A cardinal ideal in this heritage we cherish is the equality of rights

of all citizens of every race and color and creed.

We know that discrimination against minorities persists despite our

allegiance to this ideal. Such discrimination--confined to no one

section of the Nation--is but the outward testimony to the persistence

of distrust and of fear in the hearts of men.

This fact makes all the more vital the fighting of these wrongs by each

individual, in every station of life, in his every deed.

Much of the answer lies in the power of fact, fully publicized; of

persuasion, honestly pressed; and of conscience, justly aroused. These

are methods familiar to our way of life, tested and proven wise.

I propose to use whatever authority exists in the office of the

President to end segregation in the District of Columbia, including the

Federal Government, and any segregation in the Armed Forces.

Here in the District of Columbia, serious attention should be given to

the proposal to develop and authorize, through legislation, a system to

provide an effective voice in local self-government. While consideration

of this proceeds, I recommend an immediate increase of two in the number

of District Commissioners to broaden representation of all elements of

our local population. This will be a first step toward insuring that

this Capital provide an honored example to all communities of our

Nation.

In this manner, and by the leadership of the office of the President

exercised through friendly conferences with those in authority in our

States and cities, we expect to make true and rapid progress in civil

rights and equality of employment opportunity.

There is one sphere in which civil rights are inevitably involved in

Federal legislation. This is the sphere of immigration.

It is a manifest right of our Government to limit the number of

immigrants our Nation can absorb. It is also a manifest right of our

Government to set reasonable requirements on the character and the

numbers of the people who come to share our land and our freedom.

It is well for us, however, to remind ourselves occasionally of an

equally manifest fact: we are--one and all--immigrants or sons and

daughters of immigrants.

Existing legislation contains injustices. It does, in fact,

discriminate. I am informed by Members of the Congress that it was

realized, at the time of its enactment, that future study of the basis

of determining quotas would be necessary.

I am therefore requesting the Congress to review this legislation and to

enact a statute that will at one and the same time guard our legitimate

national interests and be faithful to our basic ideas of freedom and

fairness to all.

In another but related area--that of social rights--we see most clearly

the new application of old ideas of freedom.

This administration is profoundly aware of two great needs born of our

living in a complex industrial economy. First, the individual citizen

must have safeguards against personal disaster inflicted by forces

beyond his control; second, the welfare of the people demands effective

and economical performance by the Government of certain indispensable

social services.

In the light of this responsibility, certain general purposes and

certain concrete measures are plainly indicated now.

There is urgent need for greater effectiveness in our programs, both

public and private, offering safeguards against the privations that too

often come with unemployment, old age, illness, and accident. The

provisions of the old-age and survivors insurance law should promptly be

extended to cover millions of citizens who have been left out of the

social-security system. No less important is the encouragement of

privately sponsored pension plans. Most important of all, of course, is

renewed effort to check the inflation which destroys so much of the

value of all social-security payments.

Our school system demands some prompt, effective help. During each of

the last 9 years, more than 1 1/2 million children have swelled the

elementary and secondary school population of the country. Generally,

the school population is proportionately higher in States with low per

capita income. This whole situation calls for careful congressional

study and action. I am sure that you share my conviction that the firm

conditions of Federal aid must be proved need and proved lack of local

income.

One phase of the school problem demands special action. The school

population of many districts has been greatly increased by the swift

growth of defense activities. These activities have added little or

nothing to the tax resources of the communities affected. Legislation

aiding construction of schools in the districts expires on June 30. This

law should be renewed; and likewise, the partial payments for current

operating expenses for these particular school districts should be made,

including the deficiency requirement of the current fiscal year.

Public interest similarly demands one prompt specific action in

protection of the general consumer. The Food and Drug Administration

should be authorized to continue its established and necessary program

of factory inspections. The invalidation of these inspections by the

Supreme Court of December 8, 1952, was based solely on the fact that the

present law contained inconsistent and unclear provisions. These must be

promptly corrected.

I am well aware that beyond these few immediate measures there remains

much to be done. The health and housing needs of our people call for

intelligently planned programs. Involved are the solvency of the whole

security system; and its guarding against exploitation by the

irresponsible.

To bring clear purpose and orderly procedure into this field, I

anticipate a thorough study of the proper relationship among Federal,

State, and local programs. I shall shortly send you specific

recommendations for establishing such an appropriate commission,

together with a reorganization plan defining new administrative status

for all Federal activities in health, education, and social security.

I repeat that there are many important subjects of which I make no

mention today. Among these is our great and growing body of veterans.

America has traditionally been generous in caring for the disabled--and

the widow and the orphan of the fallen. These millions remain close to

all our hearts. Proper care of our uniformed citizens and appreciation

of the past service of our veterans are part of our accepted

governmental responsibilities.

XI

We have surveyed briefly some problems of our people and a portion of

the tasks before us.

The hope of freedom itself depends, in real measure, upon our strength,

our heart, and our wisdom.

We must be strong in arms. We must be strong in the source of all our

armament, our productivity. We all--workers and farmers, foremen and

financiers, technicians and builders--all must produce, produce more,

and produce yet more.

We must be strong, above all, in the spiritual resources upon which all

else depends. We must be devoted with all our heart to the values we

defend. We must know that each of these values and virtues applies with

equal force at the ends of the earth and in our relations with our

neighbor next door. We must know that freedom expresses itself with

equal eloquence in the right of workers to strike in the nearby factory,

and in the yearnings and sufferings of the peoples of Eastern Europe.

As our heart summons our strength, our wisdom must direct it.

There is, in world affairs, a steady course to be followed between an

assertion of strength that is truculent and a confession of helplessness

that is cowardly.

There is, in our affairs at home, a middle way between untrammeled

freedom of the individual and the demands for the welfare of the whole

Nation. This way must avoid government by bureaucracy as carefully as it

avoids neglect of the helpless.

In every area of political action, free men must think before they can

expect to win.

In this spirit must we live and labor: confident of our strength,

compassionate in our heart, clear in our mind.

In this spirit, let us together turn to the great tasks before us.

***

State of the Union Address

Dwight D. Eisenhower

January 7, 1954

Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, Members of the Eighty-third Congress:

It is a high honor again to present to the Congress my views on the

state of the Union and to recommend measures to advance the security,

prosperity, and well-being of the American people.

All branches of this Government--and I venture to say both of our great

parties--can support the general objective of the recommendations I make

today, for that objective is the building of a stronger America. A

nation whose every citizen has good reason for bold hope; where effort

is rewarded and prosperity is shared; where freedom expands and peace is

secure--that is what I mean by a stronger America.

Toward this objective a real momentum has been developed during this

Administration’s first year in office. We mean to continue that momentum

and to increase it. We mean to build a better future for this nation.

Much for which we may be thankful has happened during the past year.

First of all we are deeply grateful that our sons no longer die on the

distant mountains of Korea. Although they are still called from our

homes to military service, they are no longer called to the field of

battle.

The nation has just completed the most prosperous year in its history.

The damaging effect of inflation on the wages, pensions, salaries and

savings of us all has been brought under control. Taxes have begun to go

down. The cost of our government has been reduced and its work proceeds

with some 183,000 fewer employees; thus the discouraging trend of modern

governments toward their own limitless expansion has in our case been

reversed. The cost of armaments becomes less oppressive as we near our

defense goals; yet we are militarily stronger every day. During the

year, creation of the new Cabinet Department of Health, Education, and

Welfare symbolized the government’s permanent concern with the human

problems of our citizens.

Segregation in the armed forces and other Federal activities is on the

way out. We have also made progress toward its elimination in the

District of Columbia. These are steps in the continuing effort to

eliminate inter-racial difficulty.

Some developments beyond our shores have been equally encouraging.

Communist aggression, halted in Korea, continues to meet in Indo-china

the vigorous resistance of France and the Associated States, assisted by

timely aid from our country. In West Germany, in Iran, and in other

areas of the world, heartening political victories have been won by the

forces of stability and freedom. Slowly but surely, the free world

gathers strength. Meanwhile, from behind the iron curtain, there are

signs that tyranny is in trouble and reminders that its structure is as

brittle as its surface is hard.

There has been in fact a great strategic change in the world during the

past year. That precious intangible, the initiative, is becoming ours.

Our policy, not limited to mere reaction against crises provoked by

others, is free to develop along lines of our choice not only abroad,

but also at home. As a major theme for American policy during the coming

year, let our joint determination be to hold this new initiative and to

use it.

We shall use this initiative to promote three broad purposes: First, to

protect the freedom of our people; second, to maintain a strong, growing

economy; third, to concern ourselves with the human problems of the

individual citizen.

Only by active concern for each of these purposes can we be sure that we

are on the forward road to a better and a stronger America. All my

recommendations today are in furtherance of these three purposes.

I. FOREIGN AFFAIRS

American freedom is threatened so long as the world Communist conspiracy

exists in its present scope, power and hostility. More closely than ever

before, American freedom is interlocked with the freedom of other

people. In the unity of the free world lies our best chance to reduce

the Communist threat without war. In the task of maintaining this unity

and strengthening all its parts, the greatest responsibility falls

naturally on those who, like ourselves, retain the most freedom and

strength.

We shall, therefore, continue to advance the cause of freedom on foreign

fronts.

In the Far East, we retain our vital interest in Korea. We have

negotiated with the Republic of Korea a mutual security pact, which

develops our security system for the Pacific and which I shall promptly

submit to the Senate for its consent to ratification. We are prepared to

meet any renewal of armed aggression in Korea. We shall maintain

indefinitely our bases in Okinawa. I shall ask the Congress to authorize

continued material assistance to hasten the successful conclusion of the

struggle in Indo-china. This assistance will also bring closer the day

when the Associated States may enjoy the independence already assured by

France. We shall also continue military and economic aid to the

Nationalist Government of China.

In South Asia, profound changes are taking place in free nations which

are demonstrating their ability to progress through democratic methods.

They provide an inspiring contrast to the dictatorial methods and

backward course of events in Communist China. In these continuing

efforts, the free peoples of South Asia can be assured of the support of

the United States.

In the Middle East, where tensions and serious problems exist, we will

show sympathetic and impartial friendship.

In Western Europe our policy rests firmly on the North Atlantic Treaty.

It will remain so based as far ahead as we can see. Within its

organization, the building of a united European community, including

France and Germany, is vital to a free and self-reliant Europe. This

will be promoted by the European Defense Community which offers

assurance of European security. With the coming of unity to Western

Europe, the assistance this Nation can render for the security of Europe

and the free world will be multiplied in effectiveness.

In the Western Hemisphere we shall continue to develop harmonious and

mutually beneficial cooperation with our neighbors. Indeed, solid

friendship with all our American neighbors is a cornerstone of our

entire policy.

In the world as a whole, the United Nations, admittedly still in a state

of evolution, means much to the United States. It has given uniquely

valuable services in many places where violence threatened. It is the

only real world forum where we have the opportunity for international

presentation and rebuttal. It is a place where the nations of the world

can, if they have the will, take collective action for peace and

justice. It is a place where the guilt can be squarely assigned to those

who fail to take all necessary steps to keep the peace. The United

Nations deserves our continued firm support.

