Speech Transcript:

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

A year ago I reported to this Congress that the state of the Union
was good. I am happy to be able to report to you today that the state
of the Union Continues to be good. Our Republic continues to increase
in the enjoyment of freedom within its borders , and to offer
strength and encouragement to all those who love freedom throughout
the world.

During the past year we have made notable progress in strengthening
the foundations of peace and freedom, abroad and at home.

We have taken important steps in securing the North Atlantic
community against aggression. We have continued our successful
support of European recovery. We have returned to our established
policy of expanding international trade through reciprocal agree
ment. We have strengthened our support of the United Nations.

While great problems still confront us, the greatest danger has
receded-the possibility which faced us 3 years ago that most of
Europe and the Mediterranean area might collapse under totalitarian
pressure. Today, the free peoples of the world have new vi gor and
new hope for the cause of peace.

In our domestic affairs, we have made notable advances toward broader
opportunity and a better life for all our citizens.

We have met and reversed the first significant downturn in economic
activity since the war. In accomplishing this, Government programs
for maintaining employment and purchasing power have been of
tremendous benefit. As the result of these programs, and t he wisdom
and good judgment of our businessmen and workers, major readjustments
have been made without widespread suffering.

During the past year, we have also made a good start in providing
housing for low-income groups; we have raised minimum wages; we have
gone forward with the development of our natural resources; we have
given a greater assurance of stability to the farme r; and we have
improved the organization and efficiency of our Government.

Today, by the grace of God, we stand a free and prosperous nation
with greater possibilities for the future than any people ever had
before in the history of the world.

We are now, in this year of 1950, nearing the midpoint of the 20th
century.

The first half of this century will be known as the most turbulent
and eventful period in recorded history. The swift pace of events
promises to make the next 50 years decisive in the history of man on
this planet.

The scientific and industrial revolution which began two centuries
ago has, in the last 50 years, caught up the peoples of the globe in
a common destiny. Two world-shattering wars have proved that no
corner of the earth can be isolated from the affairs o f mankind.

The human race has reached a turning point. Man has opened the
secrets of nature and mastered new powers. If he uses them wisely, he
can reach new heights of civilization. If he uses them foolishly, they
may destroy him.

Man must create the moral and legal framework for the world which
will insure that his new powers are used for good and not for evil.
In shaping the outcome, the people of the United States will play a
leading role.

Among all the great changes that have occurred in the last 50 years,
none is more important than the change in the position of the United
States in world affairs. Fifty years ago we were a country devoted
largely to our own internal affairs. Our industr y was growing, and
we had new interests in the Far East and in the Caribbean, but we
were primarily concerned with the development of vast areas of our
own continental territory.

Today, our population has doubled. Our national production has risen
from about $50 billion, in terms of today's prices, to the staggering
figure of $255 billion a year. We have a more productive economic
system and a greater industrial potential than any other nation on
the globe. Our standard of living is an inspiration for all other
peoples. Even the slightest changes in our economic and social life
have their effect on other countries all around the world.

Our tremendous strength has brought with it tremendous
responsibilities. We have moved from the outer edge to the center of
world affairs. Other nations look to us for a wise exercise of our
economic and military strength, and for vigorous support of t he
ideals of representative government and a free society. We will not
fail them.

Our objective in the world is peace. Our country has joined with
others in the task of achieving peace. We know now that this is not
an easy task, or a short one. But we are determined to see it
through. Both of our great political parties are committed to working
together-and I am sure they will continue to work together-to achieve
this end. We are prepared to devote our energy and our resources to
this task, because we know that our own security and the future of
mankind are at stake.

Right here, I want to say that no one appreciates more than I the
bipartisan cooperation in foreign affairs which has been enjoyed by
this administration.

Our success in working with other nations to achieve peace depends
largely on what we do at home. We must preserve our national
strength. Strength is not simply a matter of arms and force. It is a
matter of economic growth, and social health, and vigoro us
institutions, public and private. We can achieve peace only if we
maintain our productive energy, our democratic institutions, and our
firm belief in individual freedom.

Our surest guide in the days that lie ahead will be the spirit in
which this great Republic was founded. We must make our decisions in
the conviction that all men are created equal, that they are equally
entided to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happ iness, and that the
duty of government is to serve these ends.

This country of ours has experienced many blessings, but none greater
than its dedication to these principles. At every point in our
history, these ideals have served to correct our failures and
shortcomings, to spur us on to greater efforts, and to ke ep clearly
before us the primary purpose of our existence as a nation. They have
enshrined for us, a principle of government, the moral imperative to
do justice, and the divine command to men to love one another.

