Evening star., 1932-11-01

our DullQlIlS anu loan alSSOCldtlOIlS. we
multiplied by 1900 per cent the amount
Of our life insurance. With the en-
largement of our leisure we have come
to a fuller life. we gained new visions
of hope. we more nearly realize our ma
tional aspirations and give increasing
scope to the creative power Of every
individual and expansion OF every
mans mind.
Break Three Years Ago.
Our people in these 80 years grew in
the sense Of social responsibility. There
is profound progress in the relation Of
the employer and employed. We have
more nearly met with a full hand the
most sacred obligations Of man; that is,
the responsibility Of man to his
neighbor. Support to our schools, hos
pitfalls and institutions for the care of
the afflicted surpassed in totals of bill
lions the proportionate service in any
period of history in any nation in the
world
Three years ago there came break
in this progress. A break Of the same
type we have met is times In a CEN
But 18 months later came a further
blow by shocks transmitted to us by
the earthquakes of the collapse in ma
tions throughout the world as the aft
ermath Of the World War. The work
tngs Of our system were dislocated
Millions Of men and women are out Of
jobs. Business men and farmers suf-
fer Their distress Is bitter. do not
seek to minimize the depth Of 1t. We
may thank God that in view OF this
storm 30,000,000 still have their jobs:
vet this must not distract our thoughts
from the suffering of the other TO-
100000.
But I ask you what has happened.
This so years of Incompatible i'm
provement in the scale of living, the
advance of comfort and intellectual
life, inspiration and ideals did not arise
without right principles animating the
American system which produced them
Shall that system be discarded because
vote-seeking men appeal to distress and
say that the machinery is all wrong
and that it must be abandoned or tam
pered with? Is it not more sensible to
realize the simple fact that some
extraordinary force has been thrown
into the mechanism, temporarily de-
ranging its operation? Is it not wiser
to believe that the difficulty is not
with the principles upon which our
American system Is founded and de-
signed through all these generations of
inheritance? Should not our purpose
be to restore the normal working of
that system which has brought to us
such immeaSurable benefits, and not
destroy it?
Analyses Proposals.
And In order to indicate to you that
the proposals of our opponents will en-
danger or destroy our system, l pro-
pose to analyZe few of the proposals
of our opponents in their relation to
these fundamentals.
First. A proposal of our opponents
which would break down the American
system Is the expansion of Government
expenditure by yielding to sectional and
group raids on the public treasury. The
extension of Government expenditures
beyond the minimum limit necessary
to conduct the proper functions of the
Government enslaveS men to work for
the Government. If We combine the
whole governmental expenditures-Na-
tional. State and municipal-we will
find that before the World War each
citizen worked. theoretically, 25 days
out of each year for the Government
In 1924 he worked As days year for
the Government. Today he works for
the support OF all forms Of government
81 days out Of the year.
No nation can conScript it's citizens
for this proportion Of mems time with
out national impoverishment and de-
struction of their liberties. Our Nation
cannot Go it without destruction to our
whole conception of the American sys-
tenn. The Federal Government has
-, ~
unusual expenditures. but in partial
alienation of these extraordinary and
unusual expenditures the Republican
administration mas made a success
full effort to reduce the ordinary
running expenses Of the Govern
ment. Our opponents have persistently
lnterfered with such policies. / only
need recall to you that the Democratic
House Of Representatives passed bills
in the last session that would have in
creased our expenditures by S3,500 ,000-
COO, or 81 per cent. Expressed in days
labor. this would have meant the con-
scription of l6 days additional work
from every citizen for the Government
This l stopped. Furthermore. they re-
fused to accept recommendations from
the administration In respect to $780,
100000 to s200000000 of reductions in
ordinary expenditures. and finally they
forced upon us increasing expenditure
OF 1922 100000. In spite OF this. the
ordinary expenses of the Government
have been reduced upwards Of $780,
100000 during this present admins
tration. They will be decidedly fur
ther reduced. But the major point 1
wish to make-the disheartening part
OF these proposals of our opponents
is that they represent successful pres
sures Of minorities. They would ap-
peal to sectional and group political
support, and thereby impose terrific
burdens upon every home in the coun-
try. These things can and must be
resisted. But they can only be resisted
If there shall be live and virile public
support to the administration in oppo-
sition to political log-rolling and the
sectional and group raids on the
Treasury for distribution Of public
money. which is cardinal in the con-
geries of elements which make up the
Democratic party.
These expenditures. proposed by the
Democratic House of Representatives
for the benefit of special groups and
special sections Of our country, directly
undermine the American system Those
who pay are. in the last analysis. the
man who works at the bench. the desk,
and on the farm. They take away his
comfort. stif1e his leisure. and destroy
his equal opportunity.
Initiation of the Currency.
Second. Another proposal OF our op-
ponents which would destroy the Amer
lean system is that of initiation OF the
currency. The bill which passed the
last session of the Democratic House
called upon the Treasury of the
United States to issue $4,000 600 900 in
paper currency that would be uncon-
vertible into solid values Call 1t what
you will. greenbacks or fiat money It
was that nightmare which hung over
our own country for years after the
Civil War.
In our special situation today the
issuance Of greenbacks means the i'm
mediate departure Of this country from
the gold standard, as there could be
no provision for the redemption of
such currency in gold. The new cur