Evening capital and Maryland gazette., 1915-08-07
A DRIVE At THE
SCHOOL SYSTEM
Some Preachers Declare 1t Is Rot
ten to the Core.
IS CORRUPTED BY POLITICS
Maryland Ministers Listen to Lively
Speeches---But Anne Arundel
School Board Wasn't There.
lBy James M HobHfzel.l J

The principal feature of Thursday
session of the country life conference
for Maryland ministers at College
Park was the address by Mrs. II. j.
Finley, vice-president OF the Mont
gomery County Social Service League
Mrs. Finley spoke on the "Churchs
Duty TO County Institutions" and il
brought forth the mont spirited discus
sion OF the meeting and resulted IN
severe attack upon the governing bod
les that are in charge of the. institu-
tion and the public school system as
well. II was charged by several of the
ministers in addition to the protest by
Mrs. Finley, that the public school
system is rotten to the core" because
of political influences.
Mrs. Finley was particularly severe
in here condemnation of the deplor-
able conditions that exist i'm the Jail
and County Home of Montgomery, de-
claring they were unfit for animals TO
be housed I'm, much less human beings.
She blamed the Jail conditions on the
county officials, and claimed that the
preachers were very lax I'm their at
tention to the inmates of both the jail
and the almshouse.
She told the preachers that they
were emphasizing the spiritual side of
life to the exclusion OF everything
else, and declared the future church
must be the one that will put into its
theological seminaries the oportunity
for preachers to take care of The phys
ical life as well as the spiritual life.
She was of The opinion that the church
was losing its opportunity by turning
deaf ear to this phase of life
The public school, with it's alleged
political contamination. was brought
to the atttenion IF the preachers in
the address of Professor Metzger. of
the college faculty. This address.
which was on The Maryland Rural
School" seemed to strike a sympathet-
&c chordand il gave the ministers from
all parts of the State an opportunity to
air their various protests and TO tell Of
the conditions existing in their respec-
tive counties
They all were of the opinion that
politics has already seriously inter
fered with the effective working of the
school system, and several argued that
the county boards of education ought
to he elected by the people. instead of
appointed By the Governor.
The eyes of those present were open
ed when DR.. McBrian. of the United
States Department of Agriculture. said
that the entrance of politics in the
public cchool system was nothing less
than curse, and added that In this
matter the State of Maryland was
past master. This statement was
greeted with loud applause by the one
hundred or more preachers and edu-
Gators present.
Chairman Dixon. at this iuncture of
the discussion, was compelled to ex-
ercise his full authority to preserve
the dignity of the meeting, as several
of the ministers were on their feet I'm
moment to substantiate what Mr..
McBrian had said. Ministers from
Hartford and Montgomery counties and
one from Baltimore county related in
stances where the best interests of tho
schools had been held up becaues Of
various kinds of wire-pulling at the
instance of the political forces Of the
county for personal reasons.
The preachers insisted that they
were doing all in their power to help
their respective communities in the
matter of school facilities, but said
their efforts are, in many cases, balk-
ed by the political influences that are
brought to bear. One minister from
Hartford county said that his commu-
nifty had secured an appropriation of
$4,000 for the erection of a graded
school but that the work on the new
building had been held up because the
people of the county had not provided
a three-acre lot upon which to erect II
instead of the one-acre lot which the
people had donated.
II is TO be regretted that the Anne
Arundel county School Board was not
present at this meeting in body.
Another address of particular inter
est TO those present was that OF Rev
DR.. Moses Breeze, on Doing the Bus
mess OF the Church in a Business-lilSe
Way" He scored the present hap
hazard methods that are employed in
transacting the business Of the church
and said that was one reason why
there were so many struggling church
es in the country today.
lie told the preachers that IL they
borrowed money from secular institu-
tions on the same grounds they bor-
row it from the various mission boards
of the church they would be arrested
for obtaining money under false pre-
lenses. He declared that the dnan-
cial side OF the church is the spiritual
side and argued that people who fal,
to pay their obligations TO the church
are just as dishonest in the sight Of
God as those who defraud the public
are in the sight OF the people. He
praised the giving church, and assert
ed that much of the responsibility for
the bad state of affairs was AT tho
hands Of the pastors. "for." said he
II a church serves a community. the
community is bound to serve the
church"