The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1891-08-02
THE INDIAN SCHOOLS.
A Defense of Commissfoner Morgan's
Administration.

A Defense of Commissioner 'Morgan's
Administration.
WASH Cor. Pittsburg Dispatch
Granting that Bishop Kain is right in his at
tack upon Indian Commissioner Morgan from
the standpoint of the Church, it must be adj
mitted that as a question of policy he is pur-
suing course that has been abandoned by mis-
eonfreres In this locality. The attacks on
Morgan never had the sanction of Cardinal
Gibbons. They were begun without his
knowledge, and the damage had been done
before he had chance to take q hand in it.
The whole row is the result of bad temper
and bad judgment on the part of some of The
local priests and in saying this have before
me the testimony to that effect from others of
the local clergy who utterly disagreed with
their associates in the Catholic Indian Blu
reau, which has had charge OF the Catholic
Indian schools and, quite as important, of the
contracts for furnishing the supplies
Mr. Morgan has been greatly misrepre-
sented in this affair. He is not at all afflicted
with popophobia. He is not an anti Catholic
bgot, as Bishop Kain asserts, and he did not
start out as soon as he was Installed In office
to abolish the Catholic schools. He recog-
nlzed the good accomplished by the schools of
both the Catholic and Protestant missions.
lie never has encouraged the dismissal of
single teacher on account of his or her religion
and L cannot establish the fact that any
teacher has been dismissed for such reason
wen, then, what is all the row about? 1t is
just this: Mr.. Morgan discovered when he
came here that both Protestants and Catholics
had fat contracts with the Government for the
furnishing of supplies to these schools. He
believed that as the Indians were the wards of
the Government, the Government should see
to and control their education. He objected
TO system that not only made the Govern
ment pay for the religious and denomina-
tional education of the Indian children, but
which enabled the bureaus having charge of
the schools to make scores, il not hundreds of
thousands of dollars every year out of the con-
tracts for supplies.
While secular branches were taught in the
schools. the main purpose of all the sthools,
frotestant and Catholic, was to impress on the
children that the only proper and decent wav
TO go to heaven was by way Of the denomina-
tion under whose charge they were They
were even taught that the Government that
supported them was Goddess Government,
ana not hit to supervise their education
Mr.. Morgan did not put his wits to work to
abolish the denominational schools, but did
begin to multiply the purely Government and
secular schools rapidly. AS fast as the Gov
ernment schools afforded conveniences for the
Indian children contracts for the religious
schools Of the same locality were rejected No
embargo was put on religious teaching. The
Commissioners merely said that secular educa-
ton was furnished by the Government. If the
Churches desired to teach their peculiar doc
trines to the children, they must do it at their
own expense, and make no more fat profits
out of the Government. s'f
NO distinction is made as to denomination
Catholic and Protestant are treated exactly
alike. The Commissioner expects within a
year or two to have the system of Government
schools 80 general as to make the support of
the denomnational schools unnecessary on
the part of the Government, and certainly this
is consummation to be welcomedabyl who
believe in the common school system of the
States, and that boys and girls should be per-
mitted to grow up with secular education
that Will enable them to reason out the relig-
ious problem to their own satisfaction.