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16972138
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Letter from Ralph Williams to Martin Teasley Regarding the Origin the Term 'Military-Industrial Complex'
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16972138
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Letter from Ralph Williams to Martin Teasley Regarding the Origin the Term 'Military-Industrial Complex'
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Ralph E. Williams Papers
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16972138
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28
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1985-12-28
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1985
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RALPH E. WILLIAMS
6531 JAY MILLER DRIVE
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA 22041
December 28, 1985
Mr. Martin M. Teasley
Assistant Director
Dwight D. Eisenhower Library
Abilene, Kansas 67410
Dear Mr. Teasley:
Your nice letter and enclosed materials about the Eisenhower
Library were waiting for me when I got back from Williamsburg yester-
day, and the answer to your main question is yes indeed, I would be
delighted to meet with your representative at whatever date we can
agree upon. I don't plan to set foot outside the Beltway for at least
two months, so most any time during that period would be suitable to
me. If time is important, my phone number is (703) 256-3305.
I have always been astonished at the attention that has been given
to the "military-industrial complex" portion of President Eisenhower's
last speech, and agree with Pete Aurand that its true significance has
been distorted beyond recognition. I am sure that had it been uttered
by anyone except a President who had also been the Army's five-star
Chief of Staff it would long since have been forgotten. But as things
were, it became red meat for the media, who have gleefully gnawed on
it for twenty five years.
As to your query about the origin and source of the idea and phrase
I'm sending along a Xerox copy of a memorandum which may be of some help.
It is the only definitive paper I could find in my files relating to the
so-called farewell address, and you arecertainly welcome to the original
(which is itself a file copy) if you feel it merits a place in the
Eisenhower collection. As you will immediately note, at that early date
we were still thinking in terms of a State of the Union message, which
made less and less sense as the sands of the Administration ran out. So
at some point in its evolution it turned into a farewell message.
Mac's protocol in getting the speech construction process started
was to have an initial brainstorming session with Steve Hess and me, at
which time each of us would toss in his ideas about what topics should
go in. If they survived the ensuing discussion Mac would then ask the
originator to develop a full text version for further consideration as
an insert into the main speech. Some of these made it all the way to
the final draft and others never got into the first--the second item
discussed in the memorandum being oneof the latter. In its stead I
substituted the caveat against a scientific-technological elite, which
is now about as well-remembered as Edward Everett's Gettysburg Address.
(It no doubt would have fared better if Ike had been a Nobel Laureate in
physics). The October 31 memo is therefore in essence both a minute
of the meeting and a work order to me covering the assigned topics.
As you will also note, the celebrated phrase itself had to evolve only
slightly from "war-based" to "military" as the initial modifier over the
course of the speech's gestation.
I'm sure the President never thought about either the phrase or the
concept itself until Mac Moos put the first draft under his nose. I am
equally sure, for reasons too lenghty to go into here, that it struck a
responsive chord in his breast. Ike may not always have said the right
things, but he never ever put anything into a formal speech that he didn't
believe and fully intend to say, as the few hacked-up drafts you have
amply testify.
As to other participants in the preparation of the speech, I would
say that probably only Steve Hess, in addition to the others you mentioned,
would have had any substantive input. It is possible that Mac may have
showed it to a few senior staff members for comment--Bryce Harlow for one--
but in general you could count on the fingers of one hand the number of
people who were privy to a speech's contents prior to its delivery.
Well, enough for now. I'll wait to hear from you.
Sincerely
Captain USN (Ret)
P.S. Since you expressed an interest in what I did in
The White House, I have a number OF papers -largely
Cofies of memoranda I write to Mac Mess other staff
members, to which The Librery 15 welcome. Your assistant
can select Those 1770st appapriate when he is here-
TRW