The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1875-06-12
mo POPERY !" IN OHIO.

mo POPERY!" IN OHIO.
The nomination Of Hayes by the Republi-
cans of Ohio last week over Judge Taft has
an important significance that is not appar'
emf ON the surface of the proceedings Judge
Taft is a high.toned honorable gentleman,
of such marked fitness for the place and OF
such an honorable record that the mere men.
ton of his name for the office seemed enough
10 insure his nomination; and in fact up to a
week or two before the convention no thought
of making any other nomination seems TO
have been seriously entertained. when the
convention got together, however, II was dls'
covered that a powerful underhand influence
had been at work to defeat him, and that, in
fact so potent was this influence, that the
nomination of Judge Taft was out of the
question What was this influence? Its
character may be gathered from the objec-
tions to his nomination that were embodied
in circular thrust into the hands OF the dele
gates as they reached Columbus, and which
did the business. This circular averred that
the nomination of Judge Taft would be ruin
Gus to the "great republican party" for two
reasons FIRST as Judge he had as much as
intimated that there was no law to sustain
the crusaders in violently closing liquor sa'
looms; and secondly, as Judge he had decided
in the famous Cincinnati school case that
there was no law to prevent school directors
from excluding the Bible from the public
schools. Judge Taft was inundated, there
fore, first, because he was not heart and soul
in sympathy with the crusaders or ready by
judicial decisions to justify their unlawful
acts; and secondly, because he was unwilling
to head the crusade of the bigots against the
Roman Catholics by compelling, without the
warrant of law, the protestant Bible TO be
daily read in all the public schools His de-
feat for such reasons, and the nomination of
Hayes in his stead, therefore virtually makes
the contest in Ohio religious instead of a
political one. The republican party, despe-
rate under the overweight OF its political
sins, and reckless in its despair, has raised
for its campaigning-cr the shout mo Pope
nv and Death to the rumseller!"
Commenting on the first clause of this cry,
the ST. Louis Republican asks:
What is this cry of No pOpery supposed
to signify? Do we understand that, IN the
estimation of the Ohio Republicans, as par
ty or as individual men, the Catholic church
is a power militant against the institutions of
the country? Are we to infer that danger OF
the snbversion of our liberties is in the air
Shall we conclude that the religious organi-
cation known as the Catholic church must be
subjected to political control or political re-
straint through the agency of the Republican
party? We want to understand this mo
popery'' business thoroughly. If it is moth
ing more than a buncombe yell for special
use in whocplng up the descendants of the
Connecticut Blue.law Puritans who populate
the Western Reserve of Ohio, very we'll. We
can understand 1t in that light; only, we
think it well that q general understanding
should be had to the same effect But if the
cry is raised as dogma of Republican doc
trine at large, and if 1t is to be made per
manent issue, we should be permitted to I'M
'derstand that fact.
1t is certainly difficult to imagine anything
in politics more debasing than the shape
WnlCn, unueT republican manipulation, inc
contest in Ohio has been made to assume
Instead OF submitting to the judgment of the
people any OF the living political issues Of
the day, such as tariff, banks, currency,
southern misrule, and the like these unscru-
pulous politicians have set down and deliber-
ately planned how they can get control of the
offices in Ohio for the next three years by
lodging all these issues. To assume that
such scheme can succeed, is to decide that
the people are dishonest and universal suf
fragc snare and delusion.