Speech

2-743 OUR WAR EFFORT ADDRESS by M. S. SZYMCZAK Member, Board of Governors Federal. Reserve System Washington, l. C. Patriotic Flag Day Rally Central Council of Polish-American Organizations of Pittsburgh Flagstaff Hill, Schenley Park Pit13bur,?h, Pennsylvania For rel.oase, morRing ne vspapers, OUR WAR L.FKORT It is often said that we are a nation of individualists; our enemies interpret this to mean that we think only of ourselves. While it is true that nowhere else in the world are there so many individuals who are free to live their lives in their own way as under the flag of -he United States., yet that flag is the symbol of our unity. Those red and white stripes represent the banding together of the thirteen orig- inal colonies; those stars on the field of blue, the union of forty- eight States - the United States - founded on the principle that all men a^e created equal in the sight of God, free to think as they please, to Worship as they please and to act as they please so long as their ac- tions do not harm others. Each of us has the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, a right that attains full meaning only under a democratic *orm of government. But if a democracy is to function and survive, each ahd every citizen must undertake certain duties and responsibilities. the words of John Stuart Mill, the noted political economist, ''The worth of a state, in the long run, is the worth of the individuals com- posing it." Man is a social being. He cannot live alone. The day of his birth he enters the smallest unit of society, which we know as the fam- • He is entirely dependent on his father and mother, and yet they recognize that lie has certain rights—the right to food, the right to clothing, the right to care, and yes, even the right to cry. His Hrst wavering steps bring him an exhilarating sense of freedom, a free- dom, however, which ho soon learns is not without responsibilities— Responsibilities imposed for his own good. As he grows, his responsibilities bo his family gro . In time he finds playmates outside the family circle and assumes responsibilities the community in which he lives. Hi3 responsibilities multiply as he establishes contact with other parts of his community and with the state which all families and communities are integral parts. (I use the term "state" in its broader meaning of a body politic.) Upon reaching Manhood, he assumes the full duties and responsibilities as well as the lights and privileges of citizenship and takes his orcper place in the state that represents society as a whole. He begins to make a living for himself, to produce for his family, his community, and his state in °^der that all may attain the end for which they live and exist—the wel- of individuals, Making a living is only one way in which the individual re- sponds to the successive influences of the home, the community, the state, the ever-widening horizons of his world. his whole conception of the art of living reflects all of these cultural influences. He is the prod- uct of all these influences and of his own innate capacity. They deter- mine his response to the successes and failures that constitute his life. 4! «<-«.<. (i' •« tj£ \' l 1.r ^ ' -2- 2.-743 The American culture into which we have been born or welcomed b y adoption is cosmopolitan, and yet it is truly American. It respects ne culture and tradition of all races and brings them together in the -Pint of tolerance and freedom. It looks to the future rather than to •e past and is something to which you and I are contributing. Our cul- ure, like our flag, represents the ideals of the state. You and I de- .mine thos« ideals by the manner in which we live our lives. To the e in ^u that each individuaI exerts a sensitive and forceful personality behalf of society, he becomes a contributor to society rather than a ere recipient of its benefits. By his own life he enriches the life of u^ners and raises the ideals of the state. The state has but one purpose—the complete welfare of the is ++'' physical> m e n t al and ^ral welfare. The means by which this end attained is government. But governments are various: monarchial, ibtocratic, democratic, or a combination of any of these three. Ours democratic. It is a government "of the people, by the people, for ~ people". Mark well the principle that democratic government is the tv^ant-°r thG people> not People the servants of government. In con- distinction is totalitarian government where the people are only in- con ?entS °f the 3tatG* There dlctator3 rule by edict.' The people kinn °r else~*~the concentration camp or the firing squad. This is the