The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1875-09-19
The Schools.

| appointment of fa colored teacher or teachers
to the public schools. We know that each
of those papers is engaged in an energetic
effort to accumulate the goods OF this world,
such as gold aud jewels, and we have also
heard that consistency is a jewel Why
they should manifest such Indifference to
this particular kind Of jewelry is what
botbers us.
T.. Those same papers have known fer years
that Catholics have the grayest scruples
about committing the custody of their
young children to people of another
faith, or, indeed, to any one not selected
by themselves, yet they have completely
ignored that fact in the matter of public
schools. They have quietly seen Catholic
/ citizens Obliged to pay taxes for schools
which they could not permit their children TO
attend, witho mt say ing one word-oue single
word-about organizing them, or some Of
them, on such basis to obviate the
difficulty. Now their own sensibilities are
touched, and-what q bowl. How easy il is
for them now to see whose OK is gored !.
How blind when 1t was somebody e!se's :.
That is to say, they are run exclusively in
the interest of their non Catholic patrons
aud in entire oblivion Of the feelings and
opinions of their Catholic patrons.
When We reflect that half the popu-
lation of this city is Catholic. this fact
speaks very highly for the courage OF those
papers, but very poorly for the manhood of
the Catholics. If they were sheep they
could not be treated with more unconcern.
P,t he a.:
press in this matter is great, even verging
on impudepce, its clearpess of vision cannot
be so highly complimented. 1t sees con-
tamination inexpreesible in the conn uion
of white children and negro men "a pupils
and teachers but it sees none in the same
relation between Christian children and
heretcal or heather teachers. On the con-
trary, so far from seeing it the press an-
Swers: " The teachers are not heretics there
is no contamination But who is to udge of
this for the children, their parents or
strangersf In the same way there are
respectable people who will discredit the
negro antipathy of our neighbo as preju-
dice. Such people are not scarce. All
the English, all the French, all the Ger
mans, and, in fact, every body else in
Europe, who has never been in a slave
country, will laugh at their distaste as the
most absurd conceit that ever took posses
sion of provincial and narrow nded
population.
| And here again the question arises Who
| is to be judge of the matter-the parties
interested or strangers Suppose, for in
| stance, the negroes here were in an undis-
puted majority and should, by the strength
of their vote, dispose of the school fund
according TO their own notions; suppose
that in so doing thay should make all the
teachers negroes, and mix all the schools
with white and colored pupils, so that the
white population would feel itself Obliged
to withdraw its children. would the Pea
ytne, the Times and the Bulletin see 20 in
justice in the move, even granting the
prejudice of the whites to be unreasou able
in the opinion of the msjoEityi They would
: say at once: "Wbere the prejudice of a
minority is honest and iDsuperable ia such
matters, it should be respected. sys-
tenn SO organized as to defeat its own ends
ought to be modified even TO meet preju-
dices."
Just so it might be said for the Cstho-
!, lics; aud why can't our confreres see it :
, Simply because it is not their OK that is
gored. The Catholic OK does not belong
to them; they have interest in it. II
Catholics choose to keep their children
away from the public schools because they
fear the contamination of their faith and
morals, why that is their own business, but
they must pay the school tax all the same.
Their prejudice, as non Catholics call it,
is honest, it Is binding sn the!r consciences,
they may not ignore II under pain of mor-
tai sin, !; makes the scAoo. system q nul-
'i'y for them, but-that is poihIng: no
braoch school shsi be adapted 10 their
wants they must pay theiv taxes and lose
them
Ths is all very Wei so long as tue Dey:.
rules, go long as irjGEtice and dishones.y