12 Conservative *
TOLSTOI ANSWERED THE CHURCH.
- .
Denounced Excommunication Writ as Un
justifiable , Mendacious and Libelous.
Paris Count Leo Tolstoi has replied
to the writ of excommunication
launched at him by the Holy synod of
the Greek Orthodox church. He starts
out by quoting Coleridge : "Ho who begins -
gins by loving Christianity bettor than
truth will proceed by loving his own
sect or church better than Christianity ,
and end in loving himself better than
all. " That , Tolstoi contends , is ex
actly the position of his assailants. He
himself has pursued the contrary
course.
"I began by loving the Orthodox
church more than myself ; then I loved
Christianity more than the Orthodox
church ; now I love truth more than all
else. "
He says the writ of excommunication
is illegal , arbitrary , xmjustifiable , men
dacious , libelous and calculated to pro
mote evil sentiments and unworthy
deeds ; that its issue has already so
stirred the hatred of bigots that he is
daily threatened with assassination.
. "I have renounced the church that
calls itself Orthodox , " he continues ,
"because I wished to serve God. I fol
lowed every precept of the church * * *
and am now convinced that its teaching
is theoretically , . an astute and noxious
lie , and practically a mixture of gross su
perstition and witchcraft. That is why
I inserted a request in my will that no
priest should be allowed to approach my
body.
"Yes , it is true , I deny an incompre
hensible trinity and the fable regarding
the fall of man , which is absurd in our
days. It is true I deny the sacrilegious
story of a God , born of a virgin , to re
deem the human race. But God-spirit ,
God-love , God , the solo principle of all
things , I do not deny. I believe in eter
nal life , and I believe that man is re
warded according to his deeds , here and
everywhere , now and forever.
"It is said I deny all the sacraments.
That is perfectly correct. The marriage
of divorced persons seems to mo in for
mal contradiction with evangelic teach
ing. Periodical forgiveness of sins en
courages immorality.
"The teaching of Christ is disfigured ,
transformed into grossest sorcery ablu
tion , unction , movements of the body ,
incantations , deglutition of pieces of
bread all of which has nothing to do
with that teaching , which only com
mands men to love one another , not to
render bad for evil , not to judge others ,
not to kill.
"Yet , those who make a business of
lies declare in their books , their news
papers and their catechisms , that Christ
never forbade swearing ( taking the
oath ) ; that ho never forbade murder
( capital punishment and war ) , and that
the doctrine of non-resistance to evil is
an invention , a Satanic ruse of the ene
mies of Christ.
"They behave like the brigand who
murdered a whole family of live or six
persons in order to steal an old cloak
and forty kopeks.
"If Christ should come back He
would swoop thorn out with their ikons
and other instruments of witchcraft.
"I believe that the will of God was
never so clearly , so precisely explained
as in the doctrine of the man , Christ ;
but quo cannot regard Christ as God
and offer prayers to Him without com
mitting the greatest sacrilege. If an
other doctrine were to arise that satis
fied me better , I should not hesitate to
adopt it , for nothing matters to God but
truth. " Now York World.
END OF KANSAS POPULISM.
Refusal of Democrats to Unite in a New
Party a Death Blow.
Toi'EKA , KANS. , May 17. The popu
lists have proposed to form a new politi
cal party called the Union party , or
something similar , and to include in it
both the populist and democratic organi
zations. The attitude of the demo
cratic press and leaders , toward the
movement indicates that there will con
tinue to be two distinct party organiza
tions. The democrats positively refuse
to give up their name , as it would cut
them off from the national organiza
tion , while the populists despair of tak
ing any considerable majority of their
followers into the democratic camp ,
conditioned on giving up their name.
The populists in their formal propo
sition to the State Democracy agree to
submit the selection of a now name to
the electors if the democrats will con
sent.
The Chairman of the State Demo
cratic Committee makes this formal re
ply to the populists :
"Tho general feeling among the demo
crats as far as I have been able to ascer
tain , is that we have tested in this state
pretty thoroughly the merits of "fusion ; "
that the last two campaigns have proven
that it is futile of any good results to
the people , those who are in earnest as
to genuine reform ; that the democratic
party of this state has , in the interest of
reform measures , -already surrendered
everything except its name , and when it
is asked to do that , I think the majority
of the democrats would consider that it
was going too far , and I believe myself
that it is something entirely beyond the
jurisdiction , province , or function of
our committee to take up and pass upon. "
The failure of the populists to unite
with the democrats as a single party will
end their influence in this state , for
without fusion there can bo no possi
bility under present conditions of their
securing a majority of the voters.
Now York Evening Post.
TARIFFS.
The ordinary , or smaller manu
facturers who arc largely depend
ent upon the great trusts for
raw materials arc organizing , in their
various localities , largely for the purpose
of asking for free raw materials and for
the removal of duties on trust-made
products. They are suddenly beginning
to realize that free , raw materials are
necessary to prevent their extinction by
their larger competitors.
Our manufacturers , both large and
small , are being driven out of foreign
markets by retaliatory , tariff duties.
Many of them are now willing to swap
some of their tariff privileges hero , for
better market privileges abroad.
Protection is becoming more galling
to thousands of our citizens , who are
just beginning to realize the wide mar
gin between the prices charged to them
and those charged foreigners by our
protected manufacturers.
Important interests are asking that
our tariff bo adjusted to the changed
conditions , due to the necessities of trade
with our new possessions.
Each of these new interests is im
portant. Combined , they arc strong
enough to compel a revision of our tar
iff schedules in the near future , when
there is substantial agreement as to what
changes should be made.
It is the province of the Tariff
Reform Club to stimulate and en
courage these various interests in
their efforts to secure lower dut
ies. This it can do by supplying in
formation , facts and arguments to news
papers and congressmen.
With our manufacturers , beginning
to control the world's markets "pro
tection" has not a leg , left to stand on ;
its cause was never so weak , and the
case against it never so clear as now ; it
produces but little revenue , and is today
wholly unnecessary and without excuse ;
it simply enables the protected inter
ests to extort from our citizens several
hundred millions of dollars annually.
We believe it will be easier than over
before to make the people sec these
facts and act upon them.
AMONG THE THINGS THAT WERE.
Passenger agents of western railroads
anticipate that the volume of this sum
mer's tourist business will send the re
cords of former seasons glimmering
down among the things that were. The
largo number of conventions , for which
reduced rates have been made , are cer
tain to create considerable travel. The
Epworth League meeting in San Fran
cisco in July , and the Pan-American Ex
position in Buffalo throughout the sum
mer , are the two most important oc
casions for which rates have been re
duced , but Detroit , Chicago , Cincinnati ,
Louisville , and a number of other
cities are also to bo favored with very
attractive rates. The Colorado resorts
will doubtless bo well filled by the
tourists traveling on the uncommonly
low rates announced by the lines from
the east.
