The Fargo forum and daily republican., 1908-12-23
CATHOLICS MAKE
VIGOROUS PROTEST
AGAINST USE or CERTAIN TEXT
BOOKS I'M STATE NORMAL
scHooLs-cLAlM THEY ARE AN
INSULT TO >ALL CATHOLICS IN
THE STATE. "

The Catholics of North Dakota are
up in arms asainst the text book ON
the historys of FpedagS sy used by the
state normal schools of. ine state and
the first volume of the collections OF
the State Historical society of North
Dakota, and through Bishop John
Stanley OF Fargo, petition has been
sent to Governor Burke protesting
against an expense in taxation which
they claim makes them appear ridi-
culous.
The petition, which has been signed
by 800 priests of the diocese of Fargo,
and sent to Bishop Stanley, who in
turn forwarded 1T to the governor, is as
follows:
We, your petitioners. are the Catho-
lie priests of your diocese, which en-
braces the whole OF the state of North
Dakota. We know your zeal for our
holy. religion. We recognize the vast
work you have. done. in this state dur
ing the past nineteen years. Many of
us have received from you our priestly
ordination, and all OF us lovingly ac-
knowledge you to be our chief pastor.
II we now come to. you with a pc
tition, believe ,cit is solely because
we want to strengthen your arms
In your battle for truth and lisAt-not
to find fault with the. successful work
you have done.
i With all due respect. we, your
priests, therefore lay before you the
following facts
First, The Catholic laity. Of this
state and iocese numbers today up
wards Of 10000. .Amang. the citizens
of North Dakota there are none more
progressive. and lawzabiding than
those. 79,000 who claim membership in
the Catholic church,: and we, yorir
priests. are glad to Acknowledge that
their good citizenship is in a large
measure due to your influence
| Second. The Catholic priests in the
liocese number 104.
Third. Priests and people in this
diocese and state have endeavore6
to work for the welfare OF the state tc
the best OF their ability. They are
everywhere respected.
Fourth. The Catholics of this stat,
pay heavy taxes. In many instances
Catholics are paying a double tax fol
| conscience sake,-the state tax ant
the church tax for education. They
pay both taxes cheerfully and wher
they use the state schools they ough
not to be insulted. X s,ta 49,
Insult to Catholics.
i Fifth. The text book Son the Histor,
of Pedagogy used in our state norma
schools is an insult to every Catholic
Comparye, its author was a hater o
the Catholic church, and of the maj
who translated 1t from the French or
iginaL Payne of the University o
Michigan, not much better can be said
We desire to protest against tn
use of Comparye's book in OIL
state schools at the expense OF on
? Catholics" We do NOT want our chil
dren to learn that the unutterabIy dirt
Rabelais (Comparye DIP. 91-100l, tn
very dirty Montaigner cComparye p1
1O1-1l1J, and the unspeakable Jea
Jacques Rousseau (Comparye pp. q
So, SS. o. 9S, 10, 1875, I'll, 1876. 49,
4 1913, 202, 209, 210, ~27s-31D 2-337. 34t
1863, 368, 4l5,e 426. 442, 448. 4s1, 496, 553I
are great educators of youth. Nor d
we want to have our Catholics pay 70
such information as this: THE tr1lt
Is that the Jesuits neither desire no
love the instruction of the people,
CComparye PIP. I4s.)z I'm all athing
the Jesuits are the enemies of pro
gress. Intolerant of everything new
they would arrest the progress of tn
human mind and make It immovable.
(Comparye PIP. 145.)
Sixth. We believesthat action shoul
be taken also by the Legislature c
North Dakota to suppress Volume
of the Collections of the State Histor
icaI society of North Dakota, inasmuc
as said volume contains most ridicu
.lous stuff, purporting to be histor!
from page 200 to page 292 inclusiv'
much of which is detrimental to tn
Catholic church. Let one quotatio