The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1875-08-02

the Territories that have been cleared OF
wilderness, peopled and cultivated the
revolutions IN politics that have taken
place, &c. YOU may think that IN c"m-
parison Catholic church and school IN
terests have crept along with the solemn
deliberateness OF snail. But you must
recolIect that those improvements all mao
reference to the pride and material com
fort of men, whilst your church and
school have reference to the spiritual vel
fare of Yourselves and children beyond
the grave Considering how absolutely
enslaved this nineteenth century
Is to material prosperity, to
worldly glory and happiness;
| think you have reason to thank God
for furthering the cause of his holy rell-
zion amongst you to the extent he has.
Enterprises that have - religious purpose
in view are hard to set on foot and carry
through. You will more easily succeed
in forming Il company to build railroad
from one place on earth to another, IN the
interest of earthly commerce, than IN
organizing one to build Catholic school
house where children may be started on
the road that leads TO heaven. L believe
in my heart, without joking, If anybody
had 1t in his power TO laya railroad from
here TO the kingdom OF heaven and were
to offer bonds upon the market he would
be told that Heaven is no terminus Tor
railroad, and that it would not pay.
The road to Heaven is route
which only minds illumined by faith
can appreciate; they alone can see what
unspeakable value its stock will be worth
IN eternity. Ii this school house Il not
precisely the road to heaven 1t Is ut least
the depot from which your children Will
be started on the road TO heaven, by
means of religious instruction. lou
have not hcsitaLed to invest Your money
in the enterprise, believing that God will
repay YOU the Investment. predict
that you will be amply repaid even IN
this life, when the career of usefulness
and virtue guaranteed by the training OF
your children will bring honor to them
selves, and sutfuse with the purple and
gold OF peace the evening OF your de-
Ginning life.
We have assembled, my friends, for
the purpose of solemnly and formally
defeating this house To the purpose Tor
which il has been erected. Now what
need was there of your going to the eX-
pcnse of building this costly house? Are
there. not palatial structures in all the
wards of the town to which our children
are to 20 and be taught? Why not there
be- TAUGHT according to the deliberately
devised system sanctioned and sustained
by the high and sovereign State? Are
YOU not yearly heavily taxed on the dol
lar to pay for these ward school houses
and salary ofthe regiments ofteachers who
have charge of them2 And do they not
pretend To teach what they know and
do not know. from a, B, G, to the science
of the sun, moon and stars Why not
take advantage of these schools which
the State provides for you and save your
money? These are questions which some
,ccularst of the day would like to pat to
you; ask with an air of putrOnIZing pity
for what he considers your absurd be-
hayiur, and that Is what the ennis
sarv of the father of lies would ask, whose
delight it would be to pcryert your chill
dren from the faith Of the Holy Roman
Catholic Church.
And what would you rcply-what do
YOU reply loudly enough to be under
stood bv the entire city of Wheeling by
the voice of thi, splendid school house?
Rather than allow our children to be
brought up in schools from which religi-
Gus instruction is banished, or ut most
impaired through the unintelli,ible read
iug Of u mutiated Bible, we submit to he
robbed by the State of our hard earned
money for the benefit of others, and we
have taxed ourselves over and above for
the building up OF house and the sup
port OF II school where our children may
learn that is there are armament, sun,
moon and stars, and an earth, the dwell
ling place of man, there is Il God who
made them and whom all men must wor
ship and love. This is your answer, and
in giving it YOU show how widely your
views differ from the views generally pre-
vailing on the important subject of educa-
ton. Education, according To you, con-
sistS not merely in acquiring the arts of
reading, in the learning of dead or living
lunguugcs-in the knowledge OF
physical scicnce-not in the
knowle lse of .litory ard 10.
htiral economy; but IN more than all
these. in the knowledge above all of
those truths which will lead your chill.
dren to their eternal destiny. You do not
undrrratc tee various branches of secular
knowledge but YOU are far from rating
them rs high rs the religious knowledge,
which is banlshcd from the public schools.
This importance which you attach to the
religious element in the education of your
children is what makes it impossible for
Won to agree with the advocates of the
American system Of public school edu-
cation. We Catholics cannot admit that
mere secular knowledge, unalloyed with
dortrinal and moral instruction is good
for our children, any more than we can
admit that any kind of religion is good
enough 70 take one to heaven. We
maintain that the religious element must
be found IN every mans training from
the time h. begins TO lisp and prattle ut
his mothers knee TIL he passes into the
bosom of his mother earth. Because
mans destiny in higher existence than
the present, which destiny, however, !
cannot be meritcd by the most marvel
lous proficiency in all protane knowl-
edge. but must be secured through faith |
and supernatural charity. By believing |
and asserting this, one does not necessar
iIv undcrvaluc knowledge of any kind. |
All true knowledge or science Is the pos
session of one or another phase of the
eternal truth which is G-d, and certainly
it is not too hazardous on my part to as
,crt here, that the Catholic Church to
which we belong can justly claim for
herself the credit of having kept the
flame Of science burning IN the world
from the DAYS of Pagan Rome
to this ls75th year Of her
glorious history. Her mission In the
world is to combat ignorance and error.
To her f. / HUI discharge Of her sublime
mission it j, owing that the world was
...,.sl.y.l of any man g'grt with any |