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.vyr :«-wi ' Farm Champions on the Air By RAYMOND PITCAIRN C We»*«rn Nempaper Union. A LL men are created equal. -TV They are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. Among these are Life, Lib erty and the pursuit of Hap piness. To secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. When, 162 years ago, the men who drafted our Declaration of Independence wrote those words they startled much of the Old world with what seemed a new and revolutionary philosophy of government. But it wasn’t altogether new. It wasn’t altogether unique. It represented something greater, something more significant, something far more dramatic than mere novelty. What the Declaration of Inde pendence had done was to put into words that were crystal clear, the hopes and aspirations that had lived in the hearts of men since before the dawn of recorded history. And what the nation which pro duced and supported that Dec laration achieved was to trans late those ancient hopes and as pirations into glorious reality. For freedom is the fruit of many centuries of labor and con flict. It was wrought out of the Oldest dreams of humanity. It was bought by bloodshed and suf fering. No one can say with certainty what battles were fought, what forlorn hopes were led in that age-old struggle during the dawn of history. But the spark must have been there or it could not have glowed so brightly in the centuries to follow. Certainly when primitive men first began to dwell in groups and formulated laws for their own rule, one of the burning questions must have been the is sue between the powers of gov ernment and the freedom of the individual. Government prerogative and individual liberty 1 Both were necessary; the one for order, the other for freedom. But always there has persisted the funda mental urge of the common man to prevent the first from over whelming and destroying utterly the second. And often there have been men and movements that gave the demand fresh strength. We do not know them alL But, in chronological order, here are a few of the events which pre ceded and found inspiring expres sion in our American Declara tion of Independence. Hie Ancient World. Recorded in the cuneiforms of ancient Babylonia, archeologists have found an old, old code of laws. It is the code of Ham murabi, remarkable for its clari ty and practicality. But what makes it extraordinary in the minds of historians is the fact that in that dark period of con quest and tyranny it defined cei- tain safeguards and prerogatives of the common man. It was an early, a limited, but a definite, statement in law of certain of his "unalienable rights.” Other ancient laws protecting certain liberties are known, among them the familiar Mosaic code of the Bible, but the code of Hammurabi is perhaps the ear liest. Greece and Rome. Ancient Greece and ancient Rome, often called cradles of civ ilization, were also effective cra dles of freedom. An early system of direct de mocracy developed in the city- state of Athens. While this was a far cry from the republics of today, it represented, neverthe less, a significant stride in the march toward freedom. There, for the first time, government was in the hands of a certain group of citizens, rather than of hereditary or appointed mon- archs. By the year 594, B. C., Solon, the Law-Giver, had strengthened the foundations of Athenian de mocracy by instituting an early form of trial by jury. Thus an other brand was added to the torch of freedom. Across the Adriatic sea from Athens, early Rome rejected the rule of kings at about the same period. “Horatius at the Bridge” was not merely a figure of po etry. He was a symbol of the Ro man people’s determination to defend their democracy from a possible return of exiled kings. In the year 490 B. C., Phidip- pides made a famous run—from the battlefield of Marathon to the free city of Athens. But it was neither his speed nor his endur ance that made that 26-mile run famous. It was the fact that he carried the news of the victory of the armies of Athenian democ racy over those of the Persian tyrant, Darius—a victory which ended the menace of Oriental Signing the Declaration of Independence. despotism to the free states of Greece. Two decades later Pericles, chosen ruler of Athens, intro duced a written constitution, granting the right to vote to all free men. Quickly Greek culture blossomed, as a result, into its Golden age. In Rome, meanwhile, the Twelve Tables of Law were for mulated during the year 451 B. C. These are the basis of the whole Roman legal system and as such have played a large part in both British and American law. They were written with the understanding that Roman citi zens should have a voice in the enactment of any additions which governed their rights and liberties. Plato