Montgomery County sentinel., 1888-03-09
as OUR SOCIAL LIFE THREAT.
ENEDw

In the Forum for March Bishop l. L.
Spaulding, of the Roman Catholic doicese of
Peoria, ILL.,, considers the labor and tariff
question from point of view unfamiliar to
most political economists and practical poll
ticians. His suggestions will be secuted
with derision by these, but they are inter-
esting and at least worth courteous atten-
ton, although most likely to be condemned
as impractical and untitled for the present
age and our circumstances as q nation.
The Bishop discusses in the paper the
question, "Is our social life threatened ?" and
in succession he considers four dangers that
are supposed to threaten American institu-
tions: intemperance, Mormonism, immigra-
tion and the labor problem. The first three
he does not consider to be elements of real
danger, as intemperance is decreasing po.
lygamy-which he holds to be the chief OBJ
lection to Mormonism-is not TO be feared
at all, as it was never practiced TO any great
extent and is rapidly dying out-there is no
peril from immigration.
When we come TO consider the labor
question the Bishop not so sanguine. The
organization OF labor he does not consider
of itself evil or productive of evil To seek
to improve the condition Of Horkingmen
or workingwomen by all lawful means,
whether the effort be made by themselves
or by National and State Legislatures en-
lightened by the wisdom of the best and
falrest minds, Is, he says, 10 do patriotic
work, and is to labor for one of the princi-
pie objects for which such q government as
ours exists The labor organizations may
be able to promote the interest of working
men, because he who bears the burden best
knows how heavy it is, and the Bishop says
that ii surely cannot lead to harm that "they
who contribute most to our material well
being should tell US at what cost of suffer
ing and sorrow we have comfort and in.
dulge in luxury"
The peculiarly of the Bishops views be
gin to appear when he comes to the indus.
trial problem. Since the mass OF mankind
are savages, barbarians and slaves he says,
ut may be that free and enlightened peo.
pie, who have learned to look at things as
they are, and not as they appear to feshly
eyes in Mammon's temple, ought to abandon
once for all the project of under. bidding the
nations in the markets of the world" NAV
1t not be asked, "what popular government
is imperiled by the existence of manufac.
turing centers which supply goods to the
markets OF the world at less cost than they
can be made by parishs and coolest"
or the only real question which two great
parties have now to join issue upon the
leaders in either take only financial and
economic view. The Bishop suggests that
it might be well, leaving out the question
for the moment whether the country shall
thereby be made richer or poorer, to con-
slider whether 1t is wise, in u democratic so.
ciety and popular government, to pursue
policy which fosters centers of revolu.
tionary turbulence, Intellectual darkness
and moral degradation, the only obvious
result of which is an increase of paupers
and millionares. "If the English and the
Chinese are willing to sell us goods cheaper
than we can make them without dragging
large portion of our population into vice
and misery, why prevent them by prohibi.
tive tariff And if free trade should throw
large numbers of factory hands out of EN-.
ployment, is there not other and more
healthuls work ior them to do in country
in which hundreds of thousands of Euro.
pean peasants make homes for themselves
every yeary And If the property of mil
lionaires should depreciate in consequence.
did they not build without any pledge that
protection would be eternal, or that II would
endure even ten years"
Bishop Spaulding holds that the evils which
Henry George and others ascribe to our
system Of land tenure are, in fact, the result
of modern industrialism, and hitherto hu.
man wisdom and ingenuity have failed to
discover remedy for what seems to be
vice of constitution. "Capital, steam and
electricity, organized and controlled by
shrcwd and capable men whose one object
is gain, act upon population of operatives
like maariaI poison. How else shall we
account for the fact that under popular
government, in country whose immeasur.
able resources we have hardly begun to ex.
pore, pauperism has become chronic dis
ease, while in all great cities and mapufac-
turing centres what seems to be an irrepres
sible conflict between the rich and poor rises
like cyclonc cloud on the horizon" Here
the Bishop thinks lies the real danger. "a
democracy where the millions own nothing
and the few own millions must fatally fall |
prey 70 socialistic, ,communistc and anarchic |
turbulence, and though so lar there is no
proper soil here for such germs to sprout in,
the policy which uses all the powers of gov
ernment to build nests for paupers who, like |
unfiedged birds, shall eat only when capi
talists drop food into their mouths, will soon |
supply the lacking conditions Where there |
is apparent danger we are timid, where
there is real peril we are blindly confident. |
We forget that democracy is but form of |
government, and II form which in the worlds |
history has been little tried and generally |
Tried with poor success"
The Bishop proclaims the danger but
despairs OF any one paying heed to his
warning ut is the voice of one crying in |
the wilderness and raising his voice in vain" |
40 utter such thoughts is to speak in
desert which sends back not even an eche"
Beyond the economical aspects of free trade
and protective tariff there lies the great
problem whether democratic ceuutry
ought 10 lend its influence 10 the building
up of populous industrial cities" But no
party, the Bishop confesses, will lock at the
matter in that light. The workingmen will
blindly go one way, the farmers in listless
and feeble manner will go the other, and
capitalists and wire e-pullers will have things
their own way But the Bishop admits
that though the outlook is uninviting here
1t is worse elsewhere. "Whatever fruit" he