Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1948-08-22
lust Between
Ourselves
BY Philip n. Love,

People talk gllbly OF the ConStl-
tution,p but when you pin them
down, you find that surprisingly few
have more than a nodding acquaint-
ance with that great document.
Every American should read the
fundamental law of his country, not
just once but often enough to un-
derstand and remember what it
means. This, I believe. would serve
as an effective kind of vaccination"
against communism, fascism and
any other deadly political diseases
to which they may be exposed.
The time to begin learning about
the Constitution Is in grade school.
and the study should continue
through high school and college. DR..
Paul Witty of Northwestern Univer-
sity has recognized the need for
such instruction and, with Julilly
Kohler. has prepared a fine book
entitled You and the Constitution
of the United States" (Childrens
Press; $3.50.
Last fall. the Quiz Kids" radio
program invited high school seniors
to submit essays on What America
Means to Me-" From 10000 essays.
five were chosen for scholarship
awards. One Of these, written by
Graham Finney of Greenwich,
Conn. Is included in the book.
Have you ever ridden on a train"
the essay begins. "a mighty stream
lined monster. bulleting its way over
plain and mountain, and shrieking
defiance to any obstacle which
would hinder its progress? America
is like this mighty train to me. and
the privilege to be a passenger on
the greatest trip in all history is
part of what America means to me-"
Graham tells the story of the
train" from the time "the track
was laid in 1920 by our Pilgrim
Fathers" He likens the States to
railroad cars, our Presidents to en-
gineers, Senators to conductors,
members of the Supreme Court to
brakemen, who control the speed"
1t is an imaginative and original
viewpoint, Interestingly presented.
and Lois Fishers amusing drawings
add to its appeal.
The second section of the book,
The Making of the Constitution,
reviews the events leading to the
writing of the document and the
disagreements and compromises
which preceded its adoption. The
original Constitution, consisting Of
the preamble and the first seven
articles, is presented in simplifled
form, along with an easy-to-under-
stand explanation of its meaning.
For older boys and girls, the vol
ume includes the full text of the
Constitution as it stands today.
No doubt you have read, or at
least heard of the testimony of Miss
Elizabeth Bentley that she worked
as Communist spy and that cer-
tain Government employees gave her
information which she passed along
to the Russians. In explanation Of
her ,traitorous conduct, she said that
her education which included
courses at Vassar College and CO.
lumbia University-had failed to
give her sufficient knowledge of his
tory and civics to enable her to
cope with the Communists. She
simply did not understand the true
meaning of America.
There must be hundreds, perhaps
thousands of other Americans as
ignorant as Miss Bentley. One good
thoughtful reading Of the Consti.
tuition might cure them. even yet.
And certainly study of that won
derful document in their school days
would have given all but the stu
pidest of them lifelong immunity
from every ism" but the one called
American