GOVT. GS 4.113: 963-64/ bk. 1/ c. 2 I. f .1 11 1% 4. 4, # 4 # v. -4 A 14, il I. I I 1 I.,. I 11 lk. I I 1.4 t t.1 4 0., Art v *,:., a f 6 # I I* I 0 0 % THE GEORGE AND HELEN LADD LIBRARY BATES COLLEGE LEWISTON, MAINE I., I WF.7'7 0 1 n fin q - r -*- — w - - U(-;:iiY~ jI 96 56 011hTO-eM~Afl. BATES COLLEGE LIBRARY L EW 1"s""TO0N,MAN MAINE Al6w - VW-jj'..j16%.fWv 6 - -%_ F %A s %." ly IL A -. W — w v, - I i I 4 , UVPUBLIC PAPERS OF THE PRESIDENTS I OF THE UNITED STATES Lyndon B. Johnson Containing the Public Messages, Speeches, and Statements of the President 1963-64 (IN TWO BOOKS) BOOK I-NOVEMBER 2.2, I963 TO JUNE 30, I964 UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON: I965 PUBLISHED BY THE OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL REGISTER NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS SERVICE GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 - Price $6.75 isiA FOREWORD THIS VOLUME begins in tragedy and ends in hope. The tragedy is irreparable. The fulfillment of hope rests on the effort of the American Nation in years to come. The sweep and bulk of this collection of my speeches, messages, and other public documents reveal the enormous range of problems and issues which confront the institution of the American Presidency. Yet they are only a small reflection of the skill and labor which those problems and issues command. Behind almost every paper in this collection lie long hours of work-often the culmination of a lifetime of experience and training-by devoted men and women in every profession and occupation. Officials of the executive branch at every level, Congressmen and educators, scientists and labor leaders, businessmen and farmers, have helped directly to shape the thought and contents of this book. If the final judgment and the expression of that judgment are the President's, his capacity to do his work must depend on the devotion and concern of thousands of others. Without this help the task of being President of the United States would be beyond the scope of any man. This book is more than a record of my administration. It is a reflection of the American Nation in the middle of the sixth decade of the twentieth century. To the perceptive mind it reveals our problems and dangers, the silent assumptions of our society, our faithfulness to the future we are shaping and our fidelity to the values transmitted from our past. It has been a period of forward movement, innovation, and continuing danger. In this year, as in every year for a generation, we faced the peril of conflict with powers wishing to expand their dominion by force. This time, attention and danger centered especially on Viet-Nam. There, v Foreword and in every continent of the world, we have held fast to our 20-year policy: to resist aggression, to help others achieve and maintain their independence, and to pursue lasting peace. It is a tribute to the American Nation that as we are unwavering in our resistance to conquest, we are equally unmoved, despite constant danger and recurrent crisis, in our quest of the dream of a world liberated from the threat of war. Here at home we have made important and sweeping progress in almost every area of American life. In health and education, conservation and housing we have succeeded in transforming the dreams and intentions of an entire generation into laws and action. We have mounted the final assault on poverty and oppression. And we have begun the towering climb towards improving the quality of life for every American. For if the achievement of this period is immense compared with the past, it still falls short of the needs of our people and the dream of a Great Society. Nor would any brief commentary do justice to these months if we did not applaud and take heart from our progress toward racial justice. The struggle will be long and difficult and often painful. But, for the first time since the Civil War, we can realistically hope that we are approaching the time of freedom and complete equality for all our people. Ti PREFACE IN THIS VOLUME are gathered most of the public messages and statements of the 36th President of the United States that were released by the White House between November 22, 1963, the date on which he took the oath of office, and December 3I, I964. In order to provide documentation of the transition following the assassination of President Kennedy, all White House releases for the period November 22-December I, I963, have been included. Volumes covering the administrations of Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy and the first six years of President Truman are also available. Volumes covering the period January I, I95i-January 20, I953, and the year I965 are under preparation. This series was begun in I957 in response to a recommendation of the National Historical Publications Commission. An extensive compilation of the messages and papers of the Presidents, covering the period I789 to 1897, was assembled by James D. Richardson and published under congressional authority between I896 and I899. Since that time various private compilations were issued, but there was no uniform, systematic publication comparable to the Congressional Record or the United States Supreme Court Reports. Many Presidential papers could be found only in mimeographed White House releases or as reported in the press. The National Historical Publications Commission therefore recommended the establishment of an official series in which Presidential writings and utterances of a public nature could be made promptly available. The Commission's recommendation was incorporated in regulations of the Administrative Committee of the Federal Register issued under VII,, Preface section 6 of the Federal Register Act (44 U.S.C. 306). The Committee's regulations, establishing the series and providing for the coverage of prior years, are reprinted at page I708 as "Appendix D." CONTENT AND ARRANGEMENT The text of this book is based on Presidential materials issued during the period as White House releases and on transcripts of news conferences. Original source materials, where available, have been used to protect against errors in transcription. A list of White House releases from which final selections were made is published at page i675 as "Appendix A." Addresses and speeches have been printed as actually delivered. In a few instances the White House issued advance releases, based on the prepared text of addresses or remarks, which differ from the text as actually delivered. Such releases have been appropriately noted. Proclamations, Executive orders, and similar documents required by law to be published in the Federal Register and Code of Federal Regulations are not repeated. Instead, they are listed by number and subject under the heading "Appendix B" at page i700. The President is required by statute to transmit numerous reports to Congress. Those transmitted during the period covered by this volume are listed at page I706 as "Appendix C." The items published in this volume are presented in chronological order, rather than being grouped in classes. Most needs for a classified arrangement are met by the subject index. For example, a reader interested in news conferences will find them listed in the index under the heading "news conferences." The dates shown at the end of item headings are White House release dates. In instances where the date of the document differs from the release date that fact is shown in brackets immediately VIII Preface following the heading. Other editorial devices, such as text notes, footnotes, and cross references, have been supplied where needed for purposes of clarity. Remarks or addresses were delivered in Washington, D.C., unless otherwise indicated. Similarly, statements, messages, and letters were issued from the White House in Washington unless otherwise indicated. The planning and publication of this series is under the direction of David C. Eberhart of the Office of the Federal Register. The editor of the present volume was Warren R. Reid, assisted by Mildred B. Berry. Dorothy P. Territo, Staff Assistant to the President, and William J. Hopkins, Executive Clerk in the White House, provided aid and counsel in the selection and annotation of the materials. Frank H. Mortimer of the Government Printing Office developed the typography and design. WAYNE C. GROVER Archivist of the United States LAWSON B. KNOTT, Jr. Administrator of General Services August i965 33-171-65 2 IX CONTENTS Book I Page FOREWORD.................... V PREFACE..................... VII LIST OF ITEMS................... XIII PUBLIC PAPERS OF LYNDON B. JOHNSON, NOVEMBER 22, I963-JUNE 30, 1964.................... I INDEX...................... A-I Book II LIST OF ITEMS................... V PUBLIC PAPERS OF LYNDON B. JOHNSON, JULY I-DECEMBER 31, 1964. 839 Appendix A-White House Press Releases........ 675 Appendix B-Presidential Documents Published in the Federal Register..................................... 700 Appendix C-Presidential Reports to the Congress..... I706 Appendix D-Rules Governing This Publication...... I708 INDEX...................... A-I XI LIST OF ITEMS, Book I Page i Remarks Upon Arrival at Andrews Air Force Base. November 22, I963 I 2 White House Announcement of Plans for the Funeral Rites for President Kennedy. November 22, I963 I 3 Proclamation 3561: National Day of Mourning for President Kennedy. November 23, i963 2 4 Executive Order 11128 Closing Government Departments and Agencies on November 25, i963. November 23, i963 3 5 White House Announcement Concerning the Official Cortege for President Kennedy from the White House to the Capitol. November 23, i963 3 6 Message to the Members of the Armed Forces. November 25, i963 4 7 White House Statement Concerning Investigation of the Assassination of President Kennedy. November 25, i963 4 8 Remarks to State Governors After President Kennedy's Funeral. November 25, i963 4 9 Remarks on the Alliance for Progress to Representatives of the Countries of Latin America. November 26, 963 6 io Statement by the President: Thanksgiving Day. November 26, i963 7 i Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress. November 27, 1963 8 XIII List of Items, Book I Page 12 The President's Thanksgiving Day Address to the Nation. November 28, i963 II 13 Executive Order 11129 Designating Facilities in Florida as the John F. Kennedy Space Center. November 29, I963 I2 I4 White House Statement on the Appointment of a Special Commission To Investigate the Assassination of President Kennedy. November 29, i963 I3 I5 Executive Order 11130 Appointing a Commission To Report Upon the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy. November 30, i963 14 i6 Statement by the President on the District of Columbia. November 30, i963 14 I7 Memorandum on the Management of the Executive Branch. November 30, i963 I5 i8 Letter to Defense Contractors on the Need for Cost Reduction. December i, i963 i6 19 Remarks Upon Presenting the Fermi Award to Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer. December 2, I963 I7 20 Remarks at a Meeting With the Heads of Independent Regulatory Agencies. December 3, i963 i8 21 Remarks at the Presentation of an Exceptional Service Award to Agent Rufus W. Youngblood of the Secret Service. December 4, I963 20 22 Remarks at a Meeting With the AFL-CIO Executive Council. December 4, i963 20 23 Remarks to Members of the Business Council. December 4, I963 22 XIV List of Items, Book I Page 24 White House Announcement of the Presentation of a Painting to the White House by the Family of President Kennedy. December 4, I963 26 25 Statement by the President on the Death of Herbert Lehman. December 5, I963 26 26 Remarks to Employees of the Department of State. December 5, I963 27 27 Remarks With Under Secretary of State George W. Ball at the Presentation of the Medal of Freedom Awards. December 6, I963 29 28 The President's First News Conference. December 7, I963 34 29 Statement by the President on the International Atomic Energy Agency. December 8, I963 39 30 Message to the King of Thailand on the Death of Prime Minister Srisdi Dhanarajata. December 8, I963 40 31 Letter to Bob Hope. December 8, 1963 40 32 Message to the Sultan on the Occasion of the Independence of Zanzibar. December 9, I963 40 33 Special Message to the Congress on the Coinage of John F. Kennedy 5o-Cent Pieces. December io, I963 41 34 Message to Prime Minister Kenyatta on the Occasion of the Independence of Kenya. December io, 1963 41 35 Remarks Upon Accepting Eleanor Roosevelt Commemorative Stamps Issued by India, Ghana, and Korea. December io, I963 42 36 Statement by the President Following Senate Approval of the Higher Education Facilities Bill. December io, I963 43 XV List of Items, Book I Page 37 Remarks to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and to Officials of the Department of Defense. December ii, 1963 43 38 Statement to the Cabinet on Manpower Utilization and Control. December ii, 1963 45 39 Letter to Senate and House Committee Chairmen on Renaming the National Cultural Center in Honor of President Kennedy. December ii, 1963 46 40 Remarks to New Participants in "Plans for Progress" Equal Opportunity Agreements. December 12, 1963 47 41 Statement by the President Following a Meeting To Discuss the Eastern Kentucky Emergency Program. December 13, 1963 49 42 Remarks of Welcome to the Chiefs of Mission of the Diplomatic Corps. December 13, 1963 50 43 Remarks to the Members of the Consumer Advisory Council. December 13, 1963 52 44 Exchange of Messages With Prime Minister Aldo Moro of Italy. December 13, 1963 54 45 Statement by the President on the Proposed Reduction in Foreign Aid Funds. December 14, 1963 55 46 Letter to Thomas C. Mann Upon His Assuming New Responsibilities for Latin American Affairs. December I5, 1963 56 47 Remarks Upon Signing the Higher Education Facilities Act. December i6, 1963 57 48 Statement by the President Upon Signing the Foreign Assistance Act. December i6, 1963 58 XVI List of Items, Book I Page 49 Message to the Ministerial Session of the North Atlantic Council. December i6, 1963 59 50 Remarks Upon Signing the Clean Air Act. December I7, 1963 6o 51 Address Before the General Assembly of the United Nations. December I7, 1963 6i 52 Statement by the President on the Release of the American Hostages in Bolivia. December i7, I963 64 53 Remarks Upon Signing the Vocational Education Bill. December I8, 1963 64 54 The President's News Conference of December i8, I963 65 55 Remarks Upon Signing Bill Amending the Manpower Development and Training Act. December 19, I963 71 56 Statement by the President Upon Signing the Independent Offices Appropriation Act. December I9, 1963 72 57 Remarks Upon Accepting Report of the Commission on Registration and Voting Participation. December 20, 1963 73 58 Remarks Upon Signing the Ratification of the Chamizal Convention. December 20, i963 74 59 Message on the Occasion of the Launching of the Nuclear Submarine Sam Rayburn. December 20, I963 75 60 Remarks at a Press Interview of Three American Hostages of Bolivian Miners. December 20, 1963 77 6I Statement by the President Objecting to a Tax Exemption Provision in a Private Bill. December 21, 1963 77 62 Memorandum Establishing the Committee on the Economic Impact of Defense and Disarmament. December 21, I963 78 XVII List of Items, Book I Page 63 Statement by the President on the Death of Representative William J. Green. December 2I, i963 79 64 Remarks at a Candlelight Memorial Service for President Kennedy. December 22, I963 79 65 Remarks at the Lighting of the Nation's Christmas Tree. December 22, i963 8o 66 Exchange of Letters With President Goulart of Brazil. December 23, I963 8i 67 Statement by the President on the Closing of the Studebaker Plants in South Bend, Indiana. December 24, i963 83 68 Memorandum on Control of Federal Employment. December 25, I963 83 69 Statement by the President Upon Appointing a Committee To Review Foreign Aid Programs. December 26, I963 84 70 Messages to the President of Turkey and to the President and Vice President of Cyprus. December 26, i963 85 71 The President's News Conference at the LBJ Ranch. December 27, I963 86 72 Remarks of Welcome to Chancellor Erhard at Bergstrom Air Force Base, Austin, Texas. December 28, i963 9I 73 Toasts of the President and Chancellor Erhard at the LBJ Ranch. December 28, i963 94 74 Remarks at the Pioneer Memorial, Fredericksburg, Texas. December 29, i963 95 75 Remarks in Stonewall, Texas, at a Barbecue in Honor of Chancellor Erhard. December 29, i963 95 76 Joint Statement Following Discussions With- Chancellor Erhard. December 29, 1963 99 XVIII List of Items, Book I Page 77 Remarks in Austin at the Dedication of the Agudas Achim Synagogue. December 30, 1963 i00 78 Statement by the President on Recent Legislation in the Field of Education. December 31, 1963 103 79 Telegram to the Chairman, United Negro College Development Campaign. December 31, 1963 103 80 Memorandum of Disapproval of Bill Relating to the Marking of Imported Articles. December 31, 1963 103 8i Statement by the President Upon Approving the Public Works Appropriations Act. December 31, 1963 104 82 Exchange of New Year Greetings Between the United States and the Soviet Union. January i, 1964 105 83 New Year's Message to the Chairman of the Military Revolutionary Council in South Viet-Nam. January i, 1964 io6 84 Statement by the President in Response to a Report on the 1963 Campaign for Reaching School Dropouts. January i, 1964 107 85 Statement by the President on Labor-Management Relations. January 2, 1964 107 86 Statement by the President Upon Establishing the President's Committee on Consumer Interests. January 3, 1964 io8 87 Remarks Recorded at the LBJ Ranch for Broadcast in Germany. January 3, 1964 109 88 Message to the President of Ghana Following an Attempt on His Life. January 3, 1964 109 89 Statement by the President on the Report of the Task Force on Manpower Utilization. January 5, 1964 10 XIX List of Items, Book I Page 90 Statement by the President on the Fight Against Organized Crime and Racketeering. January 6, I964 III 91 Annual Message to the Congress on the State of the Union. January 8, I964 II2 92 Letter to Senator Byrd Urging Further Reduction in the Tax Withholding Rate. January 9, I964 II8 93 Identical Remarks at Meetings With the Business Committee for Tax Reduction and With the Citizens Committee for Tax Reduction and Revision. January 9, I964 II9 94 White House Statement on the Resumption of Discussions by the Geneva Disarmament Conference. January 9, I964 I20 95 White House Statement on the Events in Panama. January io, I964 I2I 96 Remarks at a Reception for Members of the Democratic National Committee. January 11, I964 I2I 97 Remarks to Representatives of Organizations Interested in Immigration and the Problems of Refugees. January 13, 1964 123 98 Remarks at the National Medal of Science Award Ceremony. January I3, I964 I25 99 Statement by the President on Unemployment in Anaconda, Montana. January I3, 1964 I27 Ioo Letter to the Chairman, Civil Service Commission, on Coordination of Federal Activities in the Field. January I3, 1964 I28 ioi Remarks of Welcome at Union Station to President Segni of Italy. January 14, I964 I29 XX List of Items, Book I Page 102 Toasts of the President and President Segni. January 14, 1964 130 103 Telegram to Governor Sanford on His Attack on Poverty in North Carolina. January 14, 1964 132 104 White House Statement Following Receipt of a Report on Panama. January 14, 1964 132 105 Remarks to Leaders of Organizations Concerned With the Problems of Senior Citizens. January 15, 1964 132 io6 Remarks to the Members of the Davis Cup Team. January 15, 1964 I35 107 Toasts of the President and President Segni at the Italian Embassy. January 15, 1964 135 io8 Letter Accepting Resignation of Theodore C. Sorensen as Special Counsel to the President. January 15, 1964 137 109 Joint Statement Following Discussions With the President of Italy. January 15, 1964 138 iio Remarks by Telephone for the Keel-Laying Ceremony of the First Automated Cargo Ship. January i6, 1964 138 iii Remarks to New Participants in "Plans for Progress" Equal Opportunity Agreements. January i6, 1964 139 112 Letter to the President of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House on Appropriations for the Peace Corps. January i6, 1964 143 113 Memorandum on the Observance of Brotherhood Week. January i6, 1964 I44 114 White House Statement Concerning U.S. Readiness To Carry On Discussions With Panama. January i6, 1964 144 XXI List of Items, Book I Page 115 Statement by the President in Response to a Report on Immigration. January 17, 1964 144 ii6 Letter to Dr. Jerome B. Wiesner as to the Need for Public Institutions of Higher Learning in the District of Columbia. January 17, 1964 145 II7 Remarks at the Dedication of the National Geographic Society Building. January i8, 1964 146 ii8 Farewell Message to President Segni of Italy. January i8, 1964 148 119 Remarks Upon Receiving a United States Army Flag From Senior Commanders of the Army. January 20, 1964 148 120 Remarks to Members of the National Congress of American Indians. January 20, 1964 149 121 Remarks to Members of the Budget Bureau Staff at the Signing of the 1965 Budget. January 20, 1964 152 122 Letter to Chairman Khrushchev on the Eve of the Reopening of the Geneva Disarmament Conference. January 20, 1964 I53 123 Message to the First Conference of the Catholic Inter-American Cooperation Program. January 20, 1964 155 124 Annual Message to the Congress: The Economic Report of the President. January 20, 1964 I55 125 Letter Accepting Resignation of Edward R. Murrow as Director, USIA. January 21, 1964 167 126 Remarks to the Members of the President's Advisory Committee on Labor-Management Policy. January 21, 1964 167 127 Remarks at the Presentation of the Distinguished Service Medal to Gen. David M. Shoup. January 21, 196I4 169 XXII List of Items, Book I Page 128 Remarks of Welcome at the White House to Prime Minister Pearson of Canada. January 21, I964 I70 I29 Message to the i8-Nation Disarmament Conference in Geneva. January 21, i964 171 130 Statement by the President on the Reopening of the Geneva Disarmament Conference. January 21, I964 172 I3I Radio and Television Remarks on the Reopening of the Geneva Disarmament Conference. January 21, I964 I74 I32 Annual Budget Message to the Congress, Fiscal Year I965. January 21, 1964 I75 I33 Annual Message to the Congress, the District of Columbia Budget. January 21, I964 I95 I34 Remarks With Prime Minister Pearson at the Signing of the Columbia River Agreement With Canada. January 22, 1964 204 I35 Joint Statement With Prime Minister Pearson on the Columbia River Agreement. January 22, I964 205 136 Toasts of the President and Prime Minister Pearson. January 22, I964 206 137 Remarks at the Signing of the Roosevelt Campobello International Park Agreement. January 22, I964 208 138 Joint Statement With Prime Minister Pearson on the Campobello Park Agreement. January 22, 1964 2io 139 Remarks to New Participants in "Plans for Progress" Equal Opportunity Agreements. January 22, I964 2II 140 Joint Statement Following Discussions With the Prime Minister of Canada. January 22, I964 2I5 I41 Remarks at the Dedication of the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of History and Technology. January 22, I964 216 XXIII List of Items, Book I Page i42 Remarks Upon Signing Bill Concerning the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. January 23, i964 2i8 143 The President's News Conference of January 23, i964 219 144 Remarks at the Swearing In of Joseph W. Barr as Member, Board of Directors, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. January 23, i964 22I 145 Statement by the President Announcing the Adoption of the 24th Amendment to the Constitution. January 23, I964 222 146 Remarks at the Swearing In of Donald F. Hornig as Special Assistant to the President for Science and Technology. January 24, I964 223 147 Exchange of Messages With.-atriarch Athenagoras I. January 24, i964 223 148 Statement by the President Following Senate Committee Action on the Tax Bill. January 24, 1964 224 149 Remarks to a Group of Italian Journalists. January 25, 1964 224 50o The President's News Conference of January 25, i964 227 151 Letter to the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission on Employee-Management Relations. January 25, i964 233 152 Special Message to the Congress on Housing and Community Development. January 27, i964 233 153 Toasts of the President and Queen Frederika of Greece. January 27, i964 240 154 Letter to Senate and House Committee Chairmen on Various Legislative Proposals Relating to Transportation. January 27, i964 241 XXIV List of Items, Book I Page 155 Annual Message to the Congress Transmitting Report on Aeronautics and Space Activities. January 27, 1964 242 156 Remarks on Introducing the Attorney General to the Press Following His Return From Asia and London. January 28, 1964 243 157 Remarks at the Presentation of the Presidential Medal of Freedom Posthumously to Herbert H. Lehman. January 28, 1964 244 158 Remarks to the National Planning Committee of the Machinists Non-Partisan Political League. January 28, 1964 245 159 Letter to Judge Prettyman in Response to Report of the President's Advisory Commission on Narcotic and Drug Abuse. January 28, 1964 246 i60 Statement by the President Upon Making Public a Report "Family Breadwinners-Their Special Training Needs." January 28, 1964 247 i6i Letter to Adlai E. Stevenson Agreeing To Serve as an Honorary Trustee of the Eleanor Roosevelt Memorial Foundation. January 28, I964 247 162 Statement by the President Following the Launching of the First Satellite by Saturn I. January 29, 1964 248 163 Citation Commending Eddie Cantor for Distinguished Service to the Nation. January 29, 1964 249 164 Remarks Upon Conferring the American Heart Association Award Upon Admiral Rickover. January 30, 1964 249 i65 Remarks on the 82d Anniversary of the Birth of Franklin D. Roosevelt. January 30, 1964 250 XXV List of Items, Book I Page i66 Letter to the President of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House Transmitting Proposed Amendments to the Fair Labor Standards Act. January 30, i964 25I 167 Statement by the President on Voter Registration in the District of Columbia. January 30, i964 252 i68 Statement by the President on Recent Advances in Federal Personnel Management. January 3I, I964 252 169 Statement to Members of the Business Group for Latin America. January 31, i964 253 170 The President's News Conference of February i, i964 254 171 Remarks Upon Witnessing the Certification of the 24th Amendment to the Constitution. February 4, i964 260 172 Remarks at the I2th Annual Presidential Prayer Breakfast. February 5, i964 261 173 Special Message to the Congress on Consumer Interests. February 5, i964 263 174 Remarks in New York City at the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., Foundation Awards Dinner. February 5, i964 269 175 Remarks in New York City at the Dinner of the Weizmann Institute of Science. February 6, i964 270 176 Statement by the President Following Senate Approval of the Tax Bill. February 7, i964 272 177 White House Statement Declaring United States Determination To Guarantee the Security of the Naval Base at Guantanamo. February 7, 1964 273 178 Statement by the President Upon Making Public the Report of the President's Council on Aging. February 9, i964 273 XXVI List of Items, Book I Page i79 Special Message to the Congress on the Nation's Health. February io, 1964 275 i80 Statement by the President Upon Making Public His Report to the Congress on Communications Satellites. February io, 1964 284 181 Remarks Upon Signing Bill Amending the Library Services Act. February 11, I964 285 182 Remarks to Key Officials of the Internal Revenue Service. February ii, 1964 285 i83 Letter to Sargent Shriver on His Appointment To Direct the Program To Eliminate Poverty. February 12, 1964 29I 184 Remarks of Welcome at the White House to Prime Minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home. February 12, I964 292 i85 Remarks at the Lincoln Memorial. February 12, 1964 293 i86 Joint Statement Following Discussions With the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. February 13, I964 293 I87 Toasts of the President and of Prime Minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home. February 13, 1964 295 i88 Remarks at St. Louis University. February 14, 1964 297 189 Remarks at the St. Louis Bicentennial Dinner. February I4, I964 298 i90 Remarks to a Delegation of Students from Seton Hall University. February 19, 1964 302 191 Message to the Sixth Plenary Session of the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa. February I9, i964 303 192 Remarks at the 96th Charter Day Observance of the University of California at Los Angeles. February 2I, I964 303 XXVII List of Items, Book I Page 193 Joint Statement Following Discussions With the President of Mexico at Palm Springs, California. February 22, 1964 305 194 Remarks in Los Angeles at a Mexican Fiesta Given in His Honor by President L6pez Mateos. February 22, 1964 308 195 Telegram to the President, AFL-CIO, Concerning the Union Refusal To Load Wheat for Russia. February 25, 1964 3I0 196 Letter to the Chairman, House Ways and Means Committee, Endorsing the Interest Equalization Tax on Foreign Securities. February 25, 1964 311I 197 Radio and Television Remarks Upon Signing the Tax Bill. February 26, 1964 3II 198 Remarks at the Ground-Breaking Ceremony for the Florida Cross-State Barge Canal. February 27, 1964 315 i99 Remarks at Miami Beach at a Democratic Party Dinner. February 27, 1964 3i6 200 Remarks at the Swearing In of Carl T. Rowan as Director, United States Information Agency. February 28, 1964 321 201 The President's News Conference of February 29, 1964 322 202 Remarks Recorded for the Opening of the Red Cross Campaign. March i, i964 329 203 Remarks at the Swearing In of Nicholas Johnson as Maritime Administrator. March 2, 1964 329 204 Remarks to the Winners of the Federal Woman's Award. March 3, 1964 330 205 White House Statement on Employment of Members of Minority Groups in the Federal Government. March 3, 1964 331 XXVIII List of Items, Book I Page 206 Statement by the President Following Adoption of the Security Council Resolution on Cyprus. March 4, i964 332 207 Remarks at the Swearing In of Frederick C. Belen as Deputy Postmaster General and William McMillan as Assistant Postmaster General. March 4, i964 333 208 Remarks Upon Presenting the First Eleanor Roosevelt Memorial Award to Judge Anna M. Kross. March 4, I964 334 209 Statement by the President on the Death of King Paul of Greece. March 6, i964 337 210 Letter to Chairman Khrushchev on the Situation in Cyprus. March 6, i964 337 211 The President's News Conference of March 7, i964 338 212 Remarks Upon Receiving the Secretary of Labor's Manpower Report. March 9, i964 346 2I3 Annual Message to the Congress: The Manpower Report of the President. March 9, i964 347 214 Letter to the President of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House Proposing a National Commission on Automation and Technological Progress. March 9, i964 357 215 Remarks Upon Signing Bill Extending the Federal Airports Act. March II, i964 358 216 Statement by the President Upon Approving Bill Authorizing Appropriations for the Coast Guard. March 12, i964 359 2I7 Remarks Upon Arrival in Cincinnati After Aerial Inspection of the Ohio River Basin Flood. March I3, I964 359 218 Transcript of Television and Radio Interview Conducted by Representatives of Major Broadcast Services. March i5, i964 36i XXIX List of Items, Book I Page 219 Special Message to the Congress Proposing a Nationwide War on the Sources of Poverty. March i6, 1964 375 220 Remarks on the Third Anniversary of the Alliance for Progress. March i6, 1964 381 221 Remarks to the Labor Advisory Council to the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity. March i6, 1964 384 222 Letter to the Speaker Urging House Action on Federal Pay Legislation. March 17, 1964 386 223 White House Statement on the Situation in South Viet-Nam. March i7, 1964 387 224 Remarks in New York City at a Dinner of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick. March 17, 1964 388 225 Telephone Conversation With the President of the National Farmers' Union. March i8, 1964 392 226 Letter to Secretary Dillon on the Need for Coordinating Federal Actions in the Field of Bank Regulation. March i8, 1964 393 227 Special Message to the Congress on Foreign Aid. March i9, 1964 393 228 Remarks at the 1964 Democratic Congressional Dinner. March i9, 1964 398 229 Letter to the President of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House Transmitting Reports on Oceanographic Research. March 19, 1964 401 230 Remarks Upon Signing Bill Authorizing Appropriations for Defense Procurement and for Research and Development. March 20, 1964 402 XXX List of Items, Book I Page 23I Letter to the President of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House Transmitting Report on the Water Resources Program. March 20, 1964 403 232 The President's News Conference of March 2I, I964 404... Statement by the President on Panama 404 233 Remarks in Atlantic City at the Convention of the United Auto Workers. March 23, 1964 408 234 Letter to Secretary Hodges on Highway Safety. March 23, i964 4I3 235 Remarks to the Legislative Conference of the Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO. March 24, 1964 4I3 236 Exchange of Messages With the Prime Minister of Japan Following an Attack on Ambassador Reischauer. March 24, 1964 4I7 237 Message to the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development. March 25, 1964 418 238 Remarks to Members of the Southern Baptist Christian Leadership Seminar. March 25, 1964 418 239 Remarks Upon Accepting the Big Brother of the Year Award. March 25, 1964 421 240 Letter to the Speaker Reporting on Reductions in the Cost of Operating the Government. March 26, 1964 422 24I Statement by the President on the Earthquake in Alaska. March 28, 1964 425 242 The President's News Conference at the LBJ Ranch. March 28, 1964 425 243 Message to the New President of Brazil. April 2, I964 433 XXXI List of Items, Book I Page 244 Remarks on the I5th Anniversary of the Signing of the North Atlantic Treaty. April 3, I964 433 245 Remarks Following the Signing of a Joint Declaration With Panama. April 3, I964 436 246 The President's News Conference of April 4, I964 437 247 Statement by the President on the Death of General MacArthur. April 5, 1964 444 248 Remarks to the Cabinet Committee on Export Expansion. April 7, I964 444 249 Statement by the President Following House Action on the Wheat-Cotton and Food Stamp Bills. April 9, I964 446 250 Remarks to New Participants in "Plans for Progress" Equal Opportunity Agreements. April 9, I964 446 25i Statement by the President on the Eve of a National Railroad Strike. April 9, I964 45I 252 Radio and Television Statement Announcing a Moratorium in the Railroad Labor Dispute. April 9, I964 451 253 Remarks at the Opening of Final Negotiations in the Railroad Dispute. April o1, I964 452 254 Statement by the President: National Library Week. April io, 1964 454 255 Remarks Upon Signing the Wheat-Cotton Bill. April ii, I964 454 256 The President's News Conference of April ii, 1964 455 257 Remarks at a Reception for Recently Appointed Women in Government. April I3, 1964 460 258 Remarks of Welcome at the White House to Hussein I, King of Jordan. April I4, I964 46I XXXII " List of Items, Book I Page 259 Toasts of the President and King Hussein I. April 14, i964 462 260 Statement by the President on the Death of General Melvin J. Maas. April I4, i964 463 26i Memorandum in Response to a Progress Report on the Joint Financial Management Improvement Program. April I4, i964 463 262 Remarks Following a Meeting With Railroad Management and Union Representatives. April I5, i964 464 263 Remarks in Support of a Fundraising Drive for a Winston Churchill Memorial Library at Westminster College, Missouri. April i5, i964 464 264 Remarks Upon Signing Order Establishing the President's Committee on Manpower. April 15, i964 465 265 Joint Statement Following Discussions With the King of Jordan. April 15, i964 466 266 The President's News Conference of April i6, i964 467 267 Remarks to a Group in Connection With the Montana Territorial Centennial. April i7, i964 474 268 Remarks at the First Meeting of the President's Commission on Heart Disease, Cancer, and Stroke. April 17, i964 478 269 Remarks to a Group of Argentine Senators. April i7, i964 480 270 Remarks at a Reception for Members of the American Society of Newspaper Editors. April i7, i964 48i 27I The President's News Conference of April i8, i964 485 272 Remarks on Foreign Affairs at the Associated Press Luncheon in New York City. April 20, i964 493 33-171-65- 3 XXXIII List of Items, Book I Page 273 Remarks at the Swearing In of Dr. W. Randolph Lovelace as Director of Space Medicine for the Manned Space Flight. April 20, 1964 501 274 Remarks on Introducing Secretary Rusk to the Press Following His Return From the Far East. April 20, 1964 501 275 Message to the 73d Continental Congress of the Daughters of the American Revolution. April 20, 1964 502 276 White House Statement Following a Review of Implementation of the Limited Test Ban Treaty Safeguards. April 20, 1964 502 277 Remarks to a Group of Treasury Department Officials on Equal Employment Opportunity. April 21, 1964 503 278 Remarks to the Members of the Public Advisory Committee on Trade Negotiations. April 21, 1964 505 279 Remarks Upon Receiving a Citation From the Disciples of Christ Historical Society. April 21, 1964 506 280 Remarks to a Group of Editors and Broadcasters Attending a National Conference on Foreign Policy. April 21, 1964 507 281 Statement by the President Following the Visit of Governor Connally of Texas. April 21, 1964 515 282 Remarks at the Opening of the New York World's Fair. April 22, 1964 515 283 Remarks at the United States Pavilion, New York World's Fair. April 22, 1964 517 284 Radio and Television Statement Announcing the Settlement of the Railroad Dispute. April 22, 1964 517 285 The President's News Conference of April 23, 1964 519 xxXIV List of Items, Book I Page 286 Letter to the President of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House Proposing Additional Aid for Alaska. April 23, I964 526 287 Remarks in Chicago at a Fundraising Dinner of the Democratic Club of Cook County. April 23, I964 527 288 Remarks at the Lulu V. Cline School, South Bend, Indiana. April 24, I964 532 289 Remarks in Pittsburgh to the League of Women Voters. April 24, 1964 533 290 Remarks in Pittsburgh at the Steelworkers Union Hall. April 24, I964 537 291 Remarks at Mayo State Vocational School, Paintsville, Kentucky. April 24, 1964 542 292 Remarks at the Johnson County Courthouse, Paintsville, Kentucky. April 24, I964 543 293 Remarks at the Airport, Huntington, West Virginia, Upon Departing for Washington. April 24, I964 545 294 The President's News Conference of April 25, I964 547... Memorandum to the Administrator, Federal Aviation Agency, on the Supersonic Transport Plane 550 295 Remarks to the Members of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. April 27, I964 557 296 Remarks in Response to a Task Force Report on the Balance of Payments Problem. April 27, I964 569 297 Remarks to the Members of the International Labor Press Association. April 27, I964 572 298 Remarks to the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services. April 28, I964 580 xxxv List of Items, Book I Page 299 Remarks on Price Stability at a White House Dinner for Business Leaders. April 28, i964 582 300 Letter to the President of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House Transmitting the Bill for the Appalachian Region. April 28, i964 586 30i Remarks to a Group of Civil Rights Leaders. April 29, i964 588 302 Remarks at a Meeting of the President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped. April 30, 1964 590 303 Remarks Commemorating the i75th Anniversary of the Inauguration of George Washington. April 30, i964 59I 304 Proclamation 3589: Commemoration of the Beginnings of the Office of the Presidency of the United States. April 30, i964 593 305 Remarks to the I964 Campaign Conference for Democratic Women. April 30, i964 594 306 Remarks on Opening the i964 Savings Bond Campaign. May I, I964 598 307 Remarks to the Press Following a Cabinet Meeting on Management of the Executive Branch. May 2, i964 598 308 Letter Requesting a Study of the Alaskan Earthquake by the Special Assistant to the President for Science and Technology. May 4, 1964 6oi 309 Remarks Upon Presenting the National Teacher of the Year Award to Mrs. Lawana Trout. May 4, i964 6oi 310 Remarks Upon Presenting the Federal Aviation Agency Award to Mrs. Jerrie Mock. May 4, i964 603 311 Remarks at a White House Dinner for Labor Leaders. May 4, I964 604 XXXVI List of Items, Book I Page 312 Remarks at the Opening of the Fundraising Campaign of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. May 5, i964 6o6 313 Remarks to a Group of Foreign Students. May 5, i964 607 314 Remarks at the 20th Washington Conference of the Advertising Council. May 6, i964 609 315 Remarks Upon Presenting the Young American Medals. May 6, i964 613 316 The President's News Conference Held on the South Lawn at the White House. May 6, i964 6i5 317 Remarks Upon Presenting the School Safety Patrol Lifesaving Awards. May 6, I964 623 318 Greetings Telephoned to President Truman on the Occasion of His 8oth Birthday. May 6, i964 623 319 Letter to Senator Anderson in Response to Reports of the Federal Reconstruction and Development Planning Commission for Alaska. May 6, I964 624 320 Remarks at Fort Hill High School Stadium, Cumberland, Maryland. May 7, i964 625 32I Remarks at City Hall, Cumberland, Maryland. May 7, i964 626 322 Remarks Upon Arrival at Lockbourne Air Force Base, Ohio. May 7, i964 629 323 Remarks in Athens at Ohio University. May 7, i964 630 324 Remarks Upon Arrival at the Airport, Knoxville, Tennessee. May 7, I964 633 325 Remarks at the Coliseum, Knoxville, Tennessee. May 7, i964 634 XXXVII List of Items, Book I Page 326 Remarks Upon Arrival at Seymour-Johnson Air Force Base, Goldsboro, North Carolina. May 7, 1964 637 327 Remarks in the City Hall, Rocky Mount, North Carolina. May 7, 1964 638 328 Remarks Outside City Hall, Rocky Mount, North Carolina. May 7, 1964 642 329 Remarks at the Air Force Base in Goldsboro, N.C., Upon Departing for Atlanta. May 7, i964 645 330 Remarks in Atlanta at a Breakfast of the Georgia Legislature. May 8, 1964 645 331 Remarks Upon Arrival at the Airport, Gainesville, Georgia. May 8, 1964 651 332 Remarks in Franklin D. Roosevelt Square, Gainesville, Georgia. May 8, 1964 652 333 Remarks Honoring J. Edgar Hoover on His 40th Anniversary as Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation. May 8, 1964 654 334 Remarks in New York City Before the 5oth Anniversary Convention of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers. May 9, 1964 655 335 Remarks at the Dedication of the Venezuelan Pavilion, New York World's Fair. May 9, 1964 66o 336 The President's News Conference at the New York World's Fair. May 9, 1964 66o 337 Remarks at the Dedication of the John F. Kennedy Cultural Center at Mitchel Field, New York. May 9, 1964 669 338 Remarks in Atlantic City at a Dinner of the New Jersey State Democratic Committee. May io, 1964 671 XXXVIII List of Items, Book I Page 339 Remarks at the Presentation of the William Randolph Hearst Foundation Journalism Awards. May ii, I964 676 340 Remarks to the Ambassadors of Nations Participating in the Alliance for Progress. May ii, 1964 677 34i Remarks Upon Signing the Pesticide Control Bill. May I2, I964 68i 342 Remarks at a Meeting of the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity. May 12, 1964 68i 343 Remarks Upon Accepting Honorary Membership in the National Forensic League. May 12, 1964 685 344 Remarks to the Newspaper Farm Editors Association. May I2, I964 686 345 Memorandum on Employment of Handicapped Persons by the Federal Government. May 13, i964 689 346 Statement by the President Following House Action on the International Development Association Bill. May 13, 1964 690 347 Remarks to a Group of Peace Corps Volunteers. May i6, I964 690 348 Special Message to the Congress Transmitting Request for Additional Funds for Viet-Nam. May i8, I964 692 349 Toasts of the President and Mayor Willy Brandt of Berlin. May i8, I964 694 350 Remarks Upon Presenting "E" Awards for Significant Contributions to the Export Expansion Program. May I8, 1964 696 35i Remarks at the Presentation of the President's Safety Awards. May 20, I964 698 352 Remarks to Members of the Cooperative League of the U.S.A. May 20, 1964 699 XXXIX List of Items, Book I Page 353 Statement by the President Upon Signing Bill Relating to Fishing in U.S. Territorial Waters. May 20, 1964 701 354 Letter to the Under Secretary of the Navy Concerning the Showing of a National Anthem Trailer Film. May 20, 1964 701 355 Statement by the President in Response to a Report on the Supersonic Transport Program. May 21, 1964 702 356 Remarks Upon Arrival at Metropolitan Airport in Detroit. May 22, 1964 702 357 Remarks at the University of Michigan. May 22, 1964 704 358 Remarks Upon Arrival at the Airport, Roanoke, Virginia. May 23, 1964 707 359 Remarks in Lexington at the Dedication of the George C. Marshall Research Library. May 23, 1964 708 360 Remarks at the Swearing In of Mrs. Virginia Brown as Interstate Commerce Commissioner. May 25, 1964 710 361 Remarks Upon Signing the International Development Association Bill. May 26, 1964 7II 362 Remarks Upon Presenting the Small Businessman of the Year Award. May 26, 1964 712 363 Remarks at the "Salute to President Johnson" Dinner. May 26, 1964 7I3 364 Remarks of Welcome at the White House to President de Valera of Ireland. May 27, 1964 715 365 Statement by the President on the U.S.-Soviet Consular Convention. May 27, 1964 7I6 366 Toasts of the President and President de Valera. May 27, 1964 716 XL List of Items, Book I Page 367 Letter to the President of India on the Death of Prime Minister Nehru. May 27, 1964 719 368 Letter to the President of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House on the Need for Additional Alaskan Reconstruction Legislation. May 27, 1964 7I9 369 Message to the President of the Iran-America Society. May 27, 1964 720 370 Remarks in Tribute to President Kennedy at a Joint Meeting of the Cabinet and the National Security Council. May 28, 1964 721 37I Statement by the President Upon Signing Bill Providing Aid for Alaska. May 28, 1964 722 372 Remarks in New York City at the Young Democrats Fundraising Dinner. May 28, 1964 723 373 Remarks in Madison Square Garden at a New York Democratic Gala. May 28, I964 723 374 Remarks in Texas to the Graduating Class of the Johnson City High School. May 29, I964 725 375 Commencement Address at the University of Texas. May 30, I964 727 376 Message to President de Valera. May 30, 1964 730 377 Remarks of Welcome at the White House to Prime Minister Eshkol of Israel. June I, 1964 731 378 Toasts of the President and Prime Minister Eshkol. June i, 1964 732 379 The President's News Conference of June 2, i964 733 380 Joint Statement Following Discussions With the Prime Minister of Israel. June 2, I964 740 33-1,71-65 —4 XLI List of Items, Book I Page 381 Message to the New Prime Minister of India. June 3, 1964 741 382 Commencement Address in New London at the United States Coast Guard Academy. June 3, 1964 741 383 Remarks at the Keel-Laying of the Submarine Pargo, Groton, Connecticut. June 3, 1964 745 384 Remarks to Members of the Delegation to the D-Day Ceremonies. June 3, 1964 746 385 Toasts of the President and the Shah of Iran. June 5, 1964 748 386 Statement by the President on the Decline in Unemployment. June 5, 1964 748 387 Remarks in New York City Upon Unveiling a Plaque in Honor of the 5oth Anniversary of the ILGWU Health Center. June 6, 1964 749 388 Remarks in New York City to Members of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. June 6, 1964 750 389 Remarks at the Gallaudet College Centennial Banquet. June 6, 1964 753 390 Remarks Upon Arrival at the Philadelphia International Airport. June 8, 1964 755 391 Address at the Centennial Commencement of Swarthmore College. June 8, 1964 755 392 Message to Mrs. Oveta Culp Hobby on the Death of Former Governor William P. Hobby of Texas. June 8, 1964 758 393 Remarks at the First Meeting of the United States-Puerto Rico Commission on the Status of Puerto Rico. June 9, 1964 758 394 Toasts of the President and Prime Minister Krag of Denmark. June 9, 1964 759 XLII List of Items, Book I Page 395 Statement by the President on the Geneva Disarmament Conference. June 9, i964 76i 396 Commencement Address at Holy Cross College. June io, i964 762 397 Remarks Upon Presenting the First Presidential Scholars Awards. June 10, i964 765 398 Remarks to Delegates to the Equal Pay Conference. June ii, I964 767 399 Toasts of the President and Chancellor Erhard. June I2, i964 769 400 Joint Statement Following Discussions With Chancellor Erhard of Germany. June I2, i964 77I 40I Statement by the President on the Need for Excellence in Athletic Achievements. June 12, i964 773 402 Remarks to Members of the International Executive Service Corps. June I5, i964 773 403 Remarks on Mental Retardation to a Group From the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., Foundation. June i5, i964 775 404 Statement by the President on the Nation's Continued Economic Growth. June i6, i964 776 405 Remarks Upon Arrival at the Airport in Cleveland. June i7, i964 777 406 Remarks in Cleveland at the Convention of the Communications Workers of America. June i7, i964 778 407 Statement by the President Following House Action Extending the Excise Taxes. June i7, i964 78i 408 Telephone Remarks With Prime Minister Ikeda of Japan Inaugurating the Trans-Pacific Cable. June i8, i964 78i XLIII List of Items, Book I Page 409 Remarks Upon Arrival at Edwards Air Force Base, California. June 19, i964 782 410 Remarks in Concord, California, at the Groundbreaking for the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit Test Track. June 19, i964 784 411 Remarks in San Francisco at the Dedication of the Federal Building. June i9, i964 785 412 Statement by the President Following Senate Passage of the Civil Rights Bill. June i9, i964 787 413 Remarks in San Francisco at a Democratic Fundraising Dinner. June 19, i964 788 414 Remarks at the Dedication of a New University of California Campus in Irvine. June 20, i964 793 415 Remarks in Los Angeles at a Democratic Fundraising Dinner. June 20, i964 795 416 Remarks of Welcome at the White House to Prime Minister Inonu of Turkey. June 22, i964 798 417 Remarks Upon Presenting the President's Awards for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service. June 22, i964 799 418 Toasts of the President and Prime Minister Inonu of Turkey. June 22, I964 8oo 419 Statement by the President on the 2oth Anniversary of the G.I. Bill of Rights. June 22, I964 8oi 420 The President's News Conference of June 23, I964 802 42i Remarks to the President's Conference on Occupational Safety. June 23, i964 8o8 XLIV List of Items, Book I Page 422 Remarks on the Transfer to New Jersey of Lands for the Sandy Hook State Park. June 23, i964 8io 423 Joint Statement Following Discussions With the Prime Minister of Turkey. June 23, I964 8ii 424 Remarks of Welcome at the White House to Prime Minister Papandreou of Greece. June 24, i964 8ii 425 Remarks Upon Presenting the Distinguished Service Medal to General Harkins. June 24, I964 8I3 426 Toasts of the President and Prime Minister Menzies of Australia. June 24, i964 814 427 Remarks on the Proposed Redwoods National Park in Northern California. June 25, i964 817 428 Statement by the President on the White House Seminars for College Students. June 25, I964 8i8 429 Joint Statement Following Discussions With the Prime Minister of Greece. June 25, i964 8i8 430 Statement by the President Announcing Plans To Build a Destroyer Tender To Be Named After Samuel Gompers. June 26, I964 819 43I Remarks at a Fundraising Dinner in Detroit. June 26, i964 819 432 Remarks Upon Arrival at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. June 27, i964 823 433 Remarks in St. Paul at the Minnesota State DemocraticFarmer-Labor Party Convention. June 27, 1964 824 434 Remarks at a Fundraising Dinner in Minneapolis. June 27, I964 825 435 Remarks at the Annual Swedish Day Picnic, Minnehaha Park, Minneapolis. June 28, i964 830 XLV List of Items, Book I Page 436 Remarks Upon Introducing Henry Cabot Lodge to the Press Upon His Return From Viet-Nam. June 29, I964 833 437 Remarks at the Swearing In of Dr. Mary I. Bunting as a Member of the Atomic Energy Commission. June 29, 1964 833 438 Remarks of Welcome at the White House to President Orlich of Costa Rica. June 30, I964 834 439 Special Message to the Congress Transmitting Agreement on Exchange of Atomic Information With NATO and Member Nations. June 30, I964 836 440 Memorandum Approving Agreement on Exchange of Atomic Information With NATO and Member Nations. June 30, I964 837 44i Toasts of the President and President Orlich of Costa Rica. June 30, I964 837 XLVI LIST OF ITEMS, Book II Page 442 Remarks at the Swearing In of John T. McNaughton, Daniel Luevano, Solis Horwitz, and Robert W. Morse as Key Officials in the Department of Defense. July I, I964 839 443 Joint Statement Following Discussions With the President of Costa Rica. July 2, I964 839 444 Remarks Upon Signing Bill Broadening the Prevailing Wage Section of the Davis-Bacon Act. July 2, I964 840 445 Remarks at the Swearing In of General Taylor as Ambassador to Viet-Nam. July 2, 964 84I 446 Radio and Television Remarks Upon Signing the Civil Rights Bill. July 2, I964 842 447 Statement by the President Upon Making Public the Names of the 1964 Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. July 4, I964 844 448 Remarks to the Members of the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity Upon Receiving Their Report. July 7, I964 844 449 Telephone Remarks on the Occasion of the Keel-Laying of the U.S.S. Vallejo. July 7, I964 846 450 Statement by the President on the Death of Roy E. Davidson. July 8, 1964 846 45I Statement by the President on New York City's Mobilization for Youth Program. July 8, 1964 847 XLVII List of Items, Book II Page 452 Remarks at a Meeting With United States Attorneys. July 8, 1964 847 453 Remarks Upon Signing the Urban Mass Transportation Act. July 9, 1964 849 454 Remarks Upon Presenting the Distinguished Service Medal to Admiral Felt. July io0, 1964 850 455 The President's News Conference of July io, 1964 85I... Statement by the President Following Completion of House Action on the Appropriation Bills 851... Statement by the President: "Mid-Year Review of the Economy" 852... Statement by the President on the Auto Negotiations 853 456 Letter to Dr. Killian in Response to Report: "Toward Better Utilization of Scientific and Engineering Talent." July 12, 1964 858 457 Statement by the President Upon Accepting Report of the Committee on Public Higher Education in the District of Columbia. July 12, I964 859 458 Statement by the President on Narcotic and Drug Abuse. July 15, 1964 86o 459 Statement by the President on the Second Quarter Advance in Gross National Product and Income. July 17, 1964 86o 460 Message to President Nasser Extending Greetings to the Conference of African Heads of State. July 17, 1964 86i 461 Statement by the President Upon Signing the Water Resources Research Act. July 17, 1964 86i 462 The President's News Conference at the LBJ Ranch. July i8, 1964 862 XLVIII List of Items, Book II Page... Statement by the President Reviewing the Government's Record During Fiscal Year 1964 862... Statement by the President on Underground Test Conducted by the United States and the United Kingdom 866 463 Statement by the President on the U.S. Economy. July i8, 1964 870 464 The President's Toast at a Luncheon for Prime Minister Holyoake of New Zealand. July 20, 1964 871 465 Remarks to the American Field Service Students. July 20, 1964 872 466 Letter to the Speaker Transmitting Supplemental Appropriations Request for Civil Rights. July 20, 1964 873 467 Remarks at the Defense Department Cost Reduction Week Ceremony. July 21, 1964 874 468 Statement by the President on the Riots in New York City. July 21, 1964 876 469 Remarks at the Swearing In of George H. Hearn as a Member of the Federal Maritime Commission. July 22, 1964 877 470 Remarks of Welcome at the White House to Prime Minister Rahman of Malaysia. July 22, 1964 877 471 Toasts of the President and Prime Minister Rahman. July 22, 1964 878 472 Remarks at a Luncheon for a Group of Businessmen. July 23, 1964 88o 473 Remarks in Valley Forge at the Boy Scout Jamboree. July 23, 1964 883 474 Joint Statement Following Discussions With the Prime Minister of Malaysia. July 23, 196i4 885 XLIX List of Items, Book II Page 475 The President's News Conference of July 24, 1964 887 476 Remarks of Farewell to General Prapass Charusathiara of Thailand. July 24, I964 894 477 Remarks at a Reception for a Group of Labor Leaders. July 24, 1964 895 478 Remarks of Welcome at the White House to President Tsiranana of the Malagasy Republic. July 27, I964 897 479 Toasts of the President and President Tsiranana. July 27, 1964 898 480 White House Statement on the Desalting of Sea Water. July 27, I964 900 481 Remarks Upon Signing Bill Authorizing Grants for the Publication of Historical Documentary Source Material. July 28, I964 90o 482 Remarks to the Delegates to the Conference on International Rural Development. July 28, 1964 902 483 Joint Statement Following Discussions With the President of Malagasy. July 28, I964 905 484 Remarks to the Members of the National Agricultural Advisory Commission. July 29, I964 905 485 Statement by the President on Announcing a White House Meeting of the Presidents of State Universities. July 29, I964 907 486 The President's News Conference of July 30, I964 907... Statement by the President on the Anniversary of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty 907... Statement by the President Following the OAS Decision on Cuban Aggression Against Venezuela 909 L List of Items, Book II Page Statement by the President on the Reduction of Civilian Employment in the Department of Defense 910... Statement by the President Following an Agreement by Certain Civil Rights Leaders 913 487 Remarks Upon Presenting the Distinguished Service Medal to General McKee. July 30, i964 915 488 Remarks to a Group of State and Local School Officials. July 30, i964 916 489 Statement by the President Relating to the Selection of a Vice Presidential Candidate. July 30, i964 919 490 Statement by the President on Receiving a Progress Report on the Council on Physical Fitness. July 30, i964 919 49i Remarks Upon Signing a Proclamation to Commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising. July 31, I964 920 492 Statement by the President Upon the Successful Flight of Ranger VII. July 3I, i964 92I 493 Remarks Following a Briefing With Space Scientists on the Successful Flight to the Moon. August i, i964 922 494 Statement by the President in Response to a Request for Mediation in the Shipping Industry Negotiations. August i, i964 924 495 Letter to Manlio Brosio on His Appointment as Secretary General of NATO. August i, i964 924 496 Remarks to Foreign Language Newspaper Publishers on Their Role in Building American Unity. August 3, i964 924 497 Statement by the President Upon Instructing the Navy To Take Retaliatory Action in the Gulf of Tonkin. August 3, i964 926 LI List of Items, Book II Page 498 Radio and Television Report to the American People Following Renewed Aggression in the Gulf of Tonkin. August 4, 1964 927 499 Remarks at Syracuse University on the Communist Challenge in Southeast Asia. August 5, 1964 928 500 Special Message to the Congress on U.S. Policy in Southeast Asia. August 5, i964 930 501 Remarks of Welcome at the White House to the Secretary General of the United Nations. August 6, 1964 932 502 Toasts of the President and Secretary General U Thant. August 6, 1964 934 503 Statement by the President on the Passage of the Joint Resolution on Southeast Asia. August 7, 1964 936 504 The President's News Conference at the LBJ Ranch. August 8, 1964 937 505 Statement by the President Following House Action on the Economic Opportunity Bill. August 8, 1964 942 506 Remarks at a Luncheon for Businessmen. August io, 1964 942 507 Remarks Upon Signing Joint Resolution for the Maintenance of Peace and Security in Southeast Asia. August io, 1964 946 508 Remarks at a Ceremony Marking the Issuance of the "Register and Vote" Stamp. August II, 1964 947 509 Remarks to Members of the National Association of Counties. August II, 1964 949 5io Remarks Upon Signing the Military Pay Bill. August 12, 1964 951 5ii Remarks in New York City Before the American Bar Association. August 12, 1964 952 LII List of Items, Book II Page 512 Remarks Upon Signing the Highway Bill. August I3, 1964 955 513 Remarks at a Luncheon for a Group of State University Presidents. August 13, 1964 956 514 Remarks Upon Signing the Government Employees Pay Raise Bill. August 14, 1964 962 515 Remarks by Telephone on the Occasion of the Commissioning of the U.S.S. Casimir Pulaski. August I4, 1964 963 5i6 The President's News Conference of August i5, 1964 964... Statement by the President Concerning the Development of a Counter-Insurgency Aircraft 966 517 Remarks to Members of the Communications Satellite Corporation Board. August 17, 1964 971 5i8 Statement by the President Upon Sending Copies of the Moon Photographs to Leaders of iio Nations. August 17, 1964 972 519 Statement by the President Upon Issuing Memorandum on the Staffing of International Organizations. August 17, 1964 972 520 Remarks Upon Signing Bill Extending the Hill-Burton Act, August i8, 1964 974 521 The President's News Conference of August i8, 1964 975 522 Remarks to Members of the National Citizens Committee for Community Relations. August i8, 1964 979 523 Remarks to the United States Marshals. August i8, i964 981 524 Letter to the Speaker in Support of the Establishment of a National Council on the Arts. August i8, 1964 983 LIII List of Items, Book II Page 525 Remarks Upon Signing Bill Creating the National Commission on Technology, Automation, and Economic Progress. August 19, I964 983 526 Remarks to the White House Seminar Students. August I9, I964 985 527 Remarks at the President's Salute to the Congress. August 19, I964 987 528 Remarks Upon Signing the Economic Opportunity Act. August 20, 1964 988 529 Special Message to the Congress on U.S. Participation in the United Nations. August 20, I964 990 530 Remarks Upon Signing Bill Amending Securities and Exchange Act. August 20, I964 992 53i Remarks at a Reception for Small Businessmen. August 20, I964 993 532 Statement by the President on the Agreements for the Establishment of a Global Communications Satellite System. August 20, 1964 998 533 Remarks at the Convocation of the National War College and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. August 21, I964 999 534 Statement by the President on the Fifth Anniversary of Statehood for Hawaii. August 21, I964 IooI 535 Remarks Upon Awarding the Silver Star Posthumously to Sgt. Harry A. Walling. August 22, I964 I002 536 Remarks to a Group of Democratic Governors. August 22, I964 1003 LIV List of Items, Book II Page 537 Letter to the Attorney General on a Program To Combat Juvenile Delinquency in the District of Columbia. August 22, I964 I005 538 Remarks Upon Signing Bill Permitting Private Ownership of Nuclear Materials. August 26, I964 ioo6 539 The President's News Conference Before Departing for Atlantic City for the National Convention. August 26, 1964 I007 540 Remarks Before the National Convention Upon Recommending the Nomination of Hubert Humphrey as Vice President. August 26, I964 ioo8 541 Remarks Before the National Convention Upon Accepting the Nomination. August 27, 1964 1009 542 Remarks in Atlantic City Before the Democratic National Committee. August 28, 1964 10I3 543 Telephone Remarks Opening the "Parade of Progress" in Cleveland. August 28, 1964 ioi8 544 Remarks at a Barbecue in Stonewall, Texas. August 29, 1964 IoI9 545 Filmed Message to Delegates of the Third International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy. August 30, 1964 I024 546 Remarks Upon Signing the Food Stamp Act. August 3I, 1964 I025 547 Telephone Remarks to the Convention of the Plasterers' Union. August 3I, 1964 o026 548 Remarks to the General Board of the AFL-CIO. September I, 1964 1027 549 Remarks Upon Signing the Housing Act. September 2, 1964 I029 LV List of Items, Book II Page 550 Remarks at the Swearing In of Dr. Otto Eckstein as a Member of the Council of Economic Advisers. September 2, 1964 1030 551 Special Message to the Congress Transmitting Report on U.S. Policy and International Cooperation in Antarctica. September 2, 1964 1031 552 Statement by the President Following Senate Passage of the Medicare Bill. September 2, 1964 1032 553 Statement by the President on the Death of Sergeant York. September 2, 1964 1032 554 Remarks Upon Signing the Wilderness Bill and the Land and Water Conservation Fund Bill. September 3, 1964 1033 555 Remarks to Members of the National Independent Committee for Johnson and Humphrey. September 3, 1964 1034 556 Letter Accepting Resignation of Robert F. Kennedy as Attorney General. September 3, 1964 1036 557 Remarks Upon Signing the Nurse Training Act of 1964. September 4, 1964 1036 558 Statement by the President: Labor Day. September 4, 1964 1038 559 Statement by the President on the North Pacific Fisheries Negotiations. September 4, 1964 1039 560 The President's News Conference of September 5, 1964 1040... Statement by the President Announcing the New Polaris A-3 Missile 1041... Statement by the President Announcing the Development of a Long-Lived Nuclear Reactor I042 56i Exchange of Messages With the President of Brazil. September 5, 1964 1047 LVI List of Items, Book II Page 562 Remarks in Cadillac Square, Detroit. September 7, 1964 1049 563 The President's News Conference of September 9, 1964 1052 564 Message to the President of Finland on the Death of Ambassador Sakari Tuomioja. September 9, 1964 1057 565 Statement by the President in Response to Report of the President's Committee for Traffic Safety. September io, 1964 io058 566 Remarks in Harrisburg at a Dinner Sponsored by the Pennsylvania State Democratic Committee. September io, 1964 1059 567 Statement by the President Following Inspection of Hurricane Damage in Florida and Georgia. September 12, 1964 1062 568 Remarks at the Presentation of the 1964 Presidential Medal of Freedom Awards. September 14, 1964 1063 569 Remarks Upon Presenting the Harmon International Aviation Trophies. September 14, i964 io66 570 Remarks to Representatives of "Rural America for JohnsonHumphrey." September I4, 1964 1067 571 Remarks at the Convention of the International Association of Machinists, Miami Beach, Florida. September I5, 1964 io68 572 Remarks After Inspecting Space Facilities at Cape Kennedy. September 15, 1964 1071 573 Remarks Upon Arriving at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Great Falls, Montana. September i6, 1964 1071 574 Remarks of Welcome at Malmstrom Air Force Base to Prime Minister Pearson of Canada. September i6, 1964 1072 LVII List of Items, Book II Page 575 The President's Response to Remarks of Welcome by Prime Minister Pearson at Vancouver International Airport, British Columbia. September i6, i964 1074 576 Remarks With Prime Minister Pearson Upon Proclaiming the Columbia River Treaty. September i6, i964 1075 577 Remarks in Seattle on the Control of Nuclear Weapons. September i6, i964 1078 578 Remarks on Conservation at a Breakfast in Portland Saluting the Northwest-Southwest Power Transmission Intertie. September i7, I964 io8i 579 Remarks in Sacramento on the Steps of the State Capitol. September i7, i964 io86 580 Statement by the President on Reviewing California's Plans Under the Economic Opportunity Act. September i7, i964 i090 58i Remarks on Immigration Policy to a Group Interested in the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge Commemorative Stamp. September i8, i964 I090 582 Remarks to Members of the NATO Parliamentarians Conference. September i8, i964 I09I 583 Remarks to the President's Advisory Council on Federal Reports. September i8, I964 1092 584 Statement by the President Upon the Death of Professor J. Frank Dobie. September 19, i964 1093 585 Message to Prime Minister Olivier on the Occasion of the Independence of Malta. September 20, 964 1094 586 Remarks at the Dedication of the Morgantown, W. Va., Airport. September 20, I964 1094 587 The President's News Conference of September 2I, I964 1096 LVIII List of Items, Book II Page 588 Remarks to a Group of Representatives of Fraternal Organizations. September 21, 1964 II02 589 Remarks in Atlantic City at the Convention of the United Steelworkers of America. September 22, 1964 1104 590 Remarks at the Annual Convention of the International Union of Electrical Workers. September 23, i964 1109 591 Excerpts From Remarks at a Meeting With the New Panel of Consultants on Peace and National Security. September 23, 1964 1112 592 Message to the Congress Transmitting Eighth Annual Report on the Trade Agreements Program. September 23, I964 III4 593 Remarks Upon Presenting the Collier Trophy in Aeronautics to Clarence L. Johnson. September 24, I964 1115 594 Statement by the President Upon Approving Bill Providing for a Site Study for a New Interoceanic Canal. September 24, 1964 iii6 595 Letter to the Chief Justice Upon Receipt of the Warren Commission Report. September 24, 1964 Iii6 596 Remarks in El Paso at a Ceremony Marking the Settlement of the Chamizal Dispute. September 25, 1964 1117 597 Remarks in Oklahoma at the Dedication of the Eufaula Dam. September 25, 1964 1122 598 Remarks in Oklahoma City at the Opening of the State Fair. September 25, 1964 1128 599 Remarks in Texarkana at the Dedication of John F. Kennedy Square. September 25, 1964 1133 LIX List of Items, Book II Page 600 Statement by the President Upon Making Public an FBI Report on the Recent Urban Riots. September 26, 1964 II37 60o Remarks in Providence at the 200th Anniversary Convocation of Brown University. September 28, 1964 II39 602 Statement by the President on the Problems of the Textile Industry. September 28, 1964 II43 603 Remarks in Hartford, Connecticut. September 28, 1964 II44 604 Remarks in Hartford to a Group of Business Leaders. September 28, 1964 II47 605 Remarks at the Airport, Burlington, Vermont. September 28, 1964 1151 606 Remarks in Portland, Maine, on the Steps of the City Hall. September 28, 1964 1I56 607 Remarks in Manchester to the Members of the New Hampshire Weekly Newspaper Editors Association. September 28, 1964 II6o 608 Toasts of the President and the Secretary General of NATO. September 29, 1964 1169 609 Remarks Upon Arrival at Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha. September 29, 964 1171 61o Remarks Upon Completing an Inspection of SAC Headquarters, Offutt Air Force Base, Omaha. September 29, 1964 1172 6II Remarks at a Meeting With Representatives of Veterans Organizations. September 30, 1964 1I73 612 Remarks to the Faculty and Students of Johns Hopkins University. October i, 1964 II75 LX List of Items, Book II Page 613 Remarks at the Swearing In of Philip Nichols, Jr., and Linton M. Collins as Judges. October i, I964 1183 614 Letter to the Attorney General Directing Him To Petition for an Injunction in the Maritime Industry Labor Dispute. October i, I964 1183 615 Remarks at the Final Meeting of the Alaska Reconstruction Planning Commission. October 2, I964 1184 6i6 Remarks Upon Proclaiming i965 as International Cooperation Year. October 2, i964 ii86 617 Special Message to the Congress Transmitting Report on Foreign Assistance Programs. October 3, i964 II89 618 Statement by the President on the Effects of Hurricane Hilda. October 3, I964 1191 6I9 The President's News Conference of October 3, i964 1I9I... Statement by the President on the Cost of Government during July and August 1191... Statement by the President on Federal Civilian Employment I19i... Statement by the President on the Department of Defense Cost Reduction Program 1192... Statement by the President on Receiving Progress Report on a Study of the Draft System 1193... Statement by the President Reviewing the State of the Economy 1194 Statement by the President on the First Round-the-World Cruise of a Nuclear Task Force 1194 620 Statement by the President Reviewing the Work of the 88th Congress. October 3, i964 I20I LXI List of Items, Book II Page 621 Statement by the President Announcing a Change in the Foreign Service. October 3, 1964 I203 622 Remarks to a Group of College Student Leaders. October 3, i964 1204 623 Remarks of Welcome at the White House to President Macapagal of the Philippines. October 5, I964 I207 624 Statement by the President on the New Labor Contracts in the Automobile Industry. October 5, I964 I208 625 Message to the Second Conference of Nonaligned Nations Meeting in Cairo. October 5, I964 I209 626 Toasts of the President and President Macapagal. October 5, 1964 I2Io 627 Joint Statement Following Discussions With the President of the Philippines. October 6, I964 I213 628 Remarks at the Station in Alexandria, Va., at the Start of Mrs. Johnson's Trip Through the South. October 6, 1964 1215 629 Remarks at a Meeting of "Scientists and Engineers for Johnson-Humphrey." October 6, 1964 1217 630 Remarks at a White House Luncheon for Businessmen. October 6, I964 I218 63I Remarks in Raleigh at North Carolina State College. October 6, I964 I220 632 Recorded Statement Marking the Inauguration of Television by Communication Satellite Between the United States and Japan. October 7, 1964 1226 633 Statement by the President at the Beginning of a Campaign Trip. October 7, 1964 1227 LXII List of Items, Book II Page 634 Remarks at the State Capitol in Des Moines. October 7, 1964 1227 635 Remarks in Springfield, Ill., at the Sangamon County Courthouse. October 7, 1964 1231 636 Remarks on the Courthouse Steps in Peoria. October 7, 1964 1236 637 Remarks in Peoria at the Convention of the Illinois State Federation of Labor. October 7, 1964 1239 638 Television Address to the American People. October 7, i964 1241 639 Remarks at Washington High School, Lake County, Indiana. October 8, 1964 1243 640 Remarks in Indianapolis at Soldiers and Sailors Square. October 8, 1964 1246 641 Statement by the President Upon Signing Bill Extending the Agricultural Trade and Assistance Act. October 8, 1964 1249 642 Remarks at a "Salute to President Johnson" Dinner in Cleveland. October 8, 1964 1251 643 Remarks in Louisville, Ky., at a Breakfast for Indiana and Kentucky State Party Leaders. October 9, 1964 1261 644 Remarks at the Courthouse in Louisville. October 9, i964 1268 645 Remarks at the War Memorial Building in Nashville. October 9, 1964 1272 646 Remarks Upon Arrival of the "Lady Bird Special" at Union Station in New Orleans. October 9, 1964 1278 647 Further Statement by the President on Hurricane Hilda. October 9, I964 1280 648 Remarks at a Fundraising Dinner in New Orleans. October 9, 1964 1281 LXIII List of Items, Book II Page 649 Remarks Upon Arrival at the Phoenix Airport. October II, 1964 1288 650 Remarks at the Municipal Park, South Gate, California. October ii, 1964 1290 651 Remarks in Washington Square, San Francisco. October ii, 1964 1296 652 Remarks at the Convention Center in Las Vegas. October ii, 1964 1298 653 Statement by the President on the Anniversary of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. October II, 1964 1304 654 Memorandum Outlining Some of the Major Issues of the Campaign. October ii, 1964 1305 655 Remarks at the State Building in Reno. October 12, 1964 1306 656 Remarks at the Civic Center in Butte. October 12, I964 1310 657 Remarks at the Natrona County Courthouse, Casper, Wyoming. October 12, 1964 1314 658 Remarks at the Coliseum in Denver. October 12, 1964 1317 659 Remarks Upon Arrival at the Airport in Boise. October 12, 1964 1321 660 Remarks at the Mall Shopping Center, Bergen, New Jersey. October 14, 1964 1325 66i Remarks at a Rally at the Wilkes-Barre-Scranton, Pa., Airport. October 14, 1964 1327 662 Remarks in New York City at the Annual Dinner of the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation. October 14, 1964 1329 663 Statement by the President Upon Approving a Veterans' Life Insurance and Pension Bill. October 14, 1964 1335 LXIV List of Items, Book II Page 664 Statement by the President Upon Approving Bill Authorizing a Retirement System for Certain Employees of the Central Intelligence Agency. October I4, 1964 1336 665 Statement by the President Upon Approving the Reserve Officers' Training Corps Vitalization Act. October I4, 1964 1336 666 Remarks at a Rally at the Rochester, N.Y., Airport. October I5, I964 I337 667 Remarks at the City Hall in Buffalo. October I5, I964 I34I 668 Remarks in Albee Square, Brooklyn. October 15, I964 I347 669 Remarks in Madison Square Garden at a Rally of the Liberal Party of New York. October 15, I964 I348 670 Remarks to a Group Outside Madison Square Garden. October 15, I964 1354 671 Statement by the President on Walter Jenkins. October I5, 1964 I354 672 Statement by the President Announcing a Joint U.S.-Israeli Water Desalting Study. October I5, I964 I355 673 Remarks at a Tree-Planting Ceremony at the White House. October X6, 1964 1355 674 Statement by the President Following a Meeting With the Russian Ambassador. October I6, 1964 I356 675 Statement by the President on the First Chinese Nuclear Device. October i6, I964 I357 676 Remarks Upon Signing Bill Amending the National Defense Education Act. October i6, 1964 1358 677 Remarks at the Swearing In of Sargent Shriver as Director, Office of Economic Opportunity. October i6, 1964 I360 33-171-65- 5 LXV List of Items, Book II Page 678 Remarks Upon Arrival at the Greater Cincinnati Airport. October i6, i964 1361 679 Remarks at Government Square in Cincinnati. October i6, i964 1365 68o Remarks on the City Hall Steps, Dayton, Ohio. October i6, i964 I368 68i Message of Congratulations to the Right Honorable Harold Wilson. October i6, i964 I374 682 Message to President de Valera on the Occasion of His 82d Birthday. October i6, i964 I374 683 Statement by the President Upon Signing Executive Order "To Facilitate Coordination of Federal Education Programs." October i6, i964 I374 684 Statement by the President Upon Signing Bill Relating to Claims of U.S. Nationals Against the Government of Cuba. October i7, 1964 I375 685 Exchange of Messages With the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. October i7, i964 1376 686 Radio and Television Report to the American People on Recent Events in Russia, China, and Great Britain. October i8, i964 I377 687 Statement by the President on the Strike at General Motors. October 19, i964 I380 688 The President's News Conference of October 19, i964 1380... Statement by the President Following a Meeting With Congressional Leaders 1380 689 Remarks to Members of the Press Following a Meeting of the Cabinet. October 20, 1964 i383 LXVI List of Items, Book II Page 690 Statement by the President on the Establishment of Permanent Task Forces To Assist Communities Faced With Plant Closings. October 20, 1964 I385 691 Proclamation 3625 Announcing the Death of Herbert Hoover. October 20, I964 1385 692 Statement by the President on the Death of President Hoover. October 20, 1964 I386 693 Remarks in Memorial Hall, Akron University. October 21, 1964 1387 694 Remarks in Belleville, Illinois. October 21, 1964 1393 695 Remarks in St. Louis, Missouri. October 21, 1964 1396 696 Statement by the President Following a Meeting With the Panel of Consultants on Foreign Affairs. October 21, 1964 I40I 697 Statement by the President Upon Making Public a Tabulation of Major Industry Gains, 1961-64. October 22, 1964 1402 698 Recorded Remarks on the g9th Anniversary of the United Nations. October 23, 1964 1404 699 Recorded Remarks Congratulating the U.S. Olympic Team and the Members of the U.S. Olympic Committee. October 23, I964 1405 700 Recorded Remarks After Further Study of the Report of the Council on Pennsylvania Avenue. October 23, I964 1405 701 Remarks on the River Front in Memphis. October 24, I964 1406 702 Remarks at an Airport Rally in Chattanooga. October 24, 1964 1411 703 Remarks Before Two Groups at the Fifth Regiment Armory in Baltimore. October 24, I964 1415 LXVII List of Items, Book II Page 704 Letter to the President, Board of Commissioners, on Crime in the District of Columbia. October 25, I964 I423 705 Statement by the President on the Agreement With the Soviet Union for the Exchange of Weather Information. October 25, I964 1424 706 Statement by the President: National First Voters Week. October 25, I964 I426 707 Statement by the President Announcing a Series of Statements on Economic Issues. October 25, I964 1426 708 Presidential Statement No. i on Economic Issues: Maintaining Prosperity. October 25,, 964 I427 709 Remarks in Boca Raton at the Dedication of Florida Atlantic University. October 25, I964 1428 710 Remarks in Miami Upon Receiving a Book Relating to the Interama Cultural and Trade Center. October 25, I964 I432 711 Executive Order lII86 Establishing the Federal Development Planning Committee for Appalachia. October 25, I964: I433 712 Remarks in Orlando, Florida. October 26, 1964 I435 713 Remarks at a Rally in Hemming Park, Jacksonville, Fla. October 26, 964 I438 714 Presidential Statement No. 2 on Economic Issues: Monetary Policy for Stability and Growth. October 26, 1964 1442 715 Statement by the President Upon Making Public a Report on the Desalting of Sea Water. October 26, I964 I443 716 Remarks at City Hall, Macon; Georgia. October 26, 1964 I444 LIIT List of Items, Book II Page 7I7 Statement by the President on the Textile Industry. October 26, I964 1448 718 Remarks at a Rally in Augusta, Georgia. October 26, 1964 I449 719 Remarks on the Steps of the State Capitol, Columbia, South Carolina. October 26, I964 I454 720 Statement by the President on the Occasion of a Ceremony at the Statue of Ukrainian Poet Taras Shevchenko. October 26, I964 I459 72I Message to President Kaunda on the Occasion of the Independence of Zambia. October 26, 1964 I460 722 Presidential Statement No. 3 on Economic Issues: Strengthening Our Balance of Payments. October 26, I964 1460 723 Presidential Statement No. 4 on Economic Issues: Responsible and Effective Fiscal Policy. October 27, 1964 I461 724 Presidential Statement No. 5 on Economic Issues: Further Tax Reduction. October 27, I964 I463 725 Remarks at the Presentation of a Commission to Lt. Col. John H. Glenn, Jr. October 27, 1964 1463 726 Remarks to the Members of the Inter-American Committee on the Alliance for Progress. October 27, i964 1464 727 Remarks in Boston at Post Office Square. October 27, 1964 1466 728 Remarks at the Civic Center Arena in Pittsburgh. October 27, I964 I470 729 Remarks at an Airport Rally in Evansville, Indiana. October 27, 1964 1480 730 Presidential Statement No. 6 on Economic Issues: Strengthening State-Local Government. October 28, I964 I485 LXIX List of Items, Book II Page 731 Presidential Statement No. 7 on Economic Issues: Improving the Tax System. October 28, I964 1485 732 Remarks in Albuquerque at the University of New Mexico. October 28, I964 I486 733 Remarks at City Hall in Los Angeles. October 28, I964 I492 734 Remarks at the Riverside, California, County Courthouse. October 28, I964 I499 735 Remarks at a Rally in San Bernardino. October 28, I964 I503 736 Remarks at Lindbergh Field, San Diego. October 28, I964 I5o6 737 Remarks in Salt Lake City at the Mormon Tabernacle. October 29, I964 I513 738 Remarks Recorded for the Dedication of the Graduate Research Center of the Southwest. October 29, I964 15I7 739 Presidential Statement No. 8 on Economic Issues: Expanding World Trade. October 29, i964 1518 740 Presidential Statement No. 9 on Economic Issues: Promoting Price-Wage Decisions. October 29, I964 1519 74I Remarks at an Airport Rally in Wichita. October 29, I964 I520 742 Remarks in Convention Hall, Philadelphia. October 29, I964 I523 743 Presidential Statement No. io on Economic Issues: Achieving Full Employment. October 30, I964 I527 744 Statement by the President on the Results of a Survey of Compliance With the Civil Rights Act. October 30, 1964 I528 745 Remarks at an Airport Rally in Detroit. October 30, 1964 I529 LXX List of Items, Book II1 Page 746 Remarks in Kosciusko Park, Milwaukee. October 30, I964 I535 747 Remarks at an Airport Rally in Rockford, Illinois. October 30, I964 I540 748 Remarks at the Chicago Stadium. October 30, 1964 1545 749 Remarks at the Old State House, Dover, Delaware. October 31, 964 1547 750 Remarks at an Airport Rally in Wilmington, Delaware. October 31, i964 I552 75i Remarks in Madison Square Garden. October 31, i964 i558 752 Letter to the Attorney General in Response to a Report on Crime and Law Enforcement. November i, I964 i56i 753 Statement by the President Making Public a Report on the Balance of Payments Position. November i, i964 I562 754 Presidential Policy Paper No. i: Education. November i, i964 i563 755 Presidential Policy Paper No. 2: The Nation's Problems of Health. November I, i964 I564 756 Presidential Policy Paper No. 3: Conservation of Natural Resources. November i, i964 i565 757 Presidential Policy Paper No. 4: Farm Policy. November i, i964 I568 758 Statement by the President Announcing an Expanded Program To Control Cotton Insect Pests. November 2, I964 1570 759 Statement by the President on the Fourth Anniversary of the Peace Corps. November 2, 964 I570 760 Remarks at a Rally in Houston. November 2, I964 I57I LXXI List of Items, Book II Page 761 Remarks in Houston at Sam Houston Senior High School. November 2, i964 I573 762 Remarks at a Rally in Pasadena, Texas. November 2, i964 i575 763 Remarks at the State Capitol in Austin, Texas. November 2, i964 I578 764 Radio and Television Address to the American People on Election Eve. November 2, i964 i582 765 Radio and Television Remarks to the American People at the Close of Election Day. November 4, I964 i585 766 Remarks by Telephone for Ceremonies Marking the 5oth Anniversary of the Port of Houston. November 10, i964 i586 767 Remarks of Welcome at the LBJ Ranch to the PresidentElect of Mexico. November 12, i964 1587 768 The President's Toast to Gustavo Diaz Ordaz, PresidentElect of Mexico. November I2, i964 I590 769 Statement by the President in Response to Report of the Inter-American Committee on the Alliance for Progress. November I3, i964 159I 770 Proclamation 3627: Thanksgiving Day. November I3, i964 i592 77i Remarks at the Swearing In of Gardner Ackley as Chairman and Arthur Okun as Member of the Council of Economic Advisers. November i6, i964 I593 772 Remarks at the Presentation of the White House Thanksgiving Turkey. November i7, i964 I595 773 Remarks in the Cabinet Room at the Unveiling of a Bust of John F. Kennedy. November 19, i964 i596 774 Proclamation 3629: John F. Kennedy, A Rededication. November 19, i964 i596 LXXII List of Items, Book 1I Page 775 Remarks at a Luncheon of the Committee for Economic Development. November 19, I964 I597 776 Statement by the President at a Cabinet Meeting: The Great Society. November i9, I964 I604 777 Statement by the President at a Cabinet Meeting: Personnel Appointments. November I9, I964 I605 778 Remarks at Southwest Texas State College, San Marcos. November 20, I964 i6o6 779 Thanksgiving Day Message to Members of the Armed Forces. November 25, I964 i6io 780 The President's News Conference at the LBJ Ranch. November 28, 1964 i6II 78I Message Greeting Sir Winston Churchill on the Occasion of His 9oth Birthday. November 30, I964 I62I 782 Remarks at a Luncheon for the U.S. Olympic Medal Winners. December i, 1964 I62I 783 Remarks Upon Presenting the Distinguished Service Medal to Gen. Thomas S. Power. December i, I964 I623 784 Remarks at the Ground-Breaking Ceremony for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. December 2, I964 1624 785 Remarks at a Luncheon for Supporters of Radio Free Europe. December 2, I964 I626 786 Remarks Recorded for the Commissioning of the U.S.S. Sam Rayburn. December 2, I964 I627 787 Remarks to the Members of the Business Council. December 2, I964 I628 LXXIII 33-1,71-65 ---6 List of Items, Book II Page 788 Remarks at the I75th Anniversary Convocation of Georgetown University. December 3, 1964 I632 789 Statement by the President on the Supersonic Transport Program. December 3, I964 I635 790 Remarks at a Ceremony Marking the Ioth Anniversary of the Government Employees' Incentive Awards Act. December 4, 1964 1636 79i Statement by the President on the November Employment Report. December 4, I964 I638 792 Statement by the President Upon Approving Civil Rights Regulations Covering the Programs of Federal Departments and Agencies. December 4, 1964 1638 793 Remarks at the Presentation of the Medal of Honor to Capt. Roger H. C. Donlon, USA. December 5, 1964 1639 794 Message to President Segni of Italy. December 7, 1964 1642 795 Remarks of Welcome at the White House to the New Prime Minister of Great Britain. December 7, I964 I643 796 Toasts of the President and Prime Minister Harold Wilson. December 7, I964 I644 797 Joint Statement Following Discussions With the Prime Minister of Great Britain. December 8, I964 I649 798 Remarks Upon Receiving Report of the President's Commission on Heart Disease, Cancer and Stroke. December 9, I964 I650 799 Remarks at a Reception for the New Democrats in Congress. December 9, I964 I65I 800 Remarks at the National Urban League's Community Action Assembly. December io, 1964 1653 LXXIV List of Items, Book II Page 8oi Remarks to Members of VISTA-"Volunteers in Service to America." December i2, I964 i656 802 Remarks to the Members of the Economic Opportunity Council. December i2, 1964 I657 803 Letter to the Chairman, Federal Power Commission, in Response to the National Power Survey Report. December I4, i964 i658 804 Remarks to the Members of a Delegation of Industrial Research Leaders Upon Their Return From the Soviet Union. December i5, i964 1659 805 Letter Accepting Resignation of Luther H. Hodges as Secretary of Commerce. December i6, i964 i66o 8o6 Remarks at a Televised Ceremony Marking the Change in Leadership at the Department of Commerce. December i6, i964 i66o 807 Statement by the President on the Launching of the Italian San Marco Satellite. December i6, i964 i662 8o8 Remarks Upon Accepting a Ceremonial Pass to the ioth International Games for the Deaf. December i7, i964 -662 809 Remarks on the Decision To Build a Sea Level Canal and To Negotiate a New Treaty With Panama. December i8, i964 i663 8io Remarks at the Lighting of the Nation's Christmas Tree. December i8, i964 1665 8ii Statement by the President on the New Level of Personal Income in the United States. December i8, i964 i666 812 Statement by the President in Response to Report Reviewing Gains in Government Employment of Minority Groups. December 2i, i964 1667 LXXV List of Items, Book II Page 8I3 Christmas Message to the Americans in Viet-Nam. December 23, I964 I667 814 Statement by the President on the Appointment of John E. Home as Chairman, Federal Home Loan Bank Board. December 26, I964 i668 8I5 Statement by the President on the Appointment of William J. Driver as Administrator of Veterans Affairs. December 26, i964 i668 8I6 Letter to Secretary McNamara Transmitting Final Report of the President's Committee on Equal Opportunity in the Armed Forces. December 28, I964 I669 817 Message to Giuseppe Saragat Upon His Election as President of Italy. December 28, I964 1670 8I8 The President's News Conference of December 28, I964 I670 8I9 Statement by the President on the Appointment of Lloyd N. Hand To Succeed Angier B. Duke as Chief of Protocol. December 29, 1964 I673 820 New Year Greetings to Leaders of the Soviet Union. December 30, I964 1673 LXXVI Lyndon B. Johnson November 22, 1963-June 30, I964 I i Remarks Upon Arrival at Andrews Air Force Base. November 22, i963 THIS is a sad time for all people. We have suffered a loss that cannot be weighed. For me, it is a deep personal tragedy. I know that the world shares the sorrow that Mrs. Kennedy and her family bear. I will do my best. That is all I can do. I ask for your help-and God's. NOTE: The President spoke at 6:iO p.m. at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., near Washington, upon his arrival from Dallas, Tex. Lyndon Baines Johnson succeeded to the Presidency on November 22, i963, on the death of President Kennedy'in Dallas on the same day. Vice President Johnson, a member of President Kennedy's party on a speaking tour of several Texas cities, was riding in the third car of a motor cade traveling through downtown Dallas when, at approximately I2:30 p.m., c.s.t., President Kennedy was struck by bullets from an assassin's gun. The motorcade proceeded to Parkland Hospital in Dallas where President Kennedy was pronounced dead at i p.m. Shortly afterwards Mr. Johnson left the hospital for the Dallas airport, en route to Washington, D.C. He was sworn in as President at 2:38 p.m. in the cabin of the Presidential plane, Air Force One, at Love Field, Dallas. The oath of office was administered by Federal Judge Sarah T. Hughes of the Northern District of Texas. Present at the swearing in were Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. Kennedy, and several members of the White House staff. After the ceremony the plane, bearing the body of President Kennedy and with President and Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. Kennedy, and the White House staff members aboard, left immediately for Washington. 2 White House Announcement of Plans for the Funeral Rites for President Kennedy. November 22, i963 THE body of President John F. Kennedy will lie in repose in the East Room of the White House from io a.m. until 6 p.m. Saturday, November 23, and will lie in state in the Rotunda of the Capitol on Sunday and Monday. The President's immediate family will be present Saturday from io to ii a.m. President Lyndon B. Johnson, Speaker of the House of Representatives John W. McCormack, and Chief Justice of the United States Earl Warren are scheduled to arrive from i i to 2 p.m. Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower will be present at this time. Former President Herbert Hoover expressed his regrets that he will be unable to attend, and former President Harry S. Truman is planning to arrive in Washington Sunday. Members of the President's Cabinet, members of the executive branch holding Presidential appointments, and close personal friends of the President are also scheduled to arrive from i i a.m. to 2 p.m. Associate Justices of the Supreme Court will arrive from 2 to 2:30 p.m. as will members of the Federal judiciary. From 2:30 to 5 p.m., members of the U.S. Senate, the House of Representatives, and the Governors of the 50 States and Territories are scheduled to arrive. Members of the diplomatic corps will follow between 5 and 6p.m. The President's body will be moved from the White House in an official cortege to the Rotunda of the Capitol at i p.m. Sunday, where it will lie in state for one day. Members of the President's family, Cabinet and Government leaders and members of the Supreme Court, members of the Congress and diplomatic representatives of foreign nations will be present at the ceremonies placing the President's body in state mourning. The public will be permitted to file past the I [2] Nov. 22 Public Papers of the Presidents bier in the Rotunda shortly after its arrival and until 9 p.m. Sunday, and from 9 to 10 a.m. Monday. The body will be moved Monday at i a.m. to St. Matthews Cathedral, Rhode Island Avenue, between Seventeenth and Eighteenth Streets NW., for a pontifical requiem Mass at 12 noon. The mass will be celebrated by His Eminence Richard Cardinal Cushing, Archbishop of Boston. Seating arrangements for the mass will be assigned by the White House. 3 Proclamation 3561: National Day of Mourning for President Kennedy. November 23, I963 By the President of the United States of America A PROCLAMATION To the People of the United States: John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 35th President of the United States, has been taken from us by an act which outrages decent men everywhere. He upheld the faith of our fathers, which is freedom for all men. He broadened the frontiers of that faith, and backed it with the energy and the courage which are the mark of the Nation he led. A man of wisdom, strength, and peace, he moulded and moved the power of our Nation in the service of a world of growing liberty and order. All who love freedom will mourn his death. As he did not shrink from his responsibilities, but welcomed them, so he would not have us shrink from carrying on his work beyond this hour of national tragedy. He said it himself: "The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve itand the glow from that fire can truly light the world." Now, THEREFORE, I, LYNDON B. JOHNSON, President of the United States of America, do appoint Monday next, November 25, the day of the funeral service of President Kennedy, to be a national day of mourning throughout the United States. I earnestly recommend the people to assemble on that day in their respective places of divine worship, there to bow down in submission to the will of Almighty God, and to pay their homage of love and reverence to the memory of a great and good man. I invite the people of the world who share our grief to join us in this day of mourning and rededication. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States of America to be affixed. DONE at the City of Washington this twenty-third day of November in [SEAL] the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and eighty-eighth. LYNDON B. JOHNSON By the President: DEAN RUSK Secretary of State NOTE: The President read the Proclamation over a nationwide radio and television broadcast at 4:45 p.m. on the same day from the Fish Room at the White House. 2 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 Nov. 23 [5] 4 Executive Order I II28 Closing Government Departments and Agencies on November 25, i963. November 23, i963 BY VIRTUE of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows: i. All Executive departments, independent establishments, and other governmental agencies, including their field services, shall be closed on Monday, November 25, i963, as a mark of respect for President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. 2. This order shall not apply to those offices and installations, or parts thereof, in the Department of State, the Department of Defense, or other departments, independent establishments, and governmental agencies which the heads thereof determine should remain open for reasons of national security or defense or other public reasons. LYNDON B. JOHNSON THE WHITE HouSE November 23, I963 5 White House Announcement Concerning the Official Cortege for President Kennedy from the White House to the Capitol. November 23, i963 SUNDAY at i p.m. the body of President Kennedy will leave the White House from the North Portico in a horse-drawn caisson. It will be preceded by a joint honor cordon of the armed services. The route will be lined by a joint honor cordon. Persons will leave the White House in the following order: i. Metropolitan Police honor guard. 2. Escort Commander (Maj. Gen. Philip C. Wehle, Commanding General, Military District of Washington). 3. Muffled drums (4 snares from each of 5 services)-bass drums, one each from Army and Marine Corps. Drum Major and leader from Navy Band. 4. Company of U.S. naval personnel (89 officers and men). 5. Special honor guard (Joint Chiefs of Staff). 6. National color detail (reviewman carry ing U.S. flags and two guards). 7. Clergy. 8. Caisson with 7 horses (flanking caisson 4 enlisted men from each of the 5 services; io on each side, 2 abreast; plus 4 special services personnel). 9. Personal flag detail (one man carrying the Presidential flag). io. Body bearer detail. ii. Immediate family. i2. President Johnson. 13. Metropolitan Police honor guard. The procession will proceed to the Capitol where, after a 2i-gun salute, ruffles and flourishes, and the playing of "Hail to the Chief," the casket will be carried into the Capitol and placed on the Lincoln catafalque in the center of the Rotunda. The casket will be in state for public view beginning at 2 p.m. -3 [6] Nov. 25 Public Papers of the Presidents 6 Message to the Members of the Armed Forces. November 25, i963 WE have suffered a great national loss and sorrow in the death of the Commander in Chief, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. A man who knew war and hated it, he loved peace all the more and sought to make it secure in the world for your children and his. He will be remembered and honored forevermore for his valor and courage in serving that cause of peace which you serve in your faithful vigil for freedom. Our Constitution provides for the orderly continuity of the civil offices of our Government. In the transition brought upon us by tragedy, there is no interruption in the continuity of that commitment to strength, steadfastness, and selfless sacrifice which has kept us free and the world at peace. As you stand your guard of freedom and peace, you may know that the policies and purposes of your country are unchanged and unchangeable in seeking honorable peace, the friendship and alliance of free nations and the building of a responsible world free of the causes of hatred, division, oppression, and human despair. Praying to be worthy of God's guidance, let us rededicate ourselves to the continuing tasks before us remembering always that the price of our liberty is eternal vigilance. 7 White House Statement Concerning Investigation of the Assassination of President Kennedy. November 25, i963 THE PRESIDENT said today that he has directed the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to conduct a prompt and thorough investigation of all the circumstances surrounding the brutal assassination of President Kennedy and the murder of his alleged assassin. The President said he has directed all Federal agencies to cooperate and the people of the Nation may be sure that all of the facts will be made public. 8 Remarks to State Governors After President Kennedy's Funeral. November 25, i963 Gentlemen: I want to tell you how deeply I feel in your debt for not only your coming to Washington on this tragic occasion but for your being so understanding of me and being willing to come here and visit with me this evening. I am sorry I am late. General de Gaulle had to return to Paris. He has had a long day of it and he is flying back tonight. We talked a little longer than I anticipated. Even then we did not finish, so we have another meeting set up for early in the year when he comes back to this country. Prime Minister Ikeda of Japan was among the cabinet ministers who were en route between Honolulu and Tokyo when they got word of the assassination of the President. They had to turn around and come back, and they had to make a few explanations there. 4 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-.964 Nov. 25 [8] Canada is such a dose neighbor and such a good neighbor that we always have plenty of problems there. They are kind of like problems in the hometown. So, I am later than I expected to be, and I apologize for delaying you. Circumstances over which I had no control brought me into this position that I occupy tonight. The difficulties and the tribulations are great, and this is the time when our whole system could go awry, not just the Republican Party and the Democratic Party but the American system of Government. From the standpoint of population, we have less people than the Soviet Union. From the standpoint of resources, in many respects she has greater resources than we have. She has 8,6oo,ooo tillable acres of land while we have 3 million. She has 208 million people while we have i8o million people. She has greater water resources and greater potential oil and power, but the thing that is really to determine whether we win or lose in this struggle of philosophies is how well our system works. We think we have the best system. We think that where a capitalist can put up a dollar, he can get a return on it. A manager can get up early to work and with money and men he can build a better mousetrap. A laborer who is worthy of his hire stands a chance of getting attention and maybe a little profit-sharing system, and the highest minimum wages of any nation in the world. Those three together combine to give us the end product that we call free enterprise. I think continuity without confusion has got to be our password and has to be the key to our system. For that reason, I am going to address the Congress on Wednesday. That is the earliest day that they could receive me and I could meet these 70-80 heads of state who have come here from all over the world. I am going to tell that Congress that we intend to honor the commitments we have made at home and abroad, and I am going to tell them I understand my own limitations, but I am going to do the best I can with your help and God's. [Excerpt of further remarks as released by the White House] We live under a system of checks and balances. We do so because our Founding Fathers figured properly that the only sure method of preventing tyranny was a political system in which no one person or no one group of persons can have power without limitations. The Congress, the Executive, and the courts all have powers to check each other. This is taken for granted so completely that every schoolboy knows about our "tripartite system of government." But what is not realized as commonly is that there is another check-the division of our government into Federal, State, and local systems. Each level of government has proper responsibilities and proper prerogatives. And our democracy is richer and more enduring because of this division. However, there is one point that must always be borne in mind. It is that a government by checks and balances will work only when people are willing to cooperate and work together for the common good. If they insist on glaring at each other, refusing to work together, and standing firmly on prerogatives and forgetting responsibilities, the Nation will quickly be paralyzed. For these reasons, I consider it vitally important to ask for your help. I want you to cooperate. I need your heart and your hand. Our country has suffered a grievous 5 [8] Nov. 25 Public Papers of the Presidents shock. The transition while a term is still going on is always a difficult test for democracy. It is doubly difficult in these days of quick decisions on matters that involve the fate of humanity. I hope to keep in constant touch with you. My permanent purpose is to maintain the fabric of your Nation intact and in the days that lie ahead I hope to work with you to this end. NOTE: The President spoke at 8:30 p.m. in his temporary office in the Executive Office Building to the group of Governors who were in Washington to attend the funeral of President Kennedy. 9 Remarks on the Alliance for Progress to Representatives of the Countries of Latin America. November 26, I963 I HAVE asked you to come here today because this is, in a very special sense, a family gathering, for nothing in President Kennedy's public career meant more to him than the ties which united this country and yours. A little less than 3 years ago, here in the White House, in this very room, President Kennedy met with you, the representatives of the countries of Latin America. In the first full-scale foreign policy address of his administration, he called for an Alliance for Progress among all the nations of the Americas. Today among you in this same room I have come to reaffirm that Alliance, and pledge all the energies of my Government to our common goals. I know from personal experience that the future of this hemisphere, the relations between the United States and Latin America, must be among the highest concerns of my Government. I have lived my life together with many who proudly claim descent from Latin America. The sound of the Spanish tongue and the signs of your rich, cultural traditions were among my earliest and my most enduring impressions. I began my Government service in Washington under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. And from him I learned that nothing is more important to the country I now lead than its associations with our good neighbors to the south. In October of I960 during the political campaign I reminded my fellow citizens of the United States that, and I quote, "We must support, morally and financially, the struggle of our Latin American friends against political, economic, and social injustice, not only to improve their standard of living but to foster the democratic way of life in every country." To me, therefore, as it was to President Kennedy, the Alliance for Progress is part of a long and deeply rooted tradition. That alliance contains the basic principles of the new society which we are building, principles agreed to by all our countries in the Charter of Punta del Este. The first of these agreed principles is the right of every American nation to govern itself free from outside dictation or coercion from any quarter. None among us can tell another how to organize its society or how to conduct its affairs. The second of these agreed principles is the right to human freedom, the right of each person to freely speak his views, worship God in his own way, participate in the political life of his nation. History and circumstances have created restraints on democracy in some of our nations. But we must 6 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-I964 Nov. 26 [io] never forget that our task will not be complete until every American lives in the dignity of freedom. The third of these agreed principles is the right to social justice. The right of every citizen to share in the progress of his nation. We have called for land for the landless, education for those denied education, and an end to the unjust privilege of a few at the expense of the needs of the many. The fourth of these agreed principles is dedication to economic progress. To this end we have embarked upon a cooperative program in which the nations of Latin America have agreed to dedicate their resources, bear fresh sacrifice, and expect hard labor. And the United States has pledged itself and will carry out its own commitments. And it is to these principles that we have dedicated ourselves. So I reaffirm the pledge which President Kennedy made last week to improve and strengthen the role of the United States in the Alliance for Progress. We all know that there have been problems within the Alliance for Progress, but the accomplishments of the past 3 years have proven the soundness of our principles. The accomplishments of the years to come will vindicate our faith in the capacity of free men to meet the new challenges of a new day. And it was in the spirit of the principles that we have worked out together that President Kennedy launched the Alliance for Progress in this very room. Inspired by his memory, and in that same spirit, we will carry on the job. Let the Alliance for Progress be his living memorial. NOTE: The President spoke in the East Room at the White House to representatives of Latin American countries who were in Washington to attend the funeral of President Kennedy. His remarks have been transcribed from a tape recording. After speaking, the President and Alberto Lleras Camargo, former President of Colombia, went to the Fish Room where President Johnson gave a summary of his remarks for release to the press and Mr. Lleras Camargo added the following: "I am Alberto Lleras Cansargo, from Colombia. I came here Saturday in the delegation to the funeral of President Kennedy from my country. "On behalf of the delegations that were meeting with the President of the United States, I answered to the President on his very memorable speech. I said that it was very difficult to speak on behalf of so many important countries of the world; that it is a task that no one can achieve, but that I understood very well and I can interpret very well the sentiments of all of Latin America and of our countries in general, of our governments, saying to the President that we appreciated very much that one of his first communications with the public opinion of this country and of the world over was dedicated in the same manner in which President Kennedy dedicated his at the beginning of his administration, to that part of the world, Latin America, that has started with the late President a great movement in its development. "I thank him on behalf of all the representatives of the Latin American countries, the President, for his speech, his inspiring speech, and for the words of hope for the peoples of Latin America." For President Kennedy's pledge to strengthen the role of the United States in the Alliance for Progress see his address in Miami before the Inter-American Press Association, i963 volume, this series, Item 468. io Statement by the President: Thanksgiving Day. November 26, i963 ONE of the last messages of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy to his fellow countrymen was the Thanksgiving Day Proclamation which he issued on November 4, i963. I urge that his proclamation be read in the churches of the United States in their services on November 28 as a memorial to him. I also ask that the newspapers and the tele 7 [ IO] Nov. 26 Public Papers of the Presidents vision and radio stations make it available to all of the American people by including it in their recognition of this first and most solemn of our holidays. We dedicate Thanksgiving Day, as we have for over 300 years, as a day to give thanks to God for His gifts and the sustenance which He has provided in undertaking the tasks of our Nation. NOTE: For President Kennedy's Thanksgiving Day Proclamation see i963 volume, this series, Item 451. I I Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress. November 27, i963 Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, Members of the House., Members of the Senate, my fellow,Americans: All I have I would have griven gadly not to be standing here today. The greatest leader of our time has been struck down by the foulest deed of our time. Today John Fitzgerald Kennedy lives on in the immortal words and works that he left behind. He lives on in the mind and memories of mankind. He lives on in the hearts of his countrymen. No words are sad enough to express our sense of loss. No words are strong enough to express our determination to continue the forward thrust of America that he began. The dream of conquering the vastness of space-the dream of partnership across the Atlantic-and across the Pacific as wellthe dream of a Peace Corps in less developed nations-the dream of education for all of our children-the dream of jobs for all who seek them and need them-the dream of care for our elderly-the dream of an allout attack on mental illness-and above all, the dream of equal rights for all Americans, whatever their race or color-these and other American dreams have been vitalized by his drive and by his dedication. And now the ideas and the ideals which he so nobly represented must and will be translated into effective action. Under John Kennedy's leadership, this 8 -Nation has demonstrated that it has the courage to seek peace, and it has the fortitude to risk war. We have proved that we are a good and reliable friend to those who seek peace and freedom. We have shown that we can also be a formidable foe to those who reject the path of peace and those who seek to impose upon us or our allies the yoke of tyranny. This Nation will keep its commitments from South Viet-Nam to West Berlin. We will be unceasing in the search for peace; resourceful in our pursuit of areas of agreement even with those with whom we differ; and generous and loyal to those who join withl US in common cause. In this age when there can be no losers in peace and no victors in war, we must recognize the obligation to match- national strength with national restraint. We must be prepared at one and the same time for both the confrontation of power and the limitation of power. We must be ready to defend the national interest and to negotiate the common interest. This is the path that we shall continue to pursue. Those who test our courage will find it strong, and those who seek our friendship will find it honorable. We will demonstrate anew that the strong can be just in, the use of strength; and the just can be strong in the defense of justice. And let all know we will extend no special privilege and impose no persecution. Lyndon B. John We will carry on the fight against poverty and misery, and disease and ignorance, in other lands and in our own. We will serve all the Nation, not one section or one sector, or one group, but all Americans. These are the United Statesa united people with a united purpose. Our American unity does not depend upon unanimity. We have differences; but now, as in the past, we can derive from those differences strength, not weakness, wisdom, not despair. Both as a people and a government, we can unite upon a program, a program which is wise and just, enlightened and constructive. For 32 years Capitol Hill has been my home. I have shared many moments of pride with you, pride in the ability of the Congress of the United States to act, to meet any crisis, to distill from our differences strong programs of national action. An assassin's bullet has thrust upon me the awesome burden of the Presidency. I am here today to say I need your help; I cannot bear this burden alone. I need the help of all Americans, and all America. This Nation has experienced a profound shock, and in this critical moment, it is our duty, yours and mine, as the Government of the United States, to do away with uncertainty and doubt and delay, and to show that we are capable of decisive action; that from the brutal loss of our leader we will derive not weakness, but strength; that we can and will act and act now. From this chamber of representative government, let all the world know and none misunderstand that I rededicate this Government to the unswerving support of the United Nations, to the honorable and determined execution of our commitments to our allies, to the maintenance of military strength second to none, to the defense of the strength and the stability of the dollar, to the expan uson, 1963-1964 Nov. 27 [II] sion of our foreign trade, to the reinforcement of our programs of mutual assistance and cooperation in Asia and Africa, and to our Alliance for Progress in this hemisphere. On the 20th day of January, in 1961, John F. Kennedy told his countrymen that our national work would not be finished "in the first thousand days, nor in the life of this administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But," he said, "let us begin." Today, in this moment of new resolve, I would say to all my fellow Americans, let us continue. This is our challenge-not to hesitate, not to pause, not to turn about and linger over this evil moment, but to continue on our course so that we may fulfill the destiny that history has set for us. Our most immediate tasks are here on this Hill. First, no memorial oration or eulogy could more eloquently honor President Kennedy's memory than the earliest possible passage of the civil rights bill for which he fought so long. We have talked long enough in this country about equal rights. We have talked for one hundred years or more. It is time now to write the next chapter, and to write it in the books of law. I urge you again, as I did in I957 and again in I960, to enact a civil rights law so that we can move forward to eliminate from this Nation every trace of discrimination and oppression that is based upon race or color. There could be no greater source of strength to this Nation both at home and abroad. And second, no act of ours could more fittingly continue the work of President Kennedy than the early passage of the tax bill for which he fought all this long year. This is a bill designed to increase our national income and Federal revenues, and to provide insurance against recession. That bill, if passed without delay, means more security 9 Iii] Nov. 27 [ii] Nv. 27Public Papers of the Presidents for those now working, more jobs for those now without them, and more incentive for our economy. In short, this is no time for delay. It is a time for action-strong, forward-looking action on the pending education bills to help bring the light of learning to every home and hamlet in America-strong, forward-looking action on youth employment opportunities; strong, forward-looking action on the pending foreign aid bill, making clear that we are not forfeiting our responsibilities to this hemisphere or to the world, nor erasing Executive flexibility in the conduct of our foreign affairs-and strong, prompt, and forward-looking action on the remaining appropriation bills. In this new spirit of action, the Congress can expect the full cooperation and support of the executive branch. And in particular, I pledge that the expenditures of your Government will be administered with the utmost thrift and frugality. I will insist that the Government get a dollar's value for a dollar spent. The Government will set an example of prudence and economy. This does not mean that we will not meet out unfilled needs or that we will not honor our commitments. We will do both. As one who has long served in both Houses of the Congress, I firmly believe in the independence and the integrity of the legislative branch. And I promise you that I shall always respect this. It is deep in the marrow of my bones. With equal firmness, I believe in the capacity and I believe in the ability of the Congress, despite the divisions of opinions which characterize our Nation, to act-to act wisely, to act vigorously, to act speedily when the need arises. The need is here. The need is now. I ask your help. We meet in grief, but let us also meet in renewed dedication and renewed vigor. Let us meet in action, in tolerance, and in mutual understanding. John Kennedy's death commands what his life conveyedthat America must move forward. The time has come for Americans of all races and creeds and political beliefs to understand and to respect one another. So let us put an end to the teaching and the preaching of hate and evil and violence. Let us turn away from the fanatics of the far left and the far right, -from the apostles of bitterness and bigotry, from those defiant of law, and those who pour venom into our Nation's bloodstream. I profoundly hope that the tragedy and the torment of these terrible days will hind us together in new fellowship, making us one people in our hour of sorrow. So let us here highly resolve that John Fitzgerald Kennedy did not live —or die-in vain. And on this Thanksgiving eve, as we gather together to ask the Lord's blessing, and give Him our thanks, let us unite in those familiar and cherished words: America, America, God shed His grace on thee, And crown thy good With brotherhood From sea to shining sea. I0 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Nov. 28 [I2] 12 The President's Thanksgiving Day Address to the Nation. November 28, i963 [ Delivered from his office at the White House at 6:I5 p.m. ] My fellow Americans: On yesterday I went before the Congress to speak for the first time as President of the United States. Tonight, on this Thanksgiving, I come before you to ask your help, to ask your strength, to ask your prayers that God may guard this Republic and guide my every labor. All of us have lived through 7 days that none of us will ever forget. We are not given the divine wisdom to answer why this has been, but we are given the human duty of determining what is to be, what is to be for America, for the world, for the cause we lead, for all the hopes that live in our hearts. A great leader is dead; a great Nation must move on. Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or to lose. I am resolved that we shall win the tomorrows before us. So I ask you to join me in that resolve, determined that from this midnight of tragedy, we shall move toward a new American greatness. More than any generation before us, we have cause to be thankful, so thankful, on this Thanksgiving Day. Our harvests are bountiful, our factories flourish, our homes are safe, our defenses are secure. We live in peace. The good will of the world pours out for us. But more than these blessings, we know tonight that our system is strong-strong and secure. A deed that was meant to tear us apart has bound us together. Our system has passed-you have passed-a great test. You have shown what John F. Kennedy called upon us to show in his proclamation of this Thanksgiving: that decency of pur pose, that steadfastness of resolve, and that strength of will which we inherit from our forefathers. What better conveys what is best for America than this? On Saturday, when these great burdens had been mine only hours, the first two citizens to call upon me and to offer their whole support were Dwight D. Eisenhower and Harry S. Truman. Since last Friday, Americans have turned to the good, to the decent values of our life. These have served us. Yes, these have saved us. The service of our public institution and our public men is the salvation of us all from the Supreme Court to the States. And how much better would it be, how much more sane it would be, how much more decent and American it would be if all Americans could spend their fortunes and could give their time and spend their energies helping our system and its servants to solve your problems instead of pouring out the venom and the hate that stalemate us in progress. I have served in Washington 32 years32 years yesterday. I have seen five Presidents fill this awesome office. I have known them well and I have counted them all as friends-President Herbert Hoover, President Franklin Roosevelt, President Harry Truman, President Dwight Eisenhower, and President John Kennedy. In each administration the greatest burden that the President had to bear had been the burden of his own countrymen's unthinking and unreasoning hate and division. So, in these days, the fate of this office is the fate of us all. I would ask all Americans on this day of prayer and reverence to think on these things. Let all who speak and all who teach and II [I2] Nov. 28 Public Papers of the Presidents all who preach and all who publish and all who broadcast and all who read or listenlet them reflect upon their responsibilities to bind our wounds, to heal our sores, to make our society well and whole for the tasks ahead of us. It is this work that I most want us to do: to banish rancor from our words and malice from our hearts; to close down the poison spring of hatred and intolerance and fanaticism; to perfect our unity north and south, east and west; to hasten the day when bias of race, religion, and region is no more; and to bring the day when our great energies and decencies and spirit will be free of the burdens that we have borne too long. Our view is outward, our thrust is forward, but we remember in our hearts this brave young man who lies in honored eternal rest across the Potomac. We remember him; we remember his wonderful and courageous widow that we all love. We remember Caroline and John and all the great family who gave the Nation this son and brother. And to honor his memory and the future of the works he started, I have today determined that Station No. i of the Atlantic Missile Range and the NASA Launch Operation Center in Florida shall hereafter be known as the John F. Kennedy Space Center. I have also acted today with the understanding and the support of my friend, the Governor of Florida, Farris Bryant, to change the name of Cape Canaveral. It shall be known hereafter as Cape Kennedy. On this Thanksgiving Day, as we gather in the warmth of our families, in the mutual love and respect which we have for one another, and as we bow our heads in submission to divine providence, let us also thank God for the years that He gave us inspiration through His servant, John F. Kennedy. Let us today renew our dedication to the ideals that are American. Let us pray for His divine wisdom in banishing from our land any injustice or intolerance or oppression to any of our fellow Americans whatever their opinion, whatever the color of their skins-for God made all of us, not some of us, in His image. All of us, not just some of us, are His children. And, finally, to you as your President, I ask that you remember your country and remember me each day in your prayers, and I pledge to you the best within me to work for a new American greatness, a new day when peace is more secure, when justice is more universal, when freedom is more strong in every home of all mankind. Thank you and good night. I3 Executive Order II 129 Designating Facilities in Florida as the John F. Kennedy Space Center. WHEREAS President John F. Kennedy lighted the imagination of our people when he set the moon as our target and man as the means to reach it; and WHEREAS the installations now to be renamed are a center and symbol of our country's peaceful assault on space; and November 29, 1963 WHEREAS it is in the nature of this assault that it should test the limits of our youth and grace, our strength and wit, our vigor and perseverance-qualities fitting to the memory of John F. Kennedy: Now, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United I2 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-I964 Nov. 29 [ I4] States, I hereby designate the facilities of the Launch Operations Center of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the facilities of Station No. i of the Atlantic Missile Range, in the State of Florida, as the John F. Kennedy Space Center; and such facilities shall be hereafter known and referred to by that name. LYNDON B. JOHNSON THE WHITE HousE November 29, i963 I4 White House Statement on the Appointment of a Special Commission To Investigate the Assassination of President Kennedy. November 29, i963 THE President today announced that he is appointing a special commission to study and report upon all facts and circumstances relating to the assassination of the late President, John F. Kennedy, and the subsequent violent death of the man charged with the assassination. The President stated that the majority and minority leadership of the Senate and the House of Representatives have been consulted with respect to the proposed special commission. The members of the special commission are: Chief Justice Earl Warren, Chairman, Senator Richard Russell, Georgia, Senator John Sherman Cooper, Kentucky, Representative Hale Boggs, Louisiana, Representative Gerald Ford, Michigan, Hon. Allen W. Dulles of Washington, Hon. John J. McCloy of New York. The President stated that the special commission is to be instructed to evaluate all available information concerning the subject of the inquiry. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, pursuant to an earlier directive of the President, is making complete investigation of the facts. An inquiry is also scheduled by a Texas Court of Inquiry convened by the Attorney General of Texas under Texas law. The special commission will have before it all evidence uncovered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and all information available to any agency of the Federal Government. The Attorney General of Texas has also offered his cooperation. All Federal agencies and offices are being directed to furnish services and cooperation to the special commission. The commission will also be empowered to conduct any further investigation that it deems desirable. The President is instructing the special commission to satisfy itself that the truth is known as far as it can be discovered, and to report its findings and conclusions to him, to the American people, and to the world. NOTE: For the text of the order appointing the special commission see Item 15, below. For the President's letter to the Chairman of the Commission upon receiving the Commission's report, see Item 595. I3 [I5] Nov. 3o Public Papers of the Presidents I5 Executive Order III 30 Appointing a Commnission To Report Upon the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy. November 30, i963 [ Released November 30, i963. PURSUANT to the authority vested in me as President of the United States, I hereby appoint a Commission to ascertain, evaluate, and report upon the facts relating to the assassination of the late President John F. Kennedy and the subsequent violent death of the man charged with the assassination. The Commission shall consist ofThe Chief Justice of the United States, Chairman; Senator Richard B. Russell; Senator John Sherman Cooper; Congressman Hale Boggs; Congressman Gerald R. Ford; The Honorable Allen W. Dulles; The Honorable John J. McCloy. The purposes of the Commission are to examine the evidence developed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and any additional evidence that may hereafter come to light or be uncovered by Federal or State Dated November 29, i963] authorities; to make such further investigation as the Commission finds desirable; to evaluate all the facts and circumstances surrounding such assassination, including the subsequent violent death of the man charged with the assassination, and to report to me its findings and conclusions. The Commission is empowered to prescribe its own procedures and to employ such assistants as it deems necessary. Necessary expenses of the Commission may be paid from the "Emergency Fund for the President." All Executive departments and agencies are directed to furnish the Commission with such facilities, services, and cooperation as it may request from time to time. LYNDON B. JOHNSON THE WHITE HousE November 29, I963 i6 Statement by the President on the District of Columbia. November 30, i963 AS ONE who has lived in the District of Columbia for over 30 years, I have a deep and continuing interest in the unique and difficult problems faced by the Government of the District of Columbia and by the people who live here. The unusual interest in the affairs of the District evidenced by both President and Mrs. Kennedy are, of course, well known to citizens of the District, not only in terms of the need for improved welfare, educational, employment, and other community programs, but also in Washington as the Nation's Capital. I have met with Mr. Charles Horsky, the Advisor on National Capital Affairs, and have asked him to remain in his position and to continue to keep me advised personally of the many matters of special concern to the District of Columbia and to the areas adjoining the District which comprise the National Capital Area. I believe that this Capital City is entitled to the benefits of self-government so its citizens can have a full voice in their own affairs. It is the policy of this administration to seek adequate measures of leadership for I4 Lyndon B. lohn the District, and to recommend and support necessary legislation and budgetary requests to the end that Washington will be an example for the world of which our country can be proud. ron, 1963-I964 Nov. 30 [I7] A great Nation deserves-indeed, requires-a beautiful and inspiring National Capital. We shall do everything possible to achieve this goal. I7 Memorandum on the Management of the Executive Branch. November 30, 1963 Memorandum for the Heads of Departments and Agencies: I have pledged that the Executive Branch will be administered with the utmost thrift and frugality; that the Government will get a dollar's value for a dollar spent; and that the Government will set an example of prudence and economy. To carry out this pledge, I intend: -To examine agency budget requests with the determination to hold the 1965 Budget to the barest minimum consistent with the efficient discharge of our domestic and foreign responsibilities. -To give you my full support in your efforts to achieve administrative or legislative changes which will eliminate unnecessary procedures, curtail or drop programs of low utility, institute consolidations or other organizational economies, and effect savings in procurement. -To support salary scales for civil servants, military personnel, and policy officials which will enable you to retain and recruit talented, energetic, and imaginative employees. -To accord increased recognition to those governmental units and individuals that make notable advances in providing efficient service at lower cost. To assist me in carrying out my pledge, I ask you: -To assume personal day-to-day respon sibility for making your agency a model of good management and economical administration. -To press ahead vigorously with your program for manpower control and utilization which you developed in response to President Kennedy's directive of October iI, 1962. -To hold agency employment at or below the personnel targets established in response to President Kennedy's statement to the Cabinet of September 23, 1963. — To make clear to your staff that each Government employee is responsible, not only for doing his assigned job to the best of his ability, but also for devising and proposing ways to improve his performance. -To seek the advice of Committees of the Congress, and of private organizations and individuals, in finding ways to do the public business more economically. -To submit to me promptly a report of major cost reduction actions taken during the past year, and a statement of the steps which you propose to take in the next year to tighten your operations and effect savings. The Federal Government has reason to be proud of its many recent achievements in management improvement. But we cannot rest on past accomplishments. There are as many savings to be made in the future as have ever been made in the past. The citizen's faith in free government is strongly I5 [I7] Nov. 30 Public Papers of the Presidents influenced by the extent of his confidence that public servants are alert and efficient in conserving the Nation's resources entrusted to their care. For this reason, we must work hard to reduce the costs of Government, not only for the sake of the savings to be made, but also in the interest of vindicat ing the people's confidence in the institutions of democracy. LYNDON B. JOHNSON NOTE: For President Kennedy's directive of October II, i962, see I962 volume, this series, Item 448; for his statement to the Cabinet of September 23, i963, see i963 volume, Item 37I. i8 Letter to Defense Contractors on the Need for Cost Reduction. December i, i963 Dear Mr. In addressing the Congress last week, I pledged my Administration to the utmost of thrift and frugality, and to get a dollar's value for every dollar spent. I have directed the heads of all Government agencies to accelerate immediately their efforts to operate their programs at the lowest possible cost. The Secretary of Defense has already established a cost reduction program aimed at achieving annual savings of $4 billion, through efforts now in process or planned by fiscal year i967, and he has further committed his Department to realizing $I.5 billion of these savings in the current fiscal year. More than 55 cents out of each Defense dollar is spent by its contractors. It is for this reason that I am calling on you personally to assist me and the Secretary in achieving further significant reductions in Defense expenditures. It is my desire that you establish an affirmative program of cost reduction in the performance of Defense contracts, both those which you now hold and those which you may subsequently receive. If you already have such a program in being, then I call on you to accelerate, expand, and intensify this effort. I have asked the Secretary of Defense to take into account the accomplishments of contractors who successfully reduce the cost of Defense procurement, when making future source selections, and in determining profit and fee rates on noncompetitive negotiated contracts. I have also discussed this program with the Director of the Budget and the Comptroller General. The Secretary of Defense's letter elaborating this program is enclosed. It has my fullest endorsement. LYNDON B. JOHNSON NOTE: The President's letter was made public as part of a White House release which stated that identical personal letters were sent to the 7,500 defense contractors who held go percent of the prime contracts entered into by the Department of Defense. The Secretary's letter, also released, is dated December i. In his letter Secretary McNamara called on the contractors to assist the Department of Defense in achieving its cost reduction objectives by "buying only what is needed by critically appraising procurement specifications to identify both qualitative and quantitative requirements in excess of those needed to assure safe and reliable operation of military equipment. Some Defense contractors now have formal value engineering programs, and such contractors have been able to recommend hundreds of ideas to reduce costs of parts, components and end items by as much as 50 percent. I urge all contractors to stress such critical examinations, and to propose cost savings ideas promptly to Defense officials. "The second major way in which contractors can reduce Defense costs is by taking steps to assure that their own purchases are made at the lowest sound price. Defense prime contractors spend, on Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-I964 Dec. 2 [I9] an average, 50 cents of each contract dollar with subcontractors. To the fullest possible extent, such subcontracts should be placed competitively in order to stimulate the full play of the free enterprise system. It is the experience of the Defense Department that for every dollar shifted from noncompetitive to competitive procurement, 25 cents or more can be saved from the price. In placing subcontracts, fixed price and incentive contracts should be employed wherever possible, in order to provide the maximum incentive to subcontractors. "Thirdly, Defense contractors can reduce the overall cost of Government by assuring that their own internal operations are conducted in the most economical manner. Effective manpower utiliza tion programs to increase productivity; strong budgetary controls to reduce both direct and overhead costs; simplification of procedures; and elimination of unnecessary activities-are all matters with which I know you are constantly concerned. Wherever unreasonable Government requirements are contributing to excess costs, I invite you to call these matters promptly to the attention of the proper Government offices." In conclusion Secretary McNamara urged that the contractors give their immediate personal attention to these and any other cost reduction ideas which might occur to them, and asked that they join with him in achieving full value for every dollar spent in support of national defense. I9 Remarks Upon Presenting the Fermi Award to Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer. December 2, 1963 Members of the administration, the Senate and the House, Mr. Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, Dr. and Mrs. Oppenheimer, ladies and gentlemen: One of President Kennedy's most important acts was to sign the Enrico Fermi Award for Dr. Oppenheimer for his contributions to theoretical physics and the advancement of science in the United States of America. It is important to our Nation that we have constantly before us the example of men who set high standards of achievement. This has been the role that you have played, Dr. Oppenheimer. During World War Two, your great scientific and administrative leadership culminated in the forging together of many diverse ideas and experiments at Los Alamos and at other places. This successful effort came to a climax with the first atomic explosion at Alamogordo on July I6, I945. Since the war you, have continued to lead in the search for knowledge, and you have continued to build on the major breakthrough achieved by Enrico Fermi on this day in I942. You have led in developing an outstanding school of theoretical physics in the United States of America. For these significant contributions, I present to you on behalf of the Atomic Energy Commission and the people of the United States the Enrico Fermi Award of I963, the Enrico Fermi Medal. Mr. Secretary of State and Mr. Secretary of Defense, would you come over here and meet Dr. Oppenheimer. Here is the medal and perhaps the least important to you, a $50,000 check from the Treasury of the United States. [At this point, Dr. Oppenheimer expressed his appreciation for the award. In a brief statement he noted that Jefferson had often written of the brotherly spirit of science. "We have not, I know, always given evidence of that brotherly spirit.... This is not because we lack vital common or intersecting scientific interests. It is in part because, with countless other men and women, we are engaged in this great enterprise of our time, testing whether men can both preserve and enlarge life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and live without war as the great arbiter of history. In this enterprise, no one bears a greater responsibility than the President of the United States. I think it just possible, Mr. President, that it has taken some charity and some courage for you to make this award today. That would seem to be a good augury for all our futures. ["These words," he said, "I wrote down almost a fortnight ago. In a somber time, I gratefully and gladly speak them to you." [The President then resumed speaking.] I7 ['9] Dec. 2 Public Papers of the Presidents I know every person in this room grieves with me and with Dr. and Mrs. Oppenheimer that the late President who gave his all for his country could not present this award as he anticipated, and it was with great pleasure and pride that I tried to substitute for him today. Throughout my life I have heard this statement: That behind every great man there must be two great women-a great mother and a great wife. All of you men in the room know what we would be without either, so, Dr. Oppenheimer, although I have never met your mother, I have met your wife, and I want this group to meet this lady who shares honor with you today-Mrs. Oppenheimer. You may observe she got hold of the check! NOTE: The President spoke at 5 p.m. at a ceremony in the Cabinet Room at the White House. In the course of his remarks he referred to Secretary of State Dean Rusk and Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara. Dr. Oppenheimer, director of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, N.J., was the seventh recipient of the Enrico Fermi Award. The citation accompanying the award reads: "For contributions to theoretical physics as a teacher and originator of ideas and for leadership of the Los Alamos Laboratory and the atomic energy program during critical years." The text of introductory remarks of Glenn T. Seaborg, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, who read the citation, and of Dr. Oppenheimer's response to the President was also released. 20 Remarks at a Meeting With the Heads of Independent Regulatory Agencies. December 3, i963 Gentlemen: I know I need not attempt to convey my sense of loss or my sense of burden in these sorrowful times. Our Nation and our Government and you have lost a great leader, but the Nation must move on and this Government must serve the Nation's progress. I asked you to come here this afternoon for two principal purposes: First, I want to convey my deep sense of reliance upon you and your agencies in discharging the responsibilities which have been thrust upon me. Second, I want to make it clear that in regard to the regulatory field, the work John F. Kennedy had begun is work that I intend to continue. By experience and by temperament and by intellect and by instinct, John F. Kennedy brought to this office the abiding conviction that one of the most important areas of unfinished business on the agenda of American Government lies in the concept and the conduct and the conscience of the regulatory function. He knew, as he said, that your responsibilities permeate every sphere and almost every activity of national life. He understood very precisely and very wisely that if we were to get America moving again, the performance of your agencies would be a vital and very decisive factor. In one of his earliest messages to the Congress, President Kennedy said, and I quote: "The preservation of a balanced, competitive economy is never an easy task, but it should not be made more difficult by administrative delays which place unnecessary obstacles in the path of natural growth or by administrative incompetence that has a like effect." All of you know, as I know, that President Kennedy did not speak from weariness over the long battles to protect the public interest. The public interest never had a more fearless or a more tireless champion; but for himself and for his generation and for his time, President Kennedy expressed the i8 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-I964 Dec. 3 [20] weariness that Americans feel for another battle-the battle against substitution of Government's interest for the public interest. Much too much of our peoples' time and talent and energies are absorbed by the routine demands of government when it should be dedicated to the greater and better service of government. A moving and progressive society finds oppressive, distracting, irritating, and ultimately intolerable the heavy hand of complacent and static regulation. I do not imply, as President Kennedy did not imply, criticism. I greatly respect that fine spirit of selflessness and thankless service which motivates each of you and the career staffs of your agencies. From long association and personal acquaintance, I think I know how difficult and demanding are the tasks that you face in attempting as you so often must to sail unchartered seas and steer your course by nearly starless skies. I speak not in a spirit of criticism but in a spirit of challenge today. You and I and the Congress and the people and all the special constituencies of your agencies are challenged today to reexamine and to reassess and to reevaluate the regulatory role. We are challenged to elevate our sights, to measure our performance by quality rather than quantity; to concern ourselves with new areas of cooperation before we concern ourselves with new areas of control; to take pride in how much we do rather than how much there is to do. The affairs of a demanding world permit us far too little time for thoughtful reflection on whether our own house is in order, but the objectives we seek demand for their success that we be sure of our internal strength and the workings of our system. We cannot permit self-created obstacles to stand in our path or self-made weights to burden our shoulders as we go forth to meet 33-171-65 7 the great destiny that history has set for us. John F. Kennedy took up the challenge and we will not lay it down. He wanted America to move and America to grow and, above all, America to succeed. He wanted the people to have from the Government which serves them a standard of excellence which would inspire their confidence instead of provoking their carping which would justify their faith instead of evoking their fear. This is the work that he has begun and this is the work that we will continue. You may know and your colleagues may know and your staffs may know that we will be attentive to your work. We will be appreciative of your problems. We will expect excellence of you in the confidence that it is present to be given. We will stand right with you to the last when you are right. You will know from us first and directly when we think of it otherwise. I know the pressures that you feel and the duties you must discharge. When those pressures are honorable, respect them; when they are not, reject them. Accord to the honorable citizen of honest purpose the full respect and honor that he is due, but let the venal and the self-seeking and the tawdry and the tainted fear to enter your building and fear even more to knock on your door. You men are a very special group that have been assembled here this evening. You hold a great power but, more than that, you hold a great and noble trust. I believe and, yes, I know, that you will honor that trust by seeking greatness in your own efforts and by manifesting nobility in your own conduct; and if you do, that man that looks down upon us from heaven this evening will be proud that you came his way. Thank you very much. NOTE: The President spoke at 5 p.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White House. '9 [2I] Dec. 4 Public Papers of the Presidents 21 Remarks at the Presentation of an Exceptional Service Award to Agent Rufus W. Youngblood of the Secret Service. December 4, i963 Mr. Secretary, Mr. Youngblood, Mrs. Youngblood, members of the Youngblood family, ladies and gentlemen: There is no more heroic act than offering your life to save another, and in that awful moment of confusion when all about him were losing their heads, Rufus Youngblood never lost his. Without hesitation, he volunteered his life to save mine. Nothing makes a man feel better than being an American and to be witness to this kind of noble patriotism. Rufus, there is no prouder person here this morning than I. You are a brave soldier in the highest American tradition of love for country and for duty. You are a proud son of Georgia. You are an excellent example of all the honored and brave and dedicated and diligent men and the women who work with them who make up what we proudly call the United States Secret Service. A more dedicated group of men I have never known from the Chief to the most humble employee. I am glad to know that Chief Rowley has made it possible for you to continue to serve 22 Remarks at a Meeting With the Council. December 4, i963 Mr. Meany, Mr. Secretary Wirtz, members of the Cabinet, members of the AFL-CIO: I have said before, and I say again to you now: I regard achievement of the full potential of our resources-physical, human, and otherwise-to be the highest purpose of Government. In every area of human concern, the AFL-CIO can take pride in it the President as you did the Vice President, and I know in so doing that I will have one of the most noble and most able public servants I have ever known. Thank you. NOTE: The ceremony was held at IO:3o a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White House. The President's opening words "Mr. Secretary" referred to Secretary of the Treasury Douglas Dillon. Later he referred to James J. Rowley, Chief, United States Secret Service. The citation accompanying the award reads as follows: "This Award is made in recognition of Agent Youngblood's outstanding courage and voluntary risk of personal safety in protecting the Vice President of the United States at the time of President John F. Kennedy's assassination in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, I963. "Mr. Youngblood was riding in the front seat of the Vice President's limousine within close proximity to the President's limousine when the assassination occurred. Upon hearing the first shot, Mr. Youngblood instantly vaulted across the front seat of the car, pushed the Vice President to the floor, and shielded the Vice President's body with his own. His prompt response in the face of great danger and his readiness to sacrifice his life to save the Vice President were in the highest traditions of the Secret Service. His valor and example make him a worthy recipient of this Award." The text of the introductory remarks by Secretary Dillon, who read the citation, was also released. AFL-CIO Executive self as an instrument to bring a better life to more people. Since January i96i the economic and legislative gains by labor have been cheering and substantial. Let me cite this afternoon for the record, and to each of you here, what I think you can really take justifiable pride in: 20 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Dec. 4 [22] Gross national product is up $Ioo billion since January I96I. Civilian employment is up 2/2 million. Total labor income is up nearly $50 billion, or I7 percent. Average weekly earnings in manufacturing are up to $I00.53 per week, or 13 percent. Average hourly earnings of production workers in manufacturing are up 8 percent, to $2.47. These are gains, not illusions. They have not been wiped out by inflation. Wholesale prices are still below those of early I96I. Consumer prices, mostly of services, are up only 1.2 percent per year. Your legislative gains have also been solid and visible: There is the Area Redevelopment Act of I96I. Over oo00 projects have been started, costing $200 million and creating 58,000 new jobs. Over 24,000 workers have been helped by training programs under this act. There is the Public Works Acceleration Act of 1962, where more than $7I7 million has been committed for projects that will create 1,026,000 man-months of work. There is the Manpower Development and Training Act of I962, where more than 140,000 workers will have received training or retraining in this fiscal year. There is the Fair Labor Standards Amendments of I96I, which was extended to 3.6 million additional workers. The minimum wage was raised to $I.25 per hour. I know something about minimum wages. When I was a young Congressman, I voted in I938 for a 25-cent minimum wage per hour. Only two other Congressmen from my State supported in the caucus the signing of the petition to bring up this bill on the floor of the House of Representatives, and both of those Congressmen were defeated in the next election. There are the Social Security Amendments of I96I. These amendments lowered the retirement age for men from 65 to 62. It also increased minimum benefits and broadened coverage. I remember so well working with this group some years ago to lower women's age for Social Security to 55. There is the Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation program. It gave 2.8 million unemployed workers additional benefits in 1961 and additional benefits in I962. These are gains and advances that you know about and that you men standing here on this platform with me today have helped to bring about through your leadership. But what you and I are most concerned about is not yesterday. What concerns us is tomorrow. The number one in priority tomorrow is more jobs, and the goal of this administration is 75 million jobs in America. This is our dominant, relentless domestic problem and we have to face it head on with all of our resources. The tax cut bill now pending in Congress is the most massive single attack that we can make on this problem. This bill has been delayed in the Congress. It has lain unenacted when it ought to be alive and working. It can pour an additional $ 1 billion into our gross national product. Despite the continuing economic growth, I am dissatisfied with the persistence of high unemployment. That the ancient enemy of poverty should thrive and fatten in this abundant land is a vile and shameful thing. The tax cut is our modern weapon today against unemployment, which breeds poverty and ignorance, the inconsiderate allies of apathy and neglect. I don't intend to stand idly by while this problem of unemployment swells and coarsens. This tax bill must pass. 21 [22] Dec. 4 Public Papers of the Presidents Before the Congress also is a civil rights bill that is denied a hearing in the Rules Committee. The endless abrasions of delay, neglect, and indifference have rubbed raw the national conscience. We have talked too long. We have done too little. And all of it has come too late. You must help me make civil rights in America a reality. I commend this labor leadership for the enlightenment that you have shown in moving to abolish discrimination in labor's ranks. Even as I compliment you for your action, I ask you to hurry even faster. Before the Congress is a medicare bill that cries out for enactment. The cost of personal health care has taken off on a straight line upward. In 1950 the annual cost of personal health care was io.6 billion. Today it is 28.6 billion. So the peril must be plain. Unless we can enact an adequate medicare program, a large segment of our population will be denuded financially by severe illness. Is it too much to ask the national community to agree to a simple, low-cost program in which an American worker puts in $I a month of his own money, and his employer puts in $i a month of his company's money that is tax deductible, and the Government puts up nothing, so that the worker can solve his medical cost problems with dignity and not disaster? I hope that we will be able to pass a medicare program before this Congress adjourns. This Government is committed to stimulating the economy with a tax cut; to removing injustices, too long sustained, with a civil rights bill; to a compassionate program to help those in our society who cannot take full part in the competitive race-the aged, the handicapped, the mentally retarded, the illiterates, the dropouts, the unemployed and their dependent children, the uneducated. But we can do none of this, or only a tiny part of it, unless you here on this platform with me today rise up, roll up your sleeves, stick out your chin, and let it be known that you are in this fight, that you are in it for keeps, to the finish, without doubt or without reservation. I am the President, but I can do nothing without the people. You represent the people. I need you. I want you. I believe you should be standing by my side in the fight ahead as you are this evening. This Nation will be grateful to you if you doand so will I. Thank you very much. NOTE: The President spoke at 4 p.m. in the Rose Garden at the White House. In his opening words he referred to George Meany, president, AFL-CIO, and W. Willard Wirtz, Secretary of Labor. 23 Remarks to Members of the Business Council. December 4, i963 Mr. Kappel, Mr. Secretary, my fellow Americans: Here in this room is an accumulation of brains and achievement and enterprise that your Government and your President needs for advice, for ideas, for a cooperative spirit whose total aim is to move this great country of ours ahead. When we take stock of the American inventory for the future, we find this land and its people are strong, are secure, are unafraid. Let me cite for you the cheering record of economic gains today and the promise for the future. We are now, as we meet here, in the 34th 22 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 Dec. 4 [23] month of unbroken economic expansion. The gross national product will cross the $600 billion mark in a matter of weeks. This is a record rise in gross national product of $Ioo billion or 20 percent in 3 years. Since January, I96I: Corporate profits, after taxes, are up 43 percent. These profits are running at an all-time high of $27.4 billion compared with $19.2 billion in early I96I. Industrial production is up 22 percent. Construction activity is up 19 percent. Personal income is up $65 billion, or I6 percent. Civilian employment is up 2/2 million, and labor income is up $49 billion, or 17 percent. Average weekly earnings in manufacturing are up I3 percent, or over $Ioo a week for 70 million people working. Prices have been the steadiest in the entire postwar period. The wholesale price index today is still below early 1961. Consumer prices have risen only about 1.2 percent per year, mostly in services. Although unemployment amounts to four million persons, 51/ percent of our labor force, there are more people at work today than at any other time in our history. As I said, more than 70 million are earning good wages. Continued expansion of the business community seems assured at least through the first half of I964. This will be the longest peacetime expansion in the history of this Republic except for the anemic one in the I930'S. These are the visible garments of economic success. They are also substantial evidence that the state of the Nation is good; that the health of the Nation is strong. So if we are to be worthy of this success, we must first respond to its challenge. Languishing before the Congress is the tax cut bill that was sent there 1 months ago. Many of you in this room have enlisted in the fight to win this tax cut. It is uncertainty that deters business. It is the one single decision that could put us firmly on the path to full employment and put the motive power in our expansion to keep it going after mid-g964. This tax cut could boost our gross national product by an extra $12 billion in I964 and, when fully effective, by an extra $30 billion a year. It is needed; it is necessary; it demands the support of all enlightened Americans. It is both your defense against a sagging economy and it is a breath of fresh air for our free enterprise system which is the envy of the world. We cannot hesitate. As my counselor, Ted Sorensen, wrote in his new book: "In the White House, the future rapidly becomes the past, and delay is in itself a decision." I need your cooperation. I need it now. I need it tomorrow, next week, next month to win the tax cut, to help you widen your opportunity for your company's expansion; to help you provide more employment; to help you give your workers and your stockholders incentive for the future. This administration wants to help you and to work with you. We are not prolabor; we are not pro-business; we are not pro-any-special-sector. We are pro-whatis-best-for our country. I happen to believe that a strong, vibrant economy is as essential to our leadership in the free world as the military hardware. I challenge this assemblage of the finest business brains in all the world to take up arms against stagnation and delay. I challenge this group of business leaders to assault the persistent problems of our generation and to arouse yourselves to help 23 12] Deco 4 Public Papers of the Presidents me put an end to them. I join you in taking up this challenge. Let us together destroy for all time the numbing attrition of discrimination in employment. You men in industry have led the way in plans for progress. I am proud to report that ioo of the top corporations in America for the last quarter employed 6o,ooo new people for jobs, and of those 6o,ooo new employees i5,ooo of them were Negroes, or 25 percent compared to the ii percent they have in the population. And I would say to you men who may belong to the party of Lincoln-at least some of you here today-that we have a civil rights bill that was sent to the Congress last May in order to take people out of the streets and pass a law that we thought would give them justice. That bill has been there since May and this is December. It has been reported by a committee. The Speaker of the House went to the committee and asked for a hearing, something that every American is ordinarily entitled to. He was told to come back next January. I would not think that any group of Americans would be against a hearing or a chance to vote up or down a bill that a committee of the Congress had reported, so I appeal to you for your support of legislation that will help to destroy discrimination, that will help to promote equality, that will help to give opportunity to all American citizens, regardless of their race, regardless of their religion, regardless of the region in which they may live. So let us all, working together, enlarge our economy by also persuading Congress to cut taxes. Men in the Government are going to be recognized in this administration by not how much they spend but by how much they save. The venal and the self-seeking need not knock on our door, but the honorable and the energetic are always welcome. We will not harass or persecute you. We want to help you. I am the only President that you have. If you would have me fail, then you fail, for this Nation of yours fails. If you would have me succeed, then you benefit, and the country benefits. We will do all that needs to be done and we will try to do it with thrift and frugality. We will try our deadlevel best to get a dollar's worth of value for every dollar we spend. This Nation and your President needs your energy and needs your ingenuity and needs your confidence and needs your support. We need the "can do" spirit of the American businessman, so I ask you, banish your fears, and I remember Mr. Rayburn told me that in his 50 years here, he believed the most frightened man that he ran into was the average American businessman. He said although he can go to bed at night, one of the few businessmen in the world, and wake up the next morning knowing his property has not been confiscated out from under his pillow, he is still frightened, and if he can't scare himself enough, he will go hire a lawyer or a public relations man to keep him scared. So, gentlemen, I say: banish your fear and shed your doubts and renew your hopes. We have much work to do together. We want you to roll up your sleeves and let's get about doing it. The Soviet Union has more population than we have. She has almost three times as many tillable acres as we have. She has us outdistanced in potential of power and oil resources, but the one thing she doesn't have is our system of government. And if our philosophy finally prevails, it is going to be primarily because of the system that our forefathers left us, the system that says to the capitalists, "Send your dollar out and we 24 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 Dec. 4 [23] will try to help you get a fair return on it"; that says to the management, "Get up at daylight and work at midnight and develop stomach ulcers like Frank Stanton has and we will give you a profit-sharing plan and a bonus if you are successful"; that says to the worker that "We believe you are worthy of your hire and we will give you a minimum wage, and the highest weekly wage in all the world." And these three working together, the capitalist and the manager and the worker, have brought to us a prosperity that no civilization has ever known. We have much to preserve and much to protect, and I ask you to come here to help me do it. Thank you. [At this point F. R. Kappel, chairman of the Business Council, spoke on behalf of the 65 Council members. They had discussed the "fears of the kind" the President had talked about, he said, and had put their views together in a letter addressed to the President, which he then read: ["It is my privilege as Chairman of the Business Council to assure you on behalf of the Council that we have undiminished confidence in the economic and moral strength of our country under your leadership. We are proceeding in the planning and management of our respective businesses with this as the basis of our judgment. ["The Business Council has had an active, and we feel constructive, cooperative relationship with each administration since 1933. As you know, The Council provides a medium for better understanding of government problems by business; it is glad to respond to requests by government for counsel and assistance; and it endeavors to submit to any branch of the government a constructive point of view on matters of public policy affecting the business interests of the country. ["Please be assured that we will continue to be of service to you and the other branches of the government in any way we can within our capabilities." [The President then resumed speaking.] Gentlemen, I asked the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secre tary of Labor, the Secretary of Defense, whom a great many of you have been associated with through the years, and who now work closely with you in many fields, to come here and be at your disposal and be available to visit with you and talk to you. We expect great things of you and we have already received great things, but the next hour we want to exchange thoughts with you and give you an opportunity to speak individually and not just be called in here and listen to our speeches, so we are going to the Cabinet Room. It will be a little crowded because notwithstanding all this $ioo billion we are spending, we don't have commodious quarters, but if you can endure it, we would like you to indulge us and we can exchange viewpoints and you can give your opinions and ask any questions you want of your President. We have no cutoff period. We can stay there at least until after 5 o'clock! If you could, before you leave, I think that in tribute to one of the greatest believers in our free enterprise system and one of the greatest exponents of it, and one of the greatest Presidents we ever had, I would like to ask you to bow your head in a minute of silent prayer to John F. Kennedy. Thank you very much. NOTE: The President spoke at 5 p.m. in the Fish Room at the White House. His opening words referred to F. R. Kappel, chairman of the Business Council, and Luther H. Hodges, Secretary of Commerce. During his remarks he referred to the late Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn and to Frank Stanton, president of the Columbia Broadcasting System. Theodore C. Sorensen's book, to which the President also referred, is entitled "Decision-Making in the White House" (Columbia University Press, i963; see also Public Papers of the Presidents, John F. Kennedy, I963, Item 370). 25 [24] Dec. 4 Public Papers of the Presidents 24 White House Announcement of the Presentation of a Painting to the White House by the Family of President Kennedy. December 4, i963 THE FAMILY of President John F. Kennedy has presented today in his memory a picture to be added to the permanent collection in the White House, the White House announced today. It is by the French artist Claude Monet (1840-I926). The painting is oil on canvas, 36/2 x 35 inches, and is entitled "Matinee sur la Seine," subtitled: "Beautemps" ("A Morning on the Seine; Good Weather"). Painted in i897, it is a superb example of Monet's work at a time when he was developing a personal style that separates him from the other painters of the impressionist school and gives him a unique place in the history of French art. Paintings by Monet hang in such great museums of the world as the Louvre, the National Gallery of Art, the Metropolitan, the Hermitage, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and the Art Institute of Chicago. The painting was selected by the members of the Kennedy family from a group of pic tures gathered together at the White House this week. It was felt that this picture would be especially appropriate because it reflects the President's deep love of the outdoors and particularly of water, and represents the very personal taste in painting of both President and Mrs. Kennedy. They shared a love of French nineteenth century painting and had several fine examples of it in their own personal collection. While the establishment of a distinguished permanent collection of American paintings for the White House was the goal of President and Mrs. Kennedy and has been entirely assembled in the brief years he was in office, the Kennedy family wished to leave something personal to the White House in the tradition of Charles Loeser who gave a unique collection of eight Cezannes and Mrs. Margaret Thompson Biddle who left a priceless collection of vermeil. The painting has been hung in the Green Room. 25 Statement by the President on the Death of Herbert Lehman. December 5, I963 I AM grieved to learn of the death of Herbert Lehman, a distinguished leader who ably and effectively served his State and Nation. Perhaps his best epitaph can be the citation on the Presidential Medal of Freedom which he was to receive here tomorrow: "Citizen and statesman he has used wisdom and compassion as the tools of govern ment and has made politics the highest form of public service." NOTE: The statement was appended to the transcript of the Press Secretary's morning news conference of December 5 with the notation "released at I p.m." President and Mrs. Johnson attended the funeral services held at Temple Emanu-El in New York City on December 8. 26 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 26 Remarks to Employees of the Department of State. December 5, 1963 Dec. 5 [26] Mr. SecretaryFirst of all I should like to introduce to you one of the great Americans that I have been privileged to know, the next in the line of succession, the very able Speaker of the House of Representatives, John McCormack. Mr. Secretary, Mr. Speaker, ladies and gentemen, my fellow Americans: I know you understand that the hours are heavily burdened, burdened by work that we must not neglect and by heartache that we cannot escape. Burdened as we are, I have asked that you be called together this afternoon so that I might come here, in person, to express to you, to each of you, a personal message-and that message is my very deep gratitude, my very deep appreciation, for the performance of everyone in our Department of State, in our AID program, in our USIA during this difficult period-and talk with you for a few moments about the work that is ahead for your country. In the days since November the 22d, you have faced a very sensitive and exacting challenge-here and around the world. If a misstep occurred anywhere, I am unaware of it. The steady, the responsible, the dedicated quality of this State Department and the related agencies has seldom shown more clearly and has seldom served America more ably. In those first stunning moments 2 weeks ago, I cannot remember every thought that flashed before me, but I do remember thinking with great relief that Dean Rusk was on the job. One of the first things that I want you to know is that I have profound confidence in your great Secretary of State. As I have begun to work on urgent national security problems, I have found that in nearly every case the problem was one with which I had at least some degree of familiarity. For this head start, two men are responsible: John F. Kennedy and Dean Rusk. No President in history was ever more attentive or more thoughtful or more generous to his Vice President's role than President Kennedy. I doubt if any Secretary of State ever approached the interest, the patience, and the understanding of Dean Rusk in this same regard. My own gratitude is great. I have many friends in this Department. I doubt that many Presidents have ever had, with top members of the Department, the dose and the warm and the trusting friendship that I enjoy this afternoon so proudly with George Ball, with Averell Harriman, with Alexis Johnson, and with Bill Crockett. And I have three younger friends who have worked most effectively on assignment to me in the Vice President's office; and if you would indulge me I would like to thank them too, today: Robert Skiff, Sam Gammon, and Lee Stull. There are others in the Department who are trusted friends, and I will have a chance to know many more of you at firsthand in the months ahead. For I want you to know that I look upon the Department of State, under the President, as the central force in the framing and execution of the foreign policy of this country. Often in the past this service has been made difficult by misunderstanding and by intemperate criticism. Nothing is more important, in my judgment, than that all officers of the United States Government should be proud of their responsibilities and confident of the backing of their superior officers. The Department of State will get that kind of backing from me. I 33-171-65- 8 27 [26] Dec. 5 Public Papers of the Presidents shall look to this department for initiative in proposal, energy in action, and frankness in advice. This is no time for a full-scale address on our foreign policy, but I would like now to give you a few comments upon the basic issues ahead of us as I see them. Let me begin with the summary I used in speaking to the Congress: "I rededicate this Government to the unswerving support of the United Nations, to the honorable and determined execution of our commitments to our allies, to the maintenance of military strength second to none, to the defense of the strength and stability of the dollar, to the expansion of our foreign trade, to the reinforcement of our programs of mutual assistance and cooperation in Asia and Africa, and to our Alliance for Progress in this hemisphere." We live in a rapidly moving world. There will be new burdens and new challenges, and we must respond with resourcefulness and responsibility. But in my mind we are branches of a single tree. The trunk of that tree is the simple, single proposition that we must find a way to insure the survival of civilization in this nuclear age. That, to me, is the greatest single requirement on the world's statesmen today. And from this, in turn, there follow two basic rules for all of our policies that just a moment ago I enunciated to the first meeting of our National Security Council: America must be strong, but America must be temperate and America must be just. On strength and the need for fully effective defenses I yield to no one. I have been concerned with the strength and effectiveness of our Armed Forces for 30 years, and I mean to continue with energy the great work which Bob McNamara and the Defense Department have carried forward in the last 3 years. He and I have reemphasized the need for economy in recent days and we mean that-but we do not mean the kind of economy that cuts into the necessary strength of the Armed Forces. The basic improvement in the balance of power in the last 3 years is one-half of the explanation for the sense of hope that was developing in President Kennedy's last months. I have not become President to give away this advantage. Yes, we must be temperate and just. One of my first concerns has been to make it clear to the Soviet Union, and to Mr. Khrushchev personally, that the United States will go its part of the way in every effort to make peace more secure. I do not agree with everything that Mr. Walter Lippmann says, but I do agree with him on the importance of the progress that we have made in this area in the last 3 years. I made this point forcefully to Mr. Mikoyan at the same time that I was emphasizing our continued and intense interest in the strength of our alliances to such men as Chancellor Erhard and Prime Minister Douglas-Home. I strongly supported the limited test ban treaty, and I want Bill Foster to know that I look on his work as part of national security just as much as the work of Secretary Bob McNamara and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. I won't take your time today to give you views on all the major questions that we will be working together on, but I do wish to mention my special concern with two problems. (I) We are heavily committed in South Viet-Nam, with I8,ooo of our fellow American citizens there, and we should, all of us, not go to bed any night without asking whether we have done everything that we could do that day to win the struggle there and bring victory to our group. (2) We have to live on the same planet with the Soviet Union, but we do not have to accept Communist subversion in this hem 28 Lyndon B. John. isphere-or indeed in any free country that can use our help effectively. But especially in this hemisphere I think we should let no day pass without asking what more can we do against Communist subversion and against subversion of the Castro Government in particular. But being against subversion is not just a matter of fighting communism. We have the positive job of helping to make the democratic system effective and attractive, both in our own country and wherever we have influence. This positive job, too, is of first importance. I'll make just one more comment. We are all here today to serve the interests of the United States, but I think that we can serve that interest better if we always remember that the other man sees things in his own way. We need to show patience and understanding of other systems as well as of our own. And each of us should ask himself when he deals with other nations how he would feel if he were in the other fellow's place. That of course is part of your training and some people think that maybe you have overdone it. But I myself believe that we can and that we must combine understanding of sofn, I963-1964 Dec. 6 [27T others with effective pursuit of our own true interests. That is the job we must do together. I count on your support and I came here today on my own invitation to tell you and to tell Secretary Rusk that you can count on mine. NOTE: The President spoke at 4:30 p.m. in the Department of State Auditorium. His opening words "Mr. Secretary" referred to Dean Rusk, Secretary of State. Later he referred to Representative John W. McCormack of Massachusetts, Speaker of the House of Representatives; George W. Ball, Under Secretary of State; W. Averell Harriman, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs; U. Alexis Johnson, Deputy Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs; William J. Crockett, Deputy Under Secretary of State for Administration; Robert W. Skiff, Samuel Rhea Gammon III, and Lee T. Stull, who served, consecutively, as Foreign Affairs Aide to Mr. Johnson when he was Vice President; Nikita S. Khrushchev, Chairman, U.S.S.R. Council of Ministers; Walter Lippmann, editor and author; Anastas I. Mikoyan, U.S.S.R. Deputy Premier; Ludwig Erhard, Chancellor of Germany; Sir Alec Douglas-Home, Prime Minister of Great Britain; William C. Foster, Director, United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency; and Robert S. McNamara, Secretary of Defense. The President's remarks have been transcribed from a tape recording. Although excerpts of the remarks were quoted or paraphrased by the Press Secretary at his news conference held at 5:22 p.m. on December 5, the text was not made public as a White House press release. 27 Remarks With Under Secretary of State George W. Ball at the Presentation of the Medal of Freedom Awards. December 6, i963 MR. BALL. Mr. President, Mrs. Johnson, Mr. Chief Justice and Members of the Supreme Court, Members of the Cabinet, Members of the Congress, recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and distinguished guests: It is my privilege to welcome you to an historic ceremony. Today, the President of the United States is expressing the appreciation of a great Nation for the extraordinary achievements of a remarkable group of men and women, achievements spanning a wide spectrum of human endeavor: the arts, science, diplomacy, government, the humanities, the law, and philanthropy. For the first time, the President is establishing what we can proudly call an American civil honors list. Each year hereafter the Presidential Medal of Freedom will be conferred upon a few individuals chosen with great care by the President himself. 29 [27] Dec. 6 Public Papers of the Presidents The ceremony today has a dual significance. We are joining President Johnson not only in honoring the recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the high endeavors that have won them this acclaim but also in paying tribute to the man responsible for this new decoration. It was characteristic of President Kennedy that early in his administration he should turn his mind to the means by which we could give appropriate encouragement to deeds well done. He felt deeply that our Nation should pay full homage to those who contribute to enriching the qualities of American life, strengthening the security of free men and building the foundations for peace. He sought a way of expressing this appreciation in a systematic manner so that it could become a part of American tradition, a means of national thanks and encouragement for the selfless effort and the brilliant task. So as to provide orderly arrangements for the conferring of this recognition, President Kennedy directed the Distinguished Awards Board to survey the fields of achievement and to suggest candidates for the award for the Presidential Medal of Freedom. This was not an easy task, not one to be lightly undertaken or quickly accomplished. Those of us who were given this assignment were overwhelmed but gratified by the prevalence and variety of achievement. We were, in a very real sense, embarrassed by riches and the work of initial selection required solemn debate and a bold exercise of judgment. The work of the Board, however, was only the beginning of a process. The President reviewed our suggestions with care and reflection. He added and subtracted names and directed that some nominations be held for a later year. The Presidential Medal of Freedom, he felt, should be given only after careful thought, always sparingly so as not to debase its currency. He and Mrs. Kennedy studied and revised the design submitted for this decoration, and the beautiful medal you see here today bears their joint imprimatur. This first year, the Presidential Medal of Freedom is being conferred on 3I individuals. In the case of 9, the special award is being awarded with distinction. President Johnson shares with his great predecessor a deep respect for distinguished achievement and a desire to give gratitude and recognition to those who nobly serve the cause of humanity. He has come here today to pay honor to a bright constellation of talent and achievement. Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States. THE PRESIDENT. Mr. Secretary, Mr. Chief Justice and Members of the Court, Members of Congress, distinguished recipients of the Award, fellow Americans: Over the past 2 weeks, our Nation has known moments of the utmost sorrow, of anguish and shame. This day, however, is a moment of great pride. In the shattering sequence of events that began I4 days ago, we encountered in its full horror man's capacity for hatred and destruction. There is little we do not now know of evil, but it is time to turn once more to the pursuits of honor and excellence and of achievement that have always marked the true direction of the American people. So we meet today to confer the Nation's highest civil honor on 3I of the Nation's most distinguished citizens, citizens of the free world. No words could add to the distinction of the men and women who are being honored today. It is rather the reverse. Their names add distinction to the award. 30 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-I964 Dec. 6 [27] So, in joining with my fellow countrymen to express the Nation's gratitude to each of you, I want particularly to thank you for reminding us that whatever evil moments may pass by, we are and we shall continue to be a people touched with greatness called by high destiny to serve great purposes. Mr. Ball: Mr. President, Miss Marian Anderson. THE PRESIDENT. Artist and citizen, she has ennobled her race and her country while her voice has enthralled the world. Mr. Ball: Mr. Pablo Casals. Mr. Casals was unfortunately unable to be with us today, Mr. President, but you may wish to read his citation in absentia. THE PRESIDENT. Statesman of music, he has incarnated the freedom of art, while the cello under his fingers has touched the heart of the world. Mr. Ball: Miss Genevieve Caulfield. THE PRESIDENT. Teacher and humanitarian, she has been for four decades a one-woman Peace Corps in Southeast Asia, winning victories over darkness by helping the blind to become full members of society. Mr. Ball: Dr. John F. Enders. THE PRESIDENT. Physician and researcher, he has opened new pathways to medical discovery and has been an example and companion to two generations of doctors in the demanding quest for scientific truth. Mr. Ball: Mr. Karl Holton. THE PRESIDENT. Innovator in applying imaginative solutions to problems of juvenile delinquency, he has contributed generously to developing responsible citizenship among our youth. Mr. Ball: Mr. Robert J. Kiphuth. THE PRESIDENT. Teacher and coach, he has inspired generations of athletes with high ideals of achievement and sportsmanship. Mr. Ball: Mr. Edwin H. Land. THE PRESIDENT. Scientist and inventor, he has brought his creative gifts to bear in industry, government and education, enriching the lives of millions by giving new dimensions to photography. Mr. Ball: Governor Herbert H. Lehman. I know that we were all deeply saddened to hear yesterday of the death of this great citizen. Mr. President, you may wish to read his citation in absentia. THE PRESIDENT. Citizen and statesman, he has used wisdom and compassion as the tools of government and has made politics the highest form of public service. Mr. Ball: J. Clifford MacDonald. Mrs. MacDonald will receive the award on behalf of her deceased husband. THE PRESIDENT. Businessman and philanthropist, he has directed his concern to the quiet but noble work of enlarging the lives and opportunities of the physically and mentally handicapped. Mr. Ball: Mr. George Meany. THE PRESIDENT. Citizen and national leader, in serving the cause of labor, he has greatly served the cause of his Nation and of freedom throughout the world. Mr. Ball: Professor Alexander Meiklejohn. THE PRESIDENT. Educator and libertarian, as teacher by example and philosopher in practice, his free and fertile mind has influenced the course of American higher education. Mr. Ball: Mr. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. THE PRESIDENT. Teacher, designer, master builder, he has conceived soaring structures of glass, steel and concrete which at once embody and evoke the distinctive qualities of our age. Mr. Ball: Mr. Clarence B. Randall. THE PRESIDENT. Leader of industry, counselor to Presidents, he has been a forceful and articulate philosopher of the role of business in a free society. 3' [27] Dec. 6 Public Papers of the Presidents Mr. Ball: Mr. Rudolf Serkin. THE PRESIDENT. Artist and teacher, he has given the classical traditions of the piano new life in a disordered age. Mr. Ball: Mr. Edward Steichen. THE PRESIDENT. Photographer and collector, he has made the camera the instrument of aesthetic perception and thereby transformed a science into an art. Mr. Ball: Professor George W. Taylor. THE PRESIDENT. Economist and arbitrator, he has been the voice of reason and good will in the industrial relations of our society, enlisting management and labor in the cause of industrial peace. Mr. Ball: Dr. Alan T. Waterman. THE PRESIDENT. Physicist and public servant, he has been the far-sighted advocate of Federal support of the sciences, using the resources of government to improve the quality and increase the thrust of basic research. Mr. Ball: Mr. Mark S. Watson. THE PRESIDENT. Soldier in the First World War and correspondent in the Second, he has given the American people informed, wide-ranging and independent coverage of the Nation's security and defense. Mr. Ball: Mrs. Annie D. Wauneka. THE PRESIDENT. First woman elected to the Navajo Tribal Council, by her long crusade for improved health programs she has helped dramatically to lessen the menace of disease among her people and to improve their way of life. Mr. Ball: Mr. E. B. White. Mr. President, Mr. White, unfortunately, is unable to be here today because of illness. THE PRESIDENT. An essayist whose concise comment on men and places has revealed to yet another age the vigor of the English sentence. Mr. Ball: Mr. Edmund Wilson. Mr. Wilson also unfortunately is unable to be with us today. THE PRESIDENT. Critic and historian, he has converted criticism itself into a creative act, while setting for the Nation a stern and uncompromising standard of independent judgment. Mr. Ball: Mr. Thornton Wilder. THE PRESIDENT. Artist of rare gaiety and penetration, he has inscribed a noble vision in his books, making the commonplaces of life yield the wit, the wonder and the steadfastness of the human adventure. Mr. Ball: Mr. Andrew Wyeth. THE PRESIDENT. Painter of the American scene, he has in the great humanist tradition illuminated and clarified the verities and delights of everyday life. Mr. Ball: And now, Mr. President, let me present those who are to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Special Distinction. First, Mr. Ellsworth Bunker. THE PRESIDENT. Citizen and diplomat, he has brought integrity, patience and a compassionate understanding of other men and nations to the service of the Republic under three Presidents. Mr. Ball: Dr. Ralph J. Bunche. THE PRESIDENT. Scholar and diplomat, servant of the emerging world order, he has opened up new vistas in the demanding quest for international justice and peace. Mr. Ball: Dr. James B. Conant. THE PRESIDENT. Scientist and educator, he has led the American people in the fight to save our most precious resource-our children. Mr. Ball: Governor Luis Munioz Marin. THE PRESIDENT. Poet, politician, public servant, patriot, he has led his people on to new heights of dignity and purpose and transformed a stricken land into a vital society. Mr. Ball: Mr. Robert A. Lovett. THE PRESIDENT. Servant of the Republic, 32 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-i964 Dec. 6 [271 he has set high standards for the private citizen in public service by his selfless dedication to the national security under four Presidents. Mr. Ball: Mr. Jean Monnet. THE PRESIDENT. Citizen of France, statesman of the world, he has made persuasion and reason the weapons of statecraft, moving Europe toward unity and the Atlantic nations toward a more effective partnership. Mr. Ball: Mr. Justice Felix Frankfurter. THE PRESIDENT. Jurist, scholar, counselor, conversationalist, he has brought to all his roles a zest and wisdom which has made him teacher to his time. Mr. Ball: Mr. John J. McCloy. THE PRESIDENT. Diplomat and public servant, banker to the world and godfather to German freedom, he has brought cheerful wisdom and steady effectiveness to the tasks of war and peace. Mr. Ball: I ask Mr. McCloy to offer some remarks on behalf of the recipients. [At this point Mr. McCloy spoke briefly. "I do know that I can speak for all of the recipients," he said, "when I say that we are not only much honored but deeply moved by the fact that we receive at your hands, Mr. President, this award on the very day that President Kennedy appointed for its bestowal by him upon us. In the short time allotted to him, he elevated in the life of the Nation the arts and the sciences, education and the public service. He had joy in them and his joy was communicated to men and women everywhere." He concluded by pledging the talents of the group "to the furtherance of the high objectives which President Kennedy intended by the nature of this honor to stimulate." [President Johnson then resumed speaking.] I have also determined to confer the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously on another noble man whose death we mourned 6 months ago: His Holiness, Pope John XXIII. He was a man of simple origins, of simple faith, of simple charity. In this exalted office he was still the gentle pastor. He be lieved in discussion and persuasion. He profoundly respected the dignity of man. He gave the world immortal statements of the rights of man, of the obligations of men to each other, of their duty to strive for a world community in which all can live in peace and fraternal friendship. His goodness reached across temporal boundaries to warm the hearts of men of all nations and of all faiths. The citation reads: His Holiness Pope John XXIII, dedicated servant of God. He brought to all citizens of the planet a heightened sense of the dignity of the individual, of the brotherhood of man, and of the common duty to build an environment of peace for all human kind. John Kennedy is gone. Each of us will know that we are the lesser for his death. But each is somehow larger because he lived. A sadness has settled on the world which will never leave it while we who knew him are still here. The America that produced him shall honor him as well. As a simple gesture, but one which I know he would not have counted small, it is my privilege at this moment to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously to John Fitzgerald Kennedy on behalf of the great Republic for which he lived and died. The citation reads: John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 35th President of the United States, soldier, scholar, statesman, defender of freedom, pioneer for peace, author of hope-combining courage with reason, and combating hate with compassion, he led the land he loved toward new frontiers of opportunity for all men and peace for all time. Beloved in a life of selfless service, mourned by all in a death of senseless crime, the energy, faith and devotion which he brought to his extraordi 33 [27] Dec. 6 Public Papers of the Presidents narily successful though tragically brief endeavors will hereafter "light our country and all who serve it-and the glow from that fire can truly light the world." NOTE: The ceremony was held at noon in the State Dining Room at the White House. In his opening words the President referred to George W. Ball, Under Secretary of State and Chairman of the Dis tinguished Civilian Service Awards Board, who introduced the recipients, and to Earl Warren, Chief Justice of the United States. The medal for the posthumous award to President Kennedy was received on behalf of the family by Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. Later, on January 28, i964, the medal for Herbert H. Lehman was presented to Mrs. Lehman at a special ceremony at the White House (see Item I57). 28 The President's First News Conference. December 7, i963 THE PRESIDENT. I told Pierre a little earlier in the morning I was going to buy coffee later in the day, and I didn't really know how much coffee I was going to buy. He has more friends than I anticipated.' Q. More people work on Saturday than you think. Q. It is a new administration, too. THE PRESIDENT. If there is anything you would like to ask me, I would be glad to answer. [I.] Q. Will you be here today? 2 THE PRESIDENT. Yes. Q. This will be your first night here? THE PRESIDENT. Yes. Q. How do you feel about it? THE PRESIDENT. I feel like I have already been here a year. Q. We didn't hear that, Mr. President. THE PRESIDENT. I feel like I have already been here a year. [2.] Secretary McNamara has been in all morning. We have been going over the budget and over the military assistance program. I have asked him to go from Paris to 1The President referred to a conversation with Pierre Salinger, Press Secretary to the President, in preparation for the news conference. The informal conference, at which coffee was served, was attended by 25 reporters. 'At the White House. Until December 7 President Johnson had continued to live at his residence at 4040 52d Street NW. 34 Saigon next week to represent me and look over the situation out there. He will be there for a day or two. I told you this. I did not tell him I was going to, but he is out there and he is prepared to discuss with you two or three other matters, and I told him we would not be long. You may want to ask him at that time about his trip. Q. Is the Secretary on a specific mission or are you just asking for a general report on the picture in Saigon, Mr. President? TE, PRESIDENT. He is going to be in Paris anyway,3 and it won't take him too long. He can go there pretty quickly and we want to have him make a few checks out there, not anything to be concerned about, but just to be sure that we are getting maximum efficiency.4 8 Secretary McNamara was going to Paris to attend the ministerial meeting of the North Atlantic Council, held December i6-17. 'On December 2i the White House released the following statement by Secretary McNamara: The members of my party and I returned this morning from South Viet-Nam. We have just completed our report to the President of our observations. We observed the results of the very substantial increase in the Viet Cong activity, an increase that began shortly after the new government was formed, and has extended over a period of several weeks. During this time the Viet Cong have attacked, and attacked successfully, a substantial number of the strategic hamlets. They have burned the houses, the fortifications, and in many cases have forced the Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-I964 Dec- 7 [28] I made a reference to it the other day in my statement on the Hill, and in a statement to the State Department employees.5 [3.] I am going to the United Nations to speak on December I7th at 12 o'clock. Q. December i7th? THE PRESIDENT. December I7th, 12 o'clock, at the United Nations. We just told Mr. U Thant that we will go up that morning to make a brief appearance and meet with the delegates before they go back to their respective countries. It will not be a long speech. I don't want to play it down, but there won't be anything shocking to you, but I do want to establish an acquaintance with them and know some of them personally. [4.] What I have really tried to do in the first io days here is to establish a continuity in Government, and we have asked the Cabinet to stay on to the man, and we have the staff staying on to the man, and we have gotten the Congress to cooperate very helpfully in several fields. We have their announcements that they are going to open hearings in January on the civil rights bill, and we are going to try to conclude the hearings and vote on the amendments on the finance bill where we will have it reported in early January. inhabitants to leave. The rate of that Viet Cong activity, however, has substantially dropped within the past week to 0o days. This rapid expansion of activity, I think, could have been expected. It obviously was intended to take advantage of the period of organization in the new government, a period during which there was a certain amount of confusion-confusion that you might have expected would result from the replacement of the province chiefs and other key administrators in the government. We reviewed in great detail the plans of the South Vietnamese and the plans of our own military advisers for operations during 1964. We have every reason to believe they will be successful. We are determined that they shall be. 6 See Items II, 26, above. We think that we have made very good progress in showing the continuity in our transition. We have tried to, second, give a sense of unity in the country and in the world. We have met with the leaders, some go of them from the various nations in the world. We have immediately set up more detailed discussions, although we had reasonable discussions with some 20 or 30 of them, and brief discussions with all of them, and lengthy discussions and somewhat longer discussions with Lord Home and General de Gaulle and Chancellor Erhard. We plan to see Erhard in our home and we will have him there, and a very small part-a crew of all of you, and the rest of you can go into Austin. It is a very delightful place this time of year. Mr. Schr6der6 can go in there and brief you regularly, and Pierre. Then we will be seeing the President of Italy and Lord Home in the months of January and February. We think we have answered all of their cables and have assured them there is continuity and there is a sense of unity in the country, and with the people and with the policies, and I think that is reflected in our speech to the Congress, in our Thanksgiving speech, in our speech to the Business Advisory group, in our speech to the labor group, and in the speech to the independent agencies. I have talked to the Cabinet and the National Security Council, and had talks with the Negro leaders. We think that all Americans, regardless of their party, their race, or their region, or their religion, have been very helpful in helping us establish that sense of continuity. Finally, I think we have made it pretty clear that we have embraced the programs Gerhard Schr6der, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany. 35 [A8] Dec. 7 Public Papers of the Presidents that we helped to fashion which are now pending before the Congress, what they are, and we have inaugurated some new ones. [5.] At this time of the year, in connection with the formation of our budget, we try to get a dollar's value for a dollar spent, and be sure that we spend all that we need to, but not that we spend any of it wastefully. We are just engaging in a good deal of introspection in that field, and the Secretary will have some detailed remarks to you, but he is going to spend several hundred million dollars less this year in his Department than he did last year, and he has been reviewing this in the last few days. He brought us a program this morning to cut back 25,000 of the 997,000 civilian employees who are now employed by the Department.7 Q. He took off 29,000? THE PRESIDENT. 25,000. [6.] Q. Mr. President, you failed to mention President de Gaulle. There have been reports from Paris that this trip now is in abeyance in contrast to, say, 2 weeks ago when De Gaulle indicated that he would come to the United States. THE PRESIDENT. We have no definite plans 7 Secretary McNamara's program was outlined in a White House release dated December 7. The release pointed out that the cutback to 997,000 would be completed by July i, 1965, and that it would be the first time Defense Department civilian employment had fallen below one million since the early months of the Korean war in 1950. The release also stated (i) that a reduction of i5 percent had been directed in personnel assigned to overseas headquarters staffs, (2) that in a move to effect greater economies in the administration of the Military Assistance Program the Secretary had directed a reduction of i0 percent, or well over a thousand, military, U.S. civilian and indigenous personnel abroad, to be effective July I, i964, and (3) that there would be a reduction of i5 percent in the number of foreign nationals employed by the Department by the end of June i964, including 9,ooo direct-hire foreign national employees. yet, and when we do, I will make them available to you. [7.] Q. Sir, have you made up your mind about the format and nature of the press conferences you will hold over the long haul? THE PRESIDENT. No. I want to communicate with the American people, and I want to maintain accessibility, and I want there to be a free flow of information to the extent possible, and limited only by security. And I should like, of course, after the period of mourning, to try to determine just what would be the most effective way, with your counsel and cooperation. [8.] Q. Mr. President, as you take hold of foreign affairs, have you received many invitations yet to make visits overseas to Britain, Japan, the Philippines, any other countries which Mr. Kennedy was thinking of visiting? THE PRESIDENT. I would say in our discussions with the leaders that most of them expressed an interest in a possible visit at some time or other. Some were more definite, but I would say a goodly number. It is my own feeling at the moment that there could be a change, of course, but my own feeling is that I will be pretty much tied down here and I will not be leaving the country. [9.] Q. Some of the leaders you have spoken with in the past week said that you dealt with the unemployment problem. Can you tell us anything about the expansion of the retraining program? THE PRESIDENT. Yes, we are very concerned with the unemployment problem. It is much too high. We are going to make intensive drives to reduce it, reduce unemployment. We are considering the extent of those in our new budget that is now being formulated. President Kennedy had some plans for them. In reviewing those plans, 36 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-i964 Dec. 7 [28] we hope to have early passage of the tax bill. We think that will encourage investment and create more jobs and reduce unemployment. We think it is very, very important that we get that bill passed as early as we can. We think it very important, when the bill is passed, that it be retroactive to January i. I have met with Senator Dirksen, Senator Mansfield, and all of the Democratic leaders on three or four occasions, two or three here at the office. They had dinner with me the other night, too, and we have reviewed our plans, the necessity for making that bill effective January i. I have also talked with Senator Byrd at lunch and he has agreed to that. I have also talked to Senator Dirksen, and he has agreed to do that. We think that that will add considerably to our economy for the next year. I have had since November 22 about 0o6 appointments, which runs almost io a day, but they have been with people like Secretary Harriman, Speaker McCormack, Congressman Halleck, Senator Mansfield, Senator Dirksen, Senator Smathers, Senator Morton, Secretary Rusk, Cabinet members, the Attorney General, Mr. Bundy, CIAMr. McCone-Secretary McNamara, President Eisenhower, and Mr. Lodge, and on through the list-Professor Goldman, Professor Melman, independent agency heads that I am not listing, and a good many of the Senators, individual Cabinet members. [ o.] Q. Are you shooting for a particular budget figure, Mr. President, that you can say? THE PRESIDENT. I saw a good sentence this morning. Jack,8 give me that sentence that I asked you to get for my next speech. I 8 Jack Valenti, Special Consultant to the President. think it rather explains my view on the budget. I want to spend everything that is necessary to spend to keep moving our country forward progressively. In order to do that, I don't want to waste a dime. Last year we spent the proposed budget and expenditure of $98.8 billion. In addition to that, we have $I,8oo million written in that you have to add to it, like civilian retirement and interest on the national debt and military retirement, and I have a breakdown of those. Jack, if you will get me that figure, I would like to have it. It is on my desk, on the budget, on the top. In addition to that, you have $8oo-odd million that will have been legislated. We anticipate it will be legislated for Health, Education, and Welfare, approximately $300 to $400 million extra for Labor, manpower retraining. There is a one-line note there on the top of my desk, Jack, from the Director of the Budget, that has the chart on it. That makes $1.2 billion over the $i.8 billion, so that gives you $3 billion, and there is probably $500 million or $600 million more that are not in Labor or Health, Education, and Welfare. To just run down it quickly: military pay increases, $300 million; military pay, retired, $I30 million; civilian pay, $200 million; interest on the public debt, $250 million; contracts already awarded by NASA, $583 million; Alliance for Progress loan, $I50 million; Federal Aviation, supersonic, $47 million; urban renewal contracts, $50 million; veterans' compensation, $48 million; public assistance, $42 million. That is $1.79 or $i.8 billion right there-$I,8oo million. There will be some reductions that we can make, but in addition to that, you have $800 37 [:28] Dec. 7 Public Papers of the Presidents million in the Health, Education, and Welfare, and you have approximately $400 million in Labor, or it is up from $492 million to $724 million-about $300 million in Labor. You have the National Science Foundation which is up from $260 million to $335 million. There will be a good many like that which you can't do anything about. So, I would figure $I.8 billion, $I.2 billion, and another $500 million, $3.5 billion onto the $98.8 billion. That is what you have to start from. We will try to reduce anything we can there. We don't want to just be a tightwad. Our feeling is we waste as much by doing nothing as we do by doing too much. But we do want to see that money is prudently expended, and if Secretary McNamara can effect a reduction of 25,000 employees by the ceiling he has had, it will be helpful. We are also making a review of all of our installations in the country. We have come to no conclusion on it, but seeing what can be consolidated. We are talking over with each Cabinet officer and each independent agency, each one of the Joint Chiefs, each one of the Service Secretaries. I plan to go to the Pentagon to talk to them personally next Wednesday,9 talk to the Service Secretaries, talk to the Joint Chiefs again, then talk to the top people in the Pentagon, as I did in the State Department. So finally, we have tried to show the continuity in office and we have tried to show the programs we are going to have embracing the programs of the previous administration, and we have tried to show the unity in the country, and our response from the country and the world has been very 'See Item 37. good. [ii.1 Q. Do you expect to be spending Christmas at your ranch? THE PRESIDENT. That has not been determined yet. [i2.] Q. Mr. President, sir, can you tell us your thoughts about whether the report which is in the Justice Department now, and I take it has either been given to you or will be given to you, should be made public, or a summary of it? THE PRESIDENT. That is a matter which I think would go from the Justice Department to the blue-ribbon commission that was appointed, and it will be a matter for them to review.'0 [I3.] Q. Mr. President, can you tell us at the end of your first 2 weeks in office what you regard as the biggest single problem facing you as President? THE PRESIDENT. Being President. [I4.] Mr. Salinger: May I say a couple of things? In listing the foreign leaders coming here, Prime Minister Pearson of Canada is coming. THE PRESIDENT. Also, you can mention I am going to invite the President of Mexico to come. ['5.] Q. Are you going to be spending weekends in the country? THE PRESIDENT. I expect I am going to be at this desk pretty much straight through. Helen Thomas, United Press International: Thank you very much, Mr. President. NOTE: President Johnson's first news conference was held in his office at the White House at I2:05 p.m. on Saturday, December 7, I963. 10 The reference was to a report on the results of an FBI investigation of the assassination of President Kennedy made prior to President Johnson's appointment on November 29 of a Commission established for that purpose. 38 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-i964 Dec. 8 [29] 29 Statement by the President on the International Atomic Energy Agency. December 8, I963 TEN YEARS AGO today, President Eisenhower appeared before the General Assembly of the United Nations and made the following pledge: "The coming months will be fraught with fateful decisions.... To the making of these fateful decisions the United States pledges before you-and therefore before the world-its determination to help solve the fearful atomic dilemma-to devote its entire heart and mind to find the way by which the miraculous inventiveness of man shall not be dedicated to his death, but consecrated to his life." In his address, President Eisenhower also proposed the establishment of an International Atomic Energy Agency which would help channel into peaceful pursuits the scientific and material resources which had been created primarily for military purposes, and noting that such an Agency could serve as a vehicle to advance the use of the atom for the peaceful pursuits of mankind. The International Atomic Energy Agency has assumed an essential and natural role in the international development of atomic energy. In each year of his administration, President Kennedy supported the International Atomic Energy Agency and on three separate occasions sent AEC Chairman Glenn T. Seaborg to the General Conferences in Vienna, Austria, as his personal representative. In the past o years, the use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes throughout the world has grown steadily. The United States has led the efforts to bring the benefits of atomic energy to the world-shared its knowledge, its skills, and its materials with other nations in every continent. Today, I reassert our continued belief in the importance of cooperation among nations in the peaceful uses of atomic energy and our belief in the International Atomic Energy Agency as an important instrument in carrying out this cooperation. I can think of no more appropriate way in which to convey to free men everywhere our intention to bring the benefits of the peaceful atom to mankind than in the words of President Kennedy in his message to the President of the Fifth General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria, on September 27, i961: "The General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency is a welcome event to all peoples who value peace. Your meeting accentuates the enormous potential of the atom for improving man's well-being. We already know the atom can help place more food on our tables, provide more light in our homes, fight disease and better our health, and give us new technical and scientific tools. The exploitation of this force for human welfare is just beginning. The International Atomic Energy Agency can assume a position of leadership in bringing the peaceful uses of atomic energy to the people of the world. "Moreover, the intangible benefits of your work are no less than the material rewards. When people from different countries work together in a common cause, they help to maintain a bridge of understanding between nations during times of tension and build firmer foundations for a more stable and peaceful world of the future. I applaud your efforts and assure you that they have the full support of the United States." 39 [30] Dec. 8 Public Papers of the Presidents 30 Message to the King of Thailand on the Death of Prime Minister Srisdi Dhanarajata. Your Majesty: I was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of the Prime Minister, Field Marshal Srisdi Dhanarajata. On behalf of the Government and people of the United States of America, may I offer to Your Majesty our heartfelt sympathy and condolences. It was my privilege to meet Field Marshal Srisdi some two years ago, and I know the great contribution he had made to the continued progress and independence of the Kingdom as Prime Minister of Your Majesty's Government. 3i Letter to Bob Hope. Decen Dear Bob: I see by the papers you are making progress in the hospital. I pray that all goes well with you. Particularly I am hopeful you will be hearty enough to once again be a cheerful companion to the Armed Forces. Christmas overseas without Hope is simply December 8, i963 Your Nation has suffered a great loss which we as your friends and allies share with you. I know also the strength of the Thai Nation which, with Your Majesty's inspired leadership, will be sustained in this difficult hour. LYNDON B. JOHNSON [His Majesty Phumiphon Adundet, Bangkok, Thailand] NOTE: The message was read by the Press Secretary to the President, Pierre Salinger, at his news conference held at the White House at 4:58 p.m. on December 8, I963. nber 8, i963 not Christmas. God be with you. LYNDON B. JOHNSON NOTE: Mr. Hope was undergoing treatment for an eye ailment in a hospital in San Francisco. The letter was read by the Press Secretary to the President, Pierre Salinger, at his news conference held at the White House at 4:58 p.m. on December 8, I963. 32 Message to the Sultan on the Occasion of the Independence of Zanzibar. December 9, i963 Your Majesty: I welcome the opportunity to extend my greetings and best wishes and those of the people of the United States. My country has watched with great interest and satisfaction as the tide of freedom has rolled across the African continent. We are pleased that the peoples of Africa are moving with dignity and assurance to take their rightful place in world affairs, and we welcome the many contributions Africa is making to the building of a better world community. We in the United States are dedicated to the same goals as the peoples of Africajustice, freedom, and peace. Under our late President, John F. Kennedy, the United States made significant advances toward the attainment of those goals. We will continue to work toward those same objectives under my Administration. We want to help build a world in which all men have a better opportunity to improve their lives, both 40 Lyndon B. Johnm spiritually and materially. Thus, we will continue to press for equal rights for allboth in my country and abroad-and we will continue to assist the world's new and emerging nations in their efforts to strengthen their foundations of freedom and independence. Zanzibar and the United States have had cordial relations for many decades, and we look forward to continuing warm relations for centuries to come. We in the United son, 1963-1964 Dec. o1 [34] States congratulate you in Zanzibar as you assume the proud rights and responsibilities of independent nationhood. Sincerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON [His Majesty Seyyid Jamshid bin Abdulla, Sultan of Zanzibar] NOTE: The message was delivered by Governor Philip H. Hoff of Vermont, Personal Representative of the President and head of the U.S. Special Mission to the Zanzibar Celebrations, held December 9-II. 33 Special Message to the Congress on the Coinage of John F. Kennedy 5o-Cent Pieces. December Io, 1963 To the Congress of the United States: I hereby submit to the Congress a draft of a proposed bill which would provide for the coinage of 5o-cent pieces with the likeness of the late John Fitzgerald Kennedy. With the adoption of this proposal each of the five denominations now being produced by the Mint, i.e., one-cent through fifty-cent pieces, would have the likeness of a President on the obverse of the coin. The consent of the Congress is required to make this change in view of the provisions of section 3510 of the Revised Statutes, as amended (31 U.S.C. 276), which provides that no change in the design of a coin shall be made oftener than once in twenty-five years. The present design was adopted in I948. If the legislation is enacted, the Treasury Department plans to use the likeness of the late President Kennedy which is being used on a "Presidential series" medal now being manufactured and sold at the Philadelphia Mint. The design of this medal was approved personally by the late President. Mint artists would prepare an appropriate reverse for the coin. I strongly recommend the enactment of this proposed legislation at the earliest possible date in order that the likeness of President Kennedy will appear on the 5o-cent coins issued at the beginning of the calendar year I964. LYNDON B. JOHNSON NOTE: On December 30, I963, the President approved an act providing for the coinage of the 50 -cent pieces (Public Law 88-256, 77 Stat. 843). 34 Message to Prime Minister Kenyatta on the Occasion of the Independence of Kenya. December o1, 1963 Dear Mr. Prime Minister: Once again, as has happened so frequently in these exciting years, a new nation has appeared in the family of mankind. And once again, the people of the United States of America see in that event a reaffirmation of the ideals which were embodied in their own struggle for freedom. As our own free 41 [34] Dec. Io Public Papers of the Presidents dom for all our citizens was proclaimed to the world by our Declaration of Independence, so Kenya's freedom begins with her declaration of independence today. The United States, under President Kennedy, welcomed and supported the growth of free and independent nations in Africa, and American policy will continue along the same lines. Our ultimate goal is a world dedicated to peace and freedom. To help achieve such a world, we will continue to combat those age-old enemies of world peace-illiteracy, illness, malnutrition, and poverty. We also are deeply committed to the attainment of basic human rights by all men. And we are irrevocably determined to speed that process by assuring equal rights to all Americans as quickly as we are able. In essence, then, the United States is devoted to the same basic human aspirations as those of the people of Kenya-and, indeed, as those of people of good will throughout the world. To the courageous people of Kenya, the American people and I send the warmest good wishes as you enter into nationhood. Just as the infant United States was encouraged and strengthened by the sympathy of those throughout the world who loved liberty, so your young and vigorous nation will have the understanding support of free men in every land. Good fortune in the years ahead. May the responsibilities of freedom wake the best that is in you, and may its benefits be known by generations yet unborn. Sincerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON [His Excellency Jomo Kenyatta, Prime Minister of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya] NOTE: The message was delivered by Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall, Personal Representative of the President and head of the U.S. Special Mission to the Kenya Independence Celebrations, held December Io-I4. 35 Remarks Upon Accepting Eleanor Roosevelt Commemorative Stamps Issued by India, Ghana, and Korea. December o1, I963 MR. AMBASSADOR, I am very proud to receive these stamps that have been produced in honor of a very great lady. She was truly a person who cared. She belonged not only to the United States but to humanity throughout the world and this is a most thoughtful and generous act of yours to bring me these mementos which I shall treasure. I want to thank you very much for coming here this afternoon. NOTE: The President spoke at 5 p.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White House. His opening words "Mr. Ambassador" referred to Adlai E. Stevenson, U.S. Representative to the United Nations and Chairman of the Eleanor Roosevelt Foundation, who made brief introductory remarks. Accompanying Mr. Stevenson were Ambassador B. K. Nehru of India, Ambassador Miguel Augustus Ribeiro of Ghana, and Minister Suk Heun Yun of Korea who, on behalf of their countries, presented the books of stamps to the President. The text of Mr. Stevenson's remarks was also released. 42 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-1964 Dec. I I [37] 36 Statement by the President Following Senate Approval of the Higher Education Facilities Bill. December io, i963 THE SENATE is to be commended on its passage today of the conference report on higher education. This Congress is well on its way to doing more for education than any since the Land Grant College Act was passed ioo years ago. Members of the House and Senate Education Committees, Republicans and Democrats alike, are to be congratulated on this major step forward. I extend my special congratulations to Senator Morse and Congresswoman Green, who have a long record of interest and leadership in this field of higher education. NOTE: The President referred to Senator Wayne Morse and Representative Edith Green of Oregon, chairmen respectively of subcommittees of the Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare and the House Committee on Education and Labor. This statement was read by the Press Secretary to the President, Pierre Salinger, at his news conference held at the White House at 5:40 p.m. on December IO, i963. For the President's remarks upon signing the bill, see Iteml 47. 37 Remarks to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and to Officials of the Department of Defense. December I I, i963 Mr. Secretary, Mr. Under Secretary, the Service Secretaries, members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, my fellow Americans: It is a very proud moment for me to come before you as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States of America. There is no higher calling than yours, and none with a greater importance for the peace and the safety of our country and the world. There is reason for pride in all forms of public service, but a very special place must go to those who are responsible for the defense and the security of this Republic. For 24 years, as a Member of the Congress, I was intimately concerned with the problems of national defense. I have worked long and hard with hundreds of friends in the Army, and the Navy, and the Marine Corps, and the Air Force. And I have known the quality of American military men, not only in the process of legislation, but in the field. In the last 3 years, as Vice President under our late, lamented, and beloved President, John F. Kennedy, I have seen the critical importance of our military strength. And I have seen it in crisis after crisis: from the tests of determination in Berlin in i96i to the great confrontation over missiles in October i962; from Viet-Nam to the Congo, to the counter-insurgency programs in Latin America. I know the progress made by our late Commander in Chief in helping you to rebuild the real power of the United States, and in really lifting the spirit and the temper of our Armed Forces. And I learned it firsthand. I take great pride in this progress, and I am pledged to carry it forward. I know from the first dark months of the Second World War what it means to have to fight and to have to fight without adequate supplies, have to fight with incomplete training, have to fight with second-rate equipment, and to fight against great odds. So you can count on me, as you could always count on President Kennedy, for the support that the Armed Forces of our country deserve at all times. But the other side of the matter is that I 43 [37] Dec. I I Public Papers of the Presidents must also count on you. Right now I want to count on you, in particular, to get full value for the vast expenditures of the national military budget, a dollar's value for every dollar spent. Our defense expenditures now are almost I5 times greater than the entire Federal budget was when I came to Washington 32 years ago in Mr. Hoover's administration. It is true that the dollar does not go as far now as it did then, that our responsibilities throughout the world have greatly increased, and that we must meet the new requirements of this age of nuclear weapons. But I think it's also true that in this enormous expenditure there must be some room for saving. So, gentlemen, I look to you not only to protect your country and your country's security, but I plead with you to protect your country's purse, to safeguard not only her military strength but her financial stability. I count on you and I plead with you to put a premium on sparing instead of spending, to get along with less while you are doing more. I emphasize these matters in the Defense Department because this department has a responsibility for more than half of the national budget. And if the example begins here and if it's set here it can be followed elsewhere and it will permit me to hold you up as a guiding light. So I have come here today to call on this department to make the largest effort to achieve the biggest savings, to show the way in effective economy as well as in dedication to the national security. And in this commitment to economy, let me tell you again, I do not intend for one moment to give up the gains in strength which this country has made in the last 3 years and which I supported. Our late, beloved President used to speak of the need for armed forces which are "lean and fit"-and he was right. He was also right, and fortunate-and all America ought to be grateful-for his finding as his chief lieutenant in this great purpose one of the greatest American executives, Robert McNamara. This country has never had an abler or a more dedicated Secretary of Defenseand I have known them all and have worked close hand with them all. Mr. McNamara and the men who work with him in the office of Secretary of Defense have had, during my 3 years as Vice President, my absolute and complete confidence. And they have it today. I want to say the same thing for my three friends, the service secretaries: Paul Nitze and Cy Vance and Gene Zuckert. I have equal confidence and respect for the outstanding officers who now serve us as members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and I expressed that admiration to them personally only a moment ago. I know the tradition of the Joint Chiefs as it was forged in the furnace of the Second World War, and the present chiefs are worthy successors to the great officers who began that tradition. I believe in the chiefs, and in reinforcing their effectiveness as the President's senior military advisers. I have special confidence in General Taylor. He and all the chiefs will have my support in their efforts to discharge their duties and to discharge them responsibly and effectively. While final responsibility must rest with me under the Constitution, I have already made it clear to the chiefs that the military voice must be fully heard in all major national security decisions. I look to the Joint Chiefs and to all the armed services for candor in council-candor in council and unity in action. Unity to me is more than just a matter of loyalty within one's service or even within one department of this great system of gov 44 Lyndon B. John. ernment of ours. We need unity across the board in the execution of the national security policies of these United States of America. I am proud of the determination to work together which the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State have demonstrated in the last 3 years as I have watched them in close quarters. Their cooperation is based on respect, respect for the military responsibility of the Department of Defense and respect for the final responsibility of the Department of State, under the President, in the conduct of our foreign relations. I expect this cooperation to continue and to grow. My object then, in short, is a united administration and never a divided Pentagon. We have much work to do together. In two areas in particular there is urgent business before us. We must press on with all our energy against the spread of Communist subversion into South Viet-Nam, where I have asked your distinguished Secretary to son, 1963-1964 Dec. i [38] go almost immediately in my behalf, and against the spread of Communist subversion in the Caribbean. In these two areas we must be constantly alert to every opportunity, every opportunity to sustain and to strengthen the forces of freedom. So in these urgent duties, and in others of equal longrange importance, we are really bound together, you and I, not only by our oaths of office but by the loyalty which underlies them. So in that spirit I came here today to ask for your help, to plead for your support-and I pledge you mine. Thank you very much. NOTE: The President spoke at I:30 p.m. in the Auditorium at the Pentagon. His opening words "Mr. Secretary, Mr. Under Secretary" referred to Robert S. McNamara, Secretary of Defense, and Roswell L. Gilpatric, Deputy Secretary of Defense. The President's remarks have been transcribed from a tape recording. Although excerpts of the remarks were quoted or paraphrased by the Press Secretary at his news conference held at 3:IO p.m. on December I, the text was not made public as a White House press release. 38 Statement to the Cabinet on Manpower Utilization and Control. December II, 1963 IN MY memorandum of November 30, I asked each of you"To press ahead vigorously with your program for manpower control and utilization which you developed in response to President Kennedy's directive of October Ix, 1962. "To hold agency employment at or below the personnel targets established in response to President Kennedy's statement to the Cabinet of September 23, I963." You and I know we can hold the line on employment without causing real damage. I am depending on you personally to deal with this problem. Nine out of ten Government employees do a full day's work for a day's pay-but I want that tenth man to measure up also. We need to: -Cut out excessive paperwork because it breeds overstaffing. -Measure workloads carefully. -Strip down overly elaborate organizations. In short, I want you to give as much attention to management as you do to your programs. For fiscal year I965, the Budget Director must have your full support in carrying out my directive to hold down Government employment. The I965 Budget total for year 45 Jewlston Public Library Lewiston, Maine [38] Dec. ii Public Papers of the Presidents end civilian employment must be held below the levels in the i964 and i963 budgets. This can be done. Your budgets should reflect economies from better management and higher productivity resulting from improved methods, procedures, organization, and employee incentive. A good manager can do all of this. I intend to disapprove any budget request for more personnel except where the facts leave me no choice. This means that I will grant increases only when they are absolutely necessary to meet fixed commitments, to properly carry out new legislation, and to do work of the highest national priority. Federal employment has, by your efforts, been held well below the growth rate of our population and our economy. Regular civilian employment grew only by 686 persons from October 3i, i962, to the same date in i963. If it had followed the trend of State and local government it would have risen by i o6,ooo. But these facts do not justify a continued upcreep in Federal employment. They do not justify us in having ten thousand, or one thousand, or even one hundred more employees than we need. NOTE: For the President's memorandum of November 30, see Item i6. 39 Letter to Senate and House Committee Chairmen on Renaming the National Cultural Center in Honor of President Kennedy. December II, I963 Dear Mr. Chairman: I should like to take this opportunity to express my wholehearted support for the joint resolutions (SJR I36 or HJR 828) presently before the Congress to rename the National Cultural Center in honor of President Kennedy. It seems to me that a center for the performing arts on the beautiful site selected would be one of the most appropriate memorials that a grateful nation could establish to honor a man who had such deep and abiding convictions about the importance of cultural activities in our national life. In this connection it is my understanding that the Kennedy family would prefer to have the Center named "The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts" in order to indicate more specifically the nature of the memorial to him. In a speech a month before his death, President Kennedy said, "I see little of more importance to the future of our country and our civilization than full recognition of the place of the artist." He understood that history remembers national societies less for the might of their weapons or for the mass of their wealth, than for the quality of the artistic legacy they bequeath to mankind. By carrying forward the project of a National Cultural Center, we can all help strengthen the traditions and standards of the arts in American society. And in doing this we carry forward the spirit and concern of John F. Kennedy. That the Federal Government should participate in this undertaking by providing funds to match the contributions which have already been made, and will be made in the future, by people throughout this Nation and the world is entirely fitting. This action should ensure prompt completion of the Center to which President Kennedy gave his full support and which he saw as an embodiment of our Nation's interest in the finest expres 46 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-I964 Dec..I2 [40] sions of our cultural activity. I hope that the Congress will take early action on this resolution. Sincerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON NOTE: This is the text of identical letters addressed to the Honorable Pat McNamara, Chairman, Senate Committee on Public Works, and to the Honorable Charles A. Buckley, Chairman, House Committee on Public Works. On January 23, i964, the President approved a joint resolution providing for the renaming of the Cultural Center (S.J. Res. 136, 78 Stat. 4). For his remarks upon signing the resolution, see Item I42. 40 Remarks to New Participants in "Plans for Progress" Equal Opportunity Agreements. December I2, I963 Mr. Secretary and my fellow Americans: I came here to express my personal respect and gratitude to you for the time that you have given to this effort and for your genuine and your conscientious endeavors to the end that we really make constitutional government in this country work. It is, I believe, highly appropriate that this meeting today should take place in this historic and tradition-filled room. The handsome painting of President Lincoln, and the solemn mourning-black symbolizing the Nation's grief over the tragic death of President Kennedy provide a background that should truly inspire all of us-the company officials, the officers of the Federal Government who are in attendance, and all the people of the United States-inspire them to make every effort to banish bigotry and prejudice and bias from our thoughts, and from our conversation and, most important, from our every action. I am well aware of the very promising results that have been achieved in moving toward full equality of opportunity by the II 5 companies that participate in the Plans for Progress program. The following statistics which I am going to give you are from reports from more than 90 of these companies, and they demonstrate what progress can be achieved when there is an awareness and where there is a will: -whereas the number of salaried em ployees in these companies increased a little over i3 percent in the reporting period, the number of nonwhite employees increased not I3 percent but 23 V2 percent. -in the reporting period, nonwhites employed in management categories increased by 46 V2 percent. -in professional and administrative jobs, the increase was 37.4 percent. -in sales jobs, the increase was 53.I percent. -in technical jobs, there was a 3I.6 percent increase. These are significant improvements, but even more meaningful is the positive attitude and the spirit of wanting to improve the situation that can ultimately produce equality of opportunity. Within those companies whose reports have been received and tabulated, the ratio of white salaried employees to nonwhite dropped from 65 to i at the beginning of the reporting period to 6o to i now. We still have a long way to go, as is obvious. But I should like to be absolutely clear on this proposition. The Federal Government will continue in its efforts to insure that employment, promotion, and personnel actions will be made on a nondiscriminatory basis. No one should be employed because he is a member of a minority group, and no one should be denied employment because he is 47 [40] Dec. 12 Public Papers of the Presidents a member of a minority group either. The fullest use of this Nation's most vital resource-human beings-will be achieved only when the artificial standards of race, religion, or national origin are no longer used. The Council of Economic Advisers has estimated that our gross national product would be more than $20 billion greater than it is if the full potential of our Negro citizens were at work in our economy. We do not rely solely upon the Plans for Progress program which supplements but does not supplant the President's Executive order. The Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity, under whose sponsorship and initiative the Plans for Progress came into being, will continue its effective program of insuring compliance by Federal contractors with the nondiscrimination policies of our Government. My own identification and work with this Committee during nearly 3 years has been among the most meaningful and rewarding of the many tasks which I have been associated with in more than 32 years in Government. There is now greater public awareness of the importance of the basic role of jobs and employment in the failure of many of our minority groups to share fully in the benefits of our economy and our society. The effort to reduce unemployment nationally through the creation of additional jobs is our immediate goal, as I told the AFL-CIO Executive Council. There should be at least 75 million jobs-and that will be a prime objective of this administration. A basic factor contributing to the unique character of the United States has been the melding together of the widely varied groups that have come to this country with high hopes and with the desire to participate and to be a part of our national life. We are not true to our national heritage when we erect artificial barriers to Negroes or to Mexican-Americans or to Oriental-Americans, or to Spanish-speaking-Americans from Puerto Rico, to American Indians, or indeed to any minority group. So when we do away with the statistics and the generalities and maybe the platitudes, what I have come here today and asked you to be present for was to applaud you, to thank you, and to tell you that you can be proud of the business life that is represented in this room. We will look forward eagerly to working with you in an attempt to eliminate irrelevant considerations of ancestry from the hiring practices of America and to leave as the only real test the consideration of merit and ability. We live in a world where America is outnumbered 17 to i. And if we were to divide that world by color or by race or by ancestry, we would be greatly outnumbered. And I think, perhaps, the best way to quickly illustrate what is really in our hearts is to remind ourselves of the Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." So when you're dealing with these people, in your company, or in your firm, or in your business, just remember they're some daughter's father, or some boy's mother, or someone's sister, or somebody's brother that you are dealing with. And except for the grace of God, it might be you-that they were dealing with you instead of you dealing with them. I have thought a great deal the last few days-I missed being an elevator boy just about that much, when my mother just reached up and made me go back to school after laying out for 2 years. The less fortunate people of this country, the people who have suffered from bigotry and from hatred and from fear and from discrimination in housing and from discrimination in schooling and from discrimination in association, are not as fortunate as you are. 48 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-t964 Dec. 13 [41] But they have benefited a great deal because the company president, or the personnel manager, or the big boss in the last 3 years has said, "Let's hire people on the basis of merit." My name might be spelled differently from a majority in the community where I will live next year and I would like to think that I could be judged on my true value rather than on my color or my ancestry or my religion. And I'm so proud of the advances we have made in this country. There are two great philosophies that provide leadership in the world today. And if we survive, and I believe we will, it is going to be because of our superior system of government. Because the businessman can send out his capitalist dollar with the hope that he will get a reasonable return on it. And the manager that manages that dollar and manages the men that work with it, he can get up early and stay up late, develop ulcers, and hope for a bonus at the end of the year. But he has developed into the greatest manager that the world has ever known. And finally the producer, the worker, who enjoys the highest standard of living of any worker in the world, who enjoys the highest rate of pay, he joins with the manager and with the capitalist and those three essential ingredients make up what we call the free enterprise system, the incentive system in this country. And it produces more for the individual, it turns out more in form of wealth, it has the best housing and the best clothes and the best food of any system known to man, and it is the thing that in the end analysis is really going to preserve and protect us. Our system is an improvement over any other system of government. So when I hear these folks feel sorry for themselves, talk about how bad we are doing, and the pitfalls that are ahead, I'm ready and willing to admit that not all the problems have yet been solved because there are a good many over there waiting an answer from me this afternoon as to our position on them. But I am so proud that I live in a country where 70 million Americans are working, where the average wage is over $ioo a week, where there is a minimum of bigotry and hatred and fear, where there is freedom of speech and religious worship, and finally where we can look upon thy neighbor and love him as we love ourselves. And it's wonderful to meet here in this house that belongs to all the people and to have your leaders who can help lead all the people. And in the days ahead I'm going to need your counsel and your advice and your leadership and your prayers. We've got so much to preserve, so much to protect, and I want to protect it-and you do too or you wouldn't be here. Thank you so much. NOTE: The President spoke at 3:45 p.m. in the State Dining Room at the White House. His opening words "Mr. Secretary" referred to Secretary of Labor W. Willard Wirtz. Excerpts of the President's remarks were released by the White House. The complete text is printed above as transcribed from a tape recording. 4I Statement by the President Following a Meeting To Discuss the Eastern Kentucky Emergency Program. December I3, i963 I HAVE today met with Governor Edward Breathitt of Kentucky and his immediate predecessor, Governor Bert Combs, and have talked with Congressman Carl Perkins to discuss the Eastern Kentucky Emergency Program initiated by President Kennedy on 49 [4I] Dec. I3 Public Papers of the Presidents November 12. I assured them of my own personal concern over the plight of so many people in the hard-hit counties of Eastern Kentucky. This program is not a substitute for the work of the Appalachian Commission. It is a special humanitarian effort to provide food, shelter, health services, employment and clothing during the especially difficult winter months in this mountainous area. No new money is involved. We have utilized existing appropriations. This special program, initiated by President Kennedy, will continue, and I have asked Under Secretary of Commerce Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr., to continue to serve as the coordinator of the Federal participation in this program. The efforts of the Commonwealth of Kentucky will continue. It is our hope that private organizations and individuals will also respond to the obvious need of the people of Kentucky; many already have, induding the Council of the Southern Mountains and the faculty and student bodies of colleges in Eastern Kentucky. NOTE: This statement was read by the Press Secretary to the President, Pierre Salinger, at his news conference held at the White House at 11:25 a.m. on December 13, i963. Mr. Salinger added that the program would affect 30,000 people in 30 counties in Eastern Kentucky. For President Kennedy's part in initiating the program, see I963 volume, this series, Item 458. 42 Remarks of Welcome to the Chiefs of Mission of the Diplomatic Corps. December I3, 1963 Your Excellencies: It gives me great pleasure to welcome you again to this house. As you know, the President of the United States bears, under our Constitution, a very direct and immediate responsibility for the conduct of all of our foreign affairs. Therefore, I come to you today to speak to you as a working colleague. We live at a time when foreign affairs go beyond their traditional scope; they now have strong new ties with the domestic life of each of our countries. These new ties come as a result of modern communications which bring instantly to the homes of the citizens of every country events from around the world; they come from modern weapons which can make the threat of war anywhere a life and death issue for every nation; and from the fact that we are all engaged in vast historical changes which are reshaping the political life of the planet. I have in mind the change from the colonial era to an era when scores of new nations claim new responsibilities on the world scene. The change from traditional ways to modern societies which bring to their peoples all the advantages of modern science and technology. The change in Western Europe, and Japan, and elsewhere from a heavy postwar dependence upon the United States to now one of partnership in the great affairs of the planet. A role which their traditions and history demand and their resources permit. And a change, that we hope, from dangerous cold war to a more stable and a more peaceful world. None of these changes is automatic. All will take time. All can be upset. All can bring threats to peace. None will succeed if we do not accept the fact of our profound interdependence-an interdependence that's made tragically and humanly real to us all by the death of President Kennedy. And right here now I want to tell all of you, on behalf of all of the American people, 50 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 Dec. I3 [42] how deeply touched we have been by the flood of expressions of sympathy which have poured in on us-from Kings and Presidents, from Parliaments and citizens throughout the world. It is clear that President Kennedy, by his work and by his acts, became a symbol of hope and a promise of progress, progress for freedom, and peace, and a better life for all. As we face the day-to-day tasks before us, this outpouring of sympathy will be to us a renewed dedication. All of us have our parts to play, to make these great historical changes take place in a setting of peace. We must talk to one another with candor. We must try to understand what the other man's problems are-and communicate that understanding to each other and do it with integrity. We must be alert to the points of danger, but we must be equally alert for the points of common interest. In great matters and in small matters, we must move forward together. There is no other way for us all, on this small planet. So I welcome you. I am delighted to greet you all, as messengers of understanding, and to tell each of you and through you, your people, that we in this country will go our full share of the way toward peace, and toward good will, and toward progress. History will remember how we lived here and what we did here. And the great challenge to you is the challenge that I face and all responsible leaders of the world face in this hour. Our achievements in science are many and varied. Our social progress is great. The improvements in man's life are many. But we still, each of us in our own respective land, all face the one challenge ot our time, the one great problem for us all. And unless we can, working together, trusting each other, believing in the brotherhood of man, unless we can find the answer to that problem, then all will have been in vain. And what is that problem? It's not the problem of missiles or satellites or conquering armies or education for our children or even improved health. The one uppermost problem is first how can we live in this world with each other, together, without living like savages or criminals or murderers or without taking the lives of each other. I want you to know when you return to your home as the spokesman of your people that my people want to go down any road that leads to peace; that to you and your country and your people, any of them who want our cooperation, they must know that we welcome it; that they will find our agreements honorable; that we are constantly going down this road and that road and yonder road searching for the answer of how to live peaceably together. And we believe that you have the same problem and together we share the responsibility for finding the answer. So that when we are gone, those who point to the period of our work and say, "What did he do? What did he leave us?" they can say, "He left us with the answer on how to live together. And the tensions have been relieved, the strains that once existed are not there, and new confidence is abroad and new hope is there." And ultimately by following the Golden Rule, doing unto others as you would have them do unto you, putting yourself in the other man's position, trying to understand the problems that confront him as well as to solve the problems that confront you, together as human beings we can find a better, and a richer, and a fuller life for all humanity whatever spot on the globe they occupy. Yours is a noble calling and you are engaged in a great adventure, one of trying to find the answer of how to live together. And with the help of God and the diligence 33-171-65 9 5I [42] Dec. I3 Public Papers of the Presidents of each of us, maybe during our time we will find that answer and then what a wonderful world it will be for all of us. Thank you. NOTE: The President spoke at noon in the State Dining Room at the White House. Dr. Guillermo Sevilla-Sacasa, Ambassador to the United States from Nicaragua and dean of the diplomatic corps, responded as follows: "Mr. President: "On behalf of the chiefs of the diplomatic missions, it is an honor and a privilege for me to tell you how pleased we were to receive your kind invitation to meet here this afternoon. We are deeply grateful for your hospitality. We are honored by your cordial welcome and our duties are enhanced by the fact that you refer to yourself as our colleague. "In allying your own work with ours, you not only exemplify modern statesmanship, but you also make evident your high ideals and the excellent capabilities you possess, thus justifying the high concept in which you are held in your country and all over the world. "The position that you take gratifies us, because we know that fellowship gives rise to the most satisfactory relations, and that through this fellowship we shall be able to reach our common goals. "Indeed, history has changed the nature of foreign relations, and they are now an integral part of the domestic life of our countries. That you yourself have noted this change is to your credit. We understand the way in which diplomacy has evolved over centuries; and the principles of international peace and harmony are based on that understanding. Modern diplomacy does not deprive the diplomat of his personal heritage as a man of integrity. The shrewdness of yesteryear has now been replaced by good faith and gentlemanly behavior. The diplomat knows that the essential object of his ministry is to cultivate harmony between nations, to conciliate their opposing interests, to prevent conflicts, and to work for the security of universal freedom and peace. "In the past, diplomatic law was based on the concept of divine right; today, it is based on the principle of the sovereignty of the people. The modern diplomat must facilitate international relations, and, without neglecting the interests of his own country, contribute to the progress of humanity. "The old-fashioned diplomat was perhaps a fawning courtier; present-day circumstances and the evolution of diplomacy require that the modern diplomat be an honorable person, who represents the culture of the state that accredits him abroad. "I am sure that the nations here represented share the ideal that you expressed in your warm message this historic afternoon. Just as we shall be alert to dangerous situations, we shall join you in the aim to bring about understanding of the problems of our people. We commend you for the significance of your message. We applaud the clear meaning of your reasoning. Time will surely confirm it. Your words are sure to have the support of the people who love peace and venerate freedom. "This meeting, taking place under the same roof that sheltered the noble figure of President Kennedy, is, even in this atmosphere of sorrow and mourning caused by his departure, an important occasion, because it sets the guidelines for an enduring venture. "In thanking you once again for your invitation, we extend our heartfelt wishes for your personal happiness and that of your worthy spouse, Mrs. Johnson, your faithful companion, who loyally shares your generous endeavors; for the well-being of your children, who are your pride and joy; sincere wishes, Mr. President, for the increasing prosperity of your great country, for the continued success of your illustrious Government, and that your good intentions may always find an echo in the farthest reaches of the world." Excerpts of the President's remarks were released by the White House. The complete text is printed above as transcribed from a tape recording. 43 Remarks to the Members of the Consumer Advisory Council. December I3, i963 THERE IS a particular pleasure for me in consumer programs with all the vigor at my meeting with you this afternoon. command. And I specifically urge you to I consider this group one of the most im- proceed with the work begun before the portant that can be assembled in our Govern- tragedy of November 22. ment. I was heartily in accord with Presi- In this computer centered world, we run dent Kennedy's consumer message in March the very real risk of forgetting what our of i962. I intend to press forward with society is all about. Production figures, cost 52 Lyndon B. Johns estimates, statistical charts, bar graphs, and all the paraphernalia of the electronic age have a hypnotic quality. We become fascinated with the devices that have multiplied our productive capacity beyond the wildest dreams of the past. And unless we are careful, we can easily become fascinated with production for the sake of production alone. What should be merely a means can become an end in itself. From an economic standpoint, I like to think of society as having two functions. First, it must direct its attention to the age old problem of converting the earth's resources into goods and commodities. Second, it must direct its attention to placing those goods and commodities into the hands of the men, women, and children who use them. This, of course, is an oversimplification. But it is a useful oversimplification-particularly when we are thinking in terms of our Federal Government. An official of the Federal Government has a tendency to think of production and consumption in mass terms-simply because the problems that are handled are massive. This preoccupation with mass is understandable. But we do our country a disservice if we permit the concern of the consumer-the individual American-to be lost in the statistics that cross our desks every day. In the Federal Government, you are the voice of the consumer. And I hope that your voice will be loud, clear, uncompromising, and effective. I assure you that it will always have my attention. In our society, the marketplace is the method of distribution. And I do not believe it is mere coincidence that in a country of the free marketplace we have succeeded in raising living standards to the highest level in all human history. onf, 1963-1964 Dec. I3 [43] The excellence of the marketplace as a device for distribution is beyond question in our minds. But we must not be so unquestioning that we ignore those forces which can undermine our system for exchanging goods. Of these forces, one of the most dangerous is price instability. A constantly rising level of prices and costs can eventually flood and smother the marketplace. And if this should happen, our society would become a very different thing indeed. We have been fortunate in recent years. The record of price and cost stability has been excellent. Average wholesale prices are still below the level of early i96i. Consumer prices have risen only I.2 percent per year. Average increases in wage rates have stayed within the limits of increases in labor productivity and unit labor costs have held steady and, in some cases, even declined. There have been specific price increases in recent months-especially in manufactured goods-that could be a cause for concern. But we are counting on the sense of responsibility of the Nation's industrialists and labor leaders to extend the excellent price and cost records of recent years. In the free marketplace, of course, it is normal for prices to go up and down. This is merely a market adjustment to the economic facts of our world. But I believe that there are factors at work which will enable manufacturers, on the average, to hold the line on prices. First, we have unused industrial capacity and unemployed workers that can and will be drawn upon as demand increases. Second, because unit costs of production have held steady or declined, and volume has risen, corporate profits have reached an all time high and are still rising. Third, the tax cut will further reduce 53 [43] Dec. I3 Public Papers of the Presidents costs and strengthen markets-so that earnings will continue to rise even at present price levels. For my part, I will do whatever I properly can to be helpful. Like our late President, I do not believe that the Federal Government should be a meddlesome busybody, sticking its nose into every aspect of private decision-making. But I am deeply aware of the fact that a renewal of the price-wage spiral would endanger our domestic expansion and our international balance of payments. The public interest and the consumer interest must be foremost in our minds. To that end, I will work with you, and with the leaders of industry and with the leaders of labor to maintain price and wage policies that accord with the noninflationary guideposts. I believe that all of us-as prudent men and women-realize the urgency of this matter. I also believe we all realize it would be a tremendous mistake to become complacent because at this point the record is good. People cannot eat records nor wear statistics. Neither can they be housed, transported, or educated by self-congratulations. We can draw lessons from the past, but we cannot live in it. You have a heavy responsibility. We know you will discharge it with distinction. And in the days that lie ahead, remember that this office is always open to you in your efforts to help the person that is the real center of our economy-the consumer. NOTE: The President spoke at 3:40 p.m. in the Fish Room at the White House. On the same day the White House announced that the Advisory Council had that day made the following recommendation: "The Consumer Advisory Council continues to be concerned about announced price increases by various basic manufacturing industries. The multiple effects which such price advances may have on the prices consumers pay warrant the continuing attention of the Consumer Advisory Council. "The Consumer Advisory Council is convinced that the pending tax reduction, which it has endorsed as a measure to stimulate the growth and prosperity of the economy, must be accompanied by responsible price and wage behavior. Tax reduction will increase the disposable income of consumers and should improve the profit position of industry both directly and through increased sales with fuller use of productive capacity and consequent lowering of costs per unit. If price stability is maintained, the full stimulating effect of the tax cut should be felt throughout the economy, to the benefit of all groups." 44 Exchange of Messages With Prime Minister Aldo Moro of Italy. December I3, 1963 [ Released December I3, I963. Dated December 9, I963 ] Dear Mr. Prime Minister: I send heartiest congratulations to you as you assume the great office of President of the Council of Ministers and I am happy that this message can be one of the early acts of my Administration. The relationship between Italy and the United States has been warm and close for many years. President Kennedy added to this friendship. I intend to continue on this course and do all I can to ensure that the relationship will become even stronger and closer during your and my period of responsibility. We are partners in the North Atlantic Alliance, and our political, economic and military cooperation is of central importance to freedom. We take office at almost the same time, and both of us will be very busy during these 54 Lyndon B. Johns early days. I hope nevertheless that we will have an opportunity to meet before too long and to discuss the many matters of concern to our two countries. I wish you and your government every success in the tasks that lie ahead of you. Sincerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON [His Excellency Aldo Moro, President of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic, Rome] NOTE: Prime Minister Moro's reply, dated December II, i963, follows: Mr. President: I have just received your cordial message conveying your greetings and good wishes, and I, too, am son, 19637-i964 Dec. I4 [45] happy it was among the first to reach me after I took office. It is the intention of the Government that I preside upon as well as my own to give all possible contribution to a steady strengthening of the friendship and cooperation existing between our two countries. I am, therefore, especially happy to learn that you wish to continue along the path, already indicated by President Kennedy, that leads to a close cooperation within the framework of the Atlantic Alliance for the defense of freedom and peace. I envisage with great satisfaction the possibility of meeting you in a not too distant future in order to examine issues of common interest. In thanking you for your good wishes, which I wholeheartedly reciprocate for the work you are about to carry out, I extend to you my most cordial greetings. ALDO MORO 45 Statement by the President on the Proposed Reduction in Foreign Aid Funds. December I4, i963 THE drastic reduction in foreign aid funds proposed in the House, if sustained, would be a severe setback to American leadership and to U.S. interests in many parts of the world. The $2.8 billion recommended to the House is $I.7 billion below the figure requested by President Kennedy. The proposed reductions in foreign aid funds would put our foreign policy in a straitjacket. For example: The amount proposed for the Alliance for Progress would be sharply less than was appropriated last year. This would represent a failure on our part to carry out the undertakings of President Eisenhower in the Act of Bogota' and of President Kennedy in the Charter of Punta del Este. It would mean that the United States would be providing for all of Latin America less than the Soviet Union is putting into Cuba alone. This is no way to combat communism in Latin America! The amount proposed for contributions to international organizations would mean that the United States could not keep its commitments and pledges. This is a startling proposal. It would undercut our efforts in the United Nations to insure that the Soviet Union and other reluctant nations live up to their pledges to the United Nations. The amount proposed for development loans would not even be enough to meet clear existing program commitments to five countries whose independence and progress is vital to the success of freedom in Asia and Africa-India, Pakistan, Turkey, Nigeria, and Tunisia-to say nothing of the other countries in Asia and Africa that we plan to assist. The amount proposed for supporting economic assistance would not suffice to cover program plans and commitments in several of the countries where U.S. political and security interests are most seriously threatened-including Viet-Nam, Laos, Korea, Jordan, and the Congo. The amount proposed for the technical assistance programs, under which the United 55 [45] Dec. I4 Public Papers of the Presidents States conducts people-to-people assistance in less-developed countries would be severely restricted. I cannot believe that the Congress intends to require the United States of America to follow policies of weakness and retreat. I urge the Congress, therefore, to appro priate the funds essential to conduct strong and forward-looking foreign assistance programs in the U.S. national interest. NOTE: The Foreign Aid and Related Agencies Appropriation Act was approved January 6, I964 (Public Law 88-258, 77 Stat. 857). See also the President's statement upon signing the Foreign Assistance Act, Item 48. 46 Letter to Thomas C. Mann Upon His Assuming New Responsibilities for Latin American Affairs. December I5, I963 Dear Ambassador Mann: I want you to know how gratified I am by your response to my request that you leave your important position in Mexico and come home to take up the tasks we have discussed. I have asked you, in addition to your duties as Assistant Secretary, to undertake the coordination and direction of all policies and programs of the U.S. government, economic, social, and cultural, relating to Latin America. There can be no illusion that the work will be easy. But, as I told you, next to keeping the peace-and maintaining the strength and vitality which makes freedom secureno work is more important for our generation of Americans than our work in this hemisphere. I am sure you share my pride in the accomplishments to date; my deep gratitude to the loyal and dedicated U.S. officials-and to officials of other governments in the hemisphere-who have made this possible; and to the Congress for its vision in authorizing and financing the Alliance for Progress program. I know that you share my determination to press to full realization the visions of President Roosevelt and President Kennedy of an American community of Nations moving forward together in progress and freedom. The Alliance for Progress is a partnership in which each free American republic has a part to play together. We must find ways to expand education, health, and low-cost housing facilities; we must find ways to help governments increase revenues by tax reforms and, at the same time, maintain an adequate and sustained rate of economic growth; we must find ways to bring about land reform and, at the same time, to increase agricultural production. Job opportunities must be expanded and educational and health facilities and low-cost housing must be provided. Social justice is a goal for which we must constantly strive. All of the American nations must market their resources and devote themselves to finding ways to bring the strength of those resources to the task at hand. I want you to work closely with private U.S. groups and institutions carrying out activities in Latin America. These include, but are not limited to, the AFL-CIO, religious and charitable groups, cooperatives and the private business sector, which can make the significant contribution envisaged in the Punta del Este Charter. You will find many outstanding public servants throughout our Government who will help you in your difficult task. You can count on my intense interest and complete support. Sincerely, Sincerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON [Honorable Thomas Mann, United States Ambassador, Mexico City, Mexico] 56 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-1964 Dec. i6 [47] 47 Remarks Upon Signing the Higher Education Facilities Act. December i6, i963 I AM PROUD and happy to approve at this time the Morse-Green bill, the Higher Education Facilities Act of i963, and to especially compliment Chairman Powell, Congresswoman Green, and their colleagues in the House, Senator Morse and his colleagues in the Senate, and everyone else who worked so hard for the passage of this very important legislation. A great former President of the Republic of my State said, "The educated mind is the guardian genius of democracy. It is the only dictator that free men recognize and the only ruler that free men desire." So this new law is the most significant education bill passed by the Congress in the history of the Republic. In fact, this session of the Congress will go down in history as the Education Congress of i963, and every person here this morning who was invited to come to the White House at the request of the President can be very proud, and their children can be very proud, of the part they played in the enactment of this legislation. Working together, the Congress and the executive branch have made possible the enactment of a series of legislative landmarks in the field of education. Under these various measures: i. We will help to provide college classrooms for several hundred thousand more students who will nearly double college enrollment in this decade. 2. We will help to build 25 to 30 new public community colleges every year. 3. We will help to construct the technical institutes that are needed to close the gap in this crucial area of trained manpower. 4. We will help to build graduate schools and facilities in at least io to 20 major academic centers. 5. We will help to improve the quality of library facilities in our own universities and colleges. 6. We will increase the number of medical school graduates and we will relieve the growing shortages of physicians and dentists and other needed professional health personnel. 7. We will enable some 70,000 to 90,000 additional students to attend college each year under an expanded loan program. 8. We will modernize and expand our Federal-State programs for vocational education in order to train for the changing world of work the 8 out of io young people who will never obtain a college education. 9. We will reduce the shortage of qualified personnel for the training and teaching of mentally retarded and other handicapped children. IO. We will expand our manpower development and training program to meet the growing problem of untrained, unemployed school dropouts. i i. We will expand programs for teaching science and mathematics and foreign languages, while extending the other valuable provisions of the National Defense Education Act. 12. We will continue the program of Federal financial assistance for the construction and the maintenance and the operation of schools that are crowded by the presence of the children of Federal personnel. I3. And finally, we will, under legislation to be passed shortly, provide public libraries for the residents of cities and counties all over this great country who now have only antiquated library facilities and some have no libraries at all. This legislation is dramatic, and it is con 57 [47] Dec. i6 Public Papers of the Presidents crete evidence of a renewed and continuing national commitment to education as the key to our Nation's social and technological and economic and moral progress. It will help meet the demands of our economy for more skilled personnel; it will enable many more of our young people to cope with the explosion of new knowledge and to contribute effectively in a world of intellectual, political, and economic complexity. But these new measures will still not do the whole job of extending educational opportunities to all who want and can benefit by them, nor in meeting our growing national needs. I, therefore, strongly urge the Congress to take early, positive action on the unfinished portion of the National Education Improvement Act, particularly those programs which will assist elementary and secondary schools. In addition, I urge prompt action on proposed programs for combating adult illiteracy, for expanding adult education, for improving the quality of education at all levels. President Kennedy fought hard for this legislation. No topic was closer to his heart. No bill was the object of more of his attention. Both his life and his death showed the importance and the value of sound education. The enactment of this measure is not only a monument to him, it is a monument to every person who participated in passing it, and most of you are in this room today. It clearly signals this Nation's determination to give all of our youth the education they deserve, and as long as we have a government, that government is going to take its stand to battle the ancient enemies of mankind, illiteracy and poverty and disease, and in that battle each of you are soldiers who wear the badge of honor. NOTE: The President spoke at i a.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White House. In his opening remarks he referred to Representative Adam C. Powell of New York, Chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor, and to Representative Edith Green and Senator Wayne Morse of Oregon, Chairmen respectively of subcommittees of the House Committee on Education and Labor and of the Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare. As enacted, the Higher Education Facilities Act of i963 is Public Law 88-204 (77 Stat. 363). 48 Statement by the President Upon Signing the Foreign Assistance Act. December I6, I963 I HAVE today signed the Foreign Assistance Act of I963. The economic and military aid programs authorized by this bill are indispensable to the security of the United States and the free world. This bill reflects this Nation's determination to maintain that security by helping those nations willing to help themselves. It also reflects, unfortunately, the growing tendency to hamstring Executive flexibility with rigid legislative provisions wholly inappropriate and potentially dangerous in a world of rapid change. I wish to make clear now, for example, that-when a free and peaceful government is ever established in Cuba-I intend to exercise my authority to provide essential health, educational, and other assistance to the Cuban people, without waiting for a long and complex adjudication. In addition, this bill reflects a dangerous reduction in funds and a consequent dangerous reduction in our security. We cannot oppose the spread of communism and promote the growth of freedom by giving speeches. A policy of weakness and retreat-which any further reduction at the appropriation stage would represent-cannot be justified by the needs of our security, 58 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-1964 Dec. I6 [49] the financial strength of our Nation, or the attitude of our citizens. All of us desire greater efficiency in our aid programs-and, make no mistake about it, we are going to improve it-but in our pursuit of efficiency, let us not hamper the progress and safety of free men. I have already directed Administrator Bell to put our foreign operations on a sounder basis-to insist on maximum effort by aid recipients-and to intensify our efforts to eliminate excess or ineffective personnel. We will resist reorganization for reorganization's sake-but we do intend to present to the Congress next year a more effective, efficient aid program. Our cautious new hopes for a reduction in the risk of all-out war may only imply an increase in Communist efforts to prevail through economic, political, and conventional military means, particularly in the underdeveloped countries. The aid programs of Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy are needed now more than ever-this is no time to fail. NOTE: The Foreign Assistance Act of I963 is Public Law 88-205 (77 Stat. 379). 49 Message to the Ministerial Session of the North Atlantic Council. December i6, I963 LESS than a month after John Fitzgerald Kennedy took office, he sent to the North Atlantic Council a message which pledged his continuing support for the purposes and programs of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. He fulfilled this pledge in the 3 years of gallant service which he gave us. That fulfillment is a lasting memorial to the stature of the man we mourn today. We can best honor him by continuing our pursuit of the goal of Atlantic partnershipby seeking an ever-closer collaboration between a united Europe and the United States in dealing with all the great and burdensome tasks of building and defending a community of free nations. It is evidence of my country's continuing dedication to these purposes that I, too, upon taking office, now send a pledge of America's steadfast resolve to the North Atlantic Council. For that dedication and this resolve do not belong to one man, or one party, or one administration. They are shared by the vast majority of my countrymen; they have been held by each of the American administrations since World War II. And this constancy, in turn, reflects not merely the community of ideals and culture which binds us to Europe. It reflects also my country's awareness that its security can be assured, its interests and values can be furthered, only by a close partnership with Europe in common tasks. First among these tasks is that of creating a balanced NATO defense posture, including powerful nudear and nonnuclear forces, which will deter aggression and enable NATO to deal with any aggression with the force appropriate to the threat. To NATO's continuing fulfillment of this task, I pledge my country's will and resources. We will keep in Europe the equivalent of six American divisions that are now deployed there, so long as they are needed; and under present circumstances there is no doubt that they will continue to be needed. 33-171-65 -- 10 59 [49] Dec. i6 Public Papers of the Presidents I am confident that our allies will also make their full contribution to this NATO defense, so that the burdens and responsibilities of partnership may be equitably shared. Military strength-both nuclear and nonnuclear-is useful only as it serves political ends. Our task is to insure that NATO remains an effective means for concerting these ends, as well as for building that strength. My country will join its allies in using NATO fully for this purpose. In these fields-as well as in monetary affairs, in aid to the developing areas, and in trade-we must each assume responsibilities commensurate with our resources. That is what partnership in a vigorous Atlantic community means and requires. To this end, we welcome the emergence of a Europe growing in unity and strength. For we know that only a united Europe can be a strong Europe, and only a strong Europe will be an effective partner. NATO is the enduring instrument for joining such a Europe and the United States in common programs to meet common military and political needs. On its success hinges, in large measure, the success of both European and American efforts to build the Atlantic partnership and the larger community of free nations which that partnership serves. That is why I, like three Presidents before me, rededicate my country to its continuing support and hold high hopes for its continuing success. NOTE: The message was read to the Council by Secretary of State Dean Rusk and was made public by the NATO Press Service. President Kennedy's message to the Council in 196I is printed in the Department of State Bulletin (vol. 44, p. 333). 50 Remarks Upon Signing the Clean Air Act. December I7, i963 I AM GLAD to approve this legislation which is to be known as the Clean Air Act. It will make possible a national effort to control air pollution, a serious and growing threat to both our health and our safety. Ninety percent of the population of our cities, over ioo million people, already suffer from a degree of air pollution that demands immediate action. There are over 6,ooo communities which need assistance. This act will permit expanded research, foster cooperative efforts among the States, provide better State and Federal control over pollution. The Federal Government will encourage industry to seek effective solutions to problems of pollution and organize cooperative projects with local, State, and Federal participation. Now, under this legislation, we can halt the trend toward greater contamination of our atmosphere. We can seek to control industrial wastes discharged into the air. We can find the ways to eliminate dangerous haze and smog. All of us are very grateful to Congressman Roberts, to Senator Ribicoff, Senator Muskie, to the Chairmen of the Senate and House Committees, Senator McNamara and Congressman Harris, and to all of their colleagues in both the House and Senate who developed and guided this important bill through the Congress. They truly can be proud of the efforts they have made and the achievements that have resulted. If we keep getting bills down here like the education bill and the pollution bill, I am 6o Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 Dec. 17 [5I17 going to have to take new bids on pens to see if we cannot increase the budget by getting cheaper pens! NOTE: The President spoke at 9:30 a.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White House. During his remarks he referred to Representative Kenneth A. Roberts of Alabama, Senator Abraham A. Ribicoff of Connecticut, Senator Edmund S. Muskie of Maine, Senator Pat McNamara of Michigan, Chairman, Senate Committee on Public Works, Representative Oren Harris of Arkansas, Chairman, House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. The Clean Air Act is Public Law 88-206 (77 Stat. 392). 51 Address Before the General Assembly of the United Nations. December I7, i963 Mr. President, Mr. Secretary General, distinguished delegates to the United Nations, ladies and gentlemen: We meet in a time of mourning, but in a moment of rededication. My Nation has lost a great leader. This organization has lost a great friend. World peace has lost a great champion. But John F. Kennedy was the author of new hope for mankind, hope which was shared by a whole new generation of leaders in every continent, and we must not let grief turn us away from that hope. He never quarreled with the past. He always looked at the future. And our task now is to work for the kind of future in which he so strongly believed. I have come here today to make it unmistakably clear that the assassin's bullet which took his life did not alter his Nation's purpose. We are more than ever opposed to the doctrines of hate and violence, in our own land and around the world. We are more than ever committed to the rule of law, in our own land and around the world. We believe more than ever in the rights of man, all men of every color, in our own land and around the world. And more than ever we support the United Nations as the best instrument yet devised to promote the peace of the world and to promote the well-being of mankind. I can tell you today, as I told you in i958 when I came as Majority Leader of the United States Senate to the first committee of this great tribunal, that the full power and partnership of the United States is committed to our joint effort to eliminate war and the threat of war, aggression and the danger of violence, and to lift from all people everywhere the blight of disease, and poverty, and illiteracy. I. Like all human institutions, the United Nations has not achieved the highest of hopes that some held at its birth. Our understanding of how to live, live with one another, is still far behind our knowledge of how to destroy one another. But as our problems have grown, this Organization has grown, in numbers, in authority, in prestige, and its member nations have grown with it, in responsibility and in maturity. We have seen too much success to become obsessed with failure. The peace-keeping machinery of the United Nations has worked in the Congo, in the Middle East, and elsewhere. The great transition from colonial rule to independence has been largely accomplished. [5i] Dec. I7 Public Papers of the Presidents The Decade of Development has successfully begun. The world arms race has been slowed. The struggle for human rights has been gaining new force. And a start has been made in furthering mankind's common interest in outer spacein scientific exploration, in communications, in weather forecasting, in banning the stationing of nuclear weapons, and in establishing principles of law. I know that vast problems remain, conflicts between great powers, conflicts between small neighbors, disagreements over disarmament, persistence of ancient wrongs in the area of human rights, residual problems of colonialism, and all the rest. But men and nations, working apart, created these problems, and men and nations working together must solve them. They can solve them with the help of this Organization, when all members make it a workshop for constructive action, and not a forum for abuse; when all members seek its help in settling their own disputes as well as the disputes of others; when all members meet their financial obligations to it; and when all members recognize that no nation and no party and no single system can control the future of man. II. When I entered the Congress of the United States 27 years ago, it was my very great privilege to work closely with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. As a Member of Congress, I worked with him to bring about a profound but peaceful revolution. That peaceful revolution brought help and hope to the one-third of our Nation that was then "ill-housed, ill-clad, and ill-nourished." We helped our working men and women obtain more jobs and we helped them obtain better wages. We helped our farmers to buy and improve their own land, and conserve their soil and water, and electrify their farms. We harnessed the powers of the great rivers, as in the Tennessee Valley and the Lower Colorado. We encouraged the growth of cooperatives and trade unions. We curbed the excesses of private speculation. We built homes in the place of city slums. And we extended the rights of freedom to all of our citizens. Now, on the world scale, the time has come, as it came to America 30 years ago, for a new era of hope, hope and progress for that one-third of mankind that is still beset by hunger and poverty and disease. In my travels on behalf of my country and President Kennedy, I have seen too much of misery and despair in Africa, in Asia, in Latin America. I have seen too often the ravages of hunger, and tapeworm and tuberculosis, and the scabs and the scars on too many children who have too little health and no hope. I think that you and I and our countries and this Organization can, and must, do something about these conditions. I am not speaking here of a new way of life to be imposed by any single nation. I am speaking of a higher standard of living, to be inspired by these United Nations. It will not be achieved through some hopeful resolution in this assembly, but through a peaceful revolution in the world, through a recommitment of all our members, rich and poor, and strong and weak, whatever their location or their ideology, to the basic principles of human welfare and of human dignity. In this effort, the United States will do its full share. In addition to bilateral aid, we have with great satisfaction assisted in recent years in the emergence and the improvement of international developmental institutions, both within and without this Organization. We favor the steady improvement of col 62 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 Dec. 17 [5I] lective machinery for helping the less-developed nations build modern societies. We favor an international aid program that is international in practice as well as purpose. Every nation must do its share. All United Nations and their members can do better. We can act more often together. We can build together a much better world. III. The greatest of human problems, and the greatest of our common tasks, is to keep the peace and to save the future. All that we have built in the wealth of nations, and all that we plan to do toward a better life for all, will be in vain if our feet should slip, or our vision falter, and our hopes ended in another worldwide war. If there is one commitment more than any other that I would like to leave with you today, it is my unswerving commitment to the keeping and to the strengthening of the peace. Peace is a journey of a thousand miles, and it must be taken one step at a time. We know what we want: The United States of America wants to see the cold war end, we want to see it end once and for all; The United States wants to prevent the dissemination of nuclear weapons to nations not now possessing them; The United States wants to press on with arms control and reduction; The United States wants to cooperate with all the members of this Organization to conquer everywhere the ancient enemies of mankind-hunger, and disease and ignorance; The United States wants sanity, and security, and peace for all, and above all. President Kennedy, I am sure, would regard as his best memorial the fact that in his 3 years as President the world became a little safer and the way ahead became a little brighter. To the protection and the enlargement of this new hope for peace, I pledge my country and its Government. IV. My friends and fellow citizens of the world, soon you will return to your homelands. I hope you will take with you my gratitude for your generosity in hearing me so late in the session. I hope you will convey to your countrymen the gratitude of all Americans for the companionship of sorrow which you shared with us in your messages of the last few weeks. And I hope that you will tell them that the United States of America, sobered by tragedy, united in sorrow, renewed in spirit, faces the New Year determined that world peace, civil rights, and human welfare become not an illusion but a reality. Man's age-old hopes remain our goal: that this world, under God, can be safe for diversity, and free from hostility, and a better place for our children and for all generations in the years to come. And therefore any man and any nation that seeks peace, and hates war, and is willing to fight the good fight against hunger and disease and ignorance and misery, will find the United States of America by their side, willing to walk with them, walk with them every step of the way. Thank you very much. NOTE: The President spoke at noon. His opening words referred to Carlos Sosa Rodriguez of Venezuela, President of the General Assembly, and U Thant, Secretary General of the United Nations. 63 [52] Dec. 17 Public Papers of the Presidents 52 Statement by the President on the Release of the American Hostages in Bolivia. December 17, I963 I AM deeply gratified to learn of the release of the four Americans held as hostages by the miners in Bolivia. These men who were acting in the service of their country have borne the long, distressing ordeal with great courage. I am sending a letter to President Paz expressing the gratitude of the American people for the Bolivian Government's co operation in effecting the safe return of the four men. I am tonight also instructing our Air Force to arrange all necessary transportation so that these men can spend Christmas at home with their families. NOTE: This statement was read by the Press Secretary to the President, Pierre Salinger, at his news conference held at the White House at 6:io p.m. on December 17, I963. See also Item 6o. 53 Remarks Upon Signing the Vocational Education Bill. December i8, I963 IT GIVES me great personal satisfaction to approve this legislation. It will expand educational opportunities at the grade school level, at the college level, and at the vocational school level. This bill, like the bill I approved on Monday, is dramatic evidence of our commitment to education as the key to our social and economic and technological and moral progress. As I said then, this Congress has justly and fully earned the title of the Education Congress of I963. It has enacted more significant education legislation than any other Congress in our entire history. So it pleases me to congratulate Senator Morse and Senator Hill and Congressman Perkins and Congressman Powell and all of their colleagues, including Cabinet members, in this administration for their combined successful efforts in getting this legislation through the Congress and up to where we are signing it this morning. Modern demands upon labor and industry require new skills and an upgrading of old skills, require more education and greater knowledge. It has been said that we need over Ioo,ooo technicians a year just to meet our needs in the engineering field alone but all our present programs combined, we are told, turn out a maximum not of Ioo,ooo a year but only 20,000 technicians a year. We believe that this new law will help close this gap. Under this law high school students will be encouraged to stay in school. If they need financial assistance, they may receive it under a work-and-study program. Some of the most delightful years of my life were spent with the work-and-study program called the NYA where thousands of young men in high school and college were brought into a work-and-study program, and some of those men are today the leaders of this Nation. For the first time Federal funds are going to be available to construct new vocational schools. Demonstration and research projects authorized under this law will vastly improve the quality of our vocational training. Where there is severe unemployment and high numbers of school dropouts, special experimental programs of residential vocational education schools are authorized. In 64 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 Dec. i8 [54] addition, the amendment to the National Defense Education Act will make possible immediate loans to 70,0oo needy college students not able to obtain such loans today. Finally, the extension of the program of aid to schools in districts affected by Federal activities will permit a continuation of Federal assistance where we have a special responsibility. I believe that this measure, together with a Manpower Development and Training Act, places us in a position to make a major attack on one of the most important obstacles to economic growth and productivity. It is a reaffirmation of our conviction that education is the cornerstone of our freedom. I also want to observe that the leaders and 54 The President's News Conferenc December i8, i963 members of both parties in the Congress have been interested in this legislation throughout the years and have made contributions to bringing it to the position it is today, and I welcome the Democrats and Republicans and all true friends of education to this ceremony. NOTE: The President spoke at 9:30 a.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White House. In the second paragraph he referred to the Higher Education Facilities Act of i963 (see Item 47). He also referred to Senators Wayne Morse of Oregon and Lister Hill of Alabama, members of the Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, and to Representatives Carl Perkins of Kentucky and Adam C. Powell of New York, members of the House Committee on Education and Labor. The Vocational Education Act is Public Law 88-2IO (77 Stat. 403). THE PRESIDENT. You mean I have that many friends out there that I have been missing all of these days? I thought everybody I knew had been in here. [i.] Q. Mr. President, could you give us an exposition of your attitude toward perhaps an early meeting with Premier Khrushchev? THE PRESIDENT. I am ready and willing to meet with any of the world leaders at any time there is any indication a meeting would be fruitful and productive. When there are such indications, I will be glad to make a decision and inform you of it. [2.] I have already made a decision this morning, which I had anticipated opening the meeting with, to follow through on my December I4th announcement of Mr. Thomas Mann, as Assistant Secretary of State in charge of Latin American Affairs. Because I want Mr. Mann to be the one man in the Government to coordinate the policies of this hemisphere after consultation with the Secretary of State, I am going to make him not only the Assistant Secretary of State in charge of Latin American Affairs, but Special Assistant to the President. As Special Assistant to the President to coordinate our policies in Latin America, he will be dealing with many other American agencies and other international agencies. We expect to speak with one voice on all matters affecting this hemisphere. Mr. Mann, with the support of the Secretary of State and the President, will be that voice. [3.] Q. Mr. President, do you plan to ask for any legislation in the area of Presidential succession or disability, after your experience of the last few weeks? THE PRESIDENT. I have no plans. I have already carefully considered the disability matter and taken the action that I thought was necessary and desirable. I have a complete understanding and agreement with Mr. McCormack. 65 [54] Dec. i8 Public Papers of the Presidents Q. Would you spell that out, Mr. President? Your agreement with President Kennedy was rather carefully spelled out in writing. THE PRESIDENT. It is the same agreement. Q. It is the same agreement. This is the same then. THE PRESIDENT. Identical.1 [4.] Q. Mr. President, could you tell us any of the plans you have for Mr. Mann to take specific action? Apparently Latin America will also be one of your greatest problems and I wondered if you thought in terms of specific programs that can avert some dangers that seem to be in the making. THE PRESIDENT. Mr. Mann is in Mexico now, getting ready to come up here. He will review with all of the agencies of the Government concerned with Latin America his and the President's ideas. I have spelled those out to a limited degree in my letter to Mr. Mann, released last Sunday, and any amplification of them will come from Mr. Mann after he is inducted. [5.] Q. Mr. President, Ambassador to Costa Rica Raymond Telles is in town for consultation. I wonder if you have any new assignment planned for him, and if you will see him. THE PRESIDENT. I would be glad to see him. I have no new assignments planned. [6.] Q. Mr. President, can you tell us whether the budget will be under $ioo billion or over? THE PRESIDENT. No one knows what the budget will be now, because we are trying the case, so to speak. We have dozens of agencies, independent agencies and Cabinet departments, who have made their requests and have not yet had it acted upon. Once it is acted upon, they still have the right to appeal to the President. The Joint Chiefs See "Public Papers of the Presidents, John F. Kennedy i96i," Item 319. 66 will appeal to the President from the recommendations they have made on December 3oth at Johnson City. We have set that date and at that time we will try to finalize the budget for the Department of Defense.2 I am working from a budget of $98.8 billion this year. It appears that we will expend about that amount, and maybe a little under or a little over, but substantially $99 billion will be the expenditures this year. That was the amount of Mr. Kennedy's budget. There are built-in increases of $I,790 million that are mandatory-military pay increase for 9 months, military retired pay, civilian pay, National Aeronautics and Space contracts, the Agency for International Development, Post Office rise, Federal Aviation Agency, urban renewal, and public assistance grants. They run about $i billion 8, and you have no choice about that. You will have to add that much. Then we have, as a result of the education bills that we have passed, the mental retardation bill, the manpower bill, and what we anticipate in the Appalachian program on poverty, about $i,650 million more. So roughly, you can say $i billion 7, and $i billion 8. That is $3 billion 5. Now, in addition to that, you are going to have increases that are requested for additional functions in various agencies. Most agencies, I would say a majority of the agen2 On December 30 at Austin, Tex., the White House released a statement by Secretary McNamara announcing that he had met with the President, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Deputy Secretary of Defense Roswell L. Gilpatric to discuss the Defense Department budget for fiscal year i965. Secretary McNamara reported that, although final decisions had not been made, he believed that a billion dollar savings could be made without in any way reducing the Nation's defenses. "As a matter of fact," he added, "I believe that the budget that will be submitted to the Congress will yield defenses superior to those in any other time in our history in peacetime." Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i 964 Dec. i8 [54] cies, asked for an increase of some kind. They have to, because first, the civilian pay increase just makes the budget higher. But they have some new functions. We will add those to the two amounts that I have given you, and then we will start reducing from there. That is what we are doing now. So no one can say with any authority, the President or the Director of the Budget or any Department, what the budget is going to be, because it hasn't been determined. We are going to cut out every dime of waste that we can in order to have as much to spend on the unfilled needs of this Nation. We are going to be very careful not to sacrifice our military posture or weaken our combat strength. But where we can, we are going to reduce the expenditures that are not essential to the Defense Establishment. I anticipate that the first of the year, the Defense Department for the first time in I5 years will have below one million civilians employed. I anticipate there will be installations in I5 States that will be well on the road to being closed because they serve no essential defense need. I anticipate that other surveys will be made of the remaining 6700 bases. When and if and as they may become surplus to our needs, we will take them up with the persons properly concerned and then make announcements as to their closing. We do have an increase in population. It is up 2i percent since Mr. Truman was President, so we must expect an increase in expenditures. We will have an incerase in expenditures. The father that adds two or three extra children to his home and takes in a few of his nieces and nephews has to expect an increase in the food bill. When we have an increase in population, we are going to have an increase in the budget. But we are going to keep that increase at the lowest possible level, first because we believe in frugality and thrift, and second because we hope that we won't send to Congress a budget that will require severe and drastic reductions by the Congress. We think that they are overworked now, and we don't want to add to it. [7.] 0. Assuming that you are the Democratic nominee for President in i964, will you agree to debate your opponent? THE PRESIDENT. I will make those decisions at the time I am the nominee, and in the light of the circumstances existing then. For the present, I am not going to discuss any political matter. [8.] Q. Mr. President, do you have any plans, sir, to meet with any other world leaders in the near future that you might tell us about, after your meeting with Chancellor Erhard? THE PRESIDENT. Yes. First of all, yesterday there was a meeting with world leaders from II3 countries.3 I had met most of them before. A good many of them had visited my home in Texas before. Some of them were here just a few days ago for the funeral. But it was a very productive meeting. I think it was very helpful to all of us. I think it created better understanding. I am very grateful for the invitation extended to me, and for the hospitality shown. I expect to meet with Mr. Erhard and hold the meeting he had planned to hold with Mr. Kennedy. I will meet him on the 28th and 29th of this month at my home. I expect to meet with the President of Italy in the early part of the new year, with the Prime Minister of Canada, with the President of Mexico, and with any other leaders where it is indicated a conference would be mutually desirable. 'The President referred to a meeting with the U.N. members at a reception, following his address to the U.N. General Assembly on December I7. 67 [54 ] Dec. i 8 Public Papers of the Presidents [9.] Q. Mr. President, Secretary Freeman, referring to your remarks earlier, said he would consider poverty as an important concern of yours in the administration. Is there any attempt going to be made to coordinate the various approaches to the national problem in the rural areas? THE PRESIDENT. Any kind of poverty will be a concern of this administration, and a very serious concern of it. All of us know enough about it to not want the people to have to experience it any more than is absolutely necessary. I have in the next room now the leaders of the farm organizations of this country.4 I have asked them to try to find areas of agreement and to give me their recommendations and be prepared to give them to the Senate committee. We have passed a cotton bill, and there are some indications that the Senate may desire to act on a more comprehensive bill this year. I have asked these leaders, these experts in the field of farm legislation, not by commodity groups but by national organizations, to come in and give us their best thought. High on that agenda of priority is poverty legislation. They are two different things but they relate to each other-a general farm bill and specific poverty legislation for the lowest income groups. I spent some time this morning with the Farmers Union and various groups. I am 'The President referred to the leaders of nine major farm groups with whom he had met earlier on the same day, namely: William Brook, president, National Grain Trade Council, Harry B. Caldwell, chairman, National Agricultural Advisory Commission, Fred Heinkel, president, Missouri Farmers Association, Kenneth D. Naden, executive vice president, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, Herschel D. Newsom, master, National Grange, James G. Patton, president, National Farmers Union, Charles Shuman, president, American Farm Bureau Federation, Oren Staley, president, National Farmers Organization, and Jerry Voorhis, secretary, American Cooperative League of the United States. very hopeful that there will come from these meetings that they are having a consensus which will be helpful to me and helpful to the committee that is considering it. I think while this Nation is very prosperous at the moment, not all of our people are fortunate enough to be in the upper income groups. As I talk now, I am told by the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers that we are now passing the $6oo billion gross national product rate. That is about as fine a Christmas present as could come to the people of this country. I am very happy about it. If we get the tax bill, we expect to increase that rate substantially. About every month that the tax bill is delayed, we lose about half a billion dollars in our economy. We are very hopeful that we can help solve this poverty question and create additional incentives for our private enterprise system, and particularly our businessmen and our workers, by the early passage of the tax bill. Senator Byrd has given me assurance that he is willing to have the bill voted on as soon as it can properly be voted on after amendments are offered. Although he does not agree to vote for the bill, he agrees that it can be voted upon at an early date. What is really important in connection with our Government budget and our poverty program, with our whole economic picture, is the percentage of our gross national product, what our gross national product is first, and second, the percentage of that that we are actually spending for governmental purposes. In the Roosevelt war years we spent as high as 46 percent of our gross national product for administrative budgets. During the transition period under Mr. Truman we spent 29 percent. In I954, under Mr. Eisenhower, we spent i8.6 percent. We are hoping that we can come under that figure in 68 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-1964 Dec. i8 [54] our budget next year-in other words, that our budget expenditure as a percentage of our gross national product will be less for the fiscal year i965 than it has been for any of these periods I mentioned. Of course, a good deal of that depends on the size of the budget, whether we can keep it within bounds, and the size of the gross national product. [io.] Q. Mr. President, do you expect to propose any new programs that will cost money in the fiscal year coming up? THE PRESIDENT. There will be new programs. We are not going to stand still in this country; we are going to move ahead. We are going to be enlightened. We are going to be forward looking. We hope that our private sector can make substantial contributions after the tax bill is passed in relieving our unemployment problem and increasing the number of jobs. But we do expect to have programs that will deal with new situations and we do expect never to just be content to sit in our rocking chair and enjoy the status quo. We are a growing Nation, and we expect to keep moving if we are to lead our own people, as well as lead the world. [ii.] Q. Mr. President, do you expect to send an administration wheat bill to Congress? THE PRESIDENT. I have discussed that to the extent that I think your question is answered by saying that I have asked the farm leaders to make their recommendations on an agricultural bill, to make them to the Senate committee. I should like to get the benefit of their recommendations, talk to the Senators concerned, and then determine what, if any, kind of comprehensive agricultural legislation could come from this next session. [12.] Q. Mr. President, have you reached -a hard decision on changing the space pro gram, including eliminating the Rover project? 5 THE PRESIDENT. No. [I3.] Q. Mr. President, is this the type of press conference you intend to hold? Is that the decision? Or is this just an interim press conference? THE PRESIDENT. I would say that we are going to maintain an adequate flow of information to the press at all times in the best manner that we can. We will do what comes naturally. Maybe it will be a meeting of this kind today; maybe a televised meeting tomorrow; with maybe a coffee session the next day. We don't want to be too rigid. We always want to be flexible. One thing, though, that we are determined to do is to let you know as much about what goes on in your house and in your Government as we possibly can, consistent only with the interests of our country and self-preservation of our country. [I4.] Q. Mr. President, are you planning to send some warships to the Indian Ocean, part of the 7th Fleet? THE PRESIDENT. I think I will have no comment to make there about the details of it. I have seen the statements that have been made about it, and the character of the operation. The contemplated plans that may be in the offing should come from the Defense Department. Mr. McNamara will no doubt be glad to give you that when he gets back. I talked to the Secretary of State this morning. He told me that his meetings in NATO were very satisfactory and he thought quite helpful. Everyone was quite understanding and united against any external dangers. I talked to the Secretary of Defense. I told him how grateful we were that he had been spared this accident which could have 'Development of a nuclear-powered rocket for possible future space missions. 69 [54] Dec. 18 Public Papers of the Presidents been very tragic.6 He told me he expected to be in Saigon a little later. [I5.] No controversies came up in the NATO meeting. The conference was a very satisfactory one. We expect to name very shortly an Ambassador to the OAS and a replacement for Mr. Mann. We have invitations out, but because of a health problem in one of the men's families, not with himself but some member of his family, he wanted to consult them before final acceptance. If you want to force someone to leak those names I will give them to you myself very shortly.7 Q. Mr. President, does this elevation of Mr. Mann indicate any increased urgency on the hemisphere problems? THE PRESIDENT. We know of no more important problems anywhere, any time, than the problems of our neighbors. We want to see our relations with them be the very best. We think Mr. Mann, who was the Assistant Secretary in the last administration, under Mr. Kennedy's administration, and who has served with great distinction as attache, minister, and counsel at many of the embassies in this hemisphere, who has also served with distinction in this place before, is the best man to do it. 6 The Secretary of Defense's plane, on take-off December 18 at Orly Airport, Paris, had a near collision on the runway with another plane which had just landed. One of the tires of the Secretary's plane burst as a result of the emergency braking used by the pilot to prevent a collision. The Secretary, who had been in Paris to attend the North Atlantic Council ministerial meeting and was en route to Saigon to confer with leaders of the new South Vietnamese Government, left a few hours later on another plane. 7The appointment of Ellsworth Bunker as Ambassador to the Organization of American States was announced by the President on January 2, I964, in a statement released at Austin, Tex.; the President's intention to appoint Fulton Freeman as U.S. Ambassador to Mexico was announced by the White House in a release dated February 12. Mr. Freeman's nomination was confirmed by the Senate on February 25. We also feel that we want to coordinate these programs, not eliminate them; to coordinate them and try to make them efficient in order that we can do the greatest good for the greatest number. We think that he is the man to do this job. We would hope that we could operate with the same efficiency in all parts of the world. It does not mean a lessening of interest in any region, but it does mean that we are excited about the possibilities of advancement in growth and prosperity in this hemisphere. We want it to be under the very ablest and most experienced leadership that we can find. We will take whatever steps it may be necessary to take in other parts of the world, when and if they are necessary. [I6.] Q. Mr. President, can you tell us about your Christmas plans yet? THE PRESIDENT. I asked Mrs. Johnson about those just before you came in. I cannot be positive about them because that will depend on the situation here in Washington. But if God is willing and Mrs. Johnson is willing, I plan to fly to my home either the night of the 22d, after I light the Christmas tree and appear at the Lincoln Memorial, or sometime the 23d. I hope to spend Christmas Eve with my sisters, my brother, my uncles, cousins, aunts, and my family. Immediately after Christmas I am going to relax a little. I might even-I don't want to keep my secrets from you people-I might even go hunting. I haven't had a chance to do that this year and I would like to go and spend a day out in the hills, communing with myself. Some of my staff members will be coming right after Christmas and we will receive the Chancellor on the 28th and 29th. We will receive the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the 30th. We will be working on the State of the Union Message during that period. 70 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-I964 Dec. i9 [55] Except for just the Christmas Eve and Christmas holidays, I expect to be quite busy. [I 7.] Q. Mr. President, do you feel that you can live with the foreign aid bill that the Senate Appropriations Committee has come up with? THE PRESIDENT. That bill is pending in the Senate. I thought that the action they took yesterday was very constructive and very helpful.8 [At this point the President spoke of the record.] Q. On the record, now, Mr. President? THE PRESIDENT. I am on the record. I have no doubt but what the bill that is the product of both Houses of Congress will be a satisfactory bill, and while it may not give us all that we would like to see, and it may have some limitations that we think are undesirable, it is one that the best minds of both Houses have produced. I think it will be substantial enough to advance our national interest, and, if you want to so put it, to live with. ' The bill (H.R. 9499), passed by the House on December i6, was introduced in the Senate on December I7 and was referred to the Committee on Appropriations (Congressional Record, Dec. 17, I963, p. 23669). [i8.] Q. Mr. President, coming to the international situation, what do you think would be the most appropriate basis, not only for lessening tension between the United States and the Soviet Union, but also for improving relations between those two great powers? THE PRESIDENT. I think the realization that there are three billion people in the world, and that the number one obligation of the President of this country and every citizen of every country is to learn how to live together. Failure in that mission could mean disaster for most of the world. My number one priority, my number one goal, my number one objective, my number one ambition, is to try to provide the leadership for my country with vision, tolerance, patience, and strength that will convince the rest of the world that we court no territory, we seek no satellites, that we are trying to live in peace and prosperity, and we would like for our fellowman everywhere to be able to do the same thing. Alvin A. Spivak, United Press International: Thank you, Mr. President. NOTE: President Johnson's second news conference was held in his office at the White House at I2:07 p.m. on Wednesday, December i8, i963. 55 Remarks Upon Signing Bill Amending the Manpower Development and Training Act. December i9, i963 I AM very glad to approve these amendmends to the Manpower Development and Training Act. I would especially like to compliment Senator Clark and Congressman Holland who conducted the hearings on this legislation, and I want to congratulate the entire Congress for acting with such dispatch, particularly the members of both parties. Under this legislation we are taking some very necessary and very important steps to continue the success achieved thus far under the Manpower Development Training Act enacted last year. We are making it possible for those who lack sufficient education to take advantage of the act to obtain the basic education that is essential to the undertaking and profiting from occupational training. Second, we are lowering the age limit for youth training activities to permit payment of allowances to young people of 17 and 7I [55] Dec. i9 Public Papers of the Presidents i8 years of age because workers under i9 years of age account for i6 percent of our unemployment. We are providing a modest increase in training allowances for family breadwinners and postponing for another year the requirement for State matching so that we may have time to properly appraise the program further. All these steps of course are important. They are important in principle as well as in the practical terms of the 93,ooo additional persons these provisions should permit to be trained. We are especially grateful to Senator Clark for the leadership he has assumed in this field. It was his suggestion, you will recall, that resulted in establishing the manpower subcommittee in the Senate. For 7 months he has been conducting intensive hearings on what he calls staffing freedom, a problem of getting the right people in the right place in the right job at the right time. I believe with him that the manpower revolution may have more far-reaching effects than the industrial revolution of the i9th century. Senator Clark's efforts have helped us to find the scope and recognize the importance of this problem. In approving and concurring with these measures I would like to emphasize that all we have done may still be only a small measure of what we must yet do to assure the promise of American opportunity to our young people, to the undereducated, to the family breadwinners that are caught in the dilemmas of our changing technology. Our society surely faces in this decade a rendezvous with a most demanding challenge in these areas. We cannot know what the final answers must be or will be. These steps are first steps but we have a long way to go and it will require the best efforts of us all to meet this challenge during this decade of the sixties. I am especially honored to have the distinguished Speaker who early in my administration took effective steps to bring this legislation to the place where it could be passed present here this morning. I am grateful to each member of the House and Senate of both parties who contributed toward making this act possible. NOTE: The President spoke at bo:3o a.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White House. During his remarks he referred to Senator Joseph S. Clark and Representative Elmer J. Holland, both of Pennsylvania, and to Representative John W. McCormack of Massachusetts, Speaker of the House of Representatives. The bill (H.R. 8720) to amend the Manpower Development and Training Act of I962 is Public Law 88-214 (77 Stat. 422). 56 Statement by the President Upon Signing the Independent Offices Appropriation Act. December i9, i963 I HAVE today approved H.R. 8747, the Independent Offices Appropriation Act, i964. In signing this bill, I wish to note my concern about the provision which precludes the use of the funds appropriated to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for fiscal year i964 for "participating in a manned lunar landing to be carried out jointly by the U.S. and any other country without consent of the Congress." While it will have no practical effect since there is no chance of our being engaged in a joint manned lunar landing with any other country during the remainder of this fiscal year, I believe such a restriction to be undesirable in principle. It impairs the flexibility 72 Lyndon B. JohnJ which we should seek to retain in our relations with other countries. It may raise some doubts as to our willingness to work cooperatively with other nations in the most important space effort of this decade. Finally, it is unnecessary; the Congress can and onl, 1963-1964 Dec. 20 [57] should, without need for this provision, play its appropriate role in any arrangements we may make for international cooperation in man's attempt to land on the moon. NOTE: As enacted, H.R. 8747 is Public Law 88-215 (77 Stat. 425). 57 Remarks Upon Accepting Report of the Commission on Registration and Voting Participation. December 20, I963 I AM pleased to receive today the report of the Commission on Registration and Voting Participation. The Commission is here with me this morning to witness the signing of the extension of the President's Commission on Registration and Voting Participation, and very shortly I will sign that Executive order. President Kennedy's action in appointing this Commission was motivated by his deep commitment to the principles of democracy. This report is the result of a very long and very serious study. I want to express my gratitude to this bipartisan Commission for the excellent job they have done and for the results of their efforts. We should be deeply concerned that less than two-thirds of Americans of voting age cast ballots in Presidential elections. In other words, one out of every three qualified Americans does not vote in a Presidential election, and less than half do so in elections for Members of Congress. So it is disturbing that our national record of voter participation compares so unfavorably with other democratic countries. This report identifies many of the causes for this. It calls attention to the little recognized fact that restrictive statutes and procedures deny many of our citizens the right to register and vote, or at least make it difficult or virtually impossible for them to do so. Such denials contradict one of the basic principles upon which this Nation was founded, the principle of government by the consent of the governed. The Commission has made an important contribution to improving our democratic system by offering specific recommendations to meet the problem. These recommendations are directed to the States. Great disparity exists among the States in their election laws and practices, but even the most advanced State can profit by measuring its own electoral machinery against these recommended standards that we have put in the report. In that regard, the Commission's proposal that each State establish a State body to review its election laws in the light of this report is both constructive and desirable. I am hopeful that in each State where such a review is not already underway the Governor and legislative leaders will give serious consideration to this suggestion. I shall send a copy of the report to each Governor with that request. The report is useful in that it points out the problem and suggests remedies, but the solution depends upon further action. In order to provide impetus for consideration of the Commission's proposals by the individual States and to provide further information and services for those States desiring assistance, I am today issuing an Executive order extending the life of the Commission 73 [57] Dec. 20 Public Papers of the Presidents on Registration and Voting Participation until March 30, 1964. The members of the Commission have graciously consented to continue serving. I am also very hopeful after a conversation with Senator Holland, who is author of the repeal of the poll tax amendment, that by that time we can have action taken by other States that will assure that the poll tax will be repealed. I call upon both political parties, Republicans and Democrats, the Governors and officials of each State in the Union, and all citizens, to join this effort. Only through concerted action can we secure for all the right to vote without unnecessary or unreasonable restrictions. For instance, I am told that it is easier today to buy a destructive weapon, a gun, in a hardware store, than it is to vote. The whole problem that we have in each State in this Union, in each precinct in each State, is to make it easier for people to vote in stead of harder. Why should we make it difficult for people to vote? It is easier now to register and enlist in the service in many cases than it is to vote. Why should a man have an easy path provided for him to go and fight, but a difficult path for him to go and vote? So I would say we should make it as easy for a man to vote as for a man to serve in the armed services. I am hopeful that in the next presidential election three out of every three eligible voters will vote for their President instead of only two out of every three. NOTE: The President spoke at 9:45 a.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White House. The Commission's report, entitled "Report on Registration and Voting Participation," is dated November i963 (Government Printing Office, 69 pp.). On the same day, the President issued Executive Order III34 providing for extension of the Commission to March 30, I964 (28 F.R. I4207; 3 CFR, i963 Supp., p. 209). For President Kennedy's statement upon establishing the Commission see i963 volume, this series, Item 117. 58 Remarks Upon Signing the Ratification of the Chamizal Convention. December 20, i963 I KNOW that I speak for all of you when I say how grateful we are to Mrs. Kennedy for the very fine job she has done in redecorating this Treaty Room where we meet today. I see in front of us the chandelier that once was in the White House during Theodore Roosevelt's administration. The story went that the President, before they had air conditioning, was troubled by the wind blowing the chandelier pieces together and the tinkling noise. So he told them to take it down to the Capitol. The butler said, "Well, what will I do with it at the Capitol?" The President said, "Give it to the Vice President. He needs something to keep him awake." After Mrs. Kennedy had observed me for a while as Vice President, I guess she decided I no longer needed a chandelier to keep me awake, and she asked me if I would bring the chandelier back. By that time, Senator Mansfield realized that he didn't want to be charged with giving away Senate property, liquidating the Senate, so he very generously agreed to make a loan to the White House. So for the information of all of you, the chandelier that you are now viewing is on loan to the White House from the Senate. We are glad to welcome Secretary Wirtz back this morning, and we are very happy to see the Senators who have participated in the ratification of this treaty present with us. This is a moment of which we can all be 74 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-1964 Dec. 20 [59] proud. We are particularly delighted to have with us the distinguished Ambassador from our neighboring country, the beloved Antonio Carrillo Flores, from Mexico. We are taking the final step in bringing to a close a problem which has been a thorn in the side of our relations with Mexico for almost a century. The way in which the thorn has been removed is a real tribute to the good will between the people and the leaders of our two countries. It indicates that old and distaseful problems can be solved if men of honor seek to understand the other man's viewpoint. I recall the first visit that I made to President Adolfo Lopez Mateos in Mexico before he took the oath of office as President. He raised the Chamizal question and we agreed there that we would start to work on it. Through the administrations of President Eisenhower and President Kennedy great progress was made which resulted in the Senate, under the leadership of Senator Fulbright, ratifying this treaty by an overwhelming vote. I hope that other problems in our hemisphere, and for that matter throughout the world, will be solved with similar tolerance and trust. I think it is always good if we just put ourselves in the other man's position and try to estimate how we would feel if he were in our place and we were in his place, and then make our judgments accordingly. That is what we have done in this situation. We think great benefits will flow not only to Mexico but to the United States, and, of course, most of all, to the State of Texas where this land is located. Mr. Ambassador, we welcome you here for this historic occasion. We say thanks to the Members of the Senate who made it possible. We express gratitude to Secretary Rusk for the leadership he has given. We are even delighted to have the television cameras here for this informal press meeting. While this is the Treaty Room, I would like you to also know that this is the room where President Johnson met with his Cabinet for the first time, President Andrew Johnson. This is also where President Lyndon Johnson signed his first treaty. In order to do it, I came in here the other night, and looked in the door. My daughter, Lucy, was sitting at the head of the table studying plane geometry. I asked her mother if she couldn't arrange to put a desk across the hall, to make a study room out of it, so that if we needed the Cabinet Room it would be available. So we picked up plane geometry and Macbeth and a few other things and hauled them across the hall. NOTE: The President spoke at noon in the Treaty Room at the White House. The text of the convention is published with related papers in the Treaties and Other International Acts Series (TIAS 5515). It was proclaimed by President Johnson on January i6, I964. Later, on April 29, 1964, the President approved the American-Mexican Chamizal Convention Act of I964, to facilitate compliance with the convention (Public Law 88-300, 78 Stat. i84). See also Item 596. 59 Message on the Occasion of the Launching of the Nuclear Submarine Sam Rayburn. December 20, i963 My fellow Americans: Today in Newport News you gather to participate in the traditional ceremony of launching a new U.S. ship. With the christening of the nuclear submarine SSB (N) 635, we commemorate a great Ameri 75 [59] Dec. 2o Public Papers of the Presidents can-and a friend I dearly loved-Sam Rayburn. A little over a year ago, as I participated in the keel-laying ceremony there in the same yard where you gather today, I expressed my conviction that Sam Rayburn's name was symbolic of the legislative courage and wisdom which helped to build and keep in being the economic, moral, and national strength on which our hopes for world peace rest today. A great many people learned the really important things about America and her Government from Sam Rayburn, and I am proud to include myself in that number. President Kennedy and President Truman were also graduates of his unique one-man school in patriotism. Of the eight Presidents he served with-he despised the phrase "served under"-four were Democrats, four Republicans. He served them all with equal integrity and loyalty. He served nearly half a century in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was Speaker for 17 years, more than twice as long as Henry Clay, the previous recordholder. Through all his years of serving the American people, he never changed his honest character or his high ideals. He well understood the nature of true leadership in our complex democratic republic. He used to say: "You cannot lead people by trying to drive them. Persuasion and reason are the only ways to lead them. In that way the Speaker has influence and power in the House." He understood the House of Representatives better than any other man, and he demonstrated throughout his years there the wisdom and validity of what he was saying. But his understanding and insight extended far beyond the House of Representatives, to all parts of our Government, and those Sena tors and Presidents who have been privileged to learn from Sam Rayburn are in his debt. The outstanding characteristic of Speaker Rayburn was rugged honesty. This was coupled with another quality-a mixture of youthful enthusiasm and mature judgment that I have found in very few men during my lifetime. He was one of those rare individuals who are to be eternally blessed-one who has learned the lessons of the past but who lives in the present and who works for the future. The only thing he disliked more than an old fogey was a young fogey. And he lived absolutely without fear-without fear of life, without fear of death, and without fear of the new forces constantly arising in the world. He could face, without flinching, the challenge to freedom presented by war. And he could face, without shrinking, the challenge to vision and imagination presented by peace. He did not reject the marvels of modern science and he did not retreat from new currents in society. Speaker Rayburn was dedicated to peace, freedom, and the integrity of the individual. And we do ourselves honor when we walk in his footsteps. We are today dedicating in his name a vessel which has been made possible by the knowledge gleaned by modern science and which will enter the service of our country. It is the fulfillment of the dedicated work of the Americans who conceived it and the Americans who built it. To all who have participated in this enterprise and to the men who will command the Sam Rayburn, Godspeed! Your country thanks you and wishes you well. NOTE: The message was read by Kenneth Belieu, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Installations and Logistics, at the launching ceremony at the Newport News Naval Shipyard, Newport News, Va. 76 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-964 Dec. 2i [6I] 60 Remarks at a Press Interview of Three American Hostages of Bolivian Miners. December 20, 1963 Ladies and gentlemen: We are delighted to have the guests with us that we have today. First, Mr. Thomas Martin. While a captive, Mr. Martin wrote his wife that he looked forward to spending the evening in a Lima, Peru, night club. I hope my invitation hasn't interfered with you, Mr. Martin, and I hope you enjoy an evening in Washington or New York. Will you stand up and meet the press. Next, Mr. Michael Kristula and Bernard Rifkin. They have contributed to the program designed to help the Bolivian miners and the people of Bolivia in general. Mr. Kristula is returning to continue his work and Mr. Rifkin is resigning. We are very pleased that these men have been spared and we are glad that they are with us today. I know that they will enjoy the entertainment that the press always gives their subjects. NOTE: The President spoke in the Fish Room at the White House prior to the press interview of three of the four captive Americans, Thomas Martin, USIA Assistant Labor Information Officer, Bernard Rifkin, AID Labor Information Adviser, and Michael A. Kristula, USIS AID Information Officer. Eugene Victor, who took part in the negotiations for the release of the hostages, also participated in the interview. The seizure at Catavi-Siglo Viente, Bolivia, of the three officials of the U.S. Embassy at La Paz and a Peace Corps volunteer, Robert Fergerstrom, was reported by the White House in a statement released December 8. They were seized along with mine officials, the White House stated, by local miners enraged by the Bolivian Government's arrest of three of their leaders on criminal charges. See also Item 52. 6i Statement by the President Objecting to a Tax Exemption Provision in a Private Bill. December 2I, 1963 I HAVE today approved H.R. 3662, "For the relief of Mrs. Margaret Patterson Bartlett." I believe that there are equitable and moral considerations fully justifying the $Io,ooo award which this bill will pay to Mrs. Bartlett. I object, however, to the fact that the award is specifically made exempt from any Federal tax liability. Private legislation has traditionally provided a means for the redress of grievances growing out of governmental act or omissions for which there is no legal liability. Far from providing a basis for exemption from Federal taxation, I consider that the moral and equitable considerations support ing these awards argue strongly in favor of making them subject to the general tax laws. There would appear to be no valid reason for treating recipients of these compassionate awards more favorably than the taxpayers who must finance them, and who receive no special treatment in meeting comparable tax obligations. In particular, adjustment of the amount of the award in committee does not, in my opinion, provide an adequate basis for tax exemption. Such action is inconsistent with sound, prevailing practice under which an individual receives compensation or other payments and then has his tax liability computed under general tax law and, among 77 [6i ] Dec. 21 Public Papers of the Presidents other things, in relation to other sources of income. While the state of the record in this case has led me to approve the present bill notwithstanding the objectionable tax feature, I earnestly hope that such features will not find their way into future private legislation. NOTE: As enacted, H.R. 3662 is Private Law 88-I36 (77 Stat. 922). 62 Memorandum Establishing the Committee on the Economic Impact of Defense and Disarmament. December 2I, i963 Memorandum for The Hon. Robert S. McNamara, Secretary of Defense; The Hon. Luther H. Hodges, Secretary of Commerce; The Hon. W. Willard Wirtz, Secretary of Labor; The Hon. Glenn T. Seaborg, Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission; The Hon. James E. Webb, Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration; The Hon. William C. Foster, Director, U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency; The Hon. Edward McDermott, Director, Office of Emergency Planning; The Hon. Kermit Gordon, Director, Bureau of the Budget; The Hon. Walter W. Heller, Chairman, Council of Economic Advisers: As you are aware, on July io, Chairman Heller organized an informal committee to review and coordinate the work of Federal agencies relating to the economic impact of defense and disarmament. Based on the preliminary work of this informal committee, it seems desirable that it be given a more formal and permanent status. I am therefore requesting you to designate a senior official in your department or agency to serve on this committee on a continuing basis. A Member of the Council of Economic Advisers will serve as Chairman of this Committee. The Committee will be responsible for the review and coordination of activities in the various departments and agencies designed to improve our understanding of the eco nomic impact of defense expenditures and of changes either in the composition or in the total level of such expenditures. Federal outlays for defense are of such magnitude that they inevitably have major economic significance. In certain regions of the Nation and in certain communities they provide a significant share of total employment and income. It is therefore important that we improve our knowledge of the economic impacts of such spending, so that appropriate actions can be taken-in cooperation with State and local governments, private industry and labor-to minimize potential disturbances which may arise from changes in the level and patern of defense outlays. I know that your agencies have already initiated a number of activities which will improve our ability to assess the economic consequences of the defense program. I do not expect this Committee to undertake studies of its own, but rather to evaluate and to coordinate these existing efforts, and, if it seems desirable, to recommend additional studies-subject, of course, to appropriate review and authorization through established channels. The Committee may wish to add representatives from other Federal agencies, and it is hereby authorized to do so. As work in this area produces results of interest to the Congress and the general pub 78 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-96464 Dec. 22 [64] lic, they should be made available in appro- be kept personally informed as your work priate form. progresses. This is an important subject and I wish to LYNDON B. JOHNSON 63 Statement by the President on the Death of Representative William J. Green. December 2I, i963 I AM grieved to learn of the death of Congressman William J. Green who was not only my personal friend but an effective and able leader in the halls of Congress. The people of Philadelphia who reelected him time after time and the people of the Nation whom he served so well will mourn his passing. Mrs. Johnson joins me in sending our condolences to Mrs. Green and the family. NOTE: The statement was read by the Press Secretary to the President, Pierre Salinger, at his news conference held at the White House at i:io p.m. on December 2i, 1963. President and Mrs. Johnson attended the funeral services held at the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul in Philadelphia on December 24. 64 Remarks at a Candlelight Memorial Service for President Kennedy. December 22, i963 THIRTY DAYS and a few hours ago, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 35th President of the United States, died a martyr's death. The world will not forget what he did here. He will live on in our hearts, which will be his shrine. Throughout his life, he had malice toward none; he had charity for all. But a senseless act of mindless malice struck down this man of charity, and we shall never be the same. One hundred years, thirty-three days, and several hours ago the i6th President of the United States made a few appropriate remarks at Gettysburg. The world has long remembered what he said there. He lives on in this memorial, which is his tabernacle. As it was ioo years ago, so it is now. We have been bent in sorrow, but not in purpose. We buried Abraham Lincoln and John Kennedy, but we did not bury their dreams or their visions. They are our dreams and our visions today, for President Lincoln and John Kennedy moved toward those nobler dreams and those larger visions where the needs of the people dwell. Their fight for a better life for more people is their legacy to their countrymen. It is the coin by which their worth shall be counted. It is the gauge by which their memory shall be measured. In this land and around the world, those whose hopes are meager plead for change. Those whose children are hungry or illiterate pray for sustenance and knowledge. Those whose dignity is blunted and whose liberties are scarce cry out for equality and decency and opportunity. On this eve of Christmas, in this time of grief and unity, of sadness and continuity, let there be for all people in need the light of an era of new hope and a time of new resolve. Let the light shine and let this Christmas be our thanksgiving and our dedication. May God bless this land and all who live in it. So let us here on this Christmas night de 79 [64] Dec. 22 Public Papers of the Presidents termine that John Kennedy did not live or die in vain, that this Nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that we may achieve in our time and for all time the ancient vision of peace on earth, good will toward all men. NOTE: The President spoke at 4 p.m. at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. 65 Remarks at the Lighting of the Nation's Christmas Tree. December 22, i963 [ Delivered over television and radio at 6:30 p.m. ] Mr. Secretary: Tonight we come to the end of the season of great national sorrow, and to the beginning of the season of great, eternal joy. We mourn our great President, John F. Kennedy, but he would have us go on. While our spirits cannot be light, our hearts need not be heavy. We were taught by Him whose birth we commemorate that after death there is life. We can believe, and we do believe, that from the death of our national leader will come a rebirth of the finest qualities of our national life. On this same occasion 30 years ago, at the close of another troubled year in our Nation's history, a great President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, said to his countrymen, "To more and more of us the words 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself' have taken on a meaning that is showing itself and proving itself in our purposes and in our daily lives." I believe that this is no less true for all of us in all of our regions of our land today. There is a turning away from things which are false and things which are small, and things which are shallow. There is a turning toward those things which are true, those things which are profound, and those things which are eternal. We can, we do, live tonight in new hope and new confidence and new faith in ourselves and in what we can do together through the future. Our need for such faith was never greater, for we are the heirs of a great trust. In these last 200 years we have guided the building of our Nation and our society by those principles and precepts brought to earth nearly 2,000 years ago on that first Christmas. We have our faults and we have our failings, as any mortal society must. But when sorrow befell us, we learned anew how great is the trust and how close is the kinship that mankind feels for us, and most of all, that we feel for each other. We must remember, and we must never forget, that the hopes and the fears of all the years rest with us, as with no other people in all history. We shall keep that trust working, as always we have worked, for peace on earth and good will among men. On this occasion i year ago, our beloved President John F. Kennedy reminded us that Christmas is the day when all of us dedicate our thoughts to others, when we are all reminded that mercy and compassion are the really enduring virtues, when all of us show, by small deeds and by large, that it is more blessed to give than to receive. So in that spirit tonight, let me express to you as your President the one wish that I have as we gather here. It is a wish that we not lose the closeness and the sense of sharing, and the spirit of mercy and compassion which these last few days have brought for us all. Between tonight and Christmas Eve, let 8o Lyndon B. Johns each American family, whatever their station., whatever their religion, whatever their race or their region-let each American family devote time to sharing with others something of themselves; yes, something of their very own. Let us, if we can do no more., lend a hand and share an hour, and say a prayer-and find some way with which to make this Christmas a prouder memory for what we gave instead of what we receive. son, I963-I964 Dec. 23 [66] And now here, as we have done so many years., we turn on., in your Capital City, the lights of our National Christmas Tree, and we say that we hope that the world will not narrow into a neighborhood before it has broadened into a brotherhood. NOTE: The President spoke just before lighting the National Community Christmas Tree at the Pageant of Peace ceremonies on the Ellipse. His opening words "Mr. Secretary" referred to Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall. 66 Exchange of Letters With President Goulart of Brazil. December 23, i963 [ Released December 23, i 963. Dear Mr. President: I greatly appreciated receiving your letter of December I3 conveying your good wishes on my assumption of the Presidency, as well as your message of sympathy of November z22 in connection with President Kennedy's tragic death. Your Foreign Minister and reports from our Embassy and Consulates have told me of the great outpouring of sympathy which was manifested in all walks of life in Brazil at that grievous event. The sympathy which we received from the entire Brazilian nation has, I am convinced, evidenced the bonds of natural affection that exist between our two peoples and demonstrated once again the deep popular support of the great ideals of peace, freedom and progress for which President Kennedy stood. It is in this spirit that I particularly welcome your having taken the initiative in opening an exchange of personal correspondence between us. Like President Kennedy I am convinced that in the building of a better world, there is no area more important that Latin America. I am acutely conscious of the great importance of joint efforts by our two countries. It is my view that economic development, Dated December i8, i963 ] social justice and the strengthening of representative democracy are interrelated and that progress in each of those fields can only be made in conjunction with progress in the others. I am convinced that development should be accompanied by reforms to modernize economic and social structures, to build durable institutions and develop human skills, and in this great effort for economic and social progress in all of Latin America, I am convinced that the Alliance for Progress can be of essential importance. As President Kennedy told a meeting of the InterAmerican Press Association only four days before his death, "The goals and methods of the Alliance for Progress represent the only route whereby men of good will can obtain progress without despotism, social justice without social terror." I note with interest that you made the same point in your letter. Problems of trade, development, and investment., such as were raised by various delegations at the recent Sao Paulo meeting, naturally are of concern to both of us. I believe that all these problems are soluble if approached within a framework of expanding international cooperation a framework which removes unnecessary barriers [66] Dec. 23 Public Papers of the Presidents to trade and investment and which creates new opportunities for economic growth. This is, of course, especially important to the accelerated growth of the less developed countries. In the case of Brazil, it appears that there is an immediate concern with the problem of debt payments. Since the U.S. Government holds only a relatively small portion of the obligations which are presently due or will fall due in the next few years, a Brazilian initiative to bring this problem within manageable proportions will need to be directed primarily toward arrangements with the commercial creditors, international agencies and governments which account for the bulk of such obligations. The United States, however, stands ready to participate in negotiations for this purpose. Brazil, I know is the possessor of a fine tradition of political freedom and stability, and of social and religious tolerance. It also has a rich cultural heritage, great natural resources, an already very substantial industrial base and internal market, and a highly talented people. The remarkable progress made in the last thirty years, with the creation in Brazil of the greatest industrial center in Latin America, provides solid ground for confidence that all the elements exist for an even more brilliant early future. Our countries have stood together in war and in peace, and I believe that our continued cooperation can make a vital contribution to the welfare of both our peoples. Sincerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON NOTE: President Goulart's letter of December 13 follows: Dear Mr. President: The Brazilian Government and people are following with brotherly sympathy the decisive moments through which the United States is passing, after being so hard hit by the loss of the admirable leader who was John Fitzgerald Kennedy. 82 We are comforted by the certainty, based on the first actions and statements of your excellency, that there will be no interruption in the high destiny which continues to be reserved for your country, with which there is indissolubly associated the survival of the democratic ideas and the permanent values of our civilization. The cruel attack which struck down your predecessor left him, for all time, fixed in the very act of struggling for generous causes and deepened the commitment of all peoples and all men of good will for the construction of a new world, free from the already obsolete ideological preconceptions of the last century and also independent of the unacceptable privileges and interests of special groups, castes, or individuals. The causes of improving relations among peoples and of perfecting human society have been fortified by the lamentable episode in which President Kennedy lost his life, President Kennedy who infused both these missions with a higher ideal of justice, with high standards of peaceful brotherhood, and with the search for a prosperity which could be enjoyed by all, in accordance with their merits and their needs. We are certain, Mr. President, that the policies which were the aspirations of the extraordinarily statesmanlike vision of your lamented predecessor will continue to be pursued with unshakable stubbornness and confidence, within the framework of the strictest respect for human dignity. It is on this postulate that we base the conviction that we are on the right road. No economic process, however perfected, no modern technique, however efficient, will be able to prove lasting and valid if by chance it implies a sacrifice of the dignity of the human individual. It is not possible to admit that there should remain without rights the millions of people who are demanding, all over the world, access to a life which is dignified, free, and just. I take pleasure in affirming to you, on this occasion, that this is also the orientation of government of my country. I recognize that, if it lacks this sense of authenticity, no power emanating from the people can expect to be sustained without failing in its mission and its purposes. This was the very reason for which John F. Kennedy lived and died. We are certain, Mr. President, that this banner of a noble struggle will continue to be held fearlessly by you, and that you will not let it fall, so that there may thus be completed the admirable work which was begun under the aegis of your predecessor. In this way we can maintain the understanding between our two countries, linked by traditional friendship and numerous common interests. The spirit of reform, which belongs to the cultural and historic patrimony of the United States, and which was so eloquently stressed by President Kennedy, will certainly continue very much alive Lyndon B. John. under your government and will be able to help in constantly increasing degree the fruitful cooperation which should bring us together. With wishes for your personal happiness, and for the growing greatness of your country, I take son, 1963-1964 Dec. 25 [68] this opportunity to present by highest appreciation and unchangeable consideration. Very sincerely yours, JoXo GOULART 67 Statement by the President on the Closing of the Studebaker Plants in South Bend, Indiana. ON December 9th, I directed that an interdepartmental committee be established to do everything possible to help South Bend meet the emergency created by the closing of the Studebaker facilities and idling of some 8,000 workers. That committee, under the chairmanship of the Secretaries of Labor and Commerce, has met regularly with Senators Bayh and Hartke and Congressman Brademus, the Studebaker Company, the United Automobile Workers Union, and officials of the local community. In addition to what has been done in the past 2 weeks, I am today directing that: I. The Secretary of Labor, utilizing the new amendments to the Manpower Development and Training Act, which I signed into law on December 19, establish the maximum number of training projects consistent with the needs and demands of the area. December 24, 1963 2. The Secretary of Commerce have the Area Redevelopment Administrator work with the local South Bend community in their efforts to attract new industry to the area. 3. The Secretary of Agriculture do whatever is necessary to expedite the distribution of surplus food to the large number of displaced, unemployed workers. 4. The Secretary of Defense, to the extent consistent with sound procurement policies, see that the $87 million Studebaker military truck contract is completed in South Bend. 5. The Interdepartmental Coordinating Committee send to South Bend a full-time official who will remain on the spot to coordinate all Federal activities with the officials of the State and local government. NOTE: The statement was released at Austin, Tex. 68 Memorandum on Control of Federal Employment. December 25, 1963 [ Released December 25, I963. Dated December 24, 1963 ] To the Heads of Departments and Agencies: The Budget which I will send to the Congress next month will not only halt the growth in Federal employment, but will actually make a small reduction from this year's level. Even though nothing like this has happened in the last decade, I am still unconvinced that we are getting the maximum possible output per employee. I believe we can do better. The Budget Director will shortly notify you of the yearend maximum employment levels which result from my final Budget decisions for both fiscal years I964 and i965. Let me make it clear that these end-of-year figures are ceilings, not goals. As soon as these figures reach you, I want 83 33-171-65 -11 [68] Dec. 25 Public Papers of the Presidents you personally to reexamine your employment situation and to establish new end-ofyear targets below these maximums. I want you to report these targets to me promptly. I will review them personally. When I approve new targets for your agency, you will put them into effect and make strenuous efforts to achieve them through tighter management, redeployment of personnel, simplification of procedures, and stripping work to essentials. I will expect you to make quarterly reports to me, beginning April I, i964, on what you have accomplished under this effort. Finally, once I have given my approval to your new targets, they are not to be exceeded without my explicit approval. LYNDON B. JOHNSON NOTE: The memorandum was released at Austin, Tex. 69 Statement by the President Upon Appointing a Committee To Review Foreign Aid Programs. December 26, i963 I HAVE appointed an interdepartmental committee to make an intensive review of our programs of foreign economic and military assistance and means of strengthening them. I have asked the committee to report its recommendations to me by January I5th. The committee is under instructions to approach the problem of foreign aid with fresh minds not bound by precedent or by existing procedures or arrangements. I have asked members of the committee to give serious study to the following approaches: i. They should seek all possible ways to simplify procedures and to render the administration of foreign assistance as speedily and as effectively as possible. 2. They should consider steps to enlist in our foreign assistance efforts, to a much greater extent, the energy, initiative, and resources of private business, labor organizations, cooperatives, universities, cities and States and other non-Federal institutions. 3. They should examine ways of encouraging more self-help on the part of recipient countries. 4. They should consider means of persuading other developed countries to increase aid to underdeveloped countries, both bi laterally and through international machinery. 5. They should seek all possible means to achieve economies and efficiencies in the administration of our aid program and to reduce to a practical minimum the number of personnel employed in those programs at home and abroad. 6. They should give most serious consideration to the suggestions made by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for the improvement of foreign assistance. 7. They should recommend the arrangements by which the Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs will give policy direction to the Alliance for Progress. My action in appointing this committee, far from reflecting any lack of conviction in the necessity for foreign assistance, demonstrates my strong determination that those programs be so administered as to yield the greatest benefit to our country and to the free world. This Nation has now been engaged in peacetime programs of economic and military assistance for i6 years, since President Truman's decision in I947 to aid Greece and Turkey. Over the years, these efforts have 84 Lyndon B. Johns yielded enormous dividends to the United States and other free nations. In that period we have several times changed our methods of administering foreign assistance. This is only natural, for two reasons. First, history holds no precedent for such a large national undertaking as the U.S. foreign assistance program: its administrators have had few examples or experiences to guide them. Second, the conditions and the needs for such assistance are subject to rapid change. Since 1947 our European allies have achieved prosperity and many of them are now conducting substantial foreign assistance programs. Since the war, 48 countries have achieved independence, each with its own set of problems and needs. We have over the years altered earlier programs and instituted new ones. The Alliance for Progress is a major example of a new initiative to meet special needs. It is the mandate of this new committee to examine recent changes, to anticipate the needs and demands of the 'on, 1963-1964 Dec. 26 [70] future and to recommend measures and methods that will assure the most efficient and most effective use of all our foreign assistance resources. The committee will consist of the Under Secretary of State George W. Ball, the Administrator of the Agency for International Development David E. Bell, the Director of the Bureau of the Budget Kermit Gordon, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs William P. Bundy, the Assistant Secretary for International Affairs John C. Bullitt, and the Special Assistant to the President Ralph Dungan. The Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs Thomas C. Mann will serve as a member of the committee with respect to all matters affecting the Alliance for Progress. I have asked Under Secretary Ball to serve as Chairman. NOTE: Oral reports were made to the President from time to time. See also Items 150 [7] and 227. The statement was released at Austin, Tex. 70 Messages to the President of Turkey and to the President and Vice President of Cyprus. Dear General Gursel: I have received your telegram dated December 25 on the tragic events occurring in Cyprus. I, too, am deeply concerned, and have sent the following message to President Makarios and Vice President Kutchuk. This message, I assure you, represents my heartfelt feelings. You may be sure that I will continue to do everything I can to support any and all actions proposed by the three guarantor powers which offer any reasonable hope of assisting in a peaceful solution. Sincerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON [General Cemal Gursel, President of the Republic of Turkey] December 26, 1963 Dear Friends: My Christmas holiday hours, and those of my fellow Americans, are saddened by the thought that Cypriots of both communities whose hands I have pressed less than eighteen months ago are killing and wounding one another. I will not presume to judge the root causes, or rights and wrongs as between Cypriots of the two communities. This is, in any case, inappropriate when innocent human lives are at stake. I cannot believe that you and your fellow Cypriots will spare any efforts, any sacrifice, to end this terrible fraternal strife. I hope and trust that tomorrow will find all Cypriots living at peace with one another and with the three nations which have special 85 [70] Dec. 26 Public Papers of the Presidents treaty responsibilities for the security of [Archbishop Makarios, President of the Republic Cyprus. of Cyprus; Dr. Fazil Kutchuk, Vice President of the Republic of Cyprus] Wncerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON 71 The President's News Conference at the LBJ Ranch. December 27, i963 THE PRESIDENT. [I.] First, we have the announcement that I have invited President Adolfo Lopez Mateos of Mexico to meet with me in southern California on February 2i22, I963. This invitation to the President followed an invitation that President Mateos and myself receive honorary degrees from the University of California at Los Angeles. The invitation for the honorary degrees was extended by Governor Brown, the president of the University of California Board of Regents, and the Board of Regents. The university plans to hold a special convocation on the morning of February 2i to confer the honorary degrees. Following a luncheon in Los Angeles, which is currently in a state of planning, the two of us will fly to Palm Springs, Calif., where we will meet on Friday afternoon and evening, February 2i, and Saturday morning, February 22. President Mateos has accepted the invitation and they will make their own announcement in due time. [2.] Federal civilian employment was reduced by more than i,ooo during November and stood nearly 3,500 lower than at the end of November of last year. Special significance of this is that if Federal employment had grown at the same rate as the population, 400,000 new employees would have been added instead of being able to make the reduction of 3,500. So you can see that we are trying to at least set a good example. This reduction was achieved mostly by not replacing employees going off the Federal payroll; failing to fill vacancies. Overall there were 2,470,57I regular employees in the Federal Government at the end of November i963. Of this total, 42 percent work in the Defense Department, 24 percent in the Post Office Department, and 7 percent in the Veterans Administration. All the rest of the work of the Federal Government is done by 658,ooo employees. The Federal Government must be a model of competent and efficient management, with economy the watchword, and an end to waste our goal. [3.] Secretary of Defense McNamara's recent announcement relating to the closing and reduction of activities at the 33 installations, taken in line with my announced goal of economical operations of all agencies of the Government, has resulted in mail almost 5 to I supporting the action. A telegram from James E. Bent, President of the Greater Hartford, Conn., Chamber of Commerce, says that the directors of the chamber passed a resolution which said in part, "The Greater Hartford Chamber of Commerce commends President Lyndon B. Johnson for his action in working to reduce spending by all departments of Government and also commends Secretary McNamara for his courageous step in ordering the closing of unnecessary military bases." A Seattle, Wash., man cabled Secretary McNamara that he had "... five children 86 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 Dec. 27 [7I] coming up. I back you wholeheartedly on intelligent cutbacks." A Rockhill, S.C., man cabled, "Closing unneeded installations is a brilliant move. Stick to your guns." Thomas W. Nelson, corresponding secretary of the Queen Ann Democratic Club of Los Angeles, Calif., said that the club at its monthly meeting "heartily endorsed your action. We are heartened by your courage and leadership." A retired bishop from Cambridge, Mass., wrote Secretary McNamara that "As a humble citizen I shout with joy that somebody has got the nerve to face up to such criticism to save the country money without cutting down necessary defense machinery." A Houston, Tex., man wrote, "I want to congratulate you on the economy moves reported in yesterday's papers." A New Brunswick, N.J., business executive wrote, "This will be painful, but with the support of the President I feel sure you will accomplish your objective." I want to point out that before these installations were closed, the Secretary gave us his judgment that every person employed at any of the installations could be offered another job, if he was willing to move, at some other defense installation where their existing vacancies had not been filled or where these combined installations would need more people. So, number one, everyone could have a job at some other installation. Number two, the Secretary felt that he could not justify spending a single dollar on any of the 33 installations. A good many of them were archaic, they were performing work that could be better performed if consolidated and combined elsewhere, and no additional expenditures could be justified. At my direction, the Secretary has appointed a board of top Department of De fense officials to step up the study of military installations which has been going on since i96i. The Secretary named Assistant Secretary of Defense (Installations and Logistics) Thomas Morris to head this board with the Assistant Secretaries of Installations and Logistics from the three military departments as the other members. In naming the board, the Secretary said, "Since early i96i we have been conducting a continuing review of the military installations.... In view of our President's direction to get maximum efficiency out of every dollar spent for defense, we are going to intensify this effort. I am asking Assistant Secretary Morris and the representation of Army, Navy and Air Force to apply themselves even more vigorously to this task so that we may have the maximum results in the earliest possible time. Secretary Morris' Base Utilization Division, composed of civilian installation experts and commissioned officers from the three departments will, of course, carry the bulk of the load as they have done so admirably in the past. "The new board will supervise studies to identify additional unnecessary installations which should be reduced or closed during the next several years. While each installation change is a matter of serious concern to the individuals affected, we are confident that in the national interest we cannot properly justify maintaining any installation which does not truly contribute to a strong defense in the most economical manner." You will have these releases and you do not need to copy all of this material. I want to review them with you briefly in case you have some question. I will try to either refer it or answer it. [4.] I do want to point out there is a mistake by Pierre Salinger's girls that he brought down here from the East Coast. 87 [7I] Dec. 27 Public Papers of the Presidents They say "Office of the White House Press Secretary, LBJ Ranch, H-u-e, T-e-x-a-s." He didn't misspell Texas, but he did misspell Hye. I don't want any of you to follow the announcement literally. Correct all mistakes before using, please. Another observation I want to make is that I gave Pierre that jacket he has on today because it is too large for me to wear-or too small. [5.] Mr. Moscoso will be appointed U.S. Representative to the Inter-American Committee on the Alliance for Progress and the U.S. Representative to the meetings of the Inter-American Economic and Social Council of the Pan American Union. He will also act as Special Adviser, with the rank of Ambassador, to the Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs, Mr. Thomas C. Mann. Mr. Mann will assume Mr. Moscoso's responsibilities for administering the Alliance for Progress. His first job will be to explore all the possibilities for increased efficiency as well as operating economies which may be obtained through the exercise of his combined responsibility for the work of InterAmerican Affairs and the Alliance for Progress. These changes are designed to facilitate better use of United States resources, both private and public, in promoting economic development and social progress in Latin America. United States assistance programs supplement the self-help measures taken in other American Republics. Those are the five little announcements that we have to make. We will make others from time to time. [6.] I spent the evening working on the briefing papers for the meeting tomorrow. I will join you in welcoming Chancellor Erhard at Bergstrom Air Base in the morning at io o'clock. [7.] This morning I had a chance to take a long walk with the Secretary of State, the Assistant Secretary of State, and other folks who visited me. I had breakfast with the head of the Central Intelligence Agency, Mr. John McCone. He brought me up to date on affairs around the world. I directed him to seek an appointment with President Eisenhower, to review with President Eisenhower some of the matters that he briefed me on this morning, and to also bring him up to date on the action we had taken on some suggestions that he had made prior to the time I appeared before the joint session of Congress. Mr. McCone left shortly after io o'clock and the Secretaries came in. [8.] I had a private meeting with the Secretary of Agriculture in which we discussed the more comprehensive farm bill to be considered in the next session of Congress. We talked about the results of his meeting with the farm organizations, at some length about my talks with Chancellor Erhard with regard to the Common Market area, our export agricultural commodities, and our access to the Common Market area. [9.] I talked to Secretary Mann at some length about many Ambassadors for Latin American nations, about some of his deputies and personnel generally in his new organization. I talked to both Secretary Mann and Secretary Rusk about reorganization of our various aid programs in an attempt to effect efficiency and economy, and discussed with him the work that is being done under the direction of Mr. Ball, the chairman of the group, Eugene Black, Sargent Shriver, and the group that is studying reorganization and our whole relation with other nations in the field of economic and military assistance. In due time we will have more thorough announcements about that, more complete announcements, with regard to military aid 88 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Dec. 27 [71] and Latin American assistance, as well as whatever may be recommended in the way of consolidations on the entire aid program. I think that is all I have to say this afternoon. I am going to take a horseback ride. Then I am going to study briefing papers until I go to bed tonight. I will see all of you in the morning. In the meantime, if you have any questions that are burning that need an answer, and I can help you, I will be glad to do it.1 [Io.] Q. Mr. President, can you give us any idea what Mr. McCone would review with President Eisenhower? What would be the nature of the discussions? THE PRESIDENT. Yes. It will be the budget for next year; the steps we have taken with regard to effecting economies in the Federal Government; the ceilings that we have placed on each department; the new targets, the goals that we will have; the economic conditions that we anticipate for next year; the general intelligence developments and information from throughout the world. [ii.] Q. Mr. President, with, as you have indicated, popular support for the closing of unneeded military installations running so strong, do you have an explanation for this fierce opposition to closing from many Members of Congress? THE PRESIDENT. Yes, I think that each Congressman and Senator that represents his area could be expected to express the hope that we give very careful attention to the economy of that area and the effect and impact that closing an installation would have. A good many of them have done that, but they have been very reasonable and very 1 On the same day the White House released at Stonewall, Tex., the text of remarks to the press by Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of Agriculture Orville Freeman, and Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs Thomas C. Mann. Brief introductory remarks by the President introduced each speaker. prudent. Most of them have taken the position that if they could not be justified in the national interest by the executive department, that they did not want to see them continue to operate when they were not needed. The point I want to make about that is that every congressional district in this country that has a defense installation must understand that they are going to be reviewed from time to time. We are not going to be just satisfied with the status quo. When Mr. McNamara came into this administration we had 6,900 bases. We have cut out 400 of them, and we still have 6,700. That is not bad arithmetic. That means that we have built some missile bases in addition to the ones we already had, so we must constantly review these installations, combine them, and consolidate them if we are going to operate at peak efficiency. We want to save every penny we can every place we can so that we may have some much needed funds to fill unfilled needseducational needs, health needs, poverty needs generally. We think it is much better to curtail the production of unneeded military armaments and take the money saved thereby and put it into educating our chilt dren than following the former course-or taking care of the health of our citizens, or providing security in old age, or medical aid, or things of that kind. So we are combing with a fine-toothed comb in every department and every individual agency. After meeting with the Cabinet the other day in a 3-day study, we came back with recommendations to the budget that reduced it $73I million and eliminated more than Io,ooo jobs. I have a Cabinet officer coming a little later in the week to tell me how he succeeded in reducing his requests by 5,000 jobs. The Secretary of Agriculture told me today that he is very proud of the fact that he had re 89 [7I] Dec. 27 Public Papers of the Presidents duced his request by in excess of 4,000 jobs. So we are trying to have the Cabinet set a good example in the hope that the people down at the lower echelon will increase their productivity without increasing expenditures. [i2.] Q. Mr. President, does this briefing with President Eisenhower indicate a continuing relationship between you and him? THE PRESIDENT. It means that the President of the United States is going to keep the ex-Presidents of the United States fully informed and seek their counsel and advice from time to time. I have had extended conversations with Mr. Hoover, first with his son who talked for him over the phone right after I took the oath as President, and later with President Hoover personally. On Christmas Day I had another conversation with him. He has given me some very constructive suggestions on the operation of the Federal Government that grew out of his experience. We are studying those suggestions. We are applying them where they are appropriate. The Hoover Commission reports have been very carefully evaluated since I became President. President Truman has given me his suggestions on how to increase efficiency, effect economies, and operate the Federal Government. General Eisenhower has spent a good deal of time working with me. I found all of them to be very cooperative and I am very grateful for it. [I3.] Q. Mr. President, how important a part will the East-West relations play in your talks with Chancellor Erhard? THE PRESIDENT. The most important part. There is nothing more important than EastWest relations. As I have said on other occasions, and I want to take this opportunity to repeat it, the most important thing in the world to all of us is to live in a world of peace, to learn to live together. We are going to go down any road that can possibly lead to peace. I express the hope that all the other leaders of the other nations will do likewise. We believe that there is progress which can be made. We are going to do our best to do our part. We have no doubt but what the Chancellor will have the same feeling and that other world leaders have the same feeling. I once said that I had served with over 3,000 men in the Congress in 32 years that I worked and served there. I don't believe I have ever seen a man, either Republican or Democrat, that ran on a platform of doing what was wrong. They all want to do what is right, but sometimes their ideas about what is right and what is wrong differ some. I don't think I know any leaders of the world that wouldn't prefer peace for their people. The job is how to secure it, what road to follow. We are going to be constantly and genuinely searching for that road. Q. Mr. President, in that connection, there have been some optimistic reports from Germany about the recent Common Market discussions, particularly concerning industrial goods, reports that Mr. Erhard will say that they are going to be outward-looking, and so on. I wondered if this tied in with your knowledge and information on this subject, and if you found it encouraging, and useful. THE PRESIDENT. I will probably talk much more fully after the visit rather than anticipating it ahead of time. Although you know our administration went to great lengths and made great sacrifices to pass the trade bill last year, we are very hopeful that we not only will continue to have increased opportunities for trade in the industrial field, but that we will also have access for agricultural commodities. 90 Lyndon B. Johnm [14.] Q. Mr. President, Senator Goldwater has accused you of some un-Christmaslike behavior in keeping Congress in to work on the foreign aid bill. Would you care to comment on Senator Goldwater's remarks? THE PRESIDENT. No, I don't think so. I might say that the Senate asked me if it made any difference what day they took up the bill, and I told them it was a matter for the Senate to determine. I am sure if Senator Goldwater had been around, he would have known that. Q. Mr. President, in connection with foreign aidTHE PRESIDENT. I made no special requests of the Senate about their holidays. They determine when to have them. I am glad that they, in their wisdom, determined to go ahead and try to complete some unfinished business. I believe the people of this country want us all to do that. Of course, they understand when they have to be away on account of sickness or something, but I think generally speaking they want us to get our work done. That is what I want to do. [15.] Q. Mr. President, when are you going to be prepared to talk politics, for example whether you will be entering any of the primaries, and what your own plans will be about seeking the nomination at the Atlantic City Convention? son, 1963-1964 Dec. 28 [72] THE PRESIDENT. I imagine when we get caught up with all these other things. If you have plenty of time on your hands, I wouldn't mind visiting about it with you sometime in the near future. [ I6.] Q. Mr. President, returning to foreign aid, was the action of Congress in sharply reducing foreign aid funds a factor in your appointment of this interdepartmental review committee? THE PRESIDENT. I have felt for some time that we ought to constantly appraise our expenditures, evaluate them, and try to modernize them. There has been a very strong report by the Committee on Foreign Relations, all of whose members I have great respect for. I did consider that in recommending it, but I have some definite views of my own. I communicated them to the committee appointed, on how the Alliance for Progress should be handled, on how military aid should be handled, and on how the Development Loan Fund should be handled. They are considering my views and all other information they can get. They will come up with a recommendation. If they are as close to my views as I hope they will be, we will probably adopt them. Merriman Smith, United Press International: Thank you, Mr. President. NOTE: President Johnson's third news conference was held at the LBJ Ranch, Johnson City, Tex., at 3:45 p.m. on Friday, December 27, i963. 