The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1894-06-01

Manly and Righteous Expressions.
The A. p. A. Is not only getting more az
tive and wide-reaching in its operations but tn
. healthy American sentiment of our people !
, making itself more emphatic In condemnation
} In Missouri the A. p. A. has come out int
the open to an unusual extent for it, and 1t
organs are calling upon its member
to defeat Gov. Stone for reelection
on the ground that he was TIN
author of the anti A. p. A. plank in tn
late Democratic state convention. The gov
ernor shows good appetite for the issue ant
says that while he did not write the plank hi
thoroughly endorses 1t, and 81 am positively
and unqualifiedly opposed to the effort they
are making to inject religious intolerance into
political affairs. am opposed to making re-
ligious tests of citizenship, and hate any
kind of prescription. On this rock stand.''
But the most gratifying thing is the way
Protestant papers and leaders of real religious
thought, even those that have the strongest
feeling against the church of Rome, denOunce
the secret burrowing Of this organization. Mr..
Conwell, the great Baptist preacher of Phila-
delphia, carried his people enthusiastically
with him when he denounced its work before
the missionary union at Saratoga this week,
ance as primary American principle. The
New York Examiner, the great Baptist
weekly, denounces the whole A. p A. bust
ness, its methods and purposes as "anti-Amer-
lean, anti Christian and anti-Baptist," and
calls on Baptists to oppose 1t in every way in
their power, because it is "hostile to the New
Testament, hostile to the spirit of Christ, hos
tile to the fundamental law of the land; and
because no Baptist can join this organization
without repudiating that for which Baptists
have contended for centuries, and which is
their peculiar trophy, the equal liberty of all
men in matters of religion" 1t pronounces
the A. p. A. oath ''flat contradiction of the
federal and state constitutions, all of which
provide that no religious test shall be required
as qualification to any Office or public trust"
And it adds:
Any member of the A. p. A. who is
elected to an Office to which attaches the
power of appointment must perjure himself |
Ii he appoints Catholics he Is false to his |
A. T. A. oath; If he refuse to appoint Catho-
lies he is false to his oath of office. More
over he swears, as a member of the society to
guide his private political conduct by prin-
,iple repudiated in the Constitution. y If
Romanists have been unjust, grasping, un-
Of American principles, we are to re-
Ort the injury upon them in double measure
The motto of the A. p. A. might well be:
The villainy you teach me l will execute,
nd it shall go hard but will better the in
NH = ~ 1~N 81
oint out to sane people how violently in
onfict with the teaching of Christ this per-
ecuting oath is. 1t is worthy of the Inquisi-
ion; it is the spirit of the devil, falsely pre-
ending to be jealous for pure religion and
ndefiled. I
Zion's Herald, the Methodist organ of New I
'ngland, and in fact the great majority of t
eligious papers take similar ground. "The ]
hurch and the Times" says:
The reasons why we do not favor the A. p. t
:. are not that its members are fearful that +
atholcism will get control of the govern
ent and our other American Institutions
)ubtless there are grounds for sober anxiety S
this direction-but that it is that they have G
far departed from American ways as to Or :
inize under the dark cover of secrecy and to ,
us fightitheir battles like towards instead OF t
anding up like men and openly and fairly O
aging the conflict before the world. Evil =
ay wish to hide in secret conclave but right
BUSINESS never.
The Voice, the national organ Of prohibit d
On says truly:
A secret political society is unworthy cour- K
,eOus American citizens conscious of the Il
stice of their cause and the integrity Of i,
ler purposes. :.
The Worcester Spy, though Republican :;
per and though the Republican party has y
t most the benefit of the A. p. A. movement :. .
us far, enforces this point well when it says: :"
Imagine the consequences of secret So
,ty, spread throughout the land, controlling !,
g political destiny of city, state and nation, Ii
t by open discussion of candidates and Ell
inciples, not through the honest convictions eli
d the will of the whole people freely eX- .,
essed, but by dictum, imposed nobody "
ows how or why or by whom, and deter OF
ned i'm secret conclave, the members of &C
lich are bound by solemn oath to relentless m
lrfare upon single religion. Men, -
rship is libel on the intelligence, If not as
, honesty of every man concerned. e'
And the Springfield Union adds: CO
There is nothing in the conduct of our pub ca
affairs, or in the discussion of our public ne
estiOns, which is not best done openly and ia
)ve board. Darkness is more apt to cover w
ckery and fraud than honesty, prudence to
i patriotism. bu
t is a matter of just pride that not a single in
in Vermont has thus far had la
I'd to say in favor of the A. p. A. ei,