The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1917-10-06
LEADER OF THE CENTER PARTY

ford to send him to college. A we'll
to-do friend came to his relief, paid
the boys bills at Freiburg, and gave
him his chance in life. Erzberger
made a specially of political law and
economy at the Swiss University and
then went back to Wurttemburg as a
teacher. 1t was at this time-thc
early nineties-that the Christian
labor union movement was beginning
to make history, and Erzbcrger took
a very active part in that movement
He was really more of a Socialist
during this period of his development
than 'Clerical'-5o much SO, in fact,
that in 1897 he was a delegate to the
international congress at: Zurich.
After this hes became connected with
several organizations of a social
political nature, and began to gain nc
tice as powerful public speaker. He
was member of the st. Augustin
Society for the Protection Of Catholic
Germany and exerted considerable
influence on the doings of that or
ganiZation.
In 1908, when he won his election
to the Reichstag, he entered that body
as Centrist, and has ever since been
looked upon as one of the brainieSt
members of the Catholic party. He
is one of group inside a group who
are known as the new men of the
Center"
The transcripts contributor prob
Iably regarded the word ''interna
tional' as synonymous with Social
istic," not knowing the true character
of the international labor conference
at Zurich in 1897.
Erzberger was member of the Au-
gustinus-Verein for the promotion of
the Catholic press, not for the pro
lection of Catholic Germany"
The Center a Peoples Party.
The Transcript writer's notion of
| the character of the Center party is
incorrect. The Center party was or
ganized as a political, not strictly re-
| ligious, party in the days of the Kul-
turkampf (1S71-1S78). Bismarck tried
to detach the Catholic Church of Ger
many from the rest of the Catholic
world and convert it into a nation
al institution. The Center Party
lespoused the cause Of religious free
dom, and while the Kulturkampf was
most violent, its activities were natur-
ally more of a religious nature. How
lever, the Center party had inherited
from Bishop Won Ketteler a construc-
| tive program of social reform.
| A few months after the death of
Bishop Ketteler, on March 19, 1877, his
nephew Count Won Galen, member of
the Center party, submitted the first
bill dealing with labor legislation that
had ever been introduced in the
Reichstag. The Government and the
other parties rejected the proposal as
an unheard of innovation. Five years
later, in 1882, the Center party, in the
person of Freiherr Won Hertling, the
present premier of Bavaria, asked the
| Governm to enact legislation en-
| forcing Sunday rest and restricting
the labor of women. Prince Bismarck
denied the request.
i Undaunted, the leaders of the Cen
. ltI party Ill IH6 IlSICHoLdS VI
l1SS4-85, submitted a more detailed
draft of labor legislation, adding to
the previous demands further provi-
sions for the restriction of child labor
and the shortening of the hours of
i labor of adult male laborers. In the
meantime, the Government had laid
i the foundations for a social insurance
system, but the Center party's demand
was not complied with until in 1891
the Government enacted sweeping
labor legislation. Thus for thirteen
years, the Center party had pressed
! the Government year after year until
the latter was finally forced to yield.
To refer to the Center party as hav-
ing been at one time an ultra-con-
seryative and reactionary party be-
trays gross ignorance of the history
of German social legislation. The
/ Center party was in the days Of
/ Windthorst what it is today-a re-
) form party which stands for civil and
: religious liberty, and social justice.