Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-10-04
PJ3 lays the Cor
Hrstona Of a Church.
Besides This He Delivers Dis
course at Portland, Ore.
Starts Sunday Evening for sacra.
mento..Speaks There Tonight.

/, tabernacle at Salt Lake City on sun
day last to the corner stone LAYING of
| the First I'niversalSt church in East
| Portland.
The President handled the silver
the stone was properly adjusted. His
Iapparcnt earnestness in setting the
stone called out great applause from
the omen air audience The President
| referred to his various church expert
cnces and in concluding said;
NO church in this country. however,
stumble il may be. that breaches the
doctrine of true religion and true NOR
itlltv, will lack my earnest support to
| make it more influential whenever op-
pOrtunity offers.
| IN" Presidents train left at Go p
NJ. over the Southern Pacific Railway
| for sacramento, Cal.
ar. TAFT had Il truly religious day.
which began when he attended the
morning services at the First Unita-
nan church in Portland and listened to
4 sermon by Rev. w. G.. Eliot, Jr. AZ
ter this service the President was the
guest of honor ut luncheon rendered
by Senator Bourne which included the
| various state and city officials. In the
| early afternoon the President visited
ST. Mary'S Roman Catholic school and
made Il 5-ninute speech to the school
children in which he declared tat 10y
| atty to the church meant fidelity to
country
| The line of march followed bv the
Pres idential party to East Portland
was crowded and there was hand
clappine and cheering all along the
way. After the President had been IN
troduced at the corner stone laying by
| Rev. James Corby, pastor Of the
church, he said:
| IL don't know that any one questions
the propriety OF my being here and
| officiating on such an occasion as this
or that an explanation OF any sort is
called for. But | want to say believe
it 10 be the duty of the President OF
these United States to welcome and to
suggest every instrument by which the
morals and religion OF the community
may be elevated and maintained. Not
long ago. | oficiated at the corner
stone laying of an Orthodox Congre-
gational church in Washington. Then
| | appeared in the pulpit of q Jewish
tabernacle at Pittsburg. But few
| days ago | helped to lay the corner
stone of Catholic institution at
Helena, Mont.
And now it is my great pleasure to
assist here today III laying the corner
| stone Of this Univarsalist church.
which. like my own, the Unitarian
church. is known as liberal one
Il am glad always to be present at
| such occasions as these, for 1 believe
the cornerstone of modern civilzatio
must continue to be religion and NOR
alitv.'
The President told some of his ex-
Dr'ienccS with uhe Catholic church in
the Philippines and then said that on
| the occasion Of his visit to Rome he
| V.ntur"d to tell thI Pope that while
| IN America the sentiment was strong
tor th" separation of church and state,
ihcr" WAS nothing i'm the American
| government or the American people
which "mno'ed the church or its high
est development; that in no Europcan
country had the Catholic church flour
| S'l"l as il had in America and tina
| in this country the Catholic church re-
rciNc,l from the government ana state
officials only the treatment shown
| every other denomination
| Il added" continued the President
I'll at tits was not to be taken as an
| in'liratun that every government and
>tate official w,S other than anxious to
| encourage the establishment and main
tenance of churches and that their IN
lu"hcc might be Eroadrned through
out tie land
ipl- I,,, l.,
the churches are growing together when
ther" is less bitterness of denominational
dispute. and that no matter what creed
we follow, the churches are beginning to
realize that they must stand shoulder to
shoulder in the contest for righteousness
and will stand for the fatherhood of God
and the brotherhood of man. believe we
are much better today than we were 50
years ago. man by man. believe we are
more altruistic and more interested in our
fellow man than we have been at any
time in the last 50 years OF course you
hear from time to time OF instances OF
isclfishness and greed but the only reason
'theSe instances are given prominence is
because We condemn them the more and
,believe that in calling attention to them
they will he made more and more infre-
4 quent.
| No church in this country, however
humble it may be, which breaches the
tdoctrinc of true religion and true moral
ity. will lack my earnest support to make
it more influential whenever opportunity
offers
| 1t WAS ON his way to the cornerstone
laying that the President stopped by St
Mary's Catholic school and from the steps
of that institution made a brief address,
to the boys and girls. Mr.. Taft was pre-
scented by Archbishop Christie and after
consratulatns the children on their rosy
cheeks and ''chubbiness.' said:
Your church teaches that LOYALTY to
God is the same as fidelity to country and
reverence for constituted authority: and
do ali good churches.
And we can be very certain that those
who are loyal to their church are certain,
to be 10y al to their country: that those
vii" are good Catholics are good citizans
just those who are consistent n,ep,
bcrs of other churches find i'm the doing
of then duty to the churches everything
! that leads them on To the uplifting of
humanity and the observation of all the
obligations to the government"