The Catholic times. [volume], July 03, 1953, Image 4

About The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current

Image provided by: Ohio History Connection, Columbus, OH

                
4
On numerous occasions during the past months
that have seen the proposed Diocesan Fund Drive
become a successful reality, Bishop Ready has em
phasized that the monetary goal of the drive was
not the only objective that the successful conclusion
of the campaign would include.
Just as important is the lesson taught by the
dedication of the workers and all those who aided
the drive in any way. The great and hard-to-exag
gerate importance of religious education in the
community.
Mirroring this realization by the community in
general arc the following editorials, reprinted in
full from the Columbus Citizen and the Ohio State
Journal:
Yesterdays reports on the Catholic high school
and orphanage fund drive indicate the goal is in
sight.
The diocese seeks to raise $2.5 million to build
two new parochial high schools and a new St. Vin
cent's orphanage to replace the venerable orphan
age buildings on Mam-st.
Amounts donated and pledged up to yesterday
totaled $2,163,000, so a little more effort by the
army of 6000 campaign workers, and a little more
response by members of the diocese and also by
their non-Catholic friends, will put the drive over
the top.
The high schools and also the orphanage, are
badly needed. Columbus is one of the fastest
growing cities in the country. The Catholic seg
ment of the population has increased in propor
tion. The Catholic schools, like the public schools,
are crowded and running over with pupils.
St. Vincent's Orphanage’s ancient buildings
need to be replaced by new buildings more in
keeping with modern concepts of care for children.
Most of the money needed, oi course, will be
given by Catholics. They have shown a ready re
sponse. But non-Catholics who ha\e the means,
and the concern for the community as a whole, are
also helping. This effort, in the long run. will
benefit the entire community.—Columbus Citizen.
Response to date in the campaign tn raise $2,
600.000 to finance construction of two new Catholic
high schools and an orphanage is indeed heartening.
Contributions from industrial and business con
cerns have helped swell personal pledges to past the
$2,000,000 mark.
That the fund campaign has progressed »o well
to date is an indication o| the realization of the
need for more schools to meet mounting enroll
ments.
Success of the drive will assure Catholic families
that as their children reach high school age. facili
ties for providing the high scholastic and relgious
training, for which their denomination is noted, will
be available.
That the drive is moving along so well is a
tribute to the chairman. E. Faber BiRgert, officials
of the diocese and the several thousands of laymen
who are contacting prospective donors.
Considerable work still lies ahead tor these and
most members of our community will be happy
to see the campaign fund swell considerably beyond
the goal. By so doing it would provide a start to
ward a third new high school planned by the Catho
lics for Columbus.—Ohio State Journal.
Do The British Like I
Americans can sympathize with the demand of
an English political figure that American forces
be withdrawn from his country at once. Surely no
real patriot li*kes to see troops of a foreign power
camping on lhe soil of his country. It strikes deep
into the pride which one justly has for his own
nation.
However, the British political figuie spoke of a
widespread revulsion in England foi the American
forces and for the United States, Granted that the
speaker could he of definite Communist affiliation,
or possibly just pink, his assertion needs investiga
tion. Americans ought to know if there is any such
aversion on the part of the people of England and
they ought tn know just as quickly as the English
man demands the withdrawal of Americans from
his soil.
If anyone should ask why Americans should
know what the true feeling is for them in England,
the answer cannot be long in coming. Have not hil
lions of dollars been sent to England? Have not the
very American troops about which the Briton com
plains been sent there to serve as a defense of
Europe and of England? Has not this financial and
military help been going to England for a long time
now’ .And if the result is aversion for America
the U. S. Government ought to know about it and
should let the American people know about it.
Now. this is not a quarrel with the British it
should be a quarrel with those responsible for
letting our aid to our sister nation be so misinter
preted as not to win the affection of these peoples
one for the other. The American people do not wish
any ill will to the English but the loud speaking
radicals of England may be causing considerable
ill will towards us on the part of a considerable
portion of the British. If the English Reds can use
any American act to turn their fellow countrymen
against us they will do so. American diplomats and
representatives should he ready for this.
