The American. [volume], June 28, 1895, Image 1

About The American. [volume] (Omaha, Nebraska) 1891-1899

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THE AMERICAN
.4X
A WEEKLY NEWSPAPER.
'AMERICA FOR AMERICANS." We hold that all men are A nericans who Swear Allegiance to the United Slates without ft mental reservation in favor of the Pope.
PRICK F1VKCKNT
Volume V.
OMAHA, NEBRASKA, FRIDAY, JUNK 28, 1S95.
Number 20
FOR AMERICANS ONLY.
Shut Out Foreign Labor and
Wages Will Be Higher.
The Public School Our Hope In Them
American Principle Are Implanted
In the Minds of the Youth.
An audience filling every seat
Miner's Opera House, at Newark,
J., listened to a lecture, on June
by Rev. Madison C. Peter on "America
for Americans." Mr. Peters' remarks
received prolonged applause. He said
"America is the best country in the
world, and those who do not believe
do not have to stay here. If I believe
in Ireland for Irishmen, in Germany
for Germans, In Italy lor Italians, .wny
should I not believe in America ior
Americans? This peerless, unrivaled,
unapproached and unapproachable land
Is not a new Ireland, nor a new Italy,
nor a new Germany. It is not a country
fnr ihn ticket of-leave men: it is not
place for the criminals and paupers of
Europe; it Is not the asylum ior tnose
who leave their country for the coun
try's good. America is for man for
man in his Intelligence, for man in his
morality, for man in his love of liberty,
for man whosoever he is and whenceso
ever he cometh.
"He Ib an American, no matter where
born, who has an American heart and
who lives in obedience to the vows of
citizenship he has assumed.
"I acknowledge the debt which this
country owes to the foreign laborer;
thousands upon thousands of our foreign-born
citizens are useful and honor
able men, an acquisition to any country.
But I believe that I express the con
servative opinion of thoughtful men
everywhere when I say that we have
reached a period in our histoory when
Immigration without limit is not ad
vantageous to the country nor to the
immigrant
"It Is within the mark to say that
fully three quarters of our immigration
since the civil war has been drawn
from the lowest strata of European
society. Is it not time that we demand
protection against this mighty Euro
pean army that is moving upon us?
. The more intelligent citizens 01 loreign
birth see this danger more clearly than
the native-born Americans, who have
a supreme Indifference to tbe fate of
the repub'ic. We have permitted the
accumulation of explosive inflammable
material In our political cellar, and we
should not be surprised if some day our
house catches fire, and is burned over
our heads."
Speaking of immigration and the
labor problem, Mr. Peters said:
"Shut down the European labor
supply and the American demand will
go up. Scarcity of hands makes higher
t wages. I,have one sure cure for hard
' times: Suspendoimmlgration until the
men already in this country have some
thing to do. The European laborer is
raw material which even free traders
ought to be willing to tax.
"Restrict immigration ard you solve
the temperance question. The whole
sale liquor dealers are estimated at 65
per cent, foreign-born, the brewers 75
per cent., and the ea'oonkeepe rs 93 per
cent., and of these last named 98 per
cent, belong to one church. There Is
one thing to be said in favor of the
saloon business the Americans are
notinit'"
Touching on naturalization, the lec
turer said:
"Along with educational qualifica
tion, I go for fourteen years' residence
in tiiB country before naturalizt;t!on.
I had to be here tor twenty-one years
'X before I could vote. I acknowledge
the moral worth of numbers of our
oreign born citizens. They are among
the best in our churches the best in
my church; but they do net represent
the mass of immigrants Though
numbering only one sixth of our total
population, they send more to our peni
tentiaries and poor-houses than the
remaining five sixths. Seventy-one per
cent, of tbe inmates of our penal and
reformatory institutions are foreign
born, or the children of the forefgn-born,
and of these 60 per cent, are of one
church. If our early rulers had known
that eventually immigrants would
come into this country at the rate of
80,000 in one year, for how long would
they have required residence before
. naturalization? About 1,000 years. I
don't know how it is in Newark, but in
New York, while it requires a residence
of five years to become a citizen, Im
migrants have become voters before
they had recovered altogether from
sea-s'.ckness, and policemen before they
were rid of the smell of the steerage,
while the young native-born American
who may have graduated from college
at eighteen, has to wait three years
longer before he can taKe his place
alongside the Irish, German, Russian,
Polish and Bohemian rulers of his
native land.
