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About The American. (Omaha, Nebraska) 1891-1899 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 11, 1898)
THE AMERICAN THE AMERICAN I?.i,;,r f.m.ny' -rirrY ykaks in i hk C'lll'tU'H or KOMK," aeut to anv altMin Ue I'iiiuI Xuin or l una.l i br lull lir only ftO r'ud C Aiil with your ortlxr waC IF THE VIEWS o ktml by this ja- pr mwt your appror! w haU be iilvasml to rwreive yimr utmrriUin The pneoof I HE AMERICAN imr year together with a kchmI book id only - "AMERICA FOR AMERICANS." We hold that all men are A mcrcian who Kwear Allegiance to the Unittd State without a mental rewrvation. PRICE FIVE CENTS. A WEEKLY NEWSPAPER, OMAHA, NEBRASKA, FIJI DA V, FEBRUARY 11, 1MS. NtlMHKIl f. Volume Vlil. f4 ROME is knocked OUT. Joseph Bradfield Wins His Suit and Gets An In junction Against the United States Treasurer, Restraining Him From I'ajliijr to the Roman Corporation any Public Funds. Judge Hagner, presiding In Equity Court No. 2, today, (Feb. 3), made a ' ruling of far-reaching importance, holding that it is unconstitutional for CongreBB to appropriate money for sectarian Institutions. The court signed the order, for reasons set forth in his opinion, enjoining the treasur er of the United States from paying or delivering to any officer or agent. '" iSr to the directors of Providence Hos pital, in this city, any moneys belong ing to the United States or to the Dis trict of Columbia, under or in virtue of an agreement entered into between the Commissioners of the District and the directors of the hospital. The opinion was rendered in the case of Joseph Bradfield, filed Novem ber 21 last, praying for an injunction against Elias H. Roberts, treasurer of the United States. The object of the suit, so Mr. Bradfield explained, was to procure an order of the court en loininer and restraining Treasurer Roberts from paying or delivering to any officer or agent of Providence Hospital, or to the Directors of Prov idence Hospital, or to any person whatsoever for the use and benefit of the same, any money belonging to the United States or the District of Co lumbia, upon an agreement between the surgeon general of the army and the directors of the hospital, under color of an authority to provide "for the support and medical treatment of ninety-five medical and surgical pa tients who are destitute," contained in the sundry civil act of June 4 last; or by virtue of an agreement between the District Commissioners and the directors of the hoapital, made Au gust 16 last, wherein It is provided that the Commissioners "will erect . on the ground of the hospital an iso lating building, or ward, for the treat ment of minor contagious diseases." Mr. BradfleM appeared as attorney In his own behalf, while District At torney Davis and Assistant District Attorney Baker looked after -the In terests of Treasurer Roberts. The case was argued during several days about the middle of December, and Judge Hagner has had the matter under consideration since. Mr. Brad field contended that Providence Hos ff pltal is a private, eleemosynary cor " poration, composed, to the best of his belief, of a monastic order or sister hood of the Roman Catholic Church, and is conducted under the aus pices of the church, invested specially with "full power and all the rights of opening and keeping a hos pital In the city of Washington for the care of such sick and Invalid pa tients as may place themselves under the care and treatment of said corpo ration." , Mr. Bradfield further maintained that in view of the sectarian charac ter of the hospital and the specific and limited object of its erection, the contract with the surgeon general and the agreement with the Commission' ers were unauthorized by law, and moreover, involved a principle and & precedent for the appropriation of the funds of the United States for the use and support of the religious socle ties contrary to the article of the Con stitution which declares that Congress shall make no law respecting a re llgious establishment, and also a pre cedent for giving to religious socie ties a legal agency in carrying into effect a public and civil duty, which would, If once established, Mr. Brad field held, speedily obliterate the es sential difference between civil and re ligious functions. Continuing, Mr. Bradfield declared that he and all other citizens and tax payers of the United States are in Jured by reason of the contract and agreement whereof the public funds are being used and pledged for the ad vancement of a private and sectarian corporation. The agreement in question was that the Commissioners should erect jon the grounds of Providence Hospital an isolating building or ward for the treatment of minor contagious dis eases; that the building or ward should be erected without expense to the hospital, except such as It might elect, but should be paid out of an ap "8 