Evening star., 1936-08-23
SCRAP Out Institutions.

ers have had higher wages and shorter
hours, children have had better school
facilities, all have had higher stand
ards Of living. There has been more
leisure for spiritual and cultural
things.
All Reap Benefits.
This freedom Of enterprise which
has distinguished the American way
of life exists not for the few, but for
all. It has benefited every American.
whether he worked for himself or
some one else. Under freedom, more
enterprises are started than under
Government control Of production.
Let us not forget, however, that .
fair distribution Of economic and So
cial benefits has yet to be brought
about.
Now, I take it that we Americans
lived that way because We wanted to
live that way. We still like it better
than any other way. We know there
are many wrongs to right. Only the
misguided will claim that this system
is perfect or that all its results are
desirable. We do not contend that
individual effort can of itself over
come many of the handicaps placed
on great numbers of individuals by
the workings Of our industrial civili-
zation. The record proves, however,
that our system gives the most per-
sonal liberty to human beings and
offers on the whole the highest pos
sible standard Of life to the greatest
| numbers. 1t is q system which per-
mits the driving force Of free initiative
to produce more of the good things OF
life and thus promote q more rapid
| improvement of human welfare than
can be found anywhere outside of
America.
Freedom With Security Possible.
We have found by experience that
American institutions serve our pur-
pose better than those of any other
country. We not only want to safe
guard our freedom. but We also want
security and abundance of the good
things of life. We are told, however.
by defeatists that We cannot have
both. We must, they say. choose be-
tween freedom and security. They
insist We must give up one in order
to gain the other. Let us not sur
render to any such counsel of despair.
Let us not abandon our determination
to win security and abundance with
out sacrificing any If our precious
heritage Of freedom.
In this depression as in every de-
preston, there are timid souls who
| fear that the temporary setback is
to be permanent There Is nothing
to justify any such conclusion. We
have had hard times before They
have followed wars, or q period when
our people have lost their grip on
reality and INDUCED in reckless spec
ulation. The day of reckoning always
comes and then, as now unfortun-
ately, the innocent suffer with the
guilty.
We are told now, however, that we
got out of previous depressions be-
cause of the natural growth Of the
country and the westward expansion
of the frontier. We are warned that
We are at the end Of that era OF
expansion and must face a new sit
uation. The remedy offered is that
the Federal Government shall restrict
production. dole out jobs. and parcel
out business opportunities.
Non Progressive Attitude.
This argument, instead Of being
progressive. is 40 years behind the
times. Much the same thing was said
during the depression of the 1905.
There was more reason for that de-
featist attitude then than there is
now. The expansion Of our geopraph-
ical frontier was slowing down. The
good farm land that could he had for
the asking was about gone. The rail-
roads had generally been built into
the new farming areas. For a time
men seemed at q loss what to do.
We were told then, as we are being
told now. that we were at the end of
an era. There was some truth in
that then. There is no truth in II
now. A revival Of confidence came
with the election of 1896. Things be-
gan to move again. From 1896 to
1914 was the most prosperous period