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THE AMERICAN.
50o to Jan. I. 1897.
Y0RKE-R088 DECISION
Final and Important Proceedings In
the Great Controversy in San
Francisco.
Ceirt Commissioner and Beferee Edwin
A. Sherman's Hading and Con
elusions Full j get Forth.
We publish below the full text ot the
concluding' paper of the Yorke-Ross
controversy, says the .American Patriot.
The document la the report of the
court commissioner appointed by the
people at Metropolitan Temple to ren
der a decision on the proofs adduced by
Donald M. Ross in support of the four
propositions which he was challenged
by Peter C. Yorke to prove. As it is
the culmination of the widely pub
lished issue between the Jesuits and
the Romish hierarchy on one side, and
the constitutional American citizen
ship on the other, through their re
spective representatives, Yorke and
Ross, this decision of Commissioner
Sherman takes hlh rank in the con
test, and should be carefully read and
preserved for future use and reference,
It includes an- examination of author!
ties cited, a comparison of the quota
tions made with the original text, and
the evidence of the same. And, finally,
in the deductions and conclusions of
the Instrument, pointed reference is
made to the preamble of the constitu
tion of the United States and to amend'
ments of Articles I and II. This de
cision possesses the merit of being per
spicuous, concise and authoritative, and
cannot be discredited by the linguistic
buffoonery of any priestly mountebank:
Court of American Citizens duly con
vened on February 24, 25, 26 and 27,
1896, In Metropolitan Temple, San
Francisco, Cal.. Edwin A. Sherman
acting' as court commissioner and
referee, after being duly sworn by
W. B. Benchley, a duly commissioned
notary public In and for the city and
county of San Francisco and state of
California.
PROCEEDINGS.
BISTORT AND STATEMENT OF THE
. JIATTBRS PRESENTED. JDB THE CON
SIDERATION OF SAID COURT.
1st. It appears from the facts pre
sented, that on the 27th day of Novem
ber, 1895, Rev. Peter C. Yorke of San
Francisco sent to the Rev. Donald Ross
of said city a challenge (which was
also published in the dally press) to
prove the affirmative of the words, or
the substance of them, of the following
four propositions, as occurring in any
Roman' Catholic publication as state
ments of Catholic teachings, to-wit:
PROPOSITIONS.
Proposition I. "TheJ Roman church
has the right to exerciee its authority
without any limit set to it by the civil
powers."
Prop. II. "The pope and the priests
ought to have dominion over temporal
affairs."
Prop. 111. "The Roman church and
her ecclesiastics havena right to im
munity from civil law."
7'rop. IF. "In case of conflict be-
tweenj ecclesiastical and civil powers
the ecclesiastic ought to prevail."
It is unnecessary at this point to con
sider the financial terms mentioned in
connection with the production of the
proofs of these propositions, or the
plan and mode of arbitration by chosen
judges selected to 'decide upon the
proofs, argument and evidence to be
presented. The declination of the Hon.
W. W. Foote, selected by Mr. Yorke,
and the action of the latter, necessitated
a change In the original design of a
reference to a board of arbitration, to
that of a. court of the people, with a
commissioner 4 and referee to examine
the authorities to be cited, and com
pare the- 'quotations made with ihe
original text, to see if they were cor
rect, to report the evidence of the
same, together with his findings, de
ductions. and conclusions.
Thattfthere might? be some form of
regularity in procedure, your commis
sioner andl'referee .wasi duly sworn by
an officerJtof the law to faithfully per
form this duty, the. same as if he had
been regularly sappointed by a court of
regular jurisdiction.
With a strict regard for his oath, and
the duty which hejowed to.his fellow
citizens and to his country upon the
momentous questions Involved in the
four propositions presented, a most
careful and thorough examination was
made of the oRcman .Catholic works
published andjapprovedeby the papal
authorities of that hierarchy as stand
ard authorities in the Roman Catholic
church, from whichi the extracts were
taken by the.Rev .'Donald Ross. Each
sentence and paragraph cited by him
has been c closely scanned, read and
compared with the original text in the
Now that Jesuit Marquet's Statue is in
works examined, and found to be cor
rect in every respect; and in his arpu
ment and proofs, he has used scarcely
five per cent of the amount of this kind
of evidence available to sustain his
position.
