Evening star., 1951-09-17

Congress today tollotUS.
We have met here this morning
to put some pieces of parchment
away in specially sealed cases, ir
order to preserve them from phys
ical and chemical change. These
are already old documents, writ
ten in a style and hand which
are no longer familiar to us. Il
they were only historical relics
it might seem strange that w
should make ceremony out ol
this occasion of sealing them up
But the Declaration of indie.
pendence and the Constitution
are more than historical relics
They are a living force in oul
life today.
We may have some difficulty
in preserving the parchment or
which these two documents have
been written, but the ideas they
set forth will never perish. These
documents express the highesr
principles of political life: tina
all men have certain unalienabl'
rights, that governments are Sc
up to provide for the welfare o
the people, and that the rule O.
law stands above government ant
citizen alike.
These ideas have a life of theil
own. They have been a dynamic
force IN the history of our Nation
They have inspired men. al
around the world. to create new
and independent governments
and to improve the conditions un-
der which they live.
Ideas viii Go On Forever.
These are very explosive docu-
ments DR. Evans. We may think
we have them safely bottled up
but the ideas they express will
go on forever They will continue
to give energy and hope to new
generations of men. here and ir
other countries, in the long strug
gle to create a better society or
earth.
The Declaration of Indepen-
,dcnce and the Constitution, Wher
they were written, were revolu'
Itionary documents. But they were
revolutionary in very unusua
sense.
Many revolutions are simply
resort to force and violence tC
Impose a new despotism upon the
people. But these documents were
for a very different purpose; theil
aim was to make despotism i'm
possible. Both the Declaration Of
independence and the Constitu-
ton seek to make the rule OF Law
and the concepts Of justice the
dominating factors in government
And 20 q large extent they have
succeeded
The struggle against the use
of naked force as an instrument
of government was an old one
even before these two documents
were written. Our forefathers
created a new nation. but they
based it upon the long experience
of the English people in main
tanning human freedom.
After Centuries of Struggle.
The right to trial by jury. the
right to be free from unreason-
able search and seizure. the right
of habeas corpus. the prohibition
against cruel and unusual punish
ment. the guarantees OF freedom
of the press. freedom Of assembly
and freedom of religion - all
these were basic concepts in the
days of our Revolution. They were
concepts for which men had
worked and even given up their
lives for centuries.
But they had never been made
the foundation stones Of govern
ment until they were put in the
Declaration of independence anc
in the Constitution and its first
ten amendments-the Bill Of
Rights-which are just as funda'
mental a part of our basic law a.
the original version Of the Consti'
tuition that we are sealing up here
today.
These rights have become so vel
established in this country thai
we take them for granted. They
are so much a part of our live'
that they may seem dry and unin'
teresting. But the history Of othel
countries in recent years ha'
showed us how vital and importan'
they are. Recent history has. de-
monstrated that the unrestrainec
use of force by government il
Just as great a danger to human
progress now as it was ages ago
It has demonstrated that unless
citizens have rights against the
Government, no one can be safe
or secure.
In our own lifetime. we have
learned anew the human misery
that an absolute, power-mad gov
ernment can Great. We have seer
it in the brief history of the Fascist
and Nazi tyrannies. We are wit
Messing it today in the tyranny
of Soviet communism.
Not Just Matter Of Words.
A constitution is not just a mat
ter of words. There are other
which. may read as
well as ours. Take, for example
the constitution of the Soviet
Union. That has a lot Of fine
language in it. The constitution Of
the Soviet Union says that Soviet
citizens are guaranteed freedom
of speech, freedom of the press
and freedom of assembly. 1t pro-
fesses to guarantee that citizens
of the Soviet Union shall be secure
in their persons and in theil
homes. And in addition, it pur-
ports to guarantee equality, the
right to work, the right to ar
education, the right to rest and
leisure. freedom of religion, and 9
lot of other fine things.
But these good words in the So