The Washington herald., 1909-06-13
By Ex-ATTACHE.

ward any prententiOns 10 canOniZation-
They 90 not claim to be saints. and speak
ing OF them as a class. cannot be said 10
invite attention by their excessive piety.
But this does not prevent them from re-
senting any interference with their liber-
ty Of conscience. and their freedom OF
worship. They furnished a striking Illus
tratlon thereof not long ago at Marseilles,
OF which. curiously enough, no mention
has been made as yet IN the American
press.
It occurred during the visit of a United
States squadron. About $50 Of the sailors
on board took advantage OF their stay
in port 10 attend mass in one Of the
churches. As they left the sacred edifice
in a body. they were jeered at and in
suited by the riffran In the street.
crowds Of which had assembled. no at
tempt being made by the police OF by the
representatives Of the municipality, which
IS wholly soeialistie. 10 protect them
The sailors told what had happened TO
them TO their comrades. who were much
wrought up by the affront, and on the
following morning all the men who could
obtain shore leave marched 20 the
church IN body. some 100 OF them
The great majority were Protestants. but
they were determined 10 resent the in
suits 10 which their Catholic messmates
had been subjected the day before. 50
determined, and even truculent was their
attitude, so plain 10 the naked eye was
the chip on each sailors shoulder, that
the mob was filed with wholesome
respect. and not the slightest manifesto
tion OF any III Will or Of ridicule, was 10
be seen.
If I call attention to this little episode.
it Is because It furnishes striking Illus
tration OF the decadence Of religion in
foreign countries. as compared with its
growth in the United States, where free
dom Of conscience IS no mere figure Of
speech, but one of the fundamental prin-
ciples Of this great republic. For this
religious decadence. the state. curiously
enough. Is mainly responsible. II the
case Of certain nations. especially those
Of France and Italy, IL endeavors TO fOs-
ter materialism and atheism, by the in
tolerance which II displays toward
everything connected with the church. In
fact. people in America who have not
lived abroad. have no idea Of the length
10 which this intolerance is carried by
governments which are apparently blind
10 the fact that our entire modern civili-
zation, our whole system OF law and
order, are primarily based on religion.
The destruction Of the latter means the
annihilatiOn Of the very foundation Of the
authority OF the state.
In France, officers Of the army are PEN
allied for sending their children 10 Cath
Ole schools. and even for attending mass;
one OF the most recent instances. which
excited the indignation Of even so ardent
a Protestant as NJ. de Pressense. being
the dismissal OF four Of his officers, in
cluding the two lieutenant colOnels. TO
other garrisons, for no other cause than
that they had been present at a mass,
celebrated by the Bishop Of Scissors. in
the Cathedral Of LaOn.
The recent disputes between the French
government and its postal emp.oycs.
brought to light number Of cases Of
oppression Of employees on acc Junt Of
their religious opinions. the Sous-Prefet,
or deputy governor OF the Cotes du Nord.
obtaining. for instance. the removal OF an
old woman, Nine. Costy, from the pO-
sition Of postmistress at Collinee, because
her son assisted the rector Of the parish
in the religious services; while another
postmistress' removal was demanded
and obtained for no other reason than
that her son was a priest
When Cardinal Lecott. Archbishop Of
Bordeaux. the most liberal member OF
the French Episcopacy, died. the army
officers at Bordeaux received peremptory
instructions forbidding them 70 attend the
funeral In uniform; while the mounted
soldiers stationed al various points for
the purpose OF maintaining order among
the crowd. were so placed as 70 turn the
tails OF their horses % the hearse; a prac-
tice invariably followed in the case Of
the execution OF a criminal
In South Africa, during the BOer war,
the British military authorities sent a
priest 700 miles by special train to hear
the confession Of a dying Irish soldier;
and here in America. whenever any fatal
accident happens. way is at once made
even through the densest crowd for the
priest while every one. be be Catholic,
Protestant, Jew, Mormon, or agnostic,
maintains an attitude Of profound respect.
and even reverence, while the last rites
OF the church are being administered to
the dying man.
But In France. when a soldier or a sail
or is stricken in the performance Of his
Guty, the priest IS barred from his side,
and his relatives are subjected to the
distress Of feeling that he has passed
away without receiving those religious
ministrations which they consider so in
dispensahle to eternal salvation.
Time and again have cases Of this kind
been reported TO Parliament In some If
them the excuse has been given that IL
the priest was barred, 1t was because
the dying man had not asked for him.
But In each or these cases II was shown
that the injuries sustained were Of such
a nature as 10 deprive the dying man Of
the power OF speech; while no such plea
could be put forward with regard to the
officers and sailors who lost their lives IN
the terrible explosions on board the
COuronne and the lie Touche Treville at
Toulon, and who. as they lay dying,
shockingly manned. cried in vain for a
priest ali of whom were prevented ny
armed force from responding to the call.
Parents, too. are deprived of any voice
In the education Of their childrsa. and
are punished. not only by fine, but also
by Imprisonment, II they offer objections
TO their youngsters having placed IN their
hands by the school authorities. books
, approved by the latter, in which not
merely the church to which they belong,
but even Christianity, are derided and
condemned.
AS an illustration Of what this means
/ need merely recall the comparatively
recent Incidents al ST. Pierre Micquelon.
a tiny French possession on this side Of
the Atlantic, and where in 1903 the gov
ernor. In obedience TO orders received
from Paris, closed the college long main
tained there by the clergy, and estab-
hshed in its stead a purely secular school,
70 which the inhabitants, most Of them OF
Breton origin, were forced by law 70 send
their children. and in which religion was
not only barred, but denounced and ridi-
culed
AS the result OF this, one-third Of the
population OF the island emigrated. The
remaining inhabitants, horrihed by the