and Aristotle. Other lasting contributions to the cause of human liberty were made in the classic writings of ancient Greece. In the year 399 B. C., Plato, the great Athenian political phi losopher, published his "Repub lic,” a dream of a better, more democratic world. In this imag ined nation many of the "unali enable rights of man” were fully secured. While Mother Earth has never seen a state modeled com pletely after Plato’s specifica tions, the ideas he advocated have had an enduring influence on the thoughts of men. Aristotle, brilliant pupil of Pla to, and "Father of Political Sci ence,” published his famous "PoUtics,” in 332 B. C. This great work was based on one of the most thorough studies of ex isting constitutions and political systems ever undertaken. No less than 130 separate constitutions were studied by Aristotle and his assistants in compiling it. His was a notable contribution to the cause of freedom. He preached universal education, without which no democracy can long en dure, and in association with which no tyranny can long con tinue. The democracy of Greece fell, largely because of an indiffer ence on the part of its citizens toward the affairs of state. In Rome, the Republic lasted sev eral centuries longer, before it, too, became embroiled in petty quarrels and toppled, as schem ing demagogues took control. The Northern Races. When, early in the Fifth cen tury, Imperial Rome crashed in ruins, history wrote finis to one of the most autocratic periods of rule on record. And although the northern Europeans who toppled that mighty empire were still barbarians, there blazed ip them a fierce spirit of independence. Shortly after the crash of the Empire, certain of their tribes, the freedom-loving Angles and Saxons, invaded Britain. To the British nation which was to de velop they brought that urge for liberty which has become so dominant a part of the national character. And although continental Eu rope for centuries was trodden under the heels of minor des pots, men still read and dreamed of liberty. Often they fought for it. That was why, under Charles Martel, they turned back the Sar acen invaders, with their tradi tions of autocratic rule, who had conquered wherever else they ranged. During the Ninth century, Al fred the Great mounted the throne of England. Under him the British became a united peo ple, with the culture of the free dom - loving Anglo - Saxons pre dominating. The justice of Al fred still remains a great tra dition in law. Then in 1066, came the Nor man invasion, bringing into Al bion the Roman Code of Laws, from which our modern law de veloped. In the significant year 1101, Henry I was crowned king of England, and at his coronation the charter which bears his name was promulgated. This contains most of the "ancient liberties” whose return the barons sought at the time of Magna Charta, and listed many of the "unalien able rights” which Americans de manded in 1776. In many ways 1215 may be con sidered among the most impor tant dates in the history of the struggle for freedom. For it was in that year that the English bar*ons forced King John to sign the Magna Charta, the famous document which established Eng lish liberty on a constitutional foundation, and prevented him from controlling the liberty and property of citizens without the consent of those citizens’ equals. Less than a century later the famous Summons to Parliament of Edward I provided for repre sentation in parliament of the clergy, the barons, the knights and the townspeople, thus estab lishing the system of full repre sentation in government—a right givhich the signers of the Declara tion were to describe as "formida ble only to tyrants.” Two years later, Edward was again forced to recognize the rights of the people as against the powers of the king, by sign ing the Conflrmatio Chartarum, which confirmed certain clauses of the great charter. The cry against the king was that he lev ied taxation without the consent of parliament—a protest echoed in America in 1776 as “taxation without representation.” Meanwhile, in other nations of Europe the embers of freedom glowed anew. In Switzerland, William Tell shot an apple from the head of his son—a dramatic incident in the defiance of the lib erty-loving Swiss to Austrian tyr anny and of the war which re sulted in Swiss independence. Back in not-so-merry England, the peasants, long held in the bondage of a feudal system, were being aroused by the eloquence of John Ball, so-called Mad Priest of Kent, who preached concerning the rights and the natural equality of all men. His teachings found popular expres sion in the verse: “When Adam delved and Eve span. Who was then the gentleman?” John Ball aroused the peas ants to the revolt of 1381, led by Wat Tyler. Tyler was slain, and his revolt collapsed, but feudal ism