The Irish standard., 1896-05-23
Work Done BY Stealth While Those
around Them Scarcely Know
al 81 Their Existence.
Thousands OF Ministers Are iielEp55 u
| ing on the Fatal BUS M.
mess. s.5. Il. y. =$s, 4 z.s
speculation as to the Power and
Influence Of the Organ
.:.. 81. .s. ization.

Il The bigpt is generally devoid Of that
saving sense Of humor which greatly
helps to make life worth living, says the
Century Magazine for May. If it were
not SO those secret societies like the So
called American Protective Association,
which are: engaged in deadly warfare
against all that is most significant and
precious in American institutions, would
not insist on parading themselves as
s.the patriotic orders" Strange patriot
ism is this which begins by denying the
first tenet of Americaa hberty-freedom
to worship God-and proposes to punish
religious beliefs which it does not share
|by depriving those who hold them, not
only of their political rights, but, II pos
siihla ofxthe means of livelihood. The
very enormtty of the sworn purposes OF
these, orders seems to be what gives them
their opportunity; for the, majority OF
honorable men find themselves incapa-
Bile sof believing that such purposes can
be cherished by civilized human beings,
and therefore fail to make any effective
resistance to them: Thus they have the
field to themselves, and, with scarcely a
protest they creep in and intrench them
selves in one community after another,
gathering together a lareg mass OF the
ignorant and intolerant, and by their
secret Gmethods and their compact mill
tary organization making themselves
mower in the local elections. Many COM
munities have awakened when 1t was too
late to- find the grip of these secret orders
firmly. fastened upon their municipal 11' y iLe:
1nachinery. There should be no no need ed1ss Of
warming Intelligent citizens agafnst the
dangers OF such organizations. They are
the deadly enemies Of democratic inst1-
tutions. There may be business which
can be legitimately carried ON behind
CLOSED doors, but the public business is
not of this nature The attempt to con-
troll our politics in this way is an amaz-
ing usurpation of power; yet the subver-
sion of republican government which
has thus been accomplished in many To-
calities has excited but little comment.
On this question the great majority OF
newspapers are dumb, while thousands
Of Protestant ministers are helping on
the fatal work Some resistance, indeed,
has been made to this domination in a
few instances. but very few conspicuous
politicians have ventured to challenge
the secret power.
@ The political success of this conspiracy
is due, of course, to the machine politi-
clans. IA secret organization whose vote
can be controlled almost absolutely,
whose official head can promise to throw
it bodily into either side of The scale,
does not need to have very large mem
Ebership in order that It may dictate
nearly all the nominations OF one or the
other Of the two parties. It twenty, or
over ten per cent of the voters OF COM
munity can be handled in this way, one
Of the parties will be sure to- give their
leaders nearly everything they ask for.
Ambitious minor politicians will make
haste to join the society, there will be
can icandi didates enough in its nlebership to
ifill AL the Offices, and for a time the party.
which secures its allegiance is sure to,
elect It's candidates. In this way, In,
many communities, the control OF one
5or. the other Of the parties has passed al
most entirely into the hands Of the "pa-
,,ttrtutic' orders. j. s5 4, 4 .s:.:s. = s%s@
,fhe mischief Of the movement has
lately begun to reveal itself at the ma,
.stional capital. The defeat OF the appro-
:priation for indian schools bee ause most
:of these schools are under the r. care ar of Of
Roman Catholics lis due tosthese .socisss
;ties. and 1t is to their hostilit thu we:
owe the shameful proposal to exclude
III, from the national gallery Of stat,lary the
sef1gy of the great pioneer and discover
;er, Father Marquette. With respect TO-
the schools, they avail .the en1selves- OF ~
sentiment which widely prevails, and
which il reasonable enough, but which.
HI this scase, is greatly overstrained, with
the resul esutt siof. depriying the Indian pupils
Iof " #educa atfonal privileges The spirit of
llets sthesorganizatio lon Is exhibited also ii
the semi -offcial outcement that SEN
ater Iawley, OF Conn lieut. rs TO be de-
nfed ga Te-election because OF the part he
took IN securing the promotion to aEgen-
;efa1ship nf Col. Coppinge whose fault
jis that he is q Roman tholic. Not only