Is the Catholic Church the deadliest menace to our liberties and our civilization? : reply to Thomas E. Watson / by C. A. Windle

Is the Catholic Church the Dead liest Menace to Our Liberties and Our Civilization?
REPLY TO THOMAS E. WATSON
BY
C. A. WIND1JEB311 727
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Is the Catholic Hierarchy the Deadliest ,,- Menace to Our Liberties and
Our Civilization?

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CHAPTER I

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[Reprinted from Branns Iconoclast]

One year ago Thomas E. fersonian Magazine, started

Watson, a series

editor of Watsons Jefof articles in which he

arraigned "The Roman Catholic Hierarchy as the deadliest

menace to our liberties and our civilization."

It is silly because you

to underestimate the ability of a man simply cannot agree with his opinions, or accept his- -

conclusions. In an intellectual struggle Tom Watson is

worthy any mans steel. He is his "Story of France" and other

a brilliant writer, famed for literary productions. He is

a shrewd debater, a polished orator. When a member of Con

gress he won renown as the "Father of Rural Delivery," hav

ing introduced the first bill establishing rural mail routes in

the United States. While all who know Mr. Watson must admire his splendid

ability, we philosophy

who are acquainted with the facts of of religion are pained to discover that

history and in his treat

ment of this subject he exhibits the unreasoning bias of a

partisan and appears to be totally blind as to certain great

fundamental truths. There are two things upon which Mr. Watson cannot write

without passion and prejudice.

On the negro question he is makes Ben Tillman look like the

so rabid and radical that he patron saint of the black race.

On the subject of Catholicism, Tom is so bitter, biased and

brutal that he would easily pass for the daddy of all the A.

P. A.s. The charge he makes against the Catholic Church is serious,

whether, false or true. If the Catholic Church is NOT "the greatest menace to our
liberties and our civilization," Mr. Watson is guilty of foment ing a religious conflict, and trying to resurrect animosities

that If

have slept his charge

in their graves for be false, he merits

decades. a stern rebuke

from

every

patriotic publication in the country, whether Catholic or

Protestant
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On the other hand, if his charges be true, then no trueCatholic can be a patriot. If his premise is not wrong,* his logic punk and his conclusions false as hell, then every "mem ber of the Catholic Hierarchy is a traitor to the Republic.
To believe such an absurdity, one must substitute imagination for facts, prejudice for reason, falsehood for truth and bigotry for common sense.
In the series of articles to follow I shall deal only with essentials, and stick to FACTS. Being neither Catholic nor Protestant, just a plain, everyday sinner, I shall not be tempted to swerve a hairs breadth from the TRUTH in the interest of either side.
In the very beginning let it be understood that I care less than nothing about the theological points raised by Mr. Wat son concerning forms of worship, rites, robes and ceremonies. I am interested in one question only: "Has Watson told the truth?" "Is the Catholic Hierarchy THE deadliest menace to our Liberties and our Civilization?"
Before taking up this main question, I shall approach the subject from another angle, and by unanswerable facts and logic show that Mr. Watsons fears are groundless; that the Catholic Hierarchy is NOT "the deadliest menace to our lib erties, and our civilization."
People familiar, with the history of nations, thrones, king doms, republics and systems of governments whose wrecks line the pathway of human Progress know that religion never caused their downfall. Moral decay, political corruption, graft, bribery and greed may undermine and overthrow a just government, but religion never.
The centralization of wealth, not Catholicism, is THE dead liest menace to our liberties and civilization. While no repub lic has ever been destroyed by religion, NOT ONE has ever long survived the concentration of wealth in the hands of the few.
Nothing would better please the minionc of privilege and monopoly than to have the attention of the American people at this time diverted from them to some, false issue in politics. They would rejoice to have somebody precipitate a religious conflict so they could continue to plunder the masses. It would prevent the solution of pressing problems which mean their complete overthrow and the establishment of a real political and industrial democracy under which every man

would enjoy equal opportunities and nobody have a special privilege.
Mr. Watson knows that the Republic of Greece could not be destroyed, until through centralization the masses lost their inheritance. After 10 per cent of her people got possession of 90 per cent of her wealth, nothing could prevent the wreck.
There was a time when Roman orators declared that it was "greater to be a Roman citizen than to be a king." There was a time when every Roman who went to war was ready to do and dare, and die or conquer. At this time the Republic was free and every Roman was a land owner. He had something to live for, something to die for.
But there came a time when it was written in blood and tears "that to be a Roman citizen was to be the vassal of a slave." Patriotism perished. Nobody cared to die for a plu tocracy for a government in which they had no voice a government under which they had been robbed and plundered by the privileged few. Eighteen hundred of her citizens owned the then known world, but the ship of state, driven by the winds of strife and storms of war, struck the rock of centralized wealth and sank in a sea of blood and fire.
Centralization caused her banner to fade from the sky and her eagles to die upon her standards.
Ingersoll may have been wrong in some things, but he was eternally right when he said that "anybody would fight and die for a home, but nobody wants to die for a boarding house."
The law of cause and effect has not been repealed. Man has discovered but never created a principle. The eternal law of cause and effect operates with deadly precision, whether in the days of Caesar or John D. Rockefeller.
If the Roman Republic, which stood 700 years, could not survive the concentration of wealth in the hands of the privi leged few, how can the American Republic hope to escape, except through the abolition of private monopoly? The cause must be removed or destruction is inevitable.
It required centuries for the Roman Republic to make the same progress in centralization that we have made in the last dozen years.
We have a group of fifty financiers who hold the fate of the Republic in their hands. Over these there are three KINGS who hold the others at their mercy. They are.:
J. Pierpont Morgan,

John D. Rockefeller, Thomas F. Ryan.
These three men virtually control the means of transporta tion and distribution. This gives them power over the tools of production, whether in the factory or on the farm. Through the. medium of watered stocks they collect tribute from all classes. Small streams of industry and commerce which for merly distributed wealth to millions of independent owners and operators have been merged into a mighty Mississippi which pours a stream of gold into the coffers of these masters of Monopoly.
No nation of DEPENDENTS has ever been able to pre serve their liberties.
A Republic of slaves is a hollow mockery. It is a military axiom that when a General gains control of a countrys means of transportation and distribution, he be comes its master.
Of the three money KINGS mentioned, Morgan is an Epis copalian, Rockefeller a Baptist and Ryan a Catholic.
This triumvirate is Protestant by a majority of two to one.
But when the Almighty Dollar is at stake, these men stand together like brothers. No religious factionalism for them. They would support no church and no political party inimical to their interests.
When they get ready to fleece lambs in Wall Street they never inquire whether their victims are Methodists, Baptists or Catholics. All lambs with long fleeces look alike to them. In politics they ask just two questions: "Is he with us?" "What will he cost?"
These men have exalted to high office a great number of truckling Protestants, as well as Catholics. They have made a number of Protestants President, but-not a "single Catholic. Not that minions of monopoly care about any mans religion who is willing to serve them, but they recognize an unreason ing prejudice exists against electing a Catholic President of the United States.
When Catholics continually vote for Protestant Presidents without a murmur, why should Protestants hesitate to vote for a Catholic? Can it be that Catholics are more liberal than Protestants? This fact alone shows the absurdity of Wat sons contention.
Is bigotry any worse in a Catholic than it is in a Protestant? It is always absurd and never just.

