PRESENTATION OF McGUFFEY READERS
On Tuesday evening, February 15, 1927,
a meeting of
unusual interest was held in the
audience room of the
Museum and Library Building on the Ohio
State Uni-
versity Campus. The program announced
"a joint
session" of the Ohio State
Archaeological and Historical
Society and the McGuffey Society of
Columbus, Ohio.
The purpose of the meeting is indicated
in the following
announcement:
The McGuffey Society of Columbus, Ohio,
presents to the
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical
Society, a set of the
McGuffey Readers, all copyrights, for
preservation in its library.
JOHN F. CARLISLE,
President of the McGuffey Society.
MRS. MYRTIS G. REESE, Secretary.
JOHN R. HORST,
Chairman of the Memorial Alcove
Committee.
"The Memorial Alcove" is an
alcove in the library
of the Ohio State Archaeological and
Historical Society
for the exhibition and preservation of
the McGuffey
Readers. The collection presented is
one of the most
complete in existence. A similar
collection was sold
recently for $2,000.
The following program was rendered in
the pres-
ence of an appreciative audience that
filled the seating
capacity of the auditorium.
PROGRAM:
Invocation: Rev. J. A. Ewalt, Member
of the McGuffey Society
of Gahanna, Ohio.
Introductory: John
F. Carlisle, President of the McGuffey Society
of Columbus, Ohio.
(157)
158 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
Song: "Forty
Years Ago"; McGuffey's Fifth Reader, copy-
right 1879, page 148; "The
Willisons."
Presentation: John
R. Horst, Chairman of the Memorial Alcove
Committee of the McGuffey
Society.
Acceptance: Arthur C. Johnson,
President of the Ohio State
Archaeological and Historical Society;
Dr. W. H. Scott,
President-Emeritus of the Ohio State
University.
Reading: "Massachusetts
and South Carolina"; McGuffey's
Fifth Reader, copyright 1844, page 141;
C. B. Gal-
breath, Historian, and Secretary of the
Ohio State
Archaeological and Historical Society.
Reading: "The Jolly Old
Pedagogue," McGuffey's Sixth Read-
er, copyright 1867, page 451; Mrs.
Martha Schubert
Stewart, Member of the Memorial Alcove
Commit-
tee of the McGuffey Society.
Address: "The Ideals,
Aims and Distinguished Characters of
the Revolutionary Period of American
History as
portrayed by the McGuffey Readers";
Mrs. Annie
Jopling Lester, State Historian of the
Daughters of
the American Revolution and Member of
the Jona-
than Dayton Chapter, Dayton, Ohio.
Closing Song: "America,"
McGuffey's Fourth Reader, copyright
1837, page 324--Led by "The
Willisons."
The meeting opened with an impressive invocation
by Rev. J. A. Ewalt, an enthusiastic
McGuffeyite.
Mr. J. F. Carlisle, who has been
President of the
McGuffey Society since its
organization, March 18,
1918, presided and made the following
introductory ad-
dress:
Mr. Johnson, Members, Ladies and
Gentlemen:
We are here to present and receive a
set of the McGuffey
Readers, all copyrights. These readers cover a period from
1836 to the end of the Nineteenth
Century -- a marvelous period
in our Nation's progress and development.
Great inventions
sprang from the brains of Americans --
the telegraph, the tele-
phone, the reaper and binder, the sewing
machine, the phono-
graph, the printing press, the electric
and gas motor, the type-
writer -- slavery was wiped off our national
map-life was
measurably lengthened -- and progress
was made in science and
art by leaps and bounds in all fields of
human endeavor--edu-
cation became the great desideratum --
the mental, moral and
physical being of Americans was raised
and equalized as never
before in all history. During this
period approximately 32,-
000,000 immigrants came to our land. The reading and
spelling
160 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
education of such was drawn in by far
the greater part from
The McGuffey Readers. The number of
these foreign born, to-
gether with those born here, who learned
the American Ideal and
Patriotism cannot be estimated. Take but
one example: The
school plant of the United States has
increased from a few public
and private schools and colleges in 1836
of the approximate value
of $500,000, until to-day when the
approximate total value of
buildings and sites approaches the
immense figure of five and
one half billions of dollars.
For all this we must thank Dr. William
H. McGuffey and
his co-workers. We are gathered here in
recognition of the great
service performed and also to preserve
the books, 129 in num-
ber, for all generations to come.
Mr. John R. Horst, Chairman, and the
Memorial Alcove
Committee of the McGuffey Society, have
been busy collecting
these readers for three years last past.
Mr. Horst has accom-
plished a great work and we all thank
him very much, as well
as his Committee. Without Mr. Horst we
would not be here
to-night.
It gives me great pleasure to present
Mr. Horst, Chairman
of The Memorial Alcove Committee.
Mr. John R. Horst, who for several years
has been
an indefatigable collector of the
McGuffey Readers,
made the formal presentation as follows:
Mr. Chairman, Mr. Johnson and
Friends:
It was a great event in the history of
civilization, when
about the middle of the Fifth Century of
the Christian era, rov-
ing bands of Angles, Saxons, Jutes, and
Frisians, of German
forbears, left their ancestral homes,
somewhere between the
river Scheldt and the isles of the
Jutes, on a quest of adven-
ture. They crossed the turbulent channel
that separated them
from the island of Britain. They wrested
the domination of
the island from the Celts and their
Roman conquerors, and made
it their future home. They named it
"Engle-land," or England.
They became known in history as
"Anglo-Saxons." Because
of their favorable location, their
hardihood, their seamanship,
under the black flag, they, very soon
thereafter, dominated the
seas surrounding their island home,
extending this domination
to the very
shores of the alien countries of the near-by continent.
Henceforth, they were rivals, although
cousins, of the Germanic
peoples across the channel.
Presentation of McGuffey Readers 161
Later, in the early part of the
Seventeenth Century, when
a New World had been opened up by
Spanish discovery, no
doubt incited by the same spirit of
adventure, numbers of them
again set forth for newer and greater
fields of adventure and
conquest. They disembarked at a
beautiful place in a beautiful
land, a land of fertile soil, a land of
perfect climatic conditions.
