Report That Jewish School Bill Will Be Repealed Persists Despite Denials

Although Premier L. A. Tascherau has categorically denied that the Jewish school bill would be repealed, the rumor still persists that such action is contemplated after the Jewish school commission reaches an understanding with the Protestant School Board.

The well-informed Montreal Gazette corroborates the recent report in the French newspaper La Presse that the repeal of the Jewish school bill was imminent, adding that the draft of a new ordinance is already prepared. The Gazette claims that the return to the status quo in the Jewish school question makes the previous legislation unnecessary.

The anti-Semitic papers are already rejoicing and boasting that the Liberal provincial was compelled to bow before the will and agitation of the opponents of the Jewish school bill. In the minds of local Jewish leaders arises the question whether the anti-Semites have any cause for their jubilation or whether it is premature.

Last week Mayor Houde of Montreal publicly announced that he was in favor of a repeal of the Jewish school bill, desiring instead that the Jewish school question be turned over to the Council of Public Instruction, which consists mainly of clergymen and from which Jews are excluded. It is also known that the Jewish school commission is about ready to announce the results of its protracted negotiations with the Protestant School Board.

The demand for the repeal of the Jewish school bill has become a weapon in the political campaign of the provincial opposition, led by Mayor Houde, against the present Liberal regime in the province of Quebec. From a speech which Mr. Houde delivered at a political rally in Louisville, Que., it became quite clear that the Jewish population in the province cannot hope to enjoy separate school right if the Conservatives ever assume the reins of government.