Presidential Papers, Doc#94 Personal and confidential To Arthur Krock, 29 March 1957. In The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower
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Doc #95

Document #94; March 29, 1957
To Arthur Krock
Series: EM, AWF, DDE Diaries Series ; Category: Personal and confidential
The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, Volume XVIII - The Presidency: Keeping the Peace
Part I: A New Beginning, Old Problems; January 1957 to May 1957
Chapter 1: The Mideast and the Eisenhower Doctrine

 

Dear Arthur: When I saw your column this morning, I was perfectly certain that you had misquoted me when you reported me as having said, "To say you are going to save a few millions here and a few millions there is the poorest kind of economy we can find." Upon looking up the text of my press conference, I find you are absolutely correct.1

When I made the statement quoted in your column of today, I was talking, as you probably realize, about mutual aid. In this field I believe that we must look at what we are trying to do; we must think in terms of objectives and of needs. So when I was talking about piecemeal savings, I was applying it to this one program only. Elsewhere in the press conference you will find that I mentioned that the Defense Department had already found the possibility of saving money through further shortening of lead time and through a better use of accumulated spare parts.2 I also pointed out in another place that some savings could be made in flexibility of programs.3 But I do decry any effort to save money in the mutual aid area by merely saying that we will cut this country ten million, that one five million and the next a different figure, and so on.

I send you this note merely to make clear to you my own meaning. I do not expect or desire to influence in any way what you may find it proper to say about this budgetary situation.4 It is because I want to keep this on a purely personal basis that I so mark this letter.

With warm regard, Sincerely

1 Eisenhower was referring to New York Times columnist Arthur Krock's March 29 editorial comments regarding the President's March 27 news conference (see Public Papers of the Presidents: Eisenhower, 1957, pp. 218 - 23, and New York Times, Mar. 29, 1957). The President had spent a large part of the conference defending his program on foreign aid. Asked what the Administration had done specifically to help its foreign aid program through Congress, Eisenhower had responded that "I am afraid you have opened up yourself for a little speech." Stating that since foreign aid had no pressure group in any district in the United States, it became the "fair target" of anyone who wanted to save money. However, Eisenhower continued, "I say to you there are no dollars today that are being spent more wisely for the future of American peace and prosperity than the dollars we put in foreign aid." The President indicated his awareness of the limitations of foreign aid ("I don't believe you can buy friendship"), stating that he saw foreign aid as only one part of a many-sided program. "You are trying to teach respect for individual liberty and rights to people who never heard the words. And while you are going along with that, you have got a critical problem. They are proud of their national existence, but they are also suffering under the lowest standards of living. . . . That is the thing you are up against; and, therefore, to say you are going to save a few millions here and a few millions there, I think is the poorest kind of economy we can find." For background see nos. 75 and 76.

2 Eisenhower had said: "I am told by the Defense Department they found they can make probably some savings for one year by shortening up still further their carryovers, which has been a point of some argument for some years."

3 The President had said: "I think the more flexibility, the longer term it is, the more you can save, because the more efficiently you can plan."

4 For more on the budget and foreign aid see also no. 27.

Bibliographic reference to this document:
Eisenhower, Dwight D. Personal and confidential To Arthur Krock, 29 March 1957. In The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, ed. L. Galambos and D. van Ee, doc. 94. World Wide Web facsimile by The Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission of the print edition; Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, http://www.eisenhowermemorial.org/presidential-papers/second-term/documents/94.cfm

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