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What Do You Hear?Transcript for Primary Source One |
I am behind Senator Harding and Governor Coolidge for President
and Vice-President of the United States for two reasons.
First, because they
are the nominees of the Republican party, and secondly because I believe them
to be 100% American, of true patriotism, who have not failed to show marked
efficiency and ability in public office. I am one who believes that the Republican
party and the Democratic party have different ideas. And I believe that the
issues of the two parties are not as blurred and as indistinguishable as is
sometimes said to be the case. The Republican party is the party of concrete
nationalism, as opposed to the hazy internationalism of the Democratic party.
The Republican party preached preparedness. [And] the Democratic party, influenced
by its President, mind you I say the President of the Democratic party and
not of the whole United States, was keeping us out of war. Keeping us out
of war until he was re-elected President. We need the Republican party in
office during the hard days to come, when there must be the [up-building]
and rebuilding of our nation. We need preparedness for days of peace and against
the always possible dangers of war.
Shall we choose again the party which
blindly turns from the right, and in so doing, dragged down the prestige of
America and brought on our nation unbearable criticism and deplorable confusion? Fellow citizens, we are at the turning of the ways. Theodore Roosevelt said
in October, 1916, "I demand at this election that each citizen shall think
of America first." Who now does not regret that the country did not respond
to that demand? Let us, the Republican party, again make this demand. Senator
Harding stood for a League of Nations with strong, Americanizing reservations,
as Theodore Roosevelt did. He also stood with the Senate in passing the resolution
which would have enabled Theodore Roosevelt to lead a division into France
when the morale of France and of America was at a low ebb. And Senator Harding,
in making the memorial address on Theodore Roosevelt before the Ohio Joint
Legislative Assembly in January, 1919, said, "Colonel Roosevelt was the great
patriotic sentinel, pacing the parapets of the republic, alert to danger and
every menace, and in love with duty and service, and always unafraid." Those
words of our presidential nominee, in admiration of my great brother, are
almost a promise of what his own attitude will be. Let us stand behind him,
looking forward and onward as Theodore Roosevelt would have done. And let
us try with might and main to put our beloved country in the safe keeping
of Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge.
End of recording.
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