In  all  of  his  lectures  Father  Tom  strongly  advocated
banishing  secular  music  from  the  church,  urged  con-
gregational singing,  and  denounced  the  prevailing  ragtime
which  he  said  was  illegitimate  in  the  extreme  on  account
of  obnoxious  prevalence  of  the  syncopation.  "It  is  used
rather  to  degrade  than  uplift  and  in  all  the  cities  of  the
country  is  used  principally  by  the  lowest  characters,  being
a  select  medium  for  clothing  slang  and  double  mean-
ing terms,  and  the  general  tone  of  it  smacks  much  of
looseness.  Another  objection  is  the  fact  that  it  makes  a
buffoon  of  the  negro  race.
' '  I  believe  in  teaching  the  young  to  appreciate  the  bal-
lads of  our  forefathers — the  simple  old  songs  that  breathe
pure  love  and  that  incite  them  to  the  right  ideas  of  patriot-
ism. To  my  mind  the  most  beautiful  ballads  written  are
those  of  Ireland  and  Scotland,  but  there  is  one  man  of  our
own  country  whose  work  I  consider  preeminent  for  heart
songs  and  that  is  Stephen  Foster,  author  of  Suwanee  River
and  Old  Kentucky  Home.
"As  to  church  music,  which  is  a  hobby  of  mine,  I  am  in
favor  of  a  return  to  the  original  plain  chant  as  a  solid  basis
for  church  music.
"Theatrical  or  operatic  music  is  out  of  place  in  church,
and  as  for  ballet  music  which  we  sometimes  hear  in  the
Catholic  churches,  I  think  it  an  abomination  in  the  house
of  God.  What  is  wanted  in  our  churches  is  that  which
will  make  the  head  and  heart  bend  low.  Such  was  the
music  of  St.  Ambrose  in  the  fourth  century  of  which  St.
