Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1897-12-26

| statute-books." but Il Is older than the
rocks and hills. and it comes from the
Ancient OF Days" II Is written: "Ana
| why beholdest thou the mote that IL IN
thy brothers eye. but considerest not
the beam that Is In thine own eye!
Again II Is written: And II any men
obey not our word by this epistle. note
that man. and have no company win
him that he may be ashamed, yet count
him not as an enemy. but admonish MN
a brother"
ALREADY CONDEMNED.
Pardon me, gentlemen, but can you ever
hope to reach n higher plane than thstf
Consider ere you leave us grovelling NOR
tails for those sublime regions from
whence spring the inspiration OF these
investigation. Suppose these checks were
stolen from their owner by some person
unknown to him. and being found In your
possession. you had been called upon 10
account for them in the prosaic manner
known to our laws-namely, by an arrest
and public prosecution; or, suppose the
committee had thought proper after this
Investigation begun to do what Chairman
Woods, in his opening address. said they
would do. He said: "The gentlemen on
this committee will, doubtless, desire this
matter probed to the bottom" What, now,
would be your position? The gentlemen
who used these checks in the investiga-
ton, and yet refused to tell where they
got them, were already condemned, ana
knew It not. Chairman Woods had al
ready pronounced upon them heavy
judgment in his opening address-a Judg-
ment which now rests upon them with
crushing weight. Don't charge me with
1t. gentlemen. / simply repeat the words
OF your chosen judge-your chairman
Here they are:
you will recognize the fact that TINS
committee Is not clothed with any execu-
tive power. We sit not as any regular
court, formed by the laws OF the Com
monwealth. with power to punish for con-
tempt or compel witnesses to TESTIFY.
In all of this matter we have to rely upon
the courteous treatment Of those sum-
moned before us, and we trust that those
who may be asked questions Will freely
answer them, recognizing that, whilst we
have no power TO compel them to TESTIFY,
that there Is a public sentiments just
public sentiment-that should compel any
man, an obligation higher than an ordi-
nary oath, to disclose what he may know
touching this matter"
Your chairman says there Is just pub
lie sentiment, higher than an ordinary
oath, that should compel any man to dis
close what he may know touching this
matter. A just public sentiment is loudly
calling for this disclosure now. Shall
they have It? II not, they will know the
reason why.
THE CORPUS DELICTI
If these gentlemen will permit them
selves to be judged by the standard OF
our laws, let me inform them that they
will be found to be far more lacking in
Justification for this cruel prosecution OF
Colonel Stubs than they have been here
tofore shown to be, as will now be seen.
They have not shown, or even attempted
to prove. what lawyers call the corpus
deficit. That Is, they have not taken the
very first step necessary in every prosecu-
ton. They have not shown that any OF
fence has been committed. The charge
was that some Of the members or the
History Committee were in the employ
ment Of the American Book Company.
and that they had been. and were then.
engaged in trying to impose false histo-
ries of the great war upon the schools or
the South. because said book company
had those books for sale, and that they
were obstructing Colonel Cussons and
others in their efforts to secure histories
fair to the southern side Of that strug-
gle. Colonel Cussons Is triumphantly
brought forward as the chief witness TO
the fact and here is what he testihes TO:
"As YOU are aware, the History Com
mittee was formed six years ago, It's speci-
1c purpose being the SUBJ titution or fair
and honest school histories in place or
the false and misleading ones which then
were and now are in common use. For
four wears | have been member Of that
|
earnestly ask me what had actually been
accomplished. I could only tell them that
we had succeeded in getting on the list OF
| "eligibles" two additional books-books
of perhaps rather obscure merit-the
works of Hansel and Shinn. Meantime
! splendid histories by southern authors
| histories which had been called into be-
Ing by the fair promises OF our commit
tee-were lying dust-covered on their pub
| fishers shelves.
"And so last summer j directed AdJu-
| tant-General Elicit to keep the work OF
| the Grand Camp well in hand, and par
| ticularly to ascertain what measures the
History Committee proposed to adopt. In
answer to this question Chairman Stubs
replied that the proper time to make
| fight for such histories as the Grand
| Camp might recommend would be next
| spring. when the Board of Education
| should award new contracts for the en-
| suing four years. I feared that 1t might
then be too late; that a change so sweep
ing as the one sought could hardly be
attained in that way. Superintendent
| Massey, as the educational expert or the
board, had long been its controlling
spirit and he seemed to be quite satished
with things as they were. 1t is worthy
Of note that the gentlemen who spoke In
behalf of Mr.. Massey on last THURSDAY
night were strong in their defence OF
Barnes's History, declaring that 1t does
not teach that the Confederates were
rebels and insurrectionists, and thus
proving that they have never read that
book. And the fve-years' chairman OF
our History Committee uttered no pro-
test. but steadily supported Mr.. Massey
from beginning to end"
SPLENDID" HISTORIES.
There is nothing whatever worthy TO d
called evidence TO support these grave
charges against Colonel Stubs, and no
thing even sufficient>to raise suspicion
against him, save the two checks giyer