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Show I ''The Month of Mary:" Are not the holy emo- 1 tions awakened by this thought, a powerful ineen- I tive to purer, more loving, nobler life i f ; I Man is the stupid actor in the drama of life; j woman the ''prompter behind the scenes." Without I the devoted and intelligent guidance of the latter, I the former would make but a sorry plight of the role of "The Lord of Creation." j An overwhelming egotism is a mental and moral disease that sometimes afflicts really big men. Sclf-' Sclf-' conceit, however, is a weakness confined to callow I and inexperienced youth. That this peculiar trait ; ( of youthfulness sometimes extends to a point beyond be-yond the middle life seems painfully regrettable. ; Lawson's critics are ubiquitous and fierce. Unmindful Un-mindful of their more or less sincere carpings and protests, this giant among men is pursuing the I even tenor of his way, whilst masterfully holding up !io the lime-light of publicity the iniquities of "frenzied finance." ; , . : ; : . The cordial -reception accorded to Mr. John I Redmond, the sturdy Irish Nationalist leader by His Holiness, Pius X, will more than ever endear 1 his illustrious democratic Pontiff to the hearts of the Irish people. His avowed sympathies with the Home Rule movement will give increased courage cour-age and strength to its valiant champions,' i ". Because of the want of the necessary space, j there has, with a sense of reluctance, been omitted 'from the columns a "frank"' reply to a preposter-I preposter-I ously arrogant and pretentious communication, J under the title of "Tolle! Lege!" received from the I editor of one of our valued exchanges. We hope I to n'nd it practicable to publish this "rejoinder" in I our issue of next week. . : . I The fact that the uastv brood of revolutionary 1 . I Agitators, styling themselves "Socialists" and pos- ing as the friends of the people, worked "tooth and I toe-nail" to defeat the municipal-ownership propos- it ion 'at the late Chicago election should serve to j upon the eyes of their deluded followers as to the 1 real nature of their nefarious designs. These the I f rinds of the common people? Bah! j This ''sure is" a day of financial - stupendous- J iks and irresponsibility. In the twinkling of an eye the demand for $100,00,000 upon the stockhold- I rrs of the Union Pacific railroad is granted the di- I rectors, end when the latter were asked to state lor f I what purpose the little sum was wanted they curtly replied lhat they had no statement to make. And yet some K-ople marvel that there is a "frenzied I . finance" bugbear prowling about the land. I A : . 1- Why should I envy my opulent neighbor J If the good God has graciously and wonderfully vouch- I t-afed me an open, appreciative mind and a sensi- I lively responsive heart, so that I am able to derive j from a contemplation from the dormer window of I my "sky parlor" of his beautiful park and mag- I nificent mansion an unspeakably keener and more I i soul-stirring delight than he can exierience by vir- 1 tue of possession and use, why should I not rather 1 pitv than envy him? The Optimist. I I . . I The heydey of corporste arrogance verily seems ! to be drawing to an ignominious close in this " blessed land of ours. Attorney General Moody has" formally declared that the protests of the railroad I magnates against the fixing of rates by the inter- ' state Commerce Commission, or even by 6tate leg- islatures, shall be of no avail. To the lay mind, all , unfamiliar with legal technicalities, the attitude of the Attorney General seems eminently fair and f just. Corporations are the creatures of the state, and it is most certainly absurd to permit the crea- I tu as to "wag" the creator. - j ' ' ' , j v; ; - "Honesty and. Truth" arc assuredly virtues to be commended to the would-bc social and industrial reformers.' As, however, this doctrine has been preached in thunder tones all a-down the corridors of the ages, how would it be to recommend "Intelligence "Intel-ligence and Sincerity" as a prime requisite to tho ambitious would-be moulder of public opinion? ; . Judge Dunne, according to some reports, is not in complete harmony with the best Catholic thought on the school .question. This, we all of course, regret. re-gret. If true, however, the fact alone would hardly hard-ly disqualify this stalwart friend of the common , people from enjoying the distinction of bring the first Catholic to preside over the destinies of this great nation as chief magistrate, any more than it would place him outside of the pales of tho Church, of which he is reputed to be a loyal and dutiful member. ' Mr. John Redmond, in a scathing arraignment' of England s policy in the government of Ireland, declared that he would not hesitate to urge his con-' stituency to armed revolt had he any hope that they might succeed. Sir Henry Campboll-Banncr-man, Liberal leader in the house of commons, renewed re-newed in unqualified terms, his