Editorial Note
At 10:30 p. m. on December 15, President Truman delivered a radio and television address to the American people announcing his intention to declare the existence of a state of national emergency on the following day. He stated that the United States was willing to negotiate if the Communists were, but would not yield to aggression nor engage in appeasement in the face of the great danger created by the rulers of the Soviet Union. The President announced plans to increase defense production, expand the armed forces, and establish wage and price controls. On December 16, the Office of Defense Mobilization was set up to direct and coordinate the mobilization efforts of the government. (Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Harry S. Truman, 1950, page 741)