United States
<iongrcssional .~crord
PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE
of America
Address of President Truman
EXTENSION OF REMARKS
OF
HON. JOHN W. McCORMACK
OF MASSACHUSETTS
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Tuesday, January 3, 1950
Mr. McCORMACK. Mr. Speaker, un-
der leave to extend my remarks in the
RECORD, I include the following address
by President Truman at a luncheon of
the National Conference of Christians
and Jews in Washington yesterday, as
recorded and transcribed by the New
York Times from a radio broadcast:
I congratulate the National Conference of
Christians and Jews on another year of wide-
spread and effective work in the cause of
human brotherhood at home and abroad.
I -assure you of my support· and enthusiasm
for your program for the coming year, and,
in particular, for your brotherhood week,
which is to be held next February.
I know of no organization that renders
greater service to the basic principles on
which this country is founded than the Na-
tional Conference of Christians and Jews.
This country ts founded upon an ideal-the
ideal of the equality of men before God and
under the law.
On the basis of this ideal, we have created
a nation composed of people from many
lands with many faiths and many b·eliefs.
Here in this country men of different tradi-
tions and different faiths have worked to-
gether for the common good.
I have just come from ~he National Ceme-
tery at Arlington, where I laid a wreath on
the grave of an American hero. No Ameri-
can knows, no real· American cares, whether
that man was a Catholic, a Jew, or a Prat- ·
estant, or what his origin or color were.
That grave-the Grave of the Unknown
Soldier-symbolizes our faith in unity.
We have achieved our unity in this coun-
try, not by eliminating our differences in
rel1gion and tradition, not by hiding or sup-
pressing our political and economic conflicts,
but by holding to a concept, which rises
above them all, the concept of the brother-
hood of man.
FIRST STEP OF ENEMIES
The first step of every enemy of this coun-
try has always · been to attempt to separate
the different strands of faith and belief out
of which this Nation has been woven. Our
enemies have tried to set up group against
group, faith against faith-to create preju-
dice and to spread hate and distrust among
our people.
The great service of the National Confer-
ence of Christians and Jews is to fight against
the forces -of intolerance, to bring light_to the
XCVI-App.--1
8I st CONGRESS, SECOND
Appendix
dark byways of prejudice, and to spread the
spirit of tolerance and brotherhood which
unites our country. This is a -great patriotic
service, and the country is indebted to the
men and women in this organization who
have given so much of their effort and sub-
stance in performing it.
In looking over your record of performance
for the last year, I have been impressed by
your comprehensive day-to-day program of
education. Your efforts to promote under-
standing and eliminate prejudice have ex-
tended to almost every kind of organization
in our society. You have reached not only
the schools and colleges, not only the
churches and synagogs, but factories and
shops, the press, the radio, and the movies,
and organizations of veterans, women, and
young people.
You wm, I am sure, go on to reach more
of these groups and bring your message to
every agency that helps shape those attitudes
of mind which are important to good citi-
zenship.
This fine work by your organization will
reach its peak again next February in Broth-
erhood Week. I am happy to have the op-
portunity to serve again as honorary chair-
man of that event. I am sure that it wm be
a notable success under the l,e adership of
my friend John Sullivan, former Secretary of
the Navy, and with the help of those associ-
ated with him, who are gathered here today
and who are listening in.
STRENGTH IN PRINCIPLES
The gr~atest strength of this organization
lies in its fundamental principles. The Na-
tional Conference of Christians and Jews has
rightly recognized that the true foundation
of the brotherhood of man ls belief in God.
The only sure bedrock of human brotherhood
1s the knowledge that God 1s the father o!
mankind.
In the history of the world, there have been
some movements inspired by a desire for
brotherhood and greater justice among men
which have denied or forgotten the .religious
foundation of those ideals. Sooner or later
these movements have wavered and lost their
way. · Furthermore, we realize that economic
They have become self-centered; they have
set up their own interests as the only stand-
ard of right and wrong, and they have de-
generated from movements of liberation into
movements ·of tyranny and oppression. We
can succeed in achieving brotherhood only if
we acknowledge that the ideal of brotherhood
is something outsipe or above us, something
by which we in our turn will also be judged.
