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Show CATHOLIC FEDERATION. President Minahan Discusses the Recent Re-cent National Gathering of Societies So-cieties at Chicago. Thomas B. Minahan, re-elected president pres-ident of the Federated Catholic societies, socie-ties, on his return to Columbus from Chicago, gave out the following to the State Journal: "The meeting was successful far beyond be-yond expectation. It was most representative repre-sentative in character, and there were double the number of delegates to the Cincinnati convention, beinf about H0O. Letters and telegrams of congratulation and encouragement poured in from prelates, laymen and societies in all parts of the country. "The heretofore difficult problem of unifying the various nationalities, as also apportioning the representation from the national bodies, was most satisfactorily sat-isfactorily worked out. In the convention conven-tion there was individual radicalism and conservatism, but the judgment of the body as a whole represented the golden mean on the important matter of the Philippines and kindred subjects. sub-jects. "A most pronounced sentiment of the convention, several times emphasized, Avas the unanimous conviction of a manly, independent, broad arid fair-minded fair-minded disposition on the part of President Pres-ident Roosevelt in dealing with the difficult dif-ficult subject of religion and education in our new possessions. "The resolutions voicing the official expression of the convention on all the Important subjects deliberated upon are couched in a courteous, firm, dignified, dig-nified, calm and manly tone." "Some of the Chicago papers," he said, "misrepresented much of the convention's con-vention's spirit and proceedings. Centering Cen-tering their reports on the subject of the interviews - with Archbishop Ireland, Ire-land, in whih he warned Catholics against interfering in the;' Philippines question, some of the dailies aimed ta have it appear that the convention de voted its time exclusively to this subject. sub-ject. As a matter of fact the convention, conven-tion, attended to its business as if no such ' pronouncements had been mads. The convention owes much to Archbishop Arch-bishop Ireland's centering widespread interest in the gathering. "An insinuation that the proceedings were behind closed doors was amusingly amus-ingly refuted by the fact that a ieie-cate ieie-cate could hardly sneeze in the convention conven-tion without the refrain being heard in all the dailies of Chicago. The official organ of the convention, the New-World New-World of Chicago, printed daily reports of the minutest happenings, and of every ev-ery word uttered in the convention, and the paper was sold on the streets and at every news stand in the city, "A motion was unanimously passed early in the proceedings, in reply to a communication from the ' Anti-saloon league, calling upon all Catholic "societies "socie-ties to assist by all resonable methods in correcting the abuse of liquor, and specially pledging the federation against the senseless and baleful 'treating' custom. ' This action speaks loudly in proof of the fact that the federation is deeply interested in work that cannot but make for better manhood man-hood and the best of citizenship. "The subject of Catholic High schools and the Indian question were also discussed, dis-cussed, the latter by a gentleman representing rep-resenting Archbishop Ryan of Philadelphia. Phila-delphia. "Taken all in all, the work of the convention was such as to commend it to all thoughtful, broad and patriotic citizens, and such as must gradually lead to a better understanding and more charitable sentiments among Christians of all denominations." |