far wider 
 distribution of ownership than now exists; and he has done 
 so as an adjunct to his memorable teaching on the living wage. 
 " The law, therefore," he says, " should favor ownership, and 
 its policy should be to induce as many of the people as pos- 
 sible to become owners ! " Then he adds, " Many excellent 
 results will follow from this; and, first of all, property wiU 
 certainly become more equally divided." 
 
 The desire of ownership which, within due bounds, is natural 
 and legitimate in man and may be highly commendable, springs 
 from the laudable purpose of providing a stable way for him- 
 self and those depending upon him. The real explanation 
 why multitudes of men, otherwise as good as their neighbors, 
 have swelled the ranks of Socialism seems to be, not that they 
 hated private property on principle, but that by nature and 
 in fact they loved to have it, and saw no avenue leading to 
 participation in it except the fantastic way that opens on the 
 dismal swamp where there is to be State ownership of the 
 instruments of production and distribution, and State intrusion 
 everywhere. It is indeed, the duty of the State to see that the 
 
212 CHURCH AND LAEOR 
 
 national resources are turned to good account for the 
 support and welfare of all the people; and, consequently, the 
 State or municipality should acquire, always for just compen- 
 sation, those agencies of production, and those agencies only 
 in which the public interest demands that public property 
 rather than private ownership should exist. 
 
 Fortunately the ti-end of land settlement in this country 
 is in the direction of reasonably sized holdings owned by their 
 occupiers ; and under native management it is not too much to 
 expect that a model system of employment will be developed 
 by degrees in suitable variety, so that Christian comradeship 
 between men and masters and a sense of joint interest may 
 be the rule and not the exception. An opportunity to share 
 in the profits or to acquire a co-partnership, or at least to 
 benefit in some permanent way by the continued prosperity 
 of the undertaking, might with great advantage be embodied 
 in a scheme of emplo.^nnent. In this manner good, steady, 
 whole-hearted work would be encouraged, and the men would 
 have a chance of becoming masters through their own exer- 
 tions. 
 
 The difiiculty of conducting successfully a commercial under- 
 taking in the management of which the workers would have 
 a voice, may, in most cases, be too much for us at present. 
 But it looks as if the industrial world were at a stage of transi- 
 tion when such things are likely to be ; and, though machinery 
 and invention have made a lasting change in the industrial 
 system, it is to be remembered that the Church, in the inter- 
 ests of mankind, has ever desired a wide distribution of prop- 
 erty, and in her days of greatest social power sanctioned a 
 large control of industry by the workers. What she never did, 
 and never can do, is to countenance wrongful interference with 
 capital or contracts, any more than she can sanction an in- 
 vasion of the rights of labor. 
 
 The smashing of labor would be a wicked and barbarous 
 program however it might be explained. But, unless some 
 such plan as we have just referred to be possible and adequate 
 for the purpose in view, there is no legitimate way of giving 
 effect to the almost equally barbaric formula of smashing cap- 
 
BISHOPS OF IRELAND ON LABOR 213 
 
 ital It is the use of capital by employers that is marked out 
 for destruction. 
 
 Under Syndicalism the employer is compelled to disappear, 
 and the workers are supposed to do everything and manage 
 everything in an industrial federation away from State con- 
 trol. But without capital from some quarter nothing can 
 be done in the world of industry, even if the management were 
 competent; and to seize the property of employers would be 
 wholesale robbery paving the way to anarchy. 
 
 Well, civilization cannot aiford to dissolve into chaos in 
 Ireland or anywhere else. It will not do to overthrow human 
 society or reverse the wheels of progress. We have got to 
 hold fast to Christian principles. If, therefore, associations of 
 workers cannot acquire the means in a legitimate way, or if 
 with the necessary capital they are incapable from their cir- 
 cumstances of conducting industrial concerns successfully, what 
 is to be said is that a good man can thrive on fair wages if the 
 housekeeping is what is ought to be, and there remain such 
 plans as we have already indicated by which industrious workers 
 in the course of their employment may share in the industry 
 or become masters themselves. 
 
 Certainly the wage system should be so improved as no- 
 where to deserve the name of sweating or wage-slavei-y. 
 " When workpeople," says Leo XIII, " have recourse to a 
 strike it is frequently because the hours of labor are too long 
 or the work too hard, or because they consider their wages in- 
 sufficient. The grave inconvenience of this not uncommon oc- 
 currence should be obviated by public remedial measures." It 
 is the inhuman offence of crushing labor that is responsible 
 for the cry against capital. Whether our workers have yet 
 arrived at the stage of setting much store on proprietorship in 
 any degree or not, they rightly have a keen sense of the value 
 of proper dwellings in which to live. Housing accommodation 
 is not less important for them than the amount of their wages. 
 What chance is there for health or comfort, temperance or 
 thrift, home education or a Christian life, if a married man 
 has not a sanitary dwelling of three or four rooms to shelter 
 his family ? A healthy home for the town worker finds a prec- 
 
214 CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 edent that should be followed, so far as conditions allow, in 
 the fine accommodation for agriculturial laborers that now 
 adorns many an Irish countryside. It is a case in which 
 private enterprise, the provision made by some employers, and 
 the efforts of philanthropy need to be supplemented by muni- 
 cipal encouragement and State aid. 
 
 When, however, improved tenement houses in the city and 
 separate cottages in the city or its suburbs have brought the 
 dwellings of laborers and artisans up to a fair standard, aud 
 when the wages of the worst paid and hardest workers are 
 higher than they are now, it is not to be expected that all dis- 
 putes about wages, hours, work, and treatment will disappear. 
 Even if there were no employers inclined to be exacting and 
 no workers inclined to idle, it is in the nature of things, cer- 
 tainly in man's nature, and in the interests of progress, that 
 changes should be sought with changing times and circum- 
 stances. An employer may resist where he should comply, 
 a worker may make a new demand where he should rest con- 
 tent. The common sense, therefore, of the matter is that, in 
 the spirit of mutual interest, the whole issue should be con- 
 sidered by capable men, fairly representing both sides with 
 a view to an arrangement, if possible, and that no extreme course 
 should be taken except as a last resort and in a constitutional 
 way by the free ballot of men in full possession of the merits 
 of the case on both sides. The public, also, should be afforded 
 opportunities to form its opinion before war breaks out, if 
 indeed the name of war can be applied to a conflict in which 
 it is wrong to destroy property or do bodily hurt to anyone. 
 
 Hence, while not expressing an opinion on the inquiry re- 
 cently held by the Board of Trade in Dublin, we cannot too 
 warmly recommend some such scheme of conciliation as that 
 set forth in the second part of the report then submitted. The 
 proposals it contains offer something really valuable in substi- 
 tution for the sudden or sympathetic strike or lock-out and they 
 provide fairly for breaches of agreement. Its application in 
 the capital of Ireland to as many departments of industry as 
 possible would be a useful example for other Irish cities and 
 towns. The matter seems to us so urgent as to brook no delay 
 
BISHOPS OF IRELAND ON LABOR 215 
 
 beyond the time necessary to make carefully considered ar- 
 rangements for each of the industries concerned. 
 
 In every civilized country, but certainly in Ireland, there 
 ought, we repeat, to be an eiEcient means of settling labor dis- 
 putes witbout recourse to strikes and lock-outs until all else 
 fails. Woeful want in the homes of the workers, heavy loss to 
 the employers, grave inconvenience and injury to the public, 
 deplorable waste of time and resources, great setback to in- 
 dustry, sacrifice of the material interests of the nation for 
 the advantage of her rivals, violence and bloodshed, and an 
 avalanche of un-christian language charged with perverted 
 opinions and voicing feelings of hatred, revenge, and all un- 
 chai-itableness, are some of the evil consequences with which 
 we are not familiar. Our people, indeed, are the last who 
 should use this rough weapon against one another. They are 
 kindly by nature, religious by conviction, and not unaware of 
 the almost irreparable loss inflicted on Irish trade, industry, 
 and commerce, by jealous neighbors in the past, or of the 
 urgent need to develop native employment with the greatest 
 care and patience. When it comes to a strike or a lock-out, 
 too often, not right, but might, settles the issue. Well, it is 
 not placing too high an estimate on the character of our people 
 to say that if they had a controversy with another nation, and 
 strength were on their side, they would be the first to propose 
 that the justice of the case should be ascertained by a compe- 
 tent tribunal, and that right should be allowed to prevail. As 
 Irishmen and as Christians they would use their strength for 
 defence, not for offence, in dealing with outsiders. Now we 
 owe one another, to say the least of it, as much as we owe 
 the stranger, and resort to the rough arbitrament of a strike 
 or a lock-out is out of keeping with our place in Christian 
 civilization if more rational methods be available to assert 
 our claims to fair play. 
 
 Mainly through trade unions, with all their short-comings, 
 have the working-classes secured something corresponding with 
 the protection which, in a different industrial order, the 
 Church promoted in former times. Their organization is most 
 desirable. If based on Christian principles, the more wide- 
 
216 CHURCH AND LABOK 
 
 spread in industrial centres, and the more perfect it is, the 
 better for all concerned. But were their strength ten times 
 as great as it is, it would not be wise and it might be criminal 
 to use it in the form of a strike to settle a labor dispute that 
 could be fairly arranged in a conference between the parties. 
 The same, of course, holds for a lock-out by employers. What 
 is the use of saying that a sympathetic strike or lock-out may 
 be justifiable in conceivable circumstances when the real point 
 is that the sympathetic strike or lock-out is ruinous to industry, 
 and therefore to employment, unless it be fenced round with 
 most careful safeguards ? 
 
 What, again, is the use of saying that a contract made under 
 compulsion is not binding when the important point is, that 
 unless the sacredness of contracts entered into by men enjoying 
 average freedom in regard to them is upheld there is an end 
 to the confidence in man's plighted word, which is the bond 
 of human intercourse, the mainstay of fair dealing, and the 
 basis of business enterprise everywhere? Disregard of con- 
 tracts by workers may have its counterpart in disregard of 
 contracts by employers, just as the sympathetic strike is matched 
 by the sympathetic lock-out 
 
 These are extreme expedients not readily justified. They 
 are destructive engines of war; and only a sound scheme 
 of arbitration and conciliation can restrain them from devas- 
 tating the industrial field. How many industrial enterprises 
 have perished, how many families of workers have been cast 
 adrift within living memory, through strikes and lock-outs, in 
 all their ramifications, that a well-manned tribunal of peace 
 might have prevented ? 
 
 Conciliation boards, constructed on wise lines, will go far 
 to take the place of an ideal association of workers and em- 
 ployers, and, though they are not likely to prevent all conflicts 
 iDetween them, they will obviate constantly-recurring strikes and 
 lock-outs, to the great advantage of both classes and of the gen- 
 eral public. 
 
 Nothing is more important for trade and for every one de- 
 pendent upon it than to draw employers and workers closely 
 together. Once that is done, it causes little trouble to ar- 
 range, for instance, as regards overtime when a structure needs 
 
BISHOPS OF IRELAND ON LABOR 217 
 
 to go up in a hurry, or a disabled ship calls for immediate at- 
 tention in the repairing docks. 
 
 In the leo;itimate effort to eliminate sweaters and secure 
 fair conditions of employment the advantage of having em- 
 ployment and the need to secure its continuance should never 
 be overlooked. We want to attract shipping, trade and com- 
 merce to our shores. We need to establish suitable industries 
 and put fresh life into those already in existence. The man 
 who, instead of placing his money in a bank or investing it 
 abroad, faces the risk of putting it into a project for the de- 
 velopment of Irish industries, deserves credit and encourage- 
 ment. He takes a line that too few of our people have taken, 
 and when he does so it behooves us, as some return to him, and 
 for the encouragement of others, to make his risk as light as 
 we can. The interest of every class, particularly of the workers, 
 demands that we should attract the use of capital, not frighten 
 it away. The full programme in the interests of labor is 
 to have as much employment as possible and to see that its con- 
 ditions are fair to the workers. 
 
 The laborer, skilled or unskilled, should have a fair chance 
 to improve his condition. It must not be too difScult for in- 
 dustry, ability, thrift and character to raise him to a position 
 equal to his worth. One splendid advantage he enjoys in this 
 country is the opportunity to educate his family on sound 
 Christian lines. A good primary education, as a rule, can be 
 had within easy reach, and, fortunately, the way to the tech- 
 nical or secondary school, or higher still, is beginning to open 
 for the fine boys and girls that come from the laborer's house- 
 hold, and who are gifted with deft fingers or bright minds. In 
 whatever else the Irish city worker may be at a disadvantage, 
 he is no longer behind in the opportunity to give his children 
 the education that is best for them. 
 
 It will do good to the rising generation if our young workers 
 reflect how they came to enjoy the wealth of this fine educa- 
 tional inheritance. It was the rich dower of young workers 
 in Ireland long ago. Once more it is their heritage, largely 
 through the self-sacrifice of men and women who had something 
 beyond justice and equity to bestow. More than strict justice 
 is due in equity to the toilers who do the hardest and most 
 
218 CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 necessary work of the community, sometimes at peril to their 
 lives, living very much from hand to mouth on the earnings 
 of employment that is not at all times available. In some such 
 spirit as this for the public good, as also from a sense that 
 wages were inadequate, the State in recent years has been mak- 
 ing most praiseworthy efforts to improve the condition of its 
 industrial population. But before social legislation made any 
 progress our Irish workers had experience of a still higher type 
 of service in the sacrifice of those who gave their lives with- 
 out personal reward to the Christian education of the poor. 
 
 This brings us almost to the conclusion of what we have to 
 say. If we have deemed it right to touch briefly on many socio- 
 logical questions in this letter, it is not because we consider 
 that priests and laymen in this country need be specially 
 occupied with set addresses on the evils of Socialism or Syndi- 
 calism, or strikes, or lock-outs. These subjects cannot, indeed, 
 be too well understood by the shepherds and guides of the peo- 
 ple ; and it is a great acquisition of strength on the side of right 
 that they are discussed in a variety of excellent little Catholic 
 publications that are within the reach of all, and that all 
 may read with lasting advantage. Moreover, a warning is 
 necessary now and then. 
 
 But our main object, while fixing attention on the nature of 
 the dangers with which our people have recently been con- 
 fronted, is to urge, in the spirit of Pius X as of Leo XIII, the 
 sovereign importance of preventing, by fair treatment and fair 
 trial, the evils that evoke these crude, unchristian theories, and 
 drive men to adopt these rough methods of redress. To this 
 end, circles for social study, debate and work are specially 
 useful It is eminently a case where prevention is better than 
 cure. Indeed, in applying a cure on any wide scale we have 
 to go back to the ways of prevention. Accordingly, our chief 
 concern is a full measure of proper treatment for the laboring 
 classes, with ample encouragement to good, hard, honest work, 
 but no encouragement to drink, idleness or inefficiency. 
 
 We have been throughout asserting the claims of justice and 
 equity under existing industrial conditions. But as Chris- 
 tians we owe more to one another than the duties even of 
 
BISHOPS OF IRELAND ON LABOR 219 
 
 social justice, " because the charity of God is poured forth 
 in our hearts by the Holy Ghost who is given to us." 
 
 We were not made for earth but for Heaven. Only when 
 the perishable goods of this world pass away from us for ever 
 do we enter on our eternal possessions and begin our true 
 life with God. " It is more blessed to give than to receive." 
 If we have much we can call our own, the Lord gave it for 
 our welfare and for the relief of others, in whose person He 
 may stand asking some of it back from us. If we have little, 
 the Saviour had less for Himself, and it is His hard-pressed 
 fellow-laborers He invites to come to Him that He may re- 
 fresh them. In Christ we are one, and earthly possessions, or 
 the want of them, do not count. If duty calls us to prac- 
 tice justice, patience, consideration, forbearance towards one 
 another, we are also bound as Christians to be charitable in 
 thought and word and deed. Let charity, then, which is the 
 queen of virtues and the bond of perfection, reign in our 
 hearts. " God is charity, and he that abideth in charity 
 abideth in God, and God in him." 
 
2. THE PEOGRAM OF SOCIAL EECONSTEUCTIOl^ 
 
 Issued by the Four Amerigajst Bishops Constitxtting the 
 Administeative Committee of the I^atio-nal Catholic 
 War Council ^ 
 
 Foeewoed 
 The ending of the Great War has brought peace. But the 
 only safeguard of peace is social justice and a contented peo- 
 ple. The deep unrest so emphatically and so widely voiced 
 throughout the world is the most serious menace to the future 
 peace of every nation and of the entire world. Great prob- 
 lems face us. They cannot be put aside ; they must be met and 
 solved with justice to all. 
 
 In the hope of stating the lines that will best guide us in 
 their right solution the following pronouncement is issued by 
 the Administrative Committee of the National Catholic War 
 Council. Its practical applications are of course subject to 
 discussion, but all its essential declarations are based upon the 
 principles of charity and justice that have always been held 
 and taught by the Catholic Church, while its practical pro- 
 posals are merely an adaptation of those principles and that 
 traditional teaching to the social and industrial conditions 
 and needs of our own time. 
 
 Hh Petee J. MuLDOONj Chairman 
 
 Bishop of Eockford 
 ►!< Joseph Schbembs 
 
 Bishop of Toledo 
 
 1 The National Catholic War Council was composed of the Archbishops 
 of the United States, thus organized with the approval of the great ma- 
 jority of the Bishops for the purpose of aiding their country and caring 
 for Catholic interests during the great conflict. The executive authority of 
 the Council was the Administrative Committee, comprising the four 
 Bishops whose names appear at the bottom of the " Foreword." As the 
 text of the " Foreword " shows, the four Bishops issued this program of 
 Social Reconstruction in their capacity as the Administrative Committee 
 of the National Catholic War Council. 
 
 220 
 
PEOGEAM OF SOCIAL EECONSTEUCTION 221 
 
 >i« Patrick J. Hates ^ 
 Bishop of Tagaste 
 
 ►f< William T. Edssell 
 
 Bishop of Charleston. 
 
 SOCIAL EECONSTEUCTION — A GEITEEAL EEVIEW 
 OF THE PEOBLEMS AEB SUEVEY OF EEMEDIES '' 
 
 " Eeconstruction " has of late been so tiresomely reiterated, 
 not to say violently abused, that it has become to many of us a 
 word of aversion. Politicians, social students, labor leaders, 
 business men, charity workers, clergymen and various other 
 social groups have contributed their quota of spoken words and 
 printed pages to the discussion of the subject; yet the majority 
 of us still find ourselves rather bewildered and helpless. We 
 are unable to say what parts of our social system imperatively 
 need reconstruction; how much of that which is imperatively 
 necessary is likely to be seriously undertaken; or what specific 
 methods and measures are best suited to realize that amount of 
 reconstruction which is at once imperatively necessary and 
 immediately feasible. 
 
 ISTevertheless it is worth while to review briefly some of the 
 more important statements and proposals that have been made 
 by various social groups and classes. Probably the most not- 
 able declaration from a Catholic source is that contained in a 
 pastoral letter, written by Cardinal Bourne several months ago. 
 " It is admitted on all hands," he says, " that a new order of 
 things, new social conditions, new relations between the dif- 
 ferent sections in which society is divided, will arise as a con- 
 sequence of the destruction of the formerly existing condi- 
 tions. . . . The very foundations of political and social life, 
 of our economic system, of morals and religion are being sharply 
 scrutinized, and this not only by a few writers and speakers, 
 but by a very large number of people in every class of life, 
 especially among the workers." ^ 
 
 1 Now Archbishop of New York. 
 
 2 A comprehensive discussion and development of the proposals set forth 
 in this document will be found in Dr. Ryan's volume, Social Reconstruc- 
 tion: The Macmillan Company; 1920. 
 
 3 See his Pastoral Letter. 
 
222 CHUECH AND LABOR 
 
 The Cardinal's special reference to the action of labor was 
 undoubtedly suggested by the now famous " Social Eecon- 
 struction Program " of the British Labor Party. This docu- 
 ment was drawn up about one year ago, and is generally 
 understood to be the work of the noted economist and Fabian 
 Socialist, Mt. Sidney Webb. Unquestionably, it is the most 
 comprehensive and coherent program that has yet appeared on 
 the industrial phase of reconstruction. In brief it sets up " four 
 pillars " of the new social order : 
 
 (1) The enforcement by law of a National minimum of 
 leisure, health, education and subsistence; 
 
 (2) The democratic control of industry, which means the 
 nationalization of all monopolistic industries and pos- 
 sibly of other industries, sometime in the future, if 
 that course be found advisable; 
 
 (3) A revolution in national finance; that is, a system of 
 taxation which will compel capital to pay for the war, 
 leaving undisturbed the national minimum of welfare 
 for the masses; 
 
 (4) Use of the surplus wealth of the nation for the com- 
 mon good; that is, to provide capital, governmental 
 industries, and funds for social, educational and ar- 
 tistic progress. 
 
 This program may properly be described as one of immediate 
 radical reforms, leading ultimately to complete Socialism. Evi- 
 dently this outcome cannot be approved by Catholics. 
 