These principles give meaning to all that we do. In foreign policy,
they mean that we can never be tolerant of oppression or tyranny.
They mean that we must throw our weight on the side of greater
freedom and a better life for all peoples. These principles confirm
us in carrying out the specific prog rams for peace which we have
already begun.

We shall continue to give our wholehearted support to the United
Nations. We believe that this organization can ultimately provide the
framework of international law and morality without which mankind
cannot survive. It has already set up new standards for the conduct
of nations in the Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on
Genocide. It is moving ahead to give meaning to the concept of world
brotherhood through a wide variety of cultural, economic, and
technical activities.

The events of the past year again showed the value of the United
Nations in bringing about the peaceful adjustment of tense
international controversies. In Indonesia and in Palestine the
efforts of the United Nations have put a stop to bloodshed and pave d
the way to peaceful settlements.

We are working toward the time when the United Nations will control
weapons of mass destruction and will have the forces to preserve
international law and order. While the world remains unsettled,
however, and as long as our own security and the security of the free
world require, we will maintain a strong and well-balanced defense
organization. The Selective Service System is an essential part of
our defense plans, and it must be continued.

Under the principles of the United Nations Charter we must continue
to share in the common defense of free nations against aggression. At
the last session this Congress laid the basis for this joint effort.
We now must put into effect the common defense plans that are being
worked out.

We shall continue our efforts for world economic recovery, because
world prosperity is the only sure foundation of a permanent peace.

As an immediate means to this end we must continue our support of the
European recovery program. This program has achieved great success in
the first 2 years of its operation, but it has not yet been
completed. If we were to stop this program now, or cripple it, just
because it is succeeding, we should be doing exactly what the enemies
of democracy want us to do. We should be just as foolish as a man who,
for reasons of false economy, failed to put a roof on his house after
building the foundation an d the walls.

World prosperity also requires that we do all we can to expand world
trade. As a major step in this direction we should promptly join the
International Trade Organization. The purpose of this organization,
which the United States has been foremost in cr eating, is to
establish a code of fair practice, and an international authority for
adjusting differences in international commercial relations. It is an
effort to prevent the kind of anarchy and irresponsibility in world
trade which did so much to bring about the world depression of the
1930's.

An expanding world economy requires the improvement of living
standards and the development of resources in areas where human
poverty and misery now prevail. Without such improvement the recovery
of Europe and the future of our own economy will not be se cure. I
urge that the Congress adopt the legislation now before it to provide
for increasing the flow of technical assistance and capital investment
in underdeveloped regions.

It is more essential now than ever, if the ideals of freedom and
representative government are to prevail in these areas, and
particularly in the Far East, that their peoples experience, in their
own lives, the benefits of scientific and economic advance s. This
program will require the movement of large amounts of capital from
the industrial nations, and particularly from the United States, to
productive uses in the underdeveloped areas of the world. Recent
world events make prompt action imperative.

This program is in the interest of all peoples-and has nothing in
common with either the old imperialism of the last century or the new
imperialism of the Communists.

Our aim for a peaceful, democratic world of free peoples will be
achieved in the long run, not by force of arms, but by an appeal to
the minds and hearts of men. If the peace policy of the democratic
nations is to be successful, they must demonstrate th at the benefits
of their way of life can be increased and extended to all nations and
all races.

In the world today we are confronted with the danger that the rising
demand of people everywhere for freedom and a better life may be
corrupted and betrayed by the false promises of communism. In its
ruthless struggle for power, communism seizes upon ou r
imperfections, and takes advantage of the delays and setbacks which
the democratic nations experience in their effort to secure a better
life for their citizens. This challenge to us is more than a military
challenge. It is a challenge to the honesty o f our profession of the
democratic faith; it is a challenge to the efficiency and stability
of our economic system; it is a challenge to the willingness to work
with other peoples for world peace and for world prosperity.

For my part I welcome that challenge. I believe that our country, at
this crucial point in world history, will meet that challenge
successfully. I believe that, in cooperation with the other free
nations of the world, we shall extend the full benefits of the
democratic way of life to millions who do not now enjoy them, and
preserve mankind from dictatorship and tyranny.

I believe that we shall succeed in our struggle for this peace,
because I have seen the success we have had in our own country in
following the principles of freedom. Over the last 50 years, the
ideals of liberty and equal opportunity to which this Natio n is
dedicated have been increasingly realized in the lives of our
people.

