The San Francisco call., 1896-01-22

! influence in politics? They are men and min
| listers belonging to those sects whose preachers
| have always been notorious with their
1neddling in politics, and who have always
| been the worst types of political demagogues.
For years the timbers of this temple rang
every Saturday evening with the political
harangues of Baptist minister, who gener-
ally made Catholics his targets, with the Pope
in the center. But when that minister was
shot down upon the public street and when q
calamity greater than that which crushed the
house of Atrena fell upon himself and his fam
lily, he found that Catholics were his best
friends and ever afterward he had only praise
TO bestow upon them and their spiritual head
in Rome.
In the election campaign of 1875 Methodist
minister, now Bishop, was party candidate
for Superintendent of Schools of California
and was frequently to be seen in the thick of
battle fighting for the spoils of Office. and now
his brother ministers are screeching like
night owls against the imaginary interfering
of priests in politics.
Butle us go Eastward for moment Toward
the end of the Presidential campaign of 1884
our calumniators were guilty of political
crime in the city of New York that should seal
their lips forever. The majoritv OF the voters
of this Republic had made up their minds to
vote for Names favorite son, for "the invinci-
bic Rup pert of debate, the white-plumed warrior
of Navarro" James G. Blaine. Irishmen had left
the Democratic ranks as they should have
done and vowed that they would vote for the
man who had roasted Salisbury in his burn
ing speeches and who had fearlessly lifted up
his voice in behalf of downtrodden Ireland
The great statesman had his hand almost upon
the Presidential prize when baud of big
oted parsons, who must have come up from
the darkest corners of Dantes inforno inter
vened and complimented him upon his un-
and Rebellion"
The telegraph wires were redhot with these
words before they were cold upon the lips of
Parson Burehard, and on election day the sun
set upon the slaughter at the polls of the most
typical American statesman that the republic
has produced since the days of Abraham Lin
coin.
Some OF these exponents of liberal Christian
1ty, albeit Protestantism, who would heap cal
umny upon the head of the Catholic church
are held up TO public view with glory shin
ing upon them, such as the person the Rev.
Brown. Revs Case and Bovard are also ex-
tremists in matters of Professionalism in it's ref
erence to the Catholic church and the hierar-
chy AS representatives of Methodistism the
last two d1yineS mentioned are specimens of
their class-narrow and bigoted. Methodist
ism has ever neen uncharitable
Without fallen Martin Luther in Germany
you would not have Rev. Father Waugh to
cackle prayers here on Sunday afternoons, nor
Outflow 10 preside. And without fallen
John Knox in Scotland you might not have
Rev. Mr.. Gibson or Ross; and oh, what loss
When, therefore. our enemies make onslaughts
on fallen priests they are violating the fourth
commandment, which obliges them to honor
and respect their parents.
IThe Method1sts accuse the Catholics of being
dlSloyal to the Union. Every one knows that
the late schiSm between the North and South
caused split in the church. What of that
kind of Christianity? No more loyal sub
jects in the Union were enlisted in the
army of the North than those who were repre-
sentatives of the Catholic faith.
But such men as the Rev. Brown represent
the element In the Protestant church which is
antagonistic to Catholicism. Nav we hope
that this is not the pure element of Protestant
ism.
And now, o glorious Republicl Catholic
Columbial / salute thee tonight, and with
ten millions of my co-religionists offer thee
my homage and renew to thee my vow of un-
swerving fidelity. Thy form is fairer in my
eyes than any form that ever rose up be-
fore the vision of painter or of
sculptor. May thy sacred soil never
be polluted by the foot of any tyrant, may
thy liberty, civil and religious, never suffer
the least diminution and mayest thou always
be as free as the wind that sweeps over thy
boundless prairies. May all bigotry be stihed
within thy borders and be succeeded by char
ity and brotherhood. May thy children in
crease not only in numb bers, but also in virtue.
intelligence and patriotism. May new stars
continue to appear upon the firmanent OF thy
flag and may thy flag, the emblem of liberty,
ever float over virtuous and united and pa
triotic peoDlei