The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1919-02-21
Catholic Bishops Recommend Eventual
Participation By Labor in Owner
ship of All Industries

nance Ill RSHeIdl VI lHe wage LEVELS
attained during the war and perma-
nent establishment of the National
War Labor Board and the United
States Employment Service were ad-
vocated as essentials of just recon-
struction in report made public to-
day by four Catholic Bishops, consti-
tuting the Administrative Committee
of the National Catholic War Coun-
Gil.
While favoring, in the interests of
health and morality, prohibition of
child labor and reduction to the small
est practical limits of the employ
ment of women in industry, the com
mittee urged equal pay for women do
ing equal work with men. 1t declared
also for insurance of workers against
illness, old age and unemployment
until wages are high enough to tide
over such periods, for abolition of
monopolies, for continuance of heavy
taxes on large incomes and excess
profits, for cooperative merchandise
ing in necessities to reduce the cost
of living and for Government assisted
colonization Of unoccupied farm lands
by demobilized soldiers and sailors.
AS a measure outside its present
reconstruction program, but of value
in solving the problems of capital and
labor, the committee urged gradual
participation by labor in the manage
ment and eventually in the ownership
of industry.
The report was issued in the names
of Bishops Peter j. Muldoon of Rock
ford, ILL.,; Joseph Schrembs of Toledo,
O.; VIM. T. Russell of Charleston, S.
c., and Auxiliary Bishop Patrick j.
Hayes of New York.
Deep Unrest a Menace"
Declaring that the deep unrest"
so emphatically and widely voiced
throughout the world is a most Sc
rious menace, the Bishops held up
social justice and a contented peo-
pie" as the only safeguard of peace.
The Bishops rated the National
War Labor Board as zone of the
most beneficial governmental organi-
cations of the war" Its efforts they
asserted, had prevented innumerable
strikes and raised wages to decent
levels in many industries"
ats main guiding principles" the
report continued, "have been family
living wage for all male adult labor
crs; recognition of the right of labor
to organize, and to deal with employ
ers through its chosen representa-
tives; and no coercion of non-union
laborers by members of the union.
The War Labor Board ought to be
continued in existence by Congress,
and endowed with all the power for
effective action that it can possess I'M
der the Federal Constitution. The
principles, methods, machinery and re-
suits of this institution constitute a
definite and far-reaching gain for So
cial justice, No part Of this advan-
tage should be lost or given up in
time of peace"
While holding that "merc justice,
to say nothing of chivalry," dictates
that women who filled in industry
the places made vacant by men called
to war "should not be compelled to
suffer any greater loss or inconveni-
encc than is absolutely necessary" in
the REIMBURSEMENT under peace condi-
tions, the report declared that no fe-
male worker should remain in an oc-
cupation harmful to health or morals.
In this classification, street car ope-
ration and the cleaning Of locomotives
were especially mentioned.
The committee asserted that in a |
few industries directly connected with
the carrying on Of the war, wages had |
reached a plane upon which they |
could not possibly continue for this |
grade Of occupation" but declared |
that "the general level of wages at
tanned during the war should not be
lowered" The average rate of pay,
it was stated, had not increased fast
er than the cost of living, and a con-
siderable majority of wage earners,
both men and women, were not re-
ceiving living wages when prices be-
gan to rise in 1915.
Against General Reduction
To support its contention that "on
the grounds both of justice and sound
economics we should give our hearty
support to all legitimate efforts made
by labor to resist general wage reduc-
tons, even when the cost of living re-
cedes from it's present high level" the
said:
"Even if the great majority of
workers were now in receipt Of more
than living wages, there are no good
reasons why rates Of pay should be
lowered. After all, living wage is
not necessarily the full measure of
justice. All the Catholic authorities
ON the subject explicitly declare that
this is only the minimum of justice.
In country as rich as ours there are
very few cases in which it is possible
to prove that the worker would be
getting more than that to which he
has right if he were paid something
in excess of this ethical minimum
Why, then, should we assume that
this is the normal share Of almost the
whole laboring population? Since
our industrial resources and instru-
mentalities are sufficient to provide
more than living wage for a very
large proportion of the workers, why
should we acquiesce in theory which
denies them this measure of the COM
forts Of life! Such policy is not on
Iy Of very questionable morality, but
ls unsound economically. The large
demand for goods which is created and
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