of iq,° Xtyranny that threatens the existence of democracies in this year whAf HcW d06S 11:1 C0II1ParG v;ith our conception of government? Is dc vve have under our democracy worth fighting for? ^ . In Quinary times we are so intent on exercising the rights of th(-riCan citizens that W€ do not pause to consider their source. ^Perhaps LI priviie£'e v;G ^ercise most consciously is the privilege of criticizl 6 our Government. We seldom stop to think that the functioning of our } liv°nal G o v e r n m 9 nt is largely responsible for the security of cur daily es. We do not associate the security of our homes, our local conrauni- J v;^aUd eVe" °Ur individual States with the security of the nation as L In a sense this represents the perfect functioning of democracy, thp gG tasks °f ProwotinS the Physical, mental and moral*welfare of ". people are being carried out according to plan, with perhaps no con- Sc ious effort on the part of the citizenry. Each one of us can concen- t and \ °n dlschar£in£ his Personal responsibilities to Ins job, his family, n local community. The danger is that we may come to think we have 0 responsibilities to the nation, or that we may forget how to meet them lK-h the need arises. and TimeS °f emergency make us acutely aware of our national unity 1 our national Government. In the lean years of depression, we found t ' v;e aG individuals were powerless to cope with the immensity of our -3- 2.-743 economic problems. The difficulties were not of local origin. They had their roots in world-wide maladjustments that were disrupting our whole national economy. Local communities were unable to protect their resi- dents against the loss of their jobs, their homes, and their savings. Only through strong positive action of our national Government were our difficulties, serious as they were, kept from becoming far more disas- trous . We were not clear of our economic troubles before war clouds broke in Europe and Asia. '.Ye tried to tell ourselves that these wars had nothing to do with our lives and that we would have no part in the slaughter and destruction. Y/e are a peace-loving people and we arc slow 'to recognize a lust for war and conquest in others. Even after many friendly nations had been decimated and enslaved by their conquerors, we Were reluctant to see the threat to our own nation. We condoned the ac- tion of our President and Congress when they initiated the defense pro- gram, but we continued to hope the skies would clear before we were actually involved in war. Then we in turn were treacherously attacked. How many of us acknowledged'that we had been slow in facing realities? How many of us wondered whether we had been alert tc the wel- fare of the nation, and questioned whether we had impeded rather than aided our national Government in exercising its powers to defend the na- tion—to defend our liberties? Did our responsibilities as citizens take clearer form and galvanize us into action? Today, as perhaps never before, we in America need to take to heart the message typed mechanically by the young school girl: "Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country." No country has better served her citizens in protecting their rights and liberties than has ours. Mow we must face the fundamental fact that in- dividual rights and privileges can have real meaning only when they are accompanied by duties and responsibilities to preserve what generations of Americans have worked for - fought for - and died fori Our nation in times of stress can be no stronger than its individual citizens, for it is a basic postulate of democracy that the citizens of a democratic state in a sense, are the state. Unless we as individuals are willing to under take to the fullest our duties and responsibilities, our national defense must be weak; our offense laggard. In addition to our regular work there are many things we can do depending on our conditions and circumstances. With humor and common sense Arnold Bennett pointed out, during the last war of 19U-191B, an axiom again highly pertinent: "When citizens hear that volunteers for war work are badly -4- 2.