Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-04-04

this observation which he made
well over a century ago:
There are at the present
time two great nations In the
world. which started from diff
ferent points. but seem to tend
towards the same end. I al
lude to the Russians and the
Americans.
The American struggles
against the obstacles that
nature opposes TO him. the adj
versaries Of the Russian are
men. The former combats the
wilderness and savage life; the
latter, civilization with all its
arms. The eonquests Of the
American are therefore gained
by the plowshare; those Of the
Russian by the sword. The
Anglo-American relies upon
personal interest to accomplish
his ends and gives free scope
to the unguided strength and
common sense Of the people;
the Russian centers all the
authority Of society in a single
arm. The principal instrument
Of the former is freedom; Of
the latter, servitude. Their
starting point is different and
their courses are not the same;
yet each of them seems marked
out by the will of heaven to
sway the destinies of half the
globe"
The Cost of Security
Today, l27 years later we
find the Russian nation to
which De Toqueville referred,
now taken over by imperial
istic communism, hoping to
sway not half, but all the globe.
It's methods are all-inclusive,
ranging through the use of
propaganda, political subver-
sion, economic penetration, and
the use or threat Of force.
The second fact Is that our
country is today spending an
aggregate of about SAT billion
annually for the preservation
of the Nations position ard
security in the world. This
includes the costs of the De-
Tense Department. the produc-
ton of nuclear weapons. and
mutual security. All three are
mutually supporting and are
blended into one program for
our security. Their cost con-
veys something of the entire
programs importance-to the
world and, indeed, to each of us.
The next fact we note is that
since the target is the world,
every nation is comprehended
in the Communist effort. The
weak and the most exposed
stand in the most immediate
danger.
Viet-Nam an Example
Another fact, that we ignore
to our peril, is that if agrees
sion or Subversion against the
weaker of the free nations
should achieve successive vic
tories, communism would STEP
by-step overcome once-free
areas. The danger, even to the
strongest, would become in
creasingly menacing.
Clearly, the self-interest Of
each free nation impels it to
resist the loss to imperialistic
communism of the freedom and
independence of any other ma
ton.
Freedom is truly indivisible.
To apply some of these truths
to a particular case, let us con-
slider, briefly, the country OF
Viet-Nam, and the Importance
to us of the security and prog
resS Of that country. =
It is located, as you know,
in the southeastern corner OF
Asia, exactly halfway around
the globe from Gettysburg, Pa.
A Country Divided
Wet Nam is a country di-
vided, as a result of war, into
two parts, as are Germany and
Korea. The southern half,
with its IL million people, is
free, but poor. 1t is an under
developed country-its economy
is weak-average individual in
come being less than 5000 a
year. The northern half had
been taken over by communism.
A line of demarcation running
along the 18th parallel sep
arates the two. To the north
of this line stand several Com
munist divisions. These facts
pose to South Wet Nam two
great tasks: Self-defense and
economic growth.
UNDERSTANDABLE, the people
of Wet Nam want to make
their country a thriving, self
sufficient member of the family
of nations. This means econ
omic expansion.
For Wet Mans economic
growth, the acquisition of cap
ital is necessary. Now, the ma
ton could create the capital
needed for growth by stealing
from the already meager rice
bowls of its people and regi-
menting them into work bat
talions. This enslavement is
the commune SyStem-adopted
by the new overlords of Com
munist China. 1t would mean,
of course, the loss of freedom
within the country without any
hostile outside action whatso-
ever.
Aid Is Other Way
Another way for Wet Nam
to get necessary capital is
through private investments
from the outside, and through
governmental loans and, where
necessary, grants from other
and more fortunately situated