"THE AMERICAN
f
. V
RELKUOIS L1BEUTY IS M1 Til
AMLKH'A.
lUfort to tbf (blent- Xethodi-t Mini
tent by K. John Lee.
Seventeen month ago U-dy, ay
ike (AnvtrUd CufWtV, the Chicago
Methodist ministers' met ting appoint
eorumiUce to Drlug the following re-
qaest in the most effective manner to
the notice of the head of the Rum
Vathollc Church:
''In view of the repeated and wa
'approval by the clergy and laymen
the Roman Catholic Church in thi
ountry of religious freedom asexisli
by law in these I nited States, we re
pectful'y aud earnestly request that
the proper authorities of that churc
use their good offices, under the direa
Uon of Pop 3 Leo XIII., to secure fc
the Protectants of Peru, Ecuador and
Bolivia the same liberty of consttenc
that U enjoyed by Roman Catholic citi
ens of this eountry."
It required a correspondence of fif
teen months to get a t-ommunicatio
Irom the Vatiean. One of the "oppres
sive ditabllities" to which this eorre
pondenco invited attention is that
Protectant citizens in these republics
are deprived of "their civil and in
alienable rights to bo legally married
unless they "forswear their religious
onvictions." Cardinal Gibbons, in
letter from Home, dated June 14, lb!)f,
says that he has "referred the matt
of the disabilities of tho Protestants in
Peru, Ecuador and Bjllvia to the car
ilnal (secretary of state." In this lettc
Cardinal Gibbons incorporated a com
munication from the cardinal secretar
f state, which not only asserts, "I
have written to the apostolic delegate
la the above-named republics to obtain
precise Information concerning the laws
walch affect the condition of Protes
tants there as regards both the exer
cise of thelr'religlon and the celebra
tion of marriages," but also gives the
assurance that he will "call the atten
tlon of the Holy See to the information
which the aforesaid delegate will send."
A registered le'ter has teen sent from
this city to Cardinal Rampolla, eecre
tary of state for Leo XIII., pleasantly
reminding him of his promise and ask
log him if he will have the goodness to
call the pope's attention to this imtor
tant matter at the earliest possible
point of time, and then communicate to
the committeo Jthe decision reached
A communication from ihe pott-tflice
authorities in the City of Rome con
veys the intelligence that this Utter
has eafely reached its destination. The
committee desires to gratefully record
the fact that the press of CI icago has
strongly endorsed this nioverrent, and
feels confident that all lovers of rellg'
ious liberty-will utter a hearty Meth'
odist amen to the "hoi e" of the Citizen,
a paper edited by a well-known Koman
Catholic journalist, that the "cdious
religious restrictions" in these South
American republics may te abolished.
The committee wishes to report that
communications have been received
from persons in widely diversified walks
f life that give no uncertain sound.
General Neal Dow, the venerable
temperance advocate, believesthatth'B
movement demands the earnest activi
ties "of prominent lajmen as well as
these of clerics." Dr. A. B. Bruce, the
distinguished Scotch ircfessor, is con
vinced that "it decs not require much
reflection to te satisfied that it Is very
desirable thatj Protestant citizens in
the republics of Peru, Ecuador and
Bolivia should be undi r no temptation
to renounce their faith in order to be
legally narried," and hopes "that the
efforts being made to bring about a
change of the law may succeed."
Professor Goldwin Smith, of Toronto,
writes: "There can be no doubt that
the VaticantbaB the power, if it has the
will, to get the disabilities removed.
If its authority were exerted, the civil
laws of the republic would not stand In
the way. Thefparaey can hardly pre
tend to the character of a moral power
when it practically upholds and propa
gates concubinage by shutting out a
class of citizens from lawful marriage."
General.O. O.JHowaid, in one brief
sentence, reveals how his puke beats:
"I am glad you are proposing a com
munication to the Roman pontiff in be
half of citizens in Peru, Ecuador and
Bolivia who are deprived of the ordi
nary rights of free men, and I hope
that he, as the head of the Roman
Catholic body, will do what he can to
remedy existingevils."
