davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times., 1922-05-21

old white rabbit and settled him
self on his pillow. IT'S Just .
storyr'
There aren't really and truly
any dragons, dear. So kiss mother.
and goodnight"
And she turned off the light. and
went softly to the door. and came
blinking back to the sitting room.
He doesn't really think there
are dragons" explained little
Eight. then. with indulgent superb
ority. "but he likes to talk about
themr'
IT remember when I thought
there were fairies and dragons"
said Ten. deserting her struggles
with the greatest common denomi-
nator, and wedging her slender
little form In between mother and
brother, before the fire. "But
knew that II there were. father
and mother wouldn't even let US
go out Of the house until they were
all killed!'
DRAGON THAT WALKED.
She looked up In surprise as her
mothers arm tightened about her
about them both. Why should
mother suddenly look so strange?
But suppose told you and Tom
about real dragon. Mary" her
mother said. "a dragon that Is
walking about today. and killing
more people than any fairy-tals
dragon you ever heard about?"
The girl looked apprehensive. the
boy hopeful.
Here In America, mother7"
Mary asked. incredulously.
Here in America. dear. And in
almost every country. too, stalk
ing about and devouring men and
women, and leaving little children
in dirty rooms and dark alleys, to
starve and suffer"
Mother. but not in America!
Why. you said-you said that
America was the most generous
and the most tender-hearted coun-
try in all the worldw
The Washington times., 1922-05-21

graph entitled George III sban-
dons the struggle" The first SEN
tence OF that paragraph Is:
when the news Of Cornwallis'
surrenders at Yorktown reached
Lord North. he threw up his
hands and exclaimed. My God It
is all over"
AS TO GEORGE III.
This is almost twice as much
as Muzzey has to say about
Bunker Hill! Then note that 1t 10
George III who abandons the
struggle. not England. We quote
the entire paragraph:
George III abandons the strus-
gle. When the news of Corn
wallis surrender at Yorktown
reached Lord North. he threw up
his hands and exclaimed. My God!
1t is all over The stubborn king
was not so ready to read In York
town the doom Of his tenacious
policy Of coercion. Always mis-
taking the satisfaction of his royal
will for the salvation Of the Brit
ish Empire, he stormed against
the rising sentiment for peace with
America and wrote letters Of petu-
The Washington times., 1922-05-21

"D ask why many women are
inefficient begs a question
u Are they7
Yes. With the exception Of the
bright and modern girl, who is
really sound and not merely
frothy, most women nowadays
show in varying degrees inef-
ficiency in all the things which
really matter.
In the past women used to be
much more efficient than they are
today.
True, woman's sphere in the
past was a very restricted one.
But in that sphere she was
trained to be, and was, efficient.
In the future. am convinced,
woman will be splendidly and alb
solutely efficient in complete CO.
equality with man, politically.
legally, socially and morally.
So much for the future and the
past. But what about the present?
In the present-a time of transi-
tion-woman in her day and gen.
GRAFTON as we know her is lament
ably inefficient.
Some little time ago Lady Astor,
voicing a very superficial observa-
tion Of present social conditions.
said that there was a reaction
against women.
So there is. It follows from the
enthusiasm with which the advent
Of political freedom for women was
greeted. 1t is partly a reaction of
jealousy, but II. Is partly we'll
founded on observation of femi-
mime inefficiency in the light Of
modern thinking.
In domestic life as wives, thou
sands of women today are terribly
inefficient. This Ia particularly
true OF the middle classes. Girls
who have been trained in the in
essential things Of life are no good
In the essential things So-called
The Washington times., 1922-05-21
Bv KATHLEEN NORRIS

