Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-08-15
"THE WORST is YET TO COME"
DECLARES FATHER McDERMOTT

, criminals TO Justice, It was no part of a
priests duties; that my office was TO
visit those in prison and to prepare them
to die well If they should be condemned.
told him that my usefulness as thelr
sniritual guide would be ended IL / became
identified with their prosecution. AS
matter of fact, ] never met Mr.. Gowen or
the other lawyers for the prosecution until
after the convictions.
"Two lawyers secured statements from
those executed June 81, 1877, which were
recalled when learned something OF their
contents The men made statements TO
me. which were carefully rewritten after
having been submitted to them a second
time They desired these statements pub-
lished at the time they were not publlshed
because the wife of one of the condemned
asked her husband to withhold her state
ment for three years. She did TINS under
the msapprehenson that the statements
would involve the punishment of others and
expose her to persecution. These state
ments were sealed by the clerk of the
courts and have never been opened since.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS"
81 needed no information from the con-
demned As far back as 20 / gave
hearing in church to two men who were
trying to induce young men to join the
A. o. H. The scenes at that High Mass
have never been forgotten By those VINO
witnessed them; their children and their
chlldrens children have been terrified with
q description of them. In 1874 1 published
what the A. o. II. journals sarcastcally
called The Ten Commandments signed by
nine priests to show that an article pub
lished in the Freemans Journal in 1874 was
true in all it's statements.
""The A. o. II. journals fred broadsides
at the article, devoted pages to proving
the Mollies were the best people in the
An avalanche pf 1ntterg fol-
lowed, only one of which was from a
friend He wrote: You will be suspended,
you ought to be, not because you've done
wrong, but because you have no fear of the
"Freemasonary" among bishops, which leads
them all to call for the punishment of
attack was a discussion of the question,
is It safer to follow the bishop who dis
approves of the A. o. II. than the one
who approves of it?' In proving my con-
tention, / paid my respects to two bishops
who had been betrayed by A. o. II artl-
fees, the one into tolerating, the other
into strongly approving of the A. o. II.
DID NOT COURT SUSPENSION.
81 did not, of course. court suspension,
and waited the action of Bishop Wood with
no little anxiety. We had never spoken
together of the A. o. H., though l had
his pastoral letters condemning the order
and asking pastors (not, as the paper said.
to leave it), but to warn their people against
it. Notwithstanding the Freemasonry that
is said to exist among bishops, my bishop
wrote introductions to the Ten Command
ments' and the article for publication in
the Catholic Standard, and sent copies of
that issue of the paper to every priest and
bishop in the United States, Canada and
Australia. Without rejecting upon his
action, / am convinced that II will fare
better with me, 80 far as my conscience is
concerned and with my fate i'm eternity, to
act under the approval of Bishop (after-
ward Archbishop Wood"