Dr. Henry Wade Rogers, president
of the Northwestern University, states
that "this movement" appeals to him
"most strongly"; that it "is entitled
to and should receive the unqualified
endorsement of every citizen of this
Republic, without reference to his re
ligious or political convictions"; that
"the disabilities under which Protes
tants labor in some of the South Amer
ican republics is intolerable"; that "our
Roman Catholic fellow citizens in the
United States who have come to recog
nize the value of liberty of conscience
will be found ready to cc-operate with
the Protestants in an attempt to so in
fluence public sentiment as to secure
the repeal of the disabilities under
which Protestants labor in Peru, Ecu
ador and Bolivia'" and that "the day
has long since passed when such re
strictions of religious freodom can be
regarded with anything but abhor
rence by intelligent and liberal-minded
men." W. J. Onahan, a highly cul-
r wmW M ml
tured Roman Catholic gentleman of
Chicago, having his attention called to
the disabilities of Protestants in the
South American republics, he very
emphatically declares: "I can have no
hesitation in romptly expressing my
opinion on this presentation. Such a
condition of affairs is intolerable and
outrageous. I am heartily in favor of
religious freedom and liberty of con
science here, and everywhere. I do
not believe in persecuting or proscrib
ing any man or woman anywhere be
cause of his or her religious convic
tions." An eminent Roman Catholic
ducator, Very Iiev. James C. Byrne,
president of the Collcee of St. Thomas,
St. Paul, Minn., on telng asked for an
expression of opinion concerning the
religious disabilities of Protestants in
the republics of Peru, Ecuador and Bo
livia, says: "As I have no means at
hand to verify the statement 'that
'rotes tants in these countries cannot
be legally married unle-s they abandon
their religious convictions and become
Roman Catholics,' I shall assume that
this is literally true. I have no hesi
tancy in sayirg that such legislation is
intolerable, intrinsically immoral, and
opposed to Catholic principles."
Rev. Dr. Charles J. Little, president
of the Methodist theological Bchool,
Evanston, 111., thus expresses himself:
'In each of the three republics of Peru,
Ecuador and Bolivia the Roman Ca'.h-
olic Church is established constitution-
illy, to the exclusion of every other
form of religion. In Ecuador, and, I
presume, in the other two republics, a
concordat between the pope and the
state authorities regulates the rela
tions of ecclesiastical and civil powers.
A marriage, to be legal, would have to
be solemnized by the Roman Catholic
priest. Beyond this I cannot speak
ith any confidence. But if the laws
of the.-e republics do oblige Protes
tants to forswear their faith before
they can be married legally, they are
certainly an outrage upon morality
and a crime against purity in the name
of religion, aLd all believers in Jesus
Christ, Roman Catholics and Protes
tants alike, should insist upon their
abrogation."
Bishop A. Cleveland Coxe, of the
Protestant Episcopal Church, asserts
that "wide circulation should be given
to facts which show that the Ameri
canism" of Archbishop Ireland and
Cardinal Gibbons "does not amount to
the courtesy of acknowledging an im
portant communication from so large a
Christian body as the Methodists, whom
they felt at liberty to insult in a man
ner which violates the ordinary rules
of politeness between neighbors as co
citizens," and observes: "At last the
cardinal, on the spot, and in close com
munication with the pontiff himself,
with no apology for fifteen months'
neglect, elicits a reply from the Roman
court evasive and Jesuitical in the ex
treme. The Vatican well knows the
laws and oppressive measures of the-e
'republics.' The late Cardinal Lavi
gerie was loud in professions of repub
licanism, while he eulogized Ecuador
as the model republic. Here is the
whole story in a nutshell: They would
reduce us to the condition of Ecuador
governed by the Jesuits."
THE SITUATION
Dr. John Henry Barrows, president
of the parliament of religions, just bo
fore starting on his journey to Europe
to lecture at Grindelwald, said in a
letter to the committee: "I am glal
of the efforts which the Methodist
ministers are making to secure to the
Protestant citizens of tho South Amer
ican republics all the legal and polit
ical rights which are granted to Ro
man Catholic citizens in the United
Status. I am sorry that success for
your righteous efforts teems to be post
poned indefinitely, but tho agitation
mutt be continued, and the leaders in
this agitation ought to be the arch
bishops and bishops of tho Roman
Catholic Church in the United States.
