The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1895-02-14

that they are dry, incomprehensible, I'M
interesting, and the young mind can
not grasp them. Is there one boy in a
thousand who knows ought of Caesar,
Brutus or Antony, other than that they
fell out few thousand years ago?
The argument is preposterous on its
face. There is not one uninteresting
line in the entire Constitution of the
United States, WashingtOns address,
or the Declaration of Independence.
On the contrary, they TEEN with oratory
and elOquence, and with what is far
more precious, with the thoughts, as
pirations and hopes of the brightest
minds of the age; and the authors be-
long to MS, to our age, almost, and are
not the supposed sayings of misty
past.
There is scarcely boy or girl in our
public schools today who cannot tell
you more of Cleopatra's ride down the
Nile, the Pyramids of Egypt, or the
Catacombs of Rome, than they can of
Washington, Jefferson, Monroe or
Adams. And why is this so? Simply
because our text books are crammed
with descriptions of these. to them,
rather uninpOrtant things. Some short
sketch of the above are to be found in
almost all the school readers: and out
side of a few paragraphs taken from
speech of Webster. Patrick Henry. or
some other noted American, there is
absolutely nothing that can be learned
from the school reader today. 1t is a
broad assertion yet a safe one, that no
other civilized nation on earth is so
densely ignorant of the real principles
Of the Constitution or government UNI
der which they were born, as the Amer
lean. Take Ireland, where 1t is claimed
there exists SO much ignorance, that is,
of book knowledge, and the most ig-
norant lrishman you may meet will
trace his country's history back to the
DAYS of the DruidS and Fairies. We
might say it was born in him: the Oppres-
sion under which the Irish race have so
long suffered, is taught the child from
infancy, and has quickened the mind to
learn his cOuntry's history. How much
more has the American parent the
right, the duty to teach the child every
chapter of the history of the most
glorious government Gods sun shines
on? The German. the French, the
Swede, the English, all are versed in
their cOuntry's history. 1t is taught
them in preference to the history of
any other nation; from the day they
leave the cradle, the praises and glories
of their fatherland are sang in their
ears until they can tell you. one for
one. the victories, and the heroes that
! made their country so beloved. Ask the
average american, of the inception of
the government of the United States,
OF Washington, Hancock, Henry, Ham
iltOn. jefferson: they know there were
such men. that they were leaders OF
their day, but precious little of the real
part they took in framing and making
possible that equality of citizenship we
enjoy. Good citizenship depends upon
a thorough knowledge Of all those es-
seutials that enter into the constitution
under which we are ruled: and the time
to Undue the mind with this knowledge
is in youth so that when the boy at
!. tains mans estate he knows his cOun
try's history and what is required OF
him to become worthy of the legacy
bequeathed to him by men whose
names will never die; by heroes, whose
memories are written upon the hearts
of oil true loNars of liberty and thei]