H.A.
gave a speech in Madison Square Garden that is giving him grief from both the
Left and Right. The Left boo’d and
hiss’d when he said, “We may not like what Russia is doing in Eastern Europe. Her type of land reform, industrial
expropriation, and suppression of basic liberties offends the great majority of
the people of the United States.” And
the vast majority of people attending were of the Left.
The
Right attacked him for appeasing the Russians and interference with States
Rights – read Jim Crow and segregation for saying, “During the past year or so,
the significance of peace has been increased immeasurably by the atom bomb,
guided missiles, and airplanes which soon will travel as fast as sound. Make no mistake about it – another war would
hurt the United States many times as much as the last war… He who trusts in the
atom bomb will sooner or later perish by the atom bomb – or something worse. I say this as one who steadfastly backed preparedness
throughout the thirties. We have no use
for namby-pamby pacifism. But we must
realize that modern inventions have now made peace the most enticing thing in
the world – and we should be willing to pay the price for peace… The price for
peace – for us and for every nation in the world – is the price of giving up
prejudice, hatred, fear and ignorance…
Hatred breeds hatred. The
doctrine of racial superiority produces a desire to get even on the part of its
victims. If we are to work for peace in
the rest of the world, we here in the United States must eliminate racism from
our unions, our business organizations, our educational institutions, and our
employment practices. Merit alone must
be the measure of men.”
H.A.
closed by saying that peace was the “basic issue” facing voters in the coming
mid-term elections and in the presidential election two years from now. “How we meet this issue will determine
whether we will live not in ‘one world’ or ‘two worlds’ – but whether we live
at all.”
A
New York Times reporter [James Haggerty -AS] asked if the boos and
hisses surprised him. H.A. said, “It was
to be expected. I was following a
straight American line.”
On
a happier note, Jean [Wallace’s daughter -AS] was married this month.
© 2013 Ron Millar