Grafters and bribers recognize no distinction in religion or politics. Centralization of wealth is the main source of all political corruption.
When industries were owned in general by individuals or partnerships, these could not afford to tamper with courts, bribe law makers, or dominate politics. Community of inter est, combinations, trusts, resulting in centralization, made these evils possible and profitable.
In cutting the throat of legitimate competition, who obtained rebates from the railroads? Not the independent dealers. Was it not the great trusts in sugar, oil, iron and coal?
The question answers itself. ~ Who has been buying seats in the United States Senate for their puppets?
Who would like to corner the Magazines and subsidize the Press?
The united forces of Monopoly, whose tentacles, like a monster octopus, coil about the dome of every state capitol in the Union!
The panic of 1893, when the beneficiaries of centralization forced the government to repeal the Sherman law, exposed a lot of dynamite that had been worked into the foundation of
this government.
The panic of 1907, when, instead of paying people good money on their deposits, the banks gave them certificates fresh from the printing press that were not even thirty-second cousins of a fifty-cent dollar, revealed the fact that beneath our Republic there was a smouldering volcano. No one who saw the long lines of anxious faces lined up in front of banks whose soundness had .been questioned will doubt the truth here stated. Many of these people stood night and day in these lines, their brains racked with agony and their hearts filled with desperation. The life of the Republic trembled in the balance.
Who saved us?
Not our glorious navy! Not our brave army! Not Congress! Not our gallant^ warlike President! Not our great editors, preachers and statesmen! Not the heroic Bryan, or the fight ing Tom Watson, but J. Pierpont Morgan.
He graciously decided to save us for himself. In face of these indisputable facts, how silly Watsons charges appear! How absurd the contention that the "Catho-

lie Hierarchy is the DEADLIEST menace to our liberties and our civilization!"
Centralized wealth is THE greatest menace to our liberties. As for "our civilization," we shall in our next chapter inves tigate the things which menace it.
CHAPTER II.
Our Civilization.
In the first chapter of my reply to Mr. Watsons charge that the "Roman Catholic Hierarchy is the deadliest menace to . our liberties and our civilization," I exposed the weakness of his position by establishing the indisputable FACT that in centralized wealth, NOT Catholicism, our Republic finds its greatest and most DEADLY menace.
Resting upon a false premise, Mr. Watsons initial charge fell to the ground of its own weight. Logic cannot change the fallacy of arguments based upon fiction. The superstruc ture crumbles when the foundation falls.
What was true of Mr. Watsons initial charge is likewise true of his effort to prove that the Catholic Hierarchy is the "deadliest menace to our civilization."
What are the cold facts? Every previous controversy of this nature has been con ducted by partisans whose excess of zeal invariably drove them to utmost extremes in defense of their views. They frequently obscured, or ignored, certain palpable FACTS for fear of conceding too much to the other side. It is almost impossible for a Protestant to examine the claims of Catholicism without prejudice, and vice versa. The infidel fighting both systems is subject to the same weakness. I am neither Protestant nor Catholic, and I am not an infidel. I have my own personal belief. My right to differ with all other men is based upon their right to disagree with me. I fight for my own faith by defending the rights of others. For . this reason I could not stand idly by and permit Watsons assaults upon Catholicism to pass unchallenged. .It is only when we grant liberty to others that we insure freedom to the free. Would Mr. Watson have people believe that "our civiliza tion" is not the common heritage of all citizens of the Republic without regard to religious belief?

What does he mean by "our civilization"? The word "civilization," like "charity," covers a multitude of sins. The ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Romans and Assyrians each had a civilization of their own, but these types of civilization, though marked by great mental development, could not sur vive the ignorance which gave them birth. .Civilizations not bottomed upon scientific truths are doomed to perish. Insti tutions based upon the supposed will of fictitious gods were seldom wise, and nearly always brutal. Every lie and every structure built upon falsehood must perish. This is the law of Progress the decree of Omnipo tence. Only such thngs in "our civilization" as are founded upon the eternal rock of scientific TRUTH can survive. The rest must and should perish. As Mr. Watson failed to define what he meant by "our civ ilization," I shall take it for granted that he refers to what is comprehended in the term, "Christian Civilization," and not to a private brand of his own. I shall also proceed upon the theory that to civilize means the humanitization of man in society, and that "our civiliza tion" embraces not only every means of culture and progress, but all systems of moral, material and intellectual develop ment by which the human race is made stronger, wiser, better and happier in this world. With this definition of "our civilization" clearly fixed in ones mind, how lame, weak and absurd Mr. Watsons charge appears. He wasted a lot of white paper, slathers of printers ink and much superheated energy in trying to galvanize the dead past, resurrect ghosts and goblins and fix responsibilities of the 16th century upon the shoulders of the living generation. In a subsequent chapter I shall also prove that Mr. Watson distorts the facts of history in order to place the Church in the worst possible light. He misrepresents Catholicism, past, present and future. No man ever wrote on this subject with less fairness or mere prejudice. If the Catholic Hierarchy is engaged in a conspiracy to dehumanize man in society, the fact ought to be susceptible of positive proof. Instead of proof Mr. Watson has given us a lot of bigoted rot born of prejudice and ignorance. While I would not rob any man, race or creed of their share of glory in carrying forward the work of civilization, TRUTH
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compels me to say that the Catholic Church was the first Christian organization to consecrate itself to the mission of
reclaiming mankind from savagery. She planted the first ban ner of civilization upon the ramparts of Paganism and, single-
handed and alone, sustained the battle for nearly fifteen hun
dred years prior to the birth of Protestantism. During the first centuries her martyrs perished by hundreds of thousands. For
a long while it was a serious question whether the Church
could survive. Her standard of civilization was not so high as it is today, but it was so much higher and grander than
the Pagan standard then prevailing that it won over the
greatest and best of mankind. The work was rough at times, and many things were done that would not be approved today,
but which, owing to the times and lack of light, seemed good and proper. Fresh from the ranks of Paganism, some of the
early converts to Christianity retained many of their cruel and savage traits of character.
Before one can understand the true value of Catholicisms
contribution to civilization, it is necessary to know the condi tions which prevailed throughout the world in the early stages of her struggle. The question must be examined as a whole.
The stories" of Plato, Tacitus, Juvenal and Suetonius reveal
the horrors of Pagan society, the depravity of the ruling classes, and the utter rottenness of the so-called civilization
of their time. Much of what they said is unprintable. Prisoners of war had no rights, slaves no hope, the debtor
no liberty, the sick and poor no sympathy, and as for the old and weak, they were friendless. The masses were held in con
tempt utterly despised. The privileged few reveled in wealth, vice and infamy.
Such was the state of Pagan civilization when the Catholic Church entered upon its work of humanitization. If was a
tremendous task. All the principalities and powers were ar
rayed against the new civilization. It stood for the brother hood of man. Its attitude was an indictment of the whole Pagan world. Prisons were filled, fagots flamed and the earth ran red with the blood of martyrs. The cross finally tri umphed, but the decisive battle between the new and old civil izations was not won until the 17th century, when John Sobieski, the Catholic King of Poland, defeated the invading
hordes of heathenism at the siege of Vienna. The philosophy of the ancients, even among the greatest,
was inhuman.

