The Irish standard., 1911-01-21
poor that the few may be rich.
Poverty Not Sole Cause.

Poverty is declared to be the cause
Of that sin of sins, prostitution. All
The ills of the age are attributed to
poverty. These are most pernicious
teachings. They lead the mind to a
false theory and to evil acts. They
are an insult to the poor. Ii poverty
were the true cause of The drunkard
and the prostitute, there would be
found only in the ranks of the wage
earners, while the temperate and
those who obey the holy laws of pur-
ity would be found only among those
who possess an abundance Of this
worlds goods.
Workingmen who follow these false
teachings are led into danger. Their
commonsense is bewildering; they
should blame themselves; they throw
eff moral restraint and deny their
moral responsibility. Free will ia
thrown TO the dogs while environ
ment is made to take the blame that
belongs to the individual God has
endowed men with the power to learn
what is right
They argue that since labor pro-
duces all value, therefore labor is en-.
titled to all the wealth produced, /
stand here to show that labor does
not produce all value. The workmen
are not entitled to all the wealth pro-
duced. But | stand here to claim that
workmen are entitled to demand the
full product of their toll. Moreover,
| stand here to pay homage to the
Catholic Church on this question.
Leo XIIT in his great encyclical.
"The Condition OF Labor" declared
that "it is right that the fruit of labor
should belong to him who labors.' To
claim all that belongs to him is the
workman's right; but ii is unjust for
workmen to claim all the wealth pro-
duced upon the field of commerce,
because labor is but one of the prime
factors in producing wealth
The source of value lies in natural
sources, in the ability necessary for
the organization Of productive pro-
cess, in the material means for pro-
ducing commodities and in the labor
exercised by the employees. Hence,
for labor to demand all the wealth
produced is to ask for value which
does not belong to it. Such an unjust
demand leads to revolt against right
reason and to acts of conflscation, or
robbery. Every Catholic workman
knows very we'll the law is that
"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's
goods" and that Thou shalt not
steal"
Church and Workmen.
That the Church understands the
lot OF the Workingman and t@le way
to better his condition is evidenced
hy the great encyclicals of Leo XIII.
Moreover, when the Church had the
power she brought into existence the
great guilds which provided justly for
all the wants of all classes of society.
While the poor received her especial
care, as today he poor are her cspe-
cial concern. Before the great pill
lage" of Henry VIII there were 10000
guilds in England alone.
Theobald Rogers, VINO was not Il
Catholic, referred to those prc-refor-
nation days as the golden age" of all
who were willing to work. Fl. Nj.
Hyndman, although Il leading revolt
zionist, has regard for the truth OF
English history. He says that "the
abbots and priors were the best land
lords in England, and that, so long
as the Church held it's lands and it's
powers, permanent pauperism was
unknown" Historical basis Of So
cialism in England)
Those were the days of Merrie Eng
land when work was a joy and inno-
cent pleasure rest That the Church
can solve these grave problems that
confront us no Catholic can doubt.
That she will create state of peace
and plenty if we will follow her in
structions, is our hope, our assur-
ance.