The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1908-11-21

ravening for his blood would rend each
other. He reckoned wrong.
Socialism is religion, material
one. il you will. but a religion. It has
its affairs, its dogmas, its high priests,
it's form of worship. 1t is the most
cespotic dogmatism on earth. If 1t
wins it will reduce us all to the dead
level of the most degrading despotism
the world ever saw, one based upon
the very quintessence Of selfshness-
materialism.
evident. OF course its votaries are I'M
willing to admit that the art. culture.
refinement and other forces and factors
Of our present civilization are to be
driven away. They fail to see that the
very basis Of their belief the material
istic conception or Interpretation Of
history makes such a result or con-
clusion inevitable. Il All the signs say
this of Socialism. Let who will go
over it's past-from.&L assolle and Marx
to our day and the conclusion noted is
not to be avoided.
Socialism Of the Chair.
The most dangerous sorm Of Social
ism is found in the great universities
of Germany and other countries. Men
like Wagner-one time teacher of DR..
70 or
They are known as Socialists of the
Chair. This name is derived from the
fact that the men advocating it occupy,
as a rule, the economic chairs in the
great universities to which they are
attached. 1t is their positions that give
them power. How" one asks, lis it
possible for powerful intellects like
Brentanos' orWagner's to go wrong?
Those men are masters of economic
thought; they have followed economic
forces through every movement in the
past; they are aware of what was and
why; must not it be easy for them to
tell us what the end must be?'
1t is easy to understand the admir-
alton of this kind of man for the cause
"a kind of ideal Socialism which he
champions. We are prone to respect
authority. 1t is not a bad trait i, us.
But there was once a serious mistake
made by the great economists. By
! misinterpreting Adam Smith they gave
us the infamous and no longer terrible
doctrine Of the Iron law of Wages"
1t wrought it's havoc for hundred
in the rank Of the economists. Men
big, wise and great as Wagner and
Brentano. Ely and Seligman are not
enamored of the doctrine to which
those men are devoted.
1t is just here that the hardest work
will have to be done. The world will
have to meet the university men with
arguments, based upon facts, the hard
| facts of life sustained by evidence out
CO fifty centuries of experience, that
will upset the theories Of the Chair So
cialists. If it is true, and it is true,
! that upwards of 1000 600 men, in va
rious parts of the world, are in favor
of Socialism, 100000 or more in Ger
many, nearly a million in this country
It is time to wake W.
Luckily, the doctrine, as defined
above. is being better and better un-
derstood. Just as soon as the real
lines of cleavage are exposed. are
known, the camps will be as clearly
defined or outlined. The Catholic OF
! Protestant who sees in Christian, the
Chair or State Socialism, system tc
which he might easily give allegiance
and support will fly from one, the ba-
sis of whose belief, even though that
belief be an economic one, is Material.
ism. There can be- there will be, nc
compromise. 1t is not a question OF
religion real religion. II the men who
formulate the Socialists faith, base
it. as they do, upon materialistic con-
ception and Interpretation of life nc
Catholic. no Protestant. no Christian
can consistently follow its flag. I
might write a month about the whole
business and never say a more preg-
nant thing than is said in the las:
sentence.
Socialism cannot get or give us wha,
it does not possess-peace. justice. II
cannot give us what the world is win
ming, but has not yet won. universal
justice. 1t is not in the nature of So
c!alism to secure these things. If the
efforts of Socialism so uselessly ex-
pended in trying to tear religion out OF
mems hearts, were put into construc-
ft:ve policies, following purposes tc
build up its progress. the progress OF
the world along right lines would be
safer. saner and sounder. We will win
one day. The world is mot worse
world TODAY than II xvo q Il, onv to,,r nj