The menace. [volume] (Aurora, Mo.) 1911-1920, 1919-01-25

Now we find that the nun teach
er has checking account at, a GER
tain bank and issues personal
checks. To whom she pays the money
paid her as salary we are unable
to say. 1t is a known fact, how
ever, that only in exceptional cases
can nuns make contracts in their
own name. When women become
nuns they loose their personal
identity and the hierarchy can then
farm them out to various tasks like
so many slaves and collect the fees
they earn. We know not how
much, if any, the old church gets
from the sisters salary in this case.
It makes no difference.
The point is that the states are
mighty few where a nun can ap-
pear in the garb of her order as
teacher in public school room.
New York laws are very stringent
in this regard. Popery right now,
we understand, is attempting to
get this law repealed, but as the
law now stands not even a badge
indicating affiiation to any sect
can be worn by a teacher in New
York's public schools if any pat
ron Of the school cares to object,
Further, it is not conceivable
that public school teacher would
be employed in any state if it were
known that she would appear at
her post day in and day out in
some peculiar and distinctly Sec
tartan garb. Where permitted such
practice is an advertisement of a
particular brand of religion and
impresses and influences young
minds otherwise charmed by the
teachers personality.
But in this particular school
(there are many in Barton county,
no Protestant need apply for po-
sition. We believe we are confn-
ing ourselves to a statement of
demonstrable fact when we assert
that no person would be employed
by the school board in district 101'
who did not meet the approval of
the priest and so long as the Sis
ters Of st. Joseph are farmed out
to this particular priest none but
Sisters Of st. Joseph need apply for
the position. 1t would be a scene
worth going miles to see if a Prot
estant teacher should be elected by
the Roman Catholic school board
and attempt to take up her post Of
duty in the Catholic school. Such
a teacher doubtless would need all
the protection the laws and citi-
zens of Kansas could afford. Even
the county superintendent stated,
when asked about this. that he did
not believe a non-Catholic could got
a Job as teacher in district 101.
Yet he declares it is lawful to pay
public funds to this institution.
We asked him if all the grades
we're taught in the so-called pub
lie school room. He replied that
he had not visited the school this
year but last year only the grades
above the fourth were taught
therein. Supreme courts of va
rious states have held that where
such conditions prevail such insti-
tutions are not entitled to public
school funds for they are not pub
lie schools unless all grades from
to s are taught therein. This
fundamental law and fact seems to
have been utterly disregarded by
either the lawmakers or the officers
who interpret the laws in Barton
county.
We asked him how many pupils
we're reported as attending the So
called public school. He gave us
last years figures showing an at
tendance of "a, which number, he
said, included pupils from adjoin-
ing districts since the school draws
from districts 10, 10, 57,, 20 and
35.
Since we know how the superin-
tendent regards the school let us
see how popery reports it in The
Official Catholic Directory for the
same year. '
Rome lists the school as "St. Jo-
seph's Parochial School. She
says there are three nuns in charge,
which is right. She says there are
SO pupils for the year 1917 which
includes the "a which the county
superintendent says attend the
"public" school. So you see when
Sister Mary Thomas makes her re-
port to headquarters (the vatican
princes) she includes the pupils in
the room she calls a public school
room and makes no mention of it
being public" school. But
when this same sister superior
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