President Eisenhower’s speech on the eve of his departure

Media

Part of The Lawyers Journal

Title: President Eisenhower’s speech on the eve of his departure
Language: English
Year: 1960
Subject: Eisenhower, Dwight David, 1890-1969 -- Speeches, addresses, etc.
Rights
Fulltext: PRESIDENT EISENHOWER'S SPEECH ON THE EVE OF HIS DEPARTURE' 1\11·. President, you, on behalf of the Filipino people, have just bestowed a great honor upon me. Proudly, I accept, in the name of the American people, the nward of Rajah in the Ancient Order of Sikatuna. My friends, t.his Luneta was for more than four years the se'ene of my habitual evening walks. To this day it lives in memory as one of the most pleasant - even indeed one of the most romantic spots - I have known in this entire world. (Applause) Leaving the front entrance of the Manila Hotel of an evening I could walk to the right to view the busy docks where Philippine commerce with the world was loaded and unloaded. From here, looking across the peaceful waters of Manila Bay, I could see the gorgeous sunsets over :Marivcles. Walking toward lhe Club of the Army and the Navy, and looking down toward the city itself, I nearly always paused for n moment before the statue of the great Jose Rizal before returning to my quarters. One thing that made those evening promenades so pleasant, so meaningful, was the deep sense of feeling I had of Philippine-American friendi;,hip. To you, assembled before this platform - to Filipinos and Americans everywhere and to those who are gone from among us - is due the credit of having forged our close friendship in war and in peace. (Applause) Now, upon both om peopl::s still rest the grave responsibility of working together tirelessly in the promotion of liberty and world peaoe. The voluntary association of free peoples produces - from the sharing of common ideals of justice, equality and liberty -· a strength and moral fiber which tyrannies never attain by coercion, control and oppression. Such tyrannies cnn, of course, concentrate upon a single objective the toil of millions upon millions of men and women; working endless hours; denied even the smallest happiness of human living; sometimes whipped, sometimes cajoled, always treated as robots bereft of human dignity. For a spaoe of years, particularly if the peoples they regiment havC' known little of freedom or of a decent prosperity, such dictatorships may seem to achieve marvels. But in their denial of human dignitytheiri destruction of individual self-esteem - they write the eventual doom of their system. Long before many of us here today were bom, a great Filipino, Jose Rizal, in vivid and eloquent language, foretold the eruption of these tyrannies and predicted their ultimate fate. He said: "Deprive a man of his dignity, and you not only dep:·i\·e h''ll of his moral strength but you a!So make him useless even for •Remarks by Pr..,,ident Dwil(ht D. Eisenhower at J)ublic reception Qt Luneta, June 16. 1960. we do together, there is of course differences in the ability of each nation to make contributions. Each of us, as an individual, is different from every other individual. Physically, mentally, in the possession of world goods, we are rnmewhat different but I submit, members of the Congress, that the1 e is one field where no man, no one, no nation need take a secondary plaC'e, and that is, in moral leadership. The spirit of a people does not-is not-tr. be measured by its size or its riches or even its age . It is something that comes from the heart, a11d from the very smallest T1ation can come some of the great ideas, particularly those great inspirational ideas that inspire men to strive always upwa:·d and onward. Therefore, when I say the1·e are two nations that are sovereign equals, I mean it in just that spirit in the sense that those that wish to make use . of him. Every creature has its stimulus, its mainspring. Man's is his self.esteem. Take it away from him and he is a co1pse ... " Now, tyra nnies of many sorts still exist in the world. All are i·ejected by free men. Some authoritarian governments, being narrow in ambition, content themselves with local and confined dominance. Others are blatant in their boasts of eventual su1>rcmacy over continents and even the world; constant in their boast that eventually they will bury all systems of freedom. That boast will never come true. Even in the lands that Communists now master with an iron rule, the eternal aspiration of humanity cannot be forever suppressed. The truth enunciated by J ose Rizal is universal in its application. But tyrannies, heforf\ their fated deterioration and disappearance, can, sometimes for many years, engulf and eiislave free people unable to resist them. In that knowledge, the free wodd -- two.thirds of the earth's population - step by step moves towards a more effective part'nership that freedom, human dignity, the noble heritages of many centuries may withstand successfully all aggression. Some nations are still reluctant to commit themselves fully; others are divided on commitments already made, or of bribe; possibly oonfused by propaganda and threat - oppose even the most obviously profitable associations. But most stand firmly together. The free world must increase in ·strength - in military defenses, in economic growth, in spiritual dedication. Thus the free world will withstand aggressive pressu .. es, and move ever forward in its search for enduring peace. Your government has recently reaffirmed your determination t-O stand steadfast by joining only two weeks ago in t he oommunique issued in Washington by the Council of Ministers of the eight nations of SEATO. They staled clearly that; "The Council availed itself of this timely opportunity to reemphasize the firm unity of purpose of the member countries of SEATO and their determination to maintain and develop, both individually and collectively, their peac~ and security in the Treaty Area." May I say here that the United States is proud, indeed, is thankful to be so closely associated and so staunchly allied with t he Philippines both in SEATO and in the Mutual Defense Treaty h~tween our two countries. (Applause) But in this world of continuing tension and yearnings for social change, it is insufficient that the free world stand ·Static in its defense of freedom. ·we must, all of us, move ahead with imagination and pasitive (Continued on page 191) we (applause) that you have just as much to contribute to the world and to yourselves and to freedom as the greatest and most powerful nation in the world. (Applause). F inally, in the great cause of peace and friendship and freeclom, we who are joined together will succeed. The eternal aspirntions, purposes, ideals of humanity inspire and hearten and urge us to success . But we face repeated challenges; endless .temptations to relax, continuous campaigns of propaganda and threat. Let us stand more firmly together against them all, and so doing and with God's help we shall he great and (prolong applause) good friends. 164 LAWYERS JOURNAL J une 30, 1960 brief. Consideration of the motion for dismissal \·ra3 deferred by us until the case is set for deliberation on the mel"its. We fin<l uo necessity to go into the merits of the appeal, :for, upon a careful consideration of the reasons adduced in appelJee's motion to dismiss, we agree thnt the appeal should .be dismissed. Appellant does not deny that his co-defendant and so\idary co-debtor, the Luzon Surety Co., Inc., had already paid the judgment of the lower court during the pendency of his petition fot· mandamus in the Court of Appeals. Article 1217, New Civil Code, provides that "'payment made by one of the solidary debtors extinguishes the obligation" . The payment by the Luzon Surety Co., Inc. to nppellee, therefore, extinguished the obligation of the two solidary co-debtors to appellee Moya, and the judicial tie bet· ween the creditors on the one hand, and the solidary debtors, on the other, was dissolved thereby. For this reason, there . is no more need to maintain appellant Camus' appeal from the decision of the lower court ordering him and his co-debtor to pay their obligation to appellee l\Ioy.:i.. Whatever controversy remains from here on is solely between the two co-debtors . Appellant argues, however, that the payment made by his co· debtor was premature and, therefore, did not extinguish the principal obligation. We can not see how said payment can be _premature when the obligation of appellant Camus and the surety company to appellee was based on a promissory note that was long overdue when the complaint was filed. Even assuming that :ippellant's only alleged defense of usury to the complnint is true, the same does not in any way affect the m.:i.turity and demand&bility of the debt but if sustained would only reduce the creditor's recovery. There is no question, of course, that the payment by appellant's co-debtor to appellee did not extinguish his defense of usury, which he may still set up against his co-debtor when he is sued by the latter-; but until the surety company files such action against app~llant, it is purely an academic matter whether ~ppellant is entitled to such defense or not. Appellant also urges that the Luzon Surety Co., Inc. should be substituted as plaintiff in this action to avoid multiplicity of suits . We have no power to order such substitution, since the st.rely company has not even intervened or shown any interest in these proceedings relative to appellant'!!. right to appeal from the