The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1908-09-05
WORLD IS MONEY MAD
: Father Phelan's Impressions Of
- People Of Europe.
But a Small Proportion go to
-z Mass on Sunday.

. them this year, writes Rev. D. S. Pho
Ian to the st. Louis Western Watch.
man.
can speak only OF the cities. be-
cause the tourist cannot reach the
country places. I have more interest
In people than have in art or mani
mate nature. While others spend ali
their time visiting the galleries and
seeing the sights l generally stroll
through the most frequented streets
and visit the churches, especially dur
ing the morning hours. when the peo-
pie show their religion. 1 look into
the peoples faces and observe their
. manners; how they greet each other
and how they talk. One remarkable
feature of social life in Europe Is the
all-perneating joy of the people. They
all look so happy. And they sing from
morning till night. I saw street sign
this morning which said: Berlin
4 singt" And I might say the same Of
all the other cities have so far visit .
: cd. They all sing. 1t is nothing
strange to hear young working men
or servants, walking along the most
crowded thoroughfares singing at the
top of their voices. If they did any,
thing like that with us we would con-
clude they were drunk and would look
tc. see them arrested The big cities
are filled with opera houses, concert
halls and singing schools. I was kept
awake all night in Vienna. because n
singing school. patronized by some no
BILE lady, before whom the whole ho-
, tel salaamed, gave concert that kept
up until four o'clock in the morning.
And this was not grand opera. but q
Z, sin ing school Of young boys and girls
:. The attendance was immense. the
grand equipages filled the streets FOR
blocks. and the ladies and gentlemen
/: dressed as If for royal presentation.
And this was singing school. Yes,
in Europe tout lie monde chante."
= This disposition indicates innocence.
Bad people do not sing. It indicates
happiness. There is no music in the
soul bowed down with care. And
must say the people over here look
though there must be great poverty
over here the poor appear happy
Why do we not sing? Why are we so
E sour faced: 5 I drop the line of argu-
:ment.
But must confess. don't find
much religion among the people here.
L have been in large Catholic cities,
like Rome, Florence, Venice, Munich,
Vienna. Berlin. and have been over
convinced that only small proportion
60 to mass on Sunday | find the eat
ing OF meat on Friday universal. In
Vienna I sat down to dinner on Fri
day in a. frst-class hotel. The people
all around me were speaking German.
They were the people Of the city, and
dll SdlllOlLS. II was IlCL
"a hotel patronized by Americans or
English people. I always avoid them.
The waiter, In rich broadoloth and
wealth Of shirt front. brought me the
bill OF fare. Right in front OF me at
a table sat four nice young ladies,
whose modest and. gentle bearing
would argue a. convent education. I
saw they were eating meat. and felt
by blood boiling. In a loud and dis
tinct voice1 asked the waiter II he
had no fish. He said he had not. I
asked him If Catholics patronized that
hotel: He said they did. then said,
looking straight at the young ladies'.
am a Catholic and this company is
Catholic; and Catholics do not eat
meat on Friday. The nice young la
dies paid no attention to my rebuke,
but kept on eating their meat. When
passed out they bowed to me most
respectfully You will expect me to ac-
: count for this. How comes 1t that
Catholics thus neglect the most rudi-
.nentary duties of their holy religion
Well. they don't care. Religion,
which we are taught in America to be
the. one thing necessary, in Europe is
not considered necessary. or even i'm
.portant There is; an awful amount
OF religious indifference among the
people here, They are recovering
slowly from saturnalia of liberty. It
Is. NOT much over hundred years
since the French revolutions: and the
century Just closed was one Of strug-
gle. for popular liberties. The pendu
.lum Of passion is at the topmost marx
OF the nrst swing. 1t will not stay
there. There is a disposition among
thinking people to give credit to the
ancient regime" and to consider the
popular conauests Of the present any
thing but an unmixed good. But the