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OUR WAR EFFORT

Member, Board of Governors
of the Federal Reserve System,
Washington, D. C.
-JBHttJSeventieth Jubilee
of the
Polish Roman Catholic Union of America
•iHHHv*

\

Youth Building Auditorium
Noble and Cortez Streets
Chicago, Illinois

5:00 p.m., June 2?, 1943

RELEASE:
Morning Papers
June 28, 1943

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OUR WAR EFFORT

It is often said that we are a nation of individualists. Our
enemies interpret this to mean that we think, only of ourselves. Our enemies likewise say that as a nation we are divided into groups—each with
what appears to be its own interest, unmindful of the peoples' good and
the good ox" the nation as a whole. While it is true that nowhere else in
the world are there so many individuals of different ancestries who are
free to live their lives in their own way as under the flag of the United
°tates, yet that flag is the symbol of our unity. Those red and white
stripes represent the banding together of the thirteen original coloniesj
tho se stars on the field of blue, the union of forty—eight states——the
United States—founded on the principle that all men are created equal in
the sight of God, free to think as they please, to worship as they please
a
nd to act as they please, so long as their actions do not harm others.
In ordinary times we are so intent on exercising our rights as
American citizens tint we do not pause to consider their source. Perhaps
the privilege we exercise most consciously is the privilege of criticizing our Government. We seldom stop to think that the functioning of our
Rational Government is largely responsible for the security of our daily
lives. We do not associate the security of our homes, our families, and
°Ur local communities with the security of the nation as a whole.
But times of emergency make us acutely aware of our need for
national unity and a strong national Government. In the lean years of
depression we found that we as individuals were powerless to cope with the
^ e n s i t y of our economic problems. The difficulties were not of local
°rigin. They had their roots in world-wide maladjustments that were disr
upting our whole national economy. Local communities were unable to
Protect their residents against the loss of their jobs, their homes, and
their savings. Only through strong positive action by our national Government were our difficulties, serious as they were, kept from becoming
more disastrous.
The coming of the war made this need for national unity all the
clearer. When war clouds broke in Europe and Asia, we tried to tell ourselves that these wars had nothing to do with our lives and that we would
h
ave no part in the slaughter and destruction. Even after many friendly
Rations had been decimated and enslaved by their conquerors, we were reluctant to see the threat to our own nation. We condoned the action of
°Ur President and Congress when they initiated the defense program, but
continued to hope the skies would clear before we were actually involved in the war. Then we in turn were treacherously attacked.
Today we in America need to rededicate ourselves to the service
our country. Mo country has better served her citizens in protecting
their rights and liberties than has ours. Now we must faco the fundamental fact that individual rights and privileges can have real meaning

only when they are accompanied by duties and responsibilities to preserve
what generations of Americans have worked for—.fought for—and died for!
unless we as individuals are willing to undertake to the fullest our
duties and responsibilities, our national defense must be weak} our offense laggard; our winning of the peace uncertain.
True, we Americans have done much—our men are now abroad and
ve proved our metal in actual combat; our production lines are approaching the miraculous in turning out ships, tanks, guns and ammunition.
^ have played a part in the great North African success, in the devastating bombings of Europe, and the recent land, sea, and air victories on
the Far Eastern front. In addition, we have aided indirectly through the
Provision of arms for our allies in Europe. Yet, what we have done is a
Jiere fragment of what we have to do—and do quickly. In recent weeks we
?Ve
good news from many fronts, but we must not let it arouse excessive optimism. There is a long hard pull ahead and we must not relax our
e
*fort.
U e ha

.

How infinitesimal our sacrifice compared with that of the batbut freedom-loving civilians of the battleground nations. How do
^ r work, conservation, civilian defense, buying more bonds, compare with
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forced labor, near starvation, and the constant hazard' of imprisonment
° r death?
vj

ered

.

Through the purchase of war savings bonds you are not only lendg your money to the Government to wage a successful war; you are helping
•yourself by investing your money in the soundest security on earth. By
^Vesting money in these war bonds, you help in our fight against infla-l°n, for the money that you might otherwise spend on scarce consumer
s°ods goes into the manufacture of airplanes, ships, guns. Finally, by
Purchasing war bonds you help offset the possibility of depression after
^
war because the purchasing power stored in these bonds will enable you
J? ^ y goods and services when peace comes. In other words, at a time
ien service men and war workers are seeking to become established in
Peace-time employment, you will be in a position to ease their task by
Simulating peace-time production.
n

I should like to make one further plea. This does not necessar y apply to you or me. It is important, none the less, to all of us,
® must beware of anything that tends to separate us one from the other
th t'hus w e a k e n o u r united effort. The enemy is well known for his use of
insidious weapon which divides opposition and leaves each part open to
-Parate attack at his will. Let us not be duped by these tricks. We
^ s t stand strong and united against the treacherous enemy. The United
at ions idea must be more than just an idea. It must be a coherent fight• g force. That is the only way we can win this war and win lasting peace,
country can do it alone—but the United Nations can do it together.

Let me quote what seem to me to be words as appropriate today as
they were when they were uttered nearly thirty years ago by Woodrow Wilson:
"My urgent advice to you would be, not only always to think first
of American, but always, also, to think first of humanity. You
do not love humanity if you seek to divide humanity into jealous
camps. Humanity c?n be welded together only by love, by sympathy,
by justice, not by jealousy and hatred. 1 am sorry for the man
who seeks to make personal capital out of the passions of his
fellow-men. He has lost the touch and ideal of America, for
America was created to unite mankind by those passions which lift
and not by the passions which separate and debase. We came to
America, either ourselves or in the persons of our ancestors, to
better the ideals of men, to make them see finer things than they
had seen before, to get rid of the things that divide and to make
sure of the things that unite. It was but an historical accident
no doubt that this great country was called the 'United States';
yet I am very thankful that it has the word 'United' in its title,
and the man who seeks to divide man from man, group from group,
interest from interest in this great Union is striking at its very
heart."
In coming together here today we can not but dwell with anxious
J^t hopeful hearts on the momentous happenings in other parts of the world.
^ are part of those events, however far removed they may be from our daily
llv
os. We are helping to make history—as intense and absorbing history as
° v er has been made. Our parts may at times seem minor—too minor to affect
v
^rld history and too minor to warrant the persona], inconveniences and sacrifices they entail. At such times we should take a little homely advice
Benjamin Franklin and remind ourselves:
"For
For
For
For
For
And

the
the
the
the
the
all

want of
want of
want of
want of
want of
for the

a nail the shoe was lost,
a shoe the horse was lost,
a horse the rider was lost,
a rider the battle was lost,
a battle the Kingdom was lost—
want of a horseshoe-nail."

^'tch one of us has it within his power to weaken or strengthen the national
fort and thus to determine the future course of civilization. ]3y neglecting
opportunity to achieve perfect unison of action we can curtail the ravages
0[>
War and spread the fruits of victory.
Victory will be what we make it. Its fruits can be enjoyed only
ky the "everlastin1 team-work of every bloomin' soul"?