The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1914-10-17
Vituperative Protestants He De-
clares Confirm Truth of His
Statements and the Viru-
lence of the Eruption.
Article Published in Harper's
Weekly Sets Forth Views of
Congregational Clerg-
man on Eruption
of Bigotry.

smaller cities. An astute politician
of these parts was remarking only
q few days ago that the issues this
fall were not going to be political.
but religious.
"Some of the most violent of my
critics are willing to admit that the
Roman Catholic laity are, on the
whole, a good sort. Left to himself,
the Roman Catholic layman is as
good man and as patriotic as am.
But he is not left to himself and the
better Catholic he is the more of a
tool in the hands of the religio-polit-
ical machine that we call the Catholic
Church. I must express my doubt
whether this writer is very intimately
acquainted with many Catholic lay
men. They are. as rule. loyal to
their church and its leaders, and they
are not in the habit of engaging in
factious disputes with the authorities.
A good many are men of inde-
pendent judgment and strong charac-
ter, who are not afraid to speak
their nfnds and make their influence
felt In the shaping Of public policy. I
do not think that Catholic laymen are
all nobodies. have heard from
Roman Catholic priests very distinct
admissions that the American layman
has a mind of his own and is quite
disposed to express it. If any one
thinks that the Catholic laity are not
to be considered. do not agree with
him.
"The most serious fact about these
communications is the spirit they re-
veal. Several publications devoted to
this Anti-Papal Crusade are included
among them, and the judgment Of
charity is not stained when I say
that their purpose is to represent the
Roman Catholic Church and the
Roman Catholic people in the darkest
colors. Everything that can discredit
them is gathered up and set in the
most lurid light. Stories Of dishon-
esty. of oppression. of cruelty are told
with great detail; it does not seem
probable that sufficient care can have
been taken to vertify all of them. One
of the correspondents points to the
multitude of these evil tales and as
serts that these newspapers would
not dare to print them If they were
not true. Unfortunately this is not
the case. How easy it is to spread
defamatory reports we all know. It
is to be regretted that Americans
generally are to tolerant of such out
RACES, and it has been the Roman
Catholic policy to ignore abuses of
this nature. I myself have proved
the untruth of many such tales. so
that I know that they are told with
impunity. The whole animus of the
publications referred to indicates an
eagerness to bear injurious testimony
against Catholics as a class, to as
sumo that they are all evil. and only
evil, and that continually, I am sure
that anyone who reads these per-
iodicals regularly and sympathetic
ally would be confirmed in the belief
that the Roman Catholic people are
either dupes or knaves. with none but
sinister purpose, an element in the
population which must be held up
to suspicion and reprobation-ene-
mics, in short. Of the commonwealth.
''This is the word which is used
concerning them in much of this cor
respondence. This is the light in
which the readers Of these newspa-
pers must have to regard them. We
are told by these witnesses that one
of these papers has a circulation Of
100000. The minds Of its readers
are all being filled with hatred and
suspicion Of the Roman Catholic pop
ulation.
II alluded. in my former article.
to forgeries perpetrated by the A. p.
A. twenty years ago. The same kind
of work is going on today. An al
legged oath of the Fourth Degree
q