Remarks in San Francisco at a Luncheon for Democrats From Western States.

Madam Chairman, fellow Democrats, distinguished guests:

I am most happy to be here today. I was here some time ago when the United Nations was organized, and opened its first regular meeting. It was a great privilege. That organization, I am sure, will eventually cause us to have world peace.

I came here for the purpose of opening the conference for the signing of the treaty of peace with Japan. I can only be here for the day, but I couldn't possibly turn down the opportunity to talk to some of my Democratic brethren and sisters.

You know, it is good to get together with a group of Democrats, especially an enthusiastic group like this.

I had some experience here in this town in 1948--had a wonderful meeting down in front of City Hall in San Francisco. And the result was very satisfactory.

You in this city witnessed the first great step toward lasting peace back in 1945 when the United Nations Charter was signed here. During the 6 years since then, we have been working constantly for world peace. Step by step we will keep on working for peace. We are building up our armed strength here at home just to keep the peace, and we are helping our friends to build up their strength, for the simple purpose to keep the peace.

We are trying to accomplish the purposes for which the United Nations was established-negotiation of differences between nations, instead of shooting at each other to settle their differences.

It is terrible to think of what would happen if we should have another world war. No one can imagine the destruction, the loss of life.

New weapons mean that an all-out war would wipe out civilization. It is the job of every American--be he Democrat or Republican-to do all he can to prevent all-out war.

There are a lot of people who do not seem to understand this. There are a lot of people who will not or cannot understand the world situation and the problems we face. There are a lot of people who are not willing to pay the taxes and appropriate the necessary money it takes to arm ourselves and our allies.

And you know, we must have friends and allies, and We must help to arm them to keep the peace in the world.

I say to you that these people are flirting with national suicide--flirting with the end of civilization and the return to the darkest of the Dark Ages.

It is fantastic what can happen with the use of new weapons that are now under construction in this country, not only the one which we all fear the most, but there are some weapons which are fantastic in their operation.

I hope we will never have to use them. Now, the people who oppose our preparations are gambling with our future in a way that I am not willing to approve. Under the oath which I took to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, I must do all I can to protect this great Republic from destruction.

These anti-defense, anti-control, anti-everything people are the same ones who have been against everything we have been doing in this country for the last 20 years to improve the conditions for the farmer, for labor, and for the average family.

These reactionaries and isolationists, these "antis" and false economizers are as blind about what it takes to keep our country strong here at home as they are about what it takes to keep peace in the world. In fact, those things go together. We cannot do what is necessary for peace, unless we are strong here at home.

Well, we are strong here at home--we are strong here at home. And I am very thankful for that, and the Democratic Party can be very proud of that fact. Since 1933 we have made the United States strong and prosperous beyond anything the people ever dreamed of.

National income has gone up from $40 billion a year to $278 billion a year.

Corporate profits have gone from minus 3 billion--they were $3 billion in the red in 1932--to plus $46 billion.

And yet, according to some people, we have taken the country down the road to ruin.

It's a wonderful ruin, and I'm glad to be a part of it.

The income per person in terms of today's prices has gone up from $383 a year to $1,447 a year--more than three and a half times.

These pullbacks and "antis" talk about how the dollar has shrunk--well, let's take the figures they come with: The purchasing power of the average man--he is the one I am working for--his purchasing power, the per capita purchasing power has gone up 40 percent since 1939, using the 1939 dollar or the dollar we have today. And they can't go behind it, for figures don't lie--although liars can sometimes figure.

More people are at work right now on good jobs and good wages than ever before in the history of the country, or the history of the world by any country. Our economy is stronger than it has ever been. Farmers, businessmen, wage earners, white collar workers, professionals--all of these are better off than they have ever been before. There was never a time like this in the history of any country in the world, ancient or modern.

All this has been made possible by our system of free enterprise. The policies of the Democratic Party made it possible. The Democratic Party has saved this country from socialism and communism.

Now, why is it that one country after another all over the world has turned to socialism? I will tell you why: It is because those who rule those countries did not know how to make free enterprise work for the benefit of their people.

The same thing was about to happen in this country once, and for the same reason.

Oh, we had some capable businessmen running things--they were very smart. But there was one thing they did not understand.

If Government is going to be successful, it has to be run for the benefit of all the people. We have operated the Government for the benefit of all the people since 1933, and that's the reason we are in the condition we are.

