The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1916-02-12
WORLD PROBLEM DISCUSSED.
Noted Lecturer Urges Social Reform
and Living Wage For Workers.

Peter w. Collins, noted lecturer
and sociological worker, who spoke
under the auspices of the Knights OF
Columbus at the local courthouse last
Sunday night with Whats Wrong
with the World" as his subject, de-
clared that "a lack of harmony, that
quality emphasized in the Bible and
by the educators of the ages as the
most vital part of the worlds life,
is responsible for most of the ills OF
our social structure. 'The real cure,
or remedy, for this condition is the IN
stilling into the hearts Of the men and
women of the world that love Of GOD,
Of country, and of neighbor which is
so essential to the well-being Of the
universe
Notwithstanding the fact that q
heavy shower of rain came up short
Ily before the hour set for the begin
ming of the lecture, the district court
room was filled with large and rep
resentative audience when Mr.. Col
Inns was introduced by Attorney r. j.
Chauvin, grand knight OF Ascension
Council, Knights Of Columbus. Speak
| ing in forceful and convincing man
ner. the lecturer held the undivided
attention Of his audience throughout
and was frequently applauded.
A spirit Of wider liberation must
be cultivated as a remedy for the
evils which spring from lack OF har-
mony between peoples, races and
creeds. Mr.. Collins declared. Among
some of the evils which should be
eradicated, he mentioned: the ease
with which marriage ties are cast
aside, the lack of religious liberation,
the conflict between labor and capital,
the failure Of workingmen to get a
living wage, the blight of child labor,
unemployment, and the disregard
shown in America for the lives and
safety of industrial workers.
Mr.. Collins prefaced his talk by an
expose of the fallacies of the popular
conception of socialism, which he de-
cIared had been advanced as an ans
wer to the question, whats wrong
with the world?" but the doctrines OF
which, based as they are upon lnhdei-
! ity and atheism, strike at the very
! foundation of our social structure.
The speaker then went on to show
that while socialism purports to be a
movement from the people for the
people and by the people, its doctrines
are absolutely contrary to the spirit
and feelings Of the people; that a
movement which has as its basis the
| denial of the existence of God and ad-
yocates the abolition of those instl-
buttons upon which Christian civili-
cation is based, could not have origi-
mated with the people, whose natural
inclinations, whose hopes, whose as
pirat;ons are contravened by the be-
| liefs upon which socialism is founded.
Socialism did not come from the
people, but originated with people who
/ were not workers. Mr.. Collins here
named the leaders of socialism, none
of whom, he said, was working man.
Socialism, spoken of accidentally
4 as the 3materialistic conception of his
tory" is in reality in6deldy and athe-
ism, Mr.. Collins asserted. He declar-
ed that if the working people were
4 aware of the real nature of its doc
trines they would be the last to ac-
cept the teachings of its leaders.
Speaking of the divorce evil, the
speaker said that out of every IL mar
riages in America, one divorce results,
and that in some parts of the country
there is one divorce for every four
marriages. Divorce, which means the
disruption of the home, the breaking
up of that institution, the family,
which is the very keystone of our
Christian social structure, was strong
\ l., NJ
Capital and labor should not be in
constant conflict and the interests of
each suffer by such antagonism, Mr..
Collins asserted. Capital and labor
are interdependent and the cultiva-
ton Of spirit of wise liberation was
the remedy suggested for reconcilia-
ton between the two.
4 Mr.. Collins then touched upon the
employment Of child labor and the in
difference shown in America to the
safety Of the industrial workers. He
declared that 1000 men and women
workers are killed every year in the
United States and 100000 are injur-
ed. He then showed that in Euro
pean countries such appalling loss of
4 life in peaceful occupations does not
occur.
4 The results of an experiment con-
Quoted by the government in which
5000 postofices acted as free en-
ployment bureaus and secured en-
ployment for 10000 persons were the
subject of comment. This plan was
Heartily endorsed, and the speaker
declared that with the $4,000 postof-
fees in the United States acting as
employment bureaus one of the evils
of American society, unemployment,
would be greatly lessened.
MANY of these evils may be cured,
or remedied, by conferences between
capital and labor" said Mr.. Collins.
"Others may be cured by legislation,
But above all every one of us should
have that love of God, of country and
of neighbor which is so essential
There are two things upon which So
ciety must stand in the United States
a love of God and of country. We
have a wonderful nation, consisting
as it does of 100000 square miles
| of territory, and there should not be
room on one foot of our fair land for
bigotry or hatred, racial or religious
strife. BY conscientious effort we
may cure the evils that now confront
the nation, which is our own country
and no matter who our fathers were
or where we came from to this coun.
try, as Americans we owe allegiance
to only one flag and one country, the
Sfars and Sfr;yoc