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00cUMENT11 _ROOV 4-2251 2'.BDERAL WORKS AG El-JCY i;OJ.1: PROJECTS AD!UNISTRATION For Release to Iforning News1')a.pers Friday, June 20 , J.941 11 TlIE SEC::lET WEU'ON" IJ:'he following a.idress is for d.elivery by Mrs . Florence Kerr , Assistant Commissioner , Work Projects Ad.~inistration , at the Cornmence~ent Exercises of the Class of June 1941 , Hunter College of the City of New York, at 8 : 00 J,.m., Thursday , June 19 , 1941 : 1.i:his co:rmnencement season falls within a 7eriod of com:terrevolution ; a per iod unlike a1zy othe"'· you or I have known. ba ckward now and trace tt,e approach of the storm . We can look But when those thunder- head.s first ff9peared against the sun , they seemed so unreal a nd so theatrical that vre did not t ake them seriously. As re c en tly as two Jrears G,go , few Arne1·icans really m.~ectec. an all-out attack upon the foundation struct11re of western i.nsti tutions . Bu t at the moment , as we know too well , a large part of tho \~orld is in rebellion ; not only (~gain.st tho political forms upon which western governments have boon built but also against the culturnl disciplines o:v which generations of west ern :peoples lk·we li vod . As you wai t to receive your degrees , it would be strange if ~ l you d i d not tb.ink long thoughts about the anomaJ.ies of this commencement . You have spent three-fourths or more of your lives in a special ~0repara t ion for a special kind of world . Of cours e no one of 11s considered western civilizat i on perfect ; and we have spent hours and even years Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 4-2251 - 2 - analyzing it and. marking certain points for change. :But Hunter College was founded, in part a t least, to defend and. to help define the pattern issuing from the lib eral movements of the pas t two-hundred years . 1he fact that you are here is evidence that in the main you have taken this pattern for granteQ ar1d have placed its priffiary values above the battle. But at tho end of this period of preparation you find those values within the battle . You prepe,rec. for co-operative and. creative work. You find humanity divid.ed. and civilization fighting against it self. But it would be a sad disservice were I to e!1courage you to feel sorry for yourselves. Of alJ. possible attitudes, self-pity is the least useful and the least rational. It issues in r es i gnation or in re- actions that deny the intellectual techniques Hunter College has given you. I think you know that mature life on any level and in any period is not an idlo d.rift of untroubled circumstance. Tho historic disci- plincs of which you are tho heirs woro not built by diUettant os ; nor wore they clofcndod by swnmor soldiers . If this inheritance is as groat as we believe it is, you can not be sorry that part of its defense has fallen to you. The dead-sea fruits of self-pity are not your special dangers. At the risk of over-simplified and obvious statements, we can name the o:ppodng divisions into whi ch the world has fallen. I Fach rests upon an asnertion as old. as hmnan history. has been :philosophically defended.. Each Fach, for different reasons, has delivered less power at the social drawbar than its apologists hav-e promised. Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 4-2251 These opponents are, of course, free labor .and forced labor . You and I are on the side of free labor. ize .t hat our sic.e is in the minority. But we must real- Persons who should l::now the facts tell us that, as lines are now being drc,. wn, the populations within the orbit of forced labor outnumber the free peoples of the world by a ratio of two to one . Political slav0ry and chattoJ. slavery are not identical, but they do have certain factors in common. Tho old slave cm1)ircs li vod long; and in tho swoop of human history bondage seems to have boon the rule and freedom t ho oxco:ption . The weight