THE AMERICAN
"AMERICA FOU AMERICANS" We bold that alt men are American who Swear Allegiance ki the UniUd Stale without a mental reservation.
PRICE FIVE CENT S
A WEEKLY NEWSPAPER.
OMAHA, NEBRASKA, FIUDAY.
. - - ..
AUGUST 2S, 1S9G.
Numbs 35
Volume VI.
SAVED JROM. HELL
That is What the Church of
Rome Teaches its Dupes
Would Happen to an I nborn Babe if its
Mother DM and it Was Removed
and Baptised.
Priestly influence and the extent to
which it la carried in the Roman Cath
olic church was thoroughly demon
etrated last Saturday night, or rather
Sunday morning, at No. 629 East
Breckinridge street. At that number
resides J. Charles Obst, Jr.. son of
Charley Obst, the well-known nd
highly respected member of the Louis
ville fire department. Young Charley,
as the son is called, Is employed at
Flnzer's tobacco factory. What hap
pened last Saturday night has been the
talk of the East End during the past
week.
For some time past the wife of Mr.
Obst, Jr., had occupied a sick bed, and
she continued to grow worse and worse,
until last Saturday it became evident
that she could survive but a short
time. Mr. Obst had been most atten
tive to his wife and every wish of hers
was gratified. She was of a very ami
able and lovable disposition, and she
bore her sufferings with a fortitude
and resignation that was truly remark
able. She realized that her end was
near and that she would soon have to
leave all those who were dear to her,
Her spiritual adviser was Father
Thomas A. York, of St. Paul's Boman
Catholic church, on Jackson street,
and he visited her more than once
during her illness. On one of these
visits it was made known to him that
the poor sufferer was In a few months
(not quite three) to become a mother.
Then up went the priestly hands in
horror at the thought of that unborn
babe going to its grave probably with
out being baptized. Should the mother
die and that child not be baptized, it
would go straight to hell. Such were
the teachings of the Roman Catholic
church, and they were imparted to the
husband. He had been raised in the
Catholic faith and he was ready to be
lleve anything almost, but such a doc
trine was almost too much for him to
swallow. But ,he was true to his re
ligion, and still truer to her with
whom he had stood at the altar and
taken a vow to protect, honor asd
obey. He was not the man who had
the slightest idea of placing any ob
stacle in the way of her happiness, or
that of her unborn babe, in this or the
next world, and he gave his consent to
what was to' follow,although he had
his misgivings as necessity.
On last Saturday evening Mrs. Obst
grew worse, typhoid fever having set
in, and it was 'apparent to all that the
poor sufferer couldtlast but a few hours
at the most. Dr. J. L. Evans, of No.
1509 Shelby street, was summoned and
the duties expected of him explained.
As soon as thej'patlent should breathe
her last the unborn babe was to be
removed, sand while yet alive bap
tized in the J name of the Father,
Son and HolyLGhost. It was the wish
of those nearest'the dying woman and
Dr. Evans raised no objection to per
forming the operation. It was 8 o'clock
Saturday nlehtlwhen Dr. Evans was
summoned,. Jand he at once informed
Mr. Obst that his wife was liable to die
at any. time and that it might be well
to send for the priest. A messenger
was at oace sent for Father York who
responded with alacrity. Then followed
the vigil of death. Mrs. Obst was con
scious atjall times, and conversed with
her spiritual jad visor during her last
hours. Between twelve and one o'clock
Mrs. Obst grew weaker and weaker,and
the holy father, the physician and the
husband stood at the bedside in silent
expectancyj'awaltitg the end. The
priest mumbled a chant, the surgeon
had his case of instruments in readi
ness, while thehu6band, with tear-
stained face, stood and watched the
soul of her who was all in the world to
him fast leaving the body. The end
came at just one o'clock. "She is dead,"
solemnly announced the physician. It
was a heart-rending announcement to
make to the husband, but it seemed to
have little effect upon the priest, who
seemed to be filled with impatience.
