The Democratic advocate., 1893-12-02

preted by the language of the petition, and
by the source from which it originates.
II am abundantly satisfied that such n pro.
| posal would be resisted TO the death, and re-
jectcd There is not the slightest iuterier.
ence in any common school in America with
any particular religious views or with any re-
| ligious teaching. Every church and every
| Christian parent must take care Of the re.
ligious training of the children for whom they
are responsible. My own sense of the inn
portance of religious education is shown by
| the establishment and maintenance of do
| cessan girl schools. But the churches must
do this for themselves, or it must be done by
individual liberality; and the enormous wealth
of Roman Catholics in this country is abun.
dainty sufficient to enable them 10 take care
of their own parochal schools. State money
cannot be used 10 support any denoninational
| schools, because it cannot be used to further
the interest Of any religious body. Such
course would only foster the Tivaries of secs
and break up the unity OF our educational
| system. | am quite sure that If ! were
Roman Catholic would oppose this scheme
with all my might. The Roman Church is
really on trial in America. She is claiming
to be adapting herself to American principles
and habits. Sneh proposal as this ialsiies
the claim. Already she is suspected of in
terfering with political elections. If she
makes open avowal of an attempt to inter
fere with public education, she will receive,
and in my judgment deserve the unanimous
verdict of the more than 50,000,000 of people
in America, who being divided into all sorts
of religious associations, and some having no
religious position at all, are united in their
determination that no religious body shall
control either the elections or the education
of the country"
! BISHOP PARET S VIEWS
The recent distribution ofeirculars through
the state by prominent Catholics for The pur
pose of creating sentiment in favor of the
| apporionment by the Legislature of fund
! for the support of Catholic schools has caused
no uneasiness among Protestant bodies in
Baltimore, as this action, they say, is not un-
expected.
Rt Rev. William Paret, bishop of the
| Protestant Episcopal Church in Maryland,
was approached on the subject and said -
can make no more forcibe objection TO this
circular than | did in letter last year, when
| | took decided stand against the support Of
parochiaI schools by the state. Then said,
and now | say, it seems clear that it is the
duty of the state or civil authority to take
care for and insure, as far as possible,
| sound and useful education for all the people.
| Ignorance would be the deterioration and
downfall of the nation sound, general in
struction one Of its great projections. The
maintenance of public schools is a necessity,
therefore, for the public welfare. Taxation
to sustain these schools is necessity, and Il
tax for that purpose will certainly be more
| cheerlully borne than for any other. Even
those who have no children receive the bene-
| fit in the greater security of good order and
law and of general prosperity
There may be many defects in the work
/ iuu pf tho If ma no
| toned whether the course of study is not TOO
generous or ambitious whether it would not
be wiser TO contine general education at a
public cost almost entirely to the branches
most elementary to make it more for the
| poor than for those able to pay. But the duty
| of the government is to do all it can to secure
and promote sound education and to Danish
ignorance. and Of the people to sustain the
government in so doing cannot be denied.
/ There can be no sounder reason for u tax
which shall bear upon all than the benefit
which must come TO all from universal edu
cation.
Happily, in this country there is not and
cannot be an established religion or church.
| Full liberty of conscience is insured to all.
! Unhappiy, differences and divisions about
religion are many and great. OF necessity,
/ therefore, no form of religion or worship can
make part of the public school instruction.
The religious training and teaching must be
/ given in some other way and at some other
/ time and place. 1t is claimed by some that
this makes the public schools goddess or
atheistic, but it is not so. One might as well
say that a day spent in mathematical studies
and recitations was goddess because there was
no place there for religious teaching. There
is time and liberty for instling religious lesson
and habit at home or in church by parents
and pastors.
| SIN America the state merely says take
| some other time and place If the public
i education in the United States, of which the
! hours in the public schools form part, is god
| less or atheistic, it is because parents or pas
tors do not use the time and opportunities
! for doing their share.
/ The argument made by Roman Catholics
that they are paying a double tax is utterly
! fallaeious; they pay but one educational tax,
that TO the state for the public schools. The
other expenses is a voluntary religious con
tribution. Just as really as pew rent or offer.
| ings at church, or Contributions for missions
or for the poor. 1t is purely and absolutely
voluntary. And the good sense of the Amer
! can people is too strong to be blinded by that
curious argument of double tax. The state
taxes all-taxes the rich, taxes the poor, but
| not to pay for the special personal benefits
which each child receives in education. 1t
| taxes the childless, therefore. But it is for
the benefits which come to the whole com
munity in good order and progress, and each
/ ones personal benefit comes through that.
Let those, then, who want schools, more to
their liking than our public schools be free
to have them, but | repeat. it must be at
their own cost
! "The Roman Catholics are in possession
almost everywhere of good school buildings
in connection with or in close proximity to
their churches. These are in working life;
have gathered their scholars all of their own
household of faith have their established
teachers, all of their own faith have com
mand of those they wish to reach. But the
expense is becoming burdensome. The lay
people are growing uneasy, and some plan
must be found for relieving them. So. as if
it were an act of generosity on the part Of the
church, they offer to lend their buildings free
of rent to the government on these eondi-
! tions:
"First-The schools are to go on as they
are, with Roman Catholics scholars and none
but Roman Catholic teachers.
'-Second-These teachers and scholars may,
I indeed, be examined by the public school
authorities.
s'Third-Teachers salaries and all ex.
penses to be paid by the state.
tFourth-Religious instruction may be
given by teachers or priests before or after
the regular school hours.
Translate this into plain English and it
means simply, We find the cost of our reli-
gious schools too heavy. We want the gov
ernment to relieve us of all the running ex-
penses, and we will not charge you rent for
our property
SIN its recent general convention the Prot
estant Episcopal Church declared the wrong
fulness of such appropriations and gave no.
tice to the government that when present
school contracts shall have expired it will
accept no more government aid. Other
Christian bodies are doing the same. Let
the people demand it of all make religious
equality real, prevent this misuse Of public
money and save our public school system
from the net which is so ngeniousy spread
for it. /"