Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-09-16

for three years. A notion was made TO
expel Brooks from Congress for this afro
cious and cowardly act, but it failed
to secure the needful two thirds vote;
then he resigned his seat and was in
stantly reelected TO Congress by vote
that was almost unanimous"
DAMAGING INFERENCES.
Nothing could be more damaging to the
character of the southern people than the
differences a child Is expected to, and will.
draw from this paragraph. The deed Is
represented as an atrocious and cowardly
act. vet the people of South Carolina sent
the perpetrator back to Congress by q
unanimous vote!
Your committee Is not called upon to
defend the action of Mr.. Brooks, but
every one knows he did not come up be-
hind Mr.. Summer and strike him repeat
edly on the head with stout cane, while
ha was absorbed in his work, doing him
thereby a serious injury. He confronted
a man who was more than his match.
physically. and struck him from the front
with light cane. Mr.. Brooks was in
capable Of making n cowardly or Unfair
attack upon any one. He was an honora-
BILE. brave gentleman, and, however we
NAV condemn the propriety Of his act, we
fiuenced him.
He was defending, as his instincts sug-
gested. an honored uncle who was grossly
maIigned. and he was entirely ready TO
accent every consequence of resisting this
assault upon his honored relative, made
in the omen Senate, and before the whole
world.
Your committee must not be understood
as defending Mr. Brookss act. BY no
means. Violence is not the proper redress
for an injury. But your committee can
discriminate between the violence that
proceeds from a generous nature, spurn-
ed by injury to ungovernable passions
and the violence Of a sneak who stealth
ilv creeps up on his victim and assaults
him from behind with deadly weapon.
This sort of a malefactor the South Is
represented as giving its unanimous and
enthusiastic support TO.
We do not think our children should be
taught that their fathers were people OF
this sort any more than that they were
rebels against the best government the
world ever saw.
BETTER REMAIN IGNORANT.
Your committee thinks they had better
be taught nothing whatever about the
war and its causes than to be instructed
| I'm such poisoned and partisan perVerslonS
| OF them as this.
Your committee had rather see our chill
dren taught inaccuracies about the war,
but I'm books written by authors VINO un-
derstood and appreciated the motives OF
the Confederate soldier, than to be
taught perfectly accurate accounts OF the
battles and sieges I'm books whose authors
| looked upon the Confederate soldiers as
| criminals.
| The citations are sufficient, we think, to
] show that Mr. Fixes work is colored
| throughout IN favor of the North ana IN
antagonism to the South.
| Your committee is radically opposed to
| any book of this sort being placed IN the
| hands of the children of Virginia.
| In all matters relating to the war your
| committee is of opinion that the follow
| ing should be the line upon which our
| children are instructed:
| They should be taught that, overcome
| bv physical power, the Confederate sol
| dier laid down his arms at the end of the
| war. with a pledge of his honor; that he
| abandoned the cause Of secession Tor all
| time: that the Confederate soldier has
| lived up to that pledge ever since the
| war. with perfect faith and sincerity anc
| that all descendants of Confederate sol
| diers must live up to II with the same
| faith and sincerity for all time.
| They are to be taught also, that the
United States is not an alien government
to which they submit and render ale'
| glance because they are compelled to dc
- but that il is their country, whose
| dignity. safety, and honor they must
| gladly guard and defend with the las
drop of their blood.
THE RIGHT TO SECEDE.
But. so far as the war and the causes
| which led up TO it are concerned, theA
are TO be taught that nothing Is plalnel
| TO him who understands the Constitution
| of the United States and the history
its formation than that the states nae
| reserved the right to secede, ana ina
| their fathers were not rebels ana trait
ors in seeding from the Union, pu
independent, self-respectlng, fearless cit
izens. exercising their rights under TN
| law of the land, and in defiance or al
| the threats of coercion that great,
superior physical power made agains
| them.
The United States Is our country 10
the future: all question of secession d
ended and put aside forever and no
where Is the United States Government
held in greater love and regard than II
the Southern States.
But the past is sacred. II Is an ever
green and glorious memory that we cai
| never permit to be tarnished IN u
smallest degree. if we can help II, and W
| intend that our children shall receive IN
| baaeht that flows from inspirations tina
crow ont of a correct knowledge OF IN
heroic conduct of their fathers, who wer
an example that will exalt any genera
| tion that follows them and knows VIVA
they thought. suffered, and died
HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY.
The BOARD OF Education placed anothe
| hook upon our school list which you
committee thinks objectionable-a worl
called History of Our Country o.
| Cocuer. EstiH. & Lemon. This worl
has a strong Confederate slant, but l
| has strangely enough, occasional pas
sages which are utterly Objectionable I
a Confederate soldier. On page $40, speak
ing M our civil war, this passage Will
| found: ...,.
"The people of the North were puttin
| down a rebellion against the noplest gov
eminent God ever lent man wisdom |
| frame" d.
Vour committee will never consent I
SEQ the youth of Virginia taught that.
Your committee recommends, thereiot
that the Grand Camp use all OF us lhnu
ence to get our public schools 70 comm
themselves 10 the histories OF Dr. Jone
| and Mrs. Lee, and 10 omit the use Q
| Fiskes book, and that Oh COOPER hstii
| & Lemon.
,,a, The Grand Camp requests all Of II
r,an,bere 10 note in any Of the historic
n,tsrenresentations OF the cause tina
hrougbt on the war and of the conduC
80 items of the Confederate soldier