There was something he wanted done
and done hastily. The surgeon under
stood him, and then Intimated that he
would not act in the premises until the
husband was satisfied beyond the
shadow of a doubt that her whom he
had loved so well had really left this
world for the great beyond. The heart
broken husband pressed his lips to the
stiil, quiet face, uttered a grcan and
said that be was satisfied. Then it was
t baft he surgeon nerved himself for the
tak before him. "Leave the room,"
be commanded, and toe husband slowly
obeyed. The door had hardly closed
behind him ere the cruel knife In the
hand of the skillful surf ton had done
Its work, and a gasping boy baby a
presented to the view of the priest.
The surgeon had performed his work,
acd It was now the turn of the prlett to
perform his. There was a short mum
bling in Latin and then In the name of
the Father, the Son and tbe Holy
Ghost, the holy water was sprinkled
upon that pure, innocent little babe.
It lived but a few minutes, but accord
ing to the Romanist teachings ts soul
had been saved from hell. The surgeon
completed his work and then the under
taker was summoned. The body of the
mother was placed in a magnificent
(ilk covered casket acd in her arms was
placed the diminutive babe. It was a
tiny little thing, so tiny in fact that it
could hardly be seen nestling as It was
In the beautiful shroud in which its
mother was incased. All day Sunday
and Monday crowds visited the Obst
home to view the remains of the mother
and babe. Loud were the mutterings
against the priest who had ordered
such a deed to be performed under a
threat of hell if It was not done. Wo
men and young girls, and even old men
discussed and condemned it as silly In
the extreme.
The Justice man learned of all the
facts connected with the case, and from
tbe death returns filed in the health
office saw that Dr. J. L. Evans had
been the attending physician. The re
port had first been circulated that the
operation had been performed while
Mis. Obst was still alive, and, for the
purpose of verifying this part of the re
port, the Justice man called upon Dr,
Evans. The doctor refused point blank
at first to say anything whatever about
the case, but when it was intimated
that Mrs. Obst was alive at the time of
the operation he denied it most em
phattcally, and gave a true version of
it. He said that Father York did not
demand that tbe child be taken from
the mother but simply suggested It in
a genteel manner, and the ceremony
throughout was very Impressive; that
while he (the doctor) did not believe in
any such teaching, still those who were
near and dear to the deceased did be
lieve In it, and as it was part of their
religion he could see no particular
harm in it. Had there been any par
ticular harm in It he would certainly
not have taken part in it. On Tuesday
morning the deceased and the little
babe were buried from St. Paul Roman
Catholic church, on JackBon street, tbe
remains of the mother and child being
laid to rest in the St. Louis cemetery.
Justice, Louisville, Ky.
THE PUBLIC SCHOOL MUST GO.
That Is the Fiat Which Has Gone Forth
From the Vatican Regarding tbe Pub
lie Schools.
POPE PIUS IX.
Than whom neither council nor bishop
has spoken as plainly on public educa
tion, in the 45th proposition of the
Syllabus Issued by him In 1864, de
clares: "That the Romish church has
a right to interfere in the discipline of
the public schools, and in the choice of
the teachers for these schools." And
in proposition 47th that "public schools
open to all children for the education of
the young, should be under the control
of the Romish church, should not be
subject to the civil power, nor made to
conform to the opinions of the age."
While in proposition 48th he says
"Catholics cannot approve of a system
of educating youth which ia uncon
nected with the Catholic faith and
power of the church."
Such a system he declares in his
Apostolic Brief to the Archbishops of
Freiburg, 1864, "Must necessarily be
guided by the spirit of error and lies."
"Peter having thus spoken to use
the words of the Irish bishops through
Pius, the question is settled; as In him
(the pope) all speak, all affirm, all
deny; for he is the infallible doctor and
pastor of all Christians." But, in the
words of Father Jenkins, "We feel in
clined to pile up the evidence on this
subject to the very skies." So we
quote the testimony of cardinals, and
councils, archbishops and bishops,
priests and press. Listen to Cardinal
Antonelli, who was verily "the power
behind the throne." To Mr. Dexter A.
Hawkins, who, some years ago, in
vestigated under a commission the con
ditions of the public schools in the
papal states, the cardinal said, he
"thought it better that the children
should grow up in ignorance than to be
educated in such a system of schools as
the state of .Massachusetts supported;
that the essential part of the education
of the people was tbe Catechism; and,
while the arithmetic and geography,
reading and writing and other similar
studies might be useful, they were not
essential."
