The herald., 1896-10-20
nuncIstiOns against 'plutocrats and

money grabbers.'"
If there is in this country war of
"class against class" does not Citizen
Ireland know that it was not inaugural
ed by the Chicago convention nor by its
chosen standard bearer, nor by the peo
pie he represents? Does he not know
that for more than thirty years last
past large part of our congressional
legislation has been controlled by cor
porations and syndicates, for the builde
ing up of their own fortunes at the ex-
pense of the government and the peo-
pie? Does he not know that because of
corrupt and unjust legislation and the
maladministration of the laws hundreds
of thousands of honest, Industrious
American citizens have been driven from
afi1uence to poverty, and forced to see
their wives and little ones go hungry
and in rags, in order that their hard
earnings might swell the immense for
tunes of -millionaires? Does he not
know that these same ill-gotten fortunes
arc today being poured out by millions
into a corruption fund, in order to pol
lutte the ballot box and defeat, by bribery
fraud and intimidation, an honest elec-
tionsof an honest president? AS sim
gle illustration of the lavish employ
ment of money in order to elect Mr.. Me-
kinley, look at the forty trains of cars
per day that speed their way through
states both far and near. carrying their
tens of thousands of voters to see Han
ma, Mckinley & Co. and learn how to
vote. And ! will ask Citizen Ireland
who furnishes the money that pays all
the travelling ard sleeping and eating
expenses of all these countless multi
tudes of people? And why, and for
whose benefit is 1t paid? Is not this
money furnished by class of wealthy
corporations. syndica tes and unscrupu-
lous men of wealth, who are seeking by
the corrupt use of money to control the
coming election? 1t seems to me that
no man VINO has brains enough to keep
him out of the fire can. without inl-
pugning the known truth, deny that all
this money, with many millions more,
has been and is being spent to prevent a
fair and honest election, to crush forever
the rights and liberties of one class
comprising the great mass-of the peo-
pie, and to complete the process Of con-
centrating in the hands of another class
most of the wealth of the country and
all the power of the government. And
is it a crime for Mr.. Bryan to call these
corrupt corporations, syndicates and
combinations-the deadly enemies of our
, ,libertics-by their true names, and to
warn the people of the appalling dan
gers that threaten them? If to condemn
the rich for their injustice to the poor
means the fomenting of war of class
against class" then, to be consistent.
will not Citizen Ireland be compelled to
condemn the teachings of our Savior.
when he told how the rich glutton was
doomed to an eternal hell for his inhu-
manity to poor Lazarus? And was it
rot most horrible doctrine that our Sa-
vior proclaimed when he said: BLESSED
are the poor" and that it was 'easier for
camel to go through the eye of needle
than for rich man to enter the kingdom
of heaven?
OF course we ali understand him as
referring to those rich men who are
more welded to their riches than to
their God and duty. And where can
Citizen Ireland point to single speech
of Mr.. Bryan wherein he was any more
sweeping in his denunciation of rich
men that our Saviour was? When or
where did he ever denounce any class
of rich men, except such rich men as
acquired their riches unjustly, or else
used their riches as instruments of cor
ruption, or in some manner to oppress,
impoverish and degrade the people
Through the trying ordeal of the
whole campaign has he not displayed
a remarkable degree of fairness. non
esty and candor in dealing with all
classes as adversaries? He has even done
more; he has shown a most remarka-
BILE degree of patience, moran courage
and charity. This was notably so when
at New Haven, Conn.,, he was set upon,
hissed, howled at. and grossly insult
ed by the combined brutality of mob
of Yale students and band of musi-
clans, until compelled to suspend his
speech and leave the stand. Yet he not
only mastered his temper at the time,
but took the first opportunity to both
express his forgiveness and to excuse
the insult Here Mr.. Bryan set an eX-
ample of true Christian charity and for
giveness we'll worthy the imitation of
Archbishop Ireland.
1t seems to me that Archbishop Ire
land ought to be able to find a better use
for all his time and talents than to al
low "Citizen" Ireland to prostitute them
to the base use of aiding Mark Hanna
to carry on one of the most notoriously
foul and corrupt campaigns the world
ever saw.
To my fellow Roman Catholic citizens
1 say in all earnestness, beware of fol-
lowing the lead of Ireland's banner into
the Mckinley camp.
throughout this country there is and
for long, time has been strong anti
Catholic orgamzatlon' resting upon the the
assumption that we Roman Catholics
owe civil and political allegiance to
the pope of Rome. Many people be-
longing to that organization honestly
believe that Roman Catholics are bound
in conscience to vote just as their clergy
desires them to. vote, and that the pope
of Rome. through the bishops
and priests of the church actu-
ally controls the Catholic vote
of the United States. Hitherto both
Catholics and intelligent, liberal-minded
non-Catholics have by word of mouth
persistently denied this odious charge.
But never until now did a seeming op.
portunity arise to thoroughly test the
truth or falsehood Of this charge; for
never before in our country's history
did a high dignitary of the Catholic
church attempt-even under the guise
of citizenship-to turn the scale of a
presidential election. But now an op-
portunity presents itself-and I believe
it is timely and providential opportu
nity-to triumphantly vindicate our
selves and forever settle the question
in these United States by proving to
our misguided fellow citizens who
charge us with looking to our priests
to tell us how to vote, that we have told
the truth when we denied the charge.
Let us do our simple duty at the COM
ing election. and thereby vindicate our
honor by proving in deed as we'll as in
words, that we owe no civil or political
allegiance to our church or church.
men, and that the better the Catholic
the better the American citizen.
But should the Catholic voters of the
country allow Archbishop ireland or
Citizen ireland to use the influence he
derived from his position in the church
to control their votes, either directly or
indirectly, they will thereby give the
lie to their defenders, both Catholic and