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ในหลวงปราศรัยต่อสภาคองเกรสสหรัฐฯ พ.ศ.๒๕๐๓  พระบาทสมเด็จพระเจ้าอยู่หัว พระราชทานกระแสพระราชดำรัส ต่อที่ประชุมผสมแห่งรัฐสภาคองเกรสอเมริกัน เมื่อวันที่ ๒๙ มิถุนายน พ.ศ. ๒๕๐๓ HOLD FOR RELEASE ON DELIVERY ADDRESS BY HIS MAJESTY, THE KING OF THAILAND BEFORE JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS, JUNE 29, 1960. Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, and Members of Congress: It is a privilege and a pleasure for me to address you in this stately building, which is the scene of many grave decisions in the history of your great country and, I may even say, of the world. When the President of the United States kindly invited me to visit this country, I was happy to accept, and was glad to travel half way round the world in order to be here. My reason is threefold. I would like to mention them briefly to you and, through you, to the people of the United States. First, I have long desired to see and learn more of your country. When I hear of intolerance and oppression in so many parts of the world, I want to know how, in this country, millions of people, differing in race, tradition and belief, can live together freely and in happy harmony. How these millions, scattered over a large territory, can agree upon the major issues in the complicated affairs of this world. How, in short, can they tolerate each other at all. Secondly, I wished to bring to you, in person, the greetings and goodwill of my own people. Although the Americans and the Thai live on opposite sides of the globe, yet there is one thing in common to them. It is the love of freedom. Indeed, the word Thai actually means free. The kind reception which l am enjoying in this country enables me to take back to my people your friendship and goodwill. Friendship of one government for another is an important thing. But it is friendship of one people for another assuredly guarantees peace and progress. Thirdly, I have the natural human desire to see my birthplace. I expect some of you here were also born in Boston or, like my father, were educated at Harvard. I hasten to congratulate such fortunate people. I am sure that they are with me in spirit. We share a sentiment of deep pride in the academic and cultural achievements of that wonderful city. Just as in ancient days all roads led to Rome, so today they lead to Washington. And now that I am here, I should like to say something about two subjects which are fundamentally important to my country, namely, security and development. As I look at history, I see mighty military empires rise, through conquest and subjection of alien peoples. I see them decline and fall, when the subject peoples threw off their yoke. It is only in this present century that we find a great military power refrain from war, except for the defense of Right and Peace: I refer to the United States of America. This signal example is a long step forward towards the security of mankind. You, of course, know by heart all the words of President Lincolns address at Gettysburg. They lay down basic principles which should inspire the conduct of all nations and all governments. One of those principles is contained in the following words a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal In accordance with that broad-minded proposition, your people have given, by their own sovereign will, full freedom and equity to a Southeast Asian nation. When a Far Eastern country was being overwhelmed by a war for its oppression, the United States without hesitation went to war to save that country. There Thai soldiers fought side by side with your G.I.s. It is such prompt actions as these that have given great encouragement and confidence to a small country like mine. Furthermore, United States initiative has brought forth SEATO, the international alliance which is the pillar of my countrys security. When a country feels reasonably confident of its own security, it can devote more attention to economic development. As you are all aware, my country is classified as under-developed. The average income of a Thai is only about $100 a year. You will understand what urgent need there is to increase the income and raise the living standard of my people. One of the handicaps of countries in our region is the lack of capital and technical know-how. It is at this point that the United States have so generously come to our assistance. And here I should like to refer to the Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement between our respective governments. Its preamble states that liberty and independence depend largely upon sound economic conditions. It then goes on to say: the Congress of the United States of America has enacted legislation enabling the United States of America to furnish assistance in order that the Government of Thailand, through its own individual efforts, may achieve such objectives. In that preamble, there is one concept that needs to be emphasized. American assistance is to enable the Thai to achieve their objectives through their own efforts. I need hardly say that this concept has our complete endorsement. Indeed, there is a precept of the Lord Buddha which says: Thou art thine own refuge. We are grateful for American aid; but we intend one day to do without it. This leads me to a question in which some of you may be interested. The question is: What do we Thai think of United States cooperation? I shall try to explain my view as briefly as I can. In my country there is one widely accepted concept. It is that of family obligations. The members of a family, in the large sense, are expected to help one another whenever there is need for assistance. The giving of aid is a merit in itself. The giver does not expect to hear others sing his praises every day; nor does he expect any return. The receiver is nevertheless grateful. He too will, in his turn, carry out his obligations. In giving generous assistance to foreign countries, the United States are, in my Thai eyes, applying the old concept of family obligations upon the largest scale. The nations of the world are being taught that they are but members of one big family; that they have obligations to one another; and that they are closely interdependent. It may take a long time to learn this lesson. But when it has been truly learnt, the prospects of World Peace will become bright. Some of you may recall that my great-grandfather, King Mongkut, was in communication with President Buchanan during the years 1859 to 1861 -- 100 years ago. President Buchanan sent him a letter dated May 10, 1859, with a consignment of books in 192 volumes. The King was very pleased with the books and in a letter dated 14 of February 1861, sent certain presents in return as gifts to the American people and an offer that became historic. At that period, there was great demand for elephants in our and neighboring countries. Elephants had been then sent to Ceylon, Sumatra, and Java and turned loose in the jungles for breeding purposes, and the result is that elephants are plentiful in those countries. In the past, elephants had great potentialities. From the economic point of view, they could be used in the timber industry for hauling big logs and other heavy materials, like tractors do in present days. As they could go through thick jungles, they were also used as beasts of burden for transport purposes. And in view of their enormous size and strenght, in time of war they struck awe into the enemies. Since elephants could be put to such various good uses and since they were available in large number in our country, as a friendly gesture to a friendly people, my great grandfather offered to send the President and Congress elephants to be turned loose in the uncultivated land of America for breeding purposes. That offer was made with no other objective than to provide a friend with what he lacked, in the same spirit in which the American aid programme is likewise offered. And understanding and appreciating the sentiment underlying your aid programme, the Thai government welcomes the programme and is grateful for it. Our two countries have had the best of relations. They started with the coming of your missionaries who shared with our people the benefits of modern medicine and the knowledge of modern science. This soon led to official relations and to a treaty between the two nations. That treaty dates as far back as 1833. It can be said that from the beginning of our relationship right up to the present time no conflict of any kind has arisen to disturb our cordial friendship and understanding. On the contrary there has been mutual goodwill and close cooperation between our two countries. In view of the present world tension and the feeling of uncertainty apparent everywhere, it is my sincere feeling that the time is ripe for an even closer cooperation. It will demonstrate to the world that we are one in purpose and conviction, and it can only lead to one thing --- mutual benefit. I thank you for your kind indulgence.  ข้อมูลจาก หนังสือประมวลภาพชุดประวัติศาสตร์ พระบาทสมเด็จพระเจ้าอยู่หัว และสมเด็จพระบรมราชินีนาถ เสด็จฯ เยือนสหรัฐอเมริกาครั้งแรก พ.ศ.๒๕๐๓ ภาพจาก LIFE
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