THE
A
i " " 1L &JJL t i-i 1
A WEEKLY NEWS, PER.
"AMERICA FOR AMERICANS." We hold that all mm are A nerlcans who Swear Allegiance to the United State without a mental reservation In favor of the Pope.
price fivkxknt
VoLCMK V.
OMAHA, NEBRASKA, FRIDAY, MAY 31, 1S95.
Numbkh 22
I. ,
(
4
REPLY FROM THE A. P. A.
v' Women Who Had th Big Petition
in Charge Answer the School
Board.
President leaser Objections te Dis
missing Catholics from the l'ubllc
Schools of Kansas City Dis
posed Of bf A. 1'. A.
The answer made by President Yea
ger, of the Kansas City Board of Edu
cation, to the A. P. A. petition asking
for the removal of Roman Catholic
teachers from the public schools of that
city, has drawn forth this reply:
To the Honorable Board op Edu
cation of Kansas City, Mo.:
Your published answer, informing us
and the public at largf , through Presi
dent Yeager, that, after "mature delib
eration," our prayer that none but Prot
estants be appointed by you as teachers
In the public schools of this city, "was
unanimously refused," has been care
fully read by us and wlh much sur
prise and regret, considering your repu
tation for intelligence and patriotism.
It seems that the great obstacle in:
the way of your granting our request Is
tnis, that, to do so, would be violative
of the fundamental policy in the man
agement of the public schools, which
policy Is to keep them "non-partizan"
(politically, that is, not to allow them
to be used in the interests of any po
litical party), "nd non-sectarian" (ec
cleslastically, that Is, not to allow them
to be used in the Interests of any sect
or church). We indorse that policy
most heartily; but would the granting
of our request be violative of that pol
icy? You assume that it would. We
beg to differ with you, with becoming
womanly modesty. In the interest of
what sect or church would our public
schools be used by appointing none but
Protestants as teachers? Roman Ca
tbolicism has organic form In the Ro
man Catholic church, which Is, iu the
popular sense, a religious sect; but Prot
estantism has no such organic form
there Is no such I'rotestant sect or
church and hence the granting of our
request would not sectarlanize our pub
lic schools. Had we asked that none
but Methodists, for instance, be ap
pointed as teachers, then the granting
of our request would have been viola
tlve of that school policy, for Metho
dism, like Roman Catholicism, has
church organic form and is a sect; but
such was not our request, and we would
give our full-toned voice of protest
against such perversion of our public
school system. The radical difference
here Indicated, we would venture to
suggest to your superior reasoning ca-
pacity, Is fatal to the validity of your
main reason for refusing our request.
In harmony with the foregoing line
of thought, permit us. please, to re
mind you of this most Important and
unquestionable fact, that the public-
school system of our country is the
product, the fruit, the offspring, the
fair child of Protestant sentiment, not
of Roman Catholic sentiment; not of
any particular phase of Protestant sen
timent, butof that aggregate sentiment
which was itself the outgrowth, the
glorious fruitage, of the emancipation
of men from the intellectual, spiritual
and civil bondage which was wrought
out of the providence of God and the
Bible through Martin Luther and his
compeers. Hence, we claim that, by
the sacredly inviolable right of parent
age, the management of the public
school system throughout our country,
in all its details, should be placed ex
clusively In the hands of Protestants.
Besides, how otherwise can the benefi
cent aims of that system be realized by
the American people? Pardon us, then,
women only though we Be, when we
say that we are just a little surprised
that intelligent and thoughtful men,
such as you are, should take a position
on this subject that is so violative of
the right of Protestantism to control
its own child, and so destructive of that
useful and noble life for which that
child Is designed to be trained scared
into that position by the bloodless ghost
of sectarlanizirg our public schools.