They determined upon making this their
home; and they named
it Virginia, after their virgin queen,
Elizabeth. The Virginian
is a typical Englishman. No better, but
of a different type from
his brother of the north, the Puritan.
In the latter part of the same century,
the Seventeenth Cen-
tury, there was another movement of Germans that
affected the
World's history. The Palatines, cousins
of the Angles and the
Saxons, lashed by the whip of religious
controversy and
intolerance in the hands of their Latin
neighbor, fled from their
homes on the banks of the Rhine river and were
scattered among
the nations of continental Europe. Many found
themselves in
Holland, the land of traditional
friendliness, hospitality, and
tolerance to the exile from home. To
them in Holland, William
Penn, the Quaker, came and invited them
and their friends to
join him in the sylvan forests of the
land of his adoption,
Pennsylvania. They had piety without
intolerance. They were
industrious, moral, and friendly. He
felt they would make good
citizens. Many, many came to him,
perhaps many times more
than went to any other of the American colonies; and
they be-
came known and are now known as Pennsylvania Germans.
And
again, these cousins, after about twelve centuries of
separation,
became near neighbors. The Anglo-Saxon dwelt in fair
Vir-
ginia. The Palatine, across the border
line of the two colonies,
dwelt in no less fair Pennsylvania. Both
were a stalwart people.
The Pennsylvania German was plodding but
sure and firm of
purpose. The Virginian was more dashing,
and less plodding,
than his cousin to the north; but he was
no less firmly anchored
to honorable purpose and dealing. They
each in their way ex-
celled; and were great peoples.
Then, in 1775, came the call of
Lexington; and these same
cousins, side by side, elbows touching
and shoulder to shoulder,
in patriotic fervor, fought the battles
of the Revolution for
liberty and self government. In the din
and heat of battle,
from the quality and zeal of striving,
one could not lay his hand
on one of them and say: "This is an
Anglo-Saxon" or on
another and say "This is a
German." They were equally heroic.
They suffered and died together at
Valley Forge. They fought
and conquered together at Yorktown. When
peace was finally
won, they each returned to their
respective homes and to good
Vol. XXXVI--11.
162 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
citizenship in the country they had made
their own--the United
States of America.
At the close of the War for
Independence, the new-born
states of Virginia, New York, Massachusetts, and
Connecticut
were possessed of a vast domain to the
west, covering the terri-
tory of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and
Wisconsin, known
as "North West Territory."
This great territory was ceded by
these states to the general government
and opened for coloniza-
tion. The territory was subdivided into
the above named Ohio,
Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and
Wisconsin, and the Ordinance of
1787 was passed for its government until
statehood should be
acquired. Its laws were just, simple,
and easy of discernment.
Ample provision was made for the
education of its people.
In the North West Territory, nature had
surpassed in
reckless lavishness of all these
properties and qualities which
would make a country and its peoples
great, surpassingly great.
It contained vast forests of timber.
There had been nothing
known to compare with the stretches of
alluvial soil of the
prairies. The mineral wealth was great
beyond conception. The
horse-power generated by its waters in
their descent to and to-
wards the sea was immeasurable. The
climate was in accord
for the development of these natural
resources. What more
might one ask than that the people, who
should come, be of a type
to take advantage of that which was
provided them?
The land was ready for its people and
the people came.
The New Yorker and others from
Massachusetts and Con-
necticut made their impression and left
their characteristics upon
the states of Michigan and Wisconsin.
The Virginian, with
dash and daring, clambered, struggled,
fought, up and over the
Appalachian range to find a future home
in this land of hope
and promise. Their cousins, the
Pennsylvania Germans, find-
ing the place of least resistance, with
prayer books in their hands
and a kindly smile beaming from their
countenances, poured
through the gap of the Appalachians at
Pittsburgh; and they,
too, found a home in this same land of
hope and promise. Here
the Anglo-Saxon of Virginia and the
German of Pennsylvania
became neighbors and again brothers
indeed. They took and
gave in marriage, they worshiped
together in the same church
of hewn logs, their children played at
school together, their
behavior, one to the other, was of
kindliness. Together, with
no trace of division, they marched,
progressed, solidified into
a great people. They were a great
people, these people of the
Ohio Valley.
These were the conditions. This was the
stage upon which
William Holmes McGuffey was about to
enter and play his
Presentation of McGuffey Readers 163
part. It was a great occasion; and the
man was equal to the
occasion. Perhaps, Murray's English Reader was suitable
to
some peoples but it was not suitable to
these peoples. The Puri-
tanical readers of New England States were good for the
New
Englander but they were not for the people of the Ohio
Valley.
The "Scarlet Letter" could not
have been staged in Ohio, In-
diana, or Illinois. The German reader
brought with the Pennsyl-
vania German would not answer because of
the newly acquired
patriotism. It was put up squarely to
William Holmes Mc-
Guffey, with the assistance of his
brother, Alexander H. Mc-
Guffey, to supply a reader that would
measure up to the re-
quirements of a great people. He did so.
How well this was
done is attested by the fact that for
nearly three quarters of a
century, his books have been supreme in
the schools of the
North West Territory. Grouping, there
have been at least a
dozen different copyrights of the McGuffey
Readers. Each copy-
right has had many editions. One of the
early books recites
that it is the forty-first edition.
The teachings of the McGuffey Readers
had a marked
effect upon the personality of the
peoples of the states formed
from the North West Territory. John
McElroy, in his history
of Andersonville, in his classification
of the Union prisoners
there confined during the Civil War,
states: "The boys from
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and
Kansas all seemed cut off of
the same piece. To all intents and
purposes they might have
come from the same county. They spoke
the same dialect, read
the same newspapers, had studied
McGuffey's Readers, Mitch-
ell's Geography, and Ray's Arithmetic at
school, admired the
same great men, held generally the same
opinions on any given
subject. It was never difficult to get
them to act in unison.
