THE AMERICAN
A WEEKLY NEWSK.
"AME1UCA FOR AMERICANS." We bold that all men are American who Swear Allegiance to the United KiaWs without a mental reservation In favor of the Pops.
PRICE FIVE CEN7S
VoLUMI V.
OMAHA, NEBRASKA, FRIDAY, AUCUST 2, 1895.
NUMBEB 31
MASONRY IS CUBA.
Translated for the American Tyler From
"La Gran Logla," Hahanna, Cuba, by
uro. 11 Broad.
loaenne Masonry Is not so easy as
mtght be believed; its ends are bo dlf-
iiue, bo oeauurul its results, v( n
noble Its means, that it wcutf be in
vain to pretend to Inclose Its spirit in
one phrase only; whatever word, what
ever idea with which we may wish to
represent it, always results short, poor,
Ineffectual and Improper. Ve thus see
that the grand lodges of England,
Scotland and France, and many other
authorities on the matter amongst
them the immortal La Fayette have
pretended successively to give a clear
and perfect definition of the Masonic
Institution, calling it a "Beautiful sys
tem of morality," an "Ancient and hon
orable institution, composed of indi
viduals of all nationalities, creeds and
conditions." "An order whose polar
star Is philanthropy, and whose prin
ciples inculcate devotion and virtue and
morality." " A "Knightly order which
proposes the perfection of man." A
"Philosophic, progressive and philan
thropic institution that investigates the
truth, studies morality, and exercises
beneflcence."o Finally our grand lodije
concisely designates it "An organic in
stitution ofmorality."
All these definitions are beautiful,
meditated, and profound; but they do
not fill the object of impregnating, so
to speak, him who ingresses intoour in
stitution with all the grandeur it en
closes. For new Masons, for those who
come to our lodges not knowing the
philosophic language, it Is necessary
to define Masonry in a more tangible
manner. We have to avail ourselves
of the multiple comparisons, we have
to materialize the Ideal of the Masons.
Many of these, seeing that the Grand
Orient ot France (writes erroneously
for certain on its banner the motto,
"Equality, Liberty, Fraternity," can
not be convinced that; Masonry should
not take part in politics. Others, wit
nessing the rude war already waged
and still sustained lagainst us by cer
tain potentates of the church who ex
communlcatejfand curse us always as
sociate in their tribucaUof conscience
a religious idea with the ends of the in
stitution, c There ' are brethren who,
taking tb consequence for a cause,
only see it in a society of mutual a'd.
It Is sufficient to convince us tl at Ma
sonry is not a religion, to observe that
in its ranksthere is room for adepts of
all religions, sects and beliefs; a phe
nomenon that is not verified In the true
religions, which systematically reprove
one another, and mutually condemn
each other .Masonry dees not adore
any God, but admits His existence; un
derstanding that there Is an unknown
cause, asupenor to our o intelligence,
which rules the worlds, aid designates
it with the name of T. G. A. O. T. U.,
and dees not believe it necessary to
render Him any other cult than the
practice of good actions and obedience
to the fixed, constant, and eternal laws,
which emanating from Him govern the
universe. OMasonryI"doeB not suppose
ttheG. A. O.uT. U. keeps an ac-
jut of the-actif ns of esch mortal to
reward or chastise him; but that our
happiness or misery proceeds from our
selves according to the' good or bad in
terpretations we give to the law of na
ture; from whence we see that our as
sociation opines that ihuman felicity is
enclosed inwisdom.
We'fsee, therefore, that Masonry,
without being opposed to religions, has
known how to take from them the only
point in which"all are of one accord:
the existence of a Supreme Being, in
visible to our eyes from day to day in
its totality. With that element, and
relieved of the ligatures of superstition
and fanaticism, Masonry goes forth in
search of truth, i-whose discovery it
hopes to realize 'confiding in human
perfectibility. If "Masonry professed
any political end, we should not see in
the same temple the most lofty sover
eign near the, modest worker, we
should not see the monarchist by the
side of the demagogue, or the haughty
aristocrat near the rustic peasant. We
should not witness reigning amongst
such heterogeneous elements that fra-
. ternal concord which characterizes our
association. The felicity of the people
is one of the ends of Masonry, yet, in
stead of pretending to obtain it like the
politic il systems, dictating and modify
ing laws, it expects to gain it enno
bling and perfectingan, inculcating
principles ofmorality, charity and jus
tice, and saying in his ear: "We are all
equal; we are all. brethren." Masonry
respects the civil and political organi
sation of the S country where it is
worked, and limits itself to ministering
to the government, citizens who, pos
sessing soundt criterion, Juncensurable
honesty, and-gentle passions, perforce
will make the fpeople happy who elect
them as tbeir chiefs. From the fact
that we, as Masons, assist and protect
each other should not be deduced that
our association is one. of mutual aid
the material and moral aid is not more
than a very small part of our program-
after offering to love our neighbor as
ourselves. Why not, if we plaoe our
selves and purse within his reach?
