xt7wwp9t2q46_40 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7wwp9t2q46/data/mets.xml https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7wwp9t2q46/data/59m61.dao.xml American Liberty League 37 linear feet archival material English University of Kentucky This digital resource may be freely searched and displayed.  Permission must be received for subsequent distribution in print or electronically.  Physical rights are retained by the owning repository.  Copyright is retained in accordance with U. S. copyright laws.  For information about permissions to reproduce or publish, contact the Special Collections Research Center. Jouett Shouse Collection (American Liberty League Pamphlets), No. 43 "The Duty Of The Church To The Social Order" An Address by S. Wells Utley, President and General Manager of The Detroit Steel Casting Company, May 21, 1935 text No. 43 "The Duty Of The Church To The Social Order" An Address by S. Wells Utley, President and General Manager of The Detroit Steel Casting Company, May 21, 1935 2013 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7wwp9t2q46/data/59m61/59m61_43/Am_Lib_Lg_43_001/Am_Lib_Lg_43_001.pdf section false xt7wwp9t2q46_40 xt7wwp9t2q46   ‘       w - , ` e si ‘‘·X‘~‘‘ * * e
yields to the productive efforts of man, they  
allow themselves to be governed by their emo- * *
tions and espouse exactly the same doctrines ‘
as do those who are avowedly seeking the
overthrow of both our Church and our Civiliza-
tion. If they succeed, the fact that their inten-      
tions were good won’t serve to mitiigate the ené
suing disaster, or excuse the part t ey have ha
in bringing it about. h C h h      
What, then, is the duty of t e hurc to t e
Social Order? V    
For some years past a considerable part of R  
the members of the ministry, a considerable part
of the publications of the Church, have devoted _ O D
their time to the preaching, not of Christian E
love, but of class hatred. Instead of pointing ` BY
out the forward march of the race under the S. WELLS UTLEY
teachings of the Christian religion, they have President and General Mana er
magnined its denciencies, have emphasized its The Detrdt Steel Castin Comg an
shortcomings and its lack of perfection, in such 1 g P y
a way as to arouse animosity and retard that Chairmen Beard ef Trustees
progress which is admittedly all too slow. Obvi- First Cengresetienel Chureh
ously, they should cease such tactics, should D¢tr<>it,Mi¢his¤¤
discontinue proclaiming the identical doctrines Member Neriimei Advisory Ceimeii
Eponlwhich thfz gommunist relies to bring about Amerieeii Liberty League
is c ass revo u ion.
It is impossible for the Church, through its A
physical manifestations, to affect directly the * * *
action of its people. No pastor can be present
to guide any single one of his hundreds of
parishioners in making those decisions which An Address before the
must be made every day of our lives. They _ _ _ _
come in the home, in the midst of a business M1¤h1s¤¤ASS¤¢1¤t1¤¤¤fo¤¤sre-
conference, at the end of a telephone wire, or g;;_1;iOnal(]hu;·;;hes
more often than not in the silent hours of the
night, when the conscious mind seeks rest in jackson, Michigan
slumber, and the subconscious mind so rear-
ranges the brain cells that with the coming of — May ZL 1935
consciousness the solution of the problem is
apparent. But the Spiritual Church can control
these things! It can, and it does, so build charac- emo
ter that when these cells are rearranged they are ,,9 
rearranged in patterns which conform to the  
_ teachings of Jesus Christ. This, then, is the duty C  {Pi Sl
of the Church and its ministers, to cease wasting  '°"`iw 
time on the superficial, and devote its energy to 4,* Y L?)
the great fundamental problem of building
Christian character. The duty of the Church
is to make men and women of better and finer
character, and only as it accomplishes this ob- ·
jective will it build a better and a finer Social AMERICAN LIBERTY LEAGUE
()i~d€i·_ National Headquarters
NATIONAL PRESS BUILDING
WASHINGTON, D. C.