 PEOGEAM: OB' AMEEICAN LABOR 
 
 Through its Committee on Eeconstruction, the American 
 Federation of Labor has issued a lengthy programi of reform 
 proposals and demands which may be grouped under the three 
 heads of trade union action, labor legislation and general in- 
 dustrial and social legislation. The principal demands under 
 the first head are : the legally guaranteed rights of the workers 
 to organize and to carry on the normal activities of trade 
 unions ; a living wage ; no reduction in present scales of wages ; 
 the right of labor to fix its hours of work ; the eight-hour day ; 
 
PROGRAM OF SOCIAL RECONSTRUCTION 223 
 
 equal pay for equal work by the two sexes; exclusive reliance 
 by labor on trade-union effort to maintain fair wages ; establish- 
 ment of cooperative stores; and no organization of a political 
 party by the workers. Labor laws demanded are: prohibition 
 of wage working by children under sixteen years of age ; aboli- 
 tion of private employment agencies ; prohibition of all im- 
 migration for two years; and vocational education which will 
 fit the young for life in an industrial society. By implication 
 both the eight-hour day and the living wage are declared to be 
 subjects for trade union action, not for legislation. Among the 
 measures of general social legislation recommended are: a spe- 
 cial tax on " usable land " not cultivated by the owner, and 
 taxes on land values which would make the holding of idle 
 land unprofi^table ; government housing; government ovmership 
 and operation of docks, wharves and water powers; taxes on 
 excess profits, incomes and inheritances; and limitation of the 
 power of the courts to declare laws unconstitutional. 
 
 While this program is more practical and more moderate and 
 reasonable than that of the British Labor Congress, its pro- 
 posal for taxing land into use could easily involve confiscation. 
 On the other hand, it does not give sufficient consideration to the 
 case of the weaker section of the working class, those for whom 
 trade union action is not practically adequate; nor does it de- 
 mand or imply that the workers should ever aspire to become 
 owners as well as users of the instruments of production. 
 
 BRITISH QUAXEB EMPLOYEES 
 
 Probably the most definite and comprehensive statement from 
 the opposite industrial class was put forth several months ago 
 by a group of twenty Quaker employers in Great Britain. In 
 outline their program is as follows: A family living wage for 
 all male employees, and a secondary wage in excess of this for 
 workers having special skill, training, physical strength, re- 
 sponsibility for human life ; the right of labor to organize, to 
 bargain collectively with the employer and to participate in 
 the industrial part of business management ; serious and prac- 
 tical measures to reduce the volume and hardship of unemploy- 
 ment ; provisions of such working conditions as will safeguard 
 health, physical integrity and morals ; the reduction so far as 
 
224 CHUECH AXD LABOR 
 
 practicable of profits and interest until botii the basic and the 
 secondary wage has been paid, and transfer to the community of 
 the greater part of surplus profits. 
 
 The spirit and conception of responsibility that permeate 
 every item of the program are reflected in this statement : " We 
 would ask all employers to consider very carefully whether their 
 style of living and personal expenditure are restricted to what 
 is needed in order to insure the efficient performance of their 
 functions in society. More than this is waste, and is, more- 
 over, a great cause of class divisions." 
 
 AMEEICAIT EMPLOYEES 
 
 The onl_y formal statements on the subject of social recon- 
 struction that have yet come to our attention from an im- 
 portant group of American employers, are a declaration of 
 principles and certain proposals by the National Chamber of 
 Commerce. The declaration of principles was made at a con- 
 vention of the organization, in Atlantic City, December 6, 1918. 
 Beyond a general commendation of peaceful and friendly re- 
 lations between employers and employees, it included nothing of 
 importance on the labor phase of reconstruction. It condemned 
 government operation and ownership of railroads, telegraphs 
 and telephones, and demanded more moderate taxes and a modi- 
 fication of the Sherman Anti-Trust Law. More recently the 
 executive officials of the Chamber have submitted to a referen- 
 dum vote of its membership a statement, " with a view to 
 furnishing a basis on which American industry can build a na- 
 tional labor program." The main specific proposals in this 
 statement are: recognition of the right of workers to organize; 
 adequate representation of both parties in the determination, 
 of employment conditions; a decent home and proper social 
 conditions; no reduction in wages until all other costs of pro- 
 duction have been brought down to the lowest possible level; 
 and a system of national employment offices. Inasmuch as this 
 organization represents more employers than any other associa- 
 tion in the country, the vote of its members on these proposals 
 will be of the greatest significance. 
 
PROGEAM OF SOCIAL EECONSTEUCTION 225 
 
 AN INTEEDENOMINATIONAL STATEMENT 
 
 In Great Britain an organization known as the Interdenom- 
 inational Conference of Social Service Unions, comprising ten 
 religious bodies, including Catholics, spent more than a year 
 formulating a statement of Social Eeconstruction. (See the 
 summary and analysis contained in the Catholic Social Year 
 Book for 1918.) This statement deals with principles, evils 
 and remedies. Presuming that Christianity provides indis- 
 pensable guiding principles and powerful motives of social re- 
 form, it lays down the basic proposition that every human be- 
 ing is of inestimable worth, and that legislation should recog- 
 nize persons as more sacred than property: therefore the State 
 should enforce a minimum living wage, enable the worker to 
 obtain some control of industrial conditions ; supplement private 
 initiative in providing decent housing ; prevent the occurrence of 
 unemployment ; safeguard the right of the laborer and his fam- 
 ily to a reasonable amount of rest and recreation ; remove those 
 industrial and social conditions which hinder marriage and en- 
 courage an unnatural restriction of families ; and afford ample 
 opportunities for education of all children industrially, cul- 
 turally, religiously and morally. On the other hand rights 
 imply duties, and the individual is obliged to respect the rights 
 of others, to cultive self-control, to recognize that labor is the 
 law of life, and that wealth is a trust. Finally, the statement 
 points out that all social reform must take as its end and guide 
 the maintenance of pure and wholesome family life. 
 
 Such in barest outline are the main propositions and prin- 
 ciples of this remarkable program. The text contains adequate 
 exposition of the development and application of all these points, 
 and concrete speciiications of the methods and measures by 
 which the aims and principles may be brought into effect. In 
 the latter respect the statement is not liable to the fatal ob- 
 jection that is frequently and fairly urged against the reform 
 pronouncements of religious bodies: that they are abstract, 
 platitudinous and usually harmless. The statement of the In- 
 terdenominational Conference points out specific remedies for 
 the evils that it describes; specific measures, legislative and 
 other, by which the principles may be realized in actual life. 
 
226 CHURCH A'SB LAEOE 
 
 Especially practical and valuable for Catholics are the ex- 
 planations and modifications supplied by the Year Book of the 
 Catholic Social Guild. 
 
 NO PROFOiran} Changes in the united states 
 It is not to be expected that as many or as great social changes 
 will take place in the United States as in Europe. ISTeither 
 our habits of thinking nor our ordinary ways of life have 
 undergone a profound disturbance. The hackneyed phrase: 
 " Things will never again be the same after the war," has a 
 much more concrete and deeply felt meaning among the Euro- 
 pean peoples. Their minds are fully adjusted to the convic- 
 tion and expectation that these words will come true. In the 
 second place, the devastation, the loss of capital and of men, 
 the changes in individual relations and the increase in the ac- 
 tivities of government have been much greater in Europe than 
 in the United States. Moreover, our superior natural advan- 
 tages and resources, the better industrial and social condition 
 of our working classes still constitute an obstacle to anything 
 like revolutionary changes. It is significant that no social 
 group in America, not even among the wage-earners, has pro- 
 duced such a fundamental and radical program of reconstruc- 
 tion as the Labor Party of Great Britain. 
 
 A PEACTICAL AND MODERATE PEOGBAM 
 
 Wo attempt will be made in these pages to formulate a com- 
 prehensive scheme of reconstruction. Such an undertaking 
 would be a waste of time as regards immediate needs and pur- 
 poses, for no important group or section of the American peo- 
 ple is ready to consider a program of this magnitude. Atten- 
 tion will therefore be confined to those reforms that seem to 
 be desirable and also obtainable within a reasonable time, and 
 to a few general principles which should become a guide to 
 more distant developments. A statement thus circumscribed 
 will not merely present the objects that we wish to see attained, 
 but will also serve as an imperative call to action. It will keep 
 before our minds the necessity for translating our faith into 
 works. In the statements of immediate proposals we shall 
 start, wherever possible, from those governmental agencies and 
 
PROGEAM OF SOCIAL EECONSTEUCTION 227 
 
 legislative measures which have been to some extent in opera- 
 tion during the war. These come before us with the prestige of 
 experience and should therefore receive first consideration in 
 any program that aims to be at once practical and persuasive. 
 The first problem in the process of reconstruction is the in- 
 dustrial replacement of the discharged soldiers and sailors. The 
 majority of these will undoubtedly return to their previous 
 occupations. However, a very large number of them will either 
 find their previous places closed to them, or will be eager to 
 consider the possibility of more attractive employments. The 
 most important single measure for meeting this situation that 
 has yet been suggested is the placement of siich men on farms. 
 Several months ago Secretary Lane recommended to Congress 
 that returning soldiers and sailors should be given the opportun- 
 ity to work at good wages upon some part of the millions upon 
 millions of acres of arid, swamp, and cut-over timber lands, in 
 order to prepare them for cultivation. President Wilson in his 
 annual address to Congress endorsed the proposal. As fast as 
 this preliminary task has been performed, the men should be 
 assisted by government loans to establish themselves as farmers, 
 either as owners or as tenants having long-time leases. It is 
 essential that both the work of preparation and the subsequent 
 settlement of the land should be effected by groups or colonies, 
 not by men living independently of one another and in de- 
 pressing isolation. A plan of this sort is already in opera- 
 tion in England. The importance of the project as an item 
 of any social reform program is obvious. It would afford em- 
 ployment to thousands upon thousands, would greatly increase 
 the number of farm owners and independent farmers, and 
 would tend to lower the cost of living by increasing the amount 
 of agricultural products. If it is to assume any considerable 
 proportions it must be carried out by the governments of the 
 United States and of the several States. Should it be under- 
 taken by these authorities and operated on a systematic and 
 generous scale, it would easily become one of the most bene- 
 ficial reform measures that has ever been attempted. 
 
228 CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 UITITED STATES EMPLOYMENT SERVICE 
 
 The reinstatement of the soldiers and sailors in urban in- 
 dustries will no doubt be facilitated by the United States Em- 
 ployment Service. This agency has attained a fair degree of 
 development and efficiency during the war. Unfortunately 
 there is some danger that it will go out of existence or be 
 greatly weakened at the end of the period of demobilization. It 
 is the obvious duty of Congress to continue and strengthen this 
 important institution. The problem of unemployment is with 
 us always. Its solution requires the co-operation of many 
 agencies, and the iise of many methods; but the primary and 
 indispensable instrument is a national system of labor exchanges, 
 acting in harmony with state, municipal, and private employ- 
 ment bureaus. 
 
 WOMEN" WAH WOEKBES 
 
 One of the most important problems of readjustment is that 
 created by the presence in industry of immense numbers of 
 women who have taken the places of men during the war. 
 Mere justice, to say nothing of chivalry, dictates that these 
 women should not be compelled to suffer any greater loss or 
 inconvenience than is absolutely necessary ; for their services 
 to the nation have been second only to the services of the men 
 whose places they were called upon to fill One general prin- 
 ciple is clear: ISTo female worker should remain in any occupa- 
 tion that is harmful to health or morals. Women should dis- 
 appear as quickly as possible from such tasks as conducting and 
 guarding street cars, cleaning locomotives, and a great number 
 of other activities for which conditions of work and their phy- 
 sique render them unfit. Another general principle is that the 
 proportion of women in industry ought to be kept within the 
 smallest practical limits. If we have an efficient national em- 
 ployment service, if a goodly number of the returned soldiers 
 and sailors are placed on the land, and if wages and the de- 
 mand for goods are kept up to the level which is easily attain- 
 able, all female workers who are displaced from tasks that they 
 have been performing only since the beginning of the war will 
 be able to find suitable employment in other parts of the in- 
 
PROGRAM OF SOCIAL RECONSTRUCTlOH 229 
 
 dustrial field, or in those domestic occupations which sorely need 
 their presence. Those women who are engaged at the same 
 tasks as men should receive equal pay for equal amounts and 
 qualities of work. 
 
 NATIOlSrAL WAS LABOR BOAED 
 
 One of the most beneficial governmental organizations of the 
 war is the Xational War Labor Board. Upon the basis of a 
 few fundamental principles, unanimously adopted by the rep- 
 resentatives of labor, capital, and the public, it has prevented 
 innumerable strikes, and raised wages to decent levels in many 
 different industries throughout the country. Its main guid- 
 ing principles have been a family living wage for all male adult 
 laborers; recognition of the right of labor to organize, and to 
 deal with employers through its chosen representatives; and 
 no coercion of non-union laborers by members of the union. 
 The War Labor Board ought to be continued in existence by 
 Congress, and endowed with all the power for effective action 
 that it can possess under the Federal Constitution. The prin- 
 ciples, methods, machinery and results of this institution con- 
 stitute a definite and far-reaching gain for social justice. No 
 part of this advantage should be lost or given up in time of 
 peace. 
 
 PRESENT WAGE RATES SHOULD BE SUSTAINED 
 
 The general level of wages attained during the war should 
 not be lowered. In a few industries, especially some directly 
 and peculiarly connected with the carrying on of war, wages 
 have reached a plane upon which they cannot possibly con- 
 tinue for this grade of occupations. But the number of 
 workers in this situation is an extremely small proportion of the 
 entire wage-earning population. The overwhelming majority 
 should not be compelled or suffered to undergo any reduction in 
 their rates of remuneration, for two reasons : First, because the 
 average rate of pay has not increased faster than the cost of 
 living; second, because a considerable majority of the wage- 
 earners of the United States, both men and women, were not 
 receiving living wages when prices began to rise in 1915. In 
 that year, according to Lauck and Sydenstricker, whose work 
 
230 CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 is the most compreliensive on the subject, four-fifths of the 
 heads of families obtained less than 800 dollars, while two- 
 thirds of the female wage-earners were paid less than 400 dol- 
 lars. Even if the prices of goods should fall to the level on 
 which they were in 1915 — something that cannot be hoped for 
 within five years — the average present rates of wages would 
 not exceed the equivalent of a decent livelihood in the case of 
 the vast majority. The exceptional instances to the contrary 
 are practically all among the skilled workers. Therefore, wages 
 on the whole should not be reduced even when the cost of liv- 
 ing recedes from its present high level. 
 
 Even if the great majority of workers were now in receipt 
 of more than living wages, there are no good reasons why rates 
 of pay should be lowered. After all, a living wage is not neces- 
 sarily the full measure of justice. All the Catholic authorities 
 on the subject explicitly declare that this is only the minimum 
 of justice. In a country as rich as ours, there are very few 
 cases in which it is possible to prove that the worker would be 
 getting more than that to which he has a right if he were paid 
 something in excess of this ethical minimum. Why, then, 
 should we assume that this is the normal share of almost the 
 whole laboring population ? Since our industrial resources and 
 instrumentalities are sufficient to provide more than a living 
 wage for a very large proportion of the workers, why should 
 we acquiesce in a theory which denies them this measure of the 
 comforts of life ? Such a policy is not only of very question- 
 able morality, but is unsound economically. The large de- 
 mand for goods which is created and maintained by high rates 
 of wages and high purchasing power by the masses is the surest 
 guarantee of a continuous and general operation of industrial 
 establishments. It is the most effective instrument of pros- 
 perity for labor and capital alike. The principal beneficiaries 
 of a general reduction of wages would be the less efficient among 
 the capitalists, and the more comfortable sections of the con- 
 sumers. The wage-earners would lose more in remuneration 
 than they would gain from whatever fall in prices occurred as 
 a direct result of the fall in wages. On grounds both of justice 
 r.nd sound economics, we should give our hearty support to aU 
 
PROGKAM OF SOCIAL EECONSTEUCTION 231 
 
 legitimate efforts made by labor to resist general wage re- 
 ductions. 
 
 HOTTSING FO'R WOKKING CLASSES 
 
 Housing projects for war workers which have been com- 
 pleted, or almost completed by the Government of the United 
 States, have cost some forty million dollars, and are found in 
 eleven cities. While the Federal Government cannot continue 
 this work in time of peace, the example and precedent that it 
 has set, and the experience and knowledge that it has developed, 
 should not be forthwith neglected aud lost. The great cities 
 in which congestion and other forms of bad housing are dis- 
 gracefully apparent ought to take up and continue the work, 
 at least to such an extent as will remove the worst features of 
 a social condition that is a menace at once to industrial effi- 
 ciency, civic health, good morals and religion. 
 
 EEDUCTIOW OP THE COST OF LIVING 
 
 During the war the cost of living rose at least seventy-five 
 per cent, above the level of 1913. Some check has been placed 
 upon the upward trend by government fixing of prices in the 
 case of bread and coal, and a few other commodities. Even 
 if we believe it desirable, we cannot ask that the Government 
 continue this action after the articles of peace have been signed ; 
 for neither public opinion nor Congress is ready for such a revo- 
 lutionary policy. If the extortionate practices of monopoly 
 were prevented by adequate laws and adequate law enforce- 
 ment, prices would automatically be kept at as low a level as 
 that to which they might be brought by direct government de- 
 termination. Just what laws, in addition to those already on 
 the statute books, are necessary to abolish monopolistic extor- 
 tion is a question of detail that need not be considered here In 
 passing, it may be noted that government competition with 
 monopolies that cannot be effectively restrained by the ordinary 
 anti-trust laws deserves more serious consideration than it has 
 yet received. 
 
 More important and more effective than any government 
 regulation of prices would be the establishment of co-operative 
 stores. The enormous toll taken from industry by the various 
 
232 CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 classes of niiddlenien is now fully realized. The astonishing 
 difference between the price received by the producer and that 
 paid by the consumer has become a scandal of our industrial 
 system. The obvious and direct means of reducing this dis- 
 crepancy and abolishing unnecessary middlemen is the opera- 
 tion of retail and wholesale mercantile concerns under the 
 ownership and management of the consumers. This is no 
 Utopian scheme. It has been successfully carried out in Eng- 
 land and Scotland through the Rochdale system. Very few 
 serious efforts of this kind have been made in this country be- 
 cause our people have not felt the need of these co-operative 
 enterprises as keenly as the European working classes, and be- 
 cause we have been too impatient and too individualistic to 
 make the necessarj^ sacrifices and to be content with moderate 
 benefits and gradual progress. Nevertheless, our superior 
 energy, initiative and commercial capacity will enable us, once 
 we set about the task earnestly, even to surpass what has been 
 done in England and Scotland. 
 
 In addition to reducing the cost of living, the co-operative 
 stores would train our working people and consumers generally 
 in habits of saving, in carefiil expenditure, in business methods, 
 and in the capacity for co-operation. When the working classes 
 have learned to make the sacrifices and to exercise the patience 
 required by the ownership and operation of co-operative stores, 
 they will be equipped to undertake a great variety of tasks and 
 projects which benefit the community immediately, and all its 
 constituent members ultimately. They will then realize the 
 folly of excessive selfishness and senseless individualism. Until 
 they have acquired this knowledge, training and capacity, de- 
 sirable extensions of governmental action in industry will not 
 be attended by a normal amoimt of success. No machinery 
 of government can operate automatically, and no official and 
 bureaucratic administration of such machinery can ever be a 
 substitute for intelligent interest and co-operation by the in- 
 dividuals of the community. 
 
 THE LEGAL MINIMUM WAGE 
 
 Turning now from those agencies and laws that have been 
 put in operation during the war to the general subject of labor 
 
PROGEAM OF SOCIAL RECONSTRUCTION 233 
 
 legislation and problems, we are glad to note that there is no 
 longer any serious objection urged by impartial persons against 
 the legal minimum wage. The several states should enact 
 laws providing for the establishment of wage rates that will be 
 at least sufficient for the decent maintenance of a family, in 
 the^ case of all male adults, and adequate to the decent in- 
 dividual support of female workers. In the beginning the 
 minimum wages for male workers should suffice only for the 
 present needs of the family, but they should be gradually raised 
 until they are adequate to future needs as well. That is, they 
 should be ultimately high enough to make possible that amount 
 of saving which is necessary to protect the worker and his fam- 
 ily against sickness, accidents, invalidity and old age. 
 
 SOCIAL INSURANCE 
 
 Until this level of legal minimum wages is reached the 
 worker stands in need of the device of insurance. The state 
 should make comprehensive provision for insurance against ill- 
 ness, invalidity, unemployment, and old age. So far as pos- 
 sible the insurance fund should be raised by a levy on industry, 
 as is now done in the case of accidental compensation. The 
 industry in which a man is employed should provide him with 
 all that is necessary to meet all the needs of his entire life. 
 Therefore, any contribution to the insurance fund from the gen- 
 eral revenues of the state should be only slight and temporary. 
 For the same reason no contribution should be exacted from 
 any worker who is not getting a higher wage than is required 
 to meet the present needs of himself and family. Those who 
 are below that level can make such a contribution only at the 
 expense of their present welfare. Finally, the administration 
 of the insurance laws should be such as to interfere as little as 
 possible with the individual freedom of the worker and his fam- 
 ily. Any insurance scheme, or any administration method, that 
 tends to separate the workers into a distinct and dependent 
 class, that offends against their domestic privacy and indepen- 
 dence, or that threatens individual self-reliance and self-respect, 
 should not be tolerated. The ideal to be kept in mind is a 
 condition in which all the workers would themselves have the 
 income and the responsibility of providing for all the needs 
 
234 CHURCH AND LAEOE 
 
 and contingencies of life, both present and future. Hence all 
 forms of State insurance should be regarded as merely a lesser 
 evil, and shovdd be so organized and administered as to hasten 
 the coming of the normal condition. 
 
