.; 4- -" -,., - A.-, I -- I i II --------- l W-1..I e.,.4., k, - le 11 AL 4., I II -.1 t l(l. - IA 6 '14 "A. I A AI S 4 -- V THE GEORGE AND HELEN LADD LIBRARY BATES COLLEGE LEWISTON, MAINE '2 r.a a-wr-.0 err V077 -7 -T) 90 4 -- I or" o I I ) I,, ll 'e I:-,I 4 9 -m-lI I C,;z, -11 -k-, ok I Ar IL a 2 - A — -—. IN* Jr t IikJL R q -;, '' I mWom"Imi fi e BATPES COLLEGE LEISONMA L MAIN'L qLlQ -Forces a ewyr I il 0 - APIM-7 - 1) 'a -Now - - - IMPM- — Plqp --- r,- ~ K/11 n0: 'I '.:"jl, v II,.j 4.AN-m- I" is, -- - --- I.- -I -I-, I 1. ME-1 9- W-2 2 — ir- - -77 I IN 'EL M = a -11 la R - a N Aw im 1 — - -111"m -7-19- w -111- -- f 1 womwAmmmmmm — -u I Ni 1 lVI 1, own*= -ip 1117 4 W',, 4 BATES COLLEGE!; v-3f —APY~ LEWI'STON. A,~ M, Al NE, PUBLIC PAPERS OF THE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES I r "1 - PUBLIC PAPERS OF THE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES Dwight D. Eisenhower I953 Containing the Public Messages, Speeches, and Statements of the President JANUARY 20 TO DECEMBER 3I, 195 TC- ' 0 G LEWISTNS MAINL BATES COLLEGE LEWV~viS N,. MAINE I PUBLISHED BY THE OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL REGISTER NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS SERVICE GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION U.5. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1960 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington 25, D.C. - Price $6.75 FOREWORD THERE HAS BEEN a long-felt need for an orderly series of the Public Papers of the Presidents. A reference work of this type can be most helpful to scholars and officials of government, to reporters of current affairs and the events of history. The general availability of the official text of Presidential documents and messages will serve a broader purpose. As part of the expression of democracy, this series can be a vital factor in the maintenance of our individual freedoms and our institutions of self-government. I wish success to the editors of this project, and I am sure their work through the years will add strength to the ever-growing traditions of the Republic. v PREFACE IN THIS VOLUME are gathered most of the public messages and statements of the President of the United States that were released by the White House during the year 1953. A similar volume, covering the year I957, was published early in 1958 as the first of a series. The President's foreword is reprinted from that volume. Immediate plans for this series call for the publication of annual volumes soon after the close of each new calendar year, and at the same time undertaking the periodic compilation of volumes covering previous years. Volumes covering the years 1953 through 1959 are now available. This series was begun in response to a recommendation of the National Historical Publications Commission (44 U.S.C. 393). The Commission's recommendation was incorporated in regulations of the Administrative Committee of the Federal Register issued under section 6 of the Federal Register Act (44 U.S.C. 306). The Committee's regulations, establishing the series, are reprinted at page 886 as "Appendix D." The first extensive compilation of the messages and papers of the Presidents was assembled by James D. Richardson and published under Congressional authority between i896 and I899. It included Presidential materials from 1789 to I897. Since then, there have been various private compilations, but no uniform, systematic publication comparable to the Congressional Record or the United States Supreme Court Reports. vII Preface For many years Presidential Proclamations have been published in the United States Statutes at Large. The Federal Register Act in 1935 required that Proclamations, Executive Orders, and some other official Executive documents be published in the daily Federal Register; but the greater part of Presidential writings and utterances still lacked an official medium for either current publication or periodic compilation. Some of them were interspersed through the issues of the Congressional Record while others were reported only in the press or were generally available only in mimeographed White House releases. Under these circumstances it was difficult to remember, after a lapse of time, where and in what form even a major pronouncement had been made. CONTENT AND ARRANGEMENT The text of this book is based on Presidential materials issued during the calendar year I953 as White House releases and on transcripts of news conferences. Where available, original source materials have been used to protect against substantive errors in transcription. A list of the White House releases from which final selections were made is published at page 863 as "Appendix A.". The full text of the President's news conferences is here published for the first time. In 1953 direct quotation of the President's replies to queries usually was not authorized by the White House. Proclamations, Executive Orders, and similar documents, required by law to be published in the Federal Register and Code of Federal Regulations are not repeated. Instead, they are listed by number and subject under the heading "Appendix B" at page 879. vm a Preface The President is required by statute to transmit numerous reports to Congress. Those transmitted during I953 are listed at page 885 as "Appendix C." The items published in this volume are presented in chronological order, rather than being grouped in classes. Most needs for a classified arrangement are met by the subject index. For example, a reader interested in veto messages sent to Congress during I953 will find them listed in the index under "veto messages." The dates shown at the end of item headings are White House release dates. In instances where the date of the document differs from the release date that fact is shown in brackets immediately following the heading. Other editorial devices, such as text notes, footnotes, and cross references, have been held to a minimum. Remarks or addresses were delivered in Washington, D.C., unless otherwise indicated. Similarly, statements, messages, and letters were issued from the White House in Washington unless otherwise indicated. The planning and publication of this series is under the direction of David C. Eberhart of the Office of the Federal Register. The editor of the present volume was Warren R. Reid, assisted by Mildred B. Berry and Robert R. Bolton. Frank H. Mortimer of the Government Printing Office developed the typography and design. WAYNE C. GROVER Archivist of the United States FRANKLIN FLOETE Administrator of General Services October 20, I960 56616-60 ---2 IX U CONTENTS Page FRONTISPIECE-Picture of the President taken at his desk at the White House, November 3, 1953. FOREWORD........ V PREFACE......... VII LIST OF ITEMS........ XIII PUBLIC PAPERS OF DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER... I Appendix A-White House Press Releases, 1953.. 863 Appendix B-Presidential Documents Published in the Federal Register, 1953...... 879 Appendix C-Presidential Reports to the Congress, I953. 885 Appendix D-Rules Governing This Publication. 886 INDEX...... 