xt7wwp9t2q46_94 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7wwp9t2q46/data/mets.xml https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7wwp9t2q46/data/59m61.dao.xml American Liberty League 37 linear feet archival material English University of Kentucky This digital resource may be freely searched and displayed. Permission must be received for subsequent distribution in print or electronically. Physical rights are retained by the owning repository. Copyright is retained in accordance with U. S. copyright laws. For information about permissions to reproduce or publish, contact the Special Collections Research Center. Jouett Shouse Collection (American Liberty League Pamphlets), No. 97 "The Facts in the Case" Speech of Alfred E. Smith at the American Liberty League Dinner, Washington, D.C., January 25, 1936 text No. 97 "The Facts in the Case" Speech of Alfred E. Smith at the American Liberty League Dinner, Washington, D.C., January 25, 1936 2013 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7wwp9t2q46/data/59m61/59m61_97/Am_Lib_Leag_97_001/Am_Lib_Leag_97_001.pdf section false xt7wwp9t2q46_94 xt7wwp9t2q46 AN INVITATION TO JOIN THE * *
AMERICAN LIBERTY LEAGUE
The Facts in
We extend to every American citizen who believes in
the fundamental principles which gave birth to the
Constitution of the United States an invitation to be- Q
come a member of the American Liberty League. Q
You may indicate your acceptance of this invitation
by filling in the necessary information as to your name Q
and address on the enrollment blank below and mailing Q * * *
it to American Liberty League, National Press Building, §
Washington, D. C.
There ure no fees or dues. If you are willing and able E A
to give monetary help for the League’s support your 5
contribution will be appreciated, as our activities are i SP°°°h of
supported entirely by the voluntary gifts of our i _
m,,mbm_ ALFRED E. SMITH
ENROLLMENT_ BLANK
A ir
Date I
I favor the principles and purposes of the American g American Liberty League Dinner
Libgglyui lLeaguc and request that I be enrolled as a E Washington, D_ C_
H b ;
{womributing } mem GL January 25, 1936
Signature ______________
Name (Mr. Mrs. Miss) - é
v·`$ “°4»
·¤ Street g 1; zu
94 6:6 5
§ "~ N
E Town E
County T- State g l
AMERICAN LIBERTY LEAGUE
*As a contributing member I desire to give $__ _ é National Headquarters
to help support the activities of the League: Cash here- NATIONAL PRESS BUILDING
E ` WASHINGTON, D. C.
with Installments as follows: S
D
* *
g Document No. 97
3
(97)
3 __, ,
· The Facts in the Case
I *
I MR. CHAIRMAN, members and guests of
the American Liberty League and my friends
listening in, as I have been told by the news-
papers, from all parts of the United States:
At the outset of my remarks let me make
one thing perfectly clear. I am not a candidate
I for any nomination by any party at any time,
and what is more, I do not intend to even lift
my right hand to secure any nomination from
any party at any time.
Further than that, I have no axe to grind.
U There is nothing personal in this whole per-
V formance in so far as I am concerned. I have
no feeling against any man, woman or child in
the United States.
W I am in possession of supreme happiness and
HEN you have finished with this comfort. I represent no group, no man, and I
pamphlet please pass it on to some speak for no man or no group, but I do speak
_ _ _ for what I believe to be the best interests of
friend or acquaintance who might be the great rank and file of the American people
interested, calling his attention to the in which class I belong.
R membership blank on page 24.
Now, I am here tonight, also, because I have
a great love for the United States of America.
R I I love it for what I know it has meant to man-
‘ kind since the day of its institution. I love it
because I feel it has grown to be the great
` stabilizing force in world civilization. I love
it above everything else for the opportunity
, that it offers to every man and every woman
that desires to take advantage of it. No man
that I know of or that I probably ever read of
has any more reason to love it than I have.
