The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-02-21
SCHOOL HISTORIES INCORRECT.
General Boynton Asks the Exclusion
of Certain Text Books.

The regular meeting of the Board of
Education was held in the Franklin
School building. last night. Gen. H. V.
Boynton presiding.
Little reference was made to the hymnal
question during the entire session, the at
tention of the board being directed espe-
cially 10 a resolution which President
Boynton introduced asking the members
of the board to exclude from the list of
schOolbooks certain histories, which after
a close examination he had discovered to
be full of mistakes and errors. When
General Boynton was first made president
of the board he asked that a copy of all
books used in the school be sent to his
house, so that he might be able to look
them over. AS result Of the eXamina-
tion he offered the resolution last night.
1t was later referred to the Committee on
Text Books for action. The resolution
offered was in part:
L desire to direct the attention of the
board 10 a casual examination which l
have made of four text books on United
States history, in use in the schools,
which were adopted before the present
board and its Committee on Text Books
began their duties. | regard the errors
in each OF these as SO numerous and in
excusable in their character as to demand
their prompt exclusion from the schools
of the District.
Thus far / have only tested those by
their treatment Of our civil war and the
war with Spain; but it is fair presump-
ton If gross errors are found in these de-
partments of research when the official
records of the war have for years been
open to every student, that the volumes
Will not be otherwise accurate
The resolution then cites the different
mistakes discovered in those volumes one
OF which was as follows:
After the troops OF Thomas had begun
to storm Missionary Ridge Grant caught
the inspiration, and ordered a grand
charge alcng the whole front"
According to General Boynton, who hap
pened to be present during that engage
ment, the assault began under General
Grants eyes without orders from him,
and he gave no further orders while it was
in progress. On page 1874 of the same vol
ume General Boyn:on also calls the atten-
tion of the board to the following para
graph relating to our late Spanish-Ameri
can war:
Rough Riders.-A. the battle of San
Juan. Roosevelt at the head of the Rough
Riders led the assault and they, with the
gallant regulars (both black and white)
joined by part of the list New York
Volunteers, carried all before them"
In regard to this the report says
While there is no doubt of Colonel
Rooseyelt's courage before Santiago, it
would be difficult to write a more erro-
neous paragraph, as everyone knows who
has studied the details of that battle"
The board was also in receipt of a letter
from Mr.. Pickman Mann, Assistant Elk
aminer in the Patent Office, in regard to
the hymnal question. saying:
Il hereby declare my objection to every
hymn which refers to Jesus Christ with a
religious significance. and this not be
cause personally every such reference is
obnoxious to me, though many are so. but
because your board has no right officially
to foster any one form OF religion as dis
tinguished from others"
The letter was referred to the Commit
tee on Normal and High Schools for re-
port.
General Boynton also introduced a reso-
luton which read as follows:
THAT in accordance with the decision
reached at the last meeting, the board,
acting as n special committee, viii pre-
coed to compile students manual OF
Praise and Patriotism for use in the
schools OF the District
This was practically all that was done
by the board in regards to the hymnal
question. although they were also in re-
ceipt OF a letter from the Bell Home. at
Colonial Beach, Va, commencing their
action upon the hymnal
The Committee on Ways and Means was
instructed last night to confer with the
Commissioners of the District on Satur-
day in regard to the selection of site
for the new colored school house that IS
to be erected. site having already been
picked out in the same block with the
Slater school, but this does not suit the
board.
General Harries. the Chairman of the
Committee on Buildings, Repairs, ana
Sanitation, introduced a resolution asking
that n complete list of the janitors en-
ploved in the steam heated schools BE- Sc
cured by his committee and the dates OF
their respective licenses as engineers. in
order to comply with the law upon that
subject.