THE SOCIAL MOVEMENT ABROAD

New Zealand Tablet, 11 April 1912, Page 13

THE SOCIAL MOVEMENT ABROAD

FORCES THAT ARE SHAPING THE FUTURE The second annual general meeting of the Birmingham branch .of the Catholic Social Guild was held at the Bishop’s House, Bath' street, Birmingham, on January 31. After other business had been transacted the president of the social guild, the Right Rev. Mgr. Parkinson, addressed the meeting oh The Social Movement in Other Countries.’ , ; When (said he) I promised to address you upon this subject, I, did not realise the immensity of the task I had undertaken. It is remarkable,. too, how very silent the press of England keejDS upon the saner forms of social movement outside this country In our papers we read little .of the : general social upheaval that -is gradually , becoming more apparent. It is making itself evident in. the, legislature and in civic life, and while conscious of difficulties, is advancing both on Catholic and non-Catholic lines. The predominating feature of the Catholic movement is its'earnest and religious; spirit;- Its .action -is particularly noticeable in Germany. America, Holland, Spain, Belgium, Italy, Chili, Mexico, and Ireland, and it is curious to notice how in the -different countries various phases of social, decadence loom, dwarfing all others, and call for concerted action. In Germany, the social movement is hampered by the. enormous pressure of Socialism. , In America housing,and sweating demand attention. In New York more rooms are inhabited which are hygienically unfit for human habitation than in any other city of the world. In France pornography and.-the white slave traffic are receiving particular attention, whilst Italy is faced with a difficult emigration problem! ’ fv It is noticeable, that the social movement is becoming more religious in its tone ; all social reformers agree that the integrity ,of - the family must be maintained, and everything should be directed to its development. Everywhere, and particularly in Catholic countries, great effort is being made towards bringing Catholics into close professional organisation. This movement is described by the term Syndicalism.’ Members of the various trades and professions must face difficulties by forming into groups. Social action : at the present stage of our progress converges on the workman, for his case is most urgent; yet we have gone astray not only in the lower, but in every class. It is hard to realise how Far, Behind England ; the workman in other countries is placed in regard to labor. In this country we have not the unsatisfactory conditions of child labor which obtain elsewhere; at a recent congress one of the cries was to agitate for the ‘ semaine Anglaise -the English ' —that is, rest on Saturday and Sunday. ... ■ The need of co-operative organisation is widely recognised, and also the need; - of insurance against invalidity and unemployment. • •>- Another point of vital importance is the want of leaders—men capable of pointing the way, of instructing others on these economic questions. Catholics look always first to their clergy, and that they may be ready to meet this want social - science is being taught in . the seminaries of France, ■ Spain, Italy, Ireland, and England. - Last, and not by any means the least, is the influence, of women. Their assistance is acknowledged by leading authorities as essential, not merely ornamental, but necessary, and this is being carried into practice in France, Belgium, United States, and New Zealand. Let us now; review the means by which these changes are being effected in different countries. : The first, and one by which most enthusiasm is being created, is- the congresses. ; In France", Austria, Belgium, and •Holland they have the ‘ semainetsociale,’ or social week, and the modus operandi is to send~during - the week lecturers into 1 various cities and towns expounding - the principles of ' true 7 reform. ■, Socialism is usually not directly attacked, but the Catholic spirit, the true social spirit, is inculcated, so that the Socialists, may.. see we have more practical ends in view than their illusory Utopia. The aim is not destructive, but constructive, Study circles are carried on extensively,

