The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-02-14
THE HYMNAL SUSTAINED
Board of Education Answers Oh.
jectiOns to the Songs.
Members Maintain the Hymns Are
Non-Sectarfan and Arc Not De-
moralixinE - Report of Committee
on High and Normal schools Sub
mitted - Teachers Granted Leave.

The Board OF Education at its regular
meeting in the Franklin School last night
made answer to the recent criticisms of
the use of hymnals in the public schools
of Washington. The Committee on Nor
NAL and High Schools. which was recently
instructed to investigate and report upon
the matter, made an exhaustive report,
which was unanimously adopted. In the
report the position taken by the board,
that the use Of the hymnal is not in the
least sectarian, nor has a demoralizing
effect upon the children, is maintained.
In order to placate the directors the re-
port recommends that such a revision he
made as will present a collection of pa
.triotic airs and hymns as will be objec-
tiolable to no one. The report is in part
as follows: las the hymnal has been in
use in the High Schools for more than two
years, having been adopted by the old
Board of School Trustees. it is matter
of surprise that 1t should be treated by
those now attacking 1t as something rev
In school practice. Neither this nor any
other hymnal has been used-in any other
graded school,
Your committee agrees to the PROPOSE
ton Of those who contend that sectarian
religion should not be embraced in school
exercises. This class includes most of
those who object to the hymnal. But your
committee does not and cannot agree with
those happily very small number, who
insfst upon excluding every formal rec
ignition Of divine providence from the
schools In prompt response to the pro-
test of those who maintained that their
children should not be obliged TO sing
hymns which did not accord with their
parents belief, your board adopted rule
that such pupil should not be required
either to purchase hymnal or to join in
singing from it. While this has satisfied
q large number Of those who sympathiZed
with the directors to the hymnal, there
are still some who insist that it should be
excluded from the schools.
Those who describe 1t to the public do
not seem to your committee TO be alto
gether just. While the hymnal docs con-
tain hymns that may be regarded as sec
tartan in character, the book, as whole,
is far broader than any sectarianism. 1t
contains many well known hymns that
are sung by every Protestant denomina-
tion, and by Catholics, alike. The bt au-
tiful words and music with which Chris
tendon buries its dead are there. The
patriotic hymns which have nerved every
fought for its convictions are there.
ut is agreed by your committee that
If anything in the hymnal is fairly open
TO the charge of sectarianism, 1t should
be eliminated, since a considerable por-
tion of the public has received the errone-
Gus impression that sectarian hymns are
its chief features, and that sectarian
teachings are a feature of school work
With this in view your committee recon-
mended such q revision as will pre-
sent selection Of hyInIV and patriotic
songs which should prove acceptable to
the very great majority of citizens In
nation which recognizes as one of its
foundation principles the right of the
majority to rule, this is all that can be
accomplished in regard to any question
upon which differences arise
Concerning this question of the ma
3ority ruling, it is the conviction of your
committee that large majority of peo-
pie who are not connected with any
church. in which class are included most
of those who now protest, much prefer
that their children should be brought I'M
der influences which are only designed to
inculcate a proper reverence for religion,
because Of their own consciousness that
II lies at the basis Of good citizenship and
good government For this reason it is
believed that the number is really iery
small, indeed of those who object TO a
non-sectarian reverent opening for the
schools. On the other hand, if every form
of religious exercises should be banished
the present protesting minority would
have triumphed over the vastly predomi-
mating majority.
Since there is a movement to test in
the courts OF the District the question
which has been raised in regard to the
schools, and lest the abo statement of
the unanimous opinion Of the Supreme
Court may be thought overdrawn, your
committee presents the paragraphs which
include the above extracts"
The report then cites a number OF legal
decisions and public and historical docu-
ments. md instances IN which the recog-
milton of God was expressed forcibly. In
conclusion the report was, in part, as fol-
lows:
Such is the deliberate deliverance Of
our highest court composed of members
who. in their individual church relations,
represent Catholic and nearly every form
Of Protestant UNCONVENTIONAL belief
"A moments reflection will serve TO en-
phasiZe this declaration-Df the Supreme
Court that there is a universal language
In our country having one meaning af
frming and reafirming that this is re-
ligious nation Both houses of Congress
and every legislative body in the land are
opened by prayer by duly elected chap
lains- Every Grand Army post and every
Confederate camp has Its chaplain. The
constitutions Of the great army societies,
such as that OF the Cumberland provide
for opening its sessions with prayer. The
Military Order Of the Loyal Legion has
its chaplains. The Masons and most of
the leading secret societies begin their
sessions with religious exercises. The nu-
merous patriotic societies OF women which
exist in every section of the land, and
whose membership runs far over a hun
dred thousand, elect cbaplains and open
their meetings with devotional exercises
II is not possible in a single one of the
cases cited for the chaplain to represent
the Individual denominational beliefs Of
Congressman, legislators, secret society
men, veterans. or the women OF these in
Vulnerable and excellent societies. But
all look upon the recognition Of the re-
ligious element In our national life as APP
propriate and in accord with the public
sentiment Of the overwhelming majority
Contests are not openly waged for chap
lains on the ground Of particular denomi-
national views. No one ever heard of a
Congressman. legislator, or veteran pro-