The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1895-08-16
Senator Hoar on the A. p. A

Senator Hoar on the A. II. A.
Senator Geo. +. Hoar of Massachu
setts gives to the public this week
grand letter, one of the range and pow
err of which he is often capable wher
he rises above pure partisanship, or
the A. p. A. issue. 1t is written II
answer to two from L. G. Evans OF
Boston taking exceptions to the Sena
tors address at the Clark University
summer school, and complaining that
the course he is pursuing tends to the
breaking up of the Republican party,
as Daniel Webster's speech did for the
old Wing party. The Senator's reply
is almost Lincoln like in its method
and it's candor He points out num-
Der of gross misrepresentation OF his
address, which Mr.. Evans quotes, as
characteristic of the evil of a secret
controversial organ cation where false
hood is sure to be disseminated be-
cause it can 60 uncontradicted. Quot
ing from the Catholic John Boyle o.
Reilly's noble ode to the Pilgrims at
Plymouth, he says:
| want the whole 700, 900 Catholics
of Massachusetts to believe what John
Boyle O'Reily believed, and to love
and reverence the Puritan founders of
Massachusetts as he did, and | think
my way is the way to make them do
it. You don't, if l understand you.
You think the way to make good cit
liens and good men of them and to at
tract them to Professionalism is to eX-
clude them, their sons and daughters,
from all public employment and to go
yourself into dark cellar and curse
at them through the gratlngs OF the
windows.
And he enforced the thought in
these words:
Is it your opinion that Gen. Philip |
II. Sheridan, were he living, would be |
unfit to hold civil or military office in |
this country? or that his daughter, if
she entertained the religious belief of
her father, should be disqualified from
being teacher in a public school?
We desire above all things the
of the principles of civil
and religious liberty and above all
other instrumentalties to that end, the
of our common school sys-
tenn, at the public charge, open to all
the children and free from partisan or
,ectarian control. If you and / differ,
It is only as to what Is the best means
If accomplishing these ends. If you
-hink that they are best accomplished
~ secret societies, by hiding from the
ace of day, by men who will not &C
what they are doing, and by
efusing public employment to men
md women who think on these subjects
Exactly as we do, but whose religious
aith differs from ours, then | don't '
gree with you. | think your method
will result in driving and compacting Z
ogether. in solid mass, persons who I
viii soon number nearly or quite 30 d
er cent. of the voting population of t
Massachusetts,. Nothing strengthens t
len, nothing makes them SO hard to h
ear reason. nothing SO drives them to c
III action as persecution. On a
be other hand, my method Is the e
lethod of absolute freedom and OF t
ure reason. The Catholic boy, who f
as grown up in our common schools, IL
no has formed his youthful friend t.
hips with his Protestant classmates,
hose daughter or sister, as he grows ;,
der, is employed as teacher, will v
cry soon be as ATTACHED to our com D
on school system as we are ourselves. a
e will be required, as he gets proper d
:, to pay his share for its support. ;,
e cannot ask to be exempt from tax "
which all Protestants cheerfully sub II
it, whether their own children be in Il
lie schools or not, and he will not cas- tr
y be made to give his consent to pay 10
G twice. The American spirit. the ~
irit of the age, the spirit of liberty, g
e spirit of equality. especially what as
oyer Williams called ''soul liberty" or
able to MAINTAIN herself in a fair =,
Id and in free contest against all '"
mers. Do not compel her to fight in
c cellar. Do not compel her to &c
eathe the damp maaria atmosphere fir
dark places Especially let no MEM a.
+ of the Republican party, the last
lid of freedom, lend his aid to such OF
effort. The atmosphere of the re- en-
bile is the air of the mountain top n,
d the sunlight of the open field. =,
sr emblem is the eagle and not the !"
t. on