The Irish standard., 1904-02-13
IMPORTANT LEGAL DECISION.

The Court of Appeals of the State
of New York has decided that it is
not unconstitutional for boards of
education in that state to hire and pay
Catholic nuns wearing the garb of
their order as teachers in secular edu-
cation in orphan asylums of that state.
Under the constitution of that state
public funds can not be used for an
institution of learning which is partly
or wholly under the control of n
religious denomination. But the same
constitution permits the payment of
public money for the secular educa-
ton of children kept and maintained
in aSylumS. The case was brought
before the Court by one Sargent, a
tax payer of the City of Rochester,,
who sought to have the Rochester
Board of Education restrained from
paying the salaries of four Sisters of
st. Joseph who were teaching secular
subjects i'm Catholic Orphan 4Asylums
The law provided that school boards
should provide for the secular educa-
ton of children in orphan asylums.
The objection made to the Sisters
was that their garb impaired a rclig-
| Gus influence. and that public money
could not be expended for educational
purposes where there was any relig-
ious influence brought to bear. These
obi oft 1,n Il
under the constant care of the Sisters
1t was not objected that the Sisters
were incompetent or that they taught
any religious doctrine during the
hours of the day for which they were
paid for teaching secular subjects.
The sole objection was to the garb
worn by the teachers. Mr.. Suther-
land, the attorney who maintained the
right of the Sisters to teach and re-
ceive public money therefore said: at
is respectfully contended so far as
sober words are appropriate to the
plaintiffs contention, that provision
of the constitution which forbids the
appropriation of public funds to the
support of distinctively religious insti-
buttons does not forbid hiring women
whose 'garb' may not be of low-necked
and shortsleeved variety, but which is
generally supposed to be respectable
and modest, to teach any children,
Catholic or Protestant, In any school
of the state. Nor is there rhyme or
reason in the contention that one thus
employed may not wear a simple
golden cross, the insignia Of the Chris
ton faith. in the school room, as freely
as she may wear it in any other pub
lie place"
The opinion of the Court of Appeals
was written by Judge O'Brien and
concurred in by all his associates. The
conclusion of the court is stated as
| follows:
1.-The Board of Education has power
among other things. to provide places
| for the instruction of the children of
the city and to employ teachers. They
have power to provide for the instruc-
ton of the children in the asylums
where they are inmates and they
should be permitted to do so. They
have power to employ the Sisters who
| have the care of these children as
their secular teachers, and should not
| be forbidden to do that. The city
has to pay the asylums nothing for
rent and only a proper compensation
for teachers. There being no consti-
tutional objection, there certainly can
be no other objection on the part of
the taxpayers to this method of pro-
| viding for the secular instruction of
| the children in the asylums in Ques-
ton. There can be no doubt as to
the qualifications of the Sisters las
teachers that the Board of Education
had right to employ and the garb
worn by them can do no harm to the
children whom they instruct. The
children are Catholics by parentage.
The garb Worn is that of Catholic
Sisters. 1t can in no way effect the
children injuriously while they are
receiving the secular instruction. They
receive no religious instruction during
the hours of the day devoted to secu-
lar instruction. They very properly
devote other hours of the day to such