Bishop Buddy Scrapbook 1941-1945

- THE SOUTHERN caoss, FIIDAY, SEPTEMIEI 22, 19"

Bishop of San Diego Takes Definite Stand Agai!"st Proposition No. 12; Makes Plea for Cooperation Based on Justice and Charity His Excellency, The ost

T BL! BED Cl l91l? Editor· ED ARD A. JOHNSO.

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A,aocl&t,e Edit.on· Kenneth O.

Pn.nkl1n Hurd. Astoc:lt~r. Danld O G. J. l"adn. 8. J.

oman R&ley, DaVld P.

ue. Louis E. Kern.

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representatives of labor and management can discuss and compose their differences around a table. Capital will not deny that as soon as labor develops an alert and c~pable leader, effort is made (and too often, successfully) to "pro- mote" him to the manage- ment. Now, what is the actual rec- ord of the open shop? It has been given a fair trial and, for the most part, has proved a failure. The majority of re- sponsible business men, who respect the rights of labor, and who have had a wide experi- ence with both open and closed shops, prefer the latter, and have expressed that pref- erence by going on record as opposed to Proposition No. 12. IMMORTAL WORDS Let employers ponder well this pertinent paragraph from the immortal message of Pope Leo XI 11. on ''The Condition of Labor": "Nevertheless, an abund- ance of corporeal and external goods is likewise a character- istic of a well constituted State, 'The use of which goods is necessary for the practice of virtue.' To produce these goods the labor of the wor.k- ers, whether they expend their ski II and strength on farms or in factories, is most efficaci- ous and necessary. Nay, in this respect, their energy and effectiveness are so important that it is incontestable that the wealth of nations origin- ates from no other source than from the labor of workers. Equity therefore commands that pub Iic authority show proper concern for the worker so that from what he con- tributes to the common good he may receive what wi 11 en- able him, housed, clothed, and secure, to live his life without hardship. Whence, it follows that all those measures ought to be favored which seem in any way capable of benefiting the condition of workers. SucH solicitude is so tar from iniur• ing anyone, that it is destined rather to benefit all, because it is of absolute interest to the State that those citizens should not be miserable in every respect from whom such necessary goods proceed." It is rank sophistry to indict, in sweeping condemnations, labor Unions because a com- paratively few hoodlums, in high places, betray their trusts. Business and politics have their racketeers. In fact, parasites infest every profes- sion.· Neither Capital nor Labor can .p re t e n d to be blameless. Evils lurk both in unscrupulous methods of cap- ital ism and in radical reform proposals. UNDERPAID The writer of these facts deals not altogether with book theories. For the past thirty years, and in particular since the start of this war, he has sat down for hours with labor- ing men, both Union and non- Union, in an effort to readjust budgets to meet the bare ne- cessities of their families-big, noble families of brawn and brain, like the Sullivans, and countless others who have dis- tinguished themselves in the rank and file of our fighting l"!}~n.

The expressions "interfer- ' ence" and "does or does not belong to a Union," ' or any variations of them are to be regarded as anti-Union, hich disturbs peace and order. SECURITY BLIGHTER The second point in Propo- sition No. 12: "Declares inter- ference with such right unlaw- ful and provides remedy by court action ... declares sec- tion self executing, and au· thorizes legislation tp faci li- tate its operation," ... merely implements the preceding and provides the legal machinery to enforce it. Obviously, Prop- osition No. 12 seeks to weak- en, or even break down, Union security, while it offers no safeguard to non-Union labor. It might be added that the terms "right of employment, free from interference" as used in Proposition No. 12, in- volve a certain amount of con- tradiction because if a man employed in an open shop can be forced to work for a wage less than the Union scale, his right to a living wage is thus interfered with and he is re- duced to a condition of slav- ery. Moreover, in practice, if regulations and restrictions necessary to protect the wel I being of al I concerned be in- terpreted as "interference," then every business and pro- fession suffers "interference" because multiple laws, codes, ethical standards are set up in an effort to regulate the con- duct of a business, a profes- sion, or an individual for the protection of the majority. Admitting the popularity of the slogans "liberty," "free- dom of action," "right to act without interference," they still require prudent explan- ation, for the plain reason that in civilized communities no one can justly claim free- dom to trample on the rights of others. Certainly, no one is mora I ly free to batten on the sweat of unrequited labor. UNWARRANTED ATTACK Labor Unions have worked long and hard to build up an organization for the protec- tion of rights totally ignored before such Unions were formed. To maintain these rights requires coordination of effort, and the intelligent mar- shallina of various units. It is a notorious fact that the labor- ing man has been shamefully exploited. Sha II all that he has achieved by dint of sacrifice and struggle be wrecked by unwise legislation? Indeed, this new attack on labor ex- emplifies another form of in- justice because the individual members had to be heavily taxed to defend themse Ives adequately against it-a burd- en they can iII afford under the mounting cost of liying. TO WIDEN RIFT