The ideal of equal opportunity no longer means simply the opportunity
which a man has to advance beyond his fellows. Some of our citizens do
achieve greater success than others as a reward for individual merit
and effort, and this is as it should be. At the same time our country
must be more than a land of opportunity for a select few. It must be a
land of opportunity for all of us. In such a land we can grow and
prosper together.

The simple truth that we can all go forward together is often
questioned by selfish or shortsighted persons. It is strange that
this is so, for this proposition is so clearly demonstrated by our
national history. During the last 50 years, for example, ou r Nation
has grown enormously in material wellbeing. This growth has come
about, not by concentrating the benefits of our progress in the hands
of a few, but by increasing the wealth of the great body of our Nation
and our citizens.

In the last 50 years the income of the average family has increased
so greatly that its buying power has doubled. The average hours of
work have declined from 60 to 40 a week, the whole hourly production
of the average worker has tripled. Average wages, allowing for price
changes, have increased from about 45 cents an hour to $I.40 an
hour.

We have accomplished what to earlier ages of mankind would have been
a miracle-we work shorter hours, we produce more, and we live
better.

Increasing freedom from poverty and drudgery has given a fuller
meaning to American life. Our people are better educated; we have
more opportunities for travel and recreation and enjoyment of the
arts. We enjoy more personal liberty in the United States today than
ever before.

If we can continue in the spirit of cooperative adventure which has
marked the recent years of our progress, we can expect further
scientific advances, further increases in our standard of living, and
a still wider enjoyment of democratic freedom.

No one, of course, can foretell the future exactly. However, if we
assume that we shall grow as fast in the future as we have grown in
the past, we can get a good idea of how much our country should grow
in the next 50 years.

At present our total national production is $255 billion a year. Our
working population and our output per worker are increasing. If our
productive power continues to increase at the same rate as it has
increased over the past 50 years, our total nationa l production 50
years from now will be nearly four times as much as it is today.
Allowing for the expected growth in population, this would mean that
the real income of the average family in the year 2000 A.D. would be
ahout three times what it is today.< p> These are estimates of what
we can do in the future, but we can reach these heights only if we
follow the right policies. We have learned by bitter experience that
progress is not automatic-that wrong policies lead to depression and
disaster. We cannot a chieve these gains unless we have a stable
economy and avoid the catastrophes of boom and bust that have set us
back in the past.

These gains cannot be achieved unless our businessmen maintain their
spirit of initiative and enterprise and operate in a competitive
economy. They cannot be achieved unless our workingmen and women and
their unions help to increase productivity and obta in for labor a
fair share of the benefits of our economic system. They cannot be
achieved unless we have a stable and prosperous agriculture. They
cannot be achieved unless we conserve and develop our natural
resources in the public interest. Our system will not work unless our
people are healthy, well-educated, and confident of the future. It
will not work unless all citizens can participate fully in our
national life.

In achieving these gains the Government has a special responsibility
to help create and maintain the conditions which will permit the
growth we know is possible. Foremost among these conditions is the
need for a fair distribution of our increasing prospe rity among all
the great groups of our population who help to bring it about -
labor, business, agriculture.

Businessmen must continue to have the incentives necessary for
investment and for the development of new lines of enterprise. In the
future growth of this country, lie possibilities for hundreds of
thousands of new and independent businesses. As our nati onal
production increases, as it doubles and redoubles in the next 50
years, the number of independent and competing enterprises should
also increase. If the number does not increase, our constantly
growing economy will fall under the control of a few dom inant
economic groups whose powers will be so great that they will be a
challenge to democratic institutions.

To avoid this danger, we must curb monopoly and provide aids to
independent business so that it may have the credit and capital to
compete in a system of free enterprise. I recommend that the Congress
complete action at this session on the pending bill t o close the
loopholes in the Clayton Act which now permit monopolistic mergers. I
also hope before this session is over to transmit to the Congress a
series of proposals to strengthen the antimonopoly laws, to assist
small business, and to encourage the growth of new enterprises.

In the case of labor, free collective bargaining must be protected
and encouraged. Collective bargaining is not only a fundamental
economic freedom for labor. It is also a strengthening and
stabilizing influence for our whole economy.

The Federal statute now governing labor relations is punitive in
purpose and onesided in operation. This statute is, and always has
been, inconsistent with the practice of true and effective collective
bargaining. It should be repealed and replaced by a law that is fair
to all and in harmony with our democratic ideals.

A full understanding of the problems of modern labor relations is of
such importance that I recommend the establishment of a labor
extension service to encourage educational activities in this field.

