The Irish standard., 1906-11-17
FOES OF SOCIETY
Archbishop ireland. in an Inn
pressive Address.
Warns Against the Anarchist
and tho Assassin.

Tennessee, covering events of the civil
war and Of great historic interest,
took place at Council Bluffs, Iowa, on
the 9Th inst. Many prominent in the
various walks Of life wero present on
the occasion from all parts Of the
union, amongst the number being His
Grace, Archbishop Ireland Of st. Paul,
who delivered a most patriotic and
stirring address The Archbishop said
in part:
'Our country! May it ever be what
we wish it to be, great and glorious,
the first Of earths nations, the pride.
the honor of all mankind! America,
the old soldiers of the war Of 1851
lift their glasses to salute thee, to
proclaim thy grandeur, to vow to thee
undying fealty.
II again extol the material prosper
ity Of America. But as one of its ac-
cidental consequences must note the
spirit Of social restlessness which now
agitates the country, and in the ap-
peasement Of which the stanchest
forces Of patriotism must be steadily
invoked. It is said too much prosper
ity comes to some, too little to others;
hence new methods are called for in
the distribution of wealth and the en-
joyment it procures
THAT all is perfect in present con-
ditions. that there is no room for
progress, that reasonable discussion
as to what is and what ought to be,
is not allowable, we do not, we must
not assert. But this much we must
assert, that nothing should be said
or done subversive of public order,
destructive of the spirit of the coun-
try or of it's institutions; that in the
discussions taking place and. the acts
following them the fundamental prin-
ciples of right reason and Of the con-
stitution and laws Of the republic be
not forgotten or set aside! that MOTH
ing be authorized or permitted that
fans passion and renders difficult the
composure of mind needed in such
discussions.
THE wild anarchist, the would be
assassin are the public enemies of So
ciety, whom to tolerate Is to tolerate
open sedition. An enemy, too, Of pub
lie order is the workman who, refus>
ing his own labor, deters by violence
a brother workman from his Offering
of his labor, as is even in a greater
degree the strong and powerful, who
override the law of the land in carry
ing the schemes of their ambition.
Private property-the right OF
every man to own and dispose of, the
fruits of brain and hand-must be
regarded as sacred and inviolable
"A chief panacea put before us is
common ownership, through city, state
or nation, of the chief agencies of
productivity and Of the transportation
hither and thither of the results Of
this productivity. Let all be on their
guard Common ownership in one d.
rection leads readily to common own
ersf1ip in another-all the more so
when the purpose really held in mind
by the many is to grasp wealth with
out much personal effort by despoil-
ing others to make up for ones own
deficiencies. And is there not serious
danger therein of weakening individ-
ual ambition-which has been, In
America particularly, the great stimu-
lus to the wondrous material develop
ment with which the country has been
blessed?
"True. we have large personal for
tunes and large corporate accumula-
tions Of wealth. But are these things
evil in themselves? Are they not only
necessary results of personal freedom
and personal energy. but also bene-
f1cent causes Of universal prosperity,
80 "eAASAA hhS pOOI nave pulL
Large personal fortunes acquired legit-
imately are in themselves an honor
able testimony to talent and to toll
and without large aggregations of
capital, whether personal or corpor-
ate. great enterprises are not possible.
And without great enterprises will the
country show the marvellous growth
which we deem an essential cfarac-
teristic of American life and will the
masses Of the people have the oppor-
tunities now SO abundantly set before
them to find employment and to de-
velop their own fortunes, however
relatively small those may be?
That large accumulatfons Of wealth
be not permitted to ply their forces to
violate the laws Of justice, to Cypress
and ruin the weak, to absorb into their
own being the liberty and the life, is
an undeniable proposition on which no
controversy is permissible. But to