FOREIGN ASSISTANCE AND TRADE

In the practical application of our foreign policy, we enter the field

of foreign assistance and trade.

Military assistance must be continued. Technical assistance must be

maintained. Economic assistance can be reduced. However, our economic

programs in Korea and in a few other critical places of the world are

especially important, and I shall ask Congress to continue them in the

next fiscal year.

The forthcoming Budget Message will propose maintenance of the

Presidential power of transferability of all assistance funds and will

ask authority to merge these funds with the regular defense funds. It

will also propose that the Secretary of Defense have primary

responsibility for the administration of foreign military assistance in

accordance with the policy guidance of the Secretary of State.

The fact that we can now reduce our foreign economic assistance in many

areas is gratifying evidence that its objectives are being achieved. By

continuing to surpass her prewar levels of economic activity, Western

Europe gains self-reliance. Thus our relationship enters a new phase

which can bring results beneficial to our taxpayers and our allies

alike, if still another step is taken.

This step is the creation of a healthier and freer system of trade and

payments within the free world--a system in which our allies can earn

their own way and our own economy can continue to flourish. The free

world can no longer afford the kinds of arbitrary restraints on trade

that have continued ever since the war. On this problem I shall submit

to the Congress detailed recommendations, after our Joint Commission on

Foreign Economic Policy has made its report.

ATOMIC ENERGY PROPOSAL

As we maintain our military strength during the coming year and draw

closer the bonds with our allies, we shall be in an improved position to

discuss outstanding issues with the Soviet Union. Indeed we shall be

glad to do so whenever there is a reasonable prospect of constructive

results. In this spirit the atomic energy proposals of the United States

were recently presented to the United Nations General Assembly. A truly

constructive Soviet reaction will make possible a new start toward an

era of peace, and away from the fatal road toward atomic war.

DEFENSE

Since our hope is peace, we owe ourselves and the world a candid

explanation of the military measures we are taking to make that peace

secure.

As we enter this new year, our military power continues to grow. This

power is for our own defense and to deter aggression. We shall not be

aggressors, but we and our allies have and will maintain a massive

capability to strike back.

Here are some of the considerations in our defense planning:

First, while determined to use atomic power to serve the usages of

peace, we take into full account our great and growing number of nuclear

weapons and the most effective means of using them against an aggressor

if they are needed to preserve our freedom. Our defense will be stronger

if, under appropriate security safeguards, we share with our allies

certain knowledge of the tactical use of our nuclear weapons. I urge the

Congress to provide the needed authority.

Second, the usefulness of these new weapons creates new relationships

between men and materials. These new relationships permit economies in

the use of men as we build forces suited to our situation in the world

today. As will be seen from the Budget Message on January 21, the

airpower of our Navy and Air Force is receiving heavy emphasis.

Third, our armed forces must regain maximum mobility of action. Our

strategic reserves must be centrally placed and readily deployable to

meet sudden aggression against ourselves and our allies.

Fourth, our defense must rest on trained manpower and its most

economical and mobile use. A professional corps is the heart of any

security organization. It is necessarily the teacher and leader of those

who serve temporarily in the discharge of the obligation to help defend

the Republic. Pay alone will not retain in the career service of our

armed forces the necessary numbers of long-term personnel. I strongly

urge, therefore, a more generous use of other benefits important to

service morale. Among these are more adequate living quarters and family

housing units and medical care for dependents.

Studies of military manpower have just been completed by the National

Security Training Commission and a Committee appointed by the Director

of the Office of Defense Mobilization. Evident weaknesses exist in the

state of readiness and organization of our reserve forces. Measures to

correct these weaknesses will be later submitted to the Congress.

Fifth, the ability to convert swiftly from partial to all-out

mobilization is imperative to our security. For the first time,

mobilization officials know what the requirements are for 1,000 major

items needed for military uses. These data, now being related to

civilian requirements and our supply potential, will show us the gaps in

our mobilization base. Thus we shall have more realistic plant-expansion

and stockpiling goals. We shall speed their attainment. This Nation is

at last to have an up-to-date mobilization base--the foundation of a

sound defense program.

Another part of this foundation is, of course, our continental transport

system. Some of our vital heavy materials come increasingly from Canada.

Indeed our relations with Canada, happily always close, involve more and

more the unbreakable ties of strategic interdependence. Both nations now

need the St. Lawrence Seaway for security as well as for economic

reasons. I urge the Congress promptly to approve our participation in

its construction.

Sixth, military and non-military measures for continental defense must

be and are being strengthened. In the current fiscal year we are

allocating to these purposes an increasing portion of our effort, and in

the next fiscal year we shall spend nearly a billion dollars more for

them than in 1953.

An indispensable part of our continental security is our civil defense

effort. This will succeed only as we have the complete cooperation of

State Governors, Mayors, and voluntary citizen groups. With their help

we can advance a cooperative program which, if an attack should come,

would save many lives and lessen destruction.

The defense program recommended in the 1955 Budget is consistent with

all of the considerations which I have just discussed. It is based on a

new military program unanimously recommended by the Joint Chiefs of

Staff and approved by me following consideration by the National

Security Council. This new program will make and keep America strong in

an age of peril. Nothing should bar its attainment.

The international and defense policies which I have outlined will enable

us to negotiate from a position of strength as we hold our resolute

course toward a peaceful world. We now turn to matters which are

normally characterized as domestic, well realizing that what we do

abroad affects every problem at home--from the amount of taxes to our

very state of mind.

INTERNAL SECURITY

Under the standards established for the new employee security program,

more than 2,200 employees have been separated from the Federal

government. Our national security demands that the investigation of new

employees and the evaluation of derogatory information respecting

present employees be expedited and concluded at the earliest possible

date. I shall recommend that the Congress provide additional funds where

necessary to speed these important procedures.

From the special employment standards of the Federal government I turn

now to a matter relating to American citizenship. The subversive

character of the Communist Party in the United States has been clearly

demonstrated in many ways, including court proceedings. We should

recognize by law a fact that is plain to all thoughtful citizens-that we

are dealing here with actions akin to treason--that when a citizen

knowingly participates in the Communist conspiracy he no longer holds

allegiance to the United States.

I recommend that Congress enact legislation to provide that a citizen of

the United States who is convicted in the courts of hereafter conspiring

to advocate the overthrow of this government by force or violence be

treated as having, by such act, renounced his allegiance to the United

States and forfeited his United States citizenship.

In addition, the Attorney General will soon appear before your

Committees to present his recommendations for needed additional legal

weapons with which to combat subversion in our country and to deal with

the question of claimed immunity.

II. STRONG ECONOMY

I turn now to the second great purpose of our government: Along with the

protection of freedom, the maintenance of a strong and growing economy.

The American economy is one of the wonders of the world. It undergirds

our international position, our military security, and the standard of

living of every citizen. This Administration is determined to keep our

economy strong and to keep it growing.

At this moment we are in transition from a wartime to a peacetime

economy. I am confident that we can complete this transition without

serious interruption in our economic growth. But we shall not leave this

vital matter to chance. Economic preparedness is fully as important to

the nation as military preparedness.

Subsequent special messages and the economic report on January 28 will

set forth plans of the Administration and its recommendations for

Congressional action. These will include flexible credit and debt

management policies; tax measures to stimulate consumer and business

spending; suitable lending, guaranteeing, insuring, and grant-in-aid

activities; strengthened old-age and unemployment insurance measures;

improved agricultural programs; public-works plans laid well in advance;

enlarged opportunities for international trade and investment. This mere

enumeration of these subjects implies the vast amount of study,

coordination, and planning, to say nothing of authorizing legislation,

that altogether make our economic preparedness complete.

If new conditions arise that require additional administrative or

legislative action, the Administration will still be ready. A government

always ready, as this is, to take well-timed and vigorous action, and a

business community willing, as ours is, to plan boldly and with

confidence, can between them develop a climate assuring steady economic

growth.

THE BUDGET

I shall submit to the Congress on January 21 the first budget prepared

by this Administration, for the period July 1, 1954, through June 1955.

This budget is adequate to the current needs of the government. It

recognizes that a Federal budget should be a stabilizing factor in the

economy. Its tax and expenditure programs will foster individual

initiative and economic growth.

Pending the transmittal of my Budget Message, I shall mention here only

a few points about our budgetary situation.

First, one of our initial acts was to revise, with the cooperation of

the Congress, the Budget prepared before this Administration took

office. Requests for new appropriations were greatly reduced. In

addition, the spending level provided in that Budget for the current

fiscal year has been reduced by about $7,000,000,000. In the next fiscal

year we estimate a further reduction in expenditures of more than

$5,000,000,000. This will reduce the spending level over the two fiscal

years by more than $12,000,000,000. We are also reducing further our

requests for new appropriations.

Second, despite the substantial loss of revenue in the coming fiscal

year, resulting from tax reductions now in effect and tax adjustments

which I shall propose, our reduced spending will move the new budget

closer to a balance.

Third, by keeping new appropriation requests below estimated revenues,

we continue to reduce the tremendous accumulation of unfinanced

obligations incurred by the Government under past appropriations.

Fourth, until those claims on our Government’s revenues are further

reduced, the growth in the public debt cannot be entirely stopped.

Because of this--because the government’s bills have to be paid every

month, while the tax money to pay them comes in with great unevenness

within the fiscal year--and because of the need for flexibility to

manage this enormous debt, I find it necessary to renew my request for

an increase in the statutory debt limit.

TAXES

The new budget provides for a lower level of taxation than has prevailed

in preceding years. Six days ago individual income taxes were reduced

and the excess profits tax expired. These tax reductions are justified

only because of the substantial reductions we already have made and are

making in governmental expenditures. As additional reductions in

expenditures are brought gradually but surely into sight, further

reductions in taxes can and will be made. When budget savings and sound

governmental financing are assured, tax burdens should be reduced so

that taxpayers may spend their own money in their own way.

While we are moving toward lower levels of taxation we must thoroughly

revise our whole tax system. The groundwork for this revision has

already been laid by the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of

Representatives, in close consultation with the Department of the

Treasury. We should now remove the more glaring tax inequities,

particularly on small taxpayers; reduce restraints on the growth of

small business; and make other changes that will encourage initiative,

enterprise and production. Twenty-five recommendations toward these ends

will be contained in my budget message.

Without attempting to summarize these manifold reforms, I can here

illustrate their tendency. For example, we propose more liberal tax

treatment for dependent children who work, for widows or widowers with

dependent children, and for medical expenses. For the business that

wants to expand or modernize its plant, we propose liberalized tax

treatment of depreciation, research and development expenses, and

retained earnings.

Because of the present need for revenue the corporation income tax

should be kept at the current rate of 52% for another year, and the

excise taxes scheduled to be reduced on April first, including those on

liquor, tobacco, gasoline and automobiles, should be continued at

present rates.

Immediate extension of the Renegotiation Act of 1951 is also needed to

eliminate excessive profits and to prevent waste of public funds in the

purchase of defense materials.

