The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-08-24
STRONG DENIAL
OF THE CHARGES
Report of the Superintendent Of
Schools in the Philippines.
NO PROSECUTING ALLOWED
RECENT ASSERTIONS WERE
WILD AND RECKLESS.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 23.-The
w bureau of insular affairs of the
war department has made pub
lie the report OF Frank H. Bowen, act
ing superintendent of public instruc-
lions for the Philippine islands. upon
charges made in the United States
against the school system OF the ISL
snds alleging that it was used as
PROSECUTING agency against Catholics
and generally used 20 the prejudice of
Catholicism. The charges were for
warded to Manila and the reply was
report of superintendent Bowen is dat
ed July Z, and is a general and specific
denial of the charges.
He says that of twenty persons who
have been division superintendent only
one has ever been a clergyman. Three
division superintendents were appoint
ed from a list submitted by leaders
of the French Catholic church in the
United States. In this connection the
report says:
Religious Belief Not Considered.
The question of the religious belief
OF applicants and appointees was never
considered until late In 1901. At that
time a special lot of applications, gath
Catholic church in the United States.
was sent to the civil government of
the island and transmitted to the gen.
eral superintendent. From these spe-
ciaI lists three division superinteudents
and twenty-five teachers were appoint
ed. In reporting these appointments to
the civil government the general su-
perintendent stated:
81 have had much difficulty in find
Ing people in this lot of applications
who are possessed OF the educational
preparation and teaching experience
which is required of other appointees
in this department. Those who have
not been selected seem to be wholly I'M
suitable
THE only departure from strict nom
sectarianism in the conduct Of the
schools was a provision of the Philip
pine commission, which made it law
full for a priest or minister of any es-
tablished church in q puebla where a
public school is conducted to teach re-
ligion for one-haIf hour three times a
week in the school building to pupils
whose parents have expressed a wish
for such instruction"
Proselyting Charge.
Concerning PROSECUTING, the report
says:
mot only is no PROSECUTING allowed
or attempted in any of the public
schools, but inquiry of the leaders of
the four principal Protestant denomi-
nations here brings out the fact that,
so far as is known by these leaders,
there is not one native Protestant Sun
day school teacher in the entire archi-
pelagO. The statement that not one
third of the Protestant teachers ever
taught a day before going to the Phil
ippines and that Catholic teachers are
sent to the distant provinces are en-
phatically denied"
The assertion is made that the ed
ucational department has no knowl-
edge of the distribution of Bibles in a
private church school by missionaries.
IL is also stated that the conditions of
the public schools in the Philippines
do not warrant the statement that they
are worse in the islands, as viewed
from q Catholic standpoint, than in
the United States.
The report closes with the follow
ing.
The venomous attack on the Philip
rine commission. especially the Filipino
I-r4abers ;f-Ecof. gno are termed
traitors and rascals. serves 10 show
the degree of bitterness and reckless
ness which characterizes the whole
article. The negotiations at present
under way in Rome in regard to the
church lands in these islands is suf-
ficient refutation Of the last wild state
ment of this extraordinary production
in which not one material statement
is true"