Evening star., 1947-02-10

parents of children hauled in pub
lie buses to parochial schools in
Trenton. The payments reimbursed
the parents for fares Of 20 or %
cents daily, paid by the pupils
on the buses. ~
Justice Blacks majority opinion
said the basic idea of the religious
freedom amendment to the Consti-
tuition was avoidance of taxes to pay
ministers salaries and maintain
church property.
He added:
Other language of the arnend-
ment commands that New Jersey
cannot hamper its citizens in the
free exercise Of their own religion.
Consequently, It cannot exclude in
dividual Catholics, Lutherans. Mo
hammedans, Baptists. Jews, Meth
odists, nenbelievers, Presbyterians.
or the members OF any other faith,
because of their faith, or lack of 1t,
| from receiving the benefits of pub
lie welfare legislation"
Dissent Cites Madison's Stand.
Justice Black argued that the
benefit provided in New Jersey for
Catholic students and their families
is similar to fire, police, sewage and
other public services given to all
without regard for their religion.
Justice Rutledge, in the principal
dissent. went back to the history o.
Madison's historic fight in Virginia
and in the Constitutional Conven-
tion and Congress, for division OF
church and state.
| Justice Rutledge said the courts
ruling today left the walls between
the two neither 80 high nor so
timpregnable" as the wall Madison
! raised
| Madison. Justice Rutledge said.
fought any sort of governmental
benefit for any particular religious
group, even opposing q tax law
which would have permitted the
| taxpayer to designate the religious
beneficiary.
The purpose of the amendment,
Justice Rutledge wrote, was ito Gre
ate complete and permanent sep
aration of the spheres of religious
activity and civil authority by COM
prehensively forbidding every form
of public aid or support for religion, ;"
Justice Rutledge pointed to Cath
olic canon law on religious instruc-
ton in church schools and assert
ed that daily religious education
commingled with secular is 'reli7
gion'" within the CONSTITUTIONS
scope.
Hardship" Acknowledged.
Under the theory adopted by the
majority, Judge Rutledge said, the
provision of "modicum' of secular
instruction would permit public pay
ment for any part-or all-of the
expense of any sort of religious &C
tivity.
The dissenters acknowledged that
there would be hardship" for Cath
olics in paying taxes for bus fares
for public school students, with no
such transportation for their own
children. They said, however. that
it was a matter of choice for the
| Catholics, and they had the benefit
of the most comprehensive" free
dom in other phases of the first
amendment
Justices Jackson and Frankfurter
in their separate dissent said the
majority based its conclusions on
two deviations from the facts
| One majority assumption, they
said, was that the law provides spe-
cial safety and speedy transporta-
ton for school children, whereas
in fact it only reimburses their
parents for fares on regular buses.
/ The other deviation" from the
fact, they said, is that the majority
assumed lack of discrimination. The
fact is, they said, that a religious
test-whether the students go to
public or Catholic schools. or to
other schools-is set up.