Evening star., 1934-12-30

mittee provide for advisory groups
in every State rejecting the external
thought Of those upon whom we
must depend for maintained morale
and for new recruits
The Republican party. Senator
Vandenberg declared. is not dead, nor
even stricken.
There Is too much contemporary
shooting for a funeral" he con-
tinued. with 46 per cent OF the
popular vote last November, it Is the
record. This is particularly impress
sive against a campaign fund oppo-
sition which touched an all-time
high-to wit, the Treasury of the
United States The Democratic party
polled but IS per cent in 1874 and
but AZ per cent in 1923. yet survived
all refuien1s. So shall we-wtth an
infinitely smaller gap to close The
overwhelming Democrat majorities
in Congress are false barometers.
They do not register the magnitude
Of the storm. Only those are fooled
who wished to be.
Seeks Common Ground.
This 46 per cent opposition repre-
sents many divergent groups of opin-
ion-but no more so than does the
polyglot "a per cent majority. Our
problem is to win agreement to COM
mon ground and to deserve the ad-
herence of the rapidly multiplying in
dependent vote and the youth vote Of
this decades new citizens. It cannot
be done by mandate. II must be done
by evolution. II cannot be sought
alone by reliance upon ancient SYM
bols. 1t must be earned also by mod
ern service. It dare not desert the
true faith Of the fathers. But neither
dare to desert the legitimate hopes of
our children. It must answer both
because there is nobility In each.
These are platitudes, easily uttered, 1t
truthfully can be said. Yet they be-
speak attitudes and o state of mind
the well springs of ultimate action.
"I believe we must be liberal party,
neither houndering to the reactionary
right nor staggering to the radical left.
Let those occupy such treacherous
extremes who do not have the Re-
publican tradition of major contribu-
ton to those American policies which
made our whole people for three
quarters of century relatively the
most favored race of earth. We were
born as liberals under Lincoln. As
reborn liberals we do not lose our
equilibrium or change our character.
We but persist in our heritage. Ger
tainly we do not desert the Constitu-
tion for which the savior of the Re-
public died.
Urges LincoIn's Concepts.
"In my view, the spirit of our lib
eralism should say again with Lin
coin, Labor is prior to and independ-
ent of capital; labor is the superior
of capital and it deserves much the
higher consideration 1t should equally
say with Lincoln, Property Is the fruit
of labor; it is a positive good in the
world; let not him who is houseless
pull down the house of another, but
let him work diligently and build one
for himself. Thus by example as
suring that his own shall be safe
from violence when built In other
words, it should declare that human
rights are superior to property rights,
but the latter are part Of the former
and both must take firm order under
the Constitution. It should accept
social responsibility and avoid So
cialism. give you one such ex-
ample-namely, Federal bank deposit
insurance. Another such example
equitable debt composition under
amendments to the bankruptcy act.
It should not sink individualism in a
regimented state; it should reconcile
the aims of the individual to the aims
of the state 1t should not destroy
the profits motive, except In war; It
should harness it and then encourage
it to pull the load.
Il reject the current notion that
liberalism must be unsound and IRE
sponsible. True liberalism is tonic,
not poison. Yet 1t can easily become
poison under the impulse Of its own
enthusiasm, and thus another typical
Republican duty calls US to arms. For
example, President Roosevelt spoke
an utterly significant and prophetic
phrase in his own first inaugural when
he said: Too often IN history liberal
governments have been WRECKED On