The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-05-16
By WILLIAM z. DUNN.

sion Of which the Catholic hierarchy
are past masters, upon the rest Of the
American populace.
Two American cardinals where but
one grew before; red hats, red
robes, papal blessings and papal
knighthoods; stately ceremoniaIs and
parades, high masses and incense,
children with flowers singing songs
of praise-each child, incidentally, dis
playing badge on which is a picture
of one or both of the new church dig
nitaries and which sells for ten cents.
The church does not forget the pen
MES of the poor even when it pulls off
a well-staged program with marked
political angle.
Religion and Politics.
DELIGION and politics are never
N very far apart in the Catholic
church at any time but with the crea-
ton of two American cardinals in the
persons of Hayes and Mundelein, the
two questions are so close together
that Communion wafer could not be
thrust between them.
1T is all rather obvious-as obvious
1 as the reasons for the publicity
given the whole process of cardinal
creation by the Hearst papers in a
country in which there are some 49,
100000 Catholics.
|HURING the war and the period Of
- intense revolutionary activity that
followed it, the vatican fell upon evil
days. The faithful wanted bread and
peace and land and the church could
not give. them these things and remain
a ruling power. The Catholic empire
Of Austria-Hungary crumbled; Poland,
despite her new-found independence,
was in the throes of revolt; the Italian
workers were driving towards revolu-
ton and in no spot in Europe could
the vatican see any hope for the es-
tablishment of that temporal power
which it has never ceased to claim
and enforce at the slightest opportuni.
ty.
When Revolt Was Checked.
for while to rock the founda-
tons of European capitalism and there
set in a period of apathy and hope
lessness which the vatican was not
slow to take advantage of. 1t made
peace with the French government
and for the first time since the expul-
sion of the monks, there is a French
ambassador at the vatican; Cardinal
Ratti-now pope-went to Poland as
an emissary of the French government
and helped to organize the offensive
against the workers and peasants
government of Russia; came theNFas-
cist counter-revolution in Italy and
once more the vatican had a friend at
court in the person Of Mussolini; in
Germany the Catholic party, particu-
larly in Bavaria, dreams with inspira-
ton from the vatican, of new Cath
olic empire in Europe. Perhaps Po-
land and Bavaria, they say, can unite
under the banner of the papacy with
Czecho-Slovakia and the remnants of
Austria to give once more political
backing to the ambitious keeper of
Peters keys.
DUT bankrupt nations need money
- first and the House of Morgan
from which the money has come and
by which more is promised-loans to
France, to Czecho-Slovakia, to Poland
and tie proposed loan to Germany, the
loan to the Fascist government of
Italy--is the fiscal agent of the vati-
can in the United States.
"America First"
THE Catholic church has decided to
pay some attention to the United
States for the reasons implied above:
it is today the only stable capitalist
nation where there are any large num-
Der of Roman Catholics; the creation
of princess of the church among the
clergy and knights of st. This and
That among the laity is a good meth
cd of bringing into line many Ameri-
cans who, as a nation are among the
worst truckers to titles at large, de-
spite their boosted love for democracy.
THE proposed Morgan loan to Ger
1 many has received the endorse
ment of the vatican, Morgan himself
has made a pilgrimage to Rome, but
there are several millions of people in
the United States who look askance
at the project and who fear that the
same result that followed similar
loans to the allied governments dur
ing the war. will now accrue from this
one. The backing of the House of
Morgsu in this new imperialistic adj
venture by the American government
is matter on which the American
masses have not expressed themselves
as yet, but which will soon be a burn
ing issue in the coming presidential
campaign.
Where Religion Comes In.
XkIHAT better method could be de-
Wv vised to secure sanction Of this
slave scheme by the dupes OF the vati-
can than to make it a religious issue
with the vatican expressing the wish
I n.