April 18, 1952
Mr. Commander, Secretary of Defense, distinguished guests:
I could name everybody up here. They should be named, but then I wouldn't get my speech in if I did.
I am glad to take part in the dedication of this new headquarters of the AMVETS.
Your organization is young and vigorous. You are making a real contribution to the solution of the problems we face in the troubled world of today. I have noticed that the AMVETS do not approach things from the narrow standpoint of immediate interest to the veterans. Instead, you are looking at things in terms of the general public interest. And that is what every American citizen ought to do.
With your World War II experience, you understand as well as any other group I know, the kind of world in which we live, and what we have to do to make a better world. You understand why we have to work hard for world peace. You understand why we must have a world peace organization and why we must have friends and allies among the other free nations of the world.
The war in which you fought was a great joint effort against tyranny and aggression. The United Nations was born out of that war. You know that we could not have won that war the way we did without the help of our allies. You believe, as I believe, that an organization of free nations is the best way to prevent aggression. And the way to keep war from breaking out again is to have an organization of the free nations of the world banded together for peace.
Today, the things you fought for are threatened again--this time by Soviet tyranny. It has been made perfectly clear to us that we cannot expect to keep our freedom unless we are prepared to defend it. The security of our Nation, and the security of the whole free world is at stake.
In spite of these facts, there is a serious movement afoot to slash our programs for national security. We are being told that we can't afford to be strong--that taxes are too high and our economy won't stand it.
This movement is very dangerous and it seems to me that you veterans have a special responsibility to help head it off and to keep the country on the right track. You understand the importance of our national security and I am sure you will help the Government to meet that responsibility.
Of course, our national security program costs a lot of money. We cannot build the finest and the most modern planes--we can't build the best tanks and the best ships-without spending money. Those things don't just grow on trees. You have to create them.
But it is not true that our national security program costs so much that it will wreck the economy. On the contrary, the civilian side of our economy is stronger than it has ever been. Just look around you, you can see for yourself. There is nothing weak about a national income of $280 billion. And even after taxes--and I am getting this in strong this time--after taxes most Americans have a better standard of living today than they ever had before in the history of the world. We have the greatest and the best standard of living of any people that ever came to pass in the history of the world. And the very fact that you can afford to pay these taxes shows that you have got a good standard of living.
Of course, nobody likes to pay taxes. They are high--higher than I would like to see them--higher than they should be for any reason other than national safety. But they are not wrecking the economy. Far from it. The fact is our economy is producing more than ever before in our history--and that is more than ever before in the history of the world.
But, you must bear this in mind: This is an election year. And some people believe it is good politics to appear to be more concerned about high taxes than about having a firm national defense. Some people think the voters are more interested in their taxes than they are in the safety of our boys overseas. And so the drive to slash our defense budget goes on and on and on. And it's a bunch of hooey.
Of course, we are all in favor of real economy. I did a good deal of work on that subject in the last war, and I am credited with having saved the Government $15 billion in that investigation I made. But I wasn't trying to send anybody to jail, I was trying to get this thing to work efficiently, and I hope that we can continue to do just that. I know there can be a lot of waste in military operations. Nobody knows it better than I do, because I have been through it all. But there is a difference between cutting out waste--which is a careful, selective job-and just arbitrarily slashing appropriations in an effort to impress the voters back home.
Now the United States Senate is as put out as anybody can be, because they think the House is going back home during this vacation, and say, "Look what we did, and the Senate is going to put it back." Well, if the Senate doesn't put it back, we are going to be in an awful fix. And I think the truth will get out because I am going to see that it does.
The trouble with the careful work of cutting out waste is that it doesn't get many headlines. It is not a publicity stunt, this thing of doing things right. But slashing appropriations--that gets a headline. Slashing appropriations is fine, until the day comes when we find that we don't have the planes, we don't have the tanks, we don't have the guns that we need to meet the situation with which we are faced. And then we have to pay for those headlines--not in money but in lives--in the lives of our soldiers, sailors, and marines. That is not right.
