Evening star., 1950-12-17
National Emeroency

The Presidents address to the country and
his proclamation of national emergency bring
into sharper focus the real nature of the threat
to our country and the things we must do to
meet it,
Mr.. Truman presented a somewhat roster
picture than the facts would seem to justify
He said, for instances the Communists, by
throwing the Chinese armies into Korea, have
shown chat they are now willing to push the
world to the brink of general war to get what
they want"
That is an understatement The Commu-
nists, by this act, have not merely shown that
they are willing to push the world to the brink
of general war. They have actually pushed the
world to the brink, and they have served open
notice that they are willing to push it over the
brink. Let us make no mistake about that
These enemies OF ours, or rather the handful
of vicious ruthless men who rule them, have
signif1ed their readiness to fight general war
if they cannot otherwise get what they want.
1t is proper, even in the face of this, to pursue
through negotiation whatever slim hope of peace
remains. But we should not misread the inten-
tions or the capabilities of the Communist world.
AS MIR. Truman said in his proclamation, the
Communist objective is world conquest They
have shown that they will wage war for that
objective So, when Mr.. Truman says we must
remember that our goal is not war but peace,
we should also remember that the probabilities
point, not to peace, but to war.
Nor is there any reason to assume that the
things which Mr.. Truman proposes to do to
meet this situation will prove adequate.
He said the Government "is starting at once"
to impose price controls on some materials and
products automobiles have already been COW
ered), and that it will undertake" to stabilize
wages in these fields. Where mandatory controls
are not imposed, fair price and wage standards
will be announced. and those affected will be
expected to adhere to them. There is no reason
to suppose that this will work. Presumably, it
is stopgap device that has been put forward
now because the Government is not organized at
this time to do thorough job of imposing full
controls.
Likewise the proposals for stepping up our
rearmament program fall short of all-out
effort Presumably, as in the case of economic
controls, the President does not feel that enough
preliminary work has been done Here, too,
however the pressure of events will be the
decisive factor. It is probable that our enemies
will force us to accelerate the pace, whether
we feel ready for it or not.
The really important thing in this message
is that the President has given solemn assurance
that we will not yield to aggression and that we
will not resort to appeasement That leaves the
decision to our foes. If they press on in the
direction they have taken, they can expect moth
ing less than total war with the United States.
It is against that eventuality that our efforts
must be directed. There is no time to lose, no
effort to waste The President, hoping to meet
this threat in the democratic way" has called
upon each of us to accept an individual re-
sponsibility for the good of the country. It Is
imperative that all of us accept that response
bility and do our duty to the country. If we
will not do this then the Government will have
to resort to greater measures of compulsion as an
alternative to national defeat