Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1867-04-12
T'he school House Qucsiion,

1-C - hOOH EAONsS ~SUNSaAO-A'
For the Republican. l
lFhe use Of school houses for other than
sri2,ly school purposes, having been a
question of much controversy in this COM
muniiy during the last few months, and
being siill under discussion, beg permis
sion 70 Offer a few thoughts on the points.
involved. This, like too many questions
OF public interest, has been discussed by
many Of our people in dogmatic style; men
on both sides of the question INDUCED in
remarks which their calm reason would
have condemned, resulting in a greater dif.
ference of feeling than there would be of
jadgneat on any question ofcommon inter
est.
Our township trustee and others claim
that the law forbids the use of school hOus-
es for other than school purposes In
lS59ihe Legislature passed an act making
il the duty OF the Trustee to allow school
horses to he used for religious and political
meetings. when a majority of the legal vO-
I tiers of anv school district should so decide
bv y vote at regular school meeting
/ This-law is claimed to have been repealed
/ bv- an act of March, 1861. and our neilhbOrs
! say tie result is that the law forbids the use
Of school houses for religious and political
meetings: because. il the former law com
] PEELED the Trustee to open the houses. the
repeal of that law cOmpeils him to close
them. \ little illustration will make this
matter clear Suppose that in loI9 the
i Legislature had passed an act making ii the
/ duty of every able bodied man in MARSHALL
county 10 visit Plymouth at least once in
| the month OF Nav eacl wear, and that in
4 1861 tho above law had .Jrc4 repealed then
according 10 the reasoning of our Trist"e
and others. no man in the county could
visit your town during The month OF May
without violating the law, although the
matter would stand just rs it does now.
without any law on the subject. Mr.
lloss. the State Superintendent of puhlicin-
s;ruction, in a communication 80 one pfour
citizens SAYS while there is no law re
quiring the Trustee to allow the use of
school houses for religious and other meet
ings, there is no law forbidding him to al
low them TO b. so used" In the same let
ter he says: Unless the houses are abused
by persons attending such meetings. il is
unusual for the Trustee to forbid their use
for such purposes.
To be consistent those who oppose the
use of school houses for religious meetings
must make the principle of universal appli-
cation. But DO they consider that the prac.
/ teal result of such a movement would be
I TO throw out OF doors at least two-thirds of
the worshiping congregations of the cOun-
/ try Who among us is prepared to aid in
a movement which would tear down so
many public altars erected TO the worship
? off r.1I Of 4l,nc f.,
( ken sides against such use Of school houses
I are opposed to the cause of religion. Ev
cry man with his sober sense about him is
ready to acknowledge that there can be no
desirable state ofcivilization without a pure
religion.
II is said that the use Of school houses
for religious meetings prevents the building
of churches. This may be true in some
eases, but is not generally so, for most OF
our country congregations which have
built churches first build up church organi-
cations in school houses. And how could
it be otherwise since, as general rule, the
people do not build churches before they
become Interested in the subject ofreliglon,
and they are not apt to become interested
in the subject of religion unless they are
brought under religious influences, but how
is this to be done if the ordinary means of
grace are placed beyond their reach.
The incidental evils attending the use OF
these houses for religious meetings are not
to be compared with the great amount OF
good which is accomplished. There is
hardly any evil which good management
will not remedy and even if there should
be. hope we will not be guilty Of the great
folly OF reversing the rule so universally
acted upon, that of two evils we should
choose the lesser.
The school houses belong TO the people
and are designed for their intellectual and
moral Improvement, and every man should
give his influence toward having Sscm used
to The very best advantage with this object
in view. Why should the respectful
request of a majority of the legal
votes ola school district, to hold religious
meeting in their school houses be refused
by the township Trustee, when there is no
law against it, and when by the common
consent of Trustees and people all over the
State such use of school houses is almost
universal? Education and religion 20
hand in hand in the good work of elevatine
our race, and / -see no good reason why
they should not dwell together in the same
house