The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1909-05-04
A History Of Vermont.

A recent article in the Sc. Adams Mes
senger calls attention to the fact that
there Is not in existence at present 1
comprehensive and reliable history Of III,
state. The contemporaries demand foi
good history to he written Is timely
and proper. II also calls attention e
the fact that the youth Of the state arc
by no means being properly sehooled il
the stories and glofies Of our own state
contrary to the statute made and pro
vided.
In chapter 46 Of the public statutes
section la0a, occurs this language.
Sec. 1908 Pupils shall BE-
instructed in good behavior, reading
writing, English grammar, geography
arithmetic. free hand drawing, the his.
tory and constitution Of the United
States. and in elementary physiology
and hygiene. with special reference 70
the effect Of alcoholic drinks and mar
coties on the human system, and shall
receive special instruction il the geogfa-
ply history, constitution and principles
of the government Of Vermont
Observe the concluding provision for
special instruction il the history and
government Of Vermont. How many pu-
pills Of Vermont schools are getting that
Instruction. How many boys and girls
in the high schools Of the state have any
working knowledge Of the states form
Of government How many can tell
when and how the state became an inde-
pendent repnblie1 How many know
anything about the stirring scenes be.
fore and after the courthouse affair at
Westminster, as set forth IN a score of
printsI How many know what the ac-
tual work Of Ethan Allen and Remember
Baker was, apart from certain striking
and eye-taking military exploits How
is Vermont history being taught and
what do children actually carry away
of the real, sober development OF the
state, outside Of a handful Of dates and
a string Of names that come from gen.
eFal glance at the history Of the nation2
If it Ii true, as it seems to be, that
there Is no good history Of Vermont pros
durable. lat us begin to have one writ
ten The Free Press lamonts the death
of George Grenyille Benedict, whose
training for such task was beyond
assault. but let Ms remember that there
are men in the state to-day who would
lend to such task the supreme effort
OF life time and find in the pleasure Of
a deed well done their full and sufficient
reward
Take Horace W. Bailey Of this city,
whose admirable booklet on the history
of Lake Champlain has been reviewed
in these columns. Take Frank L. Greene
Of Sc. Adams, whose work on Vermont
was one of the few bright feature Of
that lamentable affair at Jamestown.
Take William w. Stiekney OF Ludlow,
whose knowledge Of the early conditions
in Vermont is wide, accurate and invalu-
able. Any of these men, or all OF them,
would be competent to take up such
work. In fact, why not have them Ia
mind as an informal committee TO per-
form this great work
If the reason why our children are
not learning Vermont history il from
lack Of text. book, let us have one
written Meanwhile, let Us have some
information about what We have already
and let some positive and useful occasion
be made to have them expounded.
Our children are learning more about
the binomial theorem than they are
about things about home Is there any
thing more important for pupils to learn
than the facts about the state Of their
birth And the law is explicit about t.
too, no chance for misunderstanding.
Let us have it attended to.-Rutland
Herald.