In 1961 the peace-keeping strength of the United Nations was reinforced.  And those who preferred or predicted its demise, envisioning a troika in the seat of Hammarskjold—­or Red China inside the Assembly—­have seen instead a new vigor, under a new Secretary General and a fully independent Secretariat.  In making plans for a new forum and principles on disarmament —­for peace-keeping in outer space—­for a decade of development effort—­the un fulfilled its Charter’s lofty aim.

Eighteen months ago the tangled and turbulent Congo presented the un with its gravest challenge.  The prospect was one of chaos—­or certain big-power confrontation, with all of its hazards and all of its risks, to us and to others.  Today the hopes have improved for peaceful conciliation within a united Congo.  This is the objective of our policy in this important area.

No policeman is universally popular—­particularly when he uses his stick to restore law and order on his beat.  Those members who are willing to contribute their votes and their views—­but very little else—­have created a serious deficit by refusing to pay their share of special un assessments.  Yet they do pay their annual assessments to retain their votes—­and a new un Bond issue, financing special operations for the next 18 months, is to be repaid with interest from these regular assessments.  This is clearly in our interest.  It will not only keep the un solvent, but require all voting members to pay their fair share of its activities.  Our share of special operations has long been much higher than our share of the annual assessment—­and the bond issue will in effect reduce our disproportionate obligation, and for these reasons, I am urging Congress to approve our participation.

With the approval of this Congress, we have undertaken in the past year a great new effort in outer space.  Our aim is not simply to be first on the moon, any more than Charles Lindbergh’s real aim was to be the first to Paris.  His aim was to develop the techniques of our own country and other countries in the field of air and the atmosphere, and our objective in making this effort, which we hope will place one of our citizens on the moon, is to develop in a new frontier of science, commerce and cooperation, the position of the United States and the Free World.

This Nation belongs among the first to explore it, and among the first—­if not the first—­we shall be.  We are offering our know-how and our cooperation to the United Nations.  Our satellites will soon be providing other nations with improved weather observations.  And I shall soon send to the Congress a measure to govern the financing and operation of an International Communications Satellite system, in a manner consistent with the public interest and our foreign policy.

But peace in space will help us naught once peace on earth is gone.  World order will be secured only when the whole world has laid down these weapons which seem to offer us present security but threaten the future survival of the human race.  That armistice day seems very far away.  The vast resources of this planet are being devoted more and more to the means of destroying, instead of enriching, human life.