OUR AMERICA

[Music] [Applause] [Music] how about that editorial Sam we're waiting on it on the fire Jim listen to this you understand I'm thinking about those kids out there you know Jim the way things are today the next generation has got a right to ask just where this country's heavy here's the way I'm agin what makes America great is it the rich soil the good earth of Africa and Russia's just as rich visit our natural resources in China and South America are just as valuable treasures of coal and minerals is it our people perhaps but remember that we Americans or our forefathers once were aliens who came to this country from other lands and whether they landed in 1620 or 1820 or 1920 what ideal fired them with the spirit that from the beginning has shaped and formed and guided this Republic first-rate so far Sam Guam can't finish it I don't just seem to know the answer well Sam judo yes nobody does your folks have been around these parks for 300 years and running this paper for more than 100 [Music] maybe the answer is right there if I could only read it then let us go to the country and seek the answer let us look at this land of the free this America of ours suppose we say that it contains three million square miles and that in its vast area are rocks and rills woods and templed hills lofty mountains that raise their peaks above the plain the Rockies and the Appalachians the Adirondacks and the Alleghenies the Sierra Madres and the Catskills there are the five Great Lakes there are rushing rivers the Mississippi and the Missouri the Ohio and the Columbia the Susquehanna and the Sacramento the Potomac and the Delaware the Hudson and the Arkansas the Cumberland and the James within its borders the temperature ranges from 40 degrees below zero in the north to a hundred and twenty degrees above in the south but it takes more than weather and land to make a country great it takes more than just space hi how good-neighbor brazil is bigger than we are and so is the Dominion of Canada on the other side of the world China is more than a million square miles larger than the United States and Russia is nearly three times bigger so it can't be the richness of the soil or the bounty of our natural resources it must be that America was made great by Americans yes we are great because of our people the little people and the big people the 135 million of us who make up this mighty nation the Greeks have a word Dimas that means the people from it we get our word democracy meaning government by the people freedom that is what our forefathers wanted of course there are other forms of government such as plutocracy meaning government by the plutocrats or the very rich they didn't want that and we don't want it either there's autocracy government by autocrats or dictators and we certainly don't want that at any price and there's bureaucracy which is government by bureaus or departments and we're not going to trade democracy for that either that's sure no sir this country belongs to the people the American people from the beginning we got along pretty well with that system and we're not going to change it now we'll stick with the sure thing that gives all of us an equal chance article 1 of the Bill of Rights Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of the press in this democracy a free press is guaranteed under the Constitution and we Americans will always resist the enemy who would curtail that freedom periodicals and books circulates throughout the country carrying the stimulating stream of fact and fiction of comment and opinion so all may read and thus understand the world they live in article 1 of the Bill of Rights Congress shall make no abridging the freedom of speech for the right of the people to assemble peaceably we will fight any enemy that denies to a man or a minority the right to speak according to the dictates of his conscience and his convictions in this debate I am reminded of a famous sentence that hangs on the wall in my office it says I wholly disapprove of what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it that's the way it always has been here in America that's the way it always will be article 1 of the Bill of Rights Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof the pilgrims who landed on the stern and rockbound coast of New England in 1620 came in search of religious freedom they wrote in the compact signed in the cabin of the Mayflower that the perilous journey was undertaken for the glory of God and advancement of the Christian faith and so steadfast are we today in that same belief that every coin minted by the United States bears this confession of faith in god we trust' in the day of persecution when godless enemies would destroy the church and the believer has no place to lay his head in that day shines more brightly the torch of Liberty a beacon and a blessing the symbol of freedom in the short period of a hundred and fifty years the average life of an American has almost doubled back in the early days the average lifespan was only 35 years by the turn of the century it had increased to 49 years and by 1940 the average American could look forward to a lifespan of 62 years here in this America of ours the land of the free our youngsters have been offend nowadays they get more milk and mothers know about calories and vitamins we thought that the soldiers of