Nearing the Trenches of Physical Strength.
We can only judge the future of nations and institutions by the past
and present, and if we are to judge Catholicism by her past, and if
we are honest with ourselves, we cannot paint a future without
producing a panoramic view that is dreadful to behold, as Catholicism
in the past has been an institution which always endeavored to rule
by the tyranny of oppression, and her decisions and mandates to-day
are the same as they were during the inquisitorial days when our
Protestant forefathers were burned at the state for disobeying the
commands of Catholic officials.
Catholicism makes her boast that she never changes; then what are we
to expect the future to bring forth, if her dogmas of damnation are
allowed to fasten her intolerable hold upon this country: for if she
"never changes," and we are compelled to judge her future by her
past, which is the only rational conclusion that can be arrived at,
then we can expect nothing more than to behold her future trail
stained with the blood of Protestants, as such has been her history
of the past.
It is our purpose in this chapter to give the reader an authentic
epitome of a few of the doctrines and facts which we defy Roman
Catholicism to successfully deny, as what we propose to give you is
Roman Catholic law, and if such is Roman Catholic law, then we will
have no trouble in establishing the fact that no loyal Catholics can
possibly be loyal American citizens; therefore should not be placed
in a position where they can carry out the mandates and dictates of
the Church of Rome, for whenever they are placed in power and
thoroughly believe in the laws of Catholicism they can not possibly
be naught but traitors to our American form of government.
We propose to give the reader "Canon Law" to establish our
statements, as we are as well acquainted with the laws that govern
Roman Catholicism--yea, better than we are with the laws that govern
this country, as we for fifty-six years have been directly influenced
by this "Canon Law," and for the past thirty years, or since we
became a Roman Catholic priest, have been a servant and an
executioner of this law; therefore, I know whereof I speak, and no
man dare deny my statements.
The first declaration of this "Canon Law" is: "_All human power is
from evil and must therefore be standing under the Pope_."
You will thus see that the first declaration of the "Canon Law" is to
place the human family as a whole, under the tyrannical control of
Catholicism.
Another declaration of this law is: "_The state has not the right to
leave every man free to profess and embrace whatever religion he
shall deem true_."
In this declaration, you will further see that Roman Catholicism
would, if it was within her power, take from the American citizen
the right to worship a true and living God.
The next law that we will refer to is as follows: "_The state has not
the right to establish a church separate from the Pope_."
Again you will see that Rome's idea is to force all of humanity to
bow at the feet of her creed.
Again she declares in her "Canonistic Laws:" "_That the state has not
the right to assist the inmates of monasteries and convents to
abandon them_."
Again you will see that Catholicism desires to usurp the rights of
the courts and establish prisons of their own without a semblance of
law.
Once more this "Canonistic Law" thunders forth her monarchial law as
follows: "_The Roman Catholic church has the right to require the
state not to leave every man free to profess his own religion_."
Again the reader will see that Roman Catholicism with her iron hand
demands this nation to force and compel every man, woman and child
that lives under that old red, white and blue flag, which was bought
by the blood of our forefathers, to humbly bow to this heathenish
creed.
The next, and one of the most damnable laws found among the
"Canonistic Laws" of Catholicism, is as follows: "_Roman Catholicism
has the right to exercise her power without permission or consent of
the state_."
Within this Romish law any one can easily discern her monarchial
designs, as she boldly and flagrantly declares that she has the right
to do as she sees fit, without even being molested or questioned by
the laws of this country.
Further on in the "Canon Laws" of Catholicism we find the following:
"_Roman Catholicism has the right to prevent the foundation of any
national church not subject to the direct authority of the Roman
pontiff_."
Thus the reader will see that the Protestant churches of America
exist only by and through the numerical power of Protestantism, but
should Romanism ever become powerful enough in this country she
would, within the twinkling of an eye, destroy or confiscate every
Protestant church now in existence.
Further along in this Romish "Canon Law" we find that she strikes at
the dearest institutions of our land, as follows: "_The Roman
Catholic church has the right to deprive the civil authorities of the
entire government of the public schools_."
The reader will see by this declaration that should Catholicism ever
come in control of the affairs of this government that our public
schools, which are the bulwarks of our American government, would
have their very foundations rooted up and scattered to the four winds
of the earth.
The most devilish and damnable law, in my estimation, that is to be
found upon the statute books of Catholicism is the following: "_Roman
Catholicism has the right to require that the Roman Catholic religion
shall be THE ONLY RELIGION of the nation, to the exclusion
of all others_."
We have the entire principles of Catholicism embodied in this last
"Canonistic Law," as Roman Catholicism's aim and intention is to put
this declaration into effect as soon as she can become powerful
enough to execute her plans.
In my estimation, the next "Canon Law" that I will quote, is the one
most detrimental to our American form of government, as it is a law,
when put into execution, that will throttle every ambition and
strangle every hope that now permeates the bosom of Protestantism,
and it is one that should freeze the very flesh and blood of
Protestantism to the bone's marrow. It is as follows: "_Roman
Catholicism has the power to require the nation not to permit free
expression of opinions_."
In this last law, which is found upon the statute books of Roman
Catholicism, we have a declaration from her rulers that would deprive
you and your posterity from expressing an opinion in regard to Roman
Catholicism; that is, if that opinion did not coincide with her
abominations, and an institution which would place such a law upon
her statute books is an institution which would burn and flay alive
those who would disregard this law; thus the reader may have some
idea of what he or she may expect should their posterity ever live
to see America pass into the ungodly clutches of this unholy demon.