All the great religions represented in this
organization, whatever their differences,
acknowledge this belief in God as the father
and creator of mankind. For us, therefore,
brotherhood is not only a generous impulse
but also a divine command. Others may be
moved into brotherhood only by sentiment.
We acknowledge brotherhood as a religious
duty.
SESSION
All the faiths represented here claim as a
common heritage the great thoughts of the
Hebrew prophets. The prophets were among
the first of men who saw that the concept of
the fatherhood of God required men to do
justice to one another. They called on the
people of their day, just as they call on us
today, not only to recognize tlle humanity of
others but also 1;o work unceasingly for the ·
achievement of a greater justice in human
relations.
Those of us who believe in God, therefore,
can never be content to live for ourselves
alone. We must always be working to elimi-
nate injustice, and to create a society which
carries out our ideals.
If we look at ourselves in the true spirit of
brotherhood, -we must acknowledge that in
the United States there are instances of dis-
crimination · and injustice because of differ-
ence in color, religion, or national origin.
But we a.re working diligently to overcome
these violations of the fundamental faith
which holds us together. It is encouraging
to see that Americans all over the country
are growing more and more aware of the im-
portance of this problem.
ASKS LAWS FOR GREATER JUSTICE
I have asked that our Federal Government
take an active part in this effort to achieve
greater justice. I have called for legislation
to protect the rights of all its citizens and to
assure their equal participation in national
life, and to reduce discrimination based upon
prejudice. In view of the fundamental faith
of this country and the clear language of our
Constitution, I do not see how we can do
otherwise than adopt such legislation.
We must strive abroad, as well as at home,
to defend human rights and to expand the
enjoyment of freedom. We have taken a
firm stand in the councils of the United Na-
tions against the violation of human rights.
With the help of your organization and others
like it, we have been able ~o play an impor-
tant part in the United Nations in develop-
ing such historical international documents
as the Declaration of Human Rights and the
Convention on Genocide.
progress is essential to the peace and brother-
hood that we desire for all mankind. That
ls why we are striving with other nations to
create world economic conditions in which
people may achieve freedom and dignity.
· That is why we are undertaking our pro-
gram of economic assistance and putting for-
ward our proposals for helping underde-
veloped regions of the world to achieve a
better standard of living through their own
efforts.
The task of achieving greater justice and
freedom will be long and it wm be difficult.
The beliefs on ·w hich we have founded our
form of government and our hope o! a. bet-
ter world are under attack. In various
parts of the world today human rights and
freedom are being deliberately violated and
A3
A682 APPENDIX TO THE CONGRESSIONAL RECORD
the established procedures of our Govern-
ment. They were not sudden decisions.
Each took time in the making. Each was
aimed to meet a crisis in world affairs. Each
was inspired by the President who is keenly
alert to the shifting tides of the cold war.
Each decision was preceded by painstaking
study and research. We in the Departments
studied them. We drew up preliminary plans.
We presented them to the President. Heap-
proved them and made them part of his pro-
gram. Congress in committee and in regu-
lar session discussed them. Hearings were
thorough and complete. The State Depart-
ment, the Department of National Defense
and others had an opportunity to express
their views. Risks involved were considered
and weighed. Finally, there was the act of
Congress and the approval of the President.
Thus each decision became a national deci-
sion, arrived at in typical American fashion.
Each far-reaching decision-the Truman
doctrine, the European recovery program,
the North Atlantic Pact, the mutual-assist-
ance program-each ran the gauntlet of the
presentation of facts, discussion, delibera-
tion, and decision. Each decision was clear-
cut. Each decision was one that not only we
in America but peoples everywhere could
understand. And the implications of each
decision are now clear to all friends and to
all possible foes. Peace, I venture; is more
secure today than at any time since VJ-day,
and it is secure because the American people
were not afraid to make decisions and to ·that "we are.rushing headlong down the
stand by them.
