The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1875-12-02
THE SCHOOL QUESTION.

The United states, as such, has nothing
to do with the subject Of education. 1t is
true that there is commissioner of edu-
4" cation" but he is utterly without power.
The giving of information to him is purely
voluntary, and his reports are simply ad-
visory. His recommendations may be
good, but no one is bound to follow them.
His reports are valuable and interesting
"public documents" containing a large
amount of varied and useful information,
but we hardly think they are worth what
they cost the government. The matter Of
education is left to the states, and to them
belongs their control and support, and yet
we are inclined to think that the sugges-
ton of James G. Blaine is one worthy of
consideration. In letter written to a
gentleman in Ohio Immediately after the
election in that state and but very recently
made public, he proposes to settle the pub
lie school agitation by 30 amending the
tenth article of amendment to the national
constitution that 1t shall provide as follows:
" No state shall make any law respecting
an establishment of religion or prohibit
81 ing the free exercise thereof and no
" money raised by taxation in any state
" for the support of public schools, or de-
" rived from any public fund therefor,
" shall ever be under the control of any re-
" ligious sect, nor shall any money so
faised ever be divided between religious
sects or denominations"
Under such an amendment, the general
government would have no more power
over the matter of education than 1t now
has. Its simple effect would be to prevent
the establishment of sectarlan schools. As
Mr.. Blaine says, under it, each state could
have such schools as it desired, ''subject to
the single and simple restriction that the
"..schools shall not be made the arena for
sectarian controversy or theological dis
CUSTOM" and such an adjustment, he
thinks, would be fair alike to Protestant
and Catholic, Jew and Gentle. 1t seems
to us that there is much of reason and
force in his suggestion. 1t is unquestion-
able that the large majority Of the people
of this country believe in the free public
school, and that they are opposed to any
sectarian management thereof. 1t is equal
ly true that an attempt has been, Is now
being, made to undermine the system and
divide and divert it's funds to the use of
sectarian schools-schools in which certain
religious faiths shall become part of the
education, there undertaken. 1t seems to
us that it is evident that this question must
be met some time in the near future, and
in the form of the worst possible kind Of
politics-a politics based on religious be-
lef--and it should be the earnest desire of
every lover of his country to prevent, II
possible, such contingency
Such a provision as this would settle the
question and settle it forever. 1t is not
now question of party politics. 1t is not
a question on which parties can divide
democrats and republicans alike favor free,
non-sectarian, public schools. 1t will come
into politics, If it comes at all, in the form
of religious question and will enlist the
worst passions of the American. people on
either side, as well for 1t as against it. 1t
may be objected that the danger is not i'm
minent-if 30, let us make 1t impossible /;
that the agitation is dishonest and made
for selfish partisan purposes granted, but
let us squelch the agitation in the bud. 1t
may be safe, as has been suggested, to let
public opinion deal with any religious de-
nomination, Catholic and Protestant, that
persist in making disturbance about
A" the division of the school funds" but 1t
will be far safer to prevent any disturb
ance being made. We trust that the day
may be far distant when our politics shall
turn on question of religious belief, or
our schools shall be in immediate danger
from sectarian influence but the possibili-
ty will exist so long as the matter remains
unsettled. The matter might be settled by