The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1888-06-29
A late number OF Chicago paper has il

following straight out talk:
| An effort has been made to secure an or
dinance from the Chicago city council pro-
viding that no saloon should be located
| within two hundred feet of "a church OF
school and to compel the saloons TO close on
Sunday. The Protestant ministers led the
movement and secured ten thousand names
to a petition asking these sfavors.' The
petition was received by the council with
shouts of derision. But the Roman Cath
Ollie clergy stepped into the fray rather un-
expectedly, and the scene changed. They
demanded the passage of the ordinance and
such tumbling into line was never seen
before in an aldermanic body. It Is prob.
able that the ordinance will be passed be-
fore this reaches the eye of the reader. And
now we can already hear complaints about
the great influence that the Roman Catholic
church yields in politics. Well, why does
not the Protestant church WELD like in
fluence? Why does a>city legislative body
laugh at the petition of Protestants and
tremble at the petition of Catholics? We
will tell you. A Protestant petition means
nothing or at least never has meant any
thing. The Protestants buster around
until election day and then Scatter like an
old fashioned gun. There is no union at
the polls. Part of them will march up bold.
~ to the ballot box and vote for the very
men who insulted them: and part of them
will leave the church if there is an effort to
induce them to vote thy.kingdon-come
because they say that the church has no
business In politics. If the church is not
for the triumph of the right everywhere we
sadly misconceive its mission. The pol
itician understands this. He knows that if
he favors the appeal of the church the
church will help slaughter him.
But when the Roman Catholic church
starts out il means business, and these al
dermen will find crushing influence at the
polls if they fail to comply with the request
that has been made up. Not long since
priest at the stock yards in this city read
before his congregation list of his mem
bers who had signed petition to grant Ii
censes near the church. He commented
upon every name that was read. Some of
the signers received severe denunciation;
some were kindly advised. Suppose a
Protestant minister had done that sort of
thing. His pulpit would have been vacant
in week, and likely the church would
have been broken up. Very near this
Catholic church Protestant minister truth
fully charged some of his members with
friendliness &c the liquor traffic, and the
church was split in two and the minister
driven from the town. He is now in Con.
necticut where it is to be hoped that his
people can stand the truth.
Whenever the people rise to plane
where they can hear the truth If it does cut,
and will act together upon the truth, we
shall have no difficulty in influencing pol
iticians and correcting evils. Unity of pur-
pose is what Is needed. Boldness in adyo.
cacy and In listening to the truth is what
We need 10 train ourselves in; and one of the
strangest things is, that VIII lie we know that
union of effort is always the way to success,
We hold off and sometimes fight among our
selves. Good people far outnlmber the bad
people, but the trouble is that while the bad
people are solidIy united, the good people
are split up into little knobs and parties and
working at cross purposes. There is scarcely
a newspaper in thousand that dares tell
the truth. There is not an unflinchingly
truth-telling newspaper in the land that is
not constantly receiving letters from those
who do rot want to hear the Truth. The
wishy.washy, -committal or lying news.
paper never has any trouble of this kind.
The one never does anything to startle any
body and the other circulates only among
those who want certain things said, whether
they are true or false.