, ir ir
24  
Document N0. 43
June, ross

 The Duty Of the Church to the ( formed to the community, and thatthe remedy
S · 1 O d I of the defects of the present system lies not 1n its
Ocla Il or   destruction but in the improvement of the char-
acter of the race, through Christian education.
* L They claim that the present depression is quite
‘ In finding his Wav from ous spot ou tho oooou , different from thoseof the past, and was brought
to another, the navigator’s first problem is to l about by llho ollllhlholl ollllols of fl few ol. the
obtain very definitely the location of the place l bglhkelselhd bllelllees mdll? I olelllh that ll ls
from Whioh ho is dops1.tiug_ In tho sums Wav, world-wide, brought about by the errors of the
it seems to me that it is essential for us this MCG, of Y0Li1‘Se_lf and myself as much as anyone
afternoon to examine rather carefully the pres- else? that ll°.lS lllll dssdllllnlly dlllellelhl lllohl
out osooiol ordsrnt tot., obviously, its prsssut t other depressions; that after all these periodic
stats mov have ov grost dost to do With tho t slumps are only natures brakes to keep us from
Churohis dutv toWs1.d it · dashing to ourlown destruction.
From tho address Ws hsvo just hoard it from U In vrew of this wide divergence of fundamental
other statements of Dr. Herring and those who llleeei ll Seems to be eeeehllal that I Ollllllld lo
were instrumental with him in setting up the 5 You my eoheeblloll ol the. Wolllel elllollhd llS> eo
Council for Social Action, from the pronounce- that Whether you egllee Wllh ll ollhol You Wlll
mouts of tho govomiug group of tho Federal at least understand what I am talking about. If
Council of Churches of Christ in America along . I oohhhe myself Plll`€lY to elle eeollolhle bh2lee>
similar lines, it is quite evident that tneie is n Plnndn ¤¤d¢iSi¤¤d inni indi in ddd nn? in n ind
widespread disagreement between their ideas on ure lo lleollze thee llldlsd elle ollhell °°llSld‘ll·‘lll°llS>
this subjoot and mv oWu_ v but rather to a limitation of time.
They apparently feel that the mere fact that 5
a human being exists, irrespective of his ability   The National Wealth of America
or industry, gives him a right to a somewhat i . .
equal share of the world’s possessions; while I .} geehelhlelle hglee llhelll Wealth ld hell Whelll We
feel that the best interests of society are served E1? llloll€Y· ll ls llol °lll`l"`lll‘lY· llllll ll lsllol °l""lll·
by giving him an opportunity which Shall be hese are but symbols we use to describe wealth.
equal under the law and customs with that of Reel Weelllll eellelelle elllle llllllgs that hllmeh
anyone else, and holding him. responsible for the beillgekwellleljl nlld el Vlihlell they .eell make. lleej
development of that opportunity. They hold h to he   el Weelllih lll gehellell ld ol two lelhoe
that the system of individual initiative is a fail- le ee W le le lllllllln "glvell ny Geel"`eehelellllg
ure, and that society can best be served by dis- el lelld’ Olllsz lel`.eSle’ game and heh elllel ee lelehi
carding the old system and substituting one elle that Wthleh le made by meh lllolll llheee mw
vaguely eenee nmednetien for nee, and not ia mninini i msn im Oi ii Pnimi Oi nnnnnl
promo; I hold that the American System has nature. We can safely say that the annuallin-
produced more advancement for the common Como llolll dnl llllllllal Wllllllh lll inn Ulllllld
msn than any other yet C on 061% dv and that it Statestcant betdescribed as the amount sufficient
should therefore be continued; that the .pro- le lllnllllnlll llle lol ins lew llllhelllell lllddsnlld
posed system is nothing but a return to political llldle§lethWhe1;.lEhebllee tllgldt esélllllly nl the eelh`
dictatorship of our personal lives. They contend mg gh e HV l eil%elll’h nt e lhelleelee lh that
that there is a tremendous disparity in the dis- Wee igtllt ue; Y .ll.e elbell el meh eeh be
l tribution of the "good things of life," due to l meeletlle Y ll.e.eeldlllellell ellppellll el e‘pplie.Xl`
greed, corruption, and crookedness in the eco- llleley 125 lllllglell peeple’ blue the elllllllloh
nomic system; I contend that the maladjustment llteeegeelgiy ll? the Cltlnt el llllethlllelelellee lh the
is not nearly so great as they claim; that the dis- S all old gh lvlllg t li llulilall e lhellellll Whllle
tribution of wealth under our system is infinitely lllellllhelltv . e nlllllnll . ll lnll .
