The Irish standard., 1897-12-04
A LAUNDERING BuRcHARD.

d. c., where he listened with breathless
attention to notable sermon by his
pastor. one DR.. Johnston, upon whom
has fallen the mantle of Rev. Burchard
OF Rum, Romanism and Rebellion"
fame. who by his allitcrative phrase de-
feated James G. Blaine for the presi-
dency and elected the STUFFED prophet"
in his stead
The special correspondent of the Chi
cago Inter Ocean. the organ Of Yerxes,
the street car magnate. gives the SUBJ
stance Of the sermon preached before
the president and his brother, Abner
Mckinley. Mrs. Smith and Miss Barber,
who accompanied his excellency
After reading the Thanksgiving proc
lamation Of the president, Rev. DR..
Johnston said that in issuing it the
president showed piety and wisdom
which augured we'll for the nation.
prosperity is here" said the minister.
"The light Of better days is shining on
u.s. and, though it will take time to re-
cover from four years of distress, we
are gaining Times are hard, but not
as hard as they have been, and people
should thank God that 1t is no worse
after the experiences Of the past four
years."
Dr. Johnston presented statistics to
prove tho assertion that prosperity had
returned, referring to the large crops
of wheat, cotton and other products.
"rhe created values Of this year in the
United States were estimated at $14,OOO,-
O0O,0O0. he said. and he then dilatcd
upon the greatness of this nation and
its mission on earth
Speaking of the perils that threaten
the nation, he said that chief among
them were rum, socialism and Jesutism.
He spoke at length against the danger
of foreign church's obtaining ascend-
ency In the state, and said that il Jes-
ulttsm ever prevails in this country the
United States will become as Mexico,
Italy and Spain. He advocated giving
the Catholic the same civil rights that
every man enjoys. but that his church
be warned to keep its hands off tho
state. In the course of his remarks DR.,
Johnston referred to Spain as "a burnt
out nation. the basest of kingdoms" He
referred to the danger of corrupt par
ties, and nstanced the victory of Tam
many in New York
Now, that is a remarkable Sermon"
to preach on Thanksgiving day in the
presence of the president of the United
States, who was elected through the aid
of such eminent Catholic dignitaries as
Archbishop John Ireland, or rather
Citizen John Ireland. OF st. Paul. whose
famous letter was used as campaign
document by the national Republican
committee in 1896. Thousands of Cath
olics throughout the country, both Re-
publicans and gold Democrats. voted for
Mckinley and the existing gold standard
because OF Archbishop Ireland's cpistle.
Though the Irish Standard expressed it's
dissatisfaction with tho archbishop's
attitude and opposed his political views
with all the power it possessed, it never
for moment doubted the patriotic mo-
tlvcs that prompted him to write the
letter on that occasion. We yet believe
that he ought not to have written any
communication rejecting on the loyalty
OF half the voting population OF tho
United States and applying offensive
names to them, such as scceders, anarch-
at rintS
knowing his Republican proclivitics and
his impulsive Irish nature. the Irish
Standard has long since forgiven him
for his partisan lndiscretion. What
must himself and other Catholics think
OF the rancorous rigmaroe of McI[in-
ley's pastor on Thanksgiving day?
We have frequently said in the editor
ial columns of the Irish Standard that
Methodist ministers above all others
should be. slow to accuse Catholics Of
disloyalty. The founder of the Metho-
dist church, John Wesley. was a Tory in
the days Of the American Revolution
and preached so bitterly against the
colonists that he was forced to leave
for home before ending his religious
mission on this continent. At that timo
Bishop Carroll. brother Of the immortal
signer of the Declaration OF Indepen-
dence, and a member Of the Jesuit order.
accompanied Benjamin Franklin into
Canada to dissuade the French from
supporting King George against ,he
Americans. There Is no justification
for Mckinley's pastor to speak Of
"Jesuitism" as a peril to the republic
He must have been reading ''Our Coun-
try" by Josiah Strong. the secretary Of
the Evangelical Alliance, who writes so
flippantly about the Catholic Church in
Mexico, Italy and Spain, and whose ref
erences to Italy are refuted by Samuel
Laing In his Notes of Traveller"
Such so-called ministers of the gospel
as Johnston are no ornament to any
church. BY mere accident the fellow has
achieved national notorlety by his mar
row, bigoted utterances. President Nc
kinley should not be held responsible
for his braying, but he may be held
- s.i