■whilst in -many countries a section of'the press deals exclusively 1 with Catholic matters, especially ;in the direction of social reform. . - -s ; ■ -,;..-•. {{{ . ; - . In Germany _ -~'l* Bishop Ketteler was the pioneer of the movement'. During: fifty years the country has been .transformed from an agricultural to an industrial nation; In the .half-century from 1860 to 1910 the population jumped from 37,000,000 to 64,000,000, and the workers reached a total of .34,000,000 —men, women, and children who are, or may be, influenced by social action not under our purview. The women alone amongst the Socialists of Germany'number 150,000, and they are more vehement their clamors than the men against the .present . social order. Much work is before the Catholic social reformer in Germany, for not only : are; the Socialists numerous, but their funds are great; their income during 1910 was £4 i OOO,OOO, whilst the reserve fund totals £3,000,000. . : A The Christian Trade Unions include some 300,000 members; but this is far too small. Great stress is being laid upon the education of the . working man ; The elite of the working men have, more influence over their fellows,' than have those of; a higher; class. ,'. The directing . organisation, { the ,‘ Yolksverein/ . or ' the ‘ People’s Society is the finest of its kind; in the .world. . During 1909-10 there were. 650,000 - members. ; The society . held.; 50,000..: conferences and distributed 20,700,000. pamphlets, and leaflets. ; ; .Another, feature’ of German action is the {Gorres ’ -an-, association busying; itself.' in: regard to the middle classes. v - v- ; ;" v >’ ~ ' ' In Austria a recent congress was attended by 26.000 men. There are in that country 5,600,000 women. workers,. of whom not less than 445 { per 1000 are married: { It can be easily understood that the conditions under > which home work is carried An ; are; very! bad, and the leaders regard an international "league of women as, a great desideratum. _.v /{ v {-{ ■ In 1909- the Hungarian ? Catholic social - reformers ; numbered 225,000; men. - They assist in the diffusion of literature and undertake the legal defence of ' the working classes, and, formed into 277 groups, they in 1910 held; 2500 meetings. The congress in 1909 at Czezed was attended by 70,000 persons. - . I Switzerland is the Rival of Germany for priority in social work, and the keynote of action in that land may be summed in the words of Decurtins: ‘To.build up society on Christian principles, not by . industrial competition and unrestrained capitalism.! f • With'the Swiss education is a passion, not merely elementary, but higher, not reserved to the wealthy, .but obligatory on all. More is expended upon it than upon the army. The result is that they have arrived at a state of social progress we might well envy. It is-worthy of note that Catholic Fribourg educationally takes; the leading position in this country. We read of Switzerland: ‘ She has elaborated-for herself a system of continuation schools that might be taken as a model. by all Europe—briefly, no boy is free from educational supervision until at the age of nineteen he enters the citizen army for his obligatory .training, and-no girl is free till she has passed through two years of domestic training.’ .V- Z’A' f Belgium is probably more advanced than most countries in social matters, and can show the most complete system of charitable work. They have practically no. unemployment, and there, is a difficulty arising from, the question of bad Catholics. - Insurance has made great strides, whilst agricultural syndicalism is more extended in Belgium than elsewhere in Europe. Father. Rutten has done much to establish social.guilds. One of the features of social reform is , the intellectual: development of those interested in social work. - { A miner speaking at the International Congress in Paris raised a cultured audience to - the point of enthusiasm bv his vigorous and master! v style, of {dealing with his; subject. We, too, should : aim • at educating* our workers 1 to be ready, clear, and argumentative orators. ' ' ‘ ---- ' Activity’in France. France is a country of which we should be proud. We know little, through the press of what happens

across the Channel. Only last week there was a great gathering of workmen at Paris inaugurated by the Cardinal and blessed by the Pope,. The ‘ Action Populate ’ is carried on by men who devote their whole time and energies to social reform. \ La Bonne Presse, inaugurated in 1867, is noted for its intelligent activity in the-- Catholic cause. Its illustrated magazine, :Le Pelerih, has : a circulation of 300,000. La Croix, ' now a daily paper, not only Catholic, but a first- class newspaper, has the largest subscription list in France, and is the fourth in circulation. -- There is a strong Women’s League, and friendly societies number 17,000. Congresses and the ‘ semaine sociale ’ are held frequently, whilst the second International Congress, held last Easter week, was approved of by the Pope, and representatives attended from nearly every European and many American countries. In reference to Italy it may be observed that the emigration question has there become acute. In 1909 the emigrants numbered 625,000, of these 400,000 crossed the ocean. . ' - : • ' ■//• Canada is the country of individualism. Men go there to make money; a narrow egoism prevails; there is no, social sense. The day of distress will, however, come, and non-Catholic humanitarianism with its funds will be in the field first, and we shall lose our people. /-••••The Social Movement in Ireland ■ is probably unparalleled in the world.. By the purchase of the land, small holdings have become possible. Cottages erected by capital supplied by the Government have appeared in thousands. " The campaign against tuberculosis, headed by ,the Countess of Aberdeen, has become national. The temperance movement is. making encouraging progress. Technical and agricultural matters are receiving serious attention, creameries have been established in many localities. With all this there is a movement on the part of many of the clergy for the establishment of guilds for the promotion of social reform. *'•/, /; v -, •; : •/ ■.**, ■ From these few facts we may gather that the movement for social reform is world-wide in its extent. Our desire should be to make it thoroughly Catholic -in spirit. Further acquaintance with the particular evils of our neighborhood is required and proper instruction in the way of dealing with them Sweating, housing, technical education, demand earnest attention. The working man must be educated for the task of leading the rank and file. We have to adopt a fair and honorable syndicalism so that all may obtain what is due to them for honest labor. , . e /