The Ogden standard. [volume] (Ogden City, Utah) 1902-1910, 1909-09-02
GOD m THE SCHOOLS OF
WEBER COUNTY.

The following is from this morn
ings Salt Lake Tribune:
The Tribune has from a friend In
Ogden a clipping which in mention
| Ing the prospective opening of the
schools OF Weber county. (meaning, OF
| course. the public schools Of that
county outside Of Ogden). says there
Is Q propCsIGCn 10 lnl: udu~0 'deyo'
;ional services" This proposition. II
appears Was favored bv the FeNer
County Board of Education on the rec
commentator OF rroIessor E9Seitscn,
who held that God should oe known
In the school room," and that such
| devotional exercises as are necessary
TO introduce Him should be held
Our correspondent says that "Mr.
Eggertsen, the county superintendent.
Is a red-hot Mormon and that un-
doubtedly the devotional exercises
introduced will be Mormon sectalan
exercises and notions. and he thinks
that under Prof Eggcrtsen's proposi-
tion as agreed to by the Weber Coun-
ty Board of Education, the Weber
County schools Will be nothing moro
or less than Mormon places OF wor-
have the word of God taught TO them
through Mormon teachers"
Our correspondent asks further, rs
there no law 10 stop these MormonS.
10 keep them from tainting ou: limo.
cent children7" In Weber County"
he saws. they seem to have every
thing their own way He asks fur
iher If the time is not ripe for
Americans TO wake up and save our
children"
On the showing made by our corre-
spondent. We should say that he is
quite right; that great sectarian
outrage Is likely to be perpetrated
upon the people OF Weber County un-
der the suise of an assumedly deyo-
tional exercise In the schools; a Nor
mon devotional exercise in the morn
ing, with the religion classes in
the afternoon usurping an hour or so
OF the school time once or twice a
week. using for sectarian purposes
the building by public taxation. the
lights and fuel paid for by the public
money
All this would be the Introduction
OF soctaran teachings into schools
contrary TO law, and, without defense
from any standpoint Surely it is
time as our correspondent says. for
the people of Weber County to be wax
ing up; they should take immediate
steps TO lay before the state school
superintendent any introduction of
sectarianism into the public schools
making the case so clear that he Will
have no other course but to Issue per-
cmptory orders prohibiting such sec
tartan intrusion.
The foregoing is Tribune-like. The
Tribune does not conccde that the
superintendent of the schools of We
Der County is honest In his declara-
tion that the devotional services will
simply tend TO Christianize the
schools. but presumes that the move
ment is one TO Mormonize the public
institutions We have confidence in
Supt Eggertsen and in his word that
he seeks to do nothing moro than have
God in the public schools There can
be nothing harmful in this, no more
so than the placing OF God on the
coins OF the United States.
Because we know Mr. Eggertsen TO
be devoid OF guile, is why we have
made no protest against his plan. Had
he contemplated throwing our schools
open TO the literature of any creed.
this paper would have opposed such
course as inimical to the best In.
terests of the schools
The Salt Lake Tribune is everlast-
ingly attempting to inspire distrust
preteXt to fill its columns With nasty
insinuations.