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    "title": "P.T.A. Founders Day Banquet, Grand Rapids Civic Auditorium, February 17, 1954",
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    "ocrText": "The original documents are located in Box D14, folder \"P.T.A. Founders Day Banquet,\nGrand Rapids Civic Auditorium, February 17, 1954\" of the Ford Congressional Papers:\nPress Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.\nCopyright Notice\nThe copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of\nphotocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. The Council donated to the United\nStates of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.\nWorks prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public\ndomain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to\nremain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid\ncopyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.\nSpech by Representative And Jr.\nP.T.A. Franders Day Bangnet\nHand Rapids Crice 7,6,17 1954\nWe Americans are a wealthy nation. We are wealthy not\nonly in material things, the natural resources with which we\nhave been blessed, and the high standard of living we have been\nable to produce from them, but we are wealthy as well because\nof the liberties we enjoy and the traditions of freedom which\nare so essential a part of our national heritage, and which\nhave grown and strengthened in the one hundred and eighty years\nof our independence.\nThe freedom of enterprise and initiative, the personal\nliberties, and the freedom of election which we enjoy have been\nso long a part of our way of life that we sometimes forget\nthat they are a part of our wealth, and that, like all articles\nof value, they must be guarded and protected. We also sometimes\nlose sight of the fact that he who possesses wealth also bears\na corresponding responsibility, and that this applies as well\n& material assets\nto our wealth of freedom as it does to our physical wealth.\nIt is about the responsibilities which our freedom imposes upon\nus today, both as a nation and as individuals, that I would\nlike to discuss tonight.\nThere are men in the world today who envy and fear us.\nThey are jealous of our tremendous material wealth, but they\nfear us far more because of our priceless freedom, for it is\nthat freedom which is the source of our strength, and which\nFORD & LIBRARY GERALD\n-- 2 -\nconstitutes the greatest threat to their power over hundreds\nof millions of people, and their aspirations to ruthless world\ndominance. The Communist nations possess the fertility of\nsoil and the metal and mineral deposits to feed, clothe, and\nhouse themselves as well as we have, and to produce the other\ncomforts and luxuries which modern science and industry have\nprovided, but they have miserably failed to do SO. They have\nfailed solely because they are enslaved by a tyranny so all\npervading that it puts to shame any that have gone before.\nThe tyranical rulers of these nations, conscious of their\nfailure and inability to fulfill the promises by which they\nled their people to forego freedom, have turned their unrest\nand dissatisfaction toward the free world, and have entered\nupon a colossal effort to destroy it. The leaders of the\nCommunist conspiracy know full well that the existence of\nfreedom is the most immediate and direct threat to their power,\nfor the longer their distressed people see before them the\nmagnificent achievements of free men, the more likely they\nare to discover the true reason for their hardship and\nsuffering under tyranny, and to beeak the Kremlin imposed bonds\nwhich prevent them from participating in those achievements.\n-- 3 -\nThis threat to our security, unfortunate and unnecessary\nas it appears to us, operates in large measure to define our\nresponsibilities as free men in the world today. The United\nStates, because it is spiritually and materially the wealthiest\nnation on earth, is the principal object of this Communist\nconspiracy, both from within and without, and consequently we\nwill be the center of the resistance to its plans for world\nconquest. We are thus forced, against our will and desire,\ninto a concern for some material things which we might otherwise\navoid.\nThis then is our first responsibility as a nation under\nfreedom. We must survive, and to do so, we must build and\nmaintain our military strength so that we can defend ourselves\nagainst any attack, and we must be prepared to retaliate so\nsurely and so destructively that our enemies will be convinced\nthat their aggression will be suicidal. In so preparing ourselves,\nhowever, we must not lose sight of the fact that we are a\npeaceful nation, and that our primary effort must be directed\ntoward maintenace and advancement of a standard of living\nwhich is the wonder of the world. Our military program,\nessential as it is, must not become the mainstay of our prosperity,\nbut must be adapted to an economy directed toward the improvement\nof ourselves, and the sharing of our achievements with the less\nfortunate peoples of the world.\nFORD & LIBRARY GERALD\n- 4 -\ndelicate\nTo do this we must strike an balance, and this can best\nbe accomplished by placing greater reliance upon the weapons\nand equipment which modern science has given us. Of necessity\nwe must turn our attention and efforts to greater emphasis\nupon the atom bomb and hydrogen bomb, and to the means of\ndelivering them to the target, for it is in these weapons that\nwe find the greatest deterrent to our enemy. It is almost\ninconceivable that any national leader, even one in the Kremlin,\nknowing the tremendous destructive power of these weapons,\nwould be so insane as to unleash them upon his people and bring\nupon them the horror and suffering which they can produce. We\nmust expand our guided missile program, both in terms of\nproduction and research, for in this device apparently lies\nthe key to the defense of our cities. You have all seen the\nrecent releases about \"Nike\", that classically named marvel of\nelectronics, almost unbelievable in its reactions, which when\nonce launched, can locate its objective, direct itself toward\nit, and destroy it, all without human intervention. When we\nremember this device is the product of only a relatively few\nyears of scientific research and technical effort, we can only\nwonder at the achievements which lie before us.\n/\nBy placing greater reliance upon these modern weapons,\ncostly as such a program may appear, we can achieve our objective\nof a strong national defense while reducing its cost and its\n- 5 -\neffect upon our economy. We can thus reduce in some measure\nthe tax burden which we must all bear, leave our industry\nlargely free to produce the goods of peace, and limit the\nnumber of young men we must take into the armed services.\nIf such a course accomplished nothing more, this last objective\nwould be well worth the cost, for the maintenance of a large\nmilitary force is the most expensive aspect of our defensive\neffort, both in terms of dollars and in terms of its impact\nupon the lives and careers of our sons. We cannot, and must not,\nin the name of defense, spend ourself into bankruptcy and\nnation's\nmortgage our, future to such an extent that our enemy will achieve,\nthrough our economic collapse, the victory he so ardently desires.\nIn developing and expanding our nuclear weapons we must\nnot forget that the basic forces which they employ have tremendous\nand unforeseen potentialities for peaceful applications. In the\nsmall beginnings which have been made in the use of radioactive\nmaterials in medicine, we can see already the possibility of\ndiscovering the cause and cure of many maladies which afflict\nmankind and which have resisted our best efforts to control and\neliminate them. The great energies released in atomic fission\ngive promise of resources of power never even dreamed of a few\nyears ago, and open before us a view of a world in which starvation\nand poverty have no place. In order to hasten the day when these\nFORD & LIBRARY GERALD\n- 6 -\npotentialities will be realized, we must as quickly and as\nfully as military necessities will permit, open these new\nfields to private initiative and enterprise. It was these\nforces, operating free of governmental control and direction,\nit makes sense that now\nwhich brought us to our present high level, and 1 they should be\nwill accome to all mankind\ngiven the new tools to work with. to see what practical benefits\nWe, of course, are not alone in our struggle against\nworld communism. There are other nations who enjoy freedom and\nwho cherish it as devotedly as we do. As President Eisenhower\nhas so aptly stated, \"More closely than ever before, American\nfreedom is interlocked with the freedom of other people. In the\nunity of the free world lies our best chance to reduce the\nCommunist threat without war. In the task of maintaining this\nunity and strengthening all its parts, the greatest responsi-\nbility falls to those who, like ourselves, retain the most\nfreedom and the most strength.\"\nOur job, therefore, is to strengthen and extend those\nalliances like the North Atlantic Treaty, in which we have joined\nwith other nations, and by which we present a united front to\ncommon\nour enemy. In doing so, however, we must not forget, that we\nare a sovereign nation among sovereign nations. We cannot dictate,\nFORD & LIBRARY GERALD\n- 7 -\nbut must lead and we must recognize that each of our allies\nhas its own background and problems which may result in\nattitudes and opinions different from ours. We must be tolerant\nof these differences, just as we are tolerant of differences\namongst ourselves, and we must seek by persuasion and compromise\nto reach a common ground. To resort to any other course would\nbe to follow the pattern of the Communists who are so unsure\n& dectate\nof themselves that they cannot cooperate, but must conquer A to\neven superpaial\nensure the loyalty of other peoples.\nIn dealing with our allies, however, we must insist upon\nthe mutuality of our obligations. Although we are the largest\nand strongest of the free nations, our resources are not\nunlimited, and we cannot be expected to shoulder the burden of\nour common defense alone. To do so could only result in our\nultimate weakness, and in bringing about the disaster we have\nunited to prevent. Each nation must contribute to our mutual\ndefense according to its ability, and none must be permitted to\nshirk its responsibility in this respect. By following this\ncourse, we will develop the spiritual unity which comes from\nsharing a common burden and our conviction of ultimate victory\nwill be strengthened.\nGERALD FORD LIBRARY\n- 8 -\nUnfortunately there are in the world some peoples\nand their leaders who would stand aloof from the basic\nstruggle in which we are engaged. It is true some of these\npeople have only recently achieved national independence\nand consequently are faced with domestic problems of over-\nwhelming magnitude, comparable to those which our nation\nfaced almost two centuries ago. To these we must extend\nour friendship, and we must stand ready to offer any\nreasonable material assistance that they need. This aid\nand assistance, however, must be intelligently and con-\nstructively limited, for only by self-reliance can they\nachieve the dignity of free men.\nAs concerned as we must be with the international\naspects of our responsibilities as free men, we must not\nneglect our obligation to establish a strong and developing\neconomy at home. Indeed, unless we maintain a high measure\nof domestic prosperity we cannot hope to achieve our inter-\nnational objectives, for it is that prosperity which supports\nour military program and underlies our efforts to make peace\nsecure.\nTo achieve this goal, all segments of our people must\ncooperate, and none must seek to gain unfair an, advantage at the\nexpense of another. While there are, and will be, differences\namong us as to how our prosperity can best be obtained, and\nthese differences will in some measure reflect our station\nin\nlife and the way we earn our living, we must never permit\nGLEAT them LIBRARY\n- 9 -\nto become crystallized into class attitudes. It is the theory\nof the class struggle, labor against capital, which underlies\nthe Marxian philosophy, and this is the tool by which the\nmodern Communist hopes to create dissension among us and to\nweaken our cause.\nWe are a rich nation and we are better nourished, better\nclothed, and better housed than any other people on earth. The\nautomobile, the radio and television, and the telephone, which\nto us have become so commonplace, are still regarded as\nluxuries by the ordinary citizen in many other countries, and even\nthe bathtub, to us a necessity, is as rare as a precious jewel\nin many areas. Although we have slums in our large cities, and\nsome rural areas do not enjoy a full measure of modern comfort,\nwe can, and will, eliminate these deficiencies.\nOur prosperity must be achieved through the medium of\nprivate enterprise and initiative. It is because we have been\nfree to accumulate capital, and to risk it in new and untried\nundertakings that we have been able to attain the high levels we\nhave reached, and it is this freedom upon which we must rely to\ncarry us forward. True progress can be made only if we are able,\nFORD & LIBRARY GERALD\n- 10 -\nthrough our own efforts, to make a little more than we need,\nand to use this surplus to earn more of the worlds goods for\nus. This freedom must be preserved and nurtured, for it is\nthe foundation upon which our entire structure of liberty rests.