Father Coughlin 37-02-14 (x) Communism and Christianity

Summary

Podcast Title: Harold's Old Time Radio
Episode: Father Coughlin 37-02-14 (x) Communism and Christianity
Release Date: April 12, 2025

---

Overview

In this compelling episode of Harold's Old Time Radio, titled "Father Coughlin 37-02-14 (x) Communism and Christianity," host Father Coughlin engages in a profound debate with Father Cashin and a representative of Communist ideology. The discussion centers on contrasting the principles and historical impacts of Communism and Christianity, delving into themes such as materialism, action versus belief, historical efficacy, and economic liberty.

---

1. Introduction to the Debate (00:30 - 00:44)

Father Coughlin opens the episode by introducing Father Cashin, who lays the groundwork for the discussion by presenting a series of questions aimed at distinguishing between Christianity and Communism.

Notable Quote:

Father Coughlin (00:30): "Today Father Cashin of Franciscan Friar has prepared another group of questions which are planned to develop the distinction between Christianity and Communism. It is my pleasure to introduce Father Cashin."

---

2. Communism's Emphasis on Action vs. Christianity's Focus on Belief (00:44 - 03:04)

Father Cashin challenges Father Coughlin to consider whether Communism, which he describes as materialistic, is more action-oriented compared to Christianity's theoretical nature.

Key Points:

• Action-Oriented Communism: Communism is acknowledged for its practical approach in addressing the needs of the oppressed.
• Christianity's Faith and Works: Father Coughlin defends Christianity, emphasizing that faith without good works is meaningless.

Notable Quotes:

Father Cashin (00:44): "Do you agree that Communism believes in action?"
Father Coughlin (01:17): "It is totally inaccurate. It is true that Christianity concerns itself with faith. It is likewise true that faith without good works is dead."

---

3. Historical Efficacy: Tsarist Russia vs. Communist Regime (05:00 - 10:00)

The discussion turns to the historical impact of Communism in Russia compared to the Tsarist regime, with Father Cashin arguing that Communism has brought prosperity where Christianity allegedly failed.

Key Points:

• Economic Improvements: Communism is credited with renovating Russian society by eliminating the inefficiencies of the Tsarist regime.
• Critique of Christianity: Christianity is accused of fostering a system where the poor were exploited while the elite lived in luxury.

Notable Quotes:

Father Cashin (04:11): "National hardship as were found north of the Caspian Sea? Prisons were filled with so-called malefactors... Communism has renovated the entire face of the Russian world because Communism is practical."
Father Coughlin (05:00): "Well, I grant that you have presented this communistic argument very ably."

---

4. The Role of Church and State in Russia (10:00 - 15:00)

Father Coughlin challenges the idea that Christianity was the root cause of Russia's previous miseries, arguing that political leaders, not religion itself, were to blame.

Key Points:

• Political Appointees: The church hierarchy in Tsarist Russia is criticized for being mere extensions of the state apparatus.
• Separation of Church and State: Father Coughlin advocates for the independence of the Church from political influence.

Notable Quotes:

Father Coughlin (06:33): "Regretfully, will I admit that the politicians in the persons of the czars, the... More or less responsible for the slavery which existed in that unfortunate country and with Shame."
Father Coughlin (09:25): "The union of the Church and the state in Russia was one where the civil monarch was supreme and where the Church was his menial servant."

---

5. Contributions of Christianity to Society (15:00 - 20:00)

The conversation shifts to the positive contributions of Christianity, particularly through education and the advancement of knowledge during the Dark Ages and beyond.

Key Points:

• Educational Foundations: Christian institutions like monasteries and universities played a pivotal role in preserving and advancing knowledge.
• Intellectual Liberty: Christianity is credited with defeating intellectual and physical slavery, laying the groundwork for modern science and education.

Notable Quotes:

Father Coughlin (15:00): "The stones of Oxford and of Cambridge, the hallowed towers of Heidelberg and of... Learning bear mute testimony to the victory of truth over error."
Communist Speaker (16:10): "Those battles belong to the warfares of yesterday."

---

6. Economic Liberty and the Living Wage (20:00 - 30:00)

Father Coughlin and the Communist speaker delve into economic issues, particularly the concept of a living wage and the regulation of the dollar's purchasing power.

Key Points:

• Living Wage: Both parties agree on the necessity of a living wage but diverge on the means to achieve it.
• Regulating Purchasing Power: The Communist speaker emphasizes controlling the financial aspects to ensure wages remain effective, while Father Coughlin criticizes Communism's approach to factory ownership.

Notable Quotes:

Father Coughlin (30:20): "It is a problem which must be... solved by paying the laborer an annual living wage based not upon how long he works."
Communist Speaker (30:25): "It is this. Her desire is to obtain for labor a living annual wage that will remain a living annual wage through the regulated purchasing power of the dollar in America."

---

7. The Intersection of Industrial and Financial Problems (30:00 - 35:50)

The debate highlights the interconnectedness of industrial production and financial regulation, questioning why Communism focuses on industrial issues without addressing financial controls.

Key Points:

• Economic Interdependence: Father Coughlin argues that without financial regulation, industrial improvements do not translate to real economic gains for workers.
• Christian Solutions: The discussion underscores Christianity's efforts in advocating for labor rights and fair wages within the existing economic frameworks.

