May 4, 1967
Page 11830
POLAND'S CONSTITUTION DAY
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, it is appropriate that freedom-loving men around the world pause to reflect on the Polish Constitution of May 3, 1791.
It followed the American Constitution by only 2 years and its purpose was the same. "All power in civil society should be derived from the will of the people," said Poland's Constitution writers.
Partition and tyranny at the hands of Germany and Russia followed in 1791, but the document stands today as a courageous and enlightened step toward democracy. It speaks for the spirit of freedom which has been the inner strength of the Polish people, wherever they have lived.
In the world today, the struggle for freedom continues along many borders and among conflicting ideologies. As long as man inhabits the earth, the longing for self-determination will persist, and with it the prospect of ultimate success.
With history on the side of free men, we have cause to believe that one day the principles of Poland's May 3 Constitution will benefit the courageous people of that nation and many others around the world.