Evening star., 1936-06-24

.r,.,c National Convention follows:
Ladies and gentlemen of the con-
Vention:
We have assembled, as We have done
for more than a century, to Justi1y IN
government a liberalism designed 10
promote those primal and inallenaoie
nights which outweigh all poiitlcai
journalism and all conceptions OF
special privilege. Y
We are assembled here not merely
IN defend but to proclaim the New
neal. as the surest highway to that
"ufe. liberty and the pursuit OF nap
piness" to which Thomas JEFFERSON
devoted his life and Franklin u
Roosevelt is consecrating every noer Of
his immortal spirit.
We meet in the rullness of natlonal
responsibility in all branches OF tne
Government save one, and with rec
ord of performance never equaled II
the history of the Republic; ana OF
that record we stand before the Amer
lean people without apology and With
out retreat.
We meet to rename, and subse'
ouently to re-elect to the highest once
within our gift man whose bullo-u[
Is his record.
AS We survey the picture which the
rorld presents and contemplate the
four tragic years just prior to 1888
and the slow but steady progress o.
our country under this Democratic
administration. We are moved by
sense of profound gratitude that the
Nation today looks into the future
with eyes that see within reach the
goal of a happier and more aounoan'
Life for all our people.
We come to this convention In the
name OF a democracy which Is ma
tional in it's historic background, ir
its approach to and willingness to dea
IN a national way with problems that
are national in their scope.
We recognize the complexity OF
modern life. We covet no power thai
would deprive the States of the right
TO deal locally with local responsible
tties. These are adequate to consume
the energies of all who are willing tc
devote themselves to their solution.
Vital Questions Cannot
Be Stubbornly Avoided.
But we recognize the undeniable
and self-evident fact that, because OF
our growth in territory, population
wealth, the means of production, dis
tribution and consumption and the
facilities of transportation and COM
munication which have knitted the
American people into Nation, certain
great vital questions affecting the
daily lives Of the people as whole
have been projected into our eco
nonnic and social structure.
These vital questions cannot be
stubbornly avoided or their solution
long delayed by any political party OF
any administration which has an ade-
uuate sense of its responsibility to the
people,
Political organizations are neither
created nor justified merely as means
of obtaining public Office. Their justi-
flcation lies alone in affording q
means of expression and desire, as
well as a focus of responsibility, in the
administration of public affairs.
Thomas Jefferson is often misrep-
resented by those who pay to him the
dubious homage of the lip as having
said that government is best which
governs least"
From all the volumes which Jeffer-
son wrote it is indeed unfair to lift
and emphasize single sentence ut
tered concerning an ideal state OF
human perfection never yet attained.
If that sentence must be taken without
context or reservation, it is but a
step to the doctrine that that govern
ment is best which governs not at
all"
In this age of infinite complexity,
of mutual dependence of community
on community, state on state and
nation on nation, all responsible gov
ernments must enlarge their field Of
activity and supervision, to the end
that the weak may be protected from
the strong and rapacious and the ap-
Proclamation Of justice among all class
es may be secured
Any political group, therefore, who,
IN the midst of tragic impotence
among the people to adjust unaided
their lives and fortunes and carve
their individual paths through the
impenetrable forests of economic
density, hides behind the sedentary
Incidence of some ancient shibboleth,
Is unfit for high station or RESPONSE
bility in the society of our day.
New Generations Ask
Why Government Lags.
This is moving, changing world
In which we live. New generations,
viewing the discarded shell of an
cient theories and impatient with
the fatal doctrine of defeatism, are
asking why, among all the arts and
sciences and achievements of man,
only government is a laggard. And
make no mistake about it, they are
searching for the answer.
1t was this impatience with the
blighting atmosphere of the political
and social antiquarian that made
Jefferson the foremost, as we'll as the
most despised liberal of his genera
ton; that drove Andrew Jackson
along course for which he was de-
uOuIltco dS Nulsdl tuludl, ILldt III
spired Abraham Lincoln toward a
goal for which he was described as
the earthly incarnation of coarse buff
foonery. and that Woodrow Wilson was
cynically pictured as q dreamy pro-
fessor bent on political and social
experimentation.
Franklin Roosevelt finds himself in
glorious companionship with these
great spirits who spurned the char
lot Of futility and negation.
He has not dallied with defeat nor
taken counsel with cowardice lest his
feet be found on untraveled ground.
He has sought to dedicate the powers
Of this Government to the service Of
the people who support it with their
substance and their blood. He has
restored to them faith in 1t and con-
troll over 1t.
Why was it essential that the pow
ers Of government be exerted in new
nav ~, the do i1v life nf the American