Our charity does not assist only in help
ing a brother in poverty, nor of teach
lng the Ignorant; we occupy ourselves
in addition to destroy odium, predispo
sition and malevolence; fomenting In
exchange fraternal love amongst the
members of that great family called
Humanity. We always unite science
with virtue because we believe that a
perverted wise man Is as pernicious as
a virtuous Ignoramus the former is a
tyrant, while the latter is only a fool.
We deduce from what has been said
that Masonry pretends to dignify the
human race, impelling it to abandon
vain preoccupations, and not to waste
that rich treasure called "Time," and
to follow the .path of progress, and on
wings of science and virtue seek and
discover the spring of human felicity
which we Masons symbolize with light.
That light, clear, infinite, and radiant,
today only reaches us as a faint and
growing crepuscle on account of a thick
voil which occults it from our eyes. To
break and sever the thick and exten
sive cloud of ignorance, fanaticism and
voice that binds and deprives us of
beneficent rays of the sun of truth is
the end that 'Masonry pursues. Its
work is slow.ibut Its progress is certain
one by one our institutions will break
the chains which enslave man, wlthou'
any further aid for such a rude task
than morality, science, and virtue,
these being the only means of gaining
such a beautiful end. We have Been
that Masonry without being a religion,
a political system, or a relief society,
participates of the disposition of the
three; it can therefore be defined by
saying that it is an association of free
men, who fulfill the natural law, prac
tice the religion of the conscience, and
observe the politics of liberty, and pro
pjse by noble and moral moans prompted
by the light of human intelligence, to
gain a knowledge of T. G. A. O. T. U.
Let us compare Masonry to a pharos
which, situated at the port of human
felicity, serves as a guide to society in
the obscure and stormy sea of existence.
Since this light shone for the first time
it has never been extinguished. It
shone brighter, it is certain, In another
epoch; today it is nothing more than
the weak reflection of what it was in
Cuba; but let us not take this passing
decadence as a direful presentiment of
death and destruction. No! Masonry
is today just as alive as it was in other
times; it exists latent in 1 he hearts of
its sons, like the fire In the center of
the earth, and thus as the fire from
time to time makes its appearance in
the form of eruptions and earthquakes,
in the same manner Masonic ardor
will recover suddenly all its strength
and splendor as soon as our Institution
runs the risk, fas soon as we awake
those valuable brothers who as men to
the end and wearied with fatigue have
gone to strengthen their euthuslasm in
a restoring sleep. We should let them
slumber. We know they do not aban
don us; let us Keep watch over them, so
that when a sinister cloud covers the
horizon of our aspirations we shall
know how to- call those brothers, and
they will comefcfilled with enthusiasm
to engross our files and to fight by our
side. We, who do not sleep, should
limit ourselves at present to being sim
ply sentinels always ready to give the
warning voice. Let us look after our
work and prevent the clouds from In
vading our camp, and although for
want of workmen the construction of
the temple of truth does not progress
as It should do, let us prevent at leaH
the ivy from covering it, the thorns
from obstructing the pathway, and pro
cure that its ramparts may be seen
from afar. A frozen blast of lassitude
crosses the flld of our association tith
ing our files; for sometime past we see
not without alarm that Masonic
activity Isidecllnlng very notably we
see numerous brethren leave our sids
why do they go? 3 Is there no labor for
them? Is there anything in actual
Masonry which displeases them? Our
law prohibits us from asking he who
leaves us hisgreasons for so doing; but
nobody prevents us from trying to dis
cover the ocause of so many withdraw
ing. Without having the pretension
to state that we have easily found the
key to the enigma, we will advance the
hypothesis ithat the retreat of our
brethren isdue to the little severity
generally observed In the admission
of candidates, and the facility with
which the degrees of Fellow Craft and
Master Mason iare acquired. This tol
erance brings us as an immediate con
sequence the formation of imperfect
brethren; who badly understand the
