Evening star., 1933-10-02
BY the Aasociated Press.


CHICAGO. October 2.-The text Of
the address OF President Roosevelt to
the American Legion Convention today
follows:
Comdr. johnson, fellow members OF
the American Legion:
I am glad to come here as your guest
and I am glad to have the right to
come here as your comrade. l nave
come because I have faith IN the
American Legion and in all other vet
Grams of our wars. The right which l
| have to come here works both ways,
because as long as I am in the White
House you have the right to come and
see me there.
But my relationship with you Is not
a matter of the past six months; II
dates back to the war days when
participated with you, not only IN tniS
country, but also on the North Sea,
and in the Channel and on the actual
fighting front in France.
I want to talk with you about the
problems of government. the difficulties
which you and I as Americans have
faced and solved, and those which we
still face. I recognize and appreciate,
and the Nation recognizes and appre-
ciates, the patience, the loyalty and the
willingness to make sacrifices shown
by the overwhelming majority of the
veterans Of our country during the
trying period from which we are be-
ginning successfully to emerge.
Meaning Of National Unity.
want to talk to you about national
unity. Let us look at it as a living
thing-not a mere theory resting In
books, or otherwise apart from every
day business of men. 1t means that
we all live under q common govern
mon taxes, give to and receive from a
common protective government. To
recognize national unity. to hold it
above all else, seeing that upon it de-
pends our common welfare, is Just an
other way to say that We have patriot
ism.
You and I who served in the World
War know that we represented a united
Nation in the time Of danger to world
civilization. But you and I know also
that national unity is as essential in
time of peace as in time Of war. II
this country is worth living in, If
this flag of ours is worth living under,
If our social order means anything to
us, then this country of ours in worth
| defending every day and every year Of
the life Of every individual one OF us.
It is because am unwilling to live my
self, or to have my children or grand
children live under an alien flag or an
alien form of government, that I be-
lieve in the fundamental obligation of
citizenship to don the uniform of our
country. to carry arms in its defense
when out country and the things 1t
stands for are attacked.
But there are two enemies Of national
unity, sectionalism and class, and If
the spirit Of sectionalism or the spirit
| to prevail, 1t means the end Of national
unity and the end of patriotism.
Some people who visit us from other
lands still find it difficult to credit a
fact that a Nation sprung from many
sources, a Nation 130,000,000 strong a
Nation stretching 5000 miles from east
to west, is, in all the great essentials
of its civilization. homogeneous
whole: for not only do We speak
one language, not only are the customs
and habits Of our people similar in
every part Of the continent but We have
given repeated proof on many occasions.
and especially in recent years, that we
are willing to forego sectional advan-
tanned only by one part Of the country
! at the expense of another.
The other enemy of national unity
is class distinction. and you and
are well aware of the simple fact that
as every day passes, the people of this
country are less and less willing to
tolerate benefits for one group of citi-
zens which must be paid for by others.
You have been willing to fight for
the benefits of American life. You
have been willing to live for American
unity. You have understood that this
! is the very foundation of the American
believe, and to which you and swore
allegiance when we became American
Legionnaires.
Benefits Were Threatened.
| For several years past the benefits
of American life were threatened. The
crisis came in the Spring Of the year.
1t was necessary to meet that crisis.
Again it was necessary for all of us to
60 back to fundamentals.
Millions were out OF work. the banks
were closed. The credit of the Govern
ment itself was threatened. The car
was stalled Obviously, the first objec-
tive was to get the engine running
again. 1t is true that We succeeded
in reopenlng the great majority of the
banks. but this would not have been
possible If at the same time We had
not been able to restore the credit of
the Government.
In speaking Of national credit We are
again dealing with a real thing, not a
theory in books. There is such thing
as national credit. It depends upon
national unity. Without it the Gov
eminent cannot get the money to give
You and I depend upon it, and in a
right sense your welfare and mine rests
upon it.