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President Harry S. Truman. Source: Truman Library. |
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The Public Papers of Harry S. Truman contain most of President Truman's public messages, statements, speeches, and
news conference remarks. Documents such as Proclamations, Executive Orders, and similar documents that are published in the Federal Register
and the Code of Federal Regulations, as required by law, are usually not included. The documents within the Public Papers
are arranged in chronological order. President Truman delivered the remarks or addresses from Washington, D. C., unless
otherwise indicated. The White House in Washington issued statements, messages, and letters unless noted otherwise.
(Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, Harry S. Truman, 1945-1953. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1966)
The Public Papers contain items such as the Statement by the President Announcing the Use of the A-Bomb at Hiroshima
(August 6, 1945), the Special Message to the Congress on Greece and Turkey: The Truman Doctrine (March 12, 1947),
the White House Statement Announcing Recognition of the Government of Israel (January 31, 1949), the Statement and
Order by the President on Relieving General MacArthur of His Commands (April 11, 1951), and The President's Farewell
Address to the American People (January 15, 1953).
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33.
Special Message to the Congress Urging Extension and Strengthening of the Defense Production Act |
February 11, 1952
To the Congress of the United States:
The Defense Production Act is now scheduled to expire on June 30, 1952. That Act is essential to the defense mobilization effort of the Nation. I recommend that it be extended for two years and strengthened in a number of respects.
Our need for a strong Defense Production Act is perfectly clear. We are now well along in our program to create invincible defensive strength in the free world. But, in order to complete that program rapidly and effectively, we must continue to have the authority contained in the Defense Production Act.
This law contains. authority to channel materials for defense, to help expand essential production, and to help small business make its vital contribution to the mobilization effort. This law also contains authority to stabilize prices, wages, credit and rents so inflation and high prices will not disrupt production, increase the cost of defense, and cause hardship and suffering among our people.
These powers will be needed for at least two more years. We are just now entering the period of greatest strain in our mobilization effort.
Since the attack on Korea, we have been building plants to turn out large amounts of planes, tanks, and other military items. And we have been rapidly increasing our output of military goods. In many cases, we are now producing equipment three or four times as fast as we were a year ago.
But under the budget program now before the Congress, the peak production rates for complex military items are still ahead of us in nearly all cases. And for some items, particularly the new models of jet aircraft, we will not reach volume production until 1953 or 1954. This means that the military use of steel, copper, aluminum, alloy metals, electronic equipment and many other things will be high for many months to come--and will continue to require substantial diversion from less essential uses.
Within the next two years, under our present plans, most of our new plants for producing military equipment should be completed, and by the middle of 1954 we should have on hand the great bulk of the equipment we need. Changes in the international situation or in technology, of course, could result in changes in our plans at any time, but if the situation develops as we now foresee, it should be possible by then to reduce the military demand for many materials and supplies.
Moreover, during the next two years we should be obtaining substantial results from the tremendous expansion that is now underway in our capacity to produce minerals, metals, chemicals, power, and other industrial necessities. For example, we are now building plants that will allow us to raise our production of primary aluminum from 720,000 tons a year in 1950 to 1,500,000 tons a year in 1954--and additional capacity may be needed. We are building nitrogen plants that will raise our capacity from 1,600,000 tons a year in 1950 to 2,900,000 tons in 19 ...
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