889 XI LIST OF ITEMS Page i Inaugural Address. January 20, 1953 I 2 Statement by the President on Establishing the President's Committee on International Information Activities. January 26, 1953 8 3 Letter to the President of the American National Red Cross Accepting the Position of Honorary Chairman. January 29, I953 9 4 Memorandum on the Red Cross Campaign. January 29, 1953 9 5 Remarks Recorded for the American Legion "Back to God" Program. February i, 1953 I 6 Annual Message to the Congress on the State of the Union. February 2, I953 I2 7 Messages to Heads of State on the Storm Disasters in Western Europe. February 2, I953 34 8 Remarks at the Dedicatory Prayer Breakfast of the International Christian Leadership. February 5, 1953 36 9 Message to the Boy Scouts of America on Their 43d Anniversary. February 7, I953 39 iO Statement by the President After Reviewing the Case of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. February I i, I953 40 XIII List of Items Page i I Letter to Colonel C. M. Boyer, Executive Director, Reserve Officers Association, Concerning National Defense Week. February I6, I953 41 12 The President's News Conference of February 17, I953 42 13 Letter to James W. Cothran, Commander in Chief, Veterans of Foreign Wars. February 17, 1953 56 I4 Letter to the President of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House of Representatives Transmitting a Proposed Resolution on Subjugated Peoples. February 20, 1953 56 15 The President's News Conference of February 25, I953 58 I6 Statement by the President Concerning the Need for a Presidential Commission on Federal-State Relations. February 26, I1953 70 17 Remarks Recorded for the Opening of the Red Cross Campaign. March I, 1953 7I I8 Statement Following Discussions With Prince Faisal, Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia. March 2, I953 73 19 Citation Accompanying the Distinguished Service Medal Presented to General Van Fleet. March 3, 1953 74 20 Statement by the President Concerning the Illness of Joseph Stalin. March 4, 1953 75 21 Statement by the President on the Occasion of the Swearing In of Val Peterson as Administrator, Federal Civil Defense Administration. March 4, 1953 75 XIV 3 List of Items Page 22 The President's News Conference of March 5, I953 76 23 Remarks to the American Retail Federation. March 5, 1953 89 24 Message Conveying the Government's Official Condolences on the Death of Joseph Stalin. March 5, I953 9I 25 Letter to Horace M. Albright Concerning a MidCentury Conference on Resources. March 6, I953 91 26 Statement by the President Following Meeting With Elliott Newcomb, Secretary General of the World Veterans Federation. March 7, I953 92 27 Citation Accompanying the Medal of Honor Presented to Corporal Duane E. Dewey. March 12, I953 93 28 Special Message to the Congress Transmitting Reorganization Plan I of 1953 Creating the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. March 12, i953 94 29 Remarks to the Members of the House of Delegates of the American Medical Association. March I4, I953 98 30 Remarks to the Business Advisory Council of the Department of Commerce. March 18, 1953 Ioo 31 The President's News Conference of March I9, I953 104 32 Statement by the President on the Occasion of the Swearing In of Philip Young as a Member of the Civil Service Commission and His Designation as Chairman. March 23, 1953 II8 XV List of Items Page 33 White House Statement Concerning Steps Taken To Strengthen and Improve the Operations of the National Security Council. March 23, 1953 120 34 Message for Queen Elizabeth II on the Death of Queen Mother Mary. March 24, 1953 122 35 Special Message to the Congress Transmitting Reorganization Plan 2 of I 953 Concerning the Department of Agriculture. March 25, I953 122 36 Memorandum Concerning Segregation in Schools on Army Posts. March 25, I953 I27 37 The President's News Conference of March 26, I953 127 38 Statement by the President on the Resignation of C. Wesley Roberts, Chairman, Republican National Committee. March 27, 1953 139 39 Special Message to the Congress Recommending the Establishment of a Commission To Study Federal, State, and Local Relations. March 30, 1953 139 40 Special Message to the Congress Transmitting Reorganization Plan 3 of 1953 Concerning the Organization of the Executive Office of the President. April 2, I953 I42 4i The President's News Conference of April 2, I953 I47 42 Statement by the President on the Fourth Anniversary of the Signing of the North Atlantic Treaty. April 4,I953 i 6o 43 Message to the Members of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. April 7, 1953 i62 XVI List of Items Page 44 Special Message to the Congress Recommending the Renewal of the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act. April 7, 1953 163 45 Remarks at a Meeting of the United Defense Fund Organization. April 7, 1953 i66 46 Special Message to the Senate Transmitting Agreements With Germany Relating to the Settlement of Certain Debts and Claims. April io, I953 i68 47 Letter to the Governors of the States Inviting Them to a Conference at the White House. April iI, 1953 I7I 48 Address Before the Council of the Organization of American States. April 12, 1953 172 49 Special Message to the Congress Recommending Legislation for the Disposal of Government-Owned Synthetic Rubber Facilities. April 14, 1953 176 50 Address "The Chance for Peace" Delivered Before the American Society of Newspaper Editors. April i 6,I 1953 1 79 5I Special Message to the Congress Transmitting Reorganization Plan 4 of 1953 Concerning the Department of Justice. April 20, 1953 i88 52 Letter to the President of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House of Representatives Recommending Emergency Legislation for the Admission of Refugees. April 22, 1953 191 53 Exchange of Letters Between the President and Queen Juliana of the Netherlands Concerning Refugees. April 23, 1953 192 XVII List of Items Page 54 The President's News Conference of April 23, I953 196 55 Memorandum on Payment for Unused Leave to Persons Appointed by the President. April 23, 1953 21 56 Letter to the Chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Concerning the St. Lawrence Seaway. April 24, I953 212 57 Remarks at the Luncheon of the Republican Women's Spring Conference. April 24, I953 213 58 Letter to Senator Anderson Concerning the Submerged Lands Bill. April 24, 1953 217 59 Memorandum Convening the President's Conference on Administrative Procedure. April 29, I953 219 60 Special Message to the Congress Transmitting Reorganization Plan 5 of 1953 Concerning the ExportImport Bank of Washington. April 30, I953 222 6i Special Message to the Congress Transmitting Reorganization Plan 6 of 1953 Concerning the Department of Defense. April 30, I953 225 62 The President's News Conference of April 30, 1953 238 63 Letter to the President of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House of Representatives Recommending Establishment of a Commission on Foreign Economic Policy. May 2, 1953 252 64 Excerpts From the President's Remarks Opening the White House Conference of Governors. May 4, 1953 254 65 Statement by the President on the Fund-Raising Campaign of the American-Korean Foundation. May 5, I953 255 xvm List of Items Page 66 Special Message to the Congress on the Mutual Security Program. May 5, 1953 256 67 Excerpts From the President's Remarks Closing the White House Conference of Governors. May 5, I953 259 68 Address at the New York Republican State Committee Dinner, Astor Hotel, New York City. May 7, 1953 26i 69 Address at the New York Republican State Committee Dinner, Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York City. May 7, I953 267 70 Joint Statement Following Discussions With Prime Minister St. Laurent of Canada. May 8, 1953 275 71 Letter to General Ridgway, Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, Regarding His Nomination as Chief of Staff of the Army. May 12, 1953 278 72 Letter to the Chairman, North Atlantic Council, Requesting the Release of General Ridgway as Supreme Allied Commander, Europe. May 12, 1953 279 73 Letter to General Ridgway on His Service as Supreme Allied