1948: Communism Held Top U.S. Problem

This article was in the Monday, June 7, 1948 edition of THE HILLSDALE DAILY NEWS

COMMUNISM HELD TOP U.S. PROBLEM
Kettering Tells MSC Graduates It Cannot Mix with Democracy

East Lansing, June 7 (AP) - Michigan State College's largest graduating class in history Sunday heard Charles F. Kettering, General Motors inventive genius, describe communism as the nation's greatest problem.

Kettering, addressing the college's 90th commencement exercise, said "We have a lot of problems, but only one main problem. That is the misconception we have about communism. To compare communism and democracy, to put the two on the same platter is the most outrageous thing in the world today."

"We don't belong together," Kettering said.  "We don't think the same. We are doing entirely different things.  We have respect for each other, but no wish to go the same road.  America is the only country in the world which is a going concern today.  We are trying to do things. We will keep on going as long as you all try to be better persons."

The present is the best time in history to finish college careers, the speaker said.  "Never has there been a time of such opportunity for people who are willing to try something else. The world is in an upset state of affairs - which shows that what we have been thinking is not so."

Kettering told the 1,966 undergraduates receiving degrees and the 213 receiving advanced degrees that they should not attempt to plan their lives too far ahead, advising them to "work out the way you want to go and then lay out two or three roads on either side so that if you hit a detour you know where you're going."

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And now for some fun stuff in the same publication.
First, an advertisement:

And some comics:

1941 SOCIALISM, The Burden of Proof

THE BURDEN OF PROOF

Innumerable citizens have been and still are genuinely concerned over the trends toward Socialism and "collectivism" evident in many others parts of the world, and which appear to be threatening some basic changes in the economic philosophy of the United States itself.

In the current issue of The Nation's Business Merle Thorpe editorially makes the sound point that the overwhelming majority of the American people who approve our American economic system and principles have allowed themselves to be jockeyed into the position of the "defendant", by those who would substitute theses basic changes.

"The weakness of our cause," he says, "is that we have been jockeyed into the position of defendant. What a sorry spectacle! The burden of proof should be upon those who are changing piecemeal our institutions. They should be required to produce evidence that their program, which always calls for more political authority over the individual, has sometime, somewhere, even remotely measured up to the way of life they would supplant."

The achievements of the "American way" in the constant progress toward greater benefits to the masses of the people, stand as shining evidence of the value of that system.  Does it have to take the defensive and assume the burden of proof that it is to be preferred to the theoretical dreams and unsupported promises of the exponents of various "isms?"  There has been some trial of some of these economic theories in other lands.  The results there certainly do not support the Utopian claims of their advocates.  Those results are prima facie evidence of the inferior character of these doctrines.  Does a "defense" of the American plan still have to be put up?


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This article appeared in THE GREENVILLE NEWS, Greenville, South Carolina on Monday December 8, 1941

The words still ring true today.