"One consequence of this great Influx
of immigrant is the Importance at
tached to the foreign vote. There
should be no Irish, Germ in or Italian
vote; no such thing as a Catholic, Prot
estant or Hebrew vote, but only an
American vote. Demagogues, political
and ecclesiastical, by their appeals to
religious prejudices, have managed to
secure 70 per cent, of political offices.
The foreign-born citizen who does not
become an American in sympathy and
in principal is a foresworn Impostor.
"There are in this country hundreds
of thousands who do not pretend to
assimilate with American citizens.
There are throughout the west little
Germanys, Irelands and Scandina
vlas, just as there are in our large
cities centers of foreign nationalities,
where customs, language, etc., are
essentially foreign If we do not
Americanize these they will European
Ize us. On Bedlo's Island is the Bartholdi
statue of Liberty. In tbe right hand
is held the torch of liberty. I would
place in the left the Constitution of the
United States. While the right hand
is extended in welcome, let the left
hand be kissed on bended knee in token
of submission to the Constitution and
our laws. Loving all mankind as
brothers, I would welcome all, but be
fore naturalization there must be assim
ilation as American citizens.
"Popular government is nearly all
our laree cities has come to be govern
ment of the bosses. In Boston, in the
west, everywhere, it is the same story;
16 percent, of the population hold 73
per cent, of the municipal offices. Under
Cleveland, with few exceptions, they
hold all the better offices. If you do
not believe this, look up the records.
This isn't their fault, but it is our mis
fortune. When the American people
wake up to a realization of their duty
they will not fail to get their rights."
The speaker closed with a vigorous
argument for the complete seculariza
tion of our public schools. He declared :
"They are the bulwarks of our liberties.
they are the great assimilative vigor of
the body politic, in which the children
of the Irish, the German, the Italian
immigrant are made American citizens.
Religion belongs to the church, not to
the btatv In Europe, education Is
passing more and more under state
control. Shall we in America put on
the cast-off garments of Europe and
put in place of our free public schools a
system abandoned in the old world?
Shall we surrender our system for a
system that has made Italy, Spain,
Mexico and Ireland a hissing and by
word among the nations?" (Cries of
"No! No!")
The Hater Carnival.
Santa Cruz, Cal., June 15, 1895.
Editor The American: As I am here
taking in the water carnival, I'll drop
you a line and tell you how the show
looked to an outsider. Tbe town is a
little paradise, with its ocean front and
its valleys and green hills in the back
ground, for th's is a good farming coun
try: It reminds one of heme to see the
corn knee-high and the waving wheat
and barley. One would imagine him
self in Illinois, with this exception: he
would he minus the roaring sea and
the bracing salt air. This, like most
of the towns throughout the state, is
noted for its cleanliness, its comfort
able homes, its electric street-car serv
ice and its fine hotels. Each hostelry
strive to excel every other hostelry in
the comforts and conveniences provided.
Santa Cruz is one of the most popular
watering places in the state, and during
the heated term the people flock here
from the interior portions of the state.
Besidei the four larje hotels here,
there are many small cottages designed
for the accommodation of those of mod
erate n.edns. These cottages, fur
nished, can be rented for a small price,
and thus a small family can enjoy all
the advantages of the place. This
p'ace and this whole region were set
tled by Mexicans and Spaniards, and
their descendants are prominent here
yet; but the Yankees are i ow the lead
ing element here, as well as in every
town in the state, for the early settlers
of this state were the pope's own peo
ple, and a donkey to ride and an ox
team with which to haul and plow were
good enough for them. But that kind
of travel was too slow for the Yankee;
hence the electric-car, the steam-car,
and everything up to date. And it is
to the live Yankee that this carnival
is due. The carnival is a first class
show and a pecuniary success. Yet it
is the first enterprise of the kind which
the people of this state have known.
