Bulletin BULLETIN NO. 1 Knights of Columbus Historical Commission SUPREME ASSEMBLY FOURTH DEGREE KNIGHTS of COLUMBUS NEW HAVEN, CONN. AUGUST 1921 lhanty$bU,UUU; Asks Only Word ‘Maggie’on Tomb oman f Dead at 88, Amassed Wealth by Saving Wages; 40 Years With One Family REDWOOD CITY, July 12.— A true lesson in thrift and humility was written for all the world to see when the will of "Maggie Green,” of this city, was filed today. "Maggie,” who has toiled as a domestic all her life, left her entire savings of $50,000 to charity, mak ing no other request for herself than a marble slab with the lone word "Maggie” to mark her resting place in Holy Cross Cemetery. Born Miss Mary Colgan, "Maggie took the name of Green, the Mill- brae family that had employed her for the last forty years. A fru- gal woman, she was known from one end of the county-side to the other. When she died two weeks ago at the age of 88, her funeral was a far different thing from that usually accorded a domestic. The fortune, which she had amassed from a long life of work for nominal wages, was divided as follows: St. Anthony’s Guild, Millbrae $2,500; Millbrae Catholic Church, $3,000; Fathers Callahan and O’- Neil, of the San Mateo Catholic Church, $3,000 each; the remainder of the fortune to the Little Sisters of the Poor, St. Joseph’s Home for Deaf Mutes in Oakland and St. Joseph’s Orphan Asylum in „ San Francisco. Mary Colgan asks no memorial or scholarship in her name, wants no credit for the bestowal of her gift — merely the little slab with the word "Maggie” to mark her last ing place. La Follette denies himself to I but intimate friends. He usually 1 remains in the quiet seclusion of his home, only infrequently does he go I to his office in the capitol, where his ’son, Robert Jr., receives all callers and handles a great share of his father’s work. Representatives of the fifteen standard railroad unions, here os- tensibly on union business, have been occupied in conference with La Follefte and his son, going over campaign plans, culling down the lists of vice presidential candidates, making arrangements for appealing to the people for voluntary financial subscriptions. Every one of the railchiefs predicted a victory for La Follette. Any idea that La Follette’s cam- paign w'ould be waged only in the Middle West, admitted to be most favorable to him, was dispelled to- day by William H. Johnston, chair- man of the progressive conference and one of La Follette’s most trusted advisers. “We are going into every State in the Union,” he said. “La Fol- lette’s strength in the East, es- pecially New York and Pennsylva- nia, will open up the eyes of these (reactionary politicians.” Timber Operations Great. FORT WILLIAM (Ontario), July 12.—Timber operations in the I Thunder Bay district during the past season were the greatest ever recorded. Contracting corporations and individual parties operating in I the district cut 334,613 cords of pulpwood; ' <%'ri f r •’ 5r : - =0 San Francisco 788 Market Street opposite Fourth Street Startinl Goll BULLETIN NO. 1 Knights of Columbus Historical Commission Announcement to tlie Supreme Council of the Knights of Columhus in 39th Annual Convention Assembled at San Francisco, California, August 3, 1921 By JOHN H. REDDIN Supreme blaster, FourtL Degree, Knights of Columhus Address to the Supreme Council, Knights of Colum- bus, St. Francis Hotel, San Francisco, California, August 3, 1921 By EDWARD F. McSWEENEY Chairman, Knights of Columhus Historical Commiission Its THIRTY-NINTH ANNUAL SUPREME CONVENTION SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, U. S. A. AUGUST 2, 3, 4 1921 At the Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus held at St. Francis Hotel, San Francisco, August 2, 3, and 4, 1921, the Most Reverend Edward J. Hanna, D. D. Archbishop of San Francisco, was the guest of honor at the Wednesday session, and was cordially greeted by the officers and delegates. The Archbishop expressed a desire to listen to the discus- sion of the history programme, and Supreme Knight Flaherty immediately introduced the Supreme Master of the Fourth Degree, Knights of Columbus, John H. Reddin, who made the following announcement: ANNOUNCEMENT OF JOHN H. REDDIN, SUPREME MASTER OF THE FOURTH DEGREE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS The Supreme Assembly of the Fourth Degree at a meeting held in Chicago on May 28th, 1921, unanimously adopted the following resolution : — WHEREAS, a type of propaganda seems to be inundat- ing our country, the apparent object of which is to under- mine the spirit of American nationhood and solidarity; and while this campaign has many phases, the principal at- tack appears to be on the American schools to obscure or falsify the story of events in our early national history, to erase from the minds of pupils the significance of the Dec- laration of Independence and the struggle of 1776 and many subsequent historical events ; RESOLVED, by the Supreme Assembly of the Fourth Degree, Knights of Columbus, that the Supreme Master of the Fourth Degree appoint a board or body of learned and loyal American citizens to be known as the “Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus Historical Commission”, whose duty shall be to investigate the facts of history as applicable to our country, to correct historical errors and omissions, to amplify and preserve our national history, to exalt and perpetuate American ideals and to combat 3 and counteract anti-American propaganda by means of pamphlets, each to be complete and authoritative in itself, to be issued from time to time for free distribution to the schools, colleges, universities, libraries and other institu- tions, organizations and persons, and by such other proper means and methods as shall be approved by the Supreme Assembly. The Fourth Degree believes that in no worthier way can it fully carry out the patriotic impulse which animates this in- stitution of our Order than by the creation of a commission to stimulate research into, and present accurate history on, the neglected, forgotten, or for whatever reason obscured, story of the ideals, sacrifices and achievements of the personalities of the founders of the Republic ; the origins of the nation and the influence of free America on the subsequent history of the world. The general purpose of the Historical Commission is to pro- mote an American patriotism devoid of race bias or sectional prejudice; to overcome false