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Show BISHOP SPALDING ON LABOR. PFLOBLEM ( P.o- ton Republic.) Tn proclaiming that Cod is love and that the P that .'tic loe (Jod is to he sought and found 'he oe he bears his fellowman, the Savior u-o'e.i u-o'e.i a truth which has sunk into the conscience ! ( hrisicndom and has shaped the whole course of 10- tory and ei ilizalion. 1 1 is. first ihougln is of the ,l ,ni of man. and litis must forever be the lirst ii "ii-l.t ,,f -would become good or do good. F.ui he also goes through the soul 1 ihe physical conditions of life. He feels the hungry, he heals Hi" sh-k. and give-, new hope and courage to all on vhop, lit. burdens bear with 1oo heavy a weighl. 11- has thus given the impulse to the great social niox.ment which distinguishes our age. whose pur-1 pur-1 and end is to improve the lot of those who toil, I t.ie impulse, consequently, to the movement which I ha- l,.d 1,, tl, organization of labor. In Ei?ghud. I associations (,f workmen for the purpose of selling iheir labor, were put under the ban of the law for I tie centuries: down 1o JsiM. When, however, ihe '. industrial evolution which transferred production .from the honies of ihe workers to factories, took place, reducing the laborer to the extremity of : letchencss, irade unions became an indispensable ; Jneasure of self-defense. They began in secrecy :,1d were often maintained by violence, but at I length ihey won Pderalion. and tinally. in 171. loal , 3'eeognition and ihe approval'of (he juiblii. Their l vork has in many ways been beneficent. They have promoted and facilitated factory legislation- the various nieasures to improve the environment in J which men work, 1o protect the life and health of the wage-earner, and lo shield tho honor and purity '. rf women and children. They have helped to secure f-horler hours and higher wages, and to remove oppressive op-pressive tines and penalties. They have been a cheek "it the unfairness and brutality of foremen and Posses, ihey have been a mental and moral stimulus lo their members, whom they have trained to think and act in concert. Again: Labor unioxia have cre ated Ihe most favorable conditions for the establishment estab-lishment of board of arbitration and conciliation which have averted many and great evils, and which, it is believed, can furnish the only permanent method meth-od of sctttling disputes between the employed and their employers. On the other hand, the union has been, at times, a cause of disturbance. It has, on occasions, fanned the spirit of suspicion and distrust, it lias lost sight of the common interests of owners and workers, has emphasized their conflicting claims, embittered the, struggle and precipitated strikes. The strike is its I one weapon, a weapon as dangerous to those who j wield it, and to the public and to the prosperity of Ihe nation as to the employers against whom it is drawn. It is a chance whether the strikers win or lose, but whether they win or lose, they and Iheir families suffer serious physical hardship and moral injury. The strike is not an appeal to reason and justice, but to strength and endurance, and hence it easily issues in acts of lawlessness and violence, It is at the best a hazard, and when it is associated with crime it does harm to the cause of labor hy. alienating public sympathy. It is difficult to conduct, a strike successfully, without infringing on the rights of others, particularly particu-larly on the right to work, which is fundamental. It is probable that as labor becomes more; thoroughly organized, the evil of unionism will grow less, and its beneficent action will become greater. When based on right principles and maintained without j resort to criminal measures a trade union scarcely differs from any other legitimaie joint slock association. associ-ation. It is in fact a partnership in which men who depend on the work of iheir hands for a livelihood combine to make, their labor sumeieiitly remunerative remuner-ative to enable them and iheir families to live as civilized human beings should live The oueslien of a fair wnire and of ihe American standard of living is complex and difficult, involving ns it does divers conditions, subject to many variations. varia-tions. The decent existence of the laborer and of those dependent n him should be considered- a first charge on the property or on the owner's income. It should he possible for him. thereiore. lo found n home and 1 rear and educate his children in a way I befitting five men ami Christians. lie should be on-aided, on-aided, in a measure, to secure himself and those de-i de-i pendent on him aarainsl ihe risks of sickness, indus-j indus-j trial accident and ihe helplessness and hardships of I old age, while opportunity should he afforded liim lo I partake in the general advance in knowledge and I culture of the country in which he lives. Work is j the primary and universal mcam of education, and ! an enlightrned people cannot vest content so long I as any pari of the population are condemned to labor under conditions which degrade or render iu-' iu-' tolled ual and moral growth impossible, j The right of private property is exclusive, but. ; not absolute. Property is an outgrowth of the social so-cial environment and is secured to its possessors by society. It must, therefore, he made to eout ribute to the general welfare, and more, especially to ihe welfare of those who are most immediately concerned, con-cerned, in its production. The rich, consequently, are recreant 1 ihe most sacred duties which their wealth imposes, when they