“ It kept the gateway open for me. It is a
matter of common knowledge throughout the
country, and I do not state it boastfully, because
J it is well known, that, deprived by poverty in
my early years of an education, that gateway
showed me how it was possible to go from a t
4 newsboy on the sidewalks of New York to the
3
1
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GOVB1‘l101‘Sl1ip ofthe g1’6&t0St State ill thc UDIOII. I It been freely predicted that if we were
Now listen: I have five children and I have I ever to have civil strife again in this country,
ten grandchildren, and you take it from me, I it would come from the appeal to passion and
want that gate left open not alone for mine— prejudice that comes from the demagogue that
I am not selfish about it—not for mine, but for would incite one class of our people against
every boy and girl in the country, and in that I the other.
respect I am no different from every father and In my time I have met some good and bad
mother in the United States. industrialists; I have met some good and had
Think it over for a minute. Figure it out for I financiers, but I have also met some good and
yourself. It is possible for your children’s I bad laborers. And this I know, that permanent
success to be your success. I prosperity is dependent upon both capital and
I remember distinctly my first inauguration labor alike.
as Governor of New York. I am not sure that I I also know that there can be no permanent
the young folks understood it thoroughly, but prosperity in this country until industry is able
there were three people at that inauguration I to employ labor, and there certainly can be no
that did understand it, and one was my mother, permanent recovery upon any governmental
the other was my sister, and the third was my theory of soak the rich or soak the poor.
wife. They understood. They were with me Even the children in our high schools—and
in all of the early struggles. I let it be said to the glory of our educational
I institutions that even the children in our high
Ngw, I am horo for another roosom I om I schools know that you can’t soak capital with-
here because I am a Democrat. I was born in I Out Seeking 1ab°¥' at thi? Same time-
the Democratic party and I expect to die in I
II` I was attmctfid IO It m my youth bccauée THE next thing that I view as being dangerous
I was lad to bsllcve that H0 msn ¤W¤·=d la I to nnn national wntinnng in government by
{amd Imlthcrmorc that H0 group (II men Owned bureaucracy instead of what we have been
1t, but, on •the other hand, that lt belonged to taught to look for, government by law-
au the Pm P·=¤P1·= of the Umwd State- I Just inn me quote something from an pnnn.
f I must mal? a EOIIIBSSICIIIII It dm EI cal? dent’s message to Congress: "In thirty-four
LII mf: I° Stan up CIC mmg I an Ia IO I C I months we have built up new instruments of
II1?1°1C&II people HQHIDSIZ `I.l1C DBIIIOCTHIIC ad- I public power. In the hands Of a pcoplcss
m1n1strat1on. That 1s not easy. It lhurts me. I government this power is wh O1 BS 0 m B and
But. I can call upon innumerable wttnesses to I Proper. But in the hands of Political puppets
IIISIIIY I° thc IICIIIIII during mY wh°I° Pubhc I of an economic autocracy such power would
IIIB I Put patmousm abovg paIIISI:IIShIP° _ And provide shackles for the liberties of the people.”
Khan I scc dangcIfI SIX dangcm that I5’ IIIB Now, I interpret that to mean: If you are
SFOP; Mk and 1{¤*<·=¤ _t¤ the f¤¤dsm¤¤*¤1 # going In have an nnnnnnt,tn1.n nnn,1—.nt nn very
pymclplceupon .wh1ch•th1s government ef 0¤}’S I careful about the other fellow. There is 8
was organ1aed—1t 1S difficult for me to refrain complete answer to that, and it rises in the
from Spcakmg up' ° I minds of the great rank and {ile, and that
I answer is just this: We will never in this
NOW, what are these dangers that I see? The I country tolerate any law that provides shackles
iirst is the arraignment of class against class. I for our people. We don’t want any autocrats,
4 J s
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I
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either in or out of office; we wouldn’t even take I when I hem. his pamg I wOp¤t know whew he
a g66‘I 6he· h I came from. I will be sure that he never lived
The next danger t at is apparent to me is I down in m d- ·
. I • I y 1str1ct.
the vast bu1ld1ng up of new bureaus of govern- ‘ I
ment, draining the resources of our people into OW. let us Wander for a little while and
a common pool and redistributing them, not , ° ,
, _ let s take a look at that platform, and lets see
by any process of law, but by the whim of a . . . .
, s what happened to 1t. Here 18 the way it started
bureaucratic autocracy. ;
, out:
W "We believe that a party platform is a cove-
EI*I*¤ h6W¤ what am I h6I`e Im`? I am here nant with the people, to be faithfully kept by
h6I I6 hhu IauII· Ahyh6uY eah da IhaI• I am the party when entrusted with power, and that
h6I°6 I6 mak6 sug§esII6hs· N6w¤ what w6uIu I I the people are entitled to know in plain words
ha;e my lljlargy ‘I6• h br h d d I the terms of the contract to which they are
weu ave I em I`e'esIa Ie ah I6 e' I asked to subscribe The Democratic Part
. . . · Y
clare the principles that they putI forth I1n that S0I€mpIy promises hy appropriate action to put
1932 PIaII6I`Ih· Eveh Our Repuhheah h`Iehde“` I into effect the principles, policies and reforms
aha I khew Ihahy ef _Ihem¤ thsy Iahs Ie me f herein advocated and to eradicate the political
Ireelyv we have our hIIIe eehhuehees amehg · methods and practices herein condemned.”
