The sun., 1916-08-27

TIME Catholic school system. be-
ginning with the kindergarten
and running through the pri-
mary grades. the high school.
the colleges and the universities. may
fairly be described as the most re-
markable phenomenon in the United
States. The latest statistics published
in the "Official Catholic Directory" re-
turn a population OF sixteen and a half
millions OF Catholics In this country.
There are one and q half millions OF
Catholic children in the parish schoolA
There are nearly 700 academies for
girls. most Of which carry on the edu-
cation of children in the grades and
girls in high school work. There are
80 colleges for boys. but Of this num-
Der only eighty-four do work more adj
vanced than the high school curricu-
lum. And the number Of young men
doing either collegiate or graduate
work In these eighty-four institutions
Is shown by the most recent returns
to be 14.S46. There are eighty-fve In
stitutions listed under the head OF
"Seminaries," and these include not
only the large. well established well
reputed schools Of theological learning.
but also newer and smaller institutions.
and the preparatory training schools
established In certain dioceses and re-
ligious communities. Considered
merely a. to Its extent. therefore. the
Catholic school system in the United
States u . mammoth fact which
neither the statesman nor the school,
man can afford to ignore or contemn.
Considered in It's meaning It Is not
less impressive. II We omit he SEM
tnaries, all Of these other Catholic
schools exist In obedience to q con.
scientious conviction In the Catholic
mind that an education which Is not
saturated and in~terpenetrated by re.
liEion 10 essentially vitiated. 1t win
not do to say that such training does
not deserve &c be called an education
because that old habit Of speech SO
popular with US for q long time 10
entirely misleading. and besides 1t
looks very much like calling
1t is an education. but 1t is only partial
in character. ! attended a historical
pageant at one OF the State UNIVERSE
ties q short time ago and one OF tho
figures burlesqued in that pageant was
the theolog.an-politician. who made q
speech in which II was constantly re-
iterated that mere book learning does
not constitute an education. and that
the important thing is conscience. 1t
was in bad taste, ! thought. for a state
university. supported In considerable
part by taxes OF earnest religious men.
to fling this sorry jibe into their faces.
The only decent and logical attitude
for defenders Of the public school to
assume IL that in the nature OF the
case religious instruction must be ex-
cluded from the curriculum of schools
which assemble under one roof the
children OF believers. unbclievers and
mishclicvers II Is Il manners as
well as bad logic merely to r.d!cu.e the
perfectly truthful and most solemn
statement that conscience really Is the
big thing in education and It's develop
ment the finest fruit of the school. On
the other hand. We are ourselves ia
blame perhaps for want of felicity In
stating our WI position. We have
been guilty of making too little OF that
training which IL effective as a prepa-
ration for the work OF The world be-
cause 1t happens Il be defective as a
preparation for life in the other world
Iy,t pnSSipu al this II 10 n StuppndDls