The history of Roman Catholicism in the past plainly demonstrates
what she has done and how well and awful she has carried out her laws
herein quoted, and Catholicism makes her brags that she "_never
changes_," consequently the only reason why these laws are not put
into execution in the United States is the lack of physical power,
and whenever Roman Catholicism reaches the point in the history of
this country where she possesses this physical power, Protestantism
will feel her tyrannical heel upon their necks.
That the reader may thoroughly understand and realize that Roman
Catholicism of to-day is the same as Roman Catholicism was hundreds
of years ago, we desire to quote a letter written by Pope Leo XIII
during his reign, which will thoroughly demonstrate to the reader
that Roman Catholicism of the present retains all of her harshness
and cussedness that she possessed when our forefathers were burned at
the stake and our mothers were punished for worshiping a true and
living God, Pope Leo's letter follows:
"_The teachings given by the Apostolic See, whether contained in the
syllabus and other acts of our illustrious predecessors, or in our
encyclical letters, has given clear guidance to the faith as to what
should be their thoughts and their conduct in the midst of the
difficulties of time and events. There they will find a rule for the
direction of their minds and their work._"
The reader will see from this letter from Pope Leo XIII that he
reiterates to his followers the "Canonistic Law" laid down by his
predecessors, making it obligatory upon the followers of Catholicism
to put in practice to-day the hellish doctrines of Roman Catholicism
of the past.
If Catholicism depends upon numbers and physical strength to
accomplish her ends, then what must this country expect when such a
time arrives, as Catholicism can govern by the power of physical
strength?
Will we have any one to blame for what Catholicism does to this
country when such time arrives? Ah, No! No one but Protestantism,
for if America, which is a Protestant country, sits idly by and
permits Romanism to reach a point where she can control the affairs
of this government, it will be on the account of the lethargy and
imbecility of Protestantism, as we have it within our power to-day to
halt this Emperor of Darkness before that time arrives, but the
question is, will we do it?
The history of other nations which have been controlled by
Catholicism should be enough, not only to frighten the Protestant
hosts, but to paralyze them with fear, as the pages of history teem
with the awfulness of Rome's rule, wherever she has been permitted to
become master.
France, which has been priest-ridden for centuries, is now at this
time in the throes of a national convulsion, brought about by the
tyranny of Romanism.
Now, if Rome is such an abominable master and such a tyrant that
France has to deport the priestcraft and close up her institutions,
is it not time that the United States was taking some step to
protect her offspring from this vulture of human rights!
This country is undoubtedly a Protestant country, and if it is a
great country, which no man dares to deny, she surely owes her
greatness to Protestantism.
Our soul is poured into this chapter, as we never were more in
earnest than we are at this time, as we can shade our eyes and look
down the avenues of the past and behold naught but skeletons of
protestant despair on every byway which has been traveled by
Romanism, and when we behold this mighty waste of despair we can not
conceive how the United States of America can expect to fare better
than have the nations of the past, unless she exerts her American and
Protestant manhood and gives Roman Catholicism to understand that it
is time to halt, and, in the name of an intelligent God, forbid her
to transgress further upon the rights of this country.
In this chapter we will endeavor to be explicit and above all
truthful, and we ask God to give us courage to present facts in a way
that will fan to life again the patriotism that has been lulled to
sleep by the bat-like wings of Roman Catholicism.
We hope that this little volume may arouse unconcerned Protestantism
to a realization of the fact that our public officials are year by
year forcing her nearer and nearer the great chasm of Roman despair,
and if we can be instrumental in this great undertaking we will feel
that when our race is done, that we have fought a good fight, and
will be remembered by the Protestant world as a man who taught a
doctrine which was the salvation of Protestant America.
Roman Catholicism has no politics, as she is ever ready and willing
to join hands with any party that will guarantee her more complete
control of national affairs, as she teaches her followers that
whenever they find that the Republican party will grant her requests
that they should be Republicans, and she also teaches them that
whenever the Democratic party or any other party will enter into a
contract with her and grant her the right of way of devastation, that
they should be Democrats, or be adherents to whatever party grants
them the most power.
Roman Catholicism wraps herself about the smaller officials and
wheedles herself into the good graces of the small officials by
promising them the Catholic vote, and by so doing she is able to
control the officials higher up in power, and in this manner she
reaches the highest officials of the land, as we find to-day the
boa-constrictor of Catholicism wrapped about every official at
Washington city, from the President of the United States on down.
Suppose that the Pope and his tribe of liberty-destroyers realized
that the officials of America were Protestants, and implicitly
believed and lived up to the teachings of Protestantism; do you think
that she would presume to approach our Protestant officials and
demand their support in behalf of her damnable creed, or do you
suppose that she would dare to send her emissaries into the halls of
our national congress and brazenly approach those Protestant
officials? Ah, never! as Catholicism is a base coward and never
makes her appearance only where she is assured that her overtures
will be gracefully received.
Protestant America! do you not believe that you have granted Romanism
her requests long enough, and do you not realize that unless you
throttle this carnivorous beast of human rights within the near
future that your protests will only be received with ridicule and
jeers?
Protestantism from this day forward should resolve that her ballot in
the future should be a Protestant ballot, and whenever she has
reasons to believe that there is one place upon their ticket that is
tainted with the abominations of Romanism they should be dropped as
though they were a poisonous reptile.
It matters not what the office may be that is to be filled and what
power it carries with it, Protestantism should find out whether or
not the applicant believes in Protestantism, and learn, if possible,
whether they or their family are tainted with the virus of Roman
Catholicism, and if you should find that the taint extends to any
part of their family then scratch them off your ballot, and by so
doing you will help to woo back the spirit of both Protestantism and
patriotism, as one is symbolic of the other.
