Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1875-09-10
Ohio PolitIcs.-The Ge.han Eli.

From HarpeTs Weekly.
The story of the Geghan bill Is very SIM
pie, but it is very instructive. Las. winter,
MIR Geghan, Democrat and ? Roman
Catholic, introduced a bill into the Ohio
Legislature, providing that every inmate Of
a Jail or other public Institution should have
such religious attendance as he desired, and
that "ample and equal facilities" for reli-
cious ministrations should be FURNISHED TO
all. The bill was taken into the Democrat
ic caucus. and as there was some delay, Mr.
Geghan wrote a letter TO the EagWrcr,
stating that it was "a Catholic measure,
affecting Catholics solely because there
was an unjust discrimination in such
institutions against Roman Catholic cler-
gymen But no such obnoxious discrim-
nation can be found in the laws
of Ohio. In urging his claim. Mr..
Geghan declared that the Goman Catholics
had ''a prior claim upon the Democratic
party" because two-thirds Of it was com
posed Of Roman Catholics, and if the Legs
latiye majority hesitated, they should hear
from their constituents. Mr.. Geghan's let
ter not being sufficiently persuasive.
of the Roman Catholic Archbishop
Purcell, opened heavy fire upon the
Democratic leaders, openly telling them
that it would not be safe for them Ito
ignore or despise' the fifty thousand Cath
Ole voters Of Ohio, and informing them.
with supreme arrogance, that the Demo
cratic party lis now upon its trial Mr..
Geghan's bill will test the sincerity Of its
profession" The Roman Catholic clergy ap-
peared in the lobby Of the Legislature TO
sustain the measure and the Democratic
leaders yielded, and under the most reSolute
and public ecclesiastical coercion they passed
the bill Thus, under Democratic auspices,
the Roman Catholic church, whose political
interference is rejected even by Austria, has
dictated law of Ohio The Telegraph
deigned to express its approval, and imme-
diately said that ''the unbroken, solid vote
of the Catholic citizens of the State will be
given to the Democracy at the fall election. "
The Democratic party in Ohio consents to
be the tool Of ecclesiastical politics. 1t pass
ed the Geghan bill under the crack o. the
Roman Catholic whip. Is it unreasonable to
conclude that it will pursue similar course
in regard to any ''j,rieyance" that the RO-
man political mana. gers may plead? Con-
fessedly their great grievance is that the
school money is not divided. Schools which
are not Roman they denounce as Protestant.
or goddess, and insist that it is religious pc,-
secution to tax them for their support. The '
might as well argue that the American navy
is goddess because it is not oficered and
managed by Roman priests, and that it is a
gross Injustice to tax Roman Catholics to
support the expense of secular frigates. the
State, as such, the government, has nothing
TO do with religion. The Roman demand is
that il shall have that either the State
shall support no schools, or that the money
raised by the school tax shall be divided
anon. the sects. This is demand either
that the State shall not educate its children,
or that it shall foster religious hatred, which
is State suicide. The only possible danger
Of thi, calamity lies in Democratic subservi-
ence ID Roman Catholic sectarian aggres-
sions.