Evening star., 1949-06-13
No Time for q letdown

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In his address at Little Rock, President
Truman has used eloquently simple words
to remind everybody that this Is no time
for any slackening in the free worlds ef-
fort to attain the goals of economic health,
collective security and lasting peace. The
reminder is a pertinent one. and 1t should
be taken to heart by all who are tempted
to let things slide a bit on the wishful
assumption that half measures will be
good enough or that the job that needs
to be done can be done by fits and starts,
on q bargain-price basis and with plenty
Of holidays available for resting on ones
oars.
The temptation to feel that way Is not
unnatural. In the nearly five years since
VI Day, the world has been anything
but restful. International problems and
tensions are still so complex and severe,
and the inescapable responsibilities rest
ing on the United States are so heavy and
costly, that 1t Is not surprising that some
Americans, as the President mas said,
have grown weary Of the effort We are
making" Nor Is 1t surprising that there
are voices claiming we can afford to re-
lax now, that we can safely cut down on
our aid for the economic recovery OF other
free lands, that 1t will be all right II we
do nothing to revive trade among ma
tions, and that we can have suficient
security without resorting to defensive
anti-aggression measures like the Atlantic
Pact and armaments help for its European
signatories.
But though all such feelings may be
understandable, they are potentially dan
gerous in that they could lead, II they
became widespread, to listlessness, mac
ton or too-little- -too-late policies Of the
sort that played into Hitler's hands after
the First World War. The President has
done well, therefore, to warn against that
kind of letdown at this stage-a letdown
that would imperil the free Western
world % by undoing the start that has
been made toward regaining economic
vigor, 90 by giving Communism, which
Is now checked In Europe, new chance
to make additional headway, and 90 by
thus inviting the Soviet Union to under
take further acts of direct and indirect
aggression to spread its dominance west
ward over the entire continent. It Is not
for nothing that Mr.. Truman has been
at pains to emphasize that the task ahead
still calls for Arm determination and
steadfast effort"
That task is to achieve what the Presi-
dent has called the three essential condi-
tions Of a lasting peace. The first Of these
conditions is that we must be strong and
prosperous The second Is that our like
minded friends abroad must also be strong
and prosperous. And the third Is that
the United Nations must be made effec-
tive enough to prevent armed aggression.
The attainment of these obiectives re-
quires many overlapping measures in
which the United States, because Of its
own self-interest and its pre-eminent
wealth and power, must take the lead.
The measures include adequate military
preparedness here at home, full steam
ahead with the European Recovery Pro-
gram, reciprocal trade agreements to slim
ulate world trade, action on the projected
long-range program for the development
of backward areas, and the Atlantic Pact
and related armaments aid to provide
regional mutual defense within the frame
work of the U. N. until the U. NJ itself
Is capable of guaranteeing collective Sc.
curity on global scale.
These and similar undertakings add up
to a burden whose weight and cost are
not to be minimized. AS the President
has declared, however, "the easy way is
not the path to peace" and I'VE must not
falter now" in doing what clearly must be
done If mankind is ever to prosper In a
cooperative atmosphere imprisoned by
the constant fear of an all-engulf1ng war
of annihilation. The stakes involved In
all this are tremendous. But If we re-
main steadfast, If we do not defeat our
own efforts by doing half the Job that lies
before u.s." the United States and the rest
of the free world will win those stakes, and
Russia can be persuaded, in due course.
to live and let live. Mr.. Truman has not
raised false hope on that score.