The Sauk Centre herald., 1930-11-20
Senator Shipstead
Makes Strong Plea
Inland Waterways

Minnesota spoke Saturday night as
follows over the national good will
hookup Of the Columbia broadcast
ing system:
I am grateful for the honor of
speaking to you this evening thru
the courtesy of one of our greatest
national daily newspapers, The
Washington Star, of Washington,
D. c.
I shall speak to you With hope
"a full sense of what is due to this
moment of special economic crisis.
Two mental attitudes toward it are
being widely stressed.
1t is said, in the first place, that
toward the problems which this
crisis presents we should be entire
ly politically non-partisan. In that
view I heartily concur. concur
in it not only at this time but at all
times. speak neither for the Re-
publicans nor for the Democrats,
neither for the administration nor
for the opposition. Nor do I as
sumo to speak for anyone else.
Recalls Washington's Warning
You are frequently told that we
must have government by parties.
You are told that party loyalty,
party discipline, party action, thru
the formulation and execution of
party policy are the salvation of
the country. I have kept in mind
a warning of Washington who in
his farewell address to his country
rpnI fhnr,o f0 Of Nhonnf,r1 a
influence of the political parties in
the state" It was Washington who
in that same farewell declared that
"the spirit of party serves always
to distract the public councils and
.enfeeble the public administration"
It is the spirit, said Washington,
"that agitates communities with ill
founded jealousies and false alarms,
kindles animosities, spirit not to
be encouraged in purely elective
governments" and that is the kind
of a government ours is supposed
to be.
Words Hold True Today
This was the fear of political par
ties expressed by George Washing
ton and share his sentiments, for
what he said is just as true today
as when he uttered the words
more than century ago. Instead
of following Washington we, today,
have seemingly to d large extent
submerged our loyalty 20 state and
country in favor of loyalty to this
or that political party. Yet now
when the country most particular
ly needs salvation, the leaders of
both major parties unite in pro-
posing and accepting an abandon
ment of party and recurrence to
the principle of George Washing
ton, the principle of non-partisan-
ship toward the solutions of the
difficulties of the republic.
I welcome their conversion.
hope they will persist in il. hope
they will continue to put country
above party not only in an emer-
-gency but normally and uninterrup-
tedly.
Second Attitude of Moment
We then come to the second at
titude which az shis moment is rec
commended to us. We are told that
we must now be not only non-par-
tisan but constructive Again I
heartily concur. I had supposed.
indeed, that it was desirable at all
times to be constructive" 1 had
not supposed that either party at
any. time would bring forward
measures intended to be "destruc-
tive" In any case, however, I join
earnestly in the suggestion that we
should today and then perhaps
even tomorrow-cease entirely from.
being destructive and negative
and become wholly constructive"
and positive.
We must, therefore, look about
for constructive" ideas, for posi-
tive ideas. The IDEAS lately, doni-
nant in the management of the
country were very considerably re-
pudiated by the people at the polls
last week. The party which in the
senate and in the mouse Of repre-
sentatives was the beneficiary of
that reputation now says thai it's
main idea will be TO Cooperate"
with the party which was the vic
tim of that repudiation. Surely
there must be somewhere some
idea more constructive" more
positive, than the idea of coop
Grafton" with ideas which the coun-
try has found unsatisfying.
Doubtless in time each party will
confide to you it's new ideas for
curing our newly emphasized dis
tresses. They have not, yet, as par
ties, done so. There is talk of the
dangerousness of what is called
rocking the boat" That is a phrase
which is too much employed to ex-
cuse doing nothing whatsoever to
improve the boat We are led
toward thinking that the proper
remedy in storm is legislative in
that if it is Constructive" and pos
tive to equip a boat with a good
engine and a good rudder and a
good compass in fair weather, it is
still more constructive and posi-
tive to give it that helpf.Il equip
ment when, in it's effort to survive
the storm, it most needs it.
I accordingly take both parties at
the literal worth of their profess
sions. We should now be non-par-
tisanly open to ideas and we should
be "constructively'' and positively,
if we can be creative of ideas.
Construction" is doing something.
There are many things which, in
my judgment, we might properly
long ago have done to strengthen
sal.- .e.r,i lixacr