The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1942-01-16
By JOHN STAHLBERG
fReply to a correspondent

| (Reply to correspondent
You speak of freedom of expression
as "the fatal tolerance which con
tributed to our weakness by encour
aging clever alien propagandas.' Yo'
quote Dorothy Thompson's remarl
concerning Lindbergh: Good heav
ems, of course ne champions fret
speech! Free speech is the instru
ment by which fuehrers get into pow
err" And you mention as horrible
example of excessive liberty the case
of man whom Winchell reported ar
rested for saying that the President
and congress ought to be impeached
Your letter seems to mean that you
believe we American citizens and
supposedly intelligent adults = must
be protected from exposure to the
thoughts of other people, even of 9th
er Americans.
Well, to paraphrase the redoubtable
Miss Thompson's paraphrase of Lin
coin: "If you think that sort of thing,
then that is the sort of thing you
think"
But why?
Are you afraid that our principles
are not quite up to comparison with
those of the modern ape men Of Eu-
rope and Asia?
No? Then 1t must be that you are
afraid our people lack the good sense
to appreciate the superiority of our
own principles. If that is true, you
obviously do not believe in democ-
racy, for faith in democracy is faith
that the people are fit to govern them
selves-fit, that is, to exercise intelli-
gent choice. If they were not fit to
choose intelligently, democracy would
be a mistake and the fascist theories
of government would necessarily be
correct. That, in fact, is the fascist
theory, precisely.
The opposing democratic theory is
that people are entirely capable of
exercising intelligent choice IF THEY
CAN GET THE FACTS ON WHICH
TO BASE 1T. The only way to get
the facts is through free inquiry, free
speech, free press. All this is so
clear to a normal child of six. 1t is
to have to explain it to
a grown man.
Dorothy Thompson INDUCES her
phobias when she says that free
speech is the means by which dicta-
tors get into power It is just as
much the means by which a deter
mined and intelligent opposition can
keep them out of power. Suspending
he Bill of Rights might very possibly
silence this opposition; 1t would by
40 means silence a potential dictator.
Such person is inevitably on the
side to begin with, as
ar as anyone outside his own group
s concerned. That is the difference
natural despot and lib
srtarian. A man who cares deeply
ibout freedom demands freedom for
everybody. He does not care con-
mental whether the citizen whose
lights he champions is friend or foe
To him, Voltaire's familiar declaration
s fundamental: 81 disapprove of what
you say, but | will defend to the death
your right to say it,"
We may reasonably begin to be-
ieve that Lindbergh is fascist when
lie suggests that Miss Thompson be
Ienied the right to speak Until then |
We should bear clearly in mind that
t is Dorothy who has advocated sup
,ression.
The fellow who was arrested for Sc
ition was within his rights unless he |
aid far worse things than Winchell |
mentioned. The United States at war
3 still the United States of America.
livery public official is still a servant |
f the people-as Mr.. Roosevelt him
elf, by far the highest of them all,
as repeatedly pointed out.
If citizen of the United States
believes that any servant
my servant-of the people is I'M
aithful to his trust and ought to be
it is not only his right but
is imperative duty to say so. How
lse could democratic society deal |
nth its servants If and when they
re unfaithful, as sometimes happens
18th servants?