RED CRUSADE.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20274, 7 April 1934, Page 24 (Supplement)

RED CRUSADE.

Anti-God Propaganda in English Schools. MINISTRY WARNED. A N anti-God campaign waged on the minds of children by teachers holding Communist views has been brought to the knowledge of the president of the Board of Education in England. The campaign was launched after the attendance of more than thirty elementary and secondary British school teachers, including one headmaster, at a recent conference of teachers from various countries in Paris. # That conference was held under the auspices of the Communist International. Discussions were devoted to the best methods of instilling anti-religious and other subversive propaganda into the minds of children. Always Vigilant. The Board of Education has learned that the English delegates made a special contribution to the proceedings, in which they declared that there was no lesson which they could not turn to advantage in the cause of irreligion. 44 We are constantly alive to the possibility that Communistic teachers may succeed in teaching anti-religious doctrines, but it is extraordinarily difficult to track down any specific cases,” an official of the Board of Education said. 44 The matter rests first with the local educational authorities, whose duty it is to report irregularities. “ In a free country,” he added. 44 the schoolmaster is permitted to hold privately whatever views he pleases, so long as he does not preach them to his pupils. 44 You cannot put an informer into a suspected classroom. It is naturally difficult to rely on anything a pupil may report, and so far there have been no complaints from parents. 44 It is the intention of the board to take every possible step to stamp out the crusade ”