AGRICULTURE

The well being of our 160 million people demands a stable and prosperous

agriculture. Conversely, every farmer knows he cannot prosper unless all

America prospers. As we seek to promote increases in our standard of

living, we must be sure that the farmer fairly shares in that increase.

Therefore, a farm program promoting stability and prosperity in all

elements of our agriculture is urgently needed.

Agricultural laws now in effect successfully accomplished their wartime

purpose of encouraging maximum production of many crops. Today,

production of these crops at such levels far exceeds present demand. Yet

the laws encouraging such production are still in effect. The storage

facilities of the Commodity Credit Corporation bulge with surplus stocks

of dairy products, wheat, cotton, corn, and certain vegetable oils; and

the Corporation’s presently authorized borrowing

authority--$6,750,000,000--is nearly exhausted. Some products, priced

out of domestic markets, and others, priced out of world markets, have

piled up in government hands. In a world in which millions of people are

hungry, destruction of food would, of course, be unconscionable. Yet

surplus stocks continue to threaten the market and in spite of the

acreage controls authorized by present law, surpluses will continue to

accumulate.

We confront two alternatives. The first is to impose still greater

acreage reductions for some crops and apply rigid Federal controls over

the use of the diverted acres. This will regiment the production of

every basic agricultural crop. It will place every producer of those

crops under the domination and control of the Federal government in

Washington. This alternative is contrary to the fundamental interests,

not only of the farmer, but of the Nation as a whole. Nor is it a real

solution to the problem facing us.

The second alternative is to permit the market price for these

agricultural products gradually to have a greater influence on the

planning of production by farmers, while continuing the assistance of

the government. This is the sound approach. To make it effective,

surpluses existing when the new program begins must be insulated from

the normal channels of trade for special uses. These uses would include

school lunch programs, disaster relief, emergency assistance to foreign

friends, and of particular importance the stockpiling of reserves for a

national emergency.

Building on the agricultural laws of 1948 and 1949, we should establish

a price support program with enough flexibility to attract the

production of needed supplies of essential commodities and to stimulate

the consumption of those commodities that are flooding American markets.

Transition to modernized parity must be accomplished gradually. In no

case should there be an abrupt downward change in the dollar level or in

the percentage level of price supports.

Next Monday I shall transmit to the Congress my detailed recommendations

embodying this approach. They have been developed through the

cooperation of innumerable individuals vitally interested in

agriculture. My special message on Monday will briefly describe the

consultative and advisory processes to which this whole program has been

subjected during the past ten months.

I have chosen this farm program because it will build markets, protect

the consumers’ food supply, and move food into consumption instead of

into storage. It is a program that will remove the threat to the farmer

of these overhanging surpluses, a program, also, that will stimulate

production when a commodity is scarce and encourage consumption when

nature is bountiful. Moreover, it will promote the individual freedom,

responsibility, and initiative which distinguish American agriculture.

And, by helping our agriculture achieve full parity in the market, it

promises our farmers a higher and steadier financial return over the

years than any alternative plan.

CONSERVATION

Part of our Nation’s precious heritage is its natural resources. It is

the common responsibility of Federal, state, and local governments to

improve and develop them, always working in the closest harmony and

partnership.

All Federal conservation and resource development projects are being

reappraised. Sound projects now under way will be continued. New

projects in which the Federal Government has a part must be economically

sound, with local sharing of cost wherever appropriate and feasible. In

the next fiscal year work will be started on twenty-three projects that

meet these standards. The Federal Government will continue to construct

and operate economically sound flood control, power, irrigation and

water supply projects wherever these projects are beyond the capacity of

local initiative, public or private, and consistent with the needs of

the whole Nation.

Our conservation program will also take into account the important role

played by farmers in protecting our soil resources. I recommend

enactment of legislation to strengthen agricultural conservation and

upstream flood prevention work, and to achieve a better balance with

major flood control structures in the down-stream areas.

Recommendations will be made from time to time for the adoption of:

A uniform and consistent water resources policy;

A revised public lands policy; and

A sound program for safeguarding the domestic production of critical and

strategic metals and minerals.

In addition we shall continue to protect and improve our national

forests, parks, monuments and other natural and historic sites, as well

as our fishery and wildlife resources. I hope that pending legislation

to improve the conservation and management of publicly-owned grazing

lands in national forests will soon be approved by the Congress.

NATIONAL HIGHWAYS

To protect the vital interest of every citizen in a safe and adequate

highway system, the Federal Government is continuing its central role in

the Federal Aid Highway Program. So that maximum progress can be made to

overcome present inadequacies in the Interstate Highway System, we must

continue the Federal gasoline tax at two cents per gallon. This will

require cancellation of the 1/2 cent decrease which otherwise will

become effective April 1st, and will maintain revenues so that an

expanded highway program can be undertaken.

When the Commission on Intergovernmental Relations completes its study

of the present system of financing highway construction, I shall

promptly submit it for consideration by the Congress and the governors

of the states.

POST OFFICE

It is apparent that the substantial savings already made, and to be

made, by the Post Office Department cannot eliminate the postal deficit.

I recommend, therefore, that the Congress approve the bill now pending

in the House of Representatives providing for the adjustment of certain

postal rates. To handle the long term aspects of this, I also recommend

that the Congress create a permanent commission to establish fair and

reasonable postal rates from time to time in the future.

III. HUMAN PROBLEMS

Along with the protection of freedom and maintenance of a strong and

growing economy, this Administration recognizes a third great purpose of

government: concern for the human problems of our citizens. In a modern

industrial society, banishment of destitution and cushioning the shock

of personal disaster on the individual are proper concerns of all levels

of government, including the federal government. This is especially true

where remedy and prevention alike are beyond the individual’s capacity.

LABOR AND WELFARE

Of the many problems in this area, those I shall first discuss are of

particular concern to the members of our great labor force, who with

their heads, hearts and hands produce so much of the wealth of our

country.

Protection against the hazards of temporary unemployment should be

extended to some 6 1/2 millions of workers, including civilian Federal

workers, who now lack this safeguard. Moreover, the Secretary of Labor

is making available to the states studies and recommendations in the

fields of weekly benefits, periods of protection and extension of

coverage. The Economic Report will consider the related matter of

minimum wages and their coverage.

The Labor Management Relations Act of 3947 is basically a sound law.

However, six years of experience have revealed that in some respects it

can be improved. On January 11, I shall forward to the Congress

suggestions for changes designed to reinforce the basic objectives of

the Act.

Our basic social security program, the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance

system, to which individuals contribute during their productive years

and receive benefits based on previous earnings, is designed to shield

them from destitution. Last year I recommended extension of the social

insurance system to include more than 10,000,000 additional persons. I

ask that this extension soon be accomplished. This and other major

improvements in the insurance system will bring substantial benefit

increases and broaden the membership of the insurance system, thus

diminishing the need for Federal grants-in-aid for such purposes. A new

formula will therefore be proposed, permitting progressive reduction in

such grants as the need for them declines.

Federal grant-in-aid welfare programs, now based on widely varying

formulas, should be simplified. Concrete proposals on fourteen of them

will be suggested to the appropriate Committees.

The program for rehabilitation of the disabled especially needs

strengthening. Through special vocational training, this program

presently returns each year some 60,000 handicapped individuals to

productive work. Far more disabled people can be saved each year from

idleness and dependence if this program is gradually increased. My more

detailed recommendations on this and the other social insurance problems

I have mentioned will be sent to the Congress on January 14th.

HEALTH

I am flatly opposed to the socialization of medicine. The great need for

hospital and medical services can best be met by the initiative of

private plans. But it is unfortunately a fact that medical costs are

rising and already impose severe hardships on many families. The Federal

Government can do many helpful things and still carefully avoid the

socialization of medicine.

The Federal Government should encourage medical research in its battle

with such mortal diseases as cancer and heart ailments, and should

continue to help the states in their health and rehabilitation programs.

The present Hospital Survey and Construction Act should be broadened in

order to assist in the development of adequate facilities for the

chronically ill, and to encourage the construction of diagnostic

centers, rehabilitation facilities, and nursing homes. The war on

disease also needs a better working relationship between Government and

private initiative. Private and non-profit hospital and medical

insurance plans are already in the field, soundly based on the

experience and initiative of the people in their various communities.

A limited Government reinsurance service would permit the private and

non-profit insurance companies to offer broader protection to more of

the many families which want and should have it. On January 18 I shall

forward to the Congress a special message presenting this

Administration’s health program in its detail.

EDUCATION

Youth--our greatest resource--is being seriously neglected in a vital

respect. The nation as a whole is not preparing teachers or building

schools fast enough to keep up with the increase in our population.

The preparation of teachers as, indeed, the control and direction of

public education policy, is a state and local responsibility. However,

the Federal Government should stand ready to assist states which

demonstrably cannot provide sufficient school buildings. In order to

appraise the needs, I hope that this year a conference on education will

be held in each state, culminating in a national conference. From these

conferences on education, every level of government--from the Federal

Government to each local school board--should gain the information with

which to attack this serious problem.

HOUSING

The details of a program to enlarge and improve the opportunities for

our people to acquire good homes will be presented to the Congress by

special message on January 25.

This program will include:

Modernization of the home mortgage insurance program of the Federal

Government;

Redirection of the present system of loans and grants-in-aid to cities

for slum clearance and redevelopment;

Extension of the advantages of insured lending to private credit engaged

in this task of rehabilitating obsolete neighborhoods;

Insurance of long-term, mortgage loans, with small down payment for

low-income families; and, until alternative programs prove more

effective,

Continuation of the public housing program adopted in the Housing Act of

1949.

If the individual, the community, the State and federal governments will

alike apply themselves, every American family can have a decent home.

VETERANS ADMINISTRATION

The internal reorganization of the Veterans Administration is proceeding

with my full approval. When completed, it will afford a single agency

whose services, including medical facilities, will be better adapted to

the needs of those 20,000,000 veterans to whom this Nation owes so much.

SUFFRAGE

My few remaining recommendations all relate to a basic right of our

citizens--that of being represented in the decisions of the government.

I hope that the States will cooperate with the Congress in adopting

uniform standards in their voting laws that will make it possible for

our citizens in the armed forces overseas to vote.

In the District of Columbia the time is long overdue for granting

national suffrage to its citizens and also applying the principle of

local self-government to the Nation’s Capital. I urge the Congress to

move promptly in this direction and also to revise District revenue

measures to provide needed public works improvements.

The people of Hawaii are ready for statehood. I renew my request for

this legislation in order that Hawaii may elect its State officials and

its representatives in Washington along with the rest of the country

this fall.

For years our citizens between the ages of 18 and 21 have, in time of

peril, been summoned to fight for America. They should participate in

the political process that produces this fateful summons. I urge

Congress to propose to the States a constitutional amendment permitting

citizens to vote when they reach the age of 18.

CONCLUSION

I want to add one final word about the general purport of these many

recommendations.

