Milford chronicle., 1912-11-29
A REPLY TO MIR. TEAS, LETTER.

/ Catholic Church, communicated by Ed
ward Teas, of Milford, Delaware. The
attack was occasioned by the fact that
one of the candidates for governor in
the recent election is Catholic. / am
native Delawarean, having been born
and raised within three miles of Milford,
and refuse to believe that any consid-
cradle number of my former fellow citi-
zens subscribe to the statements made
by Mr.. Teas. have no desire to enter
into an acrimonious religious discussion
with anyone but when there is made
such a wanton and scurrilous attack on
the faith of my fathers. for political
purposes. l feel that it is my duty to
enter protest. The article is so glaring-
ly mendacious as to need but little COM
ment The most it does is to convict its
author of the grossest kind of ignorance
of those subjects of which he presumes
to speak with so much authority.
1t would be an easy matter to casti-
gate and refute his several charges, and
to make counter charges but after
commenting on one or two of his state
ments, prefer to quote from authori-
ties who will not be suspected of being
partial to Catholicism.
The man who makes the statement,
Rome has focused her glasses of hope
and expectancy on Delaware, politically,
as never before, is either bent on keep
ing alive religious animosity or his mental
perspective is narrowed by religious
prejudice. While ostensibly appealing
to the intelligence of his countrymen,
by that statement he is assuming that
they are ignorant of the fact that there
have been Catholic governors of several
States, and that there are to-day many
Catholics in the Senate and House of
Representatives of the United States,
and that in the Supreme Court the Chief
Justice and one or two associate Justices
are Catholics. The gentleman would
have US believe that the Pope is tunnel
ing under the State House at Dover
with a keg of giant powder under one
arm and box of Lucifer matches under
the other. Are his readers so gullible?
He asks, in referring to the cost of
our liberties, Has any Most Holy Fa-
ther any blood in it," If he means
have Catholics given their share of
blood for it, | answer emphatically,
yes! Does he know that the courage of
a Catholic regiment marks one of the
most brilliant chapters in the military
history of the Civil War? Does he not
know that Phil Sheridan and General
Sherman were Catholics? Is he ignor-
ant of the fact that General Thomas,
known in history as the "Rock of Chicka-
mauga, was a Catholic? How many
names are written larger than these in
the military history of our country?
Does he ask his insolent question in full
knowledge of the fact that several
signers of the Declaration of Indepen-
dence were Catholics
Is the gentleman not aware that no
less a parsonage than Washington wrote
a letter commencing the valOr and pa
triOtism exhibited by Catholics during |
the Revolution? If he is not familiar |
with these facts it does not lie in his
mouth to speak disparagingly of the (
status of certain Catholic countries. l
The real menace to our institutions is d
not the Pope, but the mischievOus med |
1lers VINO by their sputterings would {
drive a religious denomination to vote as
a unit. The situation is this: Catholics |
are as badly divided politically as Pro |
testants are divided spiritually. They /
vote their political convictions regardless !
IF religious proclivitios. 1t is desirable
that they continue to do so but such
attacks as that of Mr. Teas
.an have no other effect than to drive
hem to vote in self-defence. There
we're frequent charges previous to the
asst election that the Catholic vote was
o be delivered to a particular candi-
late for president, and regarding such
harges the Philadelphia Ledger says :
When the election returns came to be
their utter falsity was demon
trated in every case.
However, the resuitin Delaware shows
hat Mr.. Teas and a cOterie of his fel-
Ow countrymcn actually did defeat
andidaJe by an appeal to religious big
try? And this IN land that glOries in
IS liberty
As an antidote to the effect of the
S statement, | have the fol-
wing to offer from the great Macauay.
imself Protestant and England most
rilliant historian. Speaking of the
atholic Church he said: "She saw the ]
of all the governments /
nd of all the ecclesiastical establish
lents that now exist in the world, and
-e feel no assurance that she is not
estined to see the end of them all. +
And the Hon. w. E. Gladstone. one
f England S greatest statesmen and I
rotestant, said this "The Catholic ,
hurch has marched for fifteen hundred
ears at the head of civilization her h
rt, the art of the world her genius, +
le genius Of the world; her greatness, !
sr glory, her grandeur and majesty
ave been almost all that in these re s
)ects the world has to boast of
her missionaries are to be found a
herever there are men to be taught
le evangel of immortality and souls to v
2 saved. And this wondrous church is
-day, after its twenty centuries of age, A
J fresh and vigorous and as fruitful as
/ the day when the Pentacostal fires
ere showered upon the earth. " q
| suggest that the gentleman ponder L
ell upon these words before delivering
lOther datribe against the Catholic n
lurch. ROBERT E. CURTIN,
Baltimore, Md. ii