ourselves—they have all agreed that lt is the I My friends, these atc what We can fighting
Ih6sI _e6IhPaeI{ fhs Ih6sI uh`eeI¤ aha Ihe Ih6sI I words. At the time that the platform went
intelligent political platformIthatIwas ever put I through the ah. and Over the wipe, the people
i I6I`III I’Y 6nY P6IIII6aI PaI`IY Ih IhIs 66uhII`Y· Q of the United States were in the lowest possible
Th6III6PuI’h6ah lIIaII6I`Ih was Ieh Ihhes as I depths of despair, and the Democratic plat-
Ihhgi II Ivas sIuIIy¤ II was uhI`eauahIe· and Ih I form looked to them like the star of hope; it
Ihhhy P°IhIs{ h°I uhueretahuahlev aha h6 au' looked like the rising sun in the East to the
hhhIsII`aII6h Ihlihe hIaI°I`y_°I aha eeuhuy elame mariner on the bridge of a ship after a terrible
into power wit a more simp e, a more c ear, 2 night But what ha d · ·;
_ _ . ppene to it.
or a more inescapable mandate than did the
ttht ' td th4th {M h t , ,
ISIIST33 a was maugura B on 8 0 am I FIRST plank: "We advocate the immediate
°. I . . . i and drastic reduction of governmental expendi-
And listen, no candidate 1n the history of the . . . .
. . t ture by abolishing useless commissions and
country ever pledged h1mself more unequivo- » . .
, , · , g ofiices, consolidating departments and bureaus,
cally to his party platform than did the Presi- . . . .
. I and eliminating extravagance, to accomphsh a
dent that was inaugurated on that day. ~ . .
saving of not less than twenty·five per cent in
W7 Q the cost of the Federal Government.”
EI-*I*¤ II6I`6 we aI`6· MIIII6hs ahu IhIIII6hs I Well, now, what is the fact? No offices were
6I D°m°°*°°Is JusI hks Ihys6II• ah 6v6I` thc consolidated, no bureaus were eliminated but
6°u¤II'Y» sIIII b6II6V6 m IhsI PIaII6I'm» and WIIIII on the other hand the alphabet was exhausted
W6 wsm I6 kh6w Is why II wash I 6aI`I`I6u 6Il;I· in the creation of new departments. And—this
And listen, there is on y one man in t e T is Sad news for the tax h ·
I payer—the cost, t e ordi-
I ’ I .
*Iu6sII6¤• It w6h I II6 I6 Pass II ‘I6wh I6 Im I cost, over and above all emergencies-that
u¤d6I's661`6I6I`Y· I w6¤ I 6V6¤ I`666§mz6 hlm ~ ordinary housekeeping cost of government is
6 ‘ 7
L
greater today than it has ever been in any time ehd the rehk ehd thee ehd the sth of it is that
in the history of the rennhIie_ they ain°t going to know they are paying it. It
is going to come to them in the form of indirect
ANOTHER plank: “We favor maintenance of and hidden Tiixatihni It will come tf) thiim in
the national credit by a Federal budget annually the cost of hvmg? 1.1] the cost of cl0thHig° m the
balanced on the basis of accurate Executive cost of cycliy acuvltii that they cuter uit0° sind
estimates within revenue}, because 1t 1s not a direct tax, they won t think
t How can you balance a budget if you insist theyre paying HZ Bur take It from mc’ they
upon spending more money than you take in`? are eome to pay lt`
Even the increased revenue won’t go to balance
the budget because it is ttheekedn before you ANOTHER plank: “We advocate the exten.
receive it. What is worse than that, we have bor- Bien of Federal otedit to the etetee to Previtie
rowed, we owe something; we have borrowed I nnemPieYment relief where the diminishing
so that we have reaohed a new high neak ‘ resources of the states make it impossible for
of Federal indebtedness for all time. t them to Provide tot their heetie-"
i Well, that wouldn’t annoy me so very much That Wee PrettY Piein· Ther Wee e ree°€ni"
ordinariIv_ When I was Governor ot New York tion in the national convention of the rights
they found a Iot of iranit with me heeanse I of the states. But how is it interpreted?
