Address in San Francisco at the War Memorial Opera House

Mayor Robinson, fellow citizens:

I have just returned from Wake Island, where I had a very satisfactory conference with Gen. Douglas MacArthur.

I understand that there has been speculation about why I made this trip. There is really no mystery about it. I went because I wanted to see and talk to General MacArthur. The best way to see him and talk to him is to meet him somewhere and talk to him.

There is no substitute for personal conversation with the commander in the field who knows the problems there from firsthand experience. He has information at his fingertips which can be of help to all of us in deciding upon the right policies in these crucial times.

I went out to Wake Island to see General MacArthur because I did not want to take him far away from Korea, where he is conducting very important operations with great success. Events are moving swiftly over there now, and I did not feel that he should be away from his post too long.

At the same time I believed that my trip to Wake Island would give emphasis to the historic action taken by the United Nations on Korea. For Korea has become the symbol of the resistance of a united humanity against aggression.

I also felt that there was pressing need to make it perfectly clear--by my talk with General MacArthur--that there is complete unity in the aims and conduct of our foreign policy.

I have come back from this conference with increased confidence in our long-range ability to maintain world peace.

At Wake Island we talked over the Far Eastern situation and its relationship to the problem of world peace. I asked General MacArthur for his ideas on the ways in which the United States can most effectively assist the United Nations in promoting and maintaining peace and security throughout the Pacific area.

We discussed Japan and the need for an early Japanese peace treaty. Both of us look forward with confidence to a new Japan which will be peaceful and prosperous.

General MacArthur told me about the fighting in Korea. He described the magnificent achievements of all the United Nations forces serving under his command. Along with the soldiers of the Republic of Korea these forces have now turned back the tide of aggression. More fighting men are coming from free nations all over the world. I am confident that these forces will soon restore peace to the whole of Korea.

We here at home in America naturally take special pride in the superb achievements of our own soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen. They have written a glorious new page in military history. We can all be proud of them.

It is also a source of pride to us that our country was asked to furnish the first commander of United Nations troops. It is fortunate for the world that we had the right man for this purpose--a man who is a very great soldier--Gen. Douglas MacArthur.

Now I want Wake Island to be a symbol of our unity of purpose for world peace. I want to see world peace from Wake Island west all the way around and back again. I want to see world peace from Wake Island all the way east and back again--and we are going to get it!

The United Nations action in Korea is of supreme importance for all the peoples of the world.

For the first time in history the nations who want peace have taken up arms under the banner of an international organization to put down aggression. Under that banner, the banner of the United Nations, they are succeeding. This is a tremendous step forward in the age-old struggle to establish the rule of law in the world.

The people of San Francisco have shown that they appreciate the importance of the United Nations as a vital force in world affairs. I am told that in this area alone 71 organizations are celebrating United Nations week.

The United Nations was established here in this very building 5 years ago. It was founded in the hope and in the belief that mankind could have just and lasting peace. And I made the first speech to that organization that was made to it after the charter was signed.

Today as a result of the Korean struggle the United Nations is stronger than it has ever been. We know now that the United Nations can create a system of international order with the authority to maintain peace.

When I met with General MacArthur we discussed plans for completing the task of bringing peace to Korea. We talked about plans for establishing a "unified, independent, and democratic" government in that country in accordance with the resolution of the General Assembly of the United Nations.

It has been our policy ever since World War II to achieve these results for Korea.

Our sole purpose in Korea is to establish peace and independence. Our troops will stay there only so long as they are needed by the United Nations for that purpose. We seek no territory or special privilege in Korea or anywhere else. We have no aggressive designs in Korea or in any other place in the Far East or elsewhere. And I want that to be perfectly clear to the whole world.

No country in the world which really wants peace has any reason to fear the United States of America.

The only victory we seek is the victory of peace.

The United Nations forces in Korea are making spectacular progress. But the fighting there is not yet over. The North Korean Communists still refuse to acknowledge the authority of the United Nations. They continue to put up stubborn, but futile resistance.

The United Nations forces are growing in strength and are now far superior to the forces which still oppose them. The power of the Korean Communists to resist effectively will soon come to an end.

However, the job of the United Nations in Korea will not end when the fighting stops. There is a big task of rehabilitation to be done. As a result of the Communist aggression, Korea has suffered terrible destruction. Thousands upon thousands of people are homeless and there is serious danger of famine and disease in the coming winter months.

The United Nations is already extending relief to ease the suffering which the Communist invasion has brought about and it is preparing to help the Koreans rebuild their homes and restore their factories.

General MacArthur and Ambassador Muccio gave me a vivid picture of the way in which the process of reconstruction has already begun. Railroads are being restored, bridges are being rebuilt, and public utilities are beginning to function.

