The Irish standard., 1909-05-15

Iiiho " put stop 10 Lnelr QRpreQa-
tions. The way to do it is through
tariff for revenue only.
HISTORY IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
A time there was when England
had the ear of the world" through
its books. magazines and newspapers,
and furnished, mental pabulum to the
American public. Her lying historians
and penny-a-liners held up other ma
lions to the scorn and contempt of Am
orleans. and it was only when the
United States and the Anglo Saxon
element thereof were caricatured and
ridiculed by English visitors that they
first questioned the veracity of their
statements regarding others.
The Irish have suffered more at the
hands of the English assassins Of
character than any other people, and
it Is only during the last Is years,
by the publicity of English despotism
in Ireland in the American press by
American correspondents, that the in
justice and wrongs perpetrated on the
Irish by the English have been gen.
orally known in the United States.
England is not yet through with SLAM
dering and disappearing the Irish
race. 1t finds fresh field for defama-
ton in the public schools of this coun-
try. and the next generation Of Amer
leans will have the same erroneous
opinions of the Irish from English
writer's as prevailed in the past.
There are many anti-Irish books
used by the school children of Amer
lea, that contain libeIs on the Irish
race and Justification of history that
would not be tolerated for a moment
by any proud-spirited people without
a vehement protest. An attempt is
being insidiously made to Anglicize
the youth of America-not only those
of Irish parents, but those of every
nationality-and the children leave
school imbued with the false idea that
England Is the best and greatest ma
ton that has ever existed on the face
of the earth, and that the Irish are re-
moved only few degrees from bar
barism, having what civilization they
possess from their enlightened Eng
fish rulers.
When Edmund Burke, the greatest
philosophical statesman of modern
times. and the superior Of Cicero as an
orator, beside whom his English con-
temporaries were mere intellectual
dwarfs,-when Edmund Burke we
say, Is mentioned in American history
and literature he is referred to as "a
British statesman" who advocated
the cause of the colonies with Fox,
Pitt and others, but never word that
he was Irish. So 1t is with other en-
inent men of the Irish race who figure
conspicuously in the American school
books used by the children of the va
rious nationalities Of the world. If
any race Is deserving Of recognition
in the establishment and preservation
of this majestic republic, it is the
Irish: but in the public schools this
fact is completely ignored.
John Barry, first American commo-
dore, is not mentioned, and millions of
children never heard his NAME
This iS M ho le
should be American to all intents and
purposes. Why the children of Ger
man, Dutch. Irish, Norwegian, Swe-
dish, Italian, French and Polish
origin should be restricted to knowl-
edge of English history, written by
bigoted Englishmen, and to American
history written by narrow New Eng
landers and left ignorant of the his
tories of nations from which they
have sprung, appears to us unfair and
unjust: and every broad minded Am
erican will not dispute the fact. Think
you that American history is taught in
the schools Of England, or American
geography or biography? OF course
not. In the name of common sense,
why should American children be
compelled to study the history of Eng
land any more than the history Of
other nations? I'VE have the same
language and literature, and are of
the Anglo-saxon race" exclaims a
Yankee schoolma'am.
We have the same language and lit
erature. it is true, but we are not of An
glo-Saxon descent by a long shot. The
superintendent Of schools at Virginia,
MIMI, informed us a year ago that
ineteen nationalities were represented
among the pupils. Why should they
study English history. except so far as
1t relates to American history, and be
denied all knowledge Of the histories
OF nations from which their parents
came? If English writer's were fair
and impartial, and stated facts in