State of the Union | Page 6

we know them to be our Nation's abiding sources of
strength. VI.
Our vast world responsibility accents with urgency our people's
elemental right to a government whose clear qualities are loyalty,
security, efficiency, economy, and integrity.
The safety of America and the trust of the people alike demand that the
personnel of the Federal Government be loyal in their motives and
reliable in the discharge of their duties. Only a combination of both
loyalty and reliability promises genuine security.
To state this principle is easy; to apply it can be difficult. But this
security we must and shall have. By way of example, all principal new

appointees to departments and agencies have been investigated at their
own request by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Confident of your understanding and cooperation, I know that the
primary responsibility for keeping out the disloyal and the dangerous
rests squarely upon the executive branch. When this branch so conducts
itself as to require policing by another branch of the Government, it
invites its own disorder and confusion.
I am determined to meet this responsibility of the Executive. The heads
of all executive departments and agencies have been instructed to
initiate at once effective programs of security with respect to their
personnel. The Attorney General will advise and guide the departments
and agencies in the shaping of these programs, designed at once to
govern the employment of new personnel and to review speedily any
derogatory information concerning incumbent personnel.
To carry out these programs, I believe that the powers of the executive
branch under existing law are sufficient. If they should prove
inadequate, the necessary legislation will be requested.
These programs will be both fair to the rights of the individual and
effective for the safety of the Nation. They will, with care and justice,
apply the basic principle that public employment is not a right but a
privilege.
All these measures have two clear purposes: Their first purpose is to
make certain that this Nation's security is not jeopardized by false
servants. Their second purpose is to clear the atmosphere of that
unreasoned suspicion that accepts rumor and gossip as substitutes for
evidence.
Our people, of course, deserve and demand of their Federal
Government more than security of personnel. They demand, also,
efficient and logical organization, true to constitutional principles.
I have already established a Committee on Government Organization.
The Committee is using as its point of departure the reports of the
Hoover Commission and subsequent studies by several independent
agencies. To achieve the greater efficiency and economy which the
Committee analyses show to be possible, I ask the Congress to extend
the present Government Reorganization Act for a period of 18 months
or 2 years beyond its expiration date of April 1, 1953.
There is more involved here than realigning the wheels and smoothing

the gears of administrative machinery. The Congress rightfully-expects
the Executive to take the initiative in discovering and removing
outmoded functions and eliminating duplication.
One agency, for example, whose head has promised early and vigorous
action to provide greater efficiency is the Post Office. One of the oldest
institutions of our Federal Government, its service should be of the best.
Its employees should merit and receive the high regard and esteem of
the citizens of the Nation. There are today in some areas of the postal
service, both waste and incompetence to be corrected. With the
cooperation of the Congress, and taking advantage of its accumulated
experience in postal affairs, the Postmaster General will institute a
program directed at improving service while at the same time reducing
costs and decreasing deficits.
In all departments, dedication to these basic precepts of security and
efficiency, integrity, and economy can and will produce an
administration deserving of the trust the people have placed in it.
Our people have demanded nothing less than good, efficient
government. They shall get nothing less. VII.
Vitally important are the water and minerals, public lands and standing
timber, forage and Mid-life of this country. A fast-growing population
will have vast future needs in these resources. We must more than
match the substantial achievements in the half-century since President
Theodore Roosevelt awakened the Nation to the problem of
conservation.
This calls for a strong Federal program in the field of resource
development. Its major projects should be timed, where possible to
assist in leveling off peaks and valleys in our economic life. Soundly
planned projects already initiated should be carried out. New ones will
be planned for the future.
The best natural resources program for America will not result from
exclusive dependence on Federal bureaucracy. It will involve a
partnership of the States and local communities, private citizens, and
the Federal Government, all working together. This combined effort
will advance the development of the great river valleys of our Nation
and