Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-10-14

/ were to have no place In Washington, be-
cause they necsSsak1k SAVIOR of party diff
ferences and party interests, whereas she
was to symbolAe TIE union Of all parties
tie by little, just az sectionalism became
an impossibility for 4e, 80 did partisanship.
The force of my environment naturally
made me nI not parry man. but patriot.
This is not meant to be any disparage-
| ment of parties and party men and poll
tics. Friendly, y honest. honorable clash
and strife OF optsiona Of convictions as to
| the promotion Of public and private inter-
ests: this is Inevitable; nay, even desirable.
1t is symptom Of healthful vigor in the
| nation. 1t is an, Hvidfnce of intelligent and
active interest in the public welfare To
| feel that interest and exert that activity
| for the Advancement of local and national
| prosperity is the bounden duty of every
worthy citizen. And II, as rejecting men
| declare, this can best be done through par
| ty organization. then every good citizen
should see to it that party organization
may mean intelligent, Conscientious hon
| orable cooperation for what the members
| Of the organization believe to be for the
public good.
'But while seeing that all this is un-
| questionably true. I was none the less
grateful that my Identification with the
naional capital lifted me to what 1 could
not but consider a higher level than the
party arena, mademe sincere friend and
upholder of what is true and right in each
OF the parties. and. as far as might be, a
counsellor Of that unselhsh patriotism
which makes the interaction Of the differ
emit parties cooperate for the promotion of
| public -n1indedness. and for the symmetri-
cal, harmonious, Justly balanced and safe
advance OF our country in her march of
onward progress. Applause long contin-
Ged0
Influence ON the Old World.
Next I came to appreciate the place and
the influence of our country in the politics
| of the world and the social advance of man
kind. And then saw how wisely Wash
ington had been placed here on our At
lantic coast, as link between the old
world and the new, gladly receiving from
the old world the results Of its hoary wis
dom and long experience for our country's
safe guidance Ill her new pathway and
| then reciprocally waiting back to the old
world whatever in our fresh and eager and
untra1nmeiec experience might rebound to
the welfare of the older peoples. And thus
l came to recognize that our country in
| being, as Leo XIII called her. the land of
hope, the land of the future was destined
by Providence to be such not only for her
own welfare. but for the welfare of all the
upward struggling races Of mankind And
thus, with the heart not only of a patriot
but of priest, / came to love America
grew to be very part of me that Ameri-
cas- influence in the world was meant to
be- for the worlds good, and that 1t was her
providential mission and duty to help the
world upward-not, indeed, as the old world
demagogues imagine, by methods of revo-
lutionfsm and upheaval, but by the gradu-
al leaveninS of the world with Just IDEAS
and by calm, orderly. peaceful. irresistible
| advance toward fairer and freer and hap
pier human conditions"
The effect Of these words was shown in
| the outburst that greeted them.
Harmony of Church and Country.
Continuing. Archbishop Keane said:
In so very important and so every way
| desirable work. it was manifest to Ire
| that the old Church of Christ, the mother
Of Christian civilization, ought to have
potent and even a principal part. And as 1
| advanced in age and influence 1 considered
| 1t my bounden duty to impress this convic-
ton on all whom 1t concerned. The more
fully l came to appreciate both the spirit
Of the church and the genius of America,
the more profoundly did l become con-
WINGED Of the essential harmony between
them and of their heayen-imposed duty to
cooperate with each other for the welfare
| Of America and of the world. If there has
been anything specially CHARACTERISTIC in
my career, it is TO this conviction that it is
due, and 1 am deeply grateful to Provi-
dence that SO it has been.
For the realizationof so vast and noble
a purpose l have been not only anxious to
do conscientiously- my own humble part, hut
| ready to give just recognition to whatever
any believer in Christ, or even any believer
| in God, might be striving to do toward the
same great end Cappng critics have as
serted that in this minimzed Catholic
truth and dragged it down to the level of
man-made and imperfect Christian systems,
or even of heather unbelief. In saying so
they have totally, and, cannot but fear.
Willfully misrepresented me. [ have always
hee pla nd pr0ul tn utter the full
ness of truth in any assemblage of human
beings who care for the truth; for / hold
with St. Paul that to believers and unbe-
levers, to GentileS and to Jews, the Church
of Christ is still debtor. But 1 have never
forgotten that the power Of the truth con-
sists in its presentation in all its symmetry
and beauty and fullness; have never sac
rificed or compromised one little or iota of
it; and they who assert that have as
sert what is false. May God forgive them;
l have no controversy with them"
The Effect Upon the Assemblnge.
There was nobility and loftiness in the
superb eloquence with which the speaker
uttered these sentences, and the broad
charity of the views he expressed so ear
nestly had tremendous effect upon his lis
teners There was a spontaneous ebullition
of applause, in which sympathy deep and
sincere was evident as admiration for
the exquisite beauty of the language with
which he embeliShed his ideas, and aS he
stood awaiting the cessation of the tribute,
he was the ideal representative of the pro-
gressive in religion, to whom and his col
leagues and followers the world is destined
to owe so much.
Especially entertaining were the remarks
which followed
Divine Providence, and the wisdom of
our holy father. the pope" he said, were
pleased that my career in Washington
should be crowned by the part which
have had in the establishment of the Cath
Ole University of America here in our ma
tional capital. Reflection and experience
had made it clear both to our holy father
and to the bishops of the United States
that an essential need of our age is an eff
cient antidote for the erroneous philoso-
phies, the mistaken science, and the merely
secular instruction, which are leading men
astray from the truth of Christ: They
were persuaded that this antidote is to be
found in Christian ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS is, in
the totality of knowledge with God and
Christ for it's very heart and animating
principle, and therefore in Christian edu-
cation, from its lowest grades to its high
est and most scientific advances. They
were convinced that the crown of the
Christian educational system must be a
university distinct SlIparipr n