Evening star., 1945-01-07

PRESIDENT
As he addressed the Nation las
fact, bitter experience has shown
5 that, in this kind of mechanical
5 warfare where new weapons are
: constantly being created by our
| enemies and by ourselves, the closer
: we come to the end of the war, the
more pressing becomes the need for
; sustained war production with
!, which to deliver the final blow to
. the enemy.
There are three basic arguments
, for a national service law.
First-It would assure that we
] have the right numbers of workers
in the right places at the right
times.
Second-It would provide supreme
proof TO all our fighting men that
we are giving them what they are
entitled to, which is nothing less
} than our total effort.
And. th:rd-It would be the final,
unequivocal answer to the hopes of
the Nazis and the japanese that
we may become half-hearted about
this war, and that they can get
from us a negotiated peace.
War Would Dictate Demands.
National service legislation would
be used only to the extent abso-
lutely required by military necessi-
ties. In fact, experience in Great
Britain and in other nations at war
indicates that use of the compulsory
powers of national service is neces-
sary only in rare instances.
National Service would provide
against loss of retirement and sem
iority rights and benefits. 1t would
not mean reduction in wages.
The contribution OF our workers
in this war has been beyong meas
ure. We must now build on the
foundations that.have already been
laid, and supplement the measures
now in operation, in order to guar
antee the production that may be
necessary in the critical period that
lies ahead
The Secretary OF War and the
Secretary Of the Navy have writ
ten me letter in. which, speaking
of present war needs, they said:
TN our considered Judgment,
which is supported by Gen. Mar
shall and Admiral King. this re-
quires total mobilization of our man
power by the passage of a national
war service law. The armed forces
need this legislation to hasten the
day of final victory and to keep to
a minimum the cost of lives"
That is the testimony of those best
qualified to know the situation which
confronts us.
Use Of Million 4-Fs.
Pending action by the Congress on
the broader aspects of national serv-
ice, I have recommended that the
Congress Immediately enact legis-
lation which will be effective in US
ing the services of the 4,000,O 900 men
now classified as 4-F in whatever
capacity is best for the, war effort.
In the field of foreign policy, we
propose to stand together with the
United Nations not for the war alone
but for the victory for which the
war is fought.
1t is not only a common danger
which unites us, but q common
hope. Ours is an association not of
governments but of peoples-and the
peoples hope is peace. Here, as in
England; in England, as in Russia;
in Russia, as in China; in France.
and through the tinent of
Europe, and throughout the world:
wherever men love freedom, the hope
and purpose of the people are for
peace-a peace that is durable and
secure.
1t will not be easy to create this
peoples peace. We have seen al
ready, in areas liberated from the
Nazi and the Fascist tyranny, what
problems peace will bring. And we
delude ourselves, if we attempt to
belive wishfully that all these prob
lens can be solved overnight.
Firm Peace Foundation.
The firm foundation can be built
and it will be built. But the con-
tinuance and assurance of a living
peace must, in the long run, be the
work of the people themselves.
We ourselves, like all peoples who
have gone through the difficult
processes of liberation and adjust
ment, know of our own experience
how graf the difficulties can be.
We know that they are not diff
culties peculiar to any continent or
any nakion.
Our own Revolutionary War left
behind it, in the words OF one
American historian, IAN eddy of
lawlessness and disregard of human
life" There were separatist move
ments of one kind or another in
Vremont, Pennsylvania, Virginia,
Tennessee, Kentucky and Maine.
There were instructions, open or
threatened, in Massachusetts, and
New Hampshire. We worked out
for ourselves these difficulties-as
the peoples Of the liberated areas
of Europe, faced with complex
problems Of adjustment, will work
out their difficulties for themselves. :.
Peace can be made and kept only
by the united determination of free
and peace-loving peoples who are
willing to work together-willing to-
help one another-willing to respect
and tolerate and try to understand
one anothers opinions and feelings
Must Curb Power Misuse.
| In the future world, the misuse of
power, as implied in the term pow
er politics" must not be controlling
factor In international relations
That is the heart of the principles