impressions which have been cre- ated in the public mind by one-sided and discriminative presen- tation of the great events of American history. This is to be an American movement solely, and in the interest of no racial, religious, sectional, political or other group within or without our borders. We want the indisputable facts of history as applicable to our country without bias and without prejudice. A series of verified pamphlets will be prepared and prizes offered to students and teachers of American history for arti- cles and research work in accordance with the program ap- proved by the Supreme Assembly of the Fourth Degree (printed copies of the tentative plan being herewith presented to the Convention) ; because it is evident that the streams of historic truth are being poisoned at their source, and the evil consequences thereof are already becoming manifest. It is obvious that a great public service can be performed by such a Historical Commission, and our purpose and hope in thus acting is that the Knights of Columbus through its Fourth Degree, may contribute to the promotion of social solidarity and make the problems of reconstruction easier by awakening in our people a proper realization of the value of their precious heritage. 4 Many of the social ills today threatening the security of the nation, are not newly risen on our national horizon. In one form or another they have always been with us, and the answer to any or all of them may be found in the impartial study and unbiased presentation of our country’s story and the application of former successful solutions to present-day needs. To nations, as to individuals and organizations, certain talents are given, and in accordance with this endowment, direct responsibility rests. The United States is today the balance-wheel of the world, and all nations, whether seeking material or moral support, are looking to it for help. The historical approach will enable the country to find the compass that shall orient it and guide its decisions. To make all our people develop a complete sense of national consciousness, this effort is consecrated. As we review the history of the past fifteen decades, faith must be lamentably lacking if we do not realize that God in His infinite wisdom has had this country under His special guidance; otherwise more than once it must have failed at the critical moment. In the times of our greatest danger and need, personalities have been raised up, who, viewed through the vista of the years, must have received supernatural assist- ance to have met successfully the obligations imposed on them, and to have overcome the adversaries and forces arrayed against them, with a maturity of practical political judgment and far-seeing statesmanship that was as triumphant as it was unsuspected. Each of these figures in our pantheon of heroes worked not alone for his own day and need, but for the en- during benefit of civilization. What they did and said are therefore the fortresses of our national security. In times of national crisis there has always been a popular responsiveness, in which the real soul of the nation has thun- dered forth its unbreakable will, disclosing the passion for justice and love of liberty which found its expression in Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address : “Let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan—to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves, and with all nations.” 5 The moral is, that when the people knew the facts they have always been right. What we are trying to do is to insure that they shall have all the facts. The day must pass when distortion of the facts of American history is permitted to go unrebuked and uncorrected, and our sources of truth monopolized in preparation or in presentation by an enemy of the nation, or by any favored section or racial or political group. There must be no discrimination for or against any contribution to national progress. Standing on the edge of a new epoch, we are seeking the help of the luminous minds of our most earnest men for the solution of the problems we are meeting. To the end that this work shall be well and nobly done, I have the great honor and privilege of announcing the names of the following gen- tlemen who have consented to serve on # the Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus Historical Commission. Each member of this Commission has made some notable contribution to the progress of our age, and I am convinced that the names of these gentlemen are the best guarantee our organization can make of the sincerity and high purpose that will animate and carry on this work. KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS HISTORICAL COMMISSION. Hon. Edward F. McSweeney, Boston, Mass., Chairman. Rear Admiral W. S. Benson, U. S. N., Washington, D. C. Professor Henry Jones Ford, Princeton University, Princeton, N. J. Maurice Francis Egan, formerly U. S. Minister to Denmark, Washington, D. C. Hannis Taylor, formerly U. S. Minister to Spain, Washington, D. C. Professor Charles H. McCarthy, Catholic University of America, Washington, D. C. Professor George Hermann Derry, Union University, Schenectady, N. Y. 6 ADDRESS BY EDWARD F. McSWEENEY, CHAIRMAN KNIGHTS of COLUMBUS HISTORICAL COMMISSION To the court of public opinion, as to the court of law, the petitioner must come with clean hands. The Knights of Co- lumbus, with 750,000 members, one for every thirty males over eighteen years in the United States, is the largest organ- ization of its kind in this country whose membership, objects and achievements are open to public scrutiny. For more than a quarter of a century it has quietly and effectively con- tributed to the morale and the welfare of the nation. The story of the war work accomplished by the Knights of Columbus is familiar as an important part of the enduring history of the period. Its employment service for returned soldiers and sailors was a marvel of efficiency and zeal, and when the Government failed to make an adequate appropria- tion for this very essential work, the Knights continued it while the need lasted. For two years a free, non-partisan educational program, whereby thousands of deserving young men have been fitted for leadership and responsibility, has been carried on. In all these fields of useful activity, the organization stands forth as an example of the power of organized social conscience. The progress of civilization