The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-07-21
ROBBING THE CHURCHES.
Serious Charges Laid ut the Door of
Soldiers in the Philippines.

To the Editor Of the Globe:
The clipping enclosed is taken from
the Catholic News of the 18th inst, pub
lished In New York. AS matters of this
kind have been under discussion lately
in several of our newspapers, pro and
con, 1t may serve the cause of justice
to publish the extract in the G l o e, es-
pecially as we have every probability of
It's truthfulness in the actual presence
in the Twin Cities Of sacred articles
stolen from Philippine churches. Permit
me to add, that If this sort of warfare
is to be allowed to go unrebuked by our
civil and military authorities, it will
bring the whole contest, in the eyes Of
every sincere Catholic, to the level of a
mere struggle between heathenism and
Christianity, barbarism on our side
against those whose civilization, as far as
Christianity is concerned, is superior to
own Own-a struggle which, as to our part,
will bring the curse of God upon the
country and upon every citizen who
gives his aid to the unholy cause.
William Markoe.
We are panied to hear that some of
the American soldiers in the Philippines
have been guilty of sacrilegious crime,
Michael Prendergast, private in Com
whose parents live near Jenkintown, Pa,
has lately written home describing a
dreadful scene of sacrilege in a Catholic
church outside of Manila. He writes:
Villages and churches are in ruins as
the result of our cannonadtng. One
church presented a scene such as I have
never before seen or heard of. The vol
unteers found the church just as the
priest left, and so, when these devils
got in, they completely demolished every
thing. They broke to pieces the statue of
the blessed Virgin, besides the statutes
of saints. After this was done they
broke up the tabernacle, where they
seized the chalice and the blessed saCra-
ment, which they threw upon the floor.
Not satisfied with that, they trampled
upon them They then put on the priests
Vestments and marched into camp in
hooking manner. 1t brought tears to the
eyes of many a Catholic boy to see such
an outrage on the church of his faith
But the volunteers didn't stop at this
They went into the vaults of the church.
and, after breaking them open, tn y threw
the bodies in all directions in their search
for jeWelry and other valuables This
alone is a disgrace to Uncle Sam, and the
gaIlows is not half good enough for some
of the soldiers"
the philadelphia North American which
publishes his lie ter, has an enviable record
as soldier. When the war opened he
enlisted in the Third cavalry and served
with credit throughout the entire Cuban
campaign. After a spell of sickness at
Montauk Point and at Jefferson barracks,
he was transferred to the Twelfth in
fantry and sent to the Philippines. It is
safe to say such a man is telling the
truth. His letter deserves the serioiIs a T.
tention Of the authorities at Washington
If the army officers at Manila ignore
Such a horrible insult to the faith Of the
Catholic soldiers who are fighting for
their country in the Philippines the pres,
ident and the secretary Of war should be
made to, understand that action by them
is in order.