It may seem strange and also untrue for me to make the statement that
there are cities in the United States which are as completely under
the control of the Pope of Rome as Rome herself, but such is the
case, and the city of St. Louis, Mo., is one of them, as Romanism
rules the inhabitants of that city with a despotism that is only
equaled in a nation where the pontiff of Rome is an acknowledged
ruler.
During the last election in the city of St. Louis I was a Catholic
priest, and was in the Catholic confidence, and I declare to you as a
man of truth and before a living God that it was understood between
the Catholic church and those who controlled the Democratic party
that the Protestants should elect the present mayor, Rolla Wells, but
that Catholicism was to be permitted to name the other officials, or
at least enough to control the city government.
Now, is there any politics in such an agreement? Ah, no; but the
only object in this secret agreement was a desire upon the part of
Roman Catholicism to control the revenues of the city of St. Louis,
as Catholicism is a money machine and endeavors to keep her exchequer
full by preying upon the ignorance of her followers.
I have mentioned St. Louis only for the simple reason that it is a
recent happening, but there are a score of other cities in the United
States of America which are controlled by Catholicism on the same
principle, as Romanism joins hands with either the Republican or
Democratic party if she sees a chance to put her hellish schemes and
dogmas into practice.
That the reader may know what element controls the municipal
governments of our cities we desire to call attention to the fact
that over one-half of the officials of our large American cities are
direct representatives of Roman Catholicism, and over two-thirds of
all the policemen of these cities are the Pope's followers.
Why does this state of affairs exist? Ah, it is because the
Protestant voter has "politics" instead of "principles"; therefore
you yourself are to blame for this awful state of affairs.
Yes, I say that you are to blame, for you are a voter and you pretend
to represent Protestantism but still will permit yourself to be made
tools of in behalf of Roman Catholicism; then am I not right in
declaring that you are to blame for this state of affairs that exists
in our large cities?
In our municipal elections you will find Roman Catholicism courting
the political power which has the greatest chance of electing their
candidates; it matters not what party it may be, as Roman Catholicism
has no politics, as her only desire is power, and it does not matter
from what source she receives it, so long as it is granted her, as
Romanism is like a chameleon, as she will change her political color
to suit her surroundings if she is assured that she will be permitted
to inject her deadly virus into the veins of Protestantism.
If Roman Catholicism can extract a promise from a Republican
candidate they are Republicans; but, on the other hand, if they can
make a Democrat do their bidding, they are Democrats; and if they
can "wiggle" into the Populists' favor, they are Populists; in fact,
they are any and everything that will serve their purpose and help to
bind and throttle Protestant principles.
The nation of France is making history to-day, and each line and page
of this history is a warning to Protestant America, as every page of
this history is covered with the slime of Roman Catholicism, for had
it not been for her tyrannical despotism, France would not have had
to close up the monasteries and convents of that nation, but on
account of her teachings, and in order to protect the rising
generations from her influence, not only have the convents and
monasteries had to be closed, but the schools which teach her
damnable dogmas have been closed.
We do not have to cross the ocean and visit European countries to
learn of Roman Catholicism's depravity, but we can stand upon the
southern shore of the United States, almost in hailing distance of
Cuba, and there behold the shores of a country which had to rebel
against the hellishness of Roman Catholicism, as Cuba would to-day
belong to Spain had it not been for Roman Catholicism, as it was her
abominations that continually kept Cuba in a feverish ferment.
It was Spain's ungodliness that brought about the Spanish-American
war, and Spain's ungodliness was taught her by Romanism.
The West India islands were the progenies of Spain, and the Spanish
government permitted the Papists to control these islands with her
dogmas of instructions, which were directly instrumental in
continually keeping the spirit of anarchy alive.
The only reason that Roman Catholicism does not control this country
with her tyrannical hand is on account of numerical numbers, for did
Rome believe that she could rule this country to-day, before the sun
would set to-morrow night this would be a nation of serfs instead of
a nation of independent men and women.
I perhaps have made my declarations broader and stronger than any man
of the present day, but I am fresh from the ranks of Catholicism and
I know her cunning, and since I have forsaken her blind leadership
and drank deep from the well of Protestantism, I have resolved that
no stone shall go unturned that will help me to convince America of
her great danger which shadows her future by permitting this Romish
despot to flood this country with not only her blind followers, but
by being permitted to brazenly denounce everything that is near and
dear to this country, as her brazen denunciations of our American
institutions is nothing more nor less than treason, and which should
be treated as such.
To give the reader some idea of what Roman Catholicism will do if she
ever has the power, we quote an article which appeared in a Catholic
journal known as "_The Catholic Citizen_," of Milwaukee, Wis.
Now, if Catholicism has at this time become so brazen that she dares
offer the Protestant world the insults that is contained in this
article, what shall we expect if this damnable creed ever becomes
powerful enough to control by physical strength? The article follows:
"Protestantism in Cuba? What good will it do there? If only
the good it has wrought elsewhere, Heaven help the Cubans!
Protestantism is nothing but a disorganizer and a pathway to
infidelity and atheism. This is the only reason of its
existence. As a positive moral force, it is a farce. It has
never converted a single nation, but it has unconverted
Protestants themselves with a holy vengeance. Berlin has
75,000 church goers out of 2,000,000 people; London 400,000
out of 6,000,000 and so on. 'Without baptism you can not
enter Heaven,' says the Scripture, and lo! thanks to
Protestantism, nearly 60,000,000 people in the United States
are not baptized. A nice system (for the devil), that
produces such results--results as fatal to the heathen as to
the Christian. Protestantism found the Sandwich islands with
400,000 people. Where are they now? Gone. A million Macris in
New Zealand. Where are they? Gone. Seven million Indians in
the United States. Where are they? Gone.