declaration of complete com-plete sympathy with the champions of Home Rule for Ireland. Thus are kept alive the embers. of j opposition to English domination, which can only be finally quenched by a complete surrender to the demand for Irish autonomy. God hasten the dav! ; f ; A'bombastic cbulition of iridescent pyrotechnic, symbolisms would probably be an apt characterization characteriza-tion of ii page of editorial comment in one of our most pretentious exchanges, all employed to embellish em-bellish the simple statements that Lawson is a self-confessed self-confessed thief and that Rockefeller may not be as black as he is painted. The writer might glean a valuable pointer from the first named individual, whose masterful' literary, style precludes his inflicting in-flicting upon his waders a mass of meaningless jargon, jar-gon, however flamboyant his language. Lawson may be a thief, but he invariably gnves his readers a full quid pro quo for their money and their time. . . The unholy designs of the stockholders and officers offi-cers (virtually one and the same) of the Equitable Life Assurance Society upon the sacred funds of their policy-holders indicated by holding the $100,000 of capital stock upon which' the annual dividend is limited to $7,000 by the provisions of their corporate charter, at the sum of about $1",-000.000 $1",-000.000 is about to be nipped in the bud. The. movement on the part of the poilcy holders to oust the officers seems assured of sticcess, and the $70.-000.0(H) $70.-000.0(H) of surplus in the coffers of this concern will thus be secured for the benefit of its rightful owners. own-ers. The "common people" seem to have an "inning" "in-ning" these days, and they are obviously determined deter-mined to score with a vengeance. ' ' T "Which is the more exalted?" asks A. C. Layman, after stating: "It is man's priceless privilege to love, cherish and protect; woman's no less estimable privilege and duty to love and obey." It is recorded that the Blessed Virgin, immeasurably exalted above all other creatures, yielded blind obedience to Joseph, the lowly and humble carpenter. Does some "strong-minded" woman remind us that this is not a pertinent observation that the exaltation of the "Peerless Creature" is not at all attributable to her humble submission to her lowly spouse ? If so, we will gladly grant her point of contention, and consider con-sider the incident closed for the time being only pausing to venture the opinion that the privilege of obedience was highly cherished as one of the ineffably in-effably sweet gifts of an infinitely loving and lovable lov-able God. . Lest we be misunderstood because of our remarks re-marks elsewhere in these columns concerning "Tom" Lawson and his character, we hasten to proclaim pro-claim our honest antipathy for a thief; a thief is but little less despicable than is a liar. We have in mind, however, a certain penitent malefactor with whom we would not be averse to exchange lots almost any day; and we confess also, that we are sufficiently sentimental to believe in the penitence of Lawson. At worst fudging from all available data this very remarkable man was as a black sheep among a nasty pack of wolves or mangy hyenas hy-enas and if he is willing to serve as bait to lure or force the more loathsome "varmint" to their dire destruction, we are just heartless enough to pat him on the back and hail him as a good fellow. God speed you, Lawson, say we! . $ . It seems that a benign and merciful Heaven ! would never weary in reminding men that they are j ever standing on the brink of eternity, and yet, we ! live as, if wc expected this earthly existence to be j everlasting. Two frightful calamities within twenty- j four hours, in which scores of human beings were j summoned to meet their Maker and Judge without with-out a moment's warning, should verily cause us to pi:usc in our mad pursuit for worldly goods and pleasures, and set into order our spiritual affairs' On Thursday night a tornado struck flu; town of Snjder, O.T., instantly killing nearly one hundred persons and more or less seriously injuring about ?jo0 others. On the following morning a disastrous disas-trous wreck occurred on the Pennsylvania railroad, resulting in the death of about twenty and the injury in-jury of between sixty and seventy persons. Shall these solemn warnings be all-unheeded? ! . 