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7L m > u E D IT O R IA L COM M ENT After discussing public spending and/ the Senator pointed out, and “ it is not anXobligation of the Federal Govern taxes and after advocating the killing off of Social Security, Merwin K. Hart, ment.” president of the National Economic “ Ir\ many . . . states, school boards are independent of cities, towns and Council, Inc., in the Economic Council counties and answerable directly to the Letter of March 1, 1947, states: “ As a people.\ In Ohio and elsewhere the third measure that will come before .the people of each community are author present Congress, a great buildup is ized to vpte additional tax levies on now going on to support a bill that will themselves if they feel that more money give ‘federal aid to education.’ /Such is needed for good educational facili a bill has been before Congress for ties. . . . No state has come before us eight or nine years. It has always been affirming its inability to deal with the beaten because it is certain that there educational problem. No legislature can be no federal aid to education with has passed any resolutions requesting out federal control. And federal control would place in the hands of governr assistance.” Senator Taft\then launched into a ment bureaucracy the absolute control series of arguments against the danger of everything pertaining to education. of federal control of public schools if The socialistic teachings in our schools federal aid is given, notwithstanding and colleges today would .be multiplied / the bill specifies that no such control is several times. “ The pretext, of coursb, is that teach to exist. Sometimes large discrepancies occur within a given state as there are ers are not paid enough. Well, that ar rich sections and poor sections. Like gument has been brought up every year, wise a $40 education, in some places, he while the Federal Government was aid said, may be better than a $60 educa ing its special-privilege boys to drive tion in .other places. \Another pointed up truckmen’s and hod-carriers’ pay to double that of teachers. And the argument of Senator Taft was this: “ The bill, therefore, does not do the Government was then getting into debt very thing it is supposed to do. Equal at an astronomical rate, while even the ization, as a matter of fact, cannot be poorest stated were paying off their secured except by complete federal con debts and even accumulating surplus trol and direction. Everyone agrees funds. * / “ It is known that some Republicans that complete federal control and di rection are worse than the inequality are entertaining the notion of giving the schools ‘a little federal aid.’ Where which now exists.” That was what Senator Taft said on would it stop? If this Congress should October 14, 1943. But on January 9, be th oon e to yield to the bureaucrats and /leftwingers who are the core of 1947, in a speech before the' Economic Club of New York City, the same Sen the/aemand for ‘ federal aid to educa ator Taft came out in favor of a bi tion,’ then it may be expected that it would soon yield to the whole com partisan plan for federal aid for edu cation. The bill proposed b y ' Senator munistic-socialistic program.” S. W. Taft, Senator Lister Hill and other Senators, would appropriate $150,000,LAUBACH FOR GLOBAL ALPHABET 000 for the next school year, $200,000,N T h e N e w A ge for November, 1946, 000 for 1948-1949 and $250,000,000 a there was an account of the global year thereafter. Many admirers of Senator Taft, as alphabet invented by former U. S. Sen ator Robert L. Owen, heakl of the well as those who do not share his po litical and economic views, are wonder World Language Foundation, 2400 Six ing just what caused him in his New teenth Street, Washington 9, D. C,, a York speech to set forth views so at nonprofit, educational institution. Senator Owen has now brought out variance with those to which he gave his Global Alphabet Guide Book. expression in 1943. Yes, what? I the new age In lish in from four to six months. the Dr Frank C. Laubach, one of the same way, the native English-speaking world’s outstanding authorities of lan peoples can learn any of a dozen lan guages, states: “ If Senator Owen can guages in the same length of time by wield enough influence to get his alpha use of the same global alphabet. bet started, it has a chance of winning The result of such international un by sheer merit. It is the simplest, best derstanding, made possible by the abil alphabet I have ever seen.” ity to speak and write a common This is indeed strong commendation language, is seen as tremendous _m coming from one of Doctor Laubach s helping abolish war and promoting acknowledged standing. For years he was a missionary of the Congregational world peace. Christian Churches. He gave the Moros METHODISTS N O T MENDICANTS of the Philippines an alphabet and ETHODISM, as other denomina taught them how to read and write tions, is fortunate in having insti with the technique of “ each one teach one ” Then the war came, he returned tutions which are not mendicants asking to the United States and obtained for public funds, said Dr. John O. financial aid to go to South America Gross iri\ his address at the diamond and a similar technique was used m anniversary of the founding of Lander Mexico, Ecuador and other Latin College, Greenwood, S. C. He is the American countries. Doctor Laubach, secretary of the Department of Eduan alumnus of Princeton and now cational Institutions of the Board of sixty-two, is in Cairo, Egypt, where he Education, or The Methodist Church. is setting up literacy charts m twenty In his address he deplored the trend languages and dialects and using his toward linking State and Church ‘'each one teach one” method in the through financial aid from the State hope of eventually making Africa liter . , ate. He has used similar methods in to the Church. \ A report on his speech given m the India, and has spent more than thirty Southern Christiari\Advocate is quoted years in teaching millions of illiterates as follows: \ „ to read and write. . ~ “ He insisted that Methodist colleges Doctor Laubach is also special Coun selor and Representative of the Com must continue to be free and unfettered. mittee on World Literacy and Christian He said that for themvto be placed at Literature, Foreign Missions Confer the step of national or. state govern ence of North America, 156 Fifth Ave ment meant for them to b^ governmentnue, New York 10, N. Y. Thus, when controlled, and this he contended would he places the seal of his approval on be something to be deplored. “ Education must by all , means be Senator Owen’s global alphabet, he is free. True education can ^ardly be speaking from first-hand knowledge of conceived of in terms of bondage, slav the subject. , . Senator Owen feels that English is, ery, control. Education which is con of right, the language that should be trolled by any government, 'pr any church, or any individual, is n<^t edu universally known and used because 200,000,000 people, one-tenth of the cation at its highest. The mind of man world’s population, speak it and, fur must be free. Any attempt to place thermore, most of the world s great his mind in fetters must be resisted. books are to be found printed in Eng Therein lies the grave danger in an in lish Also, another 200,000,000 use stitution’s accepting contributions froni English as a secondary language. This a government. A governmental grant doe's not mean that any race or nation of funds may, by implication or ex is to give up its native language-far pressed contract, be thought of as giv from it It merely means that this ing government some degree of control. global alphabet will enable other people Government aid to farmers led to govto learn to read, write and speak Eng M 206
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