Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-04-22

talked to you. stories from battle
fields and fighting fronts crowd
ed the front pages of our press.
Human freedom was under direct
assault in important sectors by
the disciples of co.nmunistic die
tatorship. Violence and agrees
sion were brutal daily facts for
millions of human beings. Fear
Of global war, of nuclear halo
caust. darkened the future. To
many, the chance for just and
enduring peace seemed hopeless.
Today, only three years later.
We have reason for cautious hope
that new, a fruitful. peaceful
era for mankind can emerge
from a haunted decade. The
world breathes a little more
easily today.
The prudent man will not de-
Jude himself that his hope for
peace guarantees the realization
Of peace. Even with genuine good
will, time and effort will be need
ed to correct the injustices. to
cure the dangerous sores that
plague the earth today. And the
future alone can show whether
the Communists really want to
move toward a just and stable
peace.
Yet not for many years has
there been such promise that
patient, imaginative. enterpris-
ing effort could gradually be re-
warded in steady decrease in the
dread of war: in an economic
surge that will raise the living
standards of all the world; in
growing confidence that liberty
and justice will one day over
come Statism; in the better
understanding among all peoples
that is the essential prelude to
true peace.
An Important Anniversary
This week marks the anniver-
sary of one of the most impor-
tant events in freedoms prog
ress. One hundred eight-one
years ago on April 10, our fore
fathers started revolution that
still goes on. The shots at Con-
cord, as Emerson wrote, were
heard round the world"
The echoes Of Concord still
stir mems minds.
The Banding meeting, last
year, Of Asian and African lead
erS bears witness to Emerson's
vision. There, almost two CEN
turtles after Concord, and half
way round the earth. President
Sukarno Of Indonesia opened
the conference with an eloquent
tribute to Paul Revere and to
the spirit of the American Revo-
luton.
Why do the musket shots of
a few embattled farmers at the
Concord bridge still ring out in
far-off lands?
The reason is clear.
concord was far more than
a local uprising to redress i'm
mediate grievances. The endur-
ing meaning of Concord lies in
the ideas that inspired the his
toric stand there. Concord is
the symbol of certain basic con-
vlctlonS about the relationship
OF man to the state.
The individuals Worth
Those convictions were found
ed in a firm belief in the spirit
ual worth of the individual. He
must be free to think, to speak.
and to worship according to his
conscience. He must enjoy equal
ity before the law. He must
have a fair chance to develop
and use his talents. The pur-
pose of government is to serve
Its citizens in freedom.
Our forefathers did not claim
to have discovered novel prin-
clples. They looked on their
findings as universal values. the
common property of all man.
kind.
These deep convictions have
always guided us as a Nation
They have taken deep root else
where in the Western world. In
the 18th century they inspired
great surge Of freedom
throughout Western Europe and
In our own hemisphere.
These ideas of freedom are
still the truly revolutionary
political principles abroad in the
world. They appeal to the time
less aspirations of mankind. In
some regions they flourish; in
some they are officially out
lawed. But everywhere. to some
degree. they stir and inspire
humanity
The affairs of men do not
stand still. The ideas of free
dom will grow in vigor and
inf1uence--or they will gradually
wither and die. If the area of
freedom shrinks, the results for
us will be tragic. Only if free
dom continues to flourish will
man realize the prosperity. the
happiness. the enduring peace
he seeks.