ROOSEVELT’S THIRD TERM

Greymouth Evening Star, 21 January 1941, Page 7

ROOSEVELT’S THIRD TERM

INAUGURATION CEREMONY , -■ .■ 1 ■ ■ ’ -.•« '■ . •• 1 DEMOCRACY’S TRIUMPH t ''• •' *«• .’ ' ■ ■ ' ", - ■ [BY j CABLE—PRESS ASSN.—COPYRIGHT-] ; (Recd. Jan. 21, 12.30 p.m:). WASHINGTON, January 20. Mr. Roosevelt, to-day,-was.inaugur-ated, as President of the United States for a third term. He drove from the White House to the Capitol, in an open car, escorted by army scout cars, equipped with heavy machine-guns. A procession of official cars followed, while members of the Secret Service brought up the rear. The crowds cheered' as the President waved his top hat. The Chief Justice (Mr. Hughes) swore in Mr. Roosevelt, after which Mr. Roosevelt delivered his inaugural speech. “Each national day of inauguration since 1789,” he said, “the people have renewed their sense, of dedication to the United States. ‘To-day, the people’s task is to save the nation and its institutions from disruption without. There are men who believe that democracy, as a form of Government and frame of life, is limited, or measured by a kind of mystical artificial fate — that for some unexplained reason, tyranny and slavery become the surging wave of the future, — and freedom is a fleeting tide. Eight years ago (in the depression) when life in this Republic seemed frozen by fatalistic terror, we proved this to be untrue. We acted quickly and boldly. “These later years have been living years, fruitful for the people of this democracy. They have brought greater security and a better understanding that life’s ideals are measurable in other than material things. Very vital.for our present and future is t[}is experience of democracy, which successfully survived the crisis ati home, and put away many evils, to build new structures on enduring lines, and throughout maintained the fact of its democracy. '■

“Prophets of the downfall of American democracy have seen their dire predictions come to naught.. . Democracy is not dying. We know it is because it is built on the unhampered initiative of the individual. Meh and women joined in a common enterprise undertaken and carried through by the free expression of- a free majority. We know it because democracy alone, of all forms of government, enlists the full force of men’s enlightened will. “We know it, because democracy alone has constructed an unlimited civilisation, capable of infinite progress in the improvement of human life. Because if we look below the surface, we sense it still spreading on every continent. It is the most human, the most advanced, and in the end, the most unconquerable of all forms of human society. Democratic aspiration is no mere recent phase of human history.

IT IS HUMAN HISTORY. It permeated ancient life. The early peoples blazed a new middle ages. It was written in Magna Charta. Tn the Americas, its impact has been irresistible. A Republic’s hopes cannot forever tolerate either undeserved poverty or self-serving wealth. We know we still have far to go, and must build security, opportunity, and knowledge in every citizen, in the measure that the resources and capacity of the land justify, but it is not enough to achieve these purposes alone. It is not enough to feed and clothe the nation’s body. We must instruct and inform its mind. There is also the spirit, and of the three, the greatest is the spirit. The preservation of spirit and the faith of a nation does, and will, furnish the highest justification for every sacrifice we may make in the cause of national defence. “In face of the great perils never before encountered, our strong purpose is to protect and perpetuate democracy’s integrity. For this we muster the spirit of America and the faith of America. We do not retreat. We are not content to stand still as Americans. We go forward in the service of our country, by God’s will.”

MAN WITH REVOLVER. (Recd. Jan. 21, .1.40 p.m.). WASHINGTON, January . 20. Mr. Roosevelt, before the inauguration ceremony, accompanied by his wife, mother, and members of the family attended services at St. John’s Episcopal Church, and prayed for Divine guidance for the third term. A crowd, estimated at a million, lined the processional route. Two hundred and thirty-five American planes, symbolising the country’s race to re-arm marked the beginning of the inaugural parade, in which General Marshall led 6,400 troops and mechanised forces along the main avenues. Members of the Secret Service arrested a' man found in front of the White House, carrying a revolver. The man was within a hundred feet of the President’s reviewing stand, r. BRITISH •• APPRECIATION. RUGBY, January 20. Listeners throughout Britain, this evening, heard Mr. Roosevelt take the oath at Washington, on the occasion of his third term-as President. The inauguration ceremony was heard with remarkable clearness. The President’s strong, resonant

voice created a deep impression as he defined the three periods of American history. First, when in Washington’s day, the will of the people was to create and weld a nation. Second, in Lincoln’s day, to preserve the nation from disruption from within, and now to save the nation and its institutions from disruption without. His analysis of the undying spirit of democratic people was felt to apply as much to the British people as the American, and no doubt was left in his listeners’ minds of the President’s own determination, as shown by the emphasis laid on the closing words, that the United States would never retreat.

MR. WILKIE’S MISSION. WASHINGTON, January 19. “I want to get the point of view of the people in the bomb shelters and in all walks of life. I want to get then’ ideas on what kind of a Government Britain will have after she wins the war. I refuse to consider any other possible end to the struggle than a British victory,” said' Mr. Wendell Wilkie, ■ discussing his trip to Britain. Mr. Wilkie added that he believed Mr. Roosevelt’s Lend and Lease Bill would be, gdopted easily after reasonable debate. .. ■ FLAG INCIDENT. LONDON, January .20.', A spokesman in Berlin said the action of American sailors in tearing down the flag at the Ger pan consulate in San Francisco had caused a bad impression in Berlin. <