4- THE CATHOLIC TIMES
Friday. June 18. 1954
THE
CATHOLIC TIMES
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No Place For Christ?
No matter how the current hassle between Sen
ator McCarthy and the Army comes out, no matter
who, if any one, is ever adjudged the final win
ner, the professional politician is going to come in
for a lot of bad weather. His prestige in the eyes
of many has been hurt and the public is using its
stock antidote of worn cliches to justify this not
very new conclusion: "Well, what can you expect?
They're all politicians."
This phrase is thrown off as a universal answer
to any problem of a political nature It is used to
explain mistrust, malfeasance, self-seeking vain
glory and the ultimate of the double standard
the supposedly trusted public official using hi.
office fnr merely personal aggrandizement And
this, sad to say, is often believed and taken as
"gospel.’’
The words "politician” and "political” have taken
on a very cloudy connotation, one that brings along
with it the ideas of being above the laws—both
God’s and man's. The words now seem to stand for
anything tricky and underhanded
Sad it is that such should be the case but tn s
large extent it is. Sadder yet that everyone takes
it for granted and after expressing an initial dis
appointment shrugs it off as something that is not
only true in the present instance, but as something
that must always remain true.
Now we are not saying that there is no founda
tion for some of this way of thinking. We are not
saying either that there is never an occasion for
wondering just what is the right thing "politically
whether it deals with situations or personalities.
What we do say is this: It is the divorcing of re
ligion from politics that leads inevitably to the bad
situations that we all decry, and secondly, the
former statement is not an appeal lor the Church,
as an institution, to play a part in politics.
There is a vast difference between the "Church
W politics and "morality” in politics.
The American Hierarchy has never advocated as
the Church's enemies have so often charged, that
there should be a place for the Church as an organ
ization in the political field whether it he on a
local or national level Far from it. They’ve leaned
over backward* to preserve the present situation
guaranteed to all by the Constitution of our conn
try
What they, and all right thinking individuals
have always advocated is the high moral background
necessary’ for anyone to be entrusted with public
office They must be moral persons and morality’
is based on religion. There is no other source or
guide of man as a moral creature than the moral
code of Almighty God.
A good bit ot very hastily framed generality can
usually be taken as false To say that every man
engaged in polities is ipso facto unprincipled and
a shyster is utterly foolish To say that this is the
norm and to he expected from the very nature of
politics is even more idiotic.
It is only the individual politician who can he
held account able for his own actions. It he has di
vorced religion and morality from his dealings, then
he, and he only, should be condemned And he
should. he condemned.
The trouble is he and his actions seldom are. Ef
fectively, that is "Oh. that s just politics and you
know politics is a dirty business,” that A the kind
of condemnation such as it is that most of us
give. And then we let it go al that. A foregone
conclusion.
It takes time and energy real toil, to stay on
top of the political scene from dav to day It takes
dedication A dedication spelled out in time and
trouble that too few average citizens are willing
to make
Before any ot us shrug off the embroiled condi
lions surrounding us as hopeless, before we pull
out our pat explanation about "politics, etc.", let
each one ask himself where he stands on each
problem let him ask himseli if he has read the
ins and out.- and whether he understands them all.
And after this let us see how the men we
elected, the men who are speaking our voice, are
carrying out our wishes in making our wills an
effective part in government
If there is in our country today the had effect
of having no religion in politics it is, to a large
extent because we are not interested enough to see
that religion and morality play the part they should
Memo Io Parents
Despite all the widespread alarm over juvenile
delinquency, children of today* are no worse than
were their parents, if one can take the word of
a representative group of people who should know
A reporter sampled opinion among a group of
leaching nuns who have taught in both genera
tions, and those teaching Sisters were insistent
that today's children are at least as good as their
parents, if not bettei
They admitted that delinquency gets headlines
now, that some children fall out of line and that
there is ground tor improvement but they did not
show the alarm that one who depended for in
formation on newspapers might expect.
Children today generally were held to be re
sponsible, serious, and confident and the Sisters
stressed that these children are getting a better
education than their parents received the same
grades Larger, better-equipped schools and im
proved educational methods, they said, have re
acted to the benefit of students. Although not
unaware of some problems, the Sisters were en
thusiastic in their support of today’s pupils.
