The Catholic times. [volume], May 06, 1955, Image 4

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4—THE CATHOLIC TIMES
Friday, May 6. 1955
THE
CATHOLIC TIMES
Published Every Week by
The Catholic Times, Inc.
Columbus. Ohio
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Sin and Justice
The message of Christ which forms the Gospel
on Sunday's Mass was spoken, like the one of the
preceding Sunday, at the Last Supper it is a
message He wanted His disciples to remember after
He had left them and it therefore has special mean
irg for us, His followers of today, for it is by His
guidance and counsel that we must shape our lives.
His promise that though He was soon to return
to the Father He would send the Holy Spirit to teach
and strengthen the disciples, so that His mission of
bringing men to salvation could go on, tells us
that we need have no need to fear the assaults and
temptations of the world.
The disciples were sad at the thought that He
was about to leave them, and His followers now
would be properly sad. too, if their meditations dur
ing Lent on the profound truth of the Redemption,
their contemplation of the grievous scenes of Holy
Week, and their exaltation when the arrival of East
er signalized His triumph over death, were to be
the. preparation only for a final farewell on Ascen
sion Day Instead, the disciples were told, and we
are told, that the lessons of Christ’s life were to
be applied, under the direction of the Holy Spirit,
in all the concerns of mankind that the coming
of the Holy Spirit was to be a summons to all Chris
tians to engage in a courageous struggle for per
sonal righteousness, for human integrity, fnr social
justice.
For in the name of Divine Truth the Holy Spirit
hears ceaseless witness to sin on the one hand and
to justice on the other, and bears ceaseless testi
mony, moreover, to the overwhelming fact of God’s
judgment, passed upon the actions and thoughts
and omissions nf men. None of the affairs of th*
world can escape this judgment: what is done in
secret, what the bold man fines publicly, what trans
pires in the councils nf the great everything under
goes the divine scrutiny.
When justice prevails the divine approval is
evident in peaceful hearts and happy peoples, when
sin holds sway, no massing of wealth or power can
conceal its evil from the all-seeing judge. Victims
nf injustice find in the Holy Spirit a source of com
fort and aid, for the rcpei.tant sinner there is assur
ance nf mercy hut fnr the man or groups of men
who affront the justice nf God there is nn escap
ing divine retribution.
The Holy Spirit is Wisdom as well a« Truth,
and the light of Wisdom safeguard against error
and sin. is available to those who seek St prayer
fully, “Casting aside all uncleanness and abundance
nf malice," St. James admonishes us in Sunday's
Epistle, “with meekness receive the ingrafted word,
which is able to save your souls." How fitting, then,
is the psalm verse which opens this Mass: “Sing
ye tn the Ixuri a new canticle, for the 1 zird hath
done wonderful things He hath revealed His jus
tier in the sight nf the Gentiles!"
Mount Carmel's
‘Our Lady of Grace’
“1 am the Mother of fair love, and of fear, and
nf knowledge and of holy h,ope. In mo is all grace
nf the way and of the truth in me is all hope of
life and nf virtue. Come over to me, all ye that
desire me, and be filled with my fruits’"
Ecclesiasticus XXIV 24 27
“Come over to me." 7’he prophet speaks for
Her in whom there is "all grace." Thus, also speaks
Our Ijidy nf Grace as her sculptured arms spread
u ide to embrace the City of Columbus from the gen
tle slope before Mount Carmel Hospital
Sculptured in Pictrasanta, Italy, by Professor
Amando Rattelli, this statue brings a new impetus
tn a devotion extending back to the early*ages of
Christian worship. The devotion to Our iJdy of
Grace is of French origin thus Notre Dame de
Grace is singularly suited to a hospital, conducted
hy the Sisters of the Holy Cross, founded at la*
Mans, France At her various shrines throughout
France countless favors have been obtained through
her intercession.
