f K » o I -’ '* Vf.ec»a+,on of ABPM175 ^ ’SV* Ae>PMi75 C.2, Copyright, 1909 by American Seating Company Chicago, 111. INTRODUCTORY NOTE HIS little book is presented to the Catholic Clergy of the United States, with the compliments of a manufacturing firm, not for the purpose of selling its goods, but rather to express an obligation and manifest an appreciation for favors received. Representatives of our firm were present in a business capacity during all the sessions of the Catholic Missionary Congress. We had arranged a private box for the convenience of the visiting clergy, which was situated on the first balcony of the hall, over- looking the platform. The furnishings for it were taken from our stores and were made at our own factories. Through the exhibiting of these furnishings at the Congress we received many splendid orders for which the small rental for the space could scarcely be called an honest return. None of our representatives—some of whom were Catholics and some non-Catholics—failed to be impressed with the magnitude of the gathering and the spirit with which each problem was grasped. Instead of finding it difficult to secure men to attend, we found that we had volunteers from our offices in plenty. The kindness shown us at that Congress was marked, and what little co-operation we gave was returned to us in a business way. We solicited from the offices of The Catholic Church Extension Society some information as to the best means of showing our gratitude. The result of the consultation is presented in this little book, a Souvenir of the Congress, which we gladly send out to the Clergy with our compliments. We asked a well-known Catholic priest to write it, and he con- sented to do so very gladly. He would accept no remuneration. We desire here to express our gratitude to him, though he under- takes the work as an opportunity for doing good and asks not even our thanks. All portraits of Prelates who took part at the Congress were made by the Matzene Co. and Mr. John Laveccha, prominent Chicago photographers, who have kindly given their permission to use same. We are indebted to Mr. Frank B. Conlin, well-known Boston photographer, for use of one portrait. We wish to express the hope that the perusal of this little book will afford information and pleasure to those who receive it. Sincerely yours, AMERICAN SEATING COMPANY. 7 Speakers’ Platform and High Pulpit, from which all speeches were delivered. A Study and Appreciation of the first American Catholic Missionary Congress EVER yet have I been given such a strange task as is now before me; not strange in the task itself, but rather in the circumstances surround- ing it. A business firm—a corporation—asks me to write a study and appreciation of the great Catholic Missionary gathering held in Chicago last November, and has promised to print and circulate my effort at their own expense. Candidly, I asked the reason why, and they answered by what is printed over their name in the introduction. Not having all that confidence in human nature, and especially in human nature run to business, that a real saint might have, I did suspect that the firm intended to do a little good and judicious advertising. I am not averse to that, for I could not close my eyes to the fact that their plans call for a large outlay of money in printing and postage, and that the returns will be of a very indirect kind. I weighed the whole question and came to the conclusion that, if business men are willing to put so much money into producing a book which will give them just a LITTLE ATTENTION, surely I ought to be willing to do, without money and without price, the work of fill- ing up its pages and securing for the Cause A GREAT DEAL OF ATTEN- TION. Practically the whole book is being given to the work of missions at some one else ’s expense. It would be a shame to let the chance go by- I gave long and serious thought to the plan which I should follow in studying the Congress and its re- sults. It was not an easy task by any means. The Congress was so un- expectedly great that it rather took the breath away. It had been planned COPYRIGHT, 1909, BY JOHN L AVECCH A , CHICAGO MOST REV. JAMES E. QUIGLEY, D. D. Archbishop of Chicago copyright applied for by MATZENE CO. I CHICAGO HIS EXCELLENCY THE MOST REV. DIOMEDE FALCONIO. D. D Apostolic Delegate to the United States for a long time and yet it had never, in all the planning, reached the dig- nity of anything more than an ex- periment. Even if it were not par- ticularly successful, it was felt that much good would result and that, at least, a BEGINNING would be made. Then it was impossible to close one’s eyes to the fact that half the enthusi- asm of Protestant missionary effort is worked up by missionary conventions and that, if we hope ever to rival them, we too, must become enthusias- tic. A beginning SHOULD be made. Little more was expected. The Con- gress opened^—and with it a box of surprises. First occasions are usually failures; but this one was a success with a vengeance. The wonder of it was that there had been great gatherings in the Church of the United States before—Councils, Consecrations, Jubilees, University Openings, etc.—^yet, none brought forth the enthusiasm and crowds which marked the First Missionary Congress. Of course, an Archbishop had sent out the call, and had lent to it the prestige of his great name, but what of that? Other Arch- bishops had issued invitations before ; and this Archbishop was one who had not taken a very prominent part in national Church affairs. He was rather one of the very quiet kind, seldom heard of outside of his own diocese. He was by incli- nation a man who did not seem to care about being heard of. It is true that he was at the head of what, in some respects, is probably the largest See in the United States and one of the largest in the world, but no one, much less he himself, ex- pected that the invitation could bring such an outpouring. The call of The Church Extension Society could scarcely supple- ment the invitation very strongly, for, wonderful as Church Extension has become, it is nothing compared with Protestant societies of the same kind ; and, after all, it is only three years old; so scarcely into its long trousers. There was no way of explaining the gathering, except that THE TIME WAS RIPE and that, deep down in the heart of every thoughtful Archbishop, Bishop and Priest, there was an 12 uneasiness, made all the stranger by the efforts of the Church Extension Society, concerning the laxity with which we had been fulfilling our missionary obligations. This uneasiness was strengthened all the more by the action of the Holy Father in taking us out of the list of missionary countries. It even reached beyond the limits of the United States, for Canada was represented by her foremost English-speaking Archbishop, by one of her missionary French Bishops, by the Administrator of one of her important Dioceses and by the Head of her recently formed Missionary Organization. That there was some reason for the uneasiness was plain. Missionary sentiment had not been stirred to any great extent and there were few who could deny the necessity for the stirring. As I watched the Procession on Sunday all these things flitted through my mind. Perhaps, it was well that I waited a while before deciding how I should treat the subject and perhaps it is better to have this study come months after the Congress. Of course, I attended all the sessions, but the Hall was very large and I was not always located just where I could hear. I had many duties, too, which took me from place to place. The result was that while I had a good general impression of everything, yet there were small details which would surely have been overlooked had I written at once about it. My waiting was rewarded, for yesterday, I saw the