Commander, Europe. May 12, 1953 280 74 Message to the Chairman, North Atlantic Council, Nominating General Gruenther as Supreme Allied Commander, Europe. May 12, 1953 281 75 Letter to General Gruenther Regarding His Nomination as Supreme Allied Commander, Europe. May 12, 1953 282 76 Letter to Admiral Carney Regarding His Nomination as Chief of Naval Operations. May I 2, 1953 283 XIX List of Items Page 77 The President's News Conference of May 14, 1953 284 78 Remarks at the House of Burgesses, Williamsburg, Virginia. May 15, 1953 297 79 Address at the Inauguration of the 22d President of the College of William and Mary at Williamsburg. May I5, 1953 298 80 Remarks to the Midshipmen at the Naval Academy in Annapolis. May 17, 1953 301 8i Remarks at the United Negro College Fund Luncheon. May 19, 1953 303 82 Radio Address to the American People on the National Security and Its Costs. May 19, 1953 306 83 Recorded Summary of Address to the American People on the National Security and Its Costs. May 19, 1953 316 84 Special Message to the Congress Recommending Tax Legislation. May 20, 1953 318 85 Statement by the President on the Forthcoming Meeting of the Heads of Government of the United States, Great Britain, and France. May 21, 1953 326 86 Statement by the President Upon Signing the Submerged Lands Act. May 22, 1953 326 87 Statement by the President on the Armistice Negotiations at Panmunjom. May 26, 1953 327 88 The President's News Conference of May 28, 1953 328 89 Special Message to the Congress on the Organization of the Executive Branch for the Conduct of Foreign Affairs. June i, 1953 342 xx List of Items Page 9o Special Message to the Congress Transmitting Reorganization Plan 7 of I953 Relating to the Establishment of the Foreign Operations Administration. June I, I953 348 91 Special Message to the Congress Transmitting Reorganization Plan 8 of 1953 Relating to the Establishment of the U.S. Information Agency. June I, 1953 350 92 Memorandum on the Organization of the Executive Branch for the Conduct of Foreign Affairs. June i, I953 35I 93 Special Message to the Congress Transmitting Reorganization Plan 9 of I953 Concerning the Council of Economic Advisers. June i, I953 355 94 Special Message to the Congress Transmitting Reorganization Plan 10 of 1953 Concerning Payments to Air Carriers. June I, I953 360 95 Television Report to the American People by the President and Members of the Cabinet. June 3, I953 363 96 Letter to President Syngman Rhee of Korea, Concerning Acceptance of the Panmunjom Armistice. June 7, I953 377 97 Special Message to the Congress Requesting Authority To Make Wheat Available for Famine Victims in Pakistan. June 10, I953 380 98 Address at the Annual Convention of the National Junior Chamber of Commerce, Minneapolis, Minnesota. June io, 1953 384 99 Remarks at the Ebenezer Home for the Aged in Minneapolis. June I0, 1953 392 XXI List of Items Page i oo Address at the Closure Ceremonies at Garrison Dam, North Dakota. June ii, 1953 393 10I Address at the Annual Convention of the National Young Republican Organization, Mount Rushmore National Monument, South Dakota. June 11,1953 399 102 Exchange of Messages Between the President and Prime Minister Nehru of India on the Prisoner of War Agreement Reached at Panmunjom. June 12, 1953 410 103 Remarks at the Dedication of the Ellsworth Air Force Base, Rapid City, South Dakota. June 13, I953 4"II 104 Remarks at the Dartmouth College Commencement Exercises, Hanover, New Hampshire. June 14, I953 4" 105 Remarks at the Dedication of the Theodore Roosevelt Home at Sagamore Hill, Oyster Bay, New York, as a National Shrine. June 14, 1953 416 io6 Statement by the President on the Death of Douglas Southall Freeman. June 15, 1953 419 107 Veto of Bill Concerning the Claim of J. Don Alexander. June 15, 1953 419 io8 Veto of Bill for the Relief of Helmuth Wolf Gruhl. June 15, 1953 421 109 The President's News Conference of June 17, 1953 424 IO10 Statement by the President on a Proposed Executive Order Entitled "Safeguarding Official Information in the Interest of the Defense of the United States." June 17, 1953 441 XXn List of Items Page I I I Letter to Chairmen of Senate Foreign Relations and House Foreign Affairs Committees Concerning the European Coal and Steel Community. June 17, I953 443 112 Statement by the President on the Prevention of Forest Fires. June i8, 1953 445 I1I3 Statement by the President Regarding a Grant of Additional Aid to West Berlin. June 18, 1953 445 11 4 Statement by the President Declining To Intervene on Behalf of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. June 19, I953 446 115 Memorandum on the Community Chest and United Fund Campaigns. June 22, 1953 447 ii6 Statement by the President Upon Signing Bill Providing for the Treatment of Narcotics Users in the District of Columbia. June 24, 1953 448 117 Remarks at the American Red Cross Convention. June 24, 1953 449 II8 Remarks to Veterans Making the Last Trip on the U.S.S. Williamsburg. June 25, 1953 453 119 Statement by the President Upon Signing the Pakistan Wheat Aid Act. June 25, 1953 454 120 Letter on Intellectual Freedom to the President of the American Library Association. June 26, 1953 455 121 Exchange of Messages Between the President and Chancellor Adenauer Concerning the Uprisings in East Berlin and East Germany. June 26, 1953 457 xxmI List of Items Page 122 Citation Accompanying the Medal of Honor Presented to Sergeant David B. Bleak, USA. June 26, I953 458 123 Message to Prime Minister Churchill of Great Britain Concerning Postponement of the Bermuda Conversations. June 27, 1953 459 I24 Exchange of Messages Between the President and Prime Minister Mohammed Ali of Pakistan Concerning the Wheat Grant. June 29, I953 460 125 Special Message to the Congress Requesting General Legislation Authorizing the Use of Agricultural Commodities for Foreign Emergency Relief. June 30, 1953 46I 126 The President's News Conference of July I, I953 462 127 Memorandum on Community Chest and United Defense Fund-USO Campaign in the National Capital Area. July I, I953 470 128 The President's News Conference of July 8, I953 472 129 Exchange of Messages Between the President and Prime Minister Mossadegh on the Oil Situation and the Problem of Aid to Iran. July 9, I953 482 130 Message to the President, AFL, and the President, CIO, at the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions Meeting in Stockholm. July 9, I953 486 13 Letter to the Secretary of Agriculture Requesting a Study of the Problems of the Domestic Wool Industry. July 9, 1953 487 132 Message to the National Co-Chairmen, Commission on Religious Organizations, National Conference of Christians and Jews. July 9, I953 489 XXIV List of Items Page 133 Statement by the President Upon Signing Bill Concerning the Display of the Flag of the United States. July 10, 1953 490 134 Statement by the President Regarding Aid for the People of the Soviet Zone of Germany. July 10, '953 49I 135 Exchange of Letters Between the President and Chancellor Adenauer of Germany Concerning Aid for the People of the Soviet Zone. July 10, 1953 492 136 Letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives Transmitting a Proposed Supplemental Appropriation for the Department of Agriculture. July I5, 1953 494 137 Message Recorded for the Third National Boy Scout Jamboree. July 17, 1953 495 138 Exchange of Letters Between the President and Chancellor Adenauer Concerning the Soviet Government's Refusal To Admit Food for the People of East Germany. July 20, 1953 497 139 Veto of Bill for the Relief of Fred P. Hines. July 20, 1953 498 140 Telegram Congratulating Ben Hogan. July 21, 1953 