The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1902-07-19
Federation of Catholic Societies.
Continued from page 1)


Continued from page -
continent. Its background, the ma
TONS history. This figure looking out
upon the revelation of Americas ener-
gy. upon structures of material enter
prise rivaling in magnitude those of
Egypt The Land of Mighty Ruins, :"
though / could hear voice repre-
senting this figure saying: These are
largely the work of my hands"
Standing upon fields of battle far
more renowned than those of Rome.
THE Land of the Conquering Sword. "
This figure, / thought, spoke again:
Americans. the laurels Of your free
dom are all bathed in the richest blood
of my heart" Looking again where
school houses, academies and univerSi
ties-where scientific research, the
printing press the rostrum and the
chair of philosophy are spreading a
culture unsurpassed by even Greece.
The Land of the Beautiful Mind"
This figure spoke again: America
these are the stars of light my hand
has largely helped to place upon the
nations brow" This figure tonight,
Catholic America, may it not truthfullF
say: Americans am 1 not identified
as is no other religion with the dis
covery of your country. with its heroic
early missions. with the battle-rocked
cradle OF its birth as a nation? What
religion is more closely identified with
all the best achievements of your ener-
gy, your valor and your virtue? In
the heat of the striving, in the up
uilding OF the moral as well as the
material elements Of the nations
tR9est gpe2S0ese, N9e not Cathelle Ana
erica been bone Of fis bone and blood
Of Ifs blood Of the great republic?
In the name Of the Federation let me
repeat it, we bring no gospel of hatred
strife to our fellow citizens. We
come. rather. with the historic Ian
guage of Abraham Lincoln upon our
lips: We are not enemies, but
friends" We must not be enemies.
Though prejudice and minded
ness may at times have strained, they
must not break, the natural bonds of
affection that should bind all Ameri-
cans together.
THE mystic cords Of memory.
stretching from every battlefield and
patriot grave tc every living heart and
bearthstone all over this broad land,
viii surely touch tne better angels of
our nature" No one more than we do
realize that the edifice OF moral and
social Improvement we aim to build
can never be erected upon the ruins of
Charity" We believe that intelligence.
that education, that patriotism, that
true Christianity, are all sufficient to
adjust in the best and wisest possible
way all our really unnecessary .misun-
derstandings.
Liveried in the sentiment. in the
spirit of the Sermon on the Mount we
have no reason to fear the result of
r,1~ Ii,
monstrance against the discrimination
that would make millions of Americans
aliens in the land of their birth. 1t is
characteristic OF our country that the
sentiment always nearest the American
heart. when properly appealed to- is
one of fair play, right mindedness and
OF justice. 1T may at times be clouded,
but Americas sense of equality can al
ways be trusted if reached by tactful
methods. The real leaders of American
thought the men who shape the trend
of national affairs, are sagacious
enough and broad enough to put the /
seal Of approval upon manly protest |
against the jealous, evil-hearted. mar
row-minded Vaccinations of the ignor- |
ant. designing and un-American mis- |
chief makers. Those who would still |
live in The savagery of fanatical ages
1
All that is needed is to properly focus |
the light OF truth and fair play upon |
the dark places.
This movement to federate Catholic |
societies is by no means new idea |
1t is not either without distinguished |
precedent of long standing in the |
American Protestant world. With in /
fnitelY less Of necessity the Epworth /
League and the Young Mems Christian |
association long ago recognized the |
wisdom and opened the way to unity |
of purpose and action among Protest !
ant sects. We congratulate them upon |
their quicker perception, and we trust |
there will be found work of so broad a |
character along the lines of good citi- |
zeDship that we can, at some points at |
least, touch with them in the harmony |
of patriotic emulation. If our fathers |
forgot religious prejudice, if they for |
got all silly fears of the 'Bug-a-Boo' |
of Rome while touching elbows upon |
the fields Of death, why should we desc
crate their memory by denying to each |
other the full freedom of the flag in /
whose defense they died in heroic, no
bic brotherhood to defend?
(To be Continued.)