Evening star., 1938-01-25

BAILEY.
far removed and to q Congress in
which their representation is 50 slight
Free men, whether employers or em-
ployes. are naturally reluctant to give
others even near to them the control
Of their affairs Few indeed would
consent to the appointment of trustees
or guardians for themselves.
I remind you that the power to fix
wages and hours is the power to en-
slave. That is the power the slave
owners Of the South had-the power
to fix wages and hours And do you
propose to give over this power to a
House of Representatives in which
you vote for one in 435 and Senate
In which you vote for only two in
96? I am not saying that you would
be enslaved. but I am saying that
whenever you surrender to political
authority this control, you have taken
fateful step in that direction
am very much concerned about
our recent trend toward centralization
of political power at Washington. ]
know the present atmosphere is pleas
ing; am familiar with the difficulties
OF the time and with the promises
now made-and I do not question
their good faith. But I know that
the Federal power is general. not local;
that it is not capable Of local represen-
taHon, that it is not informed of local
conditions, and that it is not locally
responsible. And I know that freedom
in a mans hands is the mightiest
weapon he can WELD. I am never
going to advise Americans to give it
over to political authority.
And I believe-and shall always
believe in the wisdom. the justice and
the safety of the principle of local
elf-government-in home rule in our
great, our far-extended and varied
land. We have 1t now, we have had
it these $50 years OF matchless prog
ress Perhaps it has become so IA
miliar to us that we no longer prize
1t as we ought Perhaps we must lose
it in order to discover its value, but I
devoutly hope not.
Over the Washington railroad sta
ton are four lines which often read.
1t is an apostrophe to freedom:
Sweetener Of hut and Of hall,
Bringer Of life out Of naught-
Freedom! O fairest Of all
The daughters Of Time and Of
Thought!
Masses Rise in Freedom.
The masses Of men may rise In their
own freedom-and history's page dis
closes that they may not rise other
wise. Here in our land there is much
social and economic progress to be
made, but no other people are 80 ad-
vanced as we are; and it is due In no
small degree to the fact that here free
dom has operated for Is decades in
representative constitutional democ-
racy, in the process Of local self-gov-
ernment. It Is because their affairs
have not been under central govern
ment control that they have risen.
We are liberals In America-that Is
we believe in the power Of free men
to lift the race in freedom. The Mus
solinis and the Hitlers and Stains
frankly take the other view. They
deny the competence of free men.
In conclusion, let me say that no
one has spoken more truly against
the principle of Federal control than
President Franklin Roosevelt. am
about to quote his words. spoken in a
formal address in 1930-not in the
spirit Of controversy. not by way Of
suggesting that he has not changed
his view, and surely not by way Of in
timating that he Is not sincere. On
the other hand, I am sure that he is
sincere now As he was then. Let us
hear him as he declared against this
principle of Federal control:
Wisely or unwisely, people know
that under the eighteenth amendment
Congress has been given the right to
legislate on this particular subject,
but this Is not the case in the matter
of q great number Of other vital
problems Of government, such as the
conduct Of public utilities, of banks, of
insurance. Of business, Of agriculture,
Of education, Of sociai welfare and of
a dozen other important features. In
these Washington must not be en-
couraged to interfere.
fortunately for the stability Of our
Nation, 1t was already apparent that
the vastness Of our territory presented
geographical and climatic differences
which gave to the States wide differ
ences in the nature Of their industry,
their agriculture and their commerce.
Already the New England States had
turned toward shipping and manufac-
turing, while the South was devoting
itself almost exclusively to the easter