Like many others, the Sisters did point out that
parental co-operation is necessary and sometimes
is not obtained They agreed generally that chil
dren today have to pul up with problems that are
new, among them parents who fail to use author
ity. mothers who needlessly have jobs nutside the
home and parents who give their children “every
thing
On the whole, though, the picture is much more
pleasant than one would expect from a casual glance
at the news. Here are women concerned for the
moral as well as the spiritual welfare of their pu
pils. Parents of children in Catholic schools should
feel happy about the Sisters’ views, and some such
parents, erring on 1he side of indulgence nr neglect,
may find a clue concerning how they can help to im
prove conditions even further.
Guest Editorial—The Visitor, Providence, W. I.
4
Common Necessities
The time for vacations has rolled around again
and soon the roads will be clogged with those bent
on forgetting for a while their usual mode of daily
existence to enjoy a respite from anything that
even resembles work.
A complete change* from the regular humdrum
activity will be sought—and in general—this is a
good thing. Some things, however, will not change.
They can’t.
No matter where one goes he will still have to
eat and breathe to keep alive, to he able to enjoy
cessation of his work-a-day routine. These absolute
necessities for the body must go on.
And so too for the soul. There can be no vaca
tion from our daily contact with grace or the soul
dies. Our constant vigilance, our daily prayer,
our attendance at Mass on Sundays and days of
precept, our Holy Communions—al! must go on
as they did before, or we are in real trouble.
Be as careful in planning your vacation for the
good of your soul as you are in providing for the
good of your body.
Just Among Ourselves
Passing Comment Considered or Inconsiderate
Chesterton once remarked in the course of one
of his essays that people are too ready to accept
familiar sayings, mottoes, and adages, as the ex
pression of unquestionable truth and wisdom. It
is the greater wisdom to pause now and then in
the uttering of little cljches to examine whether
they be really true and valid. Many of us make Poor
Richard a far greater master of morals and manners
than he has any justified claim to be. Too many
who are praiseful of modernity, and who delight
in the latest instrument, are smugly content, in
realm of mind and morality, with the oldest and
rustiest saw.
4 4 4
Take, for example, the old saying that "Where
there is smoke there is fire.” This is not even liter
ally true, since chemistry has filled the earth with
smoky vapors that owe nothing to the primal flame.
But even if it were true in the material order, it is
not therefore true in the order of human conduct,
that is. in the thoughts, words, purposes, and feel
ings of mankind At best, the saying is a metaphor,
and, to quote another old metaphor,—every such
figure nf speech walks with a limp that is to say,
its application to actual instances is never more than
halting and imperfect in accuracy.
How many and many a time has the saying,
"Where there is smoke there is fire,” been used to
justify slander, calumny, anger, hatred, and all ill
will. People who know well how easily a reputation
can be ruined by unkindness and idle gossip may
still be thoughtless enough to invoke the saying as
a basis for uncharitable judgment instead of inves
tigating the character and conduct of the unkind
and gossip) people who utter the slander.
And consider another of the old sayings. "The
burned child shuns the fire.” Here again we have
figurative language, and the figure halts and limps.
In the literal meaning of the phrase we discern
truth it is in its metaphorical character that it is
mostly false. Searing experience does not prevent
the criminal from returning to crime. "A burning
forehead and a parching tongue” do not make the
inebriate shun the particular fire that has burned
him. Even the fiery scars of gross sin cannot be re
garded as assurance that the sinner will sin no
more II seems, in fact, that the individual who is
burned is often eager to try the fire another time
4 4 4
There is the saying that Experience keeps a
dear school, but fools will learn at no other.” It may
hr asked all fairness, whether fools or wise men
ran learn at any other school than that of exper
ience. Certainly, it is possible for a man Io take ad
vice, however unusual this may be. and so to shun
the disasters that have befallen the adviser. Yet it
cannot he said that the person thus wisely guided
has learned the lesson that the adviser taught. He
has been docile, he has been amenable to guidance.
Rut it is safe to assume that in his inmost being
he is convinced that he would not have come a crop
per as the adviser did. even had he chosen to dis
regard the advice.
4 4 4
Indeed bringing together the adages about the
burned child and the school of experience, we dis
cern a better mode of expressing th? latter saying
"Experience keeps a dear school, hut people cannot
learn at any other and fools cannot learn at that
This statement has not the compact and facile form
of Poor Richards saying, hut it has the distinct
advantage of being true.
