PKKILS. — liELIGlON AND THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 97 



the American spirit, who have learned in large meas- 

 ure to think and act for thejiiselves (and who are, there- 

 fore, rather "off color," as Romanists). Many such 

 Catholics patronize the public school, and it is to be 

 hoped will continue so to do. Only the more liberal- 

 minded will dare to disregard the commands of the 

 priests, and such, I take it, will not object to wdiat little 

 religious iiAtruction their children receive in the pubhc 

 school. 



Of course the mischief which the parochial schools do 

 will be in proportion to the number of children they 

 draw off. The best remedy is to make the public 

 schools as good as possible, so manifestly and so vastly 

 superior that many Catholic parents will refuse to sacri- 

 fice the interests of their children at the behest of the 

 priest. 



It may be remarked in passing that the action of the 

 hierarchy in establishing parochial schools, and the 

 arguments with which they have defended that action, 

 may have an unexpected and unwelcome effect. The 

 prelates of the Catholic Church have of late taken pains 

 to assert that Romanism is thoroughly x^merican in 

 spirit, and in beautiful harmony with American institu- 

 tions; but when they insist that our public schools, 

 which are among the most cherished of our institutions, 

 and deemed essential to the preservation of our liberties, 

 are wholly unfit for Catholic children, and cannot be 

 attended by such without sin, they unintentionally 

 acknowledge and publicly declare that there is an inher- 

 ent conflict between Romanism and free institutions. 

 Every American recognizes the assimilating and Ameri- 

 canizing power of the public school. When, therefore, 

 the Catholic hierarchy and press assert that the only 

 way to make a good Catholic out of a child is to keep 

 him out of the public sckool and separate him from 

 American children, it is an acknowledgment that 

 Romanism is un-American and represents an alien civili- 

 zation. 



When the full force of this acknowledgment is appre- 



