Ah, this is the reason: Archbishop Chapelle is an emissary of the Pope of Rome and stands ready at all times to serve the wishes and obey the orders of that Italian pontiff, and our officials were aware of this fact and they did not want to stir up the Catholic officials for fear of losing a few votes, as both of our old parties have sunk so low into the quagmire of filth that they would allow their country to sink to the level of Romish abominations if they thought by so doing they could control the Catholic vote for either party.

Was one of your boys on this transport ship? Was your kith and kin aboard this vessel that showed this ungodly discrimination between the soldier boy who wrung a poor mother's heart by leaving the parental fireside? If such was the case, you can vividly see the injustice done to these brave lads in favor of this Archbishop Chapelle, as these boys were on their way to this terrible land of disease and death to help plant the emblem of liberty upon the ramparts of these far-away Islands, and this same Archbishop Chapelle was on his way to destroy the influence of these boys' mission.

The time is not far distant until the Protestant world will wake up to the realization that they have been humbled before this Italian pontiff for the simple reason that our officials are willing to cater to Catholicism in Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philippine Islands for the sake of votes.

We do not care whether you are a Republican or a Democrat, this chapter should fire your blood to the fullest extent, for I am telling you truths, and if you have got the common decency of the most ignorant liberty-loving American you will right now make a resolve that Protestant America must redeem her pledge to Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philippine Islands to liberate them not only from the hardships placed upon them by a foreign nation, but liberate them from the bonds of Catholicism, which not only binds the body, but chains the soul with the fetters of ignorance and superstition.

When it became known that the government of the United States was to interfere in the affairs of Cuba, the Catholic Church put all of her machinery to work immediately in order to fool Uncle Sam and cajole him into dealing only with the government of Spain, which would permit Catholicism to exist in these Islands, and the pages of history only tell us too well how successfully she laid her plans, as to-day we have the awful spectacle of beholding the government of the United States playing the part of "protector," while she is quietly aiding the identical institution which caused the misery in these far-away countries.

What I tell you in this chapter is true, as I was a Catholic priest and was on the inside of the workings of Catholicism at that time, and what I relate is not guess work nor imagination, but it is plain, unvarnished and unadulterated truths, and the American people will sooner or later wake up to the realization of these awful truths, for just so long as the United States permits Catholicism to control the destinies of Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philippine Islands, just that long turmoil and misery will remain in these tropical regions, for Catholicism has sworn by all of her imaginary saints that Protestantism shall never rule these countries, and so far she has carried out her threat truly and well, as Protestantism to-day has no more control over the inhabitants of these islands than she did before the damnable creed of the Pope was molested by the appearance of Dewey's guns at Manila.

Can you expect these countries to grow in greatness, and can you expect the inhabitants of these countries to become giants in intellect when they practice the cungerings of Catholicism?

We want to give the reader an insight in this chapter to what Catholicism practices in this country and in other countries that are not near so densely ignorant as Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philippine Islands, and then you can have an idea of what the inhabitants of these countries may expect in the way of advancement from Catholicism, and what I will repeat is the abominations that I have helped to practice myself for thirty years; therefore I know whereof I speak and no man dare dispute.

We will take a Catholic cemetery, for instance, and in order that the ground may be sanctified and fit to receive the dead bodies of those who believe in the Catholic faith a bishop must sanctify this earth and consecrate it before it is fit to conceal the body of one of the Pope's followers.

Our Savior has declared that "From earth we came, and to earth we shall return," and there was no proviso made that before we should return to earth that it would have to be consecrated by a human being, as any man or woman of intelligence knows full well that what the Lord our God has made cannot be improved upon by the idiotic chant and superstitious rant of a Catholic bishop.

It matters not how godly nor how piously a Protestant may have lived, Catholicism teaches that it is an abomination to bury a Protestant in a Catholic cemetery, and one of her laws is that to bury a heretic (which means Protestant) in a Catholic cemetery is unlawful, and the Catholic Popes instruct that the remains of any Protestant buried in a Catholic cemetery shall, if they can be distinguished, be removed, and if they can not be distinguished, that the cemetery shall be cleansed by sprinkling holy water over the ground, and bear in mind that this holy water is to receive its cleansing power from some priest or bishop, who perhaps is as immoral as hell.

In Canada, some time since, the laws of that country forcibly effected the burial of a Protestant in a Catholic cemetery, and the bishop of that diocese, by the name of Bourget, declared that portion of the cemetery as "desecrated and filthy" and forbade any priest to step his foot upon the ground.

Now, do you expect an institution which teaches such doctrines to elevate a nation above their own doctrine? If you do, you are expecting something unreasonable, and if the inhabitants of Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philippine Islands are not to be elevated above such abominations can the future hold anything for them but misery?

There is but one thing that beats a bishop's consecration of a graveyard, and that is money, and money only; but a few dollars will turn the trick and will open up the ground in a Catholic cemetery for a heretic, and enough money will turn the entire cemetery into a Protestant graveyard.

In the City of St. Louis there is a Catholic cemetery called "Calvary," and lots twelve feet square are sold at from $50 to $1,000 each. A lot was bought by a Protestant whose son died and who was baptized in his last hour by a Catholic nurse. While his people were Protestants, they consented, since he had been baptized into the Catholic Church, that they would give him a Catholic burial, and a priest by the name of Ward performed the ceremony. Now, bear in mind that the father of this young man had bought a lot large enough for his whole family to be buried there, when they should die, as he, of course, wanted his entire family to be buried together, but the Catholic Church would not consent to consecrate any part of that lot but the grave in which the young man was buried that was baptized on his death bed, simply because the remainder of the family were Protestants; but for money they consecrated a portion of this lot, four feet wide and six and one-half feet long, but the remainder of this lot was not consecrated, therefore you will see that money in the Catholic Church has as much power to consecrate the earth as doth the bishopric and priestcraft.

Ah, what abominations! but still this Government expects Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philippine Islands to be elevated to the standard of manhood and womanhood by this class of ghouls.

Now, if we could halt with the recital of only a few abominations, my task, perhaps, would not be so disgusting, but had I the endurance to live on, until I were a thousand years old, and could write what I know and have experienced in the ranks of Catholicism, I would be unable to portray to the reader all of her abominations.

The Catholic Church is a church of show and glamor, and of nonsensical doctrines, and not a church of God and of holy worship.

Many believe that Catholicism has taught all of her cungerings for centuries past, and this is the case, but bear in mind, that Catholicism often has to have new "fakes," in order to make the money slide out of the pockets of their "dupes" more easily, so they get up new intrigues and modern shows for this purpose, and the fake that works the best is the one that they work the hardest, as I solemnly declare that the Catholic Church as a whole is a money proposition upon the part of those who teach her abominations, and I further declare that it is a "graft" conceived by minds that are more cunning and deceptive than any class of men upon the face of the whole earth.

The Catholic Church changes its form of worship like cheap chop houses change their bills of fare, as they are after "suckers," and if one bait will not get them, they throw out another, and the pomp and show of the church is to catch the eye and not to save the soul.

Not long since, the Catholic Church, with singular devotion, turned its attention to the five wounds of Christ, and immediately after giving these five wounds their solicitous attention, they bade their followers to have recourse to the sacred heart of Jesus, and in hundreds of Catholic Churches you will find to-day a statue made in the likeness of Christ, with a heart attached over the breast, and this heart is illuminated by electricity or candle, and the followers of Catholicism absolutely worship this mechanism of man, and it has proven a great drawing card, and you can rest assured that Catholicism is pushing the scheme along good and hard, and "The St. Anthony Bread Box" hoax is another scheme that is not very old, but which the Catholic Church has found to be another great paying investment, and they are working "St. Anthony" for all that he is worth.

Now, can any man or woman of intelligence believe that the inhabitants of these islands can ever expect to become men and women of affairs—men and women of individuality—and men and women of intellectuality? If you can give a rational reason why these countries should ever expect to be elevated to the standard of greatness under such influences and under the tutelage of such an institution, then the road to greatness must be a very easy one to travel.

The Catholic Church is conducted on about the same principle as Dun's and Bradstreet's mercantile agencies, as they go into the minutest detail to keep record of the affairs of the country, so that they may know the weakest as well as the strongest points of their creed, so that they may at all times be prepared to exercise the greatest influence at the proper time, and what makes this creed so dangerous, is that they impress upon their dupes that the church is "eternal law," and they hold out the crown of glory on high as a reward for following their doctrine, and this is the most dangerous and damnable scheme ever perpetrated by mortal, for when you force a man or woman to believe that you hold in your hands their future destiny, you have them to the point where you can force them to do your bidding, and this is exactly what Catholicism does to her followers, and this is the reason why Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philippine Islands can never expect to go higher in the scale of morality and intellectuality than they are at the present time, if the Government of the United States permits this troop of ghouls to continue to be their masters.

