Evening star., 1950-05-09
Partial Texts of Truman Speeches

cost of overcoming this plague
through the excellent Federal
State cooperative program that
has been worked out.
! More Forest Roads Needed.
/ In the forest, we need to build
more roads, so that we can reach
the timber and use it.
Along the rivers, we need more
sound irrigation projects
Minerals must be conserved, too.
in the sense that We must take
out of the ground all that can
economically be extracted. and
must increase our exploration for
new sources.
. Furthermore we need to go
ahead rapidly to conserve our
limited water supplies. -.
This water problem is not only
, serious for farmers and for cities
and towns. In many parts of
the country it is also a serious
problem for industries. For ex-
ample, down south of here in
Colorado there are huge reserves
Of oil shale. In the years to come,
we may well need to obtain oil
from that shale. 1t will take a lot
OF water to do so. however, and
there is a real question whether
there is enough water for that
purpose.
AS we move forward in our use
of resources. We must improve
the organization of the Federal
Government so that its part of
the development can be done bet
ter and with more effective par
ticipation by State and local
governments.
The American people will con-
tinue to go right ahead, taking
the practical, sensible steps that
are needed to build a better fu-
ture. We are a strong, free peo-
pie. We know that to continue
free and strong, we must wisely
develop and use the resources with
which nature has endowed us.
Engaged in World Struggle.
Today, more than ever before
we can see how important it is
that we take these steps to develop
our resources. We are engaged in
a Worldwide struggle to bring
lasting peace to the world. In
that struggle, we are being op-
posed by a cynical imperialism
which asserts that freedom and
democracy are soft and incapable
of strong action.
We can prove how false, how
hollow, are the claims of COM
munism. But we can prove that
only by deeds. We must demon
strate that our free country. along
with other free countries, can
achieve strength. prosperity and
growing welfare for our people.
To do so, we must continue to
move forward in our use of natural
resources. -.
In the tremendous conflict that
exists in the world today, our fun
damental strength Is our belief in
the worth of the individual, under
God. Our whole democratic
tradition rests on our faith that
free men, working together in CO.
operation. can achieve justice and
we'll being for themselves and for
one another.
In that faith, we shall move
forward on the path of freedom
and peace. 49,.
A partial tert OF President
Truman's speech in Lincoln.
Nebr., yesterday tollotDs:
Here in the center of the Nation,
where the corn belt merges with the
Great Plains, we can see clearly
the greatness and the importance
of American agriculture.
Effort To Bring Peace.
This country today, along with
other countries, is engaged in a
tremendous effort to bring about
peace based on freedom and justice.
Make no mistake about it, the strug-
gle we are in now is just as i'm
portant to our future as was our
uiNtnIsxy in tho 10
American agriculture is directly
concerned with the success of our
program for peace. You here in
Lincoln are directly affected by what
happens these days in Berlin, in
Paris, in Singapore.
| No one should know that better
than the American farmer, because
farmers remember what happened
to them after the last war.
In the early 1920's the bottom fell
out of agriculture in this country.
Export markets disappeared. Prices
plummeted down. The price of corn
dropped in 18 months from So to
70 cents bushel. The price of cot
ton fell from 40 cents to 10 cents a
pound. Land values collapsed. The
resulting agricultural depression in
the 1920'S was the forerunner of the
national depression of the early '3O's.
Trade Barriers Built Up.
Those were the days when inter-
national trade barriers were built
up and up. in a foolish and futile
effort to gain advantage at the ex-
pense of somebody else. Those were
the days when the farmers were
left alone to struggle with their
problems while the rest of the
country went up and up on the
bubble of the boom.
When the bubble burst, the hollow
nature of that boom was revealed
Il is perfectly evident now how
the worldwide depression paved the
way for the Second World War.
That is why we are doing every
thing we can to see that the same
thing doesn't happen again. -.
One of First Efforts.
In 1888, we started in to attack
the national depression at its roots.
One of Ollr first efforts WAS Tn Over-