500 141 The President's News Conference of July 22, 1953 501 142 Statement by the President on a Proposed Amendment to the Constitution Relating to Treaties. July 22, 1953 509 143 Letter to the Chairman, Senate Appropriations Committee, on the Mutual Security Program. July 23,1953 511 XXV List of Items Page 144 Statement by the President on the National Security Training Commission and on Military Manpower Policies. July 23, 1953 514 145 Statement by the President Upon Appointing Members of the Second Hoover Commission. July 24, I953 5i6 146 Letter to Chancellor Adenauer of Germany Concerning the Uprisings in East Berlin and East Germany. July 25, I953 5i6 147 Radio and Television Address to the American People Announcing the Signing of the Korean Armistice. July 26, 1953 520 148 Special Message to the Congress Concerning Increased Aid for the Republic of Korea. July 27, I953 522 I49 Veto of Bill Pertaining to Improvements to Two Business Properties in the District of Columbia. July 29, I953 525 150 Message Recorded for Use in Connection With the Observance of National Vegetable Week. July 30, 1953 526 15I Statement by the President on the Responsibility of the United States Information Agency. July 30, 1953 527 I52 Special Message to the Congress Requesting Legislation Raising the Debt Limit. July 30, I953 527 153 Special Message to the Congress on the Nation's Natural Resources. July 3I, I953 528 I54 Statement by the President on the Death of Senator Robert A. Taft. July 3I, 1953 533 xxvi List of Items Page 155 Special Message to the Congress Transmitting Proposed Changes in the Social Security Program. August i, I953 534 156 Remarks at the Governors' Conference, Seattle, Washington. August 4, I953 536 I57 Memorandum of Disapproval of Bill Repealing the Admissions Tax on Motion Picture Performances. August 6, 1953 544 I58 Statement by the President Upon Signing the Farm Credit Act of I953. August 6, 1953 546 159 Radio Report to the American People on the Achievements of the Administration and the 83d Congress. August 6, 1953 547 I60 Statement by the President Upon Signing the Refugee Relief Act of I953. August 7, I953 557 i6i Statement by the President Upon Signing the Trade Agreements Extension Act of 1953. August 7, I953 558 162 Memorandum of Disapproval of Bill for the Relief of Ethel Hudson Morrison. August 7, I953 559 163 Memorandum of Disapproval of Bill for the Relief of Mary Thaila Womack Webb. August 7, 1953 56i 164 Statement by the President Upon Signing the Customs Simplification Act of I953. August 8, 1953 562 i65 Letter to Heads of Departments and Agencies Concerning Further Economies in Government. August II, 1953 563 i66 Statement by the President Upon Signing Bill Relating to State Jurisdiction Over Cases Arising on Indian Reservations. August I5, I953 564 XXVII List of Items Page 167 Memorandum of Disapproval of Bill for the Relief of Harold Joe Davis. August I5, I953 566 I68 Memorandum of Disapproval of Bill for the Relief of Colonel Harry F. Cunningham. August I5, 1953 568 169 Memorandum of Disapproval of Bill for the Relief of the City and County of Denver, Colorado. August I5, 1953 570 I70 Citation Accompanying Medal of Honor Awarded to Second Lieutenant George H. O'Brien, Jr. August 17, 1953 572 171 Statement by the President Approving a Statement of Policy on Electric Power by the Secretary of the Interior. August I8, 1953 573 172 Exchange of Messages Between the President and King Paul of Greece Concerning an Earthquake Disaster. August I8, 1953 574 173 Statement by the President Concerning Aid by the Red Cross to Victims of the Earthquake Disaster in Greece. August I8, I953 575 174 Citation Accompanying Medal of Honor Awarded to Private First Class Alford L. McLaughlin. August I8, 1953 575 175 Citation Accompanying Medal of Honor Awarded to Private First Class Robert E. Simanek. August 20, I953 577 176 Letter to Lewis W. Douglas Concerning Report on His Financial and Economic Mission to the United Kingdom. August 24, I953 578 xxvm List of Items Page 177 Letter to Clarence Randall, Chairman, Commission on Foreign Economic Policy, Transmitting the Douglas Report. August 24, I953 579 I78 Exchange of Letters Between the President and Prime Minister Zahedi Concerning the Need for Increased Aid to Iran. September i, I953 579 I79 Memorandum on the Community Chest and United Fund Campaigns. September 4, 1953 582 i8o Letter to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs Concerning His Meetings With the Major Tribal Groups. September 5, I953 583 i8i Statement by the President: Labor Day. September 7, I953 584 I82 Statement by the President on the Death of Chief Justice Vinson. September 8, I953 585 i83 Statement by the President on the Occasion of the Jewish New Year. September io, I953 585 184 Letter Accepting Resignation of Martin P. Durkin as Secretary of Labor. September i0, I953 586 I85 Exchange of Letters Between the President and Mayor Ernst Reuter Concerning Conditions in Berlin. September i8, I953 587 i86 Statement by the President Concerning the New Commission on Intergovernmental Relations. September i8, I953 589 187 Address at the New England "Forward to '54" Dinner, Boston, Massachusetts. September 2I, I953 590 XXIX - List of Items Page i88 Exchange of Messages Between the President and Chancellor Adenauer on Aid for the People of East Germany and East Berlin. September 22, 1953 6oi 189 Remarks at the American Bankers Association Convention. September 22, 1953 602 190 Remarks at the First Meeting of the Commission on Foreign Economic Policy. September 22, 1953 604 191 Remarks to the Members of the United States Committee for United Nations Day. September 23, 1953 605 192 Remarks to the Fall Meeting of the President's Committee on Employment of the Physically Handicapped. September 23, 1953 6o6 193 Message to the 72d Annual Convention of the American Federation of Labor in St. Louis. September 23, I953 6o8 194 Letter to the Chairman, Air Coordinating Committee, Requesting a Review of Aviation Policy. September 23, 1953 612 195 Memorandum Directing Federal Agencies To Participate in a Civil Defense Exercise. September 25, 1953 613 196 Message Recorded for the United Community Fund Campaigns. September 27, 1953 613 197 Statement by the President on the Death of Mayor Ernst Reuter of West Berlin. September 29, 1953 615 198 The President's News Conference of September 30, 1953 615 xxx List of Items Page 199 Statement by the President: National Newspaper Week. September 30, 1953 626 200 Joint Statement by the President and President Remon Cantera of Panama. October I, 1953 626 201I Remarks at Dedication of Red Cross Chapter House for the District of Columbia. October i, 1953 629 202 Remarks to State Directors of Civil Defense. October i, 1953 630 203 Letter to the Attorney General Directing Him To Petition for an Injunction in the Maritime Strike. October 5, 1953 631 204 Message Recorded for the Dedication at Indiana University of a Tablet Honoring Ernie Pyle. October 5, 1953 633 205 Address at the Sixth National Assembly of the United Church Women, Atlantic City, New Jersey. October 6, 1953 633 206 Memorandum Directing That Agricultural Commodities Be Made Available To Meet Relief Requirements in Bolivia. October 6, 1953 641 207 Remarks at the Annual Meeting of the American Council on Education. October 8, 1953 642 208 The President's News Conference of October 8, 1953 644 209 Greetings to the Delegates to the 42d Conference of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. October 9, 1953 652 210 Statement Following Conference With Madame Pandit, President of the United Nations General Assembly. October 