Evening star., 1952-06-08
A Rule of Thumb for All

President Truman has said lot OF timely
things, and he has said them excellently, in his
address at Springfield, Missouri. He has spoken
not as politician looking for votes but as
national leader appealing to all Americans
regardless of election-year partisanship-to act
in keeping with "the cold fact that we are still
in great danger" This is not empty talk. It
is statement Of hard reality, and its chief
meaning for the United States and the Allied
nations is that they must make very sure, If
they are to be safe, that they do not relax now
in the common defensive buildup against the
undiminished menace of Red aggression.
That buildup, as the President has said
has made great progress since the Kremlin-
directed Communists attacked southwark across
Korea's 38th Parallel two years ago. Within
the intervening PERIOD the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization has strengthened itself impress
sively. And 1t will be further strengthened when
the six-nation treaty on the European Defense
Community and the peace contract with Bonn
are effectuated and thus pave the way for West
German participation in the collective effort to
right the continental balance OF power vis-a-vis
Russia AS for what our own country has done
since June, 1885, Mr.. Truman has struck hard at
'1oose talk describing our rearmament program
as failure" The figures he has given on that
score have convincing ring to them: Our Army,
Navy and Air Force are incomparably stronger
today than they were at the outbreak of the
Korean war.
But Mr.. Truman has been at pains to empha-
size that the buildup is still only at about the
halfway stage and that long road must be
travelled and great deal of work done during
the next two or three years before we and our
Allies "can create the kind Of strong free world
that We need to guarantee security and peace"
Meanwhile, what all of us must guard against
is apathy and complacency. AS the President
sees the situation, some of u.s. having lived in
the middle Of world crisis for two years, are
beginning to relax, growing Indifferent to the
grave dangers around u.s. forgetting about ma
tional safety "and thinking how nice it would
be to economic and have lower taxes" His
warning against this attitude, which he finds
running through labor, industry and Congress,
is very much to the point, for it is an attitude
that is perilously unrealistic in relation to the
magnitude of the threat confronting us.
The President has summed up the threat
in these words: "We cannot tell what the Kremlin
is planning. There may be new offensives in
Korea. There may be new Koreas in other parts
of the globe The Communists may even be
planning greater attacks than we have seen up
to this point. We do not know. We cannot be
sure" Certainly in such circumstances, he is
altogether right in Solemnly warning against
relaxation and in declaring that slashing appro-
priations for defense, or for foreign aid, is not
economy, but playing with fire, and that dollars
saved in that way "aren't going to help us much
If we lack the planes-or tanks-or allies we need
in the critical hour of danger" This is wise
and much-needed counsel, and so is his plea
against election-year politicking on the issue Of
national security.
With considerable eloquence, Mr.. Truman
has laid down rule of thumb that all of us
Republicans and Democrats alike-could follow
with profit in these days of very real danger:
mo false economy. No fooling around with the
security of this country for political gain. No
trifling with the mighty effort of this great
Nation to lead the world to peace" Given
adherence to such principles, America, together
with its Allies need not fear the outcome of the
present fateful struggle with the forces of Red
totalitarianiSm.