\nThere are those among us who hold the view that our\nindustrial society has become so complex that we no longer\ncan afford to encourage private enterprise, but must look to\nthe federal government as somewhat of a parent whose duty it\nis to feed and clothe its children, and to see that they are\nall properly sheltered. With this theory I cannot agree.\nWe must remember that a parental government, once it undertakes\nthe colossal Job of directly clothing, feeding and sheltering\nits brood, inevitably must restrict their freedom and direct\ntheir day by day activities into rigid channels the all power-\nful government deems best for them. Our government, of course,\nhas its rightful responsibilities in the promotion of our\neconomic welfare, but its powers in this connection are, and\nmust continue to be restricted to certain areas of activity.\nWe must beware of, and avoid the tendency toward parental\ngovernment, for in that direction lies the end of our freedom.\nIn the troubled times in which we live, it is only\nnatural that the material aspects of our responsibilities\nunder freedom\n- 11 -\nshould give us so much concern and demand so much of our\nattention. Our entire way of life is under attack by an\nenemy motivated and guided by a materialistic philosophy, and\nwe cannot afford to neglect those things in which he professes\nto find his strength, and by which he seeks to dominate the\nworld. If we did otherwise we would fail to meet the challenge\nwhich has been laid down to us.\nDespite this urgency, however, we must not forget our\nresponsibilities to the spiritual and intellectual aspects of\nour freedom. It is these which distinguish us from our enemy,\nand which in the long run, constitute our greatest strength. The\nCommunist regards man as only a part of a machine which must\nmove in predetermined patterns dictated by the movements of\nother parts, and by the will of thestate as the supreme operator.\nWe, on the other hand, profess and uphold the dignity of man\nas an individual possessing a free will and capable of achieving\nhis goals in cooperation with other men. We insist that men\ncan determine what is best for themselves, only if they are\nfree to think about and discuss alternative courses of action,\nand that there is no man, or group of men, so wise and so\nommiscient that they can lay down the objectives which should be\nsought, and the paths which should be followed. It is because\nFÜRD & LIBRARY GERALD\n- 12 -\nwe adhere to these principles that we will ultimately triumph,\nfor it is these which constitute our strongest appeal to the\nminds of men all over the world, and which will finally win\nunteld millions\nover the masses which the Communist rulers have enslaved.\nTo achieve this end, our first responsibility is to\nstrengthen our freedom here at home. We must preserve and\nstrengthen the right of every man to formulate and hold to his\nown opinions on religious, political, and social questions,\nand we must guarantee his right to speak and discuss them. The\nproblems which we face in these areas today, complex and vexing\nthough they are, are no different in their basic nature than\nthose which have troubled men since the time they first appeared\non this earth. They have continued to plague man only because\nhe was not free through the greater part of his history, to\ndiscuss them, but labored under one kind of oppression or\nanother which forced him into patterns determined upon by\nrulers who thought that they had found the answers. The fact\nthat these tyrannies passed away is clear proof that the tyrants\nwere wrong and the same fate awaits their modern day imitators.\nOpinions and ideas, like commodities, receive their\ngreatest test in the free competition of the market place, and\nFORD & LIBRARY GERALD\n- 13 -\nit is only the best that can survive that competition. The\ngreat and far-seeing men who drafted our Constitution, and\ninsisted upon inclusion of the Bill of Rights, recognized\nthis principle, and nothing which has occurred since that day\nhas weakened its truth. Man has enjoyed the rights of\nfreedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of the\npress only for a relatively few years, and in that period has\nmade his greatest progress in his forward march. We must\ncontinue that progress by guarding and preserving the liberties\nwhich made it possible.\nIn order to formulate their opinions and ideas men\nmust have access to knowledge and information, and we must\nencourage and develop the instrumentalities which disseminate\nthem. Perhaps the greatest developments of our industrial age\nare\nis to be found in the field of communication, and the facilities\ndectation.\nwhich we have created must be free from governmental authority.\nThe citizens who print our books and newspapers, and who operate\nour radio and television stations must be free of unnecessary & unwise\ncontrol and censorhip lest these devices be the means of\nimposing political oppression. In the hands of free men, these\nfacilities are the tools of freedom, but in the hands of tyrants\nthey are the means of establishing and maintaining power. The\ntremendous\nmen who own and control them, of course, have the responsibility\nFORD & LIBRARY GERALD\n- 14 -\nof seeing that they serve their proper function and operate\nin the public good. They must not be used in such a manner\nthat they promote sensationalism, hysteria, or crime. The\nowners and producers, if they live up to their responsibilities\nto society as a whole, will not seek temporary commercial\nsuccess at the expense of the public good. Furthermore, as\nthey must know, disregard for the public welfare will inevitably\nresult in local, state and federal governmental interference\nin their day to day operations.\nThis access to knowledge, of course, must extend to all\nfields and must include theories and viewpoints which may be\nunpopular. Our scientists and scholars must be free to ex-\nperiment and to challenge established beliefs for it is\nthrough such experimentation and challenge that we have made\nour greatest strides forward. Furthermore, we must all be\ngiven access to their findings and conclusions, for unless\nthey are available to all, they lose their value.\nLiberty, of course, is not license, and to advocate and\ndefend freedom of speech and discussion does not mean that we\nmust not protect ourselves against those who naively or\nwillfully abuse them.\nThe leaders of world communism are ruthless and crafty\nmen. One of the principal techniques they have used to facilitate\nGERALD FORD LIBEARY\n- 15 -\ntheir conquests is that of creating dissension among the citizens\nof the nation they seek to overcome, and of having those among\nthem who share their views insinuate themselves into positions\nof authority and power. In recent years, this has been one of\nthe most serious threats which we have faced.\nUnfortunately, there are here in America, some who have\nbeen so beguiled by the siren song of Communism that they\nhave enlisted in its cause and sought to overthrow the system\nwhich nurtured them. Concealing their true motives and intentions,\nthey have risen to positions of authority and power in our\ngovernment, and by misguiding its policies and misdirecting its\nactions, have sought to weaken and ultimately destroy it.\nMany of these have been discovered and exposed to public view,\nbut we must be vigilant lest others take their places.\nTo do this is not to destroy freedom, but to preserve it,\nfor these people are the enemies of freedom. Professing a love\nof liberty, they have used it as a shield to carry on their\ninsidious labors at the direction of a foreign power. This\nwe cannot permit!\nFORD & LIBRARY GERALD\n- 16 --\nBut in exposing and destroying this evil we must be\ncareful. We must do it within the framework of the principles\nand guaranties upon which we place such high value, and we must\nnot become like our enemy in our struggles against him. Our\nefforts must be directed against the true adherents of Communism\nand we must not be diverted to attacks upon the innocent simply\nbecause they hold opinions opposed to our own, or behave in a\nmanner of which we do not approve. To do otherwise would permit\nthe guilty to escape and allow them to carry on their nefarious\nwork.\nWe are a diverse nation, composed of many different\nracial groupings and embracing many different religious beliefs\nand creeds. If we are to remain a free nation, each of us\nmust become tolerant of our neighbors; tolerant not in the sense\nof putting up with something, as a parent is tolerant of a\nfractious child, but tolerant in the sense of understanding.\nWhile we all hold to our own beliefs and live up to them as\nour conscience dictates, we must recognize and defend the rights\nof others to pursue the same course. We must learn to value\nand appreciate each man for what he is, and to judge him upon\nthe basis of what he has done, and we must oppose discriminations\nbased upon race, creed, or color. This must be done not only\nFUR & LIBRARY GERALD\n- 17 -\nbecause it is fundamental to the principles we profess, but\nbecause the existence of such discrimination in our midst,\nsmall though it be, has been used by Communist propagandists\nin their efforts to gain the adherence of some peoples whose\nfriendship we desire. But there is another and more positive\nreason why we must do this. We are engaged in a colossal\ntask, and the problems which we face are almost overwhelming.\nTo achieve success, we must draw upon our human resources to\nthe fullest extent, and each of our citizens must be permitted\nother\nthe\nto contribute his share according to his abilities and unhindered\nby artificial barriers. We cannot afford waste, and to deny a\nman the privilege of contributing to our common effort because\nof his color or religious beliefs is waste of the most inex-\ncusable kind.\nAnother primary responsibility which is imposed upon us\nas free men, and one which is particularly important today, is\nthat of educating our children in the ways of freedom. It is\nprimarily for them that we labor and strive to preserve our\nheritage, * rand we must give them a full appreciation and under-\nstanding of the values which have made this nation great. The\nyouth of our nation is our greatest resource and we must not\nng lect it.\nFORD i LIBRARY CERALD\n- 18 -\nIn the last fifteen years, circumstances forced us to\ndevote the principal part of our energies to the winning of\na major war, and the preparation of our military defenses,\nand we were not able to build the schools and other educa-\ntional facilities which normally would have been constructed.\nThe fact that in this period our population has increased\ntremendously has aggravated the inadequacy of our present\nequipment. In almost every area of the country we find\nschools that are old and dilapidated, classrooms that are\novercrowded, and playground facilities that are inadequate.\nOur first step, then, must be to build new schools,\nadequate to our present needs and the needs of the immediate\nfuture. This, of course, is a matter of community and state\nresponsibility, and we as parents and teachers must see to it\nthat our local governments take the necessary measures to\nremedy the situation. It is groups such as yours which must\ntake the initiative in planning and preparing programs, for\nonly you know best the needs of the community, and the means\nby which they can be most expediently met. All of us can be\nrightfully proud of the forward-looking action taken by our\ncitizens in this area in meeting the school facilities problem.\nThe results will pay big dividends in the years ahead and our\nchildren can thank those responsible for having accomplished\nthe job within the community without interference or bureaucracy\ndiminished dollars from Washington.\nBut even more alarming, and less easy to overcome, than\nthe inadequacy of the physical equipment of our school systems,\n- 19 -\nis the shortage of teachers which exists throughout the nation.\nmost communities\nThe reasons for this are apparent. The salaries which we pay\nour teachers have not kept pace with the rise in the cost of\nliving which has occurred over the past few years, and many\nyoung men and women who otherwise might have entered the pro-\nfession have understandably turned to more profitable fields\nof endeavor. Regrettably many communities have neglected to\nuphold the dignity of the profession and to accord it the high\nrespect it deserves. The teaching of our children is no menial\ntask. Individually we should give rightful credit to our\nteachers who have played such an important part in shaping\nin addition\nour own lives and recognize the vital part they play in the\nfuture of our Nation.\nWe entrust to our teachers the guardianship and guidance\nof the minds of our children, and we must be sure that the men\nand women who undertake these tasks are well-qualified, well-\npaid and well-respected. Only by doing this can we be sure\nthat we will attract into teaching the number and quality of\nmen and women we so urgently need.\nIt is only through promoting and extending our public\nschool systems that we can hope to equip our children properly\nfor the tasks that lie before them in the atomic age which we\nGEBALO, FORD JOHN\n- 20 -\nhave created. Only if we can instill in them a profound\nappreciation of the value of freedom can we prevent them from\nbecoming slaves of the materialism which now plagues and\nthreatens.us. This we must not fail to do.