Our government’s powers are wisely limited by the Constitution; but

quite apart from those limitations, there are things which no government

can do or should try to do.

A government can strive, as ours is striving, to maintain an economic

system whose doors are open to enterprise and ambition--those personal

qualities on which economic growth largely depends. But enterprise and

ambition are qualities which no government can supply. Fortunately no

American government need concern itself on this score; our people have

these qualities in good measure.

A government can sincerely strive for peace, as ours is striving, and

ask its people to make sacrifices for the sake of peace. But no

government can place peace in the hearts of foreign rulers. It is our

duty then to ourselves and to freedom itself to remain strong in all

those ways--spiritual, economic, military--that will give us maximum

safety against the possibility of aggressive action by others.

No government can inoculate its people against the fatal materialism

that plagues our age. Happily, our people, though blessed with more

material goods than any people in history, have always reserved their

first allegiance to the kingdom of the spirit, which is the true source

of that freedom we value above all material things.

But a government can try, as ours tries, to sense the deepest

aspirations of the people, and to express them in political action at

home and abroad. So long as action and aspiration humbly and earnestly

seek favor in the sight of the Almighty, there is no end to America’s

forward road; there is no obstacle on it she will not surmount in her

march toward a lasting peace in a free and prosperous world.

The Address as reported from the floor appears in the Congressional

Record (vol. 100, p. 62).

***

State of the Union Address

Dwight D. Eisenhower

January 6, 1955

Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, Members of the Congress:

First, I extend cordial greetings to the 84th Congress. We shall have

much to do together; I am sure that we shall get it done--and, that we

shall do it in harmony and good will.

At the outset, I believe it would be well to remind ourselves of this

great fundamental in our national life: our common belief that every

human being is divinely endowed with dignity and worth and inalienable

rights. This faith, with its corollary--that to grow and flourish people

must be free--shapes the interests and aspirations of every American.

From this deep faith have evolved three main purposes of our Federal

Government:

First, to maintain justice and freedom among ourselves and to champion

them for others so that we may work effectively for enduring peace;

Second, to help keep our economy vigorous and expanding, thus sustaining

our international strength and assuring better jobs, better living,

better opportunities for every citizen;

And third, to concern ourselves with the human problems of our people so

that every American may have the opportunity to lead a healthy,

productive and rewarding life.

Foremost among these broad purposes of government is our support of

freedom, justice and peace.

It is of the utmost importance, that each of us understand the true

nature of the struggle now taking place in the world.

It is not a struggle merely of economic theories, or of forms of

government, or of military power. At issue is the true nature of man.

Either man is the creature whom the Psalmist described as “a little

lower than the angels,” crowned with glory and honor, holding “dominion

over the works” of his Creator; or man is a soulless, animated machine

to be enslaved, used and consumed by the state for its own

glorification.

It is, therefore, a struggle which goes to the roots of the human

spirit, and its shadow falls across the long sweep of man’s destiny.

This prize, so precious, so fraught with ultimate meaning, is the true

object of the contending forces in the world.

In the past year, there has been progress justifying hope, both for

continuing peace and for the ultimate rule of freedom and justice in the

world. Free nations are collectively stronger than at any time in recent

years.

Just as nations of this Hemisphere, in the historic Caracas and Rio

conferences, have closed ranks against imperialistic Communism and

strengthened their economic ties, so free nations elsewhere have forged

new bonds of unity.

Recent agreements between Turkey and Pakistan have laid a foundation for

increased strength in the Middle East. With our understanding support,

Egypt and Britain, Yugoslavia and Italy, Britain and Iran have resolved

dangerous differences. The security of the Mediterranean has been

enhanced by an alliance among Greece, Turkey and Yugoslavia. Agreements

in Western Europe have paved the way for unity to replace past divisions

which have undermined Europe’s economic and military vitality. The

defense of the West appears likely at last to include a free, democratic

Germany participating as an equal in the councils of NATO.

In Asia and the Pacific, the pending Manila Pact supplements our

treaties with Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Korea and Japan

and our prospective treaty with the Republic of China. These pacts stand

as solemn warning that future military aggression and subversion against

the free nations of Asia will meet united response. The Pacific Charter,

also adopted at Manila, is a milestone in the development of human

freedom and self-government in the Pacific area.

Under the auspices of the United Nations, there is promise of progress

in our country’s plan for the peaceful use of atomic energy.

Finally, today the world is at peace. It is, to be sure, an secure

peace. Yet all humanity finds hope in the simple fact that for an

appreciable time there has been no active major battlefield on earth.

This same fact inspires us to work all the more effectively with other

nations for the well-being, the freedom, the dignity, of every human on

earth.

These developments are heartening indeed, and we are hopeful of

continuing progress. But sobering problems remain.

The massive military machines and ambitions of the Soviet-Communist bloc

still create uneasiness in the world. All of us are aware of the

continuing reliance of the Soviet Communists on military force, of the

power of their weapons, of their present resistance to realistic

armament limitation, and of their continuing effort to dominate or

intimidate free nations on their periphery. Their steadily growing power

includes an increasing strength in nuclear weapons. This power, combined

with the proclaimed intentions of the Communist leaders to communize the

world, is the threat confronting us today.

To protect our nations and our peoples from the catastrophe of a nuclear

holocaust, free nations must maintain countervailing military power to

persuade the Communists of the futility of seeking their ends through

aggression. If Communist rulers understand that America’s response to

aggression will be swift and decisive--that never shall we buy peace at

the expense of honor or faith--they will be powerfully deterred from

launching a military venture engulfing their own peoples and many others

in disaster. This, of course, is merely world stalemate. But in this

stalemate each of us may and must exercise his high duty to strive in

every honorable way for enduring peace.

The military threat is but one menace to our freedom and security. We

must not only deter aggression; we must also frustrate the effort of

Communists to gain their goals by subversion. To this end, free nations

must maintain and reinforce their cohesion, their internal security,

their political and economic vitality, and their faith in freedom.

In such a world, America’s course is dear:

We must tirelessly labor to make the peace more just and durable.

We must strengthen the collective defense under the United Nations

Charter and gird ourselves with sufficient military strength and

productive capacity to discourage resort to war and protect our nation’s

vital interests.

We must continue to support and strengthen the United Nations. At this

very moment, by vote of the United Nations General Assembly, its

Secretary-General is in Communist China on a mission of deepest concern

to all Americans: seeking the release of our never-to-be-forgotten

American aviators and all other United Nations prisoners wrongfully

detained by the Communist regime.

We must also encourage the efforts being made in the United Nations to

limit armaments and to harness the atom to peaceful rise.

We must expand international trade and investment and assist friendly

nations whose own best efforts are still insufficient to provide the

strength essential to the security of the free world.

We must be willing to use the processes of negotiation whenever they

will advance the cause of just and secure peace to which the United

States and other free nations are dedicated.

In respect to all these matters, we must, through a vigorous information

program, keep the peoples of the world truthfully advised of our actions

and purposes. This problem has been attacked with new vigor during the

past months. I urge that the Congress give its earnest consideration to

the great advantages that can accrue to our country through the

successful operations of this program.

We must also carry forward our educational exchange program. This

sharing of knowledge and experience between our citizens and those of

free countries is a powerful factor in the development and maintenance

of true partnership among free peoples.

To advance these many efforts, the Congress must act in this session on

appropriations, legislation, and treaties. Today I shall mention

especially our foreign economic and military programs.

The recent economic progress in many free nations has been most

heartening. The productivity of labor and the production of goods and

services are increasing in ever-widening areas. There is a growing will

to improve the living standards of all men. This progress is important

to all our people. It promises us allies who are strong and

self-reliant; it promises a growing world market for the products of our

mines, our factories, and our farms.

But only through steady effort can we hope to continue this progress.

Barriers still impede trade and the flow of capital needed to develop

each nation’s human and material resources. Wise reduction of these

barriers is a long-term objective of our foreign economic policy--a

policy of an evolutionary and selective nature, assuring broad benefits

to our own and other peoples.

We must gradually reduce certain tariff obstacles to trade. These

actions should, of course, be accompanied by a similar lowering of trade

barriers by other nations, so that we may move steadily toward greater

economic advantage for all. We must further simplify customs

administration and procedures. We must facilitate the flow of capital

and continue technical assistance, both directly and through the United

Nations, to less developed countries to strengthen their independence

and raise their living standards. Many another step must be taken in and

among the nations of the free world to release forces of private

initiative. In our own nation, these forces have brought strength and

prosperity; once released, they will generate rising incomes in these

other countries with which to buy the products of American industry,

labor and agriculture.

On January 10, by special message, I shall submit specific

recommendations for carrying forward the legislative phases of our

foreign economic policy.

Our many efforts to build a better world include the maintenance of our

military strength. This is a vast undertaking. Major national security

programs consume two-thirds of the entire Federal budget. Over four

million Americans--servicemen and civilians--are on the rolls of the

defense establishment. During the past two years, by eliminating

duplication and overstaffing, by improved procurement and inventory

controls, and by concentrating on the essentials, many billions of

dollars have been saved in our defense activities. I should like to

mention certain fundamentals underlying this vast program.

First, a realistic limitation of armaments and an enduring, just peace

remain our national goals; we maintain powerful military forces because

there is no present alternative--forces designed for deterrent and

defensive purposes alone but able instantly to strike back with

destructive power in response to an attack.

Second, we must stay alert to the fact that undue reliance on one weapon

or preparation for only one kind of warfare simply invites an enemy to

resort to another. We must, therefore, keep in our armed forces balance

and flexibility adequate for our purposes and objectives.

Third, to keep our armed forces abreast of the advances of science, our

military planning must be flexible enough to utilize the new weapons and

techniques which flow ever more speedily from our research and

development programs. The forthcoming military budget therefore

emphasizes modern airpower in the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps and

increases the emphasis on new weapons, especially those of rapid and

destructive striking power. It assures the maintenance of effective,

retaliatory force as the principal deterrent to overt aggression. It

accelerates the continental defense program and the build-up of ready

military reserve forces. It continues a vigorous program of stockpiling

strategic and critical materials and strengthening our mobilization

base. The budget also contemplates the strategic concentration of our

strength through redeployment of certain forces. It provides for

reduction of forces in certain categories and their expansion in others,

to fit them to the military realities of our time. These emphases in our

defense planning have been made at my personal direction after long and

thoughtful study. In my judgment, they will give our nation a defense

accurately adjusted to the national need.

Fourth, pending a world agreement on armament limitation, we must

continue to improve and expand our supplies of nuclear weapons for our

land, naval and air forces, while, at the same time, continuing our

encouraging progress in the peaceful use of atomic power.

And fifth, in the administration of these costly programs, we must

demand the utmost in efficiency and ingenuity. We must assure our people

not only of adequate protection but also of a defense that can be

carried forward from year to year until the threat of aggression has

disappeared.

To help maintain this kind of armed strength and improve its efficiency,

I must urge the enactment of several important measures in this session.

The first concerns the selective service act which expires next June

30th. For the foreseeable future, our standing forces must remain much

larger than voluntary methods can sustain. We must, therefore, extend

the statutory authority to induct men for two years of military service.

