The Legion and UNESCO

For a few brief months, the American Legion seemed ready to stop shooting its patriotic artillery at UNESCO. In May, a special Legion committee reported no truth whatever in earlier Legion charges that the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization was teaching atheism, communism, and world government. Five months has, however, evidently brought the Legion back to its battle stations, for instead of accepting the committee's report, the annual convention last week began once again to fire away with its blank charges.

Dropping its former complaints about atheism and communism, the Legion this year stuck to the sole issue of "subversive educational materials" which support "a nebulous world government." It is difficult to know what the Legion means by these nebulous phrases, for the purpose of UNESCO has been clearly stated again and again. Since its beginning, the U.N. agency has tried to bring about better understanding between peoples on the subjects of education, science, and culture, but it has never threatened the sovereignty of any member nation. Quite the contrary, UNESCO must work through its member nations, for it is actually governed by them.

UNESCO's main task has been not to foster a notion of world citizenship, but to send educators into areas of the world where school standards are far below normal. UNESCO also publishes books and pamphlets which take up educational and scientific problems on a world calc. Both of these activities have been investigated many times-not only by the Legion's special committee, but by citizens whom President Eiscnhower named and by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. In all three instances, the groups cleared UNESCO of going beyond its legitimate function.

Actually, many people in other nations criticize UNESCO for trying to Americanize the world. Evidently the Legion overlooks criticisms of this kind and instead overrules without any debate it own committee, headed by a former National Commander. These antics prompted former President Truman to say that the Legion had gone "haywire" in the last three or four years. More seriously, the Legion has begun its barrage at a time when UNESCO seemed, at last, free from surprise attacks.