The Portland daily press., 1893-11-20
NO sECTARiANIsM.
Theodore Roosevelt's Address On our Com
mon school System.


delivered notable address in Hunting
ton hall, Boston, last week on Our COM
mon schools; the Importance OF enllstlng
in their support citizens of every religious
faith and of all political parties" He
said:
What mean to dwell upon especially
is the American side of tine pubic school
question. There is no need for me to- ar
que before an audience like this in favor
Of the public schools. There is no need
TO say a word to the men and women of
Massachusetts, in behalf of free system
of non-seetarian education by the State,
a system which guarantees an education
to every boy and girl, without any more
fear being paid to creed than to birth
place. TN.
Because we are unqualidedly and with
out reservation a"alnst any system Oh
.denominat oi a. b OILS maintained by tne
adherents OF an, creed with the heip OF
State aid, therefore as strenuouSly i e
that the public schools shall be Tree from
sectarian influences, and, above all, free
from any attitude of hostility TO une
adherents of any particular creed; amp
we denounce as the worst foes or the
public schools those who under the pre-
tense of friendship for them, SUI up nos
tility toward them by seeking TO DIS
people who hold given religious beiieI
Exactly as we welcome to them alike
the children of Jew and Gentle, ofsC atho-
lie and Protestant, so we insist Unab "a
their management no one creep snall
have any special jurisdiction, put Ihe
professors of all creed be treated alike,
IN order that every American clIizen,
with out reagrd to what his own private
religious belief may be, shall feel that
he has as much voice as any other man,
whether of his own faith or some dlHer-
emit faith, in the management OF the
schools to which his children go.
In other.-words, our plea is simply InaG
in your treatment OF the common school
YOU act as every man should act IN
American public life, asa whole. We
have right to demand that every man,
native born or foreign born, shall III
American public life act merely as an
American. To quote a phrase nave
used more than once before, we don't
wish any hyphenated Amer1cans;sWe 90
NOT wish YOU to act as Irish Americans
or British-Americans or native Amefl-
cans but as Americans, pure and simple.
It is an outrage for anybody OF Amerl.
can citizens to vote upon questions OF
American politics, or upon questions
affecting American public and social
life, as foreigners, to vote as irish
Americans, as OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES, or
U,
an outrage. It is, indeed, if anything,
a worse outrage, to vote against some
GOOD American because of considerations
of creed or birthplace. It is a matter or
humiliation to us that the party plat
forms should contain planks bidding ZOE
the Irish American the German-Am erl-
can. or the British-American vote, as the
case may be. We have no possible busl-
ness in our politics with such questions
as home rule and the union of the Brit
ish empire, or the boundary quarrels OF
France and Germany; and frenchmen
and Germans, Englishmen and sirlshmen
alike, when they become American cltl-
zens. should settle American questions
purely on American lines; but provided
they do SO act and do fulfill their duties
simply as Americans, then they have a
right TO demand to be treated as such,
and to be accorded the full rights that
are given to any other American Citizen,
though his ancestors We're among those
who landed at Plymouth or first settled
on the banks of the James or the Hud-
son.
Permit me to give you a small illus
tration out of my own recent experience.
The other day, in choosing civil service
board in a Northwestern postofnce was
in dou bit as to which OF two equally good
men to take for a certain vacancy. Then
was informed, through some self-con-
stituted spokesman of the town, that one
of these men was a Protestant and one
a Catholic, and that the latter must not
be appointed, as the town was controlled
by an organization which objected to
any but Professionals holding such posi-
tions. That settled it; my doubts were
resolved at once; and / Immediately ap-
pointed the Catholic, exactly as, had the
situation been reversed, and similar OBJ
lection been raised against the Protes-
tant, would have appointed him. AS
far as the sphere of my official action
extends can guarantees that any mani
Hesitation of such feeling will be checked
in short order.
The know-nothing movement in every
form is entirely repugnant to true Ameri-
canism, and this is, perhaps, especially
the case when it is directed not merely
against American citizeus of foreign
origin, but also native born American
OF q different creed. We Americans give
TO men Of all races equal and exact JUS
tice| That has been our boast as ma.
ton ever since the day when the Puri-
tan of Massachusetts, and the Catholic
Of MARYLAND sat in the same hall and
signed the same declaration of indepen-
dence. On the roll of honor .where we
have engraved the names Of the nations
statesmen and soldiers, patriots and COM
monwealth builders, no distinction is
kown of creed or of race origin, nor even
of birthplace. What man with particle
Of patriotic spirit would be capable Of
paying heed of the fact that Albert
Gallatin, the secretary Of the treasury,
came from Switzerland, any more than
Of paying heed to the fact that Carl
Schurz, the secretary of the intelior
came from Germany? What man who
reveres our flag and holds precious its
honor and glory cares whether the soldier
who followed Sherman in his great
march to the sea followed a Protestant
or the soldiers who were rallied by Sheri-
dan after his great ride from Winchester
were rallied by Catholic?
Moreover, exactly as all Americans
have common right to be proud of
American statesmen and soldiers and
writers, utterly regardless of what their
religious convictions may have been SO
long as they did all that in them Law
for America, SO all Americans without
distinction of faith have right to be
proud of those great men who stand as
the opponents Of the different creeds on
American soil, who stand as the leaders
in our religious thought. The country
is better, every man in it, Protestant or
Catholic, is better because of the life of
Bishop Brooks and in the same way.
very true American, Catholic or Protes-
tant, should be glad that there lives in
the United States SO stout champion