The second kind of measure concerns the rapid turnover of our most

experienced servicemen. This process seriously weakens the combat

readiness of our armed forces and is exorbitantly expensive. To

encourage more trained servicemen to remain in uniform, I shall, on the

thirteenth of this month, propose a number of measures to increase the

attractions of a military career. These measures will include more

adequate medical care for dependents, survivors’ benefits, more and

better housing, and selective adjustments in military pay and other

allowances.

And third--also on January 13--I shall present a program to rebuild and

strengthen the civilian components of our armed forces. This is a

comprehensive program, designed to make better use of our manpower of

military age. Because it will go far in assuring fair and equitable

participation in military training and service, it is of particular

importance to our combat veterans. In keeping with the historic military

policy of our Republic, this program is designed to build and maintain

powerful civilian reserves immediately capable of effective military

service in an emergency in lieu of maintaining active duty forces in

excess of the nation’s immediate need.

Maintenance of an effective defense requires continuance of our

aggressive attack on subversion at home. In this effort we have, in the

past two years, made excellent progress. FBI investigations have been

powerfully reinforced by a new Internal Security Division in the

Department of Justice; the security activities of the Immigration and

Naturalization Service have been revitalized; an improved and

strengthened security system is in effect throughout the government; the

Department of Justice and the FBI have been armed with effective new

legal weapons forged by the 83rd Congress.

We shall continue to ferret out and to destroy Communist subversion.

We shall, in the process, carefully preserve our traditions and the

basic rights of our citizens.

Our civil defense program is also a key element in the protection of our

country. We are developing cooperative methods with State Governors,

Mayors, and voluntary citizen groups, as well as among Federal agencies,

in building the civil defense organization. Its significance in time of

war is obvious; its swift assistance in disaster areas last year proved

its importance in time of peace.

An industry capable of rapid expansion and essential materials and

facilities swiftly available in time of emergency are indispensable to

our defense. I urge, therefore, a two-year extension of the Defense

Production Act and Title II of the First War Powers Act of 1941. These

are cornerstones of our program for the development and maintenance of

an adequate mobilization base. At this point, I should like to make this

additional observation. Our quest for peace and freedom necessarily

presumes that we who hold positions of public trust must rise above self

and section--that we must subordinate to the general good our partisan,

our personal pride and prejudice. Tirelessly, with united purpose, we

must fortify the material and spiritual foundations of this land of

freedom and of free nations throughout the world. As never before, there

is need for unhesitating cooperation among the branches of our

government.

At this time the executive and legislative branches are under the

management of different political parties. This fact places both parties

on trial before the American people.

In less perilous days of the past, division of governmental

responsibility among our great parties has produced a paralyzing

indecision. We must not let this happen in our time. We must avoid a

paralysis of the will for peace and international security.

In the traditionally bipartisan areas--military security and foreign

relations--I can report to you that I have already, with the leaders of

this Congress, expressed assurances of unreserved cooperation. Yet, the

strength of our country requires more than mere maintenance of military

strength and success in foreign affairs; these vital matters are in turn

dependent upon concerted and vigorous action in a number of supporting

programs. I say, therefore, to the 84th Congress:

In all areas basic to the strength of America, there will be--to the

extent I can insure them--cooperative, constructive relations between

the Executive and Legislative Branches of this government. Let the

general good be our yardstick on every great issue of our time.

Our efforts to defend our freedom and to secure a just peace are, of

course, inseparable from the second great purpose of our government: to

help maintain a strong, growing economy--an economy vigorous and free,

in which there are ever-increasing opportunities, just rewards for

effort, and a stable prosperity that is widely shared.

In the past two years, many important governmental Actions helped our

economy adjust to conditions of peace; these and other actions created a

climate for renewed economic growth. Controls were removed from wages,

prices and materials. Tax revisions encouraged increased private

spending and employment. Federal expenditures were sharply reduced,

making possible a record tax cut. These actions, together with flexible

monetary and debt management policies, helped to halt inflation and

stabilize the value of the dollar. A program of cooperation and

partnership in resource development was begun. Social security and

unemployment insurance laws were broadened and strengthened. New laws

started the long process of balancing farm production with farm markets.

Expanded shipbuilding and stockpiling programs strengthened key sectors

of the economy, while improving our mobilization base. A comprehensive

new housing law brought impressive progress in an area fundamental to

our economic strength and closed loopholes in the old laws permitting

dishonest manipulation. Many of these programs are just beginning to

exert their main stimulating effect upon the economy generally and upon

specific communities and industries throughout the country.

The past year--1954--was one of the most prosperous years in our

history. Business activity now surges with new strength. Production is

rising. Employment is high. Toward the end of last year average weekly

wages in manufacturing were higher than ever before. Personal income

after taxes is at a record level. So is consumer spending. Construction

activity is reaching new peaks. Export demand for our goods is strong.

State and local government expenditures on public works are rising.

Savings are high, and credit is readily available.

So, today, the transition to a peacetime economy is largely behind us.

The economic outlook is good.

The many promising factors I have mentioned do not guarantee sustained

economic expansion; however, they do give us a strong position from

which to carry forward our economic growth. If we as a people act

wisely, within ten years our annual national output can rise from its

present level of about $360 billion to $500 billion, measured in dollars

of stable buying power.

My Budget Message on January 17, the Economic Report on the 20th of this

month, and several special messages will set forth in detail major

programs to foster the growth of our economy and to protect the

integrity of the people’s money. Today I shall discuss these programs

only in general terms.

Government efficiency and economy remain essential to steady progress

toward a balanced budget. More than ten billion dollars were cut from

the spending program proposed in the budget of January 9, 1953.

Expenditures of that year were six and a half billion below those of the

previous year. In the current fiscal year, government spending will be

nearly four and a half billion dollars less than in the fiscal year

which ended last June 30. New spending authority has been held below

expenditures, reducing government obligations accumulated over the

years.

Last year we had a large tax cut and, for the first time in seventy-five

years a basic revision of Federal tax laws. It is now clear that defense

and other essential government costs must remain at a level precluding

further tax reductions this year. Although excise and corporation income

taxes must, therefore, be continued at their present rates, further tax

cuts will be possible when justified by lower expenditures and by

revenue increases arising from the nation’s economic growth. I am

hopeful that such reductions can be made next year.

At the foundation of our economic growth are the raw materials and

energy produced from our minerals and fuels, lands and forests, and

water resources. With respect to them, I believe that the nation must

adhere to three fundamental policies: first, to develop, wisely use and

conserve basic resources from generation to generation; second, to

follow the historic pattern of developing these resources primarily by

private citizens under fair provisions of law, including restraints for

proper conservation; and third, to treat resource development as a

partnership undertaking--a partnership in which the participation of

private citizens and State and local governments is as necessary as

Federal participation.

This policy of partnership and cooperation is producing good results,

most immediately noticeable in respect to water resources. First, it has

encouraged local public bodies and private citizens to plan their own

power sources. Increasing numbers of applications to the Federal Power

Commission to conduct surveys and prepare plans for power development,

notably in the Columbia River Basin, are evidence of local response.

Second, the Federal Government and local and private organizations have

been encouraged to coordinate their developments. This is important

because Federal hydroelectric developments supply but a small fraction

of the nation’s power needs. Such partnership projects as Priest Rapids

in Washington, the Coosa River development in Alabama, and Markham Ferry

in Oklahoma already have the approval of the Congress. This year

justifiable projects of a similar nature will again have Administration

support.

Third, the Federal Government must shoulder its own partnership

obligations by undertaking projects of such complexity and size that

their success requires Federal development. In keeping with this

principle, I again urge the Congress to approve the development of the

Upper Colorado River Basin to conserve and assure better use of precious

water essential to the future of the West.

In addition, the 1956 budget will recommend appropriations to start six

new reclamation and more than thirty new Corps of Engineers projects of

varying size. Going projects and investigations of potential new

resource developments will be continued.

Although this partnership approach is producing encouraging results, its

full success requires a nation-wide comprehensive water resources policy

firmly based in law. Such a policy is under preparation and when

completed will be submitted to the Congress.

In the interest of their proper conservation, development and use,

continued vigilance will be maintained over our fisheries, wildlife

resources, the national parks and forests, and the public lands; and we

shall continue to encourage an orderly development of the nation’s

mineral resources.

A modern, efficient highway system is essential to meet the needs of our

growing population, our expanding economy, and our national security. We

are accelerating our highway improvement program as rapidly as possible

under existing State and Federal laws and authorizations. However, this

effort will not in itself assure our people of an adequate highway

system. On my recommendation, this problem has been carefully considered

by the Conference of State Governors and by a special Advisory Committee

on a National Highway Program, composed of leading private citizens. I

have received the recommendations of the Governors’ Conference and will

shortly receive the views of the special Advisory Committee. Aided by

their findings, I shall submit on January 27th detailed recommendations

which will meet our most pressing national highway needs.

In further recognition of the importance of transportation to our

economic strength and security, the Administration, through a Cabinet

committee, is thoroughly examining existing Federal transportation

policies to determine their effect on the adequacy of transportation

services. This is the first such comprehensive review directly

undertaken by the Executive Branch of the government in modern times. We

are not only examining major problems facing the various modes of

transport; we are also studying closely the inter-relationships of

civilian and government requirements for transportation. Legislation

will be recommended to correct policy deficiencies which we may find.

The nation’s public works activities are tremendous in scope. It is

expected that more than $ 12 billion will be expended in 1955 for the

development of land, water and other resources; control of floods, and

navigation and harbor improvements; construction of roads, schools, and

municipal water supplies, and disposal of domestic and industrial

wastes. Many of the Federal, State and local agencies responsible for

this work are, in their separate capacities, highly efficient. But

public works activities are closely inter-related and have a substantial

influence on the growth of the country. Moreover, in times of

threatening economic contraction, they may become a valuable sustaining

force. To these ends, efficient planning and execution of the nation’s

public works require both the coordination of Federal activities and

effective cooperation with State and local governments.

The Council of Economic Advisers, through its public works planning

section, has made important advances during the past year in effecting

this coordination and cooperation. In view of the success of these

initial efforts, and to give more emphasis and continuity to this

essential coordination, I shall request the Congress to appropriate

funds for the support of an Office of Coordinator of Public Works in the

Executive Office of the President.

A most significant element in our growing economy is an agriculture that

is stable, prosperous and free. The problems of our agriculture have

evolved over many years and cannot be solved overnight; nevertheless,

governmental actions last year hold great promise of fostering a better

balance between production and markets and, consequently, a better and

more stable income for our farmers.

Through vigorous administration and through new authority provided by

the 83rd Congress, surplus farm products are now moving into

consumption. From February 1953 through November 1954, the rate of

increase of government-held surpluses has been reduced by our moving

into use more than 2.3 billion dollars’ worth of government-owned farm

commodities; this amount is equal to more than seven percent of a year’s

production of all our farms and ranches. Domestic consumption remains

high, and farm exports will be higher than last year. As a result of the

flexibility provided by the Agricultural Act of 1954, we can move toward

less restrictive acreage controls.

