The Wilmington morning star., 1940-01-09

presidency, instead Of being merely
a party headquarters, could become
the most important clearing house
for exchange of information and
ideas, and facts and ideals, affecting
the general public welfare.
In practice, as you know, I have
tried to follow out that concept. In
the White House today we have built
up a great mosaic of the state Of
the union from thousands of bits of
lnformation-from one man or wo-
man this thought from another, da-
ia on some event; a scrap here per-
haps and a scrap there; from every
congressional district in the union;
from rich and poor, from enthusiast
and complainant; from liberal and
conservative; from republican and
democrat.
I like to think that most Ameri-
can governors or presidents have
seen the same opportunity in their
office, and that their motives have
been primarily of service rather than
of party or personal agrandizement.
Doubtless they have all been irked
by the commentators Of the day who
ascribed other motives to them.
Doubtless after much experience in
the public life of America, with its
free speech and press, the irksome-
ness wore off. Doubtless, all Of
them wore hair shirts when they
started; but if they matured in pub.
lie life most Of them discarded those
shirts in their earlier days. They
had to drop their hair shirt or else
lose their political shirt.
And when you have learned not
to worry about all these things, there
is really a lot of fun in this job.
Satisfaction
For when you reach that point Of
understanding, there is deep satisfac.
ton in pursuing the truth through
the medley Of information that
reaches the White House, the over
statement, the half-truth, the gilt
tering generality, the with
alarm, and the pride.
There is practical satisfaction in sift-
ing a tiny particle of truth from the
mass of i~rrelevances in which 1t is
hidden. And there is the philoso.
piers satisfaction of fitting tnat
particle Of truth ;nto the general
scheme Of things that are good and
things that are bad for the people
Of the nation as a whole.
I said a moment ago that the meas.
ure OF greatness of any party lead.
ership Of a country, is the measure
in which it gets done in its time the
big job that has to be done. BY this
test I do not think anyone can say
that the many people in these last
seven years who have given COM.
posite leadership have failed in their
obligation. Most Of those who call
for a wholly different type of leader.
ship must admit the fairly constant
progress of these years. Most of
those who complain now were the
scouting optimists of 1929.
I do not believe that the American
people who swallowed that canned
optimism in 1929 will swallow canned
pessimism in 1910, particularly out
of the same can
The people of the United States
recognize two facts today: The first
is that the world outside our hem
isphere is in really bad shape. This
is a matter not for pessimlsm or OPP
timism; it Is a matter for realism.
It is a fact-a fact so big that few
people have grasped its meaning-a
fact so big in it's effect on the flu
ture of the world that all our little
partisan squabbles are shameful in
the light of it.
Make Gains
The second is that we have made
great gains at home in u own eco
nomic prosperity and in the security
CT our individual citizens. These
gains must not be Clipped away;
they must be only a foundation on
which to build further gains.
Behind us lies accomplished a real
ly big job. 1t was the creation out
Of the funk Of the early thirties OF
a new spirit with which we can
now face the forties.
A realistic historian of our party
has wisely concluded I'VE have the
intelligence to define our troubles
and the physical NEAR with which
to meet them. In the end, whether
we make America a good or a bad
country will depend on what we
make, individually, of ourselves. A
selfish and greedy people cannot be
free"
The enormous task which the
democratic party has already per-
formed in this generation has been
to provide the energy and the con-
fidence to steer government in the
interest and under the direction of
those of u people who do not
want to be selfish and who do not
want to be greedy.
And I am convinced that most
people in the United States do have
a sense-with a real feeling of
pleasure in the moralities involved
that we have been moving forward
these later years in the right direc-
ton.
They are really glad that on the
whole the farmer is no longer an
economic outcast and is getting bet
ter prices for his crops.
They r glad that we are slowly
working out for labor greater privi-
leges with greater RESPONSIBILITIES.