Show 0 I 1 national topics interpreted by william bruckart Wait hington D C I 1 national press nuil dinc washington this article shall be t devoted not to politics nor to affairs of the gov future eminent of the na leaders t alon I 1 on exclusively but to the future the future leaders it shall be to that extent a discussion of fundamentals about which I 1 think there can be no controversy first let us take a quick survey in the capitol building of our own nation there is raging a bitter debate between two schools of political thought the question is whether there shall be a law passed that will give to the president of the united states the power to appoint additional justices to the bench of the supreme court when and if present sitting bitting members reach the age of seventy five and refuse to retire from active work in spain a bitter political warfare moves on apace it is over the question whether communism of the russian sort or fascism of the italian brand should be the dominant influence in the gov government emment of that nation in the far east along the russian border troops of the japanese emperor and of the russian dictator stalin glared at each other their controversy also involves political bases that controversy also Is complicated by economic conditions it is a powder keg back in europe we find a dictator hitler by name persecuting citizens of germany almost without end A political question there is involved and it is complicated deeply by religion and race hitler and his minions seek to destroy first the catholic church and second the jews somewhat set off by the great alps although woven intricately into the whole picture is another distorted and disturbing condition in italy mussolini havin having most of his people under his steel boot is now preparing for new crusades he has ordered all steel producing units in italy to increase their production to the maximum so that war material will be available mussolini wants more territory he wants to expand the influence of fascism and he wants to build a gigantic world power in a military way with rome as the center and with him as the head 0 0 e r A A through many years residents resident 3 of washington and visitors to the capital of the nation building have gloried in a for future greensward t that h a t borders the potomac river within the district of columbia it is a justly famous park made more beautiful by such stately structures as the monument to george washington and the great citadel of beauty erected to the memory of abraham lincoln and to add to this beauty is the vista across the river where stands In in grandeur the beautiful home that was the residence of robert E lee main maintaining throughout the years the respect that a nation has for a great military leader it reposes or seems to repose in peace and quiet as do the thousands of men who rest in the hillsides hill sides of arlington national cemetery in this peaceful setting for ten days more than twenty six thousand boys the leaders of the future were congregated in a national jamboree of the boy scouts of america tents were everywhere uncounted boys in the khaki shorts which is their uniform flitted flirted about the city or held various maneuvers or staged dramas of the ages in a great arena among them was a sprinkling and the number was not more than a sprinkling compared to the boys of the scoutmasters scout masters and mature men who constitute the leadership of this great army of youth I 1 hope I 1 may be forgiven forgia en for interjecting here an expression of my personal feelings it has been my lot to work hard from the time I 1 put off swaddling clothes the work I 1 have done and the experiences I 1 have met had a tendency to make me callous somewhat cynical but I 1 must confess that on half a dozen occasions as I 1 wandered through this tented city I 1 gave thought to my own boyhood and to t 0 two boys for whom I 1 am responsible I 1 felt a swelling of pride a satisfaction of aheart oh heart eart that I 1 live in a nation which has given me the right to liberty and progress moreover there cam came e to me the thoughts of the future of my own two boys and the millions of others just like them future leaders of a nation that holds forth such possibilities as are best evidenced by the encampment of those thos e twenty six thousand then within the range ranee of my vision 0 0 then no tribute to these future leaders of our nation and to the tribute nation tion which bred them can or will to west be complete with out mention of dr james E west chief scout executive dr west was an orphan boy worse he was a cripple and to add to these hand handicaps leaps there was a period in his ea early aly life when the keenest medical minds said he could not live and if he did I 1 live w would be a hopeless invalid but dr west was made out of the same mold from which came the founders of our nation and from whom as founders the traditions and the methods known now as the american way have grown it was dr west who devoted indeed dedicated his life to the organization and development of the boy scouts of america it is now an organization of more than two million boys and there are some six million who can be called alumni because they have grown too old to remain in the ranks of active boy scouts I 1 mentioned earlier that this was an army of peace an army devoted to the maintenance of american traditions no better proof of ta this need be given if any were needed than the notorious fact that representatives from the three total tota larian states italy germany and russia Russi aare are missing from the encampment camp ment in two of those states the boy scout movement has been superseded by a dictators decree which forces regimentation and mil itar izing of the youth they are being trained for war happily most countries still pin their faith to the virtues summarized in the scout law the boys promise not to die but to live not to cringe but to blossom by holding themselves e ever v trustworthy loyal helpful friendly courteous obedient cheerful thrifty clean and last but not least to maintain a reverence for god so I 1 think I 1 can be pardoned for the feeling I 1 have that in this encampment camp ment lie the seeds of a continued tree free america waiting the time to take root and bloom into manhood it is from these and from these alone that we can hope to ma maintain intrain in our beloved nation a political system which warrants neither communism nor fascism which desires liberty and peace and which challenges the cockeyed theories that government must care for the people rather than the people care for their government it seemed to me therefore to be something of a sour note that the national youth administration which set up a hideous looking boxlike structure near the center of the capital city from which literature could be distributed to the boy scouts this structure looked for all the world like a soft drink stand at a cheap carnival and 1 I personally so nally resented the action of national youth administration officials who ordered its construction I 1 felt this way because the national youth administration is predicated upon the very theory that I 1 have just condemned a theory that go government vern must serve as a father for everybody and that it in must lay down rules to which all must subscribe it is the nearest thing to the regimentation that is going on M in nations under dictators that exists in in our government today cabled dispatches from rom russia indicate again that the dictator stair ain m is ls determined heavy hand 11 j to rid the soviet of stalin of anyone and everyone who m may a y be opposed to him the official announcements noun cements of the so called soviet government tell of the liquidation of numerous individuals who have objected to Stalin Ps tactics or who are seeking to revise the soviet system liquidation in russia means that those individuals were executed by a firing squad A dead man can cause no har harm m to the aspirations pi rations of a dictator the stalin administration arranges for the liquidation of its opponents by coercion of confessions and this is followed up by what the soviet calls a trial in a court of justice the courts of justice are owned and controlled by stalin they decide as they are told to decide and there is no such thing as an impartial court in russia because the government owns t the h e courts and names the judges who are to do the governments bidding private advices advises from abroad seem to show that there is a very serious uprising underneath the surface su in hi russia thousands of russians have grown tired of having one man determine whether they shall ii live ive or die and they yearn again tor for a system of courts which will determine their guilt or innocence in accordance with honest evidence presented and not in accordance with the way the governing clique wa wants ants justice administered As the russian judiciary is constructed on ted under the mailed fist of stalin courts are a farce without such a court structure howe however ver a dictator could not perpetuate his own power he must have control of the courts in order to ca carry rry out under the guise of law all of the tha whims and fancies and hatreds that he possesses A nation of free people does not long remain free after its courts become subjected t to 0 the direction and control of one man judges who can administer justice w without fear or favor are the first perquisite to liberty 0 western newspaper union |