Los Angeles daily herald., 1875-10-13
Grants Religious Plank,

ITcsiucilt 0hANT III Ills DeS NIOlIleS
speech after having declared his de-
sires for third term devoted the rest
of the time to the elucidation Of what
he regarded as a new tenet in Ameri-
can politics. He pronounced against
the combination of church and State
or the interference Of government in
affairs of religion in any manner. In
asmuch as religious liberty has never
been threatened in this country, and
besides being guaranteed by the con-
stitution, has been standing plank
in almost every platform of every par
ty since the formation of the govern.
ment, the Presidents position would
have been regarded as very weak had
he not preceded it by predicting in
the near future religious war in this
country. 1t was necessary to conjure
up an enemy to give significance to
his waving sword. Without the pros.
pect of religious war his religious
plank would have had no significance.
eve are to have another contest in
the near future of our political exis-
tance," he said. II predict dividing
line not to be Mason and Dixon's, but
between patriotism, ambition and
ignorance" Then he added "Let us
all labor for security, free thought,
speech and press; pure, moral, unfet-
tered religious sentiments and equal
rights and privileges for all, irrespec-
tive of nationality, color or religion;
encourage free schools, resolve moth
ing appropriated for them be applied
to support sectaran schools; resolve
that neither State nor nation shall
support institutions save those where
every child may get common school
education, unmixed with atheistie,
pagan or sectarian teachings; leave re-
ligion to the family altar; keep church
and State forever seperate. With
these safeguards believe the battle
which created the Army of the Tenne-
see have not been fought in vain"
This is unmistakably an effort to
drag religion into the political arena,
and inflame the rancor of bigotry and
sectarian zeal, that purely political
parties may be disrupted and the
GRANT party profit by the dissensions
General GRANT is the first Presiden-
tial candidate who has sought to
make capital out of religious fanata-
cism, and encourage sectarian hatred
by directing mems attention to smagi.
nary dangers in the future. He arouses
all sects by picturing the supposed ag-
gressions of their opponents. He seeks
to divide the people into numerous
parties by calling their attention to
the dissimilarity in their creeds: Con-
sidering the time opportune, owing
the bitterness of religious feeling in
Europe, to excite the fears of the weak
and the ambition of the strong. He
perhaps considers his prediction
like the ancient oracle will work
Its own fullfilment; that the Cath
olics will be aroused to the dam
ger Of the situation, and inaugurate a
campaign for self protection, and that
the Protestants, feeling their strength
with attempt to initiate the Prussian
government; and that both Protestant
and Catholic once aroused will war
against the infidel and the Jew. His
declaration of the maintenance of re-
ligious freedom was worthy of the
chief magistrate of the nation; his
attempt to embitter sectarian feeling
is unworthy of a true lover of his
country. But the artifice will react
upon this caluminator of the people
of the United States. Posterity will
place GRANTS vision of futurity
alongside of that of Don Quixote when
the heated imagination of the old
knight transformed flock of sheep
peacefully pasturing upon the plain,
into two contending hosts of mail
clad warriors. r-.e., 4r =
rorI0s AnreIes