Manchester Democrat., 1908-11-18

u Ile foundations OF American nfe.
You are entitled to know whether a
Inan seeking your suffrages 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
u a candidate, but you are not en-
titled to know matters which lie pure
" between himself and his Maker.
"f it is proper or legitimate to op-A
pose man for being a Unitarian, as
was John Quincy Adams, for in
stance; as is the Rev. Edward Ev-
erett Hale, at the present moment
chaplain of the senate and an Ameri-
cHn of whose life all good Americans
are proud then 1t would be equally
proper to support or oppose a man
because of his views on justification
by faith or the method of administer
ing the sacrament or the gospel or
salvation by works. If you once en-
ter on such career there is abso-I
lntely no limit at which you can le-.
ultimately stop.
slandsr Of Fellow Citizens.
so much for your objections. to-
Mir. Taft because he his Unitarian.
Now for your objections to him be-
cause you think his wife and broth
|e to be Roman Catholics. AS it hap
pens, they are not; but If they We're.
or if he were Roman Catholic him
self, it ought not to affect in the.
slightest degree any mans support
| ing him for the position of president.
You say that the mass Of the
voters that are not Catholics will not
support man for any office, espec-
tally for president of thhe United
States, who is a Roman Catholic,
| I believe that when you say this
you foully SANDER your fellow coun-
Itrymen. do not for one moment be-
lieve that the. mass of our fellow cit
Iizens, or that any considerable NUM-
Der of our fellow citizens, can be in
fluenced by such narrow bigotry as
Ito refuse to vote for any thoroughly
upright and fit man because he hap
pens to have particular religious
cie eed.
"Such a consideration should never
be treated as reason for either sup
porting or opposing a candidate for
a political office. Are you aware
that there are several states in this
union where the majority of the peo-
lie are NV Catholics? should rep
rebate in the severest terms the Cath
Iolics who in those states or in any
other states refused to vote for the
|most fit man because he happeued
to be a Protestant; and my condem-
lnation would be exacly as severe for
|Protestants, who under reversed cir
'lcumstances,. refused to vote TOR q
Catholic.
i Where Greed Counts Not
"In public life am happy to say
that 1 have known many men who
were elected, and constantly re-elect
ed, to office in districts where tht
great majority of their constituents
we're of different religious belief
+ /! know Catholics who have for man.
tlyears represented constituencies main
~ Protestant, and Protestants VIII
'' have for many years represented cor
e stituencies mainly Catholic; an
! among the congressman know pal
q lticularly. we'll was one man of JEWS
s faith who represented district
a which there we're hardly any Jews q
IS oil. All of these men by their yer
u existence in political life refute tn
u slander you have uttered against yo'
fellow Americans.
81 believe this republic will endui
er for many centuries. II so there dou
s. less will be among it's presidents Pr
er :testants and Catholics, and probab
n at some time Jews. I have constan
De ly tried while president to act in
m lation to my fellow Americans
ne Catholic faith as hope that any
Is ture president who happens to be
We Catholic will act toward his fellc
ue Americans of Protestant faith. ii
VI followed any other course shou
ssIhave felt l was unfit to represe
Or the American people.
be- z Divergent Faith in Cabinet.
or I'm my cabinet at the present n
he ment there sit side by side Cathq
ny and Protestants. Christian and J
lat each man chosen because in my
me lief he is peculiarly fit to exercise