The sun., 1916-08-27
By the Rev. John Talbot Smith.

up for the religious deficiency of the
State system. lack OF means has COM
PEELED 1t to follow the simpler way,
to avoid complexities, to drive IN fads,
and to do without g%ymnasiums and
athletic instructors. Moreover, not
having to look to culture as panacea
or divinity. 1t has been spared the ex-
pense Of that kind Of worship. Its
chief aim has been to keep the child
from contamination by the world, to
train him in the fear and love Of God and
In the way Of the Commandments, and
to provide him with suitable education.
In many ways the church system has
been forced to initiate even the faults
Of the State system. by the introduce
ton Of ornamental studies which
should not be permitted. because
parents desired them or made In
vidious comparisons: but It has re-
sisted the introduction Of novelties sue
cessfully. such as cookery. and for q
long time 1t was successful in opposing
the study Of hygiene. Its partisans
are st.ll discussing that matter with
heat; but circumstances being stronger
than argument. hygiene has acquired
a fair but not important place in the
church schools.
. No one need regret the circum-
stance nor the result. A casual glance
at The revolution accomplished by by
gienic study in the school proves its
immense value to the teachers and the
children. Half a century back few
schools thought Of such matters as
ventilation. light. the size and form Of
desks, the necessities Of nature. A
school could be he'd anywhere. in loft
or cellar or back room. with one or
more teachers. a few desks and n plat
form. Children sat in rows on the
benches with their feet dangling, their
bodies bent at various angles to ease
the strain. actual martyrs to the ig-
norance Of the time. Where the win
dow was. or the a jet, mattered not
II the light was deemed sufficient.
Desks had no known relation to the
child's bodily form. His personal ir-
Irregularities or defOrmities or de-
f~iciencies were matters Of ridicule, not
for examination and amendment. In
difference to extremes OF heal and cold
was supposed to he inherent in him,
also indifference to the varieties of
punishment. What q chasm between
the school OF 1850 and that OF the
present year! What an immense and
silent influence hyGienic study has
welded in n single instance--the use
OF alcohol. There can hardly be a doubt
that the teaching in the schools on
that point has been an immense factor
in the spread OF prohibition.
To the question how far should the
educational system carry the matter
Of hygienic study there viii bc W an
swers. one from the State system, the
other from the church system. 1t il
quite certain that the State system.
with It's salaricd theorists and its inn
mense funds. will push the study to
the Limit. The discussion on sex hy-
glenc proved that tendency and dam
ger. The church system VIII hc more
just. moderate and humane, hcrluse
from its lack Of funds it VII not BE
tempted to ovcrdo; it VIII respect the
children. not Cypress them, and it vii
safeguard the teachers, who are too
often overstrained by pltilcss system.
Tho hygienic teaching and practice Of
the church school will be benevolent
rather than despotic, as so often hap
pens to ruthless systems which demand
impossible results because directed by
hardened theorists Since II is train
ing Catholic American democracy, II
will be apt to take into consideration
three things not too intclligently dis
Cussed or too widely known eve. in
America. The educational systems a.
the republic are training the chl'dr,l
for what We al. hope to see the trucsl
CnNfinu,I IN Pane Iurtu-our.