The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-07-10
DRESS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
Tho Constitutional Aspect Of supt. Skim
ncr's Obj lection to tho Priests Robe.

! ncr's objection to tho Priests Robe.
To THE EDITOR OF The SuS-Sir: The
| Lima IN. " school case seems to have got
into the newspapers. and as all those reports
| of 1t which have reached me. either through
| malice or misapprehension OF the situation.
| grossly misrepresent the facts, | will take
the liberty OF laying before your readers
| the true state of the case. THE SUNS rays
penetrate the deepest darkness. Moreover.
| THE Sun has always been a stanch supporter
| OF the Constitution OF the United States: and
the true meaning Of the struggle ut Lima 10
| to test whether that Constitution has any
| value except an ornamental One-on paper.
Other minor issues are also included, AZ We
shall see
| One year ago Mr.. Skinner, State Superin-
| tendent of Public instruction, on appeal to
| him, decided that certain teachers In a public
| school here must discontinue the use OF a
religious garb while teaching in the school
room during school hours. In this case,
however, the school building was owned by
! St Roses Catholic Church. It was easily
| conceded by all that it was quite within Mr..
Sktnner's jurisdiction to decide In what
| building school should or should not be held.
This was included In his province as State
Superintendent. II WIS quite another mat
ter. however. to prescribe to American citi-
should not wear. so long rs the State does
not prescribe a uniform for all Its teachers.
and so long as the prescribed dress did not
offend against modesty. To do so was an
| encroachment on the rights and liberties
OF American citizens
10 test the garb question. then. on its own
| merits and to eliminate all other issuesn
woru. To make the case as clear cut US possible.
| teachers wearing religious garb were en-
! gagged to teach In the school building owned
by the Stute. There were no prayers, no
religious Instructions; the text books were
those prescribed by the public school autbori-
! tIes' everything was conducted according
! To the strictest public school model; the I'm
| usual garb was the only distinct feature.
| An appeal was taken to Supt. skinner, as
was expected. and again he decided that the
| religious garb must not be worn in the school
| room by the teachers during school hours.
There is no intention TO argue the case here
| tan appeal TO the courts being now In ordCrG
shall merely outline the views of those who
stand up for the liberties OF TIE teachers.
standing on the adumaItine rock Of Amer-
can rights and liberties, they maintain the
| right of persons wearing II religious or any
other girb consonant with morality, to en-
! ter any avOchtton OF life In which they see
fit TO earn livelihood. inasniucb rs tho Con-
stitntion guarantees life, liberty and the
pursuit Of happiness to ali its citizens Of the
| United States. And ii IL Is maintained that
the Office of teacher in a public school ia a
puolic office from which religious must be
| excluded, they take their stand still more
firmly on the Constitution. which declares
! that mo religious test shall ever be required
as qualification To any office or public trust
under the United States"
| II is further held by the friends OF liberty
! that whether or no their contention on these
IA lah nj
| surd than to suppose that a State Superin-
tendent of Public instruction is a competent
authority to interpret the Constitution OF
| the United States or that OF the state Of New
| York on those points To merely state such
proposition is TO show its absurdity. No
| state Legislature has the right to confer upon
| authority TO interpret the Constitution of
| either State or nation, or to determine the
constitutional rights and, liberties of the
| citizen 1t is only the people In their majesty
who can establish competent tribunals for
| this purpose. such usurpations of power
rs those exercised by Mr.. Skinner are mem
ace to American liberty.
With the other dictum OF Mr., skinner. that
the religious garb in the schoolroom il a
segtarian influence; his opponents have
the dust Of Tsgons predce
flung in their eyes to blind them 10 the real
Issue. Their answer is that If the religious
garb in the schoolroom is a sectaran infu-
| enGe, it would necessarily follow that should
Protestant teacher take "a fancy 10 wear
the garb Of a religious in the sChoolroom,
tho garb in this case must constitute sec
| tartan influence; that modiste's dummy or
model clothed In religious garb and placed
III the sCho0lroom must constitute a sec
tartan influence, that if dress or badge be
Objectionable on this ground. then is the
Quaker, the Shaker, the Moravian. the Epis-
Copll nun, equally DISTINGUISHED, and that
1t becomes ilegtimate TO wear in the school,
room the badge ot the Freemason, or of the
odd Fellow. or the EpwOTth Lea gler or the
Kings Daughter, or the W omans Christian
Temperance mon; while further still, there
Church'-against which the decisions are
direc ted that are not distinguished by any
reIlgtous Sarb or badge whatever
But over and above all this 1t is maintained
by Mr. Skinner opponents that whether
religious g&rb IN the schoolroom consti-
tutcs a sectarian influence is not within the
jurisdiction Of Supernter dent Of Public
lnstruc tlOn to determine, md no Legislature
can Clothe him with the power to determine
it, The question is one that involve, an in
depreciation Of the Constitution of New York
State and is wholly without Mr.. SINNERS
province Legislature may attempt to
take the matter out of the hands OF the duly
established tribunal and place it in the hands
of Superintendent Of Public Instruction,
but wholly without warrant from the people,
whose right ii il to establish the necessary
tribunal
Roughly this is In outline the contention
of those who think MIR Skinner in the wrong;
but it Is BY no means their ful argument
which is sinewy and logical, and which has
also the sanction of the highest legal and
constitutional authority
4 word regarding the concrete question
here in Lima may not be out Of place.
Lima has highly Intelligent population.
The fires Of religious hGte-if they ever
burned at all-have long since burned out.
Not even two years of steady tanning on the
part of one or two individuals has succeeded
in giving the appearance of dying embers
TO the dead ashes. The popularity of the
Lima school system dates back thirty years
and ~t,pnge to say non-Catholcs we're re.
sDOnsibe for luaUgurntinK it. A generation