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Americanization
must be taken up earnestly and systematically.
America first must be stamped upon
every heart. There should be but
one language in the public grade
schools --the language of the Declaration
of Independence, of Abraham Lincoln,
of Theodore Roosevelt. A common
language is one of the strongest
influences for building up a spirit
of national solidarity. We must
emphasize that hand in hand, with
equality of privilege and opportunity,
goes equality of obligation in war
and in peace, in fair weather and
in storm.
There is
no room in this country for any
flag except our own. There is no
room for the Red flag. It is opposed
to everything our government stands
for. It stands for anarchy, chaos,
and ruin. Smash it! True liberty
is found within the law. Law and
order are the foundation on which
rests business, confidence, and
prosperity, without which there
cannot be prosperous labor conditions,
and without these we cannot have
increased efficiency, and that increased
production which is a great remedy
for the high cost of living.
The war is
over. We are confronted with the
problems of peace, and organization
for the extension of our trade.
We must spread the war burden over
a longer period of years. We must
relieve business of any taxation
which strangles enterprise. We must
look to the establishment of a merchant
marine, the maintenance of a small
but highly efficient army and a
firstclass , every-ready navy, and
the development of a sound policy
of national defense -- a policy
which places the obligation of service
in war squarely upon all classes
of our citizens.
This country
must never be allowed to fall into
such a condition of helplessness
that it cannot immediately become
a force for right. We want peace.
We believe in arbitration. We shall
have more of peace, and more successful
arbitration, if we are not only
just and righteous, but also strong.
We must be prepared to meet the
organized strength of wrong with
a [desperate] strength of right.
We must cultivate the spirit of
service and sacrifice. The motto
of every American should be: I serve.
In considering the questions of
labor and property, we should remember
the words of Abraham Lincoln: "Let
not him who hath no house pull down
the house of his neighbor, but rather
let him industriously strive to
build one for himself, thus by example,
showing confidence that his own,
when built, shall stand."
Let us do
all we can to help labor. Give it
a square deal -- an honest and generous
wage for an honest day's work. Labor
is neither a commodity or a chapel;
it's human. Let us inject more of
the human element into our dealings
with labor and with those of others.
Remember, you cannot legislate this
into the souls of men. Without it,
there never can be harmony, cooperation,
and the progress we want.
Let us build
up an intense American spirit --
not selfish, but helpful to a world
in trouble, backed for the right
kind of an American conscience.
Avoid loose-fibered internationalism
as you avoid death, for it means
national death. America has a great
mission in the world, one which
she can only perform by being a
strong, united, upstanding people.
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