THE AMERICAN THE AMERICAN Subscribe Now. THE A Mi- N. BOe to Jan. I. . A WEEKLY NEWSPAPER. "AMERICA FOR AMERICANS." Wo hold that all men are A Merloni who tw Allegiance to the Dolled States without a menul reservation In favor of the Pope. PRICE FIVE CKNT8 Volume VI. OMAHA, NEBRASKA, FRIDAY. JANUARY 17, 1S9C. . Ndmbib 3 " PRESIDENT TRAYNOR. The Superintendent of the American Protective As sociation Speaks. Questions of Vital Importance to the Order Ably and Fear lessly Discussed. Tothecffloert and other member! of the A. P. A. of the United States: Greeting: Viewed In the light of the present critical condition of aMre both at home and abroad, It . 0 much to prognosticate that the future prosperity or decadence of the nation for many tear to come will depend upon the degree of patriotism and dis interestedness that actuates tbe mem bers of our national legislative body during its present session. Whatever the result, the patriotic orders In general, and the A. P. A. especially, are responsible therefor In proportion as their votes and Influence have been instrumental In composing the Fifty-fourth Congress. By the results of the labors of those whom A. P. A. votes and influence have elected to places of legislative trust' will our beloved order be en abled to judge whether tbe discretion and acumen of its political boards and its local officers have kept pace with their good Intentions and patriotic vir tues. While mistakes have been made; while here snd there a candidate has received the endorsement of our order who already shows signs of repudiating its principles; while many have re ceived the suffrages of the organiza tion as the least of two evils, 1 have every reason to believe that In but few cases could our selections have been improved upon under existing condi tions, or that many will prove recreant to their trusts or pledges, or, if they do, that they will not live long enough politically to repeat the treachery. We have reason to believe that we have been instrumental in electing a sufficient number of the exponents of our principles to Congress to insure the passage of these measures mcst dear to us, and maintain the balance of power in the Fifty-fourth Congress. If they fall In this regard, the failure will result either from their treachery or our own negligence, and it may be added in the latter regard that our duty, so far from ending, as many ap pear to suppose, with the election of our candidates, has only just com menced. The honest legislator is the child of popular opinion, and thrives only upon a diet of popular favor, and according to the quantity and quality of bis diet more than upon his own personality depends his power and Influence among his legislative fellows. Not only must 'we convince the representatives of pa triotic sentiment that they possess our unqualified support, but we must be ourselves united upon the channels through which we desire their labors to be conducted; and, more Important still, convince the people at large, and our national legislature in session, that .such representatives are exponents not merely of their own wishes and desires but of the principle! of several millions of American voters who will avenge at the polls any slight offered to their champions or the measures which they father. In other words, having elected our representatives, it now becomes our duty to strengthen them with our united moral support, that their voices ana may oe an me more power ful to accomplish the reforms we de mand. From now until such legislation as W6 desire 'has been accomplished, a constant stream of petitions should flow Into Washington from every city, town and hamlet in the United States, de manding these reforms. Chief among the measures to be agi tated are the following: A bill to secure a just distribution of federal offices (known in the last Con gress as house M1118984). A bill to establish a national univer sity (known' in the last cession as house bill 8949). A bill to restrict immigration and regulate naturalization (known as Lin ton's bill, house bill 8774). ' Linton's joint resolution No. 11, amending the Constitution prohibiting for all timesectarian appropriations. A bill to tprohibit advertisers or others from using the national emblem as an'advertising device. A bill notyet formulated to open to public inspection all monastic and private or semi-public institutions that are not under state control. A bill not yet,formulated prohibit ing the official recognition by the UnltedJStates or any officer thereof of any dignitary of any ecclesiastical body m 1 w tezmym:mmm mm mr W.T .11, 1 1 I . 