has been an unending struggle for liberty. The ancient world justified slavery and built its institutions upon it. Plato and Aristotle believed human slavery was an essential element in the social organization. Because the civilization of their time was not founded on brotherhood and the equality of man, but on caste dominance, accompanied by the harshness of selfish materialism, neither the culture of Athens nor the military glory of Rome endured. The vast, powerful, seemingly invincible Roman Empire, based on force, became a tradition, with here and there a crumbling monument to mark its former grandeur. Christianity introduced a new ideal—the sacredness of human brotherhood—which, superimposed on the Hebraic ideal of democracy, has been the inspiration of the modem 7 world. There has never been a moment in the Christian era when it has not been necessary constantly to make the su- preme sacrifice for liberty, as men conceived it. Every race has had its “heroes of defeat,” men and women whose memo- ries are glowing and indisputable testimony to the vitality of this instinct in the human heart. Christianity, judged by material results alone, a thousand years after Constantine, showed a marked advance, not only in art, science and cul- ture, but in the social status of the individual. The modern era, beginning about the sixteenth century, brought into prac- tice a new theory— the economic justification for caste dis- tinctions, and by the end of the eighteenth century essential slavery of body, mind and soul was the condition of a large part of humanity. Under God’s Providence, the instruments working to bring once more the light of freedom into the world, were the Dec- laration of Independence of the American colonies, and the success of the American Revolution. These two great events shook the existing political systems of Europe, and since that time their reverberations have been felt in every country in the world. They are, to lovers of liberty throughout the world, “the pillar of the cloud by day, the pillar of fire by night.” They are continuing evidences of the rights of men. They speak of the justice of government only when it is founded on the con- sent of the governed. They stand for the negation of tyranny and the denial of special privilege to the few at the expense of the many. They are a charter of liberty to the free and an invitation and incitement to liberty for the oppressed. Those who love liberty revere them ; those who love tyranny fear and dislike them. The world is now going through its most critical stage in modern times in the era of reconstruction after the great World War. The masses of the people believe that democracy has triumphed and that all will be well, and while they rest under that illusion, the enemies of freedom all over the world are working overtime in order to seize power for themselves and to establish again the reign of privilege and special rights. The forces of imperialism are lining up for the last great fight against democracy and their eyes are turned towards our land, as the one which must first be conquered if democracy is to be 8 overthrown and imperialism made triumphant. Already the fight is on, and many of our outer fortifications have been seized by the enemy—not by force, but by intrigue and chi- canery—for those who seek our defeat work by the subtle methods of induction at this stage of their campaign. If we were to agree on the three outstanding factors which create nationality, we should say population, territory, his- tory, and if any one of these be greater than the others it is history, which is permanent and enduring. It may not be changed without changing the nature and being of the nation. Therefore, the attempt of an organized movement to change the history of the nation by agreement, is a direct thrust at one of the bases of American nationality. If there were any doubt on this matter, the undisputed details of this historical perversion make it increasingly evident that its purpose is, either by the presentation of history based on false premises or by a conspiracy of silence, to blot out the American im- pulse, the American ideal, and American solidarity. When it became evident that powerful forces from within and without were seeking to undermine and weaken the nation, the Order found its call to arms, and its program of purpose. The Knights of Columbus stand for a new spirit of historical inquiry, based on scrupulous accuracy, impartial in- vestigation, and a logical and convincing presentation of the facts and personalities of our national existence, to the end that history may ser^e its true purpose, and become the beacon which shall guide us to the paths of Justice and Equity. This movement is not in any way a counter-propaganda. It will oppose chauvinism equally with the tendency to na- tionalistic indifference. It regards racial bigotry and religious hatred within, and the wiles of diplomatic intrigue and selfish design without, as common enemies of American liberty and national brotherliness. It aims to bring light into dark places, and the American people may be trusted to do the rest. As Senator Hoar once said in a similar crisis —“The emblem of America is the eagle and not the bat.” But in addition, there is a very practical and specific reason for an historical movement which shall serve as the school of politics for every citizen. The power reserved to the people by our Constitution is one of the peculiarities of our democ- racy. The first article of the Constitution begins : “Alllegis- 9 lative powers herein granted And the Tenth Amendment in our political Bill of Rights, says: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” To the people!!! This is our sovereign right, exercised by the force of public opinion, and extending to the participation of the representatives of the people in the treaty-making power. This is one of the distinctive differences between our government and the system of cabinet government and Parli- amentary responsibility. The United States Senate may re- ject a treaty before it becomes the law of the land, but in Par- liamentary action, the treaty may become law and the Parlia- ment can only express its disapproval, which is powerless to affect the validity of the treaty signed by its ministers. It is this peculiarity of our government, the participation of the people in foreign affairs through our representative system, that has made this country the