The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1912-12-07

prompted 1t. Others thank you for
material achievements, for the en-
enlargement and support you have
given to agriculture, commerce, in
dustry, education, but we thank you
for work which surpasses all others
in worth and Importance as the
heavens surpass the earth, as the soul
surpasses the body, as eternity sur
passes brief span Of years If it be
a title to glory to build an empire, If
1t be guarantee of fame to have
given men the food which perisheth,
how much more glorious and meritor-
ious to place within their reach the
Bread of Lffe-the Word of God.
We know that your unparalleled sue
cesses in the fields of commerce and
industry have not caused you to I'M
dervalue things spiritual and divine.
You realize that material prosperity,
precious though it be, is not the goal
of human endeavor but only the neces-
sary foundation of higher life, a life
religious and moral. You wish the
people of the Northwest to be the
owners of happy homes, of fertile
farms, but you no less desire to see
them enjoy the benefits of an educa-
ton adapted to their needs and the
consultations of a religion whose en-
nobling and fortifying influence you
have witnessed and experienced in
your own family circle.
Such being your life's ideal, you
surely must be gratified at the results
attained by the seminary you have
founded. Thanks to your generosity,
the message of Christ, not a message
alloyed or adulterated according to
mans passing fancies, but the whole
message, in all it's integrity and purity,
has been carried over the Northwest.
In these Western States there now
lives Catholic population of several
millions. You know from personal ex-
perience that they constitute that part
of the American people which is par
ticularly industrious and moral, that
their family life is generally of such
character as to be one of the safest
guarantees of the nations future, and
that they are particularly free from
the economic and political tendencies
which are subversive of social sta
bility.
The Mission of the Seminary.
But that they may thus remain
faithful to the high ethical standard
preached by the Catholic Church,
leaders must be supplied and priests
well trained in knowledge and virtue
must constantly keep watch over
them. Three hundred and ninety-nine
of such wellequipped workers have
left these halls since they were opened
to the Catholic youth of America about
eighteen years ago. Of these one
hundred and ninety-four are laboring
in the State of Minnesota, forty-seven
in the State Of Iowa, thirty-two in
North Dakota, twenty-eight in South
Dakota, twenty-six in Nebraska,
twenty in California, twelve in Illinois,
seven in Michigan, six in Oregon, four
in Montana, four in Wisconsin, one in
Ohio, and few others in the Eastern
States.
Not only does the st. Paul Seminary
make it's influence felt over this wide
area, but it also administers to prac-
tically all the races which compose
our heterogeneous population. AS
many as twelve different languages
have been spoken at one time within
these walls. An invaluable service is
thus rendered to the State in keeping
our millions Of immigrants moral and
law-abiding and Transforming them
gradually into loyal and intelligent
citizens.
Such, all too briefly, is the work
which has been made possible through
your iberality. The fields were ripe
indeed for the harvest and you, Sir,
have generously brought it to pass
that the laborers might not be want
ing. Already so abundant is the yield
that the Master alone can measure it.
Who can wonder, then, that the stu
dents of the st. Paul Seminary, their
devoted professors and their worthy
Rector, that friends of religion and
intelligent patriots, that The venerated
spiritual leader of the Northwest him.
self, speaking both in his own and in
the name of the Church Universal,
whose influence he has so widely ex-
tended and whose battles he has SO
valiantly fought-who can wonder that
they should all so eagerly seize this
opportunity Of manifesting their pro-
found gratitude?
Pray accept, therefore, Honorable
Sir, in your own behalf and in behalf
of her whose name, in Difference to
an expressed wish, is seldom men
toned but never forgotten-accept this
modest reception as an expression of
our sincere appreciation and Of our
heartfelt thanks.
The Most Enduring Monument.
Many are the monuments that you
will lava hnhfnd unrr n ho0r IN