Twenty?two years ago today a great conflict raging on the battlefields of Europe came to an end. The guns were silent. A new era of peace began. And for that era, the people of our western world, our democratic world held the highest hopes. Those hopes have not been fulfilled. The democratic way of life did not be stronger. It became weaker. The spirit of constitutional government flickered like a dying lamp, and within the last year or so, the light from that damp has disappeared entirely upon the continent of Europe. We in America watch darkness fall upon Europe, and as we watch its approach, that important time for us, the national election of 1940. In that election, and in our attitudes after that election, the rest of the world would see an example of democracy in action, an example of a great people, faithful to their constitution and to their elected representatives. The campaign preceding this election stirred us deeply millions upon millions of us who had never been active in politics took part in it. The people flocked to the polling places in greater numbers than ever before in history. Nearly fifty millions peop1e exercised, on November 5, the right of the franchise, the precious right which we inherited from our forefathers and which we must cherish and pass on to future generations. Thus it came about that although constitutional governments have been blot