Evening star., 1953-06-27
U.S.. Power Essential,
Truman Says IN Talk;
Reckless COP. Hit
Rv Inc A.,oeiotsd Pro.s

BY the Assoeioiad Pross
PHILADELPHIA, June 27.-
Former President Truman con-
demned defense budget slashes
by the Eisenhower administra-
ton last night and chastised
what he called a reckless" wing
Of the Republican Party. blaming
it for cuts in the mutual security
program.
In his first formal speech since
leaving the White House, Private
Citizen Truman said he wanted
to warn the people "soberly and
plainly" not to be misled by the
desire for lower taxes Unto cut
ting corners on our national
security"
Increasing the risk Of World
War III means increasing the
risk Of atom bombs on our own
homes" Mr.. Truman told a ma
tlonal convention Of the Reserve
Ofncers' Association.
He said a balanced program"
Of military goals was worked out
by the Joint Chiefs Of Staff in
1851, and that they urged the
targets to be achieved just as
soon as possible after 1854.
Estimate Still Unchanged.
"It was about that time" said
Mr.. Truman, that they expected
the SovietS to have amassed a
stockpile Of atomic bombs that
would put this country in the
gravest kind of danger"
'It is Of the highest signifi-
cance," he went on, that Gen.
Hoyt Vandenberg (retiring Air
Force Chief of Staff and Gen.
Omar Bradley (retiring Chief Of
Staff testified a little while ago
that nothing has happened to
change the strategic estimate Of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff on
which that program was based.
"As the President has said,
our Government sees no reliable
evidence of any modification in
the fundamental Soviet aim of
world domination. II the So
vietS are genuine interested in
real settlements, we must be
able to negotiate from strength.
Power Always Essential.
eff they are tempted to make
war, we must be able to deter
them by our strength.
"And if they should attack,
we must be able to beat them
back, by strength.
mo matter what way lies
ahead. the essential thing is
always strength.
I'VE cannot, we simply can
not, lead the free world and Sc
cure q condition Of peace If our
defenseS are weak"
Mr.. Truman harked back to
1939-40, when France had been
trying to balance her budget.
when she was overrun (by
the Germans" he said, "the
budget didn't matter any longer.
Raj Saved Britain
"In England, the economizers
wanted to cut the budget of the
Royal Air Force. The economi-
Eers lost that argument, and it
was a good thing they did-be-
cause the Royal Air Force saved
Britain during the Battle of
Britain.
And over on this side, what
did we hear in 1899 and 1910?
Why, we heard that a few billion
dollars more of Federal spending
would wreck the economy. The
real danger, we heard, wasn't
Hitler or Tojo-it was a bugaboo
known as national bankruptcy
ITO our great misfortune, the
country listened altogether too
much to that kind of talk. We
didn't expand our defenses
nearly fast enough. So, in De-
cember, 1941. the Japanese felt
we weren't strong enough to de-
feat them-and they struck, at
Pearl Harbor.
Then what happened? We
forgot all about those alleged
dangers Of wrecking the econ
omy. We spent nearly $3.50 bill
lion on armamentS and war. We
increased the national debt 400
per cent. And our economy,
after all that, didn't show the
slightest sign Of being wrecked"
Enjoys Out of Office Role.
Obviously enjoying his out-of-
ofice role, Mr.. Truman began
his talk with mellow mildness,
conf1ding: I'm glad to be here
as a private citizen-a retired
colonel. if you please"
But then he quickly turned to
taxes, defense and foreign policy.
The ex-PreSident declared that
LOST