There have been rose and other carni
vals, but this is the first water carol
v il. I was tald yesterday that it will
not be the last. There has been a pa
rade each day, and everything has
harmonized, until Thursday, when
some "un-American" order called the
A. P. A. asked the directors to permit
in the procession a llttlo rt d oehool
bouse on wheels. It was about 12 by
14 feet, with a small railing around
the outside to represent a fence and
to keep the children from falling off
while they were playing around the
house. A small flag bad been hoisted
on tbe jaekstaff just opposite the door
When all was in readluess a majority
of the committee refused to allow it in
the procession; but "God always looks
out for his own, and this occasion was
no exception to tho rule, for one of the
marshals of division told the boys t
put the school-house in bis dlvlsio.1
and they did so children, flag, and all
And no one had nerve enough to order
the Bcho l-house removed. That float
provoked more cheers and comments
than anything else in the whole line.
When the throngs of people began to
cheer the little red school-house, the
committee saw they had made a m It-
take In forbidding it in the procession.
They knew the house was entitled to a
place in the procession, but they were
afraid of public opinion. They who
havo so much respect for the opinion of
the pope's hirelings are not the kind of
timber out of which the A. P. A. pur
poses to construct the new ship of
State. Any man who has been born
and bred in America and educated In
the public schools of the United States,
who will stand by and see a foreign
power trample on the rights of free
men, without raising his voice in pa
triotic protest, is a coward and a
traitor, unworthy to bo an American
citizen or to breathe the pure air of
the republic.
I understand that this is the first
time the little red school-house ban
been represented in a parade in this
Btate, and I sincerely hope it will not
be the last. Americans are justly
proud of the fact that their greatest
men began their education In the little
district school house. I mean tuch
men -as Washington, Jefferson, Mad
ison, Monroe, Webster, Clay, Lincoln,
Grant, Sherman, Logan, Garfield,
Greeley, and a host of others.
There is a council, of the A. P. A.
here. They number over two hundred
of the best citizens, and are adding to
their membership every week. There
is alto a thriving W. A. P. A. Judg
ing Trom the largo school-houses, with
their beautiful grounds, there is a spirit
predominating here that is not reassur
ing to the pope snd his priehts and
emissaries. Santa Cruz has a magnifi
cent high-school edifice, just com
pleted. A citiz n tells me it is equal
to any similar edifice in the state.
H. II. K.
IXSl'LT TO "OLD GLORY."
Italians Made to Lower Their Own Flag
Under Protest.
Syracuse, N. Y., June 23. A spe
cial from Suspension Bridge, N. Y., to
the Standard says: "The contractors
building the now trolley line In the
gorge on the American bank of the
Niagara river have brought great
crowds of Italian laborers here who
live in camps along the bank in shan
ties, over which they have been float
ing the Italian flag very high. This
has been an eyesore to some lovers cf
Old Glory, ard at noon to-day an old
veteran named Orlando E. Wilson, ac
companied with four others, visited one
of tho camps close to the city and or
dered the Italian flsg lowered. Ital
ians to the number of several hundred
gathered about and gesticulated. 'Take
that flag down or I'll shoot it down,'
said Wilson. The sons of Italy real
ized that the men were in earnest, and
they compiled."
Adjudged Guilty of Murder.
The jury in the cat e of John, Joseph
and Nlehodem Lewandowski and Jo
feph Jacks, charged with manslaugh
ter at Chicago, returned a verdict of
guilty, and fixed Joseph Lewandowski's
punishment at four years, John's at
seven years, Nlchodem's also at seven
years, and Joe Jacks' at two years.
John, Joseph and Nlehodem Lewan
dowski and Joseph Jacks met John Zie
lenski in Michael Cortez' saloon, on
Frankfort and North Robey strejts, on
the night of April 2. The Lewandow
ski crowd belonged to nne faction of
St. Hedwig's Roman Catholic Church.
Zielenskl belonged to the other faction.
All the men drank considerable b,er
and fell to discussing politics. The
discussion soon led to a quarrel, with
the result that a man name 1 Adam
struck Joe Lewandowekl on the head
with a rubber hose. Zlelenski, who up
to this time had only taken part in the
conversation, now also engaged in the
fight. The fighters were driven Into
the street by the saloon-keeper, and
there Zielenskl was badly beaten. His
skull was crushed. April 30 he died.
The trial of the Lewandowskis and
Jacks began before Judge Baker on
Wednesday.
(U1S)II0.0KE1 BY THE ltU'E.
ew Yorkers Who Hate Been Gheu TU
ties by tbe Holy Father.