\nFinally, there is one other responsibility which we\nmust not forget. This is the responsibility of faith. We may\nbuild the strongest defense, acquire the greatest wealth, and\nprosper in all material things, but our accomplishments will have\nlittle meaning if they do not rest upon a firm spiritual founda-\ntion. It was strength of spirit which made possible the founding\nof this nation, and it was that strength which supported it\nthrough its adversities and brought it victory in the wars it\nhas fought. We must renew and replenish that strength. With\nfaith in God, faith in ourselves, and faith in our freedom, we\nwill surmount the obstacles which lie before us and establish\na secure peace in a world where free men may work and live\nwithout fear.\nSpeech delivered to Grand Rapids P.T.A. Council\nCivic Auditorium - - Wednesday, February 17th, 1954\nMrs. Robert McBain - - Chairman.\nWe Americans are a wealthy nation. We are wealthy not only\nin material things, the natural resources with which we have been blessed\nand. the high standard of living we have been able to produce from them,\nbut we are wealthy as well because of the liberties we enjoy and the\ntraditions of freedom which are so essential a part of our national\nheritage and which have grown and strengthened in the one hundred and\neighty years of our independence.\nThe freedom of enterprise and initiative, the personal\nliberties, and the freedom of election which we enjoy have been so\nlong a part of our way of life that we sometimes forget that they are\na part of our wealth and that, like all articles of value they must be\nguarded and protected. We also sometimes lose sight of the fact that\nbeare a corresponding\nhe who possesses wealth also possesses responsibility and that this\napplies as well to our wealth of freedom as it does to our physical\nwealth. It is about the responsibilities which our freedom imposes\nupon us today, both as a nation and as individuals, that I would like\nto talk to you,\ndiscuss Tonight\nThere are men in the world today who envy and fear us.\ntremendous\nThey are jealous of our material wealth, but they fear us far more\npriciless\nbecause of our freedom, for it is that freedom which is the source of\nour strength and which constitutes the greatest threat to their power\nruthless\nover hundreds of millions of people, and their aspirations to world\ndominance. The Communist nations possess the fertility of soil and\nthe metal and mineral deposits to feed, clothe, and house themselves\nas well as we have, and to produce the other comforts and luxuries\nFORD & LIBRARY GERALD\n- 2 -\nmuseadly\nwhich modern science and industry have provided, but they have failed\nA\nto do so. They have failed solely because they are enslaved by a tyranny\nso all pervading that it puts to shame any that have gone before. The tyranical\nrulers of these nations, conscious of their failure and inability to\nfulfill the promises by which they led their people to forego freedom,\nhave turned their unrest and dissatisfaction toward the free world and\nhave entered upon a colossal effort to destroy it. The leaders of the\nCommunist conspiracy know full well that the existence of freedom is\nthe most immediate and direct threat to their power, for the longer\ndistressed of destitute\ntheir people see before them the magnificent achievements of free men,\nthe more likely they are to discover the true reason for their hard-\nKremlin imposed\nship and suffering under tyranny, and to break the bonds which prevent\n1\nthem from participating in those achievements.\nThis threat to our security, unfortunate and unnecessary\nas it appears to us, operates in large measure to define our responsi-\nbilities as free men in the world today. The United States, because\nit is spiritually and materially the wealthiest nation on earth, is\nboth from wrttin + without\nthe principal object of this Communist conspiracy 1 andVmust be the conter\nconsequently we will\nof the resistance to its plans for world conquest. We are thus forced,\nagainst our will and desire, into a concern for some material things\nwhich we might otherwise avoid.\nThis then is our first responsibility as a nation under\nfreedom. We must survive and to do 80 we must build and maintain our\nmilitary strength so that we can defend ourselves against any attack,\nand we must be prepared to retaliate so surely and 80 destructively\nGERALA FORD LIBRARY\n- 3 -\nthat our enemies will be convinced that their aggression will be suicidal.\nIn so preparing ourselves, however, we must not lose sight of the fact\nthat we are a peaceful nation and that our primary effort must be directed\ntoward maintenance and advancement of a standard of living which is the\nwonder of the world. Our military program, essential as it is, must\nnot become the mainstay of our presperity, but must be adapted to an\neconomy directed toward the improvement of ourselves and the sharing\nof our achievements with the less fortunate peoples of the world.\nTo do this we must strike a balance, and this can best be\naccomplished by placing greater reliance upon the weapons and equipment\nwhich modern science has given us. Offecer We must turn our attention and efforts\nto greater emphasis upon the atom bomb and hydrogen bomb and to the\nmeans of delivering them to the target, for it is in these weapons that\nwe find the greatest deterrent to our enemy. It is almost inconceivable\neven one The Kremlin\nthat any national leader, knowing the tremendous destructive power of\ninsane\nthese weapons, would be so mad as to unleash them upon his people and\nbring upon them the horror and suffering which they can produce. We\nmust expand our guided missile program, both in terms of production and\nresearch, for in this device apparently lies the key to the defense of\nour cities. You have all seen the recent releases about \"Nike\", that\nclassically named marvel of electronics, almost unbelievable in its\nreactions, which when once launched, can locate its objective, direct\nitself toward it, and destrey it, all without human intervention. When\nwe remember this device is the productt of only a relatively few years\nof scientific research and technical effort, we can only wonder at the\nachievements which lie before us.\nGERALD FORD IBRAR\n- 4 -\nBy placing greater reliance upon these modern weapons,\ncostly as such a program may appear, we can achieve our objective of\na strong national defense while reducing its cost and its effect upon\nour economy. We can thus reduce in some measure the tax burden which\nwe must all bear, leave our industry largely free to produce the goods\nof peace, and limit the number of young men we must take into the armed\nservices. If such a course accomplished nothing more, this last objective\nwould be well worth the cost, for the maintenance of a large military\nforce is the most expensive aspect of our defensive effort, both in terms\nof dollars and in terms of its impact upon the lives and careers of\nour sons. We cannot and must not, in the name of defense, spend our-\nself into bankruptcy and mortgage our future to such an extent that our\neconomic\nenemy will achieve, through our collapse, the victory he so ardently\ndesires.\nIn developing and expanding our nuclear weapons we must not\nforget that the basic forces which they employ have tremendous and\nunforeseen potentialities for peaceful applications. In the small\nbeginnings which have been made in the use of radioactive materials\nin medicine we can see already the possibility of discovering the cause\nand cure of many maladies which afflict mankind and which have resisted\nour best efforts to control and eliminate them. The great energies\nreleased in atomic fission give promise of resources of power never\neven dreamed of a few years ago, and open before us a view of a world\nin which starvation and poverty have no place. In order to hasten the\nday when these potentialities will be realized, we must as quickly and\nas fully as military necessities will permit, open these new fields to\nGERALD\n- 5 -\nto private initiative and enterprise. It was these forces, operating\nfree of governmental control and direction, which brought us to our\npresent high level and they should be given the new tools to work with.\nWe, of course, are not alone in our struggle against world\ncommunism. There are other nations who enjoy freedom and who cherish\nit as devotedly as we do. As President Eisenhower has so aptly stated:\nи More closely than ever before, American freedom is interlocked with\nthe freedom of other people. In the unity of the free world lies our\nbest chance to reduce the Communist threat without war. In the task of\nmaintaining this unity and strengthening all its parts, the greatest\nresponsibility falls to those who, like ourselves, retain the most\nfreedom and the most strength.\"\nOur job, therefore, is to strengthen and extend those\nalliances like the North Atlantic Treaty, in which we have joined with\nother nations and by which we present a united front to our enemy.\nIn doing so, however, we must not forget that we are a sovereign nation\namong sovereign nations. We cannot dictate, but must lead and we must\nrecognize that each of our allies has its own background and problems\nwhich may result in attitudes and opinions different from ours. We\nmust be tolerant of these differences, just as we are tolerant of\ndifferences amongst ourselves, and we must seek by persuasion and\ncompromise to reach a common ground. To resort to any other course\nwould be to follow the pattern of the Communists who are so unsure of\nthemselves that they cannot co-operate, but must conquer to ensure the\nloyalty of other peoples.\nGETAL CORD\n- 6 -\nIn dealing with our allies, however, we must insist upon\nthe mutuality of our obligations. Although we are the largest and strongest\nof the free nations our resources are not unlimited and we cannot be\nexpected to shoulder the burden of our common defense alone. To do so\ncould only result in our ultimate weakness and in bringing about the\ndisaster we have united to prevent. Each nation must contribute to our\nmutual defense according to its ability and none must be permitted to\nshirk its responsibility in this respect. By following this course,\nwe will develop the spiritual unity which comes from sharing a common\nburden and our conviction of ultimate victory will be strengthened.\nThere are in the world many peoples who would stand aloof\nfrom the struggle in which we are engaged. Some of these have only\nrecently achieved national independence and are faced with domestic\nproblems of overwhelming magnitude, comparable to those which our nation\nfaced almost two centuries ago. To these we must extend our friendship\nand we must stand ready to offer the material assistance that they need.\nThis aid, however, must be limited for only by self-reliance can they\nachieve the dignity of free men.\nAs concerned as we must be with the international aspects\nof our responsibilities as free men, we must not neglect our obligation\nto establish a strong and developing economy at home. Indeed, unless\nwe maintain a high measure of domestic prosperity we cannot hope to\nachieve our international objectives for it is that prosperity which\nsupports our military program and underlies our efforts to make peace\nsecure.\n- 7 -\nTo achieve this goal, all segments of our people must co-\noperate and none must seek to gain an advantage at the expense of an-\nother. While there are, and will be, differences among us as to how\nour prosperity can best be obtained and these differences will in some\nmeasure reflect our station in life and the way we earn our living, we\nmust never permit them to become crystallized into class attitudes.\nIt is the theory of the class struggle, labor against capital, which\nunderlies the Marxian philosophy and this is the tool by which the modern\nCommunist hopes to create dissension among us and to weaken our cause.\nWe are a rich nation and we are better nourished, better\nclothed, and better housed than any other people on earth. The\nautomobile, the radio and television, and the telephone, which to\nus have become so commonplace, are still regarded as luxuries by the\nordinary citizen in many other countries and even the bathtub, to us\na necessity, is as rare as a precious jewel in many areas. Although\nwe have slums in our large cities and some rural areas do not enjoy\na full measure of modern comfort, we can, and will, eliminate\nthese deficiencies.\nOur prosperity must be achieved through the mediam of\nprivate enterprise and initiative. It is because we have been free\nto accumulate capital and to risk it in new and untried undertakings\nthat we have been able to attain the high levels we have reached, and\nit is this freedom upon which we must rely to carry us forward. True\nprogress can be made only if we are able, through our own efforts, to\nmake a little more than we need and to use this surplus to earn more\nof the worlds goods for us. This freedom must be preserved and nurtured\nfor it is the foundation upon which our entire structure of liberty rests.