Thus, farm production is gradually adjusting to markets, markets are

being expanded, and stocks are moving into use. We can now look forward

to an easing of the influences depressing farm prices, to reduced

government expenditures for purchase of surplus products, and to less

Federal intrusion into the lives and plans of our farm people.

Agricultural programs have been redirected toward better balance,

greater stability and sustained prosperity. We are headed in the right

direction. I urgently recommend to the Congress that we continue

resolutely on this road.

Greater attention must be directed to the needs of low-income farm

families. Twenty-eight per cent of our farm-operator families have net

cash incomes of less than $1,000 per year. Last year, at my request,

careful studies were made of the problems of these farm people. I shall

later submit recommendations designed to assure the steady alleviation

of their most pressing concerns.

Because drought also remains a serious agricultural problem, I shall

recommend legislation to strengthen Federal disaster assistance

programs. This legislation will prescribe an improved appraisal of need,

better adjustment of the various programs to local conditions, and a

more equitable sharing of costs between the States and the Federal

Government.

The prosperity of our small business enterprises is an indispensable

element in the maintenance of our economic strength. Creation of the

Small Business Administration and recently enacted tax laws facilitating

small business expansion are but two of many important steps we have

taken to encourage our smaller enterprises. I recommend that the

Congress extend the Small Business Act of 1953 which is due to expire

next June.

We come now to the third great purpose of our government-its concern for

the health, productivity and well-being of all our people.

Every citizen wants to give full expression to his God-given talents and

abilities and to have the recognition and respect accorded under our

religious and political traditions. Americans also want a good material

standard of living--not simply to accumulate possessions, but to fulfill

a legitimate aspiration for an environment in which their families may

live meaningful and happy lives. Our people are committed, therefore, to

the creation and preservation of opportunity for every citizen to lead a

more rewarding life. They are equally committed to the alleviation of

misfortune and distress among their fellow citizens.

The aspirations of most of our people can best be fulfilled through

their own enterprise and initiative, without government interference.

This Administration, therefore, follows two simple rules: first, the

Federal Government should perform an essential task only when it cannot

otherwise be adequately performed; and second, in performing that task,

our government must not impair the self-respect, freedom and incentive

of the individual. So long as these two rules are observed, the

government can fully meet its obligation without creating a dependent

population or a domineering bureaucracy.

During the past two years, notable advances were made in these functions

of government. Protection of old-age and survivors’ insurance was

extended to an additional ten million of our people, and the benefits

were substantially increased. Legislation was enacted to provide

unemployment insurance protection to some four million additional

Americans. Stabilization of living costs and the halting of inflation

protected the value of pensions and savings. A broad program now helps

to bring good homes within the reach of the great majority of our

people. With the States, we are providing rehabilitation facilities and

more clinics, hospitals, and nursing homes for patients with chronic

illnesses. Also with the States, we have begun a great and fruitful

expansion in the restoration of disabled persons to employment and

useful lives. In the areas of Federal responsibility, we have made

historic progress in eliminating from among our people demeaning

practices based on race or color.

All of us may be proud of these achievements during the past two years.

Yet essential Federal tasks remain to be done.

As part of our efforts to provide decent, safe and sanitary housing for

low-income families, we must carry forward the housing program

authorized during the 83rd Congress. We must also authorize contracts

for a firm program of 35,000 additional public housing units in each of

the next two fiscal years. This program will meet the most pressing

obligations of the Federal Government into the 1958 fiscal year for

planning and building public housing. By that time the private building

industry, aided by the Housing Act of 1954, will have had the

opportunity to assume its full role in providing adequate housing for

our low income families.

The health of our people is one of our most precious assets. Preventable

sickness should be prevented; knowledge available to combat disease and

disability should be fully used. Otherwise, we as a people are guilty

not only of neglect of human suffering but also of wasting our national

strength.

Constant advances in medical care are not available to enough of our

citizens. Clearly our nation must do more to reduce the impact of

accident and disease. Two fundamental problems confront us: first, high

and ever-rising costs of health services; second, serious gaps and

shortages in these services.

By special message on January 24, I shall propose a coordinated program

to strengthen and improve existing health services. This program will

continue to reject socialized medicine. It will emphasize individual and

local responsibility. Under it the Federal Government will neither

dominate nor direct, but serve as a helpful partner. Within this

framework, the program can be broad in scope.

My recommendations will include a Federal health reinsurance service to

encourage the development of more and better voluntary health insurance

coverage by private organizations. I shall also recommend measures to

improve the medical care of that group of our citizens who, because of

need, receive Federal-State public assistance. These two proposals will

help more of our people to meet the costs of health services.

To reduce the gaps in these services, I shall propose:

New measures to facilitate construction of needed health facilities and

help reduce shortages of trained health personnel;

Vigorous steps to combat the misery and national loss involved in mental

illness;

Improved services for crippled children and for maternal and child

health;

Better consumer protection under our existing pure food and drug laws;

and, finally,

Strengthened programs to combat the increasingly serious pollution of

our rivers and streams and the growing problem of air pollution.

These measures together constitute a comprehensive program holding rich

promise for better health for all of our people.

Last year’s expansion of social security coverage and our new program of

improved medical care for public assistance recipients together suggest

modification of the formula for Federal sharing in old age assistance

payments. I recommend modification of the formula where such payments

will, in the future, supplement benefits received under the old age and

survivors insurance system.

It is the inalienable right of every person, from childhood on, to have

access to knowledge. In our form of society, this right of the

individual takes on a special meaning, for the education of all our

citizens is imperative to the maintenance and invigoration of America’s

free institutions.

Today, we face grave educational problems. Effective and up-to-date

analyses of these problems and their solutions are being carried forward

through the individual State conferences and the White House Conference

to be completed this year.

However, such factors as population growth, additional responsibilities

of schools, and increased and longer school attendance have produced an

unprecedented classroom shortage. This shortage is of immediate concern

to all of our people. Positive, affirmative action must be taken now.

Without impairing in any way the responsibilities of our States,

localities, communities, or families, the Federal government can and

should serve as an effective-catalyst in dealing with this problem. I

shall forward a special message to the Congress on February 15,

presenting an affirmative program dealing with this shortage.

To help the States do a better and more timely job, we must strengthen

their resources for preventing and dealing with juvenile delinquency. I

shall propose Federal legislation to assist the States to promote

concerted action in dealing with this nationwide problem. I shall carry

forward the vigorous efforts of the Administration to improve the

international control of the traffic in narcotics and, in cooperation

with State and local agencies, to combat narcotic addiction in our

country.

I should like to speak now of additional matters of importance to all

our people and especially to our wage earners.

During the past year certain industrial changes and the readjustment of

the economy to conditions of peace brought unemployment and other

difficulties to various localities and industries. These problems are

engaging our most earnest attention. But for the overwhelming majority

of our working people, the past year has meant good jobs. Moreover, the

earnings and savings of our wage earners are no longer depreciating in

value. Because of cooperative relations between labor and management,

fewer working days were lost through strikes in 1954 than in any year in

the past decade.

The outlook for our wage earners can be made still more promising by

several legislative actions.

First, in the past five years we have had economic growth which will

support an increase in the Federal minimum wage. In the light of present

economic conditions, I recommend its increase to ninety cents an hour. I

also recommend that many others, at present excluded, be given the

protection of a minimum wage.

Second, I renew my recommendation of last year for amendment of the

Labor Management Relations Act of 1947 to further the basic objectives

of this statute. I especially call to the attention of the Congress

amendments dealing with the right of economic strikers to vote in

representation elections and the need for equalizing the obligation

under the Act to file disclaimers of Communist affiliation.

Third, the Administration will propose other important measures

including occupational safety, workmen’s compensation for longshoremen

and harbor workers, and the “Eight Hour Laws” applicable to Federal

contractors. Legislation will also be proposed respecting

nonoccupational disability insurance and unemployment compensation in

the District of Columbia.

In considering human needs, the Federal Government must take special

responsibility for citizens in its direct employ. On January 11 I shall

propose a pay adjustment plan for civilian employees outside the Postal

Field Service to correct inequities and increase individual pay rates. I

shall also recommend voluntary health insurance on a contributory basis

for Federal employees and their dependents. In keeping with the Group

Life Insurance Act passed in the 83rd Congress, this protection should

be provided on the group insurance principle and purchased from private

facilities. Also on January 11 I shall recommend a modern pay plan,

including pay increases, for postal field employees. As part of this

program, and to carry forward our progress toward elimination of the

large annual postal deficit. I shall renew my request for an increase in

postal rates. Again I urge that in the future the fixing of rates be

delegated to an impartial, independent body.

More adequate training programs to equip career employees of the

government to render improved public service will be recommended, as

will improvements in the laws affecting employees serving on foreign

assignments.

Needed improvements in survivor, disability, and retirement benefits for

Federal civilian and military personnel have been extensively considered

by the Committee on Retirement Policy for Federal personnel. The

Committee’s proposals would strengthen and improve benefits for our

career people in government, and I endorse their broad objectives. Full

contributory coverage under old-age and survivors’ insurance should be

made available to all Federal personnel, just as in private industry.

For career military personnel, the protection of the old-age and

survivors’ insurance system would be an important and long-needed

addition, especially to their present unequal and inadequate

survivorship protection. The military retirement pay system should

remain separate and unchanged. Certain adjustments in the present

civilian personnel retirement systems will be needed to reflect the

additional protection of old-age and survivors’ insurance. However,

these systems also are a basic part of a total compensation and should

be separately and independently retained.

I also urge the Congress to approve a long overdue increase in the

salaries of Members of the Congress and of the Federal judiciary to a

level commensurate with their heavy responsibilities.

Our concern for the individual in our country requires that we consider

several additional problems.

We must continue our program to help our Indian citizens improve their

lot and make their full contribution to national life. Two years ago I

advised the Congress of injustices under existing immigration laws.

Through humane administration, the Department of Justice is doing what

it legally can to alleviate hardships. Clearance of aliens before

arrival has been initiated, and except for criminal offenders, the

imprisonment of aliens awaiting admission or deportation has been

stopped. Certain provisions of law, however, have the effect of

compelling action in respect to aliens which are inequitable in some

instances and discriminatory in others. These provisions should be

corrected in this session of the Congress.

As the complex problems of Alaska are resolved, that Territory should

expect to achieve statehood. In the meantime, there is no justification

for deferring the admission to statehood of Hawaii. I again urge

approval of this measure.

We have three splendid opportunities to demonstrate the strength of our

belief in the right of suffrage. First, I again urge that a

Constitutional amendment be submitted to the States to reduce the voting

age for Federal elections. Second, I renew my request that the principle

of self-government be extended and the right of suffrage granted to the

citizens of the District of Columbia. Third, I again recommend that we

work with the States to preserve the voting fights of citizens in the

nation’s service overseas.

