The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1888-01-20

up III such manner as will incline
tuem in the direction of good citizen
ship. In line and harmony with III 8
assumption are the laws establishing
and governing public schools and tax
ing all to support these schools. In
some communities this paternal inter
est and governmental protection goes
so far as to enforce education, the the
DRY being that the educsted person 8
the better and safer citizen. In this
country, within recent times. no
thought of interfering with sectarian
training has been sovanced, the STATE
contenting itself with providing for,
encouraging to or requiring certain
amount Of secular education, leaving
religious training solely to the wishes
and guidance of the parents. So care
full have communities been in this mat
ter of uon.interference, that sectarianG
books and teaching are forbidden in all
the public schools. Taxes are levied
alike upon Catholics, Methodists, B p
lists and all religionists of whatever
denomination, for the support of
schools, but no UNCONVENTIONAL doc
trine can be taught, even though
every taxpayer in the district belongs
to one church. Sectarians have fire.
quently complained of these laws
which they consider unjust, inasmuck
as they deprive the individual of the
right to direct the education of his chill
dren, while compelling him to pay for
that education. The CATHOLICS are so
careful that their offspring shall be
brought up in the mother church that
they pay the school taxes, but maintain
their own schools for the instruction of
Catholic children. It is to destroy
these schools that the Massachusetts
legislative committee makes the recon-
mendation which it does, the purpose
being to secularize private as well as
public schools. There is little wonder
that the report creates sensation as
stated in the telegram 1t naturally
would do SO, and it will be surprising if
ii does not arouse much Indignation. |
The proposition reaches entirely too
far, in that while it does not propose
Il legislation in favor of particular sect |
or religion, it does propose legislation |
against ali sects and AL religions. The |
case would be entirely different if Cath
olicS or others who maintain private |
secta ian schools taught only |
combining their instruc
ton to sectarian doctrine and
ignoring entirely secular education. |
But this is not the case. These private |
schools are highly educational in the |
secular sense, the general instruction |
being similar to that in the public in
and frequently it is a good |
deal more thorough. The State may
and undoubtedly has the right to de-
mand and require that children shall |
receive a certain amount of secular |
education which shall incline them in
the direction of good and useful citizen
ship, and better enable them to care for |
themselves; but beyond that the State
has 10 right to go; 1t certainly. has not |
the right to say, in this country which |
all religions as entitled to |
equal privileges and protection under
the law, that the child in addition to It's
secular training shall not be taught
in the sectsrian sense.
The Massachusetts, Legislature viii |
10 well to reject its-committee' report, |
and not undertake to make laws against |
q church. 1t will be dangerous pro- |
seeding to undertake to legislate away |
the rights of parents to direct their
children religiously.