advance pages of the Report. In other words, I read, in cold type, the things I heard so eloquently expressed, and I had a chance to study them quietly and think them over. The waiting served my pur- pose well. Now that I have read ALL the addresses and sermons I can truthfully compare the Catholic Church in the United States and Canada to a sleeping nation—per- haps China would be the best com- parison, for China had a civilization which lead the ancient world and added to that civilization a coun- try immense in extent, teeming with a strong population, well in hand govemmentally and with opportuni- ties awaiting only the hand to seize copyright applied for by MATZENE CO. I CHICAGO MOST REV. JAMES H. BLENK, D. D. Archbishop ot New Orleans them. We are fond even now of calling China “The Sleeping Giant of the Orient.” The comparison may not be perfect, but the Missionary Congress has made me think of China. Here in the United States we have a Catholicity that has not been asleep to ALL its opportunities, but to many. Canada has almost half its population Catholic and most of it is com- pactly located where it must be reckoned with, but Canada sleeps in some things also. The United States has fifteen million Catholics, with seven million more in the Philippines. Her people are m/ostly of the great middle class who are really the strong support of Religion, but she is not wanting in men of wealth and influence. T he first thought which struck me—intensified by reading the Report—was that of the tremendous power of the Church, if it could only be awakened to Missionary needs. The enthusiasm of the people was wonderful, and, pardon me, if I boast of it, being one myself, the enthusiasm of the Priests more so. You can usually enthuse the people with a good cause, but the clergy are different. They have consecrated their lives to a cause which is always before them; the spiritual and temporal good of their own parish. One can scarcely blame them, if they are jealous of anything that even appears to interfere. There is a sort of holy shortsightedness—which is not strange and which custom has pronounced blameless — for advantages which are indirect only. But some of the Priests occupied the same seats all the time and were at every session. There was a little lunch room around the comer from the Armory: the man in charge of it never did such a business in his life before, and never saw so many Roman collars, for two-thirds of the Priests did not leave the vicinity of the Congress at all and made no attempt to walk the ten or twelve blocks between themselves and their hotels. The thought that if this was the awakening of the Catholic Church in America to her Missionary opportunities, a new power was surely being bom, was one that impressed me mightily. After all, here were the representatives of millions of people —fifteen million about. If even a pittance were contributed by those whom they could influence for the cause of Catholic Home and Foreign Missions, it would mean millions of dol- 14 lars per year. BUT THE CATHOLIC MISSIONARY LIVES AND WORKS ON ONE-SIXTH LESS THAN HIS PROTEST- ANT BROTHER. A million dollars for Catholic Missions, is as good as six millions for Protestant Missions even in a tem- poral way; and in a spiritual way results have spoken elo- quently in the past. If the Catholic Church could send a million dollars a year into Home and Foreign Missions from America alone, the story told by Father Dunn, in his paper on “The Propagation of the Faith” would have had triumph ringing through every word, and the whole Congress would have been a mighty ratification meeting. I remember hearing good old Archbishop Bourgade say once, that in spite of the fact that our Protestant brethren spend two hundred thousand dollars a year in his territory, yet if he had ten thousand dollars a year to build Mission Schools, he could empty other institutions of pupils, and save a great number of Mexican children to the Faith. I thought, as I looked at that enthusiastic crowd of lead- ers that an assessment of twenty cents a year, or one cent a month, on Catholic families, would do all the missionary work we required at home and abroad, for it would be spent by a thoroughly organized Church. I wondered if, since a word from AUTHORITY could secure the co-operation, would this gath- ering succeed in having that word spoken? Then, why has the word never been spoken? The Catholic Church in America is surely “The Sleeping Giant of the West.” I never realized it so much as I did at the Missionary Congress and I realize it more today, with the burning message of the Congress in print before me. So the first lesson taught, and a great lesson it was too, was of the POWER, of the latent force and the won- derful possibilities of the Church in America. But the second lesson was a sorrowful and a sad one. It was the terrible loss of opportunity. I could not feel that the severe things said at the Congress were unmerited. When I saw the gathering itself, heard the papers and the com- ments on them, thought how all was fifty years late and of the millions whom we have lost because we did not begin to think before, I confess, I was overwhelmed with confusion. Perhaps, after all, we have been a little too timid when it comes to considering our weaknesses. For an organization 15 COPYRIGHT APPLIED FOR BY MATZENE CO. i CHICAGO which has suffered so much as has the Catholic Church from abuse and misrepresentation, and having be- come so accustomed to bearing, patiently the lash applied by our enemies, we here in America are abnormally timid and resentful as individuals when a word of correc- tion is spoken from within. We shrink a little too much from an exposure of weak spots to ourselves, even though the exposure may serve to strengthen them. The hardest things that were said at the Congress were not said by the speakers who got credit for pro- ducing sensations. These hard things were the FACTS AND FIGURES given out by men whose experience in the missionary field made each statement as painful as a well directed blow. It is true that some were mild and apologetic in expressing themselves, but the mildness was like the sugar coat to a nasty pill—only a concession to sensitiveness which is a fault in itself. Indeed, I could do nothing better in my study of the Congress than to show by actual quotations what I mean. Before quoting, however, let me refer to the so-called great sensations of the Congress. To understand them, one has to realize the immense amount of work done for the Con- gress by the Chicago papers and the Associated Press. Every one wondered at the amount of publicity given, and credited it, very naturally, to excellent work by the Press Committee. They credited it wisely. But one thing they did not know. The Congress had scarcely begun before our Protestant breth- ren found that more attention was being paid to it than had been paid to any of their own missionary conventions ; so edi- torial offices of newspapers were not without letters of protest. On the face of it, perhaps the complaints had some justification, for Protestant missionary conferences were really larger, far larger, than was our first attempt; but ours was after all the FIRST and therefore significant from a news standpoint. But the good brethren could not understand the difference. A sensation worked up in the middle of the Congress would come MOST REV. ALEXANDER CHRISTIE, D. D. Archbishop of Oregon City 16 as a sort of legitimate excuse for the newspapers, and so the sensation, in fact two of them, promptly arrived. There was nothing in either the address of Dr. Kelley or Father Curry to cause an immense sensation, but still both were sent by tele- graph from one end of the country to the other and published in practically every large daily. I should not have said pub- lished, because