Right now, two of the most vital elements in our national security are before the Congress for action. One of these measures is the military appropriation bill, and the other is the mutual security program.
You know, there is an economy wave--a fake economy wave on in the Congress. Well, I had my own economy wave before the Budget was ever sent to the Congress. And I gave these heads of these departments of national defense quite a pain in the neck before I sent that Budget down. The amounts needed for national security were cut to the bone before they were put into the Budget. It's an honest Budget, and don't let anybody tell you anything else. If they are cut much more, we will be opening up some big holes in our defense and inviting new attacks by the forces of aggression.
Just recently, the House of Representatives voted to cut our national defense expenditures between $4 and $6 billion in the next fiscal year. My, what a stump speech that will make when they go back to run for reelection.
How did the House of Representatives decide to make a cut like this ? Did they say, "We have been over the whole defense program, and we think you ought to plan something smaller?" No, no, they didn't say anything like that. They said, "This program is all right but we won't provide the money to put it over." They said, "We won't even let you use the money we appropriated last year for the things you have already ordered and which are about to be delivered."
Did they say, "Cut down on jet airplane production, or cut down on tank production, or reduce the number of men in the service, or provide them with less ammunition?" No, no, no--they didn't face up to any of these questions. They didn't take any responsibility for saying where and how we should weaken our national defense. Oh, no, they didn't do that. They just took a knife and cut it--and they will go out and brag about it. They just said, "Cut it and don't bother us with details." I wish I had the whole outfit right here before me now. "Later on, after election maybe, we may vote some more money."
And that is just exactly what they are going to have to do. If I have to call a special turnip day session every day from now until the first of January, we are going to get this thing done, and it is going to be done right.
But our national defense can't wait on petty politics.
If this cut stays in the bill as it is finally passed by the Congress, it will upset the planning and scheduling of our entire defense program. We may have to start cancelling contracts. Just as we reach the point where we can produce the latest and most modern weapons in many lines--we may have to cut that production off. Now, if anybody thinks that's economy, he ought to have his head examined.
This is not economy. It is the worst kind of waste. It is terribly dangerous. And all you veterans--you men who know what modern war means--ought to be very much concerned about it. And I believe you are.
The same kind of dangerous and destructive attacks are being made against the mutual security program.
There are people who say that we should slash the funds for military aid and economic support to our friends and allies overseas. There are people who are saying that it is a waste of money to try to relieve poverty, hunger, and despair in underdeveloped countries.
I am sure you veterans know the answers to such arguments as these. You know that without strong allies we cannot prevent war. And to prevent a third world war has been the policy of this Government ever since I have been President. You know something else. You know that if war comes, we need to have troops and manpower on our side. If there is a struggle between the free world and the slave world, you do not want the United States to bear the whole burden of resisting the attack. You would not want our young men to have to do all the fighting for the free world.
And yet, that is exactly what might happen if our mutual security program should fail. We can't expect other nations to fight on the side of freedom unless they have the economic and military strength to do it. Giving aid to foreign nations strengthens ourselves. In case of war, it will save American lives.
To cut our mutual security program is just as dangerous as it is to cut our own national defense appropriation.
I should think that these things would be perfectly clear to everyone--everyone with a grain of commonsense--but it is very hard to get some people to take action against a future danger until disaster strikes.
I spent all day Wednesday looking over a terrible disaster out on the upper Missouri River, that could have been prevented if we could only have gotten the people to appreciate that it might come.
That is the way it was in World War II also. In that war, we lost our friends on the Continent of Europe. We lost the Philippines. We lost a good part of our Navy, and thousands of American lives. And we had to fight a long and bloody war to save ourselves.
We should not have to have that kind of disaster if we make up our minds--and spend the money and make the effort--to do the things which are necessary to prevent it. And that is what I am pleading for--that is all in the world I am pleading for.
