National Republican., 1876-01-06
THE CATHOLICS AND rHE PRESIDENT.


In another column this morning we re-
produce q remarkable article from the
Catholic World the leading Catholic mag
azine of this country. in which the writer,
with considerable emphasis, indorses Presi-
dent Grants Des Moines speech. We
foresee that the direct result Of this publica-
ton will be to arouse in the minds of men,
bers of certain class ofProtestants renewed
fears regarding the situation, because they
will argue that the President has placed
himself in the attitude of sustaining the
Catholics in their demand for withdrawal
of the Protestant Bible from our public
schools. While we admit that the writer
lays great stress upon this point and appa
rently makes it the basis OF his argument
in commerdatIon Of the speech in question,
we also discover that other sects than the
Catholic are undoubtedly actuated by the
same motives and with the same result.
The attitude of the President is therefore
no more one of friendship to the Catholics
than it is to the Jews or the millions of non
believers IN the Protestant version OF the
Bible, who form an important element in
the aggregation of our citizenship. But,
these gentlemen will cry: Now that the
"Papists have succeeded in getting our
"Bible out of the schools, they will next
"enieavor to get their version OF the Sa-
"cred Scripture into them. This may
do very well as an argument to retain the
Protestant Bible in the schools, because it
arouses fear of an unfortunate result. We
say unfortunate, because We believe it
would be as unfortunate for the Protestants
as the present system is to the Catholics I;
but we think there is no danger of such
result, and that the fear of it is groundless.
1t is, at first, from a Protestant stand
point, a startling thing to suppose that
Bible instruction can or should be eX-
cluded from the public schools; but
a close analysis of the growing wants
of our country, viewed in the
light of the experience of older countries,
not only shows that it is possible, but per-
haps necessary. Such an analysis also
shows that our school system cannot be
properly characterized as free unless this,
at first glance, revolutionary, method is re-
sorted TO. Our present system of public
education is the direct outgrowth Of Prot
estantism, and presents itself in striking
comparison with the Catholic, sectarian and
charity system. But this is because the
first settlers of our country, who conceived
the true idea Of free republican institutions
and freedom of religious belief were mainly
Protestants, and did not contemplate the
fact, then in the womb of the future, that
their example in leaving the Old World to
search for religious freedom would be closely
initiated by others who were not Protest
ants. This result nevertheless followed,
and it followed simply because the United
States became known to the oppressed of
every cline on the face of the footstool as
place of refuge from their oppressors. In
sensibly in this way the very spirit of our
institutions was belied; for, as the original
founders of them grew in strength, they
also became jealous Of opposing sects, espe-
cially of the Catholics, and as the latter
grew proportionately in strength, contest
emerged from the very fountsin.head Of
national intelligence, which developed an
unwonted degree of bigotry, and finally
destroyed all foundation for the boast that
America is, in every regard, the land of the
free. This may be characterized as Cath
olic argument, but not properly so. Itisthe
plain deduction, and the only one that can
be reached from q on-sectarian analysis Of
the situation. But it carries with it COM
plcte and satisfactory answer TO the objec-
tons of the class of Protestants TO whom
we have referred. 1t shows that in
the event of Protestant domination
in the public schools being replaced by
non-scctarian domination, the contest be-
tween the sects would be confined to the
churches-in other words, would be
from the source of popular in
telligence to the source Of purely religious
inspiration, where it properly belongs.
And who can doubt that in such an event
the opposing sects would carefully watch
each other 10 prevent religious encroach-
ment by either side upon that source Of
popular intelligence? 1t appears to US that
such a condition of affairs would furnish a
happy solution of our present difficulties
The Protestants ever on the alert, the
Catholics likewise, the Jews and other
sects the same, could not avoid joining in
the ''resolve that neither State nor nation,
" nor both combined, shall support institu-
"tions Of learning other than those suffi-
"cient to afford every child growing up in
"the land the opportunity of good COM
"mon school education, unmixed with
"sectarian, pagan or atheistical dogmas." p"
The publication of the remarkable article
in question is not unexpected by us. We
predicted as soon as the Des Moines speech
was delivered that the intelligent and truly
liberal elements of every sect would sup.
port the President views, and that in
doing so they would provoke the opposi-
tion of less liberal elements. At the same
time, we foresaw that an exaggerated con-
struction of his utterances would provoke a
feeling of renewed bitterness on the part
Of another class Of Protestants against the
which would enable dema.
gogues and unthinking men to arouse q
prejudice against the so-called "rapid ad-
vance Of the shadow of the Popes toe"
This latter result could not have been ef-
fected, as it undoubtedly was in Ohio last
fall, if indiscreet Catholics had not over
stepped the bounds of the happy compro-
mise now proposed. They were responsible
for pushing sectarian questions into
the political arena, and, as The Presi-
dent was responsible for an at
tempt TO take them out of it, he naturally
received the cordial support of their oppo-
ncnts. But as the political passions of the
hour have cooled down, and the angry con-
test has passed into history, the time has
come to study the question with the calm
ness and deliberation that characterizes the :
Catholic Worlds article. We therefore
commend it to the attention of
our readers. There is most assuredly no
partisan bias in it, and whatever of personal
commentator of the President it contains
must be ascribed to the results of al i'm
partial criticism of the President as a man