The morning journal-courier., 1908-11-09
DEFENDER OF FAITH
Continued from First Page.)

of influencing political election. | But now that the campaign is over, when there Is opportunity for men calmly to consider whlther such prop ositions as those you make in your let ter would lead, l wish to invite them to consider them.
 You ask that Mir. Taft shall let the world know what his religious be- lief is.' This Is purely his own prl- Vate concern, and it is a matter be- tween him and his Maker, a matter for his own conscience; and to re- qulre 1t to be made public is under penalty of political discrimination, is to negative the first principles of our government, which guarantees complete religious liberty, and the right to each man to act in religious affairs as his own conscience dictated Mr. Taft never asked my advice In the matter but If he had asked 1t, 1 should have emphatically advised him against thus stating publicly his religious belief
 To discriminate against thorough ly upright citizen because he belongs to some particular church, or because like Abra ham Lincoln, he has not avoWed his allegiance to any church, is an outrage against that liberty of conscience which is one of the founda- tions of American life.
 You are entitled to know whether man seeking your suffrages Is a man of clean and upright life. honorable in all his dealings with his fellows and fit by qualification and purpose to do well In the great office for which he is candidate; but you are not entitled to know matters which lie purely be- tween himself and his Maker. If it ia proper or legitimate to oppose a man for being a Unitarian, as was John Quincy Adams, for instance, as Is the Rev Edward Everett Hale, at the present moment chaplain of the senate, and an American of whose life all good Americans are proud-then It would be equally proper to support or oppose a man because of his views on justfica- tion by faith, or the method of admin istering the sacrament, or the gospel enter on such a career there Is abso- lutely no limit at which you can legiti- mately stop
 So much for your objections to Mir Taft because he is Unitarian. Now, for your objections to him because you think his wife and brother to be Rom an Catholics As it happens, they are not; but if they were, or if he were Roman Catholic himself. 1t 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 man for any office, | especially for President of the United | States, who is a Roman Catholic" | believe that when you say this you | foully islander your fellow coun- trymen. do not for one mo- ment believe that the mass of our fell | low citizens, or that any considerable | number of our fellow citizens, can be influenced by such narrow bigotry as to refuse to vote for any thoroughly | upright man because he happens to have particular religious creed. Such | as d reason for either supporting or opposing candidate for a political of- flee Are you aware that there are sev- eral states in this Union where the | majority of the people are now Catho- lies l should reprobate in tho severest Cor in any other states) who refused to vote for the most fit man because he happened 10 be a Protestant. and | my condemnation would be exactly as severe for Protestants who, under re- vcrscd circumstances refused to vote for a Catholic.
 I believe that this republic will en- dure for many centuries. If so. there will doubtless be among It's presidents | Protestants and Catholics, and very probably at some time, Jews.
 In my cabinet at the present moment tneTe sll sue ns slde CatnOllc anu Protestant, Christian and Jew, each | man chosen because in my belief he is peculiarly fit to exercise on behalf of all our people the duties of the office | to which I have appointed him.
 Yours truly.
 (Slgned) THEODORE ROOSEVELT. | Mir. J. c. Martin Dayton, O.