St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-12-03

L
! Your valor vainly reck
| From people who forget the man
| Who won Chapultepec.
| For all that gratitude has found,
And all his glory yields,
Has dwlndled to simple mound
Above the dust of Shields.
ILLINOIS CREDIT.
Illinois, through its state legislature,
| is entitled to the credit of causing the
statue OF Gen. Shields to be placed in
the national capital. 1t will stand In
the old hall of the house of representa-
tives between those of Abraham Lincoln
and Alexander Hamilton-a military
guard of honor for two Of the greatest
American statesmen.
A very queer thing happened in rela-
ton to the unwilling of the statue here
in Washington. AS above stated, the
state of Illinois bore the expense of the
efflgy, and it would seem the proper
thing for citizens of that state resident
in Washington to 'boss the job" of I'M
yelling and presenting it to the country.
A meeting was called two weeks ago at
Wizards hotel by Missouri citizens,
only one or two Illinois men being pres
ent, and proceeded to formulate a pro-
gramme for the ceremony of unwilling.
The lllinOiSanS prOteSted-very Justly,
it would. seem to OutSiders-and were
coolly informed that nobody wanted to
steal their statue, and that they should
be provided for in the show.
10 an unbiased observer it would
somehow appear If the state of Missouri
was really anxious for training-day
parade over an hOnored citizen who had
gone to heaven, that it might be pro-
vided without bankrupting that excel
lent commonwealth by buying a suit
able monument to mark his grave. And,
just here. it might not be deemed unpa-
triOtic to whisper i'll the ear of our own
beloved Minnesota that it would De eX-
tremely appropriate to erect some sort
of memorial to him either In ST. Paul
or FariDault. know that the people
out there are almighty
BUSY GETTING RICH
just now in fighting the hard times. per-
hapS-but il monuments, or statues, or
memorial structures of any kind serve
a good educational purpose, while they
at the same time encourage the growth
of art, then small subscription started
over the whole state would do the
work in most excellent fashion. Your
correspondent begs leave to hint there
fore, that Gen. Shields is a most excel
lent subject for some kind of monu-
mental tribute. He was poor boy. He
grew celebrated and useful because he
had the seeds of greatness in him, and
our American environment gave the
required conditions. He was a strong,
conscientious. courageous personality
a hero OF two great wars, a statesman
who represented in the highest legiS-
lative body in the world three splendid
states. He was q generous, honest,
able, kindly man, who, after large trusts
and great energy, did himself and his
country the peculiar credit of daring to
die poor-of daring to use his talent, III
the midst of an age of avarice, for
higher and nobler purpose than that of
making money. Yes, monument i'm
Minnesota to Gen. James Shields would
do more good to the future generations
of MinneSotians than it would to Gen.
James Shields.
THE A. A.
Now, then, for several weeks past l
have been longing to say something to
and about the A. P. A. l think this
opportunity is too good to be lost. Gen.
Shields was a Catholic. 1t IS always
unpleasant to thoughtful person to
have church utilization brought forward
to reinforce the excellent qualities of
any man who has proved his right to be
called famous. In "Nathan the Wise"
III.
the Christian Lay Brother, carried
away by the grand character of the
Jewish hero, eXclaimS:
Thou art Christian, Nathan
BY heaven, thou art GhriStianl
Never was betterl''
To which the prosecuted Jew re-
spends:
My friend, what makes Of me Christian in
your eyes
Makes you in mine Jew.
Happy for bothl'
There have been, are. and will for
ever be good men, Catholics, Method
lists, Jews, Calvinists, Parsees, Buddhists.
EpiscopalianS, Bramins, Infidels and
Atheists. Ii the United States of Amer
lea stands for anything on the green
earth, each individual state and the
combined Union stands as the protector
and defender of those who obey the
laws, are decent respectable citizens,
and strive to contribute each his inslg-
niticant mite to the common veal.
Gen. Shields did not think of any
form OF religion probably when he was
serving his country as soldier or as
statesman. He was patriotic and am
bltIous-as every young man should be,
and must be If he is to be any possible
good to his country, his neighbor or
himself. The monument to be unveiled
next Thursday in honor of his memory
within the portals of the national capt.
tai is 10 the citizen, soldier and patriot
Shields-not to the Catholic. Whether
he had ali religions or no religion was
thing purely personal to himself; but
certainly, If he was good Catholic, he
was thereby better man. Had he been
good Jew it would have been just the
same.
But what am striving to say Is, that
1t the proscriptive methods the A. p. A.
stands for had been fashionable forty or
fifty years ago, the country would have
been deprived of the efficient services
of James Shields-the finest type of a
very respectable and useful class in our
national evolution, the
IRISH-AMERICAN CONTINGENT.
BUTT see no use to reason with
some men, who have progressed very
credltably up to certain stage of civil
lied life, and then become monuments
forever of arrested development. They
must be prompted by envy, jealousy, or
some other very mean and unworthy
passion, or else are afflicted with a bad
case OF cussedness. How long will it
take some people to learn that it is ever
so much better to cooperate with our
neighbor in every good effort than to
tight him while he Is striving in his own
way for something excellent. If one
man does not believe in another's style
of progress, there Is no known
law in America to compel him to
adopt it. 1t does seem, however,
that the Catholic church is doing many
things praiSeworthy. 1t builds and runs
hospitals, helps the poor and needy,
comforts the widow and protects the
orphan, and it doesn't throw bombs
amongst Innocent men. women and
children. Its church edifces are about
the only spot lett, it seems to me, where
a poor devil of a Lazarus who is money!
less has any sort of equal welcome with