Tbe new from Rome that Colonel
George Bliss has been ennobled by
Pope Leo XIII gives that New York
lawyer and politician a notable distinc
tion. He has been made a commenda
tore of the Order of St. Greg ry the
Great, and, as the number of these is
limited to seventy, Colonel Bliss finds
himself In a select circle, and a seat
tore J one at that, since its members
are of all countries It is doubtful If
the H)e, who is a man of a thousand
cares, knows Colonel Bliss well enough
to single, him out for Hpecial distinc
tion, and it was the metropolitan of
New York, Archbishop Corrlgan, who
recommended the honoring of the colo
nel, as Is ueual in such cases.
It is on record that the former car
dinal arch Bishop of New York, Dr. Mc
Closkey, flatly refused to endorse one
appointment that had been wheedled
out of good-natured Plus IX. And there
have beon other c-ses. But Colonel
Bliss' new title will stand.
Colonel Bliss is a convert to the Ro
man Catholic faith, and is an enthusi
ast. A number of years ago, when
William Waldorf Astor represented tho
United Slates at Rome, tho bankrupt
Italian government seized the Amer
ican College, and even threatened to
loot the Vatican with Its priceless
works of art and literature. American
Catholics were aroused, and none more
so than Colonel Bliss. The Republican
secretary of state, a friend of Colonel
Bliss, as was tho then president, was
appealed to, with the result that Italy
was warned through Mr. As tor to keep
its hands off the American College,
which it did. It is for this that Colo
nel Bliss has been rewarded with a
title.
There are three classes In the Order
of St. Gregory the Great. The "great
cross" la limited to thirty, the com-
mendatori to seventy and the cheva
liers to 300. Colonel Bliss may here
after wear a cross of eight points, the
points In red enamel, bordered with
gold acd radiating from a gold center,
having on it a head of St. Gregory.
Tae cross is attached to a small wreath
of gold and green enam-1, which is
hung ground the neck from a broad rtd
ribbon with a yellow border. More
over, Colonel Bliss may wear a uni
form, though he la not compelled to do
so, In which a blue roat embroidered
with silver, white trousers, a sword
and a cocked hat figure. As the colo
nel Is a plain American citiz n in spite
of bis title, he will probably forego the
uniform.
These honors really mean no more In
one sense than an honorary degree
conferred by a university, but, offered
to so few, they excite emulation, and It
is a fact that many Catholics look upon
them much as a Frenchman does on
the cross of the Legion of Honor, or an
Eng'lshman on a membership in the
Order of the Bath. Colonel George
Bliss is tho second New Yorker to bo
come a commendatore ff tbe Order of
St. Gregory. The other is Major John
D. Kelly, a New York business-man,
iving in Brooklyn, and the eloso per
sonal friend of Cardinal James Gibbon?,
of Baltimore.
Another New York business-roan who
has been honored by the popj is John
Good, who is a count of the Holy Ro
man Empire. Ha is a ropa manufac
turer, whose fight against the cordage
trust attrae'ed so much atteution.
Colonel Coppinger, who married a
diughter of Jamea G. Blaine, and who
served Pius IX in the Papal Zouaves,
was honored with a title and decora
tions by that prelate. There is a printer
In New York, James Ladley by name,
who was decorated by the pope for sim
ilar service. "Red Jim" McDermott
the informer whom the Clan-na-Gael
runout of America a few years ago,
was a chevalier in the Order of St.
Gregory the Great, and is yet if he Is
alive. He ran away from his home
in Ireland and joined the papal army.
It is not on record that he did any
fighting, but he had a soft post of dity
near tje pope, and his assumed piety
rather than his rash bravery led Popj
Pius to honor him with a title.
It was widely circulated at one time
that James G. Blaine wore a papal
decoration, especially after he was sun
struck in 1876 on the steps of the Capi
tol at Washington. The friends who
rushel to his assistance, on tearing
open his shirt, found a small medal
which had been hung about his neck
by his mother, who was a devout Cath
olic, though his father was not. Mr.
Blaine was not a Catholic, and was not
decorated by a pope, though it would
probably have caused him no uneasi
ness If he had been.
