The Irish standard., 1900-06-02
IMPERIALISM IN THE PULPIT.
The city of Minneapolis is blessed

occupies the pulpit of the fashionable
Univcrsalist temple known as the
Church of the Rcdeemer. Though
claiming to be Christians, neither the
pastor nor his congregation believe ii
the divinity OF Christ or the redemp.
ton of mankind by the shedding of His
blood on Calvary. With their religion:
or non-religious belief, however, we are
not concerned just now.
We shall conhne ourself to the false
doctrine of patriotism taught by the
minister who administers spiritual pab.
ulum in pl1ilosophic phrases to his
wealthy flock His name is Rev. DR.
Marion Shutter. Personally he is a
pleasant gentleman, and is quite popu-
lar in the community. In former years
he was the advocate of liberty for the
Irish people and frequently raised his
voice on the platform in denunciation
of British tyranny. We mention these
facts to show that so far as the Irish
Standard is concerned it has no ill
feelings but, on the contrary, friendly
feelings for DR.. Shutter.
In his address last Sunday to the
George N. Morgan post of the G. A.
R., Dr. Shutter said not a word for the
freedom of the oppressed in any land.
He denounced the Filipinos and the
Beers in the style of an imperialist and
Anglomaniac, and hurled his vitupera-
ton against his own countrymen who
stand firmly by the American constitu-
ton and the Declaration of Independ-
ence.
Like political demagogue he
sophistically told the old soldiers OF the
republic that McKinley's mercenaries
in the Philippines are engaged in the
same noble cause in which they risked
their lives on Southern fields for the in
tegrity of the Union and the liberation
of the slave OF course, he knew bet
ter than that, and knowing that the
patriots listening to him entertained diff
ferent views he hastened to assure them
that "the charge that we are fighting
against liberty and independence in the
Philippines is the veriest fancy that
ever danced in the brain of an agita-
tor"
He blamed the anti-imperialists fol-
prolonging,. the war and keeping the
natives from enjoying. the blessings Of
''such measure OF self-government as
those people shall from time to time
show themselves capable of administer.
ing" He referred to Aguinaldo as "a
half-breed bandit who sold himself and
his cause for Spanish gold"-a state.
ment which is absolutely false. If he
takes up the, Minneapolis Journal Yea,
Book for 1899 he will find that Agui,
naldo did not betray the insurgents
but that the Spanish government failee
to keep its promise in introducing re.
forms in the administration of affairs
Instead of consuming space in re.
futing the many misstatements of thi:
clerical hireling of the plutocracy, we
draw the attention of our readers to the
article on the front page of this issue
by Bishop Spalding of Peoria, in which
he says:
eve have sympathized with all op
pressed neonles-with Ireland, Greece
Armenia, Cuba. To emancipate the
slave we gladly sacrificed the lives o.
hundreds. of thousands of our soldiers
And now the American soldier, who
should never shoulder a gun except ii
a righteous cause, is sent 10000 mile:
across the ocean to shoot men whose
real crime is that they wish to be free
wish to govern themselves. To say tina
they are unfit for freedom is to put forth
the plea OF the tyrant in all ages ane
everywhere. The enemies Of libert,
have never lacked for pretexts to jus
tify their wrong; but, in truth, at thu
root OF all wars OF conquest there lie
lust for blood and gold"
When DR.. Shutter was speaking te
the members of the Grand Army abou
Justice, humanity and liberty" on thu
imperialistic plan he forgot to tell then
that the flag under whose folds the,
fought to free the Southern slave nov
waves in triumph over slavery ane
polygamy in the Sulu islands; and tina
William Mckinley is paying out of the
war fund to his Mohammedan ally
Womolol Hiram, ten thousand Mex
lean dollars year for experimenting
the twin relics OF barbarism" in hi
domain. And while the starry banne1
is thus desecrated by the man who sit
in the chair of Lincoln he de6es an!
defender OF the flag in the days of it
peril ito haul it down." We regret ex
cecdingly that such an address as tina
OF DR.. Shutter was not rebuked by thu
veterans of the Civil War. Such senti
ments as he uttered were un-Americat
in the extreme, and reflects no credi
upon him either as citizen or as ;
churchman.