The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1894-03-30
Comm nunfcatiau.

GALLITZIN, Pa. March 70 1894.
| EDITOR FREEMAN:-My attention has
! been called 10 letter trather a libeD of a
Gallitzin Junior Mechanic, printed in the
/ current number of the american Mechall-
ic, and copied by several newspapers.
| This letter QibeD is in reference TO the
schools, and contains more clean cut, un-
| adulterated aud original lies than were
ever before strung together, in a like
| space, in any newspaper. One part of the
/ precious document | know of my own
! knowledge i false, and other parts | have
/ learned from Others are not true. Here
| are some of the untruths. speaking of the
teachers:
| l. Their first rule laid down to the
/ children was to impose upon them their
| ecclesiastical terms (Sic) by compelling
! them To recognize the priest as father
| when he entered the school. and the nuns
I aS sisters instead of teachers" Now
have made inquiries and lind that there is
no word of truth in all that foolish para
graph. So here is lie No. nailed.
>. Again. ''and children requested by
some OF the nuns in certain rooms, during
school hours. To prepare their catechiSm
lessons for evening" On inquiry again l
find that this i false in every particular.
Lie No. nailed.
3. And for some time past the Protest
ant children have been dismissed at half
past three, so as TO have the catechism
lesson recited." Here | find on inquiry, a
suppression of the truth and a suggestion
of the false. The truth unsurpassed is:
that the time for diSmlSSing the two baby
rooms is half-past three; the others not till
fOur Hence lie No is nailed
But, Mr.. Editor, were it not for what
follows | would not descend to the low
level of noticing this foul -mouthed libeler
| have good many friends among the
decent, fairmnded Protestant of Gallit
zn, whose good opinion | appreciate.
Should l remain silent they might suppose
me guilty of the supreme folly which this
assassin of character attributes to me, in
the following. Here it is: ''On Thursday,
the 18th inst, the priest visited the school,
and while in conversation with some of
the Protestant boys, they replied to him
Yes Sir and No Sir He classified them
for il. and instructed them to answer as
Yes Father or No Father"
Now | did, | believe, visit the school for
a half hour on the day named, and heard
Il class of mental arithmetic. But all the
rest of the paragraph l brand as a lie as
black as the heart that conceived il. No,
neither directly nor Indirectly by word.
suggestion or deed did |, on that or any
other occasion, either chaStiSe or IN
Struct" any Protestant in such nonsense.
Furthermore | will say that in al my life
| never instructed even Catholic boy or
girl, man or woman to call me Father"
Now | will make this proposition: If this
modern AnaniaS can prove to the SatiSfac-
tion of three or six or a dozen Protestant
gentlemen of Gallitzin, that the facts he
sets forth are true, will pay five hun
dred $4,000 dollars to any Protestant
benevolent institution these gentlemen
may name.
He says the children were kept in and
punished and made to copy some words
number of times. Well, children in
school occasionally deserve and get pun
iShed for various reaSOns;-by the way
if this disciple of Ananias had been pun
iShed at the right time, he might not now
have so little respect for the truth, but
that they were punished for the reason he
gives i lie No. ( nailed.
This is all for the present, till l see my
lawyer. l think there is a way of muz-
cling even such irres ponsible and reckless
dcfamerS as the Galltzin Mechanic has
proven himself 10 be. NJ. RYAN,
Pastor st. Patrick's Church.