The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1909-05-08
A Churchman'S View

Chicago, May 9Th fall OF the
French govrnment as the elimination
of the present internal discomfort in
that country is predicted by the Rev.
Francis Clement Kelly, D. D., LII. D.,
president of the Catholic Church Ex-
tension society, who. returned today to
Chicago from an important European
mission. DR.. Kelley went to Rome
early in Februtry to present to Pope
Plus X, specially made volume re-
cording the proceedings of the first
American Catholic missionary con-
gress, held in Chicago last November
under the direction of the extension
soliety The pope he characterizes as
"a kind and gentle old pastor.
an ideal parish priest with white cas-
sock on" He afterward made care
full study of the present French crisis.
AS result of this study, he made his
startling prediction.
Government Must Fall
"The present government will fall, ~
he said, "for people must realize that
without God no nation can exist.
France is trying the experiment Of q
goddess nation.
There is no more interesting spot
in Europe or even in the world today
than France. Anything might happen.
No news, however strange, would sur
prise me much during the next five
years. Everywhere l went, meeting
people high and low, rich and poor, I
found the same state of uncertainty.
tried hard to study the situation,
but it is a puzzle to an outsider. At
the root of it all seems to be the fact
that France, as a.republic, is trying to
get along without a constitution. To
an American. republic without a
constitution seems an impossibility.
For example, met an architect on
the train between Paris and Lille, who
was man of good education, as all
professional men must be in France.
He seemed to have plenty of the
worlds goods.
Standing at Volcanoes Crater
"'We are standing over the crater
of a volcano!' he exclaimed to me. L
fully expect a revolution. I only hope
it will be revolution without barri-
cades.'
He was generally alarmed at the
strikes all over the country. When
laughingly suggested that we did not
consider. in America, that little
strike was menace to nation, he
explained that the government was
radical socialist, and that the ruin
would come when such a government
would have to turn against the work.
men as it must do to preserve order.
"It was also explained to me that
all public utilities. practically. were
under the control of the government
the postofflce, of course. but also the
telegraph, telephone and some Of the
railroads. All the officials are called
functionaries and the radical govern
ment depends upon them to do political
work. They are rebelling. and in the
case of the postal and telegraph oper-
ators the government lost, retreated
and gave in.
Jailers Have a Union
Gwen the jailers of Paris have a
union. You can imagine the situation
when the members of the jailers' union
give as their message that they are
underpaid and that they have people
locked up in their prisons better able
to govern than the deputies them
selves. Imagine such a message to
the United States from an employe of
the federal authorities!
THE postoffice officials assert that
they are at once discharged IL they
go to church or show any sympathy
whatever with the faith of their faith
ers. They cite postmistress who was
discharged, not because she went to