the addresses themselves were not published. More or less garbled extracts were given out. Scare head- lines were put over them and a thrilling description joined all together. No one who attended the Congress recognized the speeches when they read the extracts and descriptions in the morning papers. Dr. Kelley’s speech was given on Monday afternoon. On Tuesday morning, in his announcements, he mildly pro- tested and asked the people to read, not the head-lines and the descriptions, but the address itself. But he took good care not to condemn the newspapers for what had been done. Friendly representatives of the press were in front of him and were doing the best they could for the Congress ; eager to send their papers all the matter it was possible to squeeze into the columns. Any protest made had to be a mild one, for, while feeling that the sensation would do harm, yet, it was a mani- fest impossibility to jeopardize the success of the press work by complaints. Then in more than one case changes in addresses did not show in the manuscripts furnished the press, so some speakers were to blame for part of the inaccuracies. Father Curry was probably treated worse than Dr. Kelley, for Settle- ments had many s3onpathizers, even amongst Catholics. No one doubted for an instant but that Father Curry was telling the exact truth, but many even of the newspaper men were actively engaged in encouraging Set- tlements. Then the paper was really too good to be passed without edi- torial comment, and Father Curry “went after’’ men in high places. Again, Chicago is the home of Hull House and the famous Jane Addams. COPYRIGHT APPLIED FOR BY MATZENE CO. (CHICAGO MOST REV. FERGUS PATRICK McEVAY, D. D. Archbishop of Toronto Carved Corpus. Furnished as part of decoration of speakers’ platform at the Congress. 18 station of the Cross (Carved Wood) 19 While Father Curry’s paper had reference principally to New York conditions, yet a good sensation was worked up, because it could be twisted into a denunciation of the Chicago institu- tion. These two little flurries had, however, one good effect. They called attention to the Congress amongst people who had scarcely noticed it before; but they had a bad effect in that they drew attention away from papers containing statements of facts and flgures which were of the utmost importance, and the controversy which resulted buried matters of greatest moment. Let me come now to some of these statements. T he words of the Apostolic Delegate, sent to the Congress as Special Delegate by the Holy Father to show his own per- sonal interest, made a paper of great importance. While blessing the Congress and the Society which planned it, the hope was expressed that AMERICA, IN ITS YOUTHFUL LIFE AND VIGOR, MIGHT TAKE UP THE BATTLE OF THE CROSS. There is no discounting the fact that Rome is anxious and is watching with great interest the Missionary developments of the United States. Indeed, time and time again, every one has felt that the prosperity of the Universal Church has much to do with the way in which the American Church develops herself. The older countries of Europe are not giving much consolation to the great heart of the Church, but the possibilities in new lands, like the United States and Canada, are worth cultivating, if only for their influence on other civilizations. Rome is not blind to the fact that much can be done in America if America only wills to do it and surely it is better to do it ourselves than have the order come, perhaps, too late to save our reputation for zeal, THAT IT MUST BE DONE. Rome is not ignorant of our losses and Rome is not ignorant of the fact that we are not united in any great work which concerns the Universal Church, further than the supporting of Diocesan and Parish needs. The sermon of Archbishop Blenk referred to our hundred years of marvelous growth ; referred to 1908 as the centennial year of great flourishing Bishoprics—the year of stately pageants and imposing manifestations of vigorous Catholic life and activity; but, especially, to it as the year of our 20 transition from the status of a missionary country to the rights, privileges, advantages and DUTIES of a Catholic coun- try immediately under the care of the Holy See ; but the Arch- bishop made THE YEAR FOREVER MEMORABLE BY THE MOVEMENT OF HEARTS AND MINDS, WHICH CULMI- NATED IN THE CONGRESS. Archbishop Blenk demanded BRAVERY IN LOOKING AT CONDITIONS, in stating them and in carrying out the lesson we were to learn. His sermon was a call for courage in the study of conditions which would follow on the three days of the Congress. When these actual sessions of the Congress began, the first address, that of Archbishop Quigley, had in it things which naturally gave us food for thought. He reviewed the work of the Sacred Congregation of the Propaganda; referred to the Holy Father’s desire to be a Missionary Pope and to restore all things in Christ; showed clearly that the work of the Church has a two-fold activity, internal and external, and added: “WE WOULD BE WORSE THAN THE UNBELIEVER IF WE DID NOT HAVE A CARE OF OUR OWN HOUSEHOLD, WE SHOULD BE LESS THAN CATHOLIC, WERE WE NOT PRESENT IN EVERY FIELD WHERE THE BATTLE OF THE CROSS IS BEING FOUGHT.” When the hearers stopped to remember that America, Catholic America, is lack- ing, he could get the implied rebuke that was contained in the Archbishop’s words. Archbishop Quigley pointed out, too, the fact that every missionary eifort has now been placed in charge of responsible agencies and, by implication again, he showed us that there was no excuse for holding back. “With the exception of the annual collection for Indian and Negro Missions,” he said, “THE CHURCH IN AMERICA HAD DONE PRACTICALLY NOTHING SYSTEMATICALLY AND AUTHORITATIVELY FOR HOME AND FOREIGN MISSIONS.” The Apostolic Delegate once more appeared to speak in the name of the Holy Father. He spoke mildly and diplomatic- ally, as was expected, but with emphasis he stated that there were thousands and thousands of our brethren in Religion, especially the immigrants, who are in danger of losing their Faith for the want of Priests and Churches. He said that THE NEED WAS OP APOSTOLIC MEN and he prayed that the Clergy would be moved by a true Holy Spirit for the 21 copyright applied for by MATZENE CO. I CHICAGO salvation of souls, that they may be imbued with the Spirit of self-denial and of Christian charity, which char- acterized the Pioneers of our Holy Religion. THROUaH THE WHOLE ADDRESS, ONCE MORE WAS FELT THE UNDERCURRENT OF AN APPEAL TO CHANGE SOME PRESENT CONDITIONS INTO OTHERS MORE IN HARMONY WITH THE SPIRIT OF THE GREAT CATHOLIC CHURCH. The address of Mr. Hynes, coming from a layman, a man of standing in his community, particularly a man whose education and devotion is marked in his home city, showed what could be done were the Laity to begin now to take an active interest. Mr. Hynes very boldly pledged the support of the Catholic Laity, if the caU be made upon them, and later on he showed the spirit, when, after listening to the facts and figures presented by the differ- ent speakers, he pledged five thousand dollars to the Cause. The work of presenting the actual needs started with the paper read by Father Dunn for Msgr. Freri, the Director-Gen- eral for the United States of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. It was startling to learn that the total population of the missionary world, leaving out all countries recently taken from the Propaganda, which includes the United States, Canada, the British Islands, Holland, most of Germany, etc., is one billion one hundred million, and the number of Catholics only six million eight hundred and fifty thousand; that there is only one Catholic out of every fifteen million people and only one Missionary for every ninety-three thousand non-Cath- olics