The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1873-04-27
Educating by the Press.

| week favored it's readers with an extrac'
from a lecture of Prof. Agassiz, on rad
ical differences between white people
and negroes. This moroccan is intro
duced by one or two lines Of editorial pre-
face of a non committal kind, and leaves
the reader in doubt as to the status of the
Picayune itself on the question discussed.
Now the learned Professor in this article
takes view totally different from that
presented in the Bible, as to the origin OF
the human race. He has analysed colored
people and white people too, (after thelr
death we suppose) and finds the bones and
the blood to be organically different in each
race. He says: ~
differences between the bonal and nervous sys-
TENS of the white man and the negro. Indeed,
their frames are alike in no particular. There
| is no bone in the negro's body which is rela-
lively of the same shape, size, articulation, or
chemically of the same composition as that
of the white man. The negroes bones contain q
far greater proportion of calcarsus salts than
those of the white man. Even the Negroes blood
is chemically very different fluid from that
which courses in the veins of the white man.
The whole physical organization of tho negro
differs quite as much from the white mans as
it does from that Of the chimpauzee-that is,
in his bones, muscles, nerves and fbres, the
chimpapzee has not much further to progress
to become O white man. Ibis fact science In
exorably demonstrates.
Climate has no more to do with the differ
ence between the white man and the negro
than it has between the negro and the Chin
pa1zee, or it has between the horse and the ass,
or the eagle and the owl. Each is a distinct and
separate creation. The negro and the white
men were created as specifically different as
the owl and the eagle They were desigsed to
fill different places in the system of nature.
The negro is no more a negro by accident or
misfortune than tho owl is the kind Of bird he
is by accident or misfortune. The negro is no
more the white mans brother than the owl
is the sister of the eagle, or the ass the broth
of the horse.
Prof. Agassiz has then found out chemi
cally that the account given by Moses is q
fable, and that colored people are not de-
scended from Adam and Eve, and Of course
not tainted with the original sin which af-
fects all white people, supposing that there
was such q couple as Adam and Eve.
We do not propose at this time to dis
cuss the position assumed by the great
Professor. We merely call attention
to the carelessness Of the Press in printing
such stuff. II negroes are of q different
original race from whites, then all the funda-
mental doctrines of Christianity are wrong
and the Old Testament is a false witness.
We have no idea that the Picayune intends
to give any such system of philosophy
direct indorsement. What we complain of
is that it should give it the benefit Of
doubt implied by silence, or that it should
give publication to such prefanities at all.
Many young persons read the Picayune.
Unfortunately come of these have not been
trained with such surroundings as to give
them the strongest kind of belief in the
Bible. They read such extracts as the one
alluded to; they find them credited to men
called Professors, men enjoying world
wide reputation for learning; they find |
them published without condemnation by |
papers calling themselves family journals,
papers whick undertake to give tone to
morals, and naturally they think that, after
all, there may be some doubt, or perhaps
that there must be great deal of doubt,
about the account given in Genesis.
Now this is part of what we call edu-
cation. The newspaper educates as we'll
as the history book or the geography. In
formation, whether false or true, is impart-
ed, and it is just as much education as
though acquired within the walls of a
The point we are coming to is this. If
such staid, sober old journal as the Pic
zyune-so staunchly virtuous-presents to
is youthful readers such atrocities as the
a quasi endorsement might
lot non-rcligious teacher very probably
10 the same thing How many of tue
men and women employed in public
schools throughout the United States,
would stop, on the reading of such pas
'sge, to warn their young pupils against
Is poison No doubt, there are, by acci-
lent, q number of teachers who would do
t, but what guaranty of such disposition
IN their part does the system givef
Yet parents have an undoubted right to
zee that their children do not have access
o newspapers that may contaminate them
" such doctrines. They have unques-
Toned control over the reading material
,iven to them out of school, why not over