Description:

Eisenhower Dwight



Eisenhower Promotes Budget "for the good of the entire nation," Including Civil Rights  and Updating Airfields

 

2pp TLS signed by 34th U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969) as "D.E." near bottom of second page. Written at the White House, Washington, D.C. on February 3, 1959. Cream watermarked paper with "The White House, Washington" embossed letterhead. Expected paper folds, a few stains, and a light paper clip impression at upper left of first page, else near fine. Measures 7.125" x 10.375".

 

Eisenhower reached out to friends to galvanize support for his proposed federal budget. Friend Barry T. Leithead (1907-1974), was the chairman and C.E.O. of Cluett, Peabody and Co., an apparel manufacturer.

 

President Eisenhower's budget was carefully calibrated to balance the nation's needs with its wants. The realities of the Cold War necessitated massive defense spending, and related expenses, such as the Mutual Security Aid program financing Third World countries menaced by Communism, were prophylactic. Yet Eisenhower was open to and eager for a balanced budget. He targeted the domestic front for budget cuts.

 

"Dear Barry:

 

I know that you are as much concerned as I am about the potential danger of future inflation and of the damaging effects of deficit spending by the Federal government…Moreover, all of us are aware that security costs are most burdensome, but must remain so during the foreseeable future…

 

I realize that inflation is not caused solely by Federal deficit spending, but such deficits are one of the inciting causes. Moreover, it is one that people can help defeat by seeing that appropriations are kept to sensible levels."

 

The President's budget prioritized funding for "unequivocally necessary programs," such as national security, and ranked others "according to their degree of indispensability." Eisenhower believed that spending on these less important programs, historically on the rise, could and should be reduced.

 

"For example, the budget now before the Congress provides for the continued support of such programs as housing, depressed area development and improvement of air fields. Recommended appropriations for these activities reflect the good of the entire nation rather than only the special interests of particular groups…[yet] Unfortunately it seems apparent that these bills will fix far higher appropriation levels than I believe justified…"

 

In the late 1950s, an economic recession had strained the federal budget, leading to growing tensions between the executive and legislative branches over priority spending. President Eisenhower lobbied hard each fiscal year for a sizable defense budget, though his requests were often reduced by Congress. Defense was one of Eisenhower's pet issues, and his administration's foreign policy was informed by the threat of Communism. Not only was Communism entrenched in the Soviet Union, but it also threatened Asia and Central America. The Mutual Security Act, first promoted in 1951 by President Truman, granted military and economic aid packages to poor countries vulnerable to Communism. The program was part and parcel with one of the largest components of Eisenhower's foreign policy: Containment. Without American dollars, Eisenhower and his advisers believed that Communism would spread through destabilized countries like a catastrophic domino effect. As Eisenhower stated in this letter's postscript, the Mutual Security Aid program was "vital to our nation's welfare and the free world's military, moral and economic strength."

 

Barry T. Leithead had worked his way up the ranks from Chicago floor salesman in 1929 to New York corporate chairman of Cluett, Peabody & Company by 1966. A zealous Republican, Leithead fundraised for Eisenhower in 1952 and 1956, in the latter year generating $1,000,000 as chairman of the New York State rally. Leithead was also a personal friend and an occasional golfing partner.

 



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