The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-01-02
Catholic Thought And Opinion
 By REV. JOSEPH F. DONNELLY
ERROR OF THE PAST

One of the great errors that dom. mate the economic life of the eight. eenth century in our country was the notion that government should keep out of economic life. It was ex- pressed in that catch phrase; That government is best which governs least" It made the government a policeman who should preserve law and order so that each individual might be free to pursue his par ticular economic objective.
 But Leo XIII wrote: whenever the general interest of any par ticular class suffers. or is threat ened with, evils which can in no other way be met, the public au- thority must step in to meet them"
 Tn other countries the reaction came sooner, but in our country we officially rejected this false mo- tion in 1892. The government must protect and promote the general welfare. In other countries govern ments went to the other extreme; they would not simply interfere to protect the welfare of the people but they insisted on regulating everything, and we had the up- surge of the totalitarian states. In our country in the early thirties we had to give the Government emer- gency powers to cope with the great depression. In the late thirties we were trying to decide how much power must be left to the State when war came and again we said the state must gear all that is necessary to the winning of the war. THE PROBLEM
 The problem ahead of us both now and at the end of the war, is the decision or how much we must leave to the Government and how much the people can do themselves The rule that will guide us must be the promotion of the common welfare by the people themselves. where possible and through crgan- izationS directed to that end, but where necessary, through the direct action of the Government.
 THE GENERAL WELFARE
 Essential to the general welfare is the opportunity of q decent hu- man life for each and for all of the people, and it is sound Catholic social teaching that, not only is 1t the right but it is the duty of the state to provide for all the needs of a decent life for the people when the economic life of the nation eith- CT cannot or will not provide it.
 So many make loose charges Of socialism to propose legislated so- cial aids which most often have be- come the duty of the state because of the selfishness and injustice of our social order.
 Our duty in life is to save our souls and get back to Gcd through the practice of good moral life. Morality does not thrive in poverty and insecurity. Many times these make it morally impossible for some to live decent life. Then 1t be- comes the moral duty of the state to legislate away such evils.
 WHAT ENGLAND DOES
 In legislating for the assistance of the underprivilcged we in America have made great strides in recent years. We may have long way to go, however, if the social provisions of England are an indication.
 There nine persons out of ten are insured against sickness and unem- ployment, and the first provisions of this kind in England were made in 1911.
 A national health insurance plan gives free medical treatment and medicine and allows the patient to choose his own doctcr. There are maternity benefits and sickness and inability benefits for those who cannot work.
 There has been a school medical service there for 35 years. Since 1906 free meals have been served to school children. Today one child in five receives such meals and eight out of every ten receive milk at school. The national government meets 95 per cent of this cost.
 Housing projects have rehoused one-third of the population since 1919 and rents are adjusted down. ward to meet the size of the fam lilies.
 Large tracts of land have been bought for the recreational uses of the people.
 The blind are given a pension at 40.
 And all this ante dated the war. Today those who have been perma- rently injured in air-raids get pen sions and private property loses are covered by compulsory insurance.
 In 1890 the annual expenditure per head for social services was $3: in 1886 1t was $40. Almost 10 per cent of the national income went for such services in 1887.