Evening star., 1953-01-08
A Worthy Farewell


message on the state of the Union Is to marvel
at the transformation man undergoes when
the impending end of his tenure as President
frees him of the demands that partisan politics
impose.
This message is remarkable document to
be read, if possible, by every American con-
cerned with his own and his cOuntry'S future.
1t is long message, but from beginning to end
there will not be found in it a harsh word, an
unseemly recrimination or divisive appeal.
Accepting the verdict of November with good
grace Mr.. Truman not only pledges his own
support to the new President and urges others
to support him, but he also undertakes from his
own experience to give the people some under
standing of the magnitude of the burden which
General Eisenhower will assume at noon on
January co.
Mr. Truman reviews the accomplishments
of his administration in language which cannot
possibly give offense. For while he claims
credit where he feels credit is due, he does this
without seeking in any way to dlsparage or
embarrass his political opponents.
1t is not in this respect. however that the
message especially commands admiration.
Where it truly excels is in the manner in which
it pulls together and presents in one clear
picture the dsordered fragments of the world
in which we live; in the calmneSs and the
clarity with which it surveys the great struggle
between that part of the world which is free
and that other part which has been enslaved;
in its definition of the responsibility which we
Americans must continue to assume and in the
responsiveness of its arguments that the task
of discharging that responsibility Is one which
rational men cannot evade, and, finally, IN Its
somber but absorbing discussion of the alterna-
tives-one bright with hope, the other incal-
Nf nfn
has posed for this generation of men.
We are told in this section of the message
that the progress of atomic science in the past
seven years has outrun our expectations; that
far from foreseeing the end, I'VE are being
hurried forward, in our mastery of the atom
from one discovery to another, toward yet
unforeseeable peaks of destructive power" And
we are also told: "The war Of the future would
be one in which man could extinguish millions
of lives at one blow demolish the great cities Of
the world, wipe out the cultural achievements
of the past-and destroy the very structure OF
a civilization that has been slowly and pain
fully built up through hundreds of generations"
1t is against this background OF brooding
catastrophe, and in the knowledge that what
we have done with the atom can also be done
in time By the Russians, that Mr.. Truman offers
his parting advice The hope is that the
SA
a war will prove to be the effective antidote;
that the Russians, when they realize that
nothing but total ruin awaits them in event OF
war, will modify their aims and permit settle
ment that will make it possible to turn the tool
of atomic power to the betterment of the lot of
mankind.
The Russians have not yet evidenced any
such intention, however, and until they do we
have no choice except to press forward on all
fronts military, economic and political-in the
effort to strengthen ourselves and our friends.
This means that IF one thing is certain in our
future, it is that more sacrifice lies ahead"
The President is undeniably right however,
when he says that unless we are willing to make
the sacrifice, if we grow discouraged and slacken
our efforts, the whole structure of security that
we have built over the past eight years will
come apart and fall away. Furthermore, once
the process of dsintegration begins it will be
impossible to stop it. and then would come the
time of the free worlds slide toward the dark
ness that the Communists have prophesied-
toward the moment for which they watch and
wait"
This, then is the essence of Mr.. Truman's
farewell message 1t is kind of political last
will and testament written after nearly eight
years in a post which tends to bring out not
only the best in a man. but also his weaknesses.
Whatever the failings of the Truman admins
tration, however, there has also been great
progress, and this final message to the Congress
is, in its way, one of Mr.. Truman's finest
contributions.