Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1950-12-16

President Truman signs tn
gency.
world. In dealing with the Korean
crisis, we are not going to ignore
the danger of aggression elsewhere.
There is actual warfare in the
Far East, but Europe and the rest
of the world are also in great dan
ger. The same menace-the men
ace of Communist aggression
threatens Europe as we'll as Asia.
| Must Stand With Allies.
To combat this menace, other
free nations need our help, and
we need theirs. We must work with
sense of real partnership and
common purpose with these nations.
We must stand firm with our al
lies, who have shown their cour-
age and their love of freedom.
The United States, Canada and
| the 10 nations of Western Europe
who are united with us in the North
Atlantic Treaty, have already begun
to create combined military de-
lenses. Secretary of State Ache
son is flying to Europe on Sunday.
He and representatives Of these ma
lions will complete the arrange
mentS for setting up a joint army,
navy and air force to defend Europe.
The defense of Europe is of the
utmost importance to the security
of the United States.
| We will continue to provide as
sistance to European countries, and
to other free countries in other
parts Of the world, because their
defense is also important to our
own defense.
Foundation of Effort.
The Communist rulers are trying
their hardest to split the free ma
tons apart. If they should sue
coed, they would do staggering dam
age to the cause of freedom. Unity
with our allies is now, and must
continue to be, the foundation of
our effort.
Working together, the free nations
can create military forces strong
enough to convince the Communist
rulers that they cannot gain by
aggression.
Working together, the free ma
lions can present the common front,
backed by strength, which is neces-
sary if we are to be in a position to
negotiate successfully with the
Kremlin for peaceful settlements.
Working together, we hope we
can prevent another world war.
In order to succeed, we in our
country have a big job ahead Of
us.
That is why the third thing we
must do to meet the present danger
is to step up our own defense pro-
gram.
We are expanding our armed
forces very rapidly.
Armed Forces Expanding.
We are speeding up the produc-
ton of military equipment for our
own armed forces and for our
| allies.
We have a large Navy. We have
a powerful Air Force. We have
units around which a strong Army
can be built. But measured against
the danger that confronts us, our
forces are not adequate.
On June Is, when the Commun-
lists invaded the Republic of Korea,
we had less than is million men
and women in our Army, Navy and
Air Force. Today, our military
strength has reached about 2,5
million. Our next step is to in
crease the number of men and
women on active duty to nearly 3.5
million.
I have directed the armed forces
to accomplish this as soon as pos
sible. The Army and the Navy will
be able to do this within a few
months. It will take the Air Force
somewhat longer. In addition to
these men and women on active
duty, we have about two million
more in the National Guard and
and reserves who are subject to
call.
Guard Divisions Called.
AS part of the process of achiev-
ing speedier build-up, the num-
Der of men to be called up under
the selective service system has
been raised, and two additional
National Guard divisions are being
ordered to active duty in January.
At the same time, we will have a
very rapid speed-up in the produc-
ton Of military equipment. Within
one year, we will be turning out
planes at five times the present
rate of production. Within one
year, combat vehicles will be COM
ing off the production line at four
times today's rate. Within one
year, the rate Of production of cleo
tronics equipment for defense will
have multiplied four and a half
times.
These will not be weapons for
our own armed forces alone.
They will constitute an arsenal
for the defense of freedom. Out
of this arsenal, we will be able
to send weapons to other free
nations, to add to what they can
produce for their own defenses.
And in this same arsenal, we will
provide a large reserve of weap-
ons to equip additional units in
our own armed forces whenever
that may be necessary.
Furthermore, while we are
working toward these immediate
goals in manpower and equip
mer1t We will also exnand MIR