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7.

General outline and summary of Speech delivered before
Federation of Polish Societies
Idora Park, Youngstown, Ohio
August 19, 19:51

OUTLINE
1. Never before, .in my memory, have we had to face a situation
such as this.
To assure peace, we must have strong defenses everywherenot only here, bub in every place that is strategically important — to
insure peace in the world.
2.
This situation means a protection of our System, our way of
l i f e , freedom, democracy; freedom in all things — speech, worship, and
education
the freedom that was assured in our Declaration of Independence in 1776 and subsequently in our Constitution.
Freedom to protect our homes, families, and as important and contributing to'freedom,
is our standard of living; everyone having an opportunity to better his
standard of living and the standard of living of all those who follow
him.
3.
The things we now have weren't obtained easily. We had'to work
for them. We had to fight for them and even now we have to continuously
struggle for them because even as we strive to maintain the security required for ourselves and for our children and for future generations,
we must be constantly alert to the economic, political, and social
changes that are taking place in the world.
All of these affect us more'
and more as the world seems to be getting smaller and smaller.
The radio, television, newspapers, and various other forms of communication
and travel make the world seem very small.
4.. The economy of one part of the world affects the economy of the
other part of the world. The political form in one part of the world
affects the political form in the other part of the world, and so,
therefore, we must be constantly alert.
And yet, because of our historic and geographical position, it is difficult for us to realize how
important this i s , for while we attempt to strengthen our defenses in order to assure peace in the world, we are apt to overlook the fact that
the situation is no longer the same as i t was 50, 100, or 200 years ago.
The situation has changed considerably since World War I and has changed
much more since World War I I .
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5. We have been thrown into a position of leadership and that
leadership has had to be assumed at an early day of our history.
Since
14-92 and, of course, since 1776 and since George Washington and since
Abraham Lincoln, the world has undergone so many changes that leadership
has suddenly been thrust upon us and with that leadership comes responsibility.
The question, therefore, i s , "Can we meet the responsibility of
leadership in order to insure peace in the world and, of course, in order to insure a continuation of all the things that we, the people of
this country, have?"
6. We can meet this responsibility only i f we know what it i s , and
to know what it i s , we must analyze i t .

/8.

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To analyze this responsibility we must 'apply the analysis -firsT,
broadly and then segment by segment, management, and labor, private enterprise and government, individual and family, community--'and: .town, town anu
city, city and county, county and state, and state and country.
8 . He must look at it broadly. Wist is best for the i£e_atejrb
ber of people? That means the greatest number of people — not the grea
est" number of a certainclass of people.
Too often human nature is apt
to let us : feel inclined to seek restrictions and, Controls over .the other
segment in order to assure no restrictions and no controls over- the individual or a certain group of individuals or management or labor.
9
The time has come when we have to assume that all human beings,^
regardless of who they are end••vhat 'they are, should have the same opportunity and the slme freedom.
In other words, what-human n a t u r e " o v e r loo ^
frequently is the fact-that as you arid I expand, we want to-expand iurtr
and insure continued expansion, even though;this may m e a n restriction on
the other' fellow.' •
-10. ' This is no criticism- on the part of anyone in particular.
is a mere observation of the way in which human nature operates.

It

11.
That-, therefore', is the most vital part of our defense program,
and the''most difficult part because in a situation such as this we are
to destroy the very thing that we seek most - and that is" the mcuntemi
of our system and our s t a n d a r d and- the continuation of our freedom._ in*
is the target that the Communists are'shooting at.
Their thinking is tn»
i f they can keep us confused and i f they can keep us divided, i f they cax
keep management fighting labor and labor fighting 'management; i f they cai
cause disturbance among the various segments of our people and accentual
this disturbance or unrest in the various parts of our Country, and ii
they can make us believe that they want peace. To use their expression,
'only a certain ruling class in the United States wants war.
if they a*c
able to accomplish these things, bhey can accomplish their goal ^ t h o u t
losing a man or without dropping a bomb and that eventually we shall hav
such confusion and such destruction among bur own people that all they
need is enough propaganda from time to time spread here and there to t r i *
on social collapse. : Most of a l l , they want economic disaster in this co
try. They know that this is the strongest country in the w o r l d economic
ally arid'that this c o u n t r y produces more than any other country and the
people are more free than they are in any other country; therefore, il
they can use that freedom to destroy the 'other things by means of that
freedom, which is no longer freedom but license, then they feel that they
cah accomplish their mission.
They have done that in various countries,
but more important to them i s to do' i t in this country because o the
position of this country and the strength of this country economically
and politically*
v

