Statement by the President Concerning the Admission of Refugees From Hungary.

FEW EVENTS of recent times have so stirred the American people as the tragic effort of Hungarian men and women to gain freedom for themselves and for their children. The brutal purge of liberty which followed their heroic struggle will be long and sorrowfully remembered, not only by those directly suffering from that brutality, but also by all humans who believe in the dignity of man.

Our immediate concern must be for those whose suffering we, the members of the free world, can effectively alleviate. These are the thousands of escapees who have successfully made their way out of Hungary during the past week. They are older people; they are women; they are children--and many of them are suffering wounds inflicted by the guns of Imperialist Communism.

It is heartening to witness the speed with which free nations have opened their doors to these most recent refugees from tyranny. In this humanitarian effort our own nation must play its part. I have therefore directed the Administrator of the Refugee Relief Act to process as many as 5,000 Hungarian refugees as expeditiously as possible. This effort requires the most active help of the great voluntary agencies and other humanitarian organizations, of State and local governments, and of individuals everywhere. I know that the American people will rally wholeheartedly to this great cause.