New Britain herald., 1927-10-24
LIBRARY IS RICH
 IN BRITISH LORE
Mayor Thompson May Find Fuel
 for His Bonfire There

Chicago, Oct. 24 R,-The mayoral
 mop swished about the public library
 and offices of the board of educa- ton today, seeking pro-British dirt, The president of the American Li-
 brary association, Carl B. Roden,
 who also is head librarian of the
 Chicago library. has offered his as-
 sistance in Mayor Thompson's effort to rid the library of books belittling
 America's past performances.
 If the mayor is interested only In
 destroying history text books he may
 regard as pro- British, the library IS
 little concerned, MT. Roden said. be-
 cause few text books are kept on
 the library shelves. If, however, the
 mayor objects to anything pro-Brit- ish or anti-American. there is much
 fuel for the big bonfire which Mayor Thompson has promised on the lake shore.
 There are thousands of volumes, it was pointed out, which were gifts of Queen Victoria and numerous British writers 10 help rebuild the library following the Chicago fire. There are the books containing Rud- yard Kipling's "peevish criticism Of the United States, Mrs. Trollope's S sneers at American men and man. uers," and Charles Dickens Ameri can Notebook which is far from flattering.
 [. J. (Sport Hermann, a library trustee and the mayors chosen agent in cleaning out the library. called a meeting of the trustees to- day to see what is to be done. Hermann has estimated that there are several thousand" volumes in the library which come under Mayor 1 definition of bonfire 1, 
 John J. German. former congress- man. who made an investigation of | school texts for the mayor was keyed to new militancy today as he prepared to resume the stand in the | school board trial of William Me Andrew, suspended school superin- tendent. Germans charges Of pro- British propaganda in public school texts have resulted In a suit against him for s100,00O damages by Prof. David s. Muzzey. Columbia univer- sity professor, whose history is used here. The praecipe of the suit was filed last Friday.
 German said his reaction to the suit was determination to go even leeper into what he believes to be a plan 10 propagandize Amer can schools in favor of Great Brit ain. History texts, German said, he would "expose" include those written ly Meilcr Schlesinger, Prof. c. H, of the university, and Or. C. II. Van Tyne of the Univer- ity of Michigan
 The date for Mir. Herrmann's promised lake shore bonfire remains undetermined, depending, he said, lpon what improper books are ound. If it is decided to burn only histories, the bonfire may pe only a smudge, for Mir. Roden eX- pressed the opinion that not more han a. dozen such books will be ound.
 The McAndrew trial, the fulcrum f which the entire pro-British sit ation was hoisted into public mo- ice being urged forward rapidly by lcAndrcw's attorneys. They have xpressed themselves as believing he trial nothing more than a for lRl excuse for relieving McAndrew , f his superintendency and they de- , ire the school board to get to its I erdict quickly so that an appeal , nay be taken to civil courts. McAn- rew's contract as superintendent ( xpires in February, 1928.