The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1917-06-25

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igo as far as any other single agency
toward the elimination Of sectionalism.
North and South alike have sinned
against each other, aud against full
truth, in their school histories. I do
not mean necessarily that they have
deliberately lied about each other, but
that each section has had habit Of
CLOSING over certain things. They sin
as much sometimes in what they don't
say as in what they do. Each demands
this or that of the historian and the
publisher, and too often the historian,
and the publisher, poor men! are
forced to think Of their markets rath;
er than of their facts and their duty
to the young thus to the country.
have heard 1t charged that South
erners sometimes make finicky. de-
mands upon historians who wish q
market in the South, but know the
Southerner, and have as much faith
In him as have In any other Ameri-
can, and it is my deep conviction that II
the Northern historian will deal fairly
with the South, and will frankly place
upon the North the blame for, let US
say, the outrages Of reconstruction
dealing honestly and openly with the
subject as it should be dealt with
then the Southerner will meet him half
way, and will not bubble over equally
frank, academic statements concerning
the evils of slavery If the Northern
historian will give true picture Of the
noble spirit Of the South in the Civil
war, of the greatness Of Lee, Davis
and other Southern leaders, Of the out
RACES Of reconstruction, ETC., and will,
further. do Justice to all great men Of
the South (giving, for instance, to
Matthew Fontaine Maury, the Soath's
great scientist, the mention he de-
serves, along with Eli Whitney and
Robert Fulton and Cyrus Field and
S. F. B. Morse and others Of the regu-
lar historic "stock"), then think he
will find the South as open-minded rs
can be. For the sensitiveness Of the
South is a perfectly natural sensitive
ness, which comes Of having been ham,
mered altogether too much. 1t Is time
that stopped. '"f7 'g''i:t>h HH@
For my part, / have dream Of a
national board composed Of prominent
men OF both sections, organized for the
purpose Of improving, American school
histories and of demanding that they
be intelligent, fair, and free from
maudlin appeals to national vanity.
: A few foolish people may, perhaps,
take the attitude that to present facts
discreditable to the nation is ''unpatri-
otic." If a historian were to write
really frank history today, the sales
man for rival books would doubtless
stoop to such an argument. In this
connection, however, I am reminded Of
Lord Roberts campaign for truth and
preparedness In England. He was
called "unpatriotic." But the history
which has been made since has proved
him right, and there is perhaps no fg.
ure of the past century whose memory
is today revered by the British people
as is the memory of 'Bobs." -
= In this country General Wood, han.
dicapped by a war department muzsle,
has been, like Roberts, avoice crying
In the wilderness. 'sdi@,, N43th s"s}4a
Had history been rightly written for
our people, there would be no need for
preparedness campaigns, for the ne
cessity Of preparedness would be fully
understood.
Those who have talked preparedness
for the last three years have been de-
rided by the paciflsts and their press
as "hysterical." Or again wehave been
told that those who believe the country
ought to be ready to defend Itself wish
to sell munitions. Such statements are
nothing less than vicious lies-lies
none the less vicious because, In many
instances, those who utter them pre-
sumably believe them.
The pacif1st argument is tantamount
to that of the man who refuses to
carry an umbrella lest it bring. on rain.
That such an argument can be sert'
ously considered by our people is large
~ the fault Of historians and teachers
of history who, If they have not DELHI
erately. misled the nation, have given
It half-truths.
So here we are again, as write, on
the verge of war, yet as unready for 1t
-shAre oluova hoon when wars
have come. ',I'AH"s "3'"' . .'.' 49,
Truly, in this, at least, We area thor
oughly consistent people,! ~"
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