Welcome To American Minister

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIII, Issue 93, 21 April 1942, Page 6

Welcome To American Minister

THE CAUSE FOR WHICH WE FIGHT

The people of Wellington $t noon today expressed, through the welcome they accorded to Brigadier-General P. J. Hurley, American Minister in JNew Zealand, their deep-felt appreciation of the magnificent attitude of the American people in this war for the maintenance of freedom of thought and action and of the decencies of democratic living ai l(L th oir thanks > and the thanks of all the people 01 the South Pacific, for the ever-growing weight of assistance in men and armaments flowing south from American factories. It is many years since a reception so entirely cordial and nappy > has been accorded any visitor from overseas to a New Zealand city, and equally warm and genuine welcomes will be repeated through the Dominion where General Hurley may "We must attack, defeat; and destroy Japan in Japan " he said, and a roar of applause followed: He did not speak further of military, or naval, or air arm matters, savino- that those were for action, not for talking ' •■ °

"Your Worship, men and women of Wellington, I have been accorded the utmost kindness, courtesy, and hospitality by the people of New jZealand^" said Brigadier-General Hurley in his reply. "On behalf of my country and my President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, I wish to express to you my deep appreciation for this excellent reception. "No one can, enjoy more than I do these expressions of friendship for my country. In each instance, however, I :: am asked to speak, and as one official 5 said: 'Give some good advice.' That "reminded me of a s.tory I heard in my ■boyhood in Indian territory, of ■ a young Choctaw Indian girl in high school who was required as a test of her knowledge of ancient history to write the story of Socrates. She wrote: 'Socrates was a Greek philosopher. He went about giving the people a lot of good advice. They poisoned him.' (Laughter.) I have an ambition to escape the fate of Socrates. "What our cause needs is workers and fighters, not orators. DICTATOR SYSTEMS. "On this occasion I wish to speak of enemy propaganda rather than military efforts. We have been hearing a lot of enemy propaganda about the inefficiency of the democracies and the efficiency of dictators. This propaganda is usually based on the assumption that people cannot be free and at the same time efficient. The assumption is of course not correct. It is true that free Governments are geared for liberty and peace, dictatorial Governments are geared for war and oppression. In war free people delegate power to their leaders, but the people remain the custodians of the power. Dictators usurp all power and make the people slaves to their systems. The iAxis nations have divested the people of all powers on the theory that the people will not act in unity unless they are compelled to do so. In dictatorial nations it is the will of the«?dictator, not the will or the people, that must prevail. When the people decline to follow or the dictator cracks ,under the strain, the cause is lost. In free nations it is the will of the people that is carried into effect by the leader. The leader may be given all the powers of a dictator, but he can be broken or

removed if he fails to carry the will of the people into effect. The free peoples are slower to get into action. But the will of the free people once formed is unbreakable. Only the intelligent and efficient can attain or maintain liberty. "Today the free people are becomuig a voluntary unit wherein all military, all economic strength, every industry, and every individual is endeavouring:, intelligently and efficiently, to contribute a proper part to the accomplishment of the chief objective—the defeat of the enemy. CONFLICTS OF THE PAST. "Another line of the enemy propaganda is found in the attempt to revive discussion of ancient internal conflicts among the free people. We frankly admit that the free nations did not always recognise all of the principles of liberty, but out of the internal Conflicts the free nations have achieved liberty, justice, freedom of conscience, freedom of the Press, freedom of speech, free schools, collective bargaining for workers, equality of opportunity, and the highest standard of living in the world. But, shouts the enemy, your free institutions are not perfect. We know that. Human beings are not perfect and therefore do not create perfect institutions. But free institutions are more nearly perfect that any others, and it is our purpose to remain free and to continue to improve them. "Let us forget for the duration of the war the conflicts out of which we have achieved these hard-won rights and privileges and unite to defend and perpetuate them by defeating the enemy who would destroy them. Let us be worthy of our priceless rights and achievements. Let us march to victory in the spirit of the fighting challenge of Churchill and the Four Freedoms of Roosevelt. "Let us sing with our fighting men that grand old hymn which was written by a woman: " 'In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea, With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and.me; As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free; While God is marching on.!"