The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1909-11-06
Our School Books.

ing editorial clipped from the
Crowley Signal on the school
book question. We see no neces-
sity of changing the books so
often and the price OF them to-day
are higher than ever before. Take
for instance the readers. The first
and second readers used last year
were 20 cents apiece, and the new
ones now used are 81 cents apiece,
and so it is with the other books.
The Signal says:
"Attempts have been made to justify
the change in school books which has
cost the parents of school children in
this State hundreds of thousands OF
dollars. 1t is urged that the old time
history is inaccurate in its state
ments as to the causes of the civil
war and it also made one side the
winner too much; that the grammar
wasn't up to the minute in some re-
spects, that the arithmetic, algebra
and geometry were not as we'll ar
ranged as they might be; that the ge-
Ographies were ten or fifteen years be-
hind the times and that the textbooks
on English literature-they used to
call their READERS not contain
selections from some of the best con-
temporary writer's.
''Let us be fair in the examination
of this matter. We must admit that
the old historian might have been
mistaken when he said the Yanks lost
only IS. 963 men at the battle Of Peanut
Run. They might easily have lost
10, 1854 or even IS, 665 and it is not at
all outside the range OF possibilities
that the Confederates really gained
men in that sanguinary engagement
instead of losing Al men as the old
history might have stated. It's easy
to make mistakes of this kind and
when they occur no trouble or expense
should be spared to correct them.
What an awful thing it would be If the
sons and grandsons of the men who
fought for their sacred opinions and
freely gave their lives for principle
should have instilled in their minds
the wicked heresy that the Yanks lost
only 1868 men in a certain battle
when as a matter of fact they really
lost 1884 men. We cannot deny
that the language has changed great
deal in the last three or four years.
and new grammars may be necessary.
Even two years ago we did not say
''Oh YOU kid!' What would the
author of the discarded grammar
have done with that choice bit OF
vernacular? AS for the new text
books on mathematics, we are far
from claiming that modern scholars
have not discovered new and better
demonstration of the pOns asinorum
than the one old Euclid devised twenty
centuries ago, which school children
have used ever since. 1t is not likely
that a new wrinkle to the binOmial
theorem has been worked out and far
be it from us to deny that some
modern investigator has discovered
an improvement on the multiplication
table. We probably needed new text
books on mathematics. And the
biographies sadly needed revising.
Else how would little Willie learn that
Hoop Pole Cross Roads, Kansas, has
been made a country seat? And the
text books on English needed revis-
ing so as to include representative
selections from the author of "Three
Weeks and other contemporary
writer's OF chaste English. This fell
low Shakespeare, old Joseph Addison
and 0lchard Steele have been tOuted
winners in the word-slinging game
quite long enough. Give us little
of George AIDE and Gertrude Ather-
ton.
ssIet us admit that the books need
ed revising. Let us acknowledge that
we had to overhaul all the school
books used last year and make each
child get an entirely new set. What's
the objection?
1.-THE objection is that it bars the
door of the temple OF learning against
whole families. 1t condemns many
poor boy and girl to stay at home
who otherwise would have acquired
the rudiments of education. Would
the world have had q Henry Clay if
ne father of the Millboy of the Slashes
had been Obliged to buy twelve dol
lars worth OF books before Kentucky's
child OF gSnius could learnto read?
MANY : boy and girl in the State
of Loufsiana is barred from. our
ssfree' school to-day because their
parents are unable to furnish the
cost books required.
ssThis sneler changing the text
books die. public schools has given
our 0nblic school system
Jolt II win nat recover from in years.
Ii bars from tie free. schools just
the ones they are intended for-the
children of poor people and the people
Of moderate means.
The Board OF Directors of the
National Council Of the Knights
Of Columbus has just decided to
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