The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1907-1917, 1912-08-01
To the Editor of the Chicago Ameri-
can, Chicago, Ill.

TN July 10, entitled, why
Not Leave Religion Out of
Politics.? is SO palpably an
attempt to gloss over certain
well-known conditions in this
country, that one is amazed at your
apparent belief in the credulity of
your readers. Governor Osborn's
remark as to Governor Wilson'S
Christianity was in no sense a refec-
tion on any class of citizens, and you
know it, but you no doubt perceived
in it an opportunity to give little
spiel as a sort of defense of your
Roman Catholic friends, chief of
which seems to be Cardinal Gibbons.
When you advise Governor Osborne
to be guided by Cardinal Gibbons,
"who has denounced as equally
vicious those that drag politics into
religion or drag religion into poll
tics" you are displaying an igno-
rance for which there is no excuse.
Everyone who has followed public
events the past few years knows
that this self-same Cardinal Gibbons
and his church have done more than
any other one thing to drag religion
into politics,-and you know it. You
certainly have some nerve" to
quote this arch-hypocrite of the age,
who is loud in blatant assertions,
which servile newspapers like the
American publish, but who is Sc
cretly and privately plotting for
favors to his church from sycophant
politicians. 1t is heartily agreed
that religion and politics should be
kept apart, although it must be ad-
mitted that most politicians would
be bettered by religion,-not neces-
sari1y church membership-but the
real old-fashioned religion. Politics
needs religion but it doesn't need
any particular church. But since
Roman Catholic prelates and time
serving politicians are hobnobbing
with one another, aided by the SER
vile press, large part of our citi-
zenship will view these alliances and
favors with grave suspicion, and will
believe they are brought about by
cheap bid for votes.
When we see, day after day, poll
ticians showing undue favor to the
Roman Catholic prelates, and the
press ignoring their trend, there is
good reason for believing that such
editorials as yours, are nothing more
or less than hypocritical vaporings
from a pen in deadly fear of the
Roman Catholic hierarchy.
Why don't you say something
about the insults Cardinal Gibbons
and other Roman Catholic prelates
gratuitously bestow upon our public
school system, and their open avowal
to work for public funds for their
parochial schools? Would this be
mixing religion and politics.?
Why don't you say something
about the Roman Catholic disregard
of our civil laws as to the marriage
relation, calling the marriage of a
Protestant and Roman Catholic void
when performed by a Protestant
minister or magistrate, and aso void
the marriage of two Roman Cath
olics who have abjured the faith,
when performed by the same officers
mentioned? Yes, these self-same
Roman Catholic prelates who are
forever prating about their position
on divorce when they have the worst
record af any church for separating
legally married couples are quoted
day after day by such papers as the
American, on the marriage question,
and your readers are led to believe
that they are the most holy of all.
Why don't you say something of
the lobby this church has had for a
long time at Washington in support
of it's Indian schools and it's success