The Irish standard., 1902-10-25
BlGoIRY OF BApIIsIs.

We're free from bigotry toward Cath
olics one would think io would be the
Baptist The founder of the sect
was Roger Williams, an English min
lister born in Wales. He was banishel
by the Puritans of Massachusetts in
| the midst of w lter because of his
liberal opinions and sought refuge
among the Narragansett Indians
whose chief gave him large tract Of
land in Rhode Island. There he found
ed a colony where the fullest religious
liberty was allowed to all.
Some Protestant historians claim
| that he was the first in the New
the refugees from Puritan pcrsecu-
tions, though Bancroft gives prece-
dence to Lord Baltimore in the colony
of Maryland. BE that as it may one
would suppose that the members of
the church of which Roger Williams
was the first minister on this CONT
iiNhl "Ouiu DC pIClIS LlCS LlOil oSt.
tartan rancor and malice. But such
is not the case.
The Baptists are now badly divided
among themselves, and some of them
may lie less narrow in their views than
others. According to the New York
World Almanac we have i'll the United
States the Regular Baptists, both
white and colored, the Six Principles,
the Seventh Day, the Freewill, the
Original Freewill, the General, the
United, the Separate, the Primitive,
the Baptist Church of Christ, the Old
Two Seed i'll the Spirit, and the Pre-
destinarians.
The Regulars of the North and
South, which include the negroes, az
gregate about 3,5OO,' 90 communicates
or members, and the others number
about 100000. The Primitives are
$4,000 strong. They are probably the
true followers of Roger Williams
teachings, if there is anything in IL
name, and if they are what they claim
to be they must be broader in their
views than the members of the other
branches of the Baptist sect
The Indiana State Baptist associa-
tion recently met and could not adj
journ without misrepresenting the
Roman Catholics, whom they hate
worse than the devil hates holy water.
Among other things they declared that
"the immigrants from Roman Catholic
countries would, if they could, reduce
all Protestant churches to ashes," and
that ''the Anglo-SaXon race was born
to rule the world"
We presume that Baptists of all
descriptions were not represented at
the Indiana convention. They We're
probably the Regulars, and as there
are white and black Regulars. almost
numerically equal, it was foolish to
laud the Anglo-Saxons in that way
Commenting on their utterances the
Chicago Tribune says that the first
| statement is hysterical and the second
worse, it being "a vile mixture of self
consciousness and braggadoc.o." 1t
then proceeds as follows in defense of
the slandcred Catholics:
With regard to the Roman Catholic
Church, people who read the statistics
of church attendance will not deny
that the Roman Catholics are entitlc
by their numbers to respectful con-
sideration in the religious world
Catholic churches. crowded to the
doors, Protestant churches asking
what is the matter with the working
men-that seems to be the sltuation
The daily newspaper cannot say
whether Catholics or Professionals ar,
better fitted to guide the working
man in the right direcLon. All il
can do Is to point out external facts
With the Catholics performing T:
large religious service, is it well FOL
Professionals to take them to task?
With regard, next to the .Anglo-Sax
OH race it cannot but occur to thu
reader of current literature that Their,
is n great deal of Anglo-SaXon tall
which lacks that quality of reserve OF
which Anglo-SaXons used to prid,
themselves. In the Stalky stories
when Mr.. Kipling brings canting
ranting lingo down to a school wher,
!: most of the boys expect to risk thei
lives for their country, the speed
which the lingo makes is receive.
. with cordial disapproval. "Jelly bel
| lied flag flapper" is the Homeric cpl
tibet he gets. The boys are outrage,
to hear him bring their most secre
| patriotic ambitions out into a broad
) ugly light of crude statement. Sim
ilarly, Mr.. Hovey speaks in one of hi
l poems about the Anglo-SaXons VIII
do not chatter but who understand
Can such praise last now? On al
sides we see the Anglo-Saxon doing
dithyrambic dance in most Anglo
Saxon way and insisting that he is til
future ruler of the human race. If h
Is he ought to keen little uuiete