in these countries; or, as Father Dunn graphically said: “In other words, TODAY, EIGHTEEN CENTURIES AFTER THE REDEMPTION OF MANKIND, THERE ARE OVER A THOUSAND MILLION BEINGS WHO HAVE NOT RE- CEIVED THE GOSPEL MESSAGE.” These millions are not those who live where they have had a chance, BUT MOST OF THEM HAVE NEVER HEARD EVEN THE NAME OF OUR LORD, JESUS CHRIST. ‘ ‘NO WONDER, ’ * Father Dunn said. MOST REV. SEBASTIAN G. MESSMER, D. D. Archbishop of Milwaukee 22 “THAT THE STATISTICS ARE STARTLING, ASTOUND- ING, HEARTRENDING, AND FORM, IN THE HANDS OF INFIDELS, ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE DIVINITY OF OUR HOLY RELIGION.” “The Church,” Father Dunn said, “has been faithful to her mission from the beginning, but the Church can carry on that work, which in the words of our beloved Holy Father, is ‘pre- eminently her work, ’ only in proportion to the means placed at her disposal by her children. ’ ’ Perhaps, one of the most pow- erful statements made by Father Dunn was that in one district of China alone. North Kiang-Su, TEN THOUSAND CATE- CHUMENS COULD BE BAPTISED EVERY YEAR, IF THERE WERE PRIESTS TO MINISTER TO THEM AND FUNDS TO BUILD CHAPELS. “The crop,” he said, “is whitening, but there is no one to gather the harvest. ’ ’ Father Dunn also made the statement that Catholics were not doing their duty to their infidel and pagan brethren, and he ventured to say that perhaps the reason why the light of Faith was get- ting dimmer in many so-called Catholic countries was because they were not living up to their duties and obligations in this regard. Again he said that the Catholic whose charity is lim- ited by the shadow of his Church steeple fails to understand all the obligations of his vocation. We cannot deny the truth, either, of his assertion that one of the necessary conditions of success in our propagation of the Gospel at home is to con- tribute to its propagation abroad. I do not know why it is that this paper on Foreign Missions did not sink deeper into the minds and hearts of all. I have seen little reference made to it in the Catholic press. Of course it is not as “live” matter as was Mr. Cockran’s magnificent effort, but it was solid in facts and sadly needed. One of the speakers, referring to the newspaper reports, mentioned that an editor had remarked to him that it was hard to report Catholic affairs in the secular press, because people wanted NEWS. Catholic speakers confined themselves to COPYRIGHT, 1909, BY F. B. CONLIN, BOSTON MOST REV. WILLIAM H. O’CONNELL, D. D. 23 Archbishop of Boston preaching the Gospel and the Gospel was not NEWS. Still, it seems to me that the story of our negligence in the Foreign Mis- sionary field is news enough to be interesting to Catholic read- ers who look to the Catholic papers for much spiritual encour- agement. Father Dunn’s address is worth their attention. If we could only get our people to see all the force there is in it, to understand the terrible rebuke that it conveys, to feel the lash of facts about their shoulders, perhaps, it would not be necessary to call many Missionary Congresses at great expense to work up that sentiment which is necessary for the spread of Religion. On Monday afternoon, the second session was held. The story of the Holy Childhood Association was well told by Father Willms. It was a story of achievement by children. It was surprising to learn that LITTLE CHILDREN HAD GIVEN OVER SEVEN HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS IN THE YEAR 1907-8 TO FOREIGN MISSIONS AND WERE SUP- PORTING TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY-SIX MISSIONS IN THE VARIOUS HEATHEN COUNTRIES. T here were astounding statements and all facts in the paper by Dr. Burke of Canada which followed. Plainly and squarely he told of conditions and necessities in the great Northwest. His pleading was for Priests. He told of the thou- sands and thousands who are fiocking to the new provinces opened up by the Canadian government. Many of these are English speaking Catholics and many are from the United States. The Northwest of Canada is taken care of entirely by a French religious order, the Oblate Fathers, and Dr. Burke gave them due credit for the tremendous hardships they had undergone, when the whole Northwest was an Indian Mission. But they are facing new conditions today, these devoted French Oblates. No longer can they speak to men only in the French tongue. Slavic races, the Germans, the Ruthenians, are set- tling in the country and Dr. Burke told us that they were often deprived of all the blessings of religion. Why? ''BECAUSE THOSE WHOSE LIVES ARE CAST IN PLEASANTER PLACES; THOSE WITH ALL THE ADVANTAGES OF COMPLETE RELIGIOUS SERVICES, THOSE TO WHOM THE GOODS OF THE WORLD HAVE COME ABUND- 24 ANTLY, THAT THEY MIGHT BE USED WISELY TO PRO- CURE THE GREATEST GOOD, REFUSE TO RECOGNIZE THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES.” Was it timidity in Dr. Burke when he quoted “and there passed that way also a SAMARITAN”? Did he not forget a Priest and a Levite? The Samaritan needed is a priestly one. “Give me a good priest,” said one of the Canadian Bishops, “and I shall have little anxiety for the extension of God’s kingdom in the place he labors.” Dr. Burke pleaded for more Priests. He showed that already the fact that they are needed and that there is a Society to encourage vocations, has brought forth offers. Students from the Seminaries of Canada are volunteering to become students in a Missionary College for the great Northwest. THE MOST TERRIBLE FACT BROUGHT OUT BY DR. BURKE WAS THAT THERE ARE ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND RUTHENIANS IN THE NORTHWEST WITHOUT PRIESTS OF THEIR NATIONALITY OR WHO CAN SPEAK THEIR LANGUAGE. Their appeal has come to the French Bishops. The Ruthenians want to acquire English, the language of the country, and the French Bishops can send them neither English nor Ruthenian speaking priests. Dr. Burke pleaded that a Missionary College should be established to take these young Ruthenians and train them for the spiritual care of their own people. T he Canadian speaker was followed by the American Arch- bishop, John B. Pitaval, who was introduced to the Con- gress as a Missionary who had spent his entire life in the field. He certainly looked like a man with the good health necessary for such a life. His paper concerned New Mexico and Arizona. It was a wonderful paper indeed. He told us that the history of Catholic Missions in New Mexico is unequaled in the United States. He spoke of the hardships that the Missionaries of Spain and of France suffered in planting the Church in the Southwest. He said that growth had been started with the blood of hundreds of the faithful Indian con- verts of the Missions, as well as of their spiritual Fathers. Christianity in the Southwest ante-dates Plymouth Rock by three years and ante-dates the birth of our own Nation one hundred years. He said that three years before Plymouth 25 copyright applied for by MATZENE CO.iCHICAGO Rock there were eleven Churches in New Mexico and a century before the birth of our Nation there were half a hundred permanent Churches, nearly all built of stone. Twenty different towns at one time or another mur- dered their missionaries. Some re- peated the crime and UP TO THE YEAR 1700 FORTY MISSION- ARIES WERE SLAIN IN NEW MEXICO, TWO BY THE APACHES, BUT ALL THE REST BY THEIR OWN FLOCKS. The Archbishop then turned to the present situation. He plainly said that the Faith in New Mexico was in MOST REV. JOHN BAPTIST PITAVAL, D. D. Archbishop of Santa Fe danger; not only in danger, but in imminent danger. “It would be a shame,” he said, “if we would permit this field, wrested amid constant perils and through indescribable sacri- fices from paganism and heathendom and changed into a Garden of God to revert to its