Evening star., 1940-12-24
Social Gains Called
Aid 10 Defense,
Not 'Luxuries'
. Senator Wagner, in Rodio
Forum Talk, Urges
Their Retention

Senator Wagner, Democrat. OF
New York spoke on Social Gains
and National Defense" in the Ma
tional Radio Forum last night. The
Forum, heard locally over WMAL
is sponsored by The Evening Star
and is sent over Nationwide net
work OF the National Broadcasting
Co.
The text of Senator Wagner's
address follows:
My Friends:
Within recent days Adolf Hitler
broadcast declaration of his eco
nonic creed and his political faith.
He said: 1.-TWO worlds are in con-
f1ict, two PHILOSOPHERS of life. One
of these two worlds must break
asunder." With that solemn warn
ing, the Nazi dictator shattered for
ever the lingering hope in some
quarters that somehow, by some
form of agreement or appeasement,
the Nazi system and the democratic
system could thrive side by side in
peace and security.
The men and women to whom
Adolf Hitler made this special
appeal were neither well fed nor
free. They were men and women
robbed of the two great objectives
of civilized endeavor during the
past 200 years-f1rst, the objective
of using their country's resources to
better their economic circumstances
and provide jobs for all, and, second,
the objective of using their nations
institutions to enlarge their liber-
ties. The enSlaved millions of Ger
many are eXhausting their coun-
try's resources to feed the Nazi
war machine, and for no other pur-
pose. There is no hope for them
under Nazi rule, in victory or in
defeat.
Challenge to U. S. Seen.
It Is this system of retrogression
that through its leader has flung
down its challenge to every democ-
racy on earth. This challenge
should spur on to even greater
efforts our national defense pro-
gram, producing weapons to over
come that insidious war machine
weapons for the gallant British
forces constituting our outer rim of
defense-weapons for our own coun-
try to repel any attack upon our
shores in the tragic event that
Britain falters.
Hitler boasts of strength through
national unity"-unity achieved by
sacrificing all that makes liberty
sacred and life safe-unity enforced
by the blood purge and the concen-
tration camp. To defend against
these forces, America mahshals the
strength of a free society where
unity rests upon the spontaneous
cooperation of a free people -
people firm in their democratic
faith, and convinced that human
progress and happiness has no
bounds in land where liberty
prevails
In January there will reconvene
which Hitlers Germany has no
equivalent-a democratic assembly
chosen by the people to represent
their interests-the 77th American
Congress. Now is an appropriate
time to ask: What should the next
Congress do, what can it do, to
make our people and our institu-
tions entirely safe and increasingly
successful?
Social Gains Reviewed.
To those who say that the first
task of the Congress will be to
retreat from the liberal and human
itarian reforms of the past seven
years, the answer must be: Democ-
racy does not retreat; it marches
forward! This is not an answer of
sentiment: it is an answer dictated
by the cold, hard facts of the pres
ent defense situation.
Until a year or two ago, the
Roosevelt administration, without
neglecting the prudent expansion of
our armaments, devoted itself chiefly
to creating the instruments of eco
nomic and social improvement. No
satisfaction that I received when
these instruments were in the
making exceeded that of today,
when see them playing their CEN
tral part in making America strong
when I see a housing program
planned In 1887 now sheltering de-
fense workers and thus speeding up