\n- 8 -\nThere are those among us who hold the view that our\nindustrial society has become 80 complex that we no longer can afford\nto encourage private enterprise, but must look to the federal\ngovernment as somewhat of a parent whose duty it is to feed and clothe\nits children and to see that they are all properly sheltered. With\nthis theory I cannot agree and I remind its adherents that while a parent\nhas certain duties, he also has the right to discipline his children,\nto restrict their freedom and to direct their activities into the\nchannels he deems best for them. Our government, of course, has its\nresponsibilities in the promotion of our economic welfare, but its\npowers in this connection are, and must continue to be restricted to\ncertain areas of activity. We must beware of, and avoid the tendency\ntoward parental government for in that direction lies the end of our\nfreedom.\nIn the troubled times in which we live, it is only natural\nthat the material aspects of our responsibilities under freedom should\ngive us so much concern and demand so much of our attention. Our\nentire way of life is under attack by an onemy motivated and guided by\na materialistic philosophy and we cannot afford to neglect those things\nin which he professes to find his strength and by which he seeks to\ndominate the world. If we did otherwise we would fail to meet the challenge\nwhich has been laid down to us.\nDespite this urgency, however, we must not forget our\nresponsibilities to the spiritual and intellectual aspects of our\nfreedom. It is these which distinguish us from our enemy, and which,\n- 9 -\nin the long run, constitute our greatest strength. The Communist\nregards man as only a part of a machine which must move in predetermined\npatterns dictated by the movements of other parts, and by the will of\nthe state as the supreme operator. We, on the other hand, profess and\nuphold the dignity of man as an individual possessing a free will and\ncapable of achieving his goals in co-operation with other men. We\ninsist that men can determine what is best for themselves, only if they\nare free to think about and discuss alternative courses of action and\nthat there is no man, or group of men, so wise and 80 omniscient that\nthey can lay down the objectives which should be sought, and the paths\nwhich whould be followed. It is because we adhere to these principles\nthat we will ultimately triumph for it is these which constitute our\nstrongest appeal to the minds of man all over the world, and which\nwill finally win over the masses which the communist rulers have enslaved.\nTo achieve this end, our first responsibility is to\nstrengthen our freedom here at home. We must preserve and strengthen\nthe right of every man to formulate and hold to his own opinions on\nreligious, political, and social questions, and we must guarantee his\nright to speak and discuss them. The problems which we face in these\nareas today, complex and vexing though they are, are no different in\ntheir basic nature than those which have troubled men since the time\nthey first appeared on this earth. They have continued to plague man\nonly because he was not free through the greater part of his history,\nto discuss them, but labored under one kind of oppression or another\nwhich forced him into patterns determined upon by rulers who thought\nthat they had found the answers. The fact that these tyrannies passed\ni\nFORD\nGERALD\n- 10 -\naway is clear proof that the tyrants were wrong and the same fate awaits\ntheir modern day imitators.\nOpinions and ideas, like commodities, receive their\ngreatest test in the free competition of the market place, and it\nis only the best that can survive that competition. The great and\nfar seeing men who drafted our Constitution and insisted upon inclusion\nof the Bill of Rights, recognized this principle and nothing which\nhas occurred since that day has weakened its truth. Man has enjoyed\nthe rights of freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of\nthe press only for a relatively few years and in that period has made\nhis greatest progress in his forward march. We must continue that\nprogress by guarding and preserving the liberties which made it\npossible.\nIn order to formulate their opinions and ideas men must\nhave access to knowledge and information and we must encourage and de-\nvelop the instrumentalities which disseminate them. Perhaps the greatest\ndevelopments of our industrial age is to be found in the field of\ncommunication and the facilities which we have created must be free\nfrom governmental authority. The citizens who print our books and news-\npapers and who operate our radio and television stations must be free\nof unnecessary control and censorship lest these devices be the means\nof imposing political oppression. In the hands of free men, these facil-\nities are the tools of freedom, but in the hands of tyrants they are\nthe means of establishing and maintaining power. The men who own and\ncontrol them, of course, have the responsibility of seeing that they\n- 11 -\nserve their proper function and operate in the public good. They must\nnot be used in such a manner that they promote sensationalism,\nhysteria, or crime, but the avoidance of this evil must be largely\nleft to the owners themselves who must judge the worth of their\nproduct by the extent to which it finds acceptance in the market place.\nThis access to knowledge, of course, must extend to all\nfields and must include theories and viewpoints which may be un-\npopular. Our scientists and scholars must be free to experiment and\nto challenge established beliefs for it is through such experimentation\nand challenge that we have made our greatest strides forward. Further-\nmore, we must all be given access to their findings and conclusions,\nfor unless they are available to all, they lose their value.\nLiberty, of course, is not license and to advocate and\ndefend freedom of speech and discussion does not mean that we must\nnot protect ourselves against those who abuse them.\nThe leaders of world communism are ruthless and crafty\nmen. One of the principal techniques they have used to facilitate their\nconquests is that of creating dissension among the citizens of the\nnation they seek to overcome and of having those among them who share\ntheir views insinuate themselves into positions of authority and power.\nIn recent years, this has been one of the most serious threats which\nwe have faced.\nUnfortunately, there are here in America, some who have\nbeen 80 beguiled by the siren song of communism that they have enlisted\nCRACO R. FORD\n- 12 -\nin its cause and sought to overthrow the system which nurtured them.\nConcealing their true motives and intentions, they have risen to\npositions of authority and power in our government and by misguiding\nits policies and misdirecting its actions have sought to weaken and\nultimately destroy it. Many of these have been discovered and ex-\nposed to public view, but we must be vigilant lest others take\ntheir places.\nTo do this is not to destroy freedom, but to preserve it,\nfor these people are the enemies of freedom. Professing a love of\nliberty, they have used it as a shield to carry on their insidious\nlabors at the direction of a foreign power. Whis we cannot permit!\nBut in exposing and destroying this evil we must be careful.\nWe must do it within the framework of the principles and guaranties\nupon which we place such high value, and we must not become like our\nenemy in our struggles against him. Our efforts must be directed\nagainst the true adherents of communism and we must not be diverted\nto attacks upon the innocent simply because they hold opinions\nopposed to our own, or behave in a manner of which we do not approve.\nTo do otherwise would permit the guilty to escape and allow them to\ncarry on their nefarious work.\nWe are a diverse nation, composed of many different\nracial groupings and embracing many different religious beliefs and\ncreeds. If we are to remain a free nation, each of us must become tol-\nerant of our neighbors; tolerant not in the sense of putting up with\nGERALD TUVRBIT FORD\n- 13 -\nsomething, as a parent is tolerant of a fractious child, but tolerant\nin the sense of understanding. While we all hold to our own beliefs\nand live up to them as our conscience dictates, we must recognize and\ndefend the rights of others to pursue the same course. We must learn\nto value and appreciate each man for what he is and to judge him upon\nthe basis of what he has done, and we must oppose discriminations based\nupon race, creed, or color. This must be done not only because it is\nfundamental to the principles we profess, but because the existence\nof such discrimination in our midst, small though it be, has been\nused by communist propagandists in their efforts to gain the adherence\nof some peoples whose friendship we desire. But there is another and\nmore positive reason why we must do this. We are engaged in a colossal\ntask and the problems which we face are almost owerwhelming. To\nachieve success, we must draw upon our human resources to the fullest\nextent and each of our citizens must be permitted to contribute his\nshare according to his abilities and unhindered by artificial barriers.\nWe cannot afford waste, and to deny a man the privilege of contributing\nto our common effort because of his color or religious beliefs is waste\nof the most inexcusable kind.\nAnother primary responsibility which is imposed upon us\nas free men, and one which is particularly important today, is that\nof educating our children in the ways of freedom. It is primarily for\nthem that we labor and strive to preserve our heritage, and we must\ngive them a full appreciation and understanding of the values which have\nmade this nation great. The youth of our nation is our greatest resource\nand we must not neglect it.\nGERALD FORD LIBRARY\n- 14 -\nIn the last fifteen years, circumstances forced us to\ndevote the principal part of our energies to the winning of a major\nwar and the preparation of our military defenses and we were not able\nto build the schools and other educational facilities which normally\nwould have been constructed. The fact that in this period our pop-\nulation has increased tremendously has enhanced the inadequacy of our\npresent equipment. In almost every area of the country we find schools\nthat are old and dilapidated, classrooms that are overcrowded, and\nplayground facilities that are inadequate.\nOur first step, then, must be to build new schools, adequate\nto our present needs and the needs of the immediate future. This, of\ncourse, is a matter of community and state responsibility and we as\nparents and teachers must see to it that our local governments take\nthe necessary measures to remedy the situation. It is groups such as\nyours which must take the initiative in planning and preparing programs,\nfor only you know best the needs of your community and the means by\nwhich they can be most expediently met.\nBut even more alarming, and less easy to overcome, than\nthe inadequacy of the physical equipment of our school systems, is\nthe shortage of teachers which exists throughout the nation. The\nreasons for this are apparent. The salaries which we pay our teachers\nhave not kept pace with the rise in the cost of living which has\noccurred over the past few years and the young men and women who\notherwise might have entered the profession have turned to more\nprofitable fields of endeavor. Many communities, furthermore, have\nFORD\nneglected to uphold the dignity of the profession and to accord it the\nGERALD\n- 15 -\nrespect it deserves. Regrettably, in some areas teaching is today\nlooked upon as a menial task and those who engage in it are held in\nlow esteem.\nWe must move, and move quickly, to remedy this situation.\nWe entrust to our teachers the guardianship and guidance of the minds\nof our children and we must be sure that the men and women who under-\ntake these tasks are well@qualified, well-paid, and well-respected.\nOnly by doing this can we be sure that we will attract into teaching the\nnumber and quality of men and women we so urgently need.\nIt is only through promoting and extending our public\nschool systems that we can hope to equip our children properly for\nthe tasks that lie before them in the atomic age which we have created.\nOnly if we can instill in them a prefound appreciation of the value of\nfreedom can we prevent them from becoming slaves of the materialiam\nwhich now plagues and threatens us. This we must not fail to do.\nFinally, there is one other responsibility which we must\nnot forget. That is the responsibility of faith. We may build the\nstrongest defense, acquire the greatest wealth, and prosper in all\nmaterial things, but our accomplishments will have little meaning if\nthey do not rest upon a firm spiritual foundation. It was strength of\nspirit which made possible the founding of this nation and it was\nthat strength which supported it through its adversities and brought\nit victory in the wars it has fought. We must renew and replenish\nthat strength. With faith in God, faith in ourselves, and faith in our\nFORD\nfreedom, we will surmount the obstacles which lie before us and establish\na secure peace in a world where free men may work and live without fear.\nGERALO\nSpeech by -\nREPRESENTATIVE GERALD R. FORD, JR.