754
nothing less than the teaching of the
religion held by those teachers. Mr. Fisher
himself expresses the opinion that “the
wearing of the garb exerts an influence
upon the pupils which is favorable to the
particular religious creed or system of its
wearers,” and “that the natural tendency
to take advantage of the influence thus
acquired in a distinctly sectarian fash-
ion and for distinctly sectarian ends is
a sufficient reason for providing against
the extension of the practise and for its
gradual but certain elimination.” As
conclusive evidence on this point we give
a pronouncement of the Roman Catholic
Church, which affirms that the wearing
of a distinctive religious garb is equiva-
lent to a public profession of religion :—
The church insists on the use of a habit,
by which the religious are distinguished from
the secular persons. A distinctive habit is
always required for nuns; the clerical habit
is sufficient for men. Those approved in-
stitutes whose members may be taken for
seculars out of doors, lack that public profes-
sion which characterizes the religious state,
in the sight of the church according to the
Decree of the Sacred Congregation of Bishops
and Regulars, August 11, 1889.—Catholic En-
cyclopedia, Vol. 12, p. 753.
PUBLIC MONEYS FOR RELIGIOUS
PURPOSES
Secretary Fisher further states that
“the Constitution does not provide that
Congress may not expend the public
moneys for religious purposes.” From
the program being carried on by the
Catholics, it would seem that they well
understand this weakness in the letter of
our fundamental law and have taken ad-
vantage of it to secure thousands of dol-
lars and large grants of land from our
+ municipal and state treasuries, Mr. Dex-
ter A. Hawkins, A. M., of the New York
bar, writing about thirty years ago, said
that from 1869-72 the Catholics suc-
ceeded in looting the city of New York
THE WATCHMAN
of the tremendous amount of $9,543,626
in money and city lots. .
This plundering of public funds by
a religious denomination, and other
movements tending to undermine the
spirit of our Constitution aroused the
people of this country at that time to
decisive action. On Dec. 14, 1875, Hon.
James G. Blaine proposed in the House
of Representatives the following amend-
ment to the Constitution, as Article
XVI.—
No State shall make any law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof; and no money raised
by school taxation in any State, for the sup-
port of public schools, or derived from any
public fund thereof, nor any public lands
devoted thereto, shall ever be under the con-
trol of any religious sect; nor shall any money
so raised, or lands so devoted, be divided be-
tween religious sects or denominations,
The same year both the Democratic
and Republican parties approved the
principles of this amendment in their
national conventions. When the amend-
ment came up for action in the House
of Representatives, it was passed by the
almost unanimous vote of 180 to 7. In
the Senate the article was made even
stronger by the Judiciary Committee, as
the following testifies :—
No State shall make any law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof, and no religious test
shall be required as a qualification to any of-
fice or public trust under any State. No
public property and no public revenue, nor
any loan of credit by or under the au-
thority of the United States or any State,
Territory, district, or municipal corporation,
shall be appropriated to or made or used for
the support of any school, educational or
other institution under the control of any re-
ligious or anti-religious sect, organization or
denomination, or wherein the particular creed
or tenets shall be read or taught in any school
or institution supported in whole or in part
by such revenue or loan of credit, and no such
appropriation or loan of credit shall be made