The Irish standard., 1914-12-19

THE IRISH
hood to visit the Holy Father because
he feared the criticism of the Metho-
dists. Such was the action of a man
whom many Catholics are now praising
because of his great moral force in
undertaking to speak upon the Mexi.
can question. His visit to every po-
tentate in Europe and his advice to
them as to how they should run their
governments wherever he could give
this advice without offense, are also
matters of record. Sufficient to say.
that after his return to America, he
was invited to attend a banquet in the
city of Peoria, Ill. Archbishop Glen
non, of st. Louis, was to appear on
the program the same evening. But
because of the attitude of ex-President
Roosevelt toward the Catholic church,
Archbishop Glennon declined to ap-
pear, explaining that he could not con-
scientiously do SO. This is also a
matter of public knowledge which
received great amount of comment
at the time. There was no adverse
comment or criticism on the attitude
of Archbishop Glennon. All Catholics
felt that he did the right thing, that
he pursued the only course that he
could conscientiously pursue in de-
Ginning to appear at public function
with an ex-President of the United
States who would not hesitate to
show his discourtesy toward the Ro.
man pontiff.
The American Catholics will not
soon forget the shameful treatment
received by Mrs. Storer, the wife of a
Catholic Ambassador to Austria, when
she went to Theodore Roosevelt, then
president of the United States, to place
before him an explanation of the awk.
ward position in which she and her
husband were placed because of the
attitude the then President Roosevelt
had taken toward herself and her hus-
band in connection with what was
known as the Storer affair. Mr..
Roosevelt did not hesitate to pass the
lie direct to Mrs. Storer and her hus.
band in order to explain his own DO.
sition. BY grace Of ex-President Taft.
a Catholic Chief Justice, the first in
generations, now holds that important
position on the supreme bench of the
United States. The statement was
made by professors connected with
the American College in Rome, that
ex-President Taft was among the most
broad-minded in sympathy and gen.
erous in his attitude toward the Cath
olic church that had occupied the
presidents chair for many years.
Ex-President Taft was known init
mately at the Vatican through his
settlement of the Friar land question
in the Philippine Islands. Mr.. Roose-
Welt supported President Taft and en-
joyed his friendship. It was stated
at the time, politically, that he forced
Taft as president upon the Ameri-
can people. Yet, the Taft administra-
tion has been to ex-President Roose-
welt a sort of Sodom and Gomorrah
affair, nothing good could be said
about it. If there ever was an un-
seeming incident connected with men
in high places, it was the incident fur.
nished in the last presidential cam
paign, when president and an ex-
president of the United States were
engaged in an unfriendly controversy
over the relative merits of their re-
spective personalities. No one will
contend that Roosevelt could have
taken the attitude he did in good
grace, and it i'll became him to attempt
to besmirch the political character of
his opponent. Certainly, it was not
looked for. Well, indeed, could Presi-
dent Taft have soliloquized thus, at
was not mine enemy that would thus
attack me, for then perchance 1 could
have borne it. It was not mine adver.
sary that did thus magnify himself
against me, for then perchance |
could have hid myself from him, but it
was thou, my companion, my own ia
miliar friend" Three times within the
last three months Catholic papers have
quoted from speeches and addresses
made by ex-President Taft, and, only
two weeks ago, in an address at a
non Catholic church conference in
Connecticut, he paid glowing compli.
ments to the genius of the Friars and
the teaching orders in the Philippine
Islands. He explained how beneficial
was the work that had been done in
making the way much easier for the
success of our government in those
islands. Yet, this is the man who ex.
President Roosevelt so thoroughly he
rated.
With what grace an Irish Catholic
can support the attitude of President
Roosevelt, the defender of Oliver
Cromwell, is beyond our ken. Mr.
Roosevelt decided some years age
that Oliver Cromwell was misjudged
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