THE OMAHA GUIDE
EDITORIALS
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
To the Flage of the United States
•f America and to the Republic
for which it stands—one nation,
Indivisible, with Liberty and Jus
tice for AIL
FLAG DAY REMARKS
Address by Atty. Robert J. Webb
Past Commander of Omaha Post
No. 1 American Legion. Given
on June 11, 19J9 at Hanseom
Park on Elks Flag Day Services.
We are assembled today to snow
our respect and reverence for our be
loved stars and stripes, the flag of our
country. Of course it is not the
texture of the material contained in
our flag or the novelty or artistry of
its design that brings us together in
this observance of Flag Day, but the
principles, ideals and traditions of
which our flag is symbolic. The flag,
sometimes affectionately referred to
as “Old Glory,” symbolizes our na
tional constitution, the law and order
which our constitution guarantees,
and justice and individual rights.
Truly the flag represents all that good
citizenship means. To me it is a privi
lege to be a participant in this program
and I am sure each and everyone of
this audience likewise consider it a
privilege as an American citizen to so
participate.
It is altogether fitting and appro
priate that this program should be un
der the sponsorship of the Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks. The
Elks is a thorough American organiz
ation. It was founded in the United
States. It is definitely a patriotic order
and its fundamental teachings are
equality of mankind, tolerance, charity
and love of ones fellowmen. In fact its
principles closely paradel those of our
country, and its membership is a true
cross section of the citizenry of this
country. Wherever the stars and
stripes fly you will find organized
EJkdom, and no where else.
If there was ever a time wnen we
as citizens of this country should give
serious thought to the principle's of
Americanism that time is right now.
No words of mine are required to ac
quaint you with the present situation.
Screaming headlines in the daily pa
pers and the voice of the radio are con
stantly bringing to your attention
events and conditions which wo cannot
afford to ignore. Well do we know that
the continents of Europe and Asia and
practically all of the world except our
Western Hemisphere, is a seething
caldron of hate and intolerance, and
only by a strict adherence to the prin
ciples of Americanism and the preser
vation of the heritage from our fore
fathers can we avoid being drawn into
a conflict which seems inevitable, or
sharing in the consequences of it. It
is exercises like these in which we are
taking part that can bring us to a true
realization of the value of our form of
government and its principles, ideals
and tradition.
The greatest danger, it seems to me
lies in the fact that we are prone to
take our priceless heritage, and the
rights and privileges which we enjoy,
too lightly and too much for granted.
The world for some time has been ra
pidly dividing into two schools of
thought as to forms of government. On
the one hand we see the so-caHed tota
litarian state, whether its basis W
Fascism, Nazism or Communism, un
der which form of government the in
dividual exists only for the state; and
on the other hand our own form of
government, under which the state
fikists only for thejvell being of the
individual members composing the
state, and to insure to them their God
given rights and privileges. The tota
litarian state is maintained vy the con
trol of press and assemblage, thereby
restraining five expression of thought
and by the molding of youth according
to the pattern desired.
Anything that stands in the way,
religion, family life, fraternal or other
organizations with philosophic prin
ciples of their own is brushed aside
and suppressed. Just the opposite was
true in the beginnings of our beloved
country. Religion, the family, and so
cial and fraternal contacts with our
neighbors are the very cornerstones
of our nation. In using the term reli
gion I do not mean any particular
creed or dsr.ctnir.aticn, but rather a
belief in a Supreme Bring, a Divine
Master who guides us in our daily lives
and deliberations. Ou.r forefathers
were uoo iearing na n. ui inai uiere
can be no question. The deliberations
out of which grew these United States
Were held in a deeply religious atmos
phere. Too often this is lost sight of
in these latter years, and a great deal
of loose talk and assertions are heard
which might lead one to believe that
exactly the contrary was true.
Too often we forgot the Declara
tion of Independence, and if we have
not forgotten that such an instrument
existed, we are rather hazy as to its
contents. Some quotations from that
document might be helpful in acquaint
ing us with the atmosphere in which
the birth of this nation took place.
