The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1920-08-07
PLAY FAIR!

changes carried the article, sent out
by the N. C. w. C. News Service, al
leging that the Republican and Dem
ocratic national conventions refused
to indorse the Smith-Towner bill, says
the Catholic Telegraph. Notwith-
standing this allegation, the article re-
produces the following plank, adopted
as part of the Republican PLATFORM:
We indorse the principle of Federal
aid to the States for the purposes OF
vocational and educational training.
Wherever Federal money is devoted
to education, such education must be
so directed as to awaken in the youth
the spirit of America, and sense of
patriotic duty to the United States.
A thorough system of physical edu-
cation for all children up to the age
of nineteen, including adequate health
supervision and instruction, would
remedy conditions revealed by the
draft and would add to the economic
and industrial strength of the nation.
National leadership and stimulation
will be necessary to induce the States
to wise system of physical training.
The public health activities of the
Federal Government are scattered
through numerous departments and
bureaus, resulting in inefficiency, du-
plication and extravaganza. We adj
vocate a greater Capitalization of the
Federal functions and in addition
urge the better coordination of the
work of the Federal and local health
agencies.
This plank is purely and simply an
out-and-out endorsement of the Smith
Towner bill. There is not single,
solitary argument against the bill,
which cannot be brought with exactly
equal force against the plank.
AS a matter of fact, the bill is the
less Objectionable of the two, because
the bill specifically provides that all
the educational facilities encouraged
by the provisions of this act and &C
cepted by a State shall be organized,
supervised, and administered excIu'
siveIy by the legally constituted State
and local educational authorities OF
said State; and the Secretary of Edu
cation shall exercise no authority in
relation thereto except as herein pro
vided to insure that all funds appor
toned to said State shall be used for
the purposes for which they are ap
propriated, and in accordance with
the provisions of this act accepted by
said State; while the plank declares
Irrational leadership and stimulation
to wise system of physical training
The sapient article reprints also the
plank inserted in the Democratic plat
form:
Cooperative Federal assistance tC
the States is Immediately required fol-
the removal of illiteracy, for the in
crease of teachers salaries and the
instruction in citizenship of both ma
tive and foreign-born; (and) increased
appropriations for vocational training
in home economics.
Anyone who can see a reputation
of the Smith-Towner bill in this plank
has powers of discernment beyond the
ken of the ordinary mortal; and We
are humble enough to confess that we
are of the ordinary mortal class. In oul
opinion, the Democratic plank de
clares for a measure with precisely
the same objects in view as the Smith
Towner bill proposes, and-for it's i'm
| mediate enactment into law
"You can fool all the people some O.
the time and you can fool some of the
people all Of the time, but you canno
fool all the people all of the time
So what is the use of trying to mis-
represent the Smith-Towner bill
Many Catholic organizations have
been led to take inconsiderate actor
against the bill, and we fear that sucl
action will come back to plague them
when the advocates of the measure
will quote the "whereases" and IRE
solveds" of their antagonists to show
that the latter did not know what the.
were talking about, or that they were
deliberately garbling the text of thu
bill
We Catholics must be strictly sin
cere and honest in all our discussions
with our separated brethren. w.
know what Misrepresentation means
because our Church, our bishops, GU
priests, our sisterhoods and our PEG
pie have been SO often the victims
, 1t i'll becomes us to adopt the tactics
of our prosecutors. Let us defend
ourselves; let us fight valiantly fo
our rights; but let us fight fairly ant
squarely.