"On the other hand, the friars found 300,000 natives in the
Philippines 400 years ago, and there are 9,000,000 now;
12,000,000 Indians south of the Rio Grande, and there are
50,000,000 now. 'By their fruits you shall know them.' In
view of such facts, we think Protestants should leave
'Boonioboola Gha' alone and confine their proselytizing to
unfortunates nearer home. An American is just as well worth
saving as a Cuban or a Chinaman any day."
"_The American Citizen_," a journal published in Boston, Mass., made
the following comment on this article, which appeared in this Roman
Catholic journal:
"The above is as good a specimen of papal logic as we have
ever seen--and it is the real thing.
"'It has never converted a single nation!' Christianity is
not supposed to convert nations--it converts individuals.
Mohammedanism converted (?) many nations by the sword, and
popery attempted to do it by the inquisition, but
failed--except in the case of the Jews and Moors in Spain,
which it 'converted' into beggars and refugees.
"Rome 'converted' the Albigenses from being peaceful and
industrious citizens into the best mountain warriors in
Europe--and the handful defied and defeated the best papal
armies of Europe.
"But how about England, and Scotland, and Scandinavia, and
the Netherlands, and many other nations--were they not all
papal at one time, but converted through reformation? How
about the Huguenots--the very flower of France; the
Protestant Irish, the very salvation of the Emerald
Isle--were not these all at one time Romanists--converted to
Protestantism?
"Read the record of Rome's 'conversions' in Mexico, in
Central America, in South America, as told by Prescott and
other historians--the introduction of slavery by the papal
church, and the unspeakable cruelties perpetrated upon the
Indians, or aborigines, of the countries mentioned. Read, in
United States senate document 190, the record of Rome's
'conversions' in the Philippines--a work which has made every
Filipino a bitter hater of the priests.
"'The Indians of the United States!' Have they ever been
Protestants? Have not the priests had control of them since
this land was discovered? Are not the vices which have
killed them--apart from war--the peculiar vices of popery,
especially drunkenness? What good have the priests wrought
among them? Take California as an example, where these
priests enslaved tens of thousands of the Indians for the
sole purpose of enriching their church!
"This is a matter of history--of undeniable history. If the
American Indians were slain in battle, in nine cases out of
ten the Jesuits instigated them to the deeds which brought on
the war. While Prescott's 'Mexico' and 'Peru' are accessible
in our libraries, popery had better be dumb.
"That the Filipinos have increased from 300,000 to 9,000,000
and the South Americans from 12,000,000 to 50,000,000, may be
true, for all travelers tell us that it is no uncommon thing
to find a priest with a halfscore of concubines and fifty
children. Certainly these priests have an advantage over
Protestant missionaries in this respect. The pagans would
naturally follow the example of their 'spiritual' advisers.
Oh, yes, the population certainly increases where the
priestcraft live."
The Roman Catholic church says that the priests shall not wed, but at
the same time the priestcraft fathers an army of children.
The Philippine islands is a nation of heathens, and Catholicism has
been in charge of these islands for centuries, and to-day they are
worse off than they were before Catholicism planted her black banner
in their midst.
Wherever you find intellectuality, morality and civilization in its
fullest meaning, you will find a country where Protestantism is the
predominating doctrine, as Catholicism can not exist only in the
"underbrush" of ignorance and vice.
The greatest menace this country has to contend with is the influx of
Rome's followers from other nations, and unless our immigration laws
are remedied it will not be long until Rome will be able, by physical
strength, to enumerate the United States as one of her countries, as
each succeeding year tens of thousands of the followers of Rome from
Italy and other priest-ridden countries flock to our shores to
practice in this country the abominations taught them in their
childhood.
France's woes and miseries have been expected for years by men of
intelligence and men who could read the signs of the times, as Rome's
influence was year by year growing more intolerable, and it was only
a matter of time when France would be forced to either permit herself
to be dragged down to the level of the debased teachings of
Catholicism or else by a heroic effort boldly stamp out this Romish
creed of damnation, and the latter course is the one she has chosen
to pursue, and to-day finds the Roman Catholic church despised and
detested by every intelligent and patriotic Frenchman of the land.
In July 1874, Eugene Lawrence, in the columns of "_Harper's Weekly_,"
made a prediction that ought to convince every sane man and woman in
this land that the woes of France are directly traceable to the Roman
Catholic church, as Mr. Lawrence was a historian of national repute,
and a man who was a patriot whom the American eagle was proud of, and
for the benefit of the readers of my little book I desire to quote in
full this prediction made thirty years ago, as to-day finds Mr.
Lawrence's prediction being fulfilled in every particular, and Roman
Catholicism is the incarnate fiend that has forced this prediction to
come true. Mr. Lawrence's article follows:
"The Papal church is chiefly responsible for the decadence of
the French mind. The priests have long controlled the
education of the nation and have striven to shut it out from
all contact with the culture of America, Germany and England.
Under the rule of Napoleon III, the Jesuits obtained the
guidance of nearly all the secondary colleges; Protestant
schools were sedulously discouraged, and nothing was taught
that could offend the mediaeval tastes of Rome. When, two
years ago, the French republicans had resolved to found a
free and compulsory system of instruction for all France as
the chief want of the nation, the papal bishops and priests
suppressed the measure by all their arts. They were resolved
to have no education which they could not control. The
republican movement failed; Bishop Dupanloup and his
associates succeeded once more in shutting out the light of
knowledge from the people, and have sown the fires of
warfare in the place of mental progress and moral culture.