Of special interest are those at Cambrai where
the painting of Our Lady is attributed to the Evan
gelist St. Luke, and at Nimes where the devotion
dates bark tn the days of Charlemagne. Devotion tn
our Lady nf Grace was a favorite devotion of Ixniis
XIV and his mother, Anne of Austria, It was to
this shrine that Ixiuis went in solemn state to re
turn thanks and to establish a foundation for Per
petual Masses for the victory over the Saracens.
Another frequent place of pilgrimage is to
Notre Dame de Grace at Loos This shrine was orig
inally founded when a Benedictine brother, on his
way to Bethune, placed a statue under a linden
tree where the monks paused in their work to
breathe a prayer for her help. The faithful, as
well, soon fell into this pious practice and since
1544 frequent miracles have been reported In Au
gust of 1832 when cholera was raging and decimat
ing the country, the Sisters of Charity who conduct
ed a hospital at nearby Lille, organized a pilgrim
age to Notre De Grace and the mortality among
their patients ceased although the plague continued
to ravage the surrounding countryside.
So may Our Ijidy of Grace protect Mount Carmel
Hospital, her patients, and her staff. From her
marble prominence she will embrace all whn come
to her. In the words nf Cornelia Otis Skinner in
"Prayer to the Florence Madonna.”
Mary, moat serenely fair
Hear an unbeliever's prayer.
Nurtured in an austere creed
Sweetest I-ady she has need
Of the solace of your grace
r,f a traces.
Show me how to find such places
as the countries where you dwell,-
The K. of C. Oath
The phony Knight* of Columbus oath stilt make*
the rounds There are still people in these United
States, where there is p'enty of opportunity for
enlightenment on the subject, who believe in the
bogus K. of C. oath. And there are some who go
so far as to publish their belief in its existence warn
ing our non-Catholic neighbors about us.
This is sad As if there were not enough cause
for tension in this present confused world, such
libelous things disseminuied about good Catholic
citizens only add to the tensions. It is especially
yiiscouraging when one considers^ that a call to
the nearest K. of C. club would get their side nf
the question. And Americans are still fair-minded
enough to want to hear both sides. Or, are they?
There is nothing evil pbout the K. of C. oath.
Theirs is a secret society, but their loyalty is to
their God. their Church and their country. That
has been proven times without number.
After all, why should there he such disturbance
about the K. of C. oath. Why do we not get roused
up about the Masonic secrets. Why are the K. of
C.’s evil in having secrets of their own. but no
other fraternal organization seems to share the
same suspicion.
Catholics love their non-Catholic neighbors, and
want to be friendly with them. But they grow
weary putting down libelous and caluminatory
rumors and statements about their devotion to the
Church and their country.
Just Among Ourselves
Pasting Comment Considered or Inconsiderate
Old Farmer Corntossle rested briefly on our
porch the other day. Said he was hitch-hiking back
to Washington, D.C., to find out if there was still
a place for him on the newspapers there. Used to
he that every edition of Post or Star had one nr
twn remarks by Farmer Corntossle. And nf these
at least one a week was quoted in the Spire nf Lift
column of the old Literary Digest.
Philosophy was what they used to call the say
ings of Farmer Corntossle. He was something of
an old Greek sage dressed in overalls. But he usual
ly had a straight man to ask the proper questions
so that he might drawl oat the proper philosophic
answers. In this he was unlike Abe Martin and
Aunt Het. He didn’t' just up and make his .state
ment. And he didn’t deal much with local persons
or events around his imaginary farm. He spoke
of men and matters in universal terms, as befits a
philosopher.
We asked the Farmer if he thought he had a
good chance of getting back his old place on the
Washington papers. He said no, he didn’t. He said
editors never really had much use for his sayings
heyond the fact that each of these gems of thought
could be used to fill a small vacancy in an inside
corner of the paper. Nowadavs, he said, there are
nn vacant corners. They are filled with weather re
ports from Yucca Flats.
Still he had hopes nf something turning up.
Washington is a city of constant and strange oppor
tunities. He thought he might catch on with the
big politicians and supply them with bits of wisdom
for their speeches. Plenty of vacant corners there,
he said. And the common voters seem to like an
occasional remark that sounds like real thinking,
even when it isn’t. The politicians like it too spices
up a speech, and never leads to a congressional
investigation.
