The Irish standard., 1905-05-27

exchange would disappear and human
energy becomes stagnant. The
ploughman would not till the soil, the
miner use his drill, or the woman her
needle. Dullness, listlessness and idle.
ness would reign supreme.
Again: Every man in this country
is entitled, according to the declara.
tion of independence, to life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness. He has
a right, moreover, to selfimprove-
ment; to the developing and perfect
| ing Of his faculties whether in the de.
partment Of knowledge or of virtue.
He has a right to food and clothing,
to the shelter of home, to occupa.
| tion and to permanency in the pos.
| session of what he has acquired by
his labor. Permanency of possession
is an essential point, because this
gives at once a stimulus to endeavor
and to the attainment of proper earth.
ly ambition. Evidently under the So
cialistic theory this permanency
would be removed and consequently
all would go that makes life worth
living, liberty worth having, or happi.
ness anything more than a name.
II the theories of the Socialists
were carried out the workingman
would be the first to suffer. Without
property he cannot exercise his innate
rights to personal comforts, to the
pursuit of happiness and to the de.
velopment of his faculties. Who
would till the fields ii some one had
a right to step in and reap the har-
vest? A man must provide for the
future, and therefore he has a right
to lay by something for rainy day.
He must have the wherewithal, not
only for his present needs, but must
put aside for the future. What is the
theory of wages but that man gives
the sweat of his brow and his labor
in order that he may get something
in return.
Now suppose that a man receives
enough not only to provide for today,
but by frugality and economy, to lay
aside sufficient amount of money
to buy a small piece of ground. What
is this ground? 1t represents what he
has earned by the sweat of his brow;
it is part of his salary, part of the
money he has worked hard to gain.
Assuredly, therefore, he has the right
to dispose of that ground in any way
he pleases, because by his own per.
sonal labor he has acquired it.
Therefore, when Socialists say that
property should be transferred from
the individual to the state or to the
community they strike direct blow
at the liberty of the workingman. 1t
is undeniable that man by having
this right to dispose of his wages as
he wishes and to possess property Is
much better off under the present sys-
! TEN than he would be under such a
! system as is urged by the Socialists,
because under their rule whatever a
| man acquires must pass not to HIM
| self, but to the community.
The evils of society are indeed
great, but need not be magnified The
betterment of the workingman and
| the happiness of the poor lies not in
the destruction of private property, of
the family, of religion and the state,
! but in education, in virtuous living,
in the organization of labor for the
enforcement of it's just demands.
Nor should it be forgotten that the
heart Of the church is always with the
honest workingman. In every age
from the days of the Apostles she has
supported and blessed his labors and
pleaded for his just rights. And that
is her position today She holds to
the Fatherhood of God and the
| brotherhood of man. She breaches
the doctrine of liberty, equality and
fraternity. And were it possible she
would restore our modern world to
that ideal state of the first Christians
werein distribution was made to
every one according, to his need and
there was no one needy among them