The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-07-01
PLAN OF CONQUEST.
Herr Cahensley's Scheme Out
lined to the Holy See.
TO STRENGTHEN THE CHURCH.
Spiritual welfare OF Foreigners Para
mount to American Institutions
Public schools Condemned.

Copyrighted, 1891. COPIES of the full
text OF the second memorial presented by
Herr Cahensley to the papal secretary OF
state have been put into circulation. The
greatest importance attaches to the me-
mortal. If, as it IS hoped, the holy see
can be induced TO follow out the recon-
mendations and appoint a large number
of German clergymen as bishop. in. the
United States. German influence across
the Atlantic will be vastly increased, and
it will rebound directly to the growth of
the influence of the German government
in American affairs. Cahensley, indeed,
appeals for aid. to other foreign govern
ments-Austria, Italy, Spain and Canada
| promising them in return due share of
the prestige which viii come from divis-
ion OF the episcopal sees of America
among the representatives of the different
classes of immigrants. 1t is felt here,
nevertheless, that the lions share will fall
10 Germany.
The war on the Irish bishops in America
will be prosecuted with vigor and it viii
be no fault of Herr Cahensley if he fails.
The memorial gives statistics showing that
400, 469 Catholics left Europe for America
in 1889. Of this number 16s. 900 went to
the United States. The latter country
also received thousand of emigrants from
other governments of Latin-America.
Calculations based upon authoritative sta
tistics indicated that the Catholic emil
grants and children ought to constitute in
the United States Catholic population of
5000, 600, but the fact is that the number
OF Catholics in this vast country scarcely
exceeds 100000. Catholicity, therefore,
has up to the present date sustained a loss
of 16, 100000 in the great American repub-
lie. The memorial assigns the fol-
lowing causes for this falling
of: Lack of sufficient protection
for emigrants on arrival in America. etc.
insufficiency of priests and parishes of
their own for the different nationalities of
emigrants; pecuniary sacrifice, often ex-
orbitant, exacted of the faithful; public
schools; insufficiency of societies (Catho-
lic), and national associations of mutual
aid. ETC., for the laboring classes; want of
different representatives of different ma
tionalities of emigrants in the episcopates.
Each of these heads are dilated on at
length. 1t is strenuously urged that high
protection of the holy see is indespensa-
BILE to the ST. Raphael societies from which
immigration takes place and TO which it
| Is directed. 1t is of the utmost importance
that every nationality should have priests,
| not only able TO speak the language of THAT
nationality, but to be of the same nation
mo doubt" says the memorial. sin
the course of years emigrants come to
| speak English; but to have to wait until
| they have learned that language before
having them practice their religion is to
| run the risk of finding them no longer dis
| posed to live after the Christian fashion"
4 A. - L. - II -
language of the fatheriand cannot be kept
beyond the second generation and that
the third will certainly speak nothing but
| English, the memorial triumphantly cites
the French in Louisiana, the Germans in
the various sections of America and the
| Canadian-French in objection to this
| opinion.
| The memorial says that 'sto American
ize oneself is first and above all accent
and respect the right recognized by the
constitution of every nationality to retain
| its religion, its language, its character and
| the like. To want these nationalities to
forget their languages and country in or
/ der to Americanize themselves is to pursue
work directly opposed to the constitu-
ton. 1t belongs peculiarly to every ma
tionality to take the initiative in the mat
ter of AmericaniZing itself, and il would
be gross pretension were any particular
nationality to arrogate to itself the mis-
sion of Americanizing others
Touching the American public schools,
the memorial says their organization il
such as 10 lead to carelessness in church
duties. The organization of beneficiary
and other societies is believed to be dan
gerous TO the Catholics for they cause a
regulation of the lives of members without
any consideration of religious duties
Much space is then devoted to rho
subject of bishops of the great nation
alities, stress being laid upon the great in
fluence of bishops, and it is said that the
bishops who are strangers TO the charac-
ter, habits and customs of other nations
cannot, in the required measure, despite
their virtues. knowledge and zeal, appre-
ciate and effectually attend TO the wants
of those nations. Again, harmony and
concord between different nationaIities
are affected by this question. If the
episcopates be handed over almost exclus-
lively TO one single nationalit V, to the det
riment of others, feeling of dissatisfac-
ton is created, which assumes the pronor-
tons of jealous national rivalry. The
sole and only way TO attain harmony and
concord in the church of the United States
is to give every one of these nations bish-
ops of their own. The memorial saws there
is no question of demanding division Of
dioceses according to nationaiities. What
is wanted is that bishops of different
nations will be represented in this
manner. The church of the United States
being composed of such different nations
will have a character of uniyersality like
that of a nation itself Moreover. saws the
memorial, this question affects the inter
ests of the countries from which emigra-
ton takes place. Through their emigrants
the nations are acquiring in the great re-
public an influence and Importance ont of
which one day they will be able to make
great profit. These nations are so well
aware of this that they are doing every
thing in their power 10 have those of their
nationalities settled in the United States
develop and strengthen themselves in every
respect. The time has come when the
government can no longer remain indiffer-
ent TO this great question, owing to the
tact that the people of the United States
are people of all nationslIties, and he
cause religion is the cornerstone and the
Keystone of every social ediiice The
nations have an immense interest in their
emigrants being represented in the episco
pate of the United States by bishops of
their own, and therein lies the reason WHY
all nations are expecting from the pater
nal solicitude of the holy see the bishons
whom their interests call for.