THE AMERICAN.
AMEKICA WK AMERICANS." We hold that all men are Ainercian lu Swear Allrgiame to the I'nitetl State without it mental reservation
EK,
Voi.lME VIII.
The
WOULD HAMPER
THE GOVERNMENT
Irish Roman Catholics To
Fight the Adminis
tration If It Dares Enter Into An Alliance W.th
Great Hritain-Anotber Kirk To
Keep Protestants Apart.
Topery Protests.
Chicago III., May 24. The United
Irish societies of Chicago, at a big mass
meeting In Central Music hall, presided
over by John M. Smyth, have adopted
resolutions emphatically condemning
toe suggested alliance between the
United States and Great Britain. The
resolutions denounce the alliance as un
called for and nationally degrading,
and at variance with American tradi
tions and the sentiments of a majority
of the American people, who are not of
British birth or ancestry. It declared
that such an alliance would result in an
European combination against, and
would make u? partners in the crimes
of the British empire against weak
states and defenseless peoples. The
resolutions "call upon the American
government, executive and legislative,
to repudiate a policy so suicidal that
could not fail to fill with disgust mill
ions of loyal American citizens."
The principal speaker, John F. Fin
erty, sail: "We will fight this alliance
on the ulatform and at the polls. We
re willing and eager to fight for Amer
A WEEKLY XEh
lujr : : : I
. .-V I 1 1 ' . If MB. " . X . i - . r m .. - , . m.nt, a m i .. T
Irish Roman Catholics
ica, but we will never fire a shot or
lose a single drop of blood for England."
Telzel and His Indulgences.
The following extract is from Thomas
Carlyle:
The Monk Tetzel, sent out carelessly
in the way of trade, by Leo X, who
merely wanted to raise a little money,
and for the rest seems to have been a
pagan rather than a christian, bo far as
he was anything, arrived at Witten
berg, and drove his scandalous trade
there. Luther's flock bought indul
gences; in the confessional of bis church
people pleaded to him that they had
already got their sins pardoned. Luth
er, if he would be found wanting at his
post, a false sluggard and coward at
the very centre of the little space of
ground that was his own and no other
man's, had to step forth against indulg
ences, and declare aloud that they were
a futility and a sorrowful mockery, that
no man's sins could be pardoned by
them. It was the beginning of the
whole reformation. We know how it
went; forward from the first public
challenge of Tetzel, on the last day of
October, 1517, through remonstrance
and argument; spreading ever wider,
rising ever higher; till it became un
quenchable, and enveloped all the
world. Luther's heart's desire was to
have this grief and other griefs
amended, his thought was still far
other than that of introducing separa
tion in the church, or revolting against
the Doue. father of Christendom. The
1
I nlpcriint. nnenn nnm r.atv.d little about
' B " r- e r
this monk and bis doctrines; wished,
however, to have done with the noise
of him; In the space of some three
years having tried various softer meth
ods, he thought of Are. He dooms the
OMAHA, NEBRASKA. FRIDAY, MAY 'J7, 1MS.
ol Chicago pretend to
monk's writings to be burnt by the
hangman, and his body to be sent
bound to Rome, probably for a similar
purpose. It was the way they bad
ended with Huss, with Jerome, the
century before. A short argument
fire. Poor Huss, be came to that Con
stance Council, with all imaginable
promises and safe conducts; an earnest
not rebellious kind of man; they laid
him instantly in a stone dungeon "three
feet wide, six feet high, seven feet
long;" burnt the true voice of him out
of this world; choked it in smoke and
fire. That was not well done!
I, for one, pardon Luther for now al
together revolting against the pope.
The elegant pagan, by this fire-decree
of his, had , kindled Into noble just
wrath the bravest, if also one ef the
humblest, peaceablest; it was now
kindled. These words of mine, words
of truth and soberness, aiming faith
fully, as human ability will allow, to
promote God's truth on c earth, and
save men's souls, you, God's vicegerent
on earth, answer them by the hangman
and fire? You will burn me and them
for answering to the God's message
they strove to bring you. You are not
God's vice gerent; you are another's
than his, I think! I take your bull, as
an emparchmented lie, and burn it.
