The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-12-21

5eaih d vote Dy being mlSrepreSented.
 am writing this letter for the sole purpose of giving MT. Taft an opportunity to let the world know what his religious belief is.
 ln conversation with about fifty gen. temen last evening, 1t was claimed by at least half of them that his sympathy Was all with the Roman Catholic church and that more than 20 millions of dollars had been used in purchasing property in the Philippines which, through the in- fluenee of Taft, was turned over to the Pope.
 If your honor feels that this is a mat ter of sufficient weight to demand a pulp lie declaration and that 1t would be very consistent thing to dos l would be very glad indeed with thousands of others, to know the facts relative to the subject matters mentioned in this short letter. If, on the other hand, 1t is not considered wise or prudent to touch on this subject, let this letter follow thousands of others, to the waste barket. Very respectfully,
 J. c. MARTIN.
 The White House,
 Washington, Oct %. 1908.
 My Dear sir-Your letter of the 2Oth instant has been received. The statement that. MT Tafts wife and brothers are Catholics is ridiculous falsehood, which every man making or repeating it either knows or ought to know to be a false heod.
 I enclose for your information copy of letter addressed by Bishop Hartzell, of the Methodist Episcopal church, to an official of that church, which explains it. self Very truly yours,
 VIM. LOEB. JR.,
 Secretary to the President.
 MT. J. c. Martin, Corner Fourth and Jefferson Streets, Dayton, Ohio.
 Now, MT. President, the public is al- dx fo1 ut aXfRndpd e. ply which you saw fit to make lnd@" d1te of November 6. The statements of that letter seem to me to demand some tur- ther recognition Allow me, therefore, to call your attention to the following in answer to your accusation of islander and bgotry; also to your assertion, Tafts re- ligion is purely his own private concern, a matter between him and his Maker, a matter for his own conscience. Let us see about this.
 You begin your letter saying you re- oeived many such letters during the cam paign expressing dissatisfaction with MT. Taft on religious grounds; then go on to say that you postponed answering during the campaign as you regarded it an out rage even to agitate such a question as a mans religion during a political cleo tion; then go further to show where such propositions as made in my letter would lead.
 Careful reading of my letter to you, your secretary's reply and the commence ment of your letter of November 9th, clearly shows the reason assigned was not the only reason you had for postpon- ing answering my letter until after the election.
 You say you selected my letter because it contained both objections namely, that Taft is a Unitarian, and in sympathy with the Catholics. By referring to my letter you will find that the word Uni tartan does not appear in it. have no objections to your singling it out and using it as a sort of clearing house for all letters on that subject but l do ob- ject to your msquoting it, which may be the result of having received so many letters on the same subject.
 Where say, ''It is being circulated and constantly urged as the reason for not voting for Taft that he is an infidel;' after the word infidel you choose to sup ply the word Unitarian in parenthesis, which makes 1t In opposition with the word infidel (meaning the same thing), It is misleading to the general public and misrepresenting what I actually wrote. It is quite an easy thing to take part of letter and change its wording and thus place one in a false light. If you chose to quote from my letter, 1t was not so long but what you could have taken time and i the general public to believe that I brand a Unitarian as an infideL There is an other reason why you may have supplied the word Unitarian after infidel (but I hardly think this possble), namely, that it indicates your recognizing the words as being synonymous.
 About Tafts religion you say he Is a Unitarian. Quoting from a pamphlet is- sued by J. c. Capehart of Morganstown, 1T hQ f0 c assertion), Edw. Everett Hale says the Unitarian church denies the Deity of Jesus Chrust; the Unitarian church denies Jesus Christ was with God in the ere ation; denies God the Father promised him as the Messiah denies he was born of the Virgin Mary; denies he was not the son of Joseph or a bastard; denies he was very God or very God manifest in flesh; denies he did the miracles recorded of him; denies his blood atones for the sins of the word denies he arose from the tomb; denies he ascended into heaven; denies he is to be worshiped as God jointly with the Father denies he is coming again to judge the world; denies the Bible is the word of God.
 I believe charity, like light, should radi- ate on every side and bend to all the wants of our brethren so long as it does not oppose God and the Bible.
 History shows us that if Unitarinism disqualified one from rendering service to his country, then Horace Mann, one of the foremost educators of America, would have been shut out; David Starr Jordan, president of Leland Stanford university; Carl D. Wright, president of Clark col lege and many other professors and the last seven presidents of Harvard univer- sity. including President Eliot, who has just resigned after 40 years of service, during winch he won for himself the fore most position in the field of American education. Then again, think how much our national Congress Is indebted to Edw Everett, Charles Sumner Daniel Webster, John c. Calhoun and George F. Hoar, all Unitarians, and IA of the governors of Massachusetts, including John A. An drew, the great war governor, belonged supreme justices of the supreme court, many associate justices have been adher- ents of the Unitarian faith; many illus trious names which have alike graced the history of our nation. I do not wish to deny or rob the Unitarian church of any good or benefit it has been to the we'd or done for the world; but after admitting all the claims of the Unitarian church, then I ask all the Evangelical Protestant churches = Methodist, Baptist, Presby- terian. Lutheran, Disciples, Episcopal etc., Gas well as Roman Catholics)-Since the very vital questions which I have heretofore named, are foundations upon which these churches rest, if they can consistently cast aside all the fundamental doctrines of their church and support 8 man who denies what they acknowledge