Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1920-05-05
N]1X 70 SENTATIVE.

The FSsxo cou5tsr News ID, having
= sfitSotshystsria 6ver the tact that I
number Of students iii the public
schools Of tlsastAte are participating
In contests I'M which prizes are offer
Iedt9for the best essays or orations Id
opposition to socialism. It Is distress
Ing that We aensibilitiessof the Faro
paper should be Is ruffled. but we-do
not see Just what car be. done about
It. The prizes are offered by w. j.
Arnold, " Lisbon paper. which has
been knoNk throughout the state as
an ardent champion Of prohibition.
and which has also undertaken to
combat the spread OF Socialism! The
money offered ID either from the
private purse of Mr.. Arnold, or from
contributions made for that purpose
by other individuals. 1t is not public
money. collected from the people in
taxes. and II its owners~choose to Of
fer il for essays on Socialism, or Boil
% vism. or chewing gum, we know
Z mo law to prevent it, although it is
bssible that our legal lights may find
Jne.
The essays and orations which the
young students undertake, form no
part of their school, courae. We do
not understand that the school au-
thorities have any authority to pro-
hibit the young people under their
charge from~%writing on any subject
that interests them, outside Of school
hours, and if these students choose to
occupy their spare time in an endeay-
nor to win prizes in u competition Of
this kind, We fear that the Courier
News will have to get a new law pass
ed before it can have it stopped.
But, anyway, why this peevishness?
The !Courier-News says:
The size Of the prizes is said to
have tempted a large per cent of
the pupils in the local schools to
study up on Socialism in the hops
of winning fthe money.
That, Of course, is a serious matter.
1t is not ON record that either the
Courier-News or any of its Socialist
associates have n objection to eth
er children or adults studying up on
Socialism, provided the studies are
conducted according to the forms ap-.
proved by Socialists. But that they
should study the subject, independents
~, or under instructors Of their owl
choosing, is intolerable. 4
Again, the Courier-Nevs has 4
in this:
Many parents in Fargo have
protested against this fragrant
disregard of the spirit 81 the
American public school system by
the leaders of the opposition to
the farmers movement in carry
ing on political propaganda in
their schools.
For a Tow nley paper to object to
political propaganda in the schools is
rich. The entire effort of the Social
list machine in this state has been de-
voted to the complete transformation
OF our educational SYSTEM, from top
to bottom, into an elaborate piece of
political machinery. For political
purposes the effort was madeIto frus-
trate the declared will of the people
when the people had substituted an
educational administrator for arpolit-
icAl henchman in the office, Of state
superintendent. For political purpos-
es the functions Of the administrator
elected by the people were withdrawn
and passed over to Ia board composed
OF politicians: For political purposes
an attempt was made to prostitute
the work of the state library to the
dissemination of Socialistic and free
love literature to the general student
body OF the state. For po~liticalNpur-
poses the effort was made systemat-
ically. and in some cases very success
fully, to inject the spirit Of Socialism
into the instructional work OF the
states educational institutions. Thu
Courier-News now walls about politi.
cal propaganda in the schools!
Can you beat it?