The public school must go' So say
the Council of Rome.
The Sacred Congregation of Propa
ganda in its Instruction to tho Ameri
can bishop, 1875, assign a a reason
why the Roman Catholic church Is
hostile to the publlo schools, that
"teachers indiscriminately of every
sect, are employed who are left free
to sow error and the seed of vice in
tender minds."
The Second Plenary Council of Bal
timore, 1 Stki, ascribed to tbe publio
school "that corruption of morals
which we have to deplore in those of
tender years."
The Second Provincial Council of
Oregon, 1881, said that "swearing,
cursing and profane expressions are
distinctive mark of publlo school chil
dren," and all were enjoined to pre
serve the little ones from the poisoned
atmosphere of these godless institu
tions.
Archbishops declare the public
schools must go!
Archbishop Segher in his lecture on
the "Secular School System'" says: "It
is grossly and monstrously immoral;"
it is "a blot, a blemish and a disgrace
on this country, a living scandal and an
opprobrium which covers its promoters
with shame and Infamy."
Archbishop Williams, of Boston,
when a committee waited upon him to
complain of Rev. Mr. Scully of Cam-
brldgeport, refusing to give absolution
to parents who sent their children to
the publio schools. The archbishop
"sustained the priest and gave the
rebels to understand that their bishop
considered himself insulted by the bare
suspicion that they would find any sup
port from him as favorable to public
schools."
The public schools must go! So say
the bishops:
Bishop Gilmour of Cleveland, in his
Lenten pastoral of 1873, authorizes
confessors to refuse the sacraments to
parents who send their children to pub
lic schools.
Bishop St. Palais of Indiana, in a
pastoral of 1872, "objects to the public
schools on account of the inldel source
from which they originated."
Bishop Baltes of Alton, in his Len
ten pastoral of 1870, calls our publlo
schools "Seminaries of infidelity, and
as sucn most iruitiui sources oi im
morality."
The public schools must go! So echo
the priests:
Father Walker, on the evening of
Sabbath, March 14, 1875, said in St.
Lawrence Roman Catholic church,
Eighty-fourth street, New York: "The
public schools are the nurseries of vice.
They are godless schools, and they
who send their children to them cannot
expect the mercy of God. I would
as soon administer the sacraments to a
dog as to such Catholics."
Priest Phelan, at a convention held
at St. Louis, October 17, 1873, said:
"The children of the (public) schools
turn out to be learned horse thieves,
scholastic counterfeiters, and well
versed in all the schemes of deviltry.
He frankly confessed the Catholics
stood before the country as the enemies
of the publio schools. They would as
soon send their children into a pest
house, or bury them, as let them go to
the public schools. They were afraid
the child who left home in the morning
would come back with something in its
heart as black as hell."
The publlo schools must go! So
voices the Roman Cat hoi So press:
The Catholic Telegraph of Cincinnati
says: "The secular school is a social
cancer presaging the death of national
morality. The sooner It Is de
stroyed the better; it will be a glorious
day for Catholics in tbis country, when
under the blows of justice (?1and moral
ity (?) our school system will be shiv
ered to pieces."
The Freeman's Journal of December
11, 1869, exclaims: "Let the public
school system go to where it came from
the devil."
The Cutholk World, January, 1870,
says: "We are opposed to the common
schools as they are, because our church
condemns them." This same magazine
for April, 1871, says: "We do not In
deed prize so highly as some of our
countrymen appear to do, the simple
ability to read, write and cipher.
The best ordered and administered
state is that in which the few are well
educated and lead, and the many are
trained to obedience, are willing to be
directed, content to follow, and do not
aspire to be leaders. - We believe
the peasantry in old Catholic countries
two centuries ago were better educated
although for the most part unable to
read or write than are the great body
of the American people to-day." Thus
Father Hecker echoes the sentiments
of Cardinal Antocelli, and would have
the public school give place to the reign
of the "dark ages."
Now is the time to subscribe for The
American. . , .
