The Daily Alaska empire., 1941-11-04
Loyalty in
 Defense Is
 Great Need
FoIta Makes Pointed Talk on Duty of All Dur
 ing Emergency


 Elks National Defense Committee and the local defense Committee oi the ElleS, No. APO, of which h. It. VanderLeest is chairman, made pointed defense talk at the defense dinner last Wednesday night at the Resurrection Lutheran Church Par lors which was sponsored by the Juneau Wolnan's Club. There have been many requests that Folta s talk be printed and it is given in full, as follows
 'The past few years have wit messed the disappearance of many free governments from the face Of the earth. As new developments threaten our security, the preserva- ton of our way of life becomes uppermost in our minds and is topic of such general discussion that it is doubtful whether anything new can be said about national de- fense. Yet because of indifference and doubt created by subversive in- fluences certain virtues, because of their strong tendency to unify the nation, assume unusual importance in a time of emergency.
 Contrasts Life
 What is cur way of life? We could contrast life in the United States with life in those countries in which democratic government has perished, and say that the diff ference equals our way of life. We may sense it and be aware of it, and yet it eludes exact definition. Our way of life is more than religious, economic and political freedom; it is more than those fundamental rights guaranteed by the ConStitu- tion. It surrounds us like the air we breath; it may be discerned in the peaceful countenance of the people, whether on Broadway or on the Yukon, in the laughter and play of children, in the aspiration of every boy to be President, in the hopes and dreams of the betrothed. It is a philosophy of life in which the individual is more important than the state.
 Life Is Heritage
 Our way Of life is our heritage. We didn't earn it. It was earned by the blood, sweat and tears of our forefatherS who passed it on to us. All we need to do is to preserve 1 it. If we fail in that the founders of this nation will have died in vain. That 1t may net be preserved unleas we are willing to make the same sacrifices, needs no further demcn- stration in this tragic hour in the history of the world. Yet a virtue which alone may be sufficient to preserve oilr way of life is loyalty. And that is the theme of my re- marks here tonight.
 All Can Be Loyal
 Regardless of age or infirmity, everyone of us can be loyal. Indeed it is the least we can do, and it is a duty we eve to our government. It may not seem to be a substan- tial contribution to national de- fense, and yet without it no nation can long survive The strength or weakness of the nation is but the strength or weakness of the individ- ual Democracy is not self -operat- ing, nor is the practice of the dem- ocratic faith to be found in the observance of ritual. It is some thing which grows up from roots imbedded in the soil of sacrifice and loyalty and blossoms out into what we call our way of life. It lives Cnly as it continues to receive sus- tenance from the sacrifice and loy- alty of its citizens.
 Ideals Of People
 Tt is the product of these much as the individuals is the product of his environment and traits, and reflects the moods and ideals of the people. The death of democracy is invariably followed by the rise of despotism. Despotic power often has its genesis on the disloyalty and indifference of the people toward their government. As the ghost of Hamlet's father appeared on the ramparts to tell Hamlet how his father had been poisoned while he slept. so will the ghosts of the re- cent democracies haunt their peoples with memories of how the poison of propaganda and disloyalty brought about their downfall.
 Ready To Strike
 Tn this hour of danger to our way of life. let us resolve to be in- tensly loyal while holding ourselves in readiness to actively participato