Emblem of Freedom; G. F. Cahill

GEORGE F. CAHILL MAN, through all of the ages and civilizations, has devised various emblems and symbols of his be liefs, associations, and ideals. Such emblems have been countless and varied. The most widely known and her alded emblem of freedom in the history of the world is the flag of the United States of America. It is a man-made thing, a man-made banner of red, white, and blue. An other man-made emblem of free dom is the 225-ton woman named "The Statue of Liberty" in New York Harbor. The poetess, Emma Lazarus, called it "Mother of Exiles." There are few natural emblems of freedom. One pre-eminent ex ample is the Eagle. In the earliest days of civilization his visual pro jection appeared on coins, em blems, carvings, and castings. He served to remind man of his no blest aspirations. It has been said that the Eagle is the emblem of freedom, the incentive of valor, the pledge of victory.

There is another natural em blem of freedom, unique, for it is a vegetable, called Arvalanyhaj! It grows two to three feet tall, thin-stemmed, flexible but strong, and flaxen in color. It bows maj esMr. Cahill is Scout Executive of Allegheny Trails Council, Boy Scouts of America, and Executive Director of the Flag Plaza Founda tion, both headquartered in Pittsburgh, Penn sylvania. R7 68 THE FREEMAN February tically in the wind, and glistens gloriously in the sun. In the olden days when Hun gary was a proud, creative, indus trious nation of free men, all of the princes, potentates, musicians, soldiers, scouts, and athletes wore plumes of Arvalanyhai affixed to their hat bands. Arvalanyhaj stood tall above the crown of their hats, shining in the sun, and waving in the wind. The proud Hungarians wore Arvalanyhaj as a symbol of their national freedom. This rare and beautiful grass grows only on the steppes of Hun gary. Its me~ning as a symbol re lates to a legend famous and pop ular among Hungarian people since the founding of their nation.

A Promise Given This legend has it that Arapid, the second of their princes and the mightiest of their hunters, rode alone one evening on the hunt. He went further into the deep woods and high hills than any of his tribesmen had ever ventured. As the sun was about to set and Arapid had decided to end his hunt, he heard a scream from over a nearby rise. He galloped in the direction of the scream, reached the rise, and looked into the glade below. There he saw a beautiful girl. Her long blonde hair was entangled in a thornbush. She could not escape. She was about to be attacked by a ravenous wolf from across the glade. Arapid pulled an arrow from his quiver and fixed it in his bow. He drew long on the strong bow string. As the wolf mounted his last leap and lunged, the arrow sped straight and true. It pierced the skull of the wolf which fell dead at the feet of the girl. Arapid rode his white steed to the girl's side and loosened her from the thornbush. He asked why she was in the woods. "I Iive in the woods alone," the little girl replied. "My parents are dead, my name is Arvalany" (orphan girl).

The girl explained that she lived at peace with all of God's creatures except the wolf. She thanked Ar apid for saving her life and said she would repay Arapid by using a special skill she possessed. She explained that before her parents died they had endowed her with the rare gift of being able to fore tell the future. If Arapid would ask her a question, she would tell him the answer rightly no matter how far into the future the ques tion related. Because of the difficulties his people had encountered in crossing two continents and because of the tribulations they had overcome, the driving question in the mind of Arapid which he posed to the orphan girl was: "Arvalany, how long will my people live in the land 1970 EMBLEM OF FREEDOM 69 we have come to love?" Legend claims that Arvalany spun on her heels and her blonde hair flashed in the sun. She asked the Prince to seize and with his sword to cut off the locks of her long golden hair. After first protesting, the Prince finally followed Arvalany's ~ommand. She turned, took her )wn hair and tossed it into the air.

A mighty gust of wind came off ;he highest mountain and seized ;he locks. Her hair was tossed and ;umbled, and scattered wide over ;he plains of Hungary. Wherever t fell it took root and turned nto a plumy grass. Arvalany urned to Arapid and said: "So ong as Arvalanyhaj (orphan girl's lair) grows here in the valley of jodollo, your people shall live in he land they love." For many long decades,the peo ple of Hungary proudly wore Ar valanyhaj on their hats as an EM BLEM OF FREEDOM. Arvalany haj still grows on the plains of Hungary and nowhere else on earth. Sadly, the people of Hungary no longer wear Arvalany haj as a sa lute to freedom for they have lost their freedom. The beautiful legend, once known to every Hungarian, is now unfamiliar to many of the chil dren of Hungary. For those who know the legend and hope to see Arvalany haj again worn by free dom-loving Hungarians, it remains a reminder that man's most pre cious possession - Freedom - can be lost! , )EAS ON (BERTY The Spirit of Liberty THE SPIRIT of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure that it is right; the spirit of liberty is the spirit which seeks to understand the minds of other men and women ; the spirit of liberty is the spirit which weighs their interests alongside its own without bias; the spirit of liberty remembers that not even a sparrow falls to earth unheeded; the spirit of liberty is the spirit of Him who, near two thousand years ago, taught mankind that lesson it has never learned, but has never quite forgotten; that there may be a king dom where the least shall be heard and considered side by side with the greatest.

.JUDGE LEARNED HAND From an address, May 31, 1944 INFLATION: a tiger by the toil HENRY HAZLITT WHAT is the present outlook for inflation in the United States? In trying to answer that ques tion it is well to begin by remind ing ourselves of how long we have been having inflation and how far it has already gone. We started to depreciate our money officially, so to speak, in 1933, when we not only suspended gold payments but prohibited our citizens from owning gold. Then in 1934 we devalued the dollar in terms of gold by 41 per cent. So far as the movement of prices is concerned, however, the most convenient benchmark to take is 1939. The average prices that consumers pay in the United States today are 167 per cent higher than in 1939. Putting this in another way, today's dollar has Mr. Hazlitt is the well-known economist and financial analyst, columnist, lecturer, and author of numerous books.