this is a serious course upon which we embark. i would not recommend it except that the alternative is much more serious. the united states contributed $341,000,000,000 toward winning world war ii. this is an investment in world freedom and world peace. the assistance that i am recommending for greece and turkey amounts to little more than 1 tenth of 1 per cent of this investment. it is only common sense that we should safeguard this investment and make sure that it was not in vain. the seeds of totalitarian regimes are nurtured by misery and want. they spread and grow in the evil soil of poverty and strife. they reach their full growth when the hope of a people for a better life has died.
we must keep that hope alive.
the free peoples of the world look to us for support in maintaining their freedoms. if we falter in our leadership, we may endanger the peace of the world. and we shall surely endanger the welfare of this nation.
great responsibilities have been placed upon us by the swift movement of events.
i am confident that the congress will face these responsibilities squarely.