72 Remarks of Welcome to Chancellor Erhard at Bergstrom Air Force Base, Austin, Texas. December 28, I963 Mr. Chancellor, Mr. Foreign Minister, Mr. Secretary of State: It is with the greatest pleasure that we bid you welcome to the United States and to my home State of Texas-as a good friend, a great European, and as Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. You have come to a part of our country where there are many Americans whose forebears came from Germany. So while all of us are your friends, there are many who feel a very personal relationship and who look forward to meeting you. We shall be working hard while you are 33-171-65 12 91 [72] Dec. 28 Public Papers of the Presidents here, but there will also be time to meet some of our neighbors, to see us as we are, and to join us in a Texas barbecue. It is our duty in these next 2 days to discuss the great tasks of the future. It is our good fortune to build on the work of great men who have gone before-to begin our labor together in a time when historic dangers have been turned back and hope for the future of freedom has been strengthened. Two years ago President Kennedy asked me to fly to the beleaguered City of West Berlin to make plain our determination that freedom there could not be strangled by a wall. Today the freedom of West Berlin is more secure than ever. As we meet, Mr. Chancellor, the people of West Berlin for the first time in years are able to cross the wall on errands of simple humanity. Yet the wall itself remains. The guards who man it still shoot to kill. Germany is still divided. There is work to do for freedom in your land. The United States of America remains committed to the great peaceful purpose of freedom and self-determination for all Germans and for all men everywhere. It was a threat to German freedom which took me to Berlin in I96i. It was hope and confidence in the future of German freedom that brought John Kennedy to his magnificent welcome in Berlin 2 years later. Germans and Americans still stand united against danger and strong in hope. So in that spirit, Mr Chancellor, we meet today. We have much to do-to strengthen the forces of freedom, to reinforce the Atlantic partnership, to increase our cooperation with all free nations, new and old, and to enlarge the prospect of peace everywhere. In all that we do, we shall act together as the leaders of two free peoples who have proved their friendship with each other in trial and in triumph. So, Mr. Chancellor, once more let me tell you how happy all Americans are to have you here, and what a very special pleasure it will be for Mrs. Johnson and me to have you as our guest at our home. Chancellor Erhard: Mr. President, Mr. Secretary of State: Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the most friendly welcome which you have accorded me here today. My party and I consider it as a privilege during those quiet days of Christmas to be with you in order to follow the message of Christmas and to do everything in our power to deepen and to enlarge the peace all over the world. That is our task. I am looking forward to this meeting because I think that we have to bring a new hope onto this world, and when I say that I am not only speaking on behalf of Germany, but I am speaking for Europe, which has the great task, in the closest possible association with the United States, to do everything to preserve peace and freedom in this world. Mr. President, the German people feel closely linked with the United States and the American people. In these times of fast technology, evil things, but also, unfortunately, good things tend to be forgotten very quickly. But there is one thing which will be never forgotten, and that is the gratefulness which the German people feel, have felt and feel today, towards the United States and everything they did after the Second World War in order to help this beaten Germany, to extend a brotherly hand to the German people, and to let the German people participate again in the benefits of civilization and find peace. When I say that, I think especially of the Marshall plan, and I often said that the Marshall plan, in fact, was the date of birth of a Europe, the date when the European States 92 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-i964 Dec. 28 [72] that had been caught up in a wrong nationalism again were able to move on to a higher level and to feel that there is a force which is alive in this world, which is borne by the United States, and which gave hope to Europe-hope for a new and better life. During these last i8 years, the friendship between our two peoples and, in fact, between the statesmen of our two peoples, has grown ever more, and become deeper and deeper. More and more we have realized that there are common tasks for us. More and more we have felt that our faith is a common one, and we in Germany know that peace and freedom are indivisible. They are not only indivisible insofar as the fears of life of the individual peoples are concerned, but peace and freedom are indivisible insofar as the cohesion of the free world altogether is concerned. You, Mr. President, in one of the darkest and most worrisome hours, have given hope and courage and confidence to the people of Berlin, and this deed, Mr. President, will never be forgotten, in the same way as the hearts of the Berliners opened up to the late President Kennedy. We, too, in some way, are starting our work from the same position. We are called upon to carry on a great heritage and to fructify that heritage. That is the sense of this meeting: that we, you, Mr. President, and I, myself, should come into close human contact so as to have the confidence which exists between our two peoples deeply rooted in our two persons, and the friendship which has borne such rich fruit during the past years, and which has brought peace and freedom to the world, and very particularly to Germany, this friendship gives us the firm hope that the right of self-determination of peoples will also one day be applied to the German people, and that the hour of freedom for all Berlin will come. May that be the fruit of our common work. We want to work hard, Mr. President, but it is a fine piece of work which we have before us. I am especially glad to have this opportunity. I would like to say particularly to Mrs. Johnson that we have today the great honor of being received as your guests in your home. Again, Mr. President, let me tell you of all the satisfaction and pleasure which I feel, that we have so soon an opportunity of meeting, and the hope which I have that this meeting will be a fruitful one. PRESIDENT JOHNSON. On behalf of all of us, I want to say to the Governor, Senator Yarborough, Congressman Pickle, the distinguished Mayor, and all the good people of Austin, we thank you so much for your warm hospitality. We will now go back to the hills to proceed with our discussions. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your warmth, and we ask for your prayers in the days ahead. NOTE: The President spoke at Io:15 a.m. His opening words referred to Dr. Ludwig Erhard, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Foreign Minister Gerhard Schr6der, and Secretary of State Dean Rusk. In his closing remarks the President referred to Governor John B. Connally, Senator Ralph Yarborough, and Representative J. J. Pickle, all of Texas, and Mayor Lester Palmer of Austin. 93 [73] Dec. 28 Public Papers of the Presidents 73 Toasts of the President and Chancellor Erhard at the LBJ Ranch. December 28, i963 GENTLEMEN, I know that you will want to join me in telling Chancellor Erhard how much we appreciate his coming here to the United States at this time. We meet at a difficult hour, when the usual warmth and peace of the Christmas season and of the coming New Year are tinged with sorrow because of a great loss. We all know that this meeting was to have taken place a month ago and that well-laid plans were changed abruptly by the tragic death of President Kennedy. But, despite the changes that have taken place, it is my purpose, and I am sure it is the Chancellor's, that the close relationship and healthy friendship that have developed between our countries over the past years will become ever closer, and that through our efforts the United States and the Federal Republic will continue to move together in harmony. I am confident that under Chancellor Erhard's wise leadership, the impressive progress made by the Federal Republic in its brief 14 years of existence will continue and the partnership in which both our peoples are actively participating will become an ever greater force for peace and progress. The judgments we make here today will serve us well tomorrow. Gentlemen, let us drink to the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Dr. Heinrich Liibke, and the German people. NOTE: The President proposed the toast at a luncheon at the LBJ Ranch. The White House released the text of the following toast proposed by Chancellor Erhard at a dinner at the ranch that evening. Mr. President, gentlemen: It is with a sense of deep gratification that I am looking back on this day and the talks we have had. These were serious conversations because they reflected the heavy responsibility which our two countries have and you and I have to carry. I am not so vain as to believe that it was a personal privilege granted to me to be invited as the first foreign statesman to your home but I feel that this invitation was meant to reflect the communication of destiny between our two nations. Our two nations have learned from experience and from their history that freedom is the greatest value there is and that is what makes us stand together in good and evil days. Of this, we are fully aware. I would like to express my gratitude to you and to Mrs. Johnson for having invited me to the private and intimate atmosphere of your home because in such an atmosphere you can speak more freely and intimately than in an office. Today our talks went beyond a mere discussion of the problems with which we are confronted. It deeply penetrated into the human sphere. When I will leave the United States and this great State of Texas tomorrow, I will have the satisfaction that we have understood each other and that we have certainly established lasting links between us which we will still wish to maintain. In your remarks, Mr. President, you drew some parallels which were not without the charm of contradictory detail. But, in addition to that, there is something we have in common and that is the same basic approach to life. I have the greatest admiration for the American people and the spirit and human attitude which has appealed most strongly to me. I do not think in terms of the dollars that were made available to us after the war though I do not want to underrate their importance nor would I think of the American defense contribution or of American aid to developing countries. What is of lasting value is the moral and spiritual standards which have been set by the American people and that is the basis on which the United States can claim its role as the world's leading power. I know that this position imposes a burden on you and very often fills you with worry and concern. What you are doing is very often not received with the feeling of gratitude. It is always a miracle that we in Germany do have this feeling of gratitude toward the United States because in Germany this has not always been so. But there is more than only a sense of gratitude in Germany-it is a deep affection for the Americans. I promise you again, Mr. President, that we in Germany are ready to do our utmost in making our contribution and I feel committed to tell our people back home that we have to participate in these common efforts to defend peace, freedom, and social welfare. I hope that this message will also 94 Lyndon B. Johnson, i96 3-1964 Dec. 29 [75] be heard in the United States of America. It is this kinship which makes us stand together and which gives us the strength to bear the heavy responsibilities put on our shoulders. Perhaps some of the questions which we discussed today were not fully discussed yet and will have to be discussed in greater detail tomorrow. I am aware of your worries and I am thinking particularly of what you told me this afternoon during our drive through the country. This has given me food for thought. I hope you will agree whenever one of us feels that we would have to communicate with one another in order to discuss questions, we should do so and make use of this personal and direct contact which we have established. Perhaps birth may be given to new ideas in this way. I feel that this was a good beginning of our relationship in our new offices, you as President of the United States, and I as Chancellor of the Federal Republic. I hope that this relationship may be lasting for the benefit of our two nations and in the interest of peace and freedom for the whole world. This is my sincere wish. I now propose a toast to the personal health and well-being of the President, and to a prosperous future of the people of the United States of America. May God bless the work of the President. 74 Remarks at the Pioneer Memorial, Fredericksburg, Texas. December 29, i963 My friends: It is a great honor to be here in Fredericksburg today with one of the great statesmen of the world. For the last several hours we have talked along the banks of the Pedernales about peace for our people, security for our Nation, prosperity for all human beings everywhere. Our meeting has been most successful, our experience has been quite stimulating, and we look ahead with optimism, hope, and belief that the time will come when all peoples in all lands can love thy neighbor as thyself. So this morning it is with a great deal of pleasure that I present to you the first citizen of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Chancellor, Mr. Erhard. NOTE: The President arrived in Fredericksburg at 9:20 a.m. 75 Remarks in Stonewall, Texas, at a Barbecue in Honor of Chancellor Erhard. December 29, i963 [The President first oflered the following invocation: ] Our Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for these friends from across the waters. We thank Thee for these friends and neighbors here at home. We ask Thee to bless this food, forgive our sins, save us in Thy Kingdom, and give us a peaceful world. Amen. Mr. Chancellor, distinguished guests, and my fellow Americans: Last night at the ranch house, I told Dr. Erhard that I was a politician because of tragic circumstances and fiscal necessity had forced me to turn from a politician to an economist. I have spent the last month working on the Federal budget. Dr. Erhard, on the other hand, is a most distinguished economist who, for other reasons, has had to become a politician. We also have some other things in common. I went to Washington 32 years ago as a young secretary to a Congressman from South Texas named Richard Kleberg, whose father had come here from Germany. So the Germans really launched me into American political life, and Dr. Erhard assured me that the Americans really launched Dr. Erhard into political life. 95 [75] Dec. 29 Public Papers of the Presidents Mr. Chancellor, on the basis of the reception here today, I hope that your people will keep you busy at home because I would not like to have you as an opponent in a free election, either in Stonewall or Fredericksburg. Mr. Chancellor, in a few moments now I am going to turn you over to the American press, and then I think you will know how the deer feel. Others have been writing and talking about the new diplomacy. The Chancellor and I have been practicing it. We have had a wonderful 2 days together. We have formed a firm and lasting friendship personally. Our talks have been full and frank, and full of candor, and, I think, have strengthened the bonds that exist between our two great countries. As I told the citizens of Free Berlin in I96I, and as I have pledged again during the last 2 days, we of the United States have made, and intend to keep, our promise that for the integrity of the people of Free Berlin, we will pledge our lives, our property, and our sacred honor. Mr. Chancellor, we have experienced a season of great shock here in America, and great sorrow, but we stand before the world this morning one Nation, indivisible, under God. We work for peace as the American people have always worked. But like those pioneers who settled this land not many years ago, pioneers who came from Germany, Mr. Chancellor, came in search of peace and freedom, we of this generation trust in the Lord and keep our powder dry. Mr. Chancellor, we shall never be too weary, never be too tired, never be too content, or never too complacent to walk another mile toward peace with honor. But neither shall we be too weak or too uncertain, or too unsure, or too reluctant to defend honor, or to search for peace where ever there is hope to find it. We are determined, Mr. Chancellor, that neither your children nor ours shall know war any more, but we are even more determined that never shall they wear the yoke of any tyranny. So we work for a world of peace, a world of justice, a world of freedom, and we know that in this work, you of the Federal Republic of Germany are at our side, a strong nation, one of the most powerful in the world, working with us, walking with us-yes, searching with us-hoping with us, praying with us, having faith with us in our success and in our yearning for peace on earth, good will toward all men. So, as we approach the conclusion of a most treasured 2 days together, as spokesmen for 2 great countries, may the good God above us guard our people and guide us both whatever the future may betide. Chancellor Erhard: Mr. President, Mrs. Johnson, ladies and gentlemen: Before concluding this visit with the President of the United States, I would like to express my deep satisfaction and to tell you how happy I am about this meeting. We were both faced with the task of carrying on the heritage, not only of carrying it on, but of fructifying it. I would like to stress here that in this meeting we found the same moral views, the same spirit that motivated the one and the other of us, the same political ideas, and they brought us very close together. The personal friendship that has grown yesterday and today has been a good beginning for a hopeful future for our two countries. The President has already indicated that I am a sort of American discovery, and that is literally true, because one day after the occupation, after one of the most terrible wars that has ever come on this eatrh, an American officer came to my home with the very laconic words "Come on." But as I had 96 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-I964 Dec. 29 [75] a very good conscience, I could follow him easily, and it is since that time that I feel a deep friendship that ties me to all the American people. There is something in the nature of man which permits immediate, basic understanding, and this has been the case in all the meetings between the American people and myself. This friendship with the American people has found its correlation today in this friendship that has developed with you, Mr. President. I am going back to my country firmly convinced that if we have solidarity, if we stand together, if we share our fate with out friends and allies, we have not to be afraid of the future, and we have to have no fear about the preservation of freedom and peace. Ladies and gentlemen-or may I say dear American friends-I am told that more than ioo years ago many German immigrants came to this part of the country, and that my countrymen-many of you are descendants, in fact, of those countrymen of mine-helped to develop this country. Let me tell you that I am proud and happy about this achievement, and I am proud and happy when I see that those whose forebears were Germans are the most loyal and the most faithful citizens of the United States of America. I also know something about Texas, and I think I can say that your President, whom I so highly admire-I not only admire him as the first citizen of the United States of America, but as the great son of Texas, or let me say, as the great son of the great State of Texas. I can only confirm what the President has already said, and I am talking very seriously, that I think we have put our time to very good use. Yesterday we worked from morning until night. This morning we have continued working, and if I am not mistaken, we are even going to continue working after this barbecue, and during those talks we have formed a judgment on the situation of the world, not only of the free world but of EastWest relations as a whole, and this judgment was a common one. I can only say here that we fully share our convictions, that we see matters exactly with the same eyes, and I think the secret of this understanding is that each of us has tried to penetrate and has successfully tried to do so, into the very soul and tasks and heart and worries of the other. I think we must not be narrow-minded, or approach matters in an egotistic way, but we have to go beyond the individual and see the interests of the community, because the common fate is as indivisible as freedom is. Freedom is indivisible in the economic, in the political, in the democratic, in the defense fields-in all the fields of life, and as freedom is indivisible, peace, too, is indivisible. There is no more worthy or higher goal to fight for than to fight for peace on earth, and in that fight we stand together without fear. We share the courage of exploring new avenues and new ideas. It is in that spirit that I shall leave this wonderful State of Texas. I am deeply impressed with your country, but let me, in conclusion of this speech, turn to Mrs. Johnson and sing her praise, because with the homelike atmosphere which she has created, she brought about a spirit for our talks which already was a guarantee of success. Mrs. Johnson, let me tell you I no longer feel as your guest. I feel at home with you. I am sure this is not going to be the last meeting. We stand together, talk with each other, talk with our friends, and do everything in our power together, to form this community of ideas for all the free world, conscious of the great responsibility which lies 97 [75] Dec. 29 Public Papers of the Presidents on our shoulders, a great responsibility that goes beyond the present times and goes far into the future, and we do everything in order to be able to stand the judgment of history and to create a heritage which will insure a safe life to our children. Thank you again, Mr. President, for this wonderful, this magnificent welcome. These days in Texas will remain unforgotten, personally and as a political event. They will continue to be effective, they will continue to reign in our hearts. [At this point the President introduced Dr. Gerhard Schroder, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany, and Dean Rusk, Secretary of State, each of whom spoke briefly. Following their remarks there was an interlude of entertainment, after which the President resumed speaking.] I know that I speak for all of you when I express the depth of our feeling and our gratitude to this community and to Fredericksburg for the entertainment they have furnished, particularly to this great young pianist from our own State who has won such fame in all the nations of the world, Van Cliburn. This little community has entertained heads of states, Chancellors, Presidents, and camel drivers because we do not measure men by their power or their wealth here; we measure them by their love of freedom. Mr. Chancellor, in your country, when something is identified as old, it usually means a hundred or even thousands of years. But here in the United States it is different. An automobile is old, for instance, in i year; a house is old sometimes in 5 years; a man's wife's clothes are old sometimes before they are even paid for. But here in this part of our country we do have one genuinely old tradition, and that is the custom which we are keeping today of spending Sunday with our family and with our friends, and with the neighbors we love. I suspect that that is a custom brought to us from Germany, for many of the traditions which we treasure most, such as the Christmas tree, Mr. Chancellor, came from your land to our land years ago. But the finest thing that Germany has ever sent us, even including the splendid imports in which you have had a hand, is people. My mother came from a German family named Hoffman, which left Europe in I848. My neighbors here have the same story to tell, as you know. But throughout America, Germans and Americans of German ancestry have played a great role in our national life. Some of them are here with us today-Wernher von Braun. If America reaches the moon in this decade and is the first to be there, it will be due more to Wernher von Braun's efforts than to any other living man. Dr. von Braun is one of our most distinguished scientists in the space field. Mr. Chancellor, as you know, it is his brother that is your permanent observer today at the United Nations. Now, Mr. Chancellor, here in Texas we do have one tradition as old as this region, and that is the giving of hats. I am told that our hats look something like those worn by apprentice carpenters in Germany. Forty liters or ten gallons. It is a big hat, Mr. Chancellor, for a big man and for America's good friend. NOTE: The President spoke in the gymnasium at Stonewall High School, Stonewall, Tex. At the close of his remarks the President presented a Texas hat to Chancellor Erhard and to many of the other guests. The text of the remarks of Dr. Schr6der and Secretary Rusk was also released. 98 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-I964 76 Joint Statement Following Discussions With Chancellor Erhard. December 29, i963 Dec. 29 [76] PRESIDENT Johnson and Chancellor Erhard have held a series of frank and far-ranging talks at the President's ranch in Texas in the last 2 days. A number of their discussions were private; in other talks they were joined by Secretary Rusk, Foreign Minister Schr6der, and other advisers. The Chancellor told the President of the deep sorrow and sense of personal loss which the German people have felt over the death of President Kennedy. The President expressed deep appreciation for himself and for the American people for this expression of sympathy. He paid a tribute to the late President Heuss, the distinguished first President of the Federal Republic. The President and the Chancellor both emphasized the importance which they attach to this opportunity to meet early in their Administrations. Their extensive discussions serve to confirm the close understanding and high measure of agreement between the two governments on major international issues. These conversations have made it emphatically clear that there will be continuity in the policies of the United States and the Federal Republic of Germany as they work toward common objectives. The President and the Chancellor had an extended discussion of the current state of East-West relations. They were determined that the basic rights and interests of the free nations must be defended, and in particular they agreed that there should be no arrangement that would serve to perpetuate the status quo of a divided Germany, one part of which is deprived of elementary rights and liberties. On this basis, the President and the Chancellor agreed that it is highly important to continue to explore all opportunities for the improvement of EastWest relations, the easing of tensions, and the enlargement of the prospects of a peace that can be stable because it is just. They continue to hope that this effort of the Western powers will meet a constructive response from the Soviet Union. The President and the Chancellor agreed that the central requirement in the policy of the West must be to increase the strength and effectiveness of the emerging Atlantic partnership. They reaffirmed their conviction that an increasingly unified Europe is vital to this effort. The Chancellor stated, and the President agreed, that efforts to achieve such unity must always respect the traditionally open trading relationship Europe has enjoyed with the United States and the rest of the free world. The President and the Chancellor agreed that the forthcoming trade negotiations should be guided by the double objective of enlarged international trade and increasing economic integration in Europe. They agreed that agricultural as well as industrial products must be included and that the negotiations should proceed without delay. The President reviewed the measures being taken to stabilize the United States' international payments position, and the Chancellor reaffirmed his cooperative support for this program. The President and the Chancellor emphasized the importance of extending effective aid to the developing nations. The Chancellor described the progress being made in the work of the German Development Aid Service (German Peace Corps), 99 [76] Dec. 29 Public Papers of the Presidents and the President responded by describing the expansion of the American Peace Corps and the wide public support which it has won. The President and the Chancellor agreed that these two undertakings would gain from close cooperation, and as a part of this process of cooperation, the President has requested Mr. Sargent Shriver to make an early visit to Bonn to take part with German colleagues in discussions of the work of the two programs. The President and the Chancellor reaffirmed their shared commitment to the peaceful reunification of the German people in freedom, by self-determination. The Chancellor stressed the desire of the Federal Republic to examine all paths that might lead to this goal. The Chancellor also stated that the Federal Republic of Germany would continue its efforts to improve its relations with the nations of Eastern Europe. The President renewed the commitment of the Government and people of the United States to maintain the present six-division level of combat forces in Germany, as long as they are needed. The Chancellor welcomed the President's further assurance that the United States would continue to meet its commitments in Berlin. The President expressed appreciation for the cooperative arrangement whereby U.S. dollar expenditures for American military forces in Ger many are offset by German purchases of military equipment in the United States. It was agreed that this arrangement should continue. The President and the Chancellor agreed on the need for all members of NATO to cooperate closely in strengthening the ability of the Alliance to meet all challenges. In particular, they expressed their conviction that the proposal for a multilateral nuclear force now being discussed by several NATO partners would provide a new means of strengthening Western defense. The President and the Chancellor agreed that in all these matters there will be great value to both their governments in the maintenance of ever closer and more intimate exchanges of views and of information. Where common interest is so great, both sides can only gain from the closest cooperation and from the prompt and continuous exchange of views by whatever means are most appropriate in each case. In addition, the President and the Chancellor agreed that they themselves would establish and maintain the closest personal communication. Finally, the President and the Chancellor reaffirmed their commitment not simply to close German-American cooperation, but to the wider interest of both countries in the growing partnership of free nations-of the Atlantic and of the world. 77 Remarks in Austin at the Dedication of the Agudas Achim Synagogue. December 30, i963 Mr. Novy, Mr. Simons, ladies and gentle- fort, strength, and inspiration from Jim men: Novy, Louie Novy, Joe Cohen, their sons, I don't know how any man could be grandsons, fellow sons, and friends in this worthy of all the good things that Jim Novy community. Their friendship is one of my said about me, but through the years, many most prized possessions. Their loyalty is one years, almost 30, I have received great com- of my greatest strengths. The fact that you 100 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Dec. 30 [77] would want me here this evening touched me to the extent that I came a long way to be with you. I am grateful that my first nonofficial public remarks since November 22d can be made here in Austin and in conjunction with the dedication of a house of worship. Austin is the city that we love, and a good many of the reasons for it are out here looking at us tonight. For Mrs. Johnson and me, our public life began here. I have kept Lady Bird happy through the times past by promising that someday we would return to Austin to live-and we shall. We love Austin for many reasons. A good many of them are here tonight. One of the principal ones just sat down-because such fidelity, such loyalty, and such devotion to friends you rarely find as has been evidenced by this man. He was way out there in back of the audience in New York, but he has always been out there wherever you were and whenever you needed him. That is true of so many of you. Yes, we love Austin for many reasons. Above all, we love it for its tolerance. What always surprised my friends back in the East when I tell them is that when I was elected to Congress, as Jim told you, back in I937, newspapers were being published in six or eight languages in Austin and in the Tenth District. From many lands, from many cultures, men brought their families here to escape oppression, to escape war, to search and seek for peace. Times have changed through the years, but the human heart has not changed, and wherever and however men live, the yearning for peace is still the hope that burns most eternally in their hearts. As I said to the Chancellor of Germany yesterday, we invite all who will to go down the road to peace with us; but whether we have any accept ances or not, we are going down that road alone, if need be. No burden rests more heavily upon me in these days than the knowledge that to the farthest corner of the earth men look to the office I hold as the chief office of peace on earth. With all that is in me, I intend to, and God willing I will, keep that trust. I say this here tonight on this occasion because we know that the real hope of a universal peace lies in achieving universal morality, decency, and brotherhood. There is evil in our times, as there has been in all times, but the history of mankind is a history of good triumphing. Out of the evil visited upon us just recently, blessings can come and have come, for Americans have found strength to bear their sorrows in the only place that real strength is to be found-close to God and the works that He would have us do. I was so touched by the invocation this evening, as I know all of you must have been, and we are so blessed in having the privilege of being in the presence of such a great and good and inspiring soul. On Thanksgiving Day, Mrs. Johnson and I attended a worship service in Washington. The sermon then was delivered by Rabbi Stanley Rabinowitz. The Rabbi told this story, which I have remembered so vividly ever since Thanksgiving Day. He said once, in the past, birds had no wings. They could not fly. They walked in the dust, earthbound. Then one day God threw wings at their feet and commanded them to carry the wings. At first this seemed very difficult. The burden was heavy. But in obedience to God's will, they held the wings closely to their sides and the wings soon grew to their bodies. At last, what they once thought were hampering weights lifted them unto the heights and enabled them to IOI [77] Dec. 3o Public Papers of the Presidents soar unto the very gates of heaven. We cannot always do God's purpose, but we can always try to do His will. The man who does, and the nation whose people do, have the hope of reaching new heights. Mr. Novy, our Constitution wisely separates church and state, separates religion and Government. But this does not mean that men of Government should divorce themselves from religion. On the contrary, a first responsibility of national leadership, as I see it, is spiritual leadership, for I deeply believe that America will prevail not because her pocketbooks are big, but because the principles of her people are strong. We have met a great test, and we have met it well. But I would remind you tonight that history is not through with us. Great nations must meet many tests. We shall face many more in the days to come. It is my hope, and your prayer, that the tests of the future will find us all working in brotherhood to put down the hate of the present, to prevail over evil, to work with mercy and compassion among the afflicted, to be in all that we do worthy to be called God's children. We have much to preserve and much to protect. I wonder if any of us really realizes tonight how blessed we are, in this, the Thanksgiving and Christmas season, when we live in a world of 3 billion people, a world of disease and want and illiteracy, a world in which we are the most fortunate of all peoples. Only 6 nations of the I I3 have a per capita income of as much as $8o a month; we have more than $250 per month per capita income-the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, and Switzerland. More than half of the people of the world of 3 billion live off of less than $8 per month. I have traveled on the continent of Africa, throughout Southeast Asia, in western and northern Europe, and throughout Latin America. Everywhere I have gone, I have seen human beings all seeking the same, trying to find the answer to the ancient enemies of mankind-poverty, illiteracy, and disease. I stood in a mud hut in Africa, in Senegal, and I saw an African mother with a baby on her breast, one in her stomach, one on her back, and eight on the floor, that she was trying to feed off of $8 per month. As I looked into her determined eyes, I saw the same expression that I saw in my mother's eyes when she, the-wife of a tenant farmer, looked down upon me and my little sisters and brothers, determined that I should have my chance and my opportunity, believing that where there was a will, there was a way. Tonight, as I meet here with you, I think that we live in the one land where that opportunity really exists, and how we ought to get down on our knees and thank the good Lord Almighty for the providence and for the blessings that are ours. This is such a wonderful land; we must always keep it so. If we have leaders like this good man who introduced me, who has spent so many of his hours in the years past trying to build temples like this, temples where men can worship, temples where justice reigns, temples where the free are welcome, temples where the dignity of man prevails, then America will truly be worthy of the leadership that we claim, and the rest of the world will follow where we lead. Thank you. NOTE: The President participated in the dedication of the new synagogue of the Agudas Achim Congregation on the evening of December 30. His opening words referred to James Novy, chairman of the synagogue's building committee, and to Milton Simons, president of the congregation. I02 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-1964 Dec. 3I [8o] 78 Statement by the President on Recent Legislation in the Field of Education. December 3I, i963 THE 88th Congress has made a distinguished and unparalleled record in the education field. The new laws are new landmarks in our educational progress. I believe it is imperative to carrying out the intent of Congress for these valuable and constructive measures to be put into operation as promptly and efficiently as possible. The regional meetings scheduled throughout the Nation next month will be an important first step in helping local administrators get started without delay. I am asking Dr. Keppel to be my personal representative at these sessions and to convey to local school officials and educators my determination that we work together with new earnestness-at all levels-to make our vision equal to our responsibilities in educating America's youth. NOTE: In the closing paragraph the President referred to Francis Keppel, U.S. Commissioner of Education. The President's statement was part of a White House release announcing a series of i-day meetings to be held at 5 major cities to acquaint educators and administrators with the provisions of the new legislation. The statement was released at Austin, Tex. 79 Telegram to the Chairman, United Negro College Development Campaign. December 3I, I963 DELIGHTED with report United Negro College Fund has raised twenty million dollars and is therefore nearly half way to completion of capital requirements. Hope you and your excellent committee will continue task begun in this Centennial Year of the Emancipation Proclamation at least through first quarter of i964 in an all-out effort to reach the fifty million dollar goal. Improved facilities for these Negro colleges an imperative need. LYNDON B. JOHNSON [Mr. Charles G. Mortimer, Chairman, United Negro College Development Campaign, c/o General Foods Corporation, White Plains, New York] NOTE: The telegram was made public as part of a White House release which noted that the fundraising campaign would benefit 32 Negro colleges. The release also stated that the drive was launched at the White House on September i2, 1963, when President Kennedy met with a small group of businessmen, educators, and philanthropists and asked them to assume responsibility for leading a major capital fundraising program to aid private higher education for Negroes. See "Public Papers of the Presidents, John F. Kennedy i963," Item 355. The telegram was released at Austin, Tex. 8o Memorandum of Disapproval of Bill Relating to the Marking of Imported Articles. December 3I, I963 I AM withholding my approval from H.R. 2513, a bill to require, with respect to every imported article removed from its container and repackaged, that the new package be marked with the name of the country of origin if, under present law, the original container must be so marked, with failure to do so subjecting the repackager-regardless of whether he is the importer, the distributor, the retailer, or any other handler of the merchandise-to fine, imprisonment, and seizure and forfeiture of the article. I03 [8o] Dec. 31 Public Papers of the Presidents Such a bill was vetoed by President Eisenhower in i96i. A second provision of the bill would require that all sawed lumber and wood products be marked with the country of origin, a provision which specifically violates our long standing trade agreement with Canada. This bill would raise new barriers to foreign trade and invite retaliation against our exports at a time when we are trying to expand our trade and improve Western unity. This bill would impose new costs upon our merchants and consumers at a time when we are trying to keep all costs and prices down. This bill would saddle new and unworkable burdens upon our Bureau of Customs at a time when we are trying to reduce Government expenditures. This bill would encourage new price increases in lumber and homebuilding at a time when we are trying to expand our hous ing opportunities. This bill would aggravate our relations with Canada at a time when we are trying to improve those relations at every level. There is no need for this bill. The Federal Trade Commission already has authority to require disclosure of the foreign origin of articles offered for sale where there may be danger of deception of the purchaser. The Federal Tariff Commission already has authority to protect domestic industries against serious economic injury resulting from imports. A unanimous Commission decision last February, in fact, found that the facts did not entitle the soft wood lumber industry to such protection. Approval of this bill, in short, is clearly not in the best interests of all the United States. LYNDON B. JOHNSON NOTE: The memorandum was released at Austin, Tex. For President Eisenhower's veto of a similar bill see i960-6i volume, this series, Item 285. 8i Statement by the President Upon Approving the Public Works Appropriations Act. I HAVE today approved the Public Works Appropriation Act. This does not mean approval of that provision in the act which precludes the Panama Canal Company from disposing of any real property or any rights to the use of real property without first obtaining the approval of the appropriate legislative committees of the House and Senate. Four Attorneys General of the United States have held provisions of this nature unconstitutional. The opinions of the Attorneys General point out that it is either an unconstitutional delegation to Congressional committees of powers which reside only in the Congress as a whole, or an attempt to confer executive powers on December 3i, i963 the committees in violation of the principle of separation of powers set forth in the Constitution. I concur in these views. However, it is entirely proper for the committees to request information with respect to the disposal of property, and I recognize the desirability of consultations between officials of the executive branch and the Congress. Therefore, it is my intention to treat the provision as a request for information and to direct that the appropriate legislative committees be kept fully informed with respect to disposal and transfer actions taken by the Panama Canal Company. LYNDON B. JOHNSON 104 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-1964 Jan. i [82] NOTE: The statement was part of a White House release which also included the text of a memorandum from the President to the Secretary of the Army. In the memorandum, dated December 31, the President requested the Secretary to keep the appropriate legislative committees fully informed of actions taken. The Public Works Appropriation Act, 1964, is Public Law 88-257 (77 Stat. 844). The statement and the text of the memorandum were released at Austin, Tex. 82 Exchange of New Year Greetings Between the United States and the Soviet Union. January I, I964 [ Released January i, 1964. Dear Chairman Khrushchev and Chairman Brezhnev: The old year has brought significant breakthroughs in many areas of human endeavor. But all the work of the chemist in the laboratory, the scientist in space, and the agronomist in the field will be in vain unless we can learn to live together in peace. No feat of physical science can compare to the feat of political science which brings a just peace to earth. The American people and their Government have set the strengthening of peace as their highest purpose in the New Year. I myself am wholly committed to the search for better understanding among peoples everywhere. "Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward Men" need not be an illusion; we can make it a reality. The time for simply talking about peace, however, has passedi964 should be a year in which we take further steps toward that goal. In this spirit I shall strive for the further improvement of relations between our two countries. In our hands have been placed the fortunes of peace and the hope of millions; it is my fervent hope that we are good stewards of that trust. On behalf of the American people and myself, I extend cordial greetings and best Dated December 30, 1963 ] wishes for the coming year to you and your families and to the peoples of the Soviet Union. Sincerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON [Nikita Khrushchev, Chairman, Council of Ministers, U.S.S.R.; Leonid Brezhnev, Chairman, Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, Moscow, U.S.S.R.] NOTE: The Soviet leaders' message follows: My dear Mr. President: On the eve of the New Year 1964, we want to extend to the American people and you and your family personally on behalf of the people of the Soviet Union and ourselves New Year's greetings and very best wishes. The past year was marked by a significant improvement in the approach to the solutions of urgent international problems and in the development of Soviet-American relations. The conclusion of the Moscow treaty limiting nuclear testing was a good beginning, and demonstrable evidence of the fact that, given a realistic assessment of the actual world situation, cooperation of governments in resolving urgent international problems and achieving mutually satisfactory agreements is entirely possible. We would like to hope that the coming year will be marked by further significant successes, both in the resolution of important international problems and the improvement of relations between our countries, in the interest of the Soviet and American peoples and the interests of strengthening world peace. N. KHRUSHCHEV L. BREZHNEV The messages were released at Austin, Tex. 105 [83] Jan. I Public Papers of the Presidents 83 New Year's Message to the Chairman of the Military Revolutionary Council in South Viet-Nam. January i, 1964 [ Released January I, I964. Dated December 3I, I963 ] Dear General Minh: As we enter the New Year of I964, I want to wish you, your Revolutionary Government, and your people full success in the long and arduous war which you are waging so tenaciously and bravely against the Viet Cong forces directed and supported by the Communist regime in Hanoi. Ambassador Lodge and Secretary McNamara have told me about the serious situation which confronts you and of the plans which you are developing to enable your armed forces and your people to redress this situation. This new year provides a fitting opportunity for me to pledge on behalf of the American Government and people a renewed partnership with your government and people in your brave struggle for freedom. The United States will continue to furnish you and your people with the fullest measure of support in this bitter fight. We shall maintain in Vietnam American personnel and material as needed to assist you in achieving victory. Our aims are, I know, identical with yours: to enable your government to protect its people from the acts of terror perpetrated by Communist insurgents from the north. As the forces of your government become increasingly capable of dealing with this aggression, American military personnel in South Vietnam can be progressively withdrawn. The U.S. Government shares the view of your government that "neutralization" of South Vietnam is unacceptable. As long as the Communist regime in North Vietnam persists in its aggressive policy, neutralization of South Vietnam would only be another name for a Communist takeover. Peace will return to your country just as soon as the authorities in Hanoi cease and desist from their terrorist aggression. Thus, your government and mine are in complete agreement on the political aspects of your war against the forces of enslavement, brutality, and material misery. Within this framework of political agreement we can confidently continue and improve our cooperation. I am pleased to learn from Secretary McNamara about the vigorous operations which you are planning to bring security and an improved standard of living to your people. I wish to congratulate you particularly on your work for the unity of all your people, including the Hoa Hao and Cao Dai, against the Viet Cong. I know from my own experience in Vietnam how warmly the Vietnamese people respond to a direct human approach and how they have hungered for this in their leaders. So again I pledge the energetic support of my country to your government and your people. We will do our full part to ensure that under your leadership your people may win a victory-a victory for freedom and justice and human welfare in Vietnam. Sincerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON NOTE: The message was released at Austin, Tex. io6 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 Jan. 2 [85] 84 Statement by the President in Response to a Report on the 1963 Campaign for Reaching School Dropouts. January I, I964 [ Released January I, I964. Dated December 3I, I963 ] THE RESULTS are far better than expected. I am very much encouraged. We still have to learn our way in this type of activity-that was the purpose of these first 63 programs. But one conclusion is justified. Any community in America that wants to lick the dropout problem can do so if a real effort is made locally. We can't just leave it up to our teachers and administrators to do this job for us. Our churches, civic leadership, PTA's, women's organizations —as well as business and labor-can do something for their country's future by giving top priority next summer to back-to-school campaigns in their communities. If we want our young people to take an interest in themselves, we need to show more interest in them ourselves. The I963 results show that where local effort was made, I out of 2 actual or potential dropouts returned to school-and 9 out of io are staying in school. With experience, 85 Statement by the President on Relations. January 2, I964 THE SECRETARY of Labor reported to me today that this country has experienced an unparalleled era of industrial peace during the past 4 years. This is a most important and gratifying comment on the condition of labor-management relations in the United States. It is an indication of a growing maturity and responsibility in the collective bargaining process. Secretary Wirtz has informed me that since i960 we have experienced a sustained low level of strike activity unmatched in any comparable peacetime period. Fewer work we can do even better. I am asking Dr. Keppel to send every school district in the Nation a full report on these pilot programs together with guidelines for conducting successful dropout campaigns. It is my hope that in I964 at least a majority of our school districts-and all of the metropolitan districts-will have voluntary citizen-supported campaigns underway. President Kennedy's initiative in supporting this campaign in I963 has paid and will continue to pay high dividends. The $250,ooo allocation he made will be repaid many times over in the more productive lives of these young men and women who are continuing their education. NOTE: The statement is part of a White House release summarizing Commissioner of Education Francis Keppel's "Report on Summer I963 Dropout Campaign in Connection With Presidential Emergency Funds," dated December 9, i963 (2 pp. processed). The statement was released at Austin, Tex. See also "Public Papers of the Presidents, John F. Kennedy i963," Item 358. Labor-Management ers have been idled by strikes than during any comparable time since the war. More importantly, time lost due to strikes since I960 has accounted for a lower percentage of all working time than during any comparable peacetime period since the depression-o.I7 percent in I96o, o.I4 percent in I96I, O.I6 percent in I962, and o.I5 percent in I963. The year I963 itself established some important records. There were 200,000 fewer people made idle by strikes beginning in i963 than in any year since World War II. I07 [85] Jan. 2 Public Papers of the Presidents The favorable strike record since I960 is attributable to the lessening frequency and impact of large strikes, and in 1963 this trend continued as major strikes, involving Io,ooo or more workers, reached their lowest postwar point, with strike idleness from this group amounting to only a Ioth of the total for the year. This record illustrates how far industrial democracy has advanced in this country in recent years. I know of no better confirmation of the vitality, the strength, and the promise of the free enterprise system than that shown by the ability of labor and management to work out their destinies in a free and peaceful manner. This progress, this record of achievement, does not mean that complex problems do not still exist on the industrial relations scene. While labor and management have, on the whole, come to grips successfully with the question of wages and hours and working conditions, they have still to improve the machinery for meeting the challenge presented by today's technology. Employers, faced with competitive urgencies, rightly seek to adopt manpower-saving advances when they will assist them in meeting the needs of the market; unions, faced with the threat of jobs lost through automation, rightly seek to protect the interests of the workers by providing security against human displacement. While these divergent motivations sometimes have resulted in strikes and shutdowns, more and more the parties are discovering that accord is attainable when there is genuine desire to achieve it. The record tells us this is so and provides reasonable grounds for hope that the achievements will continue. NOTE: The statement and the Secretary's report, in the form of a letter dated December 3I, I963, were released at Austin, Tex. 86 Statement by the President Upon Establishing the President's Committee on Consumer Interests. January 3, 1964 I AM TODAY taking action to assure that the voice of the consumer will be "loud, clear, uncompromising, and effective" in the highest councils of the Federal Government. First, I am appointing Mrs. Esther Peterson as my Special Assistant for Consumer Affairs. Second, I am establishing the President's Committee on Consumer Interests, with Mrs. Peterson as its Chairman. For the first time in history, the American consumer's interest-so closely identified with the public interest-will be directly represented in the White House. I shall look to Mrs. Peterson and the Committee to give new meaning to consumer rights: -the right to safety -the right to be informed Io8 -the right to choose -the right to be heard. The American marketplace-where free men and women sell, buy, and producehas proved itself as the generator of the world's highest standard of living. But, to reach new heights, its best practices must become common practice. An unrelenting fight must be waged against the selfish minority who deceive or defraud the consumer, who exact unfair prices or levy unfair charges. My Special Assistant and the new Committee will lead the campaign of America's homemakers against such sharp practices and unwarranted price increases. I have asked Mrs. Peterson to retain her post as Assistant Secretary of Labor while Lyndon B. Johns she serves as Special Assistant to the President and as Chairman of the President's Committee on Consumer Interests. She is a member of this administration who has already displayed superb qualities of leadership in relating people's individual needs to the broad programs of government. Her selection for her new post was unanimously recommended to me by the existing Consumer Advisory Council and the Council of Economic Advisers, to which it now reports. The President's Committee on Consumer Interests will consist of (i) representatives of the Government agencies most directldy concerned with consumer affairs and (2) private citizens especially qualified to represent consumer interests. The private group will themselves form a Consumer Advisory Council. It will be the ron, 1963-1964 Jan. 3 [88] successor to the existing Council, which has done such excellent work since mid-1962 in laying the foundation for the new chapter in consumer representation that is now to begin. The consumer today enjoys an unprecedented share of material plenty. Yet the value of our society can be measured truly not in the mass but in the condition of each individual. It is my hope that this Committee and the Council, under Mrs. Peterson's dynamic leadership, will heighten the values of those who have, and increase the welfare and opportunity of those who have not. NOTE: On the same day the President issued Executive Order III136 establishing the President's Committee on Consumer Interests and the Consumer Advisory Council (29 F.R. 129; 3 CFR, 1964 Supp.). The statement was released at Austin, Tex. 87 Remarks Recorded at the LBJ Ranch for Broadcast in Germany. January 3, 1964 I WOULD LIKE to send my greetings for the New Year to the good people of Berlin. Berlin continues to stand as a citadel of freedom. In 1961, when the wall was built to divide your great city, I came to Berlin to pledge the support of the United States of America. Last year President Kennedy reaffirmed that pledge. As we begin 1964, I want you to know that the people of the United States stand behind the people of Berlin and that the resolve of our commitments remain unshaken. We have just concluded a most interesting and most profitable conference between the Chancellor of Germany and the President of the United States. We had as our guest here at the LBJ Ranch for several days Chancellor Erhard. And I think in the weeks and months ahead, you will see the fruits that flow from that very fine visit. 88 Message to the President of Ghana Following an Attempt on His Life. January 3, 1964 I AM deeply shocked at the reported attempt [His Excellency Kwame Nkrumnah, President of nn vour life. but relieved to know that vou Ghana, Accra, Ghana] WLA 7%LL v", Uas s1%wv V * s LWhs XIIYYW SLAVVVsa L Y V U are unharmed. Please convey my condolences to the family of the guard who fell in your behalf. LYNDON B. JOHNSON NOTE: The message was read by the Press Secretary to the President, Pierre Salinger, at his news conference held at the White House at 3 p.m. on January 3, 1964. 109 [89] jan- 5 Public Papers of the Presidents 89 Statement by the President on the Report of the Task Force on Manpower Utilization. January 5, i964 I AM releasing today the report of the Task Force on Manpower Conservation, appointed by President Kennedy on September 30, i963. I regard with utmost concern the two principal findings of that report. First, that one-third of the Nation's youth would, on examination, be found unqualified on the basis of standards set up for military service and Second, that poverty is the principal reason why these young men fail to meet those physical and mental standards. The findings of the Task Force are dramatic evidence that poverty is still with us, still exacting its price in spoiled lives and failed expectations. For entirely too many Americans the promise of American life is not being kept. In a Nation as rich and productive as ours this is an intolerable situation. I shall shortly present to the Congress a program designed to attack the roots of poverty in our cities and rural areas. I wish to see an America in which no young person, whatever the circumstances, shall reach the age of twenty-one without the health, education, and skills that will give him an opportunity to be an effective citizen and a selfsupporting individual. This opportunity is too often denied to those who grow up in a background of poverty. This war on poverty, however, will not be won overnight. And we are now faced with the problem of those young men-already out of school-who would fail to meet minimal health and mental achievement standards. After reviewing the findings and recommendations of the Task Force report, I have determined to take the following actions: First, I am directing the Secretary of Defense and the Director of the Selective Service System to proceed to conduct, as soon as possible, examination of all new registrants who are out of school and otherwise available for service. The Universal Military Training and Service Act of I951 provides that each selective service registrant be classified and examined "as soon as practicable following his registration." For those who are no longer in school or college, this can best be done while they are still eighteen. This will enable those who are qualified for military service to plan intelligently their future careers in this respect. It will enable those found unqualified to get to work promptly on the education, training, or health services which can be of benefit to them. The examinations given to selective service registrants provide a unique opportunity to measure all young men by a single yardstick, so that both they and their communities can judge their performance, and improve it where necessary. Until now we have not taken advantage of this opportunity. Of late only a limited number of selective service registrants have actually been examined, usually 4 to 5 years after registering, and, except for a few pilot projects, there have been no followup measures for those who fail to meet the standards. Rejectees, for example, have normally not even been told the nature of their disqualifying conditions. I must emphasize that early examination will not mean early induction. There will be no change in the present practice of calling older registrants for actual induction into the Armed Forces before younger ones are IIo Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Jan. 6 [go] called. Second, I am directing the Secretaries of Labor and of Health, Education, and Welfare to proceed immediately to initiate a manpower conservation program designed to meet, so far as resources permit, the needs of young men who fail to meet the tests given to selective service registrants. I am heartened by the evidence produced by the Task Force that the overwhelming majority of young men failing the achievement tests, when made aware of their situation, were explicitly interested in obtaining the additional education and training they clearly need. I have no doubt that similar attitudes would be found among those failing the physical examination. Those found unqualified for military service will not simply be ignored. Manpower Conservation Units will be established in local offices of the U.S. Employment Service where those who fail to meet the mental achievement standards will be counseled and referred to the full spectrum of available Federal-State services relating to manpower development, training, and education. Similar referral services will be developed for those failing to pass the physical examination. By these means young men will have explained to them the reasons for their rejection and the measures they themselves can take to obtain the education, training, or health services that they might need. Clearly, the Task Force report has revealed a situation more serious and more extensive than has been our understanding. Nonetheless, it is equally clear that we have at present the resources needed to get started on the task of providing many of these young men a better opportunity for jobs and health. It is particularly fortunate that in the past month Congress has passed two historic measures that provide greatly enlarged and improved programs in the fields of manpower training and vocational education. With these and other existing programs, for example, more than one-quarter of those who fail the achievement tests during fiscal year I965 can be enrolled in literacy training, vocational training, or both. Some modest additional costs will be incurred by the eighteen-year-old examination and for the provision of added services. These costs can be met within the fiscal year I965 budget I will submit shortly. At the same time, the findings of the Task Force underscore emphatically the need for passage for the Youth Employment Act to provide additional job and training opportunities needed by many of these rejectees. Further, the National Service Corps would provide needed talent to work with rejectees in training and rehabilitation programs. These measures are, of course, now before Congress, and I will include funds for them in the forthcoming budget. NOTE: The report "One-Third of a Nation" is dated January i, 1964 (36 pp. plus appendixes). It was released with the President's statement at Austin, Tex. For President Kennedy's statement upon establishing the Task Force on Manpower Conservation see 1963 volume, this series, Item 393. go Statement by the President on the Fight Against Organized Crime and Racketeering. January 6, 1964 THE GROWING success of the Federal effort against racketeering and organized crime reported to me by the Attorney Gen eral should be a source of encouragement to citizens in all parts of the country. This record is the result of exceptional III [go] Jan. 6 Public Papers of the Presidents dedication and efficient operation by the various Federal law enforcement agencies working together. No amount of recognition can compensate the men and women of the FBI, Bureau of Narcotics, Secret Service, Internal Revenue, Immigration Service, and the other Federal law enforcement agencies, for their long and unusual hours, extended periods away from home, and threats and physical danger to themselves and their families. Nonetheless, I am sure all Americans join me in expressing the Nation's gratitude to them-and their colleagues in State and local agencies. At the same time, it should be recognized that the intensified Federal effort against organized crime stems in large part from the deep interest and leadership of the Attorney General. His efforts deserve our appreciation. We can provide it in no better way than to take sober note of his conclusion that there is a very long way to go-that we not only have not won the battle against organized crime, but that we have only begun to conduct an effective fight and that each one of us can help. For our part in the Federal Government, we intend to continue and to accelerate that fight. NOTE: The Attorney General's report, in the form of a letter dated January 3 (7 pp., mimeographed), was released with the President's statement. The report pointed out that the Federal Government's intensive drive against racketeering began in i96i, and that as a result of Federal efforts in I963 scores of racketeers who for years corrupted their communities were now serving Federal prison sentences. This had stimulated new law enforcement vigor at the State and local levels. Racketeering indictments, which had almost tripled from I96I to i962, had doubled again in i963. Of even greater significance, the report continued, was the fact that convictions had also increased greatly. 9i Annual Message to the Congress on the State of the Union. January 8, i964 [ As delivered in person before a joint session ] Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, Members of the House and Senate, my fellow Americans: I will be brief, for our time is necessarily short and our agenda is already long. Last year's congressional session was the longest in peacetime history. With that foundation, let us work together to make this year's session the best in the Nation's history. Let this session of Congress be known as the session which did more for civil rights than the last hundred sessions combined; as the session which enacted the most far-reaching tax cut of our time; as the session which declared all-out war on human poverty and unemployment in these United States; as the session which finally recognized the health needs of all our older citizens; as the session which reformed our tangled transportation and transit policies; as the session which achieved the most effective, efficient foreign aid program ever; and as the session which helped to build more homes, more schools, more libraries, and more hospitals than any single session of Congress in the history of our Republic. All this and more can and must be done. It can be done by this summer, and it can be done without any increase in spending. In fact, under the budget that I shall shortly submit, it can be done with an actual reduction in Federal expenditures and Federal employment. II2 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-1964 Jan. 8 [9I] We have in 1964 a unique opportunity and obligation-to prove the success of our system; to disprove those cynics and critics at home and abroad who question our purpose and our competence. If we fail, if we fritter and fumble away our opportunity in needless, senseless quarrels between Democrats and Republicans, or between the House and the Senate, or between the South and North, or between the Congress and the administration, then history will rightfully judge us harshly. But if we succeed, if we can achieve these goals by forging in this country a greater sense of union, then, and only then, can we take full satisfaction in the State of the Union. II. Here in the Congress you can demonstrate effective legislative leadership by discharging the public business with clarity and dispatch, voting each important proposal up, or voting it down, but at least bringing it to a fair and a final vote. Let us carry forward the plans and programs of John Fitzgerald Kennedy-not because of our sorrow or sympathy, but because they are right. In his memory today, I especially ask all members of my own political faith, in this election year, to put your country ahead of your party, and to always debate principles; never debate personalities. For my part, I pledge a progressive administration which is efficient, and honest and frugal. The budget to be submitted to the Congress shortly is in full accord with this pledge. It will cut our deficit in half-from $io billion to $4,900 million. It will be, in proportion to our national output, the smallest budget since I951. It will call for a substantial reduction in Federal employment, a feat accomplished only once before in the last io years. While maintaining the full strength of our combat defenses, it will call for the lowest number of civilian personnel in the Department of Defense since I950. It will call for total expenditures of $97,9oo million-compared to $98,400 million for the current year, a reduction of more than $500 million. It will call for new obligational authority of $103,800 million-a reduction of more than $4 billion below last year's request of $o17,900 million. But it is not a standstill budget, for America cannot afford to stand still. Our population is growing. Our economy is more complex. Our people's needs are expanding. But by closing down obsolete installations, by curtailing less urgent programs, by cutting back where cutting back seems to be wise, by insisting on a dollar's worth for a dollar spent, I am able to recommend in this reduced budget the most Federal support in history for education, for health, for retraining the unemployed, and for helping the economically and the physically handicapped. This budget, and this year's legislative program, are designed to help each and every American citizen fulfill his basic hopes-his hopes for a fair chance to make good; his hopes for fair play from the law; his hopes for a full-time job on full-time pay; his hopes for a decent home for his family in a decent community; his hopes for a good school for his children with good teachers; and his hopes for security when faced with sickness or unemployment or old age. III. Unfortunately, many Americans live on the outskirts of hope-some because of their poverty, and some because of their color, and all too many because of both. Our task "I3 [9i] Jan. 8 Public Papers of the Presidents is to help replace their despair with opportunity. This administration today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in America. I urge this Congress and all Americans to join with me in that effort. It will not be a short or easy struggle, no single weapon or strategy will suffice, but we shall not rest until that war is won. The richest Nation on earth can afford to win it. We cannot afford to lose it. One thousand dollars invested in salvaging an unemployable youth today can return $40,000 or more in his lifetime. Poverty is a national problem, requiring improved national organization and support. But this attack, to be effective, must also be organized at the State and the local level and must be supported and directed by State and local efforts. For the war against poverty will not be won here in Washington. It must be won in the field, in every private home, in every public office, from the courthouse to the White House. The program I shall propose will emphasize this cooperative approach to help that one-fifth of all American families with incomes too small to even meet their basic needs. Our chief weapons in a more pinpointed attack will be better schools, and better health, and better homes, and better training, and better job opportunities to help more Americans, especially young Americans, escape from squalor and misery and unemployment rolls where other citizens help to carry them. Very often a lack of jobs and money is not the cause of poverty, but the symptom. The cause may lie deeper-in our failure to give our fellow citizens a fair chance to develop their own capacities, in a lack of education and training, in a lack of medical care and housing, in a lack of decent communities in which to live and bring up their children. But whatever the cause, our joint Federallocal effort must pursue poverty, pursue it wherever it exists-in city slums and small towns, in sharecropper shacks or in migrant worker camps, on Indian Reservations, among whites as well as Negroes, among the young as well as the aged, in the boom towns and in the depressed areas. Our aim is not only to relieve the symptom of poverty, but to cure it and, above all, to prevent it. No single piece of legislation, however, is going to suffice. We will launch a special effort in the chronically distressed areas of Appalachia. We must expand our small but our successful area redevelopment program. We must enact youth employment legislation to put jobless, aimless, hopeless youngsters to work on useful projects. We must distribute more food to the needy through a broader food stamp program. We must create a National Service Corps to help the economically handicapped of our own country as the Peace Corps now helps those abroad. We must modernize our unemployment insurance and establish a high-level commission on automation. If we have the brain power to invent these machines, we have the brain power to make certain that they are a boon and not a bane to humanity. We must extend the coverage of our minimum wage laws to more than 2 million workers now lacking this basic protection of purchasing power. We must, by including special school aid funds as part of our education program, improve the quality of teaching, training, and counseling in our hardest hit areas. We must build more libraries in every area I4 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Jan. 8 [9i] and more hospitals and nursing homes under the Hill-Burton Act, and train more nurses to staff them. We must provide hospital insurance for our older citizens financed by every worker and his employer under Social Security, contributing no more than $i a month during the employee's working career to protect him in his old age in a dignified manner without cost to the Treasury, against the devastating hardship of prolonged or repeated illness. We must, as a part of a revised housing and urban renewal program, give more help to those displaced by slum clearance, provide more housing for our poor and our elderly, and seek as our ultimate goal in our free enterprise system a decent home for every American family. We must help obtain more modern mass transit within our communities as well as low-cost transportation between them. Above all, we must release $II billion of tax reduction into the private spending stream to create new jobs and new markets in every area of this land. IV. These programs are obviously not for the poor or the underprivileged alone. Every American will benefit by the extension of social security to cover the hospital costs of their aged parents. Every American community will benefit from the construction or modernization of schools, libraries, hospitals, and nursing homes, from the training of more nurses and from the improvement of urban renewal in public transit. And every individual American taxpayer and every corporate taxpayer will benefit from the earliest possible passage of the pending tax bill from both the new investment it will bring and the new jobs that it will create. That tax bill has been thoroughly discussed for a year. Now we need action. The new budget clearly allows it. Our taxpayers surely deserve it. Our economy strongly demands it. And every month of delay dilutes its benefits in i964 for consumption, for investment, and for employment. For until the bill is signed, its investment incentives cannot be deemed certain, and the withholding rate cannot be reducedand the most damaging and devastating thing you can do to any businessman in America is to keep him in doubt and to keep him guessing on what our tax policy is. And I say that we should now reduce to 14 percent instead of 15 percent our withholding rate. I therefore urge the Congress to take final action on this bill by the first of February, if at all possible. For however proud we may be of the unprecedented progress of our free enterprise economy over the last 3 years, we should not and we cannot permit it to pause. In i963, for the first time in history, we crossed the 70 million job mark, but we will soon need more than 75 million jobs. In i963 our gross national product reached the $600 billion level-$ioo billion higher than when we took office. But it easily could and it should be still $30 billion higher today than it is. Wages and profits and family income are also at their highest levels in history-but I would remind you that 4 million workers and I3 percent of our industrial capacity are still idle today. We need a tax cut now to keep this country moving. V. For our goal is not merely to spread the work. Our goal is to create more jobs. I 33-171 —65 -- 13 II5 [9i ] Jan. 8 Public Papers of the Presidents believe the enactment of a 35-hour week would sharply increase costs, would invite inflation, would impair our ability to compete, and merely share instead of creating employment. But I am equally opposed to the 45- or 50-hour week in those industries where consistently excessive use of overtime causes increased unemployment. So, therefore, I recommend legislation authorizing the creation of a tripartite industry committee to determine on an industry-by-industry basis as to where a higher penalty rate for overtime would increase job openings without unduly increasing costs, and authorizing the establishment of such higher rates. VI. Let me make one principle of this administration abundantly clear: All of these increased opportunities-in employment, in education, in housing, and in every fieldmust be open to Americans of every color. As far as the writ of Federal law will run, we must abolish not some, but all racial discrimination. For this is not merely an economic issue, or a social, political, or international issue. It is a moral issue, and it must be met by the passage this session of the bill now pending in the House. All members of the public should have equal access to facilities open to the public. All members of the public should be equally eligible for Federal benefits that are financed by the public. All members of the public should have an equal chance to vote for public officials and to send their children to good public schools and to contribute their talents to the public good. Today, Americans of all races stand side by side in Berlin and in Viet Nam. They died side by side in Korea. Surely they can work and eat and travel side by side in their own country. VII. We must also lift by legislation the bars of discrimination against those who seek entry into our country, particularly those who have much needed skills and those joining their families. In establishing preferences, a nation that was built by the immigrants of all lands can ask those who now seek admission: "What can you do for our country?" But we should not be asking: "In what country were you born?" VIII. For our ultimate goal is a world without war, a world made safe for diversity, in which all men, goods, and ideas can freely move across every border and every boundary. We must advance toward this goal in 1964 in at least Io different ways, not as partisans, but as patriots. First, we must maintain-and our reduced defense budget will maintain-that margin of military safety and superiority obtained through 3 years of steadily increasing both the quality and the quantity of our strategic, our conventional, and our antiguerrilla forces. In I964 we will be better prepared than ever before to defend the cause of freedom, whether it is threatened by outright aggression or by the infiltration practiced by those in Hanoi and Havana, who ship arms and men across international borders to foment insurrection. And we must continue to use that strength as John Kennedy used it in the Cuban crisis and for the test ban treaty-to demonstrate both the futility of nuclear war and the possibilities of lasting peace. Second, we must take new steps-and we shall make new proposals at Geneva-toward the control and the eventual abolition ii6 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 Jan. 8 [9:] of arms. Even in the absence of agreement, we must not stockpile arms beyond our needs or seek an excess of military power that could be provocative as well as wasteful. It is in this spirit that in this fiscal year we are cutting back our production of enriched uranium by 25 percent. We are shutting down four plutonium piles. We are closing many nonessential military installations. And it is in this spirit that we today call on our adversaries to do the same. Third, we must make increased use of our food as an instrument of peace-making it available by sale or trade or loan or donation-to hungry people in all nations which tell us of their needs and accept proper conditions of distribution. Fourth, we must assure our pre-eminence in the peaceful exploration of outer space, focusing on an expedition to the moon in this decade-in cooperation with other powers if possible, alone if necessary. Fifth, we must expand world trade. Having recognized in the Act of 1962 that we must buy as well as sell, we now expect our trading partners to recognize that we must sell as well as buy. We are willing to give them competitive access to our market, asking only that they do the same for us. Sixth, we must continue, through such measures as the interest equalization tax, as well as the cooperation of other nations, our recent progress toward balancing our international accounts. This administration must and will preserve the present gold value of the dollar. Seventh, we must become better neighbors with the free states of the Americas, working with the councils of the OAS, with a stronger Alliance for Progress, and with all the men and women of this hemisphere who really believe in liberty and justice for all. Eighth, we must strengthen the ability of free nations everywhere to develop their in dependence and raise their standard of living, and thereby frustrate those who prey on poverty and chaos. To do this, the rich must help the poor-and we must do our part. We must achieve a more rigorous administration of our development assistance, with larger roles for private investors, for other industrialized nations, and for international agencies and for the recipient nations themselves. Ninth, we must strengthen our Atlantic and Pacific partnerships, maintain our alliances and make the United Nations a more effective instrument for national independence and international order. Tenth, and finally, we must develop with our allies new means of bridging the gap between the East and the West, facing danger boldly wherever danger exists, but being equally bold in our search for new agreements which can enlarge the hopes of all, while violating the interests of none. In short, I would say to the Congress that we must be constantly prepared for the worst, and constantly acting for the best. We must be strong enough to win any war, and we must be wise enough to prevent one. We shall neither act as aggressors nor tolerate acts of aggression. We intend to bury no one, and we do not intend to be buried. We can fight, if we must, as we have fought before, but we pray that we will never have to fight again. IX. My good friends and my fellow Americans: In these last 7 sorrowful weeks, we have learned anew that nothing is so enduring as faith, and nothing is so degrading as hate. John Kennedy was a victim of hate, but he was also a great builder of faith-faith in our fellow Americans, whatever their creed II7 [9g] Jan. 8 Public Papers of the Presidents or their color or their station in life; faith in the future of man, whatever his divisions and differences. This faith was echoed in all parts of the world. On every continent and in every land to which Mrs. Johnson and I traveled, we found faith and hope and love toward this land of America and toward our people. So I ask you now in the Congress and in the country to join with me in expressing and fulfilling that faith in working for a nation, a nation that is free from want and a world that is free from hate-a world of peace and justice, and freedom and abundance, for our time and for all time to come. 92 Letter to Senator Byrd Urging Further Reduction in the Tax Withholding Rate. January 9, 1964 [ Released January 9, 1964. Dated January 8, I964 ] Dear Senator Byrd: H.R. 8363 provides for the reduction in the tax liabilities of individuals to be effective in two stages. The first rate reductions are to be effective on January i, 1964; and further final reductions to the 14 percent-70 percent range are to be effective January I, I965. This staging in the reduction of tax liabilities of individuals continues to be appropriate. However, I urge that the Committee consider a modification of the procedure on wage withholding needed to implement the reduction in tax liabilities. Title III of the House bill now provides that the rate of wage and salary withholding be reduced on January i, I964 from its present 18 percent to I5 percent on wages paid in 1964 and on January I, 1965 to 14 percent on wages paid thereafter. Obviously, even though the rate reductions will be effective January i, 1964, it is not possible to reduce the rate of wage withholding before actual enactment of the tax bill. In light of the fact that the reduction in wage withholding cannot be made effective on January i, 1964 as scheduled in the House bill, I urge the Finance Committee to adopt a one-step reduction in withholding to 14 percent on all wages paid more than one week after enactment of H.R. 8363, while maintaining the same two-stage reduction in individual tax liabilities. Each month's postponement of enactment of the tax bill keeps $600 million out of wage earners' take-home pay. Since the first-stage rate reductions under H.R. 8363 are effective on January I, I964, these sums will eventually have to be refunded. Thus a significant part of the economic stimulus from the tax program will be delayed until taxpayer refund claims are processed sometime in late winter or early spring of I965. A reduction in the withholding rate to 14 percent, rather than to I5 percent, effective within one week of enactment, will compensate for the delay in enactment. The higher take-home pay will be immediately reflected in consumer spending. The additional one point reduction in withholding rates, taking effect sometime in February, will raise the gross national product for the rest of 1964 by some $3 to $4 billion over the level that would prevail under the 15 percent rate. Because Federal expenditures in fiscal year 1965 are being effectively controlled in the budget I will submit, these additional consumer expenditures will replace the higher level of Government expenditures previously anticipated. This proposed change in withholding rates II8 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Jan. 9 [93] would effect a better fiscal balance between revenues in fiscal I964 and fiscal I965. The House bill, with a 15 percent rate starting January, I964, would have split the $6.2 billion reduction in the calendar year I964 individual income tax liability into a $3 billion reduction in receipts occurring in fiscal 1964 and a $3.2 billion reduction in fiscal year I965. An I8 percent withholding rate for January, with 14 percent for the remainder of the year, splits the reduction $3.2 billion for fiscal 1964 and $3.o billion for fiscal 1965. The I4 percent rate effective in February would thus maintain the same fiscal balance as the House bill between fiscal years I964 and I965. By contrast, a I5 percent rate starting in February would split the reduction $2.4 billion for fiscal I964 and $3.8 billion in fiscal I965-which is far different from the House bill. Moreover, since the scheduled withholding rate for I965 under the bill is already I4 percent, the use of the 14 percent rate in I964 as well will make it unnecessary for employers to institute a second change in the withholding rate next year. In past years, between 35 and 40 million taxpayers have experienced year-end refunds because withholding generally exceeds final liability. This arises principally because many taxpayers, for withholding purposes, claim fewer exemptions than they are entited to or because of sporadic employment. Although the 14 percent withholding rate beginning in February will result in a reduction in these refunds, total withholding will still be in excess of final liabilities. Moreover, holding the rate at 15 percent for the remainder of I964 would mean even greater overwithholding for these taxpayers inasmuch as each pay period to which the I8 percent rate is applied in 1964 causes too much to be withheld from taxpayers relative to the new tax schedules for I964 provided by the bill. In summary: a reduction in the wage withholding rate to 14 percent immediately following enactment would more effectively achieve the economic objectives of the tax bill. It would provide a better fiscal balance between I964 and I965. And, it would greatly simplify the administration of wage withholding by employers and the avoidance of excessive overwithholding on many millions of taxpayers. Sincerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON [Honorable Harry Flood Byrd, United States Senate, Washington, D.C.] NOTE: For the President's remarks upon signing the tax bill, see Item I97. 93 Identical Remarks at Meetings With the Business Committee for Tax Reduction and With the Citizens Committee for Tax Reduction and Revision. January 9, 1964 YOU have come here today to offer, once again, your hand and your help in support of the tax bill. That support was never more needed or welcome, than it is now. Today, as you know, I am meeting with two distinguished groups of Americans united for tax reduction. I will say to you exactly what I said to the other. I will do it because there is not one tax reduction bill for business and another for labor, not one for liberals and another for conservatives, not one for Democrats and another for Republicans. There is only one tax reduction bill, and that bill is good for every American citi II9 [93] Jan. 9 Public Papers of the Presidents zen-in whatever walk of life, in whatever income group-because it is good for America. We have been talking about the tax bill for almost a year now-we have had tax reduction on our minds for even longer than that. It is high time we got tax reduction off our minds and onto our law books now, without delay. Uncertainty is the greatest enemy of business investment. We need to vote the bill up or down, but we need to vote on it. Tax reduction will not solve all our problems. But no single step will do more to help ease so many of our major economic ills-unemployment, idle capacity, chronic deficits in our budget and in our international accounts. Every single month that we delay on the tax bill makes more than $550 million worth of difference to America's economy-because more than $550 million a month will be added to take-home pay and extra purchasing power resulting from the new withholding rates. Those withholding rates cannot go into effect until after the tax bill is passed. Every month we say "Wait" on the tax bill is another month we say "Halt" to the expanded business plans and extra investment that businessmen will only undertake when there is tax reduction they know they can count on-not tax reduction they think they can count on. Every month we say "Wait" on the tax bill makes a world of difference to those four million Americans to whom this prosperous land offers no means of livelihood-and to many more who will join their ranks if we do not start now to produce more jobs. It is time we stopped talking about these problems and started doing something about them. It is time, now, to put the tax bill to work-for a greater and growing America for all Americans. Every day of talk in the Senate costs workers new jobs. You men in this room today can be powerful and persuasive influences in pushing this bill out of committee-and onto the floor where it can be voted on. We need your help. We need it now. NOTE: The President met with the executive committee of the Business Committee for Tax Reduction at 12:50 p.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White House, and with the Citizens Committee for Tax Reduction and Revision at 4:15 p.m. in the Fish Room. 94 White House Statement on the Resumption of Discussions by the Geneva Disarmament Conference. January 9, 1964 THE PRESIDENT has instructed William C. Foster, Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, to lead the U.S. delegation to the i8-nation Disarmament Conference at Geneva when discussions resume on January 2I. In so doing, the President said that he views the negotiations as one of the most important way stations in this Nation's priority efforts to strengthen the peace. He said that as the United States enters these negotiations in a new year, we harbor no illusions of quick or easy success. But he said we do take encouragement from developments in the recent past and look to new opportunities in this Nation's search for agreement on sound and significant arms limitation and reduction measures. He told Mr. Foster that he will take a deep and continuing personal interest in the negotiations as they proceed. 120 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-I964 95 White House Statement on the Events in Panama. January io, i964 Jan. ii [96] THE President has this morning reviewed the situation in Panama with his senior advisers. He has ordered the Assistant Secretary of State, Mr. Mann, to proceed at once to the Canal Zone. The U.S. Government greatly regrets the tragic loss of life of Panamanians and Americans. The President has given most earnest instructions to General O'Meara, Commander in Chief, Southern Command (CINCSOUTH), to do all that is within his power to restore and to maintain peace and safety in the Canal Zone. The President has noted President Chiari's appeal to the citizens of Panama to join in the restoration of peace, and the President is making a similar appeal to the residents of the Canal Zone. The path to a settlement can only be through peace and understanding and not through violence. NOTE: This statement was read by the Press Secretary to the President, Pierre Salinger, at his news conference held at the White House on January 10, 1964. See also Item 104. 96 Remarks at a Reception for Members of the Democratic National Committee. January ii, I964 I KNOW that all of you have met her but I want Lady Bird to say a word before I get opened up on a long speech. [At this point Mrs. Johnson spoke briefly, welcoming the Committee members to the White House. She expressed her pleasure at seeing among them old friends she had met as she traveled "across the many years and across the many States." The President then resumed speaking.] We know how much you have sacrificed through the years in order that the convictions that you possessed could be carried into Government. We know how sorrowful the last 7 weeks have been for all of you. We meet tonight with heavy hearts because of the loss of a fallen leader, but he left us many good things to work for. We enumerated some of those things in our State of the Union Message a few days ago. Above all, we are Americans before we are Democrats or Republicans. When I was talking to the Congress, I particularly appealed to the members of my own party to put the interests of the country ahead of the interests of the party, to debate matters always on principles and never on personalities. There are many things that divide our country, but we would do nothing to muffle dissent. That is one of the great and precious things about this land and the freedom that we enjoy; but we do think that we can disagree without being disagreeable. I had the good fortune to serve as leader of the Senate for 8 years-the longest period of time any leader ever served under the President of another party. Although we frequently did not see eye to eye on matters of governmental policy, we found that it was not necessary to indulge in personalities. Not once that I recall did I ever make a caustic personal criticism of President Eisenhower, his wife, his children, or his dogs. I think you will find that we will be able to get through this campaign and any others in which we may engage with the same thought in mind that basically there are so many more things that unite us than divide us. We have faith in this country and we 12I [96] Jan. II Public Papers of the Presidents have hope for this country. We believe in the people of this country and their judgment. As Jefferson once said, "The collective judgment of the many is much to be preferred to the individual judgment of the few." In the past 7 weeks, in my humble and feeble way, at times, I have tried to develop a budget that would give us a strong country, that would give us a solvent country, that would give us a compassionate country. It is very difficult for some people to understand how you can have military strength and still be solvent, how you can have love and understanding for your fellow man, and compassion, and still have both strength and solvency; but I see nothing inconsistent. I don't think that you have to be wasteful. I think if you are prudent in your expenditures there are just so many more things you can do with the dollars that you save. We have almost $io billion more in this year's budget for military and space than the Republican administration had, but you can see that we really have not sacrificed in military strength or in our space effort. When you realize, however, that we had nearly $io billion more last year than they had, you can see that the expenditure of these billions in i962, I963, I964, and i965 drop off a bit. So, we saved a billion dollars in defense without reducing our combat strength one bit because we built it up with extra expenditures in i962 and i963. As a result, we are going to have more combat strength than we had last year. Bomber for bomber we are relatively strong. Missile for missile, our position compares most favorably with our adversaries. This year we found we had enough nuclear weapons so that we did not have to operate all of the facilities we had. Therefore, we made some reductions there and we have reduced the budget-not much under what President Kennedy had last year, relatively speaking, just a half of i percent. That is nothing great to write home abouta half of i percent-but the point is we did not add $500 million to it. I remember that Mr. Rayburn once said when asked what is the real difference between the Democrats and Republicans, he said, "Well, there are many differences, but the one outstanding difference is that they just never like our side." Senator Morton who is Chairman of the senatorial committee is very astute in the affairs of state and bipartisan with the State Department in representing Mr. Dulles and Mr. Eisenhower, and in my office on the Hill his comment on the message was "The voice of Texas but the hand of Harvard." Mr. Rockefeller said: "Bargain salespost-Christmas package of promises." Mr. Halleck says that he hopes the administration's new-found enthusiasm for economy in Government is as great in June as it is in January. Mr. Dirksen says it would take fiscal legerdemain to accomplish all of the things the President promised and remain within the budget estimate. Everything we have promised has a budget estimate for it, and some things we have recommended they are not going to pass. Actually we are going to spend less than the $97.9 in my judgment. Congressman Arends says, "He promises something for everyone." Sounds kind of sorry, doesn't it? I would hate to think that I am a President for just a few people. I want to be a President for everyone. Some people find it difficult to understand why one would want to serve everyone. This is the final comment of Senator Goldwater. I don't want to criticize him and I am not going to say an unkind word about a single personality. As a matter of I22 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Jan. 13 [97] fact, I want to read what Senator Goldwater said and then conclude. He said, "I would't comment in detail until I have read it." Normally you would want to read something before you talked about it. But he said, "It is my impression that he out-Roosevelt'd Roosevelt, and he out-Kennedy'd Kennedy and even made Truman look like a piker." What finer compliment could be paid! I am just going to say there is a good patriotic man who just had a little difficulty understanding the President's program when he tries to do something for all of the people, but we are going to do something for all of the people. We trust with your help, the good Lord's help, and the help of all of the people in this country that it will be more understandable to him at the end of the year than it was at the beginning of the year. We want each person here from each State of the Union to know that this is your house, that you are not only welcome here but that we are very grateful to all of you for what you did in making it possible for us to be here. NOTE: The White House reception for Democratic committeemen and committeewomen, in Washington for a series of business meetings, was held in the State Dining Room at 6 p.m. 97 Remarks to Representatives of Organizations Interested in Immigration and the Problems of Refugees. January I3, i964 Members of the Senate, Members of the House, my fellow Americans: We welcome you to the White House this morning when it is very difficult to get here. We are very pleased that so many of you could make the sacrifice to come through the snow and come here and join us today. We have met for the purpose of pointing up the fact that we have very serious problems in trying to get a fair immigration law. There is now before the Congress a bill that, I hope, can be supported by a majority of the Members of the Congress. This bill applies new tests and new standards which we believe are reasonable and fair and right. I refer specifically to: What is the training and qualification of the immigrant who seeks admission? What kind of a citizen would he make, if he were admitted? What is his relationship to persons in the United States? And what is the time of his application? These are rules that are full of common sense, common decency, which operate for the common good. That is why in my State of the Union Message last Wednesday I said that I hoped that in establishing preferences a Nation that was really built by immigrants, immigrants from all lands, that we could ask those who seek to immigrate now: What can you do for our country? But we ought to never ask, "In what country were you born?" President Roosevelt and President Truman and President Eisenhower and President Kennedy have all asked for a revision in the present statute. The present statute has overtones of discrimination. President Truman said that the idea behind this discrimination was, to put it boldly, that English or Irish names were better and made better citizens than Americans with Italian or Greek or Polish names. And such a concept is utterly unworthy of our traditions and our ideals. Now I would hope that each of us-and all of us are descended from immigrantsI hope we would ask ourselves this question: How would we feel, if we were put in the 3,3-1'71-65 144 123 [97] Jan. I3 Public Papers of the Presidents other fellow's place? Maybe by doing that and engaging in a little introspection for a time we would find it a good feeling to apply the Golden Rule and do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Great Britain has a quota of 65,000. It uses less than half of that quota. Germany has a quota of 25,000 which it never fills. Italy has a quota of 5,645, but it has a current backlog of almost 300,000. Greece has a quota of only 308, but it has a current backlog of over ioo,ooo. So I think that the immigration statutes require very special examination. I would hope that we would do nothing hasty and makeshift, but I hope that we would apply the tests that I have outlined and the standards that I have suggested, doing unto others as you would have them do unto you, and asking them what contribution they could make to their country, and asking yourselves how you would feel if some of your very special members of your family were involved and were facing what now appears to be almost insurmountable obstacles. So instead of using the test of where the immigrant was born, I would hope that we could apply a somewhat more nondiscriminatory test of the very special training and qualifications of the immigrant and his relationship to the persons in the United States and, actually, the time that he applies for admission. These objective standards, I believe, would serve the national interest and I would hope that the Congress at this session would find that a majority of its members could follow this path. I want to thank each of you for coming here this morning. I want to ask you to dedicate such time and effort and your talents as it may be possible to helping us reason together and achieve the standards that history will record as being fair and just and that we, ourselves, can be proud that we played a part in helping to achieve. I particularly thank the Members of Congress who have come here this morning and who hear many conflicting viewpoints, but who, I believe, all were elected on a platform of doing what they believe to be right and who, I am confident, when the chips are down will see that fair and just legislation is written, that if they used it to apply to themselves they would feel they had had at least a fair shake. Thank you very much. Senator Hart is the coauthor of the legislation and it may be that he would want to make a brief observation. He is starting his hearings today and I read his announcement. [At this point Senator Philip A. Hart, of Michigan, spoke briefly, offering a salute to the President for "his courage in stepping up and swinging on an issue that really isn't politically good" although right. He expressed hope that the American people would respond. [Following Senator Hart's remarks, Monsignor John F. McCarthy, representing the American Council of Voluntary Agencies, expressed the appreciation of the group for having been called to the White House for a briefing on immigration matters. The President then resumed speaking.] In this day, when it is quite important, in the light of the troubles that we face around the world, that America close ranks and that we be free men and Americans and public servants before we are party members, and when this Government is really dedicated to a government of strength to defend ourselves wherever we may be called on, a government of solvency so we will have the wherewithal to do that, and a government of compassion so that we can extend the hand to the fellow that has not done as well as we have, I think that this legislation will meet all those standards. I think it will give us strength, I think it will promote solvency, and I think it will ex 124 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Jan. I3 [98] tend the hand of compassion to those that need it and seek it. Congressman Feighan is chairman of the subcommittee in the House. I would like to ask him to make an observation. [Representative Michael A. Feighan, of Ohio, Chairman of the Immigration Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, expressed agreement that there should be a revision of the immigration laws, and that a complete and thorough investigation of immigration policy, its impact domestically and internationally, should be made. He added that his subcommittee would cooperate and conduct hearings on the immigration bill as expeditiously as possible. The President then resumed speaking.] Now I would like to ask two distinguished members of the Judiciary Committee to make a brief observation. I haven't given either of them notice, but they will play an important part in the enactment of any legislation that is passed. And they will display judiciousness and fairness, I am confident. So I am going to ask the distinguished Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, my friend of long standing, Senator Eastland, and the distinguished junior Senator from New York, Senator Keating, to both make a brief statement here for you. This legislation knows no partisan lines. There are times to be patriots and there are times to be partisan and I am sure that Senator Keating will go along with me in being a patriot this morning. We may be partisan a little later in the year. Senator Eastland. [At this point Senator lames 0. Eastland, of Mississippi, spoke very briefly, concurring in Representative Feigan's remarks, saying that they were "going into the matter very carefully and very expeditiously." The President then resumed speaking.] And now with great pleasure I present to you my friend and colleague of many years the distinguished junior Senator from New York who has taken an intense interest in this field of legislation for many years, Senator Keating. [Senator Kenneth B. Keating, of New York, responded by expressing gratitude for the meeting and for "giving an impetus to these hearings which are starting today and to the final enactment of legislation." He said he hoped the President's "very powerful and very effective" drive would result in "getting the Congress off dead center on this problem." Stressing non-partisanship in such a matter, he stated that "there are many men of good will on both sides of the aisle who feel that something needs to be done in this area to remove discrimination or injustice from the present immigration laws." He added that he and Senator Hart would do everything in their power to see that effective legislation was enacted at this session of Congress. The President then concluded his remarks.] Thank you very much for coming and I hope that the time and effort we spent this morning will be rewarded in the days to come in a good bill and we can meet here again to sign that bill at some future date. Thank you very much. NOTE: The group met at the invitation of the President in the Cabinet Room at the White House at 10:30 a.m. 98 Remarks at the National Medal of Science Award Ceremony. January 13, 1964 Members of the Senate, Members of the House, distinguished, honored guests, and ladies and gentlemen: Nothing could warm me more on this wintry day than to present the National Medal of Science. Nothing is more important than what we seek to do today and that is to give national recognition to the outstanding achievement in science and technology. Your endeavors are important not only to your country, but we think to humanity everywhere. The complex fabric of today's society demands that we give increased attention to 125 [98] Jan. 13 [98] Jn. '3Public Papers of the Presidents science and technology. You represent that attention and this meeting here represents what we like to think is national appreciation for the labor and the talent that has gone into these achievements. The wonderful scope of accomplishment which we honor today is summarized in these citations which I shall briefly read. "To Dr. Alvarez for inspiring leadership in experimental high energy physics, for continuing development of the bubble chamber, discovery of many states of elementary particles, and contributions to national defense." And it is a very pleasant and proud privilege of mine to present to you, Dr. Alvarez, the National Medal of Science. I hope that all of you will have a chance to see this very attractive medal which is a symbol of great achievement. "To Dr. Bush for distinguished achievements in electrical engineering, in the technology of computing machines, in the effective coupling of the physical and life sciences; and in mobilizing science, engineering and education in enduring ways in the service of the nation." Dr. Bush, because of our friendship for many years, for your great achievements, it gives me great pleasure to present this to you. "To Dr. Pierce for outstanding contributions to communications theory, electron optics and traveling wave tubes, and for the analysis leading to worldwide radio communications using artificial earth satellites." Dr. Pierce, it is with great pleasure that I present to you the National Medal of Science. "To Dr. van Niel for fundamental investigations of the comparative biochemistry of micro-organisms, for studies of the basic mechanisms of the photosynthesis, and for excellence as a teacher of many scientists," I present you the National Medal of Science. And I almost feel that I deserve one for being able to read that citation! "To Dr. Wiener for marvelously versatile contributions, profoundly original, ranging within pure and applied mathematics, and penetrating boldly into the engineering and biological sciences." Dr. Wiener, it is a great pleasure and a great honor to present this to you. May I congratulate all of you on the honors which have come to you this morning through your applied imagination and your diligence and humanity. And it gives us so much pleasure in this day when we find so many things wrong in the world to come here and be able to commend men who will make our life much more worth living and bring us great pleasure and great adventure and make the whole world a better place to live. And to those distinguished Members of the Congress and the executive branch here on my left, I want to say that as a result of your courage and your vision these medals are possible and we commend you for your interest in this most important field in the national interest. And unless we are able to keep step with the developments of the modern day, we shall not have justified the faith of our forefathers. I would like to call each of you by name, but I know that all of you would be glad to say that when I recognize the best of them all, Carl Hayden, I am speaking to each of you. I know I speak for all of you when I say that we feel deeply in the debt of Dr. Wiesner for the contributions, the unequalled contributions, that he has made in his capacity as Scientific Adviser to the President. We express our regret that he will shortly be leaving us, but memories will linger with the great contributions that he has made to the entire field of science and, Doctor, this is kind of a salute to you, too. I26 Lyndon B. Johnj NOTE: The ceremony was held in the Cabinet Room at the White House at i2 noon. In the President's closing remarks he referred to Senator Carl Hayden of Arizona, President pro tempore of the Senate, and Jerome B. Wiesner, Special Assistant to the President and Director, Office of Science and Technology. Earlier on December 14, I963, the White House announced the I963 recipients of the National Medal of Science as follows: Dr. Luis Walter Alvarez, Professor of Physics and Associate Director of the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory at the University of California; Dr. Vannevar Bush, engineer-scientist-administrator, author of the report "Science, The Endless Frontier," whose recommendations foreshadowed the establishment of the son, I963-1964 Jan. 13 [991 National Science Foundation and the Atomic Energy Commission; Dr. John Robinson Pierce, Executive Director, Research-Communications Principles and Communications Systems Divisions of the Bell Telephone Laboratories, Murray Hill, N.J.; Dr. Cornelis Bernardus van Niel of the Hopkins Marine Station at Stanford University; and Dr. Norbert Wiener of the Department of Mathematics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The release stated that the awards were made on the basis of recommendations received from the President's Committee on the National Medal of Science, under the chairmanship of Dr. Frank Brink, Jr., of the Rockefeller Institute. Other members of the Committee were also listed in the release. 99 Statement by the President on Unemployment in Anaconda, Montana. January I3, i964 THE CITY of Anaconda, Mont., has been suffering from severe unemployment for some time, chiefly due to the erection of automated smelting facilities in Butte, Mont. This new plant has drastically affected employment in the city of Anaconda. Senator Mansfield informs me that the situation in Anaconda is apt to get worse as the new plant gradually increases its production to full capacity. Accordingly, I am directing the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to send a task force of experts to Anaconda to determine how present Federal-State programs can be utilized, immediately, to help the unemployed there. The task force will meet with State and local officials and will make a concentrated effort to bring the full resources of the Federal-State employment service, vocational education, and the Manpower Development and Training Act to bear on the Anaconda situation. The Area Redevelopment Administration of the Department of Commerce has approved an Overall Economic Development Plan for the area, and several training programs under this act are already underway. Specifically, I am directing the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to do the following: i. Establish the maximum number of training and retraining programs under the Manpower Development and Training Act. 2. Extend concentrated guidance, counseling, and job placement services to unemployed Anaconda workers. 3. Provide on-the-spot coordination of all Federal activities with the officials of State and local government. This administration will make every effort to aid individuals and communities who suffer economic misfortune. Today's action, as well as that taken in South Bend and other communities throughout the Nation, is based on this policy. NOTE: On January i8 the White House announced plans for training 200 unemployed workers in Anaconda for new jobs as an initial step to relieve the severe unemployment in that area. The release stated that courses, to run from 20 to 52 weeks, would teach trainees ii occupational skills, such as those required for obtaining employment as electronic technicians, heavy duty mechanics, and auto repairmen. Trainees would be eligible to receive allowances at least equal to the amount of unemployment insurance they otherwise would get. I27 [100] Jan. I3 Public Papers of the Presidents 100oo Letter to the Chairman, Civil Service Commission, on Coordination of Federal Activities in the Field. January I3, I964 Dear Mr. Chairman: On October 2I, I963, just a month before his tragic death, President Kennedy wrote you of his high interest in the accomplishments of the Federal Executive Boards which he had asked you to establish in major centers of Federal employment throughout the country. It was his expectation that through these Boards the top Government managers in the field could more effectively coordinate and supplement their individual efforts to advance programs of interagency and intergovernmental concern and to achieve greater efficiency and economy in Government operations. I ask the Federal Executive Boards to continue to fulfill this important role. In my first address to the Congress after assuming the responsibilities of the Presidency, I pledged that Government expenditures would be administered with the utmost thrift and frugality. In keeping with this pledge, I have called on the heads of executive departments and agencies, in my memorandum of November 30, to make each agency a model of good management and economical administration. The full support of the Federal Executive Boards, and, indeed, the talents and dedication of all Federal officers and employees everywhere, are essential to accomplishing this goal. I had the pleasure of meeting with the Chairmen of the twelve Federal Executive Boards in July of last year in connection with our efforts to achieve full equality of employment opportunity for all Americans. I commend the Boards for their contribution to these efforts. I know I may count on them to continue to help the Federal Government set an outstanding example in the employment and utilization of minority group citizens within our merit system framework. I would like you to continue to serve as the central point of contact for the Federal Executive Boards, to communicate with them on matters of Government-wide management interest, to coordinate Board activities, as may be necessary, with the Director of the Bureau of the Budget and other departments and agencies, and to keep me informed of Board accomplishments. In our highly decentralized Government operations, the heads of Federal installations and offices in the field have a clear responsibility for serving the broad management interests of the Federal community. I believe the Federal Executive Boards perform a natural and vital role in achieving these mutual purposes. I am personally interested in the contributions which the Boards can make, and ask their full cooperation in the great tasks before us. Sincerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON [Honorable John W. Macy, Jr., Chairman, Civil Service Commission] NOTE: For the President's memorandum of November 30 to the heads of executive departments and agencies, see Item I 8. I28 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-I964 I0I Remarks of Welcome at Union Station to President Segni of Italy. January I4, i964 Jan. 14 [IOI] MR. PRESIDENT, Mrs. Johnson and I are delighted to welcome you, Madame Segni, your distinguished Foreign Minister, Mr. Saragat, and other members of your party to the United States. You, Mr. President, are no stranger to this country. Indeed, we are not strangers to each other. The United States has had the honor of welcoming you before as a leading Italian statesman who served with distinction as the Italian Republic's Premier and Foreign Minister. Personally, I will never forget the warm hospitality that we received on my visit to Rome in the fall of i962 and then again last summer when I attended the funeral of Pope John. Our ties with the Italian people go back several centuries-to the discovery of America itself. The close association of our governments and our peoples is an important political fact of life in this half of the 20th century. There are living today in our country millions of citizens whose blood is Italian and whose contribution to the building of this Nation has been large. Together, our governments and our peoples share many common interests not only in fighting poverty but in improving the lot of ordinary men and women everywhere. So we join also in strengthening the security of the free world and in seeking to brighten the prospects for world peace for our time and for all time to come. So, again, Mr. President, let me say how pleased we all are that you have been able to come here at this time and what a great personal pleasure it is for Mrs. Johnson and me to receive you, your wife, Foreign Minister Saragat, and the other members of your party as our guests and as our friends. NOTE: President Antonio Segni responded as follows: "Mr. President, it is with deep emotion that I return to this great country which is united to Italy by so many ties of history, civilization, and blood. "A great Italian, less than 5 centuries ago, united the American Continent to the Christian civilization of Europe. From that day, the histories of the two continents have been interwoven through many events which have brought into being this country, which is great because it is free, and because it has been faithful to the principles of freedom through the entire course of its history, ever since the representatives of the young American States, on the fourth of July, I776, signed the Declaration of Independence, and George Washington took the lead in the war of liberation. "George Washington not only was an outstanding statesman in war and peace, but above all he was the champion of all those American statesmen who by their deeds have constantly shown their faith in liberty-embodied in the fundamental acts of this great people and a spirit of personal self-denial for the sake of the community. "Therefore, my thoughts go to the late President Kennedy who gave his life for the defense of those ideals. His generous and bold image is among those that left a mark on our times and brightly enlightened our future. In remembering him with deep emotion, we renew our pledge to continue along the path which he has shown us, and to carry on his task in the defense of liberty, social progress, and peace. "This solemn pledge lends a special meaning to my meeting with President Johnson whom I am extremely pleased to see again after the talks I had with him and his distinguished aides in Rome. "This meeting takes place at the beginning of a year in which we will be confronted with old and new problems, almost invariably not easy to solve; but in solving them we must not forget that, first and foremost, our task is to insure the advancement of our common civilization. This makes it necessary, therefore, to intensify the amplest consultations between the governments of the countries which are inspired by the principles of freedom, justice, and democracy, and which defend these principles on a common frontier of ideals and policies. "I believe that the talks we shall have on this occasion will be devoted, above all, to the two everlasting problems of peace and liberty and to the means to assure our peoples that peace shall not mean surrender of the essential principles of our liberty, and that liberty shall be based upon the 129 [IOI] Jan. I4 Public Papers of the Presidents respect of the dignity of man. These are the ideals to which the peoples of the United States and Italy are especially dedicated. "The practical problems of the strengthening of the Atlantic Community will find their place in this framework, together with those concerning the easing of international tension, the development of European unity, the expansion of economic relations between free countries, and the assistance to new nations. "It will be an open and friendly exchange of ideas from which we may expect an ever-growing coordination of our entire action aimed at safeguarding peace, domestic and international freedom, and an increasing prosperity for all peoples. "In this spirit, I wish now to extend my warmest thanks to the President of the United States who, through his invitation, has enabled me to return to this hospitable American soil for a visit that takes place under the auspices of the closest friendship and the full solidarity of our two countries." In his opening remarks, President Johnson referred to Italy's Foreign Minister, Giuseppe Saragat. I02 Toasts of the President and President Segni. January 14, I964 MR. PRESIDENT, I know that I speak not only for the distinguished guests here tonight, but also I speak for all Americans when I tell you how very pleased we are that you are with us and how honored we are to have the Chief of State of the Republic of Italy and his lady visiting in our United States. Mr. President, I was once told that the difference between a farmer and an agriculturalist was that the farmer earned his money on the farm and spent it in the city, while the agriculturalist earned his money in the city and spent it on the farm. By those definitions, Mr. President, it seems to me that you and I are a combination of both. It seems that both of us were raised on the land and we have never forgotten the land, and now, by a combination of circumstances, both of us have responsibilities which require us to look beyond the land, yes, even beyond the cities, and to look at the world at large. In a sense, both of us are probably Jeffersonian Democrats in the very finest and in the very broadest sense of that term. Our early years and experience brought home to us first and foremost the needs of the common man. Our later responsibilities have given us the unique opportunity to try to do something about filling those needs. For tunate as we are, both of us, to be national leaders, we must know that our responsibilities go far beyond our own borders. In this half of the 20th century, it is the responsibility of national leadership to assure that everything possible is being done to make this a better world for all people to live in. But, Mr. President, if we are to inspire others with our hopes for peace and freedom, we must make doubly sure that in our own countries there is actually freedom from want and freedom from fear, and in the truest sense the fullest measure of social justice. Mr. President, you have made your own substantial contributions to these goals. Your great work in land and educational reform in Italy, as well as your personal contribution to the reestablishment of Italian democracy and to Italy's resumption of its place in the world of nations are very great achievements of which you must be mighty proud. They represent progressive steps, progressive steps forward in the direction in which free peoples must continue to move. This has been a most satisfying day to renew our friendship and to enjoy our companionship again. On several occasions I have been the guest of the distinguished President of Italy in his home country, and it gives me a great deal of pride and pleasure 130 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-I964 Jan. 14 [102] to have in this room tonight not only some of the most distinguished citizens of this land, but some of the persons closest to me, and I should like to appeal to all of you to join me in raising our glass in a toast for a peaceful and prosperous future for the good people of Italy, for the Government of Italy, and particularly for the great President and his First Lady. NOTE: The President proposed the toast at a dinner in the State Dining Room at the White House. President Segni responded as follows: Mr. President, I am deeply grateful to you for the cordial welcome you have extended to me and for the truly friendly turn you have given to our talks today. Minister Saragat and I are convinced that these, and the meeting we will hold tomorrow with you, Mr. President, with Mr. Rusk, and with other members of your administration will make the collaboration between our two countries ever more effective. The direct contact with this magnificent reality which is America, with its powerful dynamism and with its deep moral sense is always highly stimulating. And you, Mr. President, embody this reality! I already had the pleasure of meeting you in Rome and I was immediately impressed, during our talks, by your statesmanship and by your personality. Today I find you at the head of the American Nation and I note with the pride of a friend that you tackle your heavy responsibilities with the serene awareness which is the first and main quality in a leader. Your first acts of government have met a unanimous approval. Let me recall your wide and realistic approach to the major problems of our time in your message on the State of the Union. I am also grateful to you for the way in which you have stressed the close and friendly relations between Italy and the United States. My visit enables me to reconfirm once again the common ideals and intents of our two peoples, linked by strong ties of civilization, of tradition, of culture, of brotherhood. The trustworthy, magnanimous, generous American people, for whom we have in Italy the greatest and most sincere admiration and whose greatness has been accomplished also through the contribution of millions of Italians and of Americans of Italian descent-as you so kindly have recalled, Mr. President-has always been concretely and actively close to Italy. This closeness has been proved not only by many acts of the American Government but appears also continuously through a host of individual generous acts in our difficult times as it happened in particular in the years in which we reconstructed Italy after the war. Italians do not forget those who have come to our side with spontaneous generosity and in the spirit of Christian brotherhood. I wish at this point to pay, on behalf of the whole Italian people, my most deferential and warm respects to the late John Fitzgerald Kennedy, an unyielding fighter for liberty and progress. In Italy we consider the defense of the spiritual values from which the United States has always fought, from George Washington to Abraham Lincoln, to John Fitzgerald Kennedy, as essential for the world. These very same values have inspired the masters of our Risorgimento and of Italian democracy, from Mazzini to Garibaldi, from Cavour to all those who, like De Gasperi, have toiled to give Italy free institutions and to give the country a new place in the family of nations. The great Western Alliance represents without any doubt the most valid defense of such values. It is, therefore, obvious that both you and we give to it a determined and constant contribution, in the military as well as in the political field, believing that in this way we serve the cause of our independence, of peace and of democracy. We likewise believe that a United Europe will represent, within the framework of the free world, a dynamic force far more effective than the one provided by the sum of the various European countries. Our desire for a united Europe is not born out of selfishness; it is intended as a further contribution to the Atlantic Community, in complete agreement with the ideals and responsibilities of the United States. With the same dedication we give our greatest possible contribution to the United Nations, who, with their untiring efforts, have promoted the social progress of all the peoples and have contributed to the development of friendly relations among them. Italy believes that the peoples of all continents will unite in an extensive process of evolution according to the laws of a free and harmonious development and is determined to contribute to such a process as fully as her forces permit. In all these directions, our two countries collaborate closely and actively. We trust, therefore, that the difficult dialogue opened by the West with the Moscow agreements-which Italy has been glad to sign-will be continued in the interest of the whole of mankind, without, however, giving up our indispensable security and those supreme values of justice and freedom which are our most sacred common heritage. With this hope and with this wish, I offer a toast to your health, Mr. President, to the prosperity of the noble American Nation, and to the indestructible friendship of our two countries. I31 [I03] Jan. I4 Public Papers of the Presidents I03 Telegram to Governor Sanford on His Attack on Poverty in North Carolina. January I4, i964 I WANT to congratulate you on your initiative in mobilizing for an attack on poverty in North Carolina. Please convey to those at your conference today my heartfelt wishes for the success of your efforts. As you know, my State of the Union Message proposed an all-out war on poverty in America. I am confident that the Congress will respond to this challenge. The North Carolina Fund promises to make an exciting and important contribution to this deep-seated problem. I want to assure you of the full cooperation of the Federal departments whose programs contribute to the war on poverty. LYNDON B. JOHNSON [The Honorable Terry Sanford, Governor of North Carolina, Raleigh, North Carolina] I04 White House Statement Following Receipt of a Report on Panama. January I4, i964 THE President received a full report on the situation in Panama from Mr. Mann. Mr. Mann emphasized that U.S. forces have behaved admirably under extreme provocation by mobs and snipers attacking the Canal Zone. The President continues to believe that the first essential is the maintenance of peace. For this reason, the United States welcomes the establishment of the Joint Cooperation Committee through the InterAmerican Peace Committee. The United States tries to live by the policy of the good neighbor and expects others to do the same. The United States cannot allow the security of the Panama Canal to be imperiled. We have a recognized obligation to operate the Canal efliciently and securely, and we intend to honor that obligation in the interests of all who depend on it. The United States continues to believe that when order is fully restored it should be possible to have direct and candid discussions between the two governments. NOTE: This statement was read by Andrew T. Hatcher, Associate Press Secretary to the President, at the Press Secretary's news conference held at the White House on January 14, i964. 1o5 Remarks to Leaders of Organizations Concerned With the Problems of Senior Citizens. January i5, i964 Mr. Celebrezze, ladies and gentlemen: I am sorry that I have been delayed a little bit in getting in here this morning, but I am happy that you are here and that you have a chance to come to this house that belongs to all of us. There is one thing you can say about the Presidency: You have a variety of matters and you never get bored with just handling one problem. But I don't know any problem that has ever faced all of our people that should concern us more than the one about which we meet this morning. The 20th century, in which we live, has 132 Lyndon B. Johnson, r963-1964 Jan. I5 [I05] blessed most of us with much longer lives, but this blessing has brought with it a very great responsibility. That responsibility is one that you, as very special messengers, must see that all the people of this country live up to. Many of our citizens have reached their senior years without adequate medical means to solve their economic and their social and their medical problems. Many of them are poorly housed and poorly fed and are actually dependent on charity for the medical care that they get. So I think that it behooves all of us to share these burdens, because their problems are not of their own choosing, but rather, due to a changing society. One problem that I think that we have met this morning to tackle is the need for a social security health insurance plan. This great Nation, the most powerful of all nations, should no longer continue to ask our old people to trade dignity and self-respect for hospital and nursing home care. This is something that I think is good for all of us to realize, and most of us to remember. Our older people are likely to be hospitalized three times as often as younger people, but their income is less than half that of people under 65. The end result is what? They then turn to public welfare. Now this is not the American way. The social security health insurance plan which President Kennedy worked so hard to enact is the American way; it is practical; it is sensible; it is fair; it is just. It says that the average worker and his employer would each contribute an average of only 25 cents a week during the employee's working career. In his old age a retired worker can take care of his own hospital and nursing home expenses with dignity. More than that, he can choose his own doctor. He can choose his own hospital. And he can do it all without being crushed by the intolerable burdens of extensive hospital care. That kind of a program makes sense to two of America's most distinguished public personages, men of great vision and compassion and experience-Senator Anderson of New Mexico and Congressman King of California, who honor us with their presence and who, through the years, have led fights like these that bring better life to more people. So they have come here this morning to let you know that they have enlisted for the duration, and while we do not have many sailors in the crowd, we are going to answer all the opposition with the statement that "we have just begun to fight." We think this program is just. We think this program is necessary. We think this program makes sense. And we think this program is going to be the law of the land. This is the prudent American way to make sure that elder citizens can retain their dignity and retain their solvency. We have so much to be proud of in this country, so much to be thankful for, so much to preserve and so much to protect, but nothing that we want to protect more than those who have reached their later years and want the privilege of, in dignity, providing for themselves. So I wish that somehow, some way, we could-each of us in this room who feels the need of this program-for a moment put himself in the position of some older person that we know-that could be a grandmother or a mother, to some of us a brother-and put ourselves in their position and ask ourselves how would we feel if the positions were reversed? Would we want to stoop and bend and plead for funds to be shoveled out of the State and Federal treasury by means of a means test to determine whether we could go to a hospital and, if I33 [I05] Jan. I5 Public Papers of the Presidents so, how long we could stay, or would we prefer a program of our own where we could take 25 cents a week and our employer could take 25 cents a week, and then deduct itit would really only cost him about 12 cents when it is over with-and put that in a plan that ultimately would provide these benefits? I think that we are fortunate to be Americans, but America is particularly fortunate to have so many citizens like those in this room who are especially interested in a plan of this kind, and with the help of the good Lord, Senator Anderson and Congressman King and you people who speak for so many other folks, we are going to pass it. You know, I have a little contest going on among my Cabinet members. One of the great legacies President Kennedy left me was the finest Cabinet that any President could assemble. They are so good that I didn't even want one of my own. I wanted all of them to stay right where they are. We are determined that this Nation is going to be strong enough to secure the peace and to protect this country, but we are not going to throw our weight around. We hope we are going to be wise enough to prevent the necessity of ever using that strength. This Nation is going to be prudent enough to be solvent, where we can pay our bills and where our checks will be honored. We are going to try to take all the money that we think is unnecessarily being spent and take it from the "haves" and give it to the "have nots" that need it so much. So we are going to have a solvent nation, but strength and solvency alone don't quicken the heartbeat. The thing that really makes a great nation is compassion. We are going to have strength and solvency and compassion, love for thy neighbor, compas sion and understanding for those who are less fortunate. Secretary McNamara will start down that long road of explaining all of our decisions of the last 50 days this week before the Congress. Secretary Dillon is already reporting for duty every morning early and staying late in the evening to try to get that tax bill that is so essential to the economy of this country. Not to be outdone, Secretary Celebrezze has already evolved a plan and a program where we hope that in due time we will all meet here in this same house and have a signing ceremony for the program that means so much to all of us. Mr. Secretary, you give us some indication of the date and we will all be here. They have arranged a tour of the White House for those of you who can spare the time and would like to see it. I would like very much to spend more time with you myself. I am going to have a chance to walk around the room for a moment, if you will just delay the rest of your deliberations, but if any of you want to, we would be very happy to have you tour the place. NOTE: The President spoke in the Fish Room at the White House at Io a.m. His opening words referred to Anthony J. Celebrezze, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. Later he referred to U.S. Senator Clinton P. Anderson of New Mexico and U.S. Representative Cecil R. King of California, co-sponsors of the medical care for the aged bill, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, and Secretary of the Treasury Douglas Dillon. Earlier on January i I the White House announced that the President had invited a group of 47 national leaders of organizations of senior citizens and specialists in the field of aging to meet with him and to hear his views on the need for establishing a health insurance plan for the aged under the social security system and on other matters relating to the problems of the aged. The release listed many of the respresentatives of senior citizen groups expected to attend. I34 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 Jan. I5 [107] io6 Remarks to the Members of the Davis Cup Team. January 15, I964 Ladies and gentlemen: I want to welcome you to the White House on this occasion. It is a very proud one for me to be able to come here and meet with you. Mr. Turville, we appreciate your bringing the Davis Cup winners here where we can, in the first house of this country, congratulate them for their achievements, because they exemplify one of the most important attributes that can be possessed by either people or a nation, and that is the pursuit of excellence. The Davis Cup winners have brought honor to the United States of America. The honor does not lie solely in winning this athletic event. The honor really lies in the fact that in America we do have young men who are willing to dedicate themselves to excellence and who are ready to set a goal and to work unswervingly toward that goal. It is especially gratifying to me that these players represent so many parts of the country, and some very good parts of the country, too, I might add. Two of them are products of Trinity University in my State. One is from the University of Southern California, and others from Northwestern University. Still another is a graduate of Yale who is now attending the University of Virginia Law School. So really, as we meet here this morning, we must recognize that the whole Nation shares in this triumph. Sometimes I know you recognize that it is fashionable in some quarters to deprecate athletic achievement. This is, I think, a very shortsighted view. I think we in modern times sometimes tend to forget the ancient Greeks, whose philosophical thought and standards and beauty and culture still dominate our thinking in the Western World. They really valued athletic excellence with the same fervor that they exhibited in pursuing thoughts of their wise men and their poets. The Olympic games had a standing among the Greek intellectuals equivalent to the discourses of Plato and Socrates and Aristotle. This was because they recognized the value of pursuing excellence in every field, and this Nation can and should do no less. As you come here to the Capital of your country, and to the first house of this land which belongs to all of you, I should like you to know that the eyes of the entire Nation are upon you. We do recognize the value of pursuing excellence and we do appreciate the manner in which you have pursued it. Thank you very much. NOTE: The President spoke in the Cabinet Room at the White House at ii a.m. Edward A. Turville, president of the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association, to whom the President referred in his opening remarks, responded briefly. The text of Mr. Turville's remarks was also released. 107 Toasts of the President and President Segni at the Italian Embassy. January 15, I964 Mr. President, Mrs. Segni: I want to express my sincere appreciation for your kind words and for your very warm hospitality. This has been a most heartwarming visit and a great personal pleasure for Mrs. Johnson and myself. The conversations that the Secretary of I35 [I07] Jan. i5 Public Papers of the Presidents State and I have had with your Foreign Minister Saragat have been quite useful. They have also demonstrated in a very unmistakable way our commonsense of values and purposes. In a world where we depend more and more on each other, our two peoples have become most closely tied together. Together we try to secure freedom and peace to the benefit of all who live on this planet. I think we can both say, Mr. President, with great pride and satisfaction that the purpose of our common effort in the framework of the Atlantic Alliance is a world without war, a world with peace, not the tyranny of one people over another but the freedom for all people; not wealth for the few and hardship for the many but a much better way of life for all humanity. To these great tasks, Mr. President, our peoples bring not only courage, industry, and initiative, but we also bring a love of freedom and independence and a tremendous reservoir of good will. Mr. President, I am confident that our nations have the resources and the energies to move these goals, to solve these problems, to face these tasks that confront us both. As we move forward, your wise experience, your many years as a public servant, your wisdom will be most important to us all. Mr. President, these have been two delightful days. We have listened and we have learned. We have been comforted and we have been strengthened by your presence and that of your lady. Now, as time draws near when you will leave us, we want to say thank you for coming. We want to tell you that we will long remember your stay, and I eagerly look forward to the day when the American Congress will receive an American President as enthusiastically as it received an Italian President. If my burden becomes heavier after your departure, I shall forget that you talked to the Congress, but if my load is lighter, I will remember your persuasiveness and the reservoir of good will that you left with it. So, I should like to propose a toast, Mr. President, to the continuing friendship, to the understanding, to the cooperation of the peoples and the governments of the Republic of Italy and the United States of America. NOTE: The President proposed the toast at a luncheon given in his honor by President Segni at the Italian Embassy. President Segni, speaking before the President, proposed the following toast: Mr. President, I am not giving you an address of goodby now. I would like to say, as we say in Italy, arrivederci at the end of these two days of hard work and of very warm reception that you have reserved for us. True, there was snow outside, but we could feel the warmth of the heart of those who had come to receive us and again in Congress today I found an enthusiasm which I seldom found in the Italian Chamber of Deputies when I had the opportunity to address it. So, in spite of the snow and the ice, the welcome was very warm, and this corresponds to a feeling that binds our two nations-the United States and Italy. We share many things, Mr. President. We have a common civilization. We have a common Christian religion. We have given many of our sons to the United States and the United States has paid us back with a great contribution. I cannot forget, and Italians cannot forget, the major contributions that Americans made in the I9I5 -I9I8 war and at the end of the Second World War, and after the war when the generous American people gave freely and generously and were close to the Italian people who were trying to get back to their position. Yesterday, I had already recalled-and I do not wish to come back to it now-that the history of our two countries in the past i 8 years has been closely interwoven, even more interwoven than before, and I take note with deep satisfaction and I am sure that this is a very good omen for the future. I am sure that the link and friendship which we have will blossom even more in the future. I must confess, Mr. President, I was rather nervous this morning when I had to address Congress. I was there for the first time. I was speaking in a language that not everybody knew, and I was in a new environment. I have spoken very often I36 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-I964 Jan. I5 [io8] possibly too much and not too well-at the Italian Chamber of Deputies and never, I can assure you, never did I find such enthusiasm; never did I find such a reception and such response. This is the proof or the sign of the true friendship that exists between our two countries and our two peoples. This is not something I am saying as an official toast, Mr. President; it comes straight from my heart. Those of you who have come to Italy-and you have visited our country, too, and I hope you will be back very soon-know that Italy is a country where people get enthusiastic rather easily. Sometimes this enthusiasm may be wrong, but I know that in our case, in the case of friendship between Italy and the United States, we have been very right indeed, and it is sufficient to remind you of the reception that President Kennedy received in Naples. So, sometimes even if it is said that the intelligence of the mind does not go together with the intelligence of the heart, well, in this case, it has been proven wrong. The heart was more right than the mind. So this visit, Mr. President, has been very heartwarming for the friendship of our two countries and, not only for that, for this idea that we share of Europe with the United States-this idea of the Atlantic Community. I do not want to utter trite words now. It is a feeling that I am expressing on behalf of all Italians, also of the Italians who are resident here in the United States. They know that I am expressing a sincere feeling, and they know that we are more united than ever. That is all I wanted to tell you, Mr. President. We have worked hard in these 2 days. We have exchanged views, we have agreed, we have come to agreement, and this has been a habit with us. I have been in politics for the last 20 years. Before that, for obvious reasons, I was out of politics. But in these 20 years, Mr. President, I have seen an ever greater strengthening of the relationship between our two countries. Therefore, Mr. President, I say that these 2 days of work have been personal pleasure and very moving for me, and they have been also very useful. That is why I would like to say arrivederci. We certainly will have the opportunity of meeting again very soon. Now I would like to propose a toast to your health, Mr. President; to the health of Mrs. Johnson; to the future of the great American people; and to the friendship of our two countries. io8 Letter Accepting Resignation of Theodore C. Sorensen as Special Counsel to the President. January 15, i964 [Released January I5, i964. Dated January I4, i964] Dear Ted: Reluctantly and regretfully, I accept your resignation as Special Counsel. I know your decision to leave was a hard one. So was mine to let you go. For while many men may appreciate the scope of your work, only one man-the President himself-can fully appreciate its impact on the Office itself. In the past 3 years, I came to respect you greatly-as you served John F. Kennedy. In the past 7 weeks, I came to rely on you greatly-as you worked faithfully and brilliantly to make this Government succeed. Those "great and lasting decisions in human affairs," of which you once wrote, will be more difficult to make without you. But I accept your decision, appreciative of the motivations which led to it. I know that as the Nation has been made stronger by your service, so will the memory of John F. Kennedy be made richer by your book. When it is finished, I intend not to let you forget your promise to be available for future tasks. Sincerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON NOTE: Mr. Sorensen served as Special Counsel to the President from January 2i, i96i, to February 29, i964. His letter of resignation was released with the President's reply. '37 [ 09] Jan. I5 Public Papers of the Presidents og9 Joint Statement Following Discussions With the President of Italy. January 15, 1964 PRESIDENT Johnson and President Segni had two conversations at the White House on January 14 and 15. Secretary of State Rusk and Foreign Minister Saragat were present on both occasions. President Segni told President Johnson how deeply the Italian people felt the tragic death of President Kennedy. Expressing his appreciation and that of the American people for this sympathy, President Johnson observed that President Kennedy had valued highly the close friendship between Italy and the United States, which is a source of strength to both people. The conversations between the two leaders reaffirmed the warm personal relationship established during President Johnson's visits to Italy in 1962 and I963. The two Presidents found that their views coincide on a broad range of issues. President Johnson emphasized to President Segni and Foreign Minister Saragat his deep personal dedication to strengthening the North Atlantic Alliance. They agreed that basic Western objectives require continued efforts toward building Atlantic partnership through steady progress toward European unity. In this connection, they noted that political and military talks on a multilateral sea-borne missile force are proceeding satisfactorily. The two Presidents expressed the view that the forthcoming trade negotiations should be pursued energetically with a view to stimulating freer international trade on a more liberal basis. The Presidents also emphasized the importance of the more fully developed countries extending economic and technical assistance to the developing states of the world. The Presidents noted the importance of exploring means of improving East-West relations and hoped that the Soviet Union would respond constructively to Western efforts in this direction. They agreed that new proposals should be introduced at the forthcoming disarmament talks in Geneva in an effort to achieve positive results. They stressed that Italy and the United States would work together with other nations in consolidating peace and freedom throughout the world. i Io Remarks by Telephone for the Keel-Laying Ceremony of the First Automated Cargo Ship. January I6, 1964 Members of Congress, officials of the Department of Commerce and the Federal Maritime Administration, representatives of organized labor, officers of the companies which are cooperating in the construction of the SS Louise Lykes, my fellow Americans: I take great pleasure in participating in this historic ceremony. A little over a hundred years ago, the merchant marine, with their beautiful clipper ships, gave our Nation the maritime leadership of the world. Today, we inaugurate a new generation of clipper ships. It offers the bright promise of a rebirth of American maritime leadership. To meet the challenge of foreign competition, we need efficient vessels of advance design with low operating costs. Today, I38 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-I964 Jan. i6 [III] we carry less than IO percent of our trade in American bottoms. That percentage must be increased. A strong merchant marine is a guarantee of national security and a guarantee of economic stability. Some have called it the fourth arm of national defense. Even at its present level, it earns or conserves almost $i billion of foreign exchange dollars every year, making it a major factor in our balance of payments position in the world. The vessel we begin today will apply the techniques of automatic operation to oceangoing cargo ships. Operating costs will be substantially reduced so that we can meet competition offered by the flags of other nations, and we can still pay better salaries to our own seamen. Subsidies of as much as $:z million a vessel can be eliminated. This will mean savings in excess of $500 million to the taxpayer. Shipping rates can be reduced, thereby greatly encouraging our exports which we need to encourage so much. So. my friends, this is truly a notable beginning. It is a great tribute to the statesmanship of both labor and management. They have worked together-both of themfor the benefit of all mankind. So, I should like to believe this morning that from this moment will come pride in what we are actively doing and benefits from what we will definitely achieve. I hope that all of you who participate in this ceremony in decades from now can in retrospect look back and be proud, proud that you were a part of it, proud that it was a part of the American effort. May the pressing of this button be both a renewal of leadership and the herald of new craftsmanship. At this moment, the future becomes today. NOTE: The President spoke by telephone from the Cabinet Room at the White House at I:2 noon. Among the participants in the ceremony, held at the Avondale Shipyard, New Orleans, La., were officials of the Lykes Bros. Steamship Company, owners of the cargo ship. Solon B. Turman, chair — man of the board, responded briefly to the President's remarks. The text of his response was also released. I I I Remarks to New Participants in "Plans for Progress" Equal Opportunity Agreements. January i6, i964 Mr. Wirtz, Mr. Taylor, gentlemen: I am deeply grateful to each of you and to the stockholders that you represent, and to the people that you serve, that you would have enough concern and dedication for your country and enough interest for the future of your company to come here and meet with us on this occasion which we eagerly hope will be of great value to all of us. This is a meeting that I am very glad to attend even though Florida delegates kept me a little late. The President's Committee on Equal Em ployment Opportunity will use this forum to explain to the country the Plans for Progress program. The last time that I spoke to a similar group of company officials, this house, that belongs to all the people, was draped in black and filled with sorrow. I said then that the somber hour in which we met could also furnish the inspiration for us to act. For us to act for all of us-company officials, Government officials, most of all, all the people of this great land-time to act and to make that extra effort to banish I39 [III] Jan. I6 Public Papers of the Presidents bigotry and bias from our thoughts, from our conversations, and what's much more important, from all of our actions. May I express the hope that I can count on those of you who have come here today, and I can count on the companies whose representatives are present, to take that positive step, to move forward-toward our national objective of a land that is bright with hope, without the lonely shadow of prejudice. The response has been gratifying. Today, Ii6 major corporations with more than 6,ooo,ooo employees are participating in this program and the number grows each week. A recent report on 91 of these companies showed that over their last reporting period, the ratio of white salaried employees to nonwhite dropped from 65 to i to 60 to I. Of all new employees hired by these companies, approximately 15 percent were nonwhites, contrasted with 5 percent of nonwhites that could have been expected to be hired on the basis of these companies' past ratio of whites to nonwhites. And most significant is the fact that these jobs are not all at the lowest level-Negroes and other minority group Americans are being placed and promoted to positions of responsibility. This was not accomplished by displacing other workers-rather it was the result of conscious adjustments in personnel practices making merit and ability the only real testspractices that strengthened the individual companies, and, as a result, strengthen our entire economy. This demonstrates that progress can be achieved when there is an awareness and a desire to take affirmative action. But it is obvious that we still have a long way to go. Our good start is not a reason to relax-it should be a stimulus to greater and more extensive efforts. Insofar as the Federal Government is concerned, we will continue our efforts to eliminate bias and prejudice as hidden conditions of personnel actions. And the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity, which initiated this Plans for Progress program to supplement its other programs, will maintain its effective program of insuring that Government contractors employ nondiscrimination practices. My nearly 3 years service as Chairman of the President's Committee has been one of the most rewarding and one of the most meaningful tasks of my 32 years in public life. And I can just almost guarantee each of you men that when your retirement time comes and you sit on your front porch in that rocking chair with your white Panama pulled down over your eyes and in retrospect look back over your days as a leader in your company, I can almost guarantee that one of your proudest moments and one of your greatest achievements will be the day that you took the leadership to destroy bigotry and bias and prejudice from the atmosphere of your own company. That will be a reward that will mean more to you than the satisfaction you get from a paycheck. That will give you a feeling of having done something to make this land what the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution said it was going to be. That will be something to keep faith with the forefathers who came here from all parts of the world seeking freedom, religious freedom, racial freedom. If you men in this group can join the others that have already paved the way and cover six million employees and add to that total the group that you represent, we won't have to fight this battle in the streets. We will have fought it in our minds and we will have reached a logical and proper conclusion. And we will say that there is some 140 Lyndon B. John. truth in the statement that all men are created equal and there is some point in following the Golden Rule of doing unto others as you would have them do unto you. My nearly 3 years served as Chairman tells me that the programs of this Committee not only give to our everyday life the nobility of purpose which the Constitution enunciatedbut they advance the notion that free men in a free society are able to face problems and solve them, without whips or without whining or without force. To the free world, looking anxiously at us and praying hopefully for us, we can demonstrate that our leadership is deserved and our concepts are enduring. Nothing encourages or comforts me more than the visible attitude of leaders in the business community. These leaders, from every industry, from every segment of the business arena, want to eliminate false racial barriers to employment and promotion. By your presence here today, I think you can say in voices that are clear in their sincerity, loud in their determination, that you are going to help speed that happy day when there is no need even to talk about such matters. Wouldn't it be wonderful if all the world could realize that it was no longer necessary to come to the first house of the land to talk about treating all Americans alike instead of treating some Americans one way and some Americans another way? Remember, in the days when we have trials and tribulations and concerns and worries about our future, whether it is in the landing in Normandy, or Korea, or even our troubles in Panama, that boys of all faiths and all religions and all colors and all types stand side by side and fight together, stand side by side and die together, and actually there is no real reason why they should not stand side son, 1963-i964 Jan. i6 [iii] by side and work together and eat together. I don't know how long it has been since you engaged in a little introspection. I don't know why you have to wait until next Thanksgiving or Christmas comes or some tragedy befalls you in your own family for you to realize how fortunate and blessed you are. I don't know why you can't say, "Except for the grace of God, I might be in his place and he might be in mine." And think about how you would like to be treated if you lived in a land where you could not go to school with your fellow Americans, where you could not work along the side of them, where you could travel from Texas to Washington, across many States and not be able to go to a bathroom without hiding in a thicket or dodging behind a culvert. Ask yourself how you would feel if those conditions applied to you and that will give the answer to what you might want to do in your own company. Be one of the leaders in America. Be one of the champions of freedom in the world. Apply this democratic spirit that we take so much pride in. Use this free enterprise which gives us the superiority that we have in the world. And try to use those forces to bring about conditions that you would like for yourself and for your fellow man. The 5o-odd days that I have been in this job, I have met with thousands of peoplemore than 3 thousand. I possess no unusual powers of any kind, least of all persuasion, but I would like to be known and remembered more for my concern for my fellow man than for any other thing. And somehow or other I believe that your children could point to their daddy and take more pride in that than they could in how much you accumulated in the way of worldly goods. So here in the symbol of free government, '4' [iii] Jan. I6 Public Papers of the Presidents in the first house of the land, the White House of the Nation, let's roll up our sleeves and tighten up our belts and go back to our companies and say that we don't feel any superiority because of the way we spell our name or because of the color of our skin or because of where our ancestors came from. The Johnsons may be in the majority tomorrow, but they may be a pitiful minority the next day. And what happens to them can happen to you. And in this world we are already outnumbered 17 to i. So let's not rely upon our great economic power and the great wealth we possess to do justice. Let's do it ourselves, so when we go to bed we will have a clear conscience. And when we do that we will rightfully be entitled to lead the world. We'll lead them because of our moral standards and not because of our economic power. Labor has come to this house in multitudes. We have had two meetings of the Executive Council, the AFL-CIO, from all over the Nation and they have joined us in praising our program and in trying to clean up their own ranks and improve their own situation. Businessmen have come here on the National Advisory Council, the National Business Council. A hundred of them had dinner here the other night and we talked about the problems that free enterprise system faced and the harassment that they suffered and sometimes the punitive measures that were taken against them. And I have said to them that we are not going to have anybody around here with his foot on your neck. We are going to try to move forward and help you to help provide that job that we need so hard. But when we ask you to provide it, provide it on the basis of merit and not on the basis of how a fellow spells his name, provide it on what can you do for your country instead of what country do you come from, provide it on the basis of what you stand for, for America, instead of the color of your skin. And it will give you a better feeling; it will give your company a better reputation; it will give your Nation a better future. So I wanted to take a moment out to-it stimulates me and inspires me to look at these leaders of industry. And I wanted to come and personally ask you, don't make any discrimination on whether white men or black men go to the same bathroom; they all have the same problem. Don't feel superior about where they drink a glass of water or what church they go to or what region they live in. By practicing that kind of superiority all you do is to build up in this country a system the kind of which we have gone to war several times to destroy. Abraham Lincoln signed the Proclamation of Emancipation a hundred years ago. And he took the chains off of the slaves, but he did not free the Negro of prejudice that people have of the color of his skin. And it is up to you to pick up where Lincoln left off. It is up to you to achieve in the days ahead what we have been waiting for a hundred years. And how long, how long, how long will people peacefully wait? And the best way for you to give me an answer to that question is to ask yourself how long you would peacefully wait if, because you were white or sandy or red or pink, they would not let your child go to a school in the neighborhood where you had paid taxes for 30 years? How long you would peacefully accept that they would not let him go in and get a cup of coffee? How long you would accept things if he could not go and pay his same money that is worth as much as anybody else's and see a movie? Oh, they will let him march side by side 142 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-1964 Jan. i6 [II2] in the Marine Corps, they will let him fly in the copilot's seat in the bomber, they will let him stand at the missile launching pad and endure and indulge all the dangers of hell and war; but when he comes back home, some of them are second-class citizens. Well, the businessmen lead this country. You set the example and by your acts they shall know you. And you are going to be one of 200 companies that step out here and take this lead and bring about io or I5 or 20 million people, and then the other 6o million are going to come along with you. And, oh, what a wonderful day that will be when truly all men are equal! Thank you very much. NOTE: The President spoke at 4 p.m. in the East Room at the White House. His opening words referred to Secretary of Labor W. Willard Wirtz, Vice Chairman of the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity, and Hobart Taylor, Jr., Executive Vice Chairman. Early in his remarks the President referred to the "Report to the President-The President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity," dated November 26, i963 (Government Printing Office, i964, 150 pp.). II2 Letter to the President of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House on Appropriations for January i6, i964 Dear Mr. I take pleasure in transmitting legislation which would authorize the appropriation of $II5 million for the Peace Corps in fiscal year i965. The Members of the Congress know how close this program was to the heart of John Fitzgerald Kennedy. The day-to-day achievements of nearly 7,0oo American men and women now at or about to depart for work overseas in over 2,400 cities, towns, and hamlets in 46 countries are a living memorial to the 35th President of the United States. For fiscal year i964 the Congress appropriated approximately $96 million for the Peace Corps, under an authorization of $IO2 million. The amount appropriated is sufficient to enable the Peace Corps to reach a level of io,500 Volunteers by September i964. The requested Peace Corps authorization for fiscal year i965 is an increase of $13 million over the amount authorized by the Congress for fiscal year i964. This increase of less than IS percent will enable the Peace Corps to expand by a third to reach a the Peace Corps. level of I4,000 Volunteers by September I965. As the Peace Corps concentrates on improving the scope of programs in existence, and as more and more American men and women volunteer for service in the Peace Corps, it is becoming possible to take advantage of economies of size in the Peace Corps budget. The steps which have been taken during the last year to reduce the cost of the Peace Corps will be spelled out in detail in the agency's presentation materials. In view of these economies, the requested increase in authorization and appropriation is fully consistent with my fiscal year i965 budget program. Sincerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON NOTE: This is the text of identical letters addressed to the Honorable Carl Hayden, President pro tempore of the Senate, and to the Honorable John W. McCormack, Speaker of the House of Representatives. On March I7, i964, the President approved an act authorizing appropriations for the Peace Corps (Public Law 88-285, 78 Stat. i66). '43 [II31 Jan. I6 Public Papers of the Presidents I 3 Memorandum on the Observance of Brotherhood Week. January I6, 1964 Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies: I have accepted the Honorary Chairmanship of Brotherhood Week for I964. Dedicated to the principle of "to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance," as expressed by our first President, Brotherhood Week is traditionally held during the week of George Washington's birthday. This year it will be February sixteenth through the twenty-third. This is a time of deep appraisal for all Americans. In view of our recent national tragedy, no better time exists for the searching of our hearts and minds. The Honorable Brooks Hays is on leave to serve as the National Brotherhood Week Chairman for I964. He and the offices of the National Conference of Christians and Jews throughout the country will be glad to assist you and your employees in observing this important week of dedication. I hope that in its own way, each Department and Agency throughout the country will find it possible during this week to commemorate and underscore the importance of implementing the principle of the Brotherhood of Man under the Fatherhood of God. LYNDON B. JOHNSON II4 White House Statement Concerning U.S. Readiness To Carry On Discussions With Panama. January I6, 1964 THE United States Government is ready and willing to discuss all problems affecting the relationship between the United States and Panama. It was our understanding that the Government of Panama was also willing to undertake these discussions. Our position is unchanged. We feel in this time of diffi culty between the two countries that it is time for the highest exercise of responsibility by all those involved. NOTE: This statement was read by the Press Secretary to the President, Pierre Salinger, at his news conference held at the White House on January 16, I964. II5 Statement by the President in Response to a Report on Immigration. January 17, 1964 THE REPORT of the Immigration and Naturalization Service is an example of Government with a heart. By applying existing immigration laws with humanity, we are demonstrating that compassion and efficient administration go hand in hand. America's strength has risen from the di versity of its heritage. Its future has always rested on the hopes of our forebears as they came to seek freedom and abundance. We can take renewed faith in the eagerness of people throughout the world to become citizens-to share with us in the building of an even stronger country. We can express that faith by passing and implement I44 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 Jan. I7 [ii6] ing legislation already proposed to abolish the discriminatory national origins system. This bill will eliminate the waste of unused quotas. It will permit families to be reunited. I am hopeful of passage as early as possible. The Attorney General's report makes it clear that the Immigration Service has done its job with understanding, ability, and energy. In executing the new legislation it will continue to perform in that manner. NOTE: The Attorney General's report, in the form of a letter to the President dated January I3 (5 pp., mimeographed), was released with the President's statement. The report pointed out that during I963 U.S. population was increased by 3I4,ooo aliens who entered as immigrants or as permanent residents. More than half came from Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Mexico. "One of the Service's most satisfying accomplishments in the year," the Attorney General informed the President, "was to make streamlined new procedures available to Americans who want to adopt alien orphans. Already, I am told, there has been a sharp reduction in the time required to adopt 1,500 of these orphans." The report also noted that major gains had been made in cutting red-tape in the inspection procedures for visitors from abroad. i i6 Letter to Dr. Jerome B. Wiesner as to the Need for Public Institutions of Higher Learning in the District of Columbia. January I7, i964 Dear Dr. Wiesner: I am pleased to learn that you are willing to accept my appointment to the committee created by President Kennedy to make recommendations regarding publicly supported higher education in the District of Columbia. The Committee is formulating recommendations on the following issues: Should the District of Columbia have publicly supported institutions of higher learning beyond the secondary school level? If so, what type or types of institutions should be established, from junior colleges through graduate centers, and what relationship should any such institution bear to the existing public school system and to the existing universitiesparticularly Howard, which derives a considerable part of its income from Federal appropriations? Collateral issues which are relevant are the extent to which the unsurpassed resources present in the Federal agencies and their employees can be used or useful; the extent to which any institution should be available to non-residents of the District, and the manner in which the Dis trict can best take advantage in the field of higher education of the opportunities afforded by Federal aid-to-education programs and of new measures which might be enacted. All of these issues are of very great concern and importance to the residents of the District and to the nation of which the District is the capital city. The Committee has already developed a program for obtaining the factual data upon which its recommendations will ultimately rest, and its staff has made considerable progress in securing this necessary information. I am sure, however, that your knowledge and experience will be of major benefit in formulating the judgments and recommendations of the Committee. Sincerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON [Honorable Jerome B. Wiesner, Special Assistant to the President, The White House] NOTE: On September 23, i963, President Kennedy announced the appointment of the Committee on Public Higher Education in the District of Colum I45 [116] Jan. I7 Public Papers of the Presidents bia. The White House release listed as members Dr. Francis S. Chase, Dean, Graduate School of Education, University of Chicago, as chairman; Mrs. Agnes E. Meyer, of Washington, D.C.; Dr. Samuel M. Nabrit, President of Texas Southern University; Dr. James R. Killian, Jr., former President, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and Dr. Thomas R. McConnell, Chairman of the Center for Study of Higher Education of the University of California. Dr. George N. Shuster, Assistant to the President, University of Notre Dame, was appointed to the membership on October 7, I963. For the President's statement upon accepting the report of the Committee, see Item 457. II7 Remarks at the Dedication of the National Geographic Society Building. January i8, I964 Dr. Grosvenor, Mr. Chief Justice, members of the Society, my fellow Americans: This is a very proud and happy occasion. In the homes of our land and in all lands around the world, the National Geographic Society and its magazine are old friends and a very welcome companion. You have broadened the horizons and narrowed the misunderstandings of many generations-and you have helped us all to be better citizens of the world and better citizens of our times. It is gratifying today to now join in welcoming the society and its magazine into this new and magnificent home. This imposing home for the National Geographic stands not as a monument to the past but as a testament of confidence in and enthusiasm for the future. For free men, whatever land they may call home, these qualities are indispensable. The future is the special trust of the free. We are not likely to keep that trust or likely to keep our freedom unless we keep our confidence in the future and unless we maintain our enthusiasm for always meeting new challenges and new opportunities. The last 4 centuries of human experience have been centuries of exploration, discovery, and advancement of the frontiers of man's knowledge. We of this strong and still developing young nation are more than any others children of those explorations. America, as we know it, and freedom as we know it could well not exist tomorrow for either our children or their children if we should lose from our national life that confidence in the future and that enthusiasm for exploration which has brought us to this high moment of history and high moment of hope. All the seas have been sailed and all the continents have been explored. The highest mountains have been scaled and the darkest jungles have been penetrated. We have reached into the realms of space and out toward the domain of the stars. Yet our work is not complete and our race is not yet won. This generation of Americans is challenged to live a life of high adventure. If we are to keep our trust in freedom, we must in these last 4 decades of this century undertake explorations in many realms, realms which dwarf all those of the past 4 centuries. We must participate in the high adventure of advancing man's knowledge of both the universe about us and the capacities within us. We of this land must commit ourselves to a demanding life of dedicated participation in the forward movement of the times in which we live. We are called to the greatest works that man has ever done. If we are to live as 146 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-I964 Jan. i8 [II71 free men in a world of danger, we must explore for new and better ways to maintain our security without impairing our solvency. If we are to live at peace in a world of peril, we must set forth to discover the secrets of peace just as we long ago discovered the awesome secrets of war and devastation. If we are to live with pride in a world of decency, we must commit ourselves to removing from the earth the scars and scourge of human poverty and disease and ignorance and intolerance. These works are not and can never be the works of one nation or one people alone. These works will be accomplished when they become the joint works and the common labors of nations and peoples everywhere. If that is to come to pass, nations must have more than common forums in which to meet. They must have common enterprises on which they can work together for the common good. We of the United States believe today, as we have long believed, that the realms of scientific explorations offer this opportunity for common enterprises and endeavors. Scientific exploration and research knows no national boundaries. Human knowledge is never the captive of international blocs. Commonsense dictates that all nations lend their learning to other nations. This is a loan in which the science of all nations is the beneficiary, and the good of all mankind is advanced. The more that we share with each other, the less we misunderstand each other. Today in this house of exploration, let us invite exploration by all nations, for all nations. The only way to begin is to begin. What greater challenge can there be for the Na tional Geographic Society to take the initiative in this endeavor. Why should not the National Geographic in this land and around the world serve as a clearing house for knowledge, to bring together men of science of every land, to share and to spread their knowledge and their talents. Where they begin, others will follow. So, let us renew our hope that all nations with the interest and the capacity for scientific exploration unite in mutual enterprises of discovery to the benefit of their neighbor nations. As the late beloved President Kennedy said one month before his death: "Recent scientific advances have not only made international cooperation desirable, but they have made it essential. The ocean, the atmosphere, outer space, belong not to one nation or one ideology, but to all mankind..." This is the principle upon which we stand. Explorations and discoveries of centuries past were most often meant to serve the interest and the advantage of individual nations. Today, as we meet here, we believe that the explorations and the discoveries of decades ahead must be meant to serve the aspirations and the well-being of individual men in all nations. This Nation is committed now to the most intensive effort ever made by any peoples to advance the frontiers of human knowledge. We shall remain committed. The cost of knowledge, whatever its price, is small against the price mankind has already paid throughout all history for his ignorance and for the darkness. The United States shall welcome any who wish to join with us in seeking to serve the common good of mankind. But if others are not willing or if they are not able to join with us, our own endeavors will not slacken. I47 33-171 —G5- -15 [II7] Jan. i8 Public Papers of the Presidents I will have more to say about that in the early part of the week, which I hope you will follow, in an exchange I have with some other nation. With confidence in the future and in ourselves, with enthusiasm for the opportunities that the future presents to us; we therefore welcome the privilege of leading this century's great explorations to find a better life to build a better world for all the races of man. So, in this spirit, then, it is my very proud privilege now, on this i8th day of January in the year one thousand nine hundred and sixty-four to dedicate this beautiful new home of the great National Geographic Society: to the increase and diffusion of geographic knowledge, to man's eternal quest for knowledge of earth, sea, and space. NOTE: The President spoke at 4:30 p.m. at the new National Geographic Society building in Washington, D.C. His opening words referred to Dr. Melville Bell Grosvenor, president of the Society, and Chief Justice of the United States Earl Warren. i8 Farewell Message to President Segni of Italy. January i8, I964 Dear Mr. President: Before you leave for home, I want to tell you how delighted Mrs. Johnson and I were to have you and Mrs. Segni as our guests. We were especially grateful to you for coming at this time and proud to have had this chance to demonstrate the high regard and admiration which we Americans have for the people of Italy and their distinguished Chief of State. We also greatly appreciated the opportunity for the extended and candid discussions with you and Foreign Minister Saragat of major international issues important to both our countries. These talks demonstrated once again the real identity of interests and understanding which happily characterizes the relations between our peoples and their governments and which is vital to the cause of peace and freedom. Mrs. Johnson joins me in sending warmest personal regards to you and Mrs. Segni and both of us hope you have a very pleasant and safe journey back to Rome. Sincerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON 119 Remarks Upon Receiving a United States Army Flag From Senior Commanders of the Army. January 20, I964 Mr. Secretary and General Wheeler: There is no gift that I receive with more joy and with more reverence than this honored flag. All that we have ever been and all that we ever want to be and all that we ever hope to become is represented in this flag. The courage and the competence of the United States Army and the role that it has always played in the preservation of honor and the preservation of peace is seen in this flag. You all have a military mission which you never shirk; which you always perform with valor. But there is an additional role in your mission as commanders. That additional role is as challenging as the sacrifices repre 148 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-i964 Jan. 20 [I20] sented by the I45 battle streamers on this flag. That role is to build and to preserve the peace for this Nation and for all time to come. You assist me in no greater responsibility when you help me in that objective. Thank you, gentlemen, for presenting me with this proud flag. You represent the noblest and the best that is in America and I am grateful that you should come here and permit me to visit with you individually and collectively on this occasion. NOTE: The President spoke in his office at the White House, at I2:I5 p.m., to a group of senior Army commanders. His opening words referred to Secretary of the Army Cyrus R. Vance and the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, Gen. Earle G. Wheeler. The flag was the official United States Army flag adopted on June I3, i956. The I45 streamers represent the campaigns in which the Army has participated since its inception. 120 Remarks to Members of the National Congress of American Indians. January 20, 1964 Mr. Secretary, Mr. Wetzel, Members of Congress, my friends: I am glad to meet here with you this evening in this historic house that belongs to all America. I regret very much that I was delayed by other meetings that were unavoidable and I am only happy that I finally got here. I appreciate what Mr. Wetzel has said about your views and the recommendations that he has made. I always think it is better to be affirmative and constructive than to spend all the limited time we have talking about things that we have not done. I am particularly proud that there are Members of Congress who have labored diligently in the vineyard through the years to improve conditions among you that would take time from their tasks to come here this afternoon. You know a good Congressman is one who represents the people of his district faithfully and well. But a congressional district is a very small part of all the world. The United States is a very small part of all the world. We are outnumbered in the world 17 to I, yet we have a very special responsibility for leading it. A great Congressman is not one that just looks after his own district, but looks after people everywhere and has a concern for humanity and welfare of all human beings. So I think by their presence here this afternoon we show the good and the great. They have come to see what we can all do together to make life better for all of us. Now both in terms of statistics and in terms of human welfare, it is a fact that America's first citizens, our Indian people, suffer more from poverty today than any other group in America. That is a shameful fact. Family income of the 400,000 Indians on reservations is less than one-third of the average income of the United States. The average unemployment rate, as you were told, is nearly 50 percent and reaches as high as 85 percent. Only io percent have housing that meets minimum standards of availability. The average young adult has only an eighth grade education. The high school dropout rate is 60 percent. The average age at death of an Indian on a reservation is 42 compared with the national average of 62. Now all of these are reasons why I have 149 [I20] Jan. 20 Public Papers of the Presidents directed that in our attack on poverty program we put our Indian people in the forefront. As a beginning, I am pleased to announce today by far the largest Indian housing program in the history of the United States. I am informed by Administrator Bob Weaver, who is present, and Commissioner Nash that they have approved the construction of 3,I00 new homes on 50 reservations in I7 States to be built through a cooperative effort of the Indian Bureau and the Housing Administration. This program, properly followed up, will do much to assist in correcting health problems and educational problems. Other programs bringing industrial plants to reservations, developing timber and minerals and other resources of the reservations are additional weapons in this fight against poverty. These require credit assistance; these require vocational education. The established programs for loans and education will be expanded. Accelerated public works has furnished 34,000 man-months of employment beginning last winter in the fight against unemployment on reservations. Results are the improved livestock range, forest lands, new roads, community centers. To the members of the National Congress of American Indians, symbolically representing all Indians on reservations, I pledge a continued effort to eradicate poverty and to provide new opportunity for the first citizens of America. When I addressed the Congress, shortly after I was sworn in, I said I would give all that I have not to be here today. But I am here today and I do have a responsibility for the Government of this country. I share that responsibility with good and great men in three separate independent branches of Government, but so far as the Executive can lead, it will be in this direction; first, the direction of a strong America, because we must be secure in a dangerous world. We must always be strong enough to prevent war and wise enough to avoid it. So a great deal of our family budget is going to be spent in making this Nation secure. And along with the importance of security to the Nation is solvency of the Nation, because wastrels and squanderers and people who are not concerned with the value of the dollar cannot long remain secure. If we are drained of our gold, if our dollar is inflated, if we have unemployment among us, if our national income drops, then we will lack the tanks and the planes and the missiles that we must need to be secure in this kind of a world. So solvency must be a matter of national pride and national concern, but it does little good to be strong and to be solvent, if we ignore the human needs of our people. We must be strong and we must be solvent in order that we can be compassionate, because every Congressman standing here today, when you ask him what he would like to be remembered for, my judgment is he would like to be remembered for what he did for people, what he did for folks, what he did to make life better and more enjoyable and more prosperous and more rewarding for human beings. We have much in this world to protect and much to preserve. I remember when I was a young Congressman, 27 years of age, I stood on the steps of a train to come to Washington for my first time as a Congressman and my father, who had been many years in legislative service, said to me then: "Son, measure each vote you cast by this standard: Is this vote in the benefit of people? What does this do for human beings? How have I helped the lame and the halt and I50 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963 —964 Jan. 20 [I2o] the ignorant and the diseased? See if this vote is generally for humanity. And there will be times when good arguments will be made both pro and con. And you won't know what to do. When that time comes, I suggest that you watch how Wright Patman of Texas votes and then follow him, because while Wright gets off the reservation every now and then, he always gets off thinking he is voting for human beings." And I did that and I am rather proud of my voting record and I think that a government that is compassionate can always be proud and the Good Lord Almighty has blessed us with a bounty that excels that of any other nation in the world. Only six nations in the world have anything like the standard of income that we have and they are small; Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, and Switzerland. They are the only nations that make as much as $80 a month. We lead the entire world with more than $200 a month. So we have an opportunity to follow the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. And it is a shameful fact that poverty stalks the Nation and that we have done so little about it. But, God willing, and with the support of the American people, the members of both parties, all of whom were elected on a platform of doing what is right although they approach it in different ways sometimes, we are going to try to eradicate as much poverty from our midst as possible. No one thinks we can wipe it out. No one thinks that we can with a stroke of the brush do away with it. But it is a goal and it is a target. So this year instead of adding $5 billion to the budget as we did last year and as we did the year before, we started with a budget of $98.8 that Congress approved last year, the President requested it. We could have added 5 making $103.8, but in our judgment that would not have given us the solvency we need to be able to do the things that must be done. So we started eliminating any waste that we could find, any place we could find it. Oh, they laughed because we eliminated or took away i86 Cadillacs and just allowed a few for Cabinet officers and the President and cut it down to 20 some odd. Now that didn't save much, but it set an example and it saved some. One Cabinet meeting met on Tuesday and they reported back on Friday and they reduced their budget $800 million in 3 days! So those things can be done and we are following up on them. Until, finally, we cut the Department of Defense in antiquated establishments that were not giving us any added combat strength. We cut a billion dollars out of the Department of Defense budget and that permitted some money for poverty. We got just $300 million in, but that's a start. And where there's a will there's a way. We are going to hope that the cities will help, and the States will help, and the counties will help, and the foundations will help, and the charitable agencies will help, and the neighbors will help, and the Federal Government can, at least, put its stack in on compassion and doing something for human beings. Now you have a program here. I will study it carefully. I will ask my counselors, the Secretary of the Interior, Mr. Udall, who is doing a wonderful job, I will ask him to make recommendations on it and we hope that when we meet here again in the East Room, or by the side of the river, that we will have come a long way, we will have bettered the lot of our fellow man, we will have improved his standard of living, we will have attacked the problem of illiteracy among his children and disease among those he loves best, and poverty. I5I I[I20] Jan. 20 Public Papers of the Presidents These are the ancient enemies of mankind, and the Johnson administration has declared war on it and we are going to do something about it. NOTE: The President spoke in the East Room at the White House at 4:30 p.m. In his opening words he referred to Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall and Walter Wetzel, president of the National Congress of American Indians. Later he referred to Robert C. Weaver, Administrator of the Housing and Home Finance Agency, Philleo Nash, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and U.S. Representative Wright Patman of Texas. The group of approximately 200 persons, including many Indians, was in Washington attending the annual meeting of the executive board of the congress, an organization concerned with the betterment of the American Indians and the promotion of legislation in their behalf. I2I Remarks to Members of the Budget Bureau Staff at the Signing of the i965 Budget. I THINK I should say and I want you to remember that I have been in the Government 32 years and am in my 33d year and I don't think I have ever seen more diligence or dedication in any single endeavor than the work that went into the budget that goes to the Congress tomorrow. I spent many hours, many days, with the men that you folks here sent over as messengers, who did the real work, and it is a tribute to you and it is a tribute to our country that we can have people like you. I have had a slight association with private industry in my years and the quality of the work and the caliber of your staff is something that any industrial concern in this country would be proud of. And you have not only served your country well, your President well, your Congress well, but I think you have served yourself and your families. You have demonstrated that you could find waste and where you could find it eliminate it. You have demonstrated that you could arrest the growing increase in Federal expenditures and turn it downward. You have turned in a first-class performance and although I expect and anticipate that the Congress will make even further reductions, I want to charge each of you with the job of supervising this budget as it goes through the many steps that it will go January 20, i964 through before the money is spent. We have asked the departments for quarterly reports on their personnel. I want the most thorough and capable analysts among you to ride herd on specific departments and see that we have the best management practices in the country in the Government. We need take second place to no private concern. While we must have a Government that is strong, we need not have a Government that is wasteful. In addition to strength and security, we must also have solvency, because unless we are solvent we will have neither strength nor security. I hope that all of you will remember that in addition to strength and solvency we must have compassion. We are a very fortunate group of people. We are a relatively small number as the makeup of the whole world goes. We are outnumbered i7 to i. But fate has smiled upon us, and our forefathers left us with a great system. There are only six nations in the world that have a per capita income of more than $8o a month and we lead all of the rest. That doesn't mean, because we are compassionate, we have to be wasteful. We can take the money we save on waste and spend it on compassion and doing things for people that need it. That is what you have done. You have I52 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-I964 Jan. 20 [I22] done it in the military, you have done it in the atomic energy field, you have done it in every agency of Government. You have improved management practices, you have brought reforms and they are indicated in the final result. But we are just beginning to start. We have to follow this through every step and I want to ask you to ride herd on each Cabinet officer, on each independent agency, on each commission, even on the White House itself, to see where we can eliminate any unnecessary expense. Someone told me that the light bill in the White House ran several thousand dollars a month. I challenged Mr. Valenti over there and my maid this morning when I left to turn out all those lights on those chandeliers when there is no one in the house. Mrs. Johnson had gone to New York and I was the only one there and I didn't require that much light. I don't know how much we saved today. I want a bill for the last 3 months to see if we are making any headway. And see that that goes down to every Government building. A stitch in time saves nine. You don't accumulate anything unless you save the small amounts. So I am very proud to sign my first budget, but I am prouder of the people that made it possible for me to sign such a budget. When you go home, you tell Molly and the babies that your President specifically decorated you today for a job well done. Thank you, gentlemen. NOTE: The signing ceremony, held in the Cabinet Room at the White House, was attended by the Director of the Bureau of the Budget, Kermit Gordon, and other Bureau officials. During his remarks the President referred to Jack Valenti, Special Consultant to the President. I22 Letter to Chairman Khrushchev on the Eve of the Reopening of the Geneva Disarmament Conference. January 20, I964 [ Released January 20, I964. Dated January i8, i964 ] Dear Mr. Chairman: I welcome the stated objective of your December 31 letter and agree with much of its contents. It is my hope that we can build on these areas of agreement instead of merely emphasizing our well-known disagreements. This Nation is committed to the peaceful unification of Germany in accordance with the will of the people. This Nation, which has fundamental commitments to the Republic of China, has for many years sought the renunciation of force in the Taiwan Strait. This Nation's forces and bases abroad are for collective defense, and in accordance with treaties and agreements with the countries concerned. Let us emphasize, instead, our agreement on the importance your letter places on preserving and strengthening peace-and on the need to accompany efforts for disarmament with new efforts to remove the causes of friction and to improve the world's machinery for peacefully settling disputes. In this spirit, let us both present new proposals to the Geneva Disarmament Conferencein pursuit of the objectives we have previously identified: -to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons; -to end the production of fissionable material for weapons; -to transfer large amounts of fissionable materials to peaceful purposes; -to ban all nuclear weapons tests; I53 [I22] Jan. 20 Public Papers of the Presidents -to place limitations on nuclear weapons systems; -to reduce the risk of war by accident or design; -to move toward general disarmament. I am sure you will agree that our task is to work hard and persistently on these and other specific problems and proposals-as you and President Kennedy did on the Test Ban Treaty-instead of confining ourselves to vague declarations of principle that oppose some wars but not all. Your letter singles out the problem of territorial disputes and concludes that "the use of force for the solution of territorial disputes is not in the interest of any people or any country." I agree; moreover, the United States proposes guidelines to implement this principle which are even broader and stronger than your own. First, all governments or regimes shall abstain from the direct or indirect threat or use of force to change -international boundaries; -other territorial or administrative demarcation or dividing lines established or confirmed by international agreement or practice; -the dispositions of truce or military armistice agreements; or -arrangements or procedures concerning access to, passage across or the administration of those areas where international agreement or practice has established or confirmed such arrangements or procedures. Nor shall any government or regime use or threaten force to enlarge the territory under its control or administration by overthrowing or displacing established authorities. Second, these limitations shall apply regardless of the direct or indirect form which such threat or use of force might take, whether in the form of aggression, subversion, or clandestine supply of arms; regardless of what justification or purpose is advanced; and regardless of any question of recognition, diplomatic relations, or differences of political systems. Third, the parties to any serious dispute, in adhering to these principles, shall seek a solution by peaceful means-resorting to negotiation, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, action by a regional or appropriate United Nations agency or other peaceful means of their own choice. Fourth, these obligations, if they are to continue, would have to be quite generally observed. Any departure would require reappraisal; and the inherent right of self-defense which is recognized in Article 51 of the United Nations Charter would, in any event, remain fully operative. You will note the basic similarities in our position. Agreement should not be impossible on this or other propositions-and I share your hope that such agreement will stimulate disarmament and peaceful relations. The prevention of wars over territorial and other disputes requires not only general principles but also the "growth and improvement" to which you refer regarding the machinery and methods for peaceful settlement. The United States believe that the peacekeeping processes of the United Nationsand specifically its Security Council-should be more fully used and strengthened and that the special responsibilities and contributions of the larger countries-particularly the permanent members of the Security Council-deserve greater attention in solving its financial problems. In consultation with our allies, we shall offer specific proposals along these lines in the weeks ahead. Both the Geneva Dis I54 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 Jan. 20 [ I24] armament Conference and the United Nations are appropriate places for such discussions. Mr. Chairman, let me assure you that practical progress toward peace is my most fervent desire. This requires, not only agreements in principle but also concrete actions in accord with those principles. I believe this exchange of letters offers real hope for that kind of progress-and that hope is shared by all peace-loving men in every land. Sincerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON [His Excellency Nikita S. Khrushchev, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Moscow] NOTE: Chairman Khrushchev's letter of December 3I is printed in the Department of State Bulletin (vol. 50, p. I158). I23 Message to the First Conference of the Catholic Inter-American Cooperation Program. January 20, i964 I AM very pleased to send my greetings to the first annual conference of the Catholic Inter-American Cooperation Program. Your deep and urgent concern with the acute social and economic problems of our Latin American neighbors is shown by the attendance of distinguished clergy and laymen from both North America and Latin America, and will, I know, be reflected in your discussions. In your search for solutions to these problems-and in the action which stems from that search-you are proceeding along the path charted by Pope John XXIII-a path which the Church continues to follow under Pope Paul VI. The bold and imaginative actions taken by Church leaders in many Latin American countries in recent years have helped to give momentum to the twin goals of economic development and social justice to which our countries are pledged under the Alliance for Progress. The policies underlying the Alliance have their root and inspiration in the great tradition of Judaeo-Christian ethics which we share with the other republics of the hemisphere. In steadfast adherence to these policies lies the best hope for the preservation of the spiritual values that give meaning to our lives. Best wishes for the success of your conference. NOTE: The President's message was read at a public evening session of the Conference by the Reverend Jorge Mejifa, editor of "Criterio," a magazine published in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Catholic Inter-American Cooperation Program, launched in i963 by the U.S. Bishops' Committee for Inter-American Cooperation, is aimed at bringing United States and Latin American Catholics together in mutual understanding and friendship. I24 Annual Message to the Congress: The Economic Report of the President. January 20, i964 To the Congress of the United States: This is my first report to you under the Employment Act of I946. As a member of the Congress at that time, I was proud to vote for this historic Act. As your President today, I am proud to respond to its challenge-to its mandate "to promote maximum employment, production, and purchasing power" within the framework of "free competitive enterprise." Nothing less than the maximum will meet our needs.,33-1171 -65 16 I55 II2-41 Jan. 20 Public Papers of the Presidents Our gross national product (GNP) for the fourth quarter of I963 rose to a $600 billion annual rate. But an unemployment rate of 5 /2 percent continues to -cast a long shadow over our pride in this achievement; -remind us that far too much of our precious human potential still lies idle. As I stated in outlining my political philosophy six years ago: I regard achievement of the full potential of our resources-physical, human, and otherwise-to be the highest purpose of governmental policies next to the protection of those rights we regard as inalienable. The road to that full potential is still a long one. But we have moved steadily and impressively forward in the past three years. And the tax cut will speed our climb toward our goals of full employment, faster growth, equal opportunity, balance in our external payments, and price stability. As the Employment Act requires, I shall in this report -assess our progress toward our economic goals, -review the current and foreseeable trends in the U.S. economy in relation to its potential, and -set forth my policy and program for achieving our national economic potential. THE $IOO BILLION EXPANSION As we face the tasks ahead, we have much to build on. Economic Milestones Our record $Ioo billion expansion since early I96I has carried us past important milestones in the march toward a better life. In 1963, for the first time in history: -GNP passed the $600 billion mark, by yearend. -Average earnings in manufacturing exceeded $ioo a week, by yearend. -Personal income (before taxes) reached an average rate of some $2,500 per capita, by yearend. -After-tax income of individuals exceeded $400 billion, for the year. -Corporate profits exceeded $50 billion before taxes and $25 billion after taxes, for the year. -Residential construction passed $25 billion, for the year. -Civilian employment exceeded 70 million, during the year. Extent of the Advance These striking statistics tell us where we are. But they do not tell us how far and how fast we have come. In the nearly 3 years of unbroken expansion since early I96I: -GNP is up i6 percent, measured in constant dollars. -Industrial production is up 23 percent. -Civilian nonfarm jobs are up 234 million. -Personal income is up $70 billion, or 17 percent. -Corporate profits before taxes are up $17 billion, or 44 percent. -Net income per farm for I963 is almost $375, or I2 percent. -Total after-tax income of the American people is up $56 billion, or i6 percent. -Real disposable income per family is up more than $60o, or 8 percent. Comparative Gains It is fair to ask how the I96I-63 expansion in output and incomes compares with earlier upswings in the American economy. Here 156 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 Jan. 20 [I24] is the answer: I. The $Ioo billion rise in output in 2/4 years knows no parallel in our peacetime economic annals. 2. The advance of $5i billion in labor income is also unparalleled. Average real income of nonfarm workers has risen by $345 a year, a gain not exceeded in any previous comparable period. 3. The rise in corporate profits from a rate of $38/2 billion in early I96I to roughly $55 billion at the end of I963 is notable for three reasons: a. The I4-percent annual rate of advance is high by previous standards. b. The rise is not only large, but prolonged-at this stage in past expansions, profits had already declined from their peaks. c. The rise has occurred even as the liberalized depreciation guidelines of I962 were transferring $2 / billion of business receipts out of taxable profits into nontaxable depreciation. Most heartening to me is that these gains to American labor and American business were not at the expense of -the American consumer-whose income is no longer being eroded by inflation, as prices have held steadier in the United States than in any other major industrial country; -the competitive position of U.S. exports-which has benefitted from several years of stable domestic wholesale prices, our best record since the war and better than that of any other major industrial country. Contributions of Business, Labor, and Government An expansion as long, strong, and free of excesses as the one we are now experiencing does not "just happen." -Business has generally held prices in check, kept inventories on an even keel, and avoided excesses in capital financing. -Labor has been constructive in its collective bargaining and in its contributions to rising productivity. Average wage rate increases over the period I96I-63 have been the most modest since World War II, thereby helping to stabilize unit labor costs and improve our ability to compete with Europe and Japan. -Government has steadily pursued fiscal and monetary policies designed to promote recovery, accelerate expansion, and encourage business and consumer confidence: in 1961, when the Administration's quick antirecession program got recovery off to a flying start; in 1962, when, in sharp contrast to I960 and I957, rising Federal purchases, new tax incentives to investment, and continued credit ease lent a steadying hand to an economy whose advance was faltering; in 1963, when prospects of a timely tax cut buoyed a reassured and resurgent economy. Federal Purchases and Tax Cuts Rising Federal purchases have played an important role in sustaining the I96I-63 expansion. They accounted directly for 11 percent of the growth in GNP, quite apart from their substantial indirect effects in increasing business and consumer outlays. Our fiscal program for I964-65 will shift emphasis sharply from expanding Federal expenditure to boosting private consumer demand and business investment. The $11 billion tax cut will challenge American businessmen, investors, and consumers to put their enlarged incomes to work in the private economy to expand output, investment, and jobs. I am confident that our private decision makers will rise to this challenge. I am confident of their growing agree I57 [1i24] Jan. 20 Public Papers of the Presidents ment -that "new records" in output and employment are not enough; — that four million unemployed and 13 percent idle factory capacity are intolerable; -that the acid test of economic policy is whether we can make full use of our growing labor force and our rising productivityour full potential. THE JOB AHEAD OF US We have not yet met this test. New high ground is not the summit. That still lies ahead. Our I96I-63 advance-though impressive, sustained, and noninflationary-has not gone far enough and fast enough -to create the jobs needed by our unemployed, -to get our factories humming to desired capacity, -to lift our GNP to its reasonable potential, -to restore the growth rate of our productive potential to the pace we took for granted in the early postwar period, -to raise the incomes of farm families to a level more comparable to those of nonfarm families, -to expand investment and profits to levels that will hold more of our capital funds at home and thereby shrink our external payments deficit. The size of the job that lies ahead of us is measured byi. Unemployment-5V2 percent of our labor force is still idle, even after a year-toyear advance of $30 billion in our GNP. Taking into account the added workers who seek employment as jobs become more plentiful, we would need at least two million more jobs today just to get rid of stubborn excess unemployment. 2. Productivity advance-we need about two million new jobs each year to offset the labor-saving effects of rising output per worker. 3. Labor force growth-more than a million added jobseekers enter the labor market each year-indeed we will soon need 75 million jobs. 4. Unused capacity-operating rates in manufacturing still average only 87 percent of capacity, against the 92-percent rate preferred by business managers. 5. Wasting potential-men, machines, and materials that lie idle today could readily add about $30 billion more to our $600o billion GNP. 6. The balance-of-payments deficit-although sharply reduced by the determined steps announced in July, the deficit is still with us. And gold outflows-though only half as large in i963 as in i962, and less than half as large in the 3 years i96i-63 as in I958-6o-have not been eliminated. EARLY TAX REDUCTION If we are to master these problems, we must above all enact the tax bill (H.R. 8363) -not in i or 2 or 3 months, but now; -not in diluted, but in strengthened form, with an immediate drop from an i8-percent to a I4-percent withholding rate. Far too long, our economy has labored under the handicap of Federal income tax rates born of war and inflation: -Those rates were designed to curb demand in an economy bursting at the seams. -But now, when demand and incentives are not strong enough to make full use of our manpower and machines, the tax brake is set far too tight. -We need to release that brake quickly I58 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-I964 Jan. 20 [ I24] to put billions of dollars of new consuming and investing funds into the hands of the private economy. Greatest Fiscal Stimulus Speedy passage of the tax cut, at the I4 -percent withholding rate -will cut individual income tax collections by $8.8 billion in I964, over $2 billion of which will come from lowering the withholding rate to 14 percent instead of 15 percent; -will cut corporate tax liabilities by $I 2 billion in I964; -will provide a net fiscal stimulus, taking both expenditures and tax cut into account, that will be three times as great in I964 as in any of the years I96I, I962, and I963; -will, in fact, provide a greater net stimulus to the economy in 1964-to jobs, production, income, and profits-than in any other peacetime year in history. The economics of efficiency is in no way inconsistent with the economics of expansion. By combining efficiency with expansion, frugality with compassion: -we shall hold the fiscal I965 budget below the fiscal I964 budget, and cut the deficit in half; -we shall get a dollar's value for a dollar spent, while not fearing to spend a dollar when and where the Nation will reap a full dollar or more in benefit; -we shall strengthen our programs to meet pressing human needs; fully satisfy our defense requirements; and respond to the demands of economic progress; -and we shall, at the same time, provide an unparalleled fiscal stimulus to the economy. Sustained Expansion The tax cut will give a sustained lift, yearin and year-out, to the American economy. When fully effective in I965, it will send well over $i billion annually coursing through the arteries of the private economy. The resulting stream of purchases by willing consumers and of investment by responsive businessmen will, at full strength, expand the tax cut's initial impact severalfold. The Nation will then, year-after year, reap this benefit in the form of -$35 to $45 billion more GNP, -$25 to $30 billion more consumption, -$5 to $7 billion more profits, than we would attain without the tax cut. These gains, growing steadily, will at long last lead to a balanced budget in a balanced economy at full potential. Safeguard Against Recession For the near term, the tax cut will give us the vital fiscal safeguard we need against recession. It will convert what is already a long and strong advance into the longest and strongest expansion in our peacetime history: -By April, it will have outdistanced all but the long and incomplete climb out of the Great Depression from I933 to 1937. -By mid-9I65, it will have outlasted even that expansion. I do not say that we can, at one stroke, wipe out recession or legislate the business cycle out of existence. But vigilant, bold, and flexible policy can prevent some recessions and nip others in the bud. And we have a great stake in doing so. The American economy suffered two recessions in quick succession in I957-58 and 1960-61. If a recession of the same average force were to hit us in 1964 or I965, it would cost us -a loss of $25 billion or more of output; -a rise of two million in unemployment; -a drop of nearly I2 percent in industrial production; 159 11241 Jan. 20 Public Papers of the Presidents -a sag of more than $5 billion in after-tax profits. Clearly, by enabling us to avoid a recession, the tax cut will pay us a handsome quick bonus quite apart from its basic long-run benefits. THE 1964 ECONOMIC OUTLOOK We enter I964 with optimism -riding the strong mount of an expansion that has already crossed the $600 billion mark, and -responding to the expected spur of a quickly enacted $II billion tax cut. With the tax cut, promptly enacted, our gross national product for I964 should rise from $585 billion for I963 to a projected $623 billion (understood as the midpoint of a $io billion range). But, without the tax cut, our sights would have to be set $IO to $15 billion lower-and dashed expectations could turn expansion into recession. With the tax cut, the state of business confidence is strong: business forecasters today foresee a 5- to 6-percent, or even greater, rise in GNP from I963 to I964. In contrast, a year ago they foresaw only a 3- to 4-percent rise. Today's business optimism is one of our strongest economic assets in I964. With the tax cut, unemployment will decline significantly in I964. With the tax cut, profits will continue to rise, avoiding the decline that usually sets in after the first year or two of a business expansion. With the tax cut, our balance of payments will benefit from basic improvements -in our ability to compete in world markets as costs are cut directly through lower taxes and indirectly through modernization; -and in our ability to retain and attract capital as returns on domestic investment rise with higher volume and lower unit costs. With the tax cut, consumer spending — fueled by the extra $8.8 billion of take-home pay —will propel the economy forward in I964. With the tax cut, business fixed investment should rise more in I964 than in I963, and housing and automobile demand should remain strong. With the tax cut, in short, 1964 will be a year of strong, sustained economic advance. But all this will not come about automatically. It requires, and I confidently expect: -that the Congress will act swiftly; -that taxpayers will respond by putting the released funds to work in the private economy; -that business will resist the temptation to exploit stronger markets by unneeded price boosts; — that labor will resist the temptation to exploit stronger job opportunities by excessive wage demands; -that Government will follow a balanced policy to maintain a favorable monetary climate, while meeting the requirements of our balance-of-payments situation; -that both public and private action will be taken as needed to overcome those pockets of excessive unemployment that remain even in the face of the job-creating stimulus of the tax cut. PRICE-WAGE POLICY IN 1964 Prospects are favorable for continuing in I964 our good record of price stability and stable unit labor costs: First, the price and wage record from which we start is excellent: a. The wholesale price index is still below the level of 3 years ago. b. The consumer price index has risen I60 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Jan. 20 [124] only I.2 percent a year, mostly in services. c. Average wage increases have stayed generally within the bounds of productivity increases. Second, because of wage moderation and rising productivity, labor costs per unit of output have held steady, while volume has risen. Third, the tax cut will further reduce costs, increase take-home pay, and keep sales and profits rising. Fourth, with ample supplies of labor and industrial capacity, the force of expanding demand touched off by the tax cut can express itself in more output, income, jobs, and profits rather than inflationary price or wage increases. Nevertheless, a series of specific price increases in recent months-especially in manufactured goods-gives me some cause for concern. I do not anticipate a renewal of the pricewage spiral-a spiral that would weaken our expansion and worsen our balance-of-payments position. I count on the sense of responsibility of the Nation's industrialists and labor leaders -to extend the excellent price and cost records of recent years -to maintain price and wage policies that accord with the noninflationary guideposts that I have asked the Council of Economic Advisers to reaffirm in its attached Report. In the face of a 44 percent increase in corporate profits in less than 3 years and the prospect of further increases to come with the tax cut, I see no warrant for inflationary price rises. On the heels of solid increases in real wages, plus the rise in take-home pay under the tax cut, I see no warrant for inflationary wage increases. Accordingly: -I shall keep a close watch on price and wage developments, with the aid of an early warning system which is being set up in the appropriate agencies. -I shall not hesitate to draw public attention to major actions by either business or labor that flout the public interest in noninflationary price and wage standards. -And I shall translate into action the view a. that antitrust policy must remain keenly alert to illegal price-fixing and other practices that impair competition; b. that we must resist new steps to legalize price-fixing where competition should prevail. OTHER POLICIES FOR 1964 Monetary Policy and Balance-of-Payments Measures A strong upswing in the economy after the tax cut need not bring tight money or high interest rates, especially when -our balance of payments is improving so sharply in response to measures begun in i96I and reinforced last July; -the budget for fiscal year 1965 will cut the Federal deficit in half and ease pressures on interest rates from Treasury borrowing. It would be self-defeating to cancel the stimulus of tax reduction by tightening money. Monetary and debt policy should be directed toward maintaining interest rates and credit conditions that encourage private investment. But monetary policy must remain flexible, so that: -It can quickly shift to the defense if, unexpectedly, inflation threatens or the balance of payments worsens. -When monetary measures are not needed as defensive shock troops, they can reinforce fiscal policy in promoting domestic expansion. Our balance of payments will continue to i6i [124] Jan. 20 Public Papers of the Presidents benefit from the special program launched last July. This requires -early enactment of the interest equalization tax, designed to raise the costs of foreign borrowing in our capital market without forcing up domestic interest rates, -further economies in dollar outflows from Government programs, without compromising our efforts to maintain the strength of the free world, -continued price stability and export promotion to maintain or improve the competitive position of our exports. Trade Expansion and Development Assistance I. The Kennedy Round. The United States' 30-year campaign to reduce barriers to world trade-and the intensified pursuit of that goal signalled by the passage of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962-will reach a climax in I964. U.S. industry and agriculture are in excellent condition to seize the new opportunities offered by trade liberalization and to weather the adjustments that may be required. Our goal is a more prosperous America in a more prosperous world. 2. The developing countries. Reduced trade barriers will expand exports and help an increasing number of developing countries to become self-supporting. But for most poorer countries full selfsupport is still some distance off. We must help them find a path to development through freedom-and freedom through development. Our development assistance effort must and will be more sharply focused and rigorously administered. We shall encourage others to share more of its burden and seek a larger role for private investment. But a strong development assistance program con tinues to be vital to our pursuit of peace and stability in the free world. Agriculture The contribution to our Nation's economic growth made by rising agricultural productivity is too often overlooked. We need only look at the restraints placed on national growth in Soviet Bloc countries to understand what a failure in the growth of agricultural productivity can mean to a nation and its people. Looking forward in I964, we face a number of challenges in agriculture: -While net income per farm has grown I2 percent in I96I-63, chronic problems of overproduction remain. -We need improved commodity legislation this year for many of our major commodities. -The highly successful Food for Peace program requires new legislative authority this year. -We must also provide the research and development support necessary to the continued strength, adaptability, and growth of American agriculture. Labor and Manpower Policies No matter how mechanized it becomes, our economy is still an organization of people-working with tools. In 1964 we must redouble our efforts to meet these problems of our working people: i.. Automation. Technological change is a prime mover of our economic growth-but it can lead to painful job displacement. -A special high-level commission should be established to determine how we can best gain the benefits of automation while minimizing its human costs. -As a starting point, I commend to it the analysis of this problem which the Council 162 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 Jan. 20 [124] of Economic Advisers has made in Chapter 3 of its accompanying report. 2. More efficient labor markets. -Displaced workers must be retrained and helped by improved Federal-State placement and counseling services to find their way back to fully productive lives. -And we must strengthen our education and training facilities at every level to give our youth the background and skills demanded by our rapidly developing economy. The Youth Employment Act remains high on our agenda. 3. Unemployment insurance. The burden of displacement on the individual must be eased by extending the coverage and increasing the benefits of our unemployment insurance programs. 4. The Fair Labor Standards Act. Coverage should be extended to over 2/2 million workers who lack overtime coverage or are not protected at all-among them, 650,000 hotel, motel, restaurant, laundry, drycleaning, and farm-processing workers. 5. Working hours. We should and will solve our present unemployment problem by expanding demand, not by forcing the standard workweek down to 35 hours. This would only redistribute work, not expand it. At the same time, the regular use of heavy overtime may be unreasonably curtailing job opportunities in some industries. Accordingly I shall ask for legislation authorizing higher overtime penalty rates on an industry-by-industry basis where tripartite industry committees determine that such rates could create more jobs without unduly raising costs. Transportation and Technology Our expanding economy and growing population place ever-rising demands on the Nation's transportation system. It is par ticularly urgent that the Congress now enact legislation before it -to assist our cities in modernizing their mass transportation facilities; -to revise and strengthen our national transportation policy and place more reliance on the creative force of competition. The Federal Government provides major support for the research and development which underlie our striking technological advances. In the past much of our research and development has been connected with national defense. Now, as military outlays level off, we face -a challenge to apply the Nation's growing scientific and engineering resources to new socially profitable uses; -an opportunity to accelerate the technological progress of our civilian industries. The Federal Government should join with private business and our universities in speeding the development and spread of new technology. I have directed the Department of Commerce to explore new ways to accomplish this. Housing and Community Development Americans generally are better housed than the citizens of any other nation. Much of this could not have been accomplished without the encouragement and help Government has given to our private financial institutions. Authorizations expire this year for several of our major programs. They need to be renewed and extended -to renew the decaying areas of our cities, while minimizing the burden of dislocation on families and small businesses; -to allow cities to acquire land for openspace urban use and to facilitate better urban planning; -to strengthen our program of low-rent I63 [iI24] Jan. 20 Public Papers of the Presidents public housing; -to provide for construction of more specialized housing for the elderly. THE WAR ON POVERTY In the State of the Union Message, I announced that this Administration was declaring unconditional war on poverty in America. I shall present the details of the attack, including legislative proposals, in a later special message to the Congress. Americans today enjoy the highest standard of living in the history of mankind. But for nearly a fifth of our fellow citizens, this is a hollow achievement. They often live without hope, below minimum standards of decency. The per capita money income of these 35 million men, women, and children was only $590 in I962-against $I,900 per capita for the Nation as a whole. We cannot and need not wait for the gradual growth of the economy to lift this forgotten fifth of our Nation above the poverty line. We know what must be done, and this Nation of abundance can surely afford to do it. The Role of Prosperity and Faster Growth Today, as in the past, higher employment and speedier economic growth are the cornerstones of a concerted attack on poverty: -In the Great Depression mass unemployment made poverty all too common an experience. -Since 1947, prosperity and progress have reduced the incidence of substandard incomes from one-third to one-fifth of the Nation. -But the erosion of poverty slowed measurably after 1957. -The tax cut will once again generate jobs and income at a pace that will provide an escape from poverty for many of our least fortunate families. But general prosperity and growth leave untouched many of the roots of human poverty. In the decade ahead, the forgotten fifth must be given new opportunities for a better life. There are two major prongs to our specific attack on poverty in America: First, to enable every individual to build his earning power to full capacity Second, to assure all citizens of decent living standards regardless of economic reverses or the vicissitudes of human life and health. Building Individual Earning Power The first approach is the more fundamental. Let us deny no one the chance to develop and use his native talents to the full. Let us, above all, open wide the exits from poverty to the children of the poor. These are the keys to earning power: i. Education. Poverty and ignorance go hand in hand: -Of families headed by a person with only a grade school education, 37 percent are poor. Of those headed by high school graduates, only 8 percent are poor. -We must upgrade the education of all our youth, both to advance human well-being and to speed the Nation's economic growth. -But, most vitally, and with Federal support, we must upgrade the education of the children of the poor, so that they need not follow their parents in poverty. 2. Health. The poor, and the children of the poor, are handicapped by illness and disability that could be avoided: -Largely as a result of the ill health that grows out of poverty, we rank below many 164 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 Jan. 2o 11241 other countries in the conquest of infant and maternal mortality, in average life expectancy and nutrition. -We must speed and intensify our efforts to make good health more accessible to the poor. 3. Skills and jobs. We need to help both young adults and older workers acquire marketable skills by the programs already indicated. 4. Community and area rehabilitation. Concerted community action, with new Federal assistance, can break the dismal and vicious cycle found in too many of our rural and urban areas: -The cycle of poverty: inadequate schools, drop-outs, poor health, unemployment-creating delinquency, slums, crime, disease, and broken families-thereby breeding more poverty. -The cycle of chronic depression: regions needing new economic uses for their idle or underutilized human and physical resources, but too poor to provide them alone-and therefore unable to break out of their depression. The Area Redevelopment Act must be renewed and improved, and rural communities must be helped to find new economic strength. Furthermore, in a forthcoming special message, I shall propose a new program to deal with our Nation's most distressed major region, Appalachia. 5. Equal opportunity. Forty-four percent of nonwhite families are poor. Deficiencies of education and health and continuing job discrimination depress the earnings of Negroes, and other nonwhites, throughout their lives. -Only 40 percent of nonwhites-compared to 70 percent of whites-complete Ihigh school. -Infant mortality is nearly twice as high, maternal mortality four times as high, for nonwhites. -The life expectancy of a nonwhite man at age 20 is nearly 5 years shorter than for his white contemporary, and shorter than the average life expectancy reported in some 40 foreign countries. -Unemployment rates for nonwhites are generally double those of whites. Even beyond civil rights legislation, the fight to end discrimination requires constructive action by all governments and citizens to make sure-in practice as well as in principle-that all Americans have equal opportunities for education, for good health, for jobs, and for decent housing. Providing a Decent Living The second prong of the attack on poverty is to protect individuals and their families from poverty when their own earnings are insufficient because of age, disability, unemployment, or other family circumstances. I. Too many of the poor and disabled today fail to receive aid under the eligibility requirements of our Federal, State, and local network of programs of insurance and assistance. 2. For the aged, enactment of the proposed program for hospital insurance under social security is the first order of business. 3. For the unemployed, permanent legislation to strengthen unemployment insurance is urgently needed, as indicated above. A Versatile Attack The tactics of our attack on this ancient enemy must be versatile and adaptable. For the sources of poverty vary from family to family, city to city, region to region: -A solution will not be found in any single new program, directed from Washington and applied indiscriminately everywhere. i65 [124] Jan. 20 Public Papers of the Presidents -Instead, we urgently need to bring together the many existing programs-Federal, State, local, and private-and focus them more effectively in a frontal assault on the sources of poverty. -Most important, we shall encourage and assist communities and regions to develop their own plans of action; to mobilize their own resources as well as those available under Federal programs. Only in this way can we assure that the Federal funds devoted to the war on poverty-over $I billion of new funds in the first year-will be invested wisely and well. AMERICA S ECONOMIC CHALLENGE In i964 and beyond we seek a free and growing economy which -offers productive employment to all who are willing and able to work; -operates at the full potential of our human and material resources; -encourages free enterprise, innovation, and competition by citizens in all walks of life; -avoids setbacks from recession or inflation; -generates steady and rapid growth in productivity-the ultimate source of higher living standards-while providing the new skills and jobs needed for displaced workers; -meets ever more fully the needs and preferences of our citizens, as freely expressed in the market place and in the halls of governments; -provides increasing leisure, and satisfying ways to use the time, to those who wish it; -safeguards the security of the Nation and the free world by assisting efficiently the economic development and political independence of the less developed countries; -promotes mutually advantageous trade I66 with other countries, and progressively reduces barriers to international competition: -earns enough in free international transactions to balance our external payments and yet meet our world responsibilities; -distributes fairly the fruits of economic growth among consumers and producers, workers and employers; -moves steadily toward the American dream of equality of opportunity for all citizens-regardless of race, religion, sex, or residence, regardless of social and economic status at birth; -permits every American to produce and to earn to the full measure of his basic capacities; -eliminates, with the compassion and foresight of which a free and abundant economy is capable, avoidable suflering and insecurity from the lives of our citizens. These aspirations are not easy to fulfillbut neither are they beyond our powers. The policies-public and private-we must pursue are not waiting to be discovered. They are at hand and we must use them. Our main reliance is on private ingenuity, initiative, and industry. But it is the obligation of government -to support the vibrant, steady growth of the economy; -to expand the opportunities of free enterprise; -to guard against its excesses; -and to serve the economic interests of all the people. The Federal Government, -working closely with labor, business, and agriculture, yet respecting the economic and political freedoms of individuals; -working closely with State and local governments, yet careful not to trespass on their domain faces the economic challenges of i964 with confidence. Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964J Jan. 2I [ I26] Strengthened by the programs I have outlined in this Report, the Nation will move steadily toward the realization of its full potential. LYNDON B. JOHNSON NOTE: The President's message together with the Annual Report of the Council of Economic Advisers is printed in "Economic Report of the President, Transmitted to the Congress January I964" (304 pp., Government Printing Office, i964). 125 Letter Accepting Resignation of Edward R. Murrow as Director, USIA. January 2I, [Released January 2i, i964. Dear Ed: It is with the greatest reluctance that I yield to your insistence and accept your resignation as Director of the United States Information Agency, effective January 20, i964. I respect your feeling that a long convalescence from illness precludes your remaining on the job; the same high sense of duty which brought you to Washington now obliges you to depart. Nonetheless, I must admit I had been hoping you would find it possible to stay on. After your recovery, I will be calling on you for advice and help. You have done a magnificent job in this post. Your entire life, your eloquence and i964 Dated January 20, i964] idealism and sound judgment, your determined drive and sparkling personality all combined to make you superbly qualified for the task of conveying the true picture and purpose of this country to the world. You will be sorely missed. You leave with the thanks of a grateful President and a grateful Nation. I close, Ed, with a paraphrase of the words you made forever famous on radio and television: "Goodbye, and good luck!" Sincerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON NOTE: Mr. Murrow served as Director of the U.S. Information Agency from March i5, i96i, to January 20, i964. His letter of resignation was released with the President's reply. 126 Remarks to the Members of the President's Advisory Committee on Labor-Management Policy. January 2I, i964 THIS Committee represents, in my judgment, a most significant institution of Government. This is partly for what it has already accomplished. It is even more for what it promises in the future. The fact that as President of this country I have immediate access to the counsel of national leaders in the labor-management field-not just as individuals but as a group working together-is a source of great strength to me. I want to use your assistance fully. I understand that President Kennedy's last request to you was that you again consider the problem of automation and labor displacement. I would like to renew that request-out of respect for him-and out of my own concern with this problem. I am familiar with the thoughtful report you issued on automation in January of I962. That report is a magnificent statement of our commitment to economic progress and human dignity. I am particularly interested in the implications of your conclusion in that report that "the achievement of maximum technological i67 [I26] Jan. 2I Public Papers of the Presidents development with adequate safeguards against economic injury to individuals depends upon a combination of private and governmental action, consistent with the principles of the free society." In that connection, it would be particularly helpful to me if you would undertake a study that emphasizes the impact of automation and technological change on individual workers, unions, and firms, and that considers the problems of adjustment to such change. First, what will the direct impact on the economy be in the face of past and future trends? Second, what is being done and what can be done, to meet the impact of automation where it does result in displacement? Your study may involve sponsoring of new research, or the gathering of existing knowledge. It is my hope that your study will result in a report of those practices which you consider most worthy of attention. I would also appreciate any appropriate recommendations for Government action. In addition to this study there are other aspects of this question of unemployment on which I also need your advice. In March I will forward the second Presidential Report to the Congress on Manpower. A draft of my message in that report has already been distributed to you and your suggestions for improving it will be much appreciated. The existence of continued, often inherited, poverty in the midst of a nation enjoying general prosperity is a problem to which both President Kennedy and I have committed the administration. Plans for action are now being devised. I wish your immediate comment on one aspect of this problem now. I recently received a very disturbing report from a Cabi net committee regarding the extraordinarily high rejection rate-half for lack of educational attainment-among boys being called for induction into the Army. Shortly thereafter I ordered the Selective Service System, as a first step, to begin July i giving their standard examinations to the unmarried, out-of-school youths, as soon as they are eligible for the draft. This will enable us to find those boys at age i8, rather than at age 23, or 24, who are deficient mentally or physically and to offer them remedial programs. The success of this procedure is of great importance, for these rejected today boys are often tomorrow's unemployed. They need our help today, not tomorrow. Finally, you all know, some firsthand, of the difficulty we face in extending the advancing national prosperity to those geographical areas in the country which have been most sharply hit by economic change. A Federal-State commission is now preparing recommendations for a special program for Appalachia, the largest and most distressed of these areas. Your views on this matter would be most helpful. I note, finally, what I consider the value of the thinking the Committee has developed. I urge your careful nourishing of this process. You are proving that even in the most controversial areas, honest disagreement is most frequently an open door to understanding. This is a terribly important lesson for a free society to keep in mind, and to keep in motion. NOTE: The President spoke in the Fish Room at the White House at 10:30 a.m. The Committee's first report entitled "The Benefits and Problems Incident to Automation and Other Technological Advances" (25 pp. processed) is dated January i, I962. See "Public Papers of the Presidents, John F. Kennedy I962," Item 6. For the President's report to Congress on manpower utilization, see Item 212. i68 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-I964 Jan. 2 i [ 127] I27 Remarks at the Presentation of the Distinguished Service Medal to Gen. David M. Shoup. January 2I, i964 General and Mrs. Shoup, Secretary McNamara, Secretary Vance, ladies and gentlemen: On a day long ago, the Lord spoke to Joshua before the Battle of Jericho and he said, "Be strong and of good courage; fear not nor be dismayed." Today in a later day and another time these qualities of courage are displayed in a quiet man of great strength and action. We have come here to this first house of the land today to honor Gen. David M. Shoup, not because of the victories which he has brought to our country, but also for the honors that he has brought to our heritage. He is a man of war who believes in peace. He is a man of great discipline who cares about people. He can both issue and follow commands. His career is a straight line of duty and patriotism and valor. The Medal of Honor which he wears on his breast is also fastened in his heart. The citation for the highest award that his Nation can offer was presented for heroism at Tarawa. It reads in part, "Brilliant leadership, daring tactics, and unselfish devotion to duty." But it only begins to tell the story of David Shoup. I deeply regret his retirement from the service for he is one of an uncommon breed whose numbers are too small and whose duplication is too rare. I would, personally, have had him continue as Commandant of the Marine Corps, but it was his view and his desire and his determination that he should step down to make way for younger men. This is typical of David Shoup. But if he thinks that he is through with Government service, he is wrong for one of the few times in his life. I would say that he will be called to per form more delicate and important duties in the days ahead. He is a good man and an honest man and a modest man. In my judgment he is a very great man and in honoring him today I am very proud to be his President. And I am prouder still to be his fellow citizen. May God grant him the serenity he has earned. May his Nation grant him the gratitude he deserves. And I don't think that anyone knows this, except perhaps Secretary McNamara and his family, but when my beloved predecessor was thinking of this occasion, he was reminded that General Shoup had an aversion to receiving medals. President Kennedy's remark at that time was, "Well, if I had the Congressional Medal of Honor, I don't think I would want any other medals either." General Shoup, to you and your lovely wife and members of your family we say God bless you and thank you for having come our way. [At this point Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara read the citation which accompanied the award, following which General Shoup responded briefly. The President then resumed speaking.] Now this final word to those of you who have graced this room with your presence this morning. A few weeks ago I sat in a little room on the banks of my favorite river back in my home country and present in that meeting were the distinguished Joint Chiefs of Staff of the greatest and most powerful country in all the world. And my mind went back to many years ago when as a much younger man I had sat in hearings on the Defense Act and heard about the unification of our services. I had listened to one of the men present here this morning, Senator Symington-it is almost a phobia with him i69 [127] Jan. 2I Public Papers of the Presidents about the money that could be saved, if we only had unification and the strength that could be gained. And after each member of the Joint Chiefs made his statement and the Secretary made a brief summary, I thought that in my 32 years in Washington I had never seen a finer attitude, I had never seen more unification achieved, I never believed that we had been stronger in peacetime. I thought the members of the Armed Services Committee, who have done so much to help bring that about and who have worked so diligently in the vineyard, should, too, be recognized and particularly General Shoup, because he was never one to provoke trouble. He always tried to settle it. And he wanted to be strong enough to prevent a war and wise enough to avoid one. And, up to now, we have been. But you can be real proud of the Defense Department and all the men who serve that flag today. And I am especially proud of the part that General Shoup played in bringing about this very desirable condition. NOTE: The presentation ceremony was held at 12:45 p.m. in the East Room at the White House. In his opening words the President referred, in addition to General and Mrs. Shoup, to Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara and Secretary of the Army Cyrus R. Vance. General Shoup served as Commandant of the Marine Corps from September I4, i959, to December 31, i963. The text of the citation follows: "General Shoup, a brilliant career Marine and one of the great battle commanders of World War Two, performed his duties in a superb manner in one of the most responsible positions in the Department of Defense. As the Chief of a military service world renowned for its valor, he set an example of leadership of the highest order. Under his capable and forceful leadership, the United States Marine Corps has attained a level of unsurpassed combat readiness. General Shoup has demonstrated the capacity for dealing objectively without partisanship with matters of the broadest significance to our national security. Time after time he has shown that his devotion to the Government and devotion to the nation transcends strictly service interests in favor of national interests and national security. By his strong character and by his unimpeachable integrity, he has set a high standard for the Marine Corps and he has served as an inspiration to all of us who have served with him. General Shoup's outstanding contribution to the United States Government during more than 37 years of devotion to duty reflects the highest credit upon himself and upon his country." I28 Remarks of Welcome at the White House to Prime Minister Pearson of Canada. Mr. Prime Minister and Mrs. Pearson, and distinguished and honored members of your party: It is a great privilege to welcome you to this house and to this city. We have the very unusual pleasure of enjoying the longest unguarded border that exists between two countries any place in the world. On that border we have no soldiers. We have no weapons. We have only long and enduring friends. Mr. Prime Minister, we welcome you to this Capital. We look forward to fruitful and worthwhile discussions with you here in January 2I, I964 Washington. We hope you will enjoy your stay and we are delighted that you came. NOTE: The President spoke at 4 p.m. at the North Portico of the White House where Prime Minister Lester Pearson was given a formal welcome. The Prime Minister responded as follows: "Mr. President, I am sure you would be the first to understand if I say that my first thought on arriving here is to recall my last visit to the United States officially last May, and that I am very conscious as I stand here today of the grievous loss of a great young leader. "Mr. President, on behalf of my wife and my colleagues of the Canadian party and myself, I want to thank you for your very warm welcome to Washington. My wife and I do not feel that in coming here we are coming to any strange capital, because I70 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 Jan. 21 [I29] we have spent many happy years in Washington during the years of war when the cooperation and contact between our two governments was so close and so constructive, the kind of contact and cooperation which was continued in perhaps somewhat more difficult circumstances of peace, and which will be continued, Mr. President, in the future. "Our friendship is deep and our understanding is great; but we have many problems, of course, because our contacts are so close and so important to each other. We will solve those problems, I know, because of the depth of our friendship and the basic nature of our understanding. "I am looking forward, Mr. President, to our talks, and I am sure that those talks will underline the friendship between our two peoples and add to our understanding. "Thank you very much." For the Prime Minister's visit to the United States in May 1963, see "Public Papers of the Presidents, John F. Kennedy I963," Items I78-180. I29 Message to the i8-Nation Disarmament Conference in Geneva. January 21, I964 THERE IS only one item on the agenda of this Conference-it is the leading item on the agenda of mankind-and that one item is peace. Already this Conference has led to more concrete and effective results than any disarmament Conference in modern history. Your efforts and deliberations laid the groundwork for the nuclear test ban treaty-for the communications link between Washington and Moscow-and for the U.N. General Assembly action against nuclear weapons in space. Today your search begins anew in a climate of hope. Last year's genuine gains have given us new momentum. Recent Soviet and American announcements of reductions in military spending, even though modest, have brightened the atmosphere further. Let us pray that the tide has turned-that further and more far-reaching agreements lie ahead-and that future genrations will mark 1964 as the year the world turned for all time away from the horrors of war and constructed new bulwarks of peace. Specifically, this Nation now proposes five major types of potential agreement: First, as Chairman Khrushchev and I have observed, the use of force for the solution of territorial disputes is not in the interest of any people or country. In consultation with our allies, we will be prepared to discuss means of prohibiting the threat or use of force, directly or indirectly-whether by aggression, subversion, or the clandestine supply of arms-to change boundaries or demarcation lines; to interfere with access to territory; or to extend control or administration over territory by displacing established authorities. Second, while we continue our efforts to achieve general and complete disarmament under effective international control, we must first endeavor to halt further increases in strategic armaments now. The United States, the Soviet Union and their respective allies should agree to explore a verified freeze of the number and characteristics of strategic nuclear offensive and defensive vehicles. For our part, we are convinced that the security of all nations can be safeguarded within the scope of such an agreement and that this initial measure preventing the further expansion of the deadly and costly arms race will open the path to reductions in all types of forces from present levels. Third, in this same spirit of early action, the United States believes that a verified agreement to halt all production of fissionable materials for weapons use would be a major contribution to world peace. More I7I [ I29] Jan. 2I Public Papers of the Presidents over, while we seek agreement on this measure, the United States is willing to achieve prompt reductions through both sides closing comparable production facilities on a plant by plant basis, with mutual inspection. We have started in this direction-we hope the Soviet Union will do the same-and we are prepared to accept appropriate international verification of the reactor shutdown already scheduled in our country. Fourth, we must further reduce the danger of war by accident, miscalculation or surprise attack. In consultation with our allies, we will be prepared to discuss proposals for creating a system of observation posts as a move in this direction. Fifth, and finally, to stop the spread of nuclear weapons to nations not now controlling them, let us agree: (a) that nuclear weapons not be transferred into the national control of states which do not now control them, and that all transfers of nuclear materials for peaceful purposes take place under effective international safeguards; (b) that the major nuclear powers accept in an increasing number of their peaceful nuclear activities the same inspection they recommend for other states; and (c) on the banning of all nuclear weapons tests under effective verification and control. Each of these proposed steps is important to peace. No one of them is impossible of agreement. The best way to begin disarming is to begin-and the United States is ready to conclude firm agreements in these areas and to consider any other reasonable proposal. We shall at all times pursue a just and lasting peace-and with God's help, we shall achieve it. NOTE: The message was read at the opening session of the conference by William C. Foster, Director of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency and head of the U.S. delegation to the conference. I30 Statement by the President on the Reopening of the Geneva Disarmament Conference. January 2I, i964 THIS MORNING in Geneva, Switzerland, the i8-Nation Committee on Disarmament resumed its work. There is only one item on the agenda of that Conference-it is the leading item on the agenda of mankind-and that one item is peace. In my message to Geneva today, I expressed pride in the gains we have made and prayed that the tide has turned-that further and more far-reaching agreements lie ahead-and that future generations will mark i964 as the year the world turned for all time away from the horrors of war and constructed new bulwarks of peace. Agreement on the control, the reduction, and the ultimate abolition of weapons and war is not impossible, as it seemed for so many years. We now have a limited nuclear test ban treaty. We now have an emergency communications link-a "hot line"-between Washington and Moscow. We now have an agreement in the United Nations to keep bombs out of outer space. These are all small steps-but they go in the right direction-the direction of security and sanity and peace. Now we must go further. Just as we are determined to do whatever must be done to defend our freedom and deter aggression, so must we be equally determined to reduce the risks of another worldwide war, a war 172 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-I964 Jan. 21 [I30] in which the first hour might be measured is terms of how many hundreds of millions are killed. If we have the genius to create these terrible weapons of destruction, then we have the genius to create the means of their destruction. There will be risks-there will be doubts and delays and disappointments. But the pursuit of peace must continue. Today we return to the conference table at Geneva with new momentum and hope. Based on continuing discussions with our Allies and effective safeguards, the United States is asking the world to take further steps toward peace-enforceable steps which can endanger no one's safety and enlarge everyone's security. First, we are proposing new agreements to stop the spread of nuclear weapons to nations not now possessing them. Today's uncertain and unsatisfactory balance of terror will be all terror and no balance if dozens of nations, large and small, have their own nuclear trigger. Second, we are proposing that both sides accept observation posts on their own territories as a safeguard against miscalculation and misunderstanding and the fear of surprise attack. Third, we are proposing that both sides stop all production of the fissionable material that is used in nuclear weapons. This country and the Soviet Union already have produced enough explosive force to equal Io tons of TNT for every man, woman, and child on the face of the earth. We have already announced that we are cutting back our production. We are willing to shut down more plants if and when the Soviet Union does the same, plant by plant, with inspection on both sides. Fourth, as stated in my letter to Chairman Khrushchev yesterday, we are proposing practical measures to ban the threat or use of force-direct or indirect force-to change boundaries, demarcation lines, the control of territory or access to it. In short, we are going beyond Mr. Khrushchev's New Year's declaration against the use of force in territorial disputes and asking him to join us in applying that principle on a broader basis. Finally, we are proposing that a way be found to stop the ominous increase in strategic nuclear forces. To this end, let both sides explore freezing the numbers and kinds of their strategic nuclear vehicles-whether planes or missiles, whether offensive or defensive. Each one of these five proposals is important to peace. No one of them is impossible of agreement. The best way to begin disarming is to begin-and we shall hear any plan, go any place, make any plea, and play any part that offers a realistic prospect of peace. Disarmament is not merely the Government's business. It is everyone's business. It is the concern of every parent and teacher, every public servant, and every private citizen. I ask your support for these measuresand I ask your prayers for peace. This world has had its fill of war. We want a just and lasting peace-and with God's help, we shall achieve it. I73 [I3I] Jan. 2I Public Papers of the Presidents I3i Radio and Television Remarks on the Reopening of the Geneva Disarmament Conference. January 2I, i964 THIS MORNING in Geneva, Switzerland, the i8-nation Committee on Disarmament resumed its work. There is only one item on the agenda today of that conference. It is the leading item on the agenda of all mankind, and that one item is peace. In my message to Geneva today, I expressed pride in the gains that we have made and I prayed that the tide was turned, that further and more far-reaching agreements lie ahead of us and that future generations will mark i964 as the year that the world turned, for all time, away from the horrors of war and constructed new bulwarks of peace. Agreement on the control and the reduction and the ultimate abolition of weapons and war is not impossible as it seemed for so many years. We now have a limited nuclear test ban treaty. We now have an emergency communications link, a "hot line" between Washington and Moscow. We now have an agreement in the United Nations to keep bombs out of outer space. These are all small steps, but they go in the right direction, the direction of security and sanity and peace. Now we must go further. Just as we are determined to do whatever must be done to defend our freedom and to deter aggression, so must we be equally determined to reduce the risks of another worldwide war, a war in which the first hour might be measured in terms of how many hundreds of millions are killed. If we have the genius to create these terrible weapons of destruction, then, certainly, we have the genius to create the means of their destruction. There will be risks, there will be doubts and delays and frustrations and disappointments, but the pursuit of peace must continue. Today we return to the con ference table at Geneva with a new momentum and a new hope based on continuing discussions with our allies and effective safeguards, the United States asking the world to take further steps towards peace, enforceable steps which can endanger no one's safety and will enlarge everyone's security. First, we are proposing new agreements to stop the spread of nuclear weapons to nations not now possessing them. Today's uncertain and unsatisfactory balance of terror will be all terror and no balance if dozens of nations, large and small, have their own nuclear trigger. Second, we are proposing that both sides accept observation posts on their own territories as a safeguard against miscalculation and misunderstanding and the fear of surprise attack. And, third, we are proposing that both sides stop all production of the fissionable material that is used in nuclear weapons. This country and the Soviet Union already have produced enough explosive force to equal io tons of TNT for every man, woman, and child on the face of this earth. We have already announced that we are cutting back our production in the United States. We in the United States are willing to shut down more plants if and when the Soviet Union does the same, plant by plant, with inspection on both sides. And, fourth, as stated in my letter to Chairman Khrushchev yesterday, we are proposing practical measures to ban the threat or the use of force, direct or indirect force, to change boundaries, demarcation lines, the control of territory, or access to it. In short, we are going beyond Mr. Khrushchev's New Year's declaration against the I74 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-I964 Jan. 2I [I32] use of force in territorial disputes and we are asking him to join us in applying that principle on a much broader basis. And, fifth, finally, we are proposing that a way be found to stop the ominous increase in strategic nuclear forces. To this end, let both sides explore freezing the numbers and freezing the kinds of strategic nuclear vehicles, whether planes or missiles, whether they are offensive weapons or defensive weapons. Each one of these five proposals is important to peace. No one of them is impossible of agreement. The best way to begin disarming is to begin. And we shall hear any plan, go any place, make any plea, and play any part that offers a realistic prospect for peace. Disarmament is not merely the GovernI32 Annual Budget Message to the January 2I, i964 To the Congress of the United States: This is the budget of the United States Government for i965. The preparation of this budget was the first major task to confront me as President, and it has been a heavy one. Many decisions of great importance have had to be made in a brief span of weeks. I have done my best, and I am satisfied that the budget which I am sending to the Congress will advance our Nation toward greater national security, a stronger economy, and realization of the American dream of individual security and equal opportunity for all of our people. In formulating my budget, I have been guided by two principles: I have been guided by the principle that spending by the Federal Government, in and of itself, is neither bad nor good. It can ment's business. It is your business. It is everyone's business. It is the concern, or should be, of every parent and teacher, every public servant, and every private citizen. So I ask your support for these measures. I ask your prayers for peace. This world has had its fill of war. We want a just and lasting peace and with your help and with God's help we shall achieve it. NOTE: The President spoke at II:3o a.m. from the Cabinet Room at the White House. An earlier White House release, dated January i6, stated that the President had met with William C. Foster on the eve of his departure for Geneva to head the U.S. delegation to the disarmament conference. The release added that the President had emphasized his determination that the United States would take every opportunity to seek out possible new areas for agreement. For the President's letter to Chairman Khrushchev, see Item I22. Congress, Fiscal Year i965. be bad when it involves overstaffing of Government agencies, or needless duplication of functions, or poor management, or public services which cost more than they are worth, or the intrusion of government into areas where it does not belong. It can be good when it is put to work efficiently in the interests of our national strength, economic progress, and human compassion. I have been guided by the principle that an austere budget need not be and should not be a standstill budget. When budgetary restraint leads the Government to turn its back on new needs and new problems, economy becomes but another word for stagnation. But when vigorous pruning of old programs and procedures releases the funds to meet new challenges and opportunities, economy becomes the companion of progress. 175 [132] Jan. 2I Public Papers of the Presidents This is, I believe, a budget of economy and progress. On the one hand, it calls for a reduction from the preceding year in total administrative budget expenditures-and it is only the second budget in 9 years to do so. It calls for a substantial reduction in total civilian employment in the executive branch-and it is the first budget to do so since the practice of totaling the employment estimates in the budget was initiated in January 1956. It cuts the deficit in half, and carries us a giant step toward the achievement of a balanced budget in a full-employment, full-prosperity economy. On the other hand, this budget safeguards the peace by providing for the further strengthening of the most formidable defense establishment the world has ever known; it recommends continued military assistance to those nations menaced by Communist aggression, direct and indirect; it includes economic assistance to those nations which are willing to take the steps necessary to guard their freedom and independence through economic self-help; it provides the funds necessary to advance our mastery of space toward the achievement of a manned lunar landing in this decade; it provides for the sound management and development of our natural and agricultural resources; and in its recommendations relating to education, housing, manpower training, health, and employment opportunities for youth, it provides more funds than ever before in our history for the fuller development of our Nation's most important resource-its people. Moreover, this budget makes provision for the initiation of a new and major effort to break the vicious circle of chronic poverty, which denies to millions of our fellow citizens a just participation in the benefits of life in our country. We owe to every young person in America a fair start in life-and I76 this means that we must attack those deficiencies in education, training, health, and job opportunities by which the fetters of poverty are passed on from parents to children. The attack on poverty must rely on local initiative and leadership; and the resources of the local, State, and Federal Governments must be mobilized to support these efforts. I will shortly send to the Congress a special message conveying my recommendations for the attack on poverty. The urgent and necessary program increases recommended in this budget will be financed out of the savings made possible by strict economy measures and by an exhaustive screening of existing programs. As a result of the highly successful cost reduction program launched in 1962 by the Secretary of Defense, the 1965 program of the Department of Defense will require over $2 billion less in appropriations than would otherwise be the case-a sum greater than the I965 cost of the new programs I am recommending to the Congress. Department of Defense expenditures will decline by more than $i billion from I964 to I965, and additional savings are expected to be realized in agriculture, atomic energy, postal services, veterans benefits, and in various lending programs through substitution of private for public credit. My proposals call for administrative budget expenditures in i965 and $97.9 billion-$900 million less than was requested in the I964 budget and $500 million less than I now estimate will be spent in I964. This reduction in expenditures will be achieved despite a steady growth in the workload of nearly every civilian agency of Government-ranging all the way from the number of income tax returns to the number of visitors to our national parks. The reduction in expenditures will be achieved despite builtin and relatively uncontrollable expenditure Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-I964 Jan. 21 [1I32] increases resulting from past commitments and legislative provisions, including higher costs for interest on the debt and for military and civilian pay increases required by law. Administrative budget receipts are expected to increase in 1965 to $93.0 billion, $4.6 billion over 1964. This increase, reflecting the expectation of a strongly growing economy spurred by prompt enactment of the tax program, takes into account the estimated revenue losses from the new tax rates. The resulting administrative budget deficit of $4.9 billion for 1965 is $5.i billion below the deficit now estimated for the current year and marks an important first step toward a balanced budget. The traditional administrative budget does not include a number of important Federal activities financed through trust funds, such as social security and Federal aid to highways. These activities and the special taxes which finance them have substantial economic effects and serve significant public SUMMARY OF FEDERAL RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS [ Fiscal years. In billions ] 1963 1964 1965 Descrption actual estimate estimate FEDERAL RECEIPTS Administrative budget receipts.................................... Trust fund receipts....................................... Deduct: Intragovernmental transactions............................. Total cash receipts from the public........................... Add: Adjustment from cash to accrual basis...................... Deduct: Receipts from loans, property sales, and other adjustments...... National income account receipts-Federal sector................ FEDERAL PAYMENTS Administrative budget expenditures................................ Trust fund expenditures (including Government-sponsored enterprises)... Deduct: Intragovernmental transactions and other adjustments......... Total cash payments to the public........................ Add: Adjustment from cash to accrual basis......................... Deduct: Disbursements for loans, land purchases, and other adjustments.. National income account expenditures-Federal sector............. EXCESS OF RECEIPTS (+) OR PAYMENTS (-) Administrative budget........................................... Receipts from and payments to the public........................... National income accounts-Federal sector........................... $86. 4 27.7 4. 3 109. 7 o. 6 1.0 109. 3 92. 6 26.5 5- 4 I13. 8 o.6 i. 8 112. 6 -6.3 -4.0 -3.3 $88.4 30. 2 4.2 II4. 4 -0. I 0.7 113. 6 98.4 29.3 5. o0 122. 7 0. I 3.7 II9. I -IO. 0 -8.3 -5.5 $93.0 30.9 4. I 119. 7 -0.2 0.7 ii8. 8 97.9 29.4 4.6 122. 7 I. I 2.3 121. 5 -4.9 -2. 9 -2. 8 I77 1132] Jan. 2I Public Papers of the Presidents purposes. A comprehensive disclosure of Federal finances is provided by the consolidated cash statement of Federal receipts from and payments to the public. On the cash basis, total payments to the public are estimated at $I22.7 billion for I965. Total receipts from the public are estimated at $II9.7 billion, resulting in a $2.9 billion excess of payments over receipts. The estimates of cash payments and receipts in I965 reflect the normal, built-in growth of trust fund benefit payments, and the employment and excise tax revenues which finance them. Another measure of Federal financesone which emphasizes the impact of the Government's fiscal activities on the economy-is based on the national income accounts. Under this concept, Federal fiscal data, including the trust funds, are generally estimated on an accrual rather than a cash basis, and eliminate transactions, such as loans, which do not directly result in production and income. These data indicate an excess of payments over receipts of $2.8 billion in fiscal year I965. THE ECONOMY AND TAX REDUCTION The Federal budget is a detailed plan for managing the business of Government, but it is more than that: In setting the relationship between Government expenditures and taxation, the budget is also a powerful economic force which can help or hamper our efforts to achieve stable prosperity and steady growth. The expenditure proposals in this budget are ample to satisfy our most pressing needs for governmental services, but the broad economic stimulus needed to carry our economy to new high ground in production, income, and employment will not come principally from Government outlays. I beI78 lieve-as did President Kennedy-that the primary impetus needed to move our economy ahead should come, in present circumstances, from an expansion of the private sector rather than the public sector. Therefore, the earliest possible enactment of the tax reduction bill now before the Congress is an integral and vital part of my budgetary proposals. Our country is currently in its fourth postwar period of economic expansion-a period which started in February i96I, and has now lasted nearly 3 years. Preliminary estimates indicate that the Nation's total output of goods and servicesour gross national product —rose to $585 billion in calendar year I963, an increase of 5.4% over I962. Over the same period, personal income rose 4.7%, industrial production 5.1%, and corporate profits Io.5%. Price stability has been maintained for the sixth consecutive year. This is a record of strong expansion-and yet the expansion has not been strong enough to absorb the margin of idle workers and idle plant capacity which continues to tarnish our economy's performance. Almost 3 years after the trough of the last recession, and despite the creation of 2V/2 million new jobs in our economy, the unemployment rate now stands at 5 /2%. Our factories continue to produce below their optimum rate. As a nation we are producing at a rate at least $30 billion below our comfortable capacity. This is a gap for which we are paying a high price in idle resources, both human and physical. This gap must be closed. It must be closed-as President Kennedy urged a year ago-by loosening "the checkrein of taxes on private spending and productive incentives." It must be closed promptly, for the unemployed have already waited too long Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 Jan. 2I [132] for jobs which can be created simply by allowing our people to spend and invest a greater part of the money they earn. The bill approved by the House of Representatives last September meets the fundamental requirements for tax action in I964. I propose only two changes in that bill: -The bill provides for a reduction in the rate of withholding on wages and salaries from I8% to I5% for calendar I964, starting on January i, I964. Since that date has already been passed, the institution of the i5% withholding rate at a later date in 1964 would require substantial additional refunds to taxpayers next year. A corresponding part of the economic stimulus provided by the tax program would be delayed until then. Hence, I propose that the withholding rate be reduced to 14% rather than I5%, effective as soon as possible after enactment. This will assure that the beneficial effects of the I964 tax reductions are felt immediately, instead of being postponed, in part, for a year. It will simplify procedures for taxpayers and their employers by making unnecessary another change in the withholding rate in 1965, as provided in the House bill. Moreover, the change will also maintain approximately the same division between the fiscal year I964 and I965 revenue impact of tax reduction as would have resulted from the House bill. The revenue estimates in this budget assume approval of this change. -The House bill fails to close the loophole by which property transferred at death now escapes capital gains taxation, but it nevertheless would reduce the rate of taxation on capital gains. Without the former provision, the latter provision is unwarranted, and it should be deleted from the bill. With these two changes, I urge the enactment of the House bill by the Senate. With prompt enactment of the tax program, economic expansion in I964 should proceed briskly. Reflecting the effects of the first stage of the tax reduction, the gross national product in calendar year I964 should rise to about $623 billion, plus or minus $5 billion. This is substantially higher than the GNP which could be expected in the absence of prompt enactment of the tax legislation. In fact, since expectations of a tax reduction have been incorporated into the forward planning of many business firms, the effect on the economy of failure to pass the legislation swiftly might be deeply disturbing. As the tax reduction takes full effect, its stimulus to private consumption and investment will shrink the $30 billion gap between the Nation's actual and potential output, and provide approximately 2 million additional jobs for the unemployed and the new workers entering the labor force. As economic activity expands, and personal and business incomes increase, Federal revenues will also rise. The higher revenues, combined with continuing pressure for economy and efficiency in Federal expenditure programs, should hasten the achievement of a balanced budget in an economy of full prosperity. Income tax revisions.-The bill currently before the Senate will reduce income tax liabilities by $II.I billion. Individual rate reductions and structural changes account for about 80% of the total tax reduction. The remaining 20% reflects a reduction in corporate taxes, providing enhanced incentives for new investment. Once the tax bill becomes fully effective in calendar year I965, the entire schedule of individual income tax rates will fall from the present range of 20% to 91% to a range of 14% to 70%, and the current first $2,000 bracket of taxable income will be divided into four successive brackets of $500 each. 33-171 — 65 1'7 I79 [132] Jan. 21 Public Papers of the Presidents RECEIPTS FROM THE PUBLIC [ Fiscal years. In billions ] 1963 1964 1965 actual estimate estimate Source Administrative budget receipts: Individual income taxes..................................... Corporation income taxes................................... Excise taxes........................................... Other................................................... Total administrative budget receipts.......................... Trust fund receipts: Employment taxes......................................... Deposits by States, unemployment insurance....................... Excise taxes.......................................... Federal employee and agency payments for retirement............... Interest on trust investments.................................. Veterans life insurance premiums................................ Other...................................................... Total trust fund receipts................................ Intragovernmental transactions (deduct)............................ Total receipts from the public............................... All corporations will pay lower tax rates, billion in corp< with incorporated small businesses receiving The bill al the largest proportionate tax rate reduction the income t: because the tax rate on the first $25,000 of reduce the wei their taxable income is reduced from 30% is most unfair to 22%. Large corporations (with esti- vantages whic mated tax liabilities above $Ioo,ooo) will under the prol have to speed up their tax payments in order Excise tax to reduce the lag between the time when should extend taxable profits are earned and the time when which will ol taxes are paid; however, this speedup plan July I, 1964. is gradual, shifting the timing of corporation continued at tl tax collections a bit each year for the next extensions for 7 years. out extension The combination of the investment tax billion during credit and the revision of depreciation guide- User chart lines achieved in I962, plus the $2/2 billion ment progran tax rate reductions and structural changes benefits to ti proposed for corporations in the pending bill, using them. will result in a total reduction of about $5 mands that t $47. 6 21.6 9.9 7-3 86.4 14.9 3.0 3.3 1.9 1.5 0.5 2.7 27. 7 4.3 109.7 $47.5 23.7 10. 2 7.0 88.4 i6. 8 2. 9 3.5 2. 0 I. 6 0.5 3.0 30.2 4. 2 114 4 $48.5 25. 8 II. O 7.7 93.0 I7. 2. 8 3.5 1.9 1.7 0.5 3-5 30.9 4. I 119.7 orate tax liabilities. so contains many changes in ax laws that are designed to ight of taxes where the burden, and to correct special tax ad-:h will no longer be equitable posed structure. ~ extension.-The Congress several current excise tax rates therwise decline or expire on These excise taxes have been he present rates through annual the past several years. With-, revenues would fall by $I.7 rfiscal year 1965. ges.-Many Federal Governns furnish specific, identifiable he individuals and businesses Equity to all taxpayers dethose who enjoy the benefits i80 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Jan. 2I [132] should bear a greater share of the costs. I am, therefore, renewing recommendations for the enactment of user charges for commercial and general aviation and for transportation on inland waterways. Appropriate fees should also be assessed in other areas where the Government provides special services. New legislation is necessary in several cases to carry out this policy-such as a revision of patent fees to reflect today's costs more adequately-and appropriate proposals are either before the Congress or will be forwarded this year. NEW OBLIGATIONAL AUTHORITY Obligations incurred by Federal agencies under authority provided by the Congress are the forerunners of Federal expenditures. Expenditure control, therefore, depends substantially upon careful control of obligations. In this budget, new obligational authority of $Io3.8 billion is proposed in the administrative budget for fiscal year 1965. This is $1.2 billion above the amount now estimated for fiscal year I964, but is $4.I billion less than was originally requested for the current year in the I964 budget. The amount recommended for I965 includes $50.9 billion for the Department of Defense (including mili tary assistance), $I20 million less than the amount for the current year. Significant changes in new obligational authority from I964 to I965 include increases of $1.5 billion for the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, mainly as a result of new health and education proposals; $361 million for the Department of Labor because of the recently amended manpower training program and the proposed youth employment legislation; and $500 million for special appropriations requested for new community programs to attack poverty. Major decreases include $i.5 billion for the Housing and Home Finance Agency, reflecting nonrecurring authority requested in I964, and $I.3 billion for the Department of Agriculture. Of the total amount proposed, $40 billion will become available under permanent authorizations without further congressional action, including $27.6 billion becoming automatically available as revenues flow into the trust funds. In the administrative budget, the principal permanent appropriation is to pay the interest on the public debt which in I965 is estimated at $ii billion, $0.4 billion more than in 1964. For the current fiscal year, the Congress is requested to enact $4.2 billion of additional new obligational authority to provide needed NEW OBLIGATIONAL AUTHORITY [Fiscal years. In billions] Description Total authorizations requiring current action by Congress: Administrative budget funds............................. Trust funds......................................... Total authorizations not requiring current action by Congress: Administrative budget funds.................................. Trust funds........................................... Total new obligational authority: Administrative budget funds......................................... Trust funds................................. 1963 1964 1965 actual estimate estimate $90.6 $90. $91.4 3.9 o. 4 4.2 i. 6 I2.6 I2.4 24.7 3I.3 27.6 I02.3 I02.6 103.8. 28..6...... 3I' 1. 8 [132] Jan. 2I Public Papers of the Presidents funds for housing and space programs and to finance legislation enacted last year for which no appropriations were providedsuch as increased military compensation, broadened manpower development activities, aid to higher education, vocational education activities, and mental retardation programs. Including supplemental authorizations, a total of $102.6 billion in new obligational authority is estimated for fiscal year i964 in the administrative budget. GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS AND EXPENDITURES The expenditures proposed in this budget are necessary to meet the needs of our growing society, promote the basic strength of the Nation, honor our worldwide commitments, and fulfill our financial obligations. Between i955 and i965, our population will grow by almost 30 million people, about 17%, with the largest increases in the very young and the very old age groups. To keep pace, the Federal Government has had to continue existing public services and pro vide the additional services needed for future growth. The expansion of the economy, even though falling short of its potential in recent years, has helped provide the resources for both increased public and private services. We will continue to experience rapid population growth while we seek to improve the rate of economic growth, and over the long run this will put upward pressure on Government expenditures for civilian purposes. Nevertheless, wherever and whenever possible, we should try to reduce costs, curtail less urgent activities, and find other savings to permit essential new or growing services to be financed at the least cost to the taxpayer. That has been the policy in this budget. Essential services have been provided while administrative budget expenditures decline by over one-half billion dollars between the fiscal years i964 and I965. The attack on poverty.-In this budget I have provided over $i billion of new obligational authority to begin an all-out attack THE 1964 AND 1965 BUDGETS COMPARED [ In billions ] Change from prior year (administrative budget) New obligational Expenditures authority National defense..................................... Space............................................... Interest............................................ Subtotal...................................... Health, labor, welfare, and education (including attack on poverty).......................................... All other............................................ Total...................................... i82 1964 I965 budget budget document document $+2. 2 $-o. 2 +2. 0 +o. I +0.3 +0.4 +4.6 +0.3 I964 budget document $+2.4 +i. 8 +0.3 +4.6 1965 budget document $-I.3 +o. 6 +0.4 -0.3 3 +2. I -2.0 +2.6 -1. 7 +0.9 -0.9 +0.9 -I. I +4. 7 +1. 2 +4.5 -0. 5 Lyndon B. lohns on the problem of poverty in the United States. In a nation as rich and productive as ours we cannot tolerate a situation in which millions of Americans do not have the education, health, and job opportunities for a decent and respected place as productive citizens. The vicious circle of poverty-in which one generation's poverty, ignorance,;on, 963-I964 Jan. 21 [I32] and disease breed the same problems for the next-must be broken. I propose to break that circle by raising the educational, skill, and health levels of the younger generation, increasing their job opportunities and helping their families to provide a better home life. I propose a program which relies upon the traditional and time-tested American PAYMENTS TO THE PUBLIC [ Fiscal years. In billions ] Function Administrative budget expenditures: National defense........................................... International affairs and finance............................... Space research and technology................................ Agriculture and agricultural resources......................... Natural resources........................................ Commerce and transportation.................................. Housing and community development........................ Health, labor, and welfare................................... Education............................................. Veterans benefits and services................................ Interest............................................... General government........................................ Allowances: Attack on poverty........................................ Civilian pay comparability................................. Contingencies....................................... Interfund transactions (deduct)................................ Total administrative budget expenditures............... Trust fund expenditures: Health, labor, and welfare................................... Commerce and transportation.................................. National defense........................................ Housing and community development...................... Veterans benefits and services................................ All other.............................................. Interfund transactions (deduct)............................... Total trust fund expenditures........................... Intragovernmental transactions and other adjustments (deduct)......... Total payments to the public............................... Less than one-half million dollars. 1963 actual $52. 8 2. 6 2. 6 7.0 2. 4 2. 8 -0. I 4. 8 I. 2 5. 2 10. O 2. 0... ~.. ~.. 0. 5 92. 6 21. 9 2. 9 o. 7 (1) o. 8 o. 8 0. 5 26. 5 5-4 13. 8 1964 estimate $55.3 2.4 4.4 6. I 2.5 3. 2 -0. 2 5.5. 3 5.4 10. 7 2. 2 ~.. ~.. 0. 2 0.7 98.4 22.7 3.4 0. 9 I. 6 o. 6 o. 6 0.5 29.3 5.0 I22. 7 1965 estimate $54.0 2. 2 5.0 4.9 2.6 3. I -0.3 5.8 1.7 5. I II. I 2.2 0. 2 0.5 0.3 o. 6 97.9 23.5 3.5 1.2 0.5 0.5 0.7 0.5 29.4 4.6 122. 7 I83 [I32] Jan. 2I Public Papers of the Presidents methods of organized local community action to help individuals, families, and communities to help themselves. Poverty stems from no one source, but reflects a multitude of causes. Correspondingly, a number of individual programs have been developed over the years to attack these individual problems of job opportunities, education, and training. Other specific programs deal with the closely related areas of health, housing, welfare, and agricultural services. I propose to establish a means of bringing together these separate programs-Federal, State, and local-in an effort to achieve a unified and intensified approach to this complex problem, in which each separate element reinforces the others. Under this proposal, locally initiated, comprehensive community action programs would be developed, to focus the various available resources on the roots of poverty in urban and rural areas. I shall shortly transmit to the Congress legislation initiating this attack and authorizing, in i965, $500 million of new obligational authority specifically for this purpose. Additional funds for the local community action programs will be available from existing agency programs. Moreover, other legislative proposals, recommended elsewhere in this message, will contribute important new resources to the attack on poverty. The Youth Employment Act, the National Service Corps, and the community work and training program, are examples of such proposals. Of particular significance will be the education proposal for project grants to meet special educational needs. All told, in 1965 more than $i billion of Federal resources under existing and proposed legislation would be concentrated, through local community action programs, in an intensive and coordinated attack on poverty. Special emphasis is also being given to the i84 economic needs of the i65,ooo-square-mile Appalachian region of the United States, which has been largely bypassed in the growth of prosperity in recent years. This emphasis by the Government, combined with the resources and activities of State, local, and private institutions and enterprises in the region, will be directed toward the development of the natural resources of the region, and the promotion of better employment opportunities for its people. National defense.-To preserve freedom and protect our vital national interests in these recent years of uneasy peace, this Nation has invested heavily in the improvement of its defenses. We have chosen not to concede our opponents supremacy in any type of potential conflict, be it nuclear war, conventional warfare, or guerrilla conflict. We have now increased the strength of our forces so that, faced with any threat of aggression, we can make a response which is appropriate to the situation. With present forces and those now planned, we will continue to maintain this vital military capability. During the past 3 years, we have achieved notable increases in military readiness, including: -A Ioo% increase in the number of nuclear weapons available in the strategic alert forces. -A 60% increase in the tactical nuclear forces deployed in Western Europe. -A 45% increase in the number of combat-ready Army divisions. -A 35% increase in the number of tactical fighter squadrons. -A 75% increase in airlift capability to improve mobility. These rapid gains result from an increase in cash payments for military purposes from $47.7 billion in I96I to $56.0 billion in 1964. Along with the high level of preparedness Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 Jan. 2I [I32] we have now achieved, vigorous efforts to promote economies in the management of our Armed Forces have been producing significant savings. We are therefore able to propose a decrease of $800 million in cash outlays ($1.3 billion in the administrative budget) for national defense in fiscal year 1965 while maintaining our position of strength. Nevertheless, national defense expenditures will remain high. These payments, estimated at $55.2 billion ($54.o billion in the administrative budget) in I965, will provide for all essential military purposes, including substantial improvements in our present and planned military capabilities. For example, the I965 budget provides for additional Minuteman missiles, further improvements in our air, land, and sea tactical forces, procurement of additional airlift aircraft, and continued research and development to ensure our ability to counter new threats. To reinforce the total defense effort, the Congress should authorize funds for fallout shelters in public buildings, schools, hospitals, and other nonprofit institutions. Although we continue to seek a relaxation of tensions, we cannot relax our guard. While the nuclear test ban treaty is a hopeful sign, neither that treaty nor other developments to date have, by themselves, reduced our defense requirements. We will continue underground nuclear testing, maintain our above ground test facilities in ready condition, maintain strong weapons laboratories, and continue the development of detection devices. However, because of the nuclear strength we have achieved, it will be possible to cut production of enriched uranium by 25% and to shut down four plutonium piles. Our inventories of strategic and critical materials are being reviewed to assure that they are necessary for current civil and mili tary defense requirements. I recommend that the Congress enact legislation to improve the management of these materials and simplify the disposal of those no longer needed. International affairs and finance.-The less-developed nations are engaged in a critical struggle for political independence and economic betterment. This struggle takes many forms, from combating armed aggression and subversion in Vietnam to advancing national efforts to reduce poverty and illiteracy in South Asia, Latin America, and other areas. Upon the outcome of this struggle will depend the stability and security of much of the world. Through our programs of foreign assistance, we provide aid to these free peoples and thereby advance our own vital interests. It is essential that we continue, with a small portion of our great resources and technical knowledge, to promote in the emerging nations hope and orderly progress, replacing misery, hostility, and violence. The $2.4 billion of new obligational authority recommended for I965 in this budget for the programs of the Agency for International Development is $I.I billion less than originally requested for I964. It will make the total I965 obligational availability for the program equivalent to the amount provided by the Congress for I964 including unobligated funds carried forward from the prior year. The I965 recommendation represents a prudent assessment of the funds required to fulfill the obligations we have undertaken and the opportunities we seek in a changing and challenging world. The amount requested reflects a continuing effort to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of our assistance programs. We are reducing AID staffing by several hundred employees, proportionately one of the largest reductions of any agency in Government. i85 [132] Jan. 2I Public Papers of the Presidents We are stressing the necessity for recipient countries to take adequate self-help measures. The I965 request reflects the successes we have had in reducing the dependence of some nations upon the low-cost foreign aid loans made by the Agency for International Development; by i965 a number of countries will have turned to other sources and types of loans more consistent with their increasing economic strength. On the other hand, the I965 budget does not allow for sudden opportunities that sometimes present themselves in international economic affairs. We must be able to take quick advantage of situations in which resolute and decisive actions can turn threats to the free world into constructive evidence of our determination to preserve the peace. We must also be able to take advantage of opportunities in which swift action can advance us dramatically along the road to free world cooperation and prosperity. Should such opportunities arise, I will request prompt action by the Congress to provide any additional funds needed to meet emerging requirements. Our partners in the Alliance for Progress will continue to receive our most determined support and generous cooperation. Recent improvements in the organization of the Alliance should permit an acceleration of this program and foster ever greater hemispheric unity. I am therefore proposing an expanded bilateral program for the Alliance in i965. Upon completion of negotiations and arrangements with other member countries, legislation will also be proposed to provide additional funds for long-term, lowinterest loans by the Inter-American Development Bank. The sincerity of our purpose overseas is exemplified by the highly successful work of the Peace Corps. As a result of this record and the gratifying flood of requests for the services of the Corps, funds are requested in I965 for 14,000 volunteers, as compared with ro,5oo in I964. Space research and technology.-Our plan to place a man on the moon in this decade remains unchanged. It is an ambitious and important goal. In addition to providing great scientific benefits, it will demonstrate that our capability in space is second to no other nation's. However, it is clear that no matter how brilliant our scientists and engineers, how farsighted our planners and managers, or how frugal our administrators and contracting personnel, we cannot reach this goal without sufficient funds. There is no second-class ticket to space. Appropriations enacted for i964 for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration were $600 million below the amount requested. As a result, major development programs leading to the manned lunar landing have fallen behind schedule. Careful replanning of the entire program, including a reduction in the number of test flights, will offset some of this delay. Even so, more funds are needed in I964, and I am therefore recommending a supplemental appropriation of $I4I million for this year. For I965, I am requesting appropriations of $5.3 billion, $63 million above the I964 amount, including the proposed supplemental appropriation. The i964 and I965 recommendations represent the minimum amount needed to achieve our goals in space. The estimated increase of $590 million in expenditures in i965 is due principally to payments required by commitments made in I964 and earlier years. - With the leveling off of appropriations, annual outlays should remain relatively stable in subsequent years. In addition to the manned space flight program, though related to it, funds are included to support unmanned space flights for lunar exploration and supporting re I86 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 Jan. 21 [132] search and development. Funds are also included for scientific satellites, planetary probes, and experiments with meteorological and communications satellites. Agriculture and agricultural resources.At the present time, our farms are able to produce all we need for domestic use and all we can reasonably expect to sell abroad with substantially less land and manpower than are now being used. As a result, we have crop surpluses, inadequate farm income, underemployed rural people, and improper land use. A wide range of Government programs, including the feed grain and wheat programs, rural area development, and the more constructive use of surplus production at home and in Food for Peace, have improved this situation. Nevertheless, we need further efforts to help the farm economy adjust to its rapidly changing economic and technological environment and to help the Nation take advantage of its remarkable productive agriculture. I shall shortly transmit to the Congress my recommendations for agricultural legislation. Included will be cotton and dairy proposals that will decrease by $230 million the estimated expenditures of the Commodity Credit Corporation in i965. Titles I and II of Public Law 480 (Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act), the principal authority for our Food for Peace program, should be extended beyond their expiration date of December 3I, I964. Legislation also should be enacted to encourage the shifting of more of our present cropland to less intensive uses. Federal payments in I965 for agriculture and agricultural resources are estimated at $5.I billion, a reduction of $I.3 billion from I964. This reduction is expected to occur mainly in farm commodity programs. A part, however, depends upon congressional approval of legislation proposed last year authorizing the Farmers Home Administration to insure private credit for financing the rural housing program and a new proposal providing for fees to cover the costs of meat, poultry, and grain inspection services. Natural resources.-We must manage and develop our natural resources wisely, to meet the needs of an increasing population and growing economy. Even within the limits of a restrictive budgetary policy, public investments must be made in resource conservation and development and in research to enable us to use more effectively our water, land, minerals, forests, and other resources. Federal cash payments of $2.7 billion are estimated in i965 for these purposes. The budget provides for continuing construction of going projects which will supply water to our cities, industries, and farms; abate water pollution and improve water quality; control destructive floods; produce electric power; improve navigation; and provide recreational opportunities. Provision is also made for the Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation to start 44 new projects with an estimated total Federal cost of $512 million. The need for outdoor recreational areas and facilities is growing rapidly. To help meet this need, legislation should be enacted to assist States in providing recreational opportunities. Legislation should also be enacted to preserve seashore and other areas with important recreation potential, and to protect our remaining wilderness areas. Commerce and transportation.-To encourage continuing growth of our Nation's millions of privately owned businesses, the Government provides extensive aids, particularly to smaller businesses and areas of persistent unemployment, and helps assure the availability of adequate transportation and communication facilities. i87 33-171-65 —18 [ I32] Jan. 2I Public Papers of the Presidents Enactment of legislation already approved by the Senate is essential to provide the additional authorizations necessary for the area redevelopment program to go forward and to permit necessary improvements in that program. Major proposed revisions in our national transportation policy are also pending before the Congress. These proposals would make substantial contributions toward a more efficient transportation system by placing greater reliance on the forces of competition and improving the effectiveness of Government regulation. Extensive hearings have been held on these proposals and I recommend their prompt enactment. Total Federal payments for commerce and transportation programs will amount to $6.6 billion in i965. This is about the same amount as in i964. Higher outlays from the Highway trust fund (financed by special taxes on highway users), increased loans and grants to redevelop depressed areas, and financing of a design competition for the civil supersonic transport aircraft will be offset by reductions for the temporary accelerated public works program and the postal service, and by strict economies in all programs. Housing and community development.In the Housing Act of I96i, the Congress substantially broadened Federal aids to private enterprise and local public agencies to help improve housing conditions and rebuild urban communities. The act also made funds available to finance these programs for several years. In several cases, these funds are now almost depleted. I am therefore recommending legislation to provide authority and funds for continuing such programs as urban renewal, urban planning and open space grants, housing loans for the elderly, and low-rent public housing. In addition, I am recommending important revisions and expansions essential to increase the effectiveness of these programs in meeting critical needs-particularly the needs of lower income groups whose inferior earning power seriously handicaps their efforts to acheive adequate living conditions. Legislation is already being considered by the Congress to strengthen Federal aids to urban communities in order to help modernize and enlarge necessary mass transportation facilities. I urge that action be completed soon on this vitally needed program. To carry on and improve housing and community development programs without adding to net budgetary requirements, we shall continue to sell to private lenders federally owned mortgages acquired in earlier years. New legislation is proposed to increase the effectiveness of the sales program. The proceeds of such sales and other receipts of housing and community development programs are expected to more than offset payments for these programs in i965, with resulting net receipts estimated at $40 million. Health, labor, and welfare.-This budget places major stress on strengthening the productivity of our labor force, improving the health of our people, and reducing the fear of economic insecurity. In i965, the Federal Government will strengthen the health, labor, and welfare activities which contribute to these objectives. Payments for these activities, mainly from self-financing trust funds, will be $28.6 billion, about $i.3 billion more than in i964. Most of the payments are for social insurance and public welfare programs which complement efforts by individuals and families to provide for their own security. These programs have been significantly improved by legislation enacted in recent years. To foster greater self-sufficiency and reduced reliance on public welfare, the Congress should enact proposed legislation to create a i88 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Jan. 2i [1321 National Service Corps and expand demonstration projects in community work programs. The budget proposals for health activities in I965 will continue to strengthen the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration and will improve environmental health protection. The budget provides for rapid progress under the legislation passed in the last session of the Congress to combat mental illness and retardation, increase the number of doctors and dentists, and reduce air pollution. New legislation is needed this year to improve nurse education and to extend the Hill-Burton program for construction of medical facilities, expanding and redirecting it to meet pressing needs for nursing homes and for modernizing urban hospitals. Pending legislation to provide urgently needed health insurance for aged persons through the social security system should also be enacted. Provision should be made for benefits to be paid from administrative budget funds to those not eligible under the social security system. Since benefit payments would not start until I966, this provision would not affect the I965 budget. For manpower training and services, the budget recommends for both I964 and I965 the full authorization provided under the recent amendments to the Manpower Development and Training Act. More than 275,000 unemployed workers, including youths found unqualified for military service, will be trained on jobs and in classrooms during I965. Of these, about 60,ooo will receive basic literacy education. Prompt enactment of the Youth Employment Act is needed to provide work and training in camps and in hometown projects for an estimated 60,ooo youths. Legislation is again recommended to improve the State unemployment insurance programs financed from the unemploy ment trust fund; this legislation would extend coverage to more people and lengthen the duration of benefits. Education.-Bills enacted last year for Federal assistance to higher education and enlarged Federal support for vocational education mark important milestones in efforts to improve our educational system on a national scale. The budget includes supplemental appropriations for 1964 so that these measures can be implemented promptly. But much remains to be done. Important elements of the education program proposed last year have not yet been enacted. In particular, attention must be turned to the basic foundation of our educational system-the elementary and secondary schools. First, I recommend enactment of pending legislation providing grants to raise teachers' salaries and build critically needed classrooms. Second, to supplement this general aid, I am also recommending an expanded program providing project grants to meet special educational needs and to provide special services for schoolchildren, particularly for use in connection with community action programs to combat poverty. The Congress should also enact the remaining portions of last year's proposals, such as the federally guaranteed loan program and the work-study program for college students; and the proposals directed at special educational needs of other individuals, including graduate students, prospective and existing teachers, all citizens who appreciate the advantages of good public libraries, adults who have missed the opportunity for basic schooling in the "3 R's", and those who seek to make learning a continuing process through university extension services. In keeping with the continuing need to strengthen the scientific and technological resources of the Nation, the budget also I89 [ I32] Jan. 2I Public Papers of the Presidents provides for expansion of the National Science Foundation's basic research and science education programs. Major emphasis will be placed on increasing support for graduate students in the sciences and on strengthening science instruction and facilities in colleges and universities, one objective of which is to develop additional top-ranking centers of graduate study in the sciences. Expenditures for education are estimated at $i.6 billion in i965, an increase of $0.3 billion over i964. New obligational authority of $3.i billion is requested, up $I.2 billion from i964. Veterans benefits and services.-We have a lasting obligation to those who died or were disabled in the defense of the Nation, and to their dependents. During the past 3 years a cost-of-living increase in disability compensation rates has been provided, and increases in benefits have been granted for the widows, children, and dependent parents of veterans who died as a result of military service. In addition, vocational rehabilitation programs have been extended to disabled peacetime exservicemen and to those wartime veterans who were precluded from entering training within the regular time limits. In i965, the Federal Government will spend $5.5 billion on its programs for veterans. This is $425 million less than in i964, mainly because of an anticipated substantial rise in receipts from sales by the Veterans Administration of Government-owned mortgages, which are applied against expenditures. We will continue to make certain that veterans with service-related disabilities, and their dependents, are fairly provided for. Benefits and services for other groups of veterans will also continue to be provided, but with the recognition that veterans and their families are sharing to an increasing extent in Federal, State, and local programs which are raising the standards of income maintenance, educational opportunity, and health and welfare for all Americans. SPECIAL ASPECTS OF THE GOVERNMENT PROGRAM Certain additional elements of the proposed i965 Government program deserve special note. Federal expenditures and the balance of payments.-The recent improvement in the U.S. balance of international payments represents progress toward eliminating our persistent payments deficit. Preliminary estimates indicate that the gross balance-of-payments deficit in the second half of calendar year I963 was roughly one-third that of the first half. For the year as a whole, these estimates show the deficit to be the lowest since 1957 -Three factors in particular have contributed to the improvement during the past year: the continued price stability of U.S. products, a proposed interest equalization tax on foreign securities, which would be effective as of July I963, and an increase in short-term interest rates. Anticipation of the proposed tax, which is intended only as a temporary measure, has already had a favorable effect. To insure continuing benefits from the tax during the critical period ahead, I urge its speedy enactment by the Congress. Enactment of the tax reduction legislation now before Congress will also help the balance of payments by making U.S. firms more competitive in world markets and by promoting the kind of economy which will be more attractive to U.S. and foreign investors. During the past one and a half years, all Federal Government activities affecting the balance of payments have been under continuing scrutiny for the purpose of find I90 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 Jan. 21 [I32] ing savings-large and small-which can be made in payments abroad. In some cases, purchases or activities formerly conducted overseas have been restricted to the United States. In others, they have been eliminated. Over 80% of the current obligations by the Agency for International Development for loans and grants to developing countries now must be spent for goods and services produced in the United States. In addition, defense offset agreements with certain of our European allies, the prepayment of funds previously loaned to foreign governments, and the sale of special nonmarketable, medium-term Treasury bonds to foreign central banks have been particularly helpful to our balance of payments. As a result of the reviews and actions undertaken, the net annual outflow from Federal Government programs-payments less regular receipts-is estimated to drop by $800 million between I963 and I965. This excludes special receipts of a nonrecurring nature, such as prepayments of loans, sales of nonmarketable medium-term securities, and advances received on military exports. Federal expenditures of an investment nature.-A large part of the civilian expenditures of the Federal Government contributes directly and indirectly to the growth and development of the Nation's physical and human resources. For example, budget and trust fund expenditures for fiscal year I965 include $3.7 billion for Federal civil public works, for the acquisition of major nondefense equipment and other physical assets, and for small business, rural electrification, and other loans and additions to civilian Federal assets. Another $5.3 billion of Federal civilian budget and trust fund outlays represent grants for highways, hospitals, schools and other facilities which increase State, local, and private physical assets. Federal expenditures in 1965 also include $I.8 billion for such developmental activities as education, training and health, and $I.5 billion for scientific research and development other than for defense and space objectives. These outlays increase knowledge, enhance skills, and strengthen the physical vigor and quality of the labor force. Thus, of the total estimated Federal cash payments to the public in I965, about $I2.3 billion or Io%, represent an investment in civilian programs which will help promote the long run growth of our Nation. Furthermore, during fiscal year I965 an estimated $8.2 billion will be spent on defense research and development, including atomic energy, and $4.5 billion on space research and development. In the long run these outlays will also make a valuable contribution to the technological development and economic growth of our country. Federal expenditures and the national output.-Direct Federal purchases of goods and services in I965 are estimated at $69.I billion, which is less than I 1% of the gross national product; five-sixths of these purchases are for the defense and space programs. Total Federal purchases of goods and services have remained at approximately 1% to 12% of the gross national product throughout the last decade. Other large portions of the budget, such as social security payments, represent transfers of purchasing power to or within other sectors of the economy. Such outlays, amounting to $52.4 billion in I965, are estimated to fall somewhat as a percent of total national output. These include $31.8 billion for transfer payments-such as old-age and survivors insurance benefits, unemployment compensation, and military and veterans pensions-which improve the recipients' standard of living by providing them with increased purchasing power. Similarly, grants-in-aid to State and local governments I9I [132] Jan. 2I Public Papers of the Presidents for such activities as highways, public assistance, and public health increase the ability of these governments to provide local public services. These Federal expenditures transferring purchasing power to other sectors of the economy have more than doubled from 1955 to 1964, while Federal purchases of goods and services have risen by about 50%. In fiscal year 1965, the Federal Government will add to its direct use of total national output much less than will State and local governments. In contrast to the estimated rise of $1.3 billion in direct Federal purchases in 1965 as compared with 1964, present indications are that purchases by State and local governments will continue to rise by at least as much as the $3 billion to $4 billion by which they have been increasing in recent years. PUBLIC DEBT Under present law the temporary debt limitation of $315 billion will continue in effect through June 29, 1964. The temporary limit then becomes $309 billion for one day, June 30, 1964, after which the permanent ceiling of $285 billion again becomes effective. The present temporary debt limits were enacted in November 1963. The House Committee on Ways and Means noted in its report of November 4, 1963, that the ceilings were very restrictive, and cut sharply into the normal allowances for contingencies and flexibility during periods of peak requirements in March and June. The report also noted the concern of the Secretary of the Treasury that the debt could not be reduced to the $309 billion limit set by statute for June 30, 1964, without disrupting orderly management of Treasury finances. Based on the latest estimates contained in this budget, the debt subject to limit on June 30, 1964, is now estimated to be $312 billion. Accordingly, a change in the limit is necessary before June 30, 1964, if serious difficulties in the conduct of public debt management are to be avoided. A further change will be needed to cover the anticipated, but reduced, deficit for 1965. Debt limitations which are so restrictive or so temporary in application as to necessitate several legislative revisions in a single year-as last year-conflict with economical operation of the Government and effective financial management, and involve both the Congress and the Executive in unnecessarily repetitive discussions of the same issues. Instead, the debt ceiling should provide sufficient flexibility for sound management of the Government's finances at the lowest cost, and also permit the Treasury leeway for actively supporting the Nation's balance-of-payments position through timely debt operations. With or without a restrictive debt ceiling, expenditures in this administration will be held to the lowest possible level. PUBLIC DEBT AT END OF YEAR [ Fiscal years. In billions ] i962 I963 1964 I965 actual actual estimate estimate Description Owned by Federal agencies and trust funds.............. Owned privately and by Federal Reserve banks............ Total................................... $55.7 242.5 298.2 $57. 7 248. I 305.9 $60.3 251.5 3II. 8 $62. 6 254.4 317.0 192 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Jan. 21 [132] EFFICIENCY AND ECONOMY IN GOVERNMENT I call upon all Government employees to observe three paramount principles of public service: First, complete fairness in the administration of governmental powers and services; Second, scrupulous avoidance of conflicts of interest; and Third, a passion for efficiency and economy in every aspect of Government operations. For its part, the Federal Government must be a good employer. It must offer challenging opportunities to its employees. It must be prompt to recognize and reward initiative. It must pay well to attract and keep its share of dedicated and resourceful workers. It must welcome fresh ideas, new approaches, and responsible criticism. For 33 years I have been in Government service. I have known its challenge, its rewards, and its opportunities. But all these will multiply in the years to come. The time is at hand to develop the Federal service into the finest instrument of public good that our will and ingenuity can forge. Controlling employment.-Although both our population and our economy are growing and placing greater demands upon the Government for services of every kind, I believe the time has come to get our work done by improving the efficiency and productivity of our Federal work force, rather than by adding to its numbers. This budget proposes a reduction in Federal employment in 1965-from 2,512,400 to 2,511,200 civilian employees-and I have directed the heads of all departments and agencies to work toward reducing employment still further. This reversal in the trend of Federal employment results from a rigorous appraisal of personnel needs, determined measures to increase employee productivity and efficiency, and the curtailment of lower priority work. It will be accomplished despite large and unavoidable increases in workloads. Of the 912 million civilian employees of governments in the United States today, 2/2 million are employed by the Federal Government and about 7 million by the State and local governments. In the decade from fiscal year I955, Federal civilian employment in the executive branch will rise by 6%, while the population of the United States will increase by I7%. State and local employment will increase about 65% during the same period. In fiscal year I955, we had 14 Federal civilian employees in the executive branch for every I,ooo people; in fiscal year I965, we will have fewer than I3 Federal civilian employees to serve every i,ooo people. Management improvement and cost reduction.-As substantial as are savings due to tightening up on Federal employment, even larger economies result from actions which eliminate waste and duplication, simplify unnecessary complex systems and procedures, and introduce new and better business methods. The emphasis on management improvement in the executive branch during the past 3 years has led to impressive economies on a very wide front. Functions have been consolidated. Automatic data processing equipment has improved efficiency and reduced operating costs. Excess property in the possession of one agency has been transferred to others, saving substantial funds budgeted for new purchases. Productivity has been increased in agencies with the heaviest volume of workloads, thus avoiding payroll increases. In the Department of Defense, the cost reduction program has achieved exceptional results. Without impairing combat strength or effectiveness, savings of over $I billion 193 [1I32] Jan. 2I Public Papers of the Presidents were achieved in fiscal year I963, and annual savings by fiscal year i967 are expected to reach the impressive figure of $4 billion. As part of this effort, defense bases and installations no longer needed will be shut down. The number of civilian employees in the Department of Defense will decrease by Io,ooo in fiscal year I964 and by another I7,000 in I965-to the lowest level since I950o. I have directed all departments and agencies to continue and intensify these efforts. When the search for economy is compromised, the taxpayer is the loser. Government organization. —The organization of the Government must be adjusted to cope with new and challenging problems resulting from scientific and technological advances, the development of new and the elimination of old programs, and changes in policies and program emphasis. One of the most urgently needed improvements requiring congressional action is legislation to create a Department of Housing and Community Development to provide leadership in coordinating various Federal programs which aid the development of our urban areas. I recommend that the Congress approve establishment of this new Department during its current session. The authority of the President to transmit reorganization plans to the Congress expired on May 3I, I963. Legislation now pending in the Congress should be enacted to renew this authority. Salary reform and adjustment.-Although this budget is deliberately restrictive, I have concluded that government economy will be best served by an upward adjustment in salaries. In the last year and a half the Federal Government has taken far-reaching steps to improve its pay practices. The Federal Salary Reform Act of 1962 and the Uni formed Services Pay Act of I963 established the principle of keeping military and civilian pay generally in line with pay in the private economy. This is a sound principle, and it is reinforced by the sound procedure of annual review. This principle is fair to the taxpayer, to Government employees, and to the Government as an employer. This budget provides for the costs of such action in this session of Congress. Any pay action by the Congress should bring salary rates for top executive branch positions up to levels more nearly commensurate with their respective responsibilities, and increase rates for the Congress and the Judiciary. Economy and efficiency in government will come primarily from the hard and conscientious work of our top managers, who are now plainly underpaid for what is expected of them. CONCLUSION Approval of this budget will: -Lift a major barrier to more rapid growth in the private sector of the economy by reducing tax burdens and providing investment incentives. -Meet the Nation's defense, international, and domestic requirements. -Provide generously for human needs and, with local community action, attack forcefully the pockets of human want and deprivation in our land. -Advance efficient and economical administration in the Government so that each tax dollar will be a dollar well spent. The program proposed for i965 should provide ample assurance of our determination to keep costs under tight control and move the tax reduction bill toward speedy approval. It should also provide ample evidence that critical national problems need not go unsolved and human wants unmet in I94 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 Jan. 2I [I33]' a Nation rich in moral as well as material strength. A government that is strong, a government that is solvent, a government that is compassionate is the kind of government that endures. There is no inconsistency in being prudent and frugal, in being alert and strong, and in being sensitive and sympathetic to the unfilled needs of the people. This is the objective of this Administration. It is an objective that will be met. I firmly believe the proposals in this budget will serve the Nation well and I ask the support of the Congress and the American people in putting them into effect. LYNDON B. JOHNSON NOTE: As printed above, illustrative diagrams and references to the budget document have been deleted. I33 Annual Message to the Congress, the District of Columbia Budget. January 2I, i964 To the Congress of the United States: I present the budget for the District of Columbia for the fiscal year beginning July I, I964. The District of Columbia, as the Capital of our Nation, should symbolize our civic ideals. What the National Government does, or fails to do, for the District largely determines the city's c h a r a c t e r and attributes. A year ago, in transmitting the District of Columbia budget to the Congress, President Kennedy said "... the problems of the District have become so critical as to challenge the National Government-both the Administration and the Congress-to redouble its understanding of and interest in its Capital City." The need to meet that challenge continues. The policies and programs which President Kennedy proposed for the development and progress of the Nation's Capital remain largely unfulfilled. The budget which I am presenting will measurably advance their accomplishment. In certain respects the District has needs and problems which are common to many large cities today. It is the core of the fastest growing metropolitan area in the East. Like other central cities, its population characteristics have been changing rapidly. Between I950 and I970 the number of school age children in the District will have increased by 46%; the number of older persons by 55%. The number of persons in the productive period of their lives, however, will have decreased by i8%. Negroes, whose economic and social resources taken as a whole still lag far behind, continue to be an increasing proportionnow some 57%-of the District's citizens. Only recently have they been enabled to start breaking through the artificial barriers which by and large have kept them within the District. In other fundamental respects, the District is unique. It discharges not only the full range of municipal responsibilities, but also responsibilities generally undertaken by State and county governments. These include health, welfare, and education-the very functions which expand most rapidly in areas undergoing changes in population characteristics. Furthermore, the District has more park land, lower building heights, and little industry-all factors which severely limit potential tax revenue. Another im '95 [133] Jan. 2i Public Papers of the Presidents portant consideration is that the National Government holds title to 43% of the land area of the city-none of it revenue producing; yet the National Government is the District's only major industry. These facts, coupled with an inadequate response to the needs of the District in years past, make imperative the adoption of programs that will increase substantially the stability, income, and resources of the city's present and future productive citizens. The Federal Government has explicit responsibility for legislative direction of District affairs. Its implicit responsibility is even broader, since it also must assume a fair share of the District's financial needs. Nor is it only a question of fairness. The efficiency and productivity of the Federal establishment depend to a significant degree upon a capital city which is well planned and well run. From time to time, the Federal Government has increased its recognition of financial responsibility. Last year it enlarged the Federal payment authorization from $32 to $50 million a year. This still falls short of enabling the Congress and the District to plan and efficiently carry out longterm commitments within a framework of sound fiscal policy. I recommend strongly that the Congress authorize a Federal payment based on a formula which reflects the relative responsibility of the National Government and of the local taxpayers in meeting the financial needs of the District. Title I of H.R. 4592 embodies such a formula, keyed to the assessed value of real estate and personal property owned and used by the Federal Government and the amount the District could expect to receive if Federal Government activity were taxable as a private business. Although a $54.8 million Federal payment would be authorized by H.R. 4592 in fiscal i965, compared to $50 million already i96 authorized, the real benefit from its enactment would be the maintenance of an equitable balance between Federal and local responsibility as conditions change. For example, by fiscal i968 the formula would authorize an estimated further increase of $6.6 million in the Federal payment compared with increased revenues from local sources estimated at $39.8 million. True concern for the District requires that the Federal Government thus recognize its equitable share of the costs. It also requires, of course, that normally the Congress appropriate no less. The adoption of this formula basis for the Federal payment would not establish a precedent requiring the Federal Government to make payments in lieu of taxes in other jurisdictions. For more than i25 years the Congress has recognized the Federal Government's responsibility by appropriating a share of the funds needed for the operation of the District government. The Congress has fully accepted the fact that, because Washington is the Federal city and the seat of the National Government, its development and growth have been unusually affected by Federal Government operations. Unlike most other communities where post offices, courthouses, and the many other local and regional activities of the Federal Government serve the local citizens, Federal activities in Washington predominantly serve the whole Nation. Moreover, the Federal Government plays a larger part in the planning and development of the District than it does anywhere else in the Nation. The location and types of buildings in certain areas are dependent upon its approval. It imposes other restrictions, such as that which limits the height of all buildings within the District. Serious limitations are thus placed on the development of private industry and businesses in a Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Jan. 2i L 1331 city essentially geared to functioning as headquarters of the Federal Government. Such restrictions caused by the presence of Federal activities are not nearly so far-reaching in any other city in the Nation. In other words, there is already a well-established precedent-that the Federal Government should and does contribute to the expense of government in the District. The issue is only what measure can best be used to determine the fair share which the Federal Government should provide. The proposed formula will establish that measure. I also recommend that the authority of the District to borrow from the Treasury should be related to local needs and resources. Title II of H.R. 4592 embodies the form of an appropriate debt limit, namely, 6% of the Io-year average of the combined assessed value of taxable real and personal property (including property owned and used by the Federal Government as specified in the Federal payment formula). This is a flexible but prudent debt limit related directly to ability to repay, and in keeping with the restrictions on borrowing common to most State and local jurisdictions. The adoption of this proposal would, for example, result in a general fund limit of outstanding indebtedness of approximately $235 million as of fiscal I965, and of $295 million as of fiscal I970, compared with the present limit of $I75 million, which must be renewed when it is exhausted. The District will continue, of course, as it has in the past, to finance much of its general fund capital outlays from current revenues. Nonetheless, a flexible, predictable, and continuing debt limit which is related to ability to repay, taken together with the formula basis for the Federal payment authorization and the tax increases proposed herein, will permit the Congress and the District to plan and meet its critical needs on an orderly basis. District taxpayers continue to bear the lion's share of financing the District government. This is as it should be. In keeping with this view, and inasmuch as the financial needs of the District, if it is to take and maintain its proper place among America's great cities, will continue to increase in the years ahead, I urge the Congress to enact H.R. 4598. This bill, which was recommended last year as a part of the overall general fund financing program, would increase certain District taxes which are low in comparison with neighboring jurisdictions. Together with a real estate tax increase to be set by the Commissioners concurrently, it will produce about $io million of required additional revenue in fiscal I965, and an estimated $I2 million when fully effective in fiscal 1966. These local tax increases will expand the tax base and will represent a substantial further local contribution toward mounting District expenditure needs. These tax changes, coupled with my recommended changes in the method of determining the Federal payment authorization and District borrowing, should assure adequate revenue to finance general fund budgetary needs for the next several years. The financing of the general fund portion of this budget includes, therefore, new revenues from local taxes of $9.9 million, and a Federal payment of $54.8 million which would be authorized by the formula proposed. These additional funds permit limited but necessary expansion of services and the acceleration of capital improvements, particularly school buildings, without excessive inroads into the District's borrowing authority. The Congress may be assured that this I97 [I33] Jan. 21 Public Papers of the Presidents REQUIREMENTS AND FINANCING OF THE GENERAL FUND, 1964-70 [ In millions of dollars ] Funds required: Operating expenses........................ Capital outlay............................ Repayment of loans and interest............. Reserves for contingencies.................. Total funds required................... Revenues and balances: From present sources: Taxes, fees, etc.......................... Balances.............................. Federal payment........................ Loan authorization...................... Total from present sources.............. From proposed sources: Taxes................................. Federal payment........................ Total from proposed sources............. Total revenues and balances............ Estimates 1964 I965 237.9 253.8 31.9 41.9 1.9 1. 7 2.4 4.6 274. I 302. 0 219.1 7.9 37-5 11. 3 275. 8 275. 8 227. 0 1.7 50.0 8.6 287. 3 9-9 4.8 14.7 302. 0 I966 267. 4 42. 0 3.8 4.8 318. 237.6 50. 0 11.4 299. 0 II. 9 11.9 7.1 19. 0 38. o 248.4 50. o 11.9 310o. 3 I3.5 9.3 22. 8 333 I 259. 4 50. o 8.5 317. 9 I7.3 11.4 28. 7 346.6 Projections 1967 1968 z969 280.9 295.1 3I0.0 42.2 41.I 40.4 5. 5.4 5.9 5. 5. 5. 3331I 346.6 361.3 I970 325.6 36. o 6.6 5.0 373. 2 270.4 281.7 50. 0 4.3 324-7 21.5 I5. 36.6 361.3 50. 0.2 331.9 22. 4 18.9 41.3 373.2 budget, no less than the budget of the Federal Government, is designed to avoid waste, inefficiency, and unnecessary expenditures. At the same time, it is designed to meet urgent needs in education, health, welfare, recreation, and related fields. These are the requirements which are traditionally met by State and local governments, and which are largely responsible for an increase of I28% in the general expenditures of State and local governments between 1952 and I962, in contrast to an increase of only 43% in general Federal expenditures during the same decade. Adequate funds for these purposes are essential to the needs of District citizens and to their hopes for improvement in employment, income and family stability. EDUCATION For education programs, appropriations of $93.3 million are needed in I965. The increase of $4.7 million for operating expenses will permit additional school staff necessary to provide teachers needed for a school population which will increase 5,ooo over I964. The system will achieve, for the first time, the pupil-teacher ratios set by the Board of Education several years ago as their standard. Provision for these teachers is vital, yet a first-rate school system requires more than just an adequate number of teachers. The I965 budget is also aimed at meeting critical deficiencies by providing: (I) the beginning of a library program for elementary I98 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-i964 NEW OBLIGATIONAL AUTHORITY, ALL FUNDS [ In thousands of dollars ] Jan. 2I [133] Current authorizations: Education: Operating expenses........................................ Capital outlay....................................... Welfare and health: Operating expenses........................................ Capital outlay....................................... Highways and traffic: Operating expenses........................................ Capital outlay....................................... Public safety: Operating expenses........................................ Capital outlay....................................... Parks and recreation: Operating expenses........................................ Capital outlay....................................... General operating expenses: Operating expenses........................................ Capital outlay....................................... Sanitary engineering: Operating expenses........................................ Capital outlay........................................ Potomac interceptor sewerline............................ Repayment of loans and interest............................ Payment of D.C. share of Federal capital outlays................. Additional municipal expenses, inaugural ceremonies............. Judgments, claims, and refunds................................ Subtotal............................................... General fund: Obligations........................................ Change from obligations to new obligational authority..... Other funds.......................................... Permanent authorizations.................................. Operations of D.C. trust funds................................... Repayment (-) of advances from Federal funds.................. Investments.................................................. Total authorizations.................................... Funds required, general fund: Current authorizations.................................. Adjusted deferred financing................................... Reserves for contingencies..................................... Total, general fund..................................... 1 963 1964 1965 actual estimate recommended 59,505 63,86i 68,607 7, 693 i5, 626 24, 684 65,913 70, 526 75,496 13,701 1,310 I,147 11,454 2, 408 13,663 I0,039 11,280 i5,o80 60,49I 65,972 69,358 I, 446 539 886 8, 564 9, o67 9, 967 327 378 I, I30 i6,388 I7,883 19,369 1,542 i, o88 4, 02 2I, 05I 12, 235 2, 800 I, 496 972 546 296, I63 (262, 8o8) (-6, 798) (40, I53) i, 645 37, 375 7, 000 3,648 21, 851 I5, 400 4,990 916 313, 094 (263, 913) (49, I8I) i, 608 43, 703 -10, 000 21, 790 23,o66 5,364 i, 86o 283 355, 852 (299, 574) (56,278) I, 598 6I, o99 345,830 348,405 418,549 262, 8o8 -7, 675 255, I33 263, 913 7, 800 2, 350 274, o63 299, 574 -2, 200 4, 572 301, 946 I99 11331 Jan. 2I Public Papers of the Presidents schools-a program of special importance for children whose homes provide few if any opportunities to learn the joys of reading; (2) improved counseling and other guidance services to direct children into curricula most suited to their individual needs; (3) an expansion of special education programs for mentally retarded children which can rescue many of them from the prospect of permanent dependency; (4) supporting administrative services which are needed to bring the District up to the level of school systems of comparable size; and (5) a continuation of the special effort to remedy the inability of culturally deprived students to speak, read, and write the English language-a serious and obvious social, academic, and economic disadvantage. Of particular importance, the budget includes $24.7 million for an accelerated school construction program. These funds will provide classroom space for some 7,000 pupils by the construction of four new schools and the enlargement of five others, a considerable step toward the elimination of double sessions. The funds will also provide the preliminary steps in the replacement of seven of the District's overage and obsolete schools. Much more needs to be done, however, if many of the young people now marching toward responsible adulthood are not to become instead a frustrated and embittered army of unemployed, swelling the welfare rolls and crowding the prisons. The 1963 amendments to the Manpower Development and Training Act will enable the District to participate in an accelerated program of training in both basic literacy and specific employment skills for the hard core of unemployed youth and older workers. I am directing that programs be developed to make maximum use of this opportunity in the District. The Vocational Education Act of I963 not only will permit a substantial expansion and improvement in the vocational education programs of the District schools, but also will make possible in the National Capital Region a demonstration residential vocational school which will be established as a means of emphasizing the relationship between training and employment opportunities. The Committee on Public Higher Education in the District of Columbia will shortly present to me its recommendations for meeting the needs for publicly supported posthigh school education in the District. These recommendations will receive my careful attention. The Higher Education Facilities Act of I963 will provide some assistance toward meeting the District's requirements. We must demonstrate that we lack neither the will nor the resources to resolve the current crisis in education. We cannot afford a less than first-rate educational system in the Nation's Capital. A comment is appropriate here on the Public Library. While its branch operations have largely kept pace with community needs, the central library at Mount Vernon Square has long been woefully inadequate. The examination of the central library problem authorized by the Congress in i96I resulted in a recommendation for a larger and more accessible building on a new site. I am renewing last year's budget request embodying this recommendation, for the need is urgent. WELFARE AND HEALTH The budget recommends appropriations totaling $76.6 million for welfare and health, an increase of $4.8 million over I964. The attention devoted by the Congress to the District's welfare program has resulted in major gains by way of reorganization and 200 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-i964 Jan. 21 [ I331 improved administration of the Department. Some of the programs, unfortunately, still fall far short of the minimum necessary to realize the primary objective of public assistance-the rehabilitation of persons and families by positive actions which will enable them to achieve and maintain self-sufficiency. The organization, administration, and financing of welfare programs should each be geared to this objective. The plight of dependent children remains particularly distressing. I strongly urge that funds be provided which will permit the District to participate in the national program of aid to children of unemployed parents authorized by the Congress in 1961. I am equally concerned that other measures also be undertaken to effect a major reduction in the population of Junior Village. The budget accordingly includes funds with which to increase the rates paid for foster home care, to provide extra personnel to find and to approve foster homes, to provide assistance to families in danger of disintegration, and to increase the availability of day care. In other areas as well, the budget reflects my belief that the District should be a leader in effecting the improvements which the Congress made possible in the I96I and I962 amendments to the Social Security Act. Effective rehabilitation work is virtually impossible, for example, unless the caseload of social workers is reduced. Only 44% of the welfare recipients who might be rehabilitated are now served by social workers with caseloads acceptable under Federal standards. The I965 budget will increase this figure to 50%. Here, and in other areas, failure to take forward steps only insures that welfare aid will remain essentially a dole, and that its recipients will perpetuate their dependency. The Department of Public Health has also been reorganized, with advantages in improved service at minimal cost which will become apparent in the future. Medical care programs for the aged now provide for greater services to this group, ranging from home care and accident prevention to rehabilitation. The budget provides funds for a continuation of these programs, as well as for more intensive efforts in areas in which District rates are alarmingly highinfant mortality and venereal disease. The District should also play a leadership role in adopting and demonstrating the new concepts in the prevention, treatment, and care of mental illness and mental retardation. The major effort by the District in these directions, as well as a significant part of its entire health program, is the plan for community health centers. This budget provides funds to plan for two such centers, which should be brought into being as soon as possible. In addition to their other services, these centers can provide help for mentally disturbed persons who do not require long-term hospitalization, and thus reduce materially the patient load at Saint Elizabeths Hospital. PUBLIC SAFETY The Congress has responded promptly to past needs for more policemen. The I965 budget seeks primarily to increase the efficiency of the present force, rather than to increase its size. Police cadet programs, financed in part by Federal funds, will take boys from I7 to 20 through a training-work program, and at age 21 move those who qualify into the patrol ranks. A substantial proportion of serious crimes, in the District as elsewhere, is committed by juveniles. The District will soon have from Washington Action for Youth, a community effort developed by the President's Com 201 [133] Jan. 2I Public Papers of the Presidents mittee on Juvenile Delinquency and Youth Crime, a plan for a comprehensive attack on juvenile delinquency. That battle will not be easy, nor will success come quickly, for there are no panaceas. Law enforcement has its necessary role, but the significant efforts must come in the fields of education, recreation, health, employment, and welfare. In the District-as in the Nation-we face no more important social challenge. I fully support the effort that is being made to mount a comprehensive demonstration in the Cardozo area which will develop programs to seek out and eliminate the basic causes of poverty which contribute to the patterns of delinquency and dependency. I shall continue to encourage the most comprehensive attack on these evils that can be devised. RECREATION The recreation program of the District has not kept pace with the increase in the number of younger people. The budget will permit two major advances. First, it will provide funds for the District to begin a program to bring the city's swimming pool facilities into reasonable relation to its needs, and to assume complete operation of the pools currently operated by a concessionaire under the National Park Service. Second, it will provide funds to extend the hours of supervised operation of many present recreational facilities, which now are often unavailable when they would be most useful. The budget also will continue the roving leader program, under which men and women work in the streets and neighborhoods directly with delinquent and potentially delinquent youths on both individual and group bases. This program has proved that it is possible to reach and help the hard to-reach youngsters. It strongly merits the modest expansion proposed in the budget. TRANSPORTATION The Administration and the Congress have been wrestling with the transportation problems of the District for many years. While some progress has been made, I hope for further progress during the coming year. A major barrier to the development of plans for the Interstate Highway System in the District was surmounted in November i963, when the District Commissioners accepted the recommendations of an advisory committee drawn from all interested Federal agencies with respect to an additional central city Potomac River crossing and an interstate connection making maximum use of tunneling across the north central part of the District. President Kennedy accepted the recommendations, and they likewise have my approval. Although problems of specific location and of design remain to be worked out with the help of the advisory committee, the progress which has been made permits inclusion in the budget of funds for major additional segments of the urgently needed Interstate System in the District. The financing of the construction of this Interstate System requires immediate attention. The System must be completed by I972. The District also faces increasing requirements for funds to maintain the System and to construct, improve and maintain other highways and streets. The resources of the highway fund are entirely earmarked revenues. The most equitable method of financing a street and highway network is taxation based upon use. There is warrant, also, for meeting a part of the cost of highways by borrowing which will be repaid by 202 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Jan. 21 [ I331 taxes on later users, since highways have a long useful life. I am proposing, therefore, a loan authorization for the highway fund of $35 million in addition to the $50.2 million already authorized. The Commissioners will propose an increase of one cent in the present six cents per gallon gasoline tax, which will provide $2 million annually, a sum sufficient to retire the $35 million loan in 30 years. These measures will meet the needs of the highway fund for several years, although other tax sources contributing to that fund may thereafter also have to be increased. The resolution of the problems of providing a rapid rail transit system for the National Capital Region is not yet in hand. Ten years and more of study, however, have made it abundantly clear that such a system is a critical necessity if intolerable traffic congestion is to be avoided. The recent recommittal of H.R. 8929 to the House District Committee demands a redoubling of efforts to find an acceptable program which will permit a transit development plan to proceed. I have instructed the National Capital Transportation Agency, together with other Federal agencies, to work with affected local jurisdictions to that end. I am confident that the Congress agrees on the need, and I trust that an acceptable program can be formulated at this session of the Congress. A comprehensive transportation system must, of course, be the result of joint efforts between the District and its neighboring jurisdictions. Indeed, the Congress has conditioned continuing Federal assistance to highway development in urban areas after mid-Ig65 on the existence of such cooperation. Many other local problems, too, extend beyond the District's boundaries, just as many problems in the suburbs cannot be efficiently and economically solved without the full cooperation of the District. I intend to give my full support to the development of cooperative efforts to meet these regional problems and to provide for the orderly development of the National Capital Region. CONCLUSION The Congress will be required to consider many other matters of concern to the District during this year. Some pending bills are of particular urgency. S. 628, passed by the Senate, would permit the District to act, as other cities have done, to revitalize the downtown area. S. I024, also passed by the Senate, would authorize relocation assistance to those displaced by District government action, and would provide a central relocation service which would greatly increase the success of relocation efforts. I urge the Congress to enact these measures. A bill (H.R. 5794 and S. i650), which would both provide home rule for District citizens and protect Federal interests, was transmitted to the Congress by President Kennedy. As long as District citizens are denied the basic rights to vote and to govern themselves, they will remain less than full citizens, and will be less effective in assuming their proper share of responsibility for District problems. I urge strongly that the Congress enact Home Rule legislation at this session. This budget, the programs which it funds, and the legislation which is recommended, will promote, in my opinion, the District's best interests. They will also serve the Nation's best interests by providing the means by which our Nation's Capital can become a living symbol of the political, social, and economic vitality of the United States in the last half of the 20th century. LYNDON B. JOHNSON 203 [I34] Jan. 22 Public Papers of the Presidents 134 Remarks With Prime Minister Pearson at the Signing of the Columbia River Agreement With Canada. January 22, 1964 WE WELCOME you to the Treaty Room today. For a good many people here-Secretary Udall and our Northwest Senators as well as our Canadian visitors-Mr. Prime Minister, these agreements are a major step in an effort that began back in the forties. Hard work and understanding on both sides are engrained in this agreement. This project means harnessing more power, improving flood control in the Columbia Basin. It will mean more industry, it will mean more jobs. There are few projects that we can create that have better benefits. This is a genuine and beneficial contribution to the continued prosperity and progress of our Northwest States and of British Columbia. This, Mr. Prime Minister, is the kind of an hour that we can always spend together. We have done something and I am convinced it will bear fruit for both of our nations and for the future. We will be glad to have you make a statement, if you would like. Prime Minister Pearson: Mr. President, all I would like to say is that we are very happy, indeed, to be here to take part in the signing of this treaty. It represents the culmination of about 20 years hard preparatory work between representatives of our two governments and between representatives of state and provincial governments. It is the kind of treaty that means most, because it is a treaty which will be helpful to both countries. We all get advantages from this and we, in Canada, feel that we are inaugurating some very important developments which this treaty will make possible which will help us and which will help you. We are, also, very happy, because apart from the benefits to both countries which the treaty will make possible, it represents that kind of cooperation between our two governments and our two peoples which we like to think is characteristic of the relations between the United States and Canada. Perhaps I can say that I consider it a great privilege to be here with you when this treaty is being signed. THE PRESIDENT. I would like for the Senators to know that we have had a very fruitful discussion this morning, we think quite productive. And while this is only an agreement on power, if the Prime Minister and President can agree on power, we hope that down through the ages we may be able to agree on taxes, and tariffs, and lumber and all the other problems. Prime Minister Pearson: And a measure for evening the balance of trade between our two countries! THE PRESIDENT. And in any event the Prime Minister and I have had a very fine morning and we are going to leave all these other details to be worked out by the Foreign Minister and the Secretary of State and the Northwestern Senators. NOTE: The signing ceremony was held in the Treaty Room at the White House at 12:30 p.m. The text of the agreement is printed in the Department of State Bulletin (vol. 50, p. 202). 204 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Jan. 22 [ I35] I35 Joint Statement With Prime Minister Pearson on the Columbia River Agreement. PRESIDENT Johnson and Prime Minister Pearson presided today at the White House at the signing of further important agreements between the two governments regarding the cooperative development of the water resources of the Columbia River Basin. Mr. Rusk, Secretary of State, signed for the United States, and Mr. Martin, Secretary of State for External Affairs, signed for Canada. The arrangements which are now being made will be of great benefit to both countries, particularly to the province of British Columbia in Canada and to the States of Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Oregon in the United States. Today's signing took place in the presence of representatives of the area on both sides of the border. The downstream power benefits resulting from increased generation in the United States are to be shared by the two countries, and the United States is to compensate Canada for the flood protection which it receives. Effective storage amounting to I5,500,000 acre-feet will be provided in Canada from two dams on the main stem of the Columbia at Mica Creek and Arrow Lakes, and from one dam near Duncan Lake, all in British Columbia. The additional storage approximately doubles that presently available for regulation of the flows of the Columbia River. Under the terms of the treaty, the United States has the option to commence construction of the Libby project on the Kootenai River in northern Montana with 5,000,000 acre-feet of usable storage. Canada and the United States each will retain all of the benefits from the Libby project which accrue in their respective countries. January 22, i964 At the Hyannis Port meeting in May i963 President Kennedy and Prime Minister Pearson "noted especially the desirability of early progress on the cooperative development of the Columbia River. The Prime Minister indicated that if certain clarifications and adjustments in arrangements proposed earlier could be agreed on, to be included in a protocol to the treaty, the Canadian Government would consult at once with the provincial Government of British Columbia, the province in which the Canadian portion of the river is located, with a view to proceeding promptly with the further detailed negotiations required with the United States and with the necessary action for approval within Canada. The President agreed that both Governments should immediately undertake discussions on this subject, looking to an early agreement." These things have now been done. The way has been cleared for the completion of the necessary financial and related arrangements in the United States and the ratification of the treaty by Canada. The primary purpose of the first set of documents signed today was to agree now on the clarifications and adjustments that would eliminate possible sources of controversy between the two countries in later years. These documents contain important, if rather technical, provisions regarding such varied matters as conditions governing flood control; the intention to complete arrangements for the initial sale of Canada's share of the downstream power benefits at the time when ratifications of the treaty are exchanged; the avoidance by Canada of standby transmission charges in the event of sales of downstream benefits in the United States; 205 [I35] Jan. 22 Public Papers of the Presidents provision for cooperation in connection with the operation of the Libby Dam in the light of the Canadian benefits from it; clarification regarding water diversions; the procedures relating to hydroelectric operating plans; the adoption of a longer stream flow period as a basis for calculating downstream power benefits; various matters relating to power load calculations; adjustments to be considered in the event of the provision of flood control by Canada ahead of schedule; the avoidance of any precedent regarding waters other than those of the Columbia River Basin; and clarification regarding the position of the boundary waters treaty of 1909. The other set of documents relates to the arrangement to be made for the sale of the Canadian entitlement to downstream power benefits for a period limited to 30 years. The arrangements which the two governments have agreed upon will be beneficial to the United States in facilitating the coming into force of the treaty and thereby removing uncertainty about the availability of power and flood control protection for the northwestern part of the United States for a considerable period of time. Equally, they will benefit Canada by removing uncertainty about the return to be received by Canada from the Columbia River development during the first 30 years after the completion of each dam. The treaty, together with the arrangements now being made, represents an important step in achieving optimum development of the water resources of the Columbia River Basin as a whole, from which the United States and Canada will each receive benefits materially larger than either could obtain independently. The arrangements fully respect the sovereignty and the interests of the two countries. As was said in the Hyannis Port Communique, "Close cooperation across the border can enhance rather than diminish the sovereignty of each country by making it stronger and more prosperous than before." NOTE: In the fifth and in the last paragraphs reference is made to the May iI, i963, joint statement of President Kennedy and Prime Minister Pearson following discussions at Hyannis Port, Mass. (see "Public Papers of the Presidents, John F. Kennedy i963," Item I79). I36 Toasts of the President and Prime Minister Pearson. January 22, i964 Mr. Prime Minister, Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Neuberger, gentlemen: The Prime Minister asked me if I was going to make a speech and I told him I was going to attempt to, not over 3 minutes in length, but I would expect loud and vociferous applause. I choose to feel that this is not just a meeting today between two heads of government, but rather a reunion of neighbors who meet around the dining table in friendship and with affection. Mr. Prime Minister, we in this country are proud of your achievements 206 and we are joined in your purpose. We have applauded your craftsmanship and approved of your leadership from your major role in the creation of the United Nations to your winning of the Nobel Peace Prize and even your performance as defense man on the Oxford hockey team. I attended a delightful dinner last evening at the Canadian Embassy and found myself greatly outnumbered. That is not a unique experience for me. Having been in political life as long as I have, I frequently find myself in a minority. But this is such a Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Jan. 22 [1I36] minority that I thought I should do something about it. We had seven men from Oxford, one from Cambridge, and one from the San Marcos Teachers College. So, not to be outdone, I invited my friends from the Congress to come join us today for lunch. Mr. Prime Minister, I remember so well the largest American hero of his time, Franklin D. Roosevelt loved so warmly the greatest Canadian of his era, MacKenzie King and, indeed, you may have been present on the occasion in Quebec in I943 when President Roosevelt said to Prime Minister MacKenzie King, "My old friend, your course and mine have run so closely and affectionately during these many long years that this meeting adds just another link to the chain." Mr. Prime Minister, may I take the liberty and may I be presumptuous enough to suggest that our friendship may run this same cheerful course that was so stoutly started by our great predecessors and so cordially continued by ourselves. I believe, Mr. Prime Minister, that we have built here on your first visit the intimacy and the candor that belong to two good and old friends. As I suggested this morning, as we walked out on the porch to observe this beautiful sunny day, that whenever we have anything to say to each other, let us just pick up the telephone and say it, whether it be to discuss a problem or simply to ask, "How are you getting along up there? " So if you would join me now, I would like to ask you to rise and raise your glass, and let us toast at this high moment Lester B. Pearson, "Mike" Pearson, the Prime Minister of Canada, a loyal neighbor, a durable ally, hockey star, and a good and most understanding friend. NOTE: The President proposed the toast at a luncheon in the State Dining Room at the White House. Prime Minister Pearson responded as follows: "Mr. President, Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Neuberger, and gentlemen: "May I thank you very warmly, sir, for your kindness in proposing this toast and you, gentlemen, for the friendly way in which you acknowledged it. "You, Mr. President, said how outnumbered you were last night at the Canadian Embassy when you honored us by dining at our Embassy. You were outnumbered, I think, nine to one, Oxford and Cambridge versus the Teachers College. But I would remind you, Mr. President, that those of us who went to Oxford and Cambridge went there because we had done so well beforehand at our teachers colleges. Now if you had worked as hard as we did and if you had been as good an athlete as Dean Rusk was, you might have got to Oxford, too. But if you had, you probably wouldn't have become President of the United States. "I am very grateful to you, sir, for your generous and friendly hospitality and particularly, if I may say so, for giving me the opportunity of meeting so many members of the Congress. I used to be a diplomat; I used to be Ambassador in Washington. And in those days the State Department would never let me talk to members of the Congress. No doubt they were right, because if diplomats started establishing contacts, too close contacts, with members of the Congress, it wouldn't have any great effect on the Congress, but I don't know what it would do to diplomacy and the State Department. "But I am grateful, sir, for the opportunity of meeting so many old friends from the Congress. And I am very conscious of the fact that in the relations between our two countries, which are of such continuing importance, that while it is of vital importance for our governments to keep in close touch, and they will, it is I think of equal importance for our legislatures to keep in close touch. And I am very grateful, indeed, that during the last years we have built up this kind of congressional and parliamentary contact. "And I believe we had a very good example of its importance last week. I don't like to single out anyone in particular, but perhaps, Mr. President, you might let me mention a senator from a State so near Canada, who had so much to do with that development, Senator Aiken. We are very happy, Mr. President, to be here today, also, because we are signing a very important treaty for the development, in the interests of both our countries, of the Columbia River, a treaty which will be of such great importance to the Northwestern part of the United States. Senator Magnuson will forget about lumber difficulties, perhaps, and Senator Morse. And, also, we are to sign this afternoon an agreement which hasn't the tangible importance that the Columbia treaty has, but has a very great sentimental and symbolic significance. 207 [136] Jan. 22 Public Papers of the Presidents "In setting aside Campobello as a sort of international tribute to a very, very great American, I want to thank those who have been good enough to make that possible. We have had very good talks in our short, short visit-the kind of discussions that you expect between representatives of the United States and Canada. They have been frank, they have been friendly, and they have covered a great variety of subjects. There have been no inhibitions of any kind. Why the President and I, in the midst of more important matters, took some time off to argue whether the greatest quarterback in American football history was Sam Baugh from Texas or Y. A. Tittle from San Francisco. We didn't agree on that. "We have, I think, not solved problems, but we have established a good and friendly relationship between ourselves and strengthened that relationship which existed already between our governments, which will make it easier for us to solve these problems. Our relations, the relations between our two countries, are so close and so friendly, so intimate, and our peoples are so close together, that this in a sense is our problem, because it is taken for granted, I think perhaps more on our side of the border than on your side of the border, that we are so much alike that we will never have any difficulties. "The particular triumph of the CanadianAmerican relationship is that we have had difficulties and that we have solved them and we are going to have more in the future, but we are going to solve them, too. "It is easy to keep the peace when you have nothing to row about. But rows without wars, that means something. That is the symbol of our relationship. I remember saying some years ago in Toronto-and I got a great deal of criticism, and I was Secretary of State for External Affairs at that time-that the days of easy and automatic relations between our countries are over. So they are. I don't know how easy or automatic they used to be, but I know that in the future we are going to have problems and difficulties. "There are no two countries where the relations are more important to each other economically and in every other way than those between our two countries, but I am not frightened about this kind of thing because I have absolute confidence that with the kind of friendly understanding which we have, we will be able to face these problems and we will be able to solve them. "We in Canada are very, very sensitive, indeed, about the development of our own Canadian identity building up in the northern half of this continent, a nation which stands on its own feet as much as any nation, any nation anywhere, can stand on its own feet these days. "You may at times think we are perhaps a little too sensitive, but we do appreciate, we do realize, that in our relations with the United States, why, we will have our bilateral difficulties, we do realize that in this country you are bearing the greatest burden that any country at any time ever had to bear, the burden of maintaining peace and establishing security and insuring progress in a nuclear outer space atomic age. "I was talking-and I don't know whether I perhaps should say this-but I was talking last week to General de Gaulle in Paris. We had a very happy visit there and we were very warmly received by the country which, after all, is the other mother country of Canada. Sometimes down here in the United States they forget that one-third of our people in Canada are French-speaking. I mentioned this to the President this morning. General de Gaulle said, 'You are always boasting, you Canadians, that you know the Americans better than anyone else.' Which is true. We really should. 'What do you really think of them?' "I was trying to find words to express at the same time my admiration and anxiety about the United States, and I said, 'Well, General de Gaulle, as I have often put it in speeches in Canada, my feeling about the United States is this: To live alongside this great country is like living with your wife. At times it is difficult to live with her. At all times it is impossible to live without her.' "Thank you." The President's opening words referred to Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson of Canada, Mrs. Margaret Chase Smith, U.S. Senator from Maine, and Mrs. Maurine B. Neuberger, U.S. Senator from Oregon. I37 Remarks at the Signing of the Roosevelt Campobello International Park Agreement. January 22, I964 Mr. Prime Minister and distinguished proved of anything that advanced, however guests: small, the general well-being of human bePresident Roosevelt would have approved ings. So it cheers me to join with Prime of what we are doing here today. He ap- Minister Pearson in taking the first step 208 Lyndon B. John. toward establishing Franklin Roosevelt's Campobello summer home as a memorial park. I want to publicly thank Dr. Armand Hammer and Mr. Harry Hammer and Mr. Victor Hammer for their most generous contribution in President Roosevelt's memory, and to his deeply held love for the Canadian people. I think that President Roosevelt would be pleased that this is a new and very special project. It is, as you know, the first jointly owned U.S.