The pope emphatically endorsed the
conferring of a medal on Augustin Daly
by the University of Notre Dame for
the theatrical manager's work in ele
vating the drama. There are other j
American, too, whom the pope has
honored when recommended to do so
The late Eugene Kelly, of New York,
could have been decorated any number
of times, owing to Lis philanthropy and
love of his churc'j. But he shrank
from publicity of any sort. The came
is true of Patrick Farroly, president of
the American News Com puny of New
York. ivYio JorJfc Commercial Aditr
fir.. Inspiring.
A friend who once spent a few days
In Lincoln, Neb., and beheld the evolu
tions of a company of cadets, write us
as follows;
Picture in your mind a bleak Decem
ber day, heavy clouds shutting out the
light of a winter sunset, as the clarion
notes of a martial air rose above the
discordant din of jour capital 'city; a
corps of University Cadets swept by
with soldierly strides, their faces
alight with boyish pride that bespoke
true patriotism in the man. Tears
sprang to my eyes when I saw among
the interested throng of spectators a
few of those who, perchance, once stood
shoulder to shoulder with Grant in the
"wilderness," or rode "with Sherman
to tho sea," or perhaps fought "above
the clouds" with Joe Hooker, who once
more lift tho bent shoulders and assume
the Boldlers' bearing, as these light
hearted "boys" swing thro' tho old-
time evolutions beneath tbe starry folds
of the grard old flag that was to them
an oriflamme of victory, as ardently
followed as ever was the "white plume
of Navarre," or tho golden eagles
"Tho Human litglonH bore
From the river of Enynt' cloudy sullies,
Their prldo to the polar shore."
I have floated on the waters of that
"Sapphire Sea,'' whose waves lave the
shore of "The Thousand Isles," as tho
sun roso in his glorious majesty above
the enchanting picture a glimpse of
Fairyland that entranced the silent
voyagers; I have lain asleep on the
Colorado plain, under the pale stars,
awakened at dawn to see above and be
yond the Intervening leagues, shrouded
In darkness, the snowy summit of
Pike's Peak, aflame with the morning
sunlight, and thought of the dreamer,
Bunyan, and his vision of "The Delec
table Mountains."
I have stood above the bay as the
sun went down beyond the "Golden
Gate," bathing tho city in a sea of
splendor, and remembered the exile of
Patmns and his wondrous vision of a
city of pure gold, "that bath no need
of sun or moon, and the gates thereof
are not shut by day, for there shall be
no night there." But never again,
while the crimson tide of life course
along my veins, shall I behold such a
glorious picture as when the last rays
of the setting sun, streaming thro' a
rift in the clouds, shone full on the flag
obscurfd a moment before by the
Bmoke, as on a battle field, proudly
floating as if once more triumphantly
waving over our conquered foes; for a
mi ment an awful silence, then, like an
spiratlon, came to each the realization
that we had drifted too far away from
"Old Glory" and true Americanism.
In all these years we havo been bowing
the knee to tho "golden calf" drifted
until the nation's peril is greater than
ever before since rang freedom's bell,
proclaiming "liberty throughout the
land to all the inhabitants thereof,"
and at tho hands of the most insidious,
diabolical and persistent foe of human
freedom and happiness that ever cursed
the world since the "morning stars
first sang together"!
May Sod, in his it finite wisdom,
vouchsafe that Protestant'sm soon
awake from her suicidal sleep, ere it is
the sleep of death in the dungeons of
the revived inquisition.
The Issue in Manitoba.
Tne reply of Manitoba to the Gov
ernor General cf Canada, refusing to
again permit sectarian schools to share
the public funds, is courteous but firm
and dignified. It will no doubt be
adopted by the legislature, and then
the issue will be made. Tbe question
for the dominion government will be
the wisdom of forcing upon the people
of the province a law that they aio ut
terly opposed to, one which they have
repealed and refused to re-enact in
obedience to the command of the Gov
ernor General of Canada, after the
privy council of Great Britain has de
clared the right of appeal for remedial
legislation.
Under the original school law in
Manitoba, framed to respect the old
treaty rights of the French Catholics,
tho Catholics were allowed separate
tchools, with a share of the public
funds. The development of Manitoba
has been more in keeping with that of
our own northwest than with French
Canada, the Protestants largely pre
dominating in the newer province. In
1890 this old law was repealed and a
new one enacted, which provided that
government assistance and grants of
public money are only given to what
may ho called national schools. All
teachers must pans the same examina
tion and all schools bo ln)ectod.