We asked Farmer Corntossle whether the mad
gadgetry nf modern livin'* u»s caused him to change
any of his old ways of thinlrng. Hr said it hasn't’.
Man. he said, remains the same oncer and twisted
creature he has always been. Modern living merelv
ve* him more and different opportunities of
showing that fact.
Nearly everybody (said Farmer Corntossle) has
elements in him of arrogance and cowardice, he
is pari Hitler and part Caspar Milquetoast. In the
old days, hr didn't have many opportunities of play
ing dictator he had to play the milder game, and
was usually polite, si least passably so. Chances
were if a man humped intn you on the street he'd
ask your pardon, even if hr were bigger than you.
But nowadays one of these little fellows with
no more spunk, apparen.ly than a jar of dry milk
will get behind lhe wheel of a car, and, all at once,
other driver swerve near him. or make a quick left
turn in front of him, and you'll hear loud remarks that
would peel the hark off a hemlock tree. The man
who is a mere pipsqueak in the parlor is likely to
he a rip-roarer on the highway. Seems that the
motor-car gives him a feeling of power and super
iority, Often, though, I've wondered whether the
secret of his highway arrogance isn't the assurance
his car gives him of a quick get away.
If a pedestrian on the sidewalk were as cocky
and domineering as the driver of a car he would
soon be cut down to size. But the motorist knows
that he can usually dash out of an unpleasant sit
uation he also knows that the pedestrians he bawls
at cannot reach him. and that other drivers cannot
well leave their cars to mix things with him. He
(eel* secure, and therefore he lets his cowardice
die down and his arrogance flare up.
You notice the same thing in the normally mild
man who is suddenly harsh and bossy when he
gets on the telephone. Face to lace with another in
conversation, he is usually at least tolerable in con
duct, hut put a mile or so of telephone wire be
tween him and the other lad, and the least thing
will make him loud and abusive The spirit of
cowardice is in charge when he can see how big
the other man is, and notice his attitude the spirit
of dictatorial arrogance takes over when he is alone
and dominate* the immediate scene.
1-ct the telephonc-Hith get a wrong number.
Does it ever occur to him that this is his own fault?
Does he think at once that he has perhaps dialed
the wrong number? Does ho realize that his impat
ient attack has probably dialed a second, third, or
fourth number without letting the dial come all
the wav back? Not at all not by any chance: not
ever. What! He make an error? He dial wrongly or
dial the wrong number? Impossible!
He assumes with absolute (and leather-headed)
conviction that if a mistake has been made he has
had nothing to do with it. A mistake is the fault of
the telephone mechanism, or of the operator, or of
the person who answers when the wrong number is
called. Indeed, this innocent person is quite gen
erally supposed to be the villain of the piece. The
telephone-Hitler greets this stranger’s voice with
high impatience. He blames this stranger for getting
in the way. He demands imperiously. “Who is
this?”’
In passing, let It be known that the best
answer to that har»h question of “Who is
this?" i* a quirt, sweet voiced easy drawl.
"Whom rto you wisn. piease?" The result, in most
rases, will be a startled grunt at the other end of
lhe wire, and an impatient banging of the phone
into its place.
Surely, the testy fellow who says, “Who is this’’”
over the telephone would not act so in a face to
face encounter. Were he to pluck a stranger’s
sleeve on the street, mistaking him for an acquaint
ance, he would ask the stranger’s pardon and try
Io explain his own conduct. He certainly would not
scowl at the stranger and demand. "Who are you?”
He would not ask angrily (in effect). "What bus
inrss have you being somebody else when I want
John Jones?"
Yes (concluded Farmer Corntossle), a good many
of us imagine that we are polite when we are only
cowardly, and a good many of us fancy that we are
alert and efficient when we are only making arro
gant fools of ourselves. The age of gadgetry gives
us new means of covering cowardice and of ex
pressing arrogance. But, with or without gadgets, we
are the same sure exponents of the fact of original
sin.
