Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, Members of the Eighty-third Congress: I welcome the honor of appearing before you to deliver my first message to the Congress. It is manifestly the joint purpose of the congressional leadership and of this administration to justify the summons to governmental responsibility issued last November by the American people. The grand labors of this leadership will involve: Application of America's influence in world affairs with such fortitude and such foresight that it will deter aggression and eventually secure peace; Establishment of a national administration of such integrity and such efficiency that its honor at home will ensure respect abroad; Encouragement of those incentives that inspire creative initiative in our economy, so that its productivity may fortify freedom everywhere; and Dedication to the well-being of all our citizens and to the attainment of equality of opportunity for all, so that our Nation will ever act with the strength of unity in every task to which it is called. The purpose of this message is to suggest certain lines along which our joint efforts may immediately be directed toward realization of these four ruling purposes. The time that this administration has been in office has been too brief to permit preparation of a detailed and comprehensive program of recommended action to cover all phases of the responsibilities that devolve upon our country's new leaders. Such a program will be filled out in the weeks ahead as, after appropriate study, I shall submit additional recommendations for your consideration. Today can provide only a sure and substantial beginning. II. Our country has come through a painful period of trial and disillusionment since the victory of 1945. We anticipated a world of peace and cooperation. The calculated pressures of aggressive communism have forced us, instead, to live in a world of turmoil. From this costly experience we have learned one clear lesson. We have learned that the free world cannot indefinitely remain in a posture of paralyzed tension, leaving forever to the aggressor the choice of time and place and means to cause greatest hurt to us at least cost to himself. This administration has, therefore, begun the definition of a new, positive foreign policy. This policy will be governed by certain fixed ideas. They are these: (1) Our foreign policy must be clear, consistent, and confident. This means that it must be the product of genuine, continuous cooperation between the executive and the legislative branches of this Government. It must be developed and directed in the spirit of true bipartisanship. (2) The policy we embrace must be a coherent global policy. The freedom we cherish and defend in Europe and in the Americas is no different from the freedom that is imperiled in Asia. (3) Our policy, dedicated to making the free world secure, will envision all peaceful methods and devices--except breaking faith with our friends. We shall never acquiesce in the enslavement of any people in order to purchase fancied gain for ourselves. I shall ask the Congress at a later date to join in an appropriate resolution making clear that this Government recognizes no kind of commitment contained in secret understandings of the past with foreign governments which permit this kind of enslavement. (4) The policy we pursue will recognize the truth that no single country, even one so powerful as ours, can alone defend the liberty of all nations threatened by Communist aggression from without or subversion within. Mutual security means effective mutual cooperation. For the United States, this means that, as a matter of common sense and national interest, we shall give help to other nations in the measure that they strive earnestly to do their full share of the common task. No wealth of aid could compensate for poverty of spirit. The heart of every free nation must be honestly dedicated to the preserving of its own independence and security. (5) Our policy will be designed to foster the advent of practical unity in Western Europe. The nations of that region have contributed notably to the effort of sustaining the security of the free world. From the jungles of Indochina and Malaya to the northern shores of Europe, they have vastly improved their defensive strength. Where called upon to do so, they have made costly and bitter sacrifices to hold the line of freedom. But the problem of security demands closer cooperation among the nations of Europe than has been known to date. Only a more closely integrated economic and political system can provide the greatly increased economic strength needed to maintain both necessary military readiness and respectable living standards. Europe's enlightened leaders have long been aware of these facts. All the devoted work that has gone into the Schuman plan, the European Army, and the Strasbourg Conference has testified to their vision and determination. These achievements are the more remarkable when we realize that each of them has marked a victory--for France and for Germany alike over the divisions that in the past have brought such tragedy to these two great nations and to the world. The needed unity of Western Europe manifestly cannot be manufactured from without; it can only be created from within. But it is right and necessary that we encourage Europe's leaders by informing them of the high value we place upon the earnestness of their efforts toward this goal. Real progress will be conclusive evidence to the American people that our material sacrifices in the cause of collective security are matched by essential political, economic, and military accomplishments in Western Europe. (6) Our foreign policy will recognize the importance of profitable and equitable world trade. A substantial beginning can and should be made by our friends themselves. Europe, for example, is now marked by checkered areas of labor surplus and labor shortage, of agricultural areas needing machines and industrial areas needing food. Here and elsewhere we can hope that our friends will take the initiative in creating broader markets and more dependable currencies, to allow greater exchange of goods and services among themselves. Action along these lines can create an economic environment that will invite vital help from us. This help includes: First: Revising our customs regulations to remove procedural obstacles to profitable trade. I further recommend that the Congress take the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act under immediate study and extend it by appropriate legislation. This objective must not ignore legitimate safeguarding of domestic industries, agriculture, and labor standards. In all executive study and recommendations on this problem labor and management and farmers alike will be earnestly consulted. Second: Doing whatever Government properly can to encourage the flow of private American investment abroad. This involves, as a serious and explicit purpose of our foreign policy, the encouragement of a hospitable climate for such investment in foreign nations. Third: Availing ourselves of facilities overseas for the economical production of manufactured articles which are needed for mutual defense and which are not seriously competitive with our own normal peacetime production. Fourth: Receiving from the rest of the world, in equitable exchange for what we supply, greater amounts of important raw materials which we do not ourselves possess in adequate quantities. III. In this general discussion of our foreign policy, I must make special mention of the war in Korea. This war is, for Americans, the most painful phase of Communist aggression throughout the world. It is clearly a part of the same calculated assault that the aggressor is simultaneously pressing in Indochina and in Malaya, and of the strategic situation that manifestly embraces the island of Formosa and the Chinese Nationalist forces there. The working out of any military solution to the Korean war will inevitably affect all these areas. The administration is giving immediate increased attention to the development of additional Republic of Korea forces. The citizens of that country have proved their capacity as fighting men and their eagerness to take a greater share in the defense of their homeland. Organization, equipment, and training will allow them to do so. Increased assistance to Korea for this purpose conforms fully to our global policies. In June 1950, following the aggressive attack on the Republic of Korea, the United States Seventh Fleet was instructed both to prevent attack upon Formosa and also to insure that Formosa should not be used as a base of operations against the Chinese Communist mainland. This has meant, in effect, that the United States Navy was required to serve as a defensive arm of Communist China. Regardless of the situation in 1950, since the date of that order the Chinese Communists have invaded Korea to attack the United Nations forces there. They have consistently rejected the proposals of the United Nations Command for an armistice. They recently joined with Soviet Russia in rejecting the armistice proposal sponsored in the United Nations by the Government of India. This proposal had been accepted by the United States and 53 other nations. Consequently there is no longer any logic or sense in a condition that required the United States Navy to assume defensive responsibilities on behalf of the Chinese Communists, thus permitting those Communists, with greater impunity, to kill our soldiers and those of our United Nations allies in Korea. I am, therefore, issuing instructions that the Seventh Fleet no longer be employed to shield Communist China. This order implies no aggressive intent on our part. But we certainly have no obligation to protect a nation fighting us in Korea. IV. Our labor for peace in Korea and in the world imperatively demands the maintenance by the United States of a strong fighting service ready for any contingency. Our problem is to achieve adequate military strength within the limits of endurable strain upon our economy. To amass military power without regard to our economic capacity would be to defend ourselves against one kind of disaster by inviting another. Both military and economic objectives demand a single national military policy, proper coordination of our armed services, and effective consolidation of certain logistics activities. We must eliminate waste and duplication of effort in the armed services. We must realize clearly that size alone is not sufficient. The biggest force is not necessarily the best--and we want the best. We must not let traditions or habits of the past stand in the way of developing an efficient military force. All members of our forces must be ever mindful that they serve under a single flag and for a single cause. We must effectively integrate our armament programs and plan them in such careful relation to our industrial facilities that we assure the best use of our manpower and our materials. Because of the complex technical nature of our military organization and because of the security reasons involved, the Secretary of Defense must take the initiative and assume the responsibility for developing plans to give our Nation maximum safety at minimum cost. Accordingly, the new Secretary of Defense and his civilian and military associates will, in the future, recommend such changes in present laws affecting our defense activities as may be necessary to clarify responsibilities and improve the total effectiveness of our defense effort. This effort must always conform to policies laid down in the National Security Council. The statutory function of the National Security Council is to assist the President in the formulation and coordination of significant domestic, foreign, and military policies required for the security of the Nation. In these days of tension it is essential that this central body have the vitality to perform effectively its statutory role. I propose to see that it does so. Careful formulation of policies must be followed by clear understanding of them by all peoples. A related need, therefore, is to make more effective all activities of the Government related to international information. I have recently appointed a committee of representative and informed citizens to survey this subject and to make recommendations in the near future for legislative, administrative, or other action. A unified and dynamic effort in this whole field is essential to the security of the United States and of the other peoples in the community of free nations. There is but one sure way to avoid total war--and that is to win the cold war. While retaliatory power is one strong deterrent to a would-be aggressor, another powerful deterrent is defensive power. No enemy is likely to attempt an attack foredoomed to failure. Because the building of a completely impenetrable defense against attack is still not possible, total defensive strength must include civil defense preparedness. Because we have incontrovertible evidence that Soviet Russia possesses atomic weapons, this kind of protection becomes sheer necessity. Civil defense responsibilities primarily belong to the State and local governments--recruiting, training, and organizing volunteers to meet any emergency. The immediate job of the Federal Government is to provide leadership, to supply technical guidance, and to continue to strengthen its civil defense stockpile of medical, engineering, and related supplies and equipment. This work must go forward without lag. V. I have referred to the inescapable need for economic health and strength if we are to maintain adequate military power and exert influential leadership for peace in the world. Our immediate task is to chart a fiscal and economic policy that can: (1) Reduce the planned deficits and then balance the budget, which means, among other things, reducing Federal expenditures to the safe minimum; (2) Meet the huge costs of our defense; (3) Properly handle the burden of our inheritance of debt and obligations; (4) Check the menace of inflation; (5) Work toward the earliest possible reduction of the tax burden; (6) Make constructive plans to encourage the initiative of our citizens. It is important that all of us understand that this administration does not and cannot begin its task with a clean slate. Much already has been written on the record, beyond our power quickly to erase or to amend. This record includes our inherited burden of indebtedness and obligations and deficits. The current year's budget, as you know, carries a 5.9 billion dollar deficit; and the budget, which was presented to you before this administration took office, indicates a budgetary deficit of 9.9 billion for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1954. The national debt is now more than 265 billion dollars. In addition, the accumulated obligational authority of the Federal Government for future payment totals over 80 billion dollars. Even this amount is exclusive of large contingent liabilities, so numerous and extensive as to be almost beyond description. The bills for the payment of nearly all of the 80 billion dollars of obligations will be presented during the next 4 years. These bills, added to the current costs of government we must meet, make a formidable burden. The present authorized Government-debt limit is 275 billion dollars. The forecast presented by the outgoing administration with the fiscal year 1954 budget indicates that--before the end of the fiscal year and at the peak of demand for payments during the year--the total Government debt may approach and even exceed that limit. Unless budgeted deficits are checked, the momentum of past programs will force an increase of the statutory debt limit. Permit me this one understatement: to meet and to correct this situation will not be easy. Permit me this one assurance: every department head and I are determined to do everything we can to resolve it. The first order of business is the elimination of the annual deficit. This cannot be achieved merely by exhortation. It demands the concerted action of all those in responsible positions in the Government and the earnest cooperation of the Congress. Already, we have begun an examination of the appropriations and expenditures of all departments in an effort to find significant items that may be decreased or canceled without damage to our essential requirements. Getting control of the budget requires also that State and local governments and interested groups of citizens restrain themselves in their demands upon the Congress that the Federal Treasury spend more and more money for all types of projects. A balanced budget is an essential first measure in checking further depreciation in the buying power of the dollar. This is one of the critical steps to be taken to bring an end to planned inflation. Our purpose is to manage the Government's finances so as to help and not hinder each family in balancing its own budget. Reduction of taxes will be justified only as we show we can succeed in bringing the budget under control. As the budget is balanced and inflation checked, the tax burden that today stifles initiative can and must be eased. Until we can determine the extent to which expenditures can be reduced, it would not be wise to reduce our revenues. Meanwhile, the tax structure as a whole demands review. The Secretary of the Treasury is undertaking this study immediately. We must develop a system of taxation which will impose the least possible obstacle to the dynamic growth of the country. This includes particularly real opportunity for the growth of small businesses. Many readjustments in existing taxes will be necessary to serve these objectives and also to remove existing inequities. Clarification and simplification in the tax laws as well as the regulations will be undertaken. In the entire area of fiscal policy--which must, in its various aspects, be treated in recommendations to the Congress in coming weeks--there can now be stated certain basic facts and principles. First. It is axiomatic that our economy is a highly complex and sensitive mechanism. Hasty and ill-considered action of any kind could seriously upset the subtle equation that encompasses debts, obligations, expenditures, defense demands, deficits, taxes, and the general economic health of the Nation. Our goals can be clear, our start toward them can be immediate--but action must be gradual. Second. It is clear that too great a part of the national debt comes due in too short a time. The Department of the Treasury will undertake at suitable times a program of extending part of the debt over longer periods and gradually placing greater amounts in the hands of longer-term investors. Third. Past differences in policy between the Treasury and the Federal Reserve Board have helped to encourage inflation. Henceforth, I expect that their single purpose shall be to serve the whole Nation by policies designed to stabilize the economy and encourage the free play of our people's genius for individual initiative. In encouraging this initiative, no single item in our current problems has received more thoughtful consideration by my associates, and by the many individuals called into our counsels, than the matter of price and wage control by law. The great economic strength of our democracy has developed in an atmosphere of freedom. The character of our people resists artificial and arbitrary controls of any kind. Direct controls, except those on credit, deal not with the real causes of inflation but only with its symptoms. In times of national emergency, this kind of control has a role to play. Our whole system, however, is based upon the assumption that, normally, we should combat wide fluctuations in our price structure by relying largely on the effective use of sound fiscal and monetary policy, and upon the natural workings of economic law. Moreover, American labor and American business can best resolve their wage problems across the bargaining table. Government should refrain from sitting in with them unless, in extreme cases, the public welfare requires protection. We are, of course, living in an international situation that is neither an emergency demanding full mobilization, nor is it peace. No one can know how long this condition will persist. Consequently, we are forced to learn many new things as we go along-clinging to what works, discarding what does not. In all our current discussions on these and related facts, the weight of evidence is clearly against the use of controls in their present forms. They have proved largely unsatisfactory or unworkable. They have not prevented inflation; they have not kept down the cost of living. Dissatisfaction with them is wholly justified. I am convinced that now--as well as in the long run--free and competitive prices will best serve the interests of all the people, and best meet the changing, growing needs of our economy. Accordingly, I do not intend to ask for a renewal of the present wage and price controls on April 30, 1953, when present legislation expires. In the meantime, steps will be taken to eliminate controls in an orderly manner, and to terminate special agencies no longer needed for this purpose. It is obviously to be expected that the removal of these controls will result in individual price changes--some up, some down. But a maximum of freedom in market prices as well as in collective bargaining is characteristic of a truly free people. I believe also that material and product controls should be ended, except with respect to defense priorities and scarce and critical items essential for our defense. I shall recommend to the Congress that legislation be enacted to continue authority for such remaining controls of this type as will be necessary after the expiration of the existing statute on June 30, 1953. I recommend the continuance of the authority for Federal control over rents in those communities in which serious housing shortages exist. These are chiefly the so-called defense areas. In these and all areas the Federal Government should withdraw from the control of rents as soon as practicable. But before they are removed entirely, each legislature should have full opportunity to take over, within its own State, responsibility for this function. It would be idle to pretend that all our problems in this whole field of prices will solve themselves by mere Federal withdrawal from direct controls. We shall have to watch trends closely. If the freer functioning of our economic system, as well as the indirect controls which can be appropriately employed, prove insufficient during this period of strain and tension, I shall promptly ask the Congress to enact such legislation as may be required. In facing all these problems--wages, prices, production, tax rates, fiscal policy, deficits--everywhere we remain constantly mindful that the time for sacrifice has not ended. But we are concerned with the encouragement of competitive enterprise and individual initiative precisely because we know them to be our Nation's abiding sources of strength. VI. Our vast world responsibility accents with urgency our people's elemental right to a government whose clear qualities are loyalty, security, efficiency, economy, and integrity. The safety of America and