The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-12-21
CORRESPONDENCE ON TAFT'S
 RELIGION IS MADE PUBLIC
Accuses President oi Changing
 Wording of His Letter.
Mir. Martin sticks to His Deelarntion That Nine-Tenfhs of veser. of 'Uaited states wen't Sup
 port Roman Catholic
 fer i'rssaasncy.

Dayton, O.. Dec 20.---J. c. Martin of this city. who prompted the issuance or statement from President Roose- Velt during the recent presidential campaign anent Mir. Taft's religious belief, and the availability of a Catho- lic for President of the United States, today mhde public correspondenee be- tween himself and the President con- corning this matter in which he seeks to set himself right" before the pub- lie. feeling that his views had been misrepresented In the Presidents 1et- ter of Nov. 6.
 Mir. Martin goes exhaustivsiy Into the subject of the availability Of . candidate for President. presenting what he considers the views Of non Catholics of America upon the sub Ject.
 The correspondence follows:
 Dayton. Ohio, Dec. 20. 1908. To His Exceilency, Theodore Roose-
 stat.. ssat fTSsidsRt wssh,ng,oD Of the United
 Dear hlrs--Before replying to your letter of November 6. desire to call your attention to my letter Of 0cto- per 20 and the reply made by William Loeb. Jr., secretary to yourself, that in the event my reply should find lts way t9 the general public. they will have ter able to view the matter from m intelligent standpoint.
 The following Is 2 true copy of my ln your answer of November 6. IDoS Following this is a true copy of the answer given by your secretary. wall Ham Loeb, Jr.
 Dayton, Ohio. Oct. 90, 1908. Mir. Theodore Roosevelt, Presidene of
 the United States Washingtuns Dear sir:-whiiie 1t ia claimed d. not enter into politics. yet there is no denying that 1t does, and the maaa Of the voters that are not Catholics will not support Q man for any ofIlce especially for President of the United states. who Is Roman Catholic,
 Since Taft has been. nominated for President by the Republican party 1t ls being circulated and is constantly being urged as the reason for not vofAs Ing Tor Taft that he is an iniidel and his wife and brother Roman Cathofica.. While tt Is not an easy matter O cor rect a thing of this kind without perhaps making enaHles sR are cordinw Co the dictates of our own couscience. But iG a man does not believe In God t would be dlncuIt IT his feelings are m sympathy wifh the Roman Catholics Church on ac- count of his wife and brother beinE to a saficient number of vofsfs to de- feat him. On the other hand. if he is an iniidel that would be sure to
 
 1t strikes me that any man who is deserving Of the highest and u1oat responsible oftlce in the world should not hesitate to let the world know hieg views on so important a question. If your excellency knows his belief it should be made known by you or by Mir. Taft himself. that such questions as these should not lead any voter astray or cause him to vote dfifer- ently than he would If he knew the facts. No man should lose or gain q
 l am writing this letter for tha sole purpose of giving Mir. Taft an op- portunity to let the worll know what
 In a conversation with about afty gentlemen last evening, 1t was claimed by at least half of them that hia SMHdiic cnthHoiic chuTch l A and S that % more % than twenty millions of dollars had hoen used in purchasing property In tho philipp.nsS which: thr0SSh .0 o sne ta inzlSs sSs
 ii your honor. feels that this Is matter. of sufficient weight to demand a public declaration and that 1t would be q consistent thing to do. would be very glad indeed, with thousands of others, to know the facts relative this short letter. If, on the other hand, 1t is not considered wise or. pru- dent to touch on this subject. let this letter follow thousands of others. to the waste basket.
 j. c. Martin.
 The White House. l- Washington, Oct. g, 1908.
 My Dear sir:-Your letter of the goth instant hes been received. The statement that Mir Taft's wife and brothers are Catholics is ridiculous falsehood, which every man making or repeating 1t either knows or ought to know to be a falsehoO
 ehStVse nSttsr sSdrSseaa hy Rishon xSarf. zeIi of the Methodist Episcopal Church. which explains itself,
 Very truly yourss
 William Loeb. Jr..
 Secretary to the President. Mir. J. C. Martin. Corner Fourth and
 Jefferson Streets. Dayton. Ohio.
 Now Mir. President the public Is ai- ready familiar with the more extended roply which you saw fit to make under date of November 6. The statements of that letter seem to me to demand some further recognition, Allow me, there fore, to call your attention to the fol- of islander and bigortyi also to your as- sertion. Tafts religion Is purely his own private concern, a matter between him and his Maker. a matter for hia own conscience. Let us see about thts.
 You begin your letter saying you re- ceived many such letters during the campaign expressing dissatisfaction with Mir. Taft on religious groundss then so on to say that you poatponeu answering during the campaign as you regarded 1t an outrage ever to agitate shch a question as a mans religion du- rinR d political election; then go fur ther to show where such proposition as made in my letter would lead.
 Careful reading of my letter to you. your secretRry's reply and the com nencement of your letter of November clearly shows the reason assigned was not the only reason you had for postponing answering my letter until after the election.
 You say you selected my letter be- cause 1t contained both objections. namely that Taft is a Unitarian. and in sympathy with che Catholics By refer ring to my letter you will nnd that the word Unitarian does not appear in it. [ have no objections to your singiing it out and using N as a sort of clearing house for all letters ou that subt9ct,
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