Evening star., 1949-01-05

will enable every American to af-
ford good medical care.
1t Is equally shocking that mil
lions Of our children are not receiv-
ing good education. Millions OF
them are in over-crowded. obsolete
buildings. We are short of teachers
because teachers salaries are toe
low to attract new teachers, or to
hold the ones we have. All these
school problems will become much
more acute as result of the tre-
mendous increase in the enrolment
in our elementary schools in the
next few years. I cannot repeat toe
strongly my desire for prompt Fed
eral financial aid to the States to
help them operate and maintain
their school systems.
The governmental agency which
now administers the programs OF
health, education and social security
should be given full departmental
status.
The housing shortage continues
to be acute. AS an immediate step
the Congress should enact the pro-
viionS for low-rent public housing
slum clearance, farm housing, and
housing research which I have re-
peatedly recommended. The number
Of low-rent public housing units
provided for in the legislation
should be increased to one million
units in the next seven years. Even
this number Of units will not begin
to meet our need for new housing
Must Lower Costs.
Most of the houses we need will
have to be built by private enter
prise, without public subsidy. BY
producing too few rental units and
too large proportion Of high priced
houses, the building industry is
rapidly pricing itself out of the
market. Building costs must be
lowered.
The Government is now engaged
in a campaign to induce all seq
ments of the building industry te
concentrate op the production OF
lower-priced housing. Additional
legislation to encourage such hous-
ing will be submitted.
The authority which I have re-
quested, to allocate materials in
short supply and to impose price
ceilings on such materials, could be
used, If found necessary, to chan.
mel more materials into homes large
enough for family life at prices
which wage earners can afford.
The driving force behind ou,
progress Is our faith in our demo.
cratic institutions. That faith il
embodied in the promise Of equal
rights and equal opportunities which
the founders Of our Republic pro.
claimed to their countrymen and
to the whole world.
The fulfillment of this promise
is among the highest purposes o1
government. The civil rights pro.
posals I made to the 80th Congress
l now repeat to the 81st Congress
They should be enacted in order
that the Federal Government may
assume the leadership and discharge
the obligations clearly placed upor
it by the Constitution.
I stand squarely behind those
proposals.
Foreign Policy Is Peace.
Our domestic programs are the
foundation Of our foreign policy
The world today looks to us fol
leadership because We have *
largely realized, within our borders
those benefits Of democracy fol
which most Of the peoples Of the
world are yearning.
We are following q foreign poll.
cy which is the outward expression
Of the democratic faith we profess
We are doing what We can to er-
courage free States and free peo.
piles throughout the world, to aid the
suffering and afflicted in foreign
lands, and to strengthen democratic
nations against aggression.
The heart Of our foreign policy
is peace. We are supporting a worlo
organization to keep peace and q
world economic policy to create
prosperity for mankind. Our guild
ing star is the principle of interna-
tional cooperation. To this concept
we have made a national commit
ment as profound as anything .in
history.
To it we have pledged our re-
sources and our honor.
Until system of world security
is established upon which we can
safely rely. We cannot escape the
burden of creating and maintaining
armed forces sufficient to deter ag-
gression. We have made great prog
ress in the last year in the effective
Of our armed forces,
but further improvements in our
security legislation are
Universal training Is es-
sential to the security Of the United
States.
Reciprocal Trade.
During the course OF this seS-
sion I shall have occasion to ask
Congress to consider several meas
ures in the field of foreign policy.
At this time, I recommend that we
restore the Reciprocal Trade Agree
ments Act to full effectiveness, and
extend it for three years. We should
also open our doors to displaced
persons without unfair discrimina-
ton.
It should be clear by now to all
nations that we are not seeking
to freeze the status quo. We have
no intention of preserving the in
justices of the past We welcome
the constructive efforts being made
by many nations to achieve better
life for their citizens. In the Euro
pean Recovery Program, in our
Good Neighbor Policy and in the
United Nations, we have begun to
batter down those national walls
which block the economic growth
and the social advancement of the
peoples of the world.
We believe that If we hold reso-
lutely to this course, the principle
of international cooperation will
eventually command the approval