Untitled article

Pacific Press Publishing Company · New York · July 16, 1896

THE Democratic national platform adopted at the recent Chicago convention, contains the following “plank” with reference to religious liberty:—

The Constitution of the United States guarantees to every citizen the rights of civil and religious liberty. The Democratic party has always been the exponent of political liberty and religious freedom and it renews its obligations and reaffirms its devotion to these fundamental principles of the Constitution.

This was inserted by the Committee on Resolutions after the platform had been practically completed, at the motion of ex-Senator Walsh, who said that the party should speak explicitly upon the subject, and that should they fail to do so, millions of American freemen would be disappointed.

But the trouble is, there is nothing explicit about it. It is about as definite as the familiar phrase, “sound money.” It is one of those “glittering generalities” with which party platforms are wont to be garnished to make them appear well in the public eye. We do not say, nor would we intimate, that the men who framed and incorporated this “plank” of the Democratic platform are not genuinely in favor of religious liberty; but in the light of the U. S. Supreme Court decision of February, 1892, that “this is a Christian nation,” and its decision of May, 1896, upholding the Georgia Sunday “law,” it is at least evident that the opportunity was not lacking for a very explicit and pointed utterance on the subject. Either they are blind to the present situation in this country as regards religious liberty, or they did not design to assume an attitude so definite as to be of practical importance. It is probable that the utterance has reference to the controversy between the Catholics and the A. P. A.