Alexander Pope's often quoted lines
Know then thyself, presume not God to scan,
The proper study of mankind is man
leave out nf account the manifest truth that tn
study man is tn study the plan upnn which man is
made, the purpose nf his being, and the character
of his proper conduct. Thus it appears that man,
to pursue “the proper study of mankind,” muse be
busily engaged in scanning God We contradict
Pope s advice by taking it. And tn be sure, it is not
Popes advice the Frenchman Pierre Charron said
the same thing over 150 years before Pope was
born
In our own brisk days we have adages that we
express in phrases rather than sentences. Consid
er the expressions, “the open mind,” "democracy.”
tolerance.” "academic freedom.” "freedom of
speech” To the unthinking multitude of modern
men these words and phrases suggest great human
ideals that the ideals are vague, foggy, ill-defined
if defined at all. does not prevent the learned and
the unlearned alike from accepting them as ideals,
and from invoking them as fundamental principles of
reasonable attitude and conduct.
Add to this fact the readiness of modem people
to condemn anything that is merely called undemo
cratic or intolerant or the rest. No proof is de
manded no evidence is exacted. Say merely that
a man has not an open mind, and he is instantly
regarded as a "reactionary.” a numskull, a stick-in
the-mud. an inconsequential lug. Say that a person
is intolerant and you forthwith discredit all he says
or stands for. Say that a man is undemocratic, and
dark suspicion surrounds him at once Say that a
person opposes any of the varieties nf "freedom
academic to zoologic and you label him a kind of
fiend in human form
4 4 4
Of the older sayings, including the many that
express whimsy instead of wisdom it may be said
that their authors went to the extent of formulating
them in intelligible sentences, and probably had
some notion of what the sentences meant. Of the
modern ierky terms and phrases, it can only be
said that people utter them, invoke them as talis
manic formulas, in a kind of mumbo-tumbo If the
nld saws need to he examined lest they cut awry,
th? new fetish-phrases need to be looked at care
fully lest they twist our minds and morals and do
irreparable damage to human souk.
Mind you, this is not saying that the modern
phrases have no good meaning, or that, put into
proper form as statements, they would not express
valuable truth It is only saying that their current
use is bad. For they are almost universally used,
not as statements of truth, but as labels. And the
labels are as unintelligible to the rank and file as
the symbols on a pharmacist’s bottles and canisters,
except that when used adversely nearly all of them
bear the leering warning of the skull and cross
bones.
DHIXGTOX LETTER
Document
WASHINGTON—How "contin
uous hostility against the church”
has been displayed in commun
ist-dominated countries is outlin
ed tn a Government document
that has marie its appearance
here
It is stated that this hostility
is "sometimes played down for
tactical reasons, sometimes in
tensified in special drives,” but
that "if any inventory were tak
en at present” the position of
religion would be shown to be
trying. It would he seen the doc
ument says, that "quite num
ber of church officials and cler
gymen are still in prison, that
church activities are being held
to a minimum by regulations,
that obviously innocent activities
have had to be discontinued,
and that the struggle against the
church by economic and other
means continues.”
Part of a report on “Tensions
Within the Soviet Captive Coun
tries,” this document deals spe
cifically with the Soviet zone of
Germany. It was issued by the
legislative Reference Service of
the Library of Congress, at the
request of the Senate Committee
on Foreign Relations. It serves to
mark the first anniversary, June
17, of the "historic demonstra-
LOI IS F. Rf DEM
If you were to read the
Daily Worker these days, you
would be tempted to ruh your
eyes in wonderment. That tele
graph agent
of dir ective
for the Re
conspiracy i
raising to nei
heights of str
e n y it
"charges’
which I gav
attention tw
weeks ago.
For instanci
tn its issue
June 1, the
"This fascist (McCarthyite) con
spiracy, with its secret spy rings
inside lhe government, with its
defiance of all existing constitu
tional legality, rose to its pres
ent position on the basis of the
Big Lie about 'Communist espion
age and treason .”
organ declares
One would think from this effu
sion that there had been no Al
ger Hiss, no Harry Dexter White,
no long line of espionage agents
and infiltrators exposed by the
score in the reports and hearings
of Senate and House Congres
sional committees.
Sam* Old Story
But casting all of these moun
tains of evidence aside, the
Daily Worker proceeds with
that arrogant? typical of Com
munist attitudes to sa.v that it
is "not the Marxists or the Coin
munists w ho seek or advocate the
overthrow of the government.”
it is those who are trying to halt
the Communists who are guilty
of such plans and plots, “the pro
fascist Right.”
