New-York tribune., 1870-05-13
TIE UNION LEAGUE CLUB ON THE SCHOOL
QUESTION.

| THE REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING OF THE CLUB
RECEPTION OF MR.. WHITTIER, AND GOV.
| DENNISON OF OHIO-REPORT OF THE SPECIAL
COMMITTEE ON THE MIsAPPROPRIATION OF
| PUBLIC MONEYS FOR sECTARIAN USES-WHAT
! TIE CLUB HAS DONE.
This regular monthly meeting of the Union League
held last night in the large library in the Club
House, the of the theater having been accorded
to the Lee Literary Society. The reception of Mr..
| Whittier drew out an unusually large attendance.
Mr.. Whittier entered about the time the regular
business of the meeting closed, and received
with hearty applause He was presented to the Club
in few eloquent words of eulogy which were ap-
plauded to the echo. Mr.. Whitter's response was
exceedingly brief, and given in tone low as to
be almost inaudible Subsequently Gov. Dennison
of Ohio, x-Postmaster-General under Lincoln, was
introduced He responded in few graceful words
of acknowledgment. The meeting then adjourned,
and great numbers of members presented ind-
vidually to Mr.. Whittier and Gov. Dennison by Pres
| dent Schultz.
| During the course of the meeting the following
report by the Special Committee the Misappropri
alton of Public Money for Secarian Uses
ceived and adopted.
On November "a last, DR.. Francis Leber in concise
statement to the Club, exposed conspiracy to destroy
| our Free Public Schools, and to put education under
ecclesiastical control The Club Immediately appointed
this Committee with power to take such steps they
thought best TO avert great public calamity. The
Secretary Of the Committee drew up plan Of campaign,
which adopted by the Committee, and he
directed by them to carry it out Its main features
We're:
First To obtain from official recors The amount Of puso money a
strto from the City Treasury 9 for sciarian wholly
TIE amount % Of s the city taken from the public and
devoted voted TO ~. me same i,egsi ", use 49,, - =. 49,,
to use the public funds to do it.
state and to S@ int nfo ise hand az eye s
and every pgbc school officer ami teacher OF every city, county town,
F To repeal 10th section Of chapter Of,v.of
ecclesiastical bodies to destroy public schools.
1t required the labor of two gentlemen for more than
month to obtain from official records the statistics,
verify, and abuate them On JAM 49, last the astOund
ing facts reported to the Club that in 1869
than half million dollars of public money abstract
ed from the treasury of this city alone, by few religious
sects, of which single sect got than 100000;
and that this sect by various devices had obtained
from the city in few years, for nothing mere
nal price, than three millions Of dollars worth Of
real estate which il had built and building its
churches and other ecclesiastical structures, and
thus preparing itself TO carry out its declared warfare
against Free Public Schools. Twentythree thousand
copies of this report OF the Committee were printed and
also 81 copies OF petition 10 the Legislature for tho
repeal of said section.
l. Copies of the report and the petition furnished
first 10 each OF the 400 newspapers, magazines. and peri
Odcas In this State, with request 10 each To publish
the report notice and get the petition signed and
turn in weeks 10 the Legislature large number
OF newspapers published the report in full nearly all
gave editorial, and many printed series OF articles
it running through three months. BY this means the
dissemination of the facts contained in the report soon
pervadcd the whole country; the press from Maine 10
California opened its batteries upon the ecclesiastical
enemies of the free non-sectarian public schools.
O. Three thousand copies of the Report and Petition
sent 20 many prominent citizens, representing
every in this state with request tn each 10 make
public address in his town on the subject and get his
friends 10 sign the petition, aud to return il within two
weeks to the State Senator from his district They re-
spOnded almost to a man, a1drc,scs
instead Of one, and sent for petitions Over three
thousand lectures this subject thus caused TO be
delivered in this State within two months aud the Senate
was filed with welsgned petitions.
8. The school officers of every county were then sup
Piled with the report and petition, and acted upon them
Next, 1900 copies OF the report and petition were
sent to the 1900 pubcschool teachers of the State with
request that each teacher would obtain the signatures
OF the voters In his school district to the petition ana
return it to his member of Assembly at Albany within
two weeks from the date of s receipt. This last move
enabled your Committee to reach every school district in
the State and to flood the Assembly with petitions for
repeal.
s. The of the reports and petitions used Mt
public meetings and in establishments where numbers
voters met daily.
The petitions as they came into the Assembly and
Assembly Committee Education. They gave a
DELEGATION OF your Committee in favor OF repeal hear
ing of three hours IL clear to all present that the
enemies of Public Schools in the Assembly Committee
meant possible to smother the bill in Committee, or
DELAY il till action impracticabe. In the Assembly
commte the leader Of the opponents OF our system OF
Free Common Schools was a member from the city He
has lust appointed Clerk to Board N Education,
at salary of 5000 year! Your Committee would like
to know whether this done to enable him secretly to
undermine what he failed openly TO demolish Your
Committee found In the whole Legislature more de-
termined enemy Of our Common Schools, and no more
plant persistent tool of the party that wishes to put
tbe Schools under esastical control than this gone
man; and yet he his own excellent education en-
trely generous system of Free Common Schools!
On March 80 your Committee held the great meeting
for the free nonsecaran public schools at the Cooper
Insttue-a meeting presided by Peter Cooper as
sisted by 800 presidents and secretaries intelligent
as well as solid OF the city, and representing overy
political party and religious sect The meeting was ad-
dressed by Peter Cooper Hiram Ketchum the Rev. Dfs.
Schenck, Thompson and Ganse, and the Rev. Henry
Ward Beecher the resolutions prepared by the secre
tary were unanimously passed, and 5000 names were
signed to the petitions.
Your Committee now In correspondence with
earnest friends of education in every part Of the State,
friends who hold OF the question vital to Amer-
can liberty and gious liberation, and which threat
ened the very existence Of Common Schools One OF
then the Rey Dr. Peek. Of Syracuse, obtained the
signatures clergymcn of his denomination to
our petition presented the Legislature and ad
| dressed the Senate Committee.
On April II and II State Convention was held In
Twedde Hail. Albany, composed ofdelegaes from every
quarter of the stae immediate repeal Of that Tenth
Section and to inauratc measures that would at once
and forever eTectuay put end to the appropriation
Of puic money and property for the endowment sup