They did it spontaneously; while it
required an effort to bring
about harmony of action with those from
other sections."
This is all understandable. The tremendous
influence of
three quarters of a century of teaching
from the same books
can not be over-stated. The tolerance of
the selections relating
to religion offended neither Jew nor
Gentile, Catholic nor
Protestant. The selections teaching
morality, that one should
do unto others as he would be done by,
are many, and were
effective in bringing up the standard of
morality. The readers
brought pupil and parent alike in
contact with the best literature
of the day. What means had the pioneers
of gaining knowledge
of classic writings except those which
were found in the Mc-
Guffey Readers? Absolutely none. Where
could they gain
acquaintance with the refinement of
poetry except in the Mc-
Guffey Readers? There was no place. What
could they know
164 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
about Shakespeare except what they read
in McGuffey? Noth-
ing. In fact, the Readers touched upon
every phase of human
life to advantage. And we may still
learn from them. The
archaeologist digs into graves of
vanished races in order that
he may learn of the habits, religions,
and characteristics of these
races. A pearl is found and there is
acclaim. Are not these
readers pearls, pearls by which the
intelligence of the past and
passing generations may be judged? Let us preserve these
pearls. This was the thought, the motive
of the McGuffey So-
ciety in collecting the Readers. Will
not the Ohio State Archaeo-
logical and Historical Society preserve
them for us, now that
we have collected them? I am assured
that it will.
Therefore, I, as Chairman of the
Memorial Alcove Com-
mittee of the McGuffey Society, of
Columbus, Ohio, and in be-
half of that Society, take great
pleasure in presenting to you, The
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical
Society, by favor of
the donors to this collection, a set of
the McGuffey Readers, all
copyrights, for preservation in your
library; and we dedicate the
same to you and to future generations.
We know that you will
not break faith with us, and we gladly
give them to your care.
In accepting the gift Mr. Arthur C.
Johnson, Presi-
dent of the Ohio State Archaeological
and Historical
Society, said:
The officers, trustees, staff workers
and members of the
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical
Society are never so
happy as when some big job for the good
of the cause we repre-
sent, has been done -- and particularly
so when it has been
well done.
It is a pleasure to us to see kindred
organizations carry on
to definite accomplishment --
particularly so when we become
the beneficiaries of their intelligent
effort. That is a selfish view
of what has happened here tonight. You
of the McGuffey So-
ciety have not only distinguished
yourselves by making this
splendid collection of rapidly
disappearing early schoolbooks;
you have not only pleased the Ohio State
Archaeological and
Historical Society and added a priceless
collection to its growing
library; you have rendered the people of
the state of Ohio a
great service. You have rendered this
service at the expense of
private means and painstaking personal
effort. You have ren-
dered it without thought or hope of
compensation or remunera-
tion except the satisfaction you must
all feel in its splendid
success.
Presentation of McGuffey Readers 165
Only in such unselfish effort can we
hope to read the ac-
complishment of that purpose which fired our
predecessors in
the Society to lay the foundations of
this institution.
In their memory, in behalf of the
Society which I represent
and for the whole people of Ohio who
have been enriched by
your matchless gift -- and for those
future generations who will
profit by it as they pass through on
their journey seeking knowl-
edge and culture, I accept these books
with gratitude and ap-
preciation.
Mr. C. B. Galbreath, Secretary of the
Ohio State
Archaeological and Historical Society,
prefaced and read
one paragraph from Webster's reply to
Hayne as fol-
lows:
Mr. Chairman and Friends:
The one-room rural school that I
attended years ago, suffers
by comparison, of course, with the
centralized schools of
to-day. It was our privilege, however,
to hear the older pupils
read in the advanced McGuffey Readers. I
do not remember
distinctly when I first read in school,
extracts from the famous
debate between Webster and Hayne. I
think the first impres-
sion that I got was one of a wordy
contest between these dis-
tinguished men, of whom I then had no
knowledge whatever.
As I grew older and learned something of
the dispute over
State Rights and National Supremacy,
there dawned upon me
an understanding that this debate was a
contest between two
men holding opposite views on these
questions. Later when I
reached in the sixth reader these
excerpts from Hayne and Web-
ster, I was fortunate in having a
teacher who was an excellent
reader. As he read and very briefly
explained the language of
these orators, the entire class entered
into the spirit of the se-
lections and most of us committed them
to memory. We read
them in class, not once but many times,
in that winter term of
school, and became so thoroughly
interested that when it was
left to the class to choose what we
should read on Friday after-
noon, these selections were among our
favorites. I doubt not
other members of that class, now living,
still treasure the in-
spiring words that we then read with
patriotic ardor.
Afterwards, when I myself became a
teacher in the rural
schools, and served that profession for
six or seven years in
the winter time, while attending high
school and college the
remainder of the year, my teaching of
the McGuffey Readers
166 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
familiarized me with almost everything
that they contained, and
I did not need a book to follow pupils
when they were reciting.
It was only in comparatively recent
years, however, that I
learned that our own Ohio was the
precipitating cause of this
great debate. Of course divergence of
opinion had long been
developing among the statesmen in the
early portion of the last
century. Calhoun, Hayne and others of
their school of think-
ing had been fortifying themselves with
argument in support of
the States Rights theory -- the theory
that the United States was
simply a confederation and that each of
the states had a right
to withdraw from the Union when it chose
to do so; that
even as they became a part of the Union
by their consent, they
had the right to withdraw from it
whenever their interests or
preference should warrant such action.
Opposed to this view,
at the time of the debate, were the
leading statesmen of the
North and East. Foremost among them was
Daniel Webster.
It appears that neither of the
principals to this great forensic
battle had expected it to occur. Webster
was speaking upon the
Foote Resolutions. You will remember how
his speech opened.
He drew attention to the fact that,
while the resolution itself re-
lated to the public lands, the
discussion had covered a wide range
and the speeches had related to almost
everything except the
public lands. In the course of his
address, which was suggested
in large part by the speeches of others
who had preceded him,
he spoke of the Ordinance of 1787 for
the government of the
Northwest Territory, dwelling especially
upon the beneficent in-
fluence of the sixth article of compact,
which excluded slavery
for all time from said territory.
