The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1889-06-08
A SHOT FROM COURT BERGEN
FINANCIAL SECRETARY R. A, sIB-
BALD JUMPS ON MIR. O'MEALIA.

Il ssnnb1fnv an Issue in the Dispute
Among the Foresters? - Bitter Ar
raignment of the Secession MovementC
The Colored Brother Is Only a Blind
Editor of the Jersey City NcWs:-
Mr.. j. F. O'Mealia's dissertation on the
teachings of Ancient Forestry and the
causes of the secession of the majority OF
the courts of the United States I had al
most said American COURTS is a most
amusing document. He proceeds to teal
Court Bergen to pieces, to hold us up 70
public derision as an assemblage OF dema-
gogues and bigots; HI points the finger OF
scorn at us and tearfully informs the pub
lie that we are incorrigiDle, and says That
he has personal knowledge that we are
preyaricators and idiots. How badly we
teell
The strong point of Mr.. O'Mealia's ar
gument is that. although Court bergen -
one of the oldest courts IN 11uuson
county every other one of the twenty OF
more courts in the county has double q
treble or uuadruple Jul number, anu tnaI
consequently we must be in the wrong.
A very ingenious argument, q Wortny
of the mind where it was formulated.
Court Bergen never made a practlce Oh
offering a $50 gold medal to the member
who proposed the largest number OF candl
dates for membership in a given time, ana
consequently our members were not SUI
ficiently interested to swell our ranks
with graduates of the County institutions
at Snake Hill and the State college" at
Trenton. We never initiated II mem
bers of the Henderson street gang" nor
did we go into the highways and byways
seeking whom we might deyour. Our
members did not do picket duty outside
the gates of Snake Hill, waiting for can
didates' who were of "a moral character
and eligible to become members o. the
Ancient Order of Foresters." We did not
have any desire to take in " GROWER
gangs" Consequently we do not number
800 or 600 members on our roster. ).
What we do require is that a man shall
be a believer in God, of good moral char-
acter, sober, upright and conscientious.
We do not debar a man on account of his
religion or nationality, Notwithstanding
Mr., O'Mealia's personal knowledge" 10
the contrary. He knows perfectly well
that we nave Catholics in u court, ana
they are among our best members. l can
inform Mr.. O'Mealia that no Catholic was
ever rejected in our court on account OF
his religion, except one, and that was
upon his own unsolicited declaration that
on his death bed he would renounce For
estrv in order to obtain final abSolu-
tom
MI. Allardice is right in his assertion
that Dublin is an issue. A very large per
centage of the seeding Foresters are AM,
mated by hatred of England. The colored
mar is made the s%capegoat in order that
the seceders may carry with them thelr
wayering American brethren. Anne
can patriotism" is appealed to, and the
wool is pulled over the eyes of the Amer,
can lamb beautifully. After August nex
he will wake up and find himself nomln'
IL. - - v1o,foon Ordor Of E0TnGfprS
but actually in a sort of Clan-na-Gael or
Fenian Society, if the moving spirits in
this instruction carry their point. The
.'lambs'' are not all asleep, however, for
Court Bergen is receiving ember from
the seeding courts each meeting, not
w~ithstanding the fact that we are u
grievous sinners.
As for our not understanding the effect
of the action we took, wereally feel highly
complimented at Mr.. O5Mealia'S tribute
to our intelligence. Mr.. O'Mealia was
kind enough, unsolicited, to visit Court
Bergen last fall and explain very fully
to us what the trouble was, and a good
deal of what wasn't the trouble, and | be
lieye that, If his explanation of the case tx
his court is the same that he gave to us
his court has a very haZy idea as to whal
the trouble is all about. His speech hat
the effect in our court of making thu
faltering few fall into line, and thus Courl
BergenSS QeclaraClOu OIL dlleElduCe W Ult
true principles Of Forestry became unani
nous.
Court Bergen does not propose to have
Mr.. O'Mealia for its Forestic Moses
neither does it seek to have Court Jersey
City, or any other court, for it's pillar O
cloud by day and its pillar of fire by night
to lead 1t into a wilderness of which il
knows and seeks to know nothing.
Yours, etc, ROBERT A. SIBBALD,
Fin. Sec. Court Bergen.