of precedent iJ U1,Jon tho si<lc of sul)joct socioties . This need. not trouble us too much; bu t it is a reminder that f~om, either as an ideal or n.s a fact, can not 1)C taken for gran ted. A few moments ago I rnado the statement that neither forced nor free labor has delivered as much :power at the social drawbar as its proponents have promised. Forced labor rest s upon the assertion that people are unequal ; that i nfe~i or persons have no socia l rights ; that governing power belongs to those uho can hold and use it; that strong leadership makes a strong nation. Tl1e eoverm.ient of forced labor is a professional matter, with pride in its ~rofessional strength. Eut it has to be a repressive pro- cess, uncler which few croa ti v0 powers are developed among the people Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 4-2251 - 4 - govcrnec:1_. This effect upon the people is a.:-1 effect and not a cause; for the destroying force of c.hattel slavery str:i.kes first not at the slave but at the master. Abra.ham Lincoln stated ,art of the case against slave society when he said that no man is wi se and good enou&h to r.;overn anoth01· man without that othor 1 s own consent. Tho r emainder of tho inc!_ictmc:i.t is that any quali ,i;ies of wisdom and. goodness the masters may once have had aro progrossi voly lowered. by tho functions native to the masters I role. of its suppo s ed strength. A slave society ·oreaks first ut tho point It breaks at tho top. Free labor, too, has its philosophical backgrou.c'1.d; found in a principle announced in the Mediterranean world sor:1e three-thousand years ago. This principle, often called the Great Tradition, asserted the supreme V'dlue of individual human life. It was s tated first in theological terms; that life has high attributes because it is born of d.ivine life. Whether or not wo accept that spacial explanntion, tho Groat Tradition holds its old pragmatic :place . When society defends and elevates tne dignity of human personality, civilization is high. W'non it clooas os Lunan values , civilization is low. Forced labor begins with professional group strength at the top. But its creative power is lowered by its own repressive methods. Free labor begins with o.rnatour , individual strength at the bottom. But this strength is dissipated unless, by free processes, it is dr~,¥n into a pattern of natioru1l unity. If free people arc to have a working pattern of national life, they must follow a gu.idance that does not change with changing Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 4- 2251 - 5 ..;. leadership . They find this guidance in principles . ive somet i mes call these principles constit~tional right s ; but they are older than the Constitution. They include the lan~~arks of the historic cultures from which western institutions have been cl.rawn; tho Greek tradition of discoverable truth, the Roman tradition of natural and administrative law, tho religious tradition of the value of human life. We may say that a principle , once correctly sta. tcr1., d.oos not change . But it is only a glittering generality until it is cor- rectly a:ppUod to tho going pattern of social life . Tho princ_iple may not cJ:i..ango , but tho pattern of social life char.go s continually; hence tho application must be so!".lcthing of a tensor formula , remaining true to tho constant principle cut cha nging to meet the inconstant pattern . I f it fails in either contact , the flow of creative social power i s interrup ted. . Perhaps I can illus trate this fairly abstract statement . The counter-revolution now in progress has not been created wholly by the will of a se1.f- nominated master race . It has been J)l" O- duced in :pa,rt by char~ges i n the world- wide social pattern; changes brought a·bout by technology , transportation , speci alization , interchange of goods and s ervices and. bye, hundred other factors . ..,,. I Old. political and economic wa.tertight