object of the institution, and who pre
tend to conduce it by distinct paths
from the one it has up to the present
followed. The old Masons, the dear
defenders of the institution, do not
agree with the tendency observed to
substitute quality by quantity, nor can
they permit that our march should be
Inclined toward distinct ends from
those which from ancient timet Ma
sonry has laid down, hence those in
tegral brethren, always true to their
principles, and remembering their ob
ligation, prefer to retire rather than to
provoke schisms and discord. If the
evil expressed is due to the cause indi
cated, it Is very easy for us to conjure
the danger let us strengthen the difli
cultles offered to the ingression into
Masonry; let us double the exigencies
to advance and exalt, let us abase, if it
Is necessary, the ritual; let us multiply
the session of instruction, making the
Entered Apprentice and Fellow-craft
work and thus we shall keep the
curious at a distance, and tire the in
dolent, and although less numerous,
we shall be stronger and worth more,
Louis Dediot
Penrith, N. S. W., June 20, 1895.
CATHOLICS OK l'YTIlIANSl
The rope'sSecret Order Decree to be
Strictly Enforced. '
The Catholics of Kansas City who
are members of the Knights of Pythias
have taken no united action regarding
the papal Pythian decree, which was
read in the eighteen Catholic churches
of this city during the morning ser
vices last Sunday. The decree is
written inLatin, but was translated
into English In order that the congre
gations might understand its import
It condemns the Knights ot Pythias,
Odd Fellows, and the Sons of Temper
ance, an eastern 'order. The right of
any Catholic to become a member of
any of these three orders la denied, and
Catholics who have joined any of them
are given the alternative of renouncing
the church-: ori the order. Catholics
who refuse to abide by the decree will
be denied the sacraments of the church,
and in the event of death their bodies
cannot be buried in consecrated ground.
The decree was promulgated several
months ago by the Roman i congrega
tion, composed of cardinals and high
dignitaries fol the church. It was
signed by the pope and then became a
law, binding upon every Catholic In
the world.
So far as known, no Catholic in this
city is a member of the Sons of Tern
peranoe or the Odd Fellows, but it is
estimated that about 100 belong to the
Knights of Pythias. fcSome of these
will undoubtedly renounce the church,
but it is expecUd that the majority of
them will cling to their religious faith.
Obedience to the? decree of the Holy
See Is earlyj inculcated In the minds of
Catholics, and' it is seldom that they
oppose any order, no matter how harsh
or severs rit may seem. When the
CatholicB joined the Knights of Pythias
it was not an interdicted Older, and so
the decree of the pope is In the nature
of a retrospective daw. Theyhad paid
many dues and weie entitled to Insur
ance, all ofjhlch will be lost If they
obey the i"decree.t.On this account,
many of the JPythlan Catholics an
nounced, wben the I decree was first
made public, that they would Ignore it.
The reading of.the decree in this dio
cese was delayed for many months in
the hope that its terms might be modi
fied so as ito exempt thc6e Catholics
who had joined the condemned orders
before thej decree was promulgated.
Rome refused to change the decree,
and so last Sunday Acting Bishop J.. J.
Glennon ordered it read in every Cath
olic church in the diocese. 'Thedlocesa
extends as far east as Glasgow.
Rev. Father Glennon was asked how
he intended to enforce tho decree.
Would he investigate, aud after discov
ering thei Catholics who were members
of the condemned orders, refuse them
admission to the church and recourse
to the sacraments? Father Glennon
smiled, and said he did cot intend to do
anything of the kind. It was a matter,
he said, between every Catholis and
his own conscience. Disobedience t)
the decree would be a sin, and a Cath
olic would Be In a rather anomalous po
sitioa if he deceived his pastor in order
to approach the sacraments. Confes
sion is a necessary preliminary to the
sacrament of communion, and if a
Catholic were a Pythian the fact would
necessarily come outat confession. Ab
solution, ot course, would have to be
refused him in that event. As the mat
ter stands, the doors of the Catholic
church in this city will not be closed to
Pythians, but If they are conscientious
they will not be Catholics only visit
ors. Kansas City Star.