. Marcus Aurelius held that it was weakness to pity the un fortunate.
According to Seneca, "mercy is a vice of the heart," and that "the true sage is devoid of pity."
Cicero held that "no one is compassionate unless he is fool ish or thoughtless."
At Rome single individuals frequently owned from 1,000 to 20,000 slaves. Many of her wealthy citizens made it a business to raise wild beasts for the slaughtering of men in the arena.
Even Trajan, one of the wisest and best of the Roman Em perors, in celebrating his victory over the Dacians, gave to the games 10,000 gladiators and eleven thousand wild beasts. The bloody festivities lasted 123 days.
Millions of men were drowned or killed in mock sea battles held to satisfy the patrician thirst for human blood.
The rights of childhood were never thought of, and as for women they were practically all slaves.
The fraternity of nations had no place in Greek or Roman civilization. Each nation at the beginning of the Christian era considered the others as enemies and dreamed only of subju gation and tribute.
The divorce evil threatened the very existence of the family, while virtue and honor in "high life" were practically un known.
Society was a moral cesspool. Mercy, Love, Justice, Honor and Truth had been crucified and entombed. The multitudes cried for bread and blood. Right and reason were fugitives. Liberty bled at every pore.
People who deny the historicity of Jesus Christ who look upon the story of His birth as a myth cannot deny the his tory of Catholicism from Justin Martyr to Pope Pius X. If perfectly honest, they must admit that Catholicism has been a powerful factor in the humanitization of man in society.
The doctrine of the Fatherhood of God and universal broth erhood of man as proclaimed by the early Church was a ter rible indictment of the Age of the Caesars. If all men are brothers, then slavery is wrong. If Christ died to save ALL men the poor and the rich the great and the small then class distinctions and discriminations in the matter of human
rights must be abolished. The Catholicity of the religion of Jesus, so far as the equality of human rights are concerned, placed ALL men upon equal footing under one flag.
These new ideas, backed by convictions for which men were
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ready to die, made progress inevitable. At first the advance was slow and painful. Mistakes were made. Frequent depar tures from the Christ ideals led to the abuse of power and other wrongs, but the fundamental doctrines which the Church accepted held the rank and file true and repeatedly brought back those among the leaders who strayed away.
As the means of culture and education multiplied the world became more civilized. No man, it matters not to what race he belongs, can accept the Golden Rule as his standard of life and remain a savage. He who accepts in good faith the uni. versal brotherhood of. man must recognize in practice the equality of human rights. This is REAL civilization.
But in the best of men there may be found, if probed deeply, a few drops of savage blood. This fact is shown by the actions of mobs when aroused by some horrible crime. It will require" countless centuries to entirely eliminate this virus from human blood.
The birth of Protestantism developed a lot of innate sav agery in both Catholics and Protestants, which could not be eliminated until revealed. Blood flowed. The baser passions were aroused. Hatred ran riot. Thousands died before the original doctrine of the Church on the question of universal brotherhood prevailed over these passions. In a subsequent chapter I shall deal with these persecutions and place before our readers the naked facts.
While it is not my intention to discuss technical theology, truth compels me to say that Protestantism accepts practically all of the essentials of Catholicism. Protestantism grew out of the clash of ideas on nonessentials. The things that ALL Christians accept as fundamental truths of their religion con stitute the essence of Catholicism. The doctrines about which they disagree constitute Protestant theology.
From whom do Protestants get their story concerning the miraculous conception of Christ, His Divinity, virginal birth, cruel death on the cross and resurrection?
From the Roman Catholic Hierarchy, which now, according to Watson, is "the deadliest menace to our civilization!"
Where do Protestants like Mr. Watson get their doctrine of the atonement, the forgiveness of sins, rewards and punish ments?
From this same Roman Catholic Hierarchy^ this terrible menace to our liberties and our civilization."
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Some will doubtless say that these doctrines are found in
the Bible. True; but your Bible was compiled by this same Roman
Catholic Hierarchy from 30,000 conflicting manuscripts at the beginning of the Fourth Century. The inspiration of each book was determined by a majority vote in General Council, exactly as all matters of vital importance to the Catholic Church have been decided throughout its history. Baptists like Mr. Watson in fact all Protestants must accept the Bible and its inspiration upon the sole authority of the Catholic Hierarchy.
No thinking man can read the Apologies of Justin Martyr and Tertullian, written in the Second and Third Centuries, and have the slightest doubt but what these men were respon sible, either for the preservation of the Christ story or its invention.
In view of the foregoing FACTS, how can sane people take Mr. Watsons charges seriously?
Before he could justify his indictment Mr. Watson would have to prove:
1st. That Catholics have no share, either in the origin or development of "our civilization."
2nd. That the Roman Catholic Hierarchy prefers a restora tion of Pagan civilization, which it helped to destroy, to Christian civilization, which it helped to create.
3rd. That in the ruin of the Republic and death of "our civilization," Catholicism seeks its own destruction.
4th. That the Catholic Church is ready to abandon its his toric defense of family life and abolish the marriage relation.
5th. That, weary of amity and peace, it would deliberately destroy the fraternity of nations.
6th. That Catholicism, in defiance, of her doctrine of uni versal brotherhood, would reduce-a majority of mankind to a condition of abject and absolute slavery, such as prevailed at the beginning of the Christian era.
7th. That the Catholic Church, having in the veneration of Mary exalted all women and enthroned Motherhood, is now ready to reduce the wives, mothers and sisters of men to the plane of mere chattels, from -which they were rescued by "our civilization."
8th. That the Catholic Hierarchy, after fighting for nearly twenty centuries to reclaim man from savagery sending its missionaries to the ends of the earth has turned its face from
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the dawn and is ready to welcome a return of the Dark Ages. 9th. That the Catholic Priesthood is composed of blither
ing idiots instead of men of sense and education. 10th. That "our civilization," which, like the sun shines to
bless Catholics and Protestants alike, could win the eternal friendship of the one and the undying enmity of the other.
For myself, I refuse to believe such sublimated rot and poppycock.
I deny that the Roman Catholic Hierarchy would or could turn the dial of Progress backward twenty centuries, and by destroying "our civilization and our liberties," fill the world with darkness and chaos.
There are many things which menace "our civilization," but Catholicism is not one of them.
Graft is a cancer gnawing at the vitals of our Republic, tainting with deadly virus the life blood of our civilization.
Centralized wealth, the "deadliest menace to our liberties," has produced an industrial system under which equal rights and equal opportunities are about to be relegated to the realm of dreams.
Out of the trust system has grown a multitude of evils which menace "our civilization," chief among which is the power to bribe courts of justice, buy legislation and subsidize the press and public officials.
Moral leprosy, commercial dishonor, corruption in high places, the divorce evil, laxness in marriage relations, the sell ing of virtue for bread, the commercialization of matrimony, have to some extent always existed, but centralized wealth on one hand and loss of hope and opportunity on the other greatly augment these evils. ,
"Our liberties and our civilization" cannot be saved by stir ring up religious prejudices, arraying Protestants against Catholics, breeding bigotry and spreading hatred among loyal citizens of the Republic, but only through the unselfish and united efforts of ALL patriots without regard to race, creed or party to abolish private Monopoly and maintain a just gov ernment under which all shall enjoy equal rights and none shall have a special privilege.
A monopolistic system under which those who produce ALL get bare existence, and the privileged few who produce NOTHING get practically everything is bound to breed Socialism.. The effort to inaugurate Socialism will breed
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Anarchy, and thus put an end to the Republic, destroy our liberties and wipe out our proud civilization. . .