We believe that we have in this chapter made, it plain to the reader why the influence of Catholicism should be remotely removed from these islands, and if I am right, the Government of the United States is everlastingly wrong in permitting Catholicism to retain her hold upon the throats of the inhabitants of these islands, and I undoubtedly am right, as I know whereof I speak, as I have trod the deceptive road of Catholicism for the past thirty years, and I dare not tell in this book all that I know of her cunning in regard to these far-away countries, as I would have to use language so plain that I could not expect this volume to pass through the mails, as the priestcraft in Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philippine Islands are an immoral set, as a whole, and treat the female population of these islands in a manner that breeds immorality from generation to generation, and the awful part of this immorality is that those who commit it with the priestcraft do not consider that it is a wrong, as they have been taught that it is no sin to do as the priestcraft demands, therefore it is ten thousand times worse than if the sin was committed with the knowledge of the fact that it was a sin, as the mother or father who is aware of the fact that they are sinners will not teach their offspring to commit the sins that they are guilty of, but when they are not aware of the fact that they are committing a sin, of course, they allow their children to believe that their actions are in harmony with the teachings of God, therefore this damnable practice goes on and on, from generation to generation, and this is why the morals, intelligence and progress of Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philippine Islands, are to-day on the same plane of depravity as they were centuries ago, and no one is to blame for this carnality and debauchery of the inhabitants of these islands but the Roman Catholic Church, and until the Government of the United States shall declare and back up her declaration by Protestant manhood, the inhabitants of these islands will never know of the beauties of chastity and morality and the wonderful blessings that are held in store for them by embracing Protestantism.

May the Lord of Hosts hasten the day when the eyes of those who rule in Protestant America may be opened to the awful sins they are committing, by allowing Romanism to hover over these islands with her vulturous and carnivorous appetite of depravity, and may the time soon come when the Government of the United States shall proclaim to the Vatican at Rome that this veil of abomination shall be lifted from the inhabitants of these islands; and when this is done, the goddess of liberty that has made Protestant America what she is to-day, will hover over these far-away islands of the sea, and new life will pulsate in the veins of these Romish-ridden countries.



Chapter VIII.

Monasteries Are Often the Abode of Criminals, and Nunneries the Slaughter Pens of Virtue.

When I was living beneath the folds of the black banner of Catholicism, I sincerely and devoutly believed that to shield a Catholic criminal was a righteous and Godly calling, as I believed that to prevent the civil law from taking hold of the criminal career of a Catholic official, for his short-comings, was but an act of Godly justice.

I also believed that anything that was done between the walls of a Nunnery was sanctified by the approval of those who were higher in authority in the Catholic Church than myself; therefore, the things which I now realize are both criminal and immoral, as well as utterly detestable, I at one time considered righteous, simply because my education had been confined to the narrow channels of bigotry, and the effulgency of Biblical knowledge had never penetrated my Romish-inspired perceptibilities.

I believe that I will make many assertions in this chapter that have never been made before, but there will not be an assertion made but what is true; however, there will be many that will arise from the trenches of Catholicism to denounce the truthfulness of them, but I know whereof I speak, and I defy any mortal man to successfully dispute what I may state.

This chapter will relate to monasteries and nunneries, which in olden times were called "asylums."

These asylums are used by Catholicism to scuffle criminals of their following into, in defiance of law and justice, as these asylums are notorious among those who are on the inside workings of this creed, as to places where Catholic criminals can be concealed without fear of having the civil law bring them to justice, as these places are a retreat for Catholic criminals who are pursued by the ministers of justice, and where, so long as they remain, they cannot be arrested; but in order to elevate these "asylums" to the plane of religion, they, are called by different names which are misnomers, and are only raised to the level of religious institutions to cover up the infamy of their actual missions, as Catholicism has learned that as long as she can throw around and about herself a religious glamor, that she is permitted to go ahead and violate the laws of man without molestation.

The "asylums" of olden times were intended as retreats for those who were persecuted for their religious belief, but the mission of these institutions became useless, under the splendid and godly progress of Protestantism, as Protestantism planted her banner of enlightenment under the glorious leadership of Martin Luther, and such institutions were done away with, but Catholicism turned these asylums, which were once a protection to the persecuted followers of Christ, and converted them into an abode for Catholic criminals.

There is scarcely a man or woman in America but what has heard of Wm. Morgan, who lived at Batavia, in Western New York, who, it was claimed, wrote an expose of Freemasonry, and who, the Catholic Church claims, was killed by the Masonic fraternity for writing this expose.

The fact of the matter is that this book was prepared by the Catholic Church for electioneering purposes, and it served their scheme well and truly.

It is history that Morgan disappeared very suddenly, and the Catholic Church gave it out that he had been killed by the Masonic fraternity, which is untrue, as Wm. Morgan was spirited away, and the trick was turned by Catholicism.

"Wm. Morgan" became the issue for the campaign, and it was narrated around that Morgan was conveyed in a carriage from Batavia to Niagara by Freemasons, and there drowned in Lake Ontario.

A body was produced near the mouth of the Niagara River, but a friend of Wm. Morgan, who knew him well, by the name of Mrs. Wm. G. Barr, denied that the body that was found at the mouth of the Niagara River, was that of Morgan, and a devout Catholic remarked at the post-mortem examination that "It was a good enough Morgan until after the election."

A rigid investigation was made and no one was ever convicted of murdering Morgan.

The result of the election was that Catholicism carried her point. The Catholic Church had turned by this excitement the eyes of the world towards Freemasonry, and claimed that Morgan's fate was caused by the Masonic fraternity.

When I came to America, I was given instructions in regard to secret societies, and the Morgan case was gone over with me in detail, and I was given "The Bulls" of three popes, which excluded all members of Freemasons from the Catholic Church, and all who belonged to the Masonic fraternity were denied even a Christian burial by the Catholic Church.

I was told by a priest, who was in good standing, that the Masons had in their meetings a literal devil concealed in a box, and that when they would meet, they would stick pins in a picture of some supposed "traitor" and shriek out in their madness: "Die like Morgan!"

Mrs. Wm. G. Barr was called to identify the supposed body of Wm. Morgan, which was found at the mouth of the Niagara River.

Her husband, Wm. G. Barr, was an old dry goods man and once ran for governor of the State of Kansas, but was defeated because his wife had declared "that Wm. Morgan's body had never been discovered at the mouth of the Niagara River, and further declared that it was a 'fake,' pure and simple, and gotten up by Catholicism in order to villify the Masonic fraternity."

I had always been of an investigating turn of mind, and the stories that were told to me in regard to Wm. Morgan did not sound right, so I took the train for Topeka, Kans., where Mrs. Wm. G. Barr lived, and this is the story that she related to me in great emotion:

Mrs. Barr told me that she was a friend of Wm. Morgan, and that she was called to identify his body, but instead of finding the corpse of Wm. Morgan, on the seashore, she found the body of some one else and not that of Morgan, and she further told me that Wm. Morgan, before his disappearance, had written her that he was persuaded by a number of Catholic priests to leave the Masons, and that he, to his sorrow, had followed their advice, and that these priests had written a book, and insisted that he should publish it, but he never did give his consent, and stated that he never would; however, the book appeared, and the fact of the matter is that it was a clumsy forgery by the priestcraft of Catholicism.

This book appeared in print, and Wm. Morgan became frightened, as he realized that should the country at large believe that he was the author of this book, he would be considered as a traitor, and he became frightened and did not know what to do, and about this time two Catholic priests approached him, and persuaded him to leave the country, and they took him to "a Trappist monastery," near Montreal, Canada.

He remained there quite a time, and left Canada and went to Asia, and he was seen and identified in Asia years after Catholicism had declared that he had been murdered by the Masonic fraternity.

I do not remember of ever reading this history before, and I am under the impression that I am the first man—in fact, I know that I am the first man who was for thirty years a Catholic priest that ever gave this information to the public.

Now, if a monastery in Canada would be turned into a lie and a deception in order that the Catholic Church might carry out her diabolical and cunning schemes, what can we expect of other monasteries?

If this history attaches itself to a monastery like that in Canada, what must be the condition of the monasteries and nunneries of nations which have not the enlightenment that Canada has?

I desire to call to the attention of the reader a little history that is not exceedingly old, and which every boy and girl is acquainted with, as it has transpired in the past ten years—yea, later.

It was in the afternoon of a December day, in 1900. A boy, Edward Cudahy, Jr., was walking to his father's mansion and was invited to step into a buggy and was informed that he was under arrest. This boy was then and there abducted, and this abduction became known by the boy remaining away from his home that night.

The police and detectives of Omaha and the detectives from Chicago and other cities were busy on the case day and night. Days and weeks passed and nothing came to light except letters from the ones who had kidnapped this boy, asking for a ransom of $25,000, and stating that if this sum of money in gold was not forthcoming, that the boy's eyes would be put out and he would forever lose his sight.

This last threat startled the poor, heart-broken mother, and as the time approached for these devils to put into execution their threat, this poor frantic mother insisted that her millionaire husband, Edward Cudahy, Sr., give up the $25,000 and save her precious boy's eyesight.

Her husband resisted as long as he could, but at last took the $25,000 in gold and stepped into his buggy, with the signal lantern, and drove to a certain spot, designated by Pat Crow, who is the one who abducted Cudahy, and with this $25,000 bought his boy's liberty, and this boy was brought from that cottage on Grover street, unhurt, and Pat Crow made away with his $25,000 in gold.

Cudahy was called up a number of times by telephone and was threatened that if he did not withdraw the reward that he was offering for Pat Crow's arrest that there would be something awful befall him; but he resisted and would not withdraw his offer of reward, consequently this made it necessary for Pat Crow and Eddy McGehee, alias Burns, to leave the country.

