OCR Text |
Show j H0111E P?, ! Touin iw. h j IN WASHINGTON "TaJgjl iiiifciiiiTO-iLiiiifrliri Struggle for Peace TN a dramatic International broad- cast from the deck of the Coast Guard cutter Courier, President Harry S. Truman told the people of the world, and particularly those behind the iron curtain, of this nation's na-tion's work to bring lasting peace to the world. It was a message over the heads of governments, beamed directly to the peoples of all nations. na-tions. The Presld "s message recalls I to mind his enunciation of the "Truman "Tru-man Doctrine" and a column this reporter wrote In April, 1947, Just about five years ago. The same col-I col-I umn is good today. Here it is: I "The impact of President Truman's Tru-man's new doctrine of American j destiny his new policy of embracing embrac-ing the principle of freedom as opposed op-posed to forces of disruption In the world continues to ' -ve a sobering effect upon this nation's capital as the magnitude, the awesome aspects, as-pects, and the grave import and implications im-plications of his words are studied and digested. "As a matter of fact. President Truman's message did not contain or advance any new American doc- trine, because such statements as America's interest in freedom-loving peoples of the world, our support sup-port of the world democracies, has been advocated and applauded for years. What the President's message mes-sage did do, however, was to accompany ac-company these laudable words with a policy to be translated Into action. "Some high In government circles cir-cles are aware of exactly what Is entailed by support of the action. ac-tion. They accept' It Senator Vandenburg (since deceased) Senator Lodge, Senator Morse, Senator Aiken all agreed that the President's action and his policy must be supported and carried rut . . .a policy which places this nation In the breath- taking position of assuming Its rightful place as a world power and the champion of all the down-trodden peoples of the earth, starting with a 400 million mil-lion dollar loan to Greece and Turkey. "This tremendous responsibility, the aftermath of war, strikes at the very security of every man, woman and child in America. It ls in fact, a new call to arms, for as a result of this definite American policy these developments are likely to happen: "The people of the nation in every home town in the land must be as united, as single of purpose, as we were in fighting a victorious war; the people must be ready to back up and accept compulsory military training; they must be willing to spend, not only the $400 million, but in all likelihood many more billions of dollars in the next few years; they must be willing to forego some of the luxuries of a hard-earned peace, for sharing dollars means sharing goods. It may mean a return re-turn to some government controls; it means there will be no tax reduction reduc-tion this year or probably next; it means that American ships and American mo- may be sent to seats of trouble throughout the world; it means a risk of war; it means that we oppose the spread of communism, commu-nism, and also of fascism or other isms which threaten 'attempts at subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures'; it means unqualified un-qualified support of the four freedoms free-doms and the principles of the charter char-ter of the United Nations; it means continued full production of agriculture agricul-ture and industry; it means a strike in any large industry . would be against the national Interest; it is a must for management and labor to settle their differences; it means that government will remain in the market as a large buyer of food ana commodities for defense and export; ex-port; it means that prices likely will remain high; it means a continued con-tinued bipartisan foreign policy is a must; it means this new Truman Doctrine will go down in history-much history-much like the Monroe Doctrine, but expanded to world-wide proportions. It surely will mean more sweat and tears, but it very well may mean blood too. see No Halfway Mark "So this tremendous new concept of the responsibility of thi; nation as a result of the last war must be either accepted wholly or rejected wholly by the American people; there can be no halfway mark. We must either take on the responsibility responsibil-ity fully and with all our power and resources, or we must shut up shop in Europe, in China and elsewhere, close our doors and let """ssia do what she will with the rest of the world. Those are the alternatives." e The Record How have we as a nation met the tests during the past five years? Are we united and full o purpose to meet our responsibilities, or are we shattered by distrusts, by suspicions suspi-cions and lack of faith in our government? gov-ernment? We have just turned down U.M.T. and we are chafing at controls. con-trols. Have we permitted political mountebanks to divide us in order to conquer, or are we marching with closed ranks to obtain the high purpose pur-pose of a dedicated nation? |