The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1913-05-24

But In fact this division does not
accurately reflect the mind of the
originators and maintainers OF these
guilds; for they plainly recognized
that all the purposes of such organi-
cations were in true sense religious.
Justice and charity, mutual help and
the relief of the sick and the poor,
were obviously a matter of religious
duty and counsel. It was religious
duty on the part of the master crafts
man to pay fair wage, to treat his
apprentices well, and to charge no
more than fair price for his goods;
and on the other hand respect for his
master, obedience, diligence, and good
workmanship we're religious duties on
the part of the journeyman or appren-
tice. And even the social gatherings
of the guild members, like our latter
day Catholic reunions, were intended
to foster true Christian brotherliness.
1t is perhaps not quite useless to
insist that the medieval ideal, as
roughly outlined presupposes a COM
mon faith, and faith SO strongly
held that by common acknowledge
ment it should govern all the affairs
of life. In other words, the consti-
tuition and smooth working of the
guilds presupposed public opinion,
or rather an all but universal con-
viction, favorable to the maintenance
of Christian principles, an all but
universal recognition of religious mo-
tives and sanctions. For, as expert
ence has abundantly shown, the most
benefcent laws and regulations must
needs be in great measure imperative
unless they have the support of pub
lie opinion or of some common con-
viction. Human selfishness is clever
enough to evade laws and rules, how
ever skilfully devised, unless the
would-be evaders are So small mi
nority that their efforts at evasion
can be defeated by the united efforts
of an overwhelming majority.
By way of illustration of what has
been said, a passage may be partly
quoted and partly summarized from
Janssen's History Of the German
People always bearing in mind that
what this author says of Germany is
equally true in it's main features OF
other countries also with regard to
all the relations of life and society
each city formed an independent and
exclusive association, looking on it's
collective inhabitants as one large
family, for whose welfare it was
bound to provide. =
This paternal care. was looked upon
as sacred duty, and included moral
supervision no less than solicitude fol
material necessities
Wages and Prices Regulated by Az
t1ority.
1t may here be remarked that this
highly religious conception of the pa
ternal sponsibilities Of the civic au
thoritfes was in large measure due tC
the fact that so many of the me
diaeval towns had grown up around
the great monasteries to which they
owed their origin. For the due per
Torrance of this quasi-paternal charge
and to prevent or forestall the evil
effects of unregulated trading or oil
what would nowadays be called free
and unrestricted competition, it was
deemed necessary that both wages and
prices Cor at least the prices of the
regulated by authority and that there.
by profits should be kept within rea.
sonable bounds. To get rich quickly
at the expense of ones poorer neigh
bors, and to acquire capitalists grip
of an army Of resourceless employees
was kind of ambition that would
have been by NO means regarded with
favor; and so long as the trade-regula
tons of the Middle Ages were OBJ
served, the realization of such an aim
was practically impossible. But it is
not to be supposed that the settlement
of wages and prices was made directly
by the town council itself. The au.
thority of the council in all that con.
cerned handicrafts and trades was for
the most part delegated to the guilds
of which, as has been said, masters
and men were alike members, and
which we're free to settle their own
affairs subject to the sanction and ap.
prevail of the corporation.
No one supposes that the ideal
herein expressed was ever real
lied in it's full perfection. But that
very fair approach to full realiza.
ton was in fact achieved it would be
absurd to doubt. Nor can it be doubt
ed that if the same principles which
on the whole dominated the medieval
guilds, could once more gain universal
acceptance, the whole of our industrial
life would be gradually and peacefully
revolutionized. And one step towards
the universal acceptance of these prin.
ciples is the recognition of their eff.
cacy in the past. / e., of their efficacy