714 State Papers and Addresses

We are not being asked to contribute, however, but merely to loan our
money, in the soundest investment in the Country, at a favorable rate of in-
terest. If there were not a spark of patriotism in our souls, good sense alone
should prompt us to buy war bonds, which are based on the soundest foundation
possible, the integrity of our Government.

We have seen many discussions in the press and magazines of our Country
in recent weeks regarding post-war preparations, and the kind of peace that
the United Nations should impose upon a beaten Germany and Japan. In the
light of what has happened in Russia and in Libya very recently, such dis-
cussions seem just a trifle premature!

Of course, plans must be considered now for the future. That always must
be the case, whether in times of peace or in war. However, with the enemy
advancing towards our own shores, battering at the vital Suez Canal, and
threatening the oil fields of the Caucasus, our Country has plenty to think about,
right at hand, with-out looking too far into the future. Right now our leaders
are concerned, and rightly so, with what to do if Suez falls, and if Japan be-
comes firmly entrenched in the Aleutians to the extent that they may try serious
raids against Alaska or our West Coast.

There are three vital war fronts in the successful promotion of which
millions of our people would be required. These war fronts are military, in-
dustrial as upon still another front—that of morale.

As long as a people can preserve their faith in their ultimate destiny, as
long as they refuse to be conquered, they cannot be subdued. Fortunately,
American morale, recovered from the shock of Pearl Harbor, is of the highest.
The love of liberty, the determination to restain it, burns brightly today in the
heart of every American.

Undoubtedly few of the millions who are fighting in secret or in exile in
the conquered countries of Europe today every heard of our own immortal
Patrick Henry, ever read the words which inspired us since childhood. Patrick
Henry was giving voice to a basic yearning of humanity when he believed these
fateful words: "Is life so dear, or Peace so sweet as to be purchased at the
price of chains and slavery? Forbid it Almighty God! I know not what course
others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!"

In the same vein, when our Colonial ancestors fought over the imposition
of a small tax, they were merely proclaiming a principle. They, and Patrick
Henry, spoke the mind and purposes of all dauntless spirits of all time. They
reflected the attitude of mind that inspires and unifies America today.

Throughout Europe we see how this intangible spark of freedom remains
unquenched in the heart of man, no matter what drastic measures may be in-
voked to destroy it. Entire villages may be wiped out by brutal militarists,
but the women and children who survive will never be cajoled or forced into
accepting the slavery forced upon them. Whoever once has tasted the privilege
of freedom will never agree to forego its blessings, will never shirk his duty of
defending it, or dying for it if necessary.