Evening star., 1941-02-13

forts to maintain the principles OF
freedom, there can be no compro-
mise between freedom and slavery,
This Is the irrepressible issue to-
day as in Lincoln's time.
The totalitarian systems rest on
the theory of slavery, that there
ale certain categories Of human be-
lngs who have no rights and who
must be liQuidated In Japan, it is
the japanese race under emperor
worship which alone has the di-
vine right to rule. Other peoples,
including the Chinese and Koreans,
have no rights which need be re-
spected In the Soviet Union, it is
the dictatorship of the proletarist,
under the Communist party, which
is the supreme power Neither
bourgeois nor kulaks, intellectuals
nor peasants, have any rights which
the proletariat need respect. Ths
high ideal of the CLASHES society"
is to be achieved by exterminating
non-proletarians like vermin.
Their Ideas and Americas.
In Germany, it is the master
race which is supreme under the
Nazi party. Poles, Jews, Czechs and
such lesser breeds have no right to
exist, save as slave labor for the
Aryan Herrenvolk. In Fascist Italy
and in Francois Spain, it is the die
tatorship of the party while Repub-
licans, FreemasonS, atheists and
Reds have no rights which the party
need respect.
The American idea is different.
We hold to the social principle Of
equality IN human rights and equal
ity before the law. Despite Jim
Crowism and other abuses of the
Negro, 1t is no part of our public law
today that, as was argued by ths
Supreme Court before the Civil War,
the black man has no rights that
the white man is bound to respect"
Neither color, race, religion. sex nor
previous condition of servitude is
allowed to serve as legal justification
for social, political or racial tyranny.
Freedom of speech. Of assemblage
and Of the press is also part of the
American idea, that no man is good
enough to hold another man in
servitude without the latters con-
sent. We are now engaged in a
great effort TO establish economic
freedom and the right to work as
the final assurance of both political
and social freedom.
The peace-policy of the American
people is TO spread this system
throughout the world. The world
cannot remain half slave and half
free We preach neither class war,
race war. religious war nor eco-
nomic tyranny. Our victory will SIM
ply propose that no peoples. no races,
no religious Sects, no parties, no
groups shall be exposed to tyranny
and torture as a matter Of social
policy on the mystical theory that
any other people, race. sect. party or
group is the sole custodian of all
rights, all liberties, all freedoms.
Revolution Of Freedom.
The revolution of freedom" Of
which I have written before, is taxi
ing form before our eyes. 1t in
wolves freedom for others as well as
ourselves and menaces only thoss
who would deny freedom to others.
1t denies the right of Japanese to
enslave or slaughter millions of their
neighbors in order to promote Cos
operation with the new order in
Asia. 1t denies the right Of the
comrades to bully. starve, herd and
enslave those who do not believe
that Marx, as interpreted by Stain.
is God on earth. 1t denies that right
Of the Germans to make the pogrom
a permanent part of national policy,
to sterilize the Poles, to debauch
their women, and to reduce other
races to slavery. 1t denies the right
Of the Fascists to declare open sea-
son on all those who do not share
their unthinking worship of the
state. Of force and of youthful vio-
lence.
That is the great, the vital, the
essential difference between the
world revolution as it appears in
England and America and the COL
lectivism of the axis powers. We do
not propose to set uo any class, race.
creed or party as dictator over the
other classes. And we do not pro-
pose to reduce the opposition-the
necessary, stupid, heartbreaking
of the human race to-
wards freedom-to a status in which
they can be despoiled. imprisoned or
prescribed by the majority.
I, for one, see nothing wrong in .
to extend the principles Of
freedom far beyond our borders.
since we ask Of others nothing that
we are not prepared to accept for
ourselves.