The United States is always ready to participate with the Soviet Union in serious discussion of these or any other subjects that may lead to peace with justice.

Certainly it is not necessary to repeat that the United States has no intention of interfering in the internal affairs of any nation;
by the same token, we reject any Soviet attempt to impose its system on us or other peoples by force or subversion.

Now this concern for the freedom of other peoples is the intellectual and spiritual cement which has allied us with more than forty other nations in a common defense effort.
Not for a moment do we forget that our own fate is firmly fastened to that of these countries;
we will not act in any way which would jeopardize our solemn commitments to them.

We and our friends are, of course, concerned with self-defense.
Growing out of this concern is the realization that all people of the Free World have a great stake in the progress, in freedom, of the uncommitted and newly emerging nations.
These peoples, desperately hoping to lift themselves to decent levels of living must not, by our neglect, be forced to seek help from, and finally become virtual satellites of, those who proclaim their hostility to freedom.

But they must have technical and investment assistance.
This is a problem to be solved not by America alone, but also by every nation cherishing the same ideals and in position to provide help.

In recent years America's partners and friends in Western Europe and Japan have made great economic progress.

The international economy of 1960 is markedly different from that of the early postwar years.
No longer is the United States the only major industrial country capable of providing substantial amounts of the resources so urgently needed in the newly developed countries.

To remain secure and prosperous themselves, wealthy nations must extend the kind of co-operation to the less fortunate members that will inspire hope, confidence, and progress.
A rich nation can for a time, without noticeable damage to itself, pursue a course of self-indulgence, making its single goal the material ease and comfort of its own citizens -- thus repudiating its own spiritual and material stake in a peaceful and prosperous society of nations.
But the enmities it will incur, the isolation into which it will descend, and the internal moral and spiritual softness that will be engendered, will, in the long term, bring it to economic and political disaster.

America did not become great through softness and self-indulgence.
Her miraculous progress in material achievements flows from other qualities far more worthy and substantial: adherence to principles and methods consonant with our religious philosophy;
a satisfaction in hard work;
the readiness to sacrifice for worthwhile causes;
the courage to meet every challenge;
the intellectual honesty and capacity to recognize the true path of her own best interests.

To us and to every nation of the Free World, rich or poor, these qualities are necessary today as never before if we are to march together to greater security, prosperity and peace.

I believe that the industrial countries are ready to participate actively in supplementing the efforts of the developing nations to achieve progress.

The immediate need for this kind of co-operation is underscored by the strain in this nation's international balance of payments.
Our surplus from foreign business transactions has in recent years fallen substantially short of the expenditures we make abroad to maintain our military establishments overseas, to finance private investment, and to provide assistance to the less developed nations.
In 1959 our deficit in balance of payments approached four billion dollars.

Continuing deficits of anything like this magnitude would, over time, impair our own economic growth and check the forward progress of the Free World.

We must meet this situation by promoting a rising volume of exports and world trade.
Further, we must induce all industrialized nations of the Free World to work together to help lift the scourge of poverty from less fortunate.
This co-operation in this matter will provide both for the necessary sharing of this burden and in bringing about still further increases in mutually profitable trade.

New Nations, and others struggling with the problems of development, will progress only -- regardless of any outside help -- if they demonstrate faith in their own destiny and use their own resources to fulfill it.
Moreover, progress in a national transformation can be only gradually earned;
there is no easy and quick way to follow from the oxcart to the jet plane.
But, just as we drew on Europe for assistance in our earlier years, so now do these new and emerging nations that do have this faith and determination deserve help.

Respecting their need, one of the major focal points of our concern is the South-Asian region.
Here, in two nations alone, are almost five hundred million people, all working, and working hard, to raise their standards, and in doing so, to make of themselves a strong bulwark against the spread of an ideology that would destroy liberty.

I cannot express to you the depth of my conviction that, in our own and free world interest, we must co-operate with others to help these people achieve their legitimate ambitions, as expressed in their different multi-year plans.
Through the World Bank and other instrumentalities, as well as through individual action by every nation in position to help, we must squarely face this titanic challenge.

I shall continue to urge the American people, in the interests of their own security, prosperity and peace, to make sure that their own part of this great project be amply and cheerfully supported.
Free world decisions in this matter may spell the difference between world disaster and world progress in freedom.

Other countries, some of which I visited last month, have similar needs.

A common meeting ground is desirable for those nations which are prepared to assist in the development effort.
During the past year I have discussed this matter with the leaders of several Western nations.

Because of its wealth of experience, the Organization for European Economic Cooperation could help with the initial studies needed.
The goal is to enlist all available economic resources in the industrialized Free World, especially private investment capital.