-743 wanted : and then look out their windows and see no work at all rolling up to their front doors, they are apt to feel rather hurt and say: 'I am ready to do my share, but if no one gives me anything to do I can't do anything.1 "Yet patriots cannot expect the organizers of war work to run up and down streets knocking at doors and crying: 'Cornel You are the very person I needI' However much urgent war work is waiting to be done, nine-tenths of the volunteers will have to put themselves to a certain amount of trouble to discover the v/ork. They may even have almost to beg for the privilege of doing it. They are rather hurt, for they are not asking a fa- vor. '1 went and offered, my services,' a woman will say, 'and he looked at me as if I were a doubtful character, and you never heard such a cross-examination as I had to go through. It was most humiliating.' "Axiom: The trouble and annoyance incidental to getting the work are themselves an inevitable part of war work, just as much as bandaging the brows of heroes." Each must new do his share—the individual, the family, the com Canity—to.- protect and to fight for the preservation of democracy. Eise We ~ you and I - will be haunted to distraction by the knowledge that we gave "too little and too late". Have you met individuals in areas affected oy the recent gaso- line rationing order who boast of knowing where they can get gasoline without a rationing card? Do you admire their smartness or do you con- sider them slackers? People who do a thing like this are impeding our effort. They are hurting you and me, and in the long run, themselves People who refuse to change their way of living to meet the needs of the are obstructing the sincere effort of others. By refusing to coop- erate, they are hampering us in our struggle to preserve their freedom and our own. They are endangering the welfare of our people and of all ^he people in the world who love freedom. This is not a war that is fought alone by soldiers on the bat- tlefield— away from home. This is a war that is fought right in every °ity, right in every town, right in eveiy home. This war is totalI True, we Americans have done much—our armies are now abroad; °ur production lines are turning off planes, tanks, guns and ammunition at" an increasing rate, "....we are today in the position of men who Realize that they are actually doing the impossible", said Donald Nelson, Chairman of the War Production Board, in his speech on June 9th. We have played some part in slowing the advance of the enemy, directly on the Far Eastern front and indirectly through the provision -5- 2.-743 of arms for our British and Russian allies in Europe. let, wtiat we have done is a mere fragment of what we have to do—and do quickly. The great- bulk of Europe lies under the Nazi heel. Even in Russia, the superb ef- forts of our allies have managed to retake only a small fraction of the territory lost to the Germans last summer, and nov: Hitler has begun an- other push. In the Far East thus far the success of the eneny has been great-lour strongest efforts have done little more than slow the Japa- nese advance. In recent weeks we have had good news, especially from our fleet in the Pacific and from the British air force over Europe. Yet let us not be carried away to optimistic heights. We are still on the defen- sive, and wars are not won that way. So let us work! Work hardI Work harderI Time is vital— every day, every hour, every minute, counts in this fateful summer ahead. A bomber in China or Europe now may be worth ten next year. Let us syn- chronize our thoughts and actions with the rhythm and the tempo of the tramp, tramp, tramp of our soldiers, the hum and whirl of our war produc- tion machines; the zoom of the planes off the assembly lino; the rumble the tanks; the splash of the ships. More, more, more—faster, faster, faster—ever accelerating toward crescendos that will break into deafen- ing roars on the battlefronts—on land, in the air, on the seal Cur flag leads on, proudly, invincibly. Let us follow the flag! The newspapers tell us that some lines of production are "ahead °f schedule", others "nearly up to schedule". Good—ti.en let's revise the schedules upward and aim at a higher mark. Some complain about over- time work, squabble for higher pay, protest loudly about loss of privi- leges .and question the necessity for even such minor discomforts as we ha-ve thus far faced. How small and selfish such actions seem in the light the valiant unquestioning heroism of those fighting men on Corregidor, in the jungle of Burma, in Russia, in the deserts of North Africa. How infinitesimal are our sacrifices compared with those of the battered but freedom-loving civilians of the battleground nations—Poland, Czechoslo- vakia, Russia, England, France, Belgium, Jugoslavia, Greece, Holland, Denmark, China Did you read this the other day, told by Drew Middleton, an Associated Press staff writer: "With the R.A.F. Bomber Command, June 1. - This is the story of a little Polish pilot hero and bis British plane (Wimpy) or what's left of it. "The Pole, with four other members of his crew wounded and unconscious, brought back his shattered Wellington 'Wimpy' from the 4-figure Cologne raid. "The plane is in the repair shop and they're trying to figure out how it got home without a landing gear ana with -6- 2.