The Irish standard., 1903-05-09

John Ireland archbishop of st. Paul,
is one OF the makers Of American his
tory. What he stands for is so vital
and so important that only those well
verSed in the sources of the growth
of this new republic can understand
it. History never repeats itself, but
the essential forces that make history
are the same now as they were in the
age of Alexander. says Maurice Francis
Egan in the Pilgrim.
IL may he said without seeming to
be unrcaSonably ccnsoriuls that Amer
leans have as vet taken no time to
learn the lessons OF hiStory-taken no
time to amlyZc the complications
which lie beneath the apparent sim
plicity of their constitution and its ap-
picatiOn to their national life The
United States of Amrricn is sufficient
for itself; it's ways are the ways Of
Washington and Jefferson. and uucs-
tions of Statccraft, questions of the
relations of mis- country to foreign na-
tions ana to certain facts may easily
he settled hy an appeal To the Monroe
, Doctrine made by amy "tlplomatist"
who might be appointed at the caprice
! of Il president. Because Archbishop
Ireland secs more deeply into the hid
den springs OF our national life than
most men, he has been hnilcd hy Il
majority of the American people as a
patriot of the first order. and by Il
! minority, consisting alike Of Il num-
her of persons or his own church and
of those who hate his church--nS n
"LiIcrnl'' ANA :, ".IcSuit in Disguise"
, For once. we see the ultrH-fOrign
Catholic and the mltrahi-oted Protcs-
! tnnt Joining hands in distr,lst-for
even doubt has Il cohesive quality
against an American. who, because he
| is Roman prclate, is more than ever
Il friend of the republic.
In France, Ireland is the best known
Of Americans. And there is no mem
her of a foreign hierarchy better
known. AS, in this country, the un-
thinking who borrow second hand
phrases compare him TO Richelieu, the
narrow royalists in France hnve call1,l
him 1omcmic dc Rricnne why, nobody
knows-am this same cOtcric has not
hcsitntcd to hope that Leo XIII, who
refused to recognize the Duke of Or
lcnns at the expense of the republic,
might be quickly translated to the
society of angels" The cause of Of
fcnse which both the present pope and
the present archbishop OF ST. Paul
seem to have given to the "reactlon
ists' is the consistent application of
the principles of the pontifr's cncycli-
cal, "Liatllrnum, which Archbishop
Ireland expresses in "rhc Catholic
Church and Civil Society" the most
important of his works:
You ask" he says, "what is the at
titlIde Of the Catholic Church toward
a republican form Of government The
church teaches that the choice Of con-
stitutlons and Of rulers lies with the
people. Whether they shall have an
empire, a monarchy or a republic, II is
their privilege to decide. according as
their needs may suggest or their de.
sircS may lead. In this matter the
church from her principles is without
voice." ....
The battle of Bulls Run had been
fought, and the great gravity of til,
crisis became evident to the American
people. 1t was no mere impulse OF
enthusiasm that made John Ireland
enter the Union army as n chaplain
He realized what the struggle meant
he saw It's results with the calm, far.
seeing eyes Of one who had studied
the philosophy Of American politics
drdurtivoly and inhuctively. AS chap.
lain of the Fifth Minnesota regiment
he showed deep sympathy with the
soldiers of all denominations, that
made his word law. even with those
who had 10 special reverence for his
>accrdOtal character. lie was a man
among men," said one of the old sol.
dicrs, the other day, 'illrd as q man