Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-09-20

fpruCDlCdL Teach OF our concern,
These are some Of the reasons
why / can say to you tonight:
The pledge of peace, made TO
you upon the day Of my inau-
gVration. has been pursued
firmly and effectively.
w
Our task Is far from done. New
problems. and critical ones, rise
before US. And they give to our
generation this warning: There
are walking beside us, at this
moment Of history. our two con-
slant companions: Great danger
and great opportunity.
We witness. as we scan this
divided world, . number Of grave
problems. I wish briefly 70 state
four Of them.
Peoples Struggling for Freedom
First: We witness today, across
. vast mdddle-area Of our earth,
an historic struggle by its peo-
pies for INSTRUMENTATION from
foreign rule or freedom from
domestic proverty. In this great
belt. from the deserts Of North
Africa across to the islands Of
the South Pacific. there live 800
million persons-one-third Of the
worlds population. And through
all these lands. Communist voices
cry out to all men-to hate the
West.
We act In this area by a few
clear principles. We respect fully
the right Of all peoples, able and
ready to govern themselves, to
be free to do so. We realize that
the future role Of the West, with
all these peoples, must ultimately
be one not of rule-but of part
nership. And we know that this
role will require us-for the sake
OF the peace of the world-to
strive to help these struggling
peoples to rise from poverty and
need.
Nuclear Weapons
Second: We witness today. in
the power of nuclear weapons a
new and deadly dimension to the
ancient horror of war. Humanity
has now achieved, for the first
time in its history, the power to
end its history.
This truth must guide our
every deed. 1t makes world dis
armament a necessity Of world
life. For I repeat again this
simple declaration: The only
way to win World War III is to
prevent it.
New Communist Tactics
Third: We witness today
partly as a result of Western
unity and strength-the turning
OF Communist world ambition to-
ward new methods and devices.
These methods are, first Of all,
political. They mean-across
the world. within each country
new and powerful Communist eff
fort to win with the ballot what
they have been unable to win
with the bayonet.
We can meet this threat with
neither anger against allies nor
scorn for neutrals. But we can
be vigilant. patient and compre-.
hending. We can, in the name
OF freedom itself, remind our al
lies OF their responsibilities with
in their frontiers. And we can,
as we address all neutral nations.
remind them that there is no
neutrality between right and
wrong. And, therefore. there
is one issue on which we are
not neutral-their right to stay
free.
Soviet Industrial Challenge
Finally: We witness today. in
the economic arena. the rise of
the first industrial power to
challenge the West. This power
is the Soviet Union-with its
steel production, its heavy ma
chinery. its natural resources, its
technical skills.
This power, as it is pitted
against the West, will demand
of us many things. 1t will de-
mand the most vigorous econ
omy Of our history. 1t will de-
mand the technical training of
our youth as a direct concern of
national security. And it will
demand, among the governments
OF the free nations, the closest
possible coordination Of eco
nCinic action.
Such-in the simplest of
formS-are some great problems
we face.
Methods We Must Avoid
There are-let me state plain
ly and immediately--some ways
not to meet these problems, as
they must be met: with wisdom
and strength.
We cannot prove wise and
strong with public speech that
enormously asserts our economic
weakness. For the people of the
world and the leaders of the
Soviet Union must never be
deceived-or delightfully."- any
myth Of American weakness.
They must know the truth Of our
strength.
We cannot prove wise and
strong by any such simple de-
vice as suspending, unilaterally,
our H-bomb tests. Our atomic
knowledge and power have
forged the saving shield of free
dom. And the wise future use
and control Of atomic power can
be assured, not by any theatrical
national gesture-but only by
explicit and supervised interna-
tional agreements.
We cannot prove wise and
strong by limiting that our mill
tary draft might soon be sus-
pended - even through every
family naturally hopes for the
day when it might be possible.