-743 bomb doors still open. "1 Yvimpy' squatted in the hangar in battered glory. Her interior was caked with blood, great tufts of grass clung to her scarred belly from her pancake landing and there was a hole in her fuselage the size of home plate. But she's there. "In the rear gun-turret there was a hole you could put your foot through. A cannon shell from a Kazi night fighter had taken off the rear gunner's foot. But he managed to keep alive and, with tracer bullets streaming at him, he managed to return the fire. "There were 1? bullet holes in the front turret, six separate cannon shell holes, in the underside of the fuselage (of the plane). "The Polish pilot grinned when X asked him about it. "'I don't speak much English,' he said. 'But these men are so good. When they arc hit they keep still. When I tell them I will get them back one of them says, "Hear, hear", just like they do at public speakings. "'Tie get home all right but I cannot get n\y wheels down to land. I got over the airfield once, twice; ana I hear them groaning back there (in tne plane). "•Then I say, "Okay Butch," and I bring her in. God He is at our right hand, I know.'" That's the sort of thing that is going on over there—day after What are you and I doing in war work, in conservation, in civilian defense, in buying more war bonds, to compare? Customary living, customary work? To me it, seems a mark of 'ionor to lead in giving these up, in saying "I will lead in working harder, iri turning out more pieces per day, in saving and pinching that my tires and gas and food and clothing will go further, in buying more war bonds, lri placing war production and the national welfare far above personal Coitions and comforts." The man or woman who fails to take this atti- tude—and to act accordingly— is to mc as much a slacker as the draft dodger. To wait for the Government or the employer or the foreman to ^'ive you to faster work, to wait until a law forces you to buy less and forces you to conserve scarce articles, to wait until everyone else buys m°re war- bonds—these are the ways of a slacker, not of a true American. These arc strong statements—but 1 believe the time is long Past for bickering and selfish ambitions. Modern war is unbelievably \ — 2—743 violent and horrible. Loss of this war would be unspeakably catastrophic _'e can win and we must win. Whether we win and how soon depends on what /°u and I do as individuals. , Democratic action is based on free cooperation of individuals. If 1 we do not work harder, conserve our scarce possessions, buy more war onas voluntarily, we force our Government to make us do so in the pub- lic interest, In his spcech of June 4th, Secretary of the Treasury Morgenthau •eminded us that: "Five weeks have gone by since President Roosevelt out- tr a national economic policy for fighting the war on the home front, e called for heavier taxation, for fixing prices and rents, for ration- "g scarce commodities, for stablizing wages and farm prices, for check- ng instalment buying, and finally, for rigid self-denial and saving and ne investment of billions more in war bonds." And following the Presi- Secretary Morgenthau emphasized strongly that each one of these i04.n, is dependent on the other if the whole program is to work. If we s :ault on any one. the whole program may crumble. f Bi.llions of dollars are needed for the success of our war ef- * is estimated—and this is only an estimate based on tentative _ sumptions—that the total Jovernment expenditures in the fiscal year brn- w i il be 73 billi0" dollars. This 73 biljion dollars includes 6? ne °nS for war expenditures alone. It is further estimated, based on ^-nuing legislation, that tax receipts-will be about 24 billion dollars, leaves a balance of about 49 billion dollars to be borrowed by the ^ernment in one fashion or another. It is hoped that the sales of war moi^H S bond;s a nd stamP3 wiH increase with each day, each week and each nth. Buy war bonds and stamps and make this hope'a reality. i Through the purchase of war savings bonds you are not only he? • 7°Ur m0ney t0 the G o v e r n m e nt to wage a successful war; vou are eiiflng y o u r s e lf by investing your money in the soundest security on t 3«V 1' The m o n ey w 1 11 be returned to you in full—with interest—almost ' i-f held to maturity. I speak now of series "E» bonds. By investing our money in these war bonds, you help in our fight against inflation, rmoney that you