20
Editor' x Chair.
1!
soul to become imbued with its iiilluiMicrs.
This can only lie done in youth, when
there arc no loallisome diseases at work
upon it. And what now. The home the
moral nitr.-cry. Is it worthy the name?
We can answer only by ascertaining the
chancier of its nurselings.
The b y in town. In the large majority
of cases, as soon as he leaves his cradle,
learn to he a practiser or deei plion. lie
stays upon tin si red full one half his
time. Learns street and saloon talk
Mikes a man of himself by lisping, as
soon as he ean. the fullest oath-. Ciews
tobacco. Learns to lie; and a thousand
oilier things, including Iho-e baser and
duker climes that cling like scales to the
human raec frm betid to foot.
Take him t' the c mntry. It rhnnges 11
nature somewhat Ab u us much as it
does the English b tar lo take him to the
pampas or Andes. He becomes rather
shy. An exceedingly modest eu; rather
ragged and brown Learns to grind hi
teeth upon men, when he is by himself,
but .-huns their presence. He. i.. most
cases, is very ignor.int, becnu-cull around
him arc ignorant. Trained, in a degree, in
right and wrong, a far ns lying and steal
ing are concerned, but without rca-on.
Has thus a few principles of moralit :
but upon thetr. Icons to found a creed,
which, when h' becomes a nm:i. make
him a bigot, a prejudiced fool. It isakiml
of blind morditv. since it leive- him en
tirely without the pale of honor. Thcc
arc somewhat extremes, but as they take
their stand at each end of u long lUt of
conditions, and all others giadually
jirndc inl llu-m fiom . adi dir. clio.i, tin
must loptcscnt the nifliiciiees that move
the liiukM'h. Then, we jtilinn Umt the
home, on ihc whole, i not a moral school.
Tims w". find the result, as we mL'ht rer
onnbly expect, that there is very little
real honor, very little real jiMice, very
little real purity, and that conscience is
strangely thin. We attribute the caw-e of
all this to the loo little amount of real
pi-r-ilcui cllort to lend out the moral na
ture at the time and place where ellort can
ho most advantageously employed.
Turn now, for a moment, to another
nart of the curriculum. While the home
may be, and in some instances is, t he m or.
al g-irden, the null ml should be, but sejuC4 -ly
ever is, a Held for both the moral and
ini'.'llectual. We can. judge only by re
sults. As a result of the workings of our
public i-chools. wo must t-ike the (level,
ope incut of thai class that is leaving tin in
evcr day, and. either going out upon llio
world, or Inking steps toward college.
Who are the-c oiilh.-? Are they ihor.
oiigh, ns a c'a-s? I know 3011 s.niiie at
the th'. light. Are the; moral, as a cla.-h?
Tlii qiirs'ioi! is still ..Hanger. IJui why
not? Plainly, been dm- they have been
under improper influences. They have
been cast in until mul.ls Sa i: g uoth
ing of our scu'niiun chools, and mow c-.
pecinlly our Koman Catholic schools,
whete the pupil is, for a gr at pan,
lrrought down t Oa'cchlsnis, Oonfe-slons
and Articles of Faith, nti'il lie n
Irimnnd and straightened that he evtr af
ter runs in a single groove, b- lievi.ig nolh.
ing except hi- croud, pr judged n da-t
the world, and f rcvcr a du,i to -..iioiuvh
and prar-book-, we will vi..iin;- f..r :t
moment the work of our com .ion pxhii.-M-hoo).
In the llrI pi. ice, u- are w!l
wan tnted in n e ting I! :il l!.ce is. c-jxe-i
dh in the wc-t, v. rj Utile real --ciu.
We nuiiii -i -tein tiuit d - icail. rcaelt
and ell'etM Ihc pupil. Ami why We
know we have a MMun ot Sate aid
county .-lip. rinieiuK jit-. We know, t..t..
that generally they d their woik mil.
I!ut lc:c U::i i.nK. Ii do. i.i.; p...Ki
ly extend to the individii'd. He i- iiillu
enced 'iil o far nlhc money i con
cenied. That ic, he Is generally mmI to
school for M'e:.d imiiiH h dining the year.
1 1 iw teacher it al r-'qui red to pa mi
examination, uhloh, in in t eac, U un-s.tilfiu-torv.
AccouliugUi our Anieilenn
liriuciple- of freedom. Mich district tnua.
h clccu it own le.iehcr. So lite nuttier
U ever left oicn to objection. Dlrtrlcl
ggES'T