The President on "The State of the Nation"

Title

Language

English

Source

The American Chamber of Commerce Journal Volume XXX (No. 2) February 1954

Year

1954

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

Editorials “ ... to promote the general welfare” President Magsaysay’s initial address on the State of the Nation, delivered on the opening day (January 25) of the First Session of the Third The President on Congress of the Republic of the “The State of the Philippines, is of such importance Nation”. that it is reprinted in full in this issue of the Journal. It is true that it was printed in full in all of the Manila dailies, but the Journal has a good many readers, especially abroad, who do not read these newspapers, and it will no doubt be convenient to all to have the address available in such a monthly periodical as this which is generally preserved for reference. Since the address appears in full, no effort will be made here to summarize it,—which effort, at best, would be inadequate and fail to give the strong effect of the original. The address was delivered in a low and even, almost monotonous tone of voice, without special emphasis at any point, and this added to the seriousness of the impression created in those who heard it delivered. The President’s exposition of the state of the nation was in fact such that any suggestion of the rhetorical would have falsified the burden of the address which is that the Government is confronted by “problems of the first magni tude.” This is neither an over- nor an under-statement, but literally true. The President must have felt that the new Congress, filled with the high spirits of an overwhelm ingly victorious Party, should have the grave realities of the situation officially brought before it in a manner correspondingly grave. The effect must have been what the President desired, for while he was enthusiastically applauded as he entered the session hall and was applauded again after his address, the address itself was not once so interrupted. It was heard in the same serious manner in which it was delivered. Grave though the address is, and gravely as it was delivered, it is not somber, and is marked by pronounce ments of great determination and strength. Almost immediately he asked, “What do our people want?” and he gave this answer: “When our people cast their ballots in the recent election, they voted primarily for a great, sweeping change. They voted to throw out dishonesty, inefficiency, and waste. And they voted for a government that would act boldly and effectively to banish insecurity and fear, poverty and want. We promised all these things. The people voted for them. Now we must keep faith.” “Our first step,” he then said, “must be to take an inventory of the nation, to define our problems, and to set our goals.” The entire address is devoted to this inventory, to those problems, and to those goals. And in closing, he said: “Perhaps you will say that the people are asking for a miracle. But they, too, performed no less than a miracle when in one great ir resistible movement they dared every peril to preserve the right to have a government of their choice. Thus they proved to the whole world, to our friends and enemies, that Democracy has come of age in our land, that it has become truly and actively a part of the Filipino way of life. We have pledged to enrich that life. We can do it. We must do it. With the aid of Divine Providence, we shall begin and con tinue the work until we shall have fulfilled the great promise that gave our people strength to prove themselves worthy of their heritage of freedom.” In President Eisenhower’s State of the Union ad dress, delivered some weeks previously in Washington, he must have principally had in mind this coming of age of Democracy in the Philippines when he said: “In South Asia, profound changes are taking place in free nations which are demonstrating their ability to progress through democratic methods. They provide an inspiring contrast to the dictatorial methods and backward course of events in communist China. In these continuing efforts, the free peoples of South Asia can be assured of the support of the United States.” Points in the Address of Special Interest to Business In the foregoing, brief editorial, reference to those s of the President’s “State of the Nation” address of particular interest to Business was avoided in view of the general nature of the comment intended. Although Business is directly concerned with the progress and welfare of the nation as a whole and in the satisfactory solution of all of the problems

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