| Show OUR CHICAGO LETTER LEITER governor thomas of utah in his hie last report to the interior department part ment dwells at length on the public school system of the country he says that the mw mor mons are quietly preparing the denominational education and then quotes from a letter written by president woodruff that the bible should be made a text book in the schools that is just what three fourths of the preachers of the whole country maintain but governor governer thomas holds that the mormons cormons Mor mons alone are enemies of the public school system and he wants congress to place the whole educational system of utah into hands friendly to the public schools meaning thereby himself the hannans Lan nans lynches morrisons Morri sons and others of that ilk but the humor of general thomas shows itself plainly when after gravely assuring us that the mor mons are quietly preparing for denominational nomi national education he further reports without the semblance of a smile that there are already seven denomination systems established with a school attendance of it is 18 plain then that the mor mons are only following the pattern laid down by the baptiste baptista methodists and others he says that 1035 childr enof mormon parents attend the congregational schools and the methodist he mentions nothing of baptists baptista catholics rians and episcopate Episco pals why not give the figures in all cases to us in chicago and elsewhere in the east the recommendations of the governor appear a good deal like the farmer who advises a newspaper manager how to run a journal he thinks perhaps that we have no denominational nomi national schools anywhere here in the city of chicago alone there are children in roman catholic parochial schools in the various other deno denominational denominate minati I 1 schools there are as many more lola in n the united states we find that the roman catholics have 30 theological 0 g cal seminaries with 1631 students colleges academies and parochial se schools bools with pupils and there is a million dollar university in washington we find other denominations just as exclusive in their education 1 I have not statistics on denominational education in general at hand band but I 1 can say that every one of them has its educational system from the parish school to the university yet because the latter day saints support a few theological and secular colle colleges ea in a very humble way in utah governor thomas thom gravely assures us that the public school system of the united states is endangered endanger edl you have often heard the stale adage straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel Is it not verified here does not the government swallow camel hump holdah and all if governor thomas keeps abreast of the vast maw mass of literature which has grown out of the public school discussion he ought to be well informed on the matter but from his utterances with regard to utah it to la clear he is not by any means cognizant of a tenth of what is going on in the country the man who can solve the public school problem is just fust what we want and we are more in need of such a man and will hall hail him with warmer welcome than the carpetbag carpet bag missionaries of utah the governor sa a that apostates from the mormon church as a rule leave the country then where does he get the thousands of children who attend the denominational schools re he asserts that in one school of 2000 children 1000 are of mormon parents we must from his report conclude that the parents of these children are ex mormons cormons Mor mons because orthodox mor idlor mons are so exclusive that they wont patronize baptists baptista or methodists probably he wants congress to infer that ex cormons mormons are either run out of the territory or killed the same as green was he has a good deal to say about he priesthood its influence and power has he ever stopped for a moment to contrast and compare the mormon priesthood with the average sectarian priest systems of christianity has he ever asked what relation each bears to our modern civilization and to our modern material development he has not and that is why his report is so incomplete let us cast a glance over the various priest hoods of the country just for information in the united states the roman catholic church has one cardinal 13 archbishop sand 77 bishops the protestant episcopal church has 66 bishops no cardinals nor archbishops arch bishops the reformed episcopal has 4 bishops including one negro the method astr episcopal has 18 bishops the presbyterian church has a ator and permanent clerk with i presidents over its eight depart ments or boards beards the seven departments of the congregational church d re are presided resided over by presidents and the baptist church is similarly governed the number of ministers in united states chuiches churches chu iches august 1 1889 are as follows adventists baptists baptista christian union tiona lists friends 1017 geri man evangelical lutherans Luth erans methodists mennon 1 ites am 05 Moravia ns presbyter ians episcopalians Episcopal ians reformed episcopal 1378 roman catholics new jerusalem unitarians total besides this aggregate there are plymouth brethren and a number of other small congregations and communities all of which on the grand total will make gospel ministers in the united states looking at these from an industrial economy view the whole aggregate combined have not produced one hundred bushels of either corn oats or potatoes As factors in our modern civilization ci they might as well be medi medicine oine men among the indians indiana or fetish performers among the africans in all that list there is not a man distinguished in science art letters poetry painting or oratory there are oo do visible moral or religious results from their labors their time is mostly spent in senseless disputes about the length of a coat tat tail or in unseemly squabbles about an elder ider or a bishop who kissed his cook and for this service the people pay them volu voluntarily nta rily an annually nu this sum may appear large but bu t figure on it one hundred thousand preachers some receiving a year the income of roman bishops and cardinals will average annually the very humblest preachers receive 1000 a year a emans pay there may be some very small churches where preachers get less in salaries but they pull up in fairs bazars picnics and such so that if we may make a very moderate average we can safely put it at 2000 a year for such preacher all around Iti it is true cardinal gibbons has written a work ostensibly on secular topics but a perusal of it discloses the fact that it is purely and absolutely a propagandist roman pamphlet bishop potter grants interviews to reporters and gives tone to the meetings of the by his presence talmage writes agony sermons which read like the tigers of tombstone or the adventures of calamity jane but he sells them at 3 a column to the newspapers in fact since henry ward beecher died Ameri americans eds pulpit talent is slow compare this condition of church affairs with mormonism there is not a member of that priesthood from the president to the humblest deacon teacon JL but is a producer directly himself he is a farmer an artist or mechanic or an industrialist of some kind and to say that he isa tax on the community or that he lives on people who happen to be beneath him in intellect is a falsehood unqualified unmitigated and unquestionably unfounded the mormon bishop is found in his garden clad in long rubbers with hoe bee in hand distributing water to his big planting and his bis sermon on su sunday nd ay Is none the worse for his weeks communion with nature and na tures god that is why his sermon strikes home that is why he makes converts that Is ia why he reaches the heart and dominates the soul of his fellow man the governor talks about unity and obedience and harmony among the priesthood of utah here is an extract from bishop haida address at the cornerstone corner stone laying of the Cliar charleston leston SC BC roman catholic cathedral january 12 1890 how great is the universal kingdom of the catholic church when we compare it with the vast empire of ef today or with the small world which alexander sought to bring to his feet or the universal empire of napoleon which in its entirety ex extended tendel from the e pyramids in I 1 egypt to the alps do you on wish to see unity unit then loo look to the t e catholic church emanating from the vatican there goes out from froin that feeble old man a command which will be obeyed from one part of the world to the other it is the voice of gods minister who speaks to man and it is by the direction of god that R it is in obeyed 71 here is something for governor thomas of utah and mr stewart of vermont to ponder over there are none so blind as those who will not see JUNIUS CHICAGO january 1890 |
