Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1896-10-24
A PRELATEpS COUNSEL
One of Americas Great Catholic
Leaders is Opposed to
Organism.
ARCHBISHOP IRELAND'S LETTER
The Chicago Platform Declared to
be a Threat Against So
cial Order.
ARCHBISHOP IRELAND'S LETTER


own faith. and it is good reading for
everybody. He does not lay special
stress upon the financial plank of the
Chicago platform, but upon its declara-
ton relating to the federal authority and
the integrity of the Supreme court. The
archbishop points out in unmistakable
language the revolutionary character of
that platform. He says: 1.-THE move
ment which had its expression in the
Chicago convention and which now seeks,
by means of popular suffrage, to en-
throne itself in the capital of the
ton, is in it's logical effect against the
United States; it is secession" He
quotes the frank announcement of arbi-
trary interference by federal authorities
in local affairs and observes: I'm these
words there is the old secession doctrine
that states are independent of the ma
tional government at Washington; there
is the annulment of the Union; there is
notice served upon the flag of America
that outside of the District of Columbia
it is without power of self-assertion or
self-defense." And again, 1.-The plat
form of the Chicago convention threat
ems the country with destruction of social
order, with lawlessness and anarchy
On the question of government by in
junction, the archbishop tells the people
of America that 1.-The palladium of
American liberties is the supreme court
at Washington, the counterpart of
which in majesty and in power to en-
force absolute justice, does not exist
among the nations of christendom.
And now a convention speaks of the su-
prem court as it may be hereafter con-
stituted,' intimating Enthusiastically the in
tention, if the party represented in that
convention comes to power, to so consti-
tute the courts as to make 1t lnsenslble
Of hn la
sponsive to the passing whlms OF pohn-
cal parties"
The archbishop sees in the platform a
sectional and guarded expression of So
eiaiism. The Convention of Chicago lis
the international of Europe, now tax
ing body in America. The war
of class against class is upon us, the war
OF the proletariat against the property
holder. No other meaning than this can
be given to the appeals to the common
people, to labor, to the poor and down
against plutocrats and corporations and
money grabbers and bankers Many adj
herents of the movement do not per
ceive it's full meaning; but let them be-
ware, they are lighting torches which.
borne in hands of reckless men, may
light up in the country the lurid fires of
a commune"
Archbishop Ireland thinks that the
pamphlet of Archbishop Walsh of Dub
lin on bimetallism ''has no bearing what
ever On the situation in America and
against the Chicago platform. Free
coinage, he says, will give us money
worth in the comioereIai market of the
value WITpa' little oyer fenl tender oe coma.
pelling men to accept againste their will
money above its commercial vdlSe IN the
He is absolutely convinced that the
laboring classes will suffer the most of
all from free. silver coinage?" With re-
spect to the farmer, he pertinently asks,
Twill they not receive a higher price
for their products? Maybe higher
pse is It to have e dollar "f instead ~ of
man e' ne f the fa af pod doPiar
p Thf best IS his MARKET f eoun the
and if his own country is impoverished,
if factories are closed, if laborers in
cefve but little for his harvests." he
scorns the absurd explanation of our in
dustrial and financial troubles by refer
that 1T is the great fallacy of the day
to be attributing hard times to the
gold standard He thinks that under
the ta. silver standard we viii have much
causes of hard times today is the agita-
ton for radical change in the currency
OF the country.
Like all other men who think upon
this subject seriously, Archbishop Ire
land comes at last to consider the ethical
aspect of the question. and asks: rs it
money which we received when con-
tracted them? That the great
American nation will, as a nation. de-
clare to the world that it will now make
a law compelling its creditors to be sat
1shed with half, or a little more of the
money they loaned to it, and go on record
IN the eyes of the world as a broken
down, bankrupt. repudiating nation, it is
not possible to believe
Holding these views, which are fully
and carefully elaborated in this letter
which is too long for reproduction here
1t is not surprising to hear him saw: Il
stand by the platform and the presiden-
tai candidate of the Republican conyen-
ton at St Louis. / am opposed to the
platform and the presidential candidate
OF the Democratic convention at Chica-
CO.
The following are the closing nara
graphs of the archbishop's letter:
Here is the popular argument in
favor of free silver coinage-we have
had hard times under the gold standard.
That is true, and what is also true is
that under the silver standard we shall
have much harder times. 1t is the great
fallacy of the day to be attributing our
hard times to the gold standard The
craze of free silver as a cure for ha rd
times is explicable on the same theory
that man who has been a long time
sick despite the attentive care of expert
physicians, will call for any quack who
advertises to cure all the ills of hu-
manity Hard times have come through
the severe and resistless working of
economic laws, which go their way in