Year: 1875

Ohio.


In yesterdays State journal was an ar
ticle showing how the stringent provisions
of the Illinois constitution had been avoid
ed by the School Board of East st. Louis,
so as to appropriate the public funds for
the support of Catholic schools. Since
writing that article information has come
to us that already, right here in Ohio, the
same thing has been done. The Catholic
religion has already become so far State
institution, that the teaching of it has been
made public charge, payable out of the
school fund, in more than one town in
Ohio.


We are aware of the tender solicitude of
the Democratic brethren just now, that re-
ligion should not be mixed up with politics
although Mr.. Geghan and the Catholic
Telegraph were able to induce the
Democratic Legislature to take little relig-
ion in theirs, last winter. But the Demo-
cratic writers and orators are now very
sure that the constitutional prohibition,
quoted in full in our article of yesterday, is
sufficient to forever quiet all reasonable
apprehension that our public school system
will ever be modified, misdirected or abro-
gated. 1t becomes our painful duty to
show that this Democratic faith in the


Safeguards" of the Constitution is not


well founded.


The town of Delphos, Allen county,


Ohio, contains population of about twen-


ty-six hundred inhabitants. In common


with other enterprising towns in the State,
a due regard is shown for popular educs-


ton. To this end the town has been at the
expense of erecting a Union Scool house
capable of accommodating every candidate
for education in the place between the
ages of six and twenty-One years. The
contains no less than eleven fine, large,
airy class rooms. Yet for the past five
years four of these have remained unOccu-
pied. The reason therefor is simply as
follows: number of years ago the Ro-
man Catholic element, with the assistance
of the Democracy of the place, succeeded
in obtaining control of the Board of Di-
rectors having charge of the school fund,
and have maintained it ever since. A di-
rect agreement was effected with the Ro-
man Catholic Church in that place for the
Church to build another school building
and establish a school under their own
management and control, the Board of
Directors to recognize the same as public
school and pay all expenses, including the
salaries of teachers, ETC., from the common
school fund. In this manner it has been
and is now conducted. The school is to all
intents and purposes Roman Catholic
parochial school. The exercises are COM
menced in the morning with half an hours
instruction by the priest, or, in his absence,
by teacher, in the catechism of the
Church, at the end of which all the pupils
are required to cross themselves and re-
peat in concert prayer to the Virgin
Mary. The ordinary exercises then follow
until the hour for dismissal, when the
scholars are again required to cross them
selves and pass out. Among the rules of
department is this: that all pupils must
stand uncovered in the presence of the
priest, and instances are plenty where chill
dren of parents not belonging to the
Church have been severely punished in the
school for not removing their hats VIXEN
meeting the priest on the street. The text
books and course Of studies are all under
the supervision of the Church, and in no
way does the school partake of the nature
of the ordinary public school except in
name, by which it derives its support from
the common school fund. And yet this
Safeguard, which the Democracy would
have us believe is all that is necessary for
protection, is part of the Constitution of
the State We have shown how easily its
provisions are superseded in one instance
and rendered Intellectual, and yet, there are
instances in the State where they have
gone even further than this, and in some
cases, even in Ohio, where this Safeguard"
is so potent, instances can be found where
children of Protestant parents are COM
PEELED to attend the parochial schools OF
the Romanist Church or obtain no benefit
whatever from the school fund!


To protect town, city, or harbor,
Government erects a fort or citadel for
protection or defense, rs the occasion may
require They may make its walls of ada
mant, surround it with a moat practically
mount upon its ramparts guns
of the heaviest calibre in the ingenuity of
man to construct, but if left without a
garrison the fort affords no protection
whatever to the place. So with the ''safe-
guard" of the Ohio Constitution in protect
ing the school fund, it may be good fort,
but the people of Ohio should sec that IL Is
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