American aid to Britain or to any nation, for
that matter should be given in a spirit of coopera
tion and charity. It should be known as such. It
should be stooped once it becomes evident that it is
not appreciated, or once it becomes plain it is
being used to further projects which are to the del
riment of the United States. Nations receiving aid
can understand this. They will not respect us other
wise and right now the United States can stand a
little more love and admiration around the world,
and less of feai and hatred Money will not buy this.
Where can thi man be found who will effect
ually let the peoples of other nations know that
the ordinary John Public of the United States
would only he tno happy to have them enjoy the
same standard of living and the same freedoms
which are found in America’
Catholicity In Action
Right in the deep South. Bishop Vincen S. Waters
of Raleigh, N.C., has spoken out forthrightly and
plainly about the teaching ot the Church on segre
Ration of races. In a letter to all the parishes of
his diocese he has charged all pastors to explain
the teaching of the Church on this matter, and to
tolerate nothine to the contrary
The Raleigh Ordinary spoke with all em
phasis. "Equal rights are accorded." he said, "to
every race and nationality as is proper in any Ca
tholic church and within the church building itself
everyone is given the privilege to sit or kneel
wherever he desires and to approach the Sacrament
without any regard lor race or nationality The
church does not propose tolerance, which is neg
ative. but love which is positive."
How could it be otherwise’ How could a member
of one race refuse to kneel at the Communion rail
alongside a member of another race and there re
ceive the God of Ixive Who loses both with an in
finite love? Could it be that such a one truly loves
His Master, who died for men of whatever hue of
skin? Does such a person expect to find Heaven
divided into nationalities and colors?
Bishop Waters explained to his flock that in the
Mystical Body of Christ which is the Church, "all
members, no matter of what race, what nation, what
qualities of body, nr nf mind, nr with how many or
how few possessions, all are in one communion if
Reaching A Double Objective
they belong to one Church. Anything to the con
trary is heresy" ... If Christ said love your enemies,
we certainly can love our friends. These are our
friends and members of our own body, the Church
It is our duty not only to love them but
to serve them, to help them.”
Some time ago Archbishop Ritter of St. Ixuis
took a similar stand in race relations. Such teach
ing by the American Hierarchy is nothing short of
Catholicity in action. It is too bad that it is not
better known throughout the world, particlarly in
areas of South America and Asia where Commun
ists make capital of race prejudice in the United
States.
Just Among Ourselves
Passing Comment Considered or Inconsiderate
It has been the custom, since the threat of com
munism gave a fillip to our thinking, to speak much
of the dignity of man. This use of the word "dignity”
is not strange in atholic ears, but it surely is a
surprising term on the lips of those who have long
ago cast aside the old terminology of Christendom.
To a modern mind, the word "dignity” suggests
something of stateliness it calls up the image of
an important person acting in a manner that befits
his position. In a lesser sense, the word seems tn
mean anything opposed to frivolity or the cutting of
foolish capers. In a mean sense, "dignity” suggests
stuffiness, pomposity, the pseudo-aristocratic air.
'lhe root meaning of “dignity” is worth or value.
And it also means worthiness. And the term is used
with reference to no earthly creature but man. If
one speaks of the dignity of an animal, this is by
way of comparison with a human being. A man has
woiih or dignity in himself and he has worthiness
or dignity in acting in a manner that fits with his
value.
lhe worth of a thing can be judged from what
a wise person is willing to pay for it. Its worthiness
is found in the way it justifies that valuation.
W ha1 we call worth in a man may be figuratively
indicated by lhe pricetag on a garment what we
call worthiness is the quality that makes the gar
ment hold its shape and wear well.
