The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1913-03-22
GROWTH OF SOCIALISM.

OEE kO HE SPREAD OF Soc
IALisM-SUMMARY OF A LEG
TURE BY DR.. KIRBY, OF THE
CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY, UNDER
THE AUSPICES OF THE X. OF
c., OF BUFFALO, NJ ~
1t would be a great mistake to
underrate the volume and the force
which socialism has developed in mod
ern life. Those of us who can not
with the remedies which socialism
proposes would be guilty of an mex
cusable blunder if we were to fail on
our part rightly to understand the
sources from which the movement
draws it's strength and the methods by
which it is making progress in spite
of the determined opposition which it
meets from all sides
Undoubtedly, nearly all of the con-
siderations urged against socialism
are, to some extent, true. All of the
methods to which we resort in COM
batting socialism are warranted in
| their place and to that extent are, I'M
doubtedly, eff1cacious Nevertheless,
it remains apparently true that in the
| face of increasing opposition social
ism develops and refuses to show any
signs of having been conquered
Socialism can not account for itself
! In order to explain it's progress we
must go outside of it. In other words,
there are forces in society which are
not in any sense socialistic, that are
actually doing work which promotes
socialism. It's fundamental assump-
tion is that the present social order is
bankrupt That means in the mind of
socialism that our political constitu-
lions defeat social justice instead of
serving it; that our institutions serve
| private interests at the cost of the
people at large; that our laws are con-
trolled in their enactment by special
interests and paralyzed in their adj
ministration by the creatures of those
interests; and that our leaders to
whom we have entrusted the sacred
responsibilities of social direction are
a set of traitors and, therefore, are
entirely false to their entrusted pow
ers A social order is maintained
primarily, in democracy at least, by
confidence. And it is undermined by
suspicion or by the withdrawal of con-
| fidence in constitutions, institutions,
laws and leaders. Now, when citi-
zen has entirely lost confidence at all
of these points his mind is open to the
fundamental assumption of socialism
as stated. Not until the citizen has
| been robbed of his confidence can he
be in any manner susceptible to the
socialistic propaganda. 1t is perfectly
clear that the processes which have
been undermining the confidence of
the American people in their institu-
tons and leaders do not originate in
socialism, are not primarily part OF
socialism, nor are they regarded by
the people generally as in any sense
related to socialism. And yet there
can be no socialism until this work of
destroying confidence is well under
way.
The democratic press, the republi-
can press, the progressive press, the
undertaking magazines and our lead
ers themselves are doing the work OF
destroying the confidence of the Amer
lean people in their institutions and
leaders. Socialism takes advantage OF
this work, furthers it, Celebrates it,
and it receives to it's arms all of those
who despair of our institutions and
insist on finding a remedy at hand.
This practice of indiscriminate
abuse, defamation, vilification and in
dictment so characteristic of our day,
may be the penalty of freedom of
speech and freedom of the press. Much
of the abuse which is expressed SO
vehemently may be deserved. The
| truth or the falsehood of the accusa-
tons with which we are familiar has
no bearing on the sociological impor-
lance of the fact itself. In addition,
the facts themselves in our modern
social condition, the undeniable indus
trial, political and journalistic usur-
patfons of capital which are as ap-
palling in their magnitude as they are
disconcerting in their consequences,
serve to disturb the confidence of the
most conservative of us, in certain
features of the present social order.
There is a small class in the country
possessed of culture, wealth and leis-
ure who take little interest in govern
ment at all, provided their income and
pursuits remain secure, but it is a
matter of everyday experience that for
most of us government is becoming
daily more and more important. We
are discovering our helplessness at
every point and the need of govern
mental protection in all questions OF
labor, of trade, Of social activity, and
even unfortunately Of home life.
/ Now, il we take an enormous social
class which discovers daily increasing
| dependence on our institutions, laws
and leaders, and we rob them of their
confidence in these, we drive them di-
rectly toward despair in our institu-
lions and we prepare their souls adj
mirably for the propaganda of social
ism. Hence, it seems clear that this
situation is contributing much more
to the development of socialism than
most of us imagine, and it IL paralyz-
\ ing the efforts that many Of Us are