the trust of the people alike demand that the personnel of the Federal Government be loyal in their motives and reliable in the discharge of their duties. Only a combination of both loyalty and reliability promises genuine security. To state this principle is easy; to apply it can be difficult. But this security we must and shall have. By way of example, all principal new appointees to departments and agencies have been investigated at their own request by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Confident of your understanding and cooperation, I know that the primary responsibility for keeping out the disloyal and the dangerous rests squarely upon the executive branch. When this branch so conducts itself as to require policing by another branch of the Government, it invites its own disorder and confusion. I am determined to meet this responsibility of the Executive. The heads of all executive departments and agencies have been instructed to initiate at once effective programs of security with respect to their personnel. The Attorney General will advise and guide the departments and agencies in the shaping of these programs, designed at once to govern the employment of new personnel and to review speedily any derogatory information concerning incumbent personnel. To carry out these programs, I believe that the powers of the executive branch under existing law are sufficient. If they should prove inadequate, the necessary legislation will be requested. These programs will be both fair to the rights of the individual and effective for the safety of the Nation. They will, with care and justice, apply the basic principle that public employment is not a right but a privilege. All these measures have two clear purposes: Their first purpose is to make certain that this Nation's security is not jeopardized by false servants. Their second purpose is to clear the atmosphere of that unreasoned suspicion that accepts rumor and gossip as substitutes for evidence. Our people, of course, deserve and demand of their Federal Government more than security of personnel. They demand, also, efficient and logical organization, true to constitutional principles. I have already established a Committee on Government Organization. The Committee is using as its point of departure the reports of the Hoover Commission and subsequent studies by several independent agencies. To achieve the greater efficiency and economy which the Committee analyses show to be possible, I ask the Congress to extend the present Government Reorganization Act for a period of 18 months or 2 years beyond its expiration date of April 1, 1953. There is more involved here than realigning the wheels and smoothing the gears of administrative machinery. The Congress rightfully-expects the Executive to take the initiative in discovering and removing outmoded functions and eliminating duplication. One agency, for example, whose head has promised early and vigorous action to provide greater efficiency is the Post Office. One of the oldest institutions of our Federal Government, its service should be of the best. Its employees should merit and receive the high regard and esteem of the citizens of the Nation. There are today in some areas of the postal service, both waste and incompetence to be corrected. With the cooperation of the Congress, and taking advantage of its accumulated experience in postal affairs, the Postmaster General will institute a program directed at improving service while at the same time reducing costs and decreasing deficits. In all departments, dedication to these basic precepts of security and efficiency, integrity, and economy can and will produce an administration deserving of the trust the people have placed in it. Our people have demanded nothing less than good, efficient government. They shall get nothing less. VII. Vitally important are the water and minerals, public lands and standing timber, forage and Mid-life of this country. A fast-growing population will have vast future needs in these resources. We must more than match the substantial achievements in the half-century since President Theodore Roosevelt awakened the Nation to the problem of conservation. This calls for a strong Federal program in the field of resource development. Its major projects should be timed, where possible to assist in leveling off peaks and valleys in our economic life. Soundly planned projects already initiated should be carried out. New ones will be planned for the future. The best natural resources program for America will not result from exclusive dependence on Federal bureaucracy. It will involve a partnership of the States and local communities, private citizens, and the Federal Government, all working together. This combined effort will advance the development of the great river valleys of our Nation and the power that they can generate. Likewise, such a partnership can be effective in the expansion throughout the Nation of upstream storage; the sound use of public lands; the wise conservation of minerals; and the sustained yield of our forests. There has been much criticism, some of it apparently justified, of the confusion resulting from overlapping Federal activities in the entire field of resource-conservation. This matter is being exhaustively studied and appropriate reorganization plans will be developed. Most of these particular resource problems pertain to the Department of the Interior. Another of its major concerns is our country's island possessions. Here, one matter deserves attention. The platforms of both political parties promised immediate statehood to Hawaii. The people of that Territory have earned that status. Statehood should be granted promptly with the first election scheduled for 1954. VIII. One of the difficult problems which face the new administration is that of the slow, irregular decline of farm prices. This decline, which has been going on for almost 2 years, has occurred at a time when most nonfarm prices and farm costs of production are extraordinarily high. Present agricultural legislation provides for the mandatory support of the prices of basic farm commodities at 90 percent of parity. The Secretary of Agriculture and his associates will, of course, execute the present act faithfully and thereby seek to mitigate the consequences of the downturn in farm income. This price-support legislation will expire at the end of 1954. So we should begin now to consider what farm legislation we should develop for 1955 and beyond. Our aim should be economic stability and full parity of income for American farmers. But we must seek this goal in ways that minimize governmental interference in the farmers' affairs, that permit desirable shifts in production, and that encourage farmers themselves to use initiative in meeting changing economic conditions. A continuing study reveals nothing more emphatically than the complicated nature of this subject. Among other things, it shows that the prosperity of our agriculture depends directly upon the prosperity of the whole country--upon the purchasing power of American consumers. It depends also upon the opportunity to ship abroad large surpluses of particular commodities, and therefore upon sound economic relationships between the United States and many foreign countries. It involves research and scientific investigation, conducted on an extensive scale. It involves special credit mechanisms and marketing, rural electrification, soil conservation, and other programs. The whole complex of agricultural programs and policies will be studied by a Special Agricultural Advisory Commission, as I know it will by appropriate committees of the Congress. A nonpartisan group of respected authorities in the field of agriculture has already been appointed as an interim advisory group. The immediate changes needed in agricultural programs are largely budgetary and administrative in nature. New policies and new programs must await the completion of the far-reaching studies which have already been launched. IX. The determination of labor policy must be governed not by the vagaries of political expediency but by the firmest principles and convictions. Slanted partisan appeals to American workers, spoken as if they were a group apart, necessitating a special language and treatment, are an affront to the fullness of their dignity as American citizens. The truth in matters of labor policy has become obscured in controversy. The very meaning of economic freedom as it affects labor has become confused. This misunderstanding has provided a climate of opinion favoring the growth of governmental paternalism in labor relations. This tendency, if left uncorrected, could end only by producing a bureaucratic despotism. Economic freedom is, in fact, the requisite of greater prosperity for every American who earns his own living. In the field of labor legislation, only a law that merits the respect and support of both labor and management can help reduce the loss of wages and of production through strikes and stoppages, and thus add to the total economic strength of our Nation. We have now had 5 years' experience with the Labor Management Act of 1947, commonly known as the Taft-Hartley Act. That experience has shown the need for some corrective action, and we should promptly proceed to amend that act. I know that the Congress is already proceeding with renewed studies of this subject. Meanwhile, the Department of Labor is at once beginning work to devise further specific recommendations for your consideration. In the careful working out of legislation, I know you will give thoughtful consideration--as will we in the executive branch--to the views of labor, and of management, and of the general public. In this process, it is only human that each of us should bring forward the arguments of self-interest. But if all conduct their arguments in the overpowering light of national interest--which is enlightened self-interest--we shall get the right answers. I profoundly hope that every citizen of our country will follow with understanding your progress in this work. The welfare of all of us is involved. Especially must we remember that the institutions of trade unionism and collective bargaining are monuments to the freedom that must prevail in our industrial life. They have a century of honorable achievement behind them. Our faith in them is proven, firm, and final. Government can do a great deal to aid the settlement of labor disputes without allowing itself to be employed as an ally of either side. Its proper role in industrial strife is to encourage the processes of mediation and conciliation. These processes can successfully be directed only by a government free from the taint of any suspicion that it is partial or punitive. The administration intends to strengthen and to improve the services which the Department of Labor can render to the worker and to the whole national community. This Department was created--just 40 years ago--to serve the entire Nation. It must aid, for example, employers and employees alike in improving training programs that will develop skilled and competent workers. It must enjoy the confidence and respect of labor and industry in order to play a significant role in the planning of America's economic future. To that end, I am authorizing the Department of Labor to establish promptly a tripartite advisory committee consisting of representatives of employers, labor, and the public. X. Our civil and social rights form a central part of the heritage we are striving to defend on all fronts and with all our strength. I believe with all my heart that our vigilant guarding of these rights is a sacred obligation binding upon every citizen. To be true to one's own freedom is, in essence, to honor and respect the freedom of all others. A cardinal ideal in this heritage we cherish is the equality of rights of all citizens of every race and color and creed. We know that discrimination against minorities persists despite our allegiance to this ideal. Such discrimination--confined to no one section of the Nation--is but the outward testimony to the persistence of distrust and of fear in the hearts of men. This fact makes all the more vital the fighting of these wrongs by each individual, in every station of life, in his every deed. Much of the answer lies in the power of fact, fully publicized; of persuasion, honestly pressed; and of conscience, justly aroused. These are methods familiar to our way of life, tested and proven wise. I propose to use whatever authority exists in the office of the President to end segregation in the District of Columbia, including the Federal Government, and any segregation in the Armed Forces. Here in the District of Columbia, serious attention should be given to the proposal to develop and authorize, through legislation, a system to provide an effective voice in local self-government. While consideration of this proceeds, I recommend an immediate increase of two in the number of District Commissioners to broaden representation of all elements of our local population. This will be a first step toward insuring that this Capital provide an honored example to all communities of our Nation. In this manner, and by the leadership of the office of the President exercised through friendly conferences with those in authority in our States and cities, we expect to make true and rapid progress in civil rights and equality of employment opportunity. There is one sphere in which civil rights are inevitably involved in Federal legislation. This is the sphere of immigration. It is a manifest right of our Government to limit the number of immigrants our Nation can absorb. It is also a manifest right of our Government to set reasonable requirements on the character and the numbers of the people who come to share our land and our freedom. It is well for us, however, to remind ourselves occasionally of an equally manifest fact: we are--one and all--immigrants or sons and daughters of immigrants. Existing legislation contains injustices. It does, in fact, discriminate. I am informed by Members of the Congress that it was realized, at the time of its enactment, that future study of the basis of determining quotas would be necessary. I am therefore requesting the Congress to review this legislation and to enact a statute that will at one and the same time guard our legitimate national interests and be faithful to our basic ideas of freedom and fairness to all. In another but related area--that of social rights--we see most clearly the new application of old ideas of freedom. This administration is profoundly aware of two great needs born of our living in a complex industrial economy. First, the individual citizen must have safeguards against personal disaster inflicted by forces beyond his control; second, the welfare of the people demands effective and economical performance by the Government of certain indispensable social services. In the light of this responsibility, certain general purposes and certain concrete measures are plainly indicated now. There is urgent need for greater effectiveness in our programs, both public and private, offering safeguards against the privations that too often come with unemployment, old age, illness, and accident. The provisions of the old-age and survivors insurance law should promptly be extended to cover millions of citizens who have been left out of the social-security system. No less important is the encouragement of privately sponsored pension plans. Most important of all, of course, is renewed effort to check the inflation which destroys so much of the value of all social-security payments. Our school system demands some prompt, effective help. During each of the last 9 years, more than 1 ½ million children have swelled the elementary and secondary school population of the country. Generally, the school population is proportionately higher in States with low per capita income. This whole situation calls for careful congressional study and action. I am sure that you share my conviction that the firm conditions of Federal aid must be proved need and proved lack of local income. One phase of the school problem demands special action. The school population of many districts has been greatly in- creased by the swift growth of defense activities. These activities have added little or nothing to the tax resources of the communities affected. Legislation aiding construction of schools in the districts expires on June 30. This law should be renewed; and likewise, the partial payments for current operating expenses for these particular school districts should be made, including the deficiency requirement of the current fiscal year. Public interest similarly demands one prompt specific action in protection of the general consumer. The Food and Drug Administration should be authorized to continue its established and necessary program of factory inspections. The invalidation of these inspections by the Supreme Court of December 8, 1952, was based solely on the fact that the present law contained inconsistent and unclear provisions. These must be promptly corrected. I am well aware that beyond these few immediate measures there remains much to be done. The health and housing needs of our people call for intelligently planned programs. Involved are the solvency of the whole security system; and its guarding against exploitation by the irresponsible. To bring clear purpose and orderly procedure into this field, I anticipate a thorough study of the proper relationship among Federal, State, and local programs. I shall shortly send you specific recommendations for establishing such an appropriate commission, together with a reorganization plan defining new administrative status for all Federal activities in health, education, and social security. I repeat that there are many important subjects of which I make no mention today. Among these is our great and growing body of veterans. America has traditionally been generous in caring for the disabled--and the widow and the orphan of the fallen. These millions remain close to all our hearts. Proper care of our uniformed citizens and appreciation of the past service of our veterans are part of our accepted governmental responsibilities. XI We have surveyed briefly some problems of our people and a portion of the tasks before us. The hope of freedom itself depends, in real measure, upon our strength, our heart, and our wisdom. We must be strong in arms. We must be strong in the source of all our armament, our productivity. We all--workers and farmers, foremen and financiers, technicians and builders--all must produce, produce more, and produce yet more. We must be strong, above all, in the spiritual resources upon which all else depends. We must be devoted with all our heart to the values we defend. We must know that each of these values and virtues applies with equal force at the ends of the earth and in our relations with our neighbor next door. We must know that freedom expresses itself with equal eloquence in the right of workers to strike in the nearby factory, and in the yearnings and sufferings of the peoples of Eastern Europe. As our heart summons our strength, our wisdom must direct it. There is, in world affairs, a steady course to be followed between an assertion of strength that is truculent and a confession of helplessness that is cowardly. There is, in our affairs at home, a middle way between untrammeled freedom of the individual and the demands for the welfare of the whole Nation. This way must avoid government by bureaucracy as carefully as it avoids neglect of the helpless. In every area of political action, free men must think before they can expect to win. In this spirit must we live and labor: confident of our strength, compassionate in our heart, clear in our mind. In this spirit, let us together turn to the great tasks before us. DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER
Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, Members of the Eighty-third Congress: I welcome the honor of appearing before you to deliver my first message to the Congress. It is manifestly the joint purpose of the congressional leadership and of this administration to justify the summons to governmental responsibility issued last November by the American people. The grand labors of this leadership will involve: Application of America's influence in world affairs with such fortitude and such foresight that it will deter aggression and eventually secure peace; Establishment of a national administration of such integrity and such efficiency that its honor at home will ensure respect abroad; Encouragement of those incentives that inspire creative initiative in our economy, so that its productivity may fortify freedom everywhere; and Dedication to the well-being of all our citizens and to the attainment of equality of opportunity for all, so that our Nation will ever act with the strength of unity in every task to which it is called. The purpose of this message is to suggest certain lines along which our joint efforts may immediately be directed toward realization of these four ruling purposes. The time that this administration has been in office has been too brief to permit preparation of a detailed and comprehensive program of recommended action to cover all phases of the responsibilities that devolve upon our country's new leaders. Such a program will be filled out in the weeks ahead as, after appropriate study, I shall submit additional recommendations for your consideration. Today can provide only a sure and substantial beginning. II. Our country has come through a painful period of trial and disillusionment since the victory of 1945. We anticipated a world of peace and cooperation. The calculated pressures of aggressive communism have forced us, instead, to live in a world of turmoil. From this costly experience we have learned one clear lesson. We have learned that the free world cannot indefinitely remain in a posture of paralyzed tension, leaving forever to the aggressor the choice of time and place and means to because greatest hurt to us at least cost to himself. This administration has, therefore, begun the definition of a new, positive foreign policy. This policy will be governed by certain fixed ideas. They are these: (1) Our foreign policy must be clear, consistent, and confident. This means that it must be the product of genuine, continuous cooperation between the executive and the legislative branches of this Government. It must be developed and directed in the spirit of true bipartisanship. (2) The policy we embrace must be a coherent global policy. The freedom we cherish and defend in Europe and in the Americas is no different from the freedom that is imperiled in Asia. (3) Our policy, dedicated to making the free world secure, will envision all peaceful methods and devices--except breaking faith with our friends. We shall never acquiesce in the enslavement of any people in order to purchase fancied gain for ourselves. I shall ask the Congress at a later date to join in an appropriate resolution making clear that this Government recognizes no kind of commitment contained in secret understandings of the past with foreign governments which permit this kind of enslavement. (4) The policy we pursue will recognize the truth that no single country, even one so powerful as ours, can alone defend the liberty of all nations threatened by Communist aggression from without or subversion within. Mutual security means effective mutual cooperation. For the United States, this means that, as a matter of common sense and national interest, we shall give help to other nations in the measure that they strive earnestly to do their full share of the common task. No wealth of aid could compensate for poverty of spirit. The heart of every free nation must be honestly dedicated to the preserving of its own independence and security. (5) Our policy will be designed to foster the advent of practical unity in Western Europe. The nations of that region have contributed notably to the effort of sustaining the security of the free world. From the jungles of Indochina and Malaya to the northern shores of Europe, they have vastly improved their defensive strength. Where called upon to do so, they have made costly and bitter sacrifices to hold the line of freedom. But the problem of security demands closer cooperation among the nations of Europe than has been known to date. Only a more closely integrated economic and political system can provide the greatly increased economic strength needed to maintain both necessary military readiness and respectable living standards. Europe's enlightened leaders have long been aware of these facts. All the devoted work that has gone into the Schuman plan, the European Army, and the Strasbourg Conference has testified to their vision and determination. These achievements are the more remarkable when we realize that each of them has marked a victory--for France and for Germany alike over the divisions that in the past have brought such tragedy to these two great nations and to the world. The needed unity of Western Europe manifestly cannot be manufactured from without; it can only be created from within. But it is right and necessary that we encourage Europe's leaders by informing them of the high value we place upon the earnestness of their efforts toward this goal. Real progress will be conclusive evidence to the American people that our material sacrifices in the because of collective security are matched by essential political, economic, and military accomplishments in Western Europe. (6) Our foreign policy will recognize the importance of profitable and equitable world trade. A substantial beginning can and should be made by our friends themselves. Europe, for example, is now marked by checkered areas of labor surplus and labor shortage, of agricultural areas needing machines and industrial areas needing food. Here and elsewhere we can hope that our friends will take the initiative in creating broader markets and more dependable currencies, to allow greater exchange of goods and services among themselves. Action along these lines can create an economic environment that will invite vital help from us. This help includes: First: Revising our customs regulations to remove procedural obstacles to profitable trade. I further recommend that the Congress take the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act under immediate study and extend it by appropriate legislation. This objective must not ignore legitimate safeguarding of domestic industries, agriculture, and labor standards. In all executive study and recommendations on this problem labor and management and farmers alike will be earnestly consulted. Second: Doing whatever Government properly can to encourage the flow of private American investment abroad. This involves, as a serious and explicit purpose of our foreign policy, the encouragement of a hospitable climate for such investment in foreign nations. Third: Availing ourselves of facilities overseas for the economical production of manufactured articles which are needed for mutual defense and which are not seriously competitive with our own normal peacetime production. Fourth: Receiving from the rest of the world, in equitable exchange for what we supply, greater amounts of important raw materials which we do not ourselves possess in adequate quantities. III. In this general discussion of our foreign policy, I must make special mention of the war in Korea. This war is, for Americans, the most painful phase of Communist aggression throughout the world. It is clearly a part of the same calculated assault that the aggressor is simultaneously pressing in Indochina and in Malaya, and of the strategic situation that manifestly embraces the island of Formosa and the Chinese Nationalist forces there. The working out of any military solution to the Korean war will inevitably affect all these areas. The administration is giving immediate increased attention to the development of additional Republic of Korea forces. The citizens of that country have proved their capacity as fighting men and their eagerness to take a greater share in the defense of their homeland. Organization, equipment, and training will allow them to do so. Increased assistance to Korea for this purpose conforms fully to our global policies. In June 1950, following the aggressive attack on the Republic of Korea, the United States Seventh Fleet was instructed both to prevent attack upon Formosa and also to insure that Formosa should not be used as a base of operations against the Chinese Communist mainland. This has meant, in effect, that the United States Navy was required to serve as a defensive arm of Communist China. Regardless of the situation in 1950, since the date of that order the Chinese Communists have invaded Korea to attack the United Nations forces there. They have consistently rejected the proposals of the United Nations Command for an armistice. They recently joined with Soviet Russia in rejecting the armistice proposal sponsored in the United Nations by the Government of India. This proposal had been accepted by the United States and 53 other nations. Consequently there is no longer any logic or sense in a condition that required the United States Navy to assume defensive responsibilities on behalf of the Chinese Communists, thus permitting those Communists, with greater impunity, to kill our soldiers and those of our United Nations allies in Korea. I am, therefore, issuing instructions that the Seventh Fleet no longer be employed to shield Communist China. This order implies no aggressive intent on our part. But we certainly have no obligation to protect a nation fighting us in Korea. IV. Our labor for peace in Korea and in the world imperatively demands the maintenance by the United States of a strong fighting service ready for any contingency. Our problem is to achieve adequate military strength within the limits of endurable strain upon our economy. To amass military power without regard to our economic capacity would be to defend ourselves against one kind of disaster by inviting another. Both military and economic objectives demand a single national military policy, proper coordination of our armed services, and effective consolidation of certain logistics activities. We must eliminate waste and duplication of effort in the armed services. We must realize clearly that size alone is not sufficient. The biggest force is not necessarily the best--and we want the best. We must not let traditions or habits of the past stand in the way of developing an efficient military force. All members of our forces must be ever mindful that they serve under a single flag and for a single because. We must effectively integrate our armament programs and plan them in such careful relation to our industrial facilities that we assure the best use of our manpower and our materials. Because of the complex technical nature of our military organization and because of the security reasons involved, the Secretary of Defense must take the initiative and assume the responsibility for developing plans to give our Nation maximum safety at minimum cost. Accordingly, the new Secretary of Defense and his civilian and military associates will, in the future, recommend such changes in present laws affecting our defense activities as may be necessary to clarify responsibilities and improve the total effectiveness of our defense effort. This effort must always conform to policies laid down in the National Security Council. The statutory function of the National Security Council is to assist the President in the formulation and coordination of significant domestic, foreign, and military policies required for the security of the Nation. In these days of tension it is essential that this central body have the vitality to perform effectively its statutory role. I propose to see that it does so. Careful formulation of policies must be followed by clear understanding of them by all peoples. A related need, therefore, is to make more effective all activities of the Government related to international information. I have recently appointed a committee of representative and informed citizens to survey this subject and to make recommendations in the near future for legislative, administrative, or other action. A unified and dynamic effort in this whole field is essential to the security of the United States and of the other peoples in the community of free nations. There is but one sure way to avoid total war--and that is to win the cold war. While retaliatory power is one strong deterrent to a would-be aggressor, another powerful deterrent is defensive power. No enemy is likely to attempt an attack foredoomed to failure. Because the building of a completely impenetrable defense against attack is still not possible, total defensive strength must include civil defense preparedness. Because we have incontrovertible evidence that Soviet Russia possesses atomic weapons, this kind of protection becomes sheer necessity. Civil defense responsibilities primarily belong to the State and local governments--recruiting, training, and organizing volunteers to meet any emergency. The immediate job of the Federal Government is to provide leadership, to supply technical guidance, and to continue to strengthen its civil defense stockpile of medical, engineering, and related supplies and equipment. This work must go forward without lag. V. I have referred to the inescapable need for economic health and strength if we are to maintain adequate military power and exert influential leadership for peace in the world. Our immediate task is to chart a fiscal and economic policy that can: (1) Reduce the planned deficits and then balance the budget, which means, among other things, reducing Federal expenditures to the safe minimum; (2) Meet the huge costs of our defense; (3) Properly handle the burden of our inheritance of debt and obligations; (4) Check the menace of inflation; (5) Work toward the earliest possible reduction of the tax burden; (6) Make constructive plans to encourage the initiative of our citizens. It is important that all of us understand that this administration does not and cannot begin its task with a clean slate. Much already has been written on the record, beyond our power quickly to erase or to amend. This record includes our inherited burden of indebtedness and obligations and deficits. The current year's budget, as you know, carries a 5.9 billion dollar deficit; and the budget, which was presented to you before this administration took office, indicates a budgetary deficit of 9.9 billion for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1954. The national debt is now more than 265 billion dollars. In addition, the accumulated obligational authority of the Federal Government for future payment totals over 80 billion dollars. Even this amount is exclusive of large contingent liabilities, so numerous and extensive as to be almost beyond description. The bills for the payment of nearly all of the 80 billion dollars of obligations will be presented during the next 4 years. These bills, added to the current costs of government we must meet, make a formidable burden. The present authorized Government-debt limit is 275 billion dollars. The forecast presented by the outgoing administration with the fiscal year 1954 budget indicates that--before the end of the fiscal year and at the peak of demand for payments during the year--the total Government debt may approach and even exceed that limit. Unless budgeted deficits are checked, the momentum of past programs will force an increase of the statutory debt limit. Permit me this one understatement: to meet and to correct this situation will not be easy. Permit me this one assurance: every department head and I are determined to do everything we can to resolve it. The first order of business is the elimination of the annual deficit. This cannot be achieved merely by exhortation. It demands the concerted action of all those in responsible positions in the Government and the earnest cooperation of the Congress. Already, we have begun an examination of the appropriations and expenditures of all departments in an effort to find significant items that may be decreased or canceled without damage to our essential requirements. Getting control of the budget requires also that State and local governments and interested groups of citizens restrain themselves in their demands upon the Congress that the Federal Treasury spend more and more money for all types of projects. A balanced budget is an essential first measure in checking further depreciation in the buying power of the dollar. This is one of the critical steps to be taken to bring an end to planned inflation. Our purpose is to manage the Government's finances so as to help and not hinder each family in balancing its own budget. Reduction of taxes will be justified only as we show we can succeed in bringing the budget under control. As the budget is balanced and inflation checked, the tax burden that today stifles initiative can and must be eased. Until we can determine the extent to which expenditures can be reduced, it would not be wise to reduce our revenues. Meanwhile, the tax structure as a whole demands review. The Secretary of the Treasury is undertaking this study immediately. We must develop a system of taxation which will impose the least possible obstacle to the dynamic growth of the country. This includes particularly real opportunity for the growth of small businesses. Many readjustments in existing taxes will be necessary to serve these objectives and also to remove existing inequities. Clarification and simplification in the tax laws as well as the regulations will be undertaken. In the entire area of fiscal policy--which must, in its various aspects, be treated in recommendations to the Congress in coming weeks--there can now be stated certain basic facts and principles. First. It is axiomatic that our economy is a highly complex and sensitive mechanism. Hasty and ill-considered action of any kind could seriously upset the subtle equation that encompasses debts, obligations, expenditures, defense demands, deficits, taxes, and the general economic health of the Nation. Our goals can be clear, our start toward them can be immediate--but action must be gradual. Second. It is clear that too great a part of the national debt comes due in too short a time. The Department of the Treasury will undertake at suitable times a program of extending part of the debt over longer periods and gradually placing greater amounts in the hands of longer-term investors. Third. Past differences in policy between the Treasury and the Federal Reserve Board have helped to encourage inflation. Henceforth, I expect that their single purpose shall be to serve the whole Nation by policies designed to stabilize the economy and encourage the free play of our people's genius for individual initiative. In encouraging this initiative, no single item in our current problems has received more thoughtful consideration by my associates, and by the many individuals called into our counsels, than the matter of price and wage control by law. The great economic strength of our democracy has developed in an atmosphere of freedom. The character of our people resists artificial and arbitrary controls of any kind. Direct controls, except those on credit, deal not with the real causes of inflation but only with its symptoms. In times of national emergency, this kind of control has a role to play. Our whole system, however, is based upon the assumption that, normally, we should combat wide fluctuations in our price structure by relying largely on the effective use of sound fiscal and monetary policy, and upon the natural workings of economic law. Moreover, American labor and American business can best resolve their wage problems across the bargaining table. Government should refrain from sitting in with them unless, in extreme cases, the public welfare requires protection. We are, of course, living in an international situation that is neither an emergency demanding full mobilization, nor is it peace. No one can know how long this condition will persist. Consequently, we are forced to learn many new things as we go along-clinging to what works, discarding what does not. In all our current discussions on these and related facts, the weight of evidence is clearly against the use of controls in their present forms. They have proved largely unsatisfactory or unworkable. They have not prevented inflation; they have not kept down the cost of living. Dissatisfaction with them is wholly justified. I am convinced that now--as well as in the long run--free and competitive prices will best serve the interests of all the people, and best meet the changing, growing needs of our economy. Accordingly, I do not intend to ask for a renewal of the present wage and price controls on April 30, 1953, when present legislation expires. In the meantime, steps will be taken to eliminate controls in an orderly manner, and to terminate special agencies no longer needed for this purpose. It is obviously to be expected that the removal of these controls will result in individual price changes--some up, some down. But a maximum of freedom in market prices as well as in collective bargaining is characteristic of a truly free people. I believe also that material and product controls should be ended, except with respect to defense priorities and scarce and critical items essential for our defense. I shall recommend to the Congress that legislation be enacted to continue authority for such remaining controls of this type as will be necessary after the expiration of the existing statute on June 30, 1953. I recommend the continuance of the authority for Federal control over rents in those communities in which serious housing shortages exist. These are chiefly the so-called defense areas. In these and all areas the Federal Government should withdraw from the control of rents as soon as practicable. But before they are removed entirely, each legislature should have full opportunity to take over, within its own State, responsibility for this function. It would be idle to pretend that all our problems in this whole field of prices will solve themselves by mere Federal withdrawal from direct controls. We shall have to watch trends closely. If the freer functioning of our economic system, as well as the indirect controls which can be appropriately employed, prove insufficient during this period of strain and tension, I shall promptly ask the Congress to enact such legislation as may be required. In facing all these problems--wages, prices, production, tax rates, fiscal policy, deficits--everywhere we remain constantly mindful that the time for sacrifice has not ended. But we are concerned with the encouragement of competitive enterprise and individual initiative precisely because we know them to be our Nation's abiding sources of strength. VI. Our vast world responsibility accents with urgency our people's elemental right to a government whose clear qualities are loyalty, security, efficiency, economy, and integrity. The safety of America and the trust of the people alike demand that the personnel of the Federal Government be loyal in their motives and reliable in the discharge of their duties. Only a combination of both loyalty and reliability promises genuine security. To state this principle is easy; to apply it can be difficult. But this security we must and shall have. By way of example, all principal new appointees to departments and agencies have been investigated at their own request by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Confident of your understanding and cooperation, I know that the primary responsibility for keeping out the disloyal and the dangerous rests squarely upon the executive branch. When this branch so conducts itself as to require policing by another branch of the Government, it invites its own disorder and confusion. I am determined to meet this responsibility of the Executive. The heads of all executive departments and agencies have been instructed to initiate at once effective programs of security with respect to their personnel. The Attorney General will advise and guide the departments and agencies in the shaping of these programs, designed at once to govern the employment of new personnel and to review speedily any derogatory information concerning incumbent personnel. To carry out these programs, I believe that the powers of the executive branch under existing law are sufficient. If they should prove inadequate, the necessary legislation will be requested. These programs will be both fair to the rights of the individual and effective for the safety of the Nation. They will, with care and justice, apply the basic principle that public employment is not a right but a privilege. All these measures have two clear purposes: Their first purpose is to make certain that this Nation's security is not jeopardized by false servants. Their second purpose is to clear the atmosphere of that unreasoned suspicion that accepts rumor and gossip as substitutes for evidence. Our people, of course, deserve and demand of their Federal Government more than security of personnel. They demand, also, efficient and logical organization, true to constitutional principles. I have already established a Committee on Government Organization. The Committee is using as its point of departure the reports of the Hoover Commission and subsequent studies by several independent agencies. To achieve the greater efficiency and economy which the Committee analyses show to be possible, I ask the Congress to extend the present Government Reorganization Act for a period of 18 months or 2 years beyond its expiration date of April 1, 1953. There is more involved here than realigning the wheels and smoothing the gears of administrative machinery. The Congress rightfully-expects the Executive to take the initiative in discovering and removing outmoded functions and eliminating duplication. One agency, for example, whose head has promised early and vigorous action to provide greater efficiency is the Post Office. One of the oldest institutions of our Federal Government, its service should be of the best. Its employees should merit and receive the high regard and esteem of the citizens of the Nation. There are today in some areas of the postal service, both waste and incompetence to be corrected. With the cooperation of the Congress, and taking advantage of its accumulated experience