The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-11-09
Roosevelt Makes Public
 His Letter.
JUDGE TAFT AND ALL
 cREEDS WARMLY DEFENDED
A Mans Religion is His Own
 Private Concern.
Mr. Roosevelt Says That Some Day We VIII Have a Jewish President ana g Catholic President in
 the white House.

Washington. Nov. s-secrstary Tafts religious faith is purely his own private concern and not matter for general discussion and political dis, elimination" says President Roosevelt in letter he made public tonight in which he answers numerous corre- spondents.
 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. ''A5y Dear Sir:
 T have received your letter running in part as follows: [
 "fwhlle 1t is claimed almost uni- versaily that religion should not en- ter into politics yet there Is no de- nying that 1t does. and the mass of the voters that are not Catholics, will not support man for any office. especial ly for President of the United States, who Is Roman Catholic.
 since Taft has been nominated for President by the Republican Party, it is being circulated and is constantly urged as a reason for not voting for Taft that he is an iniidei (Unitarian) and his wife and brother are 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 sufficient number of voters to defeat him. On the other hand. if he is an infldel, that would be sI,re to mean defeat am writing this letter for the sole pur- pose of giving Mir. Taft an opportunity to let the world know what his rec ltgious belief is.'
 An Outrage.
 ''I received many such letters as yours during the campaign. expressing 7 dissatisfaction vfith Mrs Taft on rec Ifgious grounds; some of them on the ground that he was q UnitaEians and others on the ground that he was sue- pected to be in sympathy with Caths ofics. I did not answer any of these letters during the campaign because regarded it as an outrage even to agi. tate such a question as q mans re. ligIous convictions with the purpose of influencing as political election. But now that the campaign Is over. But there is opportunity for men calmly to consider whither such propositions as those you make in your letter would lead, I wish to invite them to consider them, and have selected your letter to answer because you advance both the objections commonly urged against Mr Taft, namely: that he is a Unitarian and also that he ts sus- pected of sympathy with the Catholics.
 You ask that MT; Taft shall .letstns iis world know what his religious belief ta.'' This is purely his own private concern; and it is 8 matter between him and his Maker, matter for his own conseience; and to require 1t to be made public under penalty of politi- cal discrimination Is to negative the first principles of our government kAA gslc liberty, and the right to each man to act in religious affairs as his own cons science dictates. MT. Taft never asked my advice in the matter. but if he had asked 1t. I should have emphati- caIly advised him against thus stating publicly his religious belief. The de- mand for 6 statement of a candidates religious belief can have no meaning except that there may be discrimina- ton for or against him because of that belief, Discrimination against the holder of one faith means retaliatory discrimination against men of other faiths. The inevitable result of enter ing upon such practice would be an abandonment of our real freedom of conscience and a reverslon to the dreadful conditions of religious dls- sensfon which in so many lands have proved fatal to true liberty. to true re- ligion, and to all advance in civiliza- tion.
 Liberty of Conscience.
 gro discriminate against thorough ly upright citizen because he belongs to some particular church, or because. like Abraham Lincoln, he has not avowed his allegiance to any church, is an outrage against that liberty of con- science which Is one of the foundations of American life. You are entitled to know whether q man seeking your suffrages is a man of clean and upright ufe honorable in all his dealings with his fellows. and it by qualification and purpose to do well in the great of- nee for which he is a candidate; but you are not entitled to know matters which lie purely between himself and his Maker. If 1t is proper or legiM- mate to oppose a man for being a Uni- tarian. ns was John Quincy Adams for instance, as is the Rev. Edward Ever ett Hale, at the present moment Chap lain of the Senate, and an American 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 administering the sacrament, or the Gospel of salvation by works. If you once enter on such a career there Is absolutely no limit at which you can legitimately stop.
 ..so much for your objections to Mir. Taft because he is a Unitarian. Now, for your objections to him because you think his wife and brother to be Ro- man Catholics. As it happens. they are not; but if they were. or If he were a Roman Catholic himself. it ought not to affect in the slightest degree any mans supporting him for the position of President. You say that the mass of the voters that are not Catholics will not support a man for any ofiee especially for President of the United States. who is a Roman Catholic"
 Foul SIandeR.
 eI believe that when you say thHS won foully slander your fellow coun- trymen do not for one moment be- Heve that the mass of our fellow cit- tsenH, or that any considerable number of our fellow citizens, can be influenced by such narrow bigotry as to refuse to vote for any thoroughly upTigbt and ft man because he haD-