Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1869-06-03
From the Cleveland Leader.
Catholic Schools.

gard to the division of the school
fund between Catholics and Protest
ants:
"ED1ToR DEMOCRAT: I was often.
times, as a priest, met with this
reproach by American friends: In
politics your people are deceived
and led away by demagogues.
Why don't you priests enlighten
them My answer always was,
priests had no political mission;
that Catholic priests wish to be
faithful to the great American prin-
ciple of the separation of Church
and State; that in interfering in
politics we would injure our religion
greatly, without doing any political
good.
'That is the platform of the
Catholic clergy, and, therefore, in
r ublishing these few remarks, I do
not intend to interfere with the po-
litical convictions Of Catholics. I
wish only to call their attention to a
fact which interests greatly not only
their faith but their purse. l mean
the sch Dol law of Ohio.
Gas it is well known, that law
compels Catholics to pay taxes for
the support of public schools, where
their conscience torbids them to
send their children. They are,
therefore, reduced to this alterna-
tive, either to leave their children in
ignorance OF to impose upon them
selves the most intolerable burdens
to educate their children. The
small Catholic community of Elyria
pays at least from seven to eight
hundred dollars a year for the sup
port of their school.
"All the civilized world reproves
and abhors with just indignation,
the law which, for three hundred
years, has compelled the poor Irish
people to pay and support church
which their conscience condemns.
Thanks be to God and to Gladstone,
that cursed law is to be cast out.
This will be glorious event for the
noble and generous English peo-
pie.
"Now can a Catholic show me
the difference between the school
law of Ohio and that .tyran-
nical law which oppresses poor,
down trodden Ireland? He cannot,
and well he knows it, too. But
there is a fact that Catholics do not
appear to be aware Of, and that is
that this same school law was fran
ed by the great friends { p of Cath
olic interests, that is to say, by a
Democratic legislature. Perhaps
they are not aware that few years
ago a petition was made by Bishop
Purcell to obtain a just share to the
public money for the support of
Catholic schools, and that the legis-
lature, which was tI,en composed of
Dem ocrats, in order to show their
love (?) for Catholics, confessed
that the petition was right, but
voted it down. Perhaps Cath olics
are not aware that the last legisla-
ture, composed of Republicans SO
black { p against poor Catholics,
presented a bill to set Catholic
schools on the same footing with
others, and only. four votes were
wanting to make it law. Perhaps
Catholics do not know we are now
blessed ?)wfth Democratic legis-
lature. We had right to expect
that these gentlemen, who go to
mass and vespers and even bene-
diction, and who are so kind to
Catholics at the time Of the election,
would recti!y what Democratic
trainers of the school law had prob
ably done in mistake. (?) We
expected that through self respect,
and to cover their hypocrisy, and
save themselves from the cruel re-
proach of humbueging the people,
they would at least say little about
this most important question. But
no. not word Catholics, what dc
you say to that? How will you
vote next time?
A CATHOLIC PRIEST.
"Elyria, May 10, 1862
This letter is one of the shrewdest
compositions which could have been
written upon the subject. 1t is art
fully designed to appeal to the
interests Of both political parties
1t threatens the Democracy with the
loss of the Catholic vote, and ii
holds out to the Republicans the
hope of obtaining it. In this way
tie " ritter wieIds a two-edged-sword
He holds a menace over Democrat
ic laggards and puts a premium
upon Republican support. He had
no need to sign himself "a Catholic
Priest" for his tact and shrewdness
proved him a disciple Of Ignatius
Loyola. .#
We hope that there is no need OF
discussing before our readers sc
utterly indefensible proposition as
this Were our schools distinctive
ly Protestant at present, the de
mand to divide the school fund pre-
rata would have much greater
show of Justice but they are moi
Protestant, and the quarrel of the
Catholic priesthood with them is
not that they are Protestant, but
that they are not distinctively Cath
olic. Our schools, like our govern
ment. are divorced from the church
and espouse no especial religion
Professionalism is not taught in them
and the complaint of our priestly
logician that the "conscience" oi
the Catholic forbids him to send his
children to our public schools is alb
surd. 1t is only because Catho-
licism is not made part of our sys-
tenn of public instruction that the
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