Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1890-07-11
DIsAeREes WITH THE BISHOP.
Superintendent Thayer, of Wisconsin
Makes Some Com ments.

Superintendent Thayer, of Wisconsin,
Makes Some Com ments.
When the name of j. b. rhayer of Mad
ison, Wis, state superinteI dent of schools,
was announced the audience burst forth
in great applause. He evidently was not
willing to take Archbishop Ireland's word
for the statement that the church OF
Rome loved state schools, unless she had
charge of them. He began by quoting
President Cleveland: al am impressed by
this discussion with the fact that condi-
ton and not theory confronts u.s.
No discussion of compu sorry laws and
| their enforcement as mere obstruction
will avail The real question is prac.
| teal one of adjustment and of educational
agencies. Public schools exist
| to-day by the force of laws as hateful to
| enemies of free schools when they were
| enacted as are now the recent compulsory
| laws of Wisconsin and Illinois. II is no
more hateful to compel q citizen to edu-
| cate his own child than to compel him to
| pay a tax to educate his neighbours chill
| dren."
Question of Amelic anism.
| He then proceeded Recent events in
my own state confirmed ME il the belief
| that opposition to the free :chools is uH-
| American. have a suspicion that the I'LL
ira sentiment in the opposition to our free
| school system has purpose that is not In
| harmony with the princip es of our gov
| eminent When the Germa Catholic
bishops. the German Catholic priests. and
the German Lutheran clergy of Wisconsin
unite in political organic alton to secure
the unconditional repeal OF compulsory
law, which has for its sole purpose the in
1 of oil oh Of he or "a I'M he
| language of this, their adopted country, ]
have a right to suspect that there is some
thing in the movement that is not exactly
| American.
A Significant Opposition.
"This ecclesiastical opposition is signifi-
cant, and gives color to the suspicion that
| the ultramontane Jesuitica element of the
| Roman Catholics in Ameri ca, with its an
| Gent enemy for allies, deems itself suffi-
| GENTLY strong in the republic to adopt a
more aggressive policy and assert the dan
/ gerous and unconstitutional doctrines de-
| fined in the syllabus, not covertly in words,
but openly and defiantly in acts. Unless
the question that is now up for discus
| sion is settled in harmony with the prin-
| ciples of this government there will be a
conflict between the Jesuitical hierarchy
| of the Vatican, armed with the syllabus,
| and the American people. l am not an
alarmist and l firmly believe
| that Catholic citizens will take care of
that issue if it comes. They know
the history and civilization of Italy, of
| Spain, of Austria, and o. Poland. and
| they do not covet such.n Mr.. Thayer was
uproariously applauded al through his
| address
| Remarks of Other Speakers.
| The rchbishop was frequently applaud
ed, especially when he eclared for COM
| pulsory education, but his criticisms of the
schools as goddess were received with a
| little GOODNESS. o. II. Cooper, of Texas,
then read a paper In which he opposed
compulsory education, and he was re-
ceived coldly by the aud ience, and his
| views were attacked by several of the
speakers who followed him. The remain
der of the session was devote to the read
| ing of papers on the different methods,
ETC., of education. A mDer of depart
ments were opened, among them the nor
j NAL school, presided over by Professor
Parsons, of Indiana