Evening star., 1953-01-07
President Reviews
Gains Made by U. 5.
In Annual MESSAGE

In Annual Message
tcontinued From First Page.)
protect the world from the
danger it faces today"
In a paragraph addressed di-
rectly to Russian Premier Stain,
Mr.. Truman warned that war
between Russia and the free
world would bring nothing but
ruin for the Communists.
Mr.. Truman'S message was
read by a clerk in each chamber.
For the first time, the President
did not deliver the annual mes
sage in person. He plans a SIM
liar message to the Nation in a
broadcast week from tomorrow.
The President began his mes
sage with generous expressions Of
hope for the success Of the Eisen-
hover administration. He made
no proposals for legislative &C
ton in the coming year.
Wishes Success to Eisenhower.
1.-THE presentation of a legisla-
tive program" he said, falls
properly to my successor, not to
me. and I would not infringe
upon his responsibility to chart
the forward course"
Mr.. Truman, who campaigned
vigorously against Gen. Eisen-
hover and has criticized him
since the election, spoke Of the
Republican President-elect today
in only the friendliest terms.
I'm just two weeks Gen. Eisen-
hover will be inaugurated as
President and I will resume
most gladly my place as a
private citizen of this Republic, :"
the President said.
"The PreSident-elect is about
to take up the greatest burdens.
the most compelling responsible
tiles. given to any man. And I,
with you and all Americans,
wish for him all possible success
In undertaking the tasks that
will so soon be his"
One of these tasks, Mr.. Tru-
man said, will be Ito lead the
whole free world in overcoming
the Communist menace-and all
this under the shadow of the
atomic bomb"
Pointing to his eight years in
the White House. Mr.. Truman
said:
Much has been done in which
I take great pride. But this is
not personal pride. 1t is pride
in the people, in the Nation"
He expressed his gratitude to his
associates. to Congress despite
our disagreementS," and to the
American people.
Economic Growth Cited.
LET me remind you," said Mr..
Truman, "of some Of the things
we have done since I assumed
my duties as President" He
mentioned the winning Of World
War II. He pointed out that
there had been no depression.
but that the economy Of the
United States has grown tre-
mendously, with 81 million
people employed today compared
with 81 million seven years ago.
Free enterprise has flourished as
never before, and while prices
have risen further than they
should have done, he said in
comes have risen even more, so
that real living standards are
now considerably higher.
The national finances, he COM
mented, have been well handled.
The Second World War. he said,
left us with a debt which reached
$279 billion at it's peak in Feb
ruary. 1916.
For the four Gscal years from
July /, 1916. to June 80, 1885,"
he said, I'VE had a net surplus
OF $4.3 billion. Using this sur
plus, and the Treasury's excess
cash reserves. the debt was re-
duced substantially, reaching a
low point of $251 billion in June,
1949. and ending up at $257 bill
lion on June 80, 1885,"
Mr.. Truman said that another
problem at the close of the war
was the future of social progress
In this country. would our gov
ernment continue to have a heart
for the people, or was the prog
ress Of the New Deal to be halted
IN the aftermath of war as de-
cisively as the progress Of Wood
row Wilson's new freedom had
been halted after the first world
war;" he asked.
The answer, he said, was
greater old age insurance bene-
fits, higher minimum wages, gov
ernment aid in the building of
three million privately-con-
Structed homes. He said a total
Of 155 thousand units of low
rent public housing have been
placed under construction since
1949, and AZ thousand new hos
pital beds have been provided
since 1916 through the joint ef-
forts Of the government and local
communities.
Emphasizes Civil Rights.
The President also mentioned
aid to eight million war veterans
and to farmers.
In these and other ways" the
President said, I'VE have demon
strated, up to now, that our
democracy has not forgotten how
to use the powers Of the govern
ment to promote the peoples
welfare and security"
During and since the war, Mr..
Truman continued, there has