And, as has been said, the dignity of a man is hoth
his worth and his worthiness. What is a man's
worth.’ Where shall we find the revealing price
tag that tells us what a man's value is. what his
worth amounts to. what he is bought for? Man
has indeed been bought he has been bought back
alter he threw himself away in a very bad bargain.
In buy hack is to redeem. And the price of a man
is what is paid to redeem him. Scripture tells us
what that price is. In the First Enistle of St. Peter
(i. 16-IP) we read, "You were not redeemed with
corruptible things as gold or silver but with
the precious blood of Christ.”
God Himself became man so that He might die,
pouring out the sacred blood of His veins, to buy
man back from the slavery and doom of sin. and
so to set his fret again in the way of virtue, and
peace, and heaven. The Precious Blood is the price
of a man. II is what was paid for him. It is his
value. And since this price is itself of boundless
value, it shows us that man's worth cannot be
measured, this worth exceeds all computation. It
is not to be estimated in amounts of gold or silver.
It is a price beyond all earthly things. And this
is what we mean when we talk about the dignity”
of a human being.
Is this what the modern world understands
when it speaks, as is now the custom, of man's
dignity? By no means. The world knows nothing
of the Blood of Christ the world ignores Christ,
and has done so ever since it turned away its eyes,
with the obdurate Pharisees, from the Fact of the
Resurrection. What does the world mean by man's
dignity? Oh, some obscure sort of excellence that
can be appealed Io when politicians feel the need of
talking nnbly. The world does not like to be asked
for definiteness of meaning: the world loves words
and hates definitions. It justifies the remark of Joh
of one "that wrappeth up sentences in unskillful
words.”
But despite the world's ignorance and vagueness,
the dignity of man consists in the fad that he is a
child of God redeemed hy the Precious Blood of
Christ. The Church knows this, for the Church is
wise the Church likes clear meanings, for the Church
loves truth. And thus the Church knows, as sound
human reason knows, that every human being, from
the great leader and teacher down through the rank
and File to the diseased, the criminal, the twisted
and screaming idiot, is of a worth that cannot be
discounted or ignored, even for the sake of saving
or promoting all the slates and governments of the
whole world. That is why the Church stands square
ly, as human reason stands.- against all such things
as human regimentation, birth prevention, mercy kill
ings. and all the rest of that evil litany which is
luted in the table of contents of a modern book of
sociology or political science.
The dignity of a man is the worth of a man.
And the worth ot a man is the infinite worth of
his price which is the Precious Blood. And. in the
second place, the dignity of a man is the worthiness
of a man. And this dignity is achieved by right hu
man conduct inspired and supported by the grace
of God. The worth of a man in no wise depends on
his own will. The worthiness of a man does so
depend it depends upon a man's voluntary cooper
ation with the grace of God.
The thing tor all to ponder is human dignity
in both its senses we cannot appreciate worth with
out an effort at worthiness. There is a fine meaning
in the phrase noblesse oblige a man's position im
poses obligation. We hear the slangy admonition.
“Act your age.” We might make another. “Act your
price show your true value.” We do not like to see
the Hope diamond in a Woolworth setting. We are
not inspired to behold our kings and presidents in
dirty and slovenly attire, or to hear from then
lips uncouth and profane speech.
To bring worthiness into line with worth.- to
put the diamond in proper setting to have our
great leaders clean in person and speech,—we
must live the life indicated by the price paid for us.
The price itself gives power as well as instruction.
“For,” says St. Paul, writing to the Hebrews about
the sacrifices of the Old Law. "if the blood of goats
and oxen sanctify ... to the cleansing of the
flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ
cleanse our conscience from dead works to serve
the IninR God?”
To serve the living God with clean conscience.
This is man's worthiness. This is the second and com
pleting phase of human dignity. The Church always
leaches and urges her children to appreciate the
worth, and to strive for the worthiness of human
life. Thus does the Church uphold and impart the
essential lesson nf human dignity. And now. during
this month of July, she points up her teaching and
urging by consecrating the season to special devo
tion in honor of the Precious Blood.