compartments , suited to an earlier da~r , d.o not fit this newer pattern• . _1t.a.on counter- revoluti onists propose to open those compartments and to remove those obsta cles, they indicate an understanding of this pattern. They have done things that , mo&.surcd against a different Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 4-2251 - 6 - political purpose , would be admirable . own working people. have raised They have dcne much for their Through you"!;h :movements and by other means tb.ey the health and strength levels . Thr.o ugh industrial organ- ization they have eliminated waste , inGfficiency and cross-purpose s . They have restudied financ e , utilized pure science , raised ma nagc~cn t to high levels . But this cffic:i.oncy must bo judged in broa der terms of purpose and effect . 'While ope ning frontiers to tho s~1ipmont of good s , it 1'..as closed frontiers to men a nd t '., t ho nu:man spirit . ono ruling class is Goi1_ , a nd. Goel i s on o ruling clasf;. It a.c claros that This Hegelian philosophy has d.cstroy 0d all tho old h1.1 'TI<.1 .n ti c s 2.nr'J a ll th o old. c::m1rnon standards of religi on and of behavior. Myths c f r r::. ci o.l s1x1:1 uriori ty a rc used to croo.tc an Axis unity by i n troducing nEl.ilism .::.nd. des truction into Euror c a s o. whol e, r,nd i n to tho world . Tnis Axis officioncy must be mon.su.rod in t e rms of terror, sta rvc,ti o:r. t'.ncl ·broken. spirit ,; ir~ d ,)fcfl.ted. nn. tions . It must cc jud.t;od by conccntr::.;.tio!1 c::i.mp s tho.t h::wo been Goli::;otho.s of crucifixion for helpless and bntcd peoples . I n a narro 1•• sens c1 tbe counter-revolutionists j,;:now ~he JJattern of the present . But they denounce th8 a o id.int verities of the past . When they pour contempt upon p r i n ciples of liberty and when they jetti son the painfully won knowledge of the lnunan npiri t, the~, no l 'J.nger stand in the present . They b.ave turned back the clock to the ancient .horrors of J:Jinovch and Tyr e . F:ccc peoples r espect !)rinc iplcs of liberty and of human verities . Their o.iffi culty lies in a daily , r at i or...'11 applicat i on of Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 4-2251 t hese verities i n pr a ctical liv:l.ng 41_ Too often they hold tha t it is enough merely to :proclaim these grea t principles . :Sut when they neglect to renew and to reapply their principles to t.i1e going pattern of life, they simply stop the clock of free progress while tin e marches on . Co1.mtor-revol;1tionists in their ovm gha stly ways s oc and deal with tho cnrront pattern . :principles . F:.oo poo:plos loudly assort in_l-1ori tod But those balf-moasuros simply will not do. out moral r espons ibility be comes a r nckot. Privilege with- Knowledge that c:.oos not is sue in a living pattern of conduct becomes a rock of offense . Unless prin- cir,lo anrl patter n ar c r a tionally and morally joined , tho flow of crcati vo social r)owor ts storpoa.• If you toll mo t hat liberty i s a moral va lue and beyond a rgument, I sh2,l l 2,groo . But too many poo-;:,lc make tho stranL;O assertion that if liberty i s bo;;'ona_ argument it needs no human undorwri ting. Wo know that el ectric power docs not flow from n d i stant generator t o tho lights i n this hall wi•thout a transIJ1ission cable. Neither does the abstract pri nciple of liberty suffuse the pattern of life with value unless it, too, i s transmitted. by rat i~nal understanaing and by moral attitudes. As educated young women , heirs to th e cultur e of the ages, you have a spec ial responsibi lity. All of us, of every class and group, have the duty of weaving daily the working garments of freedom. Yours i s the added obligation of weaving into those garments tho crimson threads of the great human verities spun for us by sa ints and her oes , sagos and philosophers; tho master cra ftsmen of tho laboring years. Digitized by NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY * Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 4-2251 - 8 - Soi:ie months ago it was my fortune to hear Lord Hal ifax make an informal speech, in which he said in effect that as c.isast er s nro.l tiply and as ma terial p ossessions grow lens , there is forged a secret weapon; the spiritual u nity of the Briti sh people. We accept the old adage that in unity there is strength; and I hope ;7ou agree tba t u:pon the formal side this unity i s composed of :p:dnciplos articulatca_ with s ocia l pra ctices . We ca n not h ope too much from a u:1it;f v:ovon only of fear a nd of J:ia ssio:1. That un ity i s tho u n ity of tho G;_td.ar ono swine whicl-1., poss oss cC.. .f do~i ;_ls , rnshcd vi olently down a, s to OT> place into tho sou . Tho B:d tish unity, forged. J?.;y dnngor and disaster, is ;1ot forgo 3. of clangor o.nd c'tisas t or . It i s tho u nity of a common 1,urposo , a c ommon 1;:ilJ. , a common body of kno\-.rlodi::;o, a common faith . We co..n not t n.ke fr ee unity for granted. upon it a s n sentimental formula . Wo a.arc not look It must rc1'. ch D.11 tho way bnck to 11rincipl os of frco life and cl 1 the w·ny forwa rrl. to pro.cticos of froo But as we nake our e.p~,roach , suppose for t he moment we accept the principles a:no. look at a few cro.i t e simple and even comr,1011pla ce pers onal items f rom \•rhich the house of unity must be buil t . Time and a 6a i n I have seen health clinics change whole groups of di spi r ited. candidate s for chari ty into self-supporting , self-respectinr workers. Time and. aga in teachers have told mo that hot school l unches havo raised standards of class-room work and have :i.· oducod disciplinary problems to a mini!TIU!Il. .L\.dult oc.ucu.tion .has widonod horizons; sewing Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 4-2251 - 9 - rooms h:·we taw;ht mothers the skilJ. end have inspired in them the pride to clothe their O\om children not only against the cold t ut a lso against the ir:feriori ty complexes children feel so keenly ; bool:mobiles have · brough t a new world to the isolated ; nmsic has added another dimension to life . If I mention :projects with which I have been associated, it is because I know thom and. have seen their rosul ts . Tho important func- tion of thoso unclertakings lies in. opening we.ys pooplo can travel on their own power . With opportunity and with so:no guidance , hi.:..man morale croatos itself . •• I What I shal1 sa~r of tho :·'ork Projects Ac'l.ministration with which I b.avo boon aso ocia t ud is not for tho purpose of defending or oven explaining trot aconcy . It is for tho purpos e of illustrating this matter of mo rale which must boat tho hoart of national u nity. Hhen congress created the WPA, no responsible person looked upon it as a desirable part of a permanent economy . lfo one does now. It \rras created to Bee t an emergency ; and if there has been some satire about an II emergency" that continued for :·ears , it is but fair that the reason for this cont i nuanc e bo unclerstood . Traditional h·.;:_si~ess and inrlustrial policies took forn in tho :poriod whon tho natural wealth in tho public domain was b ei ng oxploi tod and utilized . Tho trans for of this woalth from ·public to p ri - vato ownership poured a huge tid.o of uno2.rnod purchas ing power int o American markets ; adding a margin not :prod.ucocl by tho operati on of ou.sinos s , itself. This groa t surplus p~id tho costs of business Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 4-2251 - 10 - expansi on , 0:J\'.Jeriments , mist.8.kes and. waste . I· ; rr..