True, Socialists propose a new civilization, under whose shining banner there is to be no poverty, strife, rents, profits, wage slavery or any kind of exploitation of man, where each shall receive the FULL product of his labor.
At present this is only a dream. In my opinion the effort to make it real will prove to be a horrible nightmare, ending in a revolutionary hell whose very flames will scorch the stars. I hope that I am mistaken, but I know a little about human nature, and, having studied the philosophy of Monop oly and the logic of Socialism, I am entitled to my opinion. I have no words of abuse for Socialists. They are victims of Monopoly. It is far better for them to hope and dream than surrender to Despair.
In the inevitable battle against private Monopoly in the great struggle to preserve the Republic of Jefferson and Lin coln in the mighty contest to defend personal liberty and uphold the rights of private property "our liberties and our civilization"-will find in Catholicism, NOT a deadly menace, but a refuge, NOT an enemy, but a true friend and loyal defender.
CHAPTER III.
Religions Liberty.
Some may wonder why a man who is neither Catholic nor Protestant should concern himself with a controversy of this kind. My hatred for bigotry and belief in religious liberty impels and compels me to resent every manifestation of intol erance. Watsons assault upon the Catholic Church is an indirect attack upon religious freedom in general. This being true, I cannot refrain from exposing his fallacies and denying the truth of his reckless and infamous charges. His fanatical effort to fill the land with senseless clamor against Catholics should be condemned by every liberty-loving citizen in America.
Everyone who attacks the religious liberty of another man threatens mine. By religious liberty, I mean the right to accept any, or reject all creeds. One cannot be free to believe unless he has liberty to doubt. In defending Catholics, I protect Watson against the logical folly of his own intolerance. I defend my own rights at the same time, as well as the religious liberty of all men.
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I shall now call your attention to Mr. Watsons general line of attack, giving his exact language, followed by my comment.
WATSON "It is a national calamity that these Maryworshipping idolaters were ever allowed to set up their heath enish church in this Protestant country."
What a pity Washington and Jefferson could not have had the benefit of Watsons advice! Had Jefferson been imbued with the Tom Watson spirit, the Declaration of Independence would have been made to read: "All men except Catholics are created equal."
Yet Watson calls his publication "ther Jeffersonian Maga zine!"
Had Editor Watson been living and a member o the Con stitutional Convention, he would have tried to induce the Fathers of the Republic to substitute for the provision which forbids the abridgment of religious liberty that section of the old Blue Laws which says:
"No priest shall abide in the Dominion; he shall be banished and suffer death on his return. Priests may be seized by any one without a warrant."
With what enthusiasm Mr. Watson ^would have enforced this law I leave to the imagination of my readers. The senti ment therein expressed is identical with the Watson spirit.
Butwho told Tom Watson that the United States was a "Protestant country"? True Americanism never protests against any mans religion. Our country is neither Protestant
nor Catholic, and never will be. It is supposed to belong to ALL the people, but unless patriotic Catholics and Protestants unite to oppose the further encroachments of monopoly they will wake up some day to the fact that the country which
used to be "ours" has become the private property of J. Pierpont Morgan and John D. Rockefeller.
Watsons reference to "this Protestant country" reminds me that America was first discovered by a "Mary-worshipping idolater" named Columbus. If I remember rightly, it was a Catholic Queen who pawned her -jewels to outfit his expedi tion. If I am wrong, I shall thank Mr. Watson to correct me.
When the intellectual progenitors of Thomas E. Watson were strangling religious liberty in Europe, hanging Quakers in New England, that celebrated Catholic, Lord Baltimore was busy constructing a new Catholic Commonwealth Mary land which, according to Bancroft, "gave religious liberty its first home in the -wide world."
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In making his applications to Charles I for a charter, Lord Baltimore declared his intention to "found a new state where every man may worship God according to his own heart in peace and security."
This declaration marks the inception of what is Known today as true Americanism. It breathes the liberty that gave life to the immortal Declaration of Independence. Lord Baltimores idea is the very soul of our free institutions. Rob the Hag of stars of this spirit, and it becomes a meaningless rag.
The Catholics of Maryland made their colony at the begin ning what all America has since become a refuge for the oppressed of every clime and creed. But while they were drafting their "Act of Toleration," Protestants in New Eng land were banishing Roger Williams and consigning "religious toleration" to use their own language "to the devil of hell from whence it came."
Wm. Claborne, member of the Virginia Council, was a man after Tom Watsons own heart. He was also a bitter enemy of Lord Baltimore. He believed that it would be a "national calamity to permit these Mary-worshippers to set up their church in this Protestant country." But he didnt attack them in a magazine article. He went among the Indians and organ ized scalping parties which swooped down upon the Catholic colonists and for a time threatened their extermination.
It would indeed have been a "national calamity" had Clayborne been successful in preventing the establishment of the Catholic Church in this country. It would have been more than a "national calamity" had Claybornes spirit, instead of
lie ideals of Lord Baltimore, dominated the founders of the Republic.
The words of Watson breathe the spirit that kindled perse cutions fires in every age. It is the language of the 16th cen tury, and sounds strangely out of place in this age of automo biles, wireless telegraphy and flying machines. It smacks of fagots, dungeons, stocks and racks. It is out of tune with "our civilization." It is a menace to "our liberties."
I know that Catholics venerate the Virgin Mary, but I have yet to learn that such devotions ever brought harm to them or anybody else.
You cannot exalt the mother of Jesus and lower the standard of virtue and womanhood among her devotees. Faith which tends to sanctify motherhood can never become a. menace to "our civilization."
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But Mr. Watson refers to "their heathenish church," claim ing to have discovered its "pagan origin." He has found in ancient rituals certain ceremonies which correspond to rites practiced by Catholics. He has observed a resemblance be tween altars, robes, customs and candles now used in Catholic - worship and similar things formerly seen in pagan temples. Had Mr. Watson gone more deeply into this phase of the sub ject he would have doubtless "discovered" that, like the Cath olic clergy, those pagan priests had two hands, two feet, two ears, walked upright, ate food, laughed when they were happy, closed their eyes when they slept, and otherwise performed very much like human beings. The fact that the cross was used as a religious emblem long before the crucifixion of Christ proves nothing unless it proves the pagan origin of the Christian religion. Ceremonial similarities may be accidental.
If the Catholic Church had its origin in Paganism, Protes tant churches ALL had their origin in Catholicism. They are branches of the same "heathenish" institution. Has Watson established the Pagan origin of Christianity? Are Protestants ready to admit this possibility? While directly attacking Catholicism, before his shot can hit a vital spot it must pass through the heart of Protestantism.
If perfectly honest, Mr. Watson must admit that outside of the theology and records of the early Catholic Church there is not a scintilla of evidence to prove that Jesus Christ ever existed. Throw away Catholic testimony and Jesus becomes a myth, his worshippers pagans, and every Christian church a heathen temple.
I deny that it was "a national calamity" to permit the estab lishment of the Catholic Church in the United States. Had the founders of the Republic been dominated by Watsonian bigotry, their refusal to grant all churches equal liberty would have been a world calamity. The struggles for independence the battles of the Republic, whether on the field or in the forum were not fought for any race or creed, but for ALL. Attached to the immortal Declaration of Independence we find the names of Thomas Jefferson, the Agnostic, and Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, the devout Catholic.
WATSON "Not a single one of these (Catholic) priests is or can be a loyal American citizen."
You will have to take Watsons word for that, and I have already shown that he is a prejudiced witness, too full of big otry to hold much truth.
17