Nothing would remove the distrust
which somo good people still have to
ward our Roman Catholic brethren
more completely than their resolute
endeavor to secure from Roman Cath
olic governments in South America all
rights for Protestant citizens."
The committee expects in the near
future to present expressions of opin
ion from some distinguished members
of the "Holy Catholic Church" in Eu
rope concerning the religious disabili
ties imposed upon Protestants in Ro
man Catholic countries.
TheChicagoiVrit'iij'osJ says: "The
report, which was submitted by Rev.
John Lee, chairman of the committee,
was enthusiastically accepted, and the
committee was instructed to continue
its labors along the same line. The
result of its work up to date is consid
ered most favorable to the cause the
ministers have; taken up, and It is pro
posed to push tho matter prominently
before the public at home and abroad."
Naturalization Kims.
The question of a change In the nat
uralization laws of the country so as to
require a longer residence before full
citizenship could be conferred upon a
foreign-born, is not new nor of recent
date. In fact, there were wice men in
Congress, when the present law was en
acted, who were in favor of a longer
period, but wet o voted down. Since
then it has been agitated from time to
time, but all political parties have been
afraid to espouse the cause for the rea
son that the opposing party would gain
favor in the eyes of the naturalized
citizens and secure their votes; but the
time has come when the native-born
must assert their rights. We must call
a halt in the making of citizens from
the material now coming into this
country.
Of the immigration at present coming
to our shores, the Chinese are as well
qualified for citizenship, by nature, as
those from most of the other countries.
In fact they are the superior of the
Poles, Hungarians and the greater part
of the Italians who have arrived here
during the past twenty years. A very
large portion of these last-named peo
ple are criminals, many of them sent
here by their different governments,
others fleeing from their countries to
escape punishment for crimes commit
ted. Most of them are Ignorant of the
first principles that go to make good
citizens, but soon after their arrival
they are taken In hand by somo one who '
IN NASHVILLE.
can handle them and put through the
naturalization mill and then voted at
so much a head.
n course our courts aro to a manner
at fault in allowing such cattle to bo
come citizens, but then our judges are
often as corrupt as the party who han
dles them and trude in their votes.
Therefore, we favor a change in the
naturalization laws a change that will
compel from all a residence of twenty
one years beforo acquiring tho full
rightu of citizenship tho right to vote
and hold ofllco.
Failing in getting this change, we
would amend the present law so that
United States courts (judges or com
missioners of these courts alone) could
confer citizenship upon uliens. Many
and many a man has been made a citi
zen, by state courts, when ho was in no
way qualified, for the simple reason
that he would vote for the judge there
of at an approaching election. Give
the right to naturalize to tho judges of
the United S ates courts alone. They
are not the crtutures of an clestion, and
therefore have no interest in making
citizens of persons not wholly worthy
and legally qualified. American (litar-
diun.
Moving for a Testimonial.
Glasgow Wokkinu Mkn's Evan
gelistic Association, Ex Skcular
Hall, 122 Ingram Street.
Glasgow, October, 181)5. Dear Sir:
Mr. Harry Alfred Long, who has la
bored long and faithfully in the Prot
estant cause In Glasgow, is about to
leave us, to spend the rest of his days
in Australia. Not idly, however
though ho might reasonably think
that rest and peace were now his du',
seeing he is in his "Oth year. No; he
hopes to be able to so stir up the
Jueensland Protestants that they shall
by an overwhelming verdict at the
poll reinstate tho Bible in their pri
mary schjols. Mr. I)ng's labors in
Glasgow for the last .'10 years have bc!en
antl-inlidel as well as anti-papal. He
has sucucisfully debated in public with
most of the leading infidels in Great
Britian, America (Toronto, IH80) and
Australia (IKSli). The ex-Secular Hall,
which he took from the Glasgow infi
dels, and in which they held balls on
Sabbath days, he has used for evangeliz
ing the ma-sos and ministering to the
wants of the poor and the needy. He
has enjoyed the confidence and esteem
of the loyalists here in no mean degree,
as is evidenced by the fact that he has
been eight times returned to the school
board at triennial elections, and of that
number he has four times topped the
poll, each time defeating a papal Mon
signore. When he camo amongst us
Glasgow Green was a Fenian Preserve,
but after ten years' incessant struggle
he broke up what was known as the
Catholic Ring," and now law and
order prevail. He has likewise done
excellent service in other departments,
such as the "Y. M. C. A.," the "Foun
dry Boys," etc.; in fact he has been a
very successful worker on "A. P. A."
