Douglas daily dispatch., 1926-08-11

really happening there now. His ref
erence to the Fourth of July leads me
to call the attention of the people OF
the United States to the fact that Mex
ico also has its independence Day
the 10th of Septeinber-and what this
anniversary celebrates is particularly
I interesting in, view of the present
struggle of Mexicos government to
I better the conditions. of its people. The
! story of this day should bepeculiarly
interesting to Judge Talley and the
Catholic hierarchy, whose spokesman
he is.
You have your glorious Thomas JEFF
ferson, who penned your Declaration
of Independence. We have our Miguel
HidalgC, who uttered what we call our
Cry of Independence. He was a de-
vout Catholic priest and as Intelligent
and brave as he was deVout. He led
the people in revolt against the cruel
Spanish rulers of that day For a
time he was successful but the royal
tyrants, backed by the Catholic hier-
archy with their Fgreat wealth. put
down the revolt sAIid Hidalgo, the
true follower of the Gentle Nazarene,
who had tried to free the oppressed
lIOIn lIlS SOhc VI IllOlisIASlJ' "SNS
seized and murdered by the hierarchy,
just as the Nazarene was by the priest
ly agents of the ruiers OF His day.
A few years afterward another no.
ble priest, Father Morelos, who arous-
ed the people to another r-revolt against
the tyranny of their rulers, suffered
the same fate at the hands of the
same hierarchy. both these noble
martyrs were true sons of the church,
both believing in and practicing the
teachings of its founder And they
were both murdered because they re-
fused to betray these teachings.
What these two great priest!y low
ers of freedom and believers in the
right of the people 80 enjoy the fruits
of their labor failed to accomplish
was partly won some years afterward'
And those who 7ed the people at that
time had learned by bitter experience
that no freedom for the people or
Mexico was possible unless the hler-
archy was deprived of the temporal
power it had usurped through three
centuries of Spanish misruIe. The con-
stitution of 1857, based on that of the
United States, endeavored to recover
from the hierarchy its ill-gotten gains
and power, and the reform laws OF
1889 were further steps toward this
end Both of these were amplifled III
scope in the, constitution adopted IN
1917.
From these facts the people of the
United States can readily understand
that what is called the Religious
Question" but what should be more
nroperly called the "Hierarchy Cues
ton is problem covering seventy
five wears. and not in any sense a new
problem at all. The history of these IS
wears. with the attempt of the hierarchy
to place the Inflated MaXimillian on
the throne of Mexico, and after it's fail
ure it's gradual return to power through
violations of the law during the long
rule of Porfirio Diaz, is too long story
to deal with here. 1t is all matter OF
record. and has been fairly dealt with
by writer's in your own country, free
from the natural prejudice that comes
to those who take part in struggle
where their sentiments, one way or the
other, are intensely engaged.
When the great revolution was end
ed with the election of President OBJ
RECON, the hierarchy at once put itself
in opposition to the attempt to brlng
about new social era-an era IN
which the producing classes should
have the first claim upon the attention
of the government. Steadily driven
back by President Obregon, the hier-
archy rallied it's forces again when
President Gales took the presidential
chair by the suffrage of the Mexican
people, Both of these administrations
had determined that the hierarchy
should obey the laws set down in the
Mexican constitution. The Gales de-
cree referred to so hotly by Judge Tai
lev is merely a codification of these