happy hunting ground of international propaganda. From the very beginnings of our national life, the United States has been rent and torn with the antagonisms resulting from foreign propaganda. What is propaganda? We may define it as the organized effort by a foreign government to direct the actions of public officials of another country, by so filling the people’s minds with carefully prepared information favbring a given course of action, that the officials in charge will be afraid to act con- trary to the sentiment of the people, thus artificially created. Why should foreign governments organize and direct propa- ganda in this country ? Because in the United States, above all countries in the world, public opinion is the gre^t source of power, “the master of servants who tremble before it.” This new and subtle weapon which works quietly, insidi- ously, pervasively, this invasion of our intellectual sovereignty, has gained increasing intensity during the twentieth century. For the last fifty years the Powers of Europe—England, Germany, France, Russia and Italy,—have been active in this field, and more recently, Japan. The German idea was to direct our cultural life; to force acceptance by our educators of the theory of German supremacy in art, music, literature, and the cognate sciences. In the more practical field, of con- 10 solidating German control of the dye industry, building up foreign trade in South America, and discouraging competi- tion in this field by the United States, Germany was eminently successful, although it failed entirely in the cultural appeal. Notwithstanding the fact that there are twenty-five mil- lions in the German racial group in this country, with the ad- vent of the War, the efforts of the German foreign office to get popular sympathy from Americans of German descent were utterly futile, although a counter-propaganda was success- ful in the popular ostracism of those who bore German names. French propaganda in the United States has confined itself largely to a defence against the plots of its European neighbors, and has been in no wise offensive to the pride or self-respect of the United States. The agents of Japan have likewise had to turn their atten- tion to counteracting the anti-Japanese propaganda of other foreign agencies. With the fall of the Czar, the proposed democracy of Rus- sia inspired a new sympathy with this traditionally friendly country, and was one of the justifications for our entering the War on the plea of making the world safe for democracy. Later this sympathy was largely alienated by the extensive radical propaganda working here in favor of the government of Lenine, demanding recognition of the existing Russian Government through the threat of fomenting revolu- tion in this country. This propaganda has been superseded by one even more subtle, which has made the United States dependent on outside sources for its data concerning the eco- nomic and political conditions of Russia. England has an army of agents in this country. Together, these forces of hired propagandists are doing a work which re- calls the hired army of Hessians in the American Revolution. Under various pretexts, several societies, claiming to repre- sent “the best thought of the United States,” are now striving to “right the wrong we have done England.” The revised his- tory text-books are but a step in this direction. Initiated in a foreign country, this attempt to alterthe history of a friendly nation has never previously been openly made in the history of the world, except under conditions of conquest. The tremendous force of alien propaganda in the United States, before and after our entrance into the World War, is 11 not surmise— it is a matter of official record. The details and methods of the proposed revision of the history text-books in the United States, are openly disclosed. If it succeeds, the true significance of the American Revolution will be obliterated, its heroes defamed, or failing in this,- appropriated. Our school children are being taught that the Revolutionary patriots were fighting the battle of Englishmen, for a democracy, which, by the enfranchisement of the industrial class actually did not come until a hundred years later. 9 To restrict credit for the success of the American Revolution to Englishmen, is not only unjust and untrue, but absurd. Many of the Colonists were of English origin, but they were engaged in this struggle as rebels, and with them were associ- ated men of other races, who are thus being excluded from all credit. Before they had thrown off their allegiance to the English throne, these so-called Englishmenreferred to themselves in the Address of the First Continental Congress to the people of Great Britain, as “true and honest Americans.” In the Peti- tion to the King , they address themselves to a sovereign “who glories in the name of Briton In their statement of the causes for taking up arms, these colonists refer to America as their “own native land.” The program under way cannot be explained by the asser- tion that the effort is made for the worthy purpose of promot- ing international peace and good will. No sovereign country in the world has ever allowed, nor can it allow, the minds of its people to be filled with doubt and distrust of the impulse and the personalities which gave it birth. It is not possible to conceive the history of the nineteenth century, as we know it, with its inspirations for liberty, for political and racial equality, had there been no American Revolution. The result of this movement to eradicate the spirit of the American Revolution can be seen in the adjustments at Paris in 1919, that connived at the Shantung settlement; that par- titioned Eastern Europe and Asia and Africa, in the name of the Peace of the World. For example : an American professor, one of the legal advisers to the American Peace Commission, was asked : “The Declaration of Independence declares govem- ' ments derive their just powers from the consent of the 12 governed.’ Does this statement differ from President Wilson’s principle of self determination?” After an evasive answer, this American professor said : “Personally I find it exceedingly difficult to get any help from such statements as that of the Declaration of our Independence.” A large portion of our University world seems to find help in but one thought— the dominance of the English-speaking people—itself an invitation to world discord, and forgetful of the fact that “Anglo-Saxon Solidarity” is merely a political expedient for a new balance of power. If weacquiesce inthisprogram, wearebound inevitably to incur (if, indeed, we have not already done so) the hostility of the nations of Eastern Europe and of Asia and Africa, who are struggling to free themselves from economic servitude, or worse. Already France and Japan regard our motives with suspicion. The organized efforts of a horde of imported agents in every field of activity capable of influencing the public mind, through the press, the moving pictures, the pulpit, the lecture bureau —the formation of organizations with control centered in Europe—the efforts of native-born Americans in “the inter- pretation of British ideals and institutions”, serve especially the open purpose of the new history movement and equally may be utilized to influence the mind of America against friendly nations or in its domestic policies. From the beginning of the Revolution, there has always been and is today in the United States, a powerful minority who conceive it their greatest happiness to return this country to the fold of the British Empire. Social, religious and financial forces are working tirelessly for this end. Dr. Ellis T. Powell, editor of the London Financial News, speaking at a banquet of the Empire Club in Toronto, last September said: “Now I am going to say a very daring thing. Mark my words, if you live to the average span of life, you will see the great American republic making an effort to come back under the British flag.” 13 All this expenditure of money and energy, this perversion of our history, this false tradition,—is intimately associated with the open purpose of Cecil Rhodes and Andrew Carnegie to effect the return of the United States to the British Empire. This is not a preposterous dread! One hundred and fifty years signifies little in the life of a nation. From the accession of James I to the throne of England in 1603, the project of union with Scotland, an independent kingdom, never a part of the British Empire, had been proposed. One hundred and four years later, 1707, this union was actually effected by treaty. The American Colonies were part of the British Empire for one hundred and sixty-nine years. One of the best known teachers of history in this country, speaking of Imperial Fed- eration after the War, said : “The great schism in the Anglo-Saxon empire which began with the passage of the Stamp Act one hundred and fifty years ago, shuts us out from any immediate share in these high attempts.” The use of thp terms, “Anglo-Saxon” to describe the people of the United States and England, has not only no scientific justification, but cannot even be applied correctly to the Eng- lish people themselves. It is a fair assumption that the Pilgrims never thought of themselves as “Anglo-Saxons.” Throughout the Bradford History they are called Englishmen, or Britons. There is no record of their referring to themselves in any other way, or until the last half century, of their having been referred to as Anglo-Saxons. They were ruled by the Stuarts, Cromwell, and the Hanoverians;—Celt, British Puritan and German. The outstanding figure in the Victorian reign was a Jew, and the dominant figure in world politics in this generation is a Celt. It is difficult to find on what the claim for Anglo-Saxon superiority is based. School histories, text-books on civics or civil government, literature, essays, orations and lectures, editorials, magazine and newspaper articles, novels and short stories are dissemi- nating the “Anglo-Saxon” propaganda asserting that we are an “Anglo-Saxon race,” an “Anglo-Saxon civilization,” and that our ability for self-government is a peculiarly “Anglo-Saxon gift,” possessed by no other race, and generally that our gov- 14 emment and our institutions are the flower of Anglo-Saxon genius, etc. Owen Wister says fawningly that if the stream of German, Celtic, French, Swedish, Italian and other bloods which now make up seventy per cent of our population is permitted to “pol- lute” the race current of Anglo-Saxonism, the United States will “perish from the list of free nations.” I can only say with confidence that we will continue to preach Americanization the Knights of Columbus way. In July of this year, Mr. George Haven Putnam, the pub- lisher, voiced a chorus of similar minds, when he declared that “America took the wrong side in the War of 1812 and should have taken the side of the English against imperialism.” Pro- fessor Albert Bushnell Hart contends that of the two invaders of our neutral rights, England was less guilty than France. Professor James Brown Scott, Legal Adviser to the American Peace Commission at Paris, in a recent* work constantly refers to the “unfortunate war of 1812.” As we consider the facts of the history of the War of 1812, we are tempted to ask, “Unfortunate for whom?” Certainly not for the United States ! The question of neutral rights was only one of the questions involved, as readers of Madison’s War Message may readily determine. To realize the full im- portance of the War of 1812, it is necessary to recall the history of the country from the Treaty of 1783 with Great Britain to 1821, when the Spanish Treaty was ratified. During these years the United States had to struggle, as Russia struggled throughout the entire nineteenth century, for an outlet for its commerce which would make it an economic unity. By the terms of the Treaty of Peace with England, we were shut off from the navigation of the St. Lawrence on the north- east, and from the Gulf of Mexico on the South. France ceded to Spain New Orleans and the great territory west of the Mississippi. New Orleans was then the Constantinople of the West, and Spain in the position of the Turkish Empire at the conclusion of the World War—a weak empire, holding a port of the greatest commercial and strategic importance. By a secret clause in the Treaty between England and the United States, it was agreed that if Spain held West Florida after the conclusion of peace, its northern boundary should be at 31° latitude, but if England held it, the boundary should 15 intersect the Mississippi several miles to the north, at the pres- ent site of Vicksburg. The strategic value of such a boundary to England is apparent when we remember the importance of Vicksburg during our Civil War. England, however, did not retain the Floridas, which had been hers since 