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D e c e m b e r 20 , I 9 3 5 T e Comm onweal 2 1

S N T C L U S N D S C I E N C EB y G . K . C H E S T E R T O N

I W I S H the sub jec t I d i scuss he r e in a sho r tar t ic le could be d iscussed in a b ig book, ora long se r i e s o f books . I r a th e r f ancy tha t ,

i f i t cou ld r ea l ly be r educed to i t s e l emen t s , wes h o u l d f in d t h e e l e m e n t a r y t r u t h a b o u t C a t h o l i-c i s m a n d P r o t e s t a n t i s m a n d t h e p r e s e n t p r o b l e mof ou r c iv i l iza t ion . I t wou ld pe rh aps exp la inwhy, i n the coming Chr i s tmas , many mi l l i ons o fo u r m a t u r e f e l lo w c r e a tu r e s , s o f a r f r o m h a n g -ing up the i r s tock ings to have them f i l l ed , w i l lr a t h e r h a n g u p t h e i r h e a r t s a n d h e a d s a n d f in dt h e m e m p t y ; a n d w h y t h e y w i l l c o n t i n u e t o e n a c t

a f ab le fo r ch i ld ren to be l i eve in , and fo r ch i l -d ren w ho do no t be l i eve in i t. Fo r t he sake o fb rev i ty, l e t me sum up such a sc ien ti fi c m on ogr aphu n d e r t h e h e a d s o f t h r e e o r f o u r q u e s t i o n s .

F i r s t , who was San ta C laus o r who was he sup -p o s e d t o b e ? W h y d o w e a c t u a ll y d es c r ib e th i sdomes t i c and f ami l i a r f i gu re by a name in a fo r-e ig n l a n g u a g e th a t f e w o f u s k n o w ? W h y s h o u lda s o r t o f u n c l e o r g r a n d f a t h e r s o i n t i m a t e t h a the i s a l low ed to en ter by the chim.n .ey, ins tea d oft h e f r o n t - d o o r, h a v e o n h i s w s m n g - c a r d t h er a t h e r f l o r i d n a m e o f a d i s t i n g u i s h e d f o r e i g n e r ?T h e a n s w e r i s i m p o r t a n t . I t is b e c a u se i n m ycoun t ry the sa in t s r ea l ly have c rep t back aga inl ike sp ie s . Sa in t N icho las o f t he Ch i ld re n mayn o t c o m e t h r o u g h t h e c h i m n e y l ik e a b u r g l a r ;b u t h e w a s r e a l l y a d m i t t e d t h r o u g h t h e f r o n t -do or on ly a s a fo re ign e r. I t is pa r t o f a pa ra -dox , t ha t P ro te s t an t Eng land sa t i s f i ed i t s i n t enseinsu la r i ty ma in ly by the use o f fo re ign words .F o r i n s t a n c e , m e n c a n n o t d o w i t h o u t t h e i m a g e o ft h e M o t h e r o f G o d ; t h e v e r i t a b l e Q u e e n o fH e a r t s , w i t h e v e r y s o r t o f l o v e r s i n e v e r y s o r to f l a n d . B u t th e Vi c t o r i a n s g o t o v e r h e r o m n i -p r e s e n c e i n a ll a r t b y c a l li n g h e r a M a d o n n a ,w h a t e v e r t h a t m a y m e a n . A s i t w a s B r i t is h t ot a lk o f Mary on ly in I t a l i an , so i t was Br i t i sh tot a l k o f S a in t N i c h o l a s o nl y i n G e r m a n . S o w ecou ld t ap a l l t he t r ad i t i ona l poe t ry o f Chr i s t en -dom , wi thou t ca l l i ng i t Ca tho l i c o r even Chr i s -t i an . I t was a so r t o f smugg l ing ; we cou ld im-p o r t N i c h o l a s w i t h o u t p a y i n g t h e t a x t o P e t e r.

