The Portland daily press., 1893-11-20

There are Lutherans and Episcopalians
who are hostile to the public schools as
well as Catholics and there are plenty
OF OTHERS who vie with one another in
eager, and intellient support of the.
schools. Only yesterday I was reading
an account of a very interesting cere
mony in Rev. Mr.. Corrigan's Catholic
churah at Hoboken. In his address Mr..
Corrigan emphasized the fact that very
large section of his church in America
favor ed the public school and insisted
that to abandon that position would be
the greatest calamity that could befall
the church in America and the draping
of our national flag and the singing of
the rational anthem We're the most
promi nent features in the exercises.
Certa lnly it would be difficult to wish
for more thorouhgoing Americanlsm
than this.
! ,aln pretty good party man and do
not leave my party on any issue unless |
think that really ought 20, yet should
most certainly refuse to support a school
ticket. made up by any party if it was
made up ayowedly in the interests of the
professors of one creed-whether it was
my own creed or not-and with the pur-
pose OF discriminating against those who
hold different religious belief. If I
found that Catholics were attempting to
esta blish' Catholic control over thepublic
schools should certainly fight them for
all that was In me, and ii l found
Professionals were trying to do the same
thing, should fight them every whit as
hard.
from the public schools is that Catholics
and Protestants, Americans of every
origin and faith, brought up in them in
evitably in after life have kindlier feeling
toward their old school fellows of differ
emit creeds, and look at them with q
wiser and nanlier charity, than could
posi- bly, be the case had they never had
youth Thus the possibility for the growth
on American soil of the savage sectarian
hatreds Of Europe is minimized. But
this kindly feeling can never exist if
one side have legitimate cause for the
belief that it is being Disseminated
against by the other, and especially if, in
the name of .toleration, intolerance
advocate and try to bring about such
discrimination are really playing into
the hands of the uphoiders of sectarian
schools.
When / was in the New York legisla-
ture, on two or three different occasions,
bills were introduced appropriating
money to Roman Catholic institutions,
and I opposed them on the broad ground
that it was against the American idea to
give money for ANY sectarian purpose, and
though / was denounced, of course, by
certain bigots for my attitude, yet | re-
ceived the hearty and cordial support Of
the bulk of my many Catholic friends
and associates, social and political, and
of all those for whose opinion | most
cared and there were Catholic votes cast
as mine were in-the New York legisla-
ture.
So if there were any tendency to try
to control the public schools in q know
nothing spirit, to try to discriminate
against Catholics, whether as trustees OF
as teachers, because they were Catholics,
and desire not to give them, when it was
rec ognition that good trustees and
teachers ought to have, then I am sure
thist I can appeal to every right-thinking
American, whatever his religion to stand
up against SO utterly un-American
doctrine and to do his best to see that
full justice is done to the Catholics, as
much as the Professionals
Ex,ictly as in our public schools the
lessons should be conducted in no
language but in English, neither in Ger
man, French, Spanish OF any other, ex-
actly as the children should be taughtssto
speak United States and to think United
States, and to be United States, so we
have q right to demand that the voters,
in settling about the public schools,
should vote as Americans merely, and
should realize that it is utterly abhorrent
to and unworthy of real Americanism to
discriminate forsor against any American
because of his birthplace or because of
his creed.