Radio and Television Address Delivered at a Rally in the Syria Mosque, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Senator Martin, my fellow Americans:

It is indeed good to be back in the state where my wife and I have the first home we could ever call our own. After a half-century in the service of America, all over the world, we think this is a wonderful place to live.

By happy coincidence I speak tonight of Republicanism on the hundredth birthday of a great Republican--Theodore Roosevelt.

Every American salutes this gifted leader, so great in action, so strong in heart, so unshakably confident of America's ability to surmount any crisis and meet any test of spirit.

His Square Deal was in truth an American Deal, not to be confused with later, inferior imitations.

To the faint-hearted, to the pessimists, to these latter-day Dealers who wander among us, I commend his stirring example.

He realized that because of the growing complexities of our economic and social order, the federal government tends, sometimes inescapably, to exert increasing influence over our lives and over our localities. Our task is to be alert to this tendency and watch that it never goes beyond the bounds of necessity. We must place around it the limits defined by American principle--the kind of principle in which Republicans believe.

Now every election gives America a new testing of faith, of courage, of spirit. Considering this--considering also the differing character of our two great political parties--I believe deeply that Americans should enthusiastically vote Republican on November fourth.

Here in Pennsylvania this means we should elect the entire State and Congressional Republican team, headed by Arthur McGonigle for Governor and Hugh Scott for United States Senator. We have many good reasons to do so.

First consider the spectacular gains achieved for America since 1952. These are the finest six years of progress in our country's history!

Since 1952, personal income is up 30 percent, production of goods and services up 90 billions, weekly factory wages up 25 percent, family buying power up 15 percent, social security strengthened, unemployment insurance broadened, 40 thousand miles of intercontinental super-highways under construction, savings at the highest level ever, our armed forces stronger than ever before, and America, tireless in the cause of a just peace, today, after six years of international tension, still at peace. That is real progress. That progress deserves all-out support.

Of course, the building of such a record is not all smooth sailing. In our free economy, productivity and prosperity never long push upward at an even rate. Our over-all advance of the past six years has been remarkable; yet an economic readjustment began just over a year ago.

That experience has provided political and governmental lessons for the future that should never be forgotten.

Immediately, the Administration put forward a strong, sensible, constructive program. But events swiftly showed a critical and basic difference between the Republican approach and the visionary schemes advanced by the political opposition.

The Republican formula was steadiness, confidence, strength.

The formula of the radical wing of the opposition was fearful prophecy, and a raid on the taxpayer's dollar.

To illustrate: one of the opposition--a United States Senator--said last winter that the recession was "rapidly growing into a full-fledged depression." Another went on television in his eagerness to frighten America. He said that in just a few months "we had come from a hair-curling inflation to a depression." Another one charged that the recession was "planned, premeditated, and pre-designed (by) this Administration.

Apparently they sought to reassure America by predicting disaster. At the same time spokesmen of the same persuasion were proving how easy it is to spend somebody else's money. They demanded enormous new federal public works programs, to be paid for, of course, by the long-suffering taxpayer. They ignored one small detail--before anyone could possibly be put to work on those huge projects the recession would long be over. And, whether necessary or not those projects would keep on costing hundreds of millions a year for many years into the future.

But the spenders did not stop there. They cried out for fat federal handouts.

One of them introduced a bill in Congress to qualify almost everybody in the United States for a thousand-dollar federal loan. All that each had to do was ask for it.

Now the Congressman who conjured up that recession cure said it would cost you, the taxpayer, only ten billions dollars, to begin with. But even he was a rookie in the spendthrift league.

A Senator was far more liberal. Single-handedly he introduced bills in Congress that authorized spending not just 10 but 23 billion dollars.

Now, even in these times, 23 billion dollars is a lot of money. Someone told me that, in one dollar bills, laid end-to-end, these 23 billions would make four round trips to the moon. Those dollar bills that would go to the moon are yours, not someone else's.

Yet some have wondered why I have labelled such absurd statements and schemes, and their authors, irresponsible and radical. Well, what would you call them? Personally, I think my choice of words has been very conservative.

This spending would saddle the future with greater debts, heavier interest payments, higher prices, and encourage spiraling inflation. As for inflation, we know that it blows up your costs, while it shrinks your savings, gobbles up your pensions, eats up your insurance policies.

That is why thoughtful citizens everywhere fight wasteful government spending.

These last few years our defense costs have had to go up principally because we had to work so hard to eliminate the long-range ballistic missile gap. Now that gap was created by neglect of these critical weapons for eight years immediately following World War II. But even as we had to provide additional dollars for America's safety, self-styled liberals have demanded that we spend more and still more for dozens of unnecessary purposes, at the same time they demanded a tax cut.

Now, just how gullible do these spenders think Americans really are?

This frenzy to spend your tax dollar was a far cry from the sensible Republican programs last winter.

First, repudiating prophesies of disaster, we acted to strengthen, not impair, national confidence.

We moved soundly, quickly, to meet human needs. We bolstered unemployment insurance.

In cooperation with the independent federal Reserve Board, we made needed credit available.

We sped up construction projects that were needed, already authorized, and already under way. Thus we could build solidly for the future as we promptly created more jobs.