more Widespread than Evol, attainsd by any e nited States 1S a relatively small part of
other; that what maladjustment there is, is due the WOllld’ Oeellpylllg elbelll e Pnl eehll ol the loho
largely to the difference in human capacity and ellee’1e“,;ld hevgg ebelll e iilll eelll el the World S
human capability; that the amassing of wealth   gogltsrmsegvitiettlihgscggziggnyoghetigis gl
' ‘ 1 a G ,
 mede ll but e badge el eellvlee hel" barns, farming equipment, livestock, feeel and so
··=Tne Council ion Social Action. Rev. Hubert Her- fvribv and id miiiiim ii<>meS Wiih their furniture,
ring, D.D. equipment and supplies, which are owned out-
2 2

 right by those who inhabit them; and an almost Distribution of American Wealth
equal number, in each case, of establishments _
which are either rented or owned subject to mort- The great bulk of our wealth 1S created through
gage, but in which the personal equipment is l the labor of man——through Industry, which may
largely owned by the occupants. It consists of m be defined as_the cooperative effort of mind,
hundreds of thousands of stores, shops and small labor, and capital, to produce additional values
business enterprises, with goods upon the shelves from raw material. It 1S estimated that 111 this
and equipment for operating the business, and a country there are between one and two million
few gigantic enterprises which depend for their individual businesses and partnerships. Ob-
success on being able to furnish goods or services viously, the most of these are small and their
which are of value to the general public. In addi- ownership is widely diffused. There are between
tion, it consists of 45 million individual deposits J four hundred and five hundred thousand corpora-
in _sav1ngs banks; 10 million memberships 1n I tions, of which only between two thousand and
building and loan associations with assets of 8 three thousand a1·e sufficiently large and impor-
billion dollars; 113,700,000 life insurance policies tant to have their shares listed on either the Na-
with a face value of $97,985,000,000, and repre- tional or a local stock. exchange.
senting actual assets in 1933 of $21,424,000,000. So much attention 1S" given by the press and
The total national wealth includes one-third é demagogues to the large corporations, that our
of the railroad mileage of the world, 73 per cent 1 conception of the business structure has become
of the motor cars, 58 per cent of the telephones, { distorted, and we are prone to forget that just
32 per cent of the coal, 62 per cent of the petro-   as our whole society consists of,n11ll1ons of what
leum pumped, 35 per cent of the copper mined, ’ Lincoln called "common people, with a few out-
34 per cent of the pig iron, 37 percent of the steel standing ones who sometimes make the head-
produced, and, up to the beginning of the pres- lines, Just so does our 1ndustr1al structure consist
» ent curtailment program, 52 per cent of the corn, of millions of little concerns, and a relatively few
and 62 per cent of the world’s cotton. The Amer- large ones.
