The Writings of Carl Schurz/To M. W. Dillon, October 30th, 1901
TO M. W. DILLON
The slip from the Daily News which you have shown me, contains a gross and wicked misrepresentation of what I said in my recent speech delivered in Cooper Union. I am quoted as saying:
“The bands of brigands in the mountains of Italy, offering prayers of thanksgiving to the Virgin Mary after a successful loot, are as much a part of the Catholic Church as Tammany Hall is a part of the Democratic party.”
I was arguing that Tammany Hall could NOT rightfully be called a part of the Democratic party. I illustrated this by adding: “The brigands of the Abbraggi, offering thanksgiving to the Virgin Mary after a successful loot, are just AS LITTLE a part of the Catholic Church as Tammany Hall is a part of the Democratic party.” This was the very point of the argument. What I said was therefore not only not a slur upon the Catholic Church, which I would not think of being guilty of; but on the contrary, it was a compliment to the Catholic Church, for I distinctly scouted and repudiated the idea that the brigands of the Abbraggi could be considered a part of the Church. No candid person will read that part of my speech without seeing this at once.