Second , eve r ybo dy cou ld then d i spose them -se lves in e l egan t a t t i t udes o f s ad sympa thy andpa t ron iz ing p i ty ; ove r a mere f a i ry - t a l e fo r ch i l -d ren , wh ich ch i ld ren themse lves mus t soon aban-don . San ta C laus has pas sed in to a p rov e rb o fi ll u s ion and d i s il l u sion . A m an w ro te a poe m

abou t how he had ceased to be l i eve in San ta C lausa t t he age o f s even and in Go d a t t he age o f s ev-e n t e e n ; a n d e x p l a i n e d h o w h e r e a l l y r e g r e t t e dG o d n o t m u c h m o r e t h a n S a n ta C l a us . T h e

n o t i o n t h a t t h e t h i n g h a d e v e r h a d a n y r e l a t i o nto any r e l ig ion , o r t ha t t ha t r e l ig ion had eve rhad any r e l a t ion to any r eason , o r t ha t i t had beena pa r t o f a r ea l ph i lo sophy wi th a f r inge o f popu-l a r f anc ie s bu t a body o f mo ra l f ac t, neve r oc-c u r r e d to a n y b o d y. A n d I s t a r tl e d s o m e h o n e s tP r o t e s t a n t s l a t e ly b y te l li n g t h e m t h a t , t h o u g hI a m ( u n f o r t u n a t e l y ) n o l o n g e r a c h il d , I d omo s t de f in i te ly be l i eve in San ta C laus ; t ho ugh Ip r e f e r t o t a lk a b o u t h i m i n m y o w n la n g u a g e . Ibe l i eve tha t Sa in t N icho las i s i n heaven , acces -s ib l e to ou r p raye r s fo r anybody ; i f he was sup -

posed to be specia l ly access ib le to prayers of chi l -d ren , a s be ing the i r pa t ron , I s ee no r eason whyhe shou ld no t be conce rned wi th human g i f t s t och i ld ren . I do no t suppose tha t he comes dow nthe ch im ney ; bu t I suppose he cou ld i f he l iked .The po in t i s t ha t , fo r me , t he re i sn o t t ha t com-p le t e chasm o r cu t t i ng o~ o f a l l r e l a t ions wi th there l ig ion o f ch i ldhood , wh ich i s now common inthose who began by s t a r t i ng a new re l ig ion andh a v e e n d e d b y h a v i n g n o r e l i g io n .

T h i r d , d o o u r c o n t e m p o r a r i e s r e a l l y k n o w e v e nthe l i t t l e t ha t t he re i s t o know abou t t he roo t s , o rposs ib l e o r ig ins , o f such romances o f popu la r r e -l i g ion? I myse l f know ve ry l it t l e ; bu t a r ea l lyc o m p l e t e m o n o g r a p h o n S a n ta C l a u s m i g h t r a i s esome ve ry in t e re s t ing ques tions . Fo r in s t ance ,Sa in t N icho las o f Ba r i i s r ep resen ted in a we l l -k n o w n I t a l i a n p i c t u r e o f t h e l a t e r M i d d l e A g e s ,n o t o n l y a s p e r f o r m i n g t h e d u t y o f a g i f t - b r i n g e r,bu t , s ac tua l ly do ing i t by the me thods o f a bu r-g l a r. H e i s r ep r esen ted a s c l imb ing up the g r i ll eo r l a t t ice o f a house , so l e ly in o rd e r t o d ro p l i tt l eb a g s o f g o l d a m o n g t h e m e m b e r s o f a p o o r f a m -i ly, cons i s t ing o f an aged man and th ree beau t i fu ld a u g h t e r s w h o h a d n o m o n e y f o r t h e i r w e d d i n gd o w r i e s . T h a t is a n o t h e r q u e s ti o n f o r o u r c on -t empora r i e s : why were ce l iba t e sa in t s so f r igh t -f u ll y k e e n o n g e t t i n g o t h e r p e o p l e m a r r i e d ? B u tanyhow, I g ive th i s on ly a s an example ou t o fa h u n d r e d , w h i c h m i g h t w e l l b e f o l l o w e d u p i fon ly g rown-up peop le cou ld be induced to t akeSan ta C laus se r ious ly. I t l ooks a s if i t m ig h t bethe roo t o f t he legend . T o see a sa in t c l imb ingu p t h e f r o n t o f o u r h o u s e w o u l d s e e m t o m o s t o fus a s odd a s see ing a sa in t c limb ing dow n o urc h i m n e y. Ve r y p r o b a b l y n e i t h e r o f t h e t h in g sh a p p e n e d ; b u t i t m i g h t b e w o r t h w h i le e v e nfor sc ient i f ic c r i t ics to f ind out what ac tua l lyd i d h a p p e n .