Tbe Catholic appealed to the courts
when this law was punned, but the
Manitoba courts rendered a decision
maintaining Unconstitutionality. They
then appealed the case to tbe supremo
court of tbe dominion, which decided
against the new law. Tbe provincial
government carried the cate to the Im
perial privy council, and tbe law waa
again declared intra vires of the pro
vincial legislature. Tho judgment ex
plicitly doclared that no right or privi
lege existing at the union had been
prejudicially affected. The Catholics
then luld all their tr m upon the edu
cational clauses of the British North
American act and the provincial con
stitution, expeclally the act of 1870
granting apjival in case of infringement
of rights established after the union.
They appealed to the dominion govern
ment to disallow tho act, but that court
decided no appeal admissible. The
matter was again appealed to tho im
perial privy counell, which in Janunry
of this year reversed the decision of the
Canad tan supreme court, declaring that
a right of appeal to federal authorities
did exist.
The dominion government, acting on
the command of the privy council, in
March decided to make a recommenda
tion In favor of remedial legislation,
and a message to that effect was sent
to the Lieutenant Governor of Mani
toba. Both sides to this controversy have
ome constitutional ground to stnnd
upon, but beyond the question of strict
legality lies that of wise policy. The
Protestant population of Manitoba was
132,XK) in 1890, and tho Catholic popu
lation about 20,000. The provincial
government hss the right to make laws
for education, and it is held responsible
for the education of tho masses. It
claims to be simply fulfilling its duty
in providing that all schools receiving
publlo funds shall be inspected and all
teachers pass tho same examination.
Tho view of this question' taken by
Manitoba is in harmony with tho edu
cational policy of this country. It has
always been the settled policy of thla
c luntry that there should be no secta
rianism in the public schools, that there
should be no grant s publlo money to
any church school. So firmly flxel is
this policy in the United States that
no sect or denomination has sought to
change the law. All are satisfied with
It. The sympathy of the people of the
States will therefore bo with the Prov
ince of Manitoba In this controversy.
Premier Greenway of Manitoba con
cedes that the dominion parliament
has tho power to impose upon Manitoba
a law to which an overwhelming ma
jority of the people are opposed. But
he says: "We are a free people, and
we will not ho made slaves." And he
quotes Gladstone's warning that It will
he wive for parliament to think thrice
before coercing a loyal and law abiding
community. The controversy promises
not only to arouse Manitoba to the
point of rebellion, but to so affect the
whole dominion as to precipitate a re
ligious fight into the next campaign
for the election of a parliament on this
issue. Clii'-ago lnte Own.
Thanks God.
Chicago, June 21. Rditor The
American: I wish you ti publish the
following In answer to Hn attack upon
the A. P. A. and the Methodist Epis
copal church, printed Jure 15, 1895, in
a stingy little sheet called the Observer,
edited by John J. Flinn, 315 Dearborn
street, Chicago: Mr. Flinn is evidently
gr atly annoyed by the progress of the
A. P. A., and he Is undoubUdly a rank
Roman Catholic Irish mnand In league
with the outgone chawmouth party.
He had better convert his talent to the
work of annihilating the evil wrought
by the Roman Catholic church. It is
possible that the affairs of the city can
be efficiently managed without tbe as
sistance of any' of .the former corrupt
faction. Under the preceding adminis
tration no Protestant, whatever his
nationality, could obtain even a menial
position. The A. P. A. Is an excellent
antidote for Romanism. The order is
just budding, and will soon be in full
bloom; the fragrance which it exudes
is not at all offensive to true Amer
icans. I am in a position to kuow that at
least four-fifths of the charitable funds
of- the Methodist Episcopal church go
to relieve indigent Roman Catholic
subjects. Very few Protestants ask for
help perhaps from a lack of gall, bu
more likely because Protestants are
generally a better class of people than
the Romanists. I am glad this is free
America, and that this fair land is not
and never will be under tbe absolute
control of His Big-Horned Highness
yonder on the bank of the Tiber. When
God is for us, who can be against us?
Every true American thanks God for
freedom. W. J. KENDALL.
ht! Fulton street.