borrowed a lot of money. That wonidnvt Worry The Federal Government took over most of
me. If it solved our problem and we were out the relief Prehlemet Some of them useful ehd
of trouhie I wonid say 66All right, let ver eo_» most of them useless. They started out to
But the sin of it is that we have the indebted- Prime the PtimP ter in‘itietrY in order to eheorh
ness and at the end ot three vears we arc just the ranks of the unemployed, and at the end of
where we started. Unemployment and tbe farm t three Yeem theirtothrmetive pohey ie oheohtteiy
nrohiem we Still have with ns_ nothing better than the negative policy of the
Administration that preceded them.
Now, here is something that I want to say to ss
the rank and tile. There are three classes of WE fever tinemPi°Yment and eiti'ege in'
neonie in this oonntrv; there is the poor and surance under state laws." Now, let me make
rich, and in between the two is what bes often myself perfeetiy eleers to thet ne demegogue
been referred to as the great haokhone of or no crackpot in the next week or so will be
America, that is, the plain fellow. That is the ohio to eeY enYtriing about mY ottitude en this
fellow that makes from one hundred dollars a ° kihd of 1egieh·tio¤· I em in fever of itv arid I
month up to the man that draws down tive or t take my hat oft to no man in the United States
six thousand doiiars a vear_ They are the great on the question of legislation beneficial to the
armv_ Forget the rioh; thev ean»t pay this deht_ poor, the weak, the sick or the aftlicted, or men,
If you took everything they have away from womeo and ehiidreth
them, they oouidnet nav it; there ain’t enough Because why? I started out a quarter of a
of them, and furthermore they ain’t got enough. . eehtury age wheh I had Very few fehewere ih
There is no use taiking about the Poor; thev ‘ my state, and during that period I advocated,
will never pay tt because they have got nothing. t fought too mttothteed ee tt iesitietott ood
This debt as going to be paid by that great big I ti¤ttiiY» ee Governor for eight tous Yeems eisoed
middle class that we refer to as the backbone more Ptogteeeive ieaieiotioo m the iotereet of
g 9 . e
m°u’ w°m°m and children than any man in the a gas bag on the anti-trust laws and put them
State of New York. And the sin of- this whole foot oolooln and nobody Said anything about ]t_
thing and the part of it that worries me and I doo-t know whothol, tho}, oro good or whothcr
gives me concern is that this haphazard, hurry- thoy oro bod, but I know thoy didoo work
up passage of legislation is never going to Aoothor ooo: awo promiso tho romovo] of
accomplish the P“‘P°“°° fm which it was dc` Government from all fields of private enter-
Signcd And bear this in mind’ £°H°w the plat` prise except where necessary to develop public
f<¤m·-"¤¤d¢r ¤*¤*s1¤w¤"’ works and mm1 mum in the common
interest.”
HERE is another one: "We promise the en- NRA, a vast octopus set up by Government,
oonncni oi cVoi'Y oonoiiiniionoi inooonio inai that wound its arms around all the business of
will aid the farmers to receive for their basic thc country, patalyzing big business, and
farm commodities prices in excess of cost.” choked little buginggg to death,
Well, what is the use of talking about that? • Did you toad in tha Papers a short time ago
"Promise every constitutional measure I” The whos-c somebody said that business was going
Supreme Court disposed of that within the last .— to got a breathing spc]]? What is thc moaning
oonPic oi Wcck¤» ami, according io iiio PoPoi`$ f of that? And where did that expression arise?
