Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1893-05-11
Sectarian Intolerance.


Mr.. Geo. B. Addicks, member OF
the German Methodist Conference, at
st. Louis, last Thursday, read a paper
before that body, which, to say the
least, contained some unique sugges-
tions. He demanded that Congress
should disfranchise every Jew, Mormon,
Catholic, or unbeliever, who could not
read intelligently the Constitution of
the United States. Evidently the
young gentleman-and he must be
very young-regards the Protestant
denominations of this country as
monOpolizing all of its intelligence,
morality and patriotism. Why he
should demand an intelligence qualifi-
cation for the Jew, is not apparent.
Certainly, no class of our citizens are
more intelligent than the Hebrews.
The callings they almost invariably
pursue make a knowledge of the ele-
mentary branches of learning a pre-
requisite to entering upon them. If it
be the general intelligence of the voter
that is sought to be secured, then his
suggestions are wholly unnecessary;
for, in almost any community in our
land, he will find numbers of Jews in
any contest calling for kneenness of in
tellect, who can well afford to give him
spades and cards. In our business
transactions with our Catholic fellow
citizens, we have been wholly unable
to discover any flies on thessintellect of
any one of them. We have found the
average Catholic to be about as will
ing to risk his life or spend his money
for his country as any one else-even
German Methodist. With the Nor
mons we are wholly unacquainted, ex-
cept we have understood they entertain
views about as tolerant as those of Mr..
in regard to freedom of opin-
ion; also that they and Mr.. Nautilus
have reached widely divergent conclu-
sions upon the subject of population.
As to the wretched unbeliever, we will
say nothing. He may be a good man
TO his family, charitable man to the
needy, an honest man to his creditor
but all this counts for nothing, if his
belief works are defective. It would
have been vastly more becoming in
Mr.. Addicks as the member of a Con-
ference, if he had had the courage to
what was really in his mind:
The advisability of disfranchising those |
whose religious views he could not ap-
prove; for this is really behind his |
ogic. Very many of our fellow citi-
,ens of foreign birth-especially if they |
lave pronounced religious or political |
one of the country
cousin who invited his city relative to
summer with him. He threw his
house open, and welcomed him with
,AtCuuOu Stuu SdNO hALA VI VIC
,est; hut the city man could not con-
emit himself with being a mere guest
le must play the role of reformer.
The whole domestic economy of the es-
must be revolutionized,
md the house entirely remOdeled.
When it was intimated to him that if
le found his present surroundings un-
those at his city home might
etter meet his requirements, he COM
la;ned of being insulted. For the
enefit of those of our citizens of foreign
firth who lack Information, we will
tate that this government has nothing
D do with religion or irreligion. tits
OF Christian, Infidel. or Mohammedan.
md we cannot afford under any pretext
ne luxury to those who seek our
hores of prosecuting those who do not
gree with their political or religious
Jews. If you are not satisfied, gentle
len, the door is open.