He invited the attention of the Senate
to the comparative
growth of Ohio and Kentucky. Pointing out that in
climate
and soil the two states did not
materially differ, he declared that
Ohio had far surpassed in population and
wealth her sister state
on the other side of the Ohio River. The
difference in progress
between the two he ascribed to a difference in
institutions and
systems of labor fostered by them. Kentucky was
retarded by
the incubus of the system of slavery,
while Ohio was, and from
her birth had been, free.
It was this comparison of the two states
and the declaration
that the preeminence of our own Ohio was
due to her free institu-
tions that stirred the Senator from South Carolina:
that rankled
in his bosom. In his own language he declared that
Webster's
reference to slavery as a retarding and
weakening influence upon
the states that had adopted it had aroused thoughts
that "rankle
here," placing his hand over his heart. He further
intimated
that while he had listened to Webster he
hoped that that gentle-
Presentation of McGuffey
Readers 167
man would remain in the Senate while he
returned the charge.
Webster coolly responded, "I am ready to receive
it." Then
followed the speech of Hayne and his
merited tribute to the
state of South Carolina, with which all who were
brought up on
McGuffey readers are familiar.
This eloquent assault did not discomfit
the Senator from
Massachusetts. It called forth from him
the reply that made
him the idol of the friends of National
Supremacy throughout
the United States. It brought forth a grand outburst of
eloquence
which reached its climax in
"Liberty and union; now and for-
ever; one and inseparable." In answer to the
panegyric on South
Carolina he spoke for Massachusetts. I
shall repeat only the
concluding paragraph, which has few
equals in the whole range
of American oratory. Mr. Webster said:
"Mr. President, I shall enter on no
encomium upon Massa-
chusetts. She needs none. There she is;
behold her, and judge
for yourselves. There is her history;
the world knows it by
heart. The past, at least, is secure.
There is Boston, and
Concord, and Lexington, and Bunker Hill;
and there they will
remain forever. And, sir, where American
Liberty raised its
first voice, and where its youth was
nurtured and sustained,
there it still lives, in the strength of
its manhood, and full of its
original spirit. If discord and disunion
shall wound it; if party
strife and blind ambition shall hawk at
and tear it; if folly and
madness, if uneasiness under salutary
restraint, shall succeed to
separate it from that Union, by which
alone its existence is
made sure, it will stand, in the end, by
the side of that cradle
in which its infancy was rocked; it will
stretch forth its arm,
with whatever of vigor it may still
retain, over the friends who
gathered around it; and it will fall at
last, if fall it must, amid
the proudest monuments of its glory and
on the very spot of
its origin."
An attractive feature of the program
was the read-
ing of "The Jolly Old
Pedagogue" by Mrs. Martha
Schubert Stewart. Many in the audience
had been peda-
gogues in other days; none of them had
been counter-
parts of the picture of "The Jolly
Old Pedagogue," as
drawn by George Arnold, the self-taught
poet who died
in 1865 at the age of 31 years and at
the beginning of a
literary career of much promise. Some
of the listeners
had lived in part the life of the
pedagogue of the olden
168 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
time; all of them perhaps had profited
by the example
and the philosophy set forth in the
words of the poet,
and had spared the rod without spoiling
the child. There
was humanitarian suggestion and kindly
counsel in these
lines:
He taught the scholars the Rule of
Three,
Reading, and writing, and history too;
He took the little ones on his knee,
For a kind old heart in his breast had
he,
And the wants of the littlest child he
knew.
"Learn while you're young," he
often said,
"There is much to enjoy down here
below;
Life for the living, and rest for the
dead!"
Said the jolly old pedagogue, long ago.
With the stupidest boys, he was kind and
cool,
Speaking only in gentlest tones;
The rod was scarcely known in his school
--
Whipping to him was a barbarous rule,
And too hard work for his poor old
bones;
Besides it was painful, he sometimes
said:
"We should make life pleasant down
here below --
The living need charity more than the
dead,"
Said the jolly old pedagogue, long ago.
The address of the evening was
delivered by Mrs.
Annie Jopling Lester, State Historian
of the Daughters
of the American Revolution, who spoke
as follows:
Mr. President, Members of the
McGuffey Society and the Ohio
State Archaeological and Historical
Society and Friends:
I deem it an unusual privilege to
address these distinguished
Societies.
First, because I am the Historian of the
Daughters of the
American Revolution of Ohio.
Second, on account of the fact that I
represent an institu-
tion which glories in the names of the
founders of American
Independence.
Third, and most important of all,
because, after years spent
in rather intimate contact with various
organizations which seek
to do patriotic work, I come to you
thoroughly convinced that
Presentation of McGuffey Readers 169
the organizations doing the greatest
constructive patriotic work
in America today are the societies that are educating
our chil-
dren through the ideals of American patriots.
Demosthenes once said that it takes
three things to make a
great speech: A great audience, I am sure we have that;
a great
subject; I am permitted to speak on what
I consider a very
great subject; and third, a great speaker. We have
tonight at
least two of these qualifications.
There are many things I would like to
say about the po-
tential influence for good of the Historical Societies
of Ohio.
But as my time is limited I must stick
to my subject: "Ideals,
Aims and Distinguished Characters of the
American Revolu-
tion as Portrayed by McGuffey
Readers." Edmund Burke
once said that "civilization is a
contract between the great dead
and the living and the unborn." Now
the thing that appeals
to me most strongly as a Daughter of the
American Revolution
is that you are keeping your contract
with the great dead, who
bequeath to us this great heritage and
safeguard and pass it on
to the unborn by preserving the ideals
as portrayed by our
McGuffey Readers.
I wonder how many in this audience
studied dear old Mc-
Guffey Readers, my friends. I am
thrilled at the very thought,
for I feel while we inherit our
patriotism, these stories of pa-
triotism and morality made a deep and
lasting impression. In
many cases the inmost thought of the
author may not at once
be apprehended by the young reader, but
with advancing years
and experience in life these stored
words become instinct with
thought and feeling.
