V.gebond Editorials

By Jack Dionne

For mdny blessed generations the children of this nation have had instilled into their hearts and minds from earliest days the immortal and imperishable truth that this IS the greatest nation in the world; ttrat the country in which we live is the most blessed that the children of men have ever known; that here, and HERE ALONE, all men are equal before their God and their Government; that the children of the poor have the same rights and equal privileges enjoyed by the children of the rich; that those certain inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness belong to every man, and cannot be denied him; that there is more tolerance, more fellowship, more understanding, more fair-play, rnore genuine opportunity, more unvarnished equality here than there is or ever has been anywhere on the face of the earth; that every American citizen has reason to thank God every hour of the day for the unequalled blessings that come to him with his American birthright; that the Kingly crown of an American Citizen is the grandest sign of human sovereignty; that the boy from the hovel has as much right-and a whole lot more chanc+to become President as the boy from the mansion; that this is, in fact and in truth, "The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave." ***

Every mother has taught these consecrated truths to her children at her knee. Every father has proudly proclaimed them to his sons, and striven that these tidings of great joy should be ineradicably imbedded in their consciousness. Every teacher has taught them. Every preacher has proclaimed them from his pulpit. Every statesman has emblazoned them. Every orator has jeweled them with fine phrases. Every historian has helped to imbed them in the timeless scroll of history. Every patriotic assemblage has proclaimed their sanctity. They have become the rockribbed foundations upon which the eternal glory of this nation have been built. They are heart of our nation's heart, and fiber of our nation's fiber. ***

I still believe in these philosophies-believe in them just as utterly as when I was a kid in school. That is why I instinctively resent dl this recent chatter about the need for this netion taking up new ideals, and having to rebuild its spiritual structure upon new foundations and along new lines. To me all this stuff is simple heresy and plain btasphemy. Personally, f'm waiting as I have been for five years for t'he return of the "good old days," with all that they meant. They were good enough for me, and they can t come back too soon to suit me. And, while there may be those who think otherwise, I haven't met any of them on my travels

The story is going the rounds in the South of the colored cook who failed to show up for work one morning. Several days passed and no word came from her, and, since she had been a faithful employe of the family for many years they decided something must have happened to her. So they drove out in the colored quarters to her house. There she sat on the front porch, fat, grinning, the picture of contentment, just rocking away in hir old rocking-chair. ***

The white lady wanted to know what the trouble was, and why she hadn't come to work. "You don't look the least bit sick," she told the colored one. "No, Missus Robison, Ah ain't sick " said the ex-cook, "but Ah jus' can't wuk fo' you no mo'." "My goodness, why not?" asked the white lady. "Ah've done jined de Guv'meng" was the satisfied reply. The mystery was soon explained. She had gone on "relief." !t**

If there was some practical way to separate the genuinely unemployed and willing-to-work frorn the enormous number of people who have just "jined de Guv'ment," the statistics regarding unemployment would not look nearly so dark t$ rF

Al Smith's comparison of our Federal Government to Santa Claus has become a national by-word. Someone reminded Al of the continued popularity of the Administration. "Sure," said Al I "You never heard of anyone shooting Santa Claus, did you?"

The other day I sat in a Legislative gallery and listened to a debate on the wisdom of applying for a big Public Works donation. Both sides of the argument referred to Uncle Sam as "Santa Claus," and one of the proponents of the measure declared that it was the first and would probably be the last time that millions could be had from Santa Claus for merely hanging up your stocking, and that it would be foolish not to get a share. :t*!F

The progress of the national remodeling effort under the Federal Housing Act is decidedly spotted. It appears that

RA,IL CARGO