Notable Quotes:

Father Coughlin (28:54): "Through the labor of one man working with modern equipment, twice as much wealth can be produced... but the one modern machine operator does not receive 10 times the pay."
Communist Speaker (30:23): "It is impossible to gain economic liberty before the peoples of the earth regain control in their parliament, in their congresses, and in their assemblies of the regulation of credit or money."

---

8. Concluding Arguments and Reflections on Liberty (35:50 - 53:51)

Father Coughlin delivers a passionate reflection on the enduring nature of liberty, drawing parallels between historical struggles and contemporary challenges posed by Communism.

Key Points:

• Victory of Liberty: Emphasizes that liberty, rooted in Christian and constitutional principles, will ultimately prevail over oppressive systems.
• Constitutional Guardianship: Highlights the importance of the U.S. Constitution in safeguarding freedoms against authoritarian threats.

Notable Quotes:

Communist Speaker (36:13): "I will give my answer now... thinking about the liberties that were ours."
Father Coughlin (37:58): "We thought... Now the Constitution of the United States is the guardian of all the liberties that we possess."
Father Coughlin (53:51): "Let's preserve liberty and win liberty and keep America for Americans and by Americans in its Constitution."

---

9. Final Reflections and Call to Action (53:51 - End)

In his closing remarks, Father Coughlin urges listeners to uphold the Constitution and resist any attempts to undermine democracy and freedom, reinforcing the episode's central theme of defending liberty through faith and righteous action.

Notable Quotes:

Father Coughlin (53:51): "Each must be independent. America must remain America... Let's preserve liberty and win liberty and keep America for Americans and by Americans in its Constitution. Good day, my friends, and God bless you."

---

Conclusion

This episode presents a robust dialogue contrasting Communism and Christianity, examining their roles in shaping society, influencing economic policies, and upholding or undermining liberty. Father Coughlin's defense of Christianity's practical contributions and his critique of Communism's materialistic and authoritarian tendencies provide listeners with a nuanced perspective on these influential ideologies.

---

Note: All timestamps correspond to the podcast's transcript, ensuring accurate reference to specific points in the discussion.

Transcript

[Stiles Mackenzie]

We interrupt this program to bring you an important Wayfair message. Wayfair's got style tips for every home. This is Styles Mackenzie helping you make those rooms sing. Today's style Tip when it comes to making a statement, treat bold patterns like neutrals. Go wild like an untamed animal. Print area rug under a rustic farmhouse table. From wayfair.com fierce this has been your Wayfair style tip to keep those interiors superior.

[Wayfair Voice]

Wayfair Every style, every home.

[Father Coughlin]

Today Father Cashin of Franciscan Friar has prepared another group of questions which are planned to develop the distinction between Christianity and Communism. It is my pleasure to introduce Father Cashin.

[Father Cashin]

Thank you, Father. What you said last Sunday relative to communism being materialistic is no argument for brushing it aside. It is a mutually accepted viewpoint that if the Communists have a better plan to supply the necessities of life than the one which is in vogue, then there is a possibility that their system will predominate irrespective of its being concerned only with the things of this world. Do you agree that Communism believes in action?

[Father Coughlin]

Certainly.

[Father Cashin]

Falk, is it not true that it is interested in doing things for the oppressed people?

[Communist Speaker]

I grant that point.

[Father Cashin]

During the past 20 years, has not Communism brought more prosperity to the Russian people than was produced under the regime of the Tsars?

[Father Coughlin]

Well, for the sake of argument, I will not contradict you.

[Father Cashin]

But under the regime of the czars, was it not the Christian philosophy which predominated in Russia? Must not the former backwardness of that nation and the former poverty be attributed to the inefficiency of Christianity?

[Father Coughlin]

Oh, I cannot admit the truthfulness of that assertion.

[Communist Speaker]

Before you discuss that point, let me.

[Father Cashin]

Question you in this. Is it not true that Christianity is purely theoretical and that it is not primarily interested in action?

[Father Coughlin]

That is totally inaccurate. It is true that Christianity concerns itself with faith. It is likewise true that faith without good works is dead. In other words, Christians teach that one must believe in the divine origin of the commandments. They also teach that their adherents should obey the commandments. Merely believing in the doctrine of brotherly love does not make a man a Christian. He must square his belief with his daily life. It is a false notion, unfortunately entertained by too many persons, that the Christian philosophy should be regarded as an intellectual romance. If that were Christianity, it were better that it were abolished.

[Father Cashin]

But the Communists have historical facts on their side to substantiate their position. If they assert that the Christian religion is a deception practiced on the poor by the rich or on the ruled by the rulers, they point with A great deal of accuracy to the last 1000 years of Russian misery. Love your neighbor as yourself, they say, is the theory of Christianity. Its practice was to exploit your neighbor and to hold him in bondage.

[Father Coughlin]

Specifically, to what historical events are you referring?

[Father Cashin]

Well, rolling back the curtain of time, almost a thousand years. Behold St. Cyril and Methodius, the two apostles who brought Christianity to the Slavic people. From that moment until 1917, Russia lived under the banner of the cross.

[Father Coughlin]

For nearly a thousand years.

