The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1903-07-25
coNvERsA T1oN x.

IF" said O'Flanagan, 1--WE are to ac-
cept Father Johns view of the public
schools, expressed few evenings
since, and send our children to them
where we have not and cannot have
schools of our own every way equal to
them, this advantage will result, that
| our venerable bishops and priests will
have more leisure and means to devote
, to the. elevation of our colleges, acad-
emies and seminaries. The education
Of the whole mass of the children in
common schools may be necessity of
modern times, especially in a demo-
cratic country, but it can never how
ever thorough, suffice for the wants of
the church or of society. The first
want of the church is numerous and
well-educated clergy. The fields are
always white for the harvest, but the
laborers are always too few. The es-
adjustment and support of a petit
seminaire in every diocese is a desider-
alum, and would do far more for the
interests of religion than the multiple
cation to any extent possible of simple
parochial schools.i'' Ir
"The veil of modern society,"" added
Winslow, lis an exaggerated democ-
racy, which looks at the mass and neg
leets the individual, collects a body of
with proper officers. Education may be
much more diffused in modern society
than it was in antiquity or in the mid
die ages, but the higher and more
thorough education of the few is rela-
lively more neglected and inferior in
the cultivation and discipline of the
mind and in the format ton of chHrac
ter Especially is this the case in our
own country, where what is called lib
eIal education-that is. the education
of freemen, liberi or generosi, in con-
tradistinction from the education of the
servile, or mental, classes-is below
what it is in any other civilized coun-
try. We cut but sorry figure in this
respect. beside Italy, France, Germany.
England, Spain or even distracted Mex
leo. The speeches of the members of
our congress cannot compare, under the
point of view of scholarship, with the
speeches of the members of the Brit
ish parliament. and even the Mexican
diplomatic and state papers show a
more thorough training than for the
most part do our own. In the whole
range of our presidential messages, !
from Washington to Buchanan inclu- I
sive we can find no one to compare
favorably with the first message of
Louis Napoleon to the French notional |!
assembly We have plenty of privates, |
but we lack officers-leader can !
organize them into an army and lead /
them to victory Officers are more i'm |
portant than men, the architect than |
the mechanic who work after his plan. I
the artist than the artisan, the leader
than the followers. Give me the man.
said Napoleon Bonaparte, I can find
men enough anywhere, Say what we
will of democracy and shout equality
till our threats are sore, the people
have and must have leaders. and it is
Of far more moment what the leaders
han what the followers are. This
which is true of the popula-
ion of the country in general, is equal
Y true of the Catholic population in
particular. Gather all your children
nto common schools and give them |
What is called Il good common school
if you stop there. you have
private soldiers. hut no. marsbals, gen
tails, coionels, majors. captains, lieu
enants-an unorganized mass, not an
Lrmy; a mob. not a state. You want
ulcers, YOU want ieaders-Inen quail
led to organize and direct what with
ut them is inorganic and lifeless. You
want first the clergy. for the religious
wants are primary. Ample provision.
lfSt of ALL EeenS 10 De made Tor n
numerous and thoroughly educated
lergy. who should stand at the head of
ociety in learning and intelligence, as
yell as in wisdom and virtue. But the
eople need leaders in secular as well
S in spiritual affairs. They want their
lwyers. their surgeons and physicians.
heir statesmen. men who can lead
hem defend their rights and vindicate
heir interests in every department of
ublic and social life. After the semi {
airy. or school for training and pre- ]
airing the spiritual chiefs of the peo- Z
lie, the next most important thing is I
ne college and university for training
nd preparing their lay or temporal
hiefs.'
1.-THE college and university are the
lore necessary to he Catholic popula-
on Of this ctqqpntry," remarked De