Evening star., 1932-05-22
GRAFTON DELIVERED
BY MINNIE sadie.
Washington FinaIist in Ma
tionaI Contest Speaks on
Freedom of Speech.

The Grafton of Minnie Sadie, Wash
ington finalist in the National Oratory
Contest, delivered last night in Consti-
tuition Hall, follows:
"In order to protect themselves from
possible encroachment by the newly
established Federal Government, the
people of the United States guaranteed
their fundamental liberties in the first
amendment to the Constitution, which
reads: Congress shall make no law re-
specting an establishment of religion,
or abridging the free exercise thereof;
or prohibit freedom of speech or OF the
press, and to make no restrictions re-
garding freedom Of assembly and the
right to petition for redress OF
grievances These various liberties OF
religion, of speech, of press, of petition
are all different facets Of one primary
liberty-the liberty of free expression.
I'VE who have arrived here so long
after the adoption of the first amend
ment are amazed to find that the first
amendment to the Constitution was the
first written guaranty that the people
of any nation ever had allowed them to
worship God according to the dictates
of their own conscience. When per-
son is deprived Of this privilege, he
realizes that there is nothing so dear
to the human heart as the privilege OF
belonging to that church and worship
ing in that manner which each person
may SO desire. Each one Of us believes
that the church to which he belongs
is better than any other. Imagine the
Nationwide terror and confusion which
would result II law were passed Fore
ing us to attend state church. whether
it be labeled Hebrew, Methodist or
Catholic How would it affect you If
law were to be read to you which said
that unless you changed your religious
belief you would be burned to death out
on the hillside? You laugh at this. 1t
is hardly believable How could such
a thing be possible today?
The other items Of this article, free
dom Of speech and of the press and
freedom of petition, are necessary TO
true liberty and were placed, therefore
beyond the interference OF Congress.
MY fellow countrymen, this guar
antee of freedom Of speech and of the
press would be meaningless If they
were not defined No society can long
exist which ignores the paramount i'm
portance of the public welfare. In time
OF peace or war, the right Of free speech
for the individual must give way to the
higher right Of the good OF the COM
munity.
THE advantages OF free speech are
twofold-there Is an advantage to the
citizen and an advantage to the Gov
ernment The individual citizen de-
velops into a better participant in the
Government than II he is restricted.
To quote Patrick Henry In pro-
portion to the magnitude Of the
subject ought to be the freedom OF the
debate There is a tradition in Eng
land that If a person goes into Hyde
Park, London, he may gather crowd
around him and say anything he
pleases. subject only to the chance that
he may be roughly handled II his hear
ers do not like his views on the sub
ject For this reason, Hyde Park is
sometimes referred to as the safety
valve of the British government. Any
one who has a grievance, real or
imaginary can go there and air his
views. Having had his say, without let
or hindrance, the speaker feels better
about It, England has its Hyde Park,
but we have something of a more last
ing quality-the first amendment.
$50 we see, the soul Is free. No
power can make one belong to any
church, nor in any way, to hold reli-
gious faith. Men may write or speak
what they will. Men have the right to
assemble peaceably and at any time or
place to talk over their troubles and to
draw up a petition to the Government
seeking relief from unjust burdens. In
other words, men are free, and this
very freedom should make us hold with
veneration this great charter Of human
liberty-the peerless Constitution Of the
TTpitaI Ctofor