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Show CHURCH USE OF SCH00LH0USES. The Deseret News echoing the "religion "re-ligion classes" address of President An-thon An-thon H, Lund at the recent conference, has come out In an open defense of the practice of using the public school-houses school-houses for the holding of such classes.. Its "argument" Is that as long as the trustees of the school district agree, there Is no legal or moral objection, and that this ought to be clear to every sane mind, the only objectors being "some weak-minded, cranky, or malicious person per-son " Precisely tho same line of argument has' always been brought forward in support of church control of public affairs: af-fairs: and precisely the' same eplthel5 j have always been applied to objectors to church dominance In affairs of state, save that when the church dared to carry out Its real purposes and desfres, all such objectors were put in Jail or banished from the community. If there were any vafidity in the argument ar-gument for convenience In tho use of the public school buildings for "religion classes" or other sectarian uses, those buildings should be open to all the sects on precisely the same terms. But arc they? By no means; they are for the Mormon use only; the trustees are In most cases all Mormons, there is neither nei-ther thought of sectarian use of such schools by any other sect nor liberty of refusal of such use by Mormons. The trustee who would object would not long remain a trustee. It Is wholly a Mormon church matter. The practice makes the public school buildings a part of tho Mormon church utilities, In many cases tho public school teacher, also a Mormon, conducts the "religion classes." There Is an obtrusion of sectarianism into the public pub-lic schools whenever that Is the fact: for the pupils can hardly be expected to draw the line of lino distinction between be-tween school, instruction proper and the j Instruction in the "religion classes," when these run into each other In the same places and in the same day, with scarcely a break, and tho same teacher teaches both. There is also a trenching upon the public school Instruction whenever the day's course, is cut short in order to make time for the "religion classes." And tho whole atmosphere surrounding the school Is made by the use of the building referred to a Mormon atmosphere, atmos-phere, and the schools are made to all intents and purposes Mormon schools. It is by reason of this Mormonizing of the public schools that when a teacher teach-er Is wanted for them, it is commonly-stipulated commonly-stipulated In "many of tho rural districts dis-tricts that such teacher shall be a Mormon. Thus the school throughout is kept under the control of the church. The trustees are obliged to yield to the demand of the bishop for the use of the school buildings for church purposes, or give place to those who will so yield. The teacher Is also a Mormon, and Is expected not only to teach the school, but to be useful In church work. All are under the control a control con-trol to which every one willingly submitsof sub-mitsof the local authorities of the church. . The general effect of It all is to make the schools a part of the Mormon church work. The inhibition against the Intrusion of specific church Instruction as a part of the public school curriculum curricu-lum is thus nullified, and there Is no way to separate' the church work from the public work of the schools. Even though specific church dogma should taint the school curriculum, there would usually bo no one to complain of It, so long as this taint did not appear in the public reports or on the official schedules. But suppose an Episcopal teacher, or a Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Catholic, Lutheran or other teacher should -ask the trustees for the use of the school buildings to organize a "religion "re-ligion class:" would he. get It? Suppose, Sup-pose, further, that he should ask for the dismissal of the school certain days in tho week, at an earlier hour than usual, in order that he might the earlier ear-lier get to work with his specially: would it be done? Certainly not, and yet it is done for the Mormon "religion classes." It is true that there Is a statute which gives color of lav to this abuse of the' public school privileges. But that statute, stat-ute, so far from being taken as a fair license in this matter, must rather be considered In Itself as obnoxious intrusion intru-sion of the church into the domain of the State, and as enacted by church Influence In-fluence for Its own advantage in using the public property for Its sectarian purposes. And probably the courts, In a test case, would pronounce that statute stat-ute to be unconstitutional, on a proper showing of the rf acts. |