 The life insurance offered to soldiers and sailors during the 
 war should be continued, so far as the enlisted men are con- 
 cerned. It is very doubtful whether the time has yet arrived 
 when public opinion would sanction the extension of general 
 life insurance by the Government to all classes of the com- 
 munity. 
 
 The establishment and maintenance of municipal health in- 
 spection in all schools, public and private, is now pretty gen- 
 erally recognized as of great importance and benefit. Municipal 
 clinics where the poorer classes could obtain the advantage of 
 medical treatment by specialists at a reasonable cost would 
 likewise seem to have become a necessity. A vast amount of 
 unnecessary sickness and suffering exists among the poor and 
 the lower middle classes because they cannot afford the ad- 
 vantages of any other treatment except that provided by the 
 general practitioner. Every effort should be made to supply 
 wage-earners and their families with specialized medical care 
 through development of group medicine. Free medical care 
 should be given only to those who cannot afford to pay. 
 
 LABOiB PARTICIPATrOiN IN" INDUSTEilAL MANAGEMENT 
 
 The right of labor to organize and to deal with employers 
 through representatives has been asserted above in connection 
 with the discussion of the War Labor Board. It is to be hoped 
 that this right will never again be called in question by any 
 considerable number of employers. In addition to this, labor 
 ought gradually to receive greater representation in what the 
 English group of Quaker employers have called the " indus- 
 trial " part of business management — " the control of proeessea 
 and machinery; nature of product; engagement and dismissal 
 of employees ; hours of work, rates of pay, bonuses, etc. ; wel- 
 fare work ; shop discipline ; relations with trade unions." The 
 establishment of shop committees, working wherever possible 
 with the trade union, is the method suggested by this group 
 of employers for giving the employees the proper share of in- 
 
PROGRAM OF SOCIAL RECONSTRUCTION 335 
 
 dustrial management. There can be no doubt that a frank 
 adoption of these means and ends by employers would not only 
 promote the welfare of the workers, but vastly improve the re- 
 lations between them and their employers, and increase the 
 efficiency and productiveness of each establishment. 
 
 There is no need here to emphasize the importance of safety 
 and sanitation in work places, as this is pretty generally recog- 
 nized by legislation. What is required is an extension and 
 strengthening of many of the existing statutes, and a better ad- 
 ministration and enforcement of such laws everywhere. 
 
 VOCATIONAL TRAINING 
 
 The need of industrial, or as it has come to be more gener- 
 ally called, vocational training, is now universally acknowl- 
 edged. In the interest of the nation as well as in that of the 
 workers themselves, this training should be made substantially 
 universal. While we cannot now discuss the subject in any de- 
 tail, we do wish to set down two general observations. First, 
 the vocational training should be offered in such forms and con- 
 ditions as not to deprive the children of the working classes 
 of at least the elements of a cultural education. A healthy 
 democracy cannot tolerate a purely industrial or trade educa- 
 tion for any class of its citizens. We do not want to have the 
 children of the wage-earners put into a special class in which 
 they are marked as outside the sphere of opportunities for cul- 
 ture. The second observation is that the system of vocational 
 training should not operate so as to weaken in any degree our 
 parochial schools or any other class of private schools. In- 
 deed, the opportunities of the system should be extended to all 
 qualified private schools on exactly the same basis as to public 
 schools. We want neither class divisions in education nor a 
 State monopoly of education. 
 
 CHIU) T.ABOB, 
 
 The question of education naturally suggests the subject of 
 child labor. Public opinion in the majority of the states of 
 our country has set its face inflexibly against the continuous 
 employment of children in industry before the age of sixteen 
 years. Within a reasonably short time all of our states, ex- 
 
296 CHUECH AND LABOR 
 
 cept some stagnant ones, will have laws providing for this 
 reasonable standard. The education of public opinion must 
 continue, but inasmuch as the process is slow, the abolition of 
 child labor in certain sections seems unlikely to be brought about 
 by the legislatures of those states, and since the Keating-Owen 
 Act has been declared unconstitutional, there seems to be no 
 device by which this reproach to our country can be removed ex- 
 cept that of taxing child labor out of existence. This method 
 is embodied in an amendment to the Federal Revenue Bill 
 which would impose a tax of ten per cent, on all goods made 
 by children. 
 
 SUFFICIENT FOE THE PEESENT 
 
 Probably the foregoing proposals comprise everything that 
 is likely to have practical value in a program of immediate 
 social reconstruction for America. Substantially all of these 
 methods, laws and recommendations have been recognized in 
 principle by the United States during the war, or have been 
 indorsed by important social and industrial groups and organi- 
 zations. Therefore, they are objects that we can set before the 
 people with good hope of obtaining a sympathetic and practical 
 response. Were they all realized a great step would have been 
 taken in the direction of social justice. When they are all put 
 into operation the way will be easy and obvious to still greater 
 and more beneficial results. 
 
 TTLTIMATB AND FUNDAMENTAL EEFOEMS 
 
 Despite the practical and immediate character of the present 
 statement, we cannot entirely neglect the question of ultimate 
 aims and a systematic program; for other groups are busy 
 issuing such systematic pronouncements, and we all need some- 
 thing of the kind as a philosophical foundation and as a satis- 
 faction to our natural desire for comprehensive statements. 
 
 It seems clear that the present industrial system is destined 
 to last for a long time in its main outlines. That is to say, 
 private ownership of capital is not likely to be supplanted by 
 a collectivist organization of industry at a date sufficiently near 
 to justify any present action based on the hypothesis of its 
 arrival. This forecast we recognize as not only extremely prob- 
 
PROGRAM OF SOCIAL RECONSTRUCTION 237 
 
 able, but as highly desirable ; for, other objections apart. Social- 
 ism would mean bureaucracy, political tyranny, the helpless- 
 ness of the individual as a factor in the ordering of his own 
 life, and in general social inefficiency and decadence. 
 
 MAIW DEiKECTS 0:F PRESENT SYSTEM 
 
 Nevertheless, the present system stands in grievous need of 
 considerable modifications and improvement. Its main defects 
 are three: Enormous inefficiency and waste in the production 
 and distribution of commodities; insufficient incomes for the 
 majority of wage-earners, and unnecessarily large incomes for a 
 small minority of privileged capitalists. Inefficiency in the 
 production and distribution of goods would be in great measure 
 abolished by the reforms that have been outlined in the fore- 
 going pages. Production would be greatly increased by imi- 
 versal living wages, by adequate industrial education, and by 
 harmonious relations between labor and capital on the basis 
 of adequate participation by the former in all the industrial 
 aspects of business management. The wastes of commodity 
 distribution could be practically all eliminated by co-operative 
 mercantile establishments, and co-operative selling and market- 
 ing associations. 
 
 CO-OPEEATION AND CQi-PAETNEESHIP 
 
 Nevertheless, the full possibilities of increased production will 
 not be realized so long as the majority of the workers remain 
 mere wage-earners. The majority must somehow become 
 owners, or at least in part, of the instruments of production. 
 They can be enabled to reach this stage gradually through co- 
 operative productive societies and co-partnership arrangements. 
 In the former, the workers own and manage the industries them- 
 selves; in the latter they own a substantial part of the cor- 
 porate stock and exercise a reasonable share in the management. 
 However slow the attainment of these ends, they will have to 
 be reached before we can have a thoroughly efficient system of 
 production, or an industrial and social order that will be secure 
 from the danger of revolution. It is to be noted that this par- 
 ticular modification of the existing order, though far-reaching 
 and involving to a great extent the abolition of the wage sys- 
 
238 CHUECH AND LABOR 
 
 tern, would not mean the abolition of private ownership. The 
 instruments of production would still be owned by individuals, 
 not by the State. 
 
 INCREIASED rNCOMES FOB lABO'R 
 
 The second great evil, that of insufficient income for the ma- 
 jority, can be removed only by providing the workers with more 
 income. This means not only universal living wages, but the 
 opportunity of obtaining something more than that amount for 
 all who are willing to work hard and faithfully. All the other 
 measures for labor betterment recommended in the preceding 
 pages would likewise contribute directly or indirectly to a more 
 just distribution of wealth in the interest of the laborer. 
 
 ABOI-ITIOIT AITO CONTEOL OF MOWOPOIJES 
 
 For the third evil mentioned above, excessive gains by a 
 small minority of privileged capitalists, the main remedies are 
 prevention of monopolistic control of commodities, adequate 
 government regulation of such public service monopolies as 
 will remain under private operation, and heavy taxation of in- 
 comes, excess profits and inheritances. The precise methods 
 by which genuine competition may be restored and maintained 
 among businesses that are naturally competitive, cannot be dis- 
 cussed here; but the principle is clear that human beings can- 
 not be trusted with the immense opportunities for oppression 
 and extortion that go with the possession of monopoly power. 
 That the owners of public service monopolies should be re- 
 stricted by law to a fair or average return on their actual in- 
 vestment, has long been a recognized principle of the courts, 
 the legislatures, and public opinion. It is a principle which 
 should be applied to competitive enterprises likewise, with the 
 qualification that something more than the average rate of re- 
 turn should be allowed to men who exhibit exceptional efficiency. 
 However, good public policy, as well as equity, demands that 
 these exceptional business men share the fruits of their effi- 
 ciency with the consumer in the form of lower prices. The 
 man who utilizes his ability to produce cheaper than his com- 
 petitors for the purpose of exacting from the public as high a 
 price for his product as is necessary for the least efficient busi- 
 
PROGEAM OF SOCIAL RECONSTEUCTIOJS' 239 
 
 ness man, is a menace rather than a benefit to industry and 
 society. 
 
 Our immense war debt constitutes a particular reason why 
 incomes and excess profits should continue to be heavily taxed. 
 In this way two important ends will be attained : the poor will 
 be relieved of injurious tax burdens, and the small class of spe- 
 cially privileged capitalists will be compelled to return a part 
 of their unearned gains to society. 
 
 A NEIW SPIRIT A VITAL WEED ^^jC^J^'^" ^V<^V(!^^~ 
 
 " Society," said Pope Leo XIII, " can be healed in no other ^''^61 
 way than by a return to Christian life and Christian institu- 
 tions." The truth of these words is more widely perceived 
 to-day than when they were written, more than twenty-seven 
 years ago. Changes in our economic and political systems will 
 have only partial and feeble efiicacy if they be not reinforced by 
 the Christian view of work and wealth. Neither the moderate 
 reforms advocated in this paper, nor any other program of bet- 
 terment or reconstruction will prove reasonably effective with- 
 out a reform in the spirit of both labor and capital. The laborer 
 must come to realize that he owes his employer and society an 
 honest day's work in return for a fair wage, and that conditions 
 cannot be substantially improved until he roots out the de- 
 sire to get a maximum of return for a minimum of service. 
 The capitalist must likewise get a new viewpoint He needs 
 to learn the long-forgotten truth that wealth is stewardship, that 
 profit-making is not the basic justification of business enter- 
 prise, and that there are such things as fair profits, fair interest 
 and fair prices. Above and before all, he must cultivate and 
 strengthen within his mind the truth which many of his class 
 have begun to grasp for the first time during the present war ; 
 namely, that the laborer is a human being, not merely an instru- 
 ment of production ; and that the laborer's right to a decent live- 
 lihood is the first moral charge upon industry. The employer 
 has a right to get a reasonable living out of his business, but 
 he has no right to interest on his investment until his em- 
 ployees have obtained at least living wages. This is the human 
 and Christian, in contrast to the purely commercial and pagan, 
 ethics of industry. 
 
3. EXTRACT FROM THE PASTORAL LETTER OF 
 THE FRENCH HIERARCHY ^ 
 
 UNION AMONG SOCIAL CLASSES 
 
 We united to oppose the unjust aggression which imperilled 
 the integrity and independence of the nation. Our union must 
 endure; necessary as it is for the defense of the country, it is 
 no less necessary for rehabilitation. 
 
 It is imperative that religious quarrels be forever banished 
 from our midst, and that everyone should be allowed to be 
 faithful to his religious convictions without fear of ostracism 
 or disfavor. 
 
 The union of classes cemented during the war by common de- 
 votion and sacrifice must continue in time of peace. Struggles 
 between the various classes could not but be fatal to all. Ac- 
 cording to the teaching of the Church which, after the example 
 of her divine Founder, has always befriended the small and the 
 weak, inequality of position in the world is an inevitable con- 
 sequence of inequality of intelligence, talents, strength, health 
 and the diversity of the circumstances of life. One must ac- 
 cept it as a disposition of Providence and a social necessity. 
 
 In like manner, the right to hold property is a natural right. 
 It is the safeguard of family life, the stimulus and the reward 
 of wort. Collectivist socialism is, at once, an error and a peril. 
 The means of reestablishing and preserving peace in society 
 consist in the observance among the different classes of their 
 reciprocal duties, according to the teaching of the Gospel. Let 
 employers and workmen understand that they depend upon 
 each other, and let them agree to be upright with each other 
 in order to promote their common interests by friendly and 
 productive cooperation, instead of jeopardizing them by fruit- 
 less struggles. 
 
 As for ourselves, Ministers of Him whose heart was moved 
 
 1 In the spring of 1919. 
 
 240 
 
THE FRENCH HIERARCHY 241 
 
 to compassion by all human miseries, we open our arms and 
 our hearts to our dear people. We are ready to work with 
 them toward the betterment of their lot by every legitimate 
 means, and we believe we can assure them that, if they have 
 other friends besides us, they have none who are more sincere, 
 more devoted, and more disinterested. 
 
i. EXTRACT FROM THE PASTORAL LETTER OF 
 THE ARCHBISHOPS AND BISHOPS OF THE 
 UXITED STATES ^ 
 
 In 1891, Pope Leo XIII published his Encyclical Berwm 
 Novarum, a document which shows the insight of that great 
 Pontiff into the industrial conditions of the time, and his wis- 
 dom in pointing out the principles needed for the solving of 
 economic problems. " That the spirit of revolutionary change 
 v/hich has long been disturbing the nations of the world, should 
 have passed beyond the sphere of politics and made its in- 
 fluence felt in the cognate sphere of practical economics, is not 
 surprising. The elements of the conflict now raging are un- 
 mistakable, in the vast expansion of industrial pursuits and 
 the marvelous discoveries of science; in the changed relations 
 between masters and workmen; in the enormous fortunes of 
 some few individuals and the utter poverty of the masses ; in 
 the increased self-reliance and closer mutual combination of the 
 working classes; as also, finally, in the prevailing moral de- 
 generacy. The momentous gravity of the state of things now 
 obtaining fills every mind with painful apprehension ; wise men 
 are discussing it; practical men are proposing schemes; popu- 
 lar meetings, legislatures and rulers of nations are all bussed 
 with it — and actually there is no question that has taken a 
 deeper hold on the public mind." 
 
 How fully these statements apply to our present situation, 
 must be clear to all who have noted the covirse of events dur- 
 ing the year just elapsed. The War indeed has sharpened the 
 issues and intensified the conflict that rages in the world of 
 industry; but the elements, the parties and their respective at- 
 titudes are practically unchanged. Unchanged also are the 
 principles which must be applied, if order is to be restored and 
 placed on such a permanent basis that our people may continue 
 their peaceful pursuits without dread of further disturbance. 
 
 1 Published Feb. 22, 1920. 
 
 242 
 
AECHBISHOPS OF THE UNITED STATES 243 
 
 So far as men are willing to accept those principles as the com- 
 mon ground on which all parties may meet and adjust their 
 several claims, there is hope of a settlement without the more 
 radical measures which the situation seemed but lately to be 
 forcing on public authority. But in any event, the agitation of 
 the last few months should convince us that something more 
 is needed than temporary arrangements or local readjustments. 
 The atmosphere must be cleared so that, however great the 
 difficulties which presently block the way, men of good will 
 may not, through erroneous preconceptions, go stumbling on 
 from one detail to another, thus adding confusion to darkness 
 of counsel. 
 
 NATURE OF THE QUESTION 
 
 " It is the opinion of some," says Pope Leo XIII, " and the 
 error is already very common, that the social question is merely 
 an economic one, whereas in point of fact, it is first of all a 
 moral and religious matter, and for that reason its settlement 
 is to be sought mainly in the moral law and the pronouncements 
 of religion " (Apostolic Letter, Graves de communi, January 
 18, 1901). These words are as pertinent and their teaching as 
 necessary today as they were nineteen years ago. Their mean- 
 ing, substantially, has been reaffirmed by Pope Benedict XV in 
 his recent statement that " without justice and charity there 
 will be no social progress." The fact that men are striving for 
 what they consider to be their rights, puts their dispute on a 
 moral basis ; and wherever justice may lie, whichever of the op- 
 posing claims may have the better foundation, it is justice that 
 all demand. 
 
 In the prosecution of their respective claims, the parties have, 
 apparently, disregarded the fact that the people as a whole have 
 a prior claim. The great number of unnecessary strikes which 
 have occurred within the last few months, is evidence that 
 justice has been widely violated as regards the rights and needs 
 of the public. To assume that the only rights involved in an 
 industrial dispute are those of capital and labor, is a radical 
 error. It leads, practically, to the conclusion that at any time 
 and for an indefinite period, even the most necessary products 
 
244 CHURCH KNB LABOE 
 
 can he -withheld from general use until the controversy is 
 settled. In fact, while it lasts, millions of persons are com- 
 pelled to suffer hardship for want of goods and services which 
 they require for reasonable living. The first step, therefore, 
 toward correcting the evil is to insist that the rights of the 
 community shall prevail, and that no individual claim con- 
 flicting with those rights shaU be valid. 
 
 Among those rights is that which entitles the people to order 
 and tranquility as the necessary condition for social existence. 
 Industrial disturbance invariably spreads beyond the sphere in 
 which it originates, and interferes, more or less seriously, with 
 other occupations. The whole economic system is so compacted 
 together and its parts are so dependent one upon the other, that 
 the failure of a single element, especially if this be of vital im- 
 portance, must affect all the rest. The disorder which ensues 
 is an injustice inflicted upon the community; and the wrong is 
 the greater because, usually, there is no redress. Those who are 
 responsible for it pursue their own ends without regard for 
 moral consequences and, in some cases, with no concern for the 
 provisions of law. When such a temper asserts itself, indigna- 
 tion is aroused throughout the country and the authorities are 
 urged to take action. This, under given circumstances, may be 
 the only possible course; but, as experience shows, it does not 
 eradicate the evil. A further diagnosis is needed. The causes 
 of industrial trouble are generally known, as are also the various 
 phases through which it develops and the positions which the 
 several parties assume. The more serious problem is to ascer- 
 tain why, in such conditions, men fail to see their obligations 
 to one another and to the public, or seeing them, refuse to 
 fulfill them except under threat and compulsion. 
 
 MUTUAL OBLIGATIONS 
 
 " The great mistake in regard to the matter now under con- 
 sideration is to take up with the notion that class is naturally 
 hostile to class, and that the wealthy and the workingmen are 
 intended by nature to live in mutual conflict " (Rerum 
 Novarum) . On the contrary, as Pope Leo adds, " each needs 
 the other : Capital cannot do without Labor, nor Labor without 
 Capital. Eeligion is a powerful agency in drawing the rich 
 
AECHBISHOPS OF THE UNITED STATES 245 
 
 and the bread-winner together, by reminding each class of its 
 duties to the other and especially of the obligation of justice. 
 Eeligion teaches the laboring man and the artisan to carry out 
 honestly and fairly all equitable agreements freely arranged, 
 to refrain from injuring person or property, from using violence 
 and creating disorder. It teaches the owner and employer that 
 the laborer is not their bondsman, that in every man they must 
 respect his dignity and worth as a man and as a Christian ; that 
 labor is not a thing to be ashamed of, if we listen to right 
 reason and to Christian philosophy, but is an honorable calling, 
 enabling a man to sustain his life in a way upright and credit- 
 able; and that it is shameful and inhuman to treat men like 
 chattels, as means for making money, or as machines for grind- 
 ing out work." The moral value oi man and the dignity of 
 human labor are cardinal points in this whole question. Let 
 them be the directive principles in industry, and they will go 
 far toward preventing disputes. By treating the laborer first 
 of all as a man, the employer will make him a better working- 
 man; by respecting his own moral dignity as a man, the laborer 
 will compel the respect of his employer and of the community. 
 The settlement of our industrial problems would offer less 
 difficulty if, while upholding its rights, each party were dis- 
 posed to meet the other in a friendly spirit. The strict re- 
 quirements of justice can be fulfilled without creating animos- 
 ity; in fact, where this arises, it is apt to obscure the whole 
 issue. On the contrary, a manifest desire to win over, rather 
 than drive, the opponent to the acceptance of equitable terms, 
 would facilitate the recognition of claims which are founded 
 in justice. The evidence of such a disposition would break 
 down the barriers of mistrust and set up in their stead the 
 bond of good will. ISTot an armistice but a conciliation would 
 result; and this would establish all parties in the exercise of 
 their rights and the cheerful performance of their duties. 
 
 EBSPECTIVE EIGHTS 
 
 The right of labor to organize, aud the great benefit to be 
 derived from workingmen's associations, was plainly set forth 
 by Pope Leo XIII. In this connection, we would call atten- 
 tion to two rights, one of employes and the other of employers, 
 
246. CHURCH AND LABOE 
 
 the violation of which contributes largely to the existing xmrest 
 and suffering. The first is the right of the workers to form and 
 maintain the kind of organization that is necessary and that 
 will be most effectual in securing their welfare. The second is 
 the right of employers to the faithful observance by the labor 
 unions of all contracts and agreements. The unreasonableness 
 of denying either of these rights is too obvious to require proof 
 or explanation. 
 