Another essential for our continued growth is a stable and prosperous
agriculture. For many years we have been building a program to give
the farmer a reasonable measure of protection against the special
hazards to which he is exposed. That program wa s improved at the
last session of the Congress. However, our farm legislation is still
not adequate.

Although the Congress has properly declared as a matter of national
policy that safeguards must be maintained against slumps in farm
prices, there are serious shortcomings in the methods now available
for carrying out this policy. Mandatory price support s should be
provided for the commodities not now covered which are major sources
of farm income.

Moreover, we should provide a method of supporting farm income at
fair levels which will, at the same time, avoid piling up
unmanageable surpluses and allow consumers to obtain the full benefit
of our abundant agricultural production. A system of produc tion
payments gives the greatest promise of accomplishing this purpose. I
recommend that the use of such a system be authorized.

One of the most important factors in our continued growth is the
construction of more good, up-to-date housing. In a country such as
ours there is no reason why decent homes should not be within the
reach of all. With the help of various Government prog rams we have
made great progress in the last few years in increasing the number of
homes.

Despite this increase, there is still an acute shortage of housing
for the lower and middle-income groups, especially in large
metropolitan areas. We have laid the groundwork for relieving the
plight of lower-income families in the Housing Act of 1949. T o aid
the middle-income families, I recommend that the Congress enact new
legislation authorizing a vigorous program to help co-operatives and
other nonprofit groups build housing which these families can
afford.

Rent control has done a great deal to prevent the housing shortage
from having had worse effects during this postwar period of
adjustment. Rent control is still necessary to prevent widespread
hardship and sharp curtailment of the buying power of million s of
consumers in metropolitan areas. I recommend, therefore, that rent
control be continued for another year.

If we are to achieve a better life for all, the natural resources of
the country must be regarded as a public trust. We must use our
precious assets of soil, water, and forest, and grassland in such a
way that they become constantly more productive and more valuable.
Government investment in the conservation and development of our
resources is necessary to the future economic expansion of the
country.

We need to enlarge the production and transmission of public power.
That is true not only in those regions which have already received
great benefits from Federal power projects, but also in regions such
as New England where the benefits of large-scale public power
development have not yet been experienced.

In our hydroelectric and irrigation undertakings, as well as in our
other resource programs, we must continue policies to assure that
their benefits will be spread among the many and not restricted to
the favored few.

Important resource legislation which should be passed at this session
includes the authorization of the St. Lawrence seaway and power
project and the establishment of the Columbia Valley Administration -
the establishment of the Columbia Valley Admini stration, I don't want
you to miss that.

Through wise Government policies and Government expenditures for the
conservation and development of our natural resources, we can be sure
of transmitting to our children and our children's children a country
far richer and more productive than the one w e know today.

The value of our natural resources is constantly being increased by
the progress of science. Research is finding new ways of using such
natural assets as minerals, sea water, and plant life. In the
peaceful development of atomic energy, particularly, we stand on the
threshold of new wonders. The first experimental machines for
producing useful power from atomic energy are now under construction.
We have made only the first beginnings in this field, but in the
perspective of history they may loom larger t han the first airplane,
or even the first tools that started man on the road to civilization.

To take full advantage of the increasing possibilities of nature we
must equip ourselves with increasing knowledge. Government has a
responsibility to see that our country maintains its position in the
advance of science. As a step toward this end, the Congress should
complete action on the measure to create a National Science
Foundation.

Another duty of the Government is to promote the economic security,
the health, and the education of its citizens. By so doing, we
strengthen both our economy and the structure of our society. In a
nation as rich as ours, all citizens should be able to live in
decency and health.

Our Social Security System should be developed into the main reliance
of our people for basic protection against the economic hazards of
old-age, unemployment, and illness. I earnestly hope that the
Congress will complete action at this session on legis lation to
increase the benefits and extend the coverage of old-age and
survivors insurance. The widespread movement to provide pensions in
private industry dramatizes the need for improvements in the public
insurance system.

I also urge that the Congress strengthen our unemployment
compensation law to meet present-day needs more adequately. The
economic downturn of the past year was the first real test that our
system of unemployment insurance has had to meet. That test has
proved the wisdom of the system, but it has also made strikingly
apparent the need for improving its operation and increasing its
coverage and its benefits.

In the field of health there are immense opportunities to extend to
more of our people the benefits of the amazing advances in medical
science. We have made a good beginning in expanding our hospitals,
but we must also go on to remedy the shortages of do ctors, nurses,
and public health services, and to establish a system of medical
insurance which will enable all Americans to afford good medical
care.

