The Republican journal., 1922-07-27
Miss Alice M. Robertson.

This lady, Representative in Congress
from the State of Ok ahon made a speech
in Congress recently in which she made
plea for the Protection OF the American
Home We commend the following ex-
tracts as being worthy of attention.
A Happy Home " hen Wage Farmers Are
Busy
My plea then is for the American home,
for American women who can only make
that home happy one when the wage
earners are busy. My plea is for Ameri-
can youth. with the opportunity for them
in acquiring education followed by oppor-
tunity for employment at such remunera-
tion as will enable more perfect manhood
and womanhood and citizenship as the at
fairs of the Nation devoive upon them
carrying it to still greater power and
glory.
Cannot Pay Debt If We Employ Others
to Do Our Work.
What pity to delay this splendid pro-
pressl II will take us generations to re-
cover the losses of the war. There is
National debt Of over S20, 900, 600, 600 to
be paid and it can only be paid by the
wages and profits of production. 1t is
about one-tenth of our National wealth
but it must remain burden till it is liq-
Undated. We cannot pay this debt if we
are idle and employ others to do our work
for us. That would mean going deeper
into debt, till we became nsolvent. Then
indeed would our American Standard Of
living, American homes and American
spirit all be gone.
Do More than Merely Exist.
want to see the people of my State
and of every other State do more than
merely exist. | want to see more and
more American homes. Already more
than half of our people own their own
homes and millions of others are being
paid for. | want those payments to in
crease and it can only be done by doing
our own work. The home is the very
foundation of our American institutions,
/ of law and order, of contentment and
i happiness, of aspirations and ambitions,
of moral and physical advancement, of
stability and the healthful growth of
mind, soul and body. We can well re-
ioce in our places of worship, in our
splendid schools and colleges, in our le-
gislative halls, in our fields for recreation,
and our places for work, and though we
excel in each and ALL there is still no place
happy American home. Our song of songs
extos this sweetest and most sacred
place.
Free Trade Not Home Builder.
But we can only have it if through work
we are prosperous. 1t is not a product of
idleness, it cannot come by buying abroad
what we should make ourselves We
need Protection to enable US to buy our
homes; we need Protection to enable US to
furnish them and maintain them Free
Trade is not home builder. Trade
does not give us carpets and pictures and
pleasing furniture and musical instru-
ments.
How eager we all are at the close
of the session to get "back home;" how
eager are the boys and girls at school
and college to get home for vacation; how
eager are the weary workingmen and wo-
men to get home after the daily toll Are
these loved homes worth working for,
worth pleading for, worth voting for?
/ We know they are and my plea for Pro-
i lection is plea for the American home,
i the basis of our American life. My plea
4 is that American men and women shall
/ have opportunity to build and MAINTAIN
+ these homes, the basis Of our fine manhood
and womanhood and childhood,