the other day, some brilliant individual has con- ]•]] tc]] you whcrc it comcs fi·om_ It oonios
ceived the idea of how to get around the Consti- {rom thc prize ring. When thc aggtsssot is
union- We oro going io iioVo ioi`iY'oigiii punching the head off the other fellow, he sud-
A·A·A·’¤» ono ioi` oooii Siam- denly takes compassion on him and he gives
The ‘ioY inoi inc Uniicii States SnPi`oino him a breathing spell before he delivers the
Court decided that case I left my office to attend knockout wallopo
a meeting of a board of trustees of a hospital
downtown that I am interested in, and as I _ o
stepped into the taxicab the driver was reading HERE is another dud: Ws condcfml dw
tho oxtrat asnnromo Court Dooloroo A_A_A_ open and covert resistance of administrative
Unooootitutioooly oiiicials to every effort made by Congressional
Wo rodo along for o tow minntoo and wo got committees to curtail the extravagant expendt-
about throo blocks from my omoo and wo got tures of governmontal and imptlovident subsi-
caught in a red light and had to stand still, dwg gmmcd t° Pnvam lmcrcstd
and the taxi driver turned around and looked N°w’ inst bciwccn °urs°1v°S’ da _y°u know I
at mo ond Said, eccovornon oinvt tnoro any any administrative officer that has tried to stop
lawyers in Congress any more°?” Just then the Cdngmss {mm aPpr°pr1atmg_m°n°y? D° You
light changed, and I was afraid to answer him thmk thats has bdcn any ddsuzc im the Pan of
for fear I might disconcert him, but I was all Cmlgmss to (Burial] dppmpmatmns? Why’ uct
roody to Soy, ay-oo, Bon, but thoy doo·.t hmo_ t at all. The fact is that Congress approved them _
tion], r1ght and left——d1dn’t even tell what they were
for. And the truth further is that every ad-
ministrative officer sou ht to et all that he os-
WE HAYE got id1°thBr_Plank—"W° advocate i sibly could in order tc? expaigd the activitieg of
strengthening and impartial enforcement of the his own omoo and throw tho mono}, of tho
anti-trust laws.” ·
_ people right and left.
what happened? WhY’ the NRA Just Put And, as to subsidies, why, never at any time
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in the history of this or any other country were the radio time will not permit it. But just let
there so many subsidies granted to private me sum up this way:
groups and on such a huge scale. Regulation of the Stock Exchange and the
The fact of the matter is that most of the repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment, plus one
cases now pending before the United States or two minor planks of the platform that in no
Supreme Court revolve around the point of way touch the daily life of our people, have
whether or not it is proper for Congress to tax been carried out, but the balance of the plat-
all the people to pay subsidies to a particular form was thrown in the wastebasket. About that
group. there can be no question.
LET’S see how it was carried out. Make a test
HERE ls mmthcr Ona: “Wc qondémn the for yourselves. Just get the platform of the
extravagance of the Farm Board, its disastrous Democratic Party and gat the Platform of the
action which made the government a specula- Socialist Party, Jud lay them down on your
mr il? {fum Pr?du°tS’ and the unmund P°li°y °f dining-room table, side by side, and get a heavy
restricting agricultural products to the demands lead Pencil and Scratch out the word ..D€m0_
of d°m°Sti° markets? _ _ _ cratic" and scratch out the word "Socialist,”
Listen, I’l1 let you ID on something. This " and 1ct the two Platforms lay there-
hasn’t leaked out yet, so kind of keep it to your- Then study the record of the Present Admim
Sclf until y°u get the news' Ou thc first of Feb` istration up to date. After you have done that,
ruary we are goiag to own 4,005,000 bales of make your mind up to Pick up the platform
°°tt°n' The mist 18 $270’000’000° And wc have that more nearly squares with the record, and
been such brilliant speculators that we are pay- you will Put Your hand on the Socialist Php
ing thirteen cents ar Pound for it’ whe? you add form. You couldn°t touch the Democratic. And,
Smmgc and carrymg °harg€S’ and It can be incidentally, let me say that is not the first time
bought at any one of the ten cotton markets of in recorded history that a group of men have
thc Smith today for clcvcn and a half c°mS' stolen the livery of the church to do the work
Some speculators! of the devil.
What about the restriction of our agricultural If you Study this whole Situation, you will End
Pmgucts t° thc demands °f th°_ d°mCSuc mm" that that is at the bottom of all of our troubles.
k°t' WhY· the factfbout that 18 that we Shut This country was organized on the principles of
°ut_ cnumly tha fmclgn mark°t’ and by Pbwmg a representative democracy and you can’t mix
under corn and wheat and the destruction of Socialism or communism {ith that. They are
foodstuffs, food from foreign countries has been like Oil and water. They refuse to mix. And,
Pmumg mw °ur Am°n°°'n mark°ts_f°°d that incidentally, let me say to you, that is the reason
Shmlld have been Purchased bY u? {lvm mu why the United States Supreme Court is work-
°wn fume"' In other w°rdS’ while B°mc_ of a ing overtime throwing the alphabet out the
the countries of the Old World were attempting v window three letters at a dma
to drive the wolf of hunger from the doormat,
A the United States of America flew in the face I NOW, I am going to let you in on Something
of God’s bounty and destroyed its own food- dsa HOW do you Suppose all this happened?