in postal affairs, the Postmaster General will institute a program directed at improving service while at the same time reducing costs and decreasing deficits. In all departments, dedication to these basic precepts of security and efficiency, integrity, and economy can and will produce an administration deserving of the trust the people have placed in it. Our people have demanded nothing less than good, efficient government. They shall get nothing less. VII. Vitally important are the water and minerals, public lands and standing timber, forage and Mid-life of this country. A fast-growing population will have vast future needs in these resources. We must more than match the substantial achievements in the half-century since President Theodore Roosevelt awakened the Nation to the problem of conservation. This calls for a strong Federal program in the field of resource development. Its major projects should be timed, where possible to assist in leveling off peaks and valleys in our economic life. Soundly planned projects already initiated should be carried out. New ones will be planned for the future. The best natural resources program for America will not result from exclusive dependence on Federal bureaucracy. It will involve a partnership of the States and local communities, private citizens, and the Federal Government, all working together. This combined effort will advance the development of the great river valleys of our Nation and the power that they can generate. Likewise, such a partnership can be effective in the expansion throughout the Nation of upstream storage; the sound use of public lands; the wise conservation of minerals; and the sustained yield of our forests. There has been much criticism, some of it apparently justified, of the confusion resulting from overlapping Federal activities in the entire field of resource-conservation. This matter is being exhaustively studied and appropriate reorganization plans will be developed. Most of these particular resource problems pertain to the Department of the Interior. Another of its major concerns is our country's island possessions. Here, one matter deserves attention. The platforms of both political parties promised immediate statehood to Hawaii. The people of that Territory have earned that status. Statehood should be granted promptly with the first election scheduled for 1954. VIII. One of the difficult problems which face the new administration is that of the slow, irregular decline of farm prices. This decline, which has been going on for almost 2 years, has occurred at a time when most nonfarm prices and farm costs of production are extraordinarily high. Present agricultural legislation provides for the mandatory support of the prices of basic farm commodities at 90 percent of parity. The Secretary of Agriculture and his associates will, of course, execute the present act faithfully and thereby seek to mitigate the consequences of the downturn in farm income. This price-support legislation will expire at the end of 1954. So we should begin now to consider what farm legislation we should develop for 1955 and beyond. Our aim should be economic stability and full parity of income for American farmers. But we must seek this goal in ways that minimize governmental interference in the farmers' affairs, that permit desirable shifts in production, and that encourage farmers themselves to use initiative in meeting changing economic conditions. A continuing study reveals nothing more emphatically than the complicated nature of this subject. Among other things, it shows that the prosperity of our agriculture depends directly upon the prosperity of the whole country--upon the purchasing power of American consumers. It depends also upon the opportunity to ship abroad large surpluses of particular commodities, and therefore upon sound economic relationships between the United States and many foreign countries. It involves research and scientific investigation, conducted on an extensive scale. It involves special credit mechanisms and marketing, rural electrification, soil conservation, and other programs. The whole complex of agricultural programs and policies will be studied by a Special Agricultural Advisory Commission, as I know it will by appropriate committees of the Congress. A nonpartisan group of respected authorities in the field of agriculture has already been appointed as an interim advisory group. The immediate changes needed in agricultural programs are largely budgetary and administrative in nature. New policies and new programs must await the completion of the far-reaching studies which have already been launched. IX. The determination of labor policy must be governed not by the vagaries of political expediency but by the firmest principles and convictions. Slanted partisan appeals to American workers, spoken as if they were a group apart, necessitating a special language and treatment, are an affront to the fullness of their dignity as American citizens. The truth in matters of labor policy has become obscured in controversy. The very meaning of economic freedom as it affects labor has become confused. This misunderstanding has provided a climate of opinion favoring the growth of governmental paternalism in labor relations. This tendency, if left uncorrected, could end only by producing a bureaucratic despotism. Economic freedom is, in fact, the requisite of greater prosperity for every American who earns his own living. In the field of labor legislation, only a law that merits the respect and support of both labor and management can help reduce the loss of wages and of production through strikes and stoppages, and thus add to the total economic strength of our Nation. We have now had 5 years' experience with the Labor Management Act of 1947, commonly known as the Taft-Hartley Act. That experience has shown the need for some corrective action, and we should promptly proceed to amend that act. I know that the Congress is already proceeding with renewed studies of this subject. Meanwhile, the Department of Labor is at once beginning work to devise further specific recommendations for your consideration. In the careful working out of legislation, I know you will give thoughtful consideration--as will we in the executive branch--to the views of labor, and of management, and of the general public. In this process, it is only human that each of us should bring forward the arguments of self-interest. But if all conduct their arguments in the overpowering light of national interest--which is enlightened self-interest--we shall get the right answers. I profoundly hope that every citizen of our country will follow with understanding your progress in this work. The welfare of all of us is involved. Especially must we remember that the institutions of trade unionism and collective bargaining are monuments to the freedom that must prevail in our industrial life. They have a century of honorable achievement behind them. Our faith in them is proven, firm, and final. Government can do a great deal to aid the settlement of labor disputes without allowing itself to be employed as an ally of either side. Its proper role in industrial strife is to encourage the processes of mediation and conciliation. These processes can successfully be directed only by a government free from the taint of any suspicion that it is partial or punitive. The administration intends to strengthen and to improve the services which the Department of Labor can render to the worker and to the whole national community. This Department was created--just 40 years ago--to serve the entire Nation. It must aid, for example, employers and employees alike in improving training programs that will develop skilled and competent workers. It must enjoy the confidence and respect of labor and industry in order to play a significant role in the planning of America's economic future. To that end, I am authorizing the Department of Labor to establish promptly a tripartite advisory committee consisting of representatives of employers, labor, and the public. X. Our civil and social rights form a central part of the heritage we are striving to defend on all fronts and with all our strength. I believe with all my heart that our vigilant guarding of these rights is a sacred obligation binding upon every citizen. To be true to one's own freedom is, in essence, to honor and respect the freedom of all others. A cardinal ideal in this heritage we cherish is the equality of rights of all citizens of every race and color and creed. We know that discrimination against minorities persists despite our allegiance to this ideal. Such discrimination--confined to no one section of the Nation--is but the outward testimony to the persistence of distrust and of fear in the hearts of men. This fact makes all the more vital the fighting of these wrongs by each individual, in every station of life, in his every deed. Much of the answer lies in the power of fact, fully publicized; of persuasion, honestly pressed; and of conscience, justly aroused. These are methods familiar to our way of life, tested and proven wise. I propose to use whatever authority exists in the office of the President to end segregation in the District of Columbia, including the Federal Government, and any segregation in the Armed Forces. Here in the District of Columbia, serious attention should be given to the proposal to develop and authorize, through legislation, a system to provide an effective voice in local self-government. While consideration of this proceeds, I recommend an immediate increase of two in the number of District Commissioners to broaden representation of all elements of our local population. This will be a first step toward insuring that this Capital provide an honored example to all communities of our Nation. In this manner, and by the leadership of the office of the President exercised through friendly conferences with those in authority in our States and cities, we expect to make true and rapid progress in civil rights and equality of employment opportunity. There is one sphere in which civil rights are inevitably involved in Federal legislation. This is the sphere of immigration. It is a manifest right of our Government to limit the number of immigrants our Nation can absorb. It is also a manifest right of our Government to set reasonable requirements on the character and the numbers of the people who come to share our land and our freedom. It is well for us, however, to remind ourselves occasionally of an equally manifest fact: we are--one and all--immigrants or sons and daughters of immigrants. Existing legislation contains injustices. It does, in fact, discriminate. I am informed by Members of the Congress that it was realized, at the time of its enactment, that future study of the basis of determining quotas would be necessary. I am therefore requesting the Congress to review this legislation and to enact a statute that will at one and the same time guard our legitimate national interests and be faithful to our basic ideas of freedom and fairness to all. In another but related area--that of social rights--we see most clearly the new application of old ideas of freedom. This administration is profoundly aware of two great needs born of our living in a complex industrial economy. First, the individual citizen must have safeguards against personal disaster inflicted by forces beyond his control; second, the welfare of the people demands effective and economical performance by the Government of certain indispensable social services. In the light of this responsibility, certain general purposes and certain concrete measures are plainly indicated now. There is urgent need for greater effectiveness in our programs, both public and private, offering safeguards against the privations that too often come with unemployment, old age, illness, and accident. The provisions of the old-age and survivors insurance law should promptly be extended to cover millions of citizens who have been left out of the social-security system. No less important is the encouragement of privately sponsored pension plans. Most important of all, of course, is renewed effort to check the inflation which destroys so much of the value of all social-security payments. Our school system demands some prompt, effective help. During each of the last 9 years, more than 1 ½ million children have swelled the elementary and secondary school population of the country. Generally, the school population is proportionately higher in States with low per capita income. This whole situation calls for careful congressional study and action. I am sure that you share my conviction that the firm conditions of Federal aid must be proved need and proved lack of local income. One phase of the school problem demands special action. The school population of many districts has been greatly in- creased by the swift growth of defense activities. These activities have added little or nothing to the tax resources of the communities affected. Legislation aiding construction of schools in the districts expires on June 30. This law should be renewed; and likewise, the partial payments for current operating expenses for these particular school districts should be made, including the deficiency requirement of the current fiscal year. Public interest similarly demands one prompt specific action in protection of the general consumer. The Food and Drug Administration should be authorized to continue its established and necessary program of factory inspections. The invalidation of these inspections by the Supreme Court of December 8, 1952, was based solely on the fact that the present law contained inconsistent and unclear provisions. These must be promptly corrected. I am well aware that beyond these few immediate measures there remains much to be done. The health and housing needs of our people call for intelligently planned programs. Involved are the solvency of the whole security system; and its guarding against exploitation by the irresponsible. To bring clear purpose and orderly procedure into this field, I anticipate a thorough study of the proper relationship among Federal, State, and local programs. I shall shortly send you specific recommendations for establishing such an appropriate commission, together with a reorganization plan defining new administrative status for all Federal activities in health, education, and social security. I repeat that there are many important subjects of which I make no mention today. Among these is our great and growing body of veterans. America has traditionally been generous in caring for the disabled--and the widow and the orphan of the fallen. These millions remain close to all our hearts. Proper care of our uniformed citizens and appreciation of the past service of our veterans are part of our accepted governmental responsibilities. XI We have surveyed briefly some problems of our people and a portion of the tasks before us. The hope of freedom itself depends, in real measure, upon our strength, our heart, and our wisdom. We must be strong in arms. We must be strong in the source of all our armament, our productivity. We all--workers and farmers, foremen and financiers, technicians and builders--all must produce, produce more, and produce yet more. We must be strong, above all, in the spiritual resources upon which all else depends. We must be devoted with all our heart to the values we defend. We must know that each of these values and virtues applies with equal force at the ends of the earth and in our relations with our neighbor next door. We must know that freedom expresses itself with equal eloquence in the right of workers to strike in the nearby factory, and in the yearnings and sufferings of the peoples of Eastern Europe. As our heart summons our strength, our wisdom must direct it. There is, in world affairs, a steady course to be followed between an assertion of strength that is truculent and a confession of helplessness that is cowardly. There is, in our affairs at home, a middle way between untrammeled freedom of the individual and the demands for the welfare of the whole Nation. This way must avoid government by bureaucracy as carefully as it avoids neglect of the helpless. In every area of political action, free men must think before they can expect to win. In this spirit must we live and labor: confident of our strength, compassionate in our heart, clear in our mind. In this spirit, let us together turn to the great tasks before us. DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER
president speaker members of the congress i welcome the honor of appearing before you to deliver my first message to the congress it is manifestly the joint purpose of the congressional leadership and of this administration to justify the summons to governmental responsibility issued last november by the american people the grand labors of this leadership will involve application of america influence in world affairs with such fortitude and such foresight that it will deter aggression and eventually secure peace establishment of a national administration of such integrity and such efficiency that its honor at home will ensure respect abroad encouragement of those incentives that inspire creative initiative in our economy so that its productivity may fortify freedom everywhere and dedication to the of all our citizens and to the attainment of equality of opportunity for all so that our nation will ever act with the strength of unity in every task to which it is called the purpose of this message is to suggest certain lines along which our joint efforts may immediately be directed toward realization of these four ruling purposes the time that this administration has been in office has been too brief to permit preparation of a detailed and comprehensive program of recommended action to cover all phases of the responsibilities that devolve upon our country new leaders such a program will be filled out in the weeks ahead as after appropriate study i shall submit additional recommendations for your consideration today can provide only a sure and substantial beginning ii our country has come through a painful period of trial and disillusionment since the victory of 1945 we anticipated a world of peace and cooperation the calculated pressures of aggressive communism have forced us instead to live in a world of turmoil from this costly experience we have learned one clear lesson we have learned that the free world can not indefinitely remain in a posture of paralyzed tension leaving forever to the aggressor the choice of time and place and means to because greatest hurt to us at least cost to himself this administration has therefore begun the definition of a new positive foreign policy this policy will be governed by certain fixed ideas they are these 1 our foreign policy must be clear consistent and confident this means that it must be the product of genuine continuous cooperation between the executive and the legislative branches of this government it must be developed and directed in the spirit of true bipartisanship 2 the policy we embrace must be a coherent global policy the freedom we cherish and defend in europe and in the americas is no different from the freedom that is imperiled in asia 3 our policy dedicated to making the free world secure will envision all peaceful methods and devices except breaking faith with our friends we shall never acquiesce in the enslavement of any people in order to purchase fancied gain for ourselves i shall ask the congress at a later date to join in an appropriate resolution making clear that this government recognizes no kind of commitment contained in secret understandings of the past with foreign governments which permit this kind of enslavement 4 the policy we pursue will recognize the truth that no single country even one so powerful as ours can alone defend the liberty of all nations threatened by communist aggression from without or subversion within mutual security means effective mutual cooperation for the united states this means that as a matter of common sense and national interest we shall give help to other nations in the measure that they strive earnestly to do their full share of the common task no wealth of aid could compensate for poverty of spirit the heart of every free nation must be honestly dedicated to the preserving of its own independence and security 5 our policy will be designed to foster the advent of practical unity in western europe the nations of that region have contributed notably to the effort of sustaining the security of the free world from the jungles of indochina and malaya to the northern shores of europe they have vastly improved their defensive strength where called upon to do so they have made costly and bitter sacrifices to hold the line of freedom but the problem of security demands closer cooperation among the nations of europe than has been known to date only a more closely integrated economic and political system can provide the greatly increased economic strength needed to maintain both necessary military readiness and respectable living standards europe enlightened leaders have long been aware of these facts all the devoted work that has gone into the schuman plan the european army and the strasbourg conference has testified to their vision and determination these achievements are the more remarkable when we realize that each of them has marked a victory for france and for germany alike over the divisions that in the past have brought such tragedy to these two great nations and to the world the needed unity of western europe manifestly can not be manufactured from without it can only be created from within but it is right and necessary that we encourage europe leaders by informing them of the high value we place upon the earnestness of their efforts toward this goal real progress will be conclusive evidence to the american people that our material sacrifices in the because of collective security are matched by essential political economic and military accomplishments in western europe 6 our foreign policy will recognize the importance of profitable and equitable world trade a substantial beginning can and should be made by our friends themselves europe for example is now marked by checkered areas of labor surplus and labor shortage of agricultural areas needing machines and industrial areas needing food here and elsewhere we can hope that our friends will take the initiative in creating broader markets and more dependable currencies to allow greater exchange of goods and services among themselves action along these lines can create an economic environment that will invite vital help from us this help includes first revising our customs regulations to remove procedural obstacles to profitable trade i further recommend that the congress take the reciprocal trade agreements act under immediate study and extend it by appropriate legislation this objective must not ignore legitimate safeguarding of domestic industries agriculture and labor standards in all executive study and recommendations on this problem labor and management and farmers alike will be earnestly consulted second doing whatever government properly can to encourage the flow of private american investment abroad this involves as a serious