"France, which has often made the most rapid progress toward
reform, has also been the most successful leader of modern
reaction. Its revolutions have set in motion all other
nations, but have failed to purify itself. It is enslaved by
a single church and ruled by Roman superstition. At the
recent assembly at Paris, of all the hierarchy of France, of
Jesuits, Dominicans, Monks and prelates, it was resolved that
all the strength of the papal party should be given to an
effort to grasp the control of the higher education of the
people, and make every college and seminary the teacher of
the worship of the Sacred Heart; to confine instruction
within the limits of Roman theology, and shut out more
strictly than ever before the light of modern progress. At a
great and powerful meeting of all the Roman Catholic editors
of France, a similar policy was resolved upon. By a strange
revulsion of sentiment the press was made to advocate its own
restriction or repression. The papal editors apparently sigh
for a return of the mediaeval practices when Francis I.
burned ardent printers in Paris, and the Sorbonne would have
banished the printing press from France forever. The Roman
Catholic papers invoke the restoration of the Bourbons and of
the temporal power of the Pope, and in the ardor of a new
spirit of martyrdom offered themselves up to a spiritual
bondage that must end in their own slow destruction and the
death of the national intellect They would enforce anew that
policy if isolation which has filled France with impurity,
and left it the prey of emperors and marshals, princes and
priests.
"France has thus displayed, since its first revolution, a
most remarkable contest. The spirit of freedom has more than
once placed its people in front of human progress, and ever
again the spirit of reaction has dragged them back into the
abyss of mental and moral decay. Its priests have invariably
triumphed over its reformers. The Roman church has always
held a supremacy above the law. Of all the national
institutions, it has alone preserved its freedom of action
unimpaired. It receives an enormous subsidy from the state.
While all other associations are held under a strict
subjection, while political meetings are scarcely allowed,
while the press is silenced, while Protestant churches can
hold no assemblies or synods except by the connivance of the
government, while Protestant churches are forbidden to have
either bell or steeple, the Roman priesthood hold their
councils and assemblies unrestrained, and cover the land with
their sodalities, their societies, their processions, and
their pilgrimages. The church is the only well-organized
political party. Its agents are active in every commune. Its
severe discipline produces order through all its hosts of
Jesuits, monks and priests. Its confessors rule in the
palaces of the wealthy and the hovels of the peasants. It
forbids education, it stifles thought, it inculcates a
pitiless severity against Protestants and reformers; and with
natural indignation the leading Republicans point to the
dominant church as the chief source of all the woes of
France, as sacrificing the morals, integrity and mental
elevation of the nation to the single purpose of maintaining
the ascendency of a foreign Pope. The French Republicans have
been forced to see that the Papal church is the necessary foe
of freedom. It would be well if our own people could learn
from their experience, and guard with strict vigilance their
institutions from the secret and open assaults of a foreign
priesthood.
"There is no doubt, at least in the minds of the French
Republicans, that to the intrigues of the Papal faction is
due the disordered and hopeless condition of the nation.
Gambetta's paper, _La Republique_, assures its readers that
the assembly is ruled by a party devoted wholly to the
ecclesiastical interests; that they labor only to reduce the
whole country to an abject submission to Rome, and are ready
to accomplish their aims by measures fatal to the peace of
France. It asserts that the priesthood forms a league as
rigorous as that over which the Guises ruled and against
which the Huguenots struggled; that the church has its
myriads of societies, committees, agents, an overflowing
treasury, the favor of the government, a single aim--an
infallible ruler. It calls upon the people, if they would be
free, to strike down the hydra that preys upon the state. The
policy of Bismarck, indeed, finds its best defense in the
condition of France. If the interference of the papal faction
proves so disastrous to the welfare of the French people, it
is plainly the interest of Germany to crush it forever by all
the resources of statesmanship. If the rule of papal Rome be
so intolerable to its friends, what might it not accomplish
in the dominions of its opponents? France may yet learn from
its neighbors over the Rhine the only path to freedom. What
it seems most to need is a Bismarck."
If in 1874, Mr. Lawrence, after making a thorough study of the
conditions of France, could so accurately prophecy what would happen
thirty years hence, the conditions at that time must have been indeed
very palpable, but no more so than they are in America to-day, as
Roman Catholicism within the past ten years has made greater strides
in strangling American liberties than she ever has in any twenty-five
years, before, as this creed of abominations has been losing its
hold upon not only the throats of France, but of Italy as well. As
she has made the effort of her life to plant the seeds of anarchy and
revolution in the bosom of her followers in the United States, in
order that she may at the proper time, and as soon as she believes
she is numerically strong enough to overcome by physical force, to
strike a blow that will paralyze every ambition of Protestantism in
this country.
Hundreds of the best and wisest men this country has ever known have
been for years warning the United States of her dangers from
Romanism, but it seems as though we will not heed the warning, but
bear in mind that unless this country does heed this warning and halt
the Czar of Darkness, we will live to see the time when we will have
to resort to arms to protect our Protestant interests.
The nation of France has swung out from the power of the Vatican, and
is to-day defying the Pope of Rome and daring him to do his worst,
and France is a nation that has always been a Catholic nation and
controlled by her abominations, but she has woke up to the fact that
unless this hellish doctrine is stamped out from her shores that she
will become a nation of mental pygmies and nonentities, as she has
long since learned that Catholicism is nothing more nor less than a
poisonous breath that withers intellect and causes nations to decay
and sink to the level of Romish degeneracy.
It seems as though the Vatican will not learn that the world moves,
as the Vatican is determined that Italy shall not appear above the
horizon of papal abhorrence.
It is hard for the Vatican to learn that the world moves and that
Italy moves with it. In its final resolution, the quarrel between the
Pope and the French government is based on the recognition of the
king of Italy as the sole sovereign in Rome, but the Pope is as
determined that him and his reign of darkness shall be the only
acknowledged ruler of Italy.
