The menace. [volume] (Aurora, Mo.) 1911-1920, 1914-01-24


on the Southern railroad, 50 miles
east Of ST. Louis, lies Germantown.
This Is town Of 500 people. The
settlement is nearly a hundred years
old. German Catholic people have
been the sole inhabitants Of this
village Tor years. There is not a
Protestant family in the place. The
writer was able TO discover but one
person IN the town not a Catholic,
but his wife and two children are
Catholics.
Hence here, so far as I have been
enabled TO ascertain, is the only ex-
clusiyely Catholic town, outside OF a
colony, in this country. There NAV
be others, but this is the only one
| am cognizant Of now.
Believing the report in THE MEN-
ACE Of visit TO such q place as Ger
mantown would be interesting to
our readers, the writer was sent
there BY THE MENACE in order 10
study conditions as they exist in a
purely Catholic town. | believe what
follows will have a tendency to open
the eyes Of the American people aud
prove beyond the shadow Of a doubt
the truthfulness Of the statement Of
THE MENACE that Romanism Is the
deadliest menace to American lib
erty and civilization. The condi-
tions in some Of the large cities like
New York, Philadelphia and Chi
cago are certainly alarming, but in
those places there is a mixture Of
the lcaycn, and the sway OF Ro-
manism is not complete or cxclu.
sivc; bu' in this little Illinois town
] am enabled to give You the condi.
tions as they exist, where Rome and
the things Of Rome have complete
and exclusive control.
IL one had told me there is n
place in this American nation where
conditions exist as they DO at Ger
mantown, ! should have had grave
doubts as to the correctness Of the
statements or the veracity OF the
person. But seeing is believing. and
since my visit to this real Little
Rome" / am prepared TO believe
almost anything as to the condi-
tions where Rome rules.
Well, MENACE readers. come and
60 with me TO Germantown.
THE LAY OF THE TOWN.
We board the local train on the
Southern railway at the Union sta
tion, st. Louis, Mo-, travel through
East st. Louis, Belleville and other
smaller towns and in about two
hours from the time we boarded the
train the conductor calls out. Ger
mantown." We alight at the sta
ton and look about us. / care not
which way you look, what your dis.
position may be or for what pur-
pose you have gone there, the first
thing you will notice is saloon and
hotel just across the street from the
station. IL YOU are a stranger and
wish to 60 down to the business part
Of town, you must either inquire at
the station or at the saloon across
the street. The hotel man will tell you
to 90 two blocks east and two blocks
north.
Starting up town, you turn the
second corner; one block further is
the large general store of A. B.
Michells across the street west from
this store is another saloon; then
east of this store a few doors is an
other saloon, and on down the street
a half block north is still another
saloon; now the cross on the church
Catholic, for there is no other in
the town-and never has been
shows up, and Immediately across
the street and connected with the
walk leading to the church entrance
by a street crossing, is another sa-
loon and hotel. This saloon has the
choice location, as the worshipers
simply walk straight from the
church after "divine" services are
over and into the saloon. / watched
the crowd file from the church where
high mass had been held, and in less
than three minutes after the first
"worshiper" had hit the saloon en-
trance, the saloon was filed to ca
pacity and men were backing out
and making for the next thirst par
lor. Taking my bearings from the
church, ] found there were five stores
Of various kinds, six saloons, large
-four mill, creamery and bank,
church, parochisl and public school.