Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-12-27
RELIGION IN SCHOOLS
Ambassador Reid Says Public
 Ones Should Have Some.
TAKE A HINT FROM ENGLAND
British Schools Turn Out Pupils We'll Grounded In Christianity - Crime Has Increased In Australia Since Re- lisous Teaching Was Abolished.

Syracuse, x. r., Dec. 27.-Ambassa- dor Whitelaw Reid spoke here before the associated academic principals of New York and the New York State Association of Teachers of English on the subject of "Education In Eng land'
 He said we might protitably take hint from the old country in introduc- ing little religion in our schools.
 The English schools he remarked, turn out well behaved. orderly boys and girls. respectful to those set over them, grounded in the morals of Chris tian civilization. with an instinctive sense of obedience to law and be- coming regard for the authorities that represent it. Would we be any the worse off if we had more of these qualities hereT'
 MT. Reid said in part:
 ''ln Australia since religious teach ing was abolished in the day schools crime has increased a per cent. In the United States in 1850 there was one crime to every 3.422 of the pOpu- lation, but today there is one criminal for every 300. In Denver out of 10000 boys 2,000 of them have been in jail. Now. We do not want the same thing to happen in Great Britain.
 Tt is easy for an American to say that all this confusion and diSSatiSfac- ton could be avoided by contining the public schools to secular instruction and leaving religious training to the church and the family. But it is not so easy to show how vested rights, going back often for a century or more. can thus be preserved, nor is it easy to show how the churches which invested and were encouraged to in- vest their money and labors for one purpose. are to be reconciled to the arbitrary diversion of their investment long afterward to another purpose. Between 1869 and 1876 houses for over a million school children were erected by denominational agencies, and the total of voluntary subscriptions for that purpose in that time was over G3,C0OG00.
 And yet I cannot help feeling that on the general subject we might prof itably take a hint from the old cOun- try. Whatever else we may say about the English schools. they do turn out well behaved. orderly boys and girls, respectful to those set over them. grounded in the morals of Christian civilization. with an instinctive sense of obedience to law and becoming regard for the authorities that repre- sent it. Would we be any the worse off if we had more of these qualities here?
 May it not happen that in our eff fort to keep all questions of religion and morals in what We consider their proper place they may in reality he left without any place in the training of a good many children: If tho in tercst of the republic requires that ev- cry child should be compelled to learn to read its laws. does not the same in tercst as imperatlvely require that ey cry child should be taught and should be unable to escape Icing taught the absolute necessity Of respect for those laws and of prompt and dutiful obe- dience to the officers of the law?
 Does not the interest of the rcpuh- lie further demand that the coming citizens shall have some idea Of our old beliefs in the fatherhoOd of God and the brotherhood of man or al least shall bp thoroughly grounded in the great principles of the moral law. with out which neither ordered liberty nor civilization itself can eXist:''