Evening star., 1958-05-15
Truman Urges Policy
Of Expanding Economy
,cepyEish, iosO
ny HARRY 3. TRUMAN

,cepyrish, iesO
By HARRY &. TRUMAN
These are days when ! find
myself getting a little impatient
with people In responsible
places who are upset by reports
of Russia's growing industrial
strength and yet do nothing
about our Infinitely greater
economic potential. Think that
what we are suffering from Is
the consequence Of indecision.
We are failing 10 make the
most Of our vast resources. ex-
perience and skills In the face
OF q still troublesome Russia.
The leaders OF the free world
cannot Just sit and wait for
things TO happen. They must
act.
Things To BE Done
And these are some Of the
things that believe must be
done 10 restore the initiative
Of the free world In the In
terests Of peace and freedoms.
Here in the United States !
do not think we ought TO delay
doing everything necessary TO
get our economy forging ahead
again so that we will not suffer
q more serious setback and
risk. at the same time. affecting
our allies and friends by our
recession.
/ would urge our friends and
allies to be wary of any ten
dency to be over-impressed by
the Russians to the extent Of
entertaining notions Of appeas-
Ing them. Our friends should
remember that unity OF pur-
pose and cooperation have
served all of us well In the
past.
We should consider further
steps to bring about closer &C.
onomic and financial co-opera-
ton and trade relations with
our allies.
I would recommend that, as
quickly as possible, we take our
allies into full confidence with
respect TO all nuclear Develop
ments. sharing with them the
BENEFITS of this vast source Of
energy and defense.
/ had favored this action
during my terms as President,
but the MacMahon Act, setting |
up the Atomic Energy Commits
sion, reserved for the United |
States all atomic secrets. 4
hope that now. as the result
Of our experience and the new
conditions in the world today,
the Congress will pass the nee
essary legislation to enable our
Government to extend full
nuclear partnership to our
allies.
British Gave Initial Aid
We must not forget that 1t
was the British who carried out
the FIRST practical stages that
eventually led to the produc-
tion Of the A-bo1nb when they
turned over to US all their Sc
crets. as well as the experts.
Both Churchill and Attlee,
as Prime Ministers, informed
me Of the existence Of an un-
derstanding between President
Roosevelt and Prime Minister
Churchill that Immediately aft
er the war we would share with
the British all atomic informa-
tion. I told both Prime Mini
sters that I had no knowledge
Of such an understanding and
that / could find no record of
such an understanding in any
Of the records of the Presidents
office. also told them that I
could understand the fairness
Of such an arrangement and
was sympathetic with its pur-
pose but that my hands were
tied by the MacMahon Act.
Polar Security Patrol
We must give unequivocal
support to our government and
our allies in security measures
to patrol the Polar region. AS
I keep looking at the globe, I
note what a major change has
taken place in the overall
strategy of the space age and
the vulnerability of our own
major cities and industrial CEN
ters to attack from the north
and the relative shortness and
directness of the route from
Russian bases to our allies and
ourselves.
Recent Russian statements
have made it ahundantly clear
that the soil of the United
States is now a primary mill
tary objective as much as any
point on any continent. There
are no longer stages of attack,
and no one is immune. There
Is only one safe choice for the
free world, and that is to work
together.
But the most urgent thing
we need to do is to take meas
ures to revive our own dynamic
expanding economy which has
done so much to keep the free
world free. What we need are
decisions. No decision we make
can be as risky as continued
drifting, or making a decision
after the fact and after the
necessity for it has passed.
Revive RFC
One measure that would be
enormously helpful, I think,
would be the re-eStablishment
of the Reconstruction Finance
Corporation. We must not for
get that thousands of business
men have been forced to the
wall for lack Of bankable
credit.
The Reconstruction Finance
Corporation was set up origi-
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