ican people have more public schools, colleges Every three years _the Government conducts a
and universities, more libraries, hospitals and census of the establishments engaged in manu-
free clinics, more asylums and institutions for the facturing, and it is therefore possible to_ get some
defective, publish more newspapers, periodicals, interesting and authoritative data on this depart-
and books, than any other people in the world. ment of industry. _
They have the opportunity of listening to more In the following table,* illustrating the struc-
and better music, and of attending more theaters ture of manufacturing industry _1n .1909, and
and movies than anyone else. They possess in again in 1929, the comparison 1n size 1S made on
their homes more electric lights, more electric the basis of the number of persons employed:
irons and washing machines, more heating plants, Msswjsstwtng Establishments
more bathrooms with running water, more elec- U. S. Census of Manufacturers
trio refrigeration and they have in their daily 1909 1929
life mere end greater Variety ef heufiehihs feed Total Number ................ 175,142 210,959
than any other people. Whatever else may be Numbss Employing;
said for or against the American system, no one 1 to 20 workers .......... 73.0% 74.3%
can look at the cold facts without being forced 21 te 50 e’_er11;ere ·-········    
to admit that it has been tremendously produc- 13}) Eg   xgifkgig ‘‘‘‘‘‘``‘‘ 4:6 4'8
tive ef "the seed thihse ef life-" Nor can any 251 to 500 Werkerejiljlllllj 1.7 1:8
one compare its record with that of any other 500 to 1000 workers .......... .7 .8
country without admitting that it has produced Ovor 1000 ···················· 3 ·5
more things to be divided than has any system These figures indicate that in IQQQ, 92_7 pst
Yot dovisott Ono onnnot hep feehhe tnnt loop _ cent of all manufacturing establishments in the
nolos eee ef tno masons WnY tno Cemmumet reiie United States were of a size employing less than
3,g8,1I1Sl3 1t 1S b€C31U.S€? he feels   6 p€I' C€1'll] of   men, and   twgnty yggdys ]g,f,gI·’   pgy
the Werhi’e_ pepuleheh hee heeh eheeether tee cent (194,300 establishments) were still of this
snooossnn In Ptoonomg Wottttn _ and tnnt tno relatively small size, while in the latter year but
eas1est way for him to share in lt is to overthrow 1_3 per cent were of sufficient size to employ 500
the system which has produced it, rather than msn Or Os,-sI·_
Ehreest lehef end ihduehy te iereduee eeme fer The number er people employed 111 the various
1mse . ..__.._
4 * National Industrial Conference Board Chart No. 285.
A 5

 classifications is likewise interesting, although country has increased by 409 per cent, or 28.2
the picture is somewhat different. Obviously, the per cent faster than the increase in population.
concern with a thousand men on its payroll gives The above figures prove conclusively that not-
work to as many employees as do fifty concerns withstanding all the misinformation one con-
with twenty on the payroll. But even from this tinually hears, the great bulk of business in the
standpoint, these statistics give a vivid illustra- United States, so far as manufacturing is con-
tion of the tremendous importance of the rela- cerned, is still the business of small units and
tively small unit in our social picture. small producers; that these, and not the gigantic
corporations, form the major part of our indus-
Percentage Of TOM! EMPZOZ/ees in Each CZGSS trial structure; and that the ownership of these
U. S. Census of Manufacturing Establishments is Widely diffused and Widely held, and that
1999 1929 neither the ownership nor the operation is in the
Total Workers .............. 6,472,616 8,838,743 hands of 5 few individuals as is S0 Oftfm and S0
· - . • erroneously charged. ~
In Eistiibllsgygigzgglploylng` 12 5% 997 Let us turn our attention for a moment to the
21 to 5e wgpkgrgj I I Q f j I I I Q jj 11:8 gig 0 A ownership of the gigantic corporations, which fills
50 to 100 workers ............ 12.1 10.1 so much of the newspaper space and which
  EO   Woriersj --··-···- .- ··     ‘ apparently causes so much concern. _
500 tg 1000 xgikgg ‘``‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘ 120 }3‘3 With the advent of the large corporation, we
over 1000 .......... ZXfX[]]f[]f[ 15:7 24i4 have d€V€l01>€d 10 an €Xl¤€¤’¤ net €<1¤¤·l€d ¤¤Y·
where else in the world, a system of public owner-
The smaller concerns, employing less than a ship of the- tools of production. Under it any
hundred, accounted for 36.4 per cent of total individual, if he feels that a corporation, be-