Pe-mit U9, please, on that same line
of argumentation for establishing the
justness of our request, to direct your
attention to another unquestionable and
most weighty fact, namely, that all
Roman Catholic teachers belong to a
religious establishment, the hierarchy
or priesthood of which, from its papal
head of Rome down through all Its or
ders to the lowest priestly grade, is the
determined and uncompromising enemy
of our public-school system. Repre
sentative men of every rank and posi
tion in the Roman Catholic church
have opposed, condemned and de
nounced that system in terms of an im
measurable hate. To be consistent with
the fundamental principles of their sys
tem they cannot feel and act otherwise
than in that style In reference to our
public schools. In fact, the Roman
Catholic church U the only organized
and powerful foe of our public-school
system that can be found In all our
land. Every other religious establish
ment In our midst is an ardent friend
of our public r chools, and hence no det
riment to them, at their hands, U to be
apprehended; bat, on the contrary,
they will receive their fostering care.
He who denies or doubts the correct
ness of that representation of the state
of the case, we are gently Inclined to
suspect, is either ignorant or dishonest.
That being so, we claim that our re
quest that none but Protestants be ap
pointed as teachers in our public
schools is jutt, Is necessary to the pres
ervation of the American character and
the very life of the sy item, and is the
only sound school policy. But what U
your position? You throw the door of
ingress wide open to all comers, and
extend an equally generous welcome to
the foes and the friends of ur school
system; yes, an equal welcome to the
adherents of that only, compactly or
ganized and powerful enemy of the
very syr tern itself the papal hierarchy.
Yes, you bring that hostile and corrupt
ing influence in contact with the stream
of American life at its most sensitive
rplace, Its fountain head our children
the future men and women, fathers
and mothers, citizens and voters, and
legislators and rulers of the republic.
Besides, you having admitted as by
right 8 per cent, of that class of teach
ers into the schools of Kansas City, you
cannot, consistently with your position,
put any check upon the increase of that
per cent., so that your school policy
opens a possible road to the capture, by
skillful management, of oun public
schools by the leaders of the Roman
Catholic church, and that would be'
-tantamount to their destruction as a
truly American institution by their
conversion into Roman Catholic paro
chial schools, supported at public ex
pense. What a blessed consummation
that would be, says Rome, and how,
worthy of our ceaseless prayers and
toils!
Our surprise, "good gentlemen," at
your finding in the case before us is
greatly enhanced by the assurance that
you are, each and all, Protestant in re
ligious sentiment. Our surprise is spe'
cial in the case of the president of your
board, who, as we have been informed
is a Protestant "of purest ray serene,"
for he belongs to a church thatout-
protcsts Protestants themselves, in that
it not only protests vehemently against
the errors of Romanism, but against
the errors of Protestantism itself; ard
whose great leader, Alexander Camp
bell, as we heard one of his distin
guished brethren say in a public ad
dress, once published, about sixty years
ago, these remarkably prophetic words:
"Were I asked what is the darkest
and most ominous cloud in our national
heavens, unhesitatingly I would an
swer, 'Slavery as now established by
law.' Again, were I asked for the next
most inauspicious and portentous cloud
In our political horizon, I must, with
equal promptitude, reply, 'The rapid
growth of a popish empire in the bosom
of the republic." And which great
leader, a year or so thereafter, met
Bishop Purcell In public oral discus
sion in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio,
and demonstrated as true every propo
sition that pertains to the nature, his
tory and aims of Roman Catholicism
that justified his apprehension of
trouble to grow out of the presence in
the bosom of our republic of that rap
idly growing "papal empire."
Kind sirs, we will soon conclude what
we have to say at this time regarding
your action as the trusted guardians of
the common-school educational inter
ests of our grow ng city. In order to
rid our discussion of your official action
on our request of the character of a
mere local controversy, and make it
applicable to the public-school question
throughout the country, we have de
voted our efforts to the treatment of
the general subject, and have left un
said much that we might have said
about the special items that have been
brought out in connection with the
public schools of this city.
Our public-school eystem is pre-emi
nently an American institution. It lies
very near the center of the heart of the
American people, as is shown by the
universality of its adoption by the
states of the Union and the liberal ex
penditure of money by the states for
their support. We accept the issue
that you present as to the policy of
their management, and are willing, in
contrast with it, to go before the Amer
ican people with this our motto as em
bodying the true American policy,
"Americans for American schools."
