Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1920-02-19

1 Inc observance OF Justice ana
charity must begin in the heart of
each man. Through its enactment
and sacnction law may compel us to
do what is just; it cannot force us
love one another. But the reign Of
law itself will be more complete and
secure when willing obedience does
away with the need of compulsion.
And where the rule of charity pre-
walls, justice will have no occasion
to insist on it's claims. 1t is the
same Apostle who commands that
we render to all men their dues, :"
and who adds: lowe no man any
thing, but to love one another. For
he that loveth his neighbor, hath
fulfilled the law" (Rom. XIII, 7,S).
Let us not then, wait for some
general movement that will carry us
all together along the pathway of
justice. Let us not beguile our
selves with the idea that an atmos-
phere of love will somehow be cre-
ated and spread abroad without
any thought or efforts of ours. That
blessed air of peace must spring up
first in the individual soul, and
thence diffuse itself through all our
human relations.
Marriage and Divorce
4 AS life and it's relations have their
origin in the home, whatever
strengthens the family tie will re-
dound to the good of society. On
the contrary, all those influences and
tendencies which weaken the bond
established my marriage, are per-
nicious. They destroy the home
and corrupt our social relations at
the source.
The catholic church does not and
will not sanction divorce in the abb
solute sense which permits either of
the separated parties to remarry
during the lifetime of-the other.
The ease and frequency with which
divorce of this kind is granted,
make it national scandal. The
bond, which ought to be most sac
red, is regarded by too many as a
trivial circumstance, as something
of less Importance than an ordinary
business agreement So far as this
idea prevails 1t removes the one
safeguard of decency and purity in
the sex relation. In a permanent
union, that relation possesses HUI
man character; in a temporary ar
rangement, 1t falls to the level of
animal impulse.
This degradation of marriage
leads to a more intense selfishness
by making individual pleasure or
within the one decisive factor. It
consequently tends to deaden the
spirit of charity Just where, natur-
ally, love should be strongest.
The sense of justice also will be
dulled. II the obligations assum-
ed through marriage can be so light
ly cancelled, it is hard to see what
value shall attach to other coven-
ants when these are not enforcible
by law.
The Wider Social Relations
Social intercourse, in the usual
sense, responds to demand of our
human nature. It Is an effectual
means of drawing more closely the
bonds of charity. And II often
gives occasion for joint endeavor in
furtherance of the common good.
To attain these worthy ends, So
cial enjoyment must remain within
reasonable limits. When It inter-
feres with the duties of home, 1t de-
feats its own best purpose. When
1t becomes extravagant and develops
a craze for pleasure, II is likely to
peryert the whole meaning of life A
| people that lives on excitement and
sensation will soon lose its moral
fiber. The power of endurance is
directly proportional to the power of
Eself-restraint. And this we surely
need at the present time when Am
erica is passing through the gravest
crisis in its history.
In this matter we appeal with all
possible earnestness to Catholic
women. We urge them especially
to counteract, with the force of ex-
ample, those tendencies to excess
whereby the prescriptions of plain
decency, and even the slightest re-
straints of convention too often are
disregarded. As every Catholic I'M
derstands, society, no less than its
individual members, is subject to
Gods lave Neither custom nor
fashion can justify sin. If we are
prompt to remove the causes of bod
lily disease, we should be at least
equally energetic in banishing moral
contagion.
Frequently, it is the craving for
notoriety that unbalances certain
minds. In others, fondness for
display leads to lavish expenditure
arouses the envy of the less FORUM
ate classes, spurs them to foolish
imitation, and eventually brings |
about conflict between rich and |
poor.
Industrial Relations
The disturbances from which our
industries are suffering bring home |
to all the people, in direct and prac-
hA af oh
adjustment In part, the present |
situation is due to war; but its realJ
causes lie farther back in our in
dustrial history. 1t is not merely
that unwise policies have been adopt
ed, but rather that these have been
framed upon wrong principles and
baseless assumptions
1t is an error to asscume that the
issues involved are purely economic.
They are, at bottom, moral and reli-
gious. Their settlement calls for
a clear perception of the obliga-
lions which justice and charity i'm
pose.
In urging their respective claims,
the parties, apparently, disregard
the fact that the people as whole
have prior claim. The first step,
therefore, toward correcting the evil
is to insist that the rights of the
community shall prevail, that law
and order shall be preserved and
that the public shall not be made to
suffer while the contention goes on
from one mistake to another.
The failure to reach an agree
ment is due, in large measure, to the
supposition that class is naturally
hostile to class. In truth, each needs
the other. Capital cannot do with