By extending this help, we hope to make possible the enthusiastic enrollment of these nations under freedom's banner.
No more startling contrast to a system of sullen satellites could be imagined.

If we grasp this opportunity to build an age of productive partnership between the less fortunate nations and those that have already achieved a high state of economic advancement, we will make brighter the outlook for a world order based upon security and freedom.
Otherwise, the outlook could be dark indeed.
We face, indeed, what may be a turning point in history, and we must act decisively and wisely.

As a nation we can successfully pursue these objectives only from a position of broadly based strength.

No matter how earnest is our quest for guaranteed peace, we must maintain a high degree of military effectiveness at the same time we are engaged in negotiating the issue of arms reduction.
Until tangible and mutually enforceable arms reduction measures are worked out we will not weaken the means of defending our institutions.

America possesses an enormous defense power.
It is my studied conviction that no nation will ever risk general war against us unless we should become so foolish as to neglect the defense forces we now so powerfully support.
It is world-wide knowledge that any power which might be tempted today to attack the United States by surprise, even though we might sustain great losses, would itself promptly suffer a terrible destruction.
But I once again assure all peoples and all nations that the United States, except in defense, will never turn loose this destructive power.

During the past year, our long-range striking power, unmatched today in manned bombers, has taken on new strength as the Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile has entered the operational inventory.
In fourteen recent test launchings, at ranges of five thousand miles, Atlas has been striking on an average within two miles of the target.
This is less than the length of a jet runway -- well within the circle of destruction.
Incidentally, there was an Atlas firing last night.
From all reports so far received, its performance conformed to the high standards I have just described.
Such performance is a great tribute to American scientists and engineers, who in the past five years have had to telescope time and technology to develop these long-range ballistic missiles, where America had none before.

This year, moreover, growing numbers of nuclear powered submarines will enter our active forces, some to be armed with Polaris missiles.
These remarkable ships and weapons, ranging the oceans, will be capable of accurate fire on targets virtually anywhere on earth.

To meet situations of less than general nuclear war, we continue to maintain our carrier forces, our many service units abroad, our always ready Army strategic forces and Marine Corps divisions, and the civilian components.
The continuing modernization of these forces is a costly but necessary process.
It is scheduled to go forward at a rate which will steadily add to our strength.

The deployment of a portion of these forces beyond our shores, on land and sea, is persuasive demonstration of our determination to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our allies for collective security.
Moreover, I have directed that steps be taken to program on a longer range basis our military assistance to these allies.
This is necessary for a sounder collective defense system.

Next I refer to our program in space exploration, which is often mistakenly supposed to be an integral part of defense research and development.

We note that, first, America has already made great contributions in the past two years to the world's fund of knowledge of astrophysics and space science.
These discoveries are of present interest chiefly to the scientific community;
but they are important foundation stones for more extensive exploration of outer space for the ultimate benefit of all mankind.

Second, our military missile program, going forward so successfully, does not suffer from our present lack of very large rocket engines, which are necessary in distant space exploration.
I am assured by experts that the thrust of our present missiles is fully adequate for defense requirements.

Third, the United States is pressing forward in the development of large rocket engines to place vehicles of many tons into space for exploration purposes.

Fourth, in the meantime, it is necessary to remember that we have only begun to probe the environment immediately surrounding the earth.
Using launch systems presently available, we are developing satellites to scout the world's weather;
satellite relay stations to facilitate and extend communications over the globe;
for navigation aids to give accurate bearings to ships and aircraft;
and for perfecting instruments to collect and transmit the data we seek.

Fifth, we have just completed a year's experience with our new space law.
I believe it deficient in certain particulars.
Suggested improvements will be submitted to the Congress shortly.

The accomplishment of the many tasks I have alluded to requires the continuous strengthening of the spiritual, intellectual, and economic sinews of American life.
The steady purpose of our society is to assure justice, before God, for every individual.
We must be ever alert that freedom does not wither through the careless amassing of restrictive controls or the lack of courage to deal boldly with the issues of the day.

A year ago, when I met with you, the nation was emerging from an economic downturn, even though the signs of resurgent prosperity were not then sufficiently convincing to the doubtful.
Today our surging strength is apparent to everyone.
1960 promises to be the most prosperous year in our history.

Yet we continue to be afflicted by nagging disorders.
Among current problems that require solutions, participated in by citizens as well as government, are:

the need to protect the public interest in situations of prolonged labor-management stalemate;

the persistent refusal to come to grips with a critical problem in one sector of American agriculture;

the continuing threat of inflation, together with the persisting tendency toward fiscal irresponsibility;

in certain instances the denial to some of our citizens of equal protection of the law.