The Indianapolis times., 1931-09-18
Living History

One of the most cheering intellectual DEVELOPMENTS
of years is the announcement that group of lead
ing historians and publicists propose to give us some
living history to help us understand and solve the
problems of today Led by Charles A. Beard, Harold
G. Moulton David Saville Muzzey Walter E. Myer
and Edward Asyorth Ross, they will publish week
ly magazine, the American Observer.
The purpose announced is to promote an under
standing of the modern world and its problems to
the end that may live wisely and efficiently as in
dividuals and act ntellgently as members of Amer
lean society"
They hope that sort Of applied history" will
be of real service in this respect: by commingling
of history and current policy. the past may become
real and the present made vivid in the light of CEN
tury-old tendencies"
These men may be on the right track For gen.
Grafton have suffered from teachers who look upon
history as a dead and solemn subject describing
events that past and gonea series of obituaria
notices of the episodes and cultures of the past
We have suffered as much from this extreme view
of detached" history as earlier centuries did from
historians that wrote to prove thesis
Caesar conquered Gaul but ito does no one any
good to know it unless realizes that this was what
preserved western civilization and probably made pos
sible the discovery and settlement of America The
British merchants and nonconformists beheaded
Charles I, but this is of value only indicating the
growing supremacy of representative government over
royal absolutism.
Our forefatherS made Constitution, but this be-
comes significant just in proportion as we try to
estimate how it has been either preserved or man
handled by subsequent generations. Britain repealed
her laws in the middle of the last century but
this is relevant event only insofar as it throws light
present-day theories and practices in the prov
ince of tariffs and wages.
Beard and his associates can do much to help us
understand current problems in every field of life
study of the theories of economists from Malthus
to Senior will enable us to form proper opinion of
faith cures for the present depression.
The laws and the tariff of denominations"
help to put Grundy and Smoot in their proper per-
spectve Remuneration of public control over rail-
roads and public works in the "regn" of Andrew
Jackson has neceSstated the labor of Norris and
company in the effort to restore to the people some
degree of control the utilities which should serve
them
The partially successful struggles to recover or
preserve vanishing natural resources have been
rendered necessary by the foolhardy land policy Of
Thomas Hart Benton and of the railroad congress-
mem of the seventies The battle of labor within its
own fold, revealed by speeches Labor day, become
ineligible in the light of the history of labor from
Terence Powderly and his knights of Labor" to
William z. Foster and his Communists
We can not fully understand why child labor laws
declared unconstitutional unless we know that
half century ago We passed fourteenth amendment
ostensby to protect the southern Negro but actually
to safeguard the northern corporation niger in the
woodpile"
The prohibition fiasco would have been averted
if our lawmakers back in 1888 had made little
study of the past reaction of the American public
TO unpopular laws. The proposal to end crime by
harsh penalties evident in the Baumes laws and other
acts would have seemed silly to anybody who knew
about the British penal code of 1900.
Finally, we may trust of the intelligence of
Beard not to draw any foolish analogieS from the past