Arizona citizen., 1875-02-20
THE~-GITIZEN.
SATURDA r. FEBRUARY 20, 1875.
PUBLIC SCHOOL EDUCATION.

Sls UOSOpA III 1uCSOuJ 1U, HUI. <A
 E. Davis of Mohave county, remarked q:
 follows
 MIR. PRESIDENT In entering upon the
 discussion of this bill, I shall endeavor tC l be brief and to speak to the point. deem | it but proper, as there has been unusual
 and extraordinary measures adopted by
 an earnest lobby to mould our Legislation upon this subject, to answer some Of the
 attacks made upon our school system, by the advocates of this meas ure. This bill
 proposes to take from the school fund d
 sum of money and appropriate it to the benefit Of a Sectarian school. Whether the sum Is great or small is Of little con-
 sequence. l am opposed to the principle Involved, and upon that basis l meet the
 issue. l will discuss the right and power
 of the government to educate its people,
 and endeavOr to show, If the government
 has the power, and if it Is duty to edu-
 cate the people, that then the system
 must be founded upon broad and liberal
 principles, so all can unite and receive a
 common benefit thereby. Our govern
 ment is based upon the theory that man is
 capable of self-government, and to put
 this theory into practical operation, the
 people must be educated, or the govern
 ment is rope of sand and must fall to
 pieces. Any government has the inherent
 right to do all necessary things to preserve
 it's own existence. It being conceded
 necessity 10 educate the people for and to
 ftly enable them to preserve self-gov- ernment when established, 1t follows that it is one of the plainest duties for the gov ernment to adopt the required measures, and to see that they are enforced, to edu- cate the people. These measures are being adopted by a general system of public school education. A common and neu- tral ground is established in the public school-house by the exclusion of all sec tarian books and religious teaching, so that the children of every religious creed can go there without being instructed in any religious creed, or hearing one word uttered that shall conflict with their religi- ous teaching at home or in their church. Sir, ask is this not a fair and just plane to meet upon? ? Should not every Amer ican heart swell with pride, in the contem- plation that in our own free land, we are building up a fountain of knowledgewhere the high and low, the rich and poor, the children Of every creed and nationality, may go and at least be enabled to obtain the rudimeEtS of an education. Divide this fund up among the various creedS aS is contemplated in d small way by this bill. and whatwill be the result? Sir by the time each oi the various sects have receiv- cd a share, there will be nothing left for a general system Of education. The privil eged few will receive d religious education, according to the tenets of the particular church to which they belong, while the masses will grow up in ignorance. The chief corner stone Of-their education would be bitter and relentless hatred to opposing creeds, and very soon those who would be called upon to govern and control the ieStinieS of this nation, would by force of be religious bigotS regarding he advancement Of their church as of more importance than country, republic l III institutions or any thing else on earth, l md the ignorant masses would be SWayeQ | md controlled by those religious bigotS. | It is needless to say that a republic cannot | ong be sustained when this state of af- airs shall exist, and it is as plain to be | een as the sun at noon-day, that this | nation would have no existence as repub- ic, in very short time, If our general | yStem of education should be broken up l Sir, our government was based on the solid | of entire separation Of church 1 md State, and it is essential that our ystem of education shall be free there rom. Unite church and state, and public | choolS will be destroyed; unite church | md schools, and church and state cannot Ong be kept separate. If the frieDdS Of liberty desire to keep Church and State | eparate, as the fathers of the republic | practically did by the adoption of the principle in the Constitution of the Unit
 d States, then they must keep separate
 hurcheS and schools. Educate two gen.
 rations solely in the MohaInmedan faith,
 nd you will raise up generation who will fight, if necessary, to raise the Cres- ent above the Cross; and so 1t will be with any religious denomination. no mat CT by what name it is called, or at what hrine it's followers worship. Let religious bought and action be as free as the air we
 reathe; but educate the youth to be true American citizens, charitable and tOler- l. mt towards those of every faith. fl
 Sir, deplore the fact that the peace and
 which we have enjoyed in Ari- Ona during the past six years, struggling mid death and poverty, to educate our title ones, have been broken l am pain d exceedingly to have the conviction breed upon me, that any vandal hand yOuld now seek to tear them from the ublic school. Had I not seen what have,
 would not have believed that any one 'ho has been reared upon our free soil, vould aid in tearing down the public chool, and rear instead sectarian schools, nd thereby raise up divided people to ate and deSpise each other on account of eligious belief. Sir, such action would < cad further, it would destroy a general yStem of education, and allow the masses ) grow up in ignorance and steeped in rime. They would turn our free and en- , ghtened republic back to the tenth cen Try, and bring on a religious war, and gain Introduce the instruments of human ' )rture used in that period, to compel : bedience to bigotry and intolerance. I Sir, ask you to turn your eyes toward : UT sister republic, Mexico, and see the | overly and deStitution that have been : rought upon that unfortunate country by I le system of sectarian education that is l, , ow attempted to be forced upon us. See ow nobly, under her present wise and l. atriotic ruler, she is striving to throw off le letters that have bound her. It is now I roposed near the close of the first century 2 our existence-as republic-to swap I laces with poor Mexico, and to throw our )untry under the car that has nearly 'uShed the last spark of life from her, hile she is making successful efforts 5
 wards our elevated position as regards : hl lin ndr inrN ffnn n l aaIl