and explicit purpose of our foreign policy the encouragement of a hospitable climate for such investment in foreign nations third availing ourselves of facilities overseas for the economical production of manufactured articles which are needed for mutual defense and which are not seriously competitive with our own normal peacetime production fourth receiving from the rest of the world in equitable exchange for what we supply greater amounts of important raw materials which we do not ourselves possess in adequate quantities iii in this general discussion of our foreign policy i must make special mention of the war in korea this war is for americans the most painful phase of communist aggression throughout the world it is clearly a part of the same calculated assault that the aggressor is simultaneously pressing in indochina and in malaya and of the strategic situation that manifestly embraces the island of formosa and the chinese nationalist forces there the working out of any military solution to the korean war will inevitably affect all these areas the administration is giving immediate increased attention to the development of additional republic of korea forces the citizens of that country have proved their capacity as fighting men and their eagerness to take a greater share in the defense of their homeland organization equipment and training will allow them to do so increased assistance to korea for this purpose conforms fully to our global policies in june 1950 following the aggressive attack on the republic of korea the united states seventh fleet was instructed both to prevent attack upon formosa and also to insure that formosa should not be used as a base of operations against the chinese communist mainland this has meant in effect that the united states navy was required to serve as a defensive arm of communist china regardless of the situation in 1950 since the date of that order the chinese communists have invaded korea to attack the united nations forces there they have consistently rejected the proposals of the united nations command for an armistice they recently joined with soviet russia in rejecting the armistice proposal sponsored in the united nations by the government of india this proposal had been accepted by the united states and 53 other nations consequently there is no longer any logic or sense in a condition that required the united states navy to assume defensive responsibilities on behalf of the chinese communists thus permitting those communists with greater impunity to kill our soldiers and those of our united nations allies in korea i am therefore issuing instructions that the seventh fleet no longer be employed to shield communist china this order implies no aggressive intent on our part but we certainly have no obligation to protect a nation fighting us in korea iv our labor for peace in korea and in the world imperatively demands the maintenance by the united states of a strong fighting service ready for any contingency our problem is to achieve adequate military strength within the limits of endurable strain upon our economy to amass military power without regard to our economic capacity would be to defend ourselves against one kind of disaster by inviting another both military and economic objectives demand a single national military policy proper coordination of our armed services and effective consolidation of certain logistics activities we must eliminate waste and duplication of effort in the armed services we must realize clearly that size alone is not sufficient the biggest force is not necessarily the best and we want the best we must not let traditions or habits of the past stand in the way of developing an efficient military force all members of our forces must be ever mindful that they serve under a single flag and for a single because we must effectively integrate our armament programs and plan them in such careful relation to our industrial facilities that we assure the best use of our manpower and our materials because of the complex technical nature of our military organization and because of the security reasons involved the secretary of defense must take the initiative and assume the responsibility for developing plans to give our nation maximum safety at minimum cost accordingly the new secretary of defense and his civilian and military associates will in the future recommend such changes in present laws affecting our defense activities as may be necessary to clarify responsibilities and improve the total effectiveness of our defense effort this effort must always conform to policies laid down in the national security council the statutory function of the national security council is to assist the president in the formulation and coordination of significant domestic foreign and military policies required for the security of the nation in these days of tension it is essential that this central body have the vitality to perform effectively its statutory role i propose to see that it does so careful formulation of policies must be followed by clear understanding of them by all peoples a related need therefore is to make more effective all activities of the government related to international information i have recently appointed a committee of representative and informed citizens to survey this subject and to make recommendations in the near future for legislative administrative or other action a unified and dynamic effort in this whole field is essential to the security of the united states and of the other peoples in the community of free nations there is but one sure way to avoid total war and that is to win the cold war while retaliatory power is one strong deterrent to a aggressor another powerful deterrent is defensive power no enemy is likely to attempt an attack foredoomed to failure because the building of a completely impenetrable defense against attack is still not possible total defensive strength must include civil defense preparedness because we have incontrovertible evidence that soviet russia possesses atomic weapons this kind of protection becomes sheer necessity civil defense responsibilities primarily belong to the state and local governments recruiting training and organizing volunteers to meet any emergency the immediate job of the federal government is to provide leadership to supply technical guidance and to continue to strengthen its civil defense stockpile of medical engineering and related supplies and equipment this work must go forward without lag i have referred to the inescapable need for economic health and strength if we are to maintain adequate military power and exert influential leadership for peace in the world our immediate task is to chart a fiscal and economic policy that can 1 reduce the planned deficits and then balance the budget which means among other things reducing federal expenditures to the safe minimum 2 meet the huge costs of our defense 3 properly handle the burden of our inheritance of debt and obligations 4 check the menace of inflation 5 work toward the earliest possible reduction of the tax burden 6 make constructive plans to encourage the initiative of our citizens it is important that all of us understand that this administration does not and can not begin its task with a clean slate much already has been written on the record beyond our power quickly to erase or to amend this record includes our inherited burden of indebtedness and obligations and deficits the current year budget as you know carries a billion dollar deficit and the budget which was presented to you before this administration took office indicates a budgetary deficit of billion for the fiscal year ending june 30 1954 the national debt is now more than 265 billion dollars in addition the accumulated obligational authority of the federal government for future payment totals over 80 billion dollars even this amount is exclusive of large contingent liabilities so numerous and extensive as to be almost beyond description the bills for the payment of nearly all of the 80 billion dollars of obligations will be presented during the next 4 years these bills added to the current costs of government we must meet make a formidable burden the present authorized limit is 275 billion dollars the forecast presented by the outgoing administration with the fiscal year 1954 budget indicates that before the end of the fiscal year and at the peak of demand for payments during the year the total government debt may approach and even exceed that limit unless budgeted deficits are checked the momentum of past programs will force an increase of the statutory debt limit permit me this one understatement to meet and to correct this situation will not be easy permit me this one assurance every department head and i are determined to do everything we can to resolve it the first order of business is the elimination of the annual deficit this can not be achieved merely by exhortation it demands the concerted action of all those in responsible positions in the government and the earnest cooperation of the congress already we have begun an examination of the appropriations and expenditures of all departments in an effort to find significant items that may be decreased or canceled without damage to our essential requirements getting control of the budget requires also that state and local governments and interested groups of citizens restrain themselves in their demands upon the congress that the federal treasury spend more and more money for all types of projects a balanced budget is an essential first measure in checking further depreciation in the buying power of the dollar this is one of the critical steps to be taken to bring an end to planned inflation our purpose is to manage the government finances so as to help and not hinder each family in balancing its own budget reduction of taxes will be justified only as we show we can succeed in bringing the budget under control as the budget is balanced and inflation checked the tax burden that today stifles initiative can and must be eased until we can determine the extent to which expenditures can be reduced it would not be wise to reduce our revenues meanwhile the tax structure as a whole demands review the secretary of the treasury is undertaking this study immediately we must develop a system of taxation which will impose the least possible obstacle to the dynamic growth of the country this includes particularly real opportunity for the growth of small businesses many readjustments in existing taxes will be necessary to serve these objectives and also to remove existing inequities clarification and simplification in the tax laws as well as the regulations will be undertaken in the entire area of fiscal policy which must in its various aspects be treated in recommendations to the congress in coming weeks there can now be stated certain basic facts and principles first it is axiomatic that our economy is a highly complex and sensitive mechanism hasty and action of any kind could seriously upset the subtle equation that encompasses debts obligations expenditures defense demands deficits taxes and the general economic health of the nation our goals can be clear our start toward them can be immediate but action must be gradual second it is clear that too great a part of the national debt comes due in too short a time the department of the treasury will undertake at suitable times a program of extending part of the debt over longer periods and gradually placing greater amounts in the hands of investors third past differences in policy between the treasury and the federal reserve board have helped to encourage inflation henceforth i expect that their single purpose shall be to serve the whole nation by policies designed to stabilize the economy and encourage the free play of our people genius for individual initiative in encouraging this initiative no single item in our current problems has received more thoughtful consideration by my associates and by the many individuals called into our counsels than the matter of price and wage control by law the great economic strength of our democracy has developed in an atmosphere of freedom the character of our people resists artificial and arbitrary controls of any kind direct controls except those on credit deal not with the real causes of inflation but only with its symptoms in times of national emergency this kind of control has a role to play our whole system however is based upon the assumption that normally we should combat wide fluctuations in our price structure by relying largely on the effective use of sound fiscal and monetary policy and upon the natural workings of economic law moreover american labor and american business can best resolve their wage problems across the bargaining table government should refrain from sitting in with them unless in extreme cases the public welfare requires protection we are of course living in an international situation that is neither an emergency demanding full mobilization nor is it peace no one can know how long this condition will persist consequently we are forced to learn many new things as we go to what works discarding what does not in all our current discussions on these and related facts the weight of evidence is clearly against the use of controls in their present forms they have proved largely unsatisfactory or unworkable they have not prevented inflation they have not kept down the cost of living dissatisfaction with them is wholly justified i am convinced that now as well as in the long run free and competitive prices will best serve the interests of all the people and best meet the changing growing needs of our economy accordingly i do not intend to ask for a renewal of the present wage and price controls on april 30 1953 when present legislation expires in the meantime steps will be taken to eliminate controls in an orderly manner and to terminate special agencies no longer needed for this purpose it is obviously to be expected that the removal of these controls will result in individual price changes some up some down but a maximum of freedom in market prices as well as in collective bargaining is characteristic of a truly free people i believe also that material and product controls should be ended except with respect to defense priorities and scarce and critical items essential for our defense i shall recommend to the congress that legislation be enacted to continue authority for such remaining controls of this type as will be necessary after the expiration of the existing statute on june 30 1953 i recommend the continuance of the authority for federal control over rents in those communities in which serious housing shortages exist these are chiefly the defense areas in these and all areas the federal government should withdraw from the control of rents as soon as practicable but before they are removed entirely each legislature should have full opportunity to take over within its own state responsibility for this function it would be idle to pretend that all our problems in this whole field of prices will solve themselves by mere federal withdrawal from direct controls we shall have to watch trends closely if the freer functioning of our economic system as well as the indirect controls which can be appropriately employed prove insufficient during this period of strain and tension i shall promptly ask the congress to enact such legislation as may be required in facing all these problems wages prices production tax rates fiscal policy deficits everywhere we remain constantly mindful that the time for sacrifice has not ended but we are concerned with the encouragement of competitive enterprise and individual initiative precisely because we know them to be our nation abiding sources of strength vi our vast world responsibility accents with urgency our people elemental right to a government whose clear qualities are loyalty security efficiency economy and integrity the safety of america and the trust of the people alike demand that the personnel of the federal government be loyal in their motives and reliable in the discharge of their duties only a combination of both loyalty and reliability promises genuine security to state this principle is easy to apply it can be difficult but this security we must and shall have by way of example all principal new appointees to departments and agencies have been investigated at their own request by the federal bureau of investigation confident of your understanding and cooperation i know that the primary responsibility for keeping out the disloyal and the dangerous rests squarely upon the executive branch when this branch so conducts itself as to require policing by another branch of the government it invites its own disorder and confusion i am determined to meet this responsibility of the executive the heads of all executive departments and agencies have been instructed to initiate at once effective programs of security with respect to their personnel the attorney general will advise and guide the departments and agencies in the shaping of these programs designed at once to govern the employment of new personnel and to review speedily any derogatory information concerning incumbent personnel to carry out these programs i believe that the powers of the executive branch under existing law are sufficient if they should prove inadequate the necessary legislation will be requested these programs will be both fair to the rights of the individual and effective for the safety of the nation they will with care and justice apply the basic principle that public employment is not a right but a privilege all these measures have two clear purposes their first purpose is to make certain that this nation security is not jeopardized by false servants their second purpose is to clear the atmosphere of that unreasoned suspicion that accepts rumor and gossip as substitutes for evidence our people of course deserve and demand of their federal government more than security of personnel they demand also efficient and logical organization true to constitutional principles i have already established a committee on government organization the committee is using as its point of departure the reports of the hoover commission and subsequent studies by several independent agencies to achieve the greater efficiency and economy which the committee analyses show to be possible i ask the congress to extend the present government reorganization act for a period of 18 months or 2 years beyond its expiration date of april 1 1953 there is more involved here than realigning the wheels and smoothing the gears of administrative machinery the congress the executive to take the initiative in discovering and removing outmoded functions and eliminating duplication one agency for example whose head has promised early and vigorous action to provide greater efficiency is the post office one of the oldest institutions of our federal government its service should be of the best its employees should merit and receive the high regard and esteem of the citizens of the nation there are today in some areas of the postal service both waste and incompetence to be corrected with the cooperation of the congress and taking advantage of its accumulated experience in postal affairs the postmaster general will institute a program directed at improving service while at the same time reducing costs and decreasing deficits in all departments dedication to these basic precepts of security and efficiency integrity and economy can and will produce an administration deserving of the trust the people have placed in it our people have demanded nothing less than good efficient government they shall get nothing less vii vitally important are the water and minerals public lands and standing timber forage and of this country a population will have vast future needs in these resources we must more than match the substantial achievements in the since president theodore roosevelt awakened the nation to the problem of conservation this calls for a strong federal program in the field of resource development its major projects should be timed where possible to assist in leveling off peaks and valleys in our economic life soundly planned projects already initiated should be carried out new ones will be planned for the future the best natural resources program for america will not result from exclusive dependence on federal bureaucracy it will involve a partnership of the states and local communities private citizens and the federal government all working together this combined effort will advance the development of the great river valleys of our nation and the power that they can generate likewise such a partnership can be effective in the expansion throughout the nation of upstream storage the sound use of public lands the wise conservation of minerals and the sustained yield of our forests there has been much criticism some of it apparently justified of the confusion resulting from overlapping federal activities in the entire field of this matter is being exhaustively studied and appropriate reorganization plans will be developed most of these particular resource problems pertain to the department of the interior another of its major concerns is our country island possessions here one matter deserves attention the platforms of both political parties promised immediate statehood to hawaii the people of that territory have earned that status statehood should be granted promptly with the first election scheduled for 1954 viii one of the difficult problems which face the new administration is that of the slow irregular decline of farm prices this decline which has been going on for almost 2 years has occurred at a time when most nonfarm prices and farm costs of production are extraordinarily high present agricultural legislation provides for the mandatory support of the prices of basic farm commodities at 90 percent of parity the secretary of agriculture and his associates will of course execute the present act faithfully and thereby seek to mitigate the consequences of the downturn in farm income this legislation will expire at the end of 1954 so we should begin now to consider what farm legislation we should develop for 1955 and beyond our aim should be economic stability and full parity of income for american farmers but we must seek this goal in ways that minimize governmental interference in the farmers affairs that permit desirable shifts in production and that encourage farmers themselves to use initiative in meeting changing economic conditions a continuing study reveals nothing more emphatically than the complicated nature of this subject among other things it shows that the prosperity of our agriculture depends directly upon the prosperity of the whole country upon the purchasing power of american consumers it depends also upon the opportunity to ship abroad large surpluses of particular commodities and therefore upon sound economic relationships between the united states and many foreign countries it involves research and scientific investigation conducted on an extensive scale it involves special credit mechanisms and marketing rural electrification soil conservation and other programs the whole complex of agricultural programs and policies will be studied by a special