President Loubet of France, the executive of this Catholic nation,
gave great offense to the Vatican, by visiting the king of Italy,
who is in the eyes of the church a usurper.
According to the Vatican's standards, the kingdom of Italy is not an
accomplished fact, as the Vatican refuses to recognize any government
in Italy save that which he chooses to establish and build up out of
the filth and abominations of Roman Catholicism.
The Pope declares himself to be the only legitimate sovereign in
Rome, but the Italian government has for a number of years been
learning that the power of the Vatican is a power of darkness,
emanating from the putridness of paganism, and which is detrimental
to any nation that aspires to individual intellectuality, morality
and greatness.
The reader must bear in mind that Italy is the home of the Pope, and
the home of Popes, and that Rome is the city of Popes, archbishops
and cardinals.
This statement can not be denied by any living man, and since it is
true, we want to learn something of the inhabitants of Rome, so that
we may be prepared to judge whether Roman Catholicism is beneficial
or detrimental to those whom she rules.
We make the statement without fear of successful denial, that Roman
Catholicism is a power which withers the hopes and ambitions of any
nation, which is so unlucky as to fall under her tyrannical tread, as
Romanism is a power for evil, unequaled by any creed of deviltry and
diabolical cunning ever conceived by mortal man.
We have made the statement that the city of Rome was one of the most
immoral and ungodly cities under the shining canopy of Heaven, and we
have also made the statement that Rome is the home of popes,
archbishops and cardinals, and we propose to prove to the reader
that, while Rome is the home of Roman Catholic officials, that she is
also the home of the libertine and immoral.
We also propose to prove that the immorality of the inhabitants of
Rome is taught them by the Catholic officials of Rome, as we are not
writing of what we have learned from the mouth of others, but we are
writing of what we know by the power of sight, as we have visited
Rome more than once in the official capacity of Roman Catholicism,
and we make this statement with a living God as our witness, that
Roman Catholicism is responsible for the immorality found in the city
of Rome, and this immorality is not confined alone to the city
outside the walls of the Vatican, as this atmosphere of immorality
and degradation permeates the very atmosphere of the Vatican, as
illegitimacy is found within the walls of the Vatican, as well as
without.
Rome is a city of popes, cardinals, archbishops, priests, monks,
friars and ecclesiastical students.
In the city of Rome, which is the home of popes, there are 39
cardinals, 35 archbishops, 1,469 priests, 2,832 monks and friars,
2,000 nuns and 1,000 ecclesiastical students, making in all 7,576
teachers of this abomination; and for every 4,375 children born in
the city of Rome, 3,160 are bastards, and for every 750 people in the
city of Rome, there is a murder committed during the year; thus you
will see that this herd of Catholic teachers are not only teachers of
immorality and degradation, but are also responsible for murder, as
such a pestilence of immorality will lead to murder.
Is it any wonder that France and Italy are to-day struggling with
this polluted beast in order to free themselves from her filthy
grasp? Is it any wonder that France has closed up the monasteries,
convents and schools of this abomination!
With such nations as France and Italy declaring to their inhabitants
that Catholicism is not only a nuisance but a menace to intelligence
and morality, what can this government expect in the future if she
permits Romanism to continue to flourish in the future as she has in
the past?
This book is not written by a man who seeks notoriety, or a man who
is writing from a prejudiced standpoint, but we are writing from what
we know of the awfulness of Catholicism, as fifty-six long years have
rolled into eternity since I began to worship at the feet of this
immoral hag; therefore, the reader must know that it is not a
pleasant task to acknowledge before the world that we have been not
only fifty-six years a follower of this creed of abominations, but
for thirty long years we helped to fasten this creed upon the human
family.
I wish that it was within my power to become a spirit, which would
enable me to navigate the air and whisper my warnings into the ears
of Protestant America, for no nation on the face of the earth needs
the warning as badly as the United States, as day by day, week by
week, month by month and year by year the Vatican's shadow grows
longer and longer upon our shores, and wherever this shadow of
paganish darkness stretches itself you will find the withered hopes
of man, as Roman Catholicism's only ambition is to place humanity at
her feet, which will enable her to bind her followers with the cords
of superstition and ignorance, as she exists upon the blasted hopes
of those whom she rules.
If what I have told you in the pages of this book is true, then is it
not time for Protestant America to arouse herself from her lethargy
and buckle on the armor of righteousness and patriotism and go forth
to battle this "Strumpet of Sin" with the valor of our American
forefathers?
I have prayerfully endeavored to lay bare the sins of Roman
Catholicism, and the only hindrance I have encountered in my efforts
is on the account of not being more familiar with the English
language, as I am a German born, and my power of expressing myself in
the English language is materially hindered by being educated in
Germany, but thank God that education does not stand in the way of a
living God helping the foreign tongue to express itself in a manner
which can be understood.
I have endeavored to inform the reader who I am, what I am, and why I
am what I am, and have taken up the abominations of Catholicism and
treated these abominations in a manner that I hope will carry
conviction to the hearts of the reader, as I am qualified to go
before not only any official who has the power to administer an oath
and to make oath to the truthfulness of every assertion made herein,
but I am willing to meet my God around the great white throne in
Heaven and stand upon the declarations herein contained.
I have endeavored to give the Protestant reader to understand that
his offspring are considered bastards, and their parents persons who
live in immorality, by not belonging to the Roman Catholic Church and
being married by the priestcraft.
I have endeavored to tear the mask of ignorance from the bleared and
polluted features of Romanism and show her up in all of her
detestible ugliness.