It has been said that Dr. McGuffey
taught with the sim-
plicity of a child, with the precision
of a mathematician, and
with the authority of truth. These same
qualities penetrated us
as children reading the McGuffey
Readers. These readers
aroused the moral sentiment that touched
the imagination, ele-
vated and established character by
selections chosen from the
best writers in English, of all the
centuries that have passed
since our language assumed a
comparatively fixed literary form.
Character is more valuable than
knowledge, although knowl-
edge is power, and a taste for pure and
ennobling literature is a
safeguard for the young, which can not
be safely ignored. Let
me call to your memories some of the
masterpieces found in
the McGuffey Readers.
In the New Fifth Reader the lesson on
"Value of time and
knowledge" can not be passed over.
"The infinite value of time
is not realized. It is the most precious
thing in all the world,
the only thing of which it is a virtue
to be covetous, and yet the
170 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
only thing of which all men are
prodigal." Then all young peo-
ple are urged to spend their leisure moments reading.
"Time is so precious that there is
never but one moment in
the world at once, and that is always taken away before
another
is given. Only take care to gather up the fragments of
time
and you will never want leisure for the
reading of useful books."
Yes! "Knowledge is power. It is the
philosopher's stone,
the true secret that turns everything it
touches into gold. It is
the scepter that gives us our dominion
over nature; the key that
unlocks the store-house of creation and
opens to us the treasures
of the universe.
"The circumstances in which you are
placed, as the mem-
bers of a free and intelligent
community, demand of you a care-
ful improvement of the means of
knowledge you enjoy. You
live in an age of great mental
excitement. The public mind is
awake, and society in general is fast
rising in the scale of im-
provement. At the same time, the means
of knowledge are most
abundant.
"The road to wealth, to honor, to
usefulness, and happiness
is open to all, and all who will, may
enter upon it with the almost
certain prospect of success. In this
free community every man
or woman finds his or her level.
"What raised Benjamin Franklin from
the humble station
of a printer's boy to the first honors
of his country? Knowledge.
"What took Sherman from his shoemaker's bench, gave
him a seat in Congress and there made
his voice to be heard
among the wisest and best of his
compeers? Knowledge.
"What raised Simpson from the
weaver's loom to a place
among the first of mathematicians?
Knowledge."
No child could read this lesson without
a determination to
gain knowledge by improving every moment
of his time.
Now let us consider Patrick Henry's
speech before the
Virginia Convention in 1775, in the
Sixth Reader.
It was on his own motion that the colony
be immediately
put in a state of defense, that he said:
"It is natural for man to
indulge in the illusions of hope. We are
apt to shut our eyes
against a painful truth, and listen to
the song of that siren till
she transforms us into beasts.
"Is this the part of wise men,
engaged in a great and arduous
struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to
be of the number of
those, who, having eyes, see not, and
having ears, hear not, the
things which so clearly concern their
temporal salvation?
"For my part, whatever anguish of
spirit it may cost, I am
willing to know the whole truth; to know
the worst, and to
provide for it. I have but one lamp by
which my feet are
Presentation of McGuffey Readers 171
guided and that is the lamp of
experience. I know of no way of
judging the future but by the
past."
Then Patrick Henry relates to his
audience the method
pursued to bring about peace, but
without any results. Then
he says, "Gentlemen may cry peace,
peace; but there is no peace.
. . . Why stand we here idle? . . . Is
life so dear, or
peace so sweet, as to be purchased at
the price of chains and
slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know
not what course
others may take; but as for me, give me
liberty, or give me death."
The steadfast loyalty of our patriots of
all wars of our
country is needed today in resisting the
tide of revolutionary at-
tacks against legally constituted
government. This very hour
every European nation is threatened with instability.
The United
States is not an exception. There has
never been greater need
for reaffirming and upholding the basic
principles which have thus
far assured our national safety.
In the midst of so much
misrepresentation and abuse, our
supreme need is to live up to the high
standard of civic duty
established by the founders of our
Republic, and continued by
those who made the American concept of
statesmanship a recog-
nized ideal throughout the world.
The minds and hearts of our children
will continue to be
cheered and inspired by the "Star
Spangled Banner," "America,"
"The Battle Hymn of the
Republic," "My Flag," and all songs
whose words and music are filled with
loyalty to our govern-
mental ideals.
The love of country instilled into us by
the McGuffey Read-
ers has held us together with ever
increasing pride, happiness,
security and prosperity.
What greater example of patriotism can
be found than in
Daniel Webster's speeches as presented
by the Fifth and Sixth
Readers ?
In Daniel Webster's supposed speech of
John Adams upon
the adoption of the Declaration of
Independence, John Adams is
supposed to answer those opposed to the
Declaration of Inde-
pendence. In stating his reasons before
Congress, Mr. Adams
replies in the following words:-
"Sink or swim, live or die, survive
or perish, I give my hand
and my heart to this vote. In the
beginning, we aimed not at in-
dependence. But there is a 'Divinity
which shapes our ends'."
Then he tells of the intolerance of
English rule and says, "Why
should we defer the Declaration? Is any
man so weak, as now
to hope for a reconciliation with
England, which shall leave either
safety to the country and its liberties,
or security to his own life,
and his own honor?"
172 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
After a reference to John Hancock and
Samuel Adams, he
says: "If we postpone independence
do we mean to carry on, or
to give up the war? Do we mean to submit and consent
that we
shall be ground to powder, and our
country and its rights trodden
down in the dust?
"Read this declaration at the head
of the army; every sword
will be drawn, and the solemn vow
uttered to maintain it, or
perish on the bed of honor. . . . But
while I live let me
have a country or at least the hope of
a country and that a FREE
country." This very speech encouraged many hearts in the World
War.
While the Readers served well their
purpose as teaching the
art of reading, their greatest value
consisted in the choice of
masterpieces in literature, which taught
morality and patriotism
and by their beauty served as a gateway
to pure literature.
