Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1871-04-30
Our Public school Fnnd.

| MESSRS. EDITORS: In common with
many of your readers, 1 would be glad to
know the precise condition of the fund for
our public schools. .fflGNN
| 1 have been Informed that influences are
| at work in favor of diverting a portion of
this fund from its original method of dis
| burSement.
My informant assures me that the repre-
sentatives of the Roman Catholic Church
are seeking to gain control of a certain pro-
fportion of the money raised by general tax
| alton, to support a sectarian school which
| shall be controlled by their Priest and in
agreement with their own peculiar reli-
| gious views. t.tE-s- tf.F ,rf,fssl
| would fain hope this information is in
| correct, but the Ource from which it is de-
rived leaves little ground for the indul-
! gence of such hope.
| Note the cool assumption of this effort
This eityis overwhelmingly Protestant
/ city. Vi III .tGa4 2s
The Protestant population pay probably
| nine-tenths of the tax by which this school
| fund is created. This Protestant cornrnu-
nifty regard and treat the Roman Catholics
as fellOw-citiZens. They are willing in all
| things to give them an equal chance in the
race of life with themselves. Civilly, So
| cially and in business relations, they &C
knowledge them as peers and are willing
to pay the tax that admits their children
10 the same privileges OI common SCHOOL
education as their own.
One would think this fair and liberal
enough. "Nayp say cur Roman Catholic
citizens or rather their Priest, acknowledge
ing supreme allegiance not to the govern
ment that protects him, but to the Pope
''This is not enough: we must have part
of your money to support a school whose
| principles shall be hostile to yOurs.n This
must be the force ofthe demand, for, if the
principles they desire to have taught are
consistent with the principles prevailing
in this community, why attempt the une,
economical plan of supporting a separate
school at all? l say then this demand is
marked by cool assumption.
III. The scheme of dividing the funds
for sectarian purposes is Suicidal If the
Roman Catholic Priest may demand part
of the fund, so may each one of the Pas
tors of the several Protestant churches.
They have just as much. right to make
this claim, and their principles are as dear
to them as those of the Priest to him. Let
their scheme then be carried out and you
have no longer a common school fund at
all. The city becomes but the creature lof
the denominations, to raise money for
them to teach sectarianism. All the
force of common school training
to fuse the growing youth into generous
sympathy and religious homOgeneOusness
is lost. Narrowsystems of education pre-
vail with all the exclusive bigotry that
naturally results. Let the people of Knox
vile be warned. .., .f-.r,.
THE RELATED TENDENCIES OF THIS
MOVEMENT.
III. .Sbouldt succeed, it would be but the
opening wedge for series of aggressions,
which, before long, would be aspiring to
State aid for various institutions of the RO-
man Church.
In Newly ork the working of this scheme
is seen onsa gigantic scale. Little by little
the aggressive steps have gone on, until the
entire system of public schools-almost the
finest in the worlds lettering, and will
soon be destroyed if the people in that
State do not at once rise in their might |
The Roman church has acquired property |
in the city of New York alone, as shown |
by the late census, to the value of ftty mil |
lions of dollars! A very large portion of |
this has been drawn from the Legislature, |
through the. plianey of politicians. And |
during this same time, the various ehari- |
ties of the same church have been largely |
supported by annual grants from the pub |
lie treasury of the State. and city. Do our |
people wish to have a repetition of this |
process in Tennessee-in Knoxville?
We had best meet and settle this ques-
tion distinctly and finally, aosC i do not |
speak unadvisedly when / say the people |
of this community a0W meet it now. They |
will demand of our rulers that their school |
fund be expended according to the original |
intention. Their motto will be the trite, |
but no less expressive one, o6std priacipiis.
They will resist the beginnings of this evil. |
There are men enough, and more, to de-
mand of those who manage this school
fund that it be not diverted from its pur-
pose. They will not even tolerate "shuf-
fiing' in this matter, but will hold the
board of mayor and aldermen, without re-
gard to political party, to a strict response
bility. Where is the Protestant and
American among them who is ready to be-
tray them in concern so grave and seri-
GUS? .fe9ss ONE OF VERY MANY.