Recalled Stormy Times.
"Well, that looks natural," said the
old soldier looking at a can of con
densed milk on the breakfast table in
place of ordinary milk that failed on
account of the storm. "It's the Gail
Borden Eagle Brand iweused during
the war."
a sew corscm
Junior Order of TBited American Mr
rhaairs (trowing la Wyoming.
Cheyenne, Wy., July 25. Editor
Tk American: 1 am pleased to re
port the formation of Winona Council,
No. 2, at Buffalo, Johnson county, Wyo
ming, July 9, Itttt, with the assistance
of Bros. A. D. Kulley, J. 1. Councilor
of Washington No. 1, and J. Carge
heimer, vice-councilor of Washington
No. 1. The officer for the present
term are: Councilor, Joseph Rumann;
vloe-oouncllor, John U. Sage; junior
past councilor, Dr. Park Holland; as
sistant recording secretary, W. E.
Hathaway; (iiimnlil nrtiry, 7. U.
French; treasurer, M. S. Mead; record
ing secretary, Charles Taylor; outside
sentinel, Charles Tamer; inside senti
nel, William Miller; conductor, 7.acb
ary Taylor; warden, E. B. Mills; chap
lain, John Kinney; trustees, E. M.
Short, W. W. Morgaridge, John
Southard.
This council was instituted upon the
petition of twenty six of Buffalo's lead
ing Americans. It will be a great
power for good, and the men selected
for'bftioers indicates that the prospector
for Amcrloanl-im, like the prospector
for precious metals, will find the rich
est veins where it was least expected a
find could be made. .There are doubt
less many rich deposits of Americanism
that await the enterprising prospoctor.
Such a strike has been made at Buffalo,
where Bro. Relmann bo happily took
the Initiative. The membership of the
new council are zealous and enthusl
astic,rand it will be many months be
fore Winona No. 2 will close In due
form f Thout having conferred "virtue,
liberl ind patriotism" upon some wor
thy eiuVn. Bros. John Kinney and
CharleB Kinney, father and son, are
among the charter members.
It has now been demonstrated that
the State of Wyoming contains poople
who glory .in the name American, and
who realize; the propriety and neces
sity of joining heart and band for the
protection of American institutions and
for the propagation of patriotism, and
who will shed their blood or sacrifice
their lives, if necessary, in defense of
those principles which lie at the foun
dation of the American Republic. We
ploJg j to each other fidelity and loy
alty to the Stars and Stripes and the
little red school house.
D. A. Hastings,
Deputy National Councilor of Wyoming.
The Tnpul Power Will Die Hard.
Those who suppose that the papal
power In American politics can be
easily put down will doubtless be dlb
appointed, for that haughty, crafty and
despotic power will not be surrendered
without a mighty struggle. But so long
as there is a good prospect of success
the papacy will, of course, be mild and
apparently loving and friendly, but In
wardly hidden and running in all Hb
operations; but it will do all it possibly
can to create Ill-feeling be tween nations
or a conflict of some kind, If possible,
in order to direct the attention of the
American people from the patilotlo
political Issue. But if this cannot be
done, I am not sure but it will excite
riots in different places, leading to
bloodshed and murder, with the same
end in view.
In the war of independence, the
Tories of this country who opposed the
war were as injurious to the American
cause as was the British army. So now
in this country, today, some of the
party politicians, heads of departments
and would-be office-holders who sym
pathize with the papal hierarchy, seem
to be willing, thoughtlessly or other
wise, to sacridce our free institutions,
or even the life of the Republic, upon
the altar of party success, and they are
more of an obstruction to the patriotic
cause than is the papacy itself.
Now, whether the death of the pjpal
power in this country shall be hard or
easy, sudden or lingering, die It must;
for American patriots will never per
mit, under any circumstances, the pope
of Rome to rule or direct the politics of
the Republic, and wherein he has al
ready obtained political jurisdiction, It
will soon be wrenched fr m his polluted
hands by the patriotic ballot and
placed under the control of true Ameri
cans, where it really belongs.
