The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1904-05-21
HE WANTS INFORMATION.
Some Catholic Fraternalist Should
Answer This Correspondent.

Hogup, Ogden Lucin Railway, titan.
Editor IntermOuntain Catholic:
Could you. either through your paper
or by reference to others, give me any
! Information concerning the knights OF
Columbus? What / really want TO
! know Isl this: Is. there any Cathollc
I friendly benefit society of national or
| International character that Catholic
could join for the purpose OF protect
ing himself against the eXclusiveness
! of the innumerable secret societies with
! which this country is honeycombedE
/ While / would not belong to Cathollc
! society that would be exclusive In the
sense of debarring a man from a Job
I of work or position in politics because
! he should happen to be non-Cathol1c,
l do think the time has come when
! Catholics should hestir themselves and
see to it that they be not deprived OF
4 work, or the means of earning living
5 simply because they are not members
of this or that lodge, or in consequence
of their not being "Elks, ''Woodmen,
or odd Fellows" to say nothing OF
Mormons and Masons.
To hold any kind OF a decent job
fellow must belong to at least half
dozen of these orders. The whole of
his spare time must be given up to
them. On the evening of Monday he
must be off to the Musical Mysucs
Tuesday to the Teetotal Tattlers,
wednesday TO the Woodenmen of the
World, Thursday to the Trumpeters of
Thibet, Friday to the Fraternal FroWn-
ers, Saturday to the Soldiers of Satan,
and on Sunday Gnstead of going 10
church) he must hike off to the PACING
StOpers!
Talk about the sanctity of the home,
indeed. Why, we have so little time
for counting Can occasional dance at a
LODGE that we hop into matrimony
without seeing the need of home. a
room, fiat, any old thing. will do. Ana
after marriage, what? Why, the lodge
of course Is it any wonder that the
poor woman should become lonely ana
find a lodge or a parlor for herself?
Why not; become Daughter of Devo-
luton, or Destruction, or something
else? Let men and women belong to /
their trades unions by all means. but /
don't. for heavens sake, organize US
out of house and home.
Though we Catholics belong to the |
greatest union on earth, / do oeIleVe /
we are the most disorganized people in |
the world regarding everything out
side of religion. While we may not I
adopt many of the methods of getting (
rich now in vogue. we surely ought TO !
find some means of helping one anoth-
er NOurSeIVeSt III case OI SlChltSS,
tress and death. as we'll as protecting
from the evils and exclusive
ness of secret societies. Involuntary
poverty more frequently drives men
and women to drink, disgust and de-
spair than anything else. Drinking
and kindred habits are. [ believe. more
the effect than the cause of
poverty. Many of us in this western
are necessarily tramps owing
to the nature of the work we follow
mining and railroading. When the
sisters from the hospitals come to see
Us in camp every man, irrespective of
his creed, will give his name to the
for a subscription because
ne knows they are always willing to
lelp him out in case of sickness when
and where possible and ask no ques-
ions. But when he goes to town he is
"a stranger in a. strange land. The
,nly place open to receive him is the
saloon (while his money LASTS, roll
n the sawdust and back to work, or
o look for work.
If such a man as I have attempted to
could be made to feel that he
we're a member of some good, sound,
substantial association that would ex- !
end to him the hand of Catholic fell
owship in every center of CIVILIZATION
lie would undoubtedly become good
better citizen. and credit
O his race and religion. Faithfully {
ours. JOSEPH f. HART.