Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1915-11-30
:. REV. METCALF
ON SOCIALISM
Large and Appreciative Audience
Present at the Congregational
Church to Hear
Lecture.
REVIEWS MR.. COLLINS LECTURE
Since its Inception Socialism Has
Been Legitimate Dream Of
Working Man.

A large and appreciative congre-
cation listened to Rev. Arthur Met
calf Sunday night at the Congrega-
tional church as he spoke on the
question of Socialism The address
was a survey of the lecture recently
given in the opera house by Mr.. Pc
ter w. Collins under the auspices of
the Knights Of Columbus, and those
who heard both lectures feel that
Mr.. Collins was well answered. Mr..
Metcalf announced that he is not a
Socialist, but that one or two more
lectures by Mr.. Collins might con-
vert him to that faith. The minister
was fair both to Mr.. Collins and to
the Roman Catholic church. He
spoke in praise of the Roman church.
believing in it's religion, it's priests,
its reverence and its religious work.
He said that 1.-THE Menance," "Our
Sunday Visitor" and the appeal to
Reason repose in friendly fashion in
his waste paper basket, all three
largely unread, because Mr.. Metcalf
does not believe in nor practice that
kind of controversy. He said that
most priests live moral and useful
lives, and that he considered them
just as much ministers OF Jesus
Christ as he considers himself-just
as much and not one whit more.
The Freeman-Tribune would like
to be able to print verbatim report
of the lecture, since nothing short of
that can do justice to the subject or
the speaker. Rev. Metcalf took up
the main points of Mr.. Collins lect-
ure, which he characterized as being
very able and forceful. But he said
that eloquence and forceful speaking
were not argument, and Mr.. Collins
lecture was mostly an exposition Of
the reasons why the Roman Catholic
church does rot believe in Socialism.
It was clever and plausible sidestep-
ping of the real issue.
Mr.. Collins point that Socialism
did not come from the ranks OF the
working men was taken up. Karl
Marx was the real founder of mod
ern Socialism, and he was an exile
in London when he wrote most of
his books, living in a poor neighbor-
hood, without money or means. En-
gels, the able disciple of Marx, was
apprenticed to trade in Germany;
and in England while in exile he GER:
tainly lived the life, not of capital
list, but rather of working man.;
Since it's very inception Socialism
has been the legitimate dream of
working men, and it numbers in its
ranks today all over the world hun
dreds of thousands of men who earn
their living with their hands.
The contention that Socialism
would destroy the family was dealt
with by Mr.. Metcalf He quoted Mr..
Ramsay Mcdonald, one of the lead
ers Of Socialism in England: 1.-THE
idea that Socialism is opposed to the
family is absurd !" Nowhere
and at no time was the abolition or
even the weakening of the family in
corporated in the Socialists creed.
Indeed, much Of the Socialist criti-
cism has been. directed against the
debased form of the family-the
loveless marriages, the cash instead
of the affection bonds, the sale of
daughters which is so prevalent in
capitalistic and aristocratic society. |
Until women are free we cannot
know what real marriage is" Rev.
Metcalf also quoted the radical
on the question of the fam
lily: The family of today is in no.
wise inconsistent with the nature of
cooperative lAtIclOict1
the carrying into practice of So
cialist order of society does not of it.
self in any way necessitate the dis
solution Of the existing family
FORM" Back of all Socialistic criti-
cism of the family will be found to
exist great Christian ideals for the
family. Mr.. Collins. appealed to
prejudice in the matter of the moral
delinquency of professor George d.
Heron, once of Grinnell college.
Rev. Metcalf pointed out that that
was no argument. Recently a Bap-
list minister was electrocuted for the
same crime--only he failed to marry
the girl. Outside of the pages of the {
Menace one often hears of Roman K
Catholic priests who have miscom- {
ported themselves with women. But Ii
hese cases of moral delinquency are I
10 argument against Baptist minis q