Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 15.djvu/626

 WASHINGTON

562

WASHINGTON

of the house of representatives. The executive power in the several counties is vested in a board of three county commissioners whose office is liliewise elective.

Religious Tolerance and Public Morals. — Article I of the state constitution provides in its Bection 2 for a strict separation of Church and State in the following words: "Absolute freedom of con- science in all matters of rehgious sentiment, belief and worship shaU be guaranteed to every individual, and no one shall be molested or disturbed in person or property on account of reUgion; but the liberty of conscience thereby secured shall not be so construed as to excuse acts of Ucentiousness or justify practices inconsistent with the peace and safety of the state. No public money or property shall be appropriated for any religious worship or the support of any re- . ligious establishment. No religious quahfication shall be required for any public office or employment, nor shall any person be incompetent as a witness or juror in consequence of his religious opinion, nor be questioned in any court of justice touching his re- ligious belief to affect the weight of his testimony." "The mode of administering an oath", according to sec. 6 of the same article, "shall be such as may be most consistent with and binding upon the con- science of the person to whom such oath may be administered." Though there is strict separation of Church and State, yet Sundays and Chi-istmas are recognized as days to be legally observed. With the exception of hotels, drug-stores, livery stables, and undertakers' establishments, all business houses must be closed on those days. Likewise is the sale of all intoxicating Hquors prohibited on Sundays, and all fines collected for violations are paid to the common school fund.

The state law provides for tl)e severe punishment of indecent language and literature; which, however, does not annul the constitutional rights of every person to "freely s]ieak, WTite, and publish on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right". Drunkenness has received a wholesome check by the passage of a local option law in 1909, which allows corporate towns and voting districts to de- termine whether places where liquor is sold shall exist in their midst or not.

Priests are not required to perform jury duty; nor can a priest be examined as a witness as to any confession made to him without the consent of the person making such confession. Likewise is the priest a legally recognized minister to solemnize marriage when a licence has been obtained. The bishop as the representative of the diocese possesses the rights of a corporation sole regarding all the church property in the State. This privilege was granted by the territorial Government, and hiis never been revoked by the State. Church property to the extent of 120 x 200 feet is exempt from taxation, pro- vided the church edifice is erected thereon.

Divorce. — Unfortunately the reasons for which a divorce may be obtained are many, and much de- pends upon the personal good sense of the judge in applying them. The chief causes are: (1) Fratid or force in obtaining consent to the marriage, in which case the injured party can sue, provided there has been no subsequent voluntary cohabitation; (2) adultery; (3) impotency; (4) abandonment for one year; (5) cruel treatment and personal indignities rendering life burdensome; () habitual drunkenness, or neglect to (irovide for the family; (7) imprison- ment in the jicnitentiary, providing the complaint be tiled during suc-h imprisonment; (S) any other cause whic-h lh(> rourl deems sufficient to prevent the par- ties from Uving together any longer. A necessary con- dition for obtaining a divorce is that the party de- manding it must have resided in the state for one year.

Education. — The State of Washington provides

for the free education of all its citizens from the child in the common schools to the graduate of its high school. To accomphsh this task, the state received on its ad- mission to the Union from the U. S. Congress an endowment for school purposes of every section num- bered 16 and 36 in aU townships within its borders, or one-eighteenth of all its public lands, amounting to more than two million acres of land which wiU ulti- mately net the state treasury no less than fifty miUion dollars. The money obtained by the sale of this land constitutes an irreducible fund, of which only the interest, together with the rentals and incidental fines as provided by law, can be expended for current school purposes. Any deficiency of a school district is supplied by local taxation. The statistics show that there existed on 30 June, 1911, no less than 20S.5 districts with schools in which 220,461 children were instructed by 75S9 teachers, the average monthly salary paid to male teachers being §85.69 and to female teachers S66.25. There were then 379 high- schools in existence. The annual e\-])enditure for each child maintained has been conservatively estimated at S30. The state university is located at Seattle on a picturesque site of 3.50 acres overlooking Lakes L'nion and Washington. It owes its existence to an endow- ment of two townships of land made in 1854 by Con- gress to the Territory of Washington for this purpose. To minimize the tuition fee of students resident of the state, the state legislature in 1893 granted the univer- sity 100,000 acres additional. From its slender begin- nings in 1862 the institution has steadily increased, and is at this time attended by 2427 students. It maintains schools and colleges of arts, sciences, law. pharmacy, philosophy, pedagogy, engineering, mines, and forestry. According to the latest state educa- tional directory the present teaching staff is composed of 36 professors, 7 associate and 30 as.sistant profes- sors, 54 instructors, 7 assistants, and 10 graduate assistants; together with a musical staff of 6 teachers, and a library staff of 6 members.

In addition to its university the state maintains an agricultural college at PuUman, which is devoted to practical instruction in agiiculture, mechanic arts, experimental stations and incidental sciences, with an attendance of 1463 students. The three state normal schools at Bellingham, Chenej', and Ellensburg with a total of 1353 students supply teachers for the public schools. Besides these state institutions of higher learning there are no less than 39 schools under sec- tarian or private management. The CathoUc Church also has not been lacking in its educational advance- ment. The total number of boys receiving their education in six Catholic high-schools and academies in the state is about 1100. These schools are chiefly in the care of the Christian Brothers, the Benedictine and Jesuit Fathers. The 18 academies for girls and young ladies in charge of the Visitation, Benedictine, Franciscan, Dominican, Providence, and Holy Names Sisters show an attendance of 1509 pupils. Great credit is especiaUy due the Sisters of the Holy Names, who.se two Catholic normal schools have been accred- ited by the state. In addition to these higher institu- tions of learning the Catholics by voluntary taxation and per.sonal sacrifice maintain 32 parochial schools with 5126 pupils, thus saving the state an annual expense of about 1.50,000 dollars.

Charitable and Hkkoum Institutions. — The slate maintains a penitentiary at Walla Walla and two reform industrial schools for youthful delinquents at Chehalis and Monroe. The total number of in- mates of the state's penal, charitable, and reform institutions in 1906 were 3930, which increased to 4288 in 1911. The hoi)el<-ssIy insane are provided for by two a.sylums at Steiljicoom and Medical Lake; while those suffering from milder forms of in- sanitv are placed in the state sanitarium at Sedro- Woollev,