New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1894-05-30

brain of every narro W w-minded man the
fact that in the tt nes Of the Inquisition
men would not have acted otherwise if
they professed either Professionalism or
Intidelity; that it was not according to
the teachings of the Catholic Church,but
IN spite of her creed and precepts and
spirit that human beings were tortured
in dungeons or burned at the stake; and
finally that, as contemparoneous history
teaches, such cruel practices+were the ma
tural and logical outgrowth CT our de-
praved and brutal nature, which, then in
semi-savage state, no religious creed
could wholly tame or subdue.
Study the records left by non-catholic
nations at the time of the Inquisltion
and see if it is not blood-stained from
beginning to end. Read the history of
Protestant Germsny, Of Galvanized
Switzerland, of Hougenot France.
Read the bloody record Of England's re-
forming Kings and Queens. Take up
the civil code and see how common it
was to burn criminals at the stake, cut
out their tongues, or draw and quarter
them. Yet the man who would charge
the Protestant creeds with such brutality
lacks quite as much common sense as the
man who charges the Catholic Church
with the horrors of the Inquis1tion. Re-
llglon was made the pr>text and cloak
in both cases, but the true cause was
mans untamed, uucivilized, brutal con-
di.ion.
Let US be just to the dead, oh TLeo-
phile, and not imagine that the brute in
US is completely killed by our justly es
teemed civilization. While write, law
abiding American citizens are being shot
down by the hired thugs of Capital. And
not long ago the following account comes
fr~m the South: ''The negro culprit was
carried on a float to the place of execu-
ton where instruments of torture were
prepared. These consisted of irons TAX
en- from timers shop. They we're heat
ed red-hot. The victim was stripped,
bound firmly to post SO that he could
move neither hand nor foot. He could he
seen by the thousands of spectators who
we're eager for the punishment to begin
Three men prepared the irons. When
they were well-heated, the torturers began
at the soles of the victims feet and drew
the red hot irons up his sides. The skin
and flesh peeled off in flakes; the Negro
howlcd like a wild beast, the crowd ap-
plauded; the torturers kept on Until his
flesh was burned to the bone; then one
of the men in order to stop his cries,
forced a red-hot iron bar down his throat
thus the negro expiated his crime,
while cheer after cheer went up from the
assembled multitude" Think of these
things, o Theophile, in our enlightened
age and among our own enlightened peo-
pie. Talk about the Spanish Inqmsition
why Torquemada, their grand ipquisitor
could rise from his grave and salute
our southe, n tiends across the centuries.
Calvin could say: "Truly 1 burned Ser
vetus at Geneva, but unlike you, gentle
men, was living in dark age.'
Let us be just to the dead and try to
recognize the grand truth that man has
always been animal and spiritual; let us
not overestimate their vices and under
estimate their virtues. At least they had
the courage of their convictions. Catho-
lies of those times were willing to die for
their Faith. How many would do so to-
day? Protestants then cling with ten
acity to their several beliefs, and al
though they prosecuted for Religious sake
like their Catholic contemporaries, yet
their churches were then houses Of pray
Ell, not as now mere opera houses where
operate music and sentimental gush
take the place of solid spiritual food. In
Catholic and Protestant the moral fiber
was better then; for the divorce mill did |
not grind as fast as it does to-day and
the word ofyour fellowman was as good |
as his note. 80.
But one WHO in eur enlightened times
throws up his hands in holy horror eth
er at Queen Elizabeth or Calvin or Tor
quemada is to my mind hypocrite or
an 1gnoramus. Such people might as
we'll condemn Christ himself, for He was
crucifed as felon and had Judas as one
of his followers. They could turn their
pharisaical eyes to any one of History's
heroes and find accidental evils. They
would impeach Nature of murder, be-
cause the chemist finds some polsons