The Irish standard., 1913-11-22

and within its scope has pointed out
many remedies, but 1t has not touched
ed the vital error. It has not gone tol
the root Of the subject. The trouble
with our secular educational system
is that Its normal foundation is fallac-
ious. There Is only one foundation
for any educational system, whether
1t deals with the spiritual side of
life Of with its material side. When
you build upon anything other than
truth you build in vain. The whole
lesson Of history teaches US that the
greatest efficiency is possible only
where the main object is not ma
terial but spiritual object. This is
inevitable because Of mans constitu.
ton. He is primarily spiritual being.
Any system Of psychology which
ignores this cardinal feature Of mans
constitution is bound to go wrong.
Consequently, we find that even in
the educational rudiments there is
today no thorough instruction. We
find that in the departments Of SCI
ence the ultimate impression left by
the confused teaching Of the public
schools Of our day is that Charles
Darwin demonstrated the material
istic hypothesis and deprived relig-
ion Of the supernatural authority
which was its vital principle. We find
this thoroughly false idea Of Its life
and meaning as the result of our
educational plan, which has left out
of consideration the spiritual nature
of man and his relationship to the
divine power which created him. Who
can doubt but that the whole ten
dency Of our secular education is
materialistic? Who, that has studied
the literature and therefore knows
the basic idea Of Socialism, can fail
to see the tremendous advantage
that such a materialistic education
gives to the Socialist propaganda.
What Is education? What Is its
purpose? Why is the state interested
In education? Is 1t to make its
citizens men Of knowledge in the
purely worldly affairs Of life? Is it
not rather to make good citizens I'll
men who are righteous, men who I'M
der the spur Of conscience and direct.
ed by intelligence shall be fit to gov
ern the state. Such would seem to
be the historical conception. All edu-
cational authorities since the beginn.
Ing Of time are agreed that the moral
content Is the important thing in
knowledge. No matter upon what
points other than this they may have
differed, upon this point from the
early Hebrews and Greeks to the re-
cognized modern authorities, there is
thread Of agreement thot holds a
true course. There is one straight
edge that can be laid down upon
the history Of education from the be.
ginning to now, and 1t will touch
every great teacher from Plato to
Pestalozzi, from Moses to DR.. Eliot.
They all hold that the purpose of
education is to make a good man and
the state holds the same idea. We
find that the first congress of the
United States in 1857 ordained in
legislating for the government of the
Great Northwest territory. religion,
morality and knowledge being nec-
essary to good government and the
happiness of mankind. schools and
the means of education shall be en-.
couraged". This Is the American con-
ceptton Of education. We do not want
privilege extended to any religion.
We do not want any church, any
creed to be favored by the govern
ment at the expense OF other creeds.
We set our faces against that today
as firmly as did the founders Of the
republic when they wrote a provision
that has been misinterpreted and
misapplied into our national constitu.
ton. But we do not want, and all the
evidence is that they did not want, a
discrimination against religion,
suppression Of religion, an abolition
of religion from the educational work
OF the nation. They knew that edu-
cation without religion could not
serve the main purpose of making
good citizen and would lose efficiency
on its secular side; and, after some
generations of experiment. we are
face to face with the fact that a God.
less education results in just this.
We do not ask state support for
UNCONVENTIONAL institutions. We do
not ask encouragement for sectarian
instruction by one sect as against
another sect. What we do ask and
what we have, right as American
citizens to ask, Is that we shall not
be taxed for an institution which Is
inimical to the faith we held and de.
structive to the institutions which
as Americans We love and revere. We
are realizing that to keep our faith
strong in our children and to keep
them In the paths of sanity and
health both material and spiritual,
we must restore religion to its domin.
ent place in education and realize that
in a nation denominationally divided
as are we. there can be no state SUP.
port Of any sectarian school. What
we ask then is that the moral part
of the education of our children shall
be left to US. What we ask is that for
the service in the secular instruction
which is given to the coming gener.
alton Of citizens, payment shall be
1