In our determination to keep faith with those who in the past have met

the highest call of citizenship, we now have under study the system of

benefits for veterans and for surviving dependents of deceased veterans

and servicemen. Studies will be undertaken to determine the need for

measures to ease the readjustment to civilian life of men required to

enter the armed forces for two years of service.

In the advancement of the various activities which will make our

civilization endure and flourish, the Federal Government should do more

to give official recognition to the importance of the arts and other

cultural activities. I shall recommend the establishment of a Federal

Advisory Commission on the Arts within the Department of Health,

Education and Welfare, to advise the Federal Government on ways to

encourage artistic endeavor and appreciation. I shall also propose that

awards of merit be established whereby we can honor our fellow citizens

who make great contribution to the advancement of our civilization.

Every citizen rightly expects efficient and economical administration of

these many government programs I have outlined today. I strongly

recommend extension of the Reorganization Act and the law establishing

the Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, both of which expire this

spring. Thus the Congress will assure continuation of the excellent

progress recently made in improving government organization and

administration. In this connection we are looking forward with great

interest to the reports which will soon be going to the Congress from

the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the

Government. I am sure that these studies, made under the chairmanship of

former President Herbert Hoover with the assistance of more than two

hundred distinguished citizens, will be of great value in paving the way

toward more efficiency and economy in the government.

And now, I return to the point at which I began--the faith of our

people.

The many programs here summarized are, I believe, in full keeping with

their needs, interests and aspirations. The obligations upon us are

clear:

To labor earnestly, patiently, prayerfully, for peace, for freedom, for

justice, throughout the world;

To keep our economy vigorous and free, that our people may lead fuller,

happier lives;

To advance, not merely by our words but by our acts, the determination

of our government that every citizen shall have opportunity to develop

to his fullest capacity.

As we do these things, before us is a future filled with opportunity and

hope. That future will be ours if in our time we keep alive the

patience, the courage, the confidence in tomorrow, the deep faith, of

the millions who, in years past, made and preserved us this nation.

A decade ago, in the death and desolation of European battlefields, I

saw the courage and resolution, I felt the inspiration, of American

youth. In these young men I felt America’s buoyant confidence and

irresistible will-to-do. In them I saw, too, a devout America, humble

before God.

And so, I know with all my heart--and I deeply believe that all

Americans know--that, despite the anxieties of this divided world, our

faith, and the cause in which we all believe, will surely prevail.

The address as reported from the floor appears in the Congressional

Record (vol. 101, p. 94).

***

State of the Union Address

Dwight D. Eisenhower

January 5, 1956

To the Congress of the United States:

The opening of this new year must arouse in us all grateful thanks to a

kind Providence whose protection has been ever present and whose bounty

has been manifold and abundant. The State of the Union today

demonstrates what can be accomplished under God by a free people; by

their vision, their understanding of national problems, their

initiative, their self-reliance, their capacity for work--and by their

willingness to sacrifice whenever sacrifice is needed.

In the past three years, responding to what our people want their

Government to do, the Congress and the Executive have done much in

building a stronger, better America. There has been broad progress in

fostering the energies of our people, in providing greater opportunity

for the satisfaction of their needs, and in fulfilling their demands for

the strength and security of the Republic.

Our country is at peace. Our security posture commands respect. A

spiritual vigor marks our national life. Our economy, approaching the

400 billion dollar mark, is at an unparalleled level of prosperity. The

national income is more widely and fairly distributed than ever before.

The number of Americans at work has reached an all-time high. As a

people, we are achieving ever higher standards of living--earning more,

producing more, consuming more, building more and investing more than

ever before.

Virtually all sectors of our society are sharing in these good times.

Our farm families, if we act wisely, imaginatively and promptly to

strengthen our present farm programs, can also look forward to sharing

equitably in the prosperity they have helped to create.

War in Korea ended two and a half years ago. The collective security

system has been powerfully strengthened. Our defenses have been

reinforced at sharply reduced costs. Programs to expand world trade and

to harness the atom for the betterment of mankind have been carried

forward. Our economy has been freed from governmental wage and price

controls. Inflation has been halted; the cost of living stabilized.

Government spending has been cut by more than ten billion dollars.

Nearly three hundred thousand positions have been eliminated from the

Federal payroll. Taxes have been substantially reduced. A balanced

budget is in prospect. Social security has been extended to ten million

more Americans and unemployment insurance to four million more.

Unprecedented advances in civil rights have been made. The long-standing

and deep-seated problems of agriculture have been forthrightly attacked.

This record of progress has been accomplished with a self imposed

caution against unnecessary and unwise interference in the private

affairs of our people, of their communities and of the several States.

If we of the Executive and Legislative Branches, keeping this caution

ever in mind, address ourselves to the business of the year before

us--and to the unfinished business of last year--with resolution, the

outlook is bright with promise.

Many measures of great national importance recommended last year to the

Congress still demand immediate attention legislation for school and

highway construction; health and immigration legislation; water

resources legislation; legislation to complete the implementation of our

foreign economic policy; such labor legislation as amendments of the

Labor-Management Relations Act, extension of the Fair Labor Standards

Act to additional groups not now covered, and occupational safety

legislation; and legislation for construction of an atomic-powered

exhibit vessel.

Many new items of business likewise require our attention-measures that

will further promote the release of the energies of our people; that

will broaden opportunity for all of them; that will advance the Republic

in its leadership toward a just peace; measures, in short, that are

essential to the building of an everstronger, ever-better America.

Every political and economic guide supports a valid confidence that wise

effort will be rewarded by an even more plentiful harvest of human

benefit than we now enjoy. Our resources are too many, our principles

too dynamic, our purposes too worthy and the issues at stake too immense

for us to entertain doubt or fear. But our responsibilities require that

we approach this year’s business with a sober humility.

A heedless pride in our present strength and position would blind us to

the facts of the past, to the pitfalls of the future. We must walk ever

in the knowledge that we are enriched by a heritage earned in the labor

and sacrifice of our forebears; that, for our children’s children, we

are trustees of a great Republic and a time-tested political system;

that we prosper as a cooperating member of the family of nations.

In this light the Administration has continued work on its program for

the Republic, begun three years ago. Because the vast spread of national

and human interests is involved within it, I shall not in this Message

attempt its detailed delineation. Instead, from time to time during this

Session, there will be submitted to the Congress specific

recommendations within specific fields. In the comprehensive survey

required for their preparation, the Administration is guided by enduring

objectives. The first is:

THE DISCHARGE OF OUR WORLD RESPONSIBILITY

Our world policy and our actions are dedicated to the achievement of

peace with justice for all nations.

With this purpose, we move in a wide variety of ways and through many

agencies to remove the pall of fear; to strengthen the ties with our

partners and to improve the cooperative cohesion of the free world; to

reduce the burden of armaments, and to stimulate and inspire action

among all nations for a world of justice and prosperity and peace. These

national objectives are fully supported by both our political parties.

In the past year, our search for a more stable and just peace has taken

varied forms. Among the most important were the two Conferences at

Geneva, in July and in the fall of last year. We explored the

possibilities of agreement on critical issues that jeopardize the peace.

The July meeting of Heads of Government held out promise to the world of

moderation in the bitterness, of word and action, which tends to

generate conflict and war. All were in agreement that a nuclear war

would be an intolerable disaster which must not be permitted to occur.

But in October, when the Foreign Ministers met again, the results

demonstrated conclusively that the Soviet leaders are not yet willing to

create the indispensable conditions for a secure and lasting peace.

Nevertheless, it is clear that the conflict between international

communism and freedom has taken on a new complexion.

We know the Communist leaders have often practiced the tactics of

retreat and zigzag. We know that Soviet and Chinese communism still

poses a serious threat to the free world. And in the Middle East recent

Soviet moves are hardly compatible with the reduction of international

tension.

Yet Communist tactics against the free nations have shifted in emphasis

from reliance on violence and the threat of violence to reliance on

division, enticement and duplicity. We must be well prepared to meet the

current tactics which pose a dangerous though less obvious threat. At

the same time, our policy must be dynamic as well as flexible, designed

primarily to forward the achievement of our own objectives rather than

to meet each shift and change on the Communist front. We must act in the

firm assurance that the fruits of freedom are more attractive and

desirable to mankind in the pursuit of happiness than the record of

Communism.

In the face of Communist military power, we must, of course, continue to

maintain an effective system of collective security. This involves two

things--a system which gives clear warning that armed aggression will be

met by joint action of the free nations, and deterrent military power to

make that warning effective. Moreover, the awesome power of the atom

must be made to serve as a guardian of the free community and of the

peace.

In the last year, the free world has seen major gains for the system of

collective security: the accession to the North Atlantic Treaty

Organization and Western European Union of the sovereign Federal German

Republic; the developing cooperation under the Southeast Asia Collective

Defense Treaty; and the formation in the Middle East of the Baghdad Pact

among Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and the United Kingdom. In our own

hemisphere, the inter-American system has continued to show its vitality

in maintaining peace and a common approach to world problems. We now

have security pacts with more than 40 other nations.

In the pursuit of our national purposes, we have been steadfast in our

support of the United Nations, now entering its second decade with a

wider membership and ever-increasing influence and usefulness. In the

release of our fifteen fliers from Communist China, an essential prelude

was the world opinion mobilized by the General Assembly, which condemned

their imprisonment and demanded their liberation. The successful Atomic

Energy Conference held in Geneva under United Nations auspices and our

Atoms for Peace program have been practical steps toward the world-wide

use of this new energy source. Our sponsorship of such use has benefited

our relations with other countries. Active negotiations are now in

progress to create an International Agency to foster peaceful uses of

atomic energy.

During the past year the crucial problem of disarmament has moved to the

forefront of practical political endeavor. At Geneva, I declared the

readiness of the United States to exchange blueprints of the military

establishments of our nation and the USSR, to be confirmed by reciprocal

aerial reconnaissance. By this means, I felt mutual suspicions could be

allayed and an atmosphere developed in which negotiations looking toward

limitation of arms would have improved chances of success.

In the United Nations Subcommittee on Disarmament last fall, this

proposal was explored and the United States also declared itself willing

to include reciprocal ground inspection of key points. By the

overwhelming vote of 56 to 7, the United Nations on December 16 endorsed

these proposals and gave them a top priority. Thereby, the issue is

placed squarely before the bar of world opinion. We shall persevere in

seeking a general reduction of armaments under effective inspection and

control which are essential safeguards to ensure reciprocity and protect

the security of all.

In the coming year much remains to be done.

While maintaining our military deterrent, we must intensify our efforts

to achieve a just peace. In Asia we shall continue to give help to

nations struggling to maintain their freedom against the threat of

Communist coercion or subversion. In Europe we shall endeavor to

increase not only the military strength of the North Atlantic Alliance

but also its political cohesion and unity of purpose. We shall give such

assistance as is feasible to the recently renewed effort of Western

European nations to achieve a greater measure of integration, such as in

the field of peaceful uses of atomic energy.

In the Near East we shall spare no effort in seeking to promote a fair

solution of the tragic dispute between the Arab States and Israel, all

of whom we want as our friends. The United States is ready to do its

part to assure enduring peace in that area. We hope that both sides will

make the contributions necessary to achieve that purpose. In Latin

America, we shall continue to cooperate vigorously in trade and other

measures designed to assist economic progress in the area.