[Father Cashin]

The poor peasants believed in heaven and hell and lived for the year after while they suffered outrageously in the present.

[Father Coughlin]

Where was there such national poverty and.

[Father Cashin]

National hardship as were found north of the Caspian Sea? Prisons were filled with so called malefactors. Siberia was populated with political foes. On the other hand, the dukes and princes lived in luxury. As far as Russia was concerned, religion was the opium of the people, an opium administered by czars and plutocrats for their own benefit. One thousand years of Christianity was a thousand years of misery. Twenty years of Communism has renovated the entire face of the Russian world because Communism is practical, while Christianity concerned itself only with beliefs and theories, not with actions and deeds.

[Father Coughlin]

Well, I grant that you have presented this communistic argument very ably.

[Father Cashin]

How can you dispute these facts? Since 1917, religion has been outlawn. Communism has been established. The tsars, dukes and princes have been liquidated. The wealth of the nation is owned in common with the result that the people enjoy a modicum of happiness. These things you cannot deny.

[Father Coughlin]

Certainly I deny them. These points will be covered in the.

[Communist Speaker]

Columns of social justice for the time being. May I confine my rebuttal to your.

[Father Coughlin]

Statements that Communism acted where Christianity has failed to act and accomplished in 20 years what Christianity failed to accomplish in a thousand years?

[Father Cashin]

Certainly. But before you enter into your argument, I will be fair in telling you the entire story of Christianity's failure. Do not forget that from the 11th to the 20th century, Christianity was the state religion of Russia. The Czar was head of both the state and the church in the same sense as the King of England is the head of the state as well as of the Church. If Christianity could have functioned anywhere, Russia was the place where it should have been perfected. Incorporate in your rebuttal an argument to counteract that preeminent fact.

[Father Coughlin]

Willingly. Father, do I concede that Christianity was the state religion of Russia? Regretfully, will I admit that the politicians in the persons of the czars, the.

[Communist Speaker]

Dukes and the governors of provinces were.

[Father Coughlin]

More or less responsible for the slavery which existed in that unfortunate country and with Shame. Do I acknowledge that even many of the bishops, prelates and priests cooperated with these politicians in shackling the people? I could not argue with you and.

[Communist Speaker]

Uphold my viewpoint successfully unless these things were first admitted.

[Father Coughlin]

Now let us have the whole truth. Who were these archbishops, bishops and priests? Since you are relying upon factual arguments, history plainly indicates that these ecclesiastics were.

[Communist Speaker]

Nothing more than political appointees elevated to.

[Father Coughlin]

Their high offices by the civil government. They were not chosen by the people. They were not nominated by the pope or by any independent body of clergymen.

[Stiles Mackenzie]

Although we interrupt this program to bring you an important Wayfair message. Wayfair's got style tips for every home. This is Stiles Mackenzie helping you make those rooms sing. Today's style tip when it comes to making a statement, treat bold patterns like neutrals. Go wild like an untamed animal. Print area rug under a rustic farmhouse table. From wayfair.com fierce this has been your Wayfair style tip to keep those interiors superior hair.

[Wayfair Voice]

Every style, every home.

[Godfather Voice]

Step into the world of power, loyalty and luck.

[Godfather Character]

I'm gonna make him an offer he.

[Godfather Voice]

Can'T refuse with family. Cannolis and spins mean everything.

[Godfather Character]

Now you want to get mixed up in the family business.

[Godfather Voice]

Introducing the [e-mail] test your luck in the shadowy world of the Godfather slot.

[Godfather Character]

Someday I will call upon you to do a service for me.

[Godfather Voice]

Play the Godfather [e-mail] will welcome to the family.

[Wayfair Voice]

No purchase necessary VGW Group void where prohibited by law 21 + terms and conditions apply.

[Father Coughlin]

For the most part. They were good men, yet they were.

[Communist Speaker]

Nothing more than consecrated politicians.

[Father Coughlin]

I repeat, I am not blind to the blemishes which characterize the activities of the czars. Classify these rulers as Neros, if you will.

[Communist Speaker]

I shall not contradict you.

[Father Coughlin]

But what kind of ecclesiastical politicians would these Neros appoint? You and I both know that their choice would fall upon weaklings who lack.

[Communist Speaker]

The courage of a John the Baptist.

[Father Coughlin]

Upon men who failed to oppose publicly the misdemeanors of rulers in high places. The union of the Church and the state in Russia to which you refer was one where the civil monarch was supreme and where the Church was his menial servant. I am as much opposed to the states dominating the Church as I am.

[Communist Speaker]

To the states dictating to the press.

[Father Coughlin]

Or to the radio.

[Communist Speaker]

More than any Communist, I stand for.

[Father Coughlin]

Free speech, free press and free pulpit. I ask you white Communists who pretend to be so factual an erudite.

[Communist Speaker]

I ask you why? They hide part of the truth and.

[Father Coughlin]

Do not analyze the problem of Russia's misery in the light of the uncontradictable facts which I have presented.

[Father Cashin]

You have been strangely silent in your presentation relative to the personal and public lives of the Tsars. They were Christians, were they not?

