New-York tribune., 1909-01-06
TAFT ON CHURCH POWER
Tells Ministers Its Influence Is
Necessary for Progress.

Augusta. Ca. Jan. 5.-To the Protestant min
isters Of Augusta President-elect Taft to-day eX-
pressed bis views regarding the influence Of the
church upon civilization and its usefulness in aid
Ing governmental development The ministers had
extended Mr. Taft cordial welcome and expressed
a desire to arrange a reception for him. their
manifestation Of frendliness being closed with
prayer. Mr.. Taft began by thanking them for their
good will and their prayers adding:
In carrying the burden OF a government
which, with its increasing usefulness. necessarily
entails greater tasks they who charged with us
execution need every assistance and sympathy
Mr. Taft referred 10 the moral awakening dur
ing the last four years indication OF the
healthtuI state of our civilization. The people had
demanded a moral reform, he said. and in this the
clergy must take important part In his ex-
periences in the North and South and in the Philip
pines. Mr.. Taft said. he had beer able 10 study
many different phases II civilization, especially IN
the matter OF church influence He continued:
Leaving out the sectional distinctions the IN IN,
GsPensa6le presence Of G1grcn na one can be
blind to who has shared in the slightest me Re
sponSlnIilIy Ior soveIi,menS i Gnu a 'N have That
was a responsibility in respect to race that Is
be uplifted in my judgment, through us and our
guidance. before we shall have dlsenSseG men ms Is
And in the study of the development IT mas maze maze
ence that the church must exercise in order to
make our progress there effective II Inc norvsa stsa
that state of Christian tutelage to whlch 4 t na,o
referred. Now the ban has oeSE IeIiloNSTu ~
other denominations and they are all In there on
an equality in the spirit OF Christian enulatlOn
without the moral influence of the churches Iiie-9
could not accomplish anything, . 10.
Il Is difficult sometimes to explain 70 one VIZ VIZ
has been used to the close union OF Cnurcn diu
state such as was preserved in Spain. such as IS
preserved in other countries tne reai dtt =
tude Of the American government TOWARD tiio
Church He that If we separate the ChuFcu
from the State IL means that the state does not
favor the Church. l had the honor TO represent
aCter with Leo XIII at the Vatican, ana IheIe
pointed out to him, with all the emphasis poSsIoIe
interest of the Church, and that in Amerlca ne
could count on the sustaining OF the rghts OF IhS
Church and its announcement BY every IegltInaIe
sIming anv governmental function or having any
governmental right. such II has in other coun-
tries. 1t comes over me every once In a ti, WLlIe,
among people how absolutely essential II Is thsI
we should have the influence of the Church Dehlnd
everything that we do.
Horace E Andrews. OF Cleveland, and Robert
Wolff of Columbus saw Mr. Taft to-day and dis
cussed Ohio state politics Mr.. Taft said that
rick for Cabinet position Another Cabinet con-
ference resulted from the call of Professors L. H.
Bailey of Cornell University; H c. White. Of the
State University. Of Athens. Ga, and L. @. Car
penter, director of the Colorado Agricultural Ex-
pertinent Station. constituting a committee from
the National Association of Agricultural Colleges
and Experiment Stations. Mr.. Taft said he
told in general terms the qualifications the man
should have fill the position Of Secretary Of
Agriculture, predicated he added. the expressed
assumption that Secretary Wilson, with whom no
fault was found not to out a full term
in the Taft Cabinet The President-elect asked his
visitors Ito their man. which brought the
response that they were not prepared to do so.