In their laboratories of destruction the chemists of greed and of poverty, of hate and of lying propaganda are mingling their poisons of warfare. Peace conferences and naval conferences failed miserably as did the hypocritical efforts of the League of Nations. The stage is being set for the last act of that tragedy which will mark the passing of a prostituted civilization unless our course is suddenly changed. Thus, it is almost with a cynical smile that we hope for peace when we recognize the feverish efforts of every great nation as they are busy manufacturing cannons and shells, war ships and lethal gases. They were years when innocent civilians of all countries were bowed down by the regimented forces of greed, of selfishness, of crass ignorance and of obstinacy Waste and destruction of property, the desolation of homes and farms, the decay of factories and industries, which are associated with this period through which we have passed, are beyond our reckoning. No nation and but few individuals have escaped the atrocities identified with the last sixteen years. Instead of announcing that here was the end of all war, we were being ushered into a new conflict too terrible to contemplate. Instead of making the world safe for democracy, the bells which tolled their message sixteen years ago this afternoon were sounding its requiem. As I look back upon these years-years identified with the Peace Treaty of Versailles, with the League of Nations, with assassinations of men in high office, with the birth of Bolshevism, with repudiations of debts and with universal poverty-I honestly believe that in all history such destruction of ideals and such miscarriage of justice were never chronicled save during the years which witnessed the assassination of Christ. SIXTEEN years ago this afternoon, my friends, I mingled with thousands of my fellow citizens who were celebrating the termination of a war that was fought to end wars. ![]() THE NATIONAL UNION FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE (Sunday, November 11, 1934) In the three broadcasts reproduced here he outlines his program and responds to his critics. His program of "social justice" was a very radical challenge to unbridled capitalism and to many of the political institutions of his day. He began as an early Roosevelt supporter, coining a famous expression, that the nation's choice was between "Roosevelt or ruin." Later in the 1930s he turned against FDR and became one of the president's harshest critics. Just as the rest of the nation was obsessed by matters economic and political in the aftermath of the Depression, so too was Father Coughlin. ![]() ![]() By the early 1930s the content of his broadcasts had shifted from theology to economics and politics. Library of Congress photo # 208456762-111027įather Coughlin first took to the airwaves in 1926, broadcasting weekly sermons over the radio.
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