The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1875-09-16
THE PUBLIC SHOOLS.
Extract from Taft's Great Cleveland
Speech.

Ine Stale IN many countries, ana SUI
shares it in some. 1t is a powerful OF
ganization. 1t has taught and believed
that its creed was the only true faith
and cannot recognize the claims of an,
other, and it continues so to teach. Ou
government can make no distinction
among the sects. Its position is one o
absolute impartiality. So long as Churcl
does not encroach upon the functions o
the State, it protects but does not inter
fere with it. The Mormon religion has
popularity in it which has been suppos
ed to encroach upon the province of the
State by encouraging bigamy But il
this countay the civil law must be su
preme. No ordinance of any church car
stand a moment against it. The Catho
lie and the Protestant alike must yield
to the civil law. Here is the Theoretical
difficulty with the Catholic clergy: They
owe divided allegiance-to the head o.
the Church and to the State. And il
there is line between the things in
which they owe allegiance to the Pope
and the things in which they owe allegi
ance to the civil government it is not al
ways apparent to the world, if it is to the
Church. Here is a difficulty, in practice
as we'll as in theory, on the school ques
ton.
But the Church cannot be permitted
| to interfere with the policy of the State.
1t cannot be permitted to set aside the
civil law on the claim of superior saneti-
ty Nor can it be permitted to set aside
any department of the State Govern
ment, on the ground that such depart
ment of the State Government is god
less" No Church in our republic can
claim to monopolize the favor or the at
tributes of the Deity, or to WELD them as
State, or other Churches If
the priesthood of any Church put forth a
claim. they must not expect the State to
recognize it, and much less can they ex-
pect it at the hands of other sects. 1t
has been great mistake in the Catholic
priesthood to characterize the common
schools as goddess" 1t comes from a
source and culture foreign to our govern
ment.
There was a time when such Christians
as Henry the Eighth, of England, and
Philip the Second, of Spain, relying up
on his divine right to rule, would have
characterized republic like ours as'god-
less" Those days are gone. If there is
anything divine in America, it is our re-
publican form of government. If there is
anything divine in the republic, it is its
system of common schools. 1t is time
we should all learn the infinite folly of
attempting to fasten upon any part of
Gods creatures our puny condemnation,
by denouncing it as goddess" The use
of the term in reference to the schools
implies an utter want of appreciation of
the relative position of the schools and
the Church in this country.
The Church must be content with be-
ing protected in its worship, and in the
enjoyment of its own opinions, but it
must be taught to beware how it at
tempts to interfere with the proper func-.
tions of the State. If it seeks to become
a political party, it must expect to be
treated as partisan, and any political
party which is willing to use the sectari-
an zeal of particular Church to pro-
mote its political power, becomes justly
obnoxious to the suspicion of all other
Churches, if not to their opposition. The
Feoniocrstie. party at the present time lies
under that impuJatic1z If that party
and the Catholic Church have conspired
to acquire and share political power, they
cannot complain that other sects and
other parties are becoming jealous of
their rights.
We come, then, to the grand desidera-
tatm of our republic-popular education,
free and universal. Without this it
would be ephemeral With ignorance
brooding over the masses there would be
no adequate restrain is upon the brutal
passions There would be no checks up
on demagogues. Tyranny would grow
up in our midst as naturally as weeds
grow up in an uncultivated garden. The
people would be easily overreached, and
utterly unable to detect the impositions
and frauds upon them, and sooner or la
ter the popular form of government
To ha
Roman republic gave place to Caesarism,
and the French republics have so often
place to an empire. Ignorance is the
mortal enemy of republic. 1t not only
breeds every form of crime, which is the
reason commonly assigned for support
ing schools by taxation. but deprives the
ballot of its value and renders it source
of the greatest danger. Ignorant voters
are always liable, in the hands of dema-
gogues and wicked aspirants to power,
nnwillingly to do infinite wrong to the
country But keep in vigorous opera
ton the public common schools, and
make their support as sure as taxes can
make it, and however ignorant the peo-
pie may have been intelligence will grad
ually take possession of the land. Like
the sun in the solar system, which warns
and enlightens the most distant planets,
the common school system, in full opera
ton, will gradually disperse the clouds
of ignorance, and shed upon all the peo-
pie the broad daylight of universal intel
ligence. l use the term common schools
to comprise the system of public schools
with all its improvements and depart
ments; not limited to its present scope,
but with its growth and improvement in
the future, as well as in the past On
this common school education rests our
faith in the republic. Though there
may be thousands who still vote blindly,
the number will grow less as the COM
mon schools all over the country exer-
else their legitimate, unperverted intlu-
ence upon the mass of children who grow
up in them. Hence it is the bounden
duty of free republic to maintain the
common school system clear of all secta-
rian control at every hazard.
This obligation, fear, is too lightly re-
garded by some even who are not infiu-
enced by religious considerations; men
who are far enough from wishing to unite
Church and State They think of the
high taxes, and conclude that thousands
who pay no taxes derive greater benefits
from the common schools than men of
large estates who pay the most This
seems to to them unjust and unequal
They see but dimly the broad benefit of
the schools to the public, while they look
sharply upon the unpaid-for education
of the children. They realize the value of
education to the children personally, but
forget the stake which the public has in
the investment Many more deprecate
the constantly improving character of
the public schools as involving too high
a cost to be paid by taxation. They say:
"Why, these schools are extravagant!
They furnish almost a liberal education.