That Declaration, promugated long
before we had a constitution contains
this truism: “We hold these truths to
be self-evidont, that all men are created
equal; that they are endowed by their
Creator with a certain inalienable
rights; that among them are life, liber
ty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Is
there any doubt as to the philosophy of
life of the architects of our form of
government.
Many oi you nave doubtless seen
an inscription carved in the stone on
our Capitol Bldg., at Lincoln, as fol
lows: “The salvation of the States lies
in the watchfulness of its citizens.” In
that sentence there is contained, it
seems to me, a great deal of food for
thought at the present time. All of us
are aware that for some time, and at
this moment, a campaign is being car
ried on by various organizations sew
ing the needs of dissatisfaction, intol
erance and hate in our own and other
countries of the new7 world, with the
hope that by such implantation this
country also may be turned from its
present form of government. It is per
haps a paradox that in order to pre
serve our form of government we
must permit, under the principles of
freedom of expression, assemblage,
etc., this insidious propaganda to con
tinue, which would not for a moment
be tolerated in the very quarters from
which it has its source. The only effect
ual way in which we can combat and
overcoime these sinister forces which
seek to destroy our form of govern
ment and deprive us of our precious li
berties, is to constanly inculcate in our
citizens, and especially in our youth,
by every possible means, a reverence
for the principles, ideals and traditions
of our government. We pause in our
daily life on occasions such as this and
seriously review7 the events which led
to the founding our our beloved coun
try and brought it to its present great
ness. We must reflect upon the hard
ships, the toil and the sacrifices of our
forefathers, as soldiers, statesmen, and
pioneers, and builders, that they might
transmit to us the blessings which we
now enjoy.
Our strength lies in the intelli
gence of the mass of our people. When
the mass-mind is infantile and unrea
soning it is ripe for the demagogue and
self-seeker. It is therefore of para
mount importance that all good citi
zens and all patriotic organizations in
this country stress §n all possible oc
casions the study of Americanism. We
must realize that the teachers of our
schools today make up the front line
of our nation’s peace time defense;
that our schools must go forward; that
cur youth must be given an oppor
tunity of educating themselves, and
that the keynote of that education
must be Americanism.
Let us just briefly review and con
trast what each of the two general op
posing forms of government have to
offer their citizens. Under our system
there can be no law restricting the es
tablishment of any particular religion
or prohibiting the free exercise there
of. There can be no abridgment of free
dom of speech, of the press, or of the
i ight of assemblage. In all of the tota
litarian states, however freedom of
speech, freedom of the press, and the
press and the right of assembly have
been suspended. In one of these coun
tries the government controls the.
church, dictates its policy and doc
trines, and harasss and persecutes
those who worship God according to
some other creed which their con
science dictates; and at least one other
of these countries aims at the destruc
tion of all forms of religion, is intol
erant of the worship of the Supreme
Being in any form; in fact actually
teaches hatred of God. In our country
the right of the people to be secure in
their persons, papttrs and effects a
gainst searches and seizures is con
stitutionally guaranteed. In the tota
litarian states organzations of secret
police can make arrests, raid private
homes, or seize private property, with
out warrants or other legal documents.
In American no persons can be held
to answer for capital or other infam
ous crime except on a presentment or
indictment of a grand jury. And in all
criminal prosecutions the accused en
joys the right to a speedy and public
trial by an impartial jury, and no per
son be twice put in jeopardy of life
and limb for tho same offense. We
provide that excessive bail shall not
be required, nor excessive fines be im
posed, nor cruel nor unusual punish
ments inflicted. In dictator countries
the secret police can hold persons with
out trial or public hearings as long as
they please. Trial by jury is not guar
anteed. Many trials are held secretly
and the judge does not consider the
rights of the individual, but the will
of the doctor. Ruthlessness is consid
ered a powerful weapon in the hands
of government agencies and is approv
ed under the totalitarian form of gov
ernment. With us, the right of citizens
to vote may not be denied or abridged
by the United States or by any state
on account of race, color, or previous
condition of servitude. Everyone is
equal before the law. In some countries
ruled by dictators, persons of certain
classes, races or creeds do not enjoy
the same rights as others. (If actually
it can be said there are really any
rights for anyone.) Elections in those
countries are mere formalities. Every
one votes as directed. It is dangerous
to life and property to dissent.