IT'ASHINGTON LETTER
WASHINGTON—A distinguish
ed American scientist said some
thing here that strikingly recall
ed the latest Easter Message of
His Holiness Pope Pius XII.
The scientist told the National
Academy of Science that the
problem of “fall out” from atom
ic tests and its effects upon
heredity should not be taken
lightly. The Pope, speaking tn
the world at Easter lime, warned
against the dangers geneticists
see in the reckless handling of
the problem.
Dr. Herman J. Muller, profes
sor of zoology at the. University
of Indiana, said “attempts in
high places” to deny the damag
ing hereditary effects of radia
tion from atomic tests has weak
ened public morale.
At the same time, he said, “an
other widely circulated counter
claim that the heredity constitu
tion of all humanity is heing se
riously undermined by our test*
of hydrogen bombs" is "equally
false," and that he is led to sus
pect that communists might be
the instigators of this rumor,
Professor Muller told the acad
emy that the hydrogen tests
“certainly do not undermine the
heredity of our population as a
whole significantly.”
LOUIS F. HI DENI
President George Meany of
the American Federation of La
bor has earned the ire of the
Communists by his April 22 dec
1 a ra i o n on
American for
eign policy. In
his address to
the American
Society of
Newspaper Ed
tors.Mr. Meany
placed himself
and the legiti
mate labor
movement in
direct opposi
tion to “the Communism of the
Moscow, Tito, and Mao Tse-tung
brands.” The President of the
American Federation of Ijtbor
thus shows that he understands
better than many of our political
leaders that Soviet Communism
is our enemy, no matter under
what guises it presents itself.
If these wise words were heed
ed, there would be an end to
the scandalous aid to Marshal
Tito who will use our funds and
our guns against us when the
time comes to help Mother Mos
cow. Washington would also
eeasr ihe hemming cr.d hafir.j
which goes on about Red China.
A Forthright Policy
Quite logically, Mr. Meany op
posed admitting Red China to the
United Nations, “the glib talk of
two Chinas,” and for any weak
ening in the defense of Formosa.
He pointed out that the A. F, of
L. had warned Dean Acheson, a
year in advance of the Red at
tack on South Korea, that our
policies were encouraging just
such an armed assault.
But Mr. Meany saw beyond the
Far East. He warned that the
proposed Austrian “peace treaty,”
which Soviet Russia has initiat
ed after years of deliberate de
lay by the Kremlin, has all the
earmarks of a maneuver to bring
about the disarmament of West
Germany, In general, the labor
leader called for a forthright
American foreign policy that
The JudgmentI
Atomic 'Fall-Out' Is a Problem
“Each individual mutation is,
however, an evil, and we have no
right tn dismiss it lightly," he
declared.
A mutation is defined as a sud
den variation, where an offspring
differs from its parents in some
well-marked characteristic.
Pope Pius noted that a sub
marine had been propelled by
nuclear energy, and exhorted
men of science and good will
“to persevere bravely and confi
dently in their theoretical and
experimental study of the instru
ments and the promising materi
als. so as to attain a worthwhile
production of easily accessible
energy, which may be put to use
where it is needed, and contrib
ute to the lessening of the pres
sures of want and misery.”
“Still, concerning what re
search can accomplish in an am
bitious control of life," His Holi
ness added, ’’we must again raise
Our voice of warning against the
dangers which the science of
genetics foresees as possible,
when that mysterious something
which is deep down in every liv
ing thing is handled recklessly,
or subjected to a violent change
of habitat by a cause such as,
for example, an increased radio
activity in the face of a yet un­
Meany and the Three-Front War
would halt Soviet aggression in
stead of constantly retreating
before it.
In ths Red Pattern
The latest issues of the Red
agencies for international direc
tives—the New Times of April 9
and the Comminform organ of
April 8 and 15 indicate how
timely and worthwhile was the
Meany declaration. 7’he Kremlin
is conducting a three-front war
against the United States, these
documents disclose, all in the
name of “anti-aggression."
