St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-09-06
healthy social movements; this is the
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1t is well that they be studied in
America, for here in America do we
have more than else where the kew to
the future. Applause
Here III America you have a country
blessed specially by Providence in the
fertility of the field and liberty and its
constitution. Applause. You have
country which will pay all effort Tspeak-
er was here interrupted by loud and
prolonged applausel, not merely ten
fold. but aye, q hundred fold And this
no one understands better than the i'm
mortal Leo, and he charges me (his
delegate) to speak out to America words
of hope and blessing; words of joy.
Go forward! In one hand bearing the
book of Christian truth-the Bible-and
III the other the constitution of the
United States. Tremendous applause.
the people rising to their feet and way
ing their handkerchiefs. Christian
truth and American liberty will make
you free, happy and prosperous. Again
interrupted by applause.
They will put you on the road to prog
ress. May your feet ever persevere on
that road. Again | salute you with all
my heart. Again | express my delight
to be with you, and again speak forth
to you in strongest and sweetest tones
the love Of your spiritual father, Leo
XIII. Applause
The hrst speaker OF the day was
Bishop WatterSOn, OF Columbus, O.. who,
in an eloquent address, sounded the
keynote Of the discussion of the great
social questions before the congress.
Bishop WattersOn said the keynote was
found in LsO'S encYclical OH tne condi-
ton of labor. There were a number of
other speeches on the industrial Situa-
ton.
The address of Rev. William Barry.
of Dorchester, Eng, on the Duties of
Capital was particularly notable.
DIR. BARRY
is. regarded as one of the foremost
Catholic authorities in the world on
social questions. He said:
line disastrous consequences of cap
itallsm without check or limit do not
follow upon any one form of govern
ment. When we allow the utmost to
any one man as a worker manufacturer,
Tperintendent, or all three together, it
should still be clear to US that the social
element in what he produces can never
be done away. He enters into the
labors Of his rellowmen, and they have
according their claims upon him, which
both justice and charity forbid him to
pass over without recompense. 1f,then,
capital, by which mean private prop
erty, yielding revenue, is to exist in a
Christian commonwealth. it must
For it is trust given to
the Individual upon condition
of his exercising the social function
which corresponds to it as Christian
ought. And wnere custom has failed
to enforce this view of things, law has
every right to interfere. Those who are
suffered by the enactmentS of the state
to control the means of production must
be looked upon as in true sense min
listers Of the state, subject to its over
sight, answerable for their dealings
with what they never did and never
could create by their own exertion, and
not, as many suppose, irresponsible,
absolute, and utterly independent
''owners" of the land. water. mines,
mineral and machinery which by legal
process they may have acquired. The
miniSterlng class of capitalists, suppos-
ing they administer, deserve for them
selves fair wages. But those wages are
most unfair which cannot be paid eX-
cept at the cost of permanent nucleus
OF misery and decentralization, such as
the
CAPITALS OF EUROPE
have long contained within them, and
some of the American cities may now
Continuing the speaker said that even
state is capable OF robbing its citizens
collectively, as when it SurrenderS with
out-a proper equivalent rights Of way,
or public lands, or the common right of
market, and in general when it creates
or suffers to grow up unchecked monop-
OlieS which take an undue share of the
products OF labor, and which violate the
economic freedom OF others. 70 make
thieves restore their ill-gotten goods. to
put down rings and cornerS;" TO regu-
late or even abolish SO-calied trusts;
to keep intact the right of ''eminent
domain; to safeguard the health,
morals and religious freedom CT its
citizens, are duties incumbent on the
state, especially when the majority of
the people seem to be at the mercy OF
private capitalists. Nor can it be OBJ
jected that these things constitute an
intolerable interference with the rights
of property; for property never has any
right to DO wrong.
All this means. then, the imperative
necessity of constitution for capital.
Religion furnishes the Ideal; morality
the grounds, and law and custom the
methods upon which this mighty task
is to be achieved. To make democracy
real thing is all one with limiting, de-
filming and Christianizing the powers of
those who WELD at present, according
to their good pleasure, the material re-
sources gathered by the thought, labor.
and perseverance of millions upon
millions. Individual ownership, when
divorced from its
SOCIAL FUNCTIONS,
is the parent of all those barbarians
who haven become menace OF civ
ilization from within. No spasmodic
attempts at private benevolence: no
dribletS of ransom doled out from
superfuous millions; no universities
called after reigning monopoliStS will
do the work which society has neglect
ed. The organization OF industry means
the supremacy of the Christian law in
factory, market and exchange. When
individuals make their large requests
in the shape OF libraries. picture gal
lerieS, parks or music halls they COIL
TESS that indefinite accumulation of
wealth i'll private hands required some
public apology. Now, all we who have
accepted the principle of democratic
institutions believe that an absolute
monarch is in politics mistake, an an-
achrOnlSm, lapse into the less civil
llZed past, which we are glad to have
left behind. In like manner, and by
reasoning no less demonStratiye, it NAV
be shown that an absolute monarch in
economics is nothing else than the sur
vIval of tyranny under new form.
Democracy and unlimited capitalism
are simply irreconciIable; they will
ever be enemies one of the other. When
the American continent is fully peopled
the handful who are enormously rich
will of necessity create and perpetuate
a multitude of proletaires, sunk into
degrading and shameful poYerty-serfs
with manhood Suffrage-with an ar
knowledged right to vote and a more
than doubtful right to oat. If capital
lists do not become servants Of the COM
mOnwealth they will be its masters.
What, then, should the people do in
this day of their political supremacy?
Two things, answer. They should
insist, by custom and legislation, on
making
THE CONTRACT