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Show LET US NOT BE HOODWINKED. Rev. N. H. Harrrman, who says ire went to the Philippine islands in a "semi-official capacity with a quasi-relation quasi-relation to the army," has a most remarkable re-markable article in last week's Independent Inde-pendent on "Religious Liberty In the Philippines." Mr. Harriman's article sings the eame refrain which is found in nearly every article coming from Protestant sources about the Philippines. The old cry that General Otis is incompetent is repeated ad neauseam. It is time now that the Catholic press and people should investigate inves-tigate these profligate charges and seek to understand the motives that underlie under-lie them. There are matters of more urgent importance to the . Catholic people peo-ple of America In the Philippine Philip-pine administration than the fact that a few American soldiers have sent several vestments back to the United States, and perhaps in some in stances not shown the respect that Catholics would wish, in the occupancy of churches. As the Intermountain Catholic pointed out some time ago, all this talk of church desecration lacks the element of truth.- Hence we pass over this question of alleged church desecration, on the part of our troops, and come to a consideration consider-ation of the attempted church confiscation, confisca-tion, which some Protestant missionaries mission-aries and their abettors would have our government indulge in. Catholics should not be hoodwinked by minor issues. There is an open, palpable pal-pable and unjustifiable effort being made to force the administration into a theft of all the Catholic property in the Philippine islands, notwithstanding the obvious fact that the church's title to this property is more valid than the title of the United States to the islands themselves. Mr. Harriman's article throws off the mask and urges upon' Mr. McKinley and the administration the necessity of driving the Bishops and Priests from their homes in the Philippines, and implores im-plores that this be done, so that the horde of ecclesiastical brigands from America may take possession of the church property from which the Catholics Cath-olics shall be evicted. It will be of enlightening interest to know precisely in what "semi-official capacity" Mr. McKinley sent Mr. Har-riman Har-riman to the Philippine islands. In passing, the Intermountain Catholic expresses ex-presses surprise that the Independent gave place to the purely gratuitous and ill-grounded statements of Mr. Harri-man, Harri-man, whose article, from beginning to end, sounds like a nightmare or the fabrications of a rancorous, bis-ot. Many grievances, indeed, has this Mr. Harriman, the principal of which seems to be that "the Catholic church has the f.eld." This is really too bad. What. a pity! The Catholic church, should withdraw from the Philippines and abandon its work of 300 yeara to this great American Ameri-can missionary, who, after spending gev.erUweks there assumes to speak wit"h,7he knowledge of a seer. The following- delectable morsel will give our readers a pretty accurate idea of what this "semi-official" functionary i of state and same time missionary desires: de-sires: And concerning the property "rightly belonging- to worship," there is even a more dc-Vicate problem to solve, the solution so-lution of which will call for the use of all the political power of the Catholic Catho-lic church in America we refer to the disposal of the cathedrals and parish churches of the islands. We observe no signs that Protectant America is at all awake to, or is aware of, the fact that our government nc.tna.Nv rtvn all these buildings, and ha paid for them in good American money. This hs true, however, and the fact should be remembered re-membered in our efforts for religious equality in the islands. The cathedral of old Manila, as I am informed on good authority, was built by the same man who built the city walls, and paid for out of the same funds. The parish churches also which dot the islands thickly, near enough together to be signal stations; built large, built solid, with walls from four to twelve feet thick, like fortresses; with massive towers, filled with bells, from Which signals were sent out by the Spanish Priests of Manila to the insurgents i ! after the uprising-, until discovered by the secret service and stopped these buildings were built with public money, wrung from the natives by burdensome taxation, and were owned by the government gov-ernment and their Priests supported at puouc exjjtnse. in ine ireaiy oi pecucc, these, with all other public property, reverted to our government in the $20,-000,000 $20,-000,000 Indemnity. Herein is the real animus of the opposition op-position to General Otis, who has not made himself particeps cri minus with the band of missionary thieves who would rob the Catholic churcth and the Catholic people of the Philippine islands of their rightful possessions. The whole head and front'of the opposition op-position to, and the real animus of the attacks on General Otis arise from the simple fact that he has thwarted such men as Harriman. urns is the first time that