Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1948-06-04

AAEAD
Y GEORGE S. BENSON
/ Presidenf--Hardixg college
Searty. ArkHxsas
A WORKERS SOCIETY?

If you are tradesman, or skilled
or unskilled laborer who works with
his hands-if you call yourself a
worker'-you must indeed be
thankful that you live in America
Not that you should be any more
or less thankful being a doctor,
lawyer, teacher, or whatever you
are. But somebody has called this
nation workers Republic, and
l consider that phrase good way
to describe what We enjoy in this
land Of plenty.
Indeed there is no other country,
whether socialized, partly social
lied, Or even communistic, that has
given its workers more. A capital
istic America has enabled even
common" laborers to live like
kings were accustomed to live not
many years ago. We produce and
enjoy the fruits of production. We
must never forget that this has
come about because the American
way of life makes it possible.
Glorious Future
Do you know of a better and
happier workers nation? Have the
"isms" and ideologies of the ex-
perimenters produced anything bet
ter? Certainly they have not. Nc
worker in the world comes anywhere
close to drawing the pay or en-
joying the comforts of the average
person right here in America. There
is hardly nation today that is
not begging us to send them goods,
or to bolster up their tagging econ
omy in some way.
Possibly there are shortcomings
in the American method. But judg-
ing from the achievements of the
past, and viewing the possibilities
ahead-I can think of nothing more
foolish than to discard any part
of our American way.
We can have a future fully as
glorious as our past. We have new
worlds of atomic energy, jet pro-
pulsion, and electronics to explore.
I CAP think of no other economic
system, besides the kind we have
in America, as being equal to the
opportunities ahead.
Your Own Way
We have immediate needs, too.
Our people could use perhaps five
million new and improved homes
in which to live. Millions of farm
homes need electricity and running
water. We need more automobiles,
and our capacity for them seems
never to diminish. More cars mean
more roads. One advancement calls
for many more. Friend, let me say
that l know Of no system that VIII
bring these things to us-eXcept that
American way of initiative and en-
terprise.
In this workers America, there
are other things of great impor-
lance. AS worker, you are not
told what you may do or how to
do it. You are not the mere chattel
of some state bureau. You can
choose your job and your career,
and so can your son. You can
make your own decisions. Whether
you work for an employer, or decide
to work for yourself, you have a
right to serve the world your own
way. These things are important
to you, and you are important to
your nation.
No other land can show the pro-
gress America has made. Nowhere
else is there such a high standard
of living-that applies to everybody.
Progress has flourished here as
nowhere else. Why? We have been
free to exercise ingenuity, incentive,
competition, and thrift. We have
been free to invest savings in more
and better tools. We have not been
subject to tyranny or despotism from
government. What political dicta-
torship can match this achieve
ment?