In th~ coming months Congress will be
called upon to provide the necessary funds
to continue to give effect to these far-reach-
ing decisions in international matters .we al-
readJI have made. My full faith in the good
judg'lhent of the Congress leaves me no doubt
of tll.a action that will finally be taken. To
paraphrase the words of President Truman
in his recent message on the State of the
Union, I am confident that our Nation will
not fail "to put a roof on the house after
building the foundation and the walls" in
our program of European recovery and mu-
tual security.
While the blaze of publicity has focused.
public interest primarily on our decisions
affecting Europe, we have also gone ahead
nearer home with equal zest to formulate
policies to strengthen our hemisphere soli-
darity against possible war. We in the
Americas, dedicated to the same ideals, have
long been engaged in working together and
striving together to keep our continent out
of war and to promote the blessings of peace
among ourselves. Before we in the United
States had our North Atlantic Pact and the
mutual defense assistance program with our
European friends we already had established
their counterpart with our American neigh-
bors, for the regional defense of our conti-
nent, in.the Rio Treaty of 1947 and the Inter-
American System formalized in Bogota in
1948. So when the time came to draw up
the North Atlantic Pact and the provisions
for a mutual-aid program for Europe, we fol-
lowed the model, in words and spirit, of these
. two monumental agreements with our Amer-
ican neighbors already in. effect for the better
defense of the Western Hemisphere.
Together the North Atlantic Treaty and
the Rio Treaty are twin security measures
conceived in the interests of peace and the
preservation of civilization. Our decisions
and the decisions of our partners on both
sides of the Atlantic are the stabilizing fac-
tors in today's world of unrest. They have with personal liberty subordinated to bureau-
given faith to the weary and the oppressed
and courage to the strong and free. Each
decision freely reached and resolutely exe-
cuted breeds additional confidence in us to
face new problems without fear. It has been
our heartening experience that any issue, no
matter how complex, once honestly faced
will be intelligently and equitably disposed
o! when nations of good will, such as our
partners and ourselves, sit down to find ·a
solution.
We have entered upon our New Year 1950
with a record of marked achievements but
with some issues, national and international,
yet to be met. The President has outlined
them to the Congress. In the course of the
next few months these issues before the
American people will be met faithfully and
definite decisions will be reached. I am con-
fident the decisions will be sound, that the
American people will support them. Under
the leadership of President Truman, we will
continue to point the way toward a prosper-
ous, secure, and peaceful world.
Are We Headed Toward Collectivism?
EXTENSION OF REMARKS
OF
HON. RALPH W. GWINN
OF NEW YORK
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Tuesday, January 31, 1950
Mr. GWINN. Mr. Speaker, I want to
call to the aUention of all the Members
of the House a very timely statement by
Senator BYRD, of Virginia, warning us
road to collectivism or socialism much in
the manner of Great Britain."
The statement follows:
I would define collectivism as a system of
government w:!:lich subordinates individual
freedom and initiative to an all-powerful
state in which the government supports the
people rather than the people the govern-
ment. But for the sake of those who wish
to be academic, the Library of Congress has
supplied this definition of collectivism:
"A political or economic doctrine which
maintains that the ownershp of property,
especially land and capital, should reside
in the c,ominunity as a whole or in the
state as the designated agent of the people.
·collectivism is a broader term than com-
·munism in that revolutionary methods are
not necessarily ·advocated. Moreover, the
term is to be distinguished from socialism
in its advocacy of broader controls over
prcperty rights."
It is my belief that we are rushing head-
long down the road to collectivism or social-
ism much in the manner of Great Britain.
The foundation stone of democracy, indeed
of all our liberties, is the free-enterprise sys-
tem; we cannot long enjoy political and re-
ligious liberty unless we likewise possess
economic liberty. But the free-enterprise
system is being dealt savage blows-and if
the trend is too long continued will be de-
stroyed-by (1) excessive Federal spending;
(2) excessive taxation; (3) excessive gov-
ernment regulation; (4) excessive govern-
ment competition with private business .
It is a very ominous sign that, in a period
of peace and high prosperity, our Govern-
ment has again embarl~ed on deficit
spending.
