New Britain herald., 1929-06-19
ON BEING sUPER.PATRIoTIo

ON BEING SUPER-PATRIOT1C
 4 genuine patriot does net need to parade his patriotism like he would his honesty. Both are taken for granted virtues in the normal American. The persons who would form an honesty society" would be laughed to scorn; but there is less of disposition to measure g so-called patriotic society" with the same yardstick. Ninety-nine out of 100 citizens. if not ss9 out of every 1000. are not affiliated with any patriotic society. yet those who attend to their own business and think well Of their country in their own way could not be regarded as unpatriotic.
 That the patriotic business is vast ly overdone and in some instances is mask for tho propagation of re- actionary principles was brought home to the genuinely patriotic citi- zenship of Boston the other day when about 100 leaders of Massa- chusetts patriotic societies" met there and were addressed by the woman editor Of The Woman Patriot. q publication which appar. ently makes . business of what is understood as patriotism in such circles.
 Here is . paragraph of the news report of the proceedings as pub- lished in the Boston Herald:
 Speaking of bills now before Congress, she urged all to oppose the old age pension bill. >the rural education bill. the bill for child re- lief during strikes and unemploy- ment, the bill to send t25o. 100000 to China to relieve famine, tho bill which seeks to house woman govern ment employees in Washington. and the various maternity bills. She de- described all this legislation as 'so- cialistic'"
 Most of the proposed legislation constitutes idealistic principles furthered by as good patriots-if not better patriots-than those represented in the ranks of the so- cieties the woman editor addressed. Tn old age pension bill, already adopted as state measures by four states, is the pet thesis of the Fra ternal Order of Eagles. The Eagles have given no evidence of being un- patriotic. The rural education bill is favored by millions of women in the rural districts. and they are patriotic. believing that what uplifts the national intelligence is worthy of support. The child relief bill is a humanitarian measure favored by all social workers and those who believe that innocent children should not be made to suffer needlessly during periods of strife. The Chinese relief bill is the essence of Christianity, but according to these super patriots. ia unpatriotic. Improved housing of women government employees is q moral issue and would tend to pre- vent the exploitation of women by interruptions landlords in Washing ton. And 50 on.
 Such super-patriotic organizations are consistently anti-radical to the point where it becomes humorous. The radical bogie never wears out in such an environment. Somebody is always saying that the bolsheviks are getting numerous and threaten the patriots. Fortunately such sena- tors as Borah, Norris and others who amount to something in Wash- ington never pay the slightest atten- tion to super-patriots or professional patriots.
 Of course. it may be explained that there is room for all kinds of fanatics in this world, and that the various sorts pretty thoroughly bal ance themselves. But we cling to the belief that genuine patriotism, like the verities, should be taken more for granted. and that excessive declarations on the subject lead to the inevitable suspicion that some- thing is being masked under the cloak.