The menace. [volume] (Aurora, Mo.) 1911-1920, 1914-02-07

they appear before n court commissioner,
as Is done in Wisconsin, and answer
questions Of attorneys for the huryer
Polsli which will form the basis for the
Kurgcr's 100000 damage suit.
Against appearing in court archbishop
aud his fellows fought in the mos; bitter
manner.
The Catholics have maintained from
the start that they we're doing a relig.
ious duty when they placed the paper
that attacked them under ban. They
have not denied, nor could they do il II
they wished-for the facts are against
them-that eonspiring TO place the paper
under the ban has seriously injured its
business
The EurVer knows only too well how
Il has been hurt by the churchmens' ban.
The fat prelates know-and secretly re.
ioice-that they have hurt the paper.
They only wish that they may hurt IL
still more in the DAYS 20 come.
In few weeks Archbishop Messmer
aud his four henchmcn will bo sum.
moned TO appear before one Of the court
commissioners in Milwaukee and there
will be compelled 10 produce the papers,
correspondence and notes in their pos.
session regarding the placing Of the
KUrVer POlSli under ban.
Now the prelates viii be compelled TO
change their tune.
Thus far they have maintained that
they were acting above the law in plac.
ing the paper under ban and that the
law cannot touch them for Il. How.
ever, the decision Of the judge udely
skaters their contentious and they will
. hs FaWaaA 90 Naaa La 81 Na11fHaV
what they did and how they did il, in
conspiring 10 put the paper that at
tackled their rule Of the Catholic church
out Of business.
The order Of Judge Halsey reads that
Messner must produce "all copies Of is.
sues of the huryer PolSli, or translar
tions Of the same, in his possession or
custody. or originals OF copies Of letters
sent him by Michael Kruszka, editor Of
the Ruryer P0lsli or other editors Of
the said paper either before or after the
issuance of the pastoral letter"
For Catholics who have been maintain.
ing that they were above the law 10 be
thus ordered by a judge Is, no doubt, a
rude shock 10 them. Safe, so they prob
ably thought, in their domination Of the
affairs Of the church, they ventured out
20 eonspire to ruin the business Of q
man who dared to attack their rule. But
they over-estimated their power, as they
have now found to their sorrow.
What the outcome Of the case win be,
cannot, Of course, be told. But this
much can be predicted. The Rurysr
Polsli is after the hides of the pre-.
lates with a vengeance.
The present battle between the Kuryer
and Archbishop Messmer, though il is
a big fight in itself, is only an echo Of
a still bigger fight that is going on be.
tween the hierarchy of the Catholic
church and the Polish people Of the
United States.
As far back as 1908 a Polish Roman
Catholic congress held at Buffalo, N. Y,
petitioned the pope al Rome for Polish
bishops for the Polish people.
In Milwaukee, for instance, there are
thousands and thousands Of Polish Cath.
olics, but not until last week had the
church authorities even taken notice Of
to be the fact that the Polish people
have no nation of their own. The hier-
archy apparently believes that il pays TO
honor the German Catholics because they
have a powerful nation. Likewise with
the Austrian, the Spanish and the Ital-
ian Catholics.
But the Poles have no national DO.
litieal organization that can be used as
a tool Of Rome. Therefore they are
given no consideration. A slight glance
as the leading figures in the Catholic