''Dr. Adams!' shouted Tom. who
had recently had q broken arm.
and had faith in his surgeon
well. and others Like him.
lear"
But. Mother, that's not true!"
mo, but that's not all. People
are laughing at the law. Tom. ana
they are thinking 1t is great fun
o break 1t. Good men and women
OR. at least. they think they are
good. and the world admires and
respects them-are hiding bottles.
and telling untruths. and Snug
Cling. and cheating. and think it's
= great joke.
tits just as II you had betrayed
Washington in 1778, Tom. because
there never had been. and you
didn't think there ever could be.
a democracy, or it's Just as II
Grandfather Cutler had secretly
kept on selling and owning his
slaves, In 1855, because men had
always been slaves and he didn't
think the Government had any
right to confiscate his private
property
But. Mother. are they crazy7"
Mary asked. anxiously. Don't they
Sc all the harm they are doing2"
"They don't seem to. Mary. And
yet this matter is much more
serious than the one assassination
that caused the big war, and cost
all those hundreds of thousands
Of lives a few years ago. That
was a little thing-the right and
wrong of that could have been
settled by a few sane statesmen in
a day. But Drink was biting and
gnawing into our national life. de-
moralizing millions of men and
women, counting its victims in
criminals and insane and paupers
in every crowded street OF every
city.
But. Mother, the little girl
asked, fearfully, what will kill
your dragon?"
Her mother smiled, and a quiet.
The Washington times., 1922-05-21

guess he isn't as hard TO fight az
Gettysburg, IL her"
Hes Drink. Tommy. That's
what Mother means"
Dad had put down his book and
was listening. Now he came over
to the davenport, with a serious
face. and sat down close to Mother,
with Mary in his lap.
Tell US more about this dragon"
he said.
We'll, he is just like the dragon
in Baby's fairy story tonight" re-
sumed Mother. THAT dragon was
bad enough when they let him
alone. but. oh, Tom. wasn't he
awful when the mothers and
fathers tried to kill him! Tell Dad.
Mary"
'"He writhed and roared and
beloved out flames,'" Mary re-
counted with relish, land he
lashed out with his seven tails,
and tore round in circles biting
and swapping. and he poisoned the
air for two leagues about""
"And is this dragon doing that.
Mother7" Tommy asked. with
relish.
Yes, that's just what he is
doing. He's making some people
drink moro than they ever did
before, just because they are an
cry; he is making them talk cross
ly; he Is making them find all
sorts of silly excuses for what they
do-making them say that their
own government has no right TO
make laws any more, and that
our representatives are all
bribed, every one. in Washington
and In the firty-siv States that
want to kill the dragon! And some of
them are saying that liquor Is food.
Tom, as IL big men need a food
women don't need. And the drag
on is making them write books
saying that all our good, kind
family doctors are trying to kill
the dragon so that only the doc
tors will have the right to sell
liquor
The Washington times., 1922-05-21

because they are women. Tho
usual excuse is to say that a
man has a family to support
and that a woman hasn't, or
some such argument as that.
But the low rate OF pay for
women is really a survival Of
the unfair and unequal past.
In the bad old pre-war days a
woman's work. however good It
might be, was bought cheaply
simply because It was a woman's
work. Women were considered
to be lucky to be employed at
all. and employers Of their labor,
making advantage Of their posi-
ton in the social scheme, paid
them as little as possible. Even
today many women in the ranks
OF unskilled labor are over
worked and underpaid.
But II must be remembered.
and remembered quite clearly
and definitely, that II women
are to have equal pay they must
give equal value.
II we contemplate the women
OF the working classes, we are
face to face with a truly pitiable
picture. A married woman
becomes almost Immediately after
her marriage a domestic drudge.
Her days work is never done.
GIVE WOMEN A CHANCE.
You cannot but help observing
in studying the domestic lives OF
women today how much unneces-
ary work they have to do owing
TO the bad conditions Of the houses
in which they live. Our houses.
especially amongst the poor, are
hopelessly old-fsshioned.
O. I venture to think that II women
were given a better prospect in
life than they have been given in
the past. they would become not
only much moro efficient, but also
much more delightful wives and
comrades for men
The Washington times., 1922-05-21
COmrade Woman.