There is a rising tida of American
sentiment moving over this country
that no power on earth can stay. As
well might a Democratic state conven- i
tion seek, by resolution, unanimously '
passed, to reverse the tide of the Mis
souri river and cause It to flood it
mountain springs a for any human
force to seek to arrest the onward How
of that tide of American patriotic aenll
ment. The avalanche U coining down
the mountain side, and woe betide the
man, the politician, the political party
or the church that obstinately stands
in its pathway. Jehovah'a hand guide
it. Gentlemen, if you do not wish to
get hurt, consult your safety, take time
by the forelcck, and step aside.
Mrs. J. B. Stone,
Mrs. B. Caknauan,
Mrs. F. Hunting,
Mrs E. B. Gray,
Mrs. Julia Westein,
The Commit toe
Kansas Citt, Mo.. M 23. IrtC.
'ot So Sanguine.
Father Elliott, one of the Paulist
Fathers of New York City, has r oertly
delivered a very fervent exhortation to
his brethren of the priesthood to give
more attention to the conversion of
Protestants. He says that it Is a mis
take to suppose that Roman Catholl
cism can do no work of conversion
among non-Catholic ptoplo. He him
self has demonstrated the practicability
of doing this sort of work. He finds,
he says, the people take very kindly to
Catholicism when it is rightly pre
sented, and he is very sanguine that
the United States is to be a strong
Catholic country, and one of the main
supporters of the see of Rome. Cora
mentlng on this letter of Father Elli
ott's, the New York lMentmknt has
the following remarks:
"This is a large faith, if we may
judge by the history of the past and by
such facts as are certainly known. One
of these facts is that the Roman Cath
olic church has so far not been able to
bold its own. That is, it has lost thou
sands upon thousands of baptized per
sons, who have left its communion to
become Protestarts. Almost every
Protestant church has members who
once were Catholics. A second fact is
that few Protestants have become Cath
olics. The loss has been almost en
tlrely on the Catholic side. We have
not observed that the Catholic church
has made much effort to secure con
ve ts from the Protestant churches un
til quite recently. It has had all it
could do to car for the masses of its
own faith who have swarmed to our
shores from European countries. We
have known Catholics to estimate their
losses at hundreds of thousands, but we
do not recall that they have computed
their gains from Protestantism at thou
sands. A third fact Is that Catholi
cism has been, in the last twenty-five
years, quite passive toward the unsaved
masses. Those who live in communi
ties where Catholic churches are estab
lished know that the work of evangeli
zation has been in the hands of Protes
tants, while the Catholics have been
busy trying to take care of their own
population. The Catholic church has
not attracted the non Catholic popula
tion for several reasons, one of which
Is patent to everjbody. It has been re
garded as antagonistic to certain Amer
ican ideas, and its criticisms of the public-school
system and attempts, at vari
ous times, to prevent Catholic parents
from patronizing them, have convinced
net a few that It is a foreign church,
not only ruled by a foreign potentate,
but permeated with the effete ideas of
Europe concerning the relations of
church and state."
The Independent thinks, however,
that the Roman Catholic church in
this country has changed its policy of
opposition to our institutions and is be
coming more American in spirit. We
are not so sanguine as our contempo
rary as to any real change in spirit of
the Romish hierarchy. They may in
deed change their tactics with a view
of accomplishing their purpose, but
their avowed purpose is to bring this
nation In subjection to the pope. But
however that may be, of one thing we
may rest assured: Neither the Paul
ist Fathers nor any other branch of
Rome's propaganda will ever make
much headway In converting free-born
American citizens with average intelli
gence and the characteristic spirit of
American Independence to the super
stitious dogmas of Roman Catholicism,
nor to the tyranny of its ecclesiasti-
cism. Its reliance is not upon such
work. It alms to get hold of helpless
children and train them to be good Ro
manists by keeping them ignorant of
anything better, and to retain its hold
on the foreign population coming from
Catholic countries. Christian-Evangelist,
St. Louis.
Don't Worry Yourself
and don't worry the baby; avoid both
unpleasant conditions by giving the
child pure, digestible food. Don't use
solid preparations. Infant Health is a
valuable pamphlet for mothers. Send
your address to the rew York Con
densed Milk Company, New York.