These men were known in Omaha, St. Joe, Kansas City, St. Louis and Chicago, not only by a number of their ilk, but also to the police forces, consequently the nets of the law were stretched all over the United States for these abductors.

On December 28 it was reported from La Salle, Ills., that Pat Crow was arrested. Kansas City police promised his arrest before sunset, but he was not arrested.

There were 80,000,000 people looking for Pat Crow, but he took a Pullman sleeper and traveled to New York, and from there sailed on a first-class ticket for Europe and spent a good time in London, from whence he went to South Africa and played a deceptive role in the English-African war.

Now, I am going to relate something that will make one's blood boil with indignation and the cold sweat stand out with the clamminess of death, but what I tell you is true.

Priest Dempsey, pastor of St. Patrick's Church in St. Louis, was president of the "Emmet" celebration in the year 1902.

After a speech by Judge Ryan of St. Louis, and a most eloquent address by a priest, who had been a young Boer officer, he inspired Irish patriotism by an elegant appeal against "Old England." He was indeed an orator who, by his recitation, held the audience for an hour. I was one who was nearest to him on the platform and congratulated him on his powerful speech.

After the applause from his Irish friends, as he had called them, he decided to leave with me for his hotel, and I was stopping at St. Patrick's parsonage, so we both had to go in the same direction.

I had become interested in the fellow while he was delivering his speech and I became much more interested in him in our car ride, together, to the Lindell Hotel, and he invited me to stop off with him awhile at the Lindell Hotel, and we were soon engaged in all kinds of discussions, both religious and political. He was a "Dutchman" and had asked his government of Holland for a leave of absence to fight in the Boer war, which was granted him, and to prove the truthfulness of this assertion he showed me a wound on his breast which had not yet healed.

He remarked that he came "nearly" telling in his address at the "Emmet" meeting about the miraculous escape of Pat Crow to South Africa, and stated that if it had not been for the bad impression Pat Crow had made in America, he would have told of the trick that had been turned to gain him his freedom and rob some one in America of the reward that had been put on his head by Millionaire Cudahy.

The following is his story he told me as near as I can remember it:

"One night I was in Johannesburg, South Africa, and stayed with Pat Crow in the same room. I knew that it was Pat Crow and did not intend to have much to do with him, but he noticed me and I became interested in him, and he spoke to me about matters, and the millionaire's boy being abducted, and the ransom that he received, and his escape to Africa.

"He remarked that I would realize from his name that he was an Irish Catholic, and stated that he had gone through the Catholic schools and was a 'brother' in the cloisters, and stated that this was his strong point in never being caught in his daring undertakings.

"He stated that when they received their $25,000 ransom from Cudahy that it was divided at the cottage where the crime was committed. He stated that it cost him quite a sum of money to stay with friends a few days in Omaha, but that he soon disguised himself as an inmate of the Jesuit College, a school for Catholic boys.

"He stated that he traveled on a 'permit' as Father O'Connor to Kansas City, and stated that from there he went to St. Louis, disguised as a Catholic priest, and that the conductors on the train spoke to him as 'How do you do, Father?'

"When I arrived in St. Louis I went to St. Anthony's Church, where you can obtain most anything from that saint. I rang the bell for confession. I confessed all kinds of things. I confessed to murder, robbery, kidnapping, and the Father Confessor was impressed with me because I was a 'big fish' in my line, and because I had done no harm to the millionaire's boy. I told the inmates of St. Anthony's Church that I wanted to make confession and do penance the remainder of my life.

"A brother came with the scissors and I received the 'tonsure' for the third time, which left only a circle of hair around my head, and no Pinkerton detective, or even Bertillion himself could have identified me.

"In a short time I left this St. Anthony Church in a 'Catholic Habit,' which disguised me as a Catholic official, and I went to Omaha and passed myself off as 'Brother Clement from St. Louis.'

"When I reached Omaha I had no trouble in passing myself off as 'Brother Clement.'

"After I had remained there awhile I excused myself and in my priestly robes I walked to the banks of the Missouri River and raised my buried treasure, as I had left a part of the money that I received from Cudahy buried near the river, and I took the train to St. Louis, and from there to New York, and from New York I took a German steamer to Southampton.

"I stayed in London two weeks and read in the papers all about Pat Crow. London was not the place for a man like me, as I had been there before, and they knew me; so I sailed for the diamond fields of South Africa, where I am now free, by the system of 'asylums' (which are Catholic monasteries) of the Catholic Church. Pat Crow wound up his story by telling me that if I ever needed to try this plan that I could do it, and stated that the Catholic Church was the refuge of criminals."

Now, bear in mind, the reason that the Catholic Church is such a refuge for criminals is because no police or detective is ever allowed to cross over the door-sills into these places of Catholic refuge, where the worst chapters of crime never will be told, and where these criminals flee to avoid the punishment of their crimes.

This is the first time in the history of the world that this awful history in regard to Pat Crow and Catholicism was ever given to the reading public.

Catholicism teaches, and acts accordingly, that if a confessor forgives the sins of these criminals that God has taken away all guilt from their heinous crimes and that the civil laws have no right to punish these criminals after a Catholic priest has forgiven their sins, and on this damnable dogma, Catholicism bases her right for the existence of these "asylums."

I want to give the reader a little history in regard to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Wilkes Booth, a Roman Catholic, was the assassin of President Lincoln. The Roman Catholic Church, under the mask of Democracy, was always believed to be responsible for this diabolical assassination. In fact, it is believed, and the belief is well founded, that through the "inquisition" in the City of Rome that a plot was laid to destroy the republican form of government of the United States, and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln was the first step, and the plotting on this side of the water was done in Catholic houses, adorned with crucifixes, religious saints, religious statues, religious relics, and rosaries, scapulars, holy water pots, and medals of Catholicism innumerable.

It was in the house of Mrs. Surratt, located in the very heart of Washington, D.C., that the officers of this government proceeded after the assassination of President Lincoln, and bear in mind that Mrs. Surratt was a Roman Catholic, and the occupants of this house were arrested. The ones who were arrested were; Mrs. Surratt, a Roman Catholic; her daughter, Anna, a Roman Catholic; Mrs. Fitzpatrick, a Roman Catholic, and Miss Hollahan, a Roman Catholic. Before the officers had left this house a light knock was heard at the door and a young man appeared in disguise, as he was dressed as a common laborer and carried a pick upon his shoulder; his hands were white and soft and he was also arrested, and his name was Powell, another Roman Catholic.

John Wilkes Booth, the assassin, was a Roman Catholic, consequently the belief is undoubtedly well founded that not only the scheme to assassinate Abraham Lincoln was laid in the City of Rome by Roman Catholics, but was carried into execution by the same set in this country.

Booth, after the assassination, fled to Surrattsville to the hotel of Mrs. Surratt, and there a Roman Catholic woman had concealed a carbine. Mr. Surratt, at Washington, had warned the folks at the hotel that the weapon would be called for the night of Abraham Lincoln's assassination, which is prima facie evidence of the plot to assassinate Lincoln. After the assassination Booth fled, but on the eastern shores of the Potomac he was concealed in a Roman Catholic Church for nearly a week. As we relate this history, which is true, the evidence becomes more damaging against Roman Catholicism.

The finale of this national tragedy was that Herald, Powell and Mrs. Surratt were hung, and Dr. Mudd and O'Laughlin were committed to life-long imprisonment, and all of these were Roman Catholics.

The question now arises, How did John H. Surratt escape from the same fate of Herald, Powell and Mrs. Surratt? I will tell you! John H. Surratt escaped by the assistance of Catholic officials and went to Canada, and was concealed in a "Trappist cloister" near Montreal, and remained there until 1865, when, as a Priest, he went to Liverpool.

In the spring of 1866, Mr. Wm. H. Seward was informed by a Mr. King, at Rome, Italy, that John H. Surratt had enlisted in the Papal Guards, under the name of John Watson. He was arrested at Teroli, in Italy, but escaped by plunging down a ravine twenty-three feet deep.

He was wounded by the fall and crawled off to a monastery and remained there until he was healed and then resumed his flight. After his wounds healed, he went to Egypt, as he was not satisfied with Italy, and was there captured by our minister, Mr. Hale, and sent to America.

I could go on and on, giving you history of lesser importance that this, which occurs week in and week out, month in and month out, and year in and year out, and which is strictly connected with the Catholic Church, but what I have given you are truths, and indisputable truths, which should be evidence enough of the awfulness of monasteries of this and other countries, and a class of men who will commit such dastardly deeds in the monasteries would not hesitate to slaughter innocent virtue in the nunneries of this country.

I could give you history in regard to the nunneries that would make the cheek of virtue blush with shame, but to give you this history I would have to use language that I do not desire to use, as I want to keep the minds and morals of the girls of this country as pure as possible; but from this chapter, Protestant fathers and mothers must know what Roman Catholicism consists of, and Catholic fathers and mothers who are not everlastingly blinded by the false light of this damnable creed should rally from their lethargetic walks of debauchery and snatch their children from the Romish mire of degradation and place them upon the Protestant highways, which lead to the beauties of individual and collective greatness.



Chapter IX.

