Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 203, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 September 1918 — WILL NOT TEACH GERMAN. [ARTICLE]

WILL NOT TEACH GERMAN.

The annual Mission Festival of the Kniman and St. John’s Lutheran churches will be held on next Sunday, Sept. 8, in a grove opposite Center school house in Union township. Services will take up respectively at 10 a. m. and 2:30 p. m., being conducted by the Rev. H. J. Lindhorst, from Reynolds, and Rev. O. Turk, from Mishawaka, Ind. The object of these mission festivals is, in brief, to create and foster the' missionary spirit and zeal among all, a missionary spirit, which is a spirit of thankfulness towards God for the mercies bestowed upon us through Jesus Christ, and of love and compassion towards our fellowmen, who have not yet heard, or no Itohger hear, the saving gospel of Christ, Everybody is most cordially invited to attend. Refreshments may be had at the stand, the proceeds of which will be for the benefit of the Red Cross. , The parochial school of St. John s church will open on next Tuesday, Sept. 10. Although very little Ger-, man has been taught in this sdhool, namely the ability of reading and writing the language, yet also this will now be excluded and only the English, the language of our beloved country, will be taught. Then why the “German” school? It is not, and never has been, a “German” school, neither was and is it, the purpose of our vast number of church schools to teach that language; but only for the sake of religion does our church maintain parochial schools. Religion must not be taught in our public schools, which we value very highly, glady pay our taxes for the same and wish them to flourish. But we want our children to also have a Christian training. And to implant the will of their Father and the love of Jesus in their hearts must be done by a continual process of instruction, by a daily study of God’s holy word. For this reason and no other reasons, does the Lutheran church support parochial schools. Teaching the children the word and will of their Savior together will all other branches of secular knowledge cannot but make them staunch loyal, yes, triple Americans. And such we will also need to stand shoulder to Shoulder with our allies against our common foe, the kaiser and Prussianism. REV. H. F. KROHN.