The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1922-11-02
LIES ABOUT OLCOTT IL
lr RECORD ARE NAILED

Imam address delivered last Saturday
night at Scholls, in Washington coun-
to Walter l.. Tooze, Jr., chairman Of
the Reuublican state central commit
tee. declared the promises Of tax re-
duction made by Candidate Pierce TO
be impossible and extravagant. ex-
nlained the program of tax reduction
aud EQUALIZATION undertaken by Cover
nor Olcott, and refuted several false
runoors concerning the Republican can
didate. authorship of which he laid to
Pierce supporters bent on arousing re-
ligious prejudices. in
s"The Portland Journal and Mr..
Pierce have wept long and copiously
over what they term mud singing, be-
cause we sought to tell the people the
truth about Mr.. Pierce's sharp prac-
tices in dealing with the irreducible
school fund, I" said Mr.. Tooze. "The
people, are entitled to know the truth.
We have told nothing else. But as
much cannot be said for some of the
supporters of MIR. Pierce, who, in
order to stir religious prejudices and
work upon the religious passions OF
the people, and in this way enhance
the cause of this demagogic candidate
for governor, have circulated false
stories concerning Governor Oieott.
Let Mr.. Pierce and the Portland Jour
nal clean their own back doorstep be-
fore venturing to wash that of their
neighbor. iH
ssWhat q mans religion is should not
be and is not an issue, yet Mr.. Craw-
ford took occasion to emphasize the
long Protestant lineage Of Walter
Pierce in his published story of Pierce's
life. This showed their line of attack,
and as a part of the general scheme,
MANY stories have been circulated con-
eerninp Governor 0Icott that are posi-
tively false, and the only reason for
their circulation is to prey upon II Q
passions and prejudices of the ignor-
ant. Let me briefly relate one or two
of these stories, and some of them
have been circulated in this commun-
| ity. otherwise / would ignore them
completely. They say that Governor
Olcott is q Catholic, hisiwife Catho-
| lie. and his children are attending
| Catholic school. Not that that should
make any difference, but the truthsof
the matter is that Governor Olcott was
raised a Methodist, his wife is an
Eniscopaliau and his children attend
the Congregational Sunday school and
the public schools of Salem. Further,
Governor Olcott is York Rite Mason
and Shriner, and there is not any
Likelihood of his being kicked out Of
either organization, as is being said
about him in Moro up in Sherman
county. 1t 10 also said in some places
that from so per cent to rs per cent of
the state employees are Catholics.
'This story was printed in south
ern Oregon newspaper during the pri-
mary campaign. The Catholic popula-
ton of this state is about 10 per cent
of the total, and it would seem that II
ll5 per cent of the employees were men,
her Of that faith, that would be no
more than they swere entitled to and
| might reasonably expect. Yet cor.
respondent for one of the big Portland
daily papers made a check upon this
report and of the 300 and more state
employees he found that only nine were
of the Catholic faith. All the rest Of
these stories are equally false.
Gas ] said before, religion has no
place in politics. The constitution Of
| the United States and of the state of
/ Oregon guarantees to every man the
right to worship God according to the
dictates of his own conscience; it was
for the exercise of this right that
America was first settled; and what q
mans religion may be is not a matter
for uolitical debate. Yet i want to
call to your attention some OF these
stories that you may know the sort of
campaign that Is being waged against
Mr.. Olcott. Why, over in Tillampok
county, the night before the primaries,
the story was widely circulated, so !
am informed, that Governor Olcott had
pardoned Rathie and Kirby. the assas-
sins of Til Taylor at Pendleton, be-
cause Archbishop Christie had demand
ed it, and many people believed the
story. These men may have been par
doned for their crimes, but 1t was an
all-wise Father in heaven who extend
ed the pardon, not Governor Olcott.
Think Of such rot in an enlightened
world. Let the truth be known; moth
ing more nor less.
''In conclusion, let me say, plead
with you to think well before you join
hands with these elements which seek
to disrupt our free. institutions; plead
with you to think well before you dis
approve of that public record Of Cover
nor Olcott, who has always stood four
square in standing by the oath be took
as. governor to uphold and defend the
constitution Of the United States and
the state of Oregon, and see that every
citizen, without regard to race, color
or creed, received a square deal, and
enjoyed to the fullest extent the bless
ings Of liberty guaranteed to them by