The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1904-01-30

say what the child shall be taught and
hy whom. This same spirit of Justice
ma right principle pervades the legis-
lhtion governing the education of the
child throughout the British empire
and it's colonies from Ceylon to Cam
ada. The same may be said of Ger.
many. where the right of the parent
is also respected, Notwithstanding all
the fierce battle of Bismarcl's Kultur-
kampf of thirty years ago. This rec
ognition of the parental right in the
education of the child by governments
results In these two empires in the
drnomilational system of public edu-
cation under state control, which the
defenders of our state system decry
as impracticablc.
Tn the United States there ia no
national system of education. The
national government, however, in its
decisions concerning tile education Of
it's Indian wards, manifests prefer
cnce for the sO-callcd non -scctarian
system adopted universally in the in
dividual states of the Union within
the last fifty years. This means 4
system of state aided primary and ad.
vanced education from which God aud
religion are professcdly, though not
actually excluded. This is the system
which obtains in all the states Of the
Union. Neither the national govern-
ment nor the state governments pro-
hibit the establishment of schools un.
der Church control, but they do deny
to these schools all support from tile
public treasury. Our states have re-
pudiated from the beginning the de.
nominational school systems obt1ining
in the British empire and it's colonies,
In the German empire, and also in
Austria, and have gone over to sys-
tenn Of public education which Its de-
tenders call non-scchrian, but which
in practice is either Goddess or sectar-
ian. Pushed to it's last issue this prin-
ciple Of non-sectarianism would result
in state education to which the ma-
jority Of our American people would
clamor0usly object. 1t would result
in the absolute exclusion Of God end
Christian morality from the education
Of the young. But the promoters aud
defenders Of this system Of ours are
not as logical as are the French gov.
ernment people, and do not push the
principle Of non-sectarianism upon
which it rests at once to its last prac-
tical conclusion. Whilst defending
non-sectar rianism in the schools and
proclaiming it US the great American
and only principle upon which our
school system shall rest they will not
admit that it results logically in Cod
less education. When, for instance,
we Catholics protest against Bible
reading, hymn singing and chapel ex-
ercises with Protestant prayers In
these same schools, as inconsistent
with non-sectarianism we are forth
with called enemies of our glorious
system Of public education. When tho
infidel insists upon the exclusion of
God, and the Jew objects to the name
of Christ in the schools on the ground
Of non-sectarianism Of the schools, at
once the defenders of this non-sectAr-
ian school system proclaim that it
shall not be made Goddess and must
remain Christian. The fact is that
the American people are too busy to
think; else they would recognize the
fact that non-sectarianism in educa-
tion means purely secular education
and the Punishment of God and relig-
ion of every kind from the instruc-
ton Of the child.
But to return to our subject. 1t GER
tainly will not be out of place or out
Of time in the midst of all this con-
fusion to review and determine the
simple principles which underlie the
Catholic position in every part of the
globe on the subject of the education
of the child. The Catholic position in
this matter of the education Of the
child is founded on the eternal order
Of things, and therefore its perfect
simplicity, consistency and sameness
: +. . G Z L. S ~ II, r. !.