which denied the "self-evi dent” truth that all men are cre ated equal, soon fell before a growing spirit of freedom. The Renaissance. Thus came the Renaissance, with its rebirth and refreshening of knowledge. Men studied his tory, and learned of the ancient democracies in which citizens had had a voice in government. Men studied geography, and up set the theory that the world was flat. One of them sailed from Spain on a western voyage for India. Columbus failed to reach the Orient, but he found some thing far greater—a New World which was to become the home of the freest nation on earth. In Europe the next hundred years saw a great surge toward freedom. In 1499, Switzerland finally established the repub lic that still exists—a firm island of democracy amid the seas of dictatorship. The Netherlands rose against Philip II of Spain in 1567 — a revolt in which the issues of private ownership as against monarchial, autocratic rule were brought to the fore, and which never really ended until Holland won complete independ ence. The American Adventure. Now began the great American adventure in which the love of freedom of the northern races was eventually to find eloquent expression in the Declaration of Independence. Here, along the Atlantic coast, numerous settle ments were established by hardy groups infused with a love of personal liberty and a desire to live according to their own be liefs. By 1619, the first American Rep resentative assembly had been formed in Virginia, an assembly in which the lower house was elected directly by the people. A year later, off historic Plym outh rock, was signed the May flower compact—in "a spirit of concession and acquiescence”— by which the Pilgrim fathers bound themselves to laws to be mutually enacted under that compact. Mutually enacted! In that phrase lies the spirit of gov ernment expressed in the Dec laration of Independence—gov ernment which “derives its just powers from the consent of the governed.” By 1621 was put into effect the Virginia constitution, which again provided for representative assemblies and drastically limit ed the powers of the royally-ap pointed governor. Across. the Atlantic, mean while, the English Petition of Rights appeared in 1628. This document, among other things, restricted the Crown from levy ing taxes without the people’s consent of imprisoning anyone without due process of law. During the year 1648, in which the treaty of Westphalia recog nized Holland and Switzerland as independent republics, the first written constitution was intro duced in England by Oliver CromwelL His republic was founded on the principle that "the people are, under God, the orig inal of all just power; and the commons of England, in par liament assembled, being chosen by the people have the supreme power.” Unfortunately, the re public ended in failure in 1660, but the principles it enunciated could not be subdued. BUI of Rights. In the American Colonies a notable contribution to freedom’s cause was the establishment in 1683 of the New York Charter of Liberties. This guaranteed the calling of a representative as sembly at least once every three years, and contained a Bill of Rights, including such "unalien able rights of man” as fair trial by jury. Then, under William and Mary, the English parliament, in 1689, passed a Bill of Rights which re-affirmed the principles of the previous constitution, the Magna Charta and all other "documents of freedom.” This decided, once and for all, in favor of parlia ment as against the authority of the Crown. But no true democracy had yet been fashioned in England. Par liament was in control, but mem bership in that body was, pri marily, the privilege of the aris tocratic class. Many brands had been gathered for the torch of freedom, but it was not yet com plete. To John Locke, who died in 1704, historians credit the pre sentation of the true theory of modern democratic government. Often called the "Father of Mod ern Democracy,” Locke pub lished two treatises on civil gov ernment. These, with the later writings of Rousseau, exposed the fallacy of the “divine right of kings,” and profoundly influ enced the men who wrote our Declaration of Independence. Soon, however, the most auto cratic of the English kings mounted the throne, ruling at home as boldly as he dared, and subjecting his colonies to prepos terous demands. George III, whose history, in the words of the Declaration of Independence, was one of “repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in di rect object the establishment of an absolute tyranny,” tried the patience of the colonists beyond endurance. In the Stamp Act congress of 1765, meeting in New York city, their protests found expression. The congress drew up a petition of rights and grievances for transmission to the English king. In that document was contained