employees in 1909, and for 29.2 per cent twenty cause of its strategic position, because of the
1 years later; those employing less than five hun- ability of its management, or the foresight of its
dred accounted for 70.3 per cent in the earlier originator, is likely to make a satisfactory profit,
year, and 62.3 per cent in the latter year, is free to take for himself a part of that profit,
although, due to the increase in the total number 1 ‘ by buying such part of its common stock as he
employed in manufacturing, the actual number desires to purchase, at a price which is deter-
on the payrolls of the shops employing less than mined by the supply of that stock as contrasted
five hundred was nearly a million people greater with the number of others who like himself desire
than it was twenty years before. The percentage to buy it. The result is that these corporations
of total employees in the shops of those having have become public institutions, just as truly as
more than five hundred increased from 28.6 per if they were Government-owned, except that they
cent in 1909 to 37.7 per cent in 1929, so that in require that those who hold their shares shall
the latter year the large shops gaveemployment have proved themselves, in a small way or a
to almost twice as many individuals as they did large way, to have been able to accumulate the
in the earlier year. This is a very striking fact price of the shares through their own willingness
because the large shops are obviously those with to work and to save. In this connection, it is
considerable capital resources, unquestionably well to remember that corporations, like individ- ‘
equipped with the latest labor—saving devices, uals, always start as small institutions. The fact
and always keen to decrease cost by substituting that they later grow to be large is prima facie
machinery for hand labor, and yet it was in these evidence of the fact that they have been able to
shops that the greatest increase in the total num- furnish goods or services to society, on a basis
ber employed took place, indicating that, while which is so satisfactory that there is an increas-
1n_ individual instances the use of the machine ing demand for their product.
eliminates jobs, nevertheless, in the aggregate, As a result of this system, the ownership of our
the reduction in cost, produced by the machine, corporate structure has become very widespread
increases the demand for the product to a point and diversified. The General Motors Corpora-
where a larger number of people are actually tion at the end of the year was owned by 351,761
employed. This thought is further emphasized stockholders. Of these, 43.2 per cent, or approxi-
by the fact that according to Colonel Ayers, mately 151,000 owned ten shares or less; 82.5
while the use of the machine has increased by per cent, or approximately 290,000 owned fifty
1800 per cent between 1870 and 1930 and the shares or less; only 7.4 per cent of the entire list 1
increase in population has increased by 319 per owned 101 shares or more. Each one of these A
cent, the number of gainfully employed in the owners has a voice proportionate to his holdings
6 7 °

 with every other owner in the selection of the and the stockholders as upwards of 550,000
directors who operate his property. Each one has persons, _
the privilege of selling his holdings any time he In view of this picture of the national wealth
is dissatisfied with the way the property is man- of the American people, I fail utterly to see how ·
aged, or feels that he can best advance his own anyone can contend that 2 per cent of the people
interests by the ownership of some other prop- own 60 per cent (or 70 per cent or 90 per cent,
erty; and through our system of security ex- as the varying statements are made) of the -
` changes he can find a buyer for his equity usually · wealth, unless he totally disregards the facts
in a few moment’s time, a strikingly different definitely proved by all available statistics, or
situation than that which confronts him when he seeks deliberately to misinform his bearers.
puts his money into real estate. Whether he gets
back what he puts in depends upon the skill with Distribution of National Income
which the property has been managed by those _
he chose to represent him; the demand for the ` As individuals we are interested in the annual
goods or services which he as an owner is furnish- income, rather than the ownership of _cap1tal
ing; and the general condition of the country, wealth; in what income the rolling m1ll_pro-
just the same as is the case if he puts his savings ; duces, rather than how much is invested in it.
