Palisadian. [volume] (Cliffside Park, N.J.) 1906-current, 1920-02-28
Major McClave
Was Father of Ten
Before He Was IS
Hon. John c. Cadien, Mayor,

My dear Mayor: I believe this is
Loyalty Week." and at the request
of the governor of the state urging the
people to write their executives, ex-
pressing their loyalty not only to the
state but to the nation, 1 write you
this letter, although believing again
that very few people will do likewise,
not because they are disloyal, but be-
cause they have so long been in the
| habit of following the same old rut of
every day occurrences, that it would
take a sledge hammer to drive them
| into another course.
Having been born under the Ameri-
can flag, raised under it, protected by
1t, naturally love and venerate it, and
whenever or wherever / see move
ment to belittle it, besmirch or pull it
down, l promise in so far as l am
able, as an individual, to use all my
power either physical or mental, or
both, to prevent it.
| promise further to urge others to
do likewise, and to teach the for
eigner and the unstable American, that
while free speech means that which
may be spoken, to build up and i'm
prove, it does not mean to destroy and
pull down-that every man and woman
shall have the right to decide for
themselves individually to work or not
to work when and where as the OPP
pOrtunity is accorded them, that it
would be better to arbitrate differences
while production goes on, than to
strike or break agreements, that it
would be better to permit the am
bilious and clever wOrkmen to speed
up his production rather than to put
brake upon his capabilities.
| further promise to urge the capt
talist and the laborer to realize that
capital and labor must go hand in
hand to the benefit of both, and the
cOntentment of the nation, that both
are important each to the other, but
without honest cooperation in this re-
spect, the stability of our country will
be shaken.
l further promise to urge our legis-
lators both state and national, to have
the courage of their personal convic-
tons in passing only such laws as will
benefit the entire American people and
not a separate class, to defend them at
home and abroad, to uphold our great
American flag and all it stands for,
to foster our trade and protect it, to
upbuild our merchant marine and navy
to a point second to none, to estab-
fish man power upon land requisite
to our needs in the defense of our
country, to keep us from entangling
alliances with other nations, except it
be for the peace of the world, and
then through patient work and edu-
cation to bring order out of chaos,
to teach minguided people the diff
ference between right and wrong, JUS
tice and injustice and the advantages
of self-help, lastly but not least, to
drive from our shores with a strong
hand the enemies of our nation.
l further promise to urge the in
crease of our population through legi-
innate wedlock, that the vacant land
of our country may be occupied, and
our farms, mills, workshops, mines and
ships worked by native born Ameri-
cans, that l practise what / preach in
this respect, it is only fair to state
that l was the father of ten children
when only thiry-five years of age.
I further promise to continue my eff
forts in all matters of needed i'm
provements, especially the Hudson
River bridge, which | believe will not
only benefit greatly the people of its
immediate neighborhood, but will be
of lige great benefit to the nation.
AS this letter is written while we
celebrate the birthday anniversary of
the father of our country, let us re-
member the hardships he endured, the
thoughts and plans that racked his
brain to make this country haven
for those who desire freedom from
autocratic rule, and to have personal
liberty, where the ambitious could
reach their goal, through opportunities
that were free to all who had the
foresight to grasp them, making a
country that is well to live in that
we can be justly proud of, and we
therefore should use our best en-
deavors to keep it so, not only for
our own benefit, but as an example for
the rest of the world
Very truly yours,