Evening star., 1960-02-16

the Congress on the mutual Sc
curity program, I described 1t
as both essen, ial to our secur-
ity and important to our pros
perity. Pointing out that our
expenditures for mutual secur-
ity are fully as important to
our national defense as expend-
itures for our own forces, !
stated that the mutual security
program is not only grounded
in our deepest self-interest but
springs from the idealism OF
the American people which is
the true foundation of our
greatness. 1t rests upon five
fundamental propositions:
% That peace is a matter Of
vital concern to all mankind;
(2t That to keep the peace,
the free world must remain de-
fenslYely strong:
(3) That the achievement of
a peace which is Just depends
upon promoting a rate of world
economic progress, particularly
among the peoples of the less
developed nations, which will
inspire hope for fulfillment Of
their aspirations;
az That the maintenance
of the defensive strength of the
free world. and help to the less
developed, but determined and
hard working, nations to
achieve a reasonable rate of
economic growth are a COM
mon Responsibility of the free
world community;
go That the United States
cannot shirk its responsibility
to cooperate with all other free
nations in this regard.
Confident of Support
1t is my firm conviction that
there are only a few in the
United States who would deny
the validity of these PROPOSE
tionS. The overwhelming sup
port of our citizens leads us in
exorably to mutual security as
a fixed national policy.
The mutual security program
is a program essential to peace.
The accomplishments of the
mutual security program in
helping to meet the many chal-
lenges in the mid-20th century
place it among the foremost
Of the great programs Of
American history. Without
them the map of the world
would be vastly different today.
The mutual security program
and its predecessors have been
an indispensable contribution
to the present fact that Greece,
Turkey. Iran. Laos, Viet-Nam,
Korea and Taiwan, and many
nations of Western Europe. to
mention only part, remain the
home Of free men.
Continuing Threat
While over the past year the
Soviet Union has expressed an
interest in measures to reduce
the common peril of war, and
while its recent department
and pronouncements suggest
the possible opening of a some
what less strained period in
our relationships, the menace
of Communist imperialism
nevertheless still remains. The
military power of the Soviet
Union continues to grow. In
creasingly important to free
world interests is the rate of
growth of both military and
economic power in Communist
China. Evidence that this
enormous power bloc remains
dedicated to the extension of
Communist control over all
peoples everywhere is found in
Tibet, the Taiwan Straits, in
Laos and along the Indian
border.
In the face of this ever
present Communist threat, we
must, in our own interest as
well as that of the other mem
bers of the free world commu-
nifty, continue our program of
military assistance through the
various mutual security ar
rangelnentS we have estab-
liShed. Under these arrange
ments each nation has respon-
sibilities, commensurate with
its capabilities, to participate
in the development and main
tenance of defensive strength.
There is also increasing ability
of other free world nations to
share the burden of this COM
mon defense.
Program Essential"
Obviously, no one nation
alone could bear the cost of de-
Tending all the free world. Like
wise, it would be impossible for
many free nations long to sur
vive if forced to act separately
and alone. The crumbling of
the weaker ones would obviously
and increasingly multiply the
threats to those remaining free,
even the very strongest.
Collective security is not only
senSible-it is essential.
The mutual security program
is a progrem essential to world
progress in freedom. In addi-
ton to its mutual defense as
poets. it also is the American
part of a cooperative effort on
the part of free men to raise
the standards of living of mil
lions of human beings from
bases which are intolerably low,
bases incompatible with human
dignity and freedom.
Hundreds of millions of peo-
pie throughout the world have
learned that it is not ordained
that they must live in perpetual
poverty and illness, on the
ragged edge of starvation. Their
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