-Canadian park. This is ample evidence of a close tie between the United States and Canada. This involves land and people. This is the heart of human concern and national kinship. Canada and the United States are not only good neighbors, but we are good partners. We are going to stay good partners. Each will help the other to stay strong, to stay solvent, to stay stable, and to stay compassionate. We have no problems that cannot be solved. We have no differences that cannot be settled. We have no future that cannot be shared. That is why I am happy, in concert with the distinguished Prime Minister of Canada, Mr. Pearson, to sign this agreement. I hope that Campobello Park will live eternally as a symbol of our friendship that cannot be shaken or diverted. President Roosevelt would want it this way. Prime Minister Pearson: Mr. President, may I tell you how deeply I appreciate the privilege of joining you today in signing the agreement which will make possible the establishment of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Campobello International Park. I recall last May when I was in Hyannis Port when this idea was advanced and we were able to proceed with it at that time through the generosity of Dr. Hammer and his brothers. And through the understand son, I963-I964 Jan. 22 [I37] ing support and cooperation of the members of the Roosevelt family, the process which began then has now come to the stage of completion insofar as the signing of this agreement is concerned. I am very happy, indeed, to be a part of it. As you say, Mr. President, this is something of which Mr. Roosevelt would have approved. We cherish this action in Canada not only because it will establish another link in the friendship between our two peoples across our border, that border which is so easily crossed, but also because it will be an eternal memorial to one of the great and towering figures of our age, a man who had done so much for human freedom and one whose memory is as imperishable in Canada, a country which he loved, and in which he spent so much of his time, whose memory will be as imperishable in Canada as it is in the United States. My colleagues and I are very proud, Mr. President, to be able to take part in this ceremony today. THE PRESIDENT. To some of you here for the first time I would like to point out that the beauty of this room is made possible because of the great, dedicated effort of Mrs. Kennedy. She had just completed the decoration of it. It is known as the Treaty Room. The Indian Treaty was signed here, a number of other treaties. We have had two agreements and one treaty signed since November in this room ourselves. President Andrew Johnson's first Cabinet met in this room for the first time. It has many things of historical importance here, including its chandelier that hung in my office in the Capitol for a number of years. It had originally been in the White House. But when President Theodore Roosevelt became President, in the days before air conditioning, he would have to open the windows in the evening to let the breeze 209 [I37] Jan. 22 Public Papers of the Presidents come in to keep cool, and the chandelier glass would tinkle and keep him awake. So he told the butler one evening to get that chandelier out of here and take it down to the Capitol. The frustrated butler said, "Well, where do I take it to the Capitol?" He said, "Take it to the Vice President. We need something to keep him awake." So it stayed there, Mr. Prime Minister, for many years, and I guess Mrs. Kennedy finally concluded that I was wide awake and she told me she wanted that chandelier brought back to the White House where it belonged, and her wish was my command. NOTE: The signing ceremony was held in the Treaty Room at the White House at 3 p.m. Among those present were the Hammer brothers who had earlier purchased Campobello, summer home of President Roosevelt, from his son Elliott. Dr. Armand Hammer, of Los Angeles, president of the Occidental Petroleum Corporation, and co-owner with his brothers, Harry and Victor, of the Hammer Galleries in New York City, donated Campobello Island to the United States and Canada in the hope that it would be used as a meeting place for conferences to further strengthen the relationship between the two countries. The text of the agreement is published in the Department of State Bulletin (vol. 50, p. 206). On August I2 the White House announced that Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson and Mrs. Lester B. Pearson, wife of the Canadian Prime Minister, would visit Campobello Island, New Brunswick, on August 20 to participate in ceremonies establishing the Roosevelt Campobello International Park. The release further stated that implementing legislation had now been passed by the legislatures of both countries, and that final steps were being taken to establish the Park, which would be operated by a commission of three Canadian members and three United States members. 138 Joint Statement With Prime Minister Pearson on the Campobello Park Agreement. PRESIDENT Johnson and Prime Minister Pearson signed today in the Treaty Room of the White House an intergovernmental agreement providing for the establishment of the Roosevelt Campobello International Park at the house formerly belonging to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on Campobello Island, New Brunswick. The President and the Prime Minister recalled the generous offer of the Hammer family, made to President Kennedy and Prime Minister Pearson at Hyannis Port in May I963, to donate the property to the Governments of Canada and the United States as a memorial to President Roosevelt. President Johnson and Prime Minister Pearson have welcomed the opportunity on this occasion to sign the intergovernmental agreement under which the Roosevelt estate will become an International Park jointly owned and operated by the United States and Canada as a memorial January 22, I964 open to the peoples of the two countries and of all the world. The establishment of the Roosevelt Campobello International Park represents a unique example of international cooperation. The Park will stand forever as an expression of the close relationship between Canada and the United States as well as a fitting memorial to the President of the United States who so greatly strengthened that relationship and who himself spent so many happy days of rest and relaxation on Canadian soil and in Canadian waters. The memorial will celebrate President Roosevelt's love of Campobello Island and of sailing in the deep waters of the Bay of Fundy; his deep sense of the abiding values of conservation and recreation; and the old and friendly relations between the people of the Maritime Provinces of Canada and the people of New England and New York. 210 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-I964 Jan.:22 [ I39] When Canadians and Americans visit the International Park, they will see a living expression of the historic collaboration between their two countries; while visitors from other parts of the world may find it an inspiration for similar cooperative arrangements along many frontiers across the world. This intergovernmental agreement has, of course, been drawn up in close consultation with the government of the Province of New Brunswick where the property is located. The agreement will require legislative action in both countries. The President and the Prime Minister hope for speedy enactment of such legislation in order to open the Roosevelt Campobello International Park to the people of both countries at the earliest moment. NOTE: For the President's remarks at the signing ceremony, see Item I37. A copy of the agreement was released with the joint statement. 139 Remarks to New Participants in "Plans for Progress" Equal Opportunity Agreements. January 22, i964 I WANT each of you to know how welcome you are to this house that belongs to all of you. It seems to me that it is a little dark in here. If it is, it is because of the new budget and we are trying to economize on our light bill. It may surprise you, but the lights on this establishment are $4600 a month alone, so you can imagine how many checks will have to have deductions to even pay the light bill. I am reminded of the story that the Postmaster General told me about getting a letter from a little boy who had lost his father and whose widowed mother was having difficulty making ends meet. He wrote a letter to the Lord and said, "Dear God: Please send mom $ioo to help with the family." The letter wound up on the Postmaster General's desk and he was quite touched by it. He at that time still had a little money left over from what he had earned at Prudential, so he took a $20 bill out of his pocket, put it in a Postmaster General's envelope, put an air mail stamp on it, and sent it to the little boy. About two weeks later he got a letter back that said, "Dear God: Much obliged for all you have done. It is a great help. We appreciate it. But we need another $ioo. If you don't mind, when you send it to momma this time, don't route it through Washington, because they deducted 8o percent of it there." I have a little statement prepared here expressing my gratitude, but I think I want to say something else before I get into that. You businessmen have a very unique role in our Government, and a very special responsibility. You are the symbols of the free enterprise system. You are what makes the difference in the type of government we have and the type that our challenger has. Someone asked me the other day if I didn't think I was making a rather dangerous venture when, contrary to the practice of the last few years, I sent a budget to Congress that didn't add $5 billion on to take care of increased population and increased needs, and by withholding that amount out of the economic bloodstream if I didn't think we would lack the financial stimulus necessary to give us the prosperity we wanted. I said yes, that may be true. I have thought of that. I have carefully analyzed it and reviewed it. But I believe by trying to keep our budget this year as low as the 33-171 -6-5- 19 2II [I39] Jan. 22 Public Papers of the Presidents one last year, by trying to arrest the advance and establish a ceiling, and by assuring the businessmen we are not going to keep our foot on his neck, and we are going to turn him loose to invest his capital and build new plants, provide new jobs, reward him and praise him instead of flout him and take revenge on him, I am betting that with the tax reduction and the $9 billion that will go into consumers' hands as a result of lowering the withholding from i8 to 14 percent, the lower corporation taxes we will have, although they are only slightly lowerI am betting that the free economy and private business can do for the economic bloodstream what the Government appropriations do. Now if they don't do it, I know how to spend it, but I am going to give them that chance. And it is going to be many months before we know the answer. But I sincerely and genuinely believe that any system that is just enough to give us the power that is ours today as the leading nation in the world, and that permits a son born of a tenant farmer, as I was 55 years ago, to rise to the place I now hold, I believe that is the system that is going to prevail among all the philosophies of the world. I don't think it is our population, our resources, or even our industrial know-how that are going to be the predominating factors in our victory. I think the thing that, when the final gong is sounded, the thing that is going to determine whether we survive or not, is our free enterprise system. I believe that the capitalist who sends his dollar out with the hope of getting a return on it, the manager that gets up at daylight and works to midnight and develops stomach ulcers handling the men and the money, and the worker who takes the sweat of his brow and hits that production line at a trot, taking pride in what comes off that assembly line-the combination of those three, all of whom get a slice of the pie, along with a Government that is friendly and helpful and encouraging, and providing incentive, making the fourth partner-I believe that they can outdo and outproduce and outwork and outfight any collective system in the world! I believe the individual reward that comes to each of those elements is such as to provide the incentive that will never permit any other philosophy to overtake us. I think that is the real reason or justification we had for selling wheat to the Russians. We had it rotting in our barns and the rats were eating it. We had all that our stomachs would hold and all we could store, and we did it with a third of the acres that they have. I don't gloat over it, but it is satisfying to me to know that we have got to send our wheat over there to show them that we can feed ourselves and they can't feed themselves. So in the final analysis, if we survive this challenge of our century, it is going to be because of the responsibilities of the free enterprise system. And you are a symbol of it. Now I came down here today to tell you not that you are just welcome in this house, but I am so proud that you are here. I am grateful to you and I want to express the gratitude of the President and the gratitude of the American people to each of you and to the thousands of stockholders that you represent. Why? Because you have taken a very strong, a very positive, and a firm step forward in signing the Plan for Progress and joining the President's Equal Employment Opportunity program. You have allied yourselves and your workers with some 141 of the leading corporations in this Nation in a demonstration that the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the 212 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Jan. 22 [ I391 United States still mean what they say. You have worked to eliminate bias and discrimination and prejudice from American life. We believe that you will increase your efforts in the immediate future. We believe that when you do, you keep firm faith with those forefathers who founded our great free enterprise system. We know we have the wealth, we know we have the economic power to lead the world. But we must never forget that in this world we are outnumbered 17 to I. We must have moral standards of the highest order and consciences that are always clear of any guilt of mistreatment of our fellowman or for any artificial reason. Then we can even more proudly say that our leadership is deserved and our concepts are enduring, and there is a reason why America is first in the world picture. During my nearly 3 years as Chairman of this Committee,l I have observed and learned. It has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my 33 years of public life. I believe most of you feel as I do: that you would like to be remembered not for your financial statement as much as for your human concern, your feeling for your fellowman, and for doing what is right and what is just. Working with this Committee has given me an outlet to express my concern for humanity. The Committee and the Federal Government are going to continue their efforts in this field. We are going to continue to work to insure that Government contractors employ nondiscrimination practices. The Government itself is going to continue its t efforts to remold itself into an ideal employer. We want to get the most available from all of its employees and we want to deny none the opportunity to advance according 'The President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity. to merit and ability. Our system, as I said, has made us the greatest nation in the world. Now we must turn that system, with its magnificent force, to the task of bringing about conditions that each of us would like for himself or his family or his friends. It stimulates me and it inspires me to meet with the leaders of industry who provide a great part of the leadership of this country. The fate of the Nation is directly affected by the concern that you show for our national aspirations and by the manner in which your decisions reflect it. You set the example, and the example you set is followed down the line to many small enterprises in this Nation. It is your policies that your supervisors carry out. It is on your factory lines, in your locker rooms, in your cafeterias, in your recreational facilities, in your communities, that your leadership shows through. So let us be sure that it is the best leadership. Let us be sure it is the most just leadership. Let us be sure it is the most human leadership. One hundred years ago a great Republican President named Abraham Lincoln freed the Negro of his chains. But we know, and each of us honestly knows in our own heart, that today we have not freed him from the bigotry that exists because of his color. There is no real reason nor no real justification for it. Actually, none of us get any satisfaction out of feeling superior to our fellowman because of our race, or because of our religion, or because of our color. And if we proceed on that basis, some day we are going to find that we are in the decided minority and that it is going to be practiced against us. So I said the other day in meeting with a group that we should not ask any immigrant to this country-it is all right for us to say, "What can you do for your country?" but 213 [ I39] Jan. 22 Public Papers of the Presidents it is never fair to say, "In what country were you born?" And it is all right for us to say, "What skills do you have and what qualifications do you possess?" but it is never fair to say, "What is your church, or what is your color, or what is your region?" Because that is why America was foundedto get away from cross-examination of such subjects. Now there has been a time when I was regarded as somewhat friendly to the employers of this country, and believing in them. I hope that feeling will always be true. When I took over this committee, Secretary Goldberg, who was my associate and my very wonderful colleague in the work, said "For every corporation that you get to voluntarily go out and say they will drive discrimination underground and bury it, I will get a labor union to join us." Well, I was proud to say that I got a hundred corporations before he got a hundred labor unions. Both have made rather remarkable strides forward and both have made good records. But there is a lot still to be done. One of the great women that I know lives in my home, whose advice I probably value more than anybody's except my mother and wife. She is a college person, highly trained. If she has a title, I guess you would call her Chief of Staff of my operation. But she finds that when she comes from Texas to Washington, she can't go to a bathroom without taking 3 or 4 hours out of a drive to go try to locate one in certain sections of the town-or getting out on the highways and dodging the cars at night. She finds out that she never knows when she goes into a cafe whether she can get a cup of coffee or not-not because of lack of dignity, because she is possessed with more of it than the President; not because of lack of money, because she is thrifty and frugal, has invested it and has savings; not because of lack of ability, because she commands the respect of people who have the power to get the best. But it is all because of color and because of tradition and because of custom. Now you would not want that to happen to your mother, or your wife, or your daughter. But you can passively, nonchalantly go on into your air conditioned office, have your secretary take your coat, and let it happen in your plant. That is what we have tried to do something about. Thank God we have done something about it, with your help and God's help. And we are going to do more about it. That is all I have to say to you, except, again, to thank you and tell you that Russia has more land than we have, more people than we have, and more resources than we have, but she doesn't have the system we have. Now let's perfect this system of ours and let's make it a model for all the world. Let's make it a pride and joy. If men can stand side by side in Korea, and Viet-Nam, and along the Berlin Wall, and die together regardless of their race or their religion, or the country of their ancestry, if they can do that in the uniform of this country, protecting our flag, then they ought to be able to walk down the assembly line together or cafeteria line together, or go to the same water fountain. What you businessmen do is going to be picked up and copied down in every little community in this land. And I know it is going to be good. I am an optimist. I think this country is not only the greatest in all the world, but we have just begun to grow. The rest of this 20th century is going to be so marvelous that it is indescribable today. But the thing that is going to be best about it all is not that we just have a strong government, but that we have a 214 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 Jan. 22 [ I40] solvent government. Because you can't have military strength-and we are going to have it, superior to any-you can't have it unless you are solvent. And we are going to be solvent because we are taking the steps that insure that. But we are also going to be compassionate, because strength and solvency mean nothing if you are a miser and if you are oblivious to all the world around you. We are going to follow the Golden Rule in our leadership in Government and in our leadership in industry. We are going to try to put ourselves in the other fellow's place and see how we would like to be treated if we were black or brown, if we were Irish or Baptist, if we were northerners or southerners, if we were Catholics or Jews. We are going to apply that standard, that rule, to us. We are going to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Then think about what a glorious and grand and wonderful land this is going to be! Thank you very much. NOTE: The President spoke in the East Room at the White House at 4 p.m. 140 Joint Statement Following Discussions With the Prime Minister of Canada. January 22, i964 USEFUL discussions on many matters have been held during the past two days while Prime Minister Pearson has been visiting Washington as the guest of President Johnson. The Prime Minister was accompanied by Mr. Paul Martin, Secretary of State for External Affairs. Mr. Dean Rusk, Secretary of State, was with the President. The President and the Prime Minister had a wide-ranging discussion about the international situation. In their review of world affairs they discussed the NATO alliance and the Atlantic Community, the prospects for easing East-West tensions, the importance of practical specific initiative toward disarmament, and the current problems in Asia, Africa, and the Western Hemisphere. They will continue to cooperate fully in helping the countries of these areas move toward economic development, political stability, and peace along their borders. The Prime Minister and the President noted with satisfaction the progress made towards the cessation of nuclear testing. They affirmed their desire to promote addi tional measures to ease international tensions and to support further advances towards effective disarmament. The steady development of the peacekeeping capacity of the United Nations remains for both a goal essential to the preservation of world peace. The President and the Prime Minister examined various bilateral defense questions and noted with satisfaction that appropriate agreements have lately been concluded between their two Governments. They agreed to plan for a meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee on Defense during the first half of this year. They reaffirmed the support of both Governments for the developing defense production sharing program, which is of mutual benefit. The Prime Minister and the President referred to the balance of payments problems of their respective countries. They reviewed outstanding economic problems between the two countries, including certain trade and tax measures. They agreed on the urgency of successful GATT negotiations to achieve a substantial reduction of trade barriers in 2I5 [I40] Jan. 22 Public Papers of the Presidents order to meet the goal of expanded world trade. The President and the Prime Minister reviewed the work of the joint Cabinet level Committee on trade and economic affairs at its meeting last September and agreed that it should meet again around the end of April. The Prime Minister and the President discussed at some length the practicability and desirability of working out acceptable principles which would make it easier to avoid divergences in economic and other policies of interest to each other. They appreciated that any such principles would have to take full account of the interests of other countries and of existing international arrangements. The President and the Prime Minister considered that it would be worthwhile to have the possibilities examined. Accordingly, they are arranging to establish a Working Group, at a senior level, to study the matter and to submit a progress report to the April meeting of the Joint Committee. The Prime Minister and the President agreed that negotiations on the bilateral air agreement should be undertaken almost immediately, with a view to working out satisfactory arrangements on a North American basis. The President and the Prime Minister noted the importance of shipping on the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway and agreed to cooperate with each other and with labor and management in each country to avoid industrial strife along these waters. Final agreement was reached on the use of the resources of the Columbia River Basin, and this agreement was embodied in an exchange of notes between Secretary of State Rusk and the Secretary of State for External Affairs for Canada, Mr. Paul Martin. The Columbia River Treaty signed in I96I, was ratified that year by the United States; the agreements reached today pave the way for Canadian ratification and make possible the further development of the resources of this great Basin. At the same time, the President and the Prime Minister have joined in arrangements to establish on the East Coast the Roosevelt International Park at Campobello, New Brunswick, in memory of a President who took a keen interest in both countries and in the good relations between them. In recognition of the breadth and importance of their mutual interests, the President and the Prime Minister have determined to maintain close and continuous contact, on a personal and confidential basis and in the spirit of candor and friendship that has characterized these meetings. NOTE: In the sixth paragraph reference is made to the meeting of the Joint United States-Canadian Committee on Trade and Economic Affairs, held in Washington September 20-21, I963. The Columbia River Treaty was signed in Washington on January 17, 196I. The text is printed in the Department of State Bulletin (vol. 44, p. 234). I4I Remarks at the Dedication of the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of History and Technology. January 22, 1964 Mr. Carmichael, our beloved Chief Justice, Four hundred years ago, Francis Bacon members of the Board of Regents, ladies and could immodestly declare: "I have taken all gentlemen: knowledge to be my province." Bacon The gathering of knowledge is the su- would find this new Museum of History and preme achievement of man. Technology of the Smithsonian Institution to 216 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 Jan. 22 [ I4I ] his taste, and to his aims. For I believe this new museum will do that which causes us all to celebrate: it will excite a thirst for knowledge-and to promote it for all the people. My earliest predecessor, George Washington, in a letter to the officers of the American Philosophical Society, founded in Philadelphia by Franklin, wrote these words: "If I have a wish ungratified, it is that the arts and sciences may continue to flourish with increasing lustre." It was also Washington who said, in his Farewell Address: "Promote, then, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it should be enlightened." So it pleases me a great deal tonight to come here to perform the role of dedicator in this building of knowledge which is the inheritor of all that has gone before. Here, for all to see and for all to absorb, will be exhibited the pageant of history of a youthful nation that is today as it was when Jefferson described it: "In the full tide of successful experiment." I would hope that there will come to this building the children of the Nation. For here is recorded, as William Faulkner expressed it, the agony and the sweat of the human spirit, the victory of the freedom and the genius of our country. Here, young children see, with their own eyes, yes, even touch with their own hands, the ripe fruit of America's historical harvest. Whitney's cotton gin, Singer's sewing machine, McCormick's reaper, Edison's phonograph, Bell's telephone-they are all here, a part of this treasure-house of our inheritance. The more we understand the meaning of the past, the more we appreciate the winning of the future. I hope that every schoolchild who visits this Capital, every foreign visitor who comes to this First City, and every doubter who hesitates before the onrush of tomorrow will, some way, spend some time in this great museum. In truth, this new museum could become an open window through which could look the children of Asia and Western Europe and South America and the Soviet Union. What greater thrust toward peace is there than the invitation to young people of the world, particularly those behind the Iron Curtain, to come visit us and to see this museum of history? Why not open our historical doors and let the visitors see what kind of people we really are-and what sort of people we really come from? They would instantly realize that we were not always the affluent nation and the powerful nation and the fortunate nation. From the exhibits in this museum they would learn that the demagogues' dingy slogans around the world have no real basis in fact. Our ancestors moved across the prairies, working to build something where nothing existed before. Yes, this museum would show to the skeptics and the doubters that what we have today was wrenched out of the earth and the sweat of pioneers who, in the face of a thousand disappointments, refused to ever abandon the American dream. We would show the visitors from the newly emerging nations that their labors are not in vain-for the future belongs to those who work for it. Let them go back to their home secure in the knowledge that from coarse and barren beginnings come the fulfillments of hope. They will have seen the evidence here. 217 [ I4I] Jan. 22 Public Papers of the Presidents If this museum did nothing more than illuminate our heritage so that others could see a little better our legacy, however so small the glimpse, it would fulfill a most noble purpose. I am so glad to be here with you tonight. I am always glad to be where America is. NOTE: The President spoke at the Museum of History and Technology building in Washington at 9 p.m. In his opening words he referred to Leonard Carmichael, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, and Chief Justice of the United States Earl Warren, Chancellor. I42 Remarks Upon Signing Bill Concerning the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. January 23, I964 Members of the Kennedy family, Members of the Congress, ladies and gentlemen: It gives me great pleasure to approve this bill which renames the National Cultural Center the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and authorizes Federal participation in its financing. President Kennedy was actively concerned in the progress of the plans for this project. He was, himself, a man of a very inquiring mind, a distinguished historian, a master of language, and a lover of excellence wherever it appeared. He delighted not only in the classic forms through which our civilization has found expression, but also in the popular arts of today, with their variety, their humor, and the capacity to touch the lives of all of our people. He and Mrs. Kennedy often talked to me about this Center, and I participated in many meetings with them concerning it. They approved the design of the building. The President expressed the hope that he might see it completed during his term of office. It is, therefore, I think, entirely fitting that the Center should be named in his memory, and should be dedicated anew to the great purposes for which it was originally conceived. By this bill, Federal funds are provided to match money donated by private sources. The Center will become a fine example of cooperation between citizens and their gov ernment. Thousands of Americans acting as individuals, as members of corporations or labor unions, or as trustees of foundations, at the President's request and at the request of many others, have already made substantial contributions. Foreign governments have also shared the cost. I am told that the Board of Trustees will continue their fundraising efforts and that they hope to start construction this year so that the Center may be completed late in i966 or early in i967. The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is not simply a Washington building. It is a national institution. The vitality and the well-being of the people is closely related to their capacity to always produce a high level of art and to enjoy it, and to appreciate it. So in signing this act, I am aware of its far-ranging consequences. I am confident we have chosen well that the institution now given the breath of life will have a long and distinguished future. All those who worked in this cause can now know that they are not only honoring the memory of a very great man, but they are enriching our whole American life. Personally, I would like to express my own deep gratitude for the promptness with which the Congress acted on this matter. It gives me great satisfaction to sign this bill this morning. 2i8 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Jan. 23 [i43] Now if I may have your attention, I am going to ask the very able junior Senator from Massachusetts to make a brief response. NOTE: The signing ceremony was held in the Cabinet Room at the White House at IO a.m. Senator Edward M. Kennedy, on behalf of Mrs. John F. I43 The President's News Conferei January 23, i964 THE PRESIDENT. [I.] I want to take this opportunity to restate our position on Panama and the Canal Zone. No purpose is served by rehashing either recent or ancient events. There have been excesses and errors on the part of both Americans and Panamanians. Earlier this month, actions of imprudent students from both countries played into the hands of agitators seeking to divide us. What followed was a needless and tragic loss of life on both sides.' Our own forces were confronted with sniper fire and mob attack. Their role was one of resisting aggression and not committing it. At all times they remained inside the Canal Zone and they took only those defensive actions required to maintain law and order and to protect lives and property and the Canal itself. Our obligation to safeguard the Canal against riots and vandals and sabotage and other interference rests on the precepts of international law, the requirements of international commerce, and the needs of free world security. These obligations cannot be abandoned. But the security of the Panama Canal is not inconsistent with the interests of the Repub' In defiance of an order of the Governor of Panama to eliminate the flying of flags at schools, American students on January 7 hoisted their own flag at Balboa High School. Two days later Panamanian students attempted to display their flag and disorder followed. On January io Panama broke diplomatic relations with the United States. (See also Items 95, 104, II4. Kennedy and other members of the family, thanked the President and the Members of Congress for "making this day possible," adding that the Cultural Center was "something extremely close to the President's heart and to Jackie's heart as well." The bill (S.J. Res. I36) as enacted is Public Law 88-260 (78 Stat. 4). lic of Panama. Both of these objectives can and should be assured by the actions and the agreement of Panama and the United States. This Government has long recognized that our operation of the Canal across Panama poses special problems for both countries. It is necessary, therefore, that our relations be given constant attention. Over the past few years we have taken a number of actions to remove inequities and irritants. We recognize that there are things to be done and we are prepared to talk about the ways and means of doing them. But violence is never justified and is never a basis for talks. Consequently, the first item of business has been the restoration of public order. The Inter-American Peace Committee, which I met this morning, deserves the thanks of us all, not only for helping to restore order, but for its good offices.2 For the future, we have stated our willingness to engage without limitation or delay in a full and frank review and reconsideration of all issues between our two countries. We have set no preconditions to the resumption of peaceful discussions. We are 2 The Inter-American Peace Committee of the Organization of American States, composed of Argentina, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, the United States (in connection with this matter the OAS Council elected Chile to serve in place of the United States), and Venezuela, was called upon jointly by the two countries to study the U.S.Panamanian dispute and to recommend measures for its settlement. 33-171-6i5 — 20 219 [I43] Jan. 23 Public Papers of the Presidents bound by no preconceptions of what they will produce. And we hope that Panama can take the same approach. In the meantime, we expect neither country to either foster or yield to any kind of pressure with respect to such discussions. We are prepared, 30 days after relations are restored, to sit in conference with Panamanian officials to seek concrete solutions to all problems dividing our countries. Each government will be free to raise any issue and to take any position. And our Government will consider all practical solutions to practical problems that are offered in good faith. Certainly solutions can be found which are compatible with the dignity and the security of both countries, as well as the needs of world commerce. And certainly Panama and the United States can remain, as they should remain, good friends and good neighbors. [2.] Q. Mr. President, before you go, I wonder if you could entertain another question or so. For example, how do you think things are going up on the Hill? THE PRESIDENT. Well, we signed the cultural bill this morning. We finished up the appropriation bill before we went home Christmas. We completed the education bills that were then in conference, and signed them. We had two big items that are high on the agenda; the civil rights bill. We have the feeling and the belief of the leadership that we will have that bill before the House early in the month and that we will have final action on it before they take a holiday for Lincoln's Birthday. On the tax bill, Senator Byrd has called me within the hour and told me that they reversed the decision earlier made and today they took the language out, all repeal language, dealing with excises and restored $450 million in the bill by a 9 to 8 vote and then reported the bill to the Senate by a vote of 12 to 5. [3.] You are also writing some other stories, I think, about an insurance policy that was written on my life some 7 years ago, and I am still here. The company in which Mrs. Johnson and my daughters have a majority interest, along with some other stockholders, were somewhat concerned when I had a heart attack in I955, and in I957 they purchased insurance on my life made payable to the company. And the insurance premiums were never included as a business expense, but they thought that was good business practice in case something happened to me, so Mrs. Johnson and the children wouldn't have to sell their stock on the open market and lose control of the company. That insurance was purchased here in Washington, and on a portion of the premiums paid, Mr. Don Reynolds got a small commission. Mr. George Sampson, the general agent for the Manhattan Insurance Company, handled it and we have paid some $78,000 in premiums up to date and there is another $II,8oo due next month which the company will probably pay to take care of that insurance. [4.] There is a question also which has been raised about a gift of a stereo set that an employee of mine made to me and Mrs. Johnson. That happened some 2 years later, some 5 years ago. The Baker family gave us a stereo set. We used it for a period, and we had exchanged gifts before. He was an employee of the public and had no business pending before me and was asking for nothing, and so far as I knew expected nothing in return any more than I did when I had presented him with gifts. I think that is about all I know that is 220 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-i964 jan- 23 [1441 going on on the Hill, but I hope that covers it rather fully. That is all I have to say about it and all I know about it. Merriman Smith, United Press International: Thank you, sir. NOTE: The text of this conference was originally issued in the form of a White House press release. It was later made public in the news conference series and was designated "News Conference No. 10 (Out of Sequence)." The conference was held in the Fish Room at the White House at 5 p.m. on Thursday, January 23, x964. Subsequent news conferences in this volume carry the sequential numbers as they appear in the official transcript. Thus, the news conference of January 25 (Item 150), actually the fifth in the series, retains the original designation "President Lyndon B. Johnson's News Conference No. 4." I44 Remarks at the Swearing In of Joseph W. Barr as Member, Board of Directors, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. January 23, I964 Mrs. Barr, members of the family, friends, ladies and gentlemen: I remember one of President Roosevelt's early fireside chats when he said one evening, "You know, I have learned a lot about banking in the past few weeks." Well, I have learned a lot about a lot of things in the past few weeks, but I didn't have to learn much about banking. Most of us learned an awful lot about banking in the early thirties. In the years between '3i and '33, more than 7,700 banks with $6 billion in deposits closed and failed. This was a hard lesson for the American people, particularly those who went to their banks to draw out their savings and were told that there was nothing there. But we learned our lesson well. The Congress moved to protect depositors with the Glass-Steagall Act of I933, establishing the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Some have said that the late great Senator from Michigan, Arthur Vandenberg, really contributed a great deal to the passage of this act. I wasn't in the Congress at the time, but there is enough credit to go around for everybody, because I think it is one of the finest pieces of legislation that the Democrats and Republicans, even if they did work together, ever passed. Since it was passed, we hardly ever hear about a bank failing at all. The FDIC protects deposits and protects the $I50 billion money supply in our commercial banks. And now we are sending Joe Barr over to the FDIC with specific instructions to keep the experiences of the thirties in mind. He has his bank regulatory chores to perform, but if I see that he is not putting in at least I4 hours a day, I am going to load him up with some more work. Joe has a lot of work in him and he has broad experience in business and in the Congress and in the Treasury. This could be off the record, there may be too many here to know it, but anyway, Joe is going to get a $io a week increase in pay, and I intend to see that he earns it. In i958 I was making a speech for a Senator friend of mine, a candidate for the Senate, out in Indiana. Just as I went to the podium a very young, attractive man said to me, "Don't forget that I am a candidate for Congress from this district, and mention my name, Joe Barr." So I talked about the glories of the Democratic Party and the necessity of their sending a Democratic Senator to the Senate. Then I recalled what this young, attractive fellow had said to me just as I went to the 22I [144] Jan. 23 Public Papers of the Presidents podium, and I said, "And I have one other favor to ask of you. There is a young, progressive, attractive, well-educated fellow who is running for Congress," and I couldn't think of his name. "I want to tell you people that he is one of the finest candidates I have ever observed," and I still couldn't think of his name. "And I believe if you send him to Congress he will make one of the ablest Congressmen any District ever had," and I still couldn't think of his name. About that time I heard a fellow whisper "Barr, Joe Barr." And I looked around and it was the candidate himself! His qualifications impressed me then even more than his name. He has justified all the very fine impressions that we had of him. I know that Mrs. Barr is entitled to more than 50 percent of the credit for the fine work that Joe has done, and we are all going to take a great deal of pleasure in sharing with him the responsibilities of this job. Now I am going to ask Henry Fowler to get on back on that Hill and see what happened to that excise tax vote this morning, and see if we can't get that tax bill passed at an early date so that Joe will really have some money in the banks to protect. NOTE: The swearing-in ceremony was held in the Cabinet Roomn at the White House at I2:30 p.m. In the President's closing remarks he referred to Henry H. Fowler, Under Secretary of the Treasury. 145 Statement by the President Announcing the Adoption of the 24th Amendment to the Constitution. January 23, i964 TODAY, as they have always done throughout the long and rewarding history of this country, the people of the United States made known their views. The abolishment of the poll tax as a condition to voting in Federal elections is the forward step of a modern society. It is a verification of people's rights which are rooted so deeply in the mainstream of this Nation's history. The vote today by the South Dakota Legislature, the 38th State to ratify the 24th amendment, meets the congressional requirement of such action by three-fourths of the States. As Majority Leader of the Senate, I personally urged the banishment of bars to voting. This triumph, now, of liberty over restriction is a grateful and proud moment for me. The acceptance of this amendment by the States in so short a time after congressional approval of the resolution introduced and managed by Senator Holland of Florida is gratifying. The tide of a strong national desire to bring about the broadest possible public use of the voting process runs too strong to hold back. In a free land where men move freely and act freely, the right to vote freely must never be obstructed. I congratulate Senator Holland, the other Members of the Congress, and the thousands of State legislators whose active efforts have eliminated an unattractive growth on our national countenance. It is my hope that the enactment of this amendment will encourage more people in every State to use, in greater numbers, the greatest gift for any land of liberty: the right to vote. NOTE: See also Item 171. 222 Lyndon B. Joh 146 Remarks at the Swearing In Assistant to the President for January 24, 1964 Ladies and gentlemen: We are delighted to welcome you here to witness the swearing in of Dr. Hornig. Doctor, we welcome you to this room. It will be the scene of many future meetings for you. We look forward to receiving your advice and counsel and the benefit of your wisdom. You are following an extremely able and very dedicated man, a man upon whom President Kennedy leaned heavily, and who has been a tower of strength to me during his entire period of service. nson, i963-I964 Jan. 24 [I47] of Donald F. Hornig as Special Science and Technology. We hate to see him go; but since he is going we are glad to have his choice succeed him. Thank you very much. NOTE: The President spoke at 4:30 p.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White House. At the same time Dr. Hornig was named Chairman of the Federal Council for Science and Technology. He became Director of the Office of Science and Technology following approval of his nomination by the Senate on January 27. These positions had been held by Dr. Jerome B. Wiesner who after a 3-year leave of absence was returning to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The text of the President's letter to Dr. Wiesner upon his resignation was released by the White House on January 24, I964. 147 Exchange of Messages With Patriarch Athenagoras I. January 24, I964 [ Released January 24, I964. Your Holiness: I want to take the occasion of Mr. Sargent Shriver's visit to extend to you my warmest greetings. I know that Mr. Shriver will find his conversation with you a source of great inspiration. These days following your return from Jerusalem are hopeful ones for all men. Americans of every religion have been deeply impressed by the spirit of brotherhood demonstrated in your historic meetings with Pope Paul. I have also been long acquainted with your personal efforts to promote Christian ideals and principles, especially during your years of devoted service in the United States. May the spirit of peace and brotherhood to which you are making such a momentous contribution be an example for the entire world. Sincerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON Dated January io, i964 ] NOTE: The Patriarch's message, dated January 17, follows: Dear Mr. President: I wish to express my thanks for your beloved and deeply esteemed excellency's letter of the Ioth, which also offered me the opportunity and pleasure of meeting and speaking with Mr. Sargent Shriver. You have indeed a remarkable man at the head of this great organization, the Peace Corps, which is doing wonderful work of real charity in true reflection of the lofty christian ideals and principles, which have always been the beacon and guide of the United States, and its people. The Peace Corps is a legacy to mankind worthy of your regretted predecessor. It was most gratifying and encouraging to ascertain your interest in the meeting between His Holiness Pope Paul VI and myself. I think I can say that we were both equally moved by this meeting and the worldwide approval it received. This shows how deeply rooted is the spirit of brotherhood, an encouraging sign for all who are dedicated to the promotion of morality in the relations among both men and peoples. I was profoundly touched by your mentioning my humble service in the United States. The eighteen 223 [I47] Jan. 24 Public Papers of the Presidents years I spent in this God blessed country will always remain unforgettable to me. May the Almighty inspire you in your duties toward the country and the whole of mankind. God bless you, your gracious family and the wonderful people of the United States. Yours sincerely, PATRIARCH ATHENAGORAS I The President's message was delivered in person on January II by Sargent Shriver, Director of the Peace Corps. Mr. Shriver, on a tour of the Middle East, met with the Patriarch at his headquarters in Istanbul. 148 Statement by the President Following Senate Committee Action on the Tax Bill. January 24, i964 I WANT to commend the members of the Senate Finance Committee who, under the impartial chairmanship of Senator Harry Byrd, have acted with vigor and bipartisan dispatch in approving the single most important domestic economic measure to come before the United States Congress in the last I5 years-the tax bill. It is a good billone designed to keep this Nation moving toward ever higher levels of prosperity for all of our citizens. When the proposed bill is passed by the Senate, it would appear that differences between it and the House bill can be readily resolved in conference. The Senate Finance Committee has demonstrated the ability of the Congress to respond clearly and promptly to pressing national needs. I am confident that the entire Senate will now move with equal dispatch to enact the tax bill. Each day's delay in the passage of this bill withholds from our economic bloodstream $30 million that could be pumped into the economy daily by lowering with holding rates from i8 percent to I4 percent. Each day's delay produces business uncertainty and holds off business investment decisions that would create new jobs. I would hope that such amendments as those relating to the field of education tax credits and deductions and excise taxes that go beyond the scope of the House and Senate committee versions of the bill can be deferred until they can be given further study. There are many problems ahead. There is a crying need to eliminate poverty, reduce unemployment, improve education, and to further the goal of civil rights. No single piece of legislation can help as much in solving those problems as the tax bill. We need it urgently. We need it now. The Nation is looking to the Congress for rapid final passage. NOTE: An act to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 to reduce individual and corporate income taxes was approved on February 26, I964. For the President's remarks upon signing the act, see Item 197. I49 Remarks to a Group of Italian Journalists. January 25, i964 Ladies and gentlemen: I particularly appreciate the remarks of the distinguished Ambassador who, along with his lovely lady, is held in such high esteem in my country. We have an old saying that a man's judgment on any given question is no better than the information he has on that question. So I feel that we in America are very 224 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 Jan. 25 [ I49] fortunate that you should be interested enough in us and in our way of life, in our hemisphere, in our ideals and our programs that you would want to come here and mingle with us and take with you the information about America, because if that is good, why then your judgments can be good. If the information is not good, then we will have to improve it. You follow a very long line of distinguished Italians who have come to this country since its founding. In fact, only io days ago we had one of the most pleasant state visits that I have ever been involved in when your distinguished President and his First Lady were here. We enjoyed discussing the problems of the free world with your President and your Foreign Minister. They brought home to all of us here the warm understanding and the close relationship which exists between Italy and the United States. I therefore am delighted to welcome you as citizens of Italy, as close allies of the United States, as old and dependable friends. Very frankly, I have a glowing feeling for your country, for your homeland. One of the happiest memories of my life is the brief-unfortunately too brief-visit that I had in your land. I do not believe that any human being who is sensitive can fail to be moved by the glory of eternal Rome or the warmth of friendly Naples. I shall never forget my car being stopped time and time again for good, genuine, sincere people to tell us how they wanted to get along with the United States; how they appreciated our working together; about some of their relatives who had already come here. Incidentally, the first man I appointed to my staff when I became President was Jack Valenti whose grandfather came from Italy and who, incidentally-I hate to let you get puffed up-is about the best fel low with me. He gets up with me every morning. He stays up with me until I go to bed at night, around midnight, and he is the only one who can really take it. The rest of these fellows are sissies. Now I am told by the Ambassador that all of you in one way or another are connected with outstanding journalistic enterprises-as managers, as reporters, as writers, as financial supporters. If the Italian scene is anything like the American scene-and somehow or other I feel or have the impression that it is-you are connected with one of the most important and one of the most essential institutions in a democratic society. The fourth estate wields tremendous power. In fact, sometimes we have the impression that government only provides the background for the operation of the press; that we are just silent witnesses. As great events occur, you produce hundreds of thousands of words and, despite great periodic cries from the press, the fact is that no one really manages the press. It is you gentlemen of the press who decide which words and which events reach the eyes and the ears of millions of readers and listeners. Of course, in your profession, there are people of all kinds. Some of them are witty, some of them are serious, some dispense news, others advise. Many a time though a reporter has come to me in search of a story and he has ended up telling me what I ought to do. Of course, we do have a paparazzi constantly searching for new shots and angles, and usually they find both easily because they have been with us a long time. I admit that this is a vital contribution to the thinking of a democratic nation. We are glad that all of you came here. You are among friends. I hope that when you leave that you will feel that you have seen your friends. 225 [I49] Jan. 25 Public Papers of the Presidents I am pleased that you came to the White House. I know you will be looking for news and uncovering a variety of interesting items, but I hope all the news you uncover here will be good news. I thank you very much for coming. I enjoyed seeing you. I want to emphasize again the real confidence that we have in the friendship of your people and the association of the last I7 years-the most intimate workings of the alliance together-and I believe that your future is our future, and conversely. If we can just realize that and follow the Golden Rule of "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," we would certainly both come out stronger nations and preserve our freedom. We have so much to be thankful for. Sometimes I think a cynical press just points out the weaknesses and the bad things. People concentrate on the things that they want to correct. And we should do that. We should improve ourselves every day, but we should never go to bed at night that we don't get down on our knees and thank our good Lord for the blessings that are ours, for the standard of living that is ours, for the freedom that is ours, for the opportunity that our children have that children of other nations do not have, and we ought to get up in the morning and dedicate ourselves to the objective that someday all peoples in all places in the world can live with freedom and happiness and prosperity as the people of Italy and the people of the United States do. As I was driving down the streets of Rome, two priests stopped my car. They had 200 or 300 little boys behind them. They said, "We want you to go back to the United States and tell them what we think of them. We like you. Look at that skyline there," and they pointed back to the smoke stacks in 226 the background. They said, "After we were prostrate following the war, all of us together helped build that, and never have the victors and the vanquished worked together as we are working together now to perfect a more perfect union of the world, and if your people will understand and if ours will understand, we just give a little of each other, my, what a glorious world this will be." I was never touched by anything that happened to me more than that. So, I say to you people, we will try to be worthy of your friendship. We will try to be grateful for your cooperation. We will try to work with your nation to settle the minor differences that come between ussettle them at the conference table-and we will try to lead the entire world to the most bountiful future that any civilization has ever known. Thank you so much for coming this morning. [Following a translation of the President's remarks, he resumed speaking.] Before you leave, if Mr. Crespi will come here, I have something I want to talk to him about. First, I am sorry that we did not have more advance notice because I would have liked for you to see some of our most outstanding Congressmen and Senators of Italian extraction whose fathers and grandfathers came here, because we owe to you a great debt for some of our ablest people, particularly people like Senator John Pastore, Peter Rodino, and others, but they could not be here this morning. I will tell them of my meeting with you. Mr. Crespi, I would like for you to pick two men besides yourself. I want to give them a little present that is pretty representative of your group. I asked the Ambassador but he does not want to make all of you mad. Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Jan. 25 [ i5o] Will you interpret for me? This is a picture of the Acting Mayor of Washington welcoming your President to the Blair House. Now pick me another. This is a picture welcoming him at the White House. And this is for you. Now will you pick me three of the girls. I believe I will give the Ambassador this one. You have one of the finest Ambassadors and one of the loveliest ladies of any embassy here in Washington. And tell them I am going to send that one to the Ambassador's wife. [At this point Mario Crespi Morbio, co-owner of the Corriere Della Sera, presented the President with a small bronze facsimile of the first page of the newsI5o The President's News Conferen January 25, i964 THE PRESIDENT. So you know about your weekend plans, I am not going to Camp David. I will be here and I will be working all day. I may go out a time or two on little personal matters, but basically I will be in the office. [I.] I have been working with McNamara some this morning on his presentation to the committees We think we are making some real progress up there getting our authorization measures up in January so they can really get their teeth into these things. All this delay has not been solely attributable to Congress. I have said to these bureau people and agency and department people to get ready. That is why you are going to get your briefing on housing today. We have that scheduled for hearing early in February. People like Senator Russell are really 'Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara's military posture briefing before the Senate and House Armed Services Committees. paper, dated 1870, founded by Mr. Crespi's family. The President then resumed speaking.] It is a great honor to me and I appreciate this beyond words, and I will always treasure it and have thoughts of a fine, aggressive group of friends from Italy who came here this morning. Thank you very much. NOTE: The President spoke at 10:45 a.m. in the Theater at the White House. In his opening remarks he referred to Sergio Fenoaltea, Italy's Ambassador to the United States. Later he referred to Jack Valenti, Special Consultant to the President, U.S. Senator John 0. Pastore of Rhode Island, and U.S. Representative Peter W. Rodino, Jr., of New Jersey. The group, under the leadership of Mr. Crespi, was sponsored by the Corriere Della Sera. leaning over backwards to hold the appropriation and authorization hearings together. The schedule that the chairman of the Appropriations Committee gave out was very good, very orderly, and very well planned.2 We are going to meet it. I have been talking to Mr. McNamara about that, as well as some other matters, this morning. [2.] I have also been talking to Mr. Mann on the Panamanian situation, and we are working very hard on that along the lines of my statement the other day.3 That statement is basically United States policy. It is the same policy we enunciated to the President when we first talked to him, and it is the same policy that applies to all nations. That is the policy of being fair and just and discussing any problem that arises 'Schedule of the House Appropriations Committee, printed in the Congressional Record, January 2I, I964, page 688. 'For the President's statement on Panama, see Item I43. 227 [150] Jan. 25 Public Papers of the Presidents between two countries. We have no precommitments. Either side can bring up anything they want to. We are hoping that we can have relations and, after we do that, then we can try to reason together. [3.] Senator Byrd's group has done an excellent job on the tax bill, and the staff is working overtime.4 It is in line with our hopes. We had hoped that we could get it voted out this week and it has been voted out. Now we will have to get the majority report and the minority report, but I am assured by the leadership that they will take it up and go right on through with it as soon as they do, and we would like to see the tax bill taken up and go to conference before we get out of here, or even come out of conference, before we get out of here on Lincoln's Birthday. That is the schedule for the Senate. We do lose $30 million every day in the difference between the i8 percent withholding and the 14 percent withholding. That much could be going into the economy. It is not going in because we are considering it on the Hill, but it was a very fine vote —2 to 5-and the cooperative attitude of the chairman, although he is not part of the bill, his procedure is to cooperate fully, and he talked to us about the budget. He thought it ought to be under $Ioo billion and, if we did that, he felt they could try to act promptly. I think people think we are trying to do the best we can on it. In the meantime, we are following through on the budget. They have a staff set up in the Budget Bureau which is going to check each commission, department, and agency for the elimination of any possible waste or any unnecessary expenditures. These department heads and these chairmen of commissions are going to be judged on 4 Senate Finance Committee, under the chairmanship of Senator Harry Flood Byrd. 228 their ability to get a dollar's worth of value out of a dollar spent. We will be making further reports. There will be a reduced estimate go to the Congress before too long. It will be minor in dollars, but it will show the atmosphere and the general feeling. [4.] We are very happy about the progress being made in civil rights. I have said to the leadership that I thought it would be rather unbecoming to go out and talk about Lincoln when we still had the civil rights bill, that Lincoln would be so interested in, locked up in a committee and couldn't act on it. Therefore, I was very hopeful that we would get civil rights out and get it voted on in the House, getting at least half of the job done, so that we could take it up as soon as we finish the tax bill in the Senate. When we take it up, we expect to stay on it until they act upon it. [5.] Considering the fact that we have been here 60 days and we had 5 appropriation bills out of I5 that have been signedand we have them all signed-we have the manpower development, which is retraining, which is very important to us. We have all the education bills signed, which are in the budget already. We have the budget formulated. We have the tax bill out of the committee, and we hope we will get it through by the IIth. We have civil rights ready to come out and we hope we will have it through by the IIth. I don't think the Congress should be charged with delaying it. They have been doing a pretty good job, including the foreign aid bill, despite the fight on it, even if we did have to come back Christmas. I mentioned the education bills. We had the agriculture appropriation dealing with the laboratories, and all of them have been solved. So we are very happy about it. We have hopes of getting medicare out. They have finished the hearings and I am Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-I964 Jan.25 [150] going to talk to the chairman of the committee at the appropriate time and see what the problems are there, and I will express my hopes. [6.] On foreign aid, that will be one of our later matters to go up this year. We got $3 billion. We asked for $3 billion 4 next year. We said to the leaders of the Congress beforehand that we are not going to put anything in here just for padding and cushioning. We are going to try to ask for in this budget what we really need. We need a minimum of a billion dollars for military assistance for Viet-Nam, Korea, and these other places. We just need that minimum. We could ask for $i.8 billion and hope to get a bill, but we are going to ask for $i billion. We made our estimates realistic. We asked for $3.4 billion, although they just gave us $3 billion, and we are going to try to justify it, but that will be up to Congress to determine in their wisdom. [7.] We have not received a report from the committee that I appointed.5 It has been delayed, and it is unfortunate. I have Mr. Black on it. I have a great deal of respect for him. Also Mr. Shriver who has been out of the country. Mr. Mann has been deeply involved in the Panamanian situation. First he was involved with Bolivia and then Panama, as well as some of these other things in the State Department. All those are coming along all right though, and we hope sometime during this coming week, if you all just don't jump the gun on me and have me having a closed mind on this and having already decided it, with each one of your leaks coming out with 6 The Interdepartmental Committee to Review Programs of Foreign Economic and Military Assistance, appointed by the President on December 26, I963, under the chairmanship of George W. Ball, Under Secretary of State. (See Item 69.) saying that this is what the President has done. If you will hold it in abeyance, I am going to hear from the committee. My judgment is that the thing I will do before I even hear from the committee is to ask Mr. Passman to come down, and ask Mr. Ellender to come down, Mr. Morse to come down, and Cooper to come down here, and sit in and hear from them on their constructive programs as to how this committee can be improved.6 I will hear from the committee as to how this can be improved, and I am not going to make a judgment or base decisions on news leaks which might come from someone's cousin in one of these agencies who has to keep his job. Bear in mind we have made no decisions on this at all. We don't know whether military assistance is going over to the Defense Department or whether it is going to stay in the bill. We don't know how the Alliance for Progress will be considered. Senator Morse is chairman of that subcommittee. On technical assistance, we have some views on what can be done on that. On loans, it could be by banks; it could be by a corporation; it could be just as it is. That decision just plain hasn't been made. I guess the decision has been made as to which one of you is going to cover the convention. So don't write that it is all finished and settled and concluded; or that the President has made his decision, or that he has made a wise one or an unwise one. [8.] I think that is all I have to say to you except the real news of the morning is that we are going to put George Reedy 7 out in this ring-the bull fight-where all 6 Representative Otto E. Passman of Louisiana, Senator Allen J. Ellender of Louisiana, Senator Wayne Morse of Oregon, and Senator John Sherman Cooper of Kentucky, representing appropriations and foreign affairs committees. ' Special Assistant to the President. 229 [I5o] Jan. 25 Public Papers of the Presidents of you can throw these daggers at him and let him give you the briefing. He has all of the news and reports, but I wanted to have the privilege of announcing to you that Pierre and Andy 8 have gotten George away from his typewriter over there. He is going to go over some of the things he has for you over the weekend. Don't run out of here if you have any questions you want to ask. Ask them. I will answer them. This is not a quicky news conference. I don't know what you call a formal one. I guess I ought to wear a white tie. I came to work this morning and I didn't think it was formal. I just thought I was supposed to be here, and if you are all here, I will give you anything I know at any time. Some of you, I think, feel that I don't see enough of you individually. I will be glad to do that. I have seen 30 or 40 reporters who have asked to come in on special things that they wanted to do. Some of them wanted to write about Cousin Oriole.9 Some of them wanted to write about what I think about my wife. Some of them want to tell their editor that they saw me and here is what they think will happen in the wild blue yonder. I try to see all of them I can with my schedule, and I am very happy with them. I never enjoy anything more than polite, courteous, fair, judicious reporters, and I think all of you qualify. But George will be giving you a good deal of stuff before your housing briefing on the housing message. I am through, and if there are any questions you want to ask, I will be glad to try to answer them. 8 Pierre Salinger, Press Secretary to the President, and Andrew T. Hatcher, Associate Press Secretary. Mrs. Oriole Bailey, a distant cousin of the President. [9.] Q. Mr. President, could you tell us generally how you feel about the Bobby Baker case and the way it is developing, whether it raised any serious question of ethics in Government? THE PRESIDENT. I think that is a matter the Senate is working on, and I told you the other day about the two matters that had created some interest among you. I spoke fully on them and said what I had to say. Q. I am not talking about those matters. I mean in a more general sense. THE PRESIDENT. I understand, and I have covered your question as thoroughly as I know how. Q. Mr. President, do you have any comment on the Republican criticism of the stereo set? THE PRESIDENT. No. I have learned to expect Republican criticism, and I have endured it for about 32 years. I get amused by it once in a while, but I don't want to change it because I think that is kind of a hallmark of their party. You get accustomed to expecting it. I am a little amused when you talk about the stereo and the miniature television. I don't know what the difference is, but I guess there is some difference. [Io.] Q. Mr. President, if we can go to this "blue yonder," there seems to be a wide divergence of views on the question of the multilateral force. THE PRESIDENT. On the question of what? Q. On the multilateral force. Q. The Soviet Union says that this is in contradiction to the pledge for nondissemination of nuclear weapons. Thanks to your efforts, and thanks to the efforts of Mr. Khrushchev, the atmosphere seems to be pretty good. Do you think there can be a solution or compromise on this particular point? THE PRESIDENT. We are hoping, praying, 230 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 Jan. 25 [150] and working very hard to find some solutions to all of our differences. Our viewpoint is that we are consistent in our position. Our general position is that we want to do anything that responsible men of conviction and good will can do to preserve peace. Mr. Foster spent some hours with me before he left.'0 We thought we put forth an affirmative program and we welcome anyone who wants to join us. [Ii.] Q. What do you think about the French intention to recognize Red China? THE PRESIDENT. The Government has expressed its viewpoint to the Government of France. The Government of France is responsible for its foreign policy. We gave them our views and the general effect it would have on the alliance and on the free world, and it is a matter for them to decide. [i2.] Q. Mr. President, Senator Goldwater has asked for a Senate investigation of his claim that the ICBM's are not dependable. As the former chairman of the preparedness subcommittee, would you see anything to be gained by such an inquiry? THE PRESIDENT. That is a matter entirely for the Senate. I think the Senators who are responsible for investigations in that field, such as Senator Russell and Senator Stennis, are men of good judgment, and if there is anything that they have not investigated, I would be surprised, because they are pretty knowledgeable in it. It is a matter for them to decide. [13.] Q. Mr. President, have you sent any special message to the British Government about the sale of buses to Cuba? THE PRESIDENT. The Secretary of State has spoken on that subject. I think he has 0 William C. Foster, head of the U.S. delegation to the Geneva Disarmament Conference. For the President's message to the Conference and his radio and television remarks on the reopening of the Conference, see Items i29 and I31. made the position of our Government very clear."' [I4.] Q. Mr. President, the InterAmerican Peace Commission said today it was working on a new agreement or a new plan between the U.S. and Panama toward resolving this problem. Could you shed any light on this new plan we are talking about? THE PRESIDENT. Do you think that would be desirable before we agreed? Q. Maybe you can give us a little indication of which way we are going. THE PRESIDENT. I think we hope, out of all of these conferences, that the Peace Commission has rendered very outstanding service, and there will be a meeting of the minds as to our position and we hope that they agree. There is no problem that exists between two persons or between two peoples or between two countries that should not be reasoned out if there is a difference of opinion. We are willing to do that. The question is the procedures we employ, and they are working very diligently on them. Within the hour I have spent a good deal of time talking about that. I had a very fine meeting with the Peace Commission. I salute them for their fine work, and I am positive that the Panamanians will want to give them their views, and I am hopeful that after both views are carefully considered they can come up with a solution that is satisfactory to both of us. 'In an anniversary dinner speech on January 22 at Barnard College, New York City, Secretary Rusk stated that "we cannot accept the contention that trade with Cuba is comparable to ordinary trade with any Communist country.... Those countries which for commercial reasons supply Cuba, especially with goods critical to the Cuban economy, are prejudicing the efforts of the countries of this hemisphere to reduce the threat from Cuba." (State Department Bulletin, vol. 50, p. I91.) 23I [i5o] Jan. 25 Public Papers of the Presidents Q. You had this meeting this morning with the Peace Commission? THE PRESIDENT. I would not say a meeting. I would say a conference. Q. With the Commission this morning? THE PRESIDENT. No, yesterday; but I talked a good deal this morning about the results of their work, what they are doing, and what our position is, with Mr. Mann. Q. Are you more encouraged today, say, than you were a week ago? THE PRESIDENT. I don't have that thermometer with me. I'll have to take a blood test next week. But I think agreement can be reached, and I think men on both sides, men of good will, will try hard. Nearly everyone in the world would rather talk than fight. [15.] Q. Mr. President, have we received any expressions of concern from Asian countries about the French plan to recognize China? THE PRESIDENT. I think there is a good deal of concern throughout the world about the action of the French Government. I told you about our concern. The Government has made it clear that we have views on it, but this is a matter for the French Government. [At this point the President spoke briefly off the record.] [i6.] Q. Mr. President, are you optimistic about the outcomeTHE PRESIDENT. Putting women in Government-the answer is yes. You see, I want to have a report from the Cabinet officers next week, and then I am going to answer your question. I am going to have a report from all of the Cabinet next week, from all of the independent agencies next week, and the State Department, and you are going to find more attractive, capable women working for this Government than you ever saw before. Now, go ahead with your question, Hazel.12 [17.] Q. I wanted to ask if you were optimistic about the Attorney General's visit to Malaysia. THE PRESIDENT. I have wired the Attorney General commending him for his efforts. I told him I looked forward with great anticipation to receiving the full report on his return. The Attorney General has worked very hard, undertaking a very delicate mission. He has handled himself very well, and I want to get the details from him. [I8.] Q. Mr. President, Republicans have said that the tax cut may add too much to the economy and may possibly lead to a recession in i965. How about that? THE PRESIDENT. My viewpoint on that is in the Economic Message. [At this point the President again spoke off the record.] [ I9.] Q. Do you agree with Wright PatmanTHE PRESIDENT. I have not discussed Mr. Patman's ideas with him or anyone else. [20.] If any of you have any other questions, Mr. Reedy can answer them. This is a formal press conference. If there isn't an element of the press here that is represented, I want them represented here. Incidentally, I will see you next week. There is nothing going on here that we want to keep secret, except some things which may fall within the national interest which must be kept secret. We are very anxious to help you do your job, with objectivity, and as enthusiastically as I hope you all want me to do mine. Q. Are you going to have the press conference in this office or the State Department? THE PRESIDENT. I don't know where we will have it. I think it is good enough to 12 Hazel Markel, National Broadcasting Company. 232 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-I964 Jan. 27 [I52] say I am going to have one. Q. Will it be on Saturday, Mr. President? Reporter: Thank you very much, Mr. President. NOTE: President Johnson's fourth news conference was held in his office at the White House at I2:32 p.m. on Saturday, January 25, I964. With respect to the numbering of the President's news conferences see note at end of Item 143. 15i Letter to the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission on Employee-Management Relations. January 25, i964 Dear Mr. Chairman: I have reviewed with interest your report on the status of the employee-management cooperation program in the Federal service. Cooperation between Federal managers and employee organizations is a source of strength in the civil service. We must rely upon the creative energies of employees to help insure that personnel practices and working conditions in Government are the best that can be devised. I believe the progress made thus far in setting up an orderly system of relationships is most encouraging. It is understandable that there will be difficult questions to be worked out and I am confident all concerned will seek fair and reasonable solution of these problems within the basic framework of Executive Order i0988. This program is a great step forward. It is important that it continue to be put into effect in accordance with its intended purposes. We must all work together to achieve the full potential it affords for improvements in the public service. Please continue to keep me advised. Sincerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON [Honorable John W. Macy, Jr., Chairman, United States Civil Service Commission, Washington, D.C.] NOTE: Mr. Macy's report, in the form of a letter dated January I7 (3 pp. mimeographed), was released with the President's letter. The report stated that the task of setting up new relationships between Federal managers and employee organizations had not been easy for either group. "Much has been done and, on the whole, done well. There have been difficulties and some complaints. But in the main, the initial work of establishing units of representation, according recognition, training management personnel, and beginning negotiation of agreements has been completed successfully.... On the basis of this experience, I find no reason to recommend any changes at this time." The report added that employee organizations had been recognized and were dealing with management in about one-half of the Federal installations throughout the country. Executive Order i0988 was approved January I7, i962 (3 CFR, i959-i963 Comp., p. 52I). I52 Special Message to the Congress on Housing and Community Development. January 27, i964 To the Congress of the United States: Our nation stands today at the threshold of the greatest period of growth in its history. By 1970, we shall have to build at least two million new homes a year to keep up with the growth of our population. We will need many new classrooms, uncounted miles of new streets and utility lines, and an unprecedented volume of water and sewerage facilities. We will need stores and churches and libraries, distribution systems for goods, transportation systems for people and communication systems for ideas. Above all, we will need more land, new 233 [1I52] Jan. 27 Public Papers of the Presidents housing and orderly community development. For most of this population growth will be concentrated in the fringe areas around existing metropolitan communities. I. HOUSING Fortunately, the old pressures on our housing supply arising from depression and warcaused shortages have largely been overcome. But new pressures will develop as the number of new families rises rapidly in the late sixties. And great numbers of our families have yet to secure the true goal of every parent: not merely housing but adequate housing. Now is the time to direct the productive capacity of our home-building industry to the great needs of the neglected segments of our population-this is necessary in its own right and vital to the continued strength of the industry. Satisfaction with the,600oo,ooo new housing starts in I963 cannot obscure the fact that too many minorities, too many families of low income, too many elderly, too many rural families, and too many military families have not shared in the housing improvement which those units represent. Unless we act and act now, the promises of the National Housing Policy will remain empty slogans to large numbers in these groups. A. Housing for minorities Over a year ago, President Kennedy issued an Executive Order designed to assure opportunities for equal access to Federally assisted housing. Already a half million dwelling units are-or soon will be-subject to that order. This Administration will continue and strengthen its efforts to translate the pledge of that order into meaningful practice. The program proposed in this mes sage will broaden the range of housing choices open and realistically available to those whom discrimination has too long restricted. B. Housing for low-income families For over a quarter of a century, the lowrent public housing program has been the primary source of additional decent housing for families of low income. Over I,500 communities-350 of them since I96I-have recognized the need for supplementing private efforts by creating housing authorities to build and operate public housing with Federal assistance. The Ioo,ooo units of Federally-aided public housing authorized by the Housing Act of I96I are now all committed. But still more communities and more families need such housing. To continue this program for those who have no other effective opportunity for better housing, I recommend the authorization of 50,000 additional public housing units for each of the next four years. Most of these units should continue to be new construction to provide a net expansion in the volume of housing available to lowincome families. However, we have at this time a real opportunity to make low-rent housing available more quickly and at lower cost in many cities by acquiring units from the existing stock of private housing and rehabilitating them, where necessary, for the use of low-income families. I recommend amendments to the Public Housing Act to facilitate acquisition of existing housing units within the proposed 50,000 units per year. In other cases, leasing of standard units by local public housing authorities for use in the low-rent program is a feasible and economic approach. I recommend, in addition, that the authority for expanding low-rent housing include authorization for local hous 234 Lyndon B. John ing authorities to lease 40,000 housing units over the next four years. We have much more to learn before the housing needs of our low-income population can be adequately met. The small demonstration program provided for this purpose in the Housing Act of I96I has permitted a number of promising experiments to get underway. I recommend an additional $5 million be authorized to continue this program for at least one more year. During this period, attention can be given to special housing needs, such as those of our physically handicapped, as well as to means of helping low-income persons obtain adequate housing. C. Housing for the elderly I believe it especially unfortunate that many of those who do not have or cannot secure decent housing are elderly. Special attention to the needs of this group at all income levels should continue. The expansion and improvement of public housing programs that I am recommending will be used extensively for lower-income elderly. Federal insurance of loans will continue to encourage the construction of specially designed housing for elderly with adequate incomes. However, the existing authority for funds to finance the program of low-interest direct Federal loans which serves the moderate-income elderly will soon be exhausted. I recommend that the lowinterest direct Federal loan program for the elderly be extended and additional funds appropriated to permit loans of $Ioo million during the coming fiscal year. At present, the successful program of moderate-income housing provided through loan insurance at below-market interest rates enacted in I96I is limited to family tenants. In many cases, admission of single elderly ron, 1963-1964 Jan. 27 [I52] persons to such housing would be highly desirable. I recommend that single elderly persons be made eligible for housing financed by Federally insured below-market interest loans. D. Rural Housing The living conditions of our rural families-including the nearly one-third of our elderly who live on farms or in small towns-likewise deserve and need special consideration. -more than a million rural families still live in homes of such poor condition that they actually endanger the health and safety of the occupants. -three million rural families live in homes that need major repairs. -a third of our rural homes do not have complete sanitary facilities. -nearly two-thirds of rural homes are without adequate heating. The rural housing programs of the Department of Agriculture, initiated in I949 and strengthened in I96I and 1962, have made a good start on meeting the problems represented by these statistics, but the 20,000 rural families helped last year represent only a small fraction of the job to be done. Primary reliance on direct Federal loans for this purpose is, however, neither necessary norin the volume required-realistic. I recommend extension of the expiring authorization in Title V of the Housing Act of 1949 to insure loans on rental housing for the rural elderly. Further, in order to accelerate the basic rural housing loan program, I urge that the Congress enact an insured rural housing loan program along the lines of that proposed by the Administration in the first session of this Congress. I further recommend early action on legislation along the lines of S. 98i to assist with 235 [I52] Jan. 27 Public Papers of the Presidents the housing problems of domestic farm laborers-problems which are particularly acute for our 350,000 migrant farm workers. E. Military Family Housing The military man, in keeping with his profession, expects to endure-and frequently does endure-personal hardships during his career. We do not have the right to expect the same from his family. While the Defense Department properly relies primarily upon the private community to supply the major portion of its needs for decent and economical housing, an annual construction program to house the families of military personnel is required in those communities where the severest chronic shortages exist. Accordingly, I have recommended in the Military Construction program authorizations and appropriations for I2,500 additional units for fiscal i965 to meet the most critical needs. F. Improvements in other housing programs Apart from the housing needs of the special groups already discussed, the partnership between private industry and Government-exemplified by Federal guarantees and insurance of private housing credit-has made possible good housing and widespread home ownership for millions of our citizens. I intend to encourage-through legislative proposals, where necessary-even more effective cooperation between government and industry for the joint benefit of homeowners, tenants and the industry itself. To this end, I am proposing a number of modifications in the statutes governing our self-supporting mortgage insurance and marketing programs which will improve their efficiency and usefulness. Among these will be the following proposals: (i)-To provide relief in those isolated cases in which, despite the care exercised by builders and the Federal Housing Administration and the Veterans Administration, substantial defects develop in new construction they have approved, I recommend that authority be provided for the FHA and the VA to finance the correction of substantial deficiencies. (2)-To make certain that no legislative barriers exist to discourage or prevent mortgage lenders and the Federal Housing Administration from cooperating to help delinquent mortgagers in deserving cases, I recommend that FHA's claim and forbearance authorities be amended to encourage the temporary withholding of foreclosures against homeowners who default on their mortgages due to circumstances beyond their control. (3)-To expand our concerted effort to substitute private credit for Federal loans, I recommend provision of legislative authority for the pooling of mortgages held by the Federal National Mortgage Association and the Administrator of Veterans Affairs, and the sale of participations in such pools. II. URBAN RENEWAL The Federal program of urban renewal is today our principal instrument for restoring the hope and renewing the vitality of older cities and worn-out neighborhoods. The Federal assistance which provides local leaders and governments with incentives and the tools for revitalizing their communities has proven its worth-in eliminating housing blight; -in contributing to restoration of the economic base of our communities; and -in helping reshape our central areas into effective nerve centers for our cities. The Housing Act of i96i doubled the previous urban renewal authorization to a total of $4 billion. By the middle of this year, 236 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 Jan. 27 [152] all of that increase will have been committed. I recommend that an additional $1.4 billion of urban renewal funds be approved for a two-year period. Despite existing programs assisting families and persons displaced by urban renewal projects, the human cost of relocation remains a serious and difficult problem. The vast majority of those displaced by urban renewal and public housing have relocated in better and standard housing, but some have not. For most, the cost of improved housing has been an unsought burden. For some, the inconvenience of displacement has meant only another slum dwelling and the likelihood of repeating this experience. To assist further those families and persons least able to bear the burden of displacement, I recommend A. That an additional annual subsidy of up to $I20 per unit be available for local public housing authorities, where needed to provide access to such housing for displacees with extremely low incomes. B. That low- and moderate-income families displaced by urban renewal receive twoyear supplemental relocation payments equal to the difference between rentals on standard housing in their communities and 20 percent of their gross incomes. C. That low-income single persons displaced by urban renewal or other public action be made eligible for public housing. Similarly, small businessmen-especially those in leased premises-often incur economic loss and hardship as a result of displacement by urban renewal or public housing which is not offset by current compensation practices and moving expense reimbursements. To provide more adequately for these firms, I recommend authority for a separation payment of up to $2,500 for small establishments. At the time of the I960 census, 7 million nonfarm dwellings were found to be deteriorating, including 2/2 million occupied by their owners. Rehabilitation and preservation of existing housing wherever possible is a key element in the urban renewal process today. Elderly homeowners in urban renewal areas with low, fixed incomes are at a particular disadvantage in trying to meet the increased housing payments required by rehabilitation. To assist them, I recommend a program of Federal insurance and purchase of low-interest loans, with a deferral of amortization of principal, for home rehabilitation by elderly homeowners in urban renewal programs. III. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT The great expansion of our urban areas over the last two decades has too frequently been carried out in a sprawling, spaceconsuming, unplanned and uneconomic way. All levels of government are spending vast sums to accommodate this tremendous urban growth with highways, sewer and water facilities, schools, hospitals and other community facilities. Rural communities and small towns face similar pressures. If the taxpayer's dollar is to be wisely used and our communities are to be desirable places in which to live, we must assure ourselves that future growth takes place in a more orderly fashion. I recommend that the urban planning assistance program and the open space program administered by the Housing and Home Finance Agency be extended. Although the planning requirements of these and various other Federal programssuch as the Federal-aid highway programalso emphasize orderly growth and development, much more can and should be done. The pioneering efforts of progressive and 237 [ 152] Jan. 27 Public Papers of the Presidents imaginative private developers in planning totally new and complete communities indicate some of the exciting possibilities for orderly growth. In the tradition of the long-established partnership between private industry and Government in housing and community development, the Federal Government should encourage and facilitate these new and desirable approaches. Such a partnership can help achieve the orderly accommodation of a significant part of our forthcoming urban growth by means of entirely new communities, complete with all public services, all the industry and commerce needed to provide jobs, and sufficient housing and cultural and recreational facilities for moderate- and low-income families as well as for the well-to-do. To realize such new community development, and to encourage the participation of private initiative on the greatest possible scale, I propose a program of grants and loans to States and local governments for the planning and provision of necessary public facilities and of loan insurance for private developers constructing such facilities. Many existing communities face problems of expansion as well. Even though they may foresee enormous development ahead, they often lack the resources to build sewer and water systems and other facilities with adequate growth capacity. Building in such capacity in advance could result in tremendous savings and prevent costly duplication or premature replacement of inadequate facilities. I, therefore, recommend a program of public facility loans with deferred amortization to enable communities to plan and build ahead of growth. Early acquisition of land for right-of-way and other public improvements is frequently sound public business. Many communities which are prepared to exercise foresight in acquiring land-and to save private 238 owners from uncertainty and hardshiplack the financial capacity to do so. Such advance acquisition-which would assure location of such facilities in accordance with planned development-could also result in substantial savings, inasmuch as the increases in land prices that occur as development proceeds would be avoided. I, therefore, recommend that public facility loans, with deferral of amortization as required, be made available for advance land purchase or option by States and local governmental jurisdictions. To encourage better-planned new development on a neighborhood scale, and to preserve and increase the supply of improved land for homebuilding, I recommend Federal insurance of loans to private developers for acquisition and improvement of land for planned subdivisions. It is essential that all of these programs be based on the existence of effective planning arrangements in the community or region. For planned subdivisions, there should be, in addition, assurance that the neighborhood itself is carefully conceived to maintain its residential integrity and will result in efficient land use. In our great metropolitan areas, and in our rural communities as well, the difficult problems of growth and development require understanding and cooperation at all governmental levels. The Federal Government can assist and encourage, but, in the last analysis, the success or failure of programs of community development depends on those most directly involved. IV. URBAN MASS TRANSPORTATION Efficient transportation systems are essential to our urban communities. Each local system should be tailored to its particular needs-existing and prospective-and the Lyndon B. John. proper mixture of good highways and mass transit facilities should be developed to permit safe, efficient movement of people and goods in our metropolitan centers. A matching grant mass transit program along the lines proposed by the Administration was approved by the Senate last year (S. 6) and reported favorably to the House by its Committee on Banking and Currency (H.R. 388i). I urge early enactment of the Mass Transit program as basic to the development and redevelopment of our Nation's cities. V. TRAINING NEEDS The sound administration of local governments and the success of our federally supported programs of community development depend heavily on the competence of State and local public service staffs-on their ability, their imagination, and, especially, their training. Throughout the range of local functions-from traffic control to tax administration, from recreation to renewaltheir efforts will influence greatly the quality of community living. The substantial Federal investment in local community efforts justifies a deep Federal interest in the quality of local government employees and the expenditure of funds to help attract able people to local public service and help them develop the skills and perspective they need. To this end, I recommend a program of up to $25 million a year in matching grants to States for the establishment of urban public service training and research programs. VI. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT If we are to deal successfully with the complex problems of our urban and suburban son, I963-I964 Jan. 27 [ I52] communities, we need governmental machinery designed for the ig60's, not the I940'S. The Housing and Home Finance Agency, established seventeen years ago primarily to administer housing programs, has seen its responsibilities enlarged progressively by the Congress during the intervening years to include the broader aspects of community development as well. The Agency now administers such major community development programs as urban renewal, urban planning, public facilities planning and loans, open space, and mass transit. These basic changes in the Agency's role and mission are not adequately reflected in the Agency's current organization and status which remain much the same as they were in I947. Action to convert the Housing and Home Finance Agency into an executive department is long overdue. The size and breadth of the Federal programs now administered by the Housing and Home Finance Agency and the significance of those programs clearly merit departmental status. A new Secretary of Housing and Community Development would be in a position both to present effectively the Nation's housing and community development needs in the highest councils of government and to direct, organize, and manage more efficiently the important and closely interrelated housing and community development programs now administered or proposed for the Housing and Home Finance Agency. I recommend that the Congress establish a Department of Housing and Community Development. CONCLUSION The dramatic increase in our Nation's population projected for the coming decades-over 300 million by the year 2000 - 239 [152] Jan. 27 Public Papers of the Presidents and the increasing concentration of our population around urban centers will create increased housing needs and intensified problems of community development which must be anticipated and acted upon immediately. How we respond to these challenges will have a lasting impact on the character of our cities and rural communities. Whether we achieve our goal of a decent home in a decent neighborhood for every American family rests, in large measure, on the actions we take now. The substantive programs I have proposed in this Special Message will speed our solutions to today's problems and the predictable needs of tomorrow. I earnestly urge the Congress to give the attached draft bills the attention they merit. LYNDON JOHNSON LYNDON B. JOHNSON NOTE: Released with the President's message were drafts of: (i) a bill to establish a Department of Housing and Community Development; (2) a bill to authorize the Veterans Administration "to extend aid on account of defects in properties purchased with financing assistance under chapter 37, title 38, U.S. Code"; (3) a bill "relating to sale of participations in pool of Federal National Mortgage Association and Veterans Administration mortgages"; and (4) a bill to help provide adequate housing for low-income families, the elderly, and those subjected to special problems of displacement from their homes by Government action; to promote orderly community development and growth; and to extend and amend laws relating to housing, urban renewal, and community facilities (Housing and Community Development Act of i964). Each bill was accompanied by a section-by-section analysis. The message and related documents are published as House Document 206 (88th Cong., 2d sess.). 153 Toasts of the President and Queen Frederika of Greece. January 27, I964 Your Majesty, Your Royal Highness, Mr. Chief Justice, Senator Russell, Senator Fulbright, ladies and gentlemen: What we are and how we feel today is linked to what happened in a little Greek city 2400 years ago. What was born then in art and ideas and politics has never been surpassed and has seldom been equaled. Everything in the realm of creative thought bears its stamp and its mark. The Western World is the child of Greece and we are its inheritors. The Greek people are proud people with more reason to be than any other nation on earth. They understand freedom, because their ancestors invented it. They appreciate liberty, because their soil has been watered with the centuries old blood of those who died for it. When Mrs. Johnson and I visited Greece last year, we saw this modern Greece and we liked what we saw. There in that ancient land was the mingling of the old and the hopeful, the new and the great. Here in the United States thousands upon thousands of Greeks, who are now Americans, have made this land of ours stronger and wiser. Part of Greek culture is now part of the American tradition and America is better for it. And it is quite appropriate that the courageous King and his beautiful Queen are today's living symbols of the questing Greek conscience; the unquenchable Greek spirit. Yes, the Greeks have a word for it and the word is Frederika, as lovely today as she was that happy afternoon that Mrs. Johnson and I first met her. So, on this delightful occasion in the presence of so many of her friends and our friends and upon the occasion of Her Majesty's visit with us, and Princess Irene, I should like to ask all of you to rise and lift 240 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-I964 Jan. 27 ['54] your glass in a toast to His Majesty the King of Greece. NOTE: The President proposed the toast at a luncheon in the State Dining Room at the White House. Queen Frederika responded as follows: "Mr. President, Mrs. Johnson: "Thank you very much for having given me your hospitality. I shall never forget this day. My stay here in your country has been wonderful from the beginning. I have been deeply touched by the American people and today is the crowning of it all. You have come to our country with your beautiful wife a few months ago and the Greek people have learned to love you. "I think the two of you have brought a new approach to our human problems by being human beings yourselves. You smile, you are kind, you have a good word for everyone. I firmly believe that the leadership of the United States is, just that, to bring humanity to a troubled world. "Mr. President, you told me that today amongst us is a former citizen of Greece who, when you were a little boy, had told you that one day you would be President. Mr. President, I did not know that the Oracle of Delphi also had left my country and come to yours. But, Mr. President, if Amesica's gain should be the loss of Greece, then Greece will be proud that America has now got the Oracle. "Mr. President and Mrs. Johnson, I would like to tell you that we in Greece are very conscious of what your country has done for us. I know that very often you don't always from us smaller nations have the right word of thank you. I know that often you are misunderstood. I know that very often some of us are presumptious to ask for more. But, Mr. President, I would like to tell you that in my country we appreciate what the United States has done for us and we will always say thank you. "And, Mr. President, will you allow me to toast the President and Mrs. Johnson." In his opening words the President referred to Queen Frederika, her daughter Princess Irene, the Chief Justice of the United States, Earl Warren, and U.S. Senators Richard B. Russell of Georgia and J. W. Fulbright of Arkansas. In the third paragraph of the Queen's remarks, she referred to a "former citizen of Greece," John Govatos, restaurant owner of Corpus Christi, Tex., who, with his wife, was present at the luncheon. I54 Letter to Senate and House Committee Chairmen on Various Legislative Proposals Relating to Transportation. January 27, i964 Dear Mr. Chairman: In April i962, President Kennedy sent to the Congress the first comprehensive message on transportation ever delivered by a Chief Executive. Since then, most of the recommendations in the message which required executive action, such as the revision of depreciation guidelines and the accelerated use of commercial travel facilities by Government agencies, have been carried out. Some of the legislative proposals in that message, such as the Federal Aid Highway Act of i962, the repeal of the io percent passenger excise tax, and the amendment of the loss carry forward provisions, have been enacted into law. Other legislative proposals have been introduced but have not yet been enacted. None of the unenacted proposals is more important to the economy of the Nation than those dealing with minimum rates applicable to agricultural and bulk commodities. Under your leadership, the House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce has held extensive hearings on these bills. I hope you will find it possible to report out a bill soon. There has been certain improvement in the economic health of the transportation industry during the past year. Nevertheless, the many basic inequities among the various modes of transportation must be removed, if the travelers and shippers are to have available a wide choice of low cost and high quality transportation services. Our tangled transportation policies must 24I [I54] Jan. 27 Public Papers of the Presidents be reformed. Necessary changes should be directed to the achievement of a fast, safe, and economical transport system. This system must respond to changing private and public demands, at the lowest costs consistent with the public interest. The role of government is to provide, to the greatest extent possible, a framework that encourages constructive competition. Only where this is not possible should other means of assuring inexpensive and efficient transportation be considered. Legislative proposals before your committee would equalize the impact of regulation on various modes of transportation by providing exemption from minimum rate control to the transportation of agricultural and fisheries products and to bulk commodities. Equalization is also sought, in some proposals before your committee, by legislation extending regulation to these commodities in those instances where they are exempt. Either approach to the equalization of competition would be appropriate. In order that any change in the power of the ICC to control rates be accomplished without the introduction of destructive competition and discriminatory practices, I believe we should rely on the antitrust statutes, under normal procedures, with such limited modification as may be necessary because of the nature of the industry. Moreover, in providing for any restrictions on the general exemptions, it would seem desirable to avoid complicated cost formulae. To this end, we should reject the use of standards which, though appearing elsewhere in the Interstate Commerce Act, are difficult to apply, uncertain in effect, and destructive of the main purposes of the legislation. In addition to proposals designed to assure greater freedom for competition, there are before your committee a number of other proposals transmitted last year to improve the operation and essential regulation of the transportation industry. I firmly support the basic principles reflected in these proposals. As a result of its extensive work on these proposals during the last session of Congress, your committee has undoubtedly formed judgments about the order of priority and the most appropriate formulation of these proposals. Please convey to the members of your committee my appreciation for their efforts and their work on these complicated matters during this past session. With warm personal regards. Sincerely, Sincerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON NOTE: This is the text of identical letters addressed to the Honorable Warren G. Magnuson, Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, and to the Honorable Oren Harris, Chairman of the House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. I55 Annual Message to the Congress Transmitting Report on Aeronautics and Space Activities. January 27, 1964 To the Congress of the United States: In accordance with Section 206(b) of the National Aeronautics and Space Act of I958, as amended, I transmit herewith a report for the calendar year I963, on this nation's aeronautics and space activities. The year I963 was a period of constructive development of our increasing space competence. It was also a period of searching evaluation of the national space program-an evaluation which resulted in broad acceptance of the policy of our attain 242 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-I964 Jan. 28 [1 I56] ing and maintaining space leadership, with due regard for our national security. Our space program, in both its civilian and military aspects, is peaceful in purpose and practice. Moreover, it combines such objective with a policy of international cooperation based upon a mutuality of participation and benefits as well as the wide dissemination of knowledge. Space progress is essential if this nation is to lead in technology and in the furthering of world peace. Such progress requires the use of substantial resources, which must be employed efficiently and effectively in order that we obtain the maximum benefits with a minimum of waste. In summary form, the accompanying report depicts the contributions of the various departments and agencies of the Government to the national space program during i963. LYNDON B. JOHNSON NOTE: The report, entitled "Report to the Congress from the President of the United States, United States Aeronautics and Space Activities, 1963," was made available by the National Aeronautics and Space Council (148 pp., processed). It is also printed in House Document 207 (88th Cong., 2d sess.). 156 Remarks on Introducing the Attorney General to the Press Following His Return From Asia and London. January 28, i964 Ladies and gentlemen: The Attorney General has just returned from a very important mission which he carried out for the President and our country. He made a report to the Acting Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense, and the ranking members of the Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees of the Congress. We are of the unanimous opinion that he carried out his assignment constructively and with real achievement. We commend him for his efforts, and I have asked him to come here and make a brief report to you on the results of his mission. I will see you a little later at the Lehman ceremony. NOTE: The President spoke at 9:30 a.m. in the Fish Room at the White House. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy had just returned from a I3-day mission to the Far East where he represented the President in talks with leaders of Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia regarding the dispute over the new Malaysian Federation. He also met with leaders in Japan, Korea, Thailand, and the United Kingdom. The Attorney General told members of the press that Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines had agreed to meet in Bangkok, the first week in February, in order to make an effort to resolve their difficulties. During that period, he added, a ceasefire would take place in that part of the world. The Attorney General stated that the proposed conference was a step forward. "There are obviously great problems still ahead. There are antagonisms, and there is mistrust between the various nations. There are differences of approach and differences on positions. But I think with good will and with genuine effort that the conference has a chance of success." The full text of Mr. Kennedy's remarks is published in the Department of State Bulletin (vol. 50, p. 239). For the "Lehman ceremony" see Item I57. 33-171-65 921 243 I I57] Jan. 28 Public Papers of the Presidents I57 Remarks at the Presentation of the Presidential Medal of Freedom Posthumously to Herbert H. Lehman. January 28, i964 Mr. Secretary, Mrs. Lehman, members of the family, and friends of Herbert Lehman, ladies and gentlemen: In December, one of my first and most rewarding acts was to confer the Presidential Medal of Freedom for distinguished achievements on 33 individuals. The brilliance of that occasion was marred by the absence of two men: John Kennedy, who conceived and planned these new civil honors, and Herbert Lehman, whose death in New York occurred just minutes before his departure to Washington to receive this award from a grateful Nation. Today it is altogether fitting that in special ceremony we present Herbert Lehman's Medal of Freedom to the one person who shared his life and his hopes, his triumphs and his disappointments, who was always with him in sunshine and in sorrow. Edith Lehman was the indispensable companion. When the days were dark or the mornings seemed far away, Edith Lehman was always there. No one knows this better than the friends of Herbert Lehman who are gathered here today. The Nation is diminished when a patriot dies. Senator Lehman was an unusual man. He believed in the worth of the human being. He rejoiced and he agonized in the cause of freedom. He was civilized and calm when all around him were confused. He did not accept the view of the greyminded and the doom-hangers that the corrupted currents of this world would overwhelm us. He believed, as Aristotle had said, that excellence is much labored for by the race of man. He believed in the goodness and the rightness of the individual citizen and in that arena he fought his long fight. What a happy legacy he leaves to his family and to his State and to his Nation, an estate that will always endure, for it consists of love and loyalty for his country. Under Secretary of State George W. Ball: Mr. President, the citation. THE PRESIDENT [reading]. "The President of the United States of America awards this Presidential Medal of Freedom to Herbert H. Lehman, citizen and statesman. He has used wisdom and compassion as the tools of government and he has made politics the highest form of public service. The White House, Washington, D.C." [At this point Mrs. Lehman responded briefly. She thanked the President for the tribute to her husband and said that "the knowledge that the medal was coming to him added a great dead to his last hours of life." The President then resumed speaking.] There is nothing more I can add except this: Senator Lehman was a most unusual man and a most thoughtful person. And when I was hovering between life and death, he made it possible for me to be here today. He got up in the Senate one morning, the first time a Senator had so arisen since I789, and offered a Senate resolution that the Senate pray for my recovery. And it was just at the time when I needed every prayer I could get. And his prayers were answered. Thank you. NOTE: The ceremony was held at ii a.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White House. The President's opening words "Mr. Secretary" referred to George W. Ball, Under Secretary of State. 244 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Jan. 28 [ I58] I58 Remarks to the National Planning Committee of the Machinists Non-Partisan Political League. January 28, 1964 Mr. Hayes, my fellow Americans: I feel at home with you gentlemen and I am glad we are meeting now in this year x964. It is leap year, you know. There are few groups in this Nation who have fought so valiantly as you have for that which is right for this Nation and that which is good for this country. You have made political action an instrument for the Nation's benefit, because what you have urged and what you have sponsored and what you have allied yourself with have inevitably been both those causes which advance the prosperity and the liberties of this country. I am cheered to tell you that at this hour, on this day, in this time the state and the heart of this Nation is good, but your indispensable help is needed to push ahead with the programs and plans which will keep this country pushing ahead, too. The most effective way to that is for this group, with all of its skills and all of its purposes, to get out and give support to the Congressmen and Senators who work in yours and the country's cause. We have done much and we have much undone. This administration is going to be an administration that keeps this country strong. And no single group of people contribute more to the defenses of this Nation in keeping us strong and secure than the Machinists Union. This Nation is going to be solvent, because this administration believes that you can be frugal and thrifty without being reactionary. And we are going to save where we can, so we can spend where we 'need. We are going to have a solvent country. This administration is going to be a compassionate administration. We believe in the Golden Rule of doing unto others as you would have them do unto you. We are going to close a few archaic military bases, and we are going to cut down on some unneeded nuclear production, and we are going to withhold some subsidies and save some storage costs of some of our agricultural bills. We are going to trim the fat, wherever we find it, in order to have money to take care of those who need jobs and who need education and who need a helping hand, the lame and the halt and the needy. And in that cause, we expect your help. We have a tax bill that has been lingering in the Congress for more than i2 months. But thanks to the action of the Senate, we reported that bill, by a vote of I2 to 5 a few days ago, within the first 6o days of this administration. We plan to pass that bill sometime, we hope, within the next week or so-certainly, before Lincoln's Birthdayand have it go to conference and become law at the earliest possible date. That bill alone will give to the consumers of this Nation $8oo million a month that they can put back into the economic bloodstream, by reducing the withholding tax from i8 percent to I4 percent. If you make $200 a week and you reduce your withholding by 4 percent, that is $8 a week and that is something that you can take and use to build the needs of yourself and your family. That measure alone will give to the corporations of this country for investment purposes and for extra capital in the coming year a billion and a half dollars. So, roughly, you can see the economic 245 [I58] Jan. 28 Public Papers of the Presidents stimulus that will come from that measure. We believe that private enterprise, made up of the capitalists, the manager, and the worker, the three participating, all sharing in the fruits of their contributions, that they will make new investments, that they will create new jobs, that they will have the incentive to do so and that we will have a better economic picture. Of course, if we bet wrong and these results do not flow, we all still know how to ask for programs that the Government can sponsor to put people to work and to meet our needs to our citizens. But we are going to give the private sector a chance to operate. We are going to give them a chance to operate fully, before we make any such recommendations. Second, we have a civil rights bill that is pending in the House. We expect to have that bill reported and passed by Lincoln's Birthday. If we get the bills passed, the tax bill in the Senate and the civil rights bill in the House, we will have made great strides in our program. We hope to have the medicare bill that has been heard in the House Committee seriously considered and we should like very much to get action on that bill during this session. So, all of these bills will contribute to a Government that is strong, to an administration that is solvent, to a country that is compassionate. In these goals every nonpartisan machinist, or otherwise, can play an important part. And I want to assure you here and now that my philosophy is that I am proud that I am a free man, first; that I am an American, second; that I am a public servant, third; and, a Democrat, fourthin that order. But in that order means this: we welcome to the fold all enlightened, liberty-loving, prosperity-loving, freedom-loving Republicans and Independents. And if any of you in this room meet that qualification, we welcome you with open arms, because there is going to be a place under our tent for all of you next November. But ask no man whether he is a Democrat or a Republican. Ask him to go and vote Democratic. NOTE: The President spoke in the Cabinet Room at the White House. In his opening words he referred to A. J. Hayes, President of the International Association of Machinists. i59 Letter to Judge Prettyman in Response to Report of the President's Advisory Commission on Narcotic and Drug Abuse. January 28, 1964 Dear Judge Prettyman: I want to express to you-and through you to the other members of the Commission on Narcotic and Drug Abuse-my appreciation for the long and arduous attention you have devoted to one of the Nation's more difficult problems. This Administration shall continue the concern which President Kennedy evidenced over the abuse of narcotics and other drugs, and I have directed the appropriate departments and agencies to review carefully the recommendations of the Commission and submit their comments and views in order that our efforts in this field can be strengthened and improved. Our thanks go to the members of the Commission, and certainly we all look forward to the day when the human suffering and misery occasioned by the abuse of nar 246 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 Jan. 28 [i6i] cotics and other drugs will no longer require our attention. Sincerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON [Honorable E. Barrett Prettyman, Chairman, President's Advisory Commission on Narcotic and Drug Abuse] NOTE: The Commission's recommendations are published in its final report, dated November I963 (Government Printing Office, I23 pp.). The report was released by the White House on January 24, i964, together with a list of I05 consultants and advisers, Federal, State, and local officials, and other experts who were consulted by the Commission in its study of the narcotic and drug abuse problem. See also "Public Papers of the Presidents, John F. Kennedy I963," Item 121. i6o Statement by the President Upon Making Public a Report "Family Breadwinners-Their Special Training Needs." January 28, i964 THE FULL economic implications of unemployment for breadwinners have been masked in recent years by their relatively low unemployment rates. Forgotten are the dependents of these men and women who are the sole support of their families. The report I am issuing today emphasizes the serious adverse effect of unemployment on the dependents-especially the childrenof family breadwinners. The cycle of poverty begins here. If we are to wage a successful war against poverty in the United States, then we must begin by helping all workers with family responsibilities to find a productive place in the American economy. Our success in breaking the cycle of poverty will depend to a great extent on how well we are able to help the Nation's unemployed breadwinners solve their economic problems. Investments in training and other assistance to enable unemployed breadwinners to make adjustments to today's rapidly changing world of work can yield returns in increased tax revenues, lower social welfare costs, and better education, housing, and health care for future generations of Americans. NOTE: The statement is part of a White House release summarizing the report prepared by the Manpower Administration of the Department of Labor (Manpower Research Bulletin Number 5, dated January i964, Government Printing Office, i6 pp.). The report points out that in i962, ii.5 million children under the age of i8 were being raised in families with an annual income of less than $3,000. It emphasizes the special problems of many groups of breadwinners and, in order to meet these problems, calls for an expansion of training and retraining programs; a reassessment of the adequacy of allowances paid to family heads while they are in training; special attention to the welfare of the children of working mothers; and expanded counseling and guidance services for those seeking employment opportunities. i6i Letter to Adlai E. Stevenson Agreeing To Serve as an Honorary Trustee of the Eleanor Roosevelt Memorial Foundation. January 28, i964 [ Released January 28, i964. Dated January 6, i964 ] Dear Governor: Both Mrs. Johnson and I are delighted to accept your invitation to serve as Honorary Trustees of the Eleanor Roosevelt Memorial Foundation. For more than thirty years, Eleanor Roosevelt was an inspiration to us, 247 [I6I] Jan. 28 Public Papers of the Presidents as she was to people all over the world. As President Kennedy said just one month before his tragic death, Eleanor Roosevelt "was a remarkable woman who enjoyed the affection and admiration of the entire world." I want this Foundation to succeed. To keep alive the inspiration of her life and work is the best possible memorial to her memory and a national service. I am particularly pleased that the major emphasis of the Foundation will be in the vast field of human rights, for this is the necessary touchstone of universal brotherhood. In completing the task of building the Eleanor Roosevelt Memorial Foundation, the people of this Nation can now pay tribute both to this gallant woman and to the late President who wanted so much to see this Foundation succeed. Sincerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON [Honorable Adlai E. Stevenson, Chairman, Board of Trustees, Eleanor Roosevelt Memorial Foundation, Empire State Building, New York i, N.Y.] NOTE: Portions of the President's letter were made public in a White House press release of January 28, 1964. The release pointed out that the Foundation, chartered by Congress as a charitable and educational organization concerned with furthering international good will, human welfare, and public health, was conducting a $25 million campaign to further its programs. Current projects would include the launching of a pilot program designed to train Peace Corps veterans for specialized work in the field of human rights and inter-group relations; cancer research; aid to emotionally-disturbed children; and the construction of two new Memorial Wings at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library at Hyde Park. The release lists Mrs. John F. Kennedy and the late President, and President and Mrs. Harry S. Truman as other honorary trustees; Philip M. Klutznick of Chicago, former U.N. Ambassador, as national campaign chairman; Robert S. Benjamin of New York as executive vice chairman; and states that the board of trustees consists of 40 distinguished business, labor, Government, cultural, and human welfare leaders. 162 Statement by the President Following the Launching of the First Satellite by Saturn I. January 29, 1964 THE two-stage Saturn vehicle has just put into orbit the largest payload ever launched by any nation. This is a giant step forward for the United States space effort. We have now proved we have the capability for putting great payloads into space. We have come a long way from the 31 pounds of Explorer I on January 3I, I958 -to the some 37,000 pounds which has just been placed into orbit by Saturn I. We have demonstrated not only enormous boost capability, but we have proved the effectiveness and the practical use of liquid hydrogen as a rocket fuel for space flight. As chairman of the Space Council for 3 years, I know first hand the hard work and creative energy that has gone into this achievement. This successful launching and orbiting can accurately be described as one of the most important space science advances in our short but fruitful space history. On behalf of a grateful and proud Nation, I warmly congratulate the scientists, technicians, managers, and employees of the space team for their contribution to peace and progress. NOTE: Immediately following the successful launching of the first satellite by Saturn I, the President telephoned congratulations to Dr. Robert C. Seamans, Associate Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, at the launching center, Cape Kennedy, Fla. The transcript of his conversation with Dr. Seamans was also released. 248 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-I964 Jan. 30 [i64] i63 Citation Commending Eddie Cantor for Distinguished Service to the Nation. January 29, i964 THE PRESIDENT of the United States of America awards this Commendation to Eddie Cantor for distinguished service to the Nation. During his illustrious career Mr. Cantor has given unstintingly of his time, talent, and energy to humanitarian causes of every description, lightening the personal burdens of the people of the Nation. His efforts have made possible major achievements in the constant struggle against disease and poverty. He has exemplified a spirit of selflessness, courage and service that reflects the highest credit upon himself and his country. He has earned the esteem and admiration of his countrymen and the enduring gratitude of this Republic. LYNDON B. JOHNSON NOTE: On releasing the citation, the White House announced that the President had designated Governor Edmund G. Brown of California as his representative to present to Eddie Cantor a "Certificate of Commendation" for his distinguished service to the Nation during a career that spanned over half a century. The release stated that the Commendation would be presented to Mr. Cantor at his Beverly Hills home at 3 p.m. on January 31. Mr. Cantor was confined to his home and was unable to make the trip to Washington to receive the Certificate of Commendation in person. I64 Remarks Upon Conferring the American Heart Association Award Upon Admiral Rickover. January 30, i964 Admiral Rickover, ladies and gentlemen: This is a most happy occasion for me. It is not often that the President, as Commander in Chief, can exercise his powers so beneficially twice in i week in recognition of just one man. On Saturday, Admiral Rickover will begin one of the shortest retirements on record. He enters retired status, but his countrymen and I have recalled him to his normal duties on Monday morning unless, of course, he already is at his desk on Sunday. For me to bestow upon Admiral Rickover the Heart of the Year Award this week is only to recognize in another way the continuing contribution which he has always made to our national life. Our national security and atomic programs, our educational system, our way of life, have all felt his influence. His mind is like a restless sea; it pounds against the impossible and wears it down to the possible. He never heard the phrase "It can't be done," and because he never heard it, he never believed it. All things are possible when God lets loose a thinker and a doer in this world. In my opinion, Admiral Rickover is that kind of a man. His heart attack in i96i only briefly slowed him down. Almost without breaking stride, he took up where he left off to continue his work, still the tough-minded, hard-working, brilliant man of character. As a matter of fact, it may well be said, after seeing what Admiral Rickover has done recently, that heart attacks are really good for you these days. The inscription on the medallion of the i964 Heart of the Year Award reads: "His faith, courage, and achievement in meeting the personal challenge of heart disease have inspired people everywhere with new hope and the determination to conquer our Nation's leading health enemy." As a member of the Rickover Fan Club, 249 [I64] Jan. 30 Public Papers of the Presidents and also the Heart Club, I am glad to present you this award, Admiral Rickover. NOTE: The ceremony was held at noon in the Cabinet Room at the White House. The text of Admiral Rickover's response was also released. Vice Admiral Hyman G. Rickover was serving as Assistant Chief for Nuclear Propulsion, Bureau of Ships, Department of the Navy, and also as Manager, Naval Reactors, Division of Reactor Development, Atomic Energy Commission. I65 Remarks on the 82d Anniversary of the Birth of Franklin D. Roosevelt. January 30, I964 Ladies and gentlemen: I have called you together this afternoon to join with me in commemorating this day of January 30, i964, as the 82d anniversary of the birth of a man who we were all privileged to work with and work forFranklin Delano Roosevelt. You and I share in common the fact that our experience in this house began during the years that he was the 32d President of the United States. In recent days, the story has been told and retold of my own long and close and cherished association with President Roosevelt. Memories of those associations have flooded my own thoughts on many occasions since last November. I can only be grateful that the intimate hours that I shared with him are proving now to be so valuable to me in shouldering the burden of this awesome and demanding office. The place of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in our history and in the history of the human race grows steadily with time. Few men in history have served freedom so effectively and so nobly as did he, both in our own land and around the world. His liberal compassion towards his fellowman, together with his conservative respect for the institutions of our economy and society, guided this Nation past the shoals of radicalism and reaction. He provided our ship of state with both the ballast to hold a steady and stable course, and the sail to move us forward progressively toward the broader horizons of human hope. What we are as individuals and as nations is inevitably influenced by the sum of our experiences. In both pride and humility, I readily admit that my own course in life has been influenced by none so much as by this great man whom we all knew, whom we all loved, and whom today we all revere in our memories. In recent weeks and months, as I have reviewed our needs at home and our challenges abroad, I have come to believe anew that our times today are even more challenging than the crisis years of the thirties or the forties with which President Roosevelt had to deal. We are not faced with depression. We hope and pray that the world will not be faced with a senseless threat to its peace. We have far better tools and talents for ending human want, but we must be busier than we are at perfecting our use of those tools and those talents. We have far more capacity for keeping peace and making it secure, but we must be more resolute in putting that capacity to use. What we can do as world leaders for freedom depends tomorrow, as it did yesterday, on getting our affairs in order here at home. This we must do and this we are going to do. We must face at home the problems of opportunity, the problems of rights, the problems of well-being and welfare which exist now. We cannot be content in the i960's with the answers of the I930's. There are those in our regions and in all our races who have 250 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 Jan. 30 [i66] been forgotten and passed over and passed by. We must remember them, or they will someday remind us of our oversight. The meek and the humble and the lowly share this life and this earth with us all. We must never forget them. President Roosevelt never did. In our richness we must not forget the poor, and in our strength we must not forget the weak. In our comfort we must not forget the uncomfortable. We who have so much must use our resources and our strength and our knowledge to make opportunities universal for all men, even as we work to make freedom and peace universal for all nations. Franklin Roosevelt passed to us a trust of compassion and conscience and courage always. And we must never lose that trust. With God's help, and by the labors of our own hand, let us move forward in new labors, in new efforts, in new enterprises, to keep faith with men everywhere who place their greatest faith on earth in us who are privileged to call ourselves Americans. Let us move forward as he would expect us to, bearing in mind that each day as I go about my labors here, as a result of a move last week, I have him sitting there watching us, and I hope approving the kind of administration that we are trying to build. It is an administration of strength that will defend the security of this country and preserve it anywhere in the world at any time. It is an administration that is solvent, that will permit us to have the strength we need abroad and the strength we must have at home. It is an administration of compassion that practices the Golden Rule of doing unto others as you would have them do unto you and putting yourself in the other fellow's place in order to be more readily appreciative of his position. In these days when so many stand for nothing, and when so few can think of nothing except the past, and the fault-finders are among us in many spots, let us be affirmative, let us be positive, let us look forward with our chin up and our chest out, as he did, to a better day not just for our own, but for human beings everywhere. He would have it this way. Thank you. a group of White House employees of the period NOTE: The President spoke in the Cabinet Room to of the Roosevelt administration. Toward the close of his remarks he referred to a portrait of Franklin D. Roosevelt which had recently been placed in the Cabinet Room. i66 Letter to the President of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House Transmitting Proposed Amendments to the Fair Labor Standards Act. January 30, i964 Dear Mr. I am transmitting herewith draft bills, together with the letter from the Secretary of Labor submitting these to me, amending the Fair Labor Standards Act to (i) increase protection for over two million workers, and (2) increase employment by establishing a procedure for applying higher penalty rates for overtime in those industries where this action will increase employment without excessive increases in costs. The American genius for accomplishment has carried us to new economic heights. During the past 3 years our economy has increased by $ioo billion, the largest peacetime rise in our history. Two and one-half million additional jobs have been created during this period, so that, for the first time 3.3-171-65 - 22 25I [ i66] Jan. 30 Public Papers of the Presidents in our history, there are over 70 million people at work. The earnings of American workers have increased at a rate of 2.5 percent a year. Most of this represents a rise in our standard of living, for prices have remained relatively stable. Yet even with the increased demand for workers which an expanding economy creates, we have failed to provide employment for all who seek it, and there are many workers who receive less than a decent minimum wage. This legislation will be another major step toward our goal of eliminating labor conditions detrimental to the maintenance of a minimum standard of living necessary for health, efficiency and general well-being. It will help additional numbers of Americans to share more fully in the abundance with which our Nation is blessed. Sincerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON NOTE: This is the text of identical letters addressed to the Honorable Carl Hayden, President pro tempore of the Senate, and to the Honorable John W. McCormack, Speaker of the House of Representatives. i67 Statement by the President on Voter Registration in the District of Columbia. January 30, i964 THE opening of precinct registration in the District of Columbia tomorrow marks a day of significance for the people of the District. It is meaningful in that registration will be easier for District residents. But perhaps even more important is the symbol of restoration of political activity at the operating level-in the neighborhoods of this great Capital City. I hope it will prove to be a forerunner of self-government in the District. I encourage everyone qualified to register to do so-regardless of party affiliation. Last month, when I accepted the report pf the Commission on Registration and Voting Participation, I expressed concern that, in the past, one out of every three Americans of voting age did not vote in presidential elections. Part of the explana tion lies in the restrictive registration practices existing in some States. But the District law is not restrictive. Precinct registration will be at convenient locations and extend after working hours. Although it should not be necessary to say so, no Federal or District employee should fail to register-and vote-in the mistaken notion that to do so might be violating some law or regulation, or might subject him to political reprisals. Voting-and the customary preliminary of registration-are now open to District residents in presidential elections on the same basis as in every State, where Federal employees participate freely in "the fundamental act of self-government." NOTE: For the President's remarks upon accepting the report of the Commission on Registration and Voting Participation, see Item 57. i68 Statement by the President on Recent Advances in Federal Personnel Management. January 3I, i964 I AM transmitting to the Congress today the i963 Annual Report of the U.S. Civil Service Commission. I am highly pleased with the advances made in improving Federal personnel programs. This progress has contributed to 252 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-964 Jan. 31 [I69] efficiency and economy. It has made Government a better employer of able men and women, of all races and creeds, in their service to the American people. These actions were of special importance in achieving this improvement: Increased emphasis on recruiting outstanding people to staff vital Federal programs. Positive actions to insure equal employment opportunities for all qualified citizens, including women, members of minority groups, handicapped persons, and older workers. Initiation of training and career development programs to increase productivity. Promotion of better utilization of employee effort. Implementation of the Federal Salary Reform Act of I962, one of the most important Federal personnel laws enacted during the last decade. Extension of affirmative cooperation in employee-management relations. The Commission has carried out these programs with substantial economies in its operations. I am impressed with the reduction of $2 million in annual costs of performing full-field investigations for other agencies. I shall look for further progress in program development and productivity in periodic reports the Civil Service Commission will be making to me in coming months. The gains of I963 must be sustained and extended in the future in order to meet the demands of essential Federal programs now and in the months ahead. NOTE: The I45-page report was published by the Government Printing Office. 169 Statement to Members of the Business Group for Latin America. January 31, 1964 ALL OF US know that economic development in Latin America or elsewhere really cannot succeed without a healthy and vigorous growth in the private sector. This is not only a matter of economics, but-vastly more important-private sector growth has great social and political implications. Our policies can and must be directed toward insuring the equal treatment of both foreign and domestic entrepreneurs. We must also seek to insure that the climate for investment in Latin America is positive. NOTE: The statement was part of a White House release announcing that the Group, composed of 37 businessmen representing major U.S. companies active in Latin America, had met with the President at the White House. The Group offered the benefit of its experience to Government agencies dealing with Latin American affairs and suggested meetings with Government officials from time to time to consider matters of common interest relating to Latin America. The Group would also work with similar organizations of businessmen in Latin America. The release lists David Rockefeller, president of the Chase Manhattan Bank, as chairman of the Business Group, and Fred C. Foy, chairman of Koppers Company, Inc., and John R. White, vice president of Standard Oil Company (New Jersey), as vice chairmen. 253 [1 70] Feb. i Public Papers of the Presidents 170 The President's News Conference of February i, I964 THE PRESIDENT. [i.] This past week the United States has demonstrated anew in at least eight different situations this Nation's determination to insure both peace and freedom in the widest possible areas. Progress toward these ends is frequently slow and rarely dramatic, but it should be viewed in the perspective of history and not headlines. First, we have been patiently continuing our efforts to resume relations with our neighbors in Panama, and to reconsider with them, without preconditions on either side, all issues which threaten to divide us. Second, we have been quietly working on the Cyprus crisis with our friends, to determine the most useful role that each of us can play in easing the present strains on the island. Third, in response to my request, I have received assurances from the new and friendly leaders of Viet-Nam that they are proceeding immediately to step up the pace of military operations against the Viet Cong, with specific instructions to the corps commanders and a personal visit by General, Khanh to the vital delta area. Fourth, we have been consulting with all parties concerned in the IndonesianMalaysian dispute, including the United Nations, to follow up on the Attorney General's successful efforts in arranging for a cease-fire and a discussion at the conference table. Fifth, we have been in constant consultation with our allies regarding the troubled course of independence in several East African states where we can hardly expect to control events, but we can help these nations preserve their freedom from foreign domination. Sixth, we have been confronted with the brutal shooting down of an unarmed American plane off course in East Germany, and the necessity for preventing further incidents of this kind. Seventh, in view of the French recognition of Red China, we have been discussing with the free nations of Asia the necessity of resisting any further temptations to reward the Peking regime for its defiance of world peace and order. And finally, we have witnessed and the whole world has witnessed with pleasure the remarkable success of our Saturn rocket, the most powerful rocket thrust known to man. This rocket, I am happy to say, was first recommended by our committee in I958. It is not our desire or in our interest to create an air of emergency about these or other events. Our work proceeds both day and night, quietly, steadily, I believe confidently, and I think the American people have every reason to share in that confidence. [2.] I have a few announcements to make in the defense area. First, I am gratified by the results from the letters to defense contractors 1 that I sent out less than a month ago. We have received almost 800 replies to that letter. The Defense Department has talked with many businessmen directly. This is going to be an important part of the effort which we believe is going to produce savings to the taxpayers of over $4 billion per year in fiscal I967.2 'Item I8. 2The savings to be effected by the Department of Defense, the White House announced on January 27, would be the result of a "vigorous program" to shift from contracting on a cost-plus-fixed fee basis to fixed price or incentive contracts, and of reducing the number of letter contracts, preliminary agreements under which contractors may start work before a price is agreed on. 254 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Feb. I [ i7o] Second, I want to draw your attention today to the cost reduction section of the Defense Department budget statement which was released last week. Some figures in there should be of interest to every taxpayer. Next year's Defense budget, the one just sent up for fiscal i965, includes, due to more efficient management of our defenses, $24410 billion. That is more than $io for every man, woman, and child in our country. That has come about because of more efficient management under Mr. McNamara and the men who serve with him. That is money that is strictly saved in the coming fiscal year simply by following more sensible and efficient procedures. It is money saved not by risking this country's security, not by cutting our defenses, but by running the Department on a sound and businesslike basis, and with real unification. I have seen more unification present and achieved in the Defense Department than at any time since the Department was created. [3.] We are, in fact, constantly making improvements in our strategic missile arsenal. We are improving the payloads, the accuracies, the reliability of all of these weapons. We are also adding new weapons to our arsenal. We are now completing development, for example, on three new and highly advanced weapons systems. I think you would like to hear something about this, because you can take great pride in it. First, the first of these is the Redeye. For the first time our ground combat soldier will be able to fight back against a high performance enemy aircraft. The Redeye, which he can fire from the shoulder like a rifle, sends a heat-seeking missile in pursuit of the enemy airplane, with a very high probability of scoring. Once hit, the airplane will go down. Redeye has been developed by the Pomona Division of General Dynamics at Pomona, Calif. Second, the Shillelagh has successfully completed engineering tests and is being released for production. It is an antitank missile mounted on a vehicle so light that we can parachute it into the battlefield, and so accurate that it can destroy a tank at a range of several thousand yards. And finally, the Navy has recently demonstrated the Walleye, a glide bomb to be launched from an airplane and guided to its target by television. The bomb has a television camera which is focused through remote control by the pilot in the airplane. Once the pilot has focused the camera on the target, the mechanism in the bomb takes over, watches the television screen inside the bomb, and then guides it until it reaches the target. The Walleye has been demonstrated and it has shown amazing accuracy at a range of several miles. It is being developed by the Naval Ordnance Test Station at China Lake, Calif., where the now famous Sidewinder missile was developed. [4.] Finally, I conferred at length yesterday with Sargent Shriver, who has just returned from a world trip, and I have asked him to serve as Special Assistant to the President in the organization and the administration of the war on poverty program which I announced in my State of the Union Message. Mr. Shriver will continue to serve as Director of the Peace Corps. He will begin immediately to study the formulation and the execution of the concentrated assault on the causes and cures of poverty in the United States. I expect to appoint a committee of the Cabinet to serve in an advisory capacity with him, a Cabinet committee to be made up of the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, the Secretary of Labor, the Attorney General, the various departments, that would be Interior and Agriculture, that 255 [ i7o] Feb. i Public Papers of the Presidents would be concerned with our war on poverty. Mr. Shriver is eminently qualified for this additional assignment. As you know, he is Executive Director of the Joseph P. Kennedy Foundation, he was President of the Chicago School Board, he is a very successful businessman. He is an organizer and Director of the Peace Corps. He has demonstrated outstanding qualities of leadership, and I am sure that we will find that in the organization and draft of the message as well as the administration of the poverty program, if it is approved by Congress, we will find him an exceptionally well-qualified employee. [5.] Now I would like to conclude by reading a brief message that I have just sent to General Khanh in Viet-Nam, in which Isay: "I am glad to know that we see eye to eye on the necessity of stepping up the pace of military operations against the Viet Cong. I particularly appreciate your warm and immediate response to my message as conveyed by Ambassador Lodge and General Harkins. We shall continue to be available to help you to carry the war to the enemy, and to increase the confidence of the Vietnamese people in their government." A couple of days ago I sent General Khanh a message urging him to step up the pace of military operations. He immediately replied, as I announced in my more formal statement, and this is my personal, longhand reply to the General. Now, any questions? [6.] Q. Mr. President, do you foresee a situation in the relatively near future where you might recommend or accept the admission of Red China into the United Nations? THE PRESIDENT. No, I do not. [7.] Q. Mr. President, sir, I wonder what you think about a full-time Senate employee, or an employee of any Government agency, who would get himself involved on off-duty hours or in regular hours with consultants for defense contracting firms of the Government, with building motels, getting himself involved in deals with mortgage companies that are interested in pending legislation, and in visiting the Dominican Republic and talking to them about buying U.S. fighter planes by way of Sweden? Do you think this is the proper conduct for any Government employee? THE PRESIDENT. The Senate committee is now making a study of the accuracy of some of the allegations that you have made. They will, in their wisdom, determine the accuracy of those allegations and, I am sure, render proper judgment. [8.] Q. Mr. President, many of us are wondering why you would hold a news conference in a cramped little room such as this, limited to about 90 newsmen, when you have facilities available to accommodate all newsmen, such as at the State Department? THE PRESIDENT. I don't have an answer to that question of yours. I thought that this would be ample to take care of your needs. I am sorry if you find yourselves uncomfortable. It was much more convenient to come here at the time that I could come, and I was attempting to satisfy the newsmen. It is somewhat difficult to do sometimes, but they wanted a news conference this week, and I thought this was the appropriate place and could be best handled here. [9.] Q. Mr. President, although it seems a little early, as a result of the Republican fundraising dinners on Friday night they apparently consider it open season on you. Do you have any favorite opponent among the ones mentioned prominently to run against you next term, and do you think 256 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-I964 Feb. I [ i7o] it will be a hands-off, pretty rough politicaltype campaign between you and that opponent? THE PRESIDENT. No, I don't have any favorite opponent. It is not my duty to select my opposition. I think that the delegates to the Republican Convention will act wisely and select the best man that is available to them. And so far as I am concerned, I hope to keep as free from politics as I can, as long as I can, because I think it is in the interest of the continuity and transition of this administration and the unity of the country to keep free from mudslinging and petty politics and getting into any political battles. I have asked the Democrats to refrain from indulging in any personalities if at all possible. We will have debates about principles and we expect differences of opinion. We don't want to suppress them or silence them. But I found in the 8 years that I served as Democratic Leader under President Eisenhower that it was not necessary to sling mud or to indulge in personalities, and I hope that our Democratic people will follow that course. What the Republicans do is a matter for them to determine in their wisdom. [io.] Q. Mr. President, you spoke of viewing these foreign problems in the perspective of history rather than today's headlines. Looking at the problem of Viet-Nam that way, how do you look, what do you see down the road? Is this a situation that can be settled in a military way? Do you rule out any neutralization such as General de Gaulle suggests, or what is your general perspective on Viet-Nam? THE PRESIDENT. If we could have neutralization of both North Viet-Nam and South Viet-Nam, I am sure that would be considered sympathetically. But I see no indication of that at the moment. I think that if we could expect the Viet Cong to let their neighbors live in peace, we could take a much different attitude. But as long as these raids are continuing and people are attempting to envelop South Viet-Nam, I think that the present course we are conducting is the only answer to that course, and I think that the operations should be stepped up there. I see no sentiment favoring neutralization of South Viet-Nam alone, and I think the course that we are following is the most advisable one for freedom at this point. [ii.] Q. Mr. President, can you give us some idea of how you expect to participate in the choice of your own running mate, whether you will make your personal choice known to the convention, and what some of the factors are that you would weigh in the selection? THE PRESIDENT. I would think that it would be premature and somewhat presumptuous at this point for me to go into any detailed discussion on the selection of a Vice President. I think that if I am nominated by the convention, selected as their standard bearer, my recommendations will likely be sought, and if so, I will be glad to give them. And at that time I will cross that bridge. I hope that I can act wisely and in the best interests of the American people. [I2.] Q. Mr. President, have you had the opportunity yet to study and make a personal decision on the rather bitter debate, dispute, rather, between Secretary McNamara and the Joint Atomic Committee in the Congress over the atomic power plant for the carrier? THE PRESIDENT. No. I feel that I have not gone into the details of the fight. I am aware of the issue. I concur in the judgment that Secretary McNamara has made. I think that we are looking far into the 257 [ I70] Feb. I Public Papers of the Presidents future and that those judgments are always susceptible to error. But at this moment I would conclude that his decision has been a reasonable one and a fair one and one in which I agree. [I3.] Q. Mr. President, a two-part question on legislation: How confident are you that your two main pieces of legislation of top priority, namely, the tax cut and civil rights, are actually going ahead to become legislation that is satisfactory to you; and secondly, what are the pieces of legislation beneath those that you consider of importance as well? For instance, is medical care virtually in the same order of priority? THE PRESIDENT. The answer to your first question is that I think that in the 60 days that I have held this office we have made great progress in legislation. When I came into it, we had gone along down the road with our educational bills, but we finally consummated them, and I think we have the best educational Congress in the history of the Republic. We had 5 or 6 appropriations bills out of I5 passed. We concluded action on those during this period of time. We have reported the civil rights bill from the Rules Committee, and it is now being debated in the House. I hope and I believe that it will be passed without any crippling amendments. I think it should be passed without any crippling amendments. I think that due progress is being made there. I hope it is acted upon in the House before the Members leave to attend Lincoln Day birthday meetings throughout the Nation, because it would be a great tribute to President Lincoln to have that bill finally acted upon in the House before we go out to celebrate his birthday. On the tax bill, it has been before the Congress now for almost I3 months. The Senate has reported it, the Senate committee 258 has reported it to the Senate. It is being debated there. There are some i8o-odd technical amendments and there will be dozens of other amendments. It will be carefully deliberated, but I hope that we can pass it before we take a recess for Lincoln's Birthday on February i2. I am pleased with the progress made on both of those bills. I hope the tax bill can withstand the onslaughts that will be made by many in attempting to amend it in the next few days, and then will go to conference. And I would like to see it reported from conference as nearly to the administration's recommendations as possible, because before those recommendations were submitted to Congress, I participated in their formulation and embraced them. Now, there are other important items. We have a good many items in the national resource legislation field, like the wilderness bill and others. We have a good many measures we must pass in the agricultural field, farm legislation, which we consider very important. We consider medical care a very important measure, and I have already talked to the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee about it. I have talked to leading Republicans who have a substitute plan that they have proposed, which I am now studying and giving some thought to, trying to determine the merits of it. But I hope that we can pass a medicare bill out of the House Ways and Means Committee and through the Congress this year based on the social security principle. I can think of no single piece of legislation that I would be happier to approve than that bill. The housing legislation-I could spend most of this time telling you how important I think it is. It is one of the most comprehensive bills in the history of the Nation. I hope that we can work toward the goal of Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 Feb. i [ i7o] someday every American owning his home. I think that this message goes in that direction. I have reviewed it carefully, both at the ranch and here in Washington, with Administrator Weaver. We will start hearings on it very shortly in both bodies. It is extremely important. I think that we have an administration program that is going to be difficult to enact before the conventions, but with cooperation from all people on both sides of the aisle I hope we will attain a major part of it. To your second question, I would say that I do put medical care high on the priority list. [I4.] Q. Mr. President, does General de Gaulle's proposal for neutralizing Southeast Asia interfere with our objectives there or make our work there more difficult than it would be otherwise? THE PRESIDENT. Yes. I do not agree with General de Gaulle's proposals. I do not think that it would be in the interest of freedom to share his view. General de Gaulle is entitled to his opinion. He has expressed it. We have expressed ours. We think the course of action that we are following in Southeast Asia is the only course for us to follow, and the most advisable at this time. We plan to pursue it diligently and, we hope, successfully on a stepped-up basis. [I5.] Q. Mr. President, 2 days ago, when Prime Minister Pearson of Canada was in Washington, he expressed the position that before long Russia would agree to a total nuclear test ban to include underground tests. Do you share this optimism? And, also, are you optimistic that some meaningful disarmament agreements will come out of the present Geneva conference? THE PRESIDENT. I would rather not express it in terms of optimism or pessimism. I would rather say that it should be the goal of every leader in the world today to try to find areas of agreement that will lead to disarmament. We are seriously, dedicatedly, doing our very best and trying to initiate and develop every conceivable fresh proposal we can that will lead to that end. [i6.] Q. Mr. President, do you anticipate a filibuster when the civil rights bill eventually reaches the Senate? Do you think in order to pass it in the Senate the bill will have to be substantially trimmed? THE PRESIDENT. No, I do not think it will have to be substantially trimmed. And yes, I do expect a filibuster. Q. Mr. President, Thursday in the Rules Committee an amendment was offered to include women in the ban on discrimination in the civil rights bill on the basis of race, religion, or national origin. That was defeated by one vote and will be brought up again on the floor of the House. Now, in the Democratic platform it saysand if I may read you just a few words"We support legislation which will guarantee to women equality of rights under the law." Would you support an amendment to include women in the civil rights bill? THE PRESIDENT. I supported that platform and embraced that platform, and stated that view in 43 States in the Union. I realize there has been discrimination in the employment of women, and I am doing my best to do something about it. I am hopeful that in the next month we will have made substantial advances in that field. [I7.] Q. Mr. President, do you feel that Mr. Walter Jenkins should go up to the Capitol and testify under oath to clear up the conflicts that are appearing in the testimony? THE PRESIDENT. The general question was raised with me at my last meeting. I spoke with candor and frankness on that subject, 259 [I70] Feb. i Public Papers of the Presidents about all I knew about it. I said then that I did not plan to make any more statements on it, and I do not. [i8.] Q. Mr. President, could you elaborate, sir, on your statement that you might look with some sympathy on the neutralization of both South Viet-Nam and North Viet-Nam? How does this differ from President de Gaulle's idea? THE PRESIDENT. Well, you will have to ask General de Gaulle about the details of his proposal. But as I understand it, the neutralization talk has applied only to South Viet-Nam and not to the whole of that area of the world. I think that the only thing we need to do to have complete peace in that area of the world now is to stop the invasion of South Viet-Nam by some of its neighbors and supporters. [19.] Q. Mr. President, some of your advisers have different views as to the proper strategy to follow in the war on poverty. Some think the program should emphasize a welfare aspect, some think an education aspect, some think job creation. Which of those three general areas do you think the program should focus on? THE PRESIDENT. On all three of them. And I am unaware of any differences among my advisers in that field. We have a group from the Cabinet that has given considerable attention to that and we are now developing recommendations. Those recommendations will be contained in a message. But my answer to your question is, first, I know of no disagreement among my advisers; two, I think the message will emphasize all three areas. That message is being very carefully worked out and will be coordinated with all of the advisers who have responsibilities in those fields. We expect to get through the regular appropriations bills in excess of a half billion dollars to be coordinated into the poverty program so that it will be essential that we have the cooperation of all the Cabinet departments to whom the money is appropriated. Merriman Smith, United Press International: Thank you, Mr. President. NOTE: President Johnson's fifth news conference was held in the Theater at the White House at 3 p.m. on Saturday, February i, I964. With respect to the numbering of the President's news conferences see note at end of Item 143. For the President's message on poverty see Item 2I9. 17I Remarks Upon Witnessing the Certification of the 24th Amendment to the Constitution. February 4, I964 TODAY, the United States witnesses the triumph of liberty over restriction. Today, the people of this land have abolished the poll tax as a condition to voting. By this act they have reaffirmed the simple but unbreakable theme of this Republic. Nothing is so valuable as liberty, and nothing is so necessary to liberty as the freedom to vote without bans or barriers. Our Constitution in its 175-year lifetime has been amended but 14 times following the ratification of the Bill of Rights. A change in our Constitution is a serious event. The beneficiaries of this amendment are the people of this land. There can now be no one too poor to vote. There is no longer a tax on his rights. The only enemy to voting that we face today is indifference. Too many of our citizens treat casually what other people in other lands are ready to die for. Less than two-thirds of our eligible popu 260 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963I-964 Feb. 5 [ I72] lation cast ballots in the i960 presidential election. Perhaps this specific act of firm resolve will turn negligence into interest. I pray that this is so. I will not let this historic event pass on without paying special tribute to my old and dear friend and former colleague Senator Spessard Holland of Florida. He led this fight from the beginning. He was in the forefront in the winning. I salute the States of South Dakota and Georgia. They raced to the wire to be the I72 Remarks at the 12th Annual February 5, i964 Senator Carlson, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chief Justice, Members of the Cabinet, Dr. Graham, my fellow Americans: No man could live in the house where I live now or work at the desk where I work now without needing and without seeking the strength and the support of earnest and frequent prayer. Since last we met, it has fallen to me to learn personally the truth Thomas Jefferson spoke so long ago, when he said: "The second office of the Government is honorable and easy"The first is but a splendid misery." In these last 70 days, prayer has helped me to bear the burdens of this first office which are too great to be borne by anyone alone. We who hold public office are enjoined by our Constitution against enacting laws to tell the people when or where or how to pray. All our experience and all our knowledge proves that injunction is good. For, if government could ordain the people's prayers, government could also ordain its own worship-and that must never be. 38th and necessary State for ratification. South Dakota won that race but we are all victors. This is the first time an amendment to the Constitution has been certified in the presence of the President of the United States. I am proud that I am here. I am prouder still to place my name on this certificate. NOTE: The President spoke at 9:30 a.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White House after witnessing the certification of the amendment by Bernard L. Boutin, Administrator of General Services. Presidential Prayer Breakfast. The separation of church and state has served our freedom well because men of state have not separated themselves from church and faith and prayer. Senator Carlson, I believe that these annual prayer breakfasts serve a most useful purpose in both reminding and reassuring the people that those who hold their trust are themselves godly and prayerful men and women. In saying this, there is a personal thought that I would like to express to you: This Federal city of Washington in which we live and work is much more than a place of residence. For the i90 million people that we serve and for many millions in other lands, Washington is the symbol and the showcase of a great nation and a greater cause of human liberty on earth. In this Capital City today we have monuments to Lincoln and to Jefferson and to Washington, and to many statesmen and many soldiers. But at this seat of government there must be a fitting memorial to the God who made us all. Our Government cannot and should not sponsor the erection of such a memorial with 26i [i72] Feb. 5 Public Papers of the Presidents public funds. But such a living memorial should be here. It should be a center of prayer, open to all men of all faiths at all times. If I may speak this morning as a citizen and a colleague and a friend, I would like to suggest to this group, which has done so much through all the years, that it undertake the mission of bringing together the faiths and the religions of America to support jointly such a memorial here in this Federal city-the capital of the free world. The world is given many statistics about the per capita vices of Washington, but the world knows all too little about the per capita virtues of those who live and labor here. I believe-and I would hope that you would agree-that the true image of Washington is not that of power or pomp or plenty. It is, rather, that of a prayerful capital of good and God-fearing people. [The President spoke first to the gentlemen in the hotel's presidential ballroom and then to the ladies in the east room.] Mrs. Lankford, Dr. Graham, ladies: I am glad to be with you again this morning at your annual meeting, but I still believe that when the prophet Isaiah said, "Come, let us reason together," he did not have in mind that the men and women should assemble in separate rooms. Since we last met i year ago, all of us in this land have known the need of prayer. None has known that need so keenly as I have. If I may, I would like to relate to you a little personal experience from these days which fortifies anew the great teachings of the Book of Proverbs: "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it." In my childhood, I-like your childrenhad the great blessings of a devout and faithful mother. In our home, as in yours, there was always prayer-aloud, proud, and unapologetic. Through the long, busy, and sometimes hectic years since, observance of some of that training became irregular, especially the practice of returning thanks before each meal. But in those first dark days of November, when the pressures were the heaviest and the need of strength from Above the greatest, Lady Bird and I sat down together to eat a meal alone. No word or glance passed between us, but in some way we found ourselves bowing together, and I found myself speaking the words of grace that I had learned at my mother's knees so many years ago. We of this land have so much to be grateful for. The God above us has been good to us from the very beginning of this Republic. With the duties which rest upon us, we have much to pray for-that we may, as a nation, be just in our strength, wise in our actions, and faithful in our trust. The men of public life have a very special debt-a special debt-to the strong women who, as their wives and as mothers of their children, make possible the service of the public trust. I think the Nation may understand this a little better now since the unforgettable inspiration offered so gallantly before the entire world by the widow of our gallant and beloved President, Mrs. John F. Kennedy. Ours is a great nation, but we must always humbly remember that much of our greatness in the world is born of the godliness that we practice in the homes that you keep. I believe, as I know you believe, that our children should be taught to pray; but I 262 Lyndon B. Johnson, r963-1964 Feb. 5 [173] know and I believe, as I think you believe, that this teaching is our task in our homesa task much too sacred to ever be touched by the state. I would hope that we might all remember the petition of the Father of our Country, George Washington, who urged his countrymen to offer "humbly our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and ruler of nations, and generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best." NOTE: The prayer breakfast of International Christian Leadership, Inc., a nondenominational group of laymen, was held at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington. In his opening words the President referred to Senator Frank Carlson of Kansas, chairman of the board, International Council for Christian Leadership, Representative John W. McCormack, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Earl Warren, Chief Justice of the United States, and the Rev. William F. (Billy) Graham. Later in his remarks to the ladies he referred to Mrs. Lankford, wife of Representative Richard E. Lankford of Maryland and president of the congressional wives prayer group. 173 Special Message to the Congress on Consumer Interests. February 5, i964 To the Congress of the United States: America's economy centers on the consumer: -the consumer buys in the marketplace nearly two-thirds of our Gross National Product-$38o billion out of an output of $6oo billion; -to meet consumer needs with an everwidening range and quality of products is the prime object of American producers; -to increase consumer wellbeing-both the quality and the comforts of life-is one of the highest purposes of private and public policy. Yet, for far too long, the consumer has had too little voice and too little weight in government. As a worker, as a businessman, as a farmer, as a lawyer or doctor, the citizen has been well represented. But as a consumer, he has had to take a back seat. That situation is changing. The consumer is moving forward. We cannot rest content until he is in the front row, -not displacing the interest of the producer, -yet gaining equal rank and representation with that interest. Federal action in the consumer interest is not new. To protect the consumer, we have Federal laws and regulations -to eliminate impure and harmful food, drugs, and cosmetics; -to standardize weights and measures, and improve labeling; -to prevent fraud, deception, and false advertising; -to promote fair competition; -to assure fair rates in transportation, power, fuel, communications, and the like; -to avoid abuses in the sale of securities. What is new is the concern for the total interest of the consumer, the recognition of certain basic consumer rights: -the right to safety -the right to be informed -the right to choose -the right to be heard. President Kennedy-in his historic consumer message of March I5, i962-first set forth those rights. I reaffirm those rights. 263 [i73] Feb. 5 Public Papers of the Presidents What is also new is active representation of the consumer-and a loud, clear-channel voice-at the topmost levels of government: i. In July i962, President Kennedy established the Consumer Advisory Council. In its landmark "First Report" of last October, the Council urged stronger and more effective representation at the Presidential level. 2. On January 3, I appointed a new Special Assistant for Consumer Affairs and established the President s Committee on Consumer Interests, composed of -representatives of the Federal departments and agencies most concerned with consumer affairs; -members of the Consumer Advisory Council; -the newly appointed Presidential Assistant, as Chairman. My Special Assistant and the new Consumer Committee will lead an intensified campaign: -To assure that the best practice of the great American marketplace-where free men and women buy, sell, and producebecomes common practice. -To fight, side-by-side with enlightened business leadership and consumer organizations, against the selfish minority who defraud and deceive consumers, charge unfair prices, or engage in other sharp practices. -To identify the gaps in our system of consumer protection, information, and choice that still need to be filled. RECENT ADVANCES Since i962, the consumer's position has been protected and strengthened in several important ways: i. New drugs must now be approved for effectiveness as well as safety. 2. Beginning in May of this year, all tele vision sets produced and sold in interstate commerce must be able to receive all channels, including the Ultra-High-Frequency ranges. This will bring to millions of American homes a wider range of noncommercial educational TV, as well as more commercial programming. 3. During the past year, the Federal Trade Commission has intensified its programs to protect consumers against: -false advertising as to the safety and efficacy of nonprescription drug products; -misrepresentation of savings in the purchase of food-freeze plans; -deceptive television ratings and demonstrations; -misbranding of clothing; -bait-and-switch tactics in the sale of consumer products. 4. Federal Power Commission orders on gas rates have channeled millions of dollars of refunds of past overcharges to American families who use gas for cooking and heating. 5. Remedies have now been provided for air travelers who are victims of "overbooking." The job ahead. But the road to consumer safety, accurate information, free choice, and an adequate hearing is never-ending. In modern society, the consumer is constantly exposed to the winds of change. Countless new products-and new forms of old products-vie for his attention and his dollar. Services take a larger and larger share of the consumer dollar. Yet they are often performed without established standards of safety or values. The American housewife-the major American consumer-cannot help but feel confused, and too often unheard, as she seeks the best value for the hard-earned dollar she spends. 264 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-I964 Feb. 5 [I73] This Government is pledged to come to her aid with new legislation and new administrative actions. RECOMMENDED LEGISLATION Food, Drugs, Cosmetics, and Medical Devices Too often, we await the spur of tragedy before strengthening the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Too often, we discover dangers in foods and cosmetics only through serious injury to a consumer. Testing and Inspection Powers. The Food and Drug Administration now lacks the needed authority -to inspect fully the factories in which food is produced; -to require a showing that cosmetics are safe before they are offered to the public; -to examine, for safety and effectiveness before they are marketed, medical devices for the diagnosis of symptoms and treatment of illnesses. The improper treatment with worthless devices can be the cruelest hoax of all. Therefore: (I) I recommend the enactment of new legislation to: -Extend and clarify inspection authority-comparable to that which now governs prescription drugs-over foods, over-thecounter drugs, cosmetics, and therapeutic, diagnostic and prosthetic devices; -Require that cosmetics be tested and proved safe before they are marketed; and -Require therapeutic, diagnostic and prosthetic devices to be manufactured under conditions that will assure their reliability, and require proof of safety and effectiveness before they are marketed. Warning labels. The container for the common household drug is a familiar-and often reassuring-sight in our medicine closets. Yet, unless properly marked with necessary warning against accidental injury, it can be as dangerous, and fatal, as a time bomb: -Drugs that ease the pains of adults, for example, might kill a child-yet Federal authority to require warning labels on such containers is far from clear. -A pressurized container, improperly used or handled, can also be a lethal instrument-yet, existing law does not require that users be warned against these dangers. Therefore: (2) I recommend that existing legislation be extended and clarified to require that labels include warnings against avoidable accidental injury from drugs and cosmetics, and pressurized containers. (3) In addition, the Department of Health, Education and Welfare should be authorized to subpoena evidence in connection with administrative hearings under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Other regulatory agencies have this indispensable power. Without it, effective regulation is extremely difficult. Screening of pesticides. Equally important is the growing danger from the use of pesticides which have not been properly screened. We must not recklessly interfere with the harmony of nature. Yet, today the Department of Agriculture is required to register products that it cannot certify as safe-and these may be put to use. Therefore: (4) I recommend that the Congress enact legislation-already passed by the Senateto end the present practice by which pesticides may be registered by manufacturers "under protest" before the Department of Agriculture has passed upon their safety. Meat and poultry inspection. The inspection of meat and poultry products mov 265 [i73] Feb. 5 Public Papers of the Presidents ing in interstate commerce effectively insures safe and wholesome supplies of these foods, but this protection does not extend to products sold within a State. Therefore: (5) I recommend legislation to insure that all meat and poultry sold in the United States-intrastate as well as interstate-is inspected for safety and wholesomeness, either by the Department of Agriculture or in cooperation with State authorities. Unfair Trade Practices and Price Maintenance There are serious defects in the Federal shield against unfair practices and false advertising. Unlawful trade practices may continue during the time administrative hearings are pending. Often, the damage has been done by the time the decision is rendered. Therefore: (6) I recommend legislation to grant the Federal Trade Commission authority to issue temporary cease-and-desist orders at the outset of a proceeding, subject to court review, when the Commission has good reason to believe that the continuation of the practice would result in irreparable injury to the public. Freedom of choice for consumers from our storehouse of goods, at the lowest possible prices, is the very cornerstone of American consumer policy. I believe strongly in this principle. Therefore, I oppose legislation which limits price competition, whether under the label of "quality stabilization" or any other name. Truth-in-Packaging We all like interesting packages, and we are attracted by them. In today's markets they are the silent salesmen for their products. But salesmen should be both helpful and truthful. When the American housewife comes face to face with one of these silent salesmen, she wants it to report to her the nature and quantity of its contents in a manner that is -simple -direct -visible -accurate. All too often, she cannot find such labeling today. Hearings on the Hart-Celler bill to require "Truth in Packaging" have shown us that informed judgments are often made difficult or impossible by deceptive or confusing packaging and labeling. The shopper ought to be able to tell at a glance what is in the package, how much of it there is, and how much it costs. We do not seek monotonous conformity. We do seek packages that are easily understood and compared with respect to: -sizes, -weights, and -degrees of fill. Many of our staples, like sugar and flour, have long been packaged in standard quantities. Much more can be done along these lines. Packagers themselves should take the initiative in this effort. It is in the best interests of the manufacturer and the retailer as well as the consumer. The Government has had, and has exercised, a responsibility towards the consumer in this field for a long time. But the caseby-case trail to which we are limited by existing law is a long and winding one. More clear-cut regulations are needed to deal effectively with the problem of -misleading adjectives; -fractional variations in weight which are designed to confuse; -illustrations which have no relationship to the contents of the package. Therefore, (7) I recommend legislation to insure that 266 Lyndon B. Johns the consumer has access to the information necessary to make a rational choice among competing packaged products. Truth-in-Lending The consumer credit system has helped the American economy to grow and prosper: -Credit is used to finance the purchase of homes, cars, appliances, education and recreation. -Consumer credit and mortgage debt on urban family homes together total over $250 billion. The cost of such credit must be made as clear and unambiguous as possible, eliminating all possibility of abuse. The antiquated legal doctrine, "Let the buyer beware," should be superseded by the doctrine, "Let the seller make full disclosure." Therefore: (8) I recommend enactment of legislation requiring all lenders and extenders of credit to disclose to borrowers in advance the actual amount of their commitment and the annual rate of interest they will be required to pay. Truth-in-Securities American consumers are also investors. Approximately 17 million persons hold stock in publicly held corporations. Almost a generation ago, laws were passed to assure full disclosure of needed information to persons about to purchase securities listed on national securities exchanges. But those who purchase "over-the-counter" securities have no similar protection. They need it. Legislation broadening these disclosure provisions to include widely owned over-thecounter stocks has already passed the Senate and is pending before the Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee of the House. This measure will help complement the vol -on, 1963-1964 Feb. 5 [ I73] untary changes in rules and practices now being made by securities dealers and stock exchanges to afford greater protection to investors. Therefore: (g) I recommend prompt enactment of this disclosure legislation for over-the-counter securities. Better Housing The purchase of a home is the largest investment most American families make. Housing costs, for owners and renters, take I4 percent of the average city family's dollar every year. Good housing should be within the reach of low and moderate income families-now and in the future. We must have orderly development with look-ahead planning for our sprawling cities. Therefore: (i0o) I recommend enactment of the Administration's housing program (outlined in my recent Message on Housing) which is designed: -To provide more housing for lowincome families by acquiring and improving existing housing as well as by constructing new public housing. -To help local governments and developers plan suburban developments which will include a proper balance of community facilities, recreation, transportation and business centers. ADMINISTRATIVE IMPROVEMENTS There are in addition, many steps that can-and will-be taken immediately to strengthen our present programs of consumer protection. First, I am directing the President's Committee on Consumer Interests to undertake the following actions: I. Under the auspices of its Chairman, the 267 [i73] Feb. 5 Public Papers of the Presidents Special Assistant for Consumer Affairs, to begin a series of regional consumer conferences: -Representatives of consumer groups, manufacturers, retailers, advertising agencies, government agencies, and others will discuss the problems of adequate consumer information at these meetings. -The results will be reported to me, along with appropriate recommendations for action. 2. To develop as promptly as possible effective ways and means of reaching more homes and more families-particularly lowincome families-with information to help them to get the most for their money: -Most of the budget management and consumer publications now available are geared to middle-income families. -They often do not penetrate to the lowest 20 percent of the Nation's income groups. -Yet it is the poor who suffer most from sharp practices. I am asking all Federal agencies now engaged in consumer educational activities (a) to cooperate in this effort and (b) to explore fully such possibilities as the adapting of the extension service concept, so successful in rural areas, to an urban setting. 3. To examine the many programs for consumer education in our schools, to stimulate the development of curricula and training materials, and to encourage larger numbers of our young people to seek instruction in the fundamentals of budgeting, buying, and borrowing. 4. To develop means of keeping the public continuously informed of developments of importance in the consumer field. Second, as I have emphasized in my Economic Report, we must make sure that any upward pressures on costs and prices that may develop as the economy expands do not get out of hand: -Price stability is essential to an economic climate favorable to consumers. -Price increases, without improvements in performance or quality, would erode dollar values. Our record of over-all price stability in recent years has been excellent. But the trend of consumer spending for services has been constantly rising; and the safeguarding of the consumer's interest in the area of services is comparatively weak: -Because of their personal and informal nature, services cannot be treated in the same way as foods and drugs. -Yet, they are equally subject to the abuses of poor quality, high prices, and exaggerated claims. I am asking the Committee to make recommendations for improvement of protection in this area; and we will also call upon the interested industries for their advice. CONCLUSION All these proposals for consumer protection would cost us as taxpayers only a small fraction of what they would save us as consumers. And there is no measure of what they would prevent in human suffering. But in the last analysis, the remedy for errors of taste, poor judgment, and disorder in our economic life is not to be found in the legislatures or the courts but in the leadership of those who care: -This is an individual matter. -But it is also a matter for corporations and organizations dedicated to the public interest. I know that the program outlined here to improve the safety and welfare of our consumers will help all Americans to pursue the excellent and reject the tawdry-in every phase and in every aspect of American life. LYNDON B. JOHNSON. 268 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 Feb. 5 [174] I 74 Remarks in New York City at the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., Foundation Awards Dinner. Mr. Chairman, Mr. Prime Minister, Your Eminence, Mrs. Kennedy, members of the Kennedy family, award winners, distinguished guests and friends: Earlier generations of Americans were fortunate to have known the Adamses, the Lees, the Randolphs, the LaFollettes, and the Roosevelts. Our generation is proud and blessed to have known the Kennedys. They are an extraordinary family. Fierce competitors in life, they are a closely knit team, for they are all genuine friends as well as relativesunited in prayer, devoted to their parents, and maintaining a community of purpose and practice which makes them the world's second most powerful Common Market. Unlike many who have their opportunities, they prefer labor to leisure. They place the public good ahead of private gain. They both preach excellence and pursue it. They have been granted more than their share of greatness, but they have also been dealt more than their share of grief. The senseless, mindless murder of their martyred brother and son brought endless, timeless grief to every American home. John Kennedy was to have been here tonight. No cause was closer to his heart. Millions of people, at home and around the world, will reap the harvest of his pioneering work in this field-a field which has been so greatly misunderstood and so greatly neglected so many years. February 5, i964 Humbly, I shall carry on for him here, as I intend to carry on the great efforts that he started for lasting peace. With his memory and his spirit to inspire us, and his words and his works to guide us, we shall live up to that trust. We shall finish his fight; and we shall conquer mental retardation and mental illness and poverty and every other foe of the land that he loved, and every other foe of the people he served. Now it is my high honor and my great pleasure to present to the Honorable John E. Fogarty, of the State of Rhode Island, the International Award of the Kennedy Foundation; to the Honorable Lister Hill, of the State of Alabama; to the Honorable Bert T. Combs, former Governor of the State of Kentucky; to Dr. Grover Francis Powers, Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics at Yale University; to Dr. Robert P. Lafon of the University of Montpelier; and to Dr. Lionel S. Penrose, of the University of London. Now it is my proud privilege to present to you the great Executive Director of the Kennedy Foundation, Mr. Sargent Shriver. Thank you. NOTE: The President spoke at 9:33 p.m. at the Americana Hotel in New York City. His opening words referred to Senator Edward M. Kennedy, presiding chairman of the dinner, and his wife, Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson of Canada, and His Eminence Francis Cardinal Spellman, Archbishop of New York. Other members of the Kennedy family attending the dinner were: Mrs. Rose Kennedy, Attorney General and Mrs. Robert F. Kennedy, Mrs. Jean Smith, and Mr. and Mrs. Sargent Shriver. 269 [i75] Feb. 6 Public Papers of the Presidents 175 Remarks in New York City at the Dinner of the Weizmann Institute of Science. February 6, i964 Mr. Stone, Mr. Feinberg, ladies and gentlemen: I welcome this opportunity tonight to join in paying tribute to a great son of the Jewish people, and to one of the most exciting creations of the Republic of Israel-the Weizmann Institute of Science. The great name of Weizmann does not belong to the Jewish people alone. It has enriched the moral treasury of our age. While I am proud to be here, and while you have been most hospitable, none of us can conceal our grief that President Kennedy is not here tonight in person to deliver this address. This was the kind of occasion he most enjoyed-an opportunity to help the advancement of science, a chance to be here with men of ideas. His spirit remains with us tonight. Your sorrow is eloquently expressed in the ways you have chosen to honor his memory. John Fitzgerald Kennedy believed in a partnership between science and public policy-and no man in this century has better symbolized that partnership than Dr. Weizmann. A great chemist, he was also a great statesman. His selection as the first President of Israel reinforced the unbroken moral tradition that linked him to the great prophets of an unforgotten past. Few nations have had a scientist as head of state. But all nations have begun to recognize their dependence on scientific progress. It means the realization of a higher standard of living for people. It means the development and the conservation of resources. It means the military strength to preserve freedom. It means the knowledge to conquer space. If anything is certain about national and international affairs, it is that science will play an ever more central role in the years ahead of us. The Weizmann Institute is a source of pride to every single friend of Israel. It is an international scientific institution in every sense of the word. To its buildings come students from all over the globe. It has helped to make Israel one of the foremost scientific resources of the world. Israel knows well the importance of science. At its birth in I948, this tiny little nation faced monumental problems of economic survival. Only a fifth of its meager territory was fit for cultivation. Yet it was called upon to sustain a population that more than doubled in io years. One of its earliest and one of its most important scientific problems was the same problem that has troubled so many nations of the globe, and troubled so many parts of the world. This problem is water-water for irrigation, water for consumption, water for industry, water for recreation, water for all its other uses. Our own water problems in this country are not yet solved. We, like Israel, need to find cheap ways of converting salt water to fresh water. So let us work together. This Nation has begun discussions with the representatives of Israel on cooperative research in using nuclear energy to turn salt water into fresh water. This project poses a challenge to our scientific and technical skills. I promise no early and easy results, particularly since Jerry Wiesner has left us and gone back to the classroom. But the opportunities are so vast and the stakes are so high that it is worth all of our efforts and worth all of our energy, for water means life, and water means op 270 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-I964 Feb. 6 [ i75] portunity, and water means prosperity for those who never knew the meaning of those words. Water can banish hunger and can reclaim the desert and change the course of history. We are equally ready to cooperate with other countries anxious to cure water shortages. At i2 o'clock noon today the Cuban Government shut off water to the Guantanamo Naval Base. The excuse they gave was the arrest by the United States Government of 35 Cuban fishermen. These fishermen were clearly inside U.S. territorial waters. The United States has long assumed that the Cuban Government would cut off the water to Guantanamo and has put into force already contingency plans. There is enough water there tonight to last for i2 days, in addition to which water can be brought in and will be brought in indefinitely by ship from Port Everglades, Fla. The State Department, in the last few minutes, has just concluded a 2-hour meeting on this subject with the Secretary of Defense and with my assistant, Mr. Bundy, who will brief me on my return to the Capital tonight. The State Department issued a statement a few moments ago which clearly establishes that Cuban fishing vessels intercepted by our Coast Guard were clearly inside our territorial waters.' The captains of these boats reported this fact by radio to Havana just before the arrest came. The United States has known since Mr. Castro took over and allied himself with a foreign power that he would some day cut off the water to our Guantanamo base. We have made such plans for such an eventuality. Our troops in Cuba and their families will have the water they need. 1 For full text see Department of State Bulletin, volume 50, page 276. In our cooperative water program that I was talking about between Israel and the United States, the International Atomic Energy Agency will play a very vital part. In this way we will demonstrate the constructive meaning of man's mastery of the atom. We will pool the intellectual resources of Israel and America, and all mankind, for the benefit of all the world. We will better pursue our common quest for water, for water should never divide men; it should unite them. Water should never be a cause of war; it should always be a force for peace. And peace is first on our agenda. It is not there only because it is right and decent to seek peace. The larger reason is there is no rational alternative to peace. We face a choice which only two other Presidents of the United States have confronted-whether our civilization, as we know it, will survive. Nuclear war is no longer a mere theoretical possibility. No other Presidents in our history have had this responsibility. We are built to withstand an attack-and to strike back. There is no question that we have the capacity to destroy any enemy, anywhere. But we court no territories. We covet to dominate no people. We seek no satellites. But we do intend to preserve and protect the peace, and our capacity to do this, I assure you, will not diminish. Victory is no longer a truth. It is only a word to describe whoever is left alive in the ruins. If we put high emphasis on each step toward peace, no matter how feeble the gait or how short the stride, it is because I think we understand the nature of this new and changed world, a world where in only a matter of moments we could destroy ioo million people in the Soviet Union, and they could destroy ioo million people in Europe, and they could destroy ioo million people 271 [I75] Feb. 6 Public Papers of the Presidents here in the United States. So that is why even the seemingly small disputes between small countries-or the invisible hand behind a visible threat to democracy in other lands-that is why the eruption of trouble somewhere in the world, or anywhere in the world, is always so important to us. Tonight there are a dozen explosive incidents in the world. Tomorrow there may be more. But we must treat these disturbances not as isolated threats to be responded to only at that moment, but in the perspective of the history we hope will be. We envy no neighbor. We covet no territory. We are looking for no satellites. We believe the most plausible solution to war is simply for each nation to leave its neighbors in peace. This would then free us all to attack those ancient enemies of all mankind who for centuries have warred on man and his hope-poverty and ignorance, misery and disease. If we will just join together to destroy them, we will destroy the roots of war. Science, and the Weizmanns all over the globe, are in the front line of this army that is fighting man's ageless foes. So tonight as I speak to you with affection and share with you pride in Israel's achievements, I speak the warm sentiments uttered by every American President since Harry S. Truman. In the desires and hopes of these Presidents, I say to you and I say to the world that I would not underestimate the complexity of all the age-old Middle East rivalries and hostilities. But the basic hope of the United States for this area is not so complex and not so different from that of all mankind. I think it is inscribed in the ancient writ of the prophets and on the modern building of the United Nations. It is very simply a desire for the day when "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation... nor shall they learn war any more." That is my prayer. That is my prophecy. NOTE: The I8th annual dinner of the Weizmann Institute of Science was held in the Grand Ballroom at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. The President's opening words referred to Dewey Stone and Abraham Feinberg, members of the board of the Institute. Later he referred to Dr. Jerome B. Wiesner, who had recently resigned as Special Assistant to the President for Science and Technology to become Dean of Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. I76 Statement by the President Following Senate Approval of the Tax Bill. February 7, 1964 TODAY'S ACTION on the tax bill is good news for the country. I am proud of the Congress. I am glad for the taxpayer. I want to express my gratitude to the House which passed the tax bill last session, and to the Senate whose members worked hard to assure swift but full consideration of it in the last few weeks. I hope the conferees will quickly resolve their differences. Each day's delay is costly. Their action will give our free enterprise economy new life in the form of increased consumer buying, new investment, and more jobs. And it will keep America growing. This has been an important day for all of us. NOTE: This statement was read by the Press Secretary to the President, Pierre Salinger, at his news conference held at the White House at 6:35 p.m. on February 7, I964. 272 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 Feb. 9 [i78] I 77 White House Statement Declaring United States Determination To Guarantee the Security of the Naval Base at Guantanamo. February 7, i964 WHEN the Cuban Government shut off the water supply to Guantanamo, it deliberately broke an agreement made in I938, reasserted in I947, and personally supported by Fidel Castro in I958. The United States is determined to guarantee the security of the Guantanamo Naval Base and does not intend to submit that security or the welfare of the servicemen and their families who live there to further irresponsible actions of the Cuban Government. The President has instructed the Department of Defense to make the Guantanamo base self-sufficient. In response the Secretary of Defense has issued instructions to: i. Assure the base control over its own water supply both by conversion of sea water to fresh water and by the transportation of water by ship. 2. Reduce the employment of Cuban personnel who are subject to the control of the Cuban Government and whose wages con tribute to its foreign exchange. The reckless and irresponsible conduct of the Cuban Government remains a constant threat to the peace of this hemisphere. The consequences of further provocations by Castro should be carefully weighed by all nations. These matters are being called to the attention of the members of the Organization of American States for consideration in connection with charges now pending against Cuba in that organization. They will also be discussed with the members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in order that those governments can take them into account in connection with their determination of their own policies toward the threats to the security of the Western Hemisphere posed by the Castro regime. NoTE: This statement was read by the Press Secretary to the President, Pierre Salinger, at his news conference held at the White House at 6:35 p.m. on February 7, i964. x78 Statement by the President Upon Making Public the Report of the President's Council on Aging. February 9, i964 THIS administration will continue to build on the efforts of President Kennedy to make this a better country for its older citizens. Under my i965 budget proposals the Federal Government will spend an estimated $19 billion from budget and trust funds for benefits and services for older persons. We are moving ahead to keep the older American from becoming a second-class citizen. Our programs in income maintenance, our efforts in supporting private industry in the building of better housing for older people, our investments in research, our assistance in the provision of medical facilities-these and other actions are bringing us closer to the time when elderly people generally can enjoy the independence and the sense of purpose and accomplishment that are their due. Much more needs to be done to brighten the later years. Longer life is both a major achievement and a major challenge of our time. Nearly 23 years have been added to the average life 273 [I78] Feb. 9 Public Papers of the Presidents time in our century. A child born in i900 could expect 47 years of life; his grandchildren, born today, can look forward to 70. They will carry the continuity of America well toward the middle of the 2ist century. Today nearly i8 million men and women in the United States have reached or passed their 65th birthday. Approximately onethird of them are 75 or over. More than 12,000 have lived ioo years. For these older Americans-and for those of us moving each year to join them-the lengthening of life gives an opportunity for a new dimension to living. The increased span of retirement provides time for selfrealization, creative endeavor, and public service. Old age is not a problem in itself. But the fact is, millions of older Americans face many problems. They face: -The problem of poverty. There are 3 million elderly families with incomes of less than $3,ooo a year, and two-thirds of all elderly persons, who live alone or with nonrelatives, have incomes below $I,500. -The problem of housing. One out of each five dwelling units occupied by persons over 6o is substandard. -The problem of health. Older people need much more medical service than younger. They have much less money to pay for it. -The problem of employment. Age alone is a too-frequent excuse to remove men and women needlessly and arbitrarily from active participation in life. We must attack all these problems all the time, if we are to achieve goals of security and opportunity for all older Americans. To fall behind on one front is to fall behind on all fronts. Poverty is an all-pervasive blight. And so are miserable housing, poor health, and social banishment. One of the most urgent orders of business at this time is the enactment of hospital insurance for the aged through social security to help older people meet the high costs of illness without jeopardizing their economic independence. This program would not only be a major attack on health problems among older people but a major attack on poverty. At the same time, I urge all States to adopt adequate programs of medical assistance for the aged under the Kerr-Mills legislation. This assistance is needed now, and it will be needed later as a supplement to hospital insurance to deal with those special problems that private insurance and the social insurance program will not cover. NOTE: The statement was made public as part of a White House release summarizing the report of the President's Council on Aging (December i6, I963, 89 pp., Government Printing Office). The Council recommended in its report: increased emphasis on gradual retirement programs; the issuance of an Executive order establishing a Federal policy against age discrimination in employment; a model State code for nursing home licensure to be developed by the Council of State Governments; analysis of how older people with low incomes actually spend their money and what level of living a given level of income provides; development of a program to enable elderly homeowners to convert equities into income without selling their homes; provision of mortgage insurance for the construction of nonprofit nursing homes; provision of relocation allowances to workers displaced by economic shifts. The release lists the members of the President's Council on Aging as follows: Chairman, Anthony J. Celebrezze, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare; C. Douglas Dillon, Secretary of the Treasury; Orville L. Freeman, Secretary of Agriculture; Luther H. Hodges, Secretary of Commerce; W. Willard Wirtz, Secretary of Labor; John W. Macy, Jr., Chairman, Civil Service Commission; J. S. Gleason, Jr., Administrator of Veterans Affairs; and Robert C. Weaver, Administrator of Housing and Home Finance Agency. On February i2 the President issued Executive Order III41 "Declaring a Public Policy Against Discrimination on the Basis of Age" (29 F.R. 2477; 3 CFR, i964 Supp.). 274 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Feb. io [i7q] I79 Special Message to the Congress on the Nation's Health. February 10, I964 To the Congress of the United States: The American people are not satisfied with better-than-average health. As a Nation, they want, they need, and they can afford the best of health: -not just for those of comfortable means. -but for all our citizens, old and young, rich and poor. In America, -There is no need and no room for second-class health services. -There is no need and no room for denying to any of our people the wonders of modern medicine. -There is no need and no room for elderly people to suffer the personal economic disaster to which major illness all too commonly exposes them. In seeking health improvements, we build on the past. For in the conquest of ill health our record is already a proud one: -American medical research continues to score remarkable advances. -We have mastered most of the major contagious diseases. -Our life expectancy is increasing steadily. -The overall quality of our physicians, dentists, and other health workers, of our professional schools, and of our hospitals and laboratories is unexcelled. -Basic health protection is becoming more and more broadly available. Federal programs have played a major role in these advances: -Federal expenditures in the fiscal i965 budget for health and health-related programs total $5.4 billion-about double the amount of 8 years ago. -Federal participation and stimulus are partly responsible for the fact that last year in i963-the Nation's total health expenditures reached an unprecedented high of $34 billion, or 6 percent of the gross national product. But progress means new problems: -As the life span lengthens, the need for health services grows. -As medical science grows more complex, health care becomes more expensive. -As people move to urban centers, health hazards rise. -As population, which has increased 27 percent since I950, continues to grow, a greater strain is put on our limited supply of trained personnel. Even worse, perhaps, are those problems that reflect the unequal sharing of the health services we have: -Thousands suffer from diseases for which preventive measures are known but not applied. -Thousands of babies die needlessly; 9 other nations have lower infant death rates than ours. -Half of the young men found unqualified for military service are rejected for medical reasons; most of them come from poor homes. Clearly, too many Americans still are cut off by low incomes from adequate health services. Too many older people are still deprived of hope and dignity by prolonged and costly illness. The linkage between illhealth and poverty in America is still all too plain. In its first session, the 88th Congress made some important advances on the health front: -It acted to increase our supply of physicians and dentists. -It began a Nation-wide attack on mental illness and mental retardation. 33-171-65 - 23 275 [i7q] Feb. io Public Papers of the Presidents -And it strengthened our efforts against air pollution. But our remaining agenda is long, and it will be unfinished until each American enjoys the full benefits of modern medical knowledge. Part of this agenda concerns a direct attack on that particular companion of poor health-poverty. Above all, we must see to it that all of our children, whatever the economic condition of their parents, can start life with sound minds and bodies. My message to the Congress on poverty will set forth measures designed to advance us toward this goal. In today's message, I present the rest of this year's agenda for America's good health. I. HOSPITAL INSURANCE FOR THE AGED Nearly thirty years ago, this Nation took the first long step to meet the needs of its older citizens by adopting the Social Security program. Today, most Americans look toward retirement with some confidence that they will be able to meet their basic needs for food and shelter. But many of our older citizens are still defenseless against the heavy medical costs of severe illness or disability: -One-third of the aged who are forced to ask for old age assistance do so because of ill health, and one-third of our public assistance funds going to older people is spent for medical care. -For many others, serious illness wipes out savings and carries their families into poverty. -For these people, old age can be a dark corridor of fear. The irony is that this problem stems in part from the surging progress in medical science and medical techniques-the same progress that has brought longer life to Americans as a whole. Modern medical care is marvelously effective-but increasingly expensive. -Daily hospital costs are now four times as high as they were in 1946-now averaging about $37 a day. -In contrast, the average Social Security benefit is just $77 a month for retired workers and $67 a month for widows. Existing "solutions" to these problems are (I) private health insurance plans and (2) welfare medical assistance. No one of them is adequate, nor are they in combination: -Private insurance, when available, usually costs more than the average retired couple can afford. -Welfare medical assistance for the aged is not available in many States-and where it is available, it includes a needs test to which older citizens, with a lifetime of honorable, productive work behind them, should not be subjected. This situation is not new. For more than a decade we have failed to meet the problem. There is a sound and workable solution. Hospital insurance based on Social Security payments is clearly the best method of meeting the need. It is a logical extension of the principle-established in I935 and confirmed time after time by the Congress-that provision should be made for later years during the course of a lifetime of employment. Therefore: I recommend a hospital insurance program for the aged aimed at two basic goals: First, it should protect against the heaviest costs of a serious illness-the costs of hospital and skilled nursing home care, home health services, and outpatient hospital diagnostic services. Second, it should provide a base that re 276 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 Feb. io [i79] lated private programs can supplement. To achieve these goals: I. These benefits should be available to everyone who reaches 65. 2. Benefit payments should cover the cost of services customarily furnished in semiprivate accommodations in a hospital, but not the cost of the services of personal physicians. 3. The financing should be soundly funded through the Social Security system. 4. One-quarter of one percent should be added to the Social Security contribution paid by employers and by employees. 5. The annual earnings subject to Social Security taxes should be increased from $4,800 to $5,200. 6. For those not now covered by Social Security, the cost of similar protection would be provided from the administrative budget. Under this proposal, the costs of hospital and related services can be met without any interference whatever with the method of treatment. The arrangement would in no way hinder the patient's freedom to choose his doctor, hospital, or nurse. The only change would be in the manner in which individuals would finance the hospital costs of their later years. The average worker under Social Security would contribute about a dollar a month during his working life to protect himself in old age in a dignified manner against the devastating costs of prolonged hospitalization. Hospitalization, however, is not the end of older people's medical needs. Many aged individuals will have medical expenses that will be covered neither by social security, hospital insurance nor by private insurance. Therefore, I urge all States to adopt adequate programs of medical assistance under the Kerr-Mills Legislation. This assistance is needed now. And it will be needed later as a supplement to hospital insurance. II. HEALTH FACILITIES Good health is the product of well-trained people working in modern and efficient hospitals and other facilities. Extension and Expansion of Hill-Burton Program We can be proud of the many fine hospitals throughout the country which were made possible in the last I6 years by the Hill-Burton program of Federal aid. But there is more still to be done: -too often a sick patient must wait until a hospital bed becomes available; -too many hospitals are old and poorly equipped; -new kinds of facilities are needed to care for the aged and the chronically ill. I recommend that the Hill-Burton program-scheduled to end on June 30, I964 -be extended for an additional five years including the amendments outlined below. i. Planning Hospital care costs too much to permit duplication, inefficiency, or extravagance in building and locating hospitals. Individual hospitals and other health facilities should be located where they are most needed. Together, these facilities in a community should provide the services needed by its citizens. This means planning. Therefore: (a) I recommend that the Congress authorize special grants to public and nonprofit agencies to assist them in developing comprehensive area, regional, and local plans for health and related facilities. (b) I also recommend that limited matching funds be made available to help State 277 [i79] Feb. IO Public Papers of the Presidents agencies meet part of their costs of administering the Hill-Burton program, so that these agencies can plan wisely for our hospital systems. 2. Modernization The Hill-Burton program has done much to help build general hospitals where they were most needed when the program began-particularly in rural areas. While rural and suburban areas have been acquiring modern facilities, city hospitals have become more and more obsolete and inefficient. Yet city hospitals are largely responsible -for applying the latest discoveries of medical science; -for teaching the new generations of practitioners; -for setting the pace and direction in care of the sick. They must have adequate facilities. A recent study showed that it would cost '$3.6 billion to modernize and replace exist-ing antiquated facilities-more than three -times our annual expenditures for construction of all health facilities. The present Hill-Burton Act cannot meet -this critical need. Further neglect will only aggravate the problem. Therefore: (c) I recommend that the Act be amended to authorize a new program of grants to help public and nonprofit agencies modernize or replace hospital and related health facilities. 3. Long-Term Care Facilities Our lengthening life span has brought with it an increase in chronic diseases. This swells our need for long-term care facilities. We have been making some progress in meeting the backlog of demand for nursing -homes and chronic disease hospitals. But there is still a deficit of over 500,000 beds for the care of long-term patients. This is a national health problem. Our communities need better and more facilities to deal with prolonged illness, and to make community planning of these facilities more effective. Therefore: (d) I recommend that the separate grant programs for chronic disease hospitals and nursing homes be combined into a single category of long-term care facilities. The annual appropriation for the combined categories should be increased from $40 million to $70 million. 4. Mortgage Insurance Raising funds to build health facilities is a problem for almost every community: -Federal aid is not always obtainable. -States must set priorities for hospital projects which are to receive Federal aid; many worthwhile projects necessarily fail to win approval. -Nonprofit agencies often have great difficulty raising local funds to match Federal grants. -Loans available from private lenders often call for large annual payments and short payoff periods. This can either threaten a hospital's financial soundness or lead to excessive increases in the cost of hospital care. These financing difficulties do not alter the fact that the need for hospital beds is increasing. Therefore: (e) I recommend amendment of the HillBurton Act to permit mortgage insurance of loans with maturities up to 40 years to help build private nonprofit hospitals, nursing homes, and other medical facilities. (f) In addition, I recommend that authority to insure mortgage loans for the construction of nursing homes operated for profit be transferred from the Federal Housing Administration to the Public Health Service. These changes will help us build more hospitals and other medical facilities. And they will bring together in the Public Health Serv 278 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Feb. io [ 79] ice an adequate and inter-locking program of Federal aid to profit-making-as well as nonprofit-nursing homes, hospitals, and other facilities. Encouragement of Group Practice To meet the needs of their communities, groups of physicians-general practitioners and specialists-more and more are pooling their skills and using the same buildings, equipment, and personnel to care for their patients. -This is a sound and practical approach to medical service. -It provides better medical care, yet it yields economies which can be passed on to the consumer. -It makes better use of scarce professional personnel. -It offers benefits to physicians, patients, and the community. The specialized facilities and equipment needed for group practice are often not available, especially in smaller communities. Therefore: I recommend legislation to authorize a 5 -year program of Federal mortgage insurance and loans to help build and equip group practice medical and dental facilities. Priority should be given to facilities in smaller communities, and to those sponsored by nonprofit or cooperative organizations. III. HEALTH MANPOWER Medical science has grown vastly more complex in recent years-and its potential for human good has grown accordingly. But to convert its potential into actual good requires an ever-growing supply of everbetter trained medical manpower. -The quantity and quality of education for the health disciplines has been unable to keep pace. -Shortages of medical manpower are acute. By enacting the Health Professions Educational Assistance Act of 1963, the Congress took a major step to close this gap in medical manpower, especially as it relates to physicians and dentists. But the task is far from finished. A Stronger Nursing Profession The rapid development of medical science places heavy demands on the time and skill of the physician. Nurses must perform many functions that once were done only by doctors. A panel of expert advisors to the Public Health Service has recommended that the number of professional nurses be increased from the current total of 550,000 to 680,000 by I970. This requires raising nursing school enrollments by 75 percent. But larger enrollments alone are not enough. The efficiency of nursing schools and the quality of instruction must be improved. The nursing profession, too, is becoming more complex and exacting. The longer we delay, the larger the deficit grows, and the harder it becomes to overcome it. I recommend the authorization of grants to build and expand schools of nursing, to help the schools perfect new teaching methods, and to assist local, State and regional planning for nursing service. We must remove financial barriers for students desiring to train for the nursing profession and we must attract highly talented youngsters. I therefore recommend Federal loans and a national competitive merit scholarship program. For each year of service as a nurse up to 6 years a proportion of the loan should be forgiven. 279 [i79] Feb. IO Public Papers of the Presidents In addition, I recommend continuation and expansion of the Professional Nurse Traineeship Program to increase the number of nurses trained for key supervisory and teaching positions. Federal action alone is not enough: -State and local governments, schools, hospitals, the health professions, and private citizens all have a big stake in solving the nursing shortage. -Each must take on added responsibilities if the growing demand for essential and high quality nursing services is to be met. Strengthened Training in Public Health Our State and local public health agencies are attempting to cope with mounting problems, but with inadequate resources. Our population has risen 27 percent since I950, and public health problems have become more complex. But there are fewer public health physicians today than in 1950. The number of public health engineers has increased by only a small fraction; and other essential public health disciplines are in short supply. These shortages have weakened health protection measures in many communities. The situation would be much worse than it is, but for two Public Health Service training programs: (i) the program of public health traineeships; (2) the complementary program of project grants to schools of public health, nursing, and engineering-designed to help strengthen graduate or specialized public health training. The need for these programs is greater today than ever before. I recommend that the Public Health Traineeship program and the project grant program for graduate training in public health be expanded and extended until i969. IV. MENTAL HEALTH AND MENTAL RETARDATION Mental illness is a grave problem for the Nation, for the community, and for the family it strikes. It can be dealt with only through heroic measures. It must be dealt with generously and effectively. Last year, President Kennedy proposed legislation to improve the Nation's mental health and to combat mental retardation. Congress promptly responded. State and local governments and private organizations joined in that response. The Congress enacted legislation which should enable us to reduce substantially the number of patients in existing custodial institutions within a decade, through comprehensive community-based mental health services. Under new legislation passed last year we will train teachers and build community centers for the care and treatment of the mentally handicapped. It was, as President Kennedy said, "the most significant effort that the Congress of the United States has ever undertaken" on behalf of human welfare and happiness. We are now moving speedily to put this legislation into effect. The mentally ill and the mentally retarded have a right to a decent, dignified place in society. I intend to assure them of that place. The Congress has demonstrated its awareness of the need for action by approving my request for supplemental appropriations for mental retardation programs in the current fiscal year. 280 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Feb. IO [ i79] This will enable us to get started. My i965 budget includes a total of $467 million for the National Institute of Mental Health and for mental retardation activities. I urge the Congress to approve the full amount requested. V. HEALTH PROTECTION Technological progress is not always an unmixed blessing. To be sure, we have a wealth of new products, unimagined a few generations ago, that make life easier and more rewarding. But these benefits sometimes carry a price in the shape of new hazards to our health: -The air we breathe is being fouled by our great factories, our myriad automobiles and trucks, our huge urban centers. -The pure water we once took for granted is being polluted by chemicals and foreign substances. -The pesticides indispensable to our farmers sometimes introduce chemicals whose long-range effects upon man are dimly understood. We must develop effective safeguards to protect our people from hazards in the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat. To provide a focal point for vigorous research, training, and control programs in environmental health, I have requested funds in the i965 budget to develop plans for additional facilities to house our expanding Federal programs concerned with environmental health. The Clean Air Act, which I approved last December I7, commits the Federal Government for the first time to substantially increased responsibilities in preventing and controlling air pollution. I urge prompt action on the supplemental appropriation to finance this new authority in the current fiscal year. Pesticides The President's Science Advisory Committee report on Pesticides, released last May, alerted the country to the potential health dangers of pesticides. To act without delay: I have submitted requests to the Congress for additional funds for i964 and i965 for research on the effects of pesticides on our environment. I recommend enactment of pending legislation prohibiting the registration and marketing of pesticides until a positive finding of safety has been made. In addition, the Department of Agriculture, working with the Departments of Health, Education, and Welfare and of the Interior, is reviewing and revising procedures to make certain that the benefits and hazards of pesticides to human health, domestic animals, and wildlife are considered fully before their registration and sale are approved. Finally, the Federal Government's own use and application of pesticides are being reviewed to assure that all safeguards are applied. Foods, Drugs, and Cosmetics The i962 amendments to the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act will enhance the safety, the effectiveness, the reliability of drugs and cosmetics. To give this Act the vigorous enforcement it contemplates, I am requesting increased appropriations to the Food and Drug Administration, largely for scientific and regulatory personnel. 28i [i79] Feb. IO Public Papers of the Presidents In addition, I renew the recommendations contained in my Consumer Message for new legislation to extend and clarify the Food, Drug and Cosmetic laws. VI. RESEARCH AND SPECIAL HEALTH NEEDS Over the past decade, our Nation has developed an unparalleled program of medical research. This investment has already paid rich dividends, and more dividends are within reach. The budget that I have proposed for fiscal i965 assures the rate of growth needed to meet current opportunities and to provide a sound base for future progress. In addition, the Office of Science and Technology has assembled a group of eminent citizens to study thoroughly the medical research and training programs of the National Institutes of Health. This study should point to new ways to improve our medical research. Commission on Heart Disease, Cancer, and Strokes Cancer, heart disease, and strokes stubbornly remain the leading causes of death in the United States. They now afflict I5 million Americans-two-thirds of all Americans now living will ultimately suffer or die from one of them. These diseases are not confined to older people. -Approximately half of the cases of cancer are found among persons under 65. -Cancer causes more deaths among children under age I5 than any other disease. -More than half the persons suffering from heart disease are in their most productive years. -Fully a third of all persons with recent strokes or with paralysis due to strokes are under 65. The Public Health Service is now spending well over a quarter of a billion dollars annually finding ways to combat these diseases. Other organizations, both public and private, also are investing considerable amounts in these efforts. The flow of new discoveries, new drugs and new techniques is impressive and hopeful. Much remains to be learned. But the American people are not receiving the full benefits of what medical research has already accomplished. In part, this is because of shortages of professional health workers and medical facilities. It is also partly due to the public's lack of awareness of recent developments and techniques of prevention and treatment. I am establishing a Commission on Heart Disease, Cancer, and Strokes to recommend steps to reduce the incidence of these diseases through new knowledge and more complete utilization of the medical knowledge we already have. The Commission will be made up of persons prominent in medicine and public affairs. I expect it to complete its study by the end of this year and submit recommendations for action. Narcotics and Drug Abuse Abuse of drugs and traffic in narcotics are a tragic menace to public health. To deal promptly and intelligently with this situation we must take effective measures of education, regulation, law enforcement, 282 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-I964 Feb. IO [ i79] rehabilitation. We must strengthen the cooperative efforts of Federal, State and local authorities and public services. The recent report of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Narcotics and Drug Abuse has rendered signal contributions: -It places the problem in its proper perspective. -It proposes policies and actions which deserve full consideration. The appropriate Federal departments and agencies will review this report, and I shall at a later time send my recommendations to the Congress. Vocational Rehabilitation Disability-always a cruel burden-has partly succumbed to medical progress. Our Federal-State program of vocational rehabilitation has been demonstrating this fact for more than 40 years. Rehabilitation can help restore productivity and independence to millions of Americans who have been victims of serious illness and injury. Over IIo,ooo disabled men and women were returned to activity and jobs last year alone. If more fully developed and supported by the States and the Federal Government, this program can be a powerful tool in combatting poverty and unemployment among the millions of our citizens who face vocational handicaps which they cannot surmount without specialized help. I have already recommended appropriation of increased Federal funds for vocational rehabilitation. I now recommend enactment of legislation to facilitate the restoration of greater numbers of our mentally retarded and severely disabled to gainful employment, by permitting them up to eighteen months of rehabilitative services prior to the determination of their vocational feasibility. I also recommend enactment of a new program for the construction and initial staffing of workshops and rehabilitation facilities, program expansion grants, and increased State fiscal and administrative flexibility. International Health Scientists from many countries have contributed to the enrichment of our national medical research effort. We in turn support medical research in other nations. International collaboration in medical research, including support of research through the World Health Organization, is an efficient means of expanding knowledge and a powerful means of strengthening contacts among nations. It links not only scientists but nations and peoples in efforts to achieve a common aspiration of mankindthe reduction of suffering and the lengthening the prime of life. The United States participates in an ambitious international effort to eradicate malaria-a disease which strikes untold millions throughout the world. Both of my predecessors committed the United States to this campaign, now going forward under the leadership of the World Health Organization. The Congress has endorsed this objective and has supported it financially. We will continue to encourage WHO in its work to eradicate malaria throughout the world. We will continue to commit substantial resources to aid friendly nations through bilateral programs of malaria eradication. The United States will also initiate in i964 a program to eradicate the mosquito 33-171-65 —24 283 [I79] Feb. Io Public Papers of the Presidents carrying yellow fever. My i965 budget provides expanded funds for the second year of this program. CONCLUSION The measures recommended in this Message comprise a vigorous and many-sided attack on our most serious health problems. These problems will not be fully solved in i964 or for a long time to come. They will not be solved by the Federal Government alone, nor even by government at all levels. They are deeply rooted in American life. They must be solved by society as a whole. I ask the help of all Americans in this vital work. LYNDON B. JOHNSON i8o Statement by the President Upon Making Public His Report to the Congress on Communications Satellites. February 10, I964 THE YEAR i963 has been a time of fruitful achievement aimed at reaching the objectives set by Congress in the Communications Satellite Act. The program to establish a global communications satellite system to meet the many objectives of the act is progressing well in light of the complexities of the problem. An entirely new long-haul communications transmission system is being fitted into the complex technical and organizational arrangements of the growing international communication structure. These efforts are going forward with ingenuity and determination on the part of the Government, the Corporation, the U.S. international communications carriers and 'telecommunication entities overseas. The national program of the United States moves forward aggressively toward the fulfillment of the policy and purposes of the Congress. NOTE: The statement was made public as part of a White House release summarizing the "Report on Activities and Accomplishments Under the Communications Satellite Act of I962," dated February 10, I964. The report is printed as House Document 225 (88th Cong., 2d sess.). The report stated that plans for a commercial communications satellite system were well underway; that the policy of the United States continued to be that communications by means of satellites be available as soon as possible and on a global and non-discriminatory basis; that the Corporation would investigate both synchronous and medium altitude satellites for its basic system. It further stated that the Space Radiocommunication Conference held in Geneva during October and November, I963, had allocated frequency bands for the satellites. The report listed as among the interesting demonstrations of the capabilities of communications satellites conducted during x963 the transmissions via Syncom II between the delegates at the Space Radiocommunication Conference in Geneva and the United States representatives in New York and Ambassadors in Washington; also signals were trans mitted via Syncom II between the Navy satellite communications ship in Lagos, Nigeria, and Camp Roberts, Calif., over 7,00o nautical miles. 284 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-i964 Feb. i [ I82] I8i Remarks Upon Signing Bill Amending the Library Services Act. February II, 1964 WE ARE PROUD and delighted to have this distinguished company with us this morning in the White House. There are few acts of Congress which I sign with more pleasure, and certainly none with more hope than this new library services and construction act. "A true university," observed Carlyle, "is a collection of books." This wise Englishman never wrote a truer statement. Anything that we can do to enlarge the number and the quality of libraries is, I think, an act of national achievement. Good public libraries must be placed within the reach of all of our people. Libraries are not just for the young and the curious about an exciting world. They are not just for our youth preparing for their careers. They are not just for busy people looking for information to do their jobs. Libraries are for everyone and therein lies their real value. This act importantly expands a program which helps make library services available to 38 million Americans in rural areas-38 million! It authorizes efforts to strengthen inadequate urban libraries. This act authorizes for the first time grants for the construction and renovation of library buildings. Chances are that the public libraries are among the oldest buildings in any community. Only 4 percent of our public libraries have been built since 1940. Many of them were built through the wise generosity of Andrew Carnegie 40 years ago. This Nation needs a larger and more diversified collection of books. We need better housing for these books. We sorely need libraries closer to the people, whether through more centrally located libraries or through bookmobiles and branch locations. The central fact of our times is this: Books and ideas are the most effective weapons against intolerance and ignorance. A sensitive Frenchman once said that mediocre minds generally condemn anything that passes their understanding. Mediocre minds cannot survive in a modern world, but enlightened minds can survive. The library is the best training ground for enlightenment that rational man has ever conceived, and I am so happy that the enlightened Members of Congress and others who supported their activities can participate in this ceremony this morning which they and their children and their children's children will always be proud of. NOTE: The President spoke at II a.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White House. As enacted, the bill amending the Library Services Act is Public Law 88-269 (78 Stat. Ix). 182 Remarks to Key Officials of the Internal Revenue Service. February 1, 1964 Secretary Dillon and Mr. Caplin: I appreciate very much your coming here today and visiting in your house. I am grateful for that fine introduction. I am glad to talk with the men and women who administer our tax system. As a taxpayer I am interested in how well you do this job. I don't suppose we will ever get to the 285 [I82] Feb. i i Public Papers of the Presidents point where people are ever pleased to pay taxes, but we owe it to them to see that the collection is done as efficiently as possible, as courteously as possible, and always honestly. Taxpayers are people. They are you and me and millions of our fellow citizens. I think we constantly have to bear in mind when we are dealing with the taxpayers what we should bear in mind in dealing with all of the igo million people that make up this country and that is that we are all equal on election day. After all, the decision of the many is much to be preferred to the judgment of the few, as Thomas Jefferson said, and the decision of the many determines the leaders of our system, so every man is a king in the ballot box and therefore we must realize we are his servants and not his masters. Taxpayers must be treated with courtesy. They have a right under our democratic system to be treated reasonably and they have every reason to expect from the men of the Internal Revenue Service total integrity, and integrity in tax administration is some, thing that we take for granted, but the price of integrity is eternal vigilance. So I am going to ask each of you to exercise special responsibility and I am going to count on you gentlemen never to let that vigilance sag. Because you are all in the civil service it means you are all professional managers. As managers I know you share my interest in economy and frugality. That does not mean that we pinch pennies. It does mean that we war on waste. Is it wrong to expect a dollar's value from each dollar spent? In this Government our goals are very simple. We intend under this administration to see that we have a strong country, that we are militarily secure, that we have the power and the might and the determination to defend America any time, any place, under any circumstances. 286 In order to do that we must be equally sure that we not only have a strong Nation but that we have a solvent Nation. Solvency will require application of our best talents every day. We have a budget this year roughly equivalent to the budget last year. We all know in our personal living that it is difficult to keep expenses down next year to what they were last year, but we are trying to do that in this Government. President Kennedy will have spent about $98,400 million in the administrative budget for this last year and we have recommended $97,900 million, or within half of i percent of what the President recommended. If we had continued the next year as we had the last 2 years, we would have added $5 billion to that budget because of increased population, unfilled needs, increased demands. It took us 40 days and nights to pare and prune. The Secretary of the Treasury and the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and other leaders in our Government were extremely cooperative. We sent a budget to the Congress which I think made possible our reporting the tax bill and finally passing it in the Senate. So we are going to have a frugal administration, we are going to be a progressive administration. You don't have to be wasteful in order to be enlightened or to be progressive. My mother was the most liberal person that I think I ever knew, yet she always had some pin money hid under the pillow to take care of our needs in time of distress. I think that we must have not just a war on poverty but we must have a war on waste. I am glad that the atmosphere and the thinking among the leadership in this Government is going to bring that about. Now, if government is to serve any purpose it is to do for others what they are unable to do for themselves. If each of us Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-1964 Feb. II [i82] could defend our country in time of war we would not need a Defense Department. If each of us could collect our own taxes and take care of all the expenditures necessary for roads and education and so forth, we would not need a Treasury Department or an Internal Revenue Service, but we can't do those things individually so we must do them collectively in Government. Aside from being strong and aside from being solvent, this Government must always be compassionate. We must bear in mind that as I said before, we are the servants of the people. President Roosevelt talked with great eloquence about the third of our Nation that was ill housed and ill fed and ill clad. That was 30 years ago. By great dedication of selfless men we brought that one-third that was ill clad and ill fed and ill housed down to one-fifth that is now ill clad, and ill fed, and ill housed. In our budget this year, we will apportion approximately a billion dollars to try to do something to reduce that one-fifth to maybe one-sixth or one-seventh or one-eighth or one-tenth because that is a worthy goal, following the Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Imagine what government would mean to you that attacked the poverty program if your income was among the 20 percent that earns less than $3,000 per year. The best way for you to understand how the other fellow feels is to put yourself in his place for a while and see how you would feel under similar circumstances. That is not only true of those who have suffered from ignorance and poverty and disease and illiteracy but that is true also of those who have suffered from discrimination-discrimination in schools, discrimination in housing, discrimination in emplyoment, discrimination in public accommodations. I tell this story because it is a rather touching personal experience that I have had. One of the great ladies that I have known is kind of chief of staff of our operation, our house. She has been with us 20 years, she is a college graduate, but when she comes from Texas to Washington she never knows where she can get a cup of coffee. She never knows when she can go to a bathroom. She has to take 3 or 4 hours out to go across to the other side of the tracks to locate the place where she can sit down and buy a meal. You wouldn't want that to happen to your wife or to your mother or to your sister, but somehow or other you take it for granted when it happens to someone way off there. So the time has come in our national life when we have got to make our Bill of Rights real, when we have got to make our Declaration of Independence come true, when we have got to make our Constitution a living document. We have got to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Mr. Caplin touched on that subject, so I ask you when you go back with the good fortune that will be yours to be public servants, dedicated, trusted men of integrity, that first of all you be sure that you get a dollar's worth of value for every dollar you spend, and don't tell me you do because I have seen in your own shops a good many people in the halls when they could have been working. And I saw it in my own shop as I came over here today. So you can do better. I wouldn't want to be held to this but the light bill on the White House a few months ago was $5,ooo a month. This month it is $3,000. A lot of closets that had lights burning in them all day long and a lot of stairways that people didn't use that had lights burning, a lot of rooms in here where the chandeliers were going full -time when 287 [I82] Feb. I Public Papers of the Presidents no one was in here, they were all used, but when people got economy conscious and just started watching things like we used to on the REA line when we had a minimum bill of $2.50 a month and we never wanted to go over the minimum. Things can be reduced. It has not all been due to our efforts. Some of it came about for other reasons, but we hope that next month it will come down another $500 a month. The people of the country, I think, will really appreciate when they realize you are saving $2500 a month on electricity in the house in which you live. You go back home and see how much electricity you can save in the building in which you work. See how many lights you leave on when you go out at night. See how many people you have that are not living up to the most rigid standards. I have always said and thought that if I could have a son I would like for him to be a preacher or a teacher or a public servant because I have observed that there comes to those professions a sense of satisfaction out of doing a job that you never get from a paycheck. Most of you men would in private life draw several times the salary that you draw now. Here is Secretary Dillon who has everything in the world that a man could want. He has wealth, he has prestige and he has a lovely wife and a wonderful reputation, but his great satisfaction comes from working here in Washington and leading a group like you, and spending several times more per year than he earns in his salary, trying to help other people. You are very fortunate to be one of those men who is not a preacher or teacher but a public servant, because you serve the greatest government in the world. You serve the leader of the world, the II3 nations, and yours is out standing. There are only six of them that have a per capita income of as much as $8o a month. Yours has over $200 a month. How long this Nation will endure and survive and meet the trials of leadership will depend largely on the quality of its public servants, their dedication, their honesty, their integrity, their enlightenment, their selflessness, their willingness to do unto others as you would have them do unto us. We have problems in the world. We are living in a frustrating period, an exciting period, a developmental period. I have seen times when the skies were grayer. But we don't have on our hands this morning a missile crisis in Cuba. We don't have Laos; we don't have the conference in Vienna that we faced the first few months of President Kennedy's administration-the Bay of Pigs-all of those were major problems. Relatively speaking, we don't have the problem that Mr. Khrushchev has with Communist China, 800 million people there and they are saying ugly things about each other. And 800 million is a sizable number. When they fall out among themselves it is something that must concern both of them. We are concerned about Panama-that we should have a dispute with any of our neighbors. Our school children made a mistake in raising the United States flag without raising the Panamanian flag, but that does not warrant or justify shooting our soldiers or invading the zone. Our plane was off course over Berlin and lost its communications system very likely, and was shot down. It should not have been in that territory. It would not have been if it had been able to follow our radar instructions but it lost its communications; but we don't think that they were justified in shooting it down. 288 Lyndon B. John The Cuban fishermen got in our waters and they were taken into custody. That is what normally happens when situations like that develop. We are sorry that they were in our waters but we don't think they are justified in cutting off our water and violating our contract, but since they did it, we told them we will provide our own water and we will make that base self-sufficient and that is what we propose to do. But today the OAS Committee is in Panama. The Cuban situation is being worked out. We have problems between our NATO allies with the Greeks and the Turks but Secretary Ball is trying to evolve a solution that will keep them from fighting each other. In Viet-Nam, we have a new government. It is the second new government that they have had in recent months. In NATO alone in the last year, out of I5 countries, io of them have had new governments. Of the I I3 nations in the world, 50 of them have had new governments in the last 3 years. We expect those things, and we are not the last word and we cannot expect to mash a button and have our wishes carried out all over this globe. All we can do is expect to do what is right, what is honorable, what is enlightened, and that we are doing. We are not pulling out of Southeast Asia because we are not willing to yield that part of the world to the envelopment of communism. We are providing assistance to save people who want to save themselves. Now all of these distress, and from time to time you will hear alarmists and people who like to jump on their government, people who like to criticize, people who find it quite impossible to be affirmative and constructive. They will join with some of our opponents and they will be almost as much of a problem SOn, 1963-I964 Feb. ii [I82] as some of our other enemies. But that is no reason for us to lose hope or to be concerned. The best way to treat them is to just "God forgive them, for they know not what they do." When I became majority leader, when President Eisenhower was President, I took the position that politics stopped at the water's edge-we had but one President and one Commander in Chief-that I would support his policies and give him strength and comfort, and that I would not be aligning myself with any enemies of the United States in criticizing him. A great many of the times I supported him when his own leadership did not support him, but we made democracy work with a divided government because he put his country first, and we tried to do likewise. So I ask you to be of strong heart, to realize how fortunate and how blessed you are that you are a part of America; that you have American citizenship. My plane has landed in many continents, touched down in more than 30 countries in the last 3 years. The wheels have never stopped and the door has never opened and I have never looked upon any faces that I didn't think would like to trade citizenship with me. I am very thankful that I have the good fortune to live in America. One of the reasons it is a good fortune to live in America is because men like you make the sacrifices you do. I feel in talking to you that I am talking to one of my very own, because I have spent 32 years in Government service and I have never seen a man that I really thought went into the service to do what he thought was wrong. But I have seen'a lot of them that did wrong after they got in because of their lack of leadership, because of their lack of sensitivity, because of their' 289 [I182] Feb. I I Public Papers of the Presidents lack of consciousness, because they did waste time and waste effort and bring about unnecessary adjustments. So, these conferences are good for you. It is wonderful for you to come here and see the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, and the House that belongs to all of you people, because it is a symbol of all that made America great and that has made us proud. Since World War II we have spent a hundred billion dollars trying to help other people. When I drove down the streets of Rome, people ran out and stopped my car and said, "Look at that skyline, that industrial activity back there. Except for the help of Americans, we would have never made it. Never before in the history of civilization had the victors treated the vanquished as you have treated us, and we want you to go back and thank Americans." So, regardless of what you hear and regardless of what some of the bellyachers say, we are a much beloved people throughout the world. We are respected and we appreciate it. We will have differences. Men of different ancestries, men of different tongues, men of different colors, men of different environments, men of different geographies do not see everything alike. Even in our own country we do not see everything alike. If we did, we would all want the same wifeand that would be a problem, wouldn't it! We must make allowance for the other fellow. A good way to treat him is just to assume that he wants to do for his own people what you want to do for your own. Try to find an area of agreement instead of an area of disagreement. We have laid down our proposals for disarmament in Geneva. We have said to every thinking man in this Government, we want to follow the road of peace. We are going to yearn for it-not just yearnwe are going to search for it. We know that Mr. Khrushchev can kill a hundred million people in Western Europe in a matter of minutes. And he can kill a hundred million people more or less in this country in a matter of minutes. And we can kill a hundred million people in Russia, in the Soviet Union, in a matter of minutes. That is not great statesmanship. What we have got to do is be prepared to defend ourselves, but also be prepared to find a solution to these many problems. I have sat in the Security Council with your Secretary of the Treasury, and I couldn't let this meeting go by without telling you of the great confidence I have in him, the great faith I have in him, and the great feeling of security that I have when he rises to speak and gives his independent judgment. He is a man who puts his country first. Somebody called him a Republican. I think that is about the worst thing I ever heard said about him. But if you are going to have Republicans-and we are in this country; and we are going to have a two-party system, we are proud of it-I like to have Republicans like Doug Dillon. I like their own kind because he is the kind that has strong convictions and expresses them. But he is a free man first, an American second, a public servant third, and a Republican fourth-in that order. I think we are lucky to have your Commissioner here. I have been checked lately, so I am up to date and I can be complimentary. I want to say that I never have known a more dedicated person or a more enlightened one, and I think he has done great things for the Internal Revenue Service. I know that he has got his eye over every 290 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 Feb. 12 [183] one of your shoulders, and he is going to make you do better because America must do better. But we can't be satisfied with yesterday. Tomorrow is going to be a better world for all of our people, better for all of our children than it was for us, and you are going to help make it so. You are welcome in the White House. We thank you for coming. I am grateful for the opportunity of talking to you. NOTE: The President spoke in the East Room at the White House. His opening words referred to Douglas Dillon, Secretary of the Treasury, and Mortimer M. Caplin, Commissioner, Internal Revenue Service, who made brief introductory remarks. Later the President referred to George W. Ball, Under Secretary of State, who had left for Europe on February 8 for discussions with British, Greek, and Turkish officials on the Cyprus problem. i83 Letter to Sargent Shriver on His Appointment To Direct the Program To Eliminate Poverty. February 12, 1964 [ Released February 12, I964. Dated February ii, I964 ] Dear Mr. Shriver: I am grateful that you have agreed to accept the appointment as my Assistant for purposes of heading our program to eliminate poverty, and also to continue as Director of the Peace Corps. As my representative, you will direct the activities of all executive departments and agencies involved in the program against poverty. You will also be my representative in presenting to the Congress the Administration's views with respect to necessary legislation. I have called upon all departmental and agency heads and their personnel to dedicate themselves to this great task, and to exert their maximum energies and resources to assist our fellow citizens who are ill-clad, ill-fed, ill-housed or to whom the door of selfimprovement and opportunity is closed. Since this campaign against poverty will be an important part of the work of the Cabinet, I am asking you to attend its meetings. You will also undertake the coordination and integration of the federal program with the activities of state and local governments and of private persons, including the Foun dations, private business and industry, labor unions, and civic groups and organizations. I ask that you invite their close cooperation; that to the extent that they desire, you integrate their efforts with our work on the federal level; and that you encourage joint planning, joint programs and joint administration, wherever feasible. If this is done, I believe we can proceed as a total nation to solve our problem with the greatest possible speed, efficiency, and economy. A coordinated approach, closely integrating our efforts at all levels-private, local, state and federal-we will be able to utilize the maximum advantages of local participation and private enterprise and benefaction, and to avoid further centralization of functions in the federal government. I think these are important objectives for our nation. The problem of poverty is a problem for all of us. It is so widespread that it is a federal problem; but it is not just a federal matter. It is also, and perhaps fundamentally, a problem for each citizen, for each business and labor union, each charity and Foundation, our churches and our clubs. 291 [i83] Feb. 12 Public Papers of the Presidents All of these must be brought together in a total national drive for total national progress against the blight of poverty. I shall, of course, consult and work closely with you on this program. Sincerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON i84 Remarks of Welcome at the White House to Prime Minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home. February I2, i964 MR. PRIME MINISTER, you do this land and this house great honor by your visit. Mrs. Johnson and I welcome you, Lady Douglas-Home, the Foreign Secretary, Mrs. Butler, and other members of your party to the United States and to the White House. This visit only continues a tradition that is both spacious and warm. Meetings between American Presidents and British Prime Ministers were first firmly established by our great President, Franklin Roosevelt, and your legendary Prime Minister-and now our fellow American-Sir Winston Churchill. No matter the political complexion of our two governments, this tradition has remained happily unbroken for more than a quarter of a century. During these years we have had our differences, but these differences have passed away. They have passed away because of a very special reason: There is between our two countries the invisible chords of a mingled respect and understanding and affection, much as two brothers who may differ but whose ties are too strong to ever break. So we meet today as Presidents and Prime Ministers of our two countries-as they have always met with friendship and high resolve to face our common problems and to try to settle them for the common good. Together our nations are secure. They are strong enough to win any fight, and we hope they are wise enough to prevent one. Together we search for tolerance, we search for hope, we search for peace. In that spirit and with that aim, Mr. Prime Minister, we welcome you. We welcome you to this house and to this land, and may God bless our work together. NOTE: The President spoke at IO:40 a.m. on the North Portico at the White House where the Prime Minister was given a formal welcome with full military honors. The Prime Minister responded as follows: Mr. President, I would like to thank you very much for the warmth of your welcome to my wife and myself and to the Foreign Secretary and Mrs. Butler, and to say how much we are looking forward to our exchange of views with you. We are engaged, as you have so clearly and graphically put it, in the pursuits of peace and much of our talks will undoubtedly be concerned with how we can improve the situation in a difficult and dangerous world. And we in Britain are particularly conscious now of its difficulties and its dangers because we are engaged, as you know, far afield in trying to help to maintain stability and order which is, I know, your concern, too, as a great power. Since, as you say, this is one of a sequence of meetings which have always been of great benefit to our two countries, I would like you to know that my firm desire is to keep as close as we can to the United States as partners and as allies and as two countries upon which the peace of the world may well depend. So, sir, I would like once more to thank you. We are going to enjoy ourselves in Washington, and we brought the sun with us and that may be a good omen. I would once more only say that anything that I can do in our talks and my government can do to help to keep the relations between Britain and the United States close and harmonious will be done with the full support of all of our countrymen. Thank you very much. 292 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-i964 I85 Remarks at the Lincoln Memorial. February I2, i964 Feb. I3 [i86] Mr. Prime Minister-my fellow Americans: More than a century and a half ago Abraham Lincoln was born. It is nearly a century now since his death. But it is his birth that we celebrate, and the new birth of freedom that he promised. This, he said, was the promise of our Nation's birth-the "promise that in due time the weights would be lifted from the shoulders of all men, and that all should have an equal chance." This is the unfinished work to which we, the living, must dedicate ourselves. Lincoln loved this land. He heard this whole land speaking to us, calling for union, saying from its rivers and ranges, from the Alleghenies to the Rockies, that this is one nation. A house divided against itself cannot stand-this was what the winds were saying. We stand with Lincoln for union and for the freedom of all men. But the great task remaining before us is to fulfill the promiseto turn the words into acts, acts of private citizens, acts of corporations and unions, acts of churches and voluntary groups of all kinds, acts of State and Federal agencies, acts of the President, and acts of Congress. The American promise will be unfulfilled, Lincoln's work-our work will be unfinished so long as there is a child without a school, a school without a teacher, a man without a job, a family without a home; so long as there are sick Americans without medical care or aging Americans without hope; so long as there are any Americans, of any race or color, who are denied their full human rights; so long as there are any Americans, of any place or region, who are denied their human dignity. So it is due time now to assure a fair chance and equal opportunity for all mennot for some, but for all our people. We can do this. The world knows, and we know, that we have the means, through law and leadership, through prohibition of discrimination and promotion of new opportunity, through positive action on all levels of our national community. We now need only the will. Knowing this, we cannot fail to act. From the life and death of Abraham Lincoln we take increased devotion to the cause for which he gave his last full measure of devotion. Lincoln's words have become the common covenant of our public life. Let us now get on with his work. NOTE: The President spoke at ceremonies honoring the birth of President Lincoln. His opening words "Mr. Prime Minister" referred to Prime Minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home of Great Britain, in Washington on a state visit. i86 Joint Statement Following Discussions With the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. February I3, I964 ON February i2th and i3th, the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom met to discuss matters affecting the interests of their two countries and the welfare and security of free people everywhere. The United States Secretary of State, the Honorable Dean Rusk, and the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, the Right Honorable R. A. Butler, also took part in the talks. 293 [ i86] Feb. 13 Public Papers of the Presidents President Johnson and Sir Alec DouglasHome welcomed this opportunity of holding their first working meeting since they assumed the leadership of their respective governments. Underlying their talks was the determination that the pursuit of peace should be unfalteringly maintained. They consider this pursuit of peace with security, in cooperation with their allies, their primary task and responsibility. The conclusion of the partial Test Ban Treaty in i963 marked an advance on the road to the peaceful resolution of the problems which divide East and West. The President and the Prime Minister think it essential to go forward from there and continue with their friends the search for other ways of reducing tension, with its risks of war and its crushing burden of armaments. They hope that the Soviet Union will examine with the greatest seriousness the proposals put forward at the Geneva Conference and elsewhere by the United States and the United Kingdom, aimed at bringing about effective and controlled disarmament. In particular, the Prime Minister welcomed the proposals made to the i8 -nation Disarmament Conference by the United States in President Johnson's message on January 2ist. Both Governments will continue to give their full support to the United Nations and will work in close step to enable it by statesmanship and institutional improvement to fulfill its responsibility and satisfy the hopes of mankind. But each Government recognizes that no progress can be made without a strong and united Western alliance prepared to defend its interests against threat and intimidation. The defense commitments which both countries share with their allies in NATO will be maintained. It is within the Atlantic framework that the United States and the United Kingdom are conducting their examination of mutual defense problems, including force goals, and are also considering the proposal for a multi-lateral nuclear force. Similarly, the widest possible political and economic cooperation in Europe within a broad Atlantic partnership remains a common aim of United States and British policy. The President and the Prime Minister reviewed the events of recent months during which sudden tensions in many parts of the world have made unforeseen calls on the resources of the United States and the United Kingdom. The two Governments are responding to these calls whilst at the same time taking all political action that is open to them to diminish the causes of tension. Each Government recognizes the value of the contribution that the other is making to the common task. The Prime Minister and the President gave special consideration to Southeast Asian matters and to the problem of assisting free states of the area to maintain their independence. Both governments stressed the value of the defense agreements which they have concluded there and of the establishments which they maintain in the area. The Prime Minister re-emphasized the United Kingdom support for United States policy in South Vietnam. The President reaffirmed the support of the United States for the peaceful national independence of Malaysia. Both expressed their sincere hope that the leaders of the independent countries in the region would by mutual friendship and cooperation establish an area of prosperity and stability. The President stressed his concern at the present situation in the Caribbean area and the subversive and disruptive influence of the present Cuban regime. The Prime Minister fully recognized the importance of the development of Latin America in conditions of 294 Lyndon B. Johns freedom and political and economic stability. Both expressed their belief that a valuable contribution can be made by Europe to this end. Both Governments reaffirm that in all these fields their aim remains solely to achieve and safeguard the integrity and stability of the countries of the free world on the basis of full independence. The President and the Prime Minister agreed that the task is, however, not only that of establishing and preserving the peace, but of expanding international trade and promoting economic won, I963-1964 Feb. 13 [I87] growth for all. To this end, both pledged their Governments to act affirmatively and decisively to promote the success of the forthcoming Kennedy Round of trade and tariff negotiations. In view of the importance that both the President and the Prime Minister attach to such meetings, they have determined to continue to maintain close and continuous personal contact. NOTE: For the President's message of January 2I to the i 8-nation Disarmament Conference see Item I29. 187 Toasts of the President and of Prime Minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home. February I3, I964 Mr. Prime Minister, Lady Douglas-Home, Mr. Foreign Secretary, Lady Butler, Mr. Ambassador, Lady Ormsby Gore: I should like to ask those friends of ours here this evening to rise and drink a toast with me to Her Majesty, the Queen. Mr. Prime Minister and Lady DouglasHome, I know that I speak for all in telling you how delighted and how honored we are by your visit here in America. These have been' two very enjoyable and very useful days in which both of us have been able to do a tremendous amount of very important work together. It is not that we suffer from a lack of regular communication, because your distinguished Ambassador and his gracious Lady Ormsby Gore are in constant communication with us. They were a favorite couple of the late President Kennedy and they are beloved by the people of America. We consider ourselves most fortunate to have them with us. As our predecessors discovered before us, Mr. Prime Minister, there is no substitute, however, for personal meetings such as those that we have been having the last few hours and which I am sure that American Presidents and British Prime Ministers will continue to have as often as they find it possible. You might well ask how it was that the two of us hit it off so well together, one a Scots Highlander and the other a Texas rancher, but you must remember that Sir Alec and I are really countrymen, although he prefers Black Angus and I prefer Herefords, and although his countryside gets too much rain, while mine gets too little. But there is a very special bond that connects men who have walked and worked together in the open spaces. Moreover, we are men who share the same traditions and the same ideals. It was Macaulay who said that the history of England is the history of progress. We in this country, who learned from Britain the rules of common law and the disciplines of decency, have much to admire in British progress, because your progress and our progress have been companions in history. The kind of government we have today here in America was born on the fields of 295 [i87] Feb. I3 Public Papers of the Presidents Runnymede and our system of fair play was lifted right out of the classic debates in the House of Commons. Our concepts of human rights and freedoms come from many sources, but their taproots were nourished in English soil. And so it is now our two countries together face the future undismayed and unafraid. While we work to secure our defenses, we work also to a practical disarmament; while we are prepared for war, we yearn and strive for peace. We are just two nations separate and apart, but we are allies to the end, and we are partners, and we are friends. If I may interpolate, Mr. Prime Minister, I am sure I speak for everyone in this room when I say, may there always be a Britain and may we always love you as we do. So on behalf of the United States of America, I should like to ask my companions this evening to join me in a toast in honor of our distinguished visitor, the Prime Minister of Great Britain and his gracious Lady, and moreover the very great people of the world that they represent. Mr. Prime Minister. NOTE: The President proposed the toast at a state dinner at the White House. Prime Minister Douglas-Home responded as follows: "Mr. President, I would like to thank you very much, indeed, for the warm, hearty welcome which you and Mrs. Johnson have given to my wife and to myself and to the Foreign Secretary and Mrs. Butler. It is very seldom that politics and pleasure go together, but we can quite truly say that from the moment that we literally dropped in on you from the air that we have felt both at ease and at home. "I was particularly touched that you allowed me, so soon after I arrived here, to come with you to the very simple, very moving ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial. He was a very wise and a very good man, and a great man. If I may adapt something that he said a hundred years ago, we cannot have a world that is half free and half slave, half poor and half rich. And if our conversations in these last 2 days have meant anything, it has been that we have tried our best on behalf of both our countries to make sure that we shall lend all our strength to those people in the world who are less fortunate than we are, to those who do not enjoy peace or order or stability, and those who do not enjoy riches. "And, basically, I think we have felt the same, that the United States and Britain can do a great deal to make this modern world worthy of the twentieth century. You, sir, used when we metalmost the first words you spoke to me over the microphones were that you felt that our two countries were like brothers, and I have felt that more and more as the hours have gone by and we have talked together. And it is in that spirit that we shall always work with the United States. "Occasionally we may, perhaps, send buses to Cuba, but never will anything interfere fundamentally with the friendship and delight which we feel in the company of a great ally and a great partner. But I am not sure we always felt quite so friendly to the United States. Some years ago when Dean Rusk was at Oxford, I remember a motion in the Oxford Union which read, "That this house deplores Christopher Columbus." He didn't actually, I think, put down the motion himself, but I have a son shortly going to Oxford-if he can pass the economics paper-and I will get him to expunge that particular record from the university's records. "But, Mr. President, we are deeply grateful to you for what all you have done for us in these last 2 days. We have had the most memorable visit and all I can say is that as long as I am Prime Minister of Britain-and other people may guess how long that may be, I can't tell-as long as I am there, there need be no doubt in your mind that British policy and American policy shall be aligned and that we shall lend you all our strength and all our help and will rely on you in the full knowledge that we will all work together in the field and try and bring peace and prosperity to the world. "So, thank you very much, and may I ask you to rise, ladies and gentlemen, and toast the health of the President of the United States and Mrs. Johnson." In the President's opening words he referred to Britain's Foreign Secretary R. A. Butler and Lady Butler, and Ambassador David Ormsby Gore and Lady Ormsby Gore. 296 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 I88 Remarks at St. Louis University. February 14, 1964 Feb. 14 [i88] Father Reinert, Ambassador and Mrs. Alphand, Senator Symington, Senator Long, distinguished Members of the House of Representatives, Congresswoman Sullivan, Mayor Tucker, my good friend Mr. Busch, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen: Out here in St. Louis you make the task of planting a tree very simple and very easy. If I thought it would have the same effect on all my other tasks, I would be in favor of that proposal that was made some years ago to move the Nation's Capitol from Washington to St. Louis. Without reflecting on my friends and colleagues along the Potomac, I am sure you would be just as happy if Gussie Busch and the Cardinals could move the National League pennant here. It is a welcome privilege to be in your city and on your campus here at St. Louis University. For many years your city has been widely known for baseball, basketball, the Busch family, and I am a fan of all three. But those who know St. Louis well and know it affectionately as I have for many years, since I wore my first set of Buster Brown shoes, know that the strength of this city comes from its colleges and its churches, and the courageous civic leadership of its citizens. I have little patience with those who dismiss this great region of mid-America as an intellectual desert. Those who say that don't know mid-America, don't know the Midwest and don't know St. Louis, and won't last very long in the company of Senator Symington and Senator Long! This city and this campus and the other centers of higher learning are now and will continue to be in the forefront of our Nation's leadership in this new age of science and technology. President Kennedy told us, and I most strongly agree, that our progress as a Nation can be no swifter than our progress in education. The human mind is our fundamental resource. This is the most fundamental truth of our system and our society and of every success that we have achieved or hope to achieve. This is not always clearly seen. It is true today as when Thomas Jefferson first said it, that people generally have more feeling for canals and the roads than they do for education. But I hold the hope that Jefferson held, that we can advance them with equal pace. In our cities and in our counties, and in all of our country, there is a very great and urgent need for public works. But today more than any time in our history, America's most urgent work is educating its people, educating all the people, all the time, wherever they may have been born or wherever they may have chosen to live. In the two hundred years since St. Louis was born we have done many things in this land men have not done before. But the greatest of these has been the accomplishment of learning to live together, learning to live together in freedom and fulfillment, all religions, all races, all heritages, German and Irish, Italian and English, Frenchyes, even Texans. We have done much, but our work on this earth is not yet done; we walk a long road and we carry a precious trust. We are not looking for, we shall never look for, the short cuts. We shall never resort to battleship diplomacy or rely upon the umbrella of appeasement. We will be resolute but we will never be reckless. We will be restrained in the face of provocation because 297 [I88] Feb. 14 Public Papers of the Presidents we know America's strength. We will never be reluctant in the face of peril because we trust that strength of America. America works for peace. We work for freedom. We work for a world in which men can have peace and can also have freedom and can worship their God, not a godless state. So in this work I am sure that all Americans and all free men everywhere whatever their faith, welcome and are grateful for the leadership being offered so forcefully by His Holiness Pope Paul. Like those who have come before us, we symbolize our faith in America's future and in freedom's future by this tree that we plant here this afternoon. I am deeply honored and grateful to you that you should permit me to share in this moment of dedication with you. I have talked to two of the greatest Senators in the United States Senate, Stuart Symington and Ed Long. I have talked to Congresswoman Sullivan and Congressman Karsten, and other members of your delegation. And I now have a little announcement that I would like to make. The President has today asked Stan Musial to serve his country as Special Consultant to the President to head the President's physical fitness program in the United States of America. And Stan has already accepted. There are few men in America who serve as hero to a nation and serve that duty with such great dignity. Stanley Frank Musial is one of the great baseball players of this century. The record book is thickly crowded with his achievements. But the record books are only part of the Musial story, for Stan is more than a great player. He is the young man's hero who never lets him down. To every little boy who dreams of the big leagues, to every rookie eyeing that pitcher for the first time, to every young athlete who strives for triumph, "Stan the Man" is the authentic champion. He has brought to his profession the simple disciplines of honesty and honor, of pride and of character. There are millions of Americans who will benefit from our physical fitness program. Physical fitness and national progress are tied to each other. I am proud to have Stan Musial take charge of this important aspect of our Nation's work. I am prouder still of Stan Musial, "The Man," the athlete who has always been true to his friends, true to his family, true to his State, and most of all always true to himself. Thank you very much. NOTE: The President spoke following a tree-planting ceremony marking the 200th anniversary of the city of St. Louis. In his opening words he referred to the Very Reverend Paul C. Reinert, President of St. Louis University, Ambassador and Mrs. Herve Alphand of France, Senators Stuart Symington and Edward V. Long of Missouri, Representative Leonor K. Sullivan of Missouri, Mayor Raymond Tucker of St. Louis, and Col. August A. Busch, Jr., President of the St. Louis Bicentennial Corporation and President of the St. Louis Cardinals. Later he also referred to Representative Frank M. Karsten of Missouri. 189 Remarks at the St. Louis Bicentennial Dinner. February 14, 1964 Mr. Chairman, Your Eminence Cardinal Ritter, Ambassador and Mrs. Alphand, Governor Dalton, Mayor Tucker, Senator Symington, Senator Long, Congressman Boiling, Congressman Curtis, Mrs. Sullivan, Congressman Hull, Congressman Ichord, 298 Lyndon B. John. Congressman Randall, Congressman Price, my distinguished friends at the head table, ladies and gentlemen: I am indeed indebted to my friend Gussie Busch for extending to me an invitation to come out here. I am further in the debt of your two great Senators for making me come. I am honored that so many members of the Congress, men of both parties, should come here and be with us this evening. I appreciate the introduction Gussie gave me. I am somewhat overawed by it. I am reminded of the frustrating experience that a preacher down in my country had when he went to his church one Sunday in a little rural area, and he found that his parishioners had presented him with a new Ford automobile as a present. He was so excited about the present and in the introduction he got up and said, "I do deserve it, but I don't appreciate it." Well, I do appreciate it, Mr. Busch, and I don't deserve it! Tonight in this historic city of St. Louis, we are close to the very heart of our land. It is a fitting place and a fitting time to speak of what is closest to the hearts of all Americans. We cherish our past and we celebrate it proudly. But America is the land of tomorrow and not the land of yesterday. In barely more than a decade, our country will begin as St. Louis is beginning now-a third century of its life. When the New Orleans fur trader Pierre Laclede came upon this site just two centuries ago in the fall of I763, he said that the community established here "might become, hereafter, one of the finest cities in America." These were very prophetic words, and it was exactly 200 years ago today, February the I4th, that a young Frenchman arrived at the head of 30 men to clear a space in the wilderness and to build the first cabins. Few American cities share with St. Louis Son', I963-I964 Feb. I4 [i89] the distinction of having been opened up by a I4-year-old boy! As the Gateway to the West, St. Louis became one of the finest and one of the most important cities of the entire world. When at the very summit of her glory the blight that was to deface dozens of American cities also struck St. Louis. The incredible vitality of this proud queen of mid-America began to erode. Men were turning away from "The City of a Thousand Sights," looking elsewhere for their homes and their businesses, and their future. You faced a hard choice, and you made it. The people of St. Louis chose progress, not decay. A new spirit of St. Louis was born, and today you look to the future with new pride and with new confidence. The choice you have faced faces every American citizen. The life Americans are to live in the third century of our Nation's existence will be determined in large measure by the response that we make in this decade to the challenge of our cities. Our cities are in crisis. They are choked with traffic. They are suffocated by fumes from factories and exhausts. Their transport is overloaded. Their schools are overcrowded. Their law enforcement agencies are overburdened. Their tax bases are overworked. Their poor are crowded into slums. Their citizens with higher incomes are fleeing to the suburbs. In every region, in every State, the problems are the same in this country. If we cannot yet know all the answers we need to know, we can and do know that for the problems of urbanization, this is the decade of decision. If by the year 1970 we are merely to keep up with the growth of our population, we shall have to build at least two million new 299 [i8q] Feb. I4 [189 Feb '4Public Papers of the Presidents houses each year, many new schools, libraries, streets, utility lines, transport systems, water and sewage facilities, and stores and churches. If by the year 1970 we are to fulfill the ideals of our free society, we shall have to have ample housing for our low-income families, for our rural families, for cour elderly families, and for the families of those who serve in our Armed Forces. If by the year I970 we are to save the vitality of our cities, we must make continued progress in eliminating slums, in rehabilitating historic neighborhoods, in providing for the humane relocation of people that are displaced by urban renewal, in restoring the economic base of our communities, and in revitalizing our central areas. This is an agenda, but only a partial agenda and only a partial answer. If we of this generation are to do what must be done to preserve the quality and the character and the meaning of American life, we must, at home and in the world, make a basic choice. We must choose progress or we must choose decay. Three weeks ago I sent to the Congress a Message on Housing and Community Development,1 proposing a number of -specific ways in which the National Government can work with citizens in localities throughout the country to meet the crisis of the city. Working together, strong civic spirit, strong local and national leadership can meet these problems. The Federal Government cannot act where local spirit and leadership are absent. But the Federal Government tonight stands ready to help every city that is determined to become a place where children can grow up in decent neighborhoods, where children can go to decent schools, where children can play in decent parks and playgrounds, where Item I152. children can have the benefits of a wholesome and a vital environment. But it is not enough to build healthier local communities. America's larger task tonight is to help build a healthier world. These objectives are very related: we cannot secure the success of freedom around the world if it is not secure for all citizens in our cities; and no city in America can be certain of its safety until all the world is made safe for diversity. In the past 3 years that safety has steadily grown, thanks to the leadership of your own Senator Symington, and to Senator Long and other members of your congressional delegation. The vast and rapid increase in our nuclear and conventional military strength has enabled us to meet each new conflict and to face each new crisis-from West Berlin to Cuba-with both courage and calm. It has likewise enabled us to bargain for an end to arms from a position of strength and conviction. The very progress we have made, to be sure., brings problems in its wake. Many nations that are no longer frightened for their future now feel more free to press their more narrow national interests. Disputes between our allies and our friends in Cyprus, in Malaysia, in Africa or Kashmir or the Middle East tend to weaken free world cooperation, and tend to invite Communist exploitation. So it is in our interest not only as a world power but as a partisan of peace, to work patiently with our friends on any of these disputes where we can be helpful to achieve a just resolution. I would remind you that we did not create these quarrels, but we can, and we must and we should, help to end them. In the Panama Canal Zone we ourselves are party to such a dispute and, too, here tonight we are working for a peaceful solution. It is a solution that is compatible with the inter 300 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 Feb. I4 [i89] ests of both nations and with the principles of a good neighbor. Elsewhere in the world, particularly in Southeast Asia, conflict continues between those that are seeking to impose the Communist system by direct or indirect aggression and those who are seeking to protect their freedom of choice and their freedom of action. The United States is determined to help those free and peaceful peoples who need and seek our help. It is their land and their war, but we will never weaken our support for their effort, or we will never betray their trust in us. All of these tense and troubled problems require much of the American citizen-a steadiness of purpose, a sense of perspective and, above all, enduring and persevering patience. We cannot expect perfection in an imperfect world, nor can we expect complete agreement among the world's free men. Freedom prospers through the fair discussion of honest differences, both at home and abroad. We invite and we welcome such discussions. But neither at home nor abroad is there any need for twisted arguments that would damage the good name of our country. The American people have little sympathy for those abroad who seek political gain from baseless denunciation of the United States because we have helped others and because we are a leader for peace. And they will equally reject such tactics if they are employed at home. We are confident that our principles are sound and that our progress is good; that those who distort the truth to alarm the people, either at home or abroad, about either America's capacity or America's purpose, do not serve their children or serve their country, or serve freedom in the world. This Nation, more respected than ever, more respected than ever respected before by friend and foe, by the great and the small, will always do its full part to achieve in our time a world without war in a century of peace. Thank you and good night. [Following applause the President resumed speaking. ] Many years ago an inquiring friend asked a great member of the Congress why the delegation from his State was the ablest in the Congress. He gave him a very fine and frank answer. I think that I should like for all the people of not just St. Louis and St. Louis County, but all the people of Missouri, to hear that answer tonight, and to apply it to your own great delegation. He said, "Why does your State have the greatest delegation in Congress?" The answer was, "Because we pick them young and we pick them honest. We send them there, and we keep them there." And so to the people of Missouri, I must admit, with apologies to Congressman Curtis, that if I had been picking them in the original instance, I might have confined them all to one party. That would have perhaps been a most narrow viewpoint, because we are going to have two parties in this country for a long time. All I say to you in Missouri is this, that every day I sit in the White House and I see the decisions that Harry Truman made and didn't make. I see the men that he hired and the men he fired. I see the strokes of genius that came from his pen during those few troublesome years. I saw the injection of new policy known as the Truman Doctrine in Europe, and the Marshall plan that saved the world from communism. I never cease to be grateful to the State of Missouri for giving us that good and wise man in that troublesome period. Although some of my party people might not approve of this statement, I would say 301 [i89] Feb. I4 Public Papers of the Presidents to you for your delegation from Missouri, members of both parties, that you have picked them young, and you have picked them honest. You have sent them there, so keep them there. Thank you and good night. NOTE: The President spoke at the Chase-Park Plaza Hotel in St. Louis, Mo. In his opening words he referred to Alfred H. Kerth, chairman of the board, St. Louis Chamber of Commerce, who served as general chairman of the dinner, His Eminence Joseph Cardinal Ritter, Archbishop of St. Louis, Ambassador and Mrs. Herve Alphand of France, Governor John M. Dalton of Missouri, Mayor Raymond Tucker of St. Louis, Senators Stuart Symington and Edward V. Long and Representatives Richard Bolling, Thomas B. Curtis, Leonor K. Sullivan, W. R. Hull, Jr., Richard H. Ichord, and William J. Randall, all of Missouri, and Representative Melvin Price of Illinois. Later he referred to Col. August A. Busch, Jr., President of the St. Louis Bicentennial Corporation and honorary chairman of the dinner. I90 Remarks to a Delegation of Students From Seton Hall University. February i9, i964 IT IS very inspiring to me to see students of this great university dedicate themselves in this meaningful way to the memory of President Kennedy. President Kennedy had a very special meaning to the young and particularly the young at heart. He inspired them by his eloquence. He energized them through his own vitality. But the most important contribution to all of us, his real legacy to our country, was his persuasive argument to the young people of our country to enter the field of politics and government. He regarded politics as one of the highest forms of human endeavor and he considered service to his country second to none in the fulfillment of a meaningful life and he served his country in many ways. He scorned those who degraded politics or through their actions debased it. So I want to thank you for this living memorial to President Kennedy's memory this morning. I think it sets an example that all the rest of us in the country can follow and it is certainly a firm reminder that the great strength of this country lies in the willingness of its citizens to bear the burdens necessary to keep our country strong. If I could have one wish fulfilled, it would be that in these days of trial and tribulation and turbulence in the world that we could have a united America in meeting the problems that we face abroad and that here at home we could close ranks and stand shoulder to shoulder in support of the tolerance and the understanding and the principles of democracy which mean so much to each of us. NOTE: The President spoke at ii a.m. in the Fish Room at the White House. The delegation from Seton Hall University, South Orange, N.J., presented the President with a parchment scroll signed by 6,ooo students, and containing the following pledge: "To the President of the United States, as a living memorial to John Fitzgerald Kennedy "I pledge that I shall freely accept the torch which has been passed on to my generation, that I shall replace all hatred with tolerance, all rashness with patience, all bigotry with love, that I shall commit myself to the full implications of the brotherhood of man under the fatherhood of God and thereby spread those ideals for which John Fitzgerald Kennedy gave his last full measure of devotion. I therefore pledge you, Mr. President, my loyalty, my cooperation and my prayers." The Very Reverend Monsignor E. J. Fleming, vice president of Seton Hall, who accompanied the students to the White House, read the pledge to the President. 302 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-i964 Feb. 2I [192] I9I Message to the Sixth Plenary Session of the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa. February I9, I964 I AM very pleased to extend my warmest greetings to the Sixth Plenary Session of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. It is a tribute to the wisdom of the leaders of the independent African countries that they have determined to cooperate in economic and political fields. The establishment of the Organization of African Unity last year and the continued support of the ECA are solid manifestations of the determination of the African peoples to fulfill their aspirations in a constructive and harmonious manner. The ECA has just completed five years of work. It has made substantial contributions to economic development of the continent. The program of the ECA is ambitious and far-reaching in attempting to meet needs in a wide variety of economic and social fields. This program is commendable for its breadth of perspective and the members of the Commission are to be congratulated for entrusting so many important matters to a U.N. organization which is designed to serve the needs of all African peoples. The Commis sion can point with pride to its accomplishments in a number of fields. The United States Government has consistently supported the United Nations as the instrument best designed to insure a peaceful world in which all men can live in harmony and strive for the common good. The work of the ECA and the specialized agencies has been an integral part of a U.N. effort in seeking these objectives. For this reason the United States heartily supports efforts which are being undertaken by such bodies of the U.N. as the Economic Commission for Africa. The United States warmly sympathizes with the aspirations of African nations and welcomes the growing spirit of cooperation throughout the continent. I extend my best wishes for the continued progress of the African peoples and the success of the Economic Commission for Africa. NOTE: The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa met at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, February 19-March 2, I964. The President's statement was read at the opening session. I92 Remarks at the 96th Charter Day Observance of the University of California at Los Angeles. February 2I, i964 Mr. President, Mr. Chancellor, President Adolfo Lopez Mateos and Mrs. Mateos, Senator Kuchel, Members of Congress, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen: It is altogether appropriate that in this place of learning we should honor President Lopez Mateos. His qualities of mind and heart have made him the leader of Mexico and an example of the hemisphere-a product of revolution and an architect of freedom. The universities and institutes of his own country are attracting young men and women from every continent, and this is testimony to the vigor of Mexican intellectual and scientific achievement. Like other great colleges and universities in this country, the University of California is deeply committed to the enrichment and the diversity of American life. This university has its own cherished links with Mexico, and just as I am proud to claim Adolfo Lopez Mateos as my personal friend, the 303 [I92] Feb. 21 Public Papers of the Presidents people of the United States, as Governor Brown has told you, are proud of their enduring friendship with our neighboring nation, Mexico. In the winning of our independence, in the strengthening of our institutions, in the relentless quest of social justice and human rights, in the pursuit of a better way of life for all of our people, Mexico and the United States have walked a common road. Others walk that road today, and our experience, Mr. President, enables us to understand their hopes, for neither Mexico nor the United States leaped into the modern world full grown; we are both the products of inspired men who built new liberty out of old oppression and, Mr. President, neither of our revolutions is yet finished. So long as there remains a man without a job, a family without a roof, a child without a school, we have much to do. No American can rest while any American is denied his rights because of the color of his skin. No American conscience can be at peace while any American is jobless, hungry, uneducated, and ignored. Our "permanent revolution" is dedicated to broadening, for all Americans, the material and the spiritual benefits of the democratic heritage. But while we pursue these unfinished tasks at home, we must look also at the larger scene of world affairs. Our constant aim, our steadfast purpose, our undeviating policy, is to do all that strengthens the hope of peace, and nothing will ever make us weary in these tasks. In our foreign policy today there is room neither for complacency nor for alarm. The world has become small and turbulent. New challenges knock daily at the White House, America's front door. In South Viet-Nam, terror and violence, directed and supplied by outside enemies, press against the lives and the liberties of a people who seek only to be left in peace. For io years our country has been committed to the support of their freedom, and that commitment we will continue to honor. The contest in which South Viet-Nam is now engaged is first and foremost a contest to be won by the government and the people of that country for themselves. But those engaged in external direction and supply would do well to be reminded and to remember that this type of aggression is a deeply dangerous game. For every American it is a source of sadness that the two communities in Cyprus are today set against each other. America's partnership with Europe began with President Truman's brave pledge of assistance to Greece and Turkey. Now the people of Cyprus, closely tied to these two friends and allies, our partners in NATO, stand at the edge of tragedy. Of course, the United States, though not a party to the issues, will do everything we possibly can to find a solution, a peaceful solution. So I appeal for an end to the bloodshed, before it is too late, to everyone in Cyprus and to all interested parties around the world. It is the task of statesmanship to prevent the danger in Cyprus from exploding into disaster. Closer to home, we ourselves seek a settlement with our friends in Panama. We give assurance to the government and to the people of Panama that the United States of America is determined to be absolutely fair in all discussions on all our problems. We are prepared, calmly and without pressure, to consider all the problems which exist between us, and to try our dead-level best to find a solution to them promptly. What is needed now is a covenant of cooperation. As we are patient in Panama, we are prepared at Guantanamo. We have dealt with the latest challenge and provocation from Havana, without sending the Marines to 304 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 Feb. 22 [ I93] turn on a water faucet. We believed it far wiser to send an admiral to cut the water off than to send a battalion of Marines to turn it back on. We are making our base more secure than it has ever been in its history. I have chosen today to speak of the dangers of today. If we were to solve them all tomorrow, then there will be more next week. But the weathervane of headlines is not the signpost of history. Larger than the troubles I have noted is the spreading civil war among the Communists. And larger still is the steadily growing strength of the worldwide community of freedom. The power of the free community has never been greater. On the tactics of the day we sometimes differ with the best of our friends, but in our commitment to freedom we are united. Here in North America, for example, we speak in English, in Spanish, and in French, and all are the tongues of liberty. Here in this hemisphere, as we work together on the great opportunities for the Alliance for Progress, we can surely join in extending a warm welcome to friends in Europe who offer help in our progress and markets for our products. We seek a growing partnership with all our friends, and we will never retreat from our obligations to any ally. Nor will we ever be intimidated by any state, anywhere, at any time, in the world that chooses to make itself our adversary. There is no panic on our agenda. We are interested in the deeds of our adversaries, and not their creeds. Let them offer deeds of peace and our response will be swift. So let us go forward with undaunted purpose in the healing of the nations. For America today, as in Jefferson's time, peace must be our passion. It is not enough for America to be a sentinel on the frontiers of freedom. America must also be on the watchtower seeking out the horizons of peace. We are not alone as servants and guardians of these high causes. Yet on us as a people and government has fallen a solemn burden. We shall never weary under its weight. So let us, with brave hearts and with cool heads, advance with the task of building the citadels of peace, in a world that is set free from fear. Thank you. NOTE: The President spoke at the Intra-Mural Athletic Field at the University of California after receiving an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. In his opening words he referred to Dr. Clark Kerr, president of the University, Franklin D. Murphy, chancellor at the Los Angeles campus, President and Mrs. Adolfo Lopez Mateos of Mexico, and Senator Thomas H. Kuchel of California. Later he referred to Governor Edmund G. Brown of California, who spoke prior to the President. President Lopez Mateos also received an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from the University. 193 Joint Statement Following Discussions With the President of Mexico at Palm Springs, California. February 22, I964 PRESIDENT Adolfo Lopez Mateos and President Lyndon B. Johnson had a number of talks at Palm Springs on February 2i and 22, which gave them an opportunity to renew their personal friendship and to examine, in a spirit of cordiality and good neighborliness, matters of common interest to the two countries. The two Presidents noted with satisfaction the high level of understanding and cooperation established in recent years in the relations between Mexico and the United States and announced their decision to continue working toward the attainment of the goals set forth in the joint communique of June 30, i962, issued following the conver 305 I I93] Feb. 22 Public Papers of the Presidents sations President Adolfo Lopez Mateos and President John F. Kennedy had in Mexico City.1 In that connection, the two Chiefs of State expressed their profound sorrow at the premature, tragic death of President Kennedy. The two Presidents reaffirmed their adherence to the principle enunciated by the Mexican patriot Benito Juarez more than a hundred years ago: "Respect for the rights of others is peace." The two Presidents are determined to abide scrupulously by this principle in the conduct of their relations with each other and with other nations and to make energetic efforts to see that it also serves as a principle for all members of the international community, both large and small. The two Presidents also reaffirmed their support of the principle of self-determination of all peoples and of its corollary, non-intervention. They agreed that they would endeavor at every suitable opportunity to promote the acceptance of such principles, not only with words but with deeds, in the Americas and throughout the world. They expressed their faith in representative democracy, and in that connection they pointed out with special satisfaction that their peoples will have the opportunity within a few months freely to elect those who are to govern them. The two Presidents reiterated the devotion of their peoples to the ideals of human liberty and the dignity of the individual and their decision to work for the protection and strengthening of those ideals by every adequate means, and in particular by supporting the efforts that are being made through the Alliance for Progress. They recognized, in fact, that it will not be possible to realize 1 See "Public Papers of the President, John F. Kennedy i962," Item 273. those ideals completely in the Americas if, in the cities, workers do not have an opportunity for productive employment; if, in the rural areas, farmers and farm laborers do not have land and the resources to make it productive; if families cannot find decent housing; if education is not within the reach of all; or if sickness and hunger undermine the vitality of people. The two Chiefs of State examined the trade relations between Mexico and the United States and noted with satisfaction the higher levels they have reached. Geographic proximity, ease of communications, and the development of their economies make the two countries natural markets for each other's products. They agreed that as a general rule it is in the interest of both countries to try to maintain their access to each other's markets and to expand it whenever possible. The two Presidents emphasized the essential role of exports in the economy of the developing nations and the great contributions that the developed nations can make to the attainment of the Alliance for Progress goals by providing stable, expanding markets for the products of the developing nations. In examining this topic, the Presidents took into account the talks that have taken place between officials of the two countries with respect to sugar, lead and zinc, cattle, meats, and textiles. The two Chiefs of State expressed satisfaction that the international coffee agreement, which is so important to the Latin American economy, has entered into force. As for cotton, they agreed that the system of consultation that has existed between the authorities of the two countries in the past five years should be continued, since the United States and Mexico are the largest exporters of this fiber. 306 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-1964 Feb. 22 [ i93] The two Presidents pointed out again, in a more general way, the need for intensifying the efforts that their governments have been making in the various international organizations to reach higher trade levels and, in particular, to eliminate discriminatory and restrictive practices regarding the exports of their respective countries throughout the world. They emphasized in this connection the special importance to the Latin American countries, and to Mexico in particular, of the elimination of such practices with respect to their basic commodities, in order to create a broader, more stable market for these products that will lead to an increase in their income from exports. On this point, President L6pez Mateos expressed his interest in seeing that industrial workers and farm laborers obtain a fair share of such income, in order to enable them to improve their standard of living. President L6pez Mateos reaffirmed his purpose of continuing the policy of promoting economic development at rates greater than the population growth rate within a framework of monetary stability, which is so important for protecting the income of the greatest number of people. President Johnson, for his part, expressed his satisfaction at the cooperation which his Government was able to give Mexico through the recent renewal of the agreements in force between the financial authorities of the two countries. The two Chiefs of State agreed on the need to strengthen the Organization of American States still further and to give it greater authority as an instrument of the American Republics for the maintenance of peace in the Hemisphere and the promotion of their common interests. With regard to the United Nations, they reiterated their desire to strengthen it by working to gether, and with its other members who are animated by the same desire, toward a realization of the principles and aims of the San Francisco Charter. Both Presidents noted with satisfaction that on January 14 last their governments exchanged the instruments of ratification of the convention which provides for the full settlement of the Chamizal problem. After the legislation necessary for implementing the convention has been enacted, they agreed to hold a fitting ceremony in Chamizal to mark symbolically the new course of the Rio Grande between Ciudad Juarez and El Paso. They agreed that the two governments must continue to work through the International Boundary and Water Commission, United States and Mexico, with a view to making the Rio Grande once again the boundary between the two countries. To that end they will instruct their respective Commissioners to submit studies as soon as possible of cases relating to any portions of land that may have become separated from the country to which they belong through changes in the Rio Grande and to recommend the action that ought to be taken. The two Presidents noted the progress that has been made with regard to the construction of the second large Rio Grande dam-the Amistad Dam at Ciudad Acuna and Del Rio-which promises great benefits for both countries in the use of the water, flood control, and the generation of electric power. President L6pez Mateos recalled that President Johnson, when still in the Senate, played an outstanding role in obtaining approval in the United States Congress of the legislation needed for the construction of that dam. Both Presidents voiced their satisfaction at the progress made in the initial construction phase and the fact 33-171-65 25 25 307 [i93] Feb. 22 Public Papers of the Presidents that the building of the dam itself will soon be under way. President Lopez Mateos recalled his talks in June i962 with President Kennedy on the problem of the salinity of the waters of the Colorado River. On that occasion the Presidents expressed "their determination, with the scientific studies as a basis, to reach a permanent and effective solution at the earliest possible time with the aim of preventing the recurrence of this problem after October i963." President Lopez Mateos observed that the Government of Mexico and Mexican public opinion consider that this problem is the only serious one between the two countries and emphasized the importance of finding a permanent solution as soon as possible. After presenting the United States' point of view, President Johnson described the experimental construction which is now being actively carried out in order to find an adequate permanent solution which he would recommend to the Congress. On the basis of this exchange, the Presidents confirmed that the mutual and friendly understanding contained in the Joint Communique of June I962 is still in effect and that adequate provisional measures will be taken pending a final solution. The two Presidents expressed their satisfaction at the measures recently taken by the two Governments to improve control over the illegal traffic in drugs and were in agreement on permanently strengthening cooperation between the two countries in order to put a stop to this criminal activity. The Presidents concluded their talks in complete agreement that they will devote their best efforts to maintaining the close, friendly relations that happily exist between their two countries and to settling any problems that may exist between them, now or in the future, in the same spirit that animated the mutually beneficial solution of the Chamizal case. They reaffirmed the determination of their countries to work jointly in order to promote international understanding and peaceful relations among all nations. I94 Remarks in Los Angeles at a Mexican Fiesta Given in His Honor by President Lopez Mateos. February 22, i964 Buenas tardes, mis amigos. President Lopez Mateos and Mrs. Mateos, Secretary Rusk and Mrs. Rusk, Governor Brown and Mrs. Brown, Mayor and Mrs. Yorty, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen: There is in this arena this afternoon the spirit of Hidalgo and Jefferson, of Juarez and Roosevelt. On your visit to this country several years ago, Mr. President, you told the Mexican people before you departed your homeland that you were setting out on a crusade without adversaries and you would appeal to this country with your heart and mind. This Nation responded to you then as it does today. On your return to Mexico, you told your Chamber of Deputies that the friendship between the United States and Mexico is a force in Mexico's international policy. This is so, you said, not because of geographic reasons, but because of mutual respect of what is right. You have a way, Mr. President, of stating the truth simply and clearly: respect for what is right, respect for what is just, respect for the other man's opinion and the other man's view. So I would remind you and 308 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-I964 Feb. 22 [ I 94] all of those present this afternoon that our future, the future of this hemisphere, indeed the future of the whole world, are tied to those truths. Our mutual respect for what is right has brought Mexico, the United States, and the other free American Republics into a union of freedom for the benefit of all. The Alliance for Progress, born in this hemisphere, is a collective war on poverty in this hemisphere. The war on poverty and its somber allies, misery and disease, and illiteracy, is a war that the free American Republics must win. If we don't win, humanity fails. And there is no more valiant leader in this war against poverty than the great President of Mexico, Adolfo Lopez Mateos. Mexico is in a hurry, for the years do not wait, and the centuries past are silent witness to the endurance of the enemy. Mexico fights poverty. The campaign against this foe of all mankind is nowhere more vigorous than in Mexico. President Lopez Mateos has demanded victory. He will accept nothing less. I think that you should know that onequarter of the Mexican budget, 25 percent of the total budget, is being expended in Mexico today for better education in Mexico. Highways are being constructed throughout the nation. Housing is being built for those who have none, and better housing is being built for those who have some. The President has called on private enterprise to join the fight, and business has responded to his call. Mexico is on the march. The direction of that march is upwards. The tempo is swift. The outcome is sure. The Alliance for Progress still remains the best hope for unified action, but it is not surprising that the Alliance for Progress has not come into its full activity in its 2y2 years. In the words of President Lopez Mateos, real gains do not come overnight. But if this night has been long, the streaks of the dawn are already visible. One reason for this buoyancy is the cooperation between Mexico and the United States. I am so proud that I can truthfully tell you today that we live together in peace and harmony, with justice our guide and reason our companion. We have agreed on the Chamizal settlement, and we plan to meet at the Chamizal territory in September and October and have a celebration that we want to invite all of you to attend. There is no bridge that we cannot cross, there is no difference that we cannot resolve. We are dedicated, Mexico and the United States, to the ageless principles of freedom within the law, opportunity with progress, and justice with compassion. The greatest gift of Mexico to America has been its people. From the earliest hours of my memory, my own life is living evidence of the friendship of thousands of Texans whose ancestral home is Mexico. There is in this State of California a tradition and a legacy which are indivisible from Mexico. The music of Mexican hope, the strength of Mexican courage-they are all in this great State and in this great Nation, and in all of our hearts this afternoon. When I was a very young man teaching school in Cotulla, Tex., teaching the children of Mexican immigrants, teaching them and learning to love them, little did I ever dream that one afternoon many years later here in the great State of California I would be standing in this arena with the President of Mexico by my side. This is the proof, if the world needs proof, that our lands are still rich with opportunity, that the boy mired in the slums, the child lashed by prejudice and bias, the youngster buried half alive in illiteracy, that all of them have hope, that 309 [194] Feb. 22 Public Papers of the Presidents the door is never closed and the window is never barred. And this is what we, the President of Mexico and the President of the United States, are together trying so hard to do. We want so much, and we are trying so hard, to help all of those who hope for a decent life to help themselves achieve that decent life. It is a great inspiration to be here with you this afternoon, and with God's help and with God's blessing, we are going to succeed in making this a better United States, making this a better Mexico, making this a better world for all people everywhere. NOTE: The President spoke in the Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, Calif. In his opening words he referred to President and Mrs. Adolfo L6pez Mateos of Mexico, Secretary of State and Mrs. Dean Rusk, Governor and Mrs. Edmund G. Brown of California, and Mayor and Mrs. Samuel W. Yorty of Los Angeles. i95 Telegram to the President, AFL-CIO, Concerning the Union Refusal To Load Wheat for Russia. February 25, I964 [ Released February 25, 1964. Dated February 24, 1964 ] Mr. Meany: You know from our conversation that the questions which have been raised by the International Longshoremen's Association and the Maritime Union, as reflected in the public statement of February 20, 1964, have my personal attention. I understand that a satisfactory basis has been established for resolving these issues. To the extent that certain aspects of this problem continue to present difficulties, I suggest and urge that further meetings be held for the purpose of resolving these problems and that these be arranged under circumstances that permit free reason to prevail. The country will respect, and properly, only policies and procedures which are established in this way. I trust I will have your concurrence and cooperation in this position. Sincerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON [Mr. George Meany, President, AFL-CIO, Americana Hotel, Miami, Fla.] NOTE: As reported in the press the longshoremen had refused to load wheat bound for Russia on the grounds that less than 50 percent would be carried in American vessels. The Maritime Administration had granted a waiver to the Continental Grain Co. which would have permitted about 38 percent of a shipment to be carried in American vessels. The basis for the waiver, the Government said, was insufficient availability of American ships. On February 20, James J. Reynolds, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Labor-Management Relations, was reported as expressing sympathy with the longshoremen's view. Mr. Reynolds said that details had been worked out by which the 5o-percent rule would be applied to all future shipments with other companies, but that it was not possible to ship 50 percent of Continental's grain on American ships. This was not acceptable to the longshoremen, who continued the boycott until Mr. Meany had intervened in response to the President's telegram. 310 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Feb. 2.6 [ I97] i96 Letter to the Chairman, House Ways and Means Committee, Endorsing the Interest Equalization Tax on Foreign Securites. February 25, i964 Dear Mr. Chairman: In answer to your request conveyed to me by Secretary Dillon, I am glad to stress the importance of H.R. 8ooo, the bill to impose an interest equalization tax on foreign securities. This tax was originally proposed by President Kennedy on July i8, i963. He was concerned because the outflow of portfolio capital from this country had reached unprecedented and unacceptable levels. To protect the stability of the dollar and of the entire international payments system, these flows had to be reduced. President Kennedy did not want to impose direct governmental controls. He proposed that a tax be levied on purchases of foreign securities from foreigners, effective generally as of July i9. This would increase by approximately one percent per annum the cost to foreigners of American portfolio capital. Capital outflows have been markedly reduced since then and our balance of payments situation has improved. The outflow from transactions in new and out standing foreign securities shrank to an annual rate of less than $ioo million in the fourth quarter. Our balance of payments deficit on regular transactions was reduced to an annual rate of $I.5 billion in the last quarter. I believe the program announced last July-and in particular the proposed interest equalization tax-has been largely responsible for this improvement. But we must not relax our efforts to eliminate the balance of payments deficit and to insure the stability of the dollar. This remains a top priority of this administration. I fully support H.R. 8ooo as reported by the Committee on Ways and Means. I hope it receives prompt and favorable consideration in the House of Representatives. Sincerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON [Honorable Wilbur D. Mills, Chairman, Ways and Means Committee, House of Representatives, Washington, D.C.] NOTE: For President Kennedy's proposal of July i8, i963, see i963 volume, this series, p. 580. I97 Radio and Television Remarks Upon Signing the Tax Bill. February 26, i964 Mr. Speaker, Members of the Leadership, Members of Congress, ladies and gentlemen: Today I have signed into law an $ii.5 billion reduction in Federal income taxes, the largest in the history of the United States. It is the single most important step that we have taken to strengthen our economy since World War II. This legislation was inspired and proposed by our late, beloved President John F. Kennedy and passed this week with the support of both Republicans and Democrats in the Congress. I want to congratulate Secretary Dillon and all the members of the Treasury staff for their diligence and work on this measure through the I3 months that it was pending in the Congress. I especially want to 3II I I97] Feb. 26 Public Papers of the Presidents congratulate tonight Congressman Wilbur Mills from the great State of Arkansas for his leadership in the House Ways and Means Committee in piloting the bill through the House of Representatives. I want to especially congratulate Senator Russell Long of Louisiana for his able leadership in the Senate. I also want to thank Senator Harry Byrd of Virginia who, though he was very much against the bill, cooperated to the fullest extent and he saw to it that the majority was allowed to work its will and this bill got a fair hearing and a prompt hearing in his committee. I would like to explain tonight what this tax cut means to you and why we believe that it will strengthen our economy and why we believe it will bring a better way of life for all of our citizens. The tax cut will have two far-reaching effects: First, it will immediately increase the income of millions of our citizens and most of our businesses by reducing the amount of taxes that you must pay. Secondly, by releasing millions of dollars into the private economy it will encourage the growth and the prosperity of this land that we love. The new act will cut personal income taxes by nearly 20 percent, or $9.2 billion a year. Nearly $8 billion of that will flow directly into pay envelopes this year. This will begin immediately. The amount to be withheld from your pay will be reduced beginning 8 days from today. If you are a family of four, here are examples of how this new tax cut will affect you when it is fully effective. If you earn less than $3,ooo a year, you will no longer pay Federal income taxes. If you receive wages of $5,200 a year, your taxes will be reduced by $I35 a year, nearly one-third of what you are now paying. Your take-home pay will go up around $io a month. If you and your wife both should be working and your combined earnings are $io,ooo a year, your taxes will be reduced by $258 a year or a 20-percent cut. If your income is $20,000 a year, you are paying approximately $4,I00 in Federal income taxes today. Your taxes will be reduced now to about $3,400. Business, as well as individuals, benefit by this tax cut. And small business benefits the most. For example, if you own a small incorporated business, your tax will drop to 27 percent. Your machine shop or your small printing plant with profits of $20,000 a year will pay $4,400 instead of the $6,ooo that you would pay under the old bill. On larger corporations the rate will drop from 52 percent to 48 percent. Companies can now pay more of their earnings to those who own their stock and they can increase their investments, which in turn will benefit the whole economy. These are only a few examples. The real important point is that this bill that we have just signed means increasing income for almost every taxpayer and every business in America; and those earning the least, I am glad to say, will receive the most. These are the direct, immediate results of this bill. But our long-term objective is to raise the entire level of our American economy. The dollars that you no longer pay in taxes will do this. The first effect of the cut will be to put more than $25 million per day into the hands of the American consumer. This money at the grocers or in the department store, the store owners in turn will spend it for their own needs and, in this fashion, the money will circulate through the economy raising the demand for goods several times the amount of the tax cut. 3I2 Lyndon B. Johnm The same is true of the more than $2 billion which businesses will no longer pay in taxes. They will use much of this money to buy new machinery, for new construction, for goods of all kinds and, most importantly, for the creation of new jobs. This afternoon in New York a leading industrial economist, Mr. Pierre Renfrett, estimated that the tax reduction will materially stimulate a boom of capital goods expenditures in the year i964 and i965. Mr. Renfrett predicts that capital expenditures in i964 alone will be 20 percent higher than last year. And one of New York's leading corporation executives told me by phone about 4 o'clock that his company that now invests about $oo00 million a year in new capital investment plans to increase their capital investments, when this bill is signed, by an additional i5 percent. One of the largest employers in America was in the White House last week and he told me that when this bill went into effect that they would make capital expenditures in their company that would provide i8,ooo new jobs for new employees. So this response and this responsibility is what makes the American system work. This is a bold approach to the problems of the American economy. We could have chosen to stimulate the economy through a higher level of Government spending. We doubted the wisdom of following that course. Instead we chose tax reduction and at the same time we made conscientious and earnest attempts to reduce Government expenditures and we are constantly looking at those expenditures. I am requesting reports from each independent agency and each Cabinet officer each quarter of the year on how they can reduce employees under the number provided in their budget. I am glad to say to son, 1963-I964 Feb. 26 [ I97] the Congress that within the next few days we will send supplemental estimates that will provide for a reduction, not many jobs but 7500 under those that we estimated we would need in January when we sent the budget to the Congress and it will provide a reduction in appropriations that we have requested of $30 million. From time to time we are going to carefully study each department and agency and try to bring those expenditures down further. We have been encouraged in that move by the Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and the Chairman of the Finance Committee; they have proven their faith in us by passing this tax bill, and we are trying to-going to keep faith with them by cutting expenditures. By taking this course we have made this bill an expression of faith in our system of free enterprise. The ability of this tax bill greatly to improve the vigor of our economy rests in your hands as individual consumers and as businessmen. If America responds to this new opportunity with increased investment and expansion, with new production and new products, with the creation of new jobs which we anticipate, then the tax cut will bring greater abundance to all Americathen the Federal Government will not have to do for the economy what the economy should do for itself. But abundance is only the visible evidence of the benefits of a healthy economy, more important is what a strong United States economy means to the preservation of freedom in this world in which we live. There is no asset more precious to freedom, there is no guarantee more vital to liberty than a robust American economy. No one can bury us or bluff us or beat us so long as our economy remains strong. No economic system anywhere has ever 313 [I97] Feb. 26 Public Papers of the Presidents had the success of the American economy. By placing maximum reliance on the initiative and the creative energies of individual businessmen and workers, we have created here in our land the most prosperous nation in the history of the world. With your help and the help of this legislation let us unite, let us close ranks, and let us continue to build a nation whose strength lies in our program for prosperity and our passion for peace. This is the kind of a country, the kind of a land, the kind of a nation that offers a better life for you and your family. And it is the kind of a land that we want to preserve and protect. Again to those of you who served on the tax committees, from the business community to the Members of the Congress present here tonight, I want to say on behalf of the American people, thank you. God bless you. NOTE: The President spoke from the East Room at the White House. His opening words "Mr. Speaker" referred to Representative John W. McCormack of Massachusetts, Speaker of the House. Later he referred to Secretary of the Treasury Douglas Dillon, Representative Wilbur D. Mills, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Senator Russell B. Long of the Senate Finance Committee, and Senator Harry Flood Byrd, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. The tax bill (Revenue Act of I964) as enacted is Public Law 88-272 (78 Stat. iv). On March 2 the White House released the following table showing the estimated distribution by States of the reduction in withholding tax payments for individuals during i964 as a result of the new act: WITHHOLDING TAX PAYMENTS: ESTIMATES OF STATE DISTRIBUTION OF $8 BILLION DECREASE IN I964 RESULTING FROM THE REVENUE ACT OF I964 [Dollar amounts in millions] Decrease in withholding tax States payments in 1964 United States.............. $8, ooo Alabama..................... 96 Alaska................... i6 Deccrease in withholding tax States payments in 19641 Arizona................ 56 Arkansas.................. 40 California................... 904 Colorado.................. 8o Connecticut............... 152 Delaware................. 24 District of Columbia........... 47 Florida................... i84 Georgia................... I36 Hawaii................... 332 Idaho.................... 24 Illinois.................... 536 Indiana.................... 208 Iowa..................... 88 Kansas................... 80 Kentucky................. 88 Louisiana................. I.04 Maine.................... 32 Maryland............... I6i Massachusetts...............264 Michigan.................. 368 Minnesota................. 136 Mississippi................ 48 Missouri.................. I.84 Montana.................... 24 Nebraska................. 48 Nevada.................... 24 New Hampshire............... 24 New Jersey................. 352 New Mexico................. 32 New York.................. 936 North Carolina............... 44 North Dakota................ 24 Ohio..................... 456 Oklahoma................. 80 Oregon....................72 Pennsylvania............... 504 Rhode Island............... 40 South Carolina............. 72 South Dakota.............. I16 Tennessee................... 112 Texas.................... 360 Utah..................... 40 Vermont................. I6 Virginia.................. i68 Washington............... I36 West Virginia................ 56 Wisconsin................. I.68 Wyoming................. i6 ' State estimates based on State distribution of i96i wages and salaries. The $8 billion increase in take-home pay from present levels results from lowering withholding rate from i8 percent to 14 percent for last io months of I964. 3I4 Lyndon B. Johnson, 196 3-I964 Feb. 27 [i98] i98 Remarks at the Ground-Breaking Ceremony for the Florida Cross-State Barge Canal. February 27, i964 Congressman Sikes, Governor Bryant, members of the State Cabinet, my beloved friends Senator Holland and Senator Smathers, Senator Magnuson, Congressman Kirwan, and the outstanding members of the Florida delegation, Congressman Herlong, and my old friend Billy Matthews, in whose district we meet, Dante Fascell, Congressman Rogers, Claude Pepper, Congressmen Fuqua and Gibbons, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen: God was good to this country. He endowed it with resources unsurpassed in their variety and their abundance. But in His wisdom the Creator left something for men to do for themselves. He gave us great rivers, but He left them to run wild in the flood, and sometimes to go dry in the drought-and sometimes to rain when we have a celebration. But He left it to us to control these carriers of commerce. He gave us great estuaries and natural locales for harbors. But He left it to us to dredge them out so we could use them with modern ships. He gave us the shallow waters along most of our coastline, which form natural routes for protected coastal waterways. But He left it to us to carve out the channels to make them usable. Today we accept another challenge. We make use of another resource. We will construct a canal across northern Florida to shorten navigation distances between our Atlantic and our Gulf coasts. When this canal is completed, it will spark new and permanent economic growth. It will accelerate business and industry to locate here on its banks. It will open up new recreation areas. The challenge of a modern society is to make the resources of nature useful and beneficial to the community. So this is the passkey to economic growth, to sensible and to valid prosperity; to create a value where none existed before is to enlarge the hoard of Nature's bounty and to make it serve all of our citizens. This new ribbon of water will enable barges to move across the Florida peninsula a few years from now, bearing commerce between the two seacoasts. In a sense, this new canal symbolizes the essential unity that makes a nation out of regions. To your great Governor, Farris Bryant, to the Members of your great Florida delegation, of whom there is no better delegation in the Congress, must go the gratitude of all the citizens of Florida for the work that they did in making this barge canal possible, and, more importantly, for making the American apparatus of freedom go forward to new dimensions and to new boundaries. I am relieved that we are finally going to press the button and push the switch that starts this great canal, because I remember every time I went to the House, Billy Matthews would catch me by the lapels of my coat, and George Smathers couldn't leave a leadership meeting without talking to me about it. I thought Spessard Holland was going to have a heart attack the last time he talked to me because he told me if this money was not in for the Florida Cross-State Canal, there was going to be trouble when my budget got to the Congress. So to these good and great men who make up this wise delegation, I want to say that I am proud to stand here by your side today, to be a part of this new undertaking. Governor Bryant, as I throw this switch 33-171-65 —26 315 [198] Feb. 27 Public Papers of the Presidents detonating an explosive charge to break ground for this canal, let me commend the Army Corps of Engineers who will build this canal, as they have built them so wisely and so many times before. I wish all of you and this new canal Godspeed. [After the ground breaking the President resumed speaking.] Now I want to tell you one story beforethe rain is over-before we go. You know, it was said of Abraham Lincoln that one time he sat distressed before his Cabinet, and he decided he would take a vote. He called the role of the Cabinet and as he came to the name of each man he answered in a loud and clear voice, "nay." Finally, when all the members of the Cabinet had had their names called and all had voted nay, the President called his own name, the President, and he voted aye. And he said, "The ayes have it." Well, I thought of that story when I was making up the budget for this canal, when Holland said "aye," and Smathers said "aye," and Matthews said "aye," and Governor Bryant said "aye." The entire delegation said "aye" and the President didn't dare to say "nay." He said, "The ayes have it." Thank you. NOTE: The President spoke at Palatka, Fla., at the site of the ground breaking. In his opening words he referred to Representative Robert L. F. Sikes, Governor Farris Bryant, Senator Spessard L. Holland, and Senator George A. Smathers, all of Florida, Senator Warren G. Magnuson of Washington State, Representative Michael J. Kirwan of Ohio, and Representatives A. Sydney Herlong, Jr., D. R. (Billy) Matthews, Dante B. Fascell, Paul G. Rogers, Claude Pepper, Don Fuqua, and Sam M. Gibbons, all of Florida. 199 Remarks at Miami Beach at a Democratic Party Dinner. February 27, 1964 Governor Bryant, Chairman Bailey, members of the State Cabinet, my longtime beloved friends and colleagues, Senator Holland and Senator Smathers, State Chairman Goodrich, Senator Magnuson of Washington State, Congressman Kirwan of Ohio, my old friends who represent this area, Congressmen Claude Pepper and Dante Fascell, Members of the great Florida delegation to Congress, distinguished guests, my fellow Americans: Florida is fortunate to have a Governor like Farris Bryant. He is both prudent and progressive. He has with energy and wisdom brought Florida forward. He is truly a Governor the Nation respects. I am fearful because of his most generous introduction that he has me somewhat frustrated as I begin this address tonight. I feel very much like the preacher in my country who went to his church on Sunday and found the congregation had presented him with a new Ford automobile. He got up and had to respond to that great act of generosity on the spur of the moment. He started out something like this: "I don't appreciate it, but I do deserve it." Well, I am not that frustrated tonight, Governor, but I will tell you this: I don't deserve it, but I do appreciate it. We are a very fortunate people. Tonight we meet here in the warmth of the sunshine State of Florida. Meanwhile, our Republican friends are shivering up there in northern New Hampshire. Someone once said that the Lord made the universe and rested. The Lord made man and rested. The Lord made woman-and since then neither the Lord nor man has rested. That is what the Republican candidates have found out in 3I6 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-i964 Feb. 27 ['991 New Hampshire ever since Margaret Chase Smith came on the scene. I will wager that the male candidates wish I had never started this "more women in Government" theme. I am so glad to be here in Florida. I feel comfortable down here among my old friends and colleagues. I am glad to be here, too, because the Democratic Party has never been stronger than it is tonight. And for the record, we want to say that tonight the Democratic Party welcomes all challengers. The contribution of Florida to the unified strength of the Democratic Party is large and rewarding. The Democratic Members of the Florida delegation to the Congress have a record of persistent courage true to their convictions, and always hopeful for the future of their State and their country. You have every right to be proud of the men who represent you. You have every cause to have confidence in their judgments and to feel secure in their resolve. I served in the Senate with Spessard Holland and George Smathers. They are able, they are wise, and they are honest. Sometimes we disagree, but there is never disrespect. Both these men have one purpose in life-to serve their State, serve their country, with integrity and decency, and honor and diligence. In the House your delegation bows to no State in its effectiveness or in its intelligence. Congressman Pepper and Congressman Fascell, Congressmen Sikes and Bennett and Herlong and Haley, Congressmen Matthews and Rogers and Pepper and Gibbons and Fuqua are the kind of men who make voters proud, and I have been proud enough to come here to Miami on other occasions for both Dante Fascell and Claude Pepperand I salute you for sending them to Congress. Our late beloved Speaker, Sam Rayburn, used to have a formula for citizens of any district in the selection of good Congress men. And I will say this applies to Senators this year, too, Spessard. Mr. Rayburn used to say, "Pick them young, pick them honest, send them there and keep them there." So I can say to the people of Florida tonight that I can give you no better advice than that. You have already picked them, you have already sent them there, you know they are honest. Now keep them there and you will be serving your best interests as well as your State and as well as your Nation. As Mr. Rayburn used to say, "Without prefix, without suffix, without apology, all of us here tonight are Democrats." We share a proud tradition. Our principles and our programs and our achievements represent the hopes and the needs of the great majority of the American people-in every walk of life and in every part of the country. We are citizens of the oldest democracy on earth. We are members of the oldest political party in the world. When our country and our party began, some of the wisest men of the age predicted that this light of freedom-the great American experiment-would soon be extinguished. Well, they were wrong. The democratic idea of self-government has proved to be the most powerful political idea ever to stir the imagination of human beings. Our confidence that freedom will continue to spread is based not on any desire to make the world over in America's image, but it is based upon our belief that democracy is a universal hope of all humanity. Our party has greatly contributed to the success of the American experiment. We have never represented a single interest; we have never represented a single group; and we have never represented a single section of the country. The Democratic Party has endured and prospered because it rested on the belief that 3Y7 [ i99] Feb. 27 ' ePublic Papers of the Presidents a party exists to advance the freedom and the welfare of all the people. Twice in 20 years that principle has been severely tested. When Franklin Delano Roosevelt of New York was suddenly succeeded by Harry Truman of Missouri, the Nation did not falter. Both men had deep and abiding local attachments. Both men respected legitimate local interests and they tried to ease the frictions between them. Both men also affirmed that the national interest is greater than the sum of all local interests, that where the national interest is at stake, the people and that national interest must always be served first. Now John F. Kennedy is dead, deprived by an assassin of the chance to lead his party to victory again this year. But the principles and the purposes for which he labored and lived continue to live tonight, for we Democrats assembled here have resolved to continue the work he began. This continuity of purpose-from man to man, from administration to administration, is the secret of our strength as a party. Nothing better illustrates it than the way in which we are working tonight, with new tools and new programs toward a world of peace and freedom. A generation ago Franklin Roosevelt said that the world must be founded on four freedoms. The first two of these freedoms-freedom of speech and freedom of worship-are the core of our belief in the liberty of the individual. When Roosevelt spoke, only a few nations in the world enjoyed those freedoms. A generation later, due in great measure to American leadership, those same freedoms flourish tonight in many other parts of the world. Here at home, efforts to restrict free expression have been consistently defeated. A new spirit of religious toleration has broken down the old barriers. We are learning to respect rather than to resent the beliefs of others. We have not yet achieved a world in which men are not persecuted for their opinions or their beliefs, but we are much nearer than we were in 194I. We have also expanded the concept of human rights into new areas. Full participation in our society can no longer be reserved to men of one color. This Democratic administration believes that the Constitution applies to every American of every religion, of every race, of every region in our country. I pledge you tonight, and the people of this Nation, and the people of the world, that this administration is pledged to protect the full constitutional rights of every American. We intend to press forward with legislation and with education-and, yes, with action-until we have eliminated the last barrier of intolerance. For as long as freedom is denied to some, the liberty of each of us is in danger. In the past 3 years we have taken enormous strides toward achieving freedom from want. We have added $ioo billion to our national product, the greatest increase by any country in history. Employment has increased by 4z/2 million in the last 3 years. Industrial production has risen 23 percent. And our profits are up over 50 percent more than they were 3 years ago. I tell you tonight that the economy is continuing to climb. That is not only good news for all Democrats; that is good news for all people everywhere. This year we are reducing the Federal deficit by 50 percent, and we cut taxes last night by $ii V2 billion. That tax reduction recommended by President Kennedy more than i3 months ago is the most far-reaching tax cut in the history of the Nation. And no man contributed more to helping pass that bill than your own George Smathers 3i8 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 Feb. 27 [ I991 on the Finance Committee, from the State of Florida. So, Governor, we want you to know that we think we can prove that economy in Government and reduced burdens for the taxpayers are not inconsistent with a growing and a prospering America. We intend to prove in the Nation what you have already proved, that you can be progressive without being radical, and you can be prudent without being reactionary. I will send to Congress next week a message calling for incentives to all sectors in American society, business and labor, State and local communities, to join us in this historic hour in helping to declare a war to eliminate poverty wherever poverty exists. Thirty years ago a great President stood before a rostrum and with his chin up and his chest out spoke for the one-third that were ill clad and ill fed and ill housed. But in 30 years we have just reduced that onethird to one-fifth. And now our job is to move that one-fifth to one-tenth, or onetwelfth, or to drive it completely from our midst. High on the list of our objectives is to provide jobs and training for our young people. Thousands of young Americans face a future on the outskirts of hope unless we give them a chance to grow as fully as their capacities will permit. We intend to prove that a compassionate nation can be a strong nation, for we have learned that the fourth freedom, freedom from fear, cannot be guaranteed unless we are strong. We can only be free to pursue our passion for peace behind a shield so powerful that no aggressor dares try its strength against America. I am here to say to you and to them that America has created such a shield. In the past 3 years, we have doubled the number of strategic weapons on alert. In the last 3 years we have more than doubled our Minuteman missile program. In the last 3 years, 5 additional combat-ready divisions have been added to the United States Army. In the last 3 years, the Air Force has added 5 new tactical fighter wings. Our strategic airlift capacity has been increased by more than 75 percent. Our counter-insurgency capacity has increased by more than 600 percent. A stronger America stands ready to preserve freedom against any who challenge it. But as Winston Churchill said: "We arm to parley." These great weapons we have produced, we hope we will never have to use. For arms alone will never bring us peace. We will continue to explore every opportunity which might lead to a reduction of tensions, to a lessening of hostilities, to a decrease in armaments. This exploration has already borne fruit in an agreed end to atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons and the establishment of instant communication between Washington and Moscow. We have many basic differences with the Soviet Union. But we also believe and work on the assumption that the Russian people desire a better life for their children. Reducing the danger of a nuclear holocaust is as necessary to their national interest as it is to ours. A few days ago I was told that we ought to send divisions of Marines in to turn on a water hydrant. But I thought it was much wiser to send an admiral in to shut it off. And by patiently, judiciously, wisely following this thread of mutual interest, somehow we may yet find a way out of the tortured maze of hostility and conflict. We stand ready tonight, as we have always stood in our history, to test our system against any other on the field of thought and 1To Cuba. 319 [ i9q] Feb. 27 ['99 Feb 27Public Papers of the Presidents belief and the work of peace. For on that field, freedom will never lose. We have always welcomed dissent. We have never muzzled disagreement. Pick up any afternoon paper and you will see proof of that. For the truth of this Republic's durability tells us that men worthy of the Presidency must be measured by the highest rules of responsibility. The Presidency of this Nation is no place for a timid soul or a torpid spirit. It is the one place where a petty temper and a narrow view can never reside. For the Presidency is both a legacy from the past and a profusion of hope for the future. To those who cry havoc and shout for war, we must give them understanding. To those who advocate retreat or appeasement by whatever new names they use, we modestly suggest that they reread history, for there on history's face the blotch of Munich is still visible. The basic freedoms, the world that Franklin Roosevelt envisioned and that John Kennedy worked and died for-have taken on new meaning in our time. They were not fully realized in Roosevelt's generation, nor will we fully reach them in ours. But they are a part of our heritage. And from that heritage Americans must draw the goals and the guidance that are best suited to their own time. We are determined to preserve in the future what we have received from the past. But we are also aware that only by accepting the arduous, uncertain, and most of the time very lonely duty of interpreting and pursuing democracy according to our convictions of today-only then can we hope that our posterity will say to us: "They, too, guarded and handed on the Great Experiment." Now just one final note. This afternoon when we saw the hopes and dreams of a hundred years come true and we mashed a button that touched a dynamite cap, that moved the first dirt on the great Florida Cross-State Canal, below Palatka, at Rodman, Fla., about the same time that dynamite went off a few miles away in our free America a railroad was being bombed. The continued violence against the Florida East Coast Railroad is appalling, and without regard as to who is right and who is wrong in this labor dispute, this criminal action has got to stop. You know and I know that we don't settle matters this way in this country. I apologize to the great entertainers, Mr. Sullivan and the others, who were hereMr. Martin, Miss Charisse, Miss Smith, Miss Warren-for being late. But I was talking to a great public servant, Mr. J. Edgar Hoover, and the Secretary of Labor, from the time I came in the hotel until I came down tonight. I am here to tell you that Mr. Hoover has directed and already has on the way to this State one of the greatest inspectors he has to coordinate more than 30 FBI men who will throw their full force of the Federal Bureau of Investigation into investigating this bombing and bringing the perpetrators to account. In the meantime I urge that the parties renew their efforts to find a way of settling this dispute. I am asking the Secretary of Labor to confer with your able Governor, Farris Bryant, tomorrow morning, to confer immediately, to give me their recommendations promptly. I am not passing judgment on who is right or who is wrong. But as the leader and spokesman for all the people of this Nation, I am saying that you cannot take the law into your own hands, and criminal action must stop now. Thank you. NOTE: The President spoke at 7:30 p.m. at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach, Fla. In his 320 Lyndon B. John opening words he referred to Governor Farris Bryant of Florida, John M. Bailey, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Senators Spessard L. Holland and George A. Smathers of Florida, Warren Goodrich, Florida Democratic State Chairman, Senator Warren G. Magnuson of Washington State, Representative Michael J. Kirwan of Ohio, and Representatives Claude Pepper and Dante Fascell of Florida. Later he referred to Senator Margaret son., 1963-1964 Feb. 28 [200] Chase Smith, candidate for Republican nomination for President, Representatives Robert L. F. Sikes, Charles E. Bennett, A. Sydney Herlong, Jr., James A. Haley, D. R. (Billy) Matthews, Paul G. Rogers, Sam M. Gibbons, and Don Fuqua, all of Florida, J. Edgar Hoover, Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Secretary of Labor W. Willard Wirtz. 200 Remarks at the Swearing In of Carl T. Rowan as Director, United States Information Agency. February 28, i964 Mr. and Mrs. Rowan and members of the family, ladies and gentlemen: This is a very delightful and happy moment for me, and I want to welcome all of you here for this event. It is always cheerful when a man of intelligence and courage, and capability, accepts a position of great responsibility in his own government. Carl Rowan's whole life has been spent, it would seem to me, in preparation for this extremely important assignment that he is taking over. The USIA is not a propaganda apparatus. It is, rather, an instrument for the communication of truth throughout the world. Truth, unfortunately, is not an abundant commodity in the world. Too often people in other lands who want to believe the best in us are fed mistruths that seem to bring out the worst in us. So my only admonition to Carl Rowan is: Tell the truth. Carl Rowan's response to that was, "Mr. President, that is all I know how to do." So I think it is good for our country at this time and at this point in the history of the world that Carl Rowan takes over the sensitive post of Director of the USIA. He succeeds a very able man. He has a very difficult job to do. But it is a good job, telling the people of the world about the good things and the bad things in our own country. My wish to you, Carl, is that you may serve your country in the future as you have in the past. And if you do that, I believe this Nation's posture will be the principal beneficiary. I approached you with some reluctance because I saw how happy you were in your ambassadorial assignment. I commented when I returned from the Scandinavian countries that you were very high on the list of the outstanding jobs that I observed being done. You will go to an organization that I know welcomes you and that will work with you. All I can say is Godspeed. NOTE: The swearing-in ceremony was held in the Cabinet Room at the White House. The text of Mr. Rowan's response was also released. Mr. Rowan had been serving as Ambassador to Finland since March 9, i963. As Director of the U.S. Information Agency he succeeded Edward R. Murrow, who served in that capacity from March i5, i96i, through January 20, I964. On January 2i the White House released an announcement of Mr. Murrow's resignation together with a statement by the President on appointing Ambassador Rowan as his successor. 32I [20I] Feb. 29 Public Papers of the Presidents 201 The President's News Conference of February 29, i964 THE PRESIDENT. [i.] I take pleasure this morning in announcing my intention of nominating Mr. William P. Bundy as the Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs. Mr. Bundy, currently the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, will bring to his new post great background and experience in the Far Eastern field. Mr. Bundy will be replaced in the Defense Department post by Mr. John McNaughton, the current General Counsel at the Department of Defense. I also wish to announce the appointment of Mr. Daniel M. Luevano, of California, as Assistant Secretary of the Army. Mr. Luevano is the Chief Deputy Director of the State Department of Finance in California, under Governor Brown, and has consistently demonstrated his ability in a number of governmental posts in his native State, having formerly been assistant to Dr. Clark Kerr, the president of the University of California. I would also like to announce the appointment of Mrs. Frankie Muse Freeman, Associate General Counsel of the St. Louis Housing and Land Clearance Authority, as a new member of the Civil Rights Commission. Mrs. Freeman is a former Assistant Attorney General of the State of Missouri, and distinguished Missouri lawyer. [2.] The United States has successfully developed an advanced experimental jet aircraft, the A-i I, which has been tested in sustained flight at more than 2,000 miles an hour, and at altitudes in excess of 70,000 feet. The performance of the A-i i far exceeds that of any other aircraft in the world today. The development of this aircraft has been made possible by major advances in aircraft technology of great significance for both military and commercial application. Several A-Ii aircraft are now being flighttested at Edwards Air Force Base in California. The existence of this program is being disclosed today to permit the orderly exploitation of this advanced technology in our military and commercial programs. This advanced experimental aircraft, capable of high speed and high altitude, and long-range performance at thousands of miles, constitutes a technological accomplishment that will facilitate the achievement of a number of important military and commercial requirements. The A-iI aircraft now at Edwards Air Force Base are undergoing extensive tests to determine their capabilities as long-range interceptors. The development of a supersonic commercial transport aircraft will also be greatly assisted by the lessons learned from this A-i i program. For example, one of the most important technical achievements in this project has been the mastery of the metallurgy and fabrication of titanium metal which is required for the high temperatures experienced by aircraft traveling at more than three times the speed of sound. Arrangements are being made to make this and other important technical developments available under appropriate safeguards to those directly engaged in the supersonic transport program. This project was first started in I959. Appropriate Members of the Senate and the House have been kept fully informed on the program since the day of its inception. The Lockheed Aircraft Corporation at Burbank, Calif., is the manufacturer of the air 322 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 Feb. 29 [20I] craft. The aircraft engine, the J-58, was designed and built by the Pratt and Whitney Aircraft Division of the United Aircraft Corporation. The experimental fire control and air-to-air missile system for the A-I I was developed by the Hughes Aircraft Company. In view of the continuing importance of these developments to our national security, the detailed performance of the A-II will remain strictly dassified and all individuals associated with the program have been directed to refrain from making any further disclosure concerning this program. I do not expect to discuss this important matter further with you today but certain additional information will be made available to all of you after this meeting. If you care, Mr. Salinger I will make the appropriate arrangements. On Monday I will release a report by Mr. Eugene Black and Mr. Osborne on the supersonic transport program.2 This report was submitted to me in December. It makes a number of recommendations dealing with the financing and the management of the supersonic transport program. It has been referred to those Government officials concerned for review and comment. On the basis of their analysis, a decision will be made on how the Government will proceed. I will be glad to take any questions. [3.] Q. Mr. President, could you confirm or deny the published reports that security measures taken in Florida were prompted by a tip that some suicide pilot might try to ram your plane? THE PRESIDENT. I don't handle my own security. I was informed that there had been reasons for taking additional precau1 Pierre Salinger, Press Secretary to the President. 2The iog-page processed report by Eugene R. Black and Stanley de J. Osborne, dated December i9, i963, was made available by the Federal Aviation Agency. tions, and I asked that the matter be carefully examined and handled entirely by Mr. J. Edgar Hoover and the Secret Service, both of whom work closely together in connection with the President's security. And we followed the suggestions outlined, none of which I am familiar with in detail. [4.] Q. Mr. President, how do you appraise the possible political impact of the Bobby Baker case? THE PRESIDENT. I think that is a matter that the Senate is considering. They have witnesses to be heard. The Senate will make its report and take such action as they feel is justified, and I am sure they will take the proper action. We will have to see what the consequences are, following their recommendations when all of the evidence is in. [5.] Q. Mr. President, sir, could you bring us up to date on the conflict in South Viet-Nam and North Viet-Nam, and whether or not you think that this conflict will be expanded? And, sir, are we losing there? THE PRESIDENT. We have asked Secretary McNamara, who has made periodic visits to Saigon, to go to Viet-Nam in the next few days. He will go there and have his conferences and will bring back very valuable information. We have a very difficult situation in Viet-Nam. We are furnishing advice and counsel and training to the South Viet-Nam army. And we must rely on them for such action as is taken to defend themselves. We think that Mr. McNamara will correctly appraise the situation on this trip and make such recommendations as he deems appropriate. I do not think that the speculation that has been made that we should enter into a neutralization of that area, or that we are losing the fight in that area, or that things have gone to pot there, are at all justified. I think that they do our cause a 323 [20I] Feb. 29 Public Papers of the Presidents great disservice, but we are keeping in close touch with it daily. We have Ambassador Lodge, who heads our forces in that area. He is in constant communication with us. He makes recommendations from time to time. We act promptly on those recommendations. We feel that we are following the proper course and that our national interests are being fully protected. Q. Mr. President, do you see any reason to fear that an extension of the fighting in South Viet-Nam might bring Communist China or even the Soviet Union into the fight? THE PRESIDENT. I know of no good purpose that would be served by speculating on the military strategy of the forces of the South Vietnamese. I think that too much speculation has already taken place-I think that a good deal of it without justification. I sometimes wonder if General Eisenhower, before the battle of Normandy, had been confronted with all the-if the world had all the information concerning his plans that they seem to have concerning ours in VietNam, what would have happened on that fateful day. So, I would answer your question merely by saying that I do not care to speculate on what might happen. The plans that have been discussed in the papers are not plans that have come to my attention, or that I have approved. Q. Mr. President, Henry Cabot Lodge, your Ambassador to South Viet-Nam, was your opponent for the Vice Presidency in I960, and is a very strong potential Republican nominee this time. Doesn't that make conduct of your policy in South Viet-Nam awkward, if not difficult? THE PRESIDENT. No, I don't think so. Mr. Lodge had a brilliant career in the Senate. He served in the United States Army after resigning from the Senate. He had considerable military experience there. He served his country well at the United Nations under the administration of President Eisenhower. He was selected by President Kennedy upon the recommendation of Secretary Rusk. He has been given full authority to act as our top adviser in that area. He had a long conference with me before he returned to Viet-Nam in November. I am unaware of any political inclinations he may have. I have seen nothing that he has done that has in any way interfered with his work out there. I think that he has properly assessed the situation himself by saying that since he is our Ambassador there he cannot personally get involved in the campaign plans that some of his friends may have for him. [6.] Q. Mr. President, do you see any hope of reaching an agreement in Panama before that country's Presidential elections in May? THE PRESIDENT. I would hope that we could reach an agreement as early as possible. As soon as I learned that the Panamanians had marched on our zone and we had a disturbance there, and some of our soldiers had been killed, some of the students had raised the flag and this disturbance had resulted, I immediately called the President of Panama on the telephone and said to him in that first exchange, "I want to do everything I can to work this problem out peacefully and quickly. Therefore our people will meet with your people any time, anywhere, to discuss anything that will result in bringing peace and stopping violence." The President asked me how long it would be before those discussions could take place, and I said we would have a team in the air within 30 minutes. 324 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-i964 Feb. 29 [20I] I designated Assistant Secretary Mann 3 to leave immediately. We have been pursuing those discussions ever since. We have reached no agreement. One day you see speculation that an agreement is imminent. The next day you see speculation that we are very pessimistic. I think both reports have been wrong. There has been no meeting of the minds. We realize that treaties were written in I903 and modified from time to time-that problems are involved that need to be dealt with and perhaps would require adjustment in the treaty in I963 or I964. So we are not refusing to discuss and evolve a program that will be fair and just to all concerned. But we are not going to make any precommitments, before we sit down, on what we are going to do in the way of rewriting new treaties with a nation that we do not have diplomatic relations with. Once those relations are restored, we will be glad, as I said the first day, and as we have repeated every day since, to discuss anything, any time, anywhere, and do what is just and what is fair and what is right. Just because Panama happens to be a small nation, maybe no larger than the city of St. Louis, is no rea-,son why we shouldn't try in every way to be equitable and fair and just. We are going -to insist on that. But we are going to be,equally insistent on no preconditions. [7.] Q. Mr. President, returning to southeast Asia, the Pathet Lao in Laos has,been stepping up its military activities in violation of the '62 Geneva agreement. Is the United States willing to concede that neutralization is not the answer to Laos today? THE PRESIDENT. The United States has made the proper protestations and is doing -everything we can to see that that agreement 'Thomas C. Mann, Assistant Secretary of State for ilnter-American Affairs. reached is carried out. We have expressed our deep regret that it has not been. We are very hopeful that the interested governments will take the appropriate action to see that the agreement is carried out. [8.] Q. Mr. President, you have said repeatedly that peace is the paramount issue on your mind. I wonder, sir, if during your first hundred days in the White House you have seen any encouraging signs along this road and, specifically, do you think a trend of the modern world is towards coexistence and conciliation rather than to strife. THE PRESIDENT. We must be concerned not just with our foreign policy in the twentieth century but with the foreign policy of iio or i20 other nations. We are today dealing with serious problems in many places in the world that seriously affect the peace. When we solve these problems I have no doubt but what there will be others that arise that have been in existence for centuries. It is going to be the course of this Government to do everything that we can to resolve these differences peacefully, even though they are not of our own making. There are few of these situations which have been brought about by anything that we have done, but they are age-old differences that have existed for centuries. I am an optimist. I spent 35 days in meetings with the Security Council in the Cuban missile crisis. I saw the alternatives presented there. I realized that we can, with the great power we have, perhaps destroy ioo million people in a matter of minutes, and our adversaries can do likewise. I don't think that the people of the world want that to happen and I think we are going to do everything that we can to avoid its happening. Now there are going to be some very serious problems that we have to resolve before we achieve peace 325 [20I] Feb. 29 Public Papers of the Presidents in the world, if we achieve it completely, but we are going to continue to try to resolve them. I am encouraged and I am not pessimistic about the future. I believe that we have adequate machinery to deal with these problems and I sincerely and genuinely believe that the people of the world want peace more than they want anything else and that, in time, through their leaders, someway, somehow we will find the answer. [9.] Q. Mr. President, some reference was made to your first hundred days. How do you size up your first hundred days generally? THE PRESIDENT. Well, I have been reasonably close to the Presidency during the 30 years that I have been in Washington, particularly the last 3 years. But I have gotten many different impressions in the last hundred days than I had before I came to this awesome responsibility. I am deeply impressed by the spirit of unity in this country, by the many people of all faiths and all sections who closed ranks and were anxious to unite the country following the tragic affair of last November. I am quite pleased with the manner in which the executive personnel has carried on following the death of their great leader, how the Cabinet has functioned to a man in this crisis. I think the continuity and the transition and the organization of the budget and the various messages, and the outline of the program has created confidence in the country and in the world. I am pleased with what the Congress has done in the field of passing io of the I5 appropriations bills in the first hundred days, that were carried over from last year, and in passing the education bills that made this Congress known as the greatest education Congress in the history of our land; in the passage of the civil rights bill in the House of Representatives after it had been considered there for some 6 or 7 months; in the passage of the tax bill in the United States Senate after it had been there almost 13 months, and now finally enacted into law. While I have been lavishly praised by some, and I think lavishly criticized by some, I think generally speaking the American Nation has conducted itself as you would expect it to in a crisis and would get very good grades. Insofar as I am concerned I am rather pleased with what has been accomplished in the first hundred days as a result of men and women of good will working together. [io.] Q. Mr. President, a political question, sir. President Kennedy told us that he would be willing to debate his Republican opponent in this coming election, had he lived. Would you be willing to do that, sir? THE PRESIDENT. Well, I haven't been nominated yet. I think we will have plenty of time to decide that one after the convention. I will cross that bridge when I come to it. [ii.] Q. Mr. President, next month in Geneva a world trade conference will be started, organized by the United Nations, and more than ioo countries will participate in it. The other day Senator Fulbright said that he is going to have hearings in his committee on world trade. Would you tell us what is your attitude toward the developing of world trade? THE PRESIDENT. We are very interested in that conference. We are going to participate in it and make every contribution we can.4 We think it is essential in the interest of the peoples of the world that trade barriers be pulled down. And we are going to contribute everything we can to that end. 'For the President's message to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, see Item 237. 