of Governor Herbert R. O'Conor 663

There is no mystery, no racial formula in Americanism. It stands for those
fundamental principles which our Declaration calls self-evident truths. It
states the conviction that all men are essentially equal in the eyes of the
Creator. It decries any belief that any one race should rule all other races,
should enslave the rest of the world.

It is the American conviction that human beings are endowed with a soul
that gives them a worth and value inmeasurably beyond all other creatures;
that human beings by their very nature have certain rights, and that these
rights come from the Creator Himself.

We do not believe that men are simply tools and machines, to perform
automatically the tasks imposed upon them by ruthless, selfish masters and
overlords. It is the American dogma that a Government is a necessary instru-
ment by which to protect man's God-given privileges;, by which to safeguard to
each individual his rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. No-
where in the American scheme of things is there justification for tyranny to
enforce its inhuman edicts by means of concentration camps and the Gestapo;
through Quislings and Lavals.

America was founded on the premise that Government exists solely for the
welfare of all its citizens, and that these citizens are the final judges as to
whether or not Government is earring out this function. The theory that
people exist only for the benefit of the State is not, and never will be, accept-
able. These have been America's convictions for generations. Despite all the
threats that may come, such a sight as witnessed here today offers assurance
that these convictions will continue to be America's for generations to come.

Today's demonstration, and countless other similar expressions of the Na-
tional determination to remain free, completly refute the one thesis upon which,
possibly more than all else, our Axis foes relied for victory.

They dared to attack us, striking like a thief in the night, because they
believed, mistakenly, that a Democracy like ours could not organize itself for
total war. Mislead by the discussions that had marked our National delibera-
tions up to Pearl Harbor, they thought they sensed a divided people, which
never could be completelly unified even to save itself. They were mistaken,
tragically mistaken, thank Heaven. Never has America been more united than
at the present moment. Never have the millions of American citizens valued
more sincerely, or been more ready to defend, their American institutions, than
they are today.

This evidence of your County's readiness for defense, is of extreme im-
portance, moreover, in that it not only gives definite expression to our will to
survive, but it likewise brings home definitely to all the people of Washington
County the meaning of events in the world today as they affect our own State.

You have seen the various phases of Civilian Defense represented, a true
cross-section, of the 137, 900 residents of Maryland who have enrolled for such
services. You have seen well-trained units of the Maryland State Guard, not
only from your own County but from other counties of Western Maryland and
from Montgomery and Prince George's. The very fact that it was deemed neces-