Nation: Tale of Two Cities

More than a century ago, Boston was a sternly self-righteous center of abolitionist sentiment, while Montgomery, Ala., was the capital of the Confederacy. After World War II, Bostonians played a major role in carrying the crusade for civil rights to the South, and Montgomery remained one of the obdurate centers of resistance.

Thus there is a particularly bitter irony in the contrast between two recent events involving the two cities. Last month the Federal Government decided that Montgomery was so peaceful that the guards could be safely removed from the home of U.S. District Judge Frank M. Johnson. Armed men have...

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