Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1893-10-26
SLEDGE H9HHER BLOWS
Scathing DenunciatiOn Of
a COwardly and I'm
American Organ
iZatiOn

| rear1ul arrangement or 1t, every honest mar
in the room was in sympathy with his feel
ings.
"But, my fellow citizens, there is anoth.
er question that propose to talk to you
about this evening. The Constitution of
the United States requires that there shall
never be religions test required for any
public trust in the U. s. And it forbids the
placing of any one religious denomination
above another. The Constitution of the
state OF Ohio reiterates the very same mat
ter and goes further and says that no sect or
sects shall ever be permitted to have or con
troll any portion of the school funds of the
state. Now say to my Catholic friends,
you cannot have share in the school funds,
and II that provision were not In the consti-
tuition and could prevent it, you should
not have it.
II have been told that you have in this
city an organization of 800 who have made a
pledge that no Catholic should hold office if
they can prevent it, and that no Catholic
shall be given employment if a Protestant
can be found to take it. have been told
Il attack the 300, they will vote against the
Democratic ticket. That is perfectly nat
ural. You could not find another 800 who
would do 1t because it would be an aban-
donment OF all political principle, but
Will concede that these people will do it. II
were candidate before the people to day
and wanted the Office, l would rather be de-
feated than elected by their votes.
II am satisfied, and l have been for a
long time, that the organization is scout
ing party for the republicans sent out by
the republican party to do its dirty work,
it.
"They tell me that the Catholic church is
idolatrous and superstitious. want to say
to you that the Catholic church is the Oldest
Christian church in the world. She ia the
mother directly or indirectly of every Prot
estant church in Christendom. And I want
to tell You further that the cardinal doc
trines OF the Catholic church are the cardi-
nal doctrines of the Protestant church.
Ihey kneel to the same God and
they all pray to the same Trim
lty, they believe in the fall of man and orig,-
nal gin, they believe in repentance and
change of heart and salvation and damna.
ton, and II they'agree so far see no occa-
sion for dissension.
Il have witnessed devotions in Catholic
Churches, once in cathedral. and thew are
intensely beautiful and devot and reyerep-
tial, more so than any have ever witnessed
in Protestant church, and while say this.
there is not drop of Catholic blood in my
veins or in the veins of any of my relatives
30 far as l know. They wouldn't give a
Catholic an Office or days work if they
could get anybody else to do 1t.
On the morning OF the 18th of October.
1864, We were lying on the north bank of
Cedar Greek In quiet repose. Just as the
early dawn OF day was beginning to crimson
the east we heard the rebel musketry on our
left. The rebels drove out and pundered
the camp of the West Virginia troops, they
| drove out and plundered the camp of the
Nineteeth army corps and they drove from
position the Sixth corps and would have
/ plundered the camp except that we had TAX
en- advantage of the interim and removed
everything in the rear. We we're driven
back three Iriles or more where we formed
line and awaited the of the rebels whom we
knew to be on their way across the Potomac.
While we were waiting Gen. Keifer came up
and asked me go and take tin of coffee
With him. As we went back he said, 1t js
reported that Sheridan Ia on the ground. )
I hope 10 God it's true,' / said, and min
ute afterwards he came riding up. He had
made that memorable ride from Winchester,
which Read has immortalized, and he arriv-
ed in time to save the army. Without wait
ing for the to rebels come up, he ordered his
troops to attack in single line and when the
sun went down that day there wasn't an or
ganized platoon of rebel soldiery in the val.
ley of Virginia.
This A. p. A. would censure the con-
gressman that recommended Phil Sheridan
| to West Point. would censure the govern
ment that appointed him and gave him that
command, and would censure the God, il
they dared, who endowed him with his great
capacity as military leader. Phil Sheri.
dan WAS Catholic and had probably at.
tended Mass that morning in Washington
/ A,,1 ~, tho4a L.
fellow-citizsn, Charles VI. Cornyn. He, too
was Catholic. and if I ever saw braver
soldier than he it was only Andrew jackson,
and il ever saw a truer patriot have new
| er known it.
"And what are they teaching. The relig-
ion of hate. Christianity is as hostile to
them as Christ is to sin. What are they af-
ter? They say that the Catholics are going to
rise and cut all our throats and make the
earth rich with Protestant blood. I would
just as leave trust the Catholics as the
| Methodists, or the Methodists as the Catho-
| lies. There ia nothing in their claim that
would do any credit to the most drivelinp i'd
lot. would hate to have mind and a
heart that would permit me to believe that
the followers of Christ of Nazareth could
possibly have any revolutionary intentions.
| II the Catholics of this city are going to rise
will go out and suppress them myself and
will not need musket either. (Applause.) J
"There have been two events in the past
thirty years that could not have happened in
any other country on the globe in any age
We suppressed great rebellion and not a
drop of blood was shed in punishment of
| that rebellion. This could not have occurred
in any other country, and nowhere in history
or human nature can you find parallel to
| it. The other event occurred the other day
in Chicago. They had congress of relig.
ions. The Catholics and PEotestsnts and
Mohammedans and the Buddhists, they were
all there in conclave together. There was no
A. p. Aism there. (Applsuse.) No such
religious assembly ever met before and these
two events hang the lights on the pathway
of humanity higher than human hands ever
hung them before, and when look up and
see the brillancy of their rays reaching out
and Illuminating the other side Of the globe,
feel a swelling pride that am an Ameri-
can and q citizen of this republic. Zap
plause.)
"And then Turn and look down into a
deep, dark, caveYnous valley. see toads,
lizards and scorpions and snakes aud adders
and slime and vermin, shut out from the
light of the sun, shut out from the light of
Christianity, shut out from the light of
truth, shut out from the light of mercy, shut
out from all that 10 good, down in that dark
valley see an assembly Of A. p. A.5f Tire
mendous applause. .a.Fa9aiA.t
II trust that no one will complain of me
for speaking of them in connection With this
religious gathering in Chicago, for j pre-
sent the one as the highest achievements Of
humanity and present the other as the