The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1906-12-29
SPOKANE, WASH.
(speclal Corregpondence.l

Spokane, Wash, Dec. Is.
United States Senator Piles of Wash
ington has, according to advices from
Washington, D. c., secured the revoca-
ton of an order recently issued by Sec
retary Taft Of the war department d.
recting the officers of Gonzaga college
in Spokane to return to the government
all rifles and side arms loaned to 1t for
instruction purposes. This means that
the work of the Gonzaga cadets. de-
clared to be the best drilled body out
side of strictly military bodies, will be
continued with the proper accoutre-
ATent.
arrangements have been made to
let house ofworship for Catholics
Potlatch, Ida. southeast Of Spokane.
ye coming, spring, when a resident
priest will be stationed in the town of
1000. which less than a year ago was a
settlers homestead.
The basket ball league at Gonzaga
college has been organized with six
teams, and will play schedule of for
ty-flve games. 1t is expected to COM
plete the first division of fifteen games
before the end of the year, but Father
Burke. physical instructor, does not be-
lfeve the full series will be completed.
for the reason that in February the
boys will forsake the gymnasium and
take up football.
Walla Walla council No. 766, knights
of Columbus. has elected these officers
for the year: Chaplain, Rev. Father
Loeffler; grand knight, John P. Kent;
deputy grand knight, T. j. Ennis:
chancellor, w. P. Clancy; financial Sec
retary. D. P. Hayes; recorder, A. G..
Schott; treasurer. ]. A. Weber: warden
L. W. Cullen; lecturer, G. D. O'Connor;
advocate, c. n. Sutner; trustee, r. w.
Tierney.
Declaring it is a deep conspiracy
against all religion, liberty and prog
ress, Rt. Rev. Edward J. O'Dea, bishop
OF the diocese Of Nisqually, in signed
statement to the press of Washington,
reviews at length the attempt of the
government of France to oust the
church under the guise of separating it
and the state. After pointing out that
the nature and effect of the trouble is
little known to English-speaking people,
for the reason that the news published
In the daily press comes through pref
udiced channels, the bishop adds:
"An impartial study of the situation
will disabuse every fair-minded and in
telligent reader of any real sympathy
for the unprincipled gang of atheistic
politicians who. with absolute power in
their hands, are trying in the name of
liberty. feigned and false progress. to
rob the French nation of the most fun
damental rights a people can enjoy;
the right to worship God according to
the distates of conscience, and the right
to impart that sacred heritage to the
rising generation. 1t is a great con-
spiracy against oil religion, liberty and
progress"
The whole difficulty, the bishop be-
lieves, dates back to the French revoIu.
ton of 1888, the spirit of which, he says,
Is athestic. Its very nature is opposed
not only to the Catholic. but to every
form of Christianity. It's object is to
Danish God from the hearts of the peo-
pie and the world. After reviewing the
in its present form, the bishop
says in his statement:
when the church was prosecuted in
the past. God always came to her sup
port in the end and carried her to VIC
tory. In fact, he has promised to do
so in his memorable words addressed
to st, Peter, the first head of the
viz: Thou art Peter and upon
this rock 1 will build my church, and
the gates Of he'll shall not prevail
against 1t, and behold I am with thee
all days. even to the consummation Of
the world Resting upon this guaran-
tee, we are perfectly at ease as regards
the final issue"
Bishop O'Dea says that the dictation
Of an infidel government over the dis
tates of the church. is impossible and
renders it impossible for the holy fa-
ther, the bishop, priests and laymen
TO accept the situation. He insists on
the church being allowed perfect liberty
of worship so long as her observances
do not conflict with the laws of the
state, adding:
The church is always and every
where willing to agree with and observe
the laws of the land in temporal affairs
when these laws do not conflict with the
dictates Of conscience"
Bishop o'Dea then discusses the con-