Un-Married Cussedness of the Roman Priest-Craft.

In the Book of Books, we find that the Lord of Hosts declares that, "It is not good for man to dwell alone," and our Heavenly Father also teaches us that "Every man should have one wife."

Now, the Good Lord was either right or wrong when He made this declaration, and who is there that would declare that the Lord was mistaken in His injunction? Not one! Therefore, we must acknowledge that either the Lord our God made a declaration that was nonsensical and unreasonable, or else the Roman Priestcraft is living a life which is diagonally contrary to the commands and demands of God Almighty, for when the Roman Church declares that her Priests shall not wed, they at once set up a rule for their teachers which is in violation, to not only the laws of God, but laws of man, as the silent whisperings of man's nature demands a helpmate. The heathen nations of the earth who are not acquainted with the sanctity of the marriage vow, have a longing for the companionship of the opposite sex, and this longing cannot be termed anything but "a godly love," as this feeling was placed in the bosom of humanity by a divine being, and whenever this desire is thwarted, you have disturbed the most blissful inspiration of the human family; but the Roman Catholic Church would have us believe that a few of the human family have been ordained by God to live recluses, or, as we may term it, "unmarried hermits."

Catholicism, with all her damnable dogmas and creeds, cannot change that God-given impulse that was planted in the bosom of man, when Adam was created in the Garden of Eden, and the more Roman Catholicism endeavors to eradicate that feeling, the greater her sins become, for it is a most damnable sin to try to force man to eradicate from his bosom this everlasting and godly craving for the love of the opposite sex, and as long as "man is born of woman," just so long that inspiration will live in the bosom of mankind, and just so long as Roman Catholicism endeavors to force humanity to purge itself of this blessed longing, just so long the mark of deception, depravity and ungodliness will be left upon the brow of this Romish demon.

This chapter is one that must be written in a delicate manner, which prohibits me from becoming emphatic and explicit, for should I allow myself to write exactly what I have seen, and the truths that exist in regard to Romish hellishness, and the deeds of the unmarried cussedness of Catholicism, I would have to resort to language that would be unchaste, but I have in mind a story that was told some time ago, by a young lady, who had spent a number of years in a convent, which I will relate word for word as she gave it, and which will be only the history over and over again of thousands—yea, tens of thousands of girls who have had the same experience as this poor mortal, only perhaps had new agonies added to their lives.

The history of this girl's life in a convent is more than pathetic, from the fact that her father on his deathbed requested that she be placed in a convent by her mother, which was done, and her sufferings, the reader will see, were not a fault of hers, but the fault of her parents, who had been raised to believe in the diabolical teachings of Roman Catholicism, but who did not know that these teachings were only echoes of the dark ages of paganism, therefore you will see that this poor girl's history is laden with a sadness for which she is not to blame, and the fault can only be laid at the fountain head, as her parents were sincere in their belief, and did not, of course, realize that they were helping to ruin their darling girl's future.

I will now relate her history, as near as possible, the way she gave it, which will be symbolic of the history of thousands of other girls, and which is absolutely true. Her story follows:

"When one becomes an inmate of a convent, they become a prisoner, as every act is scrutinized by the mother superior, and you have no privilege any more than if you were a convict and placed behind the bars for some heinous crime. With this exception, however, you are allowed to receive letters from a priest without having the letter opened and read before it reaches you, as there is always some mark to distinguish a letter received from a priest, but all letters that you write and all letters that you receive, unless they bear the mark indicating that they have been sent by a priest, are carefully read, and if the contents of either the letter you write, or the one that has been written to you does not meet with the arbitrary opinion of the "mother superior," they are destroyed, and you never have the opportunity of sending the one that you have written, or to receive the one that has been written to you, unless they can pass the inspection of the "mother superior," who is nothing more nor less than an agent of the Pope of Rome, as she receives her instructions from the priestcraft, and they receive their instructions from the Pope of Rome."

When an inmate of a convent receives a letter from a priest it is handed her without being opened, as the "mother superior" is instructed not to open such letters, and is told that all such letters, of course, relate to the spiritual welfare of the nun.

In these letters the priest will tell the nun what day he will call to give her a general confession. As soon as such a letter is received the nun informs the "mother superior" that on a certain day Priest So-and-So will visit her, and, of course, this "mother superior" gives the permission, and on the day that the priest is to arrive, this nun is excused from all duties for that day, and when the priest arrives he is shown into what is called the Retreat Parlor; and no matter how long he remains there, no one will disturb him. He is supposed to be talking with his penitent on the welfare of her soul. Ah, could any one look through the door, they would find this priest with his arms about the form of this fair penitent, or perhaps in a far more compromising position!

Right here the reader may ask if these nuns are willing to submit to the embraces of these priests?

I will allow this girl to answer this question in her own language, and her answer is this:

"I answer that in fifteen out of twenty cases—No! But she is there helpless; the priest has seen her somewhere in the garb of a nun and has taken a fancy to her, and whether she be willing or not, he compels her to allow him to satisfy his hellish passion!"

This girl continues by exclaiming: "Oh God! Great God! When I think of this system—this system born of the devil and nurtured by hell—and realize that under the cloak of religion it is stealing away our liberty, entering into our homes, ruining our womanhood and girlhood, and painting childish purity with the brush of immorality, and defiling everything with which it comes in contact, I then become a mad woman, and I become as a venomous serpent, wanting revenge for what has been done to me, and it seems as if I cannot remain quiet, but, closing my eyes and ears to everything, as I have no redress, I am compelled to warn thousands who may come after me, of their fate, should they take up convent life, which is a hell upon earth and a blotch as black as the shadows of hell to any land."

The same lady who related the above, and a great deal more which I cannot tell in this chapter, gave an account of the sufferings of another nun, who was in the same convent with her, and I now learn that the same story that I will now relate has been told to others.

Reader, you must bear in mind that convents have many tortures outside of the torturing conscience on account of having the virtue of their inmates destroyed. The teachings of Catholicism lead people to practice self-infliction upon their person in order to appease a living God, as they seem to worship a living God the same as the pagans would worship a God of stone, or a ferocious God in the form of some carnivorous beast, and in order to atone for their sins, these inmates of the nunneries are taught that they must bear self-infliction; in fact, Catholicism teaches her followers that in order that any of them shall receive absolute pardon, that they must resort to heathenish practices.

As stated above, the same lady whom we speak of in the first part of this chapter, relates her experience with a sister nun, who endured self-torture, believing that it was an outward demonstration of godliness. Her story follows:

"I call to mind a case of cruelty under the guise of devotion that happened in our convent. A consecrated penitent, Sister Madeline, had been for some time a victim of consumption. She was a beautiful girl, and her exquisitely sweet voice could be heard in church every Sunday, taking part in the high mass. Poor Sister Madeline! How many humiliations she received! How often she was censured for leaving her work unfinished when she was not able to do it, and how I have pitied her as she tried to eat the bread and dripping we had for supper. Failing in the attempt, I would notice the tears gather in her eyes. Oh, how often I longed to be able to obtain some little delicacy for her! but dared not ask for it. Her gentle, patient, suffering face will never fade from my memory.

"One Sunday evening she and I were walking in the garden after benediction. She felt more than usually weak, and, therefore, I could offer her my arm to lean upon.

"'Dear Sister Magdalene Adelaide,' she said, 'I think our blessed Lord is soon going to come for me.'

"I tried to cheer her by telling her that it might be His will to restore her again to health and strength.

"'No, dear Sister,' she replied; 'and oh, I do not want to stay. I long to see my Master's face. At night, when I lay awake in pain, I long, oh, so much, that I might go!'

"'Sister Madeline,' I said, 'you have been happy here, have you not? You love your present life?'

"We had seated ourselves by this time in a little grotto made up in honor of 'Our Lady of Lourdes.' She buried her face in her hands, and I saw the tears trickling between her fingers.

"My own eyes filled with tears; I know not why.

"At last, raising up her head, she said: 'I have tried my best to be contented; but oh! Sister Adelaide, it has been a bitter struggle. It is wrong in me to give way thus; but I cannot help it. May Our Lady pity me! I want you to promise, dear Sister, that you will say a rosary for me every day for a year after I am dead, and one communion every month.'

"'I will gladly do this for you, Sister Madeline,' I answered. 'Tell me,' I continued, 'is there any particular day you prefer?'

"'Yes,' she replied, 'I would like your Friday communion. Promise me that on the anniversary of the feast of St. Mary Magdalene, my patron saint, you will offer your communion for me.'

"I promised her this and she seemed more satisfied.

"'I know,' she said, 'that I shall have a long purgatory.' She shuddered as she spoke. 'And oh! I do hope the dear sisters will remember me in their prayers and communions.'

"'Dear Sister Madeline,' I said at last, 'purgatory is better than hell and our Blessed Lady will intercede for you.'

"'Yes, dear Sister Magdalene Adelaide,' she said, 'you are right; but oh!' she continued, 'I cannot help the shudder that passes through me as I think of the suffering I shall be in for years, especially after the mortifications I have practiced here, the discipline I have applied to myself, the days I have abstained from food, the prayers I have offered, the tears I have shed; and now, as death approaches, there is no other prospect before me than a long term of purgatorial punishment. Besides, the punishment will be all the greater since I have given away to an unnatural thought.'

