Evening star., 1938-11-05
BY the Associated Press.

IS tHe hsSoCleteu EIeSS
HYDE PARK, N. Y, Nov. 4.-The
text of President Roosevelt's elec-
ton speech, broadcast from his
home here tonight, follows:
On the eve of another election, I
have come home to Hyde Park and
sm sitting 1T my own fireside in my
own election district, my own county
and my own State.
have often expressed my feeling
that the mere fact that am Presi-
dent should not disqualify me from
expressing as a citizen my views on
candidates and issues in my own
State.
have changed my mind about
the nature Of some problems of
Democratic government over the last
few years as I have had more and
more experience with them. I had
never realized how much my way Of
thinking had changed until the
other day, when I was watching the
finishing touches being put on a
simple cottage I have recently
built-a cottage which. by the way.
is not in any sense of the word a
dream house" Just watching the
building go up made me realize that
there was time not so long ago
when I used to think about prob
lens of government as if they were
the same kind of problems as build
ing a house-definite and compact
and capable of completion within
given time.
Social Gain Can Be Lost
Under New Administration.
Now know we'll that the compar-
ison is not a good one. Once you
build a house you always have it.
On the other hand. a social or an
economic gain is different. A social
or economic gain made by one ad-
miniStration may. and often does,
evaporate into thin air under the
next one.
We all remember well-known ex-
amples of what an ill-advised shift
from liberal to conservative leader
ship can do to an incompleted lib
eral program. Theodore Roosevelt.
for example. started a march of
progress during his seven years in
the presidency, but. after four years
OF President Taft, little was left of
the progress which had been made
Think of the great liberal achieve
mentS of Woodrow Wilson's new
freedom and how quickly they were
liquidated under President Harding
We have to have reasonable con-
tinuity in liberal government to get
permanent results.
The whole United States comedies
that we in New York State have
carried out magnificent liberal
program through our State govern
ment during the last Is years. If
the continuity of that liberal gov
ernment had been broken in this
State during that time we would be
nowhere near the point we have
reached today.
The voters throughout the coun-
try should remember that need for
continuous liberal government when
they vote next Tuesday.
On that day the oldest of modern
democracies will hold an election.
A free people will have free choice
to pick free leaders for free men.
Upheavals in Other Lands
Prove Worth of Elections.
In other lands across the water
the flares of militarism and con-
quest, terrorism and intolerance,
have vividly revealed to Americans
for the first time since the Revolu-
tion how precious and extraordinary
it is to be allowed this free choice
of free leaders for free men.
No one will order us how to vote,
and the only watchers we shall find
at the polls are the watchers who
guarantee that our ballot is secret.
Think how few places are left where
this can happen.
But we cannot carelessly assume
that nation is strong and great
merely because it has a democratic
form of government. We have
learned that democracy weakened
by internal diSsension, by mutual
suspicion born of social injustice, is
no match for autocrac,es which are
ruthless enough to repress internal
diSSenSion.
Democracy in order to live must
become a positive force in the daily
lives of its people. 1t must make
men and women whose devotion it
seeks, feel that it really cares for
the security of every individual;
that it is tolerant enough to inspire
an essential unity among it's citi-
zens; and that it is militant enough
to maintain liberty against social
oppression at home and against mill
tary aggression abroad
The rest of the world is far closer
to us than in the days of democracy's
founders-Jefferson, Jackson and
Lincoln. Comparisons are unavoid-
able. To disprove the pretenses of
rival systems, democracy must be
an affirmative, up-to-date concep-
ton. 1t can no longer be negative
no longer adopt a defeatist atti-
tude. In these tense and danger
ous situati tons in the world demo-
cracy will save itself with the aver
age man and woman by proving
itself worth saving.
Talks of IdeaIiSm and
OF Realistic Necessity.
Too many of those who prate
about saving democracy are really
only interested in saving things as
they were. Democracy should con-
Germ itself also with things as they
ought to be.
1 am not talking mere idealism;
I am pressing realistic necessity.
I reject the merely negative pur-
poses proposed by old-line Republic
cans and Communists alike-for
they are people whose only purpose
is to survive against any other
Fascist threat than their own.
AS of today, Fascism and Com
munism-and old line Tory Repub-
licanism-are not threats to the con-
tinuation of our form of govern
ment. But I venture the chal-
longing statement that if American