of Governor Herbert R. O'Conor 263

If the record is to count for anything at all; if accomplished deeds are
to have proper precedence over even the most generous of promises, then
surely the people of America owe it to themselves and owe it to the future
of their Country to return to Washington and to keep at the helm of the
Country for the next four years that experienced, leader under whom have been
written on our statute books the greatest array of forward-looking legislation
ever enacted within any similar period in the history of this or any other
country.

The time for discussion now is ended. Again I urge every Marylander,
as a patriotic duty, to exercise the right of the ballot tomorrow. In the light,
too, of what has just been recounted, I ask every Marylander to assure the
best interests of his State and his Country by voting for Franklin D. Roosevelt
for President and by electing a complete Democratic ticket to give him the
very vital support he will need during these next four years.

Next week, next month, next year we will not be arguing as Democrats
or Republicans. We will be standing, side by side, one and all as Americans.
National Unity is the cornerstone of our arch of Freedom under Democracy.
It is with abiding faith in the fairmindedness of our people that I have
addressed you and have expressed the hope that you regard as most serious
the right of franchise which is vouchsafed to few other people in the world
today. That voters of the "Free State" will exercise their right wisely and
patriotically tomorrow is my sincere wish as Governor of Maryland.

ARMISTICE DAY

War Memorial Plaza, November 11, 1940
Baltimore

NO Armistice Day, in the twenty-two years of this observance, has held
so much significance as that of today. For over two decades, the
American people have honored the memories of those who gave their lives,
and others who fought heroically to preserve civilization in the world. Today,
we would be untrue to the patriots of 1918 if we did not face the issue of 1940,
and carry on the noble effort in which they enlisted.

Today, the peril faced by the heroes of 1917 still threaten the world.
Westward the Vulture of Destruction wings its way. A year ago it was
Warsaw where he feasted himself on human carrion. We saw the shadow
of his black wings over the frozen moors of Finland. We heard his talons
draw cries of anguish from the innocents in Holland and in Belgium. With
astonishment we read how the most famous army on earth, the French, had
crumbled before the fiendish genius of mass murder. The Swastika was
unfurled above Paris, the very cradle of European democracy. All this in
a year—and today each morning's headlines list the roll of death in England.

What will the news be next year? Will another twelve months bring
these deadly wings above our own heads? No man can predict such happen-
ings. The best we can do is take the advice of our Pilgrim Father: "Trust
in God, but keep your powder dry. "