The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1875-06-18

assume bDe pTeTOBhtlNeS OF bue CnufCn.
Or as the church may not take charge of
the affairs of the state, neither may the
state take charge of the interests Of the
church. There is in our country, as in
all others, a great secular life and a
great religious life. These are separate
and distinct from each other. The state
has to do with the former and the church
with the latter. For the secular pros
perity of the people the state is largely
responsible; for their religious prosperi-
ty the church is decidedly responsible.
It is the province of the state to take
charge of, and make provisions for the
secular education Of all the children Of
the State. 1t is clearly withinits prerog-
atives to say that every child, whether
Catholic or Protestant, Christian or In
fidel, shall have such education as shall
qualify il for good citizenship. In order
to this, the state may provide for such
education. 1t may levy q reasonable
tax upon every dollar of secular property
for purposes of secular education. But
the state may not, as such, teach relig-
ion. This is not within her province.
She may protect religion and religious
teachers, and the church in the prosecu-
ton of their work, but may not assume
their prerogatives. This is the work
and business of the church. Here she
finds her legitimate field of labor, and
any effort upon the part of the church, or
any one or more branches of the church
to control the public schools, or any
portion of the school funds for religions
or sectarian purposes, is entirely outside
of their divinely appointed mission.
1t is not only the prerogative of the
State to provide for the free education
of all the children of the state; but it is
as clearly within the prerogative of the
state to require that every child shall re-
ceive such education. This is necessary
to the greatest benefit of the state. This
is especially true in view of the mixed
character Of our population. 1t is the
pride of the country, that it invites thu
ignorant, the oppressed and the down
troden of the Old World to our shores
That here they find not only an asylum,
but remunerative labor and material ad-
vantages that they do not any where
else. But this great mass of native and
foreign born population must be Amer
icanized. We can have but Que Nation
ality in this Country. This foreign
population that is annually coming to
our shores must be brought into sym
pathy with American ideas and institu-
tions. 1t is these ideas and institutions
largely that render this Country desira-
BILE to the population Of Europe. The
German in one or two generations must
cease to be a German. That is, the na-
tional peculiarities that he brings with
him from the Old Country, his posterity
must loose. They must be Americans,
educated in American ideas and institu-
tions. So with the Irishman and all
other portions Of our foreign population
These things are not said in disparage-
ment Of foreign national peculiarities,
they are good enough IN nrrtheiro own
countries; but this country is especially
American, and all the various elements
Of itspopulation, however heterogeneous
they may be, must be Americanized
This is essential to the preservation of
American institutions. These elements
are Americanized by and through our
public schools. They take the child of
the American and the foreigner with
their diversified habits, and place them
side by side in the same school, with the
same course of instructions, melt them
in the same mould; in short educate
Them in American ideas and institutions, J
and prepare them for American citizen
ship.
These schools are secular. They ex-
st for secular purposes, and no church
1r religious sect may presume to ask
hat its peculiar dogmas may form part
1f their instructions. Or that the sys-
,em of public schools shall be discon-
,inued because their peculiar tenets are
not distinctly recognized and taught by
t. The schools are not for religious
but for secular, and for such
secular purposes as do not in any sense
with the religious instructions
Of the people, by the various religious
of the country. All are
placed upon an equality, and are pro
tected by the State in the legitimate ex-
ercise of all the influence they can com
mand. But here is the difficulty, the |
Catholic knows that Catholicism is for
eign element, that its spirit sharply an
tagonizes the spirit of American institu-
lions. Hence he does not want to |
Catholicism is system
Of monarchy that melts away like wax
under the warming influence of Ameri-
can institutions. Hence the cry of god |
less schools and the demand for their
destruction. r- -.u i...t..
But the question arises, can any citi- |
zen or class of citizens be excused from
their obligation to the state in this re
spectl Is the plea that the schools are
secular, that religion, or that partcu-
lar form of religion is not taught in them,
a sufficient cause to justify the release
Of the property of any class of citizens
from taxation for their support Or to |
justify demand for the division of the
public money, and place portion of it
at the disposal of any particular church,
for the purpose of intoxicating the spec.
ial tenets of that church9 If the Catho-
lie Church may make such demand on
the plea of conscience, then may the
Methodist, Presbyterian, or any other
church make similar demand, and the
school fund will either be cutoff entirely,
or cut up into sections, for the purpose
of inculcating special religious doctrines
and usages, and thereby fiistrate the
object Of the state in sustaining the
schools, mas b. s-,, j.. -......'-,...
1t is exceedingly difficult to see how
thesupport of the public schools involves
the question of religious conscience.
They interfere with the religious,hIith of
no one The tAnata Of no Torkiculav .a