THE CATHOLIC TIMES, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 1953
WASHINGTON LETTER
What with the Congressional
committees in operation, with
the Subversive Activities Con
trol Board functioning, and with
witness alter witness refusing to
say whelhei oi not he or she
has ever been a communist one
might have had the impression
that pro-communist propaganda
was on the wane. People here
who make studies of such things
say this is not the case
One can recall that in the hey
day ol the communist fronts in
this country, people and organi
zations who opposed them were
frequently embarrassed, often
frustrated, and sometimes seri
ously harmed by the lavish use
of slogans and catch-phrases on
the part of propagandists. Be
cause we don’t near such words
as “isolationist” and "reaction
ary” nowadays, one might think
this form of propaganda has died
out. Quite the contrary people
in a position to know say that it
FATHER HIGGINS
A well known Protestant theo
logian, Dr. Walter Muelder of
Boston University, recently crit
icized the Catholic theory of pri
vate property
as being inade
quate and es
sentially con
servative. It is
"mediaeval in
its frame of
e 1 erence. he
implies, a n
has lhe effect
of keeping the
worker in his
place. Pope Pi
us XI. Dr. Mueider mistakenly
concludes (in a new hook en
titled "Religion and Economic
Responsibility”) has no adequate
doctrine of the communitarian
natural right to property, but
only an individualis’ic natural
right doctrine.
it would be difficult to gne
an adequate definition of Dr.
Muelder s personal theory of
property for his treatment of
the subject is rather unsyste
malic and therefore cannot be
neatly summarized Obviously,
however, he is not a socialist
in the accepted sense of the
word. While he favors a limited
amount of public ownership
(which is amply provided for.
by the way, in Catholic social
teaching) he does not advocate
nationalization for its own sake
nor does he regard it as a pana
cea.
Primarily concerned with the
distinction between property lor
personal use and what he refers
to as "property for power," he
particularly emphasizes the ne
cessity of regulating the latter
type of property in the interests
of the general welfare When
this is impossible, he concludes
—quoting favorably from an
authoritative Protestant publica
tion—encouragement should be
given to the further extension of
cooperative and public ownership
1
Month Of The Precious Blood
Get Set For The Blast
WASHINGTON lhe weath
er has begun to get hot here,
but the "times” are hotter.
'lhe issues at hand are tre
mendous, and there is every in
dication our Government offi
cials will not be permitted to
deal with them in an atmosphere
of thoughtful calm. A feverish
era of propaganda and pressure
is expected to develop.
still goes on, with other words
substituted "labor-baiter,”
“imperialist.” etc.
On the day that the Supreme
Court held its extraordinary ses
sion to pass upon the stay of ex
ecution Mr. Justice Douglas had
granted the day before to Julius
and Ethel Rosenberg, the con
victed atom spies some thou
sands of individuals descended
upon the city to swarm about
the Supreme Court building and
the Capitol in demonstrations
in their behalf. Thev got on the
telephone, too, and it was said
that the switchboards in the
Capitol, the Senate and House
office buildings and other places
were jammed with calls.
Observers here, took this to
mean that this particular “pres
sure lactic.” so common only a
few years ago, has not yet been
discarded, and can be expected
to be brought out and dusted
off tor future use. There are
real indications that shows of
this sort, and the technique of
showering more or less pre-writ
ten telegrams and postcards up
on members of Congress, have
much less effect than they used
to. But the Rosenberg demon
stration. observers say. means
that they have not been aban
doned.
The reason why Washington
Ethics Of Private Property
and to the direct ownership of
many economic units by all the
persons who operate or use them.