We who are familiar with the
conspiracy’s phraseology know
that any person or group seeking
to curb Moscow's designs is "pro
fascist.” The phrase and th?
charge which accompanies it are
I
Memo From America
Traces Red
tions against the Soviet occupa
tion in East Berlin and the So
viet Zone of Germany,” and mir
rors conditions after some nine
years of communist domination.
They have sought to weaken
the churches by curtailing and
drying up the theological train
ing of clergymen to serve the
churches. At the same time, they
iJrj,ve interfered with the travel
of clergymen to prevent already
ordained ministers from helping
out in parishes that have been
left without. ministers.
The communists, the document
adds "have bitterly attacked
church youth groups.
The Reds, it continues, "have
tried to cripple the churches by
government confiscation of cer
tain of their charitable organiza
tions, by restricting church pub
lications, by impeding religious
meetings, and by arresting pas
tors on such trumped-up charges
as boycott agitation' and 'spread
ing rumors endangering the
state’.”
Speaking of communist "ef
forts to appease the churches,”
the report says: "Soviet authori
ties are aware that the Church
in the Soviet Zone of Germany is
a source of moral strength for
the population and as such, a
Weak Spot In Education
not made wholly in vain. For the
Soviet fifth column counts on the
"reserves” and "transmission
belts” among the "liberals” to be
impressed by such arguments in
the mouths of concealed Stibn
ites It is the same old story’ over
again, a repetition of what took
place when the United States
was induced zealously to aid
Moscow in betraying China and
Poland.
Pertinent Question
A very good understanding of
these hopes of the conspirators
is found in a leading article in
the May issue of Masses and
Mainstream Red monthly for
lhe so-called intellectuals. Its au
thor is Herbert Aptheker. veter
an theoretician of Marxist-Len
inism, and its title is appropri
ately "McCarthism and the lib
erals.” The whole purpose of the
piece is to instruct the Stahn
ites to do all in their power 1o
further (he circulation of four
books, including "But We Mere
Bom Free” by Elmer Davis, and
"Freedom, Loyalty, Dissent” by*
Henry Steele Commager, profes
sor of American history at Co
lumbia University.
Through the persistent labors
of concealed Reds, we shall soon
see these books on the shelves
of many public libraries and. un
doubtedly, presented as assign
ed reading in a number of high
schools. For the effect of the
Aptheker comment a directive
to the Reds in the intellectual
field—is to praise these works
for their "passionately expressed
abhorrence for the repressive
character of McCarthyism” not to
mention its “vulgarity” and
"brutality.”
Deceit's Chief Victim
We have a right and jjood rea
son to inquire how it is that in
a country such as ours which
prides itself on the widespread
Hostility
menace both to the sovietization
process and to the antireligious
aspects of communism in gen
eral.” As a result, it adds, the
Reds have from time to time
made "sudden tactical, although
not fundamental alterations of
policy.” Nevertheless, it shows,
the plight of the church is ser
ious
"The division of Germany has
changed the picture of the de
nominational distribution of the
population the report points
out. "In the Soviet Zone about
80 per cent of the population be
long to the Evangelical Lutheran
Church. About 15 per cent are
Roman Catholics. Ln West Ger
many only about 50 per cent of
the people belong to the Evan
gelical Church and about 45 per
cent to the Roman Catholic
Church. Soviet authorities would
like to utilize this situation for
political warfare purposes, to
play the Protestants in their
zone against the Catholics in
West Germany, creating tension,
suspicion, and increased partisan
ship. But. on the other hand, they
realize that too much of this de
vice would interfere with the
'unity theme’ of Soviet propagan
da airfling at a united Germany
(Soviet controlled, of course).”
education of its citizens, such de
ceit can be practiced over and
over again. The question becomes
more pertinent when observation
will reveal that it is precisely
educated America which is the
chief victim of this deceit.
We need not look far for the
answer. It is a simple and direct
one, namely, that education on
the whole has failed the United
States seriously its hour of
need. It has tailed by permitting
the infiltration of Communists
and Communist influences into
the process of teaching. It has
fallen down even more decided
ly in its apparent inability to
equip the present generation
with a knowledge of the chief
challenge and evil of our time.
Soviet Communism.
