Views of the Labor Movement [pp. 784-798]

786 Views of the Labor.~Jovement.
becoming less and less in the hands of root or support in religion. A polithose who produce it, and is growing tical economist will protest against
larger and larger in the hands of cun- working-men's combinations to raise
fling or lucky exploiters. the price of labor. A Christian de The variety of opinions with regard plores the attempts of socialists to esto what the remedy should be has tablish institutions from which God
produced correspondingly various in- is excluded. A sectarian sees with
stitutions, parties; and laws. So we pain the success of charities founded
have (i) poor laws, vagrant laws, by other congregations. The Roman
work-houses and refbrmatory prisons, Catholic (as such) must also have his
for juvenile delinquents and others; opinions of the relative merits of the
(2) charity hospitals, asylums for the corporations that appear to him to rise
widows, il~e orphans, the deaf and sometimes out of the sea of sin, and
dumb, the blind, the crippled, the sometimes out of the waters of life. ~Ve,
aged, the infirm, or the insane; warm- for ourselves, have some peculiar ideas,
ing-houses, - lying-in hospitals, poor gathered from this point of view.
mothers' cradle-houses, gratuitous It would be vain obduracy on the
sleeping-halls, soup-houses, asylums part of a Catholic to close his eyes to
for unruly or destitute children of both the deep and wide-spread clamor of
sexes, gratuitous dispensaries of medi- the voices, great and small, that are
cines, Magdalen reformatory houses, now discussing "social science," and
Sisters of Charity, Brothers of Mercy, proposing solutions of the "labor
Little Sisters of the Poor, Christian question." These matters, in every
Brothers' schools, public schools, etc.; imaginable manner, are obtruding
(3) visiting confraternities to bring suc- themselves upon the attention of the
cor home to the poor, such as fuel- manufacturer, politician, and legislagiving, furnishing provisions or nurs- tor; and must soon command that of
ing, and prison-visiting societies; (4) the ftirmer and merchant; and by
organizations to support charitable in- and by, even the solicitude of the
stitutions by means of fairs, lotteries, church. Indeed, we should not say
concerts, spectacles, picnics, tourna- "by and by;" for already, while the
ments, and other amusements; (5) woild is agitated by the strikes and
labor-protective unions, workmen's the labor congresses, while the parliaguilds and fellowships, trades-unions ment of Great Britain, through its
and labor combinations, savings committees, is carrying on the minubanks, co6perative factories, co5pera- test investigations of the eight-hour
tive stores, mutual aid societies, burial and higher wages movements, our
societies, labor reform party; (6) holy father at Rome has pronounced
Shaker, Rappist, Moravian, and Bal- public allocutions against socialism.
louite communities; (7) Owenite liar- Very certainly society, the state, and
monias, Cabetite Fami7isteries, I~ouner- the church will soon deeply feel the efite ~haianste~ias, women's rights so- fects of the agitation ofmind and feeling
cieties, Mormon harems, and artist~c going on among the working people.
brothels of complex association. The allocution of his holiness shows
Every one who reads this list will that this consequence has not escaped
find in it the mention of some institu- his penetrating intellect. He sees cleartion he believes to be either useless or ly that the agitation will be injurious
pernicious. The objections would be or produce beneficial results accordcuriously heterogeneous. An infidel ing to the principles, Christian or antiwould suppress all those having their christian, that shall prevail within it