One front is in Europe, "the
struggle to prevent the resurg
ence to German militarism." To
achieve victory in that battle it
is clear that Soviet Russia will
go to any lengths. The proposed
Austrian “peace treaty” is in the
Red pattern, for it advances the
idea of "neutralism And “neu
tralism” is in actuality the open
ing up of countries to Soviet in
vasion when the proper moment
arises
Potent Argument
Anyone reading the pages of
the New Times, with its preoccu
pation in the attempt to prevent
the arming nf West Germany,
ran detect clearly that a “neu
tralized' Austria would hr used
as a pntent argument in West
Germany for preventing that
country from defending itself or
Europe The road is also open,
under the terms of the “treaty,”
for the Kremlin to assert, at any
moment it chooses, that Austria’s
“neutrality” has been broken,
and that therefore Soviet Rus
sia can invade that hapless coun
try.
If Moscow made use of *a non
aggr-ssion pact" as an excuse tn
seize the Baltic nations it can
readily find an alleged breach of
Austrian “neutrality” as a sub
terfuge for the military re-occu
pation of that nation. The Aus
trian "peace treaty,” if it goes
through as it is at present, as
sures a Red Austria in the not
ton distant future.
These considerations are re­
known margin of biological se
curity.”
The annual bulletin of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
reports that persons under 18
years of age constituted the fol
lowing percentages of persons ar
rested for various crimes in the
United States in 1954, as follows:
Robbery, 18.7 per cent bur
glary, 49 larceny. 43.6 auto
theft, 57.6 embezzlement, 2.2.
receiving stolen property, 26, and
forgery and counterfeiting, 5.6.
In what age bracket would you
place a “youth"? Some people
thin'k of a youth as anyone under
21 years of age.
In recent hearings conducted
by the House Armed Services
Committee there have been fre
quent references to ".youth”
without specification of the age
limits meant. Inquiries develop
ed that the witnesses were talk
ing about boys 17 to 19 years of
age. There’s nothing official
about this, of course. It simply
meant that when witnesses spoke
against the “youth draft plan,”
they objected to the draft of
boys under 19 years of age for
six months of active service to
he followed by 7’» years of re
serve training.
inforced by the Cominform or
gan of April 15. which whips up
the comrades of the world into
a new frenzy for a universal cam
paign “against the Paris agree
ments" providing for the partial
rearming of West Germany.
The second war front is in the
Far East. There the Kremlin has
its eyes on Quemoy and Matsu
as the bases for the destruction
of Formosa and, eventually, the
conquest of South Korea. It is
obvious that these islands have
no value in themselves to Red
China—no rare mineral deposits
or exclusive vegetation. The sole
value of Quemoy and Matsu to
Soviet Power is their proximity
to Formosa as jumping off places
for the attack on Chiang Kai
shek.
The third Red front against
the United States is within this
country and within all the other
nations still free from Soviet
domination That is why we read
in the Cominform organ of April
15, and in all current Commun
ist documents, the constant in
junction to the comrades to ap
peal to "the peace-loving people"
in every land.
Mvany'a Address Obscurely
Reported
This “appeal" registers itself
by the “transmission belt" meth
od recommended by Stalin. We
have such a distinguished non
Communist paper as the New
York Times obscuring the Meany
address, presenting it 5n such a
manner that its significance and
real contents are not brought
forth.
But there are those in Amer
ica who still wish to save this
nation. An outstanding group of
citizens including some of
our most tried military command
ers—have come out for the
breaking off of relations with
Soviet Russia and its satellite re
gimes. That can encourage us all
to urge upon the United States
this policy, which would defeat
the three-front war being waged
against us.
Inquiry Corner
Q. Have we ever had an
American Saint? If not. why
not?
