Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1908-11-11
PEOPLE SHOULD NOT INTERFERE
The President-Elect's Religious Be-
lief, Declares the Presider:;, is
Purely His Own Private Concern;
a Matter For Which BE Is Re-
sponsible Solely to His Maker, and
Not q Subject for General Dis
cussion or Political Discrimination.

discrimination" says President
Roosevelt in a letter he made public
in which he answers numerous cor
respondents. The President says he
deferred the publication of the letter
until now to avoid any agitation
likely to influence the election. The
letter follows:
November 6, 1908.
My Dear Sir: l have received your
letter running III part as follows:
"While it is claimed almost uni
rersally that religion should not enter
into politics, yet there is no denying
that it does, and the mass OF the
voters that are not Catholics will not
support "a man for any office, es-
pecially for President of the United
States, who is Roman Catholic.
"Since Taft has been nominated
for President by the Republican par
ty, it is being circulated ard is con-
stantly urged as a reason for not vot-
ing for Taft that he is all inidel (Un-
itarian) and wife and brother Roman
Catholics. If his feelings
are in sympathy with the Roman
Catholic Church on account of his
wife and brother being Catholics,
that would be Objectionable to a suffi-
cient number of voters to defeat him.
On the other hand, if he is an infdel,
that would be sure to mean defeat.
I am writing this letter
for the sole purpose of giving Mr..
Taft all opportunity TO let the world
know what his religious belief is.''
I received many such letters as
yours during the campaign. express
ing dissatisfaction with Mr.. Taft on
religious grounds; some of them :.
the ground that he was a Unit: IAN,
and others on the ground that he
was suspected to be in sympathy with
Catholics. l did not answer any Of
these letters during the campaign
because l regarded it as an outrage
even. to agitate such question as
man IS religious convictions, with the
purpose of influencing political
election. But now that the campaign
is over, when there is opportunity Cor
men calmly to consider whittier such
propositions as those You make in
your letter would lead, l wish to in
rite them to consider them. and l
have selected yotir letter to answer
because you advance both the OBJ
iections commonly urged against Mr..
Taft. namely: that he is Unitarian
and also that he is suspected of SYM
pathy with the Catholics.
You ask that Mr.. Taft shall ''let
the world know what his religious
belief is" This is purely his own
private concern, and it is a matter be-
tween him and his Maker, matter
for his own conscience; and to re-
quire it to be made public under pen
atty of political discrimination is to
negative the first principles of our
government, which guarantee COM
plete religious liberty, and the right to
each man to act in religious affairs
as his own conscience dictates. Mr..
Taft never asked my advice in the
matter, but if he had asked it. /
should have emphatically advised
him against thus stating publicly his
religious belief. The demand for
statement of a candidates religious
belief can have no meanilg except
that there may be discrimination tor
or against him because of that be-
lief. Discrimination against the
holder of one faith means retaliatory
discrimination against men of other
faiths. The inevitable result of en-
tering upon such a practice would be
an abandonment Of our real freedom
of conscience and a reversion to the
dreadful conditions Of religious dis
sensions which in so many lands have
proved fatal, to true liberty. to true
religion and to all advanced in civili-
alton.
To discriminate against thorough
ly upright citizen because he belongs
to some particular Church. or be-
cause, like Abraham Lincoln, he has
not avowcd his allegiance to any
Church, is an outrage against chat
liberty Of conscience which is one
of the foundations of American life.
Tou are entitled to know whether a
man seeking your suffrage is man
of clean and upright life. honorable
in all his dealings with his fellows,
and fit by qualification and purpose
to do we'll in the great office for
which he is candidate; but You are
not entitled to know matters which
lie purely between himself and his
Maker. If it is Proper or legitimate
to oppose a man for being a Uni
tartan, as was John Quincy Adams,
for instance. as is the Reverend Ed
ward Everett Hale, at the present
moment chaplain of the Senate, and
an American Of whose life all good
Americans are proud-then it woald
be equally proper to support or op-
pose man because of his views on
justification by faith, OF the method
Of administering the sacrament of the
gospel of salvation by works. If You
once enter on such career there is
absolutely no limit at which You can
legitimately stop.
So much for your objections to Mr..
Taft because he is Unitarian. Now,
for your objections to him because
you think his wife and brother to be
na4lol.an Ar ;t hnrnannd