1763, but re-ceded them to Spain rather than accept the alternative of relinquishing Gibraltar. Had not England’s political needs in the early 19th century pointed to the control of the Medi- terranean and Asia, the subsequent history of the United States would have been vastly different. At the time of the Treaty of Peace following the Revolution it was believed that the source of the Mississippi was in Can- ada, hence it was stipulated in the Treaty of 1783 that “the navigation of the River Mississippi from its source to the ocean shall forever remain free and open to the subjects of Great Britain, and the citizens of the United States.” Under these conditions, were it not for the bitter rivalries between Great Britain, France and Spain, our future destiny would probably have been confined to the States east of the Alleghanies. We overcame some of our disabilities first by the Louisiana Purchase, which gave us New Orleans and the left bank of the Mississippi, with a great territory with unde- fined boundaries stretching west and north. The War of 1812, gave us the exclusive navigation of the Mississippi. By the Treaty of 1819 with Spain, by which we purchased the Floridas, thus getting access to the Gulf of Mexico, and in the Monroe Doctrine, we asserted the definite American principle of “no entangling alliances,” the cardinal policy of American di- plomacy since 1776. The War of 1812 gave us security and national prestige. It made us a homogeneous nation, and fixed our destiny as a world power. True. history will show what “the unfortunate War of 1812” would have meant for us after peace was signed, if we had not won the so-called “superfluous battle” of New Orleans, and secured military and naval control of the Great Lakes Region. Lord Castlereagh’s instructions to the English Commission- ers at Ghent in 1814 make this clear. On the side of Lower Canada, a line of demarcation was demanded which would establish a direct communication between Quebec and Halifax ; tor the westward the Indians were to be given a buffer state, 16 which would control the source of the Mississippi, which, it had then been learned, arose south of the boundary drawn by the Treaty of 1783. The free navigation of the Mississippi was to be provided for, and the course of the Great Lakes, “from Lake Ontario to Lake Superior, both inclusive,” was to be the natural military frontier of the British possessions in North America. “It was quite obvious” Castlereagh’s in- structions continued, “that a boundary line equally dividing these waters, with a right in each State to arm, both upon the lakes and upon their shores, must be calculated hereafter to create a perpetual contest for naval ascendancy, in peace as well as in war. ... It becomes, therefore, necessary for the sake of peace, to decide to which Power these waters shall, in a military sense, exclusively belong; and, for the reasons above stated, Great Britain considers that she is entitled to lay claim to them.” Beginning with Clay, who was largely instrumental in de- feating the plans of Castlereagh, every American from the time of the Revolution who has worked for American security and contributed to our diplomatic independence, comes in for the carping, slurring, damning-with-faint-praise treatment of our new school of history writers. Perhaps no one has suffered more in this respect than Webster, unless it be Franklin. Web- ster’s voice had built up that sentiment of loyalty which pre- pared the nation for the impending struggle in the Civil War. This great lawyer, who had justly earned the title of the “Ex- pounder of the Constitution,” is now being described to Ameri- can students, as : “A leading figure in public life for twenty-five years, he had now attained an administrative position for the first time, and his constant practice at the bar had given some- thing of a lawyer-like trend to his mind.” Unless we insist on historical truth, Henry Clay will be re- membered by our children as one of the ‘War Hawks,” a gambler and a bluffer; Polk as a blusterer; Blaine, superficial, “a blatant hawker after votes; ”GeorgeF. Hoar, oneof the leadersof Americanism in the last generation, will not even be mentioned. Cleveland is alleged to have been guilty of unpardonable rude- ness and precipitancy in the Venezuela incident, and our school children are asked to believe that Cleveland and Olney won 17 their fight for the Monroe Doctrine, which was derisively flouted by Salisbury, only because of friendliness on the part of Great Britain for America. The efforts of Senator Knox, while Sec- retary of State, to strengthen our economic position in Asia, are characterized as “dollar diplomacy.” To have worked in any degree for national security is to invite unfavorable com- ment or historical eclipse by our new history writers. The movement has gone so far, that certain conventional moves in the revised history campaign, may now be recognized at sight. The rather clumsy, obvious methods used in the revised text-books in the elementary grades, are becoming well known. For maturer pupils there is a glorification of English magnan- imity towards the United States in the latter part of the nine- teenth century, with a minimum of attention or total omission of reference to the assistance and co-operation received from other countries. A careful student of our history since the Civil War will become convinced that in many things we have retrogressed from the ideals and the principles which have made us a great nation. The nation needs to go to school to Washington, Franklin, Adams, Hamilton and Jefferson, to Marshall, Clay, Monroe, Calhoun, Webster and Lincoln. Instead of empha- sizing their frailties as men, we should study their words as practical guides in the great problems before us. To their country, our patriots should live in the recorded proofs of their great actions, in the offspring of their intellect, in the deep-graved lines of public gratitude, and in the respect and homage of mankind. Let those words of Webster, spoken at the deaths of Jefferson and Adams, on the fiftieth anniversary of our national independence, guide us in our treatment of the great men to whom we owe all that is true and vital in our nation. Instead of masquerading as history the temporary bitterness of passing campaign controversy, let us try at least to approximate the truth and hold the balance even. Instead of the sectionalism and disregard of the contribution