the AEF in the First World War were a husky lad alas and 25 years later our soldiers of the Second World War averaged two inches taller and 15 pounds heavier along with our increasing knowledge of hygiene and diet have come astounding advances in medicine and surgery for most of us the representative of that science is the family physician and so are you young lady she's just a different child doctor I know idea that Madison would cure us so quickly she'll be up and out of doors by the end of the week you see we have to work fast keep ahead of those pesky book just think in my time I've seen the development of x-ray radium insulin for diabetes and more recently the sulfur drugs blood plasma penicillin to mention only a few then to industry is stretching out a helping hand to the handicapped trying to find jobs for our less fortunate fellow to help make them self-supporting and to keep them self respecting the animus we fight are always with us for the dirt disease ignorance and malnutrition the battle never ends there's never an arms well anyhow here was an invasion that we lived you don't know how grateful we are director one of the bulwarks of the American Way of life is the public school so typical of a democracy there is no place here for the regimentation that teaches children to hate their neighbors and to strive for a world that they will dominate by force here our American teachers wage war against a cruel and powerful enemy the enemy of intolerance whether racial or religious or economic we have no ruling class in the United States and no lower class because a hundred and fifty years ago our forefathers declaring their independence made a solemn pledge we own these truths to be self-evident that all men were created equal that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights [Music] that among these are life liberty and the pursuit of happiness call it a machine age say that we're a nation of realists we still have time for great music that makes life richer we have built museums and galleries to house our treasures of all the world as evidence of a national economy that is both healthy and wealthy we beautify our cities and towns with inspiring sculpture to that towering giant of a man the father of his country the granite shaft of the Washington Monument is an elephant heaven pointing tribute in gratitude to the rare soul we know as Abraham Lincoln this noble Thane was erected to hold forever sacred the great heart of the man who gave his life that government of the people by the people for the people shall not perish from the earth there is beauty and how skyscrapers those vertical cities of stone steel and glass that have their counterpart nowhere else on earth there is a clean and efficient beauty in our factory buildings where so easily our rock the daily miracles of streamlined production of the world's best manufactured goods there is beauty in the graceful sweep of a vast stadium beauty along the shores about two oceans and the Gulf and in the vacation lands of the mountains where the Sun is bright the air is clear and all nature smiles there is utility as well as beauty in our bridges that fling their arches across bays and rivers among the most majestic structures in our country are the massive barriers of steel and concrete the dams of the far west that hold back the water and then send it out in life-giving streams that already have made fruitful more than 20 million acres of cropland and will within a few years reclaim 22 million more but more important to America than any of these is a less imposing structure the American Hall whether it is a house on a village street a storied mansion in the south a farmhouse of the Middle West a Long Island estate a gaily coloured stucco gem of the Pacific coast an apartment Minden millions of a big city still it is sanctuary still it is a stake in the country an investment that pays dividends in thinking and speaking yes and in dreaming in the free air of this land of opportunity in war and in peace there is a never-ending battle against the farmers busy enemies in the insect world and so successful is this bug bombing that not only do we have more to eat than any other nation on earth but we drove bounteous surpluses and go to lands across the seas take corn for example our most valuable crops the average yield from 1930 to 1940 was 37 bushels per acre the wide acceptance by the farmers of a good corn hybrid increased the yield in 1942 to an average of 56 bushels per acre for the entire country that meant an increase of 629 million bushels truly our cup runneth over just as extraordinary and just as gratifying have been other scientific advances take eggs improving the breed of laying hens has greatly increased egg production the every 10 of 1920 laid 60 X a year by 1930 the number had been increased to 89 and by 1940 the average was a hundred and 15 days which certainly comes under the head of quality production contour farming and many another innovation in crop rotation soil analysis and fertilization are widely accepted as means of conserving moisture reducing soil erosion and producing bigger and better crops the years ahead look good to the farmer my great-grandfather started this farm and for four generations we've lived our lives here this is our land mister we've paid for it with our labor and our sacrifice it's free and