Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-03-18
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL y. COLLINS.

eligible to Office. nor shall they be en-
titled to assemble for political pur
poses"
The same article provides in detail
for official control of all churches, OF
whatever creed, and prohibits in con
nection with any church-Catholic OF
Protestant - any school devoted tc
training ministers OF religion. 1t also
provides against freedom Of the reli
gious press:
No periodical publication which. eli
Their by reason of its program, its title
or merely its general tendencies, is OF
a religious character. shall common,
upon any political affairs of the ma
ton. nor publish any information re
garding the acts of the authorities OF
the country or of private individuals
| in so far as the latter have to do with
public affairs"
1t prohibits all political assemblies
within churches, as we'll as all reli
gious acts of worship outside o,
churches, and prohibits inheritance O,
property by ministers from ministers
of their own denominations, and ex
acts that No trial by jury shall ever
be granted for the infraction of any
OF the preceding provisions"
1t will be noted that these are con
L 4
and not originating under the Gales
administration. They are more con
spicuously enforced by Gales in con
formity with the general socialistic
tendencies.
In May, 1915, DIR. John w. Butler
dean of Protestant missionaries in
| Mexico, wrote in the New York Post
All church property was conf1s
| Gated under the constitution of 1857
ana now the church cannot legally
nold property as an investment
Mexican history makes clear why
such drastic measures were incorpo
| rated into the constitution and EN-
phasized by the reform laws of 1859
1t was because the church had be
come very prominent factor in
politics and could upset and estab
lish governments at it's pleasure
fomentlng many revolutions. Z
Reports of the confiscation of church
property in these days is a mistake
such confiscation occurred nearly sc
years ago QS57. AS to the destruc
ton Of converts, it is only necessary
| to say that no such converts have
| existed for over SO years"
In answer to DR., Buffers article
Senior l.. c. Enrlques, a Mexican
| wrote to the Post las a faithful
| Catholic and Mexican revolutionist, ;
| indorsing all that DIR. Butler, the
Methodist, had said, and adding:
'The true condition of the Catholic
| Church is that it Is composed OF
wealthy, foreign, high clergymen ant
| of poor priests who are native Mex
leans and Indians. These native
| priests have a complete understand
ing of the hopes, aims and desires o.
the poor people"
In a speech made in 1916 by Hon
said:
During the long government OF
Gen. Diaz the Catholic clergy, creeping
on from point to point in concealed
| form, recovered much Of it's tenn
| roral power and rebuilt part of it:
| fortune" 1.-THE Mexic I
revolution was nothing more than the
instruction Of the Mexican people
against a very repressive and wealthy
regime, represented by Gen. Diaz
Madero compromised with
the DiaZ regime. The log
ical sequence was that Madero hat
to fail because he had not destroyed
the old or attempted to build VI
new regime. The assassination o.
Madero and the dictatorship Of
Huerta were mere attempts at re
action by the old regime, with it:
same men, its same money and 1t.
same procedure, and an attempt tx
establish the same old conditions tina,
had existed during Diaz's rule
| X X X X
While the Gales administration Il
basing it's acts upon provisions Of tn.
constitution adopted in 1917, it is re
ported that Huerta is in the Unitet
States. perfecting plans for Gales
overthrow.
(Copyright. 1926. By Paul v. Collins.)