Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1890-09-18
A LUTHERAN PAPERS OPINION,

Such Lutherans in Wisconsin as are
Directing TO the position of the republic
can party upon the school question
ought to be influenced ly such advice
as is gwen in the article subjoined. 1t
is taken from The Lutheran Observer,
published in Philadelphia, Pa, one of
the oldest, as it is the ablest and most
widely circulated of the Lutheran pa
pers published in the United States.
After referring to the history of the
Bennett law and the opposition to it, it
quotes from The Catholic Standard, in
which many misrepresentation are
made in regard to the law = The Ob-A
server then says: 1.-The Bennett law
does not interfere with private or par.
ochial schools, except that it requires
reading, writing, arithmetic and the
history of the United States to be taught
in the English language for three
months in the year. The law does not
interfere with the parents right to send
his children to whatever school he pre-
fers, nor does it prescribe any branches
of study to be taught in private schools
except those above mentioned. Relig-
ion and other branches of study may be
taught in them just as freely as if there
were no school law
I'm reply to all the false assumptions
and charges of The Standard as to what
the law is, and what il authorizes school
districts to do. it is sufficient TO stake
that nothing of the kind has been dones
and it is safe to say never will be orr
could be done under it. Neither Ameri-
cans nor good American citizens of for
eign birth would favor or tolerate-a law
that would prevent parents from send
ing their children TO private or parochial
schools. it they choose to do so.
1T is reported as a gratifying and
significant fact that nearly all the Sean
dinavian Lutherans and other foreign
born Protestants in Wisconsin have not
been misled by political and ecclesias-
tical demagogues in regard to the char
acter of the Bennett law, and that they
heartily support it in the campaign now
going on. They realize the true AmeIi-
can idea, that it is the highest duty of
the state to provide for the elementary
education of all the children of the peo-
pie, not only for their own advantage,
but also that they may be loyal and use
full citizens.
''For this the Bennett law provides,
and all good citizens should sustain it.
If it has any defects, and if any of the
things charged against it might occur
through any official perversion of its
provisions. it can be easily amended by
the next legislature, so that there could
be no shadow of a pretext for any good
citizen or Christian to oppose it.
THAT Lutherans should become the
allies of the Roman Catholics who, as
body, have been hostile TO our public
schools and our free institutions through
out our entire history-is strange and
humilating spectacle. No matter what
disclaimers they may make in defense
of their course, the Bennett law has
been made to stand for the public school
and the right and duty of the state to
educate the people in the language of
the country, and they have taken their
attitude with its enemies in this contest
in Wisconsin. Ia that strange attitude
they will 90 down into history before
the American people and the Christian
world