The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1914-10-10

by the unfortunate classes in re-
gard to law, morality and justice
Many of them profess to regard
these words as no more than
names for the devices which the
more cunning and successful
criminals make use Of for their
own protection. The culprit in
Jail says that these words are the
clever talk of the criminals who
have done worse than themselves
and managed to get away with it
Keep right with hypocritical pub
lie opinion and you may stay out.
side the prison walls. The strong
and the clever win in this world
no matter how INSCRIPTIONS they
may be. Might is right; and, il
there be a God, He is on the side
Of the big guns and the big bat,
talions.
1t is unfortunately true that
the submerged elements of society
have no need to invent these ter
rible theories for themselves
They find them in the cheap press
down to which they percolate
stripped of all elegant phrases
from the books and the lectures
Of certain class Of university
professors. Today, there is a
conspiracy afoot to destroy the
reverence for religion, for law,
for right, for conscience, which
Christianity has planted deep in
the human heart. Many men are
trying to make it fashionable and
respectable to doubt about the ex-
istence Of God, the sacredness of
human life and responsibility and
the Immortality of the human
soul.
In popular stories and magazine
articles, intended for every per-
son who is able to read, we find
the crudest Darwinism boldly adj
vanced. The writer's seem quite
unaware that any enlightened
man today denies that we are
brutes by descent and shall die
and perish absolutely, like those
alleged brutal ancestors Of ours
They indulge in the boldest sneers
at the Bible, at prayer, at marri-
age and all self denying virtue.
They glorify mere brute strength
and diabolical cunning, as if they
were the best things in human
character and conduct. And all
this popular writing, forming the
favorite reading Of the classes
from which the ranks Of the Grim
mails are mainly recruited, is just
the translation into popular Ian
guage of the ideas Of men who
claim to represent the best
thought and the most advanced
science Of the day, and whose
position in university chairs and
editorial sanctums lends some
color to their claims.
Thus the criminal comes to the
conclusion that he has merely
lost in a fight with a stronger and
cleverer brute than himself. The
pack that he tackled was toe
much for him. When he gets out
of prison, he will be more care
full not to go straight, but to hide
his crookedness. SO long as his
mind is darkened and misled by
the demoralizing ideas that pass
for modern enlightenment, it is
futile to think of any real reforma-
ton for him.
All men must come back to
the old notions. All power is
from God and he who violates
just laws is going against God
and must pay the penalty. Sin
ners must be taught to realize
the evil of their sin and the jus,
tice of their penalty. That reali,
cation, painfully acquired, is the
true basis for permanent reforma,
ton. Without it, severity can
only brutalize and eXasperate and
confirm the hopeless criminal in
his warfare against society. With
it, there is room for kindness, fol
mercy and for hope. And it is
as necessary for those who are
outside the prison gates as fol-
those who are within. We all
need the mercy Of God and owe q
debt to His justice. And today we
owe this especially, that we dc
what we can to keep before our.
selves and others the important
truth that crime offends God Who
is always very near, Who is all
holy as well as all-merciful, anC
Who is always ready to make us
strong against temptation.
With all our boosted progress
we have not seen down to the
depths of our own mysterious ma
ture, and we have not always rea
liked the sacredness of conscience
and of duty. If we would reform
the prisoner, if we would reform
ourselves, we must discourage thu
immoral propaganda which makes
of life a game wherein there arr
No rules and brute strnnpth ami