246
OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL
QUARTERLY
future historian how to search for his
materials and how to record them.
It is also important for him to learn to
weigh and judge his findings with-
out prejudice or bias. But instruction
should not stop at this point.
The historical writer must know what to
discard and what to retain;
he must learn to arrange his selections
for their most effective form of
presentation. Throughout this tedious
process he must be able to retain
an unabated enthusiasm for his subject
matter. Then too, he must acquire
practice in wielding a facile pen which
will weave with lucidity an attrac-
tive word pattern out of the scattered
threads of historical research. He
must be capable of quoting without
interrupting his narrative and he must
be able to paraphrase without distorting
the meaning. Above all, he must
ever be aware of the possibilities for
improvement. He must constantly be
cognizant of his own ignorance. His mind
must always be alert for new
ideas and his eye must ever be searching
for new materials. He must not
rest content on past laurels nor slacken
his efforts to achieve improvement.
He must be willing to revise and to
polish his written drafts indefinitely.
He must also be willing to check and
recheck tirelessly, to proofread, to
collate, and again to proofread, before
he allows his manuscript to face
the barrage of reader criticism. When he
has conscientiously and faith-
fully adhered to all these rules of good
workmanship, then, and only then,
can he be said to have produced
historical writing in which critical investi-
gation is matched by careful
presentation.
The next speaker was Professor Harlan
Hatcher, of the Ohio
State University, state director of the
Federal Writers' Project.
W. P. A. in Ohio. An abstract of his
remarks follows:
THE HISTORICAL OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED
THROUGH
THE WRITERS' PROJECT
By HARLAN HATCHER
Nearly everybody now knows the story of
the beginnings of the
Federal Writers' Project, which was
organized two and one-half years ago
to provide for unemployed writers of
different capacities. Under the direc-
tion of Henry G. Alsberg, the Federal
Writers' Project undertook the
tremendous task of preparing the American
Guide Series to reveal to the
citizens of the United States a picture
of their country. Books have been
prepared on each of the New England
States, and have been published by
the Houghton Mifflin Company. Guides to
the remaining states will appear
at frequent intervals.
The question is now raised, "What
are the historical opportunities
offered through the Writers'
Project?" First, let it be made clear that the
project is not adapted to take the place
of the solid, substantial and scholarly
type of history now projected under the
auspices of the Ohio State
Archaeological and Historical Society.
The Writers' Project in Ohio em-
ploys 132 people, in all capacities,
including typists, research workers,
writers and editors. In most cases this staff
is drawn directly from the
employment division of the W. P.A. They are not trained historians.
But there is a type of work which they
are able to do under direction
which cannot well be undertaken by
private groups.
The kind of contribution which they are
able to make might best be
illustrated by specific reference to the
books now being prepared by the
Writers' Project in Ohio. Chief among these is the Ohio
Guide which will
become a part of the total American Guide Series, The
first third of this