The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1915-08-07
THE DECAY OF HOME LIFE-ITS
CHIEF CAUSE.

The Rev. Lucian Johnston takes up
the subject of the decay of home-life,
especially in it's relation to the indus
trial conditions which surround us.
Father Johnston. refuses to trace
this decay chiefly to modern indus
trial conditions.
81 find" he writes, "that the decay
of hone-life and the decrease in the
size of families have at bottom a spir-
itual cause primarily, that is, lack of
faith or love of God, selfishness, love
of Injuries, a passion for excitement,
want of love for the soberer though
more enduring joys of home
He continues:
Casually running over the list Of
families which / have ministered to
for over twenty years, | can without
the slightest hesitation say the fol-
lowing:
First, the home life is specially
wanting where the people are quite
wealthy; and, as everybody knows,
there also the children are fewer.
Surely we can dismiss the industrial
pressure in such cases.
Secondly, there is a sufficient
abundance of worldly goods almost in
variably wherever there are thrift,
willingness to do hard work, spirit of
mutual cooperation consequent upon
a spirit of self-sacrifice, a sensible
contentment with the simple joys of
the freside Cor heater, as you
please), deep religious sense of
moral obligations and regular observ-
ance of religious duties, and lastly, a
genuine love between husband and
<sfife which causes a spiritqDf gentle
ness and affection among the children.
There are exceptions, of course. But
such has been nay experience in sew
eral parishes that included all man
ner of peoples from the very rich
down to mill workers. On the other
hand, wherever | found financial mis-
cry and restitution, found shiftless-
ness and laziness and carelessness in
the practice of religious duties, gen.
eral lack of character, a lack of con-
jugal love, spirit of discord-and
so on.
Thirdly, as to large families, can
didly, | cannot see lin actual expert
ence) any connection between large
families and poverty, enough, anyhow,
to blame small families upon indus
trial conditions. Everybody knows,
of course, that the family becomes
small precisely in proportion as you
get up into, the weather. classes.
Strange, is it not, that most people
forget such an obvious fact when dis
cussing this questions?
'But, it will be argued, how about
the miserable poverty of those with
large families? l simply deny the
assumption. Again, record my own
experience as priest with a priests
exceptional opportunities for exact OBJ
servation. And l can say without
hesitation that in the parishes where
| have labored the large families were
fully as well off financially as we're
the small ones. In fact, might haz-
ard the statement, that, if there were
any difference in general welLbeing,
the difference was in favor of large
families. And l think the reason is
not hard to see. Large families
really require that very self-sacrif1ce
and thrift and industry and mutual
love above mentioned in order to
succeed. Whereas small family is
mostly the result of a general selfish
ness and love of luxury which are
only too apt to make married couple
live beyond their means or at least
save nothing"