The Irish standard., 1900-04-21

the A. P. A. and the cowards who are
afraid OF it struck down the appropria-
ton. There are now 400 Indian chill
dren upon that reservation without one
dollar to give them an hours instruc-
ton OF any kind. That is the teaching
OF many professors of the religion of
Christ i'll the Protestant churches. I
repudiatc it. I would be ashamed of
myself ii did not do it, and ii it we're
the last accent l ever uttered in public
lie it would be to deno,,hce that mar
rowlninded and unworthy policy based
upon religious bigotry.
l undertake to say now-and every
senator here who has passed through
that reservation will corroborate my
statement-tlat there IS not in this
whole country an objecElcsson more
striking than that to be s zen from the
cars of the Northern Paqi6c railroad
the fact that these Jesuits alone have
solved the problem of rescuing the In
dams from the degradation in which
they were found.
Mr. President these Jcsuits are not
there, as one of them told me, for the
love OF the Indian Old Father Ra-
vaille told me, lying upon his back in
that narrow cell with the crucifix above
him, 81 am here not for love of the In
dian, but for the love of Christ" with
out pay except the approval OF his own
conscience. If you send one OF our peo-
pie, clergyman, politician even, to
perform this work among the Indians,
he looks back to the heshpots OF Egypt.
He has family, perchance, that he can
not take with him on the salary he re-
ceives. He is divided between the hab-
its and customs and luxuries of civilized
life and the self-sacrificing duties that
devolvc upon him in this work of teach
ing the Indians.
The Jesuit has no family. He has
no ambition. He has no idea except
to do his duty as God has given him
to see it; and am not afraid to say
this, because ] speak from personal
observation, and no man ever went
among these indians with more intense
prejudice against the Jesuits than l had
when I left the city of Washington to
perform the duty. made my report
to the Secretary OF the INTERIOR Sena-
tor Teller, now OH this floor, and
said i'll that report what I say here and
what I would say anywhere and be
glad of the opportunity to say it.
Mr. President, every Dollar you give
these day schools might as we'll be
thrown into the Potomac river under
a ton of lead. You will make no
more impression upon the Indian
children than if you should take that
money and burn it and expect its
smoke, by some mystic process, to
bring them from idolatry and dcgra-
dation to Christianity and civilization.
If you can have the same system Of
boarding schools supported by the
government that the Jesuits have
adopted after long years of trial and
deprivation grant that there might
be something done i'll the way of cle-
waiting this race. '"
If I have ever done anything in my
whole career in this chamber Of which
I am sincerely proud it Is that upon one
occasion l obtained an appropriation
of $4,000 for all industrial school at
St, -1gnati..s il, Montana A few years
afterwards, in passing through to the
Pacific coast, I stopped over to see that
school. They heard was coming and
met me at the depot with brass band,
the instruments in the hands of Indian
boys, and they played, without dis
elimination, Hail Columbia and Dixie.
They had been taught by a young
French noblenan whom I had met
two years before at the mission, who had
squandered the principal portion of
his fortune in reckless dissipation in
the salons of Paris and had suddenly
left that sort of life and joined the
Society of Jesus and dedicated him
self to the American missions. He
was an accomplished musician, and he
taught those boys how to play upon
the instruments.
Mr.. President, arc VIC to be told that
secret political organization in this
country shall dictate to us what we
ought to do for this mucl,-injured race
whom we have despoilcd of their lands
and homes and whom God has put
upon us as an inheritance to be cared
for? l accuse no senator here of any
other motive than desire to do his
public duty. I shall do mine, and
should gladly vote for an amendment
to this bill infinitely stronger than
that of the senator from Arkansas.
would put this work, imperative upon
us, in the hands of those who could
best accomplish it, as would give the
building OF my house to the best
mechanic, who would put up structure
that suited me and meet the ends
desired. If the Catholics can do it
better than anybody else let them do
it. If the Presbyterian, the Methodist
the Congregationalist, or any other
denomination can do it, give the work
to them, but to every man who comes