The Irish standard., 1895-12-14
IFS A CATHOLIC TAUGHT !:
Father C!eary's Convincing ArDu-
m,nt on th9
SubJact.
he sHoWs COW TRICKS ARE PLAYED
Takes Up Irslani Compared With Eng
land and Proves His
Point.

POi7fs
4 tSNducatiolhis ii Catholic and Protestant
J Lands was Father Cleary's topic at ST.
Charles church last Sunday evening.
His large audience was deeply interested,
especially in view OF some recent contro-
versy in this city.
The following is brief sketch of his
discourse: The comparative influence Of
Professionalism and the Catholic church
on popular education cannot fail to enlist
our atrantion, especially as we are often
/ confronted by the statement, made by
opponents of the old church, that it IS
hostile to the education Of the masses,
and that Professionalism is the great cham
pion OF learning, the true emancipation Of
the soul
! Statisticans are found ready to distoft
official reports, and turn columns Of fig
ures to convenient account in sustaining
any position which their prejudices may
favor. Unscrupulcus liaTs, like the Rev.
DR.. Josiah Strong, chief secretary Of the
Evangelical Alliance" are not ashamed
to tell their trusting followers shat a
favorite proverb OF the Catholic church
is IGNORANCE is the mother of devotion. :"
No man i'll recent years--the disappointed
| politician Clow secretary OF the BaDtkat
Home Missionary Society,", ex~Indian
| Commissioner Morgan, alone excepted
has the unenviable effrontery to attempt
to impose upon the confidence Of Protest
ants like this Rev. Dr.. Strong. Like all
professional liars, these men are not at
all disturbed when confronted with over
whelming proofs OF their unfairness, I'm
truthfulness, and Njust distortion Of
! facts. They simply go and repeat the
lies in other localities, or in move attraet-
i've form If again convicted, they will
simply hide their confusion under some
other false statement, that they may have
no bearing whatever upon the matter
under discussion.
A sample Of this kind of statistical
legerdemain was seen in this city but
! few weeks ago. It became my duty at
that time to call attention to al evident
mjsstate1nent that had crept into one OF
cur journals: This paper, the Times, IS
always anxious and willing to do justice
and act generously and inpartially to ell
classes and creeds. 1t had been rnis!ed by
an extract from an Eastern paper, con-
corning schools in Belgium. I furnished
the correct statistics concerning Cathel1c
Belgium. The cultured pastor OF the
First Baptist church supplied some quo
tations from the 'StatesIlRn's Year BOOK
! that corroborated my statistics. l11ls,
evidently, the good man had not intended.
| The Times very graciously accepted Ghe
correction and ended the discussion, FOR
! The Times was anxious only to publIsh
| the truth. The redoubtable pastor OF the
Baptist church was clearly more solicit
Gus about giving the Catholic church q
Black eye than he was about knowing. or
having other people know, the truth. In
stead of admitting, like an honest man,
that his own figures refated himself, and
that Catholic Belgium had been maligned
by false figuring, he Jumps off On to what
he plainly thinks is better vantage
ground, although it was NOT in dispute at
ALL and says: "Wel!, even if cum wrong,
look at Spain look at Mexico; compare
the Protestant and Catholic cantons OF
Switzerland: compare Protestant England
and Catholic Ireland; just see how these
statistics will prove the great illiteracy
of Belgium"
Catholics and the Catholic church have
nothing to fear or shrink from in COM
nar;ng the educational statistics Of the
world. It is g common maxim that 'ns-
ures won't debut politicians can make
them prevaricate terribly There Is no
field of mental inquiry N which 1t is pos
ssble to acquire more accurate lnforma-
ton. and IN which, at the same time, II
is more easy to mis,ead and be mlslead
than In the fed OF statistical study
Points of comparison may be so easily
overlooked, the relative conditions OF diff
ferent countries as to soil. climate social
traditions and political influences, forgot
ten. or purposely ignored, SO that correctly
quoted statistics may be made to appear
as conveying very different meaning
from what a fair presentation of all the
facts in the case would make them fur
nish. A convincing evidence of this may
be seen in the educational reports OF the
several states of the Union.
In the state of Alabama, containing
population of about 100000, of whom
only 1900 are Catholics, 69.1 per cent.
are illiterate. Georgia has population OF
about 1900 900, about 10000 are Catholics,
81 per cent Of the people Of Georgia are IL
literate. South Carolina has population
of about 100000, only 5000 Catholics;
GAL per cent are illiterate. North Caro-
lima has about the same population as
Wisconsin, about 100000, only 5000
Catholics in North Carolina; about $780,
900 in Wisconsin. In North Carolina 80
per cent. are illiterate, in Wisconsin only
IS per cent Massachusetts numbers ABOUT
2,240, 900 inhabitants, of whom about $780,
0C0 are Catholics; 1874 Of the population is
il1iterate. Is it fair to assume that the
more favorable condition of popular edu-
cation IS found in the Northern states be-
cause of the larger proportion of Catholics~
In these sections of the country? Does illit- |!
eracy abound in the Southern states be-
cause of the overwhelming preponderance
Of Professionalism? Shall Protestant Missis-
sippi be compared with the more Catholic
Massachusetts, to the credit of the latter be-
cause of its Catholic population, and to the
discredit Of the former because Of its pre-
dominant Protessantism? Every honest
and intelligent man must admit that such |
a comparison. on such reasoning, would be |
most unjust and unfair. In the District Of |
Columbia, our seat of government, which
might well be regarded as the center Of
America neeulture, 35 per cent. of the pop-]
ulatian can neither read nor write. Must
the people of this country be weighed in
the balance of its capitol city's educa
tional standing by the nations of the
world? Yet similar comparisons and es-
Inmates have been seriously made in re-
lation 10 Mexico and countries Of South
yokI s.,i