The menace. [volume] (Aurora, Mo.) 1911-1920, 1919-04-12
GLENNON CALLS
THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS GERMAN
Denoces Public Education Nation Not Pagan But
Implies that State Schools Aregh Agent Of Imperial Popey Re-
news Attack on Americas Greatest Institution

s already too successfully evaded to accomplish that
end
Note the malevolent cunning with which public
education is characterized as monopoly. The popu-
lar distrust Of certain classes of monopoies is art
fully used to generate unreasoning distaste for a
most natural and proper monopoly. A well regu-
lated nation monopolizes many things It monop-
oizes political authority; monopolizes legislation;
monopolizes the Interpretation and enforcement of
its laws; monopoizes the military and naval esab-
lishment; monopoizes the allegiance Of its citizens
and may well and properly monopolize the eemen-
tary training Of its citizens
And yet, with what it exercises Of all those mon
opohes the United States government makes no ef-
fort to monopoize religion or to interfere with the
freest exercise of religious choice or worship by any
OF its citizens Archbishop Glennon s artful use Of
the term monopoly is the cheap trick Of dema-
gogue.
And Germany is cited as horrible example of
what happens to countries which have public
schools-as though the public schools of Germany
were the cause Of its pro-kaiser madness There is
no doubt that the German government used its
schools for its own imperial purpose Just as the
United States government uses it schools, for its
own democratic purpose of equipping children for
citizenship, or the papal system uses its parochal
schools for its peculiar purpose Of psychologizng
The schools maintained by government or by
cult are necessarily colored by the source Of their
political sanction and economic support; and it is
for that reason, well as others, that the public
schools OF America are more fit for free people
than the sham schools which set up and operated
by the imperial papacy or an imperial government
OF any kind or country.
OF course the state has injected itself increas
1ngy into the field of education ever since the Ref
ormation. That is one Of the blessings conferred
by the movement that repudiated papal authority
and the ignorance it has always fostered
Let these emissaries Of the vatican charge the
public school to Martin Luther as one of the evils
for which he is responsible: the charge dignife!
Luther and is no disgrace to the school,
1t would be interesting to know Just when it wa.
that the pope's clergy discovered that governments
ae made for the people and not people for the gov
ernments. This is indeed novelty in Roman Cath
oic doctrine that verges perilously on modernism
But Glennon is sound on the proposition of deny
ing divinity to the state. He is there again on th
sound rock of medieval doctrine which denied di
vinity bto everything but the popes and thei
creatures
And his conclusion, that the religious schoo
(hnd by that he means the Roman Catholic school
sis best fitted for training in citizenship" is a
sound from the standpoint Of Roman theology as
~ ToCCeH IIOlu JAe NleWpolI VI pdCTloLSn anu COLl
mon sense.
What he denounces as marrow statecraft AM
ignorant prejudice" is the whole Of Professionalism
and modern democracy which are narrow becaus
they do not include the popes and their pretentioni
and ignorant because they ignore the same.
"0ur nation is not pagan, " he shouts, and the
leaves us to understand that the public school /
pagan. The only Caesar who grows powerful b
destroying Christian institutions" is that contnua
ton Of the Caesars who initiates them to the best
his ability: who tries to rule the world from
throne in the same imperial city, who decorates hi
sanctifed skull with three-storied crown, and VIII
sends forth armies of priests and bishops to the en-
that Rome may again tax the whole world.
If God and this country cannot grow .togethe
1t is none Of the Italian popes business. He repr
sents neither this country nor God and his loc,
a@chbishops are about the worst misrepresentation,
OF both.