former condition. Does it not seem as though these historic figures of a bygone age were appealing to us with outstretched arms, not to permit the work founded upon their life’s blood to go to utter ruin?” He showed that New Mexico is larger than the six New England States, New York and New Jersey combined; that it has one hundred and thirty-three thousand Catholics, the ma- jority Mexicans; that there are only forty-four churches with resident pastors, but three hundred and forty missions and stations. HE SAID THAT HE HAS PARISHES LARGER THAN THE STATE OP MASSACHUSETTS ADMINIS- TERED TO BY ONE PRIEST AND THAT IT HAS TAKEN HIM TWENTY-TWO DAYS OF PRACTICALLY CONSTANT TRAVEL BY RAIL AND BY WAGON TO MAKE THE CIR- CUIT OF ONE PARISH to administer confirmation in the dif- ferent missions and stations. So few are the priests that sick calls are attended at a distance of two hundred to two hundred and fifty miles. Catholics die without the Sacraments on this account. The cause of it all is lack of priests, but the Bishop very plainly said that even if priests were to offer themselves he could not accept them for he had no funds with 26 which to support them. He brought down the house by quot- ing Charles F. Lummis, who spoke of some districts in the territory where “a homed toad might scratch a living if it remained single, but were doomed to starvation if led into matrimony.” Reluctantly the Archbishop confessed that THERE WERE ONLY THREE PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS IN THE DIOCESE OF SANTA FE, BUT THAT IN ONE SINGLE PARISH OF THE DIOCESE AS MANY AS FIVE PROT- ESTANT MISSION SCHOOLS WERE PLACED. He ex- plained that the public schools amongst the Mexicans are prac- tically useless. The school tax in the impoverished communi- ties permits the employment of a Mexican teacher perhaps one, two or three months of the year. These protestant mission schools have good American teachers all the year around. If the people are desirous of having an education for their children they must send them there. These schools are built and sup- ported exclusively by Protestant mission funds and the system, he says, is supplemented by boarding schools in the cities, in which the Superintendent of the school draws ten dollars a month from mission societies for each pupil. The Catholic parents have only to say in excuse, “For the love of God, Bishop, what shall we do?. Why don’t you give us schools as the Protestants do?” THINK OF THIS SITUATION. PROT- ESTANT SCHOOLS IN EXCLUSIVELY CATHOLIC DIS- TRICTS AND FILLED WITH CATHOLIC PUPILS—AND IT IS TO THE PROSPEROUS CATH- OLIC CHURCH IN AMERICA THAT THE STORY IS TOLD. The Archbishop said that the Pres- byterians spent sixty thousand dol- lars in one year in New Mexico alone, and that in the whole territory all the sects spent two hundred thousand dollars for missionary purposes, mostly to found and maintain these schools in Catholic villages. The Archbishop of Santa Fe and the Bishop of Tucson together received that same year for missionary pur- poses just nine hundred and seventy dollars and seventy cents. COPYRIGHT APPLIED FOR BY MATZENE CO. i CHICAGO VERY REV. A. E. BURKE, D. D., LL. D. 27 President of the Catholic Church Extension Society of Canada RCHBISHOP PITAVAL’S paper was an “eye opener.’’ If the Congress had done nothing more than to place this story before the Catho- lic public it would have been worth all that it cost. It was a terrific arraignment of our apathy. Its effect upon the Congress was decidedly marked. The next paper was that of Dr. Kelley. It is scarcely neces- sary to make quotations. The newspapers have done that, without caring whether they were correct or not. He pointed out, first of all, the evil of forgetting and of being too cautious to speak out. He pointed out the fact that we have not been looking the missionary situation squarely in the face. He showed that it was well to be conservative, but that there is a general evil of being ultra-conservative and said that if progress is to be made we must be willing to consider the situation just as it is. “For caution,’’ he said, “tunneled no mountains, ex- plored no mines of hidden wealth and builded no monuments to progress.’’ He showed that the missionary command was the greatest and strongest Jesus Christ gave and that the Apostle takes highest place among the Saints. He showed that the glory of every church has been in her Apostolic spirit—in her missionaries. Speaking of the Church in America, he referred to its great- ness and its powerful infiuence for good on the Church of the world; but plainly stated that we were asleep; that we were wrapped up in the parochial idea and we forgot that without the Church Universal we would droop like a willow by a dried up rivulet. “Never in all history has the call been sounded so strongly from Rome as today; never have we been more urged to live the really Catholic life, which is missionary and zealous to the fibre. ’ ’ Plainly, he said, that the Church in America stands alone among the towering Churches of the world, as “missionless.’’ Dr. Kelley then went into a consideration of some of the reasons for this. He appealed to the Seminaries and Colleges to add something to what they already have, and that something to be a cultivation of the missionary spirit. He asked that mission- ary organizations be established amongst the students, for there are a great many Seminaries where they do not exist. He asked that students be taught the glory of the missionary spirit, the 28 beauty of self-sacrifice for God and Religion, the duty of think- ing first of the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and of put- ting aside other considerations. If these things were done, we would be ready to accomplish anything, even the conversion of America. He pointed out that the Protestant Seminaries cultivate mis- sions more than we did and gave the example of Yale, which supports its own missionary organization, having a Protestant University in China. He made the statement, on the authority of a Congregational clergyman, that four-fifths of the growth of Protestantism is due to its missions. He begged that we should not permit an3rthing to make us forget our duty to missions. He pointed out that we had always been generous to political movements for the liberty of an oppressed people, but, good as this might be, yet the evil was that we had allowed some of these things to OVERSHADOW the real necessities. Of the six great lights that had gone out in Methodism—six bishops who had recently died—three bore Catholic names — Fitzgerald, Joyce and McCabe. “THEY WILL WITNESS AGAINST US WITH VOICES THAT NO GRAND ORGANS IN GRANDER BASILICAS CAN DROWN ON THE DAY OF RECKONING.” Dr. Kelley pleaded then for more interest in the Church in America and less in race questions. He asked that we consider the NEEDS HERE and that we remember always that we are first Catholics and that OUR GREAT DUTY LIES IN AMERI- CA. The race question can easily be left to settle itself nat- urally. “We do not need,” he cried, “the same language, the same blood, the same parish, the same school, but we do need the same unselfish love for our Faith, the same zeal for its exten- sion.” His reference to Societies was by no means a condemnation, but an appeal to our organizations to do more for missions, to remember that the charity side of them was very small, when it should be very large, and to remember that it is A TERRIBLE MISTAKE TO DEVELOP THE SOCIAL AND SELFISH TO THE EXCLUSION OF HIGHER CONSIDERATIONS. Referring to the work of our Protestant brethren, he spoke of the two Pastors of the First Presbyterian Church of Clinton, Iowa; one who lived in Clinton and THE OTHER WHOM 29 copyright applied for by MATZENE CO. I CHICAGO THE CONGREGATION NEVER SAW, THOUGH THEY PAID HIM A SALARY, A MISSIONARY WORKING