Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1890-07-12
PUBLIC EDUCATORS.
UNION BETWEEN STATE SCHOOLS
AND PARISH SCHOOLS.
Is ~ Impossible ?--Compuisory Education
The Race Problem-A Distinguish
ed souiherner Thereon.

Educational Association at 81. Paul.
MIMI. the following officers were elected;
President. William Il. Garrett. Nashville;
Vice-P residents-James II. Garfield. Law
renee. Kan. ". II. Beadle, Mason, 5. d..
Mrs d. T.. Williams. Delaware. o.: J. NJ.
Baker. Denver: T. A. Futrall, Mariana.
Ark. John r. Buchanan. Kansas City; j.
S. Jones. Erie. Pa; Mary T. Nicholson.
indianapolis: X. K. Preston. Jackson.
Miss. +. y. McElroy. Salem. Ore VI. c.
Fernald. OrOn0. Me: Solomon Palmer,
Montgomery, Ala; Secretary, l.. II. Cook,
New Brunswick. \. j.; Treasurer, J. n.
Greenwood, Kansas City; and a director
from each State represented III the con-
yentiOn.
THE STATE SCHOOL AND TIE PARISH SCHOOL.
The first subject of the morning was
Compulsory Laws and Their Enforce
mentn Archbishop Ireland. Of 81. PAU,
read the first paper on the topic The
State School and the Parish School Is
Union Between Them lmpOssibleY" He
said in substance: / viii be permitted TO
make at once my profession Of faith. /
declare most unbounded loyalty 10 the
Constitution Of my country. ! desire no
favors. | claim 10 rights that are not nm
. cOnsouancc with its letter and its spirit.
The rights which the Constitution allows
/ do claim. and in doing so / am but
truer and more loyal American. To the
child must be impaired instruction IN no
mean degree that the man may earn for
himself an honest competence and acQuit
himself Of the duties which society exacts
from him for its own prosperity and lite.
I The imparting Of this instruction ia pri-
marilv the function Of tho child's parents.
/ The State interyenes whenever the family
cannot or will not do the work that il
needed As things are tens of Thousands
Of children might not be instructed # pa
rents remained solely IN charge Of tho
duty. The State must como forward as an
agent Of instruction, else ignorance
will prevail. Indeed in the absence or
State action there never was that universal
instruction which we have so nearly a.
tanned and which We deem necessary. in
| the absence OF State action ] believe uni
/ vcrsal instruction would never IN any
I country be possible. No tax IL more L.
Ultimate than that for schools. and IL
should be disbursed by state officers for
/ this specific purpose. / unre5elYedlY
favor State laws making instruction COM
/ pulsorv. Instruction Is so much needed
bv each citizen for his own sake and for
that Of society that the father who neg
lects 10 provide for his child's instruction
sins against the child and against society,
and it behooyes the State to punish him.
SECULAR INSTRUCTION PRIDE AND GLORY.
Secular instruction in State schools IS
our pride and our glory. and / regret that
there is q necessity for the existence ~
parish schools. The spirit Of the parish
school, if not the school itself. ~ wide
spread among American Professionals, and
/ Is made manifest by their determined OPP
position 10 the exclusion of Scripture-read-
ING and other devotional exercises from the
schOol-room. There Is dissatisfaction with
the State school as at present organized.
/ The State school, il j. said, tends TO the
! elimination Of religion from the minds
| and hearts of the youth of the country.
/ This is my grievance against the state
schools Of today. Believe me, my Pro
/ testant fellOw-citiZons. ! am absolutely
sincere when ] now declare that ] am
speaking for the veal of Professionalism az
! well as that of Catholicism. lam Catholic,
/ Of course to the fibre of my heart, uu-
/ fiinchiug and uncOmprOmlsing III my imth
! hut God forbid that / should desire 10 sec
/ in America the ground which Protestant
/ ism occupies exposed 20 the chilling and
/ devastating blast of unbellei Let me oe
v0ur allv IN stemming the swelling tide OF
| irrchgion. the death-knell of Christian
/ life and Christian civilization. the fatal
/ foe of soul and country. The state school
/ is non-religiO ignores religion.
NO NoN-sEcrARIAN RELIGIOUS TEACHING.
There IS and there can be no positive re-
| ligiOus teaching where the principle of
nOn-sectariGuism rules. 10 follows, then,
that the child viii grow up in the belief
that religion is of minor importance and
religious Indifference will be his creed.
/ The great mass Of children receive no first
I lessons and attend no Sunday schools, and
/ the Great mass of the children OF America
are growing UP without religion. The state
does not teach rcllgiou but for the sake
of its people and for its own sake u should
permit and facilitate the action OF the
! Church. But il binders this action. Let
the State look 10 itself. The mind which
ii uOhshes is tWO-edgcd swOrd-an III
strument for good or evil. II were fatal 10
polish 1t without the assurance that IN oil
! likelihood il shall be an instrument for
good.
You say this State school teaches morals
| but morals without religious principles do
not exist. Secularsts and unbellevors
will interpose their rights. | do not I'M
pose nv religion on secularism. Again
| there are differences among Christians,
and Catholics would not INFECT their belief
upon non Catholics, nor should Protest
antism be inflicted upon Catholic children.
Some compromise becomes necessary
Taxation without representation IS wrong,
and while the minority paws school-taXes
their beliefs should be respected America
is trying to divorce religion and school,
although religion peryades our systems
and the school was originally religious
through and through.
pERMEATE TIE SCHOOLS WITH THE PRE-
yATLTSG RELIGION.
As solution of the difficulty I would
permeate the regular State school with the
religion Of the majority of the children OF
the land, be 1t as Protestant as Protestant
ism can be, and would, as they DO IN Eng
land, pav for the secular instruction given
IN denominatiOnal schools according 10 re-
sults-that is, each pupil should pass
through an examination before state ON
GERS. and in full accordance with state
programme should secure TO his school tho
cost of tuition of a pupil in q state school,
Another plan: / would do rs the Protest
ants and Catholics in Poughkeepsie and
other places in our own country have
agreed to do TO the great satisfaction OF ther
citizens and the great Advancement or
educational interests. in Poushkeepsle
the Citv School Board rents q building
formerly used as parish school. and from
the hour of A. NJ. 20 that of 3 =. NJ. the
school is in every particular State school.
no religious instruction coming between
the hours named. and the school being IN
charge of the City School Board.
In conclusion, ! protest against, the
charge that the schools or the nation hafo
their enemies among Catholics. Inc
Catholics are loyal 10 the country and de-
mand a Christian State school.
BETTER SCHOOLS RATHER THAN CONFUSION.
Oscar II. Cooper, State Superintendent
of Schools Of Texas, read the next paper on
the same general subject. Mr.. Cooper
holds that compulsory education-laws con-
travene the fundamental idea which Is the
dominating development of American IN
stitutions-viz. minimum of law thor
oughly enforced with q maximum or free
dom. Rather than compulsory laws he Ia
vOred better schools.
ToURTs DAYS SESSION.
lBy telegraph 10 the Dispatch.l
ST.. PAUL, July 11.--When the fourth
DAVIS session of the thirty-ffth annual con-
vention of the National Educational Asso-
| citation opened. Or. Hewitt, of Ohio, rose
on a question Of privilege to deny the pub
lished statement regarding his candidacy
for president. Ii had been reported that
he would have taken the Office If given him.
and considerable feeling was expressed
against the action of the nominating COM