a list of the “unalienable rights of man.” But this, too, George III chose to ignore. He succeed ed thereby only in uniting the col onists in a greater insistence upon these rights. The Boston Tea Party of 1773 followed. Violently it expressed the resentment of the country against taxation without repre sentation. And from that date the colonists acted not as 13 in dependent groups, but as one peo ple determined to secure free dom for themselves and their posterity. In 1774 the First Continental congress met in Philadelphia to discuss further the colonies’ grievances against the king, to hear that all their petitions for redress had been ignored, and to petition the king once more for restoration of their rights. Again the king chose to rebuff his New World subjects. To the colonists there seemed but one thing to do—strike for independence! This was fore shadowed by the Virginia Bill of Rights, passed, early in 1776, by the outraged people of that col ony. The recourse was revolu tion. The Torch Is Lighted. And so, early in the summer of 1776, the chosen representatives of the colonists met at historic Independence hall in Philadel phia. There this group of free dom-loving and fearless men drew up the immortal charter which America honors on our greatest national holiday. On July 4 they proclaimed to the world, in the Declaration of In dependence, that the unalienable rights of men would endure. Wise and Otherwise —A— N O DOUBT the tailor who asked for cash in advance had taken his customer’s meas ure. Quite small things may keep you from sleeping at night, says a doctor. Never mind— they’ll grow up presently. Little Buddy wants to know how far it is ’tween to and fro. Girls who play with fire don’t always strike a match. Many a man has the wclf at his door because his wife' will have a silver-fox round her neck! When you’re in a jam, it’s soon spread all over the place. Paradox: It’s only when a man comes clean that he spills the dirt. A MONG the Champion Farmers of America who are being fea tured on Firestone’s series of 26 "Voice of the Farm” programs, is this representative group of leading crop growers and stock raisers. Each program in the se ries presents a farm champion in an interview with Everett Mitch ell, popular farm commentator who has been heard on the Na tional Farm and Home Hour for the last eight years. Each cham pion tells the fact story of his climb to championship rating in his particular branch of farm op eration. Top from left—Albert Schroe- der, pioneer user of rubber trac tor tires; Sarah-Ann and John To- lan, champion Aberdeen-Angus breeders; Darwin Neal, champion poultry raiser; Paul Fisher, champion hog producer. Lower row—L. E. Mathers, champion Shorthorn breeder; Harry L. Chadwick, potato champion; Adolph Pirani, champion cotton grower; Ralph L. Heilman, cham pion com grower; Paul Stiefboldt, plowing champion. Distinguish by Purity Distinguish between baseness and merit, not by descent, but by purity of life and heart.—Horace. Buckingham Fountain The Buckingham Memorial foun tain is the gift of the late Miss Kate Buckingham of Chicago, art patron, in memory of her brother, Clarence, a former trustee and benefactor of the Art Institute of Chicago. The fountain cost $1,000,- 000 and is set in a garden 600 feet square with three basins rising in a central pool surrounded by four minor pools. When in full play the fountain flows about 5,500 gal lons of water a minute, one col umn rising to a height of 75 feet. It is beautifully illuminated at night in five different colors. V wtx" ' r <f \ name Firestone on a truck or passenger car tire is your assurance of longer mileage — greater blowout protection — greater non-skid protection! Gum-Dipped cord body — two extra layers of Gum-Dipped cords under die tread — new non-skid tread — all these Firestone patented and exclusive construction features at remarkably low prices! Call on your nearby Firestone Tire Dealer — Firestone Auto Supply &. Service Store or Implement Dealer today and equip your car or truck with Firestone Convoy Tires — you will SAVE MONEY! Krtston* -o T I R E Ti restone CONVOY HIM QUALITY—LOW PitOE AS LOW AS GOES MUCH FARTHER COSTS MUCH LESS! 4. II12* 4.50-21 •7.90 4.75-19 8.15 5.00-19 8.80 5.25-18 •9.65 5.50-17 10.45 6.00-16 11.80 Come In Today and Got Our Low Prlcos on All Popular Slzos of TRUCK TIRES 30X5 . . . 32xi 6.00*20 6.50*20 7.00*20 Listen to .., THE FIRB8TONZ VOICE OF THE FARM Interviews with the Champion Farmer* of America; featuring Everett MitchelL Twice weekly during the noon hour. Consult your local paper for the station, day, and time of broadcast TBK VOICR OF FIRBSTONB Featuring Richard Crooks and Margaret Speaks and the Firestone Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Alfred Wallenstein, Monday evening* over Nationwide N. B. C. Red Network