Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-10-08
Father Ryan on the North.

Letter to tie Nelo orleans Times Democrat.
Indeed, in the material order. Boston.
and the North in general, are fifty wears
ahead Of the South. Prosperity smiles on
you everywhere. Everybody seems to be
in hurry. Tney talk fast, walk fast,
make money fast-sOmetimes lose il fast.
but just as fast recover from its loss.
Ihelr mama IS no longer politics
it is money mania They have no
time for politics and ITS talk and
troubles and tOrtuOus workings. save a
month or SO before the election. But if i'm
material prosperity these Northern people
are 50 far in advance of the South. they
are behind them in Il religious point of
view. Among members of all churches.
and even here and there among subjects
of the Catholic Church, you will find a
growth of materialistic opinion and very
much sO-called freethinking. a great
deal of real and practical
ntidelity, and here and there
downright, if not an upright, atheist.
lngersoll has a large following. Young
men 90 as far as the front of the churches
just before service closes to look at the
ladies and escort them home; and there
are thousands there who have never
passed the threshold of a church. | met
young lady only i'll her teens. who told
me she was an atheist. Yet, side bv side
with the darker aspect of the religious
condition of things, there is a brighter
side of the picture. | staId with the Je-
suits, and as they keep records of the
spiritual condition of their churches |
was informed that in their church alone
$4,000 received communion during the
year.
Once ! read in some Southern paper-it
occurs to me it was in New Orleans-a
rebuke to the people for their loose OBJ
serYance, nOn-ObSerYance of SundaV-and
the model sunday presented to their imi-
tatiOn was an AnglO-SaXOn or "a New
England Sabbath. Well, when | was i'm
England ] saw the observance of those
Sundays-one in Liverpool, one in Lon
don, and Easter Sunday in Manchester.
The churches were empty and the people
were at home or had guns on eX.
cursiOns to enjoy themselves. One sun
day, while | was i'll Boston. one of the
Journals next day gave statistics in regard
to Sunday observance, and stated that on
boats and railroads 10000 people had
gone off to enjoy themselves in the neigh
boring towns and in pleasure resorts. and
that about 10000 more went to spend their
Sunday in gardens, parks, and other places
of enjoyment. | do not write this for the
purpose OF drawing inyidious compari-
sons. but merely TO show that NOWADAYS
a New England sunday is very much
like Il New Orleans Sunday. As long as
any class of people confines public re-
ligiOus service to one or two
days in the week, can readily
that they, like some of
old, who blamed our Lord and His
disciples for conduct unbecOming the Sab
bath, should hold and advocate eXagger-
ated opinions in regard to Sunday Obliga-
tiOns. Nor is itmy purpose to blame them
for such opinions, for it is clearly none Of
my business. If all the churches had
daily services, 50 that every day would be
i'll a way-as it is in the Catholic Church
"A quiet weekday Sunday. it seems TO
me that they would take the same lenient
view OF the Sabbath. as they call it. eX-
pressed by Christ, when he SAID: The
Sabbath was made for man-not man for
the Sahhath."