F o u r t h , w h a t d o o u r g r e a t m o d e r n e d u c a t i o n -i st s, ou r g r ea t m od ern psycho log i s ts , ou r g re a tm a k e r s o f a n e w w o r l d, m e a n t oo a b o u t t h e

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2 2 The ommonweal D e c e m b e r 20 , I 9 3 3breach be tween the imag ina t ion and the reason ,i f on ly in the passage f r om the in fan t to the m an ?Is the chi ld to l ive in a world that i s ent i re ly fan-ci ful and then f ind suddenly that i t i s ent i re lyfa l se? Or is the ch i ld to be fo rb idden a l l fo rms

of f ancy ; o r in o the r words , fo rb idden to be ach i ld ? Or i s he , a s we say, to ha ve som e ha rmlessborder l and o f f ancy in ch i ldhood , which i s s t i l l

a pa r t o f the l and in which he wi l l l i ve ;in te r rav i v e n t i u m i n t h e l a n d o f li v i n g m e n ? C a n n o t t h ech i ld pass f rom a ch i ld 's na tu ra l f ancy to a m an ' sn o r m a l f a i t h in H o l y N i c h o l a s o f t h e C h i l d r e n ,w i t h o u t e n d u r i n g t h a t b i t t e r b r e a k a n d a b r u p t

d i s a p p o i n t m e n t w h i ch n o w m a r k s t h e p a s s a g e o fa ch i ld f rom a l and o f ma ke-be l i eve to a w or ldof no be l i e f?

N D T H E C O N S T I T U T I O NB y M I C H A E L O ' S H A U G H N E S S Y

T H A S n o t e sc a p e d t h e n o t ic e o f t h e m a no n t h e s t r e e t t h a t t h e o w n e r s a n d m a n a g e r sof cap i t a l, a s an economic g roup in our

p o p u l a ti o n , o p p o s e th e p o w e r o f g o v e r n m e n t toregu la te the conduc t o f ind iv idua l s in the conduc to f the na t ion ' s business . T he y oppose soc ia l l eg -i s l a tion o f eve ry type . Th e i r ch ie f r e l iance inma in ta in ing th i s ant i -soc ial a t t i tude , s t r ange tosay, i s the Cons t i tu t ion o f the Uni ted S ta tes .

Th i s h igh ly p r iv i l eged c lass s t r e sses the dueprocess a s aga ins t the w e l fa re c l ause o f theConst i tu t ion, the le t ter agains t the spi r i t ; in effect ,t h e y m a i n t a i n t h a t p r o p e r t y r i g h t s a r e s u p e r io rt o h u m a n r ig h t s, u n m i n d f u l o f t h e f a c t t h a t t h em a i n t e n a n c e o f p r o p e r t y r i g h t s d e p e n d s u p o n t h epro tec t ion a ffo rded the ind iv idua l c i t i zen bythe Cons t i tu t ion . Th ey seek to ci r cumscr ibe thep o w e r s o f t h e f e d e r a l g o v e r n m e n t u n d e r t h e c o m -merce c lause to the r egu la t ion o f the t r anspor t o fm e r c h a n d i s e a n d c o m m o d i t i e s f r o m o n e p l ac e t oano the r ac ross s ta t e lines. Ev ery e ffo rt by thef e d e r a l g o v e r n m e n t , u n d e r t h e c o m m e r c e c la u seof the Cons t i tu t ion , to r egu la te the bus iness r e l a -t ions o f the c i t i zens o f one s t a t e wi th the c i t i zensof ano the r, i s me t by the smug re fe rence to thep r o n o u n c e m e n t b y t h e S u p r e m e C o u r t t h a t p r o -duc t ion is no t eom mm erce . Th i s i s se l f - ev iden t ,bu t me thods o f p roduc t ion wi th in a s t a t e can besuch as to r e t a rd o r des t roy in te r s t a t e commerce ,in which case the Congress , in our op in ion , hasthe pow er to exc lude goo ds so p roduced f r om in-t e r s t a t e com merce wi tho u t in the l east ab r idg in gthe r igh t s o f c i t i zens o f any s t a t e to conduc t p ro -d u c t i o n i n a n y m a n n e r p e r m i t t e d b y t h e l a w s o fsuch s t a t e , p rov ided o f course tha t the goods a refo r consum pt ion wi th in tha t s t a te .

