Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1947-06-08
Text of Truman Speech to 35th Division at Kansas Cit
BY the Associcied Press

u WV ~ -
BY the Asseeioisd Press
KANSAS CITY, June 1.-THE
tert of President Trun1nn's nd-
dress tonight for the 35th Dr.
piston reunion memorial seruice
follows:
We have come together tonight
to honor the memory of the men
Of the 35th Division who died in
the defense of their country and,
in honoring them, we pay tribute
also to the memory of all those who
have lost their lives in the wars in
which our Nation has been engaged.
Men Of the 35th Division have
twice fulfilled the obligation of
every American citizen to serve in
the defense of his homeland. More
than 300 years ago the first settlers
in the North American Colonies
established tradition Of military
training and service.
Service in the defense Of the new
colonies was, to them, an essential
and unquestioned duty Of citizen
ship. We owe our existence as a
nation to the tradition Of service by
our citizens, for 1t was an army Of
citizen soldiers which George Wash
| ington led to victory In the Amert-
can Revolution. At the end of that
war, the Congress asked General
Washington to give his views on
what the military policy Of the new
nation should be. Washington re-
piled:
"It may be laid down as a
primary position, and the basis
of our system, that every citizen
who enjoys the protection of
free government, owes not only
proportion Of his property, but
even Of his personal services to
the defense of 1t .. ="
Abolition of War Needed.
The responsibility, described by
Washington, of the citizens of the
new nation to maintain the security
of their homes has become, in our
time, responsibility to serve in the
cause Of world security. The only
security for the United States, or
for any other nation, when the al
tentative to peace is death and
destruction, lies in the abolition of
war.
Our obligation, as citizens Of the
strongest nation in the world, is to
lead the peoples of the earth toward
the goal of lasting peace.
| N,1r hnY,ae for ,,a,.n
ttce and international cooperation
are embodied in the United Nations.
We shall continue every effort to
attain the ideal of United Nations
which can Danish war for all time.
In supporting thhe United Nations,
we must always sustain the principle
on which world peace must rest.
That principle is that all people
should have the right to live free
from fear of aggression under insti-
tutions of their own free choice Our
responsibility to lead the peoples of
the world in the search for peace
takes the form of helping less for
tunate peoples who are earnesting
striving to improve or reconstruct
the institutions of free and indie
pendent nations.
Strength Necessary.
We can fulfill our obligation OF
service in the cause of peace only by
maintaining our strength.
The will for peace without the
strength for peace is of no avail.
The disintegration of our military
forces since the surrender of Ger
many and Japan is an encourage
ment to nations who regard weak
ness on the part of peace-loving ma
tons as an Invitation to aggression.
And the countries whose people
share our ideals, and who look to
us for leadership. but who are weak
in resources or manpoWer, lose
faith in our ability to support the
principles for which we stand.
Hitler's dream Of controlling the
world was spurred by his Dn''.f that
| the Western nations were weak and
lacked the will to resist. Hitlfr's
eagernesS for war increased as his
estimate of the strength of the
Democracies decreased. Unprepared-
ness on the part of his opponents
precipitated his decision to march
into Poland in 1899. Japan struck
at Pearl Harbor because she thought
the United States was too weak to
fight back.
Hence we must maintain our
Army, our Navy and our Air Force
in effective readiness for any emer-
gency. They should be organized in
an efficient single military estab-
lishment and they should be sup
posted by reserves of well-trained
civilians.
Seeks Sound Economy.
Maintaining strong military forces
is not the only requirement that
exists in the cause Of peace. We
must also have sound and pros
porous economy, thriving agricul-
ture. natural resources wisely con-
served and adequately developed
and vigorous citizens conscious of
our: duty and confident in our
desYny.
A healthy citizenry is the most
important element of our national
strength We must develop ma
tional health program which will