Show A BITTER WAR I 1 A prints etts invasion of jofs public school th the result jw new evening post pittsburgh february 12 father morgan al She edys new parochial school building in the first ward will be open to the public this evening with ith appropriate ceremonies this is the fidale of ofa a religious war over the public school question in which the roman were victorious it ia is noteworthy that it was in the first ward or point district 10 L fco lo o called because it ia is here the allegheny legli cuy and monongahela rivers meet to form the ohio that the first religious alter of attly description wes erected in western I 1 pennsylvania 3 en old fort duquesne eane was located within tile limits of the fira ward and there still stands au an old block houe the only remnant of the historic fortification A catholic Crt holic chapel existe I 1 at the fort during the period of the french occupation cupat cu itin from 1754 to 1758 the mass was regularly celebrated aud the sacraments administered by the resident chaplain to the french forces and their indian alliea people of the same religious faith although from front another country still monopolize the ward although pittsburgh as a whole is intensely protestant having been settled by the scotch irish presbyterian element so small ia is the protestant minority i of the first ward that the rooms room of the public school building are never half filled with pupils and nd even then the school principal ja id a catholic and a mojo majority rity of the ward school board are of the same religious faith these were the circumstances when the protestant majority of the city proper was over one year ago electrified by the newspaper announcement that the vacant rooms of the public publio school building had been leased to father of tho the church chu ach of st alary of mercy for parochial school purposes father bad fount foun I 1 his ov own n school unfit for habitation and until lit a new building WM was erected new quarters were nece aary amry so go ho be applied to the catholic majority of the ward school board for the use ot the vacant rooms in the public buildings buil dine and his request was complied with at once the protestants and blued they held roast mass meetings an and d sent delegations to inter yew bew the tile attorney general at harrisburg but all to no purpose father held the fort and has held it ever since only abandoning his position upon t lie completion comple tiou of hia his new school which will be dedicated tonight to night so for over one year there hag has been presen presented ted the unique spectacle without parallel in america of a public school and a parochial school mccu occupying dying building only a narrow hallway separated the tile two institutions but there was wim no jar for the tile head of each were roman Cat Cath holica olied |