New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1873-10-26

before long cathedral begins slowly t
| rise above the houses of the town. Ant
they know we'll the virtue of holding land
At the very beginning Of a new enterprise
they are apt to 60 for large piece Ut land
with room enough, sometimes, tor centurie!
OF growth. The seventeen Protestant
| churches look on and shake their heads
and growl, and forbode evil in the
future; but while they are doing 80 the
priests keep on quietly converting servant
| girls pennies and dollars into we'll situated
lots and solid masonry. Already in some Of
our cities the property belonging to the
| Catholic Church ia immense. In st. Louis
IT is computed at twenty millions, and in
! New York, say within ten miles of the City
Hall, | should suppose their property would
| be valued by just tax commissioners at not
I less than eighty Mullins. Far be it from me
! to blame the Catholics for pushing the in
| terests of their church with so much enter
| prise, energy and tact. Their conduct is
| just what their belief demands of them.
! They could not be good Catholics if they
did not regard the spread of the Catholic
Church as the chief interest OF man. But
| the question for US to cOnsider-fOr US who
are American citizens frst and everything
else seconds, whether it is beat, and safe
and right that they should go on thus ab-
sorbing the property of the country. Look
abroad. In Sicily, Italy, Spain, Mexico,
Peru-in most Catholic cOuntries-wher-
ever you see ar ediice or groups OF edifices
that overwhelms the mind with wonder
either for its magnitude or its maguifcenoe,
you may be sure that it is ecclesiastical.
The peOple-man, sacred man, to US the
most sacred object in the universe-grovels
in huts and wallows in dirt, in order that
the inanimate God whom he adores may
dwell in lofty temples, and glisten with
beautiful gems. 1t is a sorry sight tore
God, sorry sight May this portion of
America never witness it. At the begin
ming of the French revolution, which was
the most benehcent explosion that history
records, two acres out Of every. five in all
France belonged to the church. And the
church was so good Judge of land that, in
a large number of parishes, the church's
two acres were worth more than the
peoples three. France was then in con-
dit,on similar to that of England before
Henry VIII. broke up the ecclesiastical in.
situations and secularized their property,
that is, stopped exempting it from tax.
alton: Now, there are but two con-
OF Catholic property can be kept within
safe, Just and reasonable bounds in the
United States. and the country be saved
from the necessity of a Henry VIII. or a
French revolution. One is by destroying
popular faith in the fictions upon which the |
external part of the Catholic system rests. |
But this will be slow process. It can |
only result from the gradual advance of |
our race in knowledge, health, happiness, |
dignity and courage. And it will oe the !
more slow because large numbers of the !
Protestants still adhere to several of the
grosser and less picturesque of these tic- |
tons. But the other method is simply to
tax all ecclesiastical property as other |
property IL taxed. Let every tub stand |
upon its own bottom. Let all the property, |
! repeat. which the State protects pay its
lust proportion to the States support
Themselves, if they will study the
past. can not intelligently object to this
measure, because it would supply the great
lack in their system. Viewed merely as
an organization, the Roman Catholic |
church has only one serious defect-there
s 40 provision IN it against its excess
'ive development. Hence we find in the
,ities of the south of Europe and of
south America such swarms of ecclesiastics,
such masses of ecclesiastical property, that
Catholics themselves, devout and faithful
catholics, are among the foremost in urging
reduction of the ecclesiastical orders |
There Is only one just and sure mode of
proceeding III this matter. 1t is to add
very portion of the Churchs estate to the
ak list. ! large portion of what religion |
Includes may be fairly classed under the
oaA VA ihAOi duu NUO Will utuV l0lL |
uxurles are fair objects of taxation In |
eligion, as III common life, there is the
read and meat, and there is also the turtle |
nd the champagne; there is the poor mans |
ustlan and the rich lady's velvet Con-
.der our Trinity church, for example. SO |
leasing al object to us all, at the head of |
all street. a few years ago the attend
nee at this costly temple on Sunday was SO
mall that you might have safely tried Car
q MIC nj
hurch, in at one window and out at an
.her, without much danger of hitting a
hrist1an. OF late years, on the contrary '
Is often we'll attended and sometimes | l
'owded. l once asked the clergyman in I
large OF the church, the late lamented DR.. s
lnton-a genla! soul-what he thought {
as the reason of this remarkable In a
e, ease IN the congregation. His robust
I'D honest answer was this: 1.-The | d
essing OF God on good music" They t
ave, as you know, very fine organ, Q
ghly accomplished organist, choir of n
ghly trained men and boys to sing, an S
chestra OF stringed and wind Instruments, v
beautiful chime Of bells, and several cler- k
men trained to chant the service in har- a
ony with the mus c. suppose the entire a
.rtorInance can not cost less than $1,000 ii
lnday. have enjoyed it once or twice t
'ry much. and always recommend friends T
sting the city by no means to overlook
Is Interesting lion. Nay, more. honor
g prlncip.e of employing the fine arts in =.
e most elevated act Of the human mind. :.
1t devoiyed upon me TO create a church. =
service: should be in part the mos: mag. y
hcen: exhibition Of all that man has ever :"
co,nplished in the way Of architecture. -
hitting. sculpture, poetry AID e!oqueIce, -
: one CT my main objects should be to
alt and glorlty man. But never would !
pple and degrade my church by putting o.
on the tree list, by throwing any part OF u
burden of supporting it upon fellow. I'd
liens who cherish perhaps the mos. op. OF
site Ideas. who would hold in contempt u
aversion all the splendors Of my temple. o:
eferrlng plain benches, walls unadorues. he
merry camp meeting hymns. "
Now, i'll the way of music. the greatest ~
netactors the people OF the United States -,
We ever known. next to the great Euro. VI
an composers. are such men as Theodore ",
omas, Max Maretzek, Carl Zerrahn, and ut
lers Of their class. They do more in any | 90
Elk OF their lives to promote among us a -:
e OF good music than Trinity church has =. -,
n accomplished during the whole period
ts existence: and this they have done in a,
most legitimate and honorable way. as r..
II chosen mode OF earning their iiveli. n.
I'd. But these gentltmen are taxed every III III
e they lift their batons.. Every hall and t siu
ra house. in which they perform is ~ ~
ed. Surely. it any musician should be Tn
mpt. it should not De the clergy and Or. t nv
stra OF Trinity church, the servants Of a ~
/ corporation. but Thomas, Maretzek a nc
Zerrahn, who minister to TIE enjoy sta
ut snd elevate the taste OF millions of u ~.
If feIlow-eitizens every year. How ~ ~
Willy rests the burden Of life upon the ne
ulders. and upon the heart. too. of an se'
rage citizen and yirtuous father of a ~
lily j.! For ten years he tolls and saves. we we
ying himself many alluring enjoyments "a
rider that he may make first payment n pe,