Evening star., 1951-02-01

people CflIlClZe ILLS SCIleIIle OIL
lend-lease. Now, I never could
feel that way about it, and will
tell you why. ladies and gentle
men. 1t took a rifle and a man
to go out and advance the cause
of the allies against the enemy
we had.
If the United States could
merely provide the rifle and get
some one else to carry it in order
to do the work that was neces-
sary, I was perfectly content.
Now I believe in this think
ing of today if we can put NUM-
tions in the hands of people
that we know will serve on the
side that is essential to our
future security, to the kind of
lives our grandchildren are 60
ing to lead, the only thing we
need to know is that they are
going forward with us breast
by breast, that they are not
tagging, they are not tagging in
their hearts or in their ef-
forts.
Item Is One of Big Task.
I would say that in this par
ticular item Of equipment the
United States faces again a
great proposition of transferring
so much of its great productive
capacity into the sterile busi-
ness OF producing munitions of
war. that you gentlemen are
going to find one Of your most
difficult, but at the same time
one of your most important and
immediate tasks.
I believe as of now that with
that equipment we will find a
great rejuvenation in Western
morale. What we are trying to
do, ladies and gentlemen, is to
start sort of reciprocal ac-
tion across the Atlantic. We do
one thing which inspires our
friends to do something and
that gives us great confidence
in their thoroughness, their
readiness to sacrifice: we do
something more and we estab-
lish an upward going spiral be-
tween this problem of strength
and morale and the thing, the
only thing that can defeat us is
to establish a descending spiral,
born of suspicion. unreadiness
on the part of each of us to do
his job, the job that he knows
in his own heart he must do.
I would like to bring to your
attention a few things now that
I think are important to re-
member. Enemy propaganda
today has among other things,
as it is reflected in the Euro
pean press. tried to make it
appear that this whole job is
hopeless. 1t is shouted from
the house tops. Now if they say
it is hopeless they must have a
purpose. Let us not buy too
freely enemy propaganda or the
propaganda of some one who
wants to defeat our peaceful,
our sane. our utterly just pur-
poses. Let us not forget the
strength of America, its great
people, its history, its broad
acres. its productive capacity,
its great capacity for leader
ship. Then let us keep in our
minds the kind of organization
We will have when we bind that
up heart and soul and in ma
terial ways with our friends
across the seas.
True Defense Is in Soul.
I come back again for a
moment to the question of
morale. Nobody can defend an
other nation by it. The true
defense of the nation can be
found in it's own soul. We must
make sure that the heart and
the soul of Europe is ripe. That
is one of the obligations Ger
tainly that is imposed upon
me and my staff
/ cannot conceive that the
United States ever consented
to accept the responsibility for
the command of Western
Europe except with the reserva-
ton that their representatives
would do their utmost to see
that we are all advancing to-
gether and the United States is
not being made merely an Atlas
to carry the load on it's
shoulder, and I can see that
each one of you in your great
responsibility as the lawmakers
of this Nation has an element
and a part of that responsibility
individually.
But we must not watch that
so closely that we fail to get
out in front to provide the
leadership that will make this
thing a complete success.