We succeeded in making farmers, laboring men, and industry prosperous. The test of the New Deal and the Fair Deal and all that the Democratic Party has done for the country since March 4, 1933, lies in the answer to a simple question: Are you better off today than you were in the last year of the Old Deal? I wonder if there is anybody here who can say no to that--I don't believe there is.

It hasn't been easy to make the New Deal and the Fair Deal a success. We have had a lot of opposition. Sometimes representatives of special privilege have been able to hold us back. They are still trying to gain control of the Government local, State, and national.

Most of the special privilege boys are better off than they have ever been in their lives, but they still say that the New Deal and the Fair Deal are taking the country m the dogs and to ruin. As I said awhile ago, it's a wonderful ruin, and I'm glad to be a part of it.

That's what they have been saying for 18 years, and all the time they have been getting better off--been getting more prosperous all the time.

We have economic fossils today who want the profits of 1951 with the wages and hours of McKinley's first term.

These anti-people have been wrong so constantly for so long that it makes you wonder how they can keep it up. But they do.

Just let me, as the Democratic President of the United States--the maker of the Fair Deal--propose some progressive measure to improve housing, or the health or the welfare of the people, or the education of our own children, or a plan to protect the people with no lobby in Washington, or no inside pull, by keeping prices down, and you watch, the special interest representatives and the professional "antis" will be against it. They never miss. Anything I suggest for the public welfare is wrong, according to these professional "antis." Thank God there are not too many of them.

There is one thing they have been most consistent about--that is their opposition to the Democratic administration and the things it stands for.

Personally, I have no confidence in their judgment. I intend to keep right on fighting for what I think is right. I intend to keep on fighting for a strong armed force--army, navy, air force--for a military policy for the United States that will keep the peace. And that is what we have got to have, if we expect to keep the peace.

I intend to keep right on fighting for the means to join with our allies in proper arrangements for our own common defense against all aggressors.

I intend to keep right on fighting to build an economically strong country at home-one in which the people will get the benefit.

I don't believe in Government for special privilege. Our resources should be used for the benefit of all the people, not just a few.

When we produce electric power at Shasta Dam, when we develop the Roanoke Basin in Virginia, it ought to be for the benefit of the people and not for the benefit of the private power companies.

The Democratic Party stands for the people and for the public interest, and we are going to keep the Democratic Party for the people and for the public interest as long as I have anything to do with it.

This opposition of ours has plenty of money, and powerful connections in Washington, ready to take over the country's great resources for special privilege.

We must not let them get away with it.

We must keep the spotlight focused where it belongs--on the representatives of special privilege who are swarming around Washington, trying to use the machinery of this great Government of ours for their own selfish interests.

The main problems in Washington today are created by the men who are trying to profiteer during a defense emergency, by people who are trying to sabotage conservation and public power projects.

I want to tell you something about that: Conservation and irrigation developments, and public power projects were started in 1902 in the administration of Teddy Roosevelt. Eighty-five percent of that development has been carried out since March 4, 1933, and 55 percent of that 85 percent has been carried out since April 12, 1945.

These are the things that are really dangerous in public life today, the people who are trying to take those projects away from the people and give them to special privilege. Those are the facts that men and women like you in this room have got to make dear. Those are the facts you must get across to the people, to let them know what is going on.

The special interests and isolationists never give up. There are a lot of people who make their living by being against whatever the Government is trying to do. They don't care what kind of tactics they use. They are going to keep right on attacking us.

We have got to go right on doing what is right, in spite of them.

The Democratic Party has a duty to the country, and if I am not badly mistaken, the Democratic Party is going to keep right on carrying out that duty.

Next year, 1952--[here the President was given a tremendous ovation]--you interrupted me--[laughter]--that is an election year. We are going to elect a President next year, and that means that we are going to have the opportunity to see that this country stays in the right path.

That is a great responsibility. I know I can count on everyone in this crowd to do his part in meeting that responsibility.

You won't be working for the Democratic Party alone, you will be working for the people of the United States, and you will be working for world peace.

I don't know who the Democratic candidates will be next year, but I do know this: They will be fighters for peace, they will understand what it takes to make America strong, they will fight for all the people--not just a few.

I know you people here today appreciate these things. I know you understand how important it is to keep America on the right road.

I know you will give your best to see that this great Republic travels down the road to world peace.

Thank you very much.