 A dispute that cannot be adjusted by direct negotiation be- 
 tween the parties concerned, should always be submitted to arbi- 
 tration. JSTeither employer nor employe may reasonably reject 
 this method on the ground that it does not bring about perfect 
 justice. ISTo human institution is perfect or infallible; even 
 our courts of law are sometimes in error. Like the law court, 
 the tribunal of industrial arbitration provides the nearest ap- 
 proach to justice that is practically attainable; for the only 
 alternative is economic force, and its decisions have no neces- 
 sary relation to the decrees of justice. They show which party 
 is economically stronger, not which is in the right. 
 
 The right of labor to a living wage, authoritatively and elo- 
 quently reasserted more than a quarter of a century ago by 
 Pope Leo XIII, is happily no longer denied by any considerable 
 mmiber of persons. What is principally needed now is that its 
 content should be adequately defined, and that it should be made 
 universal in practice, through whatever means will be at once 
 legitimate and effective. In particular, it is to be kept in mind 
 that a living wage includes not merely decent maintenance for 
 the present, but also a reasonable provision for such future needs 
 as sickness, invalidity and old age. Capital likewise has its 
 rights. Among them is the right to " a fair day's work for a 
 fair day's pay," and the right to returns which will be sufficient 
 to stimulate thrift, saving, initiative, enterprise, and all those 
 directive and productive energies which promote social welfare. 
 
 BENEFITS OF ASSOCIATION" 
 
 In his pronouncement on Labor (Berum Novarum) Pope 
 Leo XIII describes the advantages to be derived by both em- 
 ployer and employe from " associations and organizations which 
 draw the two classes more closely together." Such associations 
 
AECHBISHOPS OF THE UNITED STATES 24Y 
 
 are especially needed at the present time. While the labor 
 union or trade union has been, and still is, necessary in the 
 struggle of the workers for fair wages and fair conditions of 
 employment, we have to recognize that its history, methods and 
 objects have made it essentially a militant organization. The 
 time seems now to have arrived when it should be, not sup- 
 planted, but supplemented by associations or conferences, com- 
 posed jointly of employers and employes, which will place em- 
 phasis upon the common interests rather than the divergent 
 aims of the two parties, upon cooperation rather than conflict. 
 Through such arrangements, all classes would be greatly bene- 
 fited. The worker would participate in those matters of in- 
 dustrial management which directly concern him and about 
 which he possesses helpful knowledge ; he would acquire an in- 
 creased sense of personal dignity and personal responsibility, 
 take greater interest and pride in his work, and become more 
 efficient and more contented. The employer would have the 
 benefit of willing cooperation from, and harmonious relations 
 with, his employes. The consumer, in common with employer 
 and employe, would share in the advantages of larger and 
 steadier production. In a word, industry would be carried on 
 as a cooperative enterprise for the common good, and not as a 
 contest between two parties for a restricted product. 
 
 Deploring the social changes which have divided " society 
 into two widely difFerent castes," of which one " holds power 
 because it holds wealth," while the other is " the needy and 
 powerless multitude," Pope Leo XIII declared that the remedy 
 is " to induce as many as possible of the humbler classes to 
 become owners " (Rerum Novarum). This recommendation is 
 in exact accord with the traditional teaching and practice of 
 the Church. When her social influence was greatest, in the later 
 Middle Ages, the prevailing economic system was such that the 
 workers were gradually obtaining a larger share in the owner- 
 ship of the lands upon which, and the tools with which, they 
 labored. Though the economic arrangements of that time can- 
 not be restored, the underlying principle is of permanent appli- 
 cation, and is the only one that will give stability to industrial 
 society. It should be applied to our present system as rapidly 
 as conditions will permit. 
 
248 CHURCH AND LAEOR 
 
 Whatever may be the industrial and social remedies which 
 will approve themselves to the American people, there is one 
 that, we feel confident, they will never adopt. That is the 
 method of revolution. For it there is neither justification nor 
 excuse under our form of government. Through the ordinary 
 and orderly processes of education, organization and legislation, 
 all social wrongs can be righted. While these processes may 
 at times seem distressingly slow, they will achieve more in the 
 final result than violence or revolution. The radicalism, and 
 worse than radicalism, of the labor movement in some of the 
 countries of Europe, has no lesson for the workers of the United 
 States, except as an example of methods to be detested and 
 avoided. 
 
 Pope Benedict has recently expressed a desire that the people 
 should study the great encyclicals on the social question of his 
 predecessor, Leo XIII. We heartily commend this advice to 
 the faithful and, indeed, to all the people of the United States. 
 They will find in these documents the practical wisdom which 
 the experience of centuries has stored up in the Holy See and, 
 moreover, that solicitude for the welfare of mankind which fitly 
 characterizes the Head of the Catholic Church. 
 
5. PASTOEAL LETTER OF THE GERMAN BISHOPS 
 ON SOCIALISM 
 
 Editor's Intkoddction" 
 
 The following estimate of modem Socialism is of the utmost 
 importance. It is given by men best qualified to judge of it 
 impartially, as their position required them to do. It comes 
 to us, furthermore, from the country that gave birth to this 
 movement, in which it developed most successfully, and where 
 its workings could be studied under the most favorable con- 
 ditions. 
 
 Those who have merely considered the economic tenets of 
 Socialism, as they were proposed to them for political purposes, 
 may be somewhat startled at the well-considered and carefully 
 worded statements of this joint pastoral. Individual Social- 
 ists, with but little interest in the ulterior designs of their leaders 
 and in the ultimate tendencies of the movement to which they 
 subscribe from purely industrial motives, may be far from wish- 
 ing to embrace all the erroneous doctrines of Socialism here set 
 down and formally condemned, — as of necessity they must be 
 condemned by every Catholic. 
 
 There is question here, not of an ideal Socialism, such as 
 some of its followers have pictured for themselves, but of the 
 actual Socialist movement as it has always existed in the Inter- 
 national, and as it can be studied historically, in its effects, 
 where it has been able to throw off its political trammels and 
 freely disclose itself. In France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, 
 Mexico, Russia, and wherever else it has been able for a time 
 to express itself freely, it has answered fully to the description 
 given to it by the German Hierachy. It is everywhere, openly 
 or covertly, seeking the destruction of the Catholic schools, op- 
 posing in its literature the doctrines and morality of the 
 Church, and planning to effect her ruin, if that could possibly 
 be compassed by any human power. How far any particular 
 
 249 
 
250 CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 association, labelled " Socialist," corresponds to this description 
 can be ascertained in each instance. Ultimate perversion 
 through contact with the materialistic literature of Socialism 
 will follow with moral certainty. 
 
 It may be a matter of surprise that the men responsible be- 
 fore God for the salvation of their flock should so openly have 
 antagonized Socialism in Germany at a time when the Center 
 itself was actively cooperating with the less radical Socialists 
 in the conduct of the newly formed German Republic of that 
 period. 
 
 The explanation is simple for those who have had the oppor- 
 tunity closely to study the events that then were taking place 
 in Germany. The Center, in its cooperation, never for an in- 
 stant ceased to protest that it was inexorably opposed to the 
 principles of Socialism. It was willing to cooperate with the 
 Socialist Government officials towards all measures that were 
 in reality Catholic, in so far as they had in view the common 
 good of the entire country. Concessions, that did not involve 
 a surrender of principles, they were willing to make, while 
 countless important concessions for the common good were 
 wrung from the Socialists in power. So, and so only, were 
 they able to prevent a state of anarchy and the triumph of the 
 most destructive radicalism. It was clearly the Center, with its 
 vast proportion of Catholic members, that then saved, Germany. 
 As an illustration of the complete harmony of view between 
 the Bishops of the country and responsible Centrist leaders on 
 the question of Socialism, we may quote the words of the 
 Centrist Deputy, Dr. Fassbender, that appeared in the Deutsche 
 Allgemeine Zeitung for November 30, 1919 : 
 
 In view of the ostensibly neutral, but in reality hostile attitude, 
 programmatically assumed by Social Democracy (the German Social- 
 ist party) towards Christianity, no one need be surprised that the 
 German Episcopate from the very outset looks with suspicion upon all 
 resolutions of a legal nature which are passed under the prepon- 
 derant influence of Social Democracy. 
 
 In Germany, as in many other countries, it has been, from 
 first to last, a struggle on the part of loyal Catholics to save 
 the Church from the destruction which, cunningly or brutally, 
 
THE GEEMAN BISHOPS ON SOCIALISM 251 
 
 the Socialist International everywhere designed for her, whether 
 under the propaganda of a false scientific materialism, or 
 through taxation of Catholic schools, or in a direct attack upon 
 her morality and her creed, or in a violent destruction of the 
 very edifices built for her Divine worship. The philosophy 
 of Socialism has everywhere been the same, a crass and dis- 
 credited materialistic evolution applied to history, which Social- 
 ists themselves have significantly called " historic materialism " 
 or " the materialistic conception of history." Socialism, the 
 mental child of the atheistic Marx and Engels, can still, through 
 all its gro\vth and outward change of dress and habits, be easily 
 recog-nized for their own. Such, in general, is the Socialist 
 movement. 
 
 The Pastoeai 
 Beloved Beethee.n : 
 
 The fearful seriousness of the hour compels us to address 
 3'ou again in a joint letter. Social democracy believes that 
 amidst the present disturbances the hour has come to add to 
 its efforts by also penetrating more deeply the ranks of the 
 Catholic people. The Socialist propaganda is conducted in 
 every direction, and even threatens many in our dioceses. One 
 still hears continually the question: How stands Social Dem- 
 ocracy in regard to Christianity and the Church? Therefore 
 we must say a plain and definite word to you on the subject 
 today. 
 
 " Christianity and Socialism have the same relationship to 
 one another as fire and water." Thus has one of the most in- 
 fluential and competent spokesmen of Socialism expressly de- 
 clared. He is in a position to know. In these words he con- 
 fessed the full and undeniable truth. It is really so: Chris- 
 tianity and Socialism stand towards one another as fire and 
 water. One cannot be at the same time a convinced follower 
 of Socialism and a sincere (aufrichtiger) Catholic Christian. 
 Either one or the other. The opposition and hostility of Social- 
 ism to Christianity and the Church are implacable. 
 
 The Socialist teaching stands in the strongest and sharpest 
 contrast to our Catholic Christian creed. Socialism desires to 
 use its strength to spread atheism, the denial of God, every- 
 
252, CHUECH AND LABOE 
 
 where. In this endeavor all its leaders have been hitherto as 
 one. That is to say, the fatal false teaching of Socialism is 
 grounded on so-called materialism; it is inwardly and insep- 
 arably bound up with the materialist view of the world. Ac- 
 cordingly it offers nothing at all spiritual, nothing eternal, noth- 
 ing unchangeable. Everything is matter ; everything is tempo- 
 ral; everything ends with death; everything that exists is in 
 continuous, changeful fluctuation. Note, dear brethren, that 
 this is the ground dogma of Socialism. You see at once then 
 that there is no room for God, there is no immortality. Then 
 also there is no God-Man, Jesus Christ ; no Divine Saviour, no 
 salvation. Then there is no Church, no Sacraments, no world 
 beyond, no reunion after death, no everlasting hell and no 
 eternal heaven. Truly Socialist teaching and Catholic belief 
 stand towards each other as fire and water. 
 
 Socialism also strives to shatter Catholic moral teaching and 
 Catholic moral life. It proclaims that it in no way lays down 
 eternal, unconditional, obligatory, general, indestructible moral 
 precepts. It mocks the eternal God who has created men — and 
 will one day judge them. It does not pray and, as you must 
 have recognized yourselves lately, wishes to do away witli 
 prayer. It denies the other world, and requital there. It 
 does not admit that there is a duty and responsibility of con- 
 science which springs from God. Do not deceive yourselves in 
 the matter: Socialism knows only of a life for this world, for 
 the earth. The Commandments of God it wants to put away 
 and abolish. According to Socialism, no one need any longer 
 trouble about God and His law. But be assured, beloved 
 brethren, "God is not mocked" (Gal. VI: 7) by any man! 
 And it remains everlastingly true : " It is appointed unto 
 men once to die, and after this the judgment " (Heb. IX: 27). 
 The State is to be separated from the school ; the school is 
 to be secular, that means without religion. For the State and 
 the school, God and Church shall exist no longer. In the last 
 joint pastoral, beloved brethren, we besought you for the love 
 of Christ to consider what grievous wrong against God the 
 Lord, against His Church, against suffering humanity, against 
 your souls and against the innocent souls of your children is 
 thus planned. We laid before you in all truth the danger 
 
THE GEEMAN BISHOPS ON SOCIALISM 253 
 
 which arises from it for State and Church, for community and 
 family. We warn and beseech you today again : Do not mis- 
 take the dreadful bearing of this Socialist movement. If So- 
 cialism succeeds, then — let people say what they will — your 
 religion and freedom of conscience will be enslaved and gagged. 
 The crucified Saviour will be banished shamefully, disgrace- 
 fully from the sight of the public and from the schools. 
 
 The Socialists destroy Christian marriage and the Christian 
 family. That this is aimed at, their leaders have often enough 
 stated to everybody. They want to break the unity and indis- 
 solubility of Christian marriage. They desire to rob the family 
 of the ordained relationship of husband and wife towards one 
 another. They want to take away from parents the right to 
 educate their children according to their convictions and their 
 own conscience. The Sixth and Ninth Commandments are no 
 longer to be in force. Thus the Socialist dares to violate God's 
 holy law infamously. You clearly see that between Socialism 
 and Christianity, no bridge is possible. But listen further. 
 Socialism desires equal rights and duties for all men. That 
 sounds well and fair, but nevertheless, make no mistake! 
 There is then no longer in the family, in the school, in the 
 State, or in society, any one who obeys for the sake of God and 
 conscience. The Fourth Commandment, with all the duties 
 attached thereto, for the variously organized arrangements of 
 human society — the whole of the Fourth Conunandment would 
 be done away with. 
 
 SOCIALISM AND PEIVATE PEOPEETT 
 
 And finally, you know that Socialism on principle wishes 
 to do away with private property in the means of production, 
 as, for instance, in land and soil, tools, machines, raw material, 
 and the means of exchange (see the so-called Erfurt Program). 
 These means of production are to be transferred to the posses- 
 sion of the State. Therefrom they promise themselves a gold 
 mine. In this way they are to find the sure and inexhaustible 
 source of good fortune and welfare for all men. Beloved 
 brethren, do not allow yourselves to be deluded by these schemes 
 of Socialism. Its actual working would lead to a cruel and 
 fatal deception for the great masses of the people. Industry 
 
254 CHUECH AND LABOE 
 
 and trade, handicrafts and business pursuits, instead of flourish- 
 ing, would lose their vital strength. Afterwards there would 
 be, just as there is today, a crowd of poor, unfortunate, suffer- 
 ing men who, with anxiety, have to fight for their existence 
 and are allotted to the help of others. And bear this well in 
 mind. The whole plan is un-Christian and goes against the 
 dispensation of God. The Creator gave man the right of 
 private property with human nature. And the dispensation 
 and development in human society willed by God, requires the 
 possession and dominion of private property in the same way. 
 The Seventh Commandment expressly says : " Thou shalt not 
 steal." In the Tenth Commandment inordinate desire is for- 
 bidden : " Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, nor his 
 field, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor 
 his ass, nor anything that is his." No man is entitled on prin- 
 ciple to deny his fellow-man the right to private property or 
 to rob him of it. That is the teaching of Christ, our God 
 and Saviour ; it is the teaching of the Apostles ; it has been the 
 teaching of the Catholic Church from the days of the Fathers 
 in the beginning to the time of Leo XIII and his famous En- 
 cyclical on the social question. And never, you may be sure, 
 will the Church allow the difference between mine and thine 
 to be confused or effaced. Undoubtedly the possessor, by reason 
 of his possession, has social duties, serious and great duties, 
 duties both towards the non-possessors and also towards the 
 community. The idea of social responsibility, as the Church 
 proclaimed it, took root generally at first in humanity. Who- 
 ever wishes to bear testimony to the truth must admit that the 
 Church has always been the most zealous advocate of all just 
 social demands, particularly of the working classes. And never 
 has the Church disputed, that, the law of justice being observed, 
 the State may interfere with private property for the promo- 
 tion of the public welfare. Yet in this connection it must be 
 insisted that it is unjust and imlawful to wish to do away with 
 private property in all the so-called means of production. Such 
 a proposal is irreconcilably opposed to Christian teaching and 
 the Christian law. 
 
 Beloved brethren, do not allow yourselves to be misled by 
 the shibboleth: The Social Democrats treat religion as a 
 
to 
 
 THE GERMAN BISHOPS ON SOCIALISM 255 
 
 private affair. That is only an effort to create a disposition 
 favorable to Socialism in the circles of those whom the true 
 view of Socialism, and its embittered enmity towards religion, 
 would frighten off to too large an extent. That shibboleth is 
 merely a mask, a disguise. Innumerable testimonies in the 
 writings and the life of the Socialists, innumerable expressions 
 of a raging hatred of God and foul mockery of religion, declare 
 often and loudly that Socialism is an irreconcilable opponent 
 of Christianity and the Church. And do not doubt this : Be- 
 tween the different groups in Socialism — the Independents 
 and the Majority Socialists — there is in this respect no differ- 
 ence. It does not matter at all that many who profess adher- 
 ence to Social Democracy allege that they consider themselves 
 good Catholics. Whoever promotes Socialism works against 
 religion. Whoever supports Socialism, immediately or medi- 
 ately, by his own action or through negligence or sloth, sins 
 against Christ and His Church. Whoever holds to Christ and 
 His Church cannot hold with Socialism. Either one — or the 
 other. It is as that Socialist leader said, " Christianity and 
 Socialism are to one another as fire and water." 
 
 Beloved brethren, you know your duty, and we firmly trust 
 in your Catholic fidelity. Let each of you repeat in these de- 
 cisive days his holy baptismal vows : 
 
 " Firm my baptismal vows shall bind 
 To the truth the Church is preaching. 
 
 In me a son she'll always find 
 Obedient to her teaching. 
 
 Thanks to God who by His grace 
 
 Within the fold has given me place, 
 A fold I ne'er shall stray from." 
 
 Hh Eelix Caedinal voosr Haetmann, Archbishop of Cologne. 
 
 ►J* M. Felix^ Bishop of Treves. 
 
 ►f< Chaeles Joseph, Bishop of Paderborn. 
 
 Hh John, Bishop of Muenster. 
 
 >^ William, Bishop of Osnabrueck. 
 
 ►J< Joseph, Bishop of Hildesheim. 
 
1. A LIVn^G WAGE ^ 
 By Rev. John A. Etan, D.D., LL.D. 
 
 " A Living Wage " forms the title of a chapter in Professor 
 William Smart's Studies in Economics. This chapter was 
 written in Scotland, ISTovember, 1893. In its opening sen- 
 tences we are told : " The last few weeks have seen the birth 
 of a new and attractive catchword. Before it has even been 
 deiined, it is already put forward as arguing a claim. . . . 
 The expression ' living wage ' seems to give a reason and a 
 basis for a certain amount of wages. It has, accordingly, 
 found its way into everyday language, and we may expect soon 
 to find that the conception which it expresses has taken its 
 place among the convictions of many." 
 
 In all probability, these sentences describe the origin of the 
 phrase, " living wage." But the idea that it expresses goes 
 back much farther than the summer of 1893. Because the 
 idea is so much older than the expression, it has " taken its 
 place among the convictions of many " to a far greater extent 
 and with much more rapidity than Professor Smart expected 
 when he wrote the words just quoted. Because the expression 
 neatly and concretely sets forth the idea, it likewise has ob- 
 tained a currency that the professor never anticipated. Both 
 the idea and the expression owe their vogue and their popular- 
 ity to the fact that they represent a fundamental principle of 
 justice. 
 
 Although the idea of a living wage goes back at least to the 
 early Middle Ages, it received its first systematic and authorita- 
 tive expression in the Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII, " On the 
 Condition of Labor." This was published in May, 1891, some- 
 thing more than a year before the " catchword " was first heard 
 in Great Britain. In that dociunent the great pontiff flatly 
 
 1 From The Church and Socialism and Other Essays. The University 
 Press, Washington, D. C. 
 
 259 
 
260 CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 rejected the prevailing doctrine that wages fixed by free con- 
 sent were always fair and just. This theory, he said, leaves 
 out of account certain important considerations. It ignores 
 the fundamental fact that the laborer is morally bound to pre- 
 serve his life, and that his only means of fulfilling this duty 
 is to be found in his wages. Therefore, concluded Pope Leo, 
 " a workman's wages ought to be suiScient to maintain him 
 in reasonable and frugal comfort." This proposition, he de- 
 clared, is a " dictate of natural justice." 
 
 What is " reasonable comfort " ? Evidently, it is something 
 more than the conditions and essentials of mere existence. To 
 have merely the means of continuing to live and to work is not 
 to be in comfort. What degree of comfort is reasonable? To 
 this question we could get a hundred different answers from as 
 many different persons. Each of the one hundred might con- 
 ceive reasonable comfort as that to which he had become ac- 
 customed, or that to which he aspired because it seemed to 
 bring happiness to others. The reasonable comfort that the 
 Pope had in mind is merely the reasonable minimum. It is 
 that smallest amount which will satisfy right reason. One way 
 of finding out how much is required by this standard is to con- 
 sult the judgment of competent and fair-minded men. Another 
 and more fundamental method is to interpret reasonable com- 
 fort in the light of man's nature and essential needs. These 
 are the ends to which any degree of welfare is biit a means. 
 Man's nature and needs, therefore, should indicate the amount 
 of goods that constitute the minimum measure of reasonable 
 comfort. 
 
