The Crime of Teaching Anarchy
A BILL which makes the teaching of anarchy a crime to be punished by law, has been favorably reported in the New York State senate. The significance of this proposed step is measured by the probabilities as to what may be meant by “teaching anarchy.” “Anarchy” has become quite a comprehensive term. The doctrine of non-resistance, as expounded by Tolstoi, is anarchy, from the Russian point of view. The doctrine that government by force is wrong, is anarchy according to accepted theories of civil government. The doctrine that the seventh day is the Sabbath, and that Sunday laws are wrong, is anarchy from the standpoint of those who want such laws enforced. When the mere “teaching of anarchy” is made a crime, the machinery of civil law will become a weapon to be used by the politically strong against the politically weak, and for purposes other than those which conserve good government and the public welfare. THE Literary Digest states that “a system of circulating libraries that promises much for the educational development of the South has recently been organized in Georgia, under the name of the ‘Andrew Carnegie Free Traveling-Libraries.’ The plan has secured not only the interest of Mr. Carnegie, but also the co-operation of a great Southern railway, the Seaboard Air Line, which gives free transportation to the libraries over its lines, extending through Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. These libraries are intended principally for the small towns and stations. This library system proves to be one of the most effective and powerful of educational agencies. The material and measurable benefits are singular and unmistakable.”