I have in my weak manner endeavored to try to warn our American
fathers and mothers of the great danger of the "confession," as the
confessional is the stepping stone that leads to Romish abominations,
as it is there that the seed of immoral thought is planted and it is
there that the purity of girlhood is first tarnished, and if I can
arouse Protestant mothers and fathers of this land to these awful
sinks of iniquity I will consider that I have been instrumental in
helping to obliterate one of the greatest evils known to the human
family.
I have endeavored to point out to Protestant America the awful
mistake made by the United States in permitting Roman Catholicism to
continue her debauchery in Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philippine
Islands, as I declare to the reader with eyes wet with grief that not
only the flower of our army is being sacrificed in these far away
islands, but that millions of dollars are being spent upon these
islands and that Roman Catholicism is being benefited by this great
expenditure of Protestant money, as the Pope of Rome is as powerful
in these islands to-day as he ever was, and every intelligent
Protestant in this land who has made this subject a study knows full
well that had it not been for Roman Catholicism and her outrages,
that the Spanish-American war would never have been fought.
I have earnestly tried to make the reader understand that the
monasteries in this country are often the abodes of criminals, and
the nunneries of this land are the slaughter pens of virtue, and I
trust that my readers will read it in the spirit that I have written
it, and if such is the case I know that this little book will be
instrumental in not only opening the eyes of drowsy Protestantism,
but it will be instrumental in turning thousands of Roman Catholics
from the error of their ways and pointing them to "the Lamb of God
that taketh away the sins of the world."
I have endeavored to demonstrate to the reader that celibacy upon the
part of the priestcraft is one of the most damnable crimes known to
civilization, as it is the unmarried cussedness of the Roman Catholic
priests that is instrumental in the slaughter of virtue.
I have endeavored to prove to the reader that the Roman Catholic
Church is a living infamous insult to an all-wise God, by claiming
that the Pope of Rome is an infallible being, and I believe that if
the reader has read my book with a determination of discarding that
which is bad and holding to that which is good, that he or she will
close this book with an enlightened conception of this devilish creed
which would have its followers believe that the Pope of Rome is on an
equality with Jesus Christ.
I have endeavored to lead the reader from clime to clime, so that he
or she might behold the characters of the followers of Rome, and by
comparison I have endeavored to convince the reader that the
characters of the followers of Roman Catholicism are not nor never
can be on a par with the character of Protestantism, as Roman
Catholicism follows the teachings of paganism, born in the kennel of
filthiness and surrounded and led by a class of men who glut their
lust upon the virtue of their "dupes," while Protestantism is led by
the lowly Nazarine, whose teachings have made Protestant America all
that she is to-day or ever will be.
I have endeavored to point out to the readers of this little volume
the sin of Protestantism, permitting Catholicism to control our
public schools and teach our children doctrines that will be
instrumental in strangling their ambitions and paralyzing their
aspirations, which is near and dear to Protestant America.
I have from the bottom of an honest heart endeavored to impress upon
the reader the awful influence that the priestcraft of America has
upon the morals of this country, and I trust that this task has not
been a useless one, for America has no plague that is so deadly to
patriotism as this black-garbed army of priests, who tramp up and
down the length and breadth of this land, seeking whom they may
devour.
With every drop of blood in my old veins electrified with a desire to
serve a living God, I have endeavored to warn Protestant America of
the lustfulness of the priestcraft, who without a blush of shame
invade the chastity of our American homes, and by the hellishness of
this Romish doctrine pollute the wives and daughters of this fair
land.
I have pointed out the dangers which beset this nation by the
toleration of Popish rule, and have compared Protestant nations with
the nations which have been morally damned and disgraced by Romanism,
and I trust that my comparisons will lead an intelligent public to
see the dangers that beset this country unless Romanism is relegated
to the everlasting haunts of oblivion.
In conclusion I desire to say to the reader that he or she will never
know of the diabolical cunning of this Romish doctrine, for it is
impossible for mortal man who has traveled this road of debauchery
to ever portray in print to the public what he has seen along this
journey of ignorance, superstition and immorality, as no man who has
the welfare of the young and rising generation at heart would sink so
low as to write all of the awfulness that I have seen upon my journey
for thirty years upon this Romish highway of carnality, as every turn
in the path that leads through this desert of desolation is strewn
with the bleached bones of ambition.
There is not an oasis in this vast stretch of Romish desolation, as
her every ambition is to rule by superstition, ignorance and tyranny.
Again I would warn Protestant America that we are nearing the
trenches of physical strength, and unless we infuse into our
Protestant manhood the liquid fires of Protestantism, the time is not
far distant when the Bunker Hill that was made famous by the blood of
our forefathers will have her base dripping wet with the blood of
Protestantism, in defense of the principles that have made America
all that she ever has been, all that she is, and all that she may
hope to be.
Can we expect anything else should Roman Catholicism ever become
numerically strong enough to rule by physical strength? The answer to
this question must come from the pages of Romish history, and this
history has every page wet with Protestant blood shed by this Monarch
of Darkness, as 75,000,000 Protestants to-day sleep beneath the sod
of the universe, bearing the scars of Romish torture.
My task is done; my warning has been sounded; my prayers have been
offered, and now in the evening of old age, when life's sun is
slipping down behind the horizon of earthly things, I find myself
surrounded with the faces of new friends, but in the dim far away I
behold the countenance of my Lord beckoning me to that rest beyond
the skies, where I hope to receive a full pardon from a God I so
recently learned to serve.