of other parts of the nation, which have characterized our histories from the beginning, particularly by New England writers, let us take a broad and generous view of what was done by the people of different parts of the country. Nowhere is this more necessary in the future, than in our consideration of the 18 special problems which arise on the Pacific Coast, where since the Civil War we have relinquished the traditional policy of the Founders, — “no entangling alliances.” Our liberty of dip- lomatic action in the Pacific is today curtailed by a precedent of concerted action with European Powers. American history is the story of the progress of the west- ward march of events. Secretary Seward, also one of the eclipsed figures of our national history, more than fifty years ago indicated that, as the Mediterranean Sea had dominated world civilization, and the Atlantic was then the centre of the world’s activities, so in due time this primacy would pass towards the Pacific, and with inspired foresight purchased Alaska for America. We must realize that from now on, the front door of the United States is facing the Pacific Ocean. The diplomatic “Far East” of Europe has become America’s “Near West,” where at least eight hundred million people whose trade—not monopolized by imperial absolutism, or controlled by spheres of influence, at the sacrifice of Asiatic sovereignty, but open freely and on terms of justice to all the nations of the world, will provide the outlet which will take care of the surplus pro- ducts of America and Europe. Equitable treatment of Asia will be the greatest factor for progress, liberty and universal peace that can come to the world. Because we have good will to all nations, including Britain, we ask that this invasion of sovereignty in the guise of propa- ganda shall cease. Since at least eighty percent of the population of the United States are not of English blood or descent, we can- not conjure them as did the Colonial Fathers, “by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspond- ence,” but we can and do ask this in the sacred cause of World Peace. The United States can truly claim that during all its national life it has constantly set before the world an example of adap- tability to conditions, and a spirit of give and take that fosters the spirit of good will. Generally speaking, we have gone for fifteen decades without a chip on our shoulder ; we have looked always for the good in our neighbors; we have nothing but affection for Canada, yet the feeling- of intense bitterness, seemingly manifest today in many parts of Canada—excepting 19 possibly Quebec— gives us good reason for apprehension if not real alarm. It is being spread in the Canadian Press; it finds expression, in many forms of propaganda in the usual and sometimes unusual ways. Seeking for the cause of this bit- terness, we may find it in the unfair teaching of American history, which on the Canadian side, has made many of the people of the Dominion believe that the territory that now forms the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michi- gan and part of Minnesota, was taken away unjustly from the loyal Colony of Canada (then Quebec) and handed over to the rebellious United States. At the time when the Covenant of the League was under discussion in this country, with likeli- hood of its being favorably considered by the United States, a spirited claim was made by one of the leading professors of Canada’s largest educational institution, demanding the return to Canada of the territory now a part of the State of Maine, projecting to the north, which forms a wedge between New Brunswick and Quebec, almost exactly duplicating one of the demands of Castlereagh in 1814. The plea of the German government in the late war for an allied Mexican-Japanese invasion of the United States, rested on the similar foundation that Mexico should regain her “stolen provinces.” Our new history writers, in disregard of the facts, have been assiduous in calling attention to the “in- iquitous” Mexican War; and the inference to be gained from most of the current history writing is, that all along our borders the United States has been the recipient of stolen property. This charge does not make for international good will. It may be said in all fairness, that the democracy that ex- ists in Canada, which is also reflected in the free institutions of Australia, had its originating impulse and continuing in- spiration in the Republic founded as the result of the American Revolution, which, while it to-day has no monopoly of demo- cratic forms and safeguards of free institutions, and in certain details may even be surpassed by other Republics, still on the whole continues to be the citadel of civilization, and the im- pregnable fortress standing between democratically organized society and absolutism. Let us imagine the unthinkable—that the attack on the American Republic, now going on, should to any extent be successful. How long would Canada or Australia be able 20 successfully to maintain the liberties which they now possess, and of which they are so justly proud? We seek no divided allegiance from any man. We respect love of country and of flag wherever found, but we do insist that any organized attempt to belittle the flag of the United States or to undermine or calumniate our institutions or our history, is an unpardonable offense against square dealing, which the long-suffering good nature of the United States can no longer tolerate. The Knights of Columbus in inaugurating this history move- ment, believe that it is the best and most fitting preliminary to the preparation for the celebration of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of our independence in 1926. In the words of Webster, we urge upon the people the consideration of the distinguishing features of Americanism: “In America, a new era commences in human affairs, . . . distinguished by free representative government, by entire religious liberty, by improved systems of national intercourse, by a newly awakened and unconquerable spirit of free inquiry, and by a diffusion of knowledge through the community, before altogether unknown and unheard of. America, our country, fellow citizens, our own dear and native land, is inseparably connected, fast bound up, in fortune and by fate, with these great interests. If they fall, we fall with them: if they stand, it will.be be- cause we have sustained them. Let us