210 State Papers and Addresses

Today in face of the dangers that threaten our Country from without, and
with full knowledge of the forces seeking to weaken us from within, I contend
that now as never before it is the duty of every American citizen to give deep
and solemn thought to the liberties he enjoys, and to the responsibilities his
American citizenship entails. Today there is no room in this Country for petty
divisions of thought because of political, racial, or other causes. As Americans
all, we must realize the serious situation confronting this Country, as well as
the rest of the world, and that, without becoming hysterical, we must prepare
in a material way so completely that we may be able to safe-guard the integrity
of this Nation in any emergency.

This is no time, I repeat, for division of opinion based upon any other
foundation than the Country's best good. My twenty years of experience in
the public life of this State with Italian-Americans have given me the oppor-
tunity to know of their devotion to this Country and their adherence to its
ideals and principles. I can vouch for their complete and undivided loyalty
and support in any cause affecting the interests of this Nation. In every test
to which they have been put, the Italian-Americans of Maryland have more than
measured up to everything expected of them.

As one proud of the contribution made by them to our citizenship, I can
say with assurance that no element of our citizenry is more steadfast and
dependable than the Italian-Americans and I am supremely confident that they
will ever remain so.

ANNAPOLIS HIGH SCHOOL COMMENCEMENT

June 19, 1940
Annapolis

fT\HESE are soul-stirring times, as probably no one appreciates more fully
X than the young graduates of today, as they contemplate the troubled state
of the world in which they so soon seek their destiny. Truly it is a world
seething in turmoil, and full of the most serious problems, affecting every one
of us. But it is a world, too, that is ready to bestow its recognition and its
richest rewards upon those who, by outstanding industry and achievements,
show themselves worthy of the advancement they seek.

Fortunate it is, for the thousands upon thousands of graduates throughout
the length and breadth of our land, that they are living in, and prospective
citizens of, a country, where free enterprise is the right and privilege of every
individual, and where a system of government prevails under which every
young man and woman can look forward to a future whose accomplishments
will be limited only by the limitations of one's own ability and industry.

Never in all the history of education in these United States have young
people starting out in life more sincere cause for congratulations than today.
As graduates of this splendid school, you have many things for which to be
thankful, but chief of all these things is the fact that you are an American,
and, as such, entitled to civic rights and privileges such as are, at the moment,
granted to the residents of no other country on the face of the universe.
Appreciate this fact to the utmost, I beg of you, and never for a moment let