CARDINAL GIBBONS ON THE DIGNITY AND RESPONSIBILITY OF LABOUR.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XVII, Issue 24, 4 October 1889, Page 23

CARDINAL GIBBONS ON THE DIGNITY AND RESPONSIBILITY OF LABOUR.

The Cosmopolitan for August publishes this article upon " The Dignity, Bights, and Besp onsibility of Labour," from the pen of his Eminence Cardinal Gibbons :—: — The Redeemer of mankind has never conferred a greater temporal blessing on the human race than by ennobling and sanctifying labour, and by r escuiug it from the stigma of degradation that bad been branded upon it. He is ushered into the world not environed by the splendour of imperial majesty, nor attended by the force of mighty legi ons. He come? rather as the repnted child of an artisan, and the dajs of His boyhood and early manhood are spent in a mechanic's shop. "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary ? " The primeval curse attached to labour has been obliterated by the toilsome life ef Jeauc Christ. He has shed a halo around the workshop, and has lightened the mechanic's tools by assuming the trade of an artisan. If the profession of a general, a jurist, a states* man, and a prelate is adorned by the example of a Washington, a Taney, a Burke, and a Carroll, how much more is the calling of a workman ennobled by the example of Christ I I cannot conceive any thought better calculated to ease the yoke and to lighten the burden of the Obristian toiler than the reflection tbat the highest type of manhood had voluntarily devoted Himself to manual labour. Labour is honourable on other grounds. It contributes to the prosperity of the country, and whatever conduces to a nation's welfare is most worthy of commendation. It is not the office or occupation that dignifies tae man, but it is man tbat dignifies the office. " Honour and shame from no condition rise ; Act well your part — there all the honour lies." Cincinnatus lent dignity to agriculture by working at the plough Caligula, by an infamous life, degraded bis crown and imperial purple De Tocqueville could not pay a juster or more beautiful tribute of praise to the genius of our countrr than when he wrote in 1835 that every honest occupation in the United States was honourable. The honest, industrious man is honoured among us, whether he work with his hands or with his brains, because he is an indispensable factor in the nation's progress. He is the bee in the social hive ; he is the benefactor of his race, becauss he is always producing some* thing for the common weal . " God bless the noble working men Who rear the cites of the plain, Who dig the mines and build the ships And drive the commerce of the main. God blesß them I for their swarthy hands Have wrought the glory of our lands." As an evidence of the esteem in which the thrifty son of toil it held among us, we see from daily observation that the humblest avocations of life are no bar whatever to the highest preferment ia the Commonwealth, when talent and ability are allied to patient industry. Franklin was a printer ; President Lincoln's youthful days were spent in wielding the axe and handling the plough on his father's farm. President Johnson in his boyhood was apprenticed to a tailor. Grant was the son of a tanner, and Garfield once drove a canal-boat. These examples are given not to excite a morbid and feverish ambition in the heart of the labourer or the artisan, but to illustrate the truth that no stain is affixed to the lowliest pursuits of life. In honouring and upholding labour the nation is strengthening its own hands as well as paying a tribute to worth. For a contented and happy working-class is the best safe-guard of the Republic, while ill-paid and discontented labourers, like the starving and enslaved populace of Rome in the time of Augustus Csjjar, would be a constant menace and reproach to the country. Labour has its sacred rights as well as its dignity. Paramount among the rights of the labouring classes is their privilege to organise, or to form themselves into societies for their mutual protection and benefit. It is in accordance' with natural right that those who have oae common interest Bhould unite together for its promotion. Our modern labour associations are the legitimate successors of the ancient guilds of England. In our days there is a universal tendency towards organisation in every department of trade and business. In union there is strength in tne physical, moral, and social world ; and just as the power and majesty of our Republic are derived from the political union of the several States, so do men clearly perceive that the healthy combination of human forces in the economic world can accomplish results which could not be effected by any individual efforts. Throughout the United States and Great Britain there is to-day a continuous network of syndicates and trusts, of companies and partnerships, so that every operation, from the construction of a leviathan steamship to the manufacture of a needle, is controlled by a corporation. When corporations thus combine, it is quite natural that mechanics and labourers should follow their example. It would be as unjust to deny to workingmen the right to band together because of the abuses incident to such combinations, |aa to withhold the same right from capitalists because they sometimes unwarrantably seek to crush or absorb weaker rivals. Another potent reason for encouraging labour unions suggests itself. Secret societies, lurking in dark places and plotting the overthrow of existing governments, have been the bane of continental Europe. The repressive policy of those governments, and their mistrust of the intelligence and virtue of the people, have given rise to those mischievous 'organisations ; for men are apt to conspire in secret if not permitted to express their views openly. The public recognition among us of the right to organise implies a confidence in tte intelligence and honesty of the masses ; it affords them an opportunity of training themselves in the school of self-government and in the art of self -discipline ; it take 9 away from them every excuse and pretext for the formation of dangerous societies ; it exposes to the light of public scrutiny the constitution and laws