FINDINGS.
Question. Has the Rev. Donald Ross
successfully proven from the author!
ties cited Proposition I "The Roman
church has the right to exercise its au
thority without any limit set to It by
the civil powers?"
An steer. Yes.
Ones. Has he successfully proven
Proposition II "The pope and the
priests ought to have dominion over
temporal affairs?"
Ans.Yei.
Ques.U&a he successfully proven
Proposition (III "The Roman church
and her ecclesiastics have a right to
immunity from civil law?"
Am. Yes.
Qiies. Has he successfully proven
Proposition IV "In case of conflict be
tween ecclesiastical and civil powers,
the ecclesiastic ought to prevail?"
Ans. Yes.
CONCLUSIONS. '
Mr. Ross, having successfully proven
the affirmative ot these propositions
from the highest papal authority, the
American people find themselves con
fronted by a foreign power, claiming
absolute sovereignty over them an in
vader of their cigoil, usurping their
powers and hostile to their free institu
tions. The vital principles of human
liberty set forth in the Declaration of
AmericanJIndependence are threatened
with destruction. "All men are created
equal and are endowed with certain in
alienable rights, among which are life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
To secure these rights, governments
are instituted among men, deriving
their just powers from the consent of
the governed, and when any govern
ment becomes destructive of these
ends, then it is the duty and the right
of the'people to throw off such govern
ment and to establish new government
upon such 'foundation as vail best se
cure their 'rights, their happiness and
prosperity."
The affirmative of these propositions
so thoroughly presented by Mr. .Ross Is
a direct contravention and a violation
of the constitution of the United States,
and of therconstitution of every state
in the union a menace to free govern
ment and the rights and liberties of
the people.
The preamble to the constitution of
the United States reads as follows:
"We, thepeople of the United Slates,
in order to form a more perfect union,
establish justice, insure domestic tran-
quility, 'provide for the common de
Off With the Old On With the New.
the Capitol, it will be in order for Hia Holiness to replace the figure of Liberty upon the Cupola with something
' more fitting, from the Roman Point of view.
fense, promote the general welfare, and
secure the blessing of. liberty to our
selves and our posterity, do ordain and
establish this constitution for the
United States of America."
Article I.
Congress shall make no law respect
ing an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof;
or abridging the freedom of speech or
of the press; or the right of the people
peaceably to assemble and to petition
the government for a redress of griev
ances. Article II.
A well-regulated militia being neces
sary to the security of a free state, the
right of the people to keep and bear
arms shall not be infringed.
If congress shall make no law re
specting the establishment of religion,
this power being denied to even the
immediate representatives of the peo
ple, then any approaches of encroach
ment, even in the spirit, by any hier
archy or sovereignty, either at home or
from abroad, is an invasion of the
rights of the people and a violation of
the constitution, either direct or im
plied. Article II, as amended in relation to
the right of the people to keep and
bear arms and not be infringed, has
direct relation to the organization of
the regular militia for the security and
protection of a free state; and for that
purpose alore, to aid in the mainten
ance and support of the constitution
and laws, are the people permitted to
keep and bear arms, and make them
selves familiar with their use. There
fore, the unlawful organization of a
society which is composed of armed
men for military and religious pur
poses, and of foreign birth and descent,
as is the "Ancient Order of Hibern
ians," which in its Constitution, Ar
ticle IX, Section 1, says: "No person
shall become a member of this order
who Is not Irish or of Irish descent
through either parent, and a practical
Roman Catholic and no per
son connected with any secret society
which is detrimental to the Catholic
church, shall be admitted." Such re
ligious c and military organization
should at once be declared by the gov
ernor as an enemy and treasonable to
the state and by him disbanded and its
arms confiscated to the state, that the
sovereignty of the people may be pre
served and maintained.
The arming of any religious sect
within our borders is destructive of do
mestic tranquility, dangerous to the
welfare of the people, and in violation
of the constitution and laws of the
state. If, however, such a state of af
fairs is to be continued by the negli
genceof the authorities in power, then
it not only becomes the duty but the
..'lght of every American citizen to pro
vide himself at once with the necessary
arms for his self-defense.