clear and we aim to keep it that way that's the top keep America free when you own land you own a piece of America itself that's your capital but there are other ways of owning a part of this country did you ever think that every man who buys a bomb or who deposits money in a savings account is a capitalist money that goes into a bond or a savings account is used by the government or by the bank and they pay interest for the use of the money same way with life insurance the company puts your money to work and pays you for letting them use it money is just paper or metal unless it does a job go back to the early days of our country railroads were fueled and the trains were slowed the horse tried hard but he wasn't any too speedy the first automobiles were faster but they were noisy undependable and expensive Americans have always wanted to go places in a hurry and in comfort so the railway engineers men like Westinghouse and Poland went to work and so did the automobile engineers men like Hannes and Chrysler when their plans were made they needed money for factories and raw materials and workers and where did they get it why they naturally went to the banker and they borrowed money whose money the money of the capitalist and who are those capitalists who deposit their money so the bank and put it to work and pay them interest it's folks like these folks like us for that matter who helped and are still helping to build this country out Texas our savings are money that goes into stocks and bonds all these add up to the billions invested in our America and see what happens with only 7% of the population of the earth we Americans have built and owned nearly one-third of all the railroad mileage in the world and we own more than three-quarters of all the automobiles in the world they travel over the finest roads on earth and we in America have built and owned half of all the improved highways that's the kind of faith we have in the Pioneers and when we're in trouble they come to our help automobile manufacturers were making their finest cars in 1941 the country was at peace but when the threat of war made it necessary to arm America the automobile makers and all industry plunged into the gigantic task of producing the tanks and trucks and guns and shells to defend our homes against the enemy who struck at us in your editorial you might list our vast natural resources out of the good earth of our country comes the wealth of precious metals we owned 80% of the world's gold 60% of the silver 28% of the copper 27% of the iron ore and 26% of the leg the capacity allows steel mills is 92 million tons a year and the rest of the world produces only 80 million tonnes for all the people on earth there is an average per person of only three acres of land for growing things but here in the United States we have nearly six and a half acres of fertile farmland for every man woman and child almost twice our requirements for food and clothes and the end of the Earth's entire area we constitute no more than a mere 7% and of the world's population Americans make up only 6% in 1840 a man who was as short-sighted as he was sincere proposed an astounding measure designed to save the country thousands of dollars it is obvious and I am a continent all will concur that we have exhausted our inventiveness and because there is nothing further for us Americans to devise and patent normal Sheen no contraption that could possibly add to our virtual well-being by therefore crave your support of a measure to close the Patent Office close the pandas and in the next sixty years came inventions that meant jobs for millions of men and women that meant better living for all the world [Applause] each year there are 400,000 applications for packs close the Patent Office I we're just getting started here in America Benjamin Franklin's discovery of the electric properties of lightning was in itself of little importance but through the inventive genius of American engineers and the production genius of American management Franklin's idea was given practical value and it changed the lives of every person on earth to American homes came the doorbell the washer the refrigerators the range the iron and many other work saving household appliance to the field of communication came the Telegraph the telephone the radio radar and television all for the enlightenment of mankind by the dissemination of knowledge to the field of transportation came the trolley car the automobile the bus the truck in the airplane all helping to free us from our environment for the easy exchange of goods and ideas with our neighbors a kite and a key in a thunderstorm and the world was changed by men of vision and determination by Americans [Music] well might as well get out rest a minute okay start this is pretty country alright sure is folks are mighty nice to it somehow they don't seem to have any spunk yeah everybody's all mixed up over here kind of going around in circles it's one of the things I like about the good old USA we're going somewhere in a straight line and that's still the shortest distance between two points take that road we just came over looks like the people all mixed up over here they're always switching around from kings and emperors and stars to these here dictators and what-have-you they can't seem to make up their minds that's because some big shots