Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-07-16

THE question that PLATE, the
Roman governor, asked OF
Christ has been asked again and
again through all the centuries
since his time. He got nc answer
then. The world of men have
never given any unanimous answer
TO that question. The answer
comes to US in a babel of voices,
mostly contradictory of each other.
The strongest voice reaches further
and is heard by more men, and
finally after the lapse of enough
years the strongest lunged voice is
called history. History is not truth.
In fact, a large proportion OF 1t
consists in untruth. How much
we cannot say. No man can say.
But in the absence of other testi-
mony, we call history truth. 1t is
the prevailing belief, the popular
idea of men and things in long past
ages. Very likely the popular idea
was not the truth, but born OF
propaganda, and when history treats
of by-gone centuries, where docu-
mentary evidence is slim. and all
the witnesses long silent in the
grave, history is the best evidence
of the truth that we have, albeit
very unsatisfactory evidence, and
probably false in much that it tells
US. AS we draw nearer to modern
times and better evidence of the
the truth Of history is nov avail
able, the disagreement of histori-
n grows more marked and de-
cided. The question of PLATE,
What is TRUTH" gets more oecid-
edly different W One his
torian flatly contradicts another,
both as to actual facts, and the de-
auctions to be drawn from, them.
Woodrow Wilson, himself a his
torian of fame, often told Mr..
Tumulty, his private secretary,
that he was not disturbed about
what the popular verdict Of the
present generation of citizens might
be. so far as his administration IA
concerned. What really interested
him was the verdict of history.
after he was long dead. For that
reason, he refused tt let his score
tary take notice of many ISLANDERS
about him and his administration,
Or confound his slanderers by the
publication of facts. We believe
that this was a mistake or the part
Of President Wilson, though we are
confident that the loud voice, the
general voice, the majority voice,
of the historians of the future will
vindicate President Wilson and
give him a high place in the list
of American patriots and states
men.
The subject seems timely just at
present because of the action of the
United Conferate Veterans in con-
vention at Richmond, Virginia, in
declaring that the great Civil war
was due to the personal and DELHI
crate action of Abraham Lincoln,
and that he was personally respons-
ible for forcing the war on the
south. They demanded further, that
this assertion should be inserted in
the school histories Of the south
and taught to their children. The
news dispatches that contains this
information reads as follows:
THE report, which was submit
ted by c. M. Walker, chairman,
concluded by saying that the young
children of the south will now be
taught that the south was right,
eternally and everlastingly right, in
fighting for principles upon which
our glorious country was founded.
1.-THE text of the committees re-
port referring to Lincoln reads as
follows: Your committee would
especially commend for use in the
schools of the south a pamphlet by
Colonel Huger w. Jackson of
Curryville. Ga, the Truth of the
War Conspiracy of 1861 and pub
lished by the great-hearted south
ern historian, Miss Mildred Ruth
erford. This presents the official
evidence gathered principally from
the United States government
archives, which proves the Confed-
crate war was deliberately and per-
sonally conceived and its Inaugural.
ton made by AbrahaM Lincoln. and