There is no reason to be complacent about the international situation today. This Nation is still in deadly peril. We have an army confronting the enemy in the field. We have troops and bases at vital points overseas. The word that comes out of the Kremlin promises peace one day and threatens violence the next. If we have learned anything, we have learned that we cannot rely on what the Kremlin says, but only on what it does. Until the Kremlin shows by deeds that it is willing to abandon its aggressive designs, we must prepare to prevent disaster.
This may be an election year here, but the Kremlin won't take a vacation simply because of the political situation. If we weaken, if we fall back, the Kremlin will see a chance to move in.
There is only one real language they understand, and that is this. [Holding up a fist] It has to be strong enough so that they will understand what we mean.
If we slash our appropriations for national security, we can undo all the work we have done up to this time to prevent another world war.
It is foolish to say that we can't afford to protect ourselves. The truth is that we cannot afford to spare any effort to prevent another world war. Nobody can calculate the cost of the next world war--if it comes. Anything we spend to prevent it is trifling compared to what such a disaster would cost us and the rest of the world.
This great country of ours--stronger and more productive than ever--does not face a danger of internal collapse. To reduce our defenses because of the exaggerated fears about the health of our economy, is just simply sheer folly. The real danger we face is external aggression. The real danger is an all-out attack on the peace of the world by a fanatical and powerful tyranny. And we want to prevent that. We can prevent it.
You who have fought in one great world war know that no effort we can make to prevent another is too much. It is up to you to bring this message home to the American people. It is up to you to help build up our defenses. It is up to you to keep the alliance of free nations strong, so that we may succeed in having world peace in your
Thank you very much.
NOTE: The President spoke at 3:30 p.m. at the new headquarters of the American Veterans of World War II in Washington. In his opening words he referred to John L. Smith, national commander AMVETS, and Robert A. Lovett, Secretary of Defense.
The address was broadcast nationally.
Mr. Commander, Secretary of Defense, distinguished guests:
I could name everybody up here. They should be named, but then I wouldn't get my speech in if I did.
I am glad to take part in the dedication of this new headquarters of the AMVETS.
Your organization is young and vigorous. You are making a real contribution to the solution of the problems we face in the troubled world of today. I have noticed that the AMVETS do not approach things from the narrow standpoint of immediate interest to the veterans. Instead, you are looking at things in terms of the general public interest. And that is what every American citizen ought to do.
With your World War II experience, you understand as well as any other group I know, the kind of world in which we live, and what we have to do to make a better world. You understand why we have to work hard for world peace. You understand why we must have a world peace organization and why we must have friends and allies among the other free nations of the world.
The war in which you fought was a great joint effort against tyranny and aggression. The United Nations was born out of that war. You know that we could not have won that war the way we did without the help of our allies. You believe, as I believe, that an organization of free nations is the best way to prevent aggression. And the way to keep war from breaking out again is to have an organization of the free nations of the world banded together for peace.
Today, the things you fought for are threatened again--this time by Soviet tyranny. It has been made perfectly clear to us that we cannot expect to keep our freedom unless we are prepared to defend it. The security of our Nation, and the security of the whole free world is at stake.
In spite of these facts, there is a serious movement afoot to slash our programs for national security. We are being told that we can't afford to be strong--that taxes are too high and our economy won't stand it.
This movement is very dangerous and it seems to me that you veterans have a special responsibility to help head it off and to keep the country on the right track. You understand the importance of our national security and I am sure you will help the Government to meet that responsibility.
Of course, our national security program costs a lot of money. We cannot build the finest and the most modern planes--we can't build the best tanks and the best ships-without spending money. Those things don't just grow on trees. You have to create them.