Analysis In a Vacuum
Allowing for differences in
terminology and differing shades
of emphasis, we would tentative
ly suggest that Dr. Muelder's
theory of property has more in
common with the Catholic theory
than he himself is inclined to
think. This is merely another
way of saying that his under
standing of the Catholic theory
is regrettably inadequate. He
has made this mistake, it seems
to us, of attempting to analyze
the encyclicals more or less in
a vacuum without beneiit of suf
ficient collateral research. His
bibliography would give the im
pression that he has hardly
scratched the surface ot Catho
lic social teaching, for it does
not include a single authoritative
commentary on the general sub
ject of Papal teaching, oi a sin
gle authoritative Catholic trea
tise on the specific subject of
property.
More extensive research would
have made it appaient to Dr.
Muelder that the Catholic theory
of private property is noi at all
"conservative" in lhe pejorative
sense of the word, and does not
have the effect of keeping the
worker in his place. On the con
trary. as the late Cardinal Su
hard of Paris pointedly empha
sizes in an authoritative pastoral
letter on private property, the
Marxist theory of property is
"a weak doctrine" compared to
that of the Catholic Church. (The
same comparison can also be
made between the Uatholic the
ory of property and other non
Marxist varieties of statism.)
Suhard's remarkable pastoral
on private property (reprinted
in The Church Today The
Collected Writings of Emanuel
Cardinal Suhard. Fides Publish
ers. $4 75) says everything that
Dr. Muelder says and more—
can look forward to stepped-up
propaganda campaigns this sum
mer is that it is expected to he
a period of heavy negotiation
If a truce is brought forth in
Korea it will not mean peace,
but will pave the way for what
is feared will be a long period
of negotiation looking to a final
settlement. It was expected that
there would be talks, oi some
form of negotiations this sum
mer over a considerable number
of problems in Europe, including
lhe future oi Austria lhe unifi
cation ol Germany, the NATO
build-up. and other points. Re
cent developments in Europe,
especially those behind the Iron
Curtain, have only added to the
importance of whatever comes
to pass in Europe in the next
few' months. 9
With so much at stake, and
with the decisions to be taken
probably shaping the future of
large areas for some time to
come, observers do not believe
the communists and their friends
will lose any opportunity for fa
vorable propaganda Moscow
may feel now that it can gain
more by propaganda than it can
by fighting, whether it takes a
front-line part in the fighting
or not. If that is so the propa
ganda theme will be played for
tissimo.
about the necessity of regulat
ing "property for power" in the
interests of the entire common
ity
Not Conservative, Not Mediaeval
Muelder implies that the Cath
olic concept of property is
"mediaeval” in its frame of ref
erence. by which he means to
suggest that it is unable, if not
unwilling, to meet the challenge
of 20th-century industrial capi
talism with its tremendous con
centrations of economic power.
Cardinal Suhard disagrees. His
point of view is anything but
"conservative", his frame of ref
erence anything but “mediae
val.”
“Whoever.” the Cardinal says,
“will compare the teaching of
the Church on property with ex
cesses of modern Capitalism or
with Marxism will be obligated
to conclude that change is nec
essary.” He goes on to say that
this is not a matter of changing
a few details: "We are speaking
ot a whole new structure
In the place ot Capitalism
we must substitute an economy
which is henceforth at the serv
ice of men—and not of a few
men only but of all men. Materi
al goods, natural resources and
manufactured articles are made
for all people.”
Quoting Pius XI and Pius XII,
Suhard advocates a tempering
of the wage contract by a part
nership contract, especially in
big corporations, and in this con
nection favorably refers to a new
type of "communal property”
which, in his opinion, can be rec
onciled with the fundamental
principles ot Uatholic social
teaching "The pure and simple
wage contract,” he says, "was
just, but it was free: no one
has the right to impose it on
those who no longer want it.
1-et us seek new solutions with
a generous and prudent bold
ness.”
INQUIRY CORNER
Is Missing Mass
A Mortal Sin?
A priest in confession told
me not to mention that I missed
Mass. Isn't it a mortal sin?