of the association and the deliberations of tbe members ; it inspires them with a eenso of their responsibility as citizens, and with a laudable desire of meriting the approval of their feilow-citizans. " It is better," as Matthew Arnold observes, " that the body of the people, with all its faults. Ehould act (or itself and control its own affairs than that it should be set aside as ignorant and incapable and have its affairs managed for it by a so-called superior class.' " God forbid that the prerogatives which we are maintaining for the working classes should be construed as implying the slightest invasion of the tights and autonomy of employers. There should not and need not be any conflict between labour and capital, since both are necessary to tbe public good, and the one depends on the cooperation ot the other. A contest between the employer and the employed is as unreasonable and as hurtful to the social body as a war between the head and hands would be to the physical body. Such an antagonism recalls the fablad conspiracy on th part of the members of the body against the stomach. Whoever tries to tow dißCord between the capitalist and the labourer is an enemy of social order. Every measure should, therefore, be discountenanced that sustains tbe one at the expense of the other. Whoever strives to improve the friendly relations between the proprietors and the labour unions, by suggesting the moat effectual means of diminishing and even removiDg the causes of discontent, is a benefactor to the community. With this sole end in view we venture to touch this delicate subject, and if these lines contribute in some small measure to strengthen the bond of union between the enterprising men of capital and the sons of toil we shall be amply rewarded. That " the labourer is worthy of his hire " is the teaching of Christ as well as the dictate of reason itself. He is entitled to a tair and juct compensation for his cervices. He deserves something more, and that is kind and considerate treatment. There would be less ground for complaint against employers it they kept in view the golden maxim of the Gospel : — " Whatsoever you would that men ehould do unto you, do ye also to them." Oar sympathy for those in our employ, whether in the household, the mines, or the factory, is wonderfully quickened by putting ourselves in their place and asking ourselves how we would wish to be treated under similar circumstances. We should remember that thty are our fellow-beings ; that they have feelings like oarselves ; that they are stung by a sense of injustice, repelled by an overbearing spirit, and softened by kindness ; and that it largely rests with us whether their hearts and homes are to be clouded with sorrow or radiant with joy. Surely men do not amass wealth for the sole pleasure of counting their bonds and contemplating their gold in secret. No ! They acquire it in the hope that it will contribute to their rational comfort and happiness. Now, there is no enjoyment in life so pure and so substantial as that which springs from the reflection that others are made content and happy by our benevolence. And we are speaking here, not of the benevolence of gratuitous bounty, but of fair-deal-ing tempered with benignity. Considerate Kindness is like her sister Mercy :— " It droppelh as the gentle rain from Heaven Upon the place beneath ; it is twice bless'd ; It blesseth him that gives and him that takes ; 'Tis mightiest in the mightiest ; it becomes Tbe throned monarch better than his crown." We are happy to say that commercial princes answering the description of the English bard do not wholly belong to an ideal and imaginary world, but are easily found in our great centres of commerce ; and if the actual condition of the average wa^e-worker in this country is a safe criterion by which we are to estimate the character and public spirit of American employers, we believe that an impartial judgment will concede to the majority of them tbe honourable title of just, fair-dea'ing, and benevolent men. In our visits to England, Scotland. Ireland, and the Continent of Europe we have studied the condition of thi labouring classes, and we are persuaded that the American workman is better paid and fed, better clothtd and housed, and usually better instructed, at least in the elements of useful knowledge, than his brethren across the Atlantic. Instances of genuine f-ympathy and beneficence exercised by the heads of business concerns toward those in their employ could be eoßily multiplied. Borne time ago the head of a Baltimore manufacturing company received a message announcing the total destruction by a flood of his uninsured mills, involving a loss of 36,3,000 iols. On receiving tbe naws bis first exclamation wa?, " What a loss to so many families I Here are 200 men thrown out of employment 1 ' Of the personal injury he sustained he uttered not a word. But while applaudmsr the lender feeliugs and magnanimity of bo many capitalists, we are constrained, in the interests of truth, humanity, and religion, to protest against the heartless conduct of others, whose number, for the honour of our country, is, we hope, comparatively BmaK. When men form themselves into a business corporation their personality is oveis-hadowed and their individual responsibility is lessened. And for this reason many will assent in their corporate capacity to measuies from which tbe dread of public opinion, or the dictates of conscience, would prompt them as individuals to shrink. But perhaps the injury is all the more keenly felt by the victims of oppression when iLflicted by a corporation, as it is easier to obtain redress from one responsible proprietor than from a body of men, most of whom may be unknown or inaccessible to the fruiferers. No friend of his race can contemplate without painful emotions those heartless men ipoligts exhibiting a grasping avarice which has dried up every Bentiment of sympathy, and a sordid selfishness which is deaf to the cues if distress. Their sole aim is to realise large dividends, without regard to the paramount claims of justice and Christian charity. These trusts and monopolist", like the car of Juggernaut, crush every obttacle that stands in their way. They endeavour — not always, it is alleged, without success — to corrupt our National and Mate legislatures and municipal councils. They are so intolerant ot houe&t nvalry as to use unlawful means in driving

