Norwich bulletin., 1915-04-20

IA4LdlIOI OL the WOFlQ masses. some times the worlds rulers have misrn- derstood: them, persecuted them, in carcerated them in dungeons. We read of and marvel at and applaud the courage of prelates and warriors and statesmen and writers-of theologians who defined corrupt and headstrong kings; of officers and men who storm ed Mayre's Heights and Balaclava; of your own Nathan Hale. regretting that he had but one life to give to his country; of Washington at Valley Forge, of Grant and Lee at Appoma- toX; of Herman at Charlottesville; of Sheriden at Winchester; of Father Mathew assailing the drinking habits of society; of the Puritans and the Pilgrims of Patrick Henry challeng- ing the power of the British govern ment, of Abraham Lincoln striking the shackles from the black men held in bondage; of Grover Cleveland writing and signing the tariff mes sage; of Gladstone presenting the Home Rule bill; of brave and earnest men in every age separating them selves from all their social moorings to follow the light of conscience.
 FfWho can describe the taste of triumph, the flavor of victory; to be of the band of courageous is to be in the company of the greatest of earth Moral courage is the flower of culti- vated intelligence; there can be no real beauty of character without it. It has been said that to escape criticism one should do nothing, say nothing be nothing. Such a human entity as these words picture would indeed be immune from criticism: it would be a thousand leagues beneath contempt Dare to stand for what you believe to
 be right.
 "The newspaper should be the earn est and enlightened champion of every
 public right and the aggressive assail- ant of every public wrong. It should sustain the virtuous and protect the weak. It should condemn evil, no mat
 ter how strongly entrenched or de- tended. In every good cause it should
 be foremost. Its columns should be clean and safe. its opinions clearly and
 fairly set forth. It should avoid the
 license of accusation, political incite-
 ment and personal rancor' which
 marked to its discredit the press of an earlier day, when newspapers were for the most part political or personal organs devoted to the selfish concerns
 of their individual owners and were
 dislike. An ably conducted newspaper
 can go a long way, 8 very long way
 toward fashioning the morals of a
 community and shaping the course ot it's public activities. I venture to say that the newspapers of my own state
 
 inform, convince and persuade the peo- pie that Rhode Island would in com- paratively short time become what il long ago should have become-the best governed civil community in the world "In the matter of mendacious pub licity directed against the clergy an6 nuns of the Catholic church my con. cern is chiefly for. the grave injury done to the clean minds and pure hearts of worthy Protestants. No real Catholic takes any stock in villi. flying statements aimed at the mem bers of what he or she well knows te be, taken in it's entirety, one of the finest bodies of men in the world the Catholic priesthood. The respect and affection in which real Catholics hold the religious sisterhoods of theil church precludes their being ever considered, not to mention discussed in connection with the vile islanders enanating from defiled intelligence. am glad -ublicly to bear testimony tx the fact that the Protestant ministers with whom I have come into close relations of acquaintance and friend ship throughout a somewhat extended experience have been, without excep- tion, earnest, high minded, accomplish ed Christian gentlemen. All thai Catholics ask in this matter (and the same is true of every other matter) is that, their beloved spiritual, leaders shall be treated with the common fair ness that is the right of every mar and woman"