4 : : ' In one of our esteemed Catholic contemporaries a writer, who poses as a light in matters literary, recommends one of the works of Hamilton Wright Mabie as amqnf the very first volumes to be secured for a choice collection of books. As there are published pub-lished a number of volumes by our own Spulding (Bishop of Peoria) that cover practically the same range of subjects and in an incomparably more excellent ex-cellent manner view them from any standpoint you wUl one marvels at this critic's choice. Only in one respect does Mabie even approach Spalding, viz: That of diction; and in this respect Spalding probably has no superior in the language. Query: Is this critic's penchant to appear broad and liberal lib-eral of so virulent a type as to preclude his being fair to a Catholic author? If so, he would be but just to his youthful readers by urging them to give their preference to Ruskin or, . Emmerson rather than Mabie, charming as are the essays of this last named author. t . . . It is a matter for interesting conjecture as to what effect, the fixing of railroad rates by Congress ami the state legislatures will have upon the public ownership movement. Will this wholesome regulation regula-tion have the effect of rendering the public less insistent? Or will the railroad magnates, in sheer disgust, demand that the public assume absolute control? i Commenting on the refusal of the discoverer of X-rays OUR W. C. Roentgen -to appea: before be-fore the Intternational Congress of Scientists, convened for the purpose of celebrating the tenth anniversary of the great discovery, the Salt Lake Herald, under the caption of "Modesty and Great ness remarKs: Jiere is real moucsiy, auu it iur-liishes iur-liishes sufficient proof, if any were needed, that the great German is giving his life to science from motives mo-tives other than selfish ones. As a matter of fact, the world's great scientists almost without exception excep-tion have been men who have sacrificed much and gained little in a material way. They have not been great seekers for public notoriety, but there are few so modest that they would decline to appear ap-pear before a gathering of fellow scientists to accept ac-cept the homage, not of a hero-worshipping public, pub-lic, but of learned men able to comprehend and appreciate the magnitude of a scientific achieve--ment." The justness of this comment leads of several significant conclusions. Genuine greatness greatness great-ness of the highest order is ever incompatible with a spirit of self-laudation and self-aggrandizement. It follows, even "as the night and day" that our victorious captains of industry, are of a low order in the scale of greatness. The latter too often, "monopolize" the fruits of the genius of truly great men, and then take advantage of their ill-gotten ill-gotten power '.to oppress the masses who should be benefitted by discoveries and, inventions that would result in a great material blessing were it not for the nefarious machinations of those piratical pirat-ical 'captains." : - "Better late than never." Being somewhat tardy in extending our congratulations to the Rev. Father Cronin, the veteran editor of the Buffalo Union and Times, upon his elevation to the rank of D. D. by the Holy Father, Pius X., we would make our greeting -all the more ardent, and cordial. . 4 . When a (self-styled) 'practical Catholic moralist" moral-ist" sententiously declares: "I have no patience with the unco guid" it may safely be assumed, we opine, that the phrase is used in a sense all his own; that, for instance, it does not, from his viewpoint view-point typify the saints of God who. prefcrreVl to lay down their lives rather than to besmirch their precious souls with one unholy thought, be it ever so trivial? Mayhap his .patience is tested beyond the "sticking point" by men and women who harbor har-bor in their consciousness impracticable or unattainable unat-tainable ideals? Or i?s forsooth, his reprehension incurred by those individuals who have no abiding peace unless they are daily conscious of some advance ad-vance in spiritual growth? But, to be fair to this "practical" moralist it must be stated that he himself him-self defines the type alluded to as "those Christians who habitually roll their eyes toward heaven and see evil in everything." Query: Would not our "moralist" render himself less obscure by designating desig-nating his "bete noir" as a "hypocrite" or a "piet ist, thus simply proclaiming himself in agreement with all the world of men? - -4 Inasmuch as the Catholic Church is a stumbling stumb-ling block (?) to progress, the announcement that one of her priests has just invented a new system of wireless telegraphy is a trifle startling. This system transmits messages by means of musical notes, and it is claimed that a practical test has conclusively demonstrated its superiority over all other systems of rapid transmission. . Dame Nature is assuredly displaying herself in her most bewitching aspects in this, her most re-splendan't re-splendan't haunt the peerless Salt Lake Valley during this charming month of May. To view our snow clad hills in all the indescribable lustre and radiance of one of our matchless sunsets, is to experience an exaltation of mind and transport of soul that would richly recompense one for days of arduous travel and deprivation. Dull indeed, and sadly impoverished, must be soul of that man ' who can view so sublime a scene unmoved in heart and mind; who is not moved to bare his brow and breatho a prayer of homage and thanksgiving to the divine Author of all this unutterable splendor and glory. i Devotion to the