Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1890-03-20
THE BIBLE BARRED.
important Decision of Wiscon.
sins Supreme Court.
NO BIBLE IN TIE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

A Contest Between Roman Catholics and
Protestants Decided In Favor OF the
Former-The Scriptures Have No Place
i'm the Schools, Says the Court, Nor ANY
Book That Teaches Amy of Their Doc
tripes.
MADISON, Wis, March 1S-One of the
most important cases decided by the supreme
court in many years was that of Weiss
against the Edgerton district school board.
Some of the public school teachers there
were in the habit of reading the Bible to
their pupils, and to this some Roman Cath
olic parents objected, particularly because
the Bible used was the King James edition,
portions of which are repugnant to the Ro-
man church. The case was tried in the CIR
cult court for Rock county, which over
ruled the demurrer of the Roman Catholics
to the answer of the school board
Roman Catholics Victorious
The action of the circuit court is now in
turn overruled by the state supreme court,
thus giving victory to the Roman Catho-
lies, and declaring that the reading of the
Bible in the public schools is unconstitu-
tional The court says that in considering
the question whether such reading of the
Bible in the public schools is sectarian in
struction, the books will be regarded as a
whole, because the whole Bible without ex-
ception has been designated as a textbook
for use in the Edgerton schools, and the
claim of the school board is that the whole
thereof may lawfully be so read.
Declared sectarian Instruction.
This being so it is quite immaterial if the
portions thereof set out in the return as the
only portions thus Far read are not sectarian; !;
yet it should be observed that some of the
portions so read seem to inculcate the doc
trine of the divinity of Jesus Christ and the
punishment of the wicked after death, which
doctrines are not accepted by some religious
sects. The court refuses to affirm or deny
that the Roman Catholic church opposes the
common schools The court further says
that reading from the Bible in the schools,
although without comm snt on the part of
the teacher, is instruction, and holds that
the Bible contains many doctrinal pass ages
and that the general reading of it is sectar-
ian instruction.
The Question at Issue.
1t also holds that such textbooks as are
founded on the fundamental teaching of the
Bible, or which may contain extracts there
from, may not be used in the schools. Saws
the court: "Some of the most valuable in
structlon a person car receive may be de-
rivei from reading alone, without any COM
ment or exposition of the question; there
fore the question seems 10 narrow down to
this; Is the reading of the Bible in the
schools, not merely of selected passages
thareirom, but the whole of it, sectarian in
struction OF the pupils, in view of the facts
already mentioned, that the Bible contains
numerous doctrinal passages, upon some of
which the peculiar creed OF almost every re-
ligious sect is based and that such passages
may reasonably be understood to incuicate
the doctrines preiicated upon theml
Answered Afirmatively.
AN affirmative answer to the question
seems unavoi iable Any pupil of ordinary
Intelligence who listens to the reading of
doctrinal portions of the Bible will be more
or less instructed thereby in tha doctrines of
divinity Of Jesus Christ, the eternal punish
men of the WICKED tn. authority of the
priesthood, the binding force andT efficacy
OF the sacraments. and many other conflict
says that the place where the Bible should be
read is pl" ca of worship, and that as the
taxpayers are compelled to erect and sup
port school houses, and children are, under
the late law, compelled tc attend public OF
private schools, the constitutional clauses
forbid the use of school houses as places OF
worship. The decision of the court wa.