The American people never will knowingly
and voluntarily give up their liberties, but
the entire trend of government during the
past 15 or more years has been gradually and
definitely toward a highly regimented state
cratic control. Those who llave determined
the course of government during these years
have proceeded on the theory that the Gov-
ernment knows best, and that the Govern-
ment should determine v;hen its citizens
should reap and when they should sow.
_Planned economy has been the fashion, and
_planned economy, in its ·ultimate form, is
collectivism
An independent study recently transmit-
ted to the Congressional Joint Committee on
the Economic Report by President Truman's
Council of Economic Advisers declared that
the United States economy "is no longer a
purely free and competitive economy." This
,study, carried through by Drs. Calvin B. Hoo-
ver and B. U. Ratchford of Duke University,
examined the "impact of Federal policies on
the economy of the South." While it was
not endorsed by the Council, I am advised
that it was sent by the Council of Economic
Advisers to the Joint Congressional Commit-
tee "with great pleasure."
To my knowledge, this is the first federally
sponsored study, originating in the executive
branch and transmitted officially to Congress
(or a congressional committee), in which it
is stated that ·ours "is no longer a purely
free and competitive economy." The authors,
however, do go on to say that the economy
of this Nation "is not consciously planned
and directed by the National Government."
Presidential proposals this year included
these:
Authority to control prices, wages, and em-
ployment practices; commodity control allo-
cations; extended authority over consumer
credit and bank reserve requirements; ex-
tended federalized power development
through public works; expanded federalized
insurance; socialization of agriculture (which
turned out to be the Brannan plan); federal-
ized urban redevelopment, housing and farm
housing; federally aided education and so-
cialized medicine, the latter being the most
costly and far-reaching Federal program yet
proposed. Adoption of a Fair Employment
Practices Commission, recommended by the
President, would empower the Federal Gov-
ernm·e nt to enter every private business and
say who should be hired or promoted.
Such proposals, if adopted, would expand
nearly 100 different programs already spread-
ing out like t~ntacles from among the 60
principal Federal departments and agencies
which extend Federal administration through
financial aids, grants, subs~~1s, and bene-
fits; pay rolls, pensions, payme':lts, and vir-
tually every other form of Government ad-
vance and contribution. It is my firm be-
lief-and this is buttressed by history-that
the people cannot surrender such vast power
without eventually sacrificing basic indi-
vidual freedoms.
Congress has so far defeated or resisted
many of these new recommendations for
extending Goverriment control over individ-
ual citizens and embarking on new ventures
of huge and unpredictable co$ts. But I . say
advisedly that if and when these proposals
which the President ls now urging upon Con-
. gress are enacted into law, then we shall have
irrevocably committed ourselves to a social-
istic state from which there can be no retreat.
Whether or not consciously planned and
directed, .the influence of these payments and
programs of the National Government infil-
trates the privacy of individuals, the policies
of business, agriculture and labor, and the
prerogatives of local, State, and foreign
governments.
There are 17,000,000 people in the United
States receiving monthly checks supplied by
one or another program or payment pipe line
from the Federal Treasury. That is the
equivalent of 1 in each 9 of the total popu-
lation, the equivalent of one-third of the
total labor force. It should be noted, paren-
.thetically, that when those receiving direct
payments from State and local governments
are added to the 17,000,000, the number of
persons on public pay rolls becomes roughly
25,000,000. That is one-sixth of the popula-
tion of the United States.
But it becomes impossible to arrive at the
total number of persons affected by the pro-
grams and payments of the National Govern-
ment when we include those receiving in-
·terest paymen ts on war bonds and other Gov-
ernment securit ies; and when we add the mil- .
 APPENDIX TO THE CONGRESSIONAL RECORD
lions more who benefit indirectly from ap-
proximately $25,000,000,000 flowing from the
Federal Treasury into business through sub-
sidies, purchases, construction contracts, and
other expenditures, including those made in
this country for the foreign-aid programs.