But it is not true that our national security program costs so much that it will wreck the economy. On the contrary, the civilian side of our economy is stronger than it has ever been. Just look around you, you can see for yourself. There is nothing weak about a national income of $280 billion. And even after taxes--and I am getting this in strong this time--after taxes most Americans have a better standard of living today than they ever had before in the history of the world. We have the greatest and the best standard of living of any people that ever came to pass in the history of the world. And the very fact that you can afford to pay these taxes shows that you have got a good standard of living.
Of course, nobody likes to pay taxes. They are high--higher than I would like to see them--higher than they should be for any reason other than national safety. But they are not wrecking the economy. Far from it. The fact is our economy is producing more than ever before in our history--and that is more than ever before in the history of the world.
But, you must bear this in mind: This is an election year. And some people believe it is good politics to appear to be more concerned about high taxes than about having a firm national defense. Some people think the voters are more interested in their taxes than they are in the safety of our boys overseas. And so the drive to slash our defense budget goes on and on and on. And it's a bunch of hooey.
Of course, we are all in favor of real economy. I did a good deal of work on that subject in the last war, and I am credited with having saved the Government $15 billion in that investigation I made. But I wasn't trying to send anybody to jail, I was trying to get this thing to work efficiently, and I hope that we can continue to do just that. I know there can be a lot of waste in military operations. Nobody knows it better than I do, because I have been through it all. But there is a difference between cutting out waste--which is a careful, selective job-and just arbitrarily slashing appropriations in an effort to impress the voters back home.
Now the United States Senate is as put out as anybody can be, because they think the House is going back home during this vacation, and say, "Look what we did, and the Senate is going to put it back." Well, if the Senate doesn't put it back, we are going to be in an awful fix. And I think the truth will get out because I am going to see that it does.
The trouble with the careful work of cutting out waste is that it doesn't get many headlines. It is not a publicity stunt, this thing of doing things right. But slashing appropriations--that gets a headline. Slashing appropriations is fine, until the day comes when we find that we don't have the planes, we don't have the tanks, we don't have the guns that we need to meet the situation with which we are faced. And then we have to pay for those headlines--not in money but in lives--in the lives of our soldiers, sailors, and marines. That is not right.
Right now, two of the most vital elements in our national security are before the Congress for action. One of these measures is the military appropriation bill, and the other is the mutual security program.
You know, there is an economy wave--a fake economy wave on in the Congress. Well, I had my own economy wave before the Budget was ever sent to the Congress. And I gave these heads of these departments of national defense quite a pain in the neck before I sent that Budget down. The amounts needed for national security were cut to the bone before they were put into the Budget. It's an honest Budget, and don't let anybody tell you anything else. If they are cut much more, we will be opening up some big holes in our defense and inviting new attacks by the forces of aggression.
Just recently, the House of Representatives voted to cut our national defense expenditures between $4 and $6 billion in the next fiscal year. My, what a stump speech that will make when they go back to run for reelection.
How did the House of Representatives decide to make a cut like this ? Did they say, "We have been over the whole defense program, and we think you ought to plan something smaller?" No, no, they didn't say anything like that. They said, "This program is all right but we won't provide the money to put it over." They said, "We won't even let you use the money we appropriated last year for the things you have already ordered and which are about to be delivered."
Did they say, "Cut down on jet airplane production, or cut down on tank production, or reduce the number of men in the service, or provide them with less ammunition?" No, no, no--they didn't face up to any of these questions. They didn't take any responsibility for saying where and how we should weaken our national defense. Oh, no, they didn't do that. They just took a knife and cut it--and they will go out and brag about it. They just said, "Cut it and don't bother us with details." I wish I had the whole outfit right here before me now. "Later on, after election maybe, we may vote some more money."
And that is just exactly what they are going to have to do. If I have to call a special turnip day session every day from now until the first of January, we are going to get this thing done, and it is going to be done right.
But our national defense can't wait on petty politics.
