Excerpts From Remarks at a Meeting With the New Panel of Consultants on Peace and National Security.

I AM delighted to have a chance to meet briefly with you gentlemen and to thank you for undertaking to serve as members of a panel of private citizens to work with us in the quest for peace. You gentlemen symbolize a tradition which goes back for a quarter of a century--the tradition of nonpartisan service on matters of war and peace. I see Democrats who have served in Republican administrations, Republicans who have served with Democratic administrations, and a number of men who have held office under both parties. And these party affiliations really don't matter very much compared to the common concern and the great operating principles of our American foreign policy. There are four of these principles, and you gentlemen have worked for all four of them.

The first is that the United States must be strong in her arms and strong in her will. When I look at General Bradley and Dr. Kistiakowsky and Mr. Dulles, when I think of Mr. Lovett, who can't be with us today, I am looking at men who played a great role in building the strength we now have. We have kept on in this same tradition in the last 4 years, and we believe the balanced strength of the United States has never been greater than it is today.

But there is always work to be done to keep our defenses strong and up to date, and we look forward to the advice and counsel which you gentlemen will bring in coming discussions of defense planning for the future.

Second, the United States yields to no one in her loyalty to friends and allies. With us today we have Mr. Acheson, Mr. McCloy, and Mr. Hoffman, architects of the recovery of Europe and the Atlantic Alliance. Western Europe has never been more secure, and the future of Atlantic freedom never more bright that it is today. The leaders of that continent rightly seek a growing role in the common cause of freedom. The differences and difficulties which lie ahead of us are the product of success, not failure. As we go on in this great work, our friends in Europe will be encouraged in the knowledge that we shall have advice like yours to guide us.

I am particularly glad to have the help of such men as Mr. Acheson and Mr. McCloy as our minds turn to the future of central Europe, and as we renew our determination to work for the freedom and reunion of the people of divided Germany. One of the great achievements of the last generation is that we have built mutual trust between democratic Germany and the United States, while never forgetting the proper interests of other allies or even the legitimate concerns of adversaries. In that tradition we shall continue, with your help.

And we shall show equal good faith to other friends and allies in other continents as well. Today this determination finds its hardest test in the difficult and demanding task of helping a young nation to grow and defend itself against Communist terror and domestic disorder--the Republic of Viet-Nam.

We are not discouraged by difficulty, nor will we let ourselves be deflected by partisan critics. In Viet-Nam today, the best of Americans, from private to Ambassador, are making their sacrifice in this hard cause on the spot. They too will be encouraged to know that the Government in Washington can call on men like you for help and counsel as this 10-year-long commitment of three administrations is continued.

Third, the United States has been not merely the strongest of all Nations, and the most reliable of allies, but the leader in proving that we accept the responsibilities of the rich and strong. In the Marshall plan, which Mr. Hoffman ran, and the World Bank, where Mr. Black and Mr. McCloy achieved so much, and later still in the Alliance for Progress, where Mr. Moscoso will always be remembered, we have been willing and ready to help free men to help themselves.

And I agree with what General Eisenhower used to say year after year--that these programs are a great bargain for our own national security. Year after year, as the Democratic Majority Leader, I worked to support the Republican President in defending these programs, which have no constituency of their own. The freedom of Europe, the great hopes of India and Pakistan, the new glow of confidence in South America, are the product of this national, bipartisan effort.

Fourth, and finally, the policy of the United States is not simply peace through strength, but peace through positive, persistent, active effort.

For 20 years, in five administrations, we have been first in our support for the United Nations--and many of you like Mr. Cowles, Mr. Leibman, Mr. Larson, and Mr. Wadsworth, have been among its most determined friends.

For 20 years, in the age of the atom, we have been first in the search for effective disarmament. Mr. Acheson, Mr. Dean, and Mr. McCloy have played great roles in that continuing effort.

For 20 years, in crisis after crisis, we have sought the way of reason and restraint. No great power in all history has a better record of respect for the rights of others.

So we are strong in our defenses, loyal in our alliances, responsive to the needs of others, and passionate in the positive search for peace. This is the kind of people we are--this is the kind of service you have given. This is the foreign policy which will continue, with your help, in the years ahead.