Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-07-20
CHURCH AND STATE.
A Clash Between Priest and
Government Official.
DISPUTE OVER INDIAN EDUCATION

Commissioners Morgan and the Roman
Catholic Bureau are ''Out'-CardinaI
Gibbons Tries to Calm the Troubled
Waters and Meets with Signal Failure
The Com missioner Determined That
Matters Shall Remain as He Has Put
Them-Points of the Controversy.
WASHINGTON, July 20-Ever since In
dian Commits Toner Morgan has held Office
there has beer war between him and the
Roman Catholic church in this country;
or, to put it more correctly, certain off
Gals of the church have waged almost I'M
ceasing war upon Morgan. Attempts
have been male to secure his dismissal,
and the papers have more than once re-
ported that these attempts were on the eve
of success. The cause of this opposition
is that from the moment he took office
Mr.. Morgan had stated his position to be
one of opposition to the..United States pay
ing money to church bodies to help them
educate the Indians.
An Advocate of State Schools.
He holds that the Indians should be
educated in common schools, supported
by the government, and entirely nom
sectaEan, the same as its common
schools of the state. He doubts the con-
stitutionality of the appropriation made
by congress for the support of sectarian
schools and has no doubt of the unwis-
dom in country that makes the separa-
ton of church and state one of it's funda-
mental principles. Owing to the activity
of the Roman Catholic church IN this edu-
cational work, that body gets very large
proportion of the appropriation. As it
educates the children to be Roman Catho-
lies, here are two good reasons for it to OPP
pose Morgan.
Crises in the Controversy.
Congress, however, has not adopted Nor
gan's ideas; on the contrary, the last session
appropriated a larger sum than usual for
this sectarian education of Indians, to be di-
vided among the different church bodies in
proportion to the magnitude of the'wor k
they were carrying on. OF course Nor
gan does not defy the law. But in execut-
ing the law he comes in conflict with the
ideas of the churchmen, and these clashes
have finally resulted in severing of the
official relation of the Indian Office with
the Bureau of Catholic Missions at the
capital, at the head of which is Father
Chappelle, who is vice president of the
said bureau. The announcement of this
fact was made by the commissioner last
week.
Father Chappelle Protests.
This action of the commissioner has been
taken because of a certain newspaper arti-
Gle rejecting upon the commissioner. and
Father Chappelle has addressed letter
to Mr.. Morgan declaring that the bureau
is not responsible for the said article, and
that the connection with the bureau of
Mr.. German (who was, it is claimed by
the priest, responsible for the publication
has been severed. The priest also COM
plains that the commissioner refused to
grant the bureau officials IN interview,
and generally protests against the action
of the comm issioner, who, in severing the
official relations does not cease to aid Re-
man Catholic schools, but deals directly
with the schools themselves instead of
with the bureau.
Commissioner MOrgan's sharp Reply.
The priest also says that the reasons for
the commissioner action are almost en-
tirely personal, and that there is no valid
cause for the same. In reply the commits
sioner writes to Father Chappelle that he
sees no reason for any modification of his
action, and continues: your assurance
that the efforts of your bureau in he fu-
ture will be as in the past they have ever
been-to cordially coz berate in every
proper manner with the Indian Office in
its endeavors,' etc.-is little suggestive,
and promises anything but friendly rela-
lions. l have already signed sew
eral contracts with with the Catholic
schools, which are apparently glad to enter
into the new order of things"
CARDINAL GIBBONS TAKES A HAND.
He Essays the Role of Peacemaker with
Indifferent Success.
Things having reached this pass Car
dinal Gibbons thought it time to say a