ROUE GOT THE MONKY.
i
Millions of Dollars Given to
the Church of Rome.
That Institution Spent Thousands of Hol
lars For flpliltuou Liquors Which
Priests and Suns Imbibed.
1
No more significant sentences have
been spoken on this subject than those
of that plain man, our greatest general
and twice made president, Ulysses S.
Grant, who, at the reunion of the Grand
Army of Tennessee, at Dcs Moines,
Iowa, in 1S75, used tbe following words:
"If we are to have another contest In
the near future of our national exlst
enoc, I predict that the dividing line
will not bo Mason and Dixon's, but be'
tweea patriotism and intelligence on
tho one side, and superstition, ambl
tlon and ignorance on the other. Now,
in the centennial year of our national
existence, I believe, is a good time to
begin tho work of strengthening the
foundations of the structure commenced
by our patriotic forefathers one hun
dred years ago at Lexington. Let us
all labor to add all needful guarantees
far the security of free thought, free
speech, a free press, pure morals, un
fettered religious sentiments, and o'l
equal rights and pri ', es to all men,
Irrespective of r ' . ty ,. color or re
ligion. Encour 1 3 schools, and
resolve that noto olUr appropriated
to their support shall he appropriated
to the support of any sectarian schools.
Resolve that neither the state nor the
nation, nor both combined, shall sup
port institutions of loavnlng other than
those sufficient to afford to every child
growing up in the land the opportunity
of a good common school education, un
mixed with sectarian, pagan or atheisti
cal dogmas. Leave the matter of re
ligion to the family altar, the church
and the private schools supported en
tirely by private contributions.- Keep
the church and the state forever
separate."
Contract Schools. That one may
see. at a glance how far congress has
been from heeding these statesmanlike
utterances, a table is herewith appended
giving the appropriations for nine years
of money paid from the public treasury
to religious denominations for mission
work: among the Indians:
c: R: : : ?: : : : t -
pa- r: j ; : i
. m
jjlLLLiiifiliMII 1
. m
I : : : LWSgH S 5
12 j: : : : gfeilf-tS 2 g A
sv S S t:;'ij;;.s 5
" , . , r tf
i it ; i: If 15111.5
I ItSS: gjf: Eggifgf3 6
S8 : -: :
f ': Sj$?25: . ft$ 8
: lit g $
5 Ess' Sis- -lo -& 5
5 gJ .S?8; ! S2 l
?! ': 'fZt- Si'!: : It 8
r' 'r: : V' w
- Ess- fas- sfeg: : &S B ,
' SSSSm; upTi f.
I : : g;. g':.: 1 f,
I t! H
In addition to this Immense sum, tfcclr
school at Devll'g Lake was Id a government
building, nnd when the training school was
estaoiishea lit rortTotten, tnesuier sscnool
wu made a Dart of the novernnient school.
and the Bisters retained as teachers under
government pay.
But this is not the only line in which
the United States treasury has been
thus drawn upon by congress in direct
violation of the spirit of our constitu
tlon, for, beginning at the close of the
war, appropriations have been made
aggregating over $700,000 to eight In
stltutlons alone in the District of Co
lumbia, all Roman Catholic, viz.:
Providence Hospital tm.0H)
St. Ann's Infant Asylum (Ki.llO
Lit tle Sisters of the Poor : Xl
Association of Works of Mercy Mi
Industrial Hehool !I2.4H
ft. Rose Industrial School It.Wfvl
House of the Good Shepherd 2S.
St. Joseph's Asylum ,4M
Providence Hospital, which has been
since 18G6 an annual pensioner on the
general government, and which has
received $19,000 yearly since 1890, is
Baid to have been incorporated origi
nally for transient paupers, and to be a
private corporation. Congressman
Morse In a recent letter to the Wash
ington Post has publicly called atten
tlon to tbe rcort of the "Little Sisters
of the Poor" to tho superintendent of
charities of the District of Columbia,
dated August 2M, lUo, and ask for an
eaptanatlon of a bter and liquor bill of
$12C0, which appear Id It. lie say:
"It will be observed that thU item of
1200 for beer and liquor 1 separate
from the I Una for medical supplies
((00). It will also be observed that it
is 1200 larger than the grocery bill or
tbe coal bill, and 1700 larger than the
butcher's bill, and 1 10 per year for
rum for each inmate. In ad
ultlon to tho appropriations by con
gress and the District of Columbia for
this sectarian institution of (5.'i,000, aid
Is solicited weekly and monthly from
tbe charitable people of this city."
