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Tb PROSOMW: Well sir, of course, anything like this is
speculative. You are dealing with independent people, independent nations, You are dealing with people that are very
emotional, where their prejudices and mutual hatrecs are very
deep, So what you can do is this: We have, we shall have, if
we have a cease-fire, an opvortunity to negotiate in good faith
and that, I think, is about all you can say.
Now if you could demilitarize or something else, I'm not so
sure as that is a final answer to which everylody could agfree,
but I do say, to do this thing peacefully and remembering the
interests of each nation, its own self-respect, why, then I
think possibly we could get somewhere.
Q. Edward "’. O'Brien, St. Louis Globe-Democrat. Saturday,
sir, will be the first anniversary of the launching of the
first Russian sputnik. Could you discuss with us the evolution of our military position in the past year in relation to
that of Russia. And as a somewhat related matter, could you
tell us, sir, if we have the military power in the Far Pacific
that is adequate for our possible needs in that area?
Tok PRESIDENT:
You are getting -- these guns are getting
about three-barreled, rather than two.
(lauchter)
Jith respect to the sputnik incidents of the russians, I
should say they represent, as the whole world recognizes, ,.°°
remarkable achievements, end they are adcitional evidence ;{*
of the quality of the top Russian scientists right down thé:
whole field.
REPRODUCED AT THE DWIGHTD.
EISENHOWER LIBRARY
Our committees that come back to the United States, our
Electrical Comnittee, the Steel Comittee and the others,
they come back and they report very great, tremendous advances
in the scientific character of all of their steel-makin;
facilities and everything else,
In one or two instances it has
been reported to me, said, "You know, these people in one or
two kinds of items are ahead of us, even in quality, and you
might say, in the height of the scientific ingenuity that has
been displayed."
Now, we have in, I believe in the last seven months, put four
satellites in orbit,
Our scheme, our plan was devised, as I
pointed out before, with an entirely different purpose fron
that that the Soviets had.
Ve started it as a part of the Geophysical Year.
It was our
responsibility that we voluntarily assumed. When it cones to
the weaponry, as I pointed out to you again, that the Russians
started with their German scientists that they had secured
right after 1945,