"AFTER A PRETTY GIRL'
The Church of Rome Coerces Pretty
Mamie Thornton.
Ansnrrrd by J. II. MrConlogue, Who lit
in Turn Answered by Iter. Cnfii,
f the Hiiplist Church of
Swalctlale, la.
Something like two months ago we
published a letter from Swaledale, la.
written by Rev. Slgol C. Grocn, pastor
of the Baptist church of that city, under
the heading, "AfU r a Pretty Girl."
After more than a month has elapsed
J. II. MjConlogue, who was a candl
date for a state office on th; 'Hiiiocratlo
ticket about two years ago, and who
lays his defeat at the door of the A. P
A., writes an answer to tho article pub
lished In our paper, and has the same
printed in the Mason City, la , Daily
IvMs-JkraUl of May 10, 18!).r.. Ho
quotes ltev. Green's letter, and then
says:
"'Rev.' Sigel C. Green, 'Pastor' of
Baptist Church, Swaledale, la. Sir:
Your unchristian-like communication,
under date of April 5th, ult., published
In that un-Amorlcan, unchristian and
unpatriotic journal, styling Itself Tue
American, of Omaha, Neb., has been
read by several of the people of this
county, and a copy of it is now before
me.
T.fl ...
i am inueea very sorry mat you
worked yourself into such an uncon
trollable passion, especially when there
was no cause for It, and that you have
disgraced the high calling which you
are attempting to fill, by displaying
such bigotry, hatred and malice against
those of ray religious belief, and de
liberately became the author of so
many falsehoods and vltujierations as
are contained in the communication re
ferred to.
"In this unfortunate public document
of yours, you speak of freedom, and in
the same breath you exhibit the same
spirit of all the tyrants who have dis
graced the world by the persecution of
imocent people, because they would
not believe In the style and form of
worship prescribed by others. These
tyrants!
"The blue laws of Connecticut, the
Puritanical laws ol Now England
against the Quakers (and other relig
ious denominations), the hideous in
quisition about which we hear so much,
the persecution of the Huguenots, and
the terrible conduct of Henry VII. and
Queen 'Bess,' of England, against the
Catholics, all pale into nothingness
when compared to what you would do,
if you had the power, with those who
differ from you. That is, if we may
judge all your conduct by this article
which you sprung so sensationally upon
an unsuspecting and unprepared world.
"Miss Thornton has been to see me,
and she denies emphatically of ever
wanting to join your church; denies
that the Campbells, or anyone else, ever
forced her to go to church; denies that
anyone ever even talked to her about
going to a convent; denies that she
ever said or thought of taking poison.
'Her father has also been to s e me,
and denies the stuff you impolitely say
of him. Mr. Calkins has denounced
you publicly, and brands what you say
as something he does not sanction nor
believe.
I have no words of defense for the
bad conduct the Campbells may have
displayed in the past, but I want to tell
you and only pray that this fact might
make an impression on your hardened
and unforglven soul that their un
fortunate conduct has been entirely
contrary to the tenets and teachings of
the Catholic church.
"I want to tell you that when you
dipped your pen In malice to write such
rot, you knew that you were bear-
ng false witness against your neighbor,
and that makes your crime more hein
ous and yourself more despicable before
liberal-minded christian men and wo
men.
"You know that if the Campbells, or
any other person, lived up to the teach
ings of the Catholic church, they would
commit no sin. Had these "people at
tended church regularly, and partici
pated in the blessings she bestows upon
those who follow her directions, they
might escape the censure of even you
and your like, who are so blinded by
bigotry, and so ignorant of this institu
tion and its teachings, that you are
unable to see acy good in the Catholic
church, or In anyone who belongs to it.
"Talk about religious freedom; what
do you know about It? If this letter is
to guide us in measuring the extent of
your information, I can't help saying:
You are the most Ignorant person on
historical truths I have ever met. If
you will read the history of our country
you will find that the first banner of
religious freedom was unfurled to the
reeze by the Catholics under Lord
Haiti more. If you will Investigate, and
read further, you will find that the
statute adopted by the pro irletary
government under Lord Baltimore
granting full and religious freedom to
all classes, was written by a priest.
