The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1875-10-08

a
Hecker, in New York, said, ''The Cath
olic Church numbers one-third the
American population, and if its member
ship shall increase for the next thirty
years as it has for the thirty years past,
in 1900 Rome will have a majority and
be bound to take this country, and keep
it. There is to be ere long State relig-
ion in this country, and that State re-
ligion is to be Roman Catholic" This
was said in 1870
Now, this to some may be regarded as
mere braggadocia, there is no danger of
such a thing happening. There is dan
ger. Listen to what Father Gerdemann,
the ex-priest of Philadelphia, said i'll lis
lecture in the Horticultural Hall of this
city: Rome and its emissaries would
like to control this country. In fact,
they will attempt TO rule it. When l
saw the parade on st. Patrick's day in
'73 and IA, was standing along side of
Bishop Wood in the second story of his
residence. How delighted he was with
the display of their great numbers. That
will show the Americans how many vo-
tiers we have now, and how many fight
ing men we will command when the
fight commences, aid commence it will
On the school question, +" said, repeat
edly."
''The Pope denounces and condemns
the very cornerstone of our republic
liberty of conscience" "Only de-
fend the great palladium of American
liberty, the free press, the free school,
and the free Church, and never fear that
the Catholic Church will become pow
er in Americe." But just in this is the
danger Itoo many Protestants are indif-
ferent, and asleep, and are not appre-
hensive of danger, and while we are say
ing there is no danger, our foes are pre-
pairing to destroy our liberties, and are
arming for the conflict; and unless
Protestants speedily arouse themselves,
and stand up for and defend their rights
and hurl back the encroaching tide of
Romanizing influence which isso alarm
ingly threatening us, it will soon be too
late, The FreedmGn'S Journal, a lead
ing Catholic paper of New York, says,
"We demand of the State, as our right,
either such schools as our Church will
accept, or exemption from the school
tax. If it will support schools by gen
eral tax, we demand that it provide, or
give us our portion of the public funds
and leave us to provide schools in our
own religion, under the supervision of
our own Church. We hold education to
be O function of the Church, not of the
State, and in our case we do not and will
not accept the State as an educator"
The Catholic Telegraph says, 'It will be
a glorious day for Catholics in this
country, when under the laws of justice
and morality, our school system shall be
shivered to pieces. Until then modern
paganism will triumph" These men
mean what they say, they know what
they are doing, and are in dead earnest,
and capable of anything murder not
excepted. Be not deceived; what the
Catholic Church has done in the name
of religion and for the interest of the
Church, she is ready to do again, as soon
as a convenient opportunity shall pre-
sent itself. The danger is very threat
ening, the enemy is at our doors in a
defiannt, menacing and armed attitude,
their works are carried on in secret, they
are already preparing for bloody strng-
gle, they are expecting it, and it may be
flung on to us, at some midnight hour,
like the Bartholomew massacre in Paris,
when we are undefended and unprepar-
God avert such a calamity?
Seeing then that we are surrounded
with such treacherous and malicious
foes, who are threatening to destroy our
civil and religious liberties, what is our
duty as'true Protestantsa and loyal Amer
lean citizens under such circumstances?
Shall we sit still, look on, and do moth
ing? Shall we suffer our enemies to en-
ter Gods heritage, and tread it down
and destroy it? Is there nothing we can
do? Stall we play the coward, and be
truant to our Protestant principles, and
our Christian duties? Or shall we not
boldly and bravely accept the challenge
thrown down to us by our enemies, and
earnestly contend for the faith for which
our fathers suffered and bled2 We can
not DO less, to prove ourselves the
worthy sons and successors of such hero
ic sires. We would exercise proper toll
Grafton to all, and allow our Catholic
fellow-citizens to worship God in their
way, and according to their conscien-
tious belief, and grant to them the same
privileges as we claim for ourselves, but
they must not be allowed to interfere
with our government and national in
Stitutions. Hands must be kept off here.
AS soon as they begin as combined
party in order to rule politics, and to
change and destroy our laws and liber-
ties, and to undermine our sacred insti
tuition and to frame laws for their spec
iaI and exclusive benefit and and ag-
grandizement, then it becomes the im-
peratiye duty of every Protestant, no
matter to what political party lie may
4A I, alf 4 fDv
ward to the contest, and say to those
willy and intriguing priests in language
that cannot be misunderstood, $50 far
thou canst go and not farther; it is at
your risk to stir another step in that
direction.
We know something of these priests,
and history furnishes us with sufficient
proof of their mischievous doings in the
old countries to trust them here. The
same spirit o. agitation, persecution and
intolerance exists here that has always
existed in the Papacy, and the same con-
sequences will result if we suffer them,
by our apathy and Indifference, to rise to
power in this land. The same spirit that
the European governments are to day
graphing with, and that rests like the
nightmare on the body polite, and
which Bismarck and Gladstone are throt
Ting with their giant grip, is here in our
midst; shall we allow these plotters
against governments to come among us
as a disturbing element, and as foreign
ers. to try to take this country and gov
ernment for the Pope of Rome2 Shall
we suffer the same deeds to be perpe-
trated here, on the soil of liberty, that
have been done in Catholic Mexico and
South Americal Shall we submit to have
the doings of the Spanish Inquisition re
peated before our eyes, in this lovely
Protestant land, end our religious gath
erings for worship broken up by Catho-
lie mobs, urged on to their frantic work
by the fulminations of bigoted and dis
sipated priests2 No, so long as there Is
Il God i'll heaven to help. and to hear and
answer prayer, we will pray God to give
us strength'a and courage to hurl back the
encroaching power OF o9r adversaries.-
And for aught l know to the contrary,
God will send confusion into their camp,
as he did into the camp of the Midian-
ties before Gideon and his handful of
brave men, or as he did strike terror in
70 the camp of the Philistines before JON
athan and his armor-bearer, or else he
may choose to send destroying angel
into their camp, as he did when he de-
stroyed the menacing and blasphemous
army of Assyria, under King Sennaeh-
crib; or overwhelm them as he did Pha-
raoh and his host, in the Red Sea. Yet.
at the same time, we must stand armed
and ready for God to use us when and
where he wants US. Protestants must
be united; our enemies have taught us a