The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1915-05-22
PRoTEsTANTs DEPLoRE ANTI.
CATHOLIC AGITATION.


The following statement, set three
columns wide, under display head
ing and extending almost the full.
length of the newspapers page, has
appeared as an advertisement in THE
Arkansas Gazette" of Little Rock,
the most popular daily paper publish
ed in that State. The ten names APP
pended thereto are those of prominent
Protestant citizens of Little Rock, in
Guiding an ex-Mayor of the city, W..
e. Lemon, and an ex-Congressman
from the Fifth District of Arkansas,
Charles G. Reid, Esq. The statement
speaks for itself, and may be taken
as an expression of the attitude of
fair-minded nom Catholics in general
toward the venal band now assailing
the Catholic Church through the gut
ter press and from lecture platforms
in many parts of the country:
Prominent Protestant Citizens Deplore
Present Anti-cathoIic Agitation.
We regret that there are a number
of persons in our midst now actively
engaged in campaign of vituperation
against the Catholic Church. BY rear
ing and sympathy we are Protestants;
but we sincerely reprobate such at
tacks and hope that these mischief
makers may be discountenanced in
every way. Our constitution guaran-
tees to all men freedom of religious
opinion and of public worship. 1t is
animated by a broad spirit of tolera-
ton. 1t welcomes to our shores men
of every faith; and the spirit of our
constitution should animate our people.
Nothing is nobler or more profitable
than tolerance; nothing more PERM
cious than intolerance. The spirit of
tolerance unites all the members of
the community. 1t brings peace, har-
mony, mutual confidence and support.
1t makes nation powerful and happy.
Intolerance brings only strife, dissen-
sion, weakness and disaster. And in
tolerance is particularly unbecoming
in the members of a faith whose
Founder built His Church upon the
principle that we should love our
neighbor as ourselves. 1t means
hatred, not love.
In the past there has been bitter
strife between Catholics and Protes-
tants, attended with bloody wars and
much oppression on both sides, but
centuries have elapsed since then. No
man living has witnessed anything of
the kind; and those who in this en-
lightened century would revive the
passions of the dark ages of bigotry
are enemies of the public welfare. Let
the dead past bury it's dead, and let
all good men unite for the upbuilding
of our land.
We have many Catholics among us.
We meet them every day in business
and in social intercourse; and the
man who would say that in patriotism,
nobility of sentiment, kindness to
friends and neighbors, in public or
private morals they are inferior to the
rest of us is either ignorant or will
fully seeks to mislead. There are men
who say that because of their alleg-
lance to the Pope Catholics cannot be
good citizens; but as the Pope's do.
minion is only in matters spiritual, and
the dominion of our Government is
only in matters temporal, there can be
no conflict. In every crisis that has
ever arisen the Catholics have been
as patriotic as the rest of us; and it
can be safely said that in every crisis
that may confront us in the future
they will be found loyal to our Gov
eminent.
Many object to them because they
prefer their parochial schools to oul