stuffs. There can be no question about that. Ham is the way it happened: The young brain
N¤w» I could S') 0n i“d°fimt°lY with wma °f trusters caught the Socialists in swimming and
the other planks. They are unimportant, and they ran away with their clothaa
12 13
It is all right with me. It is all right with me hetree of the Old World was distiucd ia our
if they want to disguise themselves as Norman Constitution into the purest democracy that the
Thomas or Karl Marx, or Lenin, or any of the werle hee ever kn°w¤•
rest of that bunch, but what I won’t stand for is
allowing them to march under the banner of THERE are just three Priueiplee and in the
Jeiierson, Jackson 0I' CleVel811tl· interest of brevity I will read them. I can read
What is worrying me is where does that leave them quicker than I eau talk them_
118 millions of Delltoorttts? MY Ktlfitl is Bow fixed “First, a Federal government strictly limited
gpltgnCt)l;eHg(;::;e1:;0I;·c;1(:1l.:;£;;)1IiPle·
have any warning of this threat? And who BQYS that? D0 I say it? Not at all,
Why, you don’t have to study party platforms. That was said by the United States Supreme
You don’t have to read books. You don’t have Court in tho last ttm 01‘ twelve days.
to listen to professors of economics. You will
end the whele thme iecerporetee m the great- SECONDLY, a government with three inde-
est declaration of political principles that ever d t b h • C
came from the hands of man, the Declaration pim gu rem: eS’ (ingress to make the lewe’
of Independence and the Constitution of the ge Xecutwe to execute them’ the Supreme
United States. ourt, and so forth. You know that. l
Always have in your mind that the Constitu- 11:1 the I1; Exe of he;eVe:’ where 18 the Lede`
tion and the first ten amendments to it were * gen 8110,;;.}.};) Onerilse W y’ **‘°>’J“*"1“dF*gh*
drafted by refugees and by sons of refugees, by Howmh ey are emu. on the Ceugreeelenel
men with bitter memories of European oppres- Om- t eu the rug OP the table here They em"
. . . rendered all of their powers to the Executive
sion and hardship, by men who brought to this e d th t . th h d _ ’
country and handed down to their descendants an e li. e mason W Y you ree m the news`
an abiding fear of arbitrary centralized govern- _ §;IIrBC;;er;;ceS to Congress ee the rubber'
ment and autocracy. WP H Er ` h h _ _
And, listen, all the bitterness and all the C e new t at t e most Important bills
14 15
were drafted by the brain trusters and sent over that the United States Supreme Court may be
to Cyngmss _ and pegged by Congress without intimidated into a friendly opinion with respect
c0uS{dcrat10n’ wlthout dcbatm md wlthoylt to it. But I have held all during my public life
mcamng {my °H"“S° at alt “’ my D°m°°“‘u° that Almighty God is with this oouhtty and He
brethren 1n Congress, I think I can safely say didnst give us that kind of Supreme Court-
without ninety per cent of them knowing what
was in the bills, what was the meaning of the
hst gmt cifnc OVCI" And bcsldc csrmm bills . NOW, this is pretty tough for me to have to go
gas hmush k Wtzlathiiocsf tgat utcmh Sptiakmg at my own party this way, but I submit that
I or 9t c mn an B P mcmcan Pcop c’ wc there is a limit to blind loyalty.
dont want any Executive to tell Congress what AS a young man in the Democratic Party, I
It must d0’ and_wc dimly want any Congress to witnessed the rise and fall of Bryan and Bryan-
tcu the Exccuuvc what he mush dof rnd we ism, and I know exactly what Bryan did to our
don’t want Congress or the Executive jointly or , Party. I knew how loug it took to build it after
severally t0_ mu the United States Supreme he got Hnished with it. But let me say this to
Cougt what lt m1;1StI?q° glgh on ghc other gand’ = the everlasting credit of Bryan and the men
:)ctcHnc;tLT;:;§t;Cu;12;;at ;;:§;ml:1t;:c§;? {Eg: · that followed him, they had the nerve and the
_ _ courage and the honesty to put 1nto the plat-
WC watm and what yr-C mgmt up0n’ and what _wc form just what their leaders stood for, and they
are gymg to hav€’ IS the ab_S°htt° Prcscrvauon further put the American people into a position
of this balance of power which 1S the keystone, of making an intelligent choice when they Went
the arch upon which the whole theory of demo- to the polls.
