Page 185 - March On! God will Provide by Brother Aubert

Chapter 28

BLOODY MONDAY

T N SENDTNG nrs Bnornrns ro Arvlnnrce, Theodore Ryken
.f had accomplished what he had set out to do when
he founded the Xaverian Brothers. This was success,
and humanly speaking it was the high point in his
career. Subsequently he and his men had to struggle
desperately even to survive.
The declaration of war in March, 1854, by France
and England in support of Turkey against Russia had
resulted in the Crimean War. On September 8, 1855,
a year and a half later, the Russians were withdrawing
from a flaming Sebastopol. The end was in sight, and
when it came it brought no relief to the taxpayer. Prices,
which had been rising even before the starr of hostilities,
skyrocketed.
In Bruges the number of parents able or willing to
send their children to private schools dwindled steadily.
The competing schools scrambled for those who could
aftord to pay. To stay solvent the Xaverian School of
Our Lady raised its fee 75 francs per annum for the
boarding students.
fn an eftort to relieve the pressure, Brother Ryken
besought the aid of Monsignor Scherpereel. He asked
this good friend to speak to Bishop Malou and try to
make him see that the "Bishop's College" was forcing
all the schools into cutthroat competition. He did not
have to mention that this institution, stafted by the local
clergy and protected against deficits by subsidies levied
on the various parishes, was taking an unfair advantage