326 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-i964 Feb. 29 [20I] [12.] Q. Mr. President, I have seen speculation in print that it is your guess that you will run against Richard Nixon. Is that true? If it is not true, can you tell us what your guess is in that respect, sir? THE PRESIDENT. I didn't get the first part of your question. Q. I have read in print speculation that you expect that you will be running against Richard Nixon next year. THE PRESIDENT. No, I haven't speculated on whether I will run or even who I will run against if I do run. That is a matter for the conventions of the two parties to determine when the delegates are properly chosen and they act. All I know about who may be interested in the job is from what I see in the papers, and the activities of the various individuals. [I3.] Q. Mr. President, the American Ambassador from Cyprus has been recalled for consultations. Could you give us your views on the Cyprus matter, please? THE PRESIDENT. We are deeply concerned with it. We think it is a very serious situation. We sent our Under Secretary, the very able George Ball, across the water to talk to the people in Cyprus, and the people in Turkey and the people in Greece and the people in Great Britain and the guarantor powers. We felt that we should make every possible effort to resolve these differences and to avoid more serious consequences. The matter is now pending in the United Nations, and we are doing our dead-level best to find the solution. We are concerned as it is extremely serious, but we believe that it will be resolved and we certainly hope so. [I4.] Q. Mr. President, yesterday the Commerce Department, without advance notice, put lard, an important staple in the diet of the Cuban people, on the embargoed list. Could you tell us if you gave the order to put that commodity on the list, and if so, was your action the result of a telegram from Congressman Paul Findley of Illinois and a Senate speech by Senator Keating? THE PRESIDENT. Yesterday, just before lunch, I was informed that the Commerce Department was giving consideration to adding lard to that list. Rumors had been circulating in the trade for a few hours that it was expected that there would be a huge sale of lard involved, and my judgment was requested. I concurred in the judgment of the Commerce Department that before a license was issued we should carefully consider what we were doing, and that if the rumors were true, the matter needed further attention. Now we have no evidence that these rumors are going to develop into facts, but if they do, the Commerce Department will judicially examine all the facts and make a determination that justifies our Government acting in our national interests. Now what action it will take will be determined after the case is heard, if the rumors and speculation seem to be true. [ I5.] Q. Mr. President, would it be your policy to go to the people to explain administrative policy, to explain to them by radio and television, in the fireside-chat tradition? THE PRESIDENT. I think the President has a responsibility to do the very best job he can as President for all the people. I think in order to do that it is important for the people to know the problems that confront him. Man's judgment on any given question is no better than the facts he has on that question. So I go along with the view expressed by Jefferson, that the collective judgment of the many is much to be preferred to the selective decisions of the few. I shall have my Press Secretary hold daily briefings, at least two a day, and make available all information that can be made avail 327 [20I] Feb. 29 Public Papers of the Presidents able to the press. From time to time I will see individual members of the press about press business, and I may see some of my full-time friends socially, occasionally, I hope without too much criticism. Other times I will have them in my office, if I have any announcements that I think worthy of their attention and taking their time. At other times I will have a meeting like this to reach the folks who the press may not be able to reach through the ordinary newspaper or magazine media so that we can have radio coverage and television coverage. I know of nothing in the President's job that is more important than being held accountable to the people, explaining to the people the reasons for his action, and telling the people something about the problems that confront him, because they are a very understanding group once they have the facts. [i6.] Q. Mr. President, there have been rumors, particularly from the Republicans, that you may be willing to compromise the public accommodations section of the civil rights bill. Is that true, and if not, is there any part of the bill that you feel might be the subject of compromise? THE PRESIDENT. I have never discussed this with anyone and I would suspect that those rumors which you talk about, which I have read about, are strictly Republican in origin. I will say that the civil rights bill which passed the House is the bill that this administration recommends. I am in favor of it passing the Senate exactly in its present form. I realize there will be some Senators who will want to strengthen it, some who will want to weaken it. But so far as this administration is concerned, its position is firm and we stand on the House bill. [I7.1 Q. Mr. President, much of the speculation on Viet-Nam in the past week has been occasioned by that phrase in your speech last weekend about a dangerous game in Viet-Nam.5 I think many of us are puzzled about what was the intention of that phrase and could you clarify your intentions for us? THE PRESIDENT. The speculation on VietNam has been going on for some time. I was out there in i96i. There was a good deal of speculation then. In my California speech I intended to say just what I did, that aggressors who intend to envelop peaceful, liberty-loving, free people, and attempt to do so through aggressive means, are playing a very dangerous game. That is what I said, that is what I meant, and that is a very dangerous situation there and has been for some time. [i8.] Q. Mr. President, would you further assess the situation in the Far East in the light of Mr. Bundy's appointment there, and the problems he may face? THE PRESIDENT. We know that we have very serious problems in that area. We want to have the very best people that we can handling those problems. As I told you, on the ground in Viet-Nam we have Ambassador Lodge. He has been sent additional assistance since I took office in November, and there are several new and very highly competent faces that have gone out at his request and with his approval. Mr. Hilsman 6 felt that he should return to his faculty duties and he submitted his resignation to us. We had a reasonable time to select his successor. We reviewed the several possible persons to succeed him. We felt Mr. Hilsman was a very able and a very conscientious and very effective public servant, and we realized it was difficult to fill his shoes. We finally concluded, after conferring 5See Item 192. 6 Roger Hilsman, former Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs. 328 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Mar. 2 12031 with Secretary Rusk at some length, that we should ask Secretary McNamara if he would be willing to let Mr. Bundy resign his place under his administration and move over to the State Department to take over Mr. Hilsman's duties. Thorough consideration was given to it and Mr. McNamara reluctantly agreed, but did agree and we have been able to prevail upon Mr. Bundy to do that. We think that he is the best possible successor that we could have to Mr. Hilsman, and we do think that this whole area needs every bit of the best manpower that it can get. Reporter: Thank you, Mr. President. NOTE: President Johnson's sixth news conference was held in the International Treaty Room at the Department of State at ii a.m. on Saturday, February 29, i964. With respect to the numbering of the President's news conferences, see note at end of Item I43. 202 Remarks Recorded for the Opening of the Red Cross Campaign. March i, 1964 FOR more than Ioo years, the Red Cross has united people everywhere as a common bond of mercy and decency. Today, around the world, the familiar red cross is the most universally known and the most respected symbol of man's concern for the well-being of his fellow man. Here in our own land, we know the American Red Cross as a true friend, always standing by, always ready, always able to assist any of us. Red Cross programs touch the lives of millions of families through vital health, through emergency welfare programs. The services of the Red Cross are available to all of our people at all times-in moments of community disaster as well as in hours of individual despair. But the readiness and the strength of the Red Cross depend upon the support that we ourselves provide. As President of the United States of America, and as Honorary Chairman of the Red Cross, it gives me great pleasure to proclaim the month of March as the Red Cross month. So, I urge each of you to observe this month by supporting your Red Cross, supporting your Red Cross in every way you can. We never know when the help of the Red Cross will be needed by others, or we never know when it will be needed by ourselves. But by giving our help now, we can be sure that the Red Cross will always be able to answer all the calls of distress and need wherever and whenever those calls may come. NOTE: The President had designated March i964 as Red Cross Month on January 31 (Proclamation 3572; 29 F.R. 1717; 3 CFR, I964 Supp.). His remarks were filmed and recorded in advance for broadcast at the opening of the campaign. 203 Remarks at the Swearing In of Nicholas Johnson as Maritime Administrator. March 2, 1964 Mr. Secretary, Mr. Johnson and members of your family, ladies and gentlemen: You, Mr. Johnson, represent, to my mind, the caliber of young men who infuse this Government with spirit and energy and an intelligent, commonsense grasp of what needs to be done. You are a Phi Beta Kappa whose mind is swift and whose honor 329 [203] Mar. 2 Public Papers of the Presidents is high. As we advance on the problems that this Government faces, we are going to need other Nick Johnsons in other high places in the Government service. You have set an example by leaving a highly profitable law practice to come here and serve your country. There are few posts in Washington which demand a higher level of perception, a higher level of understanding and initiative than the Maritime Administrator. Secretary Hodges and I both agree that this young man, Nicholas Johnson, has the qualities of brain and temper to do all that is right and all that is just in the carrying out of his duties. He has the complete confidence of the Secretary and he has my very special confidence. So, Nick, I wish you all success, not only because it will make Secretary Hodges very proud and it will make me proud, but because it will be in the best interests of the Government. I believe that you will set an example that other young men can be proud of and I hope that yours is one of a long list of young men who will leave private life and come here and join the Government in these difficult and trying days. I assure you that even though you were sitting in with us unofficially the last few days in connection with our wheat sale that as I looked at you across the table I wished you had been with us months before. You are now. I congratulate you and the members of the Senate on their quick confirmation of you. I have not the slightest doubt but that you will do a fine job as Administrator. We are grateful for the patriotism that you have shown in coming with us. NOTE: The ceremony was held in the Cabinet Room at the White House. The President's opening words "Mr. Secretary" referred to Secretary of Commerce Luther H. Hodges. 204 Remarks to the Winners of the Federal Woman's Award. March 3, I964 Ladies: I want to welcome you and congratulate you and express my very genuine admiration for your unusual contributions to our beloved country. When I read your biographies, I was again impressed by the extraordinary range of opportunities that the Government offers to talented women. And there is one thing we are insistent on around here and that is that we not have just stag Government. We all know that in the past the capabilities of women have not always been recognized. I intend to see to it that there is an even greater expansion of opportunities for women in the days ahead. As Lady Bird and I wired Katie, at the award banquet, I believe a woman's place is not only in the home, but in the House and the Senate and throughout the Government service. We are very proud of you women doers. You are the living proof of our confidence in you. As I have jocularly commented occasionally, Lincoln took a poll of his Cabinet one time and he went down all the list. Each voted nay, and finally when they got to the President he voted aye, and announced the vote and said, "The ayes have it." But when I have a vote in my house and we go down the list, if there are three ayes I know I had better say, "The ayes have it." 330 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-I964 Mar. 3 [205] So, we welcome you to this house. This is a great treat for us. It is a great honor to you. It is a great benefit to America. Thank you very much. NOTE: The President spoke at noon in the Fish Room at the White House. In the second paragraph he referred to Katie Louchheim, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, who presented the women to the President. Recipients of the Federal Woman's Award were Selene Gifford, Assistant Commissioner (Community Services), Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior; Dr. Gertrude Blanch, scientist with the Applied Mathematics Research Laboratory at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio; Dr. Evelyn Anderson, research scientist with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in California; Elizabeth F. Messer, Assistant to the Deputy Director, Bureau of Retirement and Insurance, Civil Service Commission; Dr. Margaret Wolman Schwartz, Director, Office of Foreign Assets, Department of the Treasury; and Patricia G. van Delden, Deputy Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Information Agency in Bonn, Germany, and Attache, U.S. Embassy. The awards were presented at a banquet held at the Statler Hilton Hotel in Washington on the evening of March 2. 205 White House Statement on Employment of Members of Minority Groups in the Federal Government. March 3, i964 OPPORTUNITIES for minority employees in the Federal Government are getting better every year, President Johnson revealed today. A new study of Federal employment made in June i963 shows impressive gains in the number of higher paid jobs filled by Negroes and other minorities. Negro employment worldwide reached a new high of 30i,889, up 3 percent from June i962. In grades GS-9 through GS-Ii of the classified service ($6,675 to $io,i65) Negroes held 7,0i6 positions, an increase of 1,I46 or I9.5 percent. In grades GS12 through GS-i8 ($9,475 to $20,000) they held i,952 positions for a gain of 545 or 38.7 percent. Similar rates of increase occured in upper level blue collar and postal positions. Negro employment was I3.I percent of the 2,298,808 employment total. Spanish-speaking employment totaled 51,682 for an increase of 2 percent in the previous year. There were 2,I78 Spanishspeaking employees in grades GS-9 through GS-ii, up 304 or i6.2 percent. In GS-T2 through GS-i8 their employment totaled 785, an increase of i6i or 25.8 percent. In the wage board pay range from $6,500 to $7,999 the increase was 1,380 or 56.3 percent. At $8,ooo and above the increase was ii9 or 74.8 percent. The President said he was pleased at the remarkable progress achieved by the Government's equal employment opportunity program for the second successive year. "This is the result of affirmative and persistent efforts by the Federal agencies to hire, train, and promote solely on the basis of merit without irrelevant considerations of race or ancestry," he said. "Utilization studies at the beginning of the program disclosed skills and potential among our minority employees which had been overlooked in the past. We had some catching up to do. These changes in the minority employment picture do not reflect special privilege. They are the result of insistence by President Kennedy, the Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity, which I headed as Vice President, and the agencies themselves that employees be hired, promoted, and upgraded on the basis of merit alone." The study provided year-to-year comparisons also on four smaller minority groups which were measured in selected States. 33I [205] Mar. 3 Public Papers of the Presidents Employment of Mexican-Americans in five Southwestern States increased i percent to 33,925. In grades GS-9 through I their employment totaled 1,269 for an increase of 216 or 20.5 percent compared with an increase in the total number of such jobs in the area of only 6.9 percent. In the highest grades, GS-I2 through i8, there were 24I Mexican-American employees, an increase of 84 or 53.5 percent (compared with a total increase in this category of I3.2 percent). The number of Puerto Rican employees in four Eastern States (Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania) declined slightly because of a dip in general Federal employment there. Nevertheless, Puerto Rican employment still increased in some of the higher paid jobs. In wage board jobs paying $6500 through $7999 the increase was 194 positions, up 388 percent compared with a general increase of 42.2 percent in this category. American Indian employees in seven selected States totaled 10,569 or 2.7 percent of total employment, for a substantial increase of i8.6 percent during the year. Oriental-Americans employed on the Pacific coast (States of California, Oregon, and Washington) increased by 8.3 percent to a new total of Io,I58. Data is from the third annual minority census in Government employment, made by the Civil Service Commission for the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity. It covered I,I03,051 classified employees, 560,2II wage board employees, 582, 475 postal field service employees, and 53,07i employees under other pay systems. Statistics showing the minority employment pattern by agency and by State and selected metropolitan statistical areas will be made available as soon as the processing of data is completed. A comparison of minority employment in the 2-year period June I96I to June I963 showed a net increase of nearly 20,000 Negroes. The 2-year gain for Negroes in grades GS-5 through GS-II was 8,963 positions or 36.6 percent, compared to a total increase in these grades of i i percent. In grades GS-I2 through GS-i8 the gain was 915 positions or 88.2 percent (compared to a total increase of 22.9 percent). In the Postal Field Service the 2-year gain in PFS-5 through ii was 1,356 positions or 32.3 percent (compared with a general increase of 5.6 percent) and in PFS-I2 through 20, where there was a decline overall of 3.6 percent, the Negro increase was I4 positions or I27.3 percent. Data on the 2-year period is not available for the other minorities. 206 Statement by the President Following Adoption of the Security Council Resolution on Cyprus. March 4, 1964 THE RESOLUTION adopted this morning by the Security Council in agreement with all parties to the crisis in Cyprus is a major step toward peace. It is a product of restraint and mature judgment on the part of many people. Those of us in this and other nations who have been preoccupied in recent weeks with the dangerous situation in Cyprus and an attempt to constructively find an answer to it, are gratified by this action. The Security Council has opened the way to the creation of a United Nations peacekeeping force and the appointment of an 332 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 Mar. 4 [207] international mediator. We hope this force will be constituted promptly with the cooperation of member states. Needless to tell you, this agreement was reached over many obstacles. This agreement is only a first step. Difficult issues remain. It will take renewed effort by all concerned to reach a lasting settlement which takes account of the rights of all. The United States Government will give full support to the efforts of the United Nations mediator in this direction, and we appeal to all peoples everywhere to join in their support. But the first condition of successful mediation is the restoration of internal order, and it is here that today's resolution gives us the greatest and the newest hope. In spite of the difficulties that do lie ahead for our country, we have seen once again that men of good will can find means to keep peace if they are constructive about it and if they are determined to do it. The United States, for its part, will continue in its firm friendship for the people of Greece, for the people of Turkey, and for the people of Cyprus. We move ahead today in the firm belief that this is a constructive move out of which peace will ultimately come to all nations involved. NOTE: The President read the statement before newsreel cameras in the Cabinet Room at the White House. The text of the resolution adopted by the Security Council is printed in the Department of State Bulletin (vol. 50, p. 466). 207 Remarks at the Swearing In of Frederick C. Belen as Deputy Postmaster General and William McMillan as Assistant Postmaster General. March 4, i964 I AM PLEASED this morning to be able to witness the swearing in of Fred Belen and Bill McMillan as second and third ranking officials of the United States Post Office Department. They represent a combined total of 64 years of service to our Government. Fred Belen, our new Deputy Postmaster General, has served in the legislative and executive branches of Government since I937, and he has been with the Post Office Department since I947. Bill McMillan, who succeeds Fred as Assistant Postmaster General for Operations, entered the Post Office service as a substitute clerk in I927, so he has io years' seniority on Fred. These two men represent the kind of dedicated competent men who rightfully belong at the very top levels of Government. We have high standards and they meet those high standards. They know the postal service. They know the needs and the problems. They are the kind of men who can best help our very able Postmaster General to find the solutions. These men are postal experts and they are management experts, and they are going to do a fine job in helping Postmaster General Gronouski give the very best possible postal service to the American people at the very lowest possible cost. They have the full confidence of the Postmaster General, and I am proud to say they have the full confidence of the President and this administration. [At this point Mr. Belen and Mr. McMillan were sworn in by Judge Homer Thornberry, Federal 333 [207] Mar. 4 Public Papers of the Presidents Judge in El Paso, Tex. The President then resumed speaking.] General Gronouski, I apologize for being detained slightly this morning. I do have the commissions here, and I am ready to present them. However, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency is leaving for Viet-Nam tomorrow, and I asked him to go out and brief President Eisenhower today. He came in to review that briefing with me, and asked me the extent of the briefing with President Eisenhower. I told him that I thought he should tell him everything that I knew. I hope he will do that and review things with him thoroughly. That took a little time, and so I was a little late coming in, but we are here nevertheless. NOTE: The swearing-in ceremony was held at 11:30 a.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White House. 208 Remarks Upon Presenting the First Eleanor Roosevelt Memorial Award to Judge Anna M. Kross. March 4, i964 Miss Carper, Judge Kross, Ambassador Stevenson, Justice Black, Miss Perkins, members of the Roosevelt family, distinguished guests, my fellow Americans: I came here tonight on the positive assurance of Elsie Carper that I could count this appearance as another press conference. Unaccustomed as I am to bright lights, it is good to be able to see all of you again. I think I should tell you that the stories they write about the White House being in the datk are greatly exaggerated. There is some truth in the statement that Lynda and Luci do study by kerosene lamps, occasionally, but it is on the ranch and not in Washington. But when the sun comes up, we always open the curtains. I would like, at this time, to make a policy announcement. I am unabashedly in favor of women. A writer once observed, a bit critically, that American women seek a perfection in their husbands that English women find only in their butlers. But that only proves to me that American women have a taste for style and a yearning for excellence. Moreover, women can get tough about what they believe in. I used to think I could spell, but my daughter, Luci, corrected me on that count. I remember that old maxim, "I before E, except after C." But Luci, with a great zest for innovation, has changed it to be, "I after C, instead of Y." But assuming that Elsie's assurance has the advice and the consent of this body, let me start my press conference tonight by making some appointments, and one of them is from your very own. To do this I am having to scoop several departments, but, then, I think a President should be entitled to a few prerogatives. Yesterday Mrs. Jane Hanna became the Defense Department's highest ranking woman, when she was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary for Defense. Tonight I want to make the following appointments: To the Interstate Commerce Commission, the first lady ever to serve as a member of that body, Mrs. Virginia Mae Brown, of Charleston, W. Va. She was formerly Assistant Attorney General of West Virginia and she is now serving as the great Public Service Commissioner of that State. To become the head of the Women's Bureau of the Department of Labor, Mrs. Mary Keyserling, distinguished economist. To the Advisory Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs, Miss Pauline 334 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-i964 Mar. 4 [208] Tompkins, Executive Secretary [General Director] of the American Association of University Women. To be appointed as Special Consultant to the Secretary of Labor on Youth Employment, Mrs. India Edwards. As the Director of the Office of Public Information of the Small Business Administration, Miss Rose McKee. Specialist on the Research Grants Program, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Dr. Eleanor Poland, of Kansas City, Mo. As a new member of the Advisory Committee of the United States Information Agency, Mrs. Norman Chandler of the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, Calif. As Special Assistant to the Chief of Protocol, Department of State, Mrs. Barbara Bolling. As consultant to the United States Office of Aging and Coordinator, Senior Citizens Month, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Mrs. Herbert Stats. And I am appointing as an ambassador, Mrs. Katharine Elkus White from Red Bank, N.J., whose father was also an ambassador. The country to which she is being appointed is being notified tonight and we will announce what country this is in a matter of days.' This should, with the announcements that have preceded this one and the ones that will follow this one, serve notice that this administration is not running a stag party. Tonight we have come here to honor Eleanor Roosevelt. My heart stirs with memories as I see so many members of the Roosevelt family and as I see so many of President Roosevelt's 1 On March 20 the White House announced that Mrs. White would be appointed as Ambassador to Denmark. Her father, Abram I. Elkus, served as Ambassador to Turkey under President Wilson. friends, aides, associates, and partners in his work and allies in his cause. Thirty-one years ago today, Franklin Delano Roosevelt became the 32d President of the United States. Just as importantly, Eleanor Roosevelt assumed the duties of the First Lady of the land, and by her works soon became the Best Lady of the land. She was the First Lady and the Best Lady for many more compelling reasons than the fact that she happened to be the wife of the President. She lived a sheltered girlhood. She was by nature and inclination and heritage a shy girl, schooled for a retiring life. But out of the many choices which her life presented and permitted, Eleanor Roosevelt chose to give priority to the difficult and not to the easy; priority to the demanding and not to the agreeable; priority to the worthwhile and never to the worthless. The Roosevelts carried on, in their time, the struggle to bring to the people that which was just and all that was decentand to make certain that the few who had much closed ranks to help the many who had little. And as President Roosevelt gave new courage to his country at a time when courage was sorely needed, his wife was an extension of his voice and his purpose. In the coal mines and in the corn fields, she was there among the people. Across the rivers and beyond the mountains, in the big cities and in the small towns, Eleanor Roosevelt was there. Poverty was her concern, peace was her hope, people were her passion. One of my wife's favorite authors, Scott Fitzgerald, defined America as "a willingness of the heart." How better can we sum up the thrust of Eleanor Roosevelt's impact on an America that needed her compassionand always welcomed her concern. And how up to date is her philosophy 335 [208] Mar. 4 Public Papers of the Presidents tonight! For if this administration has a theme, it is: to make this country peaceful and strong and secure militarily; to keep this country solvent and sturdy economically; and to ensure that this Government always has a compassion for all, especially the underprivileged, to always demonstrate "a willingness of the heart." For this reason, and for others, I am insisting that women play a larger role in the Government's plans and in the Government's programs. Women, to a greater extent than men, have this "willingness of the heart." Moreover, they have an instinct for rightness that is quite important to decision making, more important than numbers or logic. In the fields of education and the arts, I intend to bring women of imagination and energy to the fore. I am looking at one that turned me down for an important executive assignment the other day. I talked to two bankers today, who are women, and they turned me down for other assignments. So you women are going to have to do a job on the women and if you do that, we will take care of them in the Government. In our war on poverty you can expect women to be in the front lines of our every attack. If we are to do something of value that will benefit those whose lives are a struggle in poverty, then women must be involved, not because they are women, but because they bring assets to help us win this fight. This war on poverty will take endless patience and ceaseless toil, but we intend to win it. And if there are any doubting Thomases, I want them to know that our determination to enlist women in this administration is no sporadic, election year objective. It will be a continuing aim, not because it is politic, but because it is sound. This great lady whom we honor tonight understood this all her life. She was always militant where there was injustice. She was always demanding where there was need. She was always outspoken in the cause of the weak. I think I should interpolate what a very great lady from the great country of Finland said to me, when she came here to get the Finnish loan and after she had been turned down all over the place, she finally went to Mrs. Roosevelt and Mrs. Roosevelt sent her over to see the Under Secretary of State, got her an appointment. And she told him the troubles of little Finland. The Under Secretary said, "Yours is not a bankable transaction, but I am going to make the loan, because I can't turn both you and Mrs. Roosevelt down." And the loan was made and repaid and a nation was saved, because of the courage and understanding of two great women. Yes, she was always outspoken in the cause of the weak. I remember following her on the dusty roads of Texas, in the slums of our cities, when she was talking to children who were hulling grapefruit rinds that they had picked out of a garbage can. She was never too tired or weary to help the humble or the meek and to give those who needed it just a little lift. That is why, though she is gone, she will never die. That is why, if she were here tonight, she would be by our side urging us on to do more for those who need it most. Thank you and good night. NOTE: The President spoke at 9:20 p.m., after the presentation ceremony, at the Statler Hilton Hotel in Washington. In his opening words he referred to Elsie Carper, President of the Women's National Press Club, sponsor of the Eleanor Roosevelt memorial award, Judge Anna M. Kross, Commissioner of Corrections of New York City, Ambassador Adlai Stevenson, U.S. Representative to the United Nations, Justice of the Supreme Court Hugo L. Black, Frances Perkins, former Secretary 336 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 Mar. 6 [2IO] of Iabor, and the following members of the Roosevelt family: Representative and Mrs. James Roosevelt, Under Secretary of Commerce and Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr., Mr. and Mrs. John Roosevelt, and Mr. and Mrs. Curtis Roosevelt. The citation accompanying the Eleanor Roosevelt Golden Candlestick Award presented to Judge Kross reads as follows: "For her unique career of public service over fifty years, for her campaign to assure equal justice for all, poor as well as rich, Negro as well as white, women as well as men, for her years of service upon the bench of New York's Magistrate Court, for her work in founding the Court's social service bureau and establishing the first public school to be held in a prison, for her initiative and her courage in bringing about major reforms in New York City's penal system, for her championship of the downtrodden, her labors in behalf of youth, her success in bringing a woman's heart and a woman's insight to bear on the darkest social problems, the first Eleanor Roosevelt Golden Candlestick Award of the Women's National Press Club is presented to Judge Anna M. Kross, the Commissioner of Corrections of New York City." 209 Statement by the President on the Death of King Paul of Greece. March 6, i964 THE DEATH of King Paul of Greece is a matter of deep sorrow to me, a sorrow which I know is shared by the American people. King Paul's reign covered a period of great trial and sacrifice for Greece. His steadfast devotion and unwavering faith in Greece and the Greek people provided leadership in times of strife, unrest, readjustment, and recovery. The example of personal integrity and unselfish dedication to duty which King Paul represented has served as an inspiration and source of strength to his people. The American people will miss a true friend. My deepest sympathy goes out to the bereaved Queen, to the Royal Family, and to the people of Greece. May God bless King Constantine and may his father's memory give him courage and inspiration in facing the great responsibilities that lie before him. NOTE: The statement was read by the Press Secretary to the President, Pierre Salinger, at his news conference held at the White House at I2:IO p.m. on March 6, i964. 2IO Letter to Chairman Khrushchev on the Situation in Cyprus. March 6, i964 [ Released March 6, i964. Dated March 4, i964 ] Dear Mr. Chairman: I have carefully studied the letter you sent to me on February 7 concerning the situation in Cyprus, and I can only conclude that, whatever may have been the motivations of the Soviet Government, your message was based upon a seriously mistaken appreciation both of the situation in Cyprus, and of the aims of the United States in agreeing to lend its assistance in improving that situa tion. The United States has been cooperating with the governments concerned, including the Government of the Republic of Cyprus, for one purpose alone, that of assisting the Cypriots to restore a peaceful situation in Cyprus. I will, however, agree fully, Mr. Chairman, with one thought that you expressed in your letter. It is certainly true that avoiding the aggravation of the situation in the eastern 337 [2IO] Mar. 6 Public Papers of the Presidents Mediterranean is in the general interests of all of us. We should all strive not to inflame passions from without. I can assure you that this is the firm intention of my government, and I sincerely hope, Mr. Chairman, that it is also that of your government. Sincerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON NOTE: Chairman Khrushchev's letter of February 7 is printed in the Department of State Bulletin (vol. 50, p. 447). 211 The President's News Conference of March 7, I964 THE PRESIDENT. [I.] Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. President Truman and Mrs. Johnson will go as my personal representatives to the funeral of King Paul. In addition, other members of the delegation will include Archbishop Iakovos; Mr. John Plumides, President of the American-Hellenic fraternal organization; Judge John Pappas of Boston; Congressman John Brademas of Indiana; Mr. Mike Manatos, my Special Assistant; and Mr. George Vournas of Washington, D.C. [2.] I am today reappointing Mr. Walter Tobriner to the District of Columbia Board of Commissioners. Mr. Tobriner has had a distinguished record of service in the community and while I understand his desire to return to private pursuits, I am very pleased that he has agreed to continue as Commissioner. I am today reappointing Laurence K. Walrath as a member of the Interstate Commerce Commission. This will be for a new 7-year term. Commissioner Walrath is currently the Chairman of the Commission and, we think, has done an excellent job as a member. I am today appointing Mr. James L. Robertson to a full 14-year term on the Federal Reserve Board. Mr. Robertson has served with distinction on this Board, having been appointed to serve out an unexpired term. I am today appointing Mr. Hugh Owens to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Mr. Owens is a prominent lawyer in Oklahoma City, and currently the head of the Oklahoma Securities Commission. I am happy to announce that Dr. Frank Stanton, President of the Columbia Broadcasting System, has agreed to serve as Chairman of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Information. [3.] I have a brief statement on the economy. I am very pleased by early reaction to the tax cut and to the outlook for the economy in general. Mail to the White House has been running about Io to I in support of the tax cut. I have a wire that I would like to read you as an example of some of the many hundreds of communications we have received since our last statement on this subject. The President The White House I am spending my first week's "increase in salary" just to express sincere appreciation to you and your administration for a much needed relief on the American taxpayer. I'm sure millions of others feel the same way. WADE L. MAPLETHORPE A Newspaperman, Long Beach Independent PressTelegram, Long Beach, Calif. The Department of Labor's report on unemployment" yesterday was quite encouraging. Both total employment and the labor force are up more than seasonal. This is the buoyancy of the tax cut, the expectation effect, and I think it is making itself 1 "Monthly Report of the Labor Force," for February I964, issued March I964. 338 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-i964 Mar. 7 [2II] felt. The unemployment rate dropped in February to the lowest level since i962, and as low a level as at any time in this expansion period. New figures on business intentions to invest in plant and equipment will be released this week.2 They will confirm a very solid increase. Those figures will be released Tuesday and I cannot comment beyond the fact that they confirm rising business optimism and I think will be more than twice the amount of the increase of last year. The price news continues to be reassuring. The Dow Jones Index of industrial stocks was 71 on November 22, and it was 806 yesterday. The previous numbers given were composites of all stocks and the increase in value of those stocks was approximately $45 billion. The revised Consumers Price Index last week was well paved in January-only one-tenth of a percent above December. Weekly indicators suggest that wholesale prices may have declined a bit in February. Businessmen have healthy investment intentions but don't seem to be expecting "overheating" on the price side. A survey of the National Association of Purchasing Agents last month shows a smaller percentage, only 2i percent, expecting price increases than in the preceding 5 months. This good price news is no reason to relax our vigilance on this front. [4.] I think I should say that I have accepted the invitation of the three national television networks to appear in an informal conversation with the President, reviewing the first i00 days of the administration, next Sunday, March I5.3 The program will be taped in my office, on Saturday after2 "Business News Reports" released by Office of Business Economics, Department of Commerce, March I0, i964. 'See Item 2 8. 33-171-465- 27 noon. The format and the ground rules will be similar to those set up by President Kennedy's conversation with the networks in I962, and his projected conversation with them in i963. The networks will announce the time they will show the program on Monday, March 9. [5.] Here is an up-to-date report of women in Government, since January: Twenty-nine women have been appointed to Presidential positions. Twenty-two new appointments have been made in the professional level from GS-I2 in excess of $io,ooo through GS-i8, to $20,000. One hundred and sixty-two promotions have been made in the professional grades from GS-12 through GS-i8. [6.] I have a brief announcement on the Commission on Heart Disease, Cancer, and Stroke. The leading causes of death in the United States are heart disease, cancer, and stroke. They have a greater impact than all other major causes of death in this country. Fifteen million Americans are today suffering from these diseases. Twenty-three million days of work are lost every year because of them. Two-thirds of all Americans now living will ultimately suffer or die from one of these diseases. I have therefore asked the distinguished panel of laymen and doctors to recommend steps that can be taken to reduce the burden and incidence of these diseases. This panel will be chaired by Dr. Michael E. DeBakey of Baylor University College of Medicine in Houston, Tex. Five of these members are women. Also on the panel are Mr. Barry Bingham, Marion Folsom, Emerson Foote, Dr. Howard Rusk, Dr. Paul Sanger, Dr. Edward Dempsey, Dr. Hugh Hussey, Dr. Irving S. Wright, Dr. J. Willis Hurst, Dr. Charles W. Mayo, Dr. Sidney Farber, Dr. R. Lee Clark, Dr. E. M. Papper, Dr. Philip Handler, Mrs. Florence Mahoney, 339 [2II] Mar. 7 Public Papers of the Presidents Mrs. Harry Truman, Dr. Samuel Bellet, Dr. John Meyer, Dr. Marion Fay, Dr. Helen Taussig, Dr. Jane Wright, Mr. John Carter, Dr. Frank Horsfall, Jr., Gen. Alfred Gruenther, Mr. Arthur Hanisch, Mr. James F. Oates, Jr., and Gen. David Sarnoff. [7.] I have today signed an Executive order creating the Committee for the Preservation of the White House 4 to be made of seven public members and six official members. We have created this committee to assure the American people and those who have worked so hard to make the White House a living testament to the history of our country that this work will continue. As you are aware, the principal moving force in this work in the past few years has been Mrs. John F. Kennedy, under whose guidance and leadership this important White House project has been carried out. I am happy to report that at the invitation of Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. Kennedy has agreed to serve as one of the seven public members so that her continued advice and counsel will be available to us. The other members of this committee will be Mr. Henry Du Pont, Mr. James Fosburgh, Mrs. George Brown, Mr. William Benton, Mrs. Marshall Field, and Mr. Bruce Catton. The members of the Fine Arts, Painting, and Advisory Committees on the Restoration of the White House have been asked to continue in an advisory capacity to the new Committee for the Preservation of the White House. The Executive order and full information on the membership will be available immediately after this press conference, if you care to have the biographies. [8.] I have accepted an invitation from the Council of the Organization of American States to make an address to them on 4Executive Order 11145 (29 F.R. 3189; 3 CFR, 1964 Supp.). March i6th concerning the installation of the new Inter-American Committee on the Alliance for Progress.5 The Committee's Chairman is a distinguished Colombian, Dr. Carlos Sanz de Santamaria, and he had I have already talked about the importance of his Committee's work. In those same days I look forward to meeting with all of the United States ambassadors and all of the AID directors to the Latin American nations, who will be here in Washington for a 3-day conference.6 My commitment to the Alliance for Progress is complete, and it also enjoys strong support from the Congress. So we will be working with our Ambassadors and AID directors to strengthen our efforts in this field. [9.] I will notify the Congress on Monday that I have established new employment ceilings for most Federal agencies well below those contained in my I965 budget estimate. These reductions will cut total Federal civilian employment by 6,526 below the budget estimate for the current fiscal year, and 7,265 below the estimate for the fiscal year July I. These and other economies will allow me to reduce my I965 budget estimate by nearly $42 million. These reductions come as a result of the cost-cutting programs which I asked each agency head to put into effect last November and December. The results represent some progress in our drive to raise the efficiency of the Federal Government and to cut the cost. Details will be available from Mr. Salinger. [IO.] Today I have a report on the first results of our efforts to reduce the cost of 5 See Item 220. 'The meeting of the U.S. ambassadors and AID mission chiefs was held March I6-i8. President Johnson met with the group on March I8 at the conclusion of their sessions. (See Department of State Bulletin, vol. 50, p. 540.) 340 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 Mar. [2II] Government publications. With only a few agencies reporting, with the bulk of the work yet to be done over the next several months, it is gratifying to note that already we have eliminated I58 existing or proposed publications for savings of more than $I million to the taxpayers. I will be glad to take any questions. [II.] Q. Mr President, Soviet officials have told an American delegation that they would like to sign a long-term trade agreement with the United States. Do you favor more wheat sales to the Soviet Union, and do you favor a long-term trade agreement with the U.S.S.R.? THE PRESIDENT. We would be very happy to explore that possibility with them. We have already concluded a wheat sale to them, and if they need additional wheat or anything else we have, we would be glad to discuss it with the appropriate officials at the appropriate time. I know of few things that the Soviet Union has that we are in need of, but it is a matter that we would be glad to pursue. [12.] Q. Mr. President, do you think it is appropriate to test public sentiment for potential Vice Presidential nominees in party primaries? THE PRESIDENT. I think that that is a proper subject for the people to pass upon. I think that that is one of the reasons we have primaries, to ascertain the sentiment of the public. We are going to have a very interesting report from New Hampshire in the next few days, and I am looking forward to hearing it. I don't know that the other States will necessarily be guided by what the judgment of the New Hampshire people will be, but it will be interesting. [I3.] Q. Mr. President, having been a busy Vice President yourself, and succeeding to the Presidency, would you favor a consti tutional amendment as soon as possible for two Vice Presidents? THE PRESIDENT. That is a matter that is being studied by the Senate committee at this time. I would not make such a recommendation. I think the Senate committee will hear from all who are interested in the subject, and after due deliberations make their recommendations. A constitutional amendment would not be something the President would pass upon. I have individual views on it, but at this time I think it is a matter that more appropriately should be considered by the subcommittee that is considering constitutional amendments. ['4.1 Q. Mr. President, in view of the physical dangers to which the dependents of the U.S. military have been subjected in Saigon, has a decision been made yet as to moving them out? THE PRESIDENT. No, Secretary McNamara will no doubt have some observations to make on that question when he returns to this country, but no decision has yet been made. [I5.] Q. Mr. President, speaking of Vice Presidents, among those whom you might consider acceptable and qualified for the job, how would you rate Attorney General Robert Kennedy? THE PRESIDENT. I would rate all the people who have been mentioned for Vice President as very high. I think they are all leading Democrats, all good citizens, and as the Attorney General has, have established a very fine record of public service. As I have stated on numerous occasions before, I think this is a matter that will be determined after the President has been nominated, and after his recommendations have been sought, and after the delegates have voted. [I6.] Q. Mr. President, your civil rights 34I [2II] Mar. 7 Public Papers of the Presidents bill begins in the Senate on Monday. Would you care to assess the chances and how you think it will do? THE PRESIDENT. Yes. I think we passed a good civil rights bill in the House. I hope that same bill will be passed in the Senate. I believe the Senate is prepared now to diligently apply itself, and I hope it stays on the subject until a bill is passed that is acceptable. [17.] Q. Mr. President, just one more question on the Vice Presidency: Do I understand your answer to Mr. Cormier 7 that you are saying that it would be a good thing, it would be useful to you in perhaps picking a Vice President if there were competition among the many candidates in the primaries? THE PRESIDENT. No, I said in response to that question that the people have a right to express themselves, and primaries are for that purpose; that I expect the Vice President will be selected after the President has been nominated, and after his suggestions and recommendations have been sought, and the delegates then will make the decision in their own wisdom. [i8.] Q. Mr. President, high officials of the Chamber of Commerce have been drafting a new policy declaration that would urge the United States to reexamine its restrictions on trade with the Soviet Union with an eye towards relaxation of those curbs. What is your view of this? THE PRESIDENT. As expressed before, in the question asked by Mrs. Thomas,8 I think that we will be glad to explore any suggestions made to us, and if there is anything that we have that other people need, we will give consideration to selling it. If there is anything that they have that we 7Frank Cormier, Associated Press. 8Mrs. Helen Thomas, United Press International. need to buy, we would explore the desirability of doing so. [I9.] Q. Mr. President, Governor Rockefeller said this week that he thought in view of the relations between France and the United States today it would be a good idea for you to meet with General de Gaulle. I would like to ask you first whether you have been in any communication with President de Gaulle, and secondly, whether you think such a meeting would be worth while at this time? THE PRESIDENT. Yes, I have been in communication with General de Gaulle. I have met with General de Gaulle on two occasions since I became President. I met with him before I became President. Our Ambassador is on his way home now to make a full, report on his observations on conditions in France. I would be very happy to meet General de Gaulle any time that it can be appropriately arranged, satisfactory to both persons, and if there is anything at all that can be worked out. We hope the French Government-we wish it well. We want to see it as strong in the world as possible. We want to believe that there are no irreconcilable differences between us, and we believe when the chips are down we will all be together. [20.] Q. Mr. President, may I refer back to civil rights for just a minute, sir? Could you say how long you think the battle in the Senate may take, and whether you can win it without having to allow the bill to be either weakened or strengthened? THE PRESIDENT. I think that the leadership can best assess that. I would not want to estimate. I don't think anyone really knows how long the matter will be discussed, but I believe that there are Senators who feel very strongly, both pro and con, and they will be given adequate opportunity to 342 Lyndon B. Johns express themselves. Then I believe the majority of the Senate will have an opportunity to work its will. [2I.] Q. Mr. President, more and more Republicans are hammering away at the administration's policy in Viet-Nam. These Republicans claim that the administration's policy is confused, and uncertain, and that the administration is deliberately hiding the facts. What do you say to these charges? THE PRESIDENT. I am not aware of anything that we are hiding. I don't want to get into any debates on the basis of partisanship or membership in any party. We have had the problem of Viet-Nam for some time, in both administrations. I worked very closely with President Eisenhower when he was here, in connection with that problem. And I expect both Republicans and Democrats to work with this administration in attempting to help us do what is best for our country. [22.] Q. Mr. President, a spokesman for Henry Cabot Lodge today said that Mr. Lodge would be entered today in the Oregon primary, and they are pushing a write-in in New Hampshire. Have you heard anything from the Ambassador whether he may be leaving his post, and do you think he can continue to serve, if he becomes a candidate? THE PRESIDENT. I have heard nothing from the Ambassador about any intention to leave. I have every reason to believe that if he had any plans, he would make them known. I fully covered, in my conference last week, my views toward the Ambassador's service, and I believe when and if he has any plans to leave the State Department service, he will communicate them to me. [23.] Q. Mr. President, in your letter to Soviet Premier Khrushchev on Wednesday regarding Cyprus,9 you mentioned 'Item 210. son, 1963-1964 Mar. 7 [2II] basic misunderstandings. Because of this misunderstanding and others, would a personal meeting between you and Khrushchev be desirable at this point? THE PRESIDENT. I think that we are in adequate communication with each other. I would be very happy to see the Chairman when it is indicated that there are any things that we can explore that would be helpful. I know of no reason for such a meeting at this time. [24.] Q. Mr. President, in answering an earlier question about the Soviet trade overture, did you mean to imply that trade between the Soviet Union and the United States should be on an individual item basis in the mutual interest of the two countries, or were you opening the possibility of a trade agreement between the Soviet Union and the U.S., such as the Russians have with some of the Western countries? THE PRESIDENT. The answer is "No" to both of your questions. [25.] Q. Mr. President, in connection with your announcement concerning various diseases, since the U.S. Public Health Service has so strongly condemned the use of tobacco as a health hazard, do you see any justification at all for continued Government subsidy to tobacco growers? THE PRESIDENT. I don't think that the report has been made a Government report as yet. I understand this committee was appointed by the Surgeon General with the understanding that when they made their recommendations, that report would be submitted to all the departments of Government concerned, and that would be the second procedure followed. They, in turn, would carefully digest and study its recommendations and then make the recommendations back to the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. The Government agencies concerned are now 343 [2ii] M-ar. 7 Public Papers of the Presidents making that study and in due time will make their recommendations. [26.] Q. Mr. President, I believe you said early in your administration that you were not considering any trips overseas before election time. Has there been any change in your thinking on that? THE PRESIDENT. No. [27.] Q. Mr. President, you said earlier that you had been in communication with President de Gaulle. Without asking you, sir, for any of the details of those private communications, could you say, sir, whether the United States and France have exchanged general views about their policies in Southeast Asia? THE PRESIDENT. I am aware of no detailed plan that General de Gaulle has concerning Southeast Asia. Our Government has discussed with representatives of his government certain phases of that situation, but so far as I am personally aware I know of no specific detailed plan that the General may have advanced. [28.] Q. Mr. President, in talking to a group of senior citizens about medicare, you made this statement: "We are going to try to take all of the money that we think is unnecessarily being spent and take it from the haves and give it to the have-nots that need it so much." I just wondered if you could elaborate, sir. THE PRESIDENT. I think that explains itself. We have taken about $3 billion out of the budget as constituted last year, 98.8. We reduced that budget by about $3 billion, by cutting $I,ioo million out of Defense, almost $I billion out of Agriculture, and almost $ioo million out of the Post Office, 150 out of Atomic Energy, and so forth. We reduced it $3 billion. Now we thought that all of those reductions could be made. They had appropriations for them last year. We are not asking for appropriations for them this year. So we will save $3 billion there. But we are asking for an additional $2 billion to be put in the budget. Roughly, that is $400 million extra interest rate on the public debt, $6oo million for space. That is a billion. Then we have the poverty program and the Appalachia program, roughly a half-million dollars, $300 million extra for education, 75 for urban renewal, 75 for public housing, and we expect those programs to have money this year taken from those programs that we did not ask for money that they had last year. We expect the total budget to be a little less than a billion dollars less than the Kennedy budget of last year. Now that is possible, we think, because $17 billion was spent on Defense needs during the 3 years of the Kennedy administration that we do not think is essential today. While the population has been increasing between 2 and 3 percent, our budget has been increasing approximately 5 percent or $5 billion per year. This year, instead of it increasing $5 billion, it is going to be reduced $i billion. This year, instead of our deficit being $io billion, it is going to be less than $5 billion. That means that this year, our deficit will be reduced by more than 50 percent. We have a provision in our budget for contingencies, for any possible supplementals. We hope that that will not be necessary, but we have provided for it. We are determined, and this administration is dedicated to see to it, that we live within the budget sent to Congress. As I told you now, we will have another quarterly report April ioth, and we hope we can further reduce budget ceilings at that time. [29.] Q. Mr. President, going back to an earlier question, what is your reaction to the suggestion by General Eisenhower 344 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-i964 Mar. 7 [2II] that whenever the vacancy occurs in the Vice Presidency, that the President recommend a successor and the Congress act on that? MTE PRESIDENT. I haven't studied General Eisenhower's proposals or suggestions. That is a matter that would involve a constitutional amendment. The President is not called upon to approve constitutional amendments. That is now pending in a Senate subcommittee. I think that they can be trusted to hear all the evidence and come to any conclusions that they think desirable. Q. Do you have any plans, Mr. President, to recommend your views toTHE PRESIDENT. I have stated my views just now. [30.] Q. Mr. President, Senator Goldwater has charged that our long-range missiles are not reliable. What is your comment on that charge? THE PRESIDENT. I don't agree with Senator Goldwater. [3I.] Q. Mr. President, last week the Senate by a very narrow vote turned down the move to cut the imports of beef from foreign countries. Since then, a Republican Senator from the West said that the administration is going to pay heavily for this action, the pressure put on the Senate, at the polls next November. What do you think of that gloomy prediction? THE PRESIDENT. I think that we will have to wait until next November to see what happens at the polls. But I am very happy with the polls at the present time. [32.] Q. Mr. President, are any major revisions planned in the Apollo-Gemini programs? THE PRESIDENT. I have no such recommendations at this time. [33.] Q. Mr. President, earlier this week, Secretary of Defense McNamara said that there is evidence that the North Vietnamese are introducing heavier weapons into the fighting, which would indicate larger scale and more organized campaigns. Will this development affect in any way your plans to withdraw American troops gradually and turn over more of the fighting to the South Vietnamese? THE PRESIDENT. I don't think that the American public has fully understood the reason for our withdrawing any advisers from South Viet-Nam, and I think they should. We have called back approximately i,ooo people. A good many of those people, several hundred, were there training guards, policemen. Once those people were trained, we felt that they could act as policemen as well as our people could act. So, we withdrew those people. From time to time, as our training mission is completed, other people will be withdrawn. From time to time, as additional advisers are needed, or as people to train additional Vietnamese are needed, we will send them out there. But we see no reason to keep the companies of MP's out there, after they have already trained the Vietnamese who can perform the duty equally as well. I think that a good deal will depend on what Secretary McNamara advises concerning who is withdrawn, when they are withdrawn, and who is sent out, and when they are sent out. The Secretary, with General Taylor, and a very able staff, are there now, carefully studying the question and will be there almost a week. When his report is in, we will carefully evaluate it, and if additional men are needed, we will send them. If others have completed their mission, we will withdraw them. But because we withdraw some MP's from Saigon who have trained people to take 345 [211] Mar. 7 Public Papers of the Presidents their place, there is no indication that we are not still just as interested in South VietNam as we have always been. [34.] Q. Mr. President, in view of the economic picture you described at the beginning of this conference and the British action in raising their interest rates, do you see any prospect of American interest rates going up this year? THE PRESIDENT. We are hoping that that will not be necessary. We believe it is unlikely. We cannot speak for the investment community, but we have hopes that we cannot materially increase our interest rates. We think that to do so might offset some of the advantages that have come from the tax bill, and we hope that capital will be available in ample quantities, at reasonable interest rates, to see new investment take place and new facilities built that will employ additional people. [35.] Q. Mr. President, can you tell me in what capacity you believe Mrs. Kennedy will serve on the Committee for the Preservation of the White House? THE PRESIDENT. I am terribly sorry, but I did not hear your question. Would you please speak louder? Q. Could you spell out possibly in what capacity Mrs. Kennedy will serve on your Committee for the Preservation of the White House? Will she head it, or exactly what her job will be? THE PRESIDENT. I will not go further than what I have said in the formal announcement. When the Committee meets and formalizes, I am sure that information will be available to you. But I don't think I should go any further today than I have gone. Helen Thomas, United Press International: Mr. President, thank you. NOTE: President Johnson's seventh news conference was held in the East Room at the White House at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 7, i964. With respect to the numbering of the President's news conferences, see note at end of Item I43. 2I2 Remarks Upon Receiving the Secretary of Labor's Manpower Report. March 9, i964 Mr. Secretary, ladies and gentlemen: The Manpower Report which I am sending to Congress today shows more people are employed and have better paying jobs than ever before in our history. Approximately 70 million people have jobs who weekly average wages earning $ioi in the factorythe highest in history. Our standard of living is better than it has ever been. Our people are better educated and better trained than they have ever been, but there is no room for complacency. Many have been left behind in the parade of progress. There are many whose talents and abilities are now not being developed. There is still too much unemployment and too much underemployment. There are too many people who are uneducated and too many are unskilled. There are minority groups that are hobbled by lack of equal opportunities. There are sections of our Nation which need an economic spur. We must, and I believe will, focus our attention upon the goals ahead rather than the gains already achieved, the needs rather than the advances. A sound manpower policy is a necessary complement to the attack on poverty. Both are directed toward the same goal-a fully productive economy, taking advantage of the abilities of all of our people. This report outlines the basic attitudes, 346 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-i964 Mar. 9 [2-I31 the broad approaches, and the initial steps that are necessary to improve and to make more meaningful our policies. I will also establish in the near future a Presidential Committee on Manpower to appraise our manpower assets and requirements so that we may develop a sound program linking together the many programs already being directed toward the full employment of our manpower resources. I urge everyone to join the support of this effort. We can eradicate the waste and the tragedy of unemployment. We can make full use of our human, our technological, and our natural resources. We can hasten the day when every American will be able to fulfill his own destiny. Under the leadership of our very able Secretary of Labor, Mr. Wirtz, we plan to move that date forward and to achieve everything we can in the limited time that is ours. NoTE: The President spoke at iI a.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White House. His opening words "Mr. Secretary" referred to W. Willard Wirtz, Secretary of Labor. The "Manpower Report of the President" and "A Report on Manpower Requirements, Resources, Utilization, and Training by the United States Department of Labor" were transmitted to Congress March 9, i964, and published by the Government Printing Office in one volume (279 pp.). 213 Annual Message to the Congress: The Manpower Report of the President. March 9, i964 To the Congress of the United States: This nation is prosperous, strong, materially richer than any in history-largely because of the knowledge, skills, competence, and creativity of our people. But we are short of our potential. Many of our people do not adequately participate in the national well-being. Much of our human capability is not developed or used. Moreover, our economy is changing markedly, in ways which call for new and better training, skill and adaptability. The new tax cut will stimulate demand and provide impetus to further economic growth. But it will not directly solve such problems as inadequate worker skills and hard-core unemployment. We cannot therefore rest content with our forward momentum or with our already considerable adaptability. We must focus on how far we can goand how better to get there-rather than on how far we have come. We must raise our sights-and strive to realize each person's highest productive and earning capability. We must seek to develop more completely our people's talents and to employ those talents fully-to fulfill the rich promise of technological advance and to enable all to share in its benefits. There must, in brief, be an active manpower policy-to complement our new national attack on poverty. Not all dimensions or details of the active manpower policy can now be formulated, but broad directions are clear. We know that: -This cannot be a responsibility of the Federal government alone. Business, labor, and all private groups and institutions, along with State and local governments, all have vital roles to play. The Federal government can provide leadership, information, and other assistance, but fundamentally it is action carried forward in each community that will decide how will we achieve national objectives. -This is a long-range task, requiring 33-171-65 28 347 [2I3] Mar. 9 Public Papers of the Presidents more than onetime or short-run efforts. Immediate action is necessary on certain evident needs, but we must move ahead also to gauge needs of the future and to undertake longer-run development programs. In many respects, analysis of manpower needs is still in an early stage of development. We will have much to discover and apply as we proceed. -We are not starting from scratch, however. We have been steadily raising our educational and skill qualifications through a vast range of activities. Important new efforts initiated in the last several years can help further to upgrade abilities and expand employment. -No narrow approach will suffice. Manpower policy must blend and coordinate its efforts with other forces shaping manpower resources and needs-including educational, economic, scientific, health, social welfare, and other basic policies. Underlying all efforts is a need to appraise total national manpower requirements and prospects as an essential basis for achieving full development and use of our human resources. WHERE WE STAND The past year was one of excellent economic growth. As my economic report noted in detail, national output, income, profits, and employment each moved up substantially to record heights. The gross national product was boosted by $30 billion so that it now is more than $600 billion a year. Average factory pay for those employed has been raised to over $ioo a week. Profits rose very substantially. And employment was increased by almost a million, going over the 70-million mark for the first time in peak months of the year. But unemployment persisted grimly de348 spite 1963's strong economic advance. Overcoming that unemployment is the greatest immediate manpower challenge before usand the new tax cut is a long step toward meeting that challenge. Other major challenges on the path to full and creative use of our human resources are posed by our labor force growth and by the problems which technological adjustment raises for many individuals. Unemployment imposes hardships on individuals and inflicts economic loss on the Nation. In I963, high rates of unemployment also increased racial tension, aggravated difficulties in labor relations in major industries, and heightened doubts among many workers about automation's benefits. In the average week in I963 -4.2 million Americans seeking work were unemployed. This was 5.7 percent of our labor force, an unemployment rate over twice that of most industrialized countries. -another 2.6 million persons seeking fulltime work were employed only part time. And additional heavy underemployment existed among our farm workers. Such a waste of our human resources and loss of potential production cannot be tolerated. Unemployment did not improve in step with the strong economic advance in I963 because our labor force grew more rapidly than in earlier years, at the same time that new technology was raising productivity and changing demand for skills. Even greater economic growth is therefore necessary-and we must develop also specific measures expressly aimed at special problems which block employment of many of the jobless. The accompanying report of the Secretary of Labor describes in detail recent manpower trends and the current picture-in Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-1964 Mar. 9 12I31 cluding the features which characterize our unemployment. I want to stress these major developments. The labor force expanded by i.i million last year and annual increases are expected to be even greater in the future. The largest increases are occurring among those under age 25 and among married women. -Last year's labor force growth was nearly a third more than the annual average increase of the previous 5 years. As we look ahead, annual growth in the latter years of the i960's is likely to step up to over I.4 million, a third larger than last year and nearly twice the number of additional workers we had to absorb annually in the preceding half decade. -Far more young persons are seeking work than ever before as the postwar babies reach working age. The youngsters turning age i8 next year will number a million more than this year. -Large numbers of married women, seeking to increase family income, to provide better opportunities for their children, and to enrich their own and the national life, are also entering the work force. Productivity and demand shifts, meanwhile, are changing our requirements for workers. -Manpower needs are shrinking in declining industries and in those where new machines and methods are replacing workers faster than new jobs are being created by new demand. Agriculture, whose employment declined a quarter of a million last year, rail transport, mining and some manufacturing industries continue to release workers into the pool of jobseekers. -But more manpower, with skills not always possessed by displaced workers or by new entrants into the labor force, is required by other industries. In i963 four-fifths of the new increase in jobs was in service, trade, and State and local government activities. -Occupationally, unskilled jobs are declining in importance. Demand is expanding most in professional and technical, clerical, and service occupations. Requirements for education and training for employment are increasing steadily. -Yet nearly a million young people are leaving our educational system each year before completing even elementary or secondary school. Each year more than i00,000 high school graduates with high aptitudes and interest in college fail to continue their education because of financial inability. And about 40 percent of all students who go on to college withdraw before completion of a 4-year program. Imbalances flowing from these trends require our attention. Current and prospective shortages of needed skills must be better identified if we are to prevent any drag on our economic growth-and to help in providing young people and displaced workers with the education and training needed to benefit from opportunities in expanding fields. The major losers in the shifting patterns of manpower supply and demand are the young, the undereducated and unskilled, the laid-off older workers with outmoded skills, and the unemployed caught in communities where the economic base has deteriorated. -Among youth, unemployment went up in i963 as fast as the increase in teenage labor force. Employment of teenagers did not increase at all, so that the first surge of rising growth in our resources of young manpower was translated into greater unemployment. Almost one teenager in six who seeks work today can find no one to employ him. 349 [2131 Mar. 9 [213] ar. 9Public Papers of the Presidents -Two-thirds of the unemployed have less than a high school education. One of every twelve workers with only elementary schooling is unemployed, compared with only i of 70 college graduates. -Nonwhite workers, with limited opportunities to acquire skills and further hampered by discrimination in getting employment, suffer more than twice the rate of joblessness of white workers. -Unemployed workers over age 45 remain out of work far longer than those who are younger. Some who suffer continued frustration in job hunting stop searching for work-they involuntarily "retire" and no longer appear in the unemployment count. -Heavy concentrations of unemployment and underemployment plague many areas. Some communities in Kentucky, West Virginia, and other States in the Appalachian region and in the upper Great Lakes area have as many as a fourth or more of their employable people idle. The central parts of many of our larger cities are similarly afflicted. ACTIVE MANPOWER POLICY For manpower policy to succeed in meeting these challenges, we must have -new awareness that effective action requires attention in such broad interrelated fields as education, monetary and fiscal and other economic policy, science and technology, defense, and social welfare. -new willingness to experiment with fresh approaches and put resulting knowledge to practical use. -new efforts to anticipate and prepare for future requirements. -new institutions to coordinate separate activities as part of a considered overall policy. These new attitudes and efforts must be geared to three fundamental goals: The first is to develop the abilities of our people. Another is to create jobs to make the most of those abilities. The third is to link the first two, to match people and jobs. Develop Abilities Many forces influence human ability, but an active policy of manpower development must be concerned principally with (a) education at all levels, (b) training in occupational skills for youth, the employed, and the unemployed, and (c) rehabilitation and other development aid for those handicapped by physical, mental, cultural, or other disadvantages. (a) Education must provide, as a basic part of its human development responsibility, the preparation needed for effective participation in our economic life. But the education and related counseling of many of our people have not prepared them adequately to qualify for today's jobs, to absorb skill training, or to capitalize on new opportunities. And our systems of higher education are not providing the quantity and caliber of persons we seek for many high-level occupations necessary for national innovation and growth. We must provide elementary and secondary education of high quality for all our citizens, to serve as a foundation for training and further learning. Such education increasingly has become a minimum requirement for effective activity and contribution in an advancing industrial economy. A modern program of vocational education also must be built to provide vocational skills for many who will not seek higher education. We must provide broad opportunity for education beyond high school. A sound col 350 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-i964 Mar. 9 [2I3] lege education or junior college or technical school preparation is necessary for a rapidly growing proportion of occupations. We must provide increased opportunity for education at the postgraduate level. The increasing complexity of many technical and managerial occupations makes education beyond college essential. Moreover, to foster the leadership resources of the Nation, we must augment the supply of qualified teachers and stimulate the creative talent of our managers, scientists, engineers, educators, and other strategic professional personnel. We must provide extensive programs of adult education. Two aspects are critical: Undereducated adults must be helped to gain literacy and basic education, without which all employment opportunity is limited. And adults who have received a diploma must be encouraged and given opportunity to update and broaden their learning. (b) Training is necessary to provide specific job skills. Reliance wholly on casual experience, even for lower skill jobs, often means less than achievable competence. A new study by the Department of Labor finds, however, that all our public and private schools, industry, and the Armed Forces combined have provided some formal occupational training to only about half of American workers. To make the Nation's manpower more adaptable and productive, and to overcome skill shortages which impede growth, we must encourage and expand -training programs for the employed, to improve existing skills and develop needed new ones, -training or retraining for the unemployed, to equip them for employment, and -apprenticeship programs to provide the needed supply of proficient, highly skilled craftsmen. (c) Rehabilitation and other special de velopment techniques can enhance the productive potential of people beyond the reach of usual education and training programs. Many persons on our welfare rolls or regarded as "unemployable" can be helped to rise to positive participation in the economy. We must extend those rehabilitation, counseling, and related services which experimentation has demonstrated can build the hope, self-respect, motivation, and productive ability needed for self-betterment for many of our disadvantaged-the chronically dependent, the socially hostile, the mentally retarded, the physically handicapped, the emotionally disturbed, and the children being reared in deprived circumstances. On each of these basic ability-development fronts, we have initiated new and promising steps in the last 3 years. It is now our responsibility to carry through these new efforts, with needed resources and resourcefulness, to reap their full potential. Thus, on education, the landmark Federal legislation of last year is enabling us to -expand and modernize vocational and technical education. -provide Federal financial assistance for construction of higher education facilities. -enlarge aid for medical and dental education. -increase student support programs in several vital fields. On training, we can under recent Federal legislation -provide new training and retraining programs for the unemployed. -make available literacy training for the undereducated jobless who need it as a prerequisite for occupational retraining. On related rehabilitation activities, we have begun to -launch new programs to aid the mentally ill and retarded. 35I [2I3] Mar. 9 Public Papers of the Presidents -encourage new emphasis on rehabilitation and work training for persons on public assistance. -experiment with new means of aiding actual or potential juvenile delinquents. -undertake demonstration programs under the Manpower Act to mobilize community agencies and to develop new techniques to improve employability of disadvantaged persons who need more than normal job training. In addition, early this year I ordered the start of a Manpower Conservation Program to aid the extraordinarily large proportion of our youth-one-third of all our young menfound unqualified to serve the Nation in the Armed Forces. Most of these rejectees will be rejected in the employment world as well if they are not helped to overcome their limitations while still young. The effort to help them develop their potential-part of our attack on the poverty which cripples too many of our people-is already underway. Specifically, I have directed that all new selective service registrants who are out of school and otherwise available for service be examined as soon as possible. Those young men found unable to meet military service standards because of educational deficiencies are to be referred to local offices of the public employment service so that they may take advantage of guidance, training, and rehabilitation services to overcome those deficiencies. Those who fail on physical grounds will be referred to sources of assistance on their health needs. Create Jobs To employ all our manpower resources, our economy must generate sufficient new jobs for -the unemployed, -the rising number of newcomers to the labor force, -those displaced by machines, by changing technology, or by declines in individual industries or areas, and -those outside the labor force who want to work as opportunities become available. For those already employed, we want to open better opportunities to put to use talents and abilities not fully utilized in present employment. Total employment has been growing, but not at the pace required by these needs. This means that our monetary, fiscal, and other economic policies must stimulate greater job growth in the years ahead. It means that we must improve existing institutions, private and public, to help in many ways to realize the potential for greater employment in urban development, housing, transportation, recreation and other services sought and needed by our growing population. It means that we must do more to translate advances in science and technology into additional job opportunities providing services and new products either unknown or not feasible before. It means also that we must try to identify needed relatively unskilled work-and to inaugurate programs to have that work performed by long-term unemployed workers and by inexperienced youth as a steppingstone to better employment. We have been moving in these directions. Three efforts warrant note here: -Already this year we have taken a major economic step to greater employment. The newly enacted tax cut will provide needed stimulus to employment expansion the rest of this year and in the years ahead. -Area redevelopment efforts are helping 352 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-i964 Mar. 9 [2I31 to develop jobs in high-unemployment urban and rural communities. -And programs to develop abilities are creating new jobs which awaited the development of qualified workers. In particular, we have begun to recognize that availability of highly talented scientific and managerial manpower stimulates the innovation and provides the leadership which spur the development of new jobs. Help Match People and Jobs Beyond upgrading of human abilities, there is vast need for improvement in other ways of bringing and keeping together workers and jobs. We must improve many activities which, while neither new nor dramatic, are nevertheless essential for the needs of many of our people and our economy in this increasingly complex age. Critical among these are: Preparation for change. By increasing efforts to look ahead and prepare for likely technological or economic change, management and unions can ease displacement problems and meet new manpower requirements more effectively. This is elementary, yet we have not done as much or as well as we could. Improved government assistance of the types cited below can contribute materially to such efforts. Information. Supplying of information on occupational requirements and manpower resources is a fundamental aid. Particularly necessary is improved information on current job vacancies, on emerging occupational opportunities, and on availability of qualified workers. Projections of probable need in particular occupations are an essential guide for education, training, and other policies aimed at developing the right skills at the right time in the right place. Copnceling. Youth and adult workers should have ready access to competent counseling to help them match their aptitudes and occupational preferences with opportunities for education, training, and employment. Placement services. To fill jobs better and more quickly, we also must expand and make more resourceful the public employment services available to workers and employers for recruiting, testing, guidance, and adapting of jobs to fit abilities-on an interarea and national as well as local basis. Mobility. Beyond these services, additional aid is desirable to help workers or industry relocate to overcome geographic separation of workers and jobs-and to help migrants, particularly those from rural to urban areas, adjust to new work life in a different environment. Progress is being developed on these varied needs in many ways: -Management and labor increasingly are exploring and adopting additional means of easing worker adjustment difficulties stemming from technological change. -Research on manpower needs is being expanded, notably under the Manpower Act, to develop new knowledge and techniques to improve our programs. -Committees of distinguished private and public representatives have conducted special reviews of problems involving major groups: youth, women, minority workers, older workers, and scientific and engineering personnel. -Experiments to aid mobility of unemployed workers are being initiated under a i963 amendment to the Manpower Act. -A Manpower Administration has been established in the Department of Labor to lead and coordinate many activities. -A high-level government committee has been designated to review and coordinate 353 [2I31 Mar. 9 Public Papers of the Presidents economic effects of our defense programs. It will help us act to minimize potential manpower disturbances which might result from changes in the level and pattern of defense spending. We must also be concerned with Labor standards. Our work force must be assured of reasonable protection and income maintenance through minimum wage, unemployment benefit, safety, child labor, and other basic labor standards programs. Elimination of discrimination. We must guarantee that no individual is barred from access to employment opportunity, or to the education and training necessary to prepare for it, because of race, national origin, age, sex, or other characteristics unrelated to ability. To meet these objectives, in recent months -the Equal Pay Act was enacted to prohibit sex discrimination in payment of wages. -a new approach to industry's participation in a voluntary program was developed by the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity to provide greater employment opportunities to members of minority groups. -a new Executive order was issued, prohibiting Federal contractors and subcontractors from setting maximum age limits for most jobs, to provide equal employment opportunity for older persons. -new apprenticeship regulations were adopted by the Secretary of Labor to promote equal opportunity in apprenticeship programs. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AS AN EMPLOYER As the Nation's largest single employer of manpower the Federal Government should set an example of effective manpower devel opment and utilization. Much is being done, and more will be done, to accomplish this. Among the major activities: -Training and career development programs have been instituted to obtain maximum contributions from employees in all occupations. Special stress is being put on more effective use of high-talent personnel, including scientists, engineers, managers, and other professional manpower. -Action is being taken to insure fair-employment opportunities in the Federal service. Particular attention is being given to provide opportunities for groups that traditionally have not done as well as others in the American economy: women, members of minority groups, handicapped workers, and older workers. -Adjustment programs have been developed to minimize adverse effects on employees of increasing use of automation and of shifts in government programs. To effect needed reductions in personnel, emphasis is given to attrition and to transfer and retraining to meet needs of displaced employees. -Better estimates of the government's future manpower requirements are being developed. These will aid in carrying forward training and fair employment opportunity programs. -Recruitment by Federal departments and agencies at the college level is being better coordinated. And high-potential young persons with less than college-level training are being sought out and employed for Federal jobs as supervisors, aides, and technicians. NEXT STEPS An active manpower policy must also focus on needed additional measures. And it must 354 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Mar. 9 [2I3] provide new mechanisms to assess and to correlate all our efforts bearing on the Nation's manpower resources and needs. Legislative Action The Congress already has before it a range of proposals, some first presented in earlier years and several newly presented this year, which are necessary in shaping an active manpower policy. These are the major proposals: I. Youth unemployment must not be allowed to grow unchecked. The rapid surge of new young workers and their rising unemployment rates require immediately additional means to develop and employ many who will not be aided by other available programs. President Kennedy's proposed youth employment programs can help meet this urgent need, and I urge the Congress to act favorably on these programs as part of the war against poverty. 2. Poverty must be attacked through new and intensive combinations of varied Federal, State, and local government and private programs. My message on poverty outlines the concentrated efforts I propose. 3. Education must be strengthened. Pending legislation and the budget requests I have presented spell out the diverse efforts needed. Let us not shortchange our future. Our people's abilities in the years to come patently depend heavily on the scope and wisdom of our educational investment today. Elementary and secondary education improvement is particularly vital. No youth should reach working age without at least a sound basic education with which to build employable skills. Expansion of technical and adult education is another imperative. We must also, as an urgent long-term investment in fostering leadership, better our programs of assistance for higher education. Needs are mounting for top talent in key scientific, professional, and managerial fields. Only by increasing the number of the most highly trained and competent individuals will it be possible adequately to design the programs, build the institutions, and teach the leaders of tomorrow. 4. Areas of high unemployment must be revitalized. I have requested additional funds to continue and expand the valuable assistance provided under the Area Redevelopment Act. For the largest and most poverty-stricken region, the Appalachian area stretching over io States, I am asking the Nation to embark on a farsighted task. I am requesting Federal assistance for a comprehensive program to develop human and natural resources and eradicate the hunger, disease, ignorance, and hopelessness which afflict much of this part of America. 5. Overtime work must be examined critically to determine if it is feasible to convert regular and substantial overtime hours into new jobs. I have recommended legislation under which tripartite committees will determine whether higher overtime penalty rates in specific industries could increase employment without unduly increasing costs. The legislation would authorize increased penalty rates where this is found to be so. 6. Racial discrimination must be eliminated. Programs to help economically depressed members of racial minority groups gain new skills will benefit little if employment opportunity is still blocked by discrimination. I strongly urge adoption of the civil rights legislation recommended by this Administration, including requirements for Federal fair-employment practices applicable to both employers and unions, to help assure 355 [2I3] Mar. 9 Public Papers of the Presidents all Americans the right and opportunity to earn a decent living. 7. Unemployment insurance must be extended and its benefits increased. Nearly half the unemployed are receiving no unemployment benefits at all because of coverage restrictions or qualifying requirements or because duration of benefits is too brief. The legislation I have recommended to remedy these inadequacies will improve financial security for the jobless and economic and social stability for the economy. 8. Protection of the Fair Labor Standards Act must be extended. To provide new or improved protection for over 2.6 million workers, I have recommended extension of -minimum wage and overtime protection to 735,000 workers in hotel, motel, restaurant, laundry, dry cleaning, agricultural, processing, and logging industries. -new or improved overtime protection to i.9 million workers in the agricultural handling and processing, transportation, and gasoline services industries. ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION Many other necessary actions which can be carried forward under existing statutory authority require additional funds as set forth in my budget requests. I want to note particularly that strengthening of the Federal-State employment service system's vital job market information, counseling, placement and related services is one basic need for which I have requested increased funds. I am also proceeding on two new major administrative actions. One is to develop needed perspective on automation. I have asked my tripartite Advisory Committee on Labor-Management Policy to undertake a study of the impact of automation and technological change on workers, unions, and firms, and of the problems of adjustment arising from such change. I have asked the Committee to focus on what is being done and can be done by management and labor to meet displacement effects. It is my hope and expectation that the Committee's report on what the private economy is and can be doing-and the recommendations it may make for needed supplementary government measures-will provide valuable guidance to overcoming any potential adverse effects while capitalizing on the benefits of automation. In addition, I believe it is also desirable either through legislative or administrative action to establish a special high-level commission to conduct a broader evaluation of our technological course and the means of channeling progress toward meeting our society's unfilled needs. The other action is to start a continuing top-level assessment of the relation of the government's programs and our country's manpower assets and needs. I regard this as necessary to help us analyze and determine national programs from a human resources standpoint. Congressional support for such action is already well reflected in the -Manpower Development and Training Act's call for the Federal Government "to appraise the manpower requirements and resources of the Nation," and the -Employment Act's mandate "to promote maximum employment, production, and purchasing power." I am establishing for this purpose a President's Committee on Manpower, which will include the principal Federal executives administering programs which significantly 356 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-i964 M Mar. 9 [2I41 affect our manpower, under the chairmanship of the Secretary of Labor. The Committee will assist in appraising -the implications of major government programs and policies for our national manpower needs and resources, -the interrelation of government programs to manpower requirements of other sectors of the economy, and -the present and prospective manpower resources and requirements of the Nation. Only through such considered appraisal and the development of improved techniques and data for current and long-range manpower assessment can we arm ourselves with adequate information and sound linking of separate programs-elements essential for full effectiveness in carrying forward an active manpower policy. CONCLUSION A fundamental objective of this Nation is to assure all Americans full and fair opportunity to develop and apply their maximum productive and earning potential. But progress toward that objective can too easily falter in competition with other concerns. I have here urged several programs as parts of an active policy for full development and use of our manpower resources. I have set forth earlier a related program for a concentrated attack on poverty. These programs will take hold and succeed only when we become determined that nothing is to take priority over people. We have the ideas and ideals to reach our objective. We must now crystallize into action the sense of overriding commitment that nobody is to be passed by. What is at stake is whether a free democratic economy can attain well-being for the less fortunate as well as the more fortunate of its people-and whether it can make population growth and technological advance fruitful for all rather than fateful for some. It is up to us. Our action or inaction toward realizing the full potential of our human resources is a major factor in determining whether we will strengthen justice, security, and freedom at home-and enhance America's ability to set a proud example for all the world. LYNDON B. JOHNSON NOTE: The President's second report under the Manpower Development and Training Act of i962, and the Secretary of Labor's Report on Manpower Requirements, Resources, Utilization, and Training as required by section I04 of that act, were transmitted to Congress March 9, i964, and published in one volume by the Government Printing Office (279 pp.). 214 Letter to the President of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House Proposing a National Commission on Automation and Technological Progress. March 9, i964 Dear Mr. The technological revolution, which is providing us with the highest standard of living in the world, has been accompanied by many problems. There have been dislocations, loss of jobs, and the spectre of poverty in the midst of plenty. At the same time we encourage progress we must be alert to the effects of the forces generating that progress. We must make sure that as technological progress creates new industries and job opportunities it does not impose too great a hardship on individual workers. I therefore recommend the 357 [2I41 Mar. 9 Public Papers of the Presidents creation of a National Commission on Automation and Technological Progress, to study current and future trends in technological change, and to recommend the most constructive action that can be taken to secure maximum benefits with the least possible harmful effects upon the Nation. I am enclosing a draft of legislation that will accomplish this purpose, together with the letter from the Secretary of Labor submitting the draft bill to me. Congress, I know, has been giving considerable attention to these problems. I urge prompt enactment of this proposal. Sincerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON NOTE: This is the text of identical letters addressed to the Honorable Carl Hayden, President pro tempore of the Senate, and to the Honorable John W. McCormack, Speaker of the House of Representatives. For the President's remarks upon signing the bill, see Item 525. 2I5 Remarks Upon Signing Bill Extending the Federal Airports Act. March ii, i964 I AM glad to approve this legislation which will extend the Federal Airport Program 3 more years. Three years ago we had begun to phase out this program, but it was soon clear that without a strong airport development program, commerce and industrial growth would be handicapped. During the past 3 years, the air transportation industry has revived, going from the largest deficit in the history to the largest profit in their history. Air service has improved. Air fares have been reduced. There have been fewer accidents than ever before. Labor and management have worked together to achieve remarkable peace and productivity in the industry. This is one of our most important programs. The industry is setting new records for growth each day. For instance, last year the traffic carried by airlines was about I5 percent higher than the preceding year. It is now estimated that it will increase an additional 50 percent by I970. With this growth comes new demands upon the airports to assure the safety of their passengers. In a world that is shrunk by the jet and compressed by speed, there are fewer tasks that demand our attention more than really improving air transportation. This legislation lets us view future air challenges with more confidence and greater flexibility. I am very happy to see so many of my old friends from the Congress here this morning who have played such a vital part in the passage of this legislation. All of them made contributions one way or the other, but I particularly want to congratulate not just the Members of Congress but specifically Senator Magnuson and Senator Monroney, and Congressman Harris who is not able to be with us this morning, on this legislation and to express my confidence and pay a tribute to Administrator Halaby for his great knowledge and enlightened viewpoint in this field and for the outstanding leadership that he not only provides this Nation and aviation but that he supplies to other nations throughout the world. I am happy that you could be here, and I would like to ask the Members of Congress 358 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-I964 Mar. I3 [2I7] who have played such a part in bringing this bill to the point where it is now to come into my office after we have finished here and let me have a little personal visit with you. You may not think so, but I really do miss that Hill. Mr. Halaby tells me there are some officials of the National Association of State Aviation Officials here this morning. We are very happy to welcome you and thank you for the contribution that you have made in connection with this very important piece of legislation. NOTE: The President spoke at 11:30 a.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White House. In the course of his remarks he referred to Senator Warren G. Magnuson of Washington, Senator A. S. Mike Monroney of Oklahoma, Representative Oren Harris of Arkansas, and Najeeb E. Halaby, Administrator, Federal Aviation Agency. As enacted, the bill amending the Federal Airport Act is Public Law 88-280 (78 Stat. I58). 216 Statement by the President Upon Approving Bill Authorizing Appropriations for the Coast Guard. March I2, i964 I HAVE approved H.R. 9640, which authorizes appropriations of $93,299,000 for the fiscal year i965 for the procurement of vessels and aircraft and construction of shore and offshore establishments for the Coast Guard. This authorization is $21,500,000 more than I requested. These additional funds are intended to accelerate a desirable vessel replacement and augmentation program. However, in view of the urgent necessity for holding Government expenditures to minimum levels consistent with our national objectives, the added authorization should not be used. The essential needs of the Coast Guard can be met and reasonable progress made toward its long-range objectives with an appropriation of $7I,799,000 -the amount I requested. I urge the Congress not to appropriate more than that sum. NOTE: As enacted, H.R. 9640 is Public Law 88-281 (78 Stat. I62). It was approved by the President on March i, i964. 2I7 Remarks Upon Arrival in Cincinnati After Aerial Inspection of the Ohio River Basin Flood. March I3, I964 Governors, members of the press, ladies and gentlemen: We have just completed an aerial tour of the Ohio River Basin and we have seen firsthand the ravages of the worst flood in this area in more than 20 years. I know that all Americans will join me in expressing our sympathy to those who have suffered. Some have lost their relatives and friends and they deserve our deepest condolences. Thousands have been left homeless-they deserve our immediate help. To provide that help, I have brought with me the officials who can expedite the programs of assistance and rehabilitation. They include the Director of the Office of Emergency Planning, Mr. Edward McDermott; the Secretary of Agriculture, Mr. Orville Freeman; Gen. Alfred Gruenther, President of the American Red Cross; Mr. Eugene Foley, the Administrator of the Small Busi 359 12171 Mar. I3 Public Papers of the Presidents ness Administration; Mr. Rex Whitton, the Administrator of the Bureau of Public Roads, and Lt. Gen. Walter K. Wilson, Jr., the Chief of Engineers of the Department of the United States Army. We have conferred with Governor Barron of West Virginia, Governor Rhodes of Ohio, Governor Breathitt of Kentucky, Governor Welsh of Indiana, Governor Kerner of Illinois, Governor Dalton of Missouri, and a representative of Governor Scranton of Pennsylvania. I have assured them that our Government is prepared to do its full share in helping the people of each State. I have already instructed the Corps of Engineers to accelerate action on flood control projects in this basin. The Red Cross and other agencies are already bringing food and clothing to thousands of people that were left homeless and hungry. I am informed that a little less than fifteen thousand were fed last night in that category. Other resources will be made available as they are requested by the State Governors. Funds and equipment and personnel for the repair and restoration of roads and bridges and other public property are available. Loans for farmers and businessmen whose property has been damaged or destroyed are available. Grain for livestock is available. My decision to come here today to tour this area, to meet with your Governors, to talk to your people, to see the damages firsthand myself will, I hope, expedite assistance that is needed. No time will be lost. Working with your Governors and with your State govern ments, we will do everything possible to ease the hardship and the trial which the swollen flood waters have brought to the people of the Ohio River Basin. We are sorry that the investments that have been made in controlling and containing floods are not complete. The Chief of the Army Engineers tells me that we have invested in this river basin already approximately three-quarters of a billion dollars, and that that investment has already saved an investment of more than a billion dollars. So, for every $3 that we have invested, we have saved $4. In the President's budget that is now being considered in the Congress, a reduced budget, a budget of a little less than a billion dollars under last year's budget, we have the largest single recommendation in that flood control river basin budget for the Ohio River Basin-some $225 million. So, we are going to try to accelerate action in that area so that what has been destroyed today can be saved and preserved tomorrow. We think that there is nothing we can do about the floods that have already occurred, but there is much that must be done to prevent the damage that floods in the future will cause. So this has been an experience for us —a sad experience-but one from which we can learn and one from which we will profit. Now I want to call on Governor Rhodes and Governor Kerner to speak for the Governors who are here today and give any messages that they may care to give. NOTE: The President spoke at the Greater Cincinnati Airport. 360 Lyndon B. Johnson, r963-I964 Mar. i5 [2i8] 2i8 Transcript of Television and Radio Interview Conducted by Representatives of Major Broadcast Services. March I5, i964 WILLIAM H. LAWRENCE, American Broadcasting Company: [ I.] Mr. President, considering the violent and abrupt manner of your succession to the Presidency, I think everyone agrees that the transition has gone remarkably smoothly. Did this just happen, or did you start to plan these things, say, in those first few hours in Air Force One as you flew back from Dallas? THE PRESIDENT. Well, we had a lot of help in the planning, Mr. Lawrence. A lot of thoughts went through my mind, as I left the hospital, and on the way to Air Force One, and while we were waiting for Judge Hughes and Mrs. Kennedy to come aboard. I wasn't sure whether this was an international conspiracy or just what it was, or what might happen next. I was sure that the whole Nation had been shaken and the world would be in doubt. As I rode back, I recognized that our first great problem was to assure the world that there would be continuity in transition, that our constitutional system would work. I realized the importance of uniting our people at home and asking them to carry forward with the program, so I immediately planned to have the bipartisan leaders come to the White House upon my arrival. I asked the members of the Cabinet who were then in town, the Director of the National Security Council and Mr. McNamara and others to meet me at Andrews.' And I appealed to all of those men to work with me on the transition and to try to so conduct ourselves as to assure the rest of the world that we did have continuity and assure the people of this country that we expected them to unite. Very shortly thereafter, President Eisen' Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. hower came down and spent some time with me exploring the problems that he expected to arise confronting a new President. President Truman came in and gave me his counsel, and we started off with the help and plans of a good many people and substantially well organized. I don't know how well the Government did its part of the transition, but the people's part was well done. Mr. Lawrence: What were your first priorities, Mr. President? THE PRESIDENT. The first priority was to try to display to the world that we could have continuity and transition, that the program of President Kennedy would be carried on, that there was no need for them to be disturbed and fearful that our constitutional system had been endangered. To demonstrate to the people of this country that although their leader had fallen, and we had a new President, that we must have unity and we must close ranks, and we must work together for the good of all America and the world. [2.] Mr. Lawrence: Well, did you have any concern about the international posture that you must adopt so that, one, all of our allies would be reassured, and our potential enemies wouldn't get any wrong ideas? THE PRESIDENT. Oh, yes. And I spent the first full week meeting with more than go representatives from the nations of the world, and trying to explain to them our constitutional system, and what they could expect under it and how we would carry on the program that we had begun. And that I had been a part of the Kennedy-Johnson ticket that won the election in i960; that we had a Kennedy-Johnson program, that I had been a participant in the formula 36I [218] Mar. I5 Public Papers of the Presidents tion of that program and that we would carry it on, maybe not as well as the late President could have, had he lived, but as best we could, and they need have no fear or no doubt. Mr. Lawrence: What was the image that you wanted the potential enemy to get? THE PRESIDENT. That we were sure and we were confident, that we were united, that we had closed ranks, and not to tread on us. [3.] Eric Sevareid, Columbia Broadcasting System: Mr. President, on November 22 both the President and you, the Vice President, were in the same city, and six Cabinet officers were in the same airplane, going to Tokyo. Has there been any dispositions or regulations since to avoid such concentration? THE PRESIDENT. Yes, I don't think that we realized at that time that so many Cabinet officers were on this trip to Tokyo. And of course in retrospect we can see a good many things that took place that we wish we had made better plans for. But immediately upon returning to Washington, I made it clear to the Cabinet that we didn't want any goodly number like that leaving town at the same time, and that when the President and the next in line of succession were out of town, that we wanted most of the Cabinet here. And the President since that time has not been out of town with any appreciable number of Cabinet officers absent. [4.] Mr. Sevareid: Is there anything that can be done, sir, to afford better physical protection for the President when he travels? THE PRESIDENT. Not that I know of. I am not an expert on security, but we have very dedicated and faithful men in the FBI and in the Secret Service. They work together. Mr. Lawrence: Do you always follow their instructions, sir? THE PRESIDENT. Yes, with rare exceptions now and then, like marching in the funeral procession. And occasionally, they prefer to have two or three policemen between me and the crowds, and I ask them to move out so I can see some of the people. I want to be a people's President, and in order to do so, you have to see the people and talk to them and know something about them and not be too secluded. I think they would feel better if the President kept Ioo yards distance from every human being, but that is not practical. [5.] David Brinkley, National Broadcasting Company: Well, when you got back here, one of your-obviously one of your immediate jobs was to keep the Government going as a matter of effective politics and leadership. How, specifically, did you think you would go about that? How did you let it be known in Washington that there was a new man here, that things are going to continue more or less as they had been, and how did you think was the best way to make it as smooth as possible? THE PRESIDENT. First, to ask the very unusually talented individuals that had associated themselves with the Kennedy administration to stay at their posts of duty during this critical period, and without exception they answered the call. Second, I called the Governors together and made an appeal to them to help me in every way they could in establishing this confidence and letting the people of the country know that their Government was going on and functioning, and was strong, and that it would work. And hour after hour, day after day, that first week, I-while I was preparing my message to the Congress, preparing to go on television to the people, and the Thanksgiving message, I was spending my days and 362 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Mar. i5 [2i8] nights, and way into the mornings, talking to the leaders out in the States and trying to instill confidence in them and to ask them to help me with the awesome responsibilities that were mine. [6.] Mr. Brinkley: Mr. President, is there any one particular memory that is more vivid than the others for you, from those 4 horrible days? THE PRESIDENT. Yes. I have rarely been in the presence of greatness, but as I went through that period, I observed Mrs. Kennedy, Jackie Kennedy, I saw her greatness, her gallantry, her graciousness, her courage, and it will always be a vivid memory, and I will always appreciate the strength that came to me from knowing her and from associating with her. [7.] Mr. Sevareid: Did you send any kind of private messages to Chairman Khrushchev soon after you became President? THE PRESIDENT. No. We had representatives from all the nations here. I spent 2 or 3 days speaking to those representatives. Mr. Mikoyan was here, and I had a long visit with him, and I talked to him about the visit that Premier Khrushchev had paid me when I was leader in the Senate, and we exchanged views for a period of time here in the office, just about the time of the funeral. Mr. Lawrence: Did the subject come up of a possible exploratory, get-acquainted session with Mr. Khrushchev? THE PRESIDENT. No. We both expressed desire in our discussion that we understand each other better and that we would be glad to meet at some time when we felt that the agenda was such that would give promise of reaching some solution to the many problems that confront the two countries. But no definite plans were made for a meeting. None were proposed, but it was accepted as a possibility. [8.] Mr. Brinkley: You mentioned, Mr. President, part of the reason for the transition being so smooth was that your predecessor's Cabinet and staff stayed on. In fact, they are still here almost intact. Would you expect it to continue that way? Would you THE PRESIDENT. I would certainly hope so. Each Cabinet member stayed, most of the Under Secretaries are here, most of the Assistant Secretaries. We have brought in about three young men who have been associated with me through the years, and we have lost Mr. Schlesinger and Mr. Sorensen. But basically the staff is the same, the duties are the same. The work goes on each day just as it did when Mr. Kennedy was here. [9.] Mr. Sevareid: Mr. President, I wonder if you could talk a moment about this problem of Presidential succession. I think you have not endorsed any of the specific proposals that are up for discussion now. But oughtn't there be some mechanism so that there would always be a Vice President? THE PRESIDENT. Yes; and I think the Congress is giving attention to that, and I think it is quite proper that they do, and I have no doubt that in the next few months when we select the Vice President-but what is very likely is that the Congress will take some action, I don't know just what kind of action, to make it possible to replace the Vice President if he becomes President. I think it is important that we do that. I don't have any deep-set views on just how that should be done. I participated in passing the measure that establishes the line of succession now, and I think that that's very good. President Kennedy sat down with me in 363 12i8] Mar. i5 Public Papers of the Presidents the early days of his administration and discussed the possibilities of a takeover, a transition, if the President became disabled. We had an oral agreement on what should be done under those circumstances. The first-one of the first things I did was to ask the distinguished Speaker of the House to come to my office, and I made an agreement with him exactly as President Eisenhower had made with Vice President Nixon, and as President Kennedy had made with me, and that is now in writing and in existence if I should become disabled. But the Congress should consider replacing the Vice President when they have one no more. They are doing that now. I rather doubt that they will explore all the angles of it and make any realistic progress toward constitutional amendments or the necessary statutes this year, but I am sure once we have a Vice President that they will face up to it and take prompt action. Mr. Sevareid: Haven't we really reached a point in the history of this country where the selection of a vice presidential candidate must be nothing but his competence for the highest office? THE PRESIDENT. Yes, I would hope that the only thing that would appeal to any delegate would be this question: Is this the best equipped and best trained and best fitted man to serve as President should he be called on to do so? Mr. Lawrence: Yet it is a choice which is peculiarly that of the presidential candidate, is it not, sir? THE PRESIDENT. I think that the delegates are always interested in getting the recommendations of the President, and in most instances, not all instances, but most instances, the presidential nominee makes his recommendation. I don't-I recall one or two instances where the President chose not to make any recommendation. But the Vice President is very close to the President. They have to agree on the same platform, they have to run on the same ticket. In order to be prepared for what might happen the President must have great confidence in the Vice President, and make known to him his thoughts, his views, and all of his secrets, so that he can have the background for taking over if it becomes necessary, so the President's recommendation should not be treated lightly. [io.] Mr. Lawrence: There have been reports, Mr. President, that you have become displeased with Attorney General Kennedy because efforts have been made in his behalf to have him nominated for Vice President. There even have been published reports that you are not even speaking. Is there any truth in those reports? THE PRESIDENT. No. The Attorney General's statement, I think, was a very good one, 2 or 3 days ago. I think most of that is newspaper talk. I would be less than frank if I said that I thought that it was wise at this stage of the game for either the President or the Vice President to be carrying on a campaign for the office. The Attorney General and I have talked about that, and I think he understands my viewpoint, and I take his word that he has done nothing to encourage those efforts, and all of this stuff that you read about is newspaper talk. [Ii.] Mr. Brinkley: Well, speaking of newspaper talk, Mr. President, it is widely believed among the reporters around town that you object rather strongly to being criticized in the papers and on the air. Would you give us what your true feelings on that subject are? How do you feel 364 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-I964 Mar. 15 [2i8] about it? THE PRESIDENT. I assume that almost anyone is human and would rather have approval than disapproval. Mr. Sevareid: Mr. President, Kennedy once said in a similar conversation about a year ago or more that he thought the press ought to be as tough as it could be on any administration, so long as it was after truth and not merely a political operation. Is that a good definition of your views? THE PRESIDENT. I would have no objection to that. I would agree to it, and I don't think-it is not the toughness of the press that any President objects to. I think it is sometimes their inaccuracies and-I frequently see stories from io or I5 papers that I think are quite accurate, very well done. On occasion, you will see something that is reported as a truth that you never heard of, where you are the principal participant. And if you call attention to it, then you become sensitive. [I2.] Mr. Sevareid: How many papers do you read a day, sir? THE PRESIDENT. I guess about io or I5. [I3.] Mr. Lawrence: Mr. President, during these ioo days there has been one persistent political issue, which is the investigation of Bobby Baker in the Senate, aimed at you because he was your protege and your friend. As a political animal, sir, what is your estimate of this as a campaign issue in i964? THE PRESIDENT. Well, without agreeing with your assumptions about why the investigation or who it is aimed at, I would say that one of the finest committees in the Senate made up of Members of both parties have been conducting this investigation of an employee of theirs-no prot6ge of anyone; he was there before I came to the Senate for 1o years, doing a job substantially the same as he is doing now, he was elected by all the Senators, appointed by no one, including the Republican Senators-and I think that their investigation will be a just one, and a fair one, and that they will make recommendations to the Senate that will be proper, and whatever they recommend I am sure the Senate will carry out. Mr. Lawrence: Well, quite apart from what the Senate committee may recommend, sir, have you formed a personal judgment, a judgment for yourself? You and Mr. Baker used to be friends. Do you continue to be friends? THE PRESIDENT. I haven't seen him since he resigned from the Senate or haven't talked to him since he resigned from the Senate, and I think every man is entitled to a fair trial and I would like to see what conclusion is reached and what the evidence shows with which I am not familiar before I would make a judgment. [I4.] Mr. Lawrence: Mr. President, if I could make you a self-critic for a moment, what, if anything, that has happened in these last i20 days would you do differently were you to do it again? THE PRESIDENT. Well, I don't know about that. I am sure that we have made a good many mistakes, but I don't know of any recommendation I have made that I would change. I would favor the same measures that I have recommended to the Congress. I would handle the developments and the foreign policy fields such as Panama and Guantanamo and Zanzibar, Cyprus, just as we have handled them. So while I am sure that we could improve on them if we had more time, in the light of what developed I wouldn't change any. [i5.] Mr. Lawrence: I believe the first big problem you had to tackle was the 365 L12i8] Mar. i5 Public Papers of the Presidents budget, the time for making final decisions, and you devoted nearly all of the first month to this. Why was the budget so terribly important? THE PRESIDENT. Because I think it told the people of the country and the people of the Congress what you are willing to pay for. And if I had it to do over again, I would much prefer to have 68 days than to have 38 days to make a budget of $98 billion. We have been adding to our budget about $5 billion a year. We had about $3 billion in built-in increases. Our last budget was $98.8 billion. So my big problem was to find ways and means of cutting money out of the budget that we did not need, and we did not need to appropriate, and we could save in order to have some money available to meet the many unfilled needs we had-particularly in the welfare field, in the poverty field, in the training of manpower field. Mr. Lawrence: During the budget cutting, Mr. President, you made one little talk which caused some controversy in which you said that to meet the unfilled needs of the people you would take from the haves and give to the have-nots. Now, just how did you mean that? THE PRESIDENT. Well, we have a budget of $52 billion in the Defense Department. We have those installations set up, and those needs have been planned for. We no longer find they are necessary. They have the money. We say to them that we are going to take from this picture 69 bases that you now have, we are going to close those bases, we are going to take some of these overseas employees and cut them I5 percent, and have some people double-up on our jobs, and squeeze out additional productivity. And out of that money that we save, money that we have, and have used for these purposes, we are going to take it over here and take the young boys that have dropped out of school and have nothing to do, and no job and no work, and unemployed, and we are going to try to train them to be good citizens. Mr. Lawrence: You meant, Mr. President, to redivide the money amongst the Government agencies, not some kind of a new soakthe-rich scheme as some interpreted this "take from the haves and give to the have-nots"? THE PRESIDENT. No, we made no recommendations on soaking anybody. We are reducing taxes, not increasing them. Our tax reduction is in excess of $II billion, $9 billion plus for individuals, everyone is the beneficiary of that already, and corporation taxes have been reduced some $21/2 billion, so we weren't soaking anyone. But we were taking money that was being used for things that we did not need, or that we could avoid, and taking that money and applying it to meet the unfilled needs of our poverty-stricken people. President Roosevelt talked about the third that were ill clad, ill fed, and ill housed. Thirty years we have worked on it but there is still one-fifth of the people that earn less than $3,oo000 a year. So out of the billion three that we cut from the Defense Department budget we will add almost a billion in the new budget for a poverty program. So it will come from those who have it, to those don't have it. [I6.] Mr. Sevareid: Have you had any second thoughts, Mr. President, about erecting another agency to deal with root causes of poverty-health is one, education and other things-on top of the agencies and departments that already exist that have been dealing with these things? THE PRESIDENT. No, we are going to have a very small staff to coordinate the poverty program. We realize it is a beginning, it is 366 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Mar. I5 [2I8] not an extremely comprehensive program. We are going to have Sargent Shriver in charge of coordinating the program between the agencies who already are working in that field: the Agriculture Department; the Justice Department in the dealings with the juvenile delinquency; the Health, Education, and Welfare Department in health and education; the Labor Department in training manpower. And we don't want to create more agencies, we want to use the ones we have. So the President is going to have as his chief of staff, a poverty director, administrator, and through him his orders will be carried out through existing agencies. [I7.] Mr. Brinkley: Mr. President, the hundred days are over now, and the transition is over. This is now the Johnson administration. Could you give us an idea-not necessarily specific, unless you care to-what direction you would say your administration would take hereafter? What new approaches or ideas or philosophies we might see? THE PRESIDENT. Well, I think a message going to the Congress on Monday will indicate one approach.2 We are determined, and we have a group of dedicated men that are going to try to get at the roots and the causes of poverty that cause 20 percent of our people to live off of less than $3,000 a year. We are going to try to get at the roots and the causes and find the solution to doing something about half a million men that are rejected each year because of mental or physical reasons for service. We are going to try to recognize and proceed on the basis that illiteracy and ignorance and disease cost this Government 2Item 219. billions of dollars per year, and make for much unhappiness. And the program of poverty this year is one example of what I would like to think will be carried on, and grow in the years to come. I want this Government first of all to be dedicated to peace in our time, and do everything that we can conceivably do, any place, any time, with anyone, to resolve some of the differences that exist among mankind. In order to do that, this Government must be prepared and we must maintain strength and power that would insure our safety if attacked. In order to have peace, and to be prepared, we must be solvent and fiscally responsible. So for that reason we have tried to eliminate waste at every corner. I don't believe that we are going to make the Treasury over by cutting out a few automobiles or turning out a few lights. But I do think it is a good example when you walk through the corridor and you see the closets where lights burn all day and all night just because someone didn't turn them off. So we have tried to set that example and we want a Government that is seeking peace, that is prepared for any eventuality, that is fiscally solvent and that is compassionate, that meets the needs of the people for health and for education, and for physical and mental and spiritual strength. And our Government-that is the kind of a Johnson administration I would like to have and that is the kind that we are working towards. [i8.] Mr. Sevareid: Mr. President, administrations come to have rather handy labels, New Deal, or Fair Deal, or Crusade, or New Frontier. Has any ever come to your mind for the Johnson administration? THE PRESIDENT. No, I don't think so. I have had a lot of things to deal with the first 367 12i8] Mar. i5 Public Papers of the Presidents i00 days, and I haven't thought of any slogan, but I suppose all of us want a better deal, don't we? Mr. Sevareid: Mr. President, I don't want to overdo the business of labels, but many of us have long been a little baffled watching your career in the Senate and now here as to whether to call you a conservative or liberal, or Southerner or Westerner. How do you think of yourself if you apply those labels at all to yourself? THE PRESIDENT. Well, I don't believe in labels. I want to do the best I can, all the time. I want to be progressive without getting both feet off the ground at the same time. I want to be prudent without having my mind closed to anything that is new or different. I have often said that I was proud that I was a free man first and an American second, and a public servant third and a Democrat fourth, in that order, and I guess as a Democrat, if I had to take-place a label on myself, I would want to be a progressive who is prudent. [i9.] Mr. Lawrence: While we are talking about Democrats, Mr. President, what is your timing on your election year effort? THE PRESIDENT. I would hope that we would not have to-we would not have to begin an active campaign-the Democratic Party-until around convention time, after the Congress disposed of its business. I am going to carry out some commitments that President Kennedy made for fundraising dinners from time to time, but I think after the convention we will have ample time to give our views to the people. In the meantime, I would like to have the cooperation of the members of both parties in carrying out a program that is best for America. I am the only President this country has, and I would like to be as free from partisanship as possible, at least until the convention. Mr. Lawrence: Well, Mr. President, in this interim between now and the convention, do you think we might see a few oldfashioned, nonpolitical conservation tours or inspection tours of that kind? THE PRESIDENT. We will see them before and after the convention. They are part of the work of the President. I think part of the President's job is to get out and see the people and talk to them about what the Government is doing and make reports. That is why I am on this-having this little visit with you fellows this afternoon, so that the people may know something about my views and how I feel and my approaches, and may know how much I need them and need their help in the job that I am trying so hard to do. [20.] Mr. Sevareid: Mr. President, some people have thought that you put in too long and hard a day, that you might endanger your own health that way. How do you protect your health from day to day? THE PRESIDENT. We do have long days, and the problems that require attention require time. And you never have as much time as you want to spend before making these decisions, but you must make decisions. The first Ioo days were filled almost to the breaking point. But I have adjusted myself to the schedule and with the help of the most competent people that President Kennedy surrounded himself with, I am now able-I wake up in the morning and read my papers and read the documents that were left over from the night before that I need to pass upon and have my briefings, and my breakfast, and come to the office between 9 and io o'clock. Then I work at a rather feverish rate until I:30 or 2. And I have a swim and take out 15 or 20 minutes. Then I go and have a lunch or-usually a business lunch, working 368 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963 —964 Mar. i5 [2i8] lunch, and about 3 I take a little nap of 20 or 30 minutes, and that breaks the day for me, and then I am good until 8 or 9 that night, and have my dinner. After dinner I see TV news, and then I engage in my night reading, and I usually read until about i. I don't require too much sleep. But I am never in better health. I enjoy the work that I am doing, and the people with whom I am working. I never felt better in my life. [21.] Mr. Sevareid: Mr. President, you did manage to quit cigarette smoking some years ago. Have you any advice for those of us who haven't managed? THE PRESIDENT. I gave up cigarette smoking because the doctor recommended that I do so, and I have missed it every day, but I haven't gone back to it, and I am glad that I haven't. [22.] Mr. Brinkley: Mr. President, I gather from what you say that we need not expect any kind of political announcements from you until very close to the convention. Is that so? THE PRESIDENT. I would not want to preclude one. Unless I-there is substantial consideration involved-I see no reason to make any now, and I don't anticipate it, but if the circumstances indicated that one would be fruitful or necessary, I wouldn't hesitate to face up to it. [23.] Mr. Brinkley: While we are on politics, I wonder-we have heard everybody else's analysis of what happened in New Hampshire. Would you give us yours? THE PRESIDENT. I really don't know. I think that we always incline to put too much emphasis on the actions of one primary. But it seemed to me that the people of the State heard all the candidates and decided to select one of their neighbors that apparently they knew and approved. I have very high regard for Ambassador Lodge myself, as I do for some of the other candidates. Mr. Brinkley: Has his serving in VietNam during a political campaign been at all awkward or embarrassing for the administration? THE PRESIDENT. Not to the President. So far as I have been able to detect from his actions, he has been doing nothing but the job as ambassador, and doing it as best he could, and I have seen nothing that has interfered with that work. Mr. Lawrence: Did Secretary McNamara bring you any new word from Mr. Lodge just recently when he returned, about Mr. Lodge's future plans, how long he might stay on the job, and so forth? THE PRESIDENT. No, no. I have had no indication that he plans to leave the job at all, and if he did, I am sure he would let me know. Secretary McNamara brought me some recommendations concerning the situation out in Viet-Nam, in which Ambassador Lodge expressed his views, and in which they were in general agreement with Mr. McNamara and other members of the team, but nothing political. Mr. Lawrence: Is it your opinion that Mr. Lodge has behaved properly and within the scope of his role as an ambassador, considering that he has been injected into the political arena? THE PRESIDENT. Yes. [24.] Mr. Brinkley: You have had reports in the last day or two from the Ambassador to France and from Secretary McNamara. Can you tell us anything of what he reported to you from Viet-Nam? THE PRESIDENT. Yes, he made a very lengthy report and I think a responsible and constructive one. We are going to consider it in the Security Council further the early part of the week. We have problems in Viet-Nam as we have had for io years. 369 12i8] Mar. i5 Public Papers of the Presidents Secretary McNamara has been out there; this is his fourth trip. We are very anxious to do what we can to help those people preserve their own freedom. We cherish ours and we would like to see them preserve theirs. We have furnished them with counsel and advice, and men and materiel to help them in their attempts to defend themselves. If people would quit attacking them we'd have no problem, but for io years this problem has been going on. I was reading a letter only today that General Eisenhower wrote to the late President Diem io years ago,3 and it is a letter that I could have well written to President Khanh and sent out by Mr. McNamara. Now, we have had that problem for a long time. We are going to have it for some time in the future, we can see, but we are patient people, and we love freedom, and we want to help others preserve it, and we are going to try to evolve the most effective and efficient plans we can to continue to help them. Mr. Sevareid: President Kennedy said, on the subject of Viet-Nam, I think, that he did believe in the falling domino theory, that if Viet-Nam were lost that other countries in the area would soon be lost. THE PRESIDENT. I think it would be a very dangerous thing, and I share President Kennedy's view, and I think the whole of Southeast Asia would be involved and that would involve hundreds of millions of people, and I think it's-it cannot be ignored, we must do everything that we can, we must be responsible, we must stay there and help them, and that is what we are going to do. [25.] Mr. Lawrence: Mr. President, during the New Hampshire primary campaign, Governor Rockefeller criticized what he See "Public Papers of the Presidents, Dwight D. Eisenhower I954," Item 306. called "divided counsel" that was going out from Washington to the leaders of VietNam. He said that while you and Secretary Rusk and Secretary McNamara were committed to winning the war and defeating the Viet Cong, the Senate majority leader, Senator Mansfield, seemed to find favor with the idea of neutralization advanced by President de Gaulle of France. What is your reaction to Governor Rockefeller's criticism? THE PRESIDENT. Well, I think the Governor should know that Senator Mansfield is very experienced in the field of foreign relations, and serves as a distinguished member of that committee, and when he made his speech in the Senate,4 he spoke for himself, and so stated. He was not speaking the administration viewpoint and he did not leave any such impression. From time to time he has given me his counsel over the years in this general area of Southeast Asia, but when he made this speech he spoke for himself entirely, and there is no division in the administration between Secretary Rusk and Secretary McNamara and myself. We all feel alike on the matter. I think that there could even be some division between Mr. Rockefeller and Mr. Lodge, judging from what you have said. Mr. Lodge sees things pretty much as we do, and we are going to continue with our program, and it is going to be a responsible one, and we think a fruitful one. [26.] Mr. Lawrence: Do the recommendations that Secretary McNamara brought back from his last trip envisage a continuing role for Mr. Lodge in handling policies in South Viet-Nam? THE PRESIDENT. Yes. Yes, he has a very important role. He met with me in my office 2 days after I became President, and I said to him at that time that "You are my top 4The speech is printed in the Congressional Record (vol. IIo, p. 2993; February I9, I964). 370 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Mar. i5 [2i8] man there, and I want you to have the kind of people you want, and I want you to carry out the program you recommend and you will have our support here." He has worked very hard at that job and we have sent him some new people from time to time, and we will be sending more. He has command of the full resources that we have out there, and he works very well with our people. [27.] Mr. Lawrence: One of your speeches at the University of California in Los Angeles indicated a kind of hint to me that we might carry the war to the North Vietnamese if they didn't quit meddling in what you call a "dangerous game." Are there any such plans that you can talk about at this time, sir? THE PRESIDENT. No, and I made no such hint. I said it was a dangerous game to try to supply arms and become an aggressor and deprive people of their freedom, and that is true, whether it is in Viet-Nam or whether it is in this hemisphere, wherever it is. Mr. Lawrence: Mr. President, do we face the decision on Viet-Nam of the order of magnitude of Korea, for example? THE PRESIDENT. No, I don't think so. I think that we have problems there. We have difficulties there. We have had for i0 years, and as I told you, a good many things have come and gone during that period of time; as long as there are people trying to preserve their freedom, we want to help them. [28.] Mr. Brinkley: Well, Mr. President, not only do we have a new administration in this country, but we also have what might be described as a new world, since it is said now that the postwar world is over, and the American leadership is challenged and questioned both by friend and enemy alike in many places now. So it is an entirely different world, very different world, from what it was a few years ago. What is your view and assessment of it? How do you see the American role from here on, now that we are no longer the unquestioned leader of the entire West? THE PRESIDENT. Well, I think that as long as we are living in a world with i20 nations, that we have got to realize that we have got i20 foreign policies. And we are living in a world where we recognize I14 other nations, and some that we don't recognize, and so I think at this time that our Nation is held in high esteem and respect and affection generally among the peoples of the world, the free world. I realize that we have discouraging incidents from time to time, and we have problems, and because we try to help with those problems, sometimes the role of the peacemaker is not a very happy one. And so, for that reason, we have to do things that we don't want to do sometimes, and are rather irritating-and sometimes we are abused because we do them, and sometimes we are misunderstood. But if the final result is good, then our action is justified. [29.] Mr. Sevareid: Mr. President, about i0 years ago an American Secretary of State termed neutrality as something immoral. Not long ago President Kennedy talked about making the world safe for diversity. Is a more and more diverse world, with the diminishing of the importance of great alliances, a trend toward a safer world? THE PRESIDENT. Yes, I think so. And you must remember this: that we are having all the new nations that are emerging, and they are coming in without experience, and they have their pride. A good many of them have the feelings that-pent-up feelings, that they have nurtured for years and years. And they have an opportunity to express themselves, and sometimes it looks a little odd for the Prime Minister of a new country to come in with a pistol in his hand 33-171-65-29 37I1 [2i8] Mar. I5 Public Papers of the Presidents and arrest an American charge d'affaires. But that does happen, and we have to be prepared for those developments and try to understand them and try to provide leadership that will keep us from getting in deeper water or more trouble, and that is what we are doing. Sometimes our people become very impatient. They cut the water off on us in Cuba, and I got a good many recommendations from all over the country as to how to act very quickly. Some of them said-some of the men wanted me to run in the Marines, send them in immediately. Well, upon reflection and evaluation and study, realizing not many people want more war, and none of them really want more appeasement, you have to find a course that you can chart that will preserve your dignity and self-respect, and still bring about the action that is necessary. So instead of sending in the Marines to turn the water on, we sent one admiral in to cut it off and arrange to make our own water, and we think things worked out as best they could under those circumstances. But there are going to be these demands from time to time, from people who feel that all we need to do is mash a button and determine everybody's foreign policy. But we are not living in that kind of a world any more. They are going to determine it for themselves, and that is the way it should be. And we are going to have to come and reason with them and try to lead them instead of force them. And I think, I have no doubt but what for centuries to come that we will be a leading force in molding opinion of the world, and I think the better they know us the more they will like us. [30.] Mr. Lawrence: Is there any progress, Mr. President, in the deadlock over Panama and the absence of diplomatic relations with that country? THE PRESIDENT. We have been very close to agreement several times. I have no doubt but what agreement will be reached that will, in effect, provide for sitting down with the Panamanian authorities and discussing the problems that exist between us and being guided only by what is fair and what is right and what is just, and trying to resolve those problems. Now, when that will come about, I don't know. We are anxious and willing and eager to do it any time it suits their convenience. Mr. Lawrence: What is the hitch right now, Mr. President? THE PRESIDENT. I think first, they have an election on, and I think translating our language into their language, that some of the agreements that we have to discuss these matters, they perhaps feel that they would want stronger language than we are willing to agree to, and we want a different expression from what they want. It is largely a matter of trying to agree on the kind of language that will meet their problems, and that we can honestly, sincerely agree to. We are not going to agree to any preconditions to negotiate a new treaty without knowing what it is going to be in that treaty and without sitting down and working it out on the basis of equity. We think that that language can be resolved and will be resolved in due time. [3I.] Mr. Brinkley: Mr. President, what is your assessment now of General de Gaulle's behavior in the last year or two? What do you think about it? THE PRESIDENT. Well, it is not for me to pass judgment onMr. Brinkley: In relation to us, sir? THE PRESIDENT. -on General de Gaulle's conduct. My conversations with him have been very pleasant. I would like to see him more in agreement on matters with us than 372 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Mar. i5 [2i8] he is, such as recognizing Red China. We did not think that was wise for France or for us or for the free world. But that is France's foreign policy. That is not ours, and in his wisdom he decided he would follow that course, and that is a matter for him to determine. [32.] Mr. Lawrence: What do you hear from the people at the United Nations, Mr. President? Has the fact of French recognition now increased the prospect that the Red Chinese may be voted into membership at the U.N.? THE PRESIDENT. The situation changes from time to time, but we don't think that they will be voted into membership, and we hope not. I don't believe they will. Mr. Lawrence: What would be our reaction vis-a-vis the U.N. if they were admitted? THE PRESIDENT. Well, we will have to cross that bridge-I don't want to admit that they are going to be admitted and don't think they will. Mr. Lawrence: Senator Goldwater, for example, has argued that we should withdraw at once if the Red Chinese are admitted. THE. PRESIDENT.. Well, that is Senator Goldwater's view, and I don't think they're going to be admitted, and I don't think we will have to face that question. [33.] Mr. Brinkley: One you do have to face soon, Mr. President, is to say something to Congress about foreign aid. That seems to have reached a peak of opposition. It seems to have reached some kind of peak last year. What do you think the future of it is? THE PRESIDENT. I think it is going to be very tough to get a good foreign aid measure through the Congress this year. Last year President Kennedy asked for $4,900 million. He later had that request carefully studied and he reduced it to $4,500 million. He got a $3 billion appropriation-after I came to office. I signed the bill and there was reappropriated about $400 million unexpended balances, $3,400 million. Now, I have conferred with the leaders in the House and Senate on that matter, and they all admit it is going to be more difficult this year than it ever has been before, although I don't think that is justified. Nevertheless, I request-we are not going to pad our request. We got $3 billion 4 this year, and we will ask for something in the neighborhood of that for next year, and we will ask only what we need, and we hope we get what we ask, but it will be appreciably under what was asked last year, and approximately the same that we got this year. We think that we are justified in spending 3 or 4 cents of our tax dollar to protect the million men who are in uniform, our men, scattered throughout the world, and to keep them from going into combat, and this is the best weapon that I have. [34.] Mr. Sevareid: Mr. President, is there any one root cause for the apparent slowness of the Alliance for Progress? THE PRESIDENT. Yes. It is very difficult to get 21 nations to all agree and get their systems changed and their reforms effected and to blend into their governmental philosophy the modernization that is going to be required to make the Alliance for Progress a success. We are distressed that it hasn't been more successful, but we haven't lost faith. We are having a meeting Monday with all of the Ambassadors from the Organization of American States. We are having a meeting Monday with all the Ambassadors from the Western Hemisphere. We are calling in all of our own Ambassa 373 [2I8] Mar. I5 Public Papers of the Presidents dors, and the three groups are going to meet, and we are going to point out the weaknesses and the slowness of certain reforms that are required and the cooperation that we must have from their countries because there is no use of making big investments and taking our taxpayers funds unless these reforms are effective. And we are going to make an appeal for a united attack that will give new life to the Alliance for Progress and we have hopes that it will be successful. [35.] Mr. Sevareid: Mr. President, are you terribly disturbed about the resort to street protests and demonstrations on civil rights and other things that are taking place now almost all over the country? THE PRESIDENT. I think that when the Senate acts upon the civil rights bill, that we will have the best civil rights law that has been enacted in a hundred years, and I think it will be a substantial and effective answer to our racial problems. The Negro was freed of his chains a hundred years ago, but he has not been freed of the problems brought about by his color and the bigotry that exists. And this bill goes a long way to taking the battle from the streets into the legislative halls and into the courthouses, and into where these differences should be settled. Of course, we have a right to petition, and we should petition when we have grievances, but I think the most effective thing that can be done-and I think great progress has been made under the leadership of President Kennedy and the Attorney General and others in the last year-is getting all the people of the Nation to accept their moral responsibility and take some leadership in this field where there has been so much discrimination. And I know of nothing more important for this Congress to do than to pass the Civil Rights Act as the House passed it. And I hope that can be done after due deliberation. I think it will be a great step forward for the Nation. I think it will make us much more united, and I can't think of any single thing we can do to strengthen American foreign policies more than to pass the house civil rights bill in the Senate. Mr. Lawrence: You are confident that you can get a civil rights bill substantially like the House bill without major modification? THE PRESIDENT. We want to very much, and we are going-the Senate will have to work its will and we believe that a substantial majority favors the House bill, and we believe in due time it will be able to work its will. Mr. Brinkley: Well, are you concerned, Mr. President, at what might happen if this filibuster is still going in the late spring when the schools are out and the kids are out and have idle time on their hands? THE PRESIDENT. I don't want to predict that the Senate will be-how long it will be discussing this bill. I am hopeful and I am an optimist and I believe they can pass it and I believe they will pass it and I believe it is their duty to pass it, and I am going to do everything I can to get it passed. [36.] Mr. Lawrence: Mr. President, you have now been President for something over Ioo days. You have been around Washington for more than 30 years. How is the view from the inside as compared with the view from the outside? THE PRESIDENT. Well, it is a much tougher job from the inside than I thought it was from the outside. I have watched it since Mr. Hoover's days, and I realize the responsibilities it carried and the obligations of leadership that were there, and the decisions that had to be made, and the awesome responsibilities of the office. But I must say that when I started having 374 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-I964 Mar. i6 [2I9] to make those decisions and started hearing from the Congress, that the Presidency looked a little different when you are in the Presidency than it did when you are in the Congress, and vice versa. Mr. Lawrence: Mr. President, Thomas Jefferson referred to the office as a splendid misery. Harry Truman used to talk about it as if it were a prison cell. Do you like it? THE PRESIDENT. I am doing the best I can in it, and I am enjoying what I am doing. Thomas Jefferson said the second office of the land was an honorable and easy one. The Presidency was a splendid misery. But I found great interest in serving in both offices, and it carries terrific and tremendous and awesome responsibilities but I am proud of this Nation, and I am so grateful that I could have an opportunity that I have had in America that I want to give my life seeing that the opportunity is perpetuated for others. I am so proud of our system of government, of our free enterprise, where our incentive system and our men who head our big industries are willing to get up at daylight and work until midnight to offer employment and create new jobs for people, where our men working there will try to get decent wages but will sit across the table and not act like cannibals, but will negotiate and reason things out together. I am so happy to be a part of a system where the average per capita income is in excess of $200 per month, when there are only six nations in the entire world that have as much as $8o per month. And while the Soviet Union has three times as many tillable acres of land as we have and a population that's in excess of ours and a great many resources that we don't have that if properly developed would exceed our potential in water and oil and so forth, nevertheless we have one thing they don't have, and that is our system of private enterprise, free enterprise, where the employer, hoping to make a little profit, the laborer hoping to justify his wages, can get together and make a better mousetrap. They have developed this into the most powerful and the leading nation in the world, and I want to see it preserved. And I have an opportunity to do something about it as President. And I may not be a great President, but as long as I am here, I am going to try to be a good President, and do my dead level best to see this system preserved because when the final chips are down, it is not going to be the number of people we have or the number of acres or the number of resources that win, the thing that is going to make us win is our system of government. Mr. Brinkley: Thank you, Mr. President. NOTE: This is the text of the interview as broadcast over the major networks on March i5. It is based on a video tape recorded in the President's office the preceding day. 2I9 Special Message to the Congress Proposing a Nationwide War on the Sources of Poverty. March i6, i964 To the Congress of the United States: We are citizens of the richest and most fortunate nation in the history of the world. One hundred and eighty years ago we were a small country struggling for survival on the margin of a hostile land. Today we have established a civilization of free men which spans an entire continent. 375 [2I9] Mar. i6 Public Papers of the Presidents With the growth of our country has come opportunity for our people-opportunity to educate our children, to use our energies in productive work, to increase our leisureopportunity for almost every American to hope that through work and talent he could create a better life for himself and his family. The path forward has not been an easy one. But we have never lost sight of our goal: an America in which every citizen shares all the opportunities of his society, in which every man has a chance to advance his welfare to the limit of his capacities. We have come a long way toward this goal. We still have a long way to go. The distance which remains is the measure of the great unfinished work of our society. To finish that work I have called for a national war on poverty. Our objective: total victory. There are millions of Americans-one fifth of our people-who have not shared in the abundance which has been granted to most of us, and on whom the gates of opportunity have been closed. What does this poverty mean to those who endure it? It means a daily struggle to secure the necessities for even a meager existence. It means that the abundance, the comforts, the opportunities they see all around them are beyond their grasp. Worst of all, it means hopelessness for the young. The young man or woman who grows up without a decent education, in a broken home, in a hostile and squalid environment, in ill health or in the face of racial injusticethat young man or woman is often trapped in a life of poverty. He does not have the skills demanded by a complex society. He does not know how to acquire those skills. He faces a mounting sense of despair which drains initiative and ambition and energy. Our tax cut will create millions of new jobs-new exits from poverty. But we must also strike down all the barriers which keep many from using those exits. The war on poverty is not a struggle simply to support people, to make them dependent on the generosity of others. It is a struggle to give people a chance. It is an effort to allow them to develop and use their capacities, as we have been allowed to develop and use ours, so that they can share, as others share, in the promise of this nation. We do this, first of all, because it is right that we should. From the establishment of public education and land grant colleges through agricultural extension and encouragement to industry, we have pursued the goal of a nation with full and increasing opportunities for all its citizens. The war on poverty is a further step in that pursuit. We do it also because helping some will increase the prosperity of all. Our fight against poverty will be an investment in the most valuable of our resources-the skills and strength of our people. And in the future, as in the past, this investment will return its cost many fold to our entire economy. If we can raise the annual earnings of Io million among the poor by only $i,ooo we will have added I4 billion dollars a year to our national output. In addition we can make important reductions in public assistance payments which now cost us 4 376 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 Mar. I6 [219] billion dollars a year, and in the large costs of fighting crime and delinquency, disease and hunger. This is only part of the story. Our history has proved that each time we broaden the base of abundance, giving more people the chance to produce and consume, we create new industry, higher production, increased earnings and better income for all. Giving new opportunity to those who have little will enrich the lives of all the rest. Because it is right, because it is wise, and because, for the first time in our history, it is possible to conquer poverty, I submit, for the consideration of the Congress and the country, the Economic Opportunity Act of I964. The Act does not merely expand old programs or improve what is already being done. It charts a new course. It strikes at the causes, not just the consequences of poverty. It can be a milestone in our one-hundred eighty year search for a better life for our people. This Act provides five basic opportunities. It will give almost half a million underprivileged young Americans the opportunity to develop skills, continue education, and find useful work. It will give every American community the opportunity to develop a comprehensive plan to fight its own poverty-and help them to carry out their plans. It will give dedicated Americans the opportunity to enlist as volunteers in the war against poverty. It will give many workers and farmers the opportunity to break through particular barriers which bar their escape from poverty. It will give the entire nation the opportunity for a concerted attack on poverty through the establishment, under my direction, of the Office of Economic Opportunity, a national headquarters for the war against poverty. This is how we propose to create these opportunities. First we will give high priority to helping young Americans who lack skills, who have not completed their education or who cannot complete it because they are too poor. The years of high school and college age are the most critical stage of a young person's life. If they are not helped then, many will be condemned to a life of poverty which they, in turn, will pass on to their children. I therefore recommend the creation of a Job Corps, a Work-Training Program, and a Work Study Program. A new national Job Corps will build toward an enlistment of ioo,ooo young men. They will be drawn from those whose background, health and education make them least fit for useful work. Those who volunteer will enter more than 100 Camps and Centers around the country. Half of these young men will work, in the first year, on special conservation projects to give them education, useful work experience and to enrich the natural resources of the country. Half of these young men will receive, in the first year, a blend of training, basic education and work experience in Job Training Centers. These are not simply camps for the underprivileged. They are new educational institutions, comparable in innovation to the land grant colleges. Those who enter them will emerge better qualified to play a productive role in American society. A new national Work-Training Program operated by the Department of Labor will provide work and training for 200,000 377 [219] Mar. i6 Public Papers of the Presidents American men and women between the ages of i6 and 2i. This will be developed through state and local governments and non-profit agencies. Hundreds of thousands of young Americans badly need the experience, the income, and the sense of purpose which useful full or part-time work can bring. For them such work may mean the difference between finishing school or dropping out. Vital community activities from hospitals and playgrounds to libraries and settlement houses are suffering because there are not enough people to staff them. We are simply bringing these needs together. A new national Work-Study Program operated by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare will provide federal funds for part-time jobs for 140,000 young Americans who do not go to college because they cannot afford it. There is no more senseless waste than the waste of the brainpower and skill of those who are kept from college by economic circumstance. Under this program they will, in a great American tradition, be able to work their way through school. They and the country will be richer for it. Second, through a new Community Action program we intend to strike at poverty at its source-in the streets of our cities and on the farms of our countryside among the very young and the impoverished old. This program asks men and women throughout the country to prepare longrange plans for the attack on poverty in their own local communities. These are not plans prepared in Washington and imposed upon hundreds of different situations. They are based on the fact that local citizens best understand their own problems, and know best how to deal with those problems. These plans will be local plans striking at the many unfilled needs which underlie poverty in each community, not just one or two. Their components and emphasis will differ as needs differ. These plans will be local plans calling upon all the resources available to the community-federal and state, local and private, human and material. And when these plans are approved by the Office of Economic Opportunity, the federal government will finance up to go% of the additional cost for the first two years. The most enduring strength of our nation is the huge reservoir of talent, initiative and leadership which exists at every level of our society. Through the Community Action Program we call upon this, our greatest strength, to overcome our greatest weakness. Third, I ask for the authority to recruit and train skilled volunteers for the war against poverty. Thousands of Americans have volunteered to serve the needs of other lands. Thousands more want the chance to serve the needs of their own land. They should have that chance. Among older people who have retired, as well as among the young, among women as well as men, there are many Americans who are ready to enlist in our war against poverty. They have skills and dedication. They are badly needed. If the State requests them, if the community needs and will use them, we will recruit and train them and give them the chance to serve. Fourth, we intend to create new opportunities for certain hard-hit groups to break out of the pattern of poverty. 378 Lyndon B. John. Through a new program of loans and guarantees we can provide incentives to those who will employ the unemployed. Through programs of work and retraining for unemployed fathers and mothers we can help them support their families in dignity while preparing themselves for new work. Through funds to purchase needed land, organize cooperatives, and create new and adequate family farms we can help those whose life on the land has been a struggle without hope. Fifth, I do not intend that the war against poverty become a series of uncoordinated and unrelated efforts-that it perish for lack of leadership and direction. Therefore this bill creates, in the Executive Office of the President, a new Office of Economic Opportunity. Its Director will be my personal Chief of Staff for the War against poverty. I intend to appoint Sargent Shriver to this post. He will be directly responsible for these new programs. He will work with and through existing agencies of the government. This program-the Economic Opportunity Act-is the foundation of our war against poverty. But it does not stand alone. For the past three years this government has advanced a number of new proposals which strike at important areas of need and distress. I ask the Congress to extend those which are already in action, and to establish those which have already been proposed. There are programs to help badly distressed areas such as the Area Redevelopment Act, and the legislation now being prepared to help Appalachia. There are programs to help those without training find a place in today's complex society-such as the Manpower Development son, I963-1964 Mar. i6 [2i9] Training Act and the Vocational Education Act for youth. There are programs to protect those who are specially vulnerable to the ravages of poverty-hospital insurance for the elderly, protection for migrant farm workers, a food stamp program for the needy, coverage for millions not now protected by a minimum wage, new and expanded unemployment benefits for men out of work, a Housing and Community Development bill for those seeking decent homes. Finally there are programs which help the entire country, such as aid to education which, by raising the quality of schooling available to every American child, will give a new chance for knowledge to the children of the poor. I ask immediate action on all these programs. What you are being asked to consider is not a simple or an easy program. But poverty is not a simple or an easy enemy. It cannot be driven from the land by a single attack on a single front. Were this so we would have conquered poverty long ago. Nor can it be conquered by government alone. For decades American labor and American business, private institutions and private individuals have been engaged in strengthening our economy and offering new opportunity to those in need. We need their help, their support, and their full participation. Through this program we offer new incentives and new opportunities for cooperation, so that all the energy of our nation, not merely the efforts of government, can be brought to bear on our common enemy. Today, for the first time in our history, we have the power to strike away the bar 33-171-65-303 379 [219] Mar. I6 Public Papers of the Presidents riers to full participation in our society. Having the power, we have the duty. The Congress is charged by the Constitution to "provide... for the general welfare of the United States." Our present abundance is a measure of its success in fulfilling that duty. Now Congress is being asked to extend that welfare to all our people. The President of the United States is President of all the people in every section of the country. But this office also holds a special responsibility to the distressed and disinherited, the hungry and the hopeless of this abundant nation. It is in pursuit of that special responsibility that I submit this Message to you today. The new program I propose is within our means. Its cost of 970 million dollars is i percent of our national budget-and every dollar I am requesting for this program is already included in the budget I sent to Congress in January. But we cannot measure its importance by its cost. For it charts an entirely new course of hope for our people. We are fully aware that this program will not eliminate all the poverty in America in a few months or a few years. Poverty is deeply rooted and its causes are many. But this program will show the way to new opportunities for millions of our fellow citizens. It will provide a lever with which we can begin to open the door to our prosperity for those who have been kept outside. It will also give us the chance to test our weapons, to try our energy and ideas and imagination for the many battles yet to come. As conditions change, and as experience illuminates our difficulties, we will be prepared to modify our strategy. And this program is much more than a beginning. Rather it is a commitment. It is a total commitment by this President, and this Congress, and this nation, to pursue victory over the most ancient of mankind's enemies. On many historic occasions the President has requested from Congress the authority to move against forces which were endangering the well-being of our country. This is such an occasion. On similar occasions in the past we have often been called upon to wage war against foreign enemies which threatened our freedom. Today we are asked to declare war on a domestic enemy which threatens the strength of our nation and the welfare of our people. If we now move forward against this enemy-if we can bring to the challenges of peace the same determination and strength which has brought us victory in war-then this day and this Congress will have won a secure and honorable place in the history of the nation, and the enduring gratitude of generations of Americans yet to come. LYNDON B. JOHNSON NOTE: The draft bill and a section by section analysis were released with the President's message. They are printed in House Document 243 (88th Cong., 2d sess.). For the President's remarks upon signing the Economic Opportunity Act of I964, see Item 528. 380 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-1964 Mar. I6 [220] 220 Remarks on the Third Anniversary of the Alliance for Progress. March i6, 1964 Mr. Chairman and my friends: Thirty-one years ago this month Franklin Roosevelt proclaimed the policy of the good neighbor. Three years ago this month John Kennedy called for an Alliance for Progress among the American Republics.1 Today my country rededicates itself to these principles and renews its commitment to the partnership of the hemisphere to carry them forward. We meet as fellow citizens of a remarkable hemisphere. Here, a century and a half ago, we began the movement for national independence and freedom from foreign rule which is still the most powerful force in all the world. Here, despite occasional conflict, we have peacefully shared our hemisphere to a degree unmatched by any nation, anywhere. Here, and in this very room, we have helped create a system of international cooperation which Franklin Roosevelt called "the oldest and the most successful association of sovereign governments anywhere in the world." Here are 20 nations who, sharing the traditions and values of Western civilization, are bound together by a common belief in the dignity of man. Here are 20 nations who have no desire to impose a single ideology or system on anyone else, who believe that each country must follow its own path to fulfillment with freedom, who take strength from the richness of their diversity. So it is on this-this history and this accomplishment, these common values and this common restraint-that we base our hope for our future. Today those hopes center 'See "Public Papers of the Presidents, John F. Kennedy I96I," Item 78. largely on the Alliance for Progress that you are all so interested in. John F. Kennedy has been taken from us. The Alliance, however, remains a source for our faith, and a challenge to our capacity. The Alliance for Progress owes much to the vision of President Kennedy. But he understood that it flows from the desires and ideas of those in each of our countries who seek progress with freedom. In its councils, all nations sit as equals. This is the special significance of CIAP-the organization that we honor today. Through it, the Alliance will now be guided by the advice and the wisdom of men from throughout the hemisphere. It needs and is getting the best leadership that our continents have to offer. It has such leadership in Carlos Sanz de Santamaria, one of our most distinguished Americans. In the last 3 years we have built a structure of common effort designed to endure for many years. In those years much has been accomplished. Throughout Latin America new schools and factories, housing and hospitals have opened new opportunities. Nations have instituted new measures of land and tax reform, educational expansion, and economic stimulus and discipline. We are proud of these achievements. But as we take pride in what has thus far been done, our minds turn to the great unfinished business. Only by facing these shortcomings, only by fighting to overcome them, can we make our Alliance succeed in the years ahead. Let me make clear what I believe in. They are not failures of principle or failures of belief. The Alliance's basic principles of 38I t220] Mar. I6 Public Papers of the Presidents economic development, of social justice, of human freedom, are not only the right path, they are the only path for those who believe that both the welfare and the dignity of man can advance side by side. To those who prize freedom, there just simply is no alternative. There is no magic formula to avoid the complex and the sometimes painful and difficult task of basic social reform and economic advance. There is no simple trick that will transform despair into hope, that will turn misery and disease into abundance and health. Those who think that the path of progress in this hemisphere will be easy or painless are arousing false hopes and are inviting disappointment. The criticism which can give us new vigor and which must guide us is of those who share our beliefs, but offer us better ways to move toward better goals. We have learned much about the difficulties and the flaws of our Alliance in the past 3 years. We must today profit from this experience. With faith in our principles, with pride in our achievements, with the help of candid and constructive criticism, we are now prepared to move ahead with renewed effort and with renewed confidence. The first area of emphasis is increased cooperation-among ourselves, with other nations, with private and public institutions. We will continue our efforts to protect producing nations against disastrous price changes so harmful to their economies, and consumers against short supply and unfair price rises. We will intensify our cooperation in the use of our resources in the process of development. CIAP itself is an important step in that direction, and CIAP has our full support. But other institutions as well-the InterAmerican and World Bank, the private foundations and cooperatives, the savings in stitutions and sources of agricultural creditmust in every country focus their energies on the efforts to overcome the massive difficulties of capital shortage and hunger and lack of adequate educational facilities. So that my own country's participation in this cooperation might receive needed leadership and direction, I have given Secretary Mann, who enjoys my highest confidence, broad responsibility for our role in the Alliance. His appointment reflects my complete determination to meet all the commitments of the United States to the Alliance. Our pledge of substantial external help has been met in the past, and my administration will spare no effort to meet it in the future, and my confidence is reinforced by my knowledge that the people of the United States also support that commitment to our fellow Americans. We urge and we welcome the constructive contribution of developed nations outside this hemisphere. We believe in diversity in the modern world. We can all learn from one another. Capital, technical know-how, access to markets, fair prices for basic commodities -all of these will contribute to the rapid development which is the goal of all of us. But public funds are not enough. We must work together to insure the maximum use of private capital, domestic and foreign; without it, growth will certainly fall far behind. Such capital will respond to a stable prospect of fair earnings and a chance to create badly needed industry and business on a responsible and safe and sound basis. Those who destroy the confidence of risk capital, or deny it a chance to offer its energy and talent endanger the hopes of their people for a more abundant life, because our abundant life flows from that energy and from that talent that we have given a chance. The second area of emphasis is the area of 382 Lyndon B. Johnson, z963-1r964 Mar. i6 [220],self-help.. Progress cannot be created by forming international organizations. Progress cannot be imposed by foreign countries. Progress cannot be purchased with large amounts of money or even with large amounts of good will. Progress in each country depends upon the willingness of that country to mobilize its own resources, to inspire its own people, to create the conditions in which growth can and will flourish, for although help can come from without, success must come only from within. Those who are not willing to do that which is unpopular and that which is difficult will not achieve that which is needed or that which will be lasting. This is as true of my own country's fight against poverty and racial injustice as it is of the fight of others against hunger and disease and illiteracy-the ancient enemies of all mankind. By broadening education we can liberate new talents and energies, freeing millions from the bonds of illiteracy. Through land reform aimed at increased production, taking different forms in each country, we can provide those who till the soil with selfrespect and increased income, and each country with increased production to feed the hungry and to strengthen their economy. Fair and progressive taxes, effectively collected, can provide the resources that are needed to improve education and public health conditions and the social structure that is needed for economic growth. Measures ranging from control of inflation and encouragement of exports to the elimination of deficits in public enterprises can help provide the basis of economic stability and growth on which our Alliance can flourish. The third area of emphasis is the pursuit of social justice. Development and material progress are not ends in themselves. They are means to a better life and means to an increased opportunity for us all. They are the means for each to contribute his best talents and each to contribute his best desires. They are the means to the full dignity of man, for the Alliance for Progress is a recognition that the claims of the poor and the oppressed are just claims. It is an effort to fulfill those claims while at the same time strengthening democratic society and maintaining the liberty of man. So, no matter how great our progress, it will lack meaning unless every American from the Indian of the Andes to the impoverished farmer of Appalachia can share in the fruits of change and growth. Land reform, tax changes, educational expansion, the fight against disease-all contribute to this end. Everything else that we must do must be shaped by these guiding principles. In these areas-cooperation and self-help and social justice-new emphasis can bring us closer to success. At the same time, we must protect the Alliance against the efforts of communism to tear down all that we are building. The recent proof of Cuban aggression in Venezuela is only the latest evidence of those intentions. We will soon discuss how best we can meet these threats to the independence of us all. But I now, today, assure you that the full power of the United States is ready to assist any country whose freedom is threatened by forces dictated from beyond the shores of this continent. Let me now depart for a moment from my main theme to speak of the differences that have developed between Panama and the United States. Our own position is clear, and it has been from the first hour that we learned of the disturbances. The United States will meet with Panama any time, anywhere, to discuss anything, to work together, to cooperate with, 383 [220] Mar. i6 Public Papers of the Presidents each other, to reason with one another, to review and to consider all of our problems together, to tell each other all our opinions, all our desires, and all our concerns, and to aim at solutions and answers that are fair and just and equitable without regard to the size or the strength or the wealth of either nation. We don't ask Panama to make any precommitments before we meet, and we intend to make none. Of course, we cannot begin on this work until diplomatic relations are resumed, but the United States is ready today, if Panama is ready. As of this moment, I do not believe that there has been a genuine meeting of the minds between the two Presidents of the two countries involved. Press reports indicate that the Government of Panama feels that the language which has been under consideration for many days commits the United States to a rewriting and to a revision of the I903 treaty. We have made no such commitment and we would not think of doing so before diplomatic relations are resumed and unless a fair and satisfactory adjustment is agreed upon. Those of us who have gathered here today must realize that we are the principal guardians of the Alliance for Progress. But the Alliance is not here, and it is not in office buildings and it is not in meeting rooms in Presidential mansions throughout the hemisphere. The Alliance is in the as pirations of millions of farmers and workers, of men without education, of men without hope, of poverty-stricken families whose homes are the villages and the cities of an entire continent. They ask simply the opportunity to enter into the world of progress and to share in the growth of the land. From their leaders, from us, they demand concern and compassion and dedicated leadership and dedicated labor. I am confident that in the days to come we will be able to meet those needs. It will not be an easy task. The barriers are huge. The enemies of our freedom seek to harass us at every turn. We are engaged in a struggle for the destiny of the American Republics, but it was a great poet, William Butler Yeats, who reminded us that there was doubt if any nation can become prosperous unless it has national faith. Our Alliance will prosper because I believe we do have that faith. It is not idle hope but the same faith that enabled us to nourish a new civilization in these spacious continents, and in that new world we will carry forward our Alliance for Progress in such a way that men in all lands will marvel at the power of freedom to achieve the betterment of man. Thank you. NOTE: The President spoke at II:50 p.m. at the Pan American Union. His opening words "Mr. Chairman" referred to Carlos Sanz de Santamars'a, Chairman of the Inter-American Committee on the Alliance for Progress. 22I Remarks to the Labor Advisory Council to the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity. March i6, i964 I AM glad to meet with you gentlemen and to express our pleasure over your agreement to serve on this newly created Labor Advisory Council. Most of you met with us 3 years ago, just after President Kennedy created the President's Committee which I chaired. I said then that there was no more important job in the world than the one we 384 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963pi964 Mar. i6 [22I] were starting to work on and I told you that the President's Committee was not going to be just a showcase. Our activities and achievements have borne that out. We have accomplished more to bring about true equality for all of our citizens than during any comparable period in our history. As leaders of the American trade union movement, and as individuals dedicated to improving the living and working conditions of our work force, you have been deeply concerned with the people of this country as individuals. You have always sought to help and protect the underdog. That is something you can be mighty proud of. In the time I met Bill Schnitzler here at the White House when this committee was first started 3 years ago, up to this moment, we have made great progress. Back in the 1930's you fought hard, every one of you, to correct the inequities suffered by those you represent and the labor movement wasn't very big during that period. But during the I940's and I950's you came along and helped us win two wars and achieve the stability that this country now enjoys to make us the outstanding country in all of the world. You have struggled to improve further the conditions of the American worker until he has the highest standard of living in history and it is still not high enough. We sent a poverty bill message to the Congress today. President Roosevelt talked about the onethird that were ill clad, ill fed, and ill housed 30 years ago. We have moved that down to one-fifth earning less than $3,000 per family now. But we hope, in our time and in the days ahead, that we can move that onefifth down to one-tenth. And wouldn't it be wonderful if we could make it onetwentieth? Now in the i960's there is another voice on the American scene-echoing in many ways the same grievances you voiced in the i930's. This is the voice of millions of Americans who do not share in this period of our greatest prosperity, the one family out of five which still lives in the long shadow of poverty, deprivation, and unemployment. The movement toward equal opportunity is especially important in terms of the labor movement, which rests on the proposition that men are free to unite to better their economic circumstances. So, it is our responsibility-yours in labor and ours in Government-to encourage others to exercise those rights and responsibilities which have been built into our system over the years. The time of positive provisions for segregated unions in union constitutions is long since past, and I think you are helping to write nondiscrimination clauses into more and more of your contracts every day. We know that you cannot always tell your local unions what to do-as a corporation president can tell his plant manager. But all of you are persuasive or you would not be where you are in your unions today and you would not be here today. Our efforts will succeed only with the active support of the American labor movement. You have already done much in this cause. Over the years our minority citizens have not had a better or truer friend than labor, not only to help them get jobs, but to help prevent discrimination. This friendship is evidenced by the programs for fair practices which have been signed by unions representing more than i21/2 million workers. Over one million other workers represented by AFL-CIO unions have not yet signed these pledges. I know that a great deal of work is being done to bring these unions into this program and I understand that some of them are preparing to sign up 385 [22I] Mar. I6 Public Papers of the Presidents shortly. This is another area where your advice and assistance will be helpful. I also want to tell you how much we appreciate the strong support the AFL-CIO and its affiliates are giving the civil rights bill. With your help we will enact that bill, because it is the right thing and the responsible thing to do. This bill will provide the Federal fair employment practices and other needed protection that will make opportunity more equal-but our task will not be finished when it is passed. We will never have the kind of fair employment we are talking about until we have full employment. Our goal is not to reach equality in jobs by spreading unemployment, or to replace men who are now working with those who are unemployed. We must provide more jobs for all. We must provide enough jobs for all. I want you to know my complete commitment to that goal. It was one of the first goals I set after I took office last November. We have benefited all Americans by enacting the tax cut and by the expanded Manpower Training Act. We are about to take another step through the legislation that will be proposed to expand our war on poverty. And if further action is needed, you can be sure that we will take it. I know that Mr. Meany is looking forward-just as I am-to a closer, more effective and fruitful relationship between the President's Committee and the AFL-CIO through this Advisory Council. It is the joint obligation of the Federal Government, of labor, and of industry to move this Nation toward the day when the full talents and energies of each of our citizens will be used. With your help I know that our pledges will become practices and our goals accomplishments. Thank you. NOTE: The President spoke at 4 p.m. in the Fish Room at the White House. In the third paragraph he referred to William F. Schnitzler, SecretaryTreasurer of the AFL-CIO and a member of the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity, which first met at the White House on April II, i96i. In the closing paragraph the President referred to George Meany, President of the AFL-CIO. Formation of the Labor Advisory Council was announced earlier on March i6, I964. The Council, composed of i6 international labor union presidents, advises the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity on labor union matters and assists in the implementation of the Union Programs for Fair Practices (see "Public Papers of the Presidents, John F. Kennedy 1962," Item 509). 222 Letter to the Speaker Urging House Action on Federal Pay Legislation. March I7, I964 Dear Mr. Speaker: I urge the House to reconsider and approve legislation to increase pay levels of Government employees. If the pay raise is not enacted, it will -deprive 2 million Federal workers of fair and reasonable pay adjustments; -make it difficult to recruit and retain top-flight men and women; -impair my efforts to achieve true economy in government. Specifically, failure to take this action will -undercut the principle and the promise of comparable pay-Federal career pay scales comparable to those in private enterpriseadopted by the Congress just a year and a half ago in the historic Federal Salary Reform Act of i962; -thwart our efforts to strengthen professional and technical leadership and step up the productivity of Federal workers. Competence is the keystone of that program. 386 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-I964 Mar. 17 [2231 Fair salaries are vital to attract and hold competent people. -make it harder than ever to recruit and hold the outstanding people we need for our top policy jobs. They already earn lessoften far less-than they did earn, or could earn, in private jobs. This salary gap has been growing. The proposed bill will not close it. But it will reverse a dangerous trend. -jeopardize increases in military pay which I have recommended to keep Armed Forces pay generally in line with nonmilitary salaries; -renew pressures for the old approach of flat percentage increases for postal and other career workers. Such increases destroy a fair and rational pay system. Every cent for these increases is already included in my budget for Fiscal Year I965 -the smallest budget, in proportion to our national output, since I951. Congress and the country surely support my determined drive for economy in Government. To make that policy work, I need first-class managers-who can tighten organizations, simplify procedures, trim waste, and inspire maximum effort. It is false economy to offer salaries that will attract the mediocre but repel the talented. Business, foundations, universities, State and local governments are all learning that lesson-or already have. If Congressmen feel they should postpone increasing their salaries until next year, even though they are most deserving of an increase in pay, there is no reason to postpone equitable and just action for others who serve the Government and the Nation. I need your help in my program to get a dollar's worth of value for every dollar's worth of pay-and the dollars paid to attract brains and ability to the Federal service will come back to the American people many times over in more economical and effective government. I am sending a copy of this letter to the Honorable Carl Hayden, President Pro Tempore of the Senate. Sincerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON [Honorable John W. McCormack, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Washington, D.C.] NOTE: For the President's remarks upon signing the Government Employees Salary Reform Act of 1964, see Item 514. 223 White House Statement on the Situation in South Viet-Nam. March I7, 1964 SECRETARY McNamara and General Taylor, following their initial oral report of Friday, today reported fully to President Johnson and the members of the National Security Council. The report covered the situation in South Viet-Nam, the measures being taken by General Khanh and his government, and the need for United States assistance to supplement and support these measures. There was also discussion of the continuing support and direction of the Viet Cong insurgency from North Viet-Nam. At the close of the meeting the President accepted the report and its principal recommendations, which had the support of the National Security Council and Ambassador Lodge. Comparing the situation to last October, when Secretary McNamara and General Taylor last reported fully on it, there have unquestionably been setbacks. The Viet Cong have taken maximum advantage of 387 [223] Mar. I7 Public Papers of the Presidents two changes of government, and of more long-standing difficulties, including a serious weakness and over-extension which had developed in the basically sound hamlet program. The supply of arms and cadres from the north has continued; careful and sophisticated control of Viet Cong operations has been apparent; and evidence that such control is centered in Hanoi is clear and unmistakable. To meet the situation, General Khanh and his government are acting vigorously and effectively. They have produced a sound central plan for the prosecution of the war, recognizing to a far greater degree than before the crucial role of economic and social, as well as military, action to ensure that areas cleared of the Viet Cong survive and prosper in freedom. To carry out this plan, General Khanh requires the full enlistment of the people of South Viet-Nam, partly to augment the strength of his anti-guerrilla forces, but particularly to provide the administrators, health workers, teachers, and others who must follow up in cleared areas. To meet this need, and to provide a more equitable and common basis of service, General Khanh has informed us that he proposes in the near future to put into effect a National Mobilization Plan that will provide conditions and terms of service in appropriate jobs for all able-bodied South Vietnamese between certain ages. In addition, steps are required to bring up to required levels the pay and status of the paramilitary forces and to create a highly trained guerrilla force that can beat the Viet Cong on its own ground. Finally, limited but significant additional equipment is proposed for the air forces, the river navy, and the mobile forces. In short, where the South Vietnamese Government now has the power to clear any part of its territory, General Khanh's new program is designed to clear and to hold, step by step and province by province. This program will involve substantial increases in cost to the South Vietnamese economy, which in turn depends heavily on United States economic aid. Additional, though less substantial, military assistance funds are also needed, and increased United States training activity both on the civil and military side. The policy should continue of withdrawing United States personnel where their roles can be assumed by South Vietnamese and of sending additional men if they are needed. It will remain the policy of the United States to furnish assistance and support to South Viet-Nam for as long as it is required to bring Communist aggression and terrorism under control. Secretary McNamara and General Taylor reported their overall conclusion that with continued vigorous leadership from General Khanh and his government, and the carrying out of these steps, the situation can be significantly improved in the coming months. 224 Remarks in New York City at a Dinner of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick. March I7, i964 Mr. Moran, Your Eminence, Reverend Clergy, Deputy Mayor Cavanagh, my old and dear friend Jim Farley, my fellow Americans: I woke up this morning and suddenly realized that the Irish have taken over the Government-and I like it. The Speaker of the House of Representatives is a dis 388 Lyndon B. Johnson, t963-1964 Mar. I7 [224] tinguished Irishman from Boston named John McCormack. The very effective Majority Leader of the United States is an Irishman from Montana, Mike Mansfield. And wherever I turn all day long there are Ken O'Donnell and Larry O'Brien-and Dave Powers and Dick Maguire, and John Bailey and George Reedy and Ralph Dungan, the White House Chapter of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick! I am convinced that the English claim a prior excellence in the parliamentary system. There is no doubt in my mind that nothing could have been started until the Irish invented politics. So, my good friends, I greet you tonight not only as President of the United States, but as an Irishman by osmosis. This is supposed to be a nonpartisan gathering, so I won't mention the fact that the Democratic Party is peaceful these days. As a matter of fact, it is so peaceful, the Irish may move to the Republican Party where the feuding is really going on. Some of you may be old enough to remember the classic story that President Roosevelt used to tell back in 1938. It involved two feuding Irish societies whose principal goal in life was to hold parades and to break up each other's parades. The prime instrument of the parade in those days was a big bass drum. By sheer good fortune, one of the societies acquired a beautiful new drum, bigger and better than anything that they had ever seen, even in old Ireland. It came time for the poverty stricken group to hold its parade. Now, Irishmen are generous, and they expect generosity from each other, so the leader of the poor society went to his wealthier brethren and asked for the loan of the great big drum. He was told that he could have it on one condition. "Now listen, Mike, you are welcome to the drum, but it cost us a lot of money and we could never replace it. So we are lending it to you on your personal honor that you take it out of the parade before you reach the corner of O'Connell Street because that is where we will be laying for you." There must be more O'Connell Streets in New Hampshire than there are in Dublin! It always makes me a bit wary to be the last speaker on any program. Even the most attentive can get a bit weary. I remember once back in my home country a preacher was vexed because one of his congregation always went to sleep in the midst of the sermon. One Sunday while he was giving the devil fits, sure enough his sleeping worshiper was snoring gently in the front row. The preacher determined he would fix this character and fix him once and for all. So in a whisper he asked the congregation, "All who want to go to heaven, please rise." As one man, they all got to their feet except the front-row dozer. He kept snoring on. Then the preacher shouted at the top of his voice, "All those who want to be with the devil, please rise." The sleepyhead came awake with a start. He jumped to his feet. He saw the preacher standing tall and angry in the pulpit, and he said, "Well, Preacher, I don't know what it is we are voting on, but it looks like you and me are the only ones for it." It has been some years since Oscar Wilde observed that the idea that America is a young nation is indeed our oldest tradition. We have built strongly and we have preserved wisely. Most of all, we have protected intact the same constitutional government for almost two centuries. We are one of the youngest nations in the world, with one of the oldest governments in the world. So it is an uncommon distinction for me to speak to an assembly that was organized 389 [2241 Mar. I7 Public Papers of the Presidents before the American Constitution was even written. If I am correctly informed, the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick chose for its first President in I784 a very fine Presbyterian gentleman. Perhaps that accounts no less for your longevity than it does for your prosperity. But the observance of St. Patrick's Day is as old in America as the Irish themselves and some say that they actually arrived in the sixth century. Although St. Patrick's Day owes its origin to Irish history, it has always seemed to me one in which America shares in a very direct sense. The Irish came to America because America was the land of hope, and the land of freedom, and the land of opportunity. They came in strange and unfamiliar vessels to leave a land that they loved and to brave a hazardous journey over a vast and stormy ocean, but they had a dream, a dream of freedom and dignity, a dream that a chance for a man to be a man and to maintain his family with pride, and this dream carried them through every hardship and through every disappointment. Boston might not be Londonderry, and the Hudson might not be the River Shannon, but here a man could hold his head as high as any other, and worship his God as he chose, without ever accounting to a soldier with a bayonet-and there was opportunity, abundant opportunity for a people of gay courage and a people of boundless optimism. And even though very few of my ancestors ever walked by the shores of Killarney or heard the lilt of the Irish pipes, I, too, feel very much a part of this day because this is the kind of land that I want and the kind of a land I want to leave for my children. This is why my ancestors crossed the seas and the mountains and the endless arid plains. This is why every American re gardless of his creed can bow his head in a moment of reverence on St. Patrick's Day. In the days that have passed since I assumed this office, on a day that will live in cruel tragedy, I have found our Nation's greatest strength lies in the dream of America-America the land of hope, America the land of opportunity. All the slings and arrows of our opponents in the world have never succeeded in destroying that image. Whenever and wherever we are cursed, it is basically because the people have been misled into believing that we have strayed somehow from our dream. To me, nothing is more important than to maintain this as a land of compassion where the sick of body can find assistance and the sick of heart can always find hope. All of our programs and all of our proposals and all of our actions, both at home and abroad, must measure up to that ideal; and when we talk of American ideals our thoughts must be tonight of President Kennedy. Three months ago, I had the saddest possible honor to confer on him posthumously, along with another great John, Pope John XXIII, the highest civil honor ever awarded by the President of the United States. I would like to read you tonight just a portion of the citation which I read on that occasion: "John Fitzgerald Kennedy, thirty-fifth President of the United States, soldier, scholar, statesman, defender of freedom, pioneer for peace, author of hope-combining courage with reason, and combating hate with compassion, he led the land he loved toward new frontiers of opportunity." John Kennedy was not the first Irishman to die in the cause of freedom, and he will not be the last. So I say to you tonight, let us never depart from the American ideal, 390 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-I964 Mar. I7 [224] the kind of America we want, the kind of America that John Kennedy wanted us to have: An America that is renowned not so much for its might as it is for its morality; an America that is seeking justice at home and seeking peace with all nations; An America that is committed always to the force of law instead of to the law of force; an America proud of its unity, but ashamed of attempts at uniformity; An America that would remember the weak and the unfortunate; an America that would regard the existence of poverty as a challenge to be actively overcome and to do something about, instead of a social problem to be passively and privately endured; An America where the humblest citizen can speak his piece and write his thoughts and worship his God without the heavy hand of bias or government barring his purpose or his hearing a knock on the bedroom door at midnight; An America that is both prudent and progressive, that is both frugal and courageous; an America that is eager to redeem its promissory notes of equal citizenship, ashamed that they are so long overdue, and determined that never again will they be discounted or denied in the treasury of the American conscience; An America that would always remember that in a world of power politics, smaller nations can often have the power of ideas; an America that would want the assistance of allies, but never the support of satellites; An America that would use its strength to increase the hopes of peace, never using the language of arrogance to others nor whispering the language of fear to itself. It would be an America that would set the healing and the reconciliation of nations far above all other prizes; an America that is powerful without a trace of belligerence; an America that is faithful to its own national ideals without ever trying to be a moral censor to other nations; an America whose strength would save us from defeat and whose wisdom would protect us from appeasement, whose justice would save us from failure in the high enterprises of democracy where compassion is an example for the other ii9 nations in the world; an America whose leadership would save us from disenchantment in the search for a just and an enduring peace. Our exertions can make America an example of the rightness of our cause and bring its promise of peace someday to all the world. So in this spirit and in honor of all who share it, in memory of those who died for it, I am honored and proud to come tonight to extend to you the greetings of this day. As I bid you good night, I offer you this ancient Gaelic toast: "May the road ever rise to meet you, May the wind ever be at your back. May you safely be in heaven at least one hour before the devil knows you're gone; And may the good Lord always hold you in the hollow of his hand." NOTE: The President spoke in the Grand Ballroom at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. In his opening words he referred to Eugene F. Moran, Jr., president of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, His Eminence Francis Cardinal Spellman, Archbishop of New York, Edward F. Cavanagh, Jr., Deputy Mayor of New York, and James Farley, former Postmaster General and former chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Later he referred to P. Kenneth O'Donnell and Lawrence F. O'Brien, Special Assistants to the President, David F. Powers, Special Assistant in the White House Office, Richard Maguire, treasurer, and John M. Bailey, chairman, of the Democratic National Committee, George E. Reedy, Special Assistant to the President who would soon become Press Secretary to the President, and Ralph A. Dungan, Special Assistant to the President. 39I [225] Mar. i8 Public Papers of the Presidents 225 Telephone Conversation With the President of the National Farmers' Union. March i8, i964 JAMES G. PATTON, President, National Farmers' Union: Hello, Mr. President. THE PRESIDENT. Jim, how are you? Mr. Patton: Fine. How are you, sir? THE PRESIDENT. Fine. Mr. Patton: It is wonderful to talk to you, and we have a great Farmers' Union Convention out here, and all of our people send you their love and regards. THE PRESIDENT. Thank you. Mr. Patton: Mr. President, I just want to say one other thing, and that is that we feel we have a great friend in you and that we need your help very much in relation to farm income, and you have certainly been very helpful in going up to that House to get that wheat and cotton bill through. THE PRESIDENT. Thank you, Jim. We are working mighty hard on it. I would have enjoyed being there with you but often a President in the press of duty must forego invitations that he would like to accept. My visit with you at your Washington Convention in I96IMr. Patton: Yes, you did and we were very pleased. THE PRESIDENT. is still a very warm memory with me. Mr. Patton: Thank you, sir, and we think you are doing a fine job, Mr. President. And we are also happy that you have declared war on poverty, because there is a lot of poverty in rural America and, of course, anything that you can do to help us get more income will help on the poverty thing, too. THE PRESIDENT. We have poverty hearings going on now. We also have the food stamp plan. We have a rule pending there, and we hope we can get to the wheat and cotton bill following that. The only thing we need are some votes. Mr. Patton: Well, we are going to try to help to get some. We sent some 6oo telegrams the other night, Mr. President, from this convention. We just want you to know that we are going to do our best to be helpful to you now and in the future. THE PRESIDENT. I was born on a small tenant farm and my roots and my interests are very much a part of agriculture. I think I know firsthand the problems of the drought, and of the flood, and of disease and infection, and I know something about the needs of rural America. I think that those needs could best be served if we could pass this poverty bill as it has been introduced and pass the wheat-cotton bill as the Senate passed it, and we are going to do our dead level best to get those two actions taken in the House in the next month. Mr. Patton: Thank you, Mr. President, and our convention gives you our very best. Thank you for calling. THE PRESIDENT. Thank you, Jim, and my best to all of you fellows. Mr. Patton: Thank you very much. THE PRESIDENT. Goodby. NOTE: The President spoke at 3:30 p.m. from his office at the White House. The convention of the National Farmers' Union was held in St. Paul, Minn., March 15-I9, in the St. Paul Auditorium. 392 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-i964 Mar. i9 [227] 226 Letter to Secretary Dillon on the Need for Coordinating Federal Actions in the Field of Bank Regulation. March i8, i964 [ Released March i8, i964. Dated March 2, I964 ] Dear Mr. Secretary: I am concerned about reports of a lack of coordination of action and procedures among the Federal agencies charged with the responsibility for the regulation of banks. I am sure that when two or three agencies have overlapping or coordinate statutory responsibilities, as is the case in the area of bank regulation, there will be differences of opinion. These may take the form of conflicting legal opinions or of differences on matters of policy. To the extent that each of these agencies has been granted authority directly by Congress, each enjoys consid erable independence of action in this field. Nevertheless, from a standpoint of overall public policy, it is important that they follow orderly procedures and that all agencies work together to try to accommodate the views of the others. I am directing you, as the chief financial officer of this administration, to establish procedures which will insure that every effort is made by these agencies to act in concert and compose their differences. Sincerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON [Honorable Douglas Dillon, Secretary of the Treasury, Washington, D.C.] 227 Special Message to the Congress on Foreign Aid. March i9, i964 To the Congress of the United States: The most important ingredient in the development of a nation is neither the amount nor the nature of foreign assistance. It is the will and commitment of the government and people directly involved. To those nations which do commit themselves to progress under freedom, help from us and from others can provide the margin of difference between failure and success. This is the heart of the matter. The proposals contained in this message express our self-interest at the same time that they proclaim our national ideals. We will be laying up a harvest of woe for us and our children if we shrink from the task of grappling in the world community with poverty and ignorance. These are the grim recruiting sergeants of Communism. They flourish wherever we falter. If we default on our obligations, Communism will expand its ambitions. That is the stern equation which dominates our age, and from which there can be no escape in logic or in honor. NO WASTE, NO RETREAT It is against our national interest to tolerate waste or inefficiency or extravagance in any of these programs. But it is equally repugnant to our national interest to retreat from our obligations and commitments while freedom remains under siege. We recognize that the United States can 393 [227] Mar. 19 Public Papers of the Presidents not and should not sustain the burden of these programs alone. Other nations are needed in this enterprise of mutual help. Encouraging signs exist that the process of sharing the burden is steadily growing. The best way for the United States to stimulate this growth and to broaden this partnership in freedom is to make our own example an incentive to our friends and allies. We need the assurance of stability and progress in a world restless with many dangers and anxieties. PRUDENT AND RESPONSIBLE PROGRAMS In this program we do not seek to cover the whole world. Aid on a world-wide scale is no part of our purpose. We seek instead, through prudent and responsible programs, to help carefully selected countries whose survival in freedom is essential-and whose collapse would bring new opportunities for Communist expansion. There are no easy victories in this campaign. But there can be sudden disasters. We cannot ask for a reprieve from responsibility while freedom is in danger. The vital interests of the United States require us to stay in the battle. We dare not desert. Economic and military assistance, used at the right time and in the right way, can provide indispensable help to our foreign policy in enabling the United States to influence events instead of merely reacting to them. By committing a small part of our resources before crises actually occur, we reduce the danger and frequency of those crises. Our foresight becomes a shield against misfortune. The recommendations contained in this program for fiscal year I965 are designed to move the aid-program in that direction. They reflect views and experience of the Congress, of the Executive Branch and of informed private citizens. FIVE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS FOR A SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM FIRST: The request for funds must be realistic. For economic assistance, new authorizations of $917 Million for Fiscal I965 are recommended. Specifically, I recommend $335 Million for Supporting Assistance, $225 Million for Technical Cooperation, $I34 Million for Contributions to International Organizations, $I50 Million for the President's Contingency Fund, and $73 Million for Administrative and Miscellaneous Expenses. For military assistance, I recommend that the Congress provide a continuing authorization, subject to an annual review of each year's proposals by the authorizing committees in both houses. For fiscal I965, I recommend no additional authorizations for the Alliance for Progress or for development lending assistance in Asia or Africa. Existing authorizations for these programs are adequate. The appropriations recommended for fiscal I965 total $I Billion for military assistance and $2.4 Billion for economic assistance. In fiscal I964, the initial request was $4.9 Billion, later reduced to $4.5 Billion. This fiscal year, the request of $3.4 Billion is $I.I Billion less than last year's request, although about the same as was available last year, taking into consideration the unexpended balance from the year before. Moreover, more than 80% of aid funds will be spent in the U.S. The impact of the program on our balance of payments will be less than ever before. 394 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 Mar. i9 [227] INSURANCE TO AVOID COMMITTING AMERICAN MEN TO WAR These requests reflect a determination to continue to improve the aid program both in concept and administration. The overall request represents a great deal of moneybut it is an amount which we should, in all prudence, provide to serve essential United States interests and commitments throughout the world. More than one million American men in uniform are now stationed outside the United States. As insurance to avoid involving them and the nation in a major conflict, we propose to spend through aid programs less than 4 cents out of every tax dollar. If there is any alternative insurance against war, it might be found in an increase in the defense budget. But that would require not only many times more than $3.4 Billion, for a military budget which already takes more than 50 cents out of every tax dollar, but also a several-fold increase in our own military manpower. The foreign assistance requested will provide -the crucial assistance we have promised the people of Latin America who are committed to programs of economic and social progress; -continued economic development in India, Pakistan and Turkey under the major international aid-consortia to which we are a party; -the United States share of voluntary contributions to the United Nations technical cooperation programs and to such special international programs as the work of the United Nations Children's Fund, and the development of the Indus Basin; -funds to meet our commitments to the freedom of the people of South Vietnam, Korea, and for the other obligations we have undertaken in Asia and Africa. SECOND: The funds I am requesting will be concentrated where they will produce the best results, and speed the transition from United States assistance to self-support wherever possible. Two-thirds of the proposed military assistance will go to i i nations along the periphery of the Sino-Soviet bloc, from Greece and Turkey through Thailand and Vietnam to the Republic of China and Korea. These funds are a key to the maintenance of over 3.5 million men under arms, raised and supported in large measure by the countries receiving the assistance. The need for supporting assistance-funds used primarily in countries facing defense or security emergencies-will continue to be reduced. Fourteen countries which received supporting assistance three years ago will receive none in fiscal year i965. Four-fifths of the present request will go to four countries: Korea, Vietnam, Laos and Jordan. Two-thirds of the development lending proposed for fiscal I965 (including Alliance for Progress lending) will be concentrated in six countries: Chile, Colombia, Nigeria, Turkey, Pakistan, and India. Funds for educational and technical cooperation-to help start schools, health centers, agricultural experiment stations, credit services and dozens of other institutions-are not concentrated in a few countries. But they will be used for selected projects to raise the ability of less fortunate peoples to meet their own needs. To carry out these projects we are seeking the best personnel available in the United States-in private agencies, in universities, in state and local governments, and throughout the federal government. Wherever possible, we will speed up the transition from reliance on aid to self-support. 395 [227] Mar. i9 Public Papers of the Presidents In I7 nations, the transition has been completed and economic aid has ended. Fourteen countries are approaching the point where soft economic loans and grants will no longer be needed. New funds for military equipment grants are being requested for seven fewer countries for fiscal i965 than for the present year. THIRD: We must do more to utilize private initiative in the United States-and in the developing countries-to promote economic development abroad. During the past year: -the first new houses financed by U.S. private funds protected by AID guarantees were completed in Lima, Peru. -the first rural electrification surveys, conducted by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association under contract to AID, were completed and the first rural electrification loan-in Nicaragua-was approved. -the first arrangement linking the public and private resources of one of our States to a developing country was established, between California and Chile. This effort must be expanded. Accordingly, we are encouraging the establishment of an Executive Service Corps. It will provide American businessmen with an opportunity to furnish, on request, technical and managerial advice to businessmen in developing countries. During the present year, the possibilities for mobilizing increased private resources for the development task will be developed by the Advisory Committee on Private Enterprise in Foreign Aid established under the Foreign Assistance Act of i963. In this connection, two specific legislative steps are recommended: One, legislation to provide a special tax credit for private investment by U.S. busi nessmen in less-developed countries. Two, additional authority for a final installment of the pilot program of guaranteeing private U.S. housing investments in Latin America. FOURTH: We will continue to seek greater international participation in aid. Other free world industrial countries have increased their aid commitments since the early I950's. There are indications that further increases are in store. Canada recently announced that it expects to increase its aid expenditures by 50% next year. A i963 British White Paper and a French official report published in January I964 point in the same direction. Other nations have reduced interest rates and extended maturities on loans to developing countries. Of major importance in this effort are the operations of the International Development Association. Under the agreement for replenishing the resources of this Association, which is now before the Congress for approval, other countries will put up more than $1.40 for every dollar the U.S. provides to finance on easy terms development projects certified as sound by the World Bankprojects which the developing countries could not afford to pay for on regular commercial terms. This is international sharing in the aid effort at its best. For to the extent we furnish funds to IDA, and they are augmented by the contributions of others, the needs of developing countries are met, thus reducing the amounts required for our own bilateral aid programs. Under the program before you the U.S. would be authorized to contribute $312 million over a three year period. Against this other countries have pledged $438 million which will be lost in the absence of the U.S. contribution. Action is needed now so that the Association may continue to 396 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 Mar. I9 [227] undertake new projects even though the first appropriation will not be required until FY I966. I urge the Congress to authorize U.S. participation in this continued IDA subscription. FIFTH: Let us insist on steadily increasing 1 efficiency in assistance operations. After careful study, I have decided to continue the basic organization of aid operations, established after intensive review in 196I. Economic assistance operations will continue to be centered in the Agency for International Development, military assistance operations in the Department of Defense. Both will be subject to firm foreign policy guidance from the Secretary of State. STEPS TO INCREASE EFFICIENCY OF AID One officer, Assistant Secretary of State Mann, has been assigned firm policy control over all aspects of our activities in Latin America. Full support will be given to the newlycreated Inter-American Alliance for Progress Committee which is designed to strengthen the aspect of partnership in the Alliance. The AID Administrator has instructions to embark on a major program to improve the quality of his staff-and to reduce the total number of AID employees by I,200 by the end of fiscal year 1965. The AID Administrator has been directed to continue to consolidate AID Missions with U.S. Embassies and, wherever possible, to eliminate altogether separate AID field missions. The Secretary of Defense has been directed to continue to make substantial reductions in the number of personnel assigned to Military Assistance Groups and Missions. In this connection, I recommend two specific legislative steps: One, legislation to provide the AID Administrator with authority to terminate a limited number of supervisory and policy making employees notwithstanding other provisions of law, and to extend the existing Foreign Service "selection out" authority to other personnel. This is essential if the Administrator is to carry out my desire-and that of the Congress-that he improve the quality of the AID staff, and at the same time, reduce its total size. Two, legislation to permit outstanding United States representation on the InterAmerican Alliance for Progress Committee under the leadership of Ambassador Teodoro Moscoso. Finally, I am appointing a general advisory committee, as suggested by Senator Cooper and others, on foreign economic and military assistance problems. It will be composed of distinguished private citizens with varied backgrounds and will serve as a continuing source of counsel to me. In addition to its general responsibility the Committee will examine aid programs in individual countries. These reviews will be made by members of the advisory committee, augmented as necessary by additional persons. I would hope that at least four or five country reviews, including two or three in Latin America, will be completed in the present year. A PROGRAM TO STRENGTHEN THE FAMILY OF THE FREE I am convinced this program will enable the United States to live in a turbulent world with a greater measure of safety and of honor. There is in our heart the larger and nobler hope of strengthening the family of the free, quite apart from our duty to disappoint the 397 [227] Mar. Ig Public Papers of the Presidents evil designs of the enemies of freedom. We wish to build a world in which the weak can walk without fear and in which even the smallest nation can work out its own destiny without the danger of violence and aggression. This program, based on the principle of mutual help, can make an essential contribution to these purposes and objectives which have guided our nation across the difficulties of these dangerous years. I recommend this program to the judg ment and the conscience of the Congress in the belief that it will enlarge the strength of the Free World-aid in frustrating the ambitions of Communist imperialism, -reduce the hazards of widespread conflict, and -support the moral commitment of free men everywhere to work for a just and peaceful world. LYNDON B. JOHNSON 228 Remarks at the i964 Democratic Congressional Dinner. March i9, i964 Mr. Chairman, my old friends Maggie Magnuson and Mike Kirwan, that fighting Democratic warrior Jim Farley, Mr. Speaker and Mrs. McCormack, Ambassador Stevenson, the outstanding chairmen of the committees of the House and Senate, my former colleagues in the Congress, my fellow Democrats: The valiant man who should have been here tonight would be the first to enjoy this occasion. An act of senseless terror took John Kennedy from us, but the system of government that he believed in and that he fought for and that he died for prevailed. That the country goes on, that the system is unshaken, only proves the rightness of the cause that he led and the cause that you supported. What we have to do is to remember our duty and try to do it by always putting our country first and our party second. I suppose I feel tonight like Abraham Lincoln felt when he said, "I shall do nothing through malice. What I deal with is too vast for malice." Not just because I am a Democrat, because I am an American, I am most proud to stand here tonight in the presence of the men and women of the 88th Congress. Tonight we honor the chairmen of the standing committees of the Senate and the House, and those who were first elected in I936. In so doing we make no narrow and petty discriminations as to party. It is just a most remarkable coincidence that those first elected in I936 and still serving tonight happen to be-just happen to be-all Democrats! The thing to be noted is not that they are all here this year, but the thing that we want to note and to remember is that they are all going to be back here next year. These men and the others of the 88th Congress have great reason to be proud. This Congress has done much for the prosperity of our Nation. Congress passed a tax bill. That bill puts an additional $25 million a day in the hands of the American taxpayers. It will create new jobs and new incomes and new payrolls, and I tell you tonight that the 398 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Mar. I9 [228] American economy is stronger than it has been at any time in your lifetime. Thanks to the men at the head table, and in this room, this Congress is the greatest education Congress in the history of the Republic. It has done more than any other for the education of our youth and for the training of our unskilled. It has made provision for more vocational training, better higher education, more libraries for our people. This Congress has done more for the common defense of freedom. Some of the largest authorization bills ever for defense have been passed and one will be signed tomorrow morning. Our military power was never more powerful. We are strong enough to win any war, and I hope that we are wise enough to prevent one. This historic Congress is well on its way to doing more than any other for the rights of all of our citizens. The equal rights bill has been passed by the House and we hope soon that the majority of the Senate will work its will so that every American citizen will have equality. This Government and this administration is determined and dedicated to protect the constitutional rights of every American citizen. This Congress has the opportunity to fight and to win the war on poverty. We have the opportunity for the first time in our history not only to fight poverty but to help eliminate it. It will not be done in a year or a day, or perhaps in this generation, but we have declared war on poverty and we will accept nothing less than total victory. This Congress has the opportunity to do what needs to be done for medical care. Medical assistance through social security is the sensible, is the prudent, is the enduring way to give older people a chance to take care of medical expenses with dignity and hope. This Congress has the opportunity to reverse the upward trend of Government spending. Our i965 budget cuts the deficit from last year by 50 percent. It reduces spending by almost $i billion. We are attacking waste and we are attacking inefficiency to give the American taxpayer a dollar's value for every dollar spent. This Congress has done more than any other Congress to protect the life of our Nation, to preserve the liberty of our people so that we may all pursue happiness with our family. Here and around the world we will pursue the cause of social justice. But let no one in the world be deceived. We will be more than fair to all, but if others choose to tread on us, they will always find us firm. With great pride I have come here tonight to salute the Democratic majority. With equal sincerity I salute those members of the Republican minority who are courageously supporting those programs for a better America. I say this because I have always believed that Democrats could be partisan without being blind. Tonight in honoring the great Democrats first elected to Congress in '36, we commemorate the year of our party's greatest victory. At the first Democratic Party dinner that year, the issue was put squarely with the President of the United States, that great leader Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He said that night, and I repeat tonight, "The real issue before the United States is the right of the average man and woman to lead a finer, a better and a happier life." For our people and for our party tonight, that is the issue: To do what we can to make sure that the average man and woman can 399 [228] Mar. I9 Public Papers of the Presidents lead a finer and a happier life and together with their children they can all look forward to a better deal. This has always been the basic purpose of the Democratic Party. But in these somber and confusing times, with their complexities, their challenges, and their change, it is all too easy for the individual to be forgotten, for the plight of the average man to be overlooked. But he must never be forgotten and his condition must never be ignored. We of the Democratic Party care what happens to the average family and we care what happens to all America. So let the people of this land understand tonight that the leadership of the Democratic Party knows what a long and lonely and sometimes uncertain journey it is for them from each payday to each payday, from each crop to the next crop. Let the people know that the Democrats understand that every need of the people is not economic, that every hope of the people is not material, that the average American aspires to lead a finer life, a happier life, a life richer in quality as well as quantity. Let the people know that the Democrats care not only about the tensions that exist around the world, but also about the anxieties that are alive here at home. In Panama or Guantanamo, in Cyprus or Viet-Nam or in Zanzibar, our traditional love of freedom will always be reflected, and our interests will also always be protected. We are not a foreign policy or a domestic policy party. America has no need for either alone. There are always priorities but they are never compartments. As the party of all the people, Democrats are dedicated to doing all the work that the well-being of our people may require whether it is at home or whether it is abroad. So I speak as I do tonight from a strong and a growing conviction that in this year of I964 there may well be a turning point in the conduct of our political affairs. I believe that the American people have had their fill of partisanship just for the sake of partisanship; that they have had enough of opposing just for opposition's sake. I believe that the people are weary and no longer enchanted by the frivolity and the transparent theatrics and the silly showmanship which has been grafted on to the election process. In that moment of cruel tragedy last November, we all saw that the American Presidency and all of the offices of American leadership are not prizes for partisans, but represent the greatness and the glory of the people themselves. So I believe that in that moment of nightmare, there was ignited a new flame of unity and seriousness and soberness of purpose as is reflected at this head table tonight, the like of which I have not seen in more than 30 years in Washington. I thank those men for coming here. I want our party to fan that flame, to lead and light the way for American democracy this year. With the record that you write in this Congress, with the platform that we are going to write at that convention, with the purpose we as a nation write in history, let us go to the people this year with a decent campaign, with a unifying campaign, with an inspiring campaign. Let us go and knock on every door. Let us go to those hard-working members of our own party. Let us go to those who have never been members of any party and to those who have grown weary of the divisions and the diversions of the other party. Let us invite all the people to unite with 400 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-I964 Mar. i9 [229] us, to work with us in this truly national party which is a stranger to no region, an open party closed to none, welcoming all; a unifying party which knows no color, knows no creed, knows no North, no South, no East, no West. I want to call on you tonight, not just one segment of our society but everyone in our society. Let our unmet needs be filled and our unfinished business be done, not just by the Federal Government but by all the State and local governments as well. Let labor and business and housewife and farmhand, and corporation and community, the farmer and the rancher on the land, and the worker in the suburb-let them all join with us in doing what needs to be done for this glorious land in which we live. Let free government, and free labor and free enterprise be partners in the creation of free and new opportunity, in the march of progress that is prudent, in the building of a 229 Letter to the President of the House Transmitting Reports March i9, i964 Dear Mr. Recognizing the continued interest by the Congress in advancing this Nation's program in oceanography, I am pleased to forward advance copies of two publications of the Federal Council for Science and Technology that set forth Government-wide plans and budget details. These reports, entitled "National Oceanographic Program, Fiscal Year i965, Parts I and II," contain an account of oceanic research to meet national goals, in keeping with the long range considerations previously submitted to the Congress. Informa prosperity that can be permanent, and in the search for peace that can be universal and secure. This is what I see for the Democratic Party in this year of turning-point decision. It is our duty, it is our obligation for our party to guide this Nation, to lead this Nation and through this Nation lead the rest of humanity in the world toward a finer life, as Mr. Roosevelt put it, toward a happier life, as the President put it, and toward a better deal for all of us. NOTE: The President spoke at 8:35 p.m. at the National Guard Armory in Washington, D.C. In his opening words he referred to John M. Bailey, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Senator Warren G. Magnuson of Washington State, Representative Michael J. Kirwan of Ohio, James A. Farley, former Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, who acted as toastmaster at the dinner, Speaker of the House and Mrs. John W. McCormack of Massachusetts, and Ambassador Adlai E. Stevenson, U.S. Representative to the United Nations. Senate and to the Speaker of the on Oceanographic Research. tion is also included concerning proposed funding for research, surveys, new ship and laboratory construction, and concerning program planning and coordination by the Council's Interagency Committee on Oceanography (ICO), to minimize unwitting duplication and program gaps. The proposed Federal budget in oceanography is $I38 million. This is II% more than Fiscal Year i964 appropriations, which in turn equalled those for Fiscal Year i963. This proposed growth is an absolute minimum if the country is to maintain the momentum necessary to achieve those objectives 401 [229] Mar. i9 Public Papers of the Presidents in oceanic research which have been previously enunciated by both President Kennedy and the Congress-to enhance our military defense; to develop marine mineral and fisheries resources; to control pollution; to predict more accurately storms and tides that endanger life and property; to assist state, national and international bodies in wise legislation and regulation of commerce on the sea; and to extend scientific knowledge generally. I especially should like to call attention to the Government-wide character of this program. Statutory responsibility for the conduct of related sectors are vested in a number of separate agencies. Special measures are thus being continued by the Office of Science and Technology and the Federal Council for Science and Technology, with the assistance of the ICO, to achieve effective interagency planning and coordination. Sincerely yours, LYNDON B. JOHNSON NOTE: This is the text of identical letters addressed to the Honorable Carl Hayden, President pro tempore of the Senate, and to the Honorable John W. McCormack, Speaker of the House of Representatives. The letter was made public as part of a White House release concerning the reports published as ICO Pamphlet No. 15, dated March i964 (50 PP., including Part I: Summary, Fiscal Year i965, and Part II: The Program and Its Cost). The release pointed out that the reports were the result of cooperative participation on the part of scientists, engineers, technicians, and administrative officers from numerous universities and industries, and from the State and National Governments. Dr. Donald F. Hornig, Director, Office of Science and Technology, served as Chairman of the Federal Council for Science and Technology, and James H. Wakelin, Jr., Assistant Secretary of the Navy, as Chairman of the Interagency Committee on Oceanography. 230 Remarks Upon Signing Bill Authorizing Appropriations for Defense Procurement and for Research and Development. March 20, i964 TODAY I am both gratified and sad. I am very grateful for the effective and patriotic work of the Armed Services Committees of the House and the Senate. This bill that I sign today is the largest separate fund authorization ever enacted by the Congress. It provides almost $I7 billion for the activities of the Defense Department. This bill authorizes over 2,700 aircraft, 35,000 missiles, 53 new ships, and 7 ship conversions. Senator Russell, Chairman Vinson, the entire Congress, particularly the members of the staffs of both Armed Services Committees, can draw from the passage of this bill the kind of pride that comes to men who have done something worthy and constructive for their country. But today I am also sad. I know the other gentlemen from Georgia will agree when I declare that this bill represents still another tribute to the wisdom and the dedication of a great and good man, Carl Vinson. This bill marks one of the final official acts of patriotism from a man whose entire life has been an exercise in patriotism. He has given 50 years to the Congress. No man in the history of this republic knows more about the posture of our defense, and no man has done more to improve it. I love him as a man; I respect him as a public servant. Carl Vinson cannot be replaced. He can only be honored. I know this Nation can continue to count on his advice and his counsel in the years ahead. I learned much from him as a member of the House Armed Services Committee, al 402 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-I964 Mar. 20 [:23II though I took my postgraduate work under Senator Russell in the Senate. It is a great honor for me to sign into law this bill which represents a large stride forward in the strengthening of our Nation's defense and which symbolizes the uncommon devotion of one man, Carl Vinson of Georgia, to his country. NOTE: The President spoke at ii a.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White House. In the second paragraph he referred to Senator Richard B. Russell of Georgia, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Representative Carl Vinson of Georgia, Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. The act authorizing appropriations to the Armed Forces for procurement and research is Public Law 88-288 (78 Stat. i67). 23I Letter to the President of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House Transmitting Report on the Water Resources Program. March 20, i964 Dear Mr. Recognizing the continued interest of the Congress in the Nation's water problems, I am pleased to transmit the accompanying report entitled "Federal Water Resources Research Program for Fiscal Year i965." This report of the Federal Council for Science and Technology sets forth agency plans and interagency coordination of water research programs contained in the budget. The report deals with an area which is essential to the future growth and well-being of the country. The importance of our water resources has been well recognized during the past four years in the Congress, the scientific community, and the public press, as well as in proposed legislation. Out of this attention has come the widely held conviction that in view of our growing water problems, increased attention and an effective research effort will be required of the Federal Government as well as the States, the universities, and private institutions. The accompanying report contains an account of the projected program in water resources research for Fiscal Year i965 which totals $72,464,ooo as compared with $7I,473,000 in the current fiscal year. The program and budget were developed under stringent budgetary constraints associated with my economy program in government, and therefore are considered the minimum effort consistent with the necessity for making progress in this area. The Federal program of water resources research involves the efforts of 25 agencies within five major Departments and three independent offices. Involved, therefore, are many cooperative interrelationships and joint undertakings. The research program is also closely related to programs concerned with agriculture, public and industrial water supplies, pollution control, fish and wildlife, and river basin planning. Thus, the report also deals with matters of coordination and administration designed to avoid possible program gaps or unwitting duplication. A substantial beginning has also been made at determining the scope of a long-range program which will be adequate to meet our needs, and to priorities which will give attention to the most urgent problems. I share the concerns of Congress regarding the growing water problems and, therefore, commend this report for your consideration in connection with the budget request and the need for new legislation to stimulate research in the field of water resources at the colleges and universities. The Office of Science and Technology and the Federal 313-171 6631-~ 403 [23i] Mar. 20 Public Papers of the Presidents Council for Science and Technology will continue to give this area the attention required to achieve and maintain effective interagency planning and coordination and an adequate effort in water resources research. Sincerely, LYND)ON B. JOHNSON NOTE: This is the text of identical letters addressed to the Honorable Carl Hayden, President pro ternpore of the Senate, and to the Honorable John W. McCormack, Speaker of the House of Representatives. The letter was made public as part of a White House release announcing the transmittal to the Congress of the first progress report of the Committee on Water Resources Research of the Federal Council for Science and Technology (Feb. i964, 65 pp., Government Printing Office). The report proposed an increase in expenditures for water research from $71,473,000 in fiscal year z964 to $72,464,000 in x965. It recommended studies ranging from highly theoretical research on the energy status of water molecules to such directly applicable matters as the amount of irrigation water 232 The President's News Conferen March 2 I) i 964 and best timing for efficient use in agriculture. It assigned high priorities to research in ground water, including an infiltration process and soil-plantwater relationships; to socioeconomic research; and to research in water quality. Dr. Donald F. Hornig served as Chairman of the Federal Council for Science and Technology, and William C. Ackermann as Chairman of the Committee on Water Resources. On August I the White House announced a further step in the field of water resources research. A White House release of that date stated that the President met with his Science Adviser to discuss plans for U.S. participation in the International Hydrological Decade- a worldwide effort to advance knowledge o~f water. The program, beginning in x965, would involve the establishment of stations and networks throughout the world to measure and track water in the hydrologic cycle from rain to the underground water table and eventually back to the atmosphere. The release stated that the President pledged support of the International Hydrological Decade studies by Government agencies and that he urged cooperation on the part of the universities and scientific societies. THE PRESIDENT. Is it all right with you folks if I monitor your press conference? 1 [Ii.] I am sending this afternoon a statemnent to the President of the OAS which may be of some interest to you. I will have copies made of it as soon as we can complete them. The statement reads: "The present inability to resolve our differences with Panama is the source of deep regret. [At this point the President presented background material. He then resumed reading the statement.] "Our two countries are not linked by only a single agreement or a single interest. We are bound together in an Inter-American System whose objective is, in the words of the charter, 'through mutual understanding 'The President appeared unexpectedly during a news conference held at the White House by his Press Secretary, George E. Reedy. and respect for the sovereignty of each, to provide for the betterment of all.' "Under the many treaties and declarations which form the fabric of that system, we have long been allies in the struggle to strengthen democracy and enhance the welfare of our people. "Our history is witness to this essential unity of interest and belief. Panama has unhesitatingly come to our side, twice in this century, when we were threatened by aggression. On December 7, I941, Panama declared war on our attackers even before our own Congress had time to act. Since that war, Panama has wholeheartedly joined with us, and our sister republics, in shaping the agreements and goals of this continent. "We have also had a special relationship with Panama, for they have shared with us the benefits, the burden, and trust of main -404 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-I964 Mar. 2I [232] taining the Panama Canal as a lifeline of defense and a keystone of hemispheric prosperity. All free nations are grateful for the effort they have given to that task. "As circumstances change, as history shapes new attitudes and expectations, we have reviewed periodically this special relationship. "We are well aware that the claims of the Government of Panama, and of the majority of the Panamanian people, do not spring from malice or hatred of America. They are based on a deeply felt sense of the honest and fair needs of Panama. It is, therefore, our obligation as allies and partners to review these claims and to meet them, when meeting them is both just and possible. "We are ready to do this. "We are prepared to review every issue which now divides us, and every problem which the Panamanian Government wishes to raise. "We are prepared to do this at any time and at any place. "As soon as he is invited by the Government of Panama, our Ambassador will be on his way. We shall also designate a special representative. He will arrive with full authority to discuss every difficulty. He will be charged with the responsibility of seeking a solution which recognizes the fair claims of Panama and protects the interest of all the American nations in the Canal. We cannot determine, even before our meetings, what form that solution might best take. But his instructions will not prohibit any solution which is fair, and subject to the appropriate constitutional processes of both our governments. "I hope that on this basis we can begin to resolve our problems and move ahead to confront the real enemies of this hemispherethe enemies of hunger and ignorance, disease and injustice. I know President Chiari shares this hope. For, despite today's disagreements, the common values and interests which unite us are far stronger and more enduring than the differences which now divide us." A copy of that statement will be sent to His Excellency Juan Bautista de Lavalle, Chairman of the Council of the Organization of American States. I will be glad to have any questions, if you have any. Q. Mr. President, sir, do you feel that the American people outside the Washington area back up your stand onTHE PRESIDENT. I am not going to make any evaluation of the American people outside the Washington area. I haven't conducted any polls on it, and I don't know what their opinion might be on any specific subject. Q. Mr. President, when you say his instructions will not bar any solution which is fair, would that include, sir, a renegotiation of the I903 treaty? THE PRESIDENT. This would mean just what the statement says. We will discuss any problem that divides us in any way, and then we will come up with a solution that is fair. Q. Has the Ambassador been chosen, Mr. President or would that be Ambassador Mann? THE PRESIDENT. No, we would select a special representative. Q. Mr. President, before you get around to issuing the statement, could we have thatto put it up on the bulletin board so we can dictate from it? THE PRESIDENT. I may want to use it to answer any questions. Q. I mean when the conference is over. THE PRESIDENT. Surely. Q. Mr. President, I understood you to say, sir, that our position now is just where it was 4o5 [232] Mar. 2i Public Papers of the Presidents when you first talked to the President of Panama. This is no new position? THE PRESIDENT. That is correct. Very shortly after the flag was not flown, and there was a march on the zone, and some of our soldiers were killed, I called the President of Panama and said that we have difficulties and problems, disagreements, obviously, and we are prepared to discuss those disagreements any time, anywhere, anyplace. He said, "When would your people be prepared to meet with mine?" I said, "They will leave here in 30 minutes." He said, "Very well." Since that time, although we have made very few public statements on it and we have tried and hoped that the OAS could work this out, and there have been a great many leaks back and forth, some of the stuff you call news interpretation, news analysis, and various things, some of which really took place and some of which was speculation, I think it is very important that the people of this hemisphere know that from the beginning, and now, just what this statement says: that we are willing and ready to discuss at any time, with any of their representatives, any problem, any difficulty, in a reasonable way, and to let only equity and justice determine what course we would take, subject to the constitutional processes. Q. Mr. President, what is the reason foi issuing the statement today? THE PRESIDENT. No reason. I am sending it over there. I didn't think you would object to hearing it. Q. No, I meant-I mean to the OAS. What is the reason for sending the statement to them now? THE PRESIDENT. So that we may reiterate our viewpoint and in some detail. Q. Mr. President, would you think that this statement might clear up any difference of interpretation they have THE PRESIDENT. I would not speculate on that. I am just making a statement and sending it over to the President of the OAS. What happens there, events will determine. I, of course, am hopeful that we can always reason out differences together, and that is one of the purposes of my expression. Q. Mr. President, don't formal diplomatic relations have to precede a discussion like this? THE PRESIDENT. Obviously. [2.] Q. Mr. President, on another subject, can you give us your reaction to the release by the Russians today of one of the American fliers shot down over East Germany? THE PRESIDENT. I don't think I have any comment on that. Talk to the Department about that. [3.] Q. Mr. President, can you enlighten us on what did go on last weekend involving the Panamanian negotiations? There have been a lot of conflicting reports, as you mentioned earlier. THE PRESIDENT. No, I am not sure that I know all that went on regarding it. So far as I know, our position at the beginning was what I just stated, and it still is. Up to this point there has been no meeting of the minds. [4.] Q. Mr. President, were you at all disturbed, sir, that Mr. Salinger only gave you a few hours' notice of his resignation? Second, do you agree with some — THE PRESIDENT. Let me answer one at a time. Q. I am sorry. THE PRESIDENT. No. The answer is no. That is, to the first question. What is the next one? I was not disturbed. 406 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963m-964 Mar. 2i [232] Q. Some of the newspapers have interpreted this as another sign that supporters of John Kennedy and Robert Kennedy are anxious to leave your administration. Do you agree with that, or have you seen any signs of that? THE PRESIDENT. The answer is no to that question. [5.] Q. Mr. President, can we have the Warren Commission open to the American public? Is there any reason why they cannot be? THE PRESIDENT. That is a matter for the Commission to determine completely. [6.] Q. Mr. President, a rather sticky situation seems to have developed in Cuba over the helicopter flight of the two defectors, and the slaying in the air. What is the U.S. position on that? THE PRESIDENT. That is a matter you should talk to the Department about. We are now looking into it very carefully. I have talked to the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense about it this morning. I have no announcement that will be made at this time. Of course, when there is an announcement, it will probably come from the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of State. [7.] Q. Mr. President, you said a moment ago, sir, that there was no reason for the issuance of this statement. THE PRESIDENT. No, I didn't say that. Q. I am sorry. THE PRESIDENT. I didn't intend to say there was no reason. I think I would not issue it, if there was no reason. There is a reason, but I thought his question was what was the reason for giving it to them. I just thought you ought to be kept informed of what was happening in this field. Q. Are you trying to clear the air, sir? THE PRESIDENT. No, I want everyone to know our position and I think this helps. This is a statement to the President that he can use in his deliberations. I would hope that all of us realized from the beginning that the United States position was that we were willing to talk to anybody that they designated at any time, anyplace, and review all problems and all difficulties. I don't say discuss, because that is a sticky word. Some of them do not quite understand what it means. But I say review. We are glad to do that. I made that clear that day, and I have reiterated it. But I think it is good that the President of the OAS can have the details carried in this statement. [8.] Q. Mr. President, do you expect any major developments in the field of East-West relations in the field of disarmament? THE PRESIDENT. Well, we always hope for the best. [9.] Q. Mr. President, do you still feel that there are remaining misinterpretations about the statement last week on Panama? THE PRESIDENT. I don't want to go into that, because[At this point the President spoke of the record.] [io.] Q. Mr. President, your guidelines for holding the wage-price line have been criticized by both labor and management recently. Do you still think that these will work, in view of this criticism? THE PRESIDENT. We hope very much that they will. We believe that both labor and management can best solve their problems through collective bargaining, and we hope that that is the way it will be done. We have outlined what course we believe is best for America, all the people, and generally the criteria of that course is indicated by the guidelines. But in the wage negotiations and the working conditions that must from time to time be examined, and new agreements reached, we hope that that will be 407 [232] Mar. 2I Public Papers of the Presidents handled through the process of collective bargaining. Q. Thank you very much, sir. [ii.] Q. Mr. President, can we have a picture of you and your new secretary,2 please? THE PRESIDENT. Yes. Q. Thank you very much. [At this point the President again spoke off the record. At the request of one of the reporters the following statement was placed on the record, as indicated in the President's final remarks.] THE PRESIDENT. I was at lunch, and when I came back he told me what he was thinking. And the only thing that I could think about at the moment was that I was called when I was shaving in a bathroom in Houston and told that a Congressman had died in my congressional district and asked if I would not be a candidate to succeed him. Very shortly thereafter, I had to resign my job without notice and announce immediately, over the weekend-and this was Saturday-that I was a candidate. So I somewhat The reference was to George E. Reedy, Press Secretary to the President, successor to Pierre Salinger who resigned on March 9 to run for the Democratic senatorial nomination in California. understood Mr. Salinger's problem. Q. What day was that when you were having lunch, Mr. President? THE PRESIDENT. The day he announced. It was about 4 o'clock. We had gone to lunch real late and I had a group of editors with me. We were talking and I came back here, I guess-I don't remember-I would say 5 or 5:30, just before he announced to you. It was the first time that I knew about it. Q. Can we get that story back on the record, Mr. President? It is a pretty good story. THE PRESIDENT. No. Q. That is a delightful story. THE PRESIDENT. Thank you. In an attempt to encourage that good spirit that prevails here today, that story will be put on the record. Merriman Smith, United Press International: Thank you, Mr. President. NOTE: The President's news conference of Saturday, March 2I, held in the Press Office at the White House at I:45 p.m., is designated "News Conference No. ii (Out of Sequence)." With respect to the numbering of the news conferences see note at end of Item I43. 233 Remarks in Atlantic City at the Convention of the United Auto Workers. March 23, I964 Mr. President, Senator Williams, Senator Bayh, Mrs. Peterson, my good friends of this great convention: I am unaccustomed to such large crowds and such unrestrained enthusiasm. I have been addressing some of these $Ioo victory Democratic dinners down in Washington, and after a fellow pays that much for a ticket, he doesn't have quite as much enthusiasm as you have here today. As a matter of fact, a little boy down in our country who was having quite a problem with his family's eating wrote the Lord one day and said, "Dear Lord: I wish you would send mother a hundred dollars to help us get along." The letter wound up in Washington on the Postmaster General's desk, so the Postmaster General still had a little money left over from the days when he worked with Prudential. He reached in his billfold and pulled out a $20 bill and sent it back to the little boy. A few days later he got another letter from the little fellow, and he said, "Dear Lord: I want to say much 408 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-I964 Mar. 23 [2-33] obliged for that 20 bucks you sent us. The next time, though, please don't send it through Washington because they took a deduct of 8o percent." So we won't have any deducts on our meeting here today. The first thing I want to say to you is that I am very glad and very happy to appear today before this great convention of a clean and honest and progressive union. Led by President Reuther and his fellow officialsall elected democratically by your votes-the men and women of the United Automobile Workers have made and are making a great contribution to responsible industrial democracy in our country, and to respect for our free system among working men and women throughout the entire world. I am deeply conscious that I stand today in the place of one of the truest friends the working men and women of America have ever had-John Fitzgerald Kennedy. History is often cruel. But it was a kindness of history that last year, only 7 days before his voice was stilled forever, President Kennedy was able to speak before the AFL-CIO at its November convention in New York. Whatever the challenges or the complexities or the crises beyond our shores, the American Nation never stands taller or straighter or stronger in the world than the individual American is able to stand in his own free land at home. This Nation is strong militarily. No other nation is stronger. Our times have been dominated by a cold war, but now our times require that here at home we pursue a warmhearted war, a war of compassion, for the well-being of all of our people here at home. All Americans, whatever their party or their persuasion, can know that this administration is going to be prudent, that we are striving to fulfill that great Democrat Thomas Jefferson's admonition to always be wise and be frugal. Some have criticized me taking from the haves and giving to the have-nots. Well, I want you this morning to read me loud and clear. When Secretary McNamara can eliminate an obsolete military base that is a have in our old budget, I am not going to hesitate to let Sargent Shriver use it to save a have-not, perhaps a delinquent high school dropout, from 50 years of waste and want. Let all Americans know that this administration intends to be progressive, intends that our people shall move forward without hesitation and without discrimination. Our blessings are many, and it is good that we count them. Last year was the most prosperous year that we have ever known in our history. National production rose $30 billion. By the end of the year, production passed $6oo billion. Employment during the year passed 70 million. For the first time, average weekly wages went above $Ioo per week, and there were i million more people at work than the year before. This economy was never stronger in your lifetime. But statistics must not be sedatives. Economic power is important only as it is put to human use. So let me speak to you earnestly this morning-and quite seriously. What I say to you now I say also to businessmen. What I say to you I say to the Nation. I come to you seeking your help, asking your counsel. I have set a course for myself and I intend to follow it. I don't know how history will treat me as a President. However much time I am given to lead this Nation, I shall lead it without fear and without bias and with the sure knowledge that if I try to do 409 [233] Mar. 23 Public Papers of the Presidents what is right, our Nation, in God's mind and in history's imprint, will ultimately be the beneficiary. I am here to tell you that we are going to do those things which need to be done, not because they are politically correct, but because they are right. We are going to pass a civil rights bill if it takes all summer. We are going to pass it because no nation can long endure-or prosper-if millions of its citizens are barred from their purpose and are denied the use of their talent. We are going to free the logjam of pent-up skills and unused opportunities, because until education is blind to color, until employment is unaware of race, emancipation may be a proclamation but it will not be a fact. That is why I care about this civil rights bill, and that is why it shall be passed. We are going to pass a medical assistance bill for the aged, no matter how many months it takes. The sensible and prudent and lasting way to do this is through the social security system. In every county of this land, there are older folks who don't ask much. They simply want to keep their dignity; they simply want a sense of independence and a chance to overcome the inevitable visit of sickness. They cannot survive medical expenses that they cannot pay. Not only because it is decent but also because it is right, we are going to pass this medical assistance bill. You can be sure of that. The great challenge of the sixties is the creation of more jobs. This challenge confronts the business community, the labor community, and the whole Nation. Each year a net i million to I/2 million new people enter the labor market. We have met this problem head on with a revolutionary decision-the decision to cut taxes. I thank you for your help, because even to get this tax bill out of committee, I had to leave some of my own blood all over the Capitol. But today, $25 million a day extra is going into the hands and the purchasing power of the American consumer, and over $21/2 billion a year is a source of new investment for the business community. I have said to hundreds of businessmen that I have called to the White House, "Here is your opportunity to prove your responsibility as one of the creators of prosperity. Use this tax cut to do the one thing that is most important to this country: Use it to create more jobs." One businessman told me that he would use it and create I8,ooo new jobs with new investment. Another businessman told me last Saturday that because of the tax bill, his company would spend this year for new investment $I,ooo million. The tax cut is one of our weapons against the threat of automation for the expansion of industry, the construction of new plants and factories, because they build new jobs. I am convinced that the tax cut is the largest economic stride forward in the creation of new jobs that we have taken in the 20th century. We have declared war on poverty. As long as I head this administration, and I believe as long as Walter Reuther heads the Auto Workers, the terms of this war on poverty are unconditional surrender. I want to read just one sentence from your President's wire that gave me great strength and encouragement: "On behalf of the officers and I1/2 million members of the UAW, I am pleased to advise you that in answer to your call, we enlist with you for the duration in the war against poverty." It is signed by Walter Reuther. Let all those who oppose just for the sake of opposition, and all those who are blind partisans, and all those who pick and peck 410 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Mar. 23 [233] at our plans, let them know that they may temporarily deter us, but they will never defeat us. I should tell you that we won't win this fight in a day or in a year, or perhaps in this generation, but let no man be deceived. This is a fight that we will win. Poverty may be the oldest scourge, but tools available for fighting it are man's newest tools-in our vast new technology, in our expanding science, in the steady growth of all of our resources. This, in fact, is how I see the war on poverty. I see it above all a fight for opportunity, not a handout, not a dole, but a vast upgrading of all of our people's skills. This is also the basic sense of the wider struggle that we wage, the struggle to extend these opportunities to the whole family of man. Nations, like families, are poor because they lack the technology and the capital, and the scientific attitudes to break through into the modern world. We must seek to do for them what we want to do for our own people, to give them the skills to help themselves. This surely is the essence of our vital policies of economic assistance and development. Again, it is not doles and it is not handouts, but it is a wider and wiser investment in the productivity of societies and men. Today the wealthy one-third of the world have unlocked the secret of abundance and skill. Shall we not use these new resources with vision and audacity? Could anything be more challenging, could anything be more exciting than to set them to work for better skills, for better opportunities, for better hope for all mankind everywhere? So I say give me your heart and your voice and your vote, and stand up with me and be counted. We want free enterprise and free collective bargaining to support each other. They stand as the cornerstones of the labor policy of this administration. All our experience teaches us free collective bargaining must be responsible. And so long as it is responsible, it will remain free. I hope that responsibility will be present on both sides of the table at the automobile industry bargaining, and that peaceful and responsible settlements, safeguarding the public interest, will be reached. It will be determined, too, in collective bargaining, how machines are to be made to be men's servants instead of their enemies or their masters; how machines can be made to produce more jobs, not fewer jobs; how their fruits can be distributed among all and not just among some. This is where I am going to need the help of my beloved friends Pete Williams and Birch Bayh, who are on the platform. I have already made positive recommendations to the Congress. I have asked the Congress to act upon this problem and to come up with specific ways to solve the problem of automation. There can be and is legitimate disagreement about what should be done by law about the length of the workweek, and about penalties for overtime. But there can be no disagreement about the desirability of facing squarely up in collective bargaining to the question of what distribution of the workload and of man's time between work and leisure will be good business and will also recognize the human values that are involved. I should like for you to know that it is part of our measure of progress that in two generations the workweek in the mines and the mills has dropped from 56 to 40 hours a week; that in the last 25 years the full time workers in this country have gained I55 hours a year in leisure time through changes in the workweek, through vacation, through holiday practices. That is a tribute to your leadership, and that is a tribute to you. 33-171-65 32 4II [233] Mar. 23 Public Papers of the Presidents We will rightfully expect to purchase with our rising productivity not only more goods but also more time-more time to spend with our families, more time to spend in recreation and relaxation, in study and thought and rest. We know it is this union's established policy to seek gains at the bargaining table out of the greater abundance made possible by advancing technology and not out of the pockets of American consumers through higher prices. You are right in your repeated insistence that progress be made with the community and not at the expense of the community. You will be serving your interests in negotiations with the automobile industry knowing that they are served only as the broader public interest is served. That broader public interest today, more than ever, requires that the stability of our costs and our prices be protected. The international position of the dollar, which means our ability to do what we need to do beyond our borders, demands that our prices and our costs not rise. We must not choke off our needed and our speeded economic expansion by a revival of the price-wage spiral. Avoiding that spiral is the responsibility of business. And it is also the responsibility of labor. Now I want you to listen to me closely: "I speak as President of the United States, with a single voice to both management and to labor, to the men on both sides of the bargaining table, when I say that your sense of responsibility, the sense of responsibility of organised labor and of management, is the foundation upon which our hopes rest in the coming great years. This administration has not undertaken, and will not undertake, to fix prices and wages in this economy. We have no intention of intervening in every labor dispute. We are neither able or willing to substitute our judgment for the judgment of those who sit at the local bargaining tables across the country. We can suggest guidelines for the economy, but we cannot fix a single pattern for every plant and every industry. We can and we must, under the responsibilities given to us by the Constitution, and by statute and by necessity, point out the national interest. And where applicable we can and we must and we will enforce the law-on restraints of trade and national emergencies." The words I have just read are the words of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, spoken to this same great convention on May 8, I962. It was the policy of this Government then; it is the policy of this Government today. Now, finally, I want to say to you good men and women, my friends of the UAW, to your leadership, to your good citizenship, to your high responsibility within the labor movement in the world, it means much to this land and it means much to our people. But I have also come here to ask your help not for myself and not for my administration, but for America, itself. Together we can all keep America strong. With our strength we can try with all of our energy to keep the world at peace. With peace, we can focus our efforts and our talents to make sure that in this first age of plenty, men and women the world over, whatever their race or religion, whatever their section or station, can, in the words of Franklin Roosevelt, lead a finer, a happier life and, in my own words, can look forward to the promise of a better deal. Thank you. NOTE: The President spoke at the morning session in Convention Hall. In his opening words he referred to Walter Reuther, President of the United Automobile Workers, Senator Harrison A. Williams, Jr., of New Jersey, Senator Birch Bayh of Indiana, and Mrs. Esther Peterson, Special Assistant to the President on consumer problems and Assistant Secretary of Labor for labor standards. 412 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 234 Letter to Secretary Hodges on Highway Safety. March 23, i964 Mar. 24 [235] Dear Mr. Secretary: The death of 43,400 Americans in traffic accidents last year is a matter of serious national concern. There is an obvious and urgent need for a program to improve our highway safety rapidly and significantly. As a nation, we cannot continue to tolerate this drain on our resources, and as human beings, we cannot continue to tolerate this terrible pain, suffering and loss of life. The Federal Government should, therefore, take all appropriate steps to reduce this carnage. Because of the responsibilities of your Department's Bureau of Public Roads in this area, I am designating you to undertake immediately an accelerated attack on traffic accidents in this country. State and local governments should be encouraged and assisted in developing priority safety pro grams giving special attention to hazards on highways with high-accident experience. I understand that such a safety priority program can be undertaken within the present Federal-aid program and the resources of the Highway Trust Fund without cost to the general taxpayer. In a society such as ours where human life and health is valued so highly, there is a special obligation to use our scientific abilities to bring this problem of highway traffic safety under control. Please keep me advised of the steps taken and of the results of your intensive traffic safety campaign. Sincerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON [Honorable Luther H. Hodges, Secretary of Commerce, Washington, D.C.] 235 Remarks to the Legislative Conference of the Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO. March 24, i964 Mr. Chairman, Mr. Haggerty, distinguished and beloved Secretary of Labor Mr. Wirtz, ladies and gentlemen: It is my high honor and very great privilege to come here this morning to fraternize and visit with not only the great workers of this country but, I am very proud to say, the great builders of this land. I have been asked to perform a very pleasant task-to present the Distinguished Service Award of the President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped to a most distinguished American. When we talk and think and work for the employment of the handicapped, we should all be reminded of the text "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these, my brethren, you have done it to me." So it is a great honor to me as President and a great privilege to me as a human being to present this Distinguished Service Award to Mr. Walter Mason. [At this point Mr. Mason, legislative representative of the Building and Construction Trades Department, responded briefly and expressed his appreciation for the award. The President then resumed speaking.] I would be less than human if I did not tell you that I observed and enjoyed your welcome to this meeting. I am not like that preacher down in our country was when he showed up at his congregation one Sunday 4I3 [235] Mar. 24 Public Papers of the Presidents morning and much to his surprise the congregation had gone out and bought him a new Ford automobile for a present. The preacher was so frustrated that he got up to acknowledge the generosity and the welcome and he said, "I do deserve it, but I don't appreciate it." I don't deserve it, but I do appreciate it. As we meet here today, I think we should be reminded that more Americans are more prosperous than at any time in the history of America. In the past 12 months, we have set these records: Seventy million jobs-for the first time in our history. National production over $600 billionfor the first time in our history. Average earnings in industry over $Ioo a week-for the first time in our history. Over I.6 million new homes in a yearfor the first time. New construction over $60 billion-for the first time. By all these measures, our prosperity continues to grow. In new construction we should exceed $65 billion this year. The growth rate of our economy should be better than 6 percent-about double the rate of the last decade. Our economy was never stronger and never better, and times were never so good. But it is still not good enough. It is not good enough because the prosperity of which I speak is not being shared by every American. I will not be satisfied until it is. Many people have jobs, but too many don't. Many families are living well, but too many families are not. In I946 this Nation, by an act of their Congress, made a solemn national commitment to full employment for every American who needs a job. That national commitment still stands. But it is not yet fulfilled. I will not be satisfied until it is. In I964 this Nation, by act of Congress, will make another and equally solemn national commitment: to abolish poverty in these United States of America. We must not be satisfied until that is accomplished. These two goals-full employment and an end to poverty-depend on one another. As long as there are not enough jobs there will be needless poverty, and as long as children and young people are raised in deprivation, not given a decent start in life, not given an equal chance for education and training they need to get to hold a decent job, then there will be needless poverty. We will achieve these twin goals not through any one measure but through many. The tax cut just enacted is one of the most important actions ever taken by any Government at any time. Its deliberate purpose is to help make good our national pledge of full employment. It restored to the pockets of the people of America $25 million per day that they could use for purchasing power-almost $900 million per month. This bill should create directly and indirectly between two and three million new jobs. The President of one company told me last week that his company alone would use the benefits of this bill to provide 8,ooo new jobs. Another President told me Saturday afternoon in the White House that he would use the benefits of the tax bill to spend $i,ooo million on new construction in the next few years. Now, we must be job conscious. We must be job hunting. We must be job finding. There are other job-creating measures on our agenda, and I want to tell you about them. One is the housing bill now before the Congress, aimed at raising the rate of new home construction from I.6 million last year to 2 million by I970. We are aware of what 414 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-I964 Mar. 24 [235] the goal of full employment means, and I thought as I walked down that line and shook hands with the men who represented the laborers and the painters and the carpenters, I thought what these bills would mean to the folks that they spoke for back home. It means enough new jobs to employ the present excessively high number that are unemployed, plus enough to replace the jobs that have been lost to machines, plus enough for the record 1/2 million net additions to the labor force each year as more and more young people join the search for work. Many of these new jobs must be and will be in the industry in which you are directly involved-construction-and in a full employment economy, total construction for houses, for schools, for hospitals, for highways, for industry, should by the end of this decade reach a level double what it was in 1960, and that is stepping it up quite a bit. To double what you have in o years is something to take pride in. The war against poverty, therefore, is going to be fought on many fields. The retired, the elderly, the senior citizens of our land-they all deserve and are going to get a better deal. They need a program for medical assistance through social security, and they need it now. We are not going to sit idly by and let older folks fight high medical expenses in their late years all alone. We are going to join them. We are going to help them. We are going to fight with them. That is why we are going to pass a medical assistance bill-if not this week, if not this month, if not this year, the earliest possible date. A national food stamp plan will improve the diets of the old and the young alike, and that is why we must pass the national food stamp bill, and we are going to do it. The minimum wage law should be extended to millions who are not now covered, and unemployment insurance should be strengthened. The Manpower Development and Training Act will have provided training opportunities for I25,000 Americans by the end of this fiscal year. Twice as many will be given training next year. The Economic Opportunity Act which I submitted to Congress last week will offer education and training opportunities to more than half a million young people and adults each year. These training programs will in no way diminish the opportunities for those already skilled, such as the craftsmen in your unions. They will not lower the skill requirements of jobs. But they will make employable many thousands who now live in idleness simply because they have no equipment for today's complex world of work. So neither unemployment nor poverty can be conquered unless we vanquish also their ancient allydiscrimination. The recent progress toward complete integration has been greatly encouraging. And I am glad to have the presidents of the International Unions affiliated with the Building and Construction Trades Department of the AFL-CIO as allies. The call last year for an end to discrimination, because of race or creed or color in hiring lists, in referral systems, in apprenticeship programs, or in membership, was a progressive advance and a welcomed announcement. As good citizens and as good friends, we mean to work together in carrying it out. We can all take pride in the success of the Missile Sites Commission. It is a vivid demonstration of what can be done when we all pull together in the national interest. The problem of work stoppage at missile bases has been minimized. It has been done by the voluntary cooperation of management and labor. You recognize that the national 415 [235] Mar. 24 Public Papers of the Presidents interest was greater than any individual interest. And by serving the Nation you added to the security of every citizen of this Nation. In no other industry of this scale and complexity do labor and management work harder or more earnestly or more successfully for understanding, and I am proud to pay tribute to you for that. As I said yesterday in Atlantic City,' and as I repeat here again, I have emphasized many times before that we must not choke off our needed and our speeded economic expansion by revival of the price-wage spiral. Prices and wages must be arrived at freely, but they must be arrived at responsibly. You are builders and I ask your help in building the kind of America that we ought to build and that we can build together. I ask your help in redeeming the future of the poor and the disadvantaged and those who have suffered from discrimination. The measure of our Nation's greatness is not how high we can raise our urban towers but rather how high we can lift our peoples' aspirations. Our work may be measured by how many homes we construct, but our work is measured by the fulfillment of the dreams of the people who live in those homes. Before I conclude, for a moment, if I may, I would just like to simply talk to you about your family and mine, about their future and their country. Last Sunday, Palm Sunday, as I sat in church, I thought about all the problems that faced this world-ancient feuds and recent quarrels that have disturbed widely separated parts of the earth. You have seen five or six different quarrels appearing on the front page of your morning newspaper, 1 See Item 233. and you have heard about our foreign policy. The world has changed and so has the method of dealing with disruptions of the peace. There may have been a time when a commander in chief would order soldiers to march the very moment a disturbance occurred, although restraint and fairness are not new to the American tradition. As a matter of fact, some people urged me to hurry in the Marines when the air became a little hot on a particular occasion recently. But the world as it was and the world as it is are not the same anymore. Once upon a time even large-scale wars could be waged without risking the end of civilization, but what was once upon a time is no longer so-because general war is impossible. In a matter of moments you can wipe out from 50 to ioo million of our adversaries, or they can, in the same amount of time, wipe out 50 million or ioo million of our people, taking half of our land, half of our population in a matter of an hour. So, general war is impossible and some alternatives are essential. The people of the world, I think, prefer reasoned agreement to ready attack. That is why we must follow the prophet Isaiah many, many times before we send the Marines and say, "Come now, let us reason together," and this is our objective: the quest for peace and not the quarrels of war. In this nuclear world, in this world of a hundred new nations, we must offer the outstretched arm that tries to help instead of an arm's-length sword that helps to kill. In every troubled spot in the world, this hope for reasoned agreement instead of rash retaliation can bear fruit. Agreement is being sought and we hope and believe will soon be worked out with our Panamanian friends. The United Nations peacekeeping 4V6 Lyndon B. Johns machinery is already on its merciful mission in Cyprus and a mediator is being selected. The water problem that disturbed us at Guantanamo was solved not by a battalion of Marines bayoneting their way in to turn on the water, but we sent a single admiral over to cut it off. I can say to you that our base is self-sufficient-in lean readiness. And a source of danger and disagreement has been removed. In Viet-Nam, divergent voices cry out with suggestions, some for a larger scale war, some for more appeasement, some even for retreat. We do not criticize or demean them. We consider carefully their suggestions. But today finds us where President Eisenhower found himself io years ago. The position he took with Viet-Nam then in a letter that he sent to the then President is one that I could take in complete honesty today,2 and that is that we stand ready to help the Vietnamese preserve their inde2See "Public Papers of the Presidents, Dwight D. Eisenhower I954," Item 306. ron, 1963-1964 Mar. 24 [236] pendence and retain their freedom and keep from being enveloped by communism. We, the most powerful nation in the world, can afford to be patient. Our ultimate strength is clear, and it is well known to those who would be our adversaries, but let's be reminded that power brings obligation. The people in this country have more blessed hopes than bitter victory. The people of this country and the world expect more from their leaders than just a show of brute force. So, our hope and our purpose is to employ reasoned agreement instead of ready aggression; to preserve our honor without a world in ruins; to substitute if we can understanding for retaliation. My most fervent prayer is to be a President who can make it possible for every boy in this land to grow to manhood by loving his country, loving his country instead of dying for it. Thank you. NOTE: The President spoke at ii a.m. at the Sheraton Park Hotel in Washington. In his opening words he referred to C. J. Haggerty, President of the Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO, who served as chairman of the conference, and to Secretary of Labor W. Willard Wirtz. 236 Exchange of Messages With the Prime Minister of Japan Following an Attack on Ambassador Reischauer. March 24, i964 ON BEHALF of the people and Government of the United States, let me thank you most warmly for your message of sympathy and regret for the act of one individual against Ambassador Reischauer. We have been happy here to learn that he is expected to make a full recovery, and you can be assured that all Americans will understand that such an act has nothing to do with the deep friendship and understanding which exist between our two countries, and to which Ambassador Reischauer himself has made so important a contribution. LYNDON B. JOHNSON [His Excellency Hayato Ikeda, Prime Minister of Japan] NOTE: The exchange of messages was made public by the Press Secretary to the President, George E. Reedy, 4I7 [236] Mar. 24 Public Papers of the Presidents at his news conference at I2:15 p.m. on March 24, i964. The text of Prime Minister Ikeda's message follows: The President The White House In the name of the Government and the people of Japan, I want to express to you my very deep regret over the most unfortunate incident involving Ambassador Reischauer. The entire nation is indignant over the dastardly act of violence committed against the representative of a nation with which we have especially close and friendly relations. We all pray for the Ambassador's earliest recovery. HAYATO IKEDA 237 Message to the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development. March 25, i964 THE GREAT TASK of our time is to bring the fruits of economic well-being to all peoples in a world of peace and freedom. The nations of the world have gathered in Geneva for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development to discuss together how to move ahead in accomplishing this task. On behalf of the people and Government of the United States of Amer ica, I hereby pledge our strongest cooperation in this great joint endeavor. NOrE: The President's message was read to the Conference, held in Geneva March 2-I6, by Under Secretary of State George W. Ball, chairman of the U.S. delegation. The preamble and recommendations contained in the Final Act adopted by the Conference on June i6 are published in the Department of State Bulletin (vol. 5I, p. I50). 238 Remarks to Members of the Southern Baptist Christian Leadership Seminar. March 25, i964 Dr. Valentine, Dr. Scales, ladies and gentlemen: I am glad that you could come here this morning. You are always welcome to this Rose Garden. There are not many roses in bloom outside, but there are a lot of thorns inside. This is, after all, your house-even if Brooks Hays and Bill Moyers think it belongs to them. If you wonder why Brooks and Bill are both around, I just want to assure you that I am trying to be scriptural. A proverb in the Old Testament says "In a multitude of counselors there is safety." Brooks keeps telling me that it really meant "In a multitude of Baptist counselors." Everyone, I think, knows that two Baptists make a multitude. If you doubt their influence, I urge you to read last week's Saturday Evening Post. There is an article in there, and they are usually accurate, which says that all three of the new staff members that Johnson brought to the White House are Protestants. Well, it so happens that two of the three are Catholics. The only conclusion I could reach after reading that article is that Bill Moyers converted those two other fellows and baptized them in a mighty big hurry. Of course, that is why I keep the swimming pool full all the time. I wish you could have seen Billy Graham and Bill Moyers in that pool together the other day. Everyone else was already a Christian, so they just took turns baptizing each other. 4x8 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-1964 Mar. 25 [238] I want you to know that Hays and Moyers are faithful to the cause, though. I go around turning out the lights, and they keep reminding me that the Scripture says to "Let your light so shine." I just replied that Scripture also says that "The children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of this life." Looking at Brooks and Bill, I am reminded of another Scripture, "The glory of young men is their strength, and the beauty of old men is their gray hair," and poor Brooks-he is losing his beauty. I have had a lot of experience with Baptists before, for a long time. My own heritage is heavily weighed with Baptist influence. My great grandfather, George Washington Baines, Sr., preached across the Southland from Alabama into Arkansas, Arkansas to Louisiana, Louisiana to Texas, where I am told that go percent of the great Baptist preachers finally wind up. While planning churches in the wilderness of Arkansas around i837, he was elected to the legislature for one term, proving that politics and religion either do or do not mix. We are not sure just which. He went from Arkansas to Louisiana. He became what one magazine later described as the best preacher that was ever in north Arkansas, an honor his heirs are sure he carried modestly, as any Baptist preacher would do. While in north Arkansas, he made one missionary expedition into Texas, to Lady Bird's hometown, and he helped organize the Baptist Church in Marshall, Tex. This was enough to give him the Texas fever, which is not, I am told by authorities, what Paul had when he fell ill on one of his journeys. In I850 he packed his family in a wagon and journeyed 17 days to HuntsvilleHuntsville, Tex.-and there became pastor of a struggling Baptist church. He became Gen. Sam Houston's preacher. Unlike modern Baptists, he found his congregation a little reluctant to bring their tithes into the storehouse. On the wall in my office there is a letter 1 written to my grandfather by one of his parishioners, Gen. Sam Houston, and it reads: "My Dear Brother Baines: "You will find enclosed your note, and if you will renew it for the same amount of $300 and send it to Mrs. Houston, I will be obliged to you. You perceive that I knock off the interest for six years at 8 percent per annum, amounting to $I40. This I am not loathe to do, as you have the luck to minister to congregations who think you can afford to preach to them gratis. If you do not devise some plan to change their practices, they will think that you ought to pay them a good salary for attending church when they could stay at home on Sunday and thusly be in greater readiness for the week's work. I am not alluding to charity, tho I think the Scriptures enjoin that as one of the brightest Christian traits of character, but I allude to plain oldfashioned honesty of paying what they subscribe. They ought to know that paper currency will not pass in heaven. It must be the coin which is only issued from an honest heart. Cottonfields and cotton bolls will find no market in paradise. "Mrs. Houston unites in affectionate regards to Sister Baines, yourself, and family. Truly Thine, "Sam Houston" His abilities as a fund raiser apparently brought Brother Baines to the attention of other Texas Baptists, because that is still a pretty important ability for a preacher to have, even today. At the first session of the 1Dated November 23, I857. 419 [238] Mar. 25 Public Papers of the Presidents State convention after he came to Texas, he was elected to represent the body in the Southern Baptist Convention. He was selected to preach the annual sermon for the next year. If that doesn't prove he was orthodox, nothing will. He then moved to Independence as a pastor, then to Anderson, where he labored as pastor and editor of the first Baptist paper in Texas. When the Civil War broke out, he accepted the call as President of Baylor University at Independence, the second president of Baylor, and for 2 years struggled to keep that young school alive. He resigned to recover his health. Before his death in i882 he had pastored in Saledo and Florence, and also served as an agent for the Baptist Educational Commission. It is not good to dwell on the past, for faith is a personal power by which we live today and not a monument for the dead. The faith of our fathers, the faith of men like George Baines, may become the folly of their children if individually we fail to see God face to face. No man knows that better than I do. As the Psalmist had done long ago, our Nation passed through fire and through water in those dark days following that tragedy in November. I am convinced that we emerged stronger and more determined because millions of Americans sought to renew their faith in God. I know that I did. When the pressures were the heaviest and the need for strength from above was the greatest, Lady Bird and I sat down to eat a meal alone. No word or glance passed between us, but in some way we found ourselves bound together, and I found myself speaking the words of grace that I had learned at my Baptist mother's knee so many years ago. The occupant of the world's most powerful office, like the most private citizen, has nowhere to go for help but up, up to the secret place of the most high, where faith and spiritual power are abundantly available. I am not a theologian. I am not a philosopher. I am just a public servant that is doing the very best I know how. But in more than 3 decades of public life, I have seen first-hand how basic spiritual beliefs and deeds can shatter barriers of politics and bigotry. I have seen those barriers crumble in the presence of faith and hope, and from this experience I have drawn new hope that the seemingly insurmountable moral issues that we face at home and abroad today can be resolved by men of strong faith and men of brave deeds. We can only do this if the separation of church and state, a principle to which Baptists have given personal witness for all their long history, only if the separation of church and state does not mean the divorce of spiritual values from secular affairs. To day we have common purposes. Great questions of war and peace, of civil rights and education, the elimination of poverty at home and abroad, are the concern of millions who see no difference in this regard between their beliefs and their social obligations. This principle, the identity of private morality and public conscience, is as deeply rooted in our tradition and Constitution as the principle of legal separation. Washington in his first inaugural said that the roots of national policy lay in private morality. Lincoln proclaimed as a national faith that right makes might. Surely this is so, and surely if we are to complete the great unfinished work of our society, spiritual beliefs from which social actions spring must be the strongest weapons in our arsenal. The most critical challenge that we face today is the struggle to free men, free them from the bondage of discrimination and 420 Lyndon B. Johns prejudice. This administration is doing everything it possibly can do to win that struggle. We are going to pass the civil rights bill, but our efforts alone are not enough. I am proud to say that in this cause some of our strongest allies are religious leaders who are encouraging elected officials to do what is right. But more must be done, and no group of Christians has a greater responsibility in civil rights than Southern Baptists. Your people are part of the power structure in many communities of our land. The leaders of States and cities and towns are in your congregations and they sit there on your boards. Their attitudes are confirmed or changed by the sermons you preach and by the lessons you write and by the examples that you set. In the long struggle for religious liberty, Baptists have been prophets. Your forebears have suffered as few others have suffered, and their suffering was not in vain. This cause, too, this cause of human dignity, this cause of human rights demands prophets in our time, men of compassion and truth, unafraid of the consequences of fulfilling their faith. There are preachers and ronf 1963-1964 Mar. 25 [239] there are teachers of injustice and dissension and distrust at work in America this very hour. They are attempting to thwart the realization of our highest ideals. There are those who seek to turn back the rising tide of human hope by sowing halftruths and untruths wherever they find root. There are voices crying peace, peace, peace, when there is no peace. Help us to answer them with truth and with action. Help us to pass this civil rights bill and establish a foundation upon which we can build a house of freedom where all men can dwell. Help us, when this bill has been passed, to lead all of our people in this great land into a new fellowship. Let the acts of everyone, in Government and out, let all that we do proclaim that righteousness does exalt the Nation. Thank you. NOTE: The President spoke at i a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White House. In his opening words he referred to Dr. Foy Valentine, Executive Secretary-Treasurer, Christian Life Commission, Southern Baptist Convention, leader of the group, and Dr. James R. Scales, President of the Oklahoma Baptist University, Shawnee, Okla. Later the President referred to Brooks Hays and Bill Moyers, Special Assistants to the President, and the Rev. William F. (Billy) Graham. 239 Remarks Upon Accepting the Big Brother of the Year Award. March 25, i964 I DON'T KNOW of any award that cheers and encourages me more than this Big Brother Award. To help a boy find his way-to give his life purpose and meaning-is as noble an enterprise as any man could join. Yesterday I spoke to a group here in Washington and told them that America's purpose was to offer an outstretched arm that tries to help, instead of an arm-length sword that helps to kill. As a matter of fact, the aims of the Big Brother movement and the hopes of this Nation in its relationships with young, emerging nations in this world are much the same. America's selfless purpose around the world is to try to help other nations find 42I [239] Mar. 25 Public Papers of the Presidents in their future the same kind of inspiration that was born in a struggling young republic I75 years ago. Our war on poverty is a Big Brother movement-to try to reach out to those who are sunk deep in misery and deprivation and say to them, "Here, let me take you by the hand and help you help yourself. Let us try to help you find brightness where now there is none. Let us revive in your heart the hope that once was there but is now gone." So, I accept this Big Brother Award not personally but as a symbol of what this unselfish, generous Nation is trying to dohere at home and around the world. May God bless each of you and the efforts that you are making in this most worthy cause. NOTE: The ceremony was held at 5 p.m. in the President's office at the White House. The award was presented to the President jointly by Charles G. Berwind, President of Big Brothers of America, and television star Dick Van Dyke, a member of the national board. The following citation accompanied the award: "In recognition of your outstanding contributions and accomplishments and the use of your personality, your office and your position of world influence to foster the spirit of brotherhood among the peoples of the world, Big Brothers of America proudly names you Big Brother of the Year. "Your leadership and dedicated efforts to wage war on poverty that children may grow into manhood and womanhood with hope and self-respect are in keeping with the traditions and aims of the Big Brother movement. "By giving so generously of yourself, your heart and your concern to the problems of the individual you exemplify the philosophy of the Big Brother Movement and are a source of lasting pride to every Big and Little Brother." Among those present for the ceremony were officials of the Big Brother movement from all over the United States and Canada. 240 Letter to the Speaker Reporting on Reductions in the Cost of Operating the Government. March 26, 1964 Sir: On November 30 and December 24, I963, I directed the heads of executive departments and agencies to tighten operations, reduce employment and effect savings. As a result of the steps being taken pursuant to these instructions, I asked the Congress on March 9 to reduce the I965 appropriations requested in the budget by $41,927,000. The cost reduction actions underway will also reduce the need for funds already appropriated by the Congress for the fiscal year 1964. In addition, section 603 of the I964 Foreign Aid and Related Agencies Appropriation Act requires that such savings as might result from delayed enactment of the I964 appropriation acts be reserved from obligation. Therefore, I directed the Director of the Bureau of the Budget to scrutinize critically the apportionment of the I964 appropriations for the purpose of reserving savings for eventual return to the Treasury. The Director has reported to me that a total of $50,336,770 is being reserved from obligation at the present time. These savings result from changed program and legislative requirements, planned reductions in civilian employment, improvements in management and efficiency, the delay in final enactment of I964 appropriations, and other factors. I have directed that the current cost reduction efforts be intensified in order to increase further the amount saved. Of the sum currently reserved, the Director of the Bureau of the Budget is confident that $34,907,570 will not be needed. A list of the amounts comprising this total, by accounts, is attached. It contains 62 items, 422 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-I964 Mar. 26 [240] several of them less than $I,500, consistent rescind these amounts, I would have no with my philosophy that no saving is too objection. small to be ignored. These amounts will Respectfully yours, be retained in reserve so that they cannot LYNDON B. JOHNSON be spent under any circumstances. Alternatively, if the Congress should wish to [The Speaker of the House of Representatives] natively, if the Congress should wish to LIST OF AMOUNTS PERMANENTLY RESERVED Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service: Salaries and expenses: Research.................................................................. $5 5,000 Plant and animal disease and pest control............................................... 6o, ooo Cooperative State Experiment Station Service: Payments and expenses..................................................... 3, 220 Extension Service: Cooperative Extension Work: Payments and expenses: Federal Extension Service.................................................................. 362, 500 Farmers Cooperative Service: Salaries and expenses.......................................... I, 30 Soil Conservation Service: Conservation operations.....................................98,300 Economic Research Service: Salaries and expenses..................................... 14, 530 Foreign Agricultural Service: Salaries and expenses.................................... 85, ooo Commodity Exchange Authority: Salaries and expenses................................ I, 390 Office of the General Counsel: Salaries and expenses................................... 4, 265 Office of Information: Salaries and expenses......................................... I, 390 National Agricultural Library: Salaries and expenses.................................. 2, 000 General Administration: Salaries and expenses....................................... 3,220 Rural Electrification Administration: Salaries and expenses............................. 90, ooo Department of Commerce General Administration: Participation in Century 21 Exposition........................................... 600, ooo W est Virginia Centennial Celebration............................................ 4, 625 Area Redevelopment Administration: Area redevelopment fund........................ 20,000,000 Office of Business Economics: Salaries and expenses................................... 10, 000 Bureau of the Census: I962 Census of Governments.................................. 75, ooo Weather Bureau: Salaries and expenses........................................ 200, ooo Department of Justice Federal Prison Industries, Inc.: Limitation on administrative and vocational training expenses.. 107, ooo Department of State International Boundary and Water Commission, United States and Mexico: Operation and maintenance................................................................... 0, 000 Treasury Department Internal Revenue Service: Salaries and expenses...................................... 200, 000 Office of the Treasurer: Salaries and expenses........................9.......... goo, ooo General Services Administration Strategic and critical materials................................................... 5, 560, ooo Operating expenses, Public Buildings Service........................................ 113, ooo Operating expenses, Federal Supply Seivice.......................................... 225, ooo Operating expenses, Utilization and Disposal Service.................................. 12, 000 Federal Aviation Agency Operations................................................................ 2, 500, ooo 423 [240] Mar. 26 Public Papers of the Presidents LIST OF AMOUNTS PERMANENTLY RESERVED-Continued Housing and Home Finance Agency Office of the Administrator: Salaries and expenses: Limitation on non-administrative expenses $250,000 Federal National Mortgage Association: Limitation on administrative expenses...............0 I, 000 Veterans Administration General operating expenses.................................................. I, 217, 000 Grants to the Republic of the Philippines........................................... 20, 000 Export-Import Bank of Washington Limitation on administrative expenses............................................ 75,000 Federal Communications Commission Salaries and expenses............................................................. 20, 000 Foreign Claims Settlement Commission Salaries and expenses............................................................. 12,000 National Capital Transportation Agency Salaries and expenses............................................................. I00, 000 National Security Council Salaries and expenses......................................................... II, 000 Railroad Retirement Board Limitation on salaries and expenses................................................. 93, 000 Special Representative for Trade Negotiations Salaries and expenses...................................................................7, 000 Department of Health, Education, and Welfare Food and Drug Administration: Salaries and expenses...................................... I00, 000 Office of Education: Educational improvement for the handicapped................... 85, 000 Office of Vocational Rehabilitation: Salaries and expenses.................................... 20, 000 Public Health Service: Child health and human development............................................ 8, ooo National Cancer Institute.................................................... 63, 000 Mental health activities......................................................... 55, 000 National Heart Institute......................................................... 32, 000 National Institute of Dental Research............................................ 9, 000 Arthritis and metabolic disease activities........................................... 30, 000 Allergy and infectious disease activities........................................... 32, 000 Neurology and blindness activities.............................................. 35, 000 National health statistics....................................................... 32, 000 National Library of Medicine.................................................... 8, ooo Emergency health activities................................................... 2I, 000 Social Security Administration: Assistance for repatriated United States nationals................................... 29, 000 Salaries and expenses, Bureau of Family Services.................................. I50, 000 Salaries and expenses, Children's Bureau........................................ I30, 000 Salaries and expenses, Office of the Commissioner.................................. 68, ooo Office of the Secretary: Salaries and expenses, Office of the Secretary...................................... 50, 000 Salaries and expenses, Office of Field Administration................................. 40, 000 Salaries and expenses, Office of the General Counsel................................ 40, 000 Juvenile delinquency and youth offenses................................................. 7, 000 424 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-1964 Mar. 28 [242] 241 Statement by the President on the Earthquake in Alaska. March 28, i964 ALL Americans will join me in extending the warmest sympathy to our countrymen in Alaska in the face of the terrible earthquake which has hit their State. This sympathy will be backed by action. From the first moment the Commander in Chief Alaska, Lt. Gen. Raymond J. Reeves, has been directing his command to the tasks of relief, and at my direction all Federal agencies are joining in support of this effort. To ensure full Federal action, and in accordance with the law, I have declared a disaster area in Alaska, and I have assured Governor Egan that all possible help will be made available. General Gruenther of the Red Cross has reported to us that this great organization is already at work to extend help to those who need it. Red Cross medical teams and experts in disaster relief are already on the way. All Alaskans and all Americans will pull together to meet and overcome this blow. NOTE: On April 2 the President issued Executive Order 1 I50 "Establishing the Federal Reconstruction and Development Planning Commission for Alaska" (29 F.R. 4789; 3 CFR, i964 Supp.). The White House announced on April 4 that the President had made available $5 million in Federal disaster relief funds for Alaska. On April I4 the White House released a progress report to the President by the Federal Reconstruction and Development Planning Commission in the form of a letter from the Chairman, Clinton P. Anderson, dated April o, highlighting the work accomplished since the earthquake. See also Item 6 5. The President's statement was released at Austin, Tex. 242 The President's News Conference at the LBJ Ranch. March 28, i964 THE PRESIDENT. [i.] First [speaking of the earthquake in Alaska], Ed McDermott, my personal representative as head of the OEP, was airborne from Washington at about 2:30 Austin time; 3:30 Washington time. The delay was due to mechanical difficulty on the first aircraft. Their estimated time of arrival at Elmendorf is 6 p.m. Anchorage time; io p.m. Austin time. Mr. McDermott is accompanied by Gen. James Jensen, the Commander of the Alaskan Air Command. Aboard the aircraft there is ample press representation, including representatives from AP, UPI, Tele-News, ABC, CBS, NBC, the Washington Star, the Washington Post, Time-Life, and the National Geographic. In addition to surveys of the Anchorage area it is anticipated that a survey will also be made of the towns of Valdez, Cordova, Kodiak, and Seward. It is anticipated that our first report from Alaska from Ed McDermott will be received about 2 hours after their arrival, which will be around midnight Austin time. [2.] We have a few announcements you might want to take. They are of appointments. [At this point the President spoke off the record.] We have named, or planned to name, as Ambassador, Miss Margaret Joy Tibbetts, who is a Foreign Service Officer of the first class. She has been with the Department 425 [242] Mar. 28 Public Papers of the Presidents since I946. She has a Ph. D. from Bryn Mawr. She was born in Maine. She is about 45 years of age. We have sent the papers to the appropriate country and as soon as they clear the papers, her name will be sent to the Senate. Q. How do you spell her last name, sir? THE PRESIDENT. T-i-b-b-e-t-t-s. Q. Is this an Ambassadorship? THE PRESIDENT. Yes. Q. What was the spelling again, sir? THE PRESIDENT. T-i-b-b-e-t-t-s. Q. Where is she presently serving, Mr. President? THE PRESIDENT. In the State Department in Washington. Q. And her middle name? THE PRESIDENT. Joy. Q. Is it Miss or Mrs.? THE PRESIDENT. Miss. Q. Where is she from, Mr. President? THE PRESIDENT. Maine. [3.] The next announcement is Mary Ingraham Bunting to the Atomic Energy Commission. Mrs. Bunting is President of Radcliffe College in Cambridge, Mass. She is taking a leave of absence from Radcliffe. She is going to be on the Atomic Energy Commission, the first woman to be appointed. She received her A.B. from Vassar in 1930, and in 1933 a Ph. D. in microbiology and biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin. She taught at Bennington College from I936 to I937. She was married to the late Dr. Henry Bunting who died in I954. She is the mother of four children, one boy and three girls. Q. Who does she replace? THE PRESIDENT. She serves out the unexpired term of Mr. Wilson. Q. Is Ingraham spelled I-n-g-r-a-h-a-m? THE PRESIDENT. Yes. We are very fortunate and happy that we could get Mrs. Bunting to serve. I talked to her and we had many conversations back and forth. [4.] We are appointing Mrs. Elizabeth Stoffregen May to the Republican vacancy on the Export-Import Bank. She has an A.B. from Smith College; she took postgraduate at Radcliffe; she has a Ph. D. from the London School of Economics. She has been in the Budget Bureau and in international control in the nonferrous metals. There will be a sheet on her. She will be on the Export-Import Bank. Any of you who need any loans, particularly you girls, you can talk to her. Q. Where is she from? THE PRESIDENT. She is from Massachusetts. Q. Does she have a position now? THE PRESIDENT. No. She was an economic analyst at the U.S. Treasury Department from I939 to 1941; principal fiscal analyst, U.S. Bureau of the Budget, I94I to 1947; American Mission Aid to Greece, 1947 to I948; the Committee on Economic Development in I949, and professor of economics, Wheaton College, I949. She is presently dean of Wheaton College in Massachusetts. Q. It is another "first," Mr. President, as far as being a woman on that? THE PRESIDENT. Yes, and a first-class woman, too. We are very proud to be able to get her. Q. Is she a Republican? THE PRESIDENT. Yes. [5.] We are naming a commission to study Puerto Rico. It is a very important commission, and the President names three members and the House two, the Senate two, and six from Puerto Rico, to study statehood, commonwealth, and all of that study provided by congressional act. We are naming to that Mrs. Patricia Roberts Harris. She has a Doctor's degree, I96I, from George Washington, and an A.B. summa cum laude from Howard University, I945. From I945 to I947 she was engaged 426 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-I964 Mar. 28 [242] in government and industrial relations, postgraduate study, at the University of Chicago; a Phi Beta Kappa; 45 years of age. She will serve on that commission with Mr. James H. Rowe, Jr., former assistant to President Roosevelt. Mr. Rowe will be chairman of the commission. He is from Butte, Mont. He was the last Secretary to Justice Holmes, the last one that he had. He served President Roosevelt, as you know. He is trustee of the Twentieth Century Fund. He has been awarded two Presidential citations. You can get all of this information over there on the table. Along with Mr. Rowe and Mrs. Harris, we have Dr. Brewster Denny. He is Director of the Graduate School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington, and consultant to the Rand Corporation. [6.] You ladies will be interested in this: Mrs. Lee Walsh, Women's Editor of the Washington Star, has been named Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Evaluations. She served for the past o years as the head of the Star's Women's Department. She will be working under the supervision of Deputy Under Secretary of State William J. Crockett. [7.] There is a long statement on this. Just to recapitulate, this gives us, since January i, 89 new appointments of women from grade I2 to I8-from io through 20, I guess that is what the Atomic Energy pays, $22,500. We have made 389 promotions in the same grade from $Io,ooo up. Q. Did you say since the first of the year? THE PRESIDENT. We have made about 50 Presidential appointments during that same period. The Atomic Energy post pays $22,500; the Export-Import post pays $20,000; the Puerto Rican Commission pays $Ioo a day. Roughly, that is 525 women that we have placed during that period. We are constantly reevaluating and trying to find qualified women to fit into vacancies that occur. Q. Will there be more, Mr. President? THE PRESIDENT. Yes, many more. [8.] I have three or four little statements I would like to make on the guidelines, somewhat detailing the Government's interest in them. We support the principle of free collective bargaining and continued advances in wage and fringe benefits, as I said in Atlantic City,1 but we feel it is the duty of the Government to state the public interest in such a way that it is given proper weight in both labor and management positions in collective bargaining so that they can look and see what the Nation's increased productivity is and we hope will be guided by that and bear that in mind in their negotiations. We expect all the negotiations, though, to be handled by free collective bargaining. The guideposts are not steps to controls. On the contrary, they are the way that free economy faces up to the problem of pricewage spirals without invoking controls. In other words, if we can get them voluntarily to follow closely the guidelines, we can avoid a wage-price spiral. The Government's point of view is broader than that of either labor or management, but the guideposts we think are important because we believe they are in the best interests of both. We welcome a continuing dialogue about the guideposts. We think they will be better understood if they are more discussed. It will help improve our understanding, the effect of private price and wage decisions on the national economy. We believe in the preservation of stable prices and we think it is of continuing importance in our fight against unemploy1 See Item 233. 427 [242] Mar. 28 Public Papers of the Presidents ment, poverty, and our effort to improve our balance of payments position. [9.] I am drafting an Executive order setting up an advisory board that will report to me in connection with the supersonic transport,2 which is a very important development. We are making substantial progress on it. We now have a development cost estimate and we have the estimated unit selling prices. We have a number of orders. We have a number of proposals that have already been submitted. We believe the technical challenge of the supersonic transport is manageable. We think the main problem lies in the financial area. We believe that Government and industry participating is the key issue and we have to work that out. The men I expect to name in that Executive order which is now on the drafting board are: Secretary McNamara-we hope we can get the benefit of his experience not only in production, not only his personal experience, but the entire experience of the Defense Department in giving me counsel; Mr. Halaby, of the FAA, the FAA Administrator; Mr. Eugene Black, who made the report, former head of the World Bank; Secretary Dillon-we have a good deal involved in the balance of payments; Mr. John McCone, Secretary Hodges, and Space Administrator Webb. I don't know whether you have any facilities for getting any of that in or whether you want any of it, or not. [io.] I will conclude with this: I am preparing to send to the Congress-I worked on it today-letters to the Speaker and Carl Hayden. I don't have copies of them, but I guess you can get the thought if I read them real quickly: 2Executive Order II149, signed by the President on April 3, I964 (29 F.R. 4765; 3 CFR, 1964 Supp.). 428 "I recommend that Congress enact legislation establishing a bipartisan commission to study and appraise the changes taking place in the American food industry. Enclosed is a draft bill which will accomplish this purpose. "The growth and stability of our entire economy depends to a large extent upon the food industry. Its vitality and strength are important to the farmers, the processors, distributors, and retailers who depend upon it for their livelihood. Its practices affect all of us as consumers. "Information is not now available to permit an informed judgment concerning the effect of the recent changes in the food industry. We do not know whether benefits of advanced technology are being fairly distributed among farmers, processors, distributors, and consumers. We do not know whether shifts in bargaining powers require new laws. We do not know enough about the new character of the industry to determine the extent of the benefits and the need for any relief from hardship which may be necessary. "The commission would gather necessary information and report to the Congress and the public." The commission would be composed of 15 members, five from the Senate, five from the House, and five appointed by the President. An illustration is, we have some commodities today where the producer is receiving 25 to 30 percent less for the commodity and the housewife is paying 25 to 30 percent more, at least the same price she did a year 3 As released by the White House on April i the letter included a final paragraph as follows: "In addition to the draft bill, there is also enclosed a memorandum from the Secretary of Agriculture explaining the need for the legislation in more detail." The draft bill and the Secretary's memorandum were released with the President's letter. Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-1964 Mar. 28 [2421 ago. We want to see why that is happening. It particularly pertains to meat. Senator McGee came down to visit with us, with the head of the Farmers' Union, the day before I left Washington. They point out that the producer's price of meat had a drastic drop, but the price the consumer pays is still approximately the same. I think that is all I have for you. I would be glad to answer any questions that you may have. [II.] Q. Mr. President, is the administration giving any consideration to any revisions of policy, particularly with respect to Panama and Cuba, in connection with Senator Fulbright's speech? THE PRESIDENT. We read with a great deal of interest Senator Fulbright's speech.4 He has made a goodly number of them as a Member of the House and Senate through the years. They are always interesting and generally provocative. He, of course, expresses his own individual views, as I made clear before I left Washington. I had dinner with him Sunday night and we discussed the Viet-Nam situation in some detail. We did not discuss Cuba and Panama. We do not share his views in those connections. I am sorry we didn't go into some detail in connection with our respective viewpoints. Perhaps the situation could have been cleared up some. I would say no more than Senator Fulbright speaks for himself. He is entitled to his view. We always respect his opinions. In this instance we do not agree with them. We feel that in light of the information we have the Panamanian situation is being handled as best we can. I think that answers your question. Q. Did you have any idea when you had 'The speech, made before the Senate, is printed in the Congressional Record (vol. Iio, p. 6028; March 25, I964). dinner with Senator Fulbright, Mr. President, that he was going to make this speech or express those views? THE PRESIDENT. We talked about VietNam. We didn't go into that subject. Q. Mr. President, in your speech Tuesday before the building trades groups, you anticipated an early settlement on Panama. Do you still feel that way, sir? THE PRESIDENT. We don't know how many speeches we are going to have in the meantime, but we are working real hard. We have a very definite difference on the question of precommitments, and we do not know how to commit ourselves in advance to a treaty unless we know what commitment they want. It is up to Panama to resume diplomatic relations. We can't negotiate until we do resume relations. That move is up to her. In the statement I made Saturday a week ago,5 I think I was very clear on the subject. We consider her our friend. We want to work out an agreement with her. We are willing to sit down anytime, anywhere, and discuss anything, without precommitment. [I2.] Q. Mr. President, what are the prospects in your view for your wheat and cotton bill in the House when it comes up after recess? THE PRESIDENT. We think it will be a very hard fight. We think that some people who are against our passing anything are opposing it very vigorously. We believe that it is very essential to continued prosperity of the agricultural industry and the American people that we pass the food stamp plan, and that we pass the farm bill. We are going to do everything we can to pass it. If it is not passed, the responsibility will be clearly on others, not on us. [I3.] Q. Mr. President, the country is going through a new period of racial demon5 See Item 232 [I]. 429 [242] Mar. 28 Public Papers of the Presidents strations, including the school boycott. I wonder if you could give us your views on the school boycott and some other methods of demonstrating in order to force integration. THE PRESIDENT. I would say that we believe in the right of petition as guaranteed under the Constitution. We are hopeful that we can expedite action on the civil rights bill pending in the Senate. We think that will be a long step forward and will solve a good many of the problems that now bring about petitions from many groups. Our first big job, I think, is to pass the civil rights bill. We had two key votes on it last week and won them both. We hope we can get the bill passed at the earliest possible day. [I4.] Q. Mr. President, President Truman declared himself for reelection in March, a corresponding period. When do you think you will make your intentions clear on this year's election? THE PRESIDENT. I haven't studied that. Q. Did you say you have not studied it, sir? THE PRESIDENT. No. [x5.] Q. Mr. President, do you think it is possible to get a cloture vote in the Senate on the civil rights bill? THE PRESIDENT. I haven't gone into that. I think that will have to be determined after the debate. I don't know whether it will be necessary or not. If it is, I hope it will be possible, because we expect to pass one. [i6.] Q. Mr. President, are you considering a visit to Alaska in the next few days, an aerial inspection? THE PRESIDENT. No. I have a personal representative on the way there now. I communicated with the Governor last night and communicated with many officials during the night and again this morning. We have the two Senators going up there. We are attempting to reach their Congressman. We have all the authorities that we think can be helpful to make an on-the-spot study. They are doing it now and we will have reports around midnight, the first on-thespot ones. We will make them available to you as soon as possible thereafter, if you want to get them at that time of the evening. I don't have any choice about when I get them. Q. Have you talked to Governor Egan again today, during the day? THE PRESIDENT. No. I have talked to him. I expressed our sympathy to him and the sympathy of all of our people. I assured him that we had taken prompt action, to declare it a disaster area. I previously sent a wire. The order creating the disaster area, and so forth, are all available to you, and you can get the details without taking the time here.6 [17.] Q. Have you given the supersonic transport advisory board a specific assignment, Mr. President? THE PRESIDENT. The Executive order will do that. It is being drawn. I wanted you to know that we are doing that. It has not been finalized yet. It may be changed in the details. But we want to have the broad spectrum of the Government interested in it and working with it, to get the best judgments of all of our people in an advisory capacity. Q. Mr. President, do you want to set a deadline on the report back to you? THE PRESIDENT. No. This will be advisory. I am not asking for a report. I am asking them to advise in connection with the contracts and all the matters covered by the Black report and by the report that I made in connection with the testimony before the Congress. The Congress has already appropriated $60 million. We have already had an evaluation of the various proposals. 6 See also note to Item 241. 430 Lyndon B. John! But we just want to get this senior group of officials to sit in and counsel with us. [I8.] Q. Mr. President, is there any further word about the RB-66 fliers who were released? THE PRESIDENT. No, except what you have seen in the newspapers. We are very happy that we were able to work out arrangements for their return promptly and safely. We have stated before they were not on any clandestine or spy mission. We have to wait until we can have full interviews to determine just exactly what happened, whether it was faulty metering or whether it was instrument failure, or what it was. I have given instructions, and I have followed through very, very vigorously, in connection with observing the corridor and trying to avoid a repetition of this thing. But as long as we have machines we will have failures. [19.] Q. Mr. President, are you considering a trip to visit some of the poverty areas? THE PRESIDENT. Yes. I told one person about it the other day and it has been leaked all over Washington since. I want very much to go into some of the poverty areas when time will permit and we can arrange it. I suggested to a Senator that I might go to his State, and suggested to a Department head-I guess I talked to two people about it-that I would like for him to give some thought about when his schedule would permit. I do expect to go into some of the -unemployed centers, a very limited number, and view conditions firsthand, talk to the -workers themselves, and try to get a picture not just of poverty but of unemployment:generally. Q. When? Do you know when, Mr. President? THE PRESIDENT. When I can work it out conveniently to the people involved and ad son, 1963-1964 Mar. 28 [242] just it to my own schedule. I am sorry that it has had to be announced in advance because now we will have all the wires coming in from the various places and it will create more problems than it will solve. But I have seen reference to it. It is true. I wanted to answer you frankly. [20.] Q. Mr. President, there has been considerable talk recently about Secretary McNamara as a possible vice presidential candidate. Do you think the fact that he is a Republican, has been a Republican in the past, would bar him from the Democratic ticket? THE PRESIDENT. I think that we will have plenty of time to select our Vice Presidential candidate when we meet in August at the convention. The delegates will do that after the President is nominated and makes his recommendation to them. I am sure they will make a wise selection. [21.] Q. Mr. President, would the unemployment visit include some of the large urban areas as well as the smaller ones? THE PRESIDENT. Yes. [22.] Q. Will you seek the nomination, Mr. President? THE PRESIDENT. We will get along with that after we get rid of the Congress and they go home, when we get to the convention in August. There will be plenty of time for us to indulge in political matters. What we want to try to do is get a good program through the Congress. We are very proud of the fact that we have the greatest education Congress in history. We got a good library bill passed. We got the foreign aid bill passed. We got io of the I5 appropriation bills passed already. We got the tax bill passed. We got the civil rights bill passed in the House, and we want to pass it in the Senate. We are anxious to get a good foreign aid 43I [242] Mar. 28 Public Papers of the Presidents bill this year, and we expect to. We thought we had a good message on the subject that was realistic and was candid. We expect to pass the civil rights bill in the Senate. We expect to pass the poverty bill. We hope we can get the medicare bill reported by the House committee. It is going to take time. We hope we can get it reported by the committee and acted upon. If we can get civil rights, taxes, medicare, and poverty behind us, we will have plenty to do for the next few months. Then maybe the American people will be willing for us to take a little time off and talk about who ought to serve us next year in the Congress and in the executive department. [23.] Q. Mr. President, can you give us your view of Senator Goldwater's attacks on Mr. McNamara? THE PRESIDENT. No. I haven't read them. I have very great confidence in Secretary McNamara, as I think the people of this country have. I have not seen the specific "attack" on Mr. McNamara. If so, I am not aware of any justification for such. I think he is a great public servant. [24.] Q. Mr. President, could you tell us what the salary of Ambassador Tibbetts would be? THE PRESIDENT. It depends on the country, but it will be in excess of $20,000. Q. What about Mrs. Walsh? THE PRESIDENT. I don't have that, but it will be an Assistant Secretary's salary, up in the higher grade. The Atomic Energy will be $22,500. That is by law. Q. But she is to be a Deputy Assistant Secretary. THE PRESIDENT. And it is $20,000 for the Export-Import Bank. I would say you girls are doing right well these days. [25.] Q. How are you enjoying your Easter vacation? THE PRESIDENT. I haven't had any. Q. Can you tell us what your plans are for the rest of the trip, whether you are going to church, or if you are going to Fredericksburg tonight for the bonfires? THE PRESIDENT. I don't know about the bonfire. I want to see how things develop here the rest of the afternoon. If I can, I would like to go, but I don't know that I will go. I don't have a specific itinerary by the minute. We will go to church tomorrow. I don't know where or when, but I will let George ' know as soon as I do. I would hope that all of you would be going to church some place, too, and that we all don't go to the same church because the churches out here are not very large and they couldn't take care of all of you. Q. We can all contribute to the building fund, Mr. President. [26.] Q. Mr. President, could I ask one more question on the fliers? THE PRESIDENT. Carl Vinson one time, after I served on a committee about 8 years, was presiding and I asked a question about the Corpus Christi Navy Base. He said, "Admiral, we must go on and get other matters taken care of." I said, "It looks like after a man has been serving on this committee for 8 years he would be entitled to one question." And he said, "All right, but just one." Q. How will the release of the fliers affect our relations with Russia? THE PRESIDENT. We are very pleased that we were able to effect a prompt release. We don't agree with their statement that they were involved in any spying mission. We are happy that we were able to accomplish their release. We continually seek good relations with Russia and other countries, and 'George E. Reedy, Press Secretary to the President. 432 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-i964 Apr. 3 [244] we do all we can to ease the tensions that NOTE: President Johnson's eighth news conference exist. We are happy that in this instance was held in his office at the LBJ Ranch, Johnson City, Tex., at 4:43 p.m. on Saturday, March 28, we were able to work it out promptly. I964. WVith respect to the numbering of the news Alvin A. Spivak, United Press Interna- conferences see notes at end of Items I43 and 232. tional: Thank you, sir. 243 Message to the New President of Brazil. April 2, i964 PLEASE accept my warmest good wishes on your installation as President of the United States of Brazil. The American people have watched with anxiety the political and economic difficulties through which your great nation has been passing, and have admired the resolute will of the Brazilian community to resolve these difficulties within a framework of constitutional democracy and without civil strife. The relations of friendship and cooperation between our two governments and peo ples are a great historical legacy for us both and a precious asset in the interests of peace and prosperity and liberty in this hemisphere and in the whole world. I look forward to the continued strengthening of those relations and to our intensified cooperation in the interests of economic progress and social justice for all and of hemispheric and world peace. LYNDON B. JOHNSON [His Excellency Ranieri Mazzilli, President of the United States of Brazil] 244 Remarks on the i5th Anniversary of the Signing of the North Atlantic Treaty. April 3, i964 Ladies and gentlemen: It is a very great pleasure for Mrs. Johnson and me to welcome you to the White House on this very special occasion. We have with us today the distinguished representatives of the NATO family: the ambassadors and the charges from our 14 North Atlantic Treaty Organizations, the members of the North Atlantic military committee, and an attache from each of the NATO nations. Behind our own efforts in NATO are some most distinguished Members of our Senate and our House of Representatives: the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the chairman and the ranking minority member of several of the committees, all of them strong and determined supporters of the United States role in this most important alliance. We have two or three of the former commanders of the military side of NATO: the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, General Gruenther, General Ridgway, General Norstad, also General Bradley, who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff when NATO was founded. And from Norfolk today, Admiral Smith, who is the Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic, and his deputy, Vice Admiral Beloe of the Royal Navy. All of you are most welcome to this I5th anniversary ceremony. I am sure that many of us wondered when the treaty was signed I5 years ago, just as I wondered, whether or 433 [244 ] Apr- 3 Public Papers of the Presidents not this step forward in collective security for the Atlantic Community would ever really last. I know that we can all agree today that it has not only lasted, but it has progressed from its first concept of a military alliance to a true political entity. I am glad that you could be here with us to express our mutual appreciation and our common interest in this alliance. And thank you again, to those of you in the audience, for coming to the East Room of the White House today to hear this broadcast on this notable occasion to the American people. [Beginning at this point the President's remarks were broadcast over television.] Fifteen years ago tomorrow, here in Washington, the North Atlantic Treaty was signed. Less than 5 months later, after due constitutional process in all the signing countries, the treaty entered into force. From that time to this, the treaty has served the peace of the world. This short treaty commits its parties to meet an armed attack on any of them in Europe or North America as "an attack against all of them." For 15 years it has prevented any such attack. Created in response to Stalin's Iron Curtain and the loss of Czechoslovakian freedom, this treaty has lived through war in Korea, the threat of war over Berlin, and a crisis without precedent in Cuba. Each great event has tested NATO, and from each test we have gained increased strength. We began as I2 countries; today we are 15. Those we have gained are among our most determined partners: Greece, Turkey, and the Federal Republic of Germany. What began as a treaty soon became a Command, and then a great international organization. The number of ready divisions, including 6 from the United States, has multiplied by 5. The number of modern aircraft has multiplied by Io-all more effective by far than any were in I949. So the alliance is real. Its forces operate. Its strength is known. Its weapons cover the full range of power, from small arms to nuclear missiles of the most modern design. From the beginning, this treaty has aimed not simply at defense, but has aimed at the cooperative progress of all of its members. On the day of signing, back there 15 years ago, President Truman described it as a "bulwark which will permit us to get on with the real business of government and society, the business of achieving a full and happier life for all of our citizens." This treaty, in fact, came 2 years after we and other friends had begun our historic enterprise of economic recovery under the Marshall plan. Our "real business" was already pretty well advanced. The I5 years since I949 have seen the longest upward surge of economic growth that our Atlantic world has ever known. Our production and trade have more than doubled; our population has grown by more than a hundred million; the income of the average man has grown by more than 50 percent. Our inward peace and our outward confidence have grown steadily more secure. The internal threat of communism has shriveled in repeated failure. A new generation, strong and free and healthy, walks our streets-and rides in our cars. Yes, we have done well. Danger has receded, but it has not disappeared. The task of building our defenses is never really done. The temptation to relax must always be resisted. Our own Atlantic agenda has changed, but it is not short. Our first common task, therefore, is to move onward to that closer partnership 434 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-I964 Apr. 3 [244] which is so plainly in our common interest. The United States, for one, has learned much from i5 years of danger and achievement. In 1949 the solemn commitment of this treaty was for us a historic departure from isolation, and we have many great men, some among us and some away today, to thank for their leadership. Now it is a tested and recognized foundationstone of America's foreign policy. What Robert Schuman said for France in I949 I repeat for my country today: "Nations are more and more convinced that their fates are closely bound together; their salvation and their welfare can no longer be based upon an egotistical and aggressive nationalism, but must rest upon the progressive application of human solidarity." The ways of our growing partnership are not easy. Though the union of Europe is her manifest destiny, the building of that unity is a long, hard job. But we, for our part, will never turn back to separated insecurity. We welcome the new strength of our trans-Atlantic allies. We find no contradiction between national self-respect and interdependent mutual reliance. We are eager to share with the new Europe at every level of power and at every level of responsibility. We aim to share the lead in the search for new and stronger patterns of cooperation. We believe in the alliance because in our own interest we must, because in the common interest it works, and because in the world's interest it is right. We have other duties and opportunities. Our trade with one another and the world is not yet free and not yet broad enough to serve both us and others as it should. Our monetary systems have grown stronger, but they still too often limit us when they should be, instead, a source of energy and growth. In ever growing measure we have set ourselves and others free from the burden of colonialism. We have also set new precdents of generous concern for those that are less prosperous than we. But our connection to the less developed nations is not yet what it should be, and must be. This is not a one-way street, but we must work to do our full part to make it straight and to make it broad. We remain vigilant in defending our liberties, but we must be alert to any hope of stable settlement with those who have made vigilance necessary and essential. In particular we must be alive to the new spirit of diversity that is now abroad in Eastern Europe. We did not make the Iron Curtain. We did not build the Wall. Gaps in the Curtain are welcome, and so are holes in the Wall, whenever they are not hedged by traps. We continue to believe that the peace of all Europe requires the reunification of the German people in freedom. We will be firm, but we will always be fair. Our guard is up, but our hand is out. We must build on our tradition of determined support for the great United Nations. We are pledged to this purpose by the very articles of our treaty, and we have kept our pledge. The members of NATO provide most of the resources of the United Nations, and most of its ability to help in keeping peace. When we began we promised that our treaty was consistent with the charter. Today we know that the charter and the treaty are indispensable to one another. Neither can keep the peace alone. We need them both, in full effectiveness, for as many years ahead as any of us can see. The Atlantic peoples have a magnificent history, but they have known too much war. It is the splendor of this great alliance that in keeping peace with its opponents, it has 33-171-65 — 33 435 [244] Apr. 3 Public Papers of the Presidents kept the road clear for a worldwide upward march toward the good life for free people. Proven in danger, strengthened in freedom, and resolute in purpose, we will go on, with God's help, to serve not only our own people, but to serve the bright future of all mankind. [At this point the broadcasting of the President's remarks was concluded.] Thank you for coming. If I may impose upon you a moment before I leave-we have in our presence one of the great men of our time, who was perhaps more responsible for the Marshall plan and NATO and many of the good things that we now find in our foreign policy: I would like to ask him to come forward and just say a brief word to all of those who respect him and admire him so much-the beloved former Secretary of State, Mr. Dean Acheson. NOTE: The President spoke at 5 p.m. in the East Room at the White House. The text of Mr. Acheson's remarks was not released. 245 Remarks Following the Signing of a Joint Declaration With Panama. April 3, 1964 Your Excellencies, Members of the Congress: Today's agreement is both a beginning and a renewal. It provides that we will reestablish diplomatic relations, we will immediately appoint special ambassadors with sufficient powers to seek the prompt elimination of the causes of conflict between the two countries without limitations or preconditions of any kind. I have already talked to the distinguished President of Panama and informed him that the United States has selected the former distinguished Secretary of the Treasury, a great law professor, Mr. Robert B. Anderson, to be our Ambassador to carry on these discussions. We will also send the regular Ambassador to Panama's name to the Senate as soon as we have received approval from the Panamanian Government. We are thus embarking upon the solution of our problems without preconditions or limitations of any kind, believing that a lasting agreement depends upon the utmost freedom and the utmost flexibility of approach. We will now immediately renew relations, appoint special ambassadors, and 436 begin a process which aims at a final resolution of our difficulties. Arrival of this agreement in the presence of understandable but intense emotions and convictions is a tribute to our essential unity of interest. We share much history. We share a commitment to the liberty that we have achieved in the past and to the progress that we intend for the future. We can now proceed not only to solve today's difficulties but toward the increased welfare of all the people of the Americas under the Alliance for Progress. So, gentlemen, let us approach our search for a solution with the openness and the generosity of those who seek only the strengthening of friendship. Let us meet as sovereign nations, as allies, and as equal partners in the inter-American system. Panama can be confident, as we are con. fident, that we each desire an agreement which protects the interests and recognizes the needs of both our nations. I would also like on this occasion to especially and particularly thank the OAS for its very important role. This is further proof of the unmatched effectiveness of the Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-I964 Apr- 4 [246] inter-American system. For decades disputes between the American nations have been settled at the conference table. This achievement in this hemisphere offers a hopeful model for all those who pursue peace in every continent. This is truly a great day for America, for Panama, for all the people of the Western Hemisphere, and for all freedom-loving people everywhere. We welcome you to the White House. We thank you for having come. We greet especially the Ambassadors who are here 246 The President's News Conferen April 4, 1964 and the members of the National Security Council who only a few moments ago approved this agreement. Thank you very much. NOTE: The President spoke in the Cabinet Room at the White House following a meeting of the National Security Council. Later on April 6 the White House announced that the President had that day nominated Jack Hood Vaughn as United States Ambassador to Panama. The nomination was confirmed by the Senate on April 7. The joint declaration is printed in the Department of State Bulletin (vol. 50, p. 656). THE PRESIDENT. I want to maintain a policy of accessibility and this is a beautiful day and I have some time on my hands. I would be glad to talk to you about any of the problems that interest you, and if I have any information that would be helpful, I will give it to you. If you have any questions, I would be glad to have them. [i.] Q. Mr. President, within the past week there have been some very interesting developments in relation to Brazil and Panama. How do you assess the state of the United States relations with Latin America at this point? THE PRESIDENT. We have a lot of problems in this hemisphere. They are serious problems. They concern us greatly. We have brought the best people to cope with these problems that we know how to select. We are attempting to coordinate the efforts of the Government and the private sector in every respect to deal with these problems. They are the problems that are the ancient enemies of mankind-disease and illiteracy. We are encouraged by the developments in Panama. We are pleased that we have not only been able to work out an arrangement that is satisfactory to both nations in every respect, but we are glad that the transition in Brazil has been constitutional. While the problems are immense there, we are prepared to join with our friends in the world in trying to help Brazil face up to them and meet them. I would say that this has been a good week for this hemisphere. [2.] Q. Mr. President, there have been some stories this week, sir, about your driving in Texas, saying that you had hit speeds of perhaps up to 90 miles an hour in a zone with a speed limit of 70 miles an hour. Some people have expressed concern that you are putting yourself in danger. Do you intend to perhaps drive more slowly, or are you concerned about your own safety? THE PRESIDENT. I am unaware that I have ever driven past 70. [3.] Q. Mr. President, to follow the first question, how do you feel about the situation in Brazil, where they threaten to continue expropriation of foreign-owned properties? THE PRESIDENT. The new government has 437 [246] Apr. 4 Public Papers of the Presidents many problems that it will have to face up to. We hope to work with them in meeting those problems. I think it is a little bit too early to conclude what all of their policies will be, or just how they will work out. But we hope for the best. [4.] Q. Mr. President, the Republican candidates and noncandidates for President seem to be leveling off in their criticisms of the way you have been conducting domestic affairs. But they seem to be intensifying their criticism of your handling of foreign affairs. I wondered if you had noticed this, and if you have any comment. THE PRESIDENT. No, I have not particularly noticed any special constructive criticism on our foreign policies. We do have problems in many spots of the world that come up from day to day. We have only one country and one President, and we hope that we do not find ourselves divided in our policy toward our other neighbors and friends in the world. We try to follow the national interest and we believe that both parties are interested in doing that. I do not like to think of foreign policy in terms of parties. We did have a serious situation when Mr. Ball 1 went to Greece and Turkey and London in connection with Cyprus, and we still have problems for the world there. But we are glad that the United Nations machinery is at work and the mediator has been selected and the nations have furnished troops to go there and aid in keeping the peace. We have seen the transition in Brazil, and constitutional processes. We expect and look forward to brighter hopes there and better conditions in company with our other friends in the world who can be helpful. Our disagreements with Panama have lasted longer than we thought, and it has taken us a little longer time. We have ap'George W. Ball, Under Secretary of State. proached agreements several times, but there is always something that would come up that would postpone it or delay it. But there has been a complete meeting of the minds. Both nations have now selected special ambassadors and both men have special experience and talent. I have selected Mr. Jack Hood Vaughn to be our new Ambassador to Panama. He will be leaving for there just as soon as he can be confirmed by the Senate. As you know, he is a director of the Latin American Affairs for the Peace Corps. He has previously worked in Latin America for many years. Few Americans know as many Panamanians personally as Mr. Vaughn does. So we think that we are well on the way to a solution of our problems in Panama. We had some problems with our plane being shot down, but we believe those problems were created by perhaps an instrument error. Q. You are speaking of the German instance. THE PRESIDENT. Yes, and faulty instruments, perhaps some mistakes on the part of the crew, itself. But I have issued instructions calculated to avoid any such errors in the future that are humanly possible to avoid. In Viet-Nam, some have asked what the policy is, but I think it is pretty clear. We have roughly four alternatives there, to extend the war, to fold up and pull out, to try to bring about neutralization, and we have probed that thoroughly. We are unable to see that we could achieve neutralization of that area in the light of the situation that exists, so we are trying to do what we have done for many years, that is, to aid the South Vietnamese in carrying forward, giving them advice and materials, and making that operation as efficient as possible, as effective as possible in order to preserve their freedom. 438 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-1964 Apr. 4 [2461 We have a new team there, new men. They are dedicated men and we are happy with them. The Ambassador is happy with them. They have been selected, most of them, since I came into office. We have hopes that that situation will improve so all in all, while we do have problems and serious ones, we do not think that they are problems that should divide the country, or divide us according to political lines. [5.] Q. Mr. President, since the speech by Senator Fulbright in the Senate, asking for abandonment of old myths, and so forth, there have been two developments which could be regarded as feelers on the part of Cuba, one by Che Guevara, in Geneva, and the other by Mr. Castro, himself, which could be regarded as feelers for reestablishing some sort of working relationship with the United States. Do you have any comments along those lines? THE PRESIDENT. No, I spoke in some detail in my press meeting last week about Senator Fulbright's speech.2 I don't think I have anything to add to that. He did not speak after consulting with the administration. We had no knowledge of his speech. He spoke, as he said, for himself. The administration does not share his view with regard to Panama or with regard to Cuba. [6.] Q. Mr. President, last week in Texas you said you planned to make a tour of some of the poverty-stricken areas of the Nation. I wonder if you have more definite plans in mind as to where you will go and when you will go? THE PRESIDENT. We want to go into the Appalachia area. We don't have the day selected and we don't have the cities selected. We have a rather busy week and we will be busy the early part of the week. It could come the latter part of next week or the following week. ' See Item 242 [ I I] One of the disadvantages of these leaks is that you spend a lot of time trying to discuss these things before you can make your plans definite. But I am anxious to see firsthand the Appalachian area, to see some of the pockets of unemployment. While the unemployment among married males is the best situation we have had in many months, there still is much progress that must be made. I think that a trip like this would be helpful not only to the President, but to the area, and to the officials who are responsible for attempting to find solutions to these problems. We will make the trip. When and where is yet to be decided. [7.] Q. Mr. President, on politics in your own party, Governor Wallace is running in the primaries in Wisconsin, Indiana, and Maryland against slates pledged to you, and largely on a platform of opposition to your civil rights bill in Congress. Could you comment on what effect you think the vote he might receive would have on the civil rights problem.? THE PRESIDENT. I think the people of those States will give their answer at the time designated. I don't care to speculate or anticipate it. [8.] Q. Mr. President, sir, yesterday you were marking the I5th anniversary of NATO, with its considerable accomplishments in the past. Do you anticipate, sir, that in the coming years there is any need to revise or expand or enlarge the NATO concept to meet problems which didn't exist at the time it was created? THE PRESIDENT. We will always be ready to face any problems as they appear, and we do have problems emerging constantly. We are, generally, very happy with the alliance. From time to time we have views expressed within it that are of concern to us, but my statement yesterday generally reflected my 'See Item 244. 439 [246] Apr. 4 Public Papers of the Presidents attitude toward the alliance and toward its past, and toward what I expect it to achieve in the future. We are happy with it, and we are proud of it. We think that it will be competent to deal with the problems that face us. [9.] Q. Mr. President, could you comment, sir, on the progress of the civil rights debate in the Senate? THE PRESIDENT. Well, they have been debating it for a good many days, and obviously there will be much debate yet in the offing. I would hope that they could start voting on some of the important matters that will be proposed. I expect the debate to be extended, but I hope that we can resolve the question at as early a date as possible. I do not want to set any time limit, because it is something over which I have no control. I don't think anyone can speculate. But I believe, after a reasonable time, the majority of the Senators will be ready to vote and I hope that a vote can be worked out. [Io.] Q. Mr. President, can you say, sir, whether, in the forthcoming discussions with the representatives from Panama, would there be circumstances under which the United States would discuss adjustment or revision of the perpetuity clause of the Canal treaty? THE PRESIDENT. I would not want to anticipate the specifics of those discussions before the ambassadors meet. We have made it very dear, in our agreement, that we would discuss the problems that exist between the two nations, without any precommitments or without any preconditions. As those discussions progress we will be kept informed and I will let you know anything that I can let you know. [ii.] Q. Mr. President, Premier Khrushchev of Russia and the Chinese have been attacking each other during the past week. What is your reaction to this exchange, and what do you think it means as far as the United States foreign relations? THE PRESIDENT. They obviously have problems in all of the countries of the world, and they are fighting for support among the Communist parties in those countries. That is a matter that concerns them and I do not see that there is anything I could say that would contribute to it. [I2.] Q. Mr. President, the first quarter of the year has ended, and I wondered what you thought of the state of the economy at this stage of the year. THE PRESIDENT. I think we have every reason to be very pleased with the operation during the first quarter. I am told that our balance of trade payments will be roughly $7 billion for the last 3 months, which is exceptionally good. That is 58 percent above the corresponding average for the 6 months earlier. That is our exports. Q. What was the figure again? THE PRESIDENT. Fifty-eight percent above the corresponding average for 6 months earlier. It is running at the rate of $7 billion, the trade balance is. It is about 80 percent above a year ago. Almost all of this remarkable gain is due to higher exports. Imports have maintained a steady rate through most of the past year. Our unemployment, insured unemployment figures, reinforce the better feel on jobs. In the week of March 21, both the rate of insured unemployment and the number of State unemployment insurance rolls was the lowest for any March week since 1959. On the balance of payments, I am told we still have 2 or 3 weeks to project in this quarter, but it looks as though it could be almost balanced off without any loss, which is very good news. 440 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Apr. 4 [246] Q. What period is that for, sir? THE PRESIDENT. The last quarter. The confidence of business and the effects, I think, that have flown from our getting the tax bill passed have been good. The DowJones Industrials closed at about 822. Q. Friday? THE PRESIDENT. That is right. That is about i I points above what it was November 22d. We don't know all that reflects, but that is an increase of some $60 billion in values on the Big Board and the American and unlisted stocks. That is encouraging. With the advance we have made in the farm bill and the expectation that we should, and we hope, to pass it in the House this week, that will add to our jobs, potential jobs, and will give us additional needed and necessary farm income, still resulting in a reduction of storage costs and reduction of surplus supplies for the Government, which will add to our general economic picture. All in all, our balance of trade, our balance of payments, our unemployment figures, our business expansion, our increases in values, have been good. [I3.] Q. Mr. President, Horace Busby4 joined the White House staff this last week. Do you plan any new additions to the White House staff? THE PRESIDENT. Yes. There will be additions from time to time. There have been a number of resignations and a number of people have taken other assignments. A good many of them have not been filled. I am bringing over today Mr. Hobart Taylor as Associate General Counsel. I am appointing Mr. Lee White Associate General Counsel. I have asked Mr. Myer Feldman to be my General Counsel when he returns from his trip. We will adjust the duties of 4 Special Assistant to the President. various people. There will be additions from time to time. [I4.] Q. Mr. President, the Red Chinese radio has been saying all along, but particularly in recent days, that General de Gaulle's actions are hurting the Western alliance, splitting the Western alliance. Do you believe that to be the case? THE PRESIDENT. No, I do not believe that the Western alliance is being split. I think we have differences in the alliance from time to time between countries and between spokesmen and leaders of those countries, just as we have differences among ourselves from time to time. But on the serious problems, as I have said before, when the chips are down, whether it is Berlin, whether it is Cuba, or whatnot, we think that the alliance and the family will all be together. We will effectively defend freedom wherever it is challenged. [I5.] Q. Mr. President, could I just clear up a point on that economic question, sir? In view of the good-looking aspects that you have cited to us, how do you reconcile those with the fact that unemployment still stays at 5 /2 percent or so, and what can you do about it? THE PRESIDENT. We still have too much unemployment. We are trying to do everything we can about it. We are making some progress. We want to make more, we hope, as further expansion takes place, and the effects of the tax bill are felt. We hope as our productivity increases that extra jobs will be open. In this first quarter our auto sales, for instance, were the best first quarter in the history of the Nation. Total sales were I,843,000 as compared to the record year of I955 of I,770,000. We expect our poverty bill to be passed in the House shortly. We think that will make a substantial contribution to relieving 44I [246] Apr. 4 Public Papers of the Presidents some of our unemployment. We still have too much unused capacity and too many people to fill jobs that do not exist. But we are working at it, and we are making progress. Q. Mr. President, again on that economic question, sir, are you concerned that this improvement of which you speak might be setting the stage for inflation later this year or early next year? THE PRESIDENT. We think that in the light of the high unemployment that we have, we think in light of the large unused capacity that we have, we think in the light of the good judgment of both employers of this country and employees, and the assistance of their Government, while we must always be concerned about those problems, we are being very careful. [i6.] Q. Mr. President, along with the expressions of concern in the past week about your driving an automobile, there has been the suggestion that you leave the driving to a chauffeur. Would you give us your reaction to that, or tell us whether you plan to continue driving? THE PRESIDENT. Yes, I will drive from time to time. I ride very little and drive very little, but I will be going from the bottom of the hill on the ranch to the top of the hill, and I may actually, every 3 or 4 months, go over to a neighbor's place. I would want to feel free to do that. Q. Mr. President, are you going anywhere today? THE PRESIDENT. Not that I know of. I don't plan to. I have no immediate plans. But I would not want to preclude getting out, if I got through with the matters at hand and got my desk clear. I would like to take a little walk. I might go out. I do not want to schedule anything. Q. But how far, sir? THE PRESIDENT. As far as I could, away from here. Q. Mr. President, do you anticipate[I7.] Q. Mr. President, as a matter of history, do you know of any instance where a President has failed of election in a prosperous period? THE PRESIDENT. Eddie,5 you are a better historian than I am. I think there are many problems that will affect the elections this year, one of which, of course, is the economic condition of the country. I believe that all men of all parties want to see that condition good. We do not have any mortgage on that in the Democratic Party. But somehow or other, I do believe that the Democrats have the policy that is more likely to achieve better conditions for more people than our adversaries. I think the people recognize that, and, recognizing it, I think they will express themselves along that line at the ballot box. I think this will be a good year for the people from an economic standpoint, and I think it will be a good year for the Democrats from the political standpoint. Q. And the incumbent President? THE PRESIDENT. The Democrats, I said. That means all Democrats. [i8.] Q. Mr. President, as a cattleman, do you have any theory about the reason that cattle prices are quite low, yet the meat prices are quite high? THE PRESIDENT. We have asked the Congress to legislate a study in that general field which we think will be more accurate and more enlightening than some of the speculation that has existed. Prices of fed cattle have gone down, and a good many people who produce them recognize that very forcibly. The price of meat has not gone down Edward T. Folliard of the Washington Post. 442 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-I964 Apr. 4 [246] in proportion to the price that cattle have gone down. So we have asked for a study in that field and we expect the Congress to support us in our request. It will be a long, drawn-out study. But we hope, before the year is out, to get the facts and make them available to the people. I cannot speak with authority on the specific reason why producer prices are down and retail prices are still where they are. Some think that imports have contributed to it. Some think that the increase in production in this country, domestic production, has materially contributed to it. In any event, the Defense Department has stepped up its purchases of meat by i8 million pounds. The Secretary of Defense told me today, just a moment before I came in here, that he had issued instructions to buy an additional 3 million pounds per month of meat in this country to be distributed to our overseas installations, which would mean an additional 36 million pounds per year. He can get that meat now at a very reasonable price, and instead of acquiring it overseas we are acquiring it here and sending it overseas. It will make a material reduction, in effect, in the imports. It will probably be 8 or io percent of the total amount that is imported into this country that we will be exporting out of this country. Also, it will help our balance of payments, because instead of buying it there, we will be buying it here and sending it there. We are facing up to that problem, and I think when the study is completed we will know more about it. [ 9.] Q. Mr. President, speaking of imports, several groups have been in to see you lately, the wool group, and Mr. Blough, from United States Steel. Also, I understand you have a meeting with the shoe group. In view of the upcoming Kennedy Round of negotiations,6 do you believe you will be able to give any of these groups any help? THE PRESIDENT. Yes. We are giving study and thought, and, we hope, some assistance, to these individual commodity problems. We are working on them. [20.] Q. Mr. President, many books have been written about the loosening of morals among our young. Two of our national magazines have had cover stories on it, and seem to condone it. As a father, would you comment on the loosening of morals for the young in this country? THE PRESIDENT. From my observation, there has been an improvement in morals since my day. It may be that I am seeing a little different type of youngster. I know the problems of unemployment, school dropouts and all of those are not to be overlooked or taken lightly. Nevertheless, from my observation, a good many young people that are in the age group of members of my family-I am very proud of their morals and their intense interest in the finer things in life and in their general conduct. I think I would have made my parents happier if at I6 or I8, or even 20, I had conducted myself to the same high standards of morals as my daughters apply to themselves now. I find that pretty generally among their groups. We do have problems of teenagers and unemployment. It is very high, 13 or 14 percent. That does contribute to situations that are not too pleasing. But we are going to hit at that and hit a body blow in our poverty program and the community action programs in the various areas in the country and in our work camp program, and so forth. 6 Sixth Round of GATT tariff negotiations; GATT ministerial meeting held at Geneva May 4-6. 33-171-65- -34 443 [2461 Apr. 4 Public Papers of the Presidents We think we will make substantial progress in that field. Merriman Smith, United Press International: Thank you, Mr. President. NOTE: President Johnson's ninth news conference was held in the Cabinet Room at the White House at 2:I5 p.m. on Saturday, April 4, i964. With respect to the numbering of the President's news conferences see notes at end of Items 143, 232. 247 Statement by the President on the Death of General MacArthur. April 5, i964 ONE of America's greatest heroes is dead. General of the Army Douglas MacArthur fought his last fight with all the valor that distinguished him in war and peace. I have given instructions that he be buried with all the honors a grateful nation can bestow on a departed hero. But in the hearts of his countrymen and in the pages of history his courageous presence among us and his valiant deeds for us will never die. At a time of increasing complexity, where ancient virtues are obscured by the rush of events and knowledge, his life has reminded us that the enduring strength of America rests on its capacity for such simple qualities of integrity and loyalty; honor and duty. For the man that he was and the success he achieved, this Nation gives thanks to God for the 84 years he lived and served. May his devoted wife and his young son know that on behalf of a grateful nation, Mrs. Johnson and I pray for God's grace on this great soldier and patriot. NOTE: In addition to the statement the President issued Proclamation 3579 which provided that, as a mark of respect to the memory of General MacArthur, the United States flag should be flown at half-staff on all Government buildings, grounds, and naval vessels in the United States and in foreign countries until interment (29 F.R. 4849; 3 CFR, i964 Supp.). 248 Remarks to the Cabinet Committee on Export Expansion. April 7, i964 Secretary Hodges, members of the Cabinet, ladies and gentlemen: I guess once a businessman, always a businessman. Luther is one of the great prides and products of our free enterprise system, but I did not say we had everything straightened out last Saturday. And don't ever mistake a temporary recognition of a partial job well done, for anything like you said. I made the statement that I had been informed, I hope reliably, that our exports are going at a rate of about $7 billion a year-that was the balance in our favor; that I interpreted that as something that we could take some pride in; that I did not anticipate that that would necessarily be a permanent situation, but it is a very fine thing to observe. I should like to commend all those who have, along with the Secretary of Commerce, been engaged in this mission to expand the exports of the United States. I think there are few tasks that are more important, or closer to my own concerns for the future of this country. An increase in our overseas trade, as all of us are aware, brings great benefits to every single sector of our American life. They benefit business by providing increased markets for our production. It will benefit the 444 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Apr. 7 [248] strength of the dollar by improving our balance of payments and because I observed, Mr. Secretary, that our balance of payments for the first quarter, not necessarily the last quarter, look good, that didn't mean that I underwrote everything that might happen during your tenure of office. It will benefit labor and help in the war against poverty, since every billion dollars by which we increase exports one hundred thousand new jobs will be created. It will increase our world responsibilities by establishing closer commercial relations with the industrialized countries and providing for the developing world the trade which can make them flourish and progress. That is why I am so happy to see so many of the various departments and agencies of Government interested in this particular field here this morning. Through much of our history we have spent most of our effort on expanding and satisfying the vigorous domestic market. We have concentrated our production, our salesmanship, and our trade on a vast common market which spans the continent and embraces two hundred million people. Our success in doing this has raised us to our present high level of prosperity here at home. But the very opportunities which this market provided often left us to neglect the opportunities for trade abroad, and neglected them we have. Other countries, forced to trade in order to survive, did develop sharper tools, more sophisticated techniques for penetrating other markets. Our own share of the world trade has not been proportional to our capacity to produce goods that are needed and wanted by other lands. At this point in our own history, in world history, we can no longer afford to neglect opportunities for overseas trade. We cannot let those opportunities pass for lack of effort, for lack of knowledge, or for lack of appropriate Government assistance. The prosperity of Europe and Japan, which we helped create, means not only larger markets for our goods, but sharply increased competition for world markets. The rise of new nations in the developing world offers a large prospect for increased commerce and it has placed on us a national responsibility to provide a solid commercial basis for their development and their stability. Our commitment to the defense of freedom around the world means that exports must substantially exceed imports, if we are to keep our currency sound, as we intend to do. I took a great deal of pride last Saturday in making that observation and I hope that we can take the example we have set and continue that very fine pace. We have the same productive genius and ingenuity which built this Nation. So let us now apply those same qualities that we have applied here at home to increasing commerce with the world. Last September at the White House Conference three hundred businessmen met and discussed problems and framed recommendations. This Committee has now been established to act on these recommendations and to press forward the export drive on every front. Such action is imperative. I await your decisions; I await your actions. I have designated Mr. Goldy, who has just been sworn in, as the National Export Expansion Coordinator. He will help assure that the decisions of this committee are implemented through the Government in order that we miss no opportunity to increase export trade. He has my highest confidence. If your efforts are successful, as I hope they will be, and as I would like to encourage them to be, future generations will recognize what you have accomplished as one of the great cornerstones of our na 445 [248 ] Apr. 7 Public Papers of the Presidents tional strength and the well-being of our people. I know of no subject that intensely interests me more. I know of nothing that I will be prouder of than to see the record that you ring up. I hope that you can continue the very fine balance that now exists and expand it in the days to come. I thank each agency represented here and each person who is participating in this meeting. Any encouragement I can give you, I want to do. Any help that I can extend, I want to do. I congratulate the Secretary for the leadership he has taken in this field and say to the Secretary of Commerce, I hope when I have another Saturday news conference that I can increase that $7 billion figure and that I can have as optimistic a report next quarter on balance of payments as I did this quarter. NOTE: The President spoke in the Fish Room at I1:30 a.m. In his opening words he referred to Secretary of Commerce Luther H. Hodges. 