You will also admit, if you know any
ining aoout nistory, mat mo only re
ligion services offered on tho American
continent lor liHl years after the con
tlnent was discovered by that grand
lamouc, mrisiophcr lolumhus, was
the services of the Roman Catholic
church. You ought to know that tho
Catholic soldiers fought under Wash
Ington for American freedom as bravely
as did his noble comrades of other be
liefs. You know that Catholic Franco
and Catholic Spain threw all their
support against England (that was
then murdering her subjects at home
because they wore Catholics), and the
Hessians who were hired by England,
by a willing monarch, to shoot down
freemen. You know that Jeff Davis
didn't havoaCathollo in his confederate
congress, nor one In his cabinet of ad
vi-ers.
"You are aware that some of the best
generals, and as bravo men as ever
drew swords, were Catholics who fought
for tho starry flag and for the union. I
don't gloat over these things, and only
wish by citing them to Bhow that the
Catholic church don't prevent ber
children from taking the Bide of free
dom, and also to let you know that wo
have as much right to this land and to
the good things thereof as have our
fellow citizens who continue to perse
cute us by maligning us, by falsifying
our motives, by constantly misrepre
senting our conduct, and in this way
deprive us of the same rlghU they
enjoy.
"You heap an insult upon virtue and
you Impliedly call every Catholic
mother, evry Catholic sister, every
Catholic daughter, every Catholic wo
man, a harlot, when you say in your
said article that the Catholic church
allows or teaches 'corruption of society
and purity, that send so many young,
Innocent lives to shame, suicide graves,
or to worse than death tho convent
prison walls there to live lives only to
serve sensual lust of lecherous priests,
bald headed monks and friars. Oh,
shame upon you, cruel wretch! Have
you no manhood left? Have you no
decency whatever? Are you so low in
the scale of humanity as to be entirely
destltuto of every human instinct
which rebels against so vile, so false,
so degraded a charge as that made in
the above quotation againBt innocent
people? You knew when you wrote
those words you were slandering thou
sands upon thousands of your own
countrymen and country-women.
"Think for a moment, poor man, how
far your charge goes.
"If the Catholic church taught such
things, If her monks and priests were
such men, if the sisters lead such lives,
then my mother, who, In her humble
way, led me Into the Catholic church,
must now be suffering the torments of
that place provided by God for the
wicked, and I am worse than a fiend if
I bring my children within the walls
of a Catholic church. I know very few
people will take any stock in your in
famous slanders.
"Go ask the soldiers who fought to
preserve this country whether the
isters who knelt down in blood to
soothe the feverish brow of the wounded
and mangled soldier, caring for, or
asking not what his religion was,
whether they believe these s'sters
lived lives of ehame.
The individual who possesses the
pirit and soul thatyour communication
would lead one to believe that you
possess, is too contemptible, too de
graded, too low to waste a great deal of
time with. I really pity you, and pity
the good people of the church you at
tempt to preside over, for the smallness
of your brain and the wickedness of
your soul. Any of us would prefer the
assassin's knife to the destroyer of our
good name, and tho destroyer of the
character of our mothers, wives and
daughters. Slanderers are worse than
murderers. 'Their throat is an open
sepulchre, the poison asps is upon their
lips, their mouth is full of cursing and
bitterness, their feet are swift to shed
blood.' 'They also sought after my
life, laid snares for me, and they that
went about to do evil, talked wickedness
and Imagined mischief.
"You must be judged and your char
acter must be measured by the same
conduct that make up other creatures.
"Now, everyone who has had expe
rience with the wor'.d, and who is famil
iar with the current thought of the
various classes that make up the human
family, knows that every thief thinks
that men generally are dishonest.
"The libertine thinks that no man is
virtuous, and the unfortunate creatures
who walk the public streets in the large
cities will never admit that her sister
is any purer than herself.
"The honest man and the virtuous
woman are slow In accuse anyone of
wrong. Not so with the wiele'd. They
are always auspicious, and aie always
slntlng out to the world the deficu of
thilr neighbors, and If tbey have no
tangible proof of dofo.U in thoto who
differ from them, why, they supply
from their own Imagination what la
lacking.