agricultural advisory commission as i know it will by appropriate committees of the congress a nonpartisan group of respected authorities in the field of agriculture has already been appointed as an interim advisory group the immediate changes needed in agricultural programs are largely budgetary and administrative in nature new policies and new programs must await the completion of the studies which have already been launched ix the determination of labor policy must be governed not by the vagaries of political expediency but by the firmest principles and convictions slanted partisan appeals to american workers spoken as if they were a group apart necessitating a special language and treatment are an affront to the fullness of their dignity as american citizens the truth in matters of labor policy has become obscured in controversy the very meaning of economic freedom as it affects labor has become confused this misunderstanding has provided a climate of opinion favoring the growth of governmental paternalism in labor relations this tendency if left uncorrected could end only by producing a bureaucratic despotism economic freedom is in fact the requisite of greater prosperity for every american who earns his own living in the field of labor legislation only a law that merits the respect and support of both labor and management can help reduce the loss of wages and of production through strikes and stoppages and thus add to the total economic strength of our nation we have now had 5 years experience with the labor management act of 1947 commonly known as the act that experience has shown the need for some corrective action and we should promptly proceed to amend that act i know that the congress is already proceeding with renewed studies of this subject meanwhile the department of labor is at once beginning work to devise further specific recommendations for your consideration in the careful working out of legislation i know you will give thoughtful consideration as will we in the executive branch to the views of labor and of management and of the general public in this process it is only human that each of us should bring forward the arguments of but if all conduct their arguments in the overpowering light of national interest which is enlightened we shall get the right answers i profoundly hope that every citizen of our country will follow with understanding your progress in this work the welfare of all of us is involved especially must we remember that the institutions of trade unionism and collective bargaining are monuments to the freedom that must prevail in our industrial life they have a century of honorable achievement behind them our faith in them is proven firm and final government can do a great deal to aid the settlement of labor disputes without allowing itself to be employed as an ally of either side its proper role in industrial strife is to encourage the processes of mediation and conciliation these processes can successfully be directed only by a government free from the taint of any suspicion that it is partial or punitive the administration intends to strengthen and to improve the services which the department of labor can render to the worker and to the whole national community this department was created just 40 years ago to serve the entire nation it must aid for example employers and employees alike in improving training programs that will develop skilled and competent workers it must enjoy the confidence and respect of labor and industry in order to play a significant role in the planning of america economic future to that end i am authorizing the department of labor to establish promptly a tripartite advisory committee consisting of representatives of employers labor and the public x our civil and social rights form a central part of the heritage we are striving to defend on all fronts and with all our strength i believe with all my heart that our vigilant guarding of these rights is a sacred obligation binding upon every citizen to be true to one own freedom is in essence to honor and respect the freedom of all others a cardinal ideal in this heritage we cherish is the equality of rights of all citizens of every race and color and creed we know that discrimination against minorities persists despite our allegiance to this ideal such discrimination confined to no one section of the nation is but the outward testimony to the persistence of distrust and of fear in the hearts of men this fact makes all the more vital the fighting of these wrongs by each individual in every station of life in his every deed much of the answer lies in the power of fact fully publicized of persuasion honestly pressed and of conscience justly aroused these are methods familiar to our way of life tested and proven wise i propose to use whatever authority exists in the office of the president to end segregation in the district of columbia including the federal government and any segregation in the armed forces here in the district of columbia serious attention should be given to the proposal to develop and authorize through legislation a system to provide an effective voice in local while consideration of this proceeds i recommend an immediate increase of two in the number of district commissioners to broaden representation of all elements of our local population this will be a first step toward insuring that this capital provide an honored example to all communities of our nation in this manner and by the leadership of the office of the president exercised through friendly conferences with those in authority in our states and cities we expect to make true and rapid progress in civil rights and equality of employment opportunity there is one sphere in which civil rights are inevitably involved in federal legislation this is the sphere of immigration it is a manifest right of our government to limit the number of immigrants our nation can absorb it is also a manifest right of our government to set reasonable requirements on the character and the numbers of the people who come to share our land and our freedom it is well for us however to remind ourselves occasionally of an equally manifest fact we are one and all immigrants or sons and daughters of immigrants existing legislation contains injustices it does in fact discriminate i am informed by members of the congress that it was realized at the time of its enactment that future study of the basis of determining quotas would be necessary i am therefore requesting the congress to review this legislation and to enact a statute that will at one and the same time guard our legitimate national interests and be faithful to our basic ideas of freedom and fairness to all in another but related area that of social rights we see most clearly the new application of old ideas of freedom this administration is profoundly aware of two great needs born of our living in a complex industrial economy first the individual citizen must have safeguards against personal disaster inflicted by forces beyond his control second the welfare of the people demands effective and economical performance by the government of certain indispensable social services in the light of this responsibility certain general purposes and certain concrete measures are plainly indicated now there is urgent need for greater effectiveness in our programs both public and private offering safeguards against the privations that too often come with unemployment old age illness and accident the provisions of the and survivors insurance law should promptly be extended to cover millions of citizens who have been left out of the system no less important is the encouragement of privately sponsored pension plans most important of all of course is renewed effort to check the inflation which destroys so much of the value of all payments our school system demands some prompt effective help during each of the last 9 years more than 1 ½ million children have swelled the elementary and secondary school population of the country generally the school population is proportionately higher in states with low per capita income this whole situation calls for careful congressional study and action i am sure that you share my conviction that the firm conditions of federal aid must be proved need and proved lack of local income one phase of the school problem demands special action the school population of many districts has been greatly creased by the swift growth of defense activities these activities have added little or nothing to the tax resources of the communities affected legislation aiding construction of schools in the districts expires on june 30 this law should be renewed and likewise the partial payments for current operating expenses for these particular school districts should be made including the deficiency requirement of the current fiscal year public interest similarly demands one prompt specific action in protection of the general consumer the food and drug administration should be authorized to continue its established and necessary program of factory inspections the invalidation of these inspections by the supreme court of december 8 1952 was based solely on the fact that the present law contained inconsistent and unclear provisions these must be promptly corrected i am well aware that beyond these few immediate measures there remains much to be done the health and housing needs of our people call for intelligently planned programs involved are the solvency of the whole security system and its guarding against exploitation by the irresponsible to bring clear purpose and orderly procedure into this field i anticipate a thorough study of the proper relationship among federal state and local programs i shall shortly send you specific recommendations for establishing such an appropriate commission together with a reorganization plan defining new administrative status for all federal activities in health education and social security i repeat that there are many important subjects of which i make no mention today among these is our great and growing body of veterans america has traditionally been generous in caring for the disabled and the widow and the orphan of the fallen these millions remain close to all our hearts proper care of our uniformed citizens and appreciation of the past service of our veterans are part of our accepted governmental responsibilities xi we have surveyed briefly some problems of our people and a portion of the tasks before us the hope of freedom itself depends in real measure upon our strength our heart and our wisdom we must be strong in arms we must be strong in the source of all our armament our productivity we all workers and farmers foremen and financiers technicians and builders all must produce produce more and produce yet more we must be strong above all in the spiritual resources upon which all else depends we must be devoted with all our heart to the values we defend we must know that each of these values and virtues applies with equal force at the ends of the earth and in our relations with our neighbor next door we must know that freedom expresses itself with equal eloquence in the right of workers to strike in the nearby factory and in the yearnings and sufferings of the peoples of eastern europe as our heart summons our strength our wisdom must direct it there is in world affairs a steady course to be followed between an assertion of strength that is truculent and a confession of helplessness that is cowardly there is in our affairs at home a middle way between untrammeled freedom of the individual and the demands for the welfare of the whole nation this way must avoid government by bureaucracy as carefully as it avoids neglect of the helpless in every area of political action free men must think before they can expect to win in this spirit must we live and labor confident of our strength compassionate in our heart clear in our mind in this spirit let us together turn to the great tasks before us dwight eisenhower
president speaker members congress welcome honor appearing deliver first message congress manifestly joint purpose congressional leadership administration justify summons governmental responsibility issued last november american people grand labors leadership involve application america influence world affairs fortitude foresight deter aggression eventually secure peace establishment national administration integrity efficiency honor home ensure respect abroad encouragement incentives inspire creative initiative economy productivity may fortify freedom everywhere dedication citizens attainment equality opportunity nation ever act strength unity every task called purpose message suggest certain lines along joint efforts may immediately directed toward realization four ruling purposes time administration office brief permit preparation detailed comprehensive program recommended action cover phases responsibilities devolve upon country new leaders program filled weeks ahead appropriate study shall submit additional recommendations consideration today provide sure substantial beginning ii country come painful period trial disillusionment since victory 1945 anticipated world peace cooperation calculated pressures aggressive communism forced us instead live world turmoil costly experience learned one clear lesson learned free world indefinitely remain posture paralyzed tension leaving forever aggressor choice time place means greatest hurt us least cost administration therefore begun definition new positive foreign policy policy governed certain fixed ideas 1 foreign policy must clear consistent confident means must product genuine continuous cooperation executive legislative branches government must developed directed spirit true bipartisanship 2 policy embrace must coherent global policy freedom cherish defend europe americas different freedom imperiled asia 3 policy dedicated making free world secure envision peaceful methods devices except breaking faith friends shall never acquiesce enslavement people order purchase fancied gain shall ask congress later date join appropriate resolution making clear government recognizes kind commitment contained secret understandings past foreign governments permit kind enslavement 4 policy pursue recognize truth single country even one powerful alone defend liberty nations threatened communist aggression without subversion within mutual security means effective mutual cooperation united states means matter common sense national interest shall give help nations measure strive earnestly full share common task wealth aid could compensate poverty spirit heart every free nation must honestly dedicated preserving independence security 5 policy designed foster advent practical unity western europe nations region contributed notably effort sustaining security free world jungles indochina malaya northern shores europe vastly improved defensive strength called upon made costly bitter sacrifices hold line freedom problem security demands closer cooperation among nations europe known date closely integrated economic political system provide greatly increased economic strength needed maintain necessary military readiness respectable living standards europe enlightened leaders long aware facts devoted work gone schuman plan european army strasbourg conference testified vision determination achievements remarkable realize marked victory france germany alike divisions past brought tragedy two great nations world needed unity western europe manifestly manufactured without created within right necessary encourage europe leaders informing high value place upon earnestness efforts toward goal real progress conclusive evidence american people material sacrifices collective security matched essential political economic military accomplishments western europe 6 foreign policy recognize importance profitable equitable world trade substantial beginning made friends europe example marked checkered areas labor surplus labor shortage agricultural areas needing machines industrial areas needing food elsewhere hope friends take initiative creating broader markets dependable currencies allow greater exchange goods services among action along lines create economic environment invite vital help us help includes first revising customs regulations remove procedural obstacles profitable trade recommend congress take reciprocal trade agreements act immediate study extend appropriate legislation objective must ignore legitimate safeguarding domestic industries agriculture labor standards executive study recommendations problem labor management farmers alike earnestly consulted second whatever government properly encourage flow private american investment abroad involves serious explicit purpose foreign policy encouragement hospitable climate investment foreign nations third availing facilities overseas economical production manufactured articles needed mutual defense seriously competitive normal peacetime production fourth receiving rest world equitable exchange supply greater amounts important raw materials possess adequate quantities iii general discussion foreign policy must make special mention war korea war americans painful phase communist aggression throughout world clearly part calculated assault aggressor simultaneously pressing indochina malaya strategic situation manifestly embraces island formosa chinese nationalist forces working military solution korean war inevitably affect areas administration giving immediate increased attention development additional republic korea forces citizens country proved capacity fighting men eagerness take greater share defense homeland organization equipment training allow increased assistance korea purpose conforms fully global policies june 1950 following aggressive attack republic korea united states seventh fleet instructed prevent attack upon formosa also insure formosa used base operations chinese communist mainland meant effect united states navy required serve defensive arm communist china regardless situation 1950 since date order chinese communists invaded korea attack united nations forces consistently rejected proposals united nations command armistice recently joined soviet russia rejecting armistice proposal sponsored united nations government india proposal accepted united states 53 nations consequently longer logic sense condition required united states navy assume defensive responsibilities behalf chinese communists thus permitting communists greater impunity kill soldiers united nations allies korea therefore issuing instructions seventh fleet longer employed shield communist china order implies aggressive intent part certainly obligation protect nation fighting us korea iv labor peace korea world imperatively demands maintenance united states strong fighting service ready contingency problem achieve adequate military strength within limits endurable strain upon economy amass military power without regard economic capacity would defend one kind disaster inviting another military economic objectives demand single national military policy proper coordination armed services effective consolidation certain logistics activities must eliminate waste duplication effort armed services must realize clearly size alone sufficient biggest force necessarily best want best must let traditions habits past stand way developing efficient military force members forces must ever mindful serve single flag single must effectively integrate armament programs plan careful relation industrial facilities assure best use manpower materials complex technical nature military organization security reasons involved secretary defense must take initiative assume responsibility developing plans give nation maximum safety minimum cost accordingly new secretary defense civilian military associates future recommend changes present laws affecting defense activities may necessary clarify responsibilities improve total effectiveness defense effort effort must always conform policies laid national security council statutory function national security council assist president formulation coordination significant domestic foreign military policies required security nation days tension essential central body vitality perform effectively statutory role propose see careful formulation policies must followed clear understanding peoples related need therefore make effective activities government related international information recently appointed committee representative informed citizens survey subject make recommendations near future legislative administrative action unified dynamic effort whole field essential security united states peoples community free nations one sure way avoid total war win cold war retaliatory power one strong deterrent aggressor another powerful deterrent defensive power enemy likely attempt attack foredoomed failure building completely impenetrable defense attack still possible total defensive strength must include civil defense preparedness incontrovertible evidence soviet russia possesses atomic weapons kind protection becomes sheer necessity civil defense responsibilities primarily belong state local governments recruiting training organizing volunteers meet emergency immediate job federal government provide leadership supply technical guidance continue strengthen civil defense stockpile medical engineering related supplies equipment work must go forward without lag referred inescapable need economic health strength maintain adequate military power exert influential leadership peace world immediate task chart fiscal economic policy 1 reduce planned deficits balance budget means among things reducing federal expenditures safe minimum 2 meet huge costs defense 3 properly handle burden inheritance debt obligations 4 check menace inflation 5 work toward earliest possible reduction tax burden 6 make constructive plans encourage initiative citizens important us understand administration begin task clean slate much already written record beyond power quickly erase amend record includes inherited burden indebtedness obligations deficits current year budget know carries billion dollar deficit budget presented administration took office indicates budgetary deficit billion fiscal year ending june 30 1954 national debt 265 billion dollars addition accumulated obligational authority federal government future payment totals 80 billion dollars even amount exclusive large contingent liabilities numerous extensive almost beyond description bills payment nearly 80 billion dollars obligations presented next 4 years bills added current costs government must meet make formidable burden present authorized limit 275 billion dollars forecast presented outgoing administration fiscal year 1954 budget indicates end fiscal year peak demand payments year total government debt may approach even exceed limit unless budgeted deficits checked momentum past programs force increase statutory debt limit permit one understatement meet correct situation easy permit one assurance every department head determined everything resolve first order business elimination annual deficit achieved merely exhortation demands concerted action responsible positions government earnest cooperation congress already begun examination appropriations expenditures departments effort find significant