San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1896-04-15
WAHRENBERGER VS.. SMITH.

Each One Trying to Get in the Last Word.
SAN ANTONIO, Tex, April -, 1896.
To the Daily LIGHT.
With his usual brilliancy of
style and accuracy Of statement,
but with rather less than his usual
assurance Mr.. f. p. Smith in Sun
days LIGHT tries to show his dis
heartened followers that seven
though vsnquished he can argue
STILL"
Were his cause just one, there
would be something pathetic in
seeing him laundering on, entang-
lingIhimself in a maze OF contradic-
tions and becoming involved in a
labyrinth from which he sees no
possibility Of extrication. He &C.
cuses me of holding him up to ridi-
Guile that would indeed be a work
of superogation in the light Of his
own communications.
He speaks of money turned by
the A. p. A. into "literature to edu-
cate the masses )" for mercy's sake
could not they spend a trlfle here
TO educate some OF their San An
tonic champions?
But to be serious, If 1t is really
worth while to accept Mr.. Smiths
communications seriously, 1 will
not be tempted from the straight
path of my argument by Mr..
Smiths labored and barely intelli-
gible preface in which he endeav-
ors to inject a lot extraneous mat
ter; much less by personalities
and coarse badinage with which,
in lieu Of facts and logic:his letters
are so literally sprinkled. II L
notice them at all, it is more in
pity than in anger.
AS to the question Of assailant
and defender in this controversy,
the public have the data, and it is
for them to Judge.
Mr.. Smith is seeking to establish
the American Protective associa-
ton in this city. A secret society
formed for the purpose Of exclud-
ing Roman Catholics from holding
office in national, state or munich
pal government, and from enjoy
ing the further rights incident to
American citizenship. / am an
American citizen and by convic-
ton a Roman Catholic. / attack
no mans religious belief, nor do
l seek to interfere with
the exercise of any mans
political right; 1 concede to my
fellow citizens the same rights L
claim for myself and which the
constitution guarantees to us all.
Mr.. Smiths avowed purpose is to
deprive me OF those rights-mine,
to defend them. In support OF his
position he has preferred a long
array of charges against Catholics ;
l, in my turn claim and have as
serted that these charges are ut,
terly false; with what success on
either side so far, the letters al
ready published will show. now
proceed with the consideration OF
those charges not already disposed
Of
Mr.. Smith published table pur-
porting to he compiled from "The
War Records" giving statistics OF
the nativity Of soldiers in the
union army in the late civil war
This table would show that out OF
I44,221 IrishmeD, who enlisted,
100000, or 70 per cent deserted. BE
adds, "all of the above is easily
verified by anyone who cares to do
so. = These assertions took
place almost Immediately after
Pope Plus TX. wrote his famous
letter to Jefferson Davis, president
of the southern confederacy, ex.
pressing his desire for the success
OF the confederacy."
Let US see how easily this Is
verified" About year ago, the
Independent, an able Protest.
ant paper published in New
York, received a printed slip
evidently intended for circulation
containing the same figures given
by Mr.. Smith, and also the follow