III v propriatlon for that purpose, con tained in the District appropriation bill, approved March 3, 1897, and upon plans to be furnished by the Commis sioners and approved by the health office; that when the building or ward should be completed It should be ( turned over to the officers of Provi dence Hospital, subject to the follow ing provisions: "1st. That two-thirds of the entire capacity of said isolating building or I ward shall be reserved for the use of such poor patients as shall be sent there by the Commissioners of the District from time to time through the proper officers. For each such patient said Commissioners and their succes sors in office are to pay at the rate of $250 per annum, for such time as the patient may be in the hospital, subject to annual appropriations by Congress. "2d. That persons able to pay for treatment may make such arrange ment for entering the building or ward as shall be determined by those In charge thereof, and such persons shall pay to Providence Hospital reas onable compensation for such treat ment, to be fixed by the hospital au thorities; but such persons shall have the privilege of selecting their own physicians and nurses, and in case physicians and nurses are selected other than those assigned by the hos pital, it shall be at the expense of the patient making the request. "And said Providence Hospital agrees to always maintain a neutral zone of forty feet around said Isolat ing building or ward and ground con nected therewith, to which patients of said ward have access." The act of congress referred to In the agreement is contained in the par agraph as follows: "For two isolat ing buildings, to be constructed in the discretion of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia, on the grounds of two hospitals and to be operated as a part of such hospitals. $30,000." The provision in the Constitution of the United States referred to in the bill filed by Mr. Bradfield is contained In the first amendment to the consti tution, introduced by Mr. Madison at the first session of Congress after the adoption of the Constitution, and reads: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of relig ion or prohibiting the free exercise ,hereof." The question for decision, said Judge Hagner In delivering his opin ion. Is whether either the provision of the act of Congress or the agreement made by the Commissioners under the authority conferred by it in words or In effect is in contravention of the In hibitions of the first amendment. It Is scarcely suppoBable, Judge Hagner went on to say, that Congress Jj mZi PROBABLY HE IS would ever pass a law in direct and palpable opposition to the prohibitions of the amendment. Probably Tlie'only Instances where such violation would ever occur will be where some pro vision has been passed into the form of law without sufficient consideration and in the haste of legislation, which, though unobjectionable on Its face would yet in effect tend on the one hand to foster or to encourage relig ious societies in general or any one in particular, or, on the other, to pro hibit the free exercise of religion on the part of any one or of all such so cieties and churches. After stating that no man more fully understood the importance of maintaining the principle referred to than Mr. Madison, or more thoroughly comprehended its just scope and the danger in which It stood from care less legislation, Judge Hagner referred to the language used by Mr. Madison in vetoing certain acts providing for the incorporation of churches and the like. "No one reading the two para graphs of the act providing for the ap propriation in question as though they were incorporated into one," continued Judge Hagner, "could pos sibly conclude that Congress had di rected or expected the $30,000 appro priated should be expended within the grounds of any hospital under such sectarian control, whether Luther an, Methodist, or Roman Catho lic. For when Congress, after mak in the appropriation, had plainly declared it to be the policy of the government to make no ap propiation of money or property for the purpose of founding, maintain ing or aiding by payment for services, expenses or otherwise any church or religious d nomination or an institu tion or society which Is under secta rian or ecclesiastical control, it would seem to have closed the discussion of the question. "Whatever authority the Commis sioners of the District of Columbia possess in reference to the subject," Judge Hagner said, further, "they could have only acquired from Con gress, which, of course, could com municate to them no powers it did not costitutionally possess. Whatever acts were forbidden by the Constitu tion to Congress with respect to the assistance of religious establishments were, of course, forbidden to its agents, the commissioners. "The statute undoubtedly author ized the isolating buildings to be