The call of the North. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1923-1924, 1923-08-24

universities courses, and ample facili.
ties are at hand to offer the most
thorough instruction and training ir
the science and art of teachig.
Civil War Diverted Public
...a Attention ~
The Civil War diverted public at
teton from Roman Catholic man.
euvers against our public schools
Under cover of that diversion the
hierarchy projected its own rival
system in every part Of the country
and boldly demanded public funds
for its maintenance. That demand
is urgently pressed in Roman Cath
olic lands is generally conceded.
Not content to develop on our soil
a rival system chartered by the Pom
tifcal throne and teaching the papal
doctrine of divine right to rule, ennis
saries of Rome lost no opportunity
to emasculate and discredit the pub
lie schools. To that end the Bible
was everywhere removed from
curses of study and its reading in
the school room was prohibited.
Textbooks were then censored and
every fact of history discreditable to
the papal despotism was thoroughly
expunged. From the school readers
all selections from the Scriptures
and those lessons designed to in
culcate moral virtues and to extol
the heroism of American patriots
and of the martyrs Of the Refornna-
ton were systematically excluded.
Objection was made to the singing
of sacred and patriotic hymns in the
morning exercises. So was the spirit
of American and of Christian civil
cation that has made America glori-
Gus banished from the public schools.
A visit to the schools by any citizen
of mature years or comparison of
textbooks now in use in reading and
history classes with those in use a
generation ago will demonstrate the
changes wrought by hostile Roman
Catholic power.
By covert manipulation Roman po-
liticians have wormed their way into
boards of education and city and
rural school superintendencies and
there used their official power to re-
move the most worthy and efficient
teachers and fill their places with an
appalling number of Roman Catholics
bound by the canon law which out
laws public schools and forbids chill
dren of Roman families to attend
them. O.
Concentrated Efforts Made to
Destroy our Public Schools
Having thus debauched and de-
vastated the. public schools to the
limit of her power. Rome is using
the controlled press and her own
three hundred periodicals. to discredit
them with charges of irreligion and
ineficiency. Her malicious asper-
sions deserve the condemnation of all
good citizens.
The Papacy hates public education
Its law denies the right of civil gov
eminent to educate the people.
There is no education where Rome
has enough power to dominate the
government. Public schools are dis
tinctively Protestant institutions.
They are not found in any Roman
Catholic land except in the form of
a miserable counterfeit depraved by
Bishops of Rome who reign in the
midst of illiteracy all but universal.
The school issue in this country
has reached its crisis. We are at
the parting of the ways. We must
decide whether American children
shall be educated in American
schools or in the alien schools of
Rome. Millions of unassimilated
aliens crowded into our cities and
millions more that are coming to our
shores every decade necessitate a
speedy and final decision.
In spite of their emasculation at
papal hands while the nation slept,
our public schools possess marvellous
efficiency and unbounded potentiali-
ties. Purged Of Roman poison and
restored to their pristine virility and
power, they will quickly Americanize
the alien Roman Catholic hordes in
our cities, exalt in the public con-
science the majesty Of law and prove
a mighty factor in the solution of the
grave problems confronting the ma
ton.
To that end the childhood and
youth of the Republic must be edu-
Gated in those schools. The text
books and teachers must be imbued
with the highest ideals Of civic duty
and patriotism. The schools them
selves must breathe the loftiest spirit
of the nation and its homes and
churches. They must typify the
choicest fruit of Christian civiliza-
ton.
Twenty-thres years ago the nation
had endowed public education with
land grants aggregating s6,1Ss,4s3
acres, being an ersa Of the public