The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1918-11-16


the rain actually falling, must be al
trial of faith; yet on two Sundays
the faith and devotion of a large num-
Der of hop pickers stood the test.
Hundreds of them were, present at
the Masses said at the various GEN.
tiers. Most of these Catholic hop pick
ers came from the East End of London
-Whitechapel, Mapping, Poplar, Ber-
mondsey, Tower Hill and so forth;
and the general feeling of those who
witnessed these Sunday Masses in the
wet fields was that the East End
clergy may well be proud of many of
their parishioners." ~. q
The missionary work among hop
pickers in England is an interesting
illustration of combined lay and cler-
ical effort in behalf of seasonal labor
ers, says the Central Bureau pamphlet.
Bertrand w. Devas, in a pamphlet en-
titled, Work in the Hop Gardens,
published by the Catholic Truth So
ciety (England), prefaces his treatise
with the following sentences: In
the year 1904 the Bishop of Southwark
visited Maidstone during the hopping
season and became acquainted with
the conditions under which the pickers
live and work in that part of Kent.
The Anglican locum tenens of a neigh
boring parish took the opportunity OF
writing to the Bishop to inform him
of the number of Catholics engaged in
the gardens, and to suggest that the
Franciscans-whom, as a High Church
man, he seems to have known we'll.
should undertake an annual mission.
The vicar was not very. pleased with
the action of his subordinate, but the
Bishop made the suggested applica-
ton to the provincial and received the
promise that a mission would be sent
out the following year" Thus Mr..
Devas sketches the beginnings of the
work, to the latest evidence of which
the Universe refers in the item quot,
ed. -.
The friars we're greatly assisted at
that time by the laity, particularly the
tertiaries. In 1905 a small band OF
priests, nuns ladies and laymen es-
tablished themselves in Kent at the
beginning of the hop-picking season.
The mission was made a permanent
institution and was extended outside
the boundaries of Kent. AT a pro-
vincial chapter of the Franciscan Fri
ars of the Capuchin Reform held on
September 8, 1905, it was decided that
an annual mission to hop pickers
should form part of the regular work
of the Order in that country; and by
the end of the same season, those
who had personally engaged on the
mission determined that an essential
part of their work should be to follow
up in London, as far as possible, the
cases of lapsed or negligent Catholics
whom they had met in Kent.
In 1906 it was discovered, largely
through the efforts of lay helpers.
termed scouts" that a large number
of the hop pickers were Catholics.
These were ~canvassed and told when
| and where Mass would next be cele-
brated. This work of the men was
supplemented by that of the ladies',
| w LOAS IL pASNCAp LII AouASo VI
| the Mass" and who conducted a hos
pital tent or hospital cottage, sold
milk in the evenings, provided and
| superintendent reading rooms and
rooms for letter writing, and through
a so-called St. Claire's fund and by
friendly advice, aided in the protec-
ton of girls who lived amid difficult
home surroundings. Ladies and men
workers supplied entertainments, and,
under careful supervision, aided the
poor in a material way. All of these
undertakings assisted the mission
work of the Friars, who, as We have
seen above, have continued the bene.
ficent spiritual labors begun thirteen
years ago.
The suggestion offers itself that sim.
liar work should be taken up more
energetically in our own country. The
hop fields of Washington, the pea
fields, the beet fields, the strawberry
patches and peach orchards-all Of
these offer splendid opportunities fol-
religious and social endeavor by the
American clergy and laity. Many can
neries, quarries and section camps or
railroads supply another problem o.
similar nature, as do also other sorts
of seasonal labor which involve mi
grafton of the workers. Surely WI
should not neglect such excellent OPP
p%ortunities for wholesome construc
tive effort.
II LIT %