we have seen the brazen claim advanced that the United States government actually owns the churches and religious institutions insti-tutions on the island of Luzon. We ask our readers to peruse carefully care-fully the above extract from Mr. Harriman's Harri-man's article, and then ask themselves if a government, whiclh sends such a character in any capacity, even "semiofficial," "semi-official," is not to be pitied? Regarding this attempted confiscation confisca-tion of church property, the Catholic people may rest assured that it will fail of consummation. Archbishop Chappelle, the Apostolic Delegate, is not a man who will tolerate toler-ate the triflings of such men as Harriman, Harri-man, nor will the great mass of the American people acquiesce in the robbery rob-bery of one churcto for the aggrandizement aggrandize-ment of another. In every sentence in the article under consideration there is a spirit of injustice, injus-tice, intolerance and bigotry, quite un-surpassing un-surpassing anything that has ever come under our notice in a higb-class Journal.. Not only would Mr. Harriman have, our government confiscate the property of individuals in the Philippines, but I he would have the Bishops, Priests and j Nuns leave the islands, so that Dro-tcstant Dro-tcstant missionaries would be left alone in their giorjV, He says-that the Archbishop Arch-bishop of Manila "should have withdrawn with-drawn when the Spanish officials 'did." Much fault ia found with General Otis, because of his friendship for the Archbishop. Now, it is this friendship; which shows precisely the wisdom of the commanding general of the American Ameri-can army, for who is better aualified, in the Philippines, to help bring about a condition of peace than the head of the church in that country? It would seem that a sane writer could not reach a larger state of assi-ninity assi-ninity than has this writer in the Independent, In-dependent, on the matters thus far referred re-ferred to. But listen. He says: As further illustration of the effects of politics, priestcraft ind incompetent and biased militarism, note the following follow-ing straws: Catholic Chaplains are being sent to the islands in disproportionate numbers, num-bers, some leaving- the posts to which they are assigned in this country, "post chaplains," and spending their time largely in Manila. Is this "military diploma di-ploma cr?" Really it is intolerable that an intelligent intel-ligent public should be subjected to such rot. It is end has been notoriously notor-iously true that the proportion of Catholic Cath-olic Chaplains to the number of Catholics Cath-olics in the army is far less than the number to which Catholic soldiers are entitled. But listen to this sweet morsel: mor-sel: Father Hart, post chaplain at Fort Sneiling, Minneapolis, wiho went out on the same ship with the writer, was, in May "celebrating Mass for the troops, in the cathedral, every Sunday morning at 10:30, and preaching: in Kndish " TTlia cocm c. inrvfPonnivie enough, and highly proper; the Catholic Cath-olic soldiers in the city should have services, no doubt. But why in the cathedral? And what if the writer, j an American and a clergyman, had sought, the. same place, government property, in which to hold a meeting for Protestant soldiers? The bare suggestion sug-gestion shows how far from religious equality we are. Yet why not a Protestant Prot-estant service there? Herein the claim is advanced that religious equality should be based on a community of goods; in other words, t'hat the fruit of the toil of Catholic missionaries for three centuries should be abandoned in favor of a so-called missionary who remained for the long period of seven weeks in Manila. Fault is also found with Father Mc-Kinnon, Mc-Kinnon, because he was early appointed appoint-ed "Superintendent of Schools and Cemeteries" in Manila. What a pity that some one like Har-rmran Har-rmran was not appointed! In conclusion, Mr. Harriman asks: "Does military diplomacy demand that the school system of the islands be Catholic?" It is obvious that "military diplomacy" diplom-acy" is not the paramount consideration in this matter. If the Catholic people of Luzon, who' are the only people there, demand a system of education that is Catholic, then Catholic it shall be, In spite of Harriman and all his tribe. Just as in i the states of the Union, the ptople of the respective states decide what system sys-tem is desirable, so will the people in the Philippine islands decide when the proper time comes. Tine federal government has no more right U determine a system cf education educa-tion for the citizens of Manila than it has for the citizens of New York. Again we say, let us not be hoodwinked hood-winked by the groundless, charges, ostensibly os-tensibly made to discredit the military ability of General Otis, but whose real basis is the deaire of a few missionary harlots to be rid of him, that a creature of their own may be installed in his alace. General Otis is not a Catholic, nor is he connected in any way with any Catholic family. He stands for justice and right to all men, and he should not be removed at the behest of religious fanatics. L |