Show J d I Tew f fR fin R in WASHINGTON By Walter Wolter Shead Correspondent What About Americanism aeton Bureau Bureta Union Trust Building Build HOW H OW wide and how deep is your Americanism Will it embrace our new concept of national life in in- including including eluding the good neighbor policy and tolerance here at home as fixed by our foreign policy Does your Americanism contemplate contemplate contemplate plate protection of your religious be be- beliefs beliefs beliefs by recognizing the right of oth oth- others others others ers to their religious beliefs Does it tolerate and respect the rights and opinions of others Docs Does it follow the basic chart we have set down for world peace and international life that world peace and the good neighbor policy cannot succeed unless the peoples of the world WILL that we have peace and live together as good neighbors These questions have been raised by the senate hearings and debate on the ratification of the charter of the United Nations They were raised also on the first pronounce pronounce- pronouncement pronouncement pronouncement ment of James F. F Byrnes new sec sec- secretary secretary secretary of state after he took his oath of office He said The making of an enduring peace will depend on something more than skilled diplomacy something more than paper treaties something more even than the best charter the wisest statesmen can draft Important as is diplomacy important as asare asare asare are the peace settlements and the basic charter of 01 world peace these cannot succeed unless backed by the will of the peoples of different lands not only to have peace but to live together as good neighbors And that means that we must start here at home at being good neigh neigh- neighbors neighbors neighbors bors one to another We were an intolerant bigoted nation 26 years ago We kicked the Versailles treaty and the Covenant of the League of Nations overboard Our Americanism then was in the narrow sense we thought we could live within ourselves self suf apart from the rest of the world As a result of this atti atti- attitude attitude attitude tude of intolerance all sorts of isms and movements grew up in our national life neighbor was arrayed against neighbor social distrust and unrest festered Today concluded the new sec sec- secretary secretary of state there can be no doubt that the peoples of this war- war ravaged earth want to live in a afree afree afree free and peaceful world But the supreme task of statesmanship the world over is to help them to under under- understand understand understand stand that they can have peace and freedom only if they tolerate and respect the rights of others to opinions opinions opinions ions feelings and ways of life which they do not and cannot share Postwar Changes These postwar years will see many changes in the national life of our nation Returning veterans seared s ared by war and broadened in their contact with other peoples will have a strong influence on the affairs af af- affairs affairs fairs of the country decentralization tion of population and the mass movement of population as a result of war dislocations are arc already felt felt the political pattern of the nation in changing old political lines such as once divided the North and the South are being wiped out and recent events point to a new lineup which will see the great cen cen- centers centers centers of population and the small towns and rural areas divided by widely divergent viewpoints A generation ago the most out out- outspoken outspoken outspoken spoken voices of liberalism came from the rural sections of the West and Midwest Beveridge Norris LaFollette Sr Bryan Walsh of Montana Kenyon of Iowa Olson of Minnesota and others while the reactionaries and called so-called con con- conservatives conservatives conservatives represented the East and the populous centers of the North Today the pendulum swings the oth- oth other other other er way with representatives gen gen- generally generally generally from the West and Midwest the pillars of conservative thought while such men as Aiken of Ver Ver- Vermont Vermont Vermont mont White and Brewster of Maine of Massachusetts I To- To Tobey Tobey Tobey bey of New Hampshire and others from the larger cities become the supporters of liberal thought In the cities the influence of labor unions no doubt has caused a swing from conservative to liberal and given impetus for reform from the industrial East and North And so the picture presented indicates the future will see the mass thinking of the large areas of population pit pit- pitted pitted pitted ted against the individual thought of the small towns and the rural areas The purest form of Americanism today is found in the rural sections of the nation and if the present ten ten- tendency tendency tendency dency dency- toward decentralization of ot population and industry is carried through as it will be the Influence of the small town and rural community community community will be felt more and more on the national life of the nation The experiences following the last war should be a warning that there is no place today in this pure Amer Amer- Americanism Americanism Americanism for the forms of ot intolerance and bigotry which polluted the body of our social and political life during that hat period |