Reverend Charles F. Buddy, Ph. D., 0.0., 'Bishop of the Diocese of San Diego, issued the fo11o ing statement: In response to a request by representatives of Union ~a~or in San Diego for an opinion regarding proposed legislation known as Proposition o. 12, I have no hesitation in declar- ing that it should be defeated, because: A.) It could be used by em- ployers to break up estab- 1 ished Unions, or to weaken Union security. B.) It would be a constant menace to public peace by fomenting strikes and dis- order. C.) It benefits neither the Union nor the non-Union man, nor even management. Proposition No. 12, to be submitted to the electorate of California in November, reads as follows: "R I G HT OF EM PLO y- M ENT. Initiative Constitu- tional Amendment. Adds sec- tion 1 A to Article I. Declares right of employment, free from interference because em- ployee does or does not belong to or pay money to a labor or- ganization. Declares interfer- ence with such right unlawful and provides remedy by court action. Defines labor organ- ization. Declares section self executing, and authorizes legislation to facilitate its op- eration." ANTI-UNION REHASH An analysis of the above measure reveals weaknesses which sound reason cannot support. The wording of Proposition No. 12, if taken as it stands, appears obscure. It "Declares right of employment, free from interference"-obviously a rehash of old standard anti- Union language - confusing, disruptive. Throughout the country, before legislatures, attorneys of corporations hos- ti le to Unions urge the same argument. It professes to pro- tect an employee from "inter- · ference" because he "does or does not belong to, or pay money to, a labor organiza- tion." Actually, an employer could invoke this clause in court to stop ·a Union man even from endeavoring to per- sua~e a non-Union man to join the Union. The employers' at- torneys could ask for an in- junction on the grounds that the Union man's action, in this case, constitutes "int e rfer- ence" under the law. Needless to add, under the terms "inter- ference" and "does or does not belong," the courts could hold all Union (closed shop) contracts, and all check-off contracts, illegal. TROUBLE MAKER Undoubtedly, employers, fearful of the dire conse- quences, would not dare to take strong Unions, such as the Builders' Trades or Print- ers' Unions, into court in order to break them up; but they could crush weak or newly- forming Unions by simply in- voking the law against "inter- ference." Whether they would or would not do so need not be debated. The proposed law gives them the legal right to do so, and for that reason it would keep the community in constant turmoil and unrest.

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FOR GOD AND COUNTRY

In na ten or relllrton The Southern croea 1a itUlded enUrely by the o!flClal statements of the Catholle Hierarchy or the United Sta~. ln civil &!fa ra It ia pledi:e<1 to full , cooper&• Uon 1th the Pederal Goverruneni.. Sub!ICrtpUon Price••••••••••••••••••f:l.00 a year Bnra-cUoceaan IUblcrtbe?S are requested to notlty thla o!!1ce of chanite of addr 1mmedl• at.elf, Matter lntenl1ed tor pubUcaUon In The Southern Cr01111 mun reach this ottlce by Tutt• daJ noon. Addrea .ii communlc t1ona to: 1528 FOURffl AVENUE San Dle10 l, California Telephone F-S91S "RERUM NOVARUM" CHARTS THE COURSE "Let it be granted then that worker and employer may en- ter freely into agreements and, in particular, concerning the amount of the wage; yet there is a Iways underlying such agreements an element of natural justice, and one greater and more ancient than the free consent of contract- ing parties, namely, that the wage shall not be less than enough to support a worker who is thrifty and upright. If, compelled by necessity or moved by fear of a worse evil, a worker accepts a harder con- dltion, which although against his will he must accept be- cause the employer or con- tractor imposes it, he certain-- ly submits to force, against which justice cries out in pro- test." (Pope Leo X111. "The Condition of Labor".) STAGGERING WAR PROFITS Does any one question the well established economic principle that every employee is worth his salary, plus a prof- it, to his employer? Witness how certain owners and a num- ber of subsidiary stockholders, in the manufacture of war ma- teri a Is, have reaped a golden harvest out of this destructive war. According to reliable in- formation, one Aircraft Com- pany made a profit of 43.96%~ on one contract alone; a Sup- ply Corporation showed a net gain of •$3,480,000.00 com- pared with $432,000.00 in pre- war days; an Axle- Company cleaned up $8,250,000.00 in profits, despite taxes. These few examples may be multi- plied by thousands. Whence the enormous prof its? From the sweat of laboring men at home-the spilling of Ameri- can blood abroad; yet, the pre- sent income of the average worker does not, de facto, give him a decent living, nor the means to support and educate his family in accord with jus- tice and the dignity of rational beings, not to mention the ac- quisition of a permanent home. SOUND PR~NCIPLE "In summary, let this be laid down as a general and con- stant law: Workers' associations ought to be so constituted and so governed as to furnish the most suitable and most con- venient means to attain the object proposed, which con- sists in this, that the individual members of the association secure, so far as possible, an increase in the goods of body, of soul, and of property." ("Rerum Novarum", May 15, 1891) RELIGION SAFEGUARD The above statements are submitted with the utmost re- spect but without apology, be- cont1nuec1 on Pa. e

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Moreover, those responsible for Proposition No. 12 may not realize that they are pro- moting hostility between two classes of society, Capital and Labor. This is abhorrent, es- pecially in view of the present world conflict and th'e mag- nificent record of both man- agement and labor, not only in producing war materials, but in sending their sons and daughters to the front. With- out resorting to courts and · radical .legislation, intelligent