Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1893-09-15
Is r. REPLY.
Staats zietung, Of
Il1inoia.

Stats zietung, Of
I11inois.
Some Doub1y Distilled 5ar'
casnn and Defense of the Lit
tie Red School House.
Since Father Raster has deemed il
opportune to open up criticism OF
the red school house and has read
the EDITORS prerogative (the shears,
to gain hispoint. it is not amiss fol
the undersigned to ask publication
of the enclosed clipping from the Chi.
cago Tribune of Sept z, 1898, paper
recognized where the Stats Zietung
is unknown. The official stenog-
raphers report of paper word for
word as read before the great Cath
olic congress oflast week at Chicago,
opened and presided over by his emf
neDce Cardinal Gibbons, associated
with men like Satolli, Ireland, Corri-
gan and the like-an original paper
by a Catholic scholar of such stand
ing as to be deemed worthy of ad-
dressing such select congress-hence
undisputably in place to know
whereof he speaks. and to speak
whereof he knows! So bear in mind
as you read that the newspaper arti-
Gle was written by an orthodox
Roman Catholic in the best of stand
ing-for a Catholic congress the
like has never been seen-men
from every continent on earth and
isle of the seattle congress presided
over by the greatest Catholic poten-
tate on this continent, his eminence
Cardinal Gibbons. Mr.. T. Elder was
the name of the writer OF the paper.
He said:
"My contention is that we have to
hold upon the agricultural masses
and that this fact accounts for many
of our deficiencies. Why is it that
the greatest men of our nation are
non-Catholic? It is because the vast
majority of these great men are from
sturdy rural stock and the rural
stock Of the United States are solidly
and stanchly Protestant. Let us not
while about prejudice and intoller-
ance, anti-popery and secret societies.
Let us tell the truth to ourselves.
The great men of this nation have
been, are, and will continue to be
Protestant. I.speak not of wealth,
but of brain, Of energy, of action, OF
heart. The great philantropists,
the great orators, the great writer's,
thinkers, leaders, scien lists. inven-
tors, teachers of our land have been
Protestant. What surprises me is
the way we have of eulogizing our
selves-of talking buncombe and
spread-eagle and of giving taffy all
around. l am sorry to nay that I
cannot we'll join in this enlivening
pastime. When l see how largely
Catholicitv is represented among our
hoodlum element feel in no spread
eagle mood. When note how few
Catholics are engaged honestly in
filling the honest soil and how many
Catholics are engaged in the liquor
traffic cannot talk buncombe to
When I observe the in
creasing power and ascendency of
the Jews, when [ see the superior
vigor, originality, and opportune-
ness OF Protestant lay charity over
similar attempts on our part, and
when observe the immense success
and influence OF secret societies, even
here in the most Catholic city of the
Union, l have no heart for taffy-giv-
ing. When 1, reflect that out OF TO-
100000 of this nation we number
only 9,0O0,00O, and that of that 9, OOO,-
600 so large proportion is made up
of poor factory hands, poor mill, and
shop, and mine, and railroad em-
plOyes, poor government clerks, I
still fail to find material for bun
combe, or spread-eagle. or taffy-giv-
ing"
It is unnecessary to add to what
he, Elder, says only to wonder how
in Gods providence these mean, un-
der-educated, poorly trained and
equipped Protestant youth have
gained their unquestiOned pre-emi-
nence in letters, science, art, inven-
ton and in the business world, while
the splendidly equipped mental ath-
lete Of the church of Rome are to be
found Gas per Nj. T. Elder) among
the hOOdlum element and running
our salOons-and sad to say our vi
tai statistics and public records sus-
tain Mr.. Elder. Granted for a moment
for sake of argument that the paro-
chial school exhibit this year at Chi
cagO is superior to the public school
(Which proves nothing except
that the public schools sent countless
thousands of living witnesses in
stead OF hoary parchment to hang
on dead walls)-granted say-but
is not every building, every lake and
lagoon in the whole park a living
witness of the excellence of the fost-
ering care Of the little red school
hOuse-fOr the brains that cOnceived,
the money that made it possible and
the superlative skill that created it
came in overwhelming ratio from
those poor unfortunates who at
tended the despised school house.
If further parallel is desired all l ask
is for anyone to compare the slender
exhibits of bankrupt Catholic En-
rope with the magnificent display of
Protestant Europe or even Pagan
Asia. am sincerely of the opinion
the Reverend Father saw the Catho-
lie exhibit through the large end OF
the telescope and the Protestant
through the small end. Let us as
men and fellow citizens try and look
at both with onr naked eyes and not
as through glass darkly.
~
For Sa1ei