1 I t f W.X1 - h mi li mw .injrnrrT mu i li u m v t - - 'mi or church, or the official recognition of such as the delegate or representative of any church or ecclesiastical power. A bill not yet formulated prohibit ing any bedy of men other than mem bers of the United States aruy and navy and of the militia of the various states from drilling or parading with, keeping in any armory or using fire arms or deadly weapons of any kind, such act not to extend to the uniform ranks of benefit societies except to de bar them from drilling with, carrying or keeping firearms. To press these measures to a success ful issue needs the constant agitation of the patriotic orders and the un remitting attention of their champions until they become laws of the United States. Not merely by petition direct but by private letters to representa tives, by mass-meetings and resolutions of organizations, etc., should these matters be urged. Realizing the seriousness of the situation for them, and comprehending at last that the American Protective Association is here to stay, the Jesuits will concentrate their power at Wash ington during this Congress to defeat every measure that will tend to deprive them of the power acquired by them under corrupt and unpatriotio admin istrations, and to introduce measures shrewdly planned to secure more. The situation, for the priests, has become desperate, and desperate conditions will necessitate desperate remedies. All that papal money, influence and terrorism can accomplish to retard the growth of patriotism and increase the power of ecclesiastlcism in our republic will be resorted to, for by such means only can the priesthood hope to Impede the torrent of patriotic sentiment that is sweeping over the land. A thousand different expedients will be resorted to to divert the attention of the people from the real issue, to de ceive the nation as to the true source of the dangers which menace it. Red-fire measures will be introduced, that bills of merit may be smuggled away or lost in committee. Gorgeous displays of spectacular rhetoric will fritter away the precious time so that it may not be devoted to legislation most needed to redeem the country from the enemies who threaten its in stitutions. Of equal importance with the acts of the present Congress is the presiden tial election. Many of the prospective candidates upon tbe Republican and the Democratic tickets, respectively, have, either by their hostile attitude toward the principles of the patriotic organizations or their subservient de meanor toward the representatives of the pope, placed themselves beyond the pale of our assistance, or our recog nition, except as enemies. XWWMWWVJXZXJ -zrj THE MODERN GLADIATOR. Oome one. oome all, this School shall flu Prom lta firm base aa soon aa I. , Of these, President Cleveland stands prominently forward as a man entirely undeserving the respect or confidence of our order, by reason of the many unoatriotio acts which have marked his second term; the truckling- spirit toward the priests of Rome exhibited by him; his practical recognition of the pope as a temporal monarch, and the appointment of papists to offices of trust so far in excess of their numer ical proportion. Perhaps the mett glaringly disgraceful act in this direc tion, because the most unjust to our loyal and patriotic American army officers, was the appointment of Colo nel Copplnger, the ex-papal guard, to the position of brigadier-general of the United States army. At the outbreak of the war, Arch bishop Hughes, of New York, per suaded the president to appoint twelve Roman Catholics to captaincies in the new regiments organizing for the reg ular army. One of these appointees was the present General Copplnger, who had served in the corps of papal guards in Rome, perhaps the best drilled and most aristocratic bedy of troops In the world. General Coppln ger is said to be the last of these pa pist captains. Copplnger has been only three years a citizen ot the United States, 1 am Informed on good author ity. It is doing no injustice to Mr. Cleve land to assert that if the United States had been a papal country and the pope a temporal sovereign, our president could not have given more recognition to the papacy as a temporal power than he has during his present term of office, commencing with his obsequious present of a magnificently bound edi tion of the American Constitution to the pope and concluding with the dis graceful promotion of Colonel Coppln ger, who is worthy of notice only, and that notoriously, as a fervent adherent of the Pope of Rome and an ardent admirer of papal institutions two facts sufficient in themselves to eternally debar him from any public office In the gift of a fr.e nation or any of its repre sentatives. Upon the other hand, Allison, who Is mentioned as a presidential possi bility, is not such a one as in the light of his past acts the order can con sistently unite with. Mr. Allison's passive, If not active, co-operation with the papacy, during his many years of service as chairman of the senate com mittee on appropriations, in securing money and special privileges for the eleemosynary and religious Institutions of Rome in this country, especially in the District of Columbia, is notorious, and a fact even yet more suspicious Is that, although a Republican, he has hitherto received the support of the Democratic papists of Dubuque, Iowa, v ' ' W r . : r- i - 1 ' ' J- a. m nc- ii, -. -. -.i,r.f- from whence he comes; and, even more significant still, employs and has em ployed for years past the papist Joseph Morgan as private secretary. In his position as chairman of the senate committee on appropriations, Mr. Allison has had magnificent op portunities afforded him to declare and place himself on record upon the matter of sectarian appropriations, The fact redounds infinitely to Mr, Allison's discredit that nearly all the measures for tbe aggrandizement of the papal clergy through governmental appropriations have become law dur ing his term of office as chairman of that committee. While Mr. Reed, another prominent aspirant for presidential honors, pos record less unworthy of con sideration, his constant association with and recognition of papal officials render him anything but acceptable to our order unless his guarantees for the future are much more in keeping with our principles than his actions in the past. There are as yet no indications that the Democratic party has in view any more worthy candidate than the pres ent incumbent of the pre sidentlal chair. It would be manifestly unfair, however, to prejudge the result of the party con vention, although, at present, no presi dential possibility from the Democratic quarter has presented himself that the A. P. A. or its sister orders could con sistently vote for. There are some noble-hearted and patriotic Democrats of political standing, chiefly in the south, who would do honor to the White House; but it Is hopeless, in the present priest-ridden condition of the party, to expect that any one not bear ing the papal brand and the endorse ment of the "Catholic vote" can secure recognition as a presidential possibility at the Democratic national convention, or, receiving it, could secure a victory at the polls unless supported by the entire patriotic vote. Unless much more substantial pledges are given to the patriotic orders that the reforms demanded by those bodies will receive more attention in the fu ture than they have in the past at the hands of the Republican party, there are but few presidential possibilities whose devotion to reform principles is equal with their chances of success. Among these W. S. Linton, of Mich igan; Senator John H. Gear, of Iowa; Governor W. O. Bradley, of Kentucky, snd Ex-Preldent Harrison rank the highest. Mr. Linton's standing among the patriotic orders, as well as with all other patriotic Americans, is unexcep tional. His memorable fight against the Indian-appropriation robbery in the Fifty-fourth Congress demonstrated most fully his courage as an American and his abilities as a statesman; and ffW.XfiT -r- 1 1 - - 'SVlt mf.i;l mm while Mr. Bradley has not signalized his worth and capacity to this extent in so public a manner, his record Is that of a most uncompromising patriot, to whom our principles, if not wholly, are for the greater part acceptable, and who, if elected, could be relied upon to pursue a course of courageous patriotism, uninfluenced by any enemy of the nation either at home or abroad. In alllaace with Mr. Linton, Con gressman (now Senator) Gear placed himself on record as an ardent and courageous exponent of the principle of non-sectarianism In the affairs of state, and one in whom patriotic citi zens cannot but fuel implicit confidence. While General Harrison, either from Inclination or force of circumstances, during his presidential term of office, upon one or two occasions showed an undoubted inclination to make conces sions to the papacy inconsistent with his position, we are forced to lose sight of these shortcomings in his persistent retention in office of General Morgan while the papal clergy throughout the land were clamoring for his remeval, and his determined re'usal to appoint Colonel Copplnger to a high military position, although constantly subjected to great political and ecclesiastical pressure to compel him to make the appointment. While it is neither my duty nor aim to bring any presidential aspirant or possibility into undue prominence through this circular, I deem it my duty to mention those prominent men who have done most during the present decade to earn the gratitude of our organization and the American public at large. Events may yet develop a candidate whose prospects of success his ability, loyalty and devotion to tbe best Interests of tbe nation being equal would be greater than any of those I have mentioned; and to such we should, as a matter of prudence and consist ency, give our support. The Republican party, at the next convention, will have an opportunity to declare to what extent it feels itself indebted to the patriotic orders during the past three years. During the past four years Thomas Carter, of Montana, an uncompromising papist, has held the reins of Republican power as chair man of the national committee, while Harrity an equally loyal Romanist in the Democratic party, performed a similar office for that body. It now re mains to be seen whether a