Milford chronicle., 1955-07-01
INDEPENDENCE DAY-FOR OTHERS,
TOO

TOO
The world was in mess on our first In
dependence Day. Years of strife, controversy
and tension had preceded the moment whei
the signers of the Declaration of Independ
ence pledged their lives, their fortunes an.
their sacred honor to build a free nation.
If the world seems in a mess today; if tn
cause of freedom appears to be languishing
if controversy, tension and uncertaint,
plague us now-Americans will find lnsplra
ton, and, above all, guidance in the example
set for us here in Delaware just hundred
ard seventy-nine years ago.
The Declaration of independence was no
only blueprint for fashioning our own free
dom; it was a beacon of Inspiration for the
world over years to come. The u. S. A. ltsef1
helped guide and encourage free men every
where.
Not until we parted from our revolution
airy tradition; not until we compromised the
principles of the Declaration did we find our
selves beginning to lose the faith and conf
dence which oppressed peoples had in US, and
the stature which our very independence had
given us.
The fact that a ruthless Communist dicta-
torship could pose, often successfully, as the
friend and liberator of subject peoples, sug-
gests how far we had lost our way. We meant
well. We did not wish to offend our wartime
allies Though they did not hesitate to pursue
policies contrary to ours where their interests
were served, we preferred to hang-dog along
and underwrite the very colonialism against
(which we once had revolted and against
which others struggle now.
So it was that we finally found ourselves
in a position which would have astounded
the signers of the Declaration of Independ-
ence: We were threatened with invoIv enent
in Indochina on the side of colonialism while
the Reds were supporting the cause If in
dependence!
That anomaly seems to have driven the
point home. We are beginning to retrace our
steps. Secretary of State Dulles has indicated
that we are through defending colonialsm
and only time will tell how important and far
reaching is the comment of President Eisen-
hover: Il will not be a party to any treaty
that makes anybody slave"
So, on this Fourth of July we may wei
review our policies and reflect on the need to
re-establsh our position as leader of the free
world not through preachmentS but through
the power of example.
Talking about freedom is not enough Te
millions the word is meaningless since they
never have known freedom in an individual
sense. To others freedom is, simply, food
more to eat. To still others it is land, be-
ginning symbol of individual liberty.
For many, however, freedom means what
il once meant to us: independence Freedom
from foreign domination The right to choose
ones own government, and live ones own life
as people and nation.
Over the years Americans have in no way
lost their innate love of independence. That
is why they were eager to free the Philip
pines: why they hailed the independence of
Burma and India and have chosen to be
rightly patient with India despite the lofty
vagaries of Nehru. 1t is why they champion
pH ha .nda of Ind xxrlx HOY.
fought in three wars, why they went to
Korea, and why they often felt ashamed when
American policy" underworld colonialism.
So. if the world seems in mess, we might
refresh ourselves from the faith of the men
who gave us the independence we enjoy to-
day. They knew the risks, and took them.
They counted the cost, and paid it. And
through the dark days when it seemed as
though the Revolution were doomed, they
never lost faith.
Amid the gloom of 1777, John Morton
one of the signers. from Pennsylvania, sent
this dying message to his Tory friends: "Tell
them that they will live 30 see the hour when
they shall acknowledge it to have been the
most glorious service that / ever rendered
my country"
Today, as then, the answer to tyranny is
hope, faith and courage. Today, as then, free
America can be the symbol of them all to a
sick and troubled world.
I&0NL
THE GUARANTEED WAGE PLAN
Sylvia Porter, the syndicated financial
columnist, writes: "A new labor aristocra-
cy' is now emerging in America which has
no parallel anywhere. Its founders are the
auto workers, its heart lies in Detroit. -
Cause of this dramatic description of
course, are the three-year agreements be-
tween the CIO auto workers union and Ford
and General Motors. The various benefits in
volved will initially amount to about 20 cents
an hour for each worker and increase as time
goes on-in itself considerable achievement