"'And what, may I ask, do you call an unnatural thought?'

"'Sister Magdalene Adelaide, come close to me.'

"I rose from my chair and knelt down beside her.

"'Dear sister, I have endeavored to bear my cross,' she commenced, speaking with difficulty; 'But oh! sister, I dread the end; I have so much to expiate; and oh!' she continued, her voice now choked with sobs, 'if only I could have my mother near me; if only I could hear her voice once more; it is so long since I have seen her. I have asked for any letter that may have come, but they tell me none has arrived, and oh! I don't think mother has quite forgotten me.'

"I durst not trust myself to speak; my heart was too full. At last I said, 'Dear sister, do not grieve thus; our Blessed Lady will intercede for you. Remember, in coming here your purpose, even as mine, was to make reparation for sin. You and I have both suffered. Be brave now, dear, and now that the end is near do not take away from God's glory by fearing for the future.'

"'I know it is wrong to grieve so much, Sister Magdalene Adelaide, but oh, I am so weak! Will you read a meditation for me?'

"I took up the book and did as she requested. Soon she fell into a sleep which lasted about one hour, and again I commenced saying my rosary beads. Presently I heard her murmur, and, listening, I heard her whisper, 'My feet! oh, my feet!' I arose from my chair and removed the sheet with the intention of rubbing her limbs; as I did so her feet were disclosed. A thrill of horror passed through my being as I looked at them, for they were all cut, festered and bruised; a fearful suspicion took possession of me, and, stooping down, I picked up her infirmary shoes. On examination I discovered in them pieces of broken glass; a thrill akin to horror ran through my whole frame. I held the shoes in my hands and looked at the pale, suffering face of Adeline as she lay there on her bed, and this evening the whole scene rises before me—the little infirmary with its clean, white floor, a few cheap prints of the stations of the cross hanging on the otherwise bare walls, the two or three small iron bedsteads, then the white wooden altar upon which was spread a white linen cloth embroidered with red; the two statues, one of 'Our Lady of Dolours' and the second of St. Joseph, the patron of happy deaths. In the center of the altar was a vase with a few cheap paper flowers.

"Yes, it comes to me most vividly. There she lay, the sin of her past life being that she, too, had been deceived at the altars of Rome—a victim of priestly solicitation in the confessional. Even as she lay there in the last stages of consumption, traces of what had at one time been a beautiful face were clearly discernible. What had she not suffered for years! Who could tell the many weary hours of heart anguish she had passed through? And yet she was young—hardly twenty-five years old. She had given up all that was near and dear, and, for the years she had lived in the convent, she had tried to appease God's justice for her early sin by mortifying and chastising herself in a way that can only find a parallel in the doctrines of Buddha. Oh, Madeline! poor, wounded, betrayed one! Who can wonder, as you lay there with the fever of consumption running and coursing through your veins, that, in spite of all the teachings and practices of self-denial in the convent life in which you had lived so many years, yet, when the hour of death drew nigh and your soul was hovering on the borders of the unknown eternity, your thoughts once more went back to the old home-scenes, and you longed, as only a child can, for the sight of a mother's face, the sound of a mother's voice, the cool, soothing touch of a mother's hand passing over your brow? They tried to crush down the natural love that God placed in your heart for your mother, but they could not. The use of the discipline caused the blood to flow and gave you physical suffering; fasting and long prayers made you weak, and thus incapable of exercising will-power; and, when no other eye but God's was upon you, when struggling with the desire to leave forever the hateful prison walls of the convent, the bitter tears forced their way. Then, kneeling before the statue of the 'Mother of Sorrows,' you pleaded with her to help and intercede for you. What comfort did you get? What hope? What consolation? None! You might make good confessions and communions, practice all the self-denials required of one in your vocation, and the only thing that the church could give you, the only gleam of hope she could offer, was that, through your works of supererogation, your purgatory would be lessened; and now, wasted through suffering and consumption, dreading the punishment of purgatory, endeavoring in your dying state to do something to lessen its pangs, you have walked with glass in your shoes and your poor feet give evidence of the agony you endured. And this is Christianity!

"I applied cold cloths to her feet; I sat down in the dimly-lighted infirmary by the side of her bed, and, holding the fevered and trembling hand, I, in my ignorance, tried to give her some comfort. I promised to remember her in my intentions, my communions, and at the sacrifice of the Mass. I spoke to her of the mercy and compassion of Mary, the 'Mother of Sorrows,' and tried to give her hope by pointing to her as mediator between her soul and Christ, but I could see that she received no satisfaction, no assurance. Then her eyes closed and she dozed for a few minutes, only to wake with a moan of pain—'Oh, my feet! oh, my feet!' And then again, 'If only I could see my mother!' would issue from her parched and cracked lips.

"And so I sat through the night, soothing her as well as I knew how, and repeating aspirations for her, until the dawn crept in and the nuns' bell rang out at 4:30 o'clock, arousing the inmates. The quietness and deep stillness still remained throughout the institution, the sisters and penitents walking in the dimly-lighted cloisters with soft tread and down-cast eyes, as if in the land of the silent dead and not the living."

As I write I wonder how it was possible for me to endure the paganism of Catholicism for thirty years, and the only rational reason I can give for this endurance is that I, like thousands of these poor nuns whom I have just written about, was raised to believe that the teachings of Catholicism were right and the only road that lead to eternal glory; therefore I look with pity and compassion upon those black-garbed nuns when I behold them tramping the streets of our large cities, as I realize that they actually believe they are performing God's work, when the truth of the matter is that they are only following the practices of heathen nations.

I could go on and write a thousand pages upon "The Unmarried Cussedness of the Roman Priestcraft," and each page would be as black as the shadows of hell, but I deem it unnecessary, as I have confidence in those who may read this book that they will believe every word of what I have written, therefore it is unnecessary for me to dwell longer upon the hideousness of celibacy.

In conclusion, I desire to say that so long as Roman Catholicism demands that her priestcraft shall not wed, just so long the priestcraft will remain vultures of virtue and just so long convents will be turned into carnivals of vice.

It is only natural that such should be the case, as both the priestcraft and the inhabitants of our convents are brought up from childhood to believe in the absurdities of Roman Catholicism, and to believe that all of their many sins can be pardoned by the cungerings of this Romish doctrine.

My prayer is that the government of the United States may learn in the near future that the broad light of Protestant inspection must penetrate these recesses of darkness before we can ever have them cleansed of their immorality, and this inspection must be made often, and I sincerely believe that the time is not far distant when Protestant America will demand that Catholicism shall do away with her monasteries and nunneries, unless she submits to a rigid examination of her actions, and whenever she submits it will be because she is forced to submit, and whenever she is forced to do so, these monasteries and convents will be closed up, as Protestant America will not allow nor permit these plague spots to exist to pollute the fair name of America when she learns of their actual mission.



Chapter X.

A Brazen Insult to God.

Catholicism teaches that the Pope of Rome is infallible and cannot sin, neither can he make a mistake. This claim, if true, would place the Pope of Rome, who is nothing more nor less than a human being, upon the same footing as Jesus Christ.

The Bible says, "There are none pure; no, not one." Now, if the claim of Catholicism that the Pope of Rome is infallible, is true, then the Bible is a myth and a mockery.

If Catholicism's claim that the Pope of Rome is infallible, is true, then God is not an impartial God, for if He is an impartial God He would not bestow upon any of His mortals the gift of purity, without being ready to bestow the same gift upon all of those who are deserving, and who by their righteousness deserve this grand and princely distinction.

We want to use a little common sense and a philosophy that can be assimilated by any man or woman of ordinary intelligence.

The Bible does not relate in any verse or chapter that any one can reach the point of infallibility during life. Now, is not this true? And if it is, then the claim of Catholicism that the Pope of Rome is infallible is a lie, woven in the devil's loom.

We want to prove to our readers that this claim is one founded upon fallacious grounds, as the Pope of Rome is elected by the cardinals of the Catholic Church, who are human and who are often as immoral as the devil; therefore the infallibility of the Pope rests in human hands, for it is by these cardinals that the Pope is created, therefore you will see that by the ballot of these cardinals the Pope derives his infallibility, and not from any power of God Almighty, consequently this proclaimed infallibility of the Pope rests in the hands of these cardinals.

Now, to illustrate this damnable doctrine and show it up in its rabid ignorance, we will suppose that when Pope Pius X was elected Pope of Rome that if some other priest had received a majority of one of the votes of the cardinals, Pope Pius X would never have had this blessing from God, but he would only have missed it one vote, therefore you will see that this infallibility which was about to rest on Pope Pius X, but did not, would have been snatched from him by the failure of one cardinal to vote for him.

Now, any man or woman of ordinary "horse sense" can see that God Almighty has nothing whatever to do with filling the office of the Pope, and this infallibility rests altogether with the pulling power that the candidate for Pope exercises over the cardinals, as it is an indisputable fact that there is as much political chicanery in the election of a Pope as there is in the election of a justice of the peace at a township election.