Mr. Watson rests this false and brutal charge upon the idea

that "Catholic priests owe their political allegiance to the Pope

of Rome." They take their religion from the Pope, but not

their politics. Their allegiance to liome is spiritual, not polit

ical. This has been demonstrated so often in world politics,

it would be a foolish waste of space to repeat the evidence

here.

y_

Whatever is true of priests is true of all Catholics, If Wat-

sen speaks the truth, then no Catholic "is or can be a loyal

American citizen."

.

Watson is obsessed with the idea that the Pope, or priest,

has but to speak and ALL Catholics flock instantly to the

support of certain men and measures.

This is not true, never was and never will be. In politics

Catholics divide the same as other people. In Chicago, at the

recent primaries, there were two Catholics in the field and

Carter H. Harrison, who is not a church member. Neither

Judge Dunne nor A. J. Graham received as many Catholic

votes as Mr. Harrison. Four years ago, when Dunne ran

against Fred Busse, he was defeated by his fellow Catholics.

Similar incidents might be cited in every city in the country.

American Catholics owe their spiritual allegiance to Rome.

They owe their political allegiance to the Constitution of the

Republic and its flag of stars. If Catholic priests should be

come as politically active as are the preachers representing

the Anti-Saloon League, there might be room for protest.

These preachers are trying to re-establish the union between

church and state, yet we hear no objection from Mr. Tom Wat

son. Catholic priests seldom meddle in politics. If they did,

their own people would resent such interference. When at

tacked they have the right of self-defense. Catholics would

be more than human if they did not defend their rights as

American citizens.

CHAPTER IV.

Our Forefathers.

In my three preceding chapters I made three things per fectly clear, viz.:
1. That the Catholic Church is not a deadly menace to the American Republic.
2. That our civilization has nothing to fear from tht Roman Catholic hierarchy.
IS

3. That Catholic citizens are just as liberal and loyal to the Republic as their Protestant neighbors.
I now invite your attention to the following from the pen of Mr. Watson:
"Our forefathers knew what the Roman Catholic Hierarchy was. Its record reeking with crime and fraud was familiar to them. Its enmity to popular rights, its foul partnerships with tyrannical kings, its frightful atrocities of persecution, its devouring greed and its corrupting influence upon nations, were but too well known."
Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, who signed the immortal Dec laration of Independence, was one of "our fathers." Carroll was a devout Catholic, and was held in the highest esteem by his fellow patriots. Each knew that if the Revolution failed he was signing his own death warrant. There was more than one "Charles Carroll," so he wrote after his name "of Carroll ton," that his identity might not be questioned.
It is impossible to conceive the idea that any of "our fore fathers" could have harbored the sentiments ascribed to them by Mr. Watson, or believe that bigotry could have found a hiding place in their hearts without casting them from the pedestals upon which they have stood for more than one hun dred and thirty-five years.
"Our forefathers" knew, among other things, that a union of Church and State was a bad thing for the people a bad thing for true religion. They did not discriminate against the Catholic Church, but were equally opposed to uniting the state with any Protestant Church.
On Sunday, October 15, Cardinal Gibbons celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood. On this occasion Archbishop Blenck, of New Orleans, delivered the principal address, in which he paid the highest tribute to "our forefathers" for having had the wisdom and foresight to provide for the eternal separation of Church and State in America. He expressed the unanimous sentiment of the Cath olic Hierarchy in this country.
"Our forefathers" knew many things of which Mr. Watson appears to be in absolute ignorance. They knew that Prot estantism, when in union with the State, had a "record reeking with crime and fraud." They knew that Protestantism had been in "foul partnerships with tyrannical kings," and were "acquainted with its frightful atrocities of persecution."
If you can hold the Catholic Church of the Twentieth cen-
19

tury responsible for acts committed in the Sixteenth century, Protestantism cannot escape the same judgment.
When considering the question of religious persecutions, the time, the place and provocation should not be overlooked.
Neither Protestants nor Catholics could escape the spirit of bigotry which ruled the world in the Fifteenth and Six teenth centuries. Their environment, and the spirit of the times, account for every infraction of the law of intellectual hospitality. Today only a few Watsons are able to cherish intolerance. Protestants and Catholics have been compelled to yield to the spirit of the Electric Age, which has made all nations neighbors. Cruelty wanes and Mercy dawns. Among the children of men Hate has fewer habitations, and Friend ship is welcomed everywhere. You could no more relight the flames of Smithfield than you could rebuild the temple of Diana, or relight the altar fires of Baal.
In this day of automobiles and flying machines it would be as impossible to confiscate a mans estate and burn him at the stake because of his religious belief as it would be to re establish the Druidical priesthood, or restore the worship of Moloch.
The progress of the human race has ever been slow and painful, but the race of man has ever faced the dawn. It never has and never can take a backward step. Through all the ages its leaders have sung one glorious song:
"Though beaten back in many a fray, Yet newer strength we borrow,
And where our vanguard rests today Our rear shall camp tomorrow."
Progress and liberty have been defeated in a few battles, but they have never lost a war.
There is no more danger of returning to- the rack, the stake, and guillotine, than there is of farmers discarding modern agricultural implementsfor the wooden mold board plow, reap hook and brush harrow. Before such a thing could happen, modern methods of travel must be replaced by the "pony ex press" and the sail ship. In view of these facts, it is laughable to hear Tom Watson, after describing the growth of Catholi cism in America, exclaim:
"God of our father! -Isnt it enough to terrify the American patriot?"
Watsons statement as to what "our forefathers knew" is
20

misleading, t want to call attention to someof the things which they knew:
1. That under a union of Church and State heresy is treason.
2. The Church Protestant and Catholic tried the traitor, who seldom denied his treason, but it was the state which passed sentence against heretics and put them to death.
3. That much blood was shed in feuds and religious wars because Protestants insisted upon the destruction of sacred paintings and images in churches which they tried to take from Catholics by force. As the churches belonged to the latter, the questions of property right and self-defense were important factors in the struggle.
CHAPTER V.
Elizabeth and Mary.
I entered the fight in the interest of TRUTH. Being with out prejudice, either for or against Catholicism, either for or against Protestantism, I could be fair and just to both sides. A careful reading of preceding chapters will show that I have appealed only to truth, reason and logic, and these have been sufficient to utterly refute Mr. Watsons charge against the Catholic Church. In my last chapter I set forth the fact that under the union of Church and State heresy is treason, and until union is again effected, Watsons fears will continue to be groundless. It would be just as un-American to unite the States and the Methodist Church as it would be to have a union of the Catholic Church and the State. It would be equally dangerous, equally fatal to religious liberty.
Death has always been the penalty for high treason. Un der the union of Church and State, heretics by thousands were slain, Change of administration meant that the faithful of today would be the heretics tomorrow. Catholics and Protes tants were alike victims .of this system. The times were cruel, . light was dim and Justice slept. The Spirit of the Age carried a creed in one hand and a sword in the other. That Age passed to return no more forever. It would be just as easy to restore the stone age as to relight the fires of persecution. "Watsons new "Protestant League" is doomed to failure. Sane Protestants and Catholics cannot be made to hate each other. We have all learned too well the lessons of liberty and love.
21