con structed In the discretion of the Com missioners, either on the grounds of two hospitals or on other lands not belonging to any hospital. "It Is conceded by the demurrer that Providence Hospital is a corpor ation composed of members of a mo nastic order or sisterhood of the Ro FULLY ARC USED AT LAST. man 'Catholic. Church, and that the title o its property Is Invested in the Sisters of Chariiy of Ernlttsburg, a non-resident corporation. One who erects buildings on the land of anoth er has no right to remove them against the will of the land owner. Whatever title tue United States might claim in a building constructed by it upon the grounds of the Providence Hospi tal would be a species of continuing joint ownership or copartnership be tween the government on the one part and at sij::tarian corporation having its habitat in the state of Maryland on the other Continuing Judge Hagner re marked that he conceives the agree ment in question undertakes in be half of the public authorities to give "legal force and sanction" to articles in the administration of the hospital which "so far would be a religious establishment by law," and for that reason illegal. "It is also worthy of remark," added Judge Hager, "that the Commissioners agree to pay at a designated rate for the patients they may send to the hospital, 'subject to annual appropriations by Congress while section 81 of the Revised Stat utes of the District declares the Com missioners shall have no power to make contracts to bind the District except in pursuance of appropriations made by law and not until such ap propriations shall have been made. "Besides, in the words of the pro vision, "it is hereby enacted, that from and after the 30th day of June, 1898. no money appropriated for char itable purposes in the District of Co lumbia shall be paid to any church or religious denomination or to any in stitution or society which is under sectarian or eceelsiastical control," which would render this obligation assumed by the Commissioners in the agreement incapable of performance after the date named. "However incongruous such an ownership may be where the other party is non-sectarian in character, I can see it would also be an unlawful one, is against the spirit and pur pose of the first amendment, when such contracting party Is a sectarian sisterhood or order under the aus pices of a church or religious society. "In the argument for the defendant reference was made to the great diffi culty experienced by the Commission ers in obtaining suitable places for hospitals for contagious and infect ious diseases." I understood this to be urged rather as an explanation than as a justification of the agree ment, since the difficulty of properly performing an assigned duty can furnish no defense for its unlawful execution. "Hut that difficulty, a I understood, existed only wllli respect to a hospi tal for contagious and infectious di seases of the gravest character, such as small pox and yellow fever; whereas the isolating building author ized by the agreement is to be used for the treatment of minor contag ious diseases." As diphtheria and scarlet fever are named In the prev ious paragraph of the law, the Com missioners were doubtless right In supposing those diseases were In tended to be provided for In the ap propriation; which makes no mention of any disease, whether contagious or infectious, or whether of an aggravat ed or simpler description. "The Commissioners were doubtless of the opinion that the requirements as to space and air could be best ful filled by placing the new building within the grounds of Providence Hos pital, and were justified In assuming that the competent and careful nurs ing needed for the patients would be secured there at the skillful hands of the humane attendants, for It is be lieved this hospital, like the others in the city, is managed by kind peo ple, who find their chief reward in the con8ciousn68 of relieving the poor and suffering. "But this consideration cannot pre vail against the grave objection to the location of tne proposed building on the grounds of a hospital under sec tarian! management," concluded Judge Hagner. "For the reasons given I shall pass an order for an Injunction against the treasurer as prayed for in the bill, with reference to the ar gument." To a Star reporter, District Attorn ey Davis stated this afternoon that it is his intention to appeal to the Court of Appeals from the ruling of Judge Hagner In the Providence Hos pital case. Washington, D. C, Daily Star. Another Reman Hiaf. From a report of the proceedings of "the Child-Study Congress," which be gan its sessions in the Columbus Hall of the Paul 1st Fathers. New York, on December 29 last, we select the follow ing: The congress began work on Wed nesday morning with a discussion on the general subject of Catholic edu cation. The Rev. James P. Kiernan, of Rochester, presided, and