We want to learn just how far this infallibility of the Pope goes. If a man is infallible he can not make a mistake, and I can prove by every man of broadmindedness and intelligence that the Popes of Rome, for centuries past, have made nothing but mistakes, and their mistakes have been not only ruinous to those whom they profess to teach, but their mistakes have had a tendency to paralyze the righteous ambitions of every nation to which their influence has extended. If the claim of Catholicism is true that her Popes are infallible, then we must acknowledge that this great gift was received from God Almighty, and we cannot believe such nonsense when we are aware of the fact that these Popes are elected by the cardinals, and the election of a Pope depends upon the tactics and schemes of these cardinals; then, pray, tell us how any man who has been raised up under the arch-light of Protestantism, or who has had the searchlight of Protestant intelligence penetrate his soul, can for a moment believe in the infallibility of the Pope?

I sincerely believe, in fact, I know that there are millions who believe this damnable doctrine, as I can honestly say that I at one time believed it myself. But those who do believe it are those who have been raised beneath the dark shadows of superstition, and my mission in writing this book is to brush the cobwebs of ignorance from these dwarfed minds and help to point them to "the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world," and if I can be instrumental in this mission I will not only open the eyes of the followers of Catholicism, but I will put stiffening into the backbone of Protestantism and help them to brand this idolatrous doctrine of Catholicism wherever she may dare to rear her abominable head.

The great danger in teaching that the Pope is infallible is in making thieves and murderers of our citizens, for if Catholicism is right in teaching her followers that the Pope of Rome is infallible, this doctrine is bound to have an influence that is awful in its effect, for whenever a man or woman believes in the infallibility of the Pope they are bound to believe in the infallibility of all things that he creates; therefore you will see that this doctrine is far-reaching in its effects, for if a Pope is infallible the bishops which he creates are infallible, and if the bishops which he creates are infallible, the priests which they create are infallible, and whenever we teach a nation this abomination we have a nation of people which believes that there is no sin so heinous which they may commit but which may be forgiven by the priesthood, as they have learned to believe that all things created by the Pope are infallible, simply because they have been created by the Pope, and whenever you preach a doctrine that has such effect upon the inhabitants of any country you will have a set of inhabitants who will commit crime without hesitation, as they are assured that by paying a few dollars into the coffers of the priest they can have their sins pardoned, and whenever you cause a nation to believe this, you at once have a nation of criminals.

It is, in my estimation, absolutely impossible for an individual who believes in such a damnable doctrine to become a pure, patriotic American citizen. Now, this may seem to the reader a very broad assertion and one that may appear too broad to be substantiated, but I propose to demonstrate to you that it is only a natural consequence, and if we fail to make this point clear to the reader's mind we will not ask them to believe it.

In the first place, we desire to say that the Catholic religion—if religion it can be termed—is founded upon the rock of superstition. Every code of their church doctrine teaches that the Pope is infallible and cannot err, which is absurd, and not only absurd, but a festering lie, for no man or woman who believes in the teachings of the Holy Bible can believe in such a doctrine, and whenever a man or woman does believe in the infallibility of the Pope and believes that the Pope cannot err, he or she believes that the Pope is superhuman, and such we know cannot be the case as long as there is life in the body, as we are all liable to the Adamic sin, as the world at large was cursed with the Adamic sin in the Garden of Eden.

Now, we want to deal in simple facts and truths that are so simple that the commonest man of ordinary intelligence can understand.

Now, if the Pope of Rome is infallible, he is immortal, and if every action of this Pope is pure, then everything that is created by him must be pure; and if such is the case, I was at one time as pure as Jesus Christ Himself, as I for thirty years was a Roman Catholic priest and a creature created by a Roman Catholic Pope. Every man and woman of very ordinary intelligence knows that neither I nor any other priest ever was pure; in fact, that man has never lived or died who could claim infallibility and purity so long as life was left in his body.

If the doctrines of Catholicism are correct then we have no use for a God any longer, as we already have a Pope; and should Pope Pius X die to-day the cardinals to-morrow, or some day in the near future, would elect another Pope, who would take the place of Jesus Christ Himself, according to their doctrine; and if such doctrines are true, then the human family in the future and the unborn millions could be saved as easily without God as they could with Him, as the Pope would perform that mission himself.

There are thousands—yea, tens of thousands, who send handkerchiefs and trinkets each year to Rome to be blessed (?) by the Pope, and who believe that by having some article which has been blessed (?) by this presumptuous vagabond will prevent them from being overtaken by bad luck, ill health or any other misfortune that besets the path of man.

Now, if the Pope of Rome has the power to bless and sanctify a piece of cloth, a ring, or any dead and inert object, he undoubtedly is "the real thing," and if such is the case the Bible is a lie, the gospel a fallacy, and God Almighty becomes a hireling, and we have no further need of a God.

What can we expect of the followers of Catholicism who believe in this hellish doctrine, and what can we expect of a nation which is controlled by those who teach and preach such abominations?

An institution which will teach such damnable ignorance and practice such superstitious paganism is a plague spot and a curse to any country, and the man or set of men who claim that the Pope is infallible offers "a brazen insult to God."



Chapter XI.

The Characters of the Followers of Catholicism Compared to the Followers of Protestantism.

I believe that I am not presuming too much when I consider myself authority on the subject of "Character," as I have had the privilege of studying the characters of the followers of both Catholic and Protestant countries, as I have traveled extensively over both Europe and America and have had occasion to compare the characters of the followers of the Pope to the characters of the followers of Jesus Christ, and the comparison is one that will lead any sane man, or woman, and one who desires to reach a true verdict, to arrive at the conclusion that it is a physical impossibility for any man or woman who depends upon mortal wisdom for their inspiration to ever attain the broadness and purity of character that the man or woman who lives beneath the shadow of the Cross, and who looks to a living God for their wisdom.

Character is not a spontaneous fungus which grows without proper care, as character is an essential that must be cultivated in the fertile soil of morality, as there is no code of morals which will stand the crucial test of godliness unless it springs from the eternal injunctions laid down in the Holy Bible, and without morals an individual as well as a nation loses its identity among the good of the land, and when this happens, society in general is the loser, for whenever we degrade society we degrade ourselves, for there is no man or woman so strong and powerful in their individuality but what they can become besmirched and contaminated, to a degree at least, by the association of those who have been lowered in the scale of morality by the lack of this most precious jewel of the human family.

We are aware of the fact that Protestantism is not exempt from sin, as we are well aware that we will find sinners of all degrees in the Protestant ranks, but we make the assertion, without fear of contradiction, that the characters in general of the followers of Protestantism are many times superior to the characters in general of the followers of Romanism.

We will take the large cities in the United States as an illustration, and we will find that the saloon-keepers, comparatively speaking, are from the ranks of Catholicism, and to engage in the saloon business is no bar to a member of the Catholic Church, for if this saloon-keeper, no matter if he runs a wine-room in connection with his saloon and is responsible for the downfall of an army of precious girls, he is considered a fit subject for heaven by the Catholic Church provided he liberally donates to the support of this damnable institution.

Statistics show that ninety-four bar-rooms out of every one hundred in America are owned and controlled by the followers of Romanism. As Catholicism establishes and builds character out of money, she makes money her god, and as long as her followers liberally support the great army of Catholic dignitaries they are taught that they have performed the essential part in the establishment of character; thus you can see what the result of this doctrine would lead to, and you have demonstrations of this doctrine in this country, and more especially in other countries where Catholicism is solely responsible for the condition of the inhabitants.

Everything that is not in the Bible is taken by the Catholic Church from the heathens and the Jews, and you will find the doctrines and the practices of Catholicism founded upon heathenish practices and not upon the broad plane of morals taught by Jesus Christ.

Those who may read this book, and who are not acquainted with the characters of the rabble of Catholicism, we would be glad to have them go to any of our large cities and visit some of the districts of these cities which are inhabited by the followers of Romanism, and there you will find a class whose countenances alone would condemn them in any criminal court of the land, as they are men and women who are made up of a foreign element and from the criminal districts of European countries, and who are as ignorant as rams and glory in their ignorance, and who have no idea of patriotism and of loyalty to country, and only have an idea and desire to worship the images and symbols of Catholicism, and any man or body of men, or any nation, who will practice this heathenish worship cannot possess character.

I have traveled extensively over the United States and over European countries which are controlled by the Pope, and if I could vividly portray the characters of Catholicism and Protestantism the comparison would resemble the countenance of the criminal compared to the innocent and loveable features of a girl baby.

Catholicism poisons the very atmosphere that surrounds her followers, and she is not satisfied by confining her contaminating influences to her own followers, but she is everlastingly stretching her filthy grasp to pull Protestantism down to her degraded level. Catholicism lowers the standard of public opinion. She makes war on morality and virtue, which destroys character. Catholicism countenances wrong-doings. Catholicism tolerates evil and rewards vice, and it is a well-known fact that "evil communications corrupt good manners," and if this is the case, then is it any wonder that the characters of the followers of Catholicism cannot, nor never will, favorably compare to the followers of Protestantism?

I am about to make an assertion that will perhaps shock those who are not familiar with the teachings of Catholicism, but I make it without fear of contradiction, as I know whereof I speak, as I have traveled the Papist road for thirty years, and I declare to you with all sincerity and honesty that Rome would not go far wrong if she counted in her membership 95 per cent of the men and women who are on their road to hell, and if this assertion is true, and if I have not overdrawn my estimation, then, pray, tell me what we can expect in the future in this country should such characters as I have just portrayed be permitted to dominate this government.

