Evening star., 1935-12-04
TEXTBOOK'SALL|ES
DEFEND|NGAUTHOR
HIT BY COMMITTEE
Citizens Spokesman Rebuke
Educators Who "Scoft"
at Communism Fight.
"M0DERN HISTORY HELD
ADVOCATING" IN TENOR
Sullivan Charges Becker Plainly
Lauds Marx and Lenin and
Their Theories.

Aroused by series of kilograms to
the Board of Education in defense OF
Prof. Carl A. Becker of Cornell ana
his text book, Modern History the
Executive Committee of the Fedora
tion of Citizens Associations today re-
buked the educators who "scoffed" at
the fight being made against the use
of the book in the high schools OF the
city.
Through George E. Sullivan, spokes-
man for the committee, the group
reiterated its charge that Becker's
text is plainly laudatory of Marx and
Lenin and of the plan or scheme ad-
vocated by them"
Citations from other works OF the
historian were made by Sullivan IN
his argument to prove Becker not only
"teaches" communism, but actually
advocates" it.
Meanwhile two more messages In
defense of Prof Becker were received
TODAY by the Board of Education. one
of them came from DR.. Ray Lyman
Wilbur, Secretary of the Interior IN
the Hoover administration and now
president of Leland Stanford Univer-
sity The other was from Herbert T.
Bolton, head of the department OF
history at the University of California
Both messages defended Becker as an
American and as historian.
% Received Yesterday.
Yesterday % telegraphic messages
were received from well-known his
torians and educators from number
of leading educational institutions, in
cluding DR.. Charles A. Beard, Sidney
B. Fay, DR.. Walton H. Hamilton,
Dixon Ryan Fox, Edward P. Chey-
ney and others. Less than a hai1
dozen letters also were received.
The tone of most Of the messages,
all unexpected by the board, was that
the fight on Becker's work Is unwar-
ranted.
Becker was expected to arrive IN
Washington today, apparently under
the impression that a report was to
be made to the board this afternoon,
but he had not arrived at his hotel
before noon.
Robert A. Maurer, chairman Of the
special committee studying the text
books to which objection has been
made, indicated a good deal more
time will be necessary before a report
can be made. Associated with him
are Mrs. Philip Sidney Smith and
DR.. j. Hayden johnson. At present
they are making separate studies of
ali questioned texts and later plan to
meet jointly to draft their report to
the board.
Scope of Work Broadened.
The federation's Executive Commit
tee adopted new resolution, in view
of the defense of Becker, authorizing
its committee to broaden the scope of
the work it has undertaken to include
not only text books but all periodicals
approved for use in the schools.
Sullivan quoted passages from t'The
United States, an Experiment in
Democracy" 1.-The Heavenly City of
the Eighteenth Century Philosophers"
and THE Declaration Of independence,
a Study in the History of Political
Ideas"
All of these, he asserted, praise COM
munism to the extent that its tenets
are advocated.
"Dr. Becker describes Russian COM
munism as having made good the
prophecies of Marx" Sullivan said,
"and further that it is becoming every
year more popular and that it is of
all the events of our time the most in
teresting and perhaps the most i'm
portant.'
"These texts are further note
worthy for their strange omission Of
any clear and informative disclosure
of the evil and atrocious aims, pur-
poses and effects of communism
Moreover, the supplemental reading
as to Russia recommended is made
up entirely of further communiStic
propaganda, none of the many pub
lished books which give clear and in
formative data concerning the evil
and atrocious aims, purposes and
effects of communism being mentioned
by DR.. Becker.
Condition Held IrreIutaDle.
"This amazing condition" Sullivan
continued, may be evaded and scott
ed at by those who are so disposed,
but it can no more be refuted than
can the existence of a mountain be
refuted by those sitting at its base,
much as they may wish to refute it.
Consequently, the concerted effort
by group Of educators to evade and
scof at the concrete and unanswera-
bic showing made by the Executive
Committee of the Federation is i'm
portant only as showing that the
parents of those attending educational
institutions, to which such educators
are attached, owe it to their children
and to this Nation as well to scruti-
nize carefully what is being taught to
their children in such institutions re-
garding communism"
Although no special hearing on the
subject was planned by the Board of
Education today, it was expected that
the question of ''red" teaching would
be raised at its regular meeting at
the Franklin Administration Building.