~y ha ve helped stancLard- i ze wasteful dethocls ; for, with this ~me3,rn.ecl. rru.r:plus :pou:ting into the ma rket s , less than e:.fi ci ent ;-.1e t hod8 c ould. be c ont::.nu ed. withou t bringing O'J.siness to bankrixpt cy . and. cent e::c 1-1.:pon Ind.ustrial i st s coul o. t ake marl::ets for i;rantec~ l')rocluc tj_on e.:::d com:oeti tion. :Put ,-::1en the weal t h of t:,.e ,i omain ho..c... been transferred. to u rivatEl ownership a.nd fully car,i tali zed. , tl: i s res e rve c1.1Sl1ion was cone . Mar kets c o1.,ld. ;,10 lo:::1ger be tazen for g:r2.ntea. iI). t-hc oJ. a. way . founa. tho □ scl v cs :Bu.s:ness , uner:.:ployed. . It should 'be stc',te d , for -t,:,.e record. , that t11e WPA hac. tv,o baG ic :::iur~)oses ; firs t , to offer e:r:1~:iJ.oymen t ancl w&.ges t o t ~wse whom p rivat e inciust :cy c: id :10t l1i re :.:-.nd. , secord, b:r Jiutting 0~1t t>,ei:. e rc.i lli ons ., of do J. L ,,rs in o.iffused 1mrcho,sing JJower , to suppo rt t}ie r,~2,rksts o.ncl to give l)ri va-ce ind.ust:::-y ac1d.i t ional t i :'.le in vh i ch to Ditjust it s ow:1 method.s to -~he f 2.cts of current e c onomic life . deal with the r esul·cs of a ci~isi s . The \\"'!?A was er e!:', tec1.. to The crisis itself lay wi thi P. :-,,_1.si- ness and inc:1.ustry ; a T1d in that fie lcL tl1.e W'iA was given Eei ther a.ut:-writy n or res1 on s ioility . Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 4- 2251 - 11 - Congress e;,ave the \'IPA re s::poirn i bili ti es and legal limitations in re l ati ,, n to tl1e unemploy e1. '.::he ager.cy W'ci.S to save these people from sta rvation ; p::.·e serve and incj_•ease their ,no:ral e ; sal vage for the public the ve,lues la ·~ent in t1.1eir unused_ l a bor ; mai n t a i n '.;heir marketaole skill s s o t~,.at if the oppo:;:tunity ,.,er e Cj_' eated by :nrivB.te indust ry they c ould return to :;_)ri va t o erirployment . Workers who cci,me to us included a certa in nm11ber of trained and capable men and. women . They included a lso t he elcterl ~r , the handicappea_ e,nd. tl1.o s o without skills . The agency at onco met its r,r i nar ~- ooliga,tion of t;et ting wages to noor<..y :)OOi_)l e . -'i.s f a st a s the perso,,.a.l limi ta ti ons of tho workers a:1.c:. the ].ogal limi tatio:1s of the agency :por mitt cd , j_t ap:)roa chocl effici ent IJl'oc"'..uct ion. !foam:hilo ce r ta in pco:plo , fo oling t.ha t the neod f or tho a 6 oncy was an ind.ictmont of the Aln0r ica n way , chose to vi s it a cruel and. :fairly stupid_ roso:1tmcnt not u 1)on tho fai lur e of i ndust ri a l r;,a.n2.gemont to keep ai)rcast o:'.: tl-:o chan6 iEg e co nomic pa ttorn , "bu.t 1::.pon tho victims of that faih1.re . You know as well as I tha t l'J:?A wo rkej_"S bave "been shoi,.,rered with 1:1.or ;-,,le--clestroyil1g epithets of whi ch t i vely Dild . sho -: el l eaner" is cor:rpara- Sev :ral cor11orations ac'L o:':)ted. the as tm.,nd.ing 1,olicy of r e f using to hi:ce eny perso:, , hac"!. ever "been II 0:.1 ::10 the '\I.IPA roll s . matter how a ble and. well eq_uipped , who The spec ious r eas on €,;iven was the as- sertion that o.. worker ;,-rho h?.d once beei1 on the rolls was never after a good worker . 3ut the mat ter of effici enc~r i s as id e fr om the point I .have in mind . I call ~rour attention to a nother f a ct . These u or~rnrs were Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 4-2251 - J.2 - pushed out of organized. ii1dustry; the ina_ustry that has a virtual mono poly of tools E.md materials of p:t·oduction . adr ift. They were d.etached and left They were nude the targets of :pe:tsonal attacks whose destroying cruelty I must believe was thoughtless and not deliberate . ·:But even after these experiences , the uorlrers have not responded to their tor mentors in kind . They lia.ve accepted their small opportunities . They have re- a cted as A.:11erica11 wo rkmen react ; have developed leade1·ship and. invent iveness in tlrnir li 1nited sph0ros ; have sho,•m the :pride all wor:me n show when thoir ga:;.1gs swiEg ir.!.tO the rhyth..11 of pr Qclu .