249 Statement by the President Following House Action on the Wheat-Cotton and Food Stamp Bills. April 9, i964 THE PASSAGE yesterday of the cottonwheat bill by the House represented good judgment and economic progress. All Americans will be benefited. This action can forestall severe economic difficulties in areas where wheat is a major source of income and, in turn, this will sustain job levels in communities that serve the farmer and his family and manufacture the things he needs. Taxpayers will gain through lower costs as excess supplies of cotton and wheat are reduced to adequate reserve levels. The action of the House yesterday evening has a twofold value. First, the passage earlier of the food stamp program is a step toward insuring that people can benefit from the Nation's food abundance by setting up a permanent food stamp plan. This bill now goes to the Senate. Second, the cotton-wheat bill means that the farmers on the land gain a fairer share of the returns out of their productive efforts. To all those who worked so hard and so long to produce this sound measure I offer thanks and my congratulations on behalf of our people. NOTE: For the President's statement upon signing the wheat-cotton bill, see Item 255; for his remarks upon signing the food stamp bill, see Item 546. 250 Remarks to New Participants in "Plans for Progress" Equal Opportunity Agreements. April 9, i964 Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen: I have a railroad strike on at 5:45 and my time is going to be necessarily limited. We want to try to ask both the employers and employees to give us a little extra time and I am due to meet with them in the Cabinet Room, so I will necessarily be briefer than I would like to be. First of all, I want to say to you that you are welcome here in your house as you have come here to work for your country. I want to especially and personally thank you gentlemen for your efforts in advancing the cause of justice and the cause of decency. There are today I92 major American corporations employing more than 7 million Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 Apr. 9 [25~] persons who have joined in a national partnership voluntarily on their own volition because they believe it is right to make equality of opportunity not just a phrase, but a fact. I have personally signed each of these 192 plans on behalf of the committee, as its chairman. It was a proud signature that I signed, because this movement of our industrial society has been shaped by cooperation and has been formed by reason. The Senate of the United States today is engaged in a great debate. From that great deliberative body and that debate will come, I am confident, a bill of civil rights, of equal rights that is a reaffirmation of the native decency of our American society. This debate is evidence that this Government of free men, constitutionally sound, born of struggle and agony, can endure a difference of opinion and can stand still and erect and strong when the issue has been settled. We are going to pass the civil rights bill. Nothing has happened to deter us from that course. The demands of justice and decency make that necessary. But the challenge we face goes beyond the passage of a single piece of legislation, for any law is insufficient unless it is supported-and all of us have had some experience in this field-by the moral commitment of the people of the country. The burning issue, then, is simply, "What does America stand for?" I believe America stands for progress in human rights. I believe America stands for full and equal rights for all of its citizens, for the realization of freedom and justice tor all of its people, for equality of treatment, and equality of opportunity for all of its citizens in every sphere of national life. So it is to these great goals that we are all committed. We must, therefore, realize that the passage of this bill only leaves us on the side of the hill, with the big peak still above us. To reach that peak is going to require the cooperation, the good will, the moral courage, the determination, the good sense, and the patriotism of every single American. What I urge on you today is to look ahead to that day very soon when this bill that has already passed the House and is now under debate in the Senate-look ahead until the day when it becomes law. Congress, as the final result of that national debate, will have an obligation to our Nation and our Constitution to accept the law that has been passed. The problems of our society will not automatically disappear with the passage of that bill, you can be sure. They will still have to be dealt with by all Americans. The civil rights bill can only chart in law the directions that we must take as individuals. Now, how swiftly and how harmoniously and how effectively we take those directions depends in measure on the leadership of men and women like you. I am proud of you. You have come to the top of a great company, of many great companies, because of your judgment and because of your character and because of your understanding of your fellowman and because of a great many sacrifices that you and your families have made. Today you meet here in the first house of this land with your chin up and your chest out, standing proudly and erect and happy to say, "I am an American businessman." Now, there have been times in this country when men didn't go around wearing that badge, and if they did wear it they were not as proud of it as you are today. But this society is such and our economy is such and our leadership in the world is such that you are the envy of your counterparts wherever you may find them. You can give great assistance not only just in 447 [25o] Apr.l 9 Public Papers of the Presidents your little immediate company that, relatively speaking, makes up a small part of the millions of workers, some 70 million, that work in this country, but you can give it on your boards, in your churches, in your lodges, in your communities, by increased understanding. The best way in the world for you to give it is just to forget that you are the president of the company or the vice president or the officer, and imagine that things are reversed and you are in the other fellow's position. Assume for a moment that you are Mr. Hobart Taylor 20 years ago in Houston, Tex., trying to get a job with one of these great companies, American Home Products, or Sterling, or Anheuser Busch, or others that I have met here today, and do unto him as you would have him do unto you. Bear in mind that golden rule-"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," and examine your personnel department; examine your own conscience. See if you are doing unto others as you would have them do unto you. If you are, then we can say, "Well done, thou faithful servant." But until you can say that, until you can do that, until there is increased understanding, until there is a desire to put this bill into effect and make it work, we still have our job to do. Let's not take too much for granted, Mr. Businessman. Let's not assume for a moment that we can just sit in our rocking chairs and let the rest of the world go by. I have talked to a great friend that I worked for as a young boy, who proudly owns the King Ranch of Texas. He was talking to me the other day about a ranch that he did own in Cuba. I think that both of us, as a result of that discussion, really forgot some of our gripes of the moment and took pride in this great constitutional system that is ours. Let's not just make the Constitution apply to property. Let's let it apply to people, and let's not forget that a great President that we all revere today, that lived in this house ioo years ago, took the chains away from the slaves of that time and freed the slaves of their chains. But until education is blind to color, until employment is unaware of race, you can free the slaves of their chains, but you have not freed society of bigotry. Emancipation may be a proclamation, but it is not a fact. So I appeal to you to give us the leadership that will make it a fact because we businessmen are outnumbered in America. We Americans are outnumbered in the world 17 to I. If we don't want a decision tonight that is based on man's religion or that is based on his race, or that is based on his color, or that is based necessarily on the numbers because might doesn't make right, because if it is based on any of those things, we Americans are outvoted. So I suggest that in this Nation of laws that you, as community leaders, make this legislation work as smoothly and as effectively as possible. Make your plans that you have promised to promulgate a reality; make them a living thing that you can really take pride in and pass on to your children, the heritage that Lincoln has passed on to us, because today your action is just as necessary as his was-to the good and the future and the leadership and the pride of your country, for in the final end of it all, what is really supremely important to you and to me and to every citizen in the land, is that our differences be settled by constitutional and lawful processes in the courts. That is 448 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Apr. 9 [250] what we are trying to do instead of in the street and in the alleys, and might making right. Much of the Nation has already voluntarily enacted a civil rights bill. At least some desegregation of privately owned facilities of public accommodations are now open to everyone, regardless of race, in some 390 of the 566 communities in Southern States of over Io,ooo. Three hundred and ninety of the 566 have already to some degree desegregated in cities over Io,ooo. I saw that great, beloved man who was denied the privilege of being with us now, John F. Kennedy, meet in this room with his brother, the great Attorney General of this country, and talk to restaurantmen, hotelmen, motelmen, employers, bankers, lawyers, and businessmen from every section of the land, and plead with them to please go home and try to get this vountarily done. I am proud to say that almost two-thirds of this progress has been since May of last year. Two-thirds, or 390 of the 566, have desegregated since then. They have desegregated in 284 cities, some restaurants in 298 cities, some theaters in 280 cities, lunch counters in 340 cities. This has all been done voluntarily, and if we can do this much voluntarily, the rest can and should be done by compliance with the law. I have talked too long, but this subject is one that is intensely interesting to me. I could not leave this rostrum without an attempt to arouse within you the desire to heal this Nation, to unify our people, to seek remedy for what we believe to be wrong in those places where remedies and not rancor are to be found and, most of all, to make it sternly clear what this Nation really believes in and what this Nation really stands for. I came to Washington in I93I. I saw the Bonus Army driven down to the Anacostia Flats. I saw the businessmen hauled up before the congressional committees, and I saw the Wall Street bankers with midgets on their knees. I saw all the great reform legislation born, but I am here to tell you today that we have had our ups and downs and our lows and our highs, but there has never been a period in our national life when businessmen could take greater pride in their achievements than today. Relatively speaking, we have so many less economical problems than our adversaries that we ought not even worry about them. Our foreign relations are so much better than the problems that our adversaries have that we ought to really take pride, but we can't just let well enough be good enough. We have got to do these jobs that are undone, and whether you pick up a paper and see what is happening in Cleveland or Austin or Boston, until we learn that we can live together and protect the constitutional rights of all Americans, then we will have work to do. Russia has more people than we have. She has many more resources in many more categories than we have. She has 600 million arable acres of land, compared to our I87 million. She has 225 million population compared to our I90 million population. But the one thing she does not have is the imagination, the ingenuity, and the initiative that comes with the free enterprise system, where a capitalist is willing to invest his dollar in the hope that he will get a small return back on it and where the manager is willing to get up at daylight and work until midnight and develop stomach ulcers in order to get a better mousetrap at a cheaper price; where the employee will almost willingly get in a trot because he has pride in the product that his sweat produces. Those three elements of our national so 449 [250] Apr. 9 Public Papers of the Presidents ciety-the capitalist, the manager, and the worker put together-can outproduce and outdevelop and outsurvive any slave state where that incentive is not there and where that profit motive is gone. So I don't speak to you as Democrats or Republicans. I hope I am President of all of the people of this country, because Iam the only President that you have, at least for another 8 or 9 months. But I speak to you as Americans who want to leave this land a better place than you found it, who want your children to have the same opportunity that you have had and to go just as far as you have gone, and maybe a little farther, and who recognize that if we survive in this world that is part slave and part free it is going to be not because of our superiority of resources but our superiority of system of government. Now, let's make that Declaration of Independence, let's make that Constitution that we embrace when it comes to protecting our property rights, let's make it a living, breathing thing for all human beings. We demonstrated that for the first time in our national life you could elect a Catholic a President of the United States, and that was a proud day, because our Constitution and our Declaration of Independence had indicated and implied that you could always do that and that we had religious freedom, but until we actually did it, no fait accompli was there. We also demonstrated you could elect a Southerner Vice President. I found myself after this terrible tragedy of last November with the problem of transition, the continuity of this Government, with the eyes of the world looking on us, and with I90 million people in doubt. And the businessmen and the captains of industry and the leaders of labor came to this house by the dozens and by the hundreds and said, "We are enlisted for the duration. Ask me not what church I belong to or what party I vote for. Just count me in the pot as doing what is good for my country." That spirit of unity and closing ranks never made me more proud of my heritage. The Business Council has been here a number of times, and labor and management has been here a number of times. I am going now from here to meet with the railroad titans of this Nation, the executive board, and to the railroad workers, and I am going to plead with them to please work for another 20 days to try to settle this strike so that we will not drive our gross national product down, so that we will not create great unemployment, so that we will not injure this Nation, so that in the words of the prophet Isaiah, "We can come and reason together," and reason these things out. So I say to you, this is not just a pro forma thing for me. I feel what I am saying, and what I am doing, and I am grateful to each of you as individuals and to your company and to your board of directors for setting this kind of an example. I hope that in the months ahead, sometime we can meet again here and look at our record of achievement, and look at the record we have written in our individual companies and in our individual towns and in our individual communities, and we can take pride in our achievements. Please accept the gratitude of a grateful President who is doing his dead level best to keep us pulling together, keeping our ranks closed, keeping us loving our brother and our fellowman, instead of hating him, keeping us united before the world instead of divided, because in unity there is strength, and in division there is disorder and defeat. We are living in a challenging period and 450 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 Apr. 9 [25:2] a dangerous period, but we have so much to preserve and so much to protect. You are the guardians of a good deal of it. So go back and do this job as you have done the job of progress in your own company, and know that your Nation will continue to be proud of you. Thank you very much. NOTE: The President spoke at 5:30 p.m. in the East Room at the White House. His opening words "Mr. Chairman" referred to George William Miller, Chairman of the Advisory Council on Plans for Progress, who served as chairman of the meeting. During the course of his remarks he also referred to Hobart Taylor, Jr., Associate Counsel to the President and Executive Vice Chairman of the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity. 25I Statement by the President on the Eve of a National Railroad Strike. April 9, i964 THE extremely serious consequences of a nationwide shutdown of the railroads are plain and clear. The interests of the parties and of the public require that every practical effort be made to avoid these consequences. Although this railroad controversy has gone on for over 4 years, it has now been brought to a crisis stage with less than 48 hours available for last ditch collective bargaining. This does not give the bargaining process a fair chance. It does not give the country a fair break. I therefore request the parties to restore the status quo as it existed 2 days ago and to maintain this status quo for 20 days. During this period, the Secretary of Labor and the Chairman of the National Mediation Board will work intensively and continuously with the parties to achieve a settlement of the remaining issues in dispute or to obtain agreement on procedures assuring their ultimate settlement. I will expect to keep in close touch personally with this situation. I ask that the parties advise me by 8 o'clock tonight of their acceptance of this request, which is made in the interest of the Nation. NOTE: Later in the evening the President announced on a nationwide radio and television broadcast a truce in the railroad labor dispute (see Item 252). 252 Radio and Television Statement Announcing a Moratorium in the Railroad Labor Dispute. April 9, i964 [ Broadcast from the Fish Room at the White House at II:05 p.m. ] SECRETARY Wirtz, Secretary Reynolds, and I have just concluded a 4-hour meeting with the representatives of the railroad management and the railroad brotherhoods. Both sides have agreed to postpone any action for I5 days while we seek to resolve the issues between them. Railroad service to the American public will continue during this 15-day period. Negotiations will resume at i0 o'clock tomorrow morning in the Cabinet Room of the White House. Additional negotiators will join the conference. Both management and the brotherhoods 451 [252] Apr. 9 Public Papers of the Presidents have tonight acted in the public interest. They responded as Americans to the request of their President, and they have done what is best for our country. The entire Nation is grateful for the patriotic attitude of both the carriers and the brotherhoods. Mr. Johnston, the President of the Illinois Central, do you have a statement? Wayne Johnston, President, Illinois Central Railroad: Speaking on behalf of the Nation's railroads, I congratulate President Johnson on his statesmanlike approach to this dispute. The carriers, maintaining their record of putting the public interest foremost, have accepted the President's proposal to avoid a national strike in the featherbedding dispute. We pledge ourselves to continue efforts to reach a fair settlement in the national interest. THE PRESIDENT. Now we have Mr. Roy Davidson of the engineers who cooperated with us in reaching this agreement this evening. Roy Davidson, Grand Chief Engineer, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers: Mr. President, we are sending this wire out to all of our officers and general chairmen on behalf of the five organizations involved in this dispute. I quote the wire: "At the urgent request of the President of the United States for an opportunity to work out the national rules dispute, we have agreed to suspend the strike action on the Illinois Central Railroad for a I5-day period. The carriers have agreed to withdraw their promulgations scheduled to become effective at i2:oi a.m. on Friday, April io-the I5-day period to begin i2:oi a.m. on April Io." I want to congratulate the President on his diligent efforts. THE PRESIDENT. So we appeal to the railroad officials throughout the land and to all the members of the railroad brotherhoods to act in accordance with this agreement and in the best of faith, and we pledge our efforts to do our dead level best to work out an agreement that will be in the public interest and satisfactory to all. NOTE: See also Items 25I, 253, 256 [I], 262, 266 [3], and 284. 253 Remarks at the Opening of Final Negotiations in the Railroad Dispute. April IO, i964 GENTLEMEN, I welcome you today here in a house that belongs to all of our people for your efforts to settle a long-standing dispute which, unless it is settled by reason, could have very grave consequences in our national life. I am aware of the fact, of course, that this controversy has dragged on for a long and dreary 4 years. So we start with the premise that up to this point all efforts to achieve a workable solution have failed. We begin as failures. We will finish, I hope, as successes. However, it is a deep-seated principle with me that has been entertained by me through more than 32 years of public service, that so long as men try conscientiously to resolve their differences by negotiation, so long as they will follow the philosophy of the prophet Isaiah to "Come now let 452 Lyndon B. Johnson, z963-1964 Apr. Io [253] us reason together," there is always a chance. And I want to give every chance to the prospects of negotiation. We must constantly keep in mind that negotiation to settle disputes is the hallmark of a civilized and democratic society. It is this procedure that separates us from many less civilized or more barbaric or less understanding societies. You will have with you some of the ablest men in this field from both Government and private life. They are here to be helpful and not to cast their weight on either side. The objective is an honorable solution and not a solution that is imposed by decree. I want to present Mr. George Taylor, former chairman of the War Labor Board. Mr. Taylor received the Presidential Medal of Freedom last December 6 here in the White House for outstanding and distinguished service to his country. Mr. Taylor received the Bok prize as the outstanding Philadelphia citizen. He is one of the country's senior mediators. The Secretary of Labor, Mr. Wirtz, tells me that his career for more than 30 years has been outstanding in this field. When I called him last night, although he had just taken his wife to the hospital, and she had been operated on yesterday, he agreed to be here at 9:30 this morning to serve his country. That speaks more eloquently for his selflessness than I can do. On my right is Mr. Ted Kheel-Theodore Kheel, a lawyer, a mediator, a great American. He is a former president of the Urban League. He was a member of the board that worked on the maritime case last year. He is a longtime friend of mine who has never refused to give me his counsel and assistance in controversial problems be ginning with the civil rights bill of '57 and the many other controversies that have engaged my attention since then. Mr. Kheel said last night that he would be here this morning and stay here as much time as needed to resolve this dispute. Personally, I approach this matter free of any preconceptions other than the determination that the democratic rights and privileges of labor, management, and the public must all be protected. The national interest in all cases must be overriding, but the national interest is never truly served if individual rights are suppressed. I am convinced from last night's session that you gentlemen are patriotic and honorable. An important national problem is now in your hands. And to the press, I would say this: Both sides, I know, had great problems arriving at the decision that we came to. The railroads said that they would accept the President's proposal, and the brotherhoods said that they would yield to give us this chance. I was never so proud to be an American as when I left the White House last night to go to my quarters, realizing that men of strong conviction who had labored for 4 years without a solution, who had already made decisions, were willing to revoke those decisions in the interest of what is good for all America. So here we are. We start from here. Where we will go we know not. We will have a long, winding, rough road. But we are optimistic and we believe that the interests of all Americans will prevail over the interests of any single group. By the end of the 15-day period, if not sooner, we expect to resolve these differences. If we are unable to, we will follow the democratic processes and find other means. But we 453 [253] Apr. io Public Papers of the Presidents are encouraged and we are optimistic. We thank you for your indulgence, and now we will start with our negotiations. NOTE: The President spoke in the Rose Garden at the White House. The reference to "last night's session" was to a 4-hour meeting on the previous evening with W. Willard Wirtz, Secretary of Labor, James J. Reynolds, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Labor-Management Relations, and representatives of railroad management and railroad brotherhoods at which a I5-day moratorium was agreed on (Item 252). See also Items 25I, 256[I], 262, 266[3], and 284. 254 Statement by the President: National Library Week. April io, i964 LIBRARIES sustain and enhance our national life. They are a fundamental and vibrant resource for human intellectual and cultural development. Libraries reveal great heritages of the past and provide doorways to individual attainments that can become great legacies for generations of the future. They are a fortress against intolerance and ignorance and an instrument by which the unfor tunate poor may be helped to break their bonds of physical and spiritual poverty. I am proud of our American libraries and happy that there are more and more of them. I ask that National Library Week become a rallying point for cooperative, yeararound efforts to provide the library services necessary to meet the diverse and changing needs of all the American people. 255 Remarks Upon Signing the Wheat-Cotton Bill. April ii, i964 Ladies and gentlemen: I enjoy signing legislation that is full of commonsense and valid hope! This cotton-wheat bill will protect thousands of jobs in small communities and in big cities. It can help avert the conditions that bring on depression in areas where wheat income is important. It firms up the competitive position of cotton in the textile industry. It can provide substantial consumer savings for cloth and garments both through lower cost and higher quality fabrics. One of the things that we are particularly proud of is that our price index has remained relatively steady, and the hope that we can have lower costs that will lower that price index is most welcome. It will make possible taxpayers' savings by reducing sur plus stocks. It will maintain stable prices for wheat at the levels of recent years. These are all important, and these are all necessary ingredients in a healthy economy in farm areas as well as those industrial urban areas which supply the things that the farmer buys. Both the cotton and wheat programs are voluntaryI repeat, voluntary-and they place more confidence in the farmers as well as more responsibility. This legislation represents another step forward to the goals of this administration. Those goals of this administration are to strengthen farm income; to reduce the cost of farm programs to the taxpayers; to bring surplus stocks to levels which the Nation requires for its own safety; and to make stronger our national economy and the 454 Lyndon B. John well-being of our people by making better use of our great abundance of food and fiber. This bill, I think, gives us some insurance against a depression on the farm, and it is on the farms of America where depressions begin. We are dealing with a depression before it begins, and not afterwards. So on behalf of a grateful Nation, I congratulate Secretary Freeman and the entire Agriculture Department for their efforts and their energy. I say thanks to all the Members of the Congress who worked so long, so courageously, so hard, to bring this legislation to final success. They acted in the highest traditions of the Congress. They acted promptly, effectively, speedily. I want to welcome to this White House, the house of all the people, Mr. William Thatcher, the president of the Farmers Union Grain Terminal Association; Mr. Dwayne Andreas, the executive vice president of the Farmers Union Grain Terminal 256 The President's News Conferex April I, I964 THE PRESIDENT. [i.] Ladies and gentlemen: The events of the past week in regard to the railroad situation should give us all occasion to pause for some serious reflection. We should be grateful that things turned out in such a way that we have time for that reflection. It is fundamental to our whole idea of civilized society that we settle disputes by a meeting of the minds, by a free interchange of conflicting ideas, by responsible acceptance of the best possible solution. This is what happens at the collective bargaining table. In any dispute there are always at least two sides, and it has been my experience that each side usually has a deep-seated be son, 1963-1964 Apr. I [256] Association; Mr. Herschel Newsom, the Master of the Grange; Mr. Harry Caldwell, the chairman of the NAAC; Mr. Ed Christianson, the president of the Minnesota Farmers Union; Mr. Anson Horning, of the National Association of Wheat Growers; Mr. Oren Staley, president of the National Farmers Organization; Mr. C. B. Ray, from my own State; the very able and outstanding statesman who heads up the presidency of the AFL-CIO, Mr. George Meany; Mr. Andrew Biemiller, the executive secretary; and, above all, the distinguished Secretary of Agriculture, without whose advice we could not have passed this bill. I now take pleasure in signing a piece of legislation that I think will bring new hope, new encouragement and new prosperity to the farms of America. NOTE: The President spoke at noon in the Cabinet Room at the White House. The bill (H.R. 6I96) as enacted is Public Law 88-297 (78 Stat. 173). lief that its viewpoint is correct. In some countries the solution is determined by the strongest. Free men, however, must take a very different role. They must realize that they can remain free only when they are ready to give and take, when they are willing to reason together, when they are ready to look for that common ground upon which all groups can stand honorably. There is in any large-scale dispute a question of the public interest. This interest must always be overriding. But we must never delude ourselves that we are serving the public interest if at any time we suppress the legitimate rights of the conflicting parties. The ultimate objective of our system 455 [256] Apr. II Public Papers of the Presidents of government is a society of free men who know how to live together and how to get consent rather than to get coercion. I am very proud of the fact that both the railroad brotherhoods and railroad management agreed to a request, based upon the national interest, that they give free collective bargaining another try. I can understand how difficult this decision was for both of them. Their differences have been aired and have been argued for 4 dreary years. Both sides were tired of the seemingly endless negotiations and, under such circumstances, there is almost irresistible temptation for a trial of strength. But when they were asked to serve their country by resisting this temptation, they both agreed to do so. What is now going on is collective bargaining in the truest sense of the word. The men who are assisting the two parties to the dispute are present as mediators and conciliators and can bring some new points of view. We owe a deep debt to Dr. George Taylor and to Mr. Kheel for coming here and working with us under very trying circumstances and on very sudden notice. We are not trying to impose a solution. We are just trying to be helpful in arriving at a solution by consent. This is, to me, a matter of the most vital importance to our country. I will follow the negotiations very closely. I have met with the negotiating parties again this morning, and I am going to do everything that I know to do to be helpful and constructive. Success in this case can be an enormous step in strengthening the foundations of collective bargaining. I know that this is in the hearts and minds of those around the table. I do not know what our result will be, but I do know that this thought will be a basic element in reaching a successful conclusion. [2.] Gen. Earle Wheeler, Chief of Staff of the Army, will join Secretary Rusk in South Viet-Nam on Friday, April I7. General Wheeler will serve as the Department of Defense's representative in a series of conferences which Secretary Rusk will conduct with Ambassador Lodge, General Khanh, and others. To continue to observe the situation, Secretary Rusk and General Wheeler will remain in South Viet-Nam 2 or 3 days. [3.] The world record for aircraft speed, currently held by the Soviets, has been repeatedly broken in secrecy by the United States aircraft A-II. The President has instructed the Department of Defense to demonstrate this capability with the procedure which, according to international rules, will permit the result of the test to be entered as a new world record. The Soviet record is i,665 miles an hour. The A-II had already flown in excess of 2,000 miles an hour. [4.] I have invited President de Valera of Ireland to visit the United States. Are there any questions? Q. Mr. President, when did you invite President de Valera? THE PRESIDENT. Several days ago. Q. When will he come, sir? THE PRESIDENT. That depends on him. He will notify us if he accepts. [5.] Q. Mr. President, on the trip to South Viet-Nam that you spoke of, is there going to be any discussion there of the possibility of Ambassador Lodge's stepping out of that position in view of the growing political attraction? THE PRESIDENT. Not any that I know of at all. His services there have been very satisfactory, and he has done a very constructive job. [6.] Q. Mr. President, will you be prepared to ask for legislation if these talks on rails fail? 456 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-I964 A pr. I I [256] THE PRESIDENT. I am not here to bury collective bargaining. I am here to preserve it. I am prepared to carry on negotiations with the thought that we are going to reach a settlement, and I hope and pray we will. [7.] Q. Mr. President, I wonder if you can give us your opinion of what happened out in Wisconsin with that substantial vote for Governor Wallace and what the political implications might be. THE PRESIDENT. Governor Wallace got 25 percent of the votes and 75 percent voted against him. [8.] Q. Mr. President, do you anticipate pushing for dairy legislation this year? THE PRESIDENT. We are giving consideration to what we will do in that field, but we have reached no final conclusion. [9.] Q. Mr. President, sir, at what point in Mr. Lodge's career will it become necessary for you to re-evaluate his role as your ambassador? THE PRESIDENT. I evaluate it every day, and it is a very constructive role, as I have just said. [io.] Q. Mr. President, Mr. Khrushchev had some complimentary things to say about you and Mr. Rusk during his tour of Hungary. I wonder how you feel in response, sir? THE PRESIDENT. I am glad to see that Mr. Khrushchev is playing the role of peace and seeking to preserve peace in the world. That certainly is the desire of this country. When he talks in peaceful terms, he will always have our ear. [II.] Q. Mr. President, do you think the debate on civil rights in the Senate should move faster? THE PRESIDENT. That is a matter for the Senate to determine. I think it will go on for some time yet, but I believe at the proper time, after all Members have had a chance to present their viewpoints both pro and con who desire to do so, I think the majority of the Senate will work its will, and I believe we will pass the bill. [I2.] Q. Mr. President, the Republicans have a new slogan, referring to you as "Light Bulb Johnson." Do you regard that as a knock or a boost? THE PRESIDENT. I would say that they are plagiarizing the Washington Post. Q. I will have to ask you to expand a little on that, Mr. President. I don't know quite what you mean. THE PRESIDENT. I thought it first appeared there. Q. Oh, no. THE PRESIDENT. I don't think that they originated it. Q. I used it, but I quoted them as saying it first. THE PRESIDENT. Well, they are not very original. [I3.] Q. Mr. President, speaking of saving money, Secretary of the Air Force Zuckert admitted the other day to Senator Williams that he used a Government plane to fly to Las Vegas for a party last April for Senator Cannon. Now, in view of your attempts to economize in Government, do you condone this kind of thing? He said it was an inspection trip. Was this the kind of a wasteful practice you are trying to eliminate? THE PRESIDENT. I would suggest that you talk to the Secretary and get the details. I am totally unfamiliar with them. [I4.] Q. Mr. President, have you decided when you are going on your antipoverty trip? And where you might be going? THE PRESIDENT. We are going, but we don't know when, or where. Q. You think it might be next week? THE PRESIDENT. I wouldn't care to speculate. 457 [256] Apr. i i Public Papers of the Presidents Q. Mr. President, there seems to be a point raised by some Republicans in the House that the poverty program will benefit Negroes more than any group of whites. Do you have any comment on this approach by the Republicans? THE PRESIDENT. I think it will benefit all Americans, and I don't think that we should speak in terms of benefit of any particular group. I believe that we have a comprehensive and workable proposal. I think that it is commanding the attention of the constructive and able legislators, and I have no doubt but what the committee in due time will act affirmatively. I would hope that we would find very few people who would want to stand up and be counted as being against doing something on poverty. There will be some adjustments made, and some amendments proposed, and those will be reasoned out. But we have a unity of thought in the Cabinet. The Attorney General, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Agriculture, Mr. Shriver, and a good many private groups in this country have given a great deal of thought to this legislation. The 20 percent in the poverty group are not limited to any race or any religion or any section. I would think we should approach this on what is good for America, instead of criticizing it because some group might get some benefits from it. Our goal is to wipe out poverty in this country. President Roosevelt spoke of the third that was ill clad and ill fed and ill housed. In a 30-year period, we have now got that down to the one-fifth that are ill fed and ill clad and ill housed. We hope, as a result of this beginning, that we can reduce that percentage materially. We hope to have the support of all good Americans of all parties. 1I5.] Q. Mr. President, there have been a number of stories printed recently concerning the television community antenna situation in Austin. Do you think there is any reason why the terms of the option agreement that is involved there should not be furnished to the FCC as requested? THE PRESIDENT. I have said before that shortly after I entered office that I have no interest in any television any place. The interest that Mrs. Johnson held and my family held had been placed in trusteeship and any statements in connection with the operation of those interests would have to come from the trustees. I am unfamiliar with it, I am not keeping up with it, I am not concerned about it. [i6.] Q. Mr. President, do you plan to go out to Arizona to dedicate the new Glen Canyon Dam sometime this summer? THE PRESIDENT. I don't have any plans to. I wouldn't want to foreclose it, but I have not accepted anything. [II.] Q. Mr. President, is the fate of constitutional government in Brazil causing you any more concern this week since your message? 1 THE PRESIDENT. We are always concerned with any developments in this hemisphere, and we are always interested in them, and we understand that they are moving ahead. We hope that those moves will be good moves and that we can get our allies and others who are interested in the fate of the world to cooperate with us in building a strong, democratic society throughout this hemisphere. [i8.] Q. Mr. President, speaking of travel, it has been reported that you have made up your mind not to leave the United States mainland this year. Is that true, sir? THE PRESIDENT. That is true, unless some unforeseen emergency should develop that 'To Ranieri Mazzilli, President of Brazil (Item 243). 458 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Apr. ii [256] I cannot now anticipate. That statement was made in the first few days I was in office, and I reiterate it now. I think we have a program before the Congress that requires my attention; we have problems in the foreign field that require constant evaluation; we have an election this year; I am new in the office. All of those things combinedwe have no Vice President-indicate to me that unless there is some feeling that great advances could be made, or unless some unforeseen emergency develops, I would not plan on any trips out of the continental United States. [I9.] Q. Mr. President, Governor Wallace will be entering the primaries in both Indiana and Maryland in the weeks to come. If he should poll 25 or 30 percent of the votes thereTHE PRESIDENT. I wouldn't want to get into any "iffy" questions. If you can stand that, I would just wait and see what happens out there and then you will have the best evidence. I don't want to speculate on what might happen, because, very frankly, in my own races from time to time, I have confirmed to my own satisfaction that I am a very poor prophet. One time I thought I had won a race by 0oo,ooo and I lost it by 100,000 in my own State. [20.] Q. Mr. President, could you give us a progress report on the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Cuba? THE PRESIDENT. They are moving out. They have fewer troops there than they had months ago. There are still some troops there, but the number has declined substantially. Q. Could you give us a figure, sir? THE PRESIDENT. No. I don't want to get in any numbers game because I don't think, first of all, that anyone really knows-can speak with cool authority in that field. But our judgment is that they have moved troops out. [2I.] Q. Mr. President, pessimism has been expressed about the forthcoming Kennedy Round of GATT negotiations to get underway next month. I think there was quite a bit of that in Mr. Christian Herter's speech 2 in Detroit on March 3oth. What is your view as to your hopefulness of success of these negotiations? THE PRESIDENT. We hope for the best. I am optimistic. I never go into anything with a prediction of defeat in advance. Q. Do you believe that they will be successful? THE PRESIDENT. I have answered the question as best I could. [22.] Q. Mr. President, do you plan to appoint a campaign manager to handle your election to the Presidency? THE PRESIDENT. I plan to try to be President of all of the people up until the convention, and then we will let the convention determine where we go from there. Merriman Smith, United Press International: Thank you, Mr. President. NOTE: President Johnson's twelfth news conference was held in the Cabinet Room at the White House at 12:42 p.m. on Saturday, April ii, I964. With respect to the numbering of the news conferences see notes at end of Items I43, 232. Printed in the Department of State Bulletin (vol. 50, p. 671). 459 [257] Apr. I3 Public Papers of the Presidents 257 Remarks at a Reception for Recently Appointed Women in Government. April I3, i964 Members of the Cabinet and their wives, ladies and gentlemen: There are some days, all too few in number, when being President is all pleasure. Today seems to be one of them. I just attended a baseball game and returned to find my house filled with my favorite kind of people. This is a very satisfying and happy moment for me. I believe that we are marking a most significant milestone. In this country it took us nearly I50 years to accept the simple truth of what Susan B. Anthony used to preach when she said: "It was 'We the People,' not 'We the White, Male Citizens,' nor "We the Male Citizens,' but 'We the Whole People,' who formed this union." In i920, less than a lifetime ago, women won the right of sufferage. I realize that some are still inclined to have second thoughts about the so-called emancipation of women, possibly including some of the husbands that are present in this room. But it is hard to argue with history. It is since that time, since women became an active participating force in our society, that the United States has really made the greatest gains and risen to the greatest heights of achievement of any nation in the history of the world. And I don't regard this as coincidence. Now I am not one who believes that all intelligence and skill is for some obscure reason confined entirely to the male population. Providence has distributed brains and skills pretty evenly over our people. To conclude that women are unfitted to the risk of our historic society seems to me the equivalent of closing male eyes to female facts. We need skill and intelligence and capacity for leadership. We need dedication and application and we need them 460 wherever we find them. If we neglect these talents, our society is the first loser. But, equally, the women whose gifts are suppressed and passed over are losers, too. And in our open democratic society, the frustration of any of our citizens is a source of loss to all of our citizens. All too often the top jobs of industry, the top jobs of business, and the professions, and even the academic world are closed against the really capable and talented woman. We can open, and we are opening, the doors of public service and I think this is going to influence some other sectors as well. My whole aim in promoting women and picking out more women to serve in this administration is to underline our profound belief that we can waste no talent, we can frustrate no creative power, we can neglect no skill in our search for an open and just and challenging society. There is no place for discrimination of any kind in American life. There must be places for citizens who can think and create and act. So I greet you today not so much as women, but as enfranchised citizens and coworkers in our great and our exciting national life. I could discuss the subject at some length, but having observed some glances from the front row, Mrs. Johnson, I remember what was once said that American women expect to find in their husbands a perfection that English women only hope to find in their butlers. And since brevity is the beginning of perfection in our household, let me now conclude by saying to each of the more than i50 women honored here today, thank you very much. Thank you for responding to the call of your country. And to the husbands present, may I say that I hope, Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 Apr. I4 [258] I earnestly and genuinely hope, that you will overcome your present feelings towards this present administration before next November. NOTE: The President spoke at 5:30 p.m. in the East Room at the White House. Judge Burnita Shelton Matthews then administered the oath of office to the following appointees: Mrs. Katharine Elkus White, Ambassador-designate to Denmark, Mrs. Dorothy H. Jacobson, Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for International Affairs, Mrs. Mary D. Keyserling, Director, Women's Bureau of the Department of Labor, Burnett Hennington, member of the U.S. Water Pollution Control Board, Audrey Stern Hess, member of the Advisory Board, Federal Reformatory for Women, Mrs. Harvey B. Schechter, member of the Peace Corps National Advisory Council, Mrs. Patricia R. Harris, member of the Study Commission on Statehood for Puerto Rico, and Mrs. India Edwards, Special Consultant to the Secretary of Labor on Youth Employment. Mrs. White, on behalf of the newly appointed officials, spoke briefly. The text of her remarks was released. 258 Remarks of Welcome at the White House to Hussein I, King of Jordan. April I4, i964 Your Majesty, ladies and gentlemen: On behalf of the American people, it is a very proud privilege for me to welcome you to the United States. Your Majesty is no stranger to us. Your visit 5 years ago won many new friends and added new strength to the old and cordial ties that exist between Jordan and the United States. Your continuing personal leadership in the effort to build a better life for the people of your country is both greatly welcomed and very much admired in this country. We of the United States have consistently sought the friendliest of relations with the Arab nations, as is exemplified by our ties with Jordan and your visit here. We are proud to have been able to assist Jordan in the past, and we stand ready to continue our assistance in such a great undertaking. In the recent successful efforts by Arab countries to achieve better inter-Arab relations, we have noted with much pleasure the very prominent role taken by Your Majesty along with other Arab leaders. Friendship and amity have been strengthened among Arab nations, and I assure Your Majesty that the United States welcomes all efforts to advance peace and greater understanding. While the world knows you as a courageous soldier, your friends in America know you as a wise and effective leader for peace, and we welcome that leadership, particularly in these times. We look forward today to a very frank and constructive exchange of views while you are here in our Capital, and I am confident our joint interests will be greatly advanced by your presence here. NOTE: The President spoke at I1:4o a.m. on the North Portico at the White House where King Hussein I was given a formal welcome with full military honors. King Hussein responded as follows: "Mr. President, it is a proud moment for me to bring you today the greetings of my Jordanian family and to have the opportunity also to present you the greetings of my brethren leaders of the Arab world. I wish to thank you most sincerely for your very kind invitation that has given me this opportunity to meet you, sir, and to come back to the United States, where I have always been most proud of the very good relations that have existed between our two countries, and we are sure that these relations not only will continue to exist, but will always grow stronger. "As for us in the Arab world, our sincerest hope is to have always the best relations with the United States of America, based on good understanding, mutual respect, and cooperation in attempting to attain our common objectives in life. "I thank you, sir, for your most kind welcome and I am most happy to be with you here today." 46i [259] Apr. I4 Public Papers of the Presidents 259 Toasts of the President and King Hussein I. April 14, I964 Your Majesty, Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen: I think I should begin tonight with a word of explanation. Presidents of the United States have many responsibilities, but responsibility for Washington's weather is not one of them. But, Your Majesty, whatever the weather outside, it has not dampened the friendship and the accord of our most cordial exchanges earlier in the day and again tonight. As we expected it would be, this day has been in every respect another memorable milestone in the relations between Jordan and the United States. The American people are quite honored, and Mrs. Johnson and I are proudly privileged to have Your Majesty as a most welcome guest in this country and in this House. His Majesty and I have found that we have some things in common. As some of you know, His Majesty in his desire to be closer to his people has been known to disguise himself and drive a taxicab through the streets of his capital. I have not as yet found a successful disguise for myself-and the streets of our national capital are sometimes crowded with cabs-but I am trying to spend the weekends lately with the people of my country who are touring Washington. This facet of His Majesty's fresh and imaginative leadership symbolizes the character and the personality which has won for him so much respect in our land and has won for him respect throughout the world. He represents a new generation of Arab leadership. In Jordan, he and his people have brought that ancient land of the camel, the date, and the palm to the threshold of a bright and a hopeful and a modern future. His own great inspiration and guidance have meant much to this effort and have helped to work major changes for the benefit of all of his more than 1,700,000 people. When His Majesty returns to his homeland, he will carry with him the best wishes of all Americans for a long and a most peaceful reign, marked by blessings of a good and fruitful life for all the people of Jordan. So, ladies and gentlemen, our most honored guests who do us the honor of coming here this evening, I ask you now to join me in raising your glass to this young leader of this proud and ancient land, His Majesty. NOTE: The President proposed the toast at a dinner in the State Dining Room at the White House. King Hussein responded as follows: Mr. President, no matter how I try I must admit that I will fail to find words to express my true feelings of gratitude to you for all the kindness, warmth, and hospitality that you have given me since my arrival in Washington. Today has been a day I shall always remember. I had heard a great deal about you and admired you from afar, but you gave me the opportunity to come to the capital of this great nation and to meet you personally and to speak with you. From my side, I have learned a great deal and have attempted my best to explain some of our views in the Arab world and, before that and above that, to bring you the greetings and the best wishes for your continued success from all Arabs. I shall remember this day always and I shall carry back with me happy memories and impressions and, most important of all, I treasure this friendship-a friendship between us and the friendship that grew and will grow stronger between our peoples. Sir, you were very kind to speak of me and I feel that I am not worthy of all of this praise because I have tried to do always my best in the service of a people I am proud to serve. As I said many times, there are many things that we have in common, many things that we are proud of-our ideals, our principles, and our beliefs and our joint struggle to have the better future we all seek. 462 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-I964 Apr. I4 [261] I thank you, Mr. President and Lady Johnson, for giving me the opportunity to be with you this evening, for your kindness in permitting me to meet and make so many friends. I thank you for so much and I am deeply grateful. Ladies and gentlemen, I would be very grateful if you would join me in a toast to the President of the United States of America. 260 Statement by the President on the Death of General Melvin J. Maas. April I4, i964 NOT just the handicapped, but all the land grieves the passing of one of America's true heroes, Maj. Gen. Mel Maas. Blinded in the service of his country a decade ago, he taught himself a new existence without sight, traveled the world over, and inspired people everywhere about the capacities and abilities of the handicapped. Arthritis crippled his limbs and massive heart attacks limited his mobility; yet his spirit was whole; his spirit was never disabled. He has shown us how to live in the face of adversity. His courage and conviction have enriched us all. His spirit marches on, in us and in our land. NOTE: At the time of his death General Maas was serving as Chairman of the President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped, a position he had held since April I3, I954. 26I Memorandum in Response to a Progress Report on the Joint Financial Management Improvement Program. April I4, i964 Memorandum for the Comptroller General of the United States, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Director of the Bureau of the Budget: I am pleased with the impressive results disclosed in your report of progress made under the Joint Financial Management Improvement Program since its inception in I948. This drive to modernize and improve Federal financial management was begun under President Truman. It has had the strong support of succeeding Presidents of both parties. It will continue to have my strong support. Savings in personnel and other costs of financial management have been tangible and significant. Of equal importance is the fact that both the Executive and the Congress now have at their fingertips more and better cost information than at any time in the past. This is invaluable in our efforts to reduce overall costs and manage our financial resources in a responsible manner. I commend each of the principal financial management agencies for their diligence, as well as the departments and agencies which have responded so well to the objectives of this program. The task is not finished. I will expect to see further progress. LYNDON B. JOHNSON NOTE: The report, entitled "I5 Years of Progress," is dated December I9, I963 (Government Printing Office, 102 pp.). 463 [262] Apr. I5 Public Papers of the Presidents 262 Remarks Following a Meeting With Railroad Management and Union Representatives. I HAVE met again today with the railroad management and union representatives and the distinguished group of mediators. There is no settlement yet and there can be no settlement until all the issues are disposed of. Both sides are trying their dead level best to reach an agreement. I am convinced of that. They have narrowed the area of difference on some issues already. The principal question is whether these bargainers can, in I5 days, get over 4 years of the idea of somebody else settling their April i5, i964 disagreements for them. I hope they can. I think they can. Intensive mediation will continue and I have asked for a definitive report to me by this weekend. We should know definitely, not later than next Monday, whether the parties to this dispute will settle it by the process of bargaining and by responsible reason. The country expects that answer to be yes. NOTE: The President spoke in the Cabinet Room at the White House. 263 Remarks in Support of a Fundraising Drive for a Winston Churchill Memorial Library at Westminster College, Missouri. April I5, i964 Senator Symington, Senator Long, Governor Dalton, distinguished Ambassador, my friends: I am honored that you would ask me to participate in this ceremony launching a project that is dedicated to a great national leader, a great world statesman, and, above all, a great human being, Sir Winston Churchill. Sir Winston's place in the history of freedom is assured. During the war he symbolized the heroic resistance and defiance of all free men to tyranny. In his own lifetime he has come to embody, as perhaps no other living leader has, a statesmanship that serves all men's desires for peace with freedom and peace with dignity. His address at Westminster College in Missouri in March of I946 was not only prophetic but timeless. With the historic quality that is distinctly his, Sir Winston said, "If we adhere faithfully to the charter of the United Nations, if we walk forward in sedate and sober strength seeking no one's land or treasure, seeking to lay no arbitrary control upon the thoughts of men, if all British moral and material forces and convictions are joined with your own in fraternal association, the high roads of the future will be clear not only for us, but for all, not only for our time, but for a century to come." This counsel is still sound today. The project to transfer the remains of this historic English church and reconstruct and rededicate it in the heartland of the United States is, as Sir Winston Churchill himself said, "an imaginative concept." It demonstrates in an unmistakable way the deep affection and esteem and respect which this great man has in this country. As the President of the United States, and a fellow citizen of Sir Winston, I am pleased and proud that you, who are gathered here today, have had the foresight, the imagination, and the energy to undertake this most worthwhile project as a tribute to one of 464 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Apr. I5 [264] the greatest world leaders of our time. And I am honored beyond compare that I should be here with the distinguished outstanding Americans from the State of Missouri and many from Washington, including the most able Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, who has rendered long service, and all of you who have taken such a vital interest in this project. It is becoming. It is worthwhile. And it is something that gives me great pleasure. Thank you very much. NOTE: The President spoke at II a.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White House. His opening remarks referred to Senator Stuart Symington, Senator Edward V. Long, and Governor John M. Dalton, all of Missouri, and to Lord Harlech, Ambassador to the United States from Great Britain. Later in his remarks he referred to Representative Clarence Cannon of Missouri, Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. The historic English church, St. Mary the Virgin of London, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, was burned out by a German incendiary bomb in I941. The $x.5 million fundraising drive was launched with a view to restoring it as a library on the campus at Fulton, Mo., where Churchill made his "Iron Curtain" speech in I946. 264 Remarks Upon Signing Order Establishing the President's Committee on Manpower. April I5, I964 Members of the Cabinet, Members of the Congress, ladies and gentlemen: Full employment for our workers, increasing production for our industry, enlarged opportunity for our citizens are all among the fundamental goals of our national economy. The realization of these goals and our greatness as a nation rest today, as it has in the past, on the wise use of the skills of our people. For this reason, I am today establishing the President's Committee on Manpower under the chairmanship of the very able Secretary of Labor Willard Wirtz. This committee will examine our manpower needs from time to time and improve our techniques for appraising needs and potential resources. It will study the impact of Federal programs on our demand for manpower. It will formulate recommendations to insure the wise and full use of all of our manpower resources now and in the years to come. Congress very wisely in the Manpower Development and Training Act of I962 made the Secretary of Labor my manpower adviser. It directed the President to pre sent yearly reports on the state of the Nation's manpower. Through the Commission, representing all agencies concerned with manpower, we can insure the urgent priority and the effective coordination which this responsibility demands. We are in the midst of a growing revolution in our patterns of work. Technology is eliminating jobs for some and it is requiring higher skills from others. Our labor force is getting younger as our population grows and more women are returning to work. So it is a primary responsibility of our free economy to meet these challenges to match the changing needs of business and the changing requirements of workers. But Government also has a responsibility. First, we are the Nation's largest employer. We are required to assess the country's future needs for manpower. Our studies and our recommendations often shape the manpower decisions of our private groups. Our free enterprise system has met and surmounted the grave challenges of the past. Our ability to meet this challenge, to match the need for jobs with the need for 465 [264 ] Apr. 15 Public Papers of the Presidents skills in the midst of a rapidly changing technology and a rapidly growing population is a new test of American vitality and capacity for growth. We intend to meet that test. We intend to meet it with all the energy and all the imagination that a great nation can summon. I have no doubt that the result will be an America of enlarged opportunity for the fruitful labor of all of its people. We are making visible progress toward our goals of full employment and better opportunity, although not near fast enough. For example, unemployment has declined from 5.8 percent of the labor force in the first quarter last year to 5.4 percent of the labor force in the first quarter this year. Job opportunities are growing faster. From December i963 to March i964 the number of nonfarm jobs grew by goo,ooo. Since January i96I, 4.3 million additional nonfarm jobs have been created. The total labor income in the United States has risen by $56 billion, or 20 percent, up one-fifth since January i96i. But we must always look to the future. We must always be trying to do more for a better life for more people. And in that effort, I am glad to be associated with the very able and patriotic company that is present here this morning and who have done so much for so many in this field. NOTE: The President spoke at noon in the Cabinet Room at the White House upon signing Executive Order III52 (29 F.R. 5271; 3 CFR, i964 Supp.). 265 Joint Statement Following Discussions With the King of Jordan. April I5, i964 KING Hussein of Jordan and President Johnson have completed two days of discussions on matters of mutual interest and concern. Both welcomed the opportunity presented by the King's visit at the invitation of the President for a full exchange of views. The President presented the views of the United States on various world problems, including those of the Middle East. He emphasized the strong desire of the United States for friendly relations with all Arab states, and its devotion to peace in the area. King Hussein put forward the views of Jordan and the other Arab states on various Middle East problems and their impact on relations between the two nations. Cordial ity, good will and candor marked the discussions. A common concern for preserving and strengthening a just peace in the area was evident throughout the talks. The two leaders declared their firm determination to make every effort to increase the broad area of understanding which already exists between Jordan and the United States and agreed that His Majesty's visit advanced this objective. The President expressed the intention of the Government of the United States to continue to support Jordanian efforts to attain a viable and self-sustaining economy. His Majesty and his party will spend a few days travelling in the United States before returning home. 466 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-I964 Apr. i6 [266] 266 The President's News Conference of April i6, i964 THE PRESIDENT. [ I.] Ladies and gentlemen, I have come before you today for a regular, scheduled, televised, notified well in advance press conference. I did not drive myself over here. But I did have to cancel an informal meeting with some tourists at the gate. I am happy to see here today so many visiting members of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, so many of my old friends. You are welcome to your city. [2.] I have some information on the state of our national economy. In the first quarter of i964 our gross national product rose to a rate of $6o8 /2 billion. This is up $8'/2 billion from the fourth quarter of i963. The first quarter gross national product is nearly $37 billion above the year earlier figure. It is the largest year-to-year gain, I am told by the Chairman of the Economic Council this afternoon, in more than 2 years. Personal income in March ran at a rate of $480o 2 billion, an increase of $ 1/2 billion over February and $25.7 billion over the rate of March i963. For the first time in 2 years we are making real progress in cutting down unemployment. We had a net gain of I1/2 million jobs from a year ago. The jobless rate dropped from 5.8 percent to 5.4 percent, and some other facts I think are worthy of note. Labor has gained over 4 million jobs, nonfarm jobs, in a 3-year period, and over $56 billion of added annual income. Business has gained a 50 percent advance in profits after taxes. Moreover, these wage and profit gains have not been eaten away by inflation. Prices in the United States have been more stable than in any other industrial country in the world. With strong markets, with steady costs, with lower taxes, American business does not need higher price levels to assure continued growth and profits. I look, therefore, to responsible business and to responsible labor to help us maintain our very fine record of cost and price stability, and help us go all the way to full employment and a balanced budget, and a strong enough competitive position to wipe out the balance of payments deficits. [3.] I believe the accurate picture of what is happening in the railroad strike negotiations has been presented fully and completely, but this may interest you. I do want to stress my deep and earnest hope that these negotiations will strengthen the collective bargaining processes in our country. To me it is vitally important that we preserve our free enterprise system. Free enterprise assumes a capacity of both labor and management to handle their own affairs and to settle differences by negotiations. I do not think that we serve the cause of free enterprise by precipitating situations which could lead to a breakdown of this process. The public interest must and will be served. I think it is in the public interest to proceed by negotiation wherever possible. Intensive negotiation-day and night negotiation-is now going on, assisted by the mediators who are experienced men that I have appointed and who have come here at great sacrifice. It is a genuine collective bargaining in the true sense of the word, and I have great faith in the capacity of true collective bargaining. There have been fewer strikes since January i96i than in any other 3-year period since the early thirties. There have been 33-171 —65 35 467 [266] Apr. i6 Public Papers of the Presidents fewer workers involved in strikes in the period since January i96i than during any comparable 3-year period since the early thirties. There have been fewer man-days lost because of strikes since i96i than in any comparable 3-year period since World War II. There were more strikes and more people involved in them during the World War II period, but they were settled, as you know, much more quickly, which meant fewer man-days were lost. [4.] I am today establishing a program of Presidential Scholars.' The title will be given to outstanding scholars graduating from our secondary schools, public and private, throughout the Nation. These awards are to recognize the most precious resource of the United States-the brain power of its young people-to encourage the pursuit of intellectual attainments among all our youth. It is my hope that in the future a similar system can be worked out to honor our most gifted young people in the creative arts. Two Presidential Scholars, a boy and a girl, will be named from each State. Two will be named from Puerto Rico, two from the District of Columbia, two from the American Territories, and up to I5 at large. The Presidential Scholars will be chosen by a Commission on Presidential Scholars, which consists of Dr. Milton Eisenhower, president of Johns Hopkins University, the chairman of the Commission; Leonard Bernstein; Katherine Anne Porter; Dr. Albert W. Dent, president of Dillard University of New Orleans; the Reverend Michael P. Walsh, president of Boston College; Dr. William Hagerty, president of Drexel Institute of Technology, Philadelphia; and Mr. 'Executive Order II155 "Providing for the Recognition of Certain Students as Presidential Scholars" (29 F.R. 6909; 3 CFR, 1964 Supp.). Melvin W. Barnes, the superintendent of schools of Portland, Oreg. The Commission will operate with complete independence. The Presidential Scholars will be named in May of this year. The President will invite them to the White House as guests of this Nation, and present each with a medallion symbolizing the honor.2 [5.] On March 3oth, the Senate passed a bill which would authorize and investigate and study the possible construction of a sealevel canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. This bill has been referred to the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries. This administration supports this bill and hopes that the House committee will give early and favorable consideration to it. There are several alternative routes for such a canal, which will have to be studied carefully before a decision can be made. As part of the necessary studies, the United States and the Government of Colombia have already reached an agreement to conduct studies relative to a survey for a sealevel canal. We are just able to announce this agreement today. We hope to make similar arrangements with other countries later. I have instructed the Secretary of Defense to immediately dispatch a survey team to Colombia to explore the possibility of constructing a sea-level canal in that country. The Secretary of Defense has informed me that a io-man team will leave for Colombia tomorrow morning to begin work immediately. The United States team will work in close collaboration with the team of the Colombian Government.3 [6.] I am very pleased to announce the 2See Item 397. 3 See also Items 594 and 809. 468 Lyndon B. Johns appointment of Mr. Roger Stevens of New York as my assistant to advise me on the arts. To assist Mr. Stevens and to provide a forum for the representation of all the arts of the United States, I shall shortly issue an Executive order establishing a Presidential Board on the Arts. [7.] I have invited Prime Minister Krag of Denmark, and Mrs. Krag, to visit Washington on June 9th. Mrs. Johnson and I visited them last year. The Prime Minister has accepted the invitation, and he and Mrs. Krag will be coming to Washington following their participation in Denmark Day at the New York World's Fair. [8.] I am looking forward to seeing two of my old friends from Germany this summer. The Governing Mayor of Berlin, Willy Brandt, will be here on May i8th. The Federal Chancellor, Ludwig Erhard, who was here earlier in the year, will come back on June 12th. I will be glad to have any questions. [9.] Q. Mr. President, how do you feel about civil disobedience as a tactic in the civil rights struggle? THE PRESIDENT. I think that we have a civil rights bill pending in the Senate that has passed the House. It is very important that bill be passed at the earliest possible date. I think passage of that bill will be helpful in this general situation. We do not, of course, condone violence or taking the law into your own hands, or threatening the health or safety of our people. You really do the civil rights cause no good when you go to this extent, but we are hopeful that all Americans understand that we are going to pass the civil rights bill because it is morally right, and because we feel that these people have too long been denied their rights. On the other hand, we do not think the 'on, I963-i964 Apr. i6 [266] violation of one right or the denial of one right should permit the violation of another right. [Io.] Q. Mr. President, there have been some conflicting high-level statements over the last week about our strength, militarily, as compared with Russia's, particularly in the fields of missiles and air power. Would you give your own appraisal of that? THE PRESIDENT. Yes. I am pleased with our strength. I think we have made great gains during the last 3 years. When you realize that each year during the last 3 years we have spent approximately $6 billion more on our military budget than was spent the last year of the Eisenhower administration, when you realize that we are spending $8 billion more this year than was spent the last year of the Eisenhower administration on our military budget, you realize that approximately $25 billion more has been spent than would have been spent if we had gone on at the rate of the last year of the Republican administration. For that expenditure of $25 billion we have achieved extra combat divisions, extra nuclear warheads, extra missile strength. I am pleased with those accomplishments. Under the law the Secretary of Defense, Mr. McNamara, is charged with the leadership and the direction of the Defense Department. While he operates a tight budget, I think he operates an adequate one. I think his work has been constructive. I have confidence in him. The Congress has confidence in him. I believe the American people have confidence in him. You can depend on what he tells you. [I i.] Q. Mr. President, what do you see in the future, and particularly in the near future, in the field of Soviet-American trade, and in particular, do you see another major development in the wake of the wheat sale? 469 [266] Apr. I6 Public Papers of the Presidents THE PRESIDENT. No, I do not anticipate another major development at this time. I am encouraged by the fact that there are approaches being made to purchase some things from our country, and the Foreign Relations Committee of the Senate is now having hearings and giving study to the possibilities of increasing East-West trade. But so far as anticipating just the extent of that trade and in what lines it will be, I am not able to say. [12.] Q. Mr. President, in connection with the railroad situation, you have emphasized the value of free collective bargaining, and at the same time you have in this case brought the very considerable weight of the Presidency to bear in influencing the action by postponing a strike. Do you have some general guideline as to where the public interest in preventing strikes comes up against the public interest in the freedom to bargain? THE PRESIDENT. I think that this is a matter that the mediators and the negotiators representing each side will attempt to evolve and find an agreeable ground and a common solution. I am not an overly optimistic man, but I do believe that under our collective bargaining system, a result can be reached. I hope and pray that it will be by the end of the week. [I3.] Q. Mr. President, a group of newspaper editors, many of whom are in this room now, were polled as to your chances for winning in I964. They all agreed that you would win. It was a matter of how much you would win by. Would you care to comment on that, sir? THE PRESIDENT. No. I hope that they feel in November as they do in April. [I4.] Q. Mr. President, seven of the eight members of the SEATO military organization have taken a strong stand on support for South Viet-Nam. The eighth member, France, had reservations on this. Do you believe that this impairs the effectiveness of that organization or our policy in South Viet-Nam? THE PRESIDENT. Of course, we would have preferred the decision to be unanimous and we would have liked for our friend and ally, France, to have seen the situation as did the other seven members of SEATO. We are very pleased, however, that seven of us saw things alike. We have a definite policy in Viet-Nam. You know what that policy is. We think it is the best policy that could be derived from the alternatives open to us and we are very pleased and happy that Secretary Rusk found that at least seven signatories of SEATO were willing to go along with us. [I5.] Q. Mr. President, after nearly 5 months in office, I wonder if you could assess for us whether you find the task more or less difficult than you had anticipated? THE PRESIDENT. Well, I didn't do a great deal of anticipating prior to November on just how difficult the task would be, but I enjoy it. There is a lot of work connected with it. Nearly everyone is anxious to help you do that job. Most people are hoping and praying that you do a good job. And a very few people I have called on that have not been willing to put their shoulder to the wheel and help me. It is probably more difficult than I expected it would be, but I am enjoying it and I am prepared to continue. [I6.] Q. Mr. President, there has been considerable talk in the press and in Congress relative to the LBJ Company, KTBC, owned by Mrs. Johnson, and relative to a secret option agreement. The FCC has asked that that option agreement be made available. I wonder what your view is on 470 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 Apr. i6 [266] that, if you feel it is proper that it not be disclosed. I also would like to know how you feel about the general ethical question that has been raised relative to high governmental officials, whether in the executive branch or the legislative, who have interests in Government-regulated industries, such as television. THE PRESIDENT. Well, first, I don't have any interest in Government-regulated industries of any kind, and never have had. I own no stocks. I own a little ranch land, something in excess of 2,000 acres. The Commission has made no request of me or of my family for anything. We are perfectly willing to comply, I am sure the trustees would be, with any request that they did make. There is not anything that we have to secrete in any manner, shape, or form. Mrs. Johnson inherited some property, invested that property in the profession of her choice, and worked at it with pleasure and satisfaction until I forced her to leave it when I assumed the Presidency. As you know, and I want all to know, all of that stock has been placed in trust, as has been the practice with other Presidents, and although I own none of it, Mrs. Johnson has placed it in trust, an irrevocable trust that can-the property can be disposed of, it can be leased, it can be sold, at any time. Any of those decisions would still require the action of the Commission. Even if you tried to sell it, you would have to have their approval. But I see no conflict in any way. She participates in no decisions the company makes. It is entirely with the trustees. In any event, if she did participate, the President wouldn't have anything to do with it. [I7.] Q. As you know, we now have a record number of military and diplomatic dependents abroad, well over seven hundred thousand. In your concern for the American image and your admirable desire to improve the status of women, don't you think it would be worth the expense to provide language courses for these wives before they go overseas? THE PRESIDENT. I think it is always desirable for anyone to acquire as much knowledge of languages as possible. I haven't given any study to the particular suggestion you make. It seems to be a good one, and I will have it explored. [i8.] Q. Mr. President, in recent months the Air Force and certain Members of Congress have said that it is desirable for the United States to develop a new, manned, strategic bomber. Secretary of Defense McNamara maintains that it is not. I wonder if you could give us your opinion, sir? THE PRESIDENT. At the moment, I would not make a judgment because that decision will likely come to me in the near future. When the Joint Chiefs of Staff presented their military recommendations to me at the early part of the year, they were together on alloof the recommendations with the exception that General LeMay asked for the privilege of taking funds already calculated in his budget and using them to study plans for a new bomber. I told him I would give consideration to his proposal. I understand that proposal has been formulated and is now going through channels, and will shortly come to the President. When it gets to me, I will study it as best I can and make the decision that I think is in the national interest. [ig.] Q. Mr. President, to go back to politics, the late President Kennedy, in looking ahead to the '64 election, used to say 47I [1266] Apr. i6 Public Papers of the Presidents that he expected a hard, close fight. Would you say, sir, how it looks to you this far ahead of the event? THE PRESIDENT. I would think that is a very accurate appraisal of it, and I would think it will be a hard fight, a difficult one. I would hope that it wouldn't be too close, but it may be. I don't think that you can ever tell this far in advance how people are going to decide the choice, but I have no doubt but what it will be a hard and long fight. [20.] Q. Mr. President, there has been a new factor injected into the civil rights situation. Mr. President, there has been allusion here today to difficulty of extremist action on the part of civil rights leaders. But there seems also to be a possibility of extreme action on the part of some white people who are mightily opposed both North and South, not only to the bill, but to further progress for Negroes. Would you assess this new factor and do you have any counsel to the people on that end of the battle? THE PRESIDENT. Yes. I would counsel moderation to all groups, and understanding of their fellowman and trying to appreciate his position. I think if people would put themselves in the other fellow's position, they will all be a little more tolerant of the other man's viewpoint. There are people who feel very strongly on both sides of this issue. I found that in the I957 bill. I found it in the bill in 1960. It took us many days and nights to try to find an area of agreement that the Members of Congress and the President would accept. I expect that there will be many days ahead when strong forces on both sides will be appealing to people to side with them. I only hope that we recognize that it has been a hundred years since Abraham Lin coln freed the slaves of their chains, but he has not freed all of the people of the bigotry that exists. It has been a hundred years since President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, but a great many people do not have equal rights as of now. While emancipation may be a proclamation, it is not a fact until education is blind to color, until employment is unaware of race. As long as those conditions exist in the country, we are going to have protests and we are entitled to protest and petition under our constitutional rights. I hope, though, that the Congress will act promptly with reasonable dispatch to bring those protests and bring those petitions and bring these disturbances from the streets and the alleys into the courts where they belong. In order to do that, we need a good civil rights bill, and the bill now pending in the Senate is a good bill. I hope it can be passed in a reasonable time. [21.] Q. Mr. President, could you list for us the pending legislative measures which you consider it essential that the Congress enact before it adjourns finally this summer? THE PRESIDENT. Well, that would take more time than I have, but there are some that we are vitally interested in. I have just named one, the civil rights bill, that is pending in the Senate. We had difficulty in the House Judiciary Committee. It spent a long time there. Then the House Rules Committee. We filed a petition, and a good many Members signed that, to discharge the bill and finally the Rules Committee passed it. It is now in the Senate, and it has been debated a good while there. So that is a very important piece of legislation for the national welfare, because we are going to have many problems, even after it is passed, adjusting to it. We ought to get it passed 472 Lyndon B. John. as early as we can so that before school begins next year we will have this law on the books and we can move ahead. I think it is as important that we pass the food stamp plan in the Senate as the civil rights bill. We passed it in the House by a good vote the other day. It is very important, not only to the consumers of this country, but to the producers of this country and to the business people of this country. It is a good piece of legislation. It is soundly conceived. I hope that we can get action in the Agriculture Committee of the Senate in a short time. Perhaps as soon as the civil rights bill is out of the way we can pass the food stamp bill. The pay bill is one of the most important pieces of legislation to continued good Government in this country. I have on my desk today a number of resignations from some of the very best men in Government who tell me that they just cannot stay any longer. They have been here 3 years, and they cannot stay any longer at their present salaries. One man said he had had to borrow $i6,ooo, another one said he had had to borrow $9,000, another one $6,ooo. And they just did not feel they could go on doing that if the pay bill was not going to be passed. I think that we are going to lose some of the best men in the Government. Like sergeants that run the Army, some of the Under Secretaries and Assistant Secretaries and the men who do not get the notoriety but do the hard work from day to day-are entitled to a raise. I hope the Congress will consider the bill in both committees-although they have taken one vote on it in the House-that they can make some adjustments to meet the objections of the Members and pass the pay bill. I think the Medicare bill is an extremely important bill that will provide medical care for our old people, aged people, under social son, 1963-1964 Apr. i6 [266] security. I believe that we are close to having enough votes to report that bill from the committee. If we can make adjustments and modifications to get that bill reported and passed and have medicare under social security, it would be a great day for the people of our country. Nearly every home has some father or mother, or uncle or aunt, or some member of their family that finds need for medical care insurance. Too many of them don't have it, and never will have it under the present system we have. I think the poverty bill is very important. All the Cabinet Members have testified on it-Secretary McNamara, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, the Secretary of Agriculture. We are all united. We think that it is a comprehensive bill and has very sound principles. It will do a lot to help us with our juvenile delinquency problem. It will take our boys off the streets and out of the alleys and out of the pool rooms. It will make it possible for us to train and educate people for national service that are now being turned back by the draft. We think that bill is soundly conceived and very important. So I would list just those four or five-the pay bill, the poverty bill, the Medicare bill, the civil rights bill, the food stamp bill-as five I should hope would be passed before the convention. [22.] Q. Mr. President, sir, I wonder what you think about some of our columnists and fellow correspondents who have been writing declassified material given to them obviously by some officers in the National Security Council and in the Pentagon. I refer to the material about MacArthur and his command in Korea. I am sure that it was necessary to classify this material, but I wonder why it is declassified at this time for just certain ones. 473 [266] Apr. i6 Public Papers of the Presidents THE PRESIDENT. I raised that question with the Pentagon today at lunch, and they tell me they are unaware of any of the material relating to General MacArthur that had not already been published in books prior to the recent revelation. [23.] Q. Mr. President, sir, in the light of your unequivocal stand on civil rights, are you concerned about the election in November of independent electors in the Southern States that would be committed to vote neither for you nor for your Republican opponent? THE PRESIDENT. Yes, I would always be concerned about any elector that was not committed to vote for me, if I were a candidate. And I would do my best to convince him of the error of his ways. I don't anticipate, however, that there will be any substantial number that will feel that the future of this country should be placed in the hands of independent electors, but I think most of them will be associated with one of the two regular parties, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. [24.] Q. Mr. President, since the Maryland Presidential primary is not exactly a contest between Maryland Democrats, don't you think you might say something or do something to try to affect that result? THE PRESIDENT. I gave serious consideration to what my policies should be in connection with primaries many years ago. Generally speaking, there could be an exception, but generally speaking, I think it is unwise for me to interfere in primaries or attempt to influence people in primaries. In connection with the presidential primaries this year, which is much more specific than my previous statement, which applies to all primaries, I gave thought to what my course of conduct should be, and concluded that I would not enter any primaries. I would do the very best job I could as President for all the people up until convention time, and then let the delegates at the convention make their choice freely. Then my conduct would be determined after they made their choice. Alvin A. Spivak, United Press International: Thank you, Mr. President. NOTE: President Johnson's thirteenth news conference was held in the State Department Auditorium at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, April i6, i964. 267 Remarks to a Group in Connection With the Montana Territorial Centennial. April I7, i964 WE ARE mighty glad that you are here. When Mike told me a few days ago that you were coming through, I told him how pleased I would be if you could come and see your White House and perhaps have a little visit with me. Montana is one of the States in the Union that you can visit and still get the spirit of the frontier. Although you came into the Union when we were i9 years old, we still feel that we have much in common between Texas and Montana. As a matter of fact, if you ever let it thaw out up there and get a little bit warmer, like it is here today, I believe all the Texans would move to Montana. I remember that my uncle in his early days went on one of the cattle drives and he decided to make his way there until the first winter. Then he came back to get warm in Texas. And I am not sure he has ever warmed up since. But that shows how rugged you are, how hardy you are, and how well you live under 474 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-I964 Apr. I7 [267] those open blue skies. I want to thank all of you for the good judgment and the wisdom that you have shown in giving to this nation the leadership of men like Mike Mansfield, the great majority leader than whom there has never been a better one; Lee Metcalf, who is the Acting President pro tempore more than any other man in the Senate and who presides more, I think, than any Vice President, or any President pro tern ever has; Congressman Olsen; and I am delighted to welcome this morning Governor Babcock and his charming wife to this rose garden. Montana people have a lot to be proud of and much to preserve. You are always willing to stand up and be counted. Your leadership here in the Capitol means much to us. Every Tuesday I meet with Senator Mansfield and get his recommendations and suggestions. He is always quiet and calm, always ready to stand up and be counted, and to do what is good and what is best for his people. He is not like that preacher down in my country was when he found a member of his congregation one morning that always came to the church and snored through the sermon. He finally got tired of it and he decided he would play a little joke on him. While he was sleeping, he said, "All of you folks that want to go to heaven," in a rather low voice, "please stand." And everybody stood except the fellow on the front row that was sleeping and snoring. When they sat down, he said in a very loud voice, "Now, all of you folks that want to go to hell please stand." That stirred the fellow and he waked up and he heard him say "Please stand," so he jumped up and he looked around and saw that no one else was standing with him. He said, "Preacher, I don't know what it is you are voting on, but you and I seem to be the only two for it." Now Mike does know what he is voting on, and he is willing to stand and be counted, as are your Congressman Jim Battin and Congressman Olsen and Senator Metcalf and Senator Mansfield. I am glad to see Maureen is here this morning. Mike and I have that in common, too-we both outmarried ourselves. Our wives are good friends and we work very closely together. I hope maybe that you have a chance to see Lady Bird if she is still over there and not out of the house working. We have a lot of problems that come in here. You are out here in this beautiful rose garden that Mrs. Kennedy had constructed. Mrs. Paul Mellon spent months of her great talent bringing these beautiful trees in here and planting these beautiful flowers. All of the roses are out here, but the thorns are on the inside. You and fate have selected us to try to carry on in the great tradition of this country and our free enterprise system. We are rather proud of the way the American people are cooperating today. We are trying to build a great society that will make your children and your grandchildren and the people three or four generations from today proud of what we are doing. We are trying to establish the fact that all Americans can be treated equally and that proposition has the Senate temporarily tied up, but Mike is going to find some solution to it in the next few weeks. We have tried to pass a bill that will bring a reasonable cushion to agriculture and put a floor under prices where the farmer and rancher can have some prosperity. We are not unaware of the problems of the ranchmen and we are dealing with them every day. I met the Secretary of Agriculture from New Zealand yesterday. He agreed to curtail their meat exports about 22 percent, 33-171-615-36 475 [267] Apr. I7 Public Papers of the Presidents which means that we think things will become better from the import side of it. We are trying to pass a good food stamp plan in the Congress, a medical aid plan in the Congress, a pay bill that will not make it necessary for an employee who stays here to either resign or to steal, but one that will permit him to earn enough to meet the needs of his family. In that connection, I think you should know that I know of no group of citizens anywhere in the world that gives as much to so many as the Members of the House and Senate. They do that and run for election, the Members of the House every 2 years, on a salary of $22,500, and you couldn't get those men in any top business in America for twice that much. Yet we expect them to stay here and meet all the demands of public office and go back and conduct a campaign every 2 years, and as a consequence, we are losing some of our best talent not only in the executive branch, but in the legislative branch as well. I hope that we can pass a good pay bill. We want to pass another measure that will preserve humanity. It ought to almost be called P.H. Bill-the bill to preserve humanity. They call it the poverty bill. But it is going to take these young men that have been rejected by the draft-some 500,000 or 6oo,ooo are turned back each year-and put them in camps, conservation camps, in your country, developing our resources; but first of all, developing them, teaching them to read and write, the mental turndowns are 25 percent, the physical are 75 percent, and try to equip them and prepare them to be taxpayers instead of taxeaters. When President Franklin Roosevelt came in, he had a country that was one-third ill clad and ill fed and ill housed. Today we have, after 30 years, moved that one-third up to one-fifth, but we still have 20 percent of our people in that bottom group. We want to have the glorious kind of society where people are prepared to earn their own way, where they are prepared and trained and have the physical and mental resources to help support their Government, instead of have their Government support them. So under the leadership of that great young American, Sargent Shriver, who has carried the peace program to all corners of the world, we are going to have a poverty program that will take care of our less fortunate young people throughout the Nation and that will materially reduce our unemployment. We have reduced it from 5.8 percent to 5.4 percent. We have the greatest profits in the history of our country. They have increased in 3 years by more than 50 percent. So we can afford some of these things. Our wages have increased by more than $50 billion. We now have more people employed than we have ever had in the history of our country, more than 70 million. They are earning wages in excess of what they have ever earned before. So now is the time for America not to think just of yesterday or not just of tomorrow, but to think of generations yet unborn, so that we can prepare this society for them and leave it a society that is a glorious society that we can be proud of and that the historians will point to as a development that is unheard of in any nation. We hear of the rich nations and the poor nations. We must be thankful that we are a rich nation, but if we don't use those resources to help those who are unable to help themselves, the day will soon come when the crying masses of all the world 476 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-z964 Apr. I7 [267] and two-thirds of the people of all the world are crying masses-will come and see that justice is done. I know that in this great effort to build this great society that we can depend on the independence and the constructive fearlessness of Montana people and their leaders. For that reason, I have taken a little longer this morning than I wanted to take to tell you how proud I am of your State, how proud I am of the leaders that you have sent here, how high and tall they stand in the counsels of this Government, and how we know that you are going to join us in working to make this a better country than you found it, and to leave more for your children than your parents left for you. Not that we are not thankful and not that we are not appreciative, but we are in the 2oth century, and we must never be content with the status quo. We must never permit ourselves to stand still. We must move forward, as we are moving with civil rights, with medical care, with poverty, with the pay bill, with the food stamp bill, with the immigration bill that asks not "Where do you come from?" but "What can you do and what do you stand for?" We are going to do those things so that that Statue of Liberty that is up there in New York that you have seen or are going to see will always be a beacon to those from other lands, to know that there is opportunity left in America. You are responsible for that opportunity because in your wisdom you have selected men who love this system and who are willing to die for it. Thank you for coming. One thing I wanted to tell you, a thing I like so much about Montana, and something that is a precious heritage to all of us, is that great artist that you had there for so many years, Charles Russell. I have one of his paintings hanging in my office, and I asked them to bring it out here because I wanted to give you just a little touch of Montana this morning. I remember the stories that he wrote from New York back home to the saloonkeeper, Sid Willis, and how he told them that he never realized until he got to New York just how wonderful the people of Montana were. I want to quote to you from one of Russell's letters that especially intrigues me, to his friend the saloonkeeper: "I am lonesome tonight and far from my range. I thought it might help for me to write you. Just think-I am in a camp of 4 million and I guess I know only eight." But although he was in New York writing back to Montana, everybody knew where his heart was all the time. After the meeting here this morning, if those of you want to tour the White House, I have arranged through Senator Mansfield and Senator Metcalf, and the Congressmen, to have that done. [At this point the President was presented with a Montana Centennial Medallion and Coin. He then resumed speaking.] Thank you very much. I hope you enjoy your tour, now. I will go back in and get some work done. NOTE: The President spoke at II a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White House. 477 [268] Apr. I7 Public Papers of the Presidents 268 Remarks at the First Meeting of the President's Commission on Heart Disease, Cancer, and Stroke. April I7, i964 Ladies and gentlemen: On beautiful days like this, the President and schoolboys have a hard time staying indoors. I think we would set a good example for the Nation, and we would advance the cause that brings us together, if we would take time for a brisk walk outside this morning. I am a subscriber to the view once expressed that if you want to know if your brain is flabby, you better feel of your legs. Health is something that we treasure in this house where you have gathered this morning, and I know it is treasured in every house throughout our land and around the world. It was said several centuries ago, health is the greatest of all possessions. A pale cobbler is better than a sick king. The work that you have begun today is work in which I have the keenest and the greatest and the most personal interest. You are here to begin mapping an attack by this Nation upon the three great killers, the three great cripplers-heart, cancer, and stroke disease. These three account for the majority of deaths and much of the serious disability which strike our people every year. I have asked you to undertake these three objectives: first, to measure the full magnitude of the impact of these diseases upon the Nation; second, to evaluate our resources for acquiring new knowledge; third, to identify the obstacles which stand in the way of advancing knowledge and give us guidelines on overcoming those obstacles. To this group I do not think I need to tell you how vital this is. Unless we do better, two-thirds of all Americans now living will suffer or die from cancer, heart disease, or stroke. I expect you to do something about it. Five million Americans a year are struck 478 down in the prime of life by heart attacks, often fatal. Every 2 minutes cancer strikes a man or a woman or a child in this country. Every year strokes leave 200,000 Americans dead and another 2 million incapacitated. I want us to put our great resourcesand they are unlimited-to work to overcome this. We can, and because of the work you will do, I believe we will. So let me say this: I know there are some differing viewpoints about the prospects for success in these fields, but from what some of you on this Commission have reported to me, and from some other sources that I believe in, I think our goals are in sight. It is well within the range of reasonable expectation that work being done now in regard to controlling growth of cells in the human body will bring decisive victories over heart disease and cancer and strokes. The point is, we must conquer heart disease, we must conquer cancer, we must conquer strokes. This Nation and the whole world cries out for this victory. I am firmly convinced that the accumulated brains and determination of this Commission and of the scientific community of the world will, before the end of this decade, come forward with some answers and cures that we need so very much. When this occurs-not "if," but "when," and I emphasize "when"-we will face a new challenge and that will be what to do within our economy to adjust ourselves to a life span and a work span for the average man or woman of ioo years. Knowing Government as I do, I am sure some President someday will be appointing a commission to study that very great problem, and I would be pleased to be that President. If you do your work well and if you Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-I964 Apr. I 7 [ 268] do your work with dispatch, maybe I will have that privilege. I have often been reminded myself of Shakespeare's line, "A good heart is worth gold." I am glad mine is good now, and if the doctors and the Secret Service and my guardians in the press will just permit me to get my exercise, I intend to keep it that way. I want to thank you very much for beginning the work that I think will ultimately win the hardest fight that we have ever fought. And I would suspect that just as we look back on Lincoln's proclamation a hundred years ago, when he took the chains off the slaves, I would suspect that someday your grandchildren and great, great grandchildren will be looking at this picture made this morning in this beautiful rose garden, all the thorns are inside, and see the leadership of 50 States who are willing to give their talents and their energies and their imaginations, and stay awake at night and roll over and go get a glass of water and come back and think some more on how to get the results that we know are within our reach. In my judgment there is nothing that you will ever do that will keep your name glorified longer, and that will make your descendants prouder than this unselfish task that you have today undertaken to get rid of the causes of heart and cancer and stroke in this land and around the world. Because what can be more satisfying than to feel that you have preserved not a life, but millions of them, for decades. I am here to say to you that while we are interested in the food stamp plan, we are interested in Medicare for the aged under social security, we are interested in the civil rights bill that we consider most essential to our leadership in this country and in the world, we are interested in the pay bill that will keep our good civil servants here, we are interested in the immigration bill that will permit families to join each other, and we are interested in the poverty bill that will take our boys out of the pool halls and out of the slums and out of the juvenile delinquency centers of the Nation-we are interested in all of those things. There is nothing that really offers more and greater hope to all humanity and to preserving humanity than the challenge in the task that you have undertaken. You have among you some of the great doctors, some of the great public servants of our time. Somehow, someway, sometime, you are going to find the answers, and I hope it will be soon. Thank you. NOTE: The President spoke at II:30 a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White House. The President announced the establishment of the Commission on Heart Disease, Cancer, and Stroke and listed the members at his news conference of March 7 (see Item 211 [6]). A White House release, dated September 22, announced that the Commission met in Washington at that time for a 2-day meeting. The release stated that Dr. Michael E. DeBakey, Chairman of the Commission, said that the Commission had held some 65 hearings and other meetings, had heard the testimony of nearly 200 witnesses from agencies concerned with the diseases, and had collected and studied hundreds of documents, statements, and other information since its first meeting in April. Dr. DeBakey added that many more meetings would be held before the Commission would be ready to submit its report (see Item 798). 479 [269] Apr. 17 Public Papers of the Presidents 269 Remarks to a Group of Argentine Senators. April I 7, I 964 Secretary Mann and my friends, Members of the Argentine Senate: I am very glad to welcome you to my home. I was a Senator once myself. Almost every day I wish I was back there. No one knows better than I that while Presidents make speeches, Senators make laws, and laws make progress, and progress is the world's business. Argentina and the United States, your country and my country, are partners and are allies in the great adventure of this hemisphere. We are working together to improve the welfare of the people of an entire continent. The Alliance for Progress is not something that can be conducted at arm's length across the desks of bankers or in the offices of technicians; it requires understanding and sympathy and concern between people, and especially among those who conduct the great business of government. The Alliance for Progress rests on the belief that the most important work must be done in each country by the government and by the citizens of that country. We are going to have a signing ceremony where we will make allocations to many countries of loans for school construction and farmer cooperatives and malaria eradication and rural electrification, but what finally determines how we get along is the understanding and the sympathy and the concern between people themselves. We know for sure that development and justice cannot be imposed from the outside; it must be imposed from the will and labors of the people inside. We have learned this lesson around the world at great cost. Selfhelp is not a principle or a moral judg48o ment; it is a must, a condition of progress. There is no other way. The United States, as you have learned, has many painful problems. Too many of our citizens, over 20 percent, live in poverty. Their abilities are unused and their hopes are unanswered. Too many are held back by the unjust burden of racial discrimination. But I am trying to muster the full energies of my Government and devote them to finding a solution to these problems. I predict in our time we will wipe out poverty in America. We will give every citizen a chance to become a taxpayer and not a taxeater. We will give every citizen a chance to use the abilities that God gave him. We will eliminate color as an obstacle to a man's hope for a decent life for himself and his family. This will not be done easily or swiftly, but it will be done. Now, in your country you must work to increase confidence in your economy, to strengthen democratic institutions, to provide jobs for your workers, to give all your people in the slums and in your rural villages a full and fair share in your increasing wealth, so you can be a part of the effort to develop a great society in this hemisphere. In this way, and with this effort, you will bring your own country closer to its true greatness. You will bring us all closer to the success of the Alliance for Progress. I hope you will bring this message back to Argentina, as you pursue the long and difficult road toward new hope and dignity for all your people. To the north there stands the United States of America and all of its people. Under the great leadership of Assistant Secretary Mann and the Special Assistant to the Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 Apr. I7 [270] President, Tom Mann, in whom this hemisphere has no better friend, we will be strong in friendship, we will be ready to help both with our Government and with our private sector, we will be determined that success shall greet our struggles, and we will take the step that will say to the two-thirds of the teeming masses in the world that our goal is to develop a society in which men will be treated with equality and in which people will share in the fruits that are produced. I want to thank you for coming to the White House, and tell you while we are greatly concerned with our problems here at home, and there are many, there is not a day passes that I do not see or talk or write to Secretary Mann about what we can do in this hemisphere together to give a freer, a fuller, and a brighter life for all of our people. So the time to act is now; the moment to counsel is here. I hope that you will return to your homes with the knowledge that somos amigos. NOTE: The President spoke at noon in the Rose Garden at the White House. His opening words referred to Thomas C. Mann, Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs, United States Coordinator for the Alliance for Progress, and Special Assistant to the President. 270 Remarks at a Reception for Members of the American Society of Newspaper Editors. April I7, i964 Ladies and gentlemen: I appreciate your coming here today. The reason I wanted you in the Rose Garden is simply because if we had gone inside the White House Lady Bird would have insisted that I turn on all the lights. I want you to know Lady Bird. [At this point Mrs. Johnson welcomed the newspaper editors and their wives, after which Lynda Bird Johnson spoke briefly. The President then resumed speaking.] Luci, my teenager, will be coming along a little later. She is being interviewed by a magazine at the moment. I want you to know her, too. We are going in shortly to the White House, so you can pick up your candles in a box over there. We had a preacher back home who dropped his notes just as he was leaving his church one time, and his dog jumped at them and tore them up. When the preacher went into the pulpit, he apologized to his congregation and said, "I am very sorry, to day I have no sermon. I will just have to speak as the Lord directs. But I will try to do better next Sunday." I don't have a speech today. I just intend to do as George Reedy directed at the press conference this morning-to speak as the Lord directs. I thought I might talk to you about this job which fate has thrust upon me. I am the President of the United States, the only President you will have, God willing, until January of next year. One of the hardest tasks that a President faces is to keep the time scale of his decisions always in mind and to try to be the President of all the people. He is not simply responsible to an immediate electorate, either. He knows over the long stretch of time how great can be the repercussions of all that he does or that he fails to do, and over that span of time the President always has to think of America as a continuing community. He has to try to see how his decisions will 48i [270] Apr. I7 Public Papers of the Presidents affect not only today's citizens, but their children and their children's children unto the third and the fourth generation. He has to try to peer into the future, and he has to prepare for that future. If the policies he advocates lack this dimension of depth and this dimension of staying power, he may gain this or that advantage in the short term, but he can set the country on a false course and profit today at the expense of all the world tomorrow. So it is this solemn and this most difficult responsibility, and it is always hard to interpret confidently the future patterns of the world. There are always critics around imploring the President to stick to the facts and not to go crystal-gazing. Some of them tell me to try to keep my feet on the ground, if not my head in the sand. But this is the point: The facts include today, the overwhelming, built-in, irresistible forces of change that have been unleashed by modern science and technology. And the very facts dissolve and regroup as we look into them. To make no predictions is to be sure to be wrong. Whatever else is or is not that certain in our dynamic world, there is one thing that is very sure: Tomorrow will be drastically different from today. Yet it is in all of these tomorrows that we and our children and our children's children are going to be forced to live. We have to try to see that pattern and we have to try to prepare for it. The President of this country, more than any other single man in the world, must grapple with the course of events and the directions of history. What he must try to do, try to do always, is to build for tomorrow in the immediacy of today. For if we can, the President, and the Congress, and you leaders of the communi ties throughout the Nation, will have made their mark in history. Somehow we must ignite a fire in the breast of this land, a flaming spirit of adventure that soars beyond the ordinary and the contented, and really demands greatness from our society, and demands achievement from our Government. We intend to seek justice because that is what the Nation needs. We intend to create hope because that is what the Nation needs. We intend to build opportunity because that is what the Nation deserves. And we intend to pursue peace relentlessly because that is what the world demands. These are the simple aims of our purpose. These are the forward thrusts of our objective. But to start on this adventure, we must begin and we ought to begin today. Justice is a universal beginning for a great society. Justice is undone and untended in too many in our land. Our Nation will live in tormented ease until the civil rights bill now being considered is written into the book of law. The question is no longer, "Shall it be passed?" The question is "When, when, when will it be passed?" We cannot deny to a group of our own people, our own American citizens, the essential elements of human dignity which a majority of our citizens claim for ourselves. Civil rights are not a luxury to be accorded the many. They are an obligation under our Constitution that is owed to all, for the bill before the Senate is only the validation of our moral, national commitment. I want to repeat here today again, again, and again for the record what I said at Gettysburg last year: One hundred years ago Lincoln freed the Negro of his chains, but he did not free his country of its bigotry, for until education is blind to color, until 482 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-I964 Apr. 17 [2701 employment is unaware of race, emancipation will be a proclamation, but it will not be a fact. We are trying to preserve our national resource of humanity, also. Some call it, and choose to refer to it, as a war on poverty. Well, it is a war, and poverty is the enemy. But the real objective is the preservation of our most precious asset-over 9 million American families at the bottom of the heap. It is not a program of giveaway. It is not a program of doles. It is a program that is concerned with skills and opportunities, with giving the tools for the job of growth, in making taxpayers out of taxeaters. We are investing in opportunity and giving them the skills to seize it. For the first time in America's history, poverty is on the run and it is no longer inevitable and its elimination is no longer impossible, because it is right. We are fighting this war because it is wise. We are committed to winning it, and our strategy is to reach deep to the core and to the cause of the poverty and, having confronted it, then destroy it. In every aspect of this program, the cooperation of national, State, and local governments is the passkey to action and the channelway for success. The Nation shall be the beneficiary, because by raising the average productivity of the ii million poverty-stricken wage earners by only $Iooo a year, we would add $15 billion to the Nation's annual output. Forty-nine percent-a hideously high figure-49 percent, one out of every two young men that are Americans who are examined for the draft, are found lacking physically, mentally, and morally. It is a senseless act of shameless neglect to ignore this intrusion on our satisfaction as a Nation. But even as we try to invest our youth with the excitement of new opportunity, we are equally determined that elderly citizens are not barred from dignity, are not vacant of hope. There must come from the Congress soon legislation for medical assistance for senior citizens. There is hardly a home in America today where a son, or a daughter, or a relative does not brood over the possible avalanche of medical expenses for their mothers and their fathers, or their uncles or their cousins, or their aunts. The dread of an impossible expense burden burns deep in the consciousness of practically every American home. Is it a wild, unreasonable proposal to ask that out of the average earnings of workers that are now more than $Ioo per week for over 70 million that they put $I a month into Social Security, their employers do the same, making $2 a month? The Government contributes nothing. Is it asking too much for this bountiful country to prepare a law so that older folks can face illness when it inevitably comes and face it without the chill foreboding of an empty purse or an inadequate insurance policy? Under this plan, citizens know they did it for themselves without a Government handout. Because it is just and because it is right and because it is part of the good society to construct prudent programs, with vision, based on common sense and common decency, this bill is high on the agenda of our American purpose. To build good government, the first and most urgent need is good people. The pay bill soon to be debated in the Congress reaches into the very essence of urgency if this Government means to retain excellence and quality. On my desk tonight there are now dozens of resignations from some of the most bril 483 [270] Apr. I7 Public Papers of the Presidents liant and able men in the Government. They have run out their financial string. Each year they have gone into debt and each month now compounds their financial agony. They must quit to find higher incomes in private industry, and this Government suffers the harsh and irretrievable loss. To deny this pay bill is to invite mediocrity. We cannot do the great things that this great Nation must do to develop a great society unless we, as a Nation, have the men to do them. Congressmen, Members of the House and of the Senate, deserve twice what they get. Career officers, appointed officials, all deserve more money for jobs which too often demand long hours and ceaseless work. Don't make them steal or quit or go along borrowing when they are doing the job for you. There is also in the Congress the legislation to adjust our immigration laws. The quota system is outworn. We want skilled people who can do jobs that need to be done, and we do want families reunited. These are but a portion of our catalogue of aspirations, for in the months and the years ahead, there will be new challenges and greater difficulties. Now we must attend to the duties that demand our attention. Right now, as you know, in the room across the hall, we are engaged in intensive collective bargaining sessions day and night in which we are trying to help railroad labor and railroad management solve their problems themselves in accordance with our free enterprise system. A strike would cost us the loss of 7 million jobs in a very short time. A strike would cost us a downturn in our gross national product of io to 15 percent. A strike would cost us great dangers in health throughout the Nation. A strike would almost paralyze our entire system. 484 The tempo of that bargaining that is taking place has stepped up considerably, and I believe this is a tribute to the free enterprise system. Sometimes I feel the free enterprise system is something like the weather-everybody likes to talk about it, and write about it, and we don't do enough about it. We have here in this case an opportunity and a responsibility to do something about it. That opportunity and that responsibility can be discharged, if we cooperate in helping the people on both sides, and not attempting to handcuff them by taking an extreme position which will provoke reactions that would break down the collective bargaining processes. No group in all this Nation has a greater investment and responsibility than you, the leading editors of this Nation. The wounds of this Nation must be healed. The breaches in this Nation must be closed. And from this unity of this Nation must come the wisdom and the courage to reach beyond the commonplace. The world is no longer the world that your fathers and mine once knew. Once it was dominated by the balance of power. Today, it is diffused and emergent. But though most of the world struggles fitfully to assert its own initiative, the people of the world look to this land for inspiration. Twothirds of the teeming masses of humanity, most of them in their tender years under 4o, are decreeing that they are not going to take it without food to sustain their body and a roof over their head. And from our science and our technology, from our compassion and from our tolerance, from our unity and from our heritage, we stand uniquely on the threshold of a high adventure of leadership by example and by precept. "Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord." Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 Apr. i8 [27I] From our Jewish and Christian heritage, we draw the image of the God of all mankind, who will judge his children not by their prayers and by their pretensions, but by their mercy to the poor and their understanding of the weak. We cannot cancel that strain and then claim to speak as a Christian society. To visit the widow and the fatherless in their affliction is still pure religion and undefiled. I tremble for this Nation. I tremble for our people if at the time of our greatest prosperity we turn our back on the moral obligations of our deepest faith. If the face we turn to this aspiring, laboring world is a face of indifference and contempt, it will rightly rise up and strike us down. Believe me, God is not mocked. We reap as we sow. Our God is still a jealous God, jealous of his righteousness, jealous of his mercy, jealous for the last of the little ones who went unfed while the rich sat down to eat and rose up to play. And unless my administration profits the present and provides the foundation for a better life for all humanity, not just now but for generations to come, I shall have failed. If there is judgment in history, it rests on us, according to our generosity or our disdain. These are the stakes, to make a world in which all of God's children can live or to go into the dark. For today as we meet here in this beautiful rose garden under the shadows of atomic power it is not rhetoric but it is truth to say that we must either love each other or we must die. It has been wonderful to have you leaders of our country and the great molders of our thought to come here and give me this opportunity to tell you what is in my heart. Now I hope before darkness descends upon us, literally, this evening, if Luci has come, I want her to meet you. [At this point Luci Baines Johnson spoke briefly. The President then resumed speaking.] Now, Mrs. Johnson wants you, if you will, to come in the house and see some of the rooms and we want to see as many of you as we personally can. Thank you very much. NOTE: The President spoke at 5:30 p.m. in the Rose Garden, after which a reception was held in the White House for iioo editors and their wives who were in Washington for the annual convention of the American Society of Newspaper Editors. 27I The President's News Conference of April i 8, I 964 THE PRESIDENT. [I.] I have seen a very inaccurate account of what I am going to say on Monday, so I thought I should tell you something you can rely upon. My statement on Monday will be a very general statement of our foreign policy.' I will be talking especially about our relations with the Soviet Union and about certain other important areas, like Cuba and China. I will talk about the responsibility 1 See Item 272. of the candidates, and issues of war and peace, and policies toward Asia, especially Viet-Nam; the policy towards Latin America. I hope the speech will be interesting. But my advice to you is to wait for the speech itself, and not to put much stock in what you get second- or third-hand. I am still working on it and the report is very inaccurate. [2.] I have today drafted and approved the plans for a very comprehensive study of 485 [27I] Apr. i8 Public Papers of the Presidents the draft system and of related manpower policies submitted to me by the Secretary of Defense. This study will consider alternatives to the present draft selection system, including the possibility of meeting our requirements on an entirely voluntary basis in the next decade. Last September the administration initiated a number of actions to determine immediate steps that could be taken to free young men from doubt about their draft status, and what improvements could be made in the administration of the draft law.2 This led to the decision which I announced early this year to conduct military service examination of draft registrations who have finished school at age i8 so that these young men then will be able to more intelligently plan their future in relation to their military service liability.3 I now consider it most desirable to study some of the broader aspects of the military service system. As an original proponent of this act, I continue to be firmly convinced of the soundness of its basic principle, namely, that the obligations and privileges of service must be shared equally in accordance with a fair and just system. I am concerned, as I indicated yesterday in some of my remarks, with the recent indications that in application the system may have drifted from this concept. I pointed out to the Heart Committee that 49 percent of our boys were rejected for one reason or another. It is clear that at the present time the obligation for military service is essential for meeting our military strength requirements. However, the present law has been in effect for more than I5 years, and a very comprehensive study of the system is now indicated. I have ordered that study im2See "Public Papers of the Presidents, John F. Kennedy i963," Item 393. 'See Item 89. 486 mediately. It will be completed in i year. It will deal with the implications of trends in our population, in military manpower needs, and will be a most comprehensive study of the decade of the seventies.3a [3.] I have some economic news notes. Prices, very good news: total wholesale prices in March fell by one-tenth of a percent. This lowered the Index to 100.4, on the i957-59; one-tenth percent above the end of '63, five-tenths percent above a year earlier. Industrial wholesale prices fell the same as the total Index, to a level lower than at the end of '63, or the cyclical trough in February i96i, but seven-tenths percent above '63 when this Index began to creep up. Farm prices rose eight-tenths of a percent, reversing February's sharp decline, and staying within last year's range. Housing starts-this is nonfarm starts-rose almost i percent in March, giving us a new record of i,6oo,ooo units for the first quarter. The last similar quarter was I,200,000, pointing toward further gains in home-building activity. New car sales the first io days of April increased over March about as is normal this time of the year. It averaged 3.7 percent above the year earlier. GM executive Mr. Russell forecasts i964 model-year sales of 8 million cars, which would mean a pickup, if anything, from the pace thus far. Q. Mr. President, what was the rate for the first quarter on housing? THE PRESIDENT. It was a record for the first quarter, a new record, and i percent increase in March. I have another interesting figure, because of the efforts we are making to keep our employment down and to get a dollar's worth of value for a dollar spent, riding herd very closely on each budget. I want to call to your attention that the money that is BaSee also Item 6i9 [i]. Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-I964 Apr. i8 [27I] being spent between now and June 3oth is money that was appropriated last year and was in last year's budget, not in the new budget of $97.9. Some of our opposition has pointed out that we are spending more per day now than we spent per day at this time last year. In view of the fact that Mr. Kennedy's budget last year was $5 billion more than the budget of the year before, it is natural that it would be more. We have reduced that some, however, and we can't confirm the figure they point to. The Budget can't find it and we don't know where they got it. But we have studied the last 6 months and the first 3 months of this year, January, February, and March. We spent a million dollars a day less than the last 3 months of last year. The latest governmental figures are in. In February of this year, regular employment in the Federal Government dropped goo from February i963. It is significant that it dropped at all, because it has generally been increasing. The total employment, which includes accelerated public works, is down I3,000 this February over February of a year ago. In other words, we have no accelerated public works now, and we had about i2,000 on accelerated public works, so we have 13,000 less employees in the Federal Government at the end of February than we did a year ago. That figure, I know, will interest Senator Byrd and others. Regular employment this year is 2,458,ooo; regular employment last year was 2,459,ooo. Accelerated public works this year is none; accelerated public works last year was I2,I56. The average expenditure per business day for the last 3 months-December through February-is more than $i million lower than the average for the last 3 months-September through November under President Kennedy. We had a story yesterday that said that Mr. Johnson asked Congress for fiscal '65 appropriations larger than any total demanded or received by President Kennedy or any other President in any previous year. The facts are that President Kennedy's '64 budget requested appropriations of $I07 billion 9oo million. In the months following the submission of his '64 budget, he reduced it by $620 million, making it $IO7 billion 300 million. We requested appropriations of $I03.8 billion compared to $i06.3 billion. In the months since we submitted the budget, we have reduced this request by a net of $39 million, and will make further reductions if and when it becomes possible. Income tax withholding collections in the first quarter have increased $900 million above the same quarter of a year ago, reflecting a broadly rising trend in salaries and wages. I don't know how that has affected all of you. Collections in the first quarter of this year amounted to $io billion 8oo million, compared to $9 billion 9oo million in the same quarter of a year ago, an increase of 9 percent in what we took in. The increase a year ago in the first quarter was up $6oo million from the year before, and it is up 9 percent. The first quarter increase this year, then, is almost 50 percent above the increase for the same quarter of last year. Because of the usual lag in the transfer of withheld taxes to the Treasury, the reduction of the withholding rate in March is not reflected in the first quarter collection figures. As I pointed out, we reduced it from i8 to I4, but it was i8 during January, February, and most of March. Excise tax collections in the first quarter reflect rising economic activity. They are up $I03 million, or 3.2 percent, over the 487 [27I] Apr. i8 Public Papers of the Presidents first quarter of a year ago, despite a sharp drop in cigarette taxes. Elsewhere, another plus sign is in the Federal Reserve Board's industrial production index. It climbed to i28.2 last month, up 5~V2 percent over March i963. [4.] I am happy to announce the appointment of Eugene Patterson as a new and last member of the United States Civil Rights Commission. That fills the last vacancy. He replaces M. Robert Storey, former president of the American Bar Association and dean of the Southern Methodist University Law School in Dallas. He will, I am confident, be a constructive and useful addition to the membership of the Commission. It is charged with heavy responsibilities, and I am proud and pleased Mr. Patterson has agreed to serve as a member of this important body. He is editor of the Atlanta Constitution, was born in Valdosta, Ga., on October I5, I923. He is a I943 graduate of the University of Georgia, with an A.B. in journalism. He has had an extensive newspaper career, serving as a reporter in Texas, Georgia, New York City, and London, England. He has been editor of the Atlanta Constitution since i960, and was executive editor from 1956 to i960. Mr. Patterson's military service in the Army extended from I943 to I947. Entering as a private, he was discharged as a captain, receiving the Silver Star and the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster. Mr. Patterson is married to the former Mary S. Carter, and has one daughter. The family resides in Atlanta. [5.] I intend this afternoon to see Dr. James Killian, Jr., to receive a report on the utilization of scientific and engineering talent in the United States. This is a most important study and will give us a lot to think about and a good deal to act upon. The study was initiated by President Kennedy, 488 with the Science Advisory Committee and the National Academy of Sciences, to examine the Nation's specialized manpower resources. The National Academy persuaded Dr. Killian to organize a committee of distinguished citizens to study these problems After a year of hard work, they have completed the report.4 It will be transmitted to me this afternoon, and Mr. Reedy will make it available to you as soon as he can do it. [6.] I am appointing Mr. Harold Russell as Chairman of the President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped to succeed my old friend Mel Maas. There will be a biographical sketch on him. In February 1942 he entered the Army and volunteered for service with the paratroops. He qualified as a paratrooper instructor, attaining the rank of sergeant, and specialized in demolition and explosives. He made more than 50 jumps, until an explosion cost him his hands. He has received many awards, including the honor of being chosen by the Junior Chamber of Commerce as one of the "Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Year" in I950. [7.1 We are very pleased with the progress that is being made on the appropriation bills and their schedule in the House of Representatives. We are very hopeful we can get the poverty bill reported at an early date, and we can make progress on the Medicare bill, as I said yesterday. Thus far, we have passed four appropriations bills. Last year they cut HEW and Labor by 6 percent, this year by only 2.7, which indicates that we did have a tight budget. The cut would have been similar to last year. The D.C. appropriation bill last year was 4 The report of the Committee on Utilization of Scientific and Engineering Manpower is entitled "Toward Better Utilization of Scientific and Engineering Talent, a Program for Action" (National Academy of Sciences, i964, I53 pp.). Lyndon B. John. reduced by 4.7 percent; this year by seventenths. Interior and related agencies were reduced by 8.I last year, and this year by 2.8. The Treasury-Post Office last year was 2.4, and this year by four-tenths of a percent. We regret that there were some references made-which might be interpreted as critical-to our limited expenditures in Labor, and the Health, Education, and Welfare Department appropriations bills. I said to Mr. Cannon 4a the other day I hope-I knew they wanted economy as much as we did-I hope they wouldn't be too critical of the tight budget we are trying to operate on, and to try to help us instead of criticizing us for not submitting enough. I think that is about all I have. I am ready to answer any questions that you may want to ask. [8.] Q. Mr. President, to try to clarify something on the draft study, would you say this is looking toward the possibility of meeting all of our military manpower requirements on a voluntary basis in the next decade? THE PRESIDENT. Yes, sir. I don't predict that. I said it looks forward to that. We will have to see the results of the study. Q. Who will make the study, Mr. President? THE PRESIDENT. The policy will be submitted by the Secretary of Defense, and will be made by them with other agencies of the Government, like the draft agency and the Labor Department and other related agencies that have interest in it. [9.] Q. Mr. President, can you give us a progress report on the rail situation? THE PRESIDENT. Yes. They are meeting late at night. They are still negotiating in 4 Representative Clarence Cannon of Missouri, Chairman of the Appropriations Committee of the House. son, 1963-1964 Apr. I8 [27I] the traditional free enterprise manner. We are very proud of the conduct of both sides. There have been some statements issued by some people that were not connected with the negotiations, away from here. But almost without exception, they have been encouraging and hopeful ones. I think we have had a very productive few days. I have commended the brotherhoods, the carriers, and I now commend the press for helping us try to settle this in our free enterprise system without burying collective bargaining. I believe it will be settled that way. I am looking for a report early in the week. [Io.] Q. Mr. President, at your news conference the other day, when you were asked about your job, you said you enjoyed it and would like to continue. That is about the closest you have come to declaring you are a candidate. When can we expect a formal answer? THE PRESIDENT. I would go back and check what I said. I think you are a little bit off on what I said. But you might want to review that, if it interests you a great deal.5 When I have any announcement along that line, I will work out some way of getting it to you. Until I do, I don't want to see any party in this country be an opposition party just for the sake of opposition. I believe it very damaging to the American Nation to have opposition for opposition's sake, and to have blind opposition. It grieves me when I see measures that are calculated to benefit all Americans opposed along party lines. It distresses me to see measures that came up under President Eisenhower's administration that passed with almost solid Republican votes, and the same measures come up with other administrations and they oppose the same measures as opposition votes. I try to keep as far away from par5 See Item 266 [ 5]. 489 [27i ] Apr. i8 Public Papers of the Presidents tisanship and campaigning as I can. I try to keep my political speeches restrained. I have tried to be President of all the people. I want to do it just as long as I can and stay out of the political arena as long as I can, until I get a program along and do what I think is best for all America; not just best for Democrats, but best for all Americans. I am keeping my engagements down to practically those that President Kennedy had already made firm commitments on. I am trying to acknowledge whatever contributions the other party makes to the success of our program, even in those speeches. I want a pay raise for all the Congressmen, because I think they deserve it; not just for the Democratic Congressmen. I am going to try to stay out of the campaign field as long as possible. How long I will be able to do that, I don't know. But when I do decide, if you will give me your number, I will let you know. [Ii.] Q. Mr. President, this morning Governor Romney assailed the Supreme Court decision on the separation of state and church, and said this is a sort of weakening of our moral and religious fiber in this country. Would you comment on the Supreme Court ruling? THE PRESIDENT. I have not seen Romney's comments, and I would not want to evaluate them without seeing them. [i2.] Q. Mr. President, this morning from Saigon, sir, there are reports that perhaps another coup is imminent, and perhaps Secretary Rusk's life may have been threatened. Have you received any reports from the Secretary which you might pass on to us? THE PRESIDENT. No. We have no such reports, no indication of such reports. A good many things come from Saigon through various routes, and I don't want to comment on the reliability or responsibility of them, if we find them unjustified. Secretary Rusk is one of our most cautious officers. He has admonished other Cabinet members from time to time to be extremely careful in their traveling. I have no doubt that he will follow my instructions and take care of himself, exercising every possible precaution. I would not think any good purpose would be served by trying to advertise the fact that he is in imminent danger, and I don't believe he is. [13.] Q. Mr. President, sir, Senator Goldwater said he was leading the pack for the Republican nomination. Do you think he will be the Republican nominee? THE PRESIDENT. I don't keep informed on the details of the Republican aspirants' gains or losses. A good many people talk to me about it and want to ask me a question during visits, to ask me something about it. One of the men I talked to yesterday, who is very knowledgeable in public affairs, told me that he thought if Senator Goldwater carried California and Illinois, as he has, if he carries Texas, as he expects to, without any question, and the other Southeastern States, probably having Arizona and some of the States like Montana and Wyoming, that potential was some 632 votes, without one or two other States that they considered could go his way. It looked like a pretty solid figure, over 500, the way it was going now. I haven't checked it and I don't know anything about it. But when you take the Southeastern votes that have indicated they are for him and add to them Illinois, Texas, and California, what he might pick up in some of the other States, I think he will be up there pretty high. [14.] Q. Mr. President, you reviewed your position yesterday with Russian Ambassador Dobrynin. Did you see any indi 490 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 Apr. i 8 [2711 cation that there has been any progress? THE PRESIDENT. I wouldn't want to add anything to the statement that we made yesterday.6 It was a work meeting. We discussed thoroughly and comprehensively a good many of the problems that face our two nations. I think communication between us is important. I hope it will be helpful. I always want to maintain accessibility with everyone, including the press. [I5.] Q. Mr. President, sir, to what do you attribute this improved economic outlook? THE PRESIDENT. First, we have less men out of work than we have had at any period. We have more capital being invested. They predict that as a result of the tax bill, investment will exceed, this year, io percent over last year, and will produce jobs. One company alone will produce I8,ooo new opportunities. Some of that is already coming in. I think the general business optimism in the country which has brought the DowJones Averages from something over 700 to an alltime high of 820-odd, is encouraging people to go out and build plants that will make jobs; I think the responsibility of labor and management being able to work out their difficulties with so few strikes, and the stability of prices; I think the desire of the Government to live frugally and with a reduced budget; I think the passage of the tax bill. Probably the freedom of the press helped some, because you reported all these things, and the fellows that have to create the jobs and provide the jobs have been optimistic and encouraged about it. I have often said that this free enterprise system is made up of three parts: the man 6 The statement announced that the President had asked Ambassador Dobrynin to come in for a general discussion of Soviet-American relations. who has to invest the money, buy the machinery; the man that manages the men that work; and the men that work. All three of them have been pulling pretty good together. We have talked to both groups and urged them to urge business to reduce prices wherever they could and, in some instances, it has foregone price increases. They have made reductions. We hope that the price line will hold and there can be some reductions in some fields. We are urging business to reduce prices wherever they can. We are urging labor to look at what they are doing now, and bear in mind that if we should have inflation, nobody would be hurt more than the workingman who had a frozen salary and had to pay increased prices for everything he consumes. We had the Council of Economic Advisers maintain contact with both of them, and I have stayed in very close personal contact. As a matter of fact, I don't know whether it has been made public or not, but if it hasn't, you can check with George 7 and get the date. I am having a good many people from the Committee on Economic Development, the Committee on Business Advisers, and the Council of Advisers, who I have had in before, and then some outstanding businessmen who have been helpful, to a dinner at the White House a little later this month, at which time we will give them a full briefing on foreign affairs,8 as we have done for every Member of Congress, in the House and the Senate-some 535 of them. We will later have a meeting of the labor leaders, as we have done in the past, and we will review with them the signs that we see ahead, and the desirability of lowering prices 7 George Reedy, Press Secretary to the President. 8 See Item 299. 49I [27I] Apr. i8 Public Papers of the Presidents and maintaining stability, avoiding inflation, trying to balance our budget, reduce our deficit. Q. Mr. President, could you be a little more specific about lowering prices in terms of which industries? For example, is one of them automobiles? THE PRESIDENT. No. We are making it a general proposition as a result of the tax bill. We hope that wherever profits will permit, every businessman will realize he has an obligation to help us control inflation, and it is to his interest to do so, that he will give us the best mousetrap at the lowest price. We don't have controls and the Government connot force them to do these things. But we are trying to provide leadership and persuasion. [I6.] Q. Mr. President, in regard to this manpower study, could you say that we look forward in the decade of the seventies to a reduced military force? THE PRESIDENT. I wouldn't want to anticipate the results of that study before it was begun, but we are going to look into the future. Of course, it is the hope of everyone that tensions in the world can ease, that we can bring about disarmament, that we can take part of the resources that are now going into military production and protection, taking these resources and spend them on a better society and a greater society, as I talked of yesterday. I didn't have all the time I wanted, but I would urge you, if you haven't got the i8 minutes it takes to read all that speech,8a to read the first two or three pages and the last two or three pages, and you will see what I am thinking about on our obligations. I hope during my administration, however long it may be, that I can leave some imprint on having done more for humanity and preserving it, making a better society for all, 8a Item 270. not only just here, but in the entire world. [17.] Q. Mr. President, in view of the damaging effect that the rail strike would have on the economy, if collective bargaining fails to workTHE PRESIDENT. That is an "iffy" question, and you know I don't want to admit it is about to fail to work or predict it wouldn't work. I assume it will work. When it does not work, you come back in here and I will have a good visit with you on what we are going to do. But until then, I don't know myself. I am not trying to be secretive. But if you were in my place and I were in your place, and I asked you the same question, you would try to answer it the same way I have. I honestly don't know. I believe and I have faith in this operation. I was told that I could follow one of two courses. I could call these people over here and appeal to them to continue to negotiate what has been going on for 4 years, or I could do nothing and let the strike go on. I looked at what it would cost us-7 million jobs, a 15 percent drop in the gross national product, higher prices all across the board, health hazards-and I decided that I would do what I did do. Some of them said, or indicated, that the President didn't do it the right way, or he should not have done it, or something. But I was very pleased and proud of the patriotism of both groups having asserted itself, and that they have worked diligently, as has Dr. Taylor and Mr. Kheel, both of them having made sacrifices. One of them left a wife that had just been operated on that day. He has been sitting here around the clock, almost. I believe that if it works out, the Presidency will be-maybe somebody will reevaluate it and have a little different approach to it. If it doesn't, most of them 492 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Apr. 20 [272] would be very sad because, as I said, they never made these statements, never heard of them. If it doesn't work out, all of us will feel that we tried and did our best and failed. I have done that in the past. Q. Mr. President, I wondered, sirTHE PRESIDENT. Did you want to finish that? Go ahead. Q. No, I just wondered why you called for a report on Monday. THE PRESIDENT. Like I called for a report earlier this week. I like to keep up with the progress. I drop in on them occasionally. I like to see what is going on and make any contributions I can within the freedom of collective bargaining. We may get one on Tuesday. I hope I will get one on Monday. I hope it is final. There is nothing magic to that dateline.9 [I8.] Q. Mr. President, without looking See Item 284. 272 Remarks on Foreign Affairs in New York City. April 20, Paul Miller and my fellow Americans: Last Friday I talked to the editors of the leading newspapers of this land and today I am honored to appear before their bosses. This is the kind of a distinguished gathering that reminds me of a meeting in the Cabinet Room the other day. Around that Cabinet table sat three Harvard men, two Yale men, Dean Rusk and three other Rhodes Scholars, and one graduate of the Southwest Texas State Teachers College. It is good to be here in this great city that gave our Nation one of the great artists of repartee that we know as Al Smith. Once Al Smith was making a speech in this city and a heckler yelled, "Tell them all you know, Al. It won't take long." And Al, without any hesitation, answered, "I'll tell ahead to your Monday's speech,~1 could you zero in one part of this story today that you referred to? They talked about 45 percent cutback. THE PRESIDENT. I did zero in on that in opening my statement, and I think that is all I want to refer to. I just say it is totally inaccurate. If you can just keep your blood pressure in good shape until Monday, I will give you a very full, accurate, and detailed thing of what we have in mind. It does involve a good many things. Decisions are still being made. Every now and then you have people that jump the gun, as we say down there. Alvin A. Spivak, United Press International: Thank you, Mr. President. NOTE: President Johnson's fourteenth news conference was held in the President's office at the White House at 12:48 p.m. on Saturday, April 18, I964. 10 See Item 272. at the Associated Press Luncheon I964 them all we both know and it won't take any longer." Today I want to talk about something that we both know about. To you serious and concerned men, who have gathered here at this luncheon, and ladies, I want to speak about the problems and the potentials that lie ahead and the great purpose to which you and I, and all Americans, must be dedicated. The world has changed many times since General Washington counseled his new and weak country to "observe good faith and justice toward all nations." Great empires have risen and dissolved. Great heroes have made their entrances and have left the stage. And America has slowly, often reluctantly, grown to be a great power and a leading member of world society. 493 [272] Apr. 20 Public Papers of the Presidents So we seek today, as we did in Washington's time, to protect the life of our Nation, to preserve the liberty of our citizens, and to pursue the happiness of our people. This is the touchstone of our world policy. Thus, we seek to add no territory to our dominion, no satellites to our orbit., no slavish followers to our policies. The most impressive witness to this restraint is that for a century our own frontiers have stood quiet and stood unarmed. But we have also learned in this century, and we have learned it at painful and bloody cost, that our own freedom depends upon the freedom of others, that our own protection requires that we help protect others, that we draw increased strength from the strength of others. Thus, to allies we are the most dependable and enduring of friends, for our own safety depends upon the strength of that friendship. To enemies we are the most steadfast and determined of foes, for we know that surrender anywhere threatens defeat everywhere. For a generation, without regard to party or region or class, our country has been united in a basic foreign policy that grows from this inescapable teaching. The principles of this foreign policy have been shaped in battle, have been tested in danger, have been sustained in achievement. They have endured under four Presidents of the United States, because they reflect the realities of our world and they reflect the aims of our country. Particular actions must change as events change conditions. We must be alert to shifting realities, to emerging opportunities, and always alert to any fresh dangers. But we must not mistake day-to-day changes for fundamental movements in the course of history. It very often requires greater courage and resolution to maintain a policy which time has tested, than to change it in the face of the moment's pressures. Our foreign policy rests on very tested principles. First, since Korea, we have labored to build a military. strength of unmatched might. We have succeeded. If the threat of war has lessened, it is largely because our opponents realize that attack would bring destruction. This effort has been costly. But the costs of weakness are far greater than the costs of strength, and the payment far more painful. That is why, in the last 3 years, your Government has strengthened the whole range of America's defenses. We have increased defense spending in these 3 years by approximately $6 billion a year over the last year of the Eisenhower administration, and this year we are spending approximately $8 billion more on defense than we were during that last year. Second, we have strongly resisted Communist efforts to extend their dominion and successfully resisted efforts to expand their power. We have taken the risks and we have used the power which this principle demanded. We have avoided purposeless provocation and we have avoided needless adventure. The Berlin airlift, the Korean war, the defense of Formosa, the Cuba crisis, the struggle in Viet-Nam, prove our determination to resist aggression and prove our ability to adapt particular response to particular challenge. Third, we have worked for the revival of strength among our allies, initially, to oppose Communist encroachment on warweakened nations; in the long run, because our own future rests on the vitality and the unity of the Western society to which we belong. Fourth, we have encouraged the independence and the progress of developing countries. We are safer and we are more comfortable in a world where all people can 494 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 Apr. 20 [272] govern themselves in their own way, and where all nations have the inner strength to resist external domination. Fifth, we have pursued every hope of a lasting peace. From the Baruch plan, named after that noble resident of this city, to the test ban treaty, we have sought and we have welcomed agreements which decrease danger without decreasing security. In that pursuit, for 20 years we have been the leading power in the support of the United Nations. In that pursuit, this year as in every year we will work to reach agreement on measures to reduce armament and lessen the chance of war. Today we apply these same principles in a world that is much changed since I945. Europe seeks a new role for strength rather than contenting itself with protection for weakness. The unity of communism is being eroded by the insistent forces of nationalism and diverging interest. A whole new group of societies is painfully struggling toward the modern world. Our basic principles are adequate to this shifting world. But foreign policy is more than just a set of general principles. It is the changing application of those principles to specific dangers and to specific opportunities. It involves knowledge of strengths and awareness of limitations in each new situation. The presence of offensive missiles in Cuba was a fact. The presence of fallout in the atmosphere has been a fact. The presence of guerrillas in Viet-Nam, at this hour, is a fact. Such facts cannot be dealt with simply by historical judgments or general precepts. They require concrete acts of courage, and wisdom, and often restraint. These qualities of endurance and innovation, these qualities of continuity and change are at work in at least six major areas of continuing concern to you. First, is our relationship with the Soviet Union, the center of our concern for peace. Communists, using force and intrigue, seek to bring about a Communist-dominated world. Our convictions, our interests, our life as a nation, demand that we resolutely oppose, with all of our might, that effort to dominate the world. This, and this alone, is the cause of the cold war between us. For the United States has nothing to fear from peaceful competition. We welcome it and we will win it. It is our system which flourishes and grows stronger in a world free from the threat of war. And in such a competition all people, everywhere, will be the gainers. Today, as we meet here, there are new pressures, new realities, which make it permissible to hope that the pursuit of peace is in the interests of the Soviet Union as it is in ours. And our own restraint may be convincing the Soviet leaders of the reality that we, in America, seek neither war nor the destruction of the Soviet Union. Thus I am very hopeful that we can take important steps toward the day when, in the words of the Old Testament, "nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore." We must remember that peace will not come suddenly. It will not emerge dramatically from a single agreement or a single meeting. It will be advanced by concrete and limited accommodations, by the gradual growth of common interests, by the increased awareness of shifting dangers and alignments, and by the development of trust in a good faith based on a reasoned view of the world. Our own position is clear. We will discuss any problem, we will listen to any proposal, we will pursue any agreement, we will take any action which might lessen the chance of war without sacrificing the inter 495 [272] Apr. 20 Public Papers of the Presidents ests of our allies or our own ability to defend the alliance against attack. In other words, our guard is up, but our hand is out. I am taking two actions today which reflect both our desire to reduce tension and our unwillingness to risk weakness. I have ordered a further substantial reduction in our production of enriched uranium, to be carried out over a 4-year period. When added to previous reductions, this will mean an overall decrease in the production of plutonium by 20 percent, and of enriched uranium by 40 percent. By bringing production in line with need, and the chart shows now that our production is here, and our need is here, and our reduction today will bring it here, we think we will reduce tension while we maintain all the necessary power. We must not operate a "WPA" nuclear project, just to provide employment when our needs have been met. And in reaching these decisions I have been in close consultation with Prime Minister Douglas-Home. Simultaneously with my announcement now, Chairman Khrushchev is releasing a statement in Moscow, at 2 o'clock our time, in which he makes definite commitments to steps toward a more peaceful world. He agrees to discontinue the construction of two big new atomic reactors for the production of plutonium over the next several years, to reduce substantially the production of U235 for nuclear weapons, and to allocate more fissionable material for peaceful uses. This is not disarmament. This is not a declaration of peace. But it is a hopeful sign and it is a step forward which we welcome and which we can take in the hope that the world may yet, one day, live without the fear of war. At the same time, I have reaffirmed all the safeguards against weakening our nuclear strength which we adopted at the time of the test ban treaty. The second area of continuing effort is the development of Atlantic partnership with a stronger and a more unified Europe. Having begun this policy when peril was great, we will not now abandon it as success moves closer. We worked for a stronger and more prosperous Europe, and Europe is strong and prosperous today because of our work and beyond our expectation. We have supported a close partnership with a more unified Europe and in the past I5 years more peaceful steps have been taken in this direction than have been taken at any time in our history. The pursuit of this goal, like the pursuit of any large and worthy cause, will not be easy or will not be untroubled. But the realities of the modern world teach that increased greatness and prosperity demand increased unity and partnership. The underlying forces of European life are eroding old barriers and they are dissolving old suspicions. Common institutions are expanding common interests. National boundaries continue to fade under the impact of travel and commerce and communication. A new generation is coming of age, unscarred by old hostilities or old ambitions, thinking of themselves as Europeans, their values shaped by a common Western culture. These forces and the steadfast effort of all who share common goals will shape the future. And unity based on hope will ultimately prove stronger than unity based on fear. We realize that sharing the burden of leadership requires us to share the responsibilities of power. As a step in this direction we support the establishment of a multilateral nuclear force composed of those nations which desire to participate. We also welcome agreed new mechanisms for political consultation on mutual interests through 496 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 Apr. 20 [272] out the world with whatever changes in organization are necessary to make such consultation rapid and effective. The experience of two world wars have taught us that the fundamental security interests of the United States and of Europe are the same. What we learned in time of war, we must not now forget in time of peace. For more than a decade we have sought to enlarge the independence and ease the rigors of the people of Eastern Europe. We have used the tools of peaceful exchange-in goods, in persons, and in ideas-to open up communication with these restless nations that Mr. Khrushchev refers to, sometimes, as "children who have grown up too big to spank." We have used limited direct assistance where the needs of our security have allowed us to follow the demands of our compassion. In that spirit within the last month I have exercised the power granted the President by the Congress and I have reaffirmed the right of open trade with Poland and Yugoslavia. In the third area of continuing concern, Latin America, we have renewed our commitment to the Alliance for Progress, we have sought peaceful settlement of disputes among the American nations, and we have supported the OAS effort to isolate Communist-controlled Cuba. The Alliance for Progress is the central task today of this hemisphere. That task is going ahead successfully. But that alliance means more than economic assistance or investment. It requires us to encourage and to support those democratic political forces which seek essential change within the framework of constitutional government. It means preference for rapid evolution as the only real alternative to violent revolution. To struggle to stand still in Latin America is just to "throw the sand against the wind." We must, of course, always be on guard against Communist subversion. But anticommunism alone will never suffice to ensure our liberty or never suffice to fulfill our dreams. That is going to take leadership, leadership that is dedicated to economic progress without uneconomic privilege, to social change which enhances social justice, to political reform which widens human freedom. The resumption of relations with Panama proves once again the unmatched ability of our inter-American system to resolve these disputes among our good neighbors. At the outset of that dispute with Panama, the first morning I stated to the President of Panama by telephone our willingness to seek a solution to all problems without conditions of any kind. And I told him that our negotiators would meet theirs anywhere, any time, to discuss anything, and we would do what was fair and just and right. We never departed from that willingness. And on that basis the dispute was settled. We now move toward solution with the generosity of friends who realize, as Woodrow Wilson once said, "You cannot be friends on any other terms than upon the terms of equality." The use of Cuba as a base for subversion and terror is an obstacle to our hopes for the Western Hemisphere. Our first task must be, as it has been, to isolate Cuba from the inter-American system, to frustrate its efforts to destroy free governments, and to expose the weakness of communism so that all can see. That policy is in effect and that policy is working. The problems of this hemisphere would be far more serious if Castro today sat at the councils of the Organization of American States disrupting debate and blocking 497 [272] Apr. 20 Public Papers of the Presidents decision, if Castro had open channels of trade and communication along which subversion and terror could flow, if his economy had been a successful model rather than a dismal warning to all of his neighbors. The effectiveness of our policy is more than a matter of trade statistics. It has increased awareness of difference and danger, it has revealed the brutal nature of the Cuban regime, it has lessened opportunities for subversion, it has reduced the number of Castro's followers, and it has drained the resources of our adversaries who are spending more than $ i million a day. We will continue this policy with every peaceful means at our command. A fourth area of continuity and change is the battle for freedom in the Far East. In the last 20 years, in two wars, millions of Americans have fought to prevent the armed conquest of free Asia. Having invested so heavily in the past, we will not weaken in the present. The first American diplomatic mission to the Far East was instructed to inform all countries that "we will never make conquests, or ask any nation to let us establish ourselves in their countries." That was our policy in 1832. That is our policy in i964. Our conquering forces left Asia after World War II with less territory under our flag than ever before. But if we have desired no conquest for ourselves, we have also steadfastly opposed it for others. The independence of Asian nations is a link in our own freedom. In Korea we proved the futility of direct aggression. In Viet-Nam the Communists today try the more insidious, but the equally dangerous, methods of subversion, terror, and guerrilla warfare. They conduct a campaign organized, directed, supplied, and supported from Hanoi. This, too, we will prove futile. 498 Armed Communist attack on Viet-Nam is today a reality. The fighting spirit of South Viet-Nam, as Secretary Rusk told us from there yesterday, is a reality. The request of a friend and an ally for our help in this terrible moment is a reality. The statement of the SEATO allies that Communist defeat is "essential" is a reality. To fail to respond to these realities would reflect on our honor as a nation, would undermine worldwide confidence in our courage, would convince every nation in South Asia that it must now bow to Communist terms to survive. The situation in Viet-Nam is difficult. But there is an old American saying that "when the going gets tough, the tough get going." So let no one doubt that we are in this battle as long as South Viet-Nam wants our support and needs our assistance to protect its freedom. I have already ordered measures to step up the fighting capacity of the South Vietnamese forces, to help improve the welfare and the morale of their civilian population, to keep our forces at whatever level continued independence and freedom require. No negotiated settlement in Viet-Nam is possible, as long as the Communists hope to achieve victory by force. Once war seems hopeless, then peace may be possible. The door is always open to any settlement which assures the independence of South Viet-Nam, and its freedom to seek help for its protection. In Laos we continue to support the Geneva agreements which offer what we think is the best hope of peace and independence for that strife-torn land. At my instruction yesterday Assistant Secretary of State William Bundy went to Laos, and he has already arrived there for a first-hand examination of the developments, the developments that have come in the last 48 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Apr. 20 [272] hours. At the moment we are encouraged by reports of progress toward the reestablishment of orderly, legal government. As for China itself, so long as the Communist Chinese pursue aggression, so long as the Communist Chinese preach violence, there can be and will be no easing of relationships. There are some who prophesy that these policies will change. But America must base her acts on present realities and not on future hopes. It is not we who must reexamine our view of China. It is the Chinese Communists who must reexamine their view of the world. Nor can anyone doubt our unalterable commitment to the defense and the liberty of free China. Meanwhile, we will say to our historic friends, the talented and courageous Chinese people on the mainland, that just as we opposed aggression against them, we must oppose aggression by their rulers and for the same reasons. Fifth, is our concern with the new nations of Africa and Asia. We welcome their emergence, for their goals flow from hopes like our own. We began the revolt from colonial rule which is now reshaping other continents and which is now creating new nations. Our mastery of technology has helped men to learn that poverty is not inevitable, that disease and hunger are not laws of nature. Having helped create these hopes, we must now help satisfy them, or we will witness a rising discontent which may ultimately menace our own welfare. What we desire for the developing nations is what we desire for ourselves-economic progress which will permit them to shape their own institutions, and the independence which will allow them to take a dignified place in the world community. So let there be no mistake about our intention to win the war against poverty at home, and let there be no mistake about our intention to fight that war around the world. This battle will not be easy or it will not be swift. It takes time to educate young minds and to shape the structure of a modern economy. But the world must not be divided into rich nations and poor nations, or white nations or colored nations. In such divisions, I know you must realize, stand the seeds of terrible discord and danger in the decades ahead. For the wall between rich and poor is a wall of glass through which all can see. We recognize the need for more stable prices for raw materials, for broader opportunity for trade among nations. We are ready to help meet these claims, as we have already done, for example, with the negotiation of the International Coffee Agreement, and as we will do in the weeks ahead in the Kennedy Round. We will continue with the direct economic assistance which has been a vital part of our policy for more than 20 years. Last year the Congress reduced foreign aid from an original request of- $4.9 billion, later modified by General Clay's committee 1 to $4.5 billion, and Congress reduced that to a total of $3.4 billion that they appropriated to me to deal with the problems of the I20 nations. This year I ordered that our request be cut to the absolute minimum consistent with our commitments and our security, allowing for no cushions or no padding, and that was done. Every dollar cut from that request for $3.4 billion will directly diminish the security of the United States and you citizens. And if, in spite of this clear need and this clear warning, substantial cuts are made again this year in either military or economic funds, I want to sound a warning that it will ' Committee to Strengthen the Security of the Free World. '33-171- 65 374 499 [272] Apr. 20 Public Papers of the Presidents be my solemn duty as President to submit supplemental requests for additional amounts until the necessary funds of $3.4 billion are appropriated. In these areas, and in other areas of concern, we remain faithful to tested principle and deep conviction while shaping our actions to shifting dangers and to fresh opportunity. This year is an election year in the United States. And in this year let neither friend nor enemy abroad ever mistake growing discussion for growing dissension, or conflict over programs for conflict over principles, or political division for political paralysis. This mistake in judgment has been made twice in our lifetime, to the sorrow of our adversaries. Now let those at home, who share in the great democratic struggle, remember that the world is their audience and that attack and opposition to old policies must not be just for opposition's sake, that it requires responsible presentation of new choices, that in the protection of our security, the protection of American security, partisan politics must always yield to national need. I recognize that those who seek to discuss great public issues in this election year must be informed on those issues. Therefore, I have today instructed the Departments of State and Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency to be prepared and to provide all major candidates for the office of President with all possible information helpful to their discussion of American policy. I hope candidates will accept this offer in the spirit in which it is made-the encouragement of the responsible discussion which is the touchstone of the democratic process. In the past 20 years we have gradually become aware that America is forever bound up in the affairs of the whole world. Our own future is linked to the future of all. In great capitals and in tiny villages, in the councils of great powers and in the rooms of unknown planners, events are being set in motion which will continually call upon our attention and make demands on our resources. Prophecy is always unsure. But if anything is certain, it is that this Nation can never again retreat from world responsibility. You must know, and we must realize, that we will be involved in the world for the rest of our history. We must accustom ourselves to working for liberty in the community of nations as we have pursued it in our community of States. The struggle is not merely long. The struggle is unending. For it is part of man's ancient effort to master the passions of his mind, the demands of his spirit, the cruelties of nature. Yes, we have entered a new arena. The door has closed behind us. And the old stage has passed into history. Dangers will replace dangers, challenges will take the place of challenges, new hopes will come as old hopes fade. There is no turning from a course which will require wisdom and much endurance so long as the name of America still sounds in this land and around the world. NOTE: The President spoke at i p.m. at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. In his opening words he referred to Paul Miller, president of the Associated Press. 500 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-I964 Apr. 20 [274] 273 Remarks at the Swearing In of Dr. W. Randolph Lovelace as Director of Space Medicine for the Manned Space Flight. April 20, I964 LADIES and gentlemen, one of the most pleasant moments in the life of a President is to be present and to help officiate at the swearing in of an able and competent and dedicated American who has agreed to go to work for the Government. Today is one of those happy occasions. Dr. W. Randolph Lovelace II is going to be our Director of Space Medicine for the Manned Space Flight in NASA. Dr. Lovelace is the kind of a man who takes his work seriously. In order to test the face mask that he had helped to develop, he bailed out of an airplane at 40,000 feet. I can only hope that Presidents are not put to any such test. For this achievement he won the Distinguished Flying Cross. As all of you know he is one of the country's outstanding leaders in aviation medicine which he has also carried over into the field of space. He is a doer as well as a thinker, and such men are rare in these times. He is an administrator as well as a researcher, and such men are very much needed in these times. He has won just about every award that can be given in the field of aviation medicine. The fact that Dr. Lovelace is a friend of Senator Clinton Anderson only establishes the fact that Senator Clinton Anderson associates with the higher quality of achievement than do most of us. The Nation is the beneficiary today of a good man and a great talent who places his skills and his courage at the disposal of his fellow countrymen. I welcome Dr. Lovelace's family and particularly Mrs. Anderson and their daughter and my old and good friend Senator Symington and the most competent Mr. Webb to the White House for this most pleasant occasion. Had I been able to reach Dr. Lovelace a little earlier I would have asked him what to do about a woman named Lady Bird who was flying in an airplane this morning and got hit by lightning twice and got kind of shellshocked and she decided she would drive home tonight instead of fly back in the plane and she will not get here until 2 o'clock. And I might have just put you on the telephone and gotten you to comfort her a little bit and gotten her to fly on back. But she quit the airplane right in the middle of Ohio and said, "No more lightning today for me." NOTE: The President spoke at 6 p.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White House. 274 Remarks on Introducing Secretary Rusk to the Press Following His Return From the Far East. April 20, I964 SECRETARY RUSK has just made a very interesting and informative report on his meeting with SEATO and with Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek and with Ambassador Lodge in Saigon. Secretary McNamara and Mr. Ball and Mr. Bundy and myself heard with great interest some recommendations the Secretary made together with his observations and conclusions in connection with the effort of South Viet-Nam. The 501 [274] Apr. 20 Public Papers of the Presidents Secretary will be glad to make a statement to you at this time. NOTE: Secretary Rusk stated that it was quite apparent at the SEATO meeting that the members look upon the security of South Viet-Nam as utterly vital to the security of southeast Asia and view the latter in turn as vital to the free world. The Secretary reported on his visit with Chiang Kai-shek and stated that the people of Taiwan had done a remarkable job in building a thriving economy and that they were now in a position to give technical assistance to other developing nations. In South Viet-Nam Mr. Rusk found that there were a number of provinces in which pacification was moving ahead, and that where there was peace, good progress was being made on the economic and social development of the country. "It has some trained leadership of a very considerable capacity," he added. "General Khanh himself is an impressive man... He is on the right track and he is making good progress..." Secretary Rusk concluded by stating that he came back encouraged from his trip without any misunderstanding about the difficulty of the job still ahead and without any lack of resolve about the necessity for getting on with it. A question and answer period followed the statement. Both are printed in the Department of State Bulletin (vol. 50, p. 695). 275 Message to the 73d Continental Congress of the Daughters of the American Revolution. April 20, 1964 I WANT to extend my warm greetings and those of Mrs. Johnson to the Daughters of the American Revolution on the occasion of your 73d Continental Congress. All of us who are dedicated to freedomthe people of this and other nations; men as well as women-owe a great debt to those early revolutionaries and patriots through whose efforts the democratic principles of liberty and equality for all were set forth so vibrantly in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. It is with this belief that I challenge the members of the Daughters of the American Revolution to even greater service to your fellow Americans-to continuing your humanitarian efforts on behalf of underprivileged children-to helping win the war against poverty-to pursuing your constructive activities in the preservation of the historic landmarks and the sites of our revolutionary past. For your future accomplishments and for the success of this meeting, I wish you Godspeed. LYNDON B. JOHNSON NOTE: The President's message was read by Mrs. Robert V. H. Duncan, president general of the Daughters of the American Revolution, at the opening meeting of the congress. 276 White House Statement Following a Review of Implementation of the Limited Test Ban Treaty Safeguards. April 20, I964 THE WHITE HOUSE today released the text of a letter from Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, reporting their conclusions following a joint review conducted by the Department of Defense and the Atomic Energy Commission of the status of prog ress during the past 8 months on the implementation of the Limited Test Ban Treaty Safeguards recommended by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and approved by the late President Kennedy. In releasing this letter, the President reemphasized the statement he made today in a speech before the Associated Press that his 502 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-i964 Apr. 2I [277] administration is committed to the policy first expressed in the four points in President Kennedy's letter to Senators Mansfield and Dirksen on September i i, i963. These four points were restated in the McNamaraSeaborg letter released today. The President also pointed out that while an adequate underground testing program is, under present circumstances, essential to our national security, the United States continues to be alert to possibilities for the relaxation of tensions and the building of a permanent peace. Although we are testing nuclear weapons as now permitted by the Limited Test Ban Treaty, we still support a complete cessation of all testing of nuclear weapons accompanied by an adequate system of inspection to ensure both sides against violations. The United States Government is ready at any time to negotiate a treaty providing for such a comprehensive test ban. NOTE: The letter outlined steps taken to implement each of four safeguards: Safeguard i-"The conduct of comprehensive, aggressive, and continuing underground nuclear test programs designed to add to our knowledge and improve our weapons in all areas of significance to our military posture for the future." Under this heading the letter stated that important information had been obtained on new weapons designs and effects through more than 20 underground detonations. Safeguard 2-"The maintenance of modern nuclear laboratory facilities and programs in theoretical and exploratory nuclear technology which will attract, retain, and insure the continued application of our human scientific resources to these programs on which continued progress in nuclear technology depends." Under this heading the letter reported that $350 million would be spent in fiscal year i964 on weapons development and effects laboratory research and that during the same period $25 million would be expended on improvements in nuclear laboratory facilities. Safeguard 3-"The maintenance of the facilities and resources necessary to institute promptly nuclear tests in the atmosphere should they be deemed essential to our national security or should the treaty or any of its terms be abrogated by the Soviet Union." The letter stated that the two agencies were proceeding with the development of a capability to reinstitute atmospheric tests "on minimum reaction times" ranging from 2 to 9 months depending on the type of test involved. Safeguard 4-"The improvement of our capability, within feasible and practical limits, to monitor the terms of the treaty, to detect violations, and to maintain our knowledge of Sino-Soviet nuclear activity, capabilities, and achievements." The letter reported that improvements were being made in U.S. capability to monitor atmospheric tests by other countries, and that studies were continuing in ways to improve detection techniques and systems for both underground and space shots. For President Kennedy's letter of September II, I963, see i963 volume, this series, Item 354. 277 Remarks to a Group of Treasury Department Officials on Equal Employment Opportunity. April 2I, i964 Secretary Dillon and officials of the Treasury Department: I apologize for detaining you, but I had some people in my office that I couldn't throw out and, besides, I asked them to have you under the roof. I didn't know you were out here in the damp weather. It is good of you to take time out from your meeting to come over here today to talk to me about a problem that vitally con cerns all of us. The equal employment opportunity program that I have been working closely with for 3 years has a very high priority in all of my thinking and my planning. I want to ask your indulgence and your help. It is all very well for us to make lofty statements about the ideals of our democratic society, but such statements have very little meaning unless they are backed up in actual 503 [277] Apr. 2I Public Papers of the Presidents practice and unless we are able to put them into effect and to get some results that we can point to with pride. As Vice President, I was Chairman of President Kennedy's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity for 3 years, and I can tell you earnestly and genuinely this morning that nothing in my 32 years of public service gave me greater cheer than the visible progress that we made through the work of that committee. Today we have more than 7 million Americans who are voluntarily involved in 200 of the largest corporations in this country, and they have already put into full effect an equal opportunity program in each of those 200 giant corporations. I am extremely proud of the forward progress that has been made by the Treasury Department under Secretary Dillon. The advances you have made and are continuing to make simply would not have come about without your energy and without the Secretary's support. But I am like the man who appreciates what you have done that Senator Barkley used to talk about all the time. You will remember he went home and a fellow came up to him. The Senator asked him to vote for him, and he wasn't quite sure he could do it. He was still considering it. He said, "Well, John, I can't understand it. I appointed your brother postmaster, I appointed your sister in my office, I sent your son to West Point, and all through these years we have been friends. Now here, in the twilight of my career, when I need you most, you tell me you are not sure. What could have happened?" He said, "Well, Senator, you haven't done anything for me lately." So that is the way I feel about equal employment opportunity over in the Treasury. What I want to know is "What have you done for me lately?" I think it is pertinent to note that the qualified Negroes that you employed when this program was getting underway are now at that point in their career where they are ready to move into higher categories, specifically, GS-I2 and above. This entire approach to equal opportunity in employment is as full of commonsense as it is of equity. We cannot afford the luxury of depriving the Nation of manpower or brainpower. That is why the Federal Government must lead the way and we must lead the way by precept, by example, and by results, so that the rest of the employers in the large companies, in the other Government offices, in the bureaus throughout the land that hold up Treasury as an example, can see the evidence that equal employment opportunity is good for this Nation, and beneficial to its future. As I said in Gettysburg several months ago,' it was Ioo years ago that Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. It was oo years ago that Abraham Lincoln took the chains off the slaves. But he did not free the country of bigotry. Until education is unaware of race, until all employment in this country is blind to color, emancipation may be a proclamation, but it won't be a fact. We will just be kidding people. So I appeal to you to come in here and help me do some more about it. I commend you for your cooperation. I compliment you for your achievement. I urge you to keep moving forward faster and onward and upward. The best way I know to leave you this morning is to ask you to please practice the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Put yourself in the position of someone that may have been May 30, 1963. 504 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-i964 Apr. 2I [278] born in a different part of the country from where you were born, who may have been born with a different color from what you were born, who may have been born of a different race or different religion than you were born with. Ask yourself how you would like to be treated if they were in your powerful position and you were in theirs. And then do unto them as you would have them do unto you. If you do that, I have no doubt about the results. Thank you very much. NOTE: The President spoke at xi p.m. in the Rose Garden at the White House. His opening words referred to Secretary of the Treasury Douglas Dillon. The group, composed of bureau chiefs, deputy employment policy officers, and personnel officers, had heard an address by Secretary Dillon at an earlier meeting in the Department of the Treasury. 278 Remarks to the Members of the Public Advisory Committee on Trade Negotiations. April 2I, i964 Governor Herter, ladies and gentlemen: When Governor Herter explained this meeting to me and asked that we schedule it, he kept assuring me that his party would be small. And I was tempted to tell the Governor that next to seeing him personally, few things would make me happier than to be sure that his party really was smallhis Republican Party. I am sure that all of you appreciate, as I do, that you are privileged to work with one of the most able and respected public men of our times, in the person of Christian Herter. He is setting an inspiring example of unselfish devotion to duty in his present labors, as he has ever since I have known him, and that has been a good many years. The country is no less in the debt of each of you for your own public spirited participation in this undertaking which is so much in our national interest and which I think is so much in the interest of the free world. As a legislator long before I became a public executive, I am always mindful of the wisdom of a great Englishman's observation, and that observation was that free trade, one of the greatest blessings which a government can confer upon a people, is in almost every country unpopular. I know, and I think you know, how far we in the United States have come toward a mature and toward a rational understanding of the opportunities which trade presents for the building of the kind of a world that men want. The Trade Expansion Act of i962 will endure as one of the greatest monuments to President Kennedy's leadership, and how difficult it was to pass that act, and how long and faithful he worked on it. But it will also stand as a milestone to the progress of popular understanding among business and labor and agriculture. I hope that our friends in other lands will neither underestimate or undervalue the strength of American support for success of the trade negotiations that we have entered. That act 2 years ago was made possible by the kind of unselfish and nonpartisan public support that you are providing again now. We are going to greatly need your advice and your counsel and, most of all, your real help. The negotiations will be lengthy and, of course, they will be complex. They will be difficult at all times. But as we believe the cause is worthy, we know that the gains can be great. I look forward with a certain amount of prudent optimism to the round of negotiations which the i962 act, by our Congress, has made possible. Of course, we will need 505 [278] Apr. 2i Public Papers of the Presidents to be patient and persistent. We will need at all times, of course, to be firm. We are willing to offer our free world friends access to American markets, but we expect and we must have access to their markets also. That applies to our agricultural as well as our industrial exports. The United States will enter into no ultimate agreement unless progress is registered toward trade liberalization on the products of our farms as well as our factories. These negotiations are not the kind in which some nations need lose because others gain. Their success will be to the advantage of all. The opportunity, therefore, is here to build a partnership for progress among the free world industrial nations, and then between them and the developing nations. We mean to fully explore that opportunity, and we mean to fully pursue it. At home we are moving to eliminate the causes of poverty among all Americans. In the world, we believe that a long step can be taken toward a victory over that poverty everywhere if free nations will only work 279 Remarks Upon Receiving a of Christ Historical Society. THANK YOU so much. I appreciate the time and trouble that you have taken to come here. Your statement has been a most inspiring one. I don't know that I am worthy of all the things that you said about me, but I have tried my dead level best to be, and I want so much to be. I would like to feel that what you have said is deserved. I want to try to make it so if it isn't. We are living in a very critical period of history. We are a very small part of the world. We are outnumbered I7 to I. If we take it by race or by faith, by color, by geography, or by any criteria you want to 506 together for a victory over the obstacles to free trade. So this morning it is somewhat dampened by the atmosphere, but let me say to each of you, and to Governor Herter in particular, that I express the gratitude of the American people to you for lending your hand to the laying of this most important cornerstone for what we all hope in the days to come will be a much better world, a world where peace endures, and where prosperity is present. I am sorry that we have inclement weather. I would like to visit with you longer. But I do want you to know from the bottom of my heart that we feel deeply in your debt for the contribution you have made. We look forward with great anticipation to the fruits of your efforts. Thank you. NOTE: The President spoke at II:3o a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White House. His opening words referred to Christian A. Herter, Special Representative for Trade Negotiations and former Governor of Massachusetts. Citation From the Disciples April 2I, i964 apply, we are still a very small minority. For that reason we should all take great pride in the basic principles upon which this Government was founded, namely, those that protect every person's constitutional rights, whether they are the smallest minority or the largest majority. As we meet here today, with two-thirds of the world's masses teeming, most of them under 40 years of age, all of them grasping, seeking, and yearning for the things that we already have, most of them as determined and as dedicated as our revolutionary fathers were when they brought this Nation into Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Apr. 21 [280] existence, we must realize that unless we so plan and so act and so do, the days of our peace and our prosperity may truly be limited. I would say to you that I want to so much be deserving of what you have said. I want all of us to constantly bear in mind the biblical injunction by the prophet Isaiah, "Come now, let us reason together," and also never get very far away from the Golden Rule where we can look at the other fellow as we would have him look at us, and do unto others as you would have them do unto you. You are always welcome in this house. I appreciate the work you have done. All I can say is that with whatever talents, energies, and strengths I have, they will be de voted to making this a better world not just now, but, hopefully, for three, four, and five generations to come. When I go to bed every night I try to sum up the day's activities, which have usually been long and arduous. I ask myself what did I do that day to help some child yet unborn or to be reflected in some generation yet to come. I try to measure my efforts and direct my work to the fields where we can do the greatest good for the greatest number, not only to just Americans, but human beings wherever they are. Thank you. NOTE: The ceremony was held at II:45 a.m. in the President's office at the White House. The President spoke following the reading of the citation by Dr. Perry Gresham, president of Bethany College. 280 Remarks to a Group of Editors and Broadcasters Attending a National Conference on Foreign Policy. April 2i, i964 Ladies and gentlemen: I wish we could have better weather. You are here in the White House Rose Garden. We have beautiful roses on all sides of you here. The thorns are all in the next office, to the right. We have Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy and Mrs. Paul Mellon to thank for this beautiful garden. They worked on it for many months. We are enjoying all of its beauty this year. I am glad you could come here before you went home to let me have a very brief visit with you. You occupy a very important place in American life. The destiny of our children is going to depend on the leadership of the present. What is written in your papers and the way in which you conduct your business helps millions of Americans in hundreds of cities and towns in shaping the kind of world that we are going to live in. These views, in turn, affect the actions of your representatives in Congress. They affect the Presidency. They provide the solid framework for public opinion which is both the principal support and the principal limitation of democracy. I am glad that you have come to Washington. I am glad that you are letting us help you do one of the most important jobs in the Nation, to try to help inform our people. Behind me you can see the historic office of the Presidency. Every day there comes to that office new problems and new crises and new difficulties demanding discussion and consultation and decision. This process of dealing with these day-today problems must, of necessity, consume much of the energy and much of the time of the President. But the Presidency also has another function, one which is not very easy to describe. That function can only 507 33-171- 65 —38 [280] Apr. 2I Public Papers of the Presidents be performed from that office. It is the effort to relate daily problems to the longterm prospects of a great nation. It is the effort to try to decide today in a manner which will lead to wise decisions and large possibilities in the future. We must do this possessing no gift of prophecy, no special insight into history; instead, I must depend, as my 35 predecessors have depended, on the best wisdom and judgment that can be summoned to the service of the Nation. On that basis we try to decide what the only dimly perceived challenge of the future requires of us today. This is the responsibility which your Government owes to your children and to your children's children, to those who will live in this land long after we have taken our leave. Every night when I go to bed I ask myself, "What did we do today that we can point to for generations to come, to say that we laid the foundation for a better and more peaceful and more prosperous world?" I would like to talk to you about one area in which we can see with some certainty the shape of things to come. That is the fight against poverty around the world. We are waging an all-out war against poverty here at home. We are committed to pursue that war to final victory. But we are also engaged in that same battle on ioo different fronts around the world, in ioo or more nations. We do this for two reasons: First, for the first time in history, man has the real power to overcome poverty. We have proved that by the wise application of modern technology. The determined labor of skilled men and women can ultimately produce enough food and clothing and shelter for all mankind. The possession of new abilities gives us new responsibilities and we want to live up to those responsibilities. That is our Christian duty. 508 Second, we now know that the progress which others make in satisfying their own desire for a better life will ultimately affect our own future and our own prospects, for we are now a part of a single world community, and you no longer can confine your activities or your influence to your local county seat. Names such as Saigon, Rio, and the Congo once stirred only thoughts of romantic adventure and great, mysterious distance, but today, as we meet here, we follow the events of those capitals with a close concern based on the knowledge that what happens there today will surely affect our action and our hopes here tomorrow. That is why you and I have a special responsibility to explain the problems of the developing world abroad to the American people at home. We must do better than we have done in explaining why our children's welfare and the welfare of our country may well depend on the wisdom and the foresight that we show in working with the people of other lands. To do this, we must first understand clearly how most of the people of the world live. I discussed in New York yesterday,' and it took me 4I minutes to complete it, just a brief description of the problems that exist in certain areas of the world. Only by doing so can we truly understand the marvel of our own good fortune in this country. On three continents, in dozens of countries, hundreds of millions of people struggle to exist on incomes of little more than a dollar a week. In the II2 or more nations, only 6 of them have an income of as much as $8o a month-Sweden and Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand, Canada and the United States. Here we ought to get down on our knees every night and thank the good Lord for our blessings, that our income can be more than 1 See Item 272. Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-I964 Apr. 2I [280] $200 a month, when more than two-thirds of the people of the world have less than $8 a month. These people have less to spend each day on food and on shelter and on clothing, and on medicine and on all of their needs, than the average American spends at his corner drug store for a package of cigarettes. They live in rundown country shacks of tar paper. They live in city slums. They live without heat or water or sanitation of any kind. Their children have no schools to go to. They have no doctors or hospitals to attend. Their life expectancy is somewhere between 35 and 40 years of age. Worst of all, many of them live without any hope at all. They see no escape from the ancient cycle of misery and despair. These are not new conditions. Poverty and hunger and disease are afflictions as old as man himself. But in our time and in this age there has been a change. The change is not so much in the realities of life, but in the hopes and the expectations of the future. If a peaceful revolution in these areas is impossible, a violent revolution is inevitable. We who stand here in peace and security, and prosperity, must realize that we are greatly outnumbered in this world, more than 17 to I in population, in area, in race, in religion, in color. You take any criteria and measure yourself by that standard, and you will find that we are in a very small minority. I sat here the other day and talked to a most prosperous American. He came to tell me of the successes in this country where he owns more than a million acres of land, and to discuss the ioo,ooo-acre ranch that he once owned in Cuba-that he once owned in Cuba! So today, as we meet here, we must realize that these young, teeming masses are determined to have some of the better things of life. I stood in an African hut on another continent not many months ago, and I saw a mother with a baby on her breast, one in her stomach, and one on her back, and eight on the floor of this adobe hut. I thought of my own mother and the trials that she had raising her family. As I looked into this African mother's eyes, I saw the same look in that mother's eyes that I saw in my own mother's eyes when she was determined that her children would have food, dothes, and an education. You hear me when I tell you that in the world we are outnumbered 17 to i, but these numbers, these masses of humanity, are either going to make a peaceful revolution possible or they are going to make a violent revolution inevitable. All you have to do is turn on the television and see the young student riots in nation after nation. So the television and the radio sets-the wonders of communication-to us are delightful instruments of pleasure, and to some of us they are important aids to business. But they have become the instruments of revolution in the rest of the world. The shrinking of distances, the ready access to information about other countries and other people, have made these folks aware that a better life may be within their grasp, and a better life is possible. They now know that the conditions that their fathers accepted with weary resignation are no longer inevitable. They know now that depression and despair are not the ordained lot of man. This knowledge has helped create the worldwide movement of vast portent which we know as the revolution of rising expectations. The meaning of this revolution is very simple: It means that people in the rest of the world want for themselves the 509 [280] Apr. 2I Public Papers of the Presidents same things that you and I want for our loved ones, for our friends, and for our children, and that most of us already have. They intend that their families shall live a decent life and that they have a job that gives them survival and dignity. They intend that their children shall be taught to read and write. They intend that the hungry shall be fed and the sick shall be treated. They intend to take their place in the great movement of modern society, to take their share in the benefits of that society. These just desires, once unleashed, can never again be stifled. The people of the developing world are on the march, and we want to be beside them on that march. I can think of nothing that would give me more satisfaction than the knowledge that I could believe that you wielders of the pen and you molders of opinion, you leaders in public life, could take your stand this morning on the side of preserving humanity and uplifting it throughout the world. Our gross national product in this, the richest of all nations, this quarter, is running at the rate of $608.5 billion, $6o8 billion. We are asking to distribute in the form of help, aid, and military assistance to all the nations who want to have freedom less than one-half of one percent of that amount$3 billion 400 million. But because of what we call it, and because of how it has been administered, and because it is far away, we don't realize that this investment is not only one of the most Christian acts that this great, powerful, rich country could do, but it is an act of necessity if we are to preserve our image in the world and our leadership in the world and, most of all, our society. Oh how I would like to feel that we could, here in this Rose Garden today, launch a new movement to develop a greater society, a better society in all the world, not only by driving poverty from our midst here at home-it was one-third of the ill fed, ill clad, and ill housed when Mr. Roosevelt was here; today we have it down to one-fifth-but that we could drive that one-fifth into the basements and pull a better cover over the land, and we could also make some steps to developing taxpayers instead of just taxeaters, and helping others help themselves, following the Golden Rule not only at home but abroad, saying to these II2 nations, "We are going to do unto you as we would have you do unto us if our positions were reversed." We must help developing countries because our own welfare demands it. It takes no great gift of foresight to realize that unless there is progress and unless there is growing satisfaction of just desires, there will be discontent and there will be restlessness. The developing world would soon become a cauldron of violence and hatred and revolution without some assistance. How would you feel if you were a member of a family whose total income was less than $8o per year? Yet a majority of the people of the world have incomes of less than $8o a year. Under such conditions, communism, with its false and easy promises of a magic formula, might well be able to transform these popular desires into an instrument of revolution. That is why every American who is concerned about the future of his country must also be concerned about the future of Africa and Asia and our old friends in Latin America. No President who looks beyond the immediate problems which crowd his desk can fail to extend the hand and the heart of this country to those who are struggling elsewhere. We help these countries in many ways, through trade and raw materials and 5I0 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-1964 Apr. 21 [28o] manufactures, with the Peace Corps now working in more than 40 of them, through programs of economic assistance, through the exchange of scholars and students and ideas. We know that we have much to gain from them. We know that we can learn from their cultures, from their arts, from their traditions, for many of them are as rich in spiritual treasure as they are poor in material goods. These are Government programs, but it is also important for cities and towns, for private organizations and private individuals, to become interested and involved in the affairs of the world. So I hope you will make this one of your first orders of business when you return to your homes. You can do this in many ways. Your communities can establish direct contact with communities in other countries. You can arrange for exchange of visits. You can arrange for help to schools and hospitals in a similar community, in a sister country, in a developing land. You can try and establish scholarships to bring deserving students to your local college or to your local high school for education. You can arrange programs of study and discussion about the problems of these other countries that a good many of your folks have not read about or studied about. You can conduct exhibits or performances of the arts and music, folklore, of others. These are just a few examples of the multitude of possibilities which are open to those who are willing to assume a personal responsibility for America's interest in the rest of the world. We must never forget that concern and sympathy are often as important as material assistance. This must not be a patronizing concern, but it must be the concern of equal for equal, the concern of brother for brother. As you all know from our own experience, people everywhere are as hungry for respect as they are hungry for bread. So, I hope you will explain this to your people, and as leaders of local opinion, I hope you can begin to shape in your local communities a fruitful collaboration between your people and the peoples of the lands. You are a part of the world. You are going to live in it. There are societies in other lands that are now venturing to take the same step that your colonial forefathers took, your revolutionary forefathers took, when they brought into existence this, the most powerful of all nations. America's great strength in world affairs is not in Washington. It rests on dedicated labor of private institutions. It rests on organizations and local governments. It rests on the leaders and molders of public opinion, of which you are a substantial part. If we can summon that strength to our relations with the developing world, then we will have a weapon which our adversaries cannot ever hope to match. Then, and only then, will all Americans be proudly joined in a great adventure which unites the highest of our national ideals and the most important of our national needs. If I could leave one hope and one wish with you, it would be as a result of your visit here and of your study and application of what you have learned in your discussions, that upon your return home you could put the spotlight of your own community on the spotlight of other communities in the world, and somewhere out yonder you could lend a helping hand to lift up and to lead a people who are not as fortunate as we are. I believe that that would give you and your community a satisfaction that will never come from a paycheck. I think that if you can provide that lead 5II [280] Apr. 2I Public Papers of the Presidents ership, America will not only continue to be the leader of the world but we will be justified in being the leader of the world. But if we sit here just enjoying our material resources, if we are content to become fat and flabby at 50, and let the rest of the world go by, the time will not be far away when we will be hearing a knock on our door in the middle of the night, and we will be hearing voices clamoring for freedom and independence and food and shelter, just as our revolutionary forefathers clamored for it. Somehow, some way, the Lord in his Heaven will see that it is provided. So I appeal to you leaders this morning, and to thank you for helping us produce the most prosperous nation in the world; asking you to accept with me the responsibility of developing a greater society, one that, in generations to come, our children can be proud that we participated in, and looking at the rest of the world and trying to provide the calm leadership that is necessary in this frightful hour. Yesterday I talked about our problems in Asia and Europe and Latin America and Africa, to the publishers in New York. We announced a reduction that we had made in a very important area. Other nations, in order to be sure that we took no steps toward peace that they didn't match, came along and made a simultaneous announcement. So you can learn from precept and example. If the results of your endeavors here in Washington are to gain enough inspiration to return to your desks and ask the people of our land to lead the others in ignorance and darkness and disease and all the ancient enemies of mankind that are fighting in other parts of the world, that you are going to take up your shield and try to help them strike them down, it would be a great day in America, when we met in the Rose Garden and launched this kind of an effort. Thank you and God bless you. [A question and answer period followed.] I don't know what your engagements are, but someone suggested that those of you who are out of town, and who don't have an opportunity everyday to come here to the White House, that you might want to ask some questions of your President. I will be glad to take some time, if you can take it. If any of you have any questions that you would like to ask, I will be glad to attempt to answer them. [I.] Q. [Inaudible] THE PRESIDENT. No, I haven't. I hope to make that trip next week, certainly in the next few days. We have had the railroad strike on and we are making some progress on it. We hope that we shall have concluded with the deliberations in a few hours or days. Then I expect to make plans for my Appalachia trip, to carry me into several States. Q. Will Kentucky be on that trip, Mr. President? THE PRESIDENT. Yes, sir, Kentucky will be. [2.] Q. How many visitors do you have here at the White House? THE PRESIDENT. We had a record one day last week of some 24,000 in i day. [3-] Q. [Inaudible] THE PRESIDENT. I wish I were in Arizona today. I would like to be enjoying some of that wonderful sunshine. I don't know when I will get out there, but I always enjoy coming. [4.] Q. Mr. President, do you feel like your honeymoon with the press is over? THE PRESIDENT. No, I have never felt that I had a honeymoon with it. I think that the press have very serious responsibilities, as most of us who live in the 20th century 5I2 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Apr. 2I [280] have, and I think that they are constantly trying to be alert to those responsibilities. They do their job as they see it, and I try to do mine the same way. So far as I know we are both working reasonably well together. [5.] Q. Mr. President, Carl Rowan told us this morning that the Communist nations were making much of the increase of immorality in this country. How are we reacting to that? THE PRESIDENT. I am sorry to see delinquency and immorality wherever you see it. I think we must be alert to it and be conscious that it exists, and be constantly doing all we can to eliminate it. I think it is very much like poverty-we must try to drive it from the American scene. On the other hand, I think that at times we exaggerate our own evils. I see so many things that are better now than they were when I was a boy that I don't think all is bad. I am not too depressed or distressed at the future of our society. [6.] Q. Mr. President, would you like to comment on the current stand of the Republican Party? THE PRESIDENT. I would like to comment on something about the Republican PartyI didn't hear the rest of your question. Q. Current stand, current stand. THE PRESIDENT. I think that it is very important that we have a two-party country. I am a fellow that likes small parties, and the Republican Party is about the size I like. Some of the most able and patriotic men in the country belong to the Republican Party. I don't know just which one speaks for it. I said yesterday I want all the candidates, major candidates, to be briefed on world affairs, our foreign policy, and our defense policy, because no one should be discussing these issues who is not well informed on them. We are going to make available to all the major candidates all the information that we have and that they would like to have in this field. I am hoping that we can have a constructive Congress, that we will not have opposition just for the sake of opposition. I have never believed it is the duty of the opposition party to oppose. I believe it is the duty of the opposition party to support the President if he is right, and to oppose him if he is wrong, and never just to have blind opposition for opposition's sake. I felt that way when I was in the opposition, and minority party, under President Eisenhower. I am hoping that the members of the Republican Party in the Congress will help us pass our poverty program, help us pass our food stamp bill, help us pass our civil rights bill, which they helped do in the House of Representatives. The Republicans helped pass it there, and I hope they will help pass it in the Senate, help us pass a pay bill so that we can keep some of the best people in Government; help us pass a medical care bill for the aged, because everyone has a father, mother, uncle, cousin, aunt, or someone who is going to need medical care in his age. I have appealed to the best that is in them and tried to appeal to the greatest that is in them for support to that program. How much results I will get will depend on the roll calls a little later down the road. But I am not going to make any blanket denunciations. The Democratic Party has no mortgage on patriotism and no mortgage on what is best in the national interest. I am going to always, when I am dealing with the Republicans, do like I do when I am dealing with other people in the world. I am going to keep my guard up and my hand out. [7.] Q. Mr. President, the immigration bill 5I3 [280] Apr. 2I Public Papers of the Presidents THE PRESIDENT. The immigration bill is very high on our priority list. We have had a meeting here at the White House. We called the leaders of the Congress in and urged them to begin hearings. We have made our recommendations. We would be very happy and like it very much if they could pass the bill this session. [8.] Q. Mr. President, how do you feel about the events in southeast Asia after the report of the Secretary of State? 2 THE PRESIDENT. I think we have a lot of problems out there that will require our best talents and best efforts. I am meeting with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense to review some of the details of his report today at lunch. I think that our position there is somewhat like it was i0 years ago, in I954, when then-President Eisenhower wrote the then-President of South Viet-Nam and said, "We want to help you help yourselves. If you want to save your country and have freedom in your country, we want to help you do it." That is what we are trying to do there now. We think it is very important that the freedom of South Viet-Nam be preserved. If their enemies and their neighbors would quit attacking them and go on back home, we could have peace in that area. But since they won't do it, we are going to advise them and help them in every way we can to preserve freedom. [9.] Q. Mr. President, the Cuban crisisdo you foresee a new Cuban crisis? THE PRESIDENT. I don't want to predict any new crisis anywhere. I have enough on my hands now. I do think that it is essential that we maintain surveillance and know whether any missiles are being shipped into Cuba. We will have to maintain our reconnaissance and our overflights. Any 2 See Item 274. action on their part to stop that would be a very serious action. And we have so informed them and informed their friends. [io.] Q. Mr. President, can you tell us when we might expect a complete report from the Warren Commission? THE PRESIDENT. No, I don't think that they have any particular deadline. It is a very thorough commission, made up of the most able men in this country, a very patriotic group. They are taking testimony today. The Governor of my State, who was wounded in Dallas, is here testifying and I will see him as soon as I finish with these questions. [ I I. ] Q. Mr. President, can you tell us about the current status of the rail negotiations and what you will do? THE PRESIDENT. The current status of the rail negotiations? We think that collective bargaining is hard at work. We are determined not to bury collective bargaining. We talk a lot about free enterprise, like the weather, but we don't often do much about it. So we are asking the free enterprise system to work, and asking the employer to negotiate with the employee, and for them to try to resolve their differences. They know more about their differences and the answers than anyone else. So we are asking them to do it. They worked all night long last night, and took out a little time this morning for a little sleep. They are meeting again at noon. They will resume until they have reached an agreement. Q. Can you tell us, sir, what you will do if the I5-day negotiationsTHE PRESIDENT. I wouldn't want to anticipate action that might interfere with collective bargaining. I think it is best to let them go on and proceed on the assumption, if we can, for just a few more days, that it is 5I4 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Apr. 22 [282] going to work and that they will find an given. And we did have television present answer. Then it won't be necessary for me on the ground. to take any action. Reporter: Thank you, Mr. President. I want the record to show that this was NOTE: The President spoke at noon in the Rose an advertised meeting, and ample notice was Garden at the White House. 28I Statement by the President Following the Visit of Governor Connally of Texas. April 2I, i964 T HE GOVERNOR is in town to testify before the Warren Commission-and he came by to see me and bring me the State's greetings on this occasion of San Jacinto Day, which celebrates the battle which gave Texas her independence as a free republic. The reasons for the fighting have long since vanished before the warm and enduring friendship of Mexico and the United States. Today, San Jacinto Day in Texas is an hour of jubilance in which Texans and our good neighbors to the south mark this new day of good feeling-and bring back memories of another time of high adventure when Texas was a sovereign republic. I know there are some folks who insist that Texans still think the republic is still in existence-but the Governor tells me that Texas is definitely in the Union. 282 Remarks at the Opening of the New York World's Fair. April 22, i964 Mr. Deegan, Mr. Mayor, Your Reverend Clergy, Your Excellencies, distinguished guests, Mr. Moses, ladies and gentlemen: I understand that at the close of this fair a time capsule will be placed in the ground. Every possible precaution has been taken to make sure that it will be opened several thousand years from now. Special metals have been used. Records of its location will be stored around the world. They have only neglected one vital precaution. They do not have an advance commitment from Robert Moses that, when the time finally comes, he will let them dig it up. When New Amsterdam became New York in i664, the Governor of Connecticut, John Winthrop-a relative, I believe, of the Lodges-wrote Mr. Stuyvesant telling him not to fear change. The consequence would be, he said, that "all the good people of your nation may enjoy all the happiness tendered and more than you can imagine." That promise has more than been fulfilled. For the abundance and the might represented here is far beyond the vision of those early settlers. America has been transformed from an outpost of the edge of wilderness to one of the great nations of the world. The number of people who will visit your fair will be seventy times the entire population of North America when New York was born. The last time New York had a World's Fair, we also tried to predict the future. A daring exhibit proclaimed that in the i960's it would really be possible to cross the country in less than 24 hours, flying as high as 515 [282] Apr. 22 Public Papers of the Presidents xo,ooo feet; that an astounding 38 million cars would cross our highways. There was no mention of outer space, or atomic power, or wonder drugs that could destroy disease. These were bold prophecies back there in 1939. But, again, the reality has far outstripped the vision. There were also other predictions that were not made at that fair. No one prophesied that half the world would be devastated by war, or that millions of helpless would be slaughtered. No one foresaw power that was capable of destroying man, or a cold war which could bring conflict to every continent. Our pride in accomplishment must not ignore the fact that our progress has had two faces. Its final direction-abundance or annihilation-development or desolation-that is in your hands and that is in the hands of the people around the world. This fair represents the most promising of our hopes. It gathers together, from 80 countries, the achievements of industry, the wealth of nations, the creations of man. This fair shows us what man at his most creative and constructive is capable of doing. But unless we can achieve the theme of this fair-"peace through understanding"unless we can use our skill and our wisdom to conquer conflict as we have conquered science-then our hopes of today-these proud achievements-will go under in the devastation of tomorrow. I prophesy peace is not only possible in our generation, I predict that it is coming much earlier. If I am right, then at the next world's fair, people will see an America as different from today as we are different from I939. They will see an America in which no man must be poor. They will see an America in which no man is handicapped by the color of his skin or the nature of his belief-and no man will be discriminated against because of the church he attends or the country of his ancestors. They will see an America which is solving the growing problems of crowded cities, inadequate education, deteriorating national resources and decreasing national beauty. They will see an America concerned with the quality of American life-unwilling to accept public deprivation in the midst of private satisfaction-concerned not only that people have more, but that people shall have the best. All of these dreams and these hopes and these expectations depend upon a world that is free from the threat of war. If we can achieve this, then I am sure that speakers at the next world fair will look back with amusement at how greatly I underestimated and Governor Rockefeller underestimated and Mayor Wagner underestimated the capacity and the genius of man. And so I take my leave of what Ogden Nash has called "the promised land of Mr. Moses"-hoping and trusting that in the future it will not take anyone 40 years to reach it. Thank you very much. NOTE: The President spoke at noon in the Singer Bowl on the grounds of the World's Fair in New York City. In his opening words he referred to Thomas J. Deegan, Jr., chairman of the executive committee of the World's Fair Corporation I964-65, Robert F. Wagner, Mayor of New York City, and Robert Moses, president of the World's Fair Corporation. Later in his remarks he referred to Nelson A. Rockefeller, Governor of New York. 5I6 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 Apr. 22 [284] 283 Remarks at the United States Pavilion, New York World's Fair. April 22, i964 My fellow Americans: This pavilion houses an ambitious concept. It is an effort to convey the spirit of all America to the visitors of all the world. It tells where we came from. It tells who we are. And it tries to show us where we are going. We have in this building tried not merely to talk about our accomplishments; we have been more concerned with the challenges to greatness than the achievements to greatness. We have been more interested in the hazards of the future than we have been interested in the victories of the past. That is the great lesson of this pavilion for those who come to see it from around the world. We do not try to mask our national problems, whatever they may be, under a cloak of censorship or under a cloak of secrecy. We do not try to disguise our imperfections or to cover up our failures. Rather, we freely admit them, and we bend our energy and our toil to correct them. I know of no other great power in the history of the world which so freely admitted fault and felt under such a great moral duty to correct those faults. This is because we realize that real progress comes through a constant process of criticism and reexamination; that those who censure the old provide the foundation upon which the new can be built. Free and unhindered criticism of men, of ideas, and of institutions is the vital nourishment of all freedom. Thus we have chosen as our theme, "The Challenge to Greatness." These challenges give the picture of the America that we would like to be, the future we would hope for, the land that we want our children to inherit. There is much to be proud of in this America which is shown in this pavilion. But what we want most to convey is the spirit of America which is always building, in which the present is always prologue to the future, in which the energy of free men never falters. And with God's help and with your blessing we will continue to move forward to a world in which all men are equal, in which all peoples are prosperous, in which all human beings are free, and, finally, in which all of us can live at peace. Thank you very much. NOTE: The President spoke at the formal dedication of the United States Pavilion. 284 Radio and Television Statement Announcing the Settlement of the Railroad Dispute. April 22, i964 Good evening, my fellow countrymen: Tonight the Nation can celebrate an agreement that has been reached between the railway companies and the men who operate the trains. This settlement ends 4 '2 years of conflict and controversy. I tell you quite frankly there are few events that give me more faith in my coun try and more pride in the free, collective bargaining process. Both the railway companies and the unions operated in full freedom of spirit. This agreement proves that dedicated men under the proper leadership can resolve their differences and show the world how the great American free enterprise system 5I7 [284 ] Apr. 22 Public Papers of the Presidents works. We are proud of our Government and we are proud of our country. A great Secretary of Labor, Willard Wirtz, Assistant Secretary Reynolds, National Mediation Board Chairman O'Neill, and two of our country's outstanding labor experts, Theodore Kheel and Dr. George W. Taylor, deserve the applause of the Nation tonight for their day and night efforts over the past several days. One of these men, Dr. Taylor, left his sick wife who had just been operated on that day to come here to the White House to serve in these negotiations. But it was the railroadmen, the company management, and the union leadership who won this common victory for collective bargaining and for industrial democracy. The terms of the agreement are just and are fair. They take account of the modernization that is necessary for our railroads to survive and to prosper. They take account of the human needs and the human aspirations which are affected by technological progress. But most of all, this agreement prevents, we hope for all time, a most crippling and disastrous strike in the railroad industry. This strike, had it occurred as was planned, would have put 6 million workers off of their jobs, would have decreased our gross national product by I3 percent, four times the largest in any postwar recession, and would have forced a rise in prices throughout our country. I am glad to tell you that all of this is now avoided. Our robust economy can continue its healthy and encouraging forward movement. Business and labor can take new encouragement. All of us can remain optimistic. My heart tonight is filled with the pride that I hope every American must feel. This agreement is American business and American labor operating at its very best, at the highest levels of public responsibility. This is the face of American industrial democracy that we can proudly show to the entire world, that free enterprise, free collective bargaining, really works in this country, and that the needs and the demands of the people's interest are understood and those needs and those demands come first. For, says the Old Testament, "he that keepeth understanding shall find good." This is a good day for our country and our system of Government. Now I take pride in presenting to you Mr. Roy E. Davidson, the Grand Chief of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, who will speak briefly for the Brotherhood. Mr. Davidson: Mr. President, in accordance with the cooperation and procedures urged by you as well as our recognition of the public interest, we have accepted the suggestions of the mediators for an agreement in principle, subject to the ratifying procedures of the organizations. While the agreement falls short of satisfying all the important demands of the employees, we recognize that significant gains have been made. Chief among these gains is the reaffirmation of the ioo-mile unit of work, wage adjustments for yard employees, paid holidays for all daily rated employees, and expense allowances for road employees required to lay over at away-from-home terminals. These gains are especially noteworthy, in the light of the public relations program carried on against the railroad operating employees. We are grateful that the President has encouraged collective bargaining to function as one of our free democratic processes. The aid of Dr. George Taylor and Mr. Theodore Kheel, the Secretary of Labor and 5i8 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-I964 Apr. 23 [285] the Assistant Secretary, and the Chairman of the National Mediation Board was invaluable. The groundwork for collective bargaining in the railroad industry has been reestablished. We hope it will promote true cooperation and meaningful communication between labor and management. Thank you, Mr. President. THE PRESIDENT. Thank you, Mr. Davidson. Now I present Mr. J. E. Wolfe, the Chairman of the National Railway Labor Conference. Mr. Wolfe. Mr. Wolfe: On behalf of the Nation's railroads, I applaud President Johnson's handling of this dispute. We are deeply grateful for his statesmanship that led to today's settlement which should have a wholesome effect on collective bargaining both in railroading and other industries. The settlement promises to restore the morale of our 700,000 employees to its highest level, and bring a rebirth of the spirit of cooperation between management and union leaders. Thus, the settlement we have made, at President Johnson's request, means a brighter future for America's railroads in an atmosphere of free enterprise. THE PRESIDENT. Thank you very much, Mr. Wolfe. The White House and the President receive in the neighborhood of Ioo,ooo letters per week. The other day I received a letter from a little girl named Cathy May. Cathy May, tonight I am pleased to tell you that the railroads are going to continue to run without interruption. Cathy May writes me and says: Dear President Johnson: I am seven. My grandmother lives in New York. She is coming to see me make my first Holy Communion. Please keep the railroads running so that she can come to see me. Thank you. CATHY MAY BAKER 36 Hemlock Park Forest, Illinois So Cathy's grandmother can now go to see her and all my fellow Americans can be proud that the railroad management and the railroad brotherhoods came, labored, worked, and reasoned together and in the American way found the answer. I am very indebted to Secretary Wirtz for presiding over these deliberations day and night for many weeks. I am sure that all Americans appreciate the contribution he has made. NOTE: The President spoke at 6:55 p.m. at Station WTOP's Broadcast House in Washington, D.C. The remarks were broadcast over the Columbia Broadcasting System. 285 The President's News Conference of April 23, i964 THE PRESIDENT. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. [ i.] Secretary Rusk is sending out letters to all those who may wish to accept my offer to provide all possible information to major candidates this year. Appropriate letters are going to Senator Goldwater, Governor Rockefeller, Senator Smith, Governor Stassen, Mr. Nixon, Governor Scranton, and Governor Wallace of Alabama. We recognize that some of these gentlemen may not consider that they are candidates, but it does not seem appropriate for us to attempt to make that decision for 5I9 [285] Apr. 23 Public Papers of the Presidents them. Ambassador Lodge is in a somewhat different position. He has access to all the information which he needs in discharging his most important assignment, and if at any time this situation should change, we would make whatever new arrangements might become necessary, with pleasure. [2.] I do not intend that we should lose sight of those Americans who do not share in the general prosperity of this country, so tomorrow I plan to visit several areas which suffer from heavy unemployment and poverty, or need special attention for the relief of economic distress. I will visit South Bend, Ind.; Pittsburgh, Pa.; Paintsville and Inez, Ky.; Huntington, W. Va. I am inviting the Governors of the Appalachia States to meet with me in Huntington to discuss problems of that particular area. I will be accompanied by several top officials of this administration who are responsible for leading our attack on the problems of unemployment and poverty. These will include Secretary Wirtz, Secretary Hodges, Under Secretary Roosevelt, and Secretary Celebrezze. [3.] I am glad to report that our decision to cut back on the production of unneeded nuclear materials, and the parallel announcements of Chairman Khrushchev and Prime Minister Douglas-Home, have been warmly greeted throughout the world, and also by responsible opinion in this country. We have made it very clear that these announcements do not constitute a new international agreement or contract of any sort. We reached the decision here in the United States on our own initiative as what we, in the United States, ought to do. We did it in a prudent and reasonable concern for our strength and for avoiding excess, and we then explained our intention to the United Kingdom and to the Soviet Govern ment. They, in turn, acting on their own responsibility, announced parallel decisions. This is the policy of restraint by mutual example. I discussed it yesterday in detail with the leaders of both parties in the Congress; at breakfast, and I believe that the discussion resulted in general understanding and agreement among us all. [4.] We have an encouraging report this morning from Ambassador Unger in Laos. His latest information indicates now that the Government of the National Union under Prime Minister Souvanna is continuing and has the support of all, including the Revolutionary Committee. The important thing now is to concentrate once again on working for the peace and the unity of Laos under the principles established by the Geneva agreements. [5.] I have had a most cordial telegram from General de Gaulle in response to a message of sympathy which I sent him as soon as I learned of his indisposition last week. We are very much encouraged by the reports from Paris that the General is making a strong and good recovery. [6.] I am happy to announce that Mr. Robert Anderson, our Ambassador, will be making a brief visit to Panama early next week to meet with Special Ambassador I1 -lueca and other Panamanian officials for the purpose of having a preliminary exchange of views.' At that time, Mr. Anderson and Mr. Illueca will arrange between them how they will conduct their talks on the problems to be worked out between the two countries. I am also sending to Panama in the near future a team of economic experts for the 1 Former Secretary of the Treasury Robert B. Anderson was appointed as U.S. representative, with the rank of Special Ambassador, to carry out the objectives of the U.S.-Panama joint declaration of April 3. 520 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 Apr. 23 [:z85] purpose of discussing, within the framework of the Alliance for Progress, our aid program in that country.2 I might add that I received a very full, comprehensive, and satisfactory report from our new Ambassador, who has already been received there, and who has made a report to us on conditions as he sees them. [7.] I wish to announce the following appointments to the Advisory Committee on Intergovernmental Relations Commission: Mr. Frank Bane of North Carolina, Mrs. Adelaide Walters of North Carolina, Mr. Tom Elliott of Missouri, representing the public; John Dempsey of Connecticut and Robert Smylie of Idaho, representing the Governors; Mr. Marion Crank of Arkansas and Mr. Charles R. Weiner of Pennsylvania, representing State legislators; Mr. Herman W. Goldner of Florida, representing the mayors. [8.] I am today nominating Mr. Leonard L. Sells to be a member of the Subversive Activities Control Board. Since I952 Mr. Sells has been employed in the Office of the General Counsel of the Renegotiation Board. Mr. Sells is a graduate of the University of Alabama and a member of the Alabama State Bar. He was born August 5, i9i2, in Independence, Iowa. He resides with his family in North Arlington, Va. [9.] I have just approved today recommendations of the Secretary of Defense to further reduce our Defense expenditures by terminating or substantially reducing our non-combat strength. In total, the savings will amount to about $68 million a year. The installations affected and the specific action to be taken will be announced by the Secretary tomorrow. These are installations which we feel that we can reduce without affecting the strength of this Nation. We think that it is necessary because they are ' See Item 3i6 [ii]. obsolete and unneeded and that they will in no way impair our effectiveness. It is a part of the frugality and economy that we think should be practiced by saving money where we can, to have it where we need it. The McGraw-Hill Annual Survey of Business Investment Plans shows that American business has again lifted its capital spending for i964. Through the courtesy of Mr. Elliott Bell and the McGraw-Hill Economics Department I am informed that business now plans to spend i2 percent more on plant and equipment this year than last year-as against the 9 percent planned in January. So this is a new figure and a rather encouraging one for all Americans. [io.] I wish to announce my intention to reappoint Mr. James T. Ramey to a full term on the Atomic Energy Commission. Mr. Ramey, as you know, has served in this field with distinction for a number of years as an officer with the Commission, later as staff director of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, and more recently as a member of the Commission. I had some other brief announcements, but I think that they will carry over until we get back. I primarily wanted to get some of these that will be going to the Hill out of the way before I left. I wanted you to know of our plans for the afternoon and the rest of the week. I will be glad now to entertain any problems that your curiosity may suggest. [ii.] Q. Mr. President, yesterday you had a chance to see civil rights demonstrations firsthand.3 I am wondering if you would tell us what your reaction was to what you saw. THE PRESIDENT. Frankly, one of com8The reporter referred to demonstrations by civil rights groups at the New York World's Fair where President Johnson spoke. 52I [285] Apr. 23 Public Papers of the Presidents passion. Somehow I think all of us must learn understanding. It is ideal, I think, for us to contemplate that it is easy. But even though it is difficult it is still possible. I believe the basic good will of the American people is strong enough to carry us through these strains. I think the most important thing we can do to ease this situation is to act with promptness and dispatch on the very good civil rights bill that is now pending in the Senate. I noticed a few people there yesterday, and they were very few, who seemed insistent on being rude, and I pitied them. They serve no good purpose-either of promoting the cause that they profess to support or of disrupting that cause. I have a deep faith that whatever may have been our sins of the past, we are going to try to do our best in our lifetime, and we are making progress. I don't believe that we are going to be stopped either by fanaticism or rudeness, and so far as I was concerned, I felt sorry for them. Q. Mr. President, sir, in connection with civil rights, I wonder if you could give us your reaction to the jury trial proposals which appear to have won some favor with your civil rights leaders? THE PRESIDENT. I haven't examined it. That is a matter for the Senators who are considering it, and the counsel of the Justice Department, the Attorney General, who are examining those amendments as they are proposed. I haven't seen it. All I know about it I read in the paper. [I2.] Q. Mr. President, I wonder about the results of your talks with Secretary Rusk and Secretary McNamara. Do you anticipate any change in the involvement of the United States in Viet-Nam, either as to sending more troops, advisers, or more funds there? THE PRESIDENT. Yes, I anticipate that we will have stepped-up activity there that will cost more money. There will be people who are coming out of there from time to time, when their mission is completed, and others that will be sent in there. I think that we are going to try to gain efficiency and effectiveness from all of the suggestions that Secretary McNamara made on his recent trip, and Secretary Rusk made.4 I would hope that we would see some other flags in there, other nations as a result of the SEATO meeting, and other conferences we have had, and that we could all unite in an attempt to stop the spread of communism in that area of the world, and the attempt to destroy freedom. [I3.] Q. Mr. President, at the turn of the year the developments in Latin America suggested to some people that the roof might be falling in down there. I notice since then there have been some favorable developments. I wonder if you would analyze the situation there as you see it. THE PRESIDENT. We have some very serious problems in the Western Hemisphere. We are concerned with them. We have attempted to reorganize our operation, and to better coordinate our activities in the hemisphere. On the recommendation of Secretary Rusk, we brought in one of our most experienced ambassadors who has served under two Presidents in the field of diplomacy in the Western Hemisphere.5 We gave him increased responsibilities in connection with the Alliance for Progress. We are making progress in organizing and coordinating that work. We expect to have a meeting in the very near future and make a number of allotments to various countries 4See Items 223 and 274. Former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Thomas C. Mann, Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs, United States Coordinator, Alliance for Progress, and Special Assistant to the President. 522 Lyndon B. Johns in that area. We are constantly meeting with the ambassadors, and with the leaders of government, getting their suggestions. We are trying to treat each nation as our equal, and trying to sincerely and genuinely have them believe that we want to carry out a good neighbor policy. We know that what is good for Latin America in this hemisphere is good for Americans, and we are rather pleased with the decisions that have been reached in Panama, and the reception that they have received. We are rather concerned with the developments in other places, but we will meet those as they come, as we did in Guantanamo. I would say all in all there is not anything to throw your hat in the air about, but we are making steady progress and I think that a few months from now you can tell a little more about it than you can now. [I4.] Q. Mr. President, yesterday, sir, at the World's Fair, you talked about the possibility of peace in our generation. What would be the minimum conditions from the Soviet Union to have an end to the cold war? THE PRESIDENT. Well, I wouldn't want to organize any peace parley here this morning. I think that it is very important that we try to understand the other peoples of the world, and that we all recognize that it is hari-kari to think of another war; that we have got to constantly keep our guard up and our hand out. What we are trying to do is to explore every possibility that we can conceive of that will lead to better understanding. We are trying to be tolerant and recognize the problems of other leaders and of other nations, just as we hope they realize ours. We have no illusions that we can settle all the problems that exist and have all the world live in happiness tomorrow. But we are ambitious, we do have a goal, we are son, 1963-1964 Apr. 23 [285] optimistic, or this would be a very dreary job. In the 5 months that I have been in it, I have tried to accord other peoples the same consideration I would like to have for myself and, generally speaking, I have found that the world is anxious to pursue the same objective that I am. I don't know that we will have an answer tomorrow, but I do confidently believe that the tensions had been eased under the leadership of President Kennedy, and that the strength that we have developed has contributed to taking us away from war. If we keep a cool head, our feet on the ground, use some imagination and ingenuity, respect others, we can find the answer as we have in some of our smaller problems. [I5.] Q. Mr. President, there was a Republican charge yesterday that you are using blowtorch tactics to heat up the economy. Would you say this is a fair evaluation? THE PRESIDENT. Well, I am not going to object to the economy heating up. I don't know that any of my tactics are responsible for what the economy is doing. I am very happy that U.S. corporations paid io percent more cash dividends in the first quarter of this year than they did a year earlier. I am very happy that wage earners are getting $50 billion more now than they were 3 years ago. I am very pleased that corporation profits are up 50 percent. I am very grateful that unemployment is down from 5.8 to 5.4. We hope that we can bring it down further, and if the Republicans will use any kind of tactics-blowtorch or otherwise-in helping us pass the poverty program, we'll take a lot of kids off the streets and put them in useful endeavors, and help make taxpayers out of them instead of taxeaters. I am sorry that they are critical of what is 523 [285] Apr. 23 Public Papers of the Presidents happening to the economy. I'd think that the Republicans almost more than anyone in the country, with their noted interest in private property, would be pleased that business is doing well. I don't know why they should be irritated about it. Maybe we are going to, all of us, be inclined to be a little out of humor between now and November, but after November I am sure they will be happy with what the economy is doing. [Laughter] [i6.] Q. Mr. President, I wonder if you would see that the Nation gets all the information from the Air Force about the renegotiation of the Howard Foundry contract? Some information has come out in a court case downtown that one Fred Black was paid some money to get this renegotiation contract sent from the Justice Department to the Air Force. THE PRESIDENT. I will do all I can to see that every bit of the information that can be made public is made public. When I saw that story in the paper, I asked the Secretary to immediately pursue it and to give me the facts on it. [I7.] Q. Mr. President, will the information that you give to the candidates be confidential and will they be precluded from using it in the campaign? THE PRESIDENT. Well, that that is secret, they will. None of us will use any secret information in the campaign. There will be a lot of general discussions, such as we had yesterday morning, concerning Viet-Nam, the nuclear reduction, that can be used and will I think better inform them of the steps that have been taken and the background and the reasons for those steps. I would say the answer to your question is yes and no. That is, top secret will not be used by anyone. The President will be very careful to take no advantage of any other candidate in this matter, and that is the reason for my announcement. I think a man's judgment on any given question is no better than his information on that question. While some of these folks have been traveling around getting some information, it hasn't been because they are interested in running; it is just because they are representing private companies and thinks like that. I want them to get it direct from the horse's mouth and be able to look at the full picture and then make their judgments accordingly. Q. Mr. President, on that score, have any of the candidates evinced an interest yet in getting this information? THE PRESIDENT. No, I haven't talked to any of them yet. As I told you, Ambassador Lodge has it available to him, and I want to see that all the information that I have, that involves the future of this Nation, is made available to men who may be called upon to lead the Nation. Q. Mr. President, is it your feeling that Mr. Nixon's speech on Saturday was based on erroneous information about Viet-Nam? 6 THE PRESIDENT. No, I wouldn't make that comment. I don't know what it was based on. I haven't talked to Mr. Nixon. I assume that he spent a good deal of his time out there looking after Pepsi-Cola's interest. I don't know how much real information he got. But at least, that is what he said he was doing. I do want all of the men in the opposition party to know all the facts that dictate the decisions that involve our national interest. I would like to confer with them and have their suggestions from time to time on what 'Following a business trip to the Far East Mr. Nixon made three speeches, the last of which was before the American Society of Newspaper Editors in Washington. 524 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 Apr. 23 [285] the wise course to pursue is. I like to reflect on these moves before I make them, and I like to consider everyone's judgment. I get that judgment through newspapers. Some of them want more war in that area and some want more appeasement. Some, such as Ambassador Lodge, seem to have their views as to what we are doing and feel that what we are doing is proper. I just don't know who speaks for them. After the convention, that will be clearer and maybe we can be brought closer together. I would like to have a relationship with the Republican nominee similar to the relationship I had with President Eisenhower during the 8 years I was leader, when we could come and talk over the problems of the world and try to unite on what was best for our country. I don't want a foreign policy to develop into partisan, knockdown, dragout, and I am going to do all I can to avoid it. [I8.] Q. Mr. President, speaking of Republicans, would the fact of Secretary McNamara's past association with the Republican Party bar him, in your judgment, from being among the possible Democratic vice presidential candidates? THE PRESIDENT. I don't know what Mr. McNamara's associations may have been. I have never been a man who believed in guilt by association. But I think Mr. McNamara is a very able, a very imaginative, and a very great American. I am sure that this decision on my part, whatever part I may play, will be made at Atlantic City and will be made by the delegates there. I don't plan to conduct any evaluation scores between now and then. I would like for you all to get your mind on other things and let the delegates handle that after we get up there, and what we think is the best interest of the country and who would make the best President of the United States in the event he was called upon to be President. That is the criteria that I would use for my own judgment and I would hope the others would use. I can say nothing but the highest and finest things about Mr. McNamara. I just don't know anything about his party affiliation. He has never discussed it with me. He never talks politics with me. He just runs his shop. He wants to see me right after this is over. I am just not sure whether it is going to be canceling some more bases or what it is about. But he will have a judgment and a recommendation. I like men who are decisive. [ i9.] Q. Mr. President, you seem to have a good many Senators and Congressmen in your audience today. Have you been talking politics to them? THE PRESIDENT. No, and I was unaware that they were here. I am happy to see them. I didn't know they were here. I haven't been talking politics with them. Q. Why are they here? THE PRESIDENT. I don't know. Why? They are here to talk about the importation of shoes. [20.] Mr. Roberts, I don't think you finished your question. If you didn'tQ. Thank you, Mr. President. I just wondered. There is the statement, sir, that you are the head of the Democratic Party as well as President. I wondered if you could be a little more specific as to whether as head of the party you considered that there was any kind of political bar given in the American history of parties to choosing a man who has not formerly been a member of this party? THE PRESIDENT. I wouldn't make a judg 525 [285] Apr. 23 Public Papers of the Presidents ment on that because first, I don't know anything about his party affiliations, and it wouldn't apply unless I proceeded on the assumption that you do. I am not in the business of selecting a Vice President this morning. I am not going to. I want to help you any way I can. But I am going to give very little thought about it until I get to Atlantic City and then I expect it will occupy a good deal of my time. [2i.] Q. Mr. President, do you have any plans for a meeting between yourself and Prime Minister Douglas-Home of Britain this summer? THE PRESIDENT. No, I have no immediate plans. I will be very glad to meet with him at any time that that appears desirable. So far as I am aware, there is nothing in the planning stage on it. [22.] Q. Mr. President, in your correspondence with Chairman Khrushchev, sir, have you discussed the possibility of Russian SAM missiles being used against our overflights over Cuba? THE PRESIDENT. I wouldn't want to go into a discussion of the private correspondence that I have had with the Chairman. Q. Mr. President, can you give us an appraisal of the Soviet military strength remaining in Cuba, either military or so-called technical? THE PRESIDENT. I said at one of my conferences that from the high point that strength had been reduced considerably. They still have some people there. I would not calculate the exact number because I don't want to get into the numbers game, and I don't think we can do it with any accuracy. I think our people know in general terms what a good estimate is, and we know that there have been substantial reductions in the past, but we know they still have a number of people there. Reporter: Thank you, Mr. President. [23.] THE PRESIDENT. I want to make an observation before you leave that I neglected. I thought of it when a lady just reminded me. This beautiful garden that we are the beneficiaries of today represents a great deal of planning and long, hard, arduous work by Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy, that lovely lady who we were so proud to have as First Lady for 3 years. Mrs. Paul Mellon came here and gave her very heart and soul to this project for many months. I have never seen it lovelier than it is today. I don't know whether the presence of this front row helps it any or not. I believe it does. Any of you who want to are invited to take a walk and go around and look at it because it is really pretty. I would like for some of you to go with me. Charles W. Roberts, Newsweek: Thank you, Mr. President. NOTE: President Johnson's fifteenth news conference was held in the Rose Garden at the White House at 10:42 a.m. on Thursday, April 23, I964. 286 Letter to the President of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House Proposing Additional Aid for Alaska. April 23, i964 Dear Mr. I am forwarding herewith a draft bill to amend the Alaska Omnibus Act, Public Law 86-70, together with an explanatory memo randum from the Director of the Bureau of the Budget. The primary purpose of the bill is to amend section 44(a) of the Omnibus Act to 526 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Apr. 23 [287] authorize $22,500,000 for additional transitional grants to the State of Alaska until June 30, i966. I believe that this form of assistance to the State is essential to help it overcome the results of the tragic earthquake of March 27. The funds thus provided, a portion of which would be passed on to local governments affected by the disaster, are needed to insure the continuance of State and local government during the emergency when revenues will be lost and extraordinary expenses will be incurred. I recommend and urge prompt enactment of this most necessary proposal. Sincerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON NOTE: This is the text of identical letters addressed to the Honorable Carl Hayden, President pro tempore of the Senate, and to the Honorable John W. McCormack, Speaker of the House of Representatives. The text of the draft bill and of the memorandum from the Director of the Bureau of the Budget, dated April 2i, was released with the President's letter. An act to amend the Alaska Omnibus Act, providing aid for Alaska, was approved by the President on May 27, i964 (see Item 371). 287 Remarks in Chicago at a Fundraising Dinner of the Democratic Club of Cook County. April 23, i964 Senator Douglas, Mayor and Mrs. Daley, Governor and Mrs. Kerner, my dear friend Bill Dawson, distinguished guests at the head table, my fellow Americans: A funny thing happened to me on the way out to Chicago. I passed Dick Nixon coming back from Viet-Nam, and Barry Goldwater and Nelson Rockefeller going out. Harold Stassen was trying to hitchhike a ride, and Bill Scranton insisted that he doesn't plan to go, but if he changes his mind, he will just walk! I see in the papers that Barry and Rocky have decided to cut down on their appearances in California. This reminded me of the fellow down in Texas who said to his friend, "Earl, I am thinking of running for sheriff against Uncle Jim Wilson. What do you think?" "Well," said his friend, "it depends on which one of you see the most people." "That is what I figure," said his friend. "If you see the most, Uncle Jim will win. If he sees the most, you will win." A lot of Republicans have not decided who they want to be their nominee. One old man was asked how he was going to vote in the California primary. He said, "Well, I haven't decided yet, but I will tell you this: When I do make up my mind, I am going to be awfully bitter." And I think that is the dilemma that the Republicans face. On the way out here today, I read where I would be coming into Goldwater country tonight. I read that in one of your newspapers. I find that pretty hard to believe. As I look around and see Mayor Daley and Otto Kerner, who drew more votes unopposed in the Democratic primary than two of the most formidable Republicans combined can draw in that primary, and I see out here tonight the Democrats who turn out here in Cook County for the largest Democratic dinner that I have ever attended, I know, I think I know, and I think you know, this is Democratic country. It is Democratic country tonight, and it is going to be Democratic country come November. Since last November this Nation has watched the Democratic Party at every level face the most exacting tests that any party 527 [287] Apr. 23 Public Papers of the Presidents has ever faced in our times. From city hall to the Halls of Congress, from the State house to the White House, the people have seen Democrats hold this Nation on a sure and steady course. They have seen this party keep faith with the young warrior who led us so valiantly and who was taken from us so prematurely, the beloved late President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. I believe that when November comes, the people will express their approval with a decisive victory at all levels for the party of all the people. I believe that Chicago and the great State of Illinois will lead the way for the rest of the Nation. It makes me feel mighty good to be here with you good people this evening. I want to pause just a moment to express my deepest gratitude and the gratitude of my family for the great sacrifice that each one of you have made, not only to buy a ticket to come here but to come here and endure us all evening. This is a memory that I shall not forget. This is a loyalty that I shall always treasure, and this is a friendship that I will try to return. It is good tonight to be here with all of you and particularly with my old and trusted friend Dick Daley. I don't ordinarily like to repeat what my wife has said, but I am going to, by saying that he is one of the great mayors of our land and one of the great Americans of all time. I am glad to come before this audience to say "Thank you" for your great Democratic Governor, for the great Democratic delegation that you have sent to Congress, led by that fighter for the people at all times, the senior Senator from this State, Paul H. Douglas, my good friend. I want you people of Chicago and Cook County to know that the people in this country have no better friends and my administration has no more loyal supporters than the Illinois delegation in the Congress that represents the Democratic Party. There is an empty chair in this hall tonight, as Bill Dawson reminded us, and an emptiness in all of our hearts, because our country lost one of its finest public servants and I lost one of my oldest friends when death took from us last week that great American, Tom O'Brien. I never come to Chicago without thinking how great has been our past and how greater still can be our future. For the story of Chicago cannot be told in statistics alone, in charts which show an incredible growth from 4,470 people in I840 to 3,550,404 in I960, an explosion which in the last decade has made Chicago the third fastest growing city in absolute growth in all of America. Behind those statistics is the story of individual men and women, pioneers and builders, struggling for jobs and decent homes, driven by the dream of education for their children, longing for a chance to live out their days in freedom and peace. Brick by brick, street by street, building by building, neighborhood by neighborhood, these sturdy pioneer people built Chicago, and people like them built all America. So tonight it is more important to look ahead to where America can go than to spend any time looking back where America has been. We must not abandon our future with a hopeless shrug of the shoulder, saying that everything has been done which can be done, confessing that the new demands of America, the demands of our cities and our suburbs are beyond the pale of our help. There are those in this country who say "there is nothing we can do!" or, worse still, "there is nothing we should do!" So resigned and so committed, they lay the axe of indifference to the strong oaks of hope, to urban renewal, to low-rent public housing, 528 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-i964 Apr. 23 [287] to aid for public schools, to relief for our hospitals, to medical care for our aging, to air pollution control, to mass transportation assistance, and to a decent poverty program for all of our poor people. Every blow of their axe strikes not at the political agenda of a political party, but it strikes at the agenda of all of America's future. So I say to you, this is not the attitude that built the America we love. This is not the way to the America that we want to build, and it is not the philosophy of the Democratic Party that I have the honor to speak for. Woodrow Wilson, a great Democrat, once said, "The success of a party means little unless it is being used by the Nation for a great purpose." And that purpose tonight is clear: we have been called upon to build a great society of the highest order. We have been called upon-are you listening?-to build a great society of the highest order, a society not just for today or tomorrow, but for three or four generations to come. And if the Democratic Party serves that purpose, we do not have to worry about success at the polls come November. If we do not serve that purpose, all our worrying will not help us to win the people's allegiance, for we will not be worthy of their trust, or worthy of their votes. So let us, as party and people, think not only of the next election, but let us think tonight and plan for the next generation. Much depends on what we do to solve the problems of our great cities. For it was Aristotle that said "Men come together in cities in order to live, but they remain together in order to live the good life." Today, more than two-thirds of the American people live in metropolitan areas, but all of us know that too few of those people really live the good life. And all of us know, too, that as long as any Americans live in inadequate homes, and go to inadequate schools, and enjoy second-class citizenship for any reason, eat too little food, get too little work, breathe polluted air, play in cramped and crowded parks-as long as these conditions exist, the vindication of democracy is beyond us and the good life is just a mockery. To some, the vindication of democracy in an urban nation is an unreal and impossible goal, for they have been numbed by the magnitude of the task. Only last week a man came to see me in the White House and said to me, "Nothing we do will help. The population explosion is submerging our cities in a sea of futility. The harder we work, the more there is to do." Well, I feel sorry for that man. I treat him with compassion. I feel as sorry for any American who has lost faith in the capacity of the American people. I feel sorry for the country, too, when even one citizen loses hope. For while we stand tonight on the very edge of a great society, timid dreams and faint resolve will never help us to achieve it. Almost 4 years ago a brilliant young Senator named John Kennedy came to Chicago and he talked about moving this country toward new goals, and he said, "There are 5 million homes in the United States, in the cities of this country, that lack plumbing of any kind. Fifteen million American families live in inadequate housing. The average social security benefit is less than $78 a month for someone who is retired and out of work, and he has to pay food, housing, and medical care out of that pittance. Anyone who says there is nothing left to do, that all the things that had to be done were done by Truman or Roosevelt, then I think he was wrong. We in our time still have re 529 [287] Apr. 23 Public Papers of the Presidents sponsibilities left if we are going to build a stronger society." What John F. Kennedy said in Chicago on the night of October i, i960, I repeat in the same city tonight-April 23, i964-as the continuing pledge of the Democratic Party and this administration. We are going to build a great society, and we have just begun to fight. Last night we demonstrated the strength and the substance of our democratic system. The railroad conflict was settled. The world saw and will long remember how reasonable and responsible men respond to challenge and to need, and to leadership. After almost 5 long and dreary years, the railroadmen, the company management, the union leadership, with full freedom of spirit, last night won a great victory for free collective bargaining in the American way. And I was never prouder of America than I was last night. Last night proved the lively spirit of the democratic process. But it does not lessen our concern for other problems that confront us today. For the business of building the great society is undone until we have attacked and demolished the inequalities that infect us, and the inadequacies that afflict us. We have attacked and we will continue to attack, the prejudice and the discrimination that give a Negro child only one-half as much chance of finishing high school; that give a Negro child only one-third as much chance of getting to college as other children born in this country; that give him on the average 7 years less to live. Yes, we are attacking and we will continue to attack not only discrimination, but we will attack the causes of unemployment which now send 4 million Americans to look for relief instead of work. Last month, I am proud to tell you, employment in this Nation rose by I72,000 jobs, and unemployment dropped from 5.7 percent a year ago to 5.4 percent. And if the Democrats will stay behind me and the Republicans will help us just a teeny bit, our war on poverty will make another big dent in those unemployment figures. We have attacked with three major education bills, and we will continue to attack, the demands of education. Every single year college youngsters in America increase at the rate of 300,000 a year, a rate equal to the entire enrollment of 60 new State colleges every year, Governor Kerner. I do not have to remind you that children whose education suffers from overcrowded classrooms, or suffers from inadequate teachers, can never gain back what they have once lost. We cannot, in a good society in America, tolerate a second-class system of education anywhere. And I say to you, my fellow Democrats, that this administration does not intend to so tolerate it! We have attacked, and we will continue to attack, the need to preserve our natural resources. One of the great preservers of resources of this Nation of all time is that grey-haired man of wisdom who sits at this table tonight, but who constantly leads the fight to preserve our natural resources in the Senate of the United States, your own beloved Paul Douglas. He knows, and I know, and you know, that we need more parks and more beaches, and more playgrounds for our little children, and more recreational facilities for all American families. Last year, 94 million people used our public parks. This year the number will be 99 million people who will visit our public parks. More people have more time, thank God, to enjoy more of America's beauty than they have ever had before, and if we, God willing, have another Democratic adminis 530 Lyndon B. Johns tration, we are going to give them still more time to enjoy that beauty. But I would remind you tonight that beauty is not inexhaustible and it does not automatically replenish itself. Every inch of our natural heritage is a resource which once lost cannot be recovered. My administration is determined that unborn generations will not be denied the privilege of enjoying their Nation's natural beauty. We have attacked and we will continue to attack the needs of our aging citizens. Ten percent of our population tonight is over the age of 65. Every year that percentage is increasing. What is going to happen to these people, your mothers and fathers, your uncles and your cousins, and your aunts? Who is going to help them live out their days in the dignity that they deserve, in the twilight of their career? Do we want to deny their hopes? Do we want to degrade their lives? This administration's plan for medical care for the aging asks the average worker $i a month from the worker's paycheck, and $i a month from his employer, and nothing from the Government. Surely our people ought to have this chance to contribute $24 a year for a period of 40 years that will be multiplied by the interest earnings by 3.75, that will ultimately provide each person with almost $4,000 to take care of his medical care after 65. It seems to me that in our way of life we ought to have a chance to provide for people a decent life in their old age. We have the manpower, we have the means, we have the money to do all that must be done to realize our greatest dreams. All we need now is the will. Let it never be said of the Democratic Party or of America that while the men of the past had convictions, the men of today have only opinions. snO, I963-I964 Apr. 23 [287] We have our convictions, we know what we want for America. We want an America committed not only to the defense of freedom for our own people but to the extension of freedom to all people. We want an America that is willing to live in harmony with every other nation that respects human dignity and human liberty. We want an America that always keeps its guard up, but always has its hand out. We want an America that is seeking diligently the day "when nation shall not lift up sword against nation; neither shall they learn war any more." This week we took a specific step in that direction when we decided to reduce the production of fissionable material for atomic bombs. With that decision, we and the Soviet Union took one step back from the precipice. We will continue to search for new ways to build the common interest while, you may be sure, always preserving the national interest. We are going to go as far as is prudent and as fast as is possible to bring peace to this troubled world. The America we want is an America where every citizen, whatever his race or religion, is treated with equal respect and enjoys equal opportunities to develop his capacity and to provide for the well-being of his family. The America we want is an America where no home is unsafe or unsanitary, where children can play in parks and playgrounds, where every family can live in a decent home, in a decent neighborhood, where the water is clean and the air is pure, and the streets are safe at night, and where every man can worship God freely according to the dictates of his own conscience. This is the kind of America that we believe in, and this is the kind of America to which we are dedicated. 33-171-65-39 53I [287] Apr. 23 Public Papers of the Presidents I have come here to Chicago tonight under the auspices and the invitation of your great mayor to ask your help, to ask the help of each of you to building that kind of an America, not only for our children but for generations yet unborn. Thank you. NOTE: The President spoke at McCormick Place in Chicago, following brief remarks by Mrs. Johnson. In his opening words he referred to Senator Paul H. Douglas of Illinois, Mayor Richard J. Daley of Chicago and Mrs. Daley, Governor Otto Kerner of Illinois and Mrs. Kerner, and Representative William L. Dawson of Illinois. Later in his remarks he referred to the late Representative Thomas J. O'Brien of Illinois. 288 Remarks at the Lulu V. Cline School, South Bend, Indiana. April 24, i964 Governor Welsh, Senator Hartke, Senator Bayh, Congressman Brademas, Secretary Hodges and Secretary Celebrezze, Dr. Weaver, my friends of St. Joe County and South Bend: For a long time I have had a standing invitation to come to South Bend. Congressman Brademas asked me here last year, and Senator Hartke and Senator Bayh have insisted a number of times that I come out here and talk to the good people of this area. I had some familiarity with your problem, particularly since Studebaker closed down, so this morning we got up early in Chicago to come here and to shake your hand and to look into your faces and to talk to you about the problems that exist in South Bend because South Bend's problems are our problems, and the reason we are here is, we want to see what good work you are doing, in the hope that we can get other people to follow your fine example. The reason we are here is to try to tell you that in a good many places in America there are more jobs open than there are unemployed people, but we don't have the people trained for the jobs that are open. Now, you are among the Nation's leaders in trying to do something about bringing the right kind of a person to the right kind of a job. We have gone through the school this morning and we have been stimulated and inspired by what we have seen-men and women who I have talked to who have lost their job have not lost their determination. Men and women that I have talked to that have gone off the payroll, have not gone out of existence. They are here working and preparing themselves to do a better job tomorrow than they did yesterday, and I am here to see what the Federal Government can do to work with you to help us all improve the lot of our fellow Americans. We have a poverty program that is now in the Congress. We have a program that is calculated to help relieve unemployment conditions, but statistics don't mean much and records don't mean much and charts don't mean much when they are compared to what you see in the face of people. And it's been a real inspiration to me this morning to come here and see these young people, these middle-aged people, these older people that have not taken discouragement and said "there's nothing we can do about it," but have come in here and rolled up their sleeves and stuck their chin up and their chest up and are doing something about it, and it is going to stimulate us to do more about it in our own work. And when I go back to Washington I am going to say to the leaders of that great Capital, that I wish they could come here to the heartland of America and see what the people are doing 532 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-1964 Apr. 24 [289] for themselves, see what the people want to do for their families, and we are going to try to refuse to take "no" for an answer and get in here and do something ourselves about it. Thank you for coming out here and giving us this reception. NOTE: The President spoke following brief remarks by Mrs. Johnson. His opening words referred to Governor Matthew E. Welsh, Senators Vance Hartke and Birch Bayh, and Representative John Brademas of Indiana, Secretary of Commerce Luther H. Hodges, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare Anthony J. Celebrezze, and Housing and Home Finance Administrator Robert C. Weaver. 289 Remarks in Pittsburgh to the League of Women Voters. April 24, 1964 LADIES, I think I should, before I say the few words that I have selected to say this morning, tell you that I was just introduced in the fewest words, the shortest amount of time, by one of the greatest and ablest Secretaries of Labor that this country ever produced. Now I want to present to you my own Secretary of War, Lady Bird. [At this point Mrs. Johnson spoke briefly. She expressed her pleasure at being present and said she wanted to let them in on a secret. "Lyndon's own determination to give women a better break in Government, to have them assume more responsibility," she stated, "stems in part from your organization and its work." The President then resumed speaking.] First, I want to thank Senators Clark and Scott, and the Members of the Pennsylvania delegation in the Congress who have been so helpful to me and the country in putting through the programs that we believe are best for the Nation. I particularly thank Dave McDonald, head of the Steelworkers, and Secretary Wirtz, for bringing me into Pennsylvania today. President Phillips and President-elect Stewart, I want to deny right now, here in broad, open daylight, before all the press, at an unannounced press conference, that I am here to recruit employees for the Federal Government! I am sure that all of you already under stand my very strong conviction, to which Lady Bird has referred, that we must make more use of the talents of women in government if we expect to have better government. Now one lady, Senator Margaret Smith, did misunderstand my feelings about this. I was talking about the echelon below the Presidency. And I never thought that Margaret would think that I was really talking about my job-at least not for the time being. I was very pleased when Mrs. Phillips asked me to declare an official National Women Voters Week, during which the League of Women Voters would launch an intensive campaign to have more women register and to have more of them vote. I cannot think of a more constructive effort. But first I had to check it out. Lady Bird said I could. So today, I want to make the announcement here that I have agreed to Mrs. Phillips' request, and I want you to know that I will proclaim the week of September I3th through September g9th as National Women Voters Week in all of the United States.1 Senator Scott, I want you to know that is for Republicans, too. For 2 days you have considered ways and means to provide opportunities for educa1Proclamation 3592 (29 F.R. 6375; 3 CFR, 1964 Supp.). 533 [289 ] Apr. 24 Public Papers of the Presidents tion and employment for all citizens. I have heard many favorable comments about my friend Barbara Ward's eloquent statement to you on Wednesday, that our high standard of prosperity has brought the good life to an unprecedented percentage of our citizens. President Roosevelt once said that it is an unfortunate human failing that a full pocketbook often groans more loudly than an empty stomach. I am here to tell you today that we do not intend to allow the tempo of America's unprecedented prosperity to ever muffle the cries of those who are denied a fair share of it. We have declared unconditional war on poverty. Our objective is total victory. Our soldiers in the cause can be men and women of both parties, without regard to age or race or religion or creed. This war on poverty is important for many reasons. First, almost half a million underprivileged young Americans, 500,000, will be given the opportunity to develop skills and continue their education, and find useful work. Socrates said, "If I could get to the highest place in Athens, I would lift up my voice and I would say, 'What mean ye, fellow citizens, that ye turn every stone to scrape wealth together, and take so little care of your children to whom you must one day relinquish all?"' I am here to tell you this morning that we are going to take care of our children because one day our children will be taking care of America. Second, every American community will have the opportunity to develop a comprehensive plan to fight its own poverty in its own way, according to its own judgments, and according to its own will. We will help those communities carry out those plans that they provide. We are asking local com munities to lead the way, and we are asking you to return to your communities and provide the leadership. The men frequently do the talking and the women do the working. We are counting on private initiative and individual responsibility. Third, dedicated Americans will have the opportunity to enlist as volunteers. I expect the women of America to be the first to enlist in this war on poverty for the benefit of their children, not only for this generation but the children of future generations. One out of every three Peace Corps volunteers now serving overseas is a woman. At least two of every four volunteers in the war on poverty at home should be women. Fourth, many farmers will have the opportunity to break through particular barriers which bar their escape from poverty. Fifth, the entire Nation will have the opportunity for a concerted attack on a domestic enemy which threatens the strength of our land. I believe this war can be won. I have already seen proof. This morning I visited South Bend, Ind., after leaving Chicago at 6:50. I saw South Bend, which suffered a severe economic blow last December, when its largest industry closed down and 8,700 people were put out of work on Christmas Eve. Today I saw a city that is fighting back. With the combined efforts of State and local and Federal governments and private organizations, South Bend is retraining its workers, placing others in jobs, and attracting new industry. Here in Pittsburgh, steel employment has suffered for 6 long, weary years. By last year, more than ioo,ooo workers were without jobs, and many families were leaving the area in despair. Dave McDonald was 534 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Apr. 24 [289] telling me this story last week. But Pittsburgh has set out to diversify its industries, to retrain its workers, and unemployment has dropped from II.I percent in January of 1963 to 7.5 percent in March of I964. I salute not only Mr. McDonald, Senator Clark, Senator Scott, Miss Genevieve Blatt, but all of your delegation and all of the civicminded people of Pennsylvania. I want to tell you, as I told Governor Lawrence the other day, that we are mighty proud of that progress, but we are not going to rest until unemployment is out of date in Pittsburgh, and until unemployment is out of date in every city in America. One unemployed worker is one too many in this rich, great society. I am glad that our paths crossed today in Pittsburgh, for you have always been alert to the needs of the weak and the politically mute in our society. Your debates, and your resolutions, and your actions have shown your determination that no Americans shall be forgotten in the time of prosperity. As a young assistant to a Congressman and a young Congressman 32 years ago in Washington, I remember the League of Women Voters and their resolutions from the capital of Texas coming to my desk. I never saw them partisan; I always saw them patriotic. Your whole program has been geared to the premise that in a Nation with an annual gross national product of $608.5 billion, the richest in the world, no American family should settle for anything less than three warm meals a day, a warm house, a good education for their children, a house of worship where they can go and worship God according to the dictates of their own conscience, and sometimes simply just to plain enjoy life. But I hope as you meet here in this beautiful hotel, with all these great civic leaders of both parties and all religions, I hope that you will remember that many American families have much less. That is why I am going on this five-State tour today. I want to see those that have less. I want to talk to those who have less. I want to listen to those who have less. And I want to do something about those who have less. I was an NYA director back in the early days of the Roosevelt administration in I935 when we were taking kids out of box cars, who were riding the rails. We saw them getting their breakfast by culling grapefruit rinds that had been thrown in the garbage can. I knew a lot of social workers during those days, and I still do. One of the finest women that I ever knew, a social worker, told me that she had called on a family at mealtime not long ago. She told me the surroundings were meager. During the mealtime she noticed one of the many small children who was not eating. When she asked the child why, the answer was, "It is not my day to eat." Our society must not tolerate that kind of situation. For the first time in our history, an America without hunger is a practical prospect, and it must, it just simply must, become the urgent business of all men and women of every race and every religion and every region. The other night, my little teenage daughter came home and said-and I don't think she was being very original-"Daddy, as an outsider, how do you feel about the human race?" The truth is that in this land of wealth, and abundance, and plenty, too many of us are outsiders to the suffering, the want, and the hopes of other human beings. It has been said that God has made no one absolute; the rich depend on the poor, as well as the poor on the rich. The world is but a magnificent building. All the stones 535 [289] Apr. 24 Public Papers of the Presidents are gradually cemented together. No one really subsists by himself alone. I believe that, and I believe you do, too. We are working for a stronger America. The goal of my administration is to work for a greater society, and try to unite men of good will in both parties to build a greater society, not just here but throughout the world. I have come here today to ask your help in that work. I don't want you to answer me like the man who slept through the preacher's sermon down in my hill country. Every Sunday he would come and get on the front row and sleep all during the sermon. Finally the preacher got a little irritated, and one Sunday he said, "All the people"-the fellow was snoring on the front row-he said in a low voice, "All you people who want to go to Heaven, please rise." Everyone stood up except the man that was asleep. When they sat down, the preacher said in a very loud voice that was calculated to arouse him, "All of you men that want to go to hell, please stand up." The man jumped up. He looked around in back of him, he looked at his wife, and she was sitting down; he looked at his grandmother and she was sitting down, at his children and they were sitting down. He looked at the preacher somewhat frustrated and he said, "Preacher, I don't know what it is we are voting on, but you and I seem to be the only two for it." Now we have Judge Musmanno who is running for the Senate; we have Genevieve Blatt; we have Senator Scott. All of them are seeking political understanding in the great State of Pennsylvania this year. We have Senator Joe Clark and one of the finest congressional delegations that I have ever known here. We have men of both parties; we have people of all colors; we have women of all religions, all races, all shapes, all kinds of dresses, all different hairdo's. But if my administration thinks only of yesterday and today, I shall have been a failure. What I want it to think of and what I want it to be remembered for is that every child, whether he is born of poor parents, in a poor neighborhood, will have good opportunities. I hope that we can build this great society so that no child will ever have to say in any territory where that flag flies, "This is not my day to eat." I appeal to you, if you forget everything else I have said except this, please remember that with our wealth and our production, and our gross national product, and our business profits-they are up 50 percent-our wages up $50 billion, if we cannot drive poverty from our midst, or at least start to drive it from our midst, in an atmosphere like this, then God help us, we never will. I don't want to be remembered as a "can't do" man. Thank you very much. I want to add just one thing: I really wasn't serious when I said I didn't come down here to recruit women for Government service. I have asked your president and your new president, and I want to ask each of you, if you know some exceptional, some outstanding, some great character, I wish that you would take time out and drop us a little note at the White House and tell us about her. We just got Dr. Bunting to come down from Radcliffe College to be the first woman to ever serve on the Atomic Energy Commission. In all these years, men have been making the bombs and women have been bearing the children that they are dropped upon. So I am mighty glad to have that great woman sitting in those councils to determine how many we make, and how we use them, and what we do about them. 536 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-i964 Apr. 24 [290] There are a great many more women that have taken high places, but we haven't begun yet. NOTE: The President spoke at I I:4o a.m. in the Pittsburgh Hilton Hotel. During his remarks he referred to Senators Joseph S. Clark and Hugh Scott of Pennsylvania, David McDonald, president of the United Steelworkers of America, Secretary of Labor 290 Remarks in Pittsburgh at the April 24, i964 THE FIRST THING I want to do is to present to you a lady who lost her salary the day that I took the oath of office as President, but one that is not unemployedLady Bird. [At this point Mrs. Johnson spoke briefly. The President then resumed speaking.] First, I want to say thanks to Mayor Barr, officially, and, through him, unofficially, to all the people. He tells me that the Chief of Police said that the reason we were late was because we had to stop and have the chance to shake hands with a quarter of a million people. That is a good deal more people than in my town of Johnson City, with a population of 541. I am here today because of the confidence of some of the people of this country, primarily because of the loyalty and the faith that men like Dave Lawrence had in me, and men like Dave McDonald had in me. I guess if I ever had a boy, I would have to name him Dave. I want so much to be worthy of their faith and their friendship, and I am trying so hard. I have been deeply touched today by seeing all of these people, however many thousands there may have been, the majority of them under 30 years of age, out here to see their leader and talk to their Presi W. Willard Wirtz, Mrs. Robert J. Phillips, president of the League of Women Voters, Mrs. Robert J. Stewart, president-elect of the League, Senator Margaret Chase Smith of Maine, Genevieve Blatt and Judge Michael A. Musmanno, Democratic candidates for U.S. Senator, and Mary I. Bunting, member of the Atomic Energy Commission and former president of Radcliffe College. Steelworkers Union Hall. dent, and try to help him evolve a program that will drive unemployment from our midst. This is not a Democratic job or a Republican job. We have the responsibility at the moment of leading the Nation. But we need the cooperation of both. From time to time Senator Scott, who is here on the platform, has a few private observations to make about me, and Jim Fulton over on the House side talks about some mistakes the Democrats make, too. It reminds me of that judge down in Texas during the depression when they called him up one night, a State Senator did, and said, "Judge, we just abolished your court." He said, "Why did you abolish my court?" He said, "Well, we have to consolidate the courts for economy reasons. Yours was the last one created." He said, "You didn't do it without a hearing, did you?" He said, "Yes, we had a hearing." "Well," he said, "who in the devil would testify my court ought to be abolished?" They said, "The head of the Bar Association." He said, "Let me tell you about the head of the Bar Association. He is a shyster 537 [290] Apr. 24 Public Papers of the Presidents lawyer and his daddy ahead of him was." You haven't said anything like that about me, because I am not a lawyer. He said, "The mayor of the city came down and testified." The judge said, "Well, sir, let me tell you about that mayor. He stole his way into office. He padded the ballot boxes. He counted them twice." He said, "Who else testified?" They said, "The banker." He said, "He has been charging usury rates like his daddy and his granddaddy ahead of him did." "Well," he said, "Judge, I don't think we ought to talk any longer. You're getting your blood pressure up and you're excited and it's late tonight. And I just thought I'd tell you that the legislature is adjourned. Somebody did offer an amendment to abolish your court. We didn't have a hearing. I was just kidding you. Nobody has come down here and testified against you at all. But I have fought the amendment and killed it and the bill has gone to the Governor and he signed it. And you are safe. I thought I would call you up and make you feel better." He said, "I know it, Senator, but why did you make me say those ugly things about three of the dearest friends any man ever had?" So, don't you folks think we get too angry with each other sometimes? Hugh and Senator Scott frequently say some of the ugliest things about some of the dearest friends they ever had, particularly in an election year. Now, I want to thank John Graberra, and his lovely family, and Matthew Moore, for coming here and visiting with us. I came here today to Pittsburgh, to Joe Barr's town, Dave Lawrence's town, Dave McDonald's town, because Senator Scott and the other members of the Pennsylvania delegation, and Dave McDonald and Dave Lawrence, had been urging me for many months to come to Pittsburgh and to come to Pennsylvania, to learn something about our problems and try to do something about them. Well, I am here to fight an enemy. I am here to tell you that I intend not only to start that fight but to keep up that fight until that enemy has been routed and destroyed. That enemy is unemployment. His ally is poverty. You are going to hear a lot more about that in this country and around the world in the next few months to come, because we are going to do something about poverty, too, in every county in this land. Many people in Pittsburgh know what unemployment means. You have just heard from two of them. The thing that stimulated me most about this meeting was not what Dave or Lady Bird said, but the great faith that these two men who are unemployed, that have no way of providing, no job for providing for their little ones, the great faith they have in this system, the great faith they have in this country, the great faith they have in their leaders, and the fact that they come here and want to work with us. I am not going to cause them to lose that faith. We are going to do something about it just as soon as we can, in every way we can, because it takes a lot of hope and it takes a lot of courage, and it takes a lot of faith, to be out of a job many months, as 6o,ooo people are in this city today, who know the frustration of bills piling up, and savings going down the drain, who know the sickening loss of dignity that comes from wanting to work, but having no place to work. I have come to Pittsburgh today to talk about these problems. I have come here to 538 Lyndon B. Johnson, q96_-1964 Apr. 24 [290] talk with the people who know these problems firsthand. I have come to listen, too. I have come because this administration cares. Progress, I think, is possible. You have shown that in Pittsburgh. I saw it on your skyline this afternoon. I saw it in the statistics I looked at last night. Unemployment is now at its lowest level in 7 years. It dropped from i2.9 in January of i963 to 7.5 in March of i964. Steel employment is up more than i,200 over last year, and primary metals employment is up 5,200 over last year. But progress can be deceptive, and leaving in its wake men and women who know nothing of the blessings of plenty. All the statistics in the world cannot tell the heartache of one man that is denied the right of earning a decent day's wages. Well, we are not asking for much. But Franklin Roosevelt spoke of the one-third that were ill clad and ill housed and ill fed. He did something about it as long as the good Lord let him stay here. For four terms, the people returned him and supported him in that fight, and he and Harry Truman and John Kennedy brought that one-third that were ill clad and ill fed down to one-fifth in a period of 30 years. Now, how long it is going to take us to get rid of that one-fifth, we don't know, but we are beginning, we are moving, we are going, and no one is going to stop us in that fight. One of the great union leaders of the world, the late great Phil Murray, said the working people don't ask for much. All they want is a decent job with decent wages, with music in the house, with pictures on the wall, and with a rug on the floor. What Phil Murray said decades ago is still true. We want a decent job at decent wages, and have a little house with a picture on the wall and music in the home and a rug on the floor. We do not intend to let these Americans be forgotten. We do not intend to relax our efforts until every man who wants a job and who is willing to work has the chance to get a decent job. Two days ago in Washington, free collective bargaining won a victory that is welcomed by every American in this land from little 7-year-old Cathy out in Chicago, who wanted her grandmother to come and be with her at her first Holy Communion, to the biggest railroad president in this country and the greatest brotherhood leader. We averted a strike that would have led to the loss of 6 million jobs, that would have led to the gross national product going down I3 percent, that would have led to wholesale price increases all over the land almost momentarily. We averted that strike. But more was at stake than the economy. What was really at stake was whether you would bury collective bargaining for all time, or whether the future of free, collective bargaining in this country would continue to exist. The settlement of the railroad dispute proved the mettle of the free enterprise system. A lot of people talk about free enterprise, but not many of them do anything about it. We did something about it. The railroad presidents did something about it. The railroad brotherhoods did something about it. The Government did something about it. We said, "Now, come on and put your Bible in your hip pocket and your demands in the other, and come in this room and turn over to prophet Isaiah and come now, let us reason together." For 5 years they had fought, and for I3 days they reasoned. It preserved the in. tegrity of free, collective bargaining. Now if men from the unions and men from the companies can get together to solve what,33-171-65-405 539 [29o] Apr. 24 Public Papers of the Presidents seemed to be an insoluble solution after 5 years-some writer said that I demeaned the Presidency and I degraded it because I called them together and told them to settle their own business, and if they didn't know more about it than I did, I ought to have been in the railroad business. It is like Mr. Rayburn said one time when General Marshall asked him to go see a plant making bombs during World War II, and he said, "General, if you don't know more about how to fight the war than I do, we have wasted a hell of a lot of money on West Pointers." If these men from the unions and these men from the companies can get together to solve what seemed to be an insoluble problem, surely the ingenuity of labor and management, surely the good will of men in and out of government, surely the intelligence and dedication of this Nation can bring an end to unemployment. The first thing I did when I walked into this hall today was, Dave McDonald went to the phone and tried to get Roger Blough on the phone for me so that we could talk to him about the problems of industry. The week before last they were in my office in Washington, one representing the employer and the stockholder, one representing the men who produce and who turn out those products with the sweat of their brow, and their hornyhanded sons of toil, but both of them agreeing on one thing: that we have to have a program to get rid of unemployment. Mr. Blough, unfortunately, was in the East, but we talked to the president of U.S. Steel, Mr. Worthington. I am very proud that Dave worked that out. But I came here today to pledge you my commitment to pursue the goal of full employment as long and as hard as I know how. Here in Pittsburgh, $2/4 million have been made available under the Area Rede velopment Act for public facility loans; $51 million has been made available by your Government under the Public Works Acceleration Act for I25 projects; 51 worker training projects, with almost 3,000 trainees having been approved under the Manpower Development Training Act. Increases and extensions of the minimum wage have bolstered consumer purchasing power. The new vocational education law and amendments to the training act, which Senator Clark had so much to do with writing, will provide more help for the unskilled. These things we have already done, but they are just little marks on the stick, little notches. Just as the Federal Government has been a partner in your effort in Pittsburgh, it must be a partner with business and labor groups throughout this land, in the drive for full employment, in the drive for high production, in the drive for economic expansion, which will drive out poverty and end human waste in this land. I would give everything I have not to be here in the position that I am in here today, but since I have this awesome responsibility, I am going to do the best I can by it. November 22d we had 5 of the I5 appropriations bills that were due to be passed last June out of the way. We had passed them all before Christmas, and they were signed. We passed three education bills that made this the greatest education Congress in history. We passed a far-reaching hospital and library bill which will mean something to all the people of America. We put a petition on the Speaker's desk and started petitioning out with the help of the United Steelworkers and others the civil rights bill that was before the Rules Committee, and we got i8o-odd signatures. They agreed to report the bill because we were in sight of the promised land. 540 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 Apr. 24 [290] We passed the civil rights bill out of the Rules Committee and through the House of Representatives without any deep hatreds and without any bitter remarks-because most of the people there know that Abraham Lincoln in his wisdom took the chains off the slaves Ioo years ago, but he did not free the Negro of his color or the country of bigotry. He signed an Emancipation Proclamation, but until education knows no color and is blind to color, until having a job is unaware of race and it is not a consideration, emancipation may be a proclamation, but it is a mighty empty promise to people who have waited ioo years. So I have some compassion for these people who, on occasions, act rude, as I thought they did at the New York Fair the other day.l But I also have a good deal of understanding. The best way for you to know what is happening in your country is just to imagine yourself in their position, and that your grandfather and your father and you had waited for ioo years for an equal shake and a fair shake that had never come. Just put yourself in the position of the man who gets up in the morning and walks the street all day looking for a job that can't be found, and he goes home and talks to his wife that night. You put yourself in that position and apply the Golden Rule and do unto others as you would have them do unto you and we will clear up a lot of these problems that are requiring a long debate in the Congress. No President can be any stronger than the people behind him. So I have come here to Pennsylvania to a city that has a 7.5 percent unemployment, that has made some progress, with the hope that I could get a better understanding because a man's judgment is no better than the information he has on that question. I See Item 285[II]. am trying to get some information on the question. But I am going away with a stimulation and with an inspiration that I did not anticipate. This has been a wonderful experience for me, and I want to ask you to help your country, your Government, and help the men of both parties pass a civil rights bill that both parties can take credit for, that we will be proud of, that can say that we truly do have equal rights in this country. We proved in I960 that you could elect a man President without regard to his religion. We proved in I960 you could elect a man Vice President from the South without regard to his region. So let's prove by the act of 1964 that all Americans can be treated equally, and that the guarantees of the Constitution apply to Negroes as well as to whites. There will be times when you will be frustrated and when you may even be irritated. But the best way in the world to get sobered up from that hangover is just put yourself in that other fellow's position and say, "How would I feel if I had been denied the job because of my religion or my race, or my color? How would I feel if I had been denied the right to buy a cup of coffee because of the color of my skin?" You ask yourself that question, and you will find the answer in your own heart. We are going to pass a civil rights bill if it takes us all summer long, and we are going to pass it with the votes of both parties. We don't want any Democratic labels on it. We want it to be an American bill, passed by Americans. We are going to keep this country at peace, if God wills it, and we are doing our best. We are going to ask men of both parties to help us do that. I said yesterday that I want the Republican nominee to counsel with me and give me his judgments, just as I counseled with 54I [ 290 ] Apr. 24 Public Papers of the Presidents General Eisenhower for 8 years when he was President and I was the majority leader of the Senate and the minority leader of the Senate. We tried to find out what was good for America and then do it, regardless of which party advocated it. That is what I want to do. Now I am having a little trouble finding out exactly who to talk to in the Republican Party. One of my friends that drinks Pepsi-Cola went out to Viet-Nam and said we ought to be doing a little more, we ought to be moving forward, and taking in a little more territory, and having a little more war. We have a great Republican out there, Ambassador Lodge, and we have tried to get our judgments together, and he agrees that we ought to step up our activity in South Viet-Nam. We have a program that he and the Government and all of us have agreed on. Some of our people want us to pull out altogether. I assume after the convention that we can sit down, whoever the Democratic nominee may be, and the Republican nominee, and try to see what is best for our country and agree on it. Then stop the mudslinging and go out and present our own programs to the people. When we do, I am going to be like the little country boy that didn't get the invitation to the dance. I am going to sit down and write myself one, and come right back here to Pittsburgh. Thank you. I can't recall all the names, because I've made several speeches today, but I just want to say that this congressional delegation in the House of Representatives has been among our most loyal supporters. Dr. Morgan here is chairman of the great Committee on Foreign Affairs. You people have sent us some of the best and finest Congressmen that we have. I want to leave this little story with you. The reason Pennsylvania has such a wonderful delegation, I think, is because you copied Texas. They asked Mr. Rayburn one time why it was that Texas had the chairmanship of several committees-we never did get Foreign Affairs, like Doc Morgan, of Pennsylvania, has-and why they had such power in the Congress. He said, "A very simple reason," and I want you people to remember this answer, "We pick them young, we pick them honest. We send them there and we keep them there." NOTE: The President spoke at 12:20 p.m. to Local 1272, United Steelworkers of America, at Union Hall in Pittsburgh. In the course of his remarks he referred to Joseph M. Barr, Mayor of Pittsburgh, David L. Lawrence, Special Assistant to the President, Chairman of the President's Committee on Equal Opportunity in Housing, and former Governor of Pennsylvania, David McDonald, president, United Steelworkers of America, Senator Hugh Scott and Representative James G. Fulton of Pennsylvania, Roger Blough, chairman of the board of directors, United States Steel Corporation, Leslie B. Worthington, president of the United States Steel Corporation, and Senator Frank M. Clark and Representative Thomas E. Morgan of Pennsylvania. 291 Remarks at Mayo State Vocational School, Paintsville, Kentucky. April 24, i964 I AM very sorry that we are late. We have enjoyed our day immensely. We started it this morning at 5:30 in Chicago. We left there about 6:50 and we have been a lot of places and seen a great many fine people. But nowhere have we been and no place 542 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-I964 Apr. 24 [292] have we seen better people or more friendly faces than here in the great State of Kentucky. I know your heart must swell with pride when you see your brilliant young Governor taking such an interest in advancing this State. I know you must be deeply grateful to your own fine Congressman Perkins for all the good work that he has done for this District. The only thing that I am sorry about is that I can't spend longer with you and learn more about the conditions here. I have with me the very able Under Secretary of Commerce, Mr. Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr. I would like for him to come up here and take a bow. The distinguished Secretary of Labor, Mr. Willard Wirtz. The very fine Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, Secretary Celebrezze. Your own progressive, patriotic Senator, Senator John Sherman Cooper. Now I have saved the best to the last. Since I have made about io speeches already today and she hasn't made but i, I am going to let Lady Bird conclude this one. [At this point Mrs. Johnson spoke briefly. She expressed her thanks for the wonderful welcome and said it was a thrilling sight to see the retraining programs in automobile mechanics, secretarial work, and cosmetology in operation. "All these women in this group," she said, "felt that they wanted to go right in and be customers by the end of the day." The President then resumed speaking.] We want to commend you again on the fine work that is going on in this great institution. We want to thank you for your hospitality. We want to tell you that we appreciate your friendship and the encouragement that you have always given us, the support we have had in Kentucky. We hope that sometime we can come back again. If you ever happen to be in the Nation's Capital, come over to your White House. We would like to see you. Thank you very much. NOTE: During his remarks the President referred to Governor Edward T. Breathitt, Jr., and Representative Carl D. Perkins of Kentucky, Under Secretary of Commerce Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr., Secretary of Labor W. Willard Wirtz, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare Anthony J. Celebrezze, and Senator John Sherman Cooper of Kentucky. 292 Remarks at the Johnson County Courthouse, Paintsville, Kentucky. April 24, I964 Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls: In the early part of the l9th century my grandmother's people all lived in Kentucky. We just came over here from Martin County and that was a family name. Now we are in Johnson County, and I hope to meet any Johnsons that are still around here. My mother told me that my early ancestors reached Kentucky and were told that there were two ways to go up: they could either go up in the world or they could go to Texas. This branch of the Johnsons went to Texas. Some of them stayed here and I guess you named the county for them. I am here to look over this area of the State because of your fine Congressman Perkins, your able Senator Cooper, your brilliant young Governor, who have asked me to come here and learn something about the fine work that you are doing in retraining people for jobs, to learn something about the coal industry, and the problems that face it. I know something about poverty. I have worked with my own hands. I have done everything from shine shoes to work on a 543 [292] Apr. 24 Public Papers of the Presidents highway crew for a dollar a day. I am here to pay tribute to Carl Perkins, who has held many distinguished posts. He was once counsel of the Kentucky Highway Department. I remember one time as a boy I went in to the State capital to get some supplies for my road job. I sought out the district engineer. I told him what I needed for my tractor. The next day the engineer was out and nearly fired everybody on our job. My father said to me, "Lyndon, I don't know what will happen to you, but I will tell you right now I don't believe that you are smart enough to talk to a highway engineer." I believe it is time for this great and strong and good-hearted and rich Nation to give attention to the needs of its own cities who have been passed by, and to give needs to its own people. We are just not willing to accept the necessity of poverty. We in the Johnson administration, we hope with the support of Johnson County, have already declared war on poverty in all of its forms, in all of its causes, and we intend to drive it underground and win that war with your help. We are making some efforts in eastern Kentucky under our winter relief program. We have $8,700,000 going into vocational training of 3,000 persons for 50 occupations. We have $4 million in loans and grants for housing. We have surplus food distribution in all the eastern Kentucky counties. We have 360 schools, io,ooo pupils, participating in the school lunch program. Under our community work and training program, we have 48 programs going, I,400 men in action. I am very proud that the absentee rate in eastern Kentucky is only i percent, and for the first month not a single absentee on 46 of the 48 projects. That is a record that all of you ought to point to with pride. The people of America are not asking for handouts. They want a chance to support themselves. They want a fair chance to get ahead. That is what we are going to try to provide for them, for everybody, wherever they live. Poverty isn't a matter of partisanship. I am very proud of all of those in all parties who work together on this important work. I am particularly proud that I could be here with your Congressman and your Senator, both of whom always work and fight and give in order to help people. Eastern Kentucky has produced some giants of our times. One of the greatest Chief Justices was Fred Vinson. He was born in an adjoining county of Lawrence. My hope and my aim in life is to keep that road open and to make it wide and make it smoother, and make it straighter for all Americans. I would like to think out in that crowd today, here in Johnson County, is a future President, a future Chief Justice, future members of the Cabinet. Kentuckians have a glorious history. You are walking in the tradition of that history. We have brought to you today some of the men who want to see some of the conditions in Kentucky so we can listen and learn and know firsthand what your Government can do, working with you, to help make this a better land. I now want to present to you the distinguished Secretary of Labor, Mr. Willard Wirtz, who helped us settle the railroad strike day before yesterday. He is probably settling another strike somewhere now. I also have with me Secretary Celebrezze, Secretary of the Health, Education, and Welfare Department. Secretary Celebrezze, will you come up and take a bow? And here is Secretary Wirtz. And now I am going to ask your Gov 544 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 Apr. 24 [293] ernor to say a word before we conclude our ceremonies. At this point Governor Edward T. Breathitt, Jr., spoke briefly, following which Mrs. Johnson expressed her thanks for the warm welcome accorded them. The President then resumed speaking.] We want to thank all of you for coming and waiting so long. We are very sorry that we were late. But we have talked about our program, I would say, 8 or IO times in various places today. The crowds have just been magnificent and overwhelming. We are not going to be satisfied in this administration until we drive poverty underground and until we find jobs for all people who can and want to work. We are not going to be satisfied in this country until we have a home for every family. We are not going to be satisfied until we have an opportunity for education of all of our children, and when our people have the equality of jobs and the equality of opportunity. We are not going to be satisfied until we have medical care for our aged. We are not going to be satisfied until we pass some kind of an equal rights bill that will take the demonstrations out of the streets and put them in the courts where they belong. So we want to ask all of you good people to try to support our program and let's have an administration of the people, by the people, for the people, giving the greatest good to the greatest number all the time. Thank you and goodby. NOTE: The President spoke from the steps of the courthouse. During his remarks he referred to Representative Carl D. Perkins, Senator John Sherman Cooper, and Governor Edward T. Breathitt, Jr., all of Kentucky, and to Secretary of Labor W. Willard Wirtz and Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare Anthony J. Celebrezze. 293 Remarks at the Airport, Huntington, West Virginia, Upon Departing for Washington. Governor Barron, Governors of visiting States in the Appalachia area, ladies and gentlemen: This has been a marvelous day. I am so grateful to all of you who would come here and be present with us this evening. I wish I could look into every face and shake every hand. I wish I could tell you how proud I am of the faith and the hope that I have seen in your eyes as I have traveled over five States since daylight this morning. The trip has been inspiring. We have been in large cities. We have been in small villages. We have been out in humble homes. We have been in great industrial areas. We have been in areas where indus April 24, i964 try is virtually unknown. We have seen workers who do have jobs; we have seen workers who do not have jobs. We have seen workers who are training for new jobs to replace old jobs. We have seen some willing and able men who barely remember the last time they had a paycheck. Today I saw a father with ii children who had worked 4 days last month. I saw another father with 8 children who had worked only 5 days last month. But everywhere we have gone, the thought has inspired us: What a wonderful spirit there is among the people. The enthusiasm and the determination of all these people have been to join us all tonight in a great 545 [293] Apr. 24 Public Papers of the Presidents national effort to wipe out the causes of poverty. No one says and no one expects that this curse of centuries can be wiped out in a few days, or a few weeks, or a few months, or even years. But that is not the point. I believe that good Americans of all parties, in all States, in all stations of life, are responding as they are for just one reason: It is a source of pride and gratification to me in doing the kind of work here at home that made America the great and strong and good Nation that it has been and that we want it to be for our children. Today I took a trip which should be unnecessary. I took a trip which, in our times, should become impossible, for I visited among the victims of American poverty, as I told you. I do not go simply to see what poverty is like and what it means to be poor. I already know that, for I have seen this face of poverty many times in many years. I saw it around me in my early years in Texas soon after I discovered America, as the son of a tenant farmer. I have seen it on campaign trips across the country. I remember when poverty engulfed the Nation in 1933, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal began, when 12 million people were out of work, when 25 million people had no income at all. Yes, I remember the day the Bonus Army was driven down the streets to the mud flats of Anacostia. I remember standing out there as a young secretary to a Congressman and seeing that great man march up and hold onto that podium and say, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself," and it gave me an inspiration that has carried me all through the years since. I remember the little poor housewife who said, "I have forgotten how to cook, for I have nothing to cook." But those were not just years of despair; they were years when we had faith and we had hope. In the angry bitterness of the depression, we forged the vision for America. It is an America in which every man has an equal chance for the well-being that is essential to the enjoyment of this freedom that we brag about and this liberty that we treasure so much. I come to you in pursuit of that vision again, tonight. This is one of the oldest and proudest regions of our land. President Roosevelt talked of the one-third that were ill clad and ill fed and ill housed. In 30 years of elf fort, we have brought that group down to one-fifth that are now in the poverty group, from one-third to one-fifth in 30 years. Won't it be a great blessing, won't it be a great achievement, won't it be a great satisfaction for you Governors and the rest of you here tonight to pass on to your children to know that young Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr., has been with us all day, trying to do something to move this one-fifth down to where it is one-tenth, and that all of us have had some little part in starting this movement to drive poverty underground and to say to the child that is born poor, in the poor neighborhood, "If you have the will and if you have the determination, we will try to provide the system where someday you can grow up to be a great leader, you can be a Senator, or a President, or a head of an industrial corporation, or a great leader on your own"? That is the kind of a legacy that we want, that is the kind of a hope that we plan. But our challenge and our clear and present challenge is to cure what needs to be cured, correct what needs correcting, set the people of this region out on the bright highway of hope as free men, living in dignity and with the promise of opportunity. 546 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-1964 Apr. 25 [294] No Governor here tonight has the blush of shame come to his cheek. Each one is proud to represent a great constituency. But they are realistic men, and a very fine effort, they know, has been made to develop programs for their States that we need in this Appalachian area. That program has been under the chairmanship of young Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr., who has done a great job. I have received the report of that Commission, and I have received the report of the Governors' Conference. The Governors have again tonight renewed their interest in that report and again indelibly stamped their approval on it. I have gone over it in some detail with them and I will have an announcement to make in a very few days concerning further implementing of that report, or supplementing it. It is my hope that in a matter of days, I can send a message to the Congress in con294 The President's News Conferen April 25, I964 nection with the work that we have done today and in connection with the work of this commission. I hope that I shall be able to come back here some time and visit in this area again. In the meantime, please know that we are going to be united in our efforts to bring not only peace to our country and the world, but to bring unequalled prosperity to the Appalachian area and to all the people of this wonderful land. Good luck and good night. And God bless you all. NOTE: The President's opening words referred to Governor William W. Barron of West Virginia. During his remarks he referred to Under Secretary of Commerce Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr., Chairman of the President's Appalachian Regional Commission. The Commission's report is entitled "Appalachia, a Report by the President's Appalachian Regional Commission, i964" (Government Printing Office, 93 pp.). The report to the President by the Conference of Appalachian Governors was made orally. [I.] Q. Mr. President, Mr. Truman has been quoted as expressing concern about your safety in crowds.1 I wondered how you felt about that? THE PRESIDENT. Let's wait until the boys 2 get through here and we will start. [2.] As you know, yesterday was spent seeing firsthand and hearing directly from those people in the Appalachian region who unfortunately have not shared in the recent general economic growth this country has experienced. The reports that have been 1Mr. Truman, who was attending the President's news conference, had met earlier with the newsmen at which time he had remarked that he hoped President Johnson would "protect himself." 'The photographers. submitted and the discussions that we have had in the White House convinced me long ago that there was a serious problem in this region that needed the attention of the Government at all levels and of private citizens and organizations as well. However, the full impact was truly brought home in conversations with the people of the area yesterday-first at South Bend, then Pittsburgh, eastern Kentucky, and Huntington, W. Va.-and I believe we must secure congressional action without delay. I shall send to the Congress early next week my legislative proposal for the Appalachian region based on the recommendations of the Commission, made up of the 547 [294] Apr. 25 Public Papers of the Presidents Governors of the area and top Federal officials. Basically, this legislation rests on the following: I. Appalachia is a relatively isolated region which requires vastly improved access and communication. It is a relatively isolated region. 2. The abundant rainfall of the area must be made to benefit rather than injure its people through improved flood control and by providing recreational and industrial water supplies. 3. The area's great natural resources of coal, timber, and tillable land must be better adapted to the needs of the I960's and the decades to come. 4. The human resources must be better developed through appropriate social and economic programs. The interest of the State governments and local governments demonstrated in our visit yesterday convinced me that together we can-and must-make tremendous strides in bringing the development of Appalachia up to that of the rest of the Nation. I am certain, too, that if those members of Congress who are questioning our antipoverty program were to have been on the tour yesterday they would today be bending their every effort to pass our program. It is "must" legislation. The principal elements of the legislation are 2,150 miles of highways, at a cost of $840 million; acceleration of water resources facilities at a cost of $35 million, in FY I965; $Io million for sewage and water treatment; a pasture improvement program with Federal grants of 80 percent, maximum of 25 acres per farm, $22 million; initiation of technical assistance program, $6.7 million for fiscal I965; expanded research in promoting uses of coal and land restoration after mining, $3 million in fiscal I965. We will take another look at that and see if, in accordance with the suggestions from some of the Governors, that appropriately can be expended, and, if so, when. Stepped-up human resources, $71 million extra for fiscal i965. That is to be administered by the poverty program under Sargent Shriver. Establishment of Federal-State Appalachian Commission for comprehensive planning, recommendations to be made by the Federal, State, and local bodies. The total fiscal year 1965 cost is approximately $220 million, which was included in the item in the budget submitted in January under "Contingencies." The total cost of proposals cannot be accurately calculated today throughout the period of the program. The specific points that I gained from the Appalachia trip yesterday, and the impressions, are these: I think we have a demand that we act on this bill immediately and that is why I worked through the night and the morning with other officials, and it will go to Congress on Monday.3 I am now announcing it today. We have need for early action on the poverty program. We have delayed our hearings, and there are some delays that have occurred that I think have not been particularly helpful, and we hope that we can get action on that at an early date. Everything I saw justified our speeding up action on the poverty bill yesterday. There is need for careful scrutiny of the development of power resources, looking toward action. That would mean specifically the possibility of steamplants, TVA, in some of that area. Need for the food stamp program, which has already passed the House, but which will 3 See Item 300. 548 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Apr. 25 [294] be of great value in that area. Need for work projects to take care of people who are only working a few days a week, which some of this Appalachia program could cover. Need for retraining projects in addition to what they have now. We have talked that over with the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Commerce. We will talk to others that are involved and try to build some other public projects there. Need for basic educational projects. Need for Medicare bill. Need for careful scrutiny of coal problems. On the Medicare bill, one of the men that I talked to, whose home I visited yesterday, the man that had the eight children, told me he had stayed up to 3 or 4 o'clock the morning before with a neighbor who was 85 years old, who couldn't go to the hospital. He was sitting up with him. That was at the home of Mr. Fletcher we went to yesterday. That brings home to us the need of Medicare, because if he had had hospital insurance, he could be taken to the hospital. Need for careful scrutiny of our coal problems, to be sure that we find any new uses for coal and that we try to revive the coal industry in any way possible that we can. Need for development of an adequate road system. Therefore, I have sent the nine Governors concerned the following telegram this morning: "This is to inform you that I will submit my legislative proposals implementing the major recommendations of the President's Appalachian Regional Commission report to the Congress early next week." That means Monday if the House or Senate is in session. "The program should be considered by Congress without delay, and I hope that you and the other area Governors will be able to assist in explaining the program to the Congress. "The opportunity to visit with families in Appalachia and to see at first-hand the magnitude of the difficulties in the region has convinced me of the need for prompt action." There is basically one difference between their recommendations and our program. They recommend $i.2 billion for roads over a period of time that we recommend $840 million for. Instead of four lanes, some of them may be two lanes. It amounts to the same mileage of road but we estimate that they will cost less than the Governors estimate they will cost, after we have taken it over to our roads department. If you care to have copies of the telegram and copies of the io specific points that I gained yesterday, and a copy of this statement, that will all be available. The Appalachia report is available, and here is a copy of the bill that is available. [3.] Another new note: corporate profits. We have a report this morning. For the first 31I corporate profits, Federal Reserve tabulated for the January-March quarter show after-tax profits in manufacturing to be 23 percent above a year ago. For wholesale prices, April weekly figures thus far suggest there will be no increase in April from March in the overall price index nor in the index for industrial products, which we believe to be very good news. [i.] Administrator Batt has made a report to me today in reducing unemployment in depressed areas. He says 73 major labor markets approved in i96i for ARA assistance had achieved the following gains by I963: Unemployment in these 73 major markets fell about 32 percent compared to the 549 [294] Apr. 25 Public Papers of the Presidents decline of 13 percent for the Nation as a whole. The unemployment rate fell from ii to 7.6 percent while the national rate fell 6.7 to 5.7 percent. The civilian work force, which rose 2 percent nationally, declined I.7 in ARA areas as people moved to other areas with better job opportunities. Total employment in these ARA areas rose about 2 percent compared with the 3 percent increase in the national total. We are pressing ahead throughout Government for any savings, however small, that can be put into effect by improving efficiency. The Division of Disbursement in Treasury reports to me this morning that it is now able to put into effect immediately a saving of $700,000 in the current year through the installation of electronic checkwriting. We had not expected to be able to do that until fiscal year i965. But we have speeded up that item and hope it is a good example for other agencies. In addition, I have received a report on Federal civilian employment in the executive branch at the end of March which should interest you. Total employment was 2,461,I34. While there has been a small increase in March over February, due primarily to seasonal work in national parks and national forests, I am happy to announce that there are now I3,743 fewer workers than were reported in March a year ago. Most of the departments and agencies reported the same or smaller employment totals in March than a year ago, including a decrease of over 9oo employees in the Department of Defense. I have taken pleasure in making that information available to Senator Byrd and his committee on reduction of expenditures. ls.] I have today asked Gen. Paul Harkins to remain on active duty beyond normal retirement age of 6o until his mandatory retirement date of August i, i964. General Harkins has rendered distinguished and outstanding service to our country throughout his long career, particularly for the last 2 years as Commander, U.S. Forces, VietNam. Our country is fortunate, indeed, to have the benefit of his dedicated service. Lt. Gen. William C. Westmoreland, former Commandant at West Point, currently Deputy Commander, U.S. Forces, Viet-Nam, will succeed General Harkins. [6.] I have sent a memorandum to Mr. Halaby of the Federal Aviation Agency that states: "I realize that you had hoped to select the contractors to proceed with the development of a supersonic transport by May i of this year, as a result of the preliminary design competition conducted over the past several months among a number of airframe and engine manufacturers. "As you have reported to me, however, the 2io-member Government Evaluation Group, after analyzing the proposals in depth, found that none of the proposed airframe designs met the minimum range-payload requirements of the FAA Request for Proposals of carrying a 30,ooo-pound payload for a distance of 4,000 statute miles. Moreover, none of these designs met what you properly emphasized as a basic requirement, namely, that the aircraft be capable of economic operation. "As you have also emphasized, it has been the objective that the development stage of the Supersonic Transport be financed 75 percent by the Government and 25 percent by manufacturers. The FAA Request for Proposals pointed out that 'the Government's decision to proceed with the supersonic transport program is based on manufacturers' participation in an amount equivalent to 25 percent of the total cost of 550 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 Apr. 25 [294] the development through certification of the transport.' "I remain convinced that it will be possible to develop an American supersonic transport which will be economic to operate, will find a substantial market among the airlines of the world, and will help to maintain American leadership in the air. "In view of the current situation, however, I recognize that it is no longer appropriate for me to hope for a recommendation by May i. Difficult and complex issues are now presented for resolution so that I can determine how best to proceed. I have asked the members of the President's Advisory Committee on Supersonic Transport, of which you are a member, to study this program thoroughly, after which I will expect recommendations from the Committee and from you." 4 So the call for bids on May i is off, and we cannot expect a recommendation by then. [7.] Senator Anderson heads the Federal Reconstruction and Development Planning Commission, and he is leaving Sunday for an onsite inspection of earthquake damage in Alaska, taking other Alaskan officials with him. I have a brief statement. I don't want to take time to read it to you now, but you can get it from George 5 if you want to, and get copies of the Halaby memorandum if you want to. [8.] Frank, you had a question about President Truman? Q. Yes. I wondered how you feel about your safety in crowds? THE PRESIDENT. Well, I am unfamiliar with what President Truman had to say 'For the President's statement in response to a report on the supersonic transport program, see Item 355. 6 George Reedy, Press Secretary to the President. about it, but I am glad that both you and the President are concerned with my safety. That is the first reaction I have to it. PRESIDENT TRUMAN. Very much concerned, Mr. President. THE PRESIDENT. It heartens me that people care that much. I try to exercise reasonable precautions, and I have never been unduly concerned, nor do I think those responsible for accompanying me are unduly concerned, about meeting American citizens either on the streets or in the buildings where you speak, or visiting with the people who come out to hear you. They can harm you if they want to, while you are talking, just as easy as they can while you are shaking hands, if they are disposed to do so. I don't think it does any good for us to play up all the time the great concern that people feel when they actually don't feel it. I am exercising all the precautions that prudent men, responsible for my safety, recommend. I think that the American people, and those of you that particularly had this question raised with you, don't need to feel any more danger than you would under normal operating circumstances. Of course, if I stayed in this room all the time, and it was guarded around by a section of guards, there would be less danger than there is if you go out and address a public meeting. But the President is still going to speak to the people of this country and necessarily is going to associate with them. I was not in any more danger yesterday, in my judgment, than I am here now. President Truman says he heartily agrees with me. Q. Thank you, Mr. President. Q. Mr. President, specifically, is it your intention to continue to ride in open convertibles in huge crowds, as you did on your tour yesterday? 55I [294] Apr. 25 Public Papers of the Presidents THE PRESIDENT. Specifically, my intentions are to see the people, to talk to them, and I will be on open platforms. I will be on an open stage. I will be at an open desk. I will be in an open car on occasions, depending on the circumstances. I see no difference in sitting in a seat in an open car or standing on an open platform. [9.] Q. Mr. President, two of your guests this morning, sir, were Governor Brown and Mr. Reuther, and both feel that perhaps your antipoverty program should be larger, that you are not going to do very much for people with its present size. Do you have any idea on extending it after what you saw yesterday? THE PRESIDENT. No. I think this poverty program is adequate under the circumstances, and neither of the gentlemen made such representations to me. I think it would be wonderful if we could do all the things in the world that need to be done yesterday, but you have to take these things with gradual realism. You have to build your organization. You have to have the cooperation of local and State authorities. We are getting that. Governor Brown told me what he was planning to do in California, as Mayor Wagner told me earlier what he was planning to do in New York. One of the fine byproducts in this poverty message is the progress that has been going on in almost every State in the Union. We have State people who have taken notice of the poverty program and are doing something about it. I reviewed with Governor Brown some figures I got this morning on the people that are coming out of the poverty classification. They are very important statistics. From 1937 to I947, 5 percent came out. From I947 to I953, only 3 percent came out. From 1953 to i963, only i percent came out. So it is much fewer than it used to be that are actually leaving the poverty classification. Roosevelt talked about one-third ill clad, ill housed and ill fed. Roosevelt and Truman, and down through Kennedy, got it down from one-third to one-fifth. But, as you can see, only i percent is coming out in a io-year period, and it will take a long time at that rate to get them out. We hope we can accelerate that. We plan in this program to handle some 500,000 young people. I commented to Dr. Dobie about it. He is one of the wise men of our State. He was not one of those Rhodes scholars that I talked about being with the San Marcos Teachers College the other day, but he did spend some time at Oxford. I asked him how he accounted for this, and he said, "Well, a few years ago you could go out and get a 40-acre poor patch and put you in some okra, tomatoes, and roasting ears and raise your own food. But that is pretty difficult to do on concrete-." Most of these folks have moved into the urban areas and it is pretty difficult for them to feed themselves and provide their own income on concrete when they are out of jobs. So this program needs to be accelerated, and we need to put it in action quicker. There is a good deal more, of course, that we could do, but within our budget limitations, this represents a substantial start. If the people who are fighting it would quit saying it does not go far enough, and go this far with us-I have no reference in your question, that is, to the Hill, where some said they were against it-if they would go just this far, we will get it up to the proportions that would satisfy them a little later on as programs develop, and communities 552 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Apr. 25 [294] participate and States take more interest. [Io.] Q. Although you have ordered a cut of 40 percent in the production of enriched uranium, it is my understanding that the Federal Government has contracts to buy raw uranium for the stockpile still in effect. Will we honor these contracts and, if so, how much will it cost us, and what will we use this raw uranium for? THE PRESIDENT. That is a matter the details of which you should talk to the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission about. We have contracts we are taking action to dispose of, and exercising clauses under the contracts, particularly in the power contracts, to give them certain notification. That is one reason for the imminence of the announcement. But the details of it would be better handled and you would have a lot more material for a story if you talked to the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission on the details of it. We do know that we had to make the announcement so we could give notice on certain substantial contracts we had entered into, to exercise the clause that provided for that. [II.] Q. Mr. President, sir, did you make any commitments definite or implied to the railroads or to the Brotherhoods to achieve a settlement in the railroad dispute? Specifically, there was a report, sir, about you telling the railroads that the administration would be sympathetic concerning a request for tax relief. THE PRESIDENT. No, I made no commitments of any kind. It was not up to me to make any commitments. I said to the railroads and to the Brotherhoods, if they did not know more about how to operate the railroads and how to settle their problems than I did, or the Congress, that they had been overpaid for a good many years. It was kind of like Mr. Rayburn said one time when General Marshall asked him his suggestions on the war, and he said, "General, if you don't know any more on how to run this war than I do, we have wasted a lot of money in West Point all these years." That is what I said to them. PRESIDENT TRUMAN. Correct. THE PRESIDENT. I made no commitment of any kind other than to ask them to stay here and work out these points at issue. Both sides during that period of time frequently commented on injustices and unfair advantages that one had taken of the other, or that the Government had taken of both. In reply to all of those statements, I always said, "Your Government will give anyone, big or little, railroad worker or railroad president or railroad company, a fair and just hearing." That will be done on any problems, involving legislation, involving taxes, involving work rules, regarding cases in the courts, and so forth. This must always be in the position of giving a person a fair and just hearing. We have made no commitments of any kind beyond that point. [12.] Q. Mr. President, with respect to your visit with Governor Brown, did you make any suggestions of your own about solving the critical water problem of the Southwest, and bringing peace between California and Arizona, and perhaps sending your own message to Congress on that proposition out there that has been hanging fire for so many years? THE PRESIDENT. NO. Reporter: Thank you, Mr. President. [I3.] THE PRESIDENT. Wait a minute. Come back here. I took longer than I thought I would on the announcements. I will be glad to answer a few more questions. If you want to, after it is over with-and I have not asked him-if you have a question 553 [294 ] Apr. 25 Public Papers of the Presidents or two for my beloved friend who has come in to give me counsel and eat lunch with me, who came down from New York at my request when I heard he was up there the other day, I am sure he will be glad to answer questions. Let us run another io minutes. I apologize to whoever said that, but in the light of my long answers-go ahead. [I4.] Q. In the light of the agreement with Russia for a cutback in nuclear war materials, I wonder if you would comment on the general state of relations with Russia and whether you would see any prospect for other early agreements on other matters? THE PRESIDENT. We are constantly searching for any agreements that can be effected that will ease tensions and promote our national interest and promote better relations. We have several of those in the discussion stage. We are hopeful, although it would be premature to predict just what the results will be. I did not know what the results would be on the latest proposal that I announced. I did not know what their reaction would be, in fact, until I was being introduced at the Associated Press luncheon. So I think any prediction on what would flow from the suggestions we have made on several subjects would be premature. I do hope always for better relations. I am searching for them. I am doing everything I can to promote them. Q. Mr. PresidentTHE PRESIDENT. Wait a minute. I will get around to all of you once if I can.. [15.] Q. Mr. President, have you or Secretary Rusk heard from any of the Republican candidates to whom you offered to give briefings? THE PRESIDENT. I have not talked to the Secretary this morning. I was away yesterday. I think he got his communication out. I am informed that at least two of them indicated that they would welcome any information that was available in this field, that would help them know what our national interest was, and what our policy was, and our reasons for pursuing it. At least one of them indicated that he did not care to receive this information. Other than that, I don't know. [I6.] Q. Mr. President, the government, the coalition government, in Laos seems to be having trouble staying coalesced. Could you tell us our position on whether we favor expanding that coalition government? THE PRESIDENT. Over the last several days we thought the events in Laos were moving in the desired direction of full restoration of the authority of the Government of the National Union of Prince Souvanna. However, we are still disturbed about the situation. The latest reports received from Ambassador Unger indicate that authority may not really have been returned to the government and that there is still a serious risk of efforts to upset the Geneva Accords, and the earlier agreements on which they rest, and which we strongly favor. We recognize that those participating in these efforts may be inspired by patriotic motives and that the Communist side has been largely responsible for the continuing difficulties and dangers in Laos. Nonetheless, as I said, as a signatory of the Geneva Accords, we continue to believe firmly that these accords must be observed, and we think they must be preserved in both spirit and letter. Our Ambassador has instructions to do all that he can to see that that is brought about. Our reports on the subject are fragmentary, but that is the policy of our Government. [I7.] Q. Mr. President, some of us have been accused of trying to operate a little 554 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-i964 Apr. 25 [294] boom for your Defense Secretary, to try to talk him up as being a political animal. Do you think he would be good in elective office, or do you wish we would stop talking about him? THE PRESIDENT. I have never applied the elective yardstick to any of my Secretaries, or anyone else for that matter, including myself, although I have crossed that bridge a few times in past years in various offices. As I have frequently stated, and I don't mind repeating if you missed it — Q. No, I followed it, but I hoped you would say it a little differently. THE PRESIDENT. -I do not plan to make any evaluations or make any recommendations or make or conduct any studies or make any reports on the vice presidential prospects until we meet at the national convention in Atlantic City in the latter part of August, at which time I will give a great deal of thought to the subject, and make known my views. [I8.] Q. Mr. President, will this Appalachian program result in an increase in your I965 budget? THE PRESIDENT. The answer is no. I stated in the original statement, which I probably read too fast, that we have money in the I965 budget under the contingent item of $250 million, and that is what we are asking. [i9.] Sir, you said you did not know the upshot of the uranium agreement, or mutual example, until you were about to make the speech before the AP in New York. THE PRESIDENT. I did not know the extent of the Soviet reaction to what we were doing until they released their statement through TASS, shortly prior to the 2 o'clock New York talk. Q. In other words, there had been no private communications between you and Mr. Khrushchev. THE PRESIDENT. Yes, there have been a good many communications. I did not say there had been no communications. I said I did not know what their reaction would be, the extent of it, the definiteness of it, what it covered, how much, and what they were going to do. Q. Sir, on that point, is it possible for you to tell us some of these other areas in general terms, without saying what might happen, how you can identifyTHE PRESIDENT. Well, we have the consular agreements, we have-I don't think any purpose would be served by talking about them. We have talked about exchanges of various kinds, and our allies, with all of whom I have talked-including the British, Germans, the Canadians, Mexicans, and many dozens of others that I have seenone of the first subjects on all of our minds and in all of our conversations is, how can we secure peace in our time, in this world; what can we do about it? We are searching for ways and means to reach agreements that will lessen tensions and promote peace. [20.] Q. How about trade, Mr. President? If some of our allies go ahead with long-term credits, are we ready to go into business with some of the Communist countries? THE PRESIDENT. Our Foreign Relations Committee, I am glad to say, is now exploring the subject of increasing our trade, the extent of our trade, and the exchanges with the Soviet Union and Communist countries. I think it is a very helpful thing to have the committee do that. We are following their activity with a great deal of interest. We welcome any proposals. We will consider them as we did the wheat proposal and act upon them in accordance with what we believe to be the national interest, depending on the proposal and the time. [21.] Q. Mr. President, I understand 555 [294] Apr. 25 Public Papers of the Presidents that your Status of Women Program is about to go under water, that you are about to name some submarines after women. I wonder if you consulted with the Navy officers about this to get their reaction? THE PRESIDENT. No. I would have no objection, but I made no recommendation. My impression reading the story was that the wish was father to the thought. I have no objection to it, and probably would, but the last time I requested a recommendation, I made the recommendation to be named after the great Secretary of State and Secretary of War, Henry L. Stimson. Q. I wondered how the Navy men felt about it. THE PRESIDENT. I have made no recommendation since, and I was totally unaware of what I was about to do until I saw that. As I must say, I frequently am. [22.] Q. Mr. President, if we are able to expand our trade with Russia or any of the other members of the Communist bloc, will this make it more difficult for us to persuade our allies to keep the economic squeeze on Cuba? THE PRESIDENT. I can answer the second part of your question after we get the answer to the first one, and that is being studied, as I said. We have reached no conclusion. [23.] Q. Mr. President, you said last week that your Council of Economic Advisers is keeping in contact with both labor and management about holding the wageprice line. In Detroit, Henry Ford II said that no price cuts were anticipated in the auto industry. I wondered if you had any indication from any industry at this time that they were agreed to cutting prices? THE PRESIDENT. We are urging wherever profits will permit that the price line be held or be reduced to the extent they can be. I would not want to get in a name-calling con test of companies. I have talked to some specific companies and congratulated some on their failure to increase prices and congratulated others on the small price increases that they put into effect. I would not want to get into the specific name calling. I am going to meet on April 28th with some leaders of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, some Business Advisory Council men, the Committee on Economic Development, and I am going to talk about price stability and what inflation can do to the business movement in this country. I am subsequently meeting with labor people. Our people have been in touch with the auto folks. We have not made a specific suggestion in autos. We had not made any specific request on any companies, although some of them do have rather sizable profits. That is a matter for them to determine. We are suggesting that they not increase prices, and where they can, reduce them, so that we can keep our wholesale price index down, as we did last month, and hope to this month, until we use up our extra capacity and reduce our unemployment. We don't believe that there will be a price increase spiral touched off. I talked to Mr. Reuther this morning about that. We will meet with the labor people and their wives at the White House dinner in the early part of May, just as we met with the business people. I already have planned what I am going to say. I worked on it yesterday. I had it here early in the morning. I guess I sent it back in there. But I am going to say the same thing to the labor people that I said to the business people. The meat of what I say to both of them is that the soft-money policy would be dangerous; we want to protect the value of the dollar; that we must realize that the first 556 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-I 964 Apr. 27 [295] people to be hurt by inflation are the old people that are living off retirement, and the aged people that are living off frozen income, on old-age assistance; that the workers themselves who have contracts can't afford to stand the inflation and increased prices; that in the long run it would not do business any good. A house built in I946 almost costs twice as much to build today, and that means fewer houses being built. It is to the business interest to protect against the inflation as well as labor, and I am calling them in to talk this problem over with them, and to urge them to give me their cooperation in trying to hold the line of wages and prices, something like our guideposts. In I946 it cost $io,ooo to build the same house it costs us $22,000 to build today. In 1946, with a reasonable down payment and a reasonable mortgage, the house could be bought under FHA for $50 a month. Now it costs $125 a month. So you see what it does to the worker who is buying a house, where his payments have gone up from $50 to $i25. A big part of that is inflation, rising costs and rising prices. If these houses did not cost so much today, if monthly payments were not such a strain, a lot more houses could be built and sold. This means a lot more people could be at work. But the inflation since I946 is water under the bridge. We know most of it is caused-and so forth. Reporter: Thank you, again, Mr. President. [24.] Q. Could we ask those questions that you referred to? THE PRESIDENT. Would you be willing to answer questions? PRESIDENT TRUMAN. If you want me to. Q. You said Mr. Truman had given you some counsel. THE PRESIDENT. I said I asked him to come down here to counsel with me. PRESIDENT TRUMAN. Let me tell you something. I want to compliment you birds. You have found out who runs the foreign policy of this country, and I have been trying for 4 years to tell you. Damn it, you have found it out! [25.] Q. Mr. President, I want to know if the great Missouri political warrior will take the stump for the Democratic ticket? PRESIDENT TRUMAN. The Democratic ticket will be nominated by the Democratic Convention. The head of the Democratic Party is sitting right here. If he thinks I can do anything to get him extra votes, I will be glad to do it, sir. Does that answer your question? [26.] THE PRESIDENT. If you have no more questions, I will introduce my daughter Lynda Bird. Maybe you will want to ask her some. I hope it is all right with, you that I let her come in with Jack Valenti this morning. Hugh S. Sidey, Time and Life magazines: Thank you, Mr. President. NOTE: President Johnson's sixteenth news conference was held in his office at the White House at 1:35 p.m. on Saturday, April 25, i964. 295 Remarks to the Members of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. April 27, i964 THANK YOU very much. I suppose it might not be entirely accurate to greet you as "My fellow Demo crats." But I am very proud to welcome you to your Capital city-as, my fellow Americans. 