1919 Bishops' Plan: Documents

2. Selection from P. Tecumseh Sherman, "Catholic Social Reconstruction Program Analyzed," The National Civic Federation Review, September 25, 1920, pp. 5-8, copy in Reference Files, Ryan Papers, ACUA.

   Sherman illustrates what he believes are a number of fallacies with the bishops' plan, especially with regard to the minimum wage and social insurance. He dismisses the plan as a day dream rather than a practical proposal. One should note that his arguments rely more on economic ideas than religious ones.

3. Letter from John A. Ryan to Bishop John P. Farrelly DD, Bishop Of Cleveland, January 15, 1921, NCWC Records, Social Action Department Files, ACUA.

   Here Ryan asks Bishop Farrelly for his support in lobbying for a minimum wage law for women and children in Ohio.

4. Letter from Mrs. Clara Pressler to Rev. John A. Ryan, March 3, 1921, NCWC Records, SAD files

5. Selection from William Cardinal O'Connell, "The Reasonable Limits of State Activity," Sermons and Addresses of His Eminence William Cardinal O'Connell (Boston: Pilot Co., 1922) Volume VII, pp. 14-33.

   In this address to the Educational Convention in St. Louis, MO on June 24, 1919, Cardinal O'Connell warns of the dangers of government interference in business and citizens' private lives. Cardinal O'Connell saw government legislation regarding labor and business as opening the door to a socialist form of government. Consequently, he criticized Bishops' Program of Reconstruction and its call for social reform legislation that would regulate working conditions and wages.

6. Selection from John A. Ryan, "The End of Hysteria", NCWC Bulletin (June 1923).

   Here Ryan applauds policy shifts within the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)related to revolutionary and reform groups. He criticizes the FBI for stoking public fear, unjustly antagonizing immigrants, and discrediting reform movements by labeling them "red" or "Bolshevist".

7. Nation clipping, Reference Files, Ryan Papers, ACUA.

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