The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1911-04-01
DEAN WOODS AND THE
Y. nj. G. "A.

Y. M. G. A.
According to the press reports,
Dean Woods Of the State Agricul-
tural College, in the course of an
address delivered at the alumni
banquet last week in Minneapolis,
turged the formation throughout
the state of country Y. M. G. A.
organizations under the direction
and in unison with the state assoc
iation. To this end, he said, per-
manent secretary should be sta
toned at the Agricultural College
to direct the work and to help to
effect the organization of the
country associations.
Surely, Dean Woods is misquot-
ed. It is scarcely possible that he
would so far forget the duties and
responsibilities Of his position as
to make such a suggestion. The
Agricultural College is a state in
stitution supported by the taxes
of the people Of Minnesota, ire
spective Of class or creed, and in
tended for their benefit. Tt opens
it's doors to all who wish to take
advantage Of the opportunity it
affords for a course in scientific
farming. 1t is supposed to be a
non-seetarian college devoted to
the diffusion Of scientific knowl-
edge in regard to farming, and
not a proselytising institution for
the benefit Of the 7. M. G. A. or
any other religious denomination.
The people Of Minnesota are not
knowingly supporting an Agricul-
ture College to advance the inter
ests Of the Y. M. G.. A., the Y. W.
| G. A., or any other avowedly sec
tartan organization.
/ Dean Woods must be aware of
the fact that these organizations
are sectarian in the strictest sense
of the word. IL he is not, we re
fer him to their articles Of incor-
poration which explicitly declare
that none but members in good
standing Of some Protestant Evan
gelical Church" have the right to
, vote and hold executive positions
What right, we ask, has Dean
, Woods, a paid official of the state
to urge that the institution over
which he presides be made the
, source of a propaganda for any
; religious body? Why should these
un-American associations be al
lowed to use the state Agricul
tural School to propagate theil
!. peculiar ideas Of religion any
: more than the Jews or Catholics
: If they are not able to make head
: way on their own merits let then
: be honest enough to confess Their
intrinsic weakness and not apply
: religious tests Of membership un
; der the guise Of non-sectarianism
It is evident that the Dean hal
: overstepped the limits of his au
, thority and placed himself in tn,
: position of a pernicious propagan
!, dist of religious tenets which al
. who have the right to attend hi
9 school cannot, in conscience, &C
cept. We take it for granted tina
] he is competent to teach scientifi
e agriculture; but we have no sue
I. confidence in his ability to teac
: religion. We respectfully sugges
that he confne himself to the sol
But if the doors Of the Agricul
tural College are to be throw,
open to religious teachers, the
give the Jew and the Catholic a
lie equal chance with the 7. M. G. A
o and it's sister society. What
t. storm Of protest would arise If tn
y former were given permission
p seek recruits among the student
e Of this state institution; and JUS
,f " so. Is there not as much res
.e son for a protest now when il
10 portals are in danger Of bein
it thrown open to the Y. M. G. A. ?
The state laws governing sue
a. institutions place all religious d,
O. nominations on the same level an
h grant special privileges to non,
lie Jews and Catholics are patriot
Of enough to accept the situation an
r. abide by the law. It takes til
a Y. M. G. A. and its kindred organ