The Evening dispatch. [volume] (Provo, City, Utah) 1891-1895, 1895-02-28
PROVO CITY. FEB. IS. ISE
RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE.

Tuesday night an unfrocked priest or
the Catholic church and his wife, an
ex-nun, went to Savannah, Georgia, to
lecture on Catholicism and were
mobbed. Before these people could
leave the building where the lecture
was delivered the city government was
compelled to summon eleven companies
oPmilitia and every policeman on the
force to protect them. This, after the
order of Hibernians had first applied to
the mayor to forbid the lecture. 1t
was estimated that between 5000 and
1000 men, riotous men, were assembled
with.the avowed purpose of preventing
the lecture or of killing the lecturer
and his wife, and there Is 10 doubt but
this would have been done but for the
care of the authorities of the city in
providing a sufficient protection.
Has it come to this, in this nation?
The constitutions Of both the United
States and the state of Georgia declare
that freedom of speech shall be enj yed
by every American citizen and none
shall be interfered with because of the
exercise of this privilege. We are aware
that men leaving the priesthood, of
their own volition or for any cause, are
put under the ban by the membership
of the Romish church, and we are also
aware of the exceeding horror which
attends the desertion and marriage of q
nun. But this. great as it may be,does
not warrant men in rioting and
in upsetting the law or In
committing murder and the like,
This priest, Slattery, while a
member in good standing of the Cath
olic priesthood, should have obeyed
the authorities set over him by his
church, but when he quit his Office and
his church he had a most perfect and
undoubted right to speak on any sub
ject, even to call in question the policy
and doctrines of the church or any
branch of it, and no man or combina-
ton of men had the least shadow OF
right to seek to prevent him or to mo
lest him, for so doing. They mistake
the character and policy of this nation
and its government most widely who
think they can enforce their prejudices
over the law in cases of this kind
While the government will not permit
any power of whatever nature to in
Gerrupt or persecute any Catholic, yet it
will never permit any Catholic to pre-
vent any American citizen or any ont
else who in lawful way speaks of any
denomination Of Christians, or who
calls in question or criticises any doe
trlne of any such Christian church
This is called religious freedom anc
and it is guarded most jealousy by tn,
whole genius and power of the govern
ment.
The mayor of Savannah acted in {
manly way in the emergency. He re
fused to forbid the lecture and assigned
an excellent reason for such refusal
When the interference was mad,
he called to his side the DO
lice and the military and afforded
the lecturer and his wife ample pro
lection. Every good American citizer
must comm end his act and at the SAM
time condemn the mob spirit in tn
Hibernians who sought to prevent
free American citizen from ENJOYING
the rights which are guaranteed tC
him by the nation al and state consti
tutIons both. No church nor any othe
power in this land can muzzle peopl
in this W aY. 1t will not be tolerated
here. Before this eX-priest could havr
been prevented from speaking to th
people on any subject whatever, tht
last man in the nation and its last dol
lar would have been expended in hi
defense, Why will not all the peopl
and all the churches learn this grea
truth and act accordingly? Why at
tempt so fool-hardy thing as to pre-
vent the exercise of this freedom
They must learn it and learn it wei
long ere they are worthy of citizenship
This occurrence at Savannah is onl
another loud-mouthed argumen
against the predominance of any sec
or religious combination In this govern
ment. Neither the Romish or an,
other church, nor ali of the churche
put together are strong enough to pre-
vent any, even the humbliest Ameri
can citizen born, speaking his homes
sentiments on any rostrum in the land