The Irish standard., 1908-10-03


called TO things accomplished by our
Protestant friends, such as the y NJ.
G.. A., to matters affecting Catholics,
and concerning which something
should be done to countcract the un-
equal advantages enjoyed by Protest
ants and Catholics. and so forth, says
John Meyer, in the Catholic Colvun.
| ban. At tho occasional gatherings {
societies or at important cclebrat iolls.
our clergy invariably grasp the oppor
| tunity TO give little heart to heart
talks. believing that proper attention
will he paid thereto. But outside Of
this nothing seems TO be doing. no re-
suits are seen, and Catholics In gcn-
cral seem to he entirely contcnled,
Judging from their persistent inactive
ity.4 4 a.s,s. -....s.,.>
Y A Pertinent Question.
1t may be asked: What are Cath
olic societies for?ttWhat are their OBJ
jects?" The answer can generally be
found in tho constitutions OF such or
ganizntions some of which even so
into an elaborate detail OF their aims
and the duties devolving upon all the
members in furthcring them. But
here we rest again. A banquet at rare
intervals. the stated conventions OF So
cieties (whcrc in reality nothing Is
done except to make Il few amend
nnents to laws. elect officers for n rev
term. etc.), the much advertised ;ni-
tiation Of IL larSc class of candidates,
and that is about all one can find I'll
looking for results.
| Considering the fairly large mcm-
bership OF our bcst-known Catholic
organizations, should we not expect
them to show more definite and car
nest efforts III following their aims
than they do at present? Undoubted-
~. If they would do this, and gradu-
themselves in whatever work may be
at hand. does it seem improbable that
great benefits would thus accrue
Hardly. Catholics are numerous
enough in this country to be able to
accomplish something, and if they
would only discard their phlegr:atic
unintcrcstcd habits and arouse them
selves to real action. there is almost
no limit to what could be done. That
talent is too preposterous a thought
to entertain; it would be an acknowl
edgment that our Protestant friends
are our superiors intellectually, an at
tribute the undersigned cannot con-
ccde to them.
| As to Catholic Societies.
So much for the shortcomings Ct
Catholic societies. What Is the rem
edy? This is a delicate question, tho
answer to which may be difficult ia
give; but, whatever the answer may
be, it is absolutely useless to un:er-
take anything IL the officers arc left
to do all the work without the assist
ance OF the members. Fortunately, the
officers of our societies are generally
highly efficient, yet they cannot per-
form wonders when they do not re-
ceive the proper support. The UNDER
signed does not wish to be understood
as saying that none Of the societies are
doing any good; that would be assert
ing something without knowing all tho
facts. Nevertheless, for a society OF
order to cnunIcratc in Il prcambl;. tc
it's constitution a long string Of |aud-
able purposes for which 1t was CT eat
ed, the qualities it's members should
possess, etc, and then placidly sit
down in blissful contemplation nf the
elegant language employed, is not cal
culated to improve upon things.
Why cannot our societies arrange
to have series Of lectures and debates