We moved forward the awarding of defense contracts. from last January to July, they amounted to half a billion dollars here in Pennsylvania alone.

These sensible programs, this Republican approach, worked! Today, nationwide, things are good and are rapidly getting better.

Here in Pittsburgh, in just six months, steel production has gone up 44 percent. Meanwhile, construction employment has gone up by 11,000.

In only one month, from August to September, unemployment went down 6,000 in Pittsburgh, 10,000 in Philadelphia, 1,200 in Reading.

And across America unemployment fell by 600,000 in that same month.

Last month, housing starts across the nation were the highest in three years.

Industrial production has gone up five straight months in a row. Orders for manufactured goods are up.

And here I repeat an all-important fact: we have achieved this economic resurgence without flogging the economy into inflation! Since May, living costs have been virtually stable.

This is very significant. It means that these new gains in weekly earnings are giving our workers a real increase in buying power, not just more shrinking dollars that buy less and less at the store.

Now, not for a moment would I presume to say that all our economic difficulties are eliminated, either now or for all time to come.

So long as there is anyone unemployed, who is able and willing to work, especially those with families to support and bills coming due, our problems are not fully solved.

But jobs are not provided by harebrained spending schemes that undermine the economy and thus jeopardize jobs of 64,000,000 Americans already employed. Rather, jobs are best provided by sensible, progressive programs which generate and hold confidence, and encourage steady growth all across the land.

A good example is our help to small businessmen. It is working. The number of small businesses is higher today than ever before.

This year I sent Congress more measures to aid small business than any other President in any year in all our history. We made the Small Business Administration a permanent organization. We opened new methods of easing the financial problems of these small concerns.

We made it easier for small businesses to work with the government. We assured them of full opportunity for a larger share of government contracts. We made tax changes directly helpful to thousands of small firms.

These measures clearly show solid Republican determination to foster and strengthen small enterprises throughout America. This is constructive help, not domination. It is the sensible, the Republican, way.

Now just as staunchly, just as productively, we have stood with our 64 million American workers.

First, this fact: labor's share of the national income is now 71 percent. This, my friends, is 6 percent more of the national income for the American worker than he ever got under the Democrats.

Clearly, sensible Republican policies have brought the workingman more dollars than all the boondoggles ever conceived by spenders.

I believe that management and labor must work together to keep down inflationary pressures.

I believe that the Congress and the Executive must work together to hold down federal spending.

That is the way to produce more and more purchasing power, more and more real prosperity for everyone in America.

Republican government believes in not interfering with labor-management negotiations except when national emergency so demands. That policy, too, has worked.

Last year man-days lost by strikes were lower than in any year since World War II. That means, once again, more dollars in the pocket of the American worker.

No less important is the right of every citizen to demand of labor leaders unimpeachable honesty and integrity. Yet from recent Senate hearings we have shocking evidence that the healthy relationship between the union member and his elected officials has on repeated occasions been corrupted by hoodlums and racketeers.

I stand wholeheartedly with our working men and women, and I stand with responsible labor and business leaders, in a firm determination to drive hoodlums out of Labor.

Repeatedly I have urged Congress to pass legislation that will stop these evil activities and protect the rank-and-file. But it has been consistently blocked by the political opposition controlling the Congress.

Republicans want and work for this vital reform.

Now the programs I have mentioned have this common thread: Republicanism represents all interests--no special interests. It represents all occupational groups--no special group.

Now how different from the political opposition.

That opposition is two parties at war, within one party. And never the twain shall meet--except at election time. It promises you feuding, futile, deadlocked government.

The Republican Party is indeed a sharp contrast to this. It continues to stand, nationwide, for all Americans, regardless of race, color, creed or geography.

It continues to be for all workers, for all farmers, for all businessmen, and all Americans everywhere. Now this means that:

--to advance every American, with special favors to none;
--to defend and advance free enterprise, which creates jobs for all of us;
--to carry forward efforts for labor-management cooperation in resisting inflation;
--to make certain of honesty, thrift and efficiency in all that government does;
--clearly, my friends, we should vote Republican.

Fellow citizens, with such unified, efficient, progressive government, the promise of American life has no limit.

Tonight, on the 100th anniversary of his birthday, my mind goes back again to Theodore Roosevelt. Clearly he saw, unceasingly he preached, the importance of moral and spiritual values in our nation and throughout the world. He believed in the good sense, the gallantry, the decency, the essential goodness of America.

He understood, as we understand so dearly today, that negotiations for a just peace can be advanced only from a position of unassailable national strength.

By his great heart, his firmness, his faith, he enriched Republican beliefs, traditions and convictions that have come down to us from the days of Lincoln. Our greatest tribute to him is to strive to follow the path he helped to blaze.

We Republicans, and those of other parties or of no party at all, recognize in him a man devoted to people but not to class, a man who sought the friendship of all nations but would not purchase it with loss of our nation's self-respect, one who preached that America cannot buy prosperity and cannot buy peace--that, my friends, was Theodore Roosevelt.

That, too, is Republican faith today, a faith worthy of America, a faith, proved by accomplishment, that is worthy of every citizen's support.

And now I have just a moment, I think, to bring to you a piece of news that you may not have heard: this morning, the Chinese communists announced that they have taken the last of their troops out of North Korea.
I thank you.