The Irish standard., 1912-12-07
Rev. Father Dietz at Annual Con-
vention of Federation of Labor
at Rochester, N. Y.
You Cannot Storm the Heavens or
Ignore God, said the Priest to
Gompers' Followers.
World is Not Governed by Blind
Force but Guided by the Willie
the Almighty God.

| lue Almighty 0Ou.
AT the thirty second annual conNcn-
tion of the American Federation Of
Labor. the Rev. Peter T.. Dictz of
Obcrlin, Ohio, addressed the assem-
blagc. Father Dietz said, in part:
"Thc first point want to make is
this: That mere economic strength
is not a determining factor in indus
trial progress. Now that is a scnti-
ment that has obtained altogether too
much prevalence. There are certain
factors OF economic strength: they
are men; they are money; they are
full power of united action. These
forces are necessary machinery of in
dustrial action. God forbid that l
should wish to curtail any of these
forces even in the slightest manner.
4 On the contrary, if l could l would
increase their effectiveness an hum
i strength must be built on the founda-
ton of justice, justice to God. justice
to yourselves. justice to your fellow
man, no matter what his station In
life, no matter what his class may be,
no matter what his policy or pursuit
in life may be- Economic strength is
i something entirely apart from justice
!. and right. 1T Is not Al question OF
I mere power.
"'rhese things do not go hand in
! hand; they do not necessarily run
i y a'allel. Sometimes justice and right
may be on the side of even hopeless
minority; they may even be associat-
ed with weakness and ignorance. JUS
tice and right include many points of
honor, strength of character, fairness.
even to an enemy. They embrace the
truth, they dispel prejudice, they re-
veal bigotry, they punish wrong, even
i in a friend; they have their face al
ways turned to the light they spurn
passion and arc determined to render
y equity to every man and to every
movement. There is no greater COM
pliment you can pay Il man than to
tell him he is a. just man. And that
sentiment Of justice Is native to the
human breast. God has planted that
seed in every soul and He has estab-
lishcd religion to foster that seed OF
! justice in tl'e human soul to make it
grow and prevail in this world of His.
Gods Dominion.
"One of the fundamental things of
religion, or the fundamental thing, is
the recognition OF the almighty power
Of God above U.S. There is a God who
had in His mind tho plan of the uni
verse, including ourselves, and God
went on and carried out that plan ac-
cording to His own will, an intelligent
will, II conscious will. This world is
not ruled by blind force. There are
those who tell you that all things are
matter and materialism. l say above
matter and far great. than it is spirit
and ideaism. The world is not ruled
j. by a blind force; the world is not gov
crncd by economic strength as such;
human dcstinics are Ut made to fol-
low the lines of the matcrialstic con-
ception of history or the economic in
terpretation; but above all, the des-
finipS or tho world ara guided whether
you will or not, by the almighty will
Of God. God has spoken and made
that will of His plain. He has COM
municatcd His thought in manner
that is not unreasonable.
Religion and Unonisn.
"Whcn some man conceived the idea
of trade union he took some other
men into his confidence, he surrounded
himself with a number of friends, and
they discussed this problem of trades
unionism; they formed a temporary
organization; they developed phil
osophy of labor; they instituted exec
utive bodies to carry out their poll
cies. There is nothing unreasonable
in that; it is in accord with the prin-
; ciples of sound common sense. Why
cannot we apply the same thing to
, religion? People will tell you that in
these days creeds are outworn, that
they are things Of the past, that we