Evening star., 1922-12-08
Would Eliminate Hysteria
Of Religious Intolerance
Clergyn'en and Laity of Protestant,
Hebre,c and Catholic Faiths, at ''Toler-
a',ce'' Meeting, Denou',ce k. k. X.

Assurances of a hasty exit from the
worlds stage Of the hysteria OF re-
ligious intolerance, now drawing the
fickle spotlight in the great present.
day drama, were given by clergymen
and 1aity Of the Protestant, Hebrew
and Catholic faiths Joined in an Inn
pressive tolerance mass meeting at
the First Congregational Church last
night.
All united in an appeal for unity
and cooperation among the adher-
ents Of tho various creeds In tho
United States for the preservation Of
liberty. freedom. equality before the
law and in eligibility for public ohice.
The principal speaker Of tho evening
was Senator Thomas ]. Walsh Of
( Montana. while brief addresses were
delivered by Col. John P. Axton. chief
of chaplains. u. 8. A.: Rabbi Abram
Hebrew Congregation; Rev. John A.
| Ryan. director of tho social action
| department Of the National Catholic
Welfare Council. and Wayne b.
| Wheeler. president Of the Antt-Saloon
! League. Rev. Jason Noble Pierce:
pastor Of the church. presided and
| opened the meeting with prayer.
Religious Liberty History.
| Tracing the development Of the
principle Of religious liberty through
| the colonial period in America, cul-
minating when it was written into
! the federal Constitution as q part
of the fundamental law Of the land.
| and foresight Of the fathers OF the
country in establishing religious toll
erance and equality on a firm foun-
| dation: cited the records of promi-
the sects prescribed by tho renascent
bigotry of today: denounced the ef-
| forts Of the Ku- Klux Klan to raise
i once more the specter of religious
and racial hatred and undo the work
of the fathers of tho republic. and
apprehension need exist as to the
duration of continued power Of the
! klan or similar organization.
Referring briefly to the establish
federation in the Catholic colony Of
Maryland, the Quaker settlers in
PENNSYLVANIA and among the follow
ers of Roger Williams in Rhode
| Island. he traced the increasing
power of this principle up to the
pointing out that by the time the
| Constitution was adopted the move
ment had gained such strength that:
! ITO meet the insistence upon q moro
| ject the first of ten amendments to
the Constitution. generally referred
| to as the bill of rights. adopted
promptly upon the organization of
| the government pursuant to an un-
derstanding in the nature Of 4 con-
vided that Congress shall mako no
law respecting an establishment of
rel ligion or prohibiting the free ex-
| erciSes thereof"
Chief Glory OF Government.
| THE principle thus established, with
the advancement of civilization and
the enlightenment OF the mind of
| one of the chief glories Of our system
/ Of government. Our statesmen. our
l jurists. our historians. our poets and
other men of letters have extolled 1t
| and eulogiZed the men through whose
unfettered intellects and noble na-
! tures 1t became part. of our heritage.
| 1t has been revered as one Of the
priceless incidents o. American citi-
taught to regard it as ono Of the main
reasons for indulsinG In pride in their
country. Yea. untaught, instinctively.
| they have recognized 1t as q sure
foundation of our high place among
| the nations.
"Chancellor Kent IN his commen-
| taries. the Inspiration Of American
| lawyers. says. The free exercise and
| enjoyment Of religious profession and
| worship may be considered As ono Of
| the absolute rights OF the Individual,
recognized in our American Constitu-
| ton and secured by law. Civil and
| religious liberty generally 20 hand in
hand. and the suppression Of either
| Of them. for any length Of time, will
| terminate the existence Of tho other"
| Teaching OF "OrEanised Bigotry.n
| Stressing the wide variance between
| the views Of the early leaders and the
founders or the republic and tho teach
| ings Of organized bigotry today, the
| senator continued: "But now we are
told-indeed 1t is proclaimed from the
housetops-that the views thus nobly
! expressed, the convictions thus here
tofore generally entertained, are all
wrong; that a mistake was made in
| the organization of our federal gov
| ernment; that fatal weakness Inn
heres in our national Constitution,
and that the fathers Of the republic,
had unwisely and unfortunately
prescribed that any one chosen by the
sovereign people to fill public office or
appointed there under tho law they
! ordained. should be eligible without
regard to his religious beliefs. For
the propagation OF the adverse doc
| trine thus promulgated an organize
| tion, styling itself ths Ku Klux Khan,
! is recruiting members throughout the
Union, under q anaRement hold and