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Show U. S. Government Is One Of Oldest Ones Switzerland immediately comes to mind as an oJd and tried democracy, dem-ocracy, and it is true v that the sturdy mountain men have been in a continuous state o developing develop-ing their democracy since 1291, a matter of 643 years. Yet their present constitution was adopted only in 1874. Denmark is an example of a very old monarchy, but the present pres-ent succession to the throne was established only in 1853. Today, looking back on 158 years of "government of the people, peo-ple, by " the people, and for the people," America may reflect that her system has stood so well the tests of time that it is today one of the oldest continuous governmental govern-mental systems in the whole world. By NEA Service ' WASHINGTON, July 4, 1934 Today the United States of America Amer-ica celebrates its 158th birthday. And in the 158 years that have passed since that hot July of 1776 when Americans took their lives and fortunes in their hands and told the world they were cutting I loose on their own governments all over the world have come and gone. Today, America', accustomed to think of itself as a young nation, finds its government one of the oldest in the world. England, whose parliament was first summoned in 1265, has continued con-tinued down the years depending increasingly on that one ruling body nearly 500 years before that she was groping toward represent- I ative government. So Britain gets the palm for age. Little Liechtenstein, which assumed assum-ed its present form in 1719, is one of the few other governments that are older than our republic. Old Forms Fall Old countries, yes, far older than the United .States. But time has rung changes in them all. China, often considered the cradle of the race and the oldest civilization, became be-came a republic only in 1912, and the present Nanking government was established only in 1928. Japan, ancient though her dynasty dyn-asty is (founded in 66U B. C, legend leg-end says), saw this power restored re-stored to the throne only in 18U8, when the Shogun power was overthrown. over-thrown. So the present empire is really only a youngster. Time-tempered Greece herself adopted a new constitution in 1927, giving one of the oldest peoples one of the youngest of governments. govern-ments. War Brings Changes Spain and Portugal were ancient even when their explorers came to help open the new continent of America, but Spain only three years ago came around to the republican re-publican form of government, overthrowing one of the most ancient an-cient monarchies. And Portugal's present constitution was adopted only last year, the youngest governmental gov-ernmental baby of all. With the World war'.s end, a whole crop of new governments appeared on the scene, Russia, Germany, Turkey, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Czecho-slovakia, Danzig, Austria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland. All these today have governments less than 20 years old. We think of France as a sister republic dating from our own time, but it is not strictly soA The present pres-ent French republic is the third, with revolutionary breaks between them, and was established only on the overthrow of Napoleon 111 in 1870, making her only 64 years old governmentally. Nev. Utile In Italy-Italy Italy-Italy still operates iminally under the constitution she won in 1S4S, but received what amounts to a new government when Mussolini's Musso-lini's Black-shirts marched on Rome in 1923. Our nearest neighbors are both younger than we. Canada received her present form of government by royal proclamation in 1S67. And Mexico, though she started off on her own in 1857, has had innumerable innum-erable revolutions, and got her i present constitution in 1917. j Practically all our neighbors of i South America won their hide-1 pendence in the middle of the Inst I century, 50 years and more after the formation of the United States i of America, and most of them'j have changed governments many times since. |