Virgin Mother must, necessarily, neces-sarily, be rewarded by greater love and loyalty to her divine Son. How can any one reverentially contemplate con-template thisjrnother's heart, all pure and undefiled and burning with ineffable tenderness, without having his own heart quickened and fructified with a more!ardent and more tender love for the wonderful God of infinite lo'vci .... .. . " j "The Blessedness of the Virgin Mother: U it not a most inspiring as well as beautiful recital of the many reasons and motives wc have for unbounded un-bounded love for the "Peerless ; Creature, the Mother of Jesus? , : -4 ; We arc in receipt of the program of; the first annual convention of The Federation of Catholic-Societies Catholic-Societies of Kansas, to be held at.Topeka on May 24 and 2. The exercises, as announced will include in-clude public lectures and sermons as follows: "Christian Education" by Rev. Edmund J1' Tmosrenc, Iowa ; "Our Duties as American Citizens" by Rt, Rev. John J. Hennessy, D.D., Bisho.p of Wichita; "Federation. Its Aims and Advantages," by Bishop Hennessy; "The Benefit of Catholic Societies" So-cieties" by Very Rev. Wm. Schellberg, of Hanover, Kansas. ; Superbly apt ami admirably concise is the following fol-lowing clucidatiun of a vital problem from the Catholic- editor's standpoint which appeared m a late issue of The Catholic Light: "With few exceptions excep-tions the Catholic editors of the country appear to favor public ownership of public utilities. The adoption of such a system unquestionably would be a death blow to Socialism. It would make it impossible." im-possible." Incidentally, let it be stated, it would bo a similar death blow to the ravenous trusts. Some would be slain outright and others frightened off their perch. No wonder the Catholic press favors killing two birds with one stone." . After once more demonstrating his superior prowess in bagging bear and other prowlers in the wilds of Colorado, our most estimable Chief Executive Ex-ecutive was honored by being feted at "the most sumptuous banquet" ever spread in Denver, that wonderful city of superb and wonderful achievements. achieve-ments. Senator Patterson, that doughty champion of "unwashed Democracy" was the principal speaker,, responding to the toast of 'The President." j The enthusiasm is said to have been tremendous, thus proving that even politicians of Denver are not totally depraved. -Mr. Koosevelt, it is said, was visibly delighted by the, gorgeous appearance of the grand banquet hall in the Brown Palace Hotel. His strenuous devotion to "the. simple life" is seemingly not all-pervading. Our most worthy President is, assuredly, a many-sided man. . : The Encyclical of our Holy Father, Pius X, "On the. Teaching of the Catechism," is certainly a model, of the highest order, in all respects. Its language is classical in its simplicity, purity and excellence of diction. As a terse, eloquent and incisive in-cisive indication of the grave moral and spiritual evils of our age, it leaves nothing to be desired, whilst the eloquence and tender ardor with which His Holiness pleads for a more faithful conformity conform-ity to the principles and ideals of the Christian religion loudly proclaims his own devoted loyalty to the Divine Master whose most humbb though most exalted servant he is. as well as his touchingly tender solicitude in behalf of the spiritual well-being cf the human race as a whoie. This eloquent and affectionate plea must touch the hearts of all who read it, and that it will tend to re-enkindle the smouldering embers of divine love in the hearts of the multitude is fondly and confidently to be hoped. We regret that we cannot give the full text of his noble document to our read, ts in this issue, but promise to do so in our next. : Speaking of. mystery is not one of its most remarkable re-markable phases to be discerned in the fact that the very idea of it should be repugnant to a rational being? A little rational reflection leads to the conviction con-viction that all rational life would be simply unendurable unen-durable if, by any possibility, it were utterly bereft of all idea of mystery. The unknown or uncompre-hended uncompre-hended is ever the goal whose achievement is man's greatest boon. "There is more pleasure in pursuit than in possession." No sooner is that which one strives for with all his heart and soul finally achieved, than its soul-alluring charms vanish van-ish even as does the unsubstantial mist fly before the rays of the approaching orb of day; and were there not something still beyond, stilVto be achieved all interest in life must be absolutely at an end; so, at least, it is in the natural order. And as to the supernatural order, would not the very idea of Heaven itself pall upon the heart and mind could we be led to believe that its mysteries would become exhausted with its possession? How fatuous and foolish, therefore, the man who will sneer or rail at mystery, whether in the natural or supernatural order! .A. |