The Irish standard., 1905-08-26

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efforts were disconnected and. conse
quently more or less ineffective. Ever
since the year 1872 there has been a
we'll organized and virile Catholic or.
ganization with more than one hun.
dred thousand members pledged to
total abstinence, one-fourth of which
number is to be found among the min
ers of the coal regions of Pennsyl~
vania, West Virginia and Ohio.
! The address of the president deliv.
cred to the miners was characteristic
of the man, who is always at his best
when discussing questions which have
to do with right living. He spoke
plainly, simply and even bluntly to the
hard working miners. There is no
class of people in the country who
work harder than the coal miners,
and there is no class naturally more
addicted to the use of intoxicating liu-
uors. Their manner of living, the
hardships of their work, seem to Gre
ate in them a desire for strong drink.
The president knew the character of
the men to whom he spoke, and his
simple straightforward words were
such that could be understood by
his listeners. He did not say, as en-.
thusiastic reformers often do, that
sobriety is sure to lead to success, but
he did say that the sober man had
much better chance of success than
the Incorporate one.
The grand spectacle of two hundred
thousand souls gathered together to
listen to the president of the United
States, the highest executive officer
of the country, and to the cardinal
archbishop of Baltimore, the highest
executive officer of the Catholic church
in the United States, was an inspiring
one. That such a meeting took place
is the result of the work of the famous
Father Matthew, who visited this
country in 1S4S. 1t may be interest
ing to recall that Theobald Matthew
was a Capuchin monk in the city of
Cork, Ireland. 1t was there that he
launched his wonderful crusade
against intemperance and in an in.
credibly short time pledged five mil
lion people in Ireland alone to total
abstinence. From Ireland he went to
England and Scotland and won hun
dreds of thousands to his standard
there. Afterwards he came to the
United States, where he was enter
tanned by the then president, James K.
Polk, and was accorded the privilege
of delivering an address to the con.
gress of the United States. The re-
suit of his work has been Father Mat
thew societies in innumerable parishes
throughout this country. He inaugu-
rated the plan that those enlisting in
the cause of temperance should pledge
themselves before a priest to total alb
stinence. Since his time thousands ;
upon thousands have taken his pledge
from the hands of others. The fervor
of his spirit has made hundreds of
thousands his devoted followers. There
are few indeed who ever did so much
for humanity as the magnetic Father
Matthew. The monster convention
recently held furnishes ample evil
dence of the greatness of the work
that he did. 1t is to be hoped for the
sake of those who work for wage and
for the sake of their families that an
other Father Matthew may appear
upon the scene to carry on the work
that he started. His work was a diff:
cult one and requires an ardor and a
found only in individuals !
scattered here and there through the
centuries. He did magnificent work |
for the cause of temperance in the |
century. The twentieth
century demands another.