IN SIAM. The Very Rev. William H. Ketch- am is the Director of the Bureau of Indian Missions. Probably Father Ketcham knows more than any other man in the country of the con- dition of our Indian missions. His paper was full of very interesting facts and figures. How he boiled down so much information is really a wonder. I confess that, for the first time, I understood thoroughly the Peace Policy of President Grant and how the Church was injured by its discontinuance. The throwing of such a tremendous burden upon the Catholics of the country suddenly could not fail to give us new responsi- bilities and new worries. The loss by the change of the gov- ernment agreement amounted annually to three hundred and ninety-four thousand seven hundred and fifty-six dollars. That annual burden was shifted to the shoulders of the Catholic public, but the figures given by Father Ketcham contain the most interesting part of his message, for they show that we are not bearing the burden very well. Last year it required two hundred and thirty-one thousand dollars to carry on the Indian work and out of that, one hun- dred and twenty-seven thousand eight hundred and forty-three dollars was contributed by Mother Katherine Drexel. In other words, THIS ONE LADY CONTRIBUTED OVER ONE-HALF OF ALL THE MONEY SPENT. Father Ketcham said plainly that even this large amount was not sufficient and that Catholic Indian missions are barely holding their own. Toward the end of his paper he made reference to the fact that this money depends entirely upon the life of Mother Katherine. I have made inquiry to find what was behind the statement. I was told that Mother Katherine has simply the use of the income of a large part of the Drexel estate. This income she uses for the Indian and Negro missions and the support of her own work amongst them. At her death the principal is to be, most of it, given to religious institutions VERY REV. JOHN E. BURKE Director General, Catholic Board for Work Among the Colored People 30 located in or near the City of Philadelphia. In other words, the probabilities are that it will be lost entirely to the Indian Churches and Schools. We are doing nothing to prepare for this day. When Mother Katherine dies nearly one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars more must be raised annually or we will cut down the number of the Indian Missions by half. If her death were to occur tomorrow half of our Catholic In- dians would be pastorless and churchless. NO FACT BROUGHT FORTH IN THE CONGRESS SHOULD FILL US WITH GREATER ALARM. It seemed quite natural that the paper on the Indian Mis- sions should be followed by a paper on the condition of the Negroes. We expected that the figures would be startling and were not at all disappointed. Four million Negroes have not yet received the grace of baptism. Less than two hundred thousand of them are Catholics. They are not hard to convert. I heard, some time ago, of a Negro Baptist Convention, where one of the speakers boldly made the assertion that the Catholic Church alone offered the Negro an opportunity and urged all negroes to join her. Father Burke plainly showed what an opportunity we have amongst the Negroes, and said THAT IF WE NEGLECTED IT THE CHURCH IN AMERICA WOULD BE FALSE TO ITS DUTY. He asked if we were to be scared by difl&culties. He said, “Conservatism may be a virtue, but even priests have too much of a good thing.” Are we asked to introduce into the discussion of religious problems and work the prudence of a banker discounting a note? “What can you do with the colored man?” you hear asked? And again, “You cannot convert the negro. ’ * Father Burke an- swered, “IF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH CANNOT CONVERT THE NEGRO THEN SHE IS NOT THE CHURCH OF CHRIST.” Bishop Rhode spoke on Coloniza- tion. He urged the formation of a Bureau for the purpose of directing the immense number of Catholic im- migrants to the farms. The Bureau COPYRIGHT APPLIED FOR BY MATZENE CO. I CHICAGO VERY REV. A. P. DOYLE, C. S. P. 31 Director of The Catholic Missionary Union Bishop’s Chair. Provided for the accommodation of visiting prelates during the Congress. 32 High Pulpit from which all speeches were delivered. 33 of Colonization would be purely for information—not a land buying organization or a money making concern. He showed that ONE RAILROAD LAST YEAR HAD SETTLED TWENTY-ONE THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED AND SEV- ENTY-FIVE FAMILIES, OR EIGHTY-FIVE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED PERSONS, ON LAND ALONG ITS LINE; OUT OF THESE PROBABLY FOUR-FIFTHS WERE AWAY FROM CHURCH AND SCHOOL. If one railroad did so much what must be the figures from all the railroads and all the dif- ferent land companies. He pointed out that it would be better often to give members to congregations than to give money and that it would be much easier for the Catholic Church Ex- tension Society to work by DIRECTING people to settle where a Catholic colony existed than by attempts to SAVE them. F ather curry ’S paper on Settlement Work was the second sensation. He protested against poor neighborhoods in cities being called “slums;” he objected to the pictures of poverty published for the sake of getting funds from the rich, since they were mostly posed for and do not show the truth. He struck at the Settlements as not only being useless but as being actually dangerous. He clearly showed their proselytiz- ing tendency. “They simply exist for the capture of Catholic and Jewish children.” He called their workers “Soul Chas- ers. Father Curry’s paper was simply a statement of the dangers to which the Faith is exposed in cities. He called for work by our own people. He showed what could be done to save if we went at it in earnestness, not only by giving childrenj refining infiuences, but by keeping the men out of the saloon. He said that funds for carrying on the work of Catholic Settlement Clubs were required. “RICH CATH- OLICS,” he said, “SHOULD SUPPLY THEM, BUT THEY ARE ASLEEP, WHILE STRANGERS ARE AT WORK AND THE ENEMY IS SOWING TARES AMONG OUR POOR PEOPLE. Thousands of our brothers and little ones are in distress and strangers are kind to them. What are our rich Catholics doing? Some one else must answer that question. I find it very much easier to try to solve, well or ill, the riddle of the Settlements.” 34 Father Dempsey of St. Louis, in his paper on ''Caring for Homeless Men,” was a fitting selection to follow after Father Curry on Settlements. Father Dempsey was careful to say that he did not intend to reflect on his brethren in other cities by pointing out THE GREAT FIELD THAT HAS BEEN NEGLECTED or culti. vated only by those outside the Fold. He could not help reflect- ing on Catholic apathy, however, by simply stating his case. Father Dempsey runs an institution in St. Louis. He does not call it a Slum Settlement. He calls it a Hotel. It is a place where homeless men can go and get a decent lodging and meal for a small sum or free if they need it. He showed that in two years he has accommodated nearly twenty thousand men. In six months he had to give two thousand one hundred and flfty free meals; but his four hundred beds are all occu- pied every night. He has made his work self-supporting. More than that, two hundred guests at the hotel make the mission every year, each of whom has been away from their duties from five to thirty years. Every city has its homeless men. St. Louis alone is trying to take care of them. They are the prey of the cheap lodging house keepers and of the low dives and saloons. HE SAID HE DID NOT NEED MONEY. He was only begging others to take up the idea. It could be made self-supporting in any city. He had proven the worth of it in St. Louis. To look at Father Dempsey and to hear him speak tells us how he did it all. 35 HERE