Strong economic ties are an essential element in our free world

partnership. Increasing trade and investment help all of us prosper

together. Gratifying progress has been made in this direction, most

recently by the three-year extension of our trade agreements

legislation.

I most earnestly request that the Congress approve our membership in the

Organization for Trade Cooperation, which would assist the carrying out

of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade to which we have been a

party since 1948. Our membership in the OTC will provide the most

effective and expeditious means for removing discriminations and

restrictions against American exports and in making our trade agreements

truly reciprocal. United States membership in the Organization will

evidence our continuing desire to cooperate in promoting an expanded

trade among the free nations. Thus the Organization, as proposed, is

admirably suited to our own interests and to those of like-minded

nations in working for steady expansion of trade and closer economic

cooperation. Being strictly an administrative entity, the Organization

for Trade Cooperation cannot, of course, alter the control by Congress

of the tariff, import, and customs policies of the United States.

We need to encourage investment overseas by avoiding unfair tax

duplications, and to foster foreign trade by further simplification and

improvement of our customs legislation.

We must sustain and fortify our Mutual Security Program. Because the

conditions of poverty and unrest in less developed areas make their

people a special target of international communism, there is a need to

help them achieve the economic growth and stability necessary to

preserve their independence against communist threats and enticements.

In order that our friends may better achieve the greater strength that

is our common goal, they need assurance of continuity in economic

assistance for development projects and programs which we approve and

which require a period of years for planning and completion.

Accordingly, I ask Congress to grant limited authority to make

longer-term commitments for assistance to such projects, to be fulfilled

from appropriations to be made in future fiscal years.

These various steps will powerfully strengthen the economic foundation

of our foreign policy. Together with constructive action abroad, they

will maintain the present momentum toward general economic progress and

vitality of the free world.

In all things, change is the inexorable law of life. In much of the

world the ferment of change is working strongly; but grave injustices

are still uncorrected. We must not, by any sanction of ours, help to

perpetuate these wrongs. I have particularly in mind the oppressive

division of the German people, the bondage of millions elsewhere, and

the exclusion of Japan from United Nations membership.

We shall keep these injustices in the forefront of human consciousness

and seek to maintain the pressure of world opinion to fight these vast

wrongs in the interest both of justice and secure peace.

Injustice thrives on ignorance. Because an understanding of the truth

about America is one of our most powerful forces, I am recommending a

substantial increase in budgetary support of the United States

Information Agency.

The sum of our international effort should be this: the waging of peace,

with as much resourcefulness, with as great a sense of dedication and

urgency, as we have ever mustered in defense of our country in time of

war. In this effort, our weapon is not force. Our weapons are the

principles and ideas embodied in our historic traditions, applied with

the same vigor that in the past made America a living promise of freedom

for all mankind.

To accomplish these vital tasks, all of us should be concerned with the

strength, effectiveness and morale .of our State Department and our

Foreign Service.

Another guide in the preparation of the Administration’s program is:

THE CONSTANT IMPROVEMENT OF OUR NATIONAL SECURITY

Because peace is the keystone of our national policy, our defense

program emphasizes an effective flexible type of power calculated to

deter or repulse any aggression and to preserve the peace. Short of war,

we have never had military strength better adapted to our needs with

improved readiness for emergency use. The maintenance of this strong

military capability for the indefinite future will continue to call for

a large share of our national budget. Our military programs must meet

the needs of today. To build less would expose the nation to aggression.

To build excessively, under the influence of fear, could defeat our

purposes and impair or destroy the very freedom and economic system our

military defenses are designed to protect.

We have improved the effectiveness and combat readiness of our forces by

developing and making operational new weapons and by integrating the

latest scientific developments, including new atomic weapons, into our

military plans. We continue to push the production of the most modern

military aircraft. The development of long-range missiles has been on an

accelerated basis for some time. We are moving as rapidly as practicable

toward nuclear-powered aircraft and ships. Combat capability, especially

in terms of firepower, has been substantially increased. We have made

the adjustments in personnel permitted by the cessation of the Korean

War, the buildup of our allies and the introduction of new weapons. The

services are all planning realistically on a long-term basis.

To strengthen our continental defenses the United States and Canada, in

the closest cooperation, have substantially augmented early warning

networks. Great progress is being made in extending surveillance of the

Arctic, the Atlantic and the Pacific approaches to North America.

In the last analysis our real strength lies in the caliber of the men

and women in our Armed Forces, active and Reserve. Much has been done to

attract and hold capable military personnel, but more needs to be done.

This year, I renew my request of last year for legislation to provide

proper medical care for military dependents and a more equitable

survivors’ benefit program. The Administration will prepare additional

recommendations designed to achieve the same objectives, including

career incentives for medical and dental officers and nurses, and

increases in the proportion of regular officers.

Closely related to the mission of the Defense Department is the task of

the Federal Civil Defense Administration. A particular point of

relationship arises from the fact that the key to civil defense is the

expanded continental defense program, including the distant early

warning system. Our Federal civil defense authorities have made progress

in their program, and now comprehensive studies are being conducted

jointly by the Federal Civil Defense Administration, the States, and

critical target cities to determine the best procedures that can be

adopted in case of an atomic attack. We must strengthen Federal

assistance to the States and cities in devising the most effective

common defense.

We have a broad and diversified mobilization base. We have the

facilities, materials, skills and knowledge rapidly to expand the

production of things we need for our defense whenever they are required.

But mobilization base requirements change with changing technology and

strategy. We must maintain flexibility to meet new requirements. I am

requesting, therefore, that the Congress once again extend the Defense

Production Act.

Of great importance to our nation’s security is a continuing alertness

to internal subversive activity within or without our government. This

Administration will not relax its efforts to deal forthrightly and

vigorously in protection of this government and its citizens against

subversion, at the same time fully protecting the constitutional rights

of all citizens.

A third objective of the Administration is:

FISCAL INTEGRITY

A public office is, indeed, a public trust. None of its aspects is more

demanding than the proper management of the public finances. I refer now

not only to the indispensable virtues of plain honesty and

trustworthiness but also to the prudent, effective and conscientious use

of tax money. I refer also to the attitude of mind that makes efficient

and economical service to the people a watchword in our government.

Over the long term, a balanced budget is a sure index to thrifty

management--in a home, in a business or in the Federal Government. When

achievement of a balanced budget is for long put off in a business or

home, bankruptcy is the result. But in similar circumstances a

government resorts to inflation of the money supply. This inevitably

results in depreciation of the value of the money, and an increase in

the cost of living. Every investment in personal security is threatened

by this process of inflation, and the real values of the people’s

savings, whether in the form of insurance, bonds, pension and retirement

funds or savings accounts are thereby shriveled.

We have made long strides these past three years in bringing our Federal

finances under control. The deficit for fiscal year 1953 was almost

9-1/2 billion dollars. Larger deficits seemed certain--deficits which

would have depreciated the value of the dollar and pushed the cost of

living still higher. But government waste and extravagance were searched

out. Nonessential activities were dropped. Government expenses were

carefully scrutinized. Total spending was cut by 14 billion dollars

below the amount planned by the previous Administration for the fiscal

year 1954.

This made possible--and it was appropriate in the existing circumstances

of transition to a peacetime economy--the largest tax cut in any year in

our history. Almost 7-1/2 billion dollars were released and every

taxpayer in the country benefited. Almost two-thirds of the savings went

directly to individuals. This tax cut also helped to build up the

economy, to make jobs in industry and to increase the production .of the

many things desired to improve the scale of living for the great

majority of Americans.

The strong expansion of the economy, coupled with a constant care for

efficiency in government operations and an alert guard against waste and

duplication, has brought us to a prospective balance between income and

expenditure. This is being done while we continue to strengthen our

military security.

I expect the budget to be in balance during the fiscal year ending June

30, 1956.

I shall propose a balanced budget for the next fiscal year ending June

30, 1957.

But the balance we are seeking cannot be accomplished without the

continuing every-day effort of the Executive and Legislative Branches to

keep expenditures under control. It will also be necessary to continue

all of the present excise taxes without any reduction and the

corporation income taxes at their present rates for another year beyond

next April 1st.

It is unquestionably true that our present tax level is very burdensome

and, in the interest of long term and continuous economic growth, should

be reduced when we prudently can. It is essential, in the sound

management of the Government’s finances, that we be mindful of our

enormous national debt and of the obligation we have toward future

Americans to reduce that debt whenever we can appropriately do so. Under

conditions of high peacetime prosperity, such as now exist, we can never

justify going further into debt to give ourselves a tax cut at the

expense of our children. So, in the present state of our financial

affairs, I earnestly believe that a tax cut can be deemed justifiable

only when it will not unbalance the budget, a budget which makes

provision for some reduction, even though modest, in our national debt.

In this way we can best maintain fiscal integrity.

A fourth aim of our program is:

TO FOSTER A STRONG ECONOMY

Our competitive enterprise system depends on the energy of free human

beings, limited by prudent restraints in law, using free markets to

plan, organize and distribute production, and spurred by the prospect of

reward for successful effort. This system has developed our resources.

It has marvelously expanded our productive capacity. Against the record

of all other economic systems devised through the ages, this competitive

system has proved the most creative user of human skills in the

development of physical resources, and the richest rewarder of human

effort.

This is still true in this era when improved living standards and rising

national requirements are accompanied by swift advances in technology

and rapid obsolescence in machines and methods. Typical of these are the

strides made in construction of plants to produce electrical energy from

atomic power and of laboratories and installations for the application

of this new force in industry, agriculture and the healing arts. These

developments make it imperative--to assure effective functioning of our

enterprise system--that the Federal Government concern itself with

certain broad areas of our economic life. Most important of these is:

Agriculture

Our farm people are not sharing as they should in the general

prosperity. They alone of all major groups have seen their incomes

decline rather than rise. They are caught between two millstones--rising

production costs and declining prices. Such harm to a part of the

national economy so vitally important to everyone is of great concern to

us all. No other resource is so indispensable as the land that feeds and

clothes us. No group is more fundamental to our national life than our

farmers.

In successful prosecution of the war, the nation called for the utmost

effort of its farmers. Their response was superb, their contribution

unsurpassed. Farmers are not now to be blamed for the mountainous,

price-depressing surpluses produced in response to wartime policies and

laws that were too long continued. War markets are not the markets of

peacetime. Failure to recognize that basic fact by a timely adjustment

of wartime legislation brought its inevitable result in

peacetime--surpluses, lower prices and lower incomes for our farmers.

The dimensions of government responsibility are as broad and complex as

the farm problem itself. We are here concerned not only with our

essential continuing supplies of food and fiber, but also with a way of

life. Both are indispensable to the well-being and strength of the

nation. Consideration of these matters must be above and beyond

politics. Our national farm policy, so vital to the welfare of farm

people and all of us, must not become a field for political warfare. Too

much is at stake.