One critic has said that thousands of
men and women owe
their wholesome views of life, as well
as whatever success they
may have attained, to the wholesome
maxims and precepts found
on every page of these old Readers.
The seed they scattered has yielded a
million fold. All honor
to the name and memory of William Holmes
McGuffey.
Do not let anyone tell you that a
cultural education is an un-
practical education.
It is the most practical education in
the world. Therefore,
we need to give our children of today a
strong cultural back-
ground.
George Washington had a vision of
education greater than
any other man who has ever lived. Dr.
McGuffey gave the child
the foundation to live up to George
Washington's ideals.
Some day, and I believe it will be in
our day, a temple of
learning as outlined by the "Father
of our Country," who be-
queathed to us an amount of money for
this purpose, will be built
in Washington.
Education is not the prerogative of the
school alone. Edu-
cation in its true essence in America
will only be realized when
home and school and great organizations,
such as yours and mine,
join hands in united and determined
effort to raise up generations
in this country true to the ideals given
to us by Dr. McGuffey,
-- strong to carry on and develop
natural strength.
If we want American citizenship,
intelligence, and patriotism
to advance in our generation as they
have never done before, we
should study the meaning of education.
If I understand educa-
tion correctly, it may be interpreted as
teaching people how to
think and to think straight. That is
what Dr. McGuffey gave us
in his Readers.
Presentation of McGuffey Readers 173
We are never going to teach the mass of
the American people
to think and to think straight so long
as our youngest children,
just beginning the use of the thinking
process, are put into the
hands of our youngest and our most
inexperienced teachers.
Now is the time to revise the process
and put the youngest
children in the hands of our most
experienced, most intelligent,
and most highly paid school teachers.
For these are the ones
who can teach them good citizenship, not
merely by what they
say, but by what they do. They may
forget the form, but they
will understand how to teach True
American History.
That teacher will know, so to teach
American History that
the child passing from the benches of
the school room will love
our Country, because he will know that,
despite any weaknesses
of human administration, it still stands
the best government ever
devised by man.
After we have looked to the proper
training in the elementary
schools, we must consider the problem of
training the stranger
within our gates.
We can never have a pure Americanization
work, as you
will know, by forcing a formal respect
for law upon these
strangers within our gates. You will
only get it by inculcating
in their hearts a real love for the
things for which America stands.
What greater inspiration can we give
these strangers than the
"Character of La Fayette" and
the "Eulogy of La Fayette" in
McGuffey's Rhetorical Guide, in which we
read, "The people
whom he came to succor were not his
people, he knew them only
in the melancholy story of their
wrongs."
Several years ago the Boy Scouts of our
Country placed
wreaths upon the Tomb of George
Washington. Among them
was a troop from the Americanization
School of Washington,
representing perhaps eight or nine
different nationalities. Out of
this troop a Scout stepped and placed a
wreath upon the tomb.
With tears in his eyes, speaking broken
English, he said, "George
Washington, you are dead. You cannot
speak to us, but you can
speak to God. Speak to God, George
Washington, and ask him
to make us good citizens of the Country
which has done so much
for us." I felt as I heard this
story, if we could have on the lips
and hearts of every youth, not only of
the immigrant origin of
recent days, but of those whose
ancestors came over in the May-
flower, that prayer honestly uttered, we
need not fear for the
future of America. He was one who had
been taught to love
America by a teacher who had received
her early training from
the McGuffey Readers.
Another point was so clearly brought out
by Dr. McGuffey
in his lessons of service. Our
ancestors, whose bloody feet red-
174 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
dened the snow at Valley Forge, were
asking themselves, "What
can I do for my country?" but
today, too many are asking, "What
can my country do for me?" I say to
you we are missing that
beautiful lesson of service.
Service means happiness. Happiness
creeps into our hearts
through a secret portal; no money can
buy it, though its price
be great; only through the sincerest
service can it be obtained.
In closing let us send a radio message
to Dr. McGuffey and
say--"As you look down upon us
tonight, may your spirit receive
the same thrill of joy and happiness, as
we, your followers, are
receiving in the satisfaction that we
are carrying your torch as
your soul goes marching on."
At the conclusion of the address Chief
Justice Mar-
shall, of the Supreme Court of Ohio, in
behalf of the Mc-
Guffey Society presented the speaker a
large bouquet of
American Beauty roses.
Mr. Robert H. Willison sang with fine
effect two
songs from the McGuffey Readers,
"Forty Years Ago"
and "America." In response to
continued applause he
sang as an encore "The Old Oaken
Bucket." His sister,
Mrs. Rachel Higgins, accompanied at the
piano.
LIST OF McGUFFEY BOOKS AND DONORS
Eclectic First Reader ............
....................... 1836
Charles C. Pavey
Eclectic First Reader .......
............................. 1836
Almer Hegler
Eclectic Second Reader
.................................. 1836
Almer Hegler
Eclectic Second Reader (Revised and
improved) ........... 1838
John R. Horst
Eclectic Second Reader
.................................. 1841
Mr. and Mrs. H. H. Skinner
Eclectic Third Reader (Revised and
improved) ............. 1838
Prof. E. C. Mann
Eclectic Third Reader (Revised and
Improved) ............ 1838
Mrs. Metta Williams Horst
Presentation of McGuffey Readers 175
Eclectic Fourth Reader
.................................. 1837
Dr. William J. McSurely
Eclectic Fourth Reader
............................... 1837
Lancaster Public Library
Second Reader (Newly revised)
............................ 1844
Dr. William C. Mills
Third Reader (Newly revised) .................. 1843
Mrs. Alice H. Parsons
Third Reader (Newly revised)
............................. 1843
Dr. William H. Scott
Fourth Reader (Newly revised) ................. 1844
Mrs. Elizabeth Leete Jenkins
Rhetorical Guide or Fifth Reader ..................... 1844
C. F. Jaeger
Rhetorical Guide or Fifth Reader .................... 1844
Arthur C. Johnson, Sr.
