Address at the Dedication of Equestrian Statues, a Gift of the People of Italy.

Mr. Secretary of the Interior, Mr. Prime Minister, Mr. Secretary of State, ladies and gentlemen:

On behalf of the American people, I am happy to accept the gift of these four beautiful statues from the people of Italy. These statues were designed by American artists and made by Italian craftsmen. Italian foundries and Italian workmen, using the secrets of their craft that go back to the days of Michelangelo, cast these heroic figures in bronze and covered them with gold.

These statues bear witness to the artistic traditions and the fine workmanship of the Italian people.

Four of the craftsmen who made these bronze groups have come to this country for the ceremony, and we are delighted to have them with us. We are also fortunate to have with us a representative of the trade union leaders of Italy who are striving for a free, democratic labor movement in Italy. These leaders are fighting in the cause of free trade unions and free people everywhere. The presence here of these Italian citizens testifies to the friendship and trust between the people of Italy and the people of the United States in the struggle for human freedom.

Ever since the war our two countries have been working together to preserve world peace. We have been seeking to create economic conditions that will make it possible for all men to do useful work and live their lives in freedom at the same time. The Italian people have made great progress, Mr. Prime Minister, since your last visit to Washington in 1947.

Your people have made progress in agriculture and industry. Industrial production in Italy is now 45 percent higher than it was in 1947. Electric power production is almost double what it was before the war. You have been moving forward in land reclamation and flood control.

But this is not all. Italy is engaged in a program of economic and social reforms. Low-cost housing developments have been created. Land reform is giving thousands of farmers a new stake in the land they work. The whole island of Sardinia has been freed from the scourge of malaria and as a result offers new and greater opportunities for economic development.

We in the United States regard steps like these as vitally important. We earnestly believe that the benefits of economic progress and increased production should be made available to all the people.

That is why we are so glad to see the new developments that are taking place in Italy today. Italy is making progress by evolution and not by revolution. And it is progress that benefits the ordinary citizen. We are confident that the firm devotion to freedom and democratic principles that has guided you, Mr. Prime Minister, and your colleagues in office, will result in further advances for the Italian people.

Through these difficult years since the war, the Italian people have proved their right to participate fully--and as equal partners--in the great constructive tasks of the free world.

During your conferences here, Mr. Prime Minister, we have discovered ways in which our two countries can continue to work together in the effort of the free nations for peace and human advancement.

It is clear that Italy cannot do its full share in this effort under the existing restrictions of the Italian peace treaty. As it stands, the treaty does not give Italy the position of equality among the free nations to which it is entitled. Among other things, the treaty places unnecessary shackles on Italian efforts for the common defense of the community of free nations. We intend to do everything we can to see that these unfair restrictions and discriminations are removed.

We also intend to keep on working for the admission of Italy into the United Nations. If the Soviet Union keeps on vetoing Italy's membership, other ways must be found to enable Italy to play a full and equal part in upholding the principles of the United Nations.

In the economic field, we realize that one of Italy's biggest problems is surplus manpower--and that jobs and homes must be found in other lands for many of those who cannot be employed in Italy. The history of the United States shows that a nation is most fortunate if it can obtain the energies and skills of Italian immigrants. I hope we can set up an effective international program to help solve Italy's problem of surplus manpower. There are many places in the world where people from Italy are needed and where they can lay the foundations for a prosperous future for themselves and their children.

In addition to idle manpower, Italy has factories which could be used for defense production if they were not hampered by shortages of materials and lack of foreign exchange. When factories and workers in Italy stand idle, that is a needless loss to the strength of the free world. Acting together, our governments must take steps to use the resources of Italy's manpower and industrial production as fully as possible in the great mobilization effort of the free nations for peace.

The future of Italy lies not only in domestic progress but also in closer ties and greater unity with the free nations that are its neighbors. We have followed with great interest the efforts of Italian statesmen to bring about a greater sense of European unity, based on moral and cultural values. We expect Italy, with its great religious and cultural heritage, to take a leading part in that effort.

Greater unity in defense, greater unity in economic effort, the removal of obsolete national barriers from the North Sea to the Mediterranean--these are the things that are needed to provide not only security but social and economic advancement for the peoples of Europe.

Only by such changes can we preserve the fundamental values of the past. Only by such combined efforts can we counter the menace of Soviet aggression. Only through such cooperation by all can we raise the living standards and increase the opportunities of any single nation.

In these great tasks, Mr. Prime Minister, we wish the Italian people good fortune and speedy success. Rest assured that we are with you, and will do all we can to help you.