The menace., 1917-11-17

FNT y greater or more poSiesSo
I4NI tory has been won for the
III bedrock principles Of funda-
lRI mental democracy in any
I-EA state election during the past
fifty years, with the exception OF the
constitutional revision election in
Oregon and Ohio, than was won IN
Massachusetts on November 9th
when o contest, that for years mas
been determinedly and bitterly fought
between patriotic fundamental de-
mocracy and the organized Ro-
man hierarchy, headed by Cardinal
O'Connell and representing the spirit
of autocracy and opposition to our
constitutional provisions for absolute
divorce of church and state, met IN
a clear-cut decisive struggle at the
polls, over the acceptance or re)ec-
ton Of the anti-sectarian or antf
aid amendment as submitted to the
people by the Constitutional ConVeh-
lion.
Democracy and POlitico-Eccle-
siasticism in Titanic Grapple
Never before has political Roman
ism been more boldly or brazenly IN
evidence than In this conflict for
the Catholic Federation of the arch
diocese of Boston assisted by practi-
cally all the Catholic organizations
of the state and led by Cardinal
O'Connell held between one hundreo
and fifty and two hundred pubic
meetings during the close OF the cam
paign in q tremendous politico-ec-
clesiastical drive to defeat an amend
ment which had for Its only purpose
nreserving the fundamental demo.
cratic demand for absolute divorce Oh
church and state by prohibiting ap-
preparation of public funds tor any
sectarian purpose and thus keeping
the government free from sectarlamn
entanglements and treating all
churches with equal fairness.
II would be indeed impossible to
over-estimate the significance OF TINS
most important battle between the
forces of fundamental, liberal democ-
racy and those Of reactionary autoc-
racy as represented by the poii'ico..
ecclesiastical Roman hierarchy. NOT
merely because Of the basic princl-
nles involved but because, in this pat
tie. from the inception of the confilct
some years ago to the closing houTs
of the recent campaign, the methods
which differentiate democracy ano
autocracy, the splendid liberalism OF
the Protestant Reformation ia hmu 'i,t nt
hatred Of full-orbed freedom o. o.
thought, speech, press and assembly
which mark alike the history OF al
governmental and hierarchal autoc'
Tacies was so boldly in evidence, al
to afford q typical present-hour nus
tration of the difference between th'
nr;nciples and methods Of liberal de
mocracy on the one hand and autoc
racies the world over on the otner
The victory Is doubly inspiring
and significant because pollticai NO
manism has for years prevented TN
electorate of Massachusetts from nav
inc the right to vote on this question
and it has loaded with opprobriun
and denounced as bigots, fanatics
etc.. every fearless statesman wn
had charnpioned q provision whlc
merely sought to bulwark and sale
guard one Of the most vital provls
ions of our liberal democrsfc, gov
ernment from the determined en-
croachment of politico-ecclesiastics
Romanism.
The Proposed Amendment BE
fore the Convention
Shortly after the assembling @
the Constitutional Convention FRO
Frederick Anderson, one OF the deli
oates to the convention introduce
an anti-sectarian or anti-aid resi-
iution: brief, clear-cut and incapab
of misinterpretation or expensive IL
ioation on account Of legal technica
tiles. II embodied the measure whlc
fundamental democrats had bee
fighting for for many years IN u
legislature, against the combined a
tack of political Romanism both
and out Of politics. :,
Since the Haverhill riot and Il
amazing exhibitions of religious oil
otrv given to the public by Distri
Atforney Pelletier, who refused
recognize Mr.. Catheron when reg
iarly appointed to an official positit
N~hecsuse he charged that Catherc
had been bigot, his bigctry co
stating of his splendid work in beha
of this proposed Anti-Sectarian
Anti-Aid amendment, the Rom;
Catholic censorship Of the press h
been measurably broken for, q
Haverhill riot aroused the who
state to a recognition OF t
menace Of political Romanisnl.
The exhibition Of unparalleled bi
otry by Mr.. Pelletier not only fu
ther aroused Massachusetts and t
press of the state but was also ster
" rebuked by the supreme court
The state which upheld Mr. Cathero
These things revealed to the ia