Daily Kennebec journal., 1921-10-28


The trees inclined
Il And right here, the point that /
/ would make, the seriousness OF which
impresses me deeply is that the 50
per cent.-or whatever it may be
! of children who do not long remain
in the schools. many of whom do not
even graduate from the high school
. or the academy, should be taught the
fundamental principles of democra-
! cy; that in the graded schools these
the patriotism of democracy. and that
/ interesting them in the history of the
/. highway over which they daily trav-
| el. of the pioneers of their own town,
| of the things with which they are
! familiar is a first and long step in
| its accomplishment.
If the public school is the safe
| guard of democracy, then grave
responsibility rests upon you who
are teachers and all school officers
| as we'll. for you hold the keys to
! its wise maintenance. To a great
extent the future citizenship OF the
| State of Maine is in your hands.
| Whether that citizenship and the pa
! triotism and the ideals of tomorrow
! shall be noble, strong and enduring.
whether they shall ring true through
| future years, depends in large
| measure upon your judgment, your
wisdom, firmness and discretion to-
day.
/ III my ppifllOU t"O idiSt lti-
ative to the Importance of ltnowl-
! edge OF Maine history are more or
less prevalent among Maine people:
/ "(a) That because the ancient Prov
! ince of Maine became district. that
! for time was under the political
Jurisdiction of Massachusetts. we
/ have no distinct place in early Amer
! lean history.
"(b) That even IL we have a his
tory it is not of consequence. in
tercst or value to any but lovers of
anything that is antique and venera-
BILE: its usefulness in the work of to-
day being. a most. only negligible.
a plain statement of the first
/ proposition refutcs itself From the
f! time Of Weymouth and the Pophams
! TO this day of Oakley. Curtis, Milli-
I ken, Pattangall and Baxter what is
now the State of Maine has had a
/ continuous record of potential events
/ in the history of democracy in the
world.
From the early years of the sew
colonists first began the making of
American history. people of the old
world were coming to the. New
/ World. and coming here to Maine,
preston They subducd a wilderness
and replaced it with homes, for
tresses and fertile fields. Thus they
came here to Maine, as to other
parts of the North Atlantic coast.
I with bare hands but with hearts full
of longings for freedom that was
then only a dream. and for liberty
that they knew not how to use.
/ The development of representative
/ government was a slow process. II
was. at best, only an experiment. 1t
was a political ideal that startled and
amazed the greatest craftsmanship
! and most profound philosophers of
i the entire world. Our plan was un-
1 like any other that had before been
known. II was governmental sys-
TEN outside OF all known preccdents.
/ without an example, ancient or mod
ern.'
THE question Of its success or
failure ccntered around one single
problem; whether or not man was
apable of self-Government.
In this way did the roots of de-
mocracy commence to sprout in this
strange soil: a thirst for individual
/ liberty. For many former centuries
I man had had a sovereign to direct
blood and treasure had flowed con-
tinuously to force him to pursue
what his rulers conceived TO be the
right course. This new undertaking
allowed him to choose his own re-
ligion and his own prayer book or
might dictate. and lie was to be his
own sovereign.
In 11e2 the highest and shrewdest
judgment Of the world sincerely be-
| lieved that this scheme was doomed
to collapse. Its success could only
be demonstrated by actualities; the
day of theories was done; the hour
OF facts had struck. The leaders in
| this majestic adventure in freedom
constituted the most glorious band of
patriots that humanity has ever
! known. But Washington, and Ham
ilton. and Jefferson, and Adams and
all their great compecrs We're them
selves alone poWerlcss to solve the
problem of self government. The
men no built log houses and
cleared up farms. who run stores.
tayerns, saw mills, stages and cooper
| shops. were the only ones who
could prove to the world that man
could govern himself without a king.
And 50. in all parts of the Amer
lean colonies, from the Carolinas to
the penobscot, il was in the homes
of these grim old pioneers that we
find the real roots of democracy. 1t
was these first settlers and their de-
scendants. here in Maine, whose sac
rifices and toll laid the foundations
for a great state, and for its pros
porous towns and cities, who helped
to work out this problem for all man.
kind; and the rays from its resplen-
dent light is today penetrating ev
cry corner of European darkness.
The story of their lives is a part
| of the glorious record of mans su-
preme achievment in finally making
! himself sovereign. Their history
! is part of the. history of the
and freedom; it is the tale of the
| progress of humanity. And yet
! there are many in Maine today who
! do not appear to perceive that such
a history is of worth and an inspira-
tion to the present generation. 1t is
full of fascination. but thpN
I not. 1t inspires patriotism and a love
| for their own state. but they know
! it not.
Until very recently many people
| of Maine have apparently never real
! lied that their educational system
! disrcga the teaching of town
and state history in their schools,
was doing a fragrant injustice to the
youth of our state. Their indiffer-
| ence in this respect has been discour-
aging and saddening.
| But the pcssimist concerning this
subject can now retire, his place may
| be filled by the optimist. Our able
and progressive State superintendent
| Of schools, pr. Thomas. and his effi-
Gent staff of assistants are working
! along more advanced lines in this
! respect. They are now making the
study of Maine history an important
/ feature in the regular course of
study in the schools of Maine. 1t is
fact. 1t is an encouraging and joy
Gus fact DR.. Thomas is entitled TO
the sincere thanks and most hearty
| cong Sratulations of all of us who for
years have lonGed for this epochal
| event to actually occur in the State
| OF Maine" . +"
! Il would enter no protest against
| the boy or girl aspiring to the at
| tainment OF so-called liberal or
classical education, but ] would not