Evening star., 1939-08-11
Text of Roosevelt MESSAGE
President Tells Young Democrats
Conservative Candidate Is Suicidal
BY the Associated Press

BY the Associated Press
PITTSBURGH. Aug. i1.-FolloW-
ing is the text of President Roose-
. velt's message to Pitt Tyson Maner
president of the Young Democrats
of America, and read to the Young
Democrats Convention by M
Maner last night:
Please convey my greetings to
the convention.
Never was there a more timely
gathering than that of you Young
Democrats at Pittsburgh. Recent
| events have demonstrated the
necessity of restatement and re-
affirmation of Democratic Drincl-
pies, and no group can undertake
this mission as we'll as the young
men and young women of our party.
A Progressive Conflict.
From the beginning, democracy
has meant progress and its battle
ever since jefferson S time has Deen
a steady conflict with the forces of
reaction and special favorS. Every
time the policies involving greater
opportunities for the common man
have trlumphed, our political en-
emleS have sought to minimize those
policies and to neutralize the de-
clSlons of the people Today is no
exception to that classical course
Of events.
Uniformly the party of Nicholas
Biddle OF Jackson's time, of QUAY
and Hanna of the Cleveland era
and OF the Theodore Roosevelt
PERIOD, has bowed to the progres-
sive wing to the extent of pretend
ing accord with the objectiveS OF
the progressive administrations but
has found fault with the methods
requisite for putting and keeping
theSe principles at work. Uniform
~ have they appealed TO such ele-
mentS III our own party as dreaded
the departure from ancient habits
OF were responsive to the powerful
agencies that financed and con-
trolled local politics. Probably The
hoarleSt story OF corruption in
thoSe monled magnateS who con-
trlbuted vastly to the campaigns of
candidates of both parties with The
idea that they could continue con-
troll regardless OF the way which
! the political cat Jumped.
Affiliation Often Hereditary.
Just as there are progressives
IN the Republican ranks, SO there
are reactlonarleS in our own party.
Political attlllatlon is often the
child of hereditary principles. be-
gotten IN the first instance of issues
OF terrltlc Importance in the be-
ginning, but which have no more
significance at present than the in
/ f1amed controversy of a century and
a half ago as to whether the Capital
of the United States should be at
Washington or somewhere on the
SuSquehanna River.
Always has it been the aim of the
enemies Of liberalism to seek TO
attach to themselves such members
OF our party. Sometimes they have
succeeded; sometimes they have
failed.
When they have succeeded they
have not infrequently been success
full in their efforts to supplant a
Democratic administration with a
Republican administration. Such
happenings, though they have
brought dismay for a period, have
not sufticed to stop the general and
inevitable movement to make our
country a better country for all of
us rather than to make it a lush
pasture for the seekers and holders
of privilege
Cannot Halt i'm Procession.
Every Democratic administration
has left progressive mark on our
own history and has influenced
world progress as well. But when
it has been succeeded by a typically
Republican administration, progress
has slipped backwards sometimes
few feet and often many miles.
1t has been said that great many
voters today want us as a Nation to
stop, look and listen. What they
fail to understand is that nations
cannot stand still because by the
very act of standing still. the rest
of the procession. moving forward,
inevitably leaves them in the rear.
Therefore. their desire to stand still
actually means moving backward in
relation to the rest Of the world
Republican and Democratic reac-
tionaries want to undo what we nave
accomplished in these last few years
and return to the unrestricted in
dlvldualism of the previous century
Republican and Democratic con-
servatives admit that all of our
recent policies are not wrong and
that many Of them should be re-
talned-but their eyes are on the
present; they give no thought for
the future and thus, without mean
ing to, are failing to solve even cur
rent social and economic problems
by declining to consider the needs
OF tomorrow. Radicals of all kinds
have some use to humanity because
they have at least the imagination
to think up many kinds of answers
to problems even though their
answers are wholly impracticable of
fulfillment in the immediate future
Younger Voters on Liberal Side.
Liberals on the other hand are
those who, unlike the radicals who
want to tear up everything by the
roots and plant new and untried
seeds, desire to use the existing
plants of civilization, to select the
best of them, to water them and
make them grow-not only for the
present use of mankind, but also for