items may decreased canceled without damage essential requirements getting control budget requires also state local governments interested groups citizens restrain demands upon congress federal treasury spend money types projects balanced budget essential first measure checking depreciation buying power dollar one critical steps taken bring end planned inflation purpose manage government finances help hinder family balancing budget reduction taxes justified show succeed bringing budget control budget balanced inflation checked tax burden today stifles initiative must eased determine extent expenditures reduced would wise reduce revenues meanwhile tax structure whole demands review secretary treasury undertaking study immediately must develop system taxation impose least possible obstacle dynamic growth country includes particularly real opportunity growth small businesses many readjustments existing taxes necessary serve objectives also remove existing inequities clarification simplification tax laws well regulations undertaken entire area fiscal policy must various aspects treated recommendations congress coming weeks stated certain basic facts principles first axiomatic economy highly complex sensitive mechanism hasty action kind could seriously upset subtle equation encompasses debts obligations expenditures defense demands deficits taxes general economic health nation goals clear start toward immediate action must gradual second clear great part national debt comes due short time department treasury undertake suitable times program extending part debt longer periods gradually placing greater amounts hands investors third past differences policy treasury federal reserve board helped encourage inflation henceforth expect single purpose shall serve whole nation policies designed stabilize economy encourage free play people genius individual initiative encouraging initiative single item current problems received thoughtful consideration associates many individuals called counsels matter price wage control law great economic strength democracy developed atmosphere freedom character people resists artificial arbitrary controls kind direct controls except credit deal real causes inflation symptoms times national emergency kind control role play whole system however based upon assumption normally combat wide fluctuations price structure relying largely effective use sound fiscal monetary policy upon natural workings economic law moreover american labor american business best resolve wage problems across bargaining table government refrain sitting unless extreme cases public welfare requires protection course living international situation neither emergency demanding full mobilization peace one know long condition persist consequently forced learn many new things go works discarding current discussions related facts weight evidence clearly use controls present forms proved largely unsatisfactory unworkable prevented inflation kept cost living dissatisfaction wholly justified convinced well long run free competitive prices best serve interests people best meet changing growing needs economy accordingly intend ask renewal present wage price controls april 30 1953 present legislation expires meantime steps taken eliminate controls orderly manner terminate special agencies longer needed purpose obviously expected removal controls result individual price changes maximum freedom market prices well collective bargaining characteristic truly free people believe also material product controls ended except respect defense priorities scarce critical items essential defense shall recommend congress legislation enacted continue authority remaining controls type necessary expiration existing statute june 30 1953 recommend continuance authority federal control rents communities serious housing shortages exist chiefly defense areas areas federal government withdraw control rents soon practicable removed entirely legislature full opportunity take within state responsibility function would idle pretend problems whole field prices solve mere federal withdrawal direct controls shall watch trends closely freer functioning economic system well indirect controls appropriately employed prove insufficient period strain tension shall promptly ask congress enact legislation may required facing problems wages prices production tax rates fiscal policy deficits everywhere remain constantly mindful time sacrifice ended concerned encouragement competitive enterprise individual initiative precisely know nation abiding sources strength vi vast world responsibility accents urgency people elemental right government whose clear qualities loyalty security efficiency economy integrity safety america trust people alike demand personnel federal government loyal motives reliable discharge duties combination loyalty reliability promises genuine security state principle easy apply difficult security must shall way example principal new appointees departments agencies investigated request federal bureau investigation confident understanding cooperation know primary responsibility keeping disloyal dangerous rests squarely upon executive branch branch conducts require policing another branch government invites disorder confusion determined meet responsibility executive heads executive departments agencies instructed initiate effective programs security respect personnel attorney general advise guide departments agencies shaping programs designed govern employment new personnel review speedily derogatory information concerning incumbent personnel carry programs believe powers executive branch existing law sufficient prove inadequate necessary legislation requested programs fair rights individual effective safety nation care justice apply basic principle public employment right privilege measures two clear purposes first purpose make certain nation security jeopardized false servants second purpose clear atmosphere unreasoned suspicion accepts rumor gossip substitutes evidence people course deserve demand federal government security personnel demand also efficient logical organization true constitutional principles already established committee government organization committee using point departure reports hoover commission subsequent studies several independent agencies achieve greater efficiency economy committee analyses show possible ask congress extend present government reorganization act period 18 months 2 years beyond expiration date april 1 1953 involved realigning wheels smoothing gears administrative machinery congress executive take initiative discovering removing outmoded functions eliminating duplication one agency example whose head promised early vigorous action provide greater efficiency post office one oldest institutions federal government service best employees merit receive high regard esteem citizens nation today areas postal service waste incompetence corrected cooperation congress taking advantage accumulated experience postal affairs postmaster general institute program directed improving service time reducing costs decreasing deficits departments dedication basic precepts security efficiency integrity economy produce administration deserving trust people placed people demanded nothing less good efficient government shall get nothing less vii vitally important water minerals public lands standing timber forage country population vast future needs resources must match substantial achievements since president theodore roosevelt awakened nation problem conservation calls strong federal program field resource development major projects timed possible assist leveling peaks valleys economic life soundly planned projects already initiated carried new ones planned future best natural resources program america result exclusive dependence federal bureaucracy involve partnership states local communities private citizens federal government working together combined effort advance development great river valleys nation power generate likewise partnership effective expansion throughout nation upstream storage sound use public lands wise conservation minerals sustained yield forests much criticism apparently justified confusion resulting overlapping federal activities entire field matter exhaustively studied appropriate reorganization plans developed particular resource problems pertain department interior another major concerns country island possessions one matter deserves attention platforms political parties promised immediate statehood hawaii people territory earned status statehood granted promptly first election scheduled 1954 viii one difficult problems face new administration slow irregular decline farm prices decline going almost 2 years occurred time nonfarm prices farm costs production extraordinarily high present agricultural legislation provides mandatory support prices basic farm commodities 90 percent parity secretary agriculture associates course execute present act faithfully thereby seek mitigate consequences downturn farm income legislation expire end 1954 begin consider farm legislation develop 1955 beyond aim economic stability full parity income american farmers must seek goal ways minimize governmental interference farmers affairs permit desirable shifts production encourage farmers use initiative meeting changing economic conditions continuing study reveals nothing emphatically complicated nature subject among things shows prosperity agriculture depends directly upon prosperity whole country upon purchasing power american consumers depends also upon opportunity ship abroad large surpluses particular commodities therefore upon sound economic relationships united states many foreign countries involves research scientific investigation conducted extensive scale involves special credit mechanisms marketing rural electrification soil conservation programs whole complex agricultural programs policies studied special agricultural advisory commission know appropriate committees congress nonpartisan group respected authorities field agriculture already appointed interim advisory group immediate changes needed agricultural programs largely budgetary administrative nature new policies new programs must await completion studies already launched ix determination labor policy must governed vagaries political expediency firmest principles convictions slanted partisan appeals american workers spoken group apart necessitating special language treatment affront fullness dignity american citizens truth matters labor policy become obscured controversy meaning economic freedom affects labor become confused misunderstanding provided climate opinion favoring growth governmental paternalism labor relations tendency left uncorrected could end producing bureaucratic despotism economic freedom fact requisite greater prosperity every american earns living field labor legislation law merits respect support labor management help reduce loss wages production strikes stoppages thus add total economic strength nation 5 years experience labor management act 1947 commonly known act experience shown need corrective action promptly proceed amend act know congress already proceeding renewed studies subject meanwhile department labor beginning work devise specific recommendations consideration careful working legislation know give thoughtful consideration executive branch views labor management general public process human us bring forward arguments conduct arguments overpowering light national interest enlightened shall get right answers profoundly hope every citizen country follow understanding progress work welfare us involved especially must remember institutions trade unionism collective bargaining monuments freedom must prevail industrial life century honorable achievement behind faith proven firm final government great deal aid settlement labor disputes without allowing employed ally either side proper role industrial strife encourage processes mediation conciliation processes successfully directed government free taint suspicion partial punitive administration intends strengthen improve services department labor render worker whole national community department created 40 years ago serve entire nation must aid example employers employees alike improving training programs develop skilled competent workers must enjoy confidence respect labor industry order play significant role planning america economic future end authorizing department labor establish promptly tripartite advisory committee consisting representatives employers labor public x civil social rights form central part heritage striving defend fronts strength believe heart vigilant guarding rights sacred obligation binding upon every citizen true one freedom essence honor respect freedom others cardinal ideal heritage cherish equality rights citizens every race color creed know discrimination minorities persists despite allegiance ideal discrimination confined one section nation outward testimony persistence distrust fear hearts men fact makes vital fighting wrongs individual every station life every deed much answer lies power fact fully publicized persuasion honestly pressed conscience justly aroused methods familiar way life tested proven wise propose use whatever authority exists office president end segregation district columbia including federal government segregation armed forces district columbia serious attention given proposal develop authorize legislation system provide effective voice local consideration proceeds recommend immediate increase two number district commissioners broaden representation elements local population first step toward insuring capital provide honored example communities nation manner leadership office president exercised friendly conferences authority states cities expect make true rapid progress civil rights equality employment opportunity one sphere civil rights inevitably involved federal legislation sphere immigration manifest right government limit number immigrants nation absorb also manifest right government set reasonable requirements character numbers people come share land freedom well us however remind occasionally equally manifest fact one immigrants sons daughters immigrants existing legislation contains injustices fact discriminate informed members congress realized time enactment future study basis determining quotas would necessary therefore requesting congress review legislation enact statute one time guard legitimate national interests faithful basic ideas freedom fairness another related area social rights see clearly new application old ideas freedom administration profoundly aware two great needs born living complex industrial economy first individual citizen must safeguards personal disaster inflicted forces beyond control second welfare people demands effective economical performance government certain indispensable social services light responsibility certain general purposes certain concrete measures plainly indicated urgent need greater effectiveness programs public private offering safeguards privations often come unemployment old age illness accident provisions survivors insurance law promptly extended cover millions citizens left system less important encouragement privately sponsored pension plans important course renewed effort check inflation destroys much value payments school system demands prompt effective help last 9 years 1 ½ million children swelled elementary secondary school population country generally school population proportionately higher states low per capita income whole situation calls careful congressional study action sure share conviction firm conditions federal aid must proved need proved lack local income one phase school problem demands special action school population many districts greatly creased swift growth defense activities activities added little nothing tax resources communities affected legislation aiding construction schools districts expires june 30 law renewed likewise partial payments current operating expenses particular school districts made including deficiency requirement current fiscal year public interest similarly demands one prompt specific action protection general consumer food drug administration authorized continue established necessary program factory inspections invalidation inspections supreme court december 8 1952 based solely fact present law contained inconsistent unclear provisions must promptly corrected well aware beyond immediate measures remains much done health housing needs people call intelligently planned programs involved solvency whole security system guarding exploitation irresponsible bring clear purpose orderly procedure field anticipate thorough study proper relationship among federal state local programs shall shortly send specific recommendations establishing appropriate commission together reorganization plan defining new administrative status federal activities health education social security repeat many important subjects make mention today among great growing body veterans america traditionally generous caring disabled widow orphan fallen millions remain close hearts proper care uniformed citizens appreciation past service veterans part accepted governmental responsibilities xi surveyed briefly problems people portion tasks us hope freedom depends real measure upon strength heart wisdom must strong arms must strong source armament productivity workers farmers foremen financiers technicians builders must produce produce produce yet must strong spiritual resources upon else depends must devoted heart values defend must know values virtues applies equal force ends earth relations neighbor next door must know freedom expresses equal eloquence right workers strike nearby factory yearnings sufferings peoples eastern europe heart summons strength wisdom must direct world affairs steady course followed assertion strength truculent confession helplessness cowardly affairs home middle way untrammeled freedom individual demands welfare whole nation way must avoid government bureaucracy carefully avoids neglect helpless every area political action free men must think expect win spirit must live labor confident strength compassionate heart clear mind spirit let us together turn great tasks us dwight eisenhower
president speaker member congress welcome honor appear deliver first message congress manifestly joint purpose congressional leadership administration justify summons governmental responsibility issue last november american people grand labor leadership involve application america influence world affair fortitude foresight deter aggression eventually secure peace establishment national administration integrity efficiency honor home ensure respect abroad encouragement incentive inspire creative initiative economy productivity may fortify freedom everywhere dedication citizen attainment equality opportunity nation ever act strength unity every task call purpose message suggest certain line along joint effort may immediately direct toward realization four ruling purpose time administration office brief permit preparation detail comprehensive program recommend action cover phase responsibility devolve upon country new leader program fill week ahead appropriate study shall submit additional recommendation consideration today provide sure substantial begin ii country come painful period trial disillusionment since victory 1945 anticipated world peace cooperation calculate pressure aggressive communism force u instead live world turmoil costly experience learn one clear lesson learn free world indefinitely remain posture paralyzed tension leave forever aggressor choice time place mean great hurt u least cost administration therefore begin definition new positive foreign policy policy govern certain fixed idea 1 foreign policy must clear consistent confident mean must product genuine continuous cooperation executive legislative branch government must develop directed spirit true bipartisanship 2 policy embrace must coherent global policy freedom cherish defend europe americas different freedom imperil asia 3 policy dedicate make free world secure envision peaceful method device except break faith friend shall never acquiesce enslavement people order purchase fancy gain shall ask congress later date join appropriate resolution make clear government recognize kind commitment contain secret understanding past foreign government permit kind enslavement 4 policy pursue recognize truth single country even one powerful alone defend liberty nation threaten communist aggression without subversion within mutual security mean effective mutual cooperation united state mean matter common sense national interest shall give help nation measure strive earnestly full share common task wealth aid could compensate poverty spirit heart every free nation must honestly dedicate preserve independence security 5 policy design foster advent practical unity western europe nation region contribute notably effort sustain security free world jungles indochina malaya northern shore europe vastly improve defensive strength call upon make costly bitter sacrifice hold line freedom problem security demand close cooperation among nation europe know date closely integrated economic political system provide greatly increased economic strength need maintain necessary military readiness respectable living standard europe enlightened leader long aware fact devote work go schuman plan european army strasbourg conference testify vision determination achievement remarkable realize marked victory france germany alike division past bring tragedy two great nation world need unity western europe manifestly manufacture without create within right necessary encourage europe leader inform high value place upon earnestness effort toward goal real progress conclusive evidence american people material sacrifice collective security match essential political economic military accomplishment western europe 6 foreign policy recognize importance profitable equitable world trade substantial begin make friend europe example mark checkered area labor surplus labor shortage agricultural area need machine industrial area need food elsewhere hope friend take initiative create broad market dependable currency allow great exchange good service among action along line create economic environment invite vital help u help include first revise custom regulation remove procedural obstacle profitable trade recommend congress take reciprocal trade agreement act immediate study extend appropriate legislation objective must ignore legitimate safeguard domestic industry agriculture labor standard executive study recommendation problem labor management farmer alike earnestly consult second whatever government properly encourage flow private american investment abroad involve serious explicit purpose foreign policy encouragement hospitable climate investment foreign nation third avail facility overseas economical production manufacture article need mutual defense seriously competitive normal peacetime production fourth receive rest world equitable exchange supply great amount important raw material possess adequate quantity iii general discussion foreign policy must make special mention war korea war american painful phase communist aggression throughout world clearly