We must take immediate steps to strengthen our educational system. In
many parts of our country, young people are being handicapped for life
because of a poor education. The rapidly increasing number of children
of school age, coupled with the shor tage of qualified teachers, makes
this problem more critical each year. I believe that the Congress
should no longer delay in providing Federal assistance to the States
so that they can maintain adequate schools.

As we go forward in achieving greater economic security and greater
opportunity for all our people, we should make every effort to extend
the benefits of our democratic institutions to every citizen. The
religious ideals which we profess, and the heritag e of freedom which
we have received from the past, clearly place that duty upon us. I
again urge the Congress to enact the civil rights proposals I made in
February 1948. These proposals are for the enactment of Federal
statutes which will protect all our people in the exercise of their
democratic rights and their search for economic opportunity, grant
statehood to Alaska and Hawaii, provide a greater measure of
self-government for our island possessions, and accord home rule to
the District of Columbia. Some of those proposals have been before
the Congress for a long time. Those who oppose them, as well as those
who favor them, should recognize that it is the duty of the elected
representatives of the people to let these proposals come to a vote.

Our democratic ideals, as well as our best interests, require that we
do our fair share in providing homes for the unfortunate victims of
war and tyranny. In so doing, we shall add strength to our democracy
through the abilities and skills which these men and women will bring
here. I urge the prompt enactment by the Congress of the legislation
now before it to extend and broaden the existing displaced persons
law and remov e its discriminatory features.

The measures I am recommending to the Congress concerning both our
foreign and our domestic policies represent a carefully considered
program to meet our national needs. It is a program which necessarily
requires large expenditures of funds. More than 70 percent of the
Government's expenditures are required to meet the costs of past wars
and to work for world peace. This is the dominant factor in our fiscal
policy. At the same time, the Government must make substantial
expenditures which are necessary to the growth and expansion of the
domestic economy.

At present, largely because of the ill-considered tax reduction of
the 80th Congress, the Government is not receiving enough revenue to
meet its necessary expenditures.

To meet this situation, I am proposing that Federal expenditures be
held to the lowest levels consistent with our international
requirements and the essential needs of economic growth, and the
well-being of our people. I think I had better read that over ; you
interrupted me in the middle.

To meet this situation, I am proposing that Federal expenditures be
held to the lowest levels consistent with our international
requirements and the essential needs of ceonomic growth, and the
well-being of our people. Don't forget that last phrase. At t he same
time, we must guard against the folly of attempting budget slashes
which would impair our prospects for peace or cripple the programs
essential to our national strength.

The budget recommendations I shall shortly transmit to the Congress
show that we can expect a substantial improvement in our fiscal
position over the next few years, as the cost of some of our
extraordinary postwar programs declines, and as the Governme nt
revenue rises as a result of growth in employment and national
income. To further improve our fiscal outlook, we should make some
changes in our tax system which will reduce present inequities,
stimulate business activity, and yield a moderate amount of
additional revenue. I expect to transmit specific recommendations to
the Congress on this subject at a very early date.

The fiscal policy I am recommending is the quickest and safest way of
achieving a balanced budget.

As we move forward into the second half of the 20th century, we must
always bear in mind the central purpose of our national life. We do
not seek material prosperity for ourselves because we love luxury; we
do not aid other nations because we wish to inc rease our power. We
have not devised programs for the security and well-being of our
people because we are afraid or unwilling to take risks. This is not
the meaning of our past history or our present course.

We work for a better life for all, so that all men may put to good
use the great gifts with which they have been endowed by their
Creator. We seek to establish those material conditions of life in
which, without exception, men may live in dignity, perfor m useful
work, serve their communities, and worship God as they see fit.

These may seem simple goals, but they are not little ones. They are
worth a great deal more than all the empires and conquests of
history. They are not to be achieved by military aggression or
political fanaticism. They are to be achieved by humbler means---by
hard work, by a spirit of self-restraint in our dealings with one
another, and by a deep devotion to the principles of justice and
equality.

It should make us truly thankful, as we look back to the beginnings
of this country, that we have come so far along the road to a better
life for all. It should make us humble to think, as we look ahead,
how much farther we have to go to accomplish, at home and abroad, the
objectives that were set out for us at the founding of this great
Nation. As we approach the halfway mark of the 20th century, we
should ask for continued strength and guidance from that Almighty
Power who has placed before us such great opportunities for the good
of mankind in the years to come.