THE CHINA MAIL, JANUARY 5, 1939.
Page
RENDEZVOUS OF U.S.
WITH
DESTINY
Pres. Roosevelt's Fighting Speech To Congress
ATTACK MUST BE
MET BY UNITED DEMOCRACY
Washington, To-day.
President Roosevelt yesterday addressed the 76th United States Congress on the state of the nation.
The President referred to previous occasions when he had advised Congress of disturbance abroad and the need of putting their own house in order.
"In the face of the storm signals from across the seas, a further warning is necessary at the opening of this, the seventy-sixth, Congress.
"A war which threatened to themselves from the envelop the world in flames has other continents. It does not mean
nations been averted but it has become the Americas against the rest increasingly clear that peace is the world.
not assured.
from abroad
"The storms directly challenge three institu- tions now, as always, indispensa- ble to Americans.
"First is religion, which is the source of the other two-democracy and international good faith.
"In modern civilisation all three complement each other. Where freedom and religion are attacked, the attack has come from sources opposed to democracy.
STRIDENT AMBITION "Where democracy has been overthrown, the spirit of free wor- ship has disappeared. And where religion and democracy have vanished, good faith and reason in international affairs have given way to the strident ambition brute force.
of
"The ordering of society which relegates religion, democracy and good faither between nations to the background can find no place with- in it for the ideals of peace.
"The United States rejects such an ordering and retains its ancient faith.
"There come times in the affairs of men when they must prepare to defend not only their homes but their tenets of faith and humanity on which their churches and gov- ernments, and their very civilisa- tion, are founded.
NEW PHILOSOPHIES
"Defence of religion, democracy and good faith between nations is
all the same fight.
"To save one we must now make
up our minds to save all.
happen
"We know what might to us of the United States if the new philosophies of. force were to encompass other continents and in- yade our own. We, no more than other nations, can afford to be sur- rounded by enemies of our faith and of our humanity.
"We propose to do our share in protecting from storms from any quarter this hemisphere and the ideal of democratic government and peoples functioning together in mutual respect for peace.
the
"This does not imply that -American Republics will dissociate.
THE ONLY SAFETY
"We stand on our historic
of
no formless and selfish as-fears can stand in the way.
son that the probability of attack liberty is mightily decreased by the
"At one time I prophesied that
surance of an ever-ready defence."
He would send a special message this generation of Americans had a to Congress in a few days re-rendezvous commending measures for adequate prophecy has come true.”
with Destiny. defence.
the
"If another form of government can present a united front in the attack on democracy, must be met by a united democracy attack Such a democracy can and must
exist in the United States.
RAĆE TO MAKE DEMOCRACY WORK
the history of the United States,
"Never have, there been six years of such far-flung preparedness in
"All this has been done. without
That
shouted lustily when President A packed House cheered and Roosevelt entered and· frequently moved into the fighting passages of applauded when the President his speech, especially when he outlined the methods by which the United States could protect itself from foreign threats.
Dr. Thomson, the German Charge d'Affaires, was a silent and atten- tive figure in the gallery, while other interested spectators were the French and Spanish Ambas-
ter.
any dictator's power of command, sadors, and the Portuguese Minis- confiscation of capital, without con-
without conscription of labour, and
centration
camps and without a scratch on freedom of speech, freedom of the press or the rest of the Bill of Rights.
"We are on a race to make de- mocracy work so that we will be efficient in peace to be secure in self-defence.
Mrs. Roosevelt and the Presi- dent's mother were crowded audience.
among the
pay
THE COSTS Loud and prolonged cheering greeted the said: "Dictatorship involves costs President when he
which the "We can compete with the dicta- never
American people will to take counsel with all other na-capital together and at the same being able to say what we please, offer tors in bringing idle men and idle spiritual value and blessed right of the cost of our tions to the end that between them may be terminated what we consider civilisation.”
aggression time remain within the bounds of the cost of freedom, the cost of our and commerce be renewed." and the race in armaments cease
| capital being confiscated, the cost When they were seeking to in- of being cast into concentration any government bristling with the ernment to consider drastic cur- neighbour, the
The President proceeded that
crease production and consump-camps and being afraid to walk implements of war, insists on poli-tailment of its own investments.
tion, it was illogical for the Gov-down the street with the wrong cost of having cies of power, weapons of defence
children brought up not as free give the only safety.
At the bottom of their hearts, human beings but industry, agriculture and finance machines.
moulded by
was necessary to raise the national wanted Congress to do whatever income to $80,000,000,000 a year.
if
means taxes on my own income or "If avoidance of these costs
duties on my estate, I would bear those taxes willingly as the price of my breathing, and my children breathing free air in a free coun- of the problem [try, in a living not a dead world."
-Reuter.
RENDEZVOUS WITH DESTINY
He declared that the God-fearing democracies of the evermore let pass without effective world cannot protest acts of aggression against sister nations acts which auto- matically undermine all of us. "If the solution
"We have learned the old old les-is the price of preserving
our
A MUSEUM FOR “CHILDREN ONLY”—A museum for children has been opened at Brooklyn, U.S.. which contains specimens of special interest to children and which they are allowed to touch and take away for their homes to study, just like library books. To qualify for a specimen loan the boy or girl must first learn something about the subject and pags an elementary-test. Over 6,000 children qualified for loans in the first few months of opening. This eagle can be touched by the children if they wish to do
SO.