"For the Common Good"

From the radio and television room in the White House, the President of the U.S. this week delivered his first message of 1954. It was beamed at the American people through every major radio and television network. Its aim was clear: Dwight Eisenhower was attempting to rally behind his legislative program the great popular support that swept him into the White House in 1952.

While he did not offer a preview of his State of the Union message, the President did call public attention to his forthcoming recommendations to Congress. He outlined the accomplishments and restated the aims of his Administration, speaking largely of principle rather than of detail, but in crisp, direct terms.

The Accomplishments: What has the Administration done? The President listed "a few" of the accomplishments:

1. "The fighting and the casualties in Korea mercifully have come to an end . . .

2. "Our own defenses and those of the free world have been strengthened against Communist aggression.

3. "The highest security standards are being insisted upon for those employed in Government service.

4. "Requests for new appropriations have been reduced by $13 billion.

5. "Tax reductions which go into effect this month have been made financially feasible by substantial reductions in Government expenditures.

6. "Strangling controls on our economy have been removed.

7. "The fantastic paradox of farm prices, on a toboggan slide while living costs soared skyward, has ceased.

8. "The cheapening by inflation of every dollar you earn, every savings account and insurance policy you own, and every pension payment you receive has been halted.

9. "The proper working relationship between the Executive and Legislative branches of the Federal Government has been made effective.

10. "Emergency immigration legislation has been enacted.

11. "A strong and consistent policy has been developed toward gaining and retaining the initiative in foreign affairs.

12. "A plan to harness atomic energy to the peaceful service of mankind, and to help end the climate of suspicion and fear that excites nations to war, has been proposed to the world."

The Aims. Taking note of widespread talk about a business recession, the President spoke sternly of the "self-appointed peddlers of gloom and doom." Assuring the people that his Administration is deeply concerned with "the realities of living," he said: "Groundwork . . . has been laid by this Administration in the strong belief that the Federal Government should be prepared at all times--ready, at a moment's notice, to use every proper means 'to sustain the basic prosperity of our people.

"I therefore give you this assurance: every legitimate means available to the Federal Government that can be used to sustain that prosperity is being used and will continue to be used as necessary. This Administration believes that we must not and need not tolerate a boom-and-bust America."

In America, said the President, no one group can really prosper unless all Americans prosper. "We are one family made up of millions of American families with the same hopes for a full and happy life. We must not become a nation divided into factions, or special groups and hostile cliques. We believe that the slum, the outdated highway, the poor school system, deficiencies in health protection, the loss of a job, and the fear of poverty in old age--in fact, any real injustice in the business of living--penalizes all of us. And this Administration is committed to help you prevent them."

In stating those principles, Dwight Eisenhower spotlighted what he called the "key word" of his Administration and of the program it will present to Congress: "Help." What did he mean by help? "We do not mean monuments to costly and intolerant bureaucracy. We do not mean a timid unwillingness to act. We mean service--service that is effective, service that is prompt, service that is single-mindedly devoted to solving the problem."

The Invitation. With a bow to the principle of decentralized government, the President said his Administration intends to "rely on the good sense and local knowledge of the community." Therefore, it will "decentralize administration as much as possible so that the services of government may be closer to you and thus serve you better . . . We know that you are far more knowledgeable than Washington as to the nature of your local needs. We also know that, as the local partners in any enterprise, you will be incessantly concerned with efficiency and economy--something which we are promoting in all federal enterprises."

Since last Jan. 20, said the President, his Administration has been like a man building a house--planning and building "the foundation for our forthcoming legislative program." The result: "It is a program that does not deal in pie-in-the-sky promises to all, nor in bribes to a few, nor in threats to any. It is a program inspired by zeal for the common good, dedicated to the welfare of every American family--whatever its means of livelihood may be, or its social position, or its ancestral strain, or its religious affiliation."

Having set the stage for his message to Congress, President Eisenhower clearly and frankly invited the voters to rally behind him in the effort to win enactment of his program. Said he: "When the State of the Union message is delivered to the Congress ... I hope you will agree with me that it presents an opportunity which will enable us, as a people--united and strong--to push ever forward and to demonstrate to the world the great and good power of free men and women. We will build a stronger and better America --of greater security and constantly increasing prosperity for all."

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