Daily Kennebec journal., 1921-10-28

Il eight.
the Barons with drawn swords on
| the meadowfeld of Ruddymede
wrested from King John the Magma
! Charta, the AngloSaxon race has
| led in this great struggle.
The very roots of the history Of
Maine begin in the history of that
splendid dream of the French nation,
new France in the New World.
| In studying it the child learns
that the ambitious statesmen of that
powerful Latin nation began the
work of founding this new empire on
the little island of St. CroiX in
Passamaquoddy Bay in the year 1904,
| when Henry ~ of France sent forth
as colonizers on the coast Of Maine
| De Monts, a Protestant. and Cham
child inquiries why u Catholic king
of France selected both a Protestant
and q Catholic as joint leaders in
| founding an Anne rjcan colony, the an
sWer to this question leads him into
one of the most notable periods in
| the worlds long struggle for reliS-
| ious freedom.
| Maine was one of the battle
grounds in the protracted contest be-
! tween the Anglo Saxon and the Latin
for supremacy in North America, and
which did not cease until Wolfe cap
tured Quebec in 1853.
And here the scholar possibly OBJ
| tans his first view Of the intrepid
jesuit missionaries. and if not. quite
| surely new view of the Jesuits.
They proved beyond cavil their ardor
and sincerity in the work which the
government of France and its Church
| had sent them to this vast wilder
ness to do-converting an almost
| boundlcss country Of saVages to
| Christianity. The tale Of the suffer-
! ings and pcrils which they endured.
| their minsIing with the Indians and
| the almost miraculous success which
| they had in influencing and control
ling them is inspiring and fascinat-
! ing.
while the original colonizers and
| first settlers OF Maine under Gorges
We're of the Church of England, the
! scholar cannot understand the history
| of Maine as q district and a state
without q knowledge Of his Pilgrim
and Puritan ancestors. Historic ms ms
never have and probably never will
fully agree as to all of the facts re-
! lating 10 their strange, wonderful
and complex story. No romance ever
came from the hand of genius more
cnthralling than is this. It's begin
nings reach back to the rcigns Of the
| Tudors and the Stuarts in England.
| The student Of Maine history is
! delving in the days of Queen Eliza
| beth; of the civil war in England
when King Charles was beheadcd: of
! Cromwell and the Long Parliament,
the restoration. James II, the revoIu-
| ton of 1858 and William and Mary;
| he is in the times when the doctrine
| of the divine right of kings was un-
assailable in the minds of the people
Of the world; when "a good man but
| a bad king as paradoXical as it may
/ common phrase.
among leaders and politicians: when
/ great statesmen believed it a self
| evident truth that no people. ever
ought to be free until fit TO use their
| freedom, which ma sim reminded Ma
| caulay of the fool in the old story,
who resolved not to go into the wa
/ ter until he had learned to swim;
when, again quoting MacaulaE the
caresscs of harlots and the jests of
buffoons regulated the policy of the
/ state.
The fact that an intelligent study
| of the founding of Maine and its
| founders. requires that it should be
pursued in connection with European
history. that each illuminates the
other, is an unanswerable argument
in favor of the proposition that it
! should ever be cornerstone in our
educational foundation, assuming, of
! course, that all are agreed that his
| tory in its broadest sense is essen
tiat
THE fires of patriotism must be
Kept burning in America if the
American nation is to endure"
/ Il have long held to firm belief
that local history if brought forcibly
state would not only inculcate in
their minds a desire for knowledge
Of world history, but would also in
! tenscly promote patriotism.
| For the past nine years as pub
Usher and editor, my own convictions
upon this subject inscribed. at the
! head of my editorial page are eN-
! pressed in these few words which is
/ my message to YOU today:
! First teach the boy and girl TO
1 know and love their own town, coun-
/ " and state and you have gone a
/ know and love their country"
| In these days when the world is
! shuddering because of the advance
ment of the lurid doctrines of Karl
Marx in many ways and devious
| forms; when loyal men and women
| everywhere are striving and yearning
! for a new birth in America nism
when they are experimenting in new
and strange regulatory enactmcnts
regarding foreign immigration. thus
as | believe, violating some of the
most sacred of American traditions
! is not the Indifference to the vital
! Importance of teaching Maine history
| to the youth of Maine SO NANTES,
among a great number of our people
| il such teaching nourishes patriotism
a wrong, if not suicidal course tt
pursue?
The critics of our public schoo
! system have often urged that its
teaching is not practical enough. il
lis contended that while the scholars
have superficial knowledge of the
ends of the earth and the island:
of the sea, they know practically
nothing about the things with which
they come in daily contact"
! 'In order to arrive at a correc'
conclusion as to whether or not
Maine history should be taught il
our schools it is in nowise necessar!
to consider the educational problems
now cngrossing the attention o1
leading educators of the country
Very much OF this contention seems
to revolve about the word vocation
ar-hcw much time should be devot
| ed to vocational and how much t
cultural training. / have no inter
est in any war between advocate!
icf these two systems. One PROPOSE
ton. however. both groups undoubt
ably agree to and that is that tn,
public school is the greatest safe
guards for democracy in America.