Every Roman Catholic that is born in the world comes into the world alienated from God and God's teachings, and is taught from infancy not to depend upon God Almighty for guidance, but to depend upon Romanism for their everlasting future, and with such doctrines everlastingly funnelled into childhood, what can we expect of the child when it has grown to maturity?

Protestant children are born into the world of parents who look above the horizon of earthly things for their inspirations, and these children are taught from infancy that they must look to an all-wise God for succor and support; but Popery ignores all of this and teaches by heathenish symbols and by paganic practices. Thus it is an easy matter for any sane man or woman to understand why character cannot be found in such a class.

The followers of Catholicism are taught that by the payment of a few dimes they can have their sins remitted and pardoned; thus you will see that crime has no terrors for such a class, as they believe that when they have committed a crime all they have to do is to go to the priestcraft and have their sins pardoned, in exchange for perhaps a part of the money which they gained in their criminal transaction.

To rule such men, no religion is required. A Romanist does not look to God Almighty for his salvation, but to the church, and the church gives him her unbounded sanction to commit sin, provided that he returns after he commits the crime and pays a few dollars to have his sins pardoned.

A Roman Catholic can swear, break the Sabbath, dishonor his parents, lie, steal, commit adultery, get drunk and commit any other crime that he chooses, provided that he returns to the confessional box and pays for having his sins pardoned.

Now, what can you expect of a class of men and women who believe in this doctrine, and can you expect to find anything but the character of a criminal or a degenerate? If you do, you are undoubtedly as ignorant as the followers of Romanism, as it is a physical impossibility to reasonably expect a man or woman who has been taught these abominations to ever make men and women of character who will adorn this or any other nation.

One of the rulers of England, Charles II, died with prostitutes about him and died a disgrace to England and to himself, but Rome glorified in him as one of her converts. The more of Rome a man or woman possesses, and the less of God, the more the Roman Catholic Church glorifies in him.

Catholicism is a coward—yea, a cringing coward—when not surrounded by large numbers of her followers, as she has no excuse for her existence and cannot defend herself by intelligent and godly arguments, and the only way she can defend herself is by numbers; but whenever she can resort to physical and brutal strength, she then makes a fight which crimsons the earth with blood, and Protestantism pays the penalty, and the reason why those in the country and in sparsely settled districts do not know more of the hellishness of Catholicism is because this creed cannot intelligently defend itself and will not take issue with Protestantism unless she can take issue by brutal power, but in our cities we have an exhibition of the diabolical deeds of Catholicism, as the majority of our municipal elections are controlled by the followers of Catholicism, as Rome's followers congregate in our large cities, because they love darkness better than light, and they infest the "tough" sections of our cities and control our municipal elections by brute force, which is sanctioned by the priestcraft.

We will take it for granted that the inhabitants of the United States know more of Mexico than any other nation which is priest-ridden, so we desire to dwell for a short time upon the characters of the Mexican peon. You will find Mexico, which lays right across from Texas on the Rio Grande River, a dividing line between ignorance and intelligence, crime and godliness, and morality and immorality; however, that part of Texas which lays near the Mexican border has become contaminated to a great degree by these Mexican "dupes" who follow the black flag of Romanism; but the difference in character, in manhood, in womanhood, in intelligence and everything which distinguishes right from wrong is so marked and so plain that one does not have to look twice to see the difference, and there is no cause nor no reason for this great difference in character, in manhood and womanhood but the teachings of Rome.

If we expect America to retain her place among the nations of intelligence and nations of greatness, and nations of goodness and godliness, we must be character-builders, for without character we can never expect to reach the zenith of godliness, and without godliness individual greatness is an impossibility.

Catholicism paints the countenances of her followers with the brush of ignorance and criminality.



Chapter XII.

Why Teachers in Our Public Schools Should Not Be Selected from the Ranks of Catholicism.

The Catholic world does not hesitate in declaring that our public schools in this country are "Sinks of Iniquity," "Schools of Vice," and "Nurseries of Hell;" then why should the followers of Catholicism be permitted to teach in our public schools?

This is a question that ought to vitally interest every Protestant father and mother in this land, and the time is not far distant until they will become interested, for just as sure as God reigns, the time is not far in the future when Catholicism will endeavor to close up the public schools of this land and establish her nurseries of darkness and superstition in their stead.

If the public schools of this country are not good enough for the children of Catholic parents, it seems to me that the Protestant parents of this country should see to it that their children are too good to be taught by Catholic teachers.

Why is it that the Pope does not promulgate one of his "holy bulls" and excommunicate those of his believers who take the money so freely for their services from the public schools of this country?

Oh, no; the Pope and the priestcraft are perfectly willing, so long as Protestants have the power to maintain those schools, that their "jesuitical dupes" shall receive the money that is set aside for these schools. My blood fairly boils with unbounded indignation when I think of the hard, harsh, and ungodly slurs that Catholicism is ever ready to throw at our public school system, and then see blind Protestants help to place a Catholic teacher in one of our schools.

We propose to give facts and figures in this chapter that we hope will open the eyes of drowsy, unconcerned Protestants, and help them and their children to apply the brakes to their downward course, and spike the guns of the Vatican with American manhood.

We hope by the time you are through with this chapter you will be ready to make inquiries as to who is to teach your children in the public schools. Let me ask you, Mr. Protestant, if you ever heard of a Protestant teaching in a Catholic school? Oh, no! But then you will fold your hands and be content to allow your children to be taught by a man or woman who secretly despises the public school system. Shame! Ten thousand times we exclaim you should be ashamed for not asserting your American and God-given privileges of Protestantism gained for you through the blood of your forefathers!

A general system of education, such as affords all alike an opportunity to cultivate and expand the intellect, the poor as well as the rich, is, beyond all question, one of the greatest blessings that any nation can enjoy. Such a system had its birth in America while it was yet comparatively free from the blighting influence of a religio-political corporation whose whole history is one uninterrupted and relentless war upon every system of education which broadens the intellect and causes people to think. In America was born the public free school system, and from the date of its birth, in 1695, to the present, it has been the means of giving to this nation its most renowned statesmen, jurists, patriots, agriculturists, teachers and divines. It is one of the principal agents by which the United States of America has been enabled to advance to the first rank in all things that make a nation great.

But against this most sacred product of American liberty Rome lifts her unholy hands. Against our schools she hurls her worst anathemas. But it is our purpose in this chapter to let the Roman Catholic Church speak for itself. Its language is plain and needs no interpretation. Listen to Rome's damnable utterances:

"These public schools are devouring fires and pits of destruction. They ought to go back to the devil, from whence they came."—The Freeman's Journal.

"If your son or daughter is attending a state school you may be sure that you are violating your duty as Catholic parents and conducting to the everlasting anguish and despair of your child. Take it away. Let it rather never know how to write its name than to become the bound and chained slave of satan."—The Shepherd of the Valley.

"The common schools of this country are sinks of moral pollution and nurseries of hell."—Chicago Tablet.

"The public or common school system is a swindle on the people, an outrage on justice, a foul disgrace in matters of morals, and should be abolished forthwith."—New York Tablet.

"The hideous fetish, called the public school, is only an ugly idol after all."—Colorado Catholic.

"It will be a glorious day for Roman Catholics in this country when, under the laws of justice and morality, our school system shall be shivered to pieces."—Catholic Telegraph.

"We hold education to be a function of the church and not of the state, and in our case we do not and will not accept the state as an educator."—New York Tablet.

They love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. Listen to the snarls of Rome's "dupes:"

"Unless you suppress the public school system as at present conducted, it will prove the damnation of this country."—Father Walker.

"I frankly confess that the Catholics stand before the country as the enemies of the public schools."—Father Phelan.

"The duty of all loyal, God-fearing Christian men (Roman Catholics) then, I repeat it, is to make common cause against this common foe."—Father Gleason.

"The public schools have produced nothing but a godless generation of thieves and blackguards."—Priest Schauer.

"I would as soon administer the sacrament to a dog as to Catholics who send their children to public schools."—Priest Walker.

"The public school system must be destroyed. It must be done by stopping Bible reading, Psalm singing and eliminating objectionable books."—Priest Phelan.

"To rescue these little ones out of the grasp of that monster (the public school), of that popular idol, is our work."—Bishop John Hennessy.

"We can have the United States in ten years. And I want to give you three points for your consideration: The Negroes, the Indians and the public schools."—Bishop Ireland.

"Emphatically a social plague."—Archbishop Perche.

"A ripe knowledge of the cathechism, minus Massachusetts education, is preferable to her education, minus the catechism."—Cardinal Antonelli.

"The common school system of the United States is the worst in the world."—Cardinal Manning.

"The catechism alone is essential for the education of the people."—Cardinal Antonelli.

"We must take part in the elections. Move in solid mass in every state pledged to sustain the integrity of the public schools."—Cardinal McCloskey.

"The Roman Church alone is endowed with power to educate the young."—Cardinal McCloskey.

"Education outside of the control of the Roman Catholic Church is a damnable heresy."—Pius IX.

"Public schools open to all children for the education of the young should be under the control of the Romish Church, and should not be subject to civil power, nor made to conform to the opinions of the ages."—Pope Pius IX.