\nP. T. A. Founders Day Banquet\nGrand Rapids Civic Autidorium, February 17, 1954\nWe Americans are a wealthy nation. We are wealthy not only in material\nthings, the natural resources with which we have been blessed, and the high\nstandard of living we have been able to produce from them, but we are wealthy as\nwell because of the liberties we enjoy and the traditions of freedom which are so\nessential a part of our national heritage, and which have grown and strengthened\nin the one hundred and eighty years of our independence.\nThe freedom of enterprise and initiative, the personal liberties, and the\nfreedom of election which we enjoy have been so long a part of our way of life\nthat we sometimes forget that they are a part of our wealth, and that, like all\narticles of value, they must be guarded and protected. We also sometimes lose\nsight of the fact that he who possesses wealth also bears a corresponding respon-\nsibility, and that this applies as well to our wealth of freedom as it does to\nour physical and material assets. It is about the responsibilities which our freedom\nimposes upon us today, both as a nation and as individuals, that I would like to\ndiscuss tonight.\nThere are men in the world today who envy and fear us. They are jealous\nof our tremendous material wealth, but they fear us far more because of our price-\nless freedom, for it is that freedom which is the source of our strength, and which\nconstitutes the greatest threat to their power over hundreds of millions of people\nand their aspirations to ruthless world dominance. The Communist nations possess\nthe fertility of soil and the metal and mineral deposits to feed, clothe, and\nhouse themselves as well as we have, and to produce the other comforts and luxuries\nwhich modern science and industry have provided, but they have miserably failed to\ndo so. They have failed solely because they are enslaved by a tyranny so all\npervading that it puts to shame any that have gone before. The tyranical rulers\nof these nations, conscious of their failure and inability to fulfill the promises\nby which they led their people to forego freedom, have turned their unrest and dis-\nsatisfaction toward the free world, and have entered upon a colossal effort to\ndestroy it. The leaders of the Communist conspiracy know full well that the exis-\ntence of freedom is the most immediate and direct threat to their power, for the\nlonger their distressed people see before them the magnificent achievements of\nfree men, the more likely they are to discover the true reason for their hardship\nand suffering under tyranny, and to break the Kremlin-imposed bonds which prevent\nGERALD FORD LIBRARY\nthem from participating in those achievements.\nSpeesh - P. T. A. Founders Day Banquet, February 17, 1954\n-2-\nThis threat to our security, unfortunate and unnecessary as it appears to\nus, operates in large measure to define our responsibilities as free men in the\nworld today. The United States, because it is spiritually and materially the\nwealthiest nation on earth, is the principal object of this Communist conspiracy,\nboth from within and without, and consequently we will be the center of the re-\nsistance to its plans for world conquest. We are thus forced, against our will\nand desire, into a concern for some material things which we might otherwise avoid.\nThis then is our first responsibility as a nation under freedom. We must\nsurvive, and to do so, we must build and maintain our military strength so that\nwe can defend ourselves against any attack, and we must be prepared to retaliate\nso surely and so destructively that our enemies will be convinced that their aggres-\nsion will be suicidal. In so preparing ourselves, however, we must not lose sight\nof the fact that we are a peaceful nation, and that our primary effort must be\ndirected toward maintenance and advancement of a standard of living which is the\nwonder of the world. Our military program, essential as it is, must not become the\nmainstay of our prosperity, but must be adapted to an economy directed toward the\nimprovement of ourselves, and the sharing of our achievements with the less fortu-\nnate peoples of the world.\nTo do this we must strike a delicate balance, and this can best be accomplished\nby placing greater reliance upon the weapons and equipment which modern science has\ngiven us. Of necessity we must turn our attention and efforts to greater emphasis\nupon the atom bomb and hydrogen bomb, and to the means of delivering them to the\ntarget, for it is in these weapons that we find the greatest deterrent to our enemy.\nIt is almost inconceivable that any national leader, even one in the Kremlin,\nknowing the tremendous destructive power of these weapons, would be so insane as\nto unleash them upon his people and bring upon them the horror and suffering which\nthey can produce. We must expand our guided missile program, both in terms of\nproduction and research, for in this device apparently lies the key to the defense\nof our cities. You have all seen the recent releases about \"Nike\", that classically\nnamed marvel of electronics, almost unbelievable in its reactions, which when once\nlaunched, can locate its objective, direct itself toward it, and destroy it, all\nwithout human intervention. When we remember this device is the produce of only a\nrelatively few years of scientific research and technical effort, we can only\nwonder at the achievements which lie before us.\nGERALD FORD FRANT\nSpeech - P. T. A. Founders Day Banquet, February 17, 1954\n-3-\nBy placing greater reliance upon these modern weapons, costly as such a\nprogram may appear, we can achieve our objective of a strong national defense while\nreducing its cost and its effect upon our economy. We can thus reduce in some\nmeasure the tax burden which we must all bear, leave our industry largely free to\nproduce the goods of peace, and limit the number of young men we must take into the\narmed services. If such a course accomplished nothing more, this last objective\nwould be well worth the cost, for the maintenance of a large military force is the\nmost expensive aspect of our defensive effort, both in terms of dollars and in terms\nof its impact upon the lives and careers of our sons. We cannot, and must not,\nin the name of defense, spend ourself into bankruptcy and mortgage our nation's\nfuture to such an extent that our enemy will achieve, through our economic collapse,\nthe victory he so ardently desires.\nIn developing and expanding our nuclear weapons we must not forget that the\nbasic forces which they employ have tremendous and unforeseen potentialities for\npeaceful applications. In the small beginnings which have been made in the use of\nradioactive materials in medicine, we can see already the possibility of discovering\nthe cause and cure of many maladies which afflict mankind and which have resisted\nour best efforts to control and eliminate them. The great energies released in atomic\nfission give promise of resources of power never even dreamed of a few years ago,\nand open before us a view of a world in which starvation and poverty have no place.\nIn order to hasten the day when these potentialities will be realized, we must as\nquickly and as fully as military necessities will permit, open these new fields to\nprivate initiative and enterprise. It was these forces, operating free of govern-\nmental control and direction, which brought us to our present high level, and it\nmakes sense that now they should be given the new tools to work with, to see what\npractical benefits will accrue to all mankind.\nWe, of course, are not alone in our struggle against world communism. There\nare other nations who enjoy freedom and who cherish it as devotedly as we do. As\nPresident Eisenhower has so aptly stated, \"More closely than ever before, American\nfreedom is interlocked with the freedom of other people. In the unity of the free\nworld lies our best chance to reduce the Communist threat without war. In the task\nof maintaining this unity and strengthening all its parts, the greatest responsibility\nfalls to those who, like ourselves, retain the most freedom and the most strength.\"\nOur job, therefore, is to strengthen and extend those alliances like the\nNorth Atlantic Treaty, in which we have joined with other nations, and by which\nGERALD FORD LIBRARY\npresent a united front to our common enemy. In doing so, however, we must not forget\nSpeach - P. T. A. Founders Day Banquet, February 17, 1954\n-4-\nthat we are a sovereign nation among sovereign nations. We cannot dictate, but must\nlead and we must recognize that each of our allies has its own background and problems\nwhich may result in attitudes and opinions different from ours. We must be tolerant\nof these differences, just as we are tolerant of differences amongst ourselves,\nand we must seek by persuasion and compromise to reach a common ground. To resort\nto any other course would be to follow the pattern of the Communists who are so\nunsure of themselves that they cannot cooperate, but must conquer and dictate to\nensure even superficial loyalty of other peoples.\nIn dealing with our allies, however, we must insist upon the mutuality of\nour obligations. Although we are the largest and strongest of the free nations, our\nresources are not unlimited, and we cannot be expected to shoulder the burden of\nour common defense alone. To do so could only result in our ultimate weakness, and\nin bringing about the disaster we have united to prevent. Each nation must contri-\nbute to our mutual defense according to its ability, and none must be permitted to\nshirk its responsibility in this respect. By following this course, we will\ndevelop the spiritual unity which comes from sharing a common burden and our con-\nviction of ultimate victory will be strengthened.\nUnfortunately there are in the world some peoples and their leaders who would\nstand aloof from the basic struggle in which we are engaged. It is true some of\nthese people have only recently achieved national independence and consequently are\nfaced with domestic problems of overwhelming magnitude, comparable to those which\nour nation faced almost two centuries ago, To these we must extend our friendship,\nand we must stand ready to offer any reasonable material assistance that they need.\nThis aid and assistance, however, must be intelligently and constructively limited,\nfor only by self-reliance can they achieve the dignity of free men.\nAs concerned as we must be with the international aspects of our responsibi-\nlities as free men, we must not neglect our obligation to establish a strong and\ndeveloping economy at home. Indeed, unless we maintain a high measure of domestic\nprosperity we cannot hope to achieve our international objectives, for it is that\nprosperity which supports our military program and underlies our efforts to make\npeace secure.\nTo achieve this goal, all segments of our people must cooperate, and none\nmust seek to gain an unfair advantage at the expense of another. While there are,\nand will be, differences among us as to how our prosperity can best be obtained,\nand these differences will in some measure reflect our station in life and the way\nwe earn our living, we must never permit them to become crystallized into class\nSpeech - P. T. A. Founders Day Banquet, February 17, 1954\n-5-\nattitudes. It is the theory of the class struggle, labor against capital, which\nunderlies the Marxian philosophy, and this is the tool by which the modern Communist\nhopes to create dissension among us and to weaken our cause.\nWe are a rich nation and we are better nourished, better clothed, and better\nhoused than any other people on earth. The automobile, the radio and television,\nand the telephone, which to us have become so commonplace, are still regarded as\nluxuries by the ordinary citizen in many other countries, and even the bathtub,\nto us a necessity, is as rare as a precious jewel in many areas. Although we have\nslums in our large cities, and somerural areas do not enjoy a full measure of\nmodern comfort, we can, and will eliminate these deficiencies.\nOur prosperity must be achieved through the medium of private enterprise and\ninitiative. It is because we have been free to accumulate capital, and to risk it\nin new and untried undertakings that we have been able to attain the high levels\nwe have reached, and it is this freedom upon which we must rely to carry us forward.\nTrue progress can be made only if we are able, through our own efforts, to make a\nlittle more than we need, and to use this surplus to earn more of the world's goods\nfor us. This freedom must be preserved and nurtured, for it is the foundation upon\nwhich our entire structure of liberty rests.\nThere are those among us who hold the view that our industrial society has\nbecome so complex that we no longer can afford to encourage private enterprise, but\nmust look to the federal government as somewhat of a parent whose duty it is to\nfeed and clothe its children, and to see that they are all properly sheltered. With\nthis theory I cannot agree. We must remember that a parental government, once it\nundertakes the colossal job of directly clothing, feeding and sheltering its brood,\ninevitably must restrict their freedom and direct their day by day activities into\nrigid channels the all-powerful government deems best for them. Our government,\nof course, has its rightful responsibilities in the promotion of our economic\nwelfare, but its powers in this connection are, and must continue to be restricted\nto certain areas of activity. We must beware of, and avoid the tendency toward\nparental government, for in that direction lies the end of our freedom.