"That is what you and your kind are
trying to do, and I tell you now that
God is not God if He classes you as one
entitled to His miinlQcent blessing, as
long as you are contaminated with such
wickedness as your letter Indicated. I
know the history of the Catholic church
from the day that Christ commanded
HI apostles to go and teach all nations;
I know what she has accomplished in
the building up of man and the promo
tion of Christ's teachings; 1 know tho
meaning of her ceremonies; I know ber
dogmas, and I also know something
about the teachings, origin and history
of other christian denominations, and
knowing this I am satisfied and con
tented with the Catholic church. Be
ing thus satisfied In my own mind, why
have I not the right to tie a munibor of
that church without being insulted and
traduced by you and your like? Why
should you be molested In your relig
ious belief? The conscience of man
Itiw Vint ufiw. n Vila l"?r ami Vilimunlf
iiua wvnui u 11 iu v v'i u .1 . . . ,
and man is responsible to no povfer
under God when It comes to the ques
tion of how ha shall serve God but God
alone. My best and truest friends, my
dearest business associates have been,
and are now, members of other relig
ious denominations. Some havo no re
ligious beliefs whatever. I would not
Impugn their motives; I would not throw
a straw In their way or prevent or
hinder them from worshiping God as
they feel Inclined to worship Him,
"I would take from them no right
which I enjpy. Tbey have these same
noble instincts toward mo, and how
happily we pass along through life. I
would not entertain mallco toward a
living soul, for If I did my church
teaches mo I would he guilty of a sin.
I would not, with impunity, bear false
witness against my noighbor.
"I havo In the past, and expect to in
the future, give what little I can to the
upbuilding of christian churches. I care
not what denomination may call on me
for aid, I shall always assist them as
far as I can. All are doing grand work,
and all would do a great di al more for
humanity if it were not for the fact that
too many like yourself keep up preju
dice and are arraigning neighbor
against neighbor, friend against friend,
and instead of all working for the sal
vation of souls, many are doing what
they can to aid Satanic majesty to send
them to the other place. You would
not enjoy heaven in your present frame
of mind if a 'Roman Catholic' by any
means got past the pearly gates. But
some will be walking the golden streets
when you, and those like you (unless
you repent), will be where there will bo
wailing and gnashing of teeth.
"I close with the humble exhortation
Go In reice and gin no more.' God has
a grand field for you if you will only
prepare younelf for Ills work, and if
you will only change jour manner and
mind your ways, and not entertain such
lewd and false notions about those of
other religious beliefs."
So wrote McConloguo.
To this Rev. Mr. Green replied, in the
columns of the Mason City Gazette, as
follows:
"Editor Mason City Guzdte-Slr:
Please accord me a few lines of space
in your paper to answer an assertion of
J. H. McConloguo in reply to my article
of April 5th, printed in Tub American
of Omaha. Knowing that the space of
local papers is very much taken up,
and that tbey do not desire to discuss
these questions, I shall answer his
letter in full In The American, where
pace will be readily and gladly granted
me. The 'colonel tries to prove tnat
I am a liar, by stating that Miss Thorn
ton and her father both deny my state
ment; that 'Mr. Calkins has denounced
me publicly and brands what I say as
something he does not sanction nor be
lieve.' I am not at all surprised that
MIsa Thornton should deny every word.
She Is not the first poor girl whom Rome
has intimidated. (But let me say, I
never said she had said she desired to
unite with our church. I am almost
positive she never was asked to at
least I never heard of anyone who did
ask her.) The assessor and his books
are proof that she gave her church
preference 'Baptist.' As for Mr. Thorn
ton, I have nothing to say. A man
who would publicly state that he wa
powerless to do anything to prevent his
own child from being taken from him,
for fear the priest would damn him,
6uch testimony goes for nothing any
place.
"In regard to Mr. Calkins, he has a
large Roman Catholic trade, and does
not desire to lose it, nor bring upon
himself a 'boycott' by these people. I
Continued on Page 8.