The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-04-28
TILE SCHOOL SYSTEM.
Bill Arp Has Something ~ Say.
About Educational Methods

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rhtnI1 the bible ouEht to nave q
Nlace, nnd M8raiity and Revere
eaoe Tau&hf- -Gonearnlng
Corporal Humsshmemt.
/ thought Tat the school system
was settled and the people had an ac-
quiesced. Some Of JUS ~antiquated men
and women rebelled for awhile, for We.
were welded to the ways Of our fas
Theirs, but we had to fall into line and.
be reeonciled to what we could not
helps The world was against us; Prus-
STA, France, Germany and New Eng
land, where all the development comes
from stiH some of as felt thatit
hard and unjusb to be taxed for The
education of other peoples children
when we are already paid for our own
Under the old plan. In the old country
the young men have to pay Il back ia
military service.
But every now and then somebody
raises a rumpus and abuses the whole
thing-the mods of teaching-the ex-
clusioH Of the Bible and morning
prayers, and the inHiCtion of corporal
punishment
IftI had my way FBula rsforqh
some things but am only one malt.
and there : many men Of many
minds, I would give the Bible q place
If it drove out the children Of every
dissenter in the land; not a place to
be taught ais a study, or for eectarian
doctrines, but a place to read at the
opening Of the exercises and to be re-
sEected as the oracle Of God. This is
a Christian countryl and we base all
law and legislation upon the Bible;
every officer Of the laws is upon
ii, from the president down to a petty
constable, including the judges Of the
supreme court and all the other courts,
the members of congress and all Of
the legislators. Congress has its chap
lain, and all bow in reverence to the
morning prayer. So has the house and
senate of Georgia; and yet there are
always one or more members who are
Jews or infidels or agnostics. Judah,
benjamin and David Yulee were United
States senator's, and they were great
and good men of the Hebrew faith,
and always bowed their heads reverent-
ly to the blind chap1ain's prayer. Mai.
r. j. Moses, q distinguished Jew oil Co
lumbus, was the speaker Of our Geor-
gia house in 1866, and with his gavel
sole1nnly called the members to their
feet when the chaplain stretched forth
his hands to Heaven. Our governor
is not a member of any church, but had
to confess his faith in the Bible when
he was sworn into office.
Then, if all these great and learned
men who represent this government,
both state and national, dosnot hesi-
tate to honor the sacred book, what is
the matter with children in the public
schools? Are they to have no moral
tralniRg2 Ne reverence for the word
of God? is there a college in Georgia
that does not open every days exer-
cises with morning prayer? Then why
this immunity to children-this lock-
ing out the Bible and its code of
morals that the ages have sanctioned?
What means the observance Of the
sabbath and the sound of the church.
going bells2 Whatmeans all the mighty
Efforts of cut people to send the Bible
10 the heather, and through our mis-
scenarios to Christianize the worId2
What is. there. peculiar to our children
that they shall not be taught any
seeIusion OF
the Bible casts a.shadow 81 doubt and
uncertainty upon its truth; anaadded
to this come lever and anon the at
taokssofauch men "a mgsrsOH andAb-
boit and Mitchell, who seek to knock
out one by one the pillars of thesacred
volume. But the reply is that these
dissenters are taxed TO support the
schools, and their religious convictions
must be respected. Their convictions
axe not respected in any other depart
ment of.pubIic policy. They can'twork
on the sabbath, nor eansthefr children
play ball or AUNT or frolic. Every
letter that is written in their business
or their families have a date Of 1900,
which means Ammo Domini. But j for
bear, I am only one man, and have no
hackers, save, perhaps, DR.. Holderby.
With him I agree that far, but I never
was more surprised than to read his
vehement philippe against corporal
punishment. Either he or lis a crank
upon that subject. And he is aminis-
ter, and / supposed would have been
guidad by the wisdom of Moses and
Soloron. His Indignation at the
Thought of somebody else whipping his
child is very great. He is very emphat-
c and almost belligerent. If the teach
Ter was a man and should, as he says:
tlay the weight of his finger upon his
child" believe he would fight. If the
teacher was a woman I don't know
what he would do. But I win say that
if Twas a teacherh his children shouldn't
come to my school at all. Iwould re.
ject them at the start, for the first
thing a child Should be taught is ODE
diencc, and if the child has already
learned dei&nce, rather then the child
should not come to me.
Bat sAe good doctor need not be
alarmed, for his children will never be
my pupils-thank the Lord.
I believe in corporal punishment il
schools, that is, for bad hoys. z never