This means, therefore, that we must in industry, in management and
labor, in'finance, and in the distribution of our products and in our
government and -in the various segments of our economy and in our political l i f e , be ever alert to the corrections that we, therefore, must
make and the contribution we must make to retain what we have for it is
5
just plain simple logic that you-cannot get unless you give.

12. As I see i t today, the economy is as follows: We'are preparing
our defenses which.means a large expenditure of money — this large expenditure of -money by government and by business adds to the purchasing
power of the people of our country.
This means that we have additional
purchasing power by which to buy certain things. As there are fewer and
fewer things to Vuy because more and more is produced for defense, the
prices go up and the purchasing power of the dollar goes down. The economy is expanded. Should i t suddenly contract, we have a downward trend.
Should it continuously expand and no restrictions are put on the purchasing power in relationship to the things to be purchased, we have inflation which is inequitable in i t s e l f , but finally results in a deflation and i f the Spiral goes down, we then have a depression.
13.
What we want, therefore, is stability.
Even in a situation
such as this at present, economic stability is what we are striving for
in a high level of production and employment. We must endeavor to maintain a high level of stability even when we make further expenditures
for defense.
This means that we have to look at the picture broad3.y —
protect private enterprise, protect the laboring class, give the laboring man every opportunity to increase his purchasing power so that he
can buy the things that private enterprise produces and sells and yet
at the same time not allow our economy to get out of balance because
should it get out of balance, it can fall of its own weight.

Surnma ry of S n e e eh
The key problem that faces the nation today is the threat of inflation.
The danger grows out of our position in the world today. We can
understand i t only i f we view i t against that background.
The rapid developments of science and industry seem remote from the
problem of inflation, but they are closely connected.
The connection
lies in the fact that those rapid developments mean rapid changes.
They
have meant rapid changes not only in warfare — as witness radar, the
atomic bomb, etc. — but also in transportation, communication and production.
You tre f amiliar with the humorous cartoons and stories about
how the arrival of television can upset the average household.
Other
scientific developments are constantly producing far more serious
changes and dislocations throughout the human family arid the family of
nations.
Without trying here to explain the various steps by which it has
happened — wars, depressions, revolutions, and the like -- the fact is
that the rapid changes throughout the world .in the past half century,
and especially in the past decade or so, have thrust this country into a
position whero.it is far,and >way the most powerful, the most feared —
and the most envied — of any in the.world today.
You know from your own experience that that i,s a most difficult
position for any person, or institution or nation to .be i n .
Others are
willing and eager to pounce upon the one in the exposed position, to
weaken him, and even to destroy him.
When the person or nation has been thrust into that position suddenly, the problem is especially great.
For there has been too little

time to develop and apply the leadership, the self-control, and the wisdom
that are absolutely essential for survival in such an exposed position.
That i s exactly what has happened to u s .
We have beeh s u d d e n l y thrust
into that position.
I f ' w e are to survive;we.must develop ttiose powers^
an extent never before known in history and With a sp.eed never; before x
in history.
,
,:•••>:
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You know that the threat to our survival is very real. Mr. Stalin
and the Kremlin are f i l l e d with envy, hatred - and certainly to some a
tent fear — of u s .
Their drive for world communism i s aimed e s p e c i a w
against Us.
Communism claims to.be an economic doctrine.
I f that is aj.1 it
we would have no tiling to worry about.
In any economic contest between
munism and our system of competitive enterprise ours w o u l d be certain
come out the winner.
I t would become clear beyond any doub* that oui w
tem comes far closer to providing the greatest economic benefit foi tn <
greatest number — not to mention the greater freedom and happiness m
process.
But Mr. Stalin and the Kremlin are interested in a.great deal
than economics,
in fact, i t is becoming more and more clear that the/
interested in economics very l i t t l e i f at a l l .
What they are seeking
chiefly - and almost entirely - is power.
You know what that means o
tween individuals or institutions.
Between nations i t r , i e a n s w a r - - e i
the big, large-scale shooting kind, or the less spectacular "cold war
i s waged against us by "small wars", subversion, dissension, and discoi
I f Stalin can weaken us by sowing discord among our people —
tween us and our allies - he can defeat us more easily in a large shoo
war or in small wars of attrition.
The military danger is clear and easy to see.