into any other kind of property, such as a house Fortunately, we have witry definite figures cover-
and lot. in this matter, as we . _
The American Telephone and Telegraph Com- In June, 1932, the Senate passed a resolution
pany had at the end of the year 680,939 stock- asking that the Secretary of Commerce report
holders; Cities Service Corporation, 635,143, etc. "Estimates of the total national income of the
The sheet I have in my hand lists by name four- United States for each of the calendar years
teen corporations, whose total stockholders num- 1929, 1930, and 1931, including estimates of the
ber 3,746,310. Messrs. Fraser, Jelke & Co. have portions of the national income originating from
prepared a list of 225 corporations, totaling 10,- agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transporta-
275,000 stockholders, and it is estimated that the tion, and other gainful industries and occupa-
total owners of stock in listed corporations in tions, and estimates of the distribution of the
this country amounts to over 26 million individ- national income in the form of wages, rents,
uals. This covers the ownership of less than royalties, dividends, profits, and other types of
three thousand corporations, out of a total of payment." This report throws a great deal of
half a million, the ownership of the remaining light on the question of how the income of the
being distributed in every city, village and ham- American people is distributed. _
let throughout the entire country. In conformity with the terms of the resolution,
It is obvious that this enormous number of the report* considers, first, "Income Produced/’
stockholders are not separate individuals, that and then, "Income Paid Out," finding that there
many of them own stock in several different is a distinct difference between the two, in that
corporations. It is worthy of note, however, that in good years some of the "income produced" is
quite largely they are individuals, and not insti- retained as surplus, and that in bad years surplus
tutions, that savings banks, life insurance com- is drawn upon to augment the income paid out,
panics, and so forth are investors in bonds which and make it greater than the income produced.
are evidences of indebtedness, and that the The inveetisatere feund that the Income P1`O‘
ownership of these corporations resides in indi- duced was distributed ae between Wagee and
vidu,-;t]g_ Of One thing We may bg Very Sum, and salaries and all other expenditures as shown in
that is that the ownership of the great corpora- . the fOHOWmg’
tions is in the hands, not of a few men of great Dtstyttutttn Oy Income Produced
wealth, but rather in a tremendous number of
individuals of little wealth. It is interesting to W d S I _· 1552,7 @23;),7 iéigglq $85%
note, too, that in many cases the number of Alilggthip  'Q 36i4 0 30l9 0 25i2 O 19:9
owners very largely exceeds the number of em- . .
ployees. General Motors, for instance, reports a Th? °9“St9“ttY mcmasmg Shure Of Wages and
total Of 191,157 employees, as against 351,164 salaries in the income producer? tge ccgnstantly
Stockholders, nearly two to Om; While 3 Sum_ decreasing share of all other in s o income p
mary of the iron and steel industry lists the ”""` _
empleyeee at the end Of the yam- as 420,397, S€*S§J(;}1 S. Senate document No. 124. Seventy—th1rd
S .
. 8 9

 lends no support to the charge that during a Income Prodnoed os. Income Paid Ont
period of depression the wage earners suffer for (Mzlltons of dollars)
the benefit of other types of wealth. 1999 1939 1931 1999
This is strikingly borno onli by the following Income Produced ....... 83,ggg 70,345 54,643 39,365 _
more detailed division, in which "income paid ?;;;1;§s(frb‘Iii‘éiiii)iuéi ‘‘‘‘ ’ 5.065 8604 91529
out" is considered, rather than "income pro-   .;_ ;_ .;
duced," the difference being that in 1932 the Income Paid Out .... 81,136 75,410 63,247 48,894
10111161 1131116 611666969 1116 191161 by 9% 1*11111111 A computation of the net income after taxes
(1611616, W11?11d16»W11 110111 6u1P1uS6S 3101611 up m of all corporations in the United States, as shown
b61161 Y66·1S- in their income tax returns for the fourteen years
I D,8,,.,;b,,,,;0,, Of Incomg paid out from 1919 to 1932, indicates that there were
1929 1932 eleiirecnl l§rJ;>li‘ititJb1le1yea1i?taind_ thrtelhe loslng yearii
. , an a e o a pro uring e en ire perio
lviigiisnslsd   i I I I i i i i i li 6321% 63:3% ` amounted to 2.42 per cent of the total sales. In
Interest T ..................... 7.01 11.2 . other words, taking corporations as a whole over
Balémce F01’61g¤ A666u¤1S ··--·· -6 -3 the entire period, of every hundred dollars taken
grrr and Iii°y&m9s ‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘‘ 51 38 a in, $97.58 went as cost of the service rendered,
ntrepreneuiial W1thdY&W&lST.. 14.8 14.4 ,
and $2.42 went as a reward to the companys
The above indicatee that While the 119·ti0H2»l stockholders. This is accounted for by the fact
income dropped during the four-year period by that under the best of conditions a very consider-
52.6 per cent, Wages showed a drop of but 40-3 able percentage of the corporations (46 per cent
per cent, while further figures ShoW that the over this period) normally operate at a loss, and
inte1‘eSt and dividends paid out to those having ovon in boom yoars at loast ono quarter of them
an annual income of ten thousand dollars or over show no proiits at all.