well educated girls know nothing
at all about cooking. buying food
or housekeeping. They make un-
satisfactory wives
Men with limited incomes can.
not really afford to have ineffi-
Client wives.
But the inefficiency Of the
modern wife in fairly well-to-do
circumstances is not only her
ignorance of housekeeping and do
mestic management.
Shc Is very frequently an inef-
ficient wife as a wife. She fails to
be a mate and comrade for her
husband. Muddled by her inef.
ficiency in the practical details Of
house management, for which she
is rigidly to be held responsible,
she becomes a nervous wreck or a
silly, dressed-up doll. and use
less woman to a man.
INEFFICIENT IN OTHER WAYS
Frequently enough, she insists
on childless marriage, or at any
rate the miserable one-child stand
ard Of the suburbs, simply because
she is too incompetent to fulfill
the greatest Of all the obligations
Of married life.
Turning aside from the domestic
picture to the world OF business
and industry. we find that though
girls and women have been given
ample opportunities to enter pro-
fessions and to do clerical and Of.
flee work. they have not proved
themselves really reliable and ca
pabie. in isolated instances they
have been extremely successful.
The Washington times., 1922-05-21

but as a whole there has been a
poor standard Of efficiency.
To what is 1t all really due,
and how can we best cure it7
It is fundamentally due to the
very unfair treatment which
women have had in the past.
Even today women are far from
being in the position they Ahould
occupy.
PLEA MADE FOR EQUALITY.
According to the law they are
really chattels. In marriage the
woman is looked upon as inferior
to the man. In grounds for d.
vorce her statue Is an inferior
one. In the guardianship OF her
children she has no legal say.
In fact, she is looked upon as an
altogether inferior person to a
man.
How can anyone expect women
to be efficient II they are not
given equality Of privilege and
equality Of responsibility with
men7
There ought to be complete
equality between the sexes, an
equal sharing of the responsible
ties of life. Az yet, though
women havo won the vote, they
have not won their freedom.
am one Of those who urge
that women should be given
equal work with men. There Ia
q sad tendency to pay women
less than men are paid simply
The Washington times., 1922-05-21

majority passes the bill over the
Presidents veto. This is mac
curate. since II the President fails
to sign a bill for ten days while
Congress is in session. it becomes
a law without his signature.
WAR OF 1872.
Consider Muzzey's account Of
British impressment Of American
seamen Up. 1SD:
British frigates cruised along
our shores from New England to
Georgia, stopping our ships at
will, boarding them, and taking off
scores Of sailors on the ground
that they were British deserters.
In her desperate struggle with
Napoleon, Great Britain could not
afford to have her seamen leave
her ships by hundreds to take sd-
vantage Of the high wages, good
food. and humane treatment which
they found aboard the American
vessels. IL the British Lieutenant
conducted his examination Of an
American crew In q summary fash
ion, and impressed q good many
real Americans among the sus-
pected deserters to serve the guns
Of the British frigstes. he thought
he WAS only erring on the right
side. After all, Englishmen and
Americans were not so easy to tell
apart"
Not a single statement in con-
demnation OF England's high
handed course in boarding our
vessels and impressing our seamen
not even an admission that she
did this. But-''if'' she did. Muz-
zey excuses her on the ground that
after all Englishmen and Amsri-
cans were not easy to tell apart"
PATRIOTS NAMES LEFT OUT.
Hull and Porter, Decatur and
Bainbridge wrote their names
high on the pages Of real American
history by their exploits on the
sea during the war Of 1912, but in
Muzzey's History their names sro
not mentioned. He contents him
self with two lines referring to
"the exploits OF our frigates Presi.
dent, United States and Constitu-
ton" Up. 1870.
Muzzey entirely omfts any men
ton Of the fight between the Ches-
apeake and the Shannon and
Lawrence's immortal Don't give
up the ship"-as also the American
General Dearborn's capture Of
Toronto, and the British General
Proctor's inhuman abandonment
Of the American wounded to be
massacred by his savage allies
after the battle Of River Raisin.
With a peculiar impartiality he
ignores British wrongs and Ameri-
can successes.
This distortion Of England's at
titude In connection with the wars
OF the Revolution and Of 1912. with
It's notifications and suppressions
designed to falsely place England
in a favorable light; the omissions
Of inspiring historical Incidents;
and the direct and false charge that
America broke faith with France
and made a separate peace with
England-all this false. mislead-
ing denatured stuff is placed be.
fore our children as American
History"
In the opinion Of the Piney
Branch Citizens Committee. II
were better, far better to treat
every volume OF Muzzey's History
as the patriotic colonists Of 1875
treated the hateful stamp-act
paper-plle them in the street and
burn them. rather than permit
them to be used as propaganda 10
poison the minds Of opr children.
The Washington times., 1922-05-21
BY 8. T. CAMERON.

