The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1903-09-12

irmation to conscientiously carry out the essence
of the thing to which the taker subscrlbes. In
courts it means the telling of truth without eva
sion OF equvocation. The language of the oath
has very little significance, more than the pres
ence of the bible or any material thing which pre-
the medieval dignity of courts. 1t the Ian
guage of the oath be Objectionable, the citizen may
comply with the law by repeating the OATH with
mental reservation regarding the language. The
truth of the witness testimony fullls the ann OF
court investigation.
What is said about an oath taken III court APP
plies to form of obligation taken by members OF
a trade union. The trade union is cited for eX-
ample because in a sermon delivered by priest III
Michigan he severely arraigned the trade union and
its obligation. He did this without inquring into
the motive conspring to frame the language of
the oath or obligation. Hence his condemnation
lacks that equity which appellate courts apply to
the construction of language in Legislative acts
The intention of the trainers of the law is held to
be the law, regardless of the ambiguity of lam
guage, and this rule is observed in handing down
court decisions.
Rev. Dr. B. A. Baart. rector of st. Mary's
church, Marshall Mich. recently said in a sermon
that no Catholic could consistently take or keep
the oath of some labor unions. He mentioned par
ticularly the Typographical union, part of whose
oath he quoted
II hereby soemny and sincerely swear that my
fidelity to the Typographical union and my duty
to the members thereof shall in sense be inter-
fered with by any allegiance that L may now or
hereafter owe to any other organization, social
itcal or religious.
Father Baart said this oath placed the union
before the church and before the state and distinct
ly impeached the loyalty and Catholicity of those
who take such an oath" This sounds like reading
every Catholic union printer out of the church
along with setting him aside as enemy of his
country. We are sure the good priest did not mean
all Of that.
What are the facts behind this obligation taken
by the printers How should the oath be con-
strued9 The union printers employed upon the
Intermountan Catholic furnish the information.
In the first place it should be remembered that Sc
cret and benevolent societies give the word era
ternity" an elastic construction In nearly all cases
it means that members of the order to be pre-
ferred others not members of the order, given
positions of advantage and profit regardless of the
rule of merit or efficiency. In the ranks of the
Typographical union many, very many mem
bers of secret societies, even those condemned by
the church. The Catholic printer is the lonesome
one who is not attached to some Catholic society
like the knights of Columbus, Catholic Order of
Foresters Ancient Order of Hibernans or other
fraternal Catholic society In all these societies or
orders, the spirit of fraternity is or was observed
to the damage of the trade union most particularly
aggravating to members of the Typographical
union, to whom merit alone was the only asset, the
only road to situation and promotion.
This explains why the word religious" appears
in the language of the obligation, along with the
word Secret" It is held that the knights of CO.
lumbus, for example, religious" society, and so
it is Therefore distinction l. made between it
and the Free Masons, Knights of Pythias, Secret"
societies. The Typographical union insists that
fraternity should be exhibited and preference given
first to It's members upon their merits before it
is exercised through the methods of secret or re-
ligious societies. And who will say them nay?
About the word political" there appears to be
mystery. Our printers do not understand it, but
dismiss it with the observation that the word
escaped the proof reader. They have swallowed
that oath without treason to their country ever
choking them They never once suspected that by
repeating it they proclaimed themselves greater
than the government.
Good Father Baart is needlesssly alarmed over
the union printers oath. So are those Catholic
papers who have sided with him The matter is not
grave enough for pulpit thunder 1t is like loading
a cannon to fire at a sparrow