Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1871-05-11
HOW SHALL WE EDUCATE.
The school Controversy.

Tie cause OF truth LDAI, IN the controversy
as to the division ofsthe common school
fund, which has engaged so much of pub
lie attention in this city, those who have
arrayed themselves ia opposition to the de-
Inan1s of the Roman Catholics should rely
for the support Of their position upon the
amount Of abuse which they hurl in gen.
eral terms upon the Romish Church, rath-
er than pursuing line OF. fair and legiti-
mate discussion.g .g2EzER E4JEbgEf VI
There is well known aphorism which
says, Error need not be feared so long as
Truth is left free to combat it" and if
Rusticus" and those who, like himself,
have forebodings as to the ultimate designs
of the Romanists to gain control of this
Government, surely, if they possess such
an abiding faith in the goodness of their
cause-as would seem to be indicated by
the zeal with which they rush into this dis
cussion, they need have no apprehensions
that Professionalism will suffer at the hands
of the Catholic world. Rustieusp says :
d" The Roman Catholic Priest and his
friends are not content to meet their fellow
citizens upon common platform as re-
CARDS free school education; and they de-
mand special and exclusive rights and
privileges"
Here is very general and sweeping
charge :slet us see how much truth there is
in it +: - =
Allthe tax payers of Knoxville cDntri-
butte towards the school fund, which, by
law, is to be appropriated forthe education
of the children of the city, Catholics pay
taxes for this purpose as well as Protest
ants In many of the text books, used in
the common schools in the United States,
there is to be found much that is abusive,
scurrilously abusive of the Romish Church;
and, to their shame be it said, there are
some Protestants who rely upon such wea-
pons in their warfare upon Catholicism.
Now, I ask Rusticus" or any other fair
minded gentleman, If it be reasonable to
expect-nay to %require-Roman Catholic
tax PAYERS to, in part, support schools in.
which their children will be compelled to
study textbooks written with the very i'm.
tentfon of sapping the foundation. of their
religious belief? If there be any so blind
ed by their fanaticism or ignorant preiu-i
dice against Romanists as to answer this
question affirmatively, say to them, Z Put
yourselves in their places" Suppose you
-Protestants / mean ARE in a minority in
Knoxville as you are In majority of the
great cities of the United States, would
YOU regard it fair and just that your funds
Should 90 to support Catholic schools, and
that no part thereof should be diverted
for the education of your own children
in your own faith? The Catholics here only
ask that pro rata distribution of the fund
shall be made and that they shall have
their. share. They do not demand that
Protestant funds shall support Catholic
schools On the other hand, we find the
demand made, in effect, that Catholic
funds shall keep up Protestant schools.
Which looks the more like diyerting the
school fund from its proper and equitable
use? s&t4n444@ F4E4ttFugsttS
"Rusticusn also thinks zone of Very
Many' has been led into this controversy
with Father Finnegan because. heTis
friend of civil and religious liberty" and
reioices that the issue has been made, that
the people may see and learn. The trouble
with both ssRusticusn and Zone of Very
Many is, that they are great friends of
civil and religious liberty for Professionals,
but not for Catholics. Indeed, they show
a sad want of that spirit of christian chart
ty which is conveyed to US in the admoTfi-
ton of the Master when He says, "Judge
not that We be not judged.n "Rusticus,,
says. IisTheD Catholic Church holds these
tenets: that the true religion is preserved
and taught only in and by thatchurch,
and is to be found only within its folds"
tThat the education of children and youth
in day schools should not only be not secu-
lar, but positively religious. = / now ask,
does not the Protestant, in fact each sect of
the Protestanti Church, believe the gutrue
religionnis to be found only in his denom
ination, and not in the Catholic? If so,7
and I hardly think one SO orthodox as
"Rusticus, will deny it, so far as his sect
is concerned-I ask in this respect. is the
Catholic more intolerant than the Protest
ant? J. also, in this conneetion, commend
altogether Incompatible with each other,
that are to be found in the articles of belief
of the various Protestant sects. 1t fact,
there is but one thing which holds them
together, viz: jealousy and hatred of the
Church of Rome. He then goes on to say,
att follows, by an obvious deduction, w.
which, of itself, he is pleased to term an
innocent dogma of the Romish Church
"that so far as the mind and will of that
church is CONCERNED there snoulo, morally
considered, be no popular education which
does not include religious instruction ac-
cording to its own dogmas and creed"
This sentence is rather ingeniously con-
structed and, while seeming to mean a
great deal, really means nothing; unless
it be, that the Catholic Church manages its
own school system in its own way, much
to the disgust of Protestants, inculca-
ting its. own doctrines and rapidly
making NprOselytes all over the land.
"Rusticusn also says: ave distrust Rome,
and have good reasons to do so, y and
after this loud sounding utterance in a phi
lippic robbed of its force by being point-
less, shows hoaU tolerant are those of his
own faith by declaring that of his imagin-
airy enemy proseriptive, and its ecclesia la
cal system oppressiue, corrupt and des-
tructiUe. 80, for the rarity of chris
tan charity under the sum- Like most
persons who make gross assertions, he does
not seem to understand the necessity of
proving them, but simply presents them
as naked charges In the prejudiced state
of his fancy he sees cloud of evils spring
ing out of the propagation of Catholic doc
trines in this country, and the phantas-
rnagoria assumes the shape of great &C.
clesiastical Romish hierarchy.
/ imagine can detect just here, that the
writer fears some future political combina-
ton between the Romish Church and the
Democratic party. doubtless something
analogous to that between the Northern
Methodists and Republicans, the conven-
ton of which church, so well informed
gentleman as "Rusticuss' will recollect
was the first body to nominate General