The Placer herald., 1871-09-30
A "SPECIMEN' PULVEkIZED.

AS specimen of the style of warfare
adopted by the papers that oppose the re-
election of Fitzgerald, Democratic nominee
for Superintendent of Public Instruction, the
Examiner quotes the following from the
Sacramento Record:
"We assert that he (Fitzgerald) changed
the textbooks, first, because the old ones
gave too truthful and patriotic account of the
he put money in his purse. These are the
! allegations to which answers must be made,
if they are possible. We don't believe they
are, and far that reason do not wonder at
the gingerly way in which Fitzgerlh's
friends handle his record"
And thus truthfully and vigorously the
Examiner replies:
"Now, We assert that the above is low,
malignant, unaloycd f,lsehood. In the first
place the change was not made by Fitzger-
aid, bu. by the State Board of Education.
in which he had one vote. In the next place
a glance at the series of books shows that it
is false We have before us a list of the
books superseded The first four are arih-
metics. Did these give too truthful and
patriotic account of the rebellion The
next ten in the series are biographies and
maps. Did these give too truthful and
patriotic account of the rebellion 2 The
next two are grammars. Was there any
thing about the rebellion in these? The next
ten are Wilson's Readers md Spoilers, with
charts and manual. There is nothing about
the rebellion in any one of these. Next
comes two books on physiology. There
surely can be nothing about the rebellion in
these. The other books, excepting two,
which we will notice last, are PHILOSOPHY,
algebra, moral training, English composition,
composition and rhetoric and penmanship.
There is nothing about the rebellion in these.
The remaining two books come under the
head of hstory-Quackenbos United States
Primary and Larger. Now admit--and we
have not examined them and cannot say how
they treat the rebellicn-that they are objec-
tionabe because of the mode in which they
treated it, they are only two books in the
list of some thirty-six or seven, and could
have been changed without in the slightest
degree interfering with the others. Tho
history substituted for them is Professor
Swnton's. This gentleman was an officer
in the Federal army. and wrote, admittedly,
The ablest and most impartial book of any Of
the many which have been published on that
subject He is now a Professor in the Uni
versty of the Pacific, and ranks high with
scholars of all parties. These facts brand
the first allegation Of the unscrupulous parti-
san sheet quoted from as false. The old
series of books cost $2l9 32, and the new
series, to which the preference is given by
the almost unanimous voice of the teachers
of the State, cost SAT 10. This ought to
be conclusive Of the question.
In regard to the second allegation, to wit:
That in changing the textbooks he put
money into his own pocket, and changed
them for that purpose, we pronounce it
wholly false. The Record makes distinct
allegation, and it is for it to prove it. 1t is
not for US to prove negative Until it pro-
duces proof to sustain its charge, we are JUS
titled in holding it up before the public and
branding it as an unscrupulous falslher and
slanderer. If it can show that Fitzgerald
has done aught in his Office unbecoming an
honest and upright man and faithful and
conscientious officer, we shall utter no word
in his behalf