12, 1953 655 xxXI List of Items Page 211 Remarks in Response to Birthday Greetings at Hershey, Pennsylvania. October I3, 1953 655 212 Remarks at the Pennsylvania Republican Rally on the Occasion of the President's Birthday. October 13, I953 656 213 Exchange of Letters Between the President and President Paz Estenssoro of Bolivia Concerning the Need for Economic Assistance. October 14, 1953 658 214 Remarks at Willard, Ohio. October I5, I953 66i 215 Remarks at the Cornerstone-Laying Ceremony for the Anthony Wayne Library of American Study, Defiance College, Defiance, Ohio. October 15, 1953 662 216 Address at the Annual Convention of the Future Farmers of America, Kansas City, Missouri. October I5, I953 667 217 Statement by the President on Eric Johnston's Mission to the Near East. October i6, 1953 677 218 Remarks at the Dedication of the American Hereford Building, Kansas City, Missouri. October i6, I953 679 219 Address in New Orleans at the Ceremony Marking the i5oth Anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase. October 17, 1953 682 220 Remarks to a Group of Republican Workers in New Orleans. October 17, 1953 687 221 Toast to President Ruiz Cortines of Mexico at a Luncheon Before the Dedication of the Falcon Dam on the Rio Grande. October 19, 1953 69 I xxxII List of Items Page 222 Address at the Dedication of Falcon Dam. October I9, 953 692 223 Remarks Following the Dedication of Falcon Dam. October i9, 1953 696 224 Statement by the President on the Death of William L. Hutcheson. October 20, 1953 697 225 The President's News Conference of October 2I, I953 698 226 Citation Accompanying Medal of Honor Presented to Second Lieutenant Raymond G. Murphy. October 22, I953 7Io 227 Statement by the President on the Work of the National Agricultural Advisory Commission. October 24, 1953 7I 228 Letter to Secretary of the Interior McKay Establishing a Cabinet Committee on Minerals Policy. October 26, 1953 713 229 Remarks at the Presentation of Seven Congressional Medals of Honor. October 27, 1953 7I4 230 The President's News Conference of October 28, I953 715 231 Directive Approved by the President for the Guidance of the United States Information Agency. October 28, I953 728 232 Remarks of Welcome to King Paul and Queen Frederika of Greece. October 28, I953 729 233 Toasts of the President and King Paul of Greece. October 28, I953 729 56616-60 ---3 XXXII List of Items Page 234 Remarks at the Fourth American Forest Congress. October 29, 1953 732 235 Letter to Representative Clement J. Zablocki on the Arrest of Cardinal Wyszynski of Poland. October 30, 1953 735 236 Statement by the President Recorded for the Program of the Committee on Religion in American Life. October 31, 1953 736 237 Statement by the President: American Education Week. November 3, 1953 736 238 The President's News Conference of November 4, I953 737 239 Letter to Myron M. Cowen Concerning the Philippine Elections. November 6, 1953 749 240 Remarks at the Annual Convention of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. November io, 1953 750 241 Remarks to the Staff of the United States Information Agency. November 10, 1953 753 242 Message Recorded for a Testimonial Dinner Honoring Secretary of the Treasury George Humphrey. November io, 1953 756 243 The President's News Conference of November I I, 1953 757 244 Statement by the President on the Elimination of Segregation in Civilian Facilities at Naval Installations. November iI, 1953 765 245 Message on the Death of King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia. November II, 1953 766 XXXIV List of Items Page 246 Address Before a Joint Session of the Parliament of Canada. November 14, I1953 767 247 Joint Statement Following Discussions With Prime Minister St. Laurent of Canada. November 14, I953 t 776 248 Letter to Walter P. Reuther Extending Greetings to the i5th Constitutional Convention of the Congress of Industrial Organizations. November i6, 1953 777 249 The President's News Conference of November i8, I953 779 250 Remarks at a Luncheon Meeting of the General Board of the National Council of Churches. November 18, 1953 791 251 Remarks Upon Receiving an Honorary Degree from Catholic University. November 19, 1953 794 252 Remarks Upon Receiving the America's Democratic Legacy Award at a B'nai B'rith Dinner in Honor of the 4oth Anniversary of the Anti-Defamation League. November 23, 1953 796 253 Remarks of the President on Thanksgiving Day in Augusta, Georgia. November 26, 1953 799 254 The President's News Conference of December 2, 1953 8oo 255 Joint Statement by the President, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and the President of the Council of Ministers of France Following the Bermuda Conference. December 7, 1953 8 I 256 Address Before the General Assembly of the United Nations on Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, New York City. December 8, 1953 813 XXXV List of Items Page 257 Statement by the President Concerning the United States Program for Assisting Escapees and Refugees. December 8, 1953 823 258 Statement by the President Calling for Aid to the Victims of the Fire in Pusan, Korea. December i I, 1953 823 259 Remarks to the Officers of the Pan American Medical Association. December I2, 1953 824 260 Letter to Dr. Joseph J. Eller, Executive Director, Pan American Medical Association. December 12, I953 825 26i Letter to the Governors of the States Calling for a Conference on Highway Safety. December I4, 1953 825 262 Remarks Opening the White House Conference of Mayors. December 14, I953 827 263 Statement by the President Requesting Reports to the FBI of Violations of the Atomic Energy Act. December i5, 1953 830 264 Message to Stanislaw Mikolajczyk Conveying Greetings to the International Peasant Union Forum. December i6, I953 831 265 The President's News Conference of December i6, I953 831 266 Statements by the President on the First Day of the Republican Legislative Conference in the Cabinet Room. December 17, I953 846 267 Remarks at a Dinner Commemorating the 5oth Anniversary of Powered Flight. December I7, I953 849 XXXVI List of Items Page 268 Statements by the President on the Second Day of the Republican Legislative Conference. December I8, i1953 852 269 Statements by the President on the Last Day of the Republican Legislative Conference. December i 9, I953 855 270 Message to Rene Coty Congratulating Him on His Election as President of the French Republic. December 23, 1953 857 271 Remarks Upon Lighting the National Community Christmas Tree. December 24, 1953 858 272 Statement by the President on Reducing American Forces in Korea. December 26, 1953 86o 273 Memorandum Approving Defense Procurement Policies in Aid of Areas of Economic Distress. December 29, 1953 86i xxxvnI 1 Dwight D. Eisenhower I953 I By Inaugural Address. January 20, 1953 [ Delivered in person at the Capitol ] MY FRIENDS, before I begin the expression of those thoughts that I deem appropriate to this moment, would you permit me the privilege of uttering a little private prayer of my own. And I ask that you bow your heads: Almighty God, as we stand here at this moment my future associates in the Executive branch of Government join me in beseeching that Thou will make full and complete our dedication to the service of the people in this throng, and their fellow citizens everywhere. Give us, we pray, the power to discern clearly right from wrong, and allow all our words and actions to be governed thereby, and by the laws of this land. Especially we pray that our concern shall be for all the people regardless of station, race or calling. May cooperation be permitted and be the mutual aim of