A. Certainly no priest would
tell you not to mention a mortal
sin. No doubt the particular cir
cumstances made it no sin, so
that it did not have to be con
fessed. If it is impossible to at
tend there can be no sin. Those
who are seriously ill or caring
for one who is, and those who
live an impossible distance from
Church or are detained by
some urgent work (eg. farmers
in harvest time) are not guilty
of sin if they miss Mass Good
Catholics seldom accept excus
es and they attend Mass even
under great difficulties, but we
are speaking here of serious sin.
Q. “The scientist must reject
all authority in truth or falsity
since accepting authority means
rejecting inquiry,’' states a sci
entific friend of mine. What
can I answer?
A. Does a scientist re-examine
and prove every fact he uses?
Does he not quote scientific au
thorities? Does he not accept
materials e.g. chemicals for ar.
experiment without testing them
if they come from a reliable
source? Does he analyze the
food he eats, the bridge he cross
es? Does he renounce all history
and all reporting of news events
he has not personally seen?
Practically all scientific facts,
unlike truths of reason, are sub
ject to revision. The existence
of God is not. It is an absolute
truth, which carries overwhelm
ing evidence based on reason
as well as faith. If God exists,
the problem of authority does
not exist, for the teaching or
command of God cannot be un
true or wrong. The unbelieving
scientist may insist upon proof
that God has spoken, but he
must see that IF God has spok
en we have the truth
Q. What is meant by the ap
pearance of bread and wine in
the Holy Eucharist?
A. By the appearance we
mean their color, taste, weight,
shape and whatever else appears
to the senses. The substance of
bread and wine has gone, re
placed by the Real Presence of
Christ. So when St. Matthew re
lates that Jesus "took bread and
blessed and broke and gave it
to his disciples, and said. ‘Take
and eat: this is my body’ we
see that under the appearances
of the bread His Body was pres
ent. (26:26-28)
Q. What are the duties of par
ents under the fourth command
ment? 4
A. Parents are bound under
the fourth commandment to care
for the body, mind and soul of
the child. They must respect his
choice of vocation, and issue rea
sonable commands They must
exercise authority for the child's
welfare, neither commanding
too harshly nor dealing in a lax
way with him. Parents must take
reasonable care of the child's
health and physical wellbeing,
RICHARD P.4TTEE
Salazar
Portugal is celebrating this
year the twenty-fifth anniversary
of the regime of Dr. Antonio
Oliveira Salazar This tribute
reveals certain
I’ i u Riie^e
I e a w Inch
ought Io be
e in hasized.
Hailed in
many circles as
CL.* the 9 ii i n tes
s e n e of the
hi
i s tian
W s okesman in
'.p o I 1 Hi al and
iJi1111111
i Ol II' I "i lll
liberal persua
sion) he is classified as another
Franco or Mussolini clinging to
power with a tenacity which
would do justice to a better
cause.
1 think there can be little
doubt that Dr. Salazar does rep
resent. if not the totality of the
Christian ideal, at least the sub
stance of it. He never sought the
position he now holds He has
resigned it more than once. He
was chosen by his peers at a
time when he himself was re
luctant to leave the halls of
Coimbra University He has
never sought personal advantage
of any sort—financial, social or
otherwise. He is no ambitious
seeker after power, insisting that
greater and greater authority be
placed in his hand, nor has he
ever had to indulge in any of the
practices of the dictatorships—
purges, suppression, ruthless de
nial of personal and collective
liberty and the like.
Most People Prefer Peace
There is. in this heartfelt trib
ute to a great statesman, an odd
mixture of awe and affection.
Dr. Salazar is not a man whom
people idolize as though he were
a pugilist, bull ftghtei or cinema
star. His self-effacement and ret
icence make anything of that
kind impossible. But there has
been an outburst of what comes
very close to being personal love
in the Portuguese people's re
action tow aid their leader.