There are doubless individuals today, both Catholic and Protestant, dominated by the spirit of bigotry, but over the masses it has lost its sway. It is wrong for any man to arouse prejudice, breed hatred, foment strife or in any manner attempt to inaugurate a movement based upon intolerance and perse cution. It is un-American and infamous. Watson is trying to arouse in Protestants the spirit which he pretends to fear
in Catholics. I could cite innumerable instances in history which show
the evils which result from a union of Church and State, but the reigns of Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth of England are the best examples, and show that Catholics have just as much to fear from such a system as Protestants.
It is well known that King Henry VIII fell out with the . Pope because he" would not grant the king a bill of divorce from his lawful wife and sanction his marriage to Anne Boylen, with whom he had become infatuated. Then, and not till
then, did King Henry conceive the idea that he ought to be the supreme head of the Church in England. He made the claim, backed by force of arms. All who refused to acknowl edge his supremacy were branded as traitors. Great multi tudes rallied to his standard, and Protestantism in England became a living, potent fact. Many who saw opportunity for promotion, graft and glory under the new regime applauded the King. Others, sincere -in their opposition to the Pope, hailed Henry as the man of the hour. Others who were indif ferent fell in line, because so far as they were concerned the change involved no principle. Some remained loyal to the Pope, but were silent. Not a few denounced and renounced the Kings pretensions, and paid for their loyalty to their religion with their property and lives. In 1536 nearly 400 monasteries were confiscated by act of Parliament. Spelman, the historian, says the King gave members of that body their choice between passing his bill or losing their heads. In like manner he forced through Parliament an act making it treason to deny the supremacy of the King, or uphold the claims of the Pope. Under this act thousands lost their lives, including Sir Thomas More and John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester.
It was not long before Henry VIII had an ecclesiastical court of his own, presided over by Archbishop Cranmer, who granted the divorce which the Pope had refused. The King then married Anne Boylen, who became the mother of Queen Elizabeth. She was afterwards charged with adultery and
22

put to death, together with four of her paramours. The next day he married Jane Seymour^ who became the mother of Edward VI. Just before his death Henry wrote a will making his infant son his immediate successor.
Mary, daughter of Henrys first wife, succeeded Edward. Being a stanch Catholic, she undertook to atone for the acts of her father and brother. There had. been so much violence and bloodshed the people had become disgusted with Protes tantism. The pendulum swung far to the other extreme. Laws were passed which, in effect, made it treason to deny the supremacy of the Pope. Catholic priests and bishops were restored to their former standing in the State. Crcnmer and Ridley, who had been largely responsible for the injustice and .sufferings inflicted upon Catholics under the reign of Henry VIII and Edward VI, were accused of treason and thrown into prison. They were burned at the stake, together with many others whose heresy made them traitors to both State and Church. It is true that Mary continued as the nominal head of the Church, but all her loyal subjects recognized the supremacy of the Pope. The number of people who actually met death on account of their religious opinions, either at the hand of Catholics or Protestants, has been greatly exaggerated.
When Elizabeth, daughter of Anne Boylen, was crowned Queen of England, she completely reversed the policy of her sister, Mary: Laws enacted tending to restore the rights of
Catholics were repealed and the statutes of Henry VIII were re-enacted. The pendulum swung to the Protestant extreme. All persons were compelled to take an oath acknowledging her supremacy on pain of death. They were compelled to renounce the Pope and the Catholic religion at the same time. A law was passed making it high treason for a priest to say mass; it was made high treason to harbor or relieve a foreign priest. Under these statutes hundreds were butchered. Instead of burning her victims as did her Catholic sister, Mary, Elizar beth preferred to have them "gripped up while living, drawn and quartered." Mary put people to death because they had apostatized from her religion. Elizabeth put them to death because they refused to become apostates. One put as many
to death as the other. But all this is ancient history. No modern Catholic or
Protestant can be held responsible for the cruel acts of Mary and Elizabeth, any more than you could hold civilized man re sponsible for the savagery of his ancestors. When Watson
23

deserts his mansion at Thomson, Ga., discards his Prince Al bert, dons the untanned skins of wild beasts and takes up his residence in a cave it will be time enough to become alarmed at the prospect of a Catholic Mayor, Governor or President, repeating the history of Queen Mary. When it becomes dan gerous to elect a Catholic to the Presidency of the United States, it will not be safe to elect a Protestant. American Catholics have always voted to place Protestants in the highest office in the gift of the people. Why cannot Protestants be equally liberal and generous?
It is un-American to demand a right which you are unwilling to accord to another. The very fact that no Catholic has ever been elected President of the United States proves that as a nation we have failed to fully exemplify the spirit of our free institutions. We have professed more than we have prac tised.
CHAPTER VI.
Practical Christianity.
Thomas E. Watson, in his assaults upon Catholicism, was not satisfied when he charged the Hierarchy with treason and being a menace to civilization, he undertook to prove the Pagan origin of the Catholic Church. Owing to the fact that the Catholic Church is the oldest Christian Church in exis tence, Watsons argument, if it-proves anything, establishes the Pagan origin of Christianity. We have already shown that Protestants are indebted to the Catholic Hierarchy for their belief in the story of Christ. His divinity, miraculous birth, death and resurrection; that the Bible was compiled by Catholic Fathers at Council of Laodicea in the Fourth Cen tury. These FACTS Mr. Watson cannot deny, but he has tried to make his readers believe that Roman Catholic priests are not only traitors, but moral lepers and that Convents and Homes of the Good Shepherd are houses of prostitution.
Criticism of Catholic theology is legitimate, but lying about the moral character of priests is infamous. A man may ob ject to Catholic rites and ceremonies and be a gentleman, but when he slanders Sisters of Charity he forfeits the respect of honest, fair-minded men. One may reject the claims of the Catholic Church and be a liberal-minded, decent, patriotic citizen of the Republic, but when he denies Catholics any social, political, civil or religious right which he accords to
24