lines. Having resolved therefore that
he should not leave our shores without
some puDiic acknowledgment of his
labors, and knowing that there are
many loyalists in America, especially
Scotch, to whom Mr. Long Is well
known, and who wilt gladly add their
contribution to his honorarium; It was
thought fit that we should thus let
them know our purHsc. Contributions
will be received till tho 31st of Decem
ber next, at tho above address, and
will bo duly acknowledged by me. The
presentation will l.e made In January,
lx'.lii, at the end of which month he
wails. Dl'gald Buhnsiok,
Secretary.
Liberty.
Liberty of religious thought, liberty
of action for our educational Institu
tions, liberty for our children, un tram
meled by ecclesiastical authority, purity
of the ballot-box, the perpetuation of
American institutions, and the uphold
ing of tho Mag, are exemplified and rep
resented in this municipal campaign
by tho ticket known as tho A. P. A.'s.
Boware, fellow citi ions, of the encroach-
merts upon our liberties by tho Roman
hierarchy. Tho trust given to our keep
ing by our forefathers is tho highest
and most sacred trust ever confided to
mortal man within historic times.
Road the history of the Roman church.
Study Its present plans for tho subjuga
tion of governments to its authority and
dictates. Look at its insidious cunning
and secrecy. Tho Romish church
never sleeps, but seeks to gain political
control over the whole world. L rok at
Spain tj day, with her sixteen millions
of people, thirteen million seven hun
dred thousand of whom cannot read nor
write, and where Protestants have to
worship in secret according to law.
How well she has succeeded in the past
history willshow. Keeping the masses
of pooplo in the densest ignorance, bet
ter to attain her ends, which were, and
now are, to fatten her purse, extend her
domain, and control governments, for
the benefit of her celibak! priesthood
and similar Romish institutions, and at
the expense of tho masses of people of
whatever nationality. We, as Ameri
can citizens, have our own country to
preserve before their power becomes too
great for the successful overturning of
tho same at the ballot-box. We must
cleanoutthe hotbed of R jmanisra, from
constable up, and put nobody but true
American citizens on guard, who owe
no allegiance to any foreign power or
ecclesiastical authority, to tho detri
ment of American Institutions and a
free and enlightened people. Ex.
Woman's Protective Association Officers.
Denver, Col., Oct. 4. The National
Woman's Protective Association con
cluded its second annual convention In
this city. Tho principal business has
been the adoption of amendments to the
constitution and by-laws. Ono result
of the convention was the dropping of
a standing executive board of three,
the sentiment being in favor of choos
ing the executive body from the floor
at each annual convention, the selec
tion to be made by the president. The
new officers are: President, Mrs. Car
rie G. Oostdyke, of Detroit, Mich., sec
retary, Mrs. M. Belle Kempher, of
Saginaw, Mich.; treasurer, Mrs. Mary
Davidson, of Bloomington, 111.
i-orE u.ws i nri ic
lie IlirUu ('nrrf )airtrd Of by
Hi lUliiirsi.
Piiii.ai.h riiiA, tM. 2.1 Pup.. Io
tiiui writU n ao liiiirtnr t l.-tl. r to the
K niKn ('IholU: hit-rarely of America
condemning itm uu-nt rub n f pon
grMH of r. Ii.'l..ti. Tie lit er ht
been dclivcreil to A n li blshep '.y t.f
thUci'y, and to all othe r mi Miii-hop.
It wan t tie main mliju-t i-iiiiritleri d at
the r. ei nt aMnihllfig of an liM-lmp
at VuliligUn, but tie lT.tr U ut shi
crery were Mii'-Mfu In keeping I'm
fHj'tt 1 ttr from publicity. Wnat
etcps tho are htiihhops t n,k chiiiiiiI Ihj
leurm d, hut with the Vleni.f I lie xhj
thuM clearly t xpret.mil It Is duutitlmn
that ti e Amerii aii t'liuroh will hiuJIi.j
mat in i'4ingr HuH etf religion in tho
Minn, way that an interil let Ion nu
plitecd on liemian Catholic participa
tion In the Knights of I 'y h Ul
Fellows, anil other mm ret snole'let).