Need for Analysis
It is true that some encour
agement is given us by the
32nd Yearbook of the American
Association ot School Adminis
trators a department of the Na
tional Education Association The
yearbook opens with two chap
ters referring to th? overall dan
ger of Communism One of them.
"Th? Threat is Total." presents
a reasonably impressive outline
of the clear and present dan
ger from Moscow and its agents.
The classroom teacher is told:
"Let no child or youth leave
school who is ignorant of the
aims and methods of tyranny
Give him informed access to its
literature, arm him against its
propaganda
After this exhortation, worthy
itself, practically nothing is
done to implement it.
The informed citizen should
urge our school administrators
to open the way for teachers to
study this subject intelligently,
so that they can analyze Com
mumsm and its operations as a
scientist would analyze a poison.
Inquiry Corner
Q. Did the Church ever forbid
free use of the Bible?
A. Never. Just as the Jaws of
our country can forbid circula
tion of spurious copies of our
Constitution or our laws without
earning the reputation of destroy
ing freedom of speech, so should
the laws of the Church. Catholics,
except for specialists who havte
proper preparation and reason,
may not read any but authentic
accurate copies of the Bible.
For centuries the Catholic
Church was the only teacher of
The Bible and the priests and
monks of the Church copied and
passed on copies of it. For Ca
tholics however lhe words of the
Bible ieg. Matthew 27:19-20)
mean the Church comes first,
for Christ gave the Apostles pow
er to preach and teach. The first
writing of the New Testament
came tw’enty years after the
death of Christ if the Bible
alone were the basis of faith
the first Christians were not
Christians! The Catholic who
does not read and love the Bible
ignores the constant teaching of
the Church which has always ad
vocated and blessed its use and
insisted upon it as the word of
God.
Q. I am enclosing a leaflet
which offers SI500 reward for
anyone who can produce a text
of Scripture proving various Ca
tholic doctrines. It claims that
this leaflet has been widely dis
tributed for twenty-eight years
and no one has ever collected.
A. At the end of the leaflet a
part of the ancient Protestant be
lief is stated: "The Holy Scrip
tures are the only infallible
source of truth and the only
and absolute rule of faith.”
Where can that be proved in the
Scriptures? Many of the State
ments are old worn out ques
tions which have been thorough
ly answered and can be answer
ed by any Catholic high-school
student e g. "a text of Scripture
to prove that priests can forgive
sins.” (John 20:19-23) Some are
amusing such as "a text of Scrip
ture to sanction the baptism or
blessing of bells.” What Scrip
ture text sanctions the use of a
wedding ring? We do not pre
tend to take every ceremonial
bodily from the Scriptures. The
learned author of the "bold”
leaflet fails to mention the judg
es who are to decide w*ho shall
collect Can you guess? Anoth
er howler: "a text ot Scriptures
to prove that Christ 'did not be
lieve in freedom of conscience
MOXS1GXOR HIGGIM
This column discussed recent
ly the controversial subject of
economic co-determination or co
management from several dif
ferent angles,
but always
from lhe theo
retical point of
view. Certain
more or less
definite con
clusions were
arrived at but
purposely stat
ed in general
e o e i cal
terms. We have
been up tn the
rare fied at
mosphere of social philosophy.
No examples have been cited,
no reference has been made to
specific situations in the field
of labor-management relations.
This does not mean, however,
that the subject of co-determin
ation or co-management is pure
ly academic in the United States.
On the contrary, there are a
number of situations in Ameri
can industry w hich might profit
ably be examined in the light of
the theoretical principles and
conclusions summarized in pre
vious releases of this column.
The subject is a very practical
one indeed.
The most dramatic, if not nec
essarily the most important, ex
ample w hich comes to mind is the
recent, controversy in Norwalk.
Conn between the AF1 Hatters
Union and the Hat Corporation
of America. During the past year
the union was out on strike for
JO1? months over a controversial
issue which, broadly speaking,
falls within the category of co
determination or co-management.
Both Side* Claim Victory
In the course of negotiations for
a new contract 1953. the com
pany notified th? union bargain
ing committee that changing com
petitive conditions would require
it to transfer a large part of its
straw hat production to Tennes
see and to open a new factory
for finishing low price felt hats
somewhere west of the Mississip
pi The union protested against
this transfer on the grounds that
it would inflict a permanent
hardship on more than a thou
sand workers in Norwalk: that
many of these workers had been
employed by the Hat Corporation
of America for the better part
of their working lives and would
find it difficult. i( not impossible,
to acquire another trade or to
transfer to another occupation.
