The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-12-15

ieges, 1t being his duty to select ec- clesiastics who are known for their
 piety as well as their learning.
 Compromise the Free Schools. a
 Whatever may be the fate of the bill
 the future of the secondary free school
 is hopeiessly compromised. The Gov. ernment has called upon the professors
 to decide whether they shall cast their Tot with these institutions or go over
 to the establishments under State con-
 troll number of poor men have
 found this painful decision. If they
 elected to remain with the church
 schools to which they were originally
 attracted by better pay than the Gov
 ernment would give. they knew that
 the doors of the national universities
 would be forever closed to them. They
 would be biackifsted in case the pow
 CT of parliament was thrown against
 the schools as 1t was against the
 that the schools would fall under the
 absolute control of the State. The
 church made It's one great fight against separation and lost. It's power has
 waned since then. It may have one
 more good battle left in 1t. but all the forces that count seem to be arrayed
 in opposition
 heaped upon 1t through the passage
 of the separation law have caused the church to strengthen itself for this last assault. The sympathy of the volatile
 Frenchman can seldom be counted up-
 on for long. Yet there has been a
 considerable revulsion of feeling in fa-
 vor of the oh urch. caused by such &C., tions as those of the Atheist Mayor of Bressysur lille. a small village near Di- Jon. who urged on by the Council, put up at auction the parish church with the stipulation that 1t should be re-
 moved at once. It sold for $50 and the contractors immediately started ture which dated from the sixteenth century. The Mayor too kthe font for horse trough. and still dissatis- fied with the affront to the church had the communion table made part of pig-sty.
 Priests Take Up other Work. In the fact of such brutality. the
 For the most part they have shown
 that they can be as good citizens as the lay Frenchman can be bad when he takes a notion to display his tenn per. Country priests have of late known about every insult. They have
 been stoned and spat upon by the rab- ble that curries favor of the oficials by such outward demonstrations of affection for the Government.
 They have gone through personal dam ger to open their little churches every day lest some one should want to come in to pray after the manner of their fathers. They have been living on next to nothing Often they have gone hungry.
 Now they have turned to other pur- suits. confident in their belief that matters will some day be strengthened out to the glory of the church. They have asked for work. Their we'll trained minds are to be thrown into the world of work. There Is nothing they cannot do. The monks have ever been an independent class They were leaders in agriculture, in stone -carv- ing, in architecture. They were artists as well as preachers. Many lived In parishes that were too poor to support them. They gave willingly of spiritual comfort and then went about making a scant living through engaging in some pursuit. that would bring small in- come. there are scores of priests who now earh their living by the most ordinary pursuits There are Sd many of them. ini fact. that they have or ganfzed the Alliance of Working Priests The aim of this association Is to gather those priests who wish to fulfill, their duty in every respect. who intend always to be faithful everywhere to their spiritual mission and who see in labor a present neces-
 sity. healthy. useful. in conformity with, the. social conditions of the i'm | mediate future and with the traditions
 of the past" ts e.ss