The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-10-03
IT SHAMES THE RING
Splendid Educational Work
of the Roman Catholic
Churches in This
City.
NEW SCHOOLS WITH
SEATS FOR THOUSANDS.

IUlu iuo luUilC pCHUUiS, Inc
Parocbial Institutions Flourish
and Spread.
The activity of the Catholic church in
meeting the demands of the community
for more school room, by the erection of
parochial schools, is in such marked con-
trast with the inactivity and Indifference
of the Fraudulent Mayors Ring govern
ment, in the discharge of this most i'm
porrant Of its public functions, as to at
. tract attention. Government is estab-
lished for the protection of life and prop
erty. An ounce of prevention is worth q
pound of cure, runs the old adage; and
the wisdom of the ages is that it is a
thousand times more efficacious to edu-
cate the masses up to knowledge Of
their relations to one another and to
society, and to inspire them with hopes
and ambitions with which a life
of lawlessness is not consistent,
than to attempt to hold them in check by
merely primitive and repressive agencies.
1t is on this theory that the instruction of
the children has become a function of
government all over the civilized world.
The theory-the experience rather, for it
is no longer theory--is ever an answer
to the canterS who have in times gone by
objected to the expenditure of public
moneys in the higher education of the
city youth. 1t is undeniable that but few
of the thousands who go in at the prim-
ary end survive to come out at the
diploma end of school life; but the bene-
fetal public effect of the thorough educa-
tion of even the few amply repays the
public cost of it, Every thoroughly edu-
Gated man that goes forth into the COM
munity does his share to leaven the whole
mass.
DEMANDS OF THE HOUR.
Nothing SO forcibly illustrates the low
level on which municipal affairs are run,
under the auspices of the fraudulent
administration that now curses the
city, as the absolute neglect
the pubic schools have received at its
hands. The good government makes it
its first duty to prepare boys and girls for
intelligent citizenship. The mob that
runs the city now has no intelligence nor
any idea of the duties of citizenship; and
cannot be brought to an appreciation of
the value of either. The story of their
entire aband onment of all school interests
has been SO often told that it is not neces-
Sary to repeat it here. 1t has made Jer-
sey City bye word throughout the coun-
try, and reproach to modern municipal
civilization. Such fact as that only
5000 of the %. .036 who desire to be pupils
can be crowded into her schools, needs no
documentary to enforce it's lesson It is
not even likely that the to5al enrolment
of $4,000 embraces all of those who
would flock to the schools il there were
more of them. 1t is SO notorious that
they cannot be accommodated that thou
sands have doubtless been deferred even
from enrolling their names
The need OF more school room has so
long been recognized as an urgent one,
and the consequent popular demand for
ter men made the promise to supply ii
their chief argument in favor of the
change from the old system of govern
ment. The hope of cleaner and better
streets. even, did not half so much COM
mend the new charter to the people who
voted for it, as did this promise of new
schools for the excluded little ones.
THE RINGS INACTIVITY.
The Ring has had full swing for six
teen months now, and now has the en-
gagement been kept2 A feint has been
made toward it and that is ALL No end
of new school' talk and discuss.
ion about sites and plans for
A Republican Legislature tried to make
the increased license moneys contribute
to the relief, and a clause of the license
law directs that quarter of the liquor
receipts shall be devoted to the erection
of additional schools. Under that act
the Ringsters had no choice but TO set
apart about $50, 900 year for the purpose,
and there is thus 100000 or more of ready
cash at their service. Even with the
means at their command, the Ring bosses
have been idle; and it is a double dis
grace to the city that the only thing that
stands in the way Of supplying the public
want is an unsavory squabble between
txxr. ne ho or.f1c TO xrrf, ,fnt 1FA \,
shall disburse the cash. No one has for
gotten how hard it was last summer to
utilize even the paltrv $4,000 raised to
keep the old schools from tumbling into
the streets.
THE PRIESTS ACTIVITY.
To their credit, be it said, the Catholic
priesthood of Jersey City did not stand
If Jersey City would not do her duty to
her children the church would do its
duty to it's devotees and q whole pro-
cession of new parochial schools has been
rising before the public eye. Within the
last eighteen months four handsome
auspices of the Catholic churches in
different parts of the city. Within the
last few days six hundred happy chill
dren trooped into the new building
Father Schandel has had put up in
Greenville with the aid of the congrega-
tion of ST. Paul's Roman Catholic
Church. A few days before the Rev.
Father Quinn welcomed another little
multitude to st. Paups of the Cross
new school house on Hancock avenue.
Within the last few months the beauti-
full school building connected with st.
Lucy's Church and the massive building
connected with St. Bridget's Church
have been thrown open to the reception
of pupils.
These school buildings are not mere
make shifts for the accommodation of the
parish children. They are all handsome
and attractive three and four-story build
ings--brick, with brown stone trimmings
with handsome and roomy interiors
and furnished with special view to the
health and comfort of those who attend
them. They present as handsome front
as any public school building in the city;
and, put up as private enterprises in a
sense, reflect much more than on city
schools the money that is put into them.
Each one of them cost $4,000 to build
Thus 100000 has been consecrated within
year by the local Catholic churches TO
the cause of public education. When the
land on which they stand is taken into
consideration, the $4,000 will probably
grow into $450, 600 or more.
TEMPLE OF LEARNING.
To this vast expenditure an Item of al.
most equal amount must be added for one
building alone that is now in
course of construction on Grand
street. The new St Aloysius Acad
l. L