\nIn the troubled times in which we live, it is only natural that the material\naspects of our responsibilities under freedom should give us so much concern and\ndemand so much of our attention. Our entire way of life is under attack by an enemy\nmotivated and guided by a materialistic philosophy, and we cannot afford to neglect\nthose things in which he professes to find his strength, and by which he seeks to\ndominate the world. If we did otherwise we would fail to meet the challenge which\nSpeech - P. T. A. Founders Day Banquet, February 17, 1954\n-6-\nhas been laid down to us.\nDespite this urgency, however, we must not forget our responsibilities to the\nspiritual and intellectual aspects of our freedom. It is these which distinguish\nus from our enemy, and which in the long run, constitute our greatest strength. The\nCommunist regards man as only a part of a machine which must move in predetermined\npatterns dictated by the movements of other parts, and by the will of the state as\nthe supreme operator. We, on the other hand, profess and uphold the dignity of man\nas an individual possessing a free will and capable of achieving his goals in coopera-\ntion with other men. We insist that men can determine what is best for themselves,\nonly if they are free to think about and discuss alternative courses of action, and\nthat there is no man, or group of men, so wise and so omniscient that they can lay\ndown the objectives which should be sought, and the paths which should be followed.\nIt is because we adhere to these principles that we will ultimately triumph, for it\nis these which constitute our strongest appeal to the minds of men all over the world,\nand which will finally win over the untold millions which the Communist rulers have\nenslaved.\nTo achieve this end, our first responsibility is to strengthen our freedom\nhere at home. We must preserve and strengthen the right of every man to formulate\nand\nhold to his own opinions on religious, political, and social questions, and\nwe must guarantee his right to speak and discuss them. The problems which we face\nin these areas today, complex and vexing though they are, are no different in their\nbasic nature than those which have troubled men since the time they first appeared\non this earth. They have continued to plague man only because he was not free through\nthe greater part of his history, to discuss them, but labored under one kind of oppre-\nssion or another which forced him into patterns determined upon by rulers who thought\nthat they had found the answers. The fact that these tyrannies passed away is clear\nproof that the tyrants were wrong and the same fate awaits their modern day imitators.\nOpinions and ideas, like commodities, receive their greatest test in the free\ncompetition of the market place, and it is only the best that can survive that com-\npetition. The great and far-seeing men who drafted our Constitution, and insisted\nupon inclusion of the Bill of Rights, recognized this principle, and nothing which\nhas occurred since that day has weakened its truth. Man has enjoyed the rights of\nfreedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press only for a relatively\nfew years, and in that period has made his greatest progress in his forward march.\nWe must continue that progress by guarding and preserving the liberties which made\nGENALD FORD LIBRARY\nit possible.\nSpeech - P. T. A. Fo nders Day Banquet, February 17, 1954\n-7-\nIn order to formulate their opinions and ideas men must have access to\nknowledge and information, and we must encourage and develop the instrumentalities\nwhich disseminate them. Perhaps the greatest developments of our industrial age\nare to be found in the field of communication, and the facilities which we have\ncreated must be free from governmental dictation. The citizens who print our books\nand newspapers, and who operate our radio and television stations must be free of\nunnecessary and unwise control and censorship lest these devices be the means of\nimposing political oppression. In the hands of free men, these facilities are the\ntools of freedom, but in the hands of tyrants they are the means of establishing\nand maintaining power. The men who own and control them, of course, have the\ntremendous responsibility of seeing that they serve their proper function and\noperate in the public good. They must not be used in such a manner that they promote\nsensationalism, hysteria, or crime. The owners and producers, if they live up to\ntheir responsibilities to society as a whole, will not seek temporary commercial\nsuccess at the expense of the public good. Furthermore, as they must know, dis-\nregard for the public welfare will inevitably result in local, state and federal\ngovernmental interference in their day to day operations.\nThis access to knowledge, of course, must extend to all fields and must\ninclude theories and viewpoints which may be unpopular. Our scientists and scholars\nmust be free to experiment and to challenge established beliefs for it is through\nsuch experimentation and challenge that we have made our greatest strides forward.\nFurthermore, we must all be given access to their findings and conclusions, for\nunless they are available to all, they lose their value.\nLiberty, of course, is not license, and to advocate and defend freedom of\nspeech and discussion does not mean that we must not protect ourselves against those\nwho naively or willfully abuse them.\nThe leaders of world communism are ruthless and crafty men. One of the\nprincipal techniques they have used to facilitate their conquests is that of creating\ndissension among the citizens of the nation they seek to overcome, and of having\nthose among them who share their views insinuate themselves into positions of\nauthority and power. In recent years, this has been one of the most serious threats\nwhich we have faced.\nUnfortunately, there are here in America, some who have been so beguiled by\nthe siren song of Communism that they have enlisted in its cause and sought to over-\nthrow the system which nurtured them. Concealing their true motives and intentions\nGENALD FORD LIBRARY\nthey have risen to positions of authority and power in our government, and by\nSpeech - P. T. A. Founders Day Banquet, February 17, 1954\n-8-\nmisguiding its policies and misdirecting its actions, have sought to weaken and\nultimately destroy it. Many of these have been discovered and exposed to public view,\nbut we must be vigilant lest others take their places.\nTo do this is not to destroy freedom, but to preserve it, for these people\nare the enemies of freedom. Professing a love of liberty, they have used it as a\nshield to carry on their insidious labors at the direction of a foreign power. This\nwe cannot permit!\nBut in exposing and destroying this evil we must be careful. We must do it\nwithin the framework of the principles and guaranties upon which we place such high\nvalue, and we must not become like our enemy in our struggles against him. Our efforts\nmust be directed against the true adherents of Communism and we must not be diverted\nto attacks upon the innocent simply because they hold opinions opposed to our own,\nor behave in a manner of which we do not approve. To do otherwise would permit\nthe guilty to escape and allow them to carry on their nefarious work.\nWe are a diverse nation, composed of many different racial groupings and\nembracing many different religious beliefs and creeds. If we are to remain a free\nnation, each of us must become tolerant of our neighbors; tolerant not in the sense\nof putting up with something, as a parent is tolerant of a fractious child, but\ntolerant in the sense of understanding. While we all hold to our own beliefs and\nlive up to them as our conscience dictates, we must recognize and defend the rights\nof others to pursue the same course. We must learn to value and appreciate each\nman for what he is, and to judge him upon the basis of what he has done, and we must\noppose discriminations based upon race, creed, or color. This must be done not only\nbecause it is fundamental to the principles we profess, but because the existence\nof such discrimination in our midst, small though it be, has been used by Communist\npropogandists in their efforts to gain the adherence of some peoples whose friendship\nwe desire. But there is another and more positive reason why we must do this. We\nare engaged in a colossal task, and the problems which we face are almost overwhelming.\nTo aehieve success, we must draw upon our human resources to the fullest extend, and\neach of our citizens must be permitted to contribute his share according to his\nabilities and unhindered by artificial barriers. We cannot afford waste, and to\ndeny a man the privilege of contributing to our common effort because of his color\nor religious beliefs is waste of the most inexcusable kind.\nAnother primary responsibility which is imposed upon us as free men, and one\nwhich is particularly important today, is that of educating our children in the ways\nof freedom. It is primarily for them that we labor and strive to preserve our heri-\nSpeech - P. T. A. Founders Day Banquet, February 17, 1954\n-9-\ntage and we must give them a full appreciation and understanding of the values which\nhave made this nation great. The youth of our nation is our greatest resource and\nwe must not neglect it.\nIn the last fifteen years, circumstances forced us to devote the principal\npart of our energies to the winning of a major war, and the preparation of our mili-\ntary defenses, and we were not able to build the schools and other educational faci-\nlities which normally would have been constructed. The fact that in this period our\npopulation has increased tremendously has aggravated the inadequacy of our present\nequipment. In almost every area of the country we find schods that are old and di-\nlapidated, classrooms that are overcrowded, and playground facilities that are in-\nadequate.\nOur first step, then, must be to build new schools, adequate to our present\nneeds and the needs of the immediate future. This, of course, is a matter of community\nand state responsibility, and we as parents and teachers must see to it that our\nlocal governments take the necessary measures to remedy the situation. It is groups\nsuch as yours which must take the initiative in planning and preparing programs, for\nonly you know best the needs of the community, and the means by which they can be\nmost expediently met. All of us can be rightfully proud of the forward-looking action\ntaken by our citizens in this area in meeting the school facilities problem. The\nresults will pay big dividends in the years ahead and our children can thank those\nresponsible for having accomplished the job within the community without interference\nor bureaucracy-diminished dollars from Washington.\nBut even more alarming, and less easy to overcome, than the inadequacy of\nthe physical equipment of our school systems, is the shortage of teachers which exists\nthroughout the nation. The reasons for this are apparent. The salaries which most\ncommunities pay our teachers have not kept pace with the rise in the cost of living\nwhich has occurred over the past few years, and many young men and women who otherwise\nmight have entered the profession have understandably turned to more profitable fields\nof endeavor. Regrettably many communities have neglected to uphold the dignity of\nthe profession and to accord it the high respect it deserves. The teaching of our\nchildren is no menial task. Individually we should give rightful credit to our\nteachers who have played such an important part in shaping our own lives and in\naddition recognize the vital part they play in the future of our nation.\nWe entrust to our teachers the guardianship and guidance of the minds of our\nchildren, and we must be sure that the men and women who undertake these tasks are\nwell-qualified, well paid and well-respected. Only by doing this can we be sure that\nwe will attract into teaching the number. and quality of men and women we so urgently\nSpeech - P. T. A. Founders Day Banquet, February 17, 1954\n-10-\nneed.\nIt is only through promoting and extending our school systems that we can\nhope to equip our children properly for the tasks that lie before them in the atomic\nage which we have created. Only if we can instill in them a profound appreciation of\nthe value of freedom can we prevent them from becoming slaves of the materialism\nwhich now plagues and threatens us. This we must not fail to do.\nFinally, there is one other responsibility which we must not forget. This is\nthe responsibility of faith. We may build the strongest defense, acquire the greatest\nwealth, and prosper in all material things, but our accomplishments will have little\nmeaning if they do not rest upon a firm spiritual foundation. It was strength of\nspirit which made possible the founding of this nation, and it was that strength\nwhich supported it through its adversities and brought it victory in the wars it\nhas fought. We must renew and replenish that strength. With faith in God, faith in\nourselves, and faith in our freedom, we will surmount the obstacles which lie before\nus and establish a secure peace in a world where free men may work and live without\nfear.\nGERALD FORD GURRAZ\nSpeech by -\nREPRESENTATIVE GERALD R. FORD, JR.