 Like every other hiunan being, the wage-earner is a person, 
 not a thing, nor a mere animal. Because he is a person, he 
 has certain needs that are not felt by animals, and his needs 
 and his welfare have a certain sacredness that does not belong 
 to any other species of creatures. A dog or a horse may be 
 used as mere instruments to the welfare of man. They may 
 rightfully be killed when man no longer wants them. Not so 
 with the human person. He has intrinsic worth and dignity. 
 He is made in the image and likeness of God. He is an end 
 in himself. He was not created for the pleasure, or utility, 
 or aggrandizement of any other human being or group of human 
 
A LIVING WAGE 261 
 
 beings. His worth and his place in the universe are to be 
 measured with reference to himself, not with reference to other 
 men, or to institutions, or to states. He is worth while for his 
 own sake. 
 
 When, then, are the needs to which are attached this preroga- 
 tive of intrinsic worth and saeredness ? How much of the good 
 things of life must a man have in order that he may live in a 
 manner worthy of a person? In general, he must have suffi- 
 cient goods and opportunities for the exercise of all his faculties 
 and the development of his personality. On the physical side, 
 this means food, clothing and housing adequate to maintain him 
 in health and working efficiency. If he is underfed, or insuffi- 
 ciently clothed, or improperly housed, he is treated with even less 
 consideration than wise and humane men extend to their beasts 
 of burden. Since the worker is not merely an animal and an 
 instrument of production, but an intellectual and moral person, 
 he requires the means of exercising and developing the faculties 
 of his soul. Therefore he needs some education, some facilities 
 for reading and study, the means of practicing religion, an en- 
 vironment that will not make unreasonably difficult the leading 
 of a moral life, and sufficient opportunities of social intercourse 
 and recreation to maintain him in efficiency and to give him that 
 degree of contentment that is essential to a healthy outlook on 
 life. As regards the future, the worker requires a certain 
 minimum amount of security against sickness, accident, and old 
 age. Finally, all these goods should be available to the worker, 
 not as a single man, but as the head of a family ; for marriage 
 is among the essential needs of the great majority. 
 
 All the foregoing goods and opportunities are included in the 
 concept of reasonable comfort. Within the last few years, many 
 groups of persons have attempted to translate these requisites 
 into more concrete symbols. They have tried to describe rea- 
 sonable comfort or a decent livelihood in terms of food, hous- 
 ing, insurance, etc. Their statements and estimates have shown 
 a remarkable measure of agreement. This substantial uni- 
 formity proves that " reasonable comfort," is not only a prac- 
 tical and tangible conception, but one that springs from the 
 deepest intuitions of reason and morality. 
 
 We pass over their specific statements concerning the amount 
 
2:62 CHURCH AND LABOE 
 
 and kinds of food required, as these are too technical for our 
 present purpose. It is suiScient to say that these specifications 
 cover an allowance of food adequate to the preservation of 
 health and vs?orking efSciency. As regards clothing, the esti- 
 mates include not merely what is needed for health and effi- 
 ciency, but those additional articles and changes of raiment 
 which are essential in order that the worker and his family 
 may, without loss of self-respect, attend church, school, and par- 
 ticipate in public gatherings, and various forms of social in- 
 tercourse. The provision of apparel for these latter pur- 
 poses may not be directly necessary on the ground of health, 
 but it meets one of the fundamental needs of a human being. 
 It is among the reqiiirements of the mind and the emotions. To 
 deny it to a man is to treat him as somewhat less than a man. 
 
 In the matter of housing, the authorities agree that the wage- 
 earner and his family require at least four or five rooms, with 
 adequate sunlight, ventilation, and all the elementary requisites 
 of sanitation, and in moral and healthful siirroundings. 
 
 The majority of social students believe that the workingman's 
 wife should not be compelled to become a wage-earner, and that 
 his children should not regularly engage in gainful occupations 
 before the age of sixteen. If these conditions are not realized, 
 the family is not living in reasonable comfort, and its younger 
 members are deprived of reasonable opportunities of education 
 and development. 
 
 All the members of the family should have some provision 
 for recreation, such as an occasional trip to the country and 
 visits to moving pictures or concerts, some access to books and 
 periodical literature, in addition to schooling for the children 
 up to the age of sixteen; and of course the means of belonging 
 to a church. 
 
 The worker should have sufficient insurance against unem- 
 ployment, accidents, sickness and old age to provide himself 
 and those normally dependent upon him with all the above 
 mentioned goods during those periods when he is unable to 
 make such provision by his labor and wages. 
 
 Such are the requisites of reasonable comfort as determined 
 by man's nature and needs, and as interpreted by all compe- 
 tent authorities on the subject. That the wage-earner, as all 
 
A LIVING WAGE 263 
 
 other persons, ought to have this much of the good things of 
 life will not be denied by anyone who appreciates the dignity 
 and intrinsic worth of personality. The man who would assert 
 that the worker and his family may reasonably be deprived of 
 these things must logically contend that the worker may be 
 killed or deprived of his liberty for the benefit of others. For 
 the rights of life, liberty, marriage and all the other funda- 
 mental goods rest on precisely the same basis as the claim to 
 reasonable comfort. That basis is the inherent sacredness of 
 personality. This sacredness is outraged, not only when the 
 person is killed, crippled, or imprisoned, but also when he is 
 prevented from exercising and developing his faculties to a rea- 
 sonable degree. 
 
 Pope Leo XIII declared that the workman's claim to a wage 
 that provides reasonable comfort is a " dictate of natural jus- 
 tice." That is to say, a living wage and reasonable comfort 
 are not merely desirable advantages, goods which we should all 
 like to see possessed by the working man and his family, things 
 necessary for reasonable life, but they are required by the prin- 
 ciples of justice; they belong to him as a right. To a large 
 proportion of employers, and to many other persons, this is 
 still " a hard saying." How can it be justified ? 
 
 Pope Leo could not present an extended justification in a 
 document that dealt with the whole field of industrial rela- 
 tions. Hence he contented himself with laying down the gen- 
 eral principle that a living wage and a condition of reasonable 
 comfort are required in order that the wage earner may fulfill 
 his duties of life and self-development. Obligations cannot 
 be discharged without the necessary means; for the laborer, 
 wages are the only means. 
 
 The latest ethical defence of the right to a living wage is 
 that presented by the Rev. Dr. Cronin, in the second volume 
 of his Science of Ethics. It is, in brief, that a wage which is not 
 sufficient to provide reasonable comfort is not the just equivalent 
 of the wage-earner's labor. Why? Because the worker's 
 energy or labor is the one means that God has given him to pro- 
 vide the essentials of reasonable life and comfort. When the 
 employer appropriates to his own uses this energy, he is bound 
 in strict justice to give in exchange for it that amount of wel- 
 
264' CHURCH AKD LABOE 
 
 fare which the laborer's energy is the divinely given means of 
 obtaining. Other writers give other arguments and justifica- 
 tions. Among the Catholic authorities the differences in this 
 matter are differences of view-point rather than of principle. 
 The following argument seems to be more fundamental and 
 thorough than some of the others. 
 
 When we consider man's position in relation to the bounty 
 of nature, we are led to accept three ftindamental principles. 
 The first may be thus stated : Since the earth was intended by 
 God for the support of all persons, all have essentially equal 
 claims upon it, and essentially equal rights of access to its 
 benefits. On the one hand, God has not declared that any of 
 His children have superior or exceptional claims to the earth. 
 On the other hand, all persons are made in the image and like- 
 ness of God, composed of the same kind of body and soul, 
 affected by the same needs, and destined for the same end. 
 Therefore they are all equally important in His sight. They 
 are all equally persons, endowed with intrinsic worth and dig- 
 nity, ends in themselves, not instruments to the welfare of others. 
 Hence they stand upon an essentially equal footing with regard 
 to the animal, plant, and mineral bounty of the earth. This 
 bounty is a common gift, possession, heritage. The moral 
 claims upon it held by these equal himian persons are essentially 
 equal. jSTo man can vindicate for himself a superior claim on 
 the basis of anything that he finds in himself, in nature or in the 
 designs of nature's God. 
 
 Nevertheless, this equal right of access to the earth is not 
 absolute. It is conditioned upon labor, upon the expenditure 
 of useful and fruitful energy. As a rule, the good things of 
 the earth are obtained in adequate form and quantity only at 
 the cost of considerable exertion. And this exertion is for the 
 most part irksome, of such a nature that men will not perform 
 it except under the compulsion of some less agreeable alterna- 
 tive. The labor to which the earth yields up her treasures is 
 not put forth spontaneously and automatically. Therefore, the 
 equal and inherent right of men to possess the earth and utilize 
 its benefits becomes actually valid only when they are willing 
 to expend productive energy and labor. This is the second 
 fundamental principle. 
 
A LIVING WAGE 265 
 
 Obviously we are speaking here of the original rights of 
 men to the earth, not of those rights which they have acquired 
 through the possession of private property. The rights in ques- 
 tion ai-e those which inhere in all men, whether or not they 
 are private owners. 
 
 From the two principles of equal right of access to the earth, 
 and universal obligation to perform a reasonable amount of 
 useful labor, follows a third fundamental principle. It is that 
 men who at any time or in any way control the resources of the 
 earth are morally bound to permit others to have access thereto 
 on reasonable terms. Men who are willing to work must be 
 enabled to make real and actual their original and equal right 
 of access to the common bounty of nature. For the right to 
 subsist from the earth implies the right actually to participate 
 in its benefits on reasonable conditions and through reasonable 
 arrangements. Otherwise the former right is a delusion. To 
 refuse any man reasonable facilities to exercise his basic right 
 of living from the common bounty by his labor is to treat this 
 right as non-€xistent. Such conduct by the men who are in 
 possession implies a belief that their rights to the gifts of God 
 are inherently superior to the right of the person whom they 
 exclude. This position is utterly untenable. It is on exactly 
 the same basis as would be the claim of a strong man to de- 
 prive a weak one of liberty. The right to freedom of move- 
 ment is not more certain nor more indestructible than the right 
 of access on reasonable terms to the bounty of the earth. 
 Were a community to imprison an innocent man it would not 
 violate his rights more vitally than does the proprietor or the 
 corporation that deprives him of reasonable access to the re- 
 sources of nature. In both cases the good that he seeks is a 
 common gift of God. 
 
 This, then, is the moral basis underlying the laborer's right 
 to a living wage. Like all other men, he has an indestructible 
 right of access to the goods of the earth on reasonable terms. 
 Obviously, the conditional clause, " on reasonable terms," is of 
 very great importance. Neither the laborer nor anyone else 
 has a right of direct and unconditional access to those portions 
 of the earth that have rightly become the property of others. 
 Such a claim would be the height of unreason. The laborer's 
 
266 CHUECH AND LABOE 
 
 right to participate in the common heritage must be actualized 
 in such a way as not to interfere with the equally valid rights of 
 others. The laborer's right must be satisfied with due re- 
 gard to existing acquired rights and the existing form of in- 
 dustrial organization. 
 
 From this principle to the principle that the laborer has a 
 right to a living wage, the transition is logical and certain. 
 Pope Leo XIII declared that the laborer's right to a living 
 wage arises from the fact that his wage is his only means of 
 livelihood. Owing to the manner in which the goods of the 
 earth have been divided and appropriated in the present or- 
 ganization of industrial society, the wage-earner has no way 
 of exercising his original and equal right of access to the earth 
 except through the sale of his labor in return for wages. An 
 occasional worker might get a livelihood by cultivating a piece 
 of land, but the cost is so great that only those can defray it 
 who are already receiving more than living wages. If such an 
 opportunity and alternative were general, the living wage would 
 not be a practical question. Men would not hire themselves out 
 for less than that amount when they could obtain a decent live- 
 lihood by employing themselves on a piece of land. To assure 
 a laborer that if he does not like to work for less than living 
 wages, he can fall back upon his right of access to the earth 
 by taking up a piece of land, is but to mock him. Such ac- 
 cess as he has is evidently not access on reasonable terms. 
 
 For the wage-earner of to-day, therefore-, access to the re- 
 sources of nature can be had only through wages. The men 
 who have appropriated the goods and opportunities of the 
 earth have shut him out from any other way of entering upon 
 his natural heritage. Therefore they are morally bound to 
 use and administer these goods in such a way that his right shall 
 not be violated and his access to the resources of nature not 
 rendered unreasonably difEcrilt. This means that the indus- 
 trial community in which he lives, and for which he labors, 
 shall provide him with the requisites of a decent livelihood in 
 the form of living wages. On the one hand, the worker has 
 performed a reasonable amount of labor; on the other hand, 
 the industrial community is the beneficiary of his services. 
 In the product which he has created the community has the 
 
A LIVING WAGE 267 
 
 wherewith to pay him living wages. To refuse him this amount 
 of remuneration is surely to deprive him of access to the earth 
 and to a livelihood on reasonable terms. 
 
 It is assumed here that the laborer's product is sufficiently 
 large to provide this much remuneration, and that the employer 
 would rather pay it than go without the laborer's services. The 
 case in which the product falls short of this sufficiency will be 
 considered presently. If the employer does not think the 
 laborer worth a living wage, he has a right to discharge him. 
 Otherwise the employer would be treated unreasonably. But 
 when the employer regards the employe as worth a living wage, 
 but refuses to pay it merely because the laborer is economically 
 constrained to work for less, he is surely treating the latter 
 unreasonably. He is depriving the laborer of access to the 
 goods of the earth on reasonable terms. In the striking words 
 of Pope Leo XIII, he is making the laborer " the victim of 
 force and injustice." 
 
 The reader will have noticed that in the last paragraph the 
 word " employer " is substituted for the word " community," 
 which was used in the paragraph preceding. If the community 
 in its corporate civil form — that is, the State — were the di- 
 rect beneficiary of the laborer's services, if it came into direct 
 possession of the laborer's product, it would obviously be 
 charged with the duty of paying him a living wage. In our 
 present industrial organization, however, the state permits the 
 employer to obtain the product and imposes upon him the 
 duty of wage paying. Therefore he is the person who is 
 obliged to perform this duty adequately, that is, in the form of 
 living wages. If he fails to do so, he abuses his social and 
 industrial functions; he uses his control over the goods of the 
 earth in such a way as to deprive the laborer of access thereto on 
 reasonable terms. 
 
 What if the employer cannot pay living wages ? Space limi- 
 tations will not permit us to discuss the very interesting ethical 
 question whether such an employer is morally obliged to go 
 out of business. The employer has a right to take from the 
 product the equivalent of a decent livelihood for himself and 
 his family, even though the remainder will not provide full 
 living wages for all his employes. For his claim to a decent live- 
 
268 CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 lihood is as good as theirs, and in a conflict of equal claims a 
 man is justified in preferring himself to his neighbors. When, 
 however, the employer has already obtained a decent livelihood, 
 he has no right to take from the product one cent more until 
 he has given all his employes the full measure of living wages. 
 In the first place, the right to take interest in any circumstances 
 on invested capital is only presumptive and probable, not cer- 
 tain. In the second place, the right of the laborers to get from 
 the joint product the means of satisfying their essential and 
 fundamenal needs is morally superior to the right of the em- 
 ployer to the means of indulging in luxurious living or of mak- 
 ing new investments. To deny this proposition is to assert 
 that the claims of the laborers upon the common bounty of 
 nature are morally inferior to those of the employer, and that 
 they are but instruments to his welfare, not morally equal 
 and independent persons. 
 
 One can easily imagine some employer exclaiming that a right 
 of access to the resources of nature does not mean the right to 
 take as much as the equivalent of a living wage. The objection 
 ignores the truth that the access should be " on reasonable terms." 
 Surely this phrase implies that the access and the wage should 
 provide at least a decent livelihood. The employer who thinks 
 that he may rightfully pay the lowest wage that the laborer can 
 be forced to accept forgets that he himself is only a steward 
 of the gifts of God. What he calls his product is his, not to 
 use as he pleases, but to administer with due regard to the 
 natural rights of his employes. 
 
 We have made no formal defense of the proposition that the 
 just living wage for an adult male is one that will support 
 decently his wife and children as well as himself. We have as- 
 sumed that anyone who recognizes the claim of the laborer to 
 develop his personality to a reasonable degree will take for 
 granted that those advantages are possible only when the father's 
 v.-age is adequate to decent family maintenance. 
 
 Up to the present we have given no more specific definition of 
 a living wage than it is the equivalent of a decent livelihood, 
 <.r a sum sufficient to maintain the worker and his family in con- 
 ditions of reasonable comfort. The attempt to define it in terms 
 of money is beset with many difficulties. Some housekeepers 
 
A LIVING WAGE 269 
 
 are much better managers than others in making purchases and 
 in utilizing them; the number and quantity of concrete goods 
 that suffice for decent living conditions, for example, in the 
 matters of recreation and non-material things, do not easily sub- 
 mit to exact measurement; the variation in the cost of com- 
 modities from city to city and from section to section renders 
 any single estimate inadequate; and, finally, the recent extra- 
 ordinary rise in prices, culminating in the present abnormal 
 cost of living, has made almost all previous estimates antiquated. 
 
 Kevertheless, the difficulties are not insurmountable. They 
 can be overcome sufficiently to yield approximate estimates that 
 will be of great practical value. That is all that we require 
 in a matter of this kind. We are dealing with the realm of 
 moral approximations, not with the province of exact science. 
 While the cost of living of a workingman's family varies in- 
 definitely on account of the varying proficiency of the house- 
 wife, we have to consider only the average level of domestic 
 economy and efficiency. This average is ascertainable quite as 
 definitely as a hundred other important social facts. The goods 
 that are required to provide a minimum decent level of exist- 
 ence can be estimated with sufficient accuracy to safeguard the 
 welfare of the laborer and his family. The variation of prices 
 over space and time can be dealt with by making the estimates 
 of a living wage apply only to specific places and specific dates. 
 
 Within recent years we have been provided with many such 
 estimates. For example, the New York Bureau of Standards 
 concluded in 1915 that the minimum cost of living for a family 
 of five was a little less than $850 annually. In the same year 
 a commission of members of the legislature gave an estimate 
 of about $875 for the same city and about $100 less for Buffalo. 
 In the summer of 1918 the experts of the National War Labor 
 Board found that the lowest annual amount upon which a man 
 and wife and three children could be maintained decently was 
 $1,386. 
 
 Four methods are conceivable by which a living wage might 
 become universal. The first is the automatic operation of eco- 
 nomic forces. Some twenty or twenty-five years ago this theory 
 enjoyed considerable favor among economists. It took substan- 
 tially this form : Capital is increasing much faster than labor ; 
 
270 CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 therefore, its demand for labor is increasing relatively to the 
 supply; therefore, the remuneration of labor will necessarily 
 increase. The fatal flaw in this argument is its neglect of the 
 fact that a large proportion of the new capital takes the place 
 of labor, thereby reducing instead of enhancing the demand 
 for laborers. Machines are constantly made to do the work of 
 men, and so far as we can see, the process will go on indefinitely. 
 The remuneration of underpaid labor measured by its purchas- 
 ing capacity has decreased rather than increased during the last 
 quarter of a century. N"o economic forces are discernible that 
 are likely to cause a contrary movement within the next twenty- 
 five years. 
 
 The second agency that might theoretically be expected to 
 raise the wages of the underpaid is the benevolence of employers. 
 Only visionaries put any faith in this method. In so far as 
 experience is a guide, it warns us that only an insignificant 
 minority of employers will ever voluntarily increase the re- 
 muneration of employes who are getting less than living wages. 
 "Were the number of those disposed to do so multiplied in- 
 definitely, they would not be able to carry out their lofty de- 
 sign. Owing to the force and keenness of competition, the great 
 majority of employers must conform to the wage standards fixed 
 by their most selfish competitors. A benevolent majority 
 might, indeed, raise wage rates to the level of decency by com- 
 bining for that purpose. Our readers would not thank us for 
 inviting them to consider seriously si\ch a fantastic hypothesis. 
 
 The third conceivable method is that of organization by the 
 laborers themselves. While labor unions have done much, very 
 much, to increase wages within the last forty years, their in- 
 fluence in this field has been mainly restricted to the skilled 
 trades. The proportion of unskilled and underpaid labor en- 
 rolled in the unions has always been very small, and it shows 
 very little tendency to increase. Effective organization re- 
 quires time, patience and considerable financial resources, ihe 
 very things which underpaid labor lacks. Not within a genera- 
 tion would organization be able to obtain living wages for more 
 than a minority of those who are below that level. 
 
 The one device that gives promise of making the living wage 
 
A LIVING WAGE 271 
 
 universal is a minimum fixed by law. This means that the pub- 
 lic authorities, state or federal, or both, should enact legislation 
 forbidding any employer to pay less than the equivalent of a 
 decent livelihood. 
 
2. THE EECONCILIATTON OF CAPITAL AND 
 LABORS 
 
 By Eev. John A. Eyan^ D.D., LL.D. 
 
 " The great mistake made in the matter now under considera- 
 tion, is to take up with the notion that class is naturally hos- 
 tile to class, and that the wealthy and the workingmen are in- 
 tended by nature to live in mutual conflict. So irrational and 
 so false is this view that the direct contrary is the truth. . . . 
 Each needs the other. Capital cannot do without labor, nor 
 labor without capital." 
 
