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    "label": "Memorandum from President Harry S. Truman to Vice President Alben Barkley, Senator Scott Lucas, Congressman Sam Rayburn, and Congressman John W. McCormack, with Attached Report",
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    "title": "Memorandum from President Harry S. Truman to Vice President Alben Barkley, Senator Scott Lucas, Congressman Sam Rayburn, and Congressman John W. McCormack, with Attached Report",
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    "ocrText": "-18-\nThis has been notably true in the case of labor unions, which the communists have\nmade a particularly strong drive to capture. By the use of democratic processes,\nlabor union leaders have been able to defeat these underhanded tactics of the\ncommunists, or else to drive communists into isolated organizations where they can\nbe clearly identified.\nHow may we reach and render harmless all communists or other groups which\nadvocate the violent overthrow of our government? In so doing, we must avoid\nthreatening liberal minorities, or violating those liberties whose preservation is\nfundamental to the American system. Where necessary, laws against espionage,\nsabotage and treason must be tightened, particularly in view of the world-wide\nthreat of armed aggression which the communist movement presents. These laws must\nbe designed and enforced in accordance with the time-honored principles of due pro-\ncess of law, and not by other means which are inimical to the American tradition.\nTo overstep the boundaries of reason in the enactment and enforcement of such\nlegislation is to destroy the very security we are trying to protect. Violations\nof the Bill of Rights in prosecuting Communists are the first step in touching off\nthe hysteria of a witch-hunt.\nThe study of witch-hunts of the past demonstrates that the instigators\nof such movements frequently whin up prejudice and hysteria in the name of patriot-\nism. Wrapping themselves in the American flag, they then proceed to violate the\nmost sacred traditions for which the flag stands. This recalls to mind George\nshington's warning in his Farewell Address \"to guard against the impostures of\npretended patriotism.\"\nHistory also demonstrates that witch-hunts frequently arise during times\nof national stress -- during economic depression, war or the threat of war, and\nthe period immediately following a war. During such periods, it is even more es-\nsential that we recall the maxim that \"eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.\"\nThe cause of freedom both at home and abroad is damaged when a great\ncountry yields to hysteria. The way for us to spread democracy is to practice it\nourselves."
}