Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1875-10-08

ence of only twenty years ago showed how
easy it was to start the incendiary cry of
Acknowledgement of the Catholics and how
much more readily it would be caught up
by the ignorant and bigoted classes. Now
that the civil war is over, the merit of
having brought which to successful
issue is impudently claimed by the Repub-
lican party, when in fact it is due to the
strong Union party, which disbanded with
the close of the war, and whose members
are found now largely in our ranks,-now
that the war is over and the experiment
of living on its memories and keeping
alive its passions will no longer answer,
this new field of sectarian prejudice is
selected for operation, in the hope of per-
petuating the power which the Republican
party has so long and so ruthlessly swayed
to the INJURY of the great interests. ma
terial and moral, of the whole country.
Do you need evidence of this ''new de-
parture Look to the campaign in Ohio
There, because bill was passed by the
Democratic Legislature allowing persons
confined in prisons and other public in
stitutions to have clergymen of their own
faith to attend them, this is made pre-
text for charging an unholy alliance be-
tween the Roman Catholics and the Demo
cratic party to break up the public school
system, and the whole canvass is being
conducted on that issue. The same issue
has been attempted to be forced on the
people of New York in the present canvass
but so far without avail. In this State it
is boldly asserted by Radical papers that
it is the purpose of the Democrats TO de
stroy the public schools in the interest of
the Catholics, who it is falsely alleged de-
sire their abolition. And these papers are
appealing to sectarian preiudices against
Mr.. Carroll because he happens to be a
Catholic, and charging that he is pledged
to carry out this alleged scheme. The
better and more successfully TO arouse and
appeal to the bigoted class they have pre-
sented as the opponent of Mr.. Carroll, ].
Morrison Harris, a man who is only known
because of his advocacy twenty years ago
of political prescription on account of re-
ligion and nativity. And on top of all
this comes the speech of Gen. Grant, in
which he strikes the same note, and tells
the Army of the Tennessee that unless the
secularization of the public schools is pre-
served inviolate the civil war will have
been fought in vain. Who is assailing
the public school system of the country
and what has the President or the Nation
al Government to do with il Is it the
purpose of the Republican party TO make
the public schools National institution
1t looks so, and it looks as If in order to
accomplish that purpose it is intended to
excite religious prejudices against the
Catholics by alleging their intention to
destroy the system. This is the whole
scheme and there is abundant evidence of
it. Grant, who has never once lost sight
of the third term, sees here another chance
and he boldly and badly adopts this as
his platform and plants himself fairly and
squarely on it.
Is it possible that sensible men can be
for moment .cajoied into the support Of
any set of candidates who are in any way
allied with party seeking thus to excite
sectarian prejudices and passions No
more unholy or disastrous contest could
possibly occur, and it is to be hoped that
the people will promptly put their seal Of
on so nefarious purpose.