PRES. EISENHOWER SPEECH . (Continued /'l'OITt page 164) programs to improve conditions in which human freedom can flouri8h. We must, collectiVely and individually, strive for a world in which the rule of law replaces the rule of force. Your country and mine have reaffirmed our faith in the principles of the United Nations Charter. We share a common desire to settle international disputes by peaceful means. The task is not an easy one. Communist intransigency at the conference table, whenever they do agree to sit at one, makes the attainment of an equitable agreement most difficult. Moreover, the record of Communist violations of agreements is long. The continuation of Communist provocations, subversion, and terrorism while ne· gotiations are underway serves only to compound the difficulty of arriving at peaceful settlements. But we shall never close the door to peaceful negotiations. All of us, all free nations always hold out the hand of friend ship as long as it is grasped in honesty and integrity. We shall contiuue to make it clear that reason and common sense must prevail over senseless antagonism and distorted misunderstandings and propaganda. The arms race must be brought under control and the nuclear menace that is poised in delicate rnspcn zion over th~ lower court's judgment. Neither we nor appellunt can dictate the step which the surety company may choose to ·take against 3J)pellant for the protection of its interests. Finally, appellant daims that the dismissal of this case would necessitate the filing of another action by him against the appellee for the recovery of whatever usurious interest the latter had ('Xacted from him. The claim is completely untenable. Appellant can file such action against aI'.pellee only if he had already paid his indebtedness to the latter plus the alleged usurious interest. But it was precisely his failure to pay that compelled the appellee to sue him for payment of thll debt, and appellant's defense of usury, even if true, would, as already stated, only reduce his liability to his creditor, but \·:ould not entitle him to rec0ver any amounts from the latter. And even if appellant's solidary co-debtor, the surety company, had paid appellee more than it should (granting arguendo that the promissory note sued upon represented capital plus usurious interest, as appellant claims), such overpayment gives appellant no cause of action to collect from appdlee what his solidary co-debtor had overpaid the Iattc?r, tiut his defense of usury would only serve to reduc~ his liability when he is sued by the Surety company. All in all, vie agr~ with appellee that it wnuld serve no use, ful purpose to still decide the present appeal, since no actual relief or practical result can follow therefrom. A11 we held in Velasco vs. Rosemberg, 29 Ph.ii. 212, ''if pending an appeal, an event occurs to grant any relief", and "similarly, where a litigation has ceased to be between parties having an adverse inte. rest, the appeal will be dism.issed." As to the merits of the case, suffice it to point out that appellant Camus has not appended to Ois petition for review any copy of his motion for new trial in the Court o! First Instance, and without it, this Coure is in no position to say that the Court , 0( Appeals committed error in declaring it insufficient and pro Jorma. WHEREFORE, the present appeal is dismissed. Costs against appellant Pedro Camus. Paras, C. J., Bengzo11, PadiU.a, Montcmayo1·, Baut fata Angelo, [,abrador, Ccmccpcfon, Endencia, Ba'l'rera and GntiC>r1·ez David, heads of all mankind must be eliminated. This, I am convinced, can be done, without appeasement or sunende;·, by continuing a course of patient, resourceful and businesslike dealings with the Soviet leaders. The goal of a world peace in friend~hip wit.h freedom is so worth the attaining that every feasible and honorable avenue must be explored. The support, understanding and participation of all who cherish freedom is essential to this noblest endeavor in history. The Philippine contribution will be mighty in its impact on the future. And now my friends I cannot cJ03e without attempting once more to express my ve ry deep appreciation of all the cordial hospitality and friendliness that has been exhibited to me and to all the members of my party during my too brief stay in this lovely country. We know that in greeting us along the highway or in a magnificent crowd such as this, you are reall:¥ expressing :\-·our basic affection for the American people, (Applause) And I assure you, all of you, as the spokesman · <>f the American people that their concern for :rou, your fate, your future, your well· being, their affections for you is equally deep with yours. Thank you. (Applause). June 30, 1960 LAWYERS JOURNAL 191