Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-10-31
SOURCES OF HISTORY.
Cooperation in Historical Research.
Preserving Documents.
From the University Magazine.

From the University Magazine.
One of the really notable features OF
modern thought is the changed attitude
toward history. 1t is no longer possible
for the historian to build his structure
with secondhand material, 'however ef-
fectively he may use that material, or
however attractively he may remodel 1t.
To gain a hearing from intelligent men
he must build his work upon the sure
foundation of original sources; and he
must leave his foundation exposed so
that all who go by may test the character
of his material and the faithful use he
has made of it. If he would have 1t
recognized as literature he must also
build artistically. with all the skill of a
literary craftsman--but that is beside the
present point.
To meet the needs of the modern his
torian 1T has become necessary to gather
from far and near the primary docu-
ments that constitute his raw material.
The tremendous Importance IF this task
has been gradually daWning upon the gov
erning bodies of civilized lands, with the
result that national archives have been
established at public expense, to be the
repositories of manuscript material OF
every description bearing upon the his
tory of the country. The British gov
eminent inaugurated a movement of this
kind some years ago. and has already
made immense strides in the garnerlng
and safeguarding of material pertaining
to the history of the United Kingdom.
With that energy and generosity which
characterizes activities for the general
welfare of the United States. it also
has made notable progress in the same
direction. Efforts. more or less well d.
rected, have been made toward the same
end in France. Germany, Spain Italy
and other continental countries, 1t re-
manned, however, for the people of Hol-
land to set an example which all other
tive caution and thoroughness. never more
happily directed, the government of the
Netherlands appointed commission or
advice to survey the whole field of his
torical material affecting it's own coun-
try The most expert intelligence avail
able by the nation was first to consider
with deliberate care the question what
most needed to be done, and was then
to devise general and relatively per-
manent plan for doing It. With the ad-
commission before 1t the government
was In position to establish a depart
ment of national archives, into which
could be gathered, with the minimum ex-
mentary sources of the history of the
Netherlands. This economical and bust
nesslike policy stands in rather a striking
contrast to the haphazard methods OF
other countries.
Canada's advent upon the scene of ar
chival labor is comparatively recent-at
least, SO far as really effective work is
concerned. The first archivist of the do
minion, the late Dr. Douglas Brymner,
worked for years in an atmosphere whloh
could scarcely be described as sympa-
thetic. That he accomplished SO much Is
due almost entirely to the unconquerable
enthusiasm of the man. That he left
SO much to be done was in no wise any
fault of his. With rare good fortune
the Canadian government was able to
secure as his successor one who combines
the scholarship and genius for research,
the nose" for hidden documents, of his
predecessor, with uncommon executive
ability and. what is peculiarly important
today, a keen appreciation of the impor-
lance of making the manuscript riches
of the archives readily accessible by
means of careful classification and ex-
haustive indexes, as we'll as the desire
to meet in a generous spirit the needs
of those investigators who. for one rea-
son or another are unable to visit the
archives personally.