[Father Coughlin]

Yes, they were Christians, but in name only they did not practice Christianity. We do not teach that everyone who is baptized shall enter the kingdom of heaven any more than we teach that everyone who professes allegiance to the Stars and Stripes is a good American. In ancient days the scribes and Pharisees boasted of their strict adherence to Judaism.

[Communist Speaker]

Oh, but Christ coined the classic answer.

[Father Coughlin]

For our hypocrites, both ancient and modern, when he said, woe to you scribes and Pharisees, because you defile the houses of widows praying long prayers. For this you shall receive the greater judgment. You bind heavy and insupportable burdens and lay them on men's shoulders, but with a finger of your own you will not move them.

[Communist Speaker]

That was Christ's answer.

[Father Coughlin]

Therefore, why blame the sins of wicked politicians upon Christianity when the truth is that wicked Christians, hypocrites should be responsible for them?

[Communist Speaker]

Communists are forced to accept that logic.

[Father Coughlin]

When they themselves oftentimes are compelled not.

[Communist Speaker]

Only to excommunicate but to murder communists.

[Father Coughlin]

Who have betrayed their creed.

[Father Cashin]

I am interested in this fresh and logical interpretation which Karl Marx and his communistic disciples have missed. Can you enlighten me further on this subject of silencing the pulpit?

[Communist Speaker]

Well, there is a piece of history on that subject.

[Father Coughlin]

As far as I can recollect, it.

[Communist Speaker]

Was Ivan the Terrible, a 16th century.

[Father Coughlin]

Czar, who forced utter the theological heresy.

[Communist Speaker]

That a priest's place is in the.

[Father Coughlin]

Pulpit by edict punishable with death. He forbade any minister of religion to mention, either in public or in private, in the pulpit or out of the pulpit, anything not directly concerned with the.

[Communist Speaker]

Ten Commandments and with the laws of.

[Father Coughlin]

The Church which he either formulated or approved from the days of the prophet Isaias, whose body was sold in twain because he opposed the public practices of a tyrant. Down to our own times, when priests have gladly paid with their lives for freedom of speech. Christianity has upheld the right of every minister of religion to preach the Gospel.

[Communist Speaker]

In season and out of season.

[Father Cashin]

But how even the Terrible's laws were discarded in the 17th century. What prevented the Christian church from battling for industrial freedom for the oppressed people of Russia? What prevented priests elsewhere from battling for industrial freedom and from interesting themselves in the industrial and agricultural questions of the day?

[Communist Speaker]

Father, I fear that Communists are inclined to emphasize Russia as if it were all Christendom. As a matter of fact, it was the poorest example of Christianity. Well, I repeat, religion was shackled by politicians.

[Father Coughlin]

But let us project ourselves back of.

[Communist Speaker]

The 17th century and view things in their proper perspective.

[Father Coughlin]

You ask me why the Christian church.

[Communist Speaker]

Did not interest itself in economic liberty.

[Father Coughlin]

At a time when the economic question.

[Communist Speaker]

Was of minor concern? Prior to the 19th century, Christianity had major tasks to perform.

[Father Coughlin]

The shackles of physical slavery, of intellectual slavery and of political slavery had to be broken before it was even possible for Christian or Communist to attack the.

[Communist Speaker]

Enemy known as industrial slavery. Who, I ask you, won the battle over physical slavery?

[Father Coughlin]

Was it not the Christian church and.

[Communist Speaker]

Its good sons and daughters? Ages before communism was ever discussed?

[Father Coughlin]

From the 3rd to the 13th century, which are often characterized as the Dark Ages. Who was it that conquered intellectual slavery? Oh, paint the picture as luridly as you can. Exaggerate, if possible, the superstitions that were rampant. Recall that reading and writing and the.

[Communist Speaker]

Arts and sciences were cloaked by the pall of barbarism. Then trace the course of Christianity during these centuries.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Ryan Seacrest here. When you have a busy schedule, it's important to maximize your downtime. One of the best ways to do that is by going to chumb casino.com Chumba Casino has all your favorite social casino games like spin slots, bingo and solitaire that you can play for free for a chance to redeem some serious prizes. So hop on to chumbacasino.com now and live the Chumba life sponsored by Chumba Casino.

[Wayfair Voice]

No purchase necessary VGW Group void where prohibited by law 21/ terms and conditions apply.

[Communist Speaker]

Not only builded churches, Christians erected the.

[Father Coughlin]

Schools and colleges and universities of Europe. The stones of Oxford and of Cambridge, the hallowed towers of Heidelberg and of.

[Communist Speaker]

The Sorbonne, the granite pavements of Louvain, Salamanca, and dozens of other institutions of.

[Father Coughlin]

Learning bear mute testimony to the victory of truth over error, of learning over ignorance.

[Father Cashin]

Do you, Father, give Christianity credit for all this?

[Father Coughlin]

Well, the Communists give Christianity discredit for all the evil in Russia. As a matter of fact, who made the 13th century the greatest of centuries? Greatest insofar as it marked the victory of light over darkness. Who, I ask you, dissipated ignorance in Ireland, in England, in practically every nation in Europe?

[Communist Speaker]

Read Augusta Dreams, Christian Schools and Scholars, or Mother Amber's Monks of the West.

[Father Coughlin]

If you would read a story, what truth is stranger than fiction?

[Communist Speaker]

The black cowled Augustinians and Benedictines, the brown robed Franciscans, the white Cossacked Dominicans.

