Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1896-04-05

Exit Lent and enter Easter is to-day
the stage directions of society in all its
city prompt books.
RELIGIOUS LENTEN OBSERV-
ANCES.
This is Good Friday, and in the upper
Fifth avenue, where Episcopalian ST.
Thomas Church and the Catholic Ca
thedral confront each other the thor
oughfare took on thoroughly Sunday
morning appearance. My club-the
LOtos-being only a few blocks away,
but opposite to the Church of the Heay-
emily rest, also very fashionable, and
having a LOndoner for rector. l look
in upon each congregation. The Cathe-
dral was damned wilh humanity, mill
iOnaires in the comfortable pews and
the poor and needy kneeling in the
aisles-quite European seat. 1t was
quite touching to see Joseph r. DOno-
hue, the wealthy coffee merchant, and
recently Tammany chamberlain in the
city treasury, open his pew door and
bcckOn in an old lady, in shabby cloth
ing, from the aisle, and give her an I'M
occupied seat beside the richly dressed
ladies' of the family Say what some
of our sensational and bigoted persons
in the city may, tbs Catholic churches
here are the mes, democratic and real
~ live up to the equity doctrines Of the
New Testament, and our national Old
Testament, the Declaration OF indie
pendence.
CHURCH EQUALITY.
But Let that old lady intrude into ST.
Thomas Church or the adjacent one
preached in by Rev. John Hall, of Ulster
county, Ireland, and she would have
been chased by the sections into the or
gan loft. Many OF course crowded into
the gorgeous Cathedral from curiosity
for the organ voluntaries and the choir
in gallery and the boy choristers give
music perhaps the choicest in this
country. But the Catholic Church of
this city is deficient in oraCOry and elo-
cution as compared with the Protestant
pulpits; for the hOmily with Catholic
priests is subservient TO the service,
and music is its strong point. Some of
these priests have sweet voices, how
ever, for intonation
PRIESTLY ORATORY.
In my boyhood the Catholics had the
best of all the pulpit orators in Bishop
John Hughes, who left a natural son
that at the bar inherited all his fathers
brilliancy Of dicton, melodies and
varied tones and graceful gesture.
His successor, Cardinal McClOskey, was
stately but not eloquent. nor is the
present Archbishop Corrigan, who.
n ic a.cf nd bo . lo.
liable looks of an apostle.
HANDSOME FATHER DUCEY.
Probably Father Ducey. Of the Church
or ST. Leo situate in the fashionable
neighborhood where Twenty-eighth
street separates Fifth and Madison ave-
nues, is the emeritus Ca.Aolic pulpit
orator And besides being eloquent ne
can be called the handsomest gentle
man in the city. Ii is well that he is
both christianity aesthetic and heathenly
stole, for the young ladies OF his parish
gaze Oftener upon his rudy and win
ming face and mellow blue Irish eve
Though he is native and to the manner
born than upon the leaves of their
breviary. Last week the Episcopalians
Of the city lost one OF their elouueu- di-
vines, when Dr. Satterlee of Cavalry
Church was consecrated Bishop of
Washington, and had his shoes OF nil
grimage latched by several other Bish-
OPS whose big sleeves became the jeal-
ousies of all the women present.
NEW YORK HAS BOGUS CHARITY.
Lent was pre-eminencly the season of
charity, and yet in a half century resi-
CenCe Of constant observation in this
city | have never heard so many tales
of poverty and destitution and suffering
as were given in our newspapers dur
ing the Lenton season now ended. The
cOldness of our charities is a disgrace
10 this great metropolis There is not
city, large or small, elsewhere in the
Union. which is not more charitable
than New York. There are hereto
negatively paraphraSe st. Paul in his
Corinthian letter-Many tongues OF
men; perhaps OF few angels such as
visit our prisOns-yelJ nevertheless mere
brass soundeth' and also tinkling Gym
balls; and here charity realistically suf-
fereth, and is not kind but envietl,
vaunteth and Is pulled up
Ii was not always so. A quarter CEN
fury ago. when our Municipal Charity
Commission WAS in the hands OF the
Unitarian Commissioner. Simon Draper.
the Welsh Baptist. Gen. James Bowen
and the Catholic Commissioners Bell
and Nicholson, there was an outdoor
bureau for the poor that provided scores
of employees. whose duty it was to pene-
trate into the poorer quarters and hunt |
up and investigate all cases of suffer
ing and restitution, and at the munc-
ipal expense provide moneyforfoOd fuel
and blankets. But penuriOus reform has
killed the charity. From Mayor Strong
all through his roll of Comm ssiOners 1 !
do not know one kind-hearted Official, |
or one who is in touch with the poor
The Mayor himself has an icicle heart, |
60 has Theodore Roosevelt. Charity
Commissioner Wright also. Every che
Is OF aristOcratic order and sympathy.
The exception is in the Board OF Health.
whose members hold over from Tam
many times, and its members care for
The sick and needy and the sanitary
welfare o. the poor as well as heir
powers hedged by reform parsimony.
will allow. There are, OF course, pri-
vate charitable organizations, and a
few from religious and sec,arian bod
les. bus for the mos. pare these are am
ateuTish and without system and crush
ed with bonds Of red tape and circumlo-
cution. Municipality. on side of the
worthy Board Of Health, nothing IS
done by reform for the poor and needy
Oh, yes; reform has closed station
houses TO the homeless man who is
without anight's lodging but has fitted