those who, under the concepts of our Constitution, hold to differing political faiths; so that all may work for the good of our beloved country and Thy glory. Amen. My fellow citizens: The world and we have passed the midway point of a century of continuing challenge. We sense with all our faculties that forces of good and evil are massed and armed and opposed as rarely before in history. This fact defines the meaning of this day. We are summoned by this honored and historic ceremony to witness more than the act of one citizen swearing his oath of service, in the presence of God. We are called as a people to give testimony in the sight of the world to our faith that the future shall belong to the free. Since this century's beginning, a time of tempest has seemed to come upon the continents of the earth. Masses of Asia have awakened to strike off shackles of the past. Great nations of 56616-60 — I Public Papers of the Presidents Europe have fought their bloodiest wars. Thrones have toppled and their vast empires have disappeared. New nations have been born. For our own country, it has been a time of recurring trial. We have grown in power and in responsibility. We have passed through the anxieties of depression and of war to a summit unmatched in man's history. Seeking to secure peace in the world, we have had to fight through the forests of the Argonne to the shores of Iwo Jima, and to the cold mountains of Korea. In the swift rush of great events, we find ourselves groping to know the full sense and meaning of these times in which we live. In our quest of understanding, we beseech God's guidance. We summon all our knowledge of the past and we scan all signs of the future. We bring all our wit and all our will to meet the question: How far have we come in man's long pilgrimage from darkness toward the light? Are we nearing the light-a day of freedom and of peace for all mankind? Or are the shadows of another night closing in upon us? Great as are the preoccupations absorbing us at home, concerned as we are with matters that deeply affect our livelihood today and our vision of the future, each of these domestic problems is dwarfed by, and often even created by, this question that involves all humankind. This trial comes at a moment when man's power to achieve good or to inflict evil surpasses the brightest hopes and the sharpest fears of all ages. We can turn rivers in their courses, level mountains to the plains. Oceans and land and sky are avenues for our colossal commerce. Disease diminishes and life lengthens. Yet the promise of this life is imperiled by the very genius that has made it possible. Nations amass wealth. Labor sweats to create-and turns out devices to level not only mountains but also cities. Science seems ready to confer upon us, as its final gift, the power to erase human life from this planet. At such a time in history, we who are free must proclaim anew 2 Dwight D. Eisenhower, Z953 (I I our faith. This faith is the abiding creed of our fathers. It is our faith in the deathless dignity of man, governed by eternal moral and natural laws. This faith defines our full view of life. It establishes, beyond debate, those gifts of the Creator that are man's inalienable rights, and that make all men equal in His sight. In the light of this equality, we know that the virtues most cherished by free people-love of truth, pride of work, devotion to country-all are treasures equally precious in the lives of the most humble and of the most exalted. The men who mine coal and fire furnaces, and balance ledgers, and turn lathes, and pick cotton, and heal the sick and plant corn-all serve as proudly and as profitably for America as the statesmen who draft treaties and the legislators who enact laws. This faith rules our whole way of life. It decrees that we, the people, elect leaders not to rule but to serve. It asserts that we have the right to choice of our own work and to the reward of our own toil. It inspires the initiative that makes our productivity the wonder of the world. And it warns that any man who seeks to deny equality among all his brothers betrays the spirit of the free and invites the mockery of the tyrant. It is because we, all of us, hold to these principles that the political changes accomplished this day do not imply turbulence, upheaval or disorder. Rather this change expresses a purpose of strengthening our dedication and devotion to the precepts of our founding documents, a conscious renewal of faith in our country and in the watchfulness of a Divine Providence. The enemies of this faith know no god but force, no devotion but its use. They tutor men in treason. They feed upon the hunger of others. Whatever defies them, they torture, especially the truth. Here, then, is joined no argument between slightly differing philosophies. This conflict strikes directly at the faith of our fathers and the lives of our sons. No principle or treasure that we hold, from the spiritual knowledge of our free schools and 3 (I I q1 Public Papers of the Presidents churches to the creative magic of free labor and capital, nothing lies safely beyond the reach of this struggle. Freedom is pitted against slavery; lightness against the dark. The faith we hold belongs not to us alone but to the free of all the world. This common bond binds the grower of rice in Burma and the planter of wheat in Iowa, the shepherd in southern Italy and the mountaineer in the Andes. It confers a common dignity upon the French soldier who dies in Indo-China, the British soldier killed in Malaya, the American life given in Korea. We know, beyond this, that we are linked to all free peoples not merely by a noble idea but by a simple need. No free people can for long cling to any privilege or enjoy any safety in economic solitude. For all our own material might, even we need markets in the world. for the surpluses of our farms and our factories. Equally, we need for these same farms and factories vital materials and products of distant lands. This basic law of interdependence, so manifest in the commerce of peace, applies with thousand-fold intensity in the event of war. So we are persuaded by necessity and by belief that the strength of all free peoples lies in unity; their danger, in discord. To produce this unity, to meet the challenge of our time, destiny has laid upon our country the responsibility of the free world's leadership. So it is proper that we assure our friends once again that, in the discharge of this responsibility, we Americans know and we observe the difference between world leadership and imperialism; between firmness and truculence; between a thoughtfully calculated goal and spasmodic reaction to the stimulus of emergencies. We wish our friends the world over to know this above all: we face the threat-not with dread and confusion-but with confidence and conviction. We feel this moral strength because we know that we are not helpless prisoners of history. We are free men. We shall remain free, never to be proven guilty of the one capital offense against freedom, a lack of stanch faith. 4 Dwight D. Eisenhower., 1953 In pleading our just cause before the bar of history and in pressing our labor for world peace, we shall be guided by certain fixed principles. These principles are: i. Abhorring war as a chosen way to balk the purposes of those who threaten us, we hold it to be the first task of statesmanship to develop the strength that will deter the forces of aggression and promote the conditions of peace. For, as it must be the supreme purpose of all free men, so it must be the dedication of their leaders, to save humanity from preying upon itself. In the light of this principle, we stand ready to engage with any and all others in joint effort to remove the causes of mutual fear and distrust among nations, so as to make possible drastic reduction of armaments. The sole requisites for undertaking such effort are that-in their purpose-they be aimed logically and honestly toward secure peace for all; and that-in their result-they provide methods by which every participating nation will prove good faith in carrying out its pledge. 