The menace., 1917-12-29
ARCHBISHOP SPRATT
is VISIDLY PEEVED
PreIate Wrathy Because Press Airs
Its Views Regarding Himself
and PapaI "Charity"


Its Views Regarding Himself
and Papal "Charity"
In The MENACE of Dec. 9TH we
gave an account of damage suit
brought by a "sister Of charity
Mary Basil, against Archbishop
Spratt, Of Kingston, Ontario, in
which the court gave the plaintiff a
verdict for $4,000 damages for al
legged abduction and assault.
Now comes the archbishop, on the
Both day of November, and holds a
celebration, in st. Mary's Cathedral,
Kingston, celebrating the sixth ami
versary of his conservation, on which
occasion he has present all the priests
and prelates of his administration
and proceeds to whitewash himself
and deny all the charges made
against him, Notwithstanding the
verdict Of the court to the effect that
he and others were guilty and should
pay twenty-four of the twenty-nine
thousand dollars asked for by the
nun in her suit.
Sister Mary BASIL" it appears,
was connected with the institution
known as "St. Mary's-on-the-Lak
Orphanage" and had made protest to
the archbishop against the degrading
conditions existing within the insti-
tuition. These are things which the
Roman prelates never like to hear, Of
course, and as the sister in question
seemed honest in the matter and in
clined to press her charges, even
carrying them to Rome, the arch
bishop and his cohorts attempted to
railroad her to an insane asylum in
order to discredit her story and close
her lips.
Nothing SO quickly discredits q
witness as to have the witness incar-
cerated in an institution for the
e-minded. The common charge
that a person is crazy is usually snfi-
cient to discredit any story that they
may tell. Roman Catholic dignitaries
understand this better, probably,
than anyone else, and when some
thing is related that doesn't look
good for the church and her institu-
tions the author is Immediately
placed under the cloud of an insanity
charge.
1t appears, however, that the good
people of Kingston happen to know
that the nun was telling the truth in
this case and the archbishop finds
himself hard put to wriggle out Of
the net. Even the daily papers Of
Kingston have been printing the
facts in the case, something unusual
for secular dailies to do. and in his
address at the celebration in ques.
tion he takes occasion to lambaste
them in the following fashion:
"As to the daily newspapers of this
city we feel that we have very seri.
Gus grievance against them. There Is
an opening for a libel suit in one
case and in the other there is an in
fiammatory article in the editorial
column, calling upon the people Of
the city to rise and depose the ad.
ministration, which, of course, in,
cludes the archbishop. Were Of 9
vindictive turn of mind would ap'
peal to the [Roman] Catholic people
of Kingston to rise in protest against
this extravagant malevolence towart
their religion.
eve therefore take this opportun
ity to state that iT this unfair, un.
just, biased and bigoted attitude /;
persisted in we will be obliged tt
have these papers classed with THF
MENACE and other anti [Roman]'
Catholic organs, and in the exercise
of our episcopal Office decree that
they be excluded from every [Ro
mani Catholic home in the arch
diocese"
The archbishop makes the bluff
that he has grounds for libel suit
yet no suit is attempted, showing
conclusively that what he says is fol
Roman Catholic consumption anc
that he breads the courts very mucl
as he does THE MENACE, with which
it appears from his remarks, he i.
more or less familiar.
His threat to boycott the Kingston
papers shows that he is both guilty
and angry, and again makes plair
the truth of THE MENAcE's oft re
peated charge that the Inquisition, il
the form of the deadly boycott, il
just as much alive in the minds anc
methods of Romanists today as i
was in the "good old days" of tn,
rack and the wheel. The truth is
the archbishop is Just about scared
out Of his boots. He has been caugh
with the goods and don't just exactl!
see his way out. Bluff and blustel
is his only salvation, but as al
priests are artists in that line h,
may be able to make the common
papal herd stand for it and thereb!
save his job for while longer.
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