Milford chronicle., 1951-04-27

ernment. Before 1882, they got along for 14O
years without money from the U. S. Treas
ury. No one would deny aid to the blind, nor
to the needy aged; but few who really under
stand big, central government would give it
power over the blind and aged.
Something happened to the independence
and moral outlook of vast numbers of the
people of the United States-sOmething
which did not exist twenty years ago. Most
of us remember the powerfully moving u. S.
Army recruiting poster displayed at our post
offices during the last Christmas season.
'Give us, it read, 'the faith and courage of
our fOrefathers." You don't need detective
or a legislative investigating committee to
offer proof of how far we have strayed from
our fOrefather's courage and faith. Each
days newspaper brings fresh evidence of
shattered moral standards: college athletes
betTaying their schOOlmates' loyalty by sell
ing out to crooked gamblers; an alarming
rise OF narcotic addicts among school chill
dren; city streets where no woman is safe
at night. These things are sensational and
they shock us. But the really shocking fact
is that we are no longer moved by other and
more widely prevalent departures from the
moral values of our fOrefatherS. Instead of
security won by faith and courage, political
racketeers offer a synthetic security without
either, When twenty-five million people, in
addition to those in government service, are
wholly or in part dependent upon government
payments, American character and moral fl
Der have been weakened
This dependence upon the government
nursing-bOttle has prevailed in Great Britain
longer than it has here, and some of it's ef-
fects upon the British people have been in
cislvely analyZed by Sir Ernest Benn. He re-
hot TO..sA: e
law and order has suffered "a serious deteriO-
ration" In 1910, one in every 5000 BritOns
was convicted of an indictable Offense. BY
1898, it was one in every 165. By 1948, it
was one in every SO. It is difficult, perhaps
impossible" Sir Ernest says, to ''re-establish
by argument any direct connection between
the serious change of mind towards moral
laXity and the silver SpOOning of a Welfare
State, but few will fail to feel that the two
things have definite relationship one to the
other. The working of The Welfare State is
perhaps seen in its most striking FORM when
through the machinery of the Children's
Court the black sheep of the family can en-
joy, in some public institution, delights and
conditions far better than those available to
his law-abiding brothers and sisters. It is
almost true to say that there is no need for
personal character or Individual conscience
in The Welfare State, but, on the contrary,
in many respects, honesty is positive handi-
cap.
Looking at the picture as a whole, this
state of affairs is in the very ma
ture of things. A big central pool containing
nearly half the national income, is surround
ed by 50,O0O,0OO people striving to establish
claims upon it and, at the same time, search
ing for excuses not to contribute to it. To
describe us as a nation of dOle-drawers and
tax-dOdgers is merely to face the horrid facts.
Looked at in this way, The Welfare
State is in hopeless position; it may be COM
pared to bank with no willing depositors
and every customer anxious for an overdraft.
Nothing lower than nation of angels could
make a success of a society with such con-
perhaps the best that can be said
of us is that we have become a nation of
escapists, and escapism does not make for
or strength of character"
So, it is obvious everywhere that when
central government grows big in responsible
ty and in power over the people, it grows
corrupt, and its administrators go mad. So,
too, when personal incentive and response
bility are removed from a people, that people
suffers a moral collapse
5000