part calculate assault aggressor simultaneously press indochina malaya strategic situation manifestly embrace island formosa chinese nationalist force work military solution korean war inevitably affect area administration give immediate increase attention development additional republic korea force citizen country prove capacity fight men eagerness take great share defense homeland organization equipment train allow increase assistance korea purpose conforms fully global policy june 1950 follow aggressive attack republic korea united state seventh fleet instruct prevent attack upon formosa also insure formosa use base operation chinese communist mainland meant effect united state navy require serve defensive arm communist china regardless situation 1950 since date order chinese communist invade korea attack united nation force consistently reject proposal united nation command armistice recently join soviet russia reject armistice proposal sponsor united nation government india proposal accept united state 53 nation consequently longer logic sense condition require united state navy assume defensive responsibility behalf chinese communist thus permit communist great impunity kill soldier united nation ally korea therefore issuing instruction seventh fleet longer employed shield communist china order implies aggressive intent part certainly obligation protect nation fight u korea iv labor peace korea world imperatively demand maintenance united state strong fight service ready contingency problem achieve adequate military strength within limit endurable strain upon economy amass military power without regard economic capacity would defend one kind disaster invite another military economic objective demand single national military policy proper coordination arm service effective consolidation certain logistics activity must eliminate waste duplication effort arm service must realize clearly size alone sufficient big force necessarily best want best must let tradition habit past stand way develop efficient military force member force must ever mindful serve single flag single must effectively integrate armament program plan careful relation industrial facility assure best use manpower material complex technical nature military organization security reason involve secretary defense must take initiative assume responsibility develop plan give nation maximum safety minimum cost accordingly new secretary defense civilian military associate future recommend change present law affect defense activity may necessary clarify responsibility improve total effectiveness defense effort effort must always conform policy lay national security council statutory function national security council assist president formulation coordination significant domestic foreign military policy require security nation day tension essential central body vitality perform effectively statutory role propose see careful formulation policy must follow clear understanding people relate need therefore make effective activity government relate international information recently appoint committee representative inform citizen survey subject make recommendation near future legislative administrative action unify dynamic effort whole field essential security united state people community free nation one sure way avoid total war win cold war retaliatory power one strong deterrent aggressor another powerful deterrent defensive power enemy likely attempt attack foredoom failure building completely impenetrable defense attack still possible total defensive strength must include civil defense preparedness incontrovertible evidence soviet russia possess atomic weapon kind protection become sheer necessity civil defense responsibility primarily belong state local government recruit train organize volunteer meet emergency immediate job federal government provide leadership supply technical guidance continue strengthen civil defense stockpile medical engineering relate supply equipment work must go forward without lag refer inescapable need economic health strength maintain adequate military power exert influential leadership peace world immediate task chart fiscal economic policy 1 reduce plan deficit balance budget mean among thing reduce federal expenditure safe minimum 2 meet huge cost defense 3 properly handle burden inheritance debt obligation 4 check menace inflation 5 work toward early possible reduction tax burden 6 make constructive plan encourage initiative citizen important u understand administration begin task clean slate much already write record beyond power quickly erase amend record include inherit burden indebtedness obligation deficit current year budget know carry billion dollar deficit budget present administration take office indicate budgetary deficit billion fiscal year end june 30 1954 national debt 265 billion dollar addition accumulate obligational authority federal government future payment total 80 billion dollar even amount exclusive large contingent liability numerous extensive almost beyond description bill payment nearly 80 billion dollar obligation present next 4 year bill add current cost government must meet make formidable burden present authorize limit 275 billion dollar forecast present outgoing administration fiscal year 1954 budget indicate end fiscal year peak demand payment year total government debt may approach even exceed limit unless budget deficit check momentum past program force increase statutory debt limit permit one understatement meet correct situation easy permit one assurance every department head determine everything resolve first order business elimination annual deficit achieve merely exhortation demand concert action responsible position government earnest cooperation congress already begin examination appropriation expenditures department effort find significant item may decrease cancel without damage essential requirement get control budget require also state local government interested group citizen restrain demand upon congress federal treasury spend money type project balance budget essential first measure check depreciation buy power dollar one critical step take bring end plan inflation purpose manage government finance help hinder family balance budget reduction tax justify show succeed bring budget control budget balance inflation check tax burden today stifle initiative must ease determine extent expenditure reduce would wise reduce revenue meanwhile tax structure whole demand review secretary treasury undertake study immediately must develop system taxation impose least possible obstacle dynamic growth country include particularly real opportunity growth small business many readjustment exist tax necessary serve objective also remove exist inequity clarification simplification tax law well regulation undertaken entire area fiscal policy must various aspect treat recommendation congress come week state certain basic fact principle first axiomatic economy highly complex sensitive mechanism hasty action kind could seriously upset subtle equation encompass debt obligation expenditure defense demand deficit tax general economic health nation goal clear start toward immediate action must gradual second clear great part national debt come due short time department treasury undertake suitable time program extend part debt long period gradually place great amount hand investor third past difference policy treasury federal reserve board help encourage inflation henceforth expect single purpose shall serve whole nation policy design stabilize economy encourage free play people genius individual initiative encouraging initiative single item current problem receive thoughtful consideration associate many individual call counsel matter price wage control law great economic strength democracy develop atmosphere freedom character people resist artificial arbitrary control kind direct control except credit deal real cause inflation symptom time national emergency kind control role play whole system however base upon assumption normally combat wide fluctuation price structure rely largely effective use sound fiscal monetary policy upon natural working economic law moreover american labor american business best resolve wage problem across bargain table government refrain sit unless extreme case public welfare require protection course live international situation neither emergency demand full mobilization peace one know long condition persist consequently force learn many new thing go work discard current discussion related fact weight evidence clearly use control present form prove largely unsatisfactory unworkable prevent inflation keep cost living dissatisfaction wholly justify convince well long run free competitive price best serve interest people best meet change grow need economy accordingly intend ask renewal present wage price control april 30 1953 present legislation expire meantime step take eliminate control orderly manner terminate special agency longer need purpose obviously expect removal control result individual price change maximum freedom market price well collective bargaining characteristic truly free people believe also material product control end except respect defense priority scarce critical item essential defense shall recommend congress legislation enact continue authority remain control type necessary expiration exist statute june 30 1953 recommend continuance authority federal control rent communities serious housing shortage exist chiefly defense area area federal government withdraw control rent soon practicable remove entirely legislature full opportunity take within state responsibility function would idle pretend problem whole field price solve mere federal withdrawal direct control shall watch trend closely freer function economic system well indirect control appropriately employ prove insufficient period strain tension shall promptly ask congress enact legislation may require face problem wage price production tax rate fiscal policy deficit everywhere remain constantly mindful time sacrifice end concerned encouragement competitive enterprise individual initiative precisely know nation abide source strength vi vast world responsibility accent urgency people elemental right government whose clear quality loyalty security efficiency economy integrity safety america trust people alike demand personnel federal government loyal motif reliable discharge duty combination loyalty reliability promise genuine security state principle easy apply difficult security must shall way example principal new appointee department agency investigate request federal bureau investigation confident understanding cooperation know primary responsibility keep disloyal dangerous rest squarely upon executive branch branch conduct require police another branch government invite disorder confusion determine meet responsibility executive head executive department agency instruct initiate effective program security respect personnel attorney general advise guide department agency shape program design govern employment new personnel review speedily derogatory information concern incumbent personnel carry program believe power executive branch exist law sufficient prove inadequate necessary legislation request program fair right individual effective safety nation care justice apply basic principle public employment right privilege measure two clear purpose first purpose make certain nation security jeopardize false servant second purpose clear atmosphere unreasoned suspicion accepts rumor gossip substitute evidence people course deserve demand federal government security personnel demand also efficient logical organization true constitutional principle already establish committee government organization committee use point departure report hoover commission subsequent study several independent agency achieve great efficiency economy committee analyse show possible ask congress extend present government reorganization act period 18 month 2 year beyond expiration date april 1 1953 involved realign wheel smooth gear administrative machinery congress executive take initiative discover remove outmoded function eliminate duplication one agency example whose head promise early vigorous action provide great efficiency post office one old institution federal government service best employee merit receive high regard esteem citizen nation today area postal service waste incompetence correct cooperation congress take advantage accumulate experience postal affair postmaster general institute program direct improve service time reduce cost decrease deficit department dedication basic precept security efficiency integrity economy produce administration deserve trust people place people demand nothing less good efficient government shall get nothing less vii vitally important water mineral public land stand timber forage country population vast future need resource must match substantial achievement since president theodore roosevelt awaken nation problem conservation call strong federal program field resource development major project time possible assist level peak valley economic life soundly planned project already initiate carry new one plan future best natural resource program america result exclusive dependence federal bureaucracy involve partnership state local community private citizen federal government work together combine effort advance development great river valley nation power generate likewise partnership effective expansion throughout nation upstream storage sound use public land wise conservation mineral sustain yield forest much criticism apparently justified confusion result overlap federal activity entire field matter exhaustively study appropriate reorganization plan develop particular resource problem pertain department interior another major concern country island possession one matter deserve attention platform political party promise immediate statehood hawaii people territory earn status statehood grant promptly first election schedule 1954 viii one difficult problem face new administration slow irregular decline farm price decline go almost 2 year occur time nonfarm price farm cost production extraordinarily high present agricultural legislation provide mandatory support price basic farm commodity 90 percent parity secretary agriculture associate course execute present act faithfully thereby seek mitigate consequence downturn farm income legislation expire end 1954 begin consider farm legislation develop 1955 beyond aim economic stability full parity income american farmer must seek goal way minimize governmental interference farmer affair permit desirable shift production encourage farmer use initiative meeting change economic condition continue study reveals nothing emphatically complicate nature subject among thing show prosperity agriculture depend directly upon prosperity whole country upon purchase power american consumer depend also upon opportunity ship abroad large surplus particular commodity therefore upon sound economic relationship unite state many foreign country involve research scientific investigation conduct extensive scale involve special credit mechanism market rural electrification soil conservation program whole complex agricultural program policy study special agricultural advisory commission know appropriate committee congress nonpartisan group respect authority field agriculture already appoint interim advisory group immediate change need agricultural program largely budgetary administrative nature new policy new program must await completion study already launch ix determination labor policy must govern vagary political expediency firm principle conviction slant partisan appeal american worker speak group apart necessitate special language treatment affront fullness dignity american citizen truth matter labor policy become obscure controversy mean economic freedom affect labor become confused misunderstanding provide climate opinion favor growth governmental paternalism labor relation tendency leave uncorrected could end produce bureaucratic despotism economic freedom fact requisite great prosperity every american earn live field labor legislation law merit respect support labor management help reduce loss wage production strike stoppage thus add total economic strength nation 5 year experience labor management act 1947 commonly know act experience show need corrective action promptly proceed amend act know congress already proceed renew study subject meanwhile department labor begin work devise specific recommendation consideration careful working legislation know give thoughtful consideration executive branch view labor management general public process human u bring forward argument conduct argument overpower light national interest enlighten shall get right answer profoundly hope every citizen country follow understanding progress work welfare u involve especially must remember institution trade unionism collective bargaining monument freedom must prevail industrial life century honorable achievement behind faith proven firm final government great deal aid settlement labor dispute without allow employ ally either side proper role industrial strife encourage process mediation conciliation process successfully directed government free taint suspicion partial punitive administration intend strengthen improve service department labor render worker whole national community department create 40 year ago serve entire nation must aid example employer employee alike improve train program develop skilled competent worker must enjoy confidence respect labor industry order play significant role planning america economic future end authorize department labor establish promptly tripartite advisory committee consist representative employer labor public x civil social right form central part heritage strive defend front strength believe heart vigilant guard right sacred obligation bind upon every citizen true one freedom essence honor respect freedom others cardinal ideal heritage cherish equality right citizens every race color creed know discrimination minority persist despite allegiance ideal discrimination confine one section nation outward testimony persistence distrust fear heart men fact make vital fighting wrong individual every station life every deed much answer lie power fact fully publicize persuasion honestly press conscience justly arouse method familiar way life test proven wise propose use whatever authority exist office president end segregation district columbia include federal government segregation arm force district columbia serious attention give proposal develop authorize legislation system provide effective voice local consideration proceeds recommend immediate increase two number district commissioner broaden representation element local population first step toward insure capital provide honor example community nation manner leadership office president exercise friendly conference authority state city expect make true rapid progress civil right equality employment opportunity one sphere civil right inevitably involved federal legislation sphere immigration manifest right government limit number immigrant nation absorb also manifest right government set reasonable requirement character number people come share land freedom well u however remind occasionally equally manifest fact one immigrants son daughter immigrant exist legislation contains injustice fact discriminate inform member congress realized time enactment future study basis determine quota would necessary therefore request congress review legislation enact statute one time guard legitimate national interest faithful basic idea freedom fairness another related area social right see clearly new application old idea freedom administration profoundly aware two great need born living complex industrial economy first individual citizen must safeguard personal disaster inflict force beyond control second welfare people demand effective economical performance government certain indispensable social service light responsibility certain general purpose certain concrete measure plainly indicate urgent need great effectiveness program public private offering safeguard privation often come unemployment old age illness accident provision survivor insurance law promptly extend cover million citizen leave system less important encouragement privately sponsor pension plan important course renew effort check inflation destroy much value payment school system demand prompt effective help last 9 year 1 ½ million child swell elementary secondary school population country generally school population proportionately higher state low per capita income whole situation call careful congressional study action sure share conviction firm condition federal aid must prove need prove lack local income one phase school problem demand special action school population many district greatly crease swift growth defense activity activity add little nothing tax resource community affect legislation aid construction school district expire june 30 law renew likewise partial payment current operating expense particular school district make include deficiency requirement current fiscal year public interest similarly demand one prompt specific action protection general consumer food drug administration authorize continue establish necessary program factory inspection invalidation inspection supreme court december 8 1952 base solely fact present law contain inconsistent unclear provision must promptly correct well aware beyond immediate measure remain much do health housing need people call intelligently plan program involve solvency whole security system guard exploitation irresponsible bring clear purpose orderly procedure field anticipate thorough study proper relationship among federal state local program shall shortly send specific recommendation establish appropriate commission together reorganization plan define new administrative status federal activity health education social security repeat many important subject make mention today among great grow body veteran america traditionally generous care disabled widow orphan fall million remain close heart proper care uniformed citizen appreciation past service veteran part accept governmental responsibility xi survey briefly problem people portion task u hope freedom depends real measure upon strength heart wisdom must strong arm must strong source armament productivity worker farmer foremen financier technician builder must produce produce produce yet must strong spiritual resource upon else depends must devote heart value defend must know value virtues applies equal force end earth relation neighbor next door must know freedom express equal eloquence right worker strike nearby factory yearning suffering people eastern europe heart summons strength wisdom must direct world affair steady course follow assertion strength truculent confession helplessness cowardly affair home middle way untrammeled freedom individual demand welfare whole nation way must avoid government bureaucracy carefully avoids neglect helpless every area political action free men must think expect win spirit must live labor confident strength compassionate heart clear mind spirit let u together turn great task u dwight eisenhower