[Father Coughlin]

Were not only priests. They were physicians, schoolmasters, chemists, geologists, engineers.

[Communist Speaker]

Architects, botanists and physicists. They builded more than 8,000 monasteries and convents from whose sacred doors there went.

[Father Coughlin]

Forth soldiers of learning, armed not with a sword, but with the word of.

[Communist Speaker]

God and the science of reason. Before state universities or state schools were ever heard of in Europe, or, for that matter, in America, these monks laid.

[Father Coughlin]

The foundations of many institutions of learning.

[Communist Speaker]

And cast around them a halo of sanctity and science.

[Father Coughlin]

In other words, this Christianity which Communists call the opium of the people, this Christianity which Communists are attempting to drive.

[Communist Speaker]

From the face of the earth, rent.

[Father Coughlin]

The veil of intellectual darkness before the dawn of material progress was even invisible.

[Communist Speaker]

The ancestors of the friars and priests.

[Father Coughlin]

Whom Communists are massacring in Spain and elsewhere were the forerunners of Fulton and.

[Communist Speaker]

Arkwright, of Pastor and Emerson, and the.

[Father Coughlin]

Geniuses who followed them. It is my observation, Father, that informed.

[Communist Speaker]

Communists do not question these statements whatsoever. It is only illiterate Communists whose historical.

[Father Coughlin]

Education has been neglected who deny them.

[Father Cashin]

Your argument, Father, does not sustain the entirety of your previous statement. You said that the Christian Church was busied overcoming political slavery. You gave this as a reason for her neglect of the industrial property. Do you wish to pass by that point without mentioning it?

[Communist Speaker]

One almost fears to boast of the contributions made by Christianity to liberty and to democracy and to politics in general. Communists, unfortunately, are not the only ones.

[Father Coughlin]

Who profess a love for dictatorship. Every one.

[Communist Speaker]

It appears this corpse of tyranny seems.

[Father Coughlin]

To be raising its unholy head from.

[Communist Speaker]

The grave of the past. Dictatorship and government by man seem to be in the ascendancy, while democracy and government by constitution appear to be on the wane.

[Father Coughlin]

Over the was a glorious past. More than 700 years ago, Christian bishops.

[Communist Speaker]

Faced a dictator and forced him to sign the Magna Carta, thereby establishing a government by law.

[Father Coughlin]

At a later date. It was Christians who challenged dreams of.

[Communist Speaker]

England and his theory of the divine order.

[Father Coughlin]

Great of kings in our own glorious history. Who are the vanquishers of George 3rd and his arrogant imperialism?

[Communist Speaker]

They were Washington and his compatriots who.

[Father Coughlin]

Lean for their moral support upon the teachings of the Fathers of the Church.

[Communist Speaker]

Those battles belong to the warfares of yesterday.

[Father Coughlin]

Sorrowfully, I recognize that they must be fought over. Fought against communists and their dictator, fought against the socialistic fascism propagated by Hitler, fought against any person or group of persons who, either at home or abroad, would make mockery of government by law.

[Communist Speaker]

And a memory of government by free ballot.

[Father Cashin]

But that would not be respecting authority, Father. Should the German people rebel against their Hitler or the Russian people against their Stalin? Does not your Christianity insist upon respecting authority?

[Communist Speaker]

Oh, that is true, Father. Nevertheless, Christianity has not stultified herself by forcing its adherents to bend the knee.

[Father Coughlin]

Before a despot who cringes behind a text of Scripture to support his misdemeanors. The devil can quote scripture for his purpose. So can kings and emperors, rulers and.

[Communist Speaker]

Presidents, forgetful of the fact that God.

[Father Coughlin]

Never dispensed authority to any man for the purpose of scuttling the basic laws of Christianity. The Christian theory is that the governed must be freely governed and that all who rule only rule with the consent of the people.

[Communist Speaker]

This concept of government is essential for.

[Father Coughlin]

The preservation of liberty. Liberty which must be preserved at all costs.

[Father Cashin]

You talk of liberty. What is liberty without bread? How empty is all liberty when men are forced to subsist upon the crumbs which fall from dives table? Christian men who are compelled to want in the midst of plenty? Has the Church lost her charm? Is not Christianity capable of battling against industrial slavery if in former days it fought for physical, intellectual and political liberty?

[Father Coughlin]

Let me remind the communists in this.

[Communist Speaker]

Audience that first things had to come first. The industrial problem did not require a.

[Father Coughlin]

Solution before the 19th century.

[Father Cashin]

What do you mean about first things first?

[Father Coughlin]

Well, for example, before you could build a bridge across San Francisco Bay, it.

[Communist Speaker]

Was necessary to have an engineer, a.

[Father Coughlin]

Chemist, a physicist, a geologist.

[Communist Speaker]

Before this vast expanse of steel could.

[Father Coughlin]

Have been fabricated, it was necessary to have power machinery, steam hoists, electric dynamos. But back of all these, it was necessary to have institutions of learning far removed. These institutions were predicated upon scholars.

[Communist Speaker]

Oh, could that bridge trace its genealogy?

[Father Coughlin]

It would take you back to the cradle of learning in some monastery.

