Evening star., 1940-08-02
Urges Necessity Of
Moral Preparedness
Human Dignity Depends
Upon National Unity,
Correspondent Soys
TO the Editor Of The Star:

TO the Editor Of The Star:
President Roosevelt has asked Con-
gress for $4,000, ,ooo,o 900 for the military
and naval defense of these United
States, the greater part of which has
already been appropriated by Congress.
Leaders in our national life have in
weighed against the great danger of un-
preparedness at time when prepared
ness" should be our byword and our
watchword, but nowhere in the public
prints have recognized a hue and cry
-. an emotional expression of even
mild character touching upon the grav-
ity, the need, the necessity of building
the moral defenses of our country.
We have learned from events abroad
that preparation of hearts and minds in
unity to defend the spiritual ends of
democracy is as essential as military
armament. Repeatedly. dictatorship has
demonstrated that great military ma
chine may be rendered impotent if the
moral unity of the people behind that
machine is destroyed. Culturally, racially,
and religiously, we may be as divided
as the fingers of hand, but as Ameri-
cans, we must be as united as clenched
fist, ready to exert the united strength
of all in our determination to preserve.
for future generations, our system and
way OF life based upon the dignity of
the human soul. Governments cannot
create state of mind by legislative man
date or decree. We, as people, must
rededicate ourselves and reconsecrate
the preservation of human dignity.
We in the United States have Just
cause to be alarmed by developments
abroad. We have seen, within all too
short time, the liberal democratic gov
ernments OF Europe fall one by one-and
millions of people have been reduced to-
serfdom. If there is threat in such
developments, it Is to our home, our
families, our work, our religious liberties
and our freedom of speech. We who
rejoice IN the possession of those rights
Today would do well to cast an eye to
tomorrow To be prepared to defend
ourselves with military and naval force,
against the forces which threaten to
attack us, is not enough. AS each DEM
ocratic government has fallen, its COL
lapse has been attributed to subversive
influences at home as we'll as military
unpreparedness. One cannot but note
with concern that whispering campaigns
against Catholics, Jews and Protestants
have been employed in more than one
nation now laid waste to destroy its
moral unity preparatory to an attack
by force of arms.
In this great Nation composed of in
dividuals of many different strains, it is
inevitable that we should have cultural,
racial or religious differences, but
America must be made safe for such
differences. Every citizen, every home,
every religious or secular unit must work
together on matters of common concern
to them as citizens If we are to be
truly united
One who endeavors to defame any
group of our citizenry. who attempts to
cast suspicion upon the honor or hon.
esty or patriotic devotion of the members
OF such group or implies that any group
is superior or inferior to any other group.
whether such groupings are based upon
race, creed or origin is not only traitor
Gus to our American institutions, but is
interfering with the effective mobiliza-
tion of our people into a united front
prepared to defend our American insti-
tutions from attack, not only from with
out, but also from within our borders.
EVERETT r. CLINCHY,
Director, The National Conference
of Christians and Jews.
New York.