The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1915-12-11
TUMULTY TAKEN TO TASK.

Mr.. Tumnlty, the Catholic
Secretary Of President Wilson,
has aroused the Indignation Of the
intelligent citizens Of this coun-
try, without regard to religious
affiliatiOn, by the very unwise and
misleading letter which he wrote
last week to DR.. James J. Mcclure
Of Trenton, n j., who asked for
an explanation Of what he char
acterized as the widespread
criticism Of the manner in Which
Catholic priests and Sisters had
been treated at the hands of Gen
eral Carranza in Mexico.
The letter signed by Mr..
Tumulty, declares that the files
of the State Department fail to
disclose any official record Of a
single proven ease Of outrages
upon nuns" and goes on to state
that there are unsubstantiatdd re-
ports that could not be verified by
cOnsuls or special agents; and
that if Sisters were ill-treated it
was nothing more than what might
have occurred in any other coun-
try under the conditions Of wild
disorder which then prevailed in
Mexico.
This letter called forth imme-
date rejoinders from Monsignor
Kelley, President Of the Catholic
Church Extension Society of the
United States, and Father Tier
hey, s. g., Editor. Of & America, =
in which they offered to furnish
Mr.. Tumulty with the sworn
statements of reputable persons,
both Catholic and Protestant, who
had personal knowledge Of such
outrages, and declared that if the
files of the State Department in
Washington do not contain docu-
ments sufficient to prove the truth
Of the. statements in question it is
not because such proofs were not
offered to the department.
1t seems very strange that Mr.,
Tumulty would make the state
ment, contained in his letter. He
must know that it is not in ac-
cordance with facts. He has been
in close touch with the Admins
tration in all it's dealings with
Mexico and no one is in a better
position that he to know just
what has taken place in that
country. When, therefore, he APP
pears as an apologist for the Ad-
ministration in it's dealings with
| Mexico he should not betray such
lamentable ignorance in regard to
the history Of Wilson'S "furtive
meddling" with Mexican affairs.
| In the present instance he is an
apologist without facts on which
to base his apologize. =
1t is a matter of common knowl.
edge that Martin Stecker, Ger
man by birth, by religion a Lu-
theran, who had spent twenty
three years in Mexico, wrote to
| Mr.. Bryan. the then Secretary OF
State, under date of October s.
1914, calling his attention to q
document which he had addressed
to Secretary Bryan on July %, OF
that year "on the subject Of the
persecution Of the Catholics in
Mexico as practiced by the revolu
tionary parties now in power in
that country. /" This document
states that Mr. Steeker had per
sonal knowledge of the fact that
forty Sisters of Charity had beer
violated, four of whom had be
come demented, and that he hao
saved six Sisters and seven CIR
pupils from the same fate. Mr.
{ Stecker s letter contained much
more information in regard to thu
persecution of priests and Sisters
in Mexico, all of which was sworl
to by him before a Notary Public
: It would be interesting to know
/ where this document is, if it is no
on file in the State Department
: Did Mr.. Bryan carry it away Will
| him? If he did not, who has posses
sion of it now? Mgr. Kelley AM
/ Father Tierney assert that copie
: of official records have been of
: fered to the Department of State
$ Why did not the State Depart
ment accept them and put them OF
r file? Mr.. Michael j. Slattery 0
!, Philadelphia, President of TIL
| Catholic Young Mems Nationa
| Union of America, says that no
e only is 1the State Department
: aware Of the proven facts of in
1 digmties of the grossest kind sui
| farad hxy ~, fo,sft1t.afo n,4,,n Z,