TO THE EDITOR:
A short time ago we celebrated Labor Day weekend which brings to mind a priest who devoted his life to the well-being of working persons and their God given dignity. Around the beginning of the 20th century John A. Ryan was completing his preparation for the priesthood at Catholic University. As part of his work in moral theology he composed a paper dealing with the subject of a living wage. Eventually he taught at Catholic University. Over time that paper developed into a book with the title “A Living Wage.” When Frances Perkins, President Franklin Roosevelt’s Secretary of Labor, started drafting labor legislation for Congress and its committees to study she consulted Father Ryan’s book on the subject as her primary source. The book addressed the practical needs of workers and families such as wages, worker safety, child labor, the cost of food, clothing and shelter and the need for income in old age to name a few. That material became the basis of labor legislation passed by both houses of Congress and signed by the president in the 1930s such as Social Security, the right to organize, the eight-hour work day, worker safety as well as other protections.
I hope and pray that we in the 21st century will appreciate these hard won laws for worker protection. The supporters of these policies were sometimes called socialists and communists, among other names. Some of the opponents called Father Ryan “Monsignor New Dealer” on account of his part in the effort. We would be wise to cherish and remember how so many who preceded us made a difference for the better. We don’t know what we’ve got until it’s gone.
Father Thomas O’Neill
Senior Priest
