New Britain herald., 1930-07-05

zens, by their better example, a gratitude for the protection and comforts of our country as becom- ing an honorable citizen of our land. It is of such thoughtless and selfish individuals that those cancers of so- clety are made which give rise to the prevalent tyranny of gangsters in our American cities both great and small.
 Religious Liberty
 'Qulte akin to this misconception of the Declaration of Independence, on the parts of many citizens, is a prevalent misinterpretation if not perhaps abuse of the privileges em- bodied in the Bill of Rights. I re- fer more directly to the matter of religious liberty. The idea of relig- ious liberty cannot but be an offen- sive issue to a great, intolerant group of people in our country who seem to interpret this bill of privil- eges to mean liberty to abuse any religion other than their own with complete abandon and disregard of personal rights: or to establish powerful lobbies in the seats of gov- ernment for the purpose of humil- iating and embarrassing government authorities as well as religious faiths other than their own. And it is not beneath these hidebound, benightcd enthusiasts to defame honorable men and women. who have done great good works for their fellow men, simply because they are not of tRe circle of the self styled elect few. Whose is the right to deny. in this land, the freedom to any man to worship as a Jew or a Gentle. as a Catholic or Protestant? And whose judgement is sufficiently divine to holy than the other, save the great God, Himself?
 Religious liberty. like political or economic independence, ceases to he liberty when the element of self ish satisfaction enters in. Liberty q which either are or are not. Degrees in them are scarcely permissible One cannot compromise on liberty and independence without losing them completely.
 True Significance of Declaration But the question now arises: How are we 10 know the truest sig nificance of the Declaration Of h. dependence and of the Bill of Rights? Prominent abuses of these privileges have been reviewed in brief; but not all is hopeless nor to be despaired Of There is a brighter side. It is a common realization that greatest freedom or independence lies in respectful support of the law. The Declaration of Independence was not drawn up and signed as rebuke or refutation to England. The men who effected it were con- cerned with far more important principles. They sought a conscien- tious independence which they tore- saw to become a redeeming institu- tion for countless thousands of souls that were to come after them. And when we consider the price that they paid, and the price that gen erations succeeding them have paid to secure and to insure that inde- pendence, it is not ours to use as a tool to private advantage, but rather as stepping stone to a higher plane Of cultural achievement for our age and for the generations that will succeed us. A clean and healthy conscience I should say to be the most essential equipment for the in- dividual's intelligent conception and appreciation of the significance of this Declaration of Independence for for us. Develop that first, and all other desirable traits of citizenship will be added unto you.
 And as regards religious liberty, happy is he who takes care to be- come no partisan to critical and condemnatory religious controversy. The intolerent religionist is the least effective and certainly the least happy. Only through complete rec ognition of the fullest significance of religious liberty can we hope to experience that freedom to worship God which was one of the prime purposes in the minds of the found- CTS of our great nation. Our will ingness to share religious zeal and responsibility alone can save us from the destructive clutches of selfishness prevalent among eX- tremely exclusive and sslf-righteous circles of religionists who propose to tell the rest of us how to live.
 Tn conclusion then let us con- slider the recommendation to live conscientiously and generally among our fellows, lest we sit in the seat of the scornful or walk the way of Pharisees.' But let us not mistake blindness to open disregard of law and man and God as generosity and conscientiousness Let us not de- ceive ourselves thus. It is ours the rather to pay tribute to these great and inspired souls who made secure for us these blessings and privileges which we now enjoy by fulfilling, upholding, and defending them Tn our own courageous and conscien- tious living of every day, so that posterity shall be able to say of us, as we now say of our forebears: That these have lived, certificate for immortality
 BUSSES FOR ROCKVILLE
 Rockville, July Rt-A decision