The Cordova daily times., 1921-09-01
KNIGHTS OF co lUMBUS
Communicated

age that thinking men whatever be their creed. view reliy Ns intolerance as a curious relic e. barbarism and are prone to depreg te 1t as an in, tluence in the corTmunity. Yet it is an evil that existsf even in the laad of freedom of worship. The follies and fallacies of fanaticism gain no foot hold in an enlightened mind. nor do they flourish to any appreciable ex- tent in time of stress and storm any where. In America's wars Catholics and Protestants in defense of their country have poured out their best blood with the same heroic prodigal- ity; they have fought and feared and hoped alike; their sorrow and their exultation have been the same. and their hearts have beaten with a kindred palpitation.
 Deplorable 1t is that cruel islanders should ever be set afloat against the followers of any Christian faith. Re- pugnant it is to human reason, as well as to the elementary principles of Christianity itself, to hold that it can be advanced by means diametrically the reverse of those by which it was originally propagated and diffused. No man of true intelligence needs to be told that the outrageous, preposterous, monstrous, impossible oath attributed 10 the Knights of Columbus is a fabri- cation pure and simple, a wicked in vention of un-Christian men. The real obligation taken by these Knights Of Columbus was given out by a speaker at their convention recently held in San Francisco, with the request that the press and the public make it as widely known as possible. It reads:
 ''I swear to support the constitution Of the United States. pledge my self fully to my duties as a citizen and to conscientiously perform such duties entirely in the interests of my coun- try and regardless of all personal con sequences. l pledge myself to do all in my power to preserve the integrity and purity of the ballot and to pro- mote reverence and respect for law and order l promise to practice my religion openly and consistently, but without ostentation. and to so conduct myself in public affairs as to reflect nothing upon our holy church to the end that she may flourish and our country prosper to the greater honor and glory of God"
 There is not word in that obliga- tion to which exception justly can be taken by any conscientious man who adheres to the Christian faith: who believes in the great facts that constitute the foundation of Christian ity. who believes in the constitution of the United States in law and order. in honor and justice. in the fabric and the future of the republic, in the pros. perity and progress of society; who believes that this universe is an ob- iect of solicitude to it's almighty and everlasting author; who believes in the mercy of God, practices humanity to man and strives to fulfill the ten great injunctions in which morality is comprised.
 The Knights of Columbus is an or ganization which during the war dem onstrated to the full it's Christian spirit and mission: whose ear was never deaf to the applications of the suffering; whose hand was as open as the day to charity; whose career has ever presented an exemplfication of the gospel, and whose purpose it is now to increase and intensity its hon orable and uplifting activities, es- pecially as regards the education and general welfare of former service men. There is room in America for all organizations. Catholic. Protestant and Hebrew. whose foundations are so noble and whose aims are so high.