The San Francisco call., 1896-03-04
The Priest Says They Are
Fraudulent and Entirely
Un-American.
THE POPE AND THE PRESIDENT.
Meaning of the Quotations Made by
the Leader of the American
Protective Association.


propositions which ID. Ross pretended TO read
out OF Catholic pu blicstion are as follows:
NIhe Roman church has the right TO exercise
us authority without any limit set 10 ii by the
clYll powers. The Pope and the priests ought
10 have dominion over temporal affairs The
R05nan church and her eceesiastics have
rlght 10 immunity from civil law. In case OF
conflict between ecclesiastical ana civil powers
tAe eccleslastlcal ought 10 prevail"
As nave already tated, these four PROPOSE
tlons were scattered broadcast over this State
by the 4. P A. before the last election That
Gn-AmeEiean society is organized for the single
ooIect OF introducing religious test into our
poAueal, commercial and social life. IN its at
Tempt TO defeat all Catholic candidates and all
Protestant candidates who had Catholic wives
Inc A. T. ~ printed q brosdside giving the re-
llglon OF each candidate and the religion OF his
Wife. On the back OF This document were
printed various pronouncemenJs ascribed 10
:fRe Catholic church. Among them was the
extract quoted above. The tenor OF these pro-
houncementS was that the Catholic church
claImed civil jurisdiction over this country,
ana mat therefore It was the duty OF every
patriot to cast his ballot against all Catholics
ana against al who might be friendly TO Ca
tholieism.
need not say that all these pronouneements
were forgeFies. The 4. P. A. can thrive only on
fraud and Misrepresentation. 4 political soci-
ETY. which gathers in the sub-cellars cannot be
composed OF men who love the light. Con-
SpiratOrs who sneak into lodges with their hats
pulled over their faces and their coat-co1arS
turned up around their jaws are not expected
10 be OF nigh order, morally or intellectually.
u6uce the meIl0GS or the society have been
treudulent from the beginning. Forgery has
been Its favorite weapon and forgery stares
rom every line OF the publications sent out by
he 4. P. A.
THE MEANING OF THE PROPOSITIONS.
The meaning which the A. P. A. intended to
convey BY the four propos itions is. not lar to
sees. The Catholic church was represented as
trying 10 obtain dominion over the United
states. Dominion means sovereign o1 supreme
authority. and when it was asserted that the
Pope and the priests ought to have dominion
over temporal affairs the reader was led 10 be-
IleIe tnet the Catholic church taught that the
only lawful governor OF this country was the
Pope. The propositions were produced as con-
hrmstion out OF the mouth OF Cath
ohoty itself that Leo XIII was con
tenpIaung an advance on Washing
ton. The propositions that the Roman
chuFch had right 70 sexercise It's authority
without eny limit set 10 II b the civil powers,
that t hsfi right 10 immunity from civil
la3Fs and that the ecclesiastical powers ought
20 prevail over the civil, all supported the
same idea. Rome now, as in the middle ages
wss plotting 10 steal away our liberties, 10 de-
stroy our institutions ard TO set the foot OF the
Pope OF the neck OF the President.
D. ROSS FIRST ADMISSION
Of course these ideas are pueTile. The Cath
ole church has not the slightest thought OF
inculcsung such doctrines, but then the num-
ter OF fools IS infinite, and they are joining the
=. P 4. every day. Men believed these ealum-
1ies and looked upon them as proof positive
that the Pope was on his way TO gobble us all
Ep. When, therefore, l challenged d. Ross to
tended 10 read these propositions added that
] would be satisfied ii he produced the sub
stance OF them. During the four nights he
conducted his performance at the Metropolitan
Temple he made no attempt 10 produce the
four propositions as they we're printed by the
a. ?. A. He thus admitted that when sent
He and Hudelson and the other dark-lantern
patriots are before God and NAH guilty of bear
ing false witness against their neighbors,
THE SUBSTANCE.
7 have already shown the origin OF the propo-
sitiOns. l may mention here that in the first
edition of hrs book, ''Our Country" Dr.. Josiah
Strong printed these four propositions por-
ton OF an "Encyelical." In the second edition
he Acknowledges that he had been misled.
MOuntebanks, however, VIII acknowledge
nothing, and d. Ross had neither the wit nor
decency TO apologize 10 the community for
fatheTing forgery.
On the contrary, he attempted to prove that
the substance OF the propositions was true He
stteIn pied TO show that the Catholic claims
were. Inconsistent with true loyalty, and that
The church was only wRlttng for an oppor-
tInity 10 possess herself OF this Government.
Then this unnaturalized protector OF America
broke out into the following syntaxless har-
Il believe II is awful necessity, and when
such a thing es this can be true, that body of
men claiming lOo0o,OO0 IN the United States
car declare and teach and affirm and practice
Ehat an oath OF allegiance can be broken IN
stantly, without sin or wrong; when ii is the
law or the wish or that organization that these
people. go out from America and pass over 10
them, IN case OF a conflict, l tell you, my
friends, in view OF the fact that Romes eyes
are. on America; in view OF the fact that
ROme's purposes are on America; in view OF
the TACT that from every land under the sun,
from every Government under the sun, there
Is spewed out into America the dregs OF those
lands, if only they are Catholics, there IS an
awful danger showing the difficulty OF Ameri-
canizing those whose oath OF allegiance even
does not bind them" IApplause.l
I intend now to take up the quotations which
he produced from Catholic authorities and
show what their true meaning is and how D.
Ross has tried to make dishonest capital out OF
them.
For reasons best known to himself D. Ross
treated the fourth proposition first.
I'm case OF conflict between ecclesiastical
and civil powers the ecclesiastical ought to
Though he claimed to have q large library of
Catholic books and though he quoted IRON
some ten he never attempted 10 produce tnat
proposition as il stands.
But did he produce the substance OF 1t? Let
US see what is the substance. a power Is de-
fined by Webster as IAN individual invested
with authority; an Institution or government
winch exercises control" The civil powers"
therefore are ciyn governments or civil 1nsti-
tutions, or persons invested Will cieti t,aeb aI-
thority The ecclesiastical powers are church
governments or church institutions or persons
invested with church authority Inc proPosl-
tion signifies that whenever there Is coilnict co,
on any subject whatsoever between any ecCIe,
siastica1 power and any civil power the civil
power must always stef aside and make room
for the church.
D. ROSS VERSION.
D. Poss' version OF the substance Of the
proposition is curious and instructive. copy
1t out IL order that 1t may be preserved uAtc
future generations: ...,
''In case of conflict between the eccieslastienaL a
and the civil powers the ecclesiastical ought 70
prevail, says the Catholic church IN case oi
conflict between that mighty organlzalloI,
the InightesI organization on the race OF do9
4a* lrFar
rles, that knows no tongue or language, inat
mighty organization that is around the whoie
eIooe-the Roman Catholic church when ihe
powers, when the Will. when the desire OF that
oIgshIzation runs against the government ol
any one ratlon-I declare that the cry OF tne
Cethohc church is that the ecclesiastical ought
40 prevail.
Peter {. YoTke says that in case OF conflict
between the church and the government the
enure4 does not say that the church ought TO
{. Horke and should so far forget ourselves as
to lake our coats of and get into onfiict-think
ing TO Peter C.. YOrke