If this cut stays in the bill as it is finally passed by the Congress, it will upset the planning and scheduling of our entire defense program. We may have to start cancelling contracts. Just as we reach the point where we can produce the latest and most modern weapons in many lines--we may have to cut that production off. Now, if anybody thinks that's economy, he ought to have his head examined.
This is not economy. It is the worst kind of waste. It is terribly dangerous. And all you veterans--you men who know what modern war means--ought to be very much concerned about it. And I believe you are.
The same kind of dangerous and destructive attacks are being made against the mutual security program.
There are people who say that we should slash the funds for military aid and economic support to our friends and allies overseas. There are people who are saying that it is a waste of money to try to relieve poverty, hunger, and despair in underdeveloped countries.
I am sure you veterans know the answers to such arguments as these. You know that without strong allies we cannot prevent war. And to prevent a third world war has been the policy of this Government ever since I have been President. You know something else. You know that if war comes, we need to have troops and manpower on our side. If there is a struggle between the free world and the slave world, you do not want the United States to bear the whole burden of resisting the attack. You would not want our young men to have to do all the fighting for the free world.
And yet, that is exactly what might happen if our mutual security program should fail. We can't expect other nations to fight on the side of freedom unless they have the economic and military strength to do it. Giving aid to foreign nations strengthens ourselves. In case of war, it will save American lives.
To cut our mutual security program is just as dangerous as it is to cut our own national defense appropriation.
I should think that these things would be perfectly clear to everyone--everyone with a grain of commonsense--but it is very hard to get some people to take action against a future danger until disaster strikes.
I spent all day Wednesday looking over a terrible disaster out on the upper Missouri River, that could have been prevented if we could only have gotten the people to appreciate that it might come.
That is the way it was in World War II also. In that war, we lost our friends on the Continent of Europe. We lost the Philippines. We lost a good part of our Navy, and thousands of American lives. And we had to fight a long and bloody war to save ourselves.
We should not have to have that kind of disaster if we make up our minds--and spend the money and make the effort--to do the things which are necessary to prevent it. And that is what I am pleading for--that is all in the world I am pleading for.
There is no reason to be complacent about the international situation today. This Nation is still in deadly peril. We have an army confronting the enemy in the field. We have troops and bases at vital points overseas. The word that comes out of the Kremlin promises peace one day and threatens violence the next. If we have learned anything, we have learned that we cannot rely on what the Kremlin says, but only on what it does. Until the Kremlin shows by deeds that it is willing to abandon its aggressive designs, we must prepare to prevent disaster.
This may be an election year here, but the Kremlin won't take a vacation simply because of the political situation. If we weaken, if we fall back, the Kremlin will see a chance to move in.
There is only one real language they understand, and that is this. [Holding up a fist] It has to be strong enough so that they will understand what we mean.
If we slash our appropriations for national security, we can undo all the work we have done up to this time to prevent another world war.
It is foolish to say that we can't afford to protect ourselves. The truth is that we cannot afford to spare any effort to prevent another world war. Nobody can calculate the cost of the next world war--if it comes. Anything we spend to prevent it is trifling compared to what such a disaster would cost us and the rest of the world.
This great country of ours--stronger and more productive than ever--does not face a danger of internal collapse. To reduce our defenses because of the exaggerated fears about the health of our economy, is just simply sheer folly. The real danger we face is external aggression. The real danger is an all-out attack on the peace of the world by a fanatical and powerful tyranny. And we want to prevent that. We can prevent it.
You who have fought in one great world war know that no effort we can make to prevent another is too much. It is up to you to bring this message home to the American people. It is up to you to help build up our defenses. It is up to you to keep the alliance of free nations strong, so that we may succeed in having world peace in your
Thank you very much.
NOTE: The President spoke at 3:30 p.m. at the new headquarters of the American Veterans of World War II in Washington. In his opening words he referred to John L. Smith, national commander AMVETS, and Robert A. Lovett, Secretary of Defense.
The address was broadcast nationally.