cratic government has got to rest, and when you Why, the fact of this whole thing is (I Speak
mule 1t’ you rattle the wh°1° Structure' now not only of the Executive but of the Legis-
r lature at the same time) that they promised
.[` HE third one is methods of amending the one set of things, they repudiated that promise,
Constitution. Of course, when our forefathers and they launched off on a program of action
wrote the Constitution of the United States it totally different. Well, in twenty-five years of
couldn’t be possible that they had it in their experience, I have known both parties to fail
minds that that was going to be all right for all to carry out some of the planks of their plat-
time to come, so they said, “Now, we will pro- form, but this is the first time that I have known
vide a manner and method of amending it.” a party, upon such a huge scale, to not only fail
That is set forth in the document itself, and to carry out the planks, but to do the directly
during our national life we amended it many opposite thing to what they promised.
times. We amended it once by mistake, and we
corrected the mistake. What did we do? We
took the amendment out. Fine! That is the · NOW, euggeetiehemehd I make these as e
W¤Y we Weht tv de its bY reeehree to the PeeP1e· Democrat anxious for the success of my party,
But we don’t want an Administration that takes end I make them m geed t·eith_ Here arc my
a shot at it in the dark, and that ducks away , Suggestions:
from it and dodges away from it and tries to Number I, I Suggest to the memhete et my
put something over in contradiction of it upon Party eh Capitol IIIII here m Washington that
3hY thcvry that there is geihg te be e greet , they take their mind off the Tuesday that fol-
public howl in f¤v¤r of in and it i¤ possible lows tho sm Monday in November. Just take
16 17
your mind off it to the end that you may do the Cemmunietie RuSSie· There een be 0nlY (me
right thing and not the expedient thing. flag, the Stars and Stripes, or the red flag of the
1932 platform from the grave that they buried onlY One national emhcmv the Star Spangled
it in, read it over, and study it, breathe life into Benner er the Ime1`¤etie¤e1e·
it, and follow it in legislative and executive There een be e¤lY eee deter- If the Cen'
actioua to the end make good their wins, WG Win, the Constitution-
Prolniggg [0 [hg American people whgn they Stop! Stop tI1€I`C! TIIC Constitution C8II’t lose.
put forth that platform, and the candidate that The feet is. it has 8h`eedY Wen, but the news ·
stood upon it, one hundred per cent. In short, hee Det reached certain eare-
make good.
. Third, I would suggest that they stop com-
promising with the fundamental principles laid
down by Jackson, Jefferson and Cleveland. .
Fourth, stop attempting to alter the form
and structure of our government without re- A
course to the people themselves as provided in .
their own constitution. This country belongs
to the people, and it doesn’t belong to any
administration.
Next, I suggest that they read their oath of
oiiice to support the Constitution of the United
States. And I ask them to remember that they
took the oath with their hands on the Holy I
Bible, thereby calling upon God Almighty Him-
self to witness their solemn promise. It is bad I
enough to disappoint us.
Sixth, I suggest that from this moment on
they resolve to make the Constitution again
the civil bible of the United States and pay it
the same civil respect and reverence that they “
would religiously pay the Holy Scripture, and ·
I ask them to read from Holy Scripture the
parable of the prodigal son and to follow his
e example. “Stop! Stop wasting your substance
in a foreign land and come back to your
father’s house.” »
NOW, in conclusion, let me give this solemn .
warning. There can be only one Capital-
Washington or Moscow. There can be only
one atmosphere of government, the clear, pure, `
fresh air of free America or the foul breath of
18 19
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COPIES of the following pamphlets
and other League literature may be Two Amazing Years—Speech by Nicholas
obtained upon application to the 5 R9°*°P°” . . .
e _ { Leg1slat1on—By COEICIOD or Constitution-- »
League s nat1onal headq11&1‘t6I‘S· Speech by Jouett Shouge
Statement of Principles and Purposes The ImP°*`*1m°¤t °f D8m0cF¤¢Y—SP€€€h by
American Liberty League—-Its Platform _ , F"zg€"{1ld Hall _ _ _
The $4,880,0%,000 Emergency Relief Appro- ‘ I1}? SPHH 0f_Am€!`1€¤¤1Sm—Sp€€Ch by Wil-
priation Act * mm H' Ellw _ _ _
The Bonu