 These words occur in the encyclical of Pope Leo XIII, " On 
 the Condition of Labor." They are not only true in general, 
 but they have a specific bearing upon the strained relations now 
 existing between large sections of the employing class and largo 
 sections of the class of wage-earners. They can be logically 
 denied only by the Socialist. In the mind of the man who be- 
 lieves that the wage system is essentially unjust, or at least 
 doomed to inevitable destruction through irrepressible class 
 warfare, there is evidently no room for the doctrine that capital 
 and labor have common interests. With this theory we do not 
 mean to deal in these pages, except to write down our con- 
 viction that it is wrong morally and unsound economically. 
 On the other hand, the view that the community of interest 
 doctrine has no practical value, is a superficial and one-sided 
 view. We hope to show that Pope Leo's statement is not only 
 true in the abstract, but capable of fruitful application to our 
 present industrial conditions. The formula of industrial har- 
 mony can be translated into effective rules for the guidance of 
 employer and employee. 
 
 1 From a pamphlet entitled " Capital and Labor : Methods of Coopera- 
 tion and Harmony," published for the National Catholic Welfare Council 
 by The Sunday Visitor, Huntington, Ind. Permission, to reprint these parts 
 of the pamphlet is gratefully acknowledged. 
 
 272 
 
THE EECONCILIATION 273 
 
 LABOE PAKTICIPATION IN MANAGEMENT 
 
 The indispensable first step is to make the worker more in- 
 terested in his work, in its planning, its processes and its re- 
 sults. His industrial position must be so modified that he will 
 find himself in some degree a partner in the enterprise, rather 
 than a mere executor of orders, or animated instrument of pro- 
 duction. Inherent in every normal person is the desire to exer- 
 cise some controlling power over his material environment. 
 Every normal person possesses some directive, initiating, crea- 
 tive capacity. Unless this capacity receives some opportunity 
 for expression, the wage worker, like all other persons, remains 
 uninterested in his task, and relatively inefficient. When the 
 worker is enabled to exercise his directive and creative faculties, 
 his interest is aroused and his eSieiency is increased. The man 
 who directs a business always works harder and more eSiciently 
 than his employee. 
 
 This fundamental and withal obvious fact of human nature has 
 come to be strangely and generally ignored by the masters of our 
 great industrial concerns. They act as though the worker were 
 made of different clay. " A good deal is said about the worker's 
 psychology," says Dr. Keeker, the United States Commissioner 
 of Labor Statistics, " as though the worker were some strange, 
 wild beast with a peculiar psychology all his own, quite different 
 from the psychology of employers and managers. It is because 
 the psychology of the worker is the same as the psychology of the 
 employer and the manager that strikes and lockouts occur with 
 such distressing frequency." Applying these observations to 
 the matter that we are now considering, the Commisssioner con- 
 tinues : " A man will willingly work much harder, expend much 
 more energy, and be much less fatigued working on a job which 
 he has a part in planning, and for the results of which he is 
 responsible. The present-day movement for industrial democ- 
 racy is a partial recognition of the fundamental psychological 
 phenomenon that industrial fatigue is not simply an engineering 
 question, to be stated mathematically in foot-pounds per hour, 
 or even a physiological question having to do with calories burned 
 up in the body. Work is hard primarily because it is un- 
 interesting, or easy because it demands ingenuity or skill. . , . 
 
274 CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 The worker must be called upon to use his head in planning as 
 well as his hands and feet in executing his work if content- 
 ment is to be attained in industry." (The Monthly Labor Re- 
 view, Feb., 1920, pp. 3, 4). 
 
 The problem of enlisting the interest and efficiency of the 
 worker through the exercise of his directive and creative facul- 
 ties has two distinct aspects. There is the question of individual 
 technical interest, of stimulating the worker's ingenuity and 
 initiative in relation to the particular industrial process or 
 task upon which he is engaged. The object here is primarily 
 to eliminate monotony, routine and fatigue. While the ques- 
 tion of securing and maintaining the technical interest of the 
 worker is of fundamental importance, it will not be further con- 
 sidered here; for it is at once more difficult and less pertinent 
 to our general subject than the problem of arousing the worker's 
 managerial interest and capacity. The former is a technical 
 problem, a problem for the industrial engineer; the problem 
 making the worker more interested in his work by enabling 
 him to participate in the management of the whole shop or 
 concern, is one that can be solved by the exercise of common 
 sense and good will, and it has a direct and very great bear- 
 ing upon the question of bringing about greater cooperation 
 between capital and labor. 
 
 In modern industry, where the operation of an industrial 
 unit requires the concerted action of many persons, the exercise 
 of directive capacity by the worker can be obtained only through 
 organization and cooperation. The question is not whether the 
 worker shall be an employee, or the manager of a small shop or 
 a small farm. It is whether he shall be a mere executer of 
 orders, or whether he shall participate, in common with his 
 fellow workers, in some of the operations of management. 
 " Participation in management " is, indeed, a vague phrase, and 
 it means many different things to different persons. As we em- 
 ploy it here, it implies at once something less and something 
 more than it conveys to the average man who has given the sub- 
 ject only passing consideration. As a rule, it does not and 
 should not include either the commercial or the financial opera- 
 tions of a business. The workers are not competent nor eager 
 to take part in the processes of buying materials, finding a 
 
THE RECONCILIATION 2Y5 
 
 market for and selling the product, borrowing money, or financ- 
 ing extensions of the enterprise. It is mainly in the industrial 
 or productive department of a business that labor participation 
 m management can become beneficial to employees and em- 
 ployers. On the other hand, it means something more than 
 a share in direction of such matters as safety, sanitation, 
 benefit funds and welfare activities generally. In addition to 
 these subjects, and in addition to the subjects of wages, hours, 
 shop conditions and shop discipline, there are such questions as 
 the engagement, transfer and discharge of employees ; the con- 
 tinuous application of shop rules and working agreements; the 
 training of apprentices ; the supply of work ; the introduction of 
 new machinery; the improvement of industrial processes and 
 organization; industrial experiments; and scientific manage- 
 ment. 
 
 The first half dozen of these subjects have been brought to 
 a greater or less degree under the control of the workers in 
 many establishments which make no pretense of exemplifying 
 labor participation in management. They all concern condi- 
 tions of employment and relations with the employer. While 
 they are an essential element in labor participation, they are 
 not the more important and distinctive element. The last four 
 or five activities mentioned in the list describe the greater part 
 of what is new and novel in the conception. They involve some 
 exercise of industrial and technical direction. And they differ 
 from those devices for arousing the technical interest of the in- 
 dividual worker in his task, to which brief reference was made 
 above, because they have to do with the productive organization 
 as a whole. " There is a vast gulf fixed," says Commissioner 
 Meeker, " between expressing an opinion about the shape of the 
 handle of a shovel one uses for heaving slag, or the desirability 
 of having a glee club rather than a debating society, and the 
 planning and routing of work, devising methods and determin- 
 ing upon tools, machines and processes for making the finished 
 product in a big plant." {Idem, p. 12.) 
 
 The general principle underlying the demand for labor par- 
 ticipation in management is that the workers should have a 
 share in the control of all those conditions and processes which 
 affect them directly or appreciably, and about which they pos- 
 
276 CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 sess some helpful knowledge. The latter consideration is almost 
 as important as the foi-mer, and yet it has been strangely ignored 
 by the great majority of employers. Proceeding upon the auto- 
 cratic assumption that the workers are fit only to be dependent 
 units, animated instruments, of production, they have deprived 
 themselves of the technical advice and cooperation which they 
 might have obtained from the rank and file of their employees. 
 After all, the active contact of the latter with technical pro- 
 cesses and shop organization may fairly be presumed to give 
 them some distinctive competency and a distinctive viewpoint. 
 These should have some value in the operation and manage^ 
 ment of the concern. " I insist that the management, even 
 scientific management, has not a monopoly of all the brains in 
 an establishment. ... As a worker and a student, I feel that 
 there is a tremendous latent creative force in the workers of to- 
 day which is not being utilized at all, . . . Here is a vast source 
 of industrial power which has been cut off, isolated, by the trans- 
 formation of little business into big business. It will be diffi- 
 cult to tap this source, but tap it we must if we are to continue 
 anything resembling the present industrial organization with its 
 large scale production. The good will of the workers is a much 
 more potent force making for industrial efficiency than all the 
 scientific management formulas and systems of production. 
 There is no inherent reason why the good will of the workers 
 should not go hand in hand with scientific management. Until 
 now the workers have had only antagonism for scientific man- 
 agement because the scientific manager never asked them for 
 their opinions or ideas, — ^he only told them what they were 
 expected to do, and the workers promptly did something else. 
 I have already said workers are not different from employers. 
 That is precisely what ails them. If employers will only deal 
 fairly and squarely with their employees, let them know all 
 about the business except those technical processes which must 
 be kept secret, and take them into a real partnership, produc- 
 tion will be enormously improved both in quantity and quality." 
 {Ihid.) 
 
 Dr. Meeker might have added that those employers who have 
 had any considerable experience with the scheme of labor par- 
 ticipation in management, are practically unanimous in affirm- 
 
THE RECONCILIATION 277 
 
 ing its manifold advantages. After listening for more than two 
 nxonths to the testimony and opinions of persons representing 
 every interest in the field of industry, the President's Second 
 Industrial Conference made this statement : " The Conference 
 finds that joint organization of management and employees, 
 where undertaken with sincerity and good will, has a record of 
 success." 
 
 The manifold benefits that may with assurance be expected 
 from the arrangement can be thus summarized : The directive 
 and creative faculties of the workers are brought into action ; 
 the workers acquire greater consciousness of their dignity and 
 increased self-respect ; with this energizing consciousness, and 
 with the actual exercise of some control over the human rela- 
 tions and the industrial processes of the institution in which 
 they spend their active lives, there comes to the workers some 
 sense of responsibility, of accountability, for the welfare and 
 progress of the business ; their new status makes them not only 
 more interested in their work, but more contented and more 
 kindly disposed toward the employer ; the merely business re- 
 lation between employer and employee is supplanted by some- 
 thing like a human relation, which makes them more like part- 
 ners and less like antagonists ; the employer finds that both his 
 pecuniary welfare and his peace of mind have been enhanced ; 
 and the whole community is the gainer through a larger and 
 more efiicient production. 
 
 THE SHOP COMMITTEE 
 
 The particular forms of organization through which labor 
 participation in management is effectuated, exhibit considerable 
 variety. The main types are about half a dozen. In all of 
 them the essential and fundamental arrangement is the shop 
 committee, which is composed of equal numbers of persons 
 representing the employees and the management. This joint 
 association meets regularly and frequently to deal with all 
 matters of common interest in the productive department of the 
 
 business. 
 
 The objections to the shop committee by employers are mainly 
 two. One of these springs from an autocratic desire to " man- 
 
278 CHUUCH AND LABOK 
 
 age their business as they see fit " ; that is, a disinclination to 
 share the exercise of industrial control with anyone, least of 
 all, with their employees. This attitude is logically impossi- 
 ble, since every employer's control is limited to some extent 
 by the fact that his employees are not slaves but freemen whose 
 services he can obtain only by the method of contract. In these 
 conditions the practical question for the employer is not 
 whether he will exercise unlimited power over all the features 
 of the business, but how much power it is wise to share with his 
 employees. And the answer to that question is that an enlight- 
 ened employer will permit and even encourage his employees 
 to share in the management to whatever extent is conducive to 
 the well being of the business. 
 
 In the second place, many employers refuse to believe that 
 the rank and file of the workers possess any capacity for partici- 
 pation in management. To this contention there are two re- 
 plies. First, the theory that the industrial population is di- 
 vided into two sharply distinguished classes, the supermen at 
 the top who only are capable of exercising directive power, and 
 the masses at the bottom who are utterly devoid of such ability, 
 is as false in industry as in politics. It has been discredited 
 in the latter sphere, and there is no sufiicient reason for assum- 
 ing that it is either true or destined to endure in the domain 
 of industry. The difference between the ability required to 
 govern politically and that needed to manage an industrial con- 
 cern, is one of degree, not of kind. In any case, it will not be 
 permanently possible to maintain industry in a political democ- 
 racy upon a basis of despotism and feudalism. The second 
 ansvrer to the employer's distrust of the managerial capacity 
 of the workers is that only a small proportion of any labor force 
 need be given the opportunity of participating in management, 
 and that even these have to be educated to the function gradu- 
 ally. What is immediately desirable is not that the arrange- 
 ment be introduced with any given degree of rapidity, but that 
 it be deliberately and honestly accorded a sympathetic trial. 
 Success will not come without the exercise of great patience by 
 all persons concerned. 
 
 The shop committee ought to appeal especially to those em- 
 ployers who desire to be fair to labor, but who regard the trade 
 
THE EECONCILIATION 279 
 
 imion as a great source of friction and as an obstacle to the 
 success of all attempts to arouse the interest of the worker in 
 the welfare of the concern in which he is employed. A shop 
 committee that functioned satisfactorily would necessarily com- 
 pel the workers to regard with a friendly feeling and with some 
 sense of responsibility the business in whose management they 
 had some share. The consciousness of cooperation and common 
 interests between them and their employer would become some- 
 thing real and vital. 
 
 From this consideration we are naturally led to consider the 
 objections of the trade unions. They fear that shop committee 
 will degenerate into " company unions " ; that is, organizations 
 dominated by the employer. 
 
 One answer to this assumption is that no form of labor associ- 
 ation can remain long under the control of the employer, or of 
 any other power than the members themselves ; a second answer 
 is that the shop committee should be maintained in frank co- 
 operation with the regular labor union. It is not a substitute 
 for the latter. It has distinct functions of its own ; for example, 
 the negotiation and enforcement of standard terms of wages and 
 other conditions of employment throughout a whole industry. 
 The shop committee deals only with employment relations in 
 a single plant or establishment, is particularly concerned with 
 details which cannot be effectively handled by the union, and 
 must hold sessions much more frequently than the joint confer- 
 ences between the union and the employers for an entire indus- 
 try. Therefore, there is no reason why the shop committee 
 should intrude upon the field that belongs to the union, even in 
 the matter of working conditions and employment relations. 
 And the domain of labor participation in industrial manage- 
 ment, the relation of the workers to industrial processes and 
 organization, is entirely outside the scope of the union. 
 
 Some day the relations between capital and labor may have 
 become so satisfactory that the shop committee and the larger 
 industrial council will be the only form of organization required 
 for the protection of the workers; but that day is still far in 
 the future. Until it arrives, the shop committee can only sup- 
 plement, not supplant, the union ; and every true friend of the 
 
280 CHUE.CH AND LAEOR 
 
 shop committee will frankly recognize the necessity of harrr.oni- 
 ous cooperation between the two forms of association. 
 
 STATEMENT OF THE PEESIDENt's INDUSTRIAL CONFERENCE 
 
 The declarations of the Conference on labor participation 
 in management, under the title, " employee representation," are 
 significant for several reasons. First, because the members of 
 the Conference are in the main either employers of labor or 
 professional men who have the viewpoint of the employer rather 
 than of the employee ; second, because the members were unani- 
 mous in making these declarations, and all others as well, which 
 appear in the Report, and, third, because of the strong approval 
 given to the position that both employers and trade unionists 
 ought to welcome labor participation in management. Follow- 
 ing are the most significant paragraphs on this subject: 
 
 It cannot be denied that uiirest today is characterized more than 
 ever before by purposes and desires which go beyond the mere de- 
 mand for higher wages and shorter hours. Aspirations inherent in 
 this form of restlessness are to a great extent psychological and 
 intangible. They are not for that reason any less significant. They 
 reveal a desire on the part of workers to exert a larger and more 
 organic influence upon the processes of industrial life. This im- 
 pulse is not to be discouraged but made helpful and cooperative. 
 With comprehending and sympathetic appreciation, it can be con- 
 verted into a force working for a better spirit and understanding be- 
 tween capital and labor, and for more effective cooperation. 
 
 The idea of employee representation has aroused opposition from 
 two sources. On the one hand, in plants too large for direct per- 
 sonal contact, employers who still adhere to the theory that labor is 
 a commodity, hold off from any form of cooperation with employees. 
 This view is steadily disappearing and will, it is hoped, wholly dis- 
 appear. On the other hand, a number of trade union leaders re- 
 gard shop representation as a subtle weapon directed against the 
 union. This thought is apparently based on the fear that it may 
 be used by some employers to undermine the unions. Conceived in 
 that spirit no plan can be a lasting agency of industrial peace. 
 
 But occasional misuse of employee representation and the conse- 
 quent hesitancy of organized labor to endorse it officially, are based 
 on a misconception of the possible and desirable relations between 
 the union and the shop committee. This relation is a complemen- 
 tary, and not a mutually exclusive one. In many plants the trade 
 
THE EECONCILIATION 281 
 
 union and tho shop committee are both functioning harmoniously. 
 In some establishments the men are unionized, and the shop com- 
 mittees are composed of union men. In others, some men belong to 
 the trade union while all belong to the shop organization. 
 
 The union has had its greatest success in dealing with basic work- 
 ing conditions, and with the general level of wages in organized and 
 partially organized industries and crafts. It has also indirectly 
 exerted an influence on standards in unorganized trades. There is 
 no reason to suppose that in the future this influence will not con- 
 tinue. 
 
 Local problems, however, fall naturally within the province of shop 
 committees. No organization covering the whole trade and un- 
 familiar with special local conditions and the questions that come up 
 from day to day, is by itself in a position to deal with these ques- 
 tions adequately, or to enlist the cooperation of employer and em- 
 ployee in methods to improve production and to reduce strain. 
 Except for trades in which the union itself has operated under a 
 system of employee representation, as it does in shipbuilding and in 
 the manfacture of clothing and in other trades, these internal fac- 
 tors are likely either to be neglected or to be dealt with in a way 
 which does not make for satisfactory cooperation. 
 
 The existence of employee representation in plants operating under 
 union agreement does not necessarily reduce the scope of the union 
 representative's work. But matters are more likely to come to him as 
 questions of the application of an agreement rather than as a mere 
 grievance. In other words he has greater opportunity for service 
 in negctiatiou of an essentially conciliatory nature. The fortunate 
 results of such development have been evident in industries in which 
 employee representation and trade unions have for some time been 
 functioning harmoniously. 
 
 PROFIT SHAKING 
 
 All the advantages of Labor participation in management can 
 be increased and supplemented by a system of labor sharing in 
 surplus profits. These are the profits which remain after fair 
 wages and all other expenditures have been paid, after sufficient 
 reserves have been set aside to cover depreciation and main- 
 tenance, and after capital has received a dividend sufficient to 
 provide the prevailing rate of interest and something in addition 
 to meet the contingency of unprosperous years. This surplus 
 should be divided between capital and labor on such a basis as 
 would stimulate the interest and efficiency of the latter, with- 
 
282 CHUUCH AND LABOR 
 
 out decreasing the efficiency of the management. The plan is 
 economically sound because it does not begin to function until 
 capital has received the normal or average return which is suffi- 
 cient to keep the business solvent and to attract new invest- 
 ments. In view of this circumstance, the objection sometimes 
 urged against profit-sharing, that it does not compel the workers 
 to share losses as well as gains, is entirely irrelevant. The 
 worker is not required to share general or average losses for the 
 very good reason that these are already offset and discounted in 
 the rate of interest which capital is permitted to take before 
 any profits are distributed. He is required to share those 
 special losses which occur whenever there is no surplus to dis- 
 tribute. In these circumstances he receives the same treatment 
 as the capitalist, — neither gets surplus profits. Both, how- 
 ever, obtain their normal returns, respectively, the regular rate 
 of wages and the average rate of dividend. The fund to be 
 divided in a profit sharing plan is not the general or average 
 returns from a business, but the surplus that remains after all 
 average charges axe met. And this surplus would be in great 
 part provided through the enhanced contentment and efficiency 
 of the workers themselves. 
 
 The majority of profit sharing schemes have been unsuccess- 
 ful for various and sufficient reasons. Sometimes they were 
 introduced as substitutes for decent wages; sometimes they 
 were used to keep the workers out of unions ; and sometimes — 
 frequently in fact — they have been so disproportionately 
 favorable to capital as to yield the workers only insignificant 
 additions to wages. In order to be effective a profit sharing 
 plan must presuppose a wage scale equal to the highest pre- 
 vailing, no interference with labor unions, and a more generous 
 share of the surplus to labor than has been the general prac- 
 tice heretofore. The most liberal division is on the basis of 
 the total fixed dividend payment and the total wage payment. 
 The least liberal is that which takes the total investment as 
 the basis of the share of capital, retaining total wages as the de- 
 terminant of the share of labor. Another arrangement divides 
 the surplus equally between capital and labor, regardless of 
 the relations which capital investment bears to the payroll. 
 
THE EECONCILIATION 283 
 
 This is more generous than the second plan, but less generous 
 than the first. 
 
 As in the case of labor participation in management, so in 
 the matter of profit sharing, the right of labor to organize and 
 to bargain collectively must be honestly preserved. At least, 
 such must be the policy for many years yet. Until these new 
 institutions have become general, vs^ell established and success- 
 ful, the workers cannot afford to give up the labor union. 
 
 The long discussion of these devices in the foregoing pages 
 has been dictated by the conviction that a considerable change 
 in the industrial status of labor and in the relations between 
 labor and capital, is inevitable. Labor will insist upon the 
 change, and capital will in the long run profit by willingly ac- 
 quiescing. Society cannot afford to permit the indefinite con- 
 tinuation of the present conditions of industrial friction and 
 uncertainty, inadequate production and social waste. Coopera- 
 tion and partnership between the two great industrial groups 
 must take the place of conflict and dependence. The most effec- 
 tive means to these ends seem to be labor sharing in management 
 and in profits. They appear adequate to bring into operation 
 and realization all those motives and interests which are common 
 to labor and capital, and all these principles of action which 
 will promote the common good. So far as we can now see, the 
 only alternative is some species of destructive radicalism. 
 
