The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1908-11-12
PRESIDENT GIVES
RELIGIOUS VIEWS
DECLARES TAFTS BELIEF is PURE
LY HIS OWN PRIVATE AFFAIR,
NOT PUBLIC.
SEES DANGER IN CREED TEST.
Tells All Questioners That All Must Be
Accorded True Liberty of Con-
science at All Times.
ANY AGITATION IS AN OUTRAGE

ANY AGITATION is AN OUTRAGE.
WASHINGTON, u, c., Nov. 9.-"Mr.
Tafts religious belief is purely his own
private concern, aud not a matter for
general discussion and political discrim-
nation" says President Roosevelt in
letter to j. G. Martin of Dayton, O.,
which he has made public and in which
he answers numerous correspondents.
Tho President says he deferred the pub
LEGATION Of the letter until now to avoid
any agitation likely to influence the cleo
ton. The letter follows:
Nov. G, 19os.-My Dear Sir: received
your letter running in past as follows:
while 1t is claimed almost universally
that religion should not enter into politics.
yet there is no denying that 1t does, and
the mass of the voters that are not Cath-
olicS will not support man for any Of
flee. especially for President of the United
states. who is a Roman Catholic.
since Taft has been nominated for Prcsi-
dent by the Republican party, ii Is being
circulated and Is constantly urged MS
reason for not voting fer taft that he is an
intdel Unitarian and his wife ana brother
are in sympathy with the roman catholic
church ON account of his wife ana brother
being Catholics, that would hr objection
able to Il sufficient number of voters to de
f"gt him. On the oth.r hand, If he is an
iutidel, that would be sure To- moan defeat.
l am writing this lottcr for the sole
purpose of giving Mr. lalt au opportunity
to LET the world know what his religious
belief Is.
Outrage in Agitation.
I received many such letters MS yours
during the camp-map expressing dissat s.
faction with Mr.. Taft oH religions grounds;
some Of them ON the ground that he was
Unitarian, ana others uu the ground that
he was suspected to b. in sympathy with
Catholics. | did not answer amy Of thcS"
. letters during the campaign, because | re
gardcd it as an outrage even to agitgte such
a question as Il man religious convictions,
with the purpose of influencing political
election, But now that the campaign is
over when there Is opportunity for men
calmly to consider whittier such PROPOSE
lions as those you make in your letter
would lead, | wish TO invite them to Consld-
or them. and | have selected your letter to
answer because you advance both the OBJ
jectlons commonly urged against Mr.. Taft;
namely, that he Is Unitarian and also
mat ne is suspected Of sympathy with the
Catholics.
You ask that Mr.. Taft shall ''Iet the world
know what his religious belief is" This Is
purely his own private concern, and ii Is a
matter between him and his Maker a mat
ter for his own conscience; and to require
i to be made public under penalty of Pc
principles of our government. which guar
antee complete religious liberty and the
right to each man to act In religious affairs
as his own conscience dictates,
ON Concern of Public.
Mr.. Taft never asked my advice in the
matter, brt If he had asked 1t | should
have emphaticaly advised him against thus
stating publicly his religious belief.
The demand for a statement of a candi-
dates religious belief can have no meaning
hat tlnrA 1f.r.4 H..
for or against him because Of that belief
Discrimination against the holder of one
faith means retaliatoy discrimination
ngainjt men Of other faiths. The inevitable
result Of entering upon such ii practice
would be an abandonment of our real free.
dom OF conscience and reyerSiun to the
which in so many lands have proved fatal
to true liberty. to true religion and To al
adyance in civilization:
To discriminate against thoroughly up
right citizen because he belongs to some
particular church, or because, Ike Abra-
ham Lincoln, he has not avowed his allie.
glance to any church, is an outrage against
mat liberty OF conscience which Is one OF
the foundations of American life.
You are entitled to know whether a man
seeking your SURFACES is a man of clean
and upright life, honorable in all it. deaf
ings with his fellows, and fit 10y qualihca-
ton ana purpose to do well in the great Of
flee for which he is n candidate. but YOU
are not entitled to know matters which lie
purely between himself and his Maker
Danger in Greed Test
If it is proper or legitimate to oppose a
man for being a Unitarian-as was John
quincy Adams, for instance, rs Is Key,
Edward Everett Hale, at the present mo-
mcnt chaplain of the Senate and an Amcri-
can of whose life MI good Americans are
proud-theu 1t would be equally proper to
support or oppose q man because of his
views on justification by faith or the meth
Cd of administering the sacrament or tho
gospel of salvation by works. II you once
enter on such n career there IL absolutely
no limit at which you can legitimntely
stop.
So much for your objections to Mr. TAFT
because he is Unitarian. Now, for your
objections to him because you think his
wife and brother to be Roman Catholics,
As 1t happens, they are not, but If they
We're, or II he We're a Roman Catholic him
self it ought not to affect in the slightest
degree any man 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 n Roman cath
Ole" ! believe that when you say this you
foully Islander your fellow countrymcn. /
do not for one moment believe that the
mass of our fellow citizens, or that any
considerable number of our fellow citizens,
can be influenced by such narrow bigotry
rs 10 refuse to vote for any thoroughly up
right and fit man because he happens to
have particular religious creed.
Never Political Issue.
Such Il consideration should never he
treated as reason for either supporting
or opposing candidate for politcat office
Are you aware that there are several
states in this Uuinn where the majority OF
the people are now Catholics? | SHOULD
rrprubatc in the everest terms the Cath.
ulicS in those states tor In any other statcsI
who refused tu vote for the most tit man
because he happened to be Protestant,
and my condemnation would he exactly as
severe for Professionals who, under reversed
ollie
In public NE ! am happy to say that
! have known many men who were elected,
and constantly re- elected To office In dis.
trirts where the great ma jorty of their
constituents were Of different religious
belief. | know Catholics who have for
many years represented constituencies
mainly Protestant. and Protestants who
have for many years represented constitu-
encies mainly catholic; and among tho
congressman whnm | know particularly well
was one man Of Jewish faith who rep
resented district in which were hardly