2. Realizing that common sense and common decency alike dictate the futility of appeasement, we shall never try to placate an aggressor by the false and wicked bargain of trading honor for security. Americans, indeed, all free men, remember that in the final choice a soldier's pack is not so heavy a burden as a prisoner's chains. 3. Knowing that only a United States that is strong and immensely productive can help defend freedom in our world, we view our Nation's strength and security as a trust upon which rests the hope of free men everywhere. It is the firm duty of each of our free citizens and of every free citizen everywhere to place the cause of his country before the comfort, the convenience of himself. 4. Honoring the identity and the special heritage of each nation in the world, we shall never use our strength to try to impress upon another people our own cherished political and economic institutions. 5. Assessing realistically the needs and capacities of proven 5 Public Papers of the Presidents friends of freedom, we shall strive to help them to achieve their own security and well-being. Likewise, we shall count upon them to assume, within the limits of their resources, their full and just burdens in the common defense of freedom. 6. Recognizing economic health as an indispensable basis of military strength and the free world's peace, we shall strive to foster everywhere, and to practice ourselves, policies that encourage productivity and profitable trade. For the impoverishment of any single people in the world means danger to the well-being of all other peoples. 7. Appreciating that economic need, military security and political wisdom combine to suggest regional groupings of free peoples, we hope, within the framework of the United Nations, to help strengthen such special bonds the world over. The nature of these ties must vary with the different problems of different areas. In the Western Hemisphere, we enthusiastically join with all our neighbors in the work of perfecting a community of fraternal trust and common purpose. In Europe, we ask that enlightened and inspired leaders of the Western nations strive with renewed vigor to make the unity of their peoples a reality. Only as free Europe unitedly marshals its strength can it effectively safeguard, even with our help, its spiritual and cultural heritage. 8. Conceiving the defense of freedom, like freedom itself, to be one and indivisible, we hold all continents and peoples in equal regard and honor. We reject any insinuation that one race or another, one people or another, is in any sense inferior or expendable. 9. Respecting the United Nations as the living sign of all people's hope for peace, we shall strive to make it not merely an eloquent symbol but an effective force. And in our quest for an honorable peace, we shall neither compromise, nor tire, nor ever cease. By these rules of conduct, we hope to be known to all peoples. 6 Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953 ( I By their observance, an earth of peace may become not a vision but a fact. This hope-this supreme aspiration-must rule the way we live. We must be ready to dare all for our country. For history does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid. We must acquire proficiency in defense and display stamina in purpose. We must be willing, individually and as a Nation, to accept whatever sacrifices may be required of us. A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both. These basic precepts are not lofty abstractions, far removed from matters of daily living. They are laws of spiritual strength that generate and define our material strength. Patriotism means equipped forces and a prepared citizenry. Moral stamina means more energy and more productivity, on the farm and in the factory. Love of liberty means the guarding of every resource that makes freedom possible-from the sanctity of our families and the wealth of our soil to the genius of our scientists. And so each citizen plays an indispensable role. The productivity of our heads, our hands and our hearts is the source of all the strength we can command, for both the enrichment of our lives and the winning of the peace. No person, no home, no community can be beyond the reach of this call. We are summoned to act in wisdom and in conscience, to work with industry, to teach with persuasion, to preach with conviction, to weigh our every deed with care and with compassion. For this truth must be clear before us: whatever America hopes to bring to pass in the world must first come to pass in the heart of America. The peace we seek, then, is nothing less than the practice and fulfillment of our whole faith among ourselves and in our dealings with others. This signifies more than the stilling of guns, easing the sorrow of war. More than escape from death, it is a way of life. More than a haven for the weary, it is a hope for the brave. 7 Public Papers of the Presidents This is the hope that beckons us onward in this century of trial. This is the work that awaits us all, to be done with bravery, with charity, and with prayer to Almighty God. My citizens-I thank you. NOTE: This text follows the White House release of the address. The President spoke from a platform erected on the steps of the central east front of the Capitol. Immediately before the address the oath of office was administered by Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson. 2 I] Statement by the President on Establishing the President's Committee on International Information Activities. January 26, 1953 IT HAS LONG BEEN my conviction that a unified and dynamic effort in this field is essential to the security of the United States and of the other peoples in the community of free nations. All executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government are authorized and directed, as a matter of common concern, to cooperate with the Committee in its work. The establishment of this Committee and the scope of its inquiry were discussed at the Cabinet meeting last Friday morning and received full and complete support. The Committee's final report and recommendations are to be in my hands not later than June 30. NOTE: The White House release of which this statement was a part announced that the President had appointed the following Committee members: William H. Jackson, Chairman; Robert Cutler, Administrative Assistant to the President; C. D. Jackson, representing the Secretary of State; Sigurd Larmon, representing the Director for Mutual Security; Gordon Gray; Barklie McKee Henry; and John C. Hughes. Abbott Washburn was named Executive Secretary. On February i9, 1953, Roger M. Kyes, Deputy Secretary of Defense, was also appointed. A summary of the Committee's final report was released by the White House on July 8, 1953. See footnote to news conference of that date, p. 472. 