A. St. Francesca Cabrini (Mo
ther Cabrini) was an American
citizen, who died in Chicago in
1917. She was born in Italy and
came to America in 1809 to work
among the immigrants. She was
beatified in 1937 and canonized
in 1946. Blessed Catherine (Ka
teri) Tekakwitha, a Mohawk In
uian gir’ was truly an American,
but of native-born citizens of the
United States we have not yet
had a canonized saint. Only God
knows the reason, but we could
reflect on our possible share in
producing saints and in promot
ing the cause of Americans whose
causes are being considered (t.
g. Mother Seton, Father Price,
etc.)
Q. Did St. Paul ever see
Christ?
A. “And last of all,as by one
born out of due time, he was seen
also by me,” says St. Paul in his
First Letter to the Corinthians
(15:8). When St. Paul wa* seized
by the Roman tribune to protect
him from the mob in Jerusalem
he explained: "I am a Jew, and
I was born at Tarsus in Cilicia,
but was brought up here in this
city a pupil of Gamaliel .”
(Acts 22:3) Wnen he states that
he saw Christ it could mean dur
ing his training under Gamaliel
in Jerusalem, at the time of his
conversion on the road to Damas
cus or during his time of retire
ment in Arabia (Galaians 1:17).
Except for the first instance that
would mean he saw Christ after
the Ascension, i.e. in His glori
fied body. y
Q. Is it a sin to pass on coun
terfeit money which you hare
received in change? If you do
not you lose the amount and
that, hardly seems right.
A. It would be sinful to pass
on (deliberately) a counterfeit
piece of money. While we would
receive it in good faith we can
not give someone money which
we know to be valueless. While
this civil and moral ruling may
seem hard inasmuch as it de­
MON SIU MIR HIGGINS
I. AfrjSfr entitled “W a
IL terfront
W ‘'"tw s L” We
aie interested
81 ,hlS 1 1 n’
Fath e»r Healey------------------
I not so much in
book it
which of
worth
but rather in a syndicated re
view of the
book which appear
ed recently in a number of Cath
olic newspapers throughout the
United States.
This review—very sympathet
ic to Father Corridan’* work and
very laudatory of Mr. Raymond’s
book—pointedly states that some
of labor’s friends (some of la
bor’s Catholic friends?) are guil
ty of winking at serious crime*
and abuses in the American
trade union movement. Mr. Ray
mond’s book, it is said, “clearly
brings out the dishonesty and
harmfulness of automatically en
dorsing as unobjectionable ev
erything and anything done in
the name of unionism
Double Standard Indefensible
The reviewer’s point is very
well taken to the extent that
it is borne out by the facts. A
double standard of morality for
management and labor is obvi
ously indefensible. Or, if there
is to be a double standard of
morality in the field of industri
al relations, it should not be
weighted in favor of labor lead
ers. If anything, the public has
a right to expect that labor lead
ers, as professional, self-pro
claimed champions of social jus
tice, will exhibit a higher de
gree of honesty and integrity
than almost any other group of
men in public life. Noblesse
oblige
It is our impression actually
that the American press, if not
the American public in general,
has in practice adopted precise
ly this attitude with regard to
labor leaders.
Whether intentionally or not,
far too many newspapers have
succeeded in leaving the impres
sion that the waterfront scandal
is purely and simply a problem
of union racketeering and union
gangsterism. And yet one of the
most significant facts about the
waterfront problem one fre
quently emphasized in Mr. Ray
mond’s book is the unscrupu
lous greed of far too many wa
terfaont employers who have
been perfectly willing to coop
erate vth labor racketeers at
the expense of the workers. As a
matter of fact, Father Corridan
is of the opinion Jhat the of
fending union “was dominated
by the employers more than by
the men on its roster and was in
no real sense of the word a la
bor union at all.”
Basic Waterfront Froblom
According to Father Corridan
and other knowledgeable stu
dents of the problem, these em
ployers are as much to blame
for the waterfront scandal as any
other aingle element. “Ever
prives the innocent person wf
money which i« rightfully hia
there is no other just remedy.
It would be unjust for him to
pass on the injustice to another.
It would also be impossible for
the civil law to permit govern
ment payment for such money
for then the way could be open
ed to traffic in just such an
operation. The man who takes
counterfeit money is in the
same position as anyone else
who has been robbed. He must
get the money stolen from the
counterfeiter, not from someone
else.