 DIVEEGENT INTERESTS 
 
 So much for the common interests of the two industrial 
 parties. These apply only to those processes and relations 
 which are involved in the making of the product. As regards 
 the division of the product, the interests of capital and labor 
 are mutually opposed. Obviously the problem of reconciling 
 conflicting interests is more difficult than that of giving effect 
 to common interests. While labor participation in manage- 
 ment and profit sharing would considerably soften the conflict 
 over the division of the product, it would not and could not 
 solve the problem. " So long as the capitalist regards wages 
 as a necessary cost, so long as the worker regards interest, rent 
 and profits as deductions from the wealth. that he creates, that 
 
284 CHURCH AND LA3,0R 
 
 unsettled question is a flaming sword which cleaves their in- 
 terests apart." {Labor in the Changing] World," p. 126.) 
 
 Moreover, some approach to a satisfactory adjustment of this 
 problem would be a powerful impetus toward the adoption of 
 the devices for more harmonious relations in the process of 
 production. Unless men are fairly well satisfied with their 
 wages, they will have little inclination for or faith in labor 
 sharing in management and in profits. 
 
 The most effective means of diminishing the antagonistic ele- 
 ments in the relations between capital and labor is religion and 
 the moral principles inculcated by religion, especially the prin- 
 ciples of justice. This statement is particularly true of the 
 division of the product. Since neither physical nor economic 
 force is an acceptable rule of division, the only recourse is to 
 the rule of right. How, according to this rule, should the 
 product be divided between labor and capital? An adequate 
 answer to this question will not be attempted, for two reasons : 
 first, it would take up too much space ; second, it is beyond the 
 present writer's ability. All that we can do here, and all that 
 is necessary, is to set forth some of the most fundamental and 
 most evident conclusions of justice that apply to the situation. 
 
 JUSTICE IN" THE DIVISION OF THE PRODUCT 
 
 In order to make the discussion as concrete as possible, let 
 us consider a manufacturing corporation. The first and most 
 fundamental moral principle to be kept in mind is that all per- 
 sons have a right of access on reasonable terms and conditions 
 to the earth's sources of livelihood. This is the primary right 
 of property. Therefore, all the workers in this manufacturing 
 establishment, from the day laborer to the executive officer, 
 who perform a reasonable day's work have a right to at least 
 80 much of the product as will enable them to live decently, in 
 a manner becoming to human beings. Because they are per- 
 sons they have a right to live from the common bounty of God ; 
 because they are persons they have likewise a right to a decent 
 livelihood from the common store. " If through necessity or the 
 fear of a worse evil," says Pope Leo XIII, " the workman ac- 
 cept harder conditions because an employer or contractor will 
 afford him no better, he is the victim of force and injustice." 
 
THE RECONCILIATION 285 
 
 Some members of the working force have a right to more 
 than this minimum of decent living. The executive officers, 
 tie superintendents, and in general all those who perform direc- 
 tive functions, have a just claim to something additional, for 
 two reasons: first, because many of them have expended time 
 and money in the process of fitting themselves for their pres- 
 ent tasks; second, because they have become accustomed to a 
 standard of living above the minimum, and would suffer undue 
 hardships if they were compelled to decline to a lower level. 
 Among the workers who do not perform directive functions, 
 there are likewise some who have a right to something more 
 than the minimum remuneration that will afford decent sup- 
 port: those who are engaged upon exceptionally disagreeable, 
 arduous or hazardous tasks ; those who produce more than the 
 average worker; and those whose preparation for their present 
 occupations involved the expenditure of time and money. 
 
 What about the stockholders who take no active part in the 
 operation of the business, in the making of the product? In 
 spite of the difficulties which surround this question, we may 
 answer for practical purposes that these stockholders may, for 
 both social and industrial reasons, properly claim at least the 
 prevailing or competitive rate of interest on their investment; 
 that is, the rate which is obtained generally from investments 
 subject to the degree of risk that affects this corporation. Those 
 stockholders who are actively employed in the business have 
 also a claim to this interest-return, in addition to the remunera- 
 tion that they receive for their labor. 
 
 Suppose that the product is not large enough to satisfy all 
 these claims ; that is, living wages for all the workers, additional 
 rewards for those who have special claims, as described above, 
 and the prevailing rate of interest for the owners of capital. 
 In such a case the claims of the stockholders to interest give 
 way before the wage-claims of the active members of the concern. 
 The stockholders have other means of livelihood than their in- 
 terest-incomes, — they have their capacity to work. Therefore, 
 the needs which they will satisfy through the receipt of interest, 
 are less important in the moral order, in the human order, than 
 the needs of the workers, the needs which are dependent upon 
 wages. If the workers are compelled to accept less than living 
 
28& CHUECH AND LABOK 
 
 wages in order that the stockholders may obtain the normal rate 
 of interest, the elementary needs of the former, their need of 
 food, clothing and shelter, will be accounted less important than 
 the desires of the stockholders to enjoy life's luxuries and super- 
 fluities. This is a manifestly irrational distribution of the 
 common product among persons who are essentially equal in 
 human dignity and in their claims to a reasonable amount of 
 the goods and opportunities which God has provided for all His 
 children. Therefore, justice requires that the owner of capital 
 should not receive interest until all the workers have obtained 
 remuneration equivalent to a decent livelihood. 
 
 Have all the employees a right to something more than mere 
 living wages ? Have all those who deserve extra remuneration 
 on account of unusual hazards, productivity, cost of preparation, 
 etc., a right to something more than the surplus compensation 
 which vyill exactly meet these special conditions ? We do not 
 know how to answer either of these questions. If more than the 
 equitable minimum is given to either of these classes, it will 
 come from either the consumer or the capitalist. With regard 
 to the former, it is impossible to lay down any general rule. 
 It is impossible to show that the consumer is or is not obliged 
 to pay prices sufficiently high to provide all the workers vdth 
 something more than the equitable minimum. On the other 
 hand, it seems reasonable that such extra compensation should 
 not be given to the workers by depriving the capitalist of the 
 normal rate of interest. If the capitalist is already in receipt 
 of this measure of return, and there exists a surplus which 
 might go to either the owners of capital or the laborers, it would 
 seem that the latter ought to be preferred ; for it is impossible 
 to prove that the capitalist, merely as capitalist, ever has a strict 
 right to interest in excess of the prevailing rate. A division of 
 the surplus between all the workers and all the owners of capital 
 would not be inequitable, and would be industrially and socially 
 beneficial. The features and advantages of this arrangement 
 have been set forth at sufficient length on preceding pages. 
 Probably the ideal plan, from the viewpoint of both equity and 
 efficiency, would be to distribute the whole surplus among all 
 who perform labor of any sort in the operation of the concern, 
 whether they are or are not at the same time stockholders. In 
 
THE EEC'ONCILIATIOE" 287 
 
 this way the surplus gains would go to those who have labored 
 to produce them, and the efficiency and productivity of all 
 would be stimulated to the maximum. 
 
 JUSTICE IN THE CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT 
 
 Closely connected with wages as a cause of divergent interest 
 between capital and labor, is the length of the working day. 
 Within certain limits, the capitalist is interested in a long day, 
 the laborer in a short one. As a rule, the former makes a 
 larger profit when the working day is ten hours than when it 
 is six hours, or even eight, while the worker obtains greatsr 
 ease and leisure from the shorter period. To this extent their 
 interests in this matter are mutually antagonistic. How can 
 this conflict be reconciled on principles of justice? Perhaps a 
 sufficient general answer will be found in the declarations of 
 Pope Leo XIII (" On the Condition of Labor "), " Daily labor 
 should not be protracted over longer hours than strength ad- 
 mits " ; this depends upon " the nature of the work, the circum- 
 stances of time and place, and the strength and health of the 
 workman." In most urban industries these requirements would 
 probably dictate a working day restricted to eight hours. 
 
 In the matters of safety, sanitation and moral safeguards, 
 the interests of the employer and of the employee again come 
 into conflict. Adequate provision to meet these needs imposes 
 an expense upon the former, while the absence of such provision 
 exposes the worker to physical and moral injury. Justice de- 
 mands that the employer should furnish the appropriate protec- 
 tive devices in normal and reasonable measure. 
 
 THE NECESSITY OF AEBITEATION 
 
 Wages, hours, and shop conditions are, therefore, the chief 
 sources of antagonism between the interests of capital and 
 labor; and the principles of justice, as also of charity, are the 
 fundamental and indispensable means of reconciling and com- 
 posing these differences. When the two parties cannot agree 
 concerning either the authority or the practical applications of 
 these moral principles, there are two rational methods of adjust- 
 ment which should be utilized before resort is had to either a 
 strike or a lockout. One is direct negotiation between the 
 
288 CHURCH AKD LABOR 
 
 authorized representatives of the employer and the employee, as 
 already described in the discussion of collective bargaining. 
 When this method fails the next step should be arbitration. An 
 impartial tribunal can practically always be obtained if both 
 parties are in a reasonable frame of mind. To reject arbitra- 
 tion is to assume that justice can be ascertained and established 
 by the preponderance of economic force. In a lockout or a 
 strike it is always the economically stronger party that wins, 
 not necessarily the one that has a just cause. A strike may fail 
 or it may succeed; a lockout may fail or it may succeed: in 
 all four events the question of justice remains quite as unde- 
 termined as before. 
 
 Nor is there any merit in the objection that the method of 
 arbitration sometimes results in a miscarriage of justice. So 
 it does ; but in the words of the Pastoral Letter of the American 
 Hierarchy, issued a few weeks ago : " No human institution 
 is perfect or infallible ; even our courts of law are sometimes 
 in error. Like the law court, the tribunal of industrial arbitra- 
 tion provides the nearest approach to justice that is practically 
 attainable; for the only alternative is economic force, and its 
 decisions have no necessary relation to the decrees of justice." 
 
 Until recently the method of arbitration was rejected more 
 frequently by capital than by labor, for the simple reason that 
 capital felt itself to be the stronger. Of late labor has shown 
 a disposition to imitate this tactic, this general weakness of 
 human nature, because labor thinks that the preponderance of 
 force has passed to its side. Obviously this policy is no more 
 reasonable now than formerly, no more reasonable in the hands 
 of labor than in those of capital. 
 
 The elaborate plan of legally authorized arbitration recom- 
 mended in the recent Keport of the President's Industrial Con- 
 ference seems admirably calculated to provide adequate methods 
 of adjusting disputes. Both parties are assured fair and com- 
 petent representation on the arbitration tribunals, and the public 
 interests are safeguarded by the inclusion of as much compul- 
 sion as is feasible. 
 
THE EECOlTCILIATIOl^ 289 
 
 JUSTICE AND PEACE 
 
 Pope Leo XIII closes his outline of the mutual rights and 
 duties of employer and employee with this question : " Were 
 these precepts carefully obeyed and followed out, would they 
 not of themselves be sufficient to keep under all strife and all 
 its causes ? " (Encyclical " On the Condition of Labor.") In 
 the preceding pages we have done nothing more than to attempt 
 a detailed application of the great Pontiff's precepts and prin- 
 ciples, and to present a few practical methods of making them 
 effective in the industrial situation of the United States. To 
 these methods and recommendations we take the liberty of ap- 
 plying the question just quoted. Socialists, as we are well 
 aware, would return a negative answer. Indeed, they would 
 reject outright the Pope's assumption that the abolition of in- 
 dustrial strife is desirable. For they hold that there exists a 
 necessary and irrepressible conflict between capital and labor, 
 which can be ended only through the abolition of private capital. 
 We who repudiate this social and economic philosophy believe 
 that the interests of capital and labor are in part identical and 
 in part antagonistic. We believe that their common interests 
 can be emphasized and their diverse interests minimized to such 
 an extent that both will in the long run reap from the policy 
 immense advantages. We believe that this outcome is attain- 
 able through the exercise of a moderate amount of intelligence, 
 good will, and mutual sympathy. It is easily possible for any 
 employer and any group of workers to put into effect the prin- 
 ciples and proposals described in the foregoing pages. In a 
 few instances one or the other party would obtain less material 
 advantages than through the methods of industrial warfare, but 
 even these exceptional individuals and groups would be more 
 than compensated in terms of the higher goods of life. In the 
 great majority of cases, both capital and labor would be better 
 off materially and spiritually. The solid advantages that would 
 accrue to the community as a whole do not require detailed 
 statement. 
 
 The great obstacles to the acceptance of this program are igno- 
 rance and selfishness. A very large proportion of both em- 
 ployers and employees do not realize that the way of peace and 
 
290 CHUBCH AND LABOE 
 
 mutual consideration is alSo the way of genuine expediency. 
 They are ignorant on this point simply because they have never 
 given the matter a reasonable amount of time and thought. 
 Being human, both parties are selfish. Many capitalists want 
 more and more power, regardless of the rights of labor. Many 
 laborers want more income and more ease, regardless of the 
 rights and welfare of employers. As stated in the closing 
 paragraph of the Bishops' Program of Social Reconstruction, 
 the urgent need of the time is for a new spirit in the hearts of 
 both workers and capitalists. " Changes in our economic and 
 political systems will have only partial and feeble efficacy if 
 they be not reinforced by the Christian view of work and 
 wealth." 
 
3. A CATHOLIC SOCIAL PLATFOEM 
 By Ebv. Joseph Husslein, S. J., Ph.D. 
 
 EdITOR^S InTEO'DUCTION 
 
 _ The following " Platform " was officially adopted by various 
 diocesan and national Catholic associations in English-speaking 
 countries shortly after its appearance, towards the latter part of 
 1919. It was included by the author in his Democratic Indus- 
 iry, and was published separately, in different editions, at New 
 York (1919) and at Oxford (1920). Thousands of copies 
 were distributed by the Catholic Social Guild among pastors, 
 M.P.'s, and prominent laymen. 
 
 It is a statement, in programmatic form, of the position of 
 the Church on the great questions of Democracy and Industrial 
 Edations, as gathered from the various official pronouncement 
 of Popes and Bishops, and from the conclusions of recognized 
 Catholic authorities. 
 
 To aid in the study and defense of the propositions contained 
 in the platform, constant references are made in the footnotes 
 to the various chapters of the author's two volumes in which 
 the different clauses are further developed and their conten- 
 tions established.^ 
 
 The Platfokm 
 
 peeamble 
 
 1. True modem democracy first arose beneath the fostering 
 care of the Church, derived its principles from the great Cath- 
 olic thinkers of the Middle Ages, found its expression in many 
 of the early Catholic city-democracies, was actively maintained 
 
 1 The American publishers of A Catholic Social Platform, and of the 
 two volumes referred to throughout it are P. J. Kenedy & Sons (New 
 York ) . Attention should also be called to Dr. Ryan's two books particu- 
 larly bearing upon these subjects: A Living Wage, and Distributive Jus- 
 tice, published by The Macmillan Company. 
 
 291 
 
293 CHTIR,CH KM) LABOR 
 
 in its rights of self-government during the wars of the twelfth 
 century by Pope Alexander III, has been continuously ex- 
 emplified since the thirteenth century in the Catholic cantons of 
 Switzerland, and was most brilliantly defended in the theological 
 schools of the seventeenth century. The Reformation doctrine 
 of the Divine right of kings was ever strenuously opposed by the 
 Church.^ 
 
 2. All true democracy, as an embodiment of the brother- 
 hood of man, miist be based on the fundamental doctrine of the 
 Fatherhood of God.^ 
 
 3. Its aim is not the abolition of classes, from which uni- 
 versal happiness is vainly expected by some to flow. It freely 
 acknowledges " the diversity of gifts that man receives, with 
 the consequent inevitable difference in position, learning, ac- 
 quirements and possessions which have ever characterized, and 
 must always characterize the members of the human race.'' 
 (Cardinal Bourne.) 
 
 4. The perfect social ideal is found only in the Christian 
 cooperation of all classes and of all individuals, as members of 
 one social body, under the governance of lawfully appointed 
 authority, whose power, however conferred by the people, is 
 ultimately derived from God.* 
 
 5. Democracy in education took its beginning in the great 
 system of public schools created by the Church (Third and 
 Fourth Lateran Councils, 11Y9 and 1215) and in the vast 
 medieval universities fostered by her, with their gilds of mas- 
 ters and scholars.'* 
 
 6. With the " Great Pillage," the suppression of monasteries 
 and the confiscation of gild funds devoted to religion and char- 
 ity, pauperism arose for the first time, as an extreme form of 
 destitution, national in extent. The one power that by its 
 very teaching and influence, as exemplified in the gilds at their 
 perfection, could have preserved the working classes from the 
 degradation to which they were subjected, was set aside. Hence 
 the " rapacious usury " that followed, so that, as Pope Leo XIII 
 
 2 Democratic Industry, Ch. XXVI. 
 slUd., Ch. V. 
 
 * The World Problem, Ch. XXV. 
 5 Democratic Industry, Ch. XXIII. 
 
FALSE SOCIAL SYSTEMS 293 
 
 described the conditions existing in his own day: "A small 
 number of very rich men have been able to lay upon the teem- 
 ing masses of the laboring poor a yoke little better than slavery 
 itself." (" On the Condition of the Working Classes," 1891.) « 
 
 7. The chief aim of Christian social endeavor, or " Chris- 
 tian Democracy;" is, in the words of the same Pontiff : " To 
 make the condition of those who toil more tolerable ; to enable 
 them to obtain, little by little, those means by which they may 
 provide for the future ; to help them to practise in public and 
 in private the duties which morality and religion inculcate; 
 to aid them to feel that they are not animals but men, not 
 heathens but Christians, and so to enable them to strive more 
 zealously and eagerly for the one thing which is necessary : the 
 ultimate good for which we are all born into this world." 
 (" On the Condition of the Working Classes.") What doth it 
 profit a man if he gain the whole world and suffer the loss 
 of his own soul. (Matt, xvi: 26.) '^ 
 
 I. FALSE SOCIAL SYSTEMS 
 
 8. Socialism is no solution for the evils which have followed 
 the Reformation. Far from satisfying the legitimate desire of 
 the worker for a personal share in productive ownership, it 
 would ultimately deprive all alike of such ownership, subjecting 
 the laborer hopelessly to a bureaucratic control, both tyrannical 
 and inefficient. Socialism is more or less complete in propor- 
 tion as it aims at this abolition of private productive owner- 
 ship.* 
 
 9. Individualistic capitalism, understood as a system in 
 which the means of production are in the hands of a few men 
 of wealth, inspired merely with a passion for the utmost gain 
 and unrestrained by due legal restrictions, is equally pemi- 
 
 e/6t(f., Ch. XXVII. 
 
 ''The World Problem, Ch. XXV; Democratic Industry, Ch. XXVIII. 
 
 sThe World Problem, Ch. Ill; Democratic Industry, Ch. IV. 
 
 e The World Problem, Chs. IV, XXI. 
 
294 CHURCH AND LABOR 
 
 n. CHBISTIAN DEMOORA.OT 
 
 10. The Church of Christ has not been founded to teach any 
 particular system of sociology or economics. She condemns 
 whatever is morally false in the existing practices or theories 
 and commends whatever form of social order, based upon the 
 natural law and the Gospel, wisely answers the needs of any 
 given period. She is not for any single generation, but for 
 all time, while economic conditions are fluctuating perpetually.^" 
 
 11. Yet it is the duty of Christians, particularly at the 
 present moment, not to overlook the social dangers that imperil 
 civilization; and it is possible for them to build up on her 
 principles, teachings and traditions a true system of democratic 
 industry which shall answer all the needs of their day. On 
 no other foundation can a sound social order be erected. 
 
 12. Equally opposed to the unnatural abolition of private 
 productive ownership under Socialism, and to its restriction to 
 a few men of wealth under capitalism, the true social system 
 advocates instead the widest diffusion of the possession of pro- 
 ductive as well as of consumptive property, that as many as pos- 
 sible of the workers can hope, by just means, to become sharers 
 in it. And this personally, and not merely in the name of a 
 communistic commonwealth.^^ 
 
 13. Such possession will satisfy the aspirations of men, lift 
 them above the position of wage-earners only, and help to their 
 full and harmonious development, insuring the stability of the 
 new social order. •'^ 
 
 14. Such was the consummation most closely attained when 
 Catholic gildhood was in its prime and the influence of the 
 Church effective ; when the apprentice might hope, by industry, 
 skill and virtue, to become a master; when each lived for all 
 and all for each. Such is the Catholic ideal.^^ 
 
 10 The World Prohlem, XVII ; Democratic Industry, V - VIII, etc. 
 
 n The World Problem, Ch. XVIII ; Democratic Industry, Chs. I, XIX, etc. 
 
 12 Democratic Industry, Chs. XXIX, XXX. 
 
 13 lUd., Chs. XVIII-XXII, XXV. 
 