fail to make it an arrency for the improvement of ihose by the aid of I whose toil it has been acquired. Laborers also have duties, as well as rights, and one of their first du-I du-I ties- is to' respect the rights of , man in all men, ! whether capitalists or nof. The trade unions, as J (hey become stronger, must strive in all earnestness, earnest-ness, not merely to secure to their members a liv-I liv-I ing wage ami to protect them from wrong, but to j educate and lmjke them agents of moral, not less j (ban of material, progress. As ihe professions aim to exclude or at least to pti( a mark of reprobation on their unworthy members, mem-bers, so organized labor, we. may hope, will gain insight in-sight into die fact that the true welfare of workiug-! workiug-! men. ns of all men and peoples, depends chiefly on the firmness with which they hold to principle and the success wilh which thev upbuild character. The only prosperity is that which ennobles man and the best weallh is right life. A nation's greatness in the present age certainly depends largedy on its power lo produce material goods, bet the exaggerated exagger-ated estimate which we place upon such values is the great source of most of the evils from which we suffer. Mercantilism, the belief that money may' lc made ihe universal equivalent of human worth is the bane of our life. When in economic relations 'humane conditions are lost sight of and the exclusive ex-clusive pre-oecupatiou is to get more and more, dis- '7 i trust, bitterness and strike. So long as our life is chiefly of greed, greed still persuades its victims that they have not yet enough. Hence, they are ceaselessly cease-lessly urged to conquest which can be maele emly at the expense of their fellows. As a result, capitalists cap-italists are arrayed against capitalists ami tho peor against the rich. .The tactics of trusts and syndicates syndi-cates have their counterpart in the violent and lawless deeds of the strike. So long as our life is chiefly a scramble for money, so long- shall it be fountl impossible to establish a permanent, industrial indus-trial peace or "to convert ihe st ruggle for riches into a co-operation to improve not merely human conditions, con-ditions, but human life. There are other anel higher high-er interests than increase of population, enlargement enlarge-ment of territory and spread of commerce, and when they are abandoneel or made secondary, the quantity of a people's goods may be augmented, bul the quality of its life deteriorates. The strength of the position of those who would overthrew the present social and econonmis system does not lie so much in the feasibility of any scheme they may have to offer, as in their criticism of actual conditions, anel more especially of present pres-ent methods of production and distribution. The wastes of unrestricted competition are inconceivably inconceiv-ably great and the ruin it has wrought lies too deep for words, involving as it does not only financial panics anel the destruction of an incalculable amount of wealth, but the blighting of hopa and love anel joy in tens of thousands of homes. The losses in a single industrial crisis amount to hundreds hun-dreds of millions of dollars anel bring misery to millions of human beings. Competition leads to overproduction, anel over production to a falling- market, and consequent slag-nation! slag-nation! and so, in this industrial age it easily happens hap-pens that pewerty is born of plenty. In such a system sys-tem human worth comes to be less considered than material possessions, the value of man less than ! that of the tilings which minister to him. Justice and fairness in the relations of employers and employed em-ployed give place to greed, distrust anel hate. The captains of industry, unlike the captains of war, feel no pride in the men whose courage and endur-ance endur-ance enable them to win the victory, and the men, unlike soldiers, take no delight in their leaders, but look on them rather with envy and suspicion. When such is the spirit of industrialism it ceasei to he a school of moral co-operation and becomes a breeding ground anei nursery of anti-social sentiments senti-ments and intrigues. This is an evil that cannot be healed by laws, the multiplication of which is a symptom of decadmice. The general conscience must he awakened, there must be a return to the principles from which our civilization has sprung, and by which alone it can be maintained. We must, again begin to believe that the soul of man is more precious than a universe of matler. If wo cannot think all men equal, we can at least hole! them to be brothers, whose highest privilege and duty it should I be lo go to the aid of the weaker and more heavily-laden heavily-laden members of the one common family, lhat the inequalities which nature and the course of human events have wrought may he felt, by them as lilt.le as possible. To this end we should seek lo provide tor the young opportunities for a happy childhooel j ami a sufficient education; we should surrounel tho j home with the safeguards of religiem and morality; we should honor woman and defenel her from elojjig unsuitable or underpaid work and from laboring in surroundings harmful lb the sacredntss of he character and mission. We should, in a word, be ready to go in every feasible way to the relief of all whose lot imposes on them life's heavier burdens. bur-dens. So. and so only, shall we become able to shoAtf to all the world that in a true democracy, private, ownership is not incompatible with the welfare, of any part' of .the people. |