NN February 13, last, the
Piney Branch Citizens As
~ sociation adopted the follow
ing resolution:
"RESOLVED: That In the opin-
ion of the Piney Branch Citizens
Association, MuzZey's School His
tory, now used as q textbook in
the Washington Public Schools, Is:
Inaccurate to a degree not to be
tolerated in a school history.
Almost wholly lacking in Incl
dents calculated to inspire patriot
Ism In students.
An attempt to spread class ha-
tired by arraying the poor against
the rich,
A vehicle for making partisan
arguments ON political topics that
are unsound, unpatriotic, and Who'll
ly unfit for school children to
learn"
On February 25, Superintendent
Ballou whote c. R Thompson.
chairman Of our Committee on Pub
lie Schools. saying:
II call you attention to the fact
that Muzzey's American History
now In use IN tho public schools OF
Washington Is the revised edition.
The quotations in the statement,
which I understand you arc the
author Of, are from the original
edition which Is not now In use in
tho schools Of Washington"
March 80, Mrs. Hodgkina. vice
president of the Board Of Educa-
ton. wrote Mr.. Thompson, saying:
"You arc doubtless aware of tho
correctness Of the statement that
the criticisms Of Muzzey's Amert-
can History were based on the
1s11 edition, which has been suc-
ceoded by tho 1920 edition"
And George J. Jones. head Of tho
history department Of our high
schools. is quoted In the daily press
a. saying:
Quotations read before the
.Ptney Branch Association wero
taken from . discarded edition Of
the text. The edition now In use,
he said, differs materially from the
old one because Of the difference
In Viewpoint brought about by the
war"
Tho plain import Of these
statements Is that the 1920 edi-
ton OF Muzzeys American His
tory, now used In our public
schools, is not open to the criti-
csNns contained in tho resolution
Of the Piney Branch Citizens
Association. We trust and be-
lieve that Superintendent Ballou
and Mrs. HodglSins were not per-
sonally familiar with the 1920
edition of Muzzey's History, for
while there are some changes
and deletions from the 1911 edi-
ton, the charges contained in
our resolution of February 10,
are as fully and completely sus-
tained by the 1920 edition rs by
that OF 1911.
FACTS ARE SUPPRESSED.
We find that the fundamental
criticism that can be Justly
leveled against Muzzey's History
is that. by direct misstatement
as well as by distortion, modifi.
cation and suppression Of un-
doubted historical facts. It falsi-
flies American history. robs It OF
patriotic inspiration and obscures
the great principles upon which
the Republic is founded.
This Is particularly true In all
those parts where It purports to
narrate our relations with the
British as In the Wars of the
The Washington times., 1922-05-21

kill him without everybody's con-
sent. There are always some peo-
pie like that, Mary. There were
people who thought 1t was right
TO sell and buy slaves, you know,
and to fight duels, and to honor
bad kings. and to keep women
from learning to read and write.
The Washington times., 1922-05-21
KATHLEEN NORRIS
SAYS n@@117@51 SS7156V15

People are laugh
ing at the LaIU, and
they are thinking it
is great fun to break
it. Good men and
IDOmen-Or at least
they think they are
good, and the Dorld
adnires and respects
t h e mare hiding
bottles, and telling
untruths, and smug-
CLING, and cheating,
and think it's a great
joke. It's just as if
you had betrayed
Washington in I776,
because there neDer
The Washington times., 1922-05-21

just because they were women
there are always people who hate
changes. They are afraid Of
change"
Mother" Tom said. bravely,
Americans aren't afraid. This
dragon, whatever he is. isn't as
bad as Valley Forge. 1 guess.
The Washington times., 1922-05-21
ney Branch Want Muzze History Barred From Public School