Eclectic Primer (Newly revised)
......................... 1849
Governor Vic Donahey
Eclectic First Reader (Newly revised)
.................... 1848
Mrs. Belle Speer
Eclectic Second Reader (Newly revised)
................. 1848
Dr. J. W. Jones, School for Deaf
Eclectic Third Reader (Newly revised)
.................... 1848
Mr. and Mrs. Wesley C. Barthalow
Eclectic Third Reader (Newly revised)
.................... 1848
Mrs. Lovina White
Eclectic Third Reader (Newly revised)
.................... 1848
Mrs. Sallie McAllister
Eclectic Fourth Reader (Newly revised)
................. 1848
Ex-Governor James E. Campbell
Eclectic First Reader (Newly revised)
.................... 1853
Mrs. Ida Rodgers
Eclectic First Reader (Newly revised)
.................... 1853
Dr. W. O. Thompson
Eclectic Second Reader (Newly revised)
.................. 1853
Mrs. Martha Schubert Stewart
Eclectic Second Reader (Newly revised)
.................. 1853
Eli Gabriel
Eclectic Third Reader (Newly revised)
.................... 1853
Mrs. Julia Phillips Ports
Eclectic Third Reader (Newly revised)
................ 1853
Mrs. Mary Sohn Bland
Eclectic Third Reader (Newly revised)
................... 1853
Mrs. Clara Crabbe
176 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
Eclectic Fourth Reader (Newly revised)
................... 1853
Stanley S. Stewart
Eclectic Fourth Reader (Newly revised)
................... 1853
Isaac Q. Anders
Eclectic Fourth Reader (Newly revised)
.................. 1853
Hugh S. Fullerton
Rhetorical Guide or Fifth Reader (Newly
revised) .......... 1853
Mrs. E. S. Wilson
Rhetorical Guide or Fifth Reader (Newly
revised) .......... 1853
Mrs. Carrie Runyon Roberts
Rhetorical Guide or Fifth Reader (Newly
revised) .......... 1853
Mrs. Cora Conklin Deeg and sister
Rhetorical Guide
....................................... 1853
Judge Carrington T. Marshall
Fifth Reader
......................................... 1853
Henry Ford
New First Eclectic Reader
............................... 1857
Secretary Mrs. Myrtis G. Reese
New
Second Eclectic Reader ............................. 1857
President John F. Carlisle
New
Third Eclectic Reader .............................. 1857
W. F. Nihart
New Fourth Eclectic Reader
................... ........ 1857
Hillsboro Public Library
New
Fifth Eclectic Reader .............................. 1857
Martin T. Collard, American Book Co.
New
Fifth Eclectic Reader .............................. 1857
Public Library of London, Ohio
New
Sixth Eclectic Reader
............................... 1857
Senator Frank B. Willis
New
Sixth Eclectic Reader
............................... 1857
Dr. J. F. Baldwin
New
Sixth Eclectic Reader ............................... 1857
Mrs. Josephine Smith Nealon
Pictorial Eclectic Primer
................................ 1863
Mrs. Nannie T. Sohn
New First Eclectic Reader
............................... 1863
Mrs. Joan Berry Horst
New Second Eclectic Reader
............................. 1865
Mrs. Grace F. Ballard
New
Third Eclectic Reader .............................. 1865
Dean Zimmerman
Presentation of McGuffey Readers 177
New Third Eclectic Reader
.............................. 1865
Lenora Glasgow
New Second Eclectic Reader
............................. 1865
Mrs. Blanche Guest Horst
New Third Eclectic Reader
............................ 1865
John R. Horst, Jr.
New Fourth Eclectic Reader
............................ 1866
Paul H. Horst
New Fourth Eclectic Reader
............................ 1866
Rev. J. A. Ewalt
New
Fifth Eclectic Reader .............................. 1866
Mrs. Mary McLardy Claypool and sister
New Fifth Eclectic Reader
.............................. 1866
H. R. McPherson
New Sixth Eclectic
Reader............................. 1867
Vernon M. Riegel
New Sixth Eclectic
Reader............................. 1867
Dean H. C. Minnich
New Sixth Eclectic Reader
............................. 1867
James C. Smalley
New Sixth Eclectic Reader
............................. 1867
C. B. Galbreath
New Eclectic Primer (Green Back)
...................... 1868
Paul Harsha
New Fifth Eclectic Reader
.............................. 1868
Mrs. Anita Horst Harsha
First Eclectic Reader (Revised edition)
................... 1879
Mrs. Cleo Barnes
Second Eclectic Reader (Revised edition)
................. 1879
Mrs. A. E. Harvey
Third Eclectic Reader (Revised edition)
.................. 1879
Loyal W. Barron
Third Eclectic Reader (Revised edition)
.................. 1879
Dr. John M. Dunham
Fourth Eclectic Reader (Revised edition)
................. 1879
H. W. Bascom
Fifth Eclectic Reader (Revised edition)
................... 1879
Mrs. Angie H. Snyder
Sixth Eclectic Reader (Revised edition)
................... 1879
Mrs. Joseph B. Foraker
Eclectic Primer (Revised edition)
........................ 1881
Mrs. Eva T. Wheaton
Vol. XXXVI--12
178 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
New First Eclectic Reader (Laguna Indian
Translation).... 1885
Col. E. S. Wilson
New Second Eclectic Reader
............................. 1885
Judge Edward E. Corn
New
Third Eclectic Reader .............................. 1885
Dr. and Mrs. W. E. Postle
New
Fourth Eclectic Reader ............................. 1885
George L. Garrett
New
Fifth Eclectic Reader .............................. 1885
Alice Boardman
New
Sixth Eclectic Reader .............................. 1885
Shepherd F. Harriman
Alternate
First Reader
.................................. 1887
Judge Van A. Snider
Alternate Second Reader
................................ 1887
J. Minor Williams
Alternate Third Reader
................................. 1887
Frank W. Haas
Alternate Fourth Reader
................................. 1887
G. C. Weaver
Alternate Fifth Reader
.................................. 1888
Mrs. Maude Halstead
Alternate Sixth Reader ...........