The International Protective Asso
ciation will probably hasten the death
of the papacy as a political power in
all the earth, for the order will not
permit It, when driven out of one place,
to flee to another; for in all countries,
except where the papal power is abso
lute, it will in the near future surround
the "old man of the Vatican" on all
sides, and even in strong papal states
it will have a tendency to encourage
the patriots, though in the minority,
to assert their God-given rights to
break the galling chains of papal
despotism with which they have been
bound so long.
The more thoughtful of the papal
hierarchy are now looking with gloomy
forebodings Into the future never
before. They oo plainly that unless
they can succeed in disrupting the A
P. A., which they are trying to do by
urging some to join the order under
false pretensions of loyalty, on purpose
to betray it, or weaken its influence In
some other way, they muitt of necessity
submit to the Inevitable. But we ven
ture tho assertion that tbe American
and International patriotic order can
not be wrecked by their political
enemies, but that they will continue to
steadily grow In political influence and
power until our land shall be delivered
from the galling yoke of papal des
potism. J. G. P.
Stole the Flags.
A dispatch from Boston, dated July
17, say:
There was considerable excitement
in the vicinity ot Berkeley street and
Columbus avenue at 2:30 thl morning,
when a watchman at tho Yuuth'i Com
panion building discovered several
young men tearing down the American
flag from the People's Teraplo.
Throwing up a window, tbe watch
man discharged a shot from his re
volver to attract tbe attention of a po
liceman. Several officers responded to
the report and the young men took to
their heels, followed by a policeman.
During tho chase several more pistol
shots were fired to bring the men to a
stop, and finally two of them surren
dered.
At station 5 they were booked Joseph
and Theodore Duoett, brothers, aged
respectively 20 and 22, who claim to
live at 20 Cazenove street Four
American flags, 9 feet by 6, were found
In their possession, and are supposed to
have been stolen.
The young men claim to have been
born in tho British provinces. What
their object was in stealing the flags
could not be learned at tbe tlmo.
This morning the two men were ar
raigned and pleaded guilty, and wore
sentenced to one month each in the
house of correction. No evidence was
offered and the men had no explanation
to give. They had no counsel. ' Alto
gether the men were charged with the
larceny of nine flags.
People's Temple, where the flag
thieves were discovered, is Rev. Dr.
Brady's church, whero many patriotic
meetings have been held recently.
A lilt of Sarcasm.
Tbo Intolerance of tho A. P. A. is
very sad. Everybody regrets that such
bitterness of bigotry should poison the
sweet fountains of our national life.
Indeed, the only compensation for its
existence, if compensation there can be
for such a calamity, is the zeal for
kindliness and charity which it has
Hroustd by way of opposition. When
did the secular press ever teem with
si'ch encomiums of Christian charity
and universal tolerance as now? Is it
not beautiful to behold this spirit of
anxiety for tbe amenities of life, this
solicitude for gentleness and fair deal
ing, where once was tho discord of po
litical strife and the dishonesty of par
tlzan spirit? And how very sad that
any should dare to suggest that the
zeal of the press Is not altogether dis
interested or that the quality of its
mercy is somewhat strained. Who
that knows the character ot the aver
age newspaper can doubt that these
many editors who feel called upon to
rebuke the Intolerance of the A. P. A.
have departed from their wonted greed
and truculence, and have espoused the
cause of the abused Romanist through
a spirit of disinterested charity which
will rot be repressed? And is not this
a spectacle to melt the hardest heart?
Pacific Bapti.4.
Fire Due to a Faction Fight.
Rochester, July 17. The parochial
school connected with the Church of
the Holy Cross at Charlotte was
burned this morning. Warrants have
been issued for the arrest of the jani
tor, John Cronin, and his sister Nora,
both of whom are In the employ of
Father Fitzgerald.
Officer Denlso of the Charlotte police
states in his affidavit that he saw
Cronin coming away from tbe building
just be 'ore the fire was observed. The
officer and others pursued the man, and
he dashed into tbe priest's house. The
offiser went in and Cronin's sister Nora
put out the light so that Cronin es
caped. There have been two factions In the
church, and several incendiary fires in
the village have been attributed, by
one side, to the other faction.
A. P. A. In England.
A test question was put to the Eng
lish "Liberal" element the Roman
party In England to vote a small sum
toward building a monument to Oliver
CROMWELL. This was a "test."