were many things in the paper of Dr. McG i n n i s President of the In- ternational Catholic Truth Society, which were very notable and worthy of serious thought. Dr. McGinnis was not showing the missionary condi- tions of the poor and neglected por- tions ofthe country. The International Catholic Truth Society has had an opportunity during its six or seven years of its existence to hunt down misrepresentations concerning things Catholic. It has done splendid work and it has done it without very much money. Dr. McGinnis said: “WE MUST HUMBLY CONFESS THAT WE ARE NOT BRINGING TO BEAR UPON THIS COUNTRY THE IN- TELLECTUAL AND MORAL INFLUENCE THAT THE CATHOLIC CHURCH HAS A RIGHT TO EXERCISE. “ RT. REV. MSGR. JOSEPH FRERI, D. C. L. General Director. Society for the Propagation of the Faith In spite of the fact that he was not speaking of missionary conditions, yet Dr. McGinnis voiced the same plea that others did. “We have gone along, attending almost exclusively to our parish needs. Valuable, all-important though the parish is (and we reiterate it that upon the parish as a unit depends the success of every organization in God's Church), neverthe- less, we say that these far-reaching public forces have too long been in the hands of those who are outside of the Catholic fold." Father Burrowes, Superior of the Jesuits in Chicago, can well be considered as one speaking for his great order. He pleaded for at least “Catechism in the Churchless Missions," and showed what could be done by what had been done. He cited the example of Japanese Catholics, who kept their Faith for two centuries without priests. He asked that the Ordinary of each ^ocese appoint one or more priests to look after the churchless missions; not to say Mass once a month or even once in six months, but to see to obtaining catechists who would be properly drilled in the administration of the Sacrament of Baptism and who before the people would be empowered to 36 convene the faithful for public prayer and organize Sunday Schools. If laymen were called on oftener to join in this work for the spread of the Faith, its preservation, the salvation of souls, they would come forward in greater numbers. The appeal of Father Moeller, S. J., Chaplain of the Ephe- ta School of Chicago, was a very notable paper, which was heart-rending in the extreme. We Catholics are doing little or nothing to take care of the great number of the deaf mutes right here in the United States. He said: “For nearly a century the education and care of the deaf have been in the hands of our separated brethren, notably those of the Methodist Episcopal. Church. While we have been asleep ‘wolves in sheep’s clothing have invaded the fold, not sparing the flock.’ We have seen the havoc wrought in the silence of the dark night of a hundred years, which, 1 hope, has passed. Today on our awakening we And that out of about 16,000 Catholic deaf mutes at least 11,000 have lost their Faith. Some even are Protestant ministers for the deaf. ’ ’ There are 409 deaf mutes in Catholic schools, but according to our flgures there should be 5,000. Father Moeller recently asked a deaf mute why he had abandoned the Catholic Church. “Because,” was the answer, “THE PROTESTANT CHURCH IS THE FRIEND OF THE DEAF, AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH DOES NOT CARE FOR THEM.” “It cannot be said that we have done all things well,” added the speaker. A very practical paper was that of the Rev. Richard Flynn. He boldly said that nothing had been done until recent years to foster the missionary spirit among the people and give permanence to their co-operation. He outlined plans to bring that spirit into the parish and gave examples as to how his plans could be carried out. He pleaded with priests to take an interest in missionary work, not only for the sake of the work itself, but for the sake of their own people who would be beneflted by it. “Priests of America,” he said, “no failure can COPYRIGHT APPLIED FOR BV MATZENE CO. .CHICAGO VERY REV, FRANCIS C. KELLEY, D. D., LL. D, 37 President and Founder of the Catholic Church Extension Society a e« >3 cn a t3 JM S ,£3 . -»3 <*3 ^ cS CC o o> H c3 •T3 eS c3 O O I / O T3 0) '3 Cl^ P3 t3 f3 cS CC -*3 o O) fl QJ m Special Pew End. Special Pew End. Bishop’s Throne Built for St. Paul’s Cathedral, Pittsburg. Pa. 39 come to the missionary movement in this country if we but espouse it.” Everyone expected a splendid address from Father Doyle of Washington, and no one was disappointed. Father Doyle's work is in the training of the missionary for diocesan mis- sions, both Catholic and non-Catholic. He showed that the bishop is responsible for EVEBY SOUL IN HIS DIOCESE, and as his delegate, a priest likewise becomes responsible for those in his parish. He said: ”Let us appreciate the fact that after all the primary vocation of the Catholic Church*^ is a missionary vocation. Did you ever think of that, that the only commission that was given to the Apostles was a missionary commission?” Father Doyle was followed by Father Vaughan of England, who spoke of religious conditions in his own country. Father Vaughan pleaded that a united league of prayer should be established for the conversion of America. T hat the layman is interested and willing to follow his lead- ers was shown in the paper of Mr. Fanning of Cleveland. He was proud and thankful to be a private in the ranks. He pleaded for the support of the laity to the mission work. Mr. Fanning was followed by another layman, Mr. Hirst of Philadelphia. Mr. Hirst gave a remarkable lesson some years ago by setting aside a thousand dollars which he intended spending on a monument for his two children for the pur- pose of erecting a chapel to their memory. He built the chapel in the state of Nebraska, and selected a poor Bohemian colony where the people were rapidly losing their Faith. The result of Mr. Hirst’s gift is very apparent in Nebraska today. The neglected Bohemian community has become a thriving and flourishing parish. So Mr. Hirst is giving what time and attention he can spare from his profession to encouraging others to do the same thiug. The Catholic Church Extension Society has taken up the plan and is erecting a great many of these little chapels, with money contributed by people all over the country. The memorial chapel idea, however, must be credited to Philadelphia. BIr. Hirst’s paper was entirely practical The papers of Judge Girten, Mr. Granger and Mr. Pio- 40 trowski all pointed out one great fact, namely, that no mat- ter how our people in America are seemingly cut off from one another by differences in languages they are imited in their religion, and that to draw them closer together, and to make the Church more effective for good, it is only necessary to have all take interest in a work for missions. Two quotations from the last paper are worth considering. ''All true Christ- ians are the same, no matter of what nationality or race they may be. They will differ in physical appearance, and they may speak different languages, but their hearts and souls are pos- sessed of those same noble ideals and that same moral force which the teachings of Christ’s truths implanted there. The power of Christ’s Gospel is the only force that is able to raise a man froni his low, narrow and selfish state to that ideal which will make him recognize his fellow being, no matter of what race or nationality he belongs, as his neighbor whom he is bound to love as himself.” ‘‘But we must admit that Christ’s prophecy has not yet been fulfilled. There are still many millions who are outside of Christ’s fold. And it must be admitted that for the last cen- tury or two very little has been done in the missionary field — at least no great results have been achieved. Has the zeal of the first Apostles and their early successors abated? Are there in our Church