Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1919-09-03
man Is blinded who after long con-
finement in darkness comes sudden

generations have walked in the light
with the strong wine Of freedom
these men who until they landed on
Americas coasts has tasted little but
the bitter water Of tyranny. Drunk,
they presume to impose their reeling
gait upon Americans to whom free
dom has been pure and refreshing
fountain for century and a half.
Brooding in the gloom Of age-long
fantastic and distorted image Of free
government. In fatuous effrontery
they seek to graft the growth Of their
stunted vision upon the splendid and
ancient tree OF American institu-
tons. Admitted in generous trust
to the hospitality Of Ams2 .ea, they
grossly violate not only the dIota,eS
Of common gratitude, but of those
elementary rules of respect and con-
| sideration which immemorial custom
| imposes upon the newcomer or guest.
| They seek, indeed, to uproot the
foundations Of the very house which
gave them shelter.
| We will not have it so, we in the
ranks Of labor Who are American by
birth or by adoption. We reject
these impudent pretensions. We pro-
pose to move forward and upward,
but we shall proceed by the chart Of
reason, experience and tested Ameri-'
can principles and doctrines, and not
entrust our ship to demagogues,
visionaries or shallow sentimental
lists who would steer it on the rocks.
Strident voices Of the fomenters
of unrest do not cause ME any seri-
Gus apprehension. Changes we
ought to have; changes we shall
have. Where there are grievances to
redress, where there are wrongs ex-
listing, we must all aid in trying to
right them to the best Of our con-
science and ability. To the extent
that social and economic institutions,
however deep and ancient their roots
may be found to stand in the way OF
the highest achievable level of So
able extension Of opportunity, well
fare and contentment, they will have
to submit to change. And the less
obstructive and stubborn, the more
broadminded, cooperative, sympa-
thetic and disinterested those who
pre-eminently prospered under the
old conditions will prove themselves
in meeting the spirit Of the new day
and the reforms which it may justly
call for, the better it will be both
| for them and the community at
! large.
Society,"" said Pope XIII, "can be
healed in no other way, than by
| return to Christian life and Christian
institutions" The truth of these
words is more widely perceived to-
day than when they were written,
more than twenty-seven years ago.
Changes in our economic and poll
teal system will have only partial
and feeble efficiency if they be not
reinforced by the Christian view Of
work and wealth. No program of
betterment will prove reasonably ef-
fective without reform in the spirit
OF both capital and labor. The labor
er must come to realize that he owes
his employer and society an honest
days work in return for fair wage,
and that conditions cannot be sub
stantially improved until he roots
out the desire to get q maximum of
return for minimum of service.
The capitalist must likewise get q
new viewpoint. He needs to learn
the long-forgotten truth that wealth
is stewardship; that profit-making is
not the basic justification Of busi-
ness enterprise, and that there are
such things as fair profits, fair in
terest and fair prices. Above and
before all, he must cultivate and
strengthen within his mind the truth
which many OF his class have already
begun to grasp, namely that the
laborer is human being, not merely
an instrument of production, and
that the laborer's right to decent
livelihood is the first moral charge
upon industry.
| | shall work with all my strength
to bring about changes as the needs
OF the people become apparent. |
| shall earnestly strive to realize what