St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-10-12
Archbishop Ireland Shows
That Labor Has Inalien-
able Rights.
Man Must Work, But Must Be
Enabled to Live AIDE
quately.
Bane9ul Effects Of Trade Com
petition and Demand for
Cheapness.

er1ul lecture at the Cathedral last even
ing on the subject of Labor; Its
Rights" 1t was mastery effort, and
the complex relationship of labor to
capital was explained with that lucidity
that always marks the utterances of the
prelate. He spoke as follows:
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" So
writes Leo XIII. in the late encyclical.
Speaking OF this encyclical, Cardinal Man
ming says: ''SInce the divine words, L have
compassion on the multitude, were spoken
in the wilderness. no voice has been heard
throughout the world pleading for the peo-
pie with such profound and loving sympathy
for those that toll and suffer as the voice of
Leo AI1l." AS is the duty of the supreme
teacher of Christendom the pontiff rests his
eyes on all classes of men, whether poor
or rich, laborer or capitalist, and while re-
minding them of their duties he defends
the rights of all. But his heart goes out in
special fondness to those who in the strife of
life bear the burthen of the day. and receive
for their reward the smaller portion of the
spoils of victory. He is, as of none other, the
friend of the working man. We will follow
carefully in our own remarks, the lines of
the encyclical. Men must work if they would
live Here is most important principle
which underlies the whole system of polit-
V.
work is criminal before God and society.
st. Paul uses language terse and positive in
his epistie to the Thessalonians. For also
when We were with you, this we declared to
you: That, If any man will not work, neither
let him eat" The idler, who gives nothing in
exchange for his food who is of no service
to humanity. who strives to derive
sustenance from the toll of others is
drone in the hive of human activity, and
merits the death which his own Incidence
tentails. That he finds wherewith to eat is
he tribute OF charity and kindness on the
part of his fellow beings. Society has the
fullest right to compel the able-bodled and
incident beggar to work for his livelihood.
Indeed, wise laws in this direction serve
greatly the cause of labor, and promote So
clal morality. The indolent rich, whose in
herlted fortunes place them beyond the reach
OF want, independently of the favors of
others, may not be constrained by law to do
work of some kind for the general veal. But
the divine precept presses still upon them.
They have obligations to society from which
they cannot be held exempt, under penalty
OF no longer deserving to have place in the
world. There should be work for all.
But II men must work that they may eat it
follows that there must be an opportunity
Tor all to work; or, in the absence of this op-
portunity, individuals may claim from So
clety the food that is needed TO sustain life
l am laying down now u doctrine which to
some ears may sound as new. but which Is
as ancient as the creation of the race by AL
mighty God. The notion has gone abroad
that private ownership is absolute and I'M
conditioned; that the holder of property has
no responsibilities in Justice to other men,
save those which his own free choosing un-
der the name of charity NAV i'm pose An
otner time we will discuss more thoroughly
this question. Suffice for the present to say
that God made the earth for men, and that
in creating each man God gave him the right
TO 1--we, and, consequently, the right TO the
necessary means to live. Private ownership,
all-essential as 1t is to the wellbeing of So
ciety, could never have been so instituted as
to set aside Gods primeyal intentions. or to
make life impossible 20 any of the children
of men.
labor Is Honorable.
Labor is honorable. whatever the form it
takes, be it of hand or of mind, be it high or
low in the social scale. 1t is Gods law, and
what God orders is honorable. The Son of
God, being made Man. taught the world won
drous lessons as TO labor. He worked; He
worked at manual labor. Labor is honorable;
1t is the source Of all wealth, the cause of all
progress. the handspring of all human ag
grandizement. 1t is the condition of indl-
vldual growth and virtue. The man who
does not work is the weed in the field, rank
and noxious. The violation of all natural
law stunts and dishonors the guilty man. and
| so does the violation of the law of labor
Only in its observance is there health of body
or of soul. When speak of labor as honor
able, take it in its widest sense, from the
| street shoveler to the judge on the bench
| or the president in the nations mansion.
But, If distinction is to be made, l draw the
| lines with Christ, and the harder the act of
labor the more 1t secures my respect The
heavier the burthen, the heavier the debt of
| society to him who bears it; the more dis.
| tressing the lot, the greater is the need OF
| sympathy. We are all parts of the social
fabric; the foundation stones hidden away
and unnot1ced are even more necessary than
| the arched windows and glitterng pinnacles.
| most sure evidence Of a small mind and of
| defective culture is the pride which refuses
70 hQr iC olr
contamination in its contact. Wealth and
position have their own honor, and accord
them their due share. They do not how
| ever, lift their possessors out of the ranks of
human brotherhood; they but impose
stricter Obligations of justice and charity
toward the less fortunate in the struggle of
life The country is sick at heart, and false
no less to Its own interests than to the teach
1ngs of divine wisdom when-the line of sep
arat1on between rich and poor is widening,
and classes grow apart in relations of SYM
pathy and mutual interest.
labor Is Man in Action.
Before we advance further, let us deter
mine the precise meaning of the word labor
Misapprehensions in this matter are the the
causes OF many social errors The idea is
abroad, and social writers of fame adopt it
that labor is simply an article of commerce
merchantable commodity, as bread or meat
subject entirely to the laws of demand and
supply. The owner of labor sells it as he
chases it as cheaply as it can be obtained,
with an eye entirely to his own advantage.
The bargain between the laborer and en-
ployer is in the nature of contract of sale,
and is as little and as much subject to outside
laws. and outside intervention. as the sale of
piece Of ground, or a bushel of wheat
This is altogether wrong. Labor diff
fers essentially from mere mer-
chandise because it is inseparable from the
man producing it. Labor is an act We are
not speaking of the product of labor, of the
material thing brought into form by labor;
this is an article Of commerce. We are speak
ing of the labor act OF man, the personal out
put of the energies of man. and consequently
of man in action. The plenary concrete OBJ
ject of labor contract is the working man.
and hence labor possesses the dignity and
the rights which are inherent in the human
person, and has before God and society the
responsibilities of the human being. The
laborer, himself, has not the right to depart
from those responsibilities. The EMPLOYER
has not the right 10 solicit or to permit him
TO do so; the state, which is society organ
lied, is bound to estop both laborer and en-
ployer from degrading human nature and
perverting 1t from the purposes of the Gre
ator.
Injustices of the Labor Market.
NO man. says the encyclical, may cut.
rage 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: man has here no
power over himself. 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 seryi-
tude, for it is not mans own rights which are
here in question. but the rights of God most
sacred and inviolable"
These words CT the pontiff are the charter
of labors rights. Modern industrialism sees
nothing beyond the labor market The very
word indicates the degradation to which
greed of power and pelf has sunk the laborer.
Spacious words are spoken TO hide away
hideous crimes against humanity. Free
labor. free competition freedom of CON
tract between laborer and employer be-
tween buyer and seller-such the maxims
and the rules of the age. The facts are these.
The employer needs workmeI. the cheaper
their labor the larger his profits. He accepts
the lowest offer; he invites competition that
the offer be sill lower The more cro,rliod