8 Dwight D. Eisenhower,.I953 ( 4 3 e1 Letter to the President of the American National Red Cross Accepting the Position of Honorary Chairman. January 29, I953 [ Released January 29, 1953. Dated January 24, I 953] Dear Mr. Harriman: Thank you for your courteous note of January 9th informing me that, under the By-laws of the American Red Cross, and by tradition, the President of the United States, upon his acceptance, becomes Honorary Chairman of the organization. In all humility and fully conscious of the great importance of the American National Red Cross in our national community, I accept this position. To the extent that my official responsibilities permit, I shall stand ready to assist you, the other officers and members of the Red Cross in carrying on the great work of this important body. Sincerely, DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER Mr. E. Roland Harriman President The American National Red Cross Washington I3, D.C. 4 e Memorandum on the Red Cross Campaign. January 29, 1953 To the Heads of Executive Departments, Commissions and Agencies: The American Red Cross is symbolic of the deep concern of our Nation for human welfare-of the fact that the American way of life places human values above materialism. Because I subscribe so thoroughly to these principles, it is most appropriate 9 Public Papers of the Presidents that one of my first acts in assuming the great responsibilities of this office is to set in motion machinery for the I953 Red Cross Fund Campaign. The work of the Red Cross is well known to all of you. But perhaps you are not aware how the Red Cross continues its vital services to the Armed Forces, veterans and their families through a world-wide network of communication and help, at military installations, with field units, at home through the local chapters and in service and veterans' hospitals. The Red Cross collects blood to meet the urgent needs of the wounded and the many military emergencies in all combat and hospital areas. In addition, the Red Cross has been asked to enlarge its activities in the coming year in two important areas: First, to provide additional recreation facilities for our troops overseas, and, second, to expand greatly the National Blood Program to obtain plasma for making a serum to protect children against the paralyzing effects of polio. The result is an inevitable enlargement of the Red Cross budget, and higher quotas for its I953 Fund Campaign. The success of the Red Cross campaign in the metropolitan area of Washington depends to a great extent on the gifts of those working in the various local, Federal and International agencies. To lead the campaign as Chairman of the Government Unit, I have designated the Honorable William McChesney Martin, Jr., Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. I urge every one to pledge to Mr. Martin his unqualified assistance. Will you also kindly request your several field offices to cooperate earnestly in the fund campaign of their respective local Red Cross chapters. DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER 10 Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953 (y 5 5 eI Remarks Recorded for the American Legion "Back to God" Program. February I, 1953 MY GRATEFUL THANKS go out to each of you for your prayers, because your prayers for divine guidance on my behalf are the greatest gift you could possibly bring to me. As your prayers come from your hearts, so there comes from mine a very earnest one-that all of us by our combined dedication and devotion may merit the great blessings that The Almighty has brought to this land of ours. We think often of these blessings in terms of material valuesof broad acres, our great factories-all of those things which make a life a more convenient and finer thing in the material sense. But when we think about the matter very deeply, we know that the blessings that we are really thankful for are a different type. They are what our forefathers called our rightsour human rights-the right to worship as we please, to speak and to think, and to earn, and to save. Those are the rights that we must strive so mightily to merit. One reason that we cherish these rights so sincerely is because they are God-given. They belong to the people who have been created in His image. Now this means as a very special and second reason for cherishing these rights, that they belong to the lowliest amongst us as well as to the mightiest and the highest. That is the genius of our democracy. It is the very basis of the cause for which so many of our fellow citizens have died. Today we are especially inspired in our resolution to defend those rights by the memory of the four Chaplains who met deathbravely, quietly, even tranquilly-in the sinking of the Dorchester. They gave their lives without complaint, so that their fellow citizens could live. As we think of their sacrifice, and that of our heroic fellow citizens serving in Korea, we are inspired to take up our own II Public Papers of the Presidents burdens more cheerfully; we are moved to show by greater courage, by patience and mutual understanding-by better citizenship-that we are worthy members of this great American family of free, God-fearing people. NOTE: The President's remarks were sion program broadcast from New part of an American Legion televi- York City at I: 40 p.m. 6 eI Annual Message to the Congress on the State of the Union. February 2, 1953 [Delivered in person before a joint session] 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. I2 Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953 q 6 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. I. Our country has come through a painful period of trial and disillusionment since the victory of I 945. 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: (i ) 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 '3 - - Public Papers of the Presidents 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. I4 Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953 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 economiI5 (I6 Public Papers of the Presidents cal 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. m. 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 I950, 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 I950, 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 i 6 - Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953 q 6 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 '7 OR 6 Public Papers of the Presidents 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 Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953 cq 6 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: ( I) 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 I9 ![ 6 Public Papers of the Presidents 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, I954. 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 8o 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 8o 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 I954 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 20 Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953 q 6 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 2I 6 Public Papers of the Presidents 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 alongclinging 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 22 Dwight D. Eisenhower, 953 q 6 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, I953, 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, I953. 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 23 ![ 6 Public Papers of the Presidents 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 24 Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953 q 6 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 I 8 months or 2 years beyond its expiration date of April i, I 95 3 There is more involved here than realining 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 Con 5661-60- 2 25