The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1902-11-22
BISHOP POTTER AS A LECTURER.

blSHOP POlIEK AS A LECTURER.
The most spectacular prelate of any
religious denomination in the United
States is perhaps Bishop Henry Cod
man Potter of the Protestant Epis-
copal church of the diocese of New
York. 1t was only last week that
The Irish Standard published re-
view of his new book entitled "The
East OF Today and Tomorrow" con-
tributed by Thomas f. Woodlock to
The New York Evening Post. In his
criticism of Bishop Potter's book,
Mr.. Woodlock proved that the author
was wrong in many of his statements
about the Philippine Islands where
he spent only a few days. AS his
torian Bishop Potter is VIGOROUSLY I'M
reliable. Instead Of making a per-
sonal investigation in the interest of
truth, he took John Foreman, the
lying Englishman, for his authority,
and copied almost verbatim ct liter
atm that rasca's calumnies against
the Jesuits which he has written in
his book on the Philippines.
| For instance, Foreman says: "The
Jesuits were expelled from these
islands in the year 1868 by virtue of
an apostolic brief of Pope Clement
XIV" Bishop Potter takes for grant
ed what the Englishman states and
reports the falsehood as follows:
''The Jesuits were expelled from
the Philippine Islands in the year 1853
by virtue of an apostolic brief of
Pope Clement XIV" OF course,
Bishop Potter made no mention of
Foreman. He is too original for
that.
The fact is that Pope Clement
XIV. never expelled the Jesuits from
the Philippines at all. He was not the
occupant of the papal chair at the
time. No Pope ever expelled them
from the islands. 1t was King Char
les III. of Spain who issued the de-
cree of expulsion, and Pope Clement
X1II. who then ruled over the Church,
strongly protested against the Kings
degree and lauded the Jesuits highly.
proved by Mr.. Woodlock, and the at
tention of Bishop Potter was drawn
to them by the editor of the Evening
Post. Did the Episcopalian bishop,
like an honest man, admit the error
he had made on the authority of
Foreman? Not at all. In note to
the paper, his secretary said: "Bishop
Potter asks me to say that concerning
facts Of common notoriety he cannot
undertake newspaper discussion"
OF course not. He could not well
admit that he was plagiarist who
had used the words of Foreman with
out giving him any credit therefor,
and as for the Jesuits, why, they are
only targets for SANDER anyway.
But setting this all aside, we come
to Bishop Potter as a lecturer. The
people of Duluth had heard of him
through the newspapers and thought
| him a great man on the platform.
They invited him to the Zenith City.
He went in special car from New
| York to the head of Lake Superior and
spoke in the Star Lecture Course
for thirty-five minutes by the watch.
He will never speak there again I'M
der the auspices Of the Duluth Liter
airy Club. The audience was sadly
disappointed in his lecture, and so
loud were the protests heard on all
sides that Bishop Potter returned the
fee he had received from the Club and
took his departure for Gotham in
his special car in anything but good
humor.
The Duluth Herald did not think
much of Bishop Potter's talk on
"The Civic Responsibility of the In
dividual," and frankly said so next
day. 1t declared that the Zenith
City chad heard many lecturers who
presented the same thoughts in half
the time, ten times more forcibly
than Bishop Potter, and they have
been preached and preached from
Duluth pulpits with far greater
force" AS if that criticism was not
sufficiently crushing, our esteemed
and wide-awake contemporary went
further and said:
IF Bishop Potter talked himself
out in that length Of time he should
not be endeavoring to fill engage
ments on the lecture platform. He
must be strikingly lacking in the
appreciation of what lecturer should
give his audience. A speaker ordi-
narily would be supposed to have
sufficient regard for the preservation
of his standing to give them the best
of what he is capable, Nut it can
hardly be believed that Bishop Potter
was at his best last evening. 1t
would have passed very we'll as a
Sunday evening talk to his congre-
cation, but as lecture to fill an
evening in course, it was a dismal
failure. The audience which braved
the storm-a large one for such an