papist or a loyal American citizen is to run the next Republican campaign. This is, possibly, merely a straw in the presi dential controversy, but it is a straw which, to my mind, will Indicate be yond a shadow of a doubt which way the political wind blows, and whether, in the event of a Republican filling the presidential chair for the next term, "iuiif'i)ii,; h bo will be goverm d by American sen timent and a spirit of patriotUm In dis charging tbe duties of LU tfflce, or, like m many of his predecessors, lend his ear and bend his knee to the vice papal court at Washington and fill our public offices with the enemies of the ation. These are matters worthy of most serious rr flection, and so I entreat the loyal citliens of America to regard them, for In their light they may read the future of the nation for the next four years. It is with a full coniclouiness of tbe gravity of the declaration that I assert that tho first indication which any party or its repretonlatlves gives of truckling to the papacy or any of her subjects during the coming presiden tial campaign should be the signal for the withdrawal of every patrlotio vote from the party so committing Itself. Should all parties offend in this regard anew party should and must be the Inevitable result, lest we commit the fatal error of countenancing a repeti tion ot conditions and results as disas trous to national prosperity as those which have obtained for tbe past four years. The confidence of the American peo ple In the old parties has born so con stantly shaken, so continually betrayed, that an independent party, exclusively patrlotio, and providing a platform which, while embracing the boat of the principles of the old parties and rejecting those which have outgrown themselves or become an avenue for class legislation, monopolistic privi leges, or clerical and foreign encroach ment upon national institutions, would be welcomed by all whose love of coun try rises paramount above their party prejudices. I regard an independent movement, however, merely in the light of a last resort, but It is a last resort for which we should be prepared in time. Should either one of the old parties experience, a change of heart, and the patriotic members thereof secure, maintain and apply the balance of power In the proper direction, an Independent party would be not only un advisable but su perfluous. Yet, while I recognize the impor tance of the papal question In this country, I do not feel myself confined to discussion within its limits, for there are evils that betet the nation as grave as papallsm, and roads that lead just as surely to monarchy, despotism and mental and physical bondage and ser vitude, as the road to Rome. I refer to the rapidly increasing power of plu tocracy and the constant encroachment upon the territory laid down by the Constitution as belonging to the people by the trusts and corporations. I am not disposed to join in a war of exter mination against one evil in order that an evil fully as great may fatten on the carrion. One of tbe weaknesses of our great order in many localities is tbe belief that our battle is peculiarly and en tirely with tbe papacy, whereas, in my opinion, our position should be that of defenders of the Constitution in its letter and spirit, irrespective of the quality, condition, nationality, or creed of those who seek to destroy or tamper with it. I believe that the constitution and ritual of our order are , so broad snd far-reaching in their in tents and purposes that we cannot stand idly by or carry on an eternal war with one foe alone while another Is knock ing at our doors more especially when tbe fact, is taken into consideration thatpapalism and despotism, hierarchy and monarchy, plutocracy and priest craft, corporate greed and priestly ra pacity are allies In the battle agalnbt freedom and enlightenment. Monop oly would have the mass poor that plutocracy may be rich; priestcraft would have the mlods of its votaries ' barren of intelligence that the priestly influence may reign supreme. Plutus and the priest conquer as companions in arms and feed as twin vultures upon the carcass. Wherever Croesus reigns priestcraft sits beside him, the first to cry: "Yield your money or your laoor to the king!" the second to pour unc tion upon the outrage and give the robbery the odor of priestly sanctity and godly approval. Hence it is that I have heretofore Included the great and crying evil of monopoly in my denunciations of the papacy, and still consider it my duty to do so. Although It Is inconsistent with the principles of our beloved order to inter fere with the religious belief of any person or to seek to restrict him in its exercise even less to make it an ob ject of ridicule to others, as many lec turers are ill-advisedly doing there Is a limit to the rights of the religious, venturing beyond which they lay them selves open not only to attack by all Constitution-loving citizens but by the law Itself. It has been asserted that Continued on page 4. 1