[Communist Speaker]

For a Thomas of Acwin, a Duns.

[Father Coughlin]

Scotus or a Roger Bacon began unfolding the secrets of the mind and the secrets of nature.

[Communist Speaker]

False things first. The blind world sometimes sees only effects and results, with little or no ability.

[Father Coughlin]

To envision the causes without which even a bridge could not have been constructed.

[Father Cashin]

But what bearing has that upon the inactivity of the church to meet the industrial problem? Is she satisfied to rest upon her laurels, refusing to participate in the battle for economic liberty?

[Father Coughlin]

Not at all, not at all. Need I remind you that there was no industrial problem before Fulton and Arkwright invented their steam engine and their power loom? Need I recall for you that the 19th century was the beginning of this problem, that it did not become acute.

[Communist Speaker]

Until the year 1900?

[Father Coughlin]

When giant mass production factories became so prevalent, how can it be honestly maintained that we were inactive when we were the first in the field with our.

[Communist Speaker]

Doctrine of the living wage, which was.

[Father Coughlin]

Explained last Sunday from Christ, who enunciated it centuries before the first steam engine was conceived, down to von Ketteler. Around through the days of Leo 14, Christianity was active in forming trade unions.

[Communist Speaker]

As it had done in the days.

[Father Coughlin]

Of feudalism and as it did here in Detroit only two years ago. In 1864, the socialist La Salle by name acknowledged von Ketteler's splendid efforts in this activity when Marx was content to philosophize all. Today we are not inactive. We are still preaching the gospel of.

[Communist Speaker]

Christ and the principle of the laborers in the vineyard.

[Father Coughlin]

But over and above the din of a wordy industrial war, there sounds the.

[Communist Speaker]

Voice of Pius 11 warning us that.

[Father Coughlin]

It is impossible to gain economic liberty before the peoples of the earth regain control in their parliament, in their congresses, and in their assemblies of the regulation of credit or money.

[Father Cashin]

What has that to do with economic liberty? Practically every communist condemns you for even mentioning this question of money. They mean that they are interested in an industrial problem and you in a financial one.

[Father Coughlin]

Oh, Father, if that is true, then Communists are certainly impractical. Let me ask them this question. Why are persons interested in the industrial problem?

[Communist Speaker]

Is it not to the end that.

[Father Coughlin]

The laborers will receive more, more wage money? Pause to consider several phenomena related to the labor question. You will admit that the problem of production was solved through the invention of pearl production machines. You will agree that day by day new machinery is being invented, with the result that through the labor of one man working with modern equipment, twice as much wealth can be produced as was hitherto possible. The same Walkman with a modern machine is equivalent to 10 walkmen with obsolete equipment. But the one modern machine operator does not receive 10 times the pay. Oh no, he does not get even three times the pay. Oftentimes the owners of the modern machinery are still paying the laborer the equivalent of what he earned when he was producing half the wealth ten years ago on an obsolete machine. Now that is neither equitable nor reasonable. This injustice has brought the industrial problem and the wage poor problem before the.

[Communist Speaker]

Attention of every thoughtful citizen.

[Father Coughlin]

It is a problem which must be.

[Communist Speaker]

Solved by paying the laborer an annual living wage based not upon how long.

[Father Coughlin]

He works necessarily, but upon the amount of wealth which he helps to create while he works with modern equipment.

[Father Cashin]

I agree with that. That is the objective. At least the immediate objective which the communists have in mind.

[Father Coughlin]

Oh, but Father, that is only one half the problem which is related to economic liberty. Do you agree that in many cases the owners of mass production industry are controlled by those men who regulate the purchasing power of the dollar?

[Father Cashin]

I am not clear as to what you mean.

[Communist Speaker]

Father Coughlin continues on side two of this cassette.

[Godfather Voice]

Step into the world of power, loyalty and luck.

[Godfather Character]

I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse.

[Godfather Voice]

With family. Cannolis and spins mean everything.

[Godfather Character]

Now you want to get mixed up in the family business.

[Godfather Voice]

Introducing the family the [e-mail] test your luck on the shadowy world of the Godfather slots.

[Godfather Character]

Someday I will call upon you to do a service for me.

[Godfather Voice]

Play the Godfather [e-mail] Welcome to the family.

[Wayfair Voice]

No purchase necessary. VGW Group void. We're prohibited by law 21 + terms and conditions apply.

[Communist Speaker]

Oh, I mean that the American people.

[Father Coughlin]

Through the Congress, have little or no voice in stating how much butter or.

[Communist Speaker]

Bread or cotton or pork a dollar bill will buy.

[Father Cashin]

Oh, certainly, Father. Everybody recognizes that Congressmen do nothing about that.

