The Washington times., 1938-09-05

day.
The first reason is to give you
and me a chance to reeStabllsh
q fact which we thought was
long ago thoroughly established
BY the Constitution of the
United Staes, even if it is de-
MED by some of your newspapers
and by some of your candidates
for public office. That fact
k-
that the Free State Of
Maryland, proud Of itself
and conscious Of itself, is
also proud and conscious of
being a most important part
Of the United States Of
America;
that what happens in and
to the Free State Of Mary
land matters nightly in
and to the United States Of
America and, under the Con-
stitution, to the Chief Ex-
ecutive and to the Congress
Of the United States;
that in the Free State Of
Maryland - happily part
of the Union-the Flag, the
Constitution and the Presi-
dent are still as welcome as
In all of the ohter At States
Of the Union.
The second, and the original,
eeason for my coming here is
also related to the unity of this
nation.
Unthinking people may believe
that the first Monday in Sep
tember-Labor Days set aside
In special honor Of those who
work at trade in mills and fac
tories and railroads and mines.
That is a narrow Interpretation,
for this day belongs just as
much to those who work with
head and hand on farms. There
is no distinction between those
who run farms or work on farms
and those who work in industry.
For you and I well know that
most Of the people in cities have
come there comparatively re-
Gently from farms all over the
country, including Maryland,
and from farms of the Old
World, from which originally we
al came.
America has always had-and
America still has-a small mi
nority who assume that there
are not enough good things to
60 around to give that minority
all it wants and. at the same
time to give the rest of America
the overwhelming majority of
America humane and mod
ern standard of living. Even
today that minority is short
Sightedly sure that its interests
must lie in exploiting all who
labor on the farm as well as in
the mill and the mine.
But at the same time all over
this country, the unity Of inter
est Of all common men and
women - warm-hearted, simple
men and women, willing to live
and let live, whether in factory
or on farm-growS steadily more
evident. Clearer every day is the
one great lesson of history-the
lesson taught by the Master of
Galilee-that the only road to
peace and the only road to CIV
1lization is the road to unity
the road called the Highway Of
Fellowship"
But as this community Of
interest becomes apparent to
those who live on farm and in
city, the strategy Of the cold
blooded few to divide and con-
Quer, to make common men
blind to their common interests,
becomes more active. Class con-
SciouS itself, just because it
does conceive its interest to be
opposed to the interest Of all
other people, that small minor
1ty is deliberately trying to
create prejudice between this
and that group of the common
people of America-to create a
new class feeling among people
who inStinctively are not class
conscious.
You in the State of Maryland
and the people of other States
have in recent weeks been
treated to a number of exam
pls of this deliberate attempt to
create prejudice and class feel
ing which can be charitably
explained only as political hys-
terra. But it does not help the
cause Of constitutional govern
ment or effective democracy
anywhere to laugh off such
things on the general theory
that anything is fair in love and
politics.
Today above all else that
minority is trying to drive a
wedge between the farmers on
the one hand and their rela-
tives and their logical partners
in the cities on the other. 1t is
trying to narrow the broad
definition of labor" in the
mind of the farmer, who above
all people has always known
what it meant to have to labor
from Sun.up to Sun-down. 1t is
trying to make the farmer for
get that the people in the cities
who, like him, labor for theil
daily bread are his own people
flesh Of his flesh and blood Of
his blood. Americans just like
him.
This ASrAASs AouUth Adsit To- tn