The affirmative of these four proposi
tions having been successfully proven,
then to maintain the absolute sover
eignty of the government of the people
of these United States, the spirit of the
naturalization laws should be rigidly
enforced, that the applicant for natu
ralizatlon and citizenship who swears
"that he will support the constitution
of the United States, and that he abso
lutely and entirely renounces and ab
jures all allegiance and fidelity to every
foreign prince, potentate, state or sov
ereignty, and particularly, by name to
the prince, potentate, state or sover
eignty of which he was before a citizen
or subject. If the applicant has borne
any hereditary title or order of nobil
ity he must make an express renuncia
tion of the same at the time of his ap
plication. Therfore, any foreign power
or sovereignity attempting to exercise
jurisdiction over these United States,
as has the Roman pontiff in creating
the cardinals and bishops of a house of
lords and a nobility, and conferring
titles ot knighthood and nobility upon
citizens of these United States, is an
invasion and usurpation of the consti
tutional rights and liberties of the
American people; and every citizen
accepting such title should forfeit all
rights and privileges of American citi
zenship. The affirmative of the aforesaid
propositions having been so thoroughly
and successfully proven, this court of
American citizens of San Francisco
herein assembled hereby pronounces
Its decision and declares that the sov
ereignty of the people of these United
Slates is within their own borders ab
solute and supreme over all, and will
tolerate no other authority that dares
to infringe or take away any of their
rights, liberties and privileges as set
forth in the Declaration of Independ
ence and secured forever by the Con
stitution and laws of our great and free
republic received by us from our
fathers, to be transmitted unimpaired
to future generations that may be born.
Edwin A. Sherman,
Court Commissioner and Referee.
The Little Horn.
His look was more stout than his fpllnva "
Dan, 7:30.
This Scripture marks a point in the
character of the "little horn," an em
blem of the papacy described in this
chapter and is the same as the "man
of sin," mentioned In II Thess. 2:3.
We have said some things about the
"little horn" in former articles, but
wish to call attention to what this
Scripture suggests, viz., the bold and
outraglous demands which the Church
of Rome makes and bv ever made upon
the civil government, for special favors
in money and political place, and she
would monopolize every place of honor
and profit if she could.
We have no protest 'to make against
men as citizens, seeking by honorable
means, places of honor and profit; but
when they demand special favors as a
religious sect and on the ground that
the highest place In church and state
belongs to them by right, we demur.
It is un-American, it is an outrage, a
shame and a disgrace, that presidents
and politicians yield to these Impudent
demands. Suppose that Presbyterians,
Methodists and all Protestant churches
Bhould be continually tugging at the
presidential skirt and high officials for
a place in the cabinet, and for every
lucrative position in the government,
and for appropriations for their various
sectarian institutions, and it would re
sult in disorder, a babel, a politico
sectarian pandemonium, such as pre
vails in papal countries. The consti
tution of the United States is un sec
tarian and forbids the etablishment of
religion and appropriations for the
support of sectarian institutions. In
fact, for congress to make such appro
priations, is virtually to establish re
ligion and violate the constitution. To
ask for a division of the schoel fund is
an attack on the constitution, a pro
test against equal rights and a demand
for special favors to a sectarian cor
poration. The attack upon our free
schools is a part of a conspiracy and
the first step in a deep laid scheme for
the utter destruction of our free insti
tutions. If Rome could furnish all the
teachers, draw all the public money,
have the control of education and
teach her damnable idolatries to
American children, she would be
pleased, but not satisfied, for that
would be only one of her schemes to
reach and monopolize every place of
honor, power and profit in the United
States.
Her theory is, that no man shall buy
or sell, save he that has the mark of
the beast. Every move of Rome is on
this line. Are our statesmen and poli
ticians blind to papal Intrigue, or are
they ready, for political ends, to be
tray their country into the hands of a
foreign foe? Who is so blind and ig
norant of history as not te know that
Rome is the implacable enemy of civil
and religious liberty? Who is so in
different and stupid as not to see that
Rome's highest ambition is the con
quest of the United States? Every
move she makes points in that direc
tion and she will succeed unless Amer
icans awake from their slumbers and
defend their liberties. We have
reached a point where we will have to
fight the battle of freedom over again.
To maintain our freedom the masses
must be properly educated.
