The San Francisco call., 1908-11-15
TAFT'S PHILIPPINE
CHURCH ATTITUDE
President Elect Writes of His
Actions Toward Catholic
Hierarchy
81 Dealt Evenly and Fairly With
the Friars,'' He Declares
in Letter

ST. PAUL, Mimi, Nov. 1.-THE Dis
patch today prints correspondence
which passed between Rev. Angus Lar
son. pastor OF the Swedish Baptist
church of this city, and Judge William
II. Taft. The letter from Larson was
directed to Judge Taft through the
republican headquarters in ST. Paul,
attitude toward the Catholic church in
the Philippines. Judge Taft's reply,
dated October g. follows:
MY Dear Sir-I have your letter OF
September 2e You ask nc whether
81 .o0o. 900 were paid to the Catholic
ury on my recommendation. l reply
that it was not. The friars' aerieui-
tural lands in the Philippines, 425.000
acres, or about that amount were pur-
chased from the corporation formed by
the three orders of the friars in the
Philippines, and the money was paid
from bonds issued by the Philippine
government on the authority OF con
gress and is a charge upon the Philip
pine islands. The purchase was ap-
proved by the Filipinos.
The uprising in the Philippines was
against the spanish government and
the Spanish friars whom the govern
ment used as policemen in attempting
10 stamp out the sedition and political
0lSCuSSiOn the f1llplnOS.
In speech in New York l did not
make plea for the Roman Catholic
church in the Philippines, except to
say this: That the influence OF all the
churches in the Philippines was neces-
sary for the uplifting of the people,
and therefore. that everyone would de-
sire the prosperity OF all the churches,
and that as the Roman Catholic church
had the largest following. everyone.
Protestants or Catholics. would desire
its prosperity; that il was in a deplor
able condition due to the change in the
situation in which the government paid
its expenses to one in which it was
bound to look to its parishioners for
support, and that they were in the habit
of deriving benefit from the church and
not contributing to it. 1t made a diff
cult situation for the Roman Catholic
church.
MORE THAN HALF CATHOLICS
1t is not true that half OF the popu-
! lation of 3 900. 900 of people are not
Roman Catholics. There was a one
time large detection, due to the SO
called Agilypa schism, but ii has not
| been maintained in number, and many
are returning to the Roman Catholic
church, while others are going into
Protestant churches.
The present governor is Roman
Catholic, but he is one of the most
careful men in maintaining an impair
tial attitude between Catholics and
Protestants that we could possibly
Z
take an interest in Protestant Sunday
schooi work or to attend Protestant
churches. Only by law there is en-
Joined upon teachers the nonteaching of
religious matters in public schools
No money has been paid TO the friars
/ for Libraries that they claim have been
burned, so far as / can recollect. The
sum of money paid was for rent and
damage TO converts or rectories done
by United States soldiers
do not think that Catholic digni-
taries IN the Catholic church should
have greater consideration from a pub
lie official than any other regularly
organized religious body. 1t has han
pened that by reason of the fact that
the Philippine government under Spain
was inextricably united with the Cath
olic church, and that that union had TO
be severed and property and other in
terests had to be assigned to the church
or to the state that | had much to do
with the hierarchy of the Catholic
church, and visited Rome in order to
bring about a settlement The settle
| ment has been brought about. and. in
my Judgment, 1t is fair and just to all
parties.
TAFT NOT A CATHOLIC
am not Catholic and have not
been affiliated with the Catnolic church.
All ] have attempted to do was to do
justice TO that church and to the Fill
pino people. | have treated that church
exactly as | would have treated any
other church had it been in a similar
position to that of the Catholic church.
may add with respect to the friars'
lands that the purchase was political
one and .agrarian one rather than a
commercial one. There were SO. O00
tenants on the friars' lands. who. be-
cause of the confiscatory measures
passed by the so called Malolos Agui-
naldo convention. refused to recognize
the title OF the friars. This title was
as good title as there was in the
Philippines and it authorized the frfars
to go into our courts when they were
tahlished and institute sc. 1000 evic-
tIons. This would have led to sec
ond revolution. and it was an absolute
the lands, and then attempt to disnose
OF them, as we are now doing. to the
tenants on long and even terms of pur-