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Show Self-abnegation has for its end the conquest of the lower by the higher self. This is the rational view of Lent with its practices of self-denial. . There have been no important developments in the far eastern war situation during the past week. It is again reported that Russia is disposed to sue for peace. The Board of Management of the public library of this city is to be commended for its action in ordering that the rooms be open four hours during i t lie afternoons of Sundays. ' ' I It is now predicted by Chairman Hull of tho 1 Committee on Military Affairs that the Japanese want, the Philippines, and may make us trouble. I Is the "yellow peril" to manifest itself so soon? I Manly courtesy is one of the luxuries of life to be bad without price; it may be lavishly dispensed without impoverishment; the traffic in this price- I l,Jbs social commodity enriches all who engage therc- in. but the greatest gain ever innures to the dis- penscr, rather than to the recipient. : ' I If be fear of the Lord is the beginning' of wis- j f ""em. should it not drive from out the heart of man I ignoble fear of creatures? Moral cowardice is I the bane to nobility of character. Why should man s-tand in fear of his fellow-creatures when he knows that the Ht :avenly Father is ever near to succor and to protect him? 1 If any man be inclined to doubt that our be- 1 loved chief magistrate is a broad-minded, whole- 1 souled, an. intensely patriotic and a profoundly re- I . ligious man, let him read his recent addresses bc- 1 fore the National Congress of Mothers and the - j Friendly Sons of St. Patrick. If he'still remain I sceptical it must be because his perversity is invul- I nerablc, I ! , - President Roosevelt, in an address before the I Congress of Mothers, assumed that elevated moral j standpoint against the divorce evil that always i characterizes his attitude in reference to the various I social evils of the day. A noble man, ever strenu- i Usly battling for the cause of morality and right- : eousness! May his mighty influence be far-reach ing and long-enduring! It was a bold spirit that prompted one of our' contemporaries to give its most conspicuous space to a denunciation of the attitude of the Church by a man who has posed as the eulogist of Bob Inger-soll Inger-soll and Herbert Spencer. This man, 'tis true, was once a Catholic, but lost his head through misguid-- misguid-- ed zeal. Is this the manner in which he would court a reconciliation? : I Mr. J. Brisben Walker alleges that plutocracy I . would make use of the Church for its nefarious pur- poses. This is doubtless true. It may even be ad- 1 mittcd that these machinations are not altogether 1 unsuccessful; but to inaitain that any considerable j number of our churchmen have become infected I with this poisonous virus is, in the light of manifest I fact, preposterously absurd. i j Men and Institutions! Cause and Effect 1 Is J this not, after all and of a verity, the rational and j philosophical order I Even Holy Church, Divine in I her origin and organism, her preservation and f unc- i tions: considered as a social organization, is not I her character precisely what it is made by the tone I of the character, the ideals and the aspirations of the men and women who constitute her member- i ship? Sacred, therefore, and solemn is the responsi- bility that rests upon every one who lays claim to ! the sacred title, "Catholic." ! , ' ' i j : " Luxuriousness and refinement may hot be absolutely abso-lutely incompatible, but they arc assuredly not con-' con-' genial spirits. A grand jury is investigating charges against the beef trust magnates in Chicago. The independent independ-ent packers of the country are said to have set aside $3,000,0OJ for the purpose of fighting tlic trust in the courts. We seem to be on the eve of fair play in matters concerning the beef trade of the land. . . $ . Spiritual reading, it has been admirably said, is the ''oil to the lamp of prayer." Many complain that they arc unable to concentrate their thoughts upon prayer. During this holy season of Lent, especially, es-pecially, should one devote some of his leisure, each day, to the reading of spiritual books. Herein would, no doubt, be found a more or less effectual remedy for the complaint indicated. . As might have been expected. President Roosevelt Roose-velt has brought out the big stick with the determination deter-mination of hammering the life out of the Utah coal land grabs. What a blessing to America is the strenuous rule of a sturdy, high-minded and an intrepid chief executive just at this time, when insatiable in-satiable greed and ruthless rapacity are so fragrantly fragrant-ly rampant in the land. The Missouri senatorial dealloek was broken last Saturday by the election of William Warner, of Kansas