The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1866-04-05
Radicalism in MissOuri--The Mean
est BigOtTy.

From the st. LOUIS Dispatch.
The Radicals have enacted that
Church property and cemeteries held
by trustees, or corporations, or curators,
shall be exempt from town, county and
city taxation; but that church property
not so held shall be taxed. This means
as it was ingeniously intended to mean,
that Catholic church property and ce-
meteries, which are held by the bish-
ops and Archbishops, shall be tareG and
that Protestant church property and ce-
meteries, which are held by corpora
tions or trustees, shall not be taxed.
Voters of St. Louis-is this Just? We
put the question not exclusively to
Catholics We do not need to ask
them. They are the victims of the ini~
quitous discrimination, and they knolO,
and feel that it is hagrantly and cruel
ly..1gyilSL But we put the question TO
every fsir-minded, manly Protestant in
the city. Is it fair-is it republican
Is it American for the State thus to
discriminate between creeds. in its
statutes,-to prefer one, and specially
stigmatize another-And thus to pave
the way towards making Professionalism,
or some particular branch Of ProteStantisnl,
the State Church, and making Catholi-
cism an outlaWed and branded faith?
ls it fair to impose special tax upon
that Church which Was first to rear the
Standard of the Cross on the spot
where st. Louis stands, and extort
from the savage aborigines their first
homage to the True God2 Is it manly
for US to affix stigma to the church
in which Laelede and Carondelet
worshipped2
The law we refer to taxes the Cathe-
dral, occupying the site of the first
place of Christian worship in st. Louis,
but exempts the First Presbyterian
church (ReV. DR.. Nelson's) a far costlier
edifice, on Lucas placer
1t taxes Father Ryan's church, but
exempts the Rev. DR.. Posts
1t taxes the College (St Xavier's)
church, but exempts the First Metho-
dist church, standing near by.
Do Dr. Nelson and Dr. Post think
can they think this discrimination in
their favor equitable and fair7 We can
not believe they do. They are Protest
ants it is true; but their grasp of the
idea of religious liberty is frail indeed,
if they can look with any other feeling
than repugnance upon law which "a
Vors them at the cost of that idea.
This discrimination extends to the
burial places of the dead. Catholic cem-
eteries are to be taxed; but Protestant,
and corporation cemeteries are not to
be taxed. The body of Edward Walsh
one of the humblest, noblest and kind
est men who ever lived in St Louis,
rests in Calvary Cemetery-a Catholic
burial ground. The bones of his broth
er, John Walsh, one of the earliest mer-
chants and most estimable citizens of
st. Louis, lie there, too, So do the ashes
of Byran Mullsnphy, the generous ben
efactor who, dying, beaueathed:a lega-
cy valued at $550000 10 the city he
loved. These men, the Washes, Bryan
Mullanphy, together with the Chou
teaus and other fathers and benefac-
tors OF St Louis, were Catholics. They
were reared and died in the Catholic
church, and they were inferred in
Catholic burying grounds. But the
Radical party reward their virtues
and their benefactions by taxing their
tombs and their ashes, because they l0ere
Cath0Hcsi They compel the city, which
was their home, and the beneficiary of
their generosity, TO the execrable mean
ness Of disturbing their bones with an
unnatural indignity. In return for the
princely legacy of half a million which
Judge Mullanphy left to St Louis, they
send tax gatherer to compute the
value of his tomb, and exact q tax
thereon
Other graves are not taxed, provided
they are in Protestant, or corporation
cemeteries. The city and county are
forbidden to tax Bellefontaine GENE
terry, which is owned by corporation
of stockholders; neither can they tax
the Wesleyan cemetery, nor any other
Protestant church cemetery. This, we
think, is right. We believe all resting
places of the dead ought to be untaxeO
by the laws of Christian State. But
the irreyerent and malignant partizsni
who now govern our State and city re
fuse 10 accord this poor favor of an un
taxed resting place to Edward Walsh
John Walsh, Bryan Mullanphy, and the
| ClOuLeausi OcC0Uec Htey WS'S ON'I'S''NS
They force the tax collector to insult
their ashes once year with an impioul
demand for an obolus for the privilege
of having been Catholic, and being
buried IN St Louis county,
Few men in Missouri have rendered
the cause of Union and right more val
liable services during the war, thar
Father De Smet and DR.. Linton. Th'
Radicals will repay their services by
imposing special tax on their religion
faith whlle they live, and special tai
on their graves when they die
People of st. Louis-THIS is RAD
CALISM Say we not truly that it
the meanest, foulest, cruelest party o
bigots, hypocrites and ingrstes tha
ever cursed free country