The pr incipal d i ff icul ty seems to be in agreeingupon a de f in it ion o f commerce . T he Su premeCo urt in i t s decis ion in the case of G ibbons v.O g d e n ( 9 W h e a t o n , p a g e 6 8 ) , g i v e s a d ef i ni ti o no f c o m m e r c e o f p a r a m o u n t i m p o r t a n c e i n t h e d e -

ba te over the r ec ip roca l powers and du t i e s o f thef e d e r a l g o v e r n m e n t an d t h e s t a te s i n t h e m a t t e ro f in te r s t a t e comm erce . T he C our t ' s de f in it ionin pa r t i s a s fo l low s : Co m me rce , undoub ted ly, i s

t raff ic , b ut i t i s som eth ing mo re : i t is in tercourse .I t desc r ibes the commerc ia l in te rcourse be tweennat ions , and par ts of nat ions , in a l l i t s branches ,

and i s r egu la ted by p resc r ib ing ru les fo r ca r ry ingon tha t in te rcourse .I t i s c l e a r t h a t i n t h e m i n d o f t h e S u p r e m e

Cour t , a t l eas t in the above dec i s ion , in te r s t a t ecom merce i s bus iness in te rcourse b e tween c i t izenso f t h e s e v e ra l s t a te s i n t h e U n i o n . I t w o u l d f o ll o wt h a t C o n g r e s s h a s t h e p o w e r u n d e r t h e C o n s t i t u -t ion to p resc r ibe ru les fo r ca r ry ing on bus inessin te rcourse amo ng the c i t i zens o f the severa l s t a t e st o p r o m o t e a n d p r e s e r v e i n t e r s t a t e c o m m e r c e .Such ru les pe rh aps cou ld be m os t e ffec t ive ly p re -sc r ibed by the Congress r equ i r ing fede ra l cha r-t e r s fo r co rpora t ions do ing an in te r s t a t e bus iness .

T h e s t a t e m e n t w a s f r e q u e n t ly m a d e i n t h elowes t dep ths o f t he depress ion in x932 , by m any,even the mos t r eac t ionary f inanc ie r s and cap ta insof indus t ry, tha t the sys tem of d i s t r ibu t ion (o f~ .~ods and se rv ices ) had b roken down in the

n i t ed S ta tes . I t had b roke n dow n because theow ners o f cap i t a l ins is t ed upon so l a rge a p ropo r-t ion o f the na t iona l income tha t the purchas ingp o w e r o f w o r k e r s a n d f a r m e r s h a d b e e n c u r t a i l e dto the po in t tha t the exchange o f goods and se r-v ices be tween the c i t i zens o f the va r ious s t a t e s( i n t e r s t a t e c o m m e r c e ) , w a s s o o b s t r u c t e d t h a tt h e e c o n o m i c m a c h i n e r y o f t h e n a t i o n h a d a l lbut col lapsed.

T h e p r e s e r v a t io n o f c o m m e r c e b e t w e e n t h es e v e r al s t at e s d e p e n d s u p o n t h e w o r k e r s a n df a r m e r s , t h e m a j o r c o n s u m i n g g r o u p s i n o u rpopu la t ion , r ece iv ing a l a rge r p ro por t ion o f then a t i o n al i n c o m e to m a i n t a i n p u r c h a s in g p o w e r a ta l eve l a t w hich cap i t a l can be p ro f it ab ly em ploye din indus t ry. I t is c l ea r tha t the p rese rv a t ion o fin te r s t a t e com merce depends upon the es t ab l i sh -m ent o f a jus t r e l a t ion in the income o f the num-er ica l ly smal l g roup o f owners o f cap i t a l and thev a s t m a j o r i t y o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n , a s r e p r e s e n t e d

i n t h e w o r k e r a n d f a r m e r g r o u p s. T h e p o w e r t oregu la te in te r s t a t e com me rce mo s t ce r t a in ly in-e ludes the pow er to p resc r ibe ru les o f bus inessintercourse to es tabl ish th is jus t re la t ion.