City, a veteran Republican politician. Tim scene at the close was a disgracefully tumultuous one that cannot be commended for emulation. Many will regret that the choice did not fall upon Richard C. Kerens, but it is seldom, in this era of venal politics, that the best man gets the "plum.' . . f- The Catholic University of America publishes a formal declaration that Mr. E. L. Seharf is in no way, nor has ever been, connected with that institution. insti-tution. This is done. to correct an erroneous impression impres-sion in the minds of friends of the University. So it is that Scharf must henceforth be his own sponsor, the public having been made aware that he is not the spokesman of the Church, nor of any of its honored institutions. In The Ave Maria, the Rt. Rev. F. Aidan Gas-quet. Gas-quet. O. S. B., reviews "Some Aspects of Medieval Guild-Life."' A careful examination of this subject must convince any fair-minded person that the Church is ever the devoted friend oi the common people, and that whenever she is permitted to exercise ex-ercise her legitimate influence, unimpeded by opposing op-posing forces, human society is enabled to enjoy its full meed of earthly blessedness. "Standard Oil'' is being harrassed on all sides by prosecutions in the criminal and the civil courts. The American public is long-suffering, but when thoroughly aroused, acts with vigor and determination. determina-tion. With Standard Oil and the beef trust eliminated elimin-ated from our commercial realms, there will be a better opportunity for the bencficicnt reign of Christian principles, guaranteeing a due meed of justice and prosperity to the common people. . A perusal of a recently published article on the Church in Japan leads one to fondly hope that this may one day be a model and exemplary Christian nation. The record of the fidelity, the constancy . and the fortitude under persecution of the Catholics Catho-lics in Japan is seldom equalled in the annals of the Church militant. It will probably be a surprise to many of our readers to learn that even now the Catholics in the "Flowery Kingdom" number 258,000. ; "Dogmatic Religion" is the title of a versified satire that appeared in one of our local dailies during dur-ing the current week. Distasteful as the idea may be to some, the fact remains that truth i3 one and absolute, and we must either accept it as such or willfully consign ourselves to the outer gloom of error. The Author of truth has fashioned the 'yoke'' and it is manifestly foolish and wicked for the creature to rebel against the ordiancc of the Creator. ... . The Catholic Fortnightly Review of March lth contains some very pertinent remarks concerning life insurance. The rates of the Catholic "fra-ternals" "fra-ternals" should be made to correspond with the level premiums charged by the old line companies, less about 20 per cent because of the excessive expense loading by the latter. Lower rates are neither wise ! nor safe; to persist in the irrational course .pursued by many of our f raternals is to court inevitable disaster dis-aster and confusion. The announcement that Bishop Spalding is in a fair way to complete recovery from his recent paralytic attack will be received by all who are acquainted ac-quainted with this noble and scholarly Divine or his exalted character, with emotions of joy and thanksgiving. The world owes a debt of gratitude to Bishop Spalding for the immortal essays he has given it; as a master of English diction and an exponent of ideal ethics, Bishop Spalding is, probably, probab-ly, without a peer in his day. f : , , The Catholic Sun of last week comes, to us in the patriotic garb of deep, indellible green admirable admir-able for holiday purposes, but hardly suitable for work-a-day attire. Be that as it may, it contains a masterful refutation of the absurd claim that Saint Patrick was a Protestant. In the light of its presentation pres-entation of the facts, showing so conclusively the preposterous absurdity of even hinting at the idea, one wonders at the indignant and impassioned tone assumed by the worthy editor. The logic of the would-be reformer is a wondrous creature and utterly transcends human reason. One of Salt Lake's ministers on last Sunday regaled his congregation with a dissertation on the heresy of Christ, and eulogized heretics as paragons among men. Because, forsooth, .the Divine Exemplar, in his mission to mankind, which was to sow the seed of eternal truth, denounced the then existing order of things the soulless formalism and hipocracy of the scribes and pharisees, it follows that all innovators arc Christ-like heretics and the saviors of the race of man. Shall wc not," therefore, hail w'th peans of praise and dutiful acts of immolation, Ifcrr Most and his anarchistic ilk and all the rcvo-j rcvo-j lift, ion a ry ; communists of the. day Y |