dropped by 67.1 per cent. In the low year of It is interesting to note that in 1929 there were
A the depression, wages and salaries plus entrepre— 14,816 persons who reported incomes of $100,000
neurial withdrawals, types of income with the or over which represented 5.3 per cent of the
widest possible distribution accounted for 78.9 national income; in 1932 this had dropped to
per cent of the entire national income, and again 1,810 persons, who drew 1 per cent of the national
show that the statement that 2 per cent of the income. The depression automatically wiped out
people received the major part of the national seven-eights of those who were drawing incomes
income is totally without foundation. over this figure. Again, in 1929, 375,032 persons
The computation showing the difference be- reported incomes of $10,000 or over, and ac-
tween "income produced" and “income paid out" counted for 14.7 per cent of the national income. ‘
is given below, and indicates that in the three In 1932, this number dropped by 72 per cent, °
years, 1930 to 1932, American business took out leaving 103,790 reporting in this bracket and
of its surplus a total of $23,198,000,000, which drawing 6.4 per cent of the national income. In
was distributed largely in wages, and partly in 1928, the peak year of national income, had the
interest and dividends, the great bulk, ho_wever, Government confiscated all incomes over $10,000,
going to people of little means. Contrast the and distributed the amount equally to all those
ease with which this was automatically done gainfully employed, it would have increased the
with the tremendous confusion now attending the annual wage of each one by $190, and if this sum
proposed distribution of approximately one—f1fth , had been distributed on the basis of population,
of that amount, through the machinery of Fed- the per capita gain would have been $76. Going
eral Government, and the difference in liability I a step farther, if all income over $5,000 had been
on the part of the ordinary citizen, when this is confiscated, those gainfully employed would have
to be replaced through future earnings, as com- had an increase of $260 per year, or, if it had
pared with his liability when it must be replaced been distributed on a per capita basis, the in-
through taxation! crease would have been $104 per year. Dis-
—-———— tributing the wealth of the wealthy does not
1·Fixed charges. Does not go to business classes who mean much of an addition to tho inoomo of tho
  il";.‘1;?i‘§§l‘ii€,.“°,£i.l§.‘;‘;‘€111€ $i.‘;$.i..12. ‘L".I‘.;§“i.t..£‘.§‘."1t‘§,.‘;?r rrdrrrrr rrrrr rrrrrrrrrr rrrr rr rrrrrr rrrr
  banks, building and, loan associations. p ’ marred Wigalth producgs much more m the Way
;i:Individual proprietors, farmers, small business men, Of Bxpansmn Of smplcymgmh than does dlffused
etc., who do not differentiate between salaries, wages W6<h·
and profits. Between 1840 and 1934 the hourly rate of
10 11

 wages increased seven-fold. Wholesale prices Distribution of Inoome*
(note this is not retail prices) advanced only Form Income Othorzooomo
one-seventh, so that relative to wholesale prices Among Harm Among Qther
wages increased fifty times. The average factory _ Families Famiifss ·
wage in 1850 was $248 per year; in 1931 it was gust gsgiq ········· g§·?g%  
