The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1875-09-09
The Alliance" between
the Catholic Priests and
The Ohio Democracy.

the CdCnOIiC Fri6SCS ant
The Ohio Democracy.
The Hillsboro Gazette of last wee
says:
There are lot of political knave
perambulating the State, setting fortl
that there exists an alliance between
the Democracy and the leaders of tn
Catholic Church, to secure q division
, of the Common School fund"
Well, if the fact of "an alliance
, between the leaders of the Democratic
party and the Catholic priesthood il
not absolutely proved, there is Ger
. tainly strong chain of circumstan
tial evidence, pointing towards sucl
a conclusion, and that the object o.
at least one of the parties to the ALI
ance (the Romish priesthood) is the
division of the School fund and the
destruction of the School system, is
fact too well known to every intel
ligent reader, to be denied even by
the Gazette.
Let us refer briefly to some of the
evidence in the case.
/ 1st. There is the celebrated letter
of Mr.. J. J. Geghan, Catholic mem
Der of the Legislature from Hamil-
ton county, who introduced the now
famous "Geghan bill'' into that body
last winter. While the bill was still
pending, and some doubts existed as
to its passage, Mr.. Geghan wrote to
his friend J. W. Murphy, of Cincin-
natl, a most remarkable letter, which
Mr.. Murphy had published in the
Catholic Telegraph, and thus made
it a part of the history of the times.
In this letter Mr. Geghan said:
'We have prior claim upon the
Democratic party. THE elements com
posing the Democratic party in Ohio
to-day-tHlly tsoo-thirds Of that par
ty-dre made up Of Irish and Ger
man Catholics, and they have always
been loyal and faithful to the inter
ests of the party. Hence the party
is under obligations to us, and we
have perfect right to demand of
them as party, inasmuch as they are
in control OF the State Legislature
and State Government, and we by
both our means and votes placed them
where they are to-day, they should,
as a party, redress our grievances.
"The Democratic party has pan
dered to the interest of the whisky
dealers by repeating the Adair law,
thereby gaining about 10000 votes.
Let us see if they will pay attention
to a demand Gust and equitable)
coming from $4,000 citizens belong
ing to their party. ]. J. GEeHAN."
I'd. Mr.. Curtis, Columbus cores
pondent of the Cincinnati Times,
states that while the Geghan bill was
pending,
"the Holy Fathers of the Romish
Church haunted the Legislative halls,
buzzed members at their rooms, met
them on the streets, and almost be-
came their shadows day after day"
Mr.. Curtis further states, that he
recently met in Columbus Demo
cratic member of the last Legislature
who is Protestant, and who told
him that during the tendency of the
Geghan bill last winter, a prominent
Catholic priest came into the Senate
chamber one evening, when several
Democratic members were discussing
the measure among themselves. The
priest Immediately asked them what
were the prospects of the bill pass
ing. Then followed this scene:
"One of our party remarked that
he thought, as several Democratic
members were kicking about being
pushed to vote for any measure that
was being lobbied by Catholic priests,
the passage of the bill was not sure
thing. At this the Holy Father, with
out any further words, suddenly be-
came enraged, and fumed and fretted
about like a country stallion at a
county fair. After he had walked
little of his passion of, he came back
to us, and in tones of bitterness re-
ferred to what the Catholic church
had done for the Democratic party,
and this too without single favor in
return. Clenching one hand, the
priest struck the desk in front of him
and said; 1 am tired Of this plead
ing, this begging TOR taoors from til
Democratic panty, and IU do no
more Of 1t. No,o, gentlemen, IshaU
not ask yOu again to pass this bill
tor as, but on the other hand, 7 DARE |
YOU TO VOTE AGAINST IT. ri
that bill IS not passed before this ses-
sion closes, SO help me God, priest as
1 am. aoiU take the stump neat fall
against the Democratic party! Noao
KILL THIS BILL II YOU DARE!"
and with this the prie walked off in
wrath.
"This threat (said the member re-
ferred toy had its effect, for when the
bill came up for passage all the Dem
ocratic Senators were on hand and
voted like automatons for the bill,
save one, who had to be brought from
a real or shamming sick bed by q po-
liceman, to record his vote for this
unnecessary and unwise measure"
Sd. Immediately after the publ
cation of Mr. Geghan's letter above
quoted, the Catholic Telegraph, un-
der the immediate control of Arch
bishop Purcell, declared as follows:
''Tae political party with which
nine tenthS of the Catholic yotars af