liant bombast to his prime min
lister, threatening to resign the
British crown and retire to his
ancestral domains in Germany.
But threats and entreaties were Of
no avail. The nation was sick Of
the rule OF the Kings Friends,
and the early months Of 1882 saw
George III compelled to part with
Lord North and receive into his
service. II not into his confidence,
the Whig statesmen. Lord Shell
burne. the new prime minister,
sent diplomatic agent TO Paris
TO discuss terms OF peace with
the American commissioners, Jay.
Franklin and John Adams"
Was II the Kings Friends" or
was 1t the defeats administered by
Americans to the British troops
that made the nation "sick7''
We are told that 1t was ths cor
rupt control of Parliament by the
King that was responsible for the
Stamp Act. the Sugar Act and the
Non.importation Act. and others
restrictive Of American liberties,
and that the nation did not ap-
prove these things. But strange
to say. the nation did not rise and
assert itself until defeated, and
then It became sick" When tho
devil was sick, the devil a saint
would be. but when the devil was
we'll, the devil a saint was he.
Muzzey is not content with falsi-
flying history by commissions and
half truths. but deliberately makes
false statements. Thus, on page
1913 edition OF 1920. paragraph
1853, he entities the page with a
falsehood, referring to the peace
negotiations between the United
States and England. That title is
The United States Makes a Sepa-
rate Peace With England" The
statement is false. The, United
States did not make a separate
peace with England. Muzzey says
the U. 8. commissioners violated
the treaty Of alliance with France,
and concluded the peace with Eng
land alone, thereby securing the
whole territory from the Atlantic
to the Mississippi" This single
sentence contains three false state
ments. The United States did not
violate the treaty Of alliance with
France. They did not conclude the
peace with England alone. They
did not thereby secure the terri
tory from the Atlantic to the Mis-
sissippi."
VIOLATED THE FACTS.
And yet, In the face Of these
clear and undisputed facts, Muz-
zey tells our children that the
United States regarded her treaty
Of alliance with France as a scrap
OF paper and violated her sacred
word pledged to her ally. More
over, the treaty of alliance with
France expressly provided that the
territory to the west. II conquered
by the United States should be
held by her at the close Of the war,
and she had conquered II tp. 125).
Muzzey p. 1907 speaks Of what
he calls The Iiberality Of Eng
lands Terms" Of peace-and says
that Europe was amazed at Eng
lands generosity" when as a mat
ter OF fact England. as the de-
feated party, yielded only what
she had to yield. She was sick"
Of the war and made the best
terms she could.
Muzzey states p. 14S that 'in
order to become laws OF the United
States all bills introduced into Con.
gress have to pass both houses.
and receive the Presidents sigma
ture." sxcept whom . two-thirds
The Washington times., 1922-05-21

$50 that was the end Of the
old dragon for ever and ever! And
now it's your bedtime"
The four-year-old delayed her
beside his safe little crib only for
o reassuring word.
But there aren't really and
truly any dragons. mother?" he
asked, when he had found his dingy
The Washington times., 1922-05-21
PEOPLE
LAUGHING
AIT LAWS
Matter is Much More
Serious Than the
Assassination That
Caused the Great
War, Says Writer.
" DITOR'S Note-We asked
~, Kathleen Norris, Amer
- icd's best loved Womdn

DI1OhS Note-We dSked
H. Kathleen Norris, Amer
- ica's best loved Doman
Writer, to give us her Vie,os on
the much debated prohibition
situation that the country faces
today, and zoe suggested that she
do this not acadentically, but
from tho standpoint Of repre-
sentative American mother -,
Uhich she Is. She cast her ar
ticle, here published, in the form
Of a conversation bettoeen a moth
Or and tt0o Of her children, seated
around tho family hearthstons
at nightfall. Whether or not tOe
agree s0ith her Vietos, it must be
admitted that In this article,
Uhich she has called I'VE WOM-
EN- AND PROHIBITION" Mrs.
Norris makes a potoerfui and
unique plea to Americas women
to uphold prohibition and guard
It from those t0ho toould destroy
Il.
The Washington times., 1922-05-21

Mem With Limited Incomes Cannot Afford
Inefficient Wives, Says British Writer.
Unfair Treatment Accorded I'm the Past is
Blamed for State of Affairs-Edward Cecil
Predicts Husbands Partner Will BE the
COmrade Woman.
The Washington times., 1922-05-21

had been, and you didn't think there eUer could
be, a democracy.
But American women wiH kill the dragon,
God willing. A greater force than any army
euer Uas, anylDhere. The lDOn,en Uho hare
suffered shame and hurt and loant and lDrOng
for so many years. The loOn,en lOho hare
Ioued some poor Uictiu of the dragon. And
the Uonien lOho haze Marys and TOnlniies to
guard from danger.