~tion. If I have a special i nterest in an~· one soctor of the agsncy 1 s work it is the soc tor of the wom2.n worker . :?or sini:;le- mil':.d.od dcvo,cion and solf- c_isci:9line , I would una_ertake to natch the moral e of any business or pu"blic leader with like qualities among women on the WP.A ::-olls. Many had never worked f or wages unt i l bereavements made them the su:9:oorters of their families . :?ew hac. technical skills . But a ;roung wid.ow , say , wi tl'l the 11.c'lunting :i:iicture of grano.mother and. the bnbies depsnclent upon those li ttlo checks , l earns and sta;fs by w.b..at to her is often a terrifying job . As she timidly faces for the first time a r c1e;ing dr2,go11 of a power sewing machine geared. at factory speed , no Sain t Goor 6 e ever choked back his fears 1;ri th a steelier wj_ll; and if this is not moral e I ,fo not know the msaning of words . ;for lasting d.r cacl is not of weariness or monotony or v2..:iishi:ng ;,outh or the pitiful ex:;,erlients of tho "9oo r. r emote , indefeas iole 11 It is tho fear that the;/ 1 , 11 they 11 , some portentous , may close down the soi-ring ro0m. Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY She 4-2251 - 13 - prays for work ; prays wi th mind ar:d hear t and labo ring fi ngers . And this , young v:ornen, is American home defense in its most i mmediate and heroic aspec t s . Wit:10ut thes e personal qualities of will anc'c :purpose and wi t tout t.1--:is r ead_inass to sacrific e for that whi ch is l a r ger than oneself , there is no such thing as "build.ing a living na ti onal unity . But ev en these h,igh , i r:d i vi clual g_u2,lities , stan.d i ng alone, are not enough. The~r mus t be a rticula t ed anct focused ; g iven cl eared. wa:,-s ; cr:Tste,ll iz ed by social :901ici es ; gu i ded by the g reat landma rks of liberty in to a nati?nal :pa ttern . You a:;: e a peculiarly ros:9onsible group . It ma;y b e that on your lone journey to t his :iall ~ ou , too , have met inordinate diff icul0 ties . :But the fact thn't you rov e arrived :rnar ks you as :privil eged pe r- sons to uhom r,mch bas been given . expect0d of you. Huch , in the nature of things , is It is t he call t 11a t comes to the surgeon , the engi - neer , the navi gato r ; the call to use for soci et y your SJJe ci a l training ancl. yoi..l1~ s:pocial abil iti es . If I could do so , I woulcl. give you a talisman ago.ins t thG college grachm t o I s most insidious danger ; the danger that educa tion may make you mcr;;ly a rticulate withou t add ing the g if ts of wisdom , und.or2tandL1g ~md moral re s:ponsib ility . Social cbE,nges are in the air . who w~_ns t:'-e :·. iil i tar:1 phases of thi s war . It will i:1ake mu ch differen ce But bec2.use it i s a war, with war I s inescapable uphe2v2-ls, ,•re may be c ertain that social ch.-:mges will fol l ow. Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 4-2251 - 14 - America is not afraid of changed patterns . But America asks and has tl1e rigi.1t to ask that any change shall pass two tests . The first i s the test of working efficiency at society's production bench. The second is the test of personal,, social and spiritual free- dom for you a.no. me and all of ti.s . We cc,n support no establ ished tech- nique , no natt er how familiar encl how long establishea_ , that fails to pass these tests . We want no change , no ;,iatter how fascinating the p rospectus, Hhose feet take hold upon the downward spiral to the hopeless hells of hu2nan bo!l.dage . '.L'honghtfo.::i. persons are working ov-er the form a nd direction of these che,ngos to come . You have been thinl:ing of them. have beon thinking boldly and honestly and positively. I hope you You can not meet and defeat an affirmation , not even of a monst rous perfidy , with a mere a_enial . You mus t ne et and a.efeat it with an hon.est and positive affirma tioii.. Wl1ilo London was being bombed nightly , Mr . Geoffroy Crowther, editor of the Econo"'li st, dared to think of the post-war period. He declared. that , if and when a military victory were won, peace could not be esto.blishecl with01,1.t an affirmation that would place democratic fre edom 1:!.nci d.er:iocr2. tic -pro cesses in advance of their cor::pet i tors as a way of life . Political ri ghts of the eighteenth century were crysta llized r2.ther th.c.'