The case of Portugal seems to
demonstrate that most people
prefer peace and order to con
fusion that political passions
the development of his mind
at
home and in school. Above all
else they must protect his soul
from harmful books, places and
companions, and develop his
soul in moral and spiritual per
fection. "And you fathers do not
provoke your children to anger,
but rear them in the discipline
and admonition of the Lord.”
(Ephesians 64).
Q. Does not St. Paul permit
divorce among Christians (I Cor
inthians 7:12-15)?
A. No dissolution of the Sac
rament of Matrimony is possible
among Christians. St. Paul is
speaking of what is known as the
Pauline Privilege. Marriage be
tween upbaptized persons may be
dissolved by the Pope using the
power which Christ gave to bind
and to loose. (Matthew 16:18-19).
Although natural marriage is in
itself indissoluble it can be dis
solved by God. The conditions
are strict and difficult to meet,
revolving about the fact that one
party refuses to accept or tol
erate the Christian faith of the
other.
Q. In view of the many Catho
lics who are bad examples ho to
can we prove that the Catholic
Church is holy. We use its
holiness to prove that it is the
true Church, but many non
Catholics find this a stumbling
block.
A. The holiness ot the Cath
olic Church is not proved or dis
proved by the life of one Cath
olic or another. Since there are
over found hundred million
Catholics it would be difficult
to make statements about the
proportion of holy men in the
Church to those who are not.
What an honest observer should
expect, however, is evidence that
the Church is basically holy
its teaching and its practices.
He should expect the typical
Catholic to be holy and there
should be evidence of great
numbers of holy Catholics in the
history of the Church The evi
dence for this holiness is over
whelming. The teachings of the
Catholic Church have met with
vicious opposition down to our
own times, when it insisted upon
Christs teachings and ideals
eg. regarding marriage The
power of the Mass the Sacra
ments, the priesthood and re
ligious life has been acknowl
edged by many unbelievers. It
has never been shown that greed,
lust or cruelty has been rein
forced by Catholic teaching.
Catholics w-ho have lapsed into
these sins have been relatively
few' and have been found in
practically every instance to be
careless Catholics. The countless
sacrifices of Catholics for the
poor, the sick and the unmstruct
ed joined with the extraordinary
holiness of Catholic saints prove
that the Catholic Church is holy.
Send questions to Rev. Ed
ward F. Healey, The Inquiry Cor
ner. The Catholic Times, Box
636. Columbus (16) Ohio.
can be re-educated and party
extremism curbed that even
the most desperate situation
holds some promise of redemp
tion if the will and the intensity
of purpose is there Portugal
ought to be an example every
where in the world where men
are led astray by the absurd
idea 4hat nations can be mad*
automatically happy if a parlia
ment is set up and free play giv
en to political parties
Sanity Out Of Reaction
It is unfortunate that in so
many places in the world the
passion for independence goes
hand in hand with a violence of
rhetoric and declamation that
promises very little for the fu
ture. Portugal went down that
road once and found that it led
to disaster. Forty-eight govern
ments tried to rule the land be
tween the revolution of 1910 and
the establishment of the Salazar
regime—a record which surpass
es in sheer instability even th*
most spectacular efforts of con
temporary France. When eco
nomic misery, chronic chaos, so
cial disruption and religious
apostasy had al! reached their
natural culmination. Portugal re
acted. Out of the reaction came
sanity in the person of Dr. Sala
zar.
Nations, like individuals, find
it hard to confess to incapacity.
It is particularly difficult today
to assume that any people, no
matter how ill-prepared or un
endowed, is not entirely capable
of running a parliamentary de
mocracy successfully But it is
high time that the example of
Portugal be recognized as far
more realistic than this starry
eyed millenianism in which w*
are indulging.
No Solo Political Panacea
Portugal took the unpopular
rpad and has followed it ever
since to its very great honor and
happiness. A few other nations
in the world might profit from
this case history and recognize
that constitutions and systems of
government must be adjusted to
political experience and histori
cal background that there is
no universal political device ap
plicable to all peoples at all
times.