For the sake of right, I bade farewell to the associations of my
childhood, but in doing so I have been permitted to taste of
realities that were bought for the human race "By the blood of the
Lamb," and I feel assured that when this earthly race is over that I
will be taken home to glory, where I will be permitted to sing the
songs of the new Jerusalem, and my prayer is that this little volume
may march on down the ages after I am gone, to warn the generations
that are yet unborn of the damnable teachings of Romanism, and be
instrumental in wooing away from this human viper those who have been
taught to worship at the feet of this hydra-headed monster, Roman
Catholicism.
THE LIE NAILED.
Catholicism is circulating a lie that BERNARD FRESENBORG
never was a Catholic Priest. Here is a copy of a Check given
Mr. Fresenborg by ARCHBISHOP J.J. HARTY, for saying "Mass" in
1903. J.J. Harty is now an Archbishop in the Philippine Islands
and one of Rome's big guns.
Archbishop Harty at the time this Check was given was Priest in
charge of ST. LEO'S CATHOLIC CHURCH, St. Louis, Mo.
[Illustration: Check]
[I will give $1,000 to any man, woman or child who will prove
that this statement untrue.]
THE END.
* * * * *
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES
TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS CORRECTED
The following typographical errors in the text were corrected as
detailed here.
On the cover page, "circumfrence" was corrected to "circumference" in
the following text: "This great book has stirred America from center
to circumference."
In the Author's Announcement, "enlightment" was corrected to
"enlightenment" in "A structure of enlightenment ..."
On page 18, "Catholocism" was corrected to "Catholicism" in the
following text: "... that I have shaken off this eternal bondage of
Catholicism ..."
On page 20, "ledgerdemain" was corrected to "legerdemain" in the
following text: "... Catholic legerdemain, and I was taught ..."
On page 22, "Herold" was corrected to "Harold" to be consistent with
other mentions of this name on the same page.
On page 28, "crimnials" was corrected to "criminals'" in the following
text: "... built with the purpose of sheltering her abominable
faithless in case these criminals' desire to hide themselves ..."
On page 34, "hodwink" was corrected to "hoodwink" in the following text:
"... which will enable the officials to "hoodwink" their followers ..."
On page 94, the text "carion" was corrected to "carrion" in the
following text: "... that part of the priestcraft which exists upon the
carrion of the human family ..."
In the first paragraph of chapter VI (on page 97) "Ecquador" was
corrected to "Ecuador" in the following text: "In this chapter, we have
before us the vision of two countries; one is Protestant America and the
other Catholic Ecuador."
On page 128, "asylumns" was corrected to "asylums" in the following
text: "The "asylums" of olden times were intended as retreats ..."
On page 136, "Crowe" was corrected to "Crow" to be consistent with other
mentions of this name.
On page 138, "absense" was corrected to "absence" in the following
text: "... asked his government of Holland for a leave of
absence to fight in the Boer war ..."
On page 141, "sytem" was corrected to "system" in the following text:
"... so I sailed for the diamond fields of South Africa, where I am
now free, by the system ..."
Also on page 141, the word "by" was corrected to "my" in the following
text: "... I walked to the banks of the Missouri River and raised
my buried treasure ..."
On page 147, "degredation" was corrected to "degradation" in the
following text: "... snatch their children from the Romish mire of
degradation ..."
On page 173, Pope "Piux" was corrected Pope "Pius."
On page 214, the word "concensus" was corrected to "consensus" in the
following text: "The consensus of opinion among all classes ..."
On page 219, "broad-guage" was corrected to "broad-gauge."
On page 255, "paracite" was corrected to "parasite" in the following
text: "... who are as heavily burdened to-day with this ancient
parasite ..."
On page 259, two instances of "instiution" were corrected to
"institution."
On page 277, "Massachuetts" was corrected to "Massachusetts" in the
following text: "If such things are now happening in the State
of Massachusetts ..."
On page 297, "Ctholicism" was corrected to "Catholicism" in the
following text: "... permit yourself to be made tools of in behalf
of Roman Catholicism ..."
On page 285, "blod" was corrected to "blood" in the following text:
"... every man, woman and child that lives under that old red, white
and blue flag, which was bought by the blood of our forefathers ..."
Also on page 285, "boldy" was corrected to "boldly" in the following
text: "... as she boldly and flagrantly declares that she ..."
On page 293, "emmissaries" was corrected to "emissaries" in the
following text: "... send her emissaries into the halls ..."
On page 306, "convice" was corrected to "convince" in the
following text: "... made a prediction that ought to convince every
sane man and woman ..."
On page 311, "hopless" was corrected to "hopeless" in the following
text: "... the intrigues of the Papal faction is due the disordered
and hopeless condition ..."
On page 312, "interefrence" was corrected to "interference" in the
following text: "If the interference of the papal faction ..."
On page 320, "expres" was corrected to "express" in the following
text: "... helping the foreign tongue to express itself ..."
On page 321, "detestible" was corrected to "detestable" in the following
text: "... in all of her detestible ugliness."
On page 322, "sacrified" was corrected to "sacrificed" in the following
text: "... the flower of our army is being sacrificed ..."
ERRORS LEFT UNCHANGED IN THE TEXT
"Villify" and "villified" are consistently spelled with two lls and
are used multiple times by the author. They have been left unchanged.
The word "lude" appears twice and is left unchanged.
The word "cungering" is spelled consistently and is used in multiple
places in this book. This word has been left unchanged.
The word "disorganizer" appears in a quoted passage, and is left
unchanged.
The following words each appear once, and are left unchanged:
"cathechism;" "effulgency;" "engraven;" "jesuitical;"
"Macris;" "Oricular;" "perceptibilities."
Both spellings of the word "Savior" and "Saviour" are used in this book.
End of Project Gutenberg's Thirty Years In Hell, by Bernard Fresenborg