WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES APRIL 18, 2019 31
OUR NEIGHBORHOOD: THE WAY IT WAS
Ringe Sr., vice president of Ridgewood
Savings Bank; Joseph Schmidt, editor
of Ridgewood Times.
What follows is an excerpt
of Tonsor’s eulogy to the
late president:
Often the greatest praise which is
bestowed upon a great man comes
from his critics. This was true in
the case of Lincoln. No words were
more appreciative of the man and his
achievement than those of “Punch,”
a British humorous publication,
which while he was alive, was his
severest critic.
It is also true in the case of President
Roosevelt. Those who were most
outspoken and persistent in their
criticism recognize the inherent value
and solidity of his achievement, and
bear testimony thereto. I am frank to
admit that I am one of those. ...
We are too close to the trees to see
the woods. It is only as the passage of
the years gives us detachment from
the conflicting shadows of the present
that we are able to see truly the life in
its proper perspective.
And yet we can dimly see what
posterity may do. In the case of
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, even now,
three fundamental achievements
stand forth with a considerable degree
of clarity.
First, his demonstration that
one who is afflicted with a physical
handicap is afflicted only if he admits
the affliction. ... He conquered the
frailties of the human body and
showed us the power of an indomitable
will. It is a lesson which all may well
take to heart.
Second, he has reorientated our
national thinking. This has been
crystallized in the terms of the needs
of the common man. He directed our
attention away from its concentration
upon the development of great
economic units to a recognition of the
fact that the existence of democracy
depends upon the welfare of the
ordinary citizen.
In doing this, he reaffirmed the
fundamental philosophy upon which
our government is based, once more
calling our attention to the fact that
the government is not an imposition
upon their citizens or an organization
of any particular group of citizens, but
is an instrument of the expression of
the will of all the citizens. ...
Lastly, he brought into the hearts
and minds of his fellow citizens the
true nature of the conflict which had
come upon the world; the truth that
this was no ordinary disturbance of
the peace; that like a volcano rumbling
toward eruption, it would burst its
bounds and flood the world with death
and destruction.
He demonstrated clearly that this
war was not so much a war between
armed forces as it was a war between
ideas, and that the two ideas which
were in conflict could not exist side
by side; that either one or the other
must prevail; that we, as Americans
devoted to the American concept of life,
could not compromise, could accept
no conditions; that the ultimate result
must be either our victory through the
unconditional surrender of the enemy,
or our defeat if we failed to prosecute
the conflict to the bitter end.
Insofar as we can detach ourselves
from the present and view the
achievements of one who lived in
our time, these three achievements
will be the foundation of the verdict
which posterity will place upon the
administration of Franklin Delano
Roosevelt; and, insofar as we can
foresee, they will be the reasons for
why posterity will call him great.”
* * *
If you have any remembrances or old
photographs of “Our Neighborhood:
The Way It Was” that you would
like to share with our readers,
please write to the Old Timer, c/o
Ridgewood Times, 38-15 Bell Blvd.,
Bayside, NY 11361, or send an email
to editorial@ridgewoodtimes.com.
Any print photographs mailed to
us will be carefully returned to you
upon request.
A rare 1944 color portrait of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons/FDR Presidential Library & Museum
link
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