Whether Pope Iao's dxap r.ival in
particularly In reference to tho Chicago
congress b limit Us learned, but as that
wan llm last and by far tho nio-t con
spicuous guttering of tho kind, tho
lette-r will Ihi tlewed with sieclal refer
ence to It.
Mr. Ilthhvp Indignant.
Toi'fKA, Oct. I'.l.-Mi-i. Bridget
llltthop of I.advllle, Col., has written
to tho fcister superior of the Topi k a
Catholic convert, giving a full account
of how her daughter, Marie Hmliop,
wuh score ted la To cka after she ran
away from tho Leavenworth Cut hullo
convent. Site says: "It is with a tu art
full of gratitude I write tl.o-e few lines
to thank you and tho rest of the sister
for Dm kindness anil trouble you havo
had on acjouut of tho waywardness of
my daughter Mario. I !iohj God will
reward you, one and all, for It. Doar
sister, my heart is almost broken to
think of Marie doing such a thing and
causing suih a worldwide notoriety,
both to our family and tho school. Hut
our enemies, I mean tho A. P, A., will
leave nothing ur.ilone to crush our Cath
olic schools."
Mrs. Bishop then names tho peoplo
who secreted her daughter in Topeka
and tells how, when It was made public,
that Mrs. V.. M. Van Cleve had been
mixed up in tho affair, Iho girl was
taken into tho country to tho homo of a
man named Staples and wasu'ti-rwardg
taken In charge by a man culled Joiioh,
who escorted her to he r home at Ijcud
vllle, hoarding a Rock Island train at
tl e Sugar Mill station, eight miles west
of Topi kit. 1 ho Toeka peoplo named
are the Rev. C. M. Long, postor of tho
Third Presbytei ian Church; Mrs. E M.
Van Cleve, president of the Social Pur
ity league; Mr. und Mrs. J. G. Rogers,
C; L. Varulerpoo), an ex-police (ser
geant, 700 Lane street, and Mrs. A. L.
Leslie.
rrolexlaatM Helping Koine.
All over the United Stales tho Ro
man Catholic priests are boasting that
in the erection of their churches,
convents, monasteries, asylums and
schools, and in the support of Hi -ho in
stitutions, they receive material aid
from Protestants. It is tho same In
England. Tho London Clirixtian of
Aug. 1, lHllfi, had the following edito
rial note, which we' commend to tho
serious consideration of our readers:
"On the occasion of the opening of a
new Roman Catholic church at Brank
some, ne ar Bournemouth, Father Mor
ford said that in the erection of tho
building he had received help not only
from Rim an Catholics, but "from Prot
estants also." The fact is a very re
markable one. Siucc tho Reformation
a change has evidently taken place
either in II rmaninrn or in Protestant
ism. That it is not in the former is
clear from what we know of other
countries where alio still possesses
power. In Protestantism there has
been a growth of what men call char
ity, but Scripture would call it by a
different name. Between the religion
of the New Testament and that of
Rome there is as much dilTerenc-3 as
be;tween light and darkness Christ
and Antichrist. Fellow.-hip between
the two is impossible. Protestants who
are helping to secure Rome a p tuition
of power in this country aro strangely
forgetful of lb j facts of history. Shu
will aocept all that is given, but shu
will use every advantage for the pur
pose of crushing and oppressing all who
oppoie her.
Why It Exists.
To give our readers some idea of tho
hold that the Roman Catholic Irish
have obtained In the United States, wo
take the roll of salaried offices in New
York City twenty-two in number,
with a combined annual salary of
$14,000 and show you by whom they
were filled up to last fall. Roman
Catholic Irish fill eleven of the offices,
with a combined salary of StW.OOO; Ger
man Catholics hold two offices, with
combined salary of $10,000; American
Catholics, two positions, combined sal
ary 110,000; four of unknown creed
draw a combined salary of $20,100; Jews
are credited with holding two of tho
positions, with the combined salary of
?12,000, and one Protestant with a
salary of $4,000, tho smallest in the list.
Is further comment needed to prove
the necessity for the organization of
the American Protective Association?
: I
