The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1898-07-16
THE WEST POINT CHAPEL.

ping God in ii decent structure tiltp-
erto they have beeu obliged 10 attend
divine worship in an ord barn or bar
rack. inconveEienlly located. !for sew.
cl;,i Years Catholics lav. been trying 10
get site on the reservation, aus, de-
MahulnS the privilege OF erecting, 4
chape! thereon ut their own expense for
the accommodation of their coreliltUn
lists i'll the military service OF the
United States. About The close of the
Cleveland administration Mr. Lamont,
the secretary vi war, isatteu Il peiuiit for
the erection OF IL Catholic chapel, but the
Di%"t5 OF the country protested loudly
against his action, declared il was llc-
sa, ana llnally the matter vas referred
to Attorney Gene,al Mciiennu, OF Nc
Kinieys cabinet. Our readers will re-
member that he rendered al adverse de-
cision. He held that the power 10
grant the privilege rested With con-
gross. and that bllore the secretary of
war could issue IL permit he mast have
been ali liolzed 10 do so by that legis-
lalire body. Mr.. MclenEu was slarpl,.
criticised at tho time by The Catholic
press, ana III" stctnrian press and pul-
oil, and bigots of every denomination.
.. Declared he "ds Il Daniel come to
Judgment" a righteous judge, uo,wjth-
s'"ho'ns that he WAS "devout and
i, devoted Roman Catholic"
The Catholics, however, were NOT do
TERED from demanding tl"ir Just rights
uht.tE The constitution by the decision ,f
!" '''&-ns'l Catholic attorney gen raj.
30, tHil"G lheir at:"u,iei, tn cona,. ~
lui' r';lrf, and ultimately won thei, c,,.c
: IA |Hi''i OF determined or. siliun. The
t&rt that not less than nrn third Of tho
YIN s-2M: army nnw fighting Catholic
sil@' rrofhsa the same faith rs tho nn,.
H. has had much to do in it,nuarciuy
cnn%ress to adopt the report g! the COM
lnli''9 nn military affairs. giving The
secretary "i WAY. in his discretion. the
power to authorize any determination 10
""!la house OF worship On tho West
! f"n1 reservations. without cost to the
| government Perhaps il there wero M
war the Catholics would NOT have .ur.
cee'leu at this time. The charge of14+~-
loyalty could not have been
brought against them. for in
every battle on sea and land
during tho Spanish american war
the names OF Catholics have figured
prominently. The representatives of the
blHotS in congress dared not charge them
! with being a peril to the country, for
they wer" shedding their blood and adj
ding glory to the American arms, while
their un-Amcrican defamers remained
safely at home out of the reach of shot
and shell.
1t is gratifying to read the noble SEN
'iments OF Congressman Bailey. of
Texas: Sulzcr OF New York; Cannon. OF
illinois; Henderson, of Iowa; Adams. of
pennsylvania. and Hill OF Connecticut
III r'buking the bigots who opposed the
passage OF the bill. In the course of
an lmpassioncd address, MIR. Bailey. the
! Democratic leader Of the house smoke nc
follows:
since the house permits bar to be
maintained in this capitol certainly if
Will not refuse to permit a church upon
military reservation. (Appla,lse.) |
nave no religious prejudice: | was rear
ed by Il Protestant mother: but would
cut my tongue out of my head before T
would try to inllamc religious prciudiccs
| against large part OF my countryn,cn
Cloud appallsc.) 1t matters NO
to me under what name ~
man worships God; if he worships at
all, he is infinitely better than any man
who would deny him the opportunity
for worship according to his own con-
science. Cloud applause.)
Mr. Hill made strong plea for a
catholic chapel, and said in part:
These boys represent both Protest :
ants and Catholics. An average from 25
to 80 Catholic boys attend the school as
cadets. Tho regulations of tho school
are that the cadets cannot leave the
grounds to go to church, they must at.
tend ON the grounds Or go out under
the charge of an officer, unless excused
The detail of soldiers at the academy
have been for years more than three
quarters of them members OF the Catho-
lie Church. | say this because do not
think that the Protestant churches will
apply for permit. although they have
right to apply on the same terms un-
| der this bill as have the Catholics. There
Is nothing in the bill that says Prot
cstant' or Catholic in any way: but,
| treating the matter fairly, we might as
| well recognize that II is for the purpose
| OF accommodating the cadets and profess
| sors that cannot be accommodated
| under present circumstances. There is
an average Of six professors at the
| school who are Catholics. know very
little about the Catholic church myself
| l Was raised Methodist, but for the last
! Is or 90 years have not worked at II
very hard" (Laughter.)
In his address for the bill Mr.. Adams
said,
II am Protestant, but speak free
from prejudice. Our country was found.
ed by those who exercised religious free