The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-12-27
F0ULKE RECALLS ROOSEVELT'S ATTITUDE
ON RACE PREJUDICE IN TALK ON KLAN

INDIANAPOLIS, Dec. 27.-William
Dudley Feulke of Richmond, speaking
before the Indianapolis Kiwanis club
today on the khan, said:
After the election of Mr.. Taft,
President Roosevelt brought with him
to cabinet meeting the draft of a let
ter to be sent to one ]. c. Martin of
Dayton, Ohio, who had asked for a
public statement concerning the faith
OF Mr.. Taft. AS usual, the president
invited criticism and discussion. Sew
eral made suggestions, and Secretary
Root made one which the president
asked him to write out so that he
might incorporate it. When the cor
rected version of the letter was read,
II was agreed that it was a remarkable
document for effectively rebuking the
spirit of bigotty and upholding the
basic principles of the American gov
eminent, and that it should therefore
be published. 1t appeared in the pa
pers OF the country three days later as
follows:
The White House,
Washington, November 4, 1908.
my dear sir:
II have received your letter run
ming in part as follows:
while it is claimed almost uni
versally that religion should not enter
into politics, yet there is no denying
that il does, and the mass of the voters
that are not Catholics will not support
man for any office, especially for
president of the United States, who is
a Roman Catholic. Since Taft has
been nominated for president by the
Republican party, it is being circulat-
ed and is constantly urged as a reason
for not voting for Taft that he is an
infidel Unitarian) and his wife and
brother Roman Catholics. If his
feelings are in sympathy with the Ro
man Catholic church on account of his
wife and brother being Catholics, that
would be Objectionable to a sufficient
number of voters to defeat him. On
the other hand if he is an infidel, that
would be sure to mean defeat -.
| am writing this letter for the sole
purpose of giving Mr. Taft an oppor
tunity to let the world know what his
religious belief is
Roosevelt's Answer.
ITO this President Roosevelt
answered: The demand for a state
ment of candidates religious belief
can have no meaning except that there
may be discrimination for or against
him because of that belief. Discrimi
nation against men of other faiths
The inevitable result of entering upon
such practice would be an abandon
ment of our real freedom of conscience
and a reversion to the dreadful conli
tions of religious discussions which il
so many lands have proved fatal tt
true liberty, TO true religion, and tc
all advance in civilization.
ITO discriminate against thorough
~ upright citizen because he belongs
to some particular church, or because
like Abraham Lincoln, he has mo-
avowed his allegiance to any church
is an outrage against that liberty o.
conscience which is one of the founda
tions of American life
IF it is proper or legitimate to op
pose a man for being Unitarian, a!
was John Quincy Adams, for instance
as is the Rev. Edward Everett Hale
at the present moment chaplain of thu
senate. and an American of whose lift
all good Americans are proud-then i
would be equally proper to support o
oppose a man because of his views OF
justification by faith or the method o
administering the sacrament, or tn,
gospel or salvation by works. If vol
once enter on such a career there i