Q. Since God knows whether
we will he saved or lost isn’t it
true to say that we are predes
tined one way or another and
have no control in the matter?
A. No. We believe that God
gives every man sufficient grace
to be saved and that our free
will is real and not an illusion.
It is like the farmer who would
say that he is either going to
have a crop or not, God knows,
so why bother planting the seed?
God knows (as ALL PRESENT
TO HIM FOR THERE IS NO
PAST, PRESENT OR FUTURE
FOR GOD) what we will freely
do, and because he knows what
we will do (which we do not
know) He knows if we will be
saved or not. St. Paul states
the Catholic position well: “I
urge therefore, first of all, that
supplications, prayers, interces
sions and thanksgiving he made
for all men This is good and
agreeable in the sight of God
our Sa“ior, who wishes aM men
to be saved and to come to the
knowledge of the truth." (T
Timothy 2:1-4) The Council of
Trent states that while God
knows our future free choice*
and the final result, we are free
and no one knows whether he
will be saved or lost, save by
God's special revelation.
Send questions to Father Ed
ward F. Healey. Inquiry Corner,
The Catholic Times, Bnx 636,
Columhus (16) Ohin.
Sin on the Waterfront
Father John Corridan, S.J.,
who was dramatically portray
ed last year in the prize-winning
movie “On the Waterfront,’’ is
the subject of
a nPM hook by
a veteran jour
nalist. Allen
Raymond,
since his earliest studies of th*
waterfront," Mr. Raymond says,
“Father Corridan has been ham
mering away at the theme of
employer resporrsibility for th**
rackets that were ruining the
port." The basic problem on the
waterfront, in the opinion nf Fa
ther Corridan, Ls not crime nor
is it law enforcement. The prob
lem is how to regulate and con
trol the excess supply of casual
labor on the docks and how to
eliminate the so-called shape
up.
The American Federation nf
Labor, having expelled the of
fending union, is determined tn
solve this basic problem. But the
AFL cannot solve it without the
wholehearted cooperation of all
the employers on the waterfront.
The time has come, then, for the
AFL's counterpart the New
York Shipping Association to
discipline the offenders in its
own ranks, and to join hands
with the AFL in a common ef
fort to solve a problem which
dishonest affiliates of both or
ganizations have perpetrated at
the expense of the workers and
the consuming public.
We have brought up this
question of employer responsi
bility for the waterfront scandal
not to excuse or to justify the
sins of labor, much less to ex
cuse or justify the whitewash
ing of these sins by the friends
of labor, but merely to round out
the picture. The record will
show that labor’s sins in con
nection with the waterfront prob
lem have been publicly exposed
a thousand times in recent years.
The same cannot be said about
the sins of the employers on the
New York docks. For one thing,
the sins of labor were sensation
ally dramatized, but the sins of
management were hardly even
hinted at in the movie “On the
Waterfront.”
For tho Record
The some lack of balance has
characterized the handling of
this problem in the general
press. Even more significantly,
the very book review which oc
casioned this column, while
rightfully deploring the sins of
labor and criticizing any attempt
to cover up or to rationalize
these sins, does not even men
tion the fact that both Father
Corridan and Mr. Raymond are
of the opinion that labor's sin*
on the waterfront have been nn
greater than the sins of many
of the employers and, in a sense,
have been occasioned hy the
greed of these employers.
Incidentally, our own fairly
extensive files on the waterfront
problem would seem to indicate
that the number of individual
Catholics and the number of
Catholic publications which have
vigorously criticized the offend
ing union on the New York wa
terfront, far exceeds the number
of those who have in any way
criticized the offending employ
ers. Furthermore these files re
veal nothing at all that would
even suggest that any individual
Catholic or any Catholic publi
cation has insisted, in the words
of the above-mentioned review,
that “wrongs, so long as not per
petrated by employers, should
be ignored." It is important, I
think, that ttus fact be cited for
the record.