These vast spending programs lead directly
to excessive taxation, which destroys the seed
money necessary for industrial expansion,
and on which increased employment de-
pends. We are spending $15,250,000,000 for
civilian domestic functions of the Federal
Government, exclusive of $5,500,000,000 in
interest on the national debt. To this add
some $15,000,000,000 for national defense and
about $7,000,000,000 for foreign aid-and you
have the basis for an estimate that expendi.-
tures this fiscal year will come to between
$42,000,000,000 and $45,000,000,000.
Against these three figures, the most au-
thoritative esttmate of revenue is approxi-
mately $37,200,000,000. Thus our deficit in
the current year may be anticipated at be-
tween $5,000,000,000 and $8,000,000,000.
Without retrenchment or new taxes it will be
larger in the year beginning July 1, 1950. In
the last fiscal year it was nearly $2,000,000,000.
And this chain of peacetime deficits is to
be piled upon a postwar debt of a quarter
of a ttillion dollars. There are some self-
styled Washington economists who say it is
of no consequence so long as we owe it to
ourselves. Stop and think of what that
means: that debt means that each of us is
responsible for nearly $2,000 of it. It is our
debt to the extent that we own war bonds;
to the extent that our bank savings are in-
vested in it, and our life insurance for the
protection of our families. It belongs to us
to the extent that one dollar out of every
seven we pay in Federal taxes goes to pay
ourselves interest. And it :will belong to us
if the time ever arrives when the interest
. is not met or when it cannot be refinanced.
It certainly will belong to us if it is not paid
off.
There is documented evidence that bus-
iness expansion is being discouraged. If the
economy of this Nation is. not consciously
planned and directed by the Government,
then our lack of consciousness can be traced
to a total indifference to the warnings which
have been flashing for some time along this
economic primrose path.
I say there is literally nothing in the world
today so important as to preserve the sol-
vency of the American dollar and the Amer-
ican free-enterprise system.
This free-enterprise ·system supports the
Government of this Nation in its present
form and no other economic system can do
that.
If the free-enterprise system falls, the Fed-
eral Government of the United States as it
is known to the world also will fall.
If the American system and the Amer-
ican Government fall, so will the last hope
for the preservation of freedom and democ-
racy in the world.
To change our course, I would begin by
eliminating the incompetence and extrava-
gance that permeat virtually every bran<'.h
of the Federal service. By this means, and
. notably by the dismissal of all unnecessary
Government personnel, Federal spending
could be drastically reduced. I would bal-
ance the budget for the fiscal year begin-
ning July 1, 1950, op. a basis of sound fiscal
policies. I would abolish functions of gov-
ernment that are too costly and infringe
upon the economic freedoms of our people.
The exhaustive Hoover Commission report
shows-and my own careful and exhaustive
research over a period of 15 years confirms-
that the Federal budget could be drastically
slashed without any decrea~e in essential
services.
I would change .t he present trend to col-
lectivism by eliminating from high council
those who distrust the people and feel that
the people are not capable of handling their
own affairs with an absolute minimum of
Government interference.
I would reverse our present trend by ap-
pointing to administrative positions persons
who recognize that the free-enterprise sys-
tem is the foundation stone upon which
this Nation was built, and that its mainte-
nance is essential to the preservation of in-
dividual liberty and to the advancement of
economic, political, scientific, and human
progress.
I would reverse the trend also by demand-
in.3 that governmental administrators heed
an economic truism: that excessive Federal
spending necessarily must lead to excessive
taxation or national bankruptcy; and that
free enterprise cannot expand under long-
continued oppressive taxation. Insolvency is
the only alternative, but if insolvency comes
in, freedom must go out.
An essential ingredient in reversing the
trend toward collectivism is not new restric-
tive laws and oppressive regulations, but
rather a desire and a determination on the
part of tpose in authority to preserve our
free enterprise system and the principles of
government that have made us great.
Many civilizations which have entered the
domain of history seem to present two evo-
lutionary periods. The first period is that in
which the individual seeks to safeguard him-
self against the excesses of arbitrary power
by exacting guaranties from those trusted
to rule. The second is that in which these
guarantees are gradually surrendered to the
collective power of the mass.