A thousand years of history In Europe
has demonstrated the baleful influence
of this kind of union of church and
state, and the country that has been,
unawares to Itself,,, honeycombed with
this kind of legislation, aroused at lust
to Its dangers, calls upon congress to
make no more sectarian appropriations.
While these large sums have been ap
propriated institutions let the following
tables, estimates ot the school author!
ties for new school buildings needed in
the District of Columbia, be compared
with the amounts appropriated:
Vcar.
lMtl
lH'.t
1SI
Estimate.
ISXSO
17.01 Ml
tK7,0oi
Appropriation
I in.aoo
nsthio
uo,.tuo
I
And there are reported over 5,000
colored children alone, unhoused; the
schools all overcrowded; juvenile crime
on the Increase; and the tchool build
lngs a disgrace to the country.
Turning from tbe nation to the states
we find the following state constitutions
which prohibit sectarian appropria
tlons:
California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho,
Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky,
Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mis
sissippi, Missouri, Montana, North Da
kota, New Hampshire, Oregon, South
Dakota, Texas, Washington, Wiscon-
sin, Wyoming. 7enty-two states.
State constitutions which do not pro
hibit sectarian appropriations:
Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut,
Delaware, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Mary
land, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Nevada,
New Jersey, New York, North Caro
lina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,
South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont,
Virginia, West Virginia. Twenty-two
states.
These tables show how much need
there is of immediate constitutional
provision against sectarian appropria
tions in the states, before Romanism
with its church theories gets a stronger
grip on public affairs.
That there is a steady drain on the
public treasury in most of our states in
one guise or another for Roman Catho
lic institutions is well known and may
be Illustrated by the following state
ments concerning New York and Cali
fornia, one on the Atlantic, the other
on the Pacific coaBt. A Callfornlan
says to Crlifornlans: "For the year
closing June 30, 1894, you have paid out
of your state treasury $212,000 for sec
tarian purposes, while you have paid
out but about $156,000 for the offices of
governor, secretary of state, controller,
state librarians, etc., and about $280,000
for the judiciary; and this $212,000 has
gone into proselyting Roman Catholic
institutions."
A sample statement of sectarian ap
propriations in the cities of New York,
Brooklyn, Albany, Troy, Syracuse and
Rochester, given out by the National
League for the Protection of Ameican
Institutions, shows for one year totals
as follows:
New York H.O OOO
Brooklyn " SW
Albany .Vi.TTn
Troy 51 04
Syracuse 24.-"7
Rochester 32.4a
But for New York City alone for ten
years, 1884 to 1893 Inclusive, this same
authority gives a total in dollars of
$12,119,373, thus appropriated, which is
summarized as follows:
Roman Catholic Institutions .S3 ..MM.Wt
Protestant Institutions :w.i,4'i7
Hebrew l.Hni.:!)
D nd r aom I n a t'.on al , 770, 8 '
Deficiency Appropriations ,Uj.Ou0
And yet the Empire state dared not
venture to submit a clean-cut provision
against sectarian appropriations to the
people through its late constitutional
convention, lest it should imperil the
all-important one coceernlng the com
mon schools.
Let us have at once a united and per
sistent effort to add to the national con
stitution a ICth amendment which shall
forever prohibit sectarian appropria
tions in state and nation.
Wonderful Relies.
A Hungarian Roman Catholic wrote
to the Presburg Gazette a curious ac
count of a visit he paid to the church
of St, Augustine, in Rome. "After
walklDg for half an hour," says the
writer, "through streets uglier and
dirtier than any that could be found in
our small Hungarian towns, T reached
at lat the church of St. Augustine.
