Alcala 1958

A Presbyterian Looks At Archbishop Spalding By i c is o

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WI LL IAM W . FERRIER, Ed.D. Dep artm ent of Business Adm inist ratio n Colleg e for Me n ent r ti n

M AY I s ha re with you my adm ira­ tion fo r a gre at chu rchmanand American cit ize nof you r grea t- gra ndparen ts' ge ne ra tio n? 1 Th e work of th is go od an d gre at ma n liv es in eve ry Cathol ic schoo l in the Un itedSta tes of Am eri ca. Tru th an d und ers tan dingwere made cle are r to ma ny peo ple by the prod ­ ucts of hi s pen. Th e add res s delive red by him at the 34 th An nu al Commen cementof the Unive rsi tyof No tre Dame in 18 78 is rem ember edan d oft en quo ted . The- gu ile of Ma rxi sm wa s ex po sed and ans wer ed by hi s log ica lly ma rsh alle d fac ts. The em­ plo yee s and emplo yers of hi s da y sou ght , valu ed an d us ed hi s cou nse l. He was cal led upon by a Pr esi de nt of the Un ite d Sta tes to hea d a pre sid en tia lcommissi on . 2 Hi s ser vice on that com mi ssi onsettled a stri ke that thr eat ened the eco nomy of thi s natio n at that tim e. 3 Th e inf lue nc eof Bis hop John Lan cast er Sp ald ingin Ameri canlif e and edu cat ionin the pe rio d 18 65 -1 91 6wa s pra ctic al, con ­ stan t and dis tin guish ed .He wa s born in Leb ano n, Kentucky ,in 18 40 . His pare nts were promi nen t landow ner s and slav e­ hold ers in Ke ntu cky, ha vin g come ther e from Ma ryl and . Hi s un cle was Ar chb ishop Mar tin Sp ald ingof Bal timore . 1 Dr. Ferri er shar es his admir ation as a "non- prac tisin g Pres byterian ."— Ed. 2 ThePre sidential Commiss ion toSettle the Coal CXI V, New York , Sept. 6, 191 6; The odo re Roo seve lt was edit or of Out ­ loo k. - a arents' g ation? 1 i ic scho l ica. tanding - . 1 al ce ent rsity ed t . e i e ed l y s al ed . - s l r , l. nt i d l hea si tial on. 2 i i ion l tene y t e. 3 nce o l ing can tion i -1916 w ti al, - ti gui hed. n, , 1 . i i e t er - t cky, i g land. l i o ti l ing . ti tisi g rian:'- The i i to ). 3 C/. utl ok, vol. , , ; re lt • Stri ke (19 02 ). i C f . Ou tl oo k, vol.

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John Spalding prepare d for the prie st­ hood in Americ an sem ina rie s and in Louva inand Rome. He was ord ain edpri est No v. 24 , 1863, and aft er gradua te work returne d to the Un ited Sta tes in 18 65 . He was con secr ated Bish op of Peo ria in 18 77 . Wi lliamT. Har ris 4 said of Bis hop Spa ld­ in g: "H e is the most bel oved of Am eri can edu cat ion allead ers. He tea che s us that all ph ysi ca lapt itud esand all ac tiv itie sof ma n tha t have for an end me re creatu recom for t, me re bodily wel l-be ing, must yie ld pla ce bef ore the edu cat ion of the immorta l sou l — an d that it is man's immorta l sou l that is made in the image of God ." 5 Th e gro win g pub lic sch ool s of the last hal f of the 19t h centu ryhad ma ny part isans. Th ese part isan sin many cas es clamo redfo r or demand edcomplete cont rol of the edu ca­ tio n of all chil dren in comple tely sec ular publi c scho ols. Cert ain stat es, inc lud ing Mas sach uset ts, Wi sconsi n (th e no tor ious Bennett Ac t) and Ca lifo rni a, endeavore d to com plet ely cont rol or des troy re lig iou s sch oo ls by laws. Bis hop Spaldin g, us ing tact , fa cts and ac tio n, urg ed and ins pir ed hi s peo ple to me et thi s cha llenge. He cal led for imp rov e­ me nts in Cath olic school s andcol leg es. Th e cur ric ula sug ges ted by him and adop ted by ma ny Cath olic ins titu tions of lea rn ing off ere dtra inin gfor voc ati ona l,pol itic aland 4 Harris (1835 -1908 ) was U.S . Commiss ioner of Educ ation from 1889 to 1906. 5Merle Curti, Th e Socia l Ideas of Am eric an Edu cato rs (Ne w York : Scrib ner's ,19 35 ),p. 348. 101 i rie and in in . i . 1, a te d l . ated i . ri - : ican tional I . ical a i es itie t, i g, io l l - l .' ' i g li t ry parti an . i e l - l tely lic l l ing f t , in t io ia r d l tely l y l iou l . a i , e l l . e• li l and e . i ula aa ted t li tion rnin.,. i i g al al a 4 ar is { ) L i ti ' f r , f eri a c t rs : · , ), -1

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