would otherwise spend to purchase scarce consumer Fin n y°U l0aU t0 y°ur G o v e r n m e nt to build tanks, airplanes, ships, guns, a f tby purchasin£ war bonds, you offset the possibility of deflation Ler the war because you will have purchasing power after the war and b *ord°Ur p u r c h a s es '>rQU will m a ke possible increased production; in other v/hi i y°U V;ili help Peace-time production of goods and materials for ich there will be need, and thus you will give work to many thousands ^ time when war production will cease. . Yes> billions of dollars are needed to win this war, but what - billions compared to the freedom we're fighting for—our freedom and 2-743 the freedom of those millions throughout the world who are hungry and beg for,food, who are thirsty and reach out feebly for a glass of water, v-rho are wounded and seek balm, who are depressed and plead for a word encouragement, who scarcely breathe under the barbaric heel of the oppressor. Their enemy is our enemy. President Roosevelt in his Flag Day proclamation said: "We as a nation are not fighting alone. In this planetary war, we are a part of a great whole; we are fighting shoulder to shoulder with the valiant peoples of the United Nations, the massed, angered forces of common humanity. Unless we triumph, all will fail. "For these reasons it is fitting that on our traditional Flag Pay we honor not only our own colors but also the flags of those who nave, with us, signed the Declaration by United Nations, paying homage to those nations awaiting liberation from tyranny we all oppose, to those whose lands have escaped the scars of battle, to those who have long been heroically fighting in the blaze and havoc of war...." It is important—very important—that the United Nations be actively united and that we therefore beware of all rumors and all gos- sip, innocent or otherwise, that tend to separate the United Nations and h-hus to weaken our united efforts. The enemy is well known for his use the insidious weapon which divides opposition and leaves each part 0Pen to separate attack at his will. This is not new—this is old strat- egy. The United Nations idea must be more than just an idea. It toust be a coherent fighting force. That is the only way we can win this V/ar and win lasting peace. No country can do it alone—no individual or Sroup of individuals can do it alone. V.'e must plan now not only to win the war and to win it soon, but to win a lasting peace. We must try to insure economic, social, and Political stability for our country and. for other countries of the world, "....and when the time of peace comes," says Vice Presi- dent Wallace, "the citizen will again have a duty, the supreme duty of sacrificing the lesser interest for the greater inter- est of the general welfare. Those who write the peace must think of the whole world. There can be no privileged peoples. We ourselves in the United States are no more a master race than the Nazis, And we cannot perpetuate economic warfare without planting the seeds of military warfare. We must use our power at the peace table to build an economic peace that is just, charitable, and enduring." As informed citizens, let us apply to our daily lives the sub- lime wisdom of Abraham Lincoln's tribute to the heroes of Gettysburg: -9- Z-743 "The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they dia here." Our actions, not our words and good intentions, will bring us honor or dishonor, freedom or slavery, victory or a defeat more insufferable than death. As I salute the flag today, it seems to plead with me by mur- muring: "I am not the flag; not at all. I am but its shadow. I am whatever you make me, nothing more. I am your belief in yourself, your dream of what a People may become....I am the day's work of the weakest man, and the largest dream of the most daring....I am the clutch of an idea, and the reasoned purpose of resolution. I .am no more than you be lieve me to be and 1 am all that you believe I can be. I am whatever you make me, nothing more." How trueI Our flag and the flags of all our brave allies are only what we make them. Shall we keep them flying high in glorious fre dom or lower them in tribute to a master? There can be only one answer

M.S. Szymczak (1942, June 13). Speech. Speeches, Federal Reserve. https://whenthefedspeaks.com/doc/speech_19420614_szymczak

@misc{wtfs_speech_19420614_szymczak,
  author = {M.S. Szymczak},
  title = {Speech},
  year = {1942},
  month = {Jun},
  howpublished = {Speeches, Federal Reserve},
  url = {https://whenthefedspeaks.com/doc/speech_19420614_szymczak},
  note = {Retrieved via When the Fed Speaks corpus}
}