Let us always remember that human free-
dom is not a gift to man. It is an achieve-
ment by man, and, as it was gained by vigi-
lance and struggle, so it may be lost by in-
difference · and i;;upineness.
What Is the Difference Between Socialism
and Social Welfare?
EXTENSION OF REMARKS
OF
HON. HELEN GAHAGAN DOUGLAS
OF CALIFORNIA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Tuesday, Ja_n uary 31, 1950
Mrs. DOUGLAS. Mr. Speaker, under
leave to extend my remarks in the REC-
ORD, I include the following statement I
delivered on America's Town Meeting,
Town Hall, New York, on January 24,
1950, on the subject What Is the Differ-
ence Between Socialism and Social Wel-
fare?:
The policy of the administration of the
Government of the United States falls
squarely between those which are being ad-
vocated here by you, Mr. Thomas, and you,
Mr. Steinkraus. I ·am in favor of the ad-
ministration's policies and programs which,
so far, have kept us moving forward on a
sound democratic course-avoiding the rocks
of reaction on the right and socialism. on the
left. The people of the United States obvi-
ously believe in, endorse, and support the
policies of our constitutionally elected Gov-
ernment, since they have approved them in
elections for 18 years, and will do so again
next November.
Some have called what we have now a wel-
fare state; some have called it a hand-out
state-frequently by the same people. I do
not know exactly what those terms mean as
used by them and I do not propose wasting
time by trying to define words and slogans.
What we need to define are our objectives.
The best test of. democratic government
is the efficiency with which it serves the
needs of all the people. The policy of our
A683
administration is to meet those needs under
a system of free enterprise, and I submit
that we are better free enterprisers than
would be the kind of government which Mr.
S~einkraus advocates.
What we seek is to meet the needs of our
people in a complex society and at the same
time maintain those essential freedoms of
choice and action on which our Republic was
. founded to preserve.
We are striving to follow a policy of bol-
stering free enterprise in America by making
it as really free as it can be in an industrial
society.
No government which did not believe in
free enterprise would have pushed private
ownership of homes and farms as we have-
would have made credit available to farmers
and businessmen when they couldn't get it
any place else, not only to save farms and
businesses from failure, but to put families
on land of their own and to help more people
get a start in business, including many thou-
sands of Gis.
. We are really working for free enterprise
when we seek to protect small businesse.s
against the inroads of monopoly. We are
really working for free enterprise when we
seek to protect the bargaining rights of
working men and women.
We are working for free enterprise when
we help to build a healthy community, one
in Which people have decent homes, an op-
portunity for jobs, a right to get a good edu-
cation. We are working for free enterprise
when we preserve and develop our natural
resources for the creation of new wealth,
which in turn will create new industries and
new jobs, for the benefit of an the people.
We are working for free enterprise when
we work for economic stability on our farms,
and for security during periods of unemploy;-
ment and in old .age.
These are some of the things we a.re doing .
We do them because we do not believe that
free enterprise is a privilege for just a few
people at the top of the heap, but is the
right of all the people.
Government is the means of coordinating
our efforts so that we can work together t .o
obtain gvals which would be impossible to
us as individuals. That may be socialism
in the eyes of Mr. Steinkraus, but it is not
socialism in the minds and hearts of the
American people;
We all benefit when we work together and
build a TVA or a Central Valley project.
We all benefit when we work together and
devise a system of social security and unem-
ployment insurance.
You can call that what you will. You can
call it the New Deal, the Fair Deal, the
square deal. You can call it the welfare
state. Or you can call it hard times. But
to me it is something which comes from
the American genius. The ability to make
things work. We are trying to make our eco-
nomic system and our constitutionally
elected and responsible Government work for
us-for all of us. We intend to be neither
the slaves of a system nor the slaves of a.
group of econ9mically powerful masters.
Call it whatever you want, but I call it the
American way .
Mr. Lea Discusses the Electoral College
EXTENSION OF REMARKS
OF
HON. J. PERCY PRIEST
OF TENNESSEE
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Monday, January 30, 1950
Mr. PRIEST.. Mr. Speaker, under
leave to extend my remarks, I desire to