I have no doubt that

the'necessary planes and tanks arid guns w i l l be produced for our milita
defense.
The real cuestion is whether w e ' w i l l demonstrate the necessary
leadership in other fields.
That i s where the question of inflatipd 11
into the picture.
For the kind of armament program the Kremlin has 101
upon us and our a l l i e s raises serious questions of "who pays the b i n You can be sure that.someone, must £ a z Jhe b i l l .
Cur success or
failure — o u r survival or destruction - can depend on who pays it an
how.
I f i t is paid fairly and efficiently i t . w i l l place b u r d e n s on a U
S T u s " but burdens that fcan be borne.
I f i t is paid unfairly or ne
1
ciently i t can produce dislocations, dissensions, and discord that woui
delight the heart of Stalin.
There i s every reason to believe that thos
dislocations, dissensions and discords are part of the Kremlin plan.
They are.counting on us to botch up the job of paying the b i l l .
;

I f . we all6W Inflation , to go further it will mean that
are^bot^ing the job.
I t w i l l mean that we are paying the b i l l through the iire
sponsible and dangerous method of higher prices.
I t w i l l mean that we
are letting higher prices cut down consumption and make the productive

11.
capacity available for defense instead of doing it by definite taxes
and by saving more ond spending less.
Inflation is the most unfair and dislocating method of paying the
bill.
It hits those least able to bear the burden.
It increases tensions between different groups. I t can eventually cause a. breakdown in
both our economic and social structure. Nothing could suit Stalin
better. Nothing could give him a cheaper victory.
What can wo do to prevent inflation — to see that the bill for
our survival is paid fairly and efficiently? There are many things
that each of us can do in his own business and personal l i f e .
There
are others that we must do together through Governmental action.
Let
me list briefly a few that we can do individually.
1.
Each of us should try to produce more and to produce more efficiently.
If the production is armaments, the benefits are readily
apparent.
If the production is in other fields it has much the same
effect by releasing manpower and facilities for defense production.
2.
Each of us should save as much as possible.
That means we wil3
be deferring our spending today and postponing it to a time when the
economy can supply the goods more easily.
3.
Each of us should try to channel his investments into those
lines that will aid defense or essential industries, and should avoid
all others.
I f each of us does those things conscientiously it will go far
toward solving the problem. The more fully that every producer and
every consumer is aware of that problem and its nature, the better the
results we are Jikely to get.
Therefore, I would add another thing
that each of us should do individually:
Each of us should try to keep constantly before himself, his
family, his friends and his associates the nature of the problem and
the need to do these things.
Finally, there will be some things that we will need to do together, acting through our Government. None of us likes these, and we
all hope they can be kept to a minimum and removed as soon as possible,
but they are necessary nevertheless.
Le me describe them as a fifth item.
5. lie should encourage enactment, administration and compliance
with adequate laws that will (a) levy appropriate taxes to keep defense
as near as possible to a pay-as-we-go be sis, (b) divert essential materials to defense, (c) prevent prices and wages from forcing each other
up in a cumulative spiral, and (d) restrain all deferable expansion of
credit.
/.II of these are tough jobs.
They will test us severely.
Stalin
thinks we Will f a i l .
Is he right? Only you and I — all the people of
this country — can demonstrate the leadership, the courage, and the
determination to save ourselves and prove conclusively that he is wrong.