THORN IN THE FLESH

To let sleeping dogs lie may be a comfortable adage for most of us, but for the Massachusetts Progressive Committee and numerous student federations it is no kind of policy to use in dealing with the Teachers' Oath Bill. Tonight at 8 o'clock this particular sleeping dog will be ferreted out of its pleasant slumber and voraciously torn limb from limb. Though it is difficult to see any material decline in Massachusetts education since the enactment of the Oath Bill last year, nuisance legislation, like a docile canine with fleas, is obviously bothersome. For attempting to drive out this undemocratic pest the leaders of the prospective gathering in Emerson D deserve congratulations.

Any reference to the Oath in classes or lectures apparently brings nothing but knowing smiles and genial mirth. What little pique the law has stirred up is principally due to its naive conception of the Bill of Rights and the illogical requirement for teachers-one of the most capable elements of our population-to swear allegiance while wags and politicians unhindered spread their senseless palaver over the air or in the press. As far as the ultimate purpose of the legislation is concerned, the Teachers' Oath Bill is doubtless a dead letter. Educators raise their right hands and then continue teaching just as they always did. It is curious how unquestionably patriotic legislators can so easily lose sight of the fundamentals of their country's constitution in the passion of their patriotism.

If for no other reason than to erase an anomaly, ineffective as it may be, from the statutes of a democratic state, the Oath Bill should be struck out of the books. The protest tonight, on the eve of the hearing, should help to crystalyze opposition to it.