The Sun
Hank Greenspun
Tuesday, July 4, 2023 | 2 a.m.
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Today is July 4, 2023, Independence Day.
On July 4, 1952, my father, Hank Greenspun, wrote a column advocating against the continuation of the political machine of Sen. Pat McCarran. He believed the senator was anathema to the freedom-loving state of Nevada and Las Vegas, which was just beginning its decades-long growth spurt that would make our city one of the most sought-after entertainment venues on the planet.
His column gives voice to the sentiment felt by those not blinded by or subservient to McCarran’s sway at that time — an effort that finally led to the advent of Harry Reid International Airport — a name of which all Nevadans can be proud.
I am reprinting that column from 71 years ago to give today’s Nevadans — who struggle in a more morally nuanced and less idealistic, less optimistic and more confusing world — a sense of the climate way back when the Greatest Generation was at the helm.
It follows.
— Brian Greenspun
By Hank Greenspun
“He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers.
“He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
“He has erected a multitude of new offices and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
“He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands …”
For the above reasons, the 13 original colonies, in general Congress assembled, solemnly published and declared that they were, and of right ought to be, free and independent states. They threw off the yoke of tyranny and gave to the world that wonderful document of human liberties — the Declaration of Independence.
The date was July 4, 1776.
Today is July 4, 1952. Reading the list of abuses outlined in the Declaration of Independence against King George III of Great Britain, one can see a very close similarity between the 13 colonies and the state of Nevada today.
The four abuses mentioned above can very easily apply to the “king” of Nevada. And as the early Americans banded together and by petition demanded that they be free and independent, the time has come for Nevadans to petition Washington to deliver us from the tyranny and abuses of the despot who has long ground us under his iron heel.
Nevada should declare its independence from Pat McCarran.
I sent a telegram to President Harry Truman the other day, respectfully requesting him to withhold the appointment of James Johnson Jr., as U.S. attorney for Nevada. I objected to the nomination because I thought it was time the stranglehold on the state by the senior senator be broken. I am against the perpetuation of a political machine that has left in its wake a long train of abuses and usurpation of power.
The people of Nevada have as much right to be free as the 13 original colonies. Human beings have the right to hold up their heads and walk with dignity, instead of being compelled to kowtow to a man who would be a king and his retinue of stooges who aspire to be minor dictators.
This July 4 should be a banner day for our citizens. We should put “government of the people, by the people, for the people” to the test.
The only way to free the state from the McCarran clutches is to wire, write or call the president of the United States and tell him that you object to the appointment of another McCarran stooge to the office of U.S. attorney for the state.
I realize that it’s a bit on the idealistic side even to hope that the president will listen to the people as opposed to a very powerful senator. The ties of “senatorial courtesy” are too great for the people of a thinly populated state like Nevada to break, but on the Fourth of July — the Day of Independence — it might be a good idea to become idealists about our government. We can still hope that “government by the people” is not an idle phrase.
And if President Truman should heed the request of the people of Nevada and refuse to appoint James Johnson Jr., to the post of U.S. attorney at the bidding of McCarran, what a glorious Fourth of July victory it would be.
The day would rank in history with the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
So become a signer on the Declaration of Independence of Nevada. Wire, write or send a two-penny postcard to Harry Truman, president of the United States, and tell him you oppose Sen. McCarran’s choice for U.S. attorney.
“When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another …”
Editor’s note: James Johnson was confirmed by the Senate on July 4, three days after Sen. Pat McCarran announced him as a replacement for the resigning Miles Pike— but his appointment was held up for months by President Truman.
