Evening star., 1935-10-20
To: The Commissioners.

In re: Request of the Board OF Edu-
cation for an Interpretation of the
clause in the appropriation act of 1885,
which provides that no part of any
appropriation for the public schools
shall be available for the payment OF
the salary of any person teaching or
advocating communism.
Report: The question is the meaning
of the phrased teaching or advocating
communism" The term 'commun-
ism is used loosely to cover all forms
and theories of social ownership OF
wealth, but has a more specific cur
rent meaning to denote the type OF
revolutionary socialism first expound-
ed in the communist manifesto of
Marx and Engels of 1847, and today
held by the various Communist par
ties that exist in most countries and
are united in the Communist Interna-
tionale."
The foregoing quotation from the
Encyclopedia Britannica is so apt to
the question presented to us that we
quote it verbatim We think that the
word communism" as it appears in
this statute has no reference to
the theories of Plato's Republic" P"
More's Utopia" and similar clas-
sics, or to the customs of the early
Christians, the Brook Farm" and 9TH
ers, to which the term is frequently
(and in former years usually applied.
1t refers to the governmental forms
and theories of the present-day Com
munist parties composing the Interna-
tionale. Chief among their economic
and political tenets are Cd the abo-
lition of private ownership of property
and the substitution therefor of a
system of common ownership: 90
control of the government of the pro-
letariat (wage earners without prop
erty), that is, dictatorship by the
proletariat; go the destruction of
present systems of government and
the substitution therefor of other sys-
TENS adapted to the theory of prole-
tartan dictatorship.
Opposed to U. S. System.
These tenets are, of course, directly
opposed to the established American
system, which includes among its
principal bases private ownership OF
property, governmental control by a
majority of all classes, periodically
expressed, and a governmental sys-
tenn, legislative, executive and judicial,
designed to function in accordance
with these concepts. The congress
sional intent in the present statute was
obviously directed to the protection of
this system against internal attack.
The word advocate" is easy of def
milton in this context. 1t means to
plead for, or to urge the adoption of.
Much more difficult is the exact de-
lineation of the limits of the word
teach" as it appears here. In ordi-
nary parlance it may mean to en-
tighten, or to indoctrinate, or to nur-
ture, or to train. Clearly any teach
ing of communism which has for its
purpose or its intended effect the
nurture, the training or the indoc-
trination of the pupils in conmunistic
thought is forbidden by this statute.
But am of opinion that the mere
informing Of pupils concerning the
history, existence or theories of the
communistic governments or parties
is not prohibited. Obviously Congress
did not mean to prohibit comment or
instruction which is adverse to COM
munism, that is, teaching against it.
Neither does it seem to me that the
congressional intent reaches to the re-
cital, without any shadow of favor or
support, of factual data. whether his
torical, economic or political.
There is vital difference here be-
tween teaching" and teaching
about" To state that communism ex-
lists is not to teach" it. To state what
Communists believe Is not to teach
communism" within the meaning Of
this statute, provided that the method
or manner of statement does not i'm
ply approval.
Perhaps, If I may be excused for q
direct reference, I can make my