El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-02-06

( seemed to count was failure to hold
membership in certain churches. 1t
never entered their minds to question
! whether or not Mr.. Taft was fit to
administer the office and whether or
not his education and training made
/ him a sane leader of the republic The
! faith Of the candidate became an as
set or a liability, according to the re-
hgious conviction Of the voter.
When governor Glynn was a candi-
date for election in New York the same
cry was heard. But this time it was
1 not a cry of Unitarian heresy but a
cry of Catholicism. cry which played
upon the SusCeptbiGtles of the voters
/ by vaguely limiting at the underground
methods of control used by the CathO-
lie hierarchy and thus deducing the
possibility of executive action influ-
enced by the. church rather than for
the welfare of the people. And this
became a political slogan Of the cam
paIEn, an appeal to the religious pre1u-
dices of the voters and not sane con-
sideration of his ability and Worthiness
for the office.
! Spreading Religious Prejudice.
And there are weeklies, claiming a
million subscribers, whose only reason
for existence is the spreading of re-
ligiOus prejudice. Every man seeking
national preferment is judged by the
church to which he belongs. Should
he profess Catholicism, then this, and
. this alone brands him as unfit This
is testimony enough that he is not the
candidate OF American voters but the
tool Of the Catholic church, selected
in the secret caucus Of the church, to
do its bidding, and foisted upon the
populace too blind to see the workings
of this machine. The president Of
the United States is not free man,
I but an unwilling tool of the Catholic
church because his private secretary
is a Catholic and certain high officials
are branded as unfit for service Tor
no other reason.
Venom in Local Campaign.
And now this venom is introduced
into our local campaign. we, VINO
have lived in peace with our fellow
man, who have recognized the un-
alieuable rights Of conscience of every
individual; we, who have believed that
a mans faith and mode OF worship
or even failure to worship was his prl-
vate concern; we, who are suddenly
vate concern; we are suddenly
flee and this one cannot be true TO an
oath of office because he belongs to
a particular church.
What matters it TO me or you wheth-
er the candidate for mayor is CathO-
lie or a Baptist? What matters it if
the candidate for alderman is a Pres
byterian, q Methodist, Catholic or a
JeW2 Their religious. convictions are
their personal affairs and L have
enough faith in each and every one of
them to believe that religion will play
no invidious part in the performance
Of their duties. They are American
citizens and will we brand them as
untrue to the land of their birth or
adoption: will we declare them void
of all patriotism by insinuating that
they are religious bigots? VIII the
belief i'm Catholicism, viii the belief
in the different Protestant creeds, will
the Belief in Judaism make man
less fit TO hold public office and do
his duty as an American citizen?
Sowing Seeds of Religious DiscOrd.
Are we ready to SOW the seeds Of
religious discord in community and a
nation which has ever Dragged of its
religious liberty and the rights ac-
corded all men to approach deity in the
form they deemed best2 If so, then
let us prepare for the downfall of our
nation; it means the destruction of one
of the fundamental ideals and without
1T there is little reason for our ex-
istenCe.
The founders of this mighty republic
faced the problem of a state church
they considered the religious needs of
the people and they refused to make
the belief in 2 particular creed the
basis for citizenship or offices of
trust The first amendment to the cor
stitution Of the United States expressly
states: Congress shall make no law
respecting the establishment OF re-
HgiOn, or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof" and this fundamental law,
be our guide at all times
We are proud of our splendid iso-
latiOn and our freedom from direct
contact with the prejudices of Euro
pean countries. VIII we now initiate
their weakness and divide our people
on religious grounds? VIII we trans
fer to this land of religious freedom.
the religious feuds of the people Of
Europe and by opposing candidates
simply on account of their religion,
force the organization OF parties based !
on religion simply as a retaliatory step |
and out of self defence? Win we make !
the private convictions of a man, his !
duty to his God and his method of wOr !
Shipping that God an asset in his candi- !
dacy and select him, while refusing to /
consider another man Of no less ability 1
because he has other convictions?
Should Face Problem SqUareIy.
1t is time that we in this city and |
the voters throughout our union face
this problem fairly and squarely If /
It is not to grow into a menace it |
must be wiped out in the beginning; If 1