\nP. T. A. Founders Day Banquet\nGrand Rapids Civic Autidorium, February 17, 1954\nWe Americans are a wealthy nation. We are wealthy not only in material\nthings, the natural resources with which we have been blessed, and the high\nstandard of living we have been able to produce from them, but we are wealthy as\nwell because of the liberties we enjoy and the traditions of freedom which are 50\nessential a part of our national heritage, and which have grown and strengthened\nin the one hundred and eighty years of our independence.\nThe freedom of enterprise and initiative, the personal liberties, and the\nfreedom of election which we enjoy have been so long a part of our way of life\nthat we sometimes forget that they are a part of our wealth, and that, like all\narticles of value, they must be guarded and protected. We also sometimes lose\nsight of the fact that he who possesses wealth also bears a corresponding respon-\nsibility, and that this applies as well to our wealth of freedom as it does to\nour physical and material assets. It is about the responsibilities which our freedom\nimposes upon us today, both as a nation and as individuals, that I would like to\ndiscuss tonight.\nThere are men in the world today who envy and fear us. They are jealous\nof our tremendous material wealth, but they fear us far more because of our price-\nless freedom, for it is that freedom which is the source of our strength, and which\nconstitutes the greatest threat to their power over hundreds of millions of people\nand their aspirations to ruthless world dominance. The Communist nations possess\nthe fertility of soil and the metal and mineral deposits to feed, clothe, and\nhouse themselves as well as we have, and to produce the other comforts and luxuries\nwhich modern science and industry have provided, but they have miserably failed to\ndo so. They have failed solely because they are enslaved by a tyranny so all\npervading that it puts to shame any that have gone before. The tyranical rulers\nof these nations, conscious of their failure and inability to fulfill the promises\nby which they led their people to forego freedom, have turned their unrest and dis-\nsatisfaction toward the free world, and have entered upon a colossal effort to\ndestroy it. The leaders of the Communist conspiracy know full well that the exis-\ntence of freedom is the most immediate and direct threat to their power, for the\nlonger their distressed people see before them the magnificent achievements of\nfree men, the more likely they are to discover the true reason for their hardship\nand suffering under tyranny, and to break the Kremlin-imposed bonds which prevent\nGER FORD LIBRAR.\nthem from participating in those achievements.\nSpeesh - P. T. A. Founders Day Banquet, February 17, 1954\n-2-\nThis threat to our security, unfortunate and unnecessary as it appears to\nus, operates in large measure to define our responsibilities as free men in the\nworld today. The United States, because it is spiritually and materially the\nwealthiest nation on earth, is the principal object of this Communist conspiracy,\nboth from within and without, and consequently we will be the center of the re-\nsistance to its plans for world conquest. We are thus forced, against our will\nand desire, into a concern for some material things which we might otherwise avoid.\nThis then is our first responsibility as a nation under freedom. We must\nsurvive, and to do so, we must build and maintain our military strength so that\nwe can defend ourselves against any attack, and we must be prepared to retaliate\nso surely and so destructively that our enemies will be convinced that their aggres-\nsion will be suicidal. In so preparing ourselves, however, we must not lose sight\nof the fact that we are a peaceful nation, and that our primary effort must be\ndirected toward maintenance and advancement of a standard of living which is the\nwonder of the world. Our military program, essential as it is, must not become the\nmainstay of our prosperity, but must be adapted to an economy directed toward the\nimprovement of ourselves, and the sharing of our achievements with the less fortu-\nnate peoples of the world.\nTo do this we must strike a delicate balance, and this can best be accomplished\nby placing greater reliance upon the weapons and equipment which modern science has\ngiven us. Of necessity we must turn our attention and efforts to greater emphasis\nupon the atom bomb and hydrogen bomb, and to the means of delivering them to the\ntarget, for it is in these weapons that we find the greatest deterrent to our enemy.\nIt is almost inconceivable that any national leader, even one in the Kremlin,\nknowing the tremendous destructive power of these weapons, would be so insane as\nto unleash them upon his people and bring upon them the horror and suffering which\nthey can produce. We must expand our guided missile program, both in terms of\nproduction and research, for in this device apparently lies the key to the defense\nof our cities. You have all seen the recent releases about \"Nike\", that classically\nnamed marvel of electronics, almost unbelievable in its reactions, which when once\nlaunched, can locate its objective, direct itself toward it, and destroy it, all\nwithout human intervention. When we remember this device is the produce of only a\nrelatively few years of scientific research and technical effort, we can only\nwonder at the achievements which lie before us.\nBERALD FORD LIBRARY\nSpeech - P. T. A. Founders Day Banquet, February 17, 1954\n-3-\nBy placing greater reliance upon these modern weapons, costly as such a\nprogram may appear, we can achieve our objective of a strong national defense while\nreducing its cost and its effect upon our economy. We can thus reduce in some\nmeasure the tax burden which we must all bear, leave our industry largely free to\nproduce the goods of peace, and limit the number of young men we must take into the\narmed services. If such a course accomplished nothing more, this last objective\nwould be well worth the cost, for the maintenance of a large military force is the\nmost expensive aspect of our defensive effort, both in terms of dollars and in terms\nof its impact upon the lives and careers of our sons. We cannot, and must not,\nin the name of defense, spend ourself into bankruptcy and mortgage our nation's\nfuture to such an extent that our enemy will achieve, through our economic collapse,\nthe victory he so ardently desires.\nIn developing and expanding our nuclear weapons we must not forget that the\nbasic forces which they employ have tremendous and unforeseen potentialities for\npeaceful applications. In the small beginnings which have been made in the use of\nradioactive materials in medicine, we can see already the possibility of discovering\nthe cause and cure of many maladies which afflict mankind and which have resisted\nour best efforts to control and eliminate them. The great energies released in atomic\nfission give promise of resources of power never even dreamed of a few years ago,\nand open before us a view of a world in which starvation and poverty have no place.\nIn order to hasten the day when these potentialities will be realized, we must as\nquickly and as fully as military necessities will permit, open these new fields to\nprivate initiative and enterprise. It was these forces, operating free of govern-\nmental control and direction, which brought us to our present high level, and it\nmakes sense that now they should be given the new tools to work with, to see what\npractical benefits will accrue to all mankind.\nWe, of course, are not alone in our struggle against world communism. There\nare other nations who enjoy freedom and who cherish it as devotedly as we do. As\nPresident Eisenhower has so aptly stated, \"More closely than ever before, American\nfreedom is interlocked with the freedom of other people. In the unity of the free\nworld lies our best chance to reduce the Communist threat without war. In the task\nof maintaining this unity and strengthening all its parts, the greatest responsibility\nfalls to those who, like ourselves, retain the most freedom and the most strength.\"\nOur job, therefore, is to strengthen and extend those alliances like the\nNorth Atlantic Treaty, in which we have joined with other nations, and by which we\npresent a united front to our common enemy. In doing so, however, we must not forget\nSpeach - P. T. A. Founders Day Banquet, February 17, 1954\n-4-\nthat we are a sovereign nation among sovereign nations. We cannot dictate, but must\nlead and we must recognize that each of our allies has its own background and problems\nwhich may result in attitudes and opinions different from ours. We must be tolerant\nof these differences, just as we are tolerant of differences amongst ourselves,\nand we must seek by persuasion and compromise to reach a common ground. To resort\nto any other course would be to follow the pattern of the Communists who are so\nunsure of themselves that they cannot cooperate, but must conquer and dictate to\nensure even superficial loyalty of other peoples.\nIn dealing with our allies, however, we must insist upon the mutuality of\nour obligations. Although we are the largest and strongest of the free nations, our\nresources are not unlimited, and we cannot be expected to shoulder the burden of\nour common defense alone. To do so could only result in our ultimate weakness, and\nin bringing about the disaster we have united to prevent. Each nation must contri-\nbute to our mutual defense according to its ability, and none must be permitted to\nshirk its responsibility in this respect. By following this course, we will\ndevelop the spiritual unity which comes from sharing a common burden and our con-\nviction of ultimate victory will be strengthened.\nUnfortunately there are in the world some peoples and their leaders who would\nstand aloof from the basic struggle in which we are engaged. It is true some of\nthese people have only recently achieved national independence and consequently are\nfaced with domestic problems of overwhelming magnitude, comparable to those which\nour nation faced almost two centuries ago. To these we must extend our friendship,\nand we must stand ready to offer any reasonable material assistance that they need.\nThis aid and assistance, however, must be intelligently and constructively limited,\nfor only by self-reliance can they achieve the dignity of free men.\nAs concerned as we must be with the international aspects of our responsibi-\nlities as free men, we must not neglect our obligation to establish a strong and\ndeveloping economy at home. Indeed, unless we maintain a high measure of domestic\nprosperity we cannot hope to achieve our international objectives, for it is that\nprosperity which supports our military program and underlies our efforts to make\npeace secure.\nTo achieve this goal, all segments of our people must cooperate, and none\nmust seek to gain an unfair advantage at the expense of another. While there are,\nand will be, differences among us as to how our prosperity can best be obtained,\n33 FORD LIBRARY\nand these differences will in some measure reflect our station in life and the way\nwe earn our living, we must never permit them to become crystallized into class\nSpeech - P. T. A. Founders Day Banquet, February 17, 1954\n-5-\nattitudes. It is the theory of the class struggle, labor against capital, which\nunderlies the Marxian philosophy, and this is the tool by which the modern Communist\nhopes to create dissension among us and to weaken our cause.\nWe are a rich nation and we are better nourished, better clothed, and better\nhoused than any other people on earth. The automobile, the radio and television,\nand the telephone, which to us have become so commonplace, are still regarded as\nluxuries by the ordinary citizen in many other countries, and even the bathtub,\nto us a necessity, is as rare as a precious jewel in many areas. Although we have\nslums in our large cities, and somerural areas do not enjoy a full measure of\nmodern comfort, we can, and will eliminate these deficiencies.\nOur prosperity must be achieved through the medium of private enterprise and\ninitiative. It is because we have been free to accumulate capital, and to risk it\nin new and untried undertakings that we have been able to attain the high levels\nwe have reached, and it is this freedom upon which we must rely to carry us forward.\nTrue progress can be made only if we are able, through our own efforts, to make a\nlittle more than we need, and to use this surplus to earn more of the world's goods\nfor us. This freedom must be preserved and nurtured, for it is the foundation upon\nwhich our entire structure of liberty rests.\nThere are those among us who hold the view that our industrial society has\nbecome so complex that we no longer can afford to encourage private enterprise, but\nmust look to the federal government as somewhat of a parent whose duty it is to\nfeed and clothe its children, and to see that they are all properly sheltered. With\nthis theory I cannot agree. We must remember that a parental government, once it\nundertakes the colossal job of directly clothing, feeding and sheltering its brood,\ninevitably must restrict their freedom and direct their day by day activities into\nrigid channels the all-powerful government deems best for them. Our government,\nof course, has its rightful responsibilities in the promotion of our economic\nwelfare, but its powers in this connection are, and must continue to be restricted\nto certain areas of activity. We must beware of, and avoid the tendency toward\nparental government, for in that direction lies the end of our freedom.