[Communist Speaker]

Well, because they do nothing about it, although they are empowered to. What happens when wages are raised? Is it not true that the cost of living is likewise raised thus with that condition obtaining what real gain accrues to laborers who strike for higher wages? I agree that the Communists have observed this phenomenon throughout the years. But lacking intelligence to understand how substantially the industrial problem depends upon the solution of the financial problem, Communists cry, let us confiscate the factories and operate them for ourselves. Never were they intelligent enough to say, let us recapture the power of regulating the dollar, a power that was bestowed upon the American people by its constitutional founders With a dollar that is easily manipulated by the exploiters of labor. It is evident that higher wages mean nothing if they will not be able to purchase more of life's necessities. Therefore, Father, when you ask what Christianity is proposing to do about the payment of a living annual wage, her answer is clear and definite. It is this. Her desire is to obtain for labor a living annual wage that will remain a living annual wage through the regulated purchasing power of the dollar in America. We are doing the same thing that you are doing about it. You are trying to educate the public to your viewpoint with the possibility of their eventually confiscating factories. We are trying to educate the public to our viewpoint, protecting private or ownership and guaranteeing our real living annual wage. Sometimes you lose faith in converting the American people to your standard, and then you say, down with democracy and up with tyranny. On the contrary, Father, we have learned how to suffer rebuffs and disappointments, but we have have never learned how to lose faith in the political liberty, the democracy and the people whom we love.

[Father Cashin]

The thoughts which you have expressed, Father, suggest many questions to me next Sunday afternoon. It would be of interest if you would discuss strikes in general and this democracy to which you have just referred. You Christians evidently believe in democracy, and the communists, of course, believe in dictatorship, which operates behind the veil of a quasi democracy. In fact, it appears that the present administration in America, day by day, is departing from the Washingtonian concept of democracy. Will you comment upon that next Sunday, which happens to be the eve of Washington's birthday?

[Communist Speaker]

Well. Well, since you asked me to do it, Father, I will consider it. In fact, I will give my answer now. I will do it. Although I am not prepared for any emergency this afternoon, Would you care that I use the following few minutes, when I return to the microphone on the thought for the week, to discuss democracy.

[Father Cashin]

And the Supreme Court?

[Communist Speaker]

This interval, you will give my stenographers an opportunity to prepare, to copy down what I am about to say. And now, Father Coughlin's thought for the week. FDR versus The Constitution. My friends, this thought for the week is truly impromptu. It is an answer based on a question which was just put to me at the end of that period of discussion.

[Father Coughlin]

So bear with me if at this moment I appear to be an intruder, because I speak to you not in.

[Communist Speaker]

The spirit of animosity, but in a spirit of patriotism. I am motivated by a love for the past and by a hope for the future, a future which, under God, depends so mightily upon the three institutions established by the inspired patriots who founded this nation. A future in which, I envision the little children who are in this church and elsewhere has grown to manhood and womanhood. I ask myself, will they enjoy the liberties which were ours, or will they enjoy greater liberties than we ever dreamed of?

[Father Coughlin]

We thought?

[Communist Speaker]

Former mind. I see two dramas being enacted upon the stage of American life. The last act of the first drama was produced here in Michigan in the form of an automotive industrial strike. It is not the last act of that entire drama because others will be enacted. Stranger characters will come upon the scene. Stranger reprisals will occur, stranger strikes perhaps, would eventuate. It is not the last act because those who have been exploited and those who have been oppressed, those who have had their pay envelopes robbed from them by an economic system that was unjust in its concept and unjust in its practice will not remain forever silent beneath the heel of an oppressor. They will rise as every patriot has risen, and they will die if necessary, as every patriot knows how to die, rather than speak the word surrender. Surrender. I am not speaking these thoughts or outlining for you the vision of the drama which I see before my mind. I am rather copying a page from history which tells us that liberty that was born in the mind of God and brought to us in the hundred circumstances at the cradle of Bethlehem will go marching down the centuries, even though its way today may be a via dolorosa, even though tomorrow it may be crowned with thorns, and even though the next day, with its body latched with scourges, its hands pierced with nails, it will become a victim on some calvary's heights. I say this because I know that death is not the end. All of liberty, liberty crushed to earth by the heel of an oppressor, shall rise again just as truly as Jesus Christ arose again from the grave that encompasses his corpse. That drama is fresh in my mind. That drama I can foresee unto its end. That drama, in the last scene of its last act will find liberty victorious and the oppressors here heel wounded as was the heel of an Achilles, wounded mortally. On the other hand, my friends, I turn my gaze upon another stage in this, our American night, and behold, there another drama being enacted, more important in one sense than the scene of the last drama enacted upon the stage of Michigan, the one to which I am referring takes me to Washington. Oh, I am not proud if I have been a prophet. Prophets sometimes hang their heads in shame, hang their heads in sorrow when they see the realization of those dreams which they have foretold. I am not proud, I repeat, if I have prophesied that the more democracy is in danger and that dictatorship.

[Father Coughlin]

At.

[Communist Speaker]

