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About The American. (Omaha, Nebraska) 1891-1899 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 14, 1898)
THE AMERICAN. "AM IMC A Wn AMt.KH AN .!.! st l h HrtiiiM . . AHrtUfnt Or t totl Hutc nh. wUI tr.M.., UM.MIA, NKMUSKA, KIllPAY, O TONKU 14, Iv.i.s. Vu A WI I.M.Y M.WM'APt.H, Vomu Vill. ROMANISM IN THIS COUNTRY General Hawkins Says the Roman Catholic Church is Becoming the Dominant Power. NIvW YORK, October 10th. (icncral Kush C. Hawkins spoke to the Methodist ministers in this city at their w eekly con ference held today. He spoke on "Progressive Romanism in this Country." As usual the conference was held behind closed doors. When the meeting which lasted two hours was over, General Hawkins with some reluctance, said: 'I have just given the Methodist ministers of this city the result of my forty years' work of research and observation to fdiow them the extent to which the Roman Catholic Church is rapidly becoming the dominant power in this country; that the actual ruler in politics in this city is not Richard Croker, but Archbishop Corrigan; that the real Tammany Hall is not 1-our-teenth street but at Madison avenue and riftieth street, and that before long will national politics be dictated by the representa tives of this great hierarchy in Hoston, New York, Chicago, St. Louis, Cincinnati and New Orleans, but the candidates for the chief executive of this nation will be designated by these repre sentatives and elected by the masses under their uns.werv.iig rule." THE WAK AH A3 EDITATOK. Nome Lesson to be Learned from the War Willi Spain. Million of children and youth are once more crowding through the por tals of th school ami college. His tory ha Vcn making very rapidly since schools elosH. pupil will And very dlTcrent geography on their re turn to their studies, and a groat dfiil of hlHtory which I not. net down In the hooka. It I a If teacher lind scholars had been taking a military tour during this wartime vacation, In Cuba. Porto Rico, I ho Philippine, the Carolines, the I-adrones, and to the Bpanlsh coast, They have been Intro duced to many new heroes whom they have never found In their school hooks Dewey, Ilobson, Sampson, Bchley, Bliafler, Clark, Kvans, Phillips and a score of unheralded heroes who have leen equally hrave. What shall we do with this accumu lated material? What lesson shall the millions of scholars draw from this wart What an opportunity Is this for the teacher, the professor, to empha size new and vital lessons from the Impetus which civilization will get from the experience of the last few months! Geography, history and sci ence should receive a new emphasis from this war; Christian patriotism and heroism should receive a new Im pulse, The glohe should he Introduced Into the school now, If never before, and the maps of the revised geogra phy hung upon the walls. Descriptive geography should he studied for de tails of the production and peoples of the islands of the war. One great value of geography Is to locate the deeds of history; the value of science In warfare, especially naval warfare, has been Illustrated In the past few months as never before In the history of the world. This is an Impressive fact for our school; Jt was indicated Ocrmany which triumphed over Ignorant France In the Franco-Prussian war, Over ninety per cent of the soldiers of her army could read and write, while the reverse was the case In the French army. Not avalanche charges of brute savage liavfi achieved the grand suc cesses In the Spanish-American war; the common school, the high school, the eollege, superior discipline, the finer training, scientific, precision In gunnery, In drill. In naval practice, and every other knowledgo pertaining thereto, have won these grand vic tories. Spain failed, not from lack of valor, hut from lack of education, so briety, discipline and enlightenment. Behind the exploits of Dewey and Hob son were years of grinding rludy and practice at the naval school. Their success was no haphazard thing; It was I lie scientific result of advanced education, (tin product of a higher civ ilization. Kpnln has entirely missed the spirit of the 'higher civilization of the nineteenth century; wrapped up In "bigotry, In Ignorance, supers!! Iltlon, cruelty and her own self sulllcl ency, she has not caught the spirit of the spirit .of the finer mental culture of our times, and Is still living buck In the middle ages. Good Judgment and common sense have been quite ns conspicuous as mere exactness and fullness of learn ing. Schley's calm and quick decision to sail for the headland without the loss of a single minute, while the Cristobal Colon was skirting the shore, decided the battle. This was more than learning; It was cultivated good Judgment, downright horse sense, Dewey, In the east, forced to fly upon his own judgment in difficult situa tions, with rampant Insurgents and encroaching Europeans, In conditions where calmness and wisdom were of vital Importance to himself and hi country, and where a single mistake might have meant very serious mis fortune for America, showed that h had grown wise, shrewd, and tactful, as well as learned, In his great school of experience, This Is another great lesson for the schools, Not only have great character-qualities been exhibited by the heroes and managers of this war; they have been conspicuous, llobson'i stu dies at Annapolis, and his cleur Judg ment, were the water In the holler, but fire was necessary to generate the driving steam. Courage, daring, tenac ity of purpose, grit, self-reliance, pres ence of mind, fertility of resource, for titude, endurance these have been ex hibited during this war on a hundred occasions still fresh In memory, Dewey not only knew what to do, and what his guns and vessels could do, how to maneuver, and how to shoot scien tifically, but he had the example of his great master, Fnrragut, urging him to push forward In spite of torpedoes and mines. The Importance of n sound body has been emphasized. The nstonlhlng number of young men who thought they were able-bodied enough to go to the war, but who weie repected, will give the teacher a grand opportunity MW&mWW 1 It I a i to emphasize the great Importance of developing a strong, robust physique, Hlx months ago, nearly every man on the street probably fancied the gov- eminent would th'tik h in u prize ss a soldier; but thousands of youth were mortified to And that their bodies had been so weakened by smoking, drinking, careless living and dissipa tion, as to render them totally unfit to serve their country In time of need. .ft.- . .1 . 1..... .11.. it n.rmc, .summer rmpiiimcaoy repeats what all history, sacred and profane, has always taught, that tliey who strive for the mastery must be temperate In all things as true In the successes of peace s In the march snd onset of war, At one time It anuenrcd doubtful whether there was the stuff In our young men to give us a llavehxk or General Cordon; whether the Amerl-1 can youth were not to be perverted j by the glorification of vlndlctlveness, swaggering and profanity; but that! mood, wherever It existed, passed sway and the American schoolboy who has read of Washington's prayer al Val ley Forge, and Macdomnigh kneeling on his deck before action, can now recall similar scenes In these ttnee months. Ilobson's prayer on the Mer- rlmac, Captain Philip's call to thank on the deck of the Texas, ami the proc lamation by our president, will go down In the memory of the people, even If not glorified In song or bronze, The compassion and humanity of our soldiers and sailors are as conspicu ous ss i heir heroism. Great disasters and wars break up that dream of mankind that "a man's life consists of the abundance of the things which be possesses!" In (he vast expanding material prosperity he fore the American people, (he memory of such deeds will remain an Inspira tion to very youth, Millionaires and multimillionaires are numerous, al most common; we do not complain of that. We are glad that these heroes have certain "prize moneys" awaiting (hem. Hut llobson and Hehley snd Dewey and Roosevelt shine, and will shine, beifluse f t h!r achievements, and not because of prize moneys. Not achievement for self arouses this applause, but achievement for country and hunuviilly. "Pro bono pub lico" Is the motto. Achievement for the common good, the general welfare, the "good citizenship" of which we have been making so much, In pcae or in war, In good voting as well as good s fighting -tills, I he American teacher from ocean to ocean, from lakes to gulf, will be quick to teach, 1 and American youth will not be slow to learn. Kucce, New York, r The Religion tyiislluii In Culm ai d l'orlo Itlco, A Washington correspondent say that, under the Instructions given the J)(i(l(,H v(imuiiHHu,,.rn by the President ,0 lul0,,(. c,)llr,.,, , Cl(m, Porto Rico and the Philippine Islands Is to be allowed to look after Itself. "Its i interests from the point of view of our government are not Involved under the terms of peace." This Is certainly so, If I lie United Wales are to acquire Porto Klco and ('l,t,u- u,ul iU" '''"I'l'I'lncs, they must ,Hk" th,'m al"1 " th" wl'" '"' m,Mt t1"'"1 ""''J''''1 l" ,fl" Provision of the Constitution of the United Klates, The Constitution as originally adopt ed had no suMlclcnt guarantees of right,, ami It became the first and earn est duty of the Democrats of more than a century ago to procure amend ments that would engiaft upon the fun- ' dumeiilal Instrument ansiirances that personal rights would fully be respect id. The very first aiiiendiii"tit to (ho Constitution Is: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the fre exer cise thereof." This Is an Irnoortant provision. It has been to tho United Htatea a provision of Inestimable val ue. More than any other assurance of tin- Constitution It has Induced pno pie of other lands to come hero and develop the mighty resources of the Republic, Religion hns a strong hold upon many minds, They are tenacious lu their form of worship; In ninny of the lands of Kuropu they were com pelled (o maintain a state church. To this they objected If, perchance, their own religious views differed from those held by the statu. To emigrate to a land where the organic law pro hibited legislation respecting an es filill: hment of religion and prohibit ing Its free exercise was to set out for a region of peace and Justice. There was no more inviting Invitation to the shores of America than this very pro vision. The people of tho United States are Indebted for It to those sturdy Jcffersonian Democrats who In sisted upon the first of the amend tiienis Ui the Constitution. We have In America as tho result of thin provision of (he orgnnlc law no church establishment. Churches sus tained by a stale do not flourish. Hit Union suffers when coupled with poli tics. When divorced wholly from the operation of the slate II. does flourish, Of ibis (ruth we have numerous ex amples In our own country. Nor tiurih receives stale aid, All churches, as Is proper, are supported solely by volun teer contribution, For he who holds his religion strenuously aim not per futictorlly will out of his own means, little or great, pay tribute for the maintenance of his religion. If he doe not choose to do so It Is not the right of the state to compel him. The stale Is forbidden In this form mile land to enter upon n mistaken policy which makes a particular religion a mailer of governmental regard. In Cuba and Porto Rico, and possibly In the Phil ippines, the maintenance of a state re ligion has been a charge upon the Hpanlsli government-Hint Is, Indirect ly upon the people, whether of the state or any other religion, In so far as this teirltory passes to the Jurisdic tion and control of the United Wales there can be no contribution from the slate for the maintenance of any min istry. If ths people value their re ligion they themselves will pay the cost of maintaining it. The problem Is not new In the United States, As a result of the treuty succeeding Hie Mexican war we acquired tlin territory we call New Mexico, The Catholic religion wa professed by the vast majority of Its Inhabitants, but all stale aid lo that religion was withdrawn and under the system which properly obtains In America, the members of tho church contributed out of their own means (o Its support or, If they choose, with draw such support altogether, That Democratic provision of the Constitution of the United Hi ate which provides thai, congress shall make no law respecting tho establish ment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof Is of the highest practical utility; valuable to tho peo ple In their political character; valu able no Ichh to the various denomi nations friH) under Its provisions to worship as they see fit. The one practical point In this con nection Is that our government shall I'M KtlKl I. NT. Nt MM Ji, see (bat taxe raised for the church establishment are abolished In toto. They must not be levied at all to be diverted lo some other purpose, Kdlt orlai In Chicago Chronicle, ABANDONING Til K REFORMATION, It Is said that there are 1,700 cler gymen of the Church of Fngland who are members of the Confraternity of (ln nicised Hacrnment, organized to destroy the work of the reformation. They are allies of the Church of Roine, and In belief and practice agree with that body (Including confession to priests). Many efforts have been made to prevent lhes clergymen from con tinuing their Romish practices In th churches of I he Church of Fngland, but with only small success. The Bishops of (he Wate Church are ap parently Indifferent to the attempt lo Romanize the Church of Fngland. It Is claimed that (he large majority of the membership Is opposed to the efforts of the Confraternity and allied sis lelles, such as the Holy Cross and l lie Ritualistic Wsterhoods, but can accomplish nothing because the Bish ops thwart (heir endeavors or wishes. There Is utiqiieatlcmahly a decided ten dency among the clergy of the Church of Fngland toward the Roman Church. The other denominations of Christians In Great Britain have formed a fillers Hon to oppose this sacerdotalism and endeavor to Romanize the Christian people of Great Britain. The member ship of (ho churches of this alliance Is now larger than that of the Church of F.ngland, and that majority bids fair to increase steadily. The prospect Is that In a few years the Kplscopal Church will cease to be the Kstah Untied Church of Great Britain Chris tian Intelligencer. King Humbert's nephew, the King of Portugal, hs been prevented by the pope frr tn vlltlng his uncle at Home under threaU of the withdrawal of the nuncio from Lisbon. The King' niece Dutches Helen of Aosta, who, owing to the fact that the crown princess of Italy Is chlldles, Is likely one day to become Queen of Italy, could not lx persuaded to visit tho Qalrlnal until she had beon msrrled for more than s year, while tha Princess Clothilda, sarntly and nun-like slst-v of Kln Humbert, would not even visit the death bed of her (ly ing buband, the late Prince Napoleon. The subscription price of The Amer ican Is 12.00 peryo&r.