The sun., 1918-07-07

ton living in the twentieth century
and should therefore have q purely
American national education without
reference to the past. I know no loy.l
American who wants anything elsa
than that our national history should
be we'll studied by every boy and sirl
In tho land and that English shall be
the only language used in Dur elemen-
tary schools. Is this all there 10 in
the ~proposal7 Then we can all accent
II with enthusiasm. But 1t needs dea-
milton. For we have the right to ask
whether It Is meant that all elemen.
tary studies are to be exclusively ma.
tional. Is geography to be confined
to the geography of our land? How
about arithmetic? Is there an Amer.
lean multiplication table? And what
Of mature study? Are only Amer.
lean animals to be noticed? Here Is
where the theory begins to crack.
Our W language and history for
the sake OF our national unity? Yes,
In plenty, and then also the elements
Of universal knowledge-as much as
we can get.
<AboNC tC elementary SuuCdIOu the
theory utterly fails. and fails because
It's advocates forget or ignore the hard
facts of history. We are part OF the
family Of nations and heir to a great
part Of the worlds heritage Of free.
dom. They are forgetting that the
struggle now in progress against an
exclusive nationalism in culture Is
being conducted by the allied freedom
Of the world. They are forgetting that
an exclusively American culture must
tend either to absorb other systems
by incorporation or domination, or.
failing in that, to impair the vital
unity of our international civilized
freedom.
this question hinges so largely on the
studies of language and history. The
theory of self-centred exclusive ma
tional culture inevitably leads to dis
paragement of foreign languages and
foreign history; and especially Of an.
cient history and classics. This ma
tionalistic theory. however, has q
powerful ally. Here are his words
from the famous address OF December
II, 1890:
Whoever has been through the eymna.
SUM and has gone behind the scenes
knows where the trouble is. The trouble
Is, first of all. that we lack a truly ma
tional ha isis. We must taxi German az
the foundation OF the gymnasium: W.
must educate national young Germans and
not young Greeks and Romans. We must
depart from the basis which has etood
for centuries, the old monastic educa.
ton of the Middle Ages. In which Iatih
was the standard. and a httle Greek.
This Is no longer the standard: We must
make German the basis Translated
from the authorized edition d Reden
Kaiser Wilhelm II. Won Johannes Panzer.'
Leipzig: Philip Reclaim. Jun. Ono date.
page 1876.
This is the Kaiser's own statement,
h basis of his educational policy, the
theory which has bee at work wreck
ing German education for the last
thirty years. Note in passing his ref.
erence to the 'old monastic educa-
ton He knew. as every one here
knows, that this did not exist in the
modern gymnasium. Here his exclu-
sive Kultur excluded a truthful state
ment of historic fact. Do we want It
or anything like It? Not so long as
We have memories to remember what
that kultur has done. 1t Is well We
should also hear a statement on thu
other side, made September 10. 1915.
by the Minister OF Public instruction
of the French Republic: THE class.
cal culture should remain the obicc;
of u ardent study, even IL II were
only for the reason that it has trans
m!tted to French thought the greater
part of the great ideas for which We
are now fighting.' 1t Is not a little
question. 1t is this: Shall the native
tongues and li%teratures OF ancient
freedom, ancestral to our own, be ST.
He'd? The Kaiser says yes. France
says no. There they stand. We too
must stand on one side or the other
There is no escape except to hide IN
a paltering neutrality" There is n,
negotiated peace" here. There ia no
third theory to choose-nothing but A
set of compromising, pitiable make
shifts. One OF the two rivals must
win and the other go under. Whica
shall it be?
w.
IL Is great to be a true American:
1t is greater to be a true man or
woman here or anywhere. That al,
men everywhere may be free" was
prayer. Can We not lay
aside all prejudice and then read our
lesson in the fiery light around as
That lesson is that no freedom is won
or held without struggle and witho.:
Self-1onlal That laeSon a.. ,Lo u,.,..r
n moral freedom is not won or held
ny any human being in any land witt
out whole minded training in thu
fundamentals OF knowledge. be thcv
pleasant or unpleasant at first. Who'll,
sou!cd obedience 10 duty, "interes'-
ing or uninterestinG. and who'll
hearted devotion to the truth won ami
held by hard effort. not for money.
place or power but for the sake Il
llN!nS deContly in n decent world ,rasF