When I entered there apiieared to be
no one In the building; but an old bare-fooU-d
sacristan soon appeared and
offered (of course for a small considera
tion) to let me ste the marvelous rello
the church possessed. Having con
ducted me into the sacristy, ho showed
mo, on a rich volvet cushion Inclosed In
a small glass case, the cord with which
Judas Iscariot had hanged hlmstilf.
My cicerone maintained the relic to be
authentic, and I could not hurt his
feelings by an expression of doubt.
Another gla- caxe contained a wing of
the Archangel Gabriel. I learned on
Inquiry that Po Gregory VII. had
obtained this gift from the angel by
hi prayers, and my guide Informed
me, with a look of deep significance,
that be knew a pious man, tbe possessor
of a feather from this angello wing,
who would bo happy to disrobe of it in
favor of another devout man. As I
did not take the hint, we continued our
examination of tho reliquary. I was
next shown the comb of the cock that
crowed when Peter denied his Master,
then the staff with which Moses di
vided the aters of the Red Sea, and
aftei H'"ifd tbe beard of Noah. My
clcorce took care to inform me, every
now and again, that, in consideration
of my being a 'pious man,' I could ob
tain a small portion of these invaluable
relics at a very moderate price.." Tbe
PreBburg Gaulle adds to this letter, by
way of postscript: "Our worthy cor
respondent does not seem to have been
shown what, in our opinion, Is tbe
pearl of the collection in question: it
is one of the steps of the laddor on
which Jacob, In his dream, saw the
heavenly Jtosts ascending and descend
lng."
The
Archbishop's Remarkable Ad nils
slon.
We have no desire to unduly prolong
discussion of the late political courso
of the Quebec hierarchy, but Arch
bishop Langevln, In his letter of a
few days ago, makes an admission too
significant to be passed over without
notice.
While condemning Mr. Laurler's
school policy, and by insinuation, ac
cuses him of being a secret member of
the Masonic order, something evidently
regarded as a bogey equal to "Orange
ism." His grace at the same time is of
fensive to the ex government party
also. He seems to have thought It
necessary to publicly denounce his al
lies as well as his opponents in order to
justify himself, and he was willing to
do so.
For among the causes of Mr. Lau
rler's success the archbishop places
Bret "Discontent even among the Con
servatives," and among the other
causes we find "the many errors and
acts of abuse of power" on the part of
tbe conservative administration. That
was his opinion of the late government,
and yet he supported it. It was bad
for the country, there were "many er
rors and acts of abuse of ptwer," but it
was pledged to separate schools in
Manitoba, and therefore his grace
strained every nerve and everted all
his spiritual authority to impose that
bad government on the country. That
he and his colleagues did not succeed
Is owing to Quebec. The failure of his
attempt Is what tbe Toronto Mail calls
"French domination!" But when the
Toronto Mail Is hardly less remarka
ble as a journal than is tbe archbishop
as a statesman. Winnipeg Daily Tri
bune. Is Mark Hanna a Catholic!
Louisville, Ky., Aug. 17. Editor
Freedom's Banner. Please answer,
through the columns of your valuable
paper, to settle a dispute, is Mark
Hanna a Catholic? Respectfully,
A. Reader.
Mark Hanna is not a Catholic. We
have heretofore published two letters,
one over his own signature, in which
it was stated that he was a member ot
the Protestant Episcopal church. Mr.
Hanna is a broad-minded patriotic
Protestant, aod an ardent admirer of
the late Bishop A. Cleveland Coxe,
who has been the pride among the
ministry of the A. P. A. From a va
ried correspondence with Mr. Hanna,
we know of no one who excels him in
the way of full, considerate and eml
nently satisfactory replies to all In
quiries or points to letters. We are
often astounded at men, who know
nothing whatever about hlrn, publish
ing to the world that he is a "jack
papist," a "rank Romanist," a "brutal
ship owner and thug." He is a consid
erate, generous and clear-headed man,
and has no more use for Roman rub
bish, relish, superstition and the
stories of shrine healings or priestly
powers to forgive sins, etc., than any
other sensible American citizen has.
He Is a Protestant and a patriot, and
backs his faith by his works. Louis
ville, Ky., Freedom's Banner.
I