"When I see them drag from me the children, the poor little children, and give them an infidel education, it breaks my heart."—Pope Pius IX.

"It is desirable, therefore, venerable brethren, that in concert with your colleagues in the Episcopate, your efforts and your zeal guard Catholic children from frequenting schools in which their religious instruction is neglected and open danger incurred of spiritual loss. Therefore we vehemently desire, as has already been intimated to you by the propaganda, that in approaching Episcopal meetings you carefully discuss the measure that may best help to attain this end. We wish you also to use earnest efforts that the civil magistrates, who know full well that nothing is more advantageous to the commonwealth than religion should provide, by the enactment of wise laws, that the office of teachings, which is carried on at the expense of the public, including consequently the contributions of Catholics, should contain nothing that stands in the way of their conscience or runs foul of their religion."—Pope Leo XIII.

We could go on and quote diabolical denunciations of our public schools from hundreds and thousands of Catholic officials, as the followers of Rome make no "bones" of declaring their animosity towards the public schools of this country, and they are only waiting for the time to arrive when they will be able to wipe from the face of the earth every vestige of our public schools, and place in their stead their parochial schools, which are nothing more nor less than "mills of ignorance" and "institutions of superstition."

An institution of learning is something that is not desired by Catholicism, for whenever you educate you destroy the doctrines of Romanism, as the hosts of Catholicism cannot stand the searchlight of wisdom, for whenever you educate the followers of Catholicism they become disgusted with their dogmas of damnation.

Our public schools are the bulwarks of this government, and all that we are to-day, and all that we may expect to be in the future, has come and must come by and through the public schools, which are the dearest institutions that adorn this country.

There must be no sectarianism, whether political or religious, in our public schools, but there must be truth and duty there. The unchanging and undying maxim of moral rectitude should be taught to every child. It is not enough that a boy or girl should be educated mentally. The safety of our nation, as well as his own usefulness and happiness, demand that they should be trained to habits of truthfulness and develop a fine standard of honor. They should be inspired to form exalted ideals of manhood and womanhood, charity, rectitude and godliness, and made strong in the resolution to defend the truth, which is never found in parochial schools, as the Catholic doctrine always tends to humiliate her followers.

The time has come when the pupils of our public schools must be taught the love of country, and Catholicism does not teach this, but the reverse. The children of this nation must learn to love their native land. To whom shall we look for the inculcation of those patriotic sentiments which should inspire the heart of every American citizen? Not to Catholicism, by any means, but to the three hundred thousand teachers of our public schools.

Over every school house in hamlet and city, in country and town, in the North and in the South, in the East and in the West, the American flag should kiss the morning breeze. Place it where twenty millions of children will see it every day, and learn to love it as the emblem of all that is great and good. It will represent to us and to all the world, in a new and peculiar manner, the great fundamental truth that the bulwark of our liberties is in the education of our people.

The war of the revolution was fought to establish our nationality. Incalculable blood and treasure have been spent to establish and keep our national life intact, and the national policy with relation to our public schools is part and parcel of that all-absorbing determination to secure the perpetuity of the state. Men make better citizens for being educated. The higher the popular intellect is raised the more intelligent and independent will be its vote. The stronger the source of government, the stronger the government. If the "bayonets that think" are the most potent, the "ballots that think" are the most beneficent.

Every victory which our nation has won has been a victory of the public schools and a death knock to Catholicism. They have been the nursery not only of our statesmen, but of our patriots and soldiers. They are an American institution and are destined to live as long as the republic survives. There is no other American institution that American people would sooner fight for and die for than that which secures an educated and intelligent nationality. Let us maintain inviolate our public schools to the end that our nation may ever be the home of liberty, "the land of benedictions."

In the unbounded universe of God's domain there are manifold diversities, and yet there is an essential unity that binds the world together; there is a common point where all matter unites.

As there is great freedom and diversity permitted in the unity of nature, so, in our country of religious and political freedom, we must grant the greatest latitude possible to the individual conscience in personal, religious and civil rights consistent with good government. But that there must be a code of morality common to all as the basis of our civilized jurisprudence, in which the rights of all center or unite and are equally protected, every reasonable mind must admit. But where do we get our ideas of what is morally right, and what is morally wrong, as the basis of our common law and jurisprudence? What book or books contain the best code of morals? We answer, the Bible. For the excellency of the morality of the Bible has been admitted by the most distinguished men who have opposed its supernatural revelation, among whom are Gibbon, Byron, Carlyle, Lord Bollingbroke, Napoleon Bonaparte, Goethe and Renan. Thomas Jefferson, speaking of Christ as a teacher, said: "He set forth the sublime ideas of the Supreme Being, aphorisms and precepts of the purest morality."

Catholicism says: "No Bible shall be taught in the public schools," but demands that she be allowed to proclaim her dogmas.

Benjamin Franklin, five weeks before his death, said of Christ: "I think His system of morals, and His religion, as He left them, are the best the world ever saw or is likely to see." The services of the Bible in behalf of human rights and freedom, and in reforming and purifying jurisprudence and politics, have been recognized by many of the most distinguished historians, jurists and statesmen.

As the makers of our laws and the founders of our government have accepted the moral code of the Bible as the basis of our jurisprudence, and have forbidden the union of church and state, and have left every citizen free to "worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience," so long as he does not interfere with the rights of others or violate the moral code common to all citizens, for the law cannot allow a person to murder or steal, or burn human sacrifices, or be a polygamist, or commit any other public crime, even if the dictates of his conscience should lead him into such a form of religion, because the moral code of the Bible is the basis of our jurisprudence, and it forbids such things.

Therefore, we demand that the "book of books" be kept where the rising generation shall come under its moral teaching without party or sectarian comment, so that all may understand the fundamental principles upon which the science of our common law rests, and thus one of the objects of the order is "to maintain the public school system of the United States and to prevent sectarian interference therewith, and upholding the reading of the Holy Bible therein."

The argument that the reading of the Bible in the public school should be abolished because it is objectionable to the conscience of some comes only from the Church of Rome, and applies with equal force against the moral code of jurisprudence, because it is objectionable to the conscience of the anarchist, and the conscience of the anarchist is just as sacred and entitled to as much respect, under the law, in this free country of ours as the conscience of any one else.

We have just as much right to take the moral code out of our common jurisprudence as to take the Bible out of our public schools, because the moral code of the Bible is the moral code of our common law.

We desire the Bible to be kept in the school as the standard of moral truth, as the dictionary is kept there as the standard of words and their definitions. As the unabridged dictionary contains all the words of the English language, so the Bible contains all the truths of Christianity. Every book has a part of the words of the dictionary, so every Christian creed has a part of the truths of the Bible. As there never was a book written that contained all of the words of the dictionary, so there never was a creed written that contained all the truths of the Bible. Therefore, as the dictionary and not the books is the standard for words and their meaning, so the Bible, and not the creeds, is the standard of moral truth. A man can take the words in the dictionary and write a bad book, but that is not the fault of the dictionary, but of the man. A person may take passages of Scripture and misapplied truths and write a bad creed, but that is not the fault of the Bible, but of the creed-maker. But every man who takes the Bible as a whole has a complete standard of moral truths.

It is claimed that the Bible should not be read in the school because there are passages that are not proper to be read before children, or a promiscuous audience, but this is only claimed by Catholicism. Yes, and there are words in the dictionary that it would be just as improper to use and define before children or a promiscuous audience as any passage in the Bible. Therefore, it would be just as reasonable to exclude the dictionary as the Bible from the school room on this hypocritical argument in favor of false modesty.

The man's conscience that will object to the reading of the Bible in the public school will ultimately object to the moral code of our jurisprudence, and such a conscience is dangerous to our form of government, inimical to the best interests of society and good government, as has been clearly demonstrated in the past. The Mormons claimed the right under our constitution to live in polygamy, as that was their religion and the way they served God according to the "dictates of their own conscience." But the supreme court decided they could not worship God according to the dictates of their conscience if their worship was a violation of the moral code common to all. Thus all must submit to the moral code irrespective of their individual conscience. So the Bible should be read in the public schools, irrespective of the conscience of any, until the majority of the government of the people, for the people and by the people shall say: "Away with your Bible, away with your Sabbath, away with your Christian jurisprudence, and give us infidel, revolutionary France, or lawless anarchy, or the inquisition of the dark ages!"

Our public school is the mill that is to grind out this standard of morality, knowledge and patriotism common to all. Hence we must have the Bible in it as the standard of morality, and primary principles of literature, science and art, the standard of knowledge, and the American flag and its essential principles as the standard of patriotism. Our American school system is like a great paper mill, into which are cast rags of all kinds and colors, but which lose their special identity and come out white paper, having a common identity. So we want the children of the state, of whatever nationality, color or religion, to pass through this great moral, intellectual and patriotic mill, or transforming process, and thus lose their foreign peculiarities and come out not as Germans, Irish, English, Huns or Poles, but as Americans, having the common identity of morality, knowledge and patriotism that is essential to true American citizenship and good government stamped upon their minds, and when they pass through this mill of purification they then begin to lose confidence in the heathenish doctrines of Catholicism.

In a government where the people are the rulers, intelligence and education are necessary to maintain the nation's stability. Under this belief, the public school system of the United States was founded.