opened a discussion with a paper on "The Paro chial School," in the course of which he said, after having dwelt on the im portance of distinctly Catholic schools for Catholic children: "To this it may be objected that the teachers in the state schools do teach morality, both by word an example, and that some of the best Catholics never wont to a Catholic school. To the first of these objections I answer that I know that the majority of the teachers lu the state schools are leading noble, pure, unselfish lives. I have found as sociation, with them pleasant, profita ble, iiinl Inspiring; but a saint from Heaven could not teach morality under these IrciiiiiHtalH'eM. The couflletlti Mlef of the pupils ma It Impossi ble lo put It on a secure IiuhIs, for re ligion Is the only basis. "My answer to the second objection Is that the persons alluded to srn good Cut holies In spite of having gomi to the Htate hi hoolrt. not because of It. Their home environment was favor able, but there are niilllotiM of child ren without hiicIi environment who would be lost to the church without the parochial school, "Another objection is that the Catholic schools give too much tlmo to religion and too little to other branches. This is entirely untrue. I have taken the trouble to ascertain the average ago of children graduat ing from the grammar grade In tint Catholic tuhools of Rochester, and I have found It considerably tinder that of children passing the samo exami nation In the state schools." Studied a Hut. "An attempt was made to play dirty trick upon Patrick Egan at: Montreal recently," saiu National Committeeman Dick Kerens of Mis souri, "by the samo people who put an affront upon Consul General Blt tlnger by having him blackballed when proposed for membership in the Saint James Club. This Is a ram pant Tory organization, and Us mem ber set a trap for Mr. Egau, who proved too smart for them. It was sug gested to Egun when ho arrived at Montreal on a mission for the United States government that his name be put up at Iho Saint James Club "lit order that he might have a place to pass away the time pleasantly. Egan smelt a largo rat Immediately, and, although the proposer was enthusias tic alsMit the matter, ho was forbidden to Mst the name of Egan on the bul letin board at the club. "Hy this means the representative of the United States was spared tho humiliation of being blackballed as Consul General lilttlnger was a few weeks ago by this wiine organization. Had Consul General lilttlnger been warned In due season and prohibited the use of bis name he would have been saved from an apparent stigmat upon it. Hut being turned down by such an organization as the Saint James Club should be esteemed ai honor by any true American. "Although tho action of the club was ostensibly directed against Mr. lilttlnger, it was In reality a deliber ately planned insult to thf government which ho represents at. Montreal. Egan, however, was too smart for the Tory toadies to everything pertaining to her Majesty, and Is entitled to cred it for the course he pursued. He knew as well as any member of the Saint James Club that the mere suggestion of his name at the club-house would bring down a perfect shower of black balls, and he turnel the laugh upon the representatives of Johnny Hull by declining an honor which was Intend ed to result, in an affront." Wash ington Dispatch to Chicago Tribune. The Chicago Chronicle professes to believe the Republicans will lese. the national House of Representatives in the fall of 1S9S. We sincerely hope that neither the Republican nor Dem ocratic party, as such, will elect a ma jority of the next Congress, but that patriotic Americans will gain control of that body. Hundreds of thousands of loyal Americans, representing every section of the Union, are unloosing ,he party shackles that have hereto fore bound them, and are taking their places in the ranks of sovereign, free and independent American citizens. Patriotic Americans will henceforth know no north, no south, no east, no west and in the congressional elec tion of the current year they will vot only for those candidates for the Con- t gress who are known to be men of un doubted honor and probity, men who will at all times place the interests of country and patriotism far above pprty fealty and party aggrandize ment. The editor of this paper takes pleas ure in recommending to all patriots Rev. Christian's great anti-Roman book, entitled, "Americanism or Ro manism, Which?" It is bound in cloth, neatly printed on good paper, and it is full of facts. It Is interest ing. Price only $1.00. It Is worth $2.00. Order of American Pub. Co., Omahe, Neb. For fifty cents we will send you a opy of the Atlas of the World, con taining the latest and most accurate maps of Cuba and the Klondike coun try, besides a great deal of useful and valuable information. American Pub Co., Omaha. .
