The Clarksburg telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1874-1926, 1908-12-31
Rhodes
And Hill
Speak
Before the American Histor-
ical Association in An
nual Session.

4 WASHINGTON, D. G., Dec. 2s-
The following is an abstract OF an
address Of James Ford Rhodes before
the American Historical Association
today:
Taking as his subject The Use Of
Newspapers for the History of the
Period from 1s50-1s77,~ Mr.. Rhodes
said:
The attitude of society to the
newspaper is unsympathetic and this
Eaffects to some degree the feeling OF
American historians when they con-
slider the use o. newspapers as his.
torical materials. leading them to
adopt an apologize tone In justifying
their employment. This attitude is
however beside the question as is
seen when We detach ourselves from
American life and conditions. For
example, when Aulard criticises Tame
for using two only of the twelve
journals available for the history of
the French Revolution our impres.
| sion is the same, as II Tame were
Icriticised for the neglect of evidence
of another class. Taking the news.
paper for what 1t is, with Its virtues
and Its limitations, 1t seems curious
that an apology should be necessary
for its use as historical material. For
it is contemporary. written without
knowing lodge of the end, and its
taim is to print the news which is
present politics. If Its relation is
colored by honest or dishonest par
tisanship. that may be easily de-
tected<
/ For the history OF the decade OF
I1S5os6O newspapers are Indispensable
to get at all the facts. to go to the
bottom of things and to portray the
changing public opinion which is a
prominent feature of those ten years
1 AS | based statement after statement
upon the newspaper author i could
not keep thinking of the cogency of.
the remark, SO we'll attested by a
variety of examples.
"A modern newspaper statement,
though probably true. IL quoted in
book as testimony, would be laughed
at; but the letter of court gossip.
II written some centuries ago, is
thought good historical evidence.
When we test newspaper evidence rs
We do all other evidence, taking into
account the general situation, the
surrounding Influences and the indi-
vidual bias of the journalist. we shall
find 1t excellent authority, contribut-
ing to vivid narrative. This is es-
pecially so for the decade of $4,000
when it is well worth while to have
1.-The statements and opinions of such
great Journalists as Greeley, Dana,
Bryant, Bigelow. Raymond, Webb.
Bowles, Thurley. Wood. schouler
and Medill,
For the history of the Civil War
the newspapers, so far as the North
ern side is concerned. are not so i'm
portant for historical evidence, as
during the decade preceding it. The
story of campaigns and battles,
4 which naturally fili so much OF this
space is more accurately and thor.
/ ~ told in the monumental publica-
ton of our government: the official
records of the Union and Confeder-
/ Late armies. The Southern newspa.
4 pers, however, give many useful po-
litical facts nowhere else to be
found and they reflect admirably
Southern society. peculiar in that 1t
was cut off from intercourse with the
outer world owing to the efncien.
federal blockade.
In the history of Reconstruction
the historian may be to large ex-
tent independent of the daily news
paper. Reconstruction was the WORT
of Congress and its debates and acts
Z, are the essential things
Mr.. Rhodes summed mp his paper
with the concluding remark: "The
duty of the historian is not to decide
If the newspapers are as good as they
ought to be, but to measure their in
fnence on the present and to recog-
nize their Importance as an ample
and contemporary record of the past. .
DIR. Hill Sncal,S.
Or. Joseph A. Hill. Chief of the
division of revision and results in
the United States Census Office, dis
cnssed the Use of Census Materials
in American Economic and Social
History" prefacing his remarks with
brief historical sketch of the Wild
ening scope of information gathered
by the census of population.
: THE original purpose of the CEN