no more Xaviers and Marquettes? Let us hope that the impetus given by the first Catholic Missionary Con- gress in this country will yield fruit most abundantly; that the disciples of Christ will be fired with renewed zeal and vigor ; that they may reach the hearts of every man and woman and bring them into the fold of Christ. ’ ’ Two speakers referred to dangers to Religion in the Philip- pines and gave statistics which were alarming in the extreme. Father Vattman spoke of parishes which might well be classed as dioceses for the extent of them, attended by a single priest. Yet the Philippines are under the American fiag—we have obligations towards them. They need only the encouragement of small sums for the education of priests. At the last session of the Congress Bishop Donahue said that ‘‘apathy” was the danger. ‘‘Do we need more cathedrals?” he asked. ‘‘Not very urgently. Do we need more universi- ties? Well, perhaps one of them will do for half a century yet. Do we need any of those other appliances and equip- 41 COPYRIGHT APPLIED FOR BY MATZENE CO.iCHICAGO ments which mark the fully devel- oped Catholic country and com- munity? I answer no. What, then, do we need? We need earnest men and women who are enthusiastic in the cause of Christ and His Holy Faith.*’ “Why are we so lagging? Why are we so apathetic? Why do we see the fight go on in various parts of these United States, for the last three days here upon this platform, and yet feel no fire of that Divine Love, no movement of that great pity which should make us Christlike in con- forming to that love and passion and pity of the Sacred Heart itself? Why should we not go forth to battle? Why should we not fight as earnestly as those others whose missionary efforts have been laid before us by way of contrast and warning?” REV. WILLIAM H. KETCHAM Director of the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions L ittle need be said of Mr. Cockran’s splendid address, for it has been read from one end of the country to the other. From a standpoint of a statesman Mr. Cockran showed that our greatest work for our country is to have the government pillared on such men and women as will make sure foundations. He said: “In this great work of insur- ing the foundations of our republic by improving the units that compose our citizenship, every Catholic can join. To its prosecution, every Catholic should contribute. To facilitate it, every patriot should labor. The manner in which this So- ciety will work must differ in different places. In some it may succeed in erecting temples worthy of the purpose to which they will be dedicated. In others smaller, humbler, meaner buildings must suffice to harbor the Sacred Host. But what- ever the character of these structures, wherever they may be situated, in one respect they will all be absolutely identical. Not a word can be uttered within their walls that will not tend to keep the lamp of truth before the footsteps of the citizen in whose light the pathway of justice is always clear. And as 42 this Republic, organized to do justice, is organized to enforce that which the Church has always taught, every building dedi- cated to Catholic worship is a fountain of patriotism, a ram- part of free institutions. ’ ’ Although Archbishop O’Connell was not present, yet his ad- dress was printed and circulated about the hall and was read by everyone. One quotation will show its strength and the force of its appeal. “Magnificent buildings, splendid ceremonials, superb appur- tenances are all good in their place, for the worship of Christ can never be too adequately expressed, even by all that the noblest endeavor and most brilliant genius of man may bring to its expression, but if these things are to breed a selfish con- tent and rob the Catholics of any generation of that primitive Apostolic zeal which infiamed the breasts of their first teachers, then it is far better to dispense with these external embellish- ments, and in poverty and hardship cultivate the gift which made the first promulgators of the Faith of Christ the conquer- ors of the world. It is time, then, for the Church in America to be vigilant in preserving the unselfishness and generosity of spirit which animated the pioneer Catholic missionaries who planted on this continent the seed of Faith. In no other way may the steadfastness of Faith which is distinctive of our people in the United States be fully safeguarded. It is the inexorable law of self-preservation, and failure to comply with it can bring only disaster and ruin. We may well draw a lesson from the foresight and prudence displayed by the great na- tions of the world. There comes a time in their history when they must reach out to find an outlet for the national life and activity. They well understand the folly of remaining quiescent and shutting the door of opportunity to the surplus talent of their people. Instinctively and inevit- ably led on by this feeling of self- preservation, they reach out into other lands and find new fields for their unworked energies.’’ It would be impossible to refer in 43 HON. W. BOURKE COCKRAN 4 this short pamphlet to the magnificent sermons, eighty-five of them, delivered on Sunday evening in the churches of Chicago. Every sermon was a ringing appeal for more of the missionary spirit. The words were spoken by bishops and priests, most of them from missionary districts them- selves. The examples they gave were gathered from their own experiences, and they were driven home to the minds and hearts of their hearers by the earnestness of men who had suffered in the cause of Jesus Christ. The Missionary congress closed with the last appeal from Archbishop Quigley to unite all of us in the work of missions, and with it I believe was closed the first chapter of a volume in the history of the Catholic Church in the United States which will be the most interesting and most glorious part of the great record. i I T IS true that the Congress may come to nothing and that apathy may still continue to fiourish. It is true that our sensitiveness may be accentuated so as to make us shrink from acknowledging our weaknesses, but personally I do not think so. I believe that the priests of America and Canada are brave enough to look at conditions as they are. I believe they are just enough to give credit to those who have been upholding the Cross for so many years in the poor and neglected places, and to recognize the debt we owe them, and to begin at last to pay it. I believe that our strength has not lulled us entirely into a feeling of false security. I / believe that we will not turn a deaf ear to the cries for assistance from other lands; but that yellow men, brown men, black men, as well as white men will be recognized as having souls to save, and that we have an obligation to do our share in the saving of them. I believe that every complaint and criticism will be received by the great American Catholic public in the spirit in which it was given. • It may take years and years to bring it all about; but years do not count, for the spirit which animated the Congress is the spirit of Jesus Christ, whose reign is never ending. 44 A WORD FOR OURSELVES T he American Seating Company is not a Trust nor part of a Trust, but it owns and controls four fac- tories, situated in central buying and distributing points of the United States, to facilitate the filling of orders promptly and the minimizing of transporta- tion charges. The Company is catering to-day and always has catered to the demand for good artistic Church and School furniture, which is what most Catholic Institutions want. Such furniture is judged by its quality and not by its price. We easily lead the country in the beauty of our designs and the artistic merit of our carving and ornamentation. 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