members of all other churches, he dwindles and shrivels until there remains nothing but the incarnation of gall and bigotry.
It is wrong to lie about the devil, but when falsehood carries with it defamation of pure, innocent, noble womanhood, it be comes a crimson crime.
One must be utterly blind who fails to discern good in the work cf the Catholic Church. Laying aside questions of the ology and theories concerning heaven and hell in a future ex istence, the problem of salvation in this PRESENT world is all important. How to live; what we should and should not do; how to abide in peace and happiness with our neighbors; how to subdue our passions, overcome Lust, conquer Greed, chain Revenge and master Jealousy four hell-born dragons which cause ninety per cent of all the crime and misery in the world is a stupendous task, which should engage the at tention of all the churches and schools on earth. That the Catholic Church is devoting its utmost energies to this work saving souls in this world none can deny.
The order cf the Sisters of Charity, known as the "Little Sisters of the Poor," in actual service to suffering humanity is doing more to quench the fires of hell in this world than any other agency in society. Its work is practical. At this mo ment thousands of these consecrated women are busy in hos pitals Of pain, placing cooling lotions upon fevered brows, com forting the dying, wiping, away tears of sorrow and leading multitudes back from the dark Valley and shadow of Death to the land of light and laughter. These brave women are found on every battlefield, administering to the dying, and nursing back to life and love the fallen heroes of nations. When a community is smitten with a deadly plague, they are the first to come and the last to leave.
At the close of 1911, the Cincinnati Enquirer asked church leaders of that city to report progress for the year. All com plied, and these reports reveal the difference between Cath olic and Protestant churches. For example, Bishop Moore, of the M. E. Church, wrote:
"The Methodist Episcopal Church has in the state of Ohio five conferences, not counting the Central German and the Lexington, which are only partly included within the- state. The membership record is: Ohio, 84,635; Cincinnati, 56,665; East Ohio, 86,324; North Ohio, 41,182; Central Ohio, 59,283. This total of 328,089 members is an increase of 8,029 over the
25

previous year. Cincinnati conferences gain is the second largest of any of the conferences, 1,898.
"The church has 1,235 ministers and 2,243 Sunday schools, with an aggregate of 365,273 workers and scholars. She has 2,251 churches and 798 parsonages, valued at $18,133,532.
"In the world at large she has 3,520,197 members, 20,569 ministers, 35,445 Sunday schools, with a total membership of 3,942,429, churches and parsonages valued at $216,290,437. She has 360 educational institutions, with 75,585 students. She gave for general benevolences last year $4,397,236."
This is not offered for the purpose of criticism, but that you may compare its spirit and contents with the following from Archbishop Mcellers report on the same subject:
"During the year 1911, which has just passed, the Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati has given evidence of a great deal of charitable, educational and religious activity.
"She has taken care of over 800 orphans and over 100 in fants. More than 700 homeless boys who needed shelter and protection have found a home under her watchful care. In her hospitals some 10,500 patients have been treated. About 400
aged persons have been taken care of and provided for by the Little Sisters of the Poor, and this branch of charitable work has made special progress in the opening of the St. Theresas Home for the Aged, in Mt. Auburn, by the gen erous efforts of those in charge.
"Upward of 400 wayward and destitute girls have found an asylum with the Sisters of the Good Shepherd. With un abated zeal the St. Vincent de Paul Society has been perform ing its mission of charity and doing all that it could in its quiet and unostentatious way, to relieve in as far as possible the distressing conditions which obtain among the poor and helpless."
Bishop Moore deals largely with material things and his statistics are interesting, covering Ohio and the "world at large."
The Archbishop deals with his own diocese and tells of prac tical Christian work in saving men, women and children from the hells of poverty, failure, sickness and sin in this world. Instead of criticising Catholicism, Mr. Watson and his Prot estant brethren would do well to prevail upon other churches to give less time to politics and devote more energy to the work of helping the needy and trying to save the lost from the hells of this world.
26

In all great cities you will find Catholic homes for fallen women. The women who have this work in charge have res cued from errors tempestuous sea millions of victims whose frail barks were about to sink forever. These rescue stations, houses of the Good Shepherd, are doing more to win back to virtue and honor the lost and forsaken of womankind than any other Christian agency. When a girl has been turned from her fathers door; when brothers disown and sisters turn aside even when mother love fails they find a welcome, food and shelter at the "Home of the Good Shepherd." Best of all they find sisters and mothers who. love them back to life and hope.
The Order of the Good Shepherd was established in 1641, in Caen, France. Its activities now extend all over the civ* ilized world. The mother house in this country is at Toronto, . Canada. Every city of any size has one house at least, some more.
Recently when fire destroyed the Houseof the Good Shep herd* at Wheeling, West Virginia, a mass meeting was held and money subscribed to rebuild it, Protestants vicing with their Catholic neighbors in then: efforts to raise the money. Speaking of the work of this order in Wheeling, Mother De Sales, who was in charge of the institution, said:
"The exact purpose of the home is not wholly understood by many persons. It is not an orphanage. Many of the girls in the institution are sent by their parents, or are taken away from drunken or vicious parents by the state and municipal authorities. Some of the older girls, however, are from very respectable and sometimes from very well-to-do families throughout the state.
"Again some of them are very beautiful and accomplished. Any girl who is exposed to vicious surroundings, who is in danger of passing -or has passed from the control of their parents or guardians, is accepted at the home, and no ques tion is asked concerning their former social surroundings or religion. Most of the girls just referred to range in age from ten to twenty-five years. Those of them who had not already entered upon a vicious life, were at its threshold.
"Besides these inmates of the home, there were a large num ber .of little girls ranging in age from three to ten years. These babies, who are kept entirely separate at all times from the older girls, are little ones wh2o7 have been deserte d"by~ ~th~~e~y

parents or taken from them. This second feature of the wort is preventive in character, rather than reformatory.
"No physical restraint whatever is placed upon the girls. While they are under rule and discipline at all times (and this was shown admirably during the fire on Sunday night), they are held solely by their affection for the sisters and the attrac tions of a better life. A remarkable thing hi connection with this is the fact that they never lose their affection for the home, -but revisit it again and again, and some of them, in. fact, never leave, but insist on staying and caring for others as they were cared for, even though they can never become members of the order. The strict rule of the sisterhood which rigidly prevents them from entering the order allows them, however, to remain as Magdalenes, wearing a distinguishing "habit and helping in the work of reformation. The affection and zeal for virtue of these young women who remain is matched by the gratitude and interest of those who leave the home, as all are free to do on becoming of age. The sisters at the home confess that their astonishment is renewed again and again by the wonderful expressions of gratitude that; are given in letters from all parts of the country, written by good wives and mothers who were once wayward girls under their charge."
Everybody knows how hard it is to reclaim a lost woman almost impossible. The attitude of women in general bars her way once she has fallen. On this account the world should appreciate the work done by the women of the Order of the Good Shepherd. Opposition to their mission is an evi dence of total depravity. To slander them is the sum of all villainy. While there is breath in my body and warm blood in my heart these brave women shall have one non-Catholic friend and. defender. What they believe does not concern me. What they are doing for the lost, helpless and hopeless dere licts of humanity ought to excite the admiration of men and gods.
Alan H. Robinson, Judge of the Police Court of Wheeling, has this to say for the work of these Sisters:
"After assuming the duties of judge of the police court of the city of Wheeling, I felt keenly the fact that there was absolutely no municipal or state home of detention, where delinquent children or wayward girls might be cared for while awaiting trial, or as a consequence of thereafter. The solu tion of the difficulty was presented early, as the Mother Su-
28

