The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1907-1917, 1914-02-26


only their teachers were allowed to
teach, and that all of their private
taxes should be paid to their schools.
And then the same principle be ap-
piled to our Jewish friends, what
sort of a medley and a bedlam would
be our system of education? Yet
this is the only sense in which the
Roman Catholic church believes in
our Public Schools. This sort of
policy would ruin our country in one
generation.
Now with reference to schools the
principle is perfectly clear from the
American Government standpoint 1t
is this: Let all be taxed alike to sup
port the Public Schools Let the
State give it's secular education as
far as it is able to do so without re-
gard to the largeness or smaIIness of
any denomination, or race. Then, if
any denomination wishes to operate
school taught by it's own members,
and special curriculum arranged
to suit itself different from that of
the State schools, let that denomi-
nation-Protestant or Catholic
raie the money personally to pay for
it, without zone cent of the States
taxes being paid to it, Or without
the diminution Of State taxes on the
part Of the State to those who are
supporting such denomination
schools. This and this alone, as T
Sc it, is the principle of giving to
Caesar, Caesars, and to God, Gods
in America. And every encroach-
ment on this principle should be re-
strained by the laws of the land
Liberties are not preserved merely
by local majority sentiment, but in
crisis by Constitutional law. On this
point Roman Catholicism is assaiI-
ing the American Public School sys-
tenn from Maine to California and
from Michigan to Florida. They are
not to be blamed for this any more
than they are for being Roman
Catholics. It is the policy of the
Vatican. But it does teach Protest
ant, free America, a great lesson. If
our schools shall become subverted,
it will not be long until Americas
decay
3. The Problem of Immigration.
All religious people are in duty
bound to teach their tenets, especial
ly if that religion which they possess
is in their minds essential to good of
others. But in this country we are
confronted with a question of a pc
culiar kind Of propaganda. The in
fallible head Of the Roman Catholic
church wishes to capture this coun-
try. He can never do so by winning
Protestants or converting the non
church members of Protestant
Ameriac. To these, Romanism has
been weighed in the balance and
found wanting. It's very genus is
un-American. These Americans are
a people who are born with the feel
ing Of personal liberty, both reli-
gious and civil There is not much
danger of the ideas of Romanism
winning these.
But there is great danger of the
subversiOn of American institutions
and ideas, namely, that of immigra-
ton. That element of Europe which
furnishes the immigrants to this
country is principally Roman Catho-
l1c And they are coming here an
nually by the hundreds of thousands.
And in this country they are politi-
cally almost entirely in the hands
of the priests. Now as the Roman
church feels it it's duty to govern
the State as we'll as the Church.
these immigrants become formula
BILE balance of power in the hands of
their instructed politicians. Now,
this is question which must cause
our statesmen to think seriously,
and act wisely. Of course, you can't
blame the Catholics for wishing to
A