Milford chronicle., 1949-08-26
HOOVERS' SPEECH RANKS
WITH LINCOLN'S

Herbert Hoovers speech at Palo Alto
warned Americans they were riding to a
"dead-end :. on the last mile to collectiv-
ISM"
think of the Next Generation" he
pleaded. Government spending, he declared,
threatens to 'rob posterity of it's inherit
ance''
He said the average citizen works 81
days year to support the Government and
pays its bill, and that proposed additional
spending would add another 20 days work.
"You might want to work for your FAM
lily instead of paying for gigantic bureau
cracy," he challenged.
Seven times during his address he sum-
med up his points with those words-"T Think
it over"
Mr.. Hoover said:
"The American mind is troubled by the
growth of Collectivism throughout the world.
"We have few hundred thousand Com
munists and their fellow-travelers in this
country. They cannot destroy the Republic.
They are a nuisance and require attention.
We also have the doctrinaire Socialists who
peacefully dream of their Utopia.
"But there is a considerable group of
fuzzy-minded people who are engineering
compromise with all these European infec-
tions. They fail to realize that our American
system has grown away from the systems of
Europe for $50 years. They have the foolish
notion that collectivist economy can at the
same time preserve personal liberty. and
constitutional government. =.
"Most Americans do not believe in these
compromises with CollectiviSm. But they do
not realize that through governmental spend
ing and taxes, our Nation is blissfully driv-
ing down the back road to it at top speed.
Aggression of groups and agencies
against the people as whole is not a process
of free men," he declared. Special privil-
ege either to business or groups is not liberty
:. . our officials are forced to think in terms
of pressure groups" not in terms of need of
the whole people. Think it over"
Highlights of Herbert Hoover's 18th birth
day address included:
No Nation grows stronger by subtrac-
ton.
Along this road of spending, the Govern
ment either takes over, which is socialism,
or dictates institutional and economic life,
which is fascism.
Most Americans do not believe in COM
promises with Collectivism. But they do not
realize that through government spending
and taxes our Nation is bIissfully driving
down the back road to it at top speed.
The steady lowering of the standard Of
tenn under the title "austerity'' in England
should be sufficient spectacle. 1t aims at
fuller life but it ends in ration.
We have not had great specialization Of
property. But we are on the last mile to
Colectivism through government collection
and spending of the savings of the people
Thinking and debate on these questions
must not be limited to legislative halls. We
should debate them in every school. We
should resort to the old cracker barrel debate
in every corner grocery.
AS spendthriftS we are on our way to
rob posterity Of its inheritance.
5000
PROGRESS
Forty years ago butchers advertised the
price of beef at Is cents pound. This was
In the days when you could get two-bit hair
cut, or fifteen cent shave. But in spite of
the four-bit dollar of today the consumer is
getting more for his money when he buys
meat>than he did in 1910. Most meat now is
rigidly inspected, skillfully prepared and of
good quality In the good old days" the but
cher procesSed most of the meat he retailed
to consumers and there was little check on
it's quality or condition. Now rigid stand
ards are adhered to by packers themselves
and on top OF that inspectors are around to
check. The meat packing industry has filled
an important gap in the preparation and
distribution of meat. 1t not only provides a
ready market for the farmer, but the indus
try-composed of approximately 1000 COM
panies-has made possible standard quail
ity at all seasons of the year. Greater eff
cheney in cattle raising and meat processing
and the ability of the packing industry tc
market by-products has been a great factor
in keeping prices at the lowest possible fig
ure. In those 15-cent-a-pound days, there
was no high grade inspected meat to be had
at any price.