Evening star., 1941-05-23
Foreign Doctrines
Held Dangerous
Writer Says Thot Picketing
Of the White House
Shows Foreign Influence
To the Editor OF The Star:


Shows Foreign Influence
| To the Editor Of The Star:
Residents OF Washington and thou
sands Of out-of- town visitors are being
treated to the spectacle of a picket line
in front Of the White House. In fact,
two picket lines Two different groups
are staging demonstrations, each group
seeking a different objective. They
carry placards and signs protesting
against certain policies of the Govern
ment and parade all day long in solemn
circles, around and around, drawing at
tention to themselves. Scattered among
the picketers are several American flags.
Neither group is militant in its activities
and the picket lines are orderly. The
number of individuals engaged in the
picketing is not large, although each
group purports to represent larger
formal organization.
The idea of a picket line in front of
the White House is unpleasant. Several
minor clashes have occurred between
hecklers and individuals in the picket
lines and to prevent the picketers from
being molested police protection has
been afforded them. AS to the right
of these individuals to stage demon
stration there can be no question Every
citizen is guaranteed the right of peaceful
assembly and freedom of speech by the
first amendment to the Constitution.
Heretofore demonstrations of this
nature have been largely confined in
this country to strikes or protests against
the practices of business concerns by
which the individuals were employed
and against which the employees had
no other recourse. The practice of
demonstrating against governmental
authority was uncommon and generally
has been looked upon as being contrary
to the ideals of democracy and alien to
the American way of life, although the
practice was quite common in certain
European countries, particularly France,
before the governments of those coun-
tries were overthrown by the totalitarian
forces of Hitler. The most alarming
fact about these demonstrations is not
that the individuals are being allowed
W PiShCI ll0 NllllC I1OuSC USIduSt llldG
in itself is harmless. The circumstance
which IS causing many citizens to ex-
perience feeling of unease is that these
demonstrations follow the exact pattern
of what happened in Europe before
various nations were overrun by Nazi
hordes.
Whence came such alien concepts of
mass demonstrations against constituted
authority? Have we strayed so far from
the path of representative government
of government of the people, by the
people. and for the people-that citizens
no longer can obtain redress through
the ballot? Has the Government become
so autocratic that constitutional recourse
is denied the citizens? Or do these
demonstrations represent the sinister
plotting of enemies within our gates?
II none of these explanations apply,
then whittier are We drifting? Are We
following in the footsteps of the subju-
gated European nations? Have we
fallen victim to the same feeling of
inertia which beset them? Is it true.
as was said of France, that we are
decadent democracy: that our standard
Of living-the ease and luxury to which
as Nation we have become accustomed
has SO weakened our stamina as to
render us incapable of concerted action.
This Nation has absorbed everything
that Europe has had to offer: her
peoples, her culture and her religions,
but there is one thing which she now
offers us that We cannot absorb. That is
her political ideologies. Our form of
democracy stems not from that of any
other nation. 1t was unique when it
first was conceived and to this day it
still stands alone in its concepts. The
graveSt danger facing this Nation at
this time Is that there are those among
us who are commencing to question
our form of government: who profess
to see ideas and ideals in other forms
Of government allegedly superior to
those of our own. Unconsciously they
fall into the habit of initiating the prac-
tices Of peoples existing under these
| other governments of which one ex-
ample Is picketing of the White House.
whether they be Of that army of the
unknown-the man on the street-carry-
ing placards to express their thoughts
or whether they be men of national
repute expressing their thoughts orally
from the lecture platform matters not.
The result Is the same. All of them are
treadlng on very dangerous ground.
PAUL, d HANNACuEP