DEMOCRATIC INDUSTEY 295 
 
 ni. DEMOCKATIC INDUSTRY 
 
 15. The old organizations cannot be restored as they were. 
 But it is possible, in the words of Pius X : "To adapt them to 
 the new situation created by the material evolution of con- 
 temporary society in the same Christian spirit which of old 
 inspired them."^* 
 
 16. \,Such, in a material way, are the cooperative trade, 
 credit and agricultural societies intended for self-help and to 
 eliminate a wasteful system of distribution. Such are the 
 attempts at cooperative production, where the entire enter- 
 prise is owned by the workers who alone receive both wage and 
 profit, and where each worker is personal owner of shares and 
 participates, directly or indirectly, in the management.^* 
 
 17. Such, too, though less completely,\are the various plans 
 in which the workers own a considerable part of the voting 
 stock. And such in fine, to a greater or less degree, are all 
 copartnership arrangements by which the workers share in the 
 corporate stock and reasonably participate in the industrial 
 management : the regulation, through their shop gilds, of hours, 
 wages, discipline, processes of production, etc.^* 
 
 18. Since every business is constituted of money-capital and 
 labor-capital, it is unreasonable that the former alone, as under 
 capitalism, should have the entire power of control and the lat- 
 ter be subjected to a state of complete dependence. Men are 
 more than money, and persons more precious than machinery.^'' 
 
 19. But for the lasting success of any economic plans, reli- 
 gion is essential. The gilds were able to maintain their spirit 
 of democratic industry in proportion only to their religious 
 
 i*IUd., Ch. XXVIII. 
 
 16 The World Problem, Chs. XIX, XX; Democratio Industry, Chs. XXIX, 
 XXX. 
 
 16 The World ProUem, Ch. XIX ; Democratio Industry, Ch. XVIII. 
 American Bishops' Bocial Reconstructiorh. As early as 1914 the Irish 
 Bishops wrote: "The difficulty of conducting successfully a commercial 
 undertaking in the management of which the workers would have a voice, 
 may, in most cases, be too much at present. But it looks as if the indus- 
 trial world were at a stage of transition when such things are likely to 
 be." — The Labor Question. 
 
 17 Democratio Industry, Ch. XVIII, etc. 
 
296 CHURCH AND LABOE 
 
 zeal. With this they waxed or waned. Without certain dis- 
 aster, religion can never be dissociated from economics.^* 
 
 IV, THE PUBLIC GOO© 
 
 20. While keeping clearly in sight this vision of the true 
 city, which is to be constructed after no merely speculative 
 model, we must not forget the intermediate measures that are 
 not, however, to be confounded with the ultimate goal. 
 
 21. Adequate government regulation should prevent the ac- 
 ciimulation of excessive gains in the hands of a few, the monopo- 
 listic control of commodities, and the abuses that may arise in 
 such public service monopolies as are under j)rivate operation.''* 
 
 22. Monopolies or combines are guilty of injustice when 
 in the articles of common use they exceed the highest prices 
 that would obtain in the market were it freely open to compe- 
 tition, presuming in each instance the previous payment of a 
 just wage. They may offend against charity by not lowering 
 this price as well when notable hardship is inflicted upon the 
 poor. All " cornering " must be prevented absolutely and all 
 unfair biasiness methods.^" 
 
 23. State ovraership should not be introduced where State 
 control suffices. The farther an industry is removed from a 
 public service utility or a natural monopoly, the greater the 
 presumption in favor of private ownership, cooperative or other' 
 wise.^'- 
 
 24. Since it is the duty of the State to see that natural re- 
 sources are turned to good account for the support and welfare 
 of all the people, " the State or municipality should acquire, al- 
 ways for compensation, those agencies of production, and those 
 agencies only, in which the public interest demands that public 
 property rather than private ownership should exist." (Irish 
 Bishops, 19 14.) 22 
 
 25. Unjust restrictions should not be placed on those, who 
 
 18 Ibid., ChB. XIV, XXVII. 
 
 iBlUd., Ch. XII. 
 
 20 The World Problem, Chs. V, VI. 
 
 21 /bid., Ch. XVIII. 
 
 22 Ibid., Chs. Ill, XXI. 
 
LAEOR MEASURES 297 
 
 to the general benefit are acquiring legitimate prosperity under 
 private enterprise. ^^ 
 
 26.^ Taxation should bear most upon those who are able to 
 contribute most to the common good, but should not be made 
 a means of confiscation. Special protection should be given to 
 the small share-holder and a wider diffusion of shares made pos- 
 sible, within the limits of justice. The words of Pope Leo 
 XIII must be borne in mind : " The right to possess private 
 property is derived from nature, not from man ; and the State 
 has the right to control its use in the interest of the public good, 
 but by no means to absorb it altogether. The State would 
 therefore be unjust and cruel if under the name of taxation it 
 were to deprive the private owner of more than is fitting." 
 (" On the Condition of the Working Classes.") ^* 
 
 V. T.ABOB MEASURES 
 
 27. Until a larger social justice reigns, minimum wage laws 
 must enable every male worker to support a family in Chris- 
 tian decency. Every adult woman worker must be enabled to 
 live respectably by her earnings alone. Eiiough should grad- 
 ually be paid to make it possible for every worker to provide 
 for the future out of his or her own wages, without need of 
 State insurance. In this way only can industry be said to be 
 properly supporting those engaged in it.^^ 
 
 28. As exceptional business enterprise and efficiency, di- 
 rected towards the greater common good, is entitled to an ex- 
 ceptional reward, so labor also should be remunerated in pro- 
 portion to its contribution to industry. 
 
 29. By workers we understand all engaged in mental as 
 well as in manual occupations, in the service of distribution or 
 production, from manager to messenger, although the need of 
 State protection for the former may be insignificant. 
 
 30. As the State must come to the aid of the consumer in 
 as far as the general welfare requires, so too it must safeguard 
 
 23 jud., Ch. xviir. 
 
 2*Jbid., Ch. XXI. 
 
 25 The World ProUem, Ch. IX. 
 
298 CHimCH AND LAEOR 
 
 labor's rights : religious, moral, physical and economic. In like 
 manner the rights of every class must be duly protected by it to 
 ■whatever extent the common good demands. ^^ 
 
 31. The duty of labor is to give a fair day's work, as the 
 duty of the employer is to provide a fair wage and proper work- 
 ing conditions, from a religious and moral, as well as from a 
 material and sanitary point of view. Wages as well as pro- 
 fits should be kept within the limits of the public good.^'' 
 
 32. Strikes are permitted for a grave and just cause, when 
 there is hope of success and no other satisfactory solution can 
 be found, when justice and charity are preserved, and the rights 
 of the public duly respected. Yet conciliation, arbitration and 
 trade agreements are the natural means to be suggested in their 
 stead. Hence the utility of public boards for this purpose. As 
 in the strike, so in the lock-out, a serious and just cause is re- 
 quired, and the rights of the workers and of the public must 
 be respected. Charity is far more readily violated in the lock- 
 out than in the strike, because of the greater suffering likely 
 to be inflicted on the laborer deprived of his work than on the 
 employer.^* 
 
 33. Justification of the sympathetic strike will rarely be 
 found, while the presumption is overwhelmingly against the 
 general sympathetic strike.^^ Blacklists on the part of em- 
 ployers that permanently exclude from his trade a worker dis- 
 pleasing to them, who honestly seeks employment, are opposed 
 to the first principles of justice. 
 
 34. The problem of unemployment should be met by a 
 permanent national employment service, acting with the co- 
 operation of municipal and private bureaus. Methods of pre- 
 venting or meeting the crises of unemployment should be care- 
 fully studied. Governments have a serious duty to obviate this 
 evil, and provide for the unemployed according to their neces- 
 sity.*" 
 
 35. Hours of labor should be neither unreasonably long nor 
 
 unreasonably short. Sunday labor should be prohibited, ex- 
 
 26 76id., Ch. VIII. 
 
 iT Ibid., Ch. X. 
 
 28/6iU, Ch. XI. 
 
 29 Ihid., Ch. XII. 
 
 so Ibid., Chs. XIII, XIV. 
 
LABOR MEASURES 299 
 
 cept in Closes of real necessity, such as is too often merely pre- 
 sumed to exist.^^ 
 
 36. Until labor can properly provide for itself, the State 
 should interest itself in housing conditions, particularly where 
 there is danger to morals and religion as well as to the physical 
 well-being of the worker and of his family. Health inspection 
 in the school and municipal clinics for the poor are recom- 
 mended.*^ 
 
 37. Vocational training is desirable, without neglecting the 
 cultural and religious education of our children. " A healthy 
 democracy cannot tolerate a purely industrial or trade educa- 
 tion for any class of its citizens." Further, " the opportunities 
 of the system should be extended to all qualified private schools 
 on exactly the same basis as to the public schools. We want 
 neither class divisions in education nor a State monopoly of 
 education." (American Bishops' " Social Reconstruction.") ** 
 
 38. So long as proper wages are not accorded, social insur- 
 ance is to be favored to whatever extent may be necessary to safe- 
 guard the laborer in sickness, accident, invalidity and old age. 
 It must be clearly understood, however, that there is question 
 of a temporary substitute only for an adequate wage, which will 
 enable the worker to carry his own insurance and not to be a 
 mere ward of the State. The dignity of labor must be pro- 
 tected from communistic paternalism as well as from capitalistic 
 abuses.'* 
 
 39. An intelligent penal system will make it possible for 
 dependents to live upon the earnings of the imprisoned wage- 
 earner. It may also enable the prisoner to lay aside something 
 for future rehabilitation.'^ 
 
 40. The right of labor organization is no longer in question 
 and never should have been. The worker should see that Chris- 
 tian principles are maintained within his union and not per- 
 mit it, through his own carelessness, to be made the helpless 
 tool of extremists.'® 
 
 31 Hid., Ch. VIII; Democratic Industry, Chs. XIX, XX. 
 
 3« The World ProUem, Ch. II. 
 
 33 Democratic Industry, Ch. XXI. 
 
 Si The World Problem, Ch. XVTI; Democratic Industry, Ch. IV. 
 
 35 The World ProUem, Ch. XVII. 
 
 salUd., Ch. XVI; Democratic Industry, Ch. III. 
 
300 CHURCH AND LABOE 
 
 41. It is therefore of the highest importance that Christian 
 social education through organization and literature, be extended 
 to every single one of our own labor unionists. Hence also the 
 imperative need of Christian schools of sociology for the training 
 of Christian social leaders.^'' 
 
 VI. WOMAN LABOE 
 
 42. Exploitation of woman and child labor is to be strictly 
 abolished, as well as every other form of sweating.^^ 
 
 43. While woman in industry is to receive a minimum wage 
 sufficient for her own support, it is reasonable that she should 
 moreover be paid according to her service. This will imply 
 an equal wage with man for work equal in quantity and quality, 
 when engaged at the same task with him.^* 
 
 44. If wife and mother are no longer driven to the fac- 
 tory, owing to the husband's inadequate wage, and child labor 
 is ended, there will be work for the fathers of families as well 
 as for all men and women who must provide their own sup- 
 port. So too a widowed mother's pension, to be paid as far as 
 necessary, will keep both mother and children in the home.*" 
 
 45. " Woman," says Leo XIII, " is by nature fitted for 
 home-work, and it is this which is best adapted to her modesty 
 and to promote the good up-bringing of children and the well- 
 being of the family." (" On the Condition of the Working 
 Classes.") " The proportion of women in industry ought to 
 be kept within the smallest practical limits." (American 
 Bishops' " Social Reconstruction.") They should not be 
 placed at occupations unfit, or morally and physically danger- 
 ous; it is the duty of the State to ensure this right for them 
 and to secure for them reasonable -hours, sanitary conditions, 
 abolition of night work, and the removal of all circumstances in- 
 jurious to sex and maternity.*^ 
 
 S7 The World ProWem, Chs. XVI, XXV. 
 »8 Ihid., Cha. XXII, XXIII, XXIV. 
 SK Tbid., Ch. XXIII. 
 *o lUd., Ch. XVII. 
 « Ihid., Ch. XXIV. 
 
CAUSES OF SOCIAL DISASTER 301 
 
 yu. FAEM LAJBOB 
 
 46. Every just encouragement is to be given to promote 
 farm labor and the development of a large class of small farm 
 owners.*^ 
 
 47. Cooperative buying, selling and credit associations, and 
 cooperative production are here to be particularly recommended 
 as thoroughly approved by experience. All abuses in trans- 
 portation, working equal hardship on the producer and con- 
 sumer, must be removed, and produce brought to the market 
 "with the least intervention of middlemen.^' 
 
 48. Government loans should be made, where needed, to en- 
 able men to settle upon the land, either as owners or as tenants 
 with long-time leases. " It is essential that both the work of 
 preparation and the subsequent settlement of the land should 
 be effected by groups or colonies, not by men living indepen- 
 dently of one another and in depressing isolation." (American 
 Bishops' " Social Reconstruction.") Attention should be 
 given in particular to the facilities of regularly fulfilling reli- 
 gious duties. The problem of the farm laborer, too, is to be 
 carefully studied.** 
 
 49. The principle of land nationalization is to be strongly 
 condemned as unnatural, economically ruinous and undemo- 
 cratic. The rights of the tiller to his soil must be held sacred. 
 Keeping inviolate all just property rights, the laborer should 
 " be encouraged to look forward to obtaining a share in the 
 land." (Leo XIII, "On the Condition of the Working 
 Classes.") '^ 
 
 vm. cAirsES of social nisAstEB 
 
 50. The roots of the social problem penetrate deep. The 
 evils of impurity, birth control and divorce corrupt the individ- 
 ual, the home and society. With these are associated the in- 
 
 42 IHd., Ch. XV ; Democratic Industry, Ch. VIII. 
 
 isThe WorM ProUem, Chs. XIX, XX, VII; Democratic Industry, Ch. 
 XIII. 
 
 44 The World Problem, Ch. XV, 
 
 45 Ibid., Ch. XVIII. 
 
30a CHUR.CH AND LABOR 
 
 ordinate craving after pleasure, the shirking of duty, and the 
 wide-spread wastefulness and excess of all classes, together with 
 a desire for the utmost gain, regardless of the common good.*® 
 
 51. These evils, which naturally flow from a rejection of 
 religion, are most intimately connected with all our economic 
 and social disorders, whose last cause is godlessness.*^ 
 
 52. Finally, there is the doctrine that would make of the 
 State a fetish to which all human rights, whether of the family 
 or of the individual, are to be relentlessly sacrificed. Hence 
 follow State autocracy, bureaucracy. Socialism and all the end- 
 less forms of State paternalism that threaten to submerge 
 democracy.** 
 
 IX. FIEST PEIITCIPLES 
 
 53. The sacredness of all human life must be recognized, 
 and the duty of conforming it to the Will of God. 
 
 54. The purity of family life must be restored, and the 
 family, as the unit of society, must bravely assume its duties 
 and responsibilities in a true Christian spirit. The future be- 
 longs to those who safeguard the home. 
 
 55. The pagan theory that the individual exists for the State 
 and not the State for the individual, must be absolutely re- 
 jected. 
 
 56. Secularization of education must be opposed as the 
 greatest danger to modem society, together with all over-cen- 
 tralization and undue State interference, as tending to estab- 
 lish the most pernicious of all autocracies. To the parent alone, 
 and not to the State, belongs, of itself and directly, the re- 
 sponsibility for the upbringing of the child. 
 
 57. The safeguarding of the just rights of Christianity, 
 on which the future of civilization depends, is not possible with- 
 out the development of a strong, alert, loyal and intelligent 
 Christian press. The support and furtherance of this is a first 
 duty. The law, on the other hand, should be made to prevent 
 
 45 The World Problem, Chs. II, XI ; Democratic Industry, CTa. IX. 
 *7 The World Problem, Ch. XIV. See in particular the present author's 
 volume: Evolution and Social Progress. 
 48 Democratic Industry, Chs. I, IV, XXVI, XXIX, etc. 
 
CONCLUSION 303 
 
 the publication of untrue statements and reports, and protect 
 from slander all, whether individually or collectively, 
 
 58. The success of Christian Democracy, which is purely 
 social and not political, will finally depend upon the utmost or- 
 ganization and concentration of effort. Nor should Catholics 
 neglect the full use of their political rights in the measure in 
 which they are granted to every citizen, since hy reason of their 
 Divine Faith they " may prove themselves capable, as much as, 
 and even more than others, of cooperating in the material and 
 civil well-being of the people, thus acquiring that authority and 
 respect which may make it even possible for them to defend 
 and promote a higher good, namely, that of the soul." (Pius 
 X, " Christian Social Action.") 
 
 CONCX.TJSION 
 
 59. Besides the rules of social justice, the laws of Chris- 
 tian charity should bind together employer and employees, and 
 all classes and ranks, into one Christian brotherhood. To ac- 
 complish this in its perfection, nothing can be of greater im- 
 portance than that all should heed again the voice of that Mother 
 from whom the nations have wandered, who begot them in the 
 unity of a great Christendom in the ages of Catholic Faith. 
 Her teachings are the same now as they were in the days of 
 the Apostles, and as they will remain to the end of time, yet al- 
 ways perfectly adapted to every changing period of history. 
 For the promise of Christ to her can never be made void : " Be- 
 hold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the 
 world." (Matt, xxviii: 20.) *» 
 
 60, Hence she alone can never possibly mislead mankind, 
 and there can be no surer hope for true and lasting reconstruc- 
 tion than the return of all to her, the one and only apostolic 
 Church, the Church of our fathers. 
 
 *« The World Prohlem, Ch. XXV. 
 
BEIEF LIST OF BOOKS BY CATHOLIC AUTHORS 
 ON ECONOMIC QUESTIONS 
 
 The Social Value of the Gospel; by L. Garriguet. Herder. 
 The Pope and the People; Catholic Truth Society. (This book con- 
 tains the encyclicals of Pope Leo on Labor, etc.) 
 A Living Wage; by John A. Ryan, D.D. Macmillan, 1920. 
 Distributive Justice; by John A. Ryan, D.D. Macmillan. 
 Social Reconstruction ; by John A. Ryan, D.D. Macmillan. 
 The World Problem : Capital, Labor, and the Church ; by Joseph Huas- 
 
 lein, S.J., Ph.D. Kenedy. 
 Democratic Industry; by Joseph Husslein, S.J., Ph.D. Kenedy. 
 Evolution and Social Progress; by Joseph Husslein, S.J., Ph.D. 
 
 Kenedy. 
 Elements of Social and Political Economy; by Dardano. Translated 
 
 by Rev. W. McLaughlin. Gill, Dublin. 
 Primer of Social Science; by Msgr. Parkinson. Devin- Adair Co. 
 Private Ownership; by Rev. J. Kelleher. Gill, Dublin. 
 Introduction to Economics; by Prank O'Hara. Macmillan. 
 Political Economy; by C. S. Devas. Longmans & Co. 
 Primer of Political Economy in Catechism Form ; by Rev. Dr. Joseph 
 
 Och. 
 Mediaeval Socialism; by Bede Jarret, O.P. People's Books. 
 St. Antonino and Mediaeval Economics ; by Bede Jarret, O.P. Herder, 
 
 St. Louis. 
 Consumers and Wage Earners; by J. Elliot Ross. Devin-Adair Co. 
 The Theistic Ideal and the Distributive State ; by Rev. Patrick Casey. 
 
 Diedrich-Schaefer, Milwaukee. 
 The Church and Socialism ; by John A. Ryan, D.D. University Press, 
 
 Washington 
 Catholic Ideals in Social Life; by Fr. Cuthbert, O.S.F.C. Art & 
 
 Book Co. 
 Alleged Socialism of the Church Fathers; by John A. Eyan, D.D. 
 
 Herder, St. Louis. 
 Socialism; by V. Cathrein, S.J. Benziger Bros. 
 Socialism: Promise or Menace?; by Hilquit-Ryan. MacmiUan. 
 The Fundamental Fallacy of Socialism; by Arthur Preuss. Herder, 
 
 St. Louis. 
 The Articles in the Catholic Encyclopedia on Property, Collectivism, 
 
 Communism, Socialism, Syndicalism, Monopoly, Interest, Usury, 
 
 Speculation, Compensation, Labor Unions, and Boycott. 
 Cours d'Economie Sociale; by Rev. C. Antoine, S.J. Paris 
 
 304 
 
BOOKS ON ECONOMIC QUESTIONS 305 
 
 Lelirbuch der Nationaloekonomie ; by Rev. H. Pesch, S.J. Leipzig. 
 Regime de la Propriete ; by L. Garriguet. Bloud, Paris. 
 Regime du Travail; by L. Garriguet. Bloud, Paris. 
 Die Soziale Frage; by Josepb Biederlack, S.J. Herder. 
 
 PAMPHLETS 
 
 The Condition of Labor; by Pope Leo XHI. International Catholic 
 
 Truth Society, Brooklyn, N. Y. 
 General Principles of Social Reform; by Dr. C. Bruehl. The Cath- 
 olic Truth Society. 
 The Catholic Doctrine of Property; by Rev. J. B. McLaughlin, O.S.B. 
 
 The Catholic Truth Society, London. 
 The Social Action Series. The Catholic Truth Society. 
 English Economists and Catholic Ethics by Rev. M. Maher. The 
 
 Catholic Truth Society and The Catholic Mind, America Press. 
 Social Reform by Legislation; by John A. Ryan, D.D. The Paulist 
 
 Press, New York City. 
 Pamphlets of the English Catholic Social Guild. Herder, St. Louis. 
 Pamphlets of the National Catholic War Council and especially, 
 
 " Social Reconstruction," Washington, D. C. 
 Pamphlets of the National Catholic Welfare Council, Washington, 
 
 D. C. 
 
 EVOLUTION AND SOCIAL PROGEESS 
 By Joseph Husslein, S.J., Ph.D. 
 
 P. J. KENEDY & SONS 
 44 Babclay Steeet New York City, N. Y. 
 
 THE END 
 
 PBINTED IH THI UNITED STATES OT AUIUXOA