Evening star., 1947-11-24


Vandenberg's speech to the
Senate in presenting the Senate
Foreign Relations Committees
bill for stopoap aid to Europe
tollorS..
Mr.. President:
I present to the Senate the bill
for interim aid to France, Italy
and Austria in their battle against
winter hunger and winter cold and
against the lurking tyranny which
feeds upon such disaster. The orig
inal text has been amended in
numerous important particulars as
will be evidenced by the accompany
ing committee report.
I present the amended text In
one clean bill for the greater con-
venience of the Senate. 1t is unani-
mously recommended by the Senate
Committee on Foreign Relations
after public hearings and scrup-
ulouS study.
It is further recommended, in
my opinion, by its appeal Cd to
traditional American humanitles;
C2) by it's unacceptable necessity
if Western Europe is to preserve
a free chance to order its own
liberty, and 80 by the unavoidable
American self-interest in a free,
solvent and peaceful world.
I know and share the anxieties
of other Senators in connection with
all these foreign aid programs.
know and share their disappolnt-
ments regarding some previous
programs that have gone wrong.
I know and share their conviction
that we must vigilantly guard our
own resources against fatal drain.
l shall undertake to speak frankly
about these things.
I shall also undertake to make
it plain that Senators can support
this bill without any sort of COM
mitment to any other relief pro-
grams which Congress may subse-
quently confront. Then shall
prove, I prayerfully believe, that
the bill is worthy of that degree
of Senate support which the
unanimous report of your COM
mittee beSpeaks for 1t.
i All Allies Helped Win War.
But. Mr.. President, before l deal
with the bill. ! want-just speaking
for myself-to linger for few brief
moments on the general background
against which legislation OF this
character must be judged, in my
opinion, if we shall be faithful to
our own national welfare.
Mr.. President, in close co-opera-
ton with our brave Allies, emphatl-
cally including Soviet Russia which
rendered heroic effort to the COM
mon cause. we won complete mill
tary victory against Axis aggression
in World War II. The victory was
repeatedly-and specifically dedi-
Gated by all Of us to a just peace
that would insure maximum self
determination for free men in free
! world. This unequivocal pledge
was taken to every Allied power.
There were no vetoes and no alb
/ stentions.
/ Those who either violate or evade
! this pledge will repudiate the most
( sacred obligation ever written IN
the blood and tears of martyrs.
! Worse, they will diSsipate the VIC
| tory, lose the peace and hazard their
own destiny. This goes for every
capital on earth. 1t goes for Wash
ington. 1t goes equally for Moscow.
Peace on any other basisc would
be a grim affront to the sacrifice
of those who died for an ideal. 1t
would be a slumbering shambles. 1t
would threaten free society. 1t
would threaten the United States.
In this fore-shortened world, IN
which science does its best to dc
!, its worst, peace on any other basis
would be no more than an uneasy
truce which, through miscalculatlon
of the tenacity of our ideals, might
, light the guns again. That must
not occur.
Unity Has Fallen Apart"
, But we must face the facts. This
International unity which won the
war-and which pledged these Ideals
, has fallen apart. A new type OF
. Communist aggression is on the
march. In the United Nations, which
is still the worlds best bridge across
this ominous gap, this new aggres-
sion boycotts what it cannot defeat
or veto.
1t operates not only through ruth
less pressureS on often-terrorlzed
satellites; it operates through inter
nal subverSion and sabotage in other
lands where its trained and dlscl-
plined minorities faithfully con-
tribute to the chaos and confusion
which encourage communiStlc con-
quest.
/ When 16 Western European ma
tions ioin in a cooperative plan to
restore their self-reliant stabllltles
in a pattern Of their own free
choice, communism - which had
an equal invitation to participate
and refused-promptly and angrlly
repudiates the enterprise, swiftly
proceeds to the rival and ruthless
expansion of it's police state Jur-
isdiction, and frankly organizes the
: equivalent of new Comintern Win
the announced purpose OF Wrecklne
d. Western Europe's hopes. And there
seems to be ample evidence that the
wrecking crews already have beer
turned loose.
All this proceeds, Mr.. President
under cover of the most viciously
unfair propaganda which ever be-
e labored the ears of the world
: I speak of the rift this Afternoon
S for Just one purpose. namely, to as
= sert, with total conviction, that !
I would be a defiance of all logic ant
e a desertion of all craftsmanship t
deny that these events do not hav
I direct impact upon the status o
: our own United States. That beln
', so. we have a direct self-interest II
l doing everything within our peace
e full power to sustain democratl
e freedoms, based on self-determlna
e ton, in other lands.
But let's so clearly identity thu
: self interest that no honest NAL
..,z,,-Ioretopl TT ic mot ron