THE PEOPLE: What We Don’t Know . . .

“What we don’t know is likely to hurt us.” Such was the conclusion this week of Gallup pollsters whose constant questioning of U.S. citizens about public affairs has unearthed surprising “areas of ignorance.” Some of them:

¶I 27,000,000 U.S. adults do not know that the Japs have taken the Philippines.

¶54,000,000 have never heard of the Atlantic Charter.

¶85,000,000 do not know what a reciprocal trade treaty is.

¶Two-thirds of the population do not know that the U.S. has received reverse Lend-Lease aid from Britain.

¶More than half the adult population does not know that the U.S. never belonged to the League of Nations.

University of Denver researchers who recently quizzed citizens about the U.S. Bill of Rights reported that:

¶23% had never heard of it.

¶39% could not identify it.

¶15% gave hazy or wrong definitions.

¶23% were reasonably acquainted with the first ten amendments.