Waterbury evening Democrat., 1890-04-21
DEMANDING THE cArnoLIt..

The old gentleman has ssHot lem again" thls time badly. In fact they have broke out all over, and the news paper readers of the city fear that, if they strike in they will cause the disso- lution of the aforesaid old gentleman. A premature shuffling of of the mortal coil of the old gentleman is not a consul nation devOutly to be wished, because an expectant public should not be cheat ed out of prospective hilarlty, even by the cold and clammy hand of death. Of course grim death is no respecter of persons, but am of the opinion that the old gentleman should be permitted to cucumber this mundane sphere for yet while, were it only to discharge the only mission to him, namely to show how meagre is the sum of his knowledge and how fierce his hate.
 Yes, there is no doubt of it, they have broken out. What the result will be is not given to man to forecast. Attacks of this kind are better withstood in youth, there is a chance to grow out of them. Sometimes old age brings sense, sometimes it does not. When it does not you will invariably find the old gen. tleman destitute of sense, rushing in where angels feet fear to tread It is a sad spectacle I grant you, but in the classic words of our old gentleman's Co., religi onists: "What are you going to do about it ?''
 The old gentleman has got beyond the reach of reason and acknowledges neither kith nor kin with intelligence. You see, the old ladies with nice gray curls hanging down the sldes of their be set aside. They must be ole, ed and promptly, or they will know the reason why. They are born missionaries, always attending to other peoples business, hence the eruption above referred to- l do not wish you to imagine that I have reference to Vesuvius or Aetna, I refer to the "cacoethes loquendi," in other words, to the itch for talking,
 The comical side to MT Elsdon's dis course is, that he did it all alone by him. self, this is quite evident. The absence Good judgment in the selection of ma terials was not exercised. It is plain that the discourse was hurriedly pre- pared, and this may in a measure &C., count for it's ascerbity, but even undue hate should not utterly exclude intelli- gence. However, we should not be too particular in matters of this kind, nor too fastidious in our tastes.
 Before entering into a discussion of the Rev Mir Elsdon's charges I desire to state that am not Catholic and hence " to the Roman communion. I write sole ly in the interests of fair play and in protest against bigotry, that finds its ex- pression in abuse and islander. I believe that am as we'll acquainted with Catho- lie literature as those who earn a pre- carious livelyhood by periodical exhibi- tions of hatred towards their neighbors, and therefore as fully competent to speak on other side. know that the Jesiuts, DprhanS tho infa1lont,,o1 0F men in the world, do not control the Catholic church, but on the contrary are controlled by it; that they are simply a society in the church, whose labors are consecrated to the spreading. of educa- ton and the salvation of souls. A friend of mine who is competent to speak in formed me that the terrible Jesuits actu- ally laugh heartily at the harmless filings of the Protestant clergy against them. de tells me, moreover. that the, Jesuits are envied on account of the manner in which they are assailed. For myself, I am of the opinion that the senseless op- position to them is their highest com mendation. MT .Elsdon, adopting the methods of the school in which he was trained, indulges in the elegant and scholarly pastime of calling names. He playfully alludes to the Jesuits as crafty, bloody" ""unscrupulous, etc. From the narrow standpoint of Baptist clergyman, this is no doubt argument, and possibly christianity, but I think that in an intelligent community, such methods of discussion will be branded as they deserve. Rev Mir Elsdon is re- ported to have quoted from Catholic ny mns to disprove an assertion of A1ch- bishop Ryan that Catholics do not exalt the Virgin Mary to position equal to that of her son. It is unfortunate that the quotations are not given, that we might judge of their value. However. considering the source, have no hesita. tion in saying that the quotations analysis. After strict inquiry and careful examination of Catholic hymn books, have failed to find even one line in any way approaching the teaching that the Virgin Mary is equal to her son. pronounce the statement an unqualified islander on the Catholic church. This morning asked a num- Der of Catholic school children if they ever either in school or church heard such teaching, all answered in the mega tive. l sincerely believe that a we'll in- structed Catholic child knows more of the teachings of the gospel. the doctrines of christianity, than many who are li- censed to teach, especially those who have graduated into city pulpits from the rural districts.
 Then there is the book, 'The Secret Instructions of the Jesuit Will MT Elsdon kindly tell me who is it's author. and who are the publishers. can then form an adequate idea of the character of the work. I suspect it is on par with "The Key to Popery," ".The Disclo sures of Nara Monk, :" and filthy Fulton's books. All of this class of literature has one capital service in the cause MT ELS don has so much at heart, the sowing of the seeds of hate, and they will be used as long as there is an Elsdon, a Cook or a Fulton.
 There are other matters in MT Elsdon's discourse that I will leave for another time. will new refer to one more point. Not being Catholic,I I know no more of the practical workings of the confession al than does MT Elsdon, know this, however, that among the best and