Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1875-05-27
The ROmanized Democracy.

If all the Roman Catholic voters in Ohio
were to vote, they would scarcely make ninth
part of the whole number That they should
all vote, and should exercise every praticle of
moreal or political power they possess, on in
telligent man will endeavor to prevent. In
the more than seventy years since Ohio be-
came State, founded and administered with
and under free and tolerant institutions, on
hindrance has been made to any religious
worship, nor any law passed making distinction
between religious bodies, or giving any ground
or pretext for new laws in favor of any sect
Yet, in the year 1875, we find the Democratic
party in the Legislature enacting new law
confessedly in the interest of Roman Catholics
What does this mean? Why should it be !?
What is the end of it? The combination of a
political party with religious -sect is, and
must always be, looked on with suspicion.
Especially will it be suspected when this sect,
with its infallible head of Rome, is the only
one ON earth which claims and in times past
has exercised supreme allegiance from civil
as well as religious associations. This is ad-
mitted by Cardinal Manning in his speech be-
fore the Academic, and the most and best
which is claimed for the Roman Church against
this charge in the letter of Lord Acton is that
Romanists do not exercise this power, fact
which we imagine is much more due to the
want of power than to the want of will. Why,
then, should great political party court re-
igious body which is less numerous than one
or two others, and yet claims such supreme
power? Why concede to this usurpation of
power something which it would not concede
to more numerous body? The reason is
evident to all intelligent people. The Roman
Catholic Church is the only one in this country
which can be, and will be, massed in one COM
pact body on any point, and for anything
which its necessity may require. The Pope is
infallible, and so are all his priests when a
work is required to be done. Military men,
at least, understand that a compact, drilled,
organized body of 10000 voters, which can be
turned in any direction, at any moment, is a
more powerful body than 200, 900 independent
and file-fring militia voters. The Democratic
leaders fear the former. They do not fear the
latter. They know perfectly well that the
man who prides himself on being ''free and
independent voter is precisely the one who
stands so straight that he falls over backward !;
that he can in nine cases out of ten be relied
upon to help the drill-masters of Rome. This
is why such profound and unprecedented re-
spect was paid by the Democratic Legislature
to the Roman Papacy in the passage of the
| Geghan law.
The division of parties is Rome's opportun-
ity. What it could not begin to do by its own
power it does by an intrigue with the Demo-
cratic party. The country is nearly equally
divided between the parties, but the Demo
cratic party is the easiest governed by its
leaders, and therefore the easiest traded with.
1t began in Cincinnati many years ago, by an
attack on the school fund, but was then un-
successful. OF late years Rome has begun to
get pretty rich fruits. New York city gave a
million of dollars in the shape of lot to the
Roman Cathedral. Then Tammany Hall filled
two-thirds of all the city offices with Roman
Catholics. They swallowed Sweeney and Con-
molly whole, and put in Democratic Tween to
sweeten to dose. Now, they are trying to get