Let us just briefly carry on this
contrast from an economic standpoint.
America is the most powerful nation
on earth; has an industrial system that
revolutionized world trade; mass pro
duction that made possible the highest
standard of living in the world; na
tional resources that make other coun
tries look poor; inventive genius that
has ushered in most of the miracles of
the ages in which we live; the electric
light, the electric motor, the internal
combustion engine, automobiles,
movies, airplanes, radio, telegraph,
telephone and countless other am^&ing
inventions. We contain only 6% of the
world’s area and 7% of its population,
yet consume normally about 50% or
more of the world’s coffee, tin, rubber,
pig iron and copper; about 75 per cent
of its silk and crude petroleum; about
one fourth of its sugar and over one
third of its coal. We operate 60 per cent
of the world’s telegraph facilities. We
have, one telephone for every seven
persons, compared to one for every 18
in the country which most nearly ap
proaches us. We own 80 per cent of all
the motor cars in use in the world. If
our people and those of other countries
had to pack up and move by automo
bile tomorrow, in the country which
most nearly approaches us, one would
ride and ten would walk. In another
country one would ride and 20 would
walk, and still another, one would ride
and 150 w ould walk. All would ride in
America. We posses approximately
one half of the world’s gold supply.
America has twTo thirds of all civiliza
tion’s banking resources. The purchas
ing power of our people is greater than
that of the 500 million people in Europe
and much larger than that of one bil
lion Asiatics. In 1938 we consumed 260
billion pounds of food, an average of
one ton a person. No other country’s
people were fed in like manner? We
have in America in abundance* almost
everything that anyone apywhere
wants; libertly, opportunity, wealth
and security. We have* the best govern
ment in the world. Every citizen in
America has the privilege to kick,
squawk, complain and protest about
e verything he doesn’t like. He can cri
ticize the government and government
officials wherever — whenever he feels
the urge, and as many times as he feels
the urge. He can give effect to his re
monstrances by voting at the polls as
he wrants to. Where is there another
government wrhich gives its citizens
such lea way?
One could continue for hours to e
numerate the advantages of our citi
zens over the people in other countries.
Yet there are those in this country,
many of them, who have never stopp
ed to count their blessings as Americ
an citizens. These things are taken
for granted. Never is a thought given
as to how it happened that they are
enjoying these blessings, and worst of
all, many give no thought to the pres
ervation of these blessings. Let us
place our faith in this. Each succeed
ing generation has carried on, has been
true to the trust imposed upon it, and
through fidelity to the ideals of our
fathers this republic has survived.
Down through the years of this coun
try’s existence the offspring of the
founding fathers, in war and in peace,
have been true to the principles, ideals
and traditions of our government, and
have steadfastly followed the trails
blazed for them. And just so long as
this succession continues, the safety
and preservation of our beloved coun
try is assured, but if the day ever com
es that a generation is unwilling to de
fend and preserve with all of its .en
ergy and to its last breath, this country
and heritage of ours, that day our foro
fathers will have toiled, suffered and
died in vain.
-out)
HISTORY IN THE MAKING
For the first time in the history
of Elkdom in America, the Offi
cers of Omaha Lodge Number 39
BPOE Elks in person extended
an invitation to the IBPOE of W
Lodge Number 92, to join them
at 27th and Leavenworth Sts., in
a parade from there to Hanscom
Park to commemorate Flag Day
Services.
Hats off and in hand to
Omaha Lodge Number 39 BOPE.
Elks for showing their spirit of
tolerance in this commemorated
services for a new day and a
more fully cooperation in the
great nrinciples for which these
two of America’s own lodges
Stand for. . t1 . ^