The Irish standard., 1913-09-06
The Catholic Church Assists IN Deliberations
of the Trade Unions in England.
Attempts Made by the Church to Promote
Proper Understanding of Right of All.
Declares No Reform Possible Which Does
Not Enlist the Sympathy and Co-operu-
ton Of All Classes of Workers.

A conference Of Catholic trade
unionists was held at Plymouth, Eng
land. recently, in connection with the
Catholic Congress-. The Bishop of
Northampton and Prior McNabb, o.
p, addressed the delegates.
Prior McNabD, basing his remarks
upon the encyclical on the subject
from Pope Leo KILL, said that the late
Holy Fathers words were the most
important pronouncement from Rome
In the last 300 years-if they excepted
the decision on the Immaculate Con.
ception and the decrees OF the Vatican
Council. It was a pronouncement of
human wisdom strengthened into d.
vine. Pope Leo said that the condi-
tion of the working people was the
pressing question of the hour. Trans
lated into terms of their own parishes
or dioceses, 1t would read: ''The PRESS
Ing question Of the hour In every par.
ish is the question Of the attitude Of
!. the, Catholic Church toward the work
Ing man ~ ~ sssrf '-'rss1 "a w Il s~f9
Some remedy for the present diff
Guilty in the tabor world must be
found. And the remedy was not to be
found in "grin and bear It," There
was state Of things at the present
time which was an unjust state od
things. It was so unjust that 1t
should be put to rights quickly. Pope
Leo XIII had said, "A small number
of very rich mon have been able to
lay upon the teeming masses of the
laboring poor yoke little better than
that of slavery ITSELF" That phrase
had been to him, said Prior McNabb,
a kind of light at MONDAY. striking
him blind with It's brilliance. Those
were not the words of socialist
manifesto. They were the well-coun-
seled words of the highest authority
in the Church of God. If the rela-
tions between one man and another
we're unjust there was dispensation
in the world which would dispense
him from his obligations. Justice
was the basis not only Of charity but
Of the Catholic Church.
Thomas F. Burns, in the course Of
his address, said: II propose to deal
with our attitude towards the Cath
olic demand for the living wage by
saying that 1t is Identical with our
attitude towards every economic ques-
tion possessing a moral aspect. We
accept the hierarchy as our guide on
the moral aspect, and We accept the
democratic movement as our guide on
the economic aspect. II these two as
poets are in conflict, the hierarchy is
our ultimate guide"
Having referred to the relations be-
tween the Craft Guilds and the
Church, the paper continues: 1T is a
practice among the printing trades in
this country to issue a fair list con-
tanning the names Of those firms who
pay the standard rate of wages.
Probably the earliest example Of the
revival Of corporate life among Cath
olics will be found in the formation of
the Stafford Federation. What hap
pened? One of the first things the
Federation did was to decide that it
would refuse to give any order for
printing to any firm that was not on
the fair list The National Confer
ence OF Catholic Trade Unionists did
the same thing. Their example was
followed by the permanent and local
committees of these National Cath
Ollie Congresses, and, believe, by this
Catholic Social Guild. The standard
set by these organizations was not
binding upon their individual mem
bers, but in practice, 1t was adopt
ed by them and 1t is not an uncom-
mon thing for Catholic individuals to
inquire II a particular firm is on the
fair list before placing their orders.
| That seems to me to be not merely
an illustration Of the Catholic demand
for the living wage. but practical