Mr. Chairman, Bob Morgenthau, my former colleague Thad Dulski, Mr. Mayor, Reverend Clergy, Mr. Crotty, former Congressmen, friends, ladies and gentlemen:
I want to express my thanks to all of you for being generous enough to invite me to come to an occasion which has significance to this city and this country, and the free world, because today, in remembering Pulaski, we remember all those millions from Poland and America and all around the globe who have fought and died, who fight now and live, in the cause of freedom. And that's what brings us here to this capital today.
Some years ago I visited Poland. I walked through the Cathedral of Czestochowa. I saw the Matka Bosca. I saw the sword of John Sobieski, who saved Christianity at the gates of Vienna. I saw a small scale, centuries-old model of a cathedral made by the hand of Thaddeus Kosciusko, who translated Polish commitment to liberty to assistance to our colonies. And I saw a small cross--the Cross of Pulaski.
One hundred and eighty-three years ago this month General Pulaski died. He was only 32. He was not an American. He had been on these shores for less than 2 years. He represented a different culture, a different language, a different way of life. But he had the same love of liberty as the people of this country, and, therefore, he was an American as much as he was a Pole.
This is the common theme that runs throughout our history--the millions of people who come to these shores to find freedom and who, as Americans, fight for freedom around the globe. Just a year ago I called attention to this commitment of freedom in a speech before the United Nations. Colonialism, then as now, was the key issue before that Assembly, and I said:
"There is no ignoring the fact that the tide of self-determination has not reached the Communist empire where a population far larger than that officially called 'dependent' lives under governments installed by foreign troops instead of free institutions-under a system which knows only one party and one belief--which suppresses free debate, and free elections, and free newspapers, and free books, and free trade unions--and which builds a wall to keep the truth a stranger, and its own citizens prisoners. Let us debate colonialism in full--and apply the principle of free choice and a plebiscite to every corner of the globe, Eastern Europe as well as Africa."
We pay tribute to Pulaski today because the truths for which he fought in 1779 are just as strong today. My own belief and observation shows me, and all of us, that there is no stronger reservoir of freedom in the world today than imprisoned Poland. They know the meaning of freedom as no one else can.
What policies can we pursue to permit what Thomas Jefferson called the disease of liberty to be catching behind the Iron Curtain? It's not enough to make speeches about liberation's. Our Government must pursue those policies which hold out eventual promise of freedom for the people who live behind the Iron Curtain.
First, we need economic flexibility. Too often our hands are tied by rigid statutory perspectives of the Communist world. Everything is seen in terms of black and white. Either nations are for us or against us; either completely under Soviet domination or completely free. But this is not the case. There are varying shades even within the Communist world. We must be able to seize the initiative when the opportunity arises, in Poland in particular, and in other countries as time goes on, behind the Iron Curtain. We must be ready to gradually, carefully, and peacefully work for closer relations by nourishing the seeds of liberty.
It is for this reason that I was disappointed by the amendment to the trade bill which specifically discriminates against Polish goods. The Polish people press their government for independence. Our policy should be to hold out a helping hand to them and not to shut the door.
Secondly, we must recognize that Soviet domination of these areas is temporary. We must never, in statement, treaty, declaration, or any other manner, recognize Soviet domination of Eastern Europe as permanent. We must never. Twice--in 1961 and '62--I have issued proclamations endorsed by this Congress to that effect.
Third, we must strengthen the economic and cultural ties that bind Poland to the West. The Polish language population, all of you, can be most effective in the ties that you maintain with the people of Poland. I am gratified by the number of students, officials, technicians, going from the United States to Poland and coming from Poland here to the United States. More than three times as many Americans on more than twice as many projects are going to Poland than ever before. Twice as many Poles, on twice as many projects, come here to the United States. This gives us a chance to show that we still remember Poland, that we have not forgotten them. "I was in prison and you visited me," is the best advice for the United States in 1962 in regard to the people of Poland.
Fourth, all of the ties which make Poland so much a part of the Western World, a part of the European World, must be strengthened. There is no easy solution to any of the problems which face us in Poland, in Asia, in Latin America, or around the world. But the people who count, the people who've been able to maintain their freedom, are the ones who have persevered, who have not gotten tired, who have not become fatigued, who have not given up. Poland, in its history, has been overrun, cut apart, occupied, partitioned, but it has remained free in the hearts of the Polish people, and as the old song says, "As long as you live, Poland lives"-"Jeszce Polska nie zginiela." That is still true, as it was in the history of Poland.
Some years ago I visited the Polish cemetery near Cassino, where thousands of Polish soldiers died far from their country in World War II for the independence of their country, and on that cemetery are written these words: "These Polish soldiers, for your freedom and theirs, have given their bodies to the soil of Italy, their hearts to Poland, and their souls to God."
We give our hearts and our bodies to the cause of freedom here in the United States, in Poland, and all around the globe. Thank you.
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