The resulting opposition of tho said
"Liberals" in Great Britain to that
"test" bu been the fall of the iConebery
administration and the "landslide" op
position. Vrily, the British A. P. A.
active Protest aot aiwoclatlon caugh t
the "priest" napping that time, and
exposed bis disloyalty under his pro
fession of loyally. Who was a greater
liberal to England than CROMWELL?
And yet these modern Liberal have
put on CROMWELL'S cloak to down
his liberalism. It I said that Amer
ican A. P. A. Urn has spread to all
countries where Romanism ha a foot
hold, and the people are being awa
kened to the dangers of Romanism. It
looks as though the papal power were
doomed to destruction. People too tho
folly of temporizing with Romo. People
now understand that "A house divided
against Itself cannot stand." Feupie
disbelieve the divinity of popes. Peo
ple believe In the divinity of man, all
men. A. P. A.lsm is "vox popiiH"
y whero, In all lands and among all
peoples.
Hurrah for the A. P. A.I
N. A. List.
A It right Inspector.
The Vittshurg JHnpatch report tho
following Incident as having occurred
at a recent election in that city. This
election Inspector 1 a fair sample of
the Irish olit!oian In Lowell:
At a down-town voting precinct a
resident of the ward came to vote late,
lie was dressed in working clothes,
and looked Indeed like a Hungarian,
judging by hi swarthy and smoke-
begrimed face. As be stepped to the
window to put in his ticket, the In
spector, an Irishman with a rich
1 rogue, asked: "Name plaze?"
The man gave his name and address.
How long have yez lived here?
Eight years.
Whero were yez born?
Missouri.
Missouri! Have yez ever been natu
ralized?
Tbe matter was explained satisfac
torily, a big laugh was given tbe ln
sjKictor, and the man's voto taken.
Sized np Wrong.
Congressman Doolittle of Washing
ton, who Is now In Japan, has been air
ing his Americanism in a very silly
fashion. When the emperor recently
passed through Yokohama, Doolittle
procured a long flagstaff upon which
he flxod tbe Japanese and American
flags. Thus fitted out be went to the
depot, and when the royal train came
In Dcolltt'.e and his big flagpole were
the most conspicuous objects in tbe
pageantry, the silly flag-bearer em
phasizing his conspiculty with a dis
play of nntics which exasperated the
United Slates naval authorities in at
tendance. Tbe Japanese seemed to re
gard it as a good joke, however, and it
is rumored the emperor will decorate
him fur his silly performance. Daily
Exchange.
The liter Slavery or It.
One has only to consider what effect
would be produced by the Prtsident
of the United States, the Queen
of England, or 'even the Emperor
of Rustia issuing an order forbidding
bis people to become Masons, Knights
of Pythias, or Odd Fellows, to realize
the utter slavery Into which the min
ions of tho Pope of Rome have fallen.
It takes one's breath to think that in
this day of intelligence, of world-wide
Intercourse and boundless opportunities
of knowledge, that men should be
found so degraded as to permit an
Italian impostor to address them upon
such a subject, much less to command
their ebedience. Louisville, Ky., Free
dmi's Banner.
Shaking Up the Dry Bones.
Worcester, Mass , July 22. We
will parade in Boston on July 4, 1896,
not with 5,000 but 25,000 patriots in
line. The occurrence of last Fourth
opened the eyes of many erstwhile
weak, spineless Yankees. Boston pa
pers always go in strong on lawlessness
In the western cities, and it came home
to the Hub with peculiar pungency.
Thousands of Jr. O. U. A. M. flyers
have been scattered over the state.
Several new councils will soon be insti
tuted. Lynn Dealers Boje-otted.
The Catholics are giving Lynn citi
zens an example of their system of op
pression. Two respectable firms, W.
F. Talbott & Co. and John Patterson,
have been boycotted for selling the
Standard and American Citizen. Young
Irish hoodlums hang around in front of
the two stores to insult people going in
and out, and denounce iu vilo terms
everything American. bmetll Herald.
Some Jr. O. U. A. M. Statistics.
Over 2.000 councils in United States,
with a membership of over 200,000.
Twenty-eight state councils.
Order represented in every 6tate ex
cept Vermont and New Mexico.
