Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1893-08-05
LETTER OF LABOR
English Translation If tine Pope
Latest Encyciical

New York, Au1 l. The World this
morning publishes special dispatch
( from Bome containing q TRANSLATION
iof Pepe Ico's forthcoming eucyclicJ
] upon the labor question. of which III,
I fol wing Is an abstra L:
! Constitutions and laws have their
/ foundation in the character and tn,
! [ adtou~ OF nations and peoples. They
iaTc the work OF God through centuries
I rs the history Of every country shows
/ Eut no law which wanders from re
liGon or tends To subyert it can be
otherwise tLan defective. and in time
must come to uaught Society is not
/ q human invention, but a divine inspi-
ration, for the real social contract is
not merely "a right between man and
I God. Where the man fuldlls his duty
/ to cod he cannot fail to perform his
duty to society,
Property is an essential element to
social order for the preservation and
development OF human life, and the
divine law has declared human prop
crty sacred and inyiolable Cursed be
he who rrmoveth his neighbor's land
mark But the poor have neverthc-
less a right 10 be assisted 10y the rich
not 10y iudiscrimnate aims giving. but
by preparing such employment for
them as win be useful IF man will
not work neither shall he cat" But If
he have no work it is plainly the duty
Of those who can do so to provide it
for him This leEtimatizcs property.
No so-called right has any sanction If
not sanctioned by Cod and no usurpa-
ton Of others rights can expect the
blessing Of heaven
Atheism and departure from the
Christian faith are the great aids ana
stimulants of anarchy and socialism.
The Christian faith alone is the bul-
wark of social order Where Christian
institutions and customs are NOT main
tanned in a state there must be disor-
der bewildcrmcnt and decay This
moment Europe IL in the throes of an
immense upheaval of society in which
one violent struggle succeeds another
increasingly Ia many eases the reason
is to be found In the fact that legiSid-
ton has not been duly enacted, for
every person should have his ledh-
mate part in the benefits of society
according 10 the order Of Providence.
This state of unrest is not confined
to the working classes. Jperly social
ed. Tt has taken root and is bearing
nefariouS fruit in the more cultivated
part Of society
People allow themselves 30 be blind
ed by agitators who have no real in
terest in the cause they so loudly
uphold, beyond a selfish one.
And this is why strikes are so UNI
productive of beneficial results. Placed
5n Il basis more social than economic;
being more of struggle than pacit
cation more of aggression 5han de
Tense, the strike loses its natural
aspect and hides its essence.
& strike can be justified only MS
means of defense. when an individuals
interest is attacked Never can II be
justified rs Il collective arm Of aggres-
sion. Man has n natural right TO live
and to work, AS a means Of Procur-
ing 4 living he has a right to remove
every obstacle to his work to get the
value Of his labor. And therefore,
when his labor is neither productive
nor rcuumerative he has a right 10
refuse 10 continue it. but an individual
right cannot be transferred into Il col
lective right. nor can an arm OF de
Tense be changed into an arm of
aggression To cause a means Of good
to degenerate into a source of harm.
An aggressive strike il not reciprocal
between operator and operative, but
an instrument Of attack upon the pro-
priet0r and property.
The operative on "A strike is a passive
and dominated instrument, not an in
telIfsent and free being While his
action lessons the capital of his EN-
ployer, it puts no money into his own
pocket
The right of protecting the operative,
whether in the factory, or in the field,
should be admitted And for this pur-
pose the maximum of labor rs well
as the minimum OF salary, should be
fixed The hours of labor should be
arranged, giving due attention to
days of rest aad abstentioa from
labor