Evening star., 1940-05-22
Points to failures
OF Our Democracy
Activity Of Pressure Groups
Held Menace to
Any Republic
To the Editor of The Star:

To the Editor Of The Star:
During nearly decade the public ear
has been assailed with the phrase
make democracy work." Under the
guise of these inoffensive words many
things have been done. An encyclopedia
Of new statutes has been enacted. Our
revamped judiciary has given new con-
struction to our old laws. A whole al
phabet Of boards, commissions and
bureaus has been created. Treasure al
most beyond imagination, upward Of 90
billion dollars, has been spent for relief.
subsidies, salaries, pensions and hand
outs. AL Of these things, 80 1t was said,
were done to make democracy work.
At this critical time is 1t not fitting
that we seriously and honestly search
our souls and inquire whether any OF
these things, or all Of them together,
have made any substantial contribution
toward making democracy work! II
they have. the price, although high. is
not prohibisive.
Unless history and reason lie, the pri-
mary purpose of government Is to pro-
vide, as a minimum, security in person
and property. Security of worship, of
thought, and of expression are but re-
finements and extensions of the primary
security. Always important. these lat
ter rights. recently spoken Of as civil
liberties" have received plethora Of
attention and publicity. 1t might be
truly said that the public is civil lib
erty" conscious. This is not an unhap-
py circumstance, unless our attention
has been distracted from the founda-
ton of all of our rights, security OF
person and property; for what shall 1t
profit us to attain a full measure Of
civil liberty at the expense Of national
unity and national security?
The Frenchman could give us some
excellent advice on this subject. 1t was
he who invented the sit-down strike,
and, OF all places, in the aviation in
dustry. 1t was the Frenchman who in
vented the week with two Sundays and
the vacation with pay. The Norwegian
could also give us some advice on ma
tional unity and security. Liberality
and collective effort were their shib-
boleths. In fact. their liberality was SO
genuine that its legislative body until
1885 was member of the Third Inter-
national. Its iberality filled its country
with spies and saboteurs, destroyed the
unity Of its people and invited national
calamity and disgrace from which 1t will
never recover.
But what OF our national unity and
security? Is democracy working in this
respect? Although threatened on both
the Atlantic and the Pacific, little of the
so billion dollars has been spent to
strengthen our Navy, our first line OF
defense. Our Army. with one mechan-
ized division, is literally contemplate
when compared with the world of today.
We have not enough anti-aircraft guns
adequately to defend the City of WASH
ington Although charged with the de-
tense Of the Panama Canal, our air
force in planes and personnel is not
sufncient for this one mission, not to
mention our unprotected Atlantic and
Pacific Coasts and other strategic
points. Plants for production Of fight
Ing planes are gradually being built up.
thanks to foreign purchases and not our
own foresight. The Government has
taxed and taxed, and spent and spent
to make democracy work, but We have
no Army or air force and but an made
quate Navy.
Among the numerous new enactments
to make democracy work, one was de-
signed to provide social security" I'm
der this enactment vast sums have been
collected, but only small moiety re-
mains in the Treasury for the purpose
for which 1t was collected. If our econ
omy is adversely effected by our national
weakness, our social security cannot be
very secure.
While under the sway of foreign
agents-the Frenchman invented the
sit-down strike the week with two Sun
days and vacation with pay-to make
democracy work, We provided pay for
work not done and bounty to farmers
for not producing, all for the purpose Of
creating prosperity through scarcity
Notwithstanding the use of public funds
to organize and protect the working
man, an army of racketeers, padrones
and others Of such ilk gained lucre and
high place. With all Of our statutes, all
Of our good will, and all of our liberal
ism, the crackpot, the inept, the Wis
ionsry, the left winger, and the agents
Of foreign governments clog and dis
tract the functioning Of the Government
service and Of the many laws passed to
make democracy work.
In spite Of all of our liberal laws and
liberal interpretations by a truculent
judiciary, and the never-ending stream
Of treasure poured out by liberal hand,
there came into being q class Of Or
ganized mendicants, and class unrest
with constant warfare between capital
and labor, resulting often In the de-
struction Of private property. To make
democracy work, only those able to pay
were taxed. Unhappily, these taxes
were regarded by those paying them as
confiscatory, rendering insecure all
manner of property from the widows
mite to the millionaire's yacht, and
driving capital from industry. To make
democracy work, sharp distinctions
were drawn between human rights and
property rights; between corporate prop
erty and individual property. All too
hany persons refused to acquiesce In
these subtle distinctions and have Bit
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