....................... 1888
David B. Dillehunt
Eclectic Primer (Revised edition) ........................ 1896
Colonel William Leontes Curry
First Eclectic Reader (Revised edition)
.................... 1896
Ira H. Crum
Second Eclectic Reader (Revised edition)
.................. 1896
Helen M. Mills
Second Eclectic Reader (Revised edition)
.................. 1896
Dr. Henry G. Williams
Third Eclectic Reader (Revised edition)
................... 1896
Oliver N. Sams
Fourth Eclectic Reader (Revised edition)
.................. 1896
Mrs. Margaret Dennis Vail
Fifth Eclectic Reader (Revised edition)
................... 1896
Mrs. Cora Needles Sells, Regent,
Columbus Chapter, D. A. R.
Fifth Eclectic Reader (Revised edition)
................... 1896
Marian McPherson
Sixth Eclectic Reader (Revised edition)
................... 1896
Marshall E. Thrailkill
Presentation of McGuffey
Readers 179
New First Reader (Kentucky Series)
..................... 1901
Edwin F. Wood
New First Reader ...............................................1901
Mrs. Annie Jopling Lester, State
Historian, D. A. R.
New First Reader ...................................... 1901
Elsie B. Purcell
New First Reader
...................................... 1901
Clinton B. Shook
New Second Reader
................................... 1901
Olin J. Ross
New Third Reader ...................................... 1901
Mrs. Elizabeth B. Kahler
New Fourth Reader .................................... 1901
Mrs. Arcelia Donnell
New Fifth Reader ...................................... 1901
Mrs. J. O. McClain
New Fifth Reader
...................................... 1901
Bertha Peeling
First Eclectic Reader (Revised edition)
................... 1901
W. W. Hill, American Book Co.
Third Eclectic Reader (Revised edition)
.................. 1907
W. E. Peters
Fourth Eclectic Reader (Revised edition)
................. 1907
George W. Benton, Editor American Book
Co.
Fifth Eclectic Reader (Revised edition)
................... 1920
W. W. Livengood, Secretary American Book
Co.
Eclectic Primer (Revised
edition) ........................
1909
Lucy M. Harvey
Second Eclectic Reader (Revised edition)
.................. 1920
Charles P. Batt, American Book Co.
Third Eclectic Reader (Revised edition)
.................. 1920
W. P. H. Howe, American Book Co.
Sixth Eclectic Reader (Revised edition)
.................. 1921
Louis M. Dillman, President American
Book Co.
New First Eclectic Reader, 1885; Reprint
.................. 1925
Henry Ford
New Second Eclectic Reader, 1885;
Reprint ................ 1925
Henry Ford
New Third Eclectic Reader, 1885; Reprint
................. 1925
Henry Ford
180 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
New Fourth Eclectic Reader, 1866;
Reprint ................ 1925
Henry Ford
New Fifth Eclectic Reader, 1866; Reprint
................ 1927
Henry Ford
New Sixth Eclectic Reader, 1866; Reprint
................. 1927
Henry Ford
Eclectic Spelling Book (Newly revised)
................... 1846
Judge David Davis
New Eclectic Spelling Book
............................. 1865
Lida S. Lucas
New Eclectic Spelling Book
............................. 1865
Henry A. Williams
Eclectic Spelling Book (Revised edition)
................. 1879
Dr. Thomas S. Lowden
Eclectic Spelling Book (Revised edition)
................. 1879
Ella Glenn McSurely
Eclectic Spelling Book (Revised edition)
................. 1879
Homer Zimmerman
Eclectic Spelling Book (Revised edition)
.................. 1896
Charles, Mary, Jane and Catherine Harsha
Eclectic Spelling Book (Revised edition)
................... 1907
Dr. H. R. Plum
Alternate Spelling Book ................................. 1888
M. E. Thrailkill
A List of Words in McGuffey's Primer and
Readers ........ 1886
Betty Berry Horst
A History of the McGuffey Readers
...................... 1911
Jonathan Dayton Chapter, D. A. R.
Leigh's New McGuffey Eclectic Primer
................... 1863
E. R. Williams, Sr.
Second German Reader (McGuffey
Wood-cuts) ........... 1854
John R. Horst
New Juvenile Speaker .................................. 1860
Mrs. Phebe A. Moore
New Eclectic Speaker ................................... 1828
John F. Booth
New Eclectic Speaker
................................... 1858
Dr. Orr H. Williams
New High School Reader ............................... 1857
Jerry Dennis
High School and Literary Reader
......................... 1889
John E. Hambleton
All of the foregoing list are McGuffey
items except the German
Second Reader, which has only the
McGuffey wood-cuts.
PRESENTATION OF McGUFFEY READERS
On Tuesday evening, February 15, 1927,
a meeting of
unusual interest was held in the
audience room of the
Museum and Library Building on the Ohio
State Uni-
versity Campus. The program announced
"a joint
session" of the Ohio State
Archaeological and Historical
Society and the McGuffey Society of
Columbus, Ohio.
The purpose of the meeting is indicated
in the following
announcement:
The McGuffey Society of Columbus, Ohio,
presents to the
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical
Society, a set of the
McGuffey Readers, all copyrights, for
preservation in its library.
JOHN F. CARLISLE,
President of the McGuffey Society.
MRS. MYRTIS G. REESE, Secretary.
JOHN R. HORST,
Chairman of the Memorial Alcove
Committee.
"The Memorial Alcove" is an
alcove in the library
of the Ohio State Archaeological and
Historical Society
for the exhibition and preservation of
the McGuffey
Readers. The collection presented is
one of the most
complete in existence. A similar
collection was sold
recently for $2,000.
The following program was rendered in
the pres-
ence of an appreciative audience that
filled the seating
capacity of the auditorium.
PROGRAM:
Invocation: Rev. J. A. Ewalt, Member
of the McGuffey Society
of Gahanna, Ohio.
Introductory: John
F. Carlisle, President of the McGuffey Society
of Columbus, Ohio.
(157)