Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-04
VIEWS OF DIR. STAFFORD
EXPLAINS WHY CHURCH Is oP-
POSED TO SOCIALISM.

The reasons the church is opposed to So
cialism were given by Rev. DR.. d. ]. Stat.
ford in the third Of his Lenten sermons on
Socialism at the morning service at st.
Patrfck's Church yesterday. His topic was
socialism and Its Relation to Religion"
In the course of his address he said:
The reasons the church is opposed to
socialism as formulated are many. First of
all, because of its Utopian and impractical
character. which leads to evil The preach
ers OF socialism indulge in generalities. They
imagine system. and then try to force
I facts into agreement with that system, in
stead of constructing a theory upon facts
as 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 dis
content leads to desire for change; and
hence, the danger to society. Men forget the
real and the practical for the visionary and
the impossible"
DR.. Stafford said the church does not
stand In the way of social progress. She
was not instituted to teach economics and
she is neither favorable nor unfavorable to
any particular system. She looks at the
question entirely from the point of view Of
right and wrong. A man may advocate any
theory that Is not in itself evil, provided he
use only just means. 1t is the business of
religion to supply the spirit by which the
Investigation is to be Observation-Disclosures
fraternity, charity toward the poor and
helpless, and justice toward ALL From that
point of view alone the church judges She
taxes the same position toward art, science
and the forms of government.
Laws Of Society.
And moreover" DR.. Stafford added, "the
church 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 fam
lily, and third the differentiation and the
inequality Of the Individual
You may fancy a social state without
these; but you can only fancy it. Let labor
De the only value, a man will still have
right to the result of it. which, conserved,
will necessarily make a difference between
individuals from that standpoint All his
tory proves that the best moral and civil
condition demands the conservation and
protection Of homogeneous marriage And
as to equality, men are equal in essentials
before God, before the law, and in the nee
essary fundamental principles of existence;
but in accidentalS they are not and cannot
be made so. And if it be the tenet of social
ism that every man should have the where
with 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"
In conclusion DR.. Stafford said: what is
the use of dreaming of Utopias and think
ing of conditions that can never be real
lied? The thing to do is to make the most
OF the present, develop the good that is in
it; destroy the evil; and this is the only pos
sible way to bring about a better condition
for the future. Most lessons of history have
oeen learned only in suffering Woe to the
world II we must repeat the eXperience!