You will do what you see good next:
that is what I do. It was on the 10th
of December, 1520, three year after the
beginning of the business, that Luther,
"with a great concjur&e of people,"
took this indignant step of burning the
pope's Ure-decree "at the Elstor Gate
of Wittenberg." Wittenberg looked
on "wiib shoutings;'' the whole world
was looking on. The pope should not
have provoked that "shout!" It was
the shout of the awakening of nations.
aim at John Bull, but
The quiet German heart, modest, pa
tient of much, bad at length got more
than it could bear. Formalism, pagan
popeism, and other falsehocd and cor
rupt semblance had ruled long enough;
and here once more was a man found
who durst tell all men that God'i world
stood not on semblances but on reali
ties ; that life was a truth and not a lie!
Anti-Papal Library at Florence.
Rev. Dr. Alex. Robertson writes a
follows to the London Bulwark:
It has come to that. The poor old
creature of a pope is only now thought
worthy to be a sport of the Italians In
the theatres of their country. He plays
well, and is now amusing all classes,
for none are so poor but they can afford
to laugh at him.
A new public library is about to
be founded in Florer.ce by the Italian
minister of public instruction. It will
be quite unique of Its kind. No such
library has ever before existed nor can
be found the wide world over. For it
is a library to be composed aolely of
books condemned by the Congregatitn
of the Index of the papal church a li
brary of the pope's prohibited books.
Its construction will differ materially
from that of all other libraries. In
making a library the bcoks are got first
and then an index of them is drawn up;
but in this case the index is already
there, and the books have to be got to
correspond with it. There will be littie
difficulty in getting such books together
howevur, because as the books con
demned by the fope are generally
those that men most value, they have
been carefully preserved in spite of his
prohibition, siquett-ation and burning.
The papal papers In Italy are crying
out against the establishment of this
intend to strike Uncle
new libra-y, because It will be an insult
to the pope, and will contain "book
that will corrupt the heart and life."
The former we grai t In one sense. It
will be an exposure of the hatred that
pope and papacy bear to light and
truth. But the latter complaint la ri
diculous. It wi'.l be one of the purest
Libraries in the world, because so few
harmful books are to he found on the
Index, few will he f jund In this new li
brary. I do not think the idea of found
ing such a library originated with the
minister, but he certainly deserves all
praise for having it taken up; let us
hope he will go through with it. Ha
has Italy at his back. No books are
prized like the prohibited ones.
There is no Roman Catholic theolog
ical faculty in any university within
the bounds of the kingdom (Italy).
There were such faculties, even after
the formation of the kingdom, but
some years ago all were swept away.
And why? Not In hostility to religion,
not even the Raman Catholic religion,
but because it was found that the Ro
man Catholic university theological
professors taught lies instead of truth,
hatred to the king instead of love to
God, obedience to the pope Instead of
loyalty to law, immorality instead of
religion; and I have not the slightest
doubt if a Catholic university is estab
lished in Ireland, the Irish professors
that may be appointed will do exactly
the same.
Winning a Wife.
A littie incident from the life of
William the Conqueror slates that
when he was only the Duke of Norman
dy he Lad fallen in love with the Prin
cet Mathllde of Flanders. She was
proud and haughty and had refused the
I'KH K KIVK CENTS.
NiIMBkA 22.
Sam.
noble li vers who ere anxious to win
her hand. The wilv Norman studied
her characUr carefully, and, when he
had mapped out his plau of campaign,
rode Into the town one day when she,
at the h-ad of a party, was going from
church. Hi sprang from his horse by
her side, boxed htresrs soundly, pulled
her ff her stf e), rolled her vigorously
in the mud, told her that he loved her
and rode aw; y. The astonish) d prin
cess was InfurUU d and swore all kind
of vengeance ATer her rage cooled
down, however, the said to her lather
that, upon reflection, the bad come to
the conclusion that t'le only man who
could treat Mathi'deof Flanders In that
manner thould bo her husband. They
were married and the union turned out
t j be one of the hapoiett marriages In
the bistcry of royalty New York Mail
and Express.
An Italian Opinion.
S;gnor Crispl ex Prime Minister of
Italy, and generally recognized as
Italy's greatest statesman, is quoted
as saying that the decadence of Spain
is due primarily to the Roman Catholic
religion. "The prime cause of Spain's
condition is the general state of ignor
ance in the upper, as well as In the
lower classec It is the priesthood,
absolutely sovereign every where,whlch
ha led that fine country Into ruin."
Somebody Knows Now.
A conference cf the priests ot this vi
cinity was held at Hubbard last Friday,
There wi re seventeen of them In at
tendance, among them being the Rt.
Rev. Bishop Scannei of Omaha. As
yet no publicity has been given of tho
conference. North Nebraska Eagle.