557 [295] Apr. 27 Public Papers of the Presidents Last week the railroad dispute was settled-without a strike, and without compulsion. The previous week it was announced that our gross national product had reached $6o8 V2 billion in the first quarter of this year, after the longest period of uninterrupted prosperity in the peacetime history of America. A few weeks ago, since I became President, the largest tax cut in all American history, almost two centuries, went into effect for American families and for American private enterprise. I understand that some of you here have an interest in taxes. But I must apologize to you this morning. We haven't done anything for business this week. You know, Vice President Barkley told the story about the man whose son went to West Point. He got his brother a veteran's pension, he gave his daughter a job in the office, and finally he went back and the old man was fighting him and just giving him thunder in the campaign working for his opponent. He said, "How could you do this to me? Here are all the things I have done for you." He said, "Yes, but you haven't done anything lately." No, we haven't done anything yet this week-but please remember, this is only Monday morning. Times are good. As I told your new president when he came down on the plane with me from New York the other day, it is awfully good to be here with you. Twenty-seven years ago this month I came here as a newly elected Congressmanaboard the train with the President. I like to remind my old and dear friend Harry Byrd, that he and I both arrived in Washington and are both still here, and about the only two original New Dealers that are still around. Washington has changed very little since then. Not long ago I called in one of the very bright and very busy young men I have working with me, and I said to him, rather brusquely, because I was in a hurry, "The people want to know what we are going to do about the farm bill. Let's get our recommendations up right away." He came right back and said, "Mr. President, I don't think we have to consider that. I don't have a file on it. I will look it up, but I think you ought to go tell them: If we owe it, we will pay it." If Washington has changed a little, the country has changed much, and what the country wants and what the country requires and what our national leadership in your National Capital requires, I think you ought to know that it must change from time to time. So this morning I want to follow the advice that George Washington, our first President, once gave when he said, "Let your discourse with men of business be short and comprehensive." In these last I50 days of my administration, 5 months, your national leadership has sought to serve the changing needs and the hopes of a changing Nation. Each year for the last 3 years, with the growing population, with new demands and new needs upon us, our local and our State budgets have materially increased over the country. I think it is only natural that our national budget would increase. I hope, as you talk about budgets, that you think about your own budget and what has happened to it over the last io years. During the last 3 years our budget increased because of increase in population about $5 billion per year, until it got in the 558 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Apr. 27 1~2951 general vicinity of $Ioo billion and 90o million people and a world of 3 billion that we are dealing with. When I came into office, I had 37 days to wrap up a budget involving $ioo billion. The budget last year was $98.8 billion. If I increased it $5 billion, and we have a number of built-in increases like military pay raises-it was already voted; we had no choice; we had to pay them-that budget would be $Io3.8 billion if we followed the normal, natural, ordinary course that we had followed the last 3 years. After 37 days and nights we brought that budget down to $98.9 billion. In other words, we cut last year's budget-the expenditures that we made last year. We asked Congress to give us only enough money to expend this year and we reduced that budget of last year, not increased it by $5 billion, but reduced it by $I billion. Now that budget does not go into effect until June 3oth of this year. We have to submit it and the Congress has to approve it and take each one of I5 appropriation bills. But we did not ask for $5 billion additional. We asked for $I billion less. In doing that we cut last year's deficit in half. Last year our deficit between our expenditures and our income was in the neighborhood of $9 billion. We proposed to cut that deficit from $9 billion to $41/2 billion. Next we cut Federal employment. This March-and it is difficult in rising population with increased needs, with State and local governments' expenditures and employment going up like that, to hold to where you are. But we cut Federal employment, March this year, below March last year by some I3,000. Now that is not much, but I would have thrown my hat to the ceiling if it had just been one, and I am taking pleasure in delivering a letter to Senator Byrd today, telling him that at least I month, the month of March, we have I3,ooo employees less than we had last year. When my budget does get into effect on June 3oth I think we will materially reduce employees all across the board. One of the reasons for that is Secretary McNamara cut approximately I,ooo out that had already been appropriated out for, and budgeted for, by closing installations. We closed one installation and got Ioo,ooo letters of protest. Now I don't know what you think about it, but I do hope that if you are interested in cutting the number of employees and in reducing expenditures and operating a wise and frugal and thrifty Government, that you, too, will write once in a while. We are cutting waste where we find it. We are cutting inefficiency where we can prove it. We are cutting out the nonessentials so we can better support what is essential. We are determined the people shall have what they need and we hope to have a frugal and thrifty Government, striving for a dollar's value for every dollar spent, a dollar's return for every dollar invested. That was a statement I made 24 hours after I took office. That is a statement I repeat every day to my Cabinet, to my administrators, and to anyone else who will listen to me. In doing what we have done, we have endeavored to shut down unneeded installations of other wars. We have closed down some obsolete, unnecessary, what you might call illustrative cavalry forts in this missile age. They have been carried over from other times and other needs, but no one has really walked in and said, "I am pulling down the curtain." We have done that so 559 [295] Apr. 27 Public Papers of the Presidents we can sustain the muscle of our might, to have more missiles for these times and the times to come. I can tell you with positive assurance that your country has never been stronger militarily than it is at this hour. I can tell you without the slightest fear of contradiction for the next months that I am sure I am going to be in this office we are determined to keep it that way. We are always going to keep our guard up, but our hand out, searching for some way to avoid a nuclear holocaust. We are determined that no nation shall ever exceed us in preparedness, and none shall ever excel us in the pursuit of honorable peace, for we shall keep both our reason and our readiness at all timeso As this Nation can be reasonable without becoming restless in its relations with other nations, I believe earnestly and genuinely that this Government must be more frugal without becoming less compassionate here at home. Private citizens and public officials don't have to be loose with the dollar to prove that they are liberals and progressives. They do not have to be callous to prove that they are conservative. We cut on estimated needs of the military almost $Io billion before it ever got to the President. After it got to the President we cut more than $I billion, and with other departments, more than $3 billion before we started putting back in. Then we added poverty in Appalachia and some of the things for hungry people, fathers who have i children and have only $20 on which to support them. We put back $2 billion, still staying under last year's budget by $i billion, but if you take all the money you are spending on poverty in Appalachia, it is just around i percent of the entire budget. I ask you I ask you-aren't you willing to take a penny out of a dollar to try to make taxpayers out of taxeaters? I came here this morning because I want you to be a part of this administration, of this Government, whether you are Democrats or Republicans or whatnots. We have one big tent, and all America is welcome until November, and we will welcome everybody then, but we will expect some of you to go across the street. This administration is determined to begin on building a great society for tomorrow. Something that you can proudly-and Mr. Carey and Mr. Neilan can proudly-say "I was a part of that. I put in the first stone. I helped build that society." Something that you can look back on for generations and say, "I was there when it happened." And your people can point: "My great uncle-or cousin or aunt or grandpa or grandma or great, great, great, great grandpa or grandmahad a part to do in that." We must do those things that are undone and we must fill those needs that are unfilled. Having done what we have done in this generation to make freedom safe from aggressors, I believe that we must move with courage to keep freedom safe from erosion from within by poverty, by despair and by disease and by poor schools and by poor slums. I don't know how many of you live on the side of the tracks where you even see this. I wish you could have gone with me and looked into their eyes and seen the faith and hope that they have in their country, when I traveled into Pittsburgh and saw the unemployed steelworkers, and into South Bend and saw the 8,300 men all of whom lost their jobs Christmas Eve-auto workers-and into eastern Kentucky and West Virginia and saw the unemployed coal 560 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 Apr. 27 [2951 miners. One man with i i children told me that he had 4 days' work last month at $4 a day, not because he does not want work but because it is not there. So I have gone into these schools and these slums and I have seen these insidious enemies of a stable economy and the ones that really promote recessions and inflation. I want to tell you that no segment of our society has a greater stake in these people than folks who are well enough, can afford to come to Washington, and belong to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. I talked to an old friend of mine the other day whose brother brought me to Washington as a secretary at $260 a month 32 years ago. He owns the world's largest ranch and he does not have any trouble getting three meals a day, because he has oil and gas under practically every acre of it. But he had invested in some Latin American countries where the ancient enemies of mankind were still operating, disease and ignorance and illiteracy. And guess what our conversation was about-not about the million acres that he owns in the United States which it could have been about, not about the tax bill, but about the 6o,ooo acre ranch that he once owned in Cuba. I never want to contemplate talking to the builders and the owners of America about something they once owned here. But before you get too cocky, please remember that you are outnumbered in the world 17 to i, and don't put it on a religious basis or on a numbers basis or on a class basis or on a race basis, because there are a good many more of them than there are of you. Please always remember that if we do nothing to wipe out these ancient enemies of ignorance and illiteracy and poverty and disease, and if we allow them to accumulate-I saw three families in Inez, Ky. One had ii, one had 8, and one had 6. The father of one had finished the third grade. His boy had grown to i8 and he quit at the third grade too, and his girl quit at I7 in the third grade. I pled with him to please keep those children in school if he could. But if you don't remember anything else that I say to you today, remember this because it is in the interest of each of you, regardless of what party you belong to and regardless of your balance sheet: If a peaceful revolution to get rid of these thingsilliteracy, and these ancient enemies of mankind that stalk the earth where two-thirds of the masses are young and are clamoring and are parading and are protesting and are demonstrating now for something to eat and wear and learn, and health-if a peaceful change of these conditions is impossible, a violent change is inevitable. I am just as sure of that as I sit here. In this political democracy, what you have and what you own and what you hope to acquire is not secure when there are men that are idle in their homes and there are young people that are adrift in the streets, and when there are thousands that are out of school and millions that are out of work, and the aged are lying embittered in their beds. This man told me that he sat up until 4 o'clock the morning before with his neighbor, who was 85. He should have been in a hospital. But during his working years he hadn't been permitted to put a dollar per month to match a dollar of his employer's in a fund that would take care of him, after he had worked 40 years, to pay his hospital bill. The Government would not have paid anything. But under a plan, if he could put in a dollar a month and his employer a dollar a month, and he went into the work market at 20 years old and he worked until he was 65, that would have been 45 years at 56i [295] Apr. 27 Public Papers of the Presidents $24 a year, which would have brought him about $i,ioo or $i,200. You multiply that by 3.75 over what it earns over 45 years and you get about $4,000 that he would have had. But he is prohibited from doing that because his Government had not gotten that far along yet. It is like the fellow down in my countryI want you to relax a little and not get too tense, because some of these things are distressing when you hear them-a man went up and bought five hams from him during the war. He charged him $3 a ham, and he gave him a $io and a $5 bill, and he said, "What about the stamps?" The old man lived over in the back woods of Texas-not far from where I live-and he said, "What about the stamps?" and he said, "What stamps?" You had to get stamps to buy meat in those days. He said, "Well, the OPA stamps. How many stamps do I owe you?" "Oh," he said, "You are talking about the OP and A. Well, we never did put that in down here." We never have put in this program where a man can take a dollar a month out of his wages and his employer can put a dollar to match it, and that two dollars will provide him at the end of 40 years $4,000 to pay his hospital bills. What he has saved then can pay his own doctor and he can select any doctor he wants to and what he has saved up he can pay on his doctor, but this will take care of his hospital. Well, head as well as heart tells us that if we are looking ahead and have good judgment, we will act now. The poverty of other people is already a mounting burden. How much? You are now paying $4 billion a year for public assistance. You are now paying $8 billion a year for police and health and fire departments. The costs are high and they are going higher. Unless you attack the causes of poverty itself, you are going to be shoveling it out to the taxeaters instead of producing and training taxpayers. I went in this eastern Kentucky town and I was real stimulated to see 600 people being trained. Fifty of them were in a cosmetology class, learning how to fix up ladies' hair, and all of them will have a job when they get out. Another sizable group was in an auto mechanics class, and I said, "What is that great big piece of steel there?" and he said, "That is the rear end of a truck." We are teaching those people who have no skills some skills, and it is costing us $3I a week for them to do it, so they can live. But when they get off at the end of i year, they will be able to hold a job and we have got a good many more jobs in a good many more classifications than we have got people to fill. So if the 9 million families who are poor could earn just $3,000 a year, personal income would climb more than $I I billion per year. All of those people would become taxpayers having deducts made to their checks instead of taxeaters from the deducts from your checks. Now this is only one simple example that I am giving you. Waste is not unique to Washingtonneither is it only the product of what Government does. Sometimes the greater waste comes from a society and what that society leaves undone. Racial and religious discrimination last year, according to the President's Council of Economic Advisers, cost us $15 billion because we wanted to say a Negro or a Mexican or somebody else couldn't work at this kind of a job. Unused or underused manpower costs us even more. And that is why this administration is dedicated to lifting off 562 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 Apr. 27 [295] the burdens which weigh down our national productivity, our national expansion, and our national prosperity. You know, business has changed since the I930's. And I can tell you that Government has changed in that time, too. How has business changed? Corporation profits after taxes. When I came to Washington in late I93I, for the year I932, every corporation in this country, after they paid their taxes, had a net loss of $344/ billion. Now, that was a conservative Government. Mr. Hoover wasn't responsible for all the things that happened, but no one ever charged him with being adventuresome and reckless and wasteful, but they lost $3'40 billion, all the corporations of America. Ten years later, in 1942, we changed that loss and we made $91/2 billion, all the corporations. That is after taxes, because people talk a lot about taxes these days, but after the taxes were paid they made $91/2 billion in I942. In 1952 it stepped up to $I7.2 billion. I am not talking about administrations, because it is almost double there, and that was President Eisenhower's administration-'42 was ours and '52 was his. But in io years-that was the year he was elected, 1952, but our prosperity continued during his 8 years, with a couple of recessions-in 1962, corporation profits after taxes-all of you feel sorry for yourself now, all of you who have a martyr complex and all of you who think you are mistreated and all of you who haven't had this experience of once owning a 6o,ooo-acre ranch and not owning it any more, I want to show you how bad off you are-you made $24,600 million in '62, up 17 to 24 from '52 to '62. In I year, from '62 to '63, it jumped to $27.1 billion, and the estimate for I964 is $30 billion after taxes. The return on the net worth for the average railroad-and I am getting to be an expert on railroads these last few days-the return they made on their net worth, and they are down at the bottom of the heap, was 2.2 in I961 but that jumped to 3.7 in 1963, almost double. But on this $27 billion, which is going to be $30 billion this year, the return on net worth for all manufacturing companies was o0 percent. That is the average in the United States. Now, the first 3II corporations that have been tabulated, that reported to the Federal Reserve-a very nonpartisan organization and a very sound organization led by a very able man, Mr. William McChesney Martin, who served under many administrationsthe first 311 corporations tabulated this first quarter, January, February, and March, show a 23 percent increase over the same period in I963. That is what the first quarter in '64 looks like. So, in this new day, I do not accept the viewpoint-on either side-that business and Government are inherently hostile opponents. We would work much closer together if we didn't have some public relations men and mimeographing machines getting out statements for each of us, trying to get our name in the paper and show that we attack somebody. I remember the Bond Club asked Mr. Rayburn to come and speak to them after he introduced that death sentence amendment, the Holding Company Act, in I935. They called it a death sentence. They said it would kill every corporation. It didn't kill any of them. They all got richer than ever, but it kept them from swindling a bunch of widow women. They wanted to be nice to him one day when he was presiding over a hearing. They said, "Why don't you come up to New York some time and make a speech?" He 33-17L 5 --- —41 563 [295] Apr. 27 Public Papers of the Presidents felt like making a speech to the Bond Club like I felt like coming to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He was a little bit-well, kind of like a mule you are trying to put the bridle on. He was a little bit shy and holding back, but he accepted. And I thought of what he said when Mr. Carey said he was awfully disappointed I was not going to make it over here, and I thought I couldn't make it here because I have a rough schedule today. When he was flying back with me, he said, "I just think you ought to come and talk to them and let us know each other better." I thought about what Mr. Rayburn said. He told them yes, he would come right in the middle of that big fight. He went up there and the fellow that introduced him was a little embarrassed. He was not President and they couldn't do like they did this morning and just say "The President of the United States." You don't have to say any more. You don't have to say a good President, a bad President, a middle-sized President. You just say "The President," and that is the proper way to introduce the President. But I don't always do things the proper way, as you have observed in the newspapers. There is something good that comes out of everything, you know. When lightning struck Lady Bird's plane out in Cleveland the other day, it scared us for a moment, but a lot of good came out of it. She is willing to start riding with me again now. I told Dick Nixon the other night when I went out to Chicago to speak-I met Dick coming back from Viet-Nam and Rockefeller and Goldwater going out-and I hope they are not too disappointed if we do well out there, because it is all our boys, all of our country, but I told Dick that from now on I didn't know whether I was-I was at the Gridiron Club and they were roasting all of us-I said I don't know whether a fellow is safer being a guest of the newspaper people or whether he is worse off having them as his guests. But anyway, we put in a new rule at the LBJ Ranch. If I ever get to go down thereI have just been down there twice in 5 months, because there is a crisis every week, nearly, and they would really ruin me if I happened to be there and a crisis developed. But I will tell you one thing for sure: If any of you show up down there, we have got some new rules. Everybody is going to walk, at the LBJ, from now on, and I am going to do what Lady Bird tells me, and we are going to make everybody drink nothing but pure rain water or Pepsi-Cola. No, I was saying that there is not anything inherently wrong with business and Government, along with labor and agriculture and the public at large getting along, that they are inseparable partners in building a more prosperous America. Now some people say I talk out of both sides of my mouth. I don't know why you have to be anti-workingman and pro-manager or anti-manager and pro-workingman because they all three, the capitalist and the manager and the workingman, go together to make up these profits I'm talking about, and that is the free enterprise system as I see it. So tomorrow night I am having the head of the Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Carey, and your executive vice president, and a hundred other businessmen over to talk to them about how to keep from raising prices so that inflation won't eat the dollar away and make it a soft dollar instead of a hard dollar, and where it will be worth something to you, and where you won't have the condition repeated where io years ago you 564 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-I964 Apr. 27 [295] bought a house for $io,ooo and that house would now cost you $22,000, that same house. We are going to try, each one of us, with all these profits we are making, to either use them to try to reduce prices a teeny weeny bit or at least hold prices where they are. And then I am going to call in the leaders of the workingmen of this country this same week and tell them the same thing. That may be talking out of both sides of your mouth, but the way I feel about it, I am President of all the people. When this administration came into office, the Nation faced a recession and the challenge of high unemployment. The first thing I did was to reject the expedient of make-work sedatives. I have seen the WPA. I worked very closely with it back in I933, '34, and '35, but instead of having make-work sedatives, I wanted to go after the causes and I wanted to produce a cure, and I think you know the record. Now, what is the record? The revision of the depreciation schedule was made in 1962. That is for the taxpayers and it was a wise one, and a beneficial one, and it has helped the Government. There was the investment tax credit that same year. We have had the tax cut this year, the biggest one in the I88 years of history, I75 since you had a President. We have the trade expansion act to keep American producers competitive in world markets where we can sell something besides just ourselves, and the vigorous and increasingly successful attack on our balance of payments deficit. Now the first quarter is always better, and you can't judge the other quarters by the first. And it is not accurate and we are not sure of it, but I am telling you that it doesn't make me mad when I see the first quarter is about to balance out when we have had these huge losses. I said to Secretary McNamara only last night at dinner, "Please get some of your top colonels and generals out talking to these other countries about things that they can buy in the way of equipment from us so we can get some of their money back over here." We have a drive on in every agency of this Government and you may get tired of hearing about it-they already have-I see them leak to the columnists, these cocktail columnists run around to each one of these Cabinet departments, "What do you know that you can whisper to me?" and I see that they say I talk a little rough to the Cabinet and the independent offices and they say a little corn, and they say I ought not to be insisting on efficiency and economy and that I drive them too hard, and that I am going to get sick because I am working too much, and all that stuff. But we are insisting on efficiency and economy because if we don't stop this spiral, the sky is the limit. And we will go the way the other nations have gone. The emphasis, and all of our actions, are on the importance of private investment. All of these have borne fruit in the good times America is enjoying now. I know the total burden of Governmentat all levels-is heavy. I ask you to remember that your Federal Government is large and your share of its burden great, but the expenses haven't gone up for the Federal Government like they have for the State and city. You ought to look at how much they have increased. But your Federal Government has a position that no one else really has: We have to stand and defend and preserve freedom in our time. 565 [295] Apr. 27 Public Papers of the Presidents When we cut the nuclear production the other day, our nuclear production was up here, and all of the targets we would be required to use it on are down here, and that is all we would need. I just cut it that much. I still have got that much in between on the chart, that much safety valve. When I tried to do that, you have no idea how much effort, how they tried to hold me back, and they said, "You will lose 400 men in this man's district and he is running for reelection this year." I said, "I am not going to operate a WPA nuclear project or a WPA Defense Department. Let's put that over in poverty and let's put that over in Appalachia where we are spending i percent of our budget, but let's don't put it over here in Defense where we are spending 50 percent of our budget. Let's have the bombers and the missiles and the men and the Marines that we need. I am going to use it unless they are needed." You know, a friend of mine is running for President, and he is higher up in the military than I am. He is a general, and I stayed in about 25 years and never got but one promotion. When I got to be President, I got mad and resigned, but when I quit I was the equivalent of about a major or a chicken colonel. When Castro got upset and all frustrated and excited, you remember, down in Cuba and cut our water off, I got all these recommendations from these experts and I was new in the job and didn't know just quite how to handle everything. But they told me, "Land the Marines. Send the Marines in." I studied it over and figured it out and went home and talked to Lady Bird about it and next morning I decided we don't have to shoot from our hip and let's not just go berserk here because Castro talked in a strong voice. Wouldn't it be better to send one little admiral in there to cut that water off than to send all of these Marines to turn it on? And that is what we did. But that costs money, even that admiral or that battalion of Marines. You take away arms out of the Federal budget, the military costs, you take away the costs of the past wars, the veterans that are on pensions that lost their legs and arms, you take away the defense and the security items, and this year, i964, Federal purchases of goods and services to our national gross product will be within one-half of one percent of what it was in 1929. Now I want you to remember that. When you eliminate the war picture, the defense picture, the thing that is keeping you from having somebody rap on your door at midnight and click their boots and tell you to get up in your gown and come out to a concentration camp, when you take away that protection, you are within onehalf of one percent of i929, and it is going to be lower than at any time in any postwar year. You have only one Government, and all of you rely on it a lot more than you realize. You rely on it in Panama and you rely on it in Guantanamo and you rely on it in Cyprus and you rely on it in Zanzibar and you rely on it in Brazil and you never know what moment you will need it. When you need it, you mean business, and you want it to come. But if you wipe that out, you are doing just about what you are doing in the Federal Government in I929. That is 25 years ago, and I challenge any rockribbed, private enterprise, freedom-loving member of the Chamber of Commerce, to tell me that his budget is the same as it was 25 years ago, when his revenues had increased proportionately with ours. So your task and mine is to make sure that that Government functions, not to obstruct-you ought not to do that to us. 566 Lyndon B. John, You ought not to oppose it. You ought not to prevent it from functioning. I ask you what would happen to your business if each day your stockholdersand that is what you are in this Government-spent all day long like one or two of them do sometimes at an annual board meeting, criticizing what you do and finding fault with everything you do, and resolutely against you every day, every weekjust as fast as those mimeographs can turn them out. Now, you are stockholders in this Government, and every time you hit me-I am the only President you have got-you make me a little bit weaker to do the things that you have hired me to do. I don't expect to muffle criticism. Every one of you say we invite free speech in our country and we want free speech and we want criticism-don't you? Every one of you do. But there is a limit to how much you want, and there is a ceiling on how much is good for you. Most of these countries tear themselves to pieces fighting among themselves, and I have never even announced for the Presidency. I said I am going to stay in this job and be President to all of the people as long as I can. I am going to follow my political philosophy, which is this, and it is stated and written and almost in stone and steel: I am a free man first, and I am proud I am free and I treasure it and I am glad of it. I am an American second, and you don't know how I appreciate the citizenship that goes with that flag. Being an American is the proudest thing you can be except being free and a public servant honored to be the President of all of the people, third, and a Democrat fourth-in that order. I have been rejecting the political advice of experts for 32 years that I have been in this game, but I still have the old-fashioned son, 1963-1964 Apr. 27 [295] feeling that if you will take care of the next generation, this generation will take care of you, and that is the kind of a course that I embarked on. So this morning I would like specifically to ask your support, not in the election, but for a purpose that I regard as most vital. I will see you later about the election. Today, in the State and local governments throughout the land, there are I,ooo offices that pay more than the salary of a Cabinet officer. Now, here are 9 or io men with the President who are responsible for whether we send in the Marines or send in an admiral, whether we handle $Ioo billion carefully-I don't know how many of you handle a billion-I know one corporation made $3 /2 billion profits this past year, and I was mighty proud to see them make it. It didn't hurt my feelings just a bit and I just thought it was a wonderful year-but these men are handling $Ioo billion for you. They are handling your children for you. They are handling your life for you, and they are handling your civil defense for you, and there are at least I,ooo of them in State and local governments that make more than they do. There are at least 290 top appointive Federal executives receiving the same or less pay than a top career man that works under him. I don't know how many of you have people working under you that make more than you do, but that is what you have here with the best Cabinet that I have ever seen assembled here in Washington-and I can say so without bragging because I didn't appoint a single one of them. Now, I am asking your support and it is going to cost you very little and it is going to save you a lot, and it is going to give you a great deal more protection. The middle-level positions pay less than half the comparable scales of business and 567 L295] Apr. 27 Public Papers of the Presidents industry. The few million dollars that the Johnson administration has proposed to correct these inequalities could be paid by an increase of one-hundredth of one percent in the efficiency of the Federal management. Some of the top and most valuable men to me are out in my office now wanting to see me because they are borrowing money and can't stand it any longer and want to go home, and I won't see them. I won't take their resignations. I am not looking for political patronage. I am looking for performance. I don't want to give any figures, but one of the great economic advisers, one of the ablest men in Government, has to maintain two homes and three children in college and a sick wife, and he has borrowed $i6,ooo to serve the Government in the last 3 years, so he has got to quit. He is giving up. He can get twice as much back in private business working for a university than you allow us to pay him. Now, I am asking your support to do something about that for yourselves. So it will show on your tax return. So I will have some good management. And we can catch corruption, we can stop it before it gets going, we can have some businesslike practices and we can do a good job. And these men get half of what you pay yours. Finally, I would say to you this: Whatever else you have-and you may not have much this morning-but you can go home and tell your friends that you have an independent, taxpaying, light-bill-saving President in the White House. You have one who has great faith in his country because there is no other of the I20 lands where a man could come from where I was to where I am. I have a little house where I was born, the son of a tenant farmer, a picture of which is hanging up in my bedroom, be cause every night when I go to bed and every morning when I wake up, I call it the "opportunity house." No one could look at that house and the way it looks, and not say that there is still opportunity in America. So I have faith in America and what I want you to know is that I have faith in private enterprise because it is what made America. What I know of opportunity and initiative and enterprise I learned from life itself. I started out at a dollar a day on a road gang, working for the lowest bidder. He tried to make up what he had left on the table out of us-and did. It was the best training I got. I came here this morning to pledge Mr. Neilan and Mr. Carey and the rest of you good people in this organization your Government's restraint and responsibility and to pledge you a hand that means only to help, and I hope never to hinder so long as the public interest is being served. I ask from you only the same restraint in those decisions which you make which affect the general economic well-being, responsibility in choosing to support or not support the policies and proposals of the Government which serves all the people. That is your business. These last 27 years since I came here to Washington represent half our economic history. In that span the material welfare of the average American has gained as much as in the years before, and I am determined that we shall set a course, and we shall hold to it, which will gain for all people more in the next 27 than we gained in the last 27. I believe this strong and this rich and this successful Nation can bring peace to the world and I believe it so strongly I am going to work for it and fight for it and I hope get it. I not only want to bring peace to the 568 Lyndon B. Johnson, t963-I964 Apr. 27 [296] world, but I want to bring peace to all of our lives and think about the problems that keep you awake at night, and think about what you would do if you were the father of i i and had 4 days work, so I want to bring peace to all of our lives. Now I know you think that is a big order, but I am not going to shrink from it. I am going to work toward it. They said in the railroad strike, "What are you going to do when the negotiations bust up?" I said, "I am not thinking about that, because they are not going to bust up. We're going to settle it. Period." They wanted me to threaten them with this and threaten them with that, and "guesstimate" on this and that, and I just never would do it. I said I was perfectly confident that if these railroad men that run the carriers don't know more about the railroad business than I do, then they have been overpaid for a long time. If these union men don't know more about the needs of their people than I do, they ought to get some new union leaders. So if you have free, collective bargaining, let's get the Government out of it and lock the door and you sit down here and work it out and I am going to keep you here until you do. Labor would raise this question, and carriers would raise that question every time they came in with a bunch of things that haunted them about what the Government might do or what they were doing. I just said, "There is only one thing I can tell you: get out your speech and a piece of paper, write down your gripes, and your Government will give you a fair shake. I don't care whether you are the biggest man in the land or the littlest man in the land, that is what we are going to do to you, and go on back and settle this thing." And they did. So this is the work of our generation, as I see it, yours and mine. I must get back to your work at the White House and, I guess, let you get back to your work on me. NOTE: The President spoke at ii a.m. at Constitution Hall. During his remarks he referred to Edwin P. Neilan, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Walter F. Carey, a vice president of the Chamber and president-elect. 296 Remarks in Response to a Task Force Report on the Balance of Payments Problem. April 27, i964 Ladies and gentlemen: I have a great deal of pleasure this morning in receiving the task force that was appointed to promote increased foreign investment in United States corporate securities and increased foreign financing for United States corporations abroad. President Kennedy appointed and charged this task force with examining ways and means of promoting increased foreign investment and securities of private companies and in creased foreign financing for U.S. business operating abroad. We have a number of recommendations from this group of very able men headed by Mr. Henry Fowler, the chairman, Mr. Robert McKinney, the executive officer, made up of Mr. Charles Coombs, Mr. Fredrick Eaton, Mr. G. Keith Funston, Mr. George F. James, Mr. George J. Leness, Mr. Andre Meyer, Mr. Dorsey Richardson, Mr. Arthur Watson, Mr. Walter Wriston, Mr.,569 [296] Apr. 27 Public Papers of the Presidents John Young, and Mr. Ralph Young. To give you an illustration of the content of the report, I will just read Recommendation 25 out of a list of 28 specific recommendations that they made that require immediate implementing. Recommendation 25 says, "U.S.-based international corporations should instruct their senior officers and policy groups to keep foreign financial operations under constant review, examining as standard procedure all proposals for new financing from the standpoint of the effect of their actions on the U.S. balance of payments." We have been very concerned with our balance-of-payment situation. We have had the best minds in this Nation working on it, public and private. While no one can judge the other quarters of the year by the first quarter, and the others generally are not nearly so good, we do have encouraging words about the first quarter, as nearly as we can estimate it at this time. That doesn't mean that we are not going to be deeply concerned about what happens from the first quarter on, but it does stimulate us to be concerned. There are a good many people in private life that have been working with the best minds we had in public life on this balanceof-payments problem. I doubt that anything we will do will be more helpful to us than what these men have done. They have left their homes and sacrificed their business interests and spent their leisure time and some of their company's time trying to make sound and solid recommendations to us for our country's welfare. As I have said in the Cabinet frequently, we have eight or nine spenders and just one or two auditors or savers. And in this country we have a lot of people that know how to get rid of money and to get it away from our shores, but not many that really know how to get it back. What these men have been working on is trying to improve that balance-of-payments situation, than which there is no higher responsibility, nor no more important measure. We are concerned with our money problems. We hear every day about the dangers of inflation. We have no truck with the soft dollar. We want to maintain the value of our dollar. We look back and see what it cost us to build a house a few years ago and what it costs us to build one now and we see the effect it has not only on the man who is building the house in private enterprise, but the man who is buying it who may be a day laborer. So, as goes the money problem, so goes the Nation in a great many respects. And these men have made an outstanding contribution, very unselfishly, men representing both parties. I started to call them fellow Democrats, but when I heard the names listed, I didn't know whether I could pick out more than one or two that would qualify, at least not now. But I can say, with a great deal of pride and pleasure, that they are my fellow Americans and that is much more important than what party you belong to. To you who have given so freely and so fully to your Nation's welfare, your President commends you and salutes you and thanks you. We will immediately take your recommendations and try to implement them and put them into effect, we trust, with the results that you anticipate. One of our great public servants is Mr. Henry Fowler, the Under Secretary of the Treasury. Mr. Fowler was chairman of this group. He has taken a great deal of pride in their work. He has been responsible for a good deal of it. He is kind of in the same 570 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Apr. 27 [296] position as Walter Heller. He is a money man, an expert in that field, but both of them are having to leave the Government, because they don't know how to make a living in the Government. They have got to get out to make more money and that is another good argument for the pay bill. I wish all you men that pay your executives three or four times as much as men with the same ability as Henry Fowler and others would come back here and help us get a pay bill passed that would give us efficient Government management and top capable people. I have on my desk now I guess a dozen resignations of some of the real workhorses and able men in the Government and they are leaving just because they have been waiting to get a little pay increase and they are trying to keep their children in college. They can't do it and they are having to leave on that account. The wisest move that any of you could make would be to try to contribute what you can to helping us get a pay bill that would give us efficient management in Government. I want to present Mr. Fowler for any observations that he has to make about the report. [At this point Mr. Fowler stated that the task force had sought to develop recommendations that would promote increased purchases by foreigners of the securities of U.S. corporations and would increase the availability of foreign financing for U.S. companies operating abroad.. He added that the task force had attempted to identify those activities and restrictions, public or private, here or abroad, which hamper the citizens of other countries in any desires they might have to purchase U.S. securities. The President then resumed speaking.] I want to thank the very able Under Secretary of the Treasury and particularly the Secretary of the Treasury for the fine job this group has done and the only reward they get, if it is a reward, is to get their picture in the paper or maybe get some of you newspaper people that have been working on me for a few weeks to give them a nice word. But I want to present to you a newspaper publisher now, that all of you ought to be interested in, who has been the executive director of this task force and who is responsible for a good deal of the fine work that it has done, Mr. Robert McKinney, the publisher of the Sante Fe New Mexican. Mr. McKinney, would you say a word. [At this point Mr. McKinney pointed out that of the 13 task force members 9 were drawn from the private sector and 4 from the Government. He added that subcommittees represented every major activity and that there was a complete cross section of all elements interested in solving the balance of payments problem. The President then resumed speaking.] So now we appreciate your hearing us and I doubt that we will receive many reports that will have a more comprehensive effect upon the future of this year than the one that I hold in my hand. We will take it and put it in the hands of the proper Government officials and try to get it implemented and the recommendations carried out as soon as possible. George Reedy will have a copy of it for you for your financial editors, if you have too many stories to use yourselves. If not, we will be glad for you to take a look at it, because it means something to every American home. Thank you very much. NOTE: The President spoke at II:45 a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White House. The group, originally appointed by President Kennedy on October 2, i963, was accompanied by Secretary of the Treasury Douglas Dillon. In a separate release describing the report (36 pp., Government Printing Office), the White House stated that the President had asked Secretary Dillon to distribute copies of the report to interested departments and agencies for their reaction and comment, and had directed him to report back to the President. 3-1T1 —65 42 57I [297] Apr. 27 Public Papers of the Presidents 297 Remarks to the Members of the International Labor Press Association. April 27, I964 I AM HAPPY to be in the same room with Willard Wirtz, with whom I have spent most of the last 2 weeks. It gives me a great deal of pleasure to welcome you, the members of the International Labor Press Association. All of you here are in your own right, you are the voice of millions of workers, men and women whom we are here to serve, and men and women who share the ownership of this house that you are meeting in this evening, men and women whose welfare is your principal concern. I came over here to talk to you about it because the welfare of those men and women is also my principal concern. I understand from what Secretary Wirtz has told me that you have been listening today to members of this administration talking about the Nation's economy. You have heard about the activities and programs that are needed to make our economy meet the unfilled needs and the unrealized hopes of all Americans. So I am glad that after you have seen everybody else that you could come here and be my guests, even if you are members of the press. I told a group that I met with the other evening at the Gridiron Club that in the light of developments recently I am not sure whether you are safer being a guest of the press or having the press as your guests! We have the highest employment in our history as we meet here today. The vast majority of Americans are doing very well. In the midst of such prosperity it is too easy for people to lose sight of the problems which have not been solved, the difficulties which have not been mastered, and I assume that is one of the reasons for your coming here, and one of the reasons for your wanting to meet with the leaders of Government. Well, what about these serious problems? They do exist-problems of unemployment, of underutilization of plant equipment, of great discrimination against minorities, of discrimination against the aged and the handicapped, against the women, of inadequate medical care, of the inability of our educational system to equip all of our citizens to contribute to their fullest capacity. Speaking of women, I guess there is something good that comes out of everything. When that lightning hit Lady Bird's plane the other day on her way out to Ohio she didn't exactly say she would quit flying altogether but she did drive 9 hours back that night and got in about 2:30 in the morning. There is one good thing about lightning hitting your wife's plane-it put her back to riding with me again! But these are the problems which America faces. They are problems which can only be solved by an informed citizenship. This requirement calls all of us to give them attention. This recurrent sounding of the call to battle is one of the most valuable contributions that can be made by the labor press in the United States. You are a part of the conscience of our society. You are always goading. You are never satisfied with the job that is partially done. You are always working and calling for the further advancement of working people, and you speak from a point of view. You speak on behalf of values. I think you generally speak out of a deep commitment to justice at the working place, to self-government in economic life, to an improvement in our society through a con 572 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 Apr. 27 [2971 tinuing improvement in the lot and opportunity of individual working persons and their families. So your strength and your great influence flows from the belief of American labor that a just society can best be built within the framework of democratic institutions and through the free processes of a free country. From this long tradition has grown the modern labor movement and its voice and the labor movement's voice-your voice, the labor press. I think all Americans are grateful for that voice. It has spoken so often and so eloquently on behalf of programs to make a greater and a better society, to improve the welfare of all Americans. It has spoken for free labor, free from the influence of those who would corrupt this great mainstream of American life, free from those who would turn the hopes of workingmen into an instrument of attack. You have helped to fight many battles on many fronts. I remember one that you fought and just to show you how much progress has been made, when I came here I was one of the few Congressmen the first year I was in Washington from my section of the country-only three of us from the South signed a petition to call a caucus to discharge a committee on the wage and hour bill. The other two, Maury Maverick and W. D. MacFarlane, both got defeated at the next election on account of their signing that petition. They were revolutionists and they were rebels and they kicked over the dinner pail and they caused a lot of trouble. And we actually, though finally with President Franklin Roosevelt's great support and by a fireside chat, we passed that bill that gave working people a minimum wage of 25 cents an hour. That was in I938. So we have had battles on many frontsthe minimum wage battles, the Area Redevelopment Act, the Manpower Development Training Act-that gave me great inspiration the other day when I saw 60 girls down there learning how to fix women's hair and knowing that they could go out and get a job at $50 or $60 or $70 or $8o a week in a beauty parlor somewhere, in a year when they are finished; boys working in auto mechanics shops who had been on relief but because of this Manpower Retraining Act that Bill Wirtz and Tony Celebrezze and others have contributed to-why, we are making taxpayers out of taxeaters! The Public Works Act, the Trade Expansion Act-all gain much from your help and your support. I even remember when the labor press, a paper called "Labor," supported me when I voted against a 25 cents a barrel increase on oil during OPA days. Oil is the principal product of my State; we make more of it than all of the States in the Union put together. They felt that they were frozen unfairly and that they were entitled to a 35 cents a barrel increase. But there were only two Congressmen who voted against that increase. I had the sup. port of the labor press doing it. They were pretty strong for OPA although all of my people weren't. It was an issue in the next campaign and it has been an issue in every one since. Some still remember me because I didn't give them that increase. You have no idea how long those memories are, and the Democrats have got elephant memories, too. Speaking of OPA, I recall this story that might interest you. We had an old fellow down there that sold hams. He raised some of the best hogs in the country. We went out one day and bought five of them during the OPA days at $3 apiece and gave him a $io bill and a $5 bill, and got through, 573 [297] Apr- 27 Public Papers of the Presidents thanked him very much for the hams, and said, "Now how many stamps do you need?" You know you had to have stamps for ham. And he said, "What do you mean stamps?" I said, "Well, the OPA, you know, you have to have so many stamps." I wanted to be careful not to violate any regulations, because the press would not only report it but you might cost yourself a good deal politically. So I said, "How many stamps do you need?" He said, "What are you speaking about? Are you speaking about this OP and A?" I said, "Yes, sir, OP and A." He said, "Well, sir, we never have put it in down here." Now, because the labor press-you did put it in, in a good part of the country, and you protected the workers of the country during a period of very high-rising spiral. I came over here today to put a proposition up to you. I want to ask you to do something for your country and for your kiddos and for your President. I want to ask you to enlist now in the army-some of you are above the draft age and I can't force you to do it, but I want you to volunteer to join the army in our war against poverty. The fact I asked the Chamber of Commerce-a much larger group and much more substantial financially, I guess, than you folks-asked them this morning and ask you this afternoon is purely coincidental. As a matter of fact, I ask everybody because we are going to need everybody if we get this job going. But if you could see what I saw, and if you could observe what I observed, and if you could look into the eyes that I looked into, you could see a father with ii children that only worked 4 days at $4 a day last week-you would want to do something about it and except for the grace of God, it might be you. Franklin Roosevelt talked about the one third that were ill clad and ill fed and ill housed. After working 30 years with your help and your crusades and your radical editorials and all of those things, we have it down to one-fifth, but we still have got 20 percent, i out of every 5, that are in the poverty group. Twenty years ago, 5 percent over a io-year period, coming out from 1942 to i952, and from I952 to i962 it was 3 percent, and now it is i percent that is coming out-i percent a year. From I937 to 1947 it was 5 percent, I947 to 1953 it was 3 percent, I953 to i963 it is i percent. Now it is getting a lot more difficult in this IBM age for those people that have no training, that live on the other side of the tracks-it is getting a lot more difficult for them to get out and cross the tracks and get out of that poverty classification. You have to help them by this poverty program that will provide them with training. Forty-nine percent-I out of every 2 boys we draft-has to be sent home because he is physically or mentally unqualified. That is the kind of folks you are raising. If I had to do that with my calves, I would go broke every year. If i out of every 2 of my calves was born and I had to have rejects, I couldn't make it. So we begin this poverty war from a position of unmatched prosperity, with national abundance. We have just concluded the most productive and prosperous quarter on record. I had the figures here a minute ago. I wanted to give them to you. When I came to Washington in 1932, corporation profits were nonexistent. They had a loss that year of $3,400 million. In I942, io years later, we got it up to $9/2 billion. In I952, io years later, we got it up to $I7.2 billion. In i962 we got it up to $24.6 billion. In i963 we got it up to $27.1 billion, and the Chairman of the Council 574 Lyndon B. John of Economic Advisers tells me we are not only not going to lose $3,400 million this year, as we did 32 years ago when I came here, but our profits this year are going to be $3i billion after taxes-these high taxes. Labor has gotten about $52 billion more in wages than they got in I96I. Their wages have increased $51 billion or $52 billion in 3 years. Corporation profits have increased from a $3.4 billion loss in I932 to $3i billion after taxes. Now, those groups-the capitalists who make the investments, the managers who manage it, and the workers who produce ithave got to be concerned about these taxeaters. There is an increasing proof that we can at long last break this unemployment stalemate that has marked our economic life month in and month out for several years. Total employment last month stood at 69.8 million, up 400,000 over a year ago, and the highest March ever put on the record. Nonfarm employment of 58.2 million was I1/2 million higher than a year ago. The unemployment rate has dropped to 5.4 percent compared to the 5.7 of last March. The factory workweek was at 40.7 hoursthe longest for any month since March I955. But the growing prosperity of this country, while real to millions of you people-and I assume that none of you are in the poverty group who would be here today-in the mainstream of our economic life is only a mirage, just something that you can wish and hope for to millions of others like those good people I visited in eastern Kentucky last Friday, or the woman that's trying to raise a family on her own, or the family that is headed by a man over 65 with low income and little hope of getting more, or the unskilled worker who hasn't been able to find a job in many months and sinks every day lower into debt and despondency, or the son, I963-1964 Apr. 27 [297] members of the Negro family in the city slum who lack the education to get even the first foot on the ladder, or the i million children being raised in families with incomes under $3,000 a year. To them the American dream is just a dream and it is nothing more. So I want to ask your help to awaken the hopes of these people. When I came out of Kentucky and Pennsylvania with unemployed steelworkers and auto workers in South Bend, Ind., and coal workers in West Virginia and eastern Kentucky, the thing that impressed me more than anything else was not just the dire poverty that I saw where a man had an income of less than $400 last year, with 8 children to raise, but the faith and hope that man had in the ultimate outcome of his whole situation in this country. So you are going to have to be the crusaders that lead the parade and you are going to have to be the ones that get us at least a few Republican votes on our poverty bill that is pending up here. We don't want a Democratic bill; we don't want a Republican bill. We want an American bill, for all Americans who are in this lower group, so we can help train those people that are being rejected, so we can help prepare those people who head families that are not equipped to do anything, and I would like to have your help in awakening the conscience and the concern of all Americans who can be aroused to go to work for their fellowman. I want your help to enlist an army of Americans of every party and every region in this war. Let this be said: That the real war to end all wars must be the war to eliminate poverty. Let this be known as a generation of Americans who made it their personal duty to give every American an equal and fair chance. 575 [297] Apr. 27 Public Papers of the Presidents What greater legacy could you leave your children than to say, and have some little plaque on your living room wall, that somebody acknowledged that your grandchild could look up and say that his grandpa helped make it possible for every American to have an equal and fair chance, for that is what being an American means to meequality, fair shake at all times. So I am happy to have you here in this home that you let me occupy. I saw Dick Nixon Saturday night. I met him coming back from Viet-Nam. I told him I wondered if he ran into Barry Goldwater and Nelson Rockefeller on their way out to Viet-Nam. Now, we have got a lot to do in Viet-Nam. Of course, Nixon was out there, as I understand it, working on Pepsi-Cola, I believe it was. But we have got work to do here, too, and one of the big jobs we have got to do is we have got to pass a civil rights bill. That will give Americans equal opportunity. Lincoln freed the slaves of their chains Ioo years ago. He signed the Emancipation Proclamation o00 years ago this year, and he freed them of their chains, but he didn't free them of their color and the bigotry that goes against color in this country. Until education is unaware of race, until employment is blind to color, emancipation will be a proclamation, but it will not be a fact, and we have got to pass a medical care bill for the aged, and we are within one vote of doing it. All we ask is that if you allow a man, when he enters the work market, to take a dollar a month out of his wages and his employer to match it with a dollar a month, and the Government match it with nothing, not even conservation-just take the $2 under social security and put it in a fund, that is $24, and if he works from the time he is 20 until he is 65, that is 45 years at $24. Forty years at $25 would be $i,ooo, so that makes it $I,Ioo or $1,200, and you multiply that by 3.75 and you get what it will amount to, and it will amount to about $4,000. The other day that old man in Kentucky said he didn't get to sleep until late last night. I said, "What time?" He said, "3 or 4 o'clock in the morning. I was sitting up with my neighbor, who is 85, down the road." He couldn't have him in the hospital. He didn't have medicare. He hadn't built up his own through his years of working and he had managed to live to 85, much beyond the average of a few years ago, but he had no hospitalization; so we have got to have medicare. We ought to have a food stamp plan. We have already passed it in the House-if we can just get it in the Senate. Then we ought to have a pay bill. The last man I left, resigned, one of the best men in this Government. When Wirtz calls up for an appointment, I am not going to give it to him, because I am afraid to give it to any of my best men because they all find it impossible to live off their salaries here in Washington. Most of them have men working under them that get as much as they do, or more. The average business executive gets twice as much as the average Cabinet officer that handles $Ioo billion a year, and it is just an outrage and it is a shame. You can't run a good business economically and you can't have efficient management unless you have good people, so I want you in the labor press to help us get a pay raise for these people that need it so they won't have to quit or steal. I want to thank you again for coming to the White House. I want to tell you that I appreciate your being here and I will be glad to answer any questions that you want to ask. [i.] Q. Mr. President, do you think in 576 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 Apr. 27 [297] the war on poverty that it will be helpful to increase the coverage of minimum wage and increase the minimum wage? THE PRESIDENT. Well, I think that we have just done that. I don't think that we ought to materially increase costs in this country. We have got to be very careful not to upset the applecart that we have now. We have got to know how many people we would throw out of work by a substantial increase in total minimum wages over the country. We carefully considered it, had a good many advocates for it, and we concluded that we ought to extend the coverage this year to those who hadn't had their breakfast, like a man told me the other day that he went into a family's home and a little girl was there and she wasn't eating. He said, "Why aren't you eating?" And she said, "This is not my day to eat." You still have that in this country. So a good many of them are not covered and we are trying to fight an uphill battle to get that coverage increased and I doubt that we could get the wages increased this year. So I do not make that recommendation over and above the recommendations we have made. I do think we ought to increase the coverage and apply the increase we got just recently to all the people who are entitled to it. Q. Mr. President, you asked for an enlistment in the war on poverty. Could you tell us what the expression from the Chamber of Commerce was this morning? THE PRESIDENT. I may have become intoxicated with the applause but I thought it was very good. And they accused me of talking out of both sides of my mouth because I believe we live in a country where the employer and the employee should try to get along and where they can get along if each one does his fair share. I went over there this morning and talked to them about medicare and pay raise and poverty and told them what I thought their fair share was. I told them the story of a man that owns a million acres of land in Texas who I used to work for and he came up to talk to me the other day in the White House. I was a secretary to his brother. And most of our conversation was talking not about his Texas land-most of it has got oil and gas under it, and he has no poverty problems-but most of our conversation was talking about that almost ioo,ooo-acre ranch that he did own in Cuba. I pointed out to them that if it were impossible to make orderly and peaceful changes in our society and in our hemisphere and in our world, if orderly changes were impossible, then violent changes were inevitable. People are just not going to stand and see their children starve and be driven out of schools and be eaten up with disease in the 2oth century and they are going to revolt. These fellows that own these ioo,ooo acre ranches better understand it and the Chamber of Commerce better understand it. I understand it, and I have a little nest egg that I want to preserve. But the same look that I saw in my mother's eyes, when she was the wife of a tenant farmer and she wanted to see her five children get an education and she was striving to do it, I saw in an African mother's eyes when I visited a little village on the African Continent a couple of years ago. She looked up at me with faith and with hope but with almost a bitter determination and she had seven or eight children on the floor and one on her back and one on her breast and one in her stomach, but she was determined almost like an animal that she was going to see that her children had a chance and they are going to have it in this century. 577 [297] Apr. 27 Public Papers of the Presidents They will forego stealing and they will forego fighting and they will forego doing a lot of violent things and improper things as long as they possibly can, but they are going to eat and they are going to learn, and they are going to grow. The quicker you find it out, the better. I think we will have to increase minimum wages. I think that we will have to increase wages as we go along. We hope that we can have price stability, but we have a great group at the bottom that have no wages at all. And my answer to the gentleman back here about minimum wages this year is, our first job now is to do something about these fellows that just got 4 days a week at $4 a day and got 8 kids. [2.] Q. Mr. President, what can we do in the labor press to help you keep the services of the men who are assisting you now and who may leave in the near future because they are not being paidTHE PRESIDENT. I have got the most patriotic, intelligent group of men that I have ever seen assembled in this Government since 1931, when I came here, and I am not entitled to a bit of credit because I did not appoint a single one of them. Most of the Cabinet that came here didn't even know President Kennedy. They didn't come because they had a love affair with him or with me. They came because they felt they could serve their country and they felt like they ought to do it, and they are doing it. And their children and their wives and their families are suffering because they can't make ends meet with it because the demands that are made on them-they just can't live up to those demands. So what you can do is to try to help me mold public sentiment, to let people see that it is not smart, it is not wise, it is not good sense to have all these good men that are getting half of what business pays its men and they run the biggest corporation in all the world, one that spends $ioo billion a year, and determines whether you live or die. Now I was never prouder of labor and management than last week when the railroad dispute was settled. Each side gave more than it wanted to give and each side got less than it wanted. But the thing that I was really proud of was the collective bargaining system, free collective bargaining. And work it must, if free enterprise works, and the future of these matters must be settled by private negotiation. The President cannot, and he should not, and he must not become a super mediator of every labor dispute. Men of good will on both sides of the fence must, and I am confident will, settle their differences through the collective bargaining process. But here was a strike that would cost 6 million men their jobs in a month. Here was a strike that would take the gross national product down I3 percent. Here was a strike that would raise prices all over the country because of a scarcity. Here is a problem that had not been settled for 5 years and would not be settled tonight except for that man on the front row who sat up night after night after night. Now Secretary Wirtz, Secretary Reynolds, Mr. O'Neill, the Chairman of the Mediation Board, and that wonderful fellow, Dr. Taylor, who left a sick wife just operated on that day-not one man out of a hundred would come, leave his wife in the hospital, just operated on-Ted Kheel-they all worked day and night. Now I got all the credit. They bragged on me and what I did and they said I did a lot of things I didn't do, and they said I did some things that I did do. I did go in and make a comment every 578 Lyndon B. John now and then and ask a question. But the net of everything I said added up to this, and you could repeat it all day long and it was about the same thing. I said: "I have not called you to the White House to bury collective bargaining. I have called you here to preserve it. You have had it 5 years and it hasn't worked, and you are about getting ready to get it in trouble." Mr. Rayburn one time when-General Marshall asked him for $2 billion to build the atomic bomb, wanted to take him down to Oak Ridge and show him what he built. He said, "If it works, we will win the war and we will save a hundred thousand boys, and if it doesn't, I will have to leave the country." Only four men in the House of Representatives knew about that atomic bomb-Mr. Rayburn, Mr. Martin, the chairman of the Appropriations Committee and the ranking Republican Member. Mr. Rayburn said, "No, I don't believe I will go, General. I wouldn't know any more about that bomb after I saw it than before I went." He said, "I am not a physicist. That is not my business, and I would not know any more about how to win a war after I went to Oak Ridge than I did before I came." He said, "If you don't know more about how to win a war than I do, we sure as hell have wasted a lot of money on West Point all these years." So I said to these carriers, "If you don't know more about the needs and the demands and the problems and what you can afford to do for the railroad business than I do, you ought not to be president of your company. And if you don't know what your union people have to have and what they should have and what they can settle for and what a strike is going to cost them and cost your fellow-workers, if you don't know more about it than I do, you had better go back and have another election and let them son, 1963-1964 Apr. 27 [297] elect a new president of your union. But I do know this much, and I am not very smart: I know that you ought to sit in this room until you settle it and that is what you are going to do." And that is what they did. They are entitled to the credit for it, and it is a great tribute to collective bargaining and a great tribute to the Secretary, but primarily a tribute to the brotherhoods and to the management that put their country ahead of themselves. [3.] Q. Mr. President, you asked for our help in your war on poverty. What specifically can we do? THE PRESIDENT. Help mold public opinion, have people write their Congressmen and Senators, tell folks about the need for it, let them know that everybody is not eating three meals a day like they are, that there are conditions in this country that are bad, and except for the grace of God, it might be them. And we, as a Christian duty we owe it, as a social duty we owe it, as a governmental requirement we must; and we just can't tolerate 20 percent of our people having too little to eat and too little to wear when we are doing everything we are doing for i20 nations in the world. We have got to look after our home folks, too, while we are doing it. That doesn't mean that we have got to turn our backs on the rest of the world, but it does mean that we have got to turn our eyes on our own people and do something about it, and you can help by writing editorials, by writing news articles, by querying your Congressmen, by asking them why they are against helping people get a job. We want to take some of these boys that have been rejected in the draft that are physically and mentally unqualified to do anything and are just going to be a deduct out of your tax slip every month. We want to 579 [297] Apr. 27 Public Papers of the Presidents take them and put 200 of them in a camp and get a good doctor working on them and good teachers working on them and get good foremen to supervise them and teach them how to do something and turn them out of there where they will be able to make their own living and start paying taxes like you do. Now, why shouldn't we do that? The press: Thank you, Mr. President. THE PRESIDENT. Lady Bird reminds me that we want all of you to come into the Blue Room and come through the line and greet us and have a little rain water and Pepsi-Cola. NOTE: The President spoke at 6:30 p.m. in the East Room at the White House. In the course of his remarks he referred to W. Willard Wirtz, Secretary of Labor, Maury Maverick and W. D. MacFarlane, former Representatives from Texas, and Anthony J. Celebrezze, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. 298 Remarks to the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services. April 28, 1964 I HAVE had a very special project this week. I have been trying to get at least 50 new women in the Gridiron Club, and as many as I can in the National Press Club. But I am glad that we have got them in the Defense Department. Mr. Paul and Mrs. McNamara and ladies and gentlemen: When I look at a group like this, I have no trouble understanding why Bob McNamara is the greatest Secretary of Defense this country has ever had. With women like you working with him, I don't think he could lose. In fact, I would have never started my "Fifty Women in Government" campaign if I had known that Bob McNamara already had 50 women on this committee, because it looks like he has the market cornered. Someone asked how it is possible for women to understand politics when they have to depend almost entirely on their husbands for political education. Until recently this same question could apply, I guess, to military science. Women could hardly be expected to know anything about the military because they had to depend almost entirely on their husbands for military education, but the world is changing and the times are changing, and so are the services. I want to thank you for your efforts. Military service is becoming an attractive career to women, and we are mighty proud that it is, because it will be a better service, be a better career. And too many people always think, I have observed, of the military in negative terms. We must quit thinking of it just as a force for destruction, or as an instrument for war. A call prompted me the other day, when we were dealing with all the nuclear weapons and the warheads and the bombs and everything, and I thought that might be a good place to have a woman, to sit on the Atomic Energy Commission, because they bring into the world the men who fight the wars and do the dying. So I was able to persuade Dr. Bunting of Radcliffe to come down and she has already been confirmed by the Senate. You women are going to be represented in that field as you are in the military. Now, I think it is a myth we must destroy-about "force for destruction" and "instrument of war." We don't want that to 580 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Apr. A8 [298] be universally accepted, for in a democracy the armed services have a creative role to play and that creative role must be as an agent of peace. Their purpose is not only to deter war, but to help improve the quality of our society and to serve the public good and to train young men and women for useful service. Once a career in the military for women meant just a clerical job, or an assignment as a nurse, or a nurse's aide in some clinic. This myth, too, is already being shattered, for today women are making important professional and technical contributions to the military as scientists, as engineers, as mathematicians, as administrators, as managers, as accountants, as teachers, as lawyers, as linguists. I think we need more women to play even more important roles. I think you can help encourage that. I think you have. The Armed Forces faces serious shortages of nurses and dietitians and therapists. Secretary McNamara and I are counting on you to help us find these women and to recruit them. We want you to go out on the highways and the byways and tell the young women of America that this is no longer a stag Government, this is no longer a stag administration, and no longer is there anything like a one-man's army. Tell them it is their Government, it belongs to them, and it is their army, too. We want and we need them, and we urge them to come in. It has taken us nearly I50 years to accept the truth of what Susan Anthony used to preach when she said, "It was we the people, not we the white people, or the male citizens, nor we the male citizens, nor we just the male citizens, but we the whole people who form this Union." Today women have become a greater force in the quality of American life. Military life is no exception, and all of us are in your debt for making this possible. I have talked too long. I have heard it said that women always have the last word, because they have a dozen arguments left when the men are all run out. But I am sure you have a dozen arguments left in support of the women's role in the military or else you wouldn't be serving on this committee. But for all of us, for Secretary McNamara, for the Joint Chiefs, for the service Secretaries, for the country, I want to thank you for your devotion to duty. I want to tell you how proud we are of you. We have never been stronger in the history of our country. I don't think we have ever had better opportunities to seek and ferret out and promote peace in the world. We know that is what you women want to do. I was reminded this morning of a very touching experience two friends of mine had. Mrs. Bethune was meeting with General Marshall one time during the war. She got up and asked to be excused because she had to go see-Mary McLeod Bethune. you know, was a very able and very prominent Negro woman who was a great educator and exercised a great influence on my life. She worked very closely with me several years in the Federal Government. She asked General Marshall to excuse her because she had to go see the President, and someone asked her what she was going to see the President about-President Roosevelt, whose picture hangs over there. She said, "I am going to see him about women in the services, and about letting them do something besides the trivial details and the clerks and the minor jobs." That made quite an impression, that she was going to see the President. The next day they were meeting again 58i [298] Apr. 28 Public Papers of the Presidents in this consulting group and Mrs. Bethune got up and asked to be excused, and said she was sorry, but she had to go see the President again. They said, "What are you going to see him for the second day?" She said, "I am going to get the answer," and evidently the answer was a good one, because here you are and I see a good many majors and colonels all over the place. We are very proud of it. A good many people have made great sacrifices to build this instrument of peace that we call the Defense Department. I see at some of our bases "Peace Is Our Mission." Beginning with the Secretary, and the Under Secretaries, and the Assistant Secretaries, like Mr. Paul, these men have left jobs, some of them paying as much as a half a million a year, to come here and be harangued and harassed and browbeaten and fussed at and quarreled with in order to build the most efficient and most powerful peace machine we have ever had. I feel comforted that you women are here to help them and to encourage them and maybe to comfort them some in these times of tribulation. So you are welcome to the White House. We are honored that you are here. We are proud of your service and long may it continue. NOTE: The President spoke at 12:30 p.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White House. Early in his remarks he referred to Secretary of Defense and Mrs. Robert S. McNamara, and to Assistant Secretary of Defense Norman S. Paul. 299 Remarks on Price Stability at a White House Dinner for Business Leaders. April 28, i964 TONIGHT we're going to talk business. For as long as I am President, the leaders of industry and finance are going to be welcome in this House. To sit down and exchange views with you from time to time is vital to the health of our free enterprise economy. For one thing, it keeps the light bill up-and the electric companies like that! And for another thing, it keeps me off the streets-and Time magazine likes that! But more importantly, it gives me a chance to ask your help in the fight to keep the economy strong and the dollar sound. Times are very good. Our economy is in a record expansion. Most of you are doing a record business-and earning record profits. You only have to look at the record to know the facts: -For i96i, corporate profits after taxes were $2i.8 billion; -For i962, they were up to $24.6 billion; -For i963, they rose again to $27.I billion; -And for I964, we expect profits to reach $3 i.o billion. Nor have you earned these profits at the expense of labor or of the consumer: -Over the past 3 years, labor income has risen by nearly $6o billion at an annual rate. -Average weekly earnings in manufacturing are up from $89 to over $ioi. -Wholesale prices have held steady. -Consumer prices have edged up only about i.2 percent per year-not much more than the added quality you are putting into your products. Our $i2 billion tax cut is now at work, bringing new vitality to our lean, hard expansion. I know some of you would agree with the little boy-the son of a big business 582 Lyndon B. -Johnson, 963-i964 Apr. 28 [299] man-who said that capital punishment is "when the Government sets up business in competition with you, and then takes all your profits with taxes in order to make up its loss." I hope you are changing your mind about it, however. So much of the credit for that goes to the Business Committee for Tax Reductionand especially to Henry Ford and Stu Saunders. We couldn't have won without you. The new law cuts corporate taxes nearly $2/2 billion a year. And that's on top of another $21/2 billion or so of tax cutback in 1962 through the investment credit and more liberal depreciation. We have cut the corporate tax by onefifth. Now I agree with the fellow who said that after the Government takes enough to balance the budget, the citizen has the job of budgeting the balance-we've just been trying to give the people more balance to budget! And we have done this in an administration some people have called "antibusiness." I just don't believe we're anti-anything. We are pro-business-and pro-labor-and pro-the national interest. For example, the average corporation profits during the 8 years, 1953-1960, were $2I billion. The average corporation profits for the years I96I-1964 were $26 billion, or a rise of 24 percent. Is that the result of antibusiness attitudes? I suspect the animosity that allegedly exists between business and the Government can be traced to either side. I suspect, ladies and gentlemen, that we haven't given you any more trouble than you've given us-and vice versa. And one reason I wanted you here tonight is to ask you to cooperate in creating a new climate between us-because this is one country, one society, and one people. Divisions only destroy the unity upon which a great future should be built. And that future can be great. I feel confident that this 1964 tax cut is going to do what we thought it would do. Elliott Bell's more recent survey shows that it is working already-to boost job-creating private investment I2 percent over a year ago, I8 percent in manufacturing. It is too early to make firm promises on further tax cuts. But if this one is a success-as I have every reason to believe it will be-in building production, creating jobs, raising profits, and generating revenues to balance the budget, then I see another tax cut a few years down the road. But we can move to this second round of tax reduction only if we behave ourselves this year. We can't let our costs creep up-and we can't let our prices creep up. This is where the decisions of leaders in business and leaders in labor are crucial. In the case of wages, we need to match the good record of the past 3 years and keep the increases in line with the average productivity gain for the economy as a whole. And average prices have to be kept stable. This will mean a good increase in real earnings for labor. And as your sales continue to rise, it will mean a good increase in profits for you. Under this approach labor does not get all of the productivity increase. It gets only that proportion equal to its current share of the total sales dollar. Your profits will also share in the larger pie. And I look to you to use the increase not only to raise dividends, but to -build job-creating investment -benefit consumers through price reductions. What will happen if we are unable to 583 [299] Apr. 28 Public Papers of the Presidents keep wage increase in line with average productivity and hold the cost and price line? A lot of people will get hurt. People on fixed incomes-old peopleretired people-will get hurt. Many workers whose wages don't keep up will get hurt-even in the short run. Many of you-whose costs for materials, components, machinery, and labor outrun your prices-will get hurt, even in the short run. And before long we all will get hurt as inflation eats away at the foundations of our economy. Did you know that a house that could be built in 1946 for $Io,ooo costs about double that today? In 1946, with a reasonable mortgage and down-payment, that house could be bought for less than $60 a month under FHA. Today? Over $Ioo a month. Nearly one-third of that increase is higher interest costs. But the bulk of it is rising prices and rising wage-costs. If the cost-push spiral starts up again, we would be repeating the mistake we made in 1955. Then, as now, we had: -a strong advance in output, jobs, and incomes -and the chance to keep the economy moving up steadily with stable prices. But we threw that opportunity away. We let a disruptive price-wage spiral get under way. The results were inflation-and then recession. This year, there's even less excuse for such a mistake: We have no serious bottlenecks-in fact, surplus labor and industrial capacity is still a major problem. We've had 9 years in which to learn more-both those of us who make public policy and those of you who make private policy. And we have a strong incentive for keeping prices stable that wasn't so pressing in I955. I'm talking about our need to balance our international payments and protect the health of the dollar. We must strengthen our competitive position in world markets. Much of our balance-of-payments problem traces back to the years 1955 to 1958. Our wage-price spiral here in the United States -raised steel product prices 29 percent in 38 months. -raised prices of industrial valves 44 percent in 4 years. -raised prices of metal-working machinery 25 percent in 30 months. Those were the years when we lost our big competitive edge in world markets-the edge that we have been fighting to win back ever since. We have been winning it back since I958 by holding our prices and labor costs just about stable here in the United States while most of our competitors have been having their turn with inflation. From I959 to I963 the U.S. wholesale price index actually declined a bit. But wholesale prices increased i i percent in France, io percent in Italy, 8 percent in the United Kingdom, 4 percent in Germany, and 3 percent in Japan. And in most of those countries, the rise is continuing in I964. We have a golden opportunity. Let's not squander it. Defending the dollar by tight competitive pricing is the job of every businessman. If you weaken the dollar, you weaken the whole free world's monetary system. Defending the dollar through the success of 584 Lyndon B. Johnson, I9631-964 Apr.:28 [2-99] free markets is the way to avoid defending the dollar in harsher ways. For we will defend it. The job is up to you, it's up to labor, and it's up to us in the Government. Some people have criticized me in my efforts to keep prices from rising. That's all right. What they say doesn't bother me; what happens to prices does. I'll use any sound technique and any appropriate Government policy to protect the dollar. I know that some of you are worried that I'll try to substitute friendly persuasion for the hard-nosed monetary and fiscal policy we may need if inflation again threatens. I won't. Of course, I'll do all the persuading I can. I've had to do a little of that recently, as you may have read. And I hope that Doug Dillon and Bill Martin and Bob Roosa will keep those long-term interest rates down so we can keep the economy up. But let me assure you: if the balance of payments turns sour, or if inflation starts rolling, I will look to the independent Federal Reserve as our second line of defense. I would have said "first," but you in this room are the first line. But right behind you is Bill Martin-a man whom I give full faith and credit as an inflation-fighter beyond compare. Our wage-price guideposts are an also essential part of our defense against inflation-especially cost-push inflation. The guideposts are sensible and fair. They are in the public interest, and while I cannotand will not-force anyone to follow them, I can call them to your attention and ask for your cooperation. Only if I do so, can I be faithful to the public interest. We have all attended meetings where pledges were called for-I have even been known to conduct such meetings. The greatest contribution you can make to your country today is to pledge to hold the price line or actually cut prices and share your gains in productivity with consumers. I don't think I am suggesting anything contrary to your own interests, or the interests of your stockholders. High profits achieved through a rising price level could disrupt this long, balanced, steady expansion we have had. This would bring all profits tumbling down. And high profits not shared with consumers are an open invitation to the high wage demands which could touch off another wage-price spiral. By your pricing policies you can pave the way for continued expansion without distortion-for continued improvement in our international competitive position. I want you to emulate the railroad people who reached a truly historic settlement last week. Nobody lost. Everybody won-especially the American people. Next week the key labor leaders of the country will come to see me here. I will tell them that I know they don't want to push so hard for wage increases this year that they would hurt a lot of people and start a spiral going from their side. And I will tell them that I have talked to you this week. And I will lay the cards out just as straight for them as I do for you. That way everyone will know the scorelike the conversation at the card game when one of the boys looked across the table and said, "Now Reuben, play the cards fair. I know what I dealt you." I know what I dealt you-an honest appeal to help give this country years of unparalleled prosperity. In the Old Testament there is a verse which says: "Seest thou a man diligent in his business, he shall stand before kings: 585 [299] Apr. 28 Public Papers of the Presidents he shall not stand before mean men." I can promise you that if you are diligent in your business, this President will - always be pleased to stand with you-anywhere, anytime! NOTE: The President spoke in the State Dining Room at the White House. In the course of his remarks he referred to Henry Ford II and Stuart T. Saunders, who served as Cochairmen of the Business Committee for Tax Reduction in I963, Douglas Dillon, Secretary of the Treasury, William McC. Martin, Jr., Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and Robert V. Roosa, Under Secretary of the Treasury for Monetary Affairs. As printed, this item follows the prepared text released by the White House. 300 Letter to the President of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House Transmitting the Bill for the Appalachian Region. April 28, i964 Dear Mr. I am today sending to the Congress for its consideration a bill designed to make possible the economic development of the Appalachian Region. Appalachia straddles a ten-state area of more than i65,000 square miles, with more than I5 million Americans in residence. The general economic progress of the nation has passed Appalachia by-for reasons which are cheerlessly clear: (I) Difficult-and in some instancesimpossible access. (2) Inadequate control of water-which breeds both floods and scarcity of water for industrial and recreational purposes. (3) A mineral base of coal, timber and agriculture sorely in need of creative attention. The visible lag of Appalachia justifies the special programs I respectfully request you to consider. But behind the description of the need of a region lies the desolation of a people. I have seen the despair and the hopelessness in the faces of these citizens. What exists in this area is a challenge to the ingenuity as well as the compassion of the Congress. The roll-call of deficiencies in Appalachia is not a happy catalogue. In this region too little human potential is realized. Too ineffective a use of physical resources is a result. There is a shortage not only of promise, but of hope. The investment I ask the Congress to make is as rooted in fiscal common sense as it is in human compassion. The Federal government alone spends over $4I million in welfare relief in this area every month-nearly one-half billion dollars a year. With some 8.50% of the U.S. population, Appalachia receives i7'% of all surplus commodity foods distributed to the needy throughout the country. This bill I submit to the Congress is the result of a year's study by the state governments and top Federal officials. It aims not merely at the symptoms of economic malnutrition, but at its causes. To label the region luckless or unblessed is no answer. Our response must be to put to this task the planning, the priority and the money required to assist those who want and need help for themselves and their families. To this bill I attach a copy of the report of the President's Appalachian Regional Commission, appointed by President Kennedy. 586 Lyndon B. Johnson, r963-1964 Apr. 28 [300] The initiative and concern demonstrated by state governments is encouraging. They came together, bound by a common problem and allied in a common goal. They approached the solution without regard to partisan politics. I met with the Appalachian governors. I was witness to their sincerity-and their determination-to commit state resources to this attack on inadequacy. The Federal government should not stand aloof from their efforts. The governor of Ohio has advised me that his State which was originally tendered an invitation by the Council of Appalachian Governors and the President's Appalachian Regional Commission to join with the other nine States of the Region in a joint effort to lift the economy of the area has decided to participate in the program. It is both appropriate and desirable that those portions of Ohio lying within Appalachia join with the remainder of the Region and accordingly the bill I am sending to the Congress reflects this. The programs are basic. They focus on clear and primary needs-such as access to the land-construction of public works —and improvement of mineral and land use: I. A developmental highway system of 2,350 miles, with a total cost of $920 million and fiscal year I965 cost of $9o,ooo,ooo. Although the Federal and State contribution would be on a 50-50 basis, where the States are unable to meet this formula, the Federal share could rise to 80 percent. 2. An acceleration of water facilities construction with emphasis on flood control, industrial, and recreational impoundments and sewage treatment. Fiscal year I965 cost would be $45.8 million. 3. A pasture improvement program to convert marginal farm land to pasture for livestock production. Fiscal year i965 cost would be $22 million. 4. An assistance program for timber management, manufacturing and marketing. Fiscal year i965 cost would be $6.7 million. 5. Expanded programs for promoting new uses of coal, improved mining practices and land restoration following mining operations. Fiscal year i965 cost would be $I3 million. This figure includes a $io million increase over the amount originally recommended by the Appalachian Regional Commission, based on my strong views in which I am joined by the Council of Appalachian Governors that the $Io million should be added. 6. Stepped-up human resources programs, with those programs administered by the Office of Economic Opportunity to be handled by that Agency when it is established. Fiscal year i965 cost would be $7I,000,000 of which $34,000,000 would be administered by the Office of Economic Opportunity. 7. Establishment of a Federal-State Regional Commission for comprehensive planning to guide all levels of government and private agencies in their continuing attack on the economic distress in the region. This entire program-estimated at $228 million plus $34 million included in the anti-poverty program-was included in the contingency item of $500 million in my I965 budget submitted to the Congress last January. This is an active beginning to end an old problem in Appalachia. It is the judgment of both the experts who labored on the details of the program and the governors who monitored the plan every step of the way that this program will work visible improvements in a very short time. I strongly urge the Congress to attach to this bill the urgency and the need that is so plainly written on the faces of Appalachian 587 [300] Apr. 28 Public Papers of the Presidents citizens. They are looking to you and to me for help so they can help themselves. Sincerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON NOTE: This is the text of identical letters addressed to the Honorable Carl Hayden, President pro tern pore of the Senate, and to the Honorable John W. McCormack, Speaker of the House of Representatives. The report submitted with the draft bill is entitled "Appalachia, a Report by the President's Appalachian Regional Commission, x964" (Government Printing Office, 93 pp.). 301 Remarks to a Group of Civil Rights Leaders. April 29, 1964 Archbishop O'Boyle, Reverend Blake, Rabbi Miller, and Bishop Smith: We are delighted to welcome you to this, your house, the first house in the first land of the world, because from the time of the ancient Hebrew prophets and the dispersal of the money changers, men of God have taught us that social problems are moral problems on a huge scale. They have demonstrated that a religion which did not struggle to remove oppression from the world of men would not be able to create the world of spirit. They have preached that the church should be the first to awake to individual suffering and the church should be the bravest in opposing all social wrongs. This tradition is deeply imbedded in America's history. During the middle of the i9th century, men of God, men of all faiths, men of the North, men of the South, took to pulpits, to press, yes, even out into the public squares to demand an end to the moral evil of slavery. As a consequence, we took the chains off the slaves. Many who followed this path suffered for it. Many were then condemned by their congregation. Many were deprived of their positions. Churches were burned and physical violence was often the reward of those who in that time spoke freely and provided leadership. But long ago their efforts were a significant force in not only ending slavery in this country, but in re shaping our society. By their actions they not only restored dignity and hope to millions of Americans, they immeasurably elevated and strengthened the churches which they served. Today, as we meet here a century later, we are faced with and we are given another great opportunity. Today, as we meet here, again the problem of racial wrongs and racial hatreds is the central moral problem of this Republic. Today, as we meet here in the first house of the land, again hostility and misunderstanding and even violence awaits the man who attempts to translate the meaning of God's love into the actions and the thoughts of this world and this time. Today, again the hope for happiness of millions of Negro Americans is going to be profoundly affected by your efforts. And today, again, religion has one of those rare, historical opportunities to renew its own purpose, to enhance the dignity of its own social role, to strengthen its institutions, and its heritage. Our most immediate need is to pass the civil rights bill now before the Congress. A hundred years ago Lincoln freed the slaves of their chains, but he did not free the country of its bigotry. A hundred years ago Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, but until education is unaware of race, until employment is blind to color, emancipation will be a proclamation, but it will not be a fact. 588 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Apr. 29 [301] This bill is intended to help our communities find peaceful solutions to problems of human relations. Many of these communities have asked for the provisions in this bill so that the same standards can be applied to all businesses serving the public, and so the taxpayers can be given assurance that public funds will be administered equitably. None of the provisions in this bill would create preferential treatment for one race or another. This would be a direct violation of the bill itself. None of these provisions would interfere with the rights of businessmen to set up their own standards for the dress, for the conduct, and for the qualifications of their patrons and their employees. Thirty States and numerous cities already have varying public accommodation statutes and ordinances. These cover nearly twothirds of the country's population, and business establishments in these States are still flourishing. All that this bill will do is to see to it that service and employment will not be refused to individuals because of their race or their religion or where their ancestors were born. This bill is going to pass if it takes us all summer, and this bill is going to be signed and enacted into law because justice and morality demand it. But laws and government are, at best, coarse instruments for remolding social institutions or illuminating the dark places of the human heart. They can deal only with the broadest and the most obvious problems, constantly guarding against segregation in schools but not against the thousands of incidents of discrimination and hatred which give the lie to what is learned there in the schoolroom. They can call for the highest standards of moral conduct, but those standards are only tortuously imposed on a community which does not accept them, for laws do not create moral convictions. Those convictions must come from within the people themselves, and it is your job, as men of God, to reawaken the conscience of your beloved land, the United States of America. It is your job as prophets in our time to direct the immense power of religion in shaping the conduct and the thoughts of men toward their brothers in a manner consistent with compassion and love. So help us in this hour. Help us to see and do what must be done. Inspire us with renewed faith. Stir our consciences. Strengthen our will. Inspire and challenge us to put our principles into action. For the future of our faith is at stake, and the future of this Nation is at stake. As the Old Testament pleads, "Let there be no strife, I pray, between you and me, and between my herdmen and your herdmen, because we are brothers." So do we plead today. Yes, we are all brothers, and brothers together must build this great Nation into a great family, so that a hundred years from now in this house every man and woman present today will have their name pointed to with pride because in the hour of our greatest trial, we were willing to answer the roll and to stand up and be counted for morality and right. Thank you very much. NOTE: The President spoke at i p.m. in the East Room at the White House. His opening words referred to the Most Reverend Patrick A. O'Boyle, Archbishop of Washington and chairman of the Interreligious Committee on Racial Relations, the Reverend Eugene Carson Blake, stated clerk of the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., and the Reverend B. Julian Smith, Bishop of the First Episcopal District of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the Commission on Religion and Race of the National Council of Churches, and Rabbi Uri Miller, president of the Synagogue Council of America. 589 [302] Apr. 30 Public Papers of the Presidents 302 Remarks at a Meeting of the President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped. April 30, I964 Mr. Russell, ladies and gentlemen: Emerson once said that courage consists in equality to the problem before us. Having met Jerry Walsh today, I have met an example of that kind of courage, and I have seen again where the greatness of this land rests. It rests not on our cities or our prairies, or our wealth; it rests on the unconquerable spirit of our people. There are those in this country who are handicapped neither by accident or by birth, but by their own choice. Before tough problems they shrink in fear, and before adversity they lie in defeat. The people you honor today-Jerry Walsh and the winners of the "Ability Counts" contest-do not fit into that category. They stand in the great tradition of my old, beloved friend Mel Maas, who before his death 2 weeks ago had taught us all that personal courage and individual fortitude can turn defeat into victory. America has always needed that message, but never more than it needs it today. For our efforts to build a great society in this Nation are being opposed by those who suffer from a handicap not of the body or the mind, but of the soul. They see America in terms of regions, or classes, or races, not in terms of a people committed to great ends. They see America in terms of static doctrine and staid programs, not in terms of earthshaking progress and revolution. They see America as an era unto itself, not as the beginning of a new era for all mankind. Above all, they lack an understanding of what America has been, and so they suffer the worst handicap of us all-the handicap of too little faith in what our great land can be. They oppose the assurance of full and equal rights to all of our citizens, thus frustrating the most basic urge in the hearts of men for whom emancipation is still a proclamation, but is not yet a fact. They ignore the old and they suspect the young. They dismiss the poor by answering, "No, no, we are not our brother's keeper." They spread discord and they breed distrust, tearing down instead of building up, dividing instead of uniting. And all the while, they are the Nation's worst handicap. If only these men had known Mel Maas, and if only they could meet Jerry Walsh or Harold Russell, I am sure they would be ashamed by the timidity of their own faith. You, Mr. Walsh, and you, Mr. Russell, have made us all stand taller, and prouder, and more courageous, and for that we can only offer our greatest thanks and our deepest gratitude. You have given new reason, and new resolve, for employers to step up this use of handicapped persons. Today I am issuing instructions to the heads of every Federal executive department and agency in this Government to show the Nation what can be done to make fuller use of the ability of handicapped Americans. Twenty-four departments and agencies have already signed agreements with the Civil Service Commission to use special appointing authority to hire the handicapped. I am asking agencies to hold special meetings to promote understanding and support for the entire program. I am asking agency coordinators to step up their visits to occupation training centers to see there for themselves how the retarded are trained. We have made sound progress, and prospects for real progress are bright. We can make this extra effort without creating jobs 590 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Apr. 30 [303] especially for the handicapped, without impairing the merit system, without compromising the quality of the efficiency of our work force. In fact, I believe we will add to the efficiency of our Government. I am convinced that it is morally right, that it is socially just, that it is economically sensible, that it is administratively feasible to open the door of employment opportunity to handicapped Americans. An enlightened Government can, and will, and must lead the way. I am proud to be here today. I am especially proud of what you are doing for yourselves, and what you are doing for your country. I especially thank the beloved and most able Secretary of Labor, the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission, and all others whose heart and soul and talents are con tributing to this great effort, and most of all, I thank you for your hope and for youi faith. NOTE: The President spoke at ii a.m. in the Departmental Auditorium in Washington. In his opening words he referred to W. Willard Wirtz, Secretary of Labor, and Harold Russell, Chairman, President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped. Later he referred to Maj. Gen. Melvin J. Maas who until his death on April I3 was the Committee's Chairman. After his remarks the President presented the President's Trophy for the Handicapped American of the Year to Jerry J. Walsh, Special Educational Consultant of the Arthritis and Rheumatism Foundation. He also presented money awards to the five national winners of the "Ability Counts" writing contest for high school students, sponsored by the President's Committee and the State Governors' Committees on Employment of the Handicapped, and the Distinguished Service Award of the President's Committee to Gordon M. Freeman, President of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and Vice Chairman of the Committee. 303 Remarks Commemorating the I75th Anniversary of the Inauguration of George Washington. April 30, i964 Ladies and gentlemen: This house is honored by the presence of such distinguished guests. I am personally very grateful to you, Dr. Goldman, and the others who have come at your invitation for your presence here today. This is a proud day for the Republic. One hundred and seventy-five years ago George Washington entered this office, and now, today, we have some of the most distinguished students and scholars of our time here for this occasion. In the group are Richard Neustadt, Sidney Hyman, Clinton Rossiter, all of whom have done outstanding works on the Presidency. We have also some distinguished authors of Presidential biographies, Mrs. Catherine Drinker Bowen, author of a notable work on John Adams; Mrs. Margaret Leech Pulitzer, who wrote "In the Days of McKinley," which is the name of her book, not a report on the period of her writing; Roy Nichols, who has written many books on Presidents between Jackson and Lincoln; David Donald, noted for his writings about Lincoln, Samuel Flagg Bemis, the Pulitzer Prize winner for his work on John Quincy Adams; George Dangerfield, author of the valuable study, "The Era of Good Tidings;" and James MacGregor Burns, known to us for his work on President Kennedy; Arthur Walworth, noted for his Wilson biography. Since the press is temporarily with us, I might explain in the words of Oscar Wilde, "In America the President reigns for four years and journalism governs forever and ever."p I wanted to be a teacher, and was until the 59I [303] Apr. 30 Public Papers of the Presidents pay scale pushed me into the line of work that I am now in. I never went as far as Teddy Roosevelt, who said of the Vice Presidency that he would greatly rather be anything else, even a professor of history. Also, I can assure you that at times, especially after I read the newspapers, I have strong urges to be a writer. In fact, if I may turn the tables, I sometimes think some of my friends in the press need some new writers. But, more seriously, I have shared with you a lifelong interest in and study of the American Presidency. Over the past several months I have been deeply conscious of and I have been deeply grateful for the very unique experience that I was privileged to have had when these duties were thrust upon me. FDR brought me into this house and this room when I was only 27. I was privileged to know very well and work very closely with President Truman and President Eisenhower, as well as the late, beloved President Kennedy. I also count as a very special treasure my friendship with President Hoover in later years. The Nation has been blessed with strong and popular and successful Presidents. But with the emphasis upon individuals, perhaps some of our understanding of the office itself has gone neglected. If the Presidency is to serve the people in these times as they want to be served, we need the fuller appreciation of the concepts and the powers and the limitations of the office. Those of you present here have rendered invaluable service to the Republic through your studies of the Presidency as well as individual Presidents. I congratulate you, and more, I thank you. Admiral Dewey could say back in i900 that the office of the President is not such a difficult one to fill. I doubt that that was even true in i900. I know it is not true today. This office is a difficult office, and any who occupy it must be a humble man before the task that he faces. This office is also a great institution of freedom. No man could be more aware than I of how the office towers above the man who occupies it and gives to him strength that is much greater than his own. I would hope that during the ensuing year, irrespective of political campaigns, we might make a constructive effort to focus more of our study and more of our discussion and more of our talent upon understanding this office and adding to the strength of this office. I hope that each of you and all of you will use your considerable influence to lead such an effort throughout this land. I, for one, feel that there is a genuine need to restudy, reevaluate, reassess many aspects of this office and its functioning as an office in these times. I won't go into that now, because I am saving those views either for next year or perhaps for my own memoirs, but if I may quote President Hoover, he once enumerated the valuable privileges of this office as being "the duty and the right to terminate all interviews, conferences, social parties, and all receptions." Regretfully, I must conclude this session, since we are going on to lunch. I do want to read a proclamation which I hope will not be branded as too long. I hope you will not compare the time unfavorably with the time spent with the United States Chamber of Commerce early this week. I would like it understood, particularly by the press, that I was doing missionary work then, and I feel like this is my home congregation. [At this point the President read a proclamation, commemorating the 175th Anniversary of the Inauguration of George Washington (see Item 304). He then concluded his remarks.] 592 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-I964 APr- 30 13041 Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, and now if you will join me, we will go to lunch over in the Mansion. NOTE: The President spoke at i p.m. in the Fish Room at the White House. In his opening remarks he referred to Dr. Eric F. Goldman, professor of history at Princeton University and Special Consultant to the President. 304 Proclamation 3589: Commemoration of the Beginnings of the Office of the Presidency of the United States. April 30, I964 By the President of the United States of America a Proclamation: On the thirtieth day of April, in the year Seventeen Hundred and Eighty-nine, on the balcony of the Federal Hall in New York City, George Washington took the oath as the first President of the United States of America. In the one hundred and seventy-five years since that occasion, thirty-five other Americans have sworn that same oath and entered that same office to discharge in seamless continuity the duties prescribed by the Constitution. Individual incumbents are remembered individually according to the challenges and responses of their tenure. But the office itself has long since come to transcend its occupants. The Presidency has made every man who occupied it, no matter how small, bigger than he was; and no matter how big, not big enough for its demands. It has served as symbol of the spirit, purposes and aspirations of the American nation in this land and in lands far beyond these shores. Ordained to serve a nation of fewer than four million inhabitants, the American Presidency will before its two hundredth anniversary be serving a country of more than two hundred million inhabitants, living together in the most successful society yet created and sustained on this earth. In this achievement, it has been the will of the people that the office of the American Presidency be used in the work of perfecting our national unity, establishing justice, insuring domestic tranquility, providing for the common defense, promoting the general welfare, and securing the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity by seeking a world of peace, freedom and opportunity. The office of the Presidency is, as one President described it, "pre-eminently the people's office." The President himself is, in the words of another President, "the steward of the public welfare." While it has become custom, outside the original concept of the Constitution, for Presidents to be chosen from candidacies offered by political parties, the office itself and the conduct of that office remain today, as at the inception, national and not partisan, serving all the people without regard to party affiliations or philosophical persuasions. In the course of the year beginning this anniversary day, the American electorate will once more choose a fellow citizen to occupy the office of the American Presidency and to discharge its duties. All citizens participating in that decision will carry in their minds the memory of recent tragic events which impressed upon them and all the world full awareness of the importance of this office and its continuity for our daily pursuits and our hopes for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In this period, it will be constructive for all Americans to renew our appreciation of the functionings of our system, and to show our respect for the institutions on 593 [304] Apr. 30 Public Papers of the Presidents which our society stands by devoting to the office of the Presidency new study of its origins and history and new efforts to understand its functions and potentials within our democratic society, and by reflecting upon how this national office may be the more effective servant of our national purposes. Now, THEREFORE, I, Lyndon B. Johnson, President of the United States of America, on this thirtieth day of April in the year Nineteen Hundred and Sixty-four, do hereby proclaim the ensuing twelve months a period of commemoration of the beginnings of the office of the Presidency of the United States. During this year, let all citizens recall that on this day one hundred and seventy-five years ago the first President admonished us: "The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the republican model of government, are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally, staked, on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the Amer ican people." In this spirit, then, let us during this anniversary year devote ourselves, through our appropriate organizations, societies, publications and through our public discussions, to fostering a new understanding of the First Office of the American Government and to strengthening the service of that Office in meeting our continuing challenges. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States of America to be affixed. DONE at the City of Washington this thirtieth day of April, in the year [SEAL] of our Lord nineteen hundred and sixty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and eighty-eighth. LYNDON B. JOHNSON By the President: GEORGE W. BALL Acting Secretary of State 305 Remarks to the i964 Campaign Conference for Democratic Women. April 30, i964 WHEN Margaret Price called me and asked me to come over to speak to the Democratic women, I told her that would be a switch, because I have been listening to them for the past 30 years. So I welcome you as fellow members of the oldest political party in the world, and judging from what I see here, the best looking party in America. For a moment, when I came in here tonight, I thought I was in a meeting of the Federal Employees Association, but I don't want the male members of our party to be worried. They will always have a place in the Federal Government as long as there is no woman to fill the job. Many people had doubts and fears when I began the program of recruiting women. I want to report to you tonight that those fears were entirely unfounded and unjustified. We have not had to install more than one powder room in each Federal building. We have had to hire only a very few babysitters. And our Bureau of Husband Complaints needs only three people to handle the calls. Bringing women into the Government has even increased new job opportunities for men. There is more of a demand these days for male secretaries than ever before. The belief that women should be given a chance to serve their country is not new. Almost 50 years ago a great Democratic 594 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 Apr. 30 [305] President, Woodrow Wilson, said that "democracy means that women shall play their part in affairs alongside men, and upon an equal footing with men." That's the kind of democracy that America needs. That's the kind of democracy that we are going to build in this administration. Never again will you be called upon to elect leaders and then be deprived of your share in leadership. Never again will you be asked to work and struggle in the days of uncertainty and hope, only to be forgotten and neglected in the time of triumph and fulfillment. Never again will the dedication which helped build a great party be denied the chance to help build a great Nation. I promise this tonight not because you need jobs but because the country needs you. In the last 3 months almost 200 women have been appointed to positions of responsibility in the Federal Government. Almost 600 women have received promotions to upper grades above $io,ooo per year. More and more of the great issues of the day are receiving the thoughtful attention of women. I predict that women will assume an ever increasing share of the responsibilities of Government. I can see the day when none of the great offices of the Republic will be closed to women of talent, not even the office of President-although I hope you will forgive me for hoping that that day is still;a few years off. You can be proud tonight not only for what this Democratic administration has done for women but also for what we have,done for the country. We have aimed at no goals and adopted no programs and accepted no principles which were not fundamentally designed to fulfill the hopes and to ease the struggle of individual Americans. Our economy is operating on an all-time high gross national product which reached $608/2 billion national income. Unemployment has dropped to almost 5 percent. But we are not working just so we can quote impressive statistics. Our concern is not with figures and balance sheets. Our concern tonight is with people. Every achievement, every program, every action that we take must be subject to the same test: Is it good for the people? This is the test of compassion and concern. Only by passing this test can we be worthy of the great traditions of our party and of our country. I came out here tonight to talk to you about three groups of Americans who need the qualities which you can bring to Government. These groups are: the unemployed and the underpaid; those threatened by disease and disability; the millions now trapped in hopeless poverty. First are those who, in the midst of our great wealth, cannot find work, and those whose work does not bring them the reward of a decent living. Our new Unemployment Compensation Act has provided $769 million to 3.5 million men and women out of work. Through federally supported programs, we have provided more than a million new jobs. Our Manpower Development and Training has taken hundreds of thousands of men and women thrown out of work by new machines or new techniques of production and given them new skills. Minimum wage extensions have given basic protection to 3.5 million more Americans under the Democratic administration. Those were important steps, but new ones must be now taken. We need minimum wage protection for the thousands of women that are laboring tonight in hotels and restaurants and laundries throughout the 33-171-65 43 595 [305] Apr. 30 Public Papers of the Presidents land. We need the protection of migratory farm laborers against exploitation. We need increased compensation for the longterm unemployed, and a food stamp plan to make sure that no child in America goes hungry. These new programs will not make people wealthy, or they will not give them serene security. But they will keep them from slipping below the edge of survival and beyond the call of hope. Second, Americans threatened by disease and disability need a compassionate government. This is the largest group of all, for disease is the true democrat. It ultimately enters every home and every family circle, without regard to race, or religion, or economic circumstances. Our challenge tonight is to make sure that every parent and every child in America has access to the restoring powers of modern medicine. The Hill-Burton Act has vastly expanded the ability of our hospitals to care for the sick. New vaccination programs have protected millions of children against polio and tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough, and unprecedented efforts have been launched to help the i26,000 babies that are born every year who are destined to be mentally retarded. Again, there is a long way to go before the richest nation on earth can be the healthiest nation on earth. Right now, the most important step that we can take is to pass a bill in the Congress to help the elderly people of America secure decent medical care under social security. I have seen the aged lying embittered in their beds. I have felt the anguish that they feel, and I have sensed the hopelessness that ravages their soul while disease ravages their body. Only last week in a valley of despair in the hills of eastern Kentucky one man told me that he sat up until late in the night with his neighbor who is 85 and who should have been in a hospital that he could not afford, but he needed the care. So I come here tonight to say that our consciences cannot rest, our hearts cannot be at peace, until men like that have a fair and decent chance to get well. I have come here tonight for something else. I have come here-are you listening?-I have come here to ask your help in passing that bill which tonight languishes in the Congress. Please, oh please, help us to match the actions of the Government to the convictions of the people. Please, oh please, help us tonight to help the helpless. There is a third group of Americans in need of compassion, those millions of our fellow citizens who are condemned by circumstances and surroundings to a lifetime of poverty in the midst of the land of plenty. I have here tonight a news ticker report which I pulled off of the machine as I walked out of the White House, a little late getting here, and it says, "President Johnson's war on poverty bill is 'headed for oblivion as soon as the Democrats can figure out a way to bury it,' the ranking Republican, Mr. Frelinghuysen, on the House Education and Labor Committee, said tonight. Mr. Frelinghuysen said the Democrats on the Committee are in disagreement." Well, my comment on that is simply this: Poverty is heading for oblivion if I have anything to do about it. And just as soon as the American people this November have a chance to vote on the Republican obstructionists, they will be heading for oblivion, too. Blind opposition for opposition's sake. Someone asked Mr. Rayburn one time what was the principal difference between the Re 596 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 Apr. 30 [305] publicans and the Democrats, and he said, "The Republicans always hate our Presidents and their programs." Why anyone should hate an antipoverty program, I don't know. But I am told that the Republicans are lined up fighting it, one group because it is not enough and another group because it is too much. But both groups against doing anything. Well, already 93,00o new housing units for low-income families have been approved. Already we have provided aid to families of dependent children. Already 5 million people are now receiving expanded social security benefits, and last year alone we restored more than ioo,ooo disabled persons to productive life through vocational rehabilitation. They kept President Kennedy's tax cut proposal in the Congress for almost i year, but we finally passed it through, and it gives to every average worker in America $1I4 a month more take-home pay, and it will provide new jobs, expand the economy, and bring new opportunities. But these alone are not enough. We must have an all-out war on poverty, a war to give people a chance, a war to give people education and training, a war to give opportunity to break the age-old cycle of economic bondage. Unless I misjudge you and unless I do not detect the attitude of all America, Americans tonight are ready and willing and eager to join this war. Everywhere I go people come up and ask for the chance to enlist. They are surprised and a little ashamed that our rich country has so many sloughs of despondency. They want to win this war on poverty, and because they do, we are going to see poverty wiped from this land in our lifetime. People who have no objectives and who have no goals, and who have no hopes, who have only fear and status quo in their soul, do not understand what we are talking about. But this is the way to continue to build democracy-not from the top with a grand design, but from the bottom with the needs of people, with compassion for our neighbors. For this is the great society. This is the grandest design of all-a design which creates a state whose only reason for existence is the welfare and the happiness of its people. America is an abundant country. In our early days it was the abundance of untapped land. Today it is the abundance of technology and human knowledge. So we continue on the great work of building roads to that abundance, broad paths along which all can go to find their own dreams. I have come along that path myself. I have come here tonight to tell you that we can never rest until the roads that you and I have traveled to this great city, and to this large hall, with these prosperous and smiling and happy faces-until those roads are open to all who would seek to follow, regardless of race, regardless of region, regardless of religion. This is a land of plenty, and its opportunities must be opened to all. With God's help, and with yours, we will pass through this Congress a program which all good Americans who have compassion in their heart for their fellow citizens, who are willing to extend a hand to the needy, can look to with pride and pleasure, and can point to in the days to come as an achievement that each of you had a little slice of. Thank you. NOTE: The President spoke at 9:30 p.m. at the Sheraton-Park Hotel in Washington. In his opening remarks he referred to Margaret Price, vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee. 597 [3o6] May I Public Papers of the Presidents 306 Remarks on Opening the i964 Savings Bond Campaign. May i, i964 WHEN President Roosevelt purchased the first savings bond ever issued he set into motion the greatest thrift program the world has ever known. I am very proud today to buy the first of the new $75 denomination United States savings bonds, a bond which bears the portrait of our late, beloved, and brave President John F. Kennedy. I hope that many of my fellow citizens will follow this example. In doing so, they will be paying a tribute to a most remarkable American and answering in at least a small measure his unforgettable challenge, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." The purchase of savings bonds is an expression of faith in America's future. Mil lions of Americans own a record total of $47 billion of these shares in their country. I urge them, and I urge all Americans, to take part in the i964 savings bond campaign, Operation Security, which opens today. Our responsibility to our country, as President John Kennedy said, "is not discharged by an announcement of virtuous ends." It must include concrete acts of confidence. Buying bonds for our Nation's security is a sure way to express such confidence and I take pride and pleasure in presenting my check for the first $75 bond to the Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Dillon. NOTE: The President spoke shortly after noon in the Cabinet Room at the White House. 307 Remarks to the Press Following a Cabinet Meeting on Management of the Executive Branch. May 2, i964 I HAVE been asked to review this paper with you that I went over with the Cabinet this morning. I had some impromptu additions to it. But it will take a little time. I guess the only way I know to do it is to go through it all and then you can take excerpts of what you want. [Reading] "Good morning, gentlemen: "In our efforts to increase efficiency and economy in the executive branch, we ought to be as unsatisfied as a little boy's appetite. We should never relax our efforts to give the American people a dollar's worth of value for a dollar spent. "From time to time, therefore, I will devote a meeting of the Cabinet and agency heads to progress reports on these efforts. "First, the House has already acted on six of the i965 appropriation bills and another 598 one comes up next week. Its schedule calls for House action on all bills by early June. "The Senate situation is different. None of the i965 money has been acted upon, although one bill has been reported out of the committee. I intend to talk to the leadership to see what steps can be taken to finish up work on the budget before the new fiscal year begins. "I believe the Appropriation Committees recognize that we did our best to hold the budget down. They are finding that our budget request did not contain any padding. I have always believed that the Congress will respect a tight budget. I think the evidence this year on the seven bills that the Appropriation Committee has reported bears this out. "This year the House reduced by Ir. per Lyndon B. Johnson, i963I964 May 2 [307] cent the budget request on six bills already passed. Last year the cuts were 4 percent. "Second, our campaign to weed out unnecessary Government publications is beginning to pay off. Thus far, I4I publications have been marked for elimination, and the saving is estimated at more than $i million a year. Here are some of the examples of Government publications that have been weeded out: Decisions of the Secretary of Agriculture Under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act; the Index of Patents of the United States Patent Office, publications that they feel they no longer need. We have hundreds of these that have been eliminated since my instructions at the last Cabinet meeting, some 14I. We will have another report on this project as soon as large agencies, like the Defense Department, have completed their review. "I expect substantial results. I want each of you to name a key assistant to ride herd on this project. "Third, I want all reports made by the General Accounting Office and any congressional committee to be given prompt and thorough and careful attention. Honest mistakes can be forgiven, but it is hard to forgive failures to examine and tighten agency procedures to guard against a recurrence of an error that is uncovered by the GAO or by a congressional committee. "Look into them promptly. If the criticisms are justified, I will expect you to take corrective action so that the error is not repeated. "Fourth, I am gratified by your accomplishments in holding down Federal employment. I am writing Senator Byrd to that effect. We had 2i,000 fewer civilian employees in March in the Government than we had when I took office, and we had 14,000 fewer civilian employees in March than we had a year ago. This has been done without any mass dismissals, without cutting down on any essential public service. We can do better; we must. "As outdoor work expands in the second quarter of the year, we can expect the usual seasonal jump in employment. I still believe that a number of agencies should be able to end the fiscal year with fewer employees than your personnel ceilings allow. "Fifth, no matter how small an agency or bureau may be, I want it managed as though it dwarfed everything else in the budget." I had many reports from the Cabinet and I will have more later in the morning, on how they are setting new targets to get below their budget ceiling, and how they are refusing to fill vacancies until they are cleared by the higher echelon and management. "Buy only what you must buy and get the best price you can. "Use excess property wherever it will do the job instead of buying the same article on the open market. "Ask yourselves if you really need all that real estate or all those regional offices, or all those supervisors, or all those automobiles. "Sixth, I want us to find new ways to increase productivity. Productivity in industry has gone up each year by an average of better than 3 percent. Government productivity should increase, too, and it must. "The Veterans Administration insurance program alone shows an average annual gain in productivity of almost 7 percent over the past 7 years. I am proud of the people doing that job, and I expect everyone else in the Government to try to emulate that example. If we can increase the Government's productivity at the same rate as industry has already increased theirs, we can 599 IRA7 May 2 Public Papers of the Presidents save several hundred million dollars for Government every year. "Seventh, let's continue to cut down on the number of questionnaires and reports in each agency. "In less than 2 months we have made a reduction of 98 in the number of questionnaires, surveys, and other reports. As a result, American citizens will have to fill out 850,000 fewer individual reports for the United States Government this year than they filled out last year. "We recently received a complaint from a businessman concerning a questionnaire having to do with the reemployment of veterans. We checked this and we discovered that the purpose would be just as well served under a completely different procedure which would cut down the number of reports from former employers from 75,000 to 7,500. I expect each of you in this Cabinet and independent agencies to look for a similar way to eliminate reports immediately. "Eighth, additional economies can be realized in procurement and supply. "In January the General Services Administration took over the responsibility for supplying Defense as well as civilian agency requirements for paint and handtools. This is expected to save 200 manyears and bring about an inventory reduction of about $40 million. "Defense and GSA are weeding out of the supply catalog system thousands of nonstandard items. This will also save us a great deal of money. "GSA last year came up with better standards of office space utilization which worked out to a reduction of 3 /2 square feet of space per employee, and this one step alone will mean a saving of over $5 million." It all adds up, ladies and gentlemen. "Ninth, we are beginning to work on the i966 budget. I want you personally to take command of developing the inforniation to help us define the problems that we must deal with in our budget next fall. "I want you to be 'from Missouri' when somebody tells you that your budget has to be increased next year. Make him prove that he cannot do a shade better with what he already has. "I want you to congratulate your employees on making this an economical, efficient, and a frugal administration. But I want you also to let everyone know that our expectations are still high. We have a responsibility to the American people which no one in this Government must take lightly. I am confident the people are going to be proud of what we are doing, and I think you will be proud too." Some of the publications that we have eliminated are: Building with Logs, a howto-do-it bulletin, $2353; Caribbean Forester, $3350; Other People's Homes, comic-type leaflet, $4200; Rural Line News Letter, $27,625; The Early Years, National Aeronautics and Space Agency, history of the first Goddard Flight, $5,ooo; the Chemical Composition of Representative Grades of I952 and I954 Crops of Flue-Cured Tobacco, $i870; the Story of the Patent Office, $2,000; the Highways of History, $700; Improvements in Printing and Reproduction Techniques, a total saving of more than $54,000. Thank you. Q. Have you a total figure there, Mr. President, for all those savings? THE PRESIDENT. Yes. It was I41 publications and over a million dollars a year, 141 publications that have been eliminated at more than a million dollars a year. NOTE: The President spoke to the press shortly before noon in the Cabinet Room at the White House following a meeting with members of the Cabinet. 6oo Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 May 4 [309] 308 Letter Requesting a Study of the Alaskan Earthquake by the Special Assistant to the President for Science and Technology. May 4, I964 [ Released May 4, I964. Dear Dr. Hornig: It is important we learn as many lessons as possible from the disastrous Alaskan earthquake. A scientific understanding of the events that occurred may make it possible to anticipate future earthquakes, there and elsewhere, so as to cope with them more adequately. I, therefore, request that your office undertake to assemble a comprehensive scientific and technical account of the Alaskan earthquake and its effects. To insure an integrated approach to the collection and evaluation of the information, the scientific work of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Air Force, the Corps of Engineers and such other agencies as are involved should be coordinated by your office. As you know, the early engineering work related to reconstruction is being coordinated by the Federal Reconstruction and Development Planning Commission for Alaska. In order to learn the most, the scientific effort should be carried out as soon as practicable. In defining the scientific and technical questions involved and the related informational requirements for collection and assessment, I hope that you will be able to Dated May 2, I964 ] enlist the aid of the National Academy of Sciences. The scientific and engineering information acquired as a result of this activity should be made available to assist the efforts of the Federal Reconstruction and Development Planning Commission, and your office should be available to provide such other technical assistance to the Commission as you feel appropriate. This information should, of course, also be provided to the Director of the Office of Emergency Planning and other government agencies having reconstruction responsibilities in Alaska. Your office should coordinate its activities with the Commission, taking full advantage of its field activities and of the information being acquired for use in the early reconstruction phase. The foregoing activities of your office should be carried out in consultation with the other agencies which have specific responsibilities for Federal operations in Alaska during the emergency period. Sincerely yours, LYNDON B. JOHNSON [Honorable Donald F. Hornig, Special Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, The White House, Washington, D.C.] 309 Remarks Upon Presenting the National Teacher of the Year Award to Mrs. Lawana Trout. May 4, 1964 Mrs. Trout, Senator Monroney, Congressman Wickersham, Congressman Belcher, ladies and gentlemen: This is a very gratifying occasion for me, to participate this morning in honoring our Teacher of the Year. 6oi [3o9] May 4 Public Papers of the Presidents I started my career in the classroom, too, and sometimes I feel that I have returned to the profession now. In these times the Presidency offers a great educational challenge and responsibility. While the pay here is appreciably better, Mrs. Trout, than in the public schools, the tenure is appreciably less certain. We are honored to welcome Mrs. Trout to the White House this morning. In honoring her as the Teacher of the Year, we honor an outstanding woman and a most useful citizen. In a higher sense we honor one of our society's most valuable professions, the profession of teaching. In this free land, the minds of our young are our most valuable resource. The classroom teacher is always the steward of that resource. For our prosperous Nation and our growing population, no challenge is greater on our horizon than preserving and raising higher the standards of public education. The good, well-trained, dedicated teacher will remain invaluable. But we must reach out to utilize new techniques and new resources to assure universal standards of excellence in every school district, in every section, in every region in this land. I believe that we may see, over the next decade, more advance in the art of teaching than in the last century, or, for that matter, several centuries. Certainly if we can use our technology of electronics to defend freedom and keep peace, as we are doing effectively, we can apply this great technology to open new horizons for young people, to equip them for the opportunities and the responsibilities of their time. Yesterday I was privileged to meet with the members of my Presidential Scholars Commission. I told them that all too often we fail to give the highest possible recognition to some of the real heroes of America. We honor the athletic stars, and we forget the academic stars. So I hope our Presidential Scholars program will serve to partially correct this emphasis. Through this plan we will recognize some of the brightest and the most able young men and women from every State in the Union. I hope this will help keep before us all the realization that in the future the trained American will be the indispensable American. Mrs. Trout, in honor of your presence this morning, and of the great profession you represent, I want to make an announcement that you were not expecting. I am today appointing you to be a member of the Presidential Scholars Commission, and I am further directing that each year the man or woman selected as Teacher of the Year serve as a full and active member of this Commission that year. In addition, I would also like to announce the appointment to the Presidential Scholars Commission of Mrs. Jeanne Noble of New York. Mrs. Noble is Associate Professor for Human Relations Studies at the New York University, and is widely known as a teacher, professor, and leader, having served as immediate past president of Delta Sigma Theta. My congratulations to you, Mrs. Trout, for your service and your dedication in upholding one of America's oldest and finest traditions. It is a pleasure to present to you the National Teacher of the Year Award of I964. This beautiful garden was once called a rose garden, and now they say we have mostly tulips in it. But Mrs. Kennedy worked a very long time, and Mrs. Paul Mellon, developing what I think is one of the most beautiful gardens anywhere in the world. Two great women proved their efforts here, and brought this about. It was so good to see you, Mrs. Trout. 602 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 May 4 [3I0] NoTE: The President spoke at noon in the Rose Garden at the White House. His opening words referred to Mrs. Lawana Trout, English teacher and student counselor at the Charles Page High School in Sand Springs, Okla., chosen National Teacher of the Year, and to Senator A. S. Monroney and Representatives Victor Wickersham and Page Belcher, of Oklahoma. The Commission on Presidential Scholars, to which the President referred, was established by Executive Order iii55 "Providing for the Recognition of Certain Students as Presidential Scholars" (29 F.R. 6909, 3 CFR, i964 Supp.). For the President's remarks to the first Presidential scholars, see Item 397. 3IO Remarks Upon Presenting the Federal Aviation Agency Award to Mrs. Jerrie Mock. Mrs. Mock, Mr. Mock, and all the little Mocks: Mr. Halaby and I have been discussing the wisdom of developing a plane that will fly at Mach 2.3, and it looks like, with Mrs. Mock's three children, Mr. Mock and Mrs. Mock, we now have a Mach 5 to shoot at. I am very pleased this morning to present the Federal Aviation Agency's Decoration for Exceptional Service to you, Jerrie Mock. I am especially pleased because this is only the second time the award has been given to anyone outside of that agency. Let me make one thing dear. Contrary to what you have heard, this award has not at any time been offered to me for the records that I allegedly broke for low altitude flying down in Texas! We are very proud of Jerrie Mock. All America shares the happiness of her family and her accomplishments on behalf of aviation. She is the first woman to fly solo around the world. She is the first woman to fly across both oceans alone. She is the first woman to cross the Pacific in either direction in a single-engine plane. She is the first woman to fly from the United States to Africa, across the North Atlantic. She set an around-the-world speed record for men and women in aircraft between 2200 and 3800 pounds. After lightning had struck Lady Bird's plane twice, when I pointed out that Mrs. May 4, i964 Mock had done all these things in a singleengine plane, I got her back in Air Force One. So as a housewife and a mother, Mrs. Mock demonstrates that the progress of our society, the promise of our system, can be fulfilled only if women are given the opportunity to utilize fully their talents and energies in meeting the great challenges of our day. So today, in order that this Government may make full use of Mrs. Mock's courage and her knowledge and her experience, I am appointing her Vice Chairman of the Women's Aviation Committee, which is an important consulting group to the Federal Aviation Agency. Mrs. Jane Hart, who honors us with her presence this morning, is Chairman of this group, and it is composed of outstanding women in aviation from all sections of our land. This committee will help Administrator Halaby eliminate the red tape in United States airports, help promote safety in aviation, and I hope will be able to get us all on the ground a little earlier when we are behind schedule. I am proud to have Mrs. Mock as a leader in this useful work. It is with pride, therefore, that I now confer upon Jerrie Mock the Federal Aviation Agency's highest and most coveted award, the Decoration for Exceptional Service. The citation, Mrs. Mock, reads as follows: "The Federal Aviation Agency Decora 33-171-65 --- —44 603 [3IOI May 4 Public Papers of the Presidents tion For Exceptional Service is awarded to Jerrie Mock for her historic and courageous flight around the world, Columbus, Ohio, March i9-April i7, I964. Her journey marks the first time the globe was spanned by a woman flying alone." America is not only proud of her, but Ohio is very proud of her. We are delighted that her Senator, Senator Lausche, could be here this morning. Now, if I may, I have an award to present to Mrs. Mock's 4-year-old daughter, Valerie, if she will come here. Valerie? I am told that today is your 4th birthday. In I907 another 4th birthday was being celebrated, the 4th anniversary of the first powered flight ever made. That was the first flight of two other Ohioans, Orville and Wilbur Wright. The Wrights are not here for me to decorate them on their anniversary today, but, Valerie, here is your 4th birthday cake. Try to blow out the candles. Make a wish. Have one more go. That's it! Now Valerie, you take that White House cake and you be careful who you let eat it. Mrs. Mock: Thank you very much, Mr. President. NOTE: The presentation was made at 12:45 p.m. in the Rose Garden at the White House. Mrs. Mock's husband, Russell, and their three children, Roger, Gary, and Valerie, were among those attending the ceremony. During the course of his remarks the President referred to Mrs. Jane Hart, wife of Senator Philip A. Hart of Michigan, Najeeb E. Halaby, Administrator of the Federal Aviation Agency, and Senator Frank J. Lausche of Ohio. 3I1 Remarks at a White House Dinner for Labor Leaders. May 4, i964 I INVITED you here for the same reason I invited the business leaders last weekto ask your continued cooperation in strengthening the economy of our country, and to praise and thank you for the exercise of good judgment and patriotism unexcelled in our economic history. Our task is a three-way effort, for in America capital management and labor are not bitter antagonists. They are partnersand Government is the friend of all. The good sense and public spirit of business and labor, and the goodwill of government, are bulwarks of a growing nation and an expanding economy. We are gratified with the progress our economy is making, but we are not satisfied. Unemployment is much too high, despite the fact that goo,ooo new nonfarm jobs have been added in the last 3 months. There is too much poverty in the midst of plenty; while our cup is running over, more than 30 million Americans have not tasted its contents. We have talked a great deal about full employment in America, but we have done too little to achieve it. As a Congressman I voted for the Employment Act of I946. It was originally called the Full Employment Bill, but the word "Full" was dropped from the title. Unfortunately, it has also been dropped from the thinking-and especially from the expectations-of too many people. As a result, 4 to 5 million people are out of work in this country all the time, while across the Atlantic such levels of unemployment among our allies are a matter of ancient history. We, too, much catch up with modern history. The time has come for labor and -government and business to agree that we are 604 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-1964 MaY 4 [3III going to achieve-and keep-full employment. The tax cut will keep production and incomes going up and the unemployment rate coming down, but these are not enough. We must create stronger domestic and foreign markets for our products-for these in turn create new jobs. To drain shameful backwaters of poverty and concentrated unemployment, we must press our war on poverty forward to total victory. As the strong thrust of an expanding economy swells our tax revenues, and as we are able safely and prudently to pare our defense expenditure, we will be able to devote new resources to important public programs. And, as I told the business leaders last week, we may even be able to afford another tax cut in a few years. We surely do not want this promise of progress to be threatened by inflation. As demand increases and unemployment falls, managers will be tempted to raise pricesin spite of already high profits and continuing excess capacity; and unions will be tempted to force wages up faster than productivity-in spite of already high wages and continuing excessive unemployment. I do not believe labor or business want a renewed wage-price spiral any more than Barry Goldwater wants to run on the same ticket with Nelson Rockefeller. For such a spiral steals savings, eats away at real wages, bleeds the meager income of our older citizens, gives orders and jobs to foreign competitors, and undermines the soundness of the dollar. In the last few years-thanks to a wageprice level which enabled us to make a better mousetrap and sell it abroad competitivelywe have been regaining our competitive edge in international markets. While wholesale prices rose in France, Italy, Britain, and Japan, ours actually moved down a bit from I959 to I963. But these countries are making strong efforts to stabilize their prices. To improve our competitive position and end our balance-of-payments deficit and gold outflows, it is vital that we hold the line on our own prices over the period ahead. We have an excellent chance now to win back some of the markets we lost by price increases prior to I959 and to earn back some of the jobs we need to restore a better level of employment at home. I don't have to remind you that that opportunity could be lost if prices start to rise significantly. The case for tightening credit and boosting interest rates would become stronger, and the result could well be a slowdown in the rate of economic expansion. To help avoid that situation we have set forth wage-price guideposts as an essential part of our defense against inflation. The guideposts are sensible and fair. They are in the public interest, and while I cannotand will not-force anyone to follow them, I can call them to your attention and ask for your cooperation. Just as last week I asked business leaders to hold the price line or actually cut prices and share their gains in productivity with consumers, so this week I ask you to do your part to hold wage increases in line with the productivity gains of our economy. Any increase which does cause or contribute to inflation will not benefit labor. In the expansion period that lasted from October I949 to July I953, average weekly earnings after taxes in manufacturing rose more than 23 percent. But prices were rising too, and the real gain was only 9 percent. In the present expansion periodfrom February 1961 to March 1964-weekly earnings after taxes have risen by less605 [3II] May 4 Public Papers of the Presidents only 41/2 percent. But corrected for price change, the gain this time has been substantially greater-IO.3 percent. Healthy economic expansion without inflation serves labor as it serves the whole community. The continuance of such expansion is possible. The issue is in your hands and the hands of business. I know we're always tempted to blame the other side for irresponsibility. Labor says business is out of step and business says labor is at fault and both say the Government is to blame. But all of us are responsible. Corporate profits after taxes are running $3i billion this year against $22 billion in I96i. Annual labor income is running about $60 billion above its level 3 years ago, and there is room for satisfactory wage and fringe increases within noninflationary limits. You must remember, and we must never forget, that the economy cannot absorb big cost increases and big price increases without endangering our progress. And we must remember, too, that there is only one test for all of us: What is best for America is best for us. The agenda of unfinished work in America is long. We need civil rights legislation to insure that all Americans are treated equally. We need medical care under social security to give our older citizens a fair chance to stay well. We need a successful war on poverty to lift 9 million American families to full membership in our society. We need a food stamp program so no American child goes hungry. We need a housing program that will provide a decent home for every American family. We need a Federal pay raise to allow the biggest business in the country to hire competent workers. We need an increased area redevelopment program to provide more jobs. And if all that we do with the help of the private sector cannot employ all our people, the Government will have to do for people what private enterprise fails to do-we will step up our programs of public works. This country is going to meet these challenges. We are going to do all these things. We are going to write a record of which our children's children will be proud-and we want your names engraved on the honor roll of those who went all the way in helping to write that record. Help us to do these things. Help us as we build the great society America can, and will, be. NOTE: The President spoke in the State Dining Room at the White House. The guests included I39 labor leaders and their wives. As printed, this item follows the prepared text released by the White House. 312 Remarks at the Opening of the Fundraising Campaign of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. May 5, i964 Ladies and gentlemen: I am glad to take part in the opening of the '64 Multiple Sclerosis Campaign. For multiple sclerosis is a crippler and we cannot rest in this country until we have con quered it. We owe that commitment to the 400,000 Americans who suffer today from multiple sclerosis, and to the thousands yet unborn who will suffer if we should fail in our task. 6o6 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-I964 May 5 [3I3 We have not been able to diagnose the cause of multiple sclerosis. But while we still have no cure, we do have great hopehope that in time the dedication and the ingenuity of man will triumph over a tragic disease. There is reason to hope for the first time. The Public Health Service, working in cooperation with the Multiple Sclerosis Society and the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Blindness, has started a program of controlled clinical therapy. Certain hormone drugs may hold the answer that we have been looking for, and this new controlled clinical trial may lead to new avenues that we can hopefully investigate. But this effort and other efforts to find the cause and the cure of multiple sclerosis take a great deal of talent and a lot of money. Manpower is a critical problem. Therefore, I applaud the efforts by the Multiple Sclerosis Society to encourage young doctors and young scientists to join, us in this fight. I want to urge all Americans to support the Multiple Sclerosis Society Campaign in i964, and to help bring the day nearer when "MS" stands for "mystery solved." NOTE: The President spoke to officials of the Multiple Sclerosis Society at I I:30 a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White House. 3I3 Remarks to a Group of Foreign Students. May 5, i964 IT GIVES me a great deal of pleasure to welcome you here as the honored guests of the American people, to the house which is their home. A great American, Robert Frost, once said that you never know what a young man's chances in life are going to be until you know the kind of thing for which he will neglect his studies. Since all of you seem to have neglected your studies to come to the White House, I think your chances are pretty good. I am glad that Mrs. Johnson asked me to speak. I thought of the story of the man and his wife who were having an argument. The man's neighbor said to him, "I understand that you and Mary had some words." He said, "Yes, I had some, but I didn't get to use mine." I appreciate Lady Bird giving me a chance to use some of my words this afternoon. You have been studying here in America. Many of you will soon take your place in the forward march of your own society. I hope that what you have learned here will help you advance the progress of your own people, for this is no time for men of knowledge and learning to be above the battle, to stand aloof from the fight for a better world. Your education is a solemn trust. It carries the responsibility of a lifetime of service to your own country and to the world. I am glad that you have had this chance to see America, to know its people, to understand its problems as well as its achievements. For, like your own countries, we are an unfinished society. I know many of our people live in a better life than is possible in other places. We are very proud of these achievements, and we look forward to the day when the same standard of living is available to every person on this planet. But we also know that we have a long way to go before all citizens can share in the fruits of our society. Many Americans suffer unjust discrimination because of the color of their skin. Many more do not have 607 [3I31 May 5 Public Papers of the Presidents a chance to escape from a life of poverty and despair. We admit these problems and we admit them freely. We discuss them openly among ourselves. Only in this way and only through the unfettered play of free minds can all our resources be mobilized to overcome all of our difficulties, to bring justice to all of our people, and to continue the great work of building a great land. I believe it is one of the strengths of the United States that we have never had a single, rigid ideology. We do have deep beliefs, beliefs for which millions have fought and died and, today, all of our efforts and our hopes are directed to securing a world in which men can live for their beliefs rather than to die for them. But these are beliefs in man's right to freedom, to the good life, to spiritual fulfillment. They are beliefs which concern the hopes of people; they are not systems of thought which strike at the dreams of the individual in the name of the state or in the arrogant belief that a single man or group of men can prophesy the demands of history or the needs of nature. The variety of human experience cannot be contained in a single law or a single system or a single belief. We cannot make experience conform to dogma. We must adapt action to experience. This is what shapes our attitude toward the world. No man or nation is wise enough to prescribe a single economic system or a single set of political institutions to meet the needs of more than a hundred countries, each with its own history, its own resources, its own culture, and its own proud spiritual traditions. Each must be free to seek its own destiny in its own way, and that is what we believe for every American in this country; and that is what we believe for every country in this world. - From your experience here, you already know how hard a thing it is to explain democracy. One of our great poets, Carl Sandburg, said when he wrote, "Of course, we can't answer the question 'What is democracy?' smoothly and easily like we answer 'Where is the railroad station?' or 'Which way is the post office?"' Yet we know definitely where democracy is not, as we do where the railroad station is not, or where the post office is not. Around the world we, too, know where freedom is not, where man's hopes are being denied and where human dignity is not respected. We know of such places in America and we are trying as best we can, in every way we can, to wipe them out. And I hope that as you return each to his own land, each to your own work in your own way, I hope that you will always feel close to us as you carry forward that same task and you carry it forward in every corner of this earth. Thank you. I see in the audience one of our revered statesmen and one of the great men of this country who has a very deep interest in all of you, the distinguished Secretary of State. I wonder if he would come up and let me present him. It is my proud privilege to present to you a man who happens to be and is the kind of a Secretary of State that any President would like to have. NOTE: The President spoke in the afternoon on the South Lawn at the White House following remarks of welcome by Mrs. Johnson. Secretary of State Dean Rusk then spoke briefly. The text of the remarks of Mrs. Johnson and Secretary Rusk was also made public by the White House. Attending the reception were approximately 8oo foreign students representing 7, countries. 6o8 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-1964 314 Remarks at the 20th Washington Conference of the Advertising Council. May 6, 1964 May 6 [3I4] Ladies and gentlemen: I am glad that so many of you came out this morning. I am also pleased to know that so many members of my Cabinet have been taking part in your deliberations. I should have expected it-in this administration there has been a premium on anything that is free, including free advertising. I really expected my Cabinet to take full advantage of it. Fred Allen once said that a conference is a gathering of important people who singly can do nothing, but together can decide that nothing can be done. I hope that is not true of this conference. I think you can do something. That is the heart of a democracy-the conviction that individuals do make a difference, that we can share our world if we only will. I agree with Harry Emerson Fosdick, who said that "democracy is based upon the conviction that there are extraordinary possibilities in ordinary people." Furthermore, I think that together you can decide that something can be done about building a great society in America. Now I am not speaking this morning strictly in terms of profits and investments and capital gains, as important as those things are. I mean in terms of what that society does to provide a full and abundant life to every citizen. The test of a society is not its census or the size of its cities or the number of acres on its farms, but the test of a society is what happens to its people. I am frankly pleased with the economy. Times are good, as we meet here today. I know someone said that prosperity is the period when it is easy to borrow money to buy things which you should be able to pay for out of your own income. But our prosperity goes beyond that definition. Almost every day brings more good news about the economy. Some economists and some critics have reacted like the young father who was stationed in the Mediterranean. He received a telegram from his mother-in-law which read, "Twins arrived tonight. More by mail." He was surprised, and so have many people been surprised by what this free enterprise system is doing. It seems there is always more in the mail. This morning Walter Heller, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, told me that private residential construction outlays rose slightly in April. These are preliminary figures, but they are estimated to be Io percent above a year ago, and 1.7 above the first quarter average. That is for April. I was pleased to see that housing vacancy rates are down significantly from the second half of I963. Some people had thought that a serious rise in vacancies would be occurring by now. And there are a good many other good signs. The unemployment rate, as you know, is down from 7 percent of the labor force early in I96I to 5.4 percent in the first quarter of 1964. But we must not be satisfied as long as one qualified worker is out of work. The time has come to start thinking about and working for and doing something about full employment in America. We had a full employment bill in the Congress a few years ago, and somehow or other we dropped the "full" out of the act before it was passed and we have dropped it out of our thinking since. 6o9 [3I'41 May 6 Public Papers of the Presidents Nonfarm jobs are up from 6o.8 million early in I96I to 65.2 million in March I964, an increase of more than 5 million people working. Working hours are up, too. The percent of labor force time lost in full and part-time employment is down from 6.3 a year ago to 5.8 in March. Average weekly earnings after taxes in manufacturing, for a production worker with three dependents, are up from $86 a year ago to $90o in March. Corporate profits after taxes are running $3i billion this year-$3I billion after taxes-against $22 billion in I96I. Annual labor income is at about $50 billion more after taxes than it was in I96I, so the corporations are getting io or i i more, the laborers are getting $50 billion more. So, as I said earlier, I am pleased with the direction that you have headed the economy in, and this is a very important point that I made last year when I talked to you, and I want to make it again this year. I was Vice President then. I have different responsibilities now, but our system is still the same. As long as business, capital and management, labor, and the Government operate in an atmosphere of mutual trust, as friends helping friends, and not as bitter antagonists, I see no reason why this expansion should not continue. I am concerned, however, with some other aspects of America as we meet here this morning. You hear a great deal and read a lot about the deadly diseases that afflict men, such as cancer and heart disease and multiple sclerosis and strokes and all the rest. These are tragic, terrible diseases, but the most dangerous sickness that you can imagine, especially in a democracy, the most dangerous sickness is public apathy. A democracy has no safe depository but,the people themselves. As Joseph Story wrote, this is a Government "founded by 6Io the people... and managed by the people." Once the people stop managing; once citizens-in every walk of life-retreat from their responsibilities, no matter how small they appear to be; once we become "at ease in Zion," our society, any society, is headed for the scrap heap of history. "I believe in democracy," Woodrow Wilson said, "because it releases the energies of every human being." He was right, but if people burn that energy on irrelevant and trivial causes, on hates or on purposes that serve only their own narrow interests, democracy will inevitably suffer. The change may be gradual, almost imperceptible, but the turn will be in only one direction, and that direction will be down. That is why I wanted to talk to you this. morning. First of all, I want to thank you men for donating more than $Ioo million a year to, the advancement of public causes. I want to express the hope that this year you will devote yourselves as private citizens to spe — cific programs which will greatly raise the quality of life in your beloved country. Our War on Poverty is going to succeed, for example, only if people like you get outthere in the front lines and help it to succeed.. There is hardly a community in this country where poverty does not have some beachhead. I don't know what you may have seen on the other side of the tracks in your home areas, but I do know that the hardest battles are going to be fought right in your hometown. We have planned this war not from the top down, but we have planned it from the bottom up. We have even put a Sargent instead of a general in charge of it.l We want local communities and local leaders, if they 1 The President was referring to his appointment of Sargent Shriver to direct the War on Povertyprogram. Lyndon B. John. will, to plan their own attack and plan it at home. Washington should not be telling your home town what to do to solve its problems of poverty; you ought to be telling us what we can do to help you carry out your plans. And that is the way our program has developed. I think this makes good sense economically, because $i,ooo invested in salvaging an unemployable youth today can return $40,ooo or more in his lifetime. When Mr. McNamara needs men in the services, and Mr. Hershey attempts to select those people for him, out of every two red-blooded American boys that goes through that draft machinery, one has to be cut back, one out of every two, because of lack of mental qualifications or lack of physical qualifications. It is almost insulting to urge you to enlist in this war for just economic motivations. This is a moral challenge that goes to the very root of our civilization, and asks if we are willing to make public, personal sacrifices for the public good. I know that every person in this room would not hesitate for a moment, even at your age, to leave your company and put on a uniform if you thought you could save America, and that was necessary. Well, we are attempting to save America. We are attempting to reach down and pick up io million people, families at the bottom of the heap, and move them out of the slough of despondency up to where they can become taxpayers instead of taxeaters. I can say the same thing to you about the equal rights program that is pending before the Congress. Some say this is a "political gimmick," but they are doing gross injustice to the basic convictions of a democratic society; that is, that men cannot live unto themselves alone; that the right kind of democracy is bound together by the ties of neighborliness. son, i963-1964 May 6 [3I4] I have known and been associated with businessmen all my life. I am even one Democrat who can honestly and genuinely say that some of my best friends are businessmen. Surely, enlightened businessmen believe that all members of the public ought to have access to facilities open to the public. Surely 20th century enlightened businessmen, leaders of great companies in this country, surely they believe that all members of the public should be equally eligible for Federal benefits that are financed by all the public. Surely enlightened businessmen believe that all members of the public should have an equal chance to vote for public officials, and an equal chance to send their children to public schools paid for by all the public, and to contribute their talents to the public good. These are the goals of this bill, and these are moral objectives. Gentlemen, at least nine Americans have died this week in Viet-Nam-io,ooo miles away from home. I do not know if they were white Americans or colored Americans. I do not know whether they were Catholic Americans or Protestant Americans or Jewish Americans or if they even had any professed religious belief at all. I do not know if they were from New York or Georgia or Puerto Rico or New Mexico or Texas. I do not know how old they were or what they wanted to do with their lives, but I do know this: I want to wake up tomorrow morning knowing that I have done everything possible to make what they died for come true. I came over here this morning to ask for your help, for there are few groups who can help more. You are the great communicators of our great land. You are the great molders of public opinion. You are the 6ii [3I4] May 6 Public Papers of the Presidents persuaders. So help us to communicate the urgency of these programs to all America. For almost 50 days now, from early morning to late at night, we have been talking, talking, talking, talking about this moral problem that I just discussed with you, in the Senate. Some say men from one section want to talk until there is no time to vote. Some say men of certain parties want to talk so that they won't have to vote on other things; that we have a convention or two coming up, and they can postpone facing up to these real sores that face the American public. Well, we do have a convention coming up, and we hope that we can pass our poverty and Appalachia program before the convention, that we can pass our civil rights program before the convention, that we can pass our medical care program before the convention that will permit us to take a dollar from each person's pay check each month and a dollar from his employer and nothing from the Government, and take those $2 a month for 12 months a year, $24 a year-if he goes on the labor market at 20 years of age and stays to 65-take $24 a year for 45 years and multiply that by 3.75, as the security statisticians do, and it will give you nearly $4,000 that every person in America will have for hospital insurance after 65. What they may have saved on their own they can pay to their doctor instead of their doctor having to wait until they have paid their hospital and nurse's bill. A food stamp plan that will bring good foods into the home of our ill-fed-a Poverty in Appalachia program, a Federal pay bill-all of these things are in the budget, in the lowest budget that has been submitted, but we haven't got them passed and there are some people who think that if we can just hold back long enough to get by the convention that they won't be passed at all. Well, I don't predict when they are going to be passed, but I do predict that the American people are going to ask their Congressmen and their Senators and their molders of public opinion to help us get these bills voted on, help us to persuade the frightened and the skeptical, help us to persuade the cynical that American society is in the balance, and the future of our land is at stake. Let us not wait for the day when the prophet will say that the harvest is past and the summer is ended, and we are not saved. Let us, instead, work together so that one day we may hear the benediction, "Well done, thou good and faithful servants." So I ask you this morning to resolve here, now, as individuals, not as a conference, to give us that help that is necessary, to passing this program that will give us a greater and a better society. Determine here that you will engrave your name on that honor roll of leaders of this Nation who in the 20th century sought to give finality to a proclamation that Lincoln issued a hundred years ago. It is true that a hundred years ago this year a great American President freed the slaves of their chains, but he did not free America of its bigotry, and he did not free us from the prejudice of color. Until education is blind to color, until employment is unaware of race, emancipation will be a proclamation but it will not be a fact. As the rest of the world looks upon this rich and strong Nation, let us not only pray and work for peace and good will toward all men, but let us determine that the sore spots here in our own social life can be wiped and washed away and we can set an example for the rest of the world. 612 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 May 6 [315] You men can help us do this job, not a Democratic job, not a Republican job-an American job. I am going to stay as far away from partisan politics as I can in a political year for as long as I can, because the great challenge that faced this country on November 22d was how could we have continuity and how could we effect a transition and how could we show to the rest of the world that our constitutional system would stand a challenge? How could we unite the people of the North and the South and the East and the West, and the labor and the manager and the capitalist, and how could we keep them from tearing themselves to shreds. President Eisenhower came down from Gettysburg and he spent 2 hours in my office writing on a yellow tablet his suggestions as to what could be done. President Truman came from Independence. The great corporation leaders of this country came to the White House as the Business Advisory Council. The labor leaders came and made their offer of support, and through this all we have made a reasonably good transition. Those doubtful watchers in the other corners of the world have seen now that our system does work. I have tried in all of this critical period, when we had to get education bills passed through the Congress, when io of the I5 appropriation bills remained to be passed, when the civil rights bill had not come up in the House of Representatives and we had to have a petition to start trying to get it out of a committee, when the tax bill had not passed the Senate, when the library bill was still pending there, when no farm bill had been acted upon at all-during all this time I had to apply leadership and inspiration and evaluate each bill on its merit, and I have looked at it with only one thing in mind, as I looked at the foreign aid bill when we had to call the Congressmen back at Christmas, and ask this question: Is this measure good for all America? That is the only criteria. That is the only yardstick. If it is good for America, it is good for my party and my people and both parties. We are going to try to function in that spirit. The White House door is open to you gentlemen for your suggestions and your criticisms. Now we get about ioo,ooo letters a week, and we get a good many criticisms-everything from beagles to speedometers-but we think that we are stronger and wiser for it, and we want you to know that that is your house, that this is your country, that is your Government. It is going to be only as strong as you wish it to be and you help it to be and you make it to be. Your cooperation, your advice and counsel, the benefit of the experience that you have earned in the world of hard knocks, is always welcome there. Thank you for inviting me to come. Goodby. NOTE: The President spoke at 10:30 a.m. at the annual meeting of the Advertising Council held in the District of Columbia Red Cross Building. 3I5 Remarks Upon Presenting the Young American Medals. May 6, i964 Ladies and gentlemen and award winners: I am very grateful to the Attorney General and to Mr. J. Edgar Hoover and to the other men and women of the Department of Justice who helped in the selection of these fine young men and women. 6I3 [3I5] May 6 Public Papers of the Presidents I regret that Solicitor General Cox was unable to be here today, but I am very proud to be here in the company of these outstanding young people, their parents, Members of Congress who found it possible to come here and enjoy this ceremony with us. They are here as representatives of the many young Americans who perform great deeds of courage and important acts of service to their friends and to their communities. You know, we hear and read so much about delinquency that I know that all of us find special enjoyment in seeing these young people and hearing the Attorney General tell us of their outstanding deeds of heroism and bravery. We tend to hear and read more about misdeeds than about good deeds these days, but what these young people have done is to remind us of all of the fine qualities of our fine youth. We all read of the young girl who was being attacked and stabbed to death while some 30 people watched in apathy. No one even called the police. When asked later why, they simply said they didn't want to be involved. These young men and women here today were willing to be involved. They were involved, as all of us must be involved, if our country is to remain strong and free and if we are to achieve our goal. So to Elaine, Marshall, Jean, and Gary, you have set an example for all of us by volunteering to help other people who are less fortunate than yourselves. So on behalf of a grateful Nation, I want to congratulate these young Americans, congratulate their mothers and fathers, their States, their neighborhoods which produced them. They are a great credit to their country. We wish them well and we are delighted they could come here and visit the White House this morning. NOTE: The ceremony was held at II:I5 a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White House. During his remarks the President referred to the following members of the Young American Medals Committee: Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Solicitor General Archibald Cox. The Attorney General introduced the award winners to the President. A summary of his remarks follows: Elaine Marie Kieff, aged I4, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Forest Kieff of St. Bernard, La., and a student at St. Bernard High School, received an award for heroism and bravery. Elaine rescued from their burning home four of her younger brothers and sisters and two neighbor children before going for help, bringing the last child to safety just as the roof collapsed. All children would have perished had it not been for her effort and quick thinking. Marshall Glass, aged 18, son of Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Glass of Tampa, Fla., and a senior at Robinson High School, also received an award for heroism and bravery. Marshall swam 2 /2 miles to rescue a lone Io-year-old girl from a sinking boat on stormy Hillsborough Bay, stopping long enough to make a kind of lifesaver for the girl's father, who had started the swim but became exhausted and had to stop. Although he suffered severe cramps from the cold water, which was alsoc contaminated with sewage and known to have harbor sharks, Marshall was successful in bringing the girl to safety. Jean Ann DeMaster, aged 18, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John DeMaster of Sheboygan, Wis., received a service award. As chairman of the TriHigh Y Club she worked with mentally retarded children, developing a variety of programs for them, and organized fundraising projects for the mentally retarded. Gary Calnek, aged 8, son of Mr. and Mrs. Bertram Calnek of the Bronx, New York City, a student at City College, also received a service award. Gary is permanent chairman of the 48th Precinct Team Council, organized to promote educational and social activities for teenagers in the community. Under his leadership it is now recognized as one of the outstanding Precinct Team Councils in the city of New York. He has also been active in the youth section of the National Conference of Christians and Jews and has assisted other groups in an educational program for Negro and Puerto Rican citizens desiring to vote. 614 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-i964 3i6 The President's News Conference Held on the South Lawn at the White House. May 6, i964 May 6 [3i6] THE PRESIDENT. [I.] Friends and reporters-I hope you are the same-and children of reporters: I am so glad so many of you youngsters are here today. I want to prove to you that your fathers are really on the job sometimes. I am glad your mothers came, too. I suspect they are also very pleased to find your fathers working today. I thought you children deserved a press conference because I know that you have taken so many telephone calls for your fathers and mothers, and located your wandering parents at so many receptions, that you have become good cub reporters, too. Someone even suggested you should be accredited to the White House. Here you are. I think that that person ought to remain anonymous, at least until he has his hair cut again. When the press conference is over, I want to ask all the children to come up here and pose with me for a group picture. And let's don't have any of the mommas or poppas. They are always crowding into pictures, anyway. Now let me get the business done first and then we will have the children here. [2.] Secretary of Defense McNamara will leave Washington Friday for West Germany, where he will continue his discussions on matters of mutual defense interest with Minister of Defense Mr. von Hassel. The discussions with Minister von Hassel will include cooperative research and development, existing cooperative logistics programs and a continuation of the United States and the Federal Republic of Germany's military purchase offset program. I have asked Secretary McNamara to proceed from Bonn to Saigon, where he expects to receive firsthand reports on the progress of military and civilian operations in South Viet Nam since his last visit. The Secretary will be accompanied to Saigon by the Chief of Staff of the Army, General Wheeler, and Assistant Secretaries of Defense Arthur Sylvester and John McNaughton. [3.] I have today issued an Executive order establishing a Maritime Advisory Committee to assist the Government in considering matters of vital importance to the maritime industry.' Committee membership will include the Secretary of Commerce, as Chairman; the Secretary of Labor, the Administrator of the Maritime Administration, and an equal number of distinguished representatives of labor, management, and the public. Because of the impact of the activities of certain other governmental agencies upon maritime policies, I have requested the Secretaries of State, Agriculture, and Navy, and the Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, to participate in the Committee's proceedings. The creation of this committee provides a useful forum for a careful and constructive consideration of the national defense, trade, manpower, and labor relations programs of one of our oldest and most important industries. [4.] I have today sent a letter to Senator Harry Byrd of Virginia, expressing my appreciation for the work of the Committee on Reduction of Nonessential Federal Expenditures in keeping the country informed on employment trends. Senator Byrd's reports show a favorable employment trend in re1Executive Order II156 (29 F.R. 7855; 3 CFR, I964 Supp.). 6I5 [3i6] May 6 Public Papers of the Presidents cent months. The figures for March show that total civilian employment was I5,700 below March a year ago in the Government. I told Senator Byrd that we are going to do everything possible to hold down the regular seasonal increases in employment which occur in the spring of the year as outdoor work opens up. I am determined to hold Federal employment to the minimum required to conduct the public business effectively.2 I have asked the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior, who normally employ a good many people at this time of the year, to be very careful in the people they put on in the next few months. [5.] I have met in the last few days with key leaders of business and labor, as you know. I am pleased with the gains made by both groups, not at the expense of each other, but as the result of our record 39 -month, $io8 billion expansion of gross national product. We have a higher productivity. We have lower taxes. We have a better record of price stability than any other industrial country, and some of the gains, side by side, are, for example: Business corporate profits after taxes this year are running $9 billion above i961, $31 billion against $22 billion. Corporate cash flow-after-tax profits-is running $i6 billion above i96i, $65 billion against $49 billion. The rate of return on stockholders equity in manufacturing corporations was 9.2 percent for i960. It was io.i 2A White House release of May 17 announced that the President had approved a second reduction in end-of-year employment ceilings for i964, which lowered by i5,191 positions the number estimated in the i965 fiscal year budget. The first cut-back of 6,526 positions was announced on March 7 (see Item 211 [9]). The release stated that the additional reduction of 8,665 positions in 2i agencies and departments were ordered after reviewing the first of the quarterly progress reports on the tightening of management in Government. 6i6 percent for 1963; 11.4 percent for the fourth quarter of i963. And now for labor: The long-term unemployment in April was down in percent from March. Civilian employment after seasonal correction is up 750,000 from March, and i.8 million over a year ago, 4.4 million from early i96i, and 1.7 million in the past year. Total labor income is up about $50 billion after taxes in 3 years. The wage and salary share in corporate gross product has held up better in the I96i-64 expansion than in any other postwar upswing. It is above 72 percent now. It dropped to 68-7o percent in the earlier upswings. So with profits and wages and jobs all rising strongly, without rising prices, I asked business to hold the price line or even cut prices and to share productivity gains with consumers. I asked labor to hold wage increases within the bounds of the economy's productivity increases. If they do this, the country can go on to the heights of full employment and full use of our great productive potential, to the greater gain, I think, of all our countrymen. [6.] I have sent a group of businessmen to Europe, representing the meat packing and cattle industries, to explore what can be done to substantially increase U.S. exports of beef. I will receive a full report from them when they return later in the month. The Department of Defense has taken steps today to purchase an additional 40 million pounds annually of U.S. beef. This will be in addition to the 70 million pounds already announced. [7.] Final data on strikes during I963 is encouraging and just became available. They showed that i963 established a new postwar low in strike activity. The estimated working time lost through strikes last year was the lowest percentage since World War I-0.13 of i percent. The 941,000 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 May 6 [3i6] workers involved in strikes were the fewest since I942. The 3,364 strikes that began in I963 was the second lowest total since the war. Twice as much time was lost because of industrial injuries last year as was lost because of strikes. I want to congratulate management and labor publicly today on this very fine record they have made. [8.] I am announcing the appointment of Mrs. Charlotte Moton Hubbard as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs. Mrs. Hubbard, whose father, Dr. Robert Moton, succeeded Booker T. Washington as President of Tuskegee Institute, has a distinguished record in education, civic affairs, and government. [9.] In my first official foreign policy statement as President of the United States, I pledged to the representatives of Latin American countries the best efforts of this Nation toward the fulfillment of the Alliance for Progress. We are carrying out that pledge. I intend to ask the Ambassadors of each of our Alliance partners to return again to the White House, to come here next Monday to review some of our work in support of Latin American development efforts. At that time I will sign several new loan agreements and commitment letters for the most recently developed Latin American projects. While the efforts of governments are vitally important in the struggle for hemispheric progress, the efforts of private persons and private groups can also have great impact. Assistant Secretary Mann has given me a very encouraging report on the progress of the partners of the Alliance program. The program is an effort to encourage private groups in the United States to work together with Latin Americans in the hemisphere's war against poverty and ignorance and disease. During the past 6 months, private citizens in a number of States in our country have organized to establish contact with interested Latin Americans. I would like to pay these people and these groups in Latin America and the United States a very special tribute today. I thank them warmly for their interest and efforts in this most important work. [io.] I am sending to Congress today a request for a supplemental appropriation amounting to roughly $40 million for the Chamizal settlement. The additional funds will enable the United States to carry out the recently ratified Chamizal Convention.3 This Convention, which was approved by the Senate in December 1963, settles a longstanding boundary dispute between the United States and Mexico. With these funds, we will be able to act quickly in purchasing properties in El Paso on a basis which is designed to be fair to our own citizens. [I i.] Let me also report three new developments with respect to our relations with Panama. First, Special Ambassador Anderson came to see me this morning. He has returned from a very fruitful visit to Panama, during which he met in a very cordial atmosphere with President Chiari, Special Ambassador Illueca, and with other Panamanian officials, for the purpose of having a preliminary exchange of views on U.S.Panamanian problems. I met with the Special Ambassadors today, both from Panama and the United States, and I expressed to both of them my sincere hope for a mutually satisfactory outcome of their talks, in view of the importance to both countries, in view of the importance to the 'For the President's remarks upon signing the ratification of the Chamizal Convention, see Item 58. 6I7 L316] May 6 Public Papers of the Presidents hemisphere, in view of the importance to the free world. Second, I have received a report on the work of the special U.S. economic team to Panama, which I mentioned about 2 weeks ago.4 The team went to Panama on April 27, and held a number of conversations with Panamanian economic officials and private sector representatives. The talks were most fruitful and constructive, and helped to lay the foundation for more detailed discussions later in the spring regarding U.S. cooperation in Panama's effort to improve its economy under the Alliance for Progress. Third, in an effort to further improve the formulation and execution of U.S. policy towards Panama, I have directed our Ambassador in Panama to chair a committee which includes the Governor of the Panama Canal Zone and the Commander in Chief U.S. Southern Command. This committee will meet regularly to discuss all aspects of U.S.Panamanian relations and make proposals regarding them. [ i2.] And finally, I have today accepted lifetime membership in the Vanderburgh Humane Society of Evansville, Ind. I will be happy to answer any questions, if you have any. [I3.] Q. Mr. President, considering the background of an election year, what are your feelings about holding Congress in session should they run on a little bit with the civil rights bill? THE PRESIDENT. I would hope and anticipate the civil rights bill would be disposed of in a reasonably short time. We have been debating that bill now for almost 2 months and a good many amendments have been offered and are being considered. But I hope they can pass the bill the end of the month or the early part of the next month, and then we can get on with our food stamp Cabled classified report. 6i8 plan in the Senate, our poverty bill, our Appalachia bill, and our medical aid bill. I hope that we can have the pay bill reported by the committee very shortly. In the event those bills are not acted upon-and some cynical people think that there may be a deliberate slowdown in the Senate for the purpose of voting on the civil rights bill among some people, and among others for the purpose of not voting on any bill. If there should be that kind of a slowdown, I would seriously consider coming back here, of course, after the Republican convention and, if necessary, coming back after the Democratic convention. The people's business must come first and I think that the people of this country are entitled to have a vote on these important measures. This administration is entitled to have a vote on them, and I am going to ask the Congress to vote them up or down. Q. Then, sir, you are contemplating an extra session of Congress? THE PRESIDENT. I am not anticipating what the Congress will do at this moment. I hope they will pass all the bills. If they don't pass the bills, I will seriously consider calling them back until they vote the bills up or down. I will cross that bridge when I get to it. [14.] Q. Mr. President, how do you assess the Alabama primary results? What are the implications for the South in the Democratic ticket in the South? THE PRESIDENT. I think that the people of Alabama decided they wanted to vote for their Governor and they expressed their sentiment just as the people of Wisconsin and the people of Indiana have done in that connection. In Alabama they voted for him and I see that it has no real consequence beyond the boundaries of Alabama. [I5.] Q. Mr. President, I believe you are going into Maryland tomorrow on a good Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 May 6 [3i6] will tour of the Appalachia area and I wonder if while you are there you will speak a good word for your stand-in at the Maryland primary election, Senator Dan Brewster. THE PRESIDENT. Well, I am going to Maryland tomorrow in connection with the Appalachia program. I have invited the Senators of both parties to go with me to all the States involved. I am going to take part in no primaries, as I have repeatedly said. [I6.] Q. Mr. President, sir, there have been some letters recently from soldiers in South Viet-Nam that say the way the war is being operated there now, that we cannot win. This is the basis for a request from Congressman Ed Foreman, of Texas, that the House Armed Services Committee conduct a complete examination and review of the war in South Viet-Nam. What do you think of this? THE PRESIDENT. We are constantly examining conditions in Viet-Nam. As I stated earlier in the day, Secretary McNamara is going back there in the early part of this week. Secretary Rusk was there for the last 2 or 3 weeks. Mr. McNamara was there a short time ago. The people who are responsible for carrying on our operations there are constantly examining it to be sure that it is as efficient and effective as possible. I have no doubt but what they will do their job well. [I7.] Q. Mr. President, Premier Khrushchev says that there is no agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union permitting American planes to fly in surveillance flights over Cuba. Officials of your administration say there is such an agreement. I wonder, sir, if you can tell us, first, whether there is this agreement and, second, what the provisions of the agreement are? THE PRESIDENT. What officials of this administration say that we have an agreement that there will be no overflights? Q. I believe, sir, in repeated requests to people at the State Department this point of view has come up. THE PRESIDENT. I am not familiar with any such agreement that we have with the Russian people. [18.] Q. Mr. President, you mentioned earlier Governor Wallace's showing in the Alabama primary. I wonder if you will say something about the possibility of his performance in Wisconsin and Indiana on the national political scene? THE PRESIDENT. Well, I think they speak very well for themselves. He got 24 percent of the vote in Wisconsin and a little less than 20 percent of the vote in Indiana. I wouldn't think that would be-less than 20 percent of the total vote polled would be any overwhelming endorsement of a man's record. [I9.] Q. Many of the young people here have dogs. Now that you have brought the subject up, perhaps you would tell them the story of your beagles. THE PRESIDENT. Well, the story of my beagles is that they are very nice dogs and I enjoy them and I think they enjoy me. I would like for the people to enjoy both of us. [20.] Q. Mr. President, in the past, some Presidents have worried about over-exposure, about being seen too much and too often on TV and in the papers. I wonder if you feel that that is a problem of your Presidency? THE PRESIDENT. Well, I strive to please, and if you will give me any indication of how you feel about the matter, I will try to work it into my plans in the future. I had observed some little comments by some of the newspaper people about their desire to have live television, and I am trying my best to accommodate them. Although I don't have it very often, I hope all of you are enjoying it today. 6I9 13i6] May 6 Public Papers of the Presidents I sometimes think that these press conferences can be conducted just as accurately and perhaps as effectively in the President's office, but I try to give you a variety. As I told you in the beginning, I always want to remain accessible. I hope the press will never be critical of me for being overaccessible. Q. Mr. President, also in light of-pardon me. [2i.] Q. Mr. President, Governor Wallace's victory in Alabama involved another thing, and that is the possibility that his organization won in such a way that it will deny the bona fide Democratic candidates the support in the November election. I would ask you this: What do you think in terms of the health of a two-party system, of the maneuver for the so-called free electors? THE PRESIDENT. I think that people have a right to vote for any group of electors they want. I think that they should have the right to vote for any candidate and any party that they desire, without confusion. [22.] Q. Mr. President, in line with the question about your activities and your frequent appearances, could you tell us when was the last time you had a physical examination and if the doctors have admonished you to slow down at all? THE PRESIDENT. No. The only hazing I have received in that respect is from the newspaper people and I think we made a grievous error when I asked them to walk around the block with me the other day. The doctors, I think-as a matter of fact, I read a report from some doctor, I don't know just which one-and I have been examined frequently since I have been in the White House the last 6 months, and sometimes at greater lengths than I am being examined here today-they tell me that my blood pressure is 125 over 78 and that my heart is nor mal. I don't have any aches and pains. I feel fine. I get adequate rest and good pay, and plenty to eat. I don't know anyone that is concerned about my health. Certainly none of my doctors are concerned about it. [23.] Q. Mr. President, sir, do you feel that an economic boycott of Cuba can be effective without the full cooperation of the British and the French? THE PRESIDENT. Yes, I think it is being effective, to the extent of the cooperation they have given us. I regret very much to see any of our allies who do not feel that they could cooperate with us all the way. We regret that, but nonetheless we are going to continue our policy of economic isolation in the hope that we can prevent the spread of Castro's communism throughout the hemisphere. We are going to constantly insist that our allies do likewise. But we don't have the responsibility for any foreign policy except our own. They will, in the last analysis, make the final decision, but we are going to continue to urge them to join us in a policy of economic isolation, so that communism will not be channeled out to other nations in this hemisphere. [24.] Q. Mr. President, are you hopeful about the outcome of Senator Fulbright's mission to Greece and Turkey? THE PRESIDENT. Yes. Senator Fulbright had announced some engagements in foreign capitals several weeks ago. When I learned that he was going to be abroad anyway, I asked him to undertake some discussions that I thought would be in the national interest. That is not an unusual thing. Senator Mansfield did that last year on behalf of the late, beloved President Kennedy, and other Senators and Congressmen frequently do it at the suggestion of the President or the State Department. I have every reason to believe that Senator Ful 620 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-I964 May 6 13i6] bright will carry on some very useful discussions and have a very good report when he returns. Q. Mr. President, does your mission for Senator Fulbright indicate any approval of his recent speech that we ought to re-think our policies in the foreign policy field, especially insofar as Panama and Cuba are concerned? THE PRESIDENT. I stated my views on Senator Fulbright's position in my New York speech before the Associated Press.5 My asking him to carry on these discussions for us did not indicate either approval or disapproval. I had already indicated that we were not in agreement, in toto, with his views on either Cuba or Panama. [25.] Q. Mr. President, you are reported as having said to Chancellor Erhard of Germany that the Germans should put themselves into the shoes of the Russians to understand better the Russian concern. I want to ask you, sirTHE PRESIDENT. I beg your pardon, but I am not understanding what you are saying. You will either have to speak louder orQ. Mr. President, you are reported as having said to Chancellor Erhard that the Germans should put themselves into the shoes of the Russians to understand better their position about Germany. I wonder, sir, what would you think of the idea to apply this principle more universally to more and more countries in their mutual relations, to increase trust and confidence and to decrease tension? THE PRESIDENT. Well, I had an informal discussion with a German newspaperman, in company with a friend.6 In the course of that conversation I expressed to him the deSee Item 272; also Item 242[II]. 6 An interview held at the White House on April i8 for publication in a Munich weekly, "Quick." termination of the American people to avoid war, if at all possible, that we wanted to find a road to peace and we would do everything we could in that direction. I told him that I thought the best way to do that was to follow the Golden Rule, to do unto others as you would have them do unto you, and to try to find ways and means of finding areas of agreement. I expressed that as my own view, and as the policy of this country. I have no differences with Chancellor Erhard in that regard. I said no more to the newspaperman than I had said publicly following our visit with him, and than we said in our communique,7 and as I repeat today. I think it is very important to the people of the world that the leaders of the countries of the world pursue every possible road to peace and to try to achieve it. I have no doubt but what the German people will, in their own way, and through their own qualified people, follow that objective. As I say, there are no differences between Chancellor Erhard and myself now, and there have not been. Our visit was a very fruitful one and we are in complete agreement. The speech that he delivered a few days ago following this article clearly points that out.8 [26.] Q. Mr. President, the economy has just set a peacetime record for no recessions, and the indicators pretty much look good for the future. Is it your thinking and the thinking of your economists in your administration that recessions may be a thing of the past? THE PRESIDENT. No, I think that we have 7 See Item 76. 8 As reported by the press Chancellor Erhard appealed for a common front on foreign policy issues in a speech before the Christian Democratic Party on April 28. 62i [3i6] May 6 Public Papers of the Presidents to be constantly concerned with economic conditions, as I tried to indicate from my statements to you from time to time. While our unemployment has dropped from 5.8 to 5.4, we would like to see it go down below 5 this year, as quickly as possible. We would like to see many of our young people that are now unemployed put to work under our new program that Sargent Shriver has suggested to the Congress. I think we have to be concerned with the utilization of idle plant capacity. We have to be concerned with the value of the dollar. We never know what next month or next quarter or next year may lead to. We think that now we are enjoying a very fine record, but we are constantly on the alert for any developments that may indicate otherwise. We are prepared to take whatever measures may be necessary to attempt to avoid any decline. We would not say for a moment, though, that recessions are not possible. [27.] Q. Mr. President, a short time ago you expressed the hope that other flags would join the United States in South Viet-Nam in helping to contain the war against communism. Can you say if any progress has been made in that line? THE PRESIDENT. Yes, progress has been made, and further progress, I believe, will be made following Secretary Rusk's visit in the next few days to the NATO ministers meeting.9 I think that a good many countries 'North Atlantic Council's regular spring ministerial meeting, held at The Hague May I2-I4. Text of a communique following the meeting is printed in the Department of State Bulletin (vol. 50, p. 852). are giving serious consideration to making contributions in that area to keep communism from enveloping that part of the world. We welcome that help and we expect to receive it. [28.] Q. Mr. President, in your war against poverty, sir, the plans that you have, have you given any thought as to how the general public might help on a voluntary basis to combat these pockets of distress in this country, and particularly in this prosperous time? THE PRESIDENT. Yes. I have given a great deal of thought to it. I appealed to I39 of the big corporate leaders of this country the other evening to do all they could in the way of additional capital investments to provide additional jobs. We have talked to mayors' groups, we have met with Governors' groups, we have met with private groups. We have urged them all to develop local plans. I have talked to the mayors of large cities, such as Pittsburgh, New York City, and other places in the country. I have talked to Governors, not only from the Appalachian States, but Governors from all over the country. We feel now that it is the job of the local community and the regional area and the State to do their local planning and not to be told from Washington what they ought to do, but to tell us what they want to do and how we can help them. Merriman Smith, United Press International: Thank you, Mr. President. NOTE: President Johnson's seventeenth news conference was held on the South Lawn at the White House at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 6, i964. It was attended by the wives, children, and in some cases the parents and grandparents of Washington reporters. 622 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-I964 May 6 [318] 317 Remarks Upon Presenting the School Safety Patrol Lifesaving Awards. May 6, i964 I WANT to tell you how pleased we are that you could come here to the White House and receive this great honor. This will always be a memorable day for you, to come to the first home of the land, and to be awarded this citation by the School Safety Patrol. Nothing gives me more pleasure than to recognize the outstanding achievements of young people like you. Very often in America we tend to publicize the few youngsters who go wrong. We very often fail to mention the many youngsters who go right, according to the very best in American life. There are achievements and excellence of all kinds, but one of the most heartwarming and one of the most soul stirring is an act of bravery. And when this act of bravery is performed by a young person, the whole rest of the society feels better. The five Safety Patrols here today are heroes. Each of them, without regard for his or her own safety, saved the life of a fellow student. I am proud and I am happy to present the AAA Gold Lifesaving Medal to each of these outstanding youngsters. I know how proud their families, their mothers and their fathers, and the people from their State, their Congressmen and their Senators, who are here today, must be, and particularly the people of their neighborhood, how proud they must feel about what you have done. So your President congratulates you and says thanks to you on behalf of a grateful Nation. We will always remember your act of bravery and we hope that you got as much satisfaction out of performing the task as we do out of giving you this little recognition today. Thank you very much. NOTE: The presentation ceremony was held at 5:15 p.m. in the Rose Garden at the White House. The following recipients of the AAA Gold Lifesaver Medals were presented to the President by George Kachlein, president of the American Automobile Association: Connie Ray Chaney, of Bradbury Heights, Md., who while guiding a group of first-graders on their way home from school, saw and rescued a 6-year-old boy from the path of a fast-moving car. Steven Childs, of Detroit, Mich., who on his way to classes after completing his duty, saw four children in danger and saved them from a moving bus. Raymond Moeller, of St. Charles, Mo., who while on duty rescued a youngster from the path of a speeding car. Kenneth Shafer, of Kennedale, Tex., who saved the life of an 8-year-old child. Paul Tucker, of Berkeley, Mo., who as a patrol captain was escorting some kindergarten children across a heavily traveled airport road when, after completing his duties, he saw and rescued a young girl from the path of a truck. 318 Greetings Telephoned to President Truman on the Occasion of His 8oth Birthday. May 6, 1964 THE PRESIDENT. I wanted to call collect, but Lady Bird wouldn't let me. And then I only have change for three minutes. So, I wanted to tell you "Happy Birthday." PRESIDENT TRUMAN. I will tell you what I will do. I will accept it as collect. THE PRESIDENT. On behalf of Lady Bird, Lynda Bird, and Luci and I, we wanted to say "Happy Birthday." We speak for i90 million other Americans. Last night I read that a politician thinks a nation belongs to him, while a statesman 623 [3i8] May 6 Public Papers of the Presidents knows he belongs to the nation. That is the way we feel about you. PRESIDENT TRUMAN. You are as kind as you can be, and that is the way I feel about you, too. I don't think we have had a better President in a hundred years than we have right now, and I am tickled to death with him. THE PRESIDENT. I hope you know that you belong to all America, and you are one of our greatest national assets, one of our greatest resources, and when you blow out those candles, Mr. President, I hope you think of all the lights you have turned on during 80 years. They are still burning in Greece and Turkey and Western Europe and the Far East and in the hearts of your countrymen. PRESIDENT TRUMAN. I will do my very, very best. I want to thank you for that high hat you sent me, and I am going to wear itdon't worry about that. It's my kind. THE PRESIDENT. Wonderful. The Old Testament tells us there were giants on the earth in those days. We are already saying that about you, Mr. President. Americans will be saying it as long as the name of this country lives in history, so you want to take care of yourself and I want you to come by to see me when you get back here. PRESIDENT TRUMAN. I will make the first call on you when I get to Washington. THE PRESIDENT. Well, happy birthday again. PRESIDENT TRUMAN. I will do that because I think I ought to report to the President. He might want me to do something. THE PRESIDENT. Fine. Happy birthday again. PRESIDENT TRUMAN. Thank you very much. THE PRESIDENT. You are welcome. Goodby. NOTE: The President spoke from his office at the White House to President Truman who was in the Grand Ballroom of the Muehlebach Hotel in Kansas City, Mo., attending a luncheon in his honor. 319 Letter to Senator Anderson in Response to Reports of the Federal Reconstruction and Development Planning Commission for Alaska. May 6, 1964 Dear Clint: I have reviewed the third and fourth reports of the Federal Reconstruction and Development Planning Commission for Alaska. I am very pleased that you and your associates have accomplished so much in so short a time. The Commission's action to press forward with a careful study of the geological characteristics of the affected areas seems to me particularly well advised. This information is basic to sound reconstruction planning. I am also happy to hear that the disaster relief program is progressing satisfactorily, and that attention is being given to ways to relieve the financial pressure upon dispossessed homeowners. It is reassuring but not surprising to me that the people of Alaska have retained the rugged resilience for which they are famous. I have never doubted that with this spirit, they can and will restore Alaska to its former glory and more. I want particularly to commend the personal contribution you are making to this effort. Your reports clearly indicate that you have committed yourself to this arduous task with the same drive and effectiveness 624 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-i964 May 7 [320] characteristic of your long history of public service. You are rendering a great service to America, to Alaska, and to me. Sincerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON NOTE: The third and fourth reports of the Federal Reconstruction and Development Planning Commission for Alaska, dated April 24 and May i, are included in a bound volume (processed) containing the weekly reports from April Io through August 7, i964. 320 Remarks at Fort Hill High School Stadium, Cumberland, Maryland. May 7, i964 My fellow Americans: General Finan, I appreciate so much this warm welcome from these good people. Senator Brewster and Senator Beall, who rode down with me, told me what I could expect, but I couldn't believe this until I saw it with my own eyes. I am happy to be here this morning with the distinguished Attorney General of Maryland and Congressman Sickles and Congressman Mathias. It may be true that George Washington and Benjamin Harrison preceded me, but they didn't bring their Cabinet with them, and I did. I have with me this morning the distinguished Secretary of Agriculture, Mr. Orville Freeman; the distinguished Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, Mr. Anthony Celebrezze; the distinguished Secretary of Labor, Mr. Willard Wirtz; the Under Secretary of Commerce, representing Secretary Hodges, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr.; Mr. Robert Weaver, the head of the Housing and Home Finance Agency; and Mr. Aubrey Wagner, the head of the Tennessee Valley Authority, who will be traveling with us throughout the Appalachia territory all day. Now we came to learn and to listen, to see and to evolve a program that will help the "Old Line State" of Maryland. We are here to talk with you as well as to you. I have already learned that your Senators think that if we do a little work on the Bloomington Dam, we would attract a great deal of in dustry, create more jobs, provide a water supply for our Nation's Capital, and a great deal of happiness for Cumberland. We will explore that possibility very carefully and see if we can get something going on that. Since our time is limited and I have another appearance to make downtown, I think I shall conclude by telling you of the disappointment of one of my friends riding in the helicopter with me this morning. He said that he understood that lightning struck Mrs. Johnson's plane twice the other day on her way to Ohio, and that that finally got her back to riding with me again. He wondered why she couldn't ride with me today. Well, I will tell you. It is only because she had a previous engagement that she could not break. She said to me this morning, "You tell the people of Cumberland that I am sorry I won't be with you. While you are trying to preserve the country, I will be here meeting with the Committee to Preserve the White House." I hope that she may be able to come back with me if I get to visit here again between now and November. Thank all of you for coming out. NOTE: The President spoke at 9:I5 a.m. in Cumberland, Md., at the beginning of a 2-day tour through the Appalachian States on which he was accompanied by his daughter, Lynda Bird. In his opening remarks he referred to Thomas B. Finan, Attorney General of Maryland, Senators Daniel B. Brewster and J. Glenn Beall, and Representatives Carlton R. Sickles and Charles McC. Mathias, Jr., all of Maryland. 625 [32I] May 7 Public Papers of the Presidents 32I Remarks at City Hall, Cumberland, Maryland. May 7, I964 Mayor and Mrs. Chaney, Senator Brewster, Senator Beall, Congressman Sickles, Congressman Mathias, my good friend Attorney General Tom Finan, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls: They tell me other Presidents have been here, but I don't think any of them brought along most of their Cabinet. I want all of you boys and girls to have a chance to meet the Cabinet that sits with me in the Cabinet Room in the White House in Washington. I first want to introduce Secretary Orville Freeman, Secretary of Agriculture. Secretary Freeman. Next I want to introduce Secretary Celebrezze, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. Next I want to introduce the Secretary of Labor, Willard Wirtz. The Under Secretary of Commerce, representing Secretary Hodges, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr. The Administrator of the Housing and Home Finance Agency, Mr. Robert Weaver. The head of the Tennessee Valley Authority that will be traveling with us in 5 States today, Mr. Aubrey Wagner. I asked these men to come here with me to see these problems and to see these people. They came because I asked them, and they came because we care. We not only want to know something about the problem, but we want to do something about it. For many years I have heard Maryland called the "Old Line State." Not until this week did I know that it got that name because of the courageous service of the Maryland line that was under fire during the American Revolution. That revolution is not over. Lynda Bird told you something about the revolution that 626 is just beginning with our Appalachia program and with our poverty program. So we begin to fight to finish in the 20th century what our forefathers started in the i8th. And Maryland, again today, as we meet here, is once again on the front line. Your courage and your will to fight are as needed now as they were then, and I think you have just as much of it now as they had then. Ever since i634, when the Ark and the Dove landed 200 settlers on your shores, Maryland has played a vital role in building America. Those pioneers were men with a cause. They had suffered from unjust government at home. They came to find justice in a new land. They came-heedless of hazard-seeking new opportunity, new chance. Those who came later often differed in habits and in custom, and in language and in religion. But they all came seeking a society that was free of the prejudices, the injustice, the rigid barriers to advancement which had disturbed their lives in the old world. They came looking for freedom and tolerance, and that is what we look for today. They came looking for opportunity and abundance, and that is what we are trying to provide today. They came looking to free the human spirit from the bonds of the old society which thought a man's birth and station more important than his ability and his dedication. They came looking for a government that they did not have to fear, because they wanted their government to be their own. They faced grave difficulties and dangers on these untamed shores. The Piedmont was a wild frontier. But they knew that: Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 May 7 [32I] although the hazards were high, the rewards were rich. From this wilderness they carved clearings and they gave those clearings names which ring today with their fears and their toil. "Trouble Enough" was one of them, "Scared From Home" was another,, "All That's Left," and "Discontent." One Maryland farmer called his place "I'm Glad It's No Worse." But they never lost sight of the desires which brought them across the Atlantic Ocean. In I638 their representatives won the right to initiate legislation in the Maryland assembly. This was a landmark in American history. No other colony had made a more dramatic effort to achieve selfgovernment. And Maryland also became a fountainhead of religious freedom. In I937 Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr.'s father, the President, wrote congratulating Maryland, he said, for "its noble service in the cause of religious toleration," and in that letter he warned that "we must recognize the fundamental rights of man." He wrote that letter because he knew that this was a State which has always fought for the rights of man, and that that battle takes place on different fronts today than it did 300 years ago. Maryland and Marylanders must help to win it. Because that same spirit still lives in Maryland, I came here this morning to ask your help in carrying forward the American Revolution. In many ways, today's battles are even more difficult. Then the enemy was clear. Today the enemies which menace our people are more complex. We are preparing to fight these enemies. Our first objective is to free 30 million Americans from the prison of poverty. Can you help us free these Americans from the prison of poverty? And if you can, let me hear your voices. We are going to do these things for those who are poor, aren't we? We are going to do it for those generations who will be condemned to poverty unless our generation provides a way out. We are going to provide the way out, aren't we? President Franklin Roosevelt said, "It is not the pinch of suffering, the agony of uncertainty that the adults are now feeling that counts the most-it is the heritage our children must anticipate"-the heritage they must anticipate. "It is not just today that counts. Undernourishment, poor standards of living and inadequate medical care will make themselves felt for 50 years or more." So the inadequacies of today will be felt in your life and in your children's lives 50 years from today. Here in Appalachia, one family in three lives on an income of less than $3000. Here in Appalachia the I960 per capita income was a meager $I400 a year. In the rest of the country it was $I900. Here in Appalachia, employment went down I.5 percent between I950 and I960. In the rest of the country it did not go down-it rose 15 percent. Here where you meet this morning only 32 out of every Ioo people finish high school. Five out of every Ioo finish college. More than 2 million people have migrated to join the unemployed in other places. But statistics do not tell the story. I know what poverty means to people. I have been unemployed. I have stayed waiting in an employment office, waiting for an assignment and a placement. I have shined shoes as a boy. I have worked on a highway crew from daylight until dark for $I a day, working with my hands and sweating with my brow. This has taught me the meaning of poverty and poor. 627 33-171-65 —45 [32I] May 7 Public Papers of the Presidents It means waiting in a surplus food line rather than in a supermarket check-out. It means going without running water rather than worrying about whether you can afford a color television. It means despairing of finding work rather than wondering when you can take your vacation. It means coming home each night emptyhanded to look at the expectant faces of your little children who lack the things that they need. It means a lonely battle to maintain pride and self-respect in a family that you cannot provide for-not because you don't want to and not because you don't try to, but in a Nation where so many seem to be doing so well you seem to be finding it difficult. Poverty not only strikes at the needs of the body. It attacks the spirit and it undermines human dignity. It is not enough for the Congress to pass laws. We will not win our war against poverty until the conscience of the entire Nation is aroused. We will not succeed until every citizen regards the suffering of neighbors as a call to action. We will not overcome until every child in every city, in every town, joins its parents and helps us to mobilize its resources. This can be done, and you can help do it, and you are going to do it, aren't you? We won the first American Revolution because we were a people in arms. We mobilized every resource of a new and weak country. Every citizen had a role to play in that revolution. In this way, we defeated a great empire. Today America is richer and stronger. We have the resources and we have the knowledge to win this war. The battle will not be a spectacular one. It will consist of thousands of small efforts that add up to a vast national effort. For example, this week, just Tuesday, we approved a new program to train 50 machine-tool operators here in Cumberland. These 50 men will have new skills and they will be put to work in local industries. Fifty more men will have a chance for a decent wage and a productive job, and a better family life. So they will leave the ranks of poverty. Let's let these 50 just be the beginning of what we are going to do for all America all the time. In this way, with small beginnings, do we move toward the great goal that Franklin Roosevelt set before us when he said, "The great objective we are demanding for the sake of every man, woman, and child in this country is a more abundant life." That is our objective today. We strive for this goal by attacking the causes of poverty, and we are not trying to give people more relief-we want to give people more opportunity. That is what the people want. They want education and training. They want a job and a wage which will let them provide for their family. Above all, they want their children to escape the poverty which has afflicted them. They want, in short, to be part of a great Nation, and that Nation will never be great until all of you people are a part of it. So I came here to Maryland this morning, to this wonderful place and these smiling faces, this seedbed of American liberty-I came here to call upon the pioneer spirit which made this a free country. From these hills again goes forth today a call to battle. This is the first appearance that we will make today, here at your stadium, and here in front of your City Hall, here at your employment office, and here on your streets. This will go forth, our first call to battle in our effort to drive poverty underground, in 628 Lyndon B. John. our effort to improve our program through the Appalachia recommendations that I have made to Congress. This time it is a battle to open the gates of the great society, to open those gates to all who seek to enter. We don't ask much. The average American does not demand much. But we have a right to expect in this rich country, if we are willing to work from daylight to dark, we have a right to expect a job, to provide food for our families, a roof over their heads, clothes for their bodies, and opportunity to have our children educated, and the right son0, 1963-1964 May 7 [322] to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience. With your support and with your help and with your faith and with your confidence and with God's help, we will have it in America. Thank you. NOTE: The President spoke at i o a.m., following brief remarks by Lynda Bird Johnson. His opening words referred to Mayor and Mrs. Earl D. Chaney of Cumberland, Senators Daniel B. Brewster and J. Glenn Beall, and Representatives Carlton R. Sickles and Charles McC. Mathias, Jr., all of Maryland, and Thomas B. Finan, Attorney General of Maryland. 322 Remarks Upon Arrival -at Lockbourne Air Force Base, Ohio. May 7, i964 Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls: We appreciate very much your coming here on this beautiful day to welcome us to your great State. Governor Rhodes, you have certainly turned out a warm and enthusiastic group of people. I always enjoy coming to Ohio. I know that we will profit from what we see and what we hear today. Our time is limited. I wish I could shake hands with each of you, but since I can't, I want you to know that we wish you the very best, that we have come here to try to make this a better State, to try to build this into a better Nation. We must do that with the support of good people like you who love your country, men and women like you who supply the boys who wear the uniform that keeps our country safe. We are doing reasonably well in the prosperity picture today and we have to keep it up in the future. We have an Appalachia program we presented to the Congress which includes your great State of Ohio. We think it will bring benefits to your State and to your people. We have come here to learn firsthand something about the conditions. We will report back to Washington tomorrow and we hope before this session of Congress is over we can have passed an Appalachia bill, a poverty bill, a medical care bill, a civil rights bill, a food stamp bill, a housing bill, and measures that will take care of the people generally. When you have a program that will do the greatest good for the greatest number, you have a program that is for the people. Today I have brought with me several members of my Cabinet so we could get away from Washington so we could learn something about conditions out where the people live. It always gives me strength and stimulation and inspiration to come and meet the people, and this can truly be called a trip to meet the people, because when you look in their eyes and shake their hands, you know they are honest, God-fearing people who are going to support what's right. Today I want to present to you the distinguished Secretary of Agriculture, Mr. Orville Freeman. Your own beloved Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, Mr. Celebrezze. The distinguished Secretary of 629 [322] May 7 Public Papers of the Presidents Labor, Mr. Willard Wirtz. Mr. Wagner, make these dreams come true, the Under who is head of the Tennessee Valley Au- Secretary of Commerce, Franklin D. Roosethority and will be traveling with us through velt, Jr. five States today. Mr. Robert Weaver, the Thank you for coming out to say hello. head of the Housing and Home Finance Goodby, and God bless you all. Agency. NOTE: The President spoke at i i:05 a.m. following And finally, the man in charge of all of brief remarks by Lynda Bird Johnson. In his openthe Appalachia program who is going to help ing remarks he referred to Governor James A. Rhodes of Ohio. 323 Remarks in Athens at Ohio University. May 7, i964 Dr. Alden, Mr. Galbreath, Governor Rhodes, Mrs. Rhodes, and Mrs. Alden: I am glad to be in Ohio once again and to come to your historic campus in this i6oth anniversary year with my good friends the two Senators from the State of Tennessee, Senator Gore and Senator Walters. Please stand up, Senator Gore and Senator Walters. I am pleased that I should have this opportunity to be in the home State of Congressman Hays, Congressman Harsha, Congressman Bolton, Congressman Abele, and Congressman Ashley. I am honored that they would be present today. Please stand up, gentlemen. Not only because we care, but because we intend to listen and learn and do something about it, I have brought a good many members of my Cabinet out here. I would like for all of you young people to take a look at them. First of all, your own Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, Mr. Celebrezze. And the very youthful and able Secretary of Agriculture, Orville Freeman. A man who is very much in the headlines these days because he works day and night and keeps all the strikes down, Willard Wirtz, Secretary of Labor. The very delightful fellow who heads our Housing and Home Finance Agency in Washington, Dr. Robert Weaver. And the head of the Tennessee Valley Authority, Mr. Wagner. I know that from the welcome you have given them they will appreciate the opportunity to be here today and to visit with you. Since this began as a poverty inspection tour, I want to clarify our presence here. The faculty opinion notwithstanding, I do not believe that Ohio University has any poor students. As the father of a college daughter dressed in green and white today, if I wanted to inspect pockets of poverty, I would go and inspect the parents instead of coming here. After my recent experience with my beagle dogs, it is wonderful to be back here with all these Bobcats. I have looked forward to this opportunity to thank publicly Governor Rhodes, Mr. Galbreath, and the Board of Trustees for lending to us, to plan and formulate the Job Corps, your able and impressive president, Dr. Vernon Alden. Mr. Galbreath, I might say that Sargent Shriver and I are as happy to have Dr. Alden as you would be if the Pittsburgh Pirates won the pennant this year. Under Dr. Alden's leadership, Ohio University is setting a national standard leadership in attacking the problems of area 630 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-I964 May 7 [323] economic development, and I am proud to announce today that a contract has been signed by the Area Redevelopment Administration to establish a regional development institution here. This will make Ohio University the focal point of economic development for the southeastern Ohio area. I am told that this section has been "surveyed to death" in recent years. But this is not another study program; it is an action program. We have convincing evidence that action gets results. In I96I, 10 out of ii major industrial areas in Ohio were in the substantial unemployment category. Governor Rhodes and members of the Ohio delegation, I know that we are all proud today to announce that only one area remains in that category, because the Lorain-Elyria area is being removed from the list today. This is good news for Ohio and it is good news for the country. This is a young land and it is a land of young people. There are 21/2 times more Americans under the age of 25 than our total population ioo years ago. By the end of the next decade, in 1980, one-half of our people will be younger than 25. So to you of this student body, I say merely as a statement of fact, America is yours, yours to make a better land, yours to build the great society. I know that we live in an age when it is considered correct to play it cool, when it is right to be reserved, when it is not good form to show great faith. But I believe with Emerson that no great work is ever achieved without enthusiasm. I would urge you-and call upon you now-to go out of here with great resolve, because we have great works to achieve. But we cannot succeed without the enthusiasm and the courage which are the legacy of our history. Our challenge, not tomorrow but today, is to accomplish objectives which have eluded mankind since the beginning of time. We must bring equal justice to all our citizens. We must abolish human poverty. We must eradicate killing and crippling disease and lengthen the span of life to Ioo or 200 years. We must eliminate illiteracy among all of our people. We must end open bias and active bigotry and, above all else, we must help to bring about a day "when nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." Not in a day, and not in a year, will these goals be reached. But if we begin the effort, if we approach the task with great enthusiasm and not with cynicism, these achievements will be the glory, the glory of your generation. There is in front of you young people today the promise of a greater tomorrow. It is a tomorrow that is brighter than yesterday, and it is a tomorrow that is more challenging than today. This is not a time for timid souls and trembling spirits. We have it within our power to find the best solutions to the worst of problems, and we intend to do just that. So let your young hearts armed with new weapons join in an old battle against ancient enemies-the enemies of poverty, disease, illiteracy, strife, and bigotry. And with your courage and with your compassion and your desire, we will build the Great Society. It is a Society where no child will go unfed, and no youngster will go unschooled. Where no man who wants work will fail to find it. Where no citizen will be barred from any door because of his birthplace or his color or his church. Where peace and security is common among neighbors and possible among nations. This is the world that waits for you. Reach out for it now. Join the fight to finish the unfinished work in your own land and in the rest of the world. I know as 631 [323] May 7 Public Papers of the Presidents surely as God gives us the right to know what is right that you will succeed. I came out here to see you today because we can't always see poverty from the Capital in Washington. But you can see it when you get out and ride the rivers and the range, the mountains and the hills, and the poor soils of the five States that I am going to visit today. Poverty hides its face behind a mask of affluence. But I call upon you to help me to get out there and unmask it, take that mask off of that face of affluence and let the world see what we have, and let the world do something about it. What can you do? What did you do about the Peace Corps? You went forward to dozens of nations around the world and showed the compassion that was in your heart. You can go out and help kids who don't know how to learn to read and write, and you can teach them how to read and write in your spare time at night. Your fraternities and sororities can start scholarships for poor children who need your leadership and who need your help, and whose career will be a great reward for your little efforts. You can share your homes and your hearts with the poor, and look up to them with an inspiring, helping hand, instead of down upon them with an arrogant, whimsical smile. When the poverty bill is passed, as you will have it passed, when the Appalachian bill is passed, as the Congress will surely pass it, when the civil rights bill is passed, as we are going to pass it, then you can go and talk to Dr. Alden and others in charge of the poverty program and tell them: "I am here. I am ready to enlist as a volunteer. I want to help build the Great Society. I want to have my name listed on the honor roll that believes in the Golden Rule of doing unto others as you would have them do unto you. I appreciate the oppor tunities that my parents and my country and my State gave me in my youth, an opportunity to earn an education and to acquire knowledge. What I have for myself I want for all my fellow human beings, here and around the world." That is what you can do. I am very happy to see Miss Eugenia Adams, whose home is in the District of Columbia, who is interested in a career in public service, and who I became acquainted with when I was Vice President, sitting here in your student body today. I am very happy to meet all of you new friends. I hope that in the days ahead you will realize the great opportunity that is yours, and that you will acquire all the information and learning you can here at this great Ohio State so that you can go out and help others to help themselves. There are I I4 nations around the world that look to America, that look to Texas, that look to Ohio, that look to all that we have that is good here to set an example for them. There are only six of those nations that have a per capita income of as much as $8o a month. New Zealand and Australia, Canada and the United States, Sweden and Switzerland. Over half the world lives off of a per capita income of less than $8 a month. So you have much to be thankful for, much to preserve, a great deal to protect. I know you will be worthy of your heritage. It is wonderful to have met you. Lynda says to make sure to you that I am talking about the State of Ohio, not Ohio State. If I may, we all make mistakes, and I am no exception. I make a good many of them. But I made a very big one today. I failed to introduce to you the Under Secretary of Commerce, who is the father of the Appalachia program, and who is heading it in Washington, and who is one of our most 632 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-i964 MaY 7 1324 progressive and able young men, Franklin D. Albert Gore and Herbert S. Walters of Tennessee, Roosevelt, Jr. Representatives Wayne L. Hays, William H. Harsha, Oliver P. Bolton, Homer E. Abele, and Thomas L. Thank you. Ashley, of Ohio, Sargent Shriver, Director of the NOTE: The President spoke at noon from the west Peace Corps and head of the President's antiportico of Memorial Auditorium at Ohio University poverty program, and Eugenia Adams, a graduate of o of M l Dunbar High School in the District of Columbia in Athens, after brief remarks by his daughter, Lynda Bird. His opening words referred to Dr. and a freshman at Ohio University. In i963 Miss Lynd Bird. Hs.Adams received the Capitol Press Club Award. The Vernon R. Alden, president of the university, and Mrs. Alden, John W. Galbreath, chairman of the en Vice President Johnson made the presentation. board of trustees, and Governor and Mrs. James A. The text of the remarks of Lynda Bird was also board of trustees, and Governor anrMrs. James A. Rhodes of Ohio. Later he referred to Senators released. 324 Remarks Upon Arrival at the Airport, Knoxville, Tennessee. May 7, i964 Mayor Duncan, Governor and Mrs. Clement, Senator Gore, Senator Walters, Congressman and Mrs. Bass, Congressman Fulton, and members of the Chamber of Commerce and Labor Councils, ladies and gentlemen: It is wonderful to be back in Tennessee. I like your weather. I feel a part of your soil. I have loved your people, and I never cease to remember that if there had not been a Tennessee, there never would have been a Texas. We have come here today on a very important visit. It does us good to get away from Washington and come out and see the people that we work for, talk to them, see how they live, recognize the sacrifices they make for their country and for us, and try to appreciate their problems. For many years Tennessee has had one of the most able, aggressive, and influential delegations in the Congress, both the House and Senate. I don't know exactly why you have always had that quality of representation, but one time when they asked Mr. Rayburn, who was a native Tennessean, why it was that he thought Texas had such an outstanding congressional delegation, he replied by saying, "We pick them young, and we pick them honest, and we send them there, and we keep them there." Now, I don't know whether all of you people will agree with that statement or not. I do, and I know that the members of the delegation agree with me. We have come here today to see some of the great work that every foreigner that comes to this country wants to see, the Tennessee Valley Authority. We have brought with us several members of the Cabinet, and Mr. Wagner from the TVA. We want to look at some of your urban renewal projects. We want to talk to you about some of the problems of Appalachia. We want to enlist your support and your help and your advice in a program that we hope ultimately will win the war against poverty in this country. It was more than 30 years ago when President Roosevelt visited this State, and during that period of the early thirties, in trying to appeal to his countrymen, he reminded them that more than a third of our people were ill fed and ill clad and ill housed. Today, apparently in the midst of plenty, we have reduced that one-third-that was ill clad and ill fed and ill housed-to one-fifth that now make up the poverty group. But that represents some 3o-odd million people in this country. And this administration has decided and has determined 633 [324] May 7 Public Papers of the Presidents that it is going to do something about it. We have put in our budget, funds for a poverty program that is headed by Sargent Shriver. We have put in our budget, funds for the Appalachia program that is headed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr. And we, today, will visit 5 States in the Appalachia area, making a total of 9 of the o States in that area that we shall have visited. We want to listen and to learn. We want to observe firsthand. I think it is extremely gracious of you and typical of your courtesy and your friendliness to come out here and pay us such a warm welcome. We thank you for the presents. We thank you for the beautiful weather. We know our visit here will be fruitful. I hope that I may be able to get to see you again between now and November. NOTE: The President spoke upon arriving at the McGhee-Tyson Field in Knoxville in midafternoon. His opening words referred to Mayor John J. Duncan of Knoxville and to Governor and Mrs. Frank G. Clement. Senator Albert Gore, Senator Herbert S. Walters, Representative and Mrs. Ross Bass, and Representative Richard H. Fulton, all of Tennessee. During the course of his remarks he referred to Aubrey J. Wagner, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority, Sargent Shriver, Director of the Peace Corps and later designated Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity, and Under Secretary of Commerce Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr. The President was presented with a key to the city by Mayor Duncan and with a Proclamation of Welcome which proclaimed May 7, I964, as Lyndon B. Johnson Day. 325 Remarks at the Coliseum, Knoxville, Tennessee. May 7, I964 THANK YOU, Governor Clement. I appreciate the gracious welcome that you and Mrs. Clement have given us today in Tennessee-and the most generous introduction that you have given me at least three or four times since we crossed the border of your State. I believe this introduction you just gave me is about the best introduction I have ever had in all my public life, except one that I had down in Texas one time when my County Judge was supposed to introduce me and he didn't show up and I had to introduce myself! I am delighted to be here in the great State of Tennessee with my friends, Senator Gore, Senator Walters, Congressman Bass, and Congressman Fulton. I am very indebted to Judge Bozeman for his most generous statement. I want to thank Reverend Mattingly for being here today and leading us in prayer. I want all of you to know that we came to listen and learn, but not just listen and learn, but to do something about the things that need something done about them. For that reason, I brought most of the Cabinet with me-Secretaries Freeman, Celebrezze, and Wirtz-and Mr. Wagner, Mr. Weaver, and Mr. Roosevelt. As Governor Clement told you, Tennessee gave the Republic of Texas its first President, Sam Houston, and it has taken more than a hundred years, but I am glad to come back here today to Tennessee to thank all of you for that favor. I don't know whether you know it or not, but all of us Texans know that there never would have been a Texas if there hadn't been a Tennessee. There are times when you won't want to admit that, 634 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-i964 May 7 [325] but it is true. Sam Houston was Governor of Tennessee before he came to our State and became President of Texas. I want to assure you, however, that I have not come back here to run for Governor of Tennessee. I already have my hands full, at least for the time being. Tennessee is full of warm memories. Not far from here, one of the greatest Americans of all times and one of the best friends that I ever had was born in Roane County, the late, beloved Speaker of the House of Representatives, Sam Rayburn. Sam Rayburn left Roane County a long time ago, but the migration of your young people to other States is still bleeding Tennessee of some of its best talent and some of its most precious resources. You should be disturbed by the fact that of the ioo graduates of LaFollette High School in I952, only 3 still live in Campbell County. They left not because of any love lost for Campbell County but because of lost opportunities. They moved on, searching for jobs and searching for the security and the dignity that comes from having a job and being able to work. They are not alone. Two-thirds of the membership of an electrical union headquartered in Knoxville has been forced to seek work outside of this area. And someone told me of the unemployed railroad worker here at Jellico who said to a reporter, "Up in my part of the country things are so rough that the river only runs twice a week, and you cannot get a job unless somebody else dies." Our society cannot tolerate a situation where a man cannot work unless somebody else dies. And yet 6 percent of the working force of Tennessee's Appalachian area are unemployed. But statistics tell only part of this story. They do not describe the harsh picture of despair and want in communities like Clairfield, where more than 200 children meet and study in two crumbling buildings heated by coal stoves and lighted by weak light bulbs, and where the only hot meal most of them get a day is the free lunch at school. Figures could not tell the painful hopelessness of the Tennessee miner who works 8 to io hours in a treacherous dog hole for a week's profit of $30.1 In a rich and in a great society I find it hard to believe that onefifth of our population has been left behind in misery and in want. Surely the wealthiest and the most powerful country in the world should be able to give every man who wants to work a chance to find a decent job, a chance to earn a decent wage, and a chance to provide a decent living for his family. This can be done, and this administration is going to do it. This administration has declared war on poverty and unemployment, and we have asked Congress to approve a major assault on the problems of the Appalachia area which concern you people here so much. We have come here today to tell you that we need and we ask for your help in Tennessee and in Knoxville. We intend to fight both of these battles, and we intend to fight them until victory is ours. Those who oppose us are determined people. They have already last week, on the Floor of the House of Representatives, called 1On January 28 the White House released a summary of a report by the Secretary of Labor on the bituminous coal industry. The release stressed the fact that in the Appalachian coal fields the depression had grown steadily worse as competitive and technological changes made older skills useless and left entire communities stranded. The report showed that employment during the first half of i963 reached the lowest average since the early i920's while productivity was rising to the highest level in the industry's history. The report "Bituminous Coal Mining, Labor Market Developments," Industry Manpower Surveys No. io6, is dated December i963 (i8 pp. processed). 33-171-65 46 635 1325] MaY 7 [325]May 7Public Papers of the Presidents this war on poverty a cruel hoax. Well, that is an old, familiar phrase-cruel hoax. The first thing I want to observe is the man that coined that phrase must have had a job for a long time working for the Republican National Committee, because I first heard that phrase in the I936 campaign when they called Social Security a cruel hoax. If those men had had their way 30 years ago, the TVA would not be the world's shining example of how Government and free enterprise can work hand in hand to help people. If those men had had their way, the "For Sale" sign would be on TVA this very hour and Knoxville would not be nearly as well off as it is. I take great pride in looking in this most beautiful building that is filled with fine, happy faces today. But only a moment ago, and a stone's throw from this building, I saw people as poverty ridden as I have seen in any part of the United States. And with your help and with God's help, we are not only going to enjoy this beautiful center that we meet in this afternoon, but we are going to clean up these places around it. The TVA has already demonstrated what freedom can do by the collective action of the people, and by the vision of leadership. Now we must do it again. This time in fighting the war on poverty and carrying the Appalachian program to a successful conclusion, we can demonstrate that when the need is here, people will act. I have come here today not as a sightseer of poverty, although I have seen some of it. I have not come with promises of plenty, although I am willing to make some promises, for there is no such thing as instant prosperity. There is no pat formula that will bring superfast relief to this section of the Nation. But I have come to say that fighting together, we can and we will win this war on poverty in all this Nation. So help us fight this war and help us win this victory, and let us not wait for the day when the prophet will say that the harvest is past and the summer is ended, and we are not yet saved. Let us, instead, work together so that one day we may hear the benediction, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." I know that you have had your dreams. I know that you have had your visions and your hopes. But I wonder if for just a moment, as we conclude, you would not engage in just a little introspection and ask yourself if you applied the Golden Rule and did unto others as you would have them do unto you; if you signed your name on the cornerstone of this building, and you demonstrated that you met here on this afternoon at the hour Of 5 o'clock or 5:30, that you enlisted in the war on poverty, I wonder if in the decades and centuries to come the fact that your name was on that honor roll wouldn't be one of the proudest things that your descendants could point to. So I ask you, and I appeal to you, to come and say that we can fight together. When President Roosevelt came here in I934, he said what is true in i964: "The good people of this valley will be known as veterans of a war to improve the living conditions of millions of Americans." So I ask you today, please come help us do those things which need doing for the benefit of those who need help, to make sure that in this abundant land no child goes unfed; to make sure that in this abundant land no youngster goes unschooled; to make sure that in this abundant land no -sick baby goes unattended; to make sure that there are jobs for those who want them, and sustenance for those in need; to make sure, and to be sure, that regardless of race or religion, or how we spell our name, or the country that our ancestors came from, or the color 636 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-I964 May 7 [326] of our skin, that we have equal opportunity in this land we love, this land we are proud to call America. Yes, let us here dedicate ourselves this afternoon so that every man can live with dignity and decency, no matter where he was born or the color of his skin or the church of his choice. How well you and I and all Americans finish this work that is today unfinished will determine and will measure the kind of society that we build, and will determine and will measure the kind of world that we leave to our children. So I appeal to you as your President to enlist your hearts and volunteer your hands. America will be a better land for you and your families when the battle for a better life for all Americans is finally fought and is finally won. Thank you and goodby. NOTE: The President spoke in midafternoon. In his opening remarks he referred to Governor and Mrs. Frank G. Clement of Tennessee, Senators Albert Gore and Herbert S. Walters, and Representatives Ross Bass and Richard H. Fulton, all of Tennessee, Judge Howard Bozeman, County Judge of Knoxville, and the Reverend T. J. Mattingly, of the First Christian Church in Knoxville. Later he referred to Secretary of Agriculture Orville Freeman, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare Anthony J. Celebrezze, Secretary of Labor W. Willard Wirtz, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority Aubrey J. Wagner, Housing and Home Finance Administrator Robert C. Weaver, and Under Secretary of Commerce Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr. 326 Remarks Upon Arrival at Seymour-Johnson Air Force Base, Goldsboro, North Carolina. Governor Sanford, Senator Ervin, Senator Jordan, Members of the Congress, ladies and gentlemen: We are so happy to be here in your great progressive State that has for so many years attracted the attention and set the example for all this great section of the United States. I apologize to you for being so late. We didn't anticipate when we left Washington this morning to cover five States that we would get the opportunity of seeing so many people, shaking so many hands, looking into so many friendly faces. This has been truly a stimulating and inspiring experience for me. If you ever need pepping up a little bit in Washington, all you have to do is get on the plane and go out and see the people. They are the optimistic group. They know we have much in this country to preserve, much to protect. They love our country, and they want guidance and leadership in what we can do to make a better land. May 7, I964 In the Congress we have a program pending which we are working on, and we hope to discuss that with you later in the day. I have two more appearances that I must make. Any of you that happens to be here when I return, I will be glad to have another little visit with you. In the meantime, I want you to know that we deeply appreciate the outstanding service that your congressional delegation has rendered, that we thank you for sending them to Washington, that we want to cooperate with you in doing everything we can that is for the good of America, that we believe in protecting every person's constitutional rights, that we believe in giving every child an education, we believe in seeing that people have an opportunity to work and earn their living, we want to make this a country of taxpayers instead of a country of taxeaters, that we have a progressive and prudent administration that is trying to move ahead and still keep both feet on the ground. 637 [326] May 7 Public Papers of the Presidents We are honored that so many of you would come here to welcome us. I am sorry Mrs. Johnson can't be with us today, but I brought her fill-in, my oldest daughter, Lynda Bird. And although as far as today is concerned she is a school dropout, I am mighty happy to have her along and I would like to introduce her at this time. Lynda Bird. [At this point Lynda Bird responded briefly saying she did not feel as though she had lost a day of school because she had had "a cram course in geography, history, as well as physical education" trying to keep up with her father. The President then resumed speaking.] I want to thank your fighting Governor and his wife, your two able Senators, and the Members of your delegation for meeting us here and for going on with us to where we are going now. I want to tell you that when we come to see conditions in the country and on a trip to meet the people, we also bring the people who can get the job done. I want to present to you some members of my Cabinet who came along to see firsthand today the conditions in the interior of the United States. First of all the Secretary of Agriculture, the Honorable Orville Freeman. Next the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, Mr. Anthony Celebrezze. Next the very distinguished Under Secretary of Commerce, the Honorable Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr. Next the Director of the Housing and Home Finance Agency, Dr. Robert Weaver. And next the head of the TVA, Mr. Wagner. Ladies and gentlemen, I am going to come out and say howdy to a few of you. We need to be gone from here in 5 minutes. We'll be back as soon as the sun lets down. It has been wonderful to see you. Thank you for your gracious welcome. NOTE: The President spoke at 6:o5 p.m. His opening words referred to Governor Terry Sanford and Senators Sam J. Ervin, Jr., and B. Everett Jordan, all of North Carolina. 327 Remarks in the City Hall, Rocky Mount, North Carolina. May 7, i964 Governor Sanford, Senator Ervin, Senator Jordan, my oldtime friends in the Senate, Congressman Harold Cooley, Congressman Fountain, Congressman Kornegay, Congressman Bonner, Congressman Taylor, ladies and gentlemen: This has been one of the most rewarding days of my entire life. Everywhere I have gone I have met good people who wanted to do something about the problems that face our country. Everywhere I have gone I have seen men and women who wanted to leave this country a better place to live in than they found it. I was just looking at the program the Governor handed me, and a brief summary, and I thought how wonderful it must be to have been a part of a program that would present a proposal for adult education; to give people who are already grown-to still give them an opportunity to acquire more education, some of them to learn to read and write; vocational training, in cooperation with the local school boards, to provide training so that the boys and girls can equip themselves for life's responsibilities; a Negro nursing school, pre-school nurseries, student volunteer committee. I commend you on the leadership and the progressive spirit that North Carolina has 638 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-i964 May 7 [327] shown. This year, after that fateful day of November 22d, I had 37 days to make up a budget that appeared to involve some $Io3 billion. The question was how we would spend that money and how much we would spend. I called in my Cabinet and all the heads of independent agencies, and I asked for their counsel and their advice. We concluded that we would try to cut that projected budget from $103 billion to under $Ioo billion; that we would try to cut our deficit from some $io billion last year to $4.5 billion this year. And we carefully examined with a finetoothed comb every expenditure that was proposed. We had several billion dollars for space, we had more than $50 billion, more than half, to defend this country by keeping prepared so that no enemy would ever dare attack us. We had several billion dollars for agriculture, to try to keep the agricultural economy healthy. We had several billion dollars for health and education and welfare, and for the Labor Department. Then came the question of whether we were willing to undertake a program to do what President Roosevelt did in the early thirties, to try to make war on poverty and attack the causes of poverty, and try to do something about it. I have just left a tenant farmer's home. I talked to the father and the mother, and the 7 children in that home, and the grandmother. They are good, honest people. They love their country. They want to do right by everybody. They are trying to eke out an existence with 9 acres of tobacco and TO or II acres of cotton, working on the "halves," with no money, a little old-age pension check and a little advance-seven hungry mouths to feed. But they want to do what is right. That is not much different from the situation that I found myself in after I discovered America. My father was a tenant farmer; he worked on the "halves." He had a cotton crop that usually ran from 8 to I2 bales a year. He had 5 children. We lived 4 miles from the nearest post office, 4 miles from the nearest school. He wanted his children to have an education. He wanted them to have an opportunity. He wanted to prepare them to assume the responsibilities of the 20th century. With the help of the Government, with the leadership of his neighbors, and with the cooperation of many good men, I was able to go through high school. I pushed a broom and helped myself go through college, and my brothers and sisters had a chance to do so, too. So I came out on this trip today thinking about the blessings that had come to me, and hoping that somehow or other I could have the strength to transmit them to other people. I came here to see what you are doing. I am running late. I am usually a dollar short and an hour late. But my intentions are good. The reason we are late is we have seen so many more people than we anticipated. It is hard to leave when you are talking to the kind of people that I am talking to now. The heartland of America is made up of men and women like you. Most of you believe in the Golden Rule and I hope all of you practice it. I hope you do unto others as you would have them do unto you. That is what we thought about when we made up that budget. So we decided that we would take I percent, less than $I billion out of a $1oo billion budget, and try to do something about poverty in I964. In I934 President Roosevelt said that one-third of the people were ill clad and ill fed and ill housed in this glorious, bountiful land of ours. 639 13271 MaY 7 Public Papers of the Presidents In 1964 we have made some progress in that 30 years. We no longer have a third of our population at the bottom of the heap. We have it cut down to one-fifth of our population. But we decided we would do something about that one-fifth. We would establish agricultural credit, grants, and loans. We would provide some community projects, such as you have outlined here. We would have some work camps, where young men and young women could go and receive training and improve their physical fitness and their mental training. We realize it is not a very complimentary thing to say about America, to realize that mothers and fathers produce young men and when they go and register for the service, i out of every 2 that they have produced has to be cut back because they are mentally unqualified or physically unqualified. I would go broke in a year if i out of every 2 calves I produce had to be cut back by the packer as unfit for use. Yet that is what happens in our country. Here in the midst of plenty, here when corporation profits are $3I billion more than they were in January I96I, here in the first quarter of this year, from the first I,ooo corporations we have heard from, their profits are up 23 percent over the first quarter of last year, here when the laboring man has taken more than $50 billion more in wages than he took in 1961, labor wages having increased $50 billion in income, since I961-here in the midst of the plenty, we find that i out of every 2 of our young men is not equipped to enter the service. So this morning I asked Secretary Celebrezze, who heads our Health, Education, and Welfare Department, to come and go with me and let's see how we are going to spend this billion dollars. Let's go into the tenant farmers' homes, let's go into the small communities. Let's look at some of the work camps that we could use in our forests and in our parks. Let's get out and, if you please, meet the people, because I never go and meet them that I don't return to Washington stronger and better fitted for the responsibilities that I have. So Secretary Celebreeze is here with me, not because he likes to tour around the country, but because he cares about human beings and because I am going to ask him not only to care about them, but to do something about them. I want to introduce him. Secretary Celebrezze. We have a young man who loved his country enough to get his jaw shot off in the Marines during World War II. He has now risen to the high position of Secretary of Agriculture. While he still carries the scars of battle, defending the flag of this country, he is out today waging a war for the underprivileged, trying to do the greatest good for the greatest number, as fine a yardstick as you can ever apply. Secretary Orville Freeman, the distinguished Secretary of Agriculture. Dr. Robert Weaver, the head of our Housing and Home Finance Agency, will play an important part in this program. He is one of our ablest public servants. Dr. Weaver. The head of the Tennessee Valley Authority, the admiration and the envy of every country in the world, Mr. Wagner. And last, but not least, a man who rightly wears and proudly wears a great name in American history, one that has done so much for the people of this country, the "p-e-ep-l-e," Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr. Now, we have come to listen and to learn and to see, and I hope to ultimately conquer in this war on poverty. We are not speaking to you as poverty stricken people. We are speaking to you as our beloved fellow citi 640 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 May 7 [327] zens who occupy the same place that we do. We are saying that one-fifth of our families in America, 30 million of our population, still have an income that is way below normal standards. True, it exceeds the income of most other nations in the world, but it is not enough to meet the kind of life that we would like for Americans to live. This family that I just visited, their oldest boy had to drop out of school to help his father, when in the seventh grade. The father and mother had to drop out of school early in their lives and they have had no education. He wanted to get into the Army. He went the other day and they accepted his physical, but because of his lack of education, he couldn't qualify. I don't know how many members of that family will wind up as being recipients of welfare instead of taxpayers, but I hope that as a result of our visit today, and as a result of the bills we now have in the Congress, as a result of the work of your fine Senators and Congressmen-and there is no finer delegation in the Congress than the North Carolina delegation, no more honorable one, no more dependable one, no more respected one-I hope there is a work that we can do so that none of those children will wind up as public charges, but all of them will wind up as healthy, taxpaying citizens instead of taxeating charges. Now that is what we are doing here. That is what we are trying to learn about. We are going back to Washington and try to take i percent of that budget, one penny out of every dollar. We saved it by cutting out more than $2 billion, more than twice as much, in obsolete military establishments alone, and the economies that we effected in the Defense Department. Now we are going to try to take that money that we saved there and put it to helping people, doing the greatest good for the greatest number, hoping that every boy and girl that is born in this land has a chance to grow up and hold a job that they are trained for and they are equipped for, hoping that every boy and girl that is born in this land can have a roof over their head and food in their bodies and clothes on their backs, and can have a chance to have an education, without regard to their race or their religion or the region of this country in which they live. We would like to be an example for the rest of the world, and we have a great opportunity to be that example. But we must not just change from one-third to one-fifth in 30 years, but we must move that one-fifth down to one-tenth and to one-twentieth until poverty is finally driven from the face of the United States. So I say to you folks tonight, I appreciate your coming here. I am glad to learn of what you are doing under the North Carolina Fund. I am proud of the progressive spirit that you have evidenced in legislation and in education through the years. You have led the South by your progressive works, and we know that. I am hopeful that you can find your way to do more of this good work and that when our poverty bill is passed, when our Appalachia bill is passed, all of which is already in the budget, all of which has already been recommended to Congress, that you will make yourself one person that enlists for the duration of the war, the war on poverty, so that our children will be healthier, they will be better fed, they will be better housed, they will be better educated. And if they are, we will be a better people and have a happier Nation. Can you think of anything under the sun that would give you more satisfaction than to feel that you met here tonight in the City Hall and you had a part, with your Presi 641 [327] May 7 Public Papers of the Presidents dent, in planning a program that will ultimately drive poverty from the face of the United States? That will ultimately educate all those 7 little children we saw out there this evening? That will ultimately make it possible for every boy that is examined to be fit for the service instead of i out of every 2 being cut back? Can you think of a more noble or worthy undertaking to be a part of than this undertaking? So I have come to North Carolina to enlist your cooperation, to ask your help, to plead with you to give me your heart and give me your hand, and try to leave this a better land for our children than we found it for ourselves. We are mighty proud of the kind of country we have, but we want to make it better than it is. Thank you. NOTE: The President spoke at 7:35 p.m. in a courtroom at City Hall. His daughter, Lynda Bird, also spoke briefly. The President's opening words referred to Governor Terry Sanford, Senators Sam J. Ervin, Jr., and B. Everett Jordan, and Representatives Harold D. Cooley, L. H. Fountain, Horace R. Kornegay, Herbert C. Bonner, and Roy A. Taylor, all of North Carolina. Early in his remarks the President referred to experimental antipoverty programs made possible by funds donated to the State of North Carolina by the Ford Foundation. 328 Remarks Outside City Hall, Rocky Mount, North Carolina. May 7, i964 Ladies and gentlemen: I am happy to have with me tonight your fighting Governor, Terry Sanford; two of the ablest statesmen, my close friends, in the United States Senate, Sam Ervin and Everett Jordan; Congressman Harold Cooley, the distinguished Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee and the untiring champion of the food stamp plan that will give every child a chance for a healthy diet; my old and good friend, L. H. Fountain, in whose district I am appearing; my good friend, Congressman Herb Bonner, Congressman Horace Kornegay, and Congressman Roy Taylor. Ladies and gentlemen, I salute the North Carolina delegation and thank them for the courtesy in coming here with me. I want you to know the members of the Cabinet that I also brought with me: Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, Mr. Anthony Celebrezze; Secretary of Agriculture, Mr. Orville Freeman; the head of the Housing and Home Finance Agency, Dr. Robert Weaver; the head of the Tennessee Valley Authority, Mr. Wagner; the distinguished Under Secretary of Commerce, the Honorable Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr. In the past 2 weeks I have visited nine States in the Appalachian area. I have seen two kinds of people: those who have a chance to earn a decent living, and those who don't. There are a lot of people in this country who deserve a better chance. There are more than 30 million Americans who live below the poverty line. They deserve a better break. There is a difference between being poor and being in poverty-a big difference. Many of us grew up poor. I was born the son of a tenant farmer in a family of seven. But while we were poor, we were not the prisoners of poverty; we were not caught in the backlash of an industrial revolution as the people of Appalachia are today. We had a chance to break out and to move up, a chance many Americans don't have tonight. Right here in North Carolina, the State 642 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-i964 May 7 [328] where I stand, poverty has left its mark. Some people say that if these Americans are poor, it is their own fault. I have even heard others say that God ordains poverty for the poor. Well, I don't believe them, and I don't believe God believes them either. I believe the reason most poor people are poor is that they never got a decent break. I believe the reason most people are poor is they never had a fair chance when they were young, and they never got it later on. Some people never got that break because they were born in the wrong part of the country. Some people never got that break because they were born with the wrong color of skin. Some people never got it because they went into farming and they couldn't get enough land to make a decent living when farm prices were too low and operating costs were too high. One major objective of our bill is to help low-income farmers. The tax of poverty has fallen heavily on a lot of farmers in America, and we are determined to help lift it from their shoulders. I just came from a home that has used the food stamp plan, that lives off an old-age pension, that tries to feed a grandmother and seven children and a mother and a father-a family of Io-off of 9 acres in tobacco and io acres in cotton, on an advance of $20 a week, with a charge of io percent interest. I just came from that home where the I7-year-old boy had gone to enlist in the Army, and while he met the physical standard, he had to be cut back and sent home because of an inadequate education. No, the planes we fly, the missiles we prepare, and the defenses of this country today cannot get along with an Army, an Air Force, and a Navy made up of second-class boys. I often hear people ask, "Why help people stay on the farm? Why not let poor farm families give up and go to the city instead?" Well, if we don't do something for fellows like I saw this afternoon, they are all going to be in the cities and they are all going to be on the relief rolls, and they are all going to be taxeaters instead of taxpayers. That is why our great cities are already becoming more congested while our small towns are dwindling away. Many of the young people will leave the farms, but that is another matter. If they have been well schooled, they may find great opportunity. But the older families deserve a decent break, a chance to make a go on the farm. All they seek is a chance to earn enough to live on in their home communities among their friends and their neighbors. I do not propose to give up on the small family farm as long as I am President of this country. I do not propose to abandon the small villages and the small cities and the trading centers of North Carolina as long as I am President of the country. I do not propose that America's small communities become ghost towns as long as I am President of the United States. And I want to tell you frankly and candidly, and aboveboard, and put it on the table, I want economic opportunity to be spread across this land-north, south, east, and west-to all people, whatever their race, whatever their work, wherever they live. We must give to all Americans, those on the farms and those in the cities, a chance to drink from the cup of plenty. A tragic twist of fateful sorrow has made me President. From that awful day on November 22d, when our President was assassinated, I have had but one thought and one conviction, but one objective, to be the President of all the people, not just the rich, not just the well fed, not just the fortunate, but President of all of America. So I have gone to five States today saying the same thing to the same kind of people, 643 L328] May 7 Public Papers of the Presidents all good Americans: I want for every family what my mother wanted for me, what every mother wants for her child-the chance for an honest living, an honorable job, a decent future. I have come here tonight with this fine congressional delegation of yours and looked into the faces of all these patriotic people up and down the roads that I have traveledI have come here to ask you to join the fight to build a great society in our land. Do something we can be proud of. Help the weak and the meek. Lift them up. Help them train and give them an education where they can make their own way instead of having to live off the bounty of our generosity. So I say to you tonight, wherever you live, whatever you do, whatever your I.Q. or however big your bank deposit, there is a place for you in the army, in the army of Americans that are fighting the war-fighting the war against poverty and disease, fighting the war against illiteracy and against bigotry. Yes, I have come to this great State of North Carolina that has led the way in so many progressive movements. I stand here with your fighting Governor and your two able Senators, and your fine congressional delegation, and I ask you to give me your heart, and give me your hand, and stand up with me and be counted. Stand with your country. Stand for courage and compassion and stand together, you and I, and all citizens of good will, and let us leave this land a better land than we found it, wiser than we knew it, and greater than we ever dreamed it to be. Wouldn't that be a fine objective? So let's all join in working toward that goal. I have put in the congressional budget of $97,900 million, $i billion for poverty, just less than i percent. One cent out of every dollar to try to do something about work camps, community projects, education, building roads, helping those who want to help themselves-one cent out of every dollar. That program is pending and we are going to pass it through the Congress, and when we do, we are going to start the war that we want you to enlist in. You can teach children to read and write who don't know how to read and write. You can join in and have scholarship programs. You can have adult education classes. The stronger a nation, the wiser the nation, the better educated the nation, the better future we will have in this world in which we are competing. Now that is a laudable undertaking, that is a worthy goal, that ought to give you an outlet for the desire that you have to achieve something for yourself and your family. You ought to want to put your name on that cornerstone in that roll of honor that we are now enlisting people for. Franklin Roosevelt said in I934 that onethird of the people are ill clad and ill housed and ill fed. In I964, 30 years later, we moved that one-third to one-fifth, from 33 percent to 20 percent. Now let's move it to io percent in the next io years and to 5 percent in the next 5 years, and then wipe it completely from the face of the United States of America. Think about what a glorious feeling it will be, and what a great land we will have when every child can grow up and have an education, when every child can have food for his body and clothes to cover his back, a roof over his head, and be his own keeper and earn from the sweat of his brow what he needs to provide the essentials of life. That is all I am asking you to do. I am asking you to help me to start a program 644 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 May 8 [330] that will win this war. And with your help and God's help, we are going to win it. Thank you very much. I am sorry that Lady Bird couldn't be with me today, but for several months she has had a project of preserving the White House. She is meeting with some distinguished Americans today, all day long, on that project. We have a project-preserving the people of this country, preserving America. I brought a stand-in for her, my daughter Lynda Bird. NOTE: The President spoke at 7:55 p.m. on a platform erected outside City Hall. In his opening remarks he referred to Governor Terry Sanford, Senators Sam J. Ervin, Jr., and B. Everett Jordan, and Representatives Harold D. Cooley, L. H. Fountain, Herbert C. Bonner, Horace R. Kornegay, and Roy A. Taylor, all of North Carolina. The text of brief remarks by the President's daughter was also released. 329 Remarks at the Air Force Base in Goldsboro, N.C., Upon Departing for Atlanta. May 7, i964 Ladies and gentlemen: I am sorry that we are so late. I appreciate so very much your coming out here and giving us this great welcome. I don't know when I have ever spent a day that I have enjoyed more than the day that I have spent in the great State of North Carolina, with the fine people who have met us at every place that we have stopped. I am sorry that we are running about 2 hours late. I had a dinner engagement in Atlanta, Ga., at 8:40, so we are going to have to move along. But I do want you to know that I have enjoyed being with you. I think we have made some progress on our problem. I have had a long and fruitful, encouraging talk with your great Governor, Terry Sanford, with your able Senator, Sam Ervin, and Senator Jordan, with the Members of your congressional delegation, and I look forward to having them work with me and with members of my Cabinet in bringing about a program that will give the greatest good to the greatest number of all of our people. I think that you are wonderful folks; you have been extremely gracious to me and my party, and my family. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I wish I had the time, because I do have the strength-I get strength from looking at you and from seeing you, and from shaking your hand-but I am late and I must run away. Thank you so much, and I hope to see you in North Carolina before November. NOTE: The President spoke at 9:Io p.m. During the course of his remarks he referred to Governor Terry Sanford and Senators Sam J. Ervin, Jr., and B. Everett Jordan, all of North Carolina. 330 Remarks in Atlanta at a Breakfast of the Georgia Legislature. May 8, i964 Governor and Mrs. Sanders, Mayor and Mrs. Allen, my dear friend and your distinguished Senator, Herman Talmadge, my longtime friend and Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, who, together with Senator Russell, helped make Georgia the arsenal of military strength in the world, Carl Vinson-and Lynda Bird is a little sen 645 [3301 May 8 Public Papers of the Presidents sitive about her age these days, but she could have added that the first man that I called 20 years ago (early in the morning, just as she discovered America) hollering "Hallelujah," was Carl Vinson-your own good Congressman, Charlie Weltner, my old friends John Flynt and Phil Landrum, who are out in the forefront in the leadership on our declared war on poverty, Bob Stephens, Elliott Hagan, John Davis, my old friend 1. L. Pilcher, all Members of the great and influential delegation in the Congress: Georgia, I think, could afford to hear this story that I heard Mr. Rayburn tell about Texas many years ago when they asked him why they had such an important delegation in the Congress. He said, "Well, it is a very simple formula. We pick them young, and we pick them honest, and we send them there, and we keep them there." I did everything I could to keep several of them there this year, particularly Uncle Carl, but he just wouldn't listen to me. Before I get into my prepared speech, I want to acknowledge the generosity of the distinguished mayor of this city in presenting me these two somewhat attractive-if tigers can be attractive-tigers. I am not unaccustomed to tigers, having served in the Senate for a good many years. In the light of my experience for the last 50 days, I think they could more appropriately be named Dick and Herman, though, rather than LBJ and Lady Bird. My life is in the hands of Georgia, and it is 24 hours a day under the direction of Rufus Youngblood, and no greater or more noble son has this State ever produced, and no braver or more courageous man. I was brought back from the valley of death by one of your great doctors, Willis Hurst, now head of the Medical School at Emory University, when they hauled me into the Naval Hospital in I955 with a heart attack. So I have been long and closely associated with this great State. In the House of Representatives every honor that came my way was a result of the recognition of Mr. Vinson, on whose committee I served all the 12 years. In the Senate every honor that has come to me came to me as a result of the support and the confidence of the two Georgia Senators. And I may say that there is no State in this Union that has ever had two more able or influential Senators than the State of Georgia. I was a little hesitant in i960. I didn't know just how the land lay all over this country. I came into Atlanta late one evening. We didn't plan any affair because I was afraid we wouldn't have over ioo or 200, and that would mess things up in the Eastern press. So I pulled in here at almost midnight and the first face I saw in a crowd of some 5,ooo or i0,000 was that beautiful, lovely lady, your former First Lady, Betty Talmadge. She was climbing the steps on the back end of that train to get out and look at that crowd and put her arm around Lady Bird. And she said, "I am just not going to let you come to Georgia, honey, without coming up here and seeing you and telling you how happy we are." That was a wonderful feeling for all of us. But the real sight for sore eyes was to see Herman following along like a buck deer. Because I knew when Betty got on that platform I could put Herman in front of that microphone and Georgia would go Democratic. We do have our differences of opinion with the Georgia delegation, and with our old friends in the Senate, but when we have those differences of opinion, we try to put 646 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 May 8 [3301 them out on top of the table and reason them out together, and do what is best for America. I am glad to be here this morning as a President of the United States who feels very much at home in Georgia. This day has been a long time coming. The second President of Texas was a son of Georgia-Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar. It has taken ioo years for someone to come back here and thank you for this favor, but I am here this morning to thank you. Coming to Georgia is a homecoming for me. My great-grandfather, Jesse Johnson, was elected sheriff of Henry County, Ga. Later the people of McDonough elected him sheriff of the Inferior Court. And thus the Johnson family really got its start in politics right here in Georgia. I am sure you never imagined what you were starting. But I come to you today to speak to you as an American and as the President of a united Nation. My office is not a single trust for a single section or a single State. The people it serves occupy one continent. They are all ruled by one Constitution. As I am President of all the people, you are part of all the people. I speak to you not, therefore, as Georgians this morning, or as southerners, but as Americans. But the liberty of our entire land has been consecrated with the lives and the labor, the dedication and the daring, of the sons of the great State of Georgia. Some of those sounds heard around the world were Georgia sounds. The story of our victories is washed with Georgia blood, and the role of our valiant is sown with Georgia names. In this century, in two world wars and in Korea, half a million Georgia men went to battle. More than 5,000 of them never returned to their homes. Georgia has bound itself to the Union not only with the conquests of its brave but with the creation of its builders, not only with arms in the midst of turmoil but with achievements in the midst of tranquillity. This is the land that Henry W. Grady of Georgia foresaw in i886, when he came to New York and took as his text the words: "There is a South of union and freedom... that South, thank God, is living and breathing and growing every hour." Not so many years ago those words seemed less a hopeful prophecy than a hollow promise. Old ways had crumbled, carrying with them that which was fine as well as that which was flaw, replaced by blighted land and a bitter people. Franklin D. Roosevelt sent me to the South in I936 to survey conditions in our Southern States. He sought to turn the conscience of the Nation to the cares of its neighbors. That South then was a forgotten and forbidding land. Its mills were idle and its banks were shut. Misery was on the faces of its farmers, and hunger scarred the faces of its children. What little wealth there was trickled North, leaving the South barren of its own bounty. Many thought that the South had suffered its final defeat. These were the faint of heart, and I was not among them, and thank God, the people of Georgia were not among them. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was not among them. He came to Georgia and he said here in this State that these conditions can and must be righted, righted for the sake of the South, and righted for the sake of the Nation. This Nation under Franklin Roosevelt forged, in the bitterness of common disaster, a new compassion which ignored old barriers of suspicion and old boundaries of section. The results are here in the new South. 647 10330] May 8 Public Papers of the Presidents The average income in the South has increased six times since I930, rising much faster than the national average. Malaria and pellagra are gone, and hunger is going. The acreage yield of our farms has doubled, and the gross income per farm in your State has risen eight times. Nearly every home in Georgia has water and electricity, and every child can go to school. And, at the peak of prosperity, the proportion of southern families with home freezers and air conditioners is far above the national average. So what Henry Grady foretold has come. We see a new South. We see a "South of union and freedom." We see a "South which is living and breathing and growing every hour." But to those who live in the present, the conquests of the past are but a spur toward the future. The South, along with all America, has many troubles. The words, the motto, of Georgia give a guide to resolution of those troubles: "Wisdom, Justice, Moderation." The first of these is wisdom. It was in r88o that Atticus Haygood, president of Emory College, said: "We in the South have no divine call to stand eternal guard by the grave of dead issues." Today the South no longer stands alone, proud in isolation, but poor in hope. Many of the old issues are dead. Your hopes are the Nation's hopes; your problems are the Nation's problems. You bear the mark of a southern heritage proudly, but that which is southern is far less important than that which is American. After years of ruinous and futile division, we have achieved rewarding and fruitful union. We are today one Nation, one people, one America, the envy of every nation in the world. I would not be here this morning, and I would not be looking for ward to November were this not true-and I am looking forward to November. So I say to the distinguished members of this legislature and their wives, and all of you who have come here to do me this great honor this morning; heed not those who would come waving the tattered and discredited banners of the past, who seek to stir old hostilities and kindle old hatreds, who preach battle between neighbors and bitterness between States. That is the way back toward the anguish from which we all came. I will never feel that I have done justice to my high office until every section of this country is linked, in single purpose and joined devotion, to bring an end to injustice, to bring an end to poverty, and to bring an end to the threat of conflict among nations. Of course I do not want to go as far as the Georgia politician who shouted from the stump in the heat of debate, "My fellow citizens, I know no North. I know no South. I know no East. I know no West." A barefooted, freckled-faced boy shouted out from the audience, saying, "Well, you better go back and study some geography." The second quality in the Georgia motto is justice. A just society is that which meets the fair expectations of its people. I am visiting people this morning who' expect much from us. I have talked with the poor of Appalachia i6 times yesterday in six States, to those whose hunger of the body brings despair of the spirit, and who live in homes that are empty of means but with hearts empty of hope and full of faith. But I do not need to tell the people of the South what poverty means. They and their ancestors know it. I do not believe those who walk through the anguish of the Old South, who sit this morning secure in their affluence and safe in their power, 648 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-Ir964Ma8 30 May 8 13301 will now turn from the sufferings of their neighbor. For our country has the same duty today to help the few who are poor as we did then to help the many who were poor. If a peaceful change is impossible in this country, a violent change is inevitable. So I am going to tell the poor of Georgia, as I have told last week the poor of Pittsburgh, and yesterday the poor of West Virginia, and a few days ago the poor of Chicago, that in State capitals, in small towns, in Washington, itself, in this Nation the powerful and the strong are uniting our resources for a war which will end only when poverty itself has ended from our shores. justice? justice also means justice among the races. Racial problems have deep roots in southern soils. They trouble the passion of men on the shores of Maryland also, I would remind you, in the slums of Philadelphia, and in the dark streets of New York. In your own search for justice, the Constitution of the United States must be your guide. Georgians helped write that Constitution. Georgians have fought and Georgians have died to protect that Constitution. It has nourished the fullness of your progress and the freedom of your people. I believe Georgia will join with the entire Nation to insure that every man enjoys all the rights secured him by that American Constitution. Because the Constitution requires it, because justice demands it, we must protect the constitutional rights of all of our citizens, regardless of race, religion, or the color of their skin. For I would remind you that we are a very small minority, living in a world Of 3 billion people, where we are outnumbered 17 to i, and no one of us is fully free until all of us are fully free, and the rights of no single American are truly secure until the rights of all Americans are,secure. Democratic order rests on faithfulness to law. Those who deny the protection of the Constitution to others imperil the safety of their own liberties and the satisfaction of their own desires. So we now move forward under that Constitution to give every man his right to work at a job. And the greatest program that is now going on in this Nation for equal employment opportunity was initiated, conceived, and born here in the great State of Georgia at the Lockheed plant, and it is a model for more than 7 million workers in all the States of this Union. We must elect our officials, we must educate our children, we must prepare full and equal participation in the American society. The third command of the Georgia motto is moderation. America is now beginning the quest for a great society. The barriers to this quest are high. We have farmers that are deprived of sustenance for their labors, workers deprived of labor for their sustenance. We carry the toilsome tasks of defense, while we pursue the complex cares of peace. Those who call for extreme solution can bring us only discord and disarray. The other day, when Castro impetuously cut off our water in Guantanamo, I was called upon from all sections, but one section particularly, to please send in a division of Marines to handle that water problem. I reflected over it all night, as my Georgia ancestors would have done, and I decided the next morning, rather than send a division of Marines into Cuba, the best thing to do was to send an admiral down there to cut the water off. Some of these men tell us to stand upon our rights, but they don't tell us how to stand up and meet our responsibilities. We 649 [330] May 8 Public Papers of the Presidents can only meet our duty to our people in a partnership of moderation and cooperation between the State and the Nation, as your President is cooperating with your great Governor, between the people and the Government. Then, and only then, will our rights as States and as a country, and as free men serving a just God-only then will those rights be safe. Over my bed in the White House in Washington I keep a little picture of the tiny, three-room home where I was born, the son of a tenant farmer who worked on the "halves"-and his cotton crop was about 8 bales a year. It reminds me every day of the people that I come from. But more important, it reminds me of the people I serve. It reminds me that a poor family who once tilled the soil of Georgia, that their descendant now leads the Nation that is great in strength and in freedom, and is determined to protect and preserve that freedom every inch of the way. My ancestors felt free to ask their fellow Georgians for the help of their neighbors when they needed it. In the same way, I come here this morning at the invitation of your Governor to pay tribute and honor to your great legislature, and I come also to ask for your help and to ask for your prayers in a task that is shared by the people, sustained by the labor, and strengthened by the freedom of all the people of these United States. In God's praise and under God's guidance, let all of us resolve this morning to help heal the last fading scars of old battles. Let us match united wills to boundless means, so that many years from now men will say it was at that time, in that place of free men, that the possibilities of our past turned to the grandeur of our future. I respect the leaders of this State. I love the people of Georgia. They will always 650 be welcome in the White House as long as I am your President, and they will always be guided by wisdom and justice and moderation. We will apply those principles to our every official act. Lady Bird regrets she could not come here with me today. She had scheduled to come to Georgia next week. She said, "I want to go to my beautiful southland, and I want to go when I am not running for office, before I have to get on another train." So she went down to Alabama a few weeks ago and called in all of her kissing cousins and had a long visit there. And then she sat down with Mr. Jones and Senators Russell and Talmadge, Governor Sanders and others, Congressman Vinson, and worked out a visit to Georgia. She hadn't calculated this Appalachia trip. She is due to come in here Monday. Yesterday she was told that the President had a schedule of six States, which included Georgia. She felt like Lynda Bird felt yesterday when she said I stole her lines. I know that she is going to enjoy her visit to this State, as I have. I know she is going to be stimulated and inspired by the lifetime friendships that we have here and by the new friends that we have made. I had the great privilege last year, I want to say to the members of the legislature, of having your Governor in my home. He and Senator Russell, and Bobby Russell, and Mr. Fuqua came down and stirred up my deer and chased them around there for 2 or 3 days. I hope the Governor has a better aim in Georgia than he has in Texas. But I must say that after a few days of practice, he did bring home his deer hide and tack it on the wall. I wasn't sure for a while that we were going to be able to accommodate one of his friends because in the many years that I have lived there, almost 56, we have tried to be hospitable to our guests Lyndon B. Joht and we have tried to be gracious to them. Never have I known a man to come and spend at least 2 days with us without getting his deer. But it looked like to me J. B. Fuqua was going to establish a one-time record. So this morning I want to thank the legislature, I want to thank the Governor and Mrs. Sanders for their unusual hospitality and their kindness to me. I want to thank the State of Georgia for the kind of public servants it has provided through the years and the men who picked me up as a young boy of 27 years of age and have stood with me in sunshine and sorrow. Their voice has been the voice of reason always, their counsel has always been the counsel of wisdom. So I come back here to the place where my ancestors started. I come back with a great 331 Remarks Upon Arrival at the Georgia. May 8, i964 Mayor Ward, and Charles: I want to thank you for coming out here to meet us. Charles, I have never been better welcomed, and I appreciate it very much. I want to thank whoever painted that beautiful sign. I don't think that in the six States that we have visited I have seen one that is more attractive. I want to express my appreciation to the bands that have come out here to meet us. Last night and all morning we have had a wonderful reception from the fine people of this State. And it warms our hearts and thrills us to know that we have good Americans like this who think so much of their country and of the office of the Presidency. rlson, I963-i964 May 8 [33I] deal of pride, with a great deal of respect, and with a lot of love for all of you. Thank you. NOTE: The President spoke at 8:Io a.m. at the Dinkler Plaza Hotel in Atlanta. In his opening words he referred to Governor and Mrs. Carl Sanders of Georgia, Mayor and Mrs. Ivan Allen, Jr., Df Atlanta, Senators Herman E. Talmadge and Richard B. Russell, and Representatives Carl Vinson, Charles L. Weltner, John J. Flynt, Jr., Phil M. Landrum, Robert G. Stephens, Jr., G. Elliott Hagan, John W. Davis, and John L. Pilcher, all of Georgia. During the course of his remarks the President referred to a gift of two tiger cubs, which were later placed in the Atlanta zoo. Later the President referred to Secret Service Agent Rufus W. Youngblood (see Item 21), and to Mrs. Betty Talmadge, wife of Senator Herman E. Talmadge, former Governor of Georgia; Boisfeuillet Jones, Special Assistant to the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare; Robert L. Russell, Jr., Justice of Georgia State Court of Appeals and nephew of Senator Russell; and J. B. Fuqua, Chairman of the Georgia State Democratic Committee. The text of brief remarks by the President's daughter, Lynda Bird, was also released. Airport, Gainesville, It has been a high honor to visit Georgia. We have received stimulation and inspiration from our contacts here. We will carry back to the Nation's Capital a message from all of you. I know that you will join with us in our program that is dedicated and designed to give the greatest good to the greatest number of people, not only in his country but people everywhere in the world. We want a world that is filled with peace and prosperity. Thank you very much. NOTE: The President spoke at ii a.m. at the airport. His opening words referred to Henry Ward, Mayor of Gainesville, and Charles Overby, 12-year-old recipient of the Carnegie Hero Fund bronze medal, who went to the airport to meet the President. 65I [332] May 8 Public Papers of the Presidents 332 Remarks in Franklin D. Roosevelt Square, Gainesville, Georgia. May 8, i964 Mayor and Mrs. Ward, Governor and Mrs. Sanders, Senator Talmadge, Congressman Landrum, Congressman Vinson and other Members of the delegation, the Mayor of the suburb of Gainesville, distinguished platform guests, my relatives, ladies and gentlemen: When I was born, my father was a tenant farmer on a small sandy land farm in Texas that produced about 8 bales of cotton a year, and he got half of them. I remember in those days that he told me about my ancestors who had lived here in Georgia. He said that grandpa told them that they could stay here and go up in the world, or they could leave and go to Texas. Some of my branch went to Texas. I am so happy that I could come back here today and see Mrs. Miller and some of the rest of them who have gone up in the world here in Georgia. Wherever I have gone and whatever I have done in public life I have done because of the advice and the support and the counsel of some of the great men that Georgia has produced. I do not deserve all the wonderful and generous things that my good friend Senator Talmadge had to say about me, or that Governor Sanders repeated, but I can assure you of this: no one in this large crowd of 50,000 people enjoyed hearing what either one of them had to say more than I did. I just wish that they had time to repeat it! I came here to Phil Landrum's District today because I consider him at the moment one of the leading Congressmen in the United States. The Johnson administration and the people of Georgia, and the people of the United States, look to him for leadership that only Phil Landrum is capable of pro viding in this trying hour. He is the author of our poverty bill that is going to make our poor people look forward with hope and faith and give them a better chance in life. He is the author of our poverty bill that is going to give new hope to new families throughout the 50 States of this Union. He is the author of the poverty bill that is going to remake this District. And I am coming back here after it is remade and I want you to get a monument over there to Phil Landrum that we can erect to put by the side of the one for Franklin D. Roosevelt. Twenty-eight years ago last month this great city lay devastated in the wake of an unmerciful act of nature. Two years later, Gainesville had experienced a rebirth, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt came here to pay tribute to the courage and to the spirit of the people who brought their little city back to life. He went on to speak not only of Gainesville, but of the Nation, and he called the people of this city to join in a great crusade to rebuild America, and to move their country forward. I am glad that as we wandered through the half million people that greeted us and delayed us in the suburb of Gainesville down here, between here and Atlanta-as I saw them this morning I thought of how many people in this country had hope, faith, and belief that we were, too, going to rebuild this area of Georgia. And we are going to rekindle in those people hope and faith that we can improve their lot in life. This administration believes in doing the greatest good for the greatest number of people. So today, with Franklin Roosevelt's young son, Franklin Roosevelt, Jr., by my 652 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 May 8 [332] side, I have come back to Gainesville to say that his work and ours is not finished; his dreams and ours are not yet realized; his hopes and ours are not yet fulfilled. As President Franklin Roosevelt did in March 1938, I ask you today to give me your hand and to give me your heart, to work for the good of the whole people and the whole Nation here in Gainesville, as your great Congressman Phil Landrum is in Washington. You and I know that you have many problems here which must be solved. There are children here in this crowd who know the feel of hunger, and workers who know the fear of idleness. There are young people who need careers, and old people who need care. You are meeting these needs. The new junior college, the new area vocational training school, which will be opened shortly, symbolize that the spirit which rebuilt Gainesville in the thirties, that same spirit is still alive in the sixties-and growing. We need throughout this land of ours the same spirit that we find in Gainesville today, and we need the same spirit that Franklin Delano Roosevelt had. He said, "The only thing America has to fear is fear itself." He was the champion of the poor and of the aged. He was the champion of the forgotten farmer and the neglected worker. He was the friend of those who needed help and the advocate of those who sought hope. So I have come to Gainesville today to tell you that the Johnson administration is never going to be frozen in indifference. Our administration is going to be a Government of compassion, compassion for the one-fifth of our people who are ill fed, compassion for the one-fifth of our people who are ill clothed, compassion and concern for the onefifth of our people who are ill housed. Thirty years ago in the State of Georgia, Franklin Roosevelt said one-third of our people are ill clad and ill fed and ill housed, and we must do something about it. In 30 years we have moved that 30 percent down to 20 percent. In the next io years we are going to move that 20 percent down to io percent. And we are going to keep on and keep on and keep on, in our war on poverty, until we drive poverty into the face of the earth and it no longer exists in our beloved America. For any American outside the pale of the Constitution, full participation in our society can no longer be denied to men because of their race or their religion or the region in which they live. The Constitution of the United States applies to every American, of every race, of every religion, of every region in this beloved country. If it doesn't apply to every race, to every region, to every religion, it applies to no one. If Franklin Roosevelt were standing on this square today, he would say that America must go forward with compassion and justice for all, or it cannot go forward at all. We are going forward with a war on poverty. We are going forward to protect your rights and the rights of every American. We are going forward to create new jobs for the jobless, and new homes for the homeless, and new hope for the hopeless. We must not for a moment lose this momentum or this conviction, for while profits are up, and income is up, and capital gains are up, our convictions must never go down. So I have come here today to ask for your heart and your hand, to ask you to join us in a similar cause. Help us to build a better land. Help us to build a greater society. Help us to open wide the doors of opportunity and invite all to come in, for when we have done this, it will one day be said 653 1332] May 8 Public Papers of the Presidents of America that she was a burning and shining light in man's journey on earth. Thank you. God bless you. NOTE: The President spoke at noon in the City Hall in Gainesville, Ga. In his opening words he referred to, among others, Mayor and Mrs. Henry Ward of Gainesville, Governor and Mrs. Carl Sanders of Georgia, and Senator Herman E. Tal madge, Representative Phil M. Landrum, and Representative Carl Vinson, all of Georgia. Early in his remarks he referred to Mrs. Henry Miller, a Gainesville schoolteacher and distant relative of the President. The "unmerciful act of nature" was a tornado which struck Gainesville, Ga., in I936. The text of brief remarks by the President's daughter, Lynda Bird, was also released. 333 Remarks Honoring J. Edgar Hoover on His 4oth Anniversary as Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation. May 8, I964 Mr. Hoover, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Minority Leader, Members of the Congress, distinguished guests, and friends: One of the best things about going away on a trip is to come home and find so many old and dear friends waiting for you here in the backyard. The White House gardeners were anxious for me to make this trip to the Appalachian States because they said they wanted me out of town long enough so they could cut the grass in the flower garden. All during this last trip to the depressed areas, I kept thinking what a great Nation this is, and I kept thinking that the foundation of our greatness is the ability of our people to solve our problems by reasonable and compassionate means. There is another reason, too, for America's greatness, and that is the tireless devotion of those men and women who day in and day out serve the public welfare. I believe J. Edgar Hoover to be such a man. J. Edgar Hoover is a household word. He is a hero to millions of decent citizens and an anathema to evil men. No other American now or in our past has ever served the cause of justice more faithfully or so well. No other American has fought so long or so hard for a safer and a better national life. There is a story-a true story, I think that they tell me about Frank Murphy when he was the Attorney General of the United States under President Franklin Roosevelt. The Attorney General went to his office one Sunday and was stopped by the Justice Department guard who asked for his identification. Frank had forgotten his wallet. "I just can't let you in this building without identification," said the guard. "But I am Frank Murphy, the Attorney General of the United States," said Frank. "Mister," said the guard, "I don't give a damn if you are J. Edgar Hoover himself. You can't get in!" J. Edgar Hoover has served the Government since 1917. He served nine Presidents and this Sunday, May ioth, he celebrates his 4oth year as the Director of the FBI. Under his guiding hand, the FBI has become the greatest criminal investigation body in the history of the world. The country has been made safer from groups that would subvert our way of life and men who would harm and destroy our persons. Edgar Hoover has been my close personal friend for almost 30 years, and he was my close neighbor for 19 years. I know he loved my dog, and I think he thought a little bit of me as a neighbor, and I am proud and happy to join the rest of the Nation this afternoon in honoring this quiet and humble 654 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-I964 May 9 [334] and magnificent public servant. Edgar, the law says that you must retire next January when you reach your 7oth birthday. And knowing you as I do, Edgar, I know you won't break the law, but the Nation cannot afford to lose you and, therefore, by virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested in the President of the United States, I have just now signed an Executive order exempting you from compulsory retirement for an indefinite period of time. Again, Edgar, congratulations and accept the gratitude of a grateful Nation. NOTE: The President spoke in the Rose Garden at the White House. His opening words referred to J. Edgar Hoover, Representative John W. McCormack of Massachusetts, Speaker of the House, and Senator Everett McK. Dirksen of Illinois, Minority Leader. The text of Mr. Hoover's response was also released. Earlier the President signed Executive Order III54 "Exemption of J. Edgar Hoover From Compulsory Retirement for Age" (29 F.R. 6233, 3 CFR, i964 SUpp.). 334 Remarks in New York City Before the 5oth Anniversary Convention of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers. May 9, i964 Mr. Potofsky, Mayor Wagner, my good friends Alex Rose and David Dubinsky and all honored guests on the platform, ladies and gentlemen: Unaccustomed as I am to public speaking, I do find it somewhat difficult to follow the eloquent Mayor and my wife on this platform. I think that Mr. Potofsky would have been well advised to have just cut the program off a moment ago. I do want to observe that rarely have I been more stimulated or interested in any public address than the one made by the distinguished Mayor. I want a copy of it. What Sidney Hillman advocated, what Franklin Roosevelt and Bob Wagner, Senior, fought and died for, what Bob Wagner, Junior, recommends today, what Mr. Potofsky and this fine union urges, I feel deep in my heart and I am preaching it from one end of the country to the other. Some of you may know that I almost did not make it here today. Mr. Potofsky called me and said, "Mr. President, I am afraid I will have to ask you not to come to New York Saturday." I asked him why and he said, "Well, Mr. President, these people are pretty mad because you pulled the ears of a 'bagel."' But here I am among fine friends and good neighbors and out of the doghouse finally, at least for the time being. I read that man is the only animal that has a legislature. Well, I found out one thingbeagles have a constituency. And unless you have one you really don't know how to handle them but you are long on advice. As the husband of a wife and the father of two active daughters, I am happy to have this opportunity to meet with the representatives of the clothing industry to which I owe much-literally. In the 29 years of married life, I have learned that if clothes don't make a man, they can certainly break him. I know what the fellow meant when he said that a woman is often responsible for her husband's success-because of the money her clothes make it necessary for him to make-and for him to spend on his own clothes if he is going to hold on to her. This was an expensive trip to New York. 655 l3341 May 9 Public Papers of the Presidents Lady Bird had to have a David Dubinsky dress. I had to have a Potofsky tie and somebody went and got me my old Alex Rose hat. But I am glad to be here with a fighting and forward-looking union. For 50 years you have worked to make your dreams come true, first with Sidney Hillman at your helm and now with my good friend, Jacob Potofsky. You pioneered in arbitration, you pioneered in low-cost cooperative housing. You pioneered in health and retirement insurance. You pioneered in higher work standards and medical centers for your members and above all, you pioneered in the concept of the minimum wage. I can testify to it because I cut my eyeteeth on the first minimum wage bill that provided 25 cents an hour for minimum wages in 1938. A few years later, Mr. Rose and Mr. Dubinsky and Mr. Potofsky came back in my office and they weren't asking for 25 cents that they had talked about a few years earlier-in I938, under President Roosevelt-they were asking for $1.25. I rather am expecting them to come back before long with another proposal. I am not going to make any premature announcements here today. But I was honored by what they told me on that occasion. They told me not to yield a moment on the $1.25, to get all the coverage that I had the votes to cover. Then Mr. Dubinsky left the office by saying, "I have been coming here for more than 20 years and I haven't always got all I asked for, but I have always gotten more than I was promised." So I think that all of you can be proud that the heresies of your past have become the accepted practices of the present. As a young Congressman from Texas back in those days that I just recalled, I was one of three Congressmen from our State and from our section of the Nation to sign a petition forcing a vote in the caucus on the Fair Labor Standards Act. You and I stood together then and we are going to stand together now. I want every member of this union to remember this and never forget it. Your leaders already know it but I want the members to know it. The work of people like you have made it possible for Members of Congress to support progressive legislation and still stay in Congress. I appreciate the help that your efforts gave me and, who knows, it may be that sometime down the road you can help me out again. I might give you some indication of what I am talking about but I promised to be nonpolitical until after the convention. But I will talk about some nonpolitical subjects this morning. First, we must all stand together on the civil rights bill. I want to say in New York this morning what I said in Atlanta yesterday morning, and I quote: "Because the Constitution requires it, because justice demands it, we must protect the constitutional rights of all of our citizens, regardless of race or religion or the color of their skin." For no one of us in America is fully free until all of us in America are fully free. The rights of no single American are truly secure until the rights of all Americans are truly secure. Not from charity, not from condescension, not from coercion, but from a deep commitment to justice must we open wide the door of equality and invite all Americans to walk through that door. The civil rights bill now before Congress is a farreaching step in the direction of equality. It may-I pray it won't-but it may take all summer-it may take sessions 656 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-I964 May 9 [334] around the clock, but I promise you here and now that we are going to pass a civil rights bill. We are going to bring new hope to 20 million Americans who, for 2 centuries of our history, have been on the outside looking in. I would remind you that this is the centennial year, this is the iooth anniversary of Abraham Lincoln freeing the slaves of their chains, but he did not free America of her bigotry or he did not free the Negro of his color. Until education is unaware of race, until employment is blind to color, emancipation may be a proclamation but it is not a fact. So there is a job to do in all the 50 States, and let's get on and do it. Second, just as you and I stand together in this cause, we must also join forces in the war on poverty that Bob Wagner told you and that Sidney Hillman so eloquently talked about. The march of progress in America has left 30 million hungry, aimless, forgotten refugees in its wake. I saw many of them in the Appalachian States this week: farmers on doles, deprived of their dignity; young men and women out of school, surrounded by squalor; idle workers on relief, robbed of their self-respect. But poverty stalks not only in the hills and the valleys of Appalachia. It is here today. It is here in this city on all sides of the track right around where you live. It is the widow around the corner barely surviving on a pension of $70 a month. It is the teenager down the block unprepared by schooling and unwanted by an employer. It is the retired factory worker, sick of body and tired of soul, depending on charity for his medical needs. Steadily and surely this poverty is eroding the welfare of these Americans-and the welfare of all Americans as well. For poverty is malignant; no part of our society is immune from its terrible consequences. Don't think you can escape it. Something must be done to end poverty. Something must be done now or one day a future generation of Americans will rise up to curse us for the bitter legacy of despair that we passed on to them. Well, I am here today to prophesy and to predict and to tell you that we are going to do something. This administration has declared unconditional war on poverty, and I have come here this morning to ask all of you to enlist as volunteers. Members of all parties are welcome to our tent. Members of all races ought to be there. Members of all religions should come and help us now to strike the hammer of truth against the anvil of public opinion again and again and again until the ears of this Nation are open, until the hearts of this Nation are touched and until the conscience of America is awakened. So, without regard to party we ask every able person to come and join in this attack, for in this war there must be no conscientious objectors. The one-fifth of America that is still ill fed, that is still ill clothed, that is still ill housed cannot be saved from or saved by Washington alone. President Roosevelt talked about the one-third that was ill clad and ill housed and ill fed in Georgia in I934. I talked about the one-fifth that were ill clad and ill fed and ill housed in Georgia in I964. We moved from one-third to onefifth but we have just begun to fight. So you must help in the planning and in the support. You must help in your own neighborhoods. Napoleon is said to have lost the battle of Waterloo because he used only his cavalry and forgot his infantry. Well, you are the infantry of this war, and 657 1334] May 9 Public Papers of the Presidents we need the infantry to win it because local initiative and individual efforts are the keystones of our poverty program. I am happy to announce this morning that this administration-through the President's Commitee on Juvenile Delinquencyhas approved a grant of $i million to help the people of Harlem fight juvenile delinquency. This money will help bring about needed improvements in schools, vocational training, employment services, crime prevention, improvements planned and carried out by people right here in your city. This initiative and this foresight we hope to see wherever poverty preys on the people of the land. I charge you as members of a great and progressive union with a great and marvelous history to lead your people into this war with their chin up and their chest out. You can count on us. Now, I am here this morning asking you, can we count on you? There is a third program where you and I must stand together today. We must unite in passing a bill in Congress to help our older citizens secure decent medical aid under social security. Inadequate hospital care is an indecent penalty to place on old age. In the hills of eastern Kentucky, one of the I3 States that I visited in the last I3 days in a program to meet the people and to know the country and to do something about the problems-in that program I sat next to a father that had i i children, that had worked 4 days last month, that had made $4 a day and had had to feed those little hungry mouths largely from surplus commodities. And he told me because he believed in the admonition of "Love thy neighbor as thyself," that he had been over and sat up with an 85-year-old man until 4 o'clock the night before the President visited him. Why? go to and there were no resources to pay the hospital bill. Because there was no hospital for him to Situations like that must end in America. All we are asking for is a program under social security which will let the worker put in about $i a month from his average lifetime earnings. The average manufacturing earnings in this country are now $ioo a week. We ask $i per month when he enters the labor market from the employee and $i per month from his employer and the Government does not put in a single cent. But under this plan all Americans, not just the rich and affluent Americans, all Americans can face the autumn of life with dignity and security. Twenty-four dollars a year, if you enter the labor market at 20 and stay until you are 65-45 years at $24 makes a little over $i,ioo, multiplied by the formula 3.75 and you have almost $4,000 when you are 65 in your account to take care of your hospital needs. What little you may have saved during that time can go to pay the doctor of your choice. He is not interfered with in any way. He is really served by having a fund to pay your hospital bill because, as it is now, he has to wait until the hospital is paid for and the nurse is paid for and the medicine is paid for. If there is anything else, he gets it, so why in the name of goodness are they fighting this bill, I don't know. But remember, the same ghost writer that wrote the phrase about Roosevelt's social security bill in I936 and called it a "cruel hoax," for Alf Landon, is now writing a phrase about my poverty bill and calling it a "cruel hoax." The same old wordswritten, I think, by the same old man, for the same old purpose, to try to preserve the status quo. Well, who doesn't want better than the status quo? 658 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-i964 May 9 [334] These older citizens deserve a more decent chance to stay well or to get well, and this administration, with your support, intends to see that they get that chance. But we must not stop there. This is a long and winding road, but it will have a wonderful ending. We must extend the Fair Labor Standards Act to include more than 2 million workers who now lack this basic protection, because what is good for you is good for them. We must establish Federal benefit standards for State unemployment insurance programs and a Federal supplementary pro-,rausn to extend benefits for an additional period of up to 26 weeks, because I saw too many people yesterday whose unemployment insurance had already run out. We must press forward in our efforts to achieve full employment in America-and to achieve it in our time. Our unemployment has dropped from 5.8 to 5.4, and God willing and business helpful, we are going to drop it, we hope this year, below 5 percent. But one man out of work is one too many. If you are enjoying your conference, you just remember that except for the grace of God that one man could be you. Not long ago I read of a man who said that the "frontiers are closed, there is nowhere else to go in America, and we can prepare for a long period of grace from the strenuous demands of a restless society." Ladies and gentlemen, that man does not know our country. That man does not understand America, for democracy is an everlasting frontier. As I look into the next generation, I see in America where every citizen has an opportunity to live a useful life-where every family lives in a good home in a healthy neighborhood-where every worker has a decent job at decent wages-where every young person has good schools and good teachers. I see an America where every older citizen is free from fear and where every American is free from discrimination, and where equal opportunity is known and received by all. Yes, I see in America where every citizen can vote as he pleases and worship God as he chooses. I know that this union sees this in America, too. For half a century you have labored to bring it about. You have fought for progress. You have fought for justice. You have fought for decency and fair play. And you have fought for a better America and a greater society. Well, I am not telling you any secret when I tell you those are the goals of the Johnson administration. So, at the end of a somewhat active and tiring week, I have come here to New York this morning to say: Let us work together. Let us stand together, shoulder to shoulder. Let us build together for tomorrow-for America, for everybody, for all time to come. Thank you. NOTE: The President spoke in the morning in the Singer Bowl at the New York World's Fair, following brief remarks by Mrs. Johnson. His opening words referred to Jacob S. Potofsky, president, Amalgamated Clothing Workers Union, Mayor Robert F. Wagner of New York City, Alex Rose, president, United Cap, Hatters, and Millinery Workers International Union, and David Dubinsky, president, International Ladies Garment Workers Union. 659 33-171-6 5 47 [335] May 9 Public Papers of the Presidents 335 Remarks at the Dedication of the Venezuelan Pavilion, New York World's Fair. May 9, i964 President Betancourt, Mr. Ambassador, ladies and gentlemen: Buenas tardes, mis amigos. This is a real honor for me to come here today and be with my old and delightful friend, President Betancourt. 'As President of one democracy, I am proud to be present at the pavilion of another great democracy whose vision and spirit have lighted not only this hemisphere but all the world, and to be present here with the leader of that democracy during the time that great effort was being made. Under progressive leadership, Venezuela is moving vigorously and moving successfully to prove, as Franklin D. Roosevelt said, that "democracy is the one form of society which guarantees to every new generation of men the right to imagine and to attempt to bring to pass a better world." Every nation, whatever its system of government, whatever its ideological faith, must take note of President Betancourt's and Venezuela's progress. In improving the general welfare of her people, in stimulating her economy, in doing that which is good for humanity, Mr. President and Mr. Ambassador, your country is in the vanguard of a better world. Your progress demonstrates that social re form and economic development are possible within a democratic constitutional framework and that such a framework offers the most hope to the most people, the greatest good for the greatest number. Three years ago all the people of this hemisphere joined in a new alliance for progress. Mr. President, your efforts helped inspire that alliance. I am proud today to be the guest of a sister republic that has already shown that the alliance is not only a shining promise but has shown it is a successful practice. We are having a meeting with the Latin American Ambassadors in the White House on Monday. Mr. President, we would like so much for you to be there because you would give them stimulation and inspiration that will be absent if you are not there. But I do want you to know that we are going to forge full steam ahead to build the kind of hemisphere that you and my predecessor, the late, beloved John F. Kennedy, envisioned together and we will execute it together. NOTE: The President spoke at the ribbon-cutting ceremony opening the Venezuelan Pavilion at the Fair. His opening words referred to President Romulo Betancourt of Venezuela and Dr. Enrique Tejera-Paris, Venezuelan Ambassador to the United States. 336 The President's News Conference at the New York World's Fair. May 9, i964 THE PRESIDENT. My fellow travelers, I am happy to take a brief time out before our lunch to give you a few items that I thought would be helpful to you over the weekend, so I will make a few announcements. [I.] First, the important indicators show 66o that our economic expansion continues to be strong and healthy. That is confirmed by the Advisory Committee meeting yesterday in Hot Springs,1 but we have some figures 1 Spring meeting of the Business Council in Hot Springs, Va. Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 May 9 [336] that further support it that should be of interest. New car sales in April, on which we just have the figures, were running at an annual rate of 8 million automobiles. That compares to 7.6 in March, up at a rate of 400,000. Retail sales for the week ended May 2d were $5.I billion, and that is over 4 percent higher than the week before, and it is 6 percent higher than the same week last year, so retail sales are up 6 percent over last year. Employment continues to rise. After seasonal corrections, employment went up by 750,000 jobs in April. This is a continuation of a very steady rise which has added more than 1.4 million jobs since December. That is I,400,000 since December, the last 5 months, and i.8 million in the past year. In the midst of this steady expansion and rise of employment, the wholesale price index in the first week of May just closed actually declined to Ioo.I percent of the I957-59 average. Compare that with what is happening in other countries, as I gave you the other day 2-France, Italy, and Germanyand the increases there, and you will see how fortunate we have been and how important it is that all segments of our economy, labor and business, employer and employee, and most of all Government-that they are friends instead of irritating adversaries. All Americans benefit from the fact that we are holding the price line now while we are moving ahead to create new jobs, and we are reaching new heights of prosperity in America. [2.] We have already begun on our program to help young men rejected by the draft for mental and educational reasons. If we can help them soon enough to find jobs, or training, or to go back to school, we can keep them from being condemned to a life of poverty. During these last 2 days I have 2See Item 3I6 [5]. seen many men who were rejected. If you will remember, those of you who were with me at the North Carolina farm family, the oldest boy had been rejected not because of his physical deficiencies but because of his lack of education. We can salvage them for fruitful, productive lives in American society if we can move fast enough. In the first 30 days of this program, 9,500 young men were referred to public employment offices in 36 States after failing Selective Service tests. This report has just come in for the first 30 days. Two-thirds of these 9,500 were out of school and unemployed. We have already given 7,000 of the young men counseling interviews, and we have referred 1,255 to employers and more than a third of them have already found jobs. Many of the rejectees have been enrolled in a training course and we have gotten 58 of them to go back to school. If we can catch the unskilled and undereducated and give them help at this early stage of their lives, we can go forward toward conquering poverty. Therefore, I intend to send a personal message from the President of the United States with each of the rejection notices that is sent out by Selective Service, urging every rejectee to seek help immediately at his local employment office. I think the success we have had with the 9,500 in the last 30 days justifies that action. I am ordering a task force on manpower conservation to immediately establish an operations planning group, chaired by the Department of Labor, to coordinate and to develop a vigorous and comprehensive effort to mobilize the full combined resources of Federal, State, and local governments along with the resources of all private groups to help these young men find a place in our national life. [3.] So that our natural resources might 66i [336] May 9 Public Papers of the Presidents be available to help those who really need help, I have required quarterly reports, as I have told you on other occasions, from all the Government agencies, a quarterly report on economies in operation and personnel. Some of these may be too small to interest you, but they set a good example, and I am going to continue to emphasize them even if you can't publicize them. I received the first of these quarterly reports on April 20th. I am pleased with the reductions that have been made. The big savings, like the more than $2 billion cut in Defense spending, can attract a headline, but these smaller savings throughout the Government are the real proof that economy's spirit is here and it is here to stay. I want to give you a few of the dozens of reductions which have been made recently that came in to me on these reports, and that I jotted down coming up here. The Federal Aviation Agency is consolidating eight aircraft maintenance bases into four. This will produce increased operating efficiency as well as operating savings estimated at $I million. The Small Business Administration has eliminated the position of Deputy Regional Director and, as a result, ii positions have already been abolished. The Post Office Department has saved $250,000 by measuring mail volume less frequently. They don't have as many statistics as often, but they are spending a quarter of a million less. The Internal Revenue Service, by realigning functions, improving clerical specialization, has saved 42 jobs for me at a savings of $218,ooo. The Rural Electrification Administration abolished its Electric Farming Branch because its services could be obtained from other sources, and thereby saved nine jobs. The Weather Bureau is using hydrogen instead of helium for weather balloons at some of its field stations, and it is saving $I4,000 in that effort. [4.] There is a possibility of another economy coming up. It may or may not develop. This one will require personal action by the President. I have sent to the Congress a budget amendment requesting an appropriation of $800,000 to provide staff assistance to a newly elected President between election and inauguration, and to an outgoing President for 6 months after election. This is required by the Presidential Transition Act that was passed in I963. I am informed by the Budget Director that my reelection would save this $800,000. While I have no announcement to make at this time, I think all of you know how strongly I feel about economy. [5.] I am proclaiming World Trade Week. It seems appropriate to declare this week at a time when the important Kennedy Round is going on in Geneva. In that same spirit, we are announcing today that the United States and Rumania have agreed to open discussions in Washington on May g9th on a number of topics, with emphasis on trade which affects our relations. The American delegation will be headed by Under Secretary Harriman,3 and the Rumanian delegation by Vice Premier Gaston-Marin. These conversations are another example of our effort to increase peaceful contact with the people of Eastern Europe as a pursuit of a lasting peace. [6.] I have received from the Secretary of State a very important report on the EastWest Center in Hawaii, from the U.S. Advisory Commission on International Educational and Cultural Affairs. I have reviewed the report, which was prepared under the 'Under Secretary of State W. Averell Harriman. 662 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 May 9 [336] direction of Mr. Roy E. Larsen,4 and I am sending a letter to the Secretary of State today to express my own pleasure at the Commission's conclusion that the East-West Center has made remarkable progress since it was established in i960 by legislation that I authored when I was a Member of the Senate. I am authorizing Secretary Rusk to adopt a major recommendation of the Commission's report and to establish an Advisory Board of outstanding citizens to advise the Secretary of State in the advancement of the work of the East-West Center. The Chairman of that Board will be the Governor of Hawaii, Governor Burns, John Burns. [7.] I have regretfully accepted the resignation of Mr. J. M. Chambers as Deputy Director of the Office of Emergency Planning. He has, as you know, had a great record in the Marines during the war, and with the Senate Armed Services Committee for a number of years. He has served his country well in a most difficult and a most critical assignment. I am sending to the Senate the nomination of Mr. Frederick W. Ford, of West Virginia, for reappointment to another 7-year term as a member of the Federal Communications Commission. He was appointed by President Eisenhower and his term expired in July. I intend to appoint Mr. Otto Eckstein of Lexington, Mass., with whom I have conferred, as a member of the President's Council on Economic Advisers. Mr. Eckstein will replace Mr. John Lewis, who I intend to send to an important overseas post. Mr. Eckstein is Professor of Economics at Harvard University. 'Vice Chairmian of the Commission. The Commission's report (45 pp., processed) was made available by the State Department. If you need any background on these folks, George 5 can arrange it when you get back this evening. [8.] I have just authorized the sending of this wire to the King of Laos, on Laos Constitution Day, and I say I extend my personal felicitations, and I take this opportunity to express my agreement with His Majesty's most recent wise actions and sage counsel. "While, as I have already said publicly, we can understand the frustrations that many good Laotians must feel over the situation in which their country has found itself these past years, we nonetheless could not but deplore any action which would destroy the international fabric provided to assure the independence of your country. "As you know, the United States Government continues to adhere as firmly as ever to the Geneva agreements and to support the Government of National Union under Prince Souvanna Phouma. We recognize only too well that the full implementation of these agreements as well as the effectiveness of the government have been seriously hampered by the violations and intransigence of others, but we are gratified to know that you and the Prime Minister will persevere in this course with renewed determination. "I can assure Your Majesty that the United States Government will continue to support you in your efforts to bring unity, bring peace, and bring prosperity to your kingdom and to preserve its independence and neutrality." Thank you, and I will be glad to have any questions. [9.] Q. Mr. President, you spoke this morning about hitting the anvil again and again and again on the poverty program. Can we look forward to some more traveling? 6 George E. Reedy, Press Secretary to the President. 663 f336] May 9 Public Papers of the Presidents THE PRESIDENT. Oh, yes. We are going to have a good deal of traveling this year. We believe in meeting the people. We believe in reporting to the people. We believe in giving the people a chance to see us and to hear us, and to agree with us and to disagree with us, to criticize us and to approve us. This is a Government of the people, by the people, and for the people. We will be out seeing them, particularly when we need a little encouragement, to get away from the sidewalks of Washington. We have been in 13 States in the last 13 days. We may not cover that many States in the next 13 days, but we are not going into seclusion. Q. Mr. President, can you give us your reaction to the big crowds that turned out to see you? THE PRESIDENT. Would you repeat your question? Q. Can you give us your reaction to the big crowds that turned out to see you in Atlanta and the other places, and whether you see any political implication in the warm reception you got through the South? THE PRESIDENT. Yes, I think the people of that section are great Americans. I think, as I said in that speech,6 they have sent hundreds of thousands of the flower of their manhood to war to protect this country. They have a great respect for the office of the Presidency. They feel that they honor and pay tribute to that office when the President visits them. They reciprocate his attention. Georgia has always been one of the great Democratic States. It provided the largest Democratic majority of any State in the Union on occasions, and the highest percentage of any State that went for President Kennedy, I believe, with the exception of Rhode Island. 6 See Item 330. 664 I must say that when some of the men told me that they had never seen crowds like that before, I just had to say that I have been in political life for 32 years, and I haven't seen them either. But I think it is a good omen. I don't think I ever saw as many people as I saw at Gainesville yesterday. Senator Talmadge told me he has never seen that many in his life. The Congressman from the district told me the same thing. Most of the officials felt that way. I don't know how many were there, but it shows a great interest in their Government, and it is a healthy thing. I hope that all the people of both parties, whatever their affiliations may be, will come out this year and maintain an interest in the governmental processes. [ Io.] Q. Mr. President, do you have any feeling about whether your trip to the South might have some impact on the civil rights bill? THE PRESIDENT. No. I hope that my trip through the Appalachian States made my views a little better known to the people of those States, if not better accepted in some instances. I think it is important that we have leadership in the Presidency. I have tried to, in my own humble way, exercise it as best I could. I told the people in Atlanta yesterday how I felt about our country, and I told the people of New York today, and I told them both the same thing, just as I told business that I thought it was important that we watch inflation and I told the labor union people the same thing, just as I have told the railroads and told the Brotherhoods. We must provide that leadership if we expect the people to follow it. They can't follow a vacuum. I am going to communicate with them as often as I can, assuming it meets your pleasure and you don't think I Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 May 9 [336] am getting overexposed. The real overexposure that bothers me is these friends that are really knocking my block off, all concerned about my overexposure. I can't quite see what is happening. It has me somewhat frustrated. [II.] Q. Mr. President, there were hints in the speeches in Georgia yesterday and again in the Atlantic City speech for tonight that you might be interested in the presidential nomination of the Democratic Party.7 What better place would there be to declare it openly than the United States Pavilion at the World's Fair? THE PRESIDENT. I haven't figured that one out. There could be other better places. I wouldn't want to shoot from the hip and act on the spur of the moment. I don't have any definite plans as of yet. It is unlikely that I will have any until the Convention. I think that what develops there will depend on the attitude of the delegates, the situation in the country, and my own personal feelings in the matter. [I2.] Q. Mr. President, in recent weeks Mr. Christian Herter has voiced the belief that the Kennedy Round in the tariff negotiations in Geneva may be in for great difficulties. I wonder if you could express your views on this for us? THE PRESIDENT. Yes, we have difficulties, and we will have serious problems. I think it is entirely too early to conclude the outcome of these negotiations. We know our position. We know that that position is not embraced by all of the parties to this Round, but we are going to be as persuasive as we can. We believe that right will ultimately prevail, and I always, maintain an optimistic position. I never was elected predicting my own defeat. [I I3.] Q. Mr. President, you are going to speak tonight in the Convention Hall at 7 See Items 330, 332, and 338. Atlantic City. The Democratic National Convention will be held there in August. I plan to write a story saying that President Johnson spoke in this hall tonight, and that it seemed to me to be a sort of rehearsal for his acceptance speech in August. Do you see anything wrong with that, sir? THE PRESIDENT. Well, I would be the last man in the world to show my sensitivity by criticizing a story that had not been written. The press thinks I am a little bit too sensitive anyway when I point out some inaccuracies about stories that have already been written and published, and so forth. But I hope the rest of them will not think that I am unduly partial when I observe that I have had a very high regard for your political prophesies throughout the years. Q. The answer is yes, I think, Mr. President. [I4.] Q. In your speech this morning, sir, you recalled that you voted for a cloture petition at one time.8 THE PRESIDENT. No, I signed a petition to force a caucus, to force a discharge of the wages and hours bill. That is what I said. Q. This was in the contextTHE PRESIDENT. That is right. They provide those things sometimes when they get a little confused. That is to give you all of the thing, but I delivered it correctly. Q. It was in the context of your talk on civil rights, sir, and I wonder if you could comment on when you think cloture might be tried in the Senate, and generally your view on the pace of it? THE PRESIDENT. Since I left the Senate, and the Majority Leader's position, I have taken a position that there is only one Majority Leader. If you have more than that, you get confused and frustrated and get into great difficulties. So as Vice President I never gave the Majority Leader any recom8 See Item 334. 665 [336] May 9 Public Papers of the Presidents mendations unless he asked for them, and as President I don't try to involve myself in the procedures of the Senate. I think that Senator Mansfield and Senator Humphrey are much closer to that situation than I am. I am not trying to dodge you. I just plain don't know. I think that they would be better authorities on it than I am. I hope to get a vote during this month. I think that the national interest would indicate that we should have one. We have talked for more than 50 days now, and I would hope that we could get on to voting, and vote this program up and down, so that we can finish with a very fine record for all Members of Congress, the Members of both parties. I think that Congress loses when there is a blockade and the Congress is guilty of inaction. [I5.] Q. Mr. President, Secretary McNamara and General Taylor have made frequent trips to South Viet-Nam in recent months. The frequency of these visits has raised apprehensions or fears among some people that this means the war is not going well in South Viet-Nam. What can you say on these "apprehensions," so to speak? THE PRESIDENT. We have a good many problems out there. We all know that. We have had 3 governments in 4 months or 5 months. We know the problems we had when we just had one transition here at home. We are trying to meet with the new government as often as we can and as frequently as we can, and be as helpful as we can. With the cooperation and counsel of Ambassador Lodge from time to time, I am going to have Secretary Rusk and Secretary McNamara, and General Taylor and other members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and General Wheeler, go in and provide this advice and assistance and counsel. But I would not conclude that every time they go out there it is because of some particular situation, because that is not true. They will be going there every few weeks, and be providing leadership and judgment, and making decisions. I think it is like our going out and seeing the people. We have to keep in touch with a situation that is as important to us as Viet-Nam. [i6.] Q. In your speech today, sir, you are suggesting that you will have a general school aid bill.9 You have not been listing that in your recent news conferences. I wondered if this is a bill that you are planning to put in in the next session of Congress, if you should be our President then, or are you thinking of a general school-aid bill this year? THE PRESIDENT. No, I am thinking of any measure that will aid in the education of our children that is practicable and feasible at as early a date as possible, whether I am President or who is President. I think that the most important issue before our people today is the education of our young. I think that we must provide leadership and do everything we can to arouse the local community, the county government, the State and the Federal Government to make its maximum contribution in that field. I have no specific target or date line in mind. I want to do it as rapidly as possible. [17.] Q. Mr. President, sir, the United Auto Workers negotiate this summer with the auto companies. THE PRESIDENT. I think that is correct. Q. I wondered, sir, since Mr. Reuther has said that he is going to insist at least on demands totaling 4.8 percent, whether you felt these negotiations presented a threat to your policy of keeping costs and prices stable? THE PRESIDENT. I think we will have to 'See Item 338. Advance copies had been made available to the press. 666 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 May 9 [336 see how those negotiations go before we go to passing judgment. I would not want to render a decision in advance. For my general views on the general subject, I would refer you to my statement to the labor leaders in the White House last week which I think covered it in its entirety. [i8.] Q. Mr. President, sir, it may develop that many people will not have enough withheld from their taxes because of the new tax bill. THE PRESIDENT. I didn't get the first part of your question. Q. It may develop that many people will not have enough taxes withheld from their weekly wages because of the tax bill. Do you propose any remedial action between now and the next filing period? THE PRESIDENT. No. I think it is a decided improvement over what it has been, and a good many of us have to add something to what is withheld, and a good many of them have to have a refund, and we will never be able to hit it exactly on the nose. But I think that we have followed the course that will give us the least problems over the course of time involved. I wouldn't change it. Q. Mr. President, if I could just come back to civil rightsTHE PRESIDENT. Gentlemen, you are right. I am trying to recognize you, but I want to hear from you, first. Stand up there with him. I have been pointing to you twice, but I missed you. [i9.] Q. On civil rights, Mr. President, many of the people who are experts in that field have been warning that there may be a long, hot, difficult summer ahead in the way of demonstrations and so on. I wondered if you had in mind anything that the office of the President could do to head off this kind of difficult situation? THE PRESIDENT. Well, I don't think that we know yet until they finish their conferences on the Hill, until they have some further votes, just how long it will take or what problems will confront them. I think the President ought to do anything that he can properly do without improperly using the powers of his office to get his program through. And having been connected with the legislative branch of the Government for 32 years, I am sensitive to their problems. I will bear them in mind constantly, consistent with getting a program through the Congress, and I am going to do all I can to prevail upon men of good will to act on that program at the earliest possible date. [20.] Q. Mr. President, this question may demand a philosophical answer, but this morning in speaking to the Clothing Workers you asked them to join you in your fight, in your war against poverty. You asked them to enlist as volunteers. I believe in Athens, at the university the other day, you said the same thing. You have said it several times. There are contrasts in where we have been this week and what we have heard. In two of your news conferences, one earlier this week and today, you have spoken glowingly about the economy and the prosperity of the Nation. My question may have two answers. First of all, in a Nation with so much prosperity, how can you get these people riled up, inspired, to enlist in a war on poverty which is off the main highways, in the woods, number i; and number 2, what would you have them do? THE PRESIDENT. Well, I don't know how I can get them riled up. I hope by picture, and letting them look at conditions that exist in their own communities, with their neighbors; I hope by public speeches outlining what we have seen, and what the conditions are that exist; I hope by messages and by legislation; I hope by leadership, such as 33-171-65 48 667 [336] May 9 Public Papers of the Presidents the distinguished Mayor of New York is giving here in New York, in their poverty program, that the people can be concerned with the problem and then do something about it. I believe there has been more consideration given to poverty and to conditions of the io million families that are in that group during the last 30 days than has been given almost during the entire 30 years. The more we think about it the more we talk about it, and the more we plan about it the more will likely result. So that is first. We are going to appeal to every labor group, we are going to appeal to every business group. We don't think they are necessarily enemies of each other. We are going to appeal to every government grouplocal, State, and national. We are going to try to enlist them in this crusade. We think that from what the Mayor of Chicago told me, what the Mayor of New York told me, what the Mayor of Pittsburgh told me, the Mayors and Governors of all the States in the Appalachian area-I have covered all of them but one, and Lady Bird covered it, Alabama; we have been to all 10 Stateswe think that we have those people talking about these problems and trying to lay plans locally to do something about it. Second, you say what can individuals do? I said that in my speech. I gave you a few of the things I thought they could do and Lynda Bird charged me with stealing her lines, so I am a little hesitant to go into that. But some of the things they can do are like-work like the Peace Corps is doing in foreign countries now, particularly as these Peace Corps people come back, and some of these labor people enlist, and as some of these business people that Sargent Shriver talked to down in Hot Springs yesterday. Business people can donate money that they are now donating to foundations for general causes. We hope maybe we can find a way that they can donate additional money to sponsor local projects. That is what business can do. Labor people can go out and have nurseries, take care of the little children while the mother is working. They can provide teachers to teach folks to read and write who don't know how to read and write. I can't think of a greater satisfaction that a young Junior League lady could get than to teach some adult lady who couldn't read or write how to read and write and give her a chance to vote for the first time. We can conduct schools in our homes in that respect. We can appeal to the labor unions to make contributions toward local sponsorship of these community plans. We can ask them to contribute to these 500,000 boys that are being sent back each year because they are not fit for the Army, to teach them, as I pointed out, what we are trying to do here now through the Employment Service. We can try to find new jobs for them, we can create new opportunities in the service industries where they might fit in. Everybody talks these days about getting a new plant into their community, but we don't do enough about increasing service jobs, like opening up Appalachia to tourists. It would create a lot of jobs and we could train some of these people to fit into those guide jobs and things of that kind. There are a good many things that we can do and we must do and should do and will do. It is going to take a little time. [2I.] Lady Bird seems to be in a hurry to go, and if any of you have any questions you want to ask her, she is available. Bob Eaton, United Press International: Thank you, Mr. President. NOTE: President Johnson's eighteenth news conference was held in the auditorium at the United States pavilion at the New York World's Fair at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 9, I964. 668 Lyndon B. Johnson, r963-i964 May 9 [337] 337 Remarks at the Dedication of the John F. Kennedy Cultural Center at Mitchel Field, New York. May 9, I964 Reverend Clergy, Mr. Nickerson, distinguished guests on the platform, ladies and gentlemen: The building that you will build and the hopes that it represents are truly a fitting memorial to John F. Kennedy. He once said, "I look forward to an America which will steadily raise the standards of artistic accomplishments and which will steadily enlarge cultural opportunities for all of our citizens." Today, you good people of Nassau County, without regard to party or race or religion or national ancestry come here to contribute your bit to help bring that vision closer to fulfillment. Here, in this future center men and women will come to enjoy and to learn from the noblest creations of the mind and the spirit. They will meet here with their neighbors in community activities and, as we heard in our invocation, I hope they will meet here to teach and to learn, to end fear and ignorance, to end all bigotry and prejudice, and to put all hate to flight. John F. Kennedy was the victim of the hate that was a part of our country. It is a disease that occupies the minds of the few but brings danger to the many. I thought as I was sitting at a lunch with some of your most distinguished citizens if, oh, some way, somehow, sometime we could just appeal to the manhood and womanhood that is in all of us and the Americanism that beats in all of our breasts to banish all hatred from our midst-what a wonderful world this would be! If it didn't sound critical, I would point out that few people enjoy sitting on the sidelines and talking about their prejudices and wailing about their fears, indulging their favorite pastime of discrimination, and developing in themselves, in their neighbors, and in their children hates of their fellow man. All of those things our forefathers came across the ocean to forget and to leave behind and to get away from. So, in this election year I hope that we can banish those who would frighten us and those who would preach hate and those who would be vituperative and swing their poisonous mud that infects the diseased minds that are receptive to it. This center can set an example. It can accentuate the positive instead of the negative. If we had more centers like this, if we had done our job a little better and we had feared a little less, and our hatred had been minimized and our bigotry had been driven underground, John Fitzgerald Kennedy could be here with us today as our 35th President. He gave his life for his country. He need not have given it except for those who hate and those who fear and those who frighten easily and those who feel insecure. I think if I could ask our Heavenly Father who created us all "in Thine own image" for one wish today, I think I would ask Him to ask the people of this continent to not ask a man how he spells his name or what country his ancestors came from, or what church he attends, or what political party he belongs to but ask him, instead if he is sure, after a little introspection, that he could practice the Golden Rule, if he is sure that he could "love thy neighbor as thyself," if he is sure that he could love instead of hate, and if he could stand up with courage instead of bend over with fear. That is the way to build a great society. 669 [337] May 9 Public Papers of the Presidents That is the kind of people we want to make up our community and our country. To President Kennedy the world of creation and the world of thought were not removed from the mainstream of American life. They were at the very core of civilization, the power and achievements of man's art stripped bare the truths of human life. They all speak a universal language, building understanding between man and man, building understanding between nation and nation. And those achievements often endure long after the names of the warriors and the statesmen have grown dim. I have served in the Congress 32 years and I have seen 3,ooo different men and women come and go. Some years the Republicans dominated the Congress and some years the Democrats. But I can truthfully say in all of those 3,000 men and women with whom I have served, I couldn't point to one single one today of either party that I thought was elected on a platform of doing what was wrong. They all came there to do their dead level best by their country and by their constituency. They did what they thought was right but a good many of them were frightened and some were fearful and some were hesitant, and some were shy. One of the hopes for our future greatness lies in centers like this, bringing contact with the riches of our culture to men and women of every part of the country, helping to drive ignorance and bigotry and intolerance and discrimination into the cellars and caves where it belongs and where it can never sprout again. I think the one thing that has impressed me more since I have become President than any one thing is to realize that we are not the only nation in the world that wants peace-that we are not the only nation in the world that wants to protect human beings. Nations, like the men I talked about who served in the Congress, all think they are doing what is best for their people, but this problem of human understanding, this problem of getting along with your fellow human being in a different part of the world, reared in a different environment, speaking a different language, brought up under different circumstances, educated in different schools, taught different principles-it is a pretty difficult assignment. It requires forbearance and it requires patience, it requires knowledge and understanding, the kind of which this center will produce, because if we are unable to produce men and women who have that knowledge and understanding, our civilization and our way of life will not long endure. So, it gives me a great pleasure to come to this center, come to where this building will be built as a tribute to the greatness of America and consider that those glories that we cherish -so much were purchased by a valiant leader who never swerved from his duty-John F. Kennedy. Pericles said: "If Athens shall appear great to you, consider then that her glories were purchased by valiant men, and by men who learned their duty." I stood by John Kennedy's side many years ago in the Senate and I stood by his side through the '6o campaign and 3 years thereafter. He learned his duty and he did it as he saw it. So, I know of nothing that would give him more genuine pleasure than to realize that here on this lovely spot, in this most prosperous county with this enlightened citizenship, that we would today come to build a house that would forever be a part of building a citizenship that would banish fear and would drive hate from the earth 670 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 May IO [338] and would stop our name-calling, and would end our mud-slinging, and permit us to "love thy neighbor as thyself." I am honored that you asked me to come. I hope I can come back to this center when your work shall have been completed. I hope in the meantime that we can have a moratorium notwithstanding the challenges that come in all corners of the world, notwithstanding the differences in our political convictions here at home-I hope that we can settle these matters on a high plane of principle instead of the low trough of vengeance and vindictiveness and hate, because hate destroys man-and hope builds him. This Nation is the envy of the entire world but we still have a job to do. And you people who come here today are doing your part of that job. So as my fellow Americans, I not only congratulate you for the foresight you have and the contribution you are making but I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the understanding that is in your heart. So when you go home tonight, before you go to bed, say your prayers and ask yourself this question: What have I done to banish fear and hate from myself today? Ask yourself if you can't find something good to say about your neighbor instead of something bad to say about him. Ask yourself if somehow, some way, you can't substitute just a little love for so much hate. And if you do that and if we all do it tonight and every night, when we meet here when this building shall have been completed, we will all then be living in a better world than we are today. NOTE: The President spoke at the unveiling of a plaque marking the site of the Cultural Center in Nassau County, N.Y. In his opening words he referred to Eugene H. Nickerson, a Nassau County executive, who assisted in arrangements for the dedication ceremonies. The text of brief remarks by Mrs. Johnson was also released. 338 Remarks in Atlantic City at a Dinner of the New Jersey State Democratic Committee. Governor Hughes, my good friends, your fellow Governors Peabody and Carvel and my old friend, Bob Meyner, and my nominator, Dave Lawrence: One of the privileges of speaking at a Democratic dinner is to be able to tell everyone in the hall how much you remember the times when you were where they are and somebody else is where you are. I want each person who is here tonight to know how grateful John Bailey, Margaret Price, and Lady Bird and I are for the sacrifice that you made, first, to pay $ioo to come here and, second, to come here and endure us all. This is what makes the Democratic Party the greatest living American party. I am happy to have seen my old friend, May io, i964 Mayor John Kenny, David Wilentz, and Thelma Sharp, all of whom I knew back when. I remember one time when Mr. Rayburn was asked why he thought his delegation was the best delegation in Congress and the most influential. He said, "We have a very simple formula in our State." I was reminded of that formula tonight when your brilliant young Senator Pete Williams was presenting the guests and I heard him introduce the congressional delegation from New Jersey. Mr. Rayburn's formula was this: "We pick 'em young, we pick 'em honest, we send 'em there, and we keep 'em there." So, while you do not need any outside 67i [338] May Io Public Papers of the Presidents advice, you did invite me to come down here, and one of the prerogatives of a speaker is to give advice. I want to say to the great State of New Jersey: you picked them young, you picked them honest, you sent them there-now keep them there. No one supports our program or helps us more than Pete Williams in the Senate and Pete Rodino in the House. Sometimes I think I have to help New Jersey more than New Jersey helps me, but when the roll is called, you always find New Jersey standing up there where they ought to be. So, I want to thank you good people for sending Frank Thompson, Charles Joelson, Joe Minish, and Neil Gallagher-incidentally, I got in a little lobbying with Neil this afternoon on the helicopter, and I will have to check him next week, but I think he is going to be all right, from our conversation; he is one of our most valuable members of the Foreign Affairs Committee-and Congressmen Dominick Daniels and Edward Patten. Now I know that these men have already earned your affection and your support which you will continue to give them, so their problems are going to be minor. But the other prerogative a Speaker has is to ask you to send us some more help, and we need all the help we can get to fight those Republicans. We need William Prochacci. We need Thomas McGrath. We need James Howard. We need Eugene Friedman. We need Richard Traynor. We need Edward Ihnen. We need Henry Helstoski. We need Paul Krebs. We ask all of you to get out between now and November and do everything you can to send them to Washington. We meet in an historic hall tonight. In this very spot will be chosen an American leader for i965, a person who symbolizes the American dream. I am sad that it becomes my duty to announce to this audience tonight that that person will not be me. It will be Miss America of i965! I don't want to be partisan. I don't want to be political. I am President. I haven't had much political experience, but I am President of all the people, Democrats and Republicans. Therefore, I just want to say that I hope that whatever candidate of whatever party is chosen in this hall will be successful next November. I am proud to be a member of a party that may have turned off the lights in the White House-but has turned on the lights of hope all across America. The past 3 V2 years have been a time of promises that were kept, pledges that were fulfilled, projects that were begun. In the campaign of i960 we were led by a valiant and visionary leader, a man who has tragically passed from our presence but will never pass from our hearts-John Fitzgerald Kennedy of Massachusetts, of America, of the free world. In i960 he came to Jersey City and pledged, "This country is about to begin a great march forward." America is on the march, and I am happy to say that the people of New Jersey are marching with us. The last 6 months have been busy days on that march. We have passed io appropriation bills. We have passed three of the best education bills ever passed by any Congress. We have passed the largest tax cut in peacetime history, and we have passed through the House the strongest civil rights bill in a hundred years. We have turned back the spiral of spend 672 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-1964 May io [338] ing. We have reduced the budget deficit from $io billion to $4.5 billion-or cut it in half. We have successfully settled a 5-year-old railroad strike which threatened to disrupt the economy of the entire Nation. And in my spare time I visited I3 States in the last I3 days. We are just now completing the first peacetime administration in a hundred years that has not had a setback or a recession. We are carrying forward the strongest economic expansion in peacetime that has ever been carried on in the history of America. Now if prosperity and if having jobs at good wages mean anything to you, don't you forget that, come next November. If you want more of the same and even better, then send us Pete Williams, Pete Rodino, and all the members of the delegation, plus those candidates whose names I called, to help us get that job done. We have made the largest tax cut in American history. The withholding rate has gone from i8 percent down to 14 percent, and we are leaving in the pants pockets of our men and in the purses of our ladies $25 million every day that formerly went to Washington before we passed this bill. The cut will add $ii6 million to Governor Hughes' State and local revenues. It will create 80,ooo more jobs for American workers, a good many of whom are in the State of New Jersey. There were those in I960 who said that America was tired and worn out, and that it couldn't do any better, that we were doing well enough with the status quo. They thought we had lost our vitality, that our economy had reached its peak. But the record-and Al Smith used to say, "Let's look at the record"-the record of the past 31/2 years has shown the skeptics and the doubters, the weak of will and the faint of heart, that the victories of our future are limited only by the vision of our present. So, tonight, here in the great State of New Jersey, led by that courageous, fighting Governor Dick Hughes, I pledge you and I promise you that we will attack, head on, three of the most troubling enemies of humanity-the enemies of idleness and ignorance and the infirmities of age. I am here to report, proudly, those enemies are under attack. They are falling back, and if we do not waver, they will be defeated. Let's take first the enemy of idleness. In Clifton, N.J., we promised "to make sure that those who want to work can find a job." Since the day that promise was made employment has risen, until last month it reached the highest seasonally adjusted figure in American history-more than 70 million people working at jobs, jobs in manufacturing that, for the first time, averaged more than $Ioo per week per person. Our tax cut will create more than 2 million jobs. Our new training programs are giving hundreds of thousands new skills for new tasks. All this we have done, and more. But we will not be satisfied until every man knows the dignity of work and every man understands the rewards of labor. There will be time for rest and praise only when we have scourged the plight of poverty from every part of the country, from the valleys of Appalachia where I have been all week, and the factory towns of New Jersey. This is what we are going to do: We have declared all-out war in America on poverty, and the poor are going to be helped. We are going to bring new hope to those who have been forgotten in our rush toward prosperity. An aroused Nation-an aroused 673 [338] May io Public Papers of the Presidents Democratic Party-will no longer let these citizens be neglected or ignored. We are providing training and education for men without skills and women without jobs. We will extend the minimum wage to helpless and unprotected workers in laundries, restaurants, and hotels. We have cut taxes. And because we have done that, we will create millions of new jobs. And our country will continue to grow. The second enemy is ignorance. In Newark, N.J., we promised to bring new help to our Nation's schools. For, as H. G. Wells once wrote, "Civilization is a race between education and catastrophe." We are now at the crossroads, the turning point between a civilization of unmatched wisdom and excellence, or the catastrophe of millions of young minds deprived of the fullness of knowledge. It is not just a coincidence that New Jersey ranks sixth in unemployment and tenth in those without an eighth-grade education. Ignorance breeds joblessness, while opportunity to learn creates opportunity to work. As long as we have poor classrooms, as long as we have untrained teachers, as long as there are little children who fail to finish school, as long as there are young people who cannot afford to go to college-so long will we fall short of being a really, truly great society. Five months ago I signed the historic Education Facilities Act. This bill will build college classrooms for hundreds of thousands of students, construct community colleges and technical institutes, improve graduate schools and college libraries. Next year New Jersey schools alone will receive more than $6 million for classrooms, libraries, and laboratories. But, as Governor Meyner and the other Governors on the platform tonight, and Dick Hughes-all know, the crisis of our schools is just beginning. On the horizon are problems so huge that only a national effort of vast dimension can meet them. Between i960 and 1970 there will be 5 million more children in elementary schools, 5 million more children in high school, more than 3 million more children in college-I3 million more in elementary, high school, and college-and unless we act now, our educational system will crack under this pressure. We have proposed to help States and communities with funds for teachers' salaries, with emergency classroom construction, with projects to improve the quality of what is taught. Every community has the right to run its schools as it sees fit, and nothing in our program interferes with that right. But the States, short on new revenue, burdened by new demands, laden with new taxes, need help, and they ought to get it if we are to save i3 million young people. So take it from me tonight that this administration is determined to give knowledge to your children, and men of learning to your country. The third enemy is infirmity of the aged. In New Brunswick, N.J., we promised an administration which "would not veto" medical care for the aged, but would "encourage it." We are fighting to pass a medical assistance bill. And we are fighting for it now. And we need some more Democratic votes, and please send them from the State of New Jersey next November. Nearly half the aged couples in this country have incomes of less than $200 a month. Half of those living alone have incomes of less than $8o per month. The old get sick more often, and the old stay in the hospital twice as long. When sickness strikes it wipes out their savings that they have care 674 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 May Io [338] fully put away over a lifetime in an attempt to ease the twilight days. It often goes untreated and uncared for. What can a Nation say to these people? Can it say, "Yes, you have given a lifetime of toil. You have helped make America great. You have produced the sons that fought and won our wars, but we no longer need you and your troubles are your own concern"? Well, that is not the answer the Johnson administration is going to give those people. We are going to fight for medical care for the aged as long as we have breath in our bodies, until it is passed. We are going to put the energy of the Nation at the service of the most noble of God's duties-the care of the sick and the helpless. We are proud of the promises that we have kept, and we are proud of the conquests we have won. But we do not intend to tell the American people that they "never had it so good." We will never lull them into false satisfaction or restful apathy. For I am here to tell you tonight, as your leader, that there are many miles to be traveled and many battles to be fought before we have built a great society. It was a son of New Jersey, Woodrow Wilson, who said, "My clients are the children; my clients are the next generation." Well, I am here to tell you those are my clients, too. Well do I know that they have neither voice nor vote. They do not read or even write the editorials, and they do not run our campaigns. The America they inherit will be the America that you and I build for them. So I have come to New Jersey tonight to ask you to join with me in the fight for an America that we will be proud for them to inherit. I want your help in passing the program now before the Congress. You need that program. The Nation needs that program, and I have come to ask you: Will you help us pass the civil rights bill? Will you help us pass the war on poverty bill that Frank Thompson's committee is going to report out, I hope, next week? Will you help us pass the medical care for the aged under social security? Will you help us pass aid for Appalachia? Will you help us pass a pay raise bill for our postal clerks and our postmen and our best employees in the Government? Will you help us pass the housing bill? If you will help me with this one, I won't have to talk to Pete Rodino three times a week. Will you help us pass an immigration bill? Will you help us pass extended coverage for minimum wage so the laundry worker and the restaurant worker and the hotel worker can have the same protection that you have? Will you help us pass measures aiding education every chance we get to take care of those 13 million youngsters I told you about a moment ago? Well, if you will, I want you to call upon your neighbors, your family, your uncles, and your cousins and your aunts. I want you to talk to those of every race, of every creed, and of every color, and I want you to get their support and bring them all under the big tent with us. I want you to call upon your Congressmen and your candidates for Congress to get behind these programs "All the Way With LBJ." I don't want to be suggestive, but I might remind you that if we don't pass these programs between now and when we meet here in convention, then we may very well be working on them between the convention and Christmas. You didn't send us to Washington to 675 [338] May IO Public Papers of the Presidents procrastinate and to pussyfoot and to delay, and the day when you hear the promises of the professional politician and you never get the results is gone. We are going to fight to get this job done. So let us resolve here tonight, let us resolve to stand together for these great programs. Let us resolve that the Democratic Party will be the party that worked for the people and the party that stood for the people, and the party that delivered for the people, the party that cared about the people and their future, the party that built the great society that made America the envy of the rest of the world. If you will do your part, we will continue to lead the world. NOTE: The President spoke following brief remarks by Mrs. Johnson at Convention Hall in Atlantic City. His opening words referred to Governor Richard J. Hughes of New Jersey, Governor Endicott Peabody of Massachusetts, Governor Elbert N. Carvel of Delaware, Robert B. Meyner, former Governor of New Jersey, and David L. Lawrence, Special Assistant to the President and former Governor of Pennsylvania. Later he referred to John M. Bailey and Margaret Price, Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, the President's wife Lady Bird, John Kenny, former Mayor of Jersey City, David Wilentz and Thelma Sharp of the Democratic National Committee, the Honorable Sam Rayburn, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Senator Harrison A. Williams and Representatives Peter W. Rodino, Frank Thompson, Jr., Charles S. Joelson, Joseph G. Minish, Cornelius E. Gallagher, Dominick V. Daniels, and Edward J. Patten, all of New Jersey. The text of the remarks of Mrs. Johnson was also released. 339 Remarks at the Presentation of the William Randolph Hearst Foundation Journalism Awards. May ii, i964 Mr. Hearst, ladies and gentlemen, honorees: I am very happy that you could come here this morning. I was a college editor once but, as you can see, I did not do as well as you have done, so I did the next best thing and went into politics. My experience is like the story of the young man whose father was asked how he made out on the exams. "Well," the father said, "he is doing much better. He was almost on top of the list of those who failed." I am glad to be here with you young people on the top of the list of those who succeeded. William Allen White once said that the newspaper is the embodiment of democracy. I guess this explains why newspapermen are so free in their advice about how to run the country. Some one said the other day that I was seeing the press so much that they were worried about my overexposure. I am not sure whose overexposure they meant-mine or the press. I enjoy seeing the press. I learn much from reporters. In the White House press corps alone there are at least half a dozen experts already on animal husbandry. It was Wendell Phillips who said that we live under a government of men and morning newspapers. Mr. Phillips apparently lived before there were afternoon newspapers. Thomas Jefferson pointed out that no government ought to be without censors. I can assure you, where the press is free, none will ever be needed. So, all of us should be encouraged by these young people who are here this morning, because, as long as the press is free and young Americans like you pursue journalism as a profession, democracy will be free. You have chosen a career in the national 676 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-I964 May I I [340] interest. You have begun a long and arduous journey that will require devotion and dedication. Above all, it will require a stubborn will to find, to interpret, and to explain the truth. No calling is more important and no task more influential, and no work more inspiring than that of a steward of the truth. So I am very proud this morning at the suggestion of Mr. Hearst to come here to present these awards. First, to Hal David Hall, first in the student competition. Second, to Hal David Hall on behalf of the University of Tennessee. Third, to Dean Norval Neil Luxon for the University of North Carolina. Next, to Jean Heller, second-place winner in the student competition. Next, to Dr. George J. Kienzle for Ohio State University. Now, congratulations to all of you, and I hope you will join us out here in the Rose Garden some of these days. NOTE: The presentation ceremony was held at ii:3o a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White House. The President's opening words referred to William Randolph Hearst, Jr., a trustee of the Hearst Foundation. The Foundation sponsors annually an intercollegiate competition in journalism, offering fellowship awards to qualifying students and making financial grants to universities. 