from the market all competing industries. They compel their opera* tives to work for stnrving wages, especially in mining districts and factories, wbero protes'B have but a feeble echo, and are easily stifled by intimidation. In many places the corporations are said to have the monopoly of stores of supply, whero exorbitant pricej are charged for the necesaanes or life; bills are contracted which the workmen ara uuable to pay from their scanty wages, and their forced insolvency places thorn entirely at the mcr :y ot their taskmasters. To such Shylocks ma' well ba applied the words of the apostle: " Go to, now, ye nch men ; weep ami howl for jour miseries which shall come upon you . . . you have stored up to yourselves wrath against the last days. Behold the hire of the labourers, . . . which by fraud bath been kept back by you, crieth, and the cry of them hath uitercd into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth." In the beginning of the present century Mr. Pitt uttered, ia the House of Commons, the following words, which reveal tb.3 far-seeing mind of that great statesman :—": — " The time will come when manufactures will have been so long established, and the operatives not having any other business to flee to, tb.it it will bo in. the power of any one man in a town to reduce the wages, and all the other manufacturers must follow. Then, when you are goaded with reductions, and willing to flee your country, France and America will receive you with open arms ; and then farewell to our commercial state, If ever it does arrive to this pitch, Parliament (if it be not then tit ting) ought to be called together, and if it cannot redress your grievances its power is at an end. Tell me not that Parliament cannot ; it ia omnipotent to protect." How forcibly this language applies now to our own country, and how earnestly the warning should be heeded by the constituted authorities 1 The supreme law ot the land should bo vindicated and enforced, and ample protection should be affordei to legitimate competing corporations, as well as to the labouring classes, against unscrupulous monopolies. It would be also a humine measure if the Government interposed its authority in f jrbidding both capitalists, and parents to employ children uader a certain age, and at a period of life which cught to be devoted to their physical, intellectual, and, moral development. But if labour organisations have rights to be vindicated and. grievances to be redressed, it is manifest that they have also sacred obligations to be fulfilled and dangers to guard against. As these societies are composed of members very formidable in numbers, varied in character, temperament, and nationality, they are, in the nature of things, more unwieldy, more difficult to manage, more liable to disintegration thin corporations of capitalists; and they have need of leaders posssed of great firmness, tact and superior executive ability, who will honestly aim at consulting the welfare of the society they represent without infringing on the rights o{ their employers. They should exercise unceasing vigilance in securing their body from the control of designing demagogues who would make it sobservient to tbeir own selfish ends or convert it into a political engine. They should be also jealous of the reputation aad good name of the rank and file of the society as well as of its chosen leaders. For wkile the organisation is ennobled and commands the respect of the public by the moral nnd civic virtues of its members, the scandalous and unworthy conduct of even a few of them is apt to bring reproach on the whole body and to excite the distrust of the community. They should therefore be careful to exclude from their ranks that turbulent element composed of men who boldly preach the gospel of anarchy, Socialism, and Nihilism ; those land-pirates who are preying on the industry, commerce and trade of the country ; whose mission is to pull down and not to build up ; who, instead of upholding the hands of the Government that protects them ard bent on its destruction, and, instead of blessing the mother that opens her arms to welcome them, insult and defy her. If such revolutionists had their way, despotism would supplant logitimatu authority, license would reiga without liberty, and gauut pover.y would stalk throughout the land. We arc persuaded that the system oi boycotting, b^ which' members of labour unions are instructed 1101 to patron.ise cortaiu obnoxious business houses, ia not only disapproved of by *n impartial public sentini'nt but that it does not command usoll to, the more thoughtful and conservative portion of the guuds themselves. Every man is free, indeed, to select the establishment Wi,ia which, he wishes to deal, and in purchasing from one in prefoieac j to another he is not violating justice. But the case is altered wticn by a mandate of the society he is debarred from buying from a particular firm. Such a prohibition assails the liberty of the purchaser and the rights of the seller, and is an unwarrantable invasion of the commercial privileges guaranteed by the goveiAtnent to business concerns. If such a^ sociil ostiacibni were generally ia vogue a pieces of retaliation would natuially follow, thj current of mercantile intercourse would ba checked, every centre of population would be divided into hostile camps, and the good feeling which ought to prevail m every community would be seriously impaired. "Live and lei live" is a wise maxim, dictated alike by the law of trade and by Ghri3tian charity." Experience has shown that stakes are a drastic, and at best a very questionable remedy for the redress ot ihe labourer's grievances. They paralyse industry, they often foment fierce j assious and lead to the destruction ot property, and, above all, they result in inflicting grievous injury on the labourer himself by keeping him in enforced idleness, during which his mind is clouded by discontent while brooding over his situation, and his fimily mt unfrequently suffers from the want of oven the necessaries of life. The loss indicted by the strikers oa the employers is but a little over half the amounts sustained by the empl'iyed, who could much less afford to bear it. It would bo a vast stride in the interests of peace and of the labouring classes if i he policy of arbitration, whica is now gaining favour lor the HUilement of international quarrtls, were also availed offer the adjustmmt of disputes betwuea capital and labour. Many blessings would n suit from the adoption if this method ; for while 1 strikers, as the name implies, are aggressive au( j destructive, arbitra*-

tion is conciliatory and constructive ; the result in the former case is determined by the weight of the purse, in the latter by the weight of argument.