Stating that there is a clamor in Easton against the employment of too many Jews and Italians as teachers, James C. Bay, superintendent of the Easton public schools, in a letter to the board of education urged it to elect teachers only on their merit.
The letter was sent after Bay had submitted the name of Joseph Mammana, an Italian, for consideration as a teacher. The superintendent intimated that some board members were opposed to him because of his nationality.
“To the citizen who advocates racial bias in the teachings of our public schools or in the election of teachers,” he wrote in part, “we may politely suggest that he present himself as a candidate for the school board on that platform. Maybe he can succeed, for a time, as Hitler has in Germany, but it may be reasonably doubted; and any success that he might have would represent a triumph of prejudice and bigotry over the tolerance and good will that lie at the heart of a wholesome democracy.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
