Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1875-09-10

"'Noe DC 70 the parents, shouted he 10
he manner of one hurting auaihemas, woe
be 70 the parents Who send their children to
ihese public schools l would NOT like to
be In their places on the day OF Judgement.
The public schools are the nurseries Of vice.
They are Goddess schools, and they who send
their children TO them cannot expect the |
mercy OF God. They ought not 70 expect I
the sacraments of the church in their dying
hope you aud will live to see
The day when II will DO understood that par
ents who commit this great sin will bo,relnsed |
the sacraments Of the church. WHAT let
them die without the rites Of the church 2 !
you will ask, Yes, l say so. would as
soon administer the sacraments to dog as
to such Catholics Did not Jesus Christ suf-
fer one Of His apostles TO die without the
rites OF the church in despair SO would
let those wretched Catholics perish. Catbo-
lies They are no Catholics. They arc
Catholics OF the pothouse, politician stripe
men who deceive and betray the poor ignO-
rant, innocent Irish emigrants when they
arrive in this country meu who make their
poor countrymen, when they are only few
months in this country, perjure themselves
to become citizens men who have no faith
or charity in their hearts. You may say
'Ah, but 1 know good men and good women,
good priests and bishops, good fathers and
mothers, who we're brought up in the public
schools True, but they are the rare excep.
tions, oae in thousand or ten thousand.
You will say also But some of the teachers
are Catholics What OF il 2 What do
they know about the vice all around them,
the contamination aud villainy2 They don't
know it; they never see it, But we priests
know it, Go look at the water closets in
some Of your public schools aud see the vile
scribbliugs and markings on the wall, and
you will realize the vice and infamy that
prevail at these nurseries Of crime tell
you, Catholics, you do not realize the dangers
to your children. The effort Of the enemy
Of Gods holy church in these days is to get
control Of the education Of the youth in
the hope Of thus counteracting the bles-
sed influence Of the priests Of God.
The enemy has abandoned every other effort
Look to it, then, that you fall not victim
to his insiduous arts.
We do not believe that all Catholics enter
tain these views, but we have evidence that
too many do.
And this hostility in some localities is
active and persistent. In the city of New
York, strenuous effort has been made to
induce the board Of education, to give up a
portion of the public money to the Catholic
priests, for the support of their denomina
tional schools. They seem to be terribly 10
earnest in this matter, and determined to
have separate school system, and if posi-.
BILE to have it supported by the state. They
have already expended in that city alone
between two and three millions Of dollar'
for school buildings they have gathered
together over thirty thousand of their own
children into these separate schools, aud
appropriated annually more than quarter
Of million of dollars, to support these
schools; and all this to get rid of our fire.,
school system. And now they cOOlly ask
the public school board to pay them from
the public treasury, the money necessary to
carry on these schools in the interest Of the
Roman Catholic church
And what would be taught in these schools
thus sustained at public expense? Nothing
less than the infallIbility Of the Pope, anC
all the kindred dOgmns Of the church which
are entirely hostile to our free institutions
This same question is being agilated in othel
places, and we are told that the Catholic con
troll over our public schoolsis one Of the secre
issues Of the pending political struggle ii
Ohio that the Catholics are in league Will
one Of the parties in their struggle, pledged
to support their ticket and candidate, with
the understanding that said party will fayo
their efforts to get control OF the publ
school money of the state We hope thi
is not So We trust that our Catholic citi
zens will hesitate 10 force such an issue il
our politics. We would give them all tn
rights that we would give to any religion:
sect. They may have their own separat
UNCONVENTIONAL schools, if they will quietly
sustain them. But our people will neve
permit any interference Of the churches il
matters Of state. Our public schools ar
our birthright. In them must be trained tn
American citizens eff every generation. w
hold them dear and shall protect AMI defenC
them as a sacred trust. These Catholics ma,
freely enjoy all the advantages they afford
in common with other denominations, but i
the priests insist upon interfering and attemp
to overthrow our free schools, they must b
met on the threshold, and uncompromisingl
opposed at every step, and until their oppC
sition is crushed out. This question, in on
judgment, must be met and settled befoI
another generation has passed away. Ou
doctrine is, a school without priest and
, state without king.