The Washington herald., 1920-04-04

Rome" and Courage. Brethren
All served their purpose, lifting
Belgium's national soul to new
heights of patience and sacrifice.
In every instance the printers
were arrested and prosecuted by
the occupying power. The Cardi-
nal himself. was subjected to big
and little annoyances and at times
virtually arrested.
The German authorities some
times threateningly accused the
aged churchman Of political inter-
ference. They alleged that he
was in communication with King
Albert and. was playing Eng
lands game"
Spiritually considered, the Cardi-
nails pastorals were shots heard
around the globe. The ears OF the
world pricked up and Americas
conscience began to awaken.
Not from Rome but from Ma
lines were new sermons on the
mount" being preached to man
kind. A Pope was overshadowed
by the digger figure of a Cardi-
nal.
In this famous pastoral of De-
cember. 1914, the Cardinal asked
his countrymen to abstain from
hostile acts against the enemy
army" He told the faithful to
respect the regulations imposed
so long as they did not interfere
either with liberty of conscience
or offend their patriotic feelings"
The Cardinal made it plain that
"the only legitimate power of Bel
gium is that which belongs to our
king. his government and the rep
resentatives of the nation" The
king alone, the churchman de-
clared," has a right to the affec-
tion of our hearts and to our sub
mission; for us, he alone repre-
sents authority"
Seminarists, leaving Malines for
the Christmas holidays, carried
copies of this letter to the vari-
Gus deaneries of the diocese. The
priests were instructed in a note
to read the whole of it to the peo-
pie. Do not omit or erase ANY
part OF it in spite Of any orders
to the contrary that might be is
sued by any other power the
Cardinal cnjoined-
A Dramatic Interview.
The effect of this pastoral upon
the popular mind startled the Ger
mans into immediate action. Three
ENJOYS, representing the governor
general. waited upon the Cardinal
Won der Lancken, who was
among them, was the spokesman
for Germany. The interview is
dramatic and instructive enough
to be quoted rather fully.
You tell me that his excellency
is astonished. Astonished at
what?" the prelate asked.
AT certain passages where
your excellency eXcites the peo-
pie against Germany"
Gentlemen" replied the Car.
dinal, you are very much mis-
taken. If you have read my let
ter, you must agree that it is of
n pacifying character. But you
can not ignore the fact that our
people have undergone great suf-
ferings; and when our people and
our clergy suffer 1 suffer as much
as they and it is my duty to tell
them So"
But there are words which have
a tendency to excite the people"
Have you read the letter."
Yes; you say that one owes
neither loyalty nor submission to
authority"
Il beg your pardon; I say, on
the contrary, that one owes
loyalty and attachment to legiti-
mate authority. But I say that
an occupying power is not a
legitimate authority; Ito such a
power one owes respect and alb
stention from every act OF hos
tility. Moreover, I have not
waited for your visit to enjoin
the faithful to abstain from all
hostile acts for as far back as
the month Of August I gave in
structions to this effect and rec
commended respect for the mill
tary autnOrltleS.
still, there are in the letter
words which tend to excite them
against the German authorities"
You must take the letter as
whole and not pick it to pieces.
Taken as a whole the letter
breaches patience and submission
so long as the present sufterings
last"
..u,L -z-.-na- 1,yisbaa fo haua
an explanation"
"I will give the governor the
explanation he wants. Besides, I
have already written to him. /
had reason to fear that mutual
courtesy between individuals
might give rise to misunder-
standings. I have therefore writ
ten to him: Dear Governor
General, 1 have for you person
ally a profound and sincere es-
TEEN. But it must be understood
that these feelings do not imply
the submission of my soul to a
hostile nation which has invaded
our territory"
"As regards this letter, the
governor will not be able to let
it pass
1T is written and it will re-
main"
Kaiser TeleEraphs Wilson.
Some parts of Cardinal Mer-
ceir's own Story" were long ago
given to America in various press
dispatches. However, even over
these outlines the book paints In
the detailed picture.
In the early part of the conflict
the Kaiser gave authority to the
calumnies against the Belgian
people. The telegram, which he
addressed to President Wilson, Is
now fully given as follows:
The Belgian government has
publicly encouraged civilians to
take part in a war, for which they