The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-11-18
SCHOOL LAH N SIEA2N5
"a ST. CLOUD CORRESPONDENT
WRITES AN INTERESTING HUT
SOMEWHAT HIGHLY DRAWN
STORY OF THE SYSTEM THERE
Catholics Allowed Separate Schools,
but Teachers Are Paid From
the Public Funds-Every-
body Satisfied.

St Cloud, Mimi, Cor. New York Times
This is the county seat of one of ,-9e
most peculiar counties in the United
States, comprising about $4,000 acres.
Back in territorial days it was settled ~
German Catholics from the old country,
and as an inducement for these people
the territorial legislature passed certain
laws of exemption for church property
that hold today and keep thousands OF
acres of highly productive and rich farm
lands off the tax rolls. st. Johns Alb
hey, a Benedictine foundation holds a
score of farms leased to German Catto-
lies on which not a cent of tax is ever
paid.
The population being so largely German
and Catholic, the question of public
schools and public money for their sup
port is of especial interest and impoI
tance Minnesota is rich in its state
school funds, and in addition to the reg
ular county school tax there is an income
to every district of several dollars a year
enrolled scholar. No scholars are
counted in this enrolment who are not
in public schools, so that the parOchial
schools in most parts Of the state lose
not only the county tax collections, but
also a share from the state apportion-
ment. 1t is not so in Stearns county.
Here the law is quietly disregarded TO
the advantage of the Catholic schools,
and in a most ingenious way.
he system in use at one of the repre-
sentative small towns of the country is
typical of the whole, and is as follows:
There are two school buildings in the
village, one neat two-stOry brick build
g, flying the American flag daily during
sessions Of school, as is the law OF the
state, and like every other public grade
school in the state. Here are quartered
the superintendent of schools and his
stiff of teachers. The instruction is that
usually given children in other parts 0f
the state where Catholic influence is not
dominant. The other school building is
al old Roman Catholic church, discard
ed for purposes of worship since the erer-
ton across the street of a larger and
more costly ediice The old building is
rented to the school board of the vii
lage daily for school purposes, between
the hours of a. m. and p. M, and is
the property of the public schools be-
tween those hours, and at no other time.
The teachers are all nuns, Who, of
course, wear the garb of their sister,
hood during the sessions of school, The
decorations on the walls the trend of
instruction, the sympathies of teachers
and children, are all ultra Catholic.
The playground lies between the church
Children attending this school are ex-
pected to arrive at the school house at
$50 a. m, and the bell is rung at that
time. The building is then under the
control of the church, and the teachers
are nuns, pure and simple. Between $50
and the time is devoted to a religion
instruction in a foreign language. At 4
O'Clock in the afternoon the building
passes again into the hands of the
church, and a half hour is devoted to it's
teachings as eXpOunded by those Who
till that minute had been teachers in the
common schools. During the day there
Is an hour of instruction in the German
language, and most of that is in reli-
gion.
The nuns who have charge of this school
are duly accredited teachers of the state.
with state certificates emitting them to
teach; the superintendent, with head
quarters in the other building. has SUI
perVision over them and their school,
and he is a Catholic The two schools
draw their equal per capita share of state
and county school funds, and there is no
parochial school in the place.
The line Of division between the schools
does not appear to be religious, as Pro
testant children are to be found in the
CID church, and the membership of the
unreliSious school is largely Catholic,
but it is along lines of language; those
desiring their children to receive a part
OF their instruction IN the German IAN
SUage and who consider German ac their
mother tongue send children to the
cAurch school, and the more progressive.
perhaps the younger element of the Dop-
uaIon to the other building.
Every member of the school board in
TINS village is a Catholic and a German
and an effort to elect a Protestant school
DodIu lew vars ago resulted in the
most serious kind Of bitter politics.
The Catholic element was determined
mat the board should not be mixed, ands
Il was not. Since then no effort has
Deen made to qualify PrOtestants. 1t is
SAD by the dominant element of the
county that this system works to the
satisfaction OF the residents and of the
stare superintendent of public instruction
Nlo, II is asserted, regards it as the
pest solution Of the difficulty" 1t is, of
course, directly contrary to law The
same conditions prevail in the majority
OF school districts in the county, but no.
V here else IN this state.
ntearns county has MANY Catholic
ci-Ofches costing from $4,000 to $4,000
e4cn. It's only industry is farming and
at population is about 10000, most of
Nnom were Poor in the earlier days, and
NHateVCr they may have now has been
Won from the soil At MelrOse, town
o. perhaps 2C0J perOuS, there is a great
Gl1ck and granite church the cost of the
pare walls and roof Of which was $65, 00O
II towers above the nesting village. DOM
1-alih% the horizon for miles around, its
"St rOoL and spires the most prominent
feature of the landscape. 1t is lS6 Feet
Ion? and IS feet wide, with seats on the
man moor for 400 persons, with great
organ 1917, and with basement Story
1aat VIII seat 1905. Its pictures about
Inc walls are costly, it's altar is nagni-
icenr, and the organ and chime of bells
10 b2 bought the coming year are to be
the best.
Ten miles away TO the south is a
cAuIch of nearly the same size the con-
tl2ct price. for the exterior of which is
S2g00- This is ct the village of Spring
IN, whose buildings include but two
stores, two saloons and a blacksnith's
si2op. They are the whole village, ex-
ceDt Tor the church, which is now almost
completed. This church will be finish
ca BY the addition of $4,000 in interior
Gen miles east of Melrose is the Church
q Albany, costing more than $4,000; a
-" miles TO lbe north is another OF Sl5,-
&c, and in eVSSy direction the landscape
Sdotted by great church edifces, better
Than may be found in cities of $4,000 per-
sons. There are twenty such churches in
tic county. They are all paid for. It is