On this issue the union called
a strike which lasted from July
9. 1953. until the end of May
1954. The strike was supported
morally and financially by sev
eral other AFL and CIO interna
tional unions and by more than
500 AF1 and CIO shop commit
tees throughout the United
Fat er ealey------------------
A ord For It
and freedom of speech.” This is
a pitiful little leaflet and ue
should pray for the originators
of such literature. Including
a
few* legitimate objections to Ca
tholic belief with a lot of non
sense they lead many to believe
or to keep believing that the
Church is built upon tyranny, in
tolerance and ignorance. Such
leaflets should stir us to study
and strive to explain our relig
ion to our friends and neighbors.
For answers to such questions
every Catholic should have a
copy of Father Conway's "The
Question Box.”
Q. .4 friend of mine said that
he knew several Catholics who
are Masons, is it possible?
A. No. A Catholic may join a
Protestant church but he would
not be considered a Catholic in
good standing, to say the least.
Freemasonry has from its be
ginning in the eighteenth cen
tury had as its basis a position
a
deistic, naturalistic religion
which conflicts with the Chris*
tion doctrine of divine Provid*
ence and the supernatural' (e g.
miracles, Sacraments). Many
American Masons join the lodge
for social reasons and have never
bothered with these ideas, re
maining good Protestants in con
tradiction to Masonic theology.
Some Catholics may have been
persuaded to join for social or
business reasons, but Catholics
who join are excommunicated
i.e. cut off from the Sacraments
and many other benefits of the
Catholic Church No w’ell-inform
ed Catholic would join the Masons
any more than a Protestant
would join the Knights of Colum
bus. There is a conflict of ideas.
Q. In regard to the use of
liquid and medicine by the sick
who are going to Holy Commun
ion what constitutes sickness?
Does medicine include solids
g. pills?
A. Since it is required that
the person using the privilege
consult a priest the particular
case w ill be solved by the priest
consulted. It does not refer only
to those confined to bed or
patients in a hospital, however,
and may be applied to such
a
special situation as taking an
as
pirin for a headache. The. medi
cine permitted does include sol
ids.
Send questions to Father Ed
ward F. Healey, The Inquiry Cor
ner, The Catholic Times, Box
638 Columbus (IB) Ohio.
States. The union is correct in
stating that such solidarity has
not been witnessed on the labor
scene in a long time.
Now that the strike has been
concluded, it is difficult to
say
whether or not it was success
ful from the union's point of
view Both sides are claiming vic
tory. It is our impression, how
ever. that the union lost th*
argument substantially, if not
completely. The company re
tains the right to operate plants
outside of Norwalk. Ln the final
analysis that was the central is
sue in the controversy. On the
other hand, the union is at least
pretending to have scored a vic
tory in that the company has giv
en assurances to the Norwalk's
strikers that “Norwalk is where
the company plans to remain so
far as its major operations in
felt hats are concerned.”
Logical But Immoral
Whether this consultation be
carried on through the ordinary
channels of collective bargain
ing or some other medium or
method of labor-management co
operation is more or less beside
the point. The important thing
is that it be carried on in good
faith as between two sets of
equals mutually determined to
find the best possible answer to
a very difficult type of problem.
By the same token, what thia
consultation is called is also rel
atively unimportant. The Ger
mans, the French, the Italians
and Spanish have a word for 1L
Wr the English-speaking
world, on the other hand, ara
compelled to fall back on awk
ward transliterations from one
other of these languages—am
biguous words like co-determin
ation or co-management, moro
or less meaningless to the aver
age reader in the United States
and. worse than that, subject to
varying definitions or interpre
tations.
Whether we have a word for
it or not. however, the thing
that the Hatters Union was ask
ing for in the recent strike in
Norwalk was well within the
American tradition of collective
bargaining and perfectly consist
ent. our opinion, with Chris
tian social teaching We cannot
agree with those who say that it
was an immoral demand. The
latter opinion, more often than
not. is based on the hidden
premise that free competition,
uninhibited by union interfer
ence or any other kind of "out
side" interference, should be
the gwding principle of econom
ic life. If this were true, it would
be logical to do away with unions
and to go back to the "good old
days” of individual bargaining
even tn the area of wages, hours
and working conditions— logical
bat completely
immoral