340 Remarks to the Ambassadors of Nations Participating in the Alliance for Progress. May II, i964 Ladies and gentlemen: I want to welcome you to the White House this evening. I am slightly tardy because we have just completed an informal review of the Alliance for Progress problems with all the ambassadors and the distinguished head of CIAP. This kind of exchange, we think, strengthens our common aim and our combined ability to advance the alliance. So this afternoon I asked all the ambassadors to meet with me in the Cabinet Room. I am not sure I didn't have a better Cabinet today than I normally have. We talked about our mutual problems and then I asked them to give me their frank, candid criticisms, suggestions on the problems that face us both, and they were quite helpful. I learned much that will be very helpful in the days ahead-some of the weaker points that they pointed out, some of the bureaucracy that exists in all government, not just in our government but in their governments as well. I look forward to further meetings of this kind in the days ahead and I have asked the Secretary of State to make plans to have the ambassadors in from time to time to have a very frank and open exchange with them. Senator Morse taught me back in the Senate that you could always deal with a fellow across the table easier than you could if you tried to deal with him by correspondence. On November i8th, President Kennedy spoke once again to the hemisphere, and he quoted Robert Frost, saying that "nothing is true except as a man or as men adhere to it-to live it, to spend themselves on it, to die for it." Within a week after that statement was made, his life, consecrated to this cause, had been tragically ended. It is for us, the living, to insure that the hopes that he raised are now regarded. To that purpose, I said last November, "Let us make the Alliance for Progress President Kennedy's living memorial." Today's agreements are part of our 677 [340] May I I Public Papers of the Presidents pledge. The United States will provide almost $40 million-the countries of Latin America will provide $6o million-for projects that we are beginning in I4 countries. These projects will help eliminate malaria in Brazil. They will help train farmers in Bolivia. They will establish for the first time three rural electric cooperatives serving io,ooo homes and farms in the countryside of Colombia. They will bring credit and assistance to 2iooo small farms in the land reform and colonization areas of Peru. They will touch the lives and ease the struggles of 23 million people across our hemisphere. These are only the latest steps in 6 months of very extraordinary effort since I became President. Since last December the United States has extended more than $430 million in assistance. In that 6-month period we have, by working together, completed more than 52,000 homes and 7,0oo new classrooms. We have produced more than a million and a half schoolbooks. We have made more than 25,000 loans to farmers. We have put into operation health programs to care for 4 million people, and food for peace programs to feed more than io million of our fellow Americans. We have built more than 500 miles of roads. We have trained more than io,ooo teachers. We have trained more than i,ooo public administrators. We have established already more than 200 credit unions-if any of you want the address after the meeting, I will be glad to supply it to you. We have 300 water systems that will benefit io million people. In the months to come, we intend to more than double the pace of this action. For this is the time and this is the day and this is an administration of action. Our help is only a small proportion of the resources for growth and the reforms for justice contributed by all of you, you the countries of Latin America. These are the tangible tokens of the constancy of our cause since the signing of the Charter of Punta del Este. What we believed in thenI should not have to repeat-we stand for now. What we agreed to then, we support now. What we sought and looked forward to then, we seek now. This is as it must be. Our programs and our policies are not founded on the shifting sands of momentary concern or the passing opinions of any one official or any present official. They are the inescapable issue of the events of our past and the hazards of our present. When President Kennedy made his first statement to the ambassadors in the dining room of this house on the Alliance for Progress, he said, "We are going to wage a war on the ancient enemies of mankindpoverty, illiteracy and disease." We say now that if a peaceful revolution is impossible, a violent revolution is inevitable. These things are rooted in our devotion to our democratic birthright and dedication to our spiritual values. They are, I want you to know, in short, the only objectives possible to men that seek to retain freedom and protect moral values while pursuing progress in a world that is on the march. Real problems require realistic solutions. Helping to reshape an entire hemisphere requires practical priorities and concrete deeds. But no action, no judgment, no statement will advance our alliance unless it is guided by firm and resolute regard to principles. Those principles must not yield either to immediate expedient or to any present danger. So we come here today to renew, as we do in the acts of every day, our dedication to 678 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 May i i [340] the principles of development, of diversity, and of democracy. Franklin Roosevelt, a man whom I served and a man whom I loved, a man whose precepts I follow, said, "Through democratic processes we can strive to achieve for the Americas the highest possible living standards for all of our people." So I pledge to you today that we will continue to pursue that goal until every campesino, every worker, is freed from the crushing weight of poverty, disease, and illiteracy and ignorance. I have asked the Congress for the funds necessary to meet our obligation under the Alliance for Progress. I will fight for those funds with every resource of my Government. Furthermore, I intend to ask for $250 million this year to replenish the Bank's fund for special operations in accordance with the unanimous vote of the Panama meeting of the Inter-American Bank. That Bank, supported first by President Eisenhower, has become a beacon of hope to the oppressed of our lands. The principle of diversity stems from President Roosevelt's policy of the good neighbor. Within the loose and ample frame of the inter-American system, there is room for each nation to order its institutions and to organize its economy, so long as it respects the rights of its neighbors. In the Councils of the alliance we must guide each other toward the most rewarding course of progress. We do not confuse that duty and that responsibility with any desire or any right to impose those views on unwilling neighbors. In devotion to democracy, we are guided by the command of Bolivar that "We must fearlessly lay the foundations of South American liberty: to hesitate is destruction." Our charter charges each American country to seek and to strengthen representative democracy. Without that democracy, and without the freedom that it nourishes, material progress is an aimless enterprise, destroying the dignity of the spirit that it is really meant to liberate. So we will continue to join with you to encourage democracy until we build a hemisphere of free nations from Tierra del Fuego to the Arctic circle. But the charter of the alliance is not confined to political democracy. It commands a peaceful democratic social revolution across the hemisphere. It calls upon us to throw open the gates of opportunity to the landless and the despised, to throw open the gates of opportunity to the poor and to the oppressed. It asks that unjust privilege be ended and that unfair power be curbed. The United States signed that charter. We are fulfilling that commitment. We have already begun an all-out war on poverty in this country. For a just country cannot permit a class of forsaken in the midst of the affluent and the fortunate. We are also marching forward in our struggle to eliminate racial injustice, to permit every man of every race, of every color, of every belief, to share fully in America's national life. In the same way we will join with those forces across the hemisphere who seek to advance their own democratic revolution. We are finding in the United States that it is not easy to change the customs of centuries. Some seek to halt reform and change. Others seek to impose terror and tyranny. But Bolivar's wisdom is our warning-"To hesitate is destruction." I know my country's policies and my country's help are very important to the Alliance for Progress. But in i96i a new hemisphere began to be born. In that hemisphere, success or failure does not hinge on testing each shifting wind or each new 679 [340] May I Public Papers of the Presidents word which comes from our neighbors. Rather, it depends on the courage and the leadership that we can bring to our own people in our own land. I am doing my dead level best to provide that leadership in my country now. The Alliance for Progress, true, is a most complex task. It has many dimensions and many directions. But it does rest on the hopes of people much like those that I have seen in my recent trips through the poverty areas of the United States. In the last 13 days I have personally met the people in I3 States. Across this hemisphere there are millions of despairing men and women that I hope to meet when I can get away from Washington. They come to birth, they toil, and they die, never knowing a day without hunger. They never feel the joy of rewarded achievement. They never feel the pride that comes from providing for those they love. They struggle for their self-respect, for their dignity as one of the children of God, against those who exploit them in a world which is closed to their hopes. Faces bent and backs bowed they see ahead of them only that darkness in which they walk. Well, we work for these men and women not because we have to. We work because morality commands it, and I said in Atlanta the other morning justice requires it, and our own dignity as men depends on it. We work not because we fear the unjust wrath of an enemy, but because we do fear the just wrath of God. The path ahead, I can tell you, is long and the way is hard. There will be many editorials written about us, and there will be many complaints spoken of us. But we must, in the words of the prophet, "Mount up on the wings of eagles, run and not grow weary. We have reached a turning point. The foundations have been laid. The time calls for more action and not just more words. In the next year there will be twice as much action, twice as much accomplished as in any previous year in this program. I can say that today with confidence, and I can say that our Alliance for Progress will succeed. The success of our effort, the efforts of your countries and my country, will indicate to those who come after us the vision of those who set us on this path. Today, in this room, you have not only the great ambassadors and spokesmen of the great republics which are part of this worthy endeavor, but you have the leaders in the Congress of both parties whose first concern is humanity, wherever it exists, and who dedicate their lives and their talents and their energies to seeing that their country does her part, and more, in driving the ancient enemies of mankind from this hemisphere. Thank you for coming. I hope you will stay and have a little tea with us and enjoy our visit together because, after all, we are all brothers in this world today and it is not often that the family can get together around the family circle. We are going to have a signing ceremony before we proceed to the other room. If the ambassadors will come forward and join me, Ambassador Duke will read what we are signing. [Following the signing ceremony, Dr. Guillermo Sevilla-Sacasa spoke briefly. The President then resumed speaking.] I wonder if Mr. Moscoso and Dr. Sanz de Santamaria would come up here with me a moment. Before we go into the other room, I just want to say how much we regret that Mr. Moscoso has resigned to enter into other service for his country. We are delighted that he could be here today, and I am happy to announce that the United States is proposing the Honorable Walt W. Rostow to 680 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 May I2 [342] be the new U.S. Representative on the Inter-American Committee for the Alliance for Progress succeeding Mr. Moscoso. If this nomination is accepted by the InterAmerican Committee, Dr. Rostow will hold this office in addition to his present appointment as Counselor of the Department of State. Is Mr. Rostow here? The reason I asked, I appointed him when he was on a plane somewhere in the air this afternoon and I was not sure whether he had arrived. NOTE: The President spoke at 5:30 p.m. in the East Room at the White House. Early in his remarks he referred to Dr. Sanz de Santamaria, Chairman of the Inter-American Committee on the Alliance for Progress. Later he referred to Senator Wayne Morse of Oregon and Angier Biddle Duke, Chief of Protocol, Department of State. At the close of his formal remarks the President signed i2 new Alliance for Progress loan agreements extending $40 million in credits including $io million for the Central American Bank for Economic Integration. After the signing ceremony, the President received the Ambassadors in the Blue Room and refreshments were served in the State Dining Room. 34I Remarks Upon Signing the Pesticide Control Bill. May I2, i964 THIS is a happy moment not only for me but for the American people. By closing loopholes which permitted pesticides to be sold before they were fully tested, this bill safeguards the health and the lives of all of our fellow Americans. I am sorry that one voice which spoke so often and so eloquently for measures like this-the voice of Rachel Carson-is still today. She would have been proud of this bill and of this moment. We owe much to her and to those who still work for the cause of a safer and healthier America-Senator Ribicoff, Congressman Rosenthal, the Members of the Senate and House Agriculture Committees, the Distinguished Secretary of Agriculture, Mr. Freeman-all who initiated and worked and supported this legislation through the Congress. Our concern must always be the health of every one of our fellow Americans. We are taking another step in that direction today, and I am proud to sign this bill in the presence of the distinguished Speaker and the Majority Leader and other able Members of the Congress. NOTE: The President spoke at 9:30 a.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White House. During his remarks he referred to the late Rachel Carson, author of Silent Sping. Among those attending the signing ceremony were Senator Abraham Ribicoff of Connecticut, Representative Benjamin S. Rosenthal of New York, the Secretary of Agriculture, Orville Freeman, Representative John W. McCormack of Massachusetts, Speaker of the House, and Representative Carl Albert of Oklahoma, Majority Leader of the House. The Act To Amend the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act is Public Law 88-305 (78 Stat. i90). 342 Remarks at a Meeting of the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity. May I2, i964 I AM very proud that I could be here this morning and I am very honored by my chance to be in company with you. I heard the story last night of the woman who telephoned her bank. She wanted to arrange for the disposal of a $i,ooo bond. 68i [342] May I2 Public Papers of the Presidents The clerk asked her, "Madam, is the bond for redemption or conversion?" There was a very long pause, and then the woman said, "Well, am I talking to the First National Bank or the First Baptist Church?" I think I know who I am talking to this morning. I am talking to the men and women who hold in their hands the power of new opportunity, new hope, and even new life to thousands of their fellow citizens. I think in the days ahead the time will come when at various places in this country they will point to the group that made up the membership of this committee and say this is when some of the breakthroughs began. They may not point to it with the same pride as we do to Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, but they will point to it with an achievement that will make us all very proud. Now the distance between your bank and your church may not be very far. For the work that we do is not just to make profits or to get new members of our union, but to mold a Nation. That is our real charge. The destiny of a democracy is decided not so much by the acts of its government as it is by the practices and the attitudes of its people. The integrity of America and its moral strength, its character, the place it is going to occupy in the history of the world, can be shaped a great deal more by your decisions about who you hire to work in your business or who you permit to join your union, or who you employ in Government service, than by any pronouncement you make. That is why I am proud that thousands of people like you are working today to insure equal opportunity for all of our citizens. This committee has just passed the third anniversary of the establishment, by President Kennedy, of the President's Committee. It was a revised committee; it was a rejuvenated committee; it was a re-worked committee. It had new and increased powers and authority. One set of statistics alone illustrates what has been accomplished under this committee, and I think it points to a very hopeful course for the future. These figures show that the employment of 86 companies, which submitted their Plans for Progress reports between January i96i and January i963, increased by 258,853 persons, and that 23.1 percent of those increased employees' jobs went to minority groups-23 percent went to minority groups. So I think that we are making progress. I think that you couldn't have pointed to a figure like that with pride-23 percent going to minority groups-before they heard your voices. And with your help we are going to continue to improve that record. In the last 2 weeks I have traveled thousands of miles through several States. In the last I3 days I have been in 13 States. I just slept i night away from Washington, but I spent most of the daylight hours somewhere else when I was out of the city. And everywhere I have carried the message that no American is free until all Americans are free. That is simple. That is understandable. And that is without procrastination or equivocation or compromise. I have said again and again and again that we believe in the concepts of opportunity and freedom expressed in our Constitution. We are constitutional Democrats, we are Jeffersonian Democrats. We intend to give those constitutional principles new vitality. We intend to practice what we preach. The American people to me, looking at it from my unobjective viewpoint, seem to respond to that plea. I think that the businessmen are responding to it. I think the labor leaders are responding to it. I think the spiritual leaders are responding to it. I have talked to the Baptists from the 682 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-I964 May I2 [342] South and I am meeting with the NAM Board at I2: I5, and I will say the same thing to them. I have talked to the United States Chamber of Commerce, and I talked to the Amalgamated Clothing Workers in New York on Saturday. So I am not speaking to any special, privileged group. I am taking them across the board and talking to all of them, saying the same thing. Republicans don't understand this. They say, "He is talking out of both sides of his mouth. He is everything to everybody." Well, now, I am not one that believes that if you are a friend of the Negro you have to hate the white. I am not one that believes that if you are a Baptist that you don't think the Catholic ought to be allowed to exist. I am not one that thinks that if you belong to a labor union, you ought to confiscate the profits of industry. I am not one that believes that if you are a member of industry that you ought to have sweatshops. I believe that what is good for all these groups is good for America, and I am saying the same thing to each one of them. They are responding. I believe our country is united. I believe we have demonstrated to the world that we could have a transition under our constitutional processes, and I think that no enemy and no adversary has the slightest doubt about our strength morally, spiritually, militarily, and every other way. Since we last met I have talked to several hundred executives of this country's leading business firms, and many labor leaders in the White House itself. I have urged each one of them, each time, to make sure that they offer equality of opportunity, strictly on the basis of merit. And they have pledged their efforts to do so. So I want to announce today that I have sent out letters to the presidents of the nearly 200 companies who have signed Plans for Progress with the President's Committee, and I am asking them to extend their efforts beyond their office doors, beyond their plant gates, and into their communities wherever they have plants. It may be a plant in the faraway South, it may be a plant on the Atlantic seaboard. I have asked them personally to write to the manager of each of their plants-to get the letter from the president to the manager of each of their plants to enlist these men who are the real leaders in their community, in an effort to get this job done. The vindication of our democracy is our real challenge today. A society like ours can thrive only when it enlists the devotions and energies of all the people. In extending equal opportunity to Americans for whom democracy has been an illusion and not a reality, as I said in the beginning, I think you are putting your names for all time to come on the cornerstone of what is truly a great society. So help us build that society, help us do it here and now. Help us to make the dream of democracy come true today. I am looking for a day in this country, and I see it not too far away, when every able-bodied person who wants to work has a job or is going to a job. That is not a revolutionary thing, but it would mean a good deal to 5.4 percent of our people today. Every man has a job or is changing to go to another one. I predict that in this decade we will build a society, because we are interested in human beings, in which no person will be denied equal employment opportunity because of his race, or his creed, or his color, or where his ancestors came from, or his religion, or the section where he was born. I have said this many times, but we broke down two old, false theories in the last elec 683 [342] May I2 Public Papers of the Presidents tion. We demonstrated that you could elect a man who is a Catholic as President of the United States, and we demonstrated you could elect a man from the South as Vice President of the United States. Time has already proved that we acted wisely in one instance, and I hope that our record will be such that it will justify the other one. So I want you to search your consciences, I want you to search your personnel records, I want to ask you to ask yourselves if you have done all you can to make America a land of full opportunity for all of its people. Because as I have said so many times, and I think it is worth repeating every day, Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation Ioo years ago, and he freed the slaves of their chains. But he did not free the Negro of the bigotry that exists in this country. He did not free the minority group of the hatred that is spread all over the country about them, and until education, as a result of the wisdom and the courage of the Supreme Court-until education in this country is completely blind to all color, until employment is unaware of race, we will have a proclamation, but emancipation will not be a fact. So we have a lot of emancipation to do yet, 0oo years later. I was the only Member of Congress to be elected on President Roosevelt's Supreme Court plan. It appeared that the Wagner Act would be declared unconstitutional, that the Social Security Act would be declared unconstitutional, the NRA, the AAA, and a few others had already gone down the drain. So in a moment of desperateness and without much hope, but still fighting with all he had, the President suggested, as Lincoln had done, that we make some changes in the philosophy of the court. Generally speaking, the laboring people of this country stayed behind him. He was their leader. But the farmers quit him. It was too radical a revision for them to follow. So the people of the country let the Congress know that they felt that this was too much of a change. And they had a few slogans they got out. They backed the court and they called it "The Pack the Court Scheme," because it infused some new blood and added to it. Well, the bill was defeated. It didn't pack the court, but it unpacked them, because some of them were retired as a result of it, and we got some of the same results in a little different way. But the reason we did get the bill defeated, and the reason we got the change the other way, was because they heard from the country. The people were alarmed about that bill. The people were concerned. The people made their wishes known. Somehow or other, a Congressman and a Senator are attuned, they have an antenna, and they can understand how the people feel. Now, for 60 days up there, we have been discussing the details of the civil rights bill, an equal rights bill, a constitutional rights bill. The net effect of that bill will be to take these problems out of the streets and the back alleys and bring them into the courts, to let them be judiciously determined and handled. That bill must be passed. That kind of legislation must become the law of the land. We cannot see our democratic system spend 60 days on a bill like that and then fail. But it is going to fail unless the people, in righteous indignation, let them know that they do not have that superior feeling and they do require legislation that protects a person because of his particular color. If the Congress does not act on that legislation, we will have 'ome very dark days in this country. 684 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-1964 May I2 [343] I think that you have set an example in the employment field, but you just have been able to set an example, and that is all. You haven't skimmed the surface. You have covered roughly one-tenth of the jobs in the country by your Plans for Progress program. There are 70 million working, and you have 7 million of them covered. Because of the civil rights debate, and because cf the active effort there, we have all been giving our energies to that field and trying to mobilize public opinion, trying to talk to them, whether you are in Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Knoxville, or Pittsburgh, where I have been, and we haven't been constantly shoving on the employment field. Now we have to do that. We have to renew our efforts here. But we can't take our eye off that bill, either, because that bill will underwrite and set up the machinery, and give us the most potent practices we have ever had to do the job that you were selected to do. So I congratulate you on your membership on this committee. I ask you to renew your efforts to do a better job in the field we are operating in. I thank you for being present and not sending a proxy. Those that are proxies, I thank them for coming, since it is something their boss couldn't do. I am glad I didn't have to send a proxy. I never want to. This is as important a job as I have ever been associated with, and it gives me more satisfaction and more sense of achievement than almost anything I do. So those of you who have gone through the fire with me in the last few years, I want you to know that I feel a debt of gratitude to you. As soon as we get this bill passed, we are going to make greater and greater strides toward the promised land that we have been looking forward to so long. Thank you. NOTE: The President spoke at I a.m. in the Indian Treaty Room in the Executive Office Building. The Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity was established by President Kennedy on March 6, i96i, by Executive Order 10925 (3 CFR, 1959-I963 Comp., p. 448). For his statement upon signing the order, see "Public Papers of the Presidents, John F. Kennedy i96i," Item 68. 343 Remarks Upon Accepting Honorary Membership in the National Forensic League. May I2, i964 Senator Mundt, ladies and gentlemen: I am very honored to accept this honorary membership in the National Forensic League. Only two people could be more surprised than I was to hear about this, and that was Lady Bird and my old debating coach. I notice the resolution which elected me as honorary member says that this selection is not motivated by the exalted office he now holds as President of the United States. I didn't know my speeches were really that bad. I was invited to speak to your National Tournament and Student Congress in Akron this year, and I had a good reason for turning that invitation down. I felt that if you heard me speak out there, you never would want to make me an honorary member. I am proud of the high school where I used to coach debate. Senator Mundt is now a member of the National Forensic League. I do not attribute anything to the fact that he was invited to join after I left the coaching job there. I am especially happy that my old friend, Karl Mundt, had a hand in this event. Karl 685 [343] May I2 Public Papers of the Presidents can win more debates than almost any Republican that I know. I hope he doesn't win one against me this year. You know, there is the story of a college debater who told his teammate that an upcoming debate would be a real battle of wits. "How courageous of you," his friend said, "to go unarmed." Now I know that members of the National Forensic League go into every debate armed not only with the facts but with wits, too. Democracy is a constant tension between truth and half-truth and, in the arsenal of truth, there is no greater weapon than fact. "Truth or fact," as Carlyle said, "is the life of all things; falsity, or 'fiction,' or whatever it may call itself, is certain to be the death." Fiction about what is good and right for America is certain to be the death of our society, for the truth about what America is and can be, the truth of ideals and principles for which men have labored and died, this truth alone heals the deepest wounds of hatred and division. I know of no experience that I have ever had that gave me more satisfaction nor do I know of any occupation that gave me better preparation and finer training than my work in the forensic field as coach of high school and college debaters. As debaters, you must search for the truth and you must speak the truth; and you must surrender yourself to the truth, for the genius of our democracy is that it admits variety and it permits criticism, knowing always that in the long run truth will prevail. I think the greatest disappointment that I ever experienced was not being defeated in a political campaign but in losing a State championship of Texas the first year that I coached debate. I always attributed the loss to the fact that I drew the wrong side of the subject instead of the right side. We had a subject, to resolve that the jury system should be abolished. My team drew the affirmative but the people weren't ready to abolish the jury system, although it was wavering for awhile when my speakers were attacking it. When they brought in the votes, the first vote was affirmative and that pleased me. The next one was negative, the next vote was affirmative, the next one was negative, and there was a great deal of suspense there for a moment. The next vote was negative and I got sick at my stomach. But this is wonderful training. The National Forensic League is doing a great work. I am very proud that you should think of me in connection with the contribution you are making in searching for the truth, speaking the truth, surrendering yourself to the truth and leading young America to a better day and toward the fulfillment of a greater dream in what we all know is going to be the Great Society. Thank you very much, Senator Mundt. NOTE: The President spoke at ii:30 a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White House. His opening words referred to Senator Karl E. Mundt of South Dakota, President of the National Forensic League, founded in i925 to promote higher standards in high school debating. 344 Remarks to the Newspaper Farm Editors Association. May I2, i964 Ladies and gentlemen: I want to welcome you to the White House. I am sorry we had a little rain earlier in the afternoon and it would not be very pleasant out there meeting now. I have asked you, therefore, to come to the 686 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-I964 May I2 [344] biggest room we have in the White House, the Cabinet Room-changed maybe a little bit since you were last here. We have a new portrait of President Roosevelt hanging over there, one of Jackson here, Monroe there, Washington down there. In any event, we are pleased to have you. We trust your trip has been informative and profitable. If there is any information you don't have about how good this administration is, Secretary Freeman is prepared to supply it at the drop of your hat. I know it is not easy to report the news of farms and farming. So many myths have grown up about American agriculture people don't always understand what they read or hear, but responsible farm policies still rest upon an informed public opinion. In developing those policies, we need to be governed by reason and reality, and not by prejudice and fantasy. What has happened in American agriculture this century is a man-made miracle, and not a man-made mess as we sometimes hear. One American farmer today can feed more than 27 other people. When I was born, he was feeding only his family and one other person. That story needs to be told, and told accurately, because that is the story of American agriculture. There is another story the American people need to hear, too. It is the story of rural Americans bypassed in our march to prosperity. Poverty is still the number i problem of rural America. The average per capita income for farm families is only 6o percent of that for the rest of America. It has come up from 54 percent in i960 to 6o percent now, but that is not enough. I have seen farm families scourged by the lash of poverty. Only last week I visited a family of i0 whose existence hangs by the thin thread of the food stamp plan, an oldage pension, 9 acres of tobacco, and io acres of cotton. I cannot believe their poverty is the mark of God's will. They are poor but honest, and they are poor, I think, because they never got a decent break. They never had the chance to break out of poverty's grip and move up to a more abundant life. Our war on poverty will give them that chance. With your help and God's, we intend to win that war because our objective is total victory. In this country we have made history with food abundance, with revolutions in both food production and marketing. The time has come to find new and better ways to put these gains to the service of a greater society. I think we must make it possible for the family farmer to earn a parity of income with those who enjoy his abundance. The revolution in production, the revolution in marketing, must be put to work. In this administration, we are dedicated to these concepts and to these goals: First: To commodity programs to protect and preserve our family farm system. Second: To community programs to create new job and income opportunities for the young people growing up in rural America, to develop new uses for rural resources, to provide new opportunities for urban families to enjoy green and open spaces which have always been so much a part of American life. Three: To consumer programs to develop new uses for food at home, and to trade and aid programs which build new markets and help others throughout the world to meet the age-old problem of hunger. If we are to preserve the vitality of our American agriculture and if we are to improve the prosperity of our rural life, we must look and plan beyond the present, and that is what we are trying to do. There are problems, many of them, and I assure you this administration is giving the problems of 687 [344] May I2 Public Papers of the Presidents agriculture high priority, and we are trying to do that planning. One of the big problems today is beef. We know this problem. I get very little of my information secondhand. We are determined to correct it. We are making some progress. First: Beef sales were heavy a year ago, but the major food chains throughout the country tell us that the current beef merchandising drive is producing great results. In April, last month, sales in most of the larger groups of stores were up from io to 25 percent, with some as high as 35 percent. Second: We are stepping up the buying program to improve the diet for needy families and for school lunches. Last week the Department of Agriculture purchased almost 12 million pounds of beef, mostly choice grade, and we expect to continue through June or longer. The Department of Defense is now buying beef here and shipping it to our overseas stations, and it will be buying an additional ioo million pounds. Third: We have sent a team of top men to Europe to try to develop markets there for our beef. Their reports, of which some of them are just flowing in, are somewhat encouraging. The economies there are strong. The supply of beef is short. We are hopeful about the success of this effort. Fourth: This week Secretary Freeman and his people will present to me a detailed, multiple-point program for effective action. As soon as we have reviewed it and agreed upon it, this program will be implemented. Fifth: I am very pleased to report that the combined effect-the combined effect-of lower imports plus our purchase programs will be the same as reducing imports to below the i958-62 level on meat. I don't know whether I make that point clear or not, but I want to back up and be sure you get it. The combined effect of the 688 lower imports-Australia for instance agreed to reduce hers about 29 percent-New Zealand, 22 percent. Before that they had agreed to a i962-63 average which was about 6 percent, so those combined, voluntary reductions, plus our purchase program, will be the same as reducing imports to the I958 to I962 level. Now our principal foreign meat importers have made it clear that they expect beef imports in 1964 to be down at least 20 percent from last year. That is lower even than in i962. This cut, plus the buying programs of Agriculture and Defense, have the practical result of rolling back to the I958-62 average advocated by cattlemen and feeders and proposed in legislation. The Mansfield bill would set a quota, in other words, of 450 million pounds under I963 imports. If you take a 20 percent import cut, that totals 225 million pounds. The Department of Agriculture's purchase programs take another 480 million pounds out of the market. The Defense Department takes another ioo million pounds out of the market, so we are back below the I962 level when cattle were selling for $27 a hundred at Chicago. In the long view ahead, we all recognize the vital importance of trade to prosperity in America, and no one ought to recognize it more than the farmer, and most specifically, to prosperity in American agriculture, because it has contributed a great deal to it. One out of every five acres of land that we plant in this country produces for export. We are selling $4 billion worth of farm commodities for dollars each year, and we don't want to lose that. That is why we are trying to liberalize trade and not restrict it. That is why we have told the Common Market that progress must be made toward liberalizing trade in the products of our farmers as well as our factories. Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-I964 May I3 [345] We are working to sustain the productivity and the prosperity of American agriculture, and the record speaks for itself. We passed the wheat-cotton bill. Without it, I think wheat growers' incomes would have dropped, it is estimated, by $6oo million. With it, cotton growers will maintain their income and still provide lowerpriced cotton to the mills. Average income per farm has risen i6 percent. Markets for farm products have been expanded from $4.8 billion in i960 to $5.6 billion in i963. Farmers have increased their annual investment in machinery and equipment and construction by 50 percent in 3 years. From i960 to i964, loans to rural families under Federal programs for home building and farm operation rose I48 percent. By I964, electrification loans had risen by 36 percent since i960, but we must not stand still. The problems are many, the challenges are great, but the prospect and the promise of what we can do ought to give us an inspiration and determination that no other generation has really ever had. What are some of these challenges? One is to abolish hunger. We can abolish poverty, and we can abolish the blight on the lives of those who live in rural America. We can make life far better for those who live in all America, rural and urban. So we must press on toward new horizons of hope for the world, but we do not forget the hopes or the happiness of our own people. In all of this, I have the most vital personal interest. I never forget the road of opportunity. I have walked from my father's tenant farmhouse where I was born 56 years ago to the White House where I am today. I want to keep that road open for children today, whether they live on hard-rock farms along the Pedernales River, or whether they grow up on hard, concrete sidewalks. And we must not ever forget that the great basic industry of agriculture has not only produced revolutions in production and marketing during our lifetime, but it has produced many of the men who sit in our Cabinet, who sit in our highest councils, who sit in our Senate and in our Congress, and it has produced some of the leading statesmen of this Nation. There are times when everything looks bleak for the farmer, but I believe with the progress that we have made with our legislation this year, I believe with the effort that we are making to improve situations such as our beef situation, that we will find that i964 will be a good year for the people who read what you write. I would like to meet and visit with you personally before you leave, and I thank you very much for coming. NOTE: The President spoke at 5 p.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White House. Early in his remarks he referred to the Secretary of Agriculture, Orville Freeman. 345 Memorandum on Employment of Handicapped Persons by the Federal Government. May I3, i964 [Released May 13, i964. Dated April 30, i964] Memorandum to Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies: This Government as an employer intends to show the Nation what can be done to make fuller use of the abilities of handicapped persons-with mutual benefit to those persons, the agencies that employ them, and the public. The handicapped include 689 [345] May I3 Public Papers of the Presidents -the qualified mentally retarded, who can perform well some of the simpler tasks that must be done in any large organization; -the mentally restored, whose only handicap is that they once were ill; -the physically impaired, who are not thereby occupationally disabled. We intend to do this without creating extra jobs especially for the handicapped; without scuttling the merit system; without compromising the quality or efficiency of our work force or your ability to achieve your missions. Your full cooperation is needed to make sure that all persons concerned with hiring, assignment, and use of employees in your organizations -constantly examine the work to be done and apply imagination and ingenuity to reengineering jobs; to retraining employees; to finding less demanding assignments for those who become ill or injured, when this is necessary to their continued employment; to dealing with the handicapped on the basis of ability and fair play. Review periodically both your accomplishments and the manner in which you are carrying out this policy. The Civil Service Commission, as coordinator of the Federal employment effort, will report to me the results. Let us open the door of employment opportunity to handicapped but occupationally qualified persons. Let us begin now. LYNDON B. JOHNSON 346 Statement by the President Following House International Development Association Bill. Action on the May 13, i964 THE House passage of the IDA bill is a major victory for the American people, for an effective foreign policy and for commonsense in our international dealings. This measure is bipartisan in its origins and I congratulate those members of both parties who joined in advancing it a step closer to reality. It may have taken two tries but a worthwhile cause has won a significant success. We will always continue to try when the cause is just. NOTE: For the President's remarks upon signing the International Development Association Act, see Item 36i. 347 Remarks to a Group of Peace Corps Volunteers. May i6, i964 Mr. Shriver, ladies and gentlemen of the Peace Corps: I am indebted to my friend Doug Kiker for calling you over here this morning and arranging this meeting. I understand that you have already had a good backgrounder. We are delighted to welcome you here to the White House. Thomas Hardy once said that "War makes rattling good history; but Peace is poor reading." You people, I think, have changed that. In 3 years the aspirations and accomplishments of the Peace Corps have made the pursuit of peace "rattling good history." I know that personally from my own 690 Lyndon B. John. journeys abroad. But I also know it because visitors who come here to the White House every day from other countries never fail to tell me of the good work that you and your companions have done and are doing throughout the world. The Peace Corps is just beginning to make its mark on the world. Your past success gives only a faint glimmer of the enormous possibilities of the future. One of the brightest hopes is the spread of the Peace Corps idea to other countries. I am very proud that when I was Vice President that I was able to participate slightly in getting that movement started. Twenty-three nations have said that they want to start their own version of the Peace Corps. What finer compliment could be paid you and the decision by these countries to do that! Sarge Shriver has just returned from West Germany where he helped to develop that country's program. And Japan announced this week that by i965 it will have volunteers serving throughout Asia. You have set into motion what may become the largest peaceful volunteer movement the world has ever seen. Now if the photographers will leave my dog alone, I will go on and finish this speech. They will be blaming me for that before it is over and saying I am talking too loud or too low, but I think that is a UP photographer. The AP photographer is better trained. I mean they have specialized in dogs over a longer period of time. While adapted to the diversity of different countries, this movement will have a great single theme of service to mankind and, most of all, service to a lasting peace. Your impact at home has also been very great. Not only have you given us renewed faith in the audacity and the ideals of the American Revolution, not only have you son, 1963-1964 May i6 [347] reminded us that we are a young Nation of young people, not only have you kept our sights on our deep commitment to help others seek peace and justice and abundance, but you have also inspired us to get on with the unfinished work of our own society. Our war on poverty, an unconditional declaration of war against one of the last bitter enemies of a great society, can be traced, I think, in large part to the courage and the compassion and the commitment of the Peace Corps volunteers. Because, by fighting hunger, illiteracy, and poverty abroad, you have shown us that we can and we should and we must fight them at home. So I expect returning Peace Corps volunteers to play a major role in this war on poverty. We need your experience. We need your sense of duty. We need your imagination if we are to win this war. And win it we must. I also expect volunteers who complete 2 years abroad to enter the Federal service and to bring to every level of our Government the same devotion that they brought to the Peace Corps. The day will come when a former volunteer sits where I sit, although I hope he will have to wait a few years anyway. Because we need in Government what you have demonstrated in the Peace Corps, I will send a letter next week to the heads of every department and agency of this Government. I will urge those departments and agency heads to expedite the hiring of former Peace Corps volunteers. And I will ask them to report on their success to me by September ist. You have done all of these things while setting an example of thrift and prudence that is the envy of others. You have in fact reversed Parkinson's law. As the size of the Peace Corps has gone up, its costs have come down. i33-171-65 49 69I [347] May i6 Public Papers of the Presidents Sargent Shriver has given me a report today which shows a savings of approximately $9 million in the Peace Corps appropriation for i964.' This money which will be turned back to the Treasury has been saved by the constant application of tough administrative practices and the continuing insistence of high standards of selection for service overseas. As a result, I will submit to Congress on Monday a budget amendment reducing the Peace Corps' request for Fiscal Year i965 from $II5 million to $io6 million. That must make you proud and I know you are proud of that record. I am sorely tempted to send a memorandum to other agencies telling them to "go thou and do likewise." For, if the Peace Corps' 6 percent savings were Governmentwide, if each department and agency were to make the same savings that you have made, the total savings in our 1 Peace Corps release #6i6 "Peace Corps Saves $9 Million in i964." Government budget would be roughly $6 billion. But this is not your proudest accomplishment, important as it is. Far more significant is what the Peace Corps has meant to the life and the vitality of a free society in which the ultimate responsibility rests upon the individual. By your decision to serve and by the deeds of your service, you have shown that the ideals which gave this Nation birth and brought her to greatness are still burning. For that, all of us, each of us everywhere in this country, are deeply in your debt. I am so pleased that you could come here and visit. I hope you enjoy the Rose Garden. If you have a few moments, come this way-and get the dogs out of the way-and I would like to shake hands with you. NOTE: The President spoke at II:45 a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White House. In his opening remarks he referred to Sargent Shriver, Director of the Peace Corps, and Douglas Kiker, White House correspondent for the New York Herald Tribune and former Public Information Director of the Peace Corps. 348 Special Message to the Congress Transmitting Request for Additional Funds for Viet-Nam. May i8, i964 To the Congress of the United States: Last January, in my budget message to the Congress, I pointed out that this budget made no provision for any major new requirements that might emerge later for our mutual defense and development program. I stated then that if such requirements should arise I would request prompt action by the Congress to provide additional funds. That need has emerged in Vietnam. I now request that the Congress provide $I25 million in addition to the $3.4 billion already proposed for foreign assistance. $70 million is required for economic and $55 million for military uses in Vietnam. 692 Since the I965 budget was prepared, two major changes have occurred in Vietnam: First, the Viet Cong guerrillas, under orders from their Communist masters in the North, have intensified terrorist actions against the peaceful people of South Vietnam. This increased terrorism requires increased response. Second, a new government under Prime Minister Khanh has come to power, bringing new energy and leadership and new hope for effective action. I share with Ambassador Lodge the conviction that this new government can mount a successful campaign against the Communists. Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 May i8 1348] In March Prime Minister Khanh declared his intention to mobilize his nation. This intention has now been confirmed by his new and enlarged budget for I964. It provides for: -Expanding the Vietnamese Army, Civil Guard, Self-Defense Corps, and police forces, and integrating their operations with political, economic and social measures in a systematic clear-and-hold campaign. -Greatly expanding and upgrading the Vietnamese civil administrative corps to increase the government's effectiveness and services at the village, district and province level. Local government capacity, responsiveness to popular needs, and initiatives are to be strengthened. -Better pay scales for the men and adequate budgets for the organizations engaged in this struggle of many fronts. -Manifold expansion of training programs, to provide teachers, health workers, agricultural, financial and administrative staffs for the rural areas. These and other measures, if promptly carried out, will require an increase of about 40 percent in Vietnam's domestic budget expenditures over the 1963 level-a far greater expansion of Vietnamese effort than was assumed in the assistance plans submitted in January. Under present circumstances, Vietnam's domestic revenues cannot be increased proportionately. Severe inflation resulting from a budget deficit would endanger political as well as economic stability, unless offsetting financial actions are taken. We expect the Vietnamese Government to take all possible self-help measures to deal with this problem internally, but substantial increases in economic assistance also will be required. We must share the increased costs of the greatly intensified Vietnamese effort. Our more direct support of the expanded Vietnamese military and civil operations also must keep pace with the intensified Vietnamese effort. On the civil side-through AID's counter-insurgency program-this means more fertilizer, medical supplies and services, repair parts and replacements for war-damaged railway rolling stock, school supplies and building materials, well-drilling equipment and teams to bring fresh water to the villagers, and enlarged advisory staffs in the provinces. On the military and paramilitary side, additional equipment, ammunition, training and supplies will be needed as the organization and functioning of the armed forces improves. Additional aircraft, pilot training for the Vietnamese and airfield improvements are required. Increased activity will require additional ammunition. Additional support equipment is required for all forces. The vigorous decisions taken by the new Government of Vietnam to mobilize the full resources of the country merit our strongest support. Increased Communist terror requires it. By our words and deeds in a decade of determined effort, we are pledged before all the world to stand with the free people of Vietnam. Sixteen thousand Americans are serving our country and the people of Vietnam. Daily they face danger in the cause of freedom. Duty requires, and the American people demand, that we give them the fullest measure of support. We have reviewed the entire budget for mutual defense and development programs once again to determine whether we can accommodate within it these added requirements. We cannot. In fact, recent events in Brazil and elsewhere may add to the economic programs originally planned. Military programs have already been cut to the bare minimum. We cannot respond to the new situation in Vietnam within the limits of the original budget proposal without un 693 [348] May i8 Public Papers of the Presidents acceptable danger to our other basic security interests. I am today forwarding to the Speaker of the House of Representatives amendments to my I965 Budget increasing my request for appropriations for Supporting Assistance from $335 million to $405 million, and for Military Assistance from $i.o billion to $I.o55 billion. Both of these increases are covered by the Budget's allowance for contingencies, so that they will not affect overall Budget totals. I ask the Congress to enact authorization for Supporting Assistance and Military Assistance sufficient to permit appropriations in these amounts. I strongly urge the Congress to provide this additional $I25 million to Vietnam, and to appropriate the full $3,517 million now required for our mutual defense and development programs. LYNDON B. JOHNSON NOTE: The funds requested for Viet-Nam were provided in the Foreign Assistance Act of I964, approved by the President on October 7, I964 (Public Law 88-633, 78 Stat. Ioo9). 349 Toasts of the President and Mayor Willy Brandt of Berlin. May i8, I964 Mayor Brandt, gentlemen: I am very happy, Mayor Brandt, to welcome you here not only as the famous mayor of a free city and a flourishing country but as a good, long-time friend, too. I recall most pleasantly that you first visited my State more than io years ago, and I shall never forget my return to your country in I96I. You and I have a great deal in common, not the least of which is the fact that while journalism gave both of us a start in life, it has more recently given us many starts and little serenity. In fact, Mayor Brandt, when Bismarck said, "We Germans fear God but nothing else in the world," I can only conclude that there were no magazines in Germany in those days. So, it is a pleasure to have you in our city, in our country, in our house, and to greet you and, through you, the brave people of Berlin. I will never forget my visit there 3 years ago when your people demonstrated again as they have done so often the strength of their devotion to liberty. The fortitude of a lesser people might well have collapsed when the wall went up in Berlin in I96I, but your people met this challenge with good sense, with uncommon courage, and today West Berlin has taken on new meaning as a thriving industrial city, a busy metropolis, a center for education, culture, and research. I want to assure you, Mr. Mayor, that the inequities and injustices of a divided Berlin in a divided Germany continue to be of major concern to our people in the United States. Our purpose is constant-a united Berlin within a united Germany, united by self-determination in peace and freedom. Until the objective is achieved, there can be no real and lasting peace in Europe or, indeed, in the rest of the world. Berlin remains a symbol of hope, not only for a unified Germany but also for the cause of freedom everywhere; and with persistence and constructive efforts by men of good will everywhere, that hope will be realized some day. So, gentlemen, I ask you to raise your glasses in a toast to the Governing Mayor of 694 Lyndon B. John. Berlin and through him, to the courageous people that he serves so well. Mayor Brandt. NOTE: The President proposed the toast at a luncheon in the State Dining Room at the White House. Mayor Brandt responded as follows: Mr. President, Excellencies, gentlemen: I am most grateful for what your President just said, and I am happy and proud indeed that I could convey to you, Mr. President, the greetings from the people of Berlin-greetings and their expression of confidence and gratitude. While talking about confidence, my thoughts go back to that Saturday, August 19, I96I, and to another day in June I963. These 2 days meant so much to the people of Berlin and especially that August I9, 6 days after the Communists started to build that terrible wall when you, sir, came to Berlin and brought back the reassurance which some of us did not need but some felt they needed it, and you brought it back not only in a formal way but with so much humor, so much vitality that it impressed our people very much and helped us to overcome perhaps the most difficult period in our postwar life. Every Berliner knows that the very fact that we have been able to rebuild our city, as you have just mentioned, sir, to make it once more a great industrial city and center, a cultural center as well, has only been possible because we have been given the chance to show what we can do under difficult conditions under the protective roof of our American, British, and French friends. I would also like to say a word on behalf of my German fellow countrymen, because they are Germans not only in Berlin. Sometimes as Mayor of Berlin one concentrates very much upon one's own city-the same with mayors all over the world. They think they are the center of the world, but there are others who do not completely agree with them. Of course, I cannot speak on behalf of the German people. Politically, I can only speak on behalf of 40 percent of the seats in the Federal Parliament and 5 of the i Federal states. But I think what I am going to say now is nothing which divides political life in my country. All of us regard the relationship and the alliance with the United States as being the central factor of our political existence. What I said about confidence and gratitude in the still beleaguered city of Berlin is still true for a great majority of the German people. I am most grateful, Mr. President, that you have been kind enough to invite to this fine luncheon some of those gentlemen who have contributed so son, 1963-1964 May i8 [349] much to bringing about this new relationship which we hope will be an everlasting relationship between our peoples and our nation. I think about General Clay who, as military governor, not only was the great defender of my city but also laid the foundation for the Federal Republic, and Commissioner McCloy who helped us to bring this Federal Republic into the Western Alliance. In mentioning the names of these two gentlemen, of course, I always have to think about Secretary Dean Acheson who here in the United States gave us that chance which was not a natural chance, and we know better today that it also could have moved in another direction. I am also grateful that two former American commandants in Berlin are with us-General Taylor and General Barksdale Hamlett who I see has almost recovered. I am very pleased to see the two gentlemen here. Now may I add just these words, Mr. President: I know what it means when you take so much of your time for a visitor from Berlin and from Germany, and in such a natural way you described to me how you feel about our relationship and our obligations. You just spoke about our own problem which has to be looked upon as part of the problems of the Western Alliance as a whole; how much we always have to think about the causes of tensions when we try to overcome tensions and come closer to the stable world peace. I always appreciate so much that you talked to someone who comes from Europe-in this case, from Germany-as someone who does not have to say "yes, sir," from early morning to late at night, but someone who stands for his own cause and has to combine his own interests, his peoples' interests with the common interest of the Western Alliance. I should add that, of course, we feel while talking to you how much you feel about human beings not only in your country but also in others, and that you regard the problems with which we are confronted not as a power political problem but a problem of human beings whom we have to serve. Now, sir, I don't know if what I am doing now is in accordance with the rules of protocol. I never will learn enough about the rules of protocol. I would not just propose a toast to the President of the United States. I have cause to do that and I have to do that, and I am happy that I have been given the chance to do that, but I would like to propose a toast to President Johnson-the human being, this brave, colorful, energetic man, this good friend of my people and my city. Thank you so much, sir. May I ask you, gentlemen, to raise your glasses in a toast to President Johnson. 695 1350] May i8 Public Papers of the Presidents 350 Remarks Upon Presenting "E" Awards for Significant Contributions to the Export Expansion Program. May i8, i964 Ladies and gentlemen, Members of Congress: I want to welcome you to the White House and the Rose Garden. This is such a proud occasion for me that I asked Luther Hodges to let me fly an "E" Flag above the White House today. After some consternation and consideration, he said, "Mr. President, when you have done as much for the economy as these people have, I will consider it." One of Luther's illustrious predecessors in the field of private enterprise, Benjamin Franklin, holds the record, I think, for the understatement about the value of commerce to a republic. "No nation," he said, "was ever ruined by trade." He might well have said that trade is the health of any nation, for that is exactly the case. Our economy today is robust, and it is growing more so every day. A large share of the credit for that vitality must go to the businessmen of America, businessmen like you who have gone out to develop new world markets for the products of American ingenuity and American enterprise. These io export flags which we are awarding today bring the total of "E" flag awards in the last 2 years to 500. Since President Kennedy unfurled the first flag in i962, our exports of goods have risen io percent, from $20.9 billion to an alltime record of $22.3 billion in i963, and I am here to predict today that new records are on the horizon. In the first 3 months of this year, our exports are running at an annual rate of more than $24 billion. Such heartening advances don't just happen. They are the result of cost-conscious management, hard-selling by business, backed by the most effective Government policies for export promotion and investment incentives this country has ever known. This cooperation has helped to bring into export trade 3,ooo businesses that never before sold abroad-including one firm that created a market overseas for barbecued chicken and is now selling its equipment around the world. I saw it in a world trade fair when I was overseas not long ago. Through our trade centers, through our trade missions, through increased market research abroad, and through intensive information efforts here at home we intend to keep America's exports moving up and our dollars moving back. These measures to step up our sales abroad would lose their force if we failed to keep our costs and our prices in check. But, so far, industry and Government, working together, have achieved an enviable record of price and cost stability. First, through the efforts of companies like yours, productivity has been rising at a very good rate. Our overall productivity gains have averaged 3.2 percent per year in the past 5 years against an historical trend of less than 3 percent. In the economic upswing of the last 3 years, the average has been above 3 '2 percent. With the help of companies like yours, we hope we can consolidate these gains and move them a little higher. Second, wage increases, on the average, have stayed close to the bounds of productivity gains, keeping our unit labor costs almost stable. While unit labor costs from 696 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-I964 May i8 [350] I959 to i962 rose io percent in France, 6 percent in Italy, i2 percent in the United Kingdom, and 8 percent in Japan, they rose only 2 percent in the United States. Third, the United States has enjoyed an unparalleled record of stable wholesale prices for nearly 6 years now. In sharp contrast, just in the 4 years from I959 to i963, wholesale prices in France rose i i percent, in Italy wholesale prices rose to io percent, in the United Kingdom wholesale prices rose 8 percent, in Germany 4 percent and in Japan 2 percent. So, responsible private enterprise and responsible labor unions deserve the main credit for this fine record of cost and price stability. I hope they will maintain it. But responsible Government policy has also played some role. First, in i962, we liberalized depreciation rules and introduced a new investment tax credit for tax purposes. And we salute the Congress for their help in helping us do that. Second, in i964, we put through the largest tax cut in the United States history, and we thank the Congress for helping us do that. That will give us special provisions for stimulating cost-cutting, modernization, and expansion. Third, we have kept credit readily available at reasonable rates of interest. Fourth, we have promoted price and wage restraints with the aid of the price-wage guideposts. Fifth, we have maintained vigorous antitrust enforcement. We are again demonstrating that free enterprise and free labor, aided by responsible Government, can outprice, outsell, and outproduce our competitors the world overand earn record profits and record wages in the process of doing so. So, I think it is appropriate during World Trade Week that we note your contributions in laying the foundations for a surer peace through increased world trade. I am proud to present to you today the "E" Award in recognition of those contributions, and I want to add just one sentence. I have heard all my life that we live in a land where every boy can be proud to grow up and have a chance to be President. Some of you may not like what has happened and some of you may not believe it, but it shows that we do have that opportunity when you look at the President today. I hope that we can say to every boy that is born in this country that "You have a chance regardless of how humble your origin, how you spell your name, what region you live in, what race you come from, what religion you belong to; you some day have a chance to grow up and take great pride in the fact that you are an American businessman; you can stick your chin up and your chest out and say with great pride, 'I am an American businessman and participate in the American business community."' I hope, too, that we can always feel that a child can grow up and be a member of a responsible labor movement in this country and take pride in that fact. I don't think that we necessarily have to be bitter adversaries-Government, business, and labor-and I don't think you are talking out of both sides of your mouth when you urge these three important segments of our American society to work together in harmony and in unison to develop a stronger and better and more prosperous America. Thank you very much. NOTE: The President spoke at 5:45 p.m. in the Rose Garden at the White House. Early in his remarks he referred to Luther H. Hodges, Secretary of Commerce. The awards, established by Executive Order 10978 (26 F.R. II7I4; 3 CFR i959-i963 Comp., p. 498), 697 [350] May i8 Public Papers of the Presidents were presented to Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company, Milwaukee, Wis.; Caladino Farm Seeds, Inc., Willows, Calif.; Cessna Aircraft Company, Wichita, Kans.; A. W. Chesterton Company, Everett, Mass.; Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, N.Y.; Hanson Scale Company, Northbrook, Ill.; Republic Powdered Metals, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio; Union Bag-Caxmp Paper Corp., Savannah, Ga.; John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, N.Y.; and Wilkerson Corporation, Englewood, Colo. 35I Remarks at the Presentation of the President's Safety Awards. May 20, i964 Mr. Secretary and ladies and gentlemen: The winner for the best safety performance among agencies employing more than 75,000 workers is the United States Navy. The old recruiting posters used to read, "Join the Navy and see the world." But this is the age of security in which we are now living, and you can now recruit people by telling them that the Navy is the safest place to be in the United States Government. I had the pleasure of presenting the same award to the Navy last year, but any relationship between these two awards and the fact that the Navy is my old service is purely coincidental. In fact, Secretary Nitze, you probably won this award despite that fact. Another surprise winner this morning is the Space Agency, proving what events have already demonstrated, that sometimes it is safer to be in orbit than to be out of it. The winner from agencies employing between ioooo and 75,000 workers is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. It is significant that NASA received this award after I left the chairmanship of the National Space Council. Finally, the winner among agencies employing less than io,ooo workers is the Department of Labor. Mr. Secretary, your Department has always had an injury frequency rate far below the Federal average. I thought perhaps that was because you had so many lawyers and economists, but I know now the winning margin of the Labor Department can be traced to the top management support that you and your colleagues have given to a very active program in the past several years. I want to congratulate those agencies which deserve honorable mention in the safety campaign-the Air Force, the Federal Aviation Agency, and the Interstate Commerce Commission. I am very proud of all of you. You have exercised leadership in safeguarding the lives and welfare of the men and women who make the Government work. I want every Federal administrator to follow your example. The next time you gather for this ceremony, let us make sure the Government sets an example for industry. In the words of William James, the deadliest enemies of nations are not their foreign foes. They always dwell within their own borders, and from these internal enemies, civilization is always in need of being saved. The nation blessed above all nations is she in whom the civic genius of the people does the saving day by day by its acts without external picturesqueness. I am delighted to have you here this morning. We will now present the awards. [After making the presentations the President resumed speaking.] I want to thank the Secretary of Labor and all those who made possible this meeting this morning. I know that these awards will be an inspiration to all the members of 698 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 May 20 [352] your respective departments who participated in earning them. I hope that those of you who were here this morning to participate enjoyed yourself, and I hope you set a good example, too. When you leave now be careful and do not slip on the grass, and let us all get back home safely. NOTE: The President spoke at I2:15 p.m. in the Rose Garden at the White House. His opening words referred to Secretary of Labor W. Willard Wirtz, who introduced the President to the group attending the ceremony. Later he referred to Secretary of the Navy Paul H. Nitze. The President's Safety Awards are presented annually under the sponsorship of the Federal Safety Council of the Department of Labor. 352 Remarks to Members of the Cooperative League of the U.S.A. May 20, 1964 WHEN Jerry and I served back there in the House together more than a decade ago, both of us felt that way about it. We never dreamed this would happen. I am pleased to welcome you members of the cooperatives to the White House. The White House is the best known of all cooperatives because it is owned and operated by i90 million members. We use more power to burn fewer lights than any other house in the land. In fact, Lady Bird was glad to hear that you were coming today. She said to me this morning, "Please, Lyndon, for these fellows, let us turn on the lights today." You probably heard that the Republicans have urged people to send me a penny to pay the White House light bill. Well, that far-reaching campaign, I think, for the Republicans was very successful. They forwarded I50 pennies. That is about the way most Republican campaigns operate. Among the pennies that came in yesterday I found a letter from Barry Goldwater. Barry was generous, much more generous than the average Republican. He sent more than a penny. He sent a nickel, a wooden nickel. I hope none of you brought your tape recorders this morning, but if you did, just go ahead and turn them on, because I am proud of what I have to say about cooperatives. I know what they do for people. I have watched it for many years. Electricity down where I live on the ranch comes from the Pedernales Electric Cooperative, one of the first rural electric cooperatives organized in this country. I had a little bit to do with it. I guess you might say I was a male midwife for the REA. The catalog of your accomplishments is large. You cooperatives brought credit when it seemed unobtainable. You brought light and power to rural Americans when it appeared out of reach. You brought modern telephone service to tens of thousands and lowered the price of gas and fertilizer to many thousands more. You did all of these things, and more, because you believed that the strength of the fortunate many should be used to help the unfortunate few. Your goal has been opportunity for all and not just success for some. You have achieved so much because you cared most about people. Today, unless our deepest values are to be smothered by affluence, and we wind up like the man who said, "I don't believe in principal, but I sure do in interest," those 33-171-65 ---550 [352] May 20 Public Papers of the Presidents principles that have guided you must guide us all as we try to make the ideals of our democracy live in the reality of our experience. I want to illustrate that need in at least three areas this morning: First, because we care about people, we must not rest until justice conquers unbridled passion and unbending prejudice, until it knows neither color nor creed, and neither race nor region nor religion. For 20 million Americans are crying out this morning for the bread of justice, and let it never be said we condemned them to eat cake. Second, because we care about people, we must always pursue without pause the war to end poverty, and bring to all Americans a decent chance to earn a decent living and lead decent lives. I agree with another Johnson who lived in another country at another time, who said that poverty "takes away so many means of doing good and produces so much inability to resist evil, both natural and moral, that it is by all means to be avoided." If Samuel Johnson were living with us here today, I believe he would support this war on poverty, just as Jerry Voorhis did last week in that good column that he wrote, that he sent me. But the three of us alone would not be enough. We need the support of all of you. So help us to pass the anti-poverty bill. Go back to your homes and arouse your neighbors to help us, too. With this bill, we can provide lowinterest-rate loans to poor farmers who want to improve their operations. We can provide loans to new cooperatives, to provide low-income Americans with services that are not now available. With this bill we can start to break poverty's hold on those millions of rural Americans who do not have a chance to lead a more abundant life. Help us, then, to strike the first blow by passing the bill that is now pending in the Congress, and I hope will be reported by the committee before long. Third, because we care about people, we must seek justice and abundance not only for our own people but for all people who live on this spinning globe with us. Carlyle was right when he said that man is forever the brother of man. That sense of brotherhood so eloquently preached in the past must be earnestly practiced in the present, or civilization as we know it will come to an untimely and an ungainly end. I am proud of what you are doing to help other people, and you must be proud, too, particularly helping other people in other lands to share in the fruits of our knowledge and our plenty. It gave me a great deal of pride just last week to sign loans to four Latin American cooperatives which bring electric light and power to rural people in Nicaragua and Colombia, largely because of the work that some of our own people in this country did in providing the leadership. Cooperatives and credit unions are helping throughout Latin America to bridge ancient barriers across which people must then walk if they are to know a better life. In efforts like these you have the opportunity to export not only the basic techniques of an industrial society but also to express the basic tenets of a free society. So I hope you will increase your efforts in that direction. As you seek to help people abroad you must grow stronger at home. The revolution in food production and marketing in this country requires new programs to meet new challenges. I have already said that new legislation is needed to clarify the right of cooperatives to expand 700 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 May 20 [354] their operations by merger and acquisition. When this is accomplished, those who manage cooperatives can offer greater efficiency and those who use cooperatives will benefit by lower expenses. I am very happy to be able to tell you this morning that I am quite proud of what you have done, and I will be equally proud of the record that you are now writing. You will always be welcome in this house, as long as I am President-and that could be some time with your help. Thank you very much. NOTE: The President spoke at I p.m. in the Rose Garden at the White House. In his opening words he referred to Jerry Voorhis, Executive Director of the Cooperative League and former U.S. Representative from California. The column by Mr. Voorhis supporting the war on poverty program, to which the President referred, is published in the May i issue of "The People's Business," a semimonthly Cooperative news service feature. 353 Statement by the President Upon Signing Bill Relating to Fishing in U.S. Territorial Waters. May 20, 1964 I HAVE today signed into law S. 1988, a bill which prohibits fishing by foreign vessels in the territorial waters of the United States. This law fills a long-standing need for legislation to prevent foreign fishing vessels, which in recent years have appeared off our coast in increasing numbers, from fishing in our territorial waters. The new law will not establish any new rights to the Continental Shelf. But it will make possible the enforcement of whatever rights now exist or may be established. Since the waters over the Continental Shelf are high seas, efforts will be made to work out in advance with foreign countries procedures for enforcement there. In this connection, the United States has assured Japan that in such consultations with Japan full consideration will be given to Japan's long established king crab fishery. NOTE: As enacted, S. I988 is Public Law 88-308 (78 Stat. I94). 354 Letter to the Under Secretary of the Navy Concerning the Showing of a National Anthem Trailer Film. May 20, 1964 Dear Mr. Fay: Through the efforts and cooperation of the Council of Motion Picture Organizations, Incorporated, and the Theater Owners of America, Incorporated, the Allied States Association of Motion Picture Exhibitors, the Independent Theater Owners Association, the Metropolitan Motion Picture Theater Association, and the Allied Motion Picture Theater Owners of Maryland, Incorporated, a National Anthem trailer film will soon be included in the daily program of most of the motion picture theaters across the nation. This patriotic gesture on the part of the theater organizations and owners will give many equally patriotic Americans a chance to pause briefly and reflect on their individual responsibilities as citizens of the greatest country in the world and to give thanks for the blessings of our land. It is especially fitting that the first showing of this film will be on May 29th, the birthday of our late 701 [354] May 20 Public Papers of the Presidents President John F. Kennedy. I hope that have personally had in this worthwhile the showing of this film will continue project. forever. Sincerely, I shall appreciate it if you will express my LYNDON B. JOHNSON appreciation to the organizations who have [Honorable Paul B. Fay, Jr., Under Secretary of the made this showing possible and accept my Navy, Washington, D.C.] thanks for the significant role which you 355 Statement by the President in Response to a Report on the Supersonic Transport Program. May 2I, i964 THE supersonic transport program is a vast national undertaking and will require the closest cooperation not only among the various Government departments and agencies involved, but also among industry and the American people. If we all work together, I am confident that this country will produce a supersonic transport that will continue to maintain American world leadership in the air. NOTE: The statement was part of a White House release announcing that the President had received the First Interim Report of the President's Advisory Committee on Supersonic Transport (14 pp., May 14, i964), and that he had also received a memorandum on the program from the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Agency. The statement added that the President had approved the Committee's recommendations and the contractors proposed by the Administrator. The Committee recommended that the Federal Aviation Agency be authorized to place contracts for component development and performance demonstration with manufacturers; that economic studies be made to determine the size and type of plane that would be most profitable; and that sonic boom studies be carried out under the guidance of the National Academy of Sciences. In making its recommendations the Committee noted that the project was one of high technical risk, and that financing the supersonic transport would require huge sums, would involve unusually heavy commercial risks, and would necessitate major participation by the Government. The Committee was established by Executive Order III49 of April i, i964 (29 F.R. 4765; 3 CFR, 1964 Supp.). Government members appointed to the Committee were Robert S. McNamara, Secretary of Defense, Chairman; Douglas Dillon, Secretary of the Treasury, Luther Hodges, Secretary of Commerce, John A. McCone, Director of Central Intelligence, James E. Webb, Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Agency, and Najeeb E. Halaby, Administrator, Federal Aviation Agency. Civilian members appointed were Eugene R. Black, Director, Chase Manhattan Bank, New York; and Stanley de J. Osborne, general partner, Lazard Freres & Company, New York. 356 Remarks Upon Arrival at Metropolitan Airport in Detroit. May 22, i964 Dr. Neihuss, Governor Romney, Mayor Cavanagh, my old friends, your able Senators, Pat McNamara and Phil Hart, Members of your great congressional delegation, Congressman Neil Staebler, Harold Ryan: I wonder if you folks would come up here with me. Come up here, Governor Rom ney, Mayor Cavanagh. Let me introduce you one at a time. Mayor Cavanagh; my old friends Pat McNamara and Phil Hart; Members of your great congressional delegation, Congressman Neil Staebler, Congressman Harold Ryan; my old friend Mrs. Martha Griffiths; your 702 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-I964 May 22 [356] able Congressman John Dingell; John Lesinski; a fellow that is helping us a lot these days, Jim O'Hara; August Johansen; Ed Hutchinson; Jim Harvey, Robert Griffin; Victor Knox; Lucien Nedzi; Congressman Libonati, from Illinois; your own former Governor and now an able colleague of mine in Washington, G. Mennen Williams; Assistant Secretary of HEW Wilbur Cohen; my special assistant and a Detroit citizen, Hobart Taylor, from the White House. I only have a few moments here but I want you to know that there is nothing that restores a President's soul more than a warm Detroit greeting. I want to thank each of you so very, very much for coming out here this morning. My first thought is to sing an old song, "Will You Love Me in November as You do in May?" But this is not nearly so important as the fact that this city and its people are the herald of hope in America. Prosperity in America must begin here in Detroit. You folks in Detroit put American citizens on wheels; you have American economy on the move. Unemployment in Detroit is down, profits are up, wages are good, and there is no problem too tough or too challenging for us to solve. With your Federal Government working with the people of this Nation we are going to make a better, a more peaceful, and a more prosperous life not only for the people of Detroit and Michigan but for all Americans and all the world. All this makes me feel mighty good, and it should make the Nation feel good. My cup runneth over here when men come here to greet me like Gus Scholle and Henry Ford. When the President has Gus and Henry by his side, the sky is the limit. And the sky is bright today. My favorite uncle came to Michigan in I9I5, some 40 years ago, to get a degree from Ann Arbor. I am on my way back there to get an honorary one today, which only proves that if you wait 40 years, a graduate of Southwest Texas State Teachers College can finally make good. Your President needs your help in order to do all the things which need to be done in this country to make his people wiser, to make them happier, to make them more peaceful, to make them hopeful. I have to leave now, but I will be back later this year. I want to thank each of you for coming out here this morning, and I don't want you to forget me later on in the fall. Thank you. NOTE: The President spoke at the airport en route to Ann Arbor for the commencement exercises at the University of Michigan. In his opening remarks he referred to Dr. Marvin L. Niehuss, Executive Vice President of the University, Governor George Romney of Michigan, Mayor J. P. Cavanagh of Detroit, Senators Pat McNamara and Philip A. Hart, and Representatives Neil Staebler, Harold M. Ryan, Martha W. Griffiths, John D. Dingell, John Lesinski, James G. O'Hara, August E. Johansen, Edward Hutchinson, James Harvey, Robert P. Griffin, Victor A. Knox, and Lucien N. Nedzi, all of Michigan, Representative Roland V. Libonati of Illinois, G. Mennen Williams, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs and former Governor of Michigan, Wilbur J. Cohen, Assistant Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare for Legislation, and Hobart Taylor, Jr., Associate Counsel to the President. Later the President referred to August Scholle, President of the AFL-CIO for the State of Michigan, and Henry Ford II of the Ford Foundation. 703 [3571 May 22 Public Papers of the Presidents 357 Remarks at the University of Michigan. May 22, 1964 President Hatcher, Governor Romney, Senators McNamara and Hart, Congressmen Meader and Staebler, and other members of the fine Michigan delegation, members of the graduating class, my fellow Americans: It is a great pleasure to be here today. This university has been coeducational since I870, but I do not believe it was on the basis of your accomplishments that a Detroit high school girl said, "In choosing a college, you first have to decide whether you want a coeducational school or an educational school." Well, we can find both here at Michigan, although perhaps at different hours. I came out here today very anxious to meet the Michigan student whose father told a friend of mine that his son's education had been a real value. It stopped his mother from bragging about him. I have come today from the turmoil of your Capital to the tranquility of your campus to speak about the future of your country. The purpose of protecting the life of our Nation and preserving the liberty of our citizens is to pursue the happiness of our people. Our success in that pursuit is the test of our success as a Nation. For a century we labored to settle and to subdue a continent. For half a century we called upon unbounded invention and untiring industry to create an order of plenty for all of our people. The challenge of the next half century is whether we have the wisdom to use that wealth to enrich and elevate our national life, and to advance the quality of our American civilization. Your imagination, your initiative, and your indignation will determine whether we build a society where progress is the servant of our needs, or a society where old values and new visions are buried under unbridled growth. For in your time we have the opportunity to move not only toward the rich society and the powerful society, but upward to the Great Society. The Great Society rests on abundance and liberty for all. It demands an end to poverty and racial injustice, to which we are totally committed in our time. But that is just the beginning. The Great Society is a place where every child can find knowledge to enrich his mind and to enlarge his talents. It is a place where leisure is a welcome chance to build and reflect, not a feared cause of boredom and restlessness. It is a place where the city of man serves not only the needs of the body and the demands of commerce but the desire for beauty and the hunger for community. It is a place where man can renew contact with nature. It is a place which honors creation for its own sake and for what it adds to the understanding of the race. It is a place where men are more concerned with the quality of their goals than the quantity of their goods. But most of all, the Great Society is not a safe harbor, a resting place, a final objective, a finished work. It is a challenge constantly renewed, beckoning us toward a destiny where the meaning of our lives matches the marvelous products of our labor. So I want to talk to you today about three places where we begin to build the Great Society-in our cities, in our countryside, and in our classrooms. Many of you will live to see the day, perhaps 50 years from now, when there will be 400 million Americans-four-fifths of them 704 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-I964 May 22 [357] in urban areas. In the remainder of this century urban population will double, city land will double, and we will have to build homes, highways, and facilities equal to all those built since this country was first settled. So in the next 40 years we must rebuild the entire urban United States. Aristotle said: "Men come together in cities in order to live, but they remain together in order to live the good life." It is harder and harder to live the good life in American cities today. The catalog of ills is long: there is the decay of the centers and the despoiling of the suburbs. There is not enough housing for our people or transportation for our traffic. Open land is vanishing and old landmarks are violated. Worst of all expansion is eroding the precious and time honored values of community with neighbors and communion with nature. The loss of these values breeds loneliness and boredom and indifference. Our society will never be great until our cities are great. Today the frontier of imagination and innovation is inside those cities and not beyond their borders. New experiments are already going on. It will be the task of your generation to make the American city a place where future generations will come, not only to live but to live the good life. I understand that if I stayed here tonight I would see that Michigan students are really doing their best to live the good life. This is the place where the Peace Corps was started. It is inspiring to see how all of you, while you are in this country, are trying so hard to live at the level of the people. A second place where we begin to build the Great Society is in our countryside. We have always prided ourselves on being not only America the strong and America the free, but America the beautiful. Today that beauty is in danger. The water we drink, the food we eat, the very air that we breathe, are threatened with pollution. Our parks are overcrowded, our seashores overburdened. Green fields and dense forests are disappearing. A few years ago we were greatly concerned about the "Ugly American." Today we must act to prevent an ugly America. For once the battle is lost, once our natural splendor is destroyed, it can never be recaptured. And once man can no longer walk with beauty or wonder at nature his spirit will wither and his sustenance be wasted. A third place to build the Great Society is in the classrooms of America. There your children's lives will be shaped. Our society will not be great until every young mind is set free to scan the farthest reaches of thought and imagination. We are still far from that goal. Today, 8 million adult Americans, more than the entire population of Michigan, have not finished 5 years of school. Nearly 20 million have not finished 8 years of school. Nearly 54 million-more than one-quarter of all America-have not even finished high school. Each year more than ioo,ooo high school graduates, with proved ability, do not enter college because they cannot afford it. And if we cannot educate today's youth, what will we do in I970 when elementary school enrollment will be 5 million greater than ig60? And high school enrollment will rise by 5 million. College enrollment will increase by more than 3 million. In many places, classrooms are overcrowded and curricula are outdated. Most of our qualified teachers are underpaid, and many of our paid teachers are unqualified. So we must give every child a place to sit 705 [357] May 22 Public Papers of the Presidents and a teacher to learn from. Poverty must not be a bar to learning, and learning must offer an escape from poverty. But more classrooms and more teachers are not enough. We must seek an educational system which grows in excellence as it grows in size. This means better training for our teachers. It means preparing youth to enjoy their hours of leisure as well as their hours of labor. It means exploring new techniques of teaching, to find new ways to stimulate the love of learning and the capacity for creation. These are three of the central issues of the Great Society. While our Government has many programs directed at those issues, I do not pretend that we have the full answer to those problems. But I do promise this: We are going to assemble the best thought and the broadest knowledge from all over the world to find those answers for America. I intend to establish working groups to prepare a series of White House conferences and meetingson the cities, on natural beauty, on the quality of education, and on other emerging challenges. And from these meetings and from this inspiration and from these studies we will begin to set our course toward the Great Society. The solution to these problems does not rest on a massive program in Washington, nor can it rely solely on the strained resources of local authority. They require us to create new concepts of cooperation, a creative federalism, between the National Capital and the leaders of local communities. Woodrow Wilson once wrote: "Every man sent out from his university should be a man of his Nation as well as a man of his time." Within your lifetime powerful forces, already loosed, will take us toward a way of life beyond the realm of our experience, almost beyond the bounds of our imagination. For better or for worse, your generation has been appointed by history to deal with those problems and to lead America toward a new age. You have the chance never before afforded to any people in any age. You can help build a society where the demands of morality, and the needs of the spirit, can be realized in the life of the Nation. So, will you join in the battle to give every citizen the full equality which God enjoins and the law requires, whatever his belief, or race, or the color of his skin? Will you join in the battle to give every citizen an escape from the crushing weight of poverty? Will you join in the battle to make it possible for all nations to live in enduring peace-as neighbors and not as mortal enemies? Will you join in the battle to build the Great Society, to prove that our material progress is only the foundation on which we will build a richer life of mind and spirit? There are those timid souls who say this battle cannot be won; that we are condemned to a soulless wealth. I do not agree. We have the power to shape the civilization that we want. But we need your will, your labor, your hearts, if we are to build that kind of society. Those who came to this land sought to build more than just a new country. They sought a new world. So I have come here today to your campus to say that you can make their vision our reality. So let us from this moment begin our work so that 706 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-I964 May 23 [358] in the future men will look back and say: It was then, after a long and weary way, that man turned the exploits of his genius to the full enrichment of his life. Thank you. Goodby. 358 Remarks Upon Arrival at the Virginia. May 23, I964 Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Senator Byrd: I am very thankful to you for the courtesy that you have extended us in coming out here and meeting us. Senator Byrd and I were flying down talking with each other and we concluded that there were a good many things we agreed upon, particularly two things: one, he agreed with me that we ought to cut the lights out at the White House, keep down our light bill; and he also agreed that the people of Roanoke were a wonderful group. So we have no dispute on those two questions. This is a delightful day for us. We are coming to Virginia to celebrate the achievements of a great man, and to honor a former Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense who has provided great leadership to libertyloving people throughout the world, General George Marshall. We are going over to see this historic and wonderful school, VMI, and we are pleased that we have a chance to stop here and look you in the face and shake your hand. I should like for you to meet some other members of my party. First, I want you to know Mrs. Johnson, Lady Bird. [After brief remarks by Mrs. Johnson the President resumed speaking.] I know he is bashful and modest, but I know he will appreciate having a chance to at least wave his hand at you. I want you NOTE: The President spoke at the graduation exercises at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor after receiving an honorary degree of Doctor of Civil Law. His opening words referred to Harlan H. Hatcher, President of the University, Governor George Romney, Senators Pat McNamara and Philip A. Hart, and Representatives George Meader and Neil Staebler, all of Michigan. Airport, Roanoke, to know one of the great men of our time, the senior Senator from Virginia, my old longtime friend, Harry Byrd. And next, the distinguished Secretary of State, Mr. Dean Rusk; the distinguished former Secretary of State, Mr. Dean Acheson; my friend the Secretary of Agriculture, Mr. Orville Freeman; the distinguished Secretary of Commerce, my friend Luther Hodges; the very able Under Secretary of State, Mr. Averell Harriman. And now I want to present the Congressmen-Congressman Everett, Congressman Downing, Congressman Fulton, Congressman Jennings, and Congressman Marsh. Then Mrs. Hodges, Mrs. Freeman, Mrs. Acheson, and Mrs. Harriman; and Senator and Mrs. Monroney from the great State of Oklahoma. Thank you so much for coming out. We will have a chance to come by the fence and say hello to you. We appreciate your friendship so very much. NOTE: The President spoke at Woodrum Field, Roanoke, Va. In his opening words he referred to Senator Harry' F. Byrd of Virginia. Later he referred to Secretary of State Dean Rusk, former Secretary of State and Mrs. Dean Acheson, Secretary of Agriculture and Mrs. Orville Freeman, Secretary of Commerce and Mrs. Luther H. Hodges, Under Secretary of State and Mrs. W. Averell Harriman, Representatives Robert A. Everett and Richard H. Fulton of Tennessee, Thomas N. Downing, W. Pat Jennings, and John O. Marsh of Virginia, and Senator and Mrs. A. S. Monroney of Oklahoma. 707 13591 May23 Public Papers of the Presidents 359 Remarks in Lexington at the Dedication of the George C. Marshall Research Library. May 23, I964 General Shell, Mrs. Marshall, General Eisenhower, General Bradley, Governor Harrison, Mr. Lovett, Senator Byrd, members of the Cabinet, Members of the Congress, ladies and gentlemen: The dedication of a library in General Marshall's memory is an event of sufficient importance to require our full attention today. But just for a moment, I would like to turn to consideration of a pressing, immediate local problem. I understand that a number of young men at VMI are, as the rule book says, undergoing punishments for transgressions against VMI rules and regulations. Although my position in the VMI chain of command may not be too clearly defined, I am asking Governor Harrison, of Virginia, to direct the Superintendent, General Shell, to grant them general amnesty to include penalty tours, confinement, and, as an additional present, forgive them for their demerits for the past couple of months. I am very pleased that so many cadets are here today. I find it quite difficult to choose from them the man who will be the next Stonewall Jackson or George Marshall. You probably have the same difficulty. But I remember that it was once reported of General Marshall when he first entered VMI that he landed in the awkward squad, and he stayed there on and on. He could not drill. He could not march. All he could do was swear, look uncomfortable, and be embarrassed whenever he was spoken to. So cheer up, gentlemen, and be courteous to each of your classmates, no matter how unpromising he might look today. Remember, he may be your Chief of Staff one day. If George Marshall could see us here today, this gathering would please him greatly, I think. Here, in tribute, are men whom his farseeing vision marked for farreaching victories. President Eisenhower, you were his most beloved and respected protege. It is a measure of his stature that he selected you for that decisive command which as a soldier he must have deeply coveted. In that judgment he and his superiors were vindicated, and the world was richly rewarded. General Bradley, you were his cutting edge, the field commander of more American fighting troops than any commander in any era. On your skill rested much of his hope for victory for our cause. Here the captains and the companions of George Marshall are in rendezvous. And I am so proud and so honored to be at their side. No words of mine can add to the eloquence of your presence. The name which can command your tribute gains no luster from what I might say. It is we, and our country, that are ennobled by this ceremony. For the greatness of a people can be measured by the qualities of the men that they honor. Great as he was, George Marshall does not stand in towering isolation. He is part of a long line of legendary captains who were more than instruments to be hurled against the enemy. To these men victory in war was important. But the fruits of that victory were even more important. They did not shrink from the blood of battle. But they knew that blood would be spent in vain unless the survivors labored 708 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-1964 May 23 [3591 for a country where liberty was safe in a Nation of peace. Listen to the roll of some of those great names, warriors in war and apostles in peace, names which ring across the centuries of our history with that single theme: George Washington, Andrew Jackson, Robert E. Lee, Douglas MacArthur, George Marshall, Omar Bradley, Dwight David Eisenhower. Many men have, as these men had, the qualities of greatness. But it is fortune's hazard whether character can join with circumstance to produce great deeds. For George Marshall the tragedy of war gave scope for his soldier's art. The trials of a restless peace gave shape to his statesman's skill. He was picked for supreme command, over many of his seniors, by a man of great vision, Franklin D. Roosevelt. When he had helped guide us to victory, he knew that peace, like victory, would go not just to the righteous but to the skillful, not just to the free but to the brave. He followed Harry Truman's wise reminder that "Peace is not a reward that comes automatically to those who cherish it. It must be pursued, unceasingly and unswervingly, by every means at our command." To this end, under President Truman's direction, he proposed the Marshall plan. We know how much our freedom, and the freedom of all Western Europe, owes to that single stroke. But that vision did not stop where Soviet conquest began. To General Marshall, permanent peace depended upon rebuilding all European civilization within its historic boundaries. The Iron Curtain rang down upon that hope. But the correctness of his conviction has not changed. Today we work to carry on the vision of the Marshall plan. First, to strengthen the ability of every European people to select and shape its own society. Second, to bring every European nation closer to its neighbors in the relationships of peace. This will not be achieved by sudden settlement or by dramatic deed. But the nations of Eastern Europe are beginning to reassert their own identity. There is no longer a single Iron Curtain. There are many. Each differs in strength and thickness-in the light that can pass through it and the hopes that can prosper behind it. We do not know when all European nations will become part of a single civilization. But, as President Eisenhower said in I953: "This we do know: a world that begins to witness the rebirth of trust among nations can find its way to peace that is neither partial nor punitive." We will continue to build bridges across the gulf which has divided us from Eastern Europe. They will be bridges of increased trade, of ideas, of visitors, and of humanitarian aid. We do this for four reasons: First, to open new relationships to countries seeking increased independence yet unable to risk isolation. Second, to open the minds of a new generation to the values and the visions of the Western civilization from which they come and to which they belong. Third, to give freer play to the powerful forces of legitimate national pride-the strongest barrier to the ambition of any country to dominate another. Fourth, to demonstrate that identity of interest and the prospects of progress for Eastern Europe lie in a wider relationship with the West. We go forward within the framework of our unalterable commitment to the defense of Europe and to the reunification of Ger 709 [359] May 23 Public Papers of the Presidents many. But under the leadership of President Truman and President Eisenhower, and our late beloved President Kennedy, America and Western Europe have achieved the strength and self confidence to follow a course based on hope rather than hostility, based on opportunity rather than fear. And it is also our belief that wise and skillful development of relationships with the nations of Eastern Europe can speed the day when Germany will be reunited. We are pledged to use every peaceful means to work with friends and allies so that all of Europe may be joined in a shared society of freedom. In this way I predict the years to come will see us draw closer to General Marshall's bold design than at any time since he stood at Harvard and began to reshape the world. It is a great man who can guide the course of a great nation long after he has left the scene. The men around me today on this platform are such men. General Marshall was another. We honor him not only for what he did but for what he was. Had he lived unknown and unsung, his character would have illuminated the lives of all who knew him. He was among the noblest Americans of them all. Not only a great soldier, not only a great statesman, he was first and foremost a great man. This institution is here to produce such men. And so it is quite appropriate that the George C. Marshall Research Library is located here, among these cadets. Before the battle of Chancellorsville, Stonewall Jackson said, "The men of Virginia Military Institute will be heard from today." Throughout our history, our long, glorious history, when the day was in doubt, and freedom seemed to falter, the voice of VMI has always helped lead our Nation to victory. The qualities forged here, and by your graduates of a hundred battlegrounds, are the hard fiber of this Nation's national strength. You and I are in the same service, the service of a Nation for which we are prepared to die, but for which we wish to live. I welcome you to that service. I will go back to my tasks with a heart knowing, as did my predecessors, that the men of VMI are at my side in the service of our country. NOTE: The President spoke at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Va. His opening words referred to General George R. E. Shell, Superintendent of VMI, Mrs. George C. Marshall, General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower, General of the Armv Omar N. Bradley, Governor Albertis S. Harrison of Virginia, Robert A. Lovett, former Secretary of Defense, and Senator Harry F. Byrd of Virginia. 360 Remarks at the Swearing In of Mrs. Virginia Brown as Interstate Commerce Commissioner. May 25, i964 Mrs. Brown, Senators Byrd and Randolph, Governor Barron, Members of the Congress, Congressman Hechler, ladies and gentlemen: We are very proud to have Mrs. Brown, her children, her husband, and her mother and father here this morning. This is a very unusual occasion and a very unique experience for us. We are pleased to be joined by some of your colleagues from the Interstate Commerce Commission. Mr. A. B. Alcott once said that where women are, the better things are implied if' not spoken. Well, Mrs. Brown, thanks to women like you better things are beingimplied, and they are being spoken too, all through the Government today. In following Solomon's advice to look for the woman, we have spared no effort to finct 71O Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-i964 May 26 [36i] the right person for the right job. Mrs. Brown's appointment, as all of you know, is one of many that testifies to our success. We have already appointed almost i,ooo women to jobs from GS-i2 up. We have appointed i68 in jobs from GS-i2 through GS-i8; 694 women have received promotions in these top grades. More than 56 women have been named to individual executive positions such as the Interstate Commerce Commission. Our purpose has not been simply to end stag government. We have sought women like Mrs. Brown because they possess the willingness of heart, the compassion of soul, and the courage of intellect to lead this Government into new frontiers of service to all the people. An English proverb says that a woman's work in the washing of dishes is never at an end. I think it misses the point though. Today, a woman's work is the world, and women who have given their sons in war want and must have a chance to build a world in which their grandsons can live in peace. So, I am very proud of you, Mrs. Brown, not only because you are the first woman in the history of the Republic to ever serve on the Interstate Commerce Commission but because you are in the vanguard of a new army whose strategy is compassion, not conquest; whose weapons are mind and heart, not misery and holocaust. So, it gives me great pleasure as your President to present to you your commission this morning and to ask that the oath now be administered to you as the first lady member of the Interstate Commerce Commission. NOTE: The President spoke in the Rose Garden at the White House. His opening words referred to Mrs. Virginia Mae Brown, Senators Robert C. Byrd and Jennings Randolph, Governor William W. Barron, and Representative Ken Hechler, all of West Virginia. 36i Remarks Upon Signing the International Development Association Bill. May 26, i964 I AM very proud to sign this bill to authorize our country's continued participation in the International Development Association. This legislation makes it possible for the United States to help an international institution which had its beginnings in the United States, has made it possible for other industrial nations to aid less developed countries, and is now performing its duties efficiently and successfully. The United States governors of the Association will be authorized to vote for a proposed $750 million increase in the Association's resources. Our share of $3I2 million will be provided over a 3-year period. Other countries will put up more than $I.40 for every dollar the United States provides. This money will be used for easy term loans to important projects which the developing countries could not afford at regular commercial terms. This action is one more milestone in our efforts to enlist the cooperation of free world countries in the common task of helping less fortunate nations to help themselves. It is also another milestone in our historic commitment to help other people lift from their weary shoulders the burdens of poverty and disease, illiteracy and hunger. We can no more accept a world in which we are surrounded by poverty than we can accept poverty within our own borders. 7II [36i ] May 26 Public Papers of the Presidents This is international sharing at its best, and a victory for the American people, for an effective foreign policy, and for common sense in our international relationships. I want to thank each Member of the Congress who participated in successfully handling this legislation. I want to congratu late the Members of the Senate and the House who made this victory possible. You will be proud of this action in the days to come. NOTE: The President spoke at 9:45 a.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White House. The bill (S. 22I4) as enacted is Public Law 88 -3IO (78 Stat. 200). 362 Remarks Upon Presenting the Small Businessman of the Year Award. May 26, i964 Mr. Foley, Miss McKee, and ladies and gentlemen: There is a proverb which says, "Seest thou a man diligent in his business; he shall stand before kings. He shall not stand before mean men." Well, we don't have a king handy, but I hope that you men who have been so diligent in your business will appreciate a President instead and allow that kind of a substitute. I appreciate your coming here to the White House this morning. I especially appreciate the service you render as members of the National Advisory Council for Small Business. The Greek philosopher who said that giving advice is the easiest thing in the world, lived a long time before businessmen had to fill out so many forms and reports. He might not say that if he were living today. We are trying to do something about all these reports and all these forms and also about the excessive publications and pamphlets that businessmen get in the mail. I became interested in this when a small businessman told a member of my staff that he was being flooded by pamphlets advising him how to step up egg production in the Rio Grande Valley. He manufactures plumbing fixtures in the Midwest. My campaign is already paying off. We have eliminated I4I publications at savings in excess of $i million a year. We have reduced by 98 the number of questionnaires and surveys and other reports which private citizens had been expected to fill out and return to their Government. We may have come a long way since Samuel Adams said, "This is a nation of shopkeepers," but small businesses still provide one-third of the Nation's goods and services. This administration has those small businessmen very much in mind every day. Since i960 we have increased the number of individual business loans by 4,000 -from i3,000 to I7,000. The dollar amount of those loans has increased from $636 millions to $942 millions. Our efforts to insure that small firms receive a fair share of the Government purchasing dollar have almost doubled the amount from $2.5 billion to more than $4.7 billion in 3 years. We have more than tripled loans to State and local development companies which are set up by public spirited citizens to bring new economic life to their community. Today I am pleased to announce that we are beginning a liberalized Nationwide lending program geared to the needs of very 712 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 May 26 [363] small businesses. This program, to be known as SBA's Small Loan Program, will make it easier for businessmen to obtain loans of up to $I5,000 for a maximum of 6 years. I am also extremely happy to welcome here this morning the winner of the first Small Businessman of the Year Award, Mr. Berkley W. Bedell-one of those rare men whose pleasure is their business, and whose business is their pleasure. Mr. Bedell represents millions of American businessmen who are in the words of the scripture, "not slothful in business but fervent in spirit." Your imagination and your industry are typical of the qualities that built America, and will keep it growing stronger. I know the people back home in Spirit Lake, Iowa, and your Senators and your Congressmen, are proud of you, Mr. Bedell. I take a great deal of pleasure on behalf of the people of the Nation to present this award to you formally today. NOTE: The President spoke at noon in the Rose Garden at the White House. His opening words referred to Eugene P. Foley, Administrator, and Rose McKee, Director of Public Information, Small Business Administration. Berkley W. Bedell of Spirit Lake, Iowa, president of Berkley and Co., manufacturers of fishing lines and cordage, was selected for the award by the National Advisory Council of the Small Business Administration as "best exemplifying the imagination, initiative, independence and integrity characteristic of America's millions of small businessmen." As a high school student with a love of fishing, Mr. Bedell began with a bedroom workshop and a $50 investment in fly-tying equipment and developed it into a business with a $i million a year payroll employing 250 persons. 363 Remarks at the "Salute to President Johnson" Dinner. May 26, i964 Mr. Bailey, Mr. Salomon, Mr. Maguire, and my fellow Democrats: I don't know how I can adequately say thank you to each of you who have made such a sacrifice to come here this evening and to make this wonderful party possible. I do want to say to each person in this room that Mrs. Johnson and I feel deeply in your debt. We are especially grateful to Dick Adler and all of these talented performers that he brought here at such great sacrifice to entertain us, and if any of you feel like you didn't get your money's worth, you can see Mr. Maguire after the show. This has been one of the great evenings that I have spent in the Capital. Here in this room tonight is much of the strength of the Democratic Party and the strength of this Nation. This is a significant moment. You are gathering as one Democratic administration draws to a close-and as we prepare for another 4 years of Democratic leadership. I hope that you are all going to be with me for those years of achievement that are yet to come. This is not a partisan dinner. It is not even a political affair. It is open to any member of any political group who wants to contribute $ioo to the Democratic Party in November. Three years ago, our beloved John F. Kennedy stood in this hall and said, "... in the administration of Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman and now tonight, the Democratic Party has a 7I3 [363] May 26 Public Papers of the Presidents great national purpose-to move this country forward." Tonight I say to you, in the administration of Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman and John F. Kennedy, the Democratic Party has moved this country forward. And I am here to pledge you tonight that we are going to keep moving this country forward. These are exciting days for our party. For Democrats are happy when their challenges are great. The number of children born between this gala and the Presidential election of I972 will be the same as the total population of the United States at the time of the inauguration of President Lincoln a century ago. Men of little vision and meager vitality, men whose acts are timid and whose aims are tiny cannot hope to meet the challenges and shoulder the burdens of a mushrooming America. Our party, the Democratic Party, has never believed in standing pat or in keeping coolin telling people they never had it so good or that things will always be easy. For specific problems, we have proposed and we have fought for specific programssocial security, minimum wage, the war on poverty, civil rights legislation, and a long, shining list of acts which have helped to make this country both great and free. This is a proud record. But we are not a party that is satisfied with past gain. We are intent on future goals. We are a party confident that a people who will face the future can master the future. We are a party that believes the American people can shape their own destiny. And they have returned that faith by trusting us to lead them in that search. Today, the challenges are clear. We will build a society where no citizen will be barred from any door because of his color or his church. Where no child will go unfed and no youngster will go unschooled. Where no man who wants a job will fail to find it. Where we can pursue our national goals in a world at peace. Where a great Nation is building an even greater society. Our legacy from the past is our faith in the future. From Jefferson to Kennedy, we in this hall have received that legacy-a torch passed from one generation to the next. Let us carry that torch proudly toward our vision of the future. In the past 4 years, we have come a long, long way toward that future: toward a new and toward a great society. Tonight, again, we say to the American people that the Democratic Party is the party that believes in Government for the people. So give us your hand and your heart, and give us your support and we pledge you we will finish the job. NOTE: The President spoke at the National Guard Armory in Washington. His opening words referred to John M. Bailey, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Sidney Salomon, Jr., of St. Louis, Mo., who served as chairman of the dinner which preceded the Salute program, and Richard Maguire, Treasurer of the Democratic National Committee. Later he referred to Richard Adler who was in charge of the entertainment. 714 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-i964 May 27 [364] 364 Remarks of Welcome at the White House to President de Valera of Ireland. May 27, I964 Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen: Mr. President, I am very happy and proud to welcome you to the United States. We consider this to be your second country and you are always welcome on this soil. On your first trip 45 years ago, you came to interest America in the cause of Irish freedom, much as Benjamin Franklin, the envoy of the American Revolution, visited Ireland in 1772. Freedom for Ireland has been the driving mastering passion of your life, and America is honored today to have back a native son who has become Ireland's liberator, Ireland's senior statesman, and Ireland's President. There is one man who is not here with us today who would especially be proud of this moment-John Fitzgerald Kennedy. President Kennedy loved Ireland and he held for you, Mr. President, personally the deepest affection. When he returned from Ireland last summer, we all knew how impressed he had been with the great reception that had been given him by the people of his ancestral land. Now it is our turn and our privilege to greet you, Mr. President. To no other Irish leader do we owe a greater debt than you for the contributions which Ireland has made-and is making-to the building of a world community under the rule of law. This is the country of your birth, Mr. President. This will always be your home. You belong to us, Mr. President, just as in a very special way John F. Kennedy belonged to you. So, this morning, it gives me great pride and pleasure on behalf of all of the American people to welcome you home. We are glad that you are here. NOTE: The President spoke on the South Lawn at the White House where President Eamon de Valera was given a formal welcome with full military honors. President de Valera responded as follows: Thank you, Mr. President, for your very gracious words of welcome. I am sure the people of Ireland appreciate this gesture on your part. We all know that in your position with your responsibilities it is not easy to find time for occasions like this. We appreciate it, therefore, all the more, and I am more than grateful that you should be here in person to greet me, and also that Mrs. Johnson should be good enough to come down to meet me here. As you have said, this is a great occasion, or at least as you have suggested that this is a great occasion, for me, and so it is. I was here 45 years ago and in my work, to interest the people of America in Ireland's struggle at that time for independence, I traveled throughout the whole of the United States, practically. I spoke in all of your major cities, so truly I feel somewhat at home. But 45 years is a long span in human life. It has always been for me a great longing that I should some day be able to return here to the United States while in a representative capacity, and travel throughout the country and say to the people in all of the large cities where such favor has been shown to us back 45 years ago, and tell all the old friends there how much their aid helped us at that time. Unfortunately, if it were possible for me to go around the country, not many of the old friends would still be left. Back 25 years ago I had planned such a visit. I had intended traveling to all of the principal centers where great demonstrations had shown in what way the Irish people regarded Ireland's rights at that time. Although all of the arrangements were made, there was a threat of conscription of people in six of our northeastern counties and I had to cancel the visit. Mr. O'Kelly, my deputy at that time, and later President, who had the pleasure of being received here some 4 or 5 years ago, took my place. As I have said, I do not think that any other Irishman could find an occasion like this. I find immense pleasure in coming back and being able to speak here from the Capital of your Nation to all our friends throughout the country-how deeply we appreciate and how well I remember all the help that was given to us at that time. I don't want to detain you, Mr. President, but this morning I was taken by the good office of Mr. 715 [364] May 27 Public Papers of the Presidents Humelsine to Williamsburg. I was taken in a coach-in-pair to see the old city and some of the houses in the old city, the Governor's House, and so on. But I was taken to the House of Assembly and I was sitting on the Speaker's chair and brought again to the seat from which Patrick Henry spoke. Mr. President, it was not the first time that I sat on that chair or sat on that bench. I did it 45 years ago because I was taken at that time to all of the spots famous in American Revolutionary history-to Lexington, to Concord, to Bunker Hill, and so on-and I was, of course, taken to the seat of the Revolution in Virginia. Once more, Mr. President, I want to express to you my very deep gratitude and on behalf of the Irish people their gratitude. In our own language, may I say: Is mor agai na briathra fdilte a dubhairt tA. Tdim an-bhuioch diot as ucht do chinedltais [I deeply appreciate your words of welcome. I am most grateful for your great kindness]. 365 Statement by the President on the U.S.-Soviet Consular Convention. May 27, 1964 WE HAVE just concluded negotiations with the Soviet Union on a consular convention. The agreement will be signed in Moscow on June i. I have authorized Ambassador Kohler to sign for the U.S. I understand Soviet Foreign Minister Gromyko will be signing for the Soviet Union. This treaty, which I will submit to the Senate for its advice and consent, is a significant step in our continuing efforts to increase contacts and understanding between the American people and the peoples of the Soviet Union. It will make possible improved consular services in both countries. American citizens visiting the Soviet Union, either as tourists or for business reasons, will have available to them a greater degree of consular protection than ever before. For example, Americans detained in the Soviet Union for any reasons will be assured of access without delay to American consular officials. American businessmen and shipping companies will be able to call on U.S. consular services to assist in representing their interests. And the mechanics for dealing with a whole range of legal problems from complicated questions of inheritance to simply notary services will be considerably eased. It is my hope that this treaty-the first bilateral treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union-will be a step forward in developing understanding between our two countries-which is so important in the continuing struggle for peace. NOTE: The text of the Consular Convention, signed June I, I964, is printed in the Department of State Bulletin (vol. 50, p. 979). 366 Toasts of the President and President de Valera. May 27, 1964 MR. PRESIDENT, of all the pleasures of life the first is a visit to Ireland. But if that is not possible, the second is to have Ireland visit us. So we are happy, Mr. President, tonight that you have come back to the country of your birth, home to the people who claim you as one of their own. You and I have a great deal in common, Mr. President, not the least of which is that a lot of Irishmen vote for us-and occasionally vote against us. Furthermore, in our work, we are both surrounded by Irishmen. I have heard it 7I6 Lyndon B. John. said that there are more Irishmen in the White House than people. I know that I have become an Irishman by osmosis. Mr. President, this is your seventh trip to our country, and I cannot help but compare it to your first visit in i919 when you were smuggled ashore to outwit those who would thwart your efforts to win support for Irish liberation. Since then, Mr. President, you have become a symbol of the contributions our two countries have made to each other. In a real sense, Mr. President, we gave you to Ireland in partial payment for the thousands of Irish who came to America to enrich our lives. Foremost among those was John Fitzgerald Kennedy whose name will live forever as the symbol of the ties that bind our countries together. His tragic and untimely death left all our hearts deeply wounded, but we are all better men for the life he lived while on this earth. Few men, Mr. President, have had the satisfaction that you have had. Not only did you play a leading role in the birth of your nation but you have continued to exert great influence long after Ireland became a significant force in world affairs. In the United Nations, in the Congo, and in Cyprus, the voice of Ireland is the symbol of sanity and sage counsel and self-sacrifice, and this is the story of de Valera-and that is the story of Ireland. I want to pay a very special tribute tonight to your Minister of External Affairs, Mr. Aiken, for his very active role in the United Nations; to Ambassador Fay with whom I want to cultivate very close relationships; and to Mrs. de Valera, the First Lady of Ireland, a woman of enormous talent and keen spirit and, finally, to you, Mr. President, as a small expression of our affection and our appreciation not only for your having come son, 1963-i964 May 27 [366] to our country but for your having brought Speaker McCormack and his wife to have dinner with us for the first time. So, as a small expression of our appreciation and as a token of our profound respect for your life and your labors, I should like to ask those of you who have joined us this evening, my colleagues and my friends, to join me in raising our glasses in a toast to the President of Ireland-a great Irishman and a very great friend. NOTE: The President proposed the toast at a dinner in the State Dining Room at the White House. President de Valera responded as follows: "Mr. President, I have been accustomed to speaking in the days when we did not have these things, and I had to keep my eye on the farthest man in the crowd to see whether he was listening to me or not or following what I said. "Mr. President, I do not know how I can express to you my thanks for your generous invitation to be here and for the kind words which you have said of me since I came here. "The trouble with me is that when I come to the United States, there is a danger that I presume too far. I feel so much at home here, and I think Americans coming to Ireland feel at home also. I feel so much at home that I have to be careful not to act as if I were an American. "There is a time when the phrase hyphenated American was used-most of you people are too young to remember those days-but there was a certain sting in the phrase and it hurt our people, so, as a counter, I am ioo percent American. When I was pronounced on one occasion in an American assembly to be the ioo percent American in the room, it happened like this. I had been accepted or made a chief of the Chippewa Tribe. As a matter of fact, I have been made a chief of two Indian tribes. But this man speaking of me pronounced that I was the ioo percent American in the room, that I was born in America and I was an Indian chief. "Well, as I say, the danger I have in coming to America is that I might presume too far and do things which it would not be proper for me, belonging to another country, to do. "Being in Washington, I should tell you a story which may interest you. There was a lady here when I was here-I think she has passed away long ago so there won't be any harm in mentioning her name, which I think was Alice Paul-who played a very prominent part in the suffragettes, as we called them, and as they used to be called in Eng 7I7 [366] May 27 Public Papers of the Presidents land, in the votes for women campaign. "She was a great friend of ours and she got all of her organization to help us in our efforts to get the American people to pronounce in favor of recognition of the Irish Republic. She never asked for any award of any kind until one day she came to me and said, 'Now, you know we have all been working for you, helping you. I want you to do something for us.' "She said, 'There is one State left and if we get that State we will have won our campaign.' I think it is two-thirds-I forget the number nowof the States have to vote in order to get a change in the Constitution. "She said, 'There is one State left and in that State we only want four votes to get it, and there are four Irishmen against us. These four Irishmen'-I won't mention the State; it is not far from here-'and anything we say cannot change their minds to get them to vote for us. Would you be good enough to go down and try to get these four men to change?' "I had not interfered in American politics, although some people said I had because our campaign was a campaign to ask America at the time that if they were going to ratify the Treaty of Versailles that they put in some reservation at any rate which would not bind America to helping England to maintain Ireland as a part of British Territory. "I felt that I could do that as an outsider. We were affected by it and America was going to take action which I thought would be detrimental to us. Therefore, I felt quite free but, otherwise, I had nothing to do with American politics. "But this was a terrible temptation. So she pressed very, very hard and, being a woman, I couldn't refuse. So I fell. I went down to this State. I interviewed the four Irishmen. Do you think they would stir? Not a bit-not a bit. They were as firm in their opinions and they weren't going to listen to any outsider suggest anything to them. I had only high regard for them afterward because of the fact that they had their own opinions in their own country and it was best, although I did believe that women deserved to vote. "Now, as I say, my danger in coming here is that I should presume too far, but I do feel always at home. Whenever I come to an American city, I know that there are quite a number of friends. As I said today, the older friends have passed away. If you add 45 and 45, you get 90, and most of the people who were active in our cause at that time were 45 years of age or so, so most of them have passed to their reward. But I know that their children were there and that they were also taught by their parents the right of the Irish to be free. "So, indeed, it is for me an occasion of deep emotion, if I might say so, to come back here and to come as President once more, as President of the Irish Republic, and to be received here by the President of the United States and by his good lady. "I have spoken personally because it is for the moment particularly that aspect of it that comes to my mind but, of course, as you said, Mr. President, it is symbolic of the relations that have been between our two countries for centuries. "You mentioned, Mr. President, I think, Benjamin Franklin today. He was back dealing with the colonial patriots of that particular time, but the ideals that were held out by the patriots here in America in the period of the Revolution have been the ideals of the Irish people. We are fundamentally democratic-and I don't mean anything about parties. But, simply, we believe in the right of the people to choose their own governors, to choose those who should rule them. We believe in the equality and the dignity of the human person, and we really believe in all the things that have been put forward as the ideals of Americans back along through the whole of the period in which our two histories have run upon into a certain sense pilot courses. "You have been a great Nation and you have great things to do in the world today in the leadership of the world, in striving to get for humanity the peace as a foundation of progress. You are doing that to the admiration, I think, of right thinking people, certainly to the admiration of the people of Ireland. We in Ireland are trying to do the same. We have a certain freedom which you haven't got. As a smaller nation, we are not suspect. A big power is always suspect in its actions; no matter how well-intentioned its actions may be, it is always open to a certain amount of suspicion. A small nation is not. "I have always hoped that our people would keep clear of blocs of every kind so that at any particular moment they would be able to advocate what they considered right and true. When we do it and say it, we are not suspect. Therefore, we have complementary parts to play, I think, in the world today. "It is a great joy for me as representative of our people, Mr. President, to be here as your guest and to assure you that that close relationship between our countries which has existed for centuries, insofar as one human foresight can possibly measure, is likely to continue. "I don't know if it would be in order for me to do so, but I ask you all to raise your glass in a toast to the President of the United States." In the course of President Johnson's remarks he referred to Ireland's Minister of External Affairs, Frank Aiken, and Ambassador William P. Fay, Mrs. Eamon de Valera, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives and Mrs. John W. McCormack. 7I8 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-i964 May 27 [368] 367 Letter to the President of India on the Death of Prime Minister Nehru. May 27, i964 Dear President Radhakrishnan: Once again we come together in grief over the death of a great and beloved man-this time your own leader Prime Minister Nehru. Words are inadequate to convey the deep sense of loss which we in particular feel at his passing. For so long we had counted on his influence for good; it now seems impossible to believe that he is no longer with us. Yet his spirit lives on. The rich heritage he left us, his faith in his people and in humanity, will I know serve to sustain you and yours as we strive together to translate his ideals into reality. History has already recorded his monumental contribution to the molding of a strong and independent India. And yet, it is not just as a leader of India that he has served humanity. Perhaps more than any other world leader he has given expression to man's yearning for peace. This is the issue of our age. In his fearless pursuit of a world free from war he has served all humanity. As it was for Gandhi, peace was the ideal of Jawaharlal Nehru; it was his message to the world. There could be no more fitting memorial to him than a world without war. It is my sincere belief that in his memory the statesmen of the world should dedicate themselves to making his ideal a reality. Our country is pledged to this, and we renew our pledge today in tribute to your great departed leader. Sincerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON [His Excellency, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, President of the Republic of India, New Delhi, India] 368 Letter to the President of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House on the Need for Additional Alaskan Reconstruction Legislation. May 27, i964 Dear Mr. The State of Alaska and the people of Alaska, aided by voluntary agencies and the Federal Government, have begun to rebuild from the ruins of the devastating earthquake of March 27. But new legislative authority is urgently needed to provide the additional special assistance essential to their reconstruction efforts. I am today, therefore, sending to the Congress draft legislation to provide this authority. Immediately following the earthquake, we moved quickly to assist Alaska and its people. Under existing programs and new authorities proposed in this draft bill, the Federal Government is estimated to spend over $275 million in Alaska in the course of the earthquake reconstruction program. Major items in this estimate include $8o million of grants under the existing authority of the Office of Emergency Planning for restoring public facilities and debris clearance; over $75 million for restoration of Federal facilities; over $6o million in grants for highway repair; and up to $45 million in grants for urban renewal projects. Also, legislation has already been approved by the Congress-which I will sign into law today-authorizing $23.5 million in grants to the State to make up losses of State and local tax revenues and to insure continuity of government. 719 [368] May 27 Public Papers of the Presidents In addition, under existing law, various outstanding Federal loans are being adjusted. Federal tax refunds and reductions will be based on casualty losses, and various Federal agencies are extending credit on liberal terms. The Small Business Administration, for example, will make disaster loans on very favorable terms to assist homeowners and businesses in reconstruction. The legislation which I am proposingbased on recommendations of the Federal Reconstruction and Development Planning Commission for Alaska-will provide greater flexibility in Federal programs to cope with the extraordinary circumstances arising out of the earthquake. Included among the programs involved are highways, urban renewal, housing, and harbor improvements. The enclosed letter from the Chairman of the Commission, Senator Clinton P. Anderson, describes the principal features of the draft bill. 369 Message to the President of the May 27, i964 I AM happy to congratulate the officers and members of the newly organized IranAmerica Society. Your group is yet another sign of the growing interest in the cultural and artistic heritage of Iran in this country, which will be seen by many Americans in the exhibit "7,000 Years of Iranian Art," to be inaugurated here on June 5 by His Imperial Majesty the Shahanshah. The United States prizes the fullest possible exchange of culture and ideas between nations in the belief that the understanding so engendered between peoples is an important asset to peace. I remember with pleasure my visit Concern for our fellow citizens alone compels prompt action on this proposal. But practical considerations are also most important. The construction season in Alaska is about to begin and is of short duration. The sooner Alaska can complete its reconstruction efforts, the sooner it can begin again to devote its efforts toward the further development of the State's resources. Accordingly, I urge the Congress to take prompt action on the proposed legislation to facilitate Alaskan planning and reconstruction efforts during this summer's construc tion season. Sincerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON NOTE: This is the text of identical letters addressed to the Honorable Carl Hayden, President pro tempore of the Senate, and to the Honorable John W. McCormack, Speaker of the House of Representatives. An amendment to the Alaska Omnibus Act, providing further assistance to Alaska for reconstruction purposes, was approved by the President on August i9, i964 (Public Law 88-451, 78 Stat. 505). Iran-America Society. to Iran and I am especially pleased to see this new kind of exchange with a country sharing so many common interests with the United States in the international field. LYNDON B. JOHNSON. [Mr. Ralph E. Becker, Chairman of the Board, Iran-America Society, Washington, D.C.] NOTE: The Iran-America Society, a non-profit organization, was organized in May I964 "to foster among Americans and Iranians a greater knowledge of the arts, literature, science, folkways, social customs, economic and political patterns of the United States and Iran, and to develop a deeper understanding of the similarities and diversities of the Iranian and American ways of life." 720 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 May 28 [370] 370 Remarks in Tribute to President Kennedy at a Joint Meeting of the Cabinet and the National Security Council. May 28, i964 Members of the Cabinet, gentlemen: I have asked some of those who served with President Kennedy to come here this morning to pay tribute to his memory, since tomorrow he would have been 47 years old. It seems such a short time since we came here, you and I, our spirits excited by the vision he held out to us; our hearts exhilarated by the vigor of his forceful promise. You served with devotion to his person and dedication to his cause. And I know that will be one of your most treasured memories. For that service you have won a place of honor in the pages of all history. But the greatest test came at the time of deepest tragedy. At that moment of disbelief, in the freshness of our grief, it was required of us to take up his burdens with barely an hour of tranquility for private tears. Every person in this room was equal to that occasion. I know how difficult was the transition to new leadership from the man you loved. I am grateful to you for enduring those problems for the sake of our larger purpose. So here, in the presence of those of you who knew him so well, I need not add to the public eloquence and to your private memories, which pay him continuing tribute. He was, in the words of the Bible, one of those that "were honored in their generations, and were the glory of their times." He would have been satisfied to see so many of you assembled here this morning. For those whom he brought to Washington came, as he did, to serve not only a President but a high purpose, not only a leader but an ancient legacy, not only in his name but in the name of our Nation. We would be untrue to the trust he reposed in us, if we did not remain true to the tasks he relinquished when God summoned him. Nor would he have doubted that this land, this country, this America, would continue to grow in strength and freedom even after he had left. None of us, least of all President Kennedy, would deny that a great cause always requires great captains. But he also knew, as we must always remember, that beyond this hallowed house and this cherished city abide the people that we serve. They pursue their own desires and follow their own dreams, they cherish their liberties and they toil at their labor, they battle their foes while building their future. And they go on. They have enjoyed the fruits of great leadership, and they have suffered the frustrations of leaders whose resources were unequal to their responsibility. And they have gone on. They have, by the millions, perished in battle, and they have prospered in peace. Without us, they are a strong and free people in a strong and free land. Without them, we are nothing. That and that alone is the secret of this transition, and that will be the saving strength of transitions yet to come. John F. Kennedy called on many of the world's masters for his messages to us. But his favorite quotation was from a man who preceded him in martyrdom: Abraham Lincoln. "I know there is a God and that He hates injustice. I see the storm coming, and I know His hand is in it. But if He has a 72I [370] May 28 Public Papers of the Presidents place and a part for me, I believe that I am ready." The death of John F. Kennedy again humbled us in the truth that His purpose must remain closed to men. But your presence here this morningyour service over the past 6 months-is a rededication to a great President's resolutionJohn F. Kennedy's resolution. We have fulfilled that pledge, determined that as long as He has a place and a part for us, we will be ready. And I should like each of you to know that in the darkest hour of our moments of uncertainty and our trials and tribulations, from each of you I have received courage and comfort and strength. And I know that was because of him and the faith that you had in him and he had in you, both of which have been so amply justified and deserved. NOTE: The President spoke at Io:3o a.m. in the State Dining Room at the White House. The Secretary of the Treasury, Douglas Dillon, responded as follows: Mr. President, on behalf of my Cabinet colleagues and all the rest of us who are gathered here this morning who shared with you the very high privilege of working with President Kennedy, I want to thank you for your thoughtfulness in bringing us all here together this morning. You have given us all an opportunity, both individually and collectively, to pay tribute to the memory of our fallen leader, and once more to draw inspiration from the great vision that he gave to us all. President Kennedy saw an America free and strong, moving forward resolutely with equal opportunity for all her citizens, in a world that was at peace and in a world in which the United States would do its full share to strengthen the forces of freedom. We thank you, Mr. President, for giving us this opportunity, and once again we are glad to pledge our wholehearted support in carrying out this great vision. Further, Mr. President, I am certain that I speak for all of us here today when I express my admiration of the skill, the leadership, and the vigor with which you have helped in carrying into fruition and reality these programs that were so close to President Kennedy's heart. I have in mind the great advances in the field of education, the tax reduction program, designed to strengthen and make more prosperous our Nation; the civil rights legislation, which is now coming to a climax in the Senate; and, finally, that great dream of eliminating forever poverty throughout this land. Also, Mr. President, I want very much to express to you on behalf of all of us our feeling for the warm human understanding which you showed to us in those difficult days, in that difficult period of transition. It is something for which I am sure I and all of us will always be grateful. It is a sincere pleasure and a great privilege to be working with you in this effort which we are all combined together in carrying to reality and fruition this great vision for which John Kennedy made the supreme sacrifice. 371 Statement by the President Upon Signing Bill Providing Aid for Alaska. May 28, 1964 I HAVE signed S. 2772, amending the Alaska Omnibus Act. This legislation authorizes grants to the State of Alaska of $23.5 million to replace revenues lost and expenses incurred in con ernment, the State, and private groups and individuals to alleviate the situation. This legislation is aimed at one significant aspect of the disaster-the provision of funds needed to continue State and local govern nection with the earthquake of March 27. ment functions. As a result of that tragedy, Alaska, its The Congress is to be congratulated for people, its cities and towns, and its economy its prompt action on this vital measure. have suffered great hardship and encountered LYNDON B. JOHNSON burdensome problems. OTE A nctd. '. 2,tt 2 n nr.... on,v r.i Much is being done by the Federal Gov-.964, is Public Law 88-3i (78 Stat. 201). x964, is Public Law 88-3ii (78 Stat. 2oi). 722 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-1964 May 28 13721 372 Remarks in New York City at the Young Democrats Fundraising Dinner. May 28, I964 My good friend Eddy Weisl, Jr., ladies and gentlemen: This is an inspiring turnout of young people and it is great and good news for the Democratic Party. I want to thank each of you for coming here this evening and helping our party, and helping our party to have a Government for all the people. Our future rests on your willingness to join us in the most exciting adventure of our century, the high enterprise of building in our land a new and a Great Society. This is no tiny task and it will not be achieved by men and women of timid hearts. In the decade ahead, the present wave of teenagers in America is going to turn into a flood of young adults. Just as an illustration, we are going to need 50 percent more jobs just to handle the new job seekers. The number of children that are born between this dinner tonight and the Presidential election of I972, only 8 years away, will be about the same as the total population of the United States at the time of the inauguration of President Abraham Lincoln, a century ago. Just as in the past we have pioneered in social security and unemployment compensa373 Remarks in Madison Square Democratic Gala. May 28, Mr. Krim, ladies and gentlemen: I have been cheered and delighted and excited by the finest assembly of talent gathered together anywhere, anytime. On behalf of everyone here tonight, Mrs. Johnson, Lynda Bird, and I, I say thank you. Dick Adler, Gregory Peck, Mitzi Gaynor, tion, the war on poverty, and civil rights legislation to meet critical needs, so in the future we must offer new programs to solve new problems. And this is why the Democratic Party is the place to be. The excitement is here. The satisfaction is here. The frontiers are here. From Woodrow Wilson to Franklin Roosevelt, from Harry Truman to our late beloved John F. Kennedy, Democrats have looked on politics and Government as a crusade and not a chore. I am pleased that you have come here and made this sacrifice to meet with us this evening. Because I have come here tonight to ask you to join that crusade, to thank each of you and to ask each of you to start working tonight for a great victory for the Democratic Party next November. So thank you so much for coming here. And now give us your heart and your handgive us your help as we keep trying so hard to keep America moving, and to keep our beloved Nation on the march to better things for people everywhere. Thank you, and goodnight. NOTE: The President spoke at the Americana Hotel in New York City. His opening words referred to Edwin L. Weisl, Jr., chairman of the Associates Division of the President's Club of New York. Garden at a New York i964 your entire group-we are proud of you. And I couldn't leave without saying I love the way Allan Sherman sings. So I thank you all for a most wonderful evening. It is a proud moment for me to stand here and meet the Democrats of this great State. The great State of New York has been a 33-1171-65-5 51 723 L372] May 28 Public Papers of the Presidents pillar of the Democratic Party from the very start-from the moment when Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, during their famous "botany expedition" called on Governor George Clinton in 179I. One of my first recollections in politics was the Democratic convention at Houston in i928. That convention needed only one ballot to choose its candidate for President, a great Governor of the great State of New York-Al Smith. Al Smith demonstrated that wise leadership could combine efficiency in operation with compassion in result. And tonight, your Democratic administration in Washington is showing how Government can serve the people's welfare without squandering the people's money-and that is in the spirit of Al Smith. When I first went to Washington as a Congressman's secretary, one of the towering figures in the United States Senate was another great New Yorker-Robert F. Wagner. Bob Wagner stood above all for the expansion of well being and opportunity for the American working man. Tonight, your democratic administration in Washington is working to strengthen and enlarge our institutions of social service and progress-in the spirit of Bob Wagner. When I first came to Washington I worked with another great New YorkerFiorello LaGuardia. Mayor LaGuardia was a staunch fighter for freedom and for progress. He stood above all for cleaning up our cities and reconstructing our urban life. Tonight, the Democratic administration in Washington intends to help our cities grow into free and spacious communities-in the spirit of Fiorello LaGuardia. In later years I had the honor of serving in the United States Senate with another great New Yorker-our beloved late Herbert H. Lehman. Herbert Lehman dedicated his life to the cause of equal rights for every American, regardless of his race, or color, or how he spells his name. Tonight, your Democratic administration in Washington pledges itself to carry forward the fight for civil rights until emancipation is not just a proclamation but a fact. One of the great experiences of my life was the privilege of serving the man who so profoundly reshaped all of our lives-Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Franklin D. Roosevelt stood for many things. But I think that nothing was really closer to his heart than his passion to end the barriers between nations and to move the world toward a just and a lasting peace. I promise that your Democratic administration in Washington will go down every road and open every door in our search for peace-in the spirit of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Tonight the Nation needs the inspiration and the leadership of New Yorkers more than it has ever needed them. And I have come here to thank you and to ask you for your help in achieving those ends which lie beyond party-the ends of justice at home and peace in the world. I ask for the support of all citizens to complete the work so nobly begun by our martyred President, John F. Kennedy. After the majority had spoken in Los Angeles, John Kennedy asked me to stand at his side in the fight to get America moving again. I left the convention hall dedicated to carrying out the programs, the policies, and the principles of John Kennedy because I believed they were good for America. That work has already begun. It must and it will continue. With the help of God and the good people of all of this country it will succeed. So I ask you tonight to join me and march along the road to the future, the road that leads to the Great Society, where no child will go unfed and no youngster will go 724 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 May 29' [3741 unschooled; where every child has a good teacher and every teacher has good pay, and both have good classrooms; where every human being has dignity and every worker has a job; where education is blind to color and employment is unaware of race; where decency prevails and courage abounds. This is the work of the Democratic Party. It is the work of the future. So march with me on this road. We will never stop until our goals have all been reached. Thank you, Mr. Krim, thank all you greatand generous Democrats for such a delightful evening. NOTE: The President spoke at the Democratic fundraising rally, "New York's Salute to President Johnson," in Madison Square Garden in New York City. His opening words referred to Arthur B. Krim, chairman of the President's Club of New York, which sponsored the rally. The entertainment, a program with leading entertainers, was under the direction of Richard Adler, producer and composer. 374 Remarks in Texas to the Graduating Class of the Johnson City High School. May 29, i964 Mrs. Leonard and members of the faculty, members of the school board, members of the graduating class, my friends, ladies and gentlemen: I am very happy to be here tonight-almost as happy and surprised as I was to attend my own graduation on May 25, 1924, some 40 years ago almost to the day. I only wish the people could be here now who thought then that it would take me 40 years to get my diploma. I remember so well that night in May I924 when my five classmates and I sat much as you sit tonight, hoping that the speaker would quit so we could get out and see what the world was all about. Forty years later-4o years and many miles-the world of i964 is not the world of I924. The number of nations in the world has almost doubled since then, from 67 to I22. There are 75 million more people in this country than there were in I924. Six times as many of our young people go on to earn college degrees. More than four times as many Americans own cars today. The number of public schools with one teacher, the kind of school that I attended the first few years of my life, has dropped from I70,000 to only I3,000. And while tuberculosis claimed the lives of 88 out of every ioo,ooo Americans in 1924, only 5 need fear it today. The year I graduated from high school four United States Army pilots completed a flight around the world. The trip took I75 days and was called "the remaining accomplishment to complete the conquest of the air." Well, it was not the final conquest, for in our time, one Marine, Colonel Glenn, circled the globe in 88 minutes and 2 seconds before I picked him up at daylight one morning at Grand Turk Island.' And that seems only the beginning. No one can know what changes will take place over the next 40 years, but we do know there will be many changes, changes greater and even more startling than since I left this school 40 years ago. Many of you will live to see the day 50 years from now when there will be 400 million Americans in this country instead of i90 million, when four out of every five will live in huge urban areas. In the remainder 'See Item 725, note. 725 113741 May 29 Public Papers of the Presidents of this century, we will have to build homes, highways, and classrooms equal to all those built since this country was first settled. Who knows what role you will play in shaping those changes? For the lesson of the last 40 years is that Johnson City, Texas, is very much a part of the entire world. What happens in strange and distant places affects all of us who live right here. Above all, we know that you young people who walk out of here after this ceremony will help build, for better or for worse, the world that your children will one day inherit. For some things have not changed in 40 years. America was in I924, and is in I964, a very young society. Our people are young, our hearts are young, and we are always pushing on for the dreams and the hopes and the beliefs of the youth. This remains the land of the great experiment, for the American story in the history of life on this planet is just really beginning. Something new and something better is waiting for all of us. I do not believe the building of this new world should be left only to men. You young ladies in this class tonight may not choose to take the course Ma Ferguson did in the year that I graduated, the year she became the first woman Governor of the State of Texas. I suspect, in fact, that most of you intend to marry and to raise a family. But you can still help shape the world of tomorrow. I know-from personal experience-that the abiding values and the abundant visions are learned in the homes of our people. So teach your children to believe in the Golden Rule, to believe in the brotherhood of men, and you have taught them the first requirement of a just nation in a peaceful world. Forty years ago, almost to this very night, I left my high school diploma at home and I headed West to seek the fame and fortune that I knew America offered. About 20 months later I came back, back to Johnson City, with empty hands and empty pockets. I came back because I realized that the place to really begin was the place that I had been all the time. So I have come back tonight from another journey, a journey that in the Providence of the Almighty has lead from the friendly hills of our country to the first house of our country. I have come here to say to you young people that whatever your aspirations, or whatever your dreams, whatever your talents, this is the place to begin. For here, in this place, at this time, is the starting point of the path that leads to the future-your own future and your country's future. I cannot tell you what that future will be any more than I could have predicted, when I sat in your place, that I would be standing here tonight. But I do know what it can be. It can be a place where you will raise your families free from the dark shadow of war and suspicion among nations. It can be a place where your children, and every child, will grow up knowing that success in life depends only on ability and not on the color of skin or the circumstances or the region of birth. It can be a place where America is growing, growing not only richer and stronger but growing happier and wiser. For whatever the strength of our arms, or whatever the size of our economy, we will not be a great nation unless we pursue the excellence of our schools, the health of our people, and the steady, long struggle against social injustice. For the continually improving life of our own land is the secret source of our strength among the nations of the world. I predict tonight that any nation which fails to conquer these challenges, however great its other achievements, will be able to pro 726 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-1964 MaY 30 13751 vide only a second class existence for its people, and only a second rank position for itself. That future can also be a place in which, in a thousand towns like Johnson City, a boy, young in years but deep in dreams, can hope to come forth and to take his place among the leaders of the world. This is the kind of future that we can have if all of you, each in your own way, help to build it. You have been blessed by being born in a land of abundant promise and ample liberty. I know all of you will strengthen and preserve that same blessing for those who are to come, just as it has been provided by your parents who have made the sacrifice for you. Because of that great faith, as I travel to far lands and I talk with the great men of this earth, I will always be honored to claim that I, too, came from Johnson City. Thank you. [Following the commencement address the President was presented with a tie tack, a replica of the school ring. He then resumed speaking.] I want you to know that some of you may have to wait 40 years to get something this beautiful, but I hope it comes to you as it did to me. I see in the audience tonight some of the members of the graduating class that finished with me a few years ago. I won't specify again how many. But I would like to ask them to stand so I can see how they look tonight. I would like for all of you to meet them. Louise, stand up over there. Here is Kitty Clyde. Someone said that she had to work as hard this year to get you graduates through this school year as she did 40 years ago to get me through. I remember Louise had to copy my themes and Kitty Clyde had to help me on other things, and somehow or other we managed. Is there anyone else here tonight from that graduation class? Georgie, are you here? Is John Dollahite here? John was always shy of the girls. There were just two of us, and I took his part, and somehow or other was able to take care of the four, although I guess John must have heard the girls were going to be here tonight and that is why he didn't come. Thank you. NOTE: The President spoke in Johnson City, Tex. His opening words referred to Mrs. Kitty Clyde Leonard, Superintendent of Schools in Johnson City. Later in his remarks he referred to Mrs. Miriam A. (Ma) Ferguson, the first woman Governor of Texas. 375 Commencement Address at the University of Texas. May 30, 1964 Dr. Ransom, Mr. Heath, Board of Regents, Governor Connally, Senator Yarborough, members of this graduating class, my fellow Americans: Several days ago I received a clipping from the Daily Texan, which read as follows: "The student body at the University and the people of Texas, as a rule, may not agree with the President in politics, but they are much too broadminded not to honor the office which he holds. "Besides," your editor added generously, "he has some good qualities anyhow." Happily, the date on that clipping was I905, and the visiting President then was President Theodore Roosevelt. But knowing the candor and the freedom of this university, I would not have been the least 727 [375] May 3o Public Papers of the Presidents surprised if the date had been i964. Your presence and my Presidency, your opportunities and this occasion, are a tribute to the courage and the capacity of the men who built this State. In the emptiness of this land they carved an empire for their people. They endured terrible dangers to achieve independence for their own sake, and then yielded that independence for the sake of their children. Thus, they gave up the hope of present gain for the hazard of future grandeur. And that vision has been richly rewarded in a booming State, in a bountiful land. Your challenge, the challenge for all young people in America, is to be worthy of this heritage. Today the future is rushing in upon us. In the lifetime of many of you here, in the next 50 years, America will be a Nation of 400 million people. The world will be the home of 6 billion men and women. This growth will crowd our cities and strain our resources. A century ago the prospect of such increasing population would have meant the promise of impending disaster. But today we can also look forward to a world where human invention and human knowledge will multiply even faster than human population. It will be a world where a man will search out the secrets of the stars and will farm the beds of the seas-although you may choose to leave that to Texas A. and M. It will be a world whose science has advanced as far from us as we from the knowledge of the frontiersman. The only way that we can hope to deal with the population explosion is with the knowledge explosion. For we are at a turning point in the history of our Nation. One road leads to the Great Society, where man's spirit finds fulfillment in the works of his mind. The other road leads to a legacy of despair and degradation, where a man's hopes are overwhelmed by change that he cannot control. This is the time for decision. You are the generation which must decide. Will you decide to leave the future a society where a man is condemned to hopelessness because he was born poor? Or will you join to wipe out poverty in this land? Will you decide to leave the future a society where a man is kept from sharing in our national life because of the color of his skin, or the church he attends, or the place of his birth? Or will you join to give every American the equal rights which are his birthright? Will you leave the future an America slowly declining from a position of world leadership? Or will you join to keep America strong enough to defend against any enemy, wise enough to seek peace among all nations? Will you leave the future a society where lawns are clipped and the countryside cluttered, where store buildings are 'new and school buildings are old; a society of private satisfaction for some in the midst of public squalor for all? Or will you join to build the Great Society? The choice is yours, the power to shape the future is in your hands, the path is clear. It is the path of understanding and the path of unity. The first of these is understanding, the knowledge that brings hope. The inscription over the Main Building at the University of Texas reads, "Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." Only by opening the truths of knowledge to all our people can we free them for a future of greatness. Yet, today, only I3 percent of our young people are completing college. Each year ioo,ooo young 728 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 May 30 [375] people, of proved ability, fail to go to college simply because they do not have the money. And each year our high schools are producing more and more graduates equipped for college work. Last night I visited my old high school in Johnson City. In my graduating class in 1924, 40 years ago, there were six boys and girls. Last night that same school graduated 30, although Johnson City's population has not changed in 40 years. In the next io years alone, college enrollment across the country will almost double, and we will still not be able to provide for all who want to learn. In 1946 the Employment Act set a goal of a job for every American. Tonight I now call for a goal of higher education for every young American with the desire and the capacity to learn. No one should be kept from knowledge because there is no room, or no teacher, or no library, or because he has no money. The Higher Education Facilities Act of I963, which I recently signed into law, is a step in this direction. So is the poverty bill reported by a House committee this week and now before the Congress. Recently I announced my intention to establish a group to evaluate the needs of education in America. I will set this goal before them so we can develop policies to meet it, policies which will call for the cooperative action of State and Nation, private citizens and public institutions. And I will continue to pursue this goal until all our people have the satisfactions which flow from knowledge, and America has the strength which flows from a people who have achieved understanding. But for understanding to prosper we need unity of purpose. Our land often sounds too many discordant notes. They are the voices of those who seek to divide our purpose and who seek to separate our people. But the din of these voices must not fool us into believing that we live in a divided Nation. I have traveled to every part of this country, and one thing is clear to me: The farmer in Iowa, the fisherman in Massachusetts, the worker in Seattle, or the rancher in Texas have the same hopes and harbor the same fears. They want education for their children and an improving life for their families. They want to protect liberty and they want to pursue peace. They expect justice for themselves and they are willing to grant it to others. This is the real voice of America. And it is one of the great tasks of political leadership to make our people aware of this voice, aware that they share a fundamental unity of interest and purpose and belief. I am going to try and do this. And on the basis of this unity I intend to try and achieve a broad national consensus which can end obstruction and paralysis, and can liberate the energies of the Nation for the work of the future. I want a happy Nation, not a harassed people. I want people who love instead of people who hate. I want a people who are fearless instead of fearful; men with pride in their ancestry and hope for their posterity, but humble before their God and concerned always with the wants as well as the needs of their fellow human beings. For in a democracy, high purpose, no matter how nobly conceived, must surely fail without the understanding and the unity of the people. A few nights ago in Washington, many thousands of people, among them leaders from all parts of this great land, rose from their seats with me as the band played "The Eyes of Texas are Upon You." Such a moment was full of pride for any Texan, but tonight it is not just the eyes 729 [375] May 30 Public Papers of the Presidents of Texas which watch you-the eyes of the Nation, the eyes of millions in faraway lands, the eyes of all who love liberty are upon you. You cannot get away. Do not think you can escape them until you have brought us to the early morn of a Nation without rancor and a world without fear. NOTE: The President spoke after receiving an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from the University of Texas. His opening words referred to Dr. Harry H. Ransom, chancellor of the University, W. W. Heath, chairman of the board of regents, and Governor John Connally and Senator Ralph Yarborough of Texas. Mrs. Johnson was also awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters by the University. 376 Message to President de Valera. May 30, I964 To President Eamon de Valera: As you leave the United States, I want to tell you how very much Mrs. Johnson and I enjoyed your visit and how pleased we were to have you as our guest. It must be clear to you, Mr. President, from the reception you received everywhere, the deep affection with which you are held here in America-your second home. You are at once a legend and a warm friend. Your public career encompasses the history of modern Ireland to such an extent that you are not only its leading representative; you are also its personification, with all the pride, charm, courage and understanding that are associated with Ireland and its people. Under your wise leadership, Ireland not only regained her freedom and independence; it has become a distinguished member of the community of nations, dedicated to the causes of independence, freedom and peace. As close friends, we have watched with admiration your impressive progress in mak ing Ireland a prosperous and modern state. And as good international neighbors, we have valued deeply your country's contribution to the main stream of international developments-your cooperation in the United Nations, your contribution in the Congo, your help in Cyprus. Indeed, peoples around the world join your millions of admirers in Ireland and in America to count your name among the thoughtful, benign and progressive influences, striving to make this a better and more peaceful world. Again, Mr. President, let me say how pleased and honored we were to have you here. Our only regret is that Mrs. de Valera was unable to join you. Mrs. Johnson joins me in wishing you a very pleasant journey home and in sending you and Mrs. de Valera our abiding good wishes for your health and happiness. Sincerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON NOTE: The message, released at Austin, Tex., was sent to President de Valera at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York just before he departed for Ireland. 730 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-1964 June I [3771 377 Remarks of Welcome at the White House to Prime Minister Eshkol of Israel. June i, i964 Mr. Prime Minister, ladies and gentlemen: I am very happy, Mr. Prime Minister, to welcome you to our country. Your predecessors have visited my country informally several times in the past, but this is the first official visit by a Prime Minister of Israel. We are pleased that you have come. My countrymen greatly admire the progress made by your people. You have met and mastered monumental problems of economic survival. You have shown all the world how to use science and technology to improve man's life on the planet. Today, Israel is a vital, prosperous land, a symbol of the courage and the strength of her people. The United States is proud to have assisted in this high enterprise. We are prepared to continue our contributions to technical advancement in Israel, particularly in the field of desalinization of water. We are aware, Mr. Prime Minister, of the problems of political adjustment that Israel faces with her neighbors. We know that you want to live in peace with those neighbors, and we believe it is not only possible but imperative that those problems be peacefully resolved, bringing justice to all as well as security for all. We welcome this opportunity to exchange views with you on matters of mutual interest. We share many common objectives, Mr. Prime Minister, chief of which is the building of a better world, a world in which every nation can develop its resources and develop them in freedom and in peace. I am confident this visit will result in increased understanding between us and a strengthening of our a 1 r e a d y cordial relations. Mr. Prime Minister, it gives me great pleasure to say shalom. NOTE: The President spoke shortly before noon on the South Lawn at the White House where Prime Minister Levi Eshkol was given a formal welcome with full military honors. Prime Minister Eshkol responded as follows: Mr. President and Mrs. Johnson: Mrs. Eshkol and I are deeply grateful for your kind invitation and warm welcome. It is a privilege to meet the statesman on whom destiny has laid so vast and historic a responsibility. In the short time since you, Mr. President, assumed your exalted office, your deep dedication to peace, to freedom, and to the welfare of ordinary people have aroused hope and confidence throughout the world. The prophet Malachi, almost 3,ooo years ago, delivered this eternal message, and I will cite it in Hebrew: "Halo at echad lekulanu, Halo el echad bareinu" "Have we not all one Father Hath not one God created us" In face of the danger to human survival in our time, this lasting truth, and with it the sense of common destiny, is cutting across the barriers of hostility and ideology which divide nations. From Jerusalem, city of immortal prophecy and peace, I bear with me the best wishes of the people of Israel to you, Mr. President, the first citizen of this great country. You fulfill the injunction of our sages, to love peace and pursue peace. Mr. President, from this great center of government here in Washington, symbol and repository of democracy, there has constantly gone forth a message of encouragement to nations in their struggle for liberty and the affirmation of human values. The aid and sympathy tendered to us by successive United States Governments, and by the people of the United States, are engraved for all time on the tablets of our renewed nationhood. Through you, Mr. President, I wish to convey from the people of Israel to the people of the United States a heartfelt message of good will and of best wishes for their happiness and welfare. Mr. President, this moment will always remain with me. For me, it is symbolic of the providential change which has taken place in the fortunes of my people, of the transition within so short 33-171-65 o52 73I [377] June I Public Papers of the Presidents a time from the tragedy which only two decades ago engulfed one-third of my people, to the new epoch of independence and construction which commenced with the rise of Israel. Only lasting faith in the fulfillment of prophecy enabled us to survive tribulation down the ages. In our time, it has been given to us to reaffirm in independence the ancient unbroken link between the people of Israel and the land of Israel. It is our belief that just as the prophecy of the restoration of Zion is being fulfilled, so, too, will the prophecy of universal peace be vindicated. Mr. President, I thank you from the heart for your friendship, which is a source of the deepest encouragement to my people as it faces the future with faith and hope. 378 Toasts of the President and Prime Minister Eshkol. June I) 1964 Mr. Prime Minister, Mrs. Eshkol, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen: Tonight we are honoring the Prime Minister of a country and a people whose record of industry and dedication and singleminded devotion to progress is very inspiring. The people of Israel have labored long and hard to make of their ancient land a highly developed and most modern nation. Their achievements are remarkable. Toil and sweat alone are not responsible for such success. The spirit and the dedication of your people, Mr. Prime Minister, have been the inspiration for their labors. Yet you face, more than most countries, continuing challenges to the resourcefulness of your people. In meeting these challenges, you shall have, as you have had in the past, such support as we can give you. Mr. Prime Minister, you told me only this morning that water was blood for Israel. So we shall make a joint attack on Israel's water shortage through the highly promising technique of desalting. Indeed, let us hope that this technique will bring benefit to all of the peoples of the parched Middle East. We shall also hope and work for the solution of the problems that divide Israel and its neighbors. With patience, with good will, with courage and determination, we can and we must resolve these issues. We welcome you here tonight, Mr. Prime Minister, as representative of a country for which we have great admiration and affection. So I ask those, my guests, my beloved friends, who have come here tonight, to join me in a toast to the Prime Minister of Israel, to his charming and gracious wife, to continued close friendship between our two countries. NOTE: The President proposed the toast at a dinner in the State Dining Room at the White House. Prime Minister Eshkol responded as follows: Mr. President, Mrs. Johnson, distinguished guests: Mrs. Eshkol and I will long remember the kind and gracious hospitality of Mrs. Johnson and yourself, Mr. President. Over the years, my vocations in farming, Mr. President, as you know, in water projects, in land settlement, in economics, has kept me close to ordinary people, to their hopes, and problems, and to their understanding of relationships between peoples. Long before I became active in the political life of my country, I knew of the waves of friendship coming from this great country to our people struggling to renew its independence in the land of its fathers. For the common man in Israel, no less than for its leaders, the very word "America" carried with it hope and encouragement. As I become more and more acquainted with our international relationships, I have learned how lasting, indeed, is the debt of gratitude we owe to the American people for its unbroken friendship over the years. It is a friendship which is engraved for all time on the tablets of our renewed nationhood. Moreover, as I have met more and more people from other new countries, I can say that American leadership of the free world and its partnership with the developing countries are acknowledged. Criticism finds its way to the headlines far more easily than appreciation. But as the Psalmists said, "Truth springs from the earth." American aid and 732 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-i964 June 2 [379] sympathy will not be forgotten. Despite the points of international tension, I think it is true to say that in strengthening freedom throughout the world, since World War II, the patient effort of your great country has borne fruit. Today it is widely recognized that the balance of hope is with the forces of freedom. Mr. President, I would like, especially, to thank you for your friendly, nice words you said tonight, in addition to what we discussed this morning in your office. May I say that this great hope of freedom and peace is greatly strengthened by the knowledge that leading the forces of freedom there is a man with a deep faith, an understanding of ordinary people, outstanding public experience, and the pragmatic touch. My country is small in area. I said today to the President, I think that Israel is maybe smaller than the smallest county in Texas. When, Mr. President, as we hope, you and Lady Johnson visit us, you may express surprise that our country, which as I said this morning is not too big, is burdened with such great problems. However, as history will show, our land has never been judged by its geography or by its physical capacity only. Through its spiritual contribution, it has found 379 The President's News Conferej June 2, i964 THE PRESIDENT. [ I. ] We had a very good meeting with the legislative leadership this morning, and I thought I would make a few announcements and review some of the things that I went over with them and which might be of interest to you. You may have a few questions if you want to, and if we have time. It may be helpful to outline four basic themes that govern our policy in Southeast Asia. First, America keeps her word. Second, the issue is the future of Southeast Asia as a whole. Third, our purpose is peace. Fourth, this is not just a jungle war, but a struggle for freedom on every front of human activity. On the point that America keeps her word, we are steadfast in a policy which has its place in human thought. It is this faith which encourages us in the belief that the problems we face will ultimately be settled and the help that you, Mr. President, promised tonight is very much appreciated and we will cherish it for a long time. Reunited as we are once again with our land, after close to 2,000 years of separation, we feel that faith has its reward. It is faith which has brought us thus far and, if I may say so, it is this faith, rooted in the biblical heritage, which is at the basis of the United StatesIsrael friendship. We hope, Mr. President, that under your leadership this friendship will deepen in the years ahead. I am limited in my use of the English language, otherwise I would speak to you-not read from the paper. I still hope that my meaning is clear, for as the ancient Hebrew saying goes, "Words that come from the heart, go to the heart." In proposing a toast to you, Mr. President, may I cite the traditional toast of my people, "Le chayim tovim uleshalom." It means, "To a good life and peace." To you, who are dedicated to bringing the good life and peace to your own people and to the world, ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States of America. been followed for io years in three administrations. That was begun by General Eisenhower, in a letter of October 25, I954, in which he said to President Diem: "Dear Mr. President: "I have been following with great interest the course of developments in Viet-Nam, particularly since the conclusion of the conference at Geneva. The implications of the agreement concerning Viet-Nam have caused grave concern regarding the future of a country temporarily divided by an artificial military grouping, weakened by a long and exhausting war and faced with enemies without and by their subversive collaborators within. "Your recent requests for aid to assist in the formidable project of the movement of several hundred thousand loyal Vietnamese citizens away from areas which are passing 733 [379] June 2 Public Papers of the Presidents under a de facto rule and political ideology which they abhor are being fulfilled. I am glad that the United States is able to assist in this humanitarian effort. "We have been exploring ways and means to permit our aid to Viet-Nam to be more effective and to make a greater contribution to the welfare and stability of the Government of Viet-Nam. I am, accordingly, instructing the American Ambassador to VietNam to examine with you in your capacity as Chief of Government how an intelligent program of American aid given directly to your Government can serve to assist VietNam in its present hour of trial, provided that your Government is prepared to give assurances as to the standards of performance it would be able to maintain in the event such aid were supplied. "The purpose of this offer is to assist the Government of Viet-Nam in developing and maintaining a strong, viable state, capable of resisting attempted subversion or aggression through military means. The Government of the United States expects that this aid will be met by performance on the part of the Government of Viet-Nam in undertaking needed reforms. It hopes that such aid, combined with your own continuing efforts, will contribute effectively toward an independent Viet-Nam endowed with a strong government. Such a government would, I hope, be so responsive to the nationalist aspirations of its people, so enlightened in purpose and effective in performance, that it will be respected both at home and abroad and discourage any who might wish to impose a foreign ideology on your free people. "Sincerely, Dwight D. Eisenhower." Dated October 25, 1954, addressed to President Diem. Now, that was a good letter then and it is a good letter now, and we feel the same way. Like a number of other nations, we are bound by solemn commitments to help defend this area against Communist encroachment. We will keep this commitment. In the case of Viet-Nam, our commitment today is just the same as the commitment made by President Eisenhower to President Diem in I954-a commitment to help these people help themselves. We are concerned for a whole great geographic area, not simply for specific complex problems in specific countries. We have one single, central purpose in all that we do in Southeast Asia, and that is to help build a stable peace. It is others, and not we, who have brought terror to small countries and peaceful peasants. It is others, not we, who have preached and practiced the use of force to establish dictatorial control over their neighbors. It is others, not we, who have refused to honor international agreements that aim at reasonable settlement of deep-seated differences. The United States cannot fail to do its full share to meet the challenge which is posed by those who disturb the peace of Southeast Asia, but the purpose of America will not change. We stand for peace. Our soldiers are doing great work, but what they are doing is only part of the job. The issues are political as well as military, economic as well as strategic. Our recent request for additional assistance funds is more than half for economic help. We are very grateful for the very fine action taken by the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and we hope to have prompt action on that request by the Congress.' The agenda in Honolulu covers plans for progress as well as programs against terror. The Committee, on May 27, had met in executive session and had ordered reported favorably to the House the foreign aid bill (H.R. II380). The bill was approved by the President on October 7, 1964 (78 Stat. oo00). 734 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 June 2 [3791 It is others who make war, and we who seek peace. I should certainly say that the middle of the Honolulu meeting is not an appropriate time for the announcement of any additional specific programs. I do think as a result of constant reviews of our work in that area of the world that we will try to improve our effectiveness and our efficiency. Secretary McNamara and Secretary Rusk will both have more detailed reports when they return, and that is all I can say about the conference at this time.2 [2.] I have sent a wire to Prime Minister Shastri of India, extending a message of congratulations on his election as Prime Minister.3 [3.] This morning the legislative leaders and I discussed our request to Congress for an adjustment of the debt limits bill. The present limit, as you know, is $3i5 billion. It will drop to $309 billion on June 3oth and $285 billion on the following day, July ist. Neither figure, of course, is realistic. The Treasury Department's latest estimates indicate that the public debt will be $3I i.8 billion on June 3oth. I pointed out to the leaders this morning that Congress must adopt a reasonable and realistic debt limit for fiscal I965 if we are to protect the credit standing of the Government. If the scheduled reductions in the debt limit were to take effect, the United States Government would not be able to pay 'The White House announced on May 28 that the President had asked a number of high-level U.S. officials to meet in Honolulu on June i and 2 for discussions of the situation in Southeast Asia. The release stated that the meeting would be chaired by Secretary of State Dean Rusk and would include Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, General Maxwell D. Taylor, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other officials from Washington, together with Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge and other high-ranking Americans stationed in the area. 'Item 38i. its bills as they come due or refinance maturing obligations. The debt limit is not a magic formula for promoting economy in Government. Effective control of Federal spending must take place in the appropriations process and in the agencies which spend the money, and we are concentrating our efforts in those areas. For instance, the expenditure figures for fiscal i965 are now projected to be $6oo million below the level we estimated in January, and $i billion below the latest expenditure estimate for fiscal i964. The expenditure total for the 2 years combined is now estimated to be $700 million less than it was expected to be in January. Under these circumstances I am confident Congress will approve the $324 billion debt limit. This is the minimum figure consistent with meeting our financial obligations and handling the public debt in an economical and responsible fashion, and has been recommended strongly by the distinguished Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Douglas Dillon. [i.] The leaders and I also discussed the hearings which will begin this month before the House Ways and Means Committee on the Federal excise tax structure. Chairman Mills' hearings are always thorough and thoughtful, and this one will not be an exception. I believe these hearings will set in motion a responsible review of our excise tax system, paving the way to responsible changes in that system, if the hearings determine that changes are warranted. No changes should be made until we can complete the hearings. There could be no sharper contrast to that sound and sensible procedure than the recent proposal that, without any hearings at all, we cut all Federal retail excise taxes in half starting July I, I964, and remove them altogether starting July I, i965. 735 13791 June 2 Public Papers of the Presidents [5.] We have just enacted an $ii.6 billion tax cut, the largest in our history. I will discuss with you economic impacts with that tax cut, from the Council of Economic Advisers, in a minute. It may well be that future excise tax cuts are highly desirable, but the leaders and I agreed we must first have a fair chance to determine the full effects of the recent tax cut upon our economy, upon Federal revenues, and we must also have the kind of hearing Chairman Mills intends to hold before responsible action can follow. Although it is much too soon for final judgment, early returns indicate that the economy is responding well to the tax cut. Sustained expansion, our record economic expansion which entered its 4oth month yesterday, is showing new vitality. The administration's January forecasts of $623 billion GNP will be realized or bettered. The expansion will roll on through i964 and, we believe, well into I965. Business optimism: Instead of hesitation and pessimism-often found at this stage of previous upswings-businessmen are confident and optimistic under the stimulus of the tax cuts. They are expecting sales to rise faster in i964 than in i963. They expect to spend io to i2 percent more on plant and equipment this year than last-more than double the 5 percent rise in I963. They more widely expect gains in profits than at any time in the past 17 years-according to Dun and Bradstreet's April survey-which is all the more remarkable when you consider that the rate of aftertax profits had already reached $3i billion in the first quarter, 62 percent above the recession low and 22 percent above a year earlier. Consumers are responding strongly. Partly in expectation of the tax cut, the rate of consumer spending jumped by $8 billion in the January-March quarter-the biggest quarterly rise, by a wide margin, in our i96i-I964 expansion. In the 4 weeks ending May 23d, retail sales averaged 7 percent above a year earlier. Manufacturers are reflecting the stronger markets: The industrial production index jumped a full point in April, the largest advance in io months. New orders for durable goods, which foreshadow future production, rose 6 percent in April, while machine tool orders ran 76 percent above a year earlier. Unemployment was down from 5.7 percent in April i963 to 5.4 percent this April. Total labor force time lost through unemployment and part-time work is down even more sharply-from 6.4 percent in April i963 to 5.9 percent this April. Best of all, there was a gain of more than i million new nonfarm jobs from December to April. No inflation is in sight, although some people feared "overheating" of the economy. Wholesale prices are lower today than in January; lower than 3 years ago; lower than 6 years ago. Both our Government surveys and leading private surveys show confidence in future price stability. Although I cannot and do not suggest that we now have evidence of the success of the tax cut, it is hard to explain the continued strong advance to date and the bright prospects ahead except in terms of the fresh confidence, the expanded purchasing power, and the new incentives created by the Revenue Act of 1964. [6.] Through May it looks like we are running a balance of payments deficit of about $500 million to $6oo million deficit for the first 5 months. We ran at a rate of $3.6 billion average for the last 6 years. Last year we ran at $3.3 billion. The first 5 736 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-I964 June 2 [379] months it looks like about $500 million. Because of the improvements in our balance of payments, as well as the result of heavy Russian sales of gold for the year to date, Secretary Dillon informs me this morning that our overall gold stock has increased by $97 million through May. I think it is important that you preface that with this statement: "Because of the improvement in our balance of payments, as well as the result of heavy Russian sales of gold, for the year to date our overall gold stock has increased by $97 million." I think that indicates the confidence that they have in the Government generally. [7.] I have asked that a National Conference of Labor Leaders be called for June 8th here in Washington for the purpose of implementing the equal opportunity pledges signed by the great majority of AFL-CIO affiliates with the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity. The presidents and other leading union executives who represent over 120 major unions will be on hand. Secretary Wirtz and President Meany will join in this discussion. Now I will be glad to have any questions which you have. [8.] Q. Mr. President, you have very forcefully said that you wanted the Senate to pass the civil rights bill as it went through the House. Now that cloture appears in sight, could you say how you feel about the compromise that has been worked out by the leadership? THE PRESIDENT. I was very pleased with the bill as passed by the House, and I understand that a number of amendments have been proposed that have been reviewed with the administration. I believe that the administration lawyers feel that the sug gestions generally have been helpful and would be acceptable. I haven't reviewed each amendment that has been offered, but they will be debated in the Senate. I have confidence in the action that the Senate will take. I believe it will pass a good bill, and I hope it will. [9.] Q. Mr. President, can you tell us whether you are giving any consideration to sending troops into Thailand? THE PRESIDENT. I stated in the beginning that I would not think that in the middle of the Honolulu meeting would be the time for announcement of any specific program, and I do not plan to do that today. [ Io.] Q. Mr. President, have you looked into these reports that the Americans in South Viet-Nam are equipped with obsolete and in some cases outmoded, broken-down equipment? THE PRESIDENT. Yes. Each day, when I see a news story, I check on it. I think that Secretary McNamara's statement is a correct one and can be trusted by the American people. I think the military authorities are using the equipment that they think is best. While in the best of equipment you will find flaws from time to time, in the helicopter, in the plane, that is true in every engagement that any people have ever been faced with. I found it true out in the Pacific in the early days of the war, and I found it true in the European theater. From time to time remedies will have to be found and substitutions made, but I believe that we are furnishing good equipment, that it is being handled well, and I don't share any concern about the quality of it or the quality of the men handling it. [ii.] Q. Mr. President, at the conclusion of the Honolulu meeting and after you have received a report from Secretary Rusk and 737 [379] June 2 Public Papers of the Presidents Secretary McNamara, do you intendTHE PRESIDENT. I don't have any plans beyond that. Q. I was going to say "to go before the American people?" THE PRESIDENT. The answer is still the same. [12.] Q. Mr. President, could you tell us how you feel about the Pennsylvania Avenue Plan that was submitted to you last week? THE PRESIDENT. Yes. Last week the Commission on Pennsylvania Avenue, appointed by President Kennedy, unveiled their bold and creative plan for Pennsylvania Avenue, the Nation's ceremonial drive from the Nation's Capitol to the White House. I hope this proposal will be very carefully examined and thoroughly studied not only by Congress but by all the appropriate agencies in the executive branch, and by the American people as well. Although as a Nation we have shunned pomp and ostentation, we have a deep and great pride in the Nation's Capital City. I think this is quite proper. The Commission's recommendations are worthy of our attention, and I look forward to reaction from all quarters.4 [I3.] Q. Mr. President, you said that there is no inflation in sight. Does that indicate that you think that labor will accept the administration's guidelines, both labor and industry? THE PRESIDENT. We have made our recommendations to both groups. They must, in their own judgment, act for what they think is best for the groups they represent as well as the people. We have responsibility for speaking for the public. We have done that. 4 On May 3 the White House announced that the President had that day received the report of the President's Council on Pennsylvania Avenue. The 56-page report, entitled "Pennsylvania Avenue," was published by the Government Printing Office. 738 We are very hopeful that our recommendations will be seriously considered and accepted by both groups. But there is not anything mandatory about them. They don't have the compulsion of law. We hope they will be persuasive, and we think they will be. [14.] Q. Mr. President, there has been some talk up in New York about the Attorney General perhaps being Senate candidate. Are you willing to let him go out of the Cabinet to make that race? THE PRESIDENT. That is a matter that the Attorney General and the people in New York will determine. Neither of them have discussed it with me. I would withhold making any announcement about developments there until the Attorney General makes some decision. [15.] Q. Mr. President, Premier Khrushchev has suggested in an interview with a former Senator 5 that the United States stop its reconnaissance flights over Cuba, and use its space satellites instead. In addition, he said that he would be very happy to show us pictures of American military installations taken by Soviet satellites if we show him some of ours. Could you give us your personal reaction to both of these suggestions by Mr. Khrushchev? THE PRESIDENT. I haven't discussed his conversation with the Senator and I would like to do that before I make any detailed comments on what he was alleged or reported to have said. I find that you can't always depend on reports that you get in the press. That is my own personal experience. But I will say this: that we, at the time of the Cuban missile crisis, attempted to work out an agreement for inspection, and that was re6 Former United States Senator William H. Benton of Connecticut. Lyndon B. John fused. This Nation, in order to protect its people, must have a knowledge of what is taking place, and we propose to keep informed. As to what offers the best method, we will have to determine that. [I6.] Q. Mr. President, if I may ask, the Ways and Means Committee now seems to be coming to a showdown on the medicare bill. I was wondering whether you could tell us what you think the chances are of retaining at least the principle of social security financing for hospitalization? THE PRESIDENT. Chairman Mills could probably give you a more accurate evaluation of that than I can, because he has been holding hearings on it. What I know is necessarily second-hand. I strongly favor, as you know, the medicare program under social security, and I have urged the Congress to act favorably upon it. They have taken a good deal of testimony. I understand they are giving serious consideration to an overall measure which will include consideration of this type of program. Now, what the overall recommendations will be, will be determined by the committee when it acts. I am unable to say, with any accuracy, just what they will be or what the result will be. [I7.] Q. Mr. President, would you say how you feel about the selection of Mr. Shastri as Prime Minister of India, and whether this affects our military assistance program to them? THE PRESIDENT. That is, of course, a matter for the Indian people. I congratulated the Prime Minister this morning. We don't interfere in the selection of their government officials, but our relationship with Mr. Shastri has been good and we congratulated him on his selection and we expect to work closely with him. SOnl, 1963-I964 June 2 [379] [i8.] Q. Mr. President, you said you had not talked with the Attorney General about New York. Have you talked to him recently about any of his plans for the future at all? THE PRESIDENT. I have talked to him about the programs of Government, and I haven't talked about any personal plans, no. [i9.] Q. Mr. President, over the weekend Representative Laird of Wisconsin declared that the administration is preparing to move the Viet-Nam war into the North. Is there any substance to this claim? THE PRESIDENT. I would say that Mr. Laird is not as yet speaking for the administration. He might next year sometime. To my knowledge he has no authority to speak for it at this stage. Q. Mr. President, that doesn't mean that you expect the Republicans to win the election, does it? THE PRESIDENT. No, that means just what I said. He doesn't have any authority to speak for it now. He could at some other time. Q. Regardless of whether Mr. Laird is the spokesman or is not a spokesman for your administration, is there any substance to what he said, sir? THE PRESIDENT. I know of no plans that have been made to that effect. I attempted to answer that by saying he wasn't, and couldn't speak for it. [20.] Q. Mr. President, are you giving the Senate leadership any aid, comfort, or assistance in their efforts to get the votes necessary for cloture? THE PRESIDENT. I have talked to them about it. It is a matter for the Senate leadership, and not for me. They think that they have a good chance to be successful, as they reported this morning, and there are still some Senators who want to listen to 739 [3791 June 2 Public Papers of the Presidents the debate and determine when to vote. They have made no specific request of me. I have seen, for propaganda reasons, some Senators who are on the opposite side make statements about what I am supposed to have done, but I am totally unaware of it. I must assume that they just state those things for the way they think it might affect the record. Alvin A. Spivak, United Press International: Thank you, Mr. President. NOTE: President Johnson's nineteenth news conference was held in his office at the White House at II:03 a.m. on Tuesday, June 2, i964. 380 Joint Statement Following Discussions With the Prime Minister of Israel. June 2, i964 PRIME MINISTER Eshkol and President Johnson have completed two days of discussions on matters of mutual interest and concern. Both welcomed the opportunity presented by the Prime Minister's visit at the invitation of the President for a full exchange of views. The President presented the views of the United States on various world problems, including those of the Near East. He emphasized the strong desire of the United States for friendly relations with all nations of the Near East, and its devotion to peace in the area and to peaceful economic and social development of all countries in the area. He congratulated Prime Minister Eshkol on the progress made by Israel since 1948 in the economic, technical, social and cultural fields. He noted the example provided by Israel in economic growth and human development in conditions of freedom. Prime Minister Eshkol expressed deep appreciation for the consistent interest and sympathy shown by the United States and for the generous economic assistance rendered by the U.S. Government and the American people to Israel over the years. He was confident that Israel's development would continue unabated towards the rapid achievement of a self-sustaining economy. It was his deep conviction that peace and the maintenance of the territorial integrity and national independence of all countries in the Near East is of vital interest to the region and to the world. The President welcomed assurances of Israel's deep concern, which the United States shares, for peace in the area. He reiterated to Prime Minister Eshkol U.S. support for the territorial integrity and political independence of all countries in the Near East and emphasized the firm opposition of the United States to aggression and the use of force or the threat of force against any country. In this connection, both leaders expressed their concern at the diversion of vitally important resources from development to armaments. The two leaders declared their firm determination to make every effort to increase the broad area of understanding which already exists between Israel and the United States and agreed that the Prime Minister's visit advanced this objective. The agreement reached to undertake joint studies on problems of desalting provided concrete evidence of the desire of the United States to continue to assist Israel in its efforts to solve remaining economic problems. Both countries view this as part of the world-wide cooperative effort being undertaken to solve the problem of scarcity of water and hope for rapid progress toward 740 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 June 3 [382] large-scale desalting in Israel. The knowledge and experience obtained from the joint effort will be available to all countries with water deficiencies. In conclusion, the President and Prime Minister expressed their conviction that their peoples shared common values and were dedicated to the advancement of man, to individual freedom, and to human dignity. 381 Message to the New Prime Minister of India. June 3, 1964 [ Released June 3, I964. Dated June 2, I964] Lal Bahadur Shastri Prime Minister of India I hasten to send my hearty congratulations on the occasion of your election as Prime Minister of India. The people and Government of the United States look forward to working with you and your countrymen in the same spirit of friendship and understanding that marked the relations between India and our country during the time of your great predecessor. I send my warmest personal good wishes for your success in the great tasks you now undertake, and my assurance of the reliable friendship and cooperation of the United States. Our countries are united in their purpose of peace, their effort for economic progress, and their dedication to human dignity. LYNDON B. JOHNSON 382 Commencement Address in New London at the United States Coast Guard Academy. Admiral Roland, Admiral Smith, Secretary and Mrs. Dillon, Governor Dempsey, Connecticut's great ana able Senators, my good friends, Tom Dodd and Abe Ribicoff, Senator Magnuson, Senator Thurmond, Senator Pell, Members of Connecticut's fine delegation to the Congress, and other Congressmen who work so hard in behalf of our Coast Guard, my fellow Americans: In 1790 the nation which had fought a revolution against taxation without representation discovered that some of its citizens weren't much happier about taxation with representation. And so, in what was probably the country's first economy drive, the Coast Guard was founded at a cost of $Io,ooo for io cutters. In tribute to your traditions, and in an June 3, I964 ticipation of your achievements, as Commander in Chief I hereby grant a general amnesty, and do excuse all Coast Guard cadets from any penalties which you may now carry with you. The official mission of the Coast Guard, which hangs in each room of this Academy, places you "in the service of (your) country and humanity." That mission, your mission, is also the mission of your Nation. For today we Americans share responsibility not only for our own security but for the security of all free nations, not only for our own society but for an entire civilization, not only for our own liberty but for the hopes of all humanity. In pursuit of such responsibilities national 74I [382] June 3 Public Papers of the Presidents security requires more than national strength. It requires, first of all, a nation dedicated to justice and to the improvement of life for its own people. It requires a nation determined to help others eliminate the despair and the human degradation on which the enemies of freedom feed. It requires a nation devoted, through speech and deed, to showing those who may grow weary of will, or fearful of the future, that the cause of human dignity is on the march, its shadow is lengthening, and victory is moving nearer. But our hope for success in the aims of peace rests also on the strength of our arms. As Winston Churchill once said: "Civilization will not last, freedom will not survive, peace will not be kept, unless mankind unites together to defend them and show themselves possessed of a power before which barbaric forces will stand in awe." We, as well as our adversaries, must stand in awe before the power our craft has created and our wisdom must labor to control. In every area of national strength America today is stronger than it has ever been before. It is stronger than any adversary or combination of adversaries. It is stronger than the combined might of all the nations in the history of the world. And I confidently predict that strength will continue to grow more rapidly than the might of all others. The first area of this increasing strength is our ability to deter atomic destruction. In the past 3 years we have increased our nuclear power on alert 2 V2 times, and our nuclear superiority will continue to grow until we reach agreement on arms control. We have now more than i,ooo fully armed ICBM's and Polaris missiles ready for retaliation. The Soviet Union has far fewer, and none ready to be launched beneath the seas. We have more than i,ioo strategic bombers, many of which are equipped with air-to-surface and decoy missiles to help them reach almost any target. The Soviet Union, we estimate, could with difficulty send less than one-third of this number over targets in the United States. Against such force the combined destructive power of every battle ever fought by man is like a firecracker thrown against the sun. The second area of increasing strength is our ability to fight less than all-out war. In the past 3 years we have' raised the number of combat ready divisions 45 percent. They can be moved swiftly around the world by an airlift capacity which has increased 75 percent. Supporting tactical aircraft have been increased over 30 percent and the number of tactical nuclear warheads in Europe has been raised 6o percent. We, and our NATO allies, now have 5 million men under arms. In addition, we are now ready to mobilize large reserves in the event of conflict. Six divisions, with all supporting units, can be moved into action in a few weeks. And we are continuing to build our forces. In a few years our airlift capacity will be five times what it was in i96i. Advanced weapons and equipment are flowing to our armies. Our fleet is being modernized through a decade-long shipbuilding program. And new tactical aircraft are being built. A third area of increasing strength is the struggle against subversion. Our adversaries, convinced that direct attack would be aimless, today resort to terror, subversion, and guerrilla warfare. To meet this threat we began a large effort to train special forces to fight internal subversion. Since January I96I we have increased these specialized forces eight times. 742 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 June 3 [382] We have trained more than ioo,ooo officers in these techniques. We have given special emphasis to this form of warfare in the training of all military units. Our army now has six special action forces on call around the world to assist our friendly nations. They are skilled in the languages and problems of the area in which they are stationed. The Navy and the Air Force have several thousand men whose abilities, training, equipment, and mission are designed to combat clandestine attack. And behind these groups are five brigade-size backup forces ready to move into instant action. But just as subversion has many faces, our responses must take many forms. We have worked to increase and integrate all the resources, political and social as well as military and economic, needed to meet a threat which tears at the entire fabric of a society. But success in fighting subversion ultimately rests on the skill of the soldiers of the threatened country. We now have 344 teams at work in 49 countries to train the local military in the most advanced techniques of internal defense. Subversive warfare is often difficult, dirty, and deadly. Victory comes only to those with the desire to protect their own freedom. But such conflict requires weapons as well as will, ability as well as aspiration. And we will continue to increase this strength until our adversaries are convinced that this course too will not lead to conquest. The fourth area of increasing strength is in the development of new weapons for deterrence and defense. In the past several years we have begun many important new weapons systems. Minuteman II will have twice the accuracy of the first Minuteman. The new Nike-X, when its development is completed, will give us the option to deploy, if national security requires it, the best anti-ballistics missile available to any nation. We are developing a new aircraft, the F-III, with much greater range, payload, and ability at air combat than present tactical bombers or fighters. The Lance missile, the EX-io torpedo, the A7A attack aircraft, a new main battle tank, new anti-tank missile system, are the emerging products of development that we are carrying on. And that effort is without parallel in all the world. We will continue to carry forward new projects which offer hope of adding substantially to our strength. I can assure the American people that the United States is, and will remain, first in the use of science and technology for the protection of the people. The fifth area and the most important of increasing strength is the ability of the American fighting man. However impressive or ingenious, our weapons can be no better than the men who man them. The complexities of modern weapons require men of high skill. The complexities of modern warfare require men of great knowledge. The complexities of the modern world require men of broad outlook. Today 52 percent of our enlisted men are under 25 and are high school graduates, compared with 39 percent in the country as a whole who are high school graduates. Sixty-five percent of our commissioned officers are college graduates today, compared with 7 percent in the Nation. Twenty-five thousand officers hold graduate degrees and thousands more are studying for such degrees. In encampments across the world millions 743 1382] June 3 [382] une 3Public Papers of the Presidents of men and women have chosen to serve with low pay and high hazard, with deep devotion and silent sacrifice, so that their fellow Americans might enjoy the rich legacy of liberty. They stand the hard vigil that we may pursue the high vision of flourishing freedom in a world at peace. These are the sources of the strength we build, knowing, in the words of the Bible, "When the strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace." The necessities of our strength are as varied as the nature of our dangers. The response must suit the threat. Those who would answer every problem with nuclear weapons display not bravery but bravado, not wisdom but a wanton disregard for the survival of the world and the future of the race. No one can live daily, as I must- do, with the dark realities of nuclear ruin, without seeking the guidance of God to find the path of peace. We have built this staggering strength that I have told you about not to destroy but 'to save, not to put an end to civilization but rather to try to put an end to conflict. Thus, in the past 3 years, as our strength rose-and, in large part, as a consequence of that rising strength-we have been able to take more tangible steps toward peace than at any time since the cold war began. We established an Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. We agreed with the Soviet Union on a statement of disarmament principles. We signed a test ban treaty. We established the "hot line." We supported a U.N. resolution prohibiting the orbiting of nuclear weapons. We cut back on nuclear production while the Soviet Union did the same. And we have just completed the negotiation of a new consular agreement.,And, as the Geneva conference reconvenes, we have before it a series of proposals that I submitted, designed to freeze strategic nuclear delivery systems, to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, and to prohibit the use of force to solve disputes. And we will welcome any other proposal by any nation which promises realistic progress toward peace. In far-flung corners of this strife-girdled globe ambitious adversaries continually test our tenacity and seek to erode our endurance. American strength is engaged and American blood is being shed. It requires patience and understanding to continue the search for peace while our adversaries so beset us. But this is what we must do. It is what, God willing, I intend to do. If we are successful in that search it will be because you, and men like you, gave their lives to duty that our children might live their lives in freedom. So let us hope that this Nation can someday, not too distant, lay aside its awesome power, and direct all its genius to the betterment of man. Let us hope that we may soon be able to say "The night is far spent, the day is at hand; let us therefore cast, off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light." [Remarks after being presented a desk piece and a certificate of honorary class membership and matching class rings for himself and Mrs. Johnson.] I know Mrs. Johnson will appreciate your thoughtfulness of her. She is attending another graduation exercise today or she would have been here with me. I have enjoyed very much my work with the Glass of i964. I hope that '64 will be as good for me as it is for you. NOTE: The President spoke shortly after ii a.m. in Jones Field at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn. His opening words referred to Adm. Edward J. Roland, Commandant of the 744 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-I964 June 3 [383] Coast Guard, Adm. Willard J. Smith, superintendent of the Coast Guard Academy, Secretary of the Treasury Douglas Dillon and Mrs. Dillon, Governor John N. Dempsey and Senators Thomas J. Dodd and Abraham Ribicoff of Connecticut, Senator Warren G. Magnuson of Washington, Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, and Senator Claiborne Pell of Rhode Island. 383 Remarks at the Keel Laying of the Submarine Pargo, Groton, Connecticut. June 3, I964 I DECLARE the keel of the Submarine Pargo well and truly laid. Men and women of General Dynamics; the distinguished Chief Executive of Connecticut, Governor Dempsey; my longtime able friends Senator Tom Dodd and Senator Abe Ribicoff; Senator Claiborne Pell and Senator Strom Thurmond; Senator Warren Magnuson; your own very able Congressman Bill St. Onge; other members of the Connecticut congressional delegation; and those Congressmen from other States who have worked to improve our defenses and to make America safe, my fellow Americans: On the 4th of July in Paris nearly 130 years ago, a great Frenchman-who knew America well-undertook to explain to his countrymen the importance of Connecticut. He told them that "little yellow spot on the map... makes the clock peddler, the schoolmaster, and the senator." "The first," he explained, "gives you time; the second, tells you what to do with it; and the third makes your law and your civilization." Your State of Connecticut has a long tradition, and a worldwide reputation, for fine craftsmanship, for fine workmanship, for outstanding scholarship, and for intellectual leadership. Connecticut also has a reputation in Washington for some of the most outstanding statesmen to serve in the United States-and that reputation is being upheld by my two old and good friends, Tom Dodd and Abe Ribicoff, and your own fine Congressman Bill St. Onge. They are helping to make the laws of your land sound and make them wise. And in the same tradition your work here in this yard is helping to preserve and to defend American civilization. I wanted to come here today to see firsthand some of the men and women who have labored to put new muscle into America's military might. All of you know that we are a nation of peaceful people. We have stated time and time again that all we seek for all the world is peace-peace built on freedom and mutual respect among men and nations. But commonsense dictates that peaceful purposes must be supported by purposeful power. There are those who oppose freedom and security in the world today, so they seek by fear and by subversion to thwart man's hope for peace. If they do not understand our motives for peace, we must be sure they do not misunderstand our means of power. The nuclear-powered submarines that you men and women are building here are indispensable to the free world's strength. One of these subs armed with i6 Polaris missiles has an explosive punch greater than all the destructive power unleashed by all the guns and cannons, planes and ships, on both sides during all of World War II. Unthinkable, isn't it? They can stay at sea months without refueling. They can stay underwater as long as their crews can stand the strain. And they are ready for instant action. The George Washington, built in this 745 [383] June 3 Public Papers of the Presidents yard, has been deployed for 3 /2 years. Since then, I4 of her missiles were ready to fire at any time. And all i6 were ready to fire 95 percent of the time. Four years ago, this country had only two of these submarines deployed with 32 missiles. We now have I5 at sea with 240 missiles. And we have increased the total Polaris program from 24 submarines with 384 missiles to 41 submarines with 565 missiles. You men and women have made that increase possible-made it possible by your skill, your energy, your labor. You have been the keepers of the peace along with the sentinels on the wall in Berlin and our soldiers that are stationed in the outposts around the world. By your devotion to this cause you have been defenders of a larger cause-the cause of freedom and peace around the world. Since the first submarine was built here by an Irish immigrant in i900, Americans of every race, every color, every religion, from every region, have labored together here in this yard to build a stronger and a more secure country. We cannot relax our efforts now. We must not confine them only to the production of new weapons for our military arsenal. For a nation with an unbeatable military power can still be toppled if it does not preserve its moral power. Only an America which practices equal rights and social justice at home will be heard as it proclaims those ideals abroad. Only an America which has fully edu cated its people can remain strong. Only an America that cares for its sick, offers a helping hand to its poor, and compassion to its old-only this kind of America can really win the respect of those whose destiny is bound up with ours. And only an America which is growing and which is prospering can sustain the worldwide defenses of freedom while proving to all onlookers the opportunities of our system. So, men and women, ladies and gentlemen, my friends, by the work that you do in this yard you are defenders of America's freedom. But by the work you do as citizens beyond this yard-and I hope there will be much of that kind of work, too-you are the designers of America's future. As President of your country, I am proud of you, and that pride is shared by men in every land who rely on our power to keep the peace in this troubled but hopeful world. So let us never-any of us-shrink from our responsibility. Let us sustain our pledge to work for the day when all people everywhere will know the vindication of that ancient vision: "peace on earth, good will toward men." Thank you. NOTE: The President spoke early in the afternoon at General Dynamic's Electric Boat Company in Groton, Conn. In his opening words he referred to Governor John N. Dempsey and Senators Thomas J. Dodd and Abraham Ribicoff of Connecticut, Senator Claiborne Pell of Rhode Island, Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carol;-.a, Senator Warren G. Magnuson of Washington, and Representative William L. St. Onge of Connecticut. 384 Remarks to Members of the Delegation to the D-Day Ceremonies. June 3, i964 Ladies and gentlemen: I have a letter here that I am going to present to General Bradley and ask him to take it with him and to read at the ceremonies. You are leaving tomorrow to cross in peace an ocean hundreds of thousands of 746 Lyndon B. John. Americans have twice crossed before in war. For each of you this must be a mission of remembrance. For your country it is a mission of resolve. You remember, and will never forget, the 6th of June in I944 when America's sons and those of our gallant allies helped carry freedom back to the continent where it was cradled. Your country remembers and will never forget, the resolve born on that D-Day, that, so long as we are able, and other men are willing to stand together, we shall not permit the light of freedom to be extinguished on any continent again. In these last 20 years, we and the world have lived between the darkness of midnight for civilization and the brightness of a new dawn, for the rays of that dawn are piercing through the shadows. For if the world is not so safe as we would like it some day to be, we can believe it is not so dangerous as we once feared it must always be. The beachheads of Normandy have been opened into beachheads of hope for us allhope for a world without tyranny, without war, without aggression, without oppression. In this, the central force for progress has been, and continues to be, the unity and the strength of all nations of the Atlantic Alliance. Out of our alliance in adversity has grown a great partnership for peace and prosperity. On the success of that partnership rests the hopes of men everywhere. We of America believe their hopes will not be disappointed-because the success of that partnership will not be frustrated. Men and nations which have united among them son; 1963-1964 June 3 [384] selves in grave moments of war must not divide among themselves in hopeful hours of peace. So let all the world know that when this Nation has stood 2,000 years we shall not have forgotten the lands where our sons lie buried, nor the cause for which our sons died. Where we have commitments to the cause of freedom, we shall honor themtoday, tomorrow, and always. Freedom is not the cause of America alone, however, nor the hope of Western man alone. It is the one cause and the one hope which unites in spirit all men around the globe, whatever their country or their color or their creed. After these last 20 years we can believe that freedom is the tide of historyand we of the West stand astride that wave, confident of what lies ahead. On this anniversary, the memory of yesterday's battles in war only move us all to fight more valiantly today's battles for tomorrow's peace. I hope your journey will be a pleasant one. I know it will bring back many memories. I look forward to seeing you upon your return. Thank you very much. NOTE: The President spoke late in the afternoon in the Rose Garden at the White House. On May 23 the President announced that in response to an invitation to the United States Government from the Government of France he had appointed an official delegation to attend the ceremonies which would be held in France June 5, 6, and 7 commemorating the D-Day landings in Normandy 20 years before. Also announced were the names of the 22 members of the delegation, headed by General of the Army Omar N. Bradley who served as personal representative of the President. 747 [385] June 5 Public Papers of the Presidents 385 Toasts of the President and the June 5, 1964 Your Imperial Majesties, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen: It gives us great pleasure to welcome Their Majesties to this country today. Their Majesties are familiar visitors here. We take it as a compliment that they have come back to see us again considering the burden of responsibility which they bear and their dedication to the welfare of their people. The occasion of this visit is a happy one for us, the inauguration of the exhibit "7,000 Years of Iranian Art" which will open here in the National Gallery and then tour our country. It will permit many Americans to see for the first time outstanding examples of the rich cultural history of Iran. I hope that as many Americans as possible will visit this exhibit and take advantage of this very great opportunity. When we visited Tehran in I962 we saw for ourselves the energy and the determination and the skill with which His Majesty and his ministers are carrying out great programs aimed at the welfare of his people. His leadership has been a vital factor in keeping Iran free and in modernizing this ancient land. So it gives me great pleasure and it is a high privilege today to ask those of you, our friends in this country, together with our guests to join in a toast to a re Shah of Iran. formist 20th century monarch, His Imperial Majesty and the Empress Farah. NOTE: The President proposed the toast at a luncheon in the State Dining Room at the White House. The Shah responded as follows: Mr. President, Mrs. Johnson, ladies and gentlemen: This time that I come to your country I find additional reasons to appreciate your kindness, your thoughtfulness, and also have additional affection for your people and your government. When you visited us 2 years ago it was our privilege to get acquainted with yourself, your charming wife, and come to know all the qualities of statesmanship, of warmth of heart, of dedication to your own people, it is true, but also to mankind and to humanity. You have, I can say, really won over the hearts of my people. That is why we always wish you and Mrs. Johnson and your people the best and the fulfillment of all your wishes, your dreams, that we know is for the good of humanity. We have undertaken reforms and we have been inspired by the wonderful achievements of the American people in all the fields of activity that is today so necessary to make the country progressive and a society happy and worth calling free. So I can assure you again, Mr. President, that we will never fail in this spirit of remaining with our friends, our trusted friends, and with those who are doing such wonderful work and who are also giving so many programs of sacrifice and unselfishness for the preservation of the human freedom, the basic principles for which we want to live. So once again I bring you the salutation of my people and our firm determination to remain your good friends. I would ask the distinguished audience to raise their glasses to the health of the President of the United States and of Mrs. Johnson. 386 Statement by the President on the Decline in Unemployment. June 5, 1964 I AM greatly encouraged by the announcement today that the unemployment rate for May dropped to 5.I percent, its lowest level since February of I960. It is down sharply from 5.4 percent in April and 5.9 percent in May a year ago. Employment in May reached an all time high of 71 million. This is further heartening evidence that the tax cut is working as expected-and that its economic stimulus is being translated into new jobs. 748 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-I964 June 6 [387] More than I million new jobs have been created since the first of the year-and more than 2 million since a year ago. So in spite of a big increase in job-seekers in response to better job opportunities, the number without jobs is shrinking. Unemployment in May was 400,000 less than a year ago. The number of workers without jobs 15 weeks or longer is 200,000 less. The unemployment rate for married men is now down to 2.6 percent, and for male adults to 3.6 percent. These are the lowest figures for these categories since August I957 -But the unemployment rate among teenagers-while down slightly from a year ago-is still at an extremely serious i6 percent. And it could go up in summer, as millions of young people seek temporary jobs. We must and will make further progress in this area. To help solve this problem and to give full shares in this Nation's growing prosperity to millions of underprivileged Americans, we must enact the economic opportunity bill. It will provide both training and job opportunities for our young people and thereby strike at one of the basic roots of poverty. The fine advances already made in creating new jobs gives us courage and confidence that we can move steadily ahead toward our goal of full employment. 387 Remarks in New York City Upon Unveiling a Plaque in Honor of the 5oth Anniversary of the ILGWU Health Center. Mr. Dubinsky, Mr. Mayor, Senator Humphrey, Congressman Celler, Governor Munoz Marzn, ladies and gentlemen: I won't take long this morning, but I am very proud that I could come here and be associated with you in this memorable event this morning. I am thinking as I stand here in the great city of New York, and as I begin this speech, about another time when another speech was being made in New York by the great Governor of this State, Al Smith. Some fellow who opposed Al was out in the crowd and he said, "Tell them all you know, Al. It won't take you long." Al came back and said, "I will tell them all we both know, and it won't take any longer." I have come here today to salute the vision and the valor of the people who founded your union and who built this great center. June 6, 1964 They were immigrants to the land and strangers to the language-men of Italy and Russia, men of Poland and Puerto Rico, and of the Americas. But they were not newcomers to courage, and they understood the vocabulary of compassion. Against the bitter obstinacy of entrenched interests they battled, first to free workers from the slavery of sweatshopsthen to free workers from sickness and disease. This great health center is a testimony to their success and a memorial to their spirit. Two days before his death, our late, beloved President John F. Kennedy, a man of great vision and great valor, signed the bill which made these medals possible. It was his last official legislative act. I know he would be proud of this moment. For this dedication, this plaque, these medals, and 749 [387] June 6 Public Papers of the Presidents this anniversary are symbols of a greater reality that transcends this time. That reality is the constant effort of good men to make the world better for other people. With the confidence that this plaque will remind future generations of the faith of those who passed this way-and with the hope that it will inspire all of us to greater works-I hereby this morning dedicate it to the memory of the men and the workers who made this great and memorable center possible. Thank you. NOTE: The President spoke at I:20 p.m. in the waiting-room area on the 22d floor of the Union Health Center, 275 Seventh Avenue, New York City. His opening words referred to David Dubinsky, president, International Ladies Garment Workers Union, Robert F. Wagner, Mayor of New York City, Hubert H. Humphrey, Senator from Minnesota, Emanuel Celler, Representative from New York, and Luis Mufioz Marin, Governor of Puerto Rico. 388 Remarks in New York City to Members of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. June 6, I964 Mr. Dubinsky, Mrs. Dubinsky, Mayor Wagner, Senator Humphrey, Mr. Rose, Governor Marin, Mr. Schnitzler, ladies and gentlemen: I want to thank my friends in the chorus for that excellent entertainment. I want to express my appreciation to the songwriterMr. Dubinsky himself. Over the years I have enjoyed a very pleasant association with you in this union, not only as a man with a wife and two daughters who have helped to keep you busy, but as a public official who admires your achievements of the past and heartily applauds your aspirations for the future. We have met here this afternoon on this occasion to honor 50 years of responsible and progressive leadership by one of this country's most responsible and most progressive labor organizations- the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. Fifty years ago this health center stood alone-the first of its kind to be established in our country by a trade union for working men and women. Your union stood resolute in the thin ranks of those who carried on the struggle for security for the helpless, who fought the battle for a better life for every citizen. And that concern of your union 50 years ago is today imbedded in the conscience of our country, in the laws of our land, and in the highest hopes of our people. These last 50 years have been decades of decision. In our conscience and in our laws, we have decided that children belong in classrooms and not in sweatshops and coal mines. We have decided that young women should work in surroundings of decency and not in sweatshops of degradation; that the sick and the suffering, the blind and the deaf, the mentally ill and the mentally retarded should have our care-and not our curses. Yes, in these 50 years we have set for America a direction toward human decency and human dignity. We have held our country on a course of compassion. The course we have set over those years-the course that you really helped to set-is the course of today's America. We are going to keep America moving. We are going to move forward with the American people. The earliest goal of American society, the beckoning promise which brought men to these shores, has been a nation where each citizen would find his achievements limited only by his ability, and where the helpless need not abandon hope. 750 Lyndon B. John! This is the meaning of justice when we pledge ourselves to liberty and to justice for all. I predict that in the next io years we will make greater gains toward this goal-toward justice and social progress-than at any time in the long history of our beloved Republic. We will do this in two ways: First, by keeping the commitments that we have already made, by completing the programs that we have already begun. Second, by moving to transform the forces of future change into an instrument for our progress rather than a threat to our prosperity. In I946 we committed ourselves in this Nation to seek a job for every worker. In the month of May of this year employment rose to an alltime high in the United States of more than 7I million jobs. The unemployment rate yesterday dropped to 5.I percent. For married men the unemployment rate dropped to 2.6 percent-the lowest unemployment rate for married men in the last 6 years. What does this mean? This means that 97.4 percent of all married workers in this country now have jobs. In the last i2 months alone in this country we have added 2 million jobs to the American economy. We have lowered unemployment, even though I.4 million people have entered the labor market in the past 5 months, compared with a normal full-year increase of i.2 million. Thus has promise become progress. For these achievements are not the easy product of chance or circumstance. They have resulted from the patient and the determined pursuit of policies, including the largest tax cut in the history of America designed to deter recession and generate growth. And we will continue this pursuit until every American who wants to work can find a job. son, i963-i964 June 6 [388] Thirty years ago in the administration in which the great lady on the platform-Mrs. Perkins-played such a prominent part, that administration promised that no American who reached retirement would find a lifetime of labor rewarded only by years of neglect and fear and despair. In the past 4 years we have extended new and increased social security benefits to more than 5 million people. We have reduced the male retirement age. We have given greater scope to what could be earned without losing benefits. And we have taken a long series of steps to strengthen our entire Social Security System which means so much to all of us. We are also keeping our commitment to provide hospital care under social security for all of our citizens, and we are going to see that come true. Across a wide range of measures we must carry forward the goals of the past to fulfillment in the future. We will help the underprivileged and the underpaid by extending minimum wage and unemployment compensation. And we have mounted an attack upon the final fortresses of poverty. Your children will live to see the day when poverty has been transformed from a real menace to a remote memory. We will continue the ioo-year struggle to give every American of every race and color-equal opportunity in American society. We have proposed-and under the great leadership of Senator Humphrey, on the platform-we will pass the strongest civil rights bill in American history. But now is the time to look beyond that bill, to struggle to eliminate the heavy weight of discrimination in the hearts and in the homes of people-to give to members of minorities the training, the education, and 75I [388] June 6 Public Papers of the Presidents the housing which will enable them to pass through the doors of opportunity. Laws can give men rights. But only when justice resides in the spirit of man will it become a living reality in the society of men. The guidance of the past is not adequate to the goals of our future. Our second task is to resolve problems which will not yield to old slogans, or historic programs, or tested resolves. What Thomas Jefferson said almost two centuries ago is true for us today: "The new circumstances under which we are placed call for new works, new phrases, and for the transfer of old words to new objects." In only i6 more years there will be more young Americans under 25 than the total of all Americans that were living in I930 -more Americans under 25 in the next i6 years than all Americans that were living in 1930. In less time than that, there will be nearly as many Americans beyond the age of 65 as all Americans in the North and the South at the time of the Civil War. In the past we fought to eliminate scarcity. In the future we will have to learn the wise use of abundance. Yesterday we worked to equalize competition between business and labor, Government and special interest. Tomorrow we will have to find new ways of cooperation. Yesterday we fought to create growth. Tomorrow we will have to use that growth for our great benefit. A few weeks ago I talked about some of these problems: the need to make our cities a decent place to live in, the need to preserve the fleeting beauty of our countryside, the need to give all of our children education of the highest quality. But these problems are only a beginning. From the encouragement of creativity in science and art to the fruitful use of resources liberated by automation and the possibility of enforceable arms control, we face towering tests of our imagination and our ingenuity, towering tests of our leadership and our labor. In those battles that we all see ahead this union will be in the lead. The problems are new. But the weapons are the same-compassion and concern, faith in the future and dedication to the dignity of man. That is why I know, as this country marches forward, this is beyond the farthest visions of those who even built this great union. The ILGWU will always be in the front ranks of this advancing Nation. "One day," a great leader, a great man, a great President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, had this to say, "a generation may possess this land, blessed beyond anything we now know, blessed with those things-material and spiritual-that make man's life abundant. If that is the fashion of your dreaming then I say, 'Hold fast to your dream. America needs it.'" Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy are gone. But our people still dream their dreams and we will carry on. Old hopes have been reached and new horizons beckon us. Old targets have been met but new triumphs await us. Yes, we will dream on together under the leadership of some of the great men and women on this front row. We will dream on together and in those dreams we will point the way toward the destiny of a great nation. [After the presentation of a memento, President Johnson made the following remarks.] When I was a very young man in the Congress back in 1938, I first met our beloved friend David Dubinsky. At that time, I was one of his supporters of a very advanced piece of legislation known as the Wage and Hour Act; it provided for a minimum wage of 25 cents per hour. 752 Lyndon B. John. In i960 I came to the great city of New York and I was presented to a multitude of Mr. Dubinsky's friends. In his closing sentence, Mr. Dubinsky said, "I have known this man for almost a quarter of a century. I have gone to him many times and asked for his support on many pieces of legislation. I have not always got all I asked, but I have always got more than I was promised." Having great respect for Mr. Dubinsky's ingenuity and great admiration for his imagination, I will not say to you today that he son, 1963-1964 June 6 [389] will always get all he asks, but he will always get more than I promise. NOTE: The President spoke at 3:25 p.m. in the auditorium of the High School of Fashion Industries, 225 West 24th Street, New York City, at a meeting marking the 5oth anniversary of the Union Health Center. His opening words referred to David Dubinsky, president, International Ladies Garment Workers Union, and Mrs. Dubinsky, Robert F. Wagner, Mayor of New York City, Hubert H. Humphrey, Senator from Minnesota, Alex Rose, president, United Hatters, Cap, and Millinery Workers International Union, Luis Muiioz Marin, Governor of Puerto Rico, and William F. Schnitzicr, secretary-treasurer, AFL-CIO. 389 Remarks at the Gallaudet College Centennial Banquet. June 6, i964 Mr. Chairman, Mr. President, Senator Hill, members of the Board of Trustees of Gallaudet College, ladies and gentlemen: I am pleased to be able to join personally tonight in honoring Gallaudet College. Twenty years ago tonight, on distant shores, America's sons were engaged in a great battle in mankind's greatest war. One hundred years ago tonight on these shores America's sons were engaged in bitter battles of our own cruel civil war. How we are observing this historic day says much about America. In Europe, America's sons meet tonight in peace with yesterday's allies-and adversaries alike-to plan the works of future unity instead of worrying about the wounds of past conflict. Here in Washington tonight we gather to honor an institution of higher learning which was established as an act of compassion in those times of callous strife ioo years ago. The character of our Nation is comprised of many traits. We honor courage. We value commonsense. But, across our i88 years, the great cementing influence has always been compassion. In our purposes abroad and at home we have always heeded the injunction of the Apostle, who told us long ago, "Be ye of one mind, showing compassion one of another." Yet, our wealthy society is tolerating a worrisome burden of wasted human lives. Tonight, too many of our people are unschooled, untrained, and underemployed. Too many are physically handicapped. Too many are mentally handicapped, too many more are handicapped for life by the environments and the experiences of their childhoods. America needs these talents. We must not and we cannot let them go to waste. An ancient Hebrew proverb teaches that there are three pillars of society: education, charity, and piety. For our society, the pillars have been: education, compassion, and morality. In the next 24 hours the research that comes forth around the world would fill seven sets of the Encyclopedia Brittanica. In the next year the output of such research would require a man to read around the 753 [389] June 6 Public Papers of the Presidents clock-day and night-for the next 460 years. In the next io years the sum of human knowledge will multiply twofold. When knowledge is advancing at this pace, a compassionate nation cannot afford to leave any segments of our society behind to form, and to perpetuate, a human slag heap. We must express our compassion in a greater commitment to education. Here at Gallaudet we have a proud example of what education and compassion have achieved. This was the first-and is still the only-college in the world for the deaf. But since President Lincoln signed Gallaudet's charter, no boy or girl has been turned away because of the poverty of their parents. Universal education has brought our society to its present high level of success. If our society is to move higher, higher education must be made a universal opportunity for all young people. Public education and compassion go hand in hand with private morality. In our private lives-as in our public policies-we are challenged to show the morality of compassion. When the helpless call for help, the hearing must hear, the seeing must see, and the able must act. Our rich society will be a mockery if we permit it to become a callous society or an uncaring society. One hundred years ago Lincoln told us that this Nation could not stand half-slave and half-free. Tonight, for my part, I believe this society cannot succeed part committed and part uncommitted, part concerned and part unconcerned, part compassionate and part callous. The great battle, the great adventure, for Americans living tonight is not only to defend our freedom and to preserve our peace but to defend, preserve, and strengthen those pillars of our society: education, compassion, and morality. To you here who are devoting your lives as committed, concerned, and compassionate citizens, I am proud and honored to present tonight to Gallaudet College the I964 Award from the President's Committee on Employment of the Physically Handicapped. It has been a great pleasure for me to make this appearance tonight. I feel close ties with this great institution. One of the real influences in my life as a young man and, later in my public life, a lady whose intense interest in this college first brought the school to my attention-Mrs. Mary Thornberry-whose son later served in Congress and now sits with distinction on the Federal bench. I have many old and dear friends who have manifested an interest in your development through the years, particularly that noble American, Senator Hill who honors us with his presence this evening. I know many members of your board, Mr. Collins, and others who have been my friends through the years, so you do me a great honor to ask me to come here to be with you, and I am very proud that I could come. My congratulations to all of you. NOTE: The President spoke in the evening in the Student Union Building on the campus at Gallaudet College in Washington. His opening words referred to Albert W. Atwood, chairman of the board of trustees of the college, and Leonard M. Elstad, president, and to Senator Lister Hill of Alabama. Later he referred to Linton M. Collins, a member of the board of trustees. During his remarks he also referred to the late Mary Thornberry, in whose honor the college's Speech Center is named, and her son Homer Thornberry, U.S. District Judge, Western District of Texas, and former Representative from Texas. 754 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-I964 June 8 [39I I 390 Remarks Upon Arrival at the Philadelphia International Airport. June 8, i964 Mr. Mayor, Senator Clark, Senator Scott, city officials, my fellow Americans: I am very happy to be here with you in Philadelphia this morning. This city was built as a refuge for persecuted peopleand after 32 years in Washington I feel that this is where I belong. I want to say thank you for coming out here to welcome us to your city. This is the best way I know to start off a new week, by seeing an inspiring crowd like this. I am proud of Philadelphia-not just because you are the fourth largest city in America. Ever since the weavers, and the knitters, and the wheelwrights, and the glassblowers came from Europe in colonial days, you have been a leader in America's industrial progress. Philadelphia today is playing one of our major roles in space and missile development, in electronics and in transportation. And you have just begun on that role which will grow bigger and better with the years ahead. But there is another very important reason that I am impressed with your city. Phila delphia is a center of learning and culture and in the building of a Great Society in America, where we Americans stress the' quality of our life as well as the quantity of our goods. I expect Philadelphia to always be in the forefront in that respect. This city has come a long way since Charles II gave William Penn a grant in i68I. So has America come a long way. In the bright future that we are building here in these United States, a future in which we make this a more prosperous and a more peaceful life, not only for the people of Pennsylvania but for the whole world, I know Philadelphia will set an example for all of us in the days to come. It is good of you to give us this welcome. I appreciate seeing you. I hope to have a chance to shake a few hands before I leave. Thank you very much. NOTE: The President spoke in midmorning at the Philadelphia International Airport. His opening words referred to Mayor James H. J. Tate of Philadelphia and Senators Joseph S. Clark and Hugh Scott of Pennsylvania. 391 Address at the Centennial Commencement of Swarthmore College. June 8, I964 Mr. President, honored guests, ladies and gentlemen: I feel a special sense of purpose in coming to this distinguished Quaker college for its centennial celebration. Today, more than ever, we value the tradition of the Society of Friends. We recognize that in the outer simplicity of Quaker life and the inner passion for decency and justice, there is inspiration for every person of good will. Before President Truman launched the point 4 program and President Kennedy the Peace Corps, the Quakers were working in remote corners of the world to bring hope and to teach self-help to both villagers and peasants. Before we took a national resolve to declare unremitting war on poverty at home, the Quakers were working in urban slums and blighted rural backwaters to help their 33-171-65- 53 755 [39I I June 8 Public Papers of the Presidents fellow Americans break the chains of poverty. Before most Americans saw in higher learning a broad avenue toward social progress and individual fulfillment, the Quakers were founding this college and many others throughout our wonderful land. Swarthmore's high standing today vindicates the vision of those who founded your college a hundred years ago. Fifty-one years ago President Woodrow Wilson told another generation at Swarthmore, "I cannot admit that a man establishes his right to call himself a college graduate by showing me his diploma. The only way that he can prove it is by showing that his eyes are lifted to some horizon which other men less instructed than he have not been privileged to see." I have been working in recent weeks to describe the horizon to which our eyes should be lifted. I have tried to suggest the heights to which we can rise if your generation uses the power we now possess to fulfill the promise of America. We hear it said from time to time that the day of the individual is passing. We are told that this is the age of the oversized organization-of big business, of big unions, of big government. We hear that the individual is being smothered by giant concentrations of power, he is being submerged by senseless urban sprawl, and enfeebled by the material gadgets of success. We are told that the individual can count for little in the era of "The Organization Man." We are told that many college students today feel alien to this world they are preparing to enter. I would remind you that earlier generations also prophesied that the individual had reached his final frontier. Our ancestors complained bitterly when the West was won, leaving no new avenues of adventure or escape. At the turn of the century, prophets were predicting that men would be devoured by the monster corporation. During the dreary depression years some concluded that the future, if there was a future, belonged entirely to the totalitarian society. I cite the past this morning merely to indicate that history has a habit of upsetting dire calculations. I believe that the pessimistic prophesies about our future are mistaken. We can share a destiny in which in the midst of massive organization the individual finds rich rewards. More than anytime in the past, you can find personal fulfillment while contributing to the betterment of all mankind. This testament of faith is not based on an idle dream. As machines increasingly bring release from manual toil, I foresee little leisure for those who work with their minds. We have big problems ahead-and challenging times demand creative thinking. The growth of our population, the contamination of our environment, the crowding of our schools, the congestion of our citieseach by itself could constitute the challenge for the next decade. The world, at home and abroad, offers no promise of quiet years ahead. We can expect a constant testing of our Nation's leadership and our Nation's purpose. Unless we stimulate individual enterprise, unless we reward individual accomplishment, we will be the servants and not the masters of change. In education we must provide higher learning for all who qualify. But we must also encourage the excellence which inspires a talented student to enlarge the limits of his capacity. In science, achievement requires many technicians working in concert. But we must never forget the tradition of the soli 756 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-I964 June 8 [39I I tary genius-the Newton, the Einstein, the Fermi-who tests the free range of his own curiosity. In art, we welcome the growth of mass markets for books, painting, and sculpture. But we must also seek to nourish the artistic talent which has not yet achieved a buying public. In the humanities we must ensure that centers of liberal learning are not neglected as new knowledge nourishes the practical studies. In all areas of public and private enterprise we must understand that important ideas cannot be fashioned on an assembly line. The wit who told us that a camel was a horse designed by a committee deserves a medal to his memory. We can-and we must-set these priorities for individual accomplishment. We can-and we must-avoid mediocrity as the standard of success. These are wise and proper cautions to protect and promote individual expression in America. At the same time let us not call forth phantom fears about what the future holds. One of those fears is that the Federal Government has become a major menace to individual liberty. This is not so. Does government subvert our freedom through the social security system which guards our people against destitution when they are too old to work? Does government undermine our freedom by bringing electricity to the farm, by controlling floods, or by ending bank failures? Is freedom lessened by efforts to abate pollution in our streams, by efforts to gain knowledge of the causes of heart disease and cancer, or by efforts to strengthen competition and the free market? Is freedom really diminished by banning the sale of harmful drugs, by providing school lunches for our children, by preserving our wilderness areas, or by improving the safety of our airways? Is freedom betrayed when in i964 we redeem in full the pledge made a century ago by the Emancipation Proclamation? The truth is-far from crushing the individual, government at its best liberates him from the enslaving forces of his environment. For as Thomas Jefferson said, "the care of human life and happiness is the first and only legitimate object of good government." Upon the rock of that conviction this Government is fighting —fighting to free 20 million Americans whose rights have been denied and whose hopes have been damned because they were born with dark skin. And upon that unchanging truth we are determined to wage unconditional war against the poverty that keeps one-fifth of our people in economic bondage. These are the goals of a compassionate government which keeps faith with the trust of its fathers and cherishes the future of its children. Through compassion for the plight of one individual, government fulfills its purpose as the servant of all the people. Let me state clearly what I mean by "this government." I do not mean just the politicians, technicians, and the experts in Washington. I do not mean only the agencies that make up the Federal system, or the departments and bureaus of your State government or your local municipality. I include you. I include every citizen. For as Aristotle said, "If liberty and equality are chiefly to be found in democracy... they will be best attained when all persons alike share in the government to the utmost." We have in this country of ours a government which derives its power from the consent of the governed-from the people. From those same people must come the dreams, the faith, the hopes, and the works 757 [39I I June 8 Public Papers of the Presidents which fashion the great purposes of government. From the people must come the private compassion and the personal commitment by which struggles for justice and wars against poverty are won. Because our government is the sum total of the people it serves, the choices that you personally make, the courses that you personally follow, the contests that you personally join-these will finally decide the real character of this country. So as you leave this campus today, I want to remind you of another admonition President Wilson gave to the Swarthmore class of an earlier generation: "Do not forget, then, as you walk these classic places, why you are here. You are not here merely to prepare to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand." Thank you. NOTE: The President spoke at ii:i5 a.m. in the amphitheater on the college campus at Swarthmore, Pa., after receiving an honorary degree of doctor of laws. His opening words "Mr. President" referred to Courtney Smith, president of the college. 392 Message to Mrs. Oveta Culp Hobby on the Death of Former Governor William P. Hobby of Texas. June 8, i964 TEXAS and the Nation are diminished by the loss of Governor Hobby. Throughout the last 30 years he was a wise, charitable, and loyal friend to me. He viewed the world with tolerant eyes and his wit and humor always salvaged a time of crisis and made it endurable. As a Governor, as a publisher, as a counselor to the Nation's leaders, as husband, father, and friend, what he did in his lifetime and the honorable way in which he did it, should serve as an inspiration to young men of our land. For the achievements of Governor Hobby are the works of good citizenship in its noblest form. Lady Bird and I send you, Bill and Diana, Henry and Jessica, our love and our prayers in your time of grief. LYNDON B. JOHNSON [Mrs. Oveta Culp Hobby, 2 Remington Lane, Houston, Texas] 393 Remarks at the First Meeting of the United States-Puerto Rico Commission on the Status of Puerto Rico. June 9, i964 I AM especially pleased that the initial meeting of the United States-Puerto Rico Commission on the Status of Puerto Rico is being held in the White House. I welcome this opportunity to express my own deep personal interest in the work you are undertaking. Warmth and mutual understanding have characterized the relationship between the people of Puerto Rico and the people of the United States. I am confident this will continue. We on the Mainland have watched with admiration and pride the remarkable economic growth that has taken place in Puerto Rico in recent years. That growth will 758 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-r964 June 9 [394] undoubtedly continue and we hope it may accelerate in the years ahead. The United States has a traditional and deep-seated national commitment to the principle of self-determination. That is why the administration and the Congress responded promptly and affirmatively to the resolution of the Puerto Rican Legislature requesting a review of the relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico. Your Commission is the result-and I know you recognize that you have a most challenging and interesting assignment. The members of the Commission have been appointed in accordance with the legislative mandates of the United States Congress and the Puerto Rico Legislature. All of you are unusually well-qualified for this important service. I am especially pleased that your chairman is my old and good friend, Jim Rowe, whom I first met in this House when he was President Roosevelt's trusted assistant. I can tell you Jim Rowe will be an exacting taskmaster-but I am certain all of you will be working with great earnestness and enthusiasm. I am sure the work of the Commission will reflect the objectivity and creativity-the scholarly ability and practical experience-and, above all, the idealistic recognition of human aspirations of you who have agreed to undertake this important assignment. I am no stranger to Puerto Rico. I have had numerous occasions to meet, to learn to know, and to have admiration and affection for Puerto Rico. I will follow your work closely. And I pledge to your Commission the full cooperation of the executive branch of the Government in your efforts. NOTE: The President spoke at 12:I5 p.m. in the Fish Room at the White House. The United States-Puerto Rico Commission on the Status of Puerto Rico was established by Public Law 88-271 of February 20, 1964 (78 Stat. I7), which provided for the appointment of seven U.S. members and invited the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to enact legislation providing for the appointment of six additional members. The President appointed James H. Rowe, Jr., as chairman. 394 Toasts of the President and Prime Minister Krag of Denmark. June 9, 1964 MRS. JOHNSON and I are honored tonight to welcome to this house as good friends of America two good friends of ours-the Prime Minister and Mrs. Krag of Denmark. In I963 at the suggestion of President Kennedy, Mrs. Johnson, our daughter Lynda, and I visited Scandinavia. Our memorable mission was concluded with a never-to-be-forgotten weekend in Copenhagen. Our guests tonight were our gracious hosts then. We shall always be grateful for the reception that we received from Their Majesties and The Royal Family, and from all of the wonderful people that we met on the streets of Copenhagen and the Tivoli Gardens. We made one happy discovery about the Krags. As some of you know, some small attention has been given in this country to the fact that the Johnson family all have the same initials in our monogram, but the Krags have really outdone us. They both observe the same birthday. Denmark is an old country, but her people and her leadership live in the future and not in the past. The world cherishes Denmark's great storyteller, Hans Christian Andersen, but the world will never forget Denmark's great scientist-Niels Bohr. 759 [394] June 9 Public Papers of the Presidents The Flag of Denmark is five centuries older than the Stars and Stripes of the United States. Yet, while the ages of our country are greatly different, the aspirations of our people have always been much the same-a respect for human dignity, dedication to social progress, and an untiring quest for universal peace. Many sons of Denmark have enriched America's life with such vision. I think particularly of the writer and reformer, Jacob Riis-long ago he was; he may truly be called a pioneer in the war on poverty which America is carrying on today. On the world stage, Denmark and the United States stand together as allies in NATO, and we work together in common dedication to the cause of peace. Americans are appreciative of Denmark's responsible role in supporting the United Nations and in sending her sons to help keep the peace in Cyprus, in the Congo, in the Gaza Strip. We are also deeply grateful for Denmark's constructive support of the vision of an outward-looking Atlantic partnership. When we were in Denmark I was greatly impressed with the visits with Their Majesties, with Prime Minister and Mrs. Krag, and with all of the leaders of Danish industry in both public and private life. I was also greatly impressed with our own Ambassador to Denmark at that time, Ambassador and Mrs. William Blair. That is why I have called upon them to take up a new post of duty in another land toward which Americans have the warmest and deepest affection-the Republic of the Philippines. We in Washington are grateful, Mr. Prime Minister, that Denmark honors us here with Count and Countess KnuthWinterfeldt as your ambassadorial representatives. We have sent to Copenhagen as ambassador one of America's most outstanding women, Mrs. Katharine White. Our country is honored, and we in this house are privileged, to have as our guests this outstanding couple representing modern Scandinavia as well as modern Europe. So it gives me a great deal of pride and pleasure and joy this evening here in this house that belongs to all Americans, in which I hope all of the people of the world will feel comfortable, to ask those of you, our good friends who have come here, to join me in a toast to His Majesty, the King of Denmark-and to the continuing friendship of our lands and our people-to the King of Denmark. NOTE: The President proposed the toast at a dinner in the State Dining Room at the White House. Prime Minister Krag responded as follows: Mr. President, Mrs. Johnson, ladies and gentlemen: First of all, I have to convey to you, Mr. President, and to you, Mrs. Johnson, the greetings and best wishes of the King of Denmark and the Queen of Denmark. They remember your visit in Copenhagen, and they wanted me to wish you all success in the very responsible task you have now. On behalf of my wife, the members of the Danish delegation and myself, I extend to you, Mr. President, and to Mrs. Johnson, our most sincere thanks for the warm welcome given us on our arrival today and for the very kind words which you have just addressed to us. We come here as friends and in the knowledge of being among friends and close relatives in this great country where so many of our countrymen are living and working. This feeling of being among friends is so much the stronger because we know you, Mr. President, as a friend of Denmark. The all too kind and flattering words you just said about my country prove this, and we know it from your visit to Denmark in September i963. We were indeed happy to see you in Copenhagen then and we learned to appreciate your great personal qualities and were happy to show you something of our country and its people. Never in history have the relations between our two countries been closer than today based as they are on common ideals and embracing nearly all aspects of public life, be they political, economic, 760 Lyndon B. John or cultural. Our countries differ widely in size and in structure. I know, Mr. President, what a heavy burden of work and responsibility you carry. The complexity and magnitude of the social and political problems in the United States make enormous demands on the Government. We greatly admire the courage and foresight with which you, Mr. President, and your Government are tackling these huge problems and your earnest endeavors to solve them in conformity with the noble principles embodied in the American Constitution. The American example is a source of inspiration for all people who wish to live in peace and freedom. We have all in this troubled world of ours been inspired by American leadership and have seen how the American Nation has endeavored to create throughout the world the basis for free, democratic, and viable societies. The assistance in money, manpower, and knowhow given during the last 20 years by America to other countries will, I know, be considered a most honorable and glorious chapter in the history of the world. We in Denmark shall never forget the generous and warmhearted support which our warstricken country received from the United States, an aid which enormously contributed towards restoring our economy after the war. We are living through an auspicious period offering endless opportunities to mankind. Never before have the horizons been so wide as they are nowas you yourself stressed during your visit to Denmark last year. The faith in peace is today greater than it has been for many years, and peace is what we all want and strive for. Every possibility of lessening tensions in the world must be examined. The United Nations is the international organization to which the nations look when they strive for a world bent on justice and the rule of law. There is much to be done in the future, but already the United Nations has shown its worth and importance. The Danish Government and the Danish people are very well aware of the great contributions and the inspiring leadership which throughout the years the United States has given to this organization. In this connection, I want to express the sincere hope that the years to come will show the world new examples of progress in the field of disarmament. SOn, 1963-I964 June 9 [395] This question is perhaps-in this age of atomic power-the greatest challenge that faces us all. The disarmament conference in Geneva is now resuming its work. May they explore and find new areas of understanding in order that we all may progress on the way towards our goal. As it appeared from our talks this afternoon, the international situation still presents many uncertain factors which should be a continuous reminder to us that we must stand firm on our principles and defend our ideals. That applies not least to our Atlantic defense cooperation. More than ever before is it essential that we should preserve our solidarity within NATO. Only through the security to be found within the NATO Alliance shall we be able to proceed along the road of relaxation of tension which we seem to have entered upon in the last few years. The Danish Government supports wholeheartedly the American endeavors to reduce international tension through contacts between East and West. In the communique from the recent NATO meeting in The Hague it was stated, and very rightly so, that the NATO Alliance is an indispensable guardian of security and peace and thus the prerequisite for social and economic progress. Denmark and the United States share the wish that the tariff negotiations which are now in progress may open up better opportunities for world trade. We want, therefore, to eliminate the trade barriers which are still standing in the way of increased liberalization of world trade. Prosperity and a sound economy cannot be ensured through protectionism. Mr. President, since the tragic occurrences of November last year more than 6 months have passed. On the international scene many serious problems remain unsolved, and a tremendous responsibility rests with all of us to approach these problems in a manner which best serves the interests of all mankind. In this situation, we look to you, Mr. President, with confidence for world leadership. Ladies and gentlemen, I ask you to raise your glasses to join with me in a toast to the health of the President of the United States and the prosperity of the American people. 395 Statement by the President on the Geneva Disarmament Conference. June 9, 1964 WE HAVE taken the first steps down the nuclear weapons in space. This year both pathway to disarmament. Last year saw the Soviet Union and the United States have the test ban treaty, the direct communica- announced reductions in the production of tions link, and the U.N. resolution against fissionable material for nuclear weapons. 76I [395] June 9 Public Papers of the Presidents Each of these steps points in the direction of effective control of arms. Each moves us a small way down this long and difficult road. We must not hesitate now that the journey has been begun. We must redouble our efforts until it is completed. NOTE: The statement was part of a White House release announcing that the President had on the same day instructed William C. Foster, Director of the United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency and head of the U.S. delegation to the Geneva disarmament conference, to make every effort at the conference to find safeguarded alternatives to the arms race. The United States had long believed, the release stated, that inspection or other procedures for verification are necessary if significant arms control and disarmament measures are to be taken. The President reemphasized, the release further stated, his determination to pursue safeguarded agreements which would permit such action. 396 Commencement Address at Holy Cross College. June iO, i964 Governor Peabody, Bishop Flannagan, Father Swords, Congressman Donohue, Mayor Mullaney, members of the graduating class, distinguished guests on the platform, ladies and gentlemen: I feel at home here this morning, and there is certainly good reason. The other day I called a White House staff meeting of my top advisers and there I was surrounded by O'Donnell and O'Brien, McNally and Maguire. I felt like a one-man ecumenical council. I decided if you just can't beat them, join them. So here I am today. I am so proud to be here where Ken O'Donnell's father won so many victories every fall. I just hope his son keeps up that tradition this fall. Last year, within 6 months of each other, two of the great men of this century passed from this earth: President John F. Kennedy and Pope John XXIII. They both left a world transformed by their triumphs and lessened by their leaving. They both handed on a heritage of hope, a vision of the future which will occupy the thoughts and labors of men for generations yet to come. For a generation, Americans have struggled to keep the ambitions of nations from erupting into the annihilation of nuclear war. We have struggled to diminish hostility and to decrease tension, while battling aggression and building our power. The years will not dim, nor the burdens destroy, our resolve to seek and not to yield, to find a way to peace in a world where freedom grows. But even if we achieve such a world, we will only have taken a first step toward final fulfillment of the hopes of Pope John and President Kennedy. For just as the cold war has consumed our energies, it has often limited our horizons. We have tended to place every challenge in the context of conflict, to regard every difficulty as part of a struggle for domination. Even if we end terror and even if we eliminate tension, even if we reduce arms and restrict conflict, even if peace were to come to the nations, we would turn from this struggle only to find ourselves on a new battleground as filled with danger and as fraught with difficulty as any ever faced by man. For many of our most urgent problems do not spring from the cold war or even from the ambitions of our adversaries. These are the problems which will persist beyond the cold war. They are the ominous obstacles to man's effort to build a great world society-a place where every man can 762 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 June io [396] find a life free from hunger and diseasea life offering the chance to seek spiritual fulfillment unhampered by the degradation of bodily misery. These long years of conflict have given fresh content to the ancient prophecy that no man, and no community, and no nation, is an island. This truth, borne in upon us by the necessities of our protection, is equally true for those problems which stretch beyond present differences. Those who live in the emerging community of nations will ignore the problems of their neighbors at the risk of their own prosperity. It may seem difficult to accept the fact that even lasting peace will not bring respite from world responsibility. But we can bring to the challenges which surpass conflict the same qualities of resolution and compassion that we have brought to the protection of freedom, then your generation can shape the great world society which is the ultimate purpose of peace. I would like briefly, today, to mention three problems which menace man's welfare and will threaten it even when armed destruction and war are things of the past. They are the problems of poverty, of disease, and of diminishing natural resources. First is the problem of poverty-the growing division between the rich and poor nations. Today the per capita product of the developed countries is $1,730 a year. In the developing countries it is $143. And the gap is widening, not narrowing. Our own growth must continue. But we must find ways to step up the growth of others or we will be an increasingly isolated island of wealth in the midst of mounting misery. Second is man's struggle against disease, the focal point in his war to control the destructive forces of nature. Each year 3 million people die from tuberculosis. Each year 5 million die from dysentery, 500,000 from measles. In some countries one-sixth of the entire population suffer from leprosy. Yet, we have the knowledge to reduce the toll of these diseases, and to avert millions of separate tragedies of needless death and suffering. Third is the need to develop new resources, and new ways to use existing resources. It has been estimated that if everyone in the world were to rise to the level of living of the United States we would then have to extract about 20 billion tons of iron, 300 million tons of copper, 300 million tons of lead, and 200 million tons of zinc. These totals are well over ioo times the world's present annual rate of production. There is no simple solution to these problems. In the past there would have been no solution at all. Today, the constantly unfolding conquests of science give man the power over his world and nature which brings the prospect of success within the purview of hope. To commemorate the United Nations 20th birthday, i965 has been designated International Cooperation Year. I propose to dedicate this year to finding new techniques for making man's knowledge serve man's welfare. Let this be the year of science. Let it be a turning point in the strugglenot of man against man, but of man against nature. In the midst of tension let us begin to chart a course toward the possibilities of conquest which bypass the politics of the cold war. For our own part, we intend to call upon all the resources of this great Nation-both public and private-to work with other nations to find new methods of improving the life of man. First, by September I will report to the Third International Conference in Geneva on the peaceful uses of atomic energy on S3-171 65 54 763 [396] June io Public Papers of the Presidents our new capability to use the power of the atom to meet human needs. It appears that the long promised day of economical nuclear power is close at hand. In the past several months we have achieved an economic breakthrough in the use of large-scale reactors for commercial power. And as a result of this rapid progress we are years ahead of our planned progress. This new technology, now being applied in the United States, will be available to the world. Moreover, the development of the largescale reactor offers a dramatic prospect of transforming sea water into water suitable for human consumption and industrial use. Large-scale nuclear reactors and desalting plants offer, in combination, economical electric power and useable water in areas of need. We are engaged in research and development to transform this scientists' concept into reality. Second, I intend to expand our efforts to provide protection against disease. In the last few years we have conducted pilot projects in West Africa on methods of immunizing young Africans against measles-the single biggest killer of children in that area. The success of that project has enabled us to proceed, this year, with a program to immunize one-fourth of the susceptible population in seven countries of West Africa. During International Cooperation Year we will expand our efforts to prevent and to control disease in every continent, cooperating with other nations which seek to elevate the well-being of mankind. No nation can stand idly by while millions suffer and die from afflictions which we have the power to prevent. Third, we will move ahead with plans to devise a worldwide weather system-using the satellites and the facilities of all indus trialized countries. The space age has given us unparalleled capacity to predict the course of the weather. By working together, on a global basis, we can take new strides toward coping with. the historic enemies of storm and drought and flood. These are only a few examples of the many fronts on which science can serve the society of man. These are some of the possibilities which unfold as reduced tension opens the way to larger cooperation. We are going ahead with our determined effort to bring peace to this world. We are going ahead in our country to bring an end to poverty and to racial injustice. In the last io minutes we have made considerable progress when we voted cloture in the Senate today by a vote of 7I to 29. The message of Pope John and John Kennedy flowed from the message that burst upon the world 2,000 years ago-a message of hope and redemption not for a people or for a nation, but hope and redemption for all people of all nations. We now can join knowledge to faith and science to belief to realize in our time the ancient hope of a world which is a fit home for man. The New Testament enjoins us to "Go ye therefore and teach all nations." Go forth then-in that spirit-to put your hands in the service of man and to put your hearts in the service of God. Thank you. NOTE: The President spoke at II:32 a.m. in the football stadium on the campus at Holy Cross College, Worcester, Mass., after being awarded an honorary degree of doctor of civil law. His opening words referred to Governor Endicott Peabody of Massachusetts, the Most Reverend Bernard J. Flannagan, Bishop of the Diocese of Worcester, the Very Reverend Raymond J. Swords, rector of the College of the Holy Cross, Representative Harold D. Donohue of Massachusetts, and Mayor Paul Mullaney of 764 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-I964 June IO [397] Worcester. During his remarks the President referred to P. Kenneth O'Donnell and Lawrence F. O'Brien, Special Assistants to the President, John J. McNally, Jr., White House Staff Assistant, and Richard Maguire, treasurer of the Democratic National Committee. 397 Remarks Upon Presenting the First Presidential Scholars Awards. June 10, I964 Mr. Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen: I cannot say that I am unaccustomed to public speaking. But I do speak before this audience with some trepidation-as a parent who has not yet come close to mastering the "New Math." Up against your impressive scores and your scholastic records, I can find comfort for myself only in remembering that Thomas Jefferson once said, "Nobody can conceive that nature ever intended to throw away a Newton upon the occupation of a crown." If there are no aspiring future Presidents here today, I imagine there are some Newtons, some Franklins, some Edisons, some Whitmans, some Hemingways, and, I would hope, a Robert Frost or a Carl Sandburg. I am very proud to welcome you to the White House as the first "Presidential Scholars." I congratulate you, and I congratulate your parents and your teachers for their part in producing your talents for our times. You are not here today because you are typical, nor because you are representative, of your generation or of your graduating class. You are here because of what you have accomplished, in your own right, and what you have the capacity to accomplish in the future in your own right. You have excelled in the scholarship of your class of i964. You have the potential to excel even more in the citizenship of your country of I974 or i984 or I994. I have congratulated you. I want now to challenge you-to challenge you to develop and apply that quality of excellence which is within you. Demagogues and dictators believed of your parents' generation that American youth would prove soft-would love luxury more than they loved liberty-would choose comfort in preference to courage. Your parents proved that that calculation was wrong. Today the cynics and the doubters believe of your generation that you will be too content with the average to take on the arduous, you will be too concerned with conformity to be creative, too cool to be committed, and too callous to be caring. You will prove this calculation wrong, too. Your destiny will not be a faceless and thoughtless existence in a dull and dreary society. I believe the destiny of your generation, and your Nation, is a rendezvous with excellence. Early in this century, William James answered those who complained that our democracy had an instinct for the inferior by saying: "... The best of us are filled with the contrary vision of a democracy stumbling through every error till its institutions glow in justice and its customs shine with beauty. Our better men shall show the way-and we shall follow them." Today-as really never before-we must look to our better minds to show the way toward our society's greatest day. That is your challenge and that is your duty. You are exceptional members of an exceptional generation. You have been born 765 1397] June io Public Papers of the Presidents to man's most exceptional opportunity. You are younger than most of the earth's quarrels, and you are older than most of the earth's governments. You are younger than most of man's ignorance, and older than much of his knowledge. Since you were born, man has developed both the capacity to destroy human life and the capacity to make life worthwhile for all the human race. A decade ago, many young people made fear and fatalism fashionable in the fifties. In these sixties and seventies, you have a much broader choice than the alternatives of terror and triviality. You are challenged not to serve the mediocre and the mundane, but to work toward the great and toward the grand. In our cities and in our countrysides, you will participate in the building of the second America-just as you will also be partners in building the first world of universal peace and justice and freedom. Today's vote terminating debate in the United States Senate on the civil rights bill is an historic event. Today's action demonstrates that the national will manifests itself in congressional action. One year ago tomorrow, President Kennedy in a radio and television report to the American people, declared, "A great change is at hand and our task and our obligation is to make that revolution, that change, peaceful and constructive for all." Today's action by the United States Senate is a major contribution to meeting this national responsibility. That is your challenge-to give your talents and your time in our land and in all lands to cleaning away the blight, to sweeping away the shoddiness, to wiping away the injustices and the inequities of the past so that all men may live together in a great world community of decency and of excellence. What you accomplish as individualswhat all of us accomplish as a Nation-depends upon the goals and the values by which we challenge ourselves. The average and the adequate are too low as goals for Americans. Doing slightly more, slightly better year by year, is too slow. Our aim must be higher; our reach must be farther; our pace must be faster. Our society and its members must aim for, and reach toward, the goals and the values of excellence. By the standards that you set, by the services that you render, you will show the world that when the doors of equal opportunity are kept open in our democracy young men and young women will respond with an instinct for excellence such as history has never known. I congratulate you, each of you, for what you have achieved. I am so proud of you. I honor you for what I know you, and your generation, will achieve in the years to come. It is good to have you here in the White House today. This will be a memorable occasion for all of us. I am so glad that your work distinguished you so that you could come and be a part of this ceremony. If I may now be indulged personally for a moment, I would like for you to know Mrs. Johnson and my daughter Lynda Bird. Thank you. NOTE: The ceremony was held in the late afternoon in the East Room at the White House. The President's opening words "Mr. Commissioner" referred to Francis Keppel, U.S. Commissioner of Education. The Presidential Scholars Program honoring outstanding students graduating from secondary schools was announced by the President on April i 6. It was established by Executive Order I1155 (29 F.R. 6909; 3 CFR I964 Supp.). The order provided for a Commission on Presidential Scholars which 766 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-1964 June iI [398] would choose, each year, one boy and one girl from each State, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, with additional scholars chosen from overseas areas and i5 designated at large. The names of the I2I Presidential Scholars, selected by the Commission on the basis of intellectual achievement and potential, were made public by the White House on June 2. The members of the Commission, headed by Milton S. Eisenhower, president of Johns Hopkins University, were listed in a White House release dated April 28. The release also announced that Jacques Lipchitz, noted sculptor, would design the medallion to be presented to the scholars. 398 Remarks to Delegates to the Equal Pay Conference. June I, I964 Secretary Wirtz, Mrs. Green, Mrs. Peterson, distinguished guests on the platform, ladies and gentlemen: This is a good day for our country, and, I am sure, a very proud day for all of you. I am pleased that we can meet together today as the Equal Pay Act of I963 goes into effect all across this great land of ours. As Vice President, I was privileged to be active in support of your efforts for equal pay for women. As President, I have been somewhat active in the cause of equal position for women within our Government. I am, and I believe you are, too, opposed to both stag government and "men only" opportunity. When Thomas Jefferson was our Minister to France, before becoming Vice President and President, he wrote a letter home, in which he said: ".. All the world is now politically made. Men, women, children talk nothing else, and they talk much, loud and warm.... But our good ladies, I trust, have been too wise to wrinkle their foreheads with politics. They are content to soothe and calm the minds of their husbands returning ruffled from political debate." Well, I would be the last to disagree with Jefferson or to discourage wives from calming husbands-I find that is very important in my life sometimes-who return "ruffled from political debate." And that occasionally happens to me. But I prefer to remember what Jefferson said about women and government-that between them and "the men who either pay or fight for their country, no line of right can be drawn." America's progress toward a society of decency has been marked and measured by our attitudes toward the role and toward the rights of women. We have made America stronger, not softer, as we have laid aside, gradually, one by one, the old biases and the ancient prejudices against the equality of women. Every such effort has brought resistance beforehand. Some men were sure that America would fall if women were allowed to vote. I remember hearing all those arguments as a child back in my favorite hills. Their fathers and their grandfathers were sure that society would crumble if wives sat with husbands at Sunday church. But when we do those things that are decent and are right and are just, we wonder afterwards why we ever did them otherwise. So today we work on many fronts to extend the scope of human rights. We do it because it is decent, because it is right, and because it is just. We can and do believe that the consequence will be greater tranquility instead of greater turmoil; greater peace, not greater provocation; greater unity in our country, not greater division. We must and we shall keep moving forward toward a great and decent and just 767 [398 ] June I I Public Papers of the Presidents society for all, regardless of race or religion or sex. The equal pay law moves us toward that goal. This issue has been before us ioo years. But today we need answers to it, and not issues. One-third of our working force are women, but they receive only about onefifth of the pay. The average full-time woman worker receives nearly $2500 less than the average full-time male worker. This law is not a pay raise law. But it does say that wherever men and women do the same work, whether at the workbench or the office desk, they shall be paid equal wages for equal work. I hope the ladies won't think this only proves it is a man's world, but the experts tell me that in the long run the law will benefit men as well as women, and employers as well as employees. The basic challenge before our Nation today is to overcome the waste of our most precious resources, our human resources. We must liberate ourselves from the burden of job discrimination, the burden of school dropouts. We must break the hold of poverty, and we are trying to make a substantial advance in that direction next week in the House of Representatives. We must break the grasp of prejudice. We must overcome the loss of unschooled, undertrained, and unemployed human talent. Now you in this group today have shown that you are "can do" people, and you have shown what you can do through your support of legislation. I want you to know that I look to you, and I count on you, to continue your support of the other measures on our agenda which are right, which are just, and which advance us toward a more decent so ciety for all of our people. I hope more women will work both in government and on government at every level. There are, as we meet here this morning, 9i,ooo governments in the United States. All of them can be made better, all of them can be made stronger by your interest, by your support, and, above all, by your participation outside and inside. I do not know when the day will come that a woman will be elected President of the United States. If it will not be taken as interference in the effort of a certain party to decide upon a certain nominee this year, I will say that I believe there are women today with the capacity to be President, although I don't want to inject myself in the affairs of another party. The glory and the greatness of America lies in the open door, the open door of equal opportunity for all of our citizens regardless of their sex or their religion or their race. So this morning, I conclude by asking your help, pleading for your assistance in doing what needs to be done throughout this land to open that door wider for all, regardless of sex, or region, or religion, or class, or race. Let's open the door wider for all just as we have opened it today for women. Thank you very much. NOTE: The President spoke shortly before noon on the South Lawn at the White House. His opening words referred to W. Willard Wirtz, Secretary of Labor, Mrs. Edith Green, U.S. Representative from Oregon and sponsor of the Equal Pay Act, and Mrs. Esther Peterson, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Labor Standards. The Equal Pay Conference was called by the Department of Labor and the National Committee for Equal Pay-a committee composed of representatives of the Nation's women's organizations and labor unions working toward equal pay legislation. The Conference was held at the Willard Hotel in Washington on the first anniversary of the Equal Pay Act of i963. The act, approved June io, i963 (Public Law 88-38, 77 Stat. 56), became effective on June ii, i964. 768 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-I964 June 12 [3991 399 Toasts of the President and Chancellor Erhard. June 12, 1964 Mr. Chancellor, Mr. Ambassador, ladies and gentlemen: We are pleased tonight to welcome again a good friend who comes representing not one but two valued allies of the United States. I refer, of course, to the Federal Republic of Germany and to Harvard University. Our guest is one of the few men in public life whose title, Doctor, was earned academically long before it was conferred by honorary degree. Dr. Erhard, all Americans join in congratulating you upon the richly deserved honor that you have received and we are grateful that you honor us as our guest in this garden this evening. When the Chancellor was last in the United States, I expressed to him the hope that the close relationship and the healthy friendship between our countries would grow in strength and in meaning. I am proud to say tonight that that hope has been the reality of the intervening half year. It is evident to us that the relations between our countries have never been better than at this time tonight. Our understanding is deepening, our cooperation is broadening, our hopes for the future are rising. We have come forward together, your country and mine, along the path of insuring freedom and security in a world where both are constantly threatened. German effort and foresight and determination and dedication along with those of our allies in Western Europe have made it possible to convert age-old rivalries into new and constructive relationships. Tonight our hopes rise from this foundation, the only real foundation that can support and sustain them, the foundation of strength. We of the United States of America value highly this relationship with the Federal Republic of Germany. The ties between the people of America and the people of Germany are many and close. From the dark days of our Valley Forge to the bright age of mankind's exploration of space the cause of freedom has prospered when the peoples of our two countries have worked together in peace. Tonight we are working together as allies in NATO, tonight we are working together as friends in freedom, and tonight we are working together as partners in peace. The road ahead is hard but hopeful. I have no doubt that Germany and the United States will continue to move along that road together surmounting the obstacles and serving the opportunities that we encounter together along that way. Our goal and our purpose is peace; peace with honor, peace with justice, peace under freedom. We shall not rest until that day is reached and until that dream is real. We seek to move only on a course of peace and justice, never a course of fear or hostility. Together with our allies we shall work to open new avenues of trade and we shall work to build new bridges of ideas toward the East, to improve relations, to lessen tensions, to enhance the prospect of all of us living in this world in peace. As we all recognize, there can be no real and lasting peace in Europe, or in the rest of the world for that matter, until Germany is united, united by self-determination in peace and in freedom. This can be done, and the people of the United States are determined that it shall be done to end the inequities and injustices of the division of the German people-until there is a unified Germany. Only the representative 769 [399] June i2 Public Papers of the Presidents and democratic government of the Federal Republic of Germany can speak for the German people. It is a very great honor and a very proud privilege, Mr. Chancellor, to have you in our midst this evening. The scene is a little different from our last meeting, the friendship is a little stronger. I ask those of my friends who have come here this evening and our distinguished guests to join me in raising your glasses to the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, to the friendship between the people of the United States and all the people of Germany always. NOTE: The President proposed the toast at a state dinner in the Rose Garden at the White House. Chancellor Erhard responded as follows: "Mr. President, Mrs. Johnson, Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen: "First of all let me express my gratitude for the congratulations which you expressed to me on the occasion of the honor which was bestowed upon me yesterday when I was granted an honorary doctor's degree at Harvard. This in itself would be sufficient to make me very happy, very proud indeed. "But I was even more happy about this distinction and that honor because it afforded me an opportunity to come over again to the United States of America and to meet with you, Mr. President, and to have new talks with you, exchange of views, exchange of hopes, exchange of worries and problems. "Some people said after our meeting in Texas at the end of last year that was, so to speak, the honeymoon between the two of us and they raised a warning voice saying, 'Well, let's wait until this period of the honeymoon is over; now everything is pleasant, everything is beautiful, but then they will be faced with the rough realities.' "I think the honeymoon is over now and today we have reached, if I may put it this way, the state of marriage, but based on trust, on faithfulness. I think these are the pillars of this relationship between the two of us. "Though our talks dealt with a number of very serious problems, Mr. President, today I had the impression that our personal friendship had deepened and was strengthened over the last 6 months. And if I speak of the personal relationship between the two of us, I would add that I am inclined to apply that also to the relationship between our two countries, our two nations. "As I look back over the period since I have been in political office, that means since the end of the last war, I think it was at that time unique, unique and unparalleled in world history, that the victor who had gained unimaginable strength and power through his victory showed such great generosity by helping all the countries of the world, including the vanquished, to reconstruct their countries. This was, as I said, Mr. President, a unique and unparalleled contribution. In this way you helped to secure the peace in the world. "I said to you this morning, Mr. President, when we had our conversation, I understood that your feelings were a bit bitter about the fact that so little gratitude was shown by the countries for what the United States has done after the last war. But such is human nature, one cannot expect gratefulness, and what one has received in the way of good deeds is very easily forgotten. But I am all the more happy and pleased, Mr. President, to be able to say that these things are not forgotten in Germany. The German people will always remember what they have received from the United States of America, and this I feel is the basis of the friendship that exists between our two countries. That is the basis, the foundation, of the trust and confidence which enables genuine cooperation. "I think we have all the essential objectives in common; and even if there should be some misunderstanding, some differences from time to time, I think there can be no doubt whatsoever, neither here in the United States nor in the Federal Republic of Germany, that this friendship between our two countries is a firm one, that there is also this conviction that we have common tasks and common missions to fulfill. I am not so presumptuous to say that Germany could speak for Europe, but on the other hand I feel that the Federal Republic of Germany can be, must be the stabilizing factor, the stabilizing element, in Europe. "By our attitude we can show how necessary, how desirable it is for Europe to come closer to the United States and also to try and tie the United States of America, or let me put it this way, the North American Continent more closely to Europe. This I feel is our common fate and our common destiny. "We do not want to divide and to split up the world amongst ourselves, but though we ourselves in Germany, in our country, experience this tragic division and whatever it means, we want to make a contribution to overcome all these difficulties. "I hope, I am sure we will succeed-what we have in common is this hope on behalf and for all the world. Today we are trying to make our contribution to these common objectives. We feel this responsibility for the countries which are still in a somewhat backward and underdeveloped stage, or 770 Lyndon B. John. countries which still have to live in slavery. On the other hand, we are grateful to you, Mr. President, and to the United States of America for the understanding you have been showing for our particular German problem. "I have said on several occasions on this visitI said it also today when I had the honor to address the Senate of the United States-that it would not be a good and a right alliance, it would not be real friendship, if each country were to look at its own interests only, were to look at the geographical area in which itself is situated and would not look beyond that. And it would be a bad alliance, it would be a bad friendship, if every partner were not ready also to stand up for the other partners. "We fully recognize the seriousness of your problems. I think of Cuba, I think in terms of South Viet-Nam, we consider them also to be our problems. We also feel an obligation, as you are understanding our particular situation in the Federal Republic of Germany, our particular problems, and I hope and I am sure that this is a good firm foundation of our friendship and cooperation. I think all that is divided today can be overcome. And where there is so much good will and deep and honest friendship I am absolutely convinced that this good son., 1963-1964 June 12 [400] relationship will continue between our two countries and that it will continue to be an element of freedom, of security, and of peace in the world. "Mr. President, today during our conversations we have assured one another of our mutual sympathy, and when I have done that I think it was more than a diplomatic phrase or a diplomatic formula. It was, so to speak, let me say that quite frankly, a human confession and I think it was understood in that way by the two of us. We are convinced that it is our common task, and I say that with all humility which is due to us Germans and which we must observe, I think this is a common task with which we are confronted. What we can do will be done gradually as a contribution towards peace, security, freedom, and liberty, and prosperity of all well meaning nations and countries in the world. "In conclusion, I propose a toast to you, Mr. President, and to the health of Mrs. Johnson. "Thank you very much." Before coming to Washington, Chancellor Erhard had received an honorary degree from Harvard University. His earlier meeting with the President was at the LBJ Ranch in Texas in December (see Items 72-76). 400 Joint Statement Following Discussions With Chancellor Erhard of Germany. June I2, i964 PRESIDENT Johnson and Chancellor Erhard met on June I2 in Washington. They were accompanied by Secretary Rusk, Foreign Minister Schr6eder and other advisers. The President expressed his pleasure that the Chancellor had come to Washington following his official visit to Canada and receipt of an honorary degree at Harvard, thus providing an opportunity to review the international situation and to discuss areas of mutual interest and concern to the United States and the Federal Republic of Germany. The Chancellor and the President discussed the need for finding a just and peaceful solution to the problem of Germany and Berlin and agreed that efforts to find such a solution must continue. They agreed that a solution must be based upon the right of self-determination and take into consideration the security of Europe as a whole. Every suitable opportunity should be used to bring nearer the reunification of Germany through self-determination. So long as Germany remains divided, Europe will not achieve stability. The President and the Chancellor noted the Soviet Government's announcement that it signed today a Treaty of Friendship, Mutual Assistance and Cooperation with the so-called German Democratic Republic. They agreed that no unilateral move by the Soviet Union could in any way affect the rights of the Three Western Powers or modify the obligations and responsibilities of the Soviet Union with respect to Germany and Berlin. They stressed that the Soviet Government would be solely responsible for the consequences of any attempt at interference with Allied rights that might result from implementation of the new treaty. 77I [400] June 12 Public Papers of the Presidents They also reaffirmed that until Germany is unified, only the freely elected and legitimately constituted government of the Federal Republic of Germany and no one else can speak for the German people. The President restated the determination of the United States to carry out fully its commitments with respect to Berlin, including the maintenance of the right of free access to West Berlin and the continued freedom and viability of the city. The President and Chancellor stressed the importance of improving relations with the nations of Eastern Europe. The President said that the United States fully supports the actions of the Federal Republic directed toward this goal. They also expressed the conviction that measures designed to reduce the threat of war and to bring about arms control serve to promote the goal of German reunification. The President and the Chancellor expressed satisfaction at the progress achieved by the nations of the Atlantic Community in developing political stability as well as economic and military strength. They reaffirmed the continuing importance of NATO to the defense and cohesion of the West. They were agreed that the proposed multilateral force would make a significant addition to this military and political strength and that efforts should be continued to ready an agreement for signature by the end of the year. The Chancellor stressed his interest in the promotion of greater political cooperation between the nations of Western Europe. In their review of the international scene, the President described the serious situation faced by the United States and the free world in Southeast Asia. He and the Chancellor agreed that the Communist regime in Hanoi must cease its aggression in South Viet-Nam and Laos. The two governments also agreed that the Government of the Republic of VietNam must be fully supported in its resistance against the Viet Cong. The Chancellor stated that his government would increase assistance to South Viet-Nam in the political and economic fields. They reviewed the Kennedy Round negotiations underway at Geneva and were agreed that expanded trade in all commodities and substantial tariff reductions would be in the interest of all the nations of the free world. They were agreed on the vital importance of sustaining the flow of economic aid to the developing countries in order to support the efforts of these countries to maintain their independence and to modernize and expand their economies to the point where further growth could be sustained without extraordinary foreign assistance. They were of the view that strengthening the private sector of the developing economies can play a key role in the process and they recognized the need for official aid as well as for foreign private investment to promote this objective. The President stressed his intention to sustain the level of United States aid commitments and expenditures. The Chancellor in turn noted the substantial increase in total aid commitments of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1963 and stated that every effort will be made to increase the level of these commitments this year and next. The President and the Chancellor reviewed also the constructive steps taken so far by Germany to help reduce its large balance of payments surplus. The President told the Chancellor of his appreciation of German support in helping the United States meet its balance of payments problems. The President and the Chancellor were both happy to have had this opportunity to consult on common problems, as part of the 772 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-i964 June i5 [402] continuing process of full consultation so indispensable to the maintenance of close relations between the two countries. They were gratified to reaffirm that their govern ments have established a solid basis of cooperation and mutual understanding in their common quest for peace. 4.0I Statement by the President on the Need for Excellence in Athletic Achievements. June I2, i964 GENERAL James M. Gavin has met with the Attorney General and me to discuss the overall problem of providing American youth with an opportunity to achieve high standards of excellence in sports. As a Nation we have always prided ourselves on the athletic achievements of our youth. We have encouraged our young people to become more proficient in athletic activities while obtaining an education suiting them for their role in the life of our communities. This balanced approach should not be sacrificed. The problem is a rather complex one involving the interest of many amateur athletic bodies and many interested individuals. I have requested General Gavin to look into the problem and to study the possibilities of establishing a foundation to assist us in this effort. NOTE: The President's opening words referred to Lt. Gen. James M. Gavin, USA, retired. 402 Remarks to Members of the International Executive Service Corps. June i5, i964 Ladies and gentlemen: We are delighted to have this talented group of businessmen visit us in the White House this morning. George Washington, our first President, once advised that we should let our discourse with business be short and comprehensive. Brevity is always a good rule but on the subject of free government and free enterprise working together, sometimes I am more comprehensive, I think, than I am short. The program that we are launching today is, I think, an inspiring example of sane and sensible, responsible and constructive cooperation between Government and private enterprise. I have been somewhat amused, in the 7 months I have been in this office, that when you take the position that employers and employees should get along and can work together and that Government need not be an irritant or an antagonist to either, that they say you are talking out of both sides of your mouth, that you should either be for business and against labor or for labor and against business, or for Government and against them both. Well, I believe that our strength in the world today will depend on our ability to unite all the strength of the free enterprise system which is made up of employers and employees encouraged, led, and supported by their Government which is their servant and not their master. You men are rendering a valuable service to our national objectives abroad which neither Government nor business nor labor could do so well alone nor could do so well apart. You are making a most important 773 [402] June I5 Public Papers of the Presidents contribution of high potential to the economic development of the free world, and the preservation of the free world may well depend on our success to see that economic development succeeds. I want to express my appreciation this morning and my heartiest congratulations to the Congress, to all of those who have participated in this development, especially to Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Linowitz and the members of this committee, to the members of this board, to the organizations which have given their cooperation and their support, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Industrial Conference Board, and to other groups. From my perspective, it is the breadth of the consent rather than the details of the execution that is the most meaningful aspect of the International Executive Service Corps. With man's knowledge and capacity changing so dramatically and so rapidly, we of the free industrialized nations must recognize the reality of a great and grave gap developing between ourselves and other nations and the world of the next 50 yearsknowledge itself will be the great power, knowledge itself will be the great force and the great wealth of the earth. So, unless we concentrate today on diffusing knowledge and unless we concentrate on sharing it widely, we can foster a most unwelcome sort of structure among the nations of the earth. The International Executive Service Corps is a most welcome pioneering effort to explore a new field, a field in which the horizons will broaden to infinity during the next half century. New nations cannot and will not develop new economies to support their independence and their freedom unless they have access to the kind of new information and new guidance which can only be imparted by exchanges such as this program contemplates. While some may not see it yet, no sector of our society has changed more rapidly or will continue to change more dramatically than the private sector of our private enterprise system. If I may, I would like this morning to pay my personal high regards to one man here who personifies the change that I am mentioning-the Administrator, David Bell. Mr. Bell occupies about the most difficult post in American public life. He is a whipping boy for everybody who wants to give anybody a whipping, but I am proud to say that he has brought to this post the kind of lean and tough and forward-looking mind that characterizes both the new management of business and the new administrator of Government. Such men, I believe, represent the kind of excellence that we must set as our standard for the future. I would say the greatest disappointment that I have really had in Government in 7 months is the request that I have made of other people to come in and help us do distasteful and disagreeable and tough jobs, but they have always found that their family had problems, their wife was sick, or their daughter was going off to college, or they just couldn't spare the time to help save the Republic. Now, I think that these men this morning are setting an example of "can do" people, and I hope that it will be an example that other men and women in private life will follow. I am hopeful that as we progress in raising the remuneration of public service that we can attract to Government many more men like Dave Bell, and I am hoping if the Senate acts favorably on the pay bill that we can keep the good ones we have now. 774 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-i964 June I5 [403] A good many of them, a few weeks agoafter the House defeated the bill and before we resurrected it-were leaving to go back to draw two or three times as much in private industry. Good men are not an expense in managing an operation so vast and as modern as Government. Good men are the best investment that we can make. So, I want to congratulate you, and I want to thank you, and I want to express the hope that this program will pay generous dividends. I hope and expect it will set a pattern for the future which will benefit our country and our cause and all that we do. I would like to ask Mr. Linowitz and Mr. Rockefeller if they feel free to do so to tell us about the plans of their corps. I know that they will bear in mind that some of you gentlemen who have just come from Florida and have not been exposed to this sun may not want to stay out here too long this morning, but we do appreciate your being here. I hope to get to meet with you for a few moments after the ceremony. I thank you for your public service and we will have pictures when Mr. Linowitz and Mr. Rockefeller conclude. NOTE: The President spoke at noon in the Rose Garden at the White House. During his remarks he referred to David Rockefeller, president of the Chase Manhattan Bank, and Sol M. Linowitz, chairman of the board of the Xerox Corporation, both directors of the International Executive Service Corps, and to David Bell, Administrator, Agency for International Development. The International Executive Service Corps is a private nonprofit organization incorporated under the laws of the State of New York. It was formed to help fill the need for skilled managerial personnel in the industrial enterprises of developing countries by providing volunteer American executives to overseas business firms that ask for help and qualify for such assistance. The text of the remarks of Mr. Rockefeller and Mr. Linowitz, who spoke briefly, was also released. 403 Remarks on Mental Retardation to a Group From the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., Foundation. June I5, I964 Mr. Shriver, Mrs. Shriver, ladies and gentlemen: Thirty years ago, or even 3 years ago, if anyone had asked what was being done about mental retardation, the answer would have been just a shrug of the shoulder. Your presence here this afternoon indicates how our answer and our attitude has changed. We are answering with our hearts and our heads, not with shrugs and silence. All Americans can be proud and grateful for the results. Mental retardation afflicts nearly 6 million Americans. It affects io times more persons than diabetes, 20 times more than tuberculosis, 600 times more than polio. A retarded child is born every 5 minutes, i26,000 every year. Yet, until very recently, our knowledge and interest in this crippler was little greater in the 20th century than it had been in the ist century. Today we can say objectively that more has been done in the Government in the past 2 years than in the previous 200 years to meet the challenge of mental retardation. Announcements which can be made this afternoon reflect the pace of our progress. First, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development has approved grants which will result in construction of two mental retardation research centers, one on the east coast, the other on the west coast. Second, the Civil Service Commission has successfully begun a pioneering program for employing the mentally retarded, 85 percent of whom are employable. We are confident 775 [403] June '5 Public Papers of the Presidents industry, like Government, will find these people make capable, devoted workers at many levels. Third, the Advertising Council is making the subject of mental retardation their number one effort, a long step forward to awakening public awareness. Fourth, the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce is dedicating the energy and enterprise of its fine members to the support of this program. Fifth, most encouraging of all are the results promised by development of a simple, inexpensive, and accurate test for detection of the condition which causes mental retardation. The PKU tests, made within the first 72 hours after birth, promise to permit salvaging children from retardation by special diets inaugurated early in their lives. Research indicates this: that at a cost of $420 we could have detected the 840 cases of retardation among newborn babies with a saving of $8o million which is the cost of their institutional care for a lifetime. We are making spectacular progress on many fronts. The future is exciting and gratifying. The gains achieved and the gains to come are due to the compassion and the courage of the man who focused our national conscience and our capabilities on this most important problem, John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Seventeen months ago, in his message to Congress on retardation, President Kennedy touched the untouchable,' and today, only a short time later, a revolution in the field of retardation is under way. That work is being given the most able direction and leadership of the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., Foundation under the tireless guidance of Mrs. Eunice Kennedy Shriver, to whom the parents of many children yet unborn will some day owe a great debt. Yes, we have made progress. But our efforts have only begun. We will continue until we find all the answers we have been seeking, until we find a place for all those who suffer with this problem. I believe we will accomplish more toward overcoming retardation in the next 5 years than the world has accomplished in the last 500 years. All of you are participating in a richly rewarding effort and I both thank you and congratulate you. NOTE: The President spoke late in the afternoon in the Rose Garden at the White House. His opening words referred to R. Sargent Shriver, executive director of the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., Foundation and Director of the Peace Corps, and Mrs. Shriver, executive vice president of the Foundation. 'See "Public Papers of the President, John F. Kennedy i963," p. 170. 404 Statement by the President on the Nation's Continued Economic Growth. June i6, i964 IT IS heartening to note that today more people are at work in the United States at higher wages than ever before. A report released today shows that nonfarm payroll employment reached an all-time high of 58.4 million in May. This was 500,000 above the April level and i V2 million better than May i963. Factory employment at I7.2 million in May was up 8o,ooo over April, a better than seasonal rise. The May advance in total employment to 7I.7 million was about 200,000 above seasonal expectation, with over half of the gain in agriculture. The factory workweek rose to 40.7 hours, 776 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 June I7 14051 matching the previous May record set in I955. Overtime worked during May averaged 3.o hours, setting a new record. Hourly earnings of factory production workers edged up to $2.53 while weekly earnings reached a new high of $I02.97, 4 percent above a year ago. Unemployment dropped by 400,000 between May I963 and I964. Half of this drop was among the long-term unemployed. Most of the over-the-year cut in unemployment was among persons looking for fulltime jobs. 405 Remarks Upon Arrival at the lune I7, I964 Mayor Locher: I want to thank all of you for this beautiful weather, for this warm welcome, for all of these happy, smiling faces. I came riding out here on a plane with some pretty nice fellows-Secretary Celebrezze, Senator Young, Congressman Vanik, and Congressman Feighan-but I didn't really see such happy people until I got here in Cleveland. I think we all ought to sing "Beautiful Ohio" together. I wish that I could say hello to each of you, but that would take longer than I have. One time a great Governor of the State of New York was speaking to a crowd like this, and he told them he could not speak long because he had another engagement to address a convention downtown. Some fellow out in the crowd hollered to Al Smith, "Al, tell them all you know. It won't take very long." Al said, "I will tell them all we both know and it won't take any longer." So, I am not going to take very long, but I do want to say that this is a most stimulat We have come far in the past few years. Since January I96I our gross national product has risen 22 percent, industrial production is up 25 percent, the unemployment rate is down 24 percent, disposable personal income is up I8 percent, wages and salaries are up I9 percent, and corporate profits before taxes are up 45 percent. Our economic prognosis is one of continued growth. From this strong base we are in a sound position to do what has to be done to assure that the blessings of the Great Society will be open to every citizen. Airport in Cleveland. ing and inspiring sight. You have my deep gratitude for the comfort and the encouragement you give me. Our country is not divided today, not split into warring groups —thank goodness. We are a strong nation and we are going to be stronger. We are a prosperous people and we are going to be more prosperous. We have more people working today than ever before. We have less unemployed today than we had at the first of the year. We have more people making better wages than ever in our history. We have the highest profits for business that we have ever known, and they are up 25 percent over this same time last year. So, we have much to be thankful for, much to preserve, and much to protect. All of this is due to our good citizenship, to our fine system of government that is unequaled anywhere in the world. So, if we can just restrain ourselves from eating on each other, if we can just refuse to join in tearing each other to pieces, if we can just point out the good things about our land, our 777 [405] June I7 Public Papers of the Presidents country, and our system instead of indulging in cheap, mudslinging, personal politics, then America will not only be the land of the free but it will be the land of the prosperous and the land of the brave, and the land of the free. So, this morning, I ask all of you to join me in a prayer for continued prosperity, continued peace in the world. And I hope that all of you feel that this fine American sys tem has done more for you than any system of government anywhere has done for anyone. Thank you very much. NOTE: The President spoke upon his arrival at the Hopkins-Cleveland Airport in Cleveland. Early in his remarks he referred to Mayor Ralph S. Locher of Cleveland, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare Anthony J. Celebrezze, and Senator Stephen M. Young and Representatives Charles A. Vanik and Michael A. Feighan of Ohio. 406 Remarks in Cleveland at the Convention of the Communications Workers of America. June I7, i964 Mr. Beirne, your very own able Secretary Celebrezze, and my good friend Senator Steve Young, Congressmen Charley Vanik and Mike Feighan, Mayor Locher, Bert Porter, Bill Coleman, my fellow Americans, members of the Communications Workers of America: We have traveled a long road together, you and I. In June 1938 your leaders met in Chicago to form this union, and then I was preparing to campaign for my first full term in Congress. We started together, under the inspiration and ideals of that great President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. We have worked together through the darkness of depression, through the challenge of conflict, through the prosperity of an uneasy peace, to secure to every American the legacy of Franklin D. Roosevelt's leadership. And I pledge you for the years to come we are going to build together the kind of nation that he hoped for, that Harry S. Truman worked for, and that our beloved John F. Kennedy died for. We are going to build a Great Society where no man or woman is the victim of fear or poverty 778 or hatred; where every man and woman has a chance for fulfillment and prosperity and hope. That is the direction in which America is now moving. That is the way that we are going to keep America moving. And I pledge you here today that no person, no group, no party is going to stand in the way of that forward march. Your great president, Joe Beirne, asked me to come out here today, and I have come to ask your aid and to give you assurance that America is not going to return to economic stagnation or to national drift. We will never go back to indifference toward the helpless and apathy toward the hopeless. We are not going back to declining prestige abroad and declining strength at home. We are a strong country but we will be stronger. We are a prosperous country, but we will be more prosperous. We are a compassionate country, but we will extend that compassion to all people who suffer from neglect and who suffer from fear. We are a great country, but the country and the land that our children live in will be an even greater country and an even better land. Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-I964 June I7 [406] In Franklin Roosevelt's time there was a sense of crisis, of desperate danger, of threatening disaster. The need for action was plain. Today as we meet here in this beautiful city of Cleveland many of the problems of our society lie-like some giant iceberglargely out of sight beneath a surface of abundance and might. One of the principal tasks of leadership is not only to solve problems but to alert the Nation to the need to solve problems. Then, too, the clash of interest was clear. Then, too, the opponents were obvious. Today, more than at any time in our history, labor and business, city and farm, rich and poor share a common interest in the progress of all of our people. The contest today is not so much between the aroused and the hostile as it is between the concerned and the indifferent. It is not so much between the oppressed and the privileged, as between the farsighted and those without any vision. It is not so much between those who have little and those who have much, as it is between those who know that their future is tied to the future of all and those who ignore this great lesson of history. And when the roll is called, when the trumpet sounds, when the strong of heart and the stout of spirit stand up to be counted, I have not the slightest doubt where this union will be or where American labor in the United States will be. You will be where you have always been: you will be on the side of compassion. You will be on the side of progress. You will be on the side of human rights. You will be on the side of the future. I now need your help to bring the fruits of progress to those bypassed and forgotten in our forward march. This is not just my program but yours. It is not the program of a single group or party; it is the program not of Democrats or Republicans-it is the program for all Americans. We have a program to give every American citizen an equal chance to hold a job, to vote, to educate his children, to enjoy all the blessings of liberty whatever his color or his race. Is this your program, too? We have a program to attack the conditions which cripple man's capacity to meet the demands of a swiftly moving society, to eliminate and to drive underground hopeless poverty. Is this your program, too? We have a program to give medical care to older Americans so that the ravages of illness will not destroy the rewards of a lifetime of labor. Is this your program, too? We have a program to extend minimum wage and unemployment benefits. Is this your program, too? Well, if this is so, let's roll up our sleeves and get to work to pass this program before this Congress adjourns. For I warn you that poverty and injustice and disease will not wait. And this same sense of urgency must guide us as we prepare for the vast and troubling changes of the rest of this decade. The changes which confront the American economy are like three great rivers, springing from sources that are deep in our history, swelling as they rush through our postwar boom, surging toward a meeting place in this decade where we must choose to subdue their power for our progress, or find the hopes of millions submerged in the torrent. They are, first, the replacement of man by machine; second, the decline of jobs for the unskilled; and, third, the growth in our labor force. Thousands of jobs each week-more than 779 [406] June I7 Public Papers of the Presidents 2 million a year-are being taken over by machines and, if anything, this rate will increase as technology advances. At the same time, in the I960's, the labor force is increasing 50 percent faster than it increased in the I950's. In 1965, i million more youths will be looking for jobs than in I964. In this decade 26 million young people will seek their first job. Ten million of them will not even have a high school diploma. These workers will enter a job market almost closed to the man without a skill. Over the next I5 years, the demand for professional and technical people will go up 65 percent; for clerical workers it will go up 45 percent, but the demand for unskilled workers will not go up at all. So, the challenge to our leadership is clear. We must continue to expand our economy, creating new jobs. We must provide our workers with education and training to meet the needs of a new dynamic industry. Your Government is moving ahead with programs which, when passed by the Congress, will retrain more than half a million workers a year. I have proposed a special commission on automation. But this is not a job for Government alone. Industry has a demand for skills and industry has a duty towards men and women who are displaced. Labor needs training for its members and owes talents to new workers. America needs full employment to sustain prosperity, and America has an obligation to give every citizen a chance to work. So, it is time for labor and management and Government to cooperate in establishing a national manpower policy for the United States-a policy which will assess our future needs, a policy which will help aim all our 780 programs of training and education, Government and private alike-toward meeting our needs. The labor-management committees now working will contribute to such a policy. But I have appointed a Cabinet committee to consider the broadest aspects of such a policy. I will take further steps, in cooperation with labor and business, to make sure that the dignity and the right to labor is not lost in the currents of change; that every American who wants to work can work; that industry will not falter because it lacks the men and the women that it needs. Yes, we know how to conquer these challenges and all of the other challenges which face us today. The only real question is whether we have the will and the courage and the determination. And, standing here this morning, I know the answer to that question. The answer is yes! For many long years, for more than 50 years, I have seen labor fight the lonely battle for men's freedom to eat, and to work, and to provide for his family, and to pursue his happiness. You are no longer alone. Most of the American people have joined you and most of your old adversaries are with you. And the President of the United States is with you. And if there are any here today content with old conquests, I say to you: Do not forget the past from which we came. Do not forget the pains of hunger or the pangs of idleness. Do not forget the taste of hatred or the tears of hopelessness. Do not forget the emptiness on the faces of ragged children or the anguish on the faces of helpless fathers and mothers. For they still threaten far too many of our people. We have come a long way since we began. Lyndon B. John. But the battle for the America that we believe in, the battle for the America that we have fought and died for will never be won until these blemishes have been stricken from the pages of American life. Our course is set. We are moving forward. And nothing will stop us until we arrive at our distant destiny, a destiny filled with the promise of a civilization as enriching as man can hope to build on this earth. You are the privileged members of a proud, progressive union. You have the opportunity to provide and to follow leadership in which every member of the Communications Workers of America can take great pride. No other leader in this country has stood up more forcefully or more successfully for his people than your own president, Joe Beirne. So, as we go down the long, winding, uphill trail of a greater society, a better America, a place where every family has a roof over its head, where every child has an opportunity for an education, where there is a rug on the floor and a picture on the wall and a little music in the house-let's stand son, 1963-1964 June i8 [408] up behind that leadership of your country which says: Tomorrow will be better than yesterday! [Remarks after the presentation to the President of two Princess telephones for his daughters.] Mr. Beirne, I appreciate very much these beautiful phones for my daughters. I am glad that they will have title to them as a result of the generosity of the Communications Workers. I hardly expected this great honor of membership in the Communications Workers of America, but I understand that it was voted unanimously based on my great experience on the telephone. Thank you very much. NOTE: The President spoke shortly after noon in the public auditorium in Cleveland. His opening words referred to Joseph A. Beirne, president of the Communications Workers of America, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare Anthony J. Celebrezze, Senator Stephen M. Young and Representatives Charles A. Vanik and Michael A. Feighan of Ohio, Mayor Ralph S. Locher of Cleveland, Albert Porter, Ohio State Chairman of the Democratic Party and County Chairman for Cuyahoga County, and William L. Coleman, Chairman, Democratic Executive Committee for Ohio. 407 Statement by the President Following House Action Extending the Excise Taxes. June 17, i964 THE MEMBERS of the House who cast their vote to maintain fiscal stability deserve the warmest congratulations. It is unfortunate that narrow partisanship was brought into this issue, but the good sense of the majority prevailed. NOTE: The statement was read by the Press Secretary to the President, George E. Reedy, at his news conference held at the White House at 5:58 p.m. on June I7, I964. 408 Telephone Remarks With Prime Minister Ikeda of Japan Inaugurating the Trans-Pacific Cable. June i8, i964 Mr. Prime Minister: other welcome step toward transforming the This is an historic and happy occasion. Pacific from a barrier to a bridge between The new cable between our countries is an- Asia and America. 78i [408] June i8 Public Papers of the Presidents I am sure that better communications will mean even better understanding between our peoples. We are proud this symbol of the strong bonds of friendship between the United States and Japan is being placed in service this year when the Olympic games focus the eyes of the world on your country and on your capital city. May I take this opportunity to express to you and your countrymen the sympathy and concern of my countrymen for the suffering and sorrow inflicted by the earthquakes this week. We are proud to work with your country in the labors of the free world, Mr. Prime Minister-and it is my great pleasure to talk with you in this way tonight. NOTE: The President spoke at io p.m. from the Fish Room at the White House. Prime Minister Hayato Ikeda responded as follows: Thank you very much for your gracious message, Mr. President, which I just listened to on this newly installed means of communication. Today, the trans-Pacific cable for which both Japan and the United States have long yearned is successfully opened. We can indeed congratulate ourselves for this achievement. In behalf of the people and Government of Japan, I should like to express my heartfelt felicitation to you, Mr. President, and to the people of the United States. The rapid progress made in the field of science and technology has brought about revolutionary changes in the field of electric telecommunications. The role such changes has played in the advancement of gsan's well-being is immeasurable. In political, economic, cultural, and other areas of our endeavors, the relations between Japan and the United States have become closer than ever. This newly created physical bond across the Pacific, in addition to the recent development in the satellite communications, will enable our peoples even more to deepen our mutual understandings and encourage our cooperative works. The fact that we can now exchange our voices between Tokyo and Washington more clearly and speedily than ever will benefit greatly not only the relations between Japan and the United States but also our common effort to achieve peace and prosperity in the world. Mr. President, we deeply appreciate the sympathy you and the people of your country have extended to us on the earthquake disaster in northwest Japan. Being grateful to share with you, Mr. President, the privilege of being the first user of this cable, I should like to extend on this occasion my greetings to you, Mr. President, and to convey the deep feelings of friendship and good wishes of the Japanese people to the people of the United States. 409 Remarks Upon Arrival at Edwards Air Force Base, California. June i9, i964 Governor Brown, General Branch, Mr. Bikie, Secretary Zuckert, Mr. Halaby, Congressman Hagen and Members of the great California delegation, my old friend Pierre Salinger, ladies and gentlemen: This morning I share the pride which all Americans must feel for the men and women who serve in our Armed Forces and who serve in our space program. They are the sentries of peace and the servants of progress. I share the pride which all Californians must feel at these impressive examples of our military might and our scientific success. No one can come here to this great State and doubt that America is and will remain first in the world in the strength, the diversity, and the genius of its defense. Four years ago we promised to build a national defense of unmatched might and striking power. Under the leadership of President Kennedy we kept that pledge. Today the arms of America stand as an obstacle to aggression in every part of the world. They have made it possible to take more tangible steps toward peace than could have been taken or have been taken at anytime since the cold war began. This new strength, therefore, has been 782 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 June i9 [409] a shield of our freedom, has been a warning to our adversaries, has been an instrument of our determination to avoid nuclear destruction. Our strength has been the direct result of the policies that we began in i96i. Our defense spending has gone up from $4i.2 billion in the last full fiscal year of the previous administration, to an estimated $50 billion for this year. And because the great State of California had the know-how, the skills, the plants, and a driving determination to help America prepare, we turned more and more to this State for help. California is responsible for 23.1 percent of our entire defense effort in the United States, more than twice as much as its nearest competitor. And California's lead has been lengthening, from 103 percent over its nearest competitor in fiscal i960 to I33 percent last year. In the peaceful exploration of space, California has taken an even more important position. A member of your delegation heads the great Space Committee in the House, Congressman Miller. And you have made no greater contribution than to give us the leadership of this distinguished son. Fifty percent of the entire national space effort is carried on in California compared to less than 40 percent in i96i. And over the same period, the value of those contracts has risen from $148 million to more than $i,200 million in the 9 months of fiscal i964. This steady growth has not been any accident. It has come here, come here because this Nation needed what California had to offer. Our country can afford nothing but the best. We will continue to direct our programs to those places where the most effective and the most efficient work can be done. This will be, as it has always been, the only standard of judgment. As America moves into other areas of progress, California will lead the way. Great tasks lie before us. We must learn to tap the riches of the ocean. We must learn to turn salt water into fresh water, economically. We must learn to conquer disease and apply all the vast potential of modern science to the betterment of men. California has made a great investment in the human mind. In so doing you have shown a wisdom and a foresight which for decades to come will reap a rich reward for California, for America, and for the world. And what Governor Brown and your great California educational system have produced have been the envy of the other States of the Nation. So I am quite happy to be here with you this morning. I appreciate this wonderful welcome. I very especially want to thank the men and women of Edwards Air Force Base and all of their colleagues in all of our services around the world for the sacrifices they are making. We all know that you are serving at a sacrifice to make certain that America will always be the home of the brave and the land of the free. Thank you for coming here this morning. NOTE: The President spoke upon his arrival at Edwards Air Force Base in California. In his opening words he referred to Edmund G. Brown, Governor of California, Brig. Gen. Irving L. Branch, commander of the Flight Test Center, Edwards Air Force Base, Paul F. Bikle, Director, NASA Flight Test Center, Edwards, Calif., Eugene M. Zuckert, Secretary of the Air Force, Najeeb E. Halaby, Administrator, Federal Aviation Agency, Harlan Hagen, Representative from California, and Pierre Salinger, Democratic candidate for Senator from California. During his remarks the President also referred to Representative George P. Miller of California, Chairman of the House Committee on Science and Astronautics. 783 [410] June i9 Public Papers of the Presidents 410 Remarks in Concord, California, at the Groundbreaking for the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit Test Track. lJune 19, I964 Governor Brown, Mr. Falk, Mr. Speaker, ladies and gentlemen: Those who believe that the frontiers of America are closed should be out here today. The dreams and the deeds represented by this ceremony prove that the era of the pioneers is not over. Only the area of pioneering has changed. Yesterday's frontiers were vast empty lands, waiting to be claimed and cultivated by settlers who crossed the continent to start a new life. Today's frontiers are teeming cities, where too many people already lead a neglected life. Yesterday's frontiers were crisscrossed by wagon trains. Today's frontiers are clogged by automobiles. There are more than 80 million motor vehicles on our roads today. By I980 there will be i20 million, almost one vehicle for every two people. There are almost i1/2 million registered vehicles in the Bay Area alone. If they were lined up bumper to bumper, they would stretch from California to Maine-although I wouldn't recommend a trip under such circumstances. So we must develop adequate alternative means of transportation, or the coming crisis of congestion may do more to frustrate the growth and development of America than all the burning deserts and the barren mountains which stood in the path of our ancestors a century ago. You here in California are doing something about that crisis. This mass transit system is a victory, a victory for vision of men who started i2 long years ago to make it a reality. Now we need a major national effort to solve the problems of rapid transit, and this administration is determined to make that effort. Our Urban Mass Transportation Act sponsored by this administration has already passed the Senate of the United States and it will soon come to a vote in the House. We are going to do our dead level best to see that it passes the House and becomes the law of the land. Both Republicans and Democrats are supporting that measure because transportation is a bipartisan problem. It is also national in scope. Seventy percent of our people live in metropolitan areas. Fifty-three of our country's biggest metropolitan areas either border or cross State lines. Their transit problems ignore local boundaries, but their taxing powers are limited and their resources are already strained. Congress has voted billions of dollars to build highways, to build airports, to dredge harbors, to build canals, to improve river navigation. In the last century Congress helped finance railroads and shipping lines, to open up new areas of the country, to open up new trade routes abroad. Now Congress and the Federal Government must help to solve the problems of transportation. These problems require us to create new concepts of cooperation, a creative federalism between the Federal Government, the State governments, and local communities. And that is what our bill will do. When this bill went before one of the committees of Congress last year, a distinguished Republican Congressman from 784 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 June i9 [4II ] Ohio said to Congressman Patman from my State, who was testifying in favor of the bill, "Why are you from Texas interested in helping the people of New York solve their traffic problems? " And the Congressman from my State said, "Well, I am interested because this is the United States of America, and the people of my State are as involved with the people of New York and California as the people of New York and California must be with the people of Texas." That is the kind of spirit that we need in this country, and that is the kind of spirit that I have found in California. The idea that we are 50 separate countries, that the Federal Government representing the destiny of i90 million people does not have a duty to meet the needs of those people-this idea is as out of date as the dinosaur. The well-being of our people, the wellbeing of all of our people, is our first priority. I do not believe that the American people want to run a losing race with change. I believe that they want a happy partnership with their Government in order to turn the perils of the present into a promising future. So we are going to work with the people of our States. We are going to work with the people of our communities to solve the problems of those communities and those States. This administration does not intend to permit America to stagnate. This administration is not going to stand still. With the help of you wonderful people who have come here today, with the help of all of the people of the great State of California, your country is going to move ahead, to give every American a fair chance to lead a useful and a happy and a prosperous life. That is the function of government and that is what government under this administration will do. Thank you. NOTE: The President spoke at Concord, Calif., in the San Francisco East Bay area. His opening words referred to Edmund G. Brown, Governor of California, and Adrien J. Falk, president of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. 4II Remarks in San Francisco at the Dedication of the Federal Building. June i9, i964 Governor Brown, Mayor Shelley, my very able administrator, Bernie Boutin, Mr. Cullen, Mr. Poole, Members of this fine congressional delegation, my old friend and employee Pierre Salinger, ladies and gentlemen: I am proud to come to San Francisco today to dedicate this building of the finest government in the world, in the first State of the Union. When I say that "first State in the Union," that's not very easy for a Texan to say. This is your building. You will use it. We put it here to serve your needs. And I assure you it will continue to serve the needs of the people of California as long as I have anything to do with this government. For that is the kind of government that Californians want and expect, and that is the kind of government that Californians are going to vote for. You want a government which can get things done and knows where it is going. That is the kind of government you have had the past 4 years. I promise you that is the kind of government you are going to get for the next 4 years. The past 4 years have been an exciting time in Washington and in the country. 785 [4II] June I9 Public Papers of the Presidents They have been a time of action, of unmatched growth, of movement, of progress in every area of our national life. In January I96I, when our beloved President John F. Kennedy stood on the Capitol steps of our Nation and called upon America to follow him across the New Frontier, the country then was in the grip of a recession. Today, as I stand here in the great city of San Francisco, we are in the 4oth straight month of continuous growth without a single recession. In less than 4 years the value of our national product has gone up $ioo billion, the largest rise since the country began. And the great State of California has led all the rest of the States. The number of jobs has gone up to 7I million, the largest number of jobs since our country began, and 500,000 new jobs have come to California. Private investment went up $25 billion. Corporate profits went up $12 billion. Labor income went up $54 billion. And the great State of California led all the rest all the way. We have done this while making the largest tax cut since our country began. Next year, the people and the business of California will be almost a billion dollars richer because of this tax cut. We increased our defense until today we are stronger than all the nations of the rest of the world. We reached agreement with our adversaries ending nuclear tests in the air, and when our security was threatened, we stood firm in Cuba. As a result, peace is closer than ever before. We have launched an all-out war on poverty, and an all-out effort to give every living American his full constitutional rights. This is your record. This is a great record. But we do not ask you to praise our past. We do not ask you to be satisfied with our past successes. For freedom is never a safe harbor. It is a challenge constantly renewed, calling on us to move ahead, move forward, if we are not to decline. It is on the reverse side of the Great Seal of the United States. It shows an unfinished pyramid, watched over by the eternal eye of God. Above, it reads: He has favored our undertaking. Underneath it, it says: A New Order of the Ages. That pyramid is our Nation-majestic and proud, but unfinished. That motto is our challenge, to build on these shores a new order of fulfillment and freedom for all men. These words are our faith: that He will favor our undertaking as long as we heed His injunction to "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works." Well, I have come here today to ask you great citizens of San Francisco to join up in that forward march, to complete the great unfinished work of our Nation, to help bring peace to all the peoples of the world, to help bring prosperity to our own country and to all other men and women, and to give a fuller life to all people who live in this land. I know the people of today's California, like the pioneers of your earliest days, under the leadership of your great Governor, under the leadership of your new Senator to be elected, Pierre Salinger, under the leadership of one of the finest congressional delegations in all the land, with one of the best mayors to ever serve a great city, my old friend Jack Shelley-yes, like the pioneers of your earliest days we will lead America and we will lead the rest of the world toward those goals. We meet here in a beautiful city, in a free land, with prosperous people. We have much to love, much to protect, much to preserve. We have so much to be thankful for, all of us. Even though some of you 786 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 June i9 [4I2]1 Federal employees haven't got your pay bill passed yet, it has already passed the House and we are going to pass it in the Senate and make it law before this session ends. I want to thank all of you for coming and giving us this warm welcome. I will always remember this visit to San Francisco. As a matter of fact, you make me feel so good that if I get distressed at all between now and next November, I think I am going to invite myself back to San Francisco. In dedicating this new Federal building and this United States courthouse today to the service of all the people of San Francisco, I should like to leave with you an enduring symbol of this happy occasion. I have here a miniature replica of the Great Seal of the United States of America. It is similar to the larger replica of that same Seal which is mounted on this building-to constantly serve as a reminder to us of our heritage and of our duties as good American citizens. I am going to ask your beloved mayor, Jack Shelley, to step forward. Mayor Shelley, I want you to accept this seal on behalf of the wonderful people of this great city. May this new building serve San Francisco long and well, today and in all the days to come. Thank you. God bless all of you. NOTE: The President spoke from the front steps of the new Federal Building in San Francisco. In his opening words, he referred to Edmund G. Brown, Governor of California, John F. Shelley, mayor of San Francisco, Bernard L. Boutin, Administrator of General Services, Joseph M. Cullen, District Director of Internal Revenue at San Francisco, Cecil Poole, United States Attorney for the Northern District of California, and Pierre Salinger, Democratic candidate for Senator from California and former Press Secretary to the President. 4I2 Statement by the President Following Senate Passage of the Civil Rights Bill. June i9, i964 SENATE passage of the civil rights bill is a major step toward equal opportunities for all Americans. I congratulate Senators of both parties who worked to make passage possible. I look forward to the day, which will not be long forthcoming, when the bill becomes law. That will be a milestone in America's progress toward full justice for all her citizens. No single act of Congress can, by itself, eliminate discrimination and prejudice, hatred and injustice. But this bill goes further to invest the rights of man with the protection of law than any legislation in this century. First, it will provide a carefully designed code to test and enforce the right of every American to go to school, to get a job, to vote, and to pursue his life unhampered by the barriers of racial discrimination. Second, it will, in itself, help educate all Americans to their responsibility to give equal treatment to their fellow citizens. Third, it will enlist one of the most powerful moral forces of American society on the side of civil rights-the moral obligation to respect and obey the law of the land. Fourth, and perhaps most important, this bill is a renewal and a reinforcement, a symbol and a strengthening of that abiding commitment to human dignity and the equality of man which has been the guiding purpose of the American Nation for almost 200 years. It is the product, not of any man or group of men, but of a broad national consensus that every person is entitled to justice, to 33-171-65 a5 787 [4I2] June I9 Public Papers of the Presidents equality, and to an even chance to enjoy the blessings of liberty. It is in the highest tradition of a civilization which, from the Magna Carta on, has used the fabric of law for the fulfillment of liberty. Lastly, this bill is a challenge. It is a challenge to men of good will in every part of the country, to transform the commands of our law into the customs of our land. It is a challenge to all of us, to go to work in our States and communities, in our homes, and in the depths of our hearts to eliminate the final strongholds of intolerance and hatred. It is a challenge to reach beyond the content of the bill to conquer the barriers of poor education, poverty, and squalid housing which are an inheritance of past injustice and an impediment to future advance. Programs to improve the life of all underprivileged Americans will go far to liberate those who have suffered under the heavy weight of racial discrimination. I do not underestimate the depth of the passions involved in the struggle for racial equality. But I also know that throughout this country, in every section of this land, there is a large reservoir of good will and compassion, of decency and fair play which seeks a vision of justice without violence in the streets. If these forces do not desert the field, if they can be brought to the battle, then the years of trial will be a prelude to the final triumph of a land "with liberty and justice for all." 413 Remarks in San Francisco at a Democratic Fundraising Dinner. June I9, I964 Governor Brown, Mayor Shelley, former Secretary and future Senator Pierre Salinger, Members of this great California congressional delegation, and all of you wonderful people who make this evening possible: I want to confess that I was somewhat surprised when Pierre told me that he intended to run for Senator in a State more than 500 miles long. It was just a few months ago that he refused to walk even 50 miles. The real reason Pierre decided to run has been a closely kept secret. Tonight I can let it be known: I wouldn't let him play the piano at my press conferences. But it did take Pierre a little longer to make up his mind than you would suspect. He couldn't decide to run in California or Virginia. There is one blessing in all of this, of course: he can't smoke those cigars in the Senate Chamber. But I am very proud of you good people of California and the contribution that your voters have made to the economy drive. Since Pierre already lives there in Virginia, we won't have to pay to move him to Washington. And by the way, Pierre, Secretary McNamara sends his regards. You know who I am talking about. You know him. McNamara. M-c-N-a-m - It is wonderful to be out here in this enlightened, progressive State. Thirty-two years ago Franklin Roosevelt came to San Francisco and declared that "America is new. It is in the process of change and development. It has great potentialities of youth, and particularly is this true of the great West, and of this coast, and of all of the great State of California." Well, I think if Franklin D. Roosevelt were here tonight he would not have to change his text. America is still a young 788 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 June i9 [4I3] Nation. It is rich in talent, robust in energy, resplendent in the promise of a better life for all people. And the West, this coast, the great State of California, have vindicated Franklin Roosevelt's vision of your future when he predicted it 32 years ago. You have turned what Daniel Webster once called "a wasteland" into a wonderland of opportunity. When President Roosevelt campaigned here three decades ago, California was 6th among the States in population. When our beloved John F. Kennedy and I campaigned here 4 years ago, you were second. And tonight California is first-although I hope you won't tell them back in Texas that I said that. California is not just the last frontier of an immense continent but the new frontier of an inspired civilization. For we have set America on the road to excellence-and in following that course we need the vision and the valor of the pioneers who crossed deserts and conquered mountains to turn a barren land into a bountiful life. The path we have chosen will be hard, the perils will be great, the price will be high. But on the other side lies the Great Societya place where a life of decency and dignity is within the reach of every man; a place where our people live in clean cities, where they breathe fresh air, where they drink pure water, where our children, all our children, study in good schools, and live in good homes, and play in good parks; and where all men know the fulfillment of personal happiness because they enjoy the freedom of personal opportunity. We started across these frontiers 4 years ago, right here in San Francisco, when we heard a bold challenge from a brave crusader-John Fitzgerald Kennedy. "The theme of this campaign," he said, "is going to be action. Action here at home to keep pace with our growing country... and action abroad to meet the challenge of our adversaries." Here in the city where he spoke those words, I want the record to show tonight that John F. Kennedy redeemed his pledge. He promised the Democratic Party would give this country action again, and action is what he gave it and what we are giving it. We passed the civil rights bill in the Senate today by a vote of 73 to 27. Tonight let us look at three pledges made in California in i960 and translated into action in i964. First, we took immediate action to increase our military strength to unquestionable superiority and we are determined to keep it there. In San Diego we declared that "America must have a military strength second to none-strength which can survive and can guarantee survival." Since i960 we have increased our nuclear power on alert 2 1/2 times, and the intercontinental ballistic missiles and Polaris missiles in our arsenal have been increased from less than ioo to over i,ooo. We have increased our combat ready divisions by 45 percent. We have increased our special forces eightfold. We have increased our airlift capability by 75 percent. We are increasing our supporting tactical aircraft by 30 percent. and increasing the number of tactical nuclear warheads in Western Europe by more than 6o percent. We have used that strength not to intimidate others, but we have used it to show others that we cannot and will not be intimidated ourselves. We have used that strength not to incite our enemies but to indicate our intention to defend freedom wherever it is necessary. There are still those in this country who 789 14I31 June ig Public Papers of the Presidents believe that we must have strength. Some think that we go too far, too fast. But I have never seen a nation too strong, provided it used that strength to keep the peace. There are still some in the world who believe they can violate their neighbor's borders, and some who believe that they can steal their neighbor's freedom. There are still those who refuse to accept the standards and the laws which the international community has developed. And as long as these men persist in disturbing the international peace, we must insist on preserving our national power. And as long as I am President I intend to see that America's defense can never be the object of doubt and America's strength can never be the subject of suspicion. That is number one. Second, we took immediate action to show friend and foe alike that all America seeks in the world tonight is peace and justice. Those of you who heard the promise of a Peace Corps in the Cow Palace in 1960 will be proud to know that around the world tonight more than 7,000 young Americansincidentally more than io percent of them from the great State of California-are giving quiet witness to the best of America's ideals. From Borneo to Bolivia, from India to Tanganyika, they are translating good words into good deeds. And I want to double the size of the Peace Corps. The nations of the world want our young people. The peoples of the world need our young people. And surely a nation rich in goods and ideals can provide young people. You also heard the promise 4 years ago, right here in San Francisco, that we would seize the initiative in searching for ways to reduce the risks of nuclear holocaust. Well, in 1961 we became the first nation to establish a disarmament agency in the world. And we have negotiated a limited nuclear test ban. We have established a "hot line" between Washington and Moscow, and, along with the Russians, we have cut back the production of materials used to make nuclear weapons. With each step the world has inched back from a nuclear precipice. Through most of the years since World War II, America has been engaged in preventing conquests by communism. In the last few years the tide has turned. Tonight we are on the offensive in the pursuit of peace. We still face deadly dangers. We still face determined adversaries. But tonight we have the confidence in our strength and leadership which makes it possible for us to seek agreement without fearing the loss of our liberty. Unless our adversaries rashly mistake our intentions I predict that we will move closer to enduring peace in the coming decade than at any other time since the guns of August shattered the serenity of the earth half a century ago. Third, we took immediate action to meet the hopes and widen the horizons of opportunity for every American. In San Francisco, we said, "The pressure of our schools, the plight of our aged, the necessity of maintaining full employment, the necessity of expanding equal rights to all Americans-these are the things that require action." Since 1960 we have enacted legislation and started programs to build almost 30 new public community colleges every year; to provide college classrooms for hundreds of thousands of new students; to provide loans that enable almost Ioo,ooo additional Americans to attend college every year. But we have only just begun. In the next decade our goal is to open the door of higher education to every youngster in America who qualifies! Since I960 we have introduced and we 790 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-i964 June i9 [4I31 have fought for a health plan to enable our older citizens to face the future without fear, and we are going to keep on fighting until that bill is the law of the land! Since the beginning of i96I, 5 million new nonfarm jobs have been created and unemployment has been reduced by one-fifth while the labor force was growing by more than 3 million. In California alone, more than 500,000 people have been added to the employment rolls since the beginning of i96i. More than 6,5o6,ooo Californians-6,5o6,ooo Californians-were working in the month of April this year-an all-time high for any April on record in our national history. And their wages were averaging better than $ioo a week for every person employed. Our tax cut will add 2 million new jobs, and we have urged Congress to pass programs that will train half a million workers a year in new skills. But as long as one American who is able to work cannot find a job, this administration and the National Democratic Party are not going to rest on our record. We intend to work for a rapid rate of economic growth. We are going to expand our investment in training new workers. We are going to find ways to produce ever-better products at lower costs. We will develop our tools of economic policy to cope with any signs of a recession. And we will strive to remove any barriers that keep our fellow citizens from realizing their full potential. Finally, since i960 we have moved steadily toward full equality for all of our people. And I am proud to acknowledge that California, under the great leadership of Pat Brown and this delegation at this head table tonight, has led the march, has led the march toward the goal of decency and the goal of dignity for every American. Today, the United States Senate passed the most comprehensive civil rights bill in i00 years. Our work is cut out for us and our job has just begun. It was ioo years ago that Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. But until education is blind to color, and until employment is unaware of race, emancipation will be a proclamation but it will not be a fact. I was leader of the Senate when we passed the first civil rights bill in more than 8o years in the Congress of the United States. It was just one step, in I957. I was leader of the Senate when we passed the second civil rights bill in 85 years, in i960. I am proud that I am privileged to be President when the House and the Senate pass the greatest and best bill of them all in the year of Our Lord i964. Lastly and finally, this bill is a challenge, it is a challenge to men of good will in every part of the country to transform the commands of our law into the customs of our land. It is a challenge to all of us to go to work in our States, in our communities, in our homes, and, most of all, in the depths of our hearts, to eliminate the final strongholds of intolerance and hatred in our land. It is a challenge to reach beyond the content of the bill, to conquer the barriers of poor education, poverty, squalid housing, which are an inheritance of past injustice and an impediment to future advance. Programs to improve the life of all underprivileged Americans will go far to liberate those who have suffered under the heavy weight of racial discrimination. I want to say to you good people of California tonight that I do not underestimate for a moment the depth of the passions involved in the struggle for racial equality. But I also know that throughout this country, in every section of this land, there is a 79I [413] June 19 Public Papers of the Presidents large reservoir of good will and compassion, of decency, love, and fair play, which seeks the vision of justice without violence in the streets. If these good forces do not desert the field-and I appeal to you tonight in one of the first appeals I have made since this law was proposed-I appeal to the good people of California tonight not to desert the field. I appeal to you to come into the battle, to help us in the years of trial, in the belief that they will be a prelude to the final triumph of a land, a free land, with liberty and justice for all. Yes, this year of our Lord I964 is the year to reach that goal. Yes, this is the year to give every American an equal chance to send his little children to school, to give every American a chance to work, to vote, and to enjoy the benefits of a free society. So tonight I congratulate the Senators and the Representatives of both parties who worked to make passage of that bill possible. I look forward to the day, which will not be long forthcoming, when the bill becomes law and I affix my signature. That will be a milestone in America's progress toward full justice for all of her citizens. No single act of Congress can, by itself, eliminate discrimination and prejudice, and hatred and injustice. But this bill goes further to invest the rights of man with the protection of law than any legislation in this entire century. First, it will provide a carefully designed code to test and enforce the right of every American to go to school, for every American to get a job, for every American to vote, and to pursue his life unhampered by the barriers of racial discrimination. Second, it will, in itself, help educate all Americans to their responsibility to give equal treatment to their fellow citizens. Third, it will enlist one of the most powerful moral forces of American society on the side of civil rights, the moral obligation to respect and obey the law of the land. Fourth, and perhaps most important, this bill is a renewal and a reinforcement, a symbol and a strengthening of that abiding commitment to human dignity and the equality of man which has been the guiding purpose of the American Nation for 200 years. This bill is the product not of any man or group of men, but of a broad, national consensus-73 to 27 in the Senate-that every person is entitled to justice, that every person is entitled to equality, and to an even chance to enjoy the blessings of liberty. It is in the highest traditions of a civilization which from the Magna Carta on has used the fabric of law for the fulfillment of liberty. My friends, this ought to be a year of fulfillment-not of frustration. This ought to be a year of advance-not of apathy. Above all, it can be a year in which the rich promises of our past become the real performances of our present. We have come a long way in this country. I see a friend out here in the audience, Otto Crider, who left Johnson City, Tex., with me 40 years ago. Both of us had less than $25 in our pocket. We didn't have a top on our car. It was an old "T" model. We started to follow the old philosopher's advice, Horace Greeley, and "Go West, Young Man" to seek our fortune. Well, Otto got up to Cloverdale and stayed there, and I think he is healthy and perhaps wealthy, and maybe wise. We both came here looking for a job, and I am back in the same mission tonight. You were good to me 40 years ago and you gave me that jot, and I hope you love me in November as you do in June. 792 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-I964 June 20 [414] You have come a long way in California, but new frontiers are opening and we still have a long way to go. In my old friend Pat Brown, here, you have a great Governor, and under his leadership and the leadership of the other State officials at this table tonight, California is moving ahead. In Pierre Salinger you are going to have another effective Senator, he will be able to run in the White House almost as fast as he ran out. He will be taking the seat of that outstanding patriot and my beloved friend, your wonderful servant, Clair Engle. The entire Nation and all the free world will be looking to California in the months ahead, to help us prepare and maintain our defenses on the land, in the sea, in the skies, and in outer space. You have an outstanding congressional delegation. My old friend, George Miller, who lives not far from here, is the farsighted and able Chairman of the Space Committee of the House of Representatives, on which California relies so heavily. I commend you for your entire Democratic congressional delegation, and I ask you, please, to enlarge it in November. So let us resolve tonight to stand together for the programs that will give America more action and more progress for 4 more 4I4 Remarks at the Dedication of a California Campus in Irvine. Governor Brown, President Kerr, Mr. Carter, Mr. Aldrich, Mr. Dutton, Congressman Miller, Congressman Utt, Congressman Hanna, distinguished guests on the platform, members of the Board of Regents, ladies and gentlemen: I have been in California now less than years. Let us resolve here tonight that in California and in the Nation the Democratic Party will be the party that worked for the people, will be the party that stood with the people, will be the party that believed in the people, will be the party that journeyed with the people across the New Frontiers toward a richer and better life for all human beings. And tonight I appeal to all Americans, regardless of party, who believe in the people, who want them to have a richer and better life, to join us in our march, because we are marching. We have not come here to condemn or to confuse, or to even criticize. We have come here to ask all good Americans to unite under one great tent to give every American a better tomorrow than yesterday, a richer and better life for himself and for his children, and his grandchildren. Thank you and goodnight. NOTE: The President spoke in the Continental Room at the Hilton Hotel in San Francisco. In his opening words he referred to Edmund G. Brown, Governor of California, John F. Shelley, mayor of San Francisco, and Pierre Salinger, Democratic candidate for Senator from California and former Press Secretary to the President. During the course of his remarks the President also referred to Robert S. McNamara, Secretary of Defense, to Senator Clair Engle and to Representative George P. Miller of California. L New University of June 20, I964 30 hours and I think I already know why you are number one in the Nation in so many fields. Your leaders have the vision and your people have the vigor that put California on top. Governor Brown, I predict that is where California is going to stay. 793 [4I41 June 20 Public Papers of the Presidents There seems to be a sense of urgency in California that translates good words into good deeds. Men have been talking about the importance of education in America ever since Thomas Jefferson once said: "If you expect a nation to be ignorant and free, you expect what never was and never will be." California is not just talking about education-you are doing something about it. This campus is a perfect example. It seems, in fact, that every time I come to California you build a new college. The last time, only 3 months ago, you were dedicating a new campus at Santa Cruz. Today, the university adds another campus at Irvine. If you keep up this pace, President Kerr, you are going to have a lot of ceremonies like this between now and November. Urgent problems demand urgent programs. By 1970 California must provide desks and teachers for more than a million additional students. In the next 6 years you must build as many schools, teach as many students, and spend as much money on education as you have during the past 8o years. I know something about this State. I know something about the West. I know that you have the concern, the courage, and the commitment to get this job done. You will not be alone. Education is a national need, and I want to assure you that as long as I am President, the education of your children is going to receive top priority by the men who lead your Nation. In the last few months I have signed three education bills into law, in addition to one library bill. One of them will build college classrooms for hundreds of thousands of students, construct community colleges and technical institutes, and improve graduate schools and college libraries. But that is just a beginning. In the next decade our college population will almost double, and we must provide them with facilities and faculties second to none in the world. I believe we will so provide them. I expect higher education in America to cross many new frontiers in that decade, and one of the most critical is the frontier of the city life. A century ago we were a nation of farms and farmers. Eighty percent of our people lived in rural areas. We had to cultivate a wilderness of western lands. Congress passed legislation then to apply the science of our learning to the secrets of our agriculture, and our colleges and our universities set out to change our farms. Well, the results were revolutionary —so revolutionary that today one farmworker produces what six produced a hundred years ago. Now 70 percent of our people live in urban areas, like Los Angeles. Their needs are immense. But just as our colleges and universities changed the future of our farms a century ago, so they can help change the future of our cities. I foresee the day when an urban extension service, operated by universities across the country, will do for urban America what the Agricultural Extension Service has done for rural America. And I am asking the United States Commissioner of Education to meet with the leaders of education-men like your own Clark Kerr-to see how that can come to pass. All our hopes for peace depend on the kind of society that we build here in the United States. And that, in turn-the kind of society we build-rests on our system of education. I do not intend for us to settle for an uneasy peace for the world, or an inferior society for America, or an inadequate education for our children. We are on the frontiers of a new America. Ahead of us is the challenge to make our 794 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-i964 June 20 [415] system work, make it work in a dangerous and difficult period; to demonstrate to a watching and waiting world that democracy, and not communism, represents the way to the future. Just the day before he died, our beloved late President Franklin Delano Roosevelt wrote: "The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today." I have come to California to ask you to throw off your doubts about America. Help us demonstrate to the world that people of compassion and commitment can free their fellow citizens from the bonds of injustice, and the prisons of poverty, and the chains of ignorance. Help us-help us to open the doors of America's abundance and freedom's promise to every man, whatever his race, or his region, or his religion. Help us to build a strong-and vital-and progressive society. In education, in health, in transportation, in every field of human endeavor let us move forward. Let us do our dead level best, knowing that "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." NOTE: The President spoke at the site of the new University of California campus at Irvine, Calif. In his opening words he referred to Edmund G. Brown, Governor of California, Clark Kerr, president of the University of California, Edward Carter, chairman, University of California Board of Regents, Daniel C. Aldrich, chancellor, University of California, Frederick G. Dutton, Assistant Secretary of State for Congressional Relations and member of the University of California Board of Regents, and George P. Miller, James B. Utt, and Richard T. Hanna, U.S. Representatives from California. 