The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1913-07-12

: The only Catholic who was executed
was Mrs. Surratt, and every impartial
historian believes she was innocent of
any crime. Some of the conspirators
exonerated her from all guilty knowl-
edge. She would not have been exc
cuted but for Secretary Stanton's in
reference.
Col. Baker gives the list of articles
found on Booths dead body as fol-
lows: Bills of exchange, Canada
money, diary, two pistols, a belt, a
knife, compass, and pipe. No
mention by Baker of Catholic medal
nor of Catholic scapular, as stated
by Prof. Sims, the lecturer in Mime
sofa of the Guardians of Liberty.
/ repeat that the only Catholics con-
nected with the Lincoln conspiracy
were Mrs. Surratt and her son. No
body but the contributors to anti
Catholic publications now believe that
the old lady was guilty. Her son.
John, fed to Europe via Canada, but
not "by the assistance of Romish
priests in disguise as alleged by this
Truthful James," whose lying article
is being reviewed.
John II. Surratt escaped to Europe,
it is true, and he enlisted in the Papal
Guards, where he was discovered by
Archbishop Hughes, of New York,
patriotic prelate in whom the Lincoln
administration had such confidence as
to appoint him an envoy to European
nations to keep them from recognizing
the Confederacy as belligerent pow
err Thurlow Weed and Henry Ward
Beecher were sent as ENJOYS to Eu-
ropean countries at the same time
with Archbishop Hughes.
When the New York prelate heard
of Surratt's whereabouts he immedi-
ately called on Cardinal Antonnelli,
Secretary of State of Pope Plus TX,
then temporal ruler, and the Car
dinal instantly communicated with
Secretary Seward at Washington, D.
c., asking what to do with the refu-
gee. He was surrendered as an act
of courtesy, was put on trial, and the
jury disagreed. On the second trial
he was acquitted on the plea of limita-
tions. (See Ellis History of the United
States, vol. iv, p. 1342).
Now, few words about Guiteau
and l am done. The son of Ananias
asks: "And who was Guiteau, the
assassin of President Garfield, if he
was not French Catholic?" See
how he asks the question. That is
what logicians call the "suggestio
falsi" or the falsehood suggested
What Guiteau calls himself (see Life
of Garield), is "a native American,
lawyer and theologian." He was
of Huguenot extraction, and with his
father joined the Oneida Community
in Illinois. Afterwards he became a
Second Adventist and died in that
faith.
1t may be interesting to the histori-
cal fabricators of the Guardians of
Liberty and their dupes to know that
it was "Romanist" who led the party
in pursuit of Wilkes Booth and his
gang after they fed from Washington
on the night of Lincoln's assassina-
ton. His name was Lieut. Edw. P. Do
herty, of the Sixteenth New York Cav
airy. How it came about was this
way: On the afternoon of the oath
of April (1886), their commander,
Gen. Sweitzer, received from Gen.
Hancock an order to detail reliable
and discreet officer with 25 men well
mounted" to report to Col. Baker
with three days rations. Whom do you
suppose did Gen. Sweitzer select as
"a reliable and discreet officer" in
compliance with Gen. Hancock's mill
tary order? No other than Lieut.. Do
herty. The "P" in his name stands
for Patrick, Paddy or Pat-a glorious
cognomen that comes down from the
Roman nobility, bat has been used as
a term of ridicule and reproach by the
Know-nothings, the A. P. AS, the
Guardians of Liberty and their for
bears, for over half century.
Lieut.. Doherty knew his best and
bravest men, and one of the first he
picked out for the dangerous expedi-
ton was Sergeant Roston Corbett,
whose name indicates that he belong
ed to the fighting race" and was a
Romanist" or ought to have been;
but no mention is made of race or
religion in the army records, for the
creed of an American soldier has
nothing to do with his fidelity to coun-
try and flag.
Who would make distinction be-
tween Grant and Sheridan on account
of difference of creed, though one was
Methodist and the other Roman
ist?" Only bogus patriots from Can
ada and Ulster and descendants of
African tropics draw the line. Real,
genuine Americans, ready to fight and
die in the cause of human liberty,
never allude to race or creed. 1t is
only the towards and the braggards
who stayed at home during the Civil
and Spanish-American wars that boast
of a monopoly of patriotism. Out
upon the scurvy fellows! They are
a disgrace to country where "a
mans man for a that" and is judged
on his personal merits.
In conclusion, ask the young read
ers of the Catholic Bulletin to pro-
vide themselves with scrap book
and preserve such articles as this for
future use. Such lies as expose in
this letter may be repeated in the
Menace, the Guardian of Liberty, the
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