always making up their minds for them everything's all cut and dried if your father's a baker than you're a baker if he's a waiter or a clerk or a carpenter but that's what you are over here there's no chance to take a chance believe you me Sarge when I get back home I'm gonna Clare my independence first thing every morning I'm gonna work wherever I want to and nobody's gonna tell me different I'm gonna go to any church I pick out nobody's gonna stop I'm gonna have my sale on every doggone thing that goes on in town and nobody's gonna shut me up I'm gonna vote the way I want to and think the way I want to I'll probably get married if I have a kid when he grows up he's gonna pick out the kind of work he wants to do there's no high pressure from me or anybody else yep that's the way it looks to me from this distance America's on the road what a sweetly plenty of work to do plenty of fun when you're through a road with a nice home on the side of it radios not all Beatles new fishing trips hot dogs and cokes and a wife a kid your pals a road is straight as a string it leads to school to church to a good job maybe a business of your own someday that's the kind of a road to travel then we'll be going places go places when enemies across the sea strike at our Liberty then there is war the young men go away to fight for our freedom and not all of them come back in times of national stress we are compelled to abandon many of our hard-won privileges and prerogatives when boards and bureaus and agencies take away parts of our Liberty we grin and bear it but when the emergency passes let us totally demand the restoration of our rights remember when coffee was scarce and we couldn't have a second cup of course we didn't like it but the coffee shortage wasn't fatal we lived through it the big point is list we gave it up to help win the war and we got it bang so let it be with all our liberties that must be suspended when our enemies press about us but must just as surely be restored that the spirit of freedom shall not perish Liberty is not just a word not just a statue not just a slogan it is a continuing thought and its price is internal vigilance so let us be on guard against the enemies of Liberty [Music] liberty was the flaming banner that sustained and inspired us on the land at sea and in the air on the beaches in the jungles on the deserts in the mountains in Africa and Italy in the Aleutians in the Philippines at Pearl Harbor and Bataan in Normandy and New Guinea in Burma and China there is part of your editorial on what makes America great mr. editor the rest of it lies right outside your window folk figures are natural resources but remember still our richest treasures and our greatest assets are the boys and girls of the next generation the men and women of tomorrow who must be staunchly on guard if our freedom is to survive here is America in miniature organizing a ball game is not unlike starting a business nobody does it for you you do it yourself and nobody tells you that you can't of course there are arguments that's typically American too but eventually it seems we reach some sort of working agreement perhaps you grant a point to your competitor and he makes a concession to you that's good sportsmanship that's American that I can beat you the second base and off they go competition is congenital in America we've brought up in the tradition of beating the other fellow fairly and squarely in the game of life every boy has an opportunity to take a swing at the ball in America you get a chance to take a chance the farmer's son may feel the urge to fight the good fight for the freedom of the press well one day the editors chair will need a new occupant we're going to need doctors and Surgeons to heal our bodies we're going to need inquiring minds to help keep the patent office open and to make new contributions to science and engineering for the service of all the people truly opportunity in America is limited only by the initiative of the individual perhaps one of these boys will be moved to spread the word In God We Trust we want more architects and painters and musicians to uplift us we need teachers to keep alive in our youth the principles of freedom we need women nurses painters and musicians and always we need good women who are content to make a career in the noble profession of motherhood the farms are waiting for young men to till the soil there's a seat in Congress that's within the power of an American boy or girl to attain why there's even a chair in the White House that the American people give to the man who merits it in the judgement of the electorate think of the opportunity that awaits these boys and girls each is free to select his chosen field and each knows in his heart that his life can be what he makes it equal opportunity for all that is the cornerstone of the structure of freedom liberty is deep rooted in all our sacred traditions it guarantees decent peaceful living and work well rewarded to all men of goodwill and it reaches up into the light of a better day we the people of the United States in order to form a more perfect union establish justice ensure domestic tranquility provide for the common defense promote the general welfare and ensure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity do ordain and establish this constitution for the United States of America