The Washington times., 1901-10-05
RELIGION In EDUCATION.
A Suit TO Prevent Use CT Public
Funds for Catholic Schools.
A Supreme Court Case to Interpret
Intricate Legal observation-disclosures
of Supervision Claimed to In
validate Legality of Payment.

! ROCHESTER, n. Y. Oct. IA Su-
preme Court action to determine whether
under the State law public money can be
devoted to the payment of teachers IN
! Catholic schools was placed on trial be-
| fore Justice Dunweil today. The action
| is brought by James Sargent against the
Board of Education of the city of Roches-
| ter and others, in which the plaintif
| seeks to obtain decision of the Supreme
! Court preventing the use Of public funds
| to pay four nuns who teach at the st.
Mary's Orphan Boys Asylum, an institu-
tion controlled by the Roman Catholic
! Church
| Justice Nash last spring declined to
! grant an injunction restraining the pay
ment of the salaries pending this action.
: This was defeat for Sargent at the start
| of his suit but he persisted in bringing
| the action to trial Among the people
| in the court room were Bishop Bernard ].
McQuaid, of the Roman Catholic Diocese
| of Western New York; the Rev. Thomas
| Hickey, rector of the Cathedral, and five
nuns, all wearing the black garb of their
order.
| James Sargent, the plaintiff, is a leader
! in the A. p. 4. He has fought Catholics
for years and he and Bishop McQuaid
! have engaged in many a test OF strength.
I Mr.. Sargent is a wealthy lock manu-
/ facturer. His lawyer presented a COM
| plaint of a score of typewritten pages,
which he filed. He made no personal
charges against the defendants. but de-
| clared 1t was a case of statutory con-
struction. Corporation Counsel French
stated that the defence would show that
aid to such institutions is not prohibited
by statute. He then discussed the propo
/ cit Of To- iup no
| of which were passed upon adversely to
the plaintiff in Judge Nashs decision.
He said the same question was passsi
upon in 1864, and has come up since. The
St Mary's Orphan Boys Asylum is an
| orphan asylum in fact, he declared, and
so is entitled to aid from the public funds.
| The matter of education is a mere Incl
dent of the other work of the institution,
| he declared.
| Bishop McQuaid's lawyer. NJ. Il.
| O'Grady, read the section of the con-
stitution under which the plaintiff brings
| the action. This is section of article 8
| of the State constitution, known as the
school article, and forbidS money to be
| devoted to schools where denominatiOnal
| doctrines are taught. He said the de
| fence was based on section Ii, article
| OF the State constitution, in which or
| phan asyluGIs are exempted from the
| opera tionS of this act
Witnesses were then called to the stand.
| 1t was shown that there are five othere
| institutions in the city receiving school
moneys that are not subject to the reg
| ulatiOns of the board of education re-
| garding the regular examinations of
| teachers The disappointment of
Schools. Milton Noyes, testified that the
nuns did not have certificates to teach.
| He said he never exercised authority over
the teachers In St. Mary's Orphan Boys
Asylum.
In the course of an argument. Mr.. SAL
isbury, of counsel for the plaintiff laid
down the principle that the school board
was not empowered to pay out the pub
lie money to Roman Catholic school,
over which they did not exercise super
vision, in which the pupils happened to
be orphans Corporation Counsel French
| brought out the fact that the four nuns
were in the pay of the school board in
| 1895 when the Dow law went into effect.
| A question from Judge Dunwell brought
| this statement about the evidence, 1T
| is peculiar in this much, the Dow law
| went into effect on December l, and pro-
vided that all teachers in the employ OF
| the city prior to that time should be ex-