Least has cast its shadow upon our flag, upon our lives. Oh, no, that is not the point, I know. For perhaps I should say I am positive that I know how our chief executive is desirous to win for liberty a victory in that last act of that last drama to which I referred. Industrial freedom, economic liberty for the children of Michigan, for the children of Pennsylvania, for the children of men who everywhere bear the yoke of burden upon their shoulders as they use the pick of a mine, as they use the lathe in a factory, or as they sweat and toil, mingling blood and sinew with steel and iron as they try to make this a better country in which to live, and as they endeavor to eke for themselves and their Loved ones a livelihood that has been denied them. I go on to. I repeat that that is the thought uppermost in the mind of our chief executive that these sons of Tyran shall be victorious. Oh, but pause. Pause a while. Liberty has won other victories on other stages, at other times. The liberties of which I spoke this afternoon. The physical liberty by which man gained freedom from the iron shackles of a Nero and other Roman galley. The political liberty by which men gained their independence over a tyrant when King John was forced to sign the Magna Carta. The intellectual liberty that was battle for with the sword of the word of God. When Thomas of A. Preached his doctrine at Paris, when Bonaventure sounded the trumpet of his wisdom throughout Italy, and when the Jesuits and when everyone else gifted with God's love and God's faith and God's knowledge, carried the torch of learning from university to town, from town to village, from village to wilderness, as the cross of Christ was uplifted for 19 centuries gallantly carried the word of God, the word of liberty, the word of love to all mankind. I know, I repeat, these are the victories which liberty has gained. And I know something more than that. We in America have those liberties. In 1773 we did not have them. In 1773 there was a tyrant of another empire who imposed upon us his will and who inflicted upon us the oppression of taxation.

[Ryan Seacrest]

And in 1776 when our hello, it is Ryan. And we could all use an extra bright spot in our day, couldn't we? Just to make up for things like sitting in traffic, doing the dishes, counting your steps. You know, all the mundane stuff. That is why I'm such a big fan of Chumba Casino. Chumba Casino has all your favorite social casino style games that you can play for free, anytime, anywhere with daily bonuses that should brighten your day. Lo actually a lot. So sign up [e-mail] that's chumbacasino.com no.

[Chumba Casino Voice]

Purchase necessary bgw void prohibited by law. See terms and conditions 18/lead together even.

[Communist Speaker]

At the cost of life, even at the cost of property, and even at the cost of their loved ones, they won and run from him the liberty that is ours. And then before the blood of the wounds was dry, they dipped into those wounds a pen of glory and wrote the proudest scutcheon upon times Palimpsest, the escutcheon of the Constitution of the United States. That shall live as long as man shall live, that shall endure as long as sons of man have breath to look upon the past and say of the past. There wrote I in 1776, there wrote I. The liberty of a government by law, of a government by reason. Away with the tyrant's attitude of a government by man. I tell you these things, my friends, because I recognize that the Constitution of the United States is the guardian of all the liberties that we possess. I look upon it, therefore, as I glance into the the future, I look upon it with a longing glance and say, it too will be the guardian of this economic liberty which we are about to win in the factories of Flint and Detroit, in the mines of Pittsburgh and Scranton, and in the mass production factories wherever men are struggling and wherever women are praying for that day when a living annual wage shall come to keep forever the wolf of poverty from the door and grant them a share of the great benefactions that are ours. Why then shall only one man in all this nation think that he is concerned with industrial liberty, with economic freedom, when we're all concerned with it? Why then break down the structure of the past that preserves all the liberty and that will preserve our industrial liberty when it comes? Why set himself up, therefore, shall I.

[Father Coughlin]

Say, as a dictator?

[Communist Speaker]

Because, perchance, the Supreme Court is gross old in age and in wisdom, and perchance because the Supreme Court is taking only the laws that we have, squaring them with the Constitution that is ours and finding that they do not fit. Oh, let us write new laws that will fit. And if the Constitution requires an amendment, have faith in the American people who elected to this government. Have faith in the ballots of a free people who have guaranteed the perpetuation of liberty. We are not defeatists. And we will not buy industrial freedom at the price of scuttling religious freedom at the price of endangered political freedom, at the price of jeopardizing the freedom which our Constitution holds sacred for us. Or would that I had time perhaps to jot down one single simple little note that would give some continuity to this expression that comes pouring forth from my heart and not from manuscript. Would that I had time to implore you, you who are former members of the National Union, you who are former enemies of mine, as if I were a radical, you who are indifferent. I know history. I know how to interpret events, at least in some small degree. And I know that it's better to work on. It's better to stir up the people for the injustice that is perpetrated against them by industry and finance. I know that it is better for all of us to amalgamate and win good legislation upon our statute books that will guarantee economic Freedom of Ronald Van Gogh. The Supreme Court with men. Men. The appointees of a president who may always remember that they were his appointees. Our government consists of three separate branches. A President who execute the law. A Congress to make the laws and a Supreme Court to interpret them. There must be no rubber stamp Congress. There must be no rubber stamp Supreme Court. There must be no rubber stamp President. Each must be independent. America must remain America. Let's not cast all the past upon the crowd. The dice of fortune. Let's preserve liberty and win liberty and keep America for Americans and by Americans in its Constitution. Good day, my friends, and God bless you.

[Father Coughlin]

Because oh J. Greater.

[Communist Speaker]

Ch.

[Chumba Casino Voice]

Ch Chumba looking for excitement? Chumba Casino is here. Play anytime. Play anywhere. Play on the train. Play at the store. Play at home. Play when you're bored. Play today for your chance to win and get daily bonuses when you log in. So what are you waiting for? Don't delay. Chumba Casino is free to play.

[Stiles Mackenzie]

Experience social gameplay like never before. Go to Chumba Casino right now to play hundreds of games, including online slots, bingo, SL lingo and more. Live the Chumba life at chumbacasino.

[Communist Speaker]

Com.

[Wayfair Voice]

No purchase necessary. VGW Group void where prohibited by law. 21/ Terms and Conditions apply.