$1,102 for approximately half the number of Txigdi 20%°__‘_`_°_‘_`_‘_‘ 14:26 11:77
hours. The per capita wealth in 1850 was $307. Fourth 20% ....... 9.50 · 8.70
In 1934, after a reduction of 50 per cent due to Fifth 20% -····-··- 3-93 430
siis sspiisssisii is wss s2>22si mskiiig sus sisjiisis Such is the picture of the social order as I see
ments for price changes, it increased 600 per cent ih In mv iudemehh it hee oroduoed more oi the
itgaegghtr-feet yeete et teettee every twelve good things of life, andh notwithstanding the
‘ . many shortcomings of t e human beings vv o
.Theee Wheeehe the ehetee thet there te e   constitute to, has secured oooooo and moto equi-
Visisus msidissiibusisii si. iiisusiiiiisi iiissiiist table distribution of those things than any other
leave the inference that this 1S due to the fact eooieiv men hee yet Seen. Before the Chuioh
siiss iiiis .sysi’siii is viteehet that siiis iiisisis' decides what action it will take, it is its duty to
iiiiibiiiisii is s' by'piis. ssii et ssihiiissiiss et ,issii' * examine this picture, and to evaluate its differ-
mg eetoetete. sssiiiiiiiss> sms is ssssmpiishss ent parts. If it is impossible to find in the his-
siiiissgii spssisi pi`iViisgss> Veeted iiiiisissi°s> sms tory of mankind another social order, in which
unfa1r advantages often secured through the em- these things heave been eo Wen done then ii, is
pisyiiisiis et skiiiss isgsi ssi`Viss‘ Ther Vigsi" the duty of the Church, not to condemn and
siisiy ssiiy siistii is iiisy he ssusss hy sis issii attempt to discard the present order, but rather
that the Lord has given to S0II1€_ men greater to oommom;1 and strengthen it, working, not for
iiiisiiigsiiss> giissisii sisi`iiig> eteetet iiissssiiy thee its elimination but for its constant improvement
he has given to others, and that their greater ’ i
” share of the income may be due to the fact that . . .
they have rienderedl to society a greater service, The CaPitaiistiC SYstsm
isi W is s s is Wi iiiig te iisssiiipsiiss siism· Starting approximately one hundred and fifty
ssisiisi Aysiis> the ehte siisiisiisiss siis sssii' years ago, possessed of almost a virgin country
siiiisii et sis GisVsisiis.Tiiiisi’ Qsiiipsiiyt iiss wet rich in natural resources, with a heterogeneous
issued a study of the distribution of farm mcome popuietioh of ehouh 3% minion oeoioiei the
ss ssiigiisiess Wiiifiii iiissiiis iis ssigisii iiiiss et busi" - American people have achieved these marvelous
iisss .is iisiii Eétigsiwis isi°sii,iiig.i° eteet iiisii results, largely because they adopted as their
upiiiiii iisssii dyh s jciiiiiisi ssii is siiilsyfsbssssisi guiding economic principle the so-called Capital-
piiivi sfgss’ sink dssii ss? sssiisi s siiig s istic System, the Enterprise System, the system
psiiii s s siiss s sysiisiiit ust sii is .s siiiisii iisiist of Individual Initiative, or the system of Laissez
hss heeh gsiisiisiiy piiiiss ss s' Vissiiii et iiiiss Faire as you ma choose to call it for the are
system—notwithstanding these facts, farm in- all the eeme Y ’ if
come is distributed very much the same as is In 1776 vvhen Adam Smith ei Scottish i,o1ee_
industrial income. He finds, for instance, that Soi. of mdrei hnoeo h vviohe the nwegnih oi
the richest 20