The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1877-02-01


good reports from Medina. OF course
you will understand that this let
ter is not for publication, Hoping you
| will excuse the liberty have taken,
am Dear Sir,
Yours respectfully. :
10 this letter we wonld append the
following comments:
|. We are glad to see this growing
conviction Of the great dangers which
arise from blind and unreasoning par
tisanship. 1t makes the masses the mere
slaves Of cunning leaders, It has brought
our country to a terrible condition of
misgovernment. 1t will. if persisted in,
destroy the Republic,
II. We fully agree with the views Of
our correspondent upon tho all-important
subject ofeducation. The public schools
should be as unsectariau as blacksmith
shop or business college. There is no
more necessary or remote connection
between religion on the one hand, and
the alphabet, the Arabic numerals,
or the facts of geography, astronomy,
geology, physiology on the other, than
there is between the man in the moon
and the doctrine of vicarious atonement.
They relate to utterly different depart
ments of mind and thought School
education is simply furnishing the child
with the tools with which to work amid
the stores of the worlds accumulated
material experience.
But in saying this we do not desire to
throw contempt upon the development
of the child's moral or religious nature.
Although a member of no church we
recognize the great service which is
rendered to mankind by all the churches.
Society could scarcely endure with a
population that were intellectual giants
and moral idiots. But for this work
churches and sunday schools and preas
chers and pastors are maintained, at
great expense, to take care Of the COM
munity. Let them attend to it. If they
do not, they are false to their function.
1t is agreed by all men that all chill
dren should know how. to read and write
and cipher, and should understand some
thing Of the great facts of the world in
which they exist. Let the State meet
this common necessity by general taxa
ton, and let all the children of the pee
pie meet at the school-houscs as at
public fountain. in peace and concord
and amity. But if any man proposes to
get up and bastraddle that fountain. and
preach and pray or sing hymns, as =
condition of drawing water. he will slime
ply drive away those who believe that
those are not the Simon-pure>Dr. Ja~
cob b-Townsend-Sarsarparilla hymns and
prayers, but base imitation, in violation
OF the Dr's patent derivedright from the
courts of Heaven. And while they are
fighting over the Sarsasparilla question
the fountain is muddled or deserted.
Now the prayers and hymns are all
well enough intheir proper place, but they
have no connection with the fountain OF
education. Let us unite upon what we
can all agree upon tho affairs Of this
world and where we cannot agree let
usseperate and 60 to our churches and
sunday schools, where we can preach
and pray and teach without let or hin>
drance from any power on earth.
We would be glad if our eorrespon-
pondent and others would get up such
petitions as he speaks Of. Religion is
near akin to intolerance; and some
Of them would force their theolog-
ical pills down the throat OF popular
education even if they killed the patient.
To such minds the most cheering conso>
lation Of religion is the belief that hell is
an institution established expressly to
punish those who dare to differ from
them in opinion.
| III. We are glad to learn that the
terrible experiences Of this winter are
bringing the people of Medina to near.
" unanimous conclusion on the green
back question. IA Ahharr1ocess OF con-
version is going on all dvers shs country.
Men are asking, why they permitted
themselves 70 be lashed into. fury, the
other day, about Hayes otTilden -
what interesthave they in the election
Of either how will their condition be
! improved or their burdens .1fg1SRped by
! the success Of either? f6s begin to
realize that it is all ba:ki6pf politicians
for the spoils, and that th0ff property and
, prosperity are part Of the sp0ils. The
cattle are stupidity looking on while the
I lions are fighting to decide who sllail
!. (levocr them. The cattle should light
down on the, combatants and trsmpla
l them snkn nnfl,1nOnAna