We will use the resources of our Army and our Economic Cooperation Administration to meet the immediate emergency. We will give our strong support to the United Nations program of relief and reconstruction that will soon be started. The United States will do its full part to help build a free, united, and self-supporting Korean Republic.

In a very real sense the unity of the free nations in meeting the aggression in Korea is the result of a firmly held purpose to support peace and freedom--a purpose which the free nations have pursued together over the years just passed.

The name "United Nations" was first used in the dark days of the Second World War by the countries then allied to put down another aggression.

From that day until this, the cause of peace has been strengthened by an active policy of cooperation among the free nations. It is not by chance, but as a result of that steady policy, that 53 members of the United Nations rallied immediately to meet the unprovoked aggression against the Republic of Korea.

It has been as a part of that same policy and common purpose that we have joined during the past 5 years in building up the strength of the peace-loving forces of the world. We have contributed to this through the Marshall plan in Europe, through economic assistance in many other parts of the world. We have also contributed to this end through military aid to countries threatened by aggression. All around the world the free nations have been gaining in strength.

We have to recognize that, as we have moved steadily along in the postwar years, our policy of building a peaceful world has met constant opposition from the Soviet Union.

Here in San Francisco, 5 years ago, we hoped that the Soviet Union would cooperate in this effort to build a lasting peace.

But Communist imperialism would not have it so. Instead of working with other governments in mutual respect and cooperation, the Soviet Union attempted to extend its control over other peoples. It embarked on a new colonialism--Soviet style. This new colonialism has already brought under its complete control and exploitation many countries which used to be free countries. Moreover, the Soviet Union has refused to cooperate and has not allowed its satellites to cooperate with those nations it could not control.

In the United Nations, the Soviet Union has persisted in obstruction. It has refused to share in activities devoted to the great economic, social, and spiritual causes recognized in the United Nations Charter. For months on end, it even boycotted the Security Council.

These tactics of the Soviet Union have imposed an increasingly greater strain upon the fabric of world peace. Aggression and threats of aggression, aided and abetted by obstructionism in the United Nations, have caused grave concern among the nations which are honestly seeking peace. The response of the free world to the aggression in Korea has given those nations new confidence. But events in Korea have also made it more apparent than ever that the evil spirit of aggression is still abroad in the world. So long as this is true, we are all faced with a clear and present danger.

Today we face a violent and cynical attack upon our democratic faith, upon every hope of a decent and free life--indeed, upon every concept of human dignity. Those who support this evil purpose are prepared to back it to the limit with every device, including unlawful military force.

The Soviet Union and its colonial satellites are maintaining armed forces of great size and strength, in both Europe and Asia. Their vast armies pose a constant threat to world peace. So long as they persist in maintaining these forces and in using them to intimidate other countries, the free men of the world have but one choice if they are to remain free. They must oppose strength with strength.

This is not a task for the United States alone. It is a task for the free nations to undertake together. And the free nations are undertaking it together.

In the United Nations, Secretary of State Dean Acheson has proposed a plan for "Uniting for Peace," to make it possible for the General Assembly to act quickly and effectively in case of any further outbreak of aggression.

In our own country, and in cooperation with other countries, we are continuing to build armed forces strong enough to make it clear that aggression will not pay.

Our military establishment moved the necessary men and supplies into Korea, 5,000 miles away, in an amazingly brief period of time. This remarkable accomplishment should not delude us into any false sense of security. We must be better armed and better equipped than we are today if we are to be protected from the dangers which still face us.

We must continue to increase our production for military purposes. We must continue to increase the strength of our Armed Forces--Army, Navy, and Air Force. We must devote more of our resources to military purposes, and less to civilian consumption.

All this will be difficult, and it will exact many and great sacrifices. But we are aware of the dangers we face. We are going to be prepared to meet them. Now, let no aggressor make any mistake about that. We value our independence and our free way of life in this country and we will give all that we have to preserve them. We are going ahead in dead earnest to build up our defenses. There will be no letdown because of the successes achieved in Korea.

As we go forward let us remember that we are not increasing our armed strength because we want to. We are increasing our armed strength because Soviet policies leave us no other choice.

Now the Soviet Union can change this situation. It has only to give concrete and positive proof of its intention to work for peace. If the Soviet Union really wants peace, it must prove it--not by glittering promises and false propaganda but by living up to the principles of the United Nations Charter.

If the Soviet Union really wants peace, it can prove it--and could have proved it on any day since last June 25th--by joining the rest of the United Nations in calling upon the North Koreans to lay down their arms at once.