4I5 Remarks in Los Angeles at a Democratic Fundraising Dinner. June 20, i964 Governor Brown, Mr. Six, former Secretary and future Senator Pierre Salinger, General Mosk, Senator Burns, my great friends, the Members of the California delegation in the Congress, ladies and gentlemen: It is good to be here in the largest county of the largest State of the most powerful and prosperous country in the world, speaking to my fellow members of the largest political party in the Nation. I came out here to tell you that we are going to keep it that way. I understand there has been a lot of debate here recently about the mainstream. I have no opinion about who is in the mainstream of the other party, but I do know that it is the Democratic Party which is in the mainstream of American life. And we are going to prove that once again next November! I brought my Press Secretary, George Reedy, with me. I was a little afraid to do this, but Pat Brown said it was all right, that you didn't have another Senate race until i968-although it was nice of Jesse Unruh to offer him a job in the movies. I want you to know this: despite what I have read recently in the papers about what is going to happen next month, I am not yet ready to declare the San Francisco Cow Palace a disaster area! You and I share a great tradition, the tradition of the West. Here in California, and in my home State of Texas, brave men carved an empire from the emptiness of the land. Some say that the West is gone, that the pioneer spirit perished when the frontiers were finished. But they are wrong. For the West is not just a place. The West is a vision of the mind, a vitality of the heart, a vigor of will. The West prefers courage to 33-171-65- -56 795 [415] June 20 Public Papers of the Presidents cowardice, enterprise to ease, adventure to restfulness, the challenges of the future to the comforts of the present. This is still the spirit of California and Texas. It is still the spirit- of the Democratic Party. And this November we are going to see again that it is the entire spirit of the entire United States of America. We remember and praise the heroes of the West. But the West was not built by heroes alone. It sprang from the work of millions of men and women-unknown and unsung-who came together to build homes and churches, and schools, who cooperated to end lawlessness and develop resources, pursue progress and raise communities on the edge of conflict. The keystone of our conquest was cooperation. That cooperation, that sense of brotherhood and unity, was possible because they shared a common enterprise and they shared a common enemy in the wilderness. As a nation we had this same sense of unity in time of war. Then, too, we shared a common -enterprise and a common enemy. Tonight, I have again called on that tradition. I have called for national unity, for an end to difference and division, for an end to rancor and reproach. I base this call on the hard fact that today, for almost the first time in our peacetime history, the great majority of the American people have a common enterprise and a common enemy. They have essentially the same goals. They harbor the same fears. They hold the same high hopes. If we can transform this unity of interest into unity of purpose, there is no limit to the greatness that is within our grasp. What are the goals on which the great majority of the American people agree? First, we want peace. We want an end to the threat of nuclear destruction. In the past 4 years we have taken more tangible steps toward this goal than at anytime in our postwar history. We intend to continue to seek a world where men and women are free from the fear of war. Second, we want America to be strong. We know, as George Washington said, that "to prepare for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace." Today, America is first among the nations in strength. California is first among the States in contributing to that strength. And I tell you tonight that America and California are going to always remain first. Third, we want to continue the upward progress of prosperity. In the past 4 years national income has gone up. Unemployment has gone down. Recessions have become a memory. And the rising tide has lifted nearly all the boats. Business knows its market depends upon fair wages for workers, and labor knows a business must have the incentive of profits if it is to create new jobs. Nearly all Americans know that the prosperity of each individual depends upon the health of every part of the economy. We will continue, as long as we are in office, to pursue the policies which have created prosperity for all of us in America. One of those policies has resulted in the largest tax cut in American history. Next year alone in the six major metropolitan areas of California-including Los Angeles-this tax cut will put an extra $840 million in the hands of citizens and businesses in California. Fourth, we must eliminate poverty. We want this out of compassion for the oppressed and the awareness that the entire economy will rise as more people share in the benefits of our society. And we are going to wage war on poverty until we finally win! Fifth, we want every American of every 796 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 June 20 [4151 race and color to enjoy the full blessings of American liberty. I know that contending passions and prejudices are deeply woven into the fabric of our Nation. But I believe that the basic sense of decency and human dignity, of justice and moral truth is in the hearts of the great majority of our people. This basic sense of decency commands that every American shall have his full constitutional rights. Sixth, we share a care and a concern for the elderly, and for the sick, and for the handicapped. We will not turn our back on those who, through no fault of their own, can no longer sustain themselves. Our party, the Democratic Party, has always been the special agent of the American aim toward compassion. To us the old, the sick, the hungry, the helpless have represented not failures to be forsaken but human beings to be helped. This Nation will never again fall into indifference toward the distressed and the despairing. Since I960 we have increased or extended social security benefits to 5 million additional people. We have increased housing for the elderly four times. We have allowed older workers to earn more while receiving benefits. We have launched a Council on the Aging. But this, all this, is just the beginning. We are also writing a new Charter of Opportunity for older Americans. That charter includes: Medical care through social security. This will help 17 million Americans meet the crushing costs of hospital care. High quality medical services through renovating and constructing hospitals and nursing homes will benefit all the elderly of our Nation and will give increased benefits under the social security program in addition. We promised an expanded housing program for older Americans. An expanded volunteer program for senior citizens to use the wisdom and the energies of older Americans to help the underprivileged here and to help them throughout the world. So with this Charter of Opportunity for our older citizens we can move toward the day when advancing years will not mean fear and loneliness but will mean a bright renewal of hope and a rebuilding of happiness. All these shared American goals underlie my hopes for national unity. We must now work to show the American people that our test of greatness will come not from open conflicts between fellow citizens but from facing the forces of poverty and racial injustice; not from the ambitions of our neighbors but from the abundance that we must use to enrich the life of our Nation. By understanding this, we can turn unity of interest into unity of purpose, and unity of goals into unity in the Great Society. That achieved we will eliminate racial injustice from our society. We will be able to abolish poverty from our land. We will remove fear from our future. We will remain strong while finding the path to peace. In the last few decades California has exploded with the energy of a growth which has brought a better life to millions. This is a great achievement, and the entire country is proud of what you have done here. But tonight I ask you to join with me, and join with your country, on the path of a united nation pursuing the Great Society. Then it will be that future citizens of California-in a day not too distant-will look back at I964 and say not "That was our 797 [4I5] June 20 Public Papers of the Presidents golden age"-not "That was the good time"-not "That was the height of our greatness." Then we will all be able to look back and say "That was only the beginning." Thank you, and goodnight. NOTE: The President spoke at the Palladium in Los Angeles. In his opening words he referred to Edmund G. Brown, Governor of California, Robert F. Six, president of Continental Airlines, who served as chairman of the fundraising dinner, Pierre Salinger, Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate and former Press Secretary to the President, Stanley Mosk, Attorney General of California, and Hugh M. Burns, President pro tempore of the California State Senate. Later he referred to Jesse M. Unruh, Speaker of the California State Assembly. 416 Remarks of Welcome at the White House to Prime Minister Inonu of Turkey. June 22, i964 Mr. Prime Minister: It is a pleasure to meet with you again and to welcome you once more to our United States. The American people remember with deep appreciation your visit here last year in our national hour of sorrow upon the death of our beloved late President, John F. Kennedy. For myself, I shall never forget my own visit to your country 2 years ago and the great outpouring of friendship for America which your people demonstrated so generously in your cities and your countryside. From that visit I remember especially the conversations we were privileged to have together, Mr. Prime Minister. I was inspired by both your vision and your determination to lead Turkey toward the fulfillment of the dreams of the great Ataturk, at whose side you once worked. The history of your land is ancient; the history of our land is young. Yet Turkey and the United States have much in common. We share alike a zeal to safeguard our independence, to uphold democratic values under the rule of law, and to seek after those solutions which will be peaceful and permanent. We are not only good friends but we are close allies. We have marched together in arms. We stand together as partners in NATO. We work together as associates in CENTO. We welcome you, Mr. Prime Minister, as a leader of a nation united with us in a determination to preserve world peace and, through collective security, to stand steadfast against the threat of communist aggression. Above all, Mr. Prime Minister, we welcome you as a friend who comes representing a strong and stalwart people for whom the American people have only the warmest feelings of friendship and respect. I am confident that in our discussions this friendly spirit will prevail, as we work together toward the solutions of problems which trouble us all. NOTE: The President spoke in midmorning on the South Lawn at the White House where Prime Minister Ismet Inonu was given a formal welcome with full military honors. The Prime Minister responded as follows: Mr. President: On behalf of my wife and myself I wish to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for this sincere and splendid welcome. I have no doubt that the people of Turkey look upon this visit as another occasion to cement the deep-rooted and lasting friendship between our two countries. Our two peoples have always been conscious of having common ideals and of having linked our destinies. We in Turkey believe that friendship between countries is based not on transitory interests, but on a common faith in ultimate justice and unwavering principles. Mr. President, friendships are proved in trying times. If my visit can help to bring better understanding of the problems and issues that now interest our part of the world my mission will be useful. 798 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 June 22 [4I7] We believe in peace but we also know that peace cannot be lasting unless it is based on justice. For your great country we in Turkey have always borne the most sincere feelings of esteem, confidence, and good will. For Mrs. Johnson and yourself, Mr. President, my wife and I have such deep personal regard that your gracious welcome is both touching and overwhelming. We are happy and honored to be the guests of a great President of the United States. To you, Mr. President, to your gracious wife, and to those of the great American public who can hear me, on behalf of ourselves and the people of Turkey, I say, once again, thank you. 417 Remarks Upon Presenting the President's Awards for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service. June 22, 1964 Mr. Ball, ladies and gentlemen: This is a very proud moment for those that we have come to honor, and for their families and coworkers as well. It is also a very proud moment for their country. Freedom is much more than merely security against aggression from other countries. Freedom, as our forefathers conceived it, meant the liberation of the individual from oppression by his own government. Today, after nearly two centuries, the lasting contribution of the American Revolution remains the concept that law shall rule, that the people shall govern, that officials of government shall neither rule nor govern, but that officials shall only serve. Thus, we are honoring the oldest and the noblest tradition of our system, as we honor these four able men for being in every sense faithful servants of our people. In the highest sense, we do much more today than honor fidelity alone. Faithfulness, honesty, and loyalty have so long been the rule of public service in our land that the infrequent and isolated exceptions receive and deserve the harshest and strictest censure. The true purpose of these awards is to challenge the career service to meet the new and higher standards required for this new and changing age. Man's knowledge, man's capabilities, have never advanced so rapidly as in these times. If Government does not serve, Government becomes only a costly and intolerable disservice unless its depart ments and its agencies and its responsible officials strive without ceasing to adopt that advancing knowledge and capacity to the people's service. The new standard, the new goal of Government, and within Government, must therefore be the standard goal of excellence. Each of the public servants that we honor today has in his field contributed a measure of excellence. In so doing they each epitomize what I believe is a new generation and a new breed of public servant. The day has passed when Government jobs are the easy jobs of our society, or when the public service is the refuge of those inadequate for the demands of private competition. Many of our society's most challenging and most demanding and most difficult and most important posts today are in the public sector. We need for those posts our best minds, our most able men and women. Nothing less, we think, will suffice. These are such men. So on behalf of a fortunate Nation, made stronger by their service, I am proud this morning to salute them and to honor them with this highest award that the Nation can bestow for distinguished civilian service. Mr. Doar, like all those honored today, has served under administrations of both parties. It is the hallmark of the ideal public servant that he is motivated not by desire to serve a party, but to serve all the people. Mr. Doar has made a basic contribution to our democracy as a vigorous champion of equal voting; 799 [417] June 22 Public Papers of the Presidents rights under the law enacted in I957. I want to congratulate Mr. Doar especially for the high standards that he has set in its enforcement. Dr. Friedman's career typifies the new kind of challenge being offered today within the public service. Back during World War II, one of his inventions permitted a major breakthrough in productivity in the manufacture of radio circuits. I understand the wartime saving in man-hours was more than 50 million, and that this invention is still as valuable now as it was 20 years ago. Dr. Friedman's creativity continues. He holds more than 50 patents, and nearly all of the new information we have accumulated in the past I5 years about the upper atmosphere has come from the experiments that Dr. Friedman conceived and designed or executed. I hope that the brilliant and ambitious young scientists of our colleges and universities will keep this in mind when they choose their career courses. All of us know Lyman Kirkpatrick's remarkable and inspiring story. After a distinguished and brilliant career, he was felled in I952 by polio. In I953 he was back at work, traveling around the world as Inspector General of the CIA. His contribution to his country and to the free world has been equaled by few and exceeded by none in the years that he has been restricted by a handicap that many would have regarded as an excuse for simply giving up. Since this is an election year, I guess I had better not say that Brom Smith is the most valuable man in the White House. But there are some of us here who think that Bromley Smith is a leading candidate for that title. For more than io years he has done a most remarkable job of enabling the Presidency, under three Presidents, to be a more responsive and more vigilant and better informed office. I am personally very grateful and personally very proud of you today. Now if the recipients would all come around, we will have a picture together, and then we will have them individually with each and their family. NOTE: The President spoke at noon in the Rose Garden at the White House. His opening words referred to George W. Ball, Under Secretary of State and Chairman of the Distinguished Civilian Service Awards Board. The recipients of the award, announced by the President on June 7, were: John Doar, First Assistant to the Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice, Herbert Friedman, Superintendent, Atmosphere and Astrophysics Division, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Lyman B. Kirkpatrick, Jr., Executive Director-Comptroller, Central Intelligence Agency, and Bromley K. Smith, Executive Secretary, National Security Council. 418 Toasts of the President and Prime Minister Inonu of Turkey. June 22, i964 Mr. Prime Minister, gentlemen: This house and this Nation are honored today by the presence of one of the 20th century's truly distinguished world statesmen. Free men everywhere have long known and honored the name of Inonu of Turkey. Nowhere is that admiration greater or more sincere, Mr. Prime Minister, than in the United States of America. We remember the immortal founder of modern Turkey, Kemal Ataturk. 'We remember as he worked to build a great modern state that you worked by his side, 'never flinching before difficulties, never shrinking from dedication to democratic values. Your joint accomplishment is visible to the- world 8oo Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-I964 -June 22 [419] today, Mr. Prime Minister, in the land that I was privileged to see myself with you only 2 years ago. We in America, proud of our own democratic traditions, remember especially the courageous defense of the democratic processes which the Prime Minister made in 1946. At that time the Prime Minister insisted that free and fair elections must be guaranteed not only as a legal obligation to the people but as a matter of conscience. The Prime Minister has been called upon again to serve his people and we salute him for his steadfastness to principles that we also revere. Under his leadership Turkey has launched a promising 5-year plan to modernize the Turkish economy. We are confident that long strides can be made toward realizing the vision of Ataturk, of nations joined in seeking happiness and true prosperity for their peoples, if we jealously guard- our freedom and we zealously seek peace. So, Mr. Prime Minister, we welcome you here. We welcome you as a close associate in the undertakings among nations dedicated not only to the defense of -free men but to the betterment of all mankind. Turkey stands at the gateway to the East, but is also of the West. Its unique understanding of both worlds thus contributes greatly toward merging the two into one, one which looks toward the goal of stability and justice for all peoples in all corners of the earth. Now it gives me great pleasure to ask my guests to join me in a toast to the continued close friendship between our countries, to the President of Turkey, and to success in our mutual determination to preserve world peace and justice. NOTE: The President proposed the toast at a luncheon in the State Dining Room at the White House. Prime Minister Inonu responded as follows: I am very grateful for the very warm and splendid welcome we received this morning. 'I am also touched by the very kind words that you have spoken about me. As you have underlined, Mr. President, under the great leadership of Kemal Ataturk, and in close cooperation with him, our efforts were directed to the founding of modern Turkey, and to the establishing of the closest partnership with the West. I believe, Mr. President, that we have been successful in fulfilling these cherished ideals of the Turkish people and in making democratic principles live and flourish in Turkey. We have always looked toward our great partners, the United States of America, as our truest friend, and we continue to do so. It is a deep satisfaction for me to reiterate these deep sentiments of the Turkish Nation toward the American Nation. In cooperating. very closely with each other, I believe we, can look with great faith and hope to the future, since our common goals are, as you have correctly pointed out, stability and justice for all peoples of all nations, large or small, weak or strong, in all corners of the world. Thanking you from the bottom of my heart, I would like to ask the honored guests to join me in a toast for your continuous health and happiness, Mr. President, and the continued close friendship between our countries. 4I9 Statement by the President on the 20th Anniversary of the G.I. Bill of Rights. June 22, i964 TWENTY years ago-on June 22, I944 -President Franklin Roosevelt signed into law the G.I. bill of rights. That stroke of -his pen was far more than a nation's gesture of gratitude toward those who in the cause of freedom had borne the cost of conflict. It represented America's intention to -insure that the war we were going to win would be followed by a peace we were not prepared to lose. 8oi 14I91 June 22 Public Papers of the Presidents The G.I. bill increased the strength of our Nation by enlarging the opportunities of our people. The results have been rewarding: i. Almost 8,ooo,ooo veterans-nearly half of all the men and women who served in World War II-received some training under the bill's provisions. 2. The bill has produced 6oo,ooo engineers and scientists, 360,ooo school teachers, and 700,000 business and executive personnel. 3. It spurred the postwar economy and promoted the prosperity of all the people, including those who did not directly benefit from its provisions. One out of every five 420 The President's News Conferer June 23, I964 THE PRESIDENT. I have some announcements that I would like to make that I think would be of interest to you. [i.] On June 19, Ambassador Lodge informed me that he must return to private life as soon as possible. I have informed Ambassador Lodge that I must, of course, respect his decision, and accordingly, I have accepted his resignation to take effect as soon as he returns. This Nation has been most fortunate to have Ambassador Lodge's distinguished and dedicated service in a post of the highest importance for the last year. I intend to nominate Gen. Maxwell D. Taylor to be Ambassador to the Republic of Viet-Nam, succeeding Ambassador Lodge. General Taylor, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is an officer of outstanding quality. His remarkable career has shown a devotion to democracy, commitment to freedom, and understanding of the ways of Communist terrorism and subversion which, in my opinion, fit him in unusual measure 802 homes built since World War II, for example, was financed by the bill. 4. More importantly, it reaffirmed America's commitment to develop the resources of her people, thus laying the firmest possible foundation for the building of a free, vital, and progressive society. On this occasion, let us remember the valor of the men and women for whom the bill was intended-those who led us to victory in war. Let us also recall the vision of those who proposed and passed this legislation. And, let us also, at this time, renew our own commitment to carry forward the work of peace which they so successfully began. for this new and demanding assignment. I also intend to name Mr. U. Alexis Johnson, whose nomination as career Ambassador is now before the Senate, to hold the new post of Deputy Ambassador to the Republic of Viet-Nam. Mr. Johnson will proceed to Saigon immediately-am I going too fast for you? Q. Yes. THE PRESIDENT. How do you prefer it? Q. A little slower. THE PRESIDENT. I hope this won't take up too much time. Mr. Johnson will proceed to Saigon immediately and will act as the chief of our mission there until General Taylor's arrival. Mr. Johnson is an outstanding career diplomat, the Department's most experienced authority on Southeast Asia, with experience both in the field and in senior posts in the Department of State. He is ideally qualified to support General Taylor in the management of the American team in Viet-Nam. I am deeply pleased that these two dis Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-i964 June 23 [420] tinguished Americans have agreed, on short notice, to take up these new assignmentsI got their agreement late yesterday and last evening-and I am satisfied that together they will give the United States the best possible field leadership in support of our embattled friends, the people of South VietNam. I wish to announce that I intend to nominate Gen. Earle G. Wheeler to take the place of General Taylor as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Let me take a moment to read you Ambassador Lodge's letter of June i9 and my reply. Dear Mr. President: Herewith I tender my resignation as Ambassador to Viet-Nam. I do so entirely for personal reasons. My thanks go to you for your unfailing devotion to problems connected with American policy in Viet-Nam, for your guidance, courtesy, consideration, and for enabling me to have this opportunity to serve the United States. And my heartfelt gratitude goes to the late President Kennedy, who appointed me. Although in a dangerous position, the Republic of Viet-Nam is on the right track and the Vietnamese are to be commended for their determination not to submit to any foreign domination, whatever the source. Persistent and patient execution of existing civil and military plans will bring victory-provided hostile external pressures are contained, which I am sure they can be. This is indeed a time to persist and not to get discouraged or impatient. I am sure we will persist. With respectful regard, Very sincerely yours, HENRY CABOT LODGE Dear Ambassador Lodge: I accept with deep regret your resignation as Ambassador to Viet-Nam. I hereby authorize you to make your farewell call to General Khanh and to depart at your convenience thereafter. I hope to see you at once on your return, to hear your final report and to offer best personal wishes on your return to private life. Your readiness to assume the duties of American Ambassador to Viet-Nam in a time of danger and difficulty was in the great tradition of disinterested public service. Those who carry on after you will find encouragement in your example. Your departure will mean no change in the steadfast determination of the United States to support the Government and the people of South Viet-Nam in their struggle for peace and security, which means an end of Communist terror and an end of external aggression. As you say, we will persist. Sincerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON Q. Could you tell us the date of your letter, sir? THE PRESIDENT. The 23d; that is, June 23d. I have stated our policy as I see it in VietNam on other occasions, in statements to the press which I read, the letter that enunciated that policy written by President Eisenhower on October i, 1954, and released on October 25, 1954. I have referred to it in various public addresses, but for your benefit, and the benefit of the American people, I would like to make a brief statement restating that policy for those that may not have gotten it, or in order to at least repeat it. The policy of the United States toward Southeast Asia remains as it was on June 2d, when I summarized it in four simple propositions: i. America keeps her word. 803 1420] June 23 Public Papers of the Presidents 2. The issue is the future of Southeast Asia as a whole. 3. Our purpose is peace. 4. This is not just a jungle war, but a struggle for freedom on every front of human activity. In these last weeks there has been particular concern with Laos. There again the problem is caused by the aggressive acts of others, and by their disregard for their given word. Our own actions, and what we have said about them, are governed by the legitimate desires of the Government of Laos. Where the International Control Commission has been kept out, our airmen have been sent to look-and where they are fired on, they are ready to defend themselves. This armed reconnaissance can be ended tomorrow if those who are breaking the peace of Laos will simply keep their agreements. We specifically support full compliance by everyone with the Geneva accords of I962. I have said before that there is danger in Southeast Asia. It is a danger brought on by the terrorism and aggression so clearly, if secretively, directed from Hanoi. The United States intends no rashness, and seeks no wider war. But the United States is determined to use its strength to help those who are defending themselves against terror and aggression. We are a people of peacebut not of weakness or timidity. I should like to repeat again that our purpose is peace. Our people in South VietNam are helping to protect people against terror; they are also helping-and they will help more-in increasing agricultural production, in expanding medical help, and building a sense of hope. They are helping-and they will help more-to give confidence to those who seek to help themselves, and modern equipment to those who can use it, and friendly counsel to those who are giving leadership. These are proud people, and the task of building their peace and progress is their own-but they can count on our help for as long as they need it and want it. [2.] On another subject, I have a brief announcement. I am happy to announce that the United States and the Soviet Union have agreed to explore the possibility of scientific cooperation on methods of desalting sea water,' including the possible use of nuclear power. As an initial step, the meeting of U.S. and Soviet representatives will be held in Washington on July 14 and 15 of this year. The purpose of the initial meeting will be, first, to discuss the general problem of desalting; two, to review the present activities and plans of the two countries in this area; three, to consider possible areas of co*operation. The representatives will then advise their respective governments as to the best way to proceed. The chairman of the U.S. delegation will be Dr. Donald F. Hornig, Special Assistant to the President for Science and Technology. He succeeded Dr. Jerome Wiesner. The U.S. delegation will also include representatives of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and the U.S. Department of the Interior. I hope that this meeting will lead to effective scientific cooperation between the United States and the Soviet Union, in what could become a very important activity of great economic significance to many areas of the world. I would be glad to have any questions. [3.] Q. Mr. President, just on this military thing, have you gone one step further and picked a new Chief of Staff of the Army? 1 See Item 480. 804 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 June 23 [420] THE PRESIDENT. No. We have some men under consideration, but Secretary McNamara has not made his recommendation. This came up and we have had our hands full the last few days. We are considering, but we haven't reached a decision. [4.] Q. The appointment of two toplevel men such as General Taylor and Ambassador Johnson to one post-does it indicate our increased concern or your desire to give this additional attention? THE PRESIDENT. We have had great concern there all along. We still have concern there. We think that we have selected the best men available for the assignment. I don't think it represents a change of our position at all. We have had a very able man in that post in Ambassador Lodge. We have sought to get the best men in the Government that are available for these assignments. I am sure General Taylor, before he leaves, will thoroughly explore the possibility of recruiting additional good men for supporting tasks out there. Q. Mr. President, why did you pick a military man for this post? THE PRESIDENT. We picked a military man and a Deputy Under Secretary of State. We picked two men. We feel that General Taylor is thoroughly aware of all that is going on there and the problem that we face there. He is a man of broad experience and great wisdom. We feel that he will be able to give wise counsel and leadership to our entire country team and be quite helpful to President Khanh, who is a military man himself. We feel Mr. Alexis Johnson will be able to support Ambassador Taylor completely. They have been friends and worked together as long as 30 years ago, and both of them have agreed to undertake this assignment. We see no particular significance in the fact that General Taylor may have served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, other than that it equips him to do an outstanding job in that area. [5.] Q. Mr. President, do you see any signs that Hanoi and/or the Red Chinese are willing to lessen the tension over Laos? Has there been any encouraging signs the past few days? THE PRESIDENT. We feel that the information and our attitude has gotten through to them. We don't know what their reaction down the road will be, but we have made pretty clear, I think, our policy and our attitude. Q. Mr. President, there have been a number of statements warning the Chinese and the North Vietnamese about the dangers in that area. Has there been any effort made to directly contact the Chinese Communists, either through our Ambassador in Warsaw, or through the British or some other source, to warn them directly? THE PRESIDENT. I think that I would say that we believe, as I just stated, that they are aware of our attitude and that they have no doubt about our policy or our position. [6.] Q. Mr. President, could you tell us what you think Henry Cabot Lodge's "entirely personal reasons" are for coming home? Would they be political, do you think? THE PRESIDENT. I think the Ambassador will be here shortly and he could better speak for himself. The only information I have is what he said in his letter. I have heard speculation and heard rumors, but I am totally uninformed on them. Q. Do you know when he is going to come home, Mr. President? THE PRESIDENT. I would think very shortly, and I mean by that, this week. Q. Do you think he is coming home to run against you, by any chance? 805 [420] Junze:z3 Public Papers of the Presidents THE PRESIDENT. I am unable to go any further than he went in his letter. That is all he told me. Q. You wouldn't care to venture your opinion? THE PRESIDENT. You might ask him when he gets back. I am sure that he will be better able to tell you. [7.1 Q. Whom do you think you will run against, Mr. President? THE PRESIDENT. I don't know. I am not an authority on what the Republican Convention might do. Who do you think it will be? Q. They tell me Goldwater. THE PRESIDENT. I have respect for your judgment, and I would like to have your opinion on it. Q. Well, mine are notoriously unreliable, but what some of the Republicans say is that Lodge is still way ahead in all of the polls. THE PRESIDENT. I don't have any opinion on whom I may be running against. Do you? Q. Mr. President, do you think that you might be running? [8.] Q. Mr. President, may I have your policy statement on Viet-Nam? I want a rewrite when I am dictating. THE PRESIDENT. If that doesn't involve me with the others. Q. It sure does. Q. If we can get copies of it, it would be of tremendous help. THE PRESIDENT. We will make these copies as soon as we can. [9.] Q. Mr. President, what is the legislative situation? You met with the leaders this morning-on civil rights, especially. THE PRESIDENT. We have reviewed our undertakings since I became President. We have had a good 7 months, although many recommendations have not yet been acted upon. I pointed out that we have had IO appropriation bills and 3 education bills, a library bill, a foreign aid bill, a tax bill, a farm bill, an international development bill that was first defeated and then brought back. The civil rights bill has passed both Houses and we hope will be acted upon finally by the House in a short time. We have approximately 30 bills that we think are desirable, which the President has recommended, which we would like to see acted upon. We would hope that the Congress would be able to give its full and complete attention to those bills 6 days a week until the Republican Convention, and then immediately after the Republican Convention come back and take action on them. There are approximately 30 bills. Of those 30, some 20-odd have passed one house or the other. We have asked the leaders to get together and exchange views and try to see that those that have passed the Senate and are awaiting House action will be brought up as soon as can be, such as the mass transit bill, which is very important, to be brought up this week. There is the wilderness bill, ARA bill, NDEA amendments, SEC amendments, water pollution control. The bills that have passed the House that are awaiting Senate action are the interest equalization tax, foreign aid authorization, and the food stamp bill. They hope these would be out this week. There are the Hill-Burton amendments, and the pay bill we hope to be reported this week. There is the debt limit bill, Korean excise tax, international coffee agreement, military construction, and federal aid to highways. The group awaiting action in the House and Senate, on which we would hope for action before the next Congress, are poverty, health insurance, Appalachia, housing, 8o6 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 June 23 [420] nurses training bill, immigration, food for peace, land conservation fund, and commission on automation. The bills that have passed both houses, that are awaiting final action, are civil rights and commission on food marketing. On that bill, action has been taken and that bill is on the way to me, so we will strike that one. Others are juvenile delinquency, public defender, water resources research, and NASA authorization. That was completed yesterday. So we are in this situation. A good many of you said if we could get a tax bill and a civil rights bill this year, we would have a good session. Well, we are proud of what we have done, but we would like to get as much of what we have recommended as possible. We have asked the leadership of the two Houses to confer with the Republicans and ask them if they wouldn't permit us to vote on as many of these bills as possible. For instance, the poverty bill was delayed time and time again in the committee, and finally it was reported by strictly a party vote, which we regretted very much. Then it went before the Rules Committee and they have had 2 or 3 days of hearings. There are several Republicans who plan to testify on it, and we want to give them a chance to testify, and hope they can and we can get the bill reported and get it voted up or down. They are going to explore the possibilities of acting on these, and come back to me with their recommendations. I hope that it will include action on all of them. [IO.] Q. Mr. President, there seems to be widespread feeling that if Senator Goldwater is the Republican nominee that the coming Presidential campaign will be based largely on the civil rights bill and on what some people call issues of hate. Could you give us your feelings on these matters, in the forthcoming campaign? THE PRESIDENT. First, I wouldn't want to pass judgment on who the Republican nominee may be. I don't know and I am no authority in that field. Not knowing who the nominee would be, and not knowing what the platform will be, I couldn't speculate very accurately on your question. I could only express the hope that the two major parties will carry on the highest type of campaign, based upon the issues before the people, and discuss them intelligently, and let the public judge which party and which candidate is best for all Americans. I certainly hope that appeals to hate and prejudice would be kept at the very bare minimum, and I would intend to do so if I were engaged in the campaign. [II.] Q. What do you intend to do if massive resistance makes its appearance, as it appears to be in some localities? THE PRESIDENT. We are going to do everything we can when the civil rights bill becomes law to appeal to the people of this country to observe the law of the land and provisions of that bill. We are going to appeal to law-abiding citizens everywhere to help us, and that includes the leaders throughout the Nation. We hope that our appeals will be listened to, and will be followed. Q. Mr. President, recentlyTHE PRESIDENT. I have been in conference with some of the officials throughout the country, and asked for their leadership and their assistance. I will be in communication with others. Over the weekend in California, and after returning here, I have spent some timeassuming the bill would be passed-attempting to select a key official for the Director of Conciliation, which I think can make a great contribution in the field that you referred to. 807 [420] June 23 Public Papers of the Presidents We are very hopeful that we can get a man that understands our problem, and that he can provide leadership in conciliating and mediating these problems that we know will arise. Q. Mr. President, do you believe that Senator Goldwater's statement in the Senate that this bill was unconstitutional, is going to add to the difficulty of obtaining compliance with the bill? THE PRESIDENT. I think that there are going to be some people who are going to be reluctant to join in helping us get complete observance. But I do not want to believe for a moment that responsible Americans will not observe the law of the land. [I2.] Q. Mr. President, do you have any information about those three kids that disappeared in Mississippi? THE PRESIDENT. The FBI has a substantial number of men who are closely studying and investigating the entire situation. We have asked them to spare no effort to secure all of the information possible, and report to us as soon as possible. We believe that they are making every effort to locate them. I have had no reports since breakfast, but at that time I understood that they had increased their forces in that area. Several weeks ago I had asked them to anticipate the problems that would come from this, and to send extra FBI personnel into the area. They have substantially augmented their personnel in the last few hours. [I3.] Q. Mr. President, do you plan to have this Director of Conciliation appointment ready to announce when the bill becomes law? THE PRESIDENT. I would hope to, but we do not have an acceptance. I have talked to some individuals who are seriously considering it. We have a list of extremely competent men, but I am not always as fortunate in getting the men I want as I was yesterday afternoon in getting General Taylor, who is making a great sacrifice to go out there, and the senior official in the State Department who is going to support him and go with him. I am hopeful that we will have an answer in the next few days, but I can't be sure. [14.] Q. Was that June i9th letter the first indication that you had from Mr. Lodge that he wanted to resign, or did he talk to you about it? THE PRESIDENT. That is the first communication that he sent to me, and the first knowledge that I had that he was leaving. I have heard rumors, and I have seen speculation from the time I came in. Helen Thomas, United Press International: Thank you, Mr. President. NOTE: President Johnson's twentieth news conference was held in his office at the White House at 11:04 a.m. on Tuesday, June 23, I964. 42I Remarks to the President's Conference on Occupational Safety. June 23, i964 Secretary Wirtz, delegates: In this conference, and in your daily work, you are concerned with human safety. In many respects this is a strong, common denominator between your work and mine. The first and constant concern of the American Presidency in this age is human safety also. Making the world safer, making this Nation safer, the values of our society safer, must be the objective of all that a President does, whether he is talking with old and good allies about problems between 8o8 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-i964 June 23 [42I] them, seeking with adversaries better understanding between us, or working with Americans themselves to overcome the problems in our society among ourselves. Two thousand years ago Cicero said, "The safety of the people is the supreme law." This truth has not changed. It is fundamental to the concept of democratic society in the West. It is fundamental to the purposes and policies and programs of your American Government in this age of clear and present peril. It is fundamental to the responsibilities of the office which was thrust upon me so tragically 7 months ago. I hope-and I don't mind admitting that oftentimes I pray-that my discharge of those responsibilities will always help guard and guide all mankind toward a safer life than men have ever known before. I speak as I do to you because there is another common denominator between our work. The problems in your field of industrial and occupational safety are many and perplexing. Yet you know two things about those problems: You know, first, that there is no real comparison between the attitudes within industry today and 50 years ago, or 25 years ago, about the safety of the workingman. Second, along with this progress in our attitudes, there has been great progress in our abilities to eliminate the hazards and the dangers and the causes of industrial accidents. So the question today is not whether we can eliminate the cruel costs of the on-thejob injuries and disablements and deaths; it is a question of when. When can we succeed by education, by leadership, by patience and perseverance, in cutting this costly toll? In many respects this is the situation facing this Nation and its Presidency, whoever he may be, in dealing with the threats to the safety of the world and dealing with the threats to all the human race. There is no real comparison between the attitudes of most of the world's governments today and 25 years ago on the role of warfare as an instrument of national policy. War is obsolete, obsolete because there can be no winner. War is obsolete because the progress in mankind's abilities and knowledge make possible and imperative a new measure of national greatness, the measurement of how men are served by their system. The question is not whether the world can eliminate war. The question is when-when all nations will have the courage and the good sense to do so. This generation of Americans has made an investment without parallel in history in the cause of keeping peace. I believe it is the desire of the American people that their President work wherever and however and whenever he can to support that cause of peace and to keep freedom safe until war is abandoned among all nations. Such a day may not come quickly. It will not come without unremitting effort and unrelenting vigilance. It cannot come without education or without leadership, or without patience and perseverance. But these qualities we have to give and we shall give themgive them to the last full measure to make this world safe and to make our freedom secure. Whatever your politics, your philosophy, or your own individual perspective, I hope you will take home from your week here at least one strong and abiding conviction, and that is that your Government, and those who serve you in it, are determined that peace shall be preserved in the world, that the cause of freedom shall not be failed, and that the new horizons of human knowledge shall be put to the greater service of men in our own land and around the world to 809 [42I] June 23 Public Papers of the Presidents make human life safe and human hopes NOTE: The President spoke at noon in Constitution more scr Hall. His opening words referred to Secretary of more scur Labor W. Willard Wirtz. Thank you and goodby. 422 Remarks on the Transfer to New Jersey of Lands for the Sandy Hook State Park. June 23, I964 Gentlemen: This is a very heartening example of how the people can be served when their Federal Government and their State governments work together materially and responsibly. I want to congratulate all of you who brought this about. This transfer of 27I acres from the Army to the State of New Jersey increases by more than 50 percent the land area of Sandy Hook State Park. We don't have to speculate about the need or about the public demand, because when the first 460 acres were opened in I962, 600,000 visitors were attracted to Sandy Hook, but 240,000 had to be turned away. Last year it was the same story. Two out of three carloads of weekend visitors were turned away-sometimes as many as 500 cars per hour. I understand that the plans Governor Hughes and Commissioner Roe have made will now raise the capacity to 600,000 visitors, and I hope that fewer families will be disappointed on their weekend vacation plans. We have a great heritage in America of open land and clean air and clear water. It is tragic that we have tended to neglect these areas amid the rush of metropolitan growth. But I am proud that we are awakening and acting now under the leadership of men like Secretary Udall and Governor Hughes, and the entire New Jersey delegation in Congress, including Senator Case and Congressman Auchincloss. Senator Williams' sponsorship of the open space land provision in the Housing Act of I96I was an invaluable and foresighted contribution to national policy. The cooperation shown by Secretary Ailes and the Army is especially constructive. We don't have to rely upon chemistry to tell us what we already know in your minds and hearts about the need for open space development programs. In the New Jersey and New York metropolitan area, 8 million persons live within a 25-mile radius. This is no longer an Eastern phenomenon. It is the pattern and it is the problem of all of the regions of this country. No nation anywhere at any time has had to face the multitude or magnitude of unprecedented problems that we must meet and master in maintaining the quality of life in metropolitan America. I don't mean to make a long speech about problems that all of you know well, but I believe we must have our best nonpartisan, nonpolitical, nonpetty effort that we have represented here this morning in men of both parties, leaders of both parties, such as Senator Williams and Senator Case of the Democratic and Republican Parties, and Governor Hughes, and Secretary Ailes and others, to get ahead and to stay ahead of the explosion of our metropolitan problems in the United States during this decade. We must clean up our air, clean up our rivers, clean up our streams, and open up the land for our people if we are to preserve the heritage and the healthiness of our 8io Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-i964 June 24 [424] American life. Secretary Udall is giving outstanding leadership in that field. If we don't act promptly, and we don't act prudently and progressively, we will face a real crisis in the quality of American life. I am sure that Secretary Udall will agree that would not be a "quiet crisis." Whatever else we need, we shall need much closer cooperation between all levels of government, and that is why we especially welcome this example of intelligent FederalState cooperation today, as represented by the precedence of New Jersey's great Governor, and her two outstanding Senators. [At this point Governor Richard 1. Hughes of New Jersey spoke briefly. The people of New Jersey, he said, had always been very proud of the President and on this occasion, he continued, they were both proud and grateful to the President for his cooperation in making the transfer of land possible. The President then concluded his remarks.] Dick, I want to turn over the agreement to you, signed, sealed, and delivered. Governor Hughes: Thank you very much, Mr. President. NOTE: The President spoke at I:30 p.m. in the Fish Room at the White House. During his remarks he referred to Governor Richard J. Hughes of New Jersey, New Jersey State Commissioner for Conservation and Development Robert A. Roe, Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall, Senators Clifford P. Case and Harrison A. Williams, Jr., and Representative James C. Auchincloss, all of New Jersey, and Secretary of the Army Stephen Ailes. 423 Joint Statement Following Discussions With the Prime Minister of Turkey. June 23, i964 PRIME MINISTER Inonu of Turkey and President Johnson have discussed all aspects of the problem of Cyprus. Both leaders welcomed the opportunity presented by the Prime Minister's visit at the President's invitation for a full exchange of views. The discussion, proceeding from the present binding effects of existing treaties, covered ways in which present difficulties might be adjusted by negotiation and agreement. The urgent necessity for such agreement upon lasting solutions was underlined. The Prime Minister and the President also considered ways in which their countries could strengthen the efforts of the United Nations with respect to the safety and security of the communities on Cyprus. The cordial and candid conversations of the two leaders strengthened the broad understanding already existing between Turkey and the United States. The President and the Prime Minister expressed their conviction that their peoples are devoted to common democratic principles, to individual freedom, to human dignity and to peace in justice. 424 Remarks of Welcome at the White House to Prime Minister Papandreou of Greece. June 24, i964 Mr. Prime Minister: It is a proud privilege for me to welcome you to the United States this morning, and to express my deep personal appreciation for your coming to our country at this time. This country and your country are bound together by ties that are both ancient and modern. The founders of these United States drew deeply from the wisdom and the ideals of ancient Greece in formulating 8ii [424] June 24 Public Papers of the Presidents the concepts of our own free and democratic society. In this 20th century, your country and mine have stood stalwartly together to defend those enduring ideals against aggressors, and to advance their fulfillment among our people. We are friends in freedom; we are allies in NATO for peace; we are co-workers in the common labors of progress and prosperity. These are strong and welcome bonds. We are bound together also, Mr. Prime Minister, by close and lasting ties of kinship. Americans harbor a very warm affection for those of your countrymen and their dependents who have honored us through the years by coming to live in our midst as neighbors, as friends, and as leaders in American life. In recent months, occasions of grief have brought us close together in moments of national sorrow. Last November Queen Frederika came to our country as a representative of your country at the time of the tragic death of President Kennedy. Only a short time later, Mrs. Johnson made a sad mission of mourning to Athens to attend the funeral of your beloved King Paul, whom we had been privileged to meet so happily on our visit to your land only 2 years ago. Today I am confident that your visit and the talks that we shall have together will again affirm the close and cordial relations between Greece and the United States. With diligence and understanding, we shall seek to chart a course that will preserve the union and harmony of free nations, militantly opposed to Communist aggression. We in America know that the people of Greece yield to no other peoples in the world in their devotion to freedom and independence, and in their desire to keep the peace won and maintained by such great sacrifice from free men in our times. Mr. Prime Minister, it is to that cause of peace that our efforts are dedicated today. NOTE: The President spoke in midmorning on the South Lawn at the White House where Prime Minister George Papandreou was given a formal welcome with full military honors. The Prime Minister responded as follows: Mr. President: I thank you for your kind welcome. I regard it as a great privilege that upon your friendly invitation I find myself in the Capital of the mighty American democracy, the great friend and ally of Greece, and before this famous mansion which has housed so many illustrious promoters of human achievement, of liberty and justice. I am happy that I shall be given the opportunity to become personally acquainted with the present great leader of the United States, the champion of peace, as well as with members of his administration and of the Congress of the United States. Your concern for the maintenance of peace and freedom is shared by the Greek Nation and by myself. Greece has always tried for the promotion of peace. A people that has suffered as much as ours from the violence of war and the reverses of history can only long for peace, but no peace can be durable without justice, and no settlement of problems can be right and just if it is not based on democracy and freedom. In the past there existed a distinction between the world of ideals and the world of politics, between a policy based on idealism and a policy based up on realism. Nowadays they have merged into one, and the policy is today the more positive the more it is in consonance with ideas. This constitutes the glory of our times, the glory of the free world whom you are called upon by history to lead. My country does not forget that the United States, through the doctrine which bears the name of one of your great predecessors, President Truman, has been instrumental in the defense of Greece against aggression, as well as in the rehabilitation of the country, exhausted and devastated by cruel years of war. Greece also feels proud to be represented in your great democracy by a number of citizens of Greek descent who constitute a living link between the two nations, and of our national cultural ties to the world of American civilization. Mr. President, I welcome this opportunity to bring to you and to the people of the United States the cordial salute of the people of Greece. 812 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-i964 June 24 [425] 425 Remarks Upon Presenting the Distinguished Service Medal to General Harkins. General Harkins, Mrs. Harkins, Secretaries Rusk and McNamara, ladies and gentlemen, and distinguished guests: Few duties of the Presidency are so gratifying as an occasion such as this when we come here to say on behalf of a grateful Nation, "Well done" to a good and faithful servant. Since this Republic was born i88 years ago, our success has come in very large measure from the willingness of individual Americans to serve the cause of us all wherever duty might call, whatever sacrifice duty might command. General Harkins has at every post and in every way personified this tradition. He has exemplified this great ideal. He has served his country faithfully and well in a long and distinguished career. As staff officer, as senior commander in Europe and in the Far East, he has always been outstanding. It is a measure of the man and testimony to his valor that General Harkins has received the Distinguished Service Medal twice previously for his achievements during World War II and in Korea. If medals could be awarded to the wives of officers and men in our services, certainly Mrs. Harkins would deserve high honors today herself. For the past 82 months, while the General has held three extremely sensitive commands in Europe and the Pacific and Viet-Nam, Mrs. Harkins, as she is today, has been continuously at her husband's side. Here at the White House earlier this week it was my privilege to present the Distinguished Service Citation to four outstanding civilian career servants who are in the Federal service. I emphasized then that many of our old stereotypes about public June 24, i964 employees are obsolete. I said that we must have and we are receiving a new quality of excellence from those who serve the people in civil service positions today. I think much the same thing may be said, and should be said, about the career, professional military man who serves the cause of freedom in the uniform of the United States today. The old stereotypes do not fit the new generation of American military men. Our democratic society has produced a new breed of commanders. They are men who are devoted to that society's values as well as to that society's survival. Their concern for our preparedness does not eclipse their concern for the world's peace. We and the free world owe to them a debt of deep respect, not only for their professional service but for their service as citizens of a free civilian society as well. General Harkins will retire from the service on the first of August. I have asked Secretary McNamara, who has such great and unlimited confidence in this great soldier, to have the General remain in the Washington area so that we may benefit from his broad knowledge of and his experience in the various theaters of the world, and particularly Southeast Asia. So, General Harkins, on behalf of the Nation, I am very proud and quite privileged to present to you today the Second Oak Leaf Cluster for your Distinguished Service Medal. I congratulate you. I thank you. I wish you and Mrs. Harkins well for your long and faithful service to freedom around the world. You have earned the best that can come to anyone. [At this point Secretary of Defense McNamara read the citation. The President then resumed speaking.] General Harkins' friends are here and I 8I3 [425] June 24 Public Papers of the Presidents know he will want to visit with them and referred to Gen. Paul D. Harkins and Mrs. Harkins, yhello to them. If you care to, you may Secretary of State Dean Rusk, and Secretary of Desay fense Robert S. McNamara. proceed. The text of General Harkins' remarks was also NOTE: The ceremony was held in the East Room released. at the White House. The President's opening words 426 Toasts of the President and Prime Minister Menzies of Australia. June 24, i964 MAY I ASK you to join me in drinking a toast to Her Majesty the Queen. Mr. Prime Minister, Mr. Chief Justice, my friends: This is a delightful and very happy and heartwarming occasion for me today. It is one to which I have looked forward with great anticipation. We here in Washington know our guest as a good and great friend of America. I hope that Sir Robert and all of his countrymen know equally well that the President is both an old and good friend of Australia and a very great admirer of the Australian people. As many of my personal friends and associates have heard me say through the years, I lost at least a part of my heart to the Australian people a long time ago. I will never forget their warmth when I was stationed there in the early and anxious days of the war in the Pacific, and just to illustrate why our guest of honor has been Prime Minister for I7 years and why he has been an astute and expert parliamentarian for more than 35 years, before we came downstairs I was telling him of the graciousness of a great lady whose name I could not remember, but with a very slight description of her qualities and her assistance to me during the early days of the war, the Prime Minister, without any difficulty, called her name and lo cated her and brought back to my memory many other good things about her. I long for the day to come, and hope it can come between now and November, when I will have my constituency as well in hand and know them as well as he does. Some of you may be familiar with the accounts of one episode that occurred when the plane in which I was riding as a member of the Navy was forced to land away from our base. Several writers later filed stories that my contacts with the Australians in the area indicated that I might have had a promising political future down under. I can only say that in considering his extraordinary success for many years, the Prime Minister obviously has much to teach the elective officials in America, and I am so proud that I have been privileged to sit and visit with him and to learn from him. We are grateful, sir, that you honor us with this visit this year. We remember with particular favor your visit to our country last year when you sat here at this chair by the side of our beloved President John Kennedy. At that time you made a statement which I think expresses so well the feelings between our lands. Then you said, "We work for the same kind of free world." In the geography of freedom, all areas and all corners and all regions of the free world are important, and they are all vital. For us here in the United States it has been 8I4 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 June 24 [426] a source of great strength to know that there stands a nation so dedicated to freedom's defense as Australia. I don't know when a news announcement has given our country more comfort or been received with greater satisfaction than the announcement made last week by your Minister of External Affairs considering the additional contribution that the people of Australia were ready and anxious to make to contribute men and materials and equipment along the side of our men who are now fighting for freedom in South VietNam. So we are proud and we are very grateful, Mr. Prime Minister, to have you stand by our side. We are glad to have you stand with us as members of ANZUS. We are happy to work with you in the United Nations. We are assured to know that you are with us wherever freedom is in danger. Australia and the United States do really, truly, as you say, work for the same kind of free world. I am sure that brief as your visit now must be, this friendly meeting will help us to work together in even closer understanding. I am grateful that you have come here. Our discussions have been fruitful. Our understanding has been improved. My desire to return your visit has increased, if that is possible. So to my good friends who have assembled here with us today in this house, I should like to ask you to join with me in a toast to Sir Robert Menzies, the Prime Minister of Australia, and to the enduring bonds of friendship and freedom between our lands. Mr. Prime Minister. NOTE: The President proposed the toasts at a lunch-,on in the State Dining Room at the White House. Prime Minister Menzies responded as follows: "Mr. President, Chief justice, and gentlemen: "I have been reminded by you, sir, that last year I spoke in this room, I think, in the presence of and as the guest of that great man, the late Presi dent Kennedy, and I should not wish to begin even the briefest of speeches without paying a tribute of respect and affection to his memory. "But, sir, the world goes on, and you now have the responsibilities of this enormous office. I think perhaps the one thing that prevents a man occupying one of the very greatest offices in the world from becoming subject to delusions about himself is that he is usually so conscious of the task and of the responsibility that he has no time left for showing off. This is so true. "You have this enormous responsibility, and you would be perhaps surprised to know how many people, so many thousands of miles away from you, and whether they would be on your side or another in your own country, they pray for you and wish you well in the discharge of this immense human responsibility. "And so, sir, I am greatly honored to be here as your guest. "There is another thing about it. I am here as Prime Minister of Australia, a British country. I myself am British, and some people might say insistently so, but here we are in one place, at the one time. "When I saw you last time here, sir, and you were Vice President, I was beginning to turn over in my mind whether I shouldn't have a premature relation, and I decided that I should. Most people were confident that I would be beaten, but I won. Now I don't know whether there is a moral in this, Mr. President, but everybody I have spoken to so far in the United States is confident that you will win. I hope this is not a bad omen. "Now, sir, I don't want to detain this distinguished audience, but I think that it would be appropriate, if you don't mind, for me to say something about the position of your great country in the world, and particularly in the free world, and in particular with us in Australia. "It is one of the issues of history, something that I have referred to before today, that nations which have immense power, and therefore accumulate immense responsibilities, are seldom terribly popular. Great Britain, you know, was the great power in the world in the i9th century, and enjoyed a supply of epithets of an abusive kind in Europe which has perhaps never been equaled since. "Great power doesn't give you great friendship. Indeed, great gifts to other nations don't buy friendship. Gratitude is a scarce commodity, and yet all great nations, and none more so than yours, perhaps none so much so as yours, have been conscious of responsibility and have done things materially and spiritually for other countries in the world, and very frequently have received small thanks for it. "That doesn't matter. What matters is that these 8I5 [426] June 24 Public Papers of the Presidents things are done. What matters is that people are given an opportunity of standing on their own feet, of developing their own national and individual characteristics. This I am sure in the long run is a good thing for the world. "But when it comes to a country like Australia, well, we are a small country. I preside over a country which is about twice as large in point of population, and perhaps ten times as large in point of physical resources as the country which was presided over by Thomas Jefferson. It is worth recalling because we go on as you went on, and we may some day in the wisdom of providence and by some strength in our right hands and courage in our own hearts and minds be one of the great and powerful countries in the world. But that is a long way off. "What is present with us is that we have a relationship with the United States which is not the relationship between a benefactor and a pensioner. It is, I am happy to say, a proud relationship between friends, one immensely powerful and the other, ourselves, much less powerful. "Why are we friends? People will say to me in a skeptical sort of mood, 'Yes, of course, you keep in with the United States because you want them to defend you.' This is said as if we regarded the problem of our defense as something for somebody else to attend to, and for us to neglect or ignore. Don't you believe it for one moment. "We shall defend ourselves in Australia, whatever the circumstances, to the very last gasp that we have. But we will defend ourselves with all the greater success if we know that we have great friends like yourselves who will be defending us or helping to defend us not because there is some statutory obligation, or not just because of some treaty between us, but because we both happen to believe in exactly the same things, the same attitudes of mind, the same patterns of behavior, the same great attributes of character and quality. These things we have in common. It is because we have them in common that we will defend them in common. "Sir, there may be people around the world, I dare say there are, who fall into the deplorable habit of thinking that the United States should be regarded as a sort of gendarme to keep the peace of the world, and true it is that you have accepted enormous responsibilities, but don't you think for one moment that in my country when we consider problems of international peace and war we say, 'Leave it to the United States.' "We may be small, but we are friends, and it is a good thing to have friends, great or small. It is a good thing, above all other matters, to have friends who are not going to resort to questioning when the day of trial comes, but who will be there, and there for all purposes of the survival of those things that you stand for and that we stand for. "I am always completely at home in this place, in this city, always capable of having an argument with an American. Not with the President; I wouldn't dare to do that. And not with the Chief Justice, although I would enjoy it. But with Dean Rusk, who I want to tell you at once, I don't care what side you are on in politics, Dean Rusk is persona gratissima with us in Australia. But still capable of having an argument, of course. It will be a poor day, won't it, when we can't? "It would be a very poor day when little Australia won't be able to summon up its traditional impudence by looking at the big United States and saying, 'What do you mean, you big stiff?' This, of course, will happen. You wouldn't believe it, but there are people in my own country who have been heard to make rude remarks about me, and I don't mind that a scrap as long as they are in the minority. "But, sir, I have enjoyed meeting you today. I had met you before, but in a highly formal sense. I am very glad to know that from now on we will be able to communicate with each other in terms of personal friendship. "I do hope you will be able to come to Australia, and I believe that you want to come to Australia. But whether you succeed in the near future or, as one might say, in my time, or not, the fact remains that in Australia you have friends, little friends, friends you may chide. friends you may encourage, friends to whom you can hold out all of the usual appurtenances of friendship which run from chastisement to approval, but still friends, because I want to make it clear to you that however small it is, the thing that we do, we will always be found to do it because we know that everything that matters for us, and everything that matters for you, is common risk in this strange world, and must, therefore, be defended-explained and defended in common. "Sir, I thank you very much, indeed, for your great courtesy. I regret very much to find that your Congress is under no better discipline than my House of Parliament, and some of the ones who were here whom I was hoping to persuade about something or other have gone off, not to persuade or to be persuaded, but to vote. "So thank you very much." The President's opening words referred, in addition to Prime Minister Menzies, to Chief Justice Earl Warren. 8i6 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 June 25 [427] 427 Remarks on the Proposed Redwoods National Park in Northern California. June 25, I964 I HAVE MET today with Secretary Udall and conservation leaders from both Congress and private life, with our distinguished and beloved Chief Justice to express my own personal concern over the future of the great redwood forests in California. The redwoods are one of Nature's masterpieces in North America-and in the world. Yet, at the present rate of logging and with destruction resulting from inadequate conservation practices, the future of the redwoods is in doubt. Once there were 2 million acres of virgin coast redwoods reaching from Point Sur to Southern Oregon. Today only about 15 percent remains uncut. Only about 21/2 percent have some degree of permanent protection. The current rate of logging will cut nearly all the old growth within the next 5 decades. Here is a picture taken by National Geographic which shows the beauty of that countryside there where the redwoods still remain far removed from any noise and transportation or highways, and it is hoped that some of that area can be acquired for national park purposes. Many of the standing redwood forests are in jeopardy from flooding and fire and plans for highway construction. More than 500 redwoods were lost in i year. Last year the National Geographic Society discovered in a secluded grove of coast redwoods the world's three tallest treesthe tallest standing 367 feet. Here is a picture of it back here. Now a preliminary report from the National Park Service and the National Geographic Society indicates there remains a last chance opportunity for the United States. This Nation can protect these redwoods by creating a great and unique national park in one area of Northern California. I have directed Secretary Udall to prepare a plan for a redwoods national park and to have it ready for presentation to the Congress next January. I have expressed my concern and determination to save our countrysides. I know of no better place to begin than in this work of saving the majestic redwood forests of the American West. I would especially like to commend the National Geographic Society and the Sierra Club, the Save the Redwoods League and other such fine organizations for the unselfish efforts they have made in this work. Secretary Udall will direct the Park Service to proceed with their study and will report back to the President at the beginning of the year. And, assuming that report is a favorable one, we will give serious consideration to making the appropriation recommendations to Congress in the next session. Thank you. NOTE: The President spoke in the Cabinet Room at the White House. In his opening remarks he referred to Stewart L. Udall, Secretary of the Interior, and Earl Warren, Chief Justice of the United States. 817 [428] June 25 Public Papers of the Presidents 428 Statement by the President on the White House Seminars for College Students. June 25, i964 TODAY more than ever before, we need young men and women with long-range visions of what this Nation and this world must and can be. We need young people who are willing to work hard to translate these visions into reality. During your summer stay in Washington, you will be associated with people who are dedicated to making great dreams come true. By their personal skill and high sense of responsibility and patriotism, they are giving intense meaning to public service in the sixties. You will honor this cause by approaching your work with a keen spirit of hope and achievement. I hope that you will bring to your task, whatever it may be, an inquiring mind and a committed heart. Try to learn everything you can from your work-and, in 429 Joint Statement Following I Prime Minister of Greece. DURING the visit to Washington of the Prime Minister of Greece conversations were held between Mr. George A. Papandreou and the President of the United States, the Secretary of State and other officials of the United States Government. The conversations, which were conducted in an atmosphere of friendship and warm cordiality, have contributed to the strengthening of the close ties between Greece and the United States. The visit provided the opportunity to the Greek Prime Minister and the President of the United States to review various aspects of the international situation and to discuss subjects of mutual interest. return, try to give your work everything you can. This summer you are participating in your Government in a personal and direct way. I hope that it will be an exciting and satisfying experience, and I hope, too, that you will return to your homes or your campuses this fall with new resolve to help our Nation meet the great challenges of this decade. NOTE: The statement is part of a White House release announcing that the third annual White House seminar for college students would begin the following day. Scheduled speakers included President Johnson, Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and Director of the Peace Corps Sargent Shriver. The group, numbering nearly 5,000 students, would spend the summer working in various Government agencies. The seminars, under the direction of Mrs. Dorothy Davies of the White House staff, were originated by President Kennedy in i961 "to inspire the Nation's youth to meet the challenge of good government." )iscussions With the June 25, i964 The President of the United States and the Greek Prime Minister had a sincere and useful exchange of views on the Cyprus situation. Both expressed full support of the efforts undertaken by the Security Council and the Secretary General of the United Nations for the establishment of peace in the island and for rapidly finding a permanent solution. The Greek Prime Minister explained in detail the Greek position on the problem. He emphasized that a permanent solution should be based upon the principles of democracy and justice. The two leaders reiterated their determination to make every effort to increase the understanding among Allies. 8I8 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 June 26 L43II The Greek Prime Minister expressed the deep appreciation for the generous support of the United States Government and people in the hard struggle of the Greek people for their freedom and welfare. 430 Statement by the President Announcing Plans To Build a Destroyer Tender To Be Named After Samuel Gompers. lune 26, i964 IT IS fitting that a U.S. Naval vessel bear the name Samuel Gompers. A man who believed in and worked for peace, he knew its best guarantee is "the power of self protection." Few men represented more effectively the American idea of individual right and responsibility. A leader in the struggle for recognition of workers' rights, including the right to organize and bargain collectively, Gompers set the course for American labor by rejecting outright the concept of the "class struggle" so prevalent at the time. He determined that working men and women would achieve social justice within the free enterprise system and under the shelter of democratic institutions-not by throwing them down but by improving them. The social and economic position of American workers today is to a large extent attributable to the efforts of Samuel Gompers. This ship will bear his name and our Nation's flag well. NOTE: The statement is part of a White- House release announcing plans for the building of a destroyer tender to be named the U.S.S. Samuel Gompers, after the founder and first president of the American Federation of Labor. It was announced that the ship, the first of its type to be constructed since I945, would be built in the Puget Sound Naval Shipyards, Bremerton, Wash. The release also stated that Secretary of Labor W. Willard Wirtz would represent the President at the keel laying ceremonies scheduled for July 9. 43I Remarks at a Fundraising Dinner in Detroit. June 26, i964 Senator Hart, Senator McNamara, Governor Staebler, Mayor Cavanagh, Governor Williams, members of the great Michigan Democratic delegation, my fellow Americans: In i960, in this city, John Fitzgerald Kennedy began his campaign for President. He asked you then to make a choice for progress. You made that choice. The result has been 4 years of unmatched progress in this Nation. This year you and all the American people are going to choose 4 more years of progress. And who knows, if things work out, I might be with my old friend Walter Reuther back in Cadillac Square on Labor Day! And may I express the hope that you will be there, too. I know that your great and popular, and wonderful Senator Phil Hart will be there with me. And I know that Neil Staebler, who will make one of the best Governors Michigan ever had, will be there with me, too. And Pat McNamara, one of the finest men that I have ever served with in all my public career-he will be there with me, too. I am proud and inspired and stimulated that there is a Ford in my future. And 33-171 6;5 — 57 8I9 143I] June 26 Public Papers of the Presidents with Jack Gordon here tonight, I hope there is a Chevrolet, too. For Lady Bird and I have waited so, so long, to be a twocar family. With the help of all of you, all good Americans, doing what we conceive to be best for our country, we will continue to work together for the people of Michigan and the people of America. It is perhaps typical of the others that their major issue in this year of change and crisis, this year of great hazard and emerging hope, their great issue is who is going to stop what. I have no opinion about the outcome of that battle. But I can tell you that, if we stand together, if we are united, if we join hands, there are some things that no party, no group, or no person is going to stop. No one will stop America from moving toward a world where every child will grow up free from the threat of nuclear war. Do we stand together on that? No one will stop America from wiping out racial injustice and liberating every citizen, of every race and color, to share in all the blessings of our freedom. No one will stop America from feeding the hungry, and caring for the helpless, and giving dignity and self respect to the old. Do we stand together on that? No one is going to stop the great forward march that we began 4 years ago. Because you are not going to let them. The American people are not going to let therm. And as long as I am President of the United States, so help me God, I am not going to let them. In i960 when we asked the people of Michigan to choose progress, the cynics dismissed it as a slick slogan, as only ringing rhetoric. But the people, all the good people, of Michigan, listened. They made their choice and they have reaped the rewards. They chose to reduce unemployment in Michigan from more than io percent in i96i to 5.3 percent last year, cutting it in half, and this year it is going to be even lower. They chose to increase annual personal income in Michigan, your income, by $2172 billion from i96i to i963. They chose to increase average manufacturing wages in Michigan in that short period by 2i percent. They chose to cut their taxes, returning $368 million to the people of Michigan this year alone. That tax cut set off an upward spiral which, in Michigan, will create go,ooo new jobs, increase State and local revenues $I58 million, and generate a rise in income of almost $ i ~ billion. They chose to avoid recessions. They chose to avert inflation. In I958 your unemployment was I4 percent and per capita income actually declined almost 4 percent. But behind these grim statistics were workers unable to provide for their families. Businessmen faced failure and declining production, and diminishing profits, and shrinking opportunity for all our people. Well, I am proud to say tonight that we are, tonight, entering our 4oth straight month without any indication of a recession. And we shall never again permit this country to retreat toward the ravages of economic decline. We can all, each of us, take great pride in our own tax paying, profit-sharing, private enterprise system of government where incentive has its reward, and all the nations of the world look to us with envy. In every area of activity that we chose to be part of, we have moved farther and faster than at any time in our history. These have been exciting and these have been rewarding years. But the job is not yet done. We have barely begun our drive toward prosperity. Men of little vision and men of small vitality 820 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963 —1964 June 26 [43I] have always underestimated the American potential for progress. If we work together in a policy of prosperity, we can build an America where every man can meet his desires for a decent life, where no man lacks the dignity of labor. This is the kind of America that we are going to build. This is the policy we have. This is our policy for prosperity. First, we will continue to direct the enormous impact of the Federal budget toward stimulating growth and toward controlling inflation. Second, we will work with industry and labor to discourage destructive inflation. The responsibility for prices and wage decision belongs to private enterprise. But we have a common interest in controlling inflation. For inflation undermines alike the profits of business, the wages of workers, and the savings and the profits of all of our people. Third, we will encourage and expand investment in material and human resources. We will stimulate them. We will take great pride in aiding them and supporting them. This is the core of the poverty program. Our war against poverty seeks to give the desperate and the downtrodden the skills and the experience that they need to lift themselves from poverty. We are going to pass this program, and in our lifetime we, God willing and with your help, we are going to wipe out poverty in America. Fourth, with the help of people of all faiths, doing it in the American way, we will bring resources together with needs, matching skills to jobs, incentives to lags, and focusing our help where help is most needed. Fifth, we will encourage technology and modernization, through research and tax incentives. At the same time we will not forget our responsibility to find jobs for those thrown out of work by machines. These policies offer us the prospect of an abundance beyond the furthest aims of an earlier generation. And with these possibilities within our reach, the people of this great State of Michigan are never going to choose to return to stagnation and drift. They are going to rally behind and support, and they are going to select and choose, those leaders who are willing to stand up and fight for the future. I am here to tell you tonight that that fight for the future we are going to win. But abundance is not an end in itself. Our concern is with the quality of the life of our people, not with just massive statistics, not with just mounting bank balances. The purpose and the values of our party and our Nation can never be listed in the ledgers of accountants. They are inscribed in the hearts of our people, in the history of our Nation, and the heritage of our civilization. So the ultimate test of our beloved America is the larger purpose to which we turn our prosperity. We must first turn it toward relief of the oppressed, the underprivileged, and the helpless. We must, in the words of the Bible, "Learn to do well, seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow." In this pursuit we will turn special attention to the problems of older Americans. Retirement should be a time of serenity and fulfillment, not deprivation and fear. We are going to provide hospital care through social security to older Americans under a Democratic administration, and that administration will never permit a lifetime of savings to be wiped out by the ravages of illness. And we will go on from this to increase benefits and build better housing, and expand employment opportunities, and do all in the power of a nation grateful for a, 82i L4311 June 26 Public Papers of the Presidents lifetime of service and labor. But this is only part of our service. We stand at the edge of the greatest era in the life of any nation. For the first time in world history we have the abundance and the ability to free every man from hopeless want, and to free every person to find fulfillment in the works of his mind or the labor of his hands. Even the greatest of all past civilizations existed on the exploitation of the misery of the many. This Nation, this people, this generation, has man's first chance to create a Great Society: a society of success without squalor, beauty without barrenness, works of genius without the wretchedness of poverty. We can open the doors of learning. We can open the doors of fruitful labor and rewarding leisure, of open opportunity and close community-not just to the privileged few, but, thank God, we can open those doors to everyone. For we will not allow the ancient values of the human spirit and the visions of the human heart to be submerged in unbridled change. This is a vision and a task that is worthy of the highest labors of any generation. This is the vision and this is the task that the American people are asking of us tonight. And I pledge to you in your name and in mine, and in the name of our party and our country, we will be ready. We must never forget that beyond the chambers of government and beyond the councils of industry-beyond the works of economists and the words of leaders-are the men and the women of this land. Each day they renew the struggle, the struggle to provide for their families and to educate their children, to ease their labors and to increase their comforts. Each day they pur sue their individual dreams and they seek their individual happiness. My fellow Americans, let me say to you tonight that these are the people that are the source of all of our American strength and they must be the objects of our American labor. We can be proud that we have served them well. But this is no time to take comfort in past conquests, because the future is crowding in around us. Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, "Democracy is the one form of society which guarantees to every generation of men the right to imagine and attempt to bring to pass a better world." Well, he did bring a better world. And we too, in our time, will bring a better world, too. It is a great stimulant to me to be here tonight with those of you who are interested in the affairs of your country and your Government. We are challenged tonight as we have never been challenged before. We must transform the hopes of today into the triumphant reality of tomorrow. And the almost 3 billion people in the rest of the world who have never known the pleasure and prosperity that is ours, who have never shared the freedom that belongs to us-they watch our every move to see which direction our life will take in the hope that they, too, some day, may enjoy the blessings that are ours. In this land in which we live we have much to be proud of, much to protect and a great deal more to preserve. It is the kind of people like you who have made the sacrifice to come out here and spend this evening listening to speeches and to reach down in your pocket and pay the fare that supports one of the two great parties in Amer 822 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-1964 June 27 [432] ica that are responsible for this great system that we have. Sometimes many people are concerned with the conflict of ideologies in the world, and they feel that we are in a race with another philosophy. Well, if that race were to be won on the basis of the number of people, we would be the losers, because their population exceeds ours. If that race were to be won on the comparative resources, water, or oil, or land, we would be the losers. But what is finally going to determine the winner of that race is not the quantity of our people but the quality of our citizens; not the measure of our acres, but the type of system of government that we have. In our land we are due our forefathers great thanks for evolving a system where there is incentive, where the capitalist can take his dollar and invest it in a stable undertaking with the knowledge that he will not wake up some morning and find it confiscated; and where he can hope, if he is wise and prudent, that some day he will get that investment back with a fair return; where the managers of our great profit systems, some of the most outstanding in the world being here in this room tonight, can get up at daylight and work to midnight and develop stomach ulcers in the hope that they can keep their production line going, and perhaps they can participate in a profit-shar ing system; where labor is worthy of its hire, and by moving that production line all day long can turn out a better mousetrap at a cheaper price, and it can have social security in its old age and a decent standard of living for themselves and their families. The average worker in this country doesn't ask for much. A great labor leader, Phil Murray, once said about all the worker hopes for is a school that his children can attend, a church his family can worship, a roof over their heads, some food for their bodies, a picture on the wall and a rug on the floor, and some music in the house. But the capitalist and the manager and the worker have built the kind of a system that has made us the envy of all of the world. And they are all here tonight in this one room, determined and dedicated and pledged to leave America better than they found it. NOTE: The President spoke in the evening at Cobo Hall in Detroit. In his opening words he referred to Senators Philip A. Hart and Pat McNamara, of Michigan, Representative Neil Staebler, Democratic candidate for Governor of Michigan, J. P. Cavanagh, Mayor of Detroit, and G. Mennen Williams, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs and former Governor of Michigan. Later he referred to Walter Reuther, president, United Automobile Workers, AFL-CIO. He also referred to Henry Ford II, chairman of the board of Ford Motor Company, a Republican, who had announced on May 22 that he would vote for President Johnson, and John Gordon, president of General Motors Corporation. 432 Remarks Upon Arrival at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. June 27, I964 I WANT to thank the band and all the good people who have come out here to give us such a warm welcome. I like your weather, I like your Governor, I am very fond of your Senators and your entire congressional delegation in Washington. Secretary Freeman is my strong right arm. As a matter of fact, I know of no State in the Union that supplies better public servants than the State of Minnesota. And aside from all of that, I like this good Texas weather. 823 L432] June 27 Public Papers I want to particularly thank the band for coming out and giving us such good music. I hope all of you have tickets to the dinner of the Presidents tonight. And if so, I will see you down there. NOTE: The President spoke at 3 p.m. 433 Remarks in St. Paul at the Minnesota State DemocraticFarmer-Labor Party Convention. June 27, i964 Chairman Farr, Governor Rolvaag, my friend and ally, Senator Gene McCarthy, my longtime friend and one of the great leaders of the United States Senate, Hubert Humphrey, Congressman Joe Karth-I appreciate that wonderful introduction-John Blatnik, Mrs. Joseph, George Farr, my fellow Americans: I came here this afternoon to express the Nation's thanks for the work of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. Your members man the highest posts of this National Government. Your programs have shaped the policies of this national administration. Your ideals and imagination have inspired this entire Nation with new purpose, with renewed vitality, with a fresh sense of our national destiny. A few years ago you stood almost alone in the Midwest-a symbol of hard-hitting, progressive, imaginative leadership. Today, as we meet here, the entire Midwest is filled with the ferment of progress that you began. Your National Capital is afire with the principles and the programs that you stand for. You no longer stand alone. You are part of a great national forward march, and I am here to tell you that as long as I am President of the United States you will never be alone. In the past 4 years we have moved farther and faster toward the goals that we share than at any time in our country's history. All America can be proud of that record. And you can be proud of the part that you played in making that record. But we are not going to the American people and tell them that they never had it so good, or don't rock the boat, or let's keep what we have, or stand pat, or keep cool. No, that is not the kind of a party you are, and that is not the kind of country this is. We are going to tell the people that the progress of the last 4 years is only the beginning. It is the first step toward the greatness that is within our grasp. We are going to tell them that this is not the end of the road. It is only the beginning of the journey. We have a long way to go before we wipe out racial injustice and give every American of every color equal opportunity to vote, to go to school, and to share in American society. But that is the road that we are going to take. We have a long way to go before our Nation faces up to its responsibility to give its farmers a fair reward for the enormous abundance they have created. But that is the road we are going to take. We have a long way to go before every child in this world can grow up free of the threat of nuclear war. But that is the road that we are going to take. We have a long way to go before we wipe out poverty in America and give every man a chance to find a job. But we are going to wipe out poverty and we are going to reach full employment. Everywhere we look there are tasks more towering, challenges more complex, than your country ever faced before. They will 824 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-I964 June:27 [434] not be faced easily and painlessly and without risk. But you have proved in your own State, and we have shown in America in the last 4 years, that the only limit to our possibilities of the future is our vision of the present. In i960 John Fitzgerald Kennedy came here and asked you to help him get America moving again. You answered his call. America began to move. And this year, you and I are going to keep America moving. It is a long way from the fields of Minnesota or the hills of my native Texas to the center of government in Washington. But it was Woodrow Wilson who reminded us that: "No matter how humbly a youngster is born, no matter where he is born, no matter what circumstances hamper him at the outset, he has got a chance to master the minds and lead the imaginations of the whole country." Many of us here today can testify to the truth of that observation. This State has supplied to Washington some of our greatest Democrats. Orville Freeman and Walter Heller are two of my strongest right arms. And no state in the Union has two better Senators than Gene McCarthy and Hubert Humphrey. And in your congressional delegation in the House, of which Joe Karth is a very fine example, you have great quality but you need better quantity. Yes, we are proud of the opportunity that is given to all Americans, and we are going to use all the skill and all the energy that God has given us in order to keep these doors of opportunity open for every child in the land. It is wonderful to be here with you today. I am proud of this great welcome I have received in Minnesota. I hope you will invite me back. Thank you very much. NOTE: The President spoke at 3:45 p.m. in the St. Paul Auditorium. In his opening words he referred to George Farr, Chairman of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor State Central Committee, Karl F. Rolvaag, Governor of Minnesota, Senators Eugene J. McCarthy and Hubert H. Humphrey, and Representatives Joseph E. Karth and John A. Blatnik, all of Minnesota, and Mrs. Burton Joseph, Minnesota Democratic National Committeewoman. Later he referred to Secretary of Agriculture Orville Freeman and Walter Heller, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. 434 Remarks at a Fundraising Dinner in Minneapolis. June 27, i964 Governor Rolvaag, esteemed Governor Rolvaag; my old friend and one of the great leaders of the Senate, Hubert Humphrey; my good friend and patriot, Senator Gene McCarthy; distinguished Secretary of Agriculture, Orville Freeman; my indispensable Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, Walter Heller; your own outstanding congressional delegation, my friends, John Blatnik and Joe Karth, Don Fraser, Alec Olson; my fellow Americans: Every year for more than 40 years Minnesota has cast its vote for the winning side on election day, and this year you are going to keep that record. Minnesota can be pleased with its contribution to the growth and the wisdom of our country. The men that you have sent to Washington are your proudest assets, men like Hubert, Gene, Orville, Walter Heller, Lee Loevinger, Gene Foley, Lud Andolsek, and the able Congressmen in your delegation. As Lady Bird 825 [434] June 27 Public Papers of the Presidents has already done and I want to repeat, I thank each of you and the Nation thanks you for men like these. Someone asked Mr. Rayburn one time why Texas had so much influence and power in the House when they had a Vice President back in the early Roosevelt period, they had a majority leader of the House, they had 8 of the I5 chairmanships. He said, "We have a very simple formula. We pick 'em young, we pick 'em honest, we send 'em there and we keep 'em there." In the past 4 years you good people of Minnesota have seen your principles and your beliefs shape the course of an entire Nation. The result has been unmatched progress for all the people of this country. Minnesota believes in growing opportunities for all Americans. In the past 4 years, under Democratic leadership, we have reached new heights of prosperity. Since i960, in your State alone, personal incomeyour income-has gone up more than $i billion. Wages, your wages, under Democratic administration, have gone up io percent. And taxes, under the leadership of Gene McCarthy on the Finance Committee, have gone down. This tax cut, and we probably wouldn't have had it except for a Minnesota legislator on the Finance Committee in the grueling days when one vote and one voice meant the difference-this tax cut this year will return more than $ioo million to the people of Minnesota, and will create thousands of jobs for the people of Minnesota. And that is just the beginning as we enter our 4Ist straight month of expansion free from any semblance of recession, the longest period in this decade. Minnesota believes in human rights. Under the leadership of Hubert Humphrey and with an assist every now and then from some of the rest of us, we are about to pass the strongest and the best civil rights bill in this century. We are going on from this bill to give every American citizen, of every race and color, the equal rights which the Constitution demands and justice directs. This will not be a simple task. The events of the past few days again illuminate how painful can be the path to racial justice. No law can instantly destroy the differences that are shaped over centuries. But that is not the question. For once a law is passed, no man can defy it, and no leader can refuse to enforce it. For if our laws are flouted, our society will fail. And I would remind you good Americans tonight that there is a law more hallowed than the civil rights bill, more hallowed than even the Constitution of the United States. That law commands every man to respect the life and dignity of his neighbor; to treat others as he would be treated. That law asks not only obedience in our action, but it requires understanding in our heart. And may God grant us that understanding. Minnesota also believes in peace. In the last 4 years we have moved a long way down the road to peace. We signed a treaty ending nuclear tests in the atmosphere. We have called a halt to the spreading poison of radioactive fallout. We have cut back on our nuclear production and persuaded our adversaries to cut back on theirs, too. We have signed agreements increasing the exchange of men, and of ideas, and of scientific knowledge. And this year, I can assure you neither the acts of enemies or the demands of elections will cause us for a moment to cease our constant search for a world at peace. I want to repeat again to you good people who have made this sacrifice to come out here this evening, in all of these fields your principles, Minnesota principles, have helped to shape the progress of all America. 826 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 June 27 [434] But we will not let the record of the last few years lull us into confidence or complacency or contentment. For, most important of all, Minnesotans have always believed in the future, and that future contains battles to be fought, enemies to be faced, and victories to be won. The problems are new, but their solution rests tonight, as it has always rested, on the resources of our land and on the strength of our people. Only 7 percent of our people feed the rest of us better and cheaper than in any land in the world. Yet for years we neglected the men and women whose toil and talent worked this wonder. Well, since I96I we have begun to move toward giving them a fair reward for their labor under the leadership of one of the greatest Americans I know-Orville Freeman. Since I960 our farmers have realized an income gain totaling $2 billion. Farm income is i6 percent higher on a per farm basis. And the farmer has been rescued from the despondency and the despair of the fifties. And we are going to continue to give the farmer his rightful place, his rightful share, in American society. And I am going to keep looking to the men of Minnesota to lead the way. We will not limit our efforts in rural areas to commodity programs. We are pledged to an all-out effort to create more jobs and greater prosperity for all the inhabitants of the countryside. Our commitment to eliminate poverty is a total commitment, in the countryside as well as in the city. We can never be content with anything less than parity of income and full participation in the Great Society for all our farm families and their neighbors. I have lived most of my life close to the soil. I know the doubts and the toil of seeking sustenance from the land. But I have also been to every part of this Nation. And I also know that modern America was possible because of the produce of our farms. I have traveled to the capitals of far countries. And I know how our country is the envy and the wonder and the model of all the world. I do not yet know the answer to all the problems of agriculture. But I have good men to help me-and a good many of them are at this table tonight. And I do have an immovable intention that those who sacrificed to create America-and who sustain it still-shall never be shut out from the triumphs of its success. Partnership is the path to the future. For tonight progress does not come from being antibusiness or antilabor, anticonsumer or antiproducer. More and more, all Americans are realizing that programs which fairly benefit one group usually benefit all. And as long as I am your President, this Government will not set one group against another. We will build a creative partnership between business and labor, between farm areas and urban centers, between consumers and producers. And this is what I mean when I choose to be a President of all the people. Next year, and the years ahead, contain new and vast challenges. But we still have an important job to do this year. We must help complete one of the most dynamic, progressive sessions in the history of the Congress. We have already passed the largest tax cut in the history of any Congress. We have already passed and signed into law the most comprehensive education program in history. We are about to pass the most hopeful, comprehensive civil rights bill in the history of our land. And after coming out here and getting the 83-171-65 — 58 827 [434] June 27 Public Papers of the Presidents inspiration and stimulation that comes from looking into your good faces and shaking your hands, we are going back to Washington to fight for a poverty program, a program which will launch an all-out war to end poverty in this rich country once and for all. And I ask you now: Will you help us? We are going back to Washington tomorrow to fight for hospital care for older Americans, under social security, so that our senior citizens will not be rewarded for a lifetime of labor with a nighttime of fear. Will you help us? We are going back to Washington to fight for a food stamp program so no American will ever go hungry; a housing bill to give every American a decent roof over his head; an extension of Hill-Burton to provide hospitals for the sick. Will you help us? And we are going back to fight for more than 20 other bills, each of which will help some of our fellow human beings to ease their burden and improve their life, and move America forward. We will move toward our new problems, guided by a great tradition. Under Franklin Delano Roosevelt we established the principle that it was every American's right to share in the progress of his Nation. The result has been the highest standard of living in the history of the world. Some say that this standard has restricted freedom. But the fact is, because of it every American is freer to shape his own activities, set his own goals, do what he wants with his own life, than at any time in the history of man in any country in all the world. And in the future we are going to enlarge that freedom. But in some ways our problems are more difficult than those of Roosevelt. Then the need for action was plain. Tonight the primary task of leadership is not only to solve problems but to alert the Nation to the need to solve them. We will undertake that task, too. We will use this year to set before the American people both the danger and the opportunity that lie ahead. Because, with their understanding support, no job, no program, no height of greatness is beyond the grasp and the hope of this Nation. We are a very fortunate few, i90 million Americans, in the sea of a world that is made up of 3 billion people. As I said, we have more freedom than any society has ever known. We have more to eat and more to wear, and more luxuries to enjoy-television, automobiles-more recreation, more free time, than any people have ever known. We have much to preserve and much to protect. We have a system of government that is the envy of men around the globe; a system where the capitalist can put in his capital and have a reasonable expectancy to get it back with a fair return and without fear of going to bed tonight to wake up and see it confiscated or burned the next morning. We have a system where the manager of that capital can get up at daylight and work to midnight, and develop stomach ulcers trying to manage money and men and bring them together, but he still has the hope of retiring at 65 and sharing in the profits that he helped to create. And finally we have the producers, the men, the horny-handed sons who get out and produce a better mousetrap at less cost than can be produced anywhere in the world. And capital and management and labor divide the fruits of their joint effort. If our future depended on our numbers, our adversaries could defeat us tonight. If our future depended solely on our resources, I can look to another land that has more acres, that has more people, that has 828 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-I964 June 27 [4341 more resources, water, oil, than we have. But our future doesn't depend on that and that is not the strength of our future. Our forefathers left us a system of government, and it is from that system that we get our strength, from that system that provides an incentive to every person, that says give to the world the best you have and the best will come back to you. I never for a moment entertain a doubt that there is any commissar or any regimented slave labor anywhere in the world that can outproduce or outsurpass or outlive our system of capital, management, and labor in the good old U.S.A. But our job is to let our own people know that we not only never had it so good-we got to make it better. We must not be content to sit back in our rocking chair and let the rest of the world go by, because we must have objectives, we must have ambitions, we must have the pioneering spirit today that came to this Nation 200 years ago. And we have got to move it further in the next two centuries than it has moved in the last two. And that is saying something, isn't it? And how are we going to move it? Not by eating on ourselves, not by blaming each other, not by dividing up in harassing groups that can find something wrong with what their fellow man does. We are going to build it by uniting our people, by bringing our capital and our management and our labor and our farmers all under one great Democratic tent, and saying to all of them, "Contribute your part, do your share, and you will share in the fruits that are ours." I know there is not a man and woman in this hall tonight that doesn't want to move America forward. And you have moved it forward, by coming here and giving us this inspiration, in addition to that $Ioo. And just to show you how much I appreciate it, and I want each person in that chair tonight to know that I realize you could have taken that $Ioo and gone to a cool spot to spend a 2 weeks' summer vacation-you could have taken that $Ioo and bought some things for your family that they needed; you could have found many uses for that $oo00, but you decided you would invest it in leadership for your country. Whether you are Republicans or Independents or Democrats or Farm Laborites, or whatever you are, you are good Americans and we are going to try to justify your expectations. I am not like Al Smith was, when he was making a great campaign speech in New York one time. I am not like Hubert Humphrey is when he is speaking with unlimited debate rules in the Senate where he can speak all evening. I am just somewhere in between. But maybe some of you will ask me how was Al Smith. Well, I will tell you. Al was out speaking one night on the sidewalks of New York and he had a pretty enthusiastic crowd. One old boy stepped out of a bar, kind of unfriendly to Al-he had had himself a beer or two-and he said, "Al, tell them all you know. It won't take you very long." And Al said, "I will tell them all we both know and it won't take any longer!" Well, I haven't told you all I know or all that we all know. But I do want to tell you this: You have so much to be proud of. Don't go home tonight with a martyr complex feeling sorry for yourself. Think about how the less fortunate in this country and in the world are, and count your blessings. Resolve tonight to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. And let's 829 [434] June 27 Public Papers of the Presidents all leave here thankful for what we have and determine to leave this world a better place than we found it. NOTE: The President spoke at 8:40 p.m. in the Minneapolis Municipal Auditorium. In his opening words he referred to Governor Karl F. Rolvaag of Minnesota, Senators Hubert H. Humphrey and Eugene J. McCarthy of Minnesota, Secretary of Agriculture Orville Freeman, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers Walter Heller, and Representatives John A. Blatnik, Joseph E. Karth, Donald M. Fraser, and Alec G. Olson, all of Minnesota. Later he referred to Lee Loevinger, member of the Federal Trade Commission, Eugene P. Foley, Administrator, Small Business Administration, and L. J. Andolsek, Vice Chairman of the U.S. Civil Service Commission. 435 Remarks at the Annual Swedish Day Picnic, Minnehaha Park, Minneapolis. June 28, I964 Senator McCarthy, Governor Rolvaag, Senator Humphrey, Members of the Congress, the chairman of today's event, Mr. Johnson, and all the other Johnsons in the crowd, ladies and gentlemen: The Bible counsels us: "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven... a time of war and a time of peace." So I come today to speak to you in the hope that, after decades of war and threats of war, we may be nearing a time of peace. Today, as always, if a nation is to keep its freedom it must be prepared to risk war. When necessary, we will take that risk. But as long as I am President, I will spare neither my office nor myself in the quest for peace. That peace is much more than the absence of war. In fact, peace is much the same thing in our world community as it is here in your community, or in the small community of Johnson City, Tex., where I grew up. If, in your town, every morning brings fear that the serenity of the streets will be shattered by the sounds of violence, then there is no peace. If one man can compel others, unjustly and unlawfully, to do what he commands them to do, then your community is not a place of peace. If we have neither the will nor a way to settle disputes among neighbors without force and violence, then none of us can live in peace. If we do not work together to help others fulfill their fair desires, then peace is insecure. For in a community, as in the world, if the strong and the wealthy ignore the needs of the poor and the oppressed, frustrations will result in force. Peace, therefore, is a world where no nation fears another, or no nation can force another to follow its command. It is a world where differences are solved without destruction, and common effort is directed at common problems. Such a peace will not come by a single act or a single moment. It will take decades and generations of persistent and patient effort. That great son of Sweden, Dag Hammarskjold, once said: "The qualities it requires are just those which I feel we all need today-perseverance and patience, a firm grip on realities, careful but imaginative planning, a clear awareness of the dangers-but also of the fact that fate is what we make it..." With these qualities as our foundation, we follow several goals to the single goal of peace. And what are those goals? First is restraint in the use of power. 830 Lyndon B. Johnson, i963-I964 June 28 [435] We must be, and we are, strong enough to protect ourselves and our allies. But it was a great historian who reminded us that: "No aspect of power more impresses men than its exercise with restraint." We do not advance the cause of freedom by calling on the full might of our military to solve every problem. We won a great victory in Cuba, because we stood there for many days, firm without using force. In Viet-Nam we are engaged in a brutal and a bitter struggle trying to help a friend. There, too, we will stand firm to help maintain their own freedom, and to give them counsel and advice and help as necessary. Second is the search for practical solutions to particular problems. Agreements will not flow from a sudden trust among nations. Trust comes from a slow series of agreements. Each agreement must be fashioned as the products of your famous craftsmanship are fashioned, with attention to detail, with practical skills, with faith in the importance of the result. And so, even while we are caught in conflict in one part of the world, we labor to build the structure of agreement which can bring peace to all of the rest of the world. In this way we have signed a treaty already ending nuclear tests in the atmosphere. Already we have cut back our production of atomic fuel and weapons. Already we have established a "hot-line" between Washington and Moscow. Already we are meeting with the Soviets to pool our efforts in making fresh water from the oceans. These agreements, by themselves, have not ended tensions or they have not ended war. But because of them we have moved much closer to peace. And the third point that I want to bring up is respect for the rights and the fears of others. We can never compromise the cause of freedom. But as we work in our world community we must always remember that differences with others do not always flow from a desire for domination. They can come from honest clash of honest beliefs or goals. And in such cases our strength does not entitle us to impose our interest. Rather, our desire for peace compels us to seek just compromise. And we must also recognize that although this is very hard to do, that other nations may honestly fear our intentions or the intentions of our allies. There is no need for such fear. For we in America seek neither dominion or conquest. But where it exists, we must work to dispel that fear. The fourth point I want to make is cooperation in solving the problems which are greater than immediate conflicts. Most of our neighbors in the world live in the midst of hunger and poverty. Most of our neighbors live in the midst of disease and ignorance. We are proud of the fact, here in America, that across the world American workers and American food and American capital are building industry, and are expanding farms, are educating the young and are caring for the sick, and are feeding the hungry. We will continue to seek such cooperation. No peace and no power is strong enough to stand for long against the restless discontent of millions who are without hope. For peace to last, all must have a stake in its benefits. Fifth, is the ability to adjust disputes without the use of force. It is, in short, the pursuit of justice. We can find guidance here in our own country's historic pledge to the rule of law. That is a pledge to abide by the law and to accept its settlements. It is a pledge to submit to courts and to be satisfied by court de 83I L435] June 28 Public Papers of the Presidents cisions. It is a pledge to respect and uphold and always obey the law of the land. For if any take grievances and disputes into their own hands, the safety and the freedom of all is in peril. "Due process" is the safeguard of our civilization. As a President of the United States and as an individual citizen, I stand totally committed to the integrity of justice and the enforcement of the law. But legal government depends upon law-loving and lawabiding citizens. Today, the key to peace in our own land is obedience to the great moral command that no man should deny to another the liberties the Constitution creates, as the law defines those liberties. And it rests on the even more hallowed rule that, whatever our disagreements, we treat others with the peaceful respect that we reserve and desire for ourselves. So, too, we seek a world community in which answers can win acceptance without the use of force. For this purpose, all the machinery of international justice is useless unless it is infused with the good faith of nations. On a worldwide basis, we place much hope in the United Nations. Twenty years after World War I the League of Nations was discredited. Twenty years after World War II the United Nations is, thank God, a stronger force for peace than ever before. Our support, the steadfast support of nations like Sweden, has made this possible. And let any of those who might choose to criticize the United Nations always remember that where the United Nations has gone, from Iran to the Congo, the Communists have not conquered. This is not because the United Nations supports our cause or because it exists just to help us against our enemies. It is because the United Na tions is on the side of national independence, on the side of peaceful justice, of self-determination, of human freedom, and that is the side that we are on, too. These are the several paths that we take to peace. At times in the solitude of my office, peace seems discouragingly distant. My days are often filled with crisis and conflict. Yet each time that I come here among the people of my country I feel new hope and renewed faith. There was a legendary figure who, each time his feet touched the earth, redoubled his strength. Your friendship and your warmth and your wishes are equally the source of my strength. I know that all the power of my great office will never bring peace unless you want it, unless you are willing to work and fight and die for it. For with you, not me-not even the Members of your great delegation in the Congress, and I should say now that no State in the Union has a right to be prouder of their Senators or their Congressmen than the great State of Minnesotaand in the Senate with Hubert Humphrey and Gene McCarthy-no State has better or more gifted representation. As President and as leader of your country, I want to thank you for those Congressmen, too, and I want to express the hope that we will not only have all those 4 Democratic Congressmen back next time, but you will give us some additions to help us along the way. I am proud of your progressive, young, great Governor, my old longtime friend Governor Rolvaag. I want to remind you finally, as I finish, that it is with the people and not with their leaders that the final question whether the liberties and the life of this land shall be "preserved to the latest generations." If you can do this, if you do do this, then our children's children will gladly remem 832 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-i964 June 29 [437] ber us in the ancient phrase: "Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God." Please take care of things out here in Minnesota for Gene McCarthy so he can help me take care of things in the Nation. NOTE: The President spoke at a celebration in Minnehaha Park sponsored by Swedish-American fraternal orders and choral groups of Minneapolis and St. Paul. In his opening words he referred to Senator Eugene J. McCarthy, Governor Karl F. Rolvaag, and Senator Hubert H. Humphrey, all of Minnesota, and Iner Johnson, chairman of the Svenskarnas Dag (Swedish Day) celebration. 436 Remarks Upon Introducing Henry Cabot Lodge to the Press Upon His Return From Viet-Nam. June 29, i964 Ladies and gentlemen: Ambassador Lodge has for the better portion of the last hour given me a complete fill-in and a report on the situation in VietNam. Ambassador Lodge is finishing his service as Ambassador there with this meeting. He has served with great distinction in that post and has earned the gratitude of the people not only of Viet-Nam, but the people of the United States. He has served without regard to partisanship, keeping the interest of his country foremost at all times. I want to personally express my thanks to the Ambassador for the excellent cooperation that he has given two Presidents, and for the quality of his performance on a most difficult assignment. The Ambassador, for personal reasons, has tendered me his resignation, and I have accepted it, but his country in times of crisis will always look to him for leadership and for guidance. Mr. Ambassador, we hate to see you leave, but we understand your reasons and we are thankful for the good job you have done. NOTE: The President spoke shortly after ii a.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White House. In a brief statement to members of the press Mr. Lodge said that he had no doubt that the pacification of Viet-Nam would succeed "if we persist.... I think the thing is well organized now.... The means are at hand to do it. There is a very fine understanding between the Vietnamese and the Americans and I believe the whole thing is on the right track." Mr. Lodge served as Ambassador to Viet-Nam from August I, i963, to June 29, 1964. 437 Remarks at the Swearing In of Dr. Mary I. Bunting as a Member of the Atomic Energy Commission. June 29, i964 Good morning, ladies and gentlemen: This is a very proud and happy moment for all of us who have gathered here. We are somewhat later than we planned, but that is a matter we couldn't avoid. Congratulations are due the new commissioner, but really the country can congratulate itself on the good fortune of Mrs. Bunting's example of good citizenship in taking this very important office. I believe we can say objectively that no woman has shared in a responsibility to all of humankind so great or so grave as Mrs. Bunting is assuming today. From the beginning of the atomic age, the American people have been determined that the power of the atom should be used for human progress and should be used for peace. I hope that wives and mothers of every land will find in this appointment a reaffirmation of that American determination. 833 [437] June 29 Public Papers of the Presidents As you know, Mrs. Bunting is a distinguished scientist, a distinguished educator, a distinguished leader of our national life. But before she is any of those things, she is distinguished among us as a wife, as a mother, as a woman concerned about the world that we leave to our children. So in accepting this duty, Mrs. Bunting is doing much more than practicing what she has been preaching to the women of America. She is helping to set a new standard of public service for all our most useful citizens-men as well as women. We have for too long accepted as standard the idea that success in private life precludes service in public life. Such a concept is obsolete, and we should discard it. I am hopeful that we can develop a new concept that personal success is not complete until our careers are crowned by a tour of public service. Mrs. Bunting's splendid and unselfish decision to accept this high office is a model example. I trust that many men, as well as many other women, will emulate that example in years to come. You have had many titles, Mrs. Bunting"Doctor," "President," certainly not the least of which is "Mother," but it is a very high and a very satisfying privilege to me to greet you now by your newest title and salute you as Commissioner Bunting. NOTE: The President spoke shortly before noon in the Cabinet Room at the White House. Mrs. Bunting was the first woman to become a member of the Atomic Energy Commission. Among those attending the swearing-in ceremony were Mrs. Bunting's son, John, and the other members of the Commission and their wives. 438 Remarks of Welcome at the White House to President Orlich of Costa Rica. June 30, i964 Mr. President and Mrs. Orlich: It is both a great privilege and a great personal pleasure to welcome you to our country and to this Capital City. Only a year ago President Kennedy brought to you and your countrymen the good will and the good wishes which we of the United States feel so strongly for Costa Rica. Today your visit symbolizes anew the growing strength of the friendly and cordial bonds between our countries. More than ioo years ago, representatives of your country and mine signed a treaty in which it was declared there shall be perpetual amity between the United States and the Republic of Costa Rica. We can be proud in both our lands that the promise of those prophetic words has been fulfilled through all the years since i85I. We have worked together in the past with a spirit of mutual understanding and cooperation. We work together in that same spirit today, as good neighbors should, and servicemen of the United States are today working side by side with Costa Ricans to ease the threat of floods in your country. But our common vision and our common hopes bring us together in greater enterprises for the betterment of the common future of all Americas. The work of the Alliance for Progress which President Kennedy began goes forward with growing momentum among all the good neighbors of this hemisphere. In your country, Mr. President, and through the joint efforts of the alliance, new homes and new schools are being built, textbooks are being produced, loans are being extended to farmers. The i2 million inhabitants of the five countries of Central America are bene 834 Lyndon B. Johnson, I963-1964 June 30 [438] fiting from the common market that your countries are building. We are deeply gratified by the promise that this undertaking so clearly offers. As President Kennedy said when he visited your capital last year, the unique inter-American system of international cooperation is now demonstrating in this hemisphere that economic prosperity is the handmaiden of political liberty. The work all of us are in together, all free Americans in this new world, is a great enterprise that is filled with difficulty and challenge, but it is an enterprise befitting the revolutionary spirit of our peoples and their quest for independence and their search for social justice. We of the United States, Mr. President, are steadfast in our conviction and in our determination that we shall succeed in achieving the goals of our great Alliance for Progress. I am proud, Mr. President, to welcome you to the United States this morning as a fellow American, as a fellow partner in our hemispheric alliance and as a fellow worker in the cause of peace and all mankind. NOTE: The President spoke on the South Lawn at the White House where President Francisco J. Orlich was given a formal welcome with full military honors. President Orlich responded as follows: Mr. President: I am grateful for the warmth and generosity of your welcome. As you have so well said, there is "perpetual amity" between our countries. It has been expressed in countless ways over many years. You have our deep gratitude for the most recent manifestation of your amity-the generous help of the United States in assisting my government and my country in meeting the grave crisis resulting from the volcanic eruption of Mount Irazu. In the area covered by flood waters your magnificent Seabees are, as you say, Mr. President, working side by side and shoulder to shoulder with Costa Ricans. This is the true meaning of "perpetual amity"-the friendship of good neighbors who stand ready to help each other in their hour of distress. The Alliance for Progress is, indeed, as you point out, Mr. President, the supreme example of "perpetual amity" which unites the hemisphere. But it is more than that as you have wisely perceived; the alliance unites us because it represents a philosophy of human dignity. In our preoccupation with the technical and social problems of development, we are prone to forget that the final objective of all our efforts is man himself. We need a vast catalog of other things. But what shall these things have profited us if we forget to practice effective democracy; if we lose respect for human rights; if we sacrifice man's freedom as the price of economic accomplishment? We fight hunger, disease, and illiteracy under the banners of the Alliance for Progress. But let us always be mindful that the eradication of these scourges of mankind are only the means to reach the end of man's struggle-the right of the peoplethe ordinary people-to be heard; the right of the people to be respected; the right of the people to become citizens of their countries instead of being merely faceless inhabitants. All of our efforts to achieve a peaceful social revolution under the Alliance for Progress can be expressed in one word, "integration." Here in the United States under your inspired leadership, Mr. President, you are engaged in a great struggle to integrate the poor and a racial minority into the affluent majority of this great land. In Latin America, on the other hand, our problem is to integrate the great mass of the poor, the illiterate, the diseased into the society of the privileged few. Just as the Alliance for Progress seeks to benefit the underprivileged majorities of Latin America, your administration, Mr. President, is endeavoring to help the underprivileged minorities in your country by another example of peaceable, democratic social revolution-the civil rights legislation and the war against poverty. In the magnificent leadership which you have provided, you have identified yourself with our own Latin American struggle. Indeed, the hemispheric struggle for social justice is now indivisible. Your gracious reference, Mr. President, to Jose del Valle, "precursor of Pan Americanism," in your phrase, moves me deeply. It is good to be able to confirm to you that we Central Americans have at long last begun to fulfill the dream of Central American unification. Our Central American Common Market is, as you are aware, Mr. President, a going concern. Much work remains to be done. Nevertheless, it can now be said that this generation of Central Americans has kept faith; for us there is no turning back. 835 [438] June 30 Public Papers of the Presidents It is my hope and prayer that in your lifetime, Mr. President, and mine, we shall witness the fulfillment of Bolivar's dream-political unificationand that the legislators of the North, Central, and South Americas will sit side by side in a parliament of the hemisphere. Mr. President, thank you again for your warm welcome. It is a great pleasure to visit again my second home as the guest of a good neighbor and fellow American, whose leadership of the continental alliance is respected and admired throughout the Western Hemisphere. 439 Special Message to the Congress Transmitting Agreement on Exchange of Atomic Information With NATO and Member Nations. June 30, i964 To the Congress of the United States: On May i6, i964, the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, jointly recommended to me, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, a proposed new agreement to provide for cooperation in the exchange of atomic information with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and its member nations. The new agreement will supersede an existing agreement executed in I955, and will do two things: a. It will extend the types of information which we can exchange with NATO. This expanded area of information is needed to enable our Allies to make effective use of nuclear delivery systems being provided them by the United States under bilateral procedures and agreements following creation of NATO atomic stockpiles in I957. b. It will permit NATO member countries to share in information which the U.S. has hitherto been exchanging only with the NATO organization itself under the I955 agreement. This will make these countries' role in alliance planning in the nuclear field more effective. This new agreement thus represents a logical and useful step in our continuing and varied efforts to ensure wider Allied participation in NATO nuclear defense. Such wider participation is necessary on both military and political grounds. It is needed to enhance the effectiveness of NATO defense. On political grounds, it is needed to reinforce NATO cohesion by meeting our Allies' legitimate desire to make a constructive contribution to nuclear defense. Therefore, I have authorized the Secretary of State to execute this new agreement between the Government of the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and its member nations to provide for the cooperation relevant to the exchange of atomic information for NATO planning purposes. In accordance with the Atomic Energy Act of I954, as amended, I am submitting to each House of the Congress an authoritative copy of the signed agreement, together with a letter from the Secretary of State, a copy of the joint letter from the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission recommending my approval of the agreement, and a copy of my approval memorandum. LYNDON B. JOHNSON NOTE: The text of the agreement together with the Secretary of State's letter, dated June 22, and the joint letter from the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission and the Secretary of Defense, dated May i8, are printed in the Department of State Bulletin (vol. 51, pp. 94-98). For the President's memorandum of approval, see Item 440, below. 836 Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 June 30 [44II 440 Memorandum Approving Agreement on Exchange of Atomic Information With NATO and Member Nations. June 30, i964 [ Released June 30, i964. Dated May i9, I964 ] Memorandum for the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission In your joint letter to me of May i8, i964, you recommended that I approve a proposed new NATO I44b Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and all other member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, for cooperation relevant to the exchange of atomic information for NATO planning purposes. Having considered your joint recommendations and the cooperation provided for in the proposed new agreement, indud ing security safeguards and other terms and conditions of the agreement, I hereby: (i) determine that the performance of this proposed new agreement will promote and will not constitute an unreasonable risk to the common defense and security; and (2) approve the proposed agreement and authorize its execution for the Government of the United States in a manner designated by the Secretary of State. LYNDON B. JOHNSON NOTE: The joint letter of May i 8 and the text of the proposed agreement are published in the Department of State Bulletin (vol. 5I, pp. 94-98). 44I Toasts of the President and President Orlich of Costa Rica. June 30, i964 Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen: This has been a very happy and a very gratifying day to welcome to this country a true and trusted friend and a very good neighbor. Four centuries ago, the King of Spain granted to Costa Rica, the first capital, a coat of arms which bore the words "Faith and Peace." Those words characterized Costa Ricans unusually well. This very peaceful democracy has always kept faith with that ancient motto and, in so doing, Costa Rica has won the respect and the trust and the praise of free men everywhere. I believe those words apply aptly to our great continent in these times. Our faith in democracy is unyielding. Our determination for peace is uncompromising. As we shall never turn away from democracy, so we shall never turn back from the quest for honorable peace. In the Americas we today realize that peace among nations can only flourish when men have found peace in their individual lives. The great purpose of our Alliance for Progress is to achieve peace and dignity for every man who calls himself an American-North or South. Mr. President, a great Central American patriot once said, "To have rights but live in rags is bitter living." The Alliance for Progress is transforming the bitter living of the underprivileged in Latin America, and it is demonstrating that democracy is more than voting. It is 837 [44I] June 30 Public Papers of the Presidents also living. Democracy is living in dignity and living in the knowledge that man has not forsaken his fellow man. We work together to achieve economic progress, to achieve social justice and, as the author of our Declaration of Independence said, "to oppose every tyranny over the mind of man." Together in peace, we work in the new world for a new age of progress, a new era of prosperity for all Americans of all walks of life. We have faith and we have peace. On these foundations we build together for a better tomorrow. So, ladies and gentlemen, I ask you to join with me tonight in a toast to the President of Costa Rica and to the perpetuation of the friendship and the understanding between our peoples and all the peoples of America-Mr. President. NOTE: The President proposed the toast at a dinner in the State Dining Room at the White House. President Orlich responded as follows: Mr. President, Mrs. Johnson, ladies and gentlemen: I think I am really a lucky man to be here with you tonight. Thank you very much, Mr. President, for your nice words. We feel in Costa Rica, Mr. President, that you have given us a real opportunity to have with you and your country a better relationship than we have had in the past. There is nothing better than this personal contact that we are having now. We feel real proud of your invitation. I think it is too much for us in Costa Rica. Thank you very much for that, Mr. President. You can be sure that in this battle for freedom that you have as the leader not only of this Nation but as a leader of the world, Mr. President, you have in Costa Rica a friend, and you have, too, a friend who has been given this opportunity now of talking to you. Thank you very much, Mr. President. Thank you very much, President Johnson, and I repeat that in this great task which you have as a conductor of the free world, Costa Rica is with you side by side and shoulder to shoulder. Thank you very much. 838 INDEX [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] A7A bomber, 382 A-II jet interceptor, world speed record, 201 [2],256 [3] A. W. Chesterton Co., 350 n. Abele, Repr. Homer E., 323 "Ability Counts" awards, 302 "Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years and the War Years," Carl Sandburg, 796 n. Accident prevention, 234 Industrial, 42I Traffic, 234, 565 Acheson, Dean, 244, 349 n., 358, 511, 560 [4], 563 [5], 568, 59i, 6o8, 688 [8], 696, 796 Acheson, Mrs. Dean, 358 Ackermann, William C., 231 n. Ackley, Gardner, 486 [2], 550 See also Council of Economic Advisers, Chairman (Gardner Ackley) Adams, Eugenia, 323 Adams, John, 536, 590, 662 n. Adams, Samuel, 362 Adams, Tom, 709, 712, 713 Addresses, remarks, etc., on commemorative or special occasions Agudas Achim Synagogue, dedication, 77 Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation, dinner, 662 Alliance for Progress, 3d anniversary, 220 Amalgamated Clothing Workers, 5oth anniversary, 334 American Heritage Foundation, "register and vote" ceremony, 508 Brown University, 200th anniversary, 6oi Chamizal Zone agreement, U.S.-Mexico, ceremony marking, 596 Cleveland, Ohio, Parade of Progress, dedication, 543 Coast Guard Academy, commencement, 382 Commerce, Department of, change in leadership, 806 Congress, reception for new Democrats in, 799 Address, remarks, etc., on commemorative or special occasions-Continued Congress, salute to Members of, 527 D-day, 20th anniversary, 384 Daughters of the American Revolution, 73d continental congress, 275 Democratic Congressional dinner, 228 Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Convention, 433 Democratic Party fundraising dinners, I99, 287, 338, 372, 373, 4I3, 4I5, 43I, 434 Election victory, radio and TV remarks, 765 Eufaula Dam, dedication, 597 Federal Building, San Francisco, Calif., dedication, 41 I First official remarks following oath of office, I Florida Atlantic University, dedication, 709 Florida cross-state barge canal, ground breaking, I98 Friendly Sons of St. Patrick dinner, New York City, 224 Gallaudet College centennial banquet, 389 George C. Marshall Research Library, dedication, 359 Georgetown University, I75th anniversary, 788 GI bill of rights, 20th anniversary, 419 Graduate Research Center of the Southwest, dedication, 738 Holy Cross, College of the, commencement, 396 Illinois State Federation of Labor, convention, 637 Inauguration of George Washington, i75th anniversary, 303 Indiana and Kentucky State Democratic leaders, breakfast, 643 International Ladies Garment Workers Union Health Center, New York City, 5oth anniversary, 387 A-I Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Address, remarks, etc., on commemorative or special occasions-Continued John F. Kennedy, candlelight memorial services for, 64 John F. Kennedy bust, unveiling, 773 John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, ground breaking, 784 John F. Kennedy Educational, Civic and Cultural Center, Mitchel Field, N.Y., dedication, 337 John F. Kennedy Square, Texarkana, dedication, 599 Johnson City High School, commencement, 374 Kenya, independence, 34 Malta, independence, 585 Morgantown, W. Va., Airport, dedication, 586 Museum of History and Technology, Washington, D.C., dedication, 141 National Christmas Tree lighting, 8io National Geographic Society building, dedication, I17 National War College and Industrial College of the Armed Forces, convocation, 533 New York World's Fair, opening of, 282 North Atlantic Treaty, i5th anniversary, 244 Northwest-Southwest power transmission inter-tie, breakfast saluting, 578 Nuclear test ban treaty, first anniversary, 486 [I], 653 Olympic games (I964), luncheon for U.S. medal winners, 782 Peace Corps, 4th anniversary, 759 Plasterers' and Cement Masons' International Association of the United States and Canada, Operative, iooth anniversary, 547 Port of Houston, 5oth anniversary, 766 Prayer breakfast, presidential, I72 Red Cross Month, opening of, 202 Roosevelt, Franklin D., 82d anniversary of birth, i65 St. Louis University, tree-planting ceremony, I88 Salute to U.S.-Canadian partnership in progress, 577 Address, remarks, etc., on commemorative or special occasions-Continued Salutes to the President, 363, 642 Samuel I. Newhouse Communications Center, dedication, 499 San Francisco Bay area rapid transit test track, ground breaking, 410 Savings bond campaign opening, 306 S.S. Louise Lykes, keel-laying ceremony, II0 Swarthmore College, centennial celebration, 39I Swearing-in ceremonies, I44, I46, 200, 203, 207, 273, 360, 437, 442, 445, 469, 550, 613, 677,77I Tree-planting ceremony at the White House, 673 UCLA, 96th charter day observance, I92 United Nations, i9th anniversary, 698 United States Marshals, I75th anniversary of service, 523 United States Pavilion at World's Fair, dedication, 283 University of California, Irvine Campus, dedication, 4I4 University of Texas, commencement, 375 U.S.S. Casimir Pulaski, commissioning, 5I5 U.S.S. Pargo, keel-laying ceremony, 383 U.S.S. Sam Rayburn, commissioning, 786 U.S.S. Sam Rayburn, launching, 59 U.S.S. Vallejo, keel-laying ceremony, 449 Warsaw Uprising, 20th anniversary, 49I Women, recent appointees, reception for, 257 Young Democrats fundraising dinner, 372 Zambia, independence, 721 Zanzibar, independence celebration, 32 Addresses, remarks, etc., election campaign. See Election campaign, addresses, remarks, etc. Addresses, remarks, etc., to foreign or international groups Alliance for Progress, Ambassadors of participating countries, 340 American Field Service students, 465 Argentine senators, 269 Atomic Energy, International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of, 545 A-2 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Addresses, remarks, etc., to foreign or international groups-Continued Diplomatic Corps, 42 Electrical Workers, International Union of, 59o Foreign students in D.C. colleges, 313 Inter-American Committee on the Alliance for Progress, 726 International Executive Service Corps, 402 International Labor Press Association, 297 International Ladies Garment Workers Union, 388 International rural development conference delegates, 482 Italian journalists, 149 Machinists Union, International, 571 NATO nations, parliamentarians, 582 United Nations General Assembly, 51 Addresses, remarks, etc., to national groups Advertising Council, 314 AFL-CIO executive council, 22 AFL-CIO, general board of, 548 American Bar Association, 511 American Society of Newspaper Editors, 270 Boy Scout Jamboree, 473 Building and Construction Trades Department of AFL-CIO, 235 Business Group for Latin America, 169 Campaign Conference for Democratic Women, 305 Chamber of Commerce of the United States, 295 Communications Workers of America, 406 Cooperative League of the U.S.A., 352 Daughters of the American Revolution, 275 Democratic National Committee, 542 League of Women Voters, 289 National Association of Counties, 509 National Conference on Foreign Policy, editors and broadcasters, 280 National Congress of American Indians, 120 National Farmers' Union, telephone remarks, 225 National Urban League's Community Action Assembly, 8oo Addresses, remarks, etc., to national groupsContinued Newspaper Farm Editors Association, 344 Radio Free Europe, business supporters of, 785 Southern Baptists, seminar, 238 United Automobile Workers of America, 233 United Steelworkers of America, 290, 589 Veterans organizations representatives, 6i I Women's National Press Club, 208 Addresses or remarks at presentation ceremonies AAA lifesaving awards, School Safety Patrol, 317 Army battle flag, acceptance, I 19 Big Brother of the Year Award, acceptance, 239 Certificates of Merit, 467 Collier Trophy, Clarence L. Johnson, 593 Commission to Lt. Col. John H. Glenn, Jr., 725 Disciples of Christ Historical Society citation, acceptance, 279 Distinguished Federal Civilian Service Awards, 417 Distinguished Service Medal Felt, Adm. Harry D., 454 Harkins, Gen. Paul D., 425 McKee, Gen. William F., 487 Power, Gen. Thomas S., 783 Shoup, Gen. David M., 127 "E" flag awards, 350 Eleanor Roosevelt commemorative stamps, acceptance, 35 Eleanor Roosevelt Golden Candlestick award, Judge Anna M. Kross, 208 Enrico Fermi award, J. Robert Oppenheimer, 19 Federal Aviation Agency award, Mrs. Russell (Jerrie) Mock, 310 Government Employees Incentive Awards, 790 Harmon International Aviation Trophies, 569 Heart of the Year Award, Vice Adm. Hyman G. Rickover, 164 Honorary membership in National Forensic League, acceptance, 343 A-3 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Addresses or remarks at presentation ceremonies-Continued Interama Cultural and Trade Center, acceptance of book on, 710 Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., Foundation awards, 174 Medal of Honor, Capt. Roger H. C. DonIon, 793 National Medal of Science, 98 Presidential Citation, Stephen Gallatti, Sr., posthumously, 465 Presidential Medal of Freedom, 27, I57, 568 Presidential Scholars award, 397 Fresident's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped Distinguished Service Award, Walter Mason, 235 President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped 1964 award, 389 Safety Awards, President's, 35I Silver Star, Sgt. Harry A. Walling, posthumously, 535 Small Businessman of the Year award, Berkley W. Bedell, 362 Teacher of the Year award, Mrs. Lawana Trout, 309 loth International Games for the Deaf ceremonial pass, acceptance of, 808 Thanksgiving Day turkey, acceptance, 772 Treasury Exceptional Service Award, Rufus W. Youngblood, 21 William Randolph Hearst Foundation, journalism awards, 339 Young American Medals, 315 Adler, Richard, 363, 373 Adult education, 213, 327, 658 Adult illiteracy, 213 Advertising Council, 314, 403, 508 Advertising practices, deception in, 173 Advisory Commission on Narcotic and Drug Abuse, President's, I59, I79, 458 Advisory Committee on Labor-Management Policy, President's, 126, 213 Advisory Committee on Private Enterprise in Foreign Aid, 227 Aeronautics Association, National, 593 Aeronautics and space activities, message to Congress, I55 AFL-CIO, 22, III, 195, 22I, 235, 255, 379 [7], 548, 745 Africa, 272, 280, 297 [I], 544, 72I, 780 [2, i6], 788 Assistance, 45, 227, 617 Chiefs of State, meeting, 460 Communist aggression, 702 Eastern states, 170 [ ] Health programs for, 396 Independence movement, 32, 34 New nations, 32, 34 U.N. Economic Commission, 19I See also specific countries African Unity, Organization of, 191, 460 Agency for International Development. See International Development, Agency for Aging, President's Council on, 178, 415 Agreements, international. See International agreements Agricultural Act of I964, 54 [9], 242 [12], 255,344, 63, 6, 6o 669, 719 Agricultural Advisory Commission, National, 484 Agricultural commodities, 124 (p. 162), 132 (p. I87), 598, 70I, 757 Consumption, 757 Exports, 71 [8, I3], 475 [2], 484, 592, 634, 636, 757 Imports, 757 Marketing programs, 255, 455 [7], 63I, 634,641,757 Prices, 255, 267 Agricultural Extension Service, 414 Agricultural resources development, 132 (p. 176) Agricultural surpluses, I32 (p. I87), 255 Distribution in Appalachian area, 300 Reduction, 246 [12] Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954, I32 (p. I87), 641 Agriculture, 132 (p. 176), 434 Production, 124 (p. 162), 132 (p. 187), 570 Research, 124 (p. 162) See also Farm Agriculture, Department of, 132 (p. I81), 173, 179, 255, 482 n., 567, 690 n., 792 n. A-4 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Agriculture, Department of-Continued Inspection services, 132 (p. 187) News conference remarks, 211 [28], 218 [i6],6I9 [I] Purchases of beef, 344 Agriculture, Secretary of (Orville L. Freeman), 23, 67, 178 n., 217, 242 (p. 428), 255, 320, 321, 322, 323, 325, 326, 327, 328, 341, 344, 358, 432, 433, 434, 489, 71, 758 News conference remarks on, 71 [8, ii] and ftn. (p. 89), 54 [9], I70 [4], 256 [i4], 266 [21], 316 [3, 4] Agudas Achim Synagogue, Austin, Tex., dedication, 77 AID. See International Development, Agency for Aiken, Frank, 366 Aiken, Sen. George D., 136 n., 546, 575, 577, 605 Ailes, Stephen. See Army, Secretary of the (Stephen Ailes) Ainsworth, Miller, 763 Air Force, 52, I99, 647, 665, 716 Air Force, Department of the, 285 [i6], 308, 351, 56 [3] Procurement, 703 Air Force, Secretary of the (Eugene M. Zuckert), 37, 256 [I3], 285 [I6], 409, 5I, 612, 783 Air pollution, 50, I32 (p. I89), 179, 357, 422, 562, 578, 599, 620, 650, 667, 669, 732, 736,747,755, 760 Air safety, 391 Air travelers, protection, 173 Aircraft J-58 aircraft engine, 201 [2] Mach 2.3, proposed, 310 Procurement, 216 Supersonic civil transport, 132 (p. I88), 20I [2], 242 [9], 294 [6], 355, 789 See also Aircraft, military; Aviation Aircraft, military, I32 (p. 184), 736 A-II jet interceptor, world speed record, 201 [2], 256 [3] Airlift capacity, I32 (p. 184), 199, 382, 413,467 Bombers, 266 [i8], 382, 635 A7A, 382 F-III, 382 RB-66 reconnaissance, 170 [i], 182, 232 Aircraft, military-Continued Bombers-Continued [2], 242 [i8, 26], 246 [4] COIN (counter-insurgency), 516 [3] SR-7I reconnaissance, 475 [I] See also Aircraft; Aviation Airlines, 215 Airports, Federal aid, 215, 41, 453, 598 Akron, Ohio Campaign remarks, 693 Mayor Edward Erickson, 693 Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace, 246 [7], 256 [7, 19], 285 [I], 316 [I4, i8, 21], 455 [I9],475 [I8] Primary election, 316 [ 14, 2 ] Alaska Earthquake relief, 241, 242 [I, i6], 286, 294 [7], 308, 3I9, 368, 37I, 6i5 Fisheries, 559 Gov. William A. Egan, 24I, 242 [i6], 6I5 Visit to, question of, 242 [ 6] Alaska, Federal Field Committee for Development Planning in, 615 Alaska, Federal Reconstruction and Development Planning Commission for, 241 n., 294 [7], 308, 319, 368, 6I5 Alaska, President's Review Committee for Development Planning in, 615 n. Alaska Omnibus Act, amendment, 286, 371 Alaska Railroad, 615 Albert, Repr. Carl, 341 n., 516 [20], 540, 542, 587 [2], 597 Albuquerque, N. Mex., campaign remarks, 732 Alcott, Amos B., 360 Alden, Mr. and Mrs. Vernon R., 323 Aldrich, Daniel C., 414 Alexandria, Va., campaign remarks, 628 Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation, 662 Allen, Fred, 314 Allen, Mr. and Mrs. Ivan, Jr., 330 Alliance for Progress, 45, 46, 66, 69, 91 (p. II7), 123, 132 (p. 186), I92, I93, I94, 218 [34], 227, 245, 269, 272, 438, 441, 443, 56I, 590, 596, 607, 769 Ambassadors of participating countries, 316 [9], 340 California-Chile project, 227 Campaign remarks, 695,702 A-5 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Alliance for Progress-Continued News conference remarks, 71 [5, I6], 150 [7], 285 [6, I3], 455 [i6], 560 [2] 3d anniversary, 220 U.S. support of, 9, 316 [9] Alliance for Progress, Inter-American Committee on the, 2II [8], 220, 227, 340, 475 [3], 726, 769 Allied capitals, visits of Henry Cabot Lodge, 504 [9] Allied Motion Picture Theater Owners of Maryland, Inc., 354 Allied States Association of Motion Picture Exhibitors, 354 Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Co., 350 n. Allred, James V., 763 Alphand, Herve, i88, I89 Alphand, Mme. Herve, 188, I89 Altamaha River Basin, Georgia, 716 Alvarez, Luis W., 98 Amalgamated Clothing Workers, 5oth anniversary, 334 Ambassadors from American Republics, 316 [9], 340, 455 [I6] Ambassadors, U.S., appointments, 242 [2] Ambassadors, U.S., to Latin America, 7I [9], 2i [8], 2i8 [34] American Automobile Association Lifesaving Medal, 317 American Bankers Association, 455 [I3] American Bar Association, 511 American Federation of Labor, 430 n. American Field Service students, remarks to, 465 American Heart Association award, presentation, I64 American Heritage Foundation, 508, 560 [I] American Indians, National Congress of, I20 American Legion, 640 American-Mexican Chamizal Convention Act of I964, 58 n. American Motor Corp., 745 American Republics, 220, 232 [ ] Ambassadors from, 316 [9], 340, 455 [I6] U.S. Ambassadors to, 71 [9], 211 [8], 218 [34] See also Inter-American; Latin America; Organization of American States; specific countries American Revolution, 32I, 417 American Society of Newspaper Editors, 266 [i], 270, 285 ftn. (p. 524) American States, Organization of. See Organization of American States American Trade Centers, 722 Amistad Dam, I93 Amster, Daniel, 660 Anaconda, Mont., unemployment, 99 Anchorage, Alaska, 242 [ i ] Andersen, Hans Christian, 394 Andersen, Martin, 712 Anderson, Sen. Clinton P., 0o5, 273, 294 [7], 368, 46, 554, 608, 615, 732 Medical care bill. See King-Anderson medical care bill Report on Alaska reconstruction, 319 Anderson, Mrs. Clinton P., 273 Anderson, Evelyn, 204 n. Anderson, Marian, 27 Anderson, Peyton T., Jr., 716 Anderson, Robert B., 245, 285 [6], 316 [nI], 604, 612,659,747,809 Anderson, William R., 645,70I Andolsek, L. J., 434 Andreas, Dwayne, 255 Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, remarks upon arrival, I Ann Arbor, Mich., 357 n. Antarctic Treaty, 55I Antarctica, U.S. policy and international cooperation in, report, 551 Anthony, Susan B., 257, 298, 666 Antipoverty program, 89, 9I (pp. II2, 114), i24 (p. 164), 132 (pp. 176, 182), I6o, 179, 182, I83, I94, 199, 2I8 [17], 220, 228, 233, 235, 238, 239, 248, 268, 269, 270, 272, 275, 278, 280, 293, 295, 300, 3I1, 314, 340, 357, 388, 391, 394, 396, 398, 406, 415, 431, 433, 477, 496, 528, 550, 650, 669, 677, 728, 732, 747, 754, 757, 759, 770, 778, 798, 800, 801, 802, 8IX Aid to education, 124 (p. 164) Aid to health programs, I24 (p. I64) Aid for unemployed workers, I24 (p. I65), 219, 267,288,289 Antipoverty bill, 221, 246 [I5], 266 [21], 267, 294 [2], 297, 305, 332, 352, 386, 504 ftn. (p. 939), 521 [I3] See also Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 A-6 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Antipoverty program-Continued Appalachian area, 124 (p. 165), 132 (p. 184), 2II [28], 219, 242 [i9, 21], 246 [6], 256 [14], 285 [2], 292, 293, 294 [2, I8], 295, 316 [I5], 320, 32I, 322, 323, 324, 325, 326, 327, 328, 329, 330, 33I, 332, 334, 336 [9, io], 338, 342 Appropriations for, 218 [I5] Business participation in, 297 [i], 314, 336 [20] California, 580 Campaign remarks, 54I, 548, 566, 589, 605, 6o6, 635, 648, 654, 66i, 666, 68o, 734, 736, 742, 746, 748, 751, 760 Community action program, 124 (p. I65), 132 (pp. 181, 184, 189, 194), 219, 289 Employment for young persons, 246 [20] Expansion of coverage, question of, 294 [9] Farmers, 219 Government agency for, question of, 218 [i6] Indians, 120 Job Corps. See Job Corps Labor organizations, participation in, 297, 336 [20] Message to Congress, 219 New York, 334 News conference remarks, 54 [9], 170 [4, 19], 211 [28], 242 [19, 21], 246 [6, 15, 20], 256 [I4], 266 [21], 285 [2], 294 [2, 9, i8], 316 [15], 336 [9, Io, 20], 516 [4, I2], 52I [I3] Nondiscrimination policy, 256 [ 4] North Carolina, 103 Older persons serving, 712 Peace Corpsmen, former, participation in, 347 Private citizens participation, 316 [28], 336 [20] Relation to foreign policy, 280 Role of women, 289 Role of youth, 323 Rural areas, 54 [9], 132 (p. 184), 219, 225, 344, 434, 528 Urban areas, 132 (p. 184), 528 Volunteers, 2I9, 289 Antitank missile system, 170 [3], 382 ANZUS Council (Australia, New Zealand, U.S.), 426, 464 Apollo space project, 2II [32] Appalachia, Federal Development Planning Commission for, establishment, 711 Appalachian area, 728 Antipoverty program, 124 (p. I65), 132 (p. 184), 2II [28], 219, 242 [19, 2I], 246 [6], 256 [I4], 285 [2], 292, 293, 294 [2, 18], 295, 316 [I5], 320, 321, 322, 323, 324, 325, 326, 327, 328, 329, 330, 331, 332, 334, 336 [9, Io], 338, 342 Economic development, 91 (p. 114), I26, 132 (p. 184), 213, 300, 711 Education, 32I Federal aid, 314, 711 Governors, 285 [2], 293, 294 [2], 300, 7II Highways, 300 President's visit to, 280 [I] Schools, 325 Unemployment, 213, 246 [6], 321, 325 See also Area redevelopment; specific States Appalachian Commission, Federal-State, proposed establishment, 294 [2] Appalachian Governors, Council of, 300 Appalachian Regional Commission, President's, 293 n., 294 [2], 300 Approval of acts of Congress. See Legislation, statements upon approval Arab nations, U.S. relations with, 258, 265 Araujo Castro, Joao de (Foreign Minister of Brazil), 66 Arbuckle, Ernest C., 622 Area redevelopment, 598, 729 Appalachian area, 9I (p. 114), 213, 300 Federal aid, 124 (p. I65), 132 (p. I88), 213 Area Redevelopment Act, 22, 124 (p. 165), 213, 2I9,290,297, 642 Area Redevelopment Administration, 99, 323,606 Area Redevelopment Administrator (William L. Batt), 67 Arends, Repr. Leslie C., 96 Argentina, 143 ftn. (p. 219) Argentine senators, remarks to, 269 Assistance, 269 Aristote, 287, 357,39I Arizona, 590 Campaign remarks, 649 Dispute with California, 294 [I2], 733 Glen Canyon Dam, 256 [ i6] A-7 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Arizona-Continued Gov. Paul Fannin, 649 Visit to, question of, 280 [3] Arkansas, 486 [7] Campaign remarks, 599 Gov. Orval E. Faubus, 599 Arkansas River navigation project, 486 [7], 597,598 Armed Forces, Committee on Equal Opportunity in the, 8 6 Armed Forces, Industrial College of the, 533 Armed Forces, U.S., 2I3, 379 [9], 409, 783 Casualties in, 770 Conventional forces, 9I (p. ii6), 132 (p. I84), 703 Defense procurement and research appropriation authorization, 230 Equal opportunity, 816 In the Congo, 780 [2, i6] In Europe, 49, 132 (p. 184), 382 In Germany, 76 In Viet-Nam, 26, 83, 211 [33], 223, 294 [5], 314, 379 [io], 793 Increase in strength, 132 (p. 184), 382, 467, 6i I, 775 Messages to On death of President Kennedy, 6 Thanksgiving Day, 779 Nuclear forces, 132 (p. 184), 467 Overseas, 31, 227, 732, 8i6 President's service in, 426, 493 Reduction, 271 [i6] Recruitment programs, 6i9 [3] Reserve forces, mobilization, 382 Schools, occupational training in, 213 Special Forces, 382 Women in, 298 Arms control, 382, 388, 395, 475 [7], 541, 562, 577, 607, 719, 764, 797, 820 See also Disarmament Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, U.S. See United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency Arms race, 693 Army, 665 Battle flag, presentation to the President, I 19 Chief of Staff, 420 [3] Increase in strength, 132 (p. 184), 199, 467, 6I I, 703, 716 Riot training, 600 Army, Department of the, transfer of land, 422 Army, Secretary of the (Stephen Ailes), 422, 510, 6i2, 711, 809 Army, Secretary of the (Cyrus R. Vance), 37, 119 n., I27 Memorandum to, 8i n. Arrow Lakes Dam, I35 Arthritis, 755 Arts Federal aid, 784 Growth in U.S., 391 Iranian exhibit in U.S., 369, 385 Presidential Board, proposed, 266 [6] Arts, National Council on the, 524, 784 Ascension Island, 780 [2] Ashley, Repr. Thomas L., 323, 642 Ashmore, Repr. Robert T., 719 Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, 150 [15],2II [27], 475 [3], 626 n., 788 Assistance, 45, i86, 189, 227, 379 [i], 420 [i], 500, 597, 6I7, 627, 662 n., 675, 686, 693,797 Communist aggression, 170 [I, 5, 10, i8], i82, I89, 20i [5, 17], 2i8 [24], 272, 280 [8], 285 [12], 379 [i], 420 [i], 474, 499, 662, 702 Neutralization of Southeast Asia, question of, I70 [I4] Philippine assistance to, 626, 627 U.S. military dependents, return home, 475 [Io] U.S. policy in, 420 [i], 607, 626 n. Visit of Robert F. Kennedy, I56, I70 [I] See also specific countries Aspinall, Repr. Wayne N., 554, 658 Associated Press, 272 Association of State Aviation Officials, National, 215 Astronauts, United States Cooper, Maj. L. Gordon, 569, 572 Glenn, Lt. Col. John H., Jr., 374, 725, 733 See also Manned space flights; Space research and exploration Ataturk, Mustafa Kemal, 416, 418 Athenagoras I, Patriarch, 147 Athens, Ohio, 323 Athletic achievement, comments on, io6, 40I Atlanta, Ga., 330 Mayor Ivan Allen, Jr., 330 A-8 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Atlantic Alliance, 102 n., I09, 582, 6o8, 60o, 685, 780 [], 788, 797 Atlantic City, N.J., 233, 589 Democratic Committee dinner, 338 Democratic National Committee, remarks to, 542 Democratic National Convention, 218 [19], 256 [22], 539, 540 Acceptance address, 541 Atlantic community, 49, 102 n., 244, 400, 608, 6io, 696, 780 [I], 788 Atlantic Missile Range, Station No. i, redesignation, I3 Atlantic Ocean Canal to Gulf of Mexico, 198 Canal to Pacific Ocean, 266 [5], 594 Atlantic partnership, 49, 72, 76, 91 (p. II7), 109, I86, 244, 272, 384, 394, 6I2, 662 n., 788 Atomic bombs, 297 [2] Atomic energy, 132 (pp. I76, i9I) Control of, 562, 577 Peaceful uses, 29, 69, 396, 545, 560 [6], 715, 718, 719 Use for aircraft carriers, proposed, 170 I[12] Atomic Energy, International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of, 545 Atomic Energy Act of 1954, 439 Atomic Energy Agency, International, 29, 175 545, 715 Atomic Energy Commission, 276, 298, 437, 480 News conference remarks, 21I [28], 420 [2], 486 [2], 560 [6], 6I9 [i] Report, 715 n. Atomic Energy Commission, Chairman (Glenn T. Seaborg), 19, 29, 276, 439, 538, 546 n., 715 Memorandums to, 62,440 News conference remarks on, 294 [Io], 688 [i], 780 [22] Atomic information, U.S.-NATO exchange of, agreement, 439, 440 Attorney General (Robert F. Kennedy), 218 [Io], 3I5, 40I, 428 n., 452, 489, 523 Letter, 537 News conference remarks on, 170 [4], 2II [15], 256 [14], 266 [2i], 285 [II], 504 [3] Attorney General (Robert F. Kennedy)Continued Report on organized crime and racketeering, go Resignation, 556 Visit to London and Asia, 156 Visit to Malaysia, I50 [I7] Visit to Southeast Asia, I70 [I ] Attorney General, Acting (Nicholas deB. Katzenbach), 641, 684, 688 [5], 780 [4, I3] Letters, 64, 752 Attorneys, U.S., remarks to, 452 Atwood, Albert W., 389 n. Auburn, Norman P., 693 Auchincloss, Mrs. Hugh D., 784 Auchincloss, Repr. James C., 422 Augusta, Ga., campaign remarks, 718 Austin, Tex., 67 n.,. 68 n., 69 n., 70 n., 72, 77, 78 n., 79 n., 80 n., 8i n., 82 n., 83 n., 84 n., 85 n., 86 n., 89 n., 24I n., 375, 376 n., 547 n., 6I6 n., 653 n., 763, 765, 8I4 n., 8i5 n., 816 n., 8I7 n., 820 n. Community antenna system v. KTBC-TV monopoly, 256 [15], 266 [14] Mayor Lester Palmer, 72 n., 763 Austin, Warren, 605 Australia, 475 [3] Assistance to Viet-Nam, 426 Menzies, Robert G., 426 Automation, 99, I26, 213, 233, 388, 406, 525, 589 Automation, Commission on, proposed, 91 (p. 114), 24 (p. 162) Automation and Economic Progress, National Commission on Technology, establishment, 214,525 Automobile industry, 233, 455 [3], 521 [io], 745 Labor contracts, 624 Labor disputes, 687, 733, 780 [3] Sales, 124 (p. i60), 246 [15], 27I [3], 336 [i], 563 [6], 624, 780 [3] Unemployment, 67, 288, 289, 295, 297, 462 [3],463, 486 [2] Automobile Workers of America, United, 67, 233, 336 [I7], 563 [2], 624, 687, 713,733 Automobile junkyards, highway disfigurement, 642, 669 A-9 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Aviation, 132 (pp. i8o, i8i) Civil aviation, 215 See also Aircraft; Aircraft, military Aviation Committee, Women's, 310 Aviation Officials, National Association of State, 215 Aviation Trophies, Harmon International, presentation, 569 Awards and citations AAA lifesaving awards, 317 "Ability Counts" awards, 302 Big Brother of the Year Award, acceptance, 239 Certificate of Commendation, I63 Certificates of Merit, 467 Charter Oak Leadership Medal, acceptance, 604 n. Collier Trophy, 593 Commission to Lt. Col. John H. Glenn, Jr., 725 Disciples of Christ Historical Society citation, acceptance, 279 Distinguished Federal Civilian Service Awards, 417 Distinguished Service Award of the President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped, 235, 302 n., 389 Distinguished Service Medal, I27, 425, 487, 783 "E" flag awards, 350 Eleanor Roosevelt Golden Candlestick award, 208 Enrico Fermi award, I9 Exceptional Service Award of the Treasury, 21 Federal Aviation Agency award, 310 Government Employees Incentive Awards, 467 n., 790 Harmon International Aviation Trophies, 569 Heart of the Year Award, I64 Medal of Honor, 793 National Medal of Science, 98 Presidential Citation, 465 Presidential Medal of Freedom, 27, 157, 447, 568 Presidential Scholars award, 397 President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped Distinguished Service Award, 235, 302 n., 389. Awards and citations-Continued President's Safety Awards, 351 President's Trophy for the Handicapped American of the Year, 302 n. Silver Star, 535 Small Businessman of the Year award, 362 Teacher of the Year award, 362 William Randolph Hearst Foundation, journalism awards, 339 Young American Medals, 315 Babcock, Gov. Tim M., 267, 575 Babcock, Mrs. Tim M., 267 Bacon, Francis, 141 Badeau, John S., 455 [6] Bailey, John M. See Democratic National Committee, Chairman Bailey, Joseph Weldon, 607, 645, 652, 719 Bailey, Mrs. Oriole, I50 [8] Bailey, Thomas D., 709, 712, 713 Bainbridge, U.S.S., 6I9 [5] Baines, George Washington, Sr., 238, 631 Baker, Mrs. Annette, 709, 712, 713 Baker, Cathy May, 284, 290 Baker, Cole, 636 Baker, Robert G., 143 [4], 150 [9], 20I [4], 218 [13], 455 [21], 563 [I5], 728 Balance of payments, 76, 91 (p. 117), I24 (pp. 158, i6o, 161, i66), 132 (p. I90), 196, 227, 248, 295, 296, 299, 400, 472, 477,617,714,740,753,775, 787, 797 News conference remarks, 246 [12, I8], 266 [2], 379 [6], 475 [2] Statement, 722 United Kingdom, 780 [3 ] Balboa High School, Panama Canal Zone, I43 ftn. (p. 219) Baldanzi, George, 590 Ball, Edgar L., 76I Ball, George W. (Under Secretary of State), 26, 27, 69, 150 ftn. (p. 229), I57, 182, 237 n., 274, 4I7, 511, 568, 678, 680o, 797 News conference remarks on, 71 [9], 201 [I3], 246 [4], 455 [i6], 780 [9] Baltimore, Md. Campaign remarks, 612, 703 Mayor T. R. McKeldin, 516 [i6], 703 A-IO Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Bane, Frank, 285 [7] Bank for International Settlements, 472, 780 [3] Bank regulations, 226 Banking, comment on, I44 Baptists, Southern, Christian Leadership Seminar, 238 Bar Association, American, 5 1 Barbour, Al, 562 Baring, Repr. Walter S., 655 Barkley, Alben W., 277,295,644 Barnard College, 150 ftn. (p. 23I) Barnes, Melvin W., 266 [4] Barr, Joseph M., 290,728 Barr, Joseph W., 144 Barr, Mrs. Joseph W., 144 Barrett, Repr. William A., 742 Barron, Gov. William W., 217, 293, 360, 586 Bartlett, Mrs. Margaret Patterson, 6I Barton, Clara, 557 Bass, Repr. Ross, 324,325,645,70, 702 Bass, Mrs. Ross, 324 Bataan, 623 Bates, Lester, L., 7I9 Batt, William L., 67,294 [4] Batten, William M., 455 [7] Battin, Repr. James F., 267 Battle, Lucius D., 455 [6] Baugh, Sam, 136 n. Bayh, Sen. Birch, 67, 233, 288, 639, 640, 729 Bayh, Mrs. Birch, 640 Beagles, the President's, 316 [I9], 334, 347 Beall, Sen. J. Glenn, 320, 32I Beame, Abraham D., 668 Becker, Ralph E., letter, 369 Beckman, Vincent, 679 Bedell, Berkeley W., 362 Beech, Mrs. Olive Ann, 74I Beef Exports, 316 [6], 657 Imports, 2II [3I], 56 [I4], 732, 657 Sale of, 316 [6], 344, 657 Behn, Gerald A., 6I9 [ II ] Beirne, Joseph A., 406,745 Belcher, Repr. Page, 309 Belen, Frederick C., 207 Belgium, operations in Congo, 780 [2, i6] Belieu, Kenneth E., 59 Bell, David E. (Administrator, Agency for International Development), 48, 69,227, 402 Bell, Elliott V., 285 [9], 299 Bellet, Dr. Samuel, 2II [6] Belleville, Ill., campaign remarks, 694 Bellmon, Gov. Henry, 597,598 Bellotti, Francis X., 727 Beloe, Vice Adm. I. W. T., 244 Bemis, Samuel Flagg, 303 Benediktsson, Bjarni, 521 ftn. (p. 978) Benjamin, Robert S., i6I n. Bennett, Repr. Charles E., 199, 7I3 Bennett, Tony, 751 Bennett, William A. C., 575, 576 Bent, James E., 71 [3] Benton, William, 21I [7], 379 ftn. (p. 738) Bergen, N.J., campaign remarks, 660 Berger, Samuel D., 796 n. Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas, 71 [6] Berkner, Lloyd V., 738 Berlin, 72, 87, 349, 400,703 Mayor Willy Brandt, 266 [8], 349 New Year message to, 87 Wall dividing city, 349, 5 6 [ 8] Bernstein, Leonard, 266 [4] Berwind, Charles G., 239 n. Betancourt, R6mulo, 335 Bethune, Mrs. Mary McLeod, 298 Bible, Sen. Alan, 575, 577,652, 655 Biddle, Mrs. Margaret Thompson, 24 Biemiller, Andrew J., 255 Big Brother of the Year Award, acceptance, 239 Bikle, Paul F., 409 Bingham, Barry,2II [6] Birch Society, 462 [6], 656 Birmingham, Ala., 642 Birthday celebrations for the President, 541 n., 544 n. Black, Eugene R., 71 [9], I50 [7], 201 [2], 242 [9], 563 [5], 59I Black, Fred B., Jr., 285 [i6] Black, Justice Hugo L., 208 Blaine, Wash., 576 Blair, William McC., Jr., 394, 626 Blair, Mrs. William McC., Jr., 394 Blake, Rev. Eugene Carson, 30I Blanch, Gertrude, 204 n. Blatnik, Repr. John A., 433,434 Blatt, Genevieve, 289, 566, 66I, 728,742 Bloomington Dam, 320 Blough, Roger, 246 [9], 290 Boca Raton, Fla., campaign remarks, 709 A-II Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Boggs, Repr. Hale, 14, 15,542 n., 646, 648 Boggs, Mrs. Hale, 648 Boggs, Thomas Hale, Jr., 648 Bogota, Act of, 45 Bohlen, Charles E. (U.S. Ambassador to France), 211 [19], 218 [24] Bohr, Niels, 394 Boise, Idaho Campaign remarks, 659 Mayor Eugene Shellworth, 660 n. Boise, Tom, 659 Boland, Repr. Edward P., 727 Bolivar, Sim6n, 340, 438 n. Bolivia Assistance, 340 Paz Estenssoro, Victor, 52 U.S. officials held captive in, 52, 60 Bolling, Mrs. Barbara, 208 Bolling, Repr. Richard, I89 Bolton, Repr. Oliver P., 323 Bombers. See Aircraft, military Bombs Atomic, 297 [2] Walleye, 170 [3] See also Missiles; Nuclear weapons; Nuclear weapons tests; Weapons Bonner, Repr. Herbert C., 327,328 Bonus army, 250 Boone, Daniel, 644 Bor-Komorowski, Gen. Tadeusz, 491 Bork, Bill, 741 Boston, Mass. Campaign remarks, 727 Mayor John F. Collins, 727 Boutin, Bernard L. (General Services Administrator), 171 n., 411, 481 n. Bowen, Mrs. Catherine Drinker, 303 Bowen, Howard R., 525 n. Bowes, Wayne, 578 n. Boy Scout Jamboree, Valley Forge, Pa., 473 Bozeman, Judge Howard, 325 Brademas, Repr. John, 67, 2II [i], 288 Bradley, Michael J., 742 Bradley, Gen. Omar N., 244, 359, 384, 563 [5], 59i, 688 [3], 696 Braman, J. D., 577 Branch, Gen. Irving L., 409 Brandt, Willy, 266 [8], 349 Branigin, Roger D., 639, 729 Brazil, 243, 688 [8], 726, 749 Araujo Castro, Joao de (Foreign Minister), 66 Assistance, 340 Castelo Branco, Humberto, 561 Constitutional government, 246 [4], 256 [ 7] Debt payments, 66 Expropriation of foreign-owned properties, 246 [3] Goulart, Joao, 66 Mazzilli, Ranieri, 243, 256 ftn. (p. 458) Support of United Nations, 56I U.S. Ambassador Lincoln Gordon, 561 n. U.S. relations with, 246 [I], 560 [7], 56I Breathitt, Gov. Edward T., Jr., 41, 217, 291, 292, 643, 644, 678, 729 Brewster, Sen. Daniel B., 316 [I5], 320, 32I, 6I2,703 Brezhnev, Leonid, 82 Brink, Frank, Jr., 98 n. Brinkley, David, 218 Brinkmeier, Robert E., 747 Bright, Arthur, 645, 70I British Columbia, 134, I35 Broadcasts. See Interviews of the President; Messages to the American people Broderick, Mrs. Faye, 606 Bronk, Detlev W., 568 Brook, William, 54 ftn. (p. 68) Brookings Institution, 622 ftn. (p. 1206) Brooklyn, N.Y., campaign remarks, 668 Brooks, Repr. Jack, 48I, 599,760 Brosio, Manlio (Secretary General, North Atlantic Treaty Organization), 587 [2], 608, 609, 6Io, 612 Letters, 495, 685 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, 252. 284 Brotherhood Week, memorandum, I 13 Brown, D. Mahlon, 652 n. Brown, Edgar A., 719 Brown, Gov. Edmund G. (Pat), 163 n., 192, 194, 409, 4I0, 4II, 4I3, 414, 4I5, 579, 580 n., 767 Campaign remarks on, 650, 65I, 733, 734, 735,736 News conference remarks on, 294 [9, i2], 462 [6, 7], 52I [5] A-I2 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Brown, Mrs. Edmund G., 194, 579, 736, 767 Brown, Mrs. George, 21I [7] Brown, Hugh B., 737 Brown, Hy, 751 Brown, Kathleen, 579 Brown, Marshall, 648 Brown, Mrs. Virginia Mae, 208, 360 Brown University, 6o0 Browning, Gordon, 645 Bruce, David K. E., 796 Bruhn, William G. (Bill), 737 Bryant, Gov. Farris, I2, I98, I99, 567, 57I, 709, 710 n., 712, 713, 719 Bryce, James, 513 Bubel, Neil F., 666 Buckley, Repr. Charles A., 39 n. Buckley, James P., 746 Budget, 295, 299, 328, 338, 431, 598, 724, 775, 776, 787 Effect on economy, 723 Fiscal 1955, 780 [4] Fiscal I964, 124 (p. 159), 132 (p. I76), 2II [28], 227, 271 [3, 7], 379 [3], 462 [2], 604, 6I9 [12],640 Fiscal I965, 17, 37, 68, 91 (pp. 112, II3), 96, 120, 124 (p. 159), I39, 178, I79, 182, 216, 218 [I5], 219, 222, 227, 229, 307, 316 ftn. (p. 616), 327, 347, 348,. 486 [7], 597, 603, 604, 606, 607, 630, 631, 640, 643, 654, 655, 659, 66i, 679, 723,749,750,775, 778 Message to Congress, I32 News conference remarks, 28 [5, Io], 54 [6, 9], 7I [io, '1], I50 [3], 211 [9, 28], 266 [2], 27I [3, 7], 294 [2, I8], 336 [4], 379 [3], 455 [I], 6I9 [, 2, 2], 688 [6] Signing of, I2I Fiscal 1966, 307, 780 [4, 2 ] Fiscal 1967, I70 [2] Budget, Bureau of the, I2I, 150 [3], 534, 583 Budget, Bureau of the, Director (Kermit Gordon), I8, 69, 00oo, 121 n., 240, 286, 466, 588 n., 659, 714, 775, 790 Memorandums to, 62, 26I News conference remarks on, 336 [4], 462 [2], 486 [4], 563 [io], 619 [i, I2], 780 [4, 5, 24], 8i8 [4] Buehler, Arthur W., 586 Buffalo, N.Y. Campaign remarks, 667 Mayor Chester Kowal, 667 Buford, Anthony, 695 Bullitt, John C., 69 Bunche, Ralph J., 27 Bundy, McGeorge, I75, 504 [4], 513, 539, 709, 747, 780 [5, 6], 8i8 [4] Bundy, William P., 69, 201 [I, i8], 272, 274 Bunker, Ellsworth, 27, 54 ftn. (p. 70), 486 [3] Bunn, V. Rev. Edward B., 788 Bunting, John, 437 n. Bunting, Mrs. Mary Ingraham, 242 [3], 289,298,437 Burch, Dean (Chairman, Republican National Committee), 508 Burdon, George, 590 Burke, Repr. James A., 727 Burkley, Rear Adm. George G., 6I9 [ ] Burlington, Vt., campaign remarks, 605 Burns, Haydon, 57I, 712, 713 Burns, Hugh M., 415,579 Burns, James MacGregor, 303 Burns, Gov. John A., 336 [6] Burroughs, John, 767 Burton, Clarence G., hospital act. See Hospital Survey and Construction Amendments of I949 Burton, Harold H., 693 n. Burton, Repr. Phillip, 651 Busby, Horace, Jr., 246 [ 13], 613 n. Busch, Col. August A., Jr., i88, I89 Bush, Vannevar, 98 Business, U.S., I24 (pp. I57, I6o, I6I), 295, 299, 415 5,, 679 708, 7I2, 722, 724 Antipoverty program participation, 297 [ ], 3I4, 336 [20] Civil rights responsibilities, I39, 250, 3I4, 342,350 Cooperation with colleges and Government, 124 (p. 163), I39, 295, 708, 742, 787 Economic responsibilities, 266 [2], 294 [23], 506 Employment responsibilities, 448 Equal employment opportunity agreements, 40, III, I39,250 342, 448 Expansion, 23, 605 Foreign aid participation, 227, 402, 617 33-171-65 --- 59 A-I3 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Business, U.S. —Continued Foreign investments, i69, 296 Investment, 124 (p. i6o), 285 [9] News conference remarks, 211 [3], 246 [12], 266 [2], 271 [I5], 285 [9], 294 [23],336 [20], 379 [5], 6i9 [4] Reports to the Government, 583 Tax benefits, i97, 227, 246 [I2], 379 [5] See also Corporations; Industry; Small business Business Advisers, Committee on, 271 [15] Business Committee for Tax Reduction, 93, 299 Business Council, 23, 250, 336 ftn. (p. 66o), 787 Business Group for Latin America, 169, 688 [8] Businessmen, remarks to, 506, 53I, 604, 630 Butler, Lady, I84, I87 Butler, Melissa Ann, 63I Butler, Richard A., 184, i86, 187 n. Butte, Mont., 99 Campaign remarks, 656 Byrd, Sen. Harry Flood, 148, 197, 295, 358, 359, 643 775 Letter, 92 News conference remarks on, 28 [9], 54 [9], 143 [2], 150 [3], 271 [3], 294 [4],316 [4],462 [2],563 [I0] Byrd, Sen. Robert C., 360, 586 Byrne, Repr. James A., 742 Byrnes, Repr. John W., 619 [ i6] Cabinet, 105, 201 [9], 2i8 [3, 4, 8], 307, 513 Changes in, 780 [ 13 ] Remarks following meeting with, 689 Salary increase, 297 Statement to, manpower utilization and control, 38 Tribute to John F. Kennedy, 370 Cabinet Committee on Export Expansion, 248,592 Cabot, John M. (U.S. Ambassador to Poland), 420 [5] Cairo, Egypt, 460 Nonaligned nations conference, 625 Caladino Farm Seeds, Inc., 350 n. Caldwell, Harry B., 54 ftn. (p. 68), 255 California Alliance for Progress participation, 227 Antipoverty program, 580 California-Continued Campaign remarks, 579, 650, 65I, 733, 734, 735, 736 Candidates for public office, 411I, 413, 650, 733, 734,735,736 Defense contracts, 409 Dispute with Arizona, 294 [ I2 ], 733 Gov. Edmund G. (Pat) Brown, 163 n., 192, 194, 294 [9, 12], 409, 410, 411, 413, 414, 4I5, 462 [6, 7], 521 [5], 579, 580 n., 650, 651, 733, 734, 735, 736,767 Population, 413 Redwood forests, 427 Space program, 409 Calleja, Joseph, 585 Calnek, Gary, 315 Camp Nam Dong, 793 Campaign addresses and remarks. See Election campaign, addresses, remarks, etc. Campaign Conference for Democratic Women, 305 Campbell, V. Rev. Gerard J., 788 Campbell, Gov. Jack M., 732 Campbell, Joseph (Comptroller General of the United States), i8, 261 Campobello International Park Commission, Roosevelt, 455 [141 Campobello Island, New Brunswick, conversion to international park, 136 n., 137, I38, 140 Canada Aid to developing nations, 227 Fisheries in North Pacific, 559 Great Lakes shipping, 140 Martin, Paul (Secretary of State for External Affairs), 134, I135, 140 Pearson, Lester B. See Pearson, Lester B. U.S. agreements with Columbia River agreement, I34, I35, 140, 563 [3], 574, 576, 598, 599, 656 Roosevelt Campobello International Park agreement, 136 n., 137, I38, 140 U.S.-Canada Committee on Trade and Economic Affairs, 140 U.S.-Canada Joint Ministerial Committee on Defense, 140 U.S. relations with, 80, 128, 136, I38, I40, 574, 575, 576, 577 Visit to, 575, 576 A-I4 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Canal Zone dispute, U.S.-Panama, 95, 104, 114, I82, 189, 192, 218 [30], 220, 235, 245, 544, 607, 643, 648, 652, 726, 749, 809 Joint cooperation committee, 104, 245 News conference remarks, 143 [I], 150 [2, I4], 20I [6], 232 [I, 3, 9], 242 [II], 246 [4] Canals, sea-level, proposed Atlantic-Pacific canal, 266 [5], 594 Central America, 809 Florida, 198 Cancer President's Commission on Heart Disease, Cancer, and Stroke, 179, 2II [6], 268, 617, 798 Prevention, 268, 39I, 656, 667, 669, 733, 755, 798 Candidacy for reelection, the President's, 218 [22] News conference remarks, 54 [7], 7I [15], 170 [9, II], 20I [IO], 242 [14, 22], 256 [22], 271 [IO], 336 [ii, I3], 420 [7, IO] Nomination, remarks accepting, 541 Candidates for President Availability of information to, 272, 280 [6], 285 [I, 17], 294 [15], 462 [9], 56 [II] News conference remarks on, 170 [9], 246 [4], 280 [6], 285 [i, I7], 294 [I5], 420 [7, IO], 462 [9], 516 [II] Candidates for public office California, 4II, 413, 650, 733, 734, 735, 736 Delaware, 749, 750 Florida, 712 Idaho, 659 Illinois, 635, 636, 747, 748 Indiana, 639, 640, 729 Kansas, 741 Kentucky, 643, 644 Maine, 606 Maryland, 703 Michigan, 745 Minnesota, 435 Missouri, 695 Montana, 656 Nevada, 652, 655 New Hampshire, 607 New Jersey, 338, 66o Candidates for public office-Continued New Mexico, 732 New York, 666, 667, 668, 669, 670, 75 North Carolina, 631 Ohio, 642, 678, 679, 68o, 693 Pennsylvania, 566, 66i, 728, 742 Tennessee, 645, 70I, 702 Texas, 544, 760, 76, 762 Vermont, 605 Virginia, 628 Wisconsin, 746 Wyoming, 657 Candidates for Vice President, 170 [ ], 211 [12, 15, 7], 242 [20], 285 [I8, 20], 294 [17], 455 [io], 475 [I41, 486 [9, I6], 489, 516 [7], 521 [I2], 539, 540 Cannon, Repr. Clarence, 263 n., 271 [7], 455 [I] Cannon, Sen. Howard W., 256 [I3], 575, 577,652,655 Cantor, Eddie, 163 Canyonlands National Park bill, 554 n. Cape Canaveral, Fla., 12 Cape Kennedy, Fla., 12, 162 n., 572 Capital gains taxes, I32 (p. I79) Capitalism, comments on, 530 Caplin, Mortimer M. (Commissioner, Internal Revenue Service), 182 Carey, Repr. Hugh L., 668 Carey, James B., 590, 622 Carey, Walter F., 295 Cargo Preference Laws, 617 Caribbean area, 186 Communism, defense against, 37 Carlson, Sen. Frank, 172 Carlson, Dr. Paul, 780 ftn. (p. I612) Carlyle, Thomas, 81, 343, 352 Carmichael, Leonard, 141 Carnegie, Andrew, 181 Carnegie Foundation, 622 Carpenter, Mrs. Elizabeth S., 560 [I3] Carpenter, Paul B., 736 Carper, Elsie, 208 Carr, Robert S., 712 Carr, Waggoner, 763 Carrillo Flores, Antonio, 58, 596, 767 Carroll, Diahann, 751 Carroll, John A., 658 Carson, Rachael, 341 Carter, Edward, 414 Carter, John, 2II [6] A-15 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Carvel, Gov. Elbert N., 338, 749, 750 Cary, William L., 530 See also Securities and Exchange Commission, Chairman (William L. Cary) Casals, Pablo, 27 Case, Sen. Clifford P., 422 Casey, Repr. Bob, 760, 761,762 Casimir Pulaski, U.S.S., 5I5 Casper, Wyo., campaign remarks, 657 Castelo Branco, Humberto, 56I Castro, Fidel, I75, 177, 272, 295, 330, 652 Campaign remarks on, 544, 607, 6I2, 634, 635, 639, 642, 645,736,750 News conference remarks on, 246 [5], 3 6 [23], 455 [22] Catavi-Siglo Viente, Bolivia, 60 n. Cater, S. Douglass, Jr., 5I3 Catholic Inter-American Cooperation Program, I23 Cattle industry, 246 [i8], 316 [6], 516 [I4], 732 Catto, Henry E., Jr., 392 Catto, Mrs. Henry E., Jr. (Jessica), 392 Catton, Bruce, 211 [7] Caulfield, Genevieve, 27 Cavanagh, Edward F., Jr., 224 Cavanagh, J. P., 356, 43I, 562 CCC. See Commodity Credit Corporation Celebrezze, Anthony J. See Health, Education, and Welfare, Secretary of Celebrezze, Mrs. Anthony J., 642 Celeste, Frank, 642 Celler, Repr. Emanuel, 387 Packaging bill. See Hart-Celler packaging bill Cement Masons' International Association of the United States and Canada, Operative Plasterers' and, 547 CENTO. See Central Treaty Organization Central America, sea-level canal, proposed, 809 Central American Common Market, 438, 443,769 Central Intelligence Agency, 272, 645, 664 Central Intelligence Agency, Director (John A. McCone), 207, 664, 780 ftn. (p. I616) Central Intelligence Agency, Director (John A. McCone)-Continued Campaign remarks on, 612, 667, 678, 680, 702,747 News conference remarks on, 71 [7, 10], 242 [9], 462 [9], 563 [i], 688 [i], 818 [4] Central Intelligence Agency Retirement Act of I964 for Certain Employees, approval, 664 Central Treaty Organization, 416 Certificates of Merit, presentation, 467 Cessna Aircraft Co., 350 n. Chafee, Gov. John H., 6oi Chamber of Commerce, United States Junior, 403 Chamber of Commerce of the United States, 211 [i8], 295,297 [I],402 Chamberlain, Joshua, 606 Chambers, Justice M., 336 [7] Chamizal Zone agreement, U.S.-Mexico, 58 193, I94, 316 [I0], 587 [6], 596, 598, 599 Chandler, A. B. (Happy), 643, 644 Chandler, Mrs. Norman, 208 Chandler, Walter, 70I Chaney, Connie Ray, 317 n. Chaney, Earl D., 321 Chaney, Mrs. Earl D., 321 Charisse, Cyd, I99 Charles II, King, 390 Charter Oak Leadership Medal, acceptance, 604 n. Charusathiara, Gen. Prapass, 476 Chase, Francis S., I I6 n., 457 n. Chase, Milton, 480 Chattanooga, Tenn. Campaign remarks, 702 Mayor Ralph H. Kelley, 702 Chattanooga Times, 702 Chavez, Dennis, 732 Chelf, Repr. Frank., 643, 644, 678 Chesterfield, Lord, 53I Chiang Kai-shek, 274 Chiari, Roberto F. (President of Panama), 95, 20I [6], 232 [i], 245, 316 [II], 607 Chicago, Ill. Campaign remarks, 748 A-I6 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Chicago, 11.-Continued Democratic fundraising dinner, 287 Mayor Richard J. Daley, 287, 455 [IO], 52I [5],748 Chief Justice of the United States (Earl Warren), 2, 14, 15, 27, II7, I4I, I53, 172, 426, 427, 733, 796 Letter, 595 Child Health and Human Development, National Institute of, 403 Children Aid for children of unemployed workers, I33, i6o Health and welfare, 403, 490, 590, 755 Presence at news conference, 3i6 [I] See also Youth Children's Bureau, 590 Children's Fund, United Nations, 227 Childs, Steven, 3I7 n. Chile, 143 ftn. (p. 219), 688 [8], 726, 749 Assistance, 227 Election, 56o [2] Frei Montalva, Eduardo, 560 [2] China, Communist, 272, 420 [5], 607, 6I9 [5], 627,693,703,737, 780 [I2] Economy, 686 First nuclear device, 673, 675, 676, 678, 679, 686, 688 [I], 693, 735, 736, 737, 745, 780 [23], 797 Recognition by France, I50 [II, I5], I70 [I],2I8 [3, 32] Soviet relations with, 182, 246 [II], 643, 686 Threat to Asia, 627 Threat to Viet-Nam, question of, 201 [5] U.N. membership, question of, 170 [6], 2I8 [32] U.S. relations with, 504 [15], 662 View of Western Alliance, 246 [I4] China, Republic of, 122, 617 Chiang Kai-shek, 274 Defense of, 272 China Lake (California) Naval Ordnance Test Station, 170 [3] Christians and Jews, National Conference of, II3 Christianson, Edwin, 255 Christmas, the President's, 54 [ I6] Christmas message to Americans in VietNam, 313 Christmas Tree, National, 65, 810 Chrysler Corp., 563 [2], 587 [9], 745 Church, Sen. Frank, 659 Church, Mrs. Frank, 659 Churchill, Sir Winston S., 184, I99, 263, 382, 764, 796 n. Letter, 781 Memorial Library, 263 Churin, Aleksandr I., 480 n. CIA. See Central Intelligence Agency CIAP. See Inter-American Committee on the Alliance for Progress Cicero, 421 Cieplinski, Michel, 588 n. Cincinnati, Ohio, 217 Campaign remarks, 678, 679 Citations. See Awards and citations Citizens Committee for Tax Reduction and Revision, 93 Civil aviation, 215 Civil disorders, 472, 475 [I5, 20], 5II, 560 [I4], 541, 563 [9, II, I3], 665, 680 New York City, 468 Statement, 600 Civil rights, 51, 9I (p. 112), III, I24 (pp. I65, I66), 139, i6I, I82, I99, 238, 267, 268, 269, 277, 279, 287, 289, 295, 30I1 302, 3I3, 323, 325, 330, 332, 334, 337, 340, 342, 352, 357, 373, 39I, 396, 406, 4I2, 413, 415, 43I, 433, 452, 472, 473, 477, 488, 5o6, 511, 522, 560 [I0, 14], 628 n., 650, 669, 677, 72I, 787, 800 Armed Forces, compliance, 816 Business responsibilities, I39, 250,3I4,342, 350 Campaign remarks, 541, 562, 566, 589, 637, 639, 648, 655, 667, 695, 7I9, 728, 75' Churches' role, 301 Civil rights bill. See Civil rights bill Demonstrations, 218 [35], 242 [I3], 266 [9],285 [II], 290, 336 [I9],486 [ 5] Director of Conciliation, proposed, 420 [II, I3] Disappearance of workers in Mississippi, investigation, 420 [I2], 455 [9], 504 [3, 8], 563 [9] Effect of Democratic primaries on, 246, [7] Effect on elections, 266 [23], 420 [Io], 796 n. A-I7 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Civil rights-Continued Employment. See Equal employment opportunity Federal compliance, 446, 792, 800, 812 Hawaii, 534 Housing, 9 I(p. II6) Labor responsibilities, 139, 22I, 314, 342, 350 News conference remarks, 242 [13], 266 [9, 20], 285 [II], 336 [I9], 420 [9, II, I2, I3], 455 [9], 462 [5], 475 [9, I7], 486 [I5], 504 [3, 8], 560 [Io, 14], 563 [9] Press, responsibilities of, 496 Public accommodations. See Public accommodations, equal access to Riots, 600 Voting rights. See Voting rights See also Integration Civil Rights Act of 1957, 8oo Civil Rights Act of 1963, 800 Civil Rights Act of 1964, 446, 448, 452, 466, 478 n., 486 [15], 522, 620, 642, 667, 669, 680, 728, 744,792 Civil rights bill, Ii, 22, I58, 2I8 [35], 228, 233, 238, 250, 270, 290, 292, 297, 301, 314, 334, 342, 388, 397, 412, 413, 434 Amendment to include women, question of, 170 [i6] Approval, 446 News conference remarks, 28 [4], I43 [2], 150 [4], I70 [13, I6], 201 [i6], 211 [i6, 20], 218 [35], 242 [13, 15], 246 [9], 256 [II], 266 [9, 20, 21], 285 [iI], 316 [13], 336 [io, I4], 379 [8, 20], 420 [9-II], 462 [II], 475 [9] Public accommodations section, 201 [i6] Senate debate on, 2II [20], 218 [35], 246 [9], 256 [II], 3i6 [I3], 336 [14], 379 [20] Civil Service Commission, 205, 302, 345, 403, 688 [4], 812 n. Annual report, I68 Civil Service Commission, Chairman (John W. Macy, Jr.), 178 n., 302, 622, 775, 777, 790 Letters, ioo, 151 Civil War, 605 Clark, Repr. Frank, 728 Clark, Sen. Joseph S., 55, 289, 390, 566, 66i, 728,742 Clark, Dr. R. Lee, 2ii [6] Clark, William G., 635, 636, 637, 747 Clark Hill Reservoir, Georgia-South Carolina, 718 Clarke, John L., 660 n. Classification Act of I949, 711 Clay, Henry, 644 Clay, Gen. Lucius D., 349 n., 462 [2] Clean Air Act, 179 Approval, 50 Clement, Gov. Frank G., 324, 325, 645, 701, 702 Clement, Mrs. Frank G., 324, 325 Clements, Earle, 643, 644 Clergy, comments on, 742 Cleveland, Harlan, 6I6 n. Cleveland, Ohio, 405, 406 Campaign remarks, 642 Mayor Ralph S. Locher, 405, 406, 543, 642 Parade of Progress, dedication, 543 Cliburn, Van, 75 Clifton, Maj. Gen. Chester V., 773 Clifton, N.J., 338 Clothing Workers, Amalgamated, 5oth anniversary, 334 Coal industry, unemployment, 292, 295, 297 Coal and Steel Community, European, 788 Coast and Geodetic Survey, 308 Coast Guard, 2I6 Cuban fishermen in U.S. waters, arrest of, I75 Coast Guard Academy, 382 Coffee Agreement, International, 193, 662, 728 Cohen, Joe, 77 Cohen, Manual F., 455 [8] See also Securities and Exchange Commission, Chairman (Manuel F. Co hen) Cohen, Sheldon S., 8i8 [2] Cohen, Wilbur J., 356 COIN (counter-insurgency) aircraft, 516 [3] Cold war, 396, 409 Coleman, William L., 406, 642, 68o Coles, John, 688 [3] Collective bargaining, I24 (p. I57), 2I8 [36], 233, 25I, 270, 280 [ii[, 284, 287, 290, 295, 297 [2] 589, 637, 638, 639, 642, 643, 669, 670, 680, 719, 745, 746 A-I8 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Collective bargaining-Continued News conference remarks, 232 [Io], 242 [8], 256 [I, 6], 266 [3, I2], 455 [3], 780 [5] President's function in, 266 [12] College of the Holy Cross, 396 College Students Registration Week, 560 [ I] Colleges, 5 3, 658, 754 AID-financed contracts, 482 Community colleges, 47 Construction program, 413 Cooperation with business and Government, I24 (p. I63), 23I, 456 District of Columbia, proposed, I 6, 457 n. Extension service, 414 Federal aid, 47, I32 (p. 182), 338, 413, 414 Increase, 60I Negro, fundraising, 79 Participation in foreign assistance, 617 Presidents of, meeting, 485, 513 Role in public affairs, 709 ROTC programs, 665 Scholarships, 6o0 State supported, 482 Student loan program, 47, 53, I32 (p. I89), 4I3,676,755 Summer intern program for students, 428 Water resources research, 231 See also Education; specific universities Collier Trophy, presentation, 593 Collins, John F., 727 Collins, LeRoy, 446, 521 [2], 522, 588 n., 744 Collins, Lester, 635 Collins, Linton M., 389, 6I3 Colombia, 143 ftn. (p. 219), 809 Assistance, 227, 340 Economic development, 352 Sea-level canal survey, 266 [5] Colombo plan, 471 n. Colonialism, 244 Colorado, campaign remarks, 658 Colorado River, water desalinization, I93 Columbia, S.C. Campaign remarks, 719 Mayor Lester L. Bates, 7I9 Columbia River project, 135, 563 [3], 574 Columbia River Treaty, U.S.-Canada, I34, I35, 140, 563 [3], 574, 576, 598, 599, 656 Columbus, Christopher, 65I Columbus Day, 651 Combs, Bert T., 41, 174, 643, 644 Commemorative occasions. See Addresses, remarks, etc., on commemorative or special occasions Commerce, I32 (p. 187) Commerce, Department of, I24 (p. I63), 71I, 722, 805 Lard, embargo on, proposed, 201 [I4] Personnel changes, 806 Commerce, Secretary of (Luther H. Hodges), 23 n., 67, I78 n., 203, 248, 288, 350, 358, 522, 53I, 537, 588 n., 6I5, 631, 7iI, 8o6 Letters, 234, 705, 805 Memorandum to, 62 News conference remarks, 242 [9], 285 [2],294 [2],3I6 [3] Commission on Fine Arts, 700 Commission on Heart Disease, Cancer, and Stroke, President's, I79, 211 [6], 268, 617,798 Commission on Narcotic and Drug Abuse, President's Advisory, 159, 179 Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government, 7I [I2] Commission on Pennsylvania Avenue. See President's Council on Pennsylvania Avenue Commission on Presidential Scholars, 266 [4],309 Commission on Registration and Voting Participation, President's, 57, I67 Commission to Report Upon the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy, 14, 232 [5], 280 [IO], 281, 462 [8], 780 [II] Appointment of, executive order, 15 Report, 595, 619 [II, I7] Commission on Statehood for Puerto Rico, 242 [5] Commission on the Status of Women, President's, 294 [21] Commission on Technology, Automation, and Economic Progress, National, 214, 525 Commission on White House Fellows, 622 Committee on the Alliance for Progress, Inter-American, 220, 227, 475 [3] Committee on Business Advisers, 27I [I5] A-I9 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Committee on Consumer Interests, President's, I73 Committee for Development Planning in Alaska, Federal Field, 6I5 n. Committee for Development Planning in Alaska, President's Review, 615 Committee for Economic Development, 775 Committee on the Economic Impact of Defense and Disarmament, 62, 486 ftn. (p. 908) Committee on Employment of the Handicapped, President's, 302 Distinguished Service Award, 235, 302 n. I964 award, 389 Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity, President's, 40, I Ii, 139, 205, 213, 22I, 277, 342, 379 [7], 448 Report, 812 n. Committee on Equal Opportunity in the Armed Forces, 8i6 Committee for Johnson and Humphrey, National Independent, 555 Committee on Juvenile Delinquency and Youth Crime, President's, 334, 537, 704 n. Committee on Labor-Management Policy, President's Advisory, 126, 213 Committee on Manpower, President's, 212, 213,264 Committee on the National Medal of Science, President's, 98 n. Committee for the Preservation of the White House, 211 [7, 35] Committee on Private Enterprise in Foreign Aid, Advisory, 227 Committee on Public Higher Education in the District of Columbia, President's, i i6 n., 457 Committee on Reduction of Nonessential Federal Expenditures, 316 [4] Committee on Supersonic Transport, President's Advisory, 242 [9, 17], 294 [6] Committee on Trade on Economic Affairs, U.S.-Canada, 140 Committee on Trade Negotiations, Public Advisory, 278 Committee for Traffic Safety, President's, 565 Committee on Utilization of Scientific and Engineering Manpower, 271 ftn. (p. 488), 456 n. Commodity Credit Corporation, 132 (p. i87) Common Market. See European Economic Community Common Market, Central American, 438, 443, 769 Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference, London, 474 Communications Technological progress, 51 7, 788 U.S.-Japan, trans-Pacific telephone, 408 U.S.-Soviet, direct line, 395, 413, 435, 504 [ 12], 607, 662 n., 667, 686 See also Communications satellites Communications Satellite Act of 1962, i8o Communications Satellite Corporation, i8o, 517, 587 [I ] Communications satellites, 132 (p. 187), i8o, 408 n., 517 Global commercial system, international agreement, 532 Relay, 779 n. Syncom, 80o n., 632, 779 n. Communications Workers of America, 406 Communism, 244, 462 [12] U.S. policy on, 6 9 [ I 8 ] Versus democracy, 8, 91 (p. ii6), 139, 227, 280, 413, 531, 562, 589, 598, 604, 607, 617, 631, 633, 638, 640, 643, 648, 650, 652, 655, 668, 669, 678, 686, 694, 695, 702, 703, 709, 726, 734, 735, 736, 737 Communist aggression, 132 (p. I76), 227, 272,413,416,424,51 6 [ 19], 607,627,702 Africa, 702 Asia, 170 [i, 5, I0, i8], 182, 189, 201 [5, 17], 2i8 [24], 272, 280 [8], 285 [I2], 379 [ ], 420 [ I ], 474, 499, 662, 702 Caribbean area, 37 Laos, 201 [7], 294 [i6], 400, 420 [i, 5], 500,504 [4] Latin America, 220, 272, 443, 702 Malaysia, 471 Venezuela, 486 [3] Viet-Nam, 37, 83, 170 [i, 5, 1o, I 8], 201 [5, 17], 2II [33], 2i8 [24], 223, 272, 280 [8], 3I3, 3I6 [27], 348, 379 [i], 4~~00 475 [3], 497, 498, 499, 500, 504 [4], 507, 509, 5I I, 560 [3], 56i, 563 [i], 591, 627, 662, 693, 793 Western Hemisphere, 26, 3I6 [23], 635 A-20 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Communist bloc, 124 (p. 162), 686, 689, 702, 737, 746 Civil war, spread of, I92 Sino-Soviet rift, effect on U.S., 246 [II], 643 Trade with, 294 [20, 22], 641 U.S. relations with, 696 View of U.S. morals, 280 [5 ] See also specific countries Community development, 124 (p. 163), 132 (p. I88), 189, 219, 289, 757 Federal aid, 124 (p. I65), 132 (pp. 18I, 184, 189, I94), I52, 29, 289 Message to Congress, 152 Community Development, Department of Housing and, proposed, 132 (p. I94), 152 Community Relations, National Citizens Committee for, 522 Community Relations Service, 446 Comptroller General of the United States (Joseph Campbell), I8, 261 Conant, James B., 27 Conciliation Service, Federal Mediation and, 6I4 n. Concord, Calif., rapid transit system, 4I0 Conference on International Rural Development, 482 Conference on Occupational Safety, 421 Congo, Republic of the (Leopoldville) Belgian troops in, 780 [2, i6] Civil disorder in, 780 [2, Io] Civilian rescue operations, 780 [2, I6] Rebel forces, 780 [Io] Tshombe, Moise, 455 [I2], 475 [8] U.S. relations with, 780 [2] U.S. troops in, 780 [2, i6] Congress Adjournment, question of, 516 [5] Antipoverty bill, House action on, 505 Appropriation bills, House action on, 455 [I] Appropriations for foreign aid, 218 [33] Civil rights bill, Senate debate on, 2II [20], 218 [35], 246 [9], 256 [11], 316 [I3], 336 [I4], 379 [20] Comments on, 536, 6I9 [6], 735 Education Act, Senate approval, 36 Excise taxes, House action on, 407 Congress-Continued Holidays spent in session, 71 [ I4] IDA bill, House action on, 346 Investigation of Robert G. Baker, 201 [4], 2I8 [i3], 455 [2I], 563 [I5] Leaders, meeting with, 688 [I] Legislative record, 53, 71 [I6], 78, 91 (p. II2), I43 [2], I50 [5], 170 [I3], 179, 201 [9], 228, 242 [22], 271 [7], 307, 338, 342, 350, 434, 482, 488, 504 [2], 514, 520, 52I [2], 527, 549, 554, 578, 603, 605, 620, 640, 642, 643, 645, 650, 652, 657, 658, 667, 669, 676, 678, 695, 703, 728, 729, 756, 76I Medicare bill, Senate passage of, 552 Members at a press conference, 285 [I9] New Democratic Members, 776, 799 Pay, I32 (p. 194), 222, 267, 270, 27I [IO] President's service in, 22, 37, 51, 96, I20, I24 (p. 155), 170 [9], 182, 215, 242 [26], 250, 289, 295, 297, 330, 334, 336 [I4], 337, 342, 372, 388, 4I3, 486 [II], 512, 550, 560 [io], 562, 578, 589, 59I, 597, 605, 608 n., 6I7, 635, 637, 642, 643, 645, 648, 652, 658, 676, 678, 680, 694, 695, 702, 703, 712, 716, 7I8, 728, 729, 733, 734, 736, 741, 742, 747, 748, 749, 750, 762, 764, 799, 8o8 Reaction to closing of military installations, 7 [ I ] Relationship with the executive branch, 11, 8i, 777 Salute to Members of, 462 [I ], 527 Southeast Asia, Joint Resolution on, passage, 503 Special session, question of, 316 [I3] Congress, letters to Members of Anderson, Sen. Clinton P., Alaska reconstruction, 319 Buckley, Repr. Charles A., renaming of National Cultural Center, 39 Byrd, Sen. Harry Flood, reduction in tax withholding rate, 92 Harris, Repr. Oren, transportation, 154 Magnuson, Sen. Warren G., transportation, I54 McNamara, Sen. Pat, renaming of National Cultural Center, 39 Mills, Repr. Wilbur D., tax bill, I96 33-171-65- 60 A-2I Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Congress, letters to Members of-Continued President pro tempore of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives Alaska Omnibus Act, proposed amendment, 286 Alaskan reconstruction legislation, 368 Appalachian area, 300 Civil rights program, appropriations for, 466 Fair Labor Standards Act, amendments proposed, I66 Food industry, study proposed, 242 [Io] National Commission on Automation and Technological Progress, proposed, 214 National Council on the Arts, proposed establishment, 524 National Oceanographic Program, 229 Pay bill, 222 Peace Corps appropriations, I I2 Reduction in cost of operating the Government, 240 Technological revolution, 214 Water resources program, 231 See also, Congress, messages to; Congress, reports to, messages transmitting Congress, messages to Assistance to Viet-Nam, 348 Budget, 132 Consumer interests, I73 District of Columbia budget, I33 Foreign assistance, 227 Health, national, I79 Housing and community development, 152 Kennedy, John F. Death of, 11 50-cent pieces, coinage, 33 Manpower Report of the President, 213 North Viet-Nam attacks on U.S. vessels, 500 Poverty, 219 State of the Union, 9I See also Congress, letters to Members of; Congress, reports to, messages transmitting Congress, reports to, messages transmitting Aeronautics and space activities, 155 Antarctica, U.S. policy and international cooperation in, 551 Atomic information, exchange with NATO and member nations, 439 Economic report, 124 Foreign assistance programs, 6I7 President's Appalachian Regional Commission, 300 President's Manpower Report, 2I3 Trade agreements program, 592 United Nations, U.S. participation, 529 See also Congress, letters to Members of; Congress, messages to Congressional committee reports, 307 Congressional Medal of Honor, presentation, 793 Connally, Gov. John B., 72 n., 280 [io], 281, 375, 596, 597, 598, 599, 738, 760, 76I,763,765,767, 778 Connally, Mrs. John B. (Nellie), 596, 763, 767 Connecticut, 383 Campaign remarks, 603, 604 Gov. John N. Dempsey, 285 [7], 382, 383,603 Conner, Doyle E., 709, 712, 713 Connor, John T., 806 Conservation camps, 267 Conservation and development of natural resources, 132 (pp. I76, 187), 219, 267, 287, 391, 396, 427, 554, 578, 597, 599, 6o6, 644, 650, 654, 667, 669, 673, 713, 719,729, 737,760,787 Legislation on, 620 Presidential policy paper, 756 Constantine II, King, 209 Constitution, U.S., 8I, 250, 270, 453, 462 [5],5II Presidential succession, amendment proposed, 2II [13, 29], 2I8 [9] 24th amendment Adoption, I45 Certification, 17I Consumer Advisory Council, 43, 86, I73 Consumer Interests, President's Committee on, 86, I73 A-22 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Consumer Price Index, 124 (p. I60), 2II [3],463, 619 [4] Consumers, 233 Credit, I73 Message to Congress, 173 Protection of, 43, I73, I79, 242 [ I], 39I, 740, 787, 803 Drugs, 159,458 Pesticides, 34I Publications, 173 Regional conferences, proposed, I73 Spending, 124 (pp. I57, I59, i6o), I73, I97, 233, 379 [5], 459, 506, 546, 563 [6], 6I9 [4], 630, 724, 757,77I Continental Grain Co., I95 n. Continental Shelf, 353 Contracts, Government AID-financed, 482, 617 Aircraft development, 355 n. Defense, I8, I70 [2], 285 [I6], 409, 486 [2], 563 [6], 690 n., 741 Equal employment opportunity under, 792 Uranium, 294 [io] Conyers, John, Jr., 745 Cooley, Repr. Harold D., 327, 328, 546, 631 Coombs, Charles, 296 Cooper, Sen. John Sherman, 14, 15, 150 [7], 291, 292 Cooper, Maj. L. Gordon, 569,572,598 Cooper, Prentice, 645 Cooperative League of the U.S.A., 352, 6I7 Copenhagen, Denmark, 394 Copland, Aaron, 568 Corcoran, Thomas G., 60I Cordova, Alaska, 242 [ ] Cormier, Frank, 2 [17] Cornell, Douglas, 587 [9] Corporations Dividends, 285 [I5] Income, 731 Profits, 23, I24 (pp. I56 7, I6I), 132 (p. I78), 266 [2], 285 [I5], 294 [3, 23], 295, 297, 299, 3II, 314, 316 [5], 327, 379 [5], 404, 405, 411, 472, 477 n., 506, 53I, 544, 555, 562, 589, 631, 635, 636, 645, 650, 652, 655, 657, 658, 659, 667, 689, 694, 695, 712, 713, 724, 731, 733, 735, 746, 749, 750 Taxes, 124 (p. I59), I32 (pp. I79, i8o), 39, I97,218 [I5], 724 Corps of Engineers, I32 (p. I87), I98, 2I7, 308,567, 718 Corregidor, 623 Corriere Della Sera, Milan, I49 Cosmetics, consumer protection, 173, 179 Costa Rica, 809 Economic and social development, 438 n. Floods, 438, 443 Mount Irazu, volcanic eruption, 438 n., 443 Orlich, Francisco J., 438, 441, 443, 455 [i6] U.S. Ambassador Raymond Telles, 54 [5] U.S. relations with, 438, 44I Costello, Timothy W., 669 Cotton, I32 (p. 187), 225, 249 Consumption, 255 Cotton-wheat bill. See Agricultural Act of I964 Imports and exports, I93, 717 Insect control, 758 Prices, 255, 64I Production, 758 Textile industry, 602 Cotulla, Tex., I94 Council on Aging, President's, I78, 415 Council of Appalachian Governors, 300 Council of Economic Advisers, 40, 295, 472, 477, 5~6, 550, 77I News conference remarks on, 27I [I5], 294 [23], 379 [5], 455 [2], 563 [Io] Report, I24 (pp. I6i, I62) Council of Economic Advisers, Chairman (Gardner Ackley), 77I, 8i8 [4] Council of Economic Advisers, Chairman (Walter W. Heller), 296, 297, 314, 433, 434, 53, 53I, 550, 7I4 Memorandum to, 62 News conference remarks on, 54 [9], 266 [2],486 [4] Council on Economic Opportunity, 802 Council of Motion Pictures Organizations, Inc., 354 Council on Pennsylvania Avenue, President's, report, 379 [12], 700 Council on Physical Fitness, President's, 188, 490 Council of the Southern Mountains, 4I Council of State Governments, 178 n. Counties, National Association of, 509 A-23 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Cow Palace, San Francisco, Calif., 415 Cowles, John, 563 [5], 59I Cox, Archibald, 315 Cox, James M., 680 Craig, Mrs. May, 606 Craig, Walter E., 5 I n. Cramer, John F., 514 Crank, Marion, 285 [7] Credit, I32 (p. 187), 350, 775, 780 [3] Consumer, I73 Expansion, 708, 74 Federal programs, 787 Credit Union National Association, 617 Creighton, Rt. Rev. William F., 8xo n. Crespi Morbio, Mario, I49 Crider, Otto, 413 Crime, 523 Campaign remarks, 630, 666, 668, 680 District of Columbia, 704 Reports, 90, 752 Young persons, 537, 658 Crockett, David, 645, 702 Crockett, William J., 26, 242 [7] Cronkite, Walter, 527 Croplands, decline in need for, 132 (p. 187) Crotty, Peter J., 667 Cuba, 48, 399 n., 475 [13], 688 [8], 703 Castro, Fidel. See Castro, Fidel Claims of U.S. nationals against, 684 Communism in, 562, 607, 612, 631, 640, 643, 650, 652, 655, 678, 726 Cuban fishermen, arrest in U.S. waters, 175, 82 Defectors to U.S., 232 [6] Economic isolation, 150 ftn. (p. 231), 272, 294 [22], 316 [23], 635 Guantanamo Naval Base. See Guantanamo Naval Base, Cuba Guevara, Ernesto, 246 [5] Soviet bombers, missiles, and weapons in, 285 [22] Soviet technicians and supplies for, 285 [22] Soviet troops in, withdrawal, 256 [20] Subversive activities in Latin America, I86,486 [3] Trade with U.K., I50 [ 13] U.S. aerial reconnaissance, 280 [9], 285 [22], 3I6 [I7], 379 [I5] Cuba-Continued U.S. policy on, 316 [23] U.S. relations with, 242 [II], 246 [5], 455 [22] Cuban missile crisis, 91 (p. II6), 638, 686 Campaign remarks, 612, 642, 643, 645, 646, 648, 650, 652, 656, 657, 659, 666, 667, 669, 678, 694, 702, 727, 728, 733, 734, 736, 741, 745, 746, 747, 749, 750, 762 Cullen, Joseph M., 411 Cultural Center, National, renaming, 39 Cultural exchange, 280, 369, 385 Cultural life in U.S., 784 Cultural Organization, United Nations Educational, Scientific, and, 480 Cultural and Trade Center, Interama, Miami, Fla., 7io Cumberland, Md., 320, 32I Mayor Earl D. Chaney, 32I Currency, coinage of John F. Kennedy 50 -cent pieces, 33 Curtis, Kenneth, 606 Curtis, Repr. Thomas B., 189, 6I9 [i6], 642 Cushing, Richard Cardinal, 2 Customs, Bureau of, 80, 752 Cyprus, 2II [23], 597 Archbishop Makarios, message to, 70 Assistance, 210 Greek-Turkish dispute, 70, 170 [I], I82, 192, 206, 210, 423, 429, 504 [5], 5II, 544, 560 [4], 746 Kutchuk, Fazil, message to, 70 United Nations operations in, 235,246 [4], 423 U.S. Ambassador Fraser Wilkins, 201 [I3] U.S. relations with, 511 D-day, 20th anniversary, 384 Daddario, Repr. Emilio Q., 603 Dairy products, I32 (p. I87), 256 [8] D'Alessandro, Thomas, III, 703 Daley, John J., 605 Daley, Richard J., 287, 455 [IO], 52I [5], 748 Daley, Mrs. Richard J., 287 Dallas, Tex. Mayor Erik Jonsson, 738 Visit to, question of, 780 [23] A-24 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Dalton, Gov. John M., I89, 2I7, 263, 695 Dangerfield, George, "The Era of Good Tidings," 303 Daniel Webster, U.S.S., 560 [5] Daniels, Repr. Dominick V., 338 Daughters of the American Revolution, 275 Davidson, Roy E., 252, 284, 450 Davies, Mrs. Dorothy, 428 n. Davis, Repr. Clifford, 645, 701 Davis, Mrs. Clifford, 701 Davis, Repr. John W., 330, 716 Davis, Martin, 75I Davis-Bacon Act, amended, 444 Davis Cup winners, Io6 Dawson, Repr. William L., 287 Dayton, Ohio, campaign remarks, 680 Deaf, International Games for the (1965), 8o8 Deaf persons, opportunities, 808 Dean, Arthur H., 522, 563 [5], 688 [3, 8], 747 Deason, Bill, 778 DeBakey, Dr. Michael E., 2II [6], 268 n., 798 Debates, presidential campaign, question of, 54 [7], 20I [IO], 455 [17], 475 [21], 486 [8], 516 [13], 560 [9] Debt, consumer, 173 Debt, national, 132 (p. 181) Interest on, 211 [28] Limit on, 132 (p. 192), 379 [3] Reduction, I99, 630 "Decision-Making in the White House," Theodore C. Sorensen, 23 n. Declaration of Independence, 250, 44I De Coubertin, Baron Pierre (founder of modern Olympics), 782 Dedicatory occasions. See Addresses, remarks, etc., on commemorative or special occasions Deegan, Thomas J., Jr., 282 Deere and Co., 745 Defense, Department of, 26, 37, 132 (p. I8I), I77, 2I8 [I5], 227, 230, 272, 276, 298, 442, 482, 560 ftn. (p. I042), 612, 669, 735, 816 Cost Reduction Week, 467 Defense, Department of-Continued Meat purchases, 246 [i8], 316 [6], 344, 732 News conference remarks, 54 [I4], 71 [2], 211 [28], 256 [2, 3], 266 [io], 504 [II], 56 [3, I2], 560 [i6], 563 [6], 6I9 [3], 688 [8] Personnel reduction, 28 [5], 91 (p. II3), I32 (p. I94), 294 [4], 486 [5] Spending. See Defense spending Defense, national. See National security Defense, Secretary of (Robert S. McNamara), i8, 19, 23, 26, 37, 54 ftn. (p. 66), 67, 83, 89, I05, I27, 132 (pp. I76, 192), I75, I77, 218 [I, 23-26], 223, 227, 233, 274, 276,280 [8], 295, 298, 314, 43,425, 439, 442, 454, 467, 487, 489, 509, 5I0, 513, 531, 533, 539, 600, 665, 691, 696, 766, 771, 775, 793, 796, 797, 809 Campaign remarks on, 605, 608, 612, 622, 630, 654, 659, 667, 678, 68o, 702, 728, 733, 736, 745, 746, 747, 749, 750 Letter, 816 Memorandums to, 62,440 News conference remarks on, 28 [2, 5], 54 [I41, 71 [3, II], I50 [I], I70 [2, i2], 201 [5, i8], 211 [14, 33], 232 [6], 242 [9, 20, 23], 246 [i8], 266 [5, io, I8, 2I], 271 [2, 8], 285 [9, i2], 294 [i7], 3i6 [2, i6], 336 [I5], 379 [I, Io, II], 420 [3], 462 [2], 486 [5], 504 [4, II, i5], 56 [2, 3], 560 [5, 6], 563 [i, 5, 6], 587 [5, 8], 619 [2, 3], 688 [i, 8], 780 [5, 6, 22], 8i8 [4] Report on cost reduction program, 6I9 [2] Visit to West Germany, 316 [2] Visits to Viet-Nam, 218 [23, 24, 26], 316 [2, I6], 336 [i5] Defense, U.S.-Canada Joint Ministerial Committee on, I40 Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services, 298 Defense contractors, cost reduction program, i8 Defense contracts, 285 [i6], 409, 486 [2], 690 n., 741 A-25 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Defense contracts-Continued Economy measures, I8, 170 [2] Increase, 563 [6] Defense and Disarmament, Committee on the Economic Impact of, 62, 486 ftn. (p.908) Defense Highways, National System of Interstate and, 565 Defense installations. See Military installations Defense procurement, i8, 216, 230, 486 [2] Defense Satellite Communications System, 504 [6] Defense spending, 62, 227, 272, 276 n., 307, 409, 482, 486 [2], 598, 733, 735, 775, 797 Effect on domestic economy, 62 Increase since 1960, 266 [Io], 493, 509, 516 [19], 533, 54I, 588, 703, 749 News conference remarks, 28 [5], 54 [6], 7I [3, II], I70 [2], 2II [28], 2i8 [I5], 266 [io], 285 [9], 336 [3], 5I6 [I9], 619 [1,2] Reduction, i8, 37, 7I [3, ii], 91 (pp. II3, 117), 96, i20, 129, 130, I3I, I32 (pp. 176, I84, I85, I93, I94), I70 [2], 211 [28], 2i8 [I5], 285 [9], 295, 327, 336 [3], 467, 531, 654, 657) 790 Report, 6i9 [2] Deficit spending, 124 (pp. I58, 159), I32 (pp. 176, I77), 295, 462 [2], 472, 66i, 679, 728,753 n., 787 De Gaulle, Charles, 8, I36 n., 2i8 [25], 693, 70I Meeting with, question of, 211 [I9], 780 [9] News conference remarks on, 28 [4, 6], I70 [io, I4, i8], 2II [I9], 246 [I4], 285 [5], 475 [6], 688 [8], 780 [9, I9] Degrees, honorary. See Honorary degrees and memberships De Kooning, Willem, 568 De la Garza, Eligio (Kika), 767 Delaware Campaign remarks, 749,750 Candidates for public office, 749, 750 Gov. Elbert N. Carvel, 338, 749, 750 Del Valle, Jose, 438 n. DeMaster, Jean Ann, 315 Deming, Frederick L., 8I8 [ i ] Democracy, definition of, 313 Democratic Committee dinner, Atlantic City, N.J., 338 Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Convention, 433 Democratic National Committee, Chairman (John M. Bailey), I99, 224, 228 n., 338, 363, 508, 542 n., 603 Democratic National Committee, remarks to, 96, 542 Democratic National Convention, 218 [I9], 256 [22], 539,54~ Nomination, acceptance remarks, 54I President's attendance, question of, 521 [8, I2] Press coverage, I50 [7] Democratic Party, 228, 342, 363, 372, 373, 4I5, 536, 542, 603, 612, 622 n., 654, 746, 747 Candidate for Vice President, question of, 2II [I2, 15], 242 [20], 294 [I7], 455 [Io], 486 [9, i6], 5i6 [7], 52I [i2], 539 Congressional dinner, 228 Convention. See Democratic National Convention Fundraising dinners, I99, 287, 338, 372, 373, 4I3, 415) 431, 434 History of, 542 New Congressmen, reception for, 799 News conference remarks, 211 [ 2, 15], 218 [19],242 [20], 246 [I7],28o [6], 294 [I7, 25], 455 [Io, I9], 475 [17], 486 [9, i6], 516 [7, 19, 20], 521 [i2], 539, 560 [I o, I5] Record in office, 199, 363, 411, 413, 541, 637, 640, 642, 644, 645, 646, 648, 652, 702, 703, 713, 734, 750, 764 Voter registrations, 566 Young Democrats, 372,729 Democratic Women, Campaign Conference for, 305 De Montfort, Simon, 796 n. Dempsey, Dr. Edward, 2II [6] Dempsey, Gov. John N., 285 [7], 382, 383, 603 Denmark, 394 Ambassador Kield Gustav Knuth-Winterfeldt, 394 Assistance, 394 n. King Frederik IX, 394 A-26 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Denmark-Continued Krag, Jens Otto, 266 [7], 394 Queen Ingrid, 394 Support of the United Nations, 394 U.S. Ambassador Katharine E. White, 394 U.S. relations with, 394 Denny, Brewster, 242 [5] Dent, Albert W., 266 [4] Dent, Repr. John H., 728 Dental and medical education. See Medical and dental education Denton, Repr. Winfield K. (Winnie), 643, 644, 729 Denver, Colo., campaign remarks, 658 Depreciation allowances, 619 [ 4], 724 Depressed areas Appalachian area. See Appalachian area Federal redevelopment program, 91 (p. 114), 126, 132 (p. I88), 213, 2I9 Unemployment, 294 [4] Depressions, 255,757,764 1929-37 depression, I24 (p. 159), 667,733, 736, 745, 749, 750,799 Desalinization of water. See Water desalinization Desha, Joseph, 644 Desha, Phoebe Ann, 644 Des Moines, Iowa Campaign remarks, 634 Mayor Charles S. Iles, 634 Desmond, John, 635 Detroit, Mich., 356, 462 [3], 463, 560 [I2, I5] Campaign remarks, 562, 745 Democratic fundraising dinner, 43I Mayor J. P. Cavanagh, 356, 43I, 562 De Valera, Eamon, 256 [4], 364, 366, 376, 682 De Valera, Mrs. Eamon, 366,376 Development Loan Fund, 71 [i6] Development of natural resources. See Conservation and development of natural resources Devine, J. Murray, 607 De Weldon, Felix, 773 Dewey, Adm. George, 303 Dewey, Thomas E., 637 DeWitt, J. Doyle, 604 n. Diabetes prevention, 755 Dial, A. Clayton, 741 Diaz Ordaz, Gustavo, 619 [Io], 767, 768 Diaz Ordaz, Sefiora Gustavo, 6I9 [io], 767, 768 Dickerson, Mrs. Nancy H., 527 Diem, Ngo Dinh, 218 [24], 379 [I], 607, 612, 643,693 Dien Bien Phu, 750 Diggs, Repr. Charles C., Jr., 745 Dillon, C. Douglas. See Treasury, Secretary of the (C. Douglas Dillon) Dillon, Mrs. C. Douglas, 382 Dilworth, Richardson, 742 Dingell, Repr. John D., 356,745 Diplomatic Corps, 42 Diplomats, U.S. See Foreign Service Dirksen, Sen. Everett McK., 333,502 Campaign remarks on, 652, 656, 658, 669, 679, 680, 693, 694, 702, 703, 712, 713, 729, 733, 734, 736, 745, 747, 750 News conference remarks on, 28 [9], 563 [i6] Disabled persons, Federal aid, 755 DiSalle, Michael V., 642, 679 Disarmament, I40, 232 [8], 272, 382, 394 n., 797, 820 Geneva conferences. See Geneva conferences U.S. proposals for, 122, I29, 130, 131 Disarmament, Committee on the Economic Impact of Defense and, 62, 486 ftn. (p. 908) Disarmament Agency. See United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency Disaster Fund, President's, 567 Disaster relief, appropriations, 567 Disasters, natural Earthquakes Alaska, 24I, 242 [i, i6], 286, 294 [7], 308, 319, 368,37I, 615 Japan, 408 Floods Costa Rica, 438, 443 Montana, 573 Ohio River Basin, 217 Hurricanes, 493 Florida, 563 [4 1,567 Georgia, 563 [4], 567 Louisiana, 6I8, 647 South Carolina, 563 [4] A-27 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Disasters, natural-Continued Prediction and control, 597, 705 Typhoons, Philippines, 627 Volcanic eruption, Costa Rica, 438 n., 443 Disciples of Christ Historical Society, 279 Disease prevention, 39I, 396, 598, 620, 656, 755, 798 Heart disease, cancer, and stroke, 179, 268, 650, 656, 667, 669, 733, 798 Malaria, 716 Mental illness, 132 (p. 189) Multiple sclerosis, 312 Polio, 598, 667, 669 Disney, Walter, 568 Distinguished Civilian Service Awards Board, 27 Distinguished Federal Civilian Service Awards, presentation, 417 Distinguished Service Medal, presentations, 127,425,454,487, 783 District of Columbia, i6, 700 Borrowing authority, 133 Budget message, 133 Campaign addresses, remarks, etc., 548, 555, 570, 588, 590, 6II, 622, 633 Commissioner Walter N. Tobriner, 2II [2], 704 Crime, 704 Education, II6, 133, 457 Federal funds for, 133 Health services, 133 Higher education facilities, proposed, ii6, 457 n. Highway program, 133 Home rule, i6, I33 Housing, 704 n. Inter-American foreign ministers meeting in, 455 [i8], 475 [3, I3], 56I Junior Village, 133 Juvenile delinquency, I33, 537 Law enforcement, 704 n. Library facilities, I33 Mental health responsibilities, I33 Monuments and memorials, 172 Museum of History and Technology, dedication, I4I Occupational training programs, 133 Pennsylvania Avenue, plans for redevelopment, 379 [I2], 700 Police force, I33 Recreation programs and facilities, 133 District of Columbia-Continued St. Elizabeths Hospital, 133 School construction, 133 Taxes, 133 Voter registration, i67 Welfare services, 133 World Weather Center, 705 District of Columbia, President's Committee on Public Higher Education in the, I I6 n., 457 Dividends, 285 [I5] Tax treatment, 731 Dixon, Paul Rand (Chairman, Federal Trade Commission), 701 Doar, John M., 417 Dobbin, Muriel, 587 [3] Dobie, J. Frank, 294 [9], 568 Death of, 584 Dobrynin, Anatoly F. (Soviet Ambassador to U.S.), 271 [I4], 674, 676, 678, 68o, 686, 688 [i], 737 DOD. See Defense, Department of Dodd, Sen. Thomas J., 382, 383, 603 Dollahite, John, 374 Dollar stability, 196, 233, 295, 296, 299, 455 [13], 462 [2], 472, 506, 563 [6], 617, 630, 722,740,753, 787 Dominican Republic, 143 ftn. (p. 219) Donald, David, 303 Donelon, Thomas F., 648 Donlon, Mrs. Marion H., 793 Donner, Frederic, 587 [ i ], 733 Donohue, Repr. Harold D., 396, 727 Dorn, Repr. W. J. Bryan, 719 Douglas, Kirk, 75I Douglas, Lewis W., 796 Douglas, Sen. Paul H., 287, 619 [I5], 635, 636, 637, 694, 747,748 Douglas, Mrs. Paul H., 748 Dover, Del., campaign remarks, 749 Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, 749 Dow-Jones Industrial Average, 211 [3], 246 [I2], 271 [I5], 455 [2], 563 [6] Dowling, Edward, 639 Downing, Repr. Thomas N., 358 Draft rejectees. See Military rejectees Draft system. See Selective Service System Driver, William J., appointment as Administrator, Veterans Affairs, 8I5 Driving, the President's, comments on, 246 [2, I6] A-28 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Drug Abuse, President's Advisory Commission on Narcotic and, 179, 458 Drugs Consumer protection, I59, I73, I79, 391, 458 Illegal traffic in, 179, I93, 458 Dubinsky, David, 334, 387, 388, 669, 796 n. Dubinsky, Mrs. David, 388 Dubord, Richard, 606 Duke, Angier Biddle, 340, 8I9 Duke, Mrs. Angier Biddle, 8I9 Dulles, Allen W., 14, 15, 563 [5], 59, 688 [3], 696 Dulski, Repr. Thaddeus J., 667 Duncan, John J., 324 Duncan, Mrs. Robert V. H., 275 n. Duncan Lake Dam, 135 Dungan, Ralph A., 69, 224, 513 Du Pont, Henry, 211 [7] Durham, Lord, 576 Dutton, Frederick G., 414 Dwyer, John J., 695 n. Dyal, Ken W., 735 "E" flag awards, presentation, 350 Earthquakes Alaska, 241 242 [i, i6], 286, 294 [7], 308, 319,368,371, 6I5 Japan, 408 East Chicago, Ill., 639 Mayor John Nicosia, 639 East St. Louis, Ill., Mayor Alvin G. Fields, 694 East-West relations, 71 [I3], 76, 91 (p. 117), 109, 232 [8], 246 [II], 359, 399, 400, 795 n. East-West trade, 266 [ ] Easter vacation, the President's, 242 [25] Eastern Kentucky Emergency Program, 41 Eastland, Sen. James 0., 97 Eastman Kodak Co., 350 n. Eaton, Bob, 336 [2 ] Eaton, Charles A., 750 Eaton, Fredrick, 296 Eaton, William, 619 [i8] Eckstein, Otto, 336 [7], 550 Eckstein, Mrs. Otto, 550 Economic Advisers, Council of. See Council of Economic Advisers Economic Affairs, U.S.-Canada Committee on Trade and, 140 Economic assistance, 45, 69, 91 (p. 17), 132 (pp. 176, I85), 227, 233, 280 Latin America, 71 [5], 340, 769 Malagasy Republic, 483 Malaysia, 471 n. Philippines, 627 Thailand, 476 Viet-Nam, 348 See also Foreign assistance; Technical assistance Economic cooperation, international, 472, 780 [3] Economic Cooperation and Development, Organization for, 472 Economic Development, Committee for, 27 [ I5], 775 Economic gains, 477 n. Economic growth, U.S., 23, I24 (pp. 156, i6i, 164), 132 (pp. I78, I79, I82, 191, I93), I97, I98, I99, 2I3, 233, 235, 244, 290, 311, 3I4, 338, 350, 4II, 4I3, 415, 431, 434, 459, 472, 477, 484, 506, 509, 531, 536, 624, 638, 689, 697, 707, 708, 722, 757,77I,775, 787 Campaign remarks, 54I, 548, 555, 562, 597, 604, 630, 635, 636, 640, 642, 643, 645, 650, 657, 658, 659, 669, 679, 694, 695, 703, 7I2, 7I6, 7I9, 729, 733, 734, 735, 74I, 742, 745, 746, 750, 75I, 76I, 762 News conference remarks, 266 [2], 271 [3, I5], 285 [i5], 3i6 [5], 336 [I, 20], 379 [5], 455 [I3], 486 [4], 563 [6], 619 [4], 780 [3, 4 Relation to antipoverty program, 336 [20] Statements, 404, 8 I Economic Impact and Conversion, Office of 486 [2] Economic Impact of Defense and Disarmament, Committee on the, 62 Economic opportunity, 386 Economic Opportunity, Office of, 300, 677 Establishment, proposed, 219 Economic Opportunity, Office of, Director (R. Sargent Shriver, Jr.), 677, 678, 68o, 711, 778, 8oi, 802 A-29 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, 537, 580, 620, 642, 677, 704 n., 802 Approval, 528 Passage in Congress, 505 Proposed, 29, 235 Economic Opportunity Council, 802 Economic Progress, National Commission on Technology, Automation, and, establishment, 214,525 Economic reform, 776 Economic Report to Congress, I24, 173 Economic and Social Council, Inter-American, 769 Economy, national, 62, 132 (p. 178), I39, 213, 219, 228, 255, 264, 284, 295, 297, 299, 305,386,406,435, 472, 484, 598, 787 Effect of defense spending on, 62 Effect on elections, 246 [ I7] Effect of strikes on, 780 [3] Effect of tax reduction on, I50 [i8], 246 [12], 379 [5] Message to Congress, I24 News conference remarks, I50 [i8], 211 [3], 246 [I2, I5, I7], 27I [3], 316 [26], 379 [5], 455 [2, 3, 13], 462 [I], 486 [4, I4], 6I9 [4], 780 [3] Stability, 482 Statements, 463, 619 [4], 707, 708, 7I4, 722, 723, 724, 730, 731, 739, 740, 743, 776, 811 See also Economic growth, U.S. Editors Association, Newspaper Farm, 344 Edmondson, Repr. Ed, 597 Edmondson, Sen. J. Howard, 597 Education, 132 (p. I76), 2II [28], 213, 219, 227, 228, 238, 287, 289, 297, 39I, 44, 482, 488, 598, 630, 63I, 639, 658, 668, 678, 68o, 718, 778 Adult, 47, 213, 327 Antipoverty program aid, 124 (p. I64) Appalachian area, 321 Community colleges, 413 Cultural exchange, 280, 369, 385 District of Columbia, I 6, I33,457 Equal opportunity, 91 (p. II6), I24 (p. I65), 233, 235, 250, 277, 292, 30, 342, 357, 375, 406, 4I2, 413, 433, 457, 477, 482, 513, 54I, 544, 590, 599, 639, 642, 643, 644, 648, 657, 666, 667, 676, 703, 709, 719, 728, 729, 732, 733, 734, 746, 750, 760, 76I, 798 Education-Continued Exchange program, 280, 465 Facilities expansion, 754 Federal aid, 47, 53, 91 (p. II4), 124 (p. 164), I32 (pp. I82, 189, 191), 213, 219, 336 [i6], 338, 413, 414, 6oi, 645, 669, 676, 680, 683, 709, 728, 754, 775, 780 [20] Handicapped persons, 47, 389, 808 Indians, I20 Land-grant colleges, 2I9 Legislation on, 78, 150 [5], 620, 642, 650, 654, 657, 66i, 667, 669, 68o, 703, 728, 750 See also Higher Education Facilities Act of 1963; National Defense Education Act Amendments, I964 Medical and dental, 47, 132 (p. I89), I79, 213, 520, 557, 620, 755 Mentally retarded, 403 Military personnel, 382 Minority groups, 388 Negro colleges fundraising campaign, 79 Negroes, 277, 287, 297, 30I Presidential policy paper, 754 Presidential Scholars program, 266 [4] Public, 219 Scholarships, 457 n., 6oi School dropouts, 47, 53, 213, 2I8 [I5], 233, 246 [20], 398, 658, 680, 733, 754 Back-to-school campaign, 84 Scientific and engineering, 132 (p. I90), 391,456,709, 738 Seminars in 1964, 78 Teachers, 213, 357 Television, educational, I73 U.S. system, 6o0 Veterans, 419, 642,709 Work-study program, 53, I32 (p. I89), 219 Work-training program, 2I9 Young persons, 267,737 See also Colleges; Schools; Students Education, Commissioner of (Francis Keppel), 78, 84, 397 n., 414, 513, 622 Education Association, National, 676 n. Education in the District of Columbia, Committee on Public Higher, 1 i6 n. Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, United Nations, 480 A-30 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Edwards, Mrs. India, 208, 257 n. Edwards, Dr. Lena F., 568 Edwards Air Force Base, California, 2o0 [2],409 Egan, Gov. William A., 241, 242 [i6], 615 Egypt. See United Arab Republic Einstein, Albert, 5 1 Eisenhower, Dwight D., President, 2, i2, 29, 45, 80, 96, I82, 207, 218 [I, 9, 24], 280 [8], 295, 303, 3I4, 340, 359, 499, 500, 506, 577, 59I, 638, 641, 698, 775, 778, 784, 809 Campaign remarks on, 562, 6oi, 603, 604, 607, 612, 622, 634, 635, 637, 639, 640, 642, 643, 645, 646, 648, 652, 656, 658, 659, 669, 679, 680, 693, 694, 695, 702, 703, 7I2, 7I3, 78, 728, 729, 733, 734, 736, 745, 747, 748, 749, 750, 762 Letter to Ngo Dinh Diem, 218 [24], 379 [i], 607, 6I2, 643, 693 News conference remarks on, 54 [9], 7I [7, IO, I2], 20 [5], 21 [21, 29], 266 [ I], 271 [ I], 285 [I7], 420 [I], 462 [2], 504 [II], 560 [Io, I6] Eisenhower, Mrs. Dwight D., 96 Eisenhower, Milton, 266 [4], 397 n., 587 [2],612 Eleanor Roosevelt Golden Candlestick award, presentation of, 208 Eleanor Roosevelt Memorial Foundation, i6I Election (1936), 640 Election (1948), 637 Election (I960), I71, 201 [5], 290, 508, 652, 667 Election (I964), 2II [3I], 266 [19], 475 [I5],5o8 Candidacy, the President's. See Candidacy for reelection, the President's Candidates for President. See Candidates for President Candidates for Vice President. See Candidates for Vice President Effect of civil rights on, 266 [23], 796 n. Effect of economy on, 246 [ 7] Predictions by press, 266 [3 ] Primary. See Primary elections Registration of women, 289 Victory, remarks following, 765 Voter participation, 57, 560 [ i ] Voter registration, 167, 750 Election campaign, addresses, remarks, etc., 633 August 27, Atlantic City, N.J., 541 August 28, Atlantic City, N.J., 542 August 29, Stonewall, Tex., 544 September i, Washington, D.C., 548,555 September 7, Detroit, Mich., 562 September io, Harrisburg, Pa., 566 September 14, Washington, D.C., 570 September I5, Miami Beach, Fla., 571 September 17 Portland, Oreg., 578 Sacramento, Calif., 579 September 2I, Washington, D.C., 588 September 22, Atlantic City, N.J., 589 September 23, Washington, D.C., 590 September 25 Eufaula, Okla., 597 Oklahoma City, Okla., 598 Texarkana, Tex.-Ark., 599 September 28 Burlington, Vt., 605 Hartford, Conn., 603, 604 Manchester, N.H., 607 Portland, Maine, 606 Providence, R.I., 60I September 30, Washington, D.C., 6 1 October I, Baltimore, Md., 612 October 3, Washington, D.C., 622 October 6 Alexandria, Va., 628 Raleigh, N.C., 631 Washington, D.C., 629, 630 October 7 Broadcast from the White House, 638 Des Moines, Iowa, 634 Peoria, Ill., 636, 637 Springfield, Ill., 635 Washington, D.C., 633 October 8 Cleveland, Ohio, 642 Indianapolis, Ind., 640 Lake County, Ind., 639 October 9 Louisville, Ky., 643, 644 Nashville, Tenn., 645 New Orleans, La., 646, 648 October 11 Las Vegas, Nev., 652 Long Beach, Calif., memorandum issued, 654 A-3I Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Election campaign, addresses, remarks, etc.-Continued October i i-Continued Phoenix, Ariz., 649 San Francisco, Calif., 65r South Gate, Calif., 650 October 12 Boise, Idaho, 659 Butte, Mont., 656 Casper, Wyo., 657 Denver, Colo., 658 Reno, Nev., 655 October 14 Bergen, N.J., 660 New York City, 662 Wilkes-Barre-Scranton, Pa., 661 October 15 Brooklyn, N.Y., 668 Buffalo, N.Y., 667 New York City, 669, 670 Rochester, N.Y., 666 October 16 Cincinnati, Ohio, 678, 679 Dayton, Ohio, 680 October 2I Akron, Ohio, 693 Belleville, Ill., 694 St. Louis, Mo., 695 October 24 Baltimore, Md., 703 Chattanooga, Tenn., 702 Memphis, Tenn., 70I October 25, Boca Raton, Fla., 709 October 26 Augusta, Ga., 718 Columbia, S.C., 719 Jacksonville, Fla., 713 Macon, Ga., 716 Orlando, Fla., 712 October 27 Boston, Mass., 727 Evansville, Ind., 729 Pittsburgh, Pa., 728 October 28 Albuquerque, N. Mex., 732 Los Angeles, Calif., 733 Riverside, Calif., 734 San Bernardino, Calif., 735 San Diego, Calif., 736 October 29 Philadelphia, Pa., 742 Election campaign, addresses, remarks, etc.-Continued. October 29-Continued Salt Lake City, Utah, 737 Wichita, Kans., 741 October 30 Chicago, Ill., 748 Detroit, Mich., 745 Milwaukee, Wis., 746 Rockford, Ill., 747 October 3I Dover, Del., 749 New York City, 751 Wilmington, Del., 750 November 2 Austin, Tex., 763 Houston, Tex., 760, 76I Pasadena, Tex., 762 November 4 Austin, Tex., 765 Taped address to the American people, 764 Election campaigns, 7I3 Ethics of, 6I9 [13] 1936, 325 I960, 338, 563 [I7], 645, 693, 728 I964, 170 [9], 2i8 [13, I91, 475 [ 9], 486 [I3], 504 [IO], 5I6 [I9, 21], 560 [I3], 587 [9], 680, 780 [23] Campaign issues, 462 [io], 475 [9, I7, 22], 560 [I4, I6], 638, 654 Civil rights, effect on, 420 [io] Conduct of candidates, 462 [7], 475 [II, I5], 718 Debates. See Debates, presidential campaign, question of Memorandum on, 654 Use of television and radio, 2o0 [15 ] Election polls. See Political polls Elections, presidential, 471 n., 638 Electors, comments on, 3 6 [2I ] Electric Cooperative Association, National Rural, 227 Electric power industry, increasing demands on, 803 Electric power reactors, 545 Electrical Workers, International Union of, 590 Electrification, rural. See Rural electrification A-32 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Eliot, Thomas Stearns, 568 Elizabeth II, Queen, 187, 796 Elkus, Abram I., 208 ftn. (p. 335) Ellender, Sen. Allen J., I50 [7], 546, 646, 648 Ellington, Buford, 701I Elliott, Tom, 285 [7] El Paso Times, 587 [6] Elson, Roy L., 649 Elstad, Leonard M., 389 n. Emancipation Proclamation, III, 266 [20], 277, 290, 301, 334, 342, 39I, 511, 522, 669, 728, 778, 8oo00 Emergency Planning, Office of, 368, 567, 647 Emergency Planning, Office of, Director (Edward A. McDermott), 62, 217, 218 [i], 242 [i], 308, 567, 6I5, 618 Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 533, 578 Employment, 124 (pp. I56, I58, i64, i66), 233, 235, 289, 290, 379 [7], 388 Automation, effect on, 99, I26, 213, 233 Equal opportunity. See Equal employment opportunity Federal. See Government employees Full employment, 433, 566, 589, 639, 693, 729, 743, 747 Handicapped persons, 179, 302, 345, 403, 8o8 Increase, 22, 23, 40, 91 (pp. 112, II5), i6o, i66, I99, 213, 297, 314, 334, 338, 386, 404, 405, 413, 415, 431, 463, 472, 477, 506, 525, 550, 647, 689, 743, 79I Campaign remarks, 548, 604, 63I, 636, 639, 644, 645, 650, 652, 656, 666, 669, 694, 695, 702, 703, 713, 719, 729, 732, 733, 734, 735, 742, 746, 76I, 762 News conference remarks, 211 [3], 246 [I5], 266 [2], 285 [I5], 294 [4], 3I6 [5, 26], 336 [I], 379 [5], 455 [2], 504 [7], 52I [3], 619 [4], 780 [3] Increased opportunities, 197, 27I [I5], 4II, 558, 571, 599, 603, 605, 630, 635, 640, 643, 648, 679, 690 n., 704 n., 708, 728,746 Labor force, growth of, 213 Migrant farm workers, 305 Minority groups, 205, 213, 812 n. Negroes, 205, 277, 30I Employment-Continued Nonwhite, 213 Older persons, 178, 213, 43I, 690 n. Overtime, 91 (p. II6), I24 (p. I63) Rural areas, 344, 434 Scientists and engineers, 456 n. Steel industry, 290, 780 [5 ] Tax reduction incentives, 386 Textile industry, 7I9 Unskilled workers, 213 Women, 213 Young people. See Youth: employment and training Youth Employment Act, proposed, 132 (p. I84) See also Unemployment Employment Act of I946, I24 (p. 155), 3II, 375, 550, 648, 77I Employment of the Handicapped, President's Committee on, 302 Distinguished Service Award, 235, 302 n., 389 Employment Opportunity, President's Committee on Equal, III, I39, 2I3, 277 Employment Service, U.S., 89, I78 Enders, Dr. John F., 27 Engelhard, Charles W., 72I Engineering Education, 709 Manpower utilization, 27I [5 ] Research, 308, 629 Engineering Manpower, Committee on Utilization of Scientific and, 27I ftn. (p. 488), 456 n. Engineers, 493 Employment, 456 n. Utilization, reports on, 271 ftn. (p. 488), 456 Engineers, Corps of, 132 (p. 187), I98, 308, 567, 7I8 Engineers and Scientists for Johnson, 629 Engle, Sen. Clair, 413, 486 [6], 650 English, Richard, 650 n. Enrico Fermi award, presentation, 19 Enterprise, U.S.S., 560 [6], 6I9 [5] Enterprise system, 8, 40, 91 (p. II5), III, 1I24 (p. I66), I39, I58, 2i8 [36], 233, 248, 250, 264, 266 [3], 267, 270, 271 [I5], 280 [I ], 284, 290, 295, 297 [2], 299, 314, 350, 39I, 402, 43I, 506, 598, 599, 604, 617,757, 760, 787 A-33 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Equal employment opportunity, 91 (p. 116), 124 (p. 165), 213, 22I, 233, 235, 250, 277, 379 [7], 398, 406, 4I2, 4I3, 448, 650, 68o, 737, 743 Business, responsibilities of, 40, III, 139, 250, 342, 448 Government service, III, 139, I68, 213, 277 Labor, responsibilities of, 139 Minority groups, 40, I I, 205, 213,342 Negroes, 40, III, 30I Older persons, 178 n. Women, I70 [i6], 213, 398 Equal Employment Opportunity, President's Committee on, 40, III, 139, 205, 213, 22i, 277, 342, 379 [7], 448, 812 n. Equal opportunity, 32, 34, 233, 235, 292, 293, 765 See also Equal Employment Opportunity Equal opportunity agreements, participants, 40, III, 139, 250, 342, 448 Equal Pay, National Committee for, 398 n. Equal Pay Act of 1963, 213, 398 Equal Pay Conference, 398 "Era of Good Tidings, The," George Dangerfield, 303 Erdmann, Marion S., 573 Erhard, Ludwig, 26, 87, 693, 70I, 734 Joint statements with, 76,400 News conference remarks on, 28 [4], 54 [8, i6], 71 [6, 8, I3], 266 [8], 316 [25], 475 [3], 688 [8] Visit of, 72-76, 399, 400 Erhardt, Rev. Charles R., 649 n. Erickson, Edward, 693 Erickson, Mrs. Edward, 693 Ertola, John A., 65I n. Ervin, Sen. Sam J., Jr., 326, 327, 328, 329, 631 Eshkol, Levi, 377,378, 380, 672 Eshkol, Mrs. Levi, 377 n., 378 Estes, Billie Sol, 728 Eufaula, Okla., campaign remarks, 597 Eufaula Dam, Oklahoma, 587 [2], 597, 598 Europe Assistance, 617 Unification, 76, 272, 662 n., 788 U.S. relations with, 272 Europe, Eastern, 562, 638, 686, 719, 785 Radio Free Europe broadcasts to, 785 Relations with West, 612 Europe, Eastern-Continued U.S. relations with, 359, 785 See also specific countries Europe, Western, 400, 736, 780 [ ] Defense of, 608, 780 [8] Economic and political integration, 49, 76, 708 Nuclear forces in, 467 Nuclear warheads in, 413 Relations with Western Hemisphere, 192 U.S. Armed Forces in, 49, 132 (p. 184), 382 U.S. relations with, 49, 399 n., 788 U.S. trade with, 76, 788 See also specific countries European Coal and Steel Community, 788 European Economic Community, 71 [8, 13], 788 U.S. trade with, 757 Evans, C. E., 778 Evans, Frank E., 658 Evansville, Ind. Campaign remarks, 729 Mayor Frank McDonald, 729 Everett, Repr. Robert A., 358, 645, 701 Evins, Repr. Joe L., 645, 701,702 EX-io torpedo, 382 Exchange of persons, 280 American Field Service, 465 Excise taxes, 132 (p. I8o), 271 [3], 379 [4, 5], 407, 724 Executive branch, 201 [9] Antipoverty agency, question of, 218 [i6] Cabinet. See Cabinet Economy measures in, 37, 54 [6], 71 [3, Io, 11], oo00, 132 (p. 193), 211 [9, IO], 218 [I5], 240, 271 [7], 294 [4], 295, 336 [3], 462 [2], 6I9 [I, I4], 630, 689,749,775,790 Management improvement, 17, ioo, 132 (pp. I76, I93), i68, 213, 240, 26I, 307 Reduction of employees, 240 Relations with Congress, II, 8I, 527, 777 Staffing of international organizations, assistance, 519 Executive Branch of the Government, Commission on Organization of the, 71 [12] Executive orders Closing of Government agencies on November 25, 1963, 4 A-34 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Executive orders-Continued Commission to Report Upon the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy, 15 Federal Development Planning Commission for Appalachia, establishment, 7"I John F. Kennedy Space Center, designation of name, I3 List, Appendix B, p. I702 Executive Service Corps, International, 227, 402 Explorations of man, II7 Export Expansion, Cabinet Committee on, 248,592 Export Expansion, White House Conference on, 248,592 Exports, 124 (pp. 157, I62), 739, 757, 787 Agricultural products, 71 [8, I3], 475 [2], 484, 592, 634, 636, 757 Expansion program, 248, 472, 722 Increase, 246 [I2], 350, 592, 695, 753 n., 757 Industrial goods, 636,722 Marketing programs, 566 Military, I32 (p. I9I) Restrictions, limitation on, I93 See also specific commodities Extremist groups, 462 [6], 475 [20, 23], 656 F- I I bomber, 382 Fair employment practices. See Equal employment opportunity Fair Labor Standards Act of I938, I24 (p. 163), 213, 334, 642 Proposed amendments, I66 Fair Labor Standards Amendments of I96I, 22 Falk, Adrien J., 410 Fallon, Repr. George H., 703 Fallout, radioactive, 434, 653 n., 675 n., 686 Fallout shelters, I32 (p. 185) Family Breadwinners: Their Special Training Needs, report, i6o Fannin, Gov. Paul, 649 Far East. See Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia Farah, Empress, 385 Farber. Dr. Sidney, 211 [6] Farley, James A., 224, 228, 751 Farm bill, 54 [9, II], 71 [8], 242 [I2], 246 [I2] Farm economy, 124 (pp. I56, 158, 162), I32 (p. 187), 225, 249, 255, 267, 271 [3], 344, 433, 434, 475 [2], 484 Campaign remarks, 544, 570, 597, 63I, 634, 643, 655, 657, 667, 712, 7I9, 746 See also Agriculture; Agricultural commodities Farm Editors Association, Newspaper, 344 Farm prices and income. See Farm economy Farm programs, 54 [9], 344, 570, 598 Campaign remarks, 620, 63I, 634, 638, 643, 645, 649, 68o, 701 Presidential policy paper, 757 Farm workers, migrant, 219, 305 Farmer-Labor Party Convention, Democratic, 433 Farmers Home Administration, 132 (p. 187) Farmers Organization, National, 255 Farmers Union, Minnesota, 255 Farmers' Union, National, 225, 242 [IO] Farmers Union Grain Terminal Association, 255 Farnsley, Charles P., 643, 644 Farnum, Billie S., 745 Farr, George, 433 Farrell, Raymond F., 588 n. Fascell, Repr. Dante B., I98, I99, 571, 709, 710 Faubus, Gov. Orval E., 599 Faubus, Mrs. Orval E., 599 Faulkner, William, 14I Fay, Dr. Marion, 21 [6] Fay, Paul B., Jr., 354 Fay, William P., 366 Fayette, Frederick J., 605 FBI. See Federal Bureau of Investigation FCC. See Federal Communications Commission Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, 453, 5I2 Federal Aid Highway Act of I962, I54 Federal-Aid Highway Act of I964, approval, 512 Federal aid to States, 132 (pp. 177, I9I), 598, 730,746 Airports, 2I5, 410, 453, 598 Appalachian area, 314, 7 1 A-35 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Federal aid to States-Continued Area redevelopment, 124 (p. 165), I52, 2I3 Commerce and transportation, 132 (p. 187) Depressed areas, 132 (p. I88), 213, 219 Disaster relief Alaska earthquake, 241, 286, 308, 319, 368, 371, 615 Florida hurricane, 563 [4], 567 Georgia hurricane, 563 [4], 567 Louisiana hurricane, 6I8, 647 Montana flood, 573 Ohio River basin flood, 217 South Carolina hurricane, 563 [4] Eastern Kentucky emergency program, 41 Education, 47, 53, 91 (p. 114), 124 (p. 164), I32 (pp. I89, 191), 213, 219, 336 [I6], 338, 413, 4I4, 676, 683, 709, 754, 775, 780 [20] Health programs, 179,520, 755 Highways, 410, 453 Hospitals and medical care facilities, 179 Library services and construction, 181 Recreational programs and facilities, I32 (p. I87) Transportation, 410, 453 Unemployment insurance, 132 (p. 189) Urban renewal, I89 Welfare services, 2I3 West Virginia, 586 Federal Airport Act, amendment, 215 Federal Aviation Agency, 294 [6], 3I0, 336 [3], 35I, 355 n., 462 [2] Federal Aviation Agency, Administrator (Najeeb E. Halaby), 215, 242 [9], 294 [6], 3I, 355 n., 409, 586 Federal Building, San Francisco, Calif., dedication, 41 I Federal Bureau of Investigation, 7, 14, 28 ftn. (p. 38), 90, 2I8 [4], 420 [I2], 455 [9], 475 [4], 504 [3], 563 [9, II, I3, 5 ], 6I9 [ II], 700, 752 Director (J. Edgar Hoover), 199, 201 [3], 315, 333, 455 [9], 468, 475 [20], 504 [3], 600, 619 [11], 671, 688 [5, 8], 780 [II, 14] Report on urban riots, 600 Riot control, 600, 603 Federal Communications Commission, 256 [I5], 266 [I6] Federal Council for Science and Technology, 229, 231, 456 n. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, I44, 642, 787 Federal Development Planning Commission for Appalachia, establishment, 711 Federal employees. See Government employees Federal Employees Association, 305 Federal Employees' Incentive Awards, 467 n., 790 Federal Executive Boards, management and efficiency in Government operations, Ioo Federal Expenditures, Committee on Reduction of Nonessential, 316 [4] Federal Field Committee for Development Planning in Alaska, 615 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, 173, I79 Federal Highway Administrator (Rex M. Whitton), 217 Federal Home Loan Bank Board, 8I4 Federal Housing Administration, 152, 179, 690 n. Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, amendment, approval, 341 Federal Interstate Highway System, 512, 565, 598, 656, 66i Federal Maritime Commission, 469 Federal Maritime Commission, Chairman (John Harllee), 3I6 [3] Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, 6I4 n. Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, Director (William E. Simkin), 316 [3] Federal National Mortgage Association, 152, 688 [4] Federal Power Commission, 173, 455 [II], 780 [i8], 803 Federal Power Commission, Chairman (Joseph C. Swidler), letter, 803 Federal Property and Administrative Services Act, amendments, 481 Federal Radiation Council, 653 n., 675 n. Federal Reconstruction and Development Planning Commission for Alaska, 241 n., 294 [7], 308, 368, 615 Report, 319 Federal Reports, President's Advisory Council on, 583 A-36 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Federal Reserve Board, 211 [2] Federal Reserve System, 294 [3], 295, 563 [Io], 714, 780 [3], 787 Federal Reserve System, Chairman, Board of Governors (William McC. Martin, Jr.), 295, 299, 486 [4], 530, 714, 780 [3], 787 Federal Salary Reform Act of I962, 132 (p. I94), I68, 222 Federal-State Appalachian Commission, proposed establishment, 294 [2] Federal-State employment service, 99 Federal-State-local governmental responsibilities, 8, 509, 513, 516 [2i], 566, 606, 656, 669,702 Accident prevention, 565 Antipoverty program, 91 (p. 114), I20, I24 (p. 166), I32 (pp. I76, 184), 314, 316 [28] Appalachian area, economic development, 7II Civil rights, 330, 446, 462 [5], 792 Community development, I52, 757 Cooperation with colleges, 482 Crime eradication, 523 Disease prevention, 798 Draft rejectees, training and rehabilitation, 336 [2] Drug control, I79 Economic cooperation, 521 [2,4] Economic growth, 745 Education, 709, 754 Fiscal policies, 730 Industrial waste disposal, 578 Interstate highway system, 512 Labor-management relations, 729 Law enforcement, 462 [Io], 468, 475 [I5], 563 [9 ], 600, 603, 655 Occupational training and employment, 99 Public welfare, 213 Recreational facilities, 422 Staffing of international organizations, assistance, 519 Transportation, 453 Urban renewal, 693 Vocational rehabilitation, 179 Federal-State Regional Commission, 300 Federal surplus lands, transfer to States, 422, 534 Federal Trade Commission, 80, I73 Federal Trade Commission, Chairman (Paul Rand Dixon), 70I Fee, George, 679 Feed grains, 132 (p. 187), 757 Feighan, Repr. Michael A., 97, 405, 406, 642 Feinberg, Abraham, I75 Feldman, Myer, 246 [ I3] Fellowships, 60I Felt, Adm. Harry D., 454 Fenoaltea, Sergio, I49 n., 65 I n. Fergerstrom, Robert, 60 n. Ferguson, Mrs. Miriam A., 374 Ferguson, Rev. Robert R., 579 Ferguson, Thomas C., 544 n. Fertilizer prices, 352 FHA. See Federal Housing Administration Field, Mrs. Marshall, 2II [7] Field installations, reduction of, 462 [2] Fields, Alvin G., 694 Finan, Thomas B., 320,321,703 Findley, Repr. Paul, 201 [14] Fine Arts, Commission on, 700 Finkelstein, Jerry, 75I Finland, Urho Kekkonen, 564 Fire Island National Seashore bill, 554 n. Fiscal policy, U.S., I05, i20, I24 (pp. I57, i6o, 161), 139, I82, 196, I97, 218 [i7], 299, 307, 472, 506, 589, 617, 689, 775, 787 Campaign remarks, 630, 640, 654, 679, 742 Message to Congress, 132 News conference remarks, 71 [2, Io, II, I6], 256 [3], 455 [I3],780 [3] Statements on, 707, 708, 714, 722-724, 730, 73, 739, 740 Fisheries of the North Pacific Ocean, International Convention for the High Seas, 559 Fishing in territorial waters of U.S., prohibition, 353 Fissionable materials Private ownership of, 538 Production decrease, 91 (p. II7), I22, I29, I30, I3I, I32 (p. I85), 272, 285 [3], 287, 294 [I4] 295, 395, 434, 435, 486 [, 2], 562, 642, 820 Fitzgerald, F. Scott, 208 Flag of battle, presentation to the President, II9 A-37 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Flannagan, Bishop Bernard J., 396 Fleming, Msgr. E. J., 190 n. Fleming, Thomas F., 709, 72, 713 Flemming, Arthur S., 513 Flint River Basin, Ga., 716 Flood, Repr. Daniel J., 66i Flood control, 132 (p. I87), 134, 135, 193, 217, 39I, 578, 597, 599, 645, 650, 729, 756 Floods Costa Rica, 438, 443 Montana, 573 Ohio River Basin, 217 Florida, 7Io Campaign remarks, 57I, 709, 72, 713 Candidates for public office, 712 Cross-state barge canal, ground breaking, I98 Gov. Farris Bryant, 12, I98, I99, 567, 57I, 709, 710 n., 712, 73, 719 Hurricane relief, 563 [4], 567 Florida Atlantic University, dedication, 709 Flowers, J. G., 778 Flynt, Repr. John J., Jr., 330, 716,718 Fogarty, Repr. John E., I74, 6oI Foley, Eugene P. (Small Business Administrator), 217, 362, 434, 53 Folliard, Edward T., 246 [I7] Folsom, Marion B., 211 [6], 666 Fontanne, Lynn, 568 Food Consumer protection, I73, I79, 242 [IO] For needy and unemployed persons, 67, 690 n., 732,757 Stamp program, 91 (p. II4), 219, 225, 235, 242 [i2], 249, 266 [2i], 267, 268, 297, 305, 314, 434, 546, 598, 620, 634, 757 Marketing programs, 455 [7] New uses, proposed, 344 Overseas relief distribution, 9I (p. II7), 344, 546, 641, 662 n. Production, 352 Radioactivity in, 653 n., 675 n. School programs, 292 Surplus, 292 Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, Federal, I73, 179 Food and Drug Administration, I32 (p. 189),173 Food industry, message to Congress, 242 [Io] Food Marketing, National Commission on, 455 [7] Food for peace program, I24 (p. 162), I32 (p. I87), 546, 627,634, 641,757 Food Stamp Act of I964, approval, 546 Foote, Emerson, 21 [6] Ford, Frederick W., 336 [7] Ford, Repr. Gerald R., Jr., 14, I5 Ford, Henry, II, 294 [23], 299, 356, 431 n., 455 [I3], 745 Ford, William D., 745 Ford Foundation, 45I n., 537 Ford Motor Company, 587 [9], 745 Foreign affairs, 42, 71 [7] Foreign Affairs, Panel of Consultants on, 696 Foreign Aid, Advisory Committee on Private Enterprise in, 227 Foreign Aid and Related Agencies Appropriation Act, 45 n., 240 Foreign assistance, 91 (p. II2), I24 (p. 162), I89, 280, 344, 394, n., 435, 546, 607, 634, 641,662, 695, 702, 722, 737 Africa, 45, 227 6I7 Argentina, 269 Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, 45, i86, 227, 379 [ ], 420 [I], 597, 6I7, 662 n., 675, 686, 693, 797 Bolivia, 340 Brazil, 340 Business participation in, 227, 402, 6I7 Chile, 227 Colombia, 227, 340 Cyprus, 2 o Denmark, 394 n. Europe, 617 Foreign aid bill, 11, 54 [I7], 71 [I4], 379 ftn. (p. 734), 455 [I6] Funds for, 45, 48, 218 [33], 227 Greece, 424 n. India, 227, 379 [17] Interdepartmental committee to review, 69 International cooperation, 227 Israel, 377, 378, 380 Jordan,227 Korea, I50 [6], 227 Laos, 227 A-38 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Foreign assistance-Continued Latin America, 45, 71 [5, 9], 227, 272, 340, 617, 662 n., 769 Less developed countries and new nations, 45, 5I, 76, 91 (P- II7), I24 (PP. I62, i66), I32 (p. I85), 227, 280, 361, 400, 482 n., 483, 6I7, 702 Malagasy Republic, 483 Malaysia, 471, 474, 797 Messages to Congress, 227, 348, 6I7 Middle East and Near East, 797 Nicaragua, 227 Nigeria, 227 Pakistan, 227 Panama, 285 [6] Peru, 227,340 Philippines, 627 Policy study, 7I [9] Private organizations, participation, 6I7 Reduction in expenditures for, 71 [I6], 462 [2] Reorganization of program, proposed, 48, 69 Thailand, 476 Turkey, 227 Viet-Nam, 83, 150 [6], 192, 201 [5], 2II [33], 2I8 [24], 223, 227, 246 [4], 272, 280 [8], 285 [I2], 379 [i, 19], 400, 420 [I], 436 n., 511, 59I, 627, 652, 662, 693, 780 ftn. (p. 1616), 793, 797 Message to Congress, 348 See also Economic assistance; Military assistance and defense support; Technical assistance Foreign Assistance Act of 1963, 48, 227 Foreign Claims Settlement Commission, 684 Foreign language newspaper publishers, remarks to, 496 Foreign ministers meetings Inter-American meeting, Washington, D.C., 455 [i8], 475 [3, 13], 56I North Atlantic Council, 28 ftn. (p. 34) North Atlantic Treaty Organization, 316 [27] Foreign Policy, National Conference on, 280 Foreign policy, U.S., 11, 37, I89, I92, 218 [2, 14, 28, 29], 227, 244, 272, 295, 346, 529, 533, 596, 6I6, 638, 64I, 689, 788 Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, 2II [27], 379 [I], 420 [I] Foreign policy, U.S.-Continued Campaign remarks, 544, 6o6, 607, 6o8, 622, 630, 634, 635, 639, 640, 642, 643, 645, 646, 648, 650, 652, 655, 656, 657, 658, 662, 678, 680, 693, 694, 695, 701, 702, 703, 712, 7I3, 718, 7I9, 728, 729, 732, 733, 734, 735, 736, 741, 745, 746, 747, 748, 749, 750, 762 Cuba, 3I6 [23] Laos, 272 News conference remarks, 201 [5, 8], 2II [21, 27], 242 [II], 246 [4], 27I [I, i8], 280 [8], 285 [I3, I7], 294 [I9], 3I6 [23, 24], 379 [I], 420 [I, 8], 462 [I2], 475 [3, 22], 688 [I, 8] Philippine support of, 626 n. President's advisory panel on, 563 [5, 8] Relation to antipoverty program, 280 Viet-Nam, I86, 2II [2I], 218 [25, 27], 246 [4], 280 [8], 420 [8], 626 n. Foreign press, 475 [23] Foreign Service, 227, 619 [8], 621 Dependents overseas, 266 [ 7] Foreign visitors. See Visitors, foreign leaders Foreman, Repr. Ed, 316 [I6], 504 [I ] Forensic League, National, 343, 455 [ I7] Forests, national, 357,554 Formosa Straits, 607, 638, 694, 702, 7I3, 728, 729 733, 734, 736, 749,750 Forrest, Nathan Bedford, 702 Forrestal, James, 455 [5] Forrestal, Michael V., 455 [5] Fort Gordon, Ga., 718 Fort Peck Dam, 656 Fosburgh, James W., 2 I [7] Fosdick, Harry Emerson, 314 Foster, William C. See United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, Director Fountain, Repr. L. H., 327,328 Fowler, Henry H., 144, 296 Foy, Fred C., I69 n. France, 617 Ambassador Herve Alphand, I88, 189 De Gaulle, Charles. See De Gaulle, Charles Foreign policy, 266 [I4] Recognition of Communist China, I50 [iI, I5], I70 [I], 2i8 [31, 32] A-39 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] France-Continued U.S. Ambassador Charles E. Bohlen, 211 [19], 2i8 [24] U.S. relations with, 211 I [ 19] Francis, Connie, 751 Frankfurter, Justice Felix, 27 Franklin, Benjamin, 350,366 n., 772 Fraser, Repr. Donald M., 434 Fredericksburg, Tex., 74 Frederik IX (King of Denmark), 394 Frederika, Queen, 153, 209, 424 Free enterprise. See Enterprise system Freeman, Mrs. Frankie M., 201, [ I ], 695 Freeman, Fulton, 54 ftn. (p. 70), 767 Freeman, Gordon M., 302 n. Freeman, Orville L. See Agriculture, Secretary of Freeman, Mrs. Orville L., 358 Frei Montalva, Eduardo, 560 [2] Frelinghuysen, Repr. Peter, Jr., 305 Friday, William, 622 Friedel, Repr. Samuel N., 703 Friedman, Eugene, 338 Friedman, Herbert, 417 Friends, Society of, 39I Frost, Robert, 313, 340, 788 Fulbright, Sen. J. W., 58, 153, 201 [ii], 242 [II], 246 [5], 3I6 [24], 502, 575, 577, 599, 778 Full Employment Act of I946, 642 Fulton, Maj. Fitzhugh L., Jr., 569 Fulton, Repr. James G., 290 Fulton, Mo., 263 Fulton, Repr. Richard H., 324, 325, 358, 645, 70o Fundraising campaigns Multiple Sclerosis Society, 312 Negro colleges, 79 Red Cross, 202 Savings bond, 306 Winston Churchill Memorial Library, 263 Fundy, Bay of, I38 Funston, G. Keith, 296 Fuqua, Repr. Don, 198, 199 Fuqua, J. B., 330, 716, 718 Gainesville, Ga., 331, 332 Mayor Henry Ward, 331, 332 Galbreath, John W., 323 Gallagher, Repr. Cornelius E., 338 Gallatti, Stephen, Jr., 465 Gallatti, Stephen, Sr., 465 Gallaudet College, 389, 8o8 Gallogly, Edward P., 6oi Gallup (George) Poll, 542 Galveston, Tex., 733 Gammon, Samuel Rhea, III, 26 Gardner, John W., 568, 622 Garmatz, Repr. Edward A., 703 Garment Workers Union, International Ladies, 387, 388 Garner, John Nance, 599 Gary, Ind., 639 Mayor A. Martin Katz, 639 Garza, Judge Reynaldo G., 767 Gas rates, I73, 352 Gaston Marin, Gheorghe, 336 [6] Gathings, Repr. E. C. (Tuck), 599, 701 Gaulle, Charles de. See De Gaulle, Charles Gavin, Gen. James M., 401 Gaylord, Edward King, 598 Gaylord, Edward L., 598 Gaynor, Mitzi, 373 Gemini space project, 211 [32] General Accounting Office, reports, 307 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, Kennedy Round negotiations, 109, 140, i86, 246 [i9], 256 [2i ], 272, 336 [i2], 394 n., 400, 592, 739, 757, 787, 788 General Dynamics Corporation, I70 [3], 383 n., 515 n. General Motors Corp., 624, 713,733,745 Labor dispute, 687 General Services Administration, 307, 792 n. General Services Administrator (Bernard L. Boutin), I7I n., 411, 48 n. Geneva Agreement of I962, 201 [7], 272, 294 [i6], 420 [i], 500, 780 ftn. (p. 1616) Geneva conferences Atomic energy, peaceful uses of, 396 Disarmament, 91 (p. 116), 94, 109, 170 [i5], i86, 382, 394 n., 395, 529, 693, 736 Resumption of meetings, 122, 130, 13I U.S. proposals, 129 Kennedy Round, GATT trade negotiations, 109, 140, i86, 246 [19], 256 [2I], 272, 336 [12], 394 n., 400, 592, 739,757,787,788 Radio Conference on Space Communications, I8o n. A-40 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Geneva conferences-Continued Trade and Development, United Nations Conference on, 20I [ I ], 237 Geodetic Survey, Coast and, 308 Geographic Society, National, 17, 427 Geological Survey, 308 Geophysical Year, International, 55I George, Heard, 716 George, Walter F., 716 George Washington, U.S.S., 383 Georgetown University, 788 Georgia, I7I Antipoverty program, 330, 33I, 332 Campaign remarks, 716, 718 Gov. Carl E. Sanders, 330, 332, 567, 716, 718, 719 Hurricane relief, 563 [4], 567 President's visit to, 336 [9] State motto, 330, 716 Georgia, Medical College of, 718 German Development Aid Service, 76 Germany, 591 Aid to less developed countries, 400 Berlin. See Berlin Change in leadership, 694, 746 Development Aid Service (peace corps), 76, 347 Erhard, Ludwig, 26, 28 [4], 54 [8, i6], 71 [6, 8, 13], 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 87, 266 [8], 316 [25], 399, 400, 475 [3], 688 [8], 693, 70I, 734 Foreign policy, 788 Immigration quota to U.S., 97 Liibke, Heinrich, 73 Relations with West, 788 Reunification, question of, 76, I22, 244, 359,399, 40, 788 Schr6der, Gerhard, 28 [4], 72 n., 75, 76, 400, 780 [8] Soviet relations with, 316 [25] U.S. Ambassador George C. McGhee, 8I8 [4] U.S. expenditures in, agreement on, 76 U.S. forces in, 76 U.S. relations with, 72, 73, 76, 399 Visit of Secretary McNamara, 316 [2] Germany, East RB-66 plane incident, 170 [I], 182, 246 [4] Release of fliers, 232 [2], 242 [i8, 26] Treaty with the Soviet Union, 400 Gettys, Tom S., 7I9 Ghana, 35 Ambassador Miguel Augustus Ribeiro, 35 n. Nkrumah, Kwame, 88 GI bill of rights, 419, 6II, 642, 709 Gibbons, Repr. Sam M., I98, I99 Gifford, Selene, 204 n. Gilligan, John J., 679 Gilpatric, Roswell L., 37 n., 54 ftn. (p. 66), 563 [5], 688 [3] Givens, Dr. Everett, 763 Glass, Andrew, 486 [9] Glass, Marshall, 315 Glass-Steagall Act, I933, I44 Glaves, Jack, 741 Gleason, John S., Jr. (Administrator of Veterans Affairs), 152, I78 n., 6II, 654 Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona, 256 [i6] Glenn, Lt. Col. John H., Jr., 374 Promotion, 725, 733 Glynn, William E., 603 GNP (gross national product). See National product Gold Outflow from U.S., 722, 775 Reserves, 379 [6], 753 Goldberg, Justice Arthur J., 139 Goldman, Eric F., 303, 513 Goldner, Herman W., 285 [7] Goldsboro, N.C., 326, 329 Goldstein, Louis L., 703 Goldwater, Sen. Barry, 96, 218 [32], 287, 3II,352, 498 Campaign remarks on, 542, 612, 63I, 643, 655, 657, 659, 680, 693, 703, 713, 716, 718, 719, 728, 729, 733, 736, 748, 749, 762, 764 News conference remarks on, 71 [I4], I50 [i2], 2II [30], 242 [23], 271 [I3], 285 [I], 420 [7, I0, II], 455 [I3, 20], 462 [6, 9, Io, I2], 475 [5, 7, 9, I2, I5, I7, 2I, 23], 504 [io], 516 [2, 6, I0, I3, I7], 560 [9, I3, I4, i6], 563 [Io, I2, I4], 6I9 [I5, I8] Goldy, Daniel L., 248 Gompers, Samuel, 430 Gonzalez, Repr. Henry B., 767 Good-neighbor policy, 104, 220, 285 [13], 340, 56I Goodman, Philip, 703 A-4 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Goodrich, Warren, I99, 709, 7I2, 7I3 Goodwin, Richard N., 727 Gordon, Jerald, 808 n. Gordon, John, 43I Gordon, Kermit. See Budget, Bureau of the, Director Gordon, Lincoln (U.S. Ambassador to Brazil), 561 n. Gore, Sen. Albert, 323, 324, 325, 6i9 [i6], 645, 70I, 702 Gore, Mrs. Albert (Pauline), 645, 702 Goulart, Joao, 66 Govatos, Mr. and Mrs. John, 153 n. Government, continuity in transition, 6, 8, 28 [4] Government cooperation with business, 295, 472 Technological research, 124 (p. 163) Government cooperation with colleges, 456 Research, 124 (p. I63) Government cooperation with industry Increase, 805 Manpower utilization, 456 Power projects, 803 Government employees, 462 [2], 780 [4] Employee-management cooperation, 151 Equal employment opportunity, 00oo, III, I39, i68, 213,277 Ethical standards, I50 [9], 170 [7], 226 [i6] Handicapped persons, 2I3, 302,345, 403 Incentive awards, presentation, 790 Manpower control and utilization, I7, 38 Minority groups, 205, 213, 812 Negroes, 205 Officials Ethical standards, 266 [i6] Pay, 132 (p. I94), 295 Older persons, 213, 712 Overseas, 218 [I5] Pay, 17, I32 (p. I94), 222, 266 [21 ], 267, 268, 270, 295-297, 402, 4II, 456, 54, 688 [6] Peace Corpsmen, former, recruitment for Federal civilian service, 347 Personnel management, 0oo, 132 (pp. 176, I93), I68, 2I3 Productivity, 132 (p. 193), 307, 462 [2] Government employees-Continued Reduction, 28 [5], 68, 7I [2, ii], 9I (pp. II2, I3), I32 (pp. I76, i86, I93, I94), I97, 2II [9], 240, 27I [3], 294 [4], 295, 307, 3I6 [4], 462 [2], 486 [5], 6o6, 619, [I, 2], 630, 650, 652, 655, 659, 66i, 669, 679, 688 [2, 4, 6], 723, 749,775 Scientific and technical, 213 Seasonal workers, 294 [4] State Department employees, 26 Voter registration, I67 Women, I50 [i6], 204, 208, 2II [5], 213, 242 [2-7, 24], 257, 289, 298, 305, 360, 398,6I9 [7,9] Government Employees Incentive Awards, 467 n., 790 Government Employees Salary Reform Act of 1964, approval, 514 Government Employees Trust Fund, 688 [4] Government publications, questionnaires, reports, etc., reduction, 2II [IO], 307, 362,462 [2], 583, 630, 749 Governors Appalachian conference, 285 [2], 293, 294 [2], 300 Meetings with the President, 8, 521 [2, 5, 7], 536 Graberra, John, 290 Graduate Research Center of the Southwest, 738 Grady, Henry, 330, 716 Graham, Jerry R., 68o Graham, Rev. William F. (Billy), I72, 238, 63I Grain Feed grains, 132 (p. 187) Inspection, 132 (p. 187) Storage, 570 Grain Terminal Association, Farmers Union, 255 Grand Turk Island, 725 Gray, Mrs. Georgia, 74I Great Britain. See United Kingdom Great Falls, Mont., 573, 574 Mayor Marion S. Erdmann, 573 Great Lakes area Shipping, U.S. and Canada, 140 A-42 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Great Lakes area-Continued Unemployment, 213 See also Area redevelopment Great Seal of the United States, 4I Great Society, statement, 776 Greece, 153, 424 n., 607, 638, 694, 702, 713, 728, 729, 733,734,736,749 Ancient, 106, 424 Cyprus dispute 70, 170 [I], 182, 192, 206, 2Io, 423, 429, 504 [5], 5II, 544, 560 [4], 607, 749 Immigration quota to U.S., 97 King Constantine II, 209 King Paul I, I53, 209, 211 [ ] Papandreou, George, 424, 429 Princess Irene, I53 Queen Frederika, I53, 209, 424 U.S. relations with, 424, 511 Visit of Sen. Fulbright, 316 [24] Greeley, Horace, 413 Green, Repr. Edith, 36, 47, 398, 578, 676 Green, Ray E., 709, 712, 7I3 Green, Theodore Francis, 587 [2], 6oi Green, Repr. William J., 63, 742 Greenewalt, Crawford H., 785 Gresham, Perry, 279 n. Grider, George W., 645, 70I Gridiron Club, 298 Griffin, Msgr. Christopher P., 727 Griffin, Repr. Robert P., 356 Griffiths, Repr. Martha W., 356, 745 Gromyko, Andrei A., 365 Gronouski, John A. See Postmaster General Grosvenor, Melville B., II7 Groton, Conn., 383 Gruenther, Gen. Alfred M., 2II [6], 2I7, 241, 244 Guantanamo naval base, Cuba Cuban personnel, reduction, I77 U.S. guarantee of security, 177 Water supply, 175, 182, 192, 2i8 [29], 235, 295, 330, 544, 607, 6I2, 634, 635, 639, 642, 643, 645, 648, 652, 726, 736, 749, 750 Guerrilla warfare, 223,272, 382, 703 Guevara, Ernesto, 246 [5] Gulf of Mexico, canal to Atlantic Ocean, 198 Gunn, Donald, 694, 695 Gursel, Cemal, message to, 70 Hagan, Repr. G. Elliott, 330 Hagen, Repr. Harlan, 409 Hagerty, William W., 266 [4] Haggerty, C. J., 235, 444 Haggerty, James J., 66I Hague, The, 316 ftn. (p. 622) Halaby, Najeeb E. (Administrator, Federal Aviation Agency), 215, 242 [9], 294 [6], 310, 355 n., 409, 586 Haley, Repr. James A., 199 Hall, Hal David, 339 Halleck, Repr. Charles A., 96, 50I Hamlett, Gen. Barksdale, 349 n. Hammarskjold, Dag, 435, 502 Hammer, Dr. Armand, 137 Hammer, Harry, I37 Hammer, Victor, 137 Hammond, Ind., 639 Mayor Edward Dowling, 639 Hand, Lloyd Nelson, appointment as Chief of Protocol, 819 Handicapped, President's Committee on Employment of the, 302 Distinguished Service Award, 235, 302 n., 389 Handicapped American of the Year, President's Trophy for the, 302 n. Handicapped persons, 297 Aid, 415 Education, 47, 808 Employment, I79, 302, 345, 403, 8o8 Equal opportunity, 389 Government employment, 213, 302, 403 Occupational training, 179, 213, 302, 305 Handler, Dr. Philip, 2 I [6] Hanford, Wash., 486 [2] Hanisch, Arthur, 211 [6] Hanna, Mrs. Jane, 208 Hanna, Repr. Richard T., 414 Hannah, John A., 513 Hannan, Bishop Philip M., 784 Hanoi, North Viet-Nam, 420 [I, 5] Hanson, Royce, 703 Hanson Scale Co., 35o n. Harding, Bertrand M., 455 [4] Harding, Repr. Ralph R., 659 Hardy, Thomas, 347 Harkins, Gen. Paul D., I70 [5], 294 [5], 425 A-43 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Harkins, Mrs. Paul D., 425 Harlech, Lord (David Ormsby Gore), I87 n., 263 n., 796 Harlech, Lady (Lady Ormsby Gore), I87 Harlem, New York City, juvenile delinquency, 334 Harllee, John (Chairman, Federal Maritime Commission), 316 [3] Harmon, Col. Clifford B., 569 Harmon International Aviation Trophies, presentation, 569 Harriman, W. Averell, 26, 336 [6], 358, 588 n., 666, 667, 668, 780 [6], 796 n. Harriman, Mrs. W. Averell, 358 Harrington, Rev. Donald, 669 Harris, Repr. Oren, 50, 215, 520, 557, 599 Letter, I54 Harris, Mrs. Oren, 599 Harris, Mrs. Patricia Roberts, 242 [5], 257 n., 750 Harris, Ralph, 563 [I7] Harris (Louis) Survey, 542 Harrisburg, Pa., 560 [13], 563 [17] Campaign remarks, 566 Harrison, Gov. Albertis S., Jr., 359, 471 Harsha, Repr. William H., 323 Hart, Sen. Philip A., 97, 356, 357, 431, 562, 745 Hart, Mrs. Philip A. (Jane), 310 Hart-Celler packaging bill, 173 Hartford, Conn. Campaign remarks, 603, 604 Chamber of Commerce, 71 [3] Mayor William E. Glynn, 603 Hartke, Sen. Vance, 67, 288, 639, 640, 729 Hartke, Mrs. Vance, 640, 729 Harvard University, 399 Harvey, Repr. James, 356 Hassel, Kai-Uwe von, 316 [2] Hastie, Judge William, 622 Hatcher, Andrew T., I04 n., I50 [8] Hatcher, Harlan H., 357 Hatfield, Gov. Mark 0., 575,578 Hathaway, William D., 606 Hawaii Civil rights in, 534 East-West Center, report, 336 [6] Gov. John A. Burns, 336 [6] Statehood, fifth anniversary, 534 Transfer of land to, 534 Hayden, Sen. Carl, 649, 793 See also President pro tempore of the Senate Hayes, A. J., I58, 57I Haygood, Atticus, 330 Hays, Brooks, 113, 238 Hays, Repr. Wayne L., 323, 582 Heads of state and government, meetings, 54 [8] Heads of state and government, messages to. See Messages to heads of state and government Healey, Denis, 796, 797 Health, I32, (pp. I76, I9I), 268, 305, 341, 387, 414,552,557 Campaign remarks, 598 Effect of smoking on, 211 [25] International, 396 Legislation on, 620, 703 Message to Congress, 179 Presidential policy paper, 755 Health, Education, and Welfare, Department of, 132 (p. I8I), 173, I79, 2i8 [i6], 219, 271, [7], 516 [ I2], 792 n. Health, Education, and Welfare, Secretary of (Anthony J. Celebrezze), 89, 99, 105, 178 n., 288, 291, 292, 297, 320, 32I, 322, 323, 325, 326, 327, 328, 405, 406, 488 n., 537, 543, 58I, 600, 711 Campaign remarks on, 588 n., 642, 653 n. News conference remarks on, 170 [4], 2II [25], 256 [i4], 266 [2 ], 285 [2] Report, 675 n. Health, National Institutes of, I32 (p. 189), 179 Health Center, International Ladies Garment Workers Union, 388 5oth anniversary, 387 Health Organization, World, 179 Health of the President, comments on, 218 [20], 316 [22], 539 n., 6I9 [II], 688 [7] Health Professions Educational Assistance Act of 1963, I79 Health programs, 132 (pp. i88, I89), 305, 39, 66i Antipoverty program aid, 124 (p. I64) Children and youth, 403, 490, 590, 755 District of Columbia, 133 Federal aid, I79,520, 669 A-44 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Health programs-Continued Mental health and retardation. See Mental health and mental health programs Older persons, 91 (p. II2), 105, 268, 270 Red Cross, 202 See also Medical care Health Service, Public, 675 n. Hearn, George H., 469 Hearst, William Randolph, Foundation, journalism awards, 339 Hearst, William Randolph, Jr., 339 Heart Disease, Cancer, and Stroke, President's Commission on, 179, 2II [6], 268, 6I7,798 Heart disease prevention, 268, 39i, 650, 656, 667,669,733, 755, 798 Heart of the Year Award, presentation, 164 Heath, W. W., 375 Hechler, Repr. Ken, 360, 586 Heinkel, Fred, 54 ftn. (p. 68) Heller, Jean, 339 Heller, Walter W., 771 See also Council of Economic Advisers, Chairman (Walter W. Heller) Helstoski, Henry, 338, 660 Hemingway, Ernest, "The Moveable Feast," 526 Henderson, James Pinckney, 576 Hennington, Burnett, 257 n. Heritage Foundation, American, 56o [ ] Herlong, Repr. A. Sydney, Jr., I98, I99, 712 Hershey, Lt. Gen. Lewis B., 89, 314 Herter, Christian A., 256 [21], 278, 336 [I2], 605, 747 Hesburgh, Rev. Theodore M., 568 Hess, Audrey Stern, 257 n. Heuss, Theodor, 76 Hickenlooper, Sen. Bourke B., 634, 635, 643, 693, 694, 712, 75, 796 Hickey, J. J., 657 Higher Education Facilities Act of I963, 36, 53 n., 133, 338, 375, 620 Approval, 47 Hightower, John M., 246 [3] Highway Act. See Federal-Aid Highway Act of I956 Highways, 579, 589, 643, 669 Appalachian area, 300 Federal aid, 410, 453 Interstate system, 133, 512, 565, 578, 598, 656, 66i Highways-Continued Safety program, 234 Trust fund, 132 (pp. I88, 191), 234 Hill, Sen. Lister, 53, I74, 389, 557, 693 Hill-Burton Act. See Hospital Survey and Construction Amendments of I949 Hillman, Sidney, 334 Hilsman, Roger, 20 [ I8] Hilts, Wesley J., 667 Historic landmarks preservation, 275 Historical documents bill, approval, 48I Historical Publications Commission, National, 481 n. Hitler, Adolf, 548, 648, 662, 703, 736, 749 Hobby, William, 392 Hobby, Mrs. William (Diana), 392 Hobby, William P., death of, 392 Hobby, Mrs. William P. (Oveta Culp), 392, 750 Hodges, Luther H. See Commerce, Secretary of (Luther H. Hodges) Hodges, Mrs. Luther H., 358 Hoff, Gov. Philip H., 32 n., 605 Hoff, Mrs. Philip H., 605 Hoffman, Paul G., 563 [5], 59I, 696 Holifield, Repr. Chet, 538, 650, 733 Holland, Capt. David I., release from East Germany, 242 [ 8, 26] Holland, Repr. Elmer J., 728 Holland, Sen. Spessard L., 55, 57, I45, 171, 198, I99, 709, 710, 712, 7I3, 7I9 Holton, Karl, 27 Holy Cross, College of the, 396 Holyoake, Keith, 464 Home, Alec Douglas-, 26,272 News conference remarks on, 28 [4], 285 [3, 2I], 475 [3], 6I9 [I5] Visit, I84-I87 Home, Lady Douglas-, 184 Honolulu, U.S. officials meeting in, 379 [I, 9, II] Honorary Chairmanship of Brotherhood Week for I964, acceptance, 113 Honorary degrees or memberships, acceptance, 192 n., 316 [I2], 343, 357 n., 375 n., 382, 391 n., 499 n. Hoover, Herbert, President, 2, I2, 295, 303, 477 n. Campaign remarks on, 6oi, 643, 694, 695, 747 Death of, 69I, 692 33-171 —65 ---61 A-45 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Hoover, Herbert, President-Continued News conference remarks on, 71 [I2], 619 [i8] Hoover, J. Edgar (Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation), 199, 20I [3], 315, 333, 455 [9], 468, 475 [20], 504 [3], 6oo, 619 [ii], 67i, 688 [5, 8], 780 [ii, 14] Hoover Commission. See Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government Hope, Bob, 31 Hopkins, Harry, 513 Horne, John E. Appointment as Chairman, Federal Home Loan Bank Board, 814 See also Small Business Administrator Hornig, Donald F. (Director, Office of Science and Technology), 804 Horning, Anson, 255 Horsfall, Dr. Frank, 2ii [6] Horsky, Charles A. (President's Advisor for National Capital Affairs), i6, 537 Horstman, Robert, 68o Horwitz, Solis, 442 Hospital Survey and Construction Act of I949, 91 (p. xI5), I32 (p. i89), I78, I79, 305, 434 693 Extension, approval, 520 Hospitals and medical care facilities, 132 (pp. 189, 191), 305, 388, 598, 6o6, 669 Chronic disease hospitals, 179 Construction, 9 (p. 112), 179, 415, 520, 620 Expansion, 755 Fallout shelters in, I32 (p. I85) Federal aid, 178, 179,755 Modernization, 179 Older persons, 434, 755 See also Medical care Hot Springs, Va., 336 ftn. (p. 660) House of President's birth, 295 Housing, 132 (pp. 176, 182), I50 [I, 8], 219, 292, 541, 579, 642, 667, 668, 669, 746, 780 [3] Construction, 124 (pp. I56, i6o), I52, I89, 271 [3], 294 [23], 314, 463, 669 District of Columbia, 704 n. Equal opportunity, 91 (p. ii6), I52 Housing bill, I70 [ 13], 235,434 Indians, I20 Housing-Continued Low income, 91 (p. ii5), I32 (p. i88), I52, I73, 728 Message to Congress, 152 Military personnel, 152 Older persons, 91 (p. II5), 124 (p. I64), 132 (p. i88), 152, 178, 415, 43I, 590, 712 Public, 124 (p. 163), 132 (p. i88), 211 [28],2I3 Rural, I32 (p. I87), I52, 344 Urban, 91 (p. II5), 357 Vacancy rates, 314 Veterans, 4I9 Housing Act of 1949, I52 Housing Act of 196I, I32 (p. i88), I52,422 Housing Act of I964, 549, 642, 654, 728 Housing and Community Development, Department of, proposed, 132 (p. I94), 152 Housing and Home Finance Agency, 132 (p. i8i), I52, 792 n. Housing and Home Finance Agency, Administrator (Robert C. Weaver), i20, I70 [13], I78 n., 288, 320, 32I, 322, 323, 325, 326, 327, 328, 537, 7I I Houston, Sam, 238, 325, 645, 702 Houston, Tex. Campaign remarks, 760, 76i Mayor Louis Welch, 760 Port of, 5oth anniversary, 766 Howard, James, 338 Howard Foundry Company, defense contract, 285 [i6] Howard University, i16 Howlett, Michael J., 635, 636, 637, 747 Hoyt, Palmer, 52I [2] Hubbard, Mrs. Charlotte M., 3I6 [8] Huffman, John, 644 Hughes, Bernard, 635 Hughes, Gov. Harold E., 634 Hughes, Mrs. Harold E., 634 Hughes, Harry R., 703 Hughes, Gov. Richard J., 338, 422, 66o Hughes, Judge Sarah T., i n., 218 [ i ] Hughes Aircraft Co., 201 [2] Hull, Repr. W. R., Jr., I89 Humelsine, Carlisle H., 365 Humphrey, Sen. Hubert H., 387, 388, 433, 434,435, 676,782,796, 800, 802, 8io A-46 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Humphrey, Sen. Hubert H.-Continued Campaign remarks on, 548 n., 555, 6o6, 628, 631, 635, 637, 639, 643, 66i, 666, 670, 678, 679, 68o, 694, 728, 735, 74I, 748, 750, 761,762,765 Candidacy for Vice President, 540, 541, 542, 544 News conference remarks on, 336 [I4], 52I [9], 780 [I5, 20, 22] Humphrey, Mrs. Hubert H., 544, 765 Humphrey, National Independent Committee for Johnson and, 555 Humphrey-Johnson, Rural Americans for, 570 Hungry Horse Dam, 656 Huntington, W. Va., 293 Huong, Tran Van, 780 ftn. (p. 1616) Huot, J. Oliva, 607 Hurricanes, 493 Florida, 563 [41,567 Georgia, 563 [4], 567 Louisiana, 6I8, 647 South Carolina, 563 [4] Hurst, Dr. J. Willis, 2 11 [6], 330 Hussein I, King, visit of, 258, 259, 265 Hussey, Dr. Hugh, 2 11 [6] Hutchinson, Repr. Edward, 356 Hydroelectric power projects, I93 Hydrological Decade, International, 231 n. Hye, Tex., 7i [4] Hyman, Sidney, 303 Iakovos, Archbishop Demetrios A. C., 21I [i], 8ion. ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile), I50 [12], 382, 413, 607, 635, 703 Iceland, Bjarni Benediktsson, 521 ftn. (p. 978) Ichord, Repr. Richard H., I89 Idaho, I35 Campaign remarks, 659 Candidates for public office, 659 Gov. Robert Smylie, 285 [7] Ihnen, Edward, 338, 660 Ikeda, Hayato, 8, 236, 408, 747 Iles, Charles S., 634 Iles, Mrs. Charles S., 634 ILGWU. See International Ladies Garment Workers Union Illinois, 590 Campaign remarks, 635, 636, 637, 694, 747, 748 Candidates for public office, 635, 636, 747, 748 Gov. Otto Kerner, 217, 287, 635, 636, 637, 694,747,748 Illinois Central Railroad, 252 Illinois State Federation of Labor, 637 Illueca,Jorge, 285 [6], 3I6 [ ] Immigration bill, 280 [7] Immigration laws, 91 (p. II6), 97, II5, 268, 270,58I,639,746 Immigration and Naturalization Service, 90, II5 Immigration to U.S., 387 Equal opportunity, I39 Italian, 58I Quotas, 97 Report, II5 Imports, 739 Effect on domestic economy, 246 [ 2, I8] Marking requirements, lumber, 80 Reduction, 246 [ I8], 344 See also specific commodities Incentive Awards, Government Employees', 467 n., 790 Income Consumers, 124 (p. I57) Corporate, 731 Farm, 434 Indians, 120 Labor, 22, 124 (p. I57), 299, 311, 314, 3I6 [5],57i National, 132 (p. I78), 305, 415 Older persons, 178, 338, 590, 667 Personal. See Personal income World, 323 Income taxes, 730 Reduction and reform, 43 n., 91 (pp. II2, II5), 92, 93, 124 (pp. I56, I57, I59 -I6I, I64), I32 (pp. I77, 179, I90), I39, I50 [I8], I76, I82, 197, I99, 2II [3], 213, 28 [I5], 219, 221, 233, 235, 295, 299, 305, 3II, 3I6 [5], 338, 350, 379 [5], 388, 41, 4I3, 4I5, 431, 434, 455 [I3], 477, 563 [io], 604, 635, 639, 640, 644, 678, 708, 724, 731, 77I, 787 Tax bill. See Tax bill A-47 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Income taxes-Continued Withholding, 91 (p. 115), 124 (pp. 158, I59), 132 (P. 179), 27I [3], 336 [i8] Independent Offices Appropriation Act, 1964, approval, 56 Independent regulatory agencies heads, remarks to, 20 Independent Theater Owners Association, 354 India, 35 Ambassador B. K. Nehru, 35 n. Assistance, 227,379 [17] Change in leadership, 688 [8], 747 Kashmir dispute, 607 Nehru, Jawaharlal, 367 Radhakrishnan, Sarvepalli, 367 Shastri, Lal Bahadur, 379 [2, I7], 381, 693, 70I, 737,747 Indian Affairs, Bureau of, I20 Indian Affairs, Commissioner of (Philleo Nash), 120 Indian Ocean, U.S. warships in, question of, 54 [I4] Indiana Automobile industry, 288, 289, 295, 297, 482 [6] Campaign remarks, 639, 640, 729 Candidates for public office, 639, 640, 729 Gov. Matthew E. Welsh, 217, 288, 639, 640, 729 Primary election, 246 [7], 256 [I9], 316 [i8] South Bend, closing of Studebaker facilities, 67 Unemployment, 67, 288, 289, 295, 297, 486 [2] Indianapolis, Ind., 641 n. Campaign remarks, 640 Indians, American, National Congress of, 120 Indians, antipoverty program benefits, 120 Indochina, 475 [6] Indonesia Dispute with Malaysia, 156 n., 170 [I], 471 n., 474, 626 n., 627 Dispute with Philippines, 156 n. Indus Basin development, 227 Industrial College of the Armed Forces, 533 Industrial Conference Board, National, 402 Industrial goods, exports, 722,729 Industry, U.S., 271 [15], 379 [13], 406, 462 [I ], 455 [3 ], 606, 729 Accident prevention, 421 Capacity, 91 (p. 15), I24 (p. I58), 132 (p. I78) Cooperation with colleges, 456 Cooperation with Government, 456, 803, 805 Effect of tax reduction on, 379 [5] Employment of handicapped, 403 Expansion of, 233 Gains since 196I, 697 Government-regulated, 266 [ 6] Manufactured goods, 463 Modernization of plant and equipment, 2II [3], 233, 285 [9], 431, 459, 589, 619 [4], 689, 708, 717,724 Overtime employment in, 91 (p. ii6), I24 (p. 163) Participation in foreign assistance, 6I7 Plant closings, 690 Plant equipment not utilized, 91 (p. II5), I32 (pp. I78, I9I), 297 Pollution of air and water, prevention, 578, 756 Production, 23, I24 (p. 156), I32 (p. I78), I99, 271 [3], 307, 404, 477, 506, 555, 640, 780 [3] Reduction in reports to Government, 462 [2] Representatives in Peace Corps, 745 Research, 589 Research leaders, visit to Soviet Union, 804 Stock owned by Government officials, 266 [i6] Textiles, 602 Industry committee, tripartite, proposed, 91 (p. II6) Inez, Ky., 295 Infant mortality, I79 Inflation, 299 News conference remarks, 246 [ I5], 294 [23], 379 [I3] Preventive measures, 431, 787 Information Availability to presidential candidates, 272, 280 [6], 285 [I, 17], 294 [I5], 462 [9], 5I6 [II] Declassified, 266 [22] Ingram, Mr. and Mrs. W. B., Jr., 70I A-48 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Ingrid, Queen, 394 Inland waterways, 132 (pp. 80o, I8I) Inonu, Ismet, 416, 418, 423 Inonu, Mrs. Ismet, 416 n. Insecticides, 758 Consumer protection, 34I Regulation, I73, I79 Insurance Health, under social security. See Social security Mortgages, 178 n., 179 Old-age and survivors, 132 (p. 191), 590, 648 President's life insurance, 143 [3] Unemployment. See Unemployment insurance Insured Savings Associations, National League of, 617 Integration, 220, 235 Public accommodations, 91 (p. II6), III, 201 [i6], 250,30, 744 Schools, 413, 642, 744 See also Civil rights Interagency Committee on Oceanography, 229 Interama Cultural and Trade Center, Miami, Fla., 710 Inter-American Bank, 340 Inter-American Committee on the Alliance for Progress, 2II [8], 220, 227, 340, 475 [3], 726,769 Inter-American cooperation, 220, 285 [13] Economic and social development, 340 U.S.-Colombia, sea-level canal survey, 266 [5] Inter-American Cooperation Program, Catholic, 123 Inter-American Development Bank, I32 (p. I86),220 Inter-American Economic and Social Council, 769 Inter-American foreign ministers meeting, Washington, D.C., 455 [I8], 475 [3, 13], 56I Inter-American Peace Committee, 104, I43 [I], I5o [I4] Inter-American system, 232 [I], 245, 272, 340, 438, 486 [3] Interest equalization tax, 91 (p. II7), I24 (p. 162), 132 (p. 190) Interest Equalization Tax Act, 722 Interest on national debt, 21I [28] Interest rates, 132 (p. I90), 350, 654, 722, 775, 787 Consumer purchases, 173 Mortgages, 714 News conference remarks, 211 [34] Reduction, 714 Interior, Department of the, I79, 271 [7], 420 [2], 462 [2], 480, 6I9 [i], 792 n. Interior, Secretary of the (Stewart L. Udall), 34 n., 65 n., I20, I34, 422, 427, 461, 554, 575, 577, 649, 7 1, 778, 782, 810 News conference remarks on, 170 [4], 316 [4] Report, 715 Internal Revenue Act of I962,697,731 Internal Revenue Act of I964. See Revenue Act of I964 Internal Revenue Code of I954, I48 n. Internal Revenue Service, 90, 182, 336 [3], 455 [4], 752 Internal Revenue Service, Commissioner (Mortimer M. Caplin), I82 International agreement (I963), U.S.-Mexico, Chamizal Zone agreement, 58, 596 International agreements (1964) Communications satellite system, global commercial, 532 U.S.-Canada Columbia River agreement, I34, I35, 576 Roosevelt Campobello International Park agreement, I37, I38 U.S.-Israel joint water desalting study, 672 U.S.-Italy, space exploration, 807 U.S.-NATO, exchange of atomic information, 439 U.S.-Panama, sea-level canal study, 809 U.S.-Philippines, tax convention, 627 U.S.-Soviet Consular Convention, 365 Exchange of weather information, 705 See also specific subjects International Atomic Energy Agency, 29, 175,545,715 International Award of the Kennedy Foundation, I74 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, 220, 227 International Boundary and Water Commission, U.S.-Mexico, I93 A-49 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] International Claims Settlement Act, amendment, approval, 684 International Coffee Agreement, I93,662,728 International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, 545 International Control Commission, 420 [I], 500 International Convention for the High Seas Fisheries of the North Pacific Ocean, 559 International cooperation, 5I, 66, 220, 396, 438, 6i6 Aid for less developed countries and new nations, 5I, 227,36i Antarctica, prohibition of nuclear activity in, 55 Atomic energy, peaceful uses, 29 Conservation of natural resources, 756 Cultural exchange, 280, 369, 385 Foreign aid, 227 Monetary policy, 472, 780 [3 ] Moon exploration, 5 I 8 Proclamation on, 6i6 Scientific research, 529 Space research and exploration, 56, 155, 493 Trade. See Trade, international U.S.-Canada Defense production sharing program, I40 Shipping in Great Lakes area, 140 U.S.-Israel, water desalinization, I75, 377, 378,380,480, 672 U.S.-Italy, space exploration, 807 U.S.-NATO, exchange of atomic information, 439, 440 U.S.-Philippines, 627, 695 U.S.-Soviet Union, 365, 420 [2], 435, 480 n., 695, 705, 804 Water desalinization, I75, 377, 378, 380, 420 [2], 435, 480, 545, 672, 693, 695, 705, 715, 804 Weather prediction and control, 705 International Cooperation Year (1965), 396 Proclamation, 6i6 International Development, Agency for, 132 (pp- i85, I91), 227, 348, 480, 6i9 [i] Directors to Latin American nations, 211 [8] Foreign assistance programs, 617 International Development, Agency for, Administrator (David E. Bell), 48, 69, 227, 402 International Development Association, 227, 36i International Development Association Act, 361, 462 [ii], 617 International Development Association bill, 346 International Executive Service Corps, 227, 402 International Games for the Deaf (i965), 8o8 International Geophysical Year, 55I International groups. See Addresses or remarks to international groups International Harvester Co., 745 International Hydrological Decade, 23i n. International Labor Press Association, 297 International Ladies Garment Workers Union, 387, 388 International Longshoremen's Association, I95,494, 614 International Machinists Union, 57I International Monetary Fund, 472 International organizations Staffing of, memorandum, 5I9 U.S. contributions to, 45 International Peace Arch, 563 [3], 576 International Rural Development, Conference on, 482 International Settlements, Bank for, 472, 780 [3] International Telecommunication Union, 532 International trade. See Trade, international International Union of Electrical Workers, 590 Interstate Commerce Act, 154 Interstate Commerce Commission, I54, 211 [2], 35I, 360 Interstate Commerce Commission, Chairman (Laurence K. Walrath), 211 [2] Interstate cooperation, water resources development, 46I Interstate and Defense Highways, National System of, 565 Interstate Highway System, Federal, 512, 565, 598, 656, 66i A-50 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Interviews of the President, transcripts Lawrence, William H., Eric Sevareid, and David Brinkley, 2I8 U.S. officials held captive by Bolivian miners, 60 Investments, 211 [34], 233, 295, 771, 775, 787 Appalachian area, 711 Capital goods, 124 (pp. 158, i6o), 132 (p. 190), I39, I97, 2II [3], 246 [I2], 27I [15], 285 [9], 544, 589, 598, 775 Communications satellite program, 517 Consumer protection, 173 Foreign in U.S., I96, 296 Increase, 411, 53 Latin America, I69 Tax credit plan, 91 (p. II5), 124 (pp. 157, I59, i6i), I32 (pp. 178, I79, I94), 227, 295, 350, 589, 724, 73I, 787 U.S. abroad, 9I (p. II7), I96, 296, 483, 617, 726 Iowa Campaign remarks, 634 Gov. Harold E. Hughes, 634 Iowa State University, 634 Iran, 385 Art exhibit in U.S., 369, 385 Empress Farah, 385 Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, 369, 385 Iran-America Society, 369 Ireland Aiken, Frank, 366 Ambassador William P. Fay, 366 De Valera, Eamon, 256 [4], 364, 366, 376, 682 Support of the United Nations, 366,376 U.S. relations with, 366, 376 Irene, Princess of Greece, 153 Irvine, Calif., University of California branch, dedication, 414 Irwin, James E., 701 n. Ismay, Lord, 608 n. Isolationism, 244 Israel Assistance, 377, 378, 380 Eshkol, Levi, 377, 378, 380, 672 U.S. relations with, 377, 378 Water desalinization, cooperation with U.S., 175, 377, 378, 380, 480, 672 Italian Space Commission, 807 Italy, IoI, 149, 58I, 607, 65I Ambassador Sergio Fenoaltea, 149 n., 65I n. Change in leadership, 693, 694, 746, 747 Economic and social growth, o02 Immigrants from, 58i Immigration quota to U.S., 97 Journalists from, I49 Moro, Aldo, 44 San Marco satellite, launching, 807 Saragat, Giuseppe (Foreign Minister), IOI, 102 n., Io7, Io9, ii8, I49 Election as President, 817 Segni, Antonio, I49 Letter, 794 News conference remarks on, 28 [4], 54 [8], 475 [3] Visit of, 101, I02, 107, o09, II8 Space exploration, cooperation with U.S., 807 U.S. relations with, ioi, 102, 107, 109, 118, 817 J-58 aircraft engine, 201 [2] Jackson, Andrew, 645 Jackson, Sen. Henry M., 554, 575, 577 Jackson Hole, Wyo., 657 Jacksonville, Fla. Campaign remarks, 713 Mayor Haydon Burns, 57I, 712, 713 Jacobs, Andrew, Jr., 640 Jacobson, Mrs. Dorothy H., 257 n. James, George F., 296 James, William, 35I, 397 Jamshid, Sultan Seyyid bin Abdulla, 32 Japan, 6I7 Change in leadership, 737, 747 Communications with U.S., 408 Earthquakes, 408 Fisheries in North Pacific, 559 Fishing in territorial waters of U.S., 353 Ikeda, Hayato, 8, 236, 408 Olympic games (I964), 632, 699,782 Peace corps, establishment of, 347 U.S. Ambassador Edwin 0. Reischauer, 236 U.S.-Japan, communication satellite television, 632 A-5I Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Jefferson, Thomas, 19, 96, I72, I88, 2I8 [36], 233, 339, 388, 391, 397, 398, 4I4, 426 n., 477, 5I, 523,754,774 Campaign remarks on, 542, 571, 598, 658, 659 745, 746, 749, 750, 75I Jenkins, Walter, 170 [I7], 516 [i6], 671, 688 [5], 728 Jennings, Repr. W. Pat, 358 Jensen, Maj. Gen. James C., 242 [I ] Jews, National Conference of Christians and, II3 Job Corps Proposed, 323, 516 [4] Training centers, 219 Joelson, Repr. Charles S., 338 Johansen, Repr. August E., 356 John Birch Society, 462 [6] John F. Kennedy, U.S.S., 560 [6] John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 142, 784 John F. Kennedy Educational, Civic and Cultural Center, Mitchel Field, N.Y., dedication, 337 John F. Kennedy Memorial Library, Boston, Mass., 773 John F. Kennedy Space Center, 12 Designation of name, Executive order, 13 John F. Kennedy Square, Texarkana, dedication, 599 John XXIII, Pope, 27, 123, 224,396 John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 350 n. Johns Hopkins University, 612 Johnson, Andrew, 58, I37 Johnson, Augustus C., 628 Johnson, Clarence L., 568, 593 Johnson, Edwin C., 658 Johnson, G. Griffith, 532 n. Johnson, Iner, 435 Johnson, Jesse, 330 Johnson, Keen, 643 Johnson, Lucy (Luci) Baines, 58, 208, 270, 289, 318, 334, 465, 526, 680, 8Io Campaign remarks on, 644, 645, 646, 648, 650, 680, 729, 732, 75I, 760, 761, 763, 765 News conference remarks on, I43 [3], 5I6 [I, 587 [9] Johnson, Lynda Bird, 208, 270, 318, 320 n., 321, 322 n., 323 n., 326, 327, 328, 330, 334, 372, 394, 397, 465, 526, 8io Johnson, Lynda Bird-Continued Campaign remarks on, 622, 628, 631 n., 644, 648, 650, 732, 75I, 760, 761, 763, 765 News conference remarks on, 143 [3], 294, [26], 336 [20], 5i6 [I], 587 [9] Johnson, Lyndon B. "My Hope for America," 560 [8] Personal reminiscences. See Reminiscences, personal Johnson, Mrs. Lyndon B., i n., 27, 72, 73 n., 75, 77, 91 (P. II8), 96, IOI, I07, II8, 121, I53, I6I, 172, I87 n., 204, 238, 244, 247, 257, 259, 267, 270, 273, 275, 287, 288 n., 289, 290, 291, 292, 295, 297, 3IO, 313, 38, 320, 326, 328, 330, 334, 337 n., 338, 343, 352, 358, 363, 364 n., 373, 375 n., 376, 377 n., 378 n., 382, 385 n., 392, 394, 397, 399 n., 4I6 n-, 424, 43I, 434, 441 n., 47I n., 478 n., 479 n., 50I n., 502 n., 526, 527, 584, 626 n., 671, 673, 692, 728, 736, 767 n., 768, 782, 794, 796, 8Io, 817, 8I9 Campaign remarks on, 544, 598, 599, 603 n., 605 n., 6o6, 607, 628, 631, 644, 646 n., 648, 650, 657, 659, 670, 693, 695, 701, 7I9, 728, 729, 732, 733, 735, 736 n., 741 n., 742, 745 n., 748 n., 749 n., 751, 760, 761, 763, 764, 765 News conference remarks on, 54 [i6], 143 [3, 4], 2II [I], 256 [I5], 266 [7, I6], 336 [20, 2I], 516 [I, I5], 560 [Io, 13], 563 [I7], 587 [2, 9] Stockholdings, 256 [I5], 266 [i6] Johnson, Nicholas (Maritime Administrator), 203 Johnson, Gov. Paul B., Jr., 563 [ 2, 14] Johnson, Samuel, 352 Johnson, U. Alexis, 26, 420 [i, 4], 780 [6] Johnson City, Tex., 71, 73, 76, 87, 242 n., 462 n., 504 n., 547 n., 761, 766 n., 767 n., 768 n., 779 n., 780 n., 8I8 n. Johnson City High School, Texas, 374 Johnson and Humphrey, National Independent Committee for, 555 Johnson-Humphrey, Rural Americans for, 570 Johnston, Sen. Olin D., 718, 7I9 Johnston, Wayne A., 252 Joint Chiefs of Staff, 37, 54 [6, i6], 266 [I8], 467, 5IO, 612, 6I9 [3], 645, 702, 809 A-52 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Joint Chiefs of Staff, Chairman (Gen. Maxwell D. Taylor), 37, 2II [33], 223, 379 ftn. (p. 735), 420 [i, 4, 13] Joint Chiefs of Staff, Chairman (Gen. Earle G. Wheeler), 420 [i], 504 [ii], 533, 563 [i], 587 [5], 78o ftn. (p. 16i6) Joint Cooperation Committee, U.S. and Panama, I04 Joint Ministerial Committee on Defense, U.S.-Canada, 140 Joint statements, etc., with leaders of foreign governments Canada, Prime Minister Pearson, 135, 138, I40 Costa Rica, President Orlich, 443 Germany, Chancellor Erhard, 76,400 Greece, Prime Minister Papandreou, 429 Israel, Prime Minister Eshkol, 380 Italy, President Segni, 109 Jordan, King Hussein I, 265 Malagasy Republic, President Tsiranana, 483 Malaysia, Prime Minister Rahman, 474 Mexico, President Lopez Mateos, 193 Philippines, President Macapagal, 627 Turkey, Prime Minister Inonu, 423 United Kingdom Prime Minister Douglas-Home, i86 Prime Minister Wilson, 797 Jones, Boisfeuillet, 330 Jones, Casey, 644 Jones, Marvin, 455 [7] Jonsson, Erik, 738 Jordan Assistance, 227 King Hussein I, visit of, 258, 259, 265 U.S. relations with, 258, 259, 265 Jordan, Sen. B. Everett, 326, 327, 328, 329, 63I Joseph, Mrs. Burton, 433 Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., Foundation, 403 Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., Foundation, international awards, I74 Juarez, Benito, 193, 596 Judiciary, pay increase, 132 (p. 194) Justice, Department of, 7, 28 [i2], 218 [i6], 285 [iI, i6], 315, 452 n., 516 [12], 752, 780 [I3] Juvenile delinquency, I33, 213,266 [2I ], 280 [5], 590, 630, 658, 68o Juvenile delinquency-Continued District of Columbia, 537, 704 Harlem, 334 Juvenile Delinquency and Youth Crime, President's Committee on, I33, 334, 537, 704 n. Kachlein, George, 317 n. Kansas, 486 [7] Campaign remarks, 74I Candidates for public office, 741 Kappel, Frederick R., 23, 568 Karsten, Repr. Frank M., 188, 694, 695 Karth, Repr. Joseph E., 433, 434 Kashmir dispute, 607 Katz, A. Martin, 639 Katzenbach, Nicholas deB. See Attorney General, Acting Kaunda, Kenneth D., 72I Keating, Sen. Kenneth B., 97, 201 [I14], 793 Keeney, Barnaby, 587 [2], 6oi Kefauver, Estes, 702 Kekkonen, Urho, 564 Kellam, Jesse, 778 Keller, Francis, 703 Keller, Helen, 568 Kelley, Ralph H., 702 Kelly, Repr. Edna F., 668 Kennedy, Caroline, 12 Kennedy, Commission to Report Upon the Assassination of President John F., 14, 232 [5], 28o [IO], 281, 462 [8], 780 [II] Report, 595, 619 [ I I, 17] Kennedy, Sen. Edward M., I42, 174 n., 727 Kennedy, Mrs. Edward M., i74, 727 Kennedy, John F., 9, i2, 20, 26, 29, 37, 4I, 42, 45, 65, 66, 72, 73, 76, 79 n., 91 (pp. 113, ii6, 117), 100, Ioi n., 102 n., io8, 109, 112, ii6, 117, 122, I26, I27, I32, (p. 178), I33, I35, I46, I52, 154, I6i n., I73, I75, I79, I90, I93, I99, 205, 213, 218 [I, 2, 3, 8, 9, II, 19, 20, 24, 29, 34], 220, 224, 228, 233, 250, 287, 296, 303, 340, 354, 363, 364, 373, 387, 39I, 396, 397, 403, 411, 413, 424, 428 n., 43I, 433, 438, 447 n., 448, 456 n., 457 n., 48i n., 499, 502, 523, 526, 529, 577, 602, 625, 638, 64I, 698, 705, 715, 740, 759, 775, 778, 784, 799 33-171-65 ---62 A-53 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Kennedy, John F.-Continued Assassination, i, 8, Ii, 21 n., 51, I74, 20I [9] First anniversary, 773 Investigations, 7, 14, 28 ftn. (p. 38) Birthday tribute to, 370 Bust of, unveiling, 773 Campaign remarks on, 54I, 562, 599, 605, 606, 607, 6I2, 622, 635, 637, 639, 640, 642, 643, 644, 645, 646, 648, 650, 651, 652, 656, 657, 658, 659, 662, 666, 667, 669, 679, 680, 693, 694, 695, 702, 703, 7I2, 713, 727, 728, 729, 732, 733, 734, 736, 741, 742, 745, 746, 747, 748, 749, 750, 75I, 761, 762, 763 Candlelight memorial service for, 64 Coinage of 5o-cent pieces, message to Congress, 33 Commission to report on assassination of. See Commission to Report Upon the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy Funeral plans for, 2, 5 Medal of Freedom, posthumous award, 27 Message to Armed Forces on death of, 6 National Cultural Center, renaming as John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 39 National day of mourning for Closing of Government agencies, 4 Proclamation, 3 News conference remarks on, 54 [6], 201 [9], 285 [I3], 462 [2] Painting presented to White House in memory of, 24 Portrait on savings bonds, 306 Rededication, proclamation, 774 Thanksgiving Day Proclamation, statement on, io Kennedy, John F., Center for the Performing Arts, I42, 784 Kennedy, John F., Educational, Civic and Cultural Center, Mitchel Field, N.Y., dedication, 337 Kennedy, John F., Memorial Library, Boston, Mass., 773 Kennedy, John F., Space Center, I2 Designation of name, Executive order, I3 Kennedy, John F., Square, Texarkana, dedication, 599 Kennedy, Mrs. John F., I, I2, 24, 27, 58, 137, I42, I6I n., 172, 2II [7, 35], 218 [I, 6], 267, 280, 285 [23], 309, 773, 784 Kennedy, John F., Jr., I2 Kennedy, Joseph P., Jr., 728 Kennedy, Joseph P., Jr., Foundation, 403 Kennedy, Joseph P., Jr., Foundation, international awards, 174 Kennedy, Mrs. Joseph P., Sr., 174 n. Kennedy, Robert F., I74 n., 784, 793 Campaign remarks on, 666, 667, 668, 669, 670, 75I News conference remarks on, 379 [14, i8],455 [Io], 56 [8] See also Attorney General (Robert F. Kennedy) Kennedy, Mrs. Robert F., 174 n., 452, 523, 666,667, 668, 670 Kennedy Round, GATT trade negotiations, I09, I40, i86, 246 [I9], 256 [21], 272, 336 [i2], 394 n., 400, 592, 739, 757, 787, 788 Kenney, Thomas S., 712 Kenny, John, 338 Kentucky Antipoverty program, 292,334 Campaign remarks, 643, 644 Candidates for public office, 643, 644 Coal industry, 297 Eastern, emergency program for, 41 Gov. Edward T. Breathitt, Jr., 4I, 217, 29I, 292, 643, 644, 678, 729 Unemployment, 213, 297 Kenya Independence, 34 Kenyatta, Jomo, 34 U.S. relations with, 34 Kenyatta, Jomo, 34 Keogh, Repr. Eugene J., 668 Keppel, Francis (Commissioner of Education), 78, 84, 397 n., 414, 53, 622 Kern, Frank, 736 Kerner, Gov. Otto, 217, 287, 635, 636, 637, 694, 747, 748 Kerner, Mrs. Otto, 287 Kerr, Clark, 192 n., 201 [i], 414, 587 [I] Kerr, Mrs. Clark, 750 Kerr, Robert S., 598 Kerr-Mills legislation. See Social Security Act amendments "Land, Wood and Water," 597 A-54 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Kessler, Capt. Melvin J., release from East Germany, 242 [ 8, 26] Keyserling, Mrs. Mary, 208, 257 n. Khanh, Maj. Gen. Nguyen, 218 [24], 223, 348 Message to, I70 [5] News conference remarks on, 170 [I, 5], 256 [2], 420 [4], 475 [3] Kheel, Theodore W., 253, 256 [I], 271 [17], 284, 297 [2] Khrushchev, Nikita S., 26, 129, I30, I3I, 182, 21, 272, 686, 775 Campaign remarks on, 642, 643, 645, 646, 650, 652, 656, 657, 659, 667, 678, 68o, 702, 703, 727, 733, 734, 735, 741, 745, 746,747,749,750, 762 Meeting with, question of, 54 [I], 2II [23], 2I8 [7] Messages to, 82, 122, 200 News conference remarks on, 54 [i], I50 [Io], 2II [23], 246 [II], 256 [io], 285 [3, 22], 294 [I9], 3I6 [I7], 379 [i5], 504 [i2],688 [I] Replacement of, 669 Kieff, Elaine Marie, 3I5 Kienzle, George J., 339 Kiker, Douglas, 347 Kilduff, Malcolm M., 560 [I], 780 [6] Killian, James R., Jr., II6 n., 271 [5], 456 King, Repr. Cecil R., I05, 733 Medical care bill. See King-Anderson medical care bill King, David S., 737 King, Gov. John W., 607 King, Rev. Martin Luther, 780 [ 11 ] King, W. L. MacKenzie, 136, 574 King-Anderson medical care bill, 516 [9] See also Social security King Crab fishery, Japan, 353 Kiphuth, Robert J., 27 Kirkpatrick, Lyman B., Jr., 417 Kirwan, Repr. Michael J., I98, I99, 228, 597 Kistiakowsky, George B., 563 [5], 59I, 688 [3,8] Kleberg, Richard M., 612 n., 761 n. Kleberg, Robert J., Jr., 612 Kluttz, Jerry, 514 Klutznick, Philip M., I6I n. Knowland, William F., 733, 747 Knox, Frank, 747 Knox, Repr. Victor A., 356 Knoxville, Tenn., 324, 325 Mayor John J. Duncan, 324 Knuth-Winterfeldt, Count and Countess Kield Gustav, 394 Kodiak, Alaska, 242 [I ] Kohler, Foy D., 365 Kootenai River, I35 Korea, 35, 272, 607 Assistance, I50 [6], 227 Korean war, 703 Kornegay, Repr. Horace R., 327, 328 Korth, Fred (former Secretary of the Navy), 612 Kosygin, Aleksei N., 737, 820 Kowal, Chester, 667 Krag, Jens Otto, 266 [7], 394 Krag, Mme. Jens Otto, 266 [7], 394 Krebs, Paul, 338 Krim, Arthur B., 373 Kristula, Michael A., 60 Kross, Judge Anna M., 208 KTBC-TV, Austin, Tex., 256 [I5], 266 [i6] Ku Klux Klan, 462 [6], 656 Kuchel, Sen. Thomas H., 192, 444, 563 [i6], 733 Kutchuk, Fazil, message to, 70 Kynes, James, 709, 712, 713 Labeling of packages, 173 Labor, 124 (pp. I57, I58, I60-I62), 132 (p. I9I), 213, 233, 248, 388, 406, 4I5, 448 Antipoverty program responsibilities, 297, 336 [20] Arbitration record, 334 Civil rights responsibilities, I39, 221, 314, 342, 350 Displaced persons, 99, 126, 213, 233 Economic responsibilities, 294 [23], 3II News conference remarks, 271 [I5], 294 [23], 379 [13], 462 [I] Representatives in Peace Corps, 745 Labor, American Federation of, 430 n. Labor, Department of, 132 (p. 181), I60 n., 213, 218 [i6], 219, 271 [7, 8], 336 [2], 398 n., 504 [7], 5I6 [ I2], 792n. President's Safety Award presented to, 35I Report on unemployment, 2II [3] Labor, Illinois State Federation of, 637 A-55 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Labor, Secretary of (W. Willard Wirtz), 22, 23, 40, 58, 67, 85, 89, 99, III, 178 n., 199, 213, 214, 235, 25I, 252, 253 n., 264, 284, 289, 291, 292, 297, 302, 320, 32I, 322, 323, 325, 35I, 398, 42I, 430 n., 448, 456, 494, 537, 622, 71, 806 Memorandum to, 62 News conference remarks on, I70 [4], 256 [I4], 266 [2i], 285 [2], 294 [2], 3I6 [3], 379 [7], 504 [7] Report on manpower resources, 212 Labor Advisory Council. See President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity Labor contracts Automobile industry, 624 Railroads, 284, 287, 290, 294 [II], 295, 297 [2], 338, 678 Labor Day, statement, 558 Labor disputes Automobile industry, 687, 733, 780 [3] Decrease, 85, 266 [3], 3I6 [7], 472, 695, 7I3, 733 Maritime industry, 195, 494 n., 6I4 Railroads, 250, 25I, 252, 253, 256 [I, 6], 262, 266 [12], 270, 271 [9, I7], 280 [II], 587 [7], 659 "Labor Force, Monthly Report of the," 211 ftn. (p. 338) Labor Leaders, National Conference of, 379 [7] Labor leaders, remarks to, 477 Labor-Management Policy, President's Advisory Committee on, 126, 2I3 Labor-management relations, 85, 2I8 [36], 233, 3II, 3i6 [7], 336 [I7], 350, 406, 506, 587 [91, 589, 604, 607, 657, 658, 667, 729, 740, 745, 780 [3, 5] Labor-Management Relations Act, I947, 614 Labor movement, 297, 558 Labor organizations, 350, 589, 703 AFL-CIO, 22, III, I95, 221, 235, 255, 379 [71, 548, 745 Automobile Workers of America, United, 67, 233, 336 [I7], 563 [2], 624, 687, 7I3,733 Clothing Workers, Amalgamated, 5oth anniversary, 334 Communications Workers of America, 406 Labor organizations-Continued Electrical Workers, International Union of, 590 Labor, American Federation of, 430 n. Ladies Garment Workers Union, International, 387, 388 Locomotive Engineers, Brotherhood of, 252, 284 Longshoremen's Association, International, I95, 494, 6I4 Machinists Union, International, 571 Maritime Union of America, National, I95 Steelworkers of America, United, 289, 290, 587 [9], 589, 780 [5] Labor Party Convention, DemocraticFarmer, 433 Labor Press Association, International, 297 Laclede, Pierre, 189 "Lady Bird Special" campaign train, 646 LaFollette, Bronson, 746 Lafon, Dr. Robert P., 174 La Guardia, Fiorello, 373 Laird, Repr. Melvin R., 379 [I9] Lake County, Ind., campaign remarks, 639 Lake Tahoe, Nevada, 655 Lamar, Mirabeau Buonaparte, 330, 5I3, 6oI, 738 Lamb, Charles, 506, 513,796 n. Lamb, Frank, 666 Lance missile, 382 Land, Edwin H., 27 "Land, Wood and Water," Robert S. Kerr, 597 Land-Grant College Act of 1862, 36,482 Land-grant colleges, 219 Land-Grant Colleges, Association of State Universities and, 482 n. Land-use program, 300 Land and Water Conservation Fund, 578, 756 Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 965, 554, 620,654,756 Landon, Alfred M., 334 Landrum, Repr. Phil M., 330, 332, 7I6 Lands, surplus Federal, transfer to States, 422, 534 Language courses for U.S. dependents overseas, 266 [I7] Lankford, Mrs. Richard E., I72 A-56 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Laos, 201 [7], 746, 780 ftn. (p. 1616) Assistance, 227 Communism in, 201zo [7], 294 [i6], 400, 420 [I, 5], 474, 500, 504 [4] King Sri Savang Vatthana, 336 [81 Neutrality, 499 PathetLao,20o [7] Philippine assistance to, 626 Prince Souvanna Phouma, 285 [4], 294 [i6], 336 [8] U.S. Ambassador Leonard Unger, 285 [4 ], 294 [ 6] U.S. policy in, 272 U.S. relations with, 294 [ i6] Lard, embargo on, proposed, 201 [14] Larson, Arthur, 563 [5], 591, 747 Larson, J. Edwin, 709, 712, 713 Larson, Roy E., 336 [6] Las Vegas, Nev., campaign remarks, 652 Latin America, 54 [4], 285 [I3] Alliance for Progress. See Alliance for Progress Assistance, 45, 71 [5, 9], 227, 272, 340, 617, 662 n., 769 Communist aggression, 220, 272, 443, 702 Cuban subversion in, 186 Economic and social development, 66, 7I [5], 123, 169, i86, I93, 220, 227, 316 [9], 340,769 Free trade area, 769 Good-neighbor policy, 104, 220, 285 [13], 340, 56i Journalists from, 475 [3] U.S. investments in, i69, 726 U.S. private citizens, contact with citizens of, 316 [9] U.S. relations with, 9, 220, 246 [i], 662, 726 See also American Republics; Inter-American; Organization of American States; specific countries Latin America, Business Group for, I69, 688 [8] Lausche, Sen. Frank J., 310 Lavalle, Juan Bautista de, 232 [ ] Law enforcement, 462 [io], 468, 475 [I5], 563 [9], 600, 603, 655, 752, 760 Lawrence, David L., 290, 338, 542, 566, 66i, 728, 742 Lawrence, William H., 218 LBJ Ranch, 242, 295, 462, 504, 547, n., 766 n., 767 n., 768 n., 779 n., 780, 818 n. Leader, George, 566 League of Nations, 435, 662 n., 695, 736 League of Women Voters, 289 Ledesma, Oscar, 626 n. Lee, Robert E., 599, 646, 648 Legislation, private, objections to tax exemption provisions, 6i Legislation, statements upon approval Agricultural Act of 1964, 255 Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954, extension, 641 Alaska Omnibus Act, amendment, 371 Armed Forces, appropriation authorization, 230 Atlantic-Pacific interoceanic canal, study, 594 Bartlett, Mrs. Margaret Patterson, relief bill, 6i Central Intelligence Agency Retirement Act of 1964 for Certain Employees, 664 Civil Rights Act of I964, 446 Clean Air Act, 50 Coast Guard, procurement and construction appropriation approved, 216 Davis-Bacon Act, amended, 444 Economic Opportunity Act of I964, 528 Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1964, 512 Federal Airport Act, amendment, 215 Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, amendment, 341 Federal Property and Administrative Services Act, amendments to, 481 Fishing in territorial waters of U.S., prohibition, 353 Food Stamp Act of 1964, 546 Foreign Assistance Act of 1963, 48 Government Employees Salary Reform Act of i964, 514 Higher Education Facilities Act of I963, 47 Historical documents bill, 481 Hospital Survey and Construction Act of 1949, extension, 520 Housing Act of 1964, 549 Independent Offices Appropriation Act, 1964, 56 A-57 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Legislation, statements upon approval-Con. International Claims Settlement Act, amendment, 684 International Development Association bill, 36I John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, bill concerning, 142 Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of I964, 554 Library Services Act, amendment, 181 Manpower Development and Training Act of I962, amendments, 55 Military pay bill, 510 National Commission on Technology, Automation, and Economic Progress, establishment, 525 National Defense Education Act Amendments, I964, 676 Nurse Training Act of I964, 557 Private Ownership of Special Nuclear Materials Act, 538 Public Works Appropriation Act, I964, 8I Reserve Officers' Training Corps Vitalization Act of I964, 665 Revenue Act of I964, 197 Securities Acts Amendments of I964, 530 Southeast Asia, promotion of peace and security in, 507 Urban Mass Transportation Act of i964, 453 Veterans' life insurance and pension bill, 663 Vocational Education Act of I963, 53 Water Resources Research Act of I964, 46I Wilderness Act, 554 Legislative branch, relations with executive branch, 527 Legislative program, the President's, 11, 22, 91, I58, I73, I99, 2i8 [I4], 219, 221, 228, 233, 235, 238, 267, 268, 270, 280 [6], 287, 290, 292, 297, 311, 3I4, 322, 323, 326, 334, 338, 373, 388, 39I, 398, 406, 4I5, 431, 434, 477, 482, 488, 496, 755, 798 Campaign remarks on, 57I, 630, 635, 745 News conference remarks, 54 [6, Io], I70 [I3], 242 [I2, 22], 266 [2I], 271 [7], 285 [I5], 294 [2], 3I6 [I3], 420 [9], 462 [II], 486 [I4], 780 [20, 22, 24], 8i8 [I] A-58 Lehman, Herbert H., 25, 27, I57, 373 Lehman, Mrs. Herbert H., I57 Leibman, Morris, 563 [5], 59I LeMay, Gen. Curtis E., 266 [I8], 610 Leness, George J., 296 Lenin, Nikolai, 686 Leonard, Edward J., 547 Leonard, Ernest, 693 Leonard, Mrs. Kitty C., 374 Lesinski, Repr. John, 356 Less developed countries and new nations, 32, 34, 244, 272, 631, 643 Assistance, 45, 51, 76, 91 (p. 117), 124 (pp. 162, i66), 132 (p. 185), 227, 280, 361, 400, 482 n., 483, 617, 702 Economy of, 396, 634, 641, 702, 757 Exports, I93 Private investment in, 617 Standards of living, 77 Trade, 248 See also specific countries Lewis, John L., 568 Lewis, John P., 336 [7] Lewis, Meriwether, 573 Lexington, Va., 359 Libby Dam, I35, 563 [3], 573, 656 Libonati, Repr. Roland V., 356 Libraries Construction, 91 (p. I2) George C. Marshall Research Library, dedication, 359 John F. Kennedy Memorial Library, proposed, 773 Legistlation, 650, 669 National Library Week, I964, 254 Winston Churchill Memorial Library, 263 Library Services Act, amendment, 181 Life expectancy in U.S., 178, 179, 642, 650, 755 Lin, Dato Ong Yoke, 471 n. Lincoln, Abraham, iii, I39, I85, 198, 204, 228, 250, 277, 290, 30i, 334, 342, 533, 596, 693, 770, 773, 778, 796 n., 800, 808 Campaign remarks on, 588, 590, 603, 635, 649, 667, 669, 677, 678, 680, 727, 728, 732,746,747,748,75I,765 News conference remarks on, I50 [4], 70 [ I3], 266 [20] Lincoln Memorial, I85 Linowitz, Sol M., 402 Lipchitz, Jacques, 397 n. Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Lippman, Walter, 26, 568, 608 Livestock industry, 732 Lleras Camargo, Alberto, 9 n. Loans International, 617 Student loan program, 47, 53, I32 (p. I89), 4I3, 676, 755 Locher, Ralph S., 405, 406, 543, 642 Lockbourne Air Force Base, Ohio, 322 Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, 20o [2] Lockheed aircraft plant, Georgia, 330 Locomotive Engineers, Brotherhood of, 252, 284 Lodge, Henry Cabot, 83, 2i8 [23, 25, 26], 223, 274, 290, 348, 379 ftn. (p. 735), 436, 502, 605, 612 News conference remarks on, I70 [5], 201 [5, i8] 211 [22], 246 [4], 256 [2, 5, 9], 285 [i, 17], 336 [I5], 420 [I, 4, 6, I3], 504 [4, 9, II], 5I6 [II], 560 [3], 780 [6] Loeser, Charles, 24 Loevinger, Lee, 434 London, visit of Robert F. Kennedy to, I56 Long, Repr. Clarence D., 703 Long, Sen. Edward V., i88, i89, 263, 694, 695 Long, Repr. Gillis W., 648 Long, Huey, 648 Long, Sen. Russell B., I97, 646, 648 Long, Mrs. Russell B., 648 Long Beach, Calif., 654 n. Long Beach, U.S.S., 619 [5] Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, 606, 764 Longshoremen's Association, International, I95, 494, 614 Look Magazine, 593 Lop Nor, China, 686 L6pez Mateos, Adolfo, 58, 598, 599 News conference remarks on, 28 [I4], 54 [8], 7I [I], 587 [2, 6] Visit, 192, I93, I94, 596 L6pez Mateos, Sefiora, 192, 194, 596 Los Angeles, Calif., 192, I94 Campaign remarks, 733 Democratic fundraising dinner, 4I5 Public powerplant, 486 [7] Mayor Samuel W. Yorty, I94 Louchheim, Katie, 204 n. Louise Lykes, S.S., keel-laying ceremony, Iio Louisiana Campaign remarks, 646, 648 Hurricane relief, 618, 647 Gov. John J. McKeithen, 6i8, 646, 647, 648 Louisville, Ky., campaign remarks, 643, 644 Love, Judge Rodney M., 680 Lovelace, Dr. W. Randolph, II, 273 Lovett, Robert A., 27, 359, 563 [5], 59I, 605, 688 [3,8], 696, 747 Liibke, Heinrich, 73 Lucas, Scott, 635 Lucey, Patrick J., 746 Luevano, Daniel M., 201 [I], 442 Lumber imports, 80 Lunch programs in schools, 292 Lunt, Alfred, 568 Lusitania, 493, 648, 703 Luxon, Norval Neil, 339 Lykes Bros. Steamship Co., Io n. Maas, Maj. Gen. Melvin J., 260, 271 [6], 302 Macapagal, Diosdado, 587 [2], 623, 626, 627 Macapagal, Mrs. Diosdado P., 626 MacArthur, Arthur, 247 MacArthur, Gen. Douglas A., 247, 266 [22] MacArthur, Mrs. Douglas, 247 Macaulay, Thomas, I87 MacDonald, J. Clifford, 27 MacDonald, Mrs. J. Clifford, 27 Macdonald, Repr. Torbert H., 727 MacFarlane, W. D., 297 Mach 2.3 aircraft, proposed, 3Io Machen, Hervey G., 703 Machinist Non-Partisan Political League, National Planning Committee of the, I58 Machinists Union, International, 57I Mack Trucks Inc., 745 Mackensen, Judith, 606 Macon, Ga., 717 Campaign remarks, 716 Mayor B. F. Merritt, Jr., 7I6 Macy, John W., Jr. See Civil Service Commission, Chairman Madden, Repr. Ray J., 639 Maddox, U.S.S., 498, 499 Madison, James, 513 Magna Carta, 4I3, 796 n. A-59 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Magnuson, Sen. Warren G., I36 n., i98, i99, 215, 228, 382, 383,575, 577 Letter, I54 Maguire, John E., Sr., 523 n. Maguire, Richard, 224, 63, 396 Mahon, Repr. George H., 455 [i], 763, 780 [4] Mahon, Lacy, Jr., 713 Mahoney, Mrs. Florence, 211 [6] Maier, Henry W., 746 Mail, the President's, 2I I [3] Maine, 602 n., 788 Campaign remarks, 606 Candidates for public office, 606 Gov. John H. Reed, 455 [ I4], 6o6 Passamaquoddy tidal power project, 6o6 Makarios, Archbishop, message to, 70 Malagasy Republic Assistance, 483 Tsiranana, Philibert, 478, 479, 483 U.S. relations with, 478, 479, 483 Malaria eradication, I79, 716 Malaysia, i86, 475 [31 Ambassador Dato Ong Yoke Lin, 471 n. Assistance, 471, 474, 797 Assistance to Viet-Nam, 474 Communist aggression, 47I Dispute with Indonesia, I56 n., I70 [i], 47i n., 474, 626 n., 627 Dispute with Philippines, 156 n. Economic and social development, 471, 474 Rahman, Tunku Abdul, 470,47I, 474 U.S. relations with, 470, 47I Visit of Robert F. Kennedy, I50 [ I7] Malta, Giorgio Borg Olivier, 585 Management. See Labor-management relations Manatos, Mike N., 2II [i], 657 Manchester, N.H., campaign remarks, 607 Manger, Julius, 522 Manhattan Insurance Company, I43 [3] Manila, 623 Manila Pact (Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty), 499 Mann, Horace, 6oi Mann, Thomas C., 69, 95, I04, 220, 227, 269, 596, 726, 767, 809 Letter, 46 Mann, Thomas C.-Continued News conference remarks on, 54 [2, 4, I5], 71 [5, 9], I50 [2, 7, I4], 20I [6], 232 [i], 285 ftn. (p. 522), 3i6 [9], 455 [i6], 486 [3], 688 [8] Manned space flights Moon exploration, 56, 132 (p. i86) See also Astronauts; Space research and exploration Manpower Conservation, Task Force on, report, 89 Manpower Conservation Program, 213 Manpower Conservation Units, 89 Manpower Development and Training Act of I962, 22, 53, 67, 99, I32 (p- I89), I33, 2I3, 2I9, 22I, 235, 264, 290, 297, 305, 451 n., 636, 642, 690 n. Amendments, approval, 55 Manpower, President's Committee on, 212, 2I3 Establishment, 264 Manpower resources, I32 (p. I78), 287, 295 Development, 47, 89, I24 (pp. I58, 162), 132 (pp. I176, i8i, I82, I89), I60, 213, 227, 235, 264, 271 [5], 314, 406, 743, 787 Report, 2II [3], 212, 2I3 Scientific, 456 Utilization program, Federal, I7, 38 Mansfield, Sen. Mike, 28 [9], 58, 99, 218 [25], 224, 267, 316 [24], 336 [I14], 527, 563 [1i5], 573, 575, 577 Campaign remarks on, 605, 656, 658, 679 Meat imports bill, 344 Mansfield, Mrs. Mike, 267, 656 Manufacturers, National Association of, 402 Maplethorpe, Wade L., 211 [3] Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California, 449 n. Marine Corps, 516 [3], 6i, 703, 716, 736 Maritime Administrator (Nicholas Johnson), 203 Maritime Advisory Committee, establishment of, 316 [3] Maritime labor disputes, I95, 494 n., 614 Maritime Union of America, National, 195 Markel, Hazel, 50o [i6] Marketing programs, 248 Agricultural, 255, 455 [7], 566, 631, 757 A-60 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Marsh, Repr. John 0., Jr., 358 Marshal Day, proclamation, 523 n. Marshall, Fred, 455 [7] Marshall, Gen. George C., 294 [II], 297 [2], 358, 612 Marshall, Mrs. George C., 359 Marshall, George C., Research Library, dedication, 359 Marshall plan, 189, 244, 359, 562, 607, 617, 648 Martin, Paul (Secretary of State for External Affairs of Canada), I34, I35, I40 Martin, Repr. Joseph W., Jr., 297 [2] Martin, Thomas M., 60 Martin, Mrs. Thomas M., 60 Martin, Tony, I99 Martin, William McC., Jr. (Chairman, Board of Governors, Federal Reserve System), 295, 299, 486 [4], 530, 7I4, 780 [3], 787 Marxist system. See Communism Maryland, 321 Antipoverty program, 321 Bloomington Dam, 320 Campaign remarks, 612, 703 Candidates for public office, 703 Gov. J. Millard Tawes, 703 Primary election, 246 [7], 256 [I9], 266 [24],3I6 [i5] Mason, Walter, 235 Massachusetts Campaign remarks, 727 Gov. Endicott Peabody, 338, 396, 727 Maternal health services, 755 Mathias, Repr. Charles McC., Jr., 320,321 "Matinee sur la Seine; Beautemps," Claude Monet, 24 Matthews, Judge Burnita Shelton, 257 n. Matthews, Repr. D. R. (Billy), 198, 199, 713 Mattingly, Rev. T. J., 325 Maverick, Maury, 297 May, Mrs. Elizabeth Stoffregen, 242 [4] Mayo, Dr. Charles W., 211 [6] Mayo State Vocational School, Paintsville, Ky., 29I Mazzilli, Ranieri, 243,256 ftn. (p. 458) McCarthy, Sen. Eugene J., 433, 434, 435 McCarthy, Msgr. John F., 97 McCarthy, Joseph R., 462 [6] McCarthy, Richard D. (Max), 667 McClanahan, Sidney B., 695 McClellan, Sen. John L., 597, 599 McCloy, John J., 14, 15, 27, 349 n., 563 [5], 591, 605, 688 [3, 8], 696, 747 McCone, John A. See Central Intelligence Agency, Director McConnell, Thomas R., II6 n. McCord, James N., 645 McCormack, Repr. John W. See Speaker of the House of Representatives McCormack, Mrs. John W., 228, 366 McCrocklin, James H., 778 McDermott, Edward A. See Emergency Planning, Office of, Director McDonald, Adm. D. L. (Chief of Naval Operations), 619 ftn. (p. 1194) McDonald, David, 289, 290, 589, 728 McDonald, Frank, 729 McDonald, Most Rev. William J., 8Io n. McDowell, Repr. Harris B., Jr., 749, 750 McFarland, Ernest W., 649 McFarland, Mrs. Ernest W. (Edna), 649 McGee, Sen. Gale W., 242 [ Io], 657 McGhee, George C., 8i8 [4] McGill, Ralph, 568 McGovern, Frances, 693 McGrath, Thomas, 338 McGraw-Hill, Inc., Media Information Bureau, 285 [9] McHugh, Brig. Gen. Godfrey T., 773 McIntyre, Sen. Thomas J., 607 McKay, David 0., 736, 737 n. McKee, Rose, 208, 362 McKee, Gen. William F., 487 McKeithen, Gov. John J., 6I8, 646, 647, 648 McKeldin, T. R., 5i6 [I6], 703 McKeon, William H., 666, 667, 668, 669 "McKinley, In the Days of," Margaret Leech Pulitzer, 303 McKinney, Robert, 296 McLain, George, 733 McLean, Hunter, 763 McLeod, Daniel R., 7I9 McLeod, Yancey A., 719 McMillan, Repr. John L., 719 McMillan, William M., 207 A-6I Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] McNair, Robert E., 719 McNally, John J., Jr., 396 McNamara, Sen. Pat, 50, 356, 357, 43I, 444 Campaign remarks on, 562, 745 Letter, 39 n. McNamara, Robert S. See Defense, Secretary of McNamara, Mrs. Robert S., 298 McNaughton, John T., 201 [I], 316 [2], 442 McNichols, Stephen L. R., 658 McVicker, Roy H., 658 Meader, Repr. George, 357 Meany, George, 22, 27, 221, 255, 379 [7], 444, 5I3, 587 [I], 806 Campaign remarks on, 669, 745 Letter, 195 Measles, immunization in Africa, 396 Meat Imports, 211 [3I], 344, 5I6 [I4], 732 Inspection, 132 (p. 187), 173 Prices, 242 [io], 246 [i8] Production and sale of, 246 [ 8] Meatpacking industry, 316 [6] Medals, presentation or acceptance. See Awards and citations Mediation Board, National, 297 [2] Mediation and Conciliation Service, Federal, 614 n. Medical care, 297, 444, 588, 746, 750 Consumer protection, 173 Costs, I79 Group practice, I79 Medicare bill. See Medicare bill Older persons, 219, 267, 292, 297, 406, 541, 548, 640, 648, 667, 680 Under social security. See Social security See also Hospitals and medical care facilities Medical College of Georgia, 718 Medical and dental education, 47, 132 (p. I89), I79, 213, 520, 557, 620, 755 Medical personnel, shortage of, 179, 520, 755 Medical research, I79, 403, 733, 755, 775, 808 Medicare bill, 22, 91 (p. II5), I58, 219, 228, 233, 235, 267, 268, 270, 287, 292, 295, 297, 305, 314, 334, 338, 406, 4I3, 728 Medicare bill-Continued News conference remarks, 150 [5], 170 [I3], 211 [28], 266 [2I], 379 [I6], 516 [9], 6I9 [i6] Senate passage of, 552 Meiklejohn, Alexander, 27 Mejia, Rev. Jorge, I23 n. Mellody, Patrick J., 661 Mellon, Mrs. Paul, 267, 280, 285 [23], 309 Memorandums of Disapproval. See Veto Messages and Memorandums of Disapproval Memorandums to Federal agencies Atomic information, exchange with NATO and member nations, 440 Brotherhood Week, observance of, II3 Campaign issues, 654 Committee on the Economic Impact of Defense and Disarmament, 62 Employment control, 68 Financial management improvement program, joint, 261 Handicapped persons, employment of, 345 Management of executive branch, 17 Staffing of international organizations, 5I9 Supersonic air transport, 294 [6] Memphis, Tenn. Campaign remarks, 70I Mayor W. B. Ingram, Jr., 701 Mental health and mental health programs, 132 (p. 182), I33, I79, 305, 755 Mental illness and mental retardation, I32 (p. 89),403,620,755 Menzies, Robert G., 426 Merchant marine, U.S., 11o Merrill, Robert, 751 Merritt, B. F., Jr., 716 Messages to the American people Americans in Viet-Nam, Christmas message, 313 Campaign issues, 638 Civil Rights Act of I964, 446 North Viet-Nam attacks on U.S. vessels, 498 Railroad labor dispute, 252 Railroad labor settlement, 284 Russia, China, and U.K., recent events in, 686 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Messages to the American people-Con. Southeast Asia, signing of resolution to promote peace and security in, 507 Thanksgiving Day, 12 Voting rights, duty to exercise, 764 Messages to Congress. See Congress, messages to Messages to heads of state and government Brazil President Castelo Branco, 561 President Goulart, 66 President Mazzilli, 243 Cyprus Archbishop Makarios, 70 Vice President Kutchuk, 70 Finland, President Kekkonen, 564 Ghana, President Nkrumah, 88 India President Radhakrishnan, 367 Prime Minister Shastri, 381 Ireland, President de Valera, 376, 682 Italy President Saragat, 817 President Segni, I I8, 794 Prime Minister Moro, 44 Japan, Prime Minister Ikeda, 236 Kenya, Prime Minister Kenyatta, 34 Laos, King Sri Savang Vatthana, 336 [8] Malta, Prime Minister Olivier, 585 Soviet Union Chairman Brezhnev, 82 Chairman Kosygin, 820 Chairman Mikoyan, 820 Premier Khrushchev, 82, I22, 2I0 Thailand, King Phumiphon Adundet, 30 Turkey, President Gursel, 70 United Arab Republic, President Nasser, 460 United Kingdom, Prime Minister Wilson, 681 Viet-Nam General Minh, 83 Major General Khanh, 170 [5] Zambia, President Kaunda, 721 Zanzibar, Sultan Jamshid, 32 Messer, Elizabeth F., 204 n. Metcalf, Sen. Lee, 267, 573, 575, 656 Meteorological Organization, World, 705 Metropolitan Motion Picture Theater Association, 354 Mexico Ambassador Antonio Carrillo Flores, 58, 596, 767 Chamizal Zone agreement with U.S., 58, I93, I94, 3I6 [IO], 587 [6], 596, 598, 599 Economic and social development, 193, 194 Exports, I93 International Boundary and Water Commission, I93 L6pez Mateos, Adolfo, 28 [I4], 54 [8], 58, 7 [I], I92, I93, I94, 587 [2, 6], 596,598,599 U.S. Ambassador Fulton Freeman, 767 U.S. Ambassador Thomas C. Mann, 46 U.S. relations with, I92, 193, 194, 767, 768 U.S. trade with, I93 Meyer, Mrs. Agnes E., 16 n. Meyer, Andre, 296 Meyer, Dr. John, 211 [6] Meyner, Robert B., 338 Miami, Fla., 7I0 Miami Beach, Fla., campaign remarks, 199, 57I Mica Creek dam, I35 Michigan Automobile industry, 462 [3], 463 Campaign remarks, 562, 745 Candidates for public office, 745 Gov. George W. Romney, 271 [I1], 356, 357,562 Unemployment, 462 [3], 463 Middle East and Near East, 265 Assistance, 797 Economic and social development, 380 Water desalinization, 378 See also specific countries Mies van der Rohe, Ludwig, 27 Migrant workers, 213, 219, 305 Mihlbaugh, Robert H., 680 Mikoyan, Anastas, 26, 218 [7], 820 Military assistance and defense support, 69, 71 [9, i6], 132 (p. I76), 150 [6], 218 [24], 227, 435, 607, 638, 693, 695, 703, 722, 797 A-63 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Military assistance and defense supportContinued Asia, 186, I89, 379 [i], 500, 597, 627, 662 n., 675, 686, 693 India, 379 [ 7] Less developed countries and new nations, 132 (p. I85), 280 Malaysia, 474 Message to Congress, 348 Statement, 498 Viet-Nam, 192, 20i [5], 2II [33], 223, 246 [4], 272, 280 [8], 285 [12], 379 [I, I9], 400, 420 [I], 436 n., 498, 5II, 59I, 627, 652, 662, 693, 780 ftn. (p. i616), 793 See also Foreign assistance Military coups, Viet-Nam, 271 [12] Military exports, 132 (p. 191) Military installations Closing of, 54 [6], 71 [3, I], 91 (pp. II3, ii7), I32 (p. 194), 218 [I5], 285 [9], 295, 669, 690 n., 790 Review and study of, 54 [6], 71 [3, 11] Military personnel Dependents overseas, 211 [14], 266 [17], 475 [Io] Draft policy, 271, [2, 8] Education, 382 Housing, I52 Pay, 132 (pp. 182, 194), 295, 467, 51o, 688 [6] Political and diplomatic functions, 816 See also Armed forces, U.S. Military rejectees, training and rehabilitation, 89, I26, I79, 218 [I7], 266 [2i], 270, 297, 314, 327, 328, 336 [2], 755 Military research, 132 (p. 185) Military scholarships, 665 Military strength, U.S., 37, 91 (p. 116), 96, 132 (p. 184), 227, 228, 233, 272, 295, 382, 383, 4I3, 4I5, 435, 493, 509, 577, 638, 654, 689, 775, 788 Campaign remarks, 54I, 562, 599, 603, 607, 6ii, 635, 639, 640, 648, 652, 657, 662 n., 679, 686, 693, 694, 695, 70I, 702, 729, 733, 734, 735, 736, 737, 74I, 745, 747, 748, 760 Draft requirements to maintain, 271 [2] Growth, 533 News conference remarks, 266 [io], 619 [3] Military Training and Service Act of 1951, Universal, 89 Miller, Mrs. Betty, 569 Miller, Mrs. Emma Guffey, 566, 728 Miller, Repr. George P., 409, 43, 414 Miller, George William, 250 n. Miller, Mrs. Henry, 332 Miller, Mitch, 751 Miller, Paul, 272 Miller, Roger, 709 Miller, Tom, 763 Miller, Rabbi Uri, 301 Miller, Repr. William E., 642, 667 Mills, Mrs. Frances J., 643, 644 Mills, Repr., Wilbur D., I96, I97, 599, 642 Letter, 196 News conference remarks on, 379 [4, 5, 15], 563 [ 0], 6I9 [ 6] Milwaukee, Wis. Campaign remarks, 746 Mayor Henry W. Maier, 746 Mineral resources, 300, 396 Minh, Gen. Duong Van, 83 Minimum wage, 22, 213, 219, 235, 290, 297, 305,334,388 Campaign remarks, 548, 562, 566, 589, 590, 597, 599, 605, 637, 642, 643, 644, 678, 680, 703, 733, 745, 762 Expansion of coverage, 91 (p. II4), 297 [ I],338,406 Minish, Repr. Joseph G., 338 Minneapolis, Minn. Democratic fundraising dinner, 434 Swedish Day picnic, 435 Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, 432 Minnesota Candidates for public office, 435 Gov. Karl F. Rolvaag, 432, 433, 434, 435 Minnesota Farmers Union, 255 Minority groups Education, 388 Equal employment opportunity, 40, III,. 205, 213, 342, 812 n. Government employment, I00oo, 23, 8I2 Mint, Bureau of the, 33 Minuteman missiles, 132 (p. 185), I99, 382, 656 Missile Sites Commission, 235 Missiles, 211 [30], 579 Antitank missile system, I70 [3], 382 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Missiles-Continued Defense systems, 783 ICBM, 150 [ 2], 382, 4I3, 607, 635, 703 Lance, 382 Minuteman, 132 (p. 185), 199,382,656 Nike X, 382 Polaris, 382, 43,560 [5], 635 703 Redeye, 170 [3] Reliability, question of, 211 [30] Shillelagh, I70 [3] Mississippi Disappearance of civil rights workers, investigation, 420 [12], 455 [9], 504 [3, 8], 563 [9, I2, I4] Gov. Paul B. Johnson, Jr., 563 [ I2, I4] School integration, 642 Missouri Campaign remarks, 695 Candidates for public office, 695 Gov. John M. Dalton, i89, 217, 263,695 Mitchell, Albert K., 455 [7], 732 Mobilization for Youth program, 45 Mock, Gary, 3I0 n. Mock, Roger, 310 n. Mock, Russell, 310 Mock, Mrs. Russell (Jerrie), 310 Mock, Valerie, 310 Moeller, Raymond, 317 n. Monet, Claude, "Matinee sur la Seine; Beautemps," 24 Monetary cooperation, international, 472, 780 [3] Monetary Fund, International, 472 Monetary policy. See Fiscal policy Monetary systems, 244 Monnet, Jean, 27 Monroney, Sen. A. S. Mike, 2I5, 309, 358, 587 [2], 597, 598, 789 Monroney, Mrs. A. S. Mike, 358 Montana, 135 Campaign remarks, 656 Candidates for public office, 656 Flood relief, 573 Gov. Tim M. Babcock, 267, 575 Territorial centennial, 267 Montana centennial medallion and coin, acceptance, 267 Montfort, Simon de, 796 n. Montgomery, John, 741 Montoya, Repr. Joseph M., 732, 767 Monuments, national, 172 Moon exploration, 56, 9I (p. 117), I32 (pp. 176, i86), 493, 709 Funds for, 455 [ I5] International cooperation, 56 U.S. photographs of moon, 492, 501 n., 504 [2], 58 Moore, Dan K., 63I Moore, Matthew, 290 Moorhead, Repr. William S., 728 Morals in U.S., 280 [5] Young people, 246 [20], 280 [5], 622, 750 Moran, Eugene F., Jr., 224 Morgan, Repr. Thomas E., 290, 566, 728 Morgan Guaranty Trust Co., 455 [ I3 ] Morgantown, W. Va. Airport, dedication, 586 Mayor Arthur W. Buehler, 586 Morison, Samuel Eliot, 568 Moro, Aldo, 44 Morris, Thomas D., 7I [3] Morris, Repr. Thomas G., 732 Morrison, Gov. Frank B., 609 Morrison, Repr. James H., 648 Morse, Otis B., IV, 566 Morse, Robert W., 442, 6oi Morse, Sen. Wayne, 36, 47, 53, I36 n., i50 [7], 34~, 444, 575,577,578,676 Mortgages Government held, 132 (pp. i88, I90), 690 n. Insurance, 178 n., I79 Interest rates, 714 Mortimer, Charles G., 79 Morton, Sen. Thruston, 96 Morvant, Ray, 648 Moscoso, Teodoro, 71 [5], 227, 340, 563 [5], 59I Moscow, 705 Moses, Robert, 282 Mosk, Stanley, 415 Moss, Sen. Frank E., 737 Moss, Repr. John E., 579 Motion Picture Exhibitors, Allied States Association of, 354 Motion Picture Theater Association, Metropolitan, 354 Motion Picture Theater Owners of Maryland, Inc., Allied, 354 Motion Pictures Organizations, Inc., Council of, 354 Mount Irazu, 438 n., 443 A-65 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Mountbatten, Lord, 796 "Moveable Feast, The," Ernest Hemingway, 526 Moyers, Bill D., 238, 8i8 [4] Mulford, Stewart, 480 Mullaney, Paul, 396 Multer, Repr. Abraham J., 668 Multilateral nuclear force, NATO, proposed, 76, i09, I50 [io], i86, 272, 400, 780 [i, 8] Multiple Sclerosis Society, 312 Mumford, Lewis, 568 Mundt, Sen. Karl E., 343 Munoz Marin, Gov. Luis, 27, 387, 388 Murphy, Frank, 333 Murphy, Franklin D., I92 n. Murphy, Repr. John M., 668 Murphy, Michael J., 468 Murray, Philip, 290, 43I, 589, 639, 656 Murray, Repr. Tom, 701 Murrow, Edward R., 200 n., 568 See also United States Information Agency, Director Museum of History and Technology, Washington, D.C., dedication, 14I Musial, Stanley (Stan), i88, 490, 695, 782 Muskie, Sen. Edmund S., 50, 602, 6o6 Muskie, Mrs. Edmund S., 6o6 Musmanno, Judge Michael A., 289, 728, 742 "My Hope for America," Lyndon B. Johnson, 560 [8] Myers, Francis J., 742 Nabrit, Samuel M., i 6 n. Naden, Kenneth D., 54 ftn. (p. 68) Nam Dong, Viet-Nam, 793 Napoleon I, 334, 578 Narcotic and Drug Abuse, President's Advisory Commission on, I59, I79, 458 Narcotics, Bureau of, 90, 752 Narcotics, illegal traffic in, 179 NASA. See National Aeronautics and Space Administration Nash, Ogden, 282 Nash, Philleo (Commissioner of Indian Affairs), I20 Nashville, Tenn., campaign remarks, 645 Nasser, Gamal Abdel, 460 Natcher, Repr. William H., 643, 644 National Academy of Sciences, 27I [5], 308, 355 n., 456 n. National Advisory Council for Small Business, 362 National Aeronautics Association, 593 National Aeronautics and Space Act of I958, I55 National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 56, I32 (p. i86), 351, 632 n., 654 Launch Operations Center, Florida, redesignation, 13 News conference remarks, 455 [I5], 462 [2], 6I9 [I], 780 [22] National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act, 780 [22] National Aeronautics and Space Administrator (James E. Webb), 273, 493, 572, 598, 654 Memorandum to, 62 News conference remarks on, 242 [9], 780 [22] National Agricultural Advisory Commission, 255, 484 National Anthem trailer film, 354 National Arts and Cultural Development Act of i964, 784 n. National Association of Counties, 509 National Association of Manufacturers, 402 National Association of Purchasing Agents, 2II [3] National Association of State Aviation Officials, 215 National Association of Wheat Growers, 255 National Capital Affairs, President's Advisor for (Charles A. Horsky), i6, 537 National Capital Planning Commission, 700 National Capital Region, I33 National Capital Transportation Agency, I33 National Christmas Tree, 65, 8io National Citizens Committee for Community Relations, 522 National Commission on Food Marketing, 455 [7] National Commission on Technology, Automation, and Economic Progress, 214, 525 National Committee for Equal Pay, 398 n. A-66 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] National Conference of Christians and Jews, 113 National Conference on Foreign Policy, 280 National Conference of Labor Leaders, 379 [7] National Congress of American Indians, 120 National Council on the Arts, 524, 784 National Cultural Center, renaming, 39, 142 National Cultural Center Act, 784 n. National debt. See Debt, national National defense. See National security National Defense Act of I916, 665 National Defense Education Act of I958, 47, 53, 488 National Defense Education Act Amendments, I964, 620, 676, 678 National economy. See Economy, national National Education Association, 676 n. National Education Improvement Act, proposed, 47 National Export Expansion Coordinator (Daniel L. Goldy), 248 National Farmers' Union, 225, 242 [IO] National Farmers Organization, 255 National First Voters Week, 706 National Forensic League, 343, 455 [I7] National Gallery of Art, Iranian Art exhibit in, 369, 385 National Geographic Society, I7, 427 National Geographic Society building, dedication, 117 National Guard, 600, 8i6 National Historical Publications Commission, 48I n. National Independent Committee for Johnson and Humphrey, 555 National Industrial Conference Board, 402 National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 403 National Institute of Mental Health, I79 National Institute of Neurological Diseases, 312 National Institutes of Health, 132 (p. 189), I79 National League of Insured Savings Associations, 617 National Library Week, I964, 254 National Maritime Union of America, 195 National Medal of Science, presentation, 98 National Medal of Science, President's Committee on the, 98 n. National Mediation Board, 297 [2] National Mediation Board, Chairman (Francis A. O'Neill, Jr.), 251, 284, 297 [2] National Multiple Sclerosis Society, 3I2 National Park Service, 427 National parks. See Parks, national National Planning Committee of the Machinist Non-Partisan Political League, I58 National Power Survey, report, 803 National Press Club, 298 National product, 22, 23, 40, 91 (p. 115), I24 (pp. I56, 157-160), I32 (pp. 178, 179, I9I1 I92), 173, I99, 213, 2I9, 250, 270, 280, 289, 290, 295, 297 [2], 305, 404, 4II, 459, 463, 477, 506, 531, 555, 589, 603, 640, 689, 724, 728, 775, 787 News conference remarks, 54 [9], 266 [2], 3I6 [5], 379 [5] 6I9 [4], 780 [4] National Railway Labor Conference, 284 National Research Bureau, 455 [I3] National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, 227, 6I7 National Science Foundation, I32 (p. I90), 308, 792 n. National security, 37, 48, 49, II7, I20, I24 (p. i66), I32 (p. 176), 272, 276, 382, 409, 43, 493, 662 n., 689 Campaign remarks, 598, 6o8, 622, 667, 669, 680, 686, 694, 695, 703,735, 746 News conference remarks, 486 [I], 516 [I3], 69 [3],780 [i] National Security, Panel of Consultants on Peace and, 591 National Security Council, 223, 245, 266 [22], 370, 645, 648, 652, 656, 657, 666, 680, 693,702, 736, 749, 75~ National Service Corps, proposed, 89, 91 (p. II4), 132 (pp. I84, I89) National Service Life Insurance, 663 National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, 565 National Turkey Federation, 772 n. National Urban League's Community Action Assembly, 800 National War College, 533 National Women Voters Week, 289 A-67 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] National Youth Administration, 53, 289, 622 NATO. See North Atlantic Treaty Organization Natural resources, conservation and development. See Conservation Naval Operations, Chief of (Adm. D. L. McDonald), 6I9 ftn. (p. 1194) Naval Ordnance Test Station, China Lake, Calif., I70 [3] Navigation, I32 (p. I87), 4I0, 597 Navy, 665 Modernization, 467 Patrols off North Viet-Nam, 497 Seabees, 438 n., 443 Shipbuilding program, 382 Strength, increase in, 61I Navy, Department of the, 294 [2I], 35I, 5i6 [3] Navy, Secretary of the (Paul H. Nitze), 37, 316 [3], 35I, 510, 6I9 ftn. (p. II94), 725 Near East. See Middle East and Near East Nebraska, Gov. Frank B. Morrison, 609 Nedzi, Repr. Lucien N., 356, 745 Negro College Development Campaign, United, 79 Negro College Fund, United, 79 Negroes Antipoverty program benefits, question of, 256 [14] Colleges, fundraising campaign, 79 Education, 277, 287, 297, 30I Employment, 205, 277, 30I, 787 Employment opportunities, 40, 11 I Equal rights, 218 [35], 800, 816 Government employment, 205 See also Civil rights; Voting rights Nehru, B. K., 35 n. Nehru, Jawaharlal, 625, 693, 737, 747, 790 Death of, 367 Neihuss, Marvin L., 356 Neilan, Edwin P., 295 Nelson, Sen. Gaylord, 746 Nelson, Richard H., 6I9 [II] Nelson, Thomas W., 71 [3] Neuberger, Sen. Maurine B., I36, 575, 577, 578 Neurological Diseases, National Institute of, 312 Neustadt, Richard E., 303 Nevada Campaign remarks, 652, 655 Candidates for public office, 652, 655 Gov. Grant Sawyer, 575, 652, 655 New Brunswick, N.J., 338 New England States, textile industry in, 602 New Hampshire Campaign remarks, 607 Candidates for public office, 607 Gov. John W. King, 607 Primary campaign, I99 Primary election, 2II [I2], 2I8 [23] New Jersey Campaign remarks, 54I, 542, 589, 66o Candidates for public office, 338, 660 Democratic Committee State dinner, 338 Gov. Richard J. Hughes, 338, 422, 660 Transfer of land to, 422 New Jersey State Democratic Committee, remarks to, 338 New London, Conn., 382 New Mexico Campaign remarks, 732 Candidates for public office, 732 Gov. Jack M. Campbell, 732 New Orleans, La. Campaign remarks, 646, 648 Mayor Victor H. Schiro, 648 New York Antipoverty program, 334 Campaign remarks, 662, 666-670, 75I Candidates for public office, 666-670, 751 Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller, 96, 2II [I9], 218 [25], 282, 285 [I], 287, 3II, 462 [6], 468, 499, 662 n., 746 Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, 58I New York City, I74 n., 175, 224, 272, 334, 336, 387, 388, 5II Campaign remarks, 662, 669, 670, 75I Democratic fundraising dinner, 372 Democratic Gala, 373 Mayor Robert F. Wagner, 282, 294 [9], 334, 387 n., 388, 52I [5], 666, 667, 669, 75I Mobilization for Youth program, 451 Riots, 468, 475 [4, 20] World's Fair (I939), 282 A-68 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] New York City-Continued World's Fair (1964-65), 282 Civil rights demonstrations, 285 ftn. (p. 52I), 290 Singer Bowl, 334 n. Time capsule, 282 United States Pavilion, 283 Venezuelan Pavilion, 335 New York Herald Tribune, 486 [9] New York Shipping Association, 494 New York Stock Exchange, 750 New York Times, 455 [I3] New Zealand, 475 [3] Holyoake, Keith, 464 Meat exports from, 267 Minister of Agriculture (Brian E. Talboys), 267 U.S. relations with, 464 Newell, Homer E., 492 n., 493 n. Newhouse, Samuel I., 499 Newhouse, Samuel I., Communications Center, dedication, 499 Newhouse, Mrs. Samuel I., 499 n. Newport News, Va., 59 News conferences, comments on, 28 [7], 54 [I3], I50 [20], I70 [8],3I6 [20] News conferences, the President's December 7, I963, 28 December 18, I963,54 December 27, 1963, Johnson City, Tex., 7I January 23, I43 January 25, I50 February I, 170 February 29, 201 March 7, 2I March 21, 232 March 28, Johnson City, Tex., 242 April 4, 246 April 11,256 April I6, 266 April 18, 271 April 23, 285 April 25, 294 May 6,3I6 May 9, New York City, 336 June 2, 379 June 23, 420 July Io, 455 News conferences, the President's-Con. July I8, Johnson City, Tex., 462 July 24, 475 July 30, 486 August 8, Johnson City, Tex., 504 August I5, 516 August I8, 521 August 26,539 September 5, 56o September 9, 563 September 21, 587 October 3, 6I9 October I9, 688 November 28, Johnson City, Tex., 780 December 28, Johnson City, Tex., 818 Newsom, Herschel D., 54 ftn. (p. 68), 255 Newspaper Editors, American Society of, 266 [ I], 270, 285 ftn. (p. 524) Newspaper Farm Editors Association, 344 Newspaper publishers (foreign language), remarks to, 496 Nicaragua, 809 Ambassador Guillermo Seville-Sacasa, 42 n. Assistance, 227 Economic development, 352 Nichols, Judge Philip, Jr., 613 Nichols, Mrs. Philip, Jr., 6I3 Nichols, Roy, 303 Nichols, Tom, 778 Nickerson, Eugene H., 337 Nicosia, John, 639 Niebuhr, Reinhold, 568 Nigeria, assistance, 227 Nightingale, Florence, 557 Nike X missile, 382 Nix, Repr. Robert N. C., 742 Nixon, Richard M., 218 [9], 287, 295, 297, 542, 728 News conference remarks on, 201 [I2], 285 [I, 17], 560 [io], 619 [I8] Visit to Viet-Nam, 285 [ 17] Nkrumah, Kwame, 88 Noble, Mrs. Jeanne, 309 Nonaligned nations conference, Cairo, 625 Normandy, France, 384 Norris, George, 644, 645 Norstad, Gen. Lauris, 244, 6o8 A-69 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] North Atlantic Council, 28 ftn. (p. 34), 49 North Atlantic Treaty, 608, 6io 15th anniversary of the signing, 244 North Atlantic Treaty Organization, 44, 54 [I4, 15], 76, I77, 182, 384, 394, 399, 416, 424, 495, 511, 582, 607, 608, 685, 702, 788 Atomic information, exchange with U.S., agreement, 439, 440 Expansion or revision, question of, 246 [8] Germany, integration of, 788 Military strength, 49, 244, 703 Multilateral nuclear force, proposed, 76, 109, I50 [io], I86, 272, 400, 780 [i,8] Parliamentarians, remarks to, 582 Secretary General (Manlio Brosio), 587 [2], 608, 609, 6io, 612 Letters, 495, 685 North Carolina Antipoverty program, 103, 326, 327, 328, 329 Campaign remarks, 631 Candidates for public office, 631 Gov. Terry Sanford, 103, 326, 327, 328, 329, 63, 643,644 North Carolina Fund, 103, 327 Northwest Ordinance of 1787, 482 Northwest-Southwest power transmission inter-tie, 578 Novy, James, 77 Novy, Louie, 77 Nuclear attack on U.S., defense measures, 99, 577, 579, 607, 688 [ ], 719, 786 Nuclear forces in Western Europe, 467 Nuclear materials Private ownership of, 538 Production decrease, 91 (p. II7), 122, 129, 130, I3I, I32 (p. I85), 272, 285 [3], 287, 294 [i4], 295, 395, 434, 435, 486 [I,2], 562, 642, 820 Nuclear Materials Act, Private Ownership of Special, approval, 538 Nuclear power, 545 Nuclear power projects, 480 Nuclear-powered ships. See Ships, nuclearpowered Nuclear reactors, 396 Nuclear test ban treaty, 91 (p. II6), 122, 132 (p. 185), i86, 199, 382, 395, 413, 434,435,529, 625, 638, 686 Campaign remarks, 54I, 562, 590, 599, 605, 607, 635, 642, 650, 651, 656, 658, 662 n., 667, 680, 693, 694, 702, 713, 727, 728, 729, 732, 736, 747, 749, 764 First anniversary, 486 [ i ], 653 Safeguards, 276,486 [ ] Nuclear war, 91 (p. II6), 122, 129, 130, 235, 431,433,786 Campaign remarks, 562, 607, 695, 70I, 728, 733, 760 Nuclear wastes, disposal, 551 Nuclear weapons, 132 (p. 184), 382, 413, 467,736 Civilian-military relationship on, 475 [7] Communist Chinese, 673, 676, 678, 679, 686, 688 [ ], 693, 735, 736, 737, 745, 780 [23], 797 Control. See Arms control Decrease, proposed, 130, I31, I99, 295 Defense systems, 780 [ I ], 788 Development and improvement, 170 [3] Europe, 413 First U.S. nuclear task force, 619 [5] Materials for. See Nuclear materials North Atlantic Treaty Organization, multilateral force, proposed, 76, 109, I50 [io], 186,272, 400, 780 [I, 8] Outer space, 395, 486 [ I ], 579, 686 Presidential control of, 760, 762 Proliferation, danger of, 797 Soviet, 382, 395, 43, 653 Spread to other countries, 51, I22, 129, 130, I3, 6I9 [I5], 686, 696, 820 United Kingdom, 653 Use in North Viet-Nam, question of, 516 [2,6], 638 See also Missiles; Nuclear weapons tests Nuclear weapons tests Ban or suspension, 109, I40, I70 I5], i86, 272, 394 n., 529, 651, 702, 719, 736, 764,797,820 Treaty. See Nuclear test ban treaty U.S. proposals, 91 (pp. II6, II7), 122, I29, I30, 131,693 Fallout. See Radioactive fallout A-70 Index [Main references are to itenls except as otherwise indicated] Nuclear weapons tests-Continued Geneva conferences. See Geneva conferences Inspection and control, 91 (p. II6), 132 (p. 85), 276 Prohibition in Antarctica, 55I Scientific and technical data, dissemination, 462 [5] Soviet, 653 Underground, 132 (p. I85), 462 [4] United Kingdom, 653 See also Nuclear weapons Nurse Training Act of I964, approval, 557 Nurses Education and training, 91 (p. II5), I32 (p. I89), I79,557,620,755 Shortage of, 520 Nursing homes, 178, 179, 4I5, 755 Oak Ridge, Tenn., 297 [2], 648, 650, 657, 659,70I Oakes, John, 622 OAS. See Organization of American States Oates, James F., Jr., 211 [6] Oath of office, first official remarks following, i O'Boyle, Archbishop Patrick A., 301, 788 O'Brien, Daniel J., 605 O'Brien, Dorothy, 635, 636, 747 O'Brien, Lawrence F., 224, 396, 727 O'Brien, Robert, 666 O'Brien, Repr. Thomas J., 287, 763 Occupational Safety, Conference on, 421 Occupational training, 47, 53, I24 (p. I65), 132 (pp. I76, i8i, I82), 213, 219, 228, 235, 288, 289, 290, 29I, 292, 295, 297, 327, 338, 386, 406, 4I3, 43I, 486 [2], 589, 598, 603, 606, 775 District of Columbia programs, I33, 457 n. Federal aid, 55, I32 (pp. I89, I9I) Handicapped persons, I79, 2I3, 302, 305 Military rejectees, 266 [21], 336 [2] Older persons, 213 Report, I60 Unemployed workers, 99, i6o, 213, 32I, 504 [7], 669, 690 n. Young people, 55, 89, I99, 213, 2I8 [I5], 267, 45I n., 504 [7], 658, 704 n., 742, 787, 79I Oceanic research, 229 Oceanography, Interagency Committee on, 229 O'Connor, Herbert R., Jr., 703 O'Donnell, P. Kenneth, 224, 396, 727 OECD. See Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Officer, Charles B., 607 Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, 609, 6io O'Hara, Repr. James G., 356 O'Hare, John, 590 Ohio Antipoverty program, 322, 323 Campaign remarks, 642, 678, 679, 680, 693 Candidates for public office, 642, 678, 679, 680, 693 Gov. James A. Rhodes, 217,322, 323 Ohio River Basin, 597, 644, 729 Flood, 217 Ohio State University, 339 Ohio University, 323 O'Kelly, Sean T., 364 n. Oklahoma, 486 [7] Campaign remarks, 597, 598 Eufaula Dam, dedication, 597 Gov. Henry Bellmon, 597, 598 Oklahoma City, Okla., campaign remarks, 598 Okun, Arthur, 77I Older persons, 297, 630 Employment, 178,213,43I, 690 n. Equal opportunity, 4I5 Government service, 213, 712 Health, 91 (p. 112) Housing, 91 (p. II5), 124 (p. I64), 132 (p. i88), 152, I78, 4I5, 43I, 590, 712 Income, 178, 338, 590, 667 Medical care, 219, 267, 292, 297, 406, 54I, 548, 640, 648, 667, 680 Under social security. See Social security Public service volunteers, 712 Retirement, 431 Welfare measures, District of Columbia, I33 Olivier, Giorgio Borg, 585 Olsen, Repr. Arnold, 267, 656 Olson, Repr. Alec G., 434 Olson, R. A., 590 A-7I Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Olympic Committee, United States, 699 Olympic Games (I964), 632, 699, 782 Medal winners, U.S., 782 Olympic games, ancient, Io6 Olympic Games for the Deaf (I965), 808 Olympic team, U.S., 699 Omaha, Nebr., 609, 6io, 685 O'Meara, Gen. Andrew P., 95 O'Neill, Francis A., Jr. (Chairman, National Mediation Board), 251, 284, 297 [2] O'Neill, Repr. Thomas P., Jr., 727 Oppenheimer, J. Robert, I9 Oppenheimer, Mrs. J. Robert, I9 Oregon, I35, 590 Campaign remarks, 578 Gov. Mark O. Hatfield, 575, 578 Primary election, 211 [22] Oregon, U.S.S., 578 Organization of African Unity, I9I, 460 Organization of American States, 91 (p. I7), I77, I93, 695 Ambassadors meeting, 218 [34] Communist aggression, defense measures, 443 Inter-American Peace Committee, 104, I43 [I], I50 [14] Joint committee on U.S.-Panama dispute, 104, 232 [I], 245 News conference remarks, 54 [I51, 143 [I], I50 [I4], 2II [8], 232 [I], 455 [i8], 486 [3], 688 [8] Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 472 Orlando, Fla. Campaign remarks, 712 Mayor Robert S. Carr, 712 Orlich, Francisco J., 438, 44I, 443, 455 [I6] Orlich, Mrs. Francisco J., 438 Orly Airport, Paris, 54 ftn. (p. 70) Ormsby Gore, David (Lord Harlech), 187 n., 263 n., 796 Ormsby Gore, Lady (Lady Harlech), I87 O'Rourke, Paul, 580 n. Osborne, Stanley de J., 20I [2] O'Shea, Bernard, 605 Otenasek, Mildred, 703 Outdoor Recreation, Bureau of, 578, 756 Outer Space, United Nations Committee on Peaceful Uses of, 705 Overby, Charles, 331 Over-exposure of the President, question of, 316 [20],336 [Io] Owens, Hugh, 2I I [2] Ozark National Scenic Riverways bill, 554 n. Pacific-Atlantic sea-level canal, proposed, 266 [5], 594 Pacific Northwest fisheries, 559 Pacific Ocean, trans-oceanic telephone cable, 408 Pacific partnership, 9g (p. I 7) Packages, labeling of, 173 Pahlavi, Shah Mohammad Reza, 369, 385 Paine, Thomas, 579 Paintsville, Ky., 291, 292 Pakistan Assistance, 227 Kashmir dispute, 607 Palatka, Fla., I98 Palm Springs, Calif., 193 Palmer, Lester, 72 n., 763 Panama, 688 [6] Anderson, Robert B., special ambassador to, 245 Assistance, 285 [6] Canal Zone dispute. See Canal Zone dispute, U.S.-Panama Chiari, Roberto F., 95, 20I [6], 232 [I], 245, 36 [II], 607 Diplomatic relations with, renewal, 245 U.S.. Ambassador Jack Hood Vaughn, 245 n., 246 [4], 285 [6], 3I6 [II], 809 U.S. economic team to, report, 316 [II] U.S. relations with, I43 [I], I50 [2], I70 [I], 201 [6], 218 [30], 242 [II], 246 [I, io], 272, 285 [I3], 316 [II], 809 Panama Canal, 594 Panama Canal Company, 8I Panama Canal Treaty, proposed revision, 220,232 [I],246 [Io], 809 Panel of Consultants on Foreign Affairs, 696 Panel of Consultants on Peace and National Security, 59I Papandreou, George, 424,429 Pappas, Judge John, 211 [ ] Papper, Dr. E. M., 21 [6] A-72 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Pargo submarine, keel laying, 383 Paris, North Atlantic Council, foreign ministers meeting, 28 ftn. (p. 34) Parks, Rev. A. Gene, 571 Parks National, 357, 427, 578, 620, 642, 669, 756 Public, 287 State and local, 422 See also specific parks Pasadena, Tex., campaign remarks, 762 Passamaquoddy title power project, 606 Passman, Repr. Otto E., 150 [7] Pastore, Sen. John 0., I49, 538, 540, 560 [ io], 58i, 6oi, 602 Patent fees, proposed revision, 132 (p. I8I) Pathet Lao, 2o [7] Patman, Repr. Wright, 120, I50 [I9], 410, 599, 763 Patman, Mrs. Wright, 599 Patten, Repr. Edward J., 338 Patterson, Eugene C., 271 [4] Patterson, Mrs. Eugene C., 27I [4] Patton, James G., 54 ftn. (p. 68), 225 Paul, Alice, 366 n. Paul, Norman S., 298 Paul I, King, 153, 424 Death of, 209, 211 [ ] Paul VI, Pope, I23, I47, i88 Paxton, Frank, 643 n., 678 Pay Cabinet members, 297 Congress, Members of, I32 (p. I94), 222, 267,270, 271 [io] Equal, conference on, 398 Government employees, I7, 132 (p. 194), 222, 266 [21], 267, 268, 270, 295, 296, 297,402, 4II, 456,5I4,688 [6] Pay bill 222, 267, 268, 270, 296, 297, 402, 4 II Government officials, 132 (p. I94), 295 Judiciary, I32 (p. I94) Military personnel, 132 (pp. I82, I94), 295,467, 510, 688 [6] Teachers, 132 (p. I89) See also Personal income; Wages Pay, National Committee for Equal, 398 n. Paz Estenssoro, Victor, 52 Peabody, Gov. Endicott, 727, 338, 396 Peace Corps, 76, I32 (p. i86), I47, 280, 357, 413, 47I n., 474, 562 Appropriations, 112, 347 Peace Corps-Continued Campaign remarks, 607, 702, 736, 745 Expansion, 759 Fourth anniversary, statement, 759 Industry participation, 745 Labor participation, 745 Older persons serving, 712 Veterans Federal employment, 347, 759 Training in human rights fields, i6i n. Volunteers, 289, 347, 759 Women in, 289 Peace Corps, Director (R. Sargent Shriver, Jr.), 76, 147, 347, 428 n., 489, 745 Peace corps, German, 76, 347 Peace corps movement, spread to other nations, 347, 759 Peace Corps National Advisory Council, 802 Peace and National Security, Panel of Consultants on, 59I Pearl Harbor, 25th anniversary, 796 Pearson, Lester B. (Prime Minister of Canada), I74 n., 575 Campaign remarks on, 598, 599, 656, 695, 709 News conference remarks on, 28 [14], 54 [8], 170 [I5], 563 [3] Visit, I28, I34-I38, I40 Pearson, Mrs. Lester B., I28 Peck, Gregory, 373, 751 Pedernales Electric Cooperative, 352 Pedernales River, 597, 728, 736, 747 Peeler, Jimmy, 645 Pell, Sen. Claiborne, 382, 383, 6oi Penn, Lt. Col. Lemuel A., 462 ftn. (p. 866) Penn, William, 390, 742 Pennsylvania Campaign remarks, 566, 66i, 728, 742 Candidates for public office, 566, 66i, 728, 742 Gov. William W. Scranton, 217, 285 [i], 287, 516 [II], 566, 728 Unemployment, steel industry, 297 Pennsylvania Avenue, President's Council on, report, 379 [I2], 700 "Pennsylvania Avenue," report, 379 ftn. (P. 738) Penrose, Dr. Lionel S., I74 Pension funds, I32 (p. 191) Pentagon, 266 [22] People-to-people program, 45, 3I6 [9] A-73 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] "People's Business, The," 352 n. Peoria, Ill., campaign remarks, 636, 637 Pepper, Repr. Claude, I98, I99, 57I, 709, 710 Pericles, 337, 576, 784 Perkins, Repr. Carl D., 41, 53, 291, 292, 643, 644, 676 Perkins, Frances, 208, 388 Perkins, James A., 563 [5], 688 [3] Perry, Edgar H., 763 Personal income, 22, 91 (p. II5), 124 (pp. 156, I57, 64), 132 (p. 178), 160 n., 2I8 [36], 219, 244, 280, 404, 43I, 434, 455 [2], 544, 555, 562, 571, 589, 689, 724, 73', 735 After taxes, I24 (p. 156), 463, 477 Appalachian area, 321 Increase, 23, I97, 266 [2], 280, 299, 311, 314, 3I6 [5], 459, 603, 605, 631, 635, 636, 642, 650, 659, 669, 694, 702, 7I3, 716, 78,746 Statement, 811 See also Pay; Wages Peru, assistance, 227, 340 Pesticides, 758 Consumer protection, 341 Regulations, I73, I79 Peterson, Mrs. Esther, 86, 233, 398 Philadelphia, Pa., 390 Campaign remarks, 742 Mayor James H. J. Tate, 390 n., 742 Philadelphia Inquirer, 516 [2] Philbin, Repr. Philip J., 727 Philippines Aid for Southeast Asia, 626, 627 Ambassador Oscar Ledesma, 626 n. Assistance, 627 Dispute with Indonesia and Malaysia, I56 n. Economic and social development, 626, 627 Macapagal, Diosdado, 587 [2], 623, 626, 627 Tax convention with U.S., 627 Typhoon relief, 627 U.S. Ambassador William McC. Blair, Jr., 394, 626 U.S. relations with, 623, 626, 627 Veterans of World War II, 627 War damage legislation, 627 Phillips, Mrs. Robert J., 289 Phillips, Wendell, 339 Phoenix, Ariz., campaign remarks, 649 Phumiphon Adundet, King, 30 Physical fitness, 89, io6, I26, 40I, 490 Physical Fitness, President's Council on, i88, 490 Physicians, shortage of, 47, I79, 755 Piccione, Attilio, 807 n. Pickering, William H., 492, 493 n. Pickle, Repr. J. J., 72, 544, 763, 778 Pickle, Mrs. J. J. (Beryl), 763 Pierce, John R., 98 Pieri, Msgr. Paul, 76I n. Pilcher, Repr. J. L., 330, 716 Pilcher, Palmer C., 709 Pioneer Memorial, Fredericksburg, Tex., 74 Piper, Norman, 607 Pittsburgh, Pa., 289, 290 Campaign remarks, 728 Mayor Joseph M. Barr, 290, 728 Unemployment, steel industry, 289, 295 Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, 728 PKU test for detection of mental retardation, 403 Planetary probes, I32 (p. 187) Plans for Progress. See Equal opportunity agreements, participants Plasterers' and Cement Masons' International Association of the United States and Canada, Operative, 547 Plato, 452 Platt, Mrs. Frank C., 735 Plumides, John, 211 [I ] Plutonium, decrease in production, 91 (p. II7), I32 (p. I85), 272 Plymouth Rock, 6I I Poage, Repr. W. R., 763 Poland U.S. Ambassador John M. Cabot, 420 [5], 548 U.S. trade with, 272 Warsaw Uprising, 20th anniversary, 491 Poland, Dr. Eleanor, 208 Polaris missiles, 382, 383, 413, 560 [5], 635, 703,786 Polio prevention, 598, 667, 669 Political experience of the President, 486 [II] Political nicknames for the President, 256 [I2], 732 A-74 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Political philosophy, the President's, 124 (p. I56), 218 [i8], 560 [io], 612, 617, 648, 693, 78, 736,74, 747 Political polls, 542, 642, 680, 693,734 Political slogans, 218 [i8], 256 [12], 536 Political support of the President, 548 n., 622 n., 629,765 News conference remarks, 232 [4], 336 [9], 52I [I], 542, 563 [I4], 587 [9] Poll tax, 57 Abolishment in Federal elections, I45 Ratification of constitutional amendment, I7I Pool, Repr. Joe R., 760 Poole, Cecil, 4 I Pope John XXIII, 27, I23,224,396 Pope Paul VI, 123, I47, I88 Population Growth in U.S., 54 [6], 132 (pp. 182, I93), 152, I79, 2II [28], 213, 244, 323, 363, 372, 374, 388, 391, 4I3, 578, 579, 604, 607, 6I9 [3, I2], 630, 650, 701, 756, 775, 780 [4] Migration, 669, 680 Porter, Albert, 406, 642 Porter, Katherine Anne, 266 [4] Porter, Sylvia, 455 [I3] Portland, Maine, 602 n. Campaign remarks, 606 Portland, Oreg., campaign remarks, 578 Post, Mrs. Merriweather, 784 Post, Saturday Evening, 238 Post, Wiley, 598 Post Office Department, 71 [2], 207, 2II [28], 271 [7], 336 [3], 462 [2], 6I9 [I], 654 Postal Field Service, 205 Postal service, 132 (pp. 176, I88), 207 Postmaster General (John A. Gronouski), 139, 207, 588 n., 642, 654,747 Potofsky, Jacob S., 334 Potomac River, 578, 756, 784 n. Poultry and Egg National Board, 772 n. Poultry inspection, 132 (p. 187), I73 Poverty, program to combat. See Antipoverty program. Powell, Paul, 636, 637, 694,747 Powell, Repr. Adam C., 47, 53, 676 Power, Gen. Thomas S., 596, 609, 6io, 783 Power projects, 598, 756 Columbia River project, 134, I35 Hydroelectric, I93 Nuclear, 480 Public, 713 Public-private cooperation, 486 [7], 578, 803 Power Survey, National, report, 803 Powers, David F., 224,727 Powers, Dr. Grover Francis, I74 Pratt and Whitney Aircraft Division, 20I [2] Prayer breakfast, presidential, 172 Presentation ceremonies. See Addresses or remarks at presentation ceremonies Presidency Candidates for. See Candidates for President Comments on, 172, I99, 2i8 [36], 266 [5], 270, 303, 506, 53, 633, 66i, 679, 747, 764 First oo00 days, comments on, 201 [9], 2I1 [4], 218 Function in collective bargaining, 266 [I2] I75th anniversary year, 303,304 Responsibilities of office, 218 [5], 280, 472, 604, 6I2, 655 Security measures, 201 [3], 2I8 [4], 294 [I, 8], 6I9 [ii] Succession or disability, 54 [3], 2II [13, 29], 2I8 [i, 9], 780 [I5] President pro tempore of the Senate (Carl Hayden), I, 98 Letters. See Congress, letters to Members of Presidential appointments, statement, 777 Presidential Board on the Arts, proposed, 266 [6] Presidential Citation, Stephen Gallatti, Sr., posthumous presentation, 465 Presidential Committee on Manpower, proposed, 212 Presidential Medal of Freedom, 27, I57, 447, 568 Presidential policy papers Conservation of natural resources, 756 Education, 754 Farm programs, 757 Health, 755 A-75 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Presidential reports to Congress List, Appendix C, p. 1706 See also Congress, reports to, messages transmitting Presidential Scholars, Commission on, 266 [41, 3~9 Presidential Scholars Award, presentation, 397 Presidential Transition Act of I963, 336 [4] President's Advisory Commission on Narcotic and Drug Abuse, I59, I79, 458 President's Advisory Committee on LaborManagement Policy, 126, 213 President's Advisory Committee on Supersonic Transport, 242 [9, 17], 294 [6] President's Advisory Council on Federal Reports, 583 President's advisory panel on foreign affairs, establishment, 563 [5, 8] President's Appalachian Regional Commission, 293 n., 294 [2], 300 President's Commission on Heart Disease, Cancer, and Stroke, I79, 2II [6], 268, 617, 798 President's Commission on Registration and Voting Participation, 57, I67 President's Commission on the Status of Women, 294 [21] President's Committee on Consumer Interests, 86, I73 President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped, 302 Distinguished Service Award, 235, 302 n. 1964 award, 389 President's Committee on Employment of the Physically Handicapped. See President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped. President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity, 40, I I, 139, 205, 213, 221, 277, 342, 379 [7], 448, 8I2 n. President's Committee on Juvenile Delinquency and Youth Crime, I33, 334, 537, 704 n. President's Committee on Manpower, 212, 213, 264 President's Committee on the National Medal of Science, 98 n. President's Committee on Public Higher Education in the District of Columbia, I 6 n., 457 A-76 President's Committee for Traffic Safety, 565 President's Council on Aging, 178, 415 President's Council on Pennsylvania Avenue, report, 379 [I2], 700 President's Council on Physical Fitness, I88, 490 President's Disaster Fund, 567 "Presidents and Recessions Since I837," 477 n. President's Review Committee for Development Planning in Alaska, 6i5 President's Safety Awards, presentation, 35I President's Science Advisory Committee, I79, 271 [5], 456 n., 758 President's Trophy for the Handicapped American of the Year, 302 n. Press Civil rights responsibilities, 496 Comments on, I49, I50 [8], I70 [8], 218 [II], 280 [4], 336 I[3], 339, 496, 504 [I] Conferences. See News conferences Coverage of Alaska earthquake, 242 [I] Coverage of Democratic convention, I50 [7] Criticism of the President, 218 [II] Election predictions for I964, 266 [I3] Families of reporters at news conference, 316 [i] Foreign, 475 [23] Printing of declassified material, 266 [22] White House Press Corps, 339 Press Club, National, 298 Press Club, Women's National, 208 Prettyman, Judge E. Barrett, I59, 458 n. Price, Leontyne, 568 Price, Margaret, 305, 338 Price, Repr. Melvin, I89, 694 Price Administration, Office of, 297 Price Index, Consumer, 124 (p. I60), 211 [3], 463, 6I9 [4] Price Index, Wholesale, 23, I24 (p. I60), 294 [3], 336 [I], 463 Price supports, 634, 757 See also specific commodities Prices, 80, 2II [3] Consumers, 6I9 [4] Increase, 124 (p. 161) Reduction, proposed, 271 [I5], 295 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Prices-Continued Stability, 23, 43, 124 (p. 157), I32 (pp. 178, 190), 173, 233, 266 [2], 272, 294 [3, 23], 297 [I], 299, 3II, 316 [5], 336 [I7], 350, 379 [5], 455 [2, 3, I3, 463, 477, 504 [i6], 506, 589, 624, 640, 662 n., 708, 722, 738, 740, 745, 77I, 775, 787,788 Wage-price policy, I24 (p. I60), 232 [io], 242 [8], 294 [23], 3II, 316 [5], 350, 624, 740 Wholesale, I24 (p. I57), 27I [3], 472, 619 [4], 630, 657, 689, 740, 775 See also specific commodities Primary elections, 266 [24] Alabama, 316 [14, 2] Effect on Vice Presidential nominations, 211 [ 2, I7] Indiana, 246 [7], 256 [I9], 3I6 [I8] Maryland, 246 [7], 256 [I9], 266 [24], 3I6 [I5] New Hampshire, 199, 2II [I2], 2I8 [23] Oregon, 211 [22] Wisconsin, 246 [7], 256 [7], 3I6 [i8] Princess telephones, acceptance of gift, 406 Private Enterprise in Foreign Aid, Advisory Committee on, 227 Private organizations Economic responsibilities, 589 Foreign assistance participation, 617 International cooperation participation, 616 Private Ownership of Special Nuclear Materials Act, approval, 538 Prochacci, William, 338 Proclamations Commemoration of the Beginnings of the Office of the Presidency of the United States, 304 Hoover, Herbert, death of, 69I International Cooperation Year, 616 John F. Kennedy, a Rededication, 774 List, Appendix B, p. 1700 Marshal Day, 523 n. National Day of Mourning for President Kennedy, 3 Thanksgiving Day, 770 Warsaw Uprising Day, 491 Procurement, Federal, i8, 132 (p. I9I), 216, 703,716,486 [2] Production, 43, 233, 235, 244, 290 Agricultural, 124 (p. 162), 132 (p. I87), 352, 570 Cotton, 758 Defense, cooperation with Canada, I40 Government employees, 307, 462 [2] Increase, 124 (pp. I57, I58, i6i, I66), I97, 3I6 [5], 350, 459, 639, 708, 713, 734 Industrial, 23, 124 (p. I56), I32 (p. I78), I99, 27I [3], 307, 404, 477, 506, 555, 640, 780 [3] Meat, 246 [i8] Nuclear materials, decrease, 91 (p. II7), 122, 129, 130, 131, 132 (p. I85), 272, 285 [3], 287, 294 [ I4 295, 395, 434> 435,486 [ I, 2], 562, 642, 820 Steel,504 [ 6], 563 [6],78o [5] Weapons, 797 Profits, 91 (p. II5), 124 (pp. 158-60o), I99, 350, 455 [2], 599, 604, 619 [4], 639, 708, 728, 77, 775 Agricultural, 484 Corporate. See Corporations Steel industry, 504 [16], 780 [5] Property, Federal, disposal, 8i, 617 Providence, R.I., 6oI, 602 n. Proxmire, Sen. William, 746 Public accommodations, equal access to, 9I, (p. II6), III, 201 [i6], 250, 301, 744, 8o0 Public Advisory Committee on Trade Negotiations, 278 Public assistance, 2I9, 590 Public debt. See Debt, national Public education, 219 Public Health Service, I79, 2ii [25], 312, 567, 675 n. Public health training programs, I79 Public Higher Education in the District of Columbia, Committee on, II6 n., 457 Public housing, I24 (p. 163), I32 (p. I88), 211 [28], 213 Public opinion, comments on, 211 [I2], 232 [I] Public Roads, Bureau of, 234, 567 33-171-6,5 --- 63 A-77 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Public Utility Holding Company Act of I935, 295 Public welfare, 132 (p. I88), 775 Public works, I20, 132 (p. i88), 271 [3], 300, 590 Public Works Acceleration Act, 22, 290, 297, 667 Public Works Appropriation Act, I964, approval, 8i Publications Consumer, I73 Government, reduction, 211 [Io], 307, 362,462 [2], 630, 749 Publications Commission, National Historical, 48I n. Puerto Rico Economic growth, 393 Gov. Luis Munioz Marinn, 27, 387, 388 U.S. relations with, 393 Puerto Rico, Study Commission on Statehood for, 242 [5] Puerto Rico-United States Commission on the Status of Puerto Rico, 393 Puget Sound Naval Shipyards, Bremerton, Wash., 430 n. Pulitzer, Margaret Leech, "In the Days of McKinley," 303 Punta del Este Charter, 9, 45, 46, 340, 443, 561, 769 Purchasing Agents, National Association of, 211 [3] Quakers, 391 Quayle (Oliver) poll, 542 Queen Ann Democratic Club, Los Angeles, Calif., 7I [3] "Quick," Munich publication, 316 ftn. (p. 621) Rabinowitz, Rabbi Stanley, 77 Radcliffe, George L., 703 Radhakrishnan, Sarvepalli, 367 Radiation Council, Federal, 653 n., 675 n. Radiation Surveillance Center, 675 n. Radio, use in i964 Presidential campaign, 20I [I5] Radio Conference on Space Communications, Geneva, I80 n. Radio Free Europe, 785 Radio and television addresses. See Messages to the American people A-78 Radioactive fallout, 434, 605, 653 n., 675 n., 686, 732 Rahman, Tunku Abdul, 470, 47I, 474 Railroads Labor contracts, 284, 287, 290, 294 [II], 295, 297 [2], 338, 659, 678 Labor disputes, 250, 251-253, 256 [I, 6], 262, 266 [I2], 270, 271, [9, I7], 280 [I], 587 [7] Rains, Repr. Albert, 453, 549 Raleigh, N.C., campaign remarks, 631 Ramey, James T., 285 [ Io] Rampton, Calvin, 737 Randall, Clarence B., 27 Randall, Repr. Wm. J., I89 Randolph, A. Philip, 568 Randolph, Sen. Jennings, 360, 586 Randolph, Phillip, 669 Random House publishing company, 560 [8] Ranger VII spacecraft, 492, 501 n., 504 [2], 5I8 Rankin, Lee, 595 Ransom, Harry, 375, 482, 513, 622 Ray, C. B., 255 Rayburn, Sam, 23, 59, 96, 199, 290, 295, 305, 324, 325, 330, 338, 434, 506, 786, 799 Campaign remarks on, 599, 604, 63I, 642, 643, 645, 648, 659, 693, 732, 736, 763 News conference remarks on, 294 [i i], 297 [2], 516 [8] RB-66 aircraft incident over East Germany, I70 [i], 182, 232 [2], 242 [i8, 26], 246 [4] Reading, the President's, 2i8 [I2] Recessions I957-58 recession, 639 1960 recession, 411 Preventive measures, 124 (p. 159), 295, 316 [26], 415, 431, 472, 477, 550, 589, 708,749,775,787 Reclamation, Bureau of, 132 (p. 187) Reclamation Project Act of 1939, 554 Reconstruction and Development Planning Commission for Alaska, Federal, 241 n. Recreation programs and facilities, Federal aid, 132 (p. 187), I33, 213, 287, 357, 422, 427, 490, 516 [I], 554, 578, 597, 620, 642, 667, 669, 704 n., 756 Red Cross, 202, 217, 241, 567, 647 Redeye heat-seeking missile, I70 [3 ] Redwood forests, 427 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Redwoods League, Save the, 427 Redwoods National Park, proposed, 427 Reed, Frank J., 728 Reed, Gov. John H., 455 [ I4 ], 6o6 Reedy, George E. (Press Secretary), 224, 232 ftns. (pp. 404, 408), 236 n., 270, 296, 4I5, 450 n., 45i n., 485 n., 503 n., 539, 794 n., 806 Campaign remarks on, 579, 639 News conference remarks on, I50 [8, 20], 242 [25], 27I [5, i5], 294 [7], 336 [7], 5~4 [I, 6], 52I [I], 560 [I3, I5], 563 [3, 5], 619 [i, 8], 780 [I3, I4], 8i8 [I, 2] Reeves, Lt. Gen. Raymond J., 24I Reforms in Government, statement, 776 Registration. See Voting participation and registration Registration and Voting Participation, President's Commission on, 57, i67 Regulatory agencies, management activities, 20 Reinert, Msgr. Paul C., i88 Reischauer, Edwin O., 236 Relay communication satellite, 779 n. Reminiscences, personal Associations with former Presidents, 9, i65, 303, 650 Associations with Mexican immigrant families, I94 Baptist heritage, 238 Boyhood impressions and experiences, 9, 172, 293, 484, 493, 562, 597, 650, 652, 695, 728, 749, 763 Campaigns for Congress, 732 Candidacy for Congress, 232 [II] Coaching high school debate, 343 College newspaper activity, 339 Early employment, 292, 321, 658, 673, 735 Early public life, 75, 372, 496, 578, 607, 612, 648, 650, 733, 76i n., 763 Experience with press, I49 Forebears in Kentucky, 292 Graduation from high school, 374, 658, 76i n. Heart attack in I955, I43 [3], 157, 6o6 Job-hunting experiences, 4I3, 650, 658, 733, 734, 735 Memories of father, 327, 496, 658, 733, 763 Memories of mother, 172, 658, 673 Schooling, 327, 658, 778 Reminiscences, personal-Continued Service in World War II, 426, 493 Visits abroad, i82 Africa, 280, 297 [I] Berlin, 87, 349 Denmark, 394 Greece, I53 Iran, 385 Italy, io0I, I49, 58i, 607, 65I Thailand, 476 Turkey, 416 Renne, Roland, 656 Reno, Nev., campaign remarks, 655 Reports to Congress. See Presidential reports to Congress Reports required by Government, reduction, 307, 362, 583 Reports to the President Acting Attorney General Katzenbach, crime and law enforcement, 752 Anderson, Sen. Clinton P., Alaska reconstruction, 319 Appalachian Governors, Conference of, 293 n. Atomic Energy Commission, water desalinization, 7I5 n. Attorney General Kennedy Immigration, I I5 Organized crime and racketeering, 90 Civil Service Commission, Federal personnel management, i68 Commission on Heart Disease, Cancer, and Stroke, President's, 798 Commission to Report on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy, 595 Committee on Equal Opportunity in the Armed Forces, 816 Committee on Utilization of Scientific and Engineering Manpower, 271 ftn. (p. 488) Council of Economic Advisers, 124 (pp. 16i, 162) Equal Employment Opportunity, President's Committee on, 448 Family Breadwinners: Their Special Training Needs, i6o Federal Power Commission, national power survey, 803 Federal Radiation Council, radioactive fallout, 653 n. A-79 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Reports to the President-Continued Federal Water Resources Research Program, 231 Government employment of minority groups, 812 Government publications, reduction, 2I1 [Io] Hoover, J. Edgar, 688 [5] Labor, Department of, unemployment, 2II [3] Limited test ban treaty safeguards, 276 Manpower Conservation, Task Force on, 89 Maritime industry labor dispute, 6I4 n. National Oceanographic Program, 229 Panama, economy of, 316 [Ii] Panama Canal Zone dispute, I04 Pennsylvania Avenue, President's Council on, 379 ftn. (p. 738), 700 President's Advisory Commission on Narcotic and Drug Abuse, 458 President's Appalachian Regional Commission, 293 n. President's Committee for Traffic Safety, 565 President's Council on Aging, I78 President's Council on Physical Fitness, 490 Public Higher Education in the District of Columbia, President's Committee on, 457 Registration and Voting Participation, President's Commission on, 57 School dropouts, I963 back-to-school campaign, 84 SEATO meeting, 274 Secretary Celebrezze, radioactive fallout, 675 n. Secretary Dillon, balance of payments, 753 Secretary McNamara Defense cost reduction, 467 Defense spending, 6I9 [2] Selective Service System study, 6I9 [3] Viet-Nam, 218 [24] Secretary Rusk, East-West Center in Hawaii, 336 [6] Secretary Udall, water desalinization, 715 Secretary Wirtz, manpower, 2 I: Soviet science and technology, 804 Supersonic transport program, 355 Task force on foreign investments, 296 A-80 Reports to the President-Continued Toward Better Utilization of Scientific and Engineering Talent, 456 Viet-Nam mission, 223 "Report to the President-The President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity," 1 n. Republic Powdered Metals, Inc., 350 n. Republican National Committee, Chairman (Dean Burch), 508 Republican National Convention, I70 [9], 462 [6] Republican Party, 280 [6], 342, 6I7 Campaign remarks, 542, 555 n., 603, 605, 660, 680, 693, 695, 713, 747, 764 News conference remarks, I50 [9, I8], 20I [I6], 246 [4], 256 [I2], 285 [I5], 455 [I9, 20], 475 [7], 486 [I6], 560 [Io], 69 [i8] Nickname for the President, 256 [12] Platform, 475 [7], 680 Record in office, 764 Research, 389, 60I Accident prevention, 565 Agricultural, 124 (p. 162) Defense, 797 Engineering, 308, 629 Federal cooperation with colleges, 482 Industrial, 589 Medical, I79,403,733,755,775, 808 Military, 132 (p. I85) Natural resources conservation, 132 (p. I87) Nuclear, 462 [4] Oceanic, 229, 650 Scientific, II7, I24 (p. 163), I32 (p. I9I), 23I, 308, 396, 529, 629, 715, 738, 756, 758 Space. See Space research and exploration Technological, 804 Water resources, 23I, 46I, 756 Weather, 597 Research Center of the Southwest, Graduate, 738 Reserve forces, mobilization, 382 Reserve Officers' Training Corps, 665 Reserve Officers' Training Corps Vitalization Act of I964, approval, 665 Resignations or retirements, letters Hodges, Luther H., 805 Kennedy, Robert F., 556 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Resignations or retirements, letters-Con. Lodge, Henry Cabot, 420 [i] Murrow, Edward R., I25 Sorensen, Theodore C., Io8 Retail sales, 463, 6I9 [4], 689 Retirement, older persons, 43I Reuss, Repr. Henry S., 746 Reuter, Richard W., 585 Reuther, Walter, 233 n., 294 [9, 23], 336 [7], 43I, 5I3, 562, 733, 745, 780 [3] Revenue Act of 1964, I97, 228, 233, 235, 338, 531, 604, 620, 697, 723, 724, 731 Campaign remarks, 562, 589, 605, 636, 642, 643, 644, 667, 669, 693, 7I3, 7I8, 728, 729, 732, 741, 745, 746, 750 News conference remarks, 246 [I2, I5], 27I [I5], 336 [i8], 379 [5], 462 [II] Reynolds, Don B., 143 [3] Reynolds, James J., I95 n., 252, 253 n., 284, 297 [2] Reynolds, Gov. John, 746 Rheumatism, 755 Rhode Island, 602 n. Campaign remarks, 60I Gov. John H. Chafee, 60I Rhodes, Gov. James A., 217, 322, 323 Rhodes, Mrs. James A., 323 Ribeiro, Miguel Augustus, 35 n. Ribicoff, Sen. Abraham, 50, 341, 382, 383, 603 Richardson, Dorsey, 296 Richardson, Tex., Mayor Herbert Ryan, 738 Rickover, Vice Adm. Hyman G., I64, 560 [6] Ridgway, Gen. Matthew B., 244 Rifkin, Bernard, 60 Riis, Jacob, 394 Rine, Phyllis, 780 ftn. (p. 1612) Rio Grande River, I93 Riots New York City, 468, 475 [4, 20] Urban areas, 600 Ritter, Joseph Cardinal, I89 River and water development, 410, 486 [7], 563 [3], 597, 598, 756 Rivers, Repr. L. Mendel, 487 Riverside, Calif., campaign remarks, 734 Roanoke, Va., 358 Roberts, Charles W., 285 [20, 23] Roberts, Repr. Kenneth A., 50, 557 Robertson, James L., 21 [2] Robins Air Force Base, Ga., 716 Rochester, N.Y. Campaign remarks, 666 Mayor Frank Lamb, 666 Rockefeller, David, I69 n., 402, 622, 688 [8] Rockefeller, John D., Jr., 6oi Rockefeller, Gov. Nelson A., 96, 2II [I9], 218 [25], 282, 285 [i], 287, 3II, 462 [6], 468, 499, 662 n., 746 Rockefeller, Mrs. Nelson A., 499 Rockets, Saturn I, 162, 170 [ ] Rockford, Ill. Campaign remarks, 747 Mayor Benjamin T. Schleicher, 747 Rocky Mount, N.C., 327, 328 Rodino, Repr. Peter W., Jr., I49, 338, 65I Roe, Robert A., 422 Rogers, Repr. Byron G., 658 Rogers, Repr. Paul G., I98, I99, 709 Rogers, Will, 598, 799 Rogovin, Mitchell, 8I8 [2] Roland, Adm. Edward J., 382 Rollings, John I., 590 Rolvaag, Gov. Karl F. (Governor of Minnesota), 432, 433,434, 435 Romney, Gov. George W., 271 [I I], 356, 357, 562 Romney, Mrs. George W., 562 Ronan, Daniel J. (Jim), 747 Ronan, James A., 635, 636, 694 Roncalio, Teno, 657 Rooney, Repr. John J., 668 Roosa, Robert V., 299, 780 [3 ], 8i8 [i] Roosevelt, Mr. and Mrs. Curtis, 208 n. Roosevelt, Eleanor, 208 Commemorative stamps, 35 Roosevelt, Eleanor, Memorial Foundation, 161 Roosevelt, Franklin D., 12, 51, 65, 136, I37, 138, I44, 182, I84, 199, 208, 218 [i5], 220, 224, 228, 233, 267, 289, 290, 297, 303, 306, 32I, 324, 325, 327, 330, 332, 334, 340, 342, 373, 388, 406, 413, 414, 431, 434, 554, 574, 576, 586, 677, 698, 778, 799 Campaign remarks on, 541, 605, 606, 622, 637, 639, 642, 644, 645, 6o5, 667, 678, 728, 732, 733, 736, 746, 747, 751, 764 82d anniversary of birth, i65 A-8I Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Roosevelt, Franklin D., Jr., 41, 208 n., 285 [2], 29I, 293, 320, 321, 322, 323, 324, 325, 326, 327, 328, 332, 711 n. Roosevelt, Mrs. Franklin D., Jr., 208 n. Roosevelt, Repr. James, 208 n., 444, 650, 733 Roosevelt, Mrs. James, 208 n. Roosevelt, Mr. and Mrs. John, 208 n. Roosevelt, Theodore, 58, I37, 303, 527, 554, 590,607,622, 655, 695, 790 Roosevelt Campobello International Park, 136 n., 137, I38, I40 Roosevelt Campobello International Park Commission, 455 [ 4] Roper (Elmo) and Associates, Presidential election polls, 542 Rose, Alex, 334, 388, 669 Rosellini, Gov. Albert D., 575, 576,577 Rosenthal, Repr. Benjamin S., 34I Ross, Charles R., 455 [ I ] Rossiter, Clinton, 303 Rostow, Walt W., 340, 455 [ i6] ROTC. See Reserve Officers Training Corps Rover space project, 54 [ 2] Rowan, Carl T. (Director, U.S. Information Agency), 200, 280 [5], 6I9 [8], 621 Rowan, Mrs. Carl T., 200 Rowe, James H., Jr., 242 [5], 393 Rowley, James J., 2i, 6I9, [ i ] Roybal, Repr. Edward R., 733 Rozmarek, Charles, 49I Rumania, U.S. relations with, 336 [6] Rural Americans for Johnson-Humphrey, 570 Rural areas, 357, 570, 754, 757 Antipoverty program, 54 [9], 132 (p. I84), 219, 225, 344, 434, 528 Community action program, 219 Development program, 132 (p. 187), 344, 571 Employment opportunity, 344, 434 Extension service, 482 Hospital construction, I79 Housing, 132 (p. 187), 52, 344 Schools, 658 Rural Development, Conference on International, 482 Rural Electric Cooperative Association, National, 227, 6I7 Rural electric cooperatives, 352 Rural electrification, I32 (p. 191), 336 [3], 344, 39I, 590, 63I, 646, 648, 701, 7I6, 733 Rusk, Dean. See State, Secretary of Rusk, Mrs. Dean, 194 Rusk, Dr. Howard, 2II [6] Russell, Charles, 267 Russell, Gov. Donald S., 718, 719 Russell, Mrs. Donald S., 7I9 Russell, George, 27I [3] Russell, Harold, 271 [6], 302 Russell, Norman, 599 Russell, Sen. Richard B., 14, I5, I50 [i, I2], I53,230, 330, 7I6, 78, 7I9 Russell, Robert L., Jr., 330 Russell, Mrs. Ruth, 645 Russia. See Soviet Union Rutland, Vt., Mayor John J. Daley, 605 Ryan, Repr. Harold M., 356 Ryan, Herbert, 738 Ryan, William J., 605 Sabin, Dr. Albert B., 679 SAC. See Strategic Air Command Sacramento, Calif., 580 n. Campaign remarks, 579 Safety, occupational, 421 Safety Awards, President's, presentation, 35I Safety of the President, comments on, 201 [3], 2I8 [4], 246 [2], 294 [I, 8], 6I9 [II] Saigon, 54 ftn. (p. 70), 274 News conference remarks, 28 [2], 2II [I4],475 [I0] U.S. military dependents in, 2II [I4], 475 [io] St Germain, Repr. Fernand J., 6oi St. John, Jill, 75I St. Lawrence Seaway, shipping, 140 St. Louis, Mo., i88, I89 Campaign remarks, 695 Mayor Raymond Tucker, I88, I89 St. Mary the Virgin Church, London, 263 n. St. Onge, Repr. William L., 383 St. Patrick's Day, 224 St. Paul, Minn., Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Convention, 433 Salaries. See Pay; Wages A-82 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Salinger, Pierre, E. G., 409, 41I, 4I3, 415 News conference remarks on, 28 [i, 4, I4], 71 [4], I50 [8], 201 [2, I5], 2II [9],232 [4, II] Press Secretary to the President, 30 n., 3I n., 36 n., 41 n., 52 n., 63 n., 88 n., 95 n., I44 n., 176 n., 177 n., 209 n. Senator, 577, 579, 650, 65I, 733, 734, 735, 736 Salomon, Sidney, Jr., 363 Salt Lake City, Utah, campaign remarks, 737 Salzberg, Milton J., 808 n. Sam Rayburn, U.S.S., 59, 786 Sampson, George, I43 [3] Samuel Gompers, U.S.S., proposed building of, 43o Samuel I. Newhouse Communications Center, dedication, 499 San Bernardino, Calif., campaign remarks, 735 San Diego, Calif. Campaign remarks, 736 Mayor Frank Kern, 736 San Francisco, Calif. Campaign remarks, 65I Cow Palace, 415 Democratic fundraising dinner, 4I3 Federal Building, dedication, 411 I Mayor John F. Shelley, 411, 4I3, 65I, 66o0 n. Republican National Convention, 462 [6] San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit Test Track, 410 San Marco satellite, Italy, 807 San Marcos, Tex., 778 Sanchez Gavito, Vicente, 596 Sand, H. A., 679 Sandburg, Carl, 313, 568 "Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years and the War Years," 796 n. Sanders, Gov. Carl E., 330, 332, 567, 7i6, 718 719 Sanders, Mrs. Carl E., 330, 332 Sandy Hook State Park, 422 Sanford, Gov. Terry, 103, 326, 327, 328, 329, 63, 643,644 Sanford, Mrs. Terry, 326 Sanger, Dr. Paul, 2 I [6] Santa Cruz, Calif, University of California branch, 414 Sanz de Santamaria, Carlos, 211 [8], 220, 340,726,769 Saragat, Giuseppe (Foreign Minister of Italy), ioI, 102 n., 107, 109, ii8 Election as President, 817 Sarnoff, Gen. David, 2I I [6] Satellite Communications System, Defense, 504 [6] Satellites, earth, 132 (p. I87), 579 Communications. See Communications satellites Italian San Marco, 807 Weather, 132 (p. 187), 396, 597, 705, 733 See also Space research and exploration; Space vehicles Saturday Evening Post, 238 Saturn space project, I62, I70 [ ] Saunders, Stewart T., 299 Savannah, U.S.S., 719 Savannah River nuclear production plant, 716, 718, 719 Save the Redwoods League, 427 Savings, personal, 563 [6] Savings Associations, National League of Insured, 617 Savings bond campaign, 306 Savings and loan associations, 8I4 Savings and loan insurance, 598 Sawyer, Gov. Grant, 575, 652, 655 Sawyer, Mrs. Grant, 655 Scales, James R., 238 Schechter, Mrs. Harvey B., 257 n. Schiro, Victor H., 648 Schleicher, Benjamin T., 747 Schlesinger, Arthur, Jr., 218 [8] Schnitzler, William F., 221, 388 Scholars, Commission on Presidential, 266 [4], 309 Scholars, Presidential, 266 [4] Scholarships, 457 n., 588, 6oi Military, 665 Nursing, I79 Scholle, August, 356 School Safety Patrol awards, presentation, 317 Schools, 213, 579, 709 Appalachian area, 325 A-83 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Schools-Continued Campaign remarks, 658 Civil rights boycotts, 242 [13] Construction, 91 (p. II2), 132 (p. I89), I33, 571, 589, 603, 606, 650, 667, 669, 754 Dropouts, 47, 53, 84, 213, 2I8 [i5], 233, 246 [20], 398, 658, 680, 733, 754 Fallout shelters in, I32 (p. 185) Federal aid, 47, 53, 91 (p. 112), 132 (p. I9I), 338, 754 Integration, 413, 642, 744 Lunch and milk programs, 292, 39I, 546, 713, 732 Nursing, I79 Occupational training, 53, 213 Overcrowding, 357 Physical fitness programs, 490 Rural areas, 658 Superintendents, remarks to, 488 Washington, D.C., area, I33 See also Education Schr6der, Gerhard, 28 [4], 72 n., 75, 76, 400, 780 [8] Schuman, Robert, 244 Schurman, Mrs. Beatrice, 605 Schwartz, Margaret Wolman, 204 n. Science, I75, 408 n., 650 Education, 132 (p. I90), 39I, 456, 709, 738 Exchange programs, 434 Manpower utilization, 271 [5] Research, 117, 124 (p. 163), 132 (p. 19I), 23I, 308, 396, 529, 629, 715, 738, 756, 758 Science, National Medal of, presentation, 98 Science, President's Committee on the National Medal of, 98 n. Science, Weizmann Institute of, I75 Science Advisory Committee, President's 179, 27I [5], 456 n., 758 Science Foundation, National, 308 Science and Technology, Federal Council for, 229, 456 n. Science and Technology, Office of, 179, 229, 231,480 Science and Technology, Office of, Director (Donald F. Hornig), 229 n., 231 n., 420 [2], 456, 480 n., 493 n., 513, 6oi, 629, 804 Letter, 308 Swearing in, I46 A-84 Sciences, National Academy of, 271 [5], 308, 355 n., 456 n. Scientific, and Cultural Organization, United Nations, Educational, 480 Scientific and Engineering Manpower, Committee on Utilization of, 271 ftn. (p. 488), 456 n. Scientists, 493 Employment, 456 n. Utilization, reports on, 271 ftn. (p. 488), 456 Scientists and Engineers for Johnson, 629 Scott, Sen. Hugh, 289, 290, 390 Scranton, Pa., campaign remarks, 66i Scranton, Gov. William W., 217, 285 [I], 287, 516 [], 566, 728 Seabees, 438 n., 443 Seaborg, Glenn T. See Atomic Energy Commission, Chairman Seal of the United States, 4II Seamans, Robert C., 162 n. Seashores, national, 357, 578, 620, 642 SEATO. See Southeast Asia Treaty Organization Seattle, Wash., 577 Mayor J. D. Braman, 577 Secret Service, 21, 90, 201 [3], 218 [4], 268, 516 [17], 6I9 [II], 688 [5, 8], 752 Securities Consumer protection, I73 Foreign, proposed tax on, I96 Securities Acts Amendments of I964, approval, 530 Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 604 Securities and Exchange Commission, 211 [2], 530, 563 [6], 598, 604, 642 Securities and Exchange Commission, Chairman (William L. Cary), 455 [8] Securities and Exchange Commission, Chairman (Manuel F. Cohen), 530 Security, national. See National security Security Council. See United Nations Security Council Segni, Antonio (President of Italy), I49 Letter, 794 News conference remarks on, 28 [4], 54 [8], 475 [3] Visit, 101, I02, 107, o09, ii8 Segni, Signora Antonio, 101, I02, I07, II8 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Selective Service System, 89, 560 [i6] Rejectees. See Military rejectees, training and rehabilitation Study of, 27I [2, 8], 6i9 [3] Sells, Leonard L., 285 [8] Senior citizens. See Older persons Senner, Repr. George F., Jr., 649 Serkin, Rudolf, 27 Seton Hall University, i90 Sevareid, Eric, 218 "7,000 Years of Iranian Art," exhibit, 369, 385 Sevilla-Sacasa, Guillermo, 42 n., 340 Seward, Alaska, 242 [i] Shafer, Kenneth, 317 n. Shakespeare, William, 4ooth anniversary, 784 Shapiro, Samuel, 636, 637, 694, 747 Sharp, Thelma Parkinson, 338 Shastri, Lal Bahadur, 379 [2, 17], 38i, 693, 70I, 737, 747 Shea, Joseph, 656 n. Shell, Gen. George R. E., 359 Shelley, John F., 4II, 413, 65i, 66o n. Shellworth, Eugene, 66o n. Shenker, Morris, 695 Shepard, Capt. Tazewell T., Jr., 773 Shepherd, Repr. Harry R., 735 Sheridan, Ann, 713 Sherman, Allan, 373 Shevchenko, Taras, 720 Shiina, Etsusaburo, 632 n. Shillelagh antitank missile, 170 [3 ] Ships AID-financed cargo, 617 Carriers, atomic propulsion proposed, