The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1872-02-20

For the Intelligeneer. IrH1E
Miss o'GoEman'S Attack on the
Catholics...An Appeal for Fair
Dealing.
Some thoughts magtSted By he recent lN
tUre, addressed 10 far minded ladies
and honest men, ltsH e.
1st. Speaking In general, is II falr OF
honorable to accept against persons Of
fair fame the accusations Of a yagFant de.
iamer, Of one whose bread Is earned by
such deiamationP Whose receipts are
In proportion with what Is uttered Of the
sensational and infamousP What would
be thought Of q juryman weak enough to
be influenced by such witness, Of q yer.
dict based on such testimony What
would one think II ones own interests OF
character had been aSsailed by suchP BE
then fair To others.
I'd. 10 this particular case, according IA
the published report, the accuscr tells Us
she was six years In the convent, saw fro.
Qnent acts Of lewdness by nuns and priests
caught the superior In criminal act.
She spoke Of infants born and disappear
ing-of child poisoned. What are we
to think OF witness who appears, by her
own acknowledgment, with this accumu-
lated weight Of guilt on her own head.
Habitual lewdness, iniamics, murders,
connived at by silence. But, 1t may be
said, she could not toll--she was enclosed
behind bars-she would not have been
Credited-she was unprotected, i&c, I ap.
peal TO every lady and gentleman who has
acquaintance with our converts, 10 al
most every one who has gone even as a
casual visitor, whether any vlrluous
woman could not on such occasions have
made known her unfortunate position
among such vile companions. This leo.
turer was teaching numbers Of children,
any one Of whom could have taken let.
ter to the office to notify her relatives,
But let the public reflect that Edith
O'GOrman neEer was the inmate Of nun.
merry. lrshe so pretends, It would DO but
necessary TO inquire whereof to obtain
evidence ofthe imposture. She was with
the Sisters Of Charity, whose duties 70.
semble those Of the Sisters of st. Joseph
among ourselves. They are not what
Catholics call clustered religious or Nuns.
They are seen on the streets frequently
going to and from their schools, visiting
the sick, attending TO the business Of the
community. What sane man would
doubt the ability Of these to leave com.
munity with which they were dissatis.
tfieds Every man would stand up as
their defender. Every house would afford
q shelter. The civil authorities would
protect. And the moment her testi.
mony Of the infamies detailed by Edith
OGorman were given, the law would take
charge of the guilty, and for Catholics,
they would be the loudest in ..denouncing
the hypocrites. Her lectures and the let.
tiers published as hers are in striking con.
trast and well worth little study.
When all these things are weighed by
honest minds, the value Of Edith O'Gor-
mans testimony becomes small indeed.
But what's to be thought Of the effrontery
OF woman who testifies that there were
good persons living in such a state Could
not such have been summoned to sustain
her testimony against the wicked? Or
was she alone fortunate or unfortunate
enough ITO be about when the iniamies
were perpetratedH ..
3D.. On this last inquiry depends anoth-
er, which the lawyers must answer. Is
not one, cognizant Of repeated acts OF muir
der, amenable as pdrticeps cyiminis9 And
II in explanation 1t Is said there was
insufficient evidence on which to rest an
accusation at law, or even institute an in
quiry, is there enough weighing the
whole testimony even 10 tarnish the fair
fame OF any? Catholics understand well
the motives and the value OF the accuse
tons thus made against those OF whose
bright virtues they feel indeed proud, for
they knOo them. Catholic voices by mil
lions, and everywhere are raised in their
defence; and II the testimony Of such, as
Edith O'Gorman describes herselfto BE-, i'm.
presses any one, We find comfort in the
wisdom of the old proverb: "One is very
apt to judge ones neighbor by ones self"
This explains in measure the readiness
10 attend such lectures. There are even
people who thoughtlessly enough main.
tain the impossibility Of continued CONT
nence, arousing suspicious in respect to
their own purity. Such an idea Of human
| htAtuAS oSShAoi III uutn " uuNo uccu Ca
pressed in the lecture and is very sug-
gestive.
4th. Religion and its ministers are mix.
cd up with this attack on the Catholic
church, and its institutions, and its cher
lshed members. How like the attack on
tho poor delenceless servant girls, falsely
charging them with baseness and with
crime, and imperiling their very means Of
subsistence. Readers will not fail to note
the condolences. What departure from
tho beautiful requirements Of charity as
detailed by st. Paul in his LIST Epist. TO
the Cor. 18th chap, without which, he
says, all else is nothing. "Chartty is kind
IN. thinketh no evil reioiceth
not in iniquity." What is to be thought
ola system or sect needing such support
as that which has given occasion 10 these
reflections. The words of more than one
OF the ministry sufficiently attest the pur-
pose Of the Escaped Nuns lecture.
- .H JUSTICE.
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