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Show AN OATH AND MENTAL RESERVATION. Once upon a time some bigot or busybody, anxious an-xious to create alarm over the groAvtli of "'Romanism,1' "'Roman-ism,1' assaulted the consciences of Catholics who took the customary oath as witnesses at court trials. It happened in those states where the bible is used to' mark the solemnity of the' obligation. ' Of course the bible was the Protestant version of scripture. It was charged that such Catholics, placing no credit upon the Protestant bible as the basis of Revelation,-could swear to a falsehood in court without scruple of conscience; therefore perjury in testimony was often the temptation. The same argument, if at all tenable, could be applied to infidels in-fidels and Jews, but it was raised against Catholics only; yet npon thp motion of influential infidels the bible was excluded in the courts of some states. What "is the nature of an oath? It is an affirmation af-firmation to conscientiously carry out the essence of the thing to which the taker subscribes. In courts, it means the telling of truth without evasion eva-sion or equivocation. The language of the oath has very little significance, no more than the presence pres-ence of the bible or any material thing which preserves pre-serves the medieral dignity of courts. If the language lan-guage of the oath be objectionable, the citizen may comply with the law by repeating the oath, with a mental -reservation regarding the language. The truth of the witness' testimony fulfills the aim of court investigation. What is said about an oath taken in court applies ap-plies to a form of obligation taken by members of a trade union. The trade union, is cited for. example ex-ample because in a sermon delivered by a priest in Michigan he severely arraigned the trade union and its obligation. He did this without inquiring into the motive conspiring to frame the language of the oath or obligation. Hence his condemnation lacks that equity which appellate courts apply to the construction of language in legislative acts. The intention of the framers of the law is held to be the law, regardless of the ambiguity of language, lan-guage, and this rule is observed in handing down court decisions. Rev. Dr. B. A. Baart, rector qf St. Mary's church, Marshall, Mich., recently said in a sermon that no Catholic could consistently take or keep the oath of some labor unions.. He mentioned particularly par-ticularly the Typographical union, part of whose oath he quoted. "I hereby solemnly ami sincerely swear that my fidelity to the typographical union and my duty to the members thereof shall in no sense be interfered inter-fered with by any allegiance that 1 may now or hereafter owe to any other organization, social, political po-litical or religious." Father Baart said this oath ''placed the union before the church and before the state, and distinctly distinct-ly impeached the loyalty and Catholicity of those who take such an oath." This sounds like reading every Catholic union printer out of the church along with setting him aside as an enemy of his country. We are sure the good priest did not mean all of that. What are the facts behind this obligation taken by the printers? How should the oath be construed? con-strued? The union printers employed upon the Intermountain Catholic furnish the information. In the first place it should be remembered that secret se-cret and benevolent societies give the word 'fra-ternity" 'fra-ternity" an elastic construction. In nearly all cases it means that members of the order are to be preferred pre-ferred over others not members of the order, given positions of advantage and profit, regardless of the rule Qf merit or efficiency. In the ranks of the Typographical union are many, very many members mem-bers of secret societies, even those condemned by the church. The Catholic printer is the lonesome one who is not attached to some Catholic society like the Knights of Columbus, Catholic Order of Foresters, Ancient Order of Hibernians, or other fraternal Catholic society. In all these societies or orders, the spirit, of "fraternity" is or was observed to the damage of the trade union, most particularly aggravating to members of the Typographical union, to whom merit alone was the only asset, the only road to situation and promotion. This explains why the word '"religious" appears in the language of the obligation,, along with the word '-'secret." It is held that the Knights of Columbus, Co-lumbus, for example, is a "religious" society, and so it is. Therefore no distinction L, made between it and the Free Masons, Knights of Pythias, "secret" societies. The Typographical union insists that fraternity should be exhibited and preference given first to its own members upon their merits before it is exercised through the methods of secret or religious re-ligious societies. And who will .say them nay ? About the word "political" there appears to be mystery. Our printers do not understand it, but j dismiss it with the observation that the - word i escaped the proof reader. They have swallowed that oath without treason to their country ever choking them. They never once suspected that by repeating it they proclaimed themselves greater than the government. Good Father Baart is needlesssly alarmed over the union printer's oath. So are those Catholic papers who have sided with him. The matter is not grave enough for pulpit thunder. It is like loading a cannon to fire at a sparrow. - .,, A ' |