If the Soviet Union really wants peace, it can prove it by lifting the Iron Curtain and permitting the free exchange of information and ideas. If the Soviet Union really wants peace, it can prove it by joining in the efforts of the United Nations to establish a workable system of collective security--a system which will permit the elimination of the atomic bomb and the drastic reduction and regulation of all other arms and armed forces.

But until the Soviet Union does these things, until it gives real proof of peaceful intentions, we are determined to build up the common defensive strength of the free world. This is the choice we have made. We have made it firmly and resolutely. But it is not a choice we have made gladly. We are not a militaristic nation. We have no desire for conquest or military glory.

Our national history began with a revolutionary idea--the idea of human freedom and political equality. We have been guided by the light of that idea down to this day. The forces of Communist imperialism dread this revolutionary idea because it produces an intolerable contrast to their own system. They know that our strength comes from the freedom and the well-being of our citizens. We are strong because we never stop working for better education for all our people, for fair wages and better living conditions, for more opportunities for business and better lives for our farmers. We are strong because of our Social Security System, because of our labor unions, because of our agricultural program. We are strong because we use our democratic institutions continually to achieve a better life for all the people of our country.

This is the source of our strength. And this idea--this endlessly revolutionary idea of human freedom and political equality-is what we held out to all nations as an answer to the tyranny of international communism. We have seen this idea work in our own country. We know that it acknowledges no barriers of race, or nation, or creed. We know that it means progress for all men.

The international Communist movement, • far from being revolutionary, is the most reactionary movement in the world today. It is violently opposed to the freedom of the individual, because in that Communist system the state is supreme. It is equally opposed to the freedom of other nations, because in that Communist system it is Soviet Russia which must be supreme.

When General MacArthur and I discussed the whole problem of peace in the Far East, we recognized that this is far more than a military problem.

Today the peoples of the Far East, as well as the peoples of the other parts of the world, are struggling with the false revolution of communism. Soviet communism makes the false claim to those peoples that it stands for progress and human achievement. Actually, it seeks to turn them into the colonial slaves of a new imperialism. In this time of crisis, we ask the peoples of the Far East to understand us as we try to understand them. We are not trying to push blueprints upon them as readymade answers for all their complicated problems. Every people must develop according to its own particular genius and must express its own moral and cultural values in its own way.

We believe that we have much in common with the peoples of the Far East. Their older civilizations have much to teach us. We hope our new developments may be helpful to them.

We know that the peoples of Asia cherish their freedom and independence. We sympathize with that desire and we will help to attain and defend their independence. Our entire history proclaims our policy on that point. Our men are fighting now in Asia to help secure the freedom and independence of a small nation which was brutally attacked.

We know that the peoples of Asia have problems of social injustice to solve. They want their farmers to own their land and to enjoy the fruits of their toil. That is one of our great national principles also. We believe in the family-size farm. That is the basis of our agriculture and has strongly influenced our form of government.

We know that the peoples of Asia want their industrial workers to have their full measure of freedom and rising standards of living. So do we. That is the basis of our industrial society in this country.

We know that the peoples of Asia have problems of production; they need to produce more food and clothing and shelter It is in this field that we can make a special contribution by sharing with others the productive techniques which we have discovered in our own experience.

We are not strangers to the Far East. For more than a century our missionaries, doctors, teachers, traders, and businessmen have knit many ties of friendship between us. If we can be of help, we are ready to offer it--but only to those who want it. Through the Economic Cooperation Administration, point 4, and in many other ways we are trying to help the peoples of other countries to improve their living standards. We will continue these programs in cooperation with the United Nations. Even as we undertake the necessary burdens of defense against aggression, we will help to expand the work of aiding human progress. Otherwise, measures of defense alone will have little or no value.

We seek full partnership with the peoples of Asia, as with all other peoples, in the defense and support of the ideals which we and they have written into the Charter of the United Nations. What we want is a partnership for peace.

I have spoken to you tonight about some of the things which all of us are thinking about as we push ahead to finish our job in Korea. At a time when our forces under General MacArthur are locked in combat with a stubborn enemy, it is essential for us to understand what our broad purposes are and see clearly the kind of world we seek to build.

As your President I realize what it means to the homes of America to have the youth of our land called to meet aggression. These are the most solemn decisions and impose the heaviest responsibility upon those who must make them. I have told you tonight why we must do what we are doing. We hate war, but we love our liberties. We will not see them destroyed. We want peace but it must be a peace founded upon justice. What we want is a partnership for peace with all the world.

Our American policy of peace, founded upon justice, is as old as this Republic, and it is stronger today than ever before in our history. And with God's help we intend to keep it that way.