The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1914-12-26
Is freedom of the press license to

Should the Post-Office Department
permit the transmission of libelous
and defamatory statements?
Statement from the Court.
Agreeing to the proposal that SEN
tence be suspended, Judge Wilson,
who is one of the most prominent Pres
byterian laymen in Philadelphia, said:
Il think that these cases have reach.
ed very proper conclusion, and it is,
in my judgment, quite suitable that,
in accordance with the desire of all
the parties concerned, sentence
should be suspended in the cases.
Great care ought to be taken that
no injustice should be done by writ
ten or spoken words to either individ-
uals or institutions. 1t is not at all
strange that the prosecutors in these
cases should not have been willing that
the opprobrium which would naturally
arise if the publications complained
of had been founded in truth should
be allowed to exist.
Il am personally glad to hear from
the head of the Order or society re-
ferred to what he has said in regard to
the matter.
Though not of the same faith,
realize fully and without reluctance
that the Church with which that So
ciety is affiliated accomplishes a vast
deal of good. It's activities should be
protected from misrepresentation.
Il may add that my personal ac-
quaintance with Mr.. Flaherty, the head
of the Order in question, leads me
to accept his statement without hest
tation."
ANOTHER CASE.
State of Minnesota VS.. A. M. Morri-
son and Garfield E. Morrison.
A trial of the greatest interest to
knights of Columbus and.to the Cath
olics of this country and of Canada
as we'll as to non-Catholics-and
among them, to none more than to the
small band of loud-mouthed bigots who
rail against the Church-was held in
Waterville, Minnesota, Wednesday,
July 20, 1914. This was an action of
criminal libel brought by E. M. Law
less, editor of the "Waterville Senti-
nel," against A. M. Morrison and G. E.
Morrison, father and son, editors and
publishers of the "Mankato Morning
Journal" of Mankato, MINI. The libel
consisted in the charging of Lawless
with having taken the bogus knights
of Columbus oath, which has been so
largely circulated in this country and
in Canada during the past year and
half. We will not attempt to repro
duce this oath, but suffice it to say
that it has been published as the
Knights Of Columbus oath and as the
Fourth Degree oath, and is, in letter
and insinuation, one of the foulest
libels imaginable. It is in some re-
spects a revamp of the old hoax which
has for many years passed muster in
the press bigots as the Jesuit oath.
Obligation Put in Evidence.
The outcome of this trial is of more
than local interest. 1t is of national
and international Importance. The
knights of Columbus have often been
accused Of taking an alleged oath
which, if the charge were true, would
forever condemn them to the merited
execration of their fellow men. But
this was the first time that an individ-
ual Knight was directly charged with
the offense. 1t furnished the Order
the first opportunity it has had to
put the real obligation of the Fourth
Degree in evidence and make it a
matter of court record which any citi-
zen may read for himself. Herein
lies the Importance of the case which
establishes precedent in the history
of the Order.
knights of Columbus and Catholics
generally have been astounded at the
conditions which make possible the
publication and circulation by millions
of copies of this foul libel. Well mean
ing non-C Catholics have been shocked
by these accusations against Catholic
men and knights of Columbus whom
they knew to be high-minded citizens
and ideal neighbors. The bigots work
ing in the darkness as of old, have
pressed on the accusation and argued
that If the oath" was not true, the
Knights of Columbus would soon, by
prosecution or otherwise, prevent its
further circulation. The Menace of
Aurora, Mo-, the mouth-piece of the
rejuvenated A. P. A., sold this "oath"
in vast quantities. Some of our late
born societies with high-sounding
names and alleged patriotic purposes
have been most active in their print.
ing and circulation of this bogus oath.
Not Noticed by the Press.
The trial above referred to is in
reality the third public trial and by
far the most important of all, yet we
cannot help noting with surprise and
regret, that the public press did not
deem 1t worthy of much notice, al
though it concerned a libel that had
been so widely circulated and which
affected an organization of three hun