 |
Kindergarteners in Pearland, Texas, recited the Pledge of Allegiance last month. (Nick De La Torre/Houston Chronicle via Ap) |
I WRITE in reference to Alex Beam’s Sept. 13 G column “Brookline the beautiful.’’ While we’re piling on about the movement to abolish the Pledge of Allegiance in the Brookline Public Schools, I wanted to bring up an anecdote about Charles F. Murphy, boss of Tammany Hall from 1902 to 1924.
Once, at a July Fourth celebration, a reporter noticed that Murphy declined to join in the singing of the national anthem. When asked why this was, Murphy’s aide explained, “Perhaps he didn’t want to commit himself.’’ It seems that Murphy would have felt right at home in Brookline.
Stephen D. Eide, Worcester 
© Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company.
