PAROLES D'UN BOURGEOIS
Comme suite à la lettre que nous publions plus haut, nous engageons les partisans des candidats conservateurs à lire et à méditer les pages suivantes écrites par un « bourgeois bourgeoisant », un croyant, sinon un clérical, mais qui est en même temps un homme de bonne foi et de bon sens : nous avons nommé M. Léon Chaîne, auteur de ce livre courageux : les Catholiques français et leurs difficultés actuelles.
(Suit la reproduction presque complète de notre chapitre XIV intitulé : Le Christianisme social et les Conservateurs.)
Daily Messenger (Paris), 3 mai 1904 :
Paris, May 3, 1904.
Sir George Arthur, writing in the current Nineteenth Century, takes a view of French politics concerniiig which the élections of Sunday constitute a curions commentary. The view in question is something like this : On the one side stand the Catholics who are anti-Ministerialists, and on the other the Atheists, who support and inspire M. Combes. The notion that a Frenchman may be a good Catholic and yet a supporter of the Government, a soldier, and yet a « Dreyfusard », is quite incompatible with the average foreigner's conception of the mater. Moreover, Sir George Arthur is quite persuaded that the présent policy of the Governement is the policy of the minority of the country.
The same déclaration was made on the occasion of the Parliamentary élections, and since that date the majority hâve had ample time to wake up to the fact of the « tyranny » under which they hâve been suffering. Yet a fair déduction from Sunday 's élections is that the position of the Government is stronger than ever.
The truth is of course that the main Unes of division in French politics are not religions at ail, but purely political.
There appeared just recently a book by M. Léon Chain e,\vhich, under the title French Catholics and their Présent Difficulties, dealt with precisely this point.
The chief interest of the book lies in the fact that it expresses the opinions of a Catholic who is speaking for niany of his cobelievers. If it were true that the French Government were making an overt attack on Christianity, the only conclusion possible from Sunday 's élections would be that the attack was succeeding and that France was becoming slowly de-Christianised. Happily no such conclusion is necessary.
Le Chrétien Français (Paris), 7 mai 1904 :