Calvin.
Didn't Want an A. 1 A.-ry.
This amuklng tklt is going the
rounds of the press:
Upon a tidy little farm not many
miles from Chloo, dwells the owner, a
Hibernian by raoe and a Roman Catho
lic by creed, whom we shall call Flane
gan, because that Is not his name. Not
long since an agent in search of a pur
chaser for an Improved bee-hive called
at Finnegan's.
After an extended con vernation, dur
ing which the drummer extolled the
merits of bis new bive and Flnnegan
discussed poor crops and poor prices,
the former thought ho saw a chance
for an entering wed go, and proceeded
to drive it
"See here, Flnnegan," said he, "I'll
let you have a couple of hives now, and
that will give you a starter; next yoar
you can buy a couple more, and so on,
and I will not present the bill until
times get easier. Better do It, old
man; you'll, never get another such
chance to purchase a first-class apalry."
"Ol'll git a what?" asked Flnnegan.
"An apairy," replied the agent, bliss
fully unconscious of the storm-signals
in the old man's eyes.
"It's an A-P-A-ry you're wantln' me
to buy, is it?" blazed out Flnnegan.
"GVan out of this; g'wan now, before
I bit yer ugly mug wld my fist. An A
P-A-ry an' me a good Catholio fifty
years oome Christmas!"
The agont vanished, and when last
seen was trying to sell an A. P. A.
neighbor of Finnegan's a now clock
that had Arablo instead of Roman nu
merals on its face.
Horn More Ulster.
Kansas City, Mo., March 24, 1896.
Dear Sir: Allow me to call your at
tention to what might be called an
error in your published article under
the heading "Church History," viewed
from an unbiased standpoint, the fol
lowing from Chambers' may bo of In
terest to your readers. The world's
population of one and one-half billion
in religions is Civtded approximately
as follows: .
Buddhlits 500,000 000
Hindus .MO.OOO.OOO
Mohamedans 155 000,000
Confucian. SO 000,000
Adherents of Hblntolsm la Japan ... 14,000.000
Jews 7,000.000
Roman Catholic- 152.000.000
Oreek 75,000 000
Lutherans as.000,000
Anglican Church 15,000,000
Calvlnists 15,000 000
Methodism 5,000,000
Preitbyterlans 4,000,000
Baptists 2,560,000
CongrenationalUtH 1.500,000
Universalis 650 000
Quakers 2O0.000
Unitarians 185,01)0
Mormons 1H0.000
Moravians 150,000
In other words, there are in all
1,109,000,000 so-called unllevers in any
established religion. There are 227,-
000,000 Roman and Greek Catholics;
7,985,000 Jews, Unlversalists, Mormons
and Trinitarians; 78,450,000 Protest
ants, which makes a total of 1,422,435,-
000. Deduct the 78,450,000 Protestants
and we have 1,343,985,000 of the world's
population, whom orthodoxy would
have the world believe will be cast Into
eternal punishment. The question in
the light of history, which company
will you join, the majority or the small
minority? Christianity, in Its present
form, has been before the world for al
most 2,000 years. Have we not outlined
its fundamental principles? Where
are the evidences of the wide-spread of
the gospel. The figures are mute
still your article is timely. Would
there were more of it, so far as the
Roman Catholic church Is concerned.
The following human lives charged up
to papal tyranny in authentic history
will furnish food for reflection:
Killed under Tope Jii.lan 200.000
By the French Massacre 109.000
By the wars of Waldenses 150,000
By the wars of Albltfenses 150 000
By Jesuit mobs and tortures 900.000
By Duke of Aloas orders 136.000
By tortures of Inquisition 150.000
By Irish massacre 150,000
By wars of Moor In Spain 1,500.000
By wars of Jews In Europe 1 100.000
In Mexico, S America and Cuba 15 000.000
Under Queen Mary Z3.0W)
F.ast In lies, F.urope and America 50,000,000
In Mexico In the year 1895 by torture
and Bre u
Total loss of human lives credited to
papal tyranny, 70,559,014 more than
the entire papulation of the United
States of America. Do you think the
star of Bethlehem still shine3?
The crime statistics of America show
an alarming increase in 13i5 over that
of 1?'.K, among church-going people.
OlJSERVER.
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