perior of that home, having read of my dilemma in one of my first cases of the kind, kindly volunteered to take charge of and care for any such who might thereafter be committed to their tender care. And many there were who afterward received the advantages of the kindly interest and ministra tions of the good sisters. It mattered not what was the physi cal or moral condition of the delinquent, as all were cheer fully received and given a good home; and, if in need thereof, medical attention and careful nursing. None was ever re fused admittance, even in the case of one young girl who was so afflicted with a loathsome disease that her own parents refused to take her into her own home.
"Excellent results were achieved by the good sisters of the home, as I know of a number of cases where depraved girls were thoroughly reformed after a short stay in their in stitution. No compensation was ever received by the home
for such services, and the community was saved much ex pense and immeasuraoly benefited thereby."
This brief testimony outweighs the criticism and hatred of all the Watsons that ever lived. But some years ago Ethelyn Leslie Huston wrote an article for the Iconoclast, en titled, "The Self-Crucifixion of a Nun." We commend this story to Mr. Watson and remind him of the FACT that the heroine is only one among thousands who have sacrificed themselves in the service of virtue and gave their lives to save
weak and wayward women. Here is the story: "When Father Damien voluntarily turned his face for all
time to the living horror and physical degradation of Ha waiis lazaretto when his shrinking foot touched the Molokai akina, the grey, desolate island with soil reeking with hideous disease, the air heavy with festering, living death, the people ghastly nightmares of rotting limbs with brain and memory chained in a charnel-house of putrid flesh the whole world rung with his name. He was deified, this humble Belgian priest, who for seventeen long years toiled and suffered till strength slowly sank and his body too, was sucked into the maelstrom of leprosy. Father Damien was human, yet touched the stars. He died a heroic death, but his name has .become immortal. It will live in song and story. And on the tonsured head of the dead priest will rest the tender green of the deathless laurel always.
"In the city of New Orleans is the old, old order of the House of the Good Shepherd. Nearly fifty years ago a young
29

girl, fair as a poets dream, dowered lavishly by all the graces and with all the luxuries of great wealth and the dazzling al lurements of social life before her, deliberately closed the flower-hung gates that opened wide to her girlish form, and laying her wealth at the feet of the Lady of Sorrows, ex. changed the silvery tissues of the debutantes gown for the heavy serge of the sacred order. The world -did not heed as the "pitiless steel swept the silken hair from the fair brow. There was no breath of reverential awe from ocean to ocean as the heavy shadows of the Black Veil fell over the bright head. There was no acclaim as the low chant sounded its requiem for a maidens death. There was only silence, pro found as the sea at night, as the altar gave back its deadand a pale nun lifted her eyes to the stars.
"Father Damien had been schooled in self-renunciation and
reared in the shadow of- the monastery. Awful as was his sacrifice, yet he but left the bare walls and austere life of the humble priesthood behind him. He faced horror, but he had already renounced the world. This young girl knew nothing of lifes bitterness. The world laughed with her and showered its roses with royal hands at her dancing feet. The birds sang round her in delirium of youth and joyous music. Her veins thrilled with the sweet, warm wine of young life and fancies light as Titanias butterflies fluttered through her waking dreams. Life opened a wide vista of wondrous delights, peo pled with laughing nymphs and radiant with golden sunshine. Hope whispered her sweetest fairy tales and at her white breast nestled the winged god pressing the pomegranate to her warm lips. But beyond the golden head of the Child she saw visions that startled the girl-dreams forever from her frightened eyes; through the vibrating sweetness of the birds songs she heard the low wail of lost women and in the golden blaze of a worlds glory she saw a veiled form whose mask was Love and whose kiss was Death. And then her heart wakened to an infinite pity, and, like the Belgian priest, she renounced the world and. gave her life to ministering in the souls great Lazar-house. From the low voices of culture arid sweet laughter of pure women, she turned to the gasping cry of agony and bitter curse of despair. From the Gardens of Pleasure, bright as her girlish eyes, she turned to the Desert of Eternal Night, dark as the souls that cowered, face-down ward, naked upon its thorns. From the softness of loves
caress and the warmth of loves kiss she turned to the bare
30

walls and brooding sihrice of a sacred tomb. She strangled
the torturing heart-hungt-o her womanhood and with a metal cross crushed back in her breast^jhe yearning pain for the touch of baby lips the thrilling sweetness of wandering baby fingers. Her girl-life, rich in promise, she crucified upon a cross for women whose lives werfe lived who had loved and sinned and suffered the cursed, and in their infamy and shame she buried in pure youth, her life, hef hope for all time and there was left only to wait. Outside of her order few knew of Mother St. Martin. I had heard her story and in the house of Magdalens, in New Orleans, when the black" grating, swung back I saw a face still very beautiful, eyes soft and-tendet, with the fires of the South burning still through the long years of the chill austerity of her holy calling, and an outstretched hand, soft and white and exquisite the hand of a gentle woman. The black veil contrasted somberly with the creaniy serge hanging in heavy folds to her feet and the face arid
figure of this holy woman, framed in the black bars, was worthy the pen of a Laureate, the brush of a Master. Ritual JBfid dogma, church and creed, belief and unbelief, query and u theory, Christian and Pagan all fade and pale into insig
nificance before the unwritten history of this womans life* . A worshipper of false gods, a visionist or a Bride of Christ-T it does not matter. Before her task strong men would quail. At what she sees, pure women would shrink. From what she
has endured good women would turn afraid and appalled. Her work was not lighter than Damiens and it has extended
over nearly three times the number of years. His was a martyrs death. Hers a long martyrdom living. He was an
.humble peasant-priest tending pitifully the diseased in body. She is a cultured woman ministering tirelessly to half a cen
tury of distorted minds and leprous souls. Before the nobility of her life, the infinitude of her sacrifice, the sweetness and tenderness of her personality one pauses, humble and silent. Some may criticise her creed they must reverence her deeds.
Some may revile what she holds holy they must honor holi ness that is sublime. Some may censure the church they
must bow to the woman.. Damien helped tortured wretches to die. She helps tortured women to live. With her delicate patrician hand she has touched lives that reeked with vileness and degradation, and softly drawn them back from the vortex -that casts its ghastly refuse on the slimy slabs of a
city morgue. With her soft voice she has silenced the obscene
31

jest and reckless curse and taught instead the tenderness of a
prayer. With her pure refinement she has lifted from the gutters filth these female animals and walked with them through the via dolorosa till they were again within the pale
of womanhood. But this woman, infinitely great and infinite
ly pitiful, is almost unknown. The eyes, patient and tender and saddened by the long pilgrimage of pain, are rarely seen beyond the cloister walls. And while there are Dr. Hydes
base enough to cast mud at the marble of her order, there is no Stevenson to challenge the defamer and give honor where honor is due. In ode and epic and history are shrined and immortalized the memories of our Jeanes dArc and our Molly Pitchers, our Clara Bartons and our Florence Nightingales,
and pre-eminent among them should be the memory of this white-robed nun, who gave her wealth to shelter our home
less Magdalens and her life for their redemption. Over her dead Christ is written Hominum Salvator. Over her brow rests only the black veil. And the silent group of shrouded
figures kneeling before the sculptured Nazarene are her only testimony. She gave her life for women aad heart and soul to her Christ, and her epithalamium is the saddened chant of cloistered nuns, her arc of triumph the pale sunshine riven *by
an upright Cross." If it be American or Christian to belittle the work, much less
slander the character of women like the heroine in this story, then Virtue is criminal, Honor disreputable, Truth a liar and Justice a prostitute.

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