The Press., 1918-06-27
THE AMERICAN PUBLIC SCHOOL.
Where Should It's Graduation Exercises Be Held.
By Fellx j. o'NeIll.

By Felix J. O'Neill.
 The fairest jewels in Columbia !
 crown are her Freedom of Worship
 her Freedom of Education, and he
 Freedom of Ballot. These pFeciou gems were firmly set in her ooronet O
 liberty by the wise founders uf oul nation, and no power, foreign ol domestic, political or religious, shal pluck these jewels from Columbia I brow.
 This is the mind of her Constitution
 Unfolding her flag of freedom above the oppressed from every other lanC she welcomes them to gather beneatl her shield, and she assures them that all their rights as her citizens shall be projected. Though acknowledging God in her laws, and the necessity o1 religion as parallel with patriotism, yet she decrees no fixed form of wor. ship, and she opposes none. All oolors and breeds are welcome to her shores. provided they leave her cherished institutions undisturbed and free to all Within those of her institutions that are owned by her citizens in common no creed shall be officially favored, and none shall be officially opposed This is the highest form of Americanism Especially true is this of the American public school No other oommon institution must he kept more free from every appearance ot religious bias.
 In the early history of our nation all schools were religious Even Yale and Harvard were religious colleges. The ministers of the period occupied the most prominent places in all houses of education, and the atmos- phere of piety so prevailed every community that America has seen nothing like it since. But soon the various scots began to squabble for the mastery in the schools, and to impose their varied tenets on the pupils in the olassrooms. Then came the friction and finally the crash All this occurred years before the Catholic church appeared upon the scene. At last the qaurrels became so bitter as almost to imperil the American ideal in education. Out of this seotarian chaos was brought patriotic order by the famous New England educator, Horace Mann A lawyer, college president and candidate for the gOverneIship of Massachusetts nearly 8 hundred years ago. he ad. vooated many changes in the school laws for the common good.
 Mann's principle might be reduced to this: For the sake of logical to all taxpayers, keep the public schools out of the churches. and the churches out Of the public This was the only logical of the difficulty. Since that time the American. public school has prospered where that principle has been observed, and failed where that motto has been disregarded.
 Mann proposed the establishment of a purely secular government school. It should be totally unseotarian. Let 1t teach no religion at all. Let it all shades of belief, and non- belief, in oitizen taxpayers. Let it morality and common ethics n general. Let it's pupils get their ,hosen brand of belief in the religious of their parents choice. Let all citizens have a common building for common education, paid Or by the common taxes, and let com. non justice be done to all. If certain citizens prefer special forms of edu. ,ation. or special religious observance 8 let them erect special buildings and furnish all special luxuries from their own private purses. Such a system does justice to all and leaves no grounds for complaint.
 think Horace Mann had the right idea To me this is the most exalted form of Americanism. Not till this principle. has been fully applied will our democracy be anything more than an empty boast Democracy like this is what our sons are now shedding their blood to enforce. Opposed to this is the autocraoy which we are fighting. The public school floor is the con- mon platform on which the children of all citizens staEd equal No church, including my own, shall rob them of that equality. No church, officially, intends to do so. Yet certain church and workers often forget the American ideal in equality and over- step the bounds of propriety.
 The public school house is govern ment building. The public school board are government officers. So are the teachers. Of all the crimes committed by government officials, against logical Americanism, offences perpetrated by school authorities, both and laymen, are the most numerous and inconsistent. These public servants often forget the bottom principles of American equality when the public school is concerned Clergy meu are the worst offenders. Close mon their heels come the pious public school teachers who try to use the day school As feeder to the Sunday school. Their intention is. the best in the world. Are they not working for the glory of God? Truly they are. But that is not what the tax. payers hire and pay them for. Let them serve their government in theil schools, and their God in their ohuroh. es. Then they will 'Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar s, and to God the things that are Gods ''
 No representative of any religioul body should be permitted to use 8 public sohool-room as a landing met with, which to scoop into his oWr boat the innocent Kindergarten fishes. Little childish are quick to swallow