\nIn the troubled times in which we live, it is only natural that the material\naspects of our responsibilities under freedom should give us so much concern and\ndemand so much of our attention. Our entire way of life is under attack by an enemy\nmotivated and guided by a materialistic philosophy, and we cannot afford to neglect\nthose things in which he professes to find his strength, and by which he seeks to\nGERALD FORD LIBRARY\ndominate the world. If we did otherwise we would fail to meet the challenge which\nSpeech - P. T. A. Founders Day Banquet, February 17, 1954\n-6-\nhas been laid down to us.\nDespite this urgency, however, we must not forget our responsibilities to the\nspiritual and intellectual aspects of our freedom. It is these which distinguish\nus from our enemy, and which in the long run, constitute our greatest strength. The\nCommunist regards man as only a part of a machine which must move in predetermined\npatterns dictated by the movements of other parts, and by the will of the state as\nthe supreme operator. We, on the other hand, profess and uphold the dignity of man\nas an individual possessing a free will and capable of achieving his goals in coopera-\ntion with other men. We insist that men can determine what is best for themselves,\nonly if they are free to think about and discuss alternative courses of action, and\nthat there is no man, or group of men, so wise and so omniscient that they can lay\ndown the objectives which should be sought, and the paths which should be followed.\nIt is because we adhere to these principles that we will ultimately triumph, for it\nis these which constitute our strongest appeal to the minds of men all over the world,\nand which will finally win over the untold millions which the Communist rulers have\nenslaved.\nTo achieve this end, our first responsibility is to strengthen our freedom\nhere at home. We must preserve and strengthen the right of every man to formulate\nand\nhold to his own opinions on religious, political, and social questions, and\nwe must guarantee his right to speak and discuss them. The problems which we face\nin these areas today, complex and vexing though they are, are no different in their\nbasic nature than those which have troubled men since the time they first appeared\non this earth. They have continued to plague man only because he was not free through\nthe greater part of his history, to discuss them, but labored under one kind of oppre-\nssion or another which forced him into patterns determined upon by rulers who thought\nthat they had found the answers. The fact that these tyrannies passed away is clear\nproof that the tyrants were wrong and the same fate awaits their modern day imitators.\nOpinions and ideas, like commodities, receive their greatest test in the free\ncompetition of the market place, and it is only the best that can survive that com-\npetition. The great and far-seeing men who drafted our Constitution, and insisted\nupon inclusion of the Bill of Rights, recognized this principle, and nothing which\nhas occurred since that day has weakened its truth. Man has enjoyed the rights of\nfreedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press only for a relatively\nfew years, and in that period has made his greatest progress in his forward march\nWe must continue that progress by guarding and preserving the liberties which made\nBEROLD FORD LIBRARY\nit possible.\nSpeech - P. T. A. Fo nders Day Banquet, February 17, 1954\n-7-\nIn order to formulate their opinions and ideas men must have access to\nknowledge and information, and we must encourage and develop the instrumentalities\nwhich disseminate them. Perhaps the greatest developments of our industrial age\nare to be found in the field of communication, and the facilities which we have\ncreated must be free from governmental dictation. The citizens who print our books\nand newspapers, and who operate our radio and television stations must be free of\nunnecessary and unwise control and censorship lest these devices be the means of\nimposing political oppression. In the hands of free men, these facilities are the\ntools of freedom, but in the hands of tyrants they are the means of establishing\nand maintaining power. The men who own and control them, of course, have the\ntremendous responsibility of seeing that they serve their proper function and\noperate in the public good. They must not be used in such a manner that they promote\nsensationalism, hysteria, or crime. The owners and producers, if they live up to\ntheir responsibilities to society as a whole, will not seek temporary commercial\nsuccess at the expense of the public good. Furthermore, as they must know, dis-\nregard for the public welfare will inevitably result in local, state and federal\ngovernmental interference in their day to day operations.\nThis access to knowledge, of course, must extend to all fields and must\ninclude theories and viewpoints which may be unpopular. Our scientists and scholars\nmust be free to experiment and to challenge established beliefs for it is through\nsuch experimentation and challenge that we have made our greatest strides forward.\nFurthermore, we must all be given access to their findings and conclusions, for\nunless they are available to all, they lose their value.\nLiberty, of course, is not license, and to advocate and defend freedom of\nspeech and discussion does not mean that we must not protect ourselves against those\nwho naively or willfully abuse them.\nThe leaders of world communism are ruthless and crafty men. One of the\nprincipal techniques they have used to facilitate their conquests is that of creating\ndissension among the citizens of the nation they seek to overcome, and of having\nthose among them who share their views insinuate themselves into positions of\nauthority and power. In recent years, this has been one of the most serious threats\nwhich we have faced.\nUnfortunately, there are here in America, some who have been so beguiled by\nGERALD FORD LIBRARY\nthe siren song of Communism that they have enlisted in its cause and sought to over-\nthrow the system which nurtured them. Concealing their true motives and intentions,\nthey have risen to positions of authority and power in our government, and by\nSpeech - P. T. A. Founders Day Banquet, February 17, 1954\n-8-\nmisguiding its policies and misdirecting its actions, have sought to weaken and\nultimately destroy it. Many of these have been discovered and exposed to public view,\nbut we must be vigilant lest others take their places.\nTo do this is not to destroy freedom, but to preserve it, for these people\nare the enemies of freedom. Professing a love of liberty, they have used it as a\nshield to carry on their insidious labors at the direction of a foreign power. This\nwe cannot permit!\nBut in exposing and destroying this evil we must be careful. We must do it\nwithin the framework of the principles and guaranties upon which we place such high\nvalue, and we must not become like our enemy in our struggles against him. Our efforts\nmust be directed against the true adherents of Communism and we must not be diverted\nto attacks upon the innocent simply because they hold opinions opposed to our own,\nor behave in a manner of which we do not approve. To do otherwise would permit\nthe guilty to escape and allow them to carry on their nefarious work.\nWe are a diverse nation, composed of many different racial groupings and\nembracing many different religious beliefs and creeds. If we are to remain a free\nnation, each of us must become tolerant of our neighbors; tolerant not in the sense\nof putting up with something, as a parent is tolerant of a fractious child, but\ntolerant in the sense of understanding. While we all hold to our own beliefs and\nlive up to them as our conscience dictates, we must recognize and defend the rights\nof others to pursue the same course. We must learn to value and appreciate each\nman for what he is, and to judge him upon the basis of what he has done, and we must\noppose discriminations based upon race, creed, or color. This must be done not only\nbecause it is fundamental to the principles we profess, but because the existence\nof such discrimination in our midst, small though it be, has been used by Communist\npropogandists in their efforts to gain the adherence of some peoples whose friendship\nwe desire. But there is another and more positive reason why we must do this. We\nare engaged in a colossal task, and the problems which we face are almost overwhelming.\nTo aehieve success, we must draw upon our human resources to the fullest extend, and\neach of our citizens must be permitted to contribute his share according to his\nabilities and unhindered by artificial barriers. We cannot afford waste, and to\ndeny a man the privilege of contributing to our common effort because of his color\nor religious beliefs is waste of the most inexcusable kind.\nGERALD FORD GRART\nAnother primary responsibility which is imposed upon us as free men, and one\nwhich is particularly important today, is that of educating our children in the ways\nof freedom. It is primarily for them that we labor and strive to preserve our heri-\nSpeech - P. T. A. Founders Day Banquet, February 17, 1954\n-9-\ntage and we must give them a full appreciation and understanding of the values which\nhave made this nation great. The youth of our nation is our greatest resource and\nwe must not neglect it.\nIn the last fifteen years, circumstances forced us to devote the principal\npart of our energies to the winning of a major war, and the preparation of our mili-\ntary defenses, and we were not able to build the schools and other educational faci-\nlities which normally would have been constructed. The fact that in this period our\npopulation has increased tremendously has aggravated the inadequacy of our present\nequipment. In almost every area of the country we find schods that are old and di-\nlapidated, classrooms that are overcrowded, and playground facilities that are in-\nadequate.\nOur first step, then, must be to build new schools, adequate to our present\nneeds and the needs of the immediate future. This, of course, is a matter of community\nand state responsibility, and we as parents and teachers must see to it that our\nlocal governments take the necessary measures to remedy the situation. It is groups\nsuch as yours which must take the initiative in planning and preparing programs, for\nonly you know best the needs of the community, and the means by which they can be\nmost expediently met. All of us can be rightfully proud of the forward-looking action\ntaken by our citizens in this area in meeting the school facilities problem. The\nresults will pay big dividends in the years ahead and our children can thank those\nresponsible for having accomplished the job within the community without interference\nor bureaucracy-diminished dollars from Washington.\nBut even more alarming, and less easy to overcome, than the inadequacy of\nthe physical equipment of our school systems, is the shortage of teachers which exists\nthroughout the nation. The reasons for this are apparent. The salaries which most\ncommunities pay our teachers have not kept pace with the rise in the cost of living\nwhich has occurred over the past few years, and many young men and women who otherwise\nmight have entered the profession have understandably turned to more profitable fields\nof endeavor. Regrettably many communities have neglected to uphold the dignity of\nthe profession and to accord it the high respect it deserves. The teaching of our\nchildren is no menial task. Individually we should give rightful credit to our\nteachers who have played such an important part in shaping our own lives and in\naddition recognize the vital part they play in the future of our nation.\nWe entrust to our teachers the guardianship and guidance of the minds of our\nchildren, and we must be sure that the men and women who undertake these tasks are\nwell-qualified, well paid and well-respected. Only by doing this can we be sure that\nwe will attract into teaching the number and quality of men and women we so urgently\nSpeech - P. T. A. Founders Day Banquet, February 17, 1954\n-10-\nneed.\nIt is only through promoting and extending our school systems that we can\nhope to equip our children properly for the tasks that lie before them in the atomic\nage which we have created. Only if we can instill in them a profound appreciation of\nthe value of freedom can we prevent them from becoming slaves of the materialism\nwhich now plagues and threatens us. This we must not fail to do.\nFinally, there is one other responsibility which we must not forget. This is\nthe responsibility of faith. We may build the strongest defense, acquire the greatest\nwealth, and prosper in all material things, but our accomplishments will have little\nmeaning if they do not rest upon a firm spiritual foundation. It was strength of\nspirit which made possible the founding of this nation, and it was that strength\nwhich supported it through its adversities and brought it victory in the wars it\nhas fought. We must renew and replenish that strength. With faith in God, faith in\nourselves, and faith in our freedom, we will surmount the obstacles which lie before\nus and establish a secure peace in a world where free men may work and live without\nfear.\nFORD i LIBRARY GERALD"
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