ARMISTICE DAY

The refusal of the American Legion to parade in Boston on Armistice Day, because of the presence of certain pacifistic organizations in the line of march, is a striking bit of evidence that the lingering chauvinism which finds expression in talk of the "next war" and the "crying need of preparedness" is not confined to professional military circles.

Undoubtedly the recalcitrant veterans are sincere in the patriotism of their action. Their conception of patriotism, however, shows that a certain part of our population has not advanced beyond that feverish pre-war stage when national consciousness ran to feelings of smug superiority; and Mars and Machievelli reigned supreme in international relations.

The names of some of the societies whom the legion has branded unpatriotic: "The Association for the Abolition of War," "The Fellowship of Youth for Peace"--are worth noting for the light they shed upon the military point of view. Although the peace-at-any-price exponents have sometimes carried their principles to the point of fanaticism, the idea of their motives being traiterous is nothing short of nonsense.

If our memory is correct, November 11 is hallowed as the day on which the barbarities of war ceased. Who, then, should have a better right to commemorate the day than workers for peace? And if soldiers, forgetting the nobility of their cause, turn jingoes, nothing could be more appropriate than their absence from the celebration.