Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1934-11-01

action is needed to save the city from
utter destruction. There are three
great structures on which the fire is
feeding and which must be destroyed
to save the city. These structures are
old and venerated. So long have they
stood that they have come to be looked
upon and considered as Sacred In
stitutions." They are named, profit"
Rent" and Interest" and unless
these are abolished and destroyed,
they will destroy us. Communists ad-
vOcate that they be destroyed.
Communism" -Webster defines it
as ''The doctrine of having property
in common, Socialism" Socialism and
Communism therefore have the same
end in view, namely: Common or So
cial ownership of the means of pro-
duction and distribution of wealth.
pilgrim" says that Communism
which is SocialiSm-is atheistic in
principle and that Ccmmunistic propa-
ganda is "the most Satanic" since
creation. If such statement is
grounded in fact it will be considered
a serious one, but is it so grounded?
Andrew Rasmussen writing in this
column few weeks ago quoted sew
eral passages from the New Testa-
ment to prove that not only did Jesus
teach the doctrine of common owner
ship of property but he and his dis
ciples also practiced it. Lest "Pil-
grim" should think that these pas
sages should not be literally accepted
the following church authorities have
spoken very plainly on this very sub
ject. (See Christian Century Maya
zine, October "a issue):
Bishop Clemens 1.-THE use of all
worldly things should be common to all.
1t is wrong to say, this is mine, this
else. 1t is this which has caused dis
sension among men,"
Bishop Ambrosius of Milan-"Na-
ture gave all blessings to all men in
common, for God has created all
things for the common enjoyment of
all that the earth should be common
property. Nature accordingly has ere
ated the right of common ownership,
and only unfair usurpation creates the
right to private property"
Pope Gregory the Great-"Let them
know that the earth whence they
come and from which they are made
is common to all men, and that the
fruits which the earth brings forth
should therefore belong to all without
distinction"
Bosuet, the famous Bishop of MeauX:
without the government the earth
and it's products would belong to all
men in common just as air and light.
According to the prime right of ma
ture, no one may lay claim to any,
thing. All things belong to all. From
burgeois government property derives
it's origin"
st. John ChrysOstom: ''Let no one
call anything his own. From God
have we received everything for COM
mon enjoyment and mine and thine
are words of falsehood."
st. Augustine: "Since the existence
of private property, it has brought into
the world lawsuits, hostility, dissen-
sion, war, rebellion. sin, injustice,
murder-evils that, will disappear
again by it's abolition"
Now let us add: Communism: 1.-THE
doctrine of having property in COM
mon, Socialism"
Apparently the doctrine of the
Christian church in regard to proper
ty is identically the same as the doc
trine of Communism, and far from
threatening to destroy Christianity it
offers a clear challenge to professed
Christians not only to live according
to the precepts of this doctrine but
also to work and struggle and if nee
essary to suffer and sacrifice for its
general adoption.
Communism did not destroy true re-
ligion in Russia. What it did was to
expose the Orthodox church for the
rotten sinking institution it had be-
come. Through fear and superstition
the church had kept the people in ig-
norance and submission and had lent
itself to UNFOLDING the whole rotten
the church in America shall never oc-
cupy the same position towards CAPT
talism as the Orthodox church of Rus
STA did towards Czarism.
Christianity teaches the brother
hood of man and to love thy neighbor
as myself. There is nothing whatever
in socialism which runs counter TO this
principle. Socialism is a state of
mind. Socialism has the power to in