OCR Text |
Show Rights. If they are properly taught, as they have been interpreted by the Supreme Court and accepted ac-cepted as the guiding principle of human liberties liber-ties for one hundred and fifty years, this sort of instruction will do more to set up bulwarks against the great variety of "isms" which have been imported from foreign sources than any denunciation de-nunciation of the new and subversive ideas can do. Children who have been taught from infancy the basic rights of every American and what they mean are not likely to become infected with Communism, Fascism, Naziism or any other new-fangled isms which are based upon the ideathat the Government is the boss of the people. Youngsters who have been taught the truths of the Bill of Rights will grow up with the realization that it is they and not the Government Gov-ernment who is the boss. It is. to be hoped that the rest of the states will follow the example of New York and make the teaching of Americanism, through study of the Bill of Rights, compulsory in the public schools. ONLY ONE "ISM" NEEDED The State of New York, in a law passed by this year's legislature, and just signed by the Governor, has taken a long step in what must seem to most Americans Am-ericans as the right direction. In this law it is prescribed pres-cribed that the State school authorities "shall designate desig-nate a week during each year and prescribe a uniform uni-form course of exercises in the public schools of the State suitable for pupils of various ages to instill in the minds of such pupils the purpose, meaning and importance of the Bill of Rigths in the Federal and State Constitutions. Such exercise shall be in addition addi-tion to any prescribed courses of study in the schools." There is no better text book in the fundamental funda-mental principles of Americanism than is contained con-tained in the first ten Amendments to the Fed-eral Fed-eral Constitution, which constitute the Bill of |