Evening star., 1939-07-31
T.. u. Audience Hears
Distribution Called
Prime Problem
DR.. Haas Says 1t, and Not
Producing Of Goods, Is
The Immediate Task

The immediate task of the Amer
lean people. the Right Rev. Msgr.
Francis j. Haas told an assembly at
the Catholic University of America
last night, 'is not so much how to
produce goods as to get produced
goods into the hands of the great
mass of our population"
DR.. Haas, dean Of the School Of
Social Science at the university, ad-
dressing attendants of one Of a
series of golden jubilee lectures ar
ranged for the institutions summer
session, contended that govern
mental obliteration of individual
rights in the world today is basically
economic in origin.
ASK which nations of Europe
since 1919 have suffered most from
human miSeries arising out Of in
Sufferable economic conditions" he
said, "and you find the answer in
the totalitarian states of today.
Then ask if we, as people, suffering
from similar economic injustice,
would be less likely to adopt similar
measures of what We thought might
be relief"
In order to obtain more wide
spread distribution of produced
goods DR.. Haas suggested that all
able and industrious citizens should
be provided with adequate buying
power. But first. he continued, I'VE
must undo the evils caused by long
years of short-sighted social and
economic policy = and to undo
these evils in democracy is a mat
ter of education"
Plea for Link to Church.
II education is to accomplish this
purpose, he maintained, it must give
up its role of "limping follower of
events" and once again become a
leader. Educators are faced with
the responsibility of harmonizing
into single unifying force the five
primary agencies of education-the
family, the school, the church, the
Government, the occupation-he
said.
Catholic University at the open
ing of its golden jubilee, he ex-
planned, has begun program for
teaching Christian democracy in
Catholic schools.
The objectives of the Catholic COL
lege in the field of social sciences
DR.. Haas declared, are:
/. Teaching Of social sciences ably
with emphasis upon collection and
analysis of factual evidence.
2. Study and appraisal of this evil
dence in the light of common good
and moral law.
3. Building up body of honest
and informed leaders prepared tc
serve the public interest.
Public Morality.
Catholic colleges-and the
same holds true to even a greater
degree for non-Catholic colleges,
DR.. Haas said, have not sufficiently
stressed the truth that public mo-
rality, like private morality. is a vir.
tue, and that in grave matters pub
lie immortality, like private immoral
ity, is mortal sin. You may objec
that these are matters for tht
courses in religion but not for thost
in economics or politics. If this con
tention were to be admitted, I woulc
ask why the courses in religion il
our Catholic colleges give so little
attention to development of the pub.
lie virtues and to emphasis on tht
sinfulness of wrongdoing in busines!
and political life. I believe we art
close to the true answer when W,
say that in too many instances th
teachers of religion courses and th'
authors of the text books do no
recognize-because of their own par
tial or complete lack of training il
modern social and political realitie.
the existence of tremendous NOR
al problems in public life In con-
sequence. they feel no necessity tt
apply religious teaching to thes'
problems"