The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-03-04
SOCIALISM Is UTOPIAN
DR.. Stafford Says Principles
Lead to Evil.
CHURCHS OPPOSITION TO IT
Catholic Speaker Tells Hearers Why
Religion Cannot Support Theories
of Those Who Advance Strange
Idens-Try TO Imagine system and
Then Fit Facts Into Theory.

his Lenten sermons on Socialism" at St.
Patricks Church yesterday morning at
high mass. He chose for his theme So
cialism and it's relation to religion. He
said. in part:
THE church does not stand in the way
of social progress. She was not insti-
tuted to teach economies. and she is
neither favorable nor unfavorable to any
particular system. She looks at the ques-
ton entirely from the point Of view of
right and wrong. A man may advocate
any theory that Is not in itself evil, pro-
vided he use only just means. 1t is the
business Of religion to supply the spirit
by which the investigation is to be d.
observation-disclosures, fraternity, charity
toward the poor and helpless, and justice
toward all. From that point OF view
alone the church judges. She takes the
same position toward art, science, and
the forms of government
Reason for Opposition.
1.-THE reasons why she is opposed 10
socialism as formulated are many First
OF all, because of its Utopian and imprac-
teal character, which lead 20 evil. The
preachers of socialism indulge in gener-
alities. They imagine a system, and then
try to force facts into agreement with
that system instead of constructing a
theory upon facts as a basis. They talk
of capital and labor and the future, and
imagine a state Of things without evil
a very heaven on earth. as the outcome
of their principles. which may. indeed
come tomorrow. Now. these Utopian
fancies beget discomfort. and discomfort
leads TO a desire for change; and hence,
the danger to society. Men forget the
real and the practical for the visionary
ana the impossible.
Change Must Come slowly.
If social change is TO come. and no
one can foresee what II will be, il must
come slowly. Nature does nothing by
jumps-Httle by little the shore recedes,
and little by little the land encroaches;
little by little the coral reefs are built.
and it has required the long lapse Of ages
for development. Sometimes indeed.
there is a violent action, a sudden catas-
trophe; but that is always accompanied
by much distress and suffering. The
social evolution must come, II it IS TO be
benefcent. in the same way-gradually,
slowly. patiently. If hurried by the in
PREVENTION of socialism, then viii come
the catastrophe.
And. moreover. it must conserve the
fundamental facts and laws of society
To change these is to pull the temple
down on ourselves. One of these is private
property, another the family, and a
third the differentiation and the Unequal
ity of the Individual
Can Only Fancy Condition.
You may fancy social state without
I these; but you can only fancy it. Let
/ labor be the only value. a man viii still
/ have right to the result Of it, which.
/ conserved. will necessarily make differ
ence between individuals from that stand
point All history proves that the best
moral and civil condition demands the
conservation and protection Of monoga-
nous marriage. And as to equality, men
are equal IN essentials before God, before
the law, and in the necessary fundamental
principles OF existence; but in accidentals
they are not, and cannot be made so.
And il il be the tenet Of socialism that
every man should have the wherewith
for the fullest development of his tai
ents and gifts, that development of gifts
and talents, different in themselves, will
/ necessarily make the individual unequal
\ state Of individual equality then, is
neither possible nor desirable.
No Use Dreaming of Utopia.
What is the use Of dreaming of
Utopias and thinking of conditions that
can never be realized2 The thing to do
Is to make the most of the present, de-
velop the good that is in il; destroy the
evil; and this is the only possible way
to bring about a better condition for the
future. Most lessons of history have been
learned only in suffering Woe 10 the
world if we must repeat the experience