The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1907-1917, 1910-08-11
PAGE SIXTEEN
How the Church of Rome Makes
Sure of Its Strength

JeHcfSOnIan IN regard TO the CathOl1C
church, and their attitude toward re-
ligion in general, and have admired
your courage in discussing the sub
ject. You will not find any newspa-
per or magazine of large circulation
or sound commercial standing which
is willing to monkey with the Roman
buzz-saw. 1t is thing which is
quietly passed over and not talked
about, although the political activity
and gumshoeing of the leaders in this
country is quite clearly understood.
The thing that you have not touched
upon, at least if you have I have not
seen it, is the effort of the church to
get grip on the American Child.
In New York and in every other
city and diocese which | have had the
pleasure of examining, the efforts of
the Church to raise money for the
parochial school and to persuade Cath
Ole families to take their children
from the public schools and put them
in these parochial schools are some
thing fascinating to behold. 1t is a
great commercial effort on the part
of the Church to seize the Child. I
notice here in New York that Catho-
lie schools are being built in all parts
OF the city. In fact the Rev. D. J. Nc
Mahon, who has charge of this work
in the New York diocese, once told
me that the Catholic church would
not spend a dollar on any other
proposition if it could help it, that
all the money it could rake and scrape
for the next six years would be used
in organizing parochial schools in or
der that the Child might be educated
in the sOundness of the Catholic doc
trlne. | do not think that [ need to
point out the significance of that poll
cy to you. Another thing which has
always interested me, and actually is
the despair of charity organization
workers in the United States, is the
subtlety with which the Church goes
about to seize on the dependent and
delinquent child. 1t is laid down as
a political dogma of the Church in
the United States that any child of
Catholic parents that happens to fall
into the clutches of the law or into
the arms of the charity of the State
must be turned over to a Catholic
FAMILY, but it is not dogma of the
Church by any means that a child of
a Protestant family must be turned
over to another Protestant family or
institution, even though such families
and institutions are readily available.
The Catholic priest or representative
of the Catholic church, and other
agencies and interests, are always
present in the police courts and the
charity organization societies with Of
ters OF protection and care for any
homeless, dependent, or de1inuuent
child. They put them in Catholic in
situations, in boys and girls, protec-
tories, where they are taught the
Catholic doctrine and little else. In
fact | was told by the Mother Supe-
rior of one Of the largest institutions
In New York city that they did not
think 1t necessary to educate the
girls beyond sewing and housekeep-
ing, because when they reached the
age of fourteen or fifteen they could
be put in good Catholic families as
servants and their future as good
Catholics thus secured
Now, [ am not a religious bigot:
believe in religious liberty, but 1 do
not believe in secular education. I
do not believe in the segregation of
all homeless, dependent, and delin-
quent children by any particular or
ganlzat1on as means of impressing
that organizations particular reli-
g1ous doctrines on the mind of the
Child. There isn't any question in