"Here is living proof of the validity of our way of life and service to the cause of truth. Events in the world today are making the vast majority of our citizens think more clearly regarding the manner in which their liberty grew and about how hard people have fought to win and hold the privilege of conducting their own government."
The President reviewed the con fioting political views of Alexander Hamilton and Thomas. Jefferson, pointing out that the latter favoured public control of the Government.
He said Hamilton "sincerely believed in the superiority of govern ment by a small group of public spirited, and usually wealthy, citizens while Jefferson was an "advocate of government by representatives of all the people and universal suffrage."
"With rare perspicacity," the President said, "Jefferson pointed out that the Hamilton theory was bound to develop into government by selfishness for personal gain, or by class, which would eventually lead to the abolition of free elections, which are the sure guarantee of popular government. commonplace among Americans, but it is well constantly to keep them in mind in order to understand what has happened in other lands. A decade ago, for example, the German people despaired of the processes of their democracy which was based on free use of the franchise. They were willing to lend aid to a new cult—Nazism—a minority group which professed extraordinary patriotism and offered bread, shelter and better government through the rule of a handful of persons boast-jing a special aptitude for Government.
"In those days loudly professed emphasis was placed on this special group and their own purity of purpose. Nothing was ever said about abolishing free elections, Many persons of large business affairs, influenced by several factors, were dissatisfied with the democratic and formed political and economic alliances with this small group, "Travesty" of Germany "You and I know the subsequent history of Germany. The right of free elections and free choice of the heads of the government was suddenly wiped out by the new regime, still professing the same purity of purpose. It is a travesty of fact to claim that there is any free choice of officials in that country today or that there has ever been since 1993.
"What Jefferson prophesied might happen in this country, if the philosophy of a restricted vote and government by a special class was adopted, actually happened in Germany before our very eyes."
The President reviewed the New Deal's social legislation and said
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.