contemplate then, this connection which binds the prosperity of others to our own; and let us manfully discharge all the duties which it imposes. If we cherish the virtues and principles of our fathers, Heaven will assist us to carry on the work of human liberty and human happiness.” Twenty-five years ago the United States received a visit from China’s wisest and most astute diplomat then living, Li Hung Chang. President Cleveland sent to New York to wel- come him to the nation, John G. Carlisle, then Secretary of the Treasury, and I had the honor of being appointed a member of his staff. After the exchange of official formalities, Li Hung Chang asked Secretary Carlisle the usual personal questions sanctioned by Chinese etiquette. When it came the Secretary’s turn to speak his message of cordial welcome, he said that the 21 President of the United States had suggested to him that if His Excellency, Li Hung Chang, cared to do so, the President would be pleased to have him give his idea of the form of gov- ernment of the United States and its results and reactions on world civilization. The old Oriental, after the question had been interpreted, leaned back in his chair and sat for a long time in silence with closed eyes. He began at last to speak with rapidity and great earnestness. When he ceased, his interpreter turned to Secre- tary Carlisle, made a low bow, and said : “His Excellency has listened to the question of the Most Honorable President of the United States of Amer- ica, delivered through you, and he desires to say in reply that almost four thousand years ago the people of his country then being civilized, and in an advanced state of progress, did voluntarily establish a republic, which in all its essential details was the precursor of the Republic of the United States of America. This republican form of government existed for several centuries and then died out.” Secretary Carlisle, who had listened with great interest, asked —“Will your Excellency say why the Chinese Republic was abandoned?” and after interpreting the question to Li Hung Chang, the interpreter gave the reply of the aged diplomat : “His Excellency answers that the people of China wanted a king.” We may disguise, we may delay, the settlement of this prob- lem, but the answer as to whether the United States is at the beginning or the end of its power and its influence on the civi- lization of the world, will be made on exactly the lines, whether we shall return to imperialism or keep true to our Republican institutions. Organized propaganda, inspired from any foreign source, ostensibly for an altruistic purpose, can be and is being utilized to strike at the very foundations of our State. There has recently arisen a discussion of the feasibility of eliminating the upper chamber of our national Congress. With this elimination would go the control of the people, through their elected representatives, over the treaty-making power 22 of the United States. The late contest of the Senate is epochal, but in another struggle it might not be equally successful, if not supported by a unified public opinion. The need of our people for sound judgment in foreign affairs is essential, and it can come in no other way than by a correct historical approach to the various problems, and the proper solution must always be reached in the clear, unbiased light of our historical evolution. Our recent Immigration Restriction legislation indicates that the United States is definitely at the end ofanepoch. Seventyper cent of the present population of the nation are in racial group- ings, which, from the coming of the pioneer aliens, through their offspring, in return for the privilege of participation in the benefits of the political and economic liberty here found, have never been wanting in their gratitude for the blessings which they know have been inherited from the founders of the Republic. Ten per cent more of our population are colored. All of these of fighting age in this generation, gladly offered to seal with their blood on the fields of France and Flanders, the great compact written by Washington, Adams, Lafayette, Von Steuben, Kosciuszko, Sullivan, Stark, Barry and their asso- ciates. Yet, today the collective influence of these groups and their hopes for the future, are contemptuously characterized as “mon- grelization.” This is but a feeble attempt of the weak to lead the strong— of the blind to direct those with keen vision. Our future will remain secure only so lqng as it perpetuates our past. Our real greatness is built upon our ideas and our ideals, and not upon our broad acres or our practically measureless re- sources. Our greatest heritage is that we are Americans— a new, a separate and a distinct people—inheriting, we hope and believe, many of the best traits of all the great races that have assisted in our making, but also possessing, as we know, quali- ties and traditions and ideals different and apart from those of any and all other peoples. So it has been, so let it be. It is only sixty years ago that the United States after a strug- gle that went to the verge of disruption, set the black slave free, striking off his chains; yet it turned out that while he remained chained to servility, or manacled to indolence and sloth, or to ignorance, suspicion and savagery, or bound by fear and superstition, he remained as much of a slave as ever, because his slavery was not in the chains but in himself. 23 Whether black, yellow, or white, we can only set free men free, but, Free men set themselves free. Against outside foes we are reasonably secure. It is the in- sidious attack from within that we have most to fear. Let us therefore resolve that we will maintain our history like the fountain of life, pure and undefiled; that we will make known to our fellow countrymen the stories of the lives and deeds of all who have shed honor and lustre on the name of America; and that we will drive from among us those evil forces that seek to pull down the pillars of our temples and to make us again colony or plantation, instead of a great nation leading the world to peace and liberty for all mankind. Our prophets still live, and while the world is struggling back through the morass of uncertainty left by the War, there is a sure road to the solid ground of national safety. It is the watchword of all those who believe in human brotherhood and love world peace — America, Liberty and Security! 24 •,'M . ?'? "U- ' . “i