Address at "Salute to Eisenhower" Dinner

Mr. Vice President, Chairman Hall, my very dear friends here and throughout the United States:

In this past half hour, on the magic carpet of Television, I have traveled around the country, recognizing faces of old friends hundreds of miles distant, recalling visits to cities as I glimpsed them on the screen, feeling the enthusiasm and warm friendship of so many thousands I have never met. I wish I could meet them so that I might personally say to each: "Thank you!"

In fact, my friends, all my friends, after such a tribute as has been paid to Mrs. Eisenhower and to me this evening, the heart is so full that it is indeed dangerous to try to say more than "Thank You." I shall let it go at that.

Naturally, we have been deeply moved through the flying minutes of this electronic tour. I am grateful to everyone--the Republican Clubs, and all the organizations, the workers and all individuals and their friends--who, directly or indirectly, participated in this Salute.

But my deepest emotion is concerned with things not shown on the television cameras, things of the mind and of the heart and of the spirit--the memory of millions of our people--Republicans, Independents, Democrats--who in 1952 worked tirelessly to make reality of their ideas of good government; memories of men and women who stirred their friends and communities to action and who-when the election was done--returned to their homes and their jobs, quietly performing the work of America, raising their families, discharging their responsibilities of citizenship, living worthy, rewarding lives.

Those many millions made possible the event whose anniversary you celebrate today. They are the basis and the strength of what so many have called a new era. They brought fresh vigor to the political life of America with their vision, their energy and their dedication. We in Washington--inspired by them--have sought earnestly to be worthy of their trust. The heartfelt thanks of everyone at all these dinners throughout the nation tonight go to them. They, in the homes of America, are the ones who truly merit a great salute.

During recent months I have had an opportunity, indeed an enforced opportunity, to ponder on many subjects--the essential goodness and honest purposes of people; the common bonds that join all Americans regardless of ancestry, faith or politics; the anxiety of multitudes, at home and abroad, to encourage and to pray for one stricken by illness; the unity of aspirations that binds humanity together.

In pursuit of these aspirations, we in the Federal Government strive with all our strength to convert the uneasy peace in which we live to one that is genuine, based on the great moral principles of justice and of right. Knowing well that true peace cannot be achieved by retreat from reality and responsibility or by desertion of friends, we make certain that our defenses are alert and strong; that our partnerships with others are based on deep friendships and common great purposes; that gradually the truth of our nation's peaceful goals and our respect for the rights of others is brought to all peoples of the earth. And let no one be in doubt; this struggle for peace will be waged relentlessly by Americans of all parties and all creeds until at last success shall crown our efforts and reward our faith.

At home we enjoy prosperity; not the false prosperity of a dizzy inflation or of economic activity based mainly on arms spending; not the tragic prosperity of a few who can squander and of millions who must pinch; rather the genuine and widely shared prosperity of an immense productivity for peacetime satisfaction of human needs.

This record is the product of an industrious citizenry, supported in the Federal Government by a program designed for progress and dedicated to integrity, to concern for every individual, to faith in America and its principles.

Many tasks still await action. Problems involving sectors of the home front and relationships abroad demand the earnest and sympathetic attention of all Americans. Thus the present and the future are heavy with challenge, rich with opportunity. We must not relax merely because the general record is good.

Now, my friends, for every good citizen, his political party is, or he wants it to be, an instrument for genuine service, united in its devotion to a program that preserves intact the vital principles of the American creed; that attacks every problem in the light of those principles; that recognizes inescapable change and meets it; that believes in the dignity of every individual, in his equal right to justice and fair play, in his equal opportunity for the exercise of his talents, in his right to proper sharing in the nation's prosperity. This is my personal conception of the Republican Party on this January 20th, 1956. As long as our Party lives by these principles and dedicates itself to these goals, it will continue to draw into its ranks in ever-increasing numbers, men and women of idealism from every walk of life and from every section of our country.

As we move toward the solution of existing problems, my own future role in our Party remains undetermined; whether to be a candidate for your nomination or a worker in the ranks. I could devoutly wish that there were some method by which the American people could, under the circumstances, point out the path of my true duty. But it appears that this is a question that first I alone must answer. That answer will be forthcoming as quickly as it is firmly fixed in my mind. I trust that it will not unduly reflect concern for self, and I pledge that in whatever capacity I shall serve, I shall support with all my strength the foreign and domestic programs for America that have been the guide of all of us for these past three years. That work must go on to fruition, in the interests of all Americans.

Again my warmest thanks to all of you.