Remarks at a Civic Reception at the Luneta in Manila

Mr. President, you, on behalf of the Filipino people, have just bestowed a great honor upon me.

Proudly, I accept, in the name of the American people, the award of Rajah in the Ancient Order of Sikatuna.

My friends, this Luneta was for more than 4 years the scene of my habitual evening walks. To this day it lives in memory as one of the most pleasant, indeed even one of the most romantic spots, I have known in this entire world. Leaving the front entrance of the Manila Hotel of an evening, I could walk to the right to view the busy docks where Philippine commerce with the world was loaded and unloaded. from here, looking across the peaceful waters of Manila Bay, I could see the gorgeous sunsets over Miravales. Walking toward the Club of the Army and the Navy, and looking down toward the city itself, I nearly always paused for a moment before the statue of the great Jose Rizal before returning to my quarters. One thing that made those evening promenades so pleasant, so meaningful, was the deep sense of feeling I had of Philippine-American friendship.

To you, assembled before this platform--to Filipinos and Americans everywhere, and to those who are gone from among us--is due the credit of having our close friendship in war and in peace.

Now, upon both our peoples still rests the grave responsibility of working together tirelessly in the promotion of liberty and world peace.

The voluntary association of free peoples produces, from the sharing of common ideals of justice, equality and liberty, a strength and a moral fiber which tyrannies never attain by coercion, control, and oppression. Such tyrannies can, of course, concentrate upon a single objective--the toil of millions upon millions of men and women, working endless hours, denied even the smallest happiness of human living, sometimes whipped, sometimes cajoled, always treated as robots bereft of human dignity. for a space of years, particularly if the peoples they regiment have known little of freedom or of a decent prosperity, such dictatorships may seem to achieve marvels. But in their denial of human dignity--their destruction of individual self-esteem--they write the eventual doom of their system.

Long before many of us here today were born, a great Filipino, Jose Rizal, in vivid and eloquent language, foretold the eruption of these tyrannies and predicted their ultimate fate. He said:

"Deprive a man of his dignity, and you not only deprive him of his moral strength but you also make him useless even for those that wish to make use of him. Every creature has its stimulus, its mainspring. Man's is his stir-esteem. Take it away from him and he is a corpse .... "

Now tyrannies of many sorts still exist in the world. All are rejected by free men. Some authoritarian governments, being narrow in ambition, content themselves with local and confined dominance. Others are blatant in their boasts of eventual supremacy over continents and even the world; constant in their boast that eventually they will bury all systems of freedom.

That boast will never come true. Even in the lands that Communists now master with an iron rule, the eternal aspirations of humanity cannot be forever suppressed. The truth enunciated by Jose Rizal is universal in its application. But tyrannies, before their fated deterioration and disappearance, can, sometimes for many years, engulf and enslave free peoples unable to resist them.

In that knowledge, the free world--two-thirds of the earth's population-step by step moves forward toward a more effective partnership that freedom, human dignity, the noble heritages of many centuries may withstand successfully all aggression.

Some nations are still reluctant to commit themselves fully; others are divided on commitments already made. Minorities in some--possibly the victims of subversion or of bribe, possibly confused by propaganda and threat--oppose even the most obviously profitable associations. But most stand firmly together.

The free world must increase its strength--in military defenses, in economic growth, in spiritual dedication. Thus the free world will withstand aggressive pressures, and move ever forward in its search for enduring peace.

Your government has recently reaffirmed your determination to. stand steadfast by joining only 2 weeks ago in the communiqué issued in Washington by the Council of Ministers of the eight nations of SEATO. They stated clearly that:

"The Council availed itself of this timely opportunity to reemphasize the firm unity of purpose of the member countries of SEATO and their determination to maintain and develop, both individually and collectively, their capacity to meet all forms of Communist threat to the peace and security of the Treaty Area."

May I say here that the United States is proud and indeed is thankful to be so closely associated and so staunchly allied with the Philippines both in SEATO and in the Mutual Defense Treaty between our two countries.

But in this world of continuing tension and yearnings for social change, it is insufficient that the free world stand static in its defense of freedom.

We must, all of us, move ahead with imagination and positive programs to improve conditions in which human freedom can flourish.

We must, collectively and individually, strive for a world in which the rule of law replaces the rule of force.

Your country and mine have reaffirmed our faith in the principles of the United Nations Charter. We share a common desire to settle international disputes by peaceful means. The task is not an easy one. Communist intransigence at the conference table, whenever they do agree to sit at one, makes the attainment of an equitable agreement most difficult. Moreover, the record of Communist violations of agreements is a long one--indeed, a sad one. The continuation of Communist provocations, subversion, and terrorism while negotiations are underway serves only to compound the difficulty of arriving at peaceful settlements.

But we shall never close the door to peaceful negotiations. All of us, all free nations, always hold out the hand of friendship as long as it is grasped in honesty and in integrity. We shall continue to make it clear that reason and common sense must prevail over senseless antagonism and distorted misunderstandings and propaganda. The arms race must be brought under control and the nuclear menace that is poised in delicate suspension over the heads of all mankind must be eliminated. This, I am convinced, can be done, without appeasement or surrender, by continuing a course of patient, resourceful and businesslike dealings with the Soviet leaders.

The goal of a world at peace in friendship with freedom is so worth the attaining that every feasible and honorable avenue must be explored. The support, understanding, and participation of all who cherish freedom is essential to this noblest endeavor in history. The Philippine contribution will be mighty in its impact on the future.

And now, my friends, I cannot close without attempting once more to express my very deep appreciation of all the cordial hospitality and friendliness that has been exhibited to me and to all the members of my party during our all too brief stay in this lovely country.

We know that in greeting us along the highway or in magnificent crowds such as this, you are really expressing your basic affection for the American people.

And I assure you--all of you--as the spokesman of the American people, that their concern for you, your faith, your future, your well-being, their affection for you is equally deep with yours.

Thank you and goodbye.