Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1914-09-26
He Does Not Think the Catholic
Laymen Are All Mo-
bodies.
Commends Catholic Treatment
of Protestant Men and
Women.
WHAT WOULD PROTfSTANTS DO?

washin gton GLADDEN., of Columbus,
Ohio. has an article on "The Anti
Catholic Agitation" in answer to the
correspondence brought him by his
former article, "The Anti-Papal
Panic" in the same journal. TO
the correspondents who question the
existence of such an epidemic DR..
GLADDEN. says:
"The strongholds of this move
ment are in the rural districts and
the smaller cities. An astute poh-
tician of these parts was remarklng
only few days ago that the issues
this fall were not going TO pc
political, but religious. Some OF the
most violent of my critics are willing
10 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-political machine that we call
the Catholic church. must express
nv doubt whether this writer is very
intimately acquainted with many
Catholic laymen. 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 OF their
church; but l have known a good
many who were men of independent
judgment and strong character, who
were not afraid to speak their minds
and make their influence felt in the
shaping of public policy. | do not
think that Catholic laymen are all
nobodies. l have heard from Roman
Catholic priests very distinct admis-
sions that the American layman has
a mind of his own and is quite dis
posed to express it. If any one
thinks that the Catholic laity are not
to be considered, do not agree with
him. Il
''The most serious fact about these
communications is the spirit they
reveal. Several publications devoted
to this anti-Papal crusade are in
cluded among them, and the judg-
ment of charity is not strained when
say that their purpose is to repre-
sent 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 dishonesty, of oppression, OF
cruelty are told with great details;
it does not seem probable that suffi-
cient care can have been taken to
verify all of them. One OF the cor
points to the multitude
of these evil tales and asserts 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. 1t is to be re-
gretted that Americans generally
are too tolerant of such outrages,
and it has been the Roman Catholic
policy to ignore abuses OF this
nature. / myself have proved the
untruth of many such tales, SO that
l know that they are told with I'M
punity. The whole animus of the
referred to indicate 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. / am
sure that anyone who reads these
periodicals regularly and SYM
would be confirmed in
the belief that the Roman Catholic
people are either dupes or knayes,
with none but sinister purpose, an
element in the population which
must must be held up to suspicion
and robation-enemies in short
Of the Commonwealth. |,
This is the word which is used
them in much OF this
This is the light in
which the readers of these news
papers must have to regard them.
We are told by these witnesses that
one of these papers has circulation
Of 100000. The minds of its read
ers are all being filled with hatred
and suspicion of the Roman Catholic
population. l alluded, in my former
article, to forgeries perpetrated by
the A. p. A. twenty years ago. The
same kind OF work is going on to-
day. An alleged oath OF the fourth
degree OF the Knights OF Columbus
Is being widely circulated. One OF
my correspondents. who is In posi-
ton TO know, tells me that the Prot
estant railroad men on one Of the
leading lines OF the North are ac-
cepting II as an authentic document.
An organized and persistent attempt
Is made TO convince the American
people that some fifteen or twenty
OF their fellow citizens are
the enemies of their country, un-
worthy of their confidence and
friendship. II does not appear that
any specific proposition has yet been
made 10 disfranchise them, or h
subjugate them: the object OF this
movement seems TO be TO discredit 1
them. TO make them feel that they Ii
are under the ban. II does not seem II
TO me a wise or +. Christian policy. II
do not think that II Is desirable Il