.11 cree.t ed. by the events of that time . Most of these ri ghts were alree.c"':.;y known; but they :r..eeded to be codified and co-ordinated . Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 4- 2251 - 15 - The Declara ticn of Indepe:,1dence ancl the Bill of Rights : _:> erformed this service for Americar.s . The time seems to have ccme for a Bill of Economi c Rights . 'While I woul6.. !lot prem.m1e to outline such a document in ctetail , it • seems re£H,ona-ble that it should inclucie the right to work , the ri[;ht to sufficient food , clot~1ing and shelter, the right to education and heal th, the right of chil,3-ren t o live without "bringing to their families the ourd.ens and despairs of ~overty. Man~r of these ri ghts, too , have bee~1 recognized ; but they are wai tin 6 to be cod_ified and co-ordinated . Rights alw·a.ys carry co- ordinate clu ties; so a :Sill of Minimu,11 Economic Rights should_ be accompanied by a :Bill of Minimum Econo;·:1i c Duties . These are the two faces of the nede,l; tho clutios of society , the duties of the citizen. You and I will not be asked to prepare this bill of rights and clut i es ; bl,_t we shall be 2-skod to witness for it . This crisis in national unity is a call to service; but it is a cond.i tioned. call. It is conditioned, first, upon an unforced sJrmpa thy on :rour l)art; an und.erstand.ing of sim:;_Jle and lowly people and their great hu,,1an :potentials , the people who are so much of America. It is concli tioned , second , upon an honest , working knowledge of the historic cultures from which American institutions have been drawn ; the culture s which are not -parlor tricks but which are the refined ore from the liYing crucible of the ages . Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 4-2251 - 16 - The grea t jurist, Oliver Wendell Holmes, once made the as tonishing statemer:.t t ha t his long service in the Supreme Court .had brought him to hat f-l the word 11 justice 11 Z He ex-plained thi s seeming her esy by sa:ring that the S1.,_preme Court is a court of l aw whose dec i sions mus t r es t upon constitut ional and statute law and judicial p recedents . \foen an a ttorn ey before th o court began a passionate plea fo r justice , it was cl ear he had c.woidecL the har<l , p rimary work of preparing h i s cc1se in t er ms o f law ana. w·as trying to win by tearing a passion to ta t ters . When you respond to tho call to serve America n unity , as I bel i eve ;'.,"OU will res:)ond , :rou cen not discharge your task me rel y in t erms of ~,ass i ) n . You r s wil l 110 harcl and anxious work among the l aws ana. p r oceclonts both of human nature e,;10. of hu.m2.n culture . So I charge you , by the life Zlnd. h op e of America , that y ou continue to take your education and i t s i:n:oli c2.ti ons seriousl y . There is a hi gh surv-iva l va l ue i n al truism . But it is high , and it su.rvive 2 a:c1d is valuable only as it holds with one hand to :proven v eri ties anc. wi th the other to homely, human , sacrificial ways of l ife . In ~1is grea t biogra:phy of Abraha,m Lincoln , Mr . Carl Sand·ourg J:UYS a ·,1 oet 1 s t ribute to the Second I naugural. 11 He lingers over those delicately shadetc passages 11 in which this tall prophe t of the American dream : 11 ve:.9 t over the cost of do ing by violenc e wha t mi gh t have been c1-one by rec.,so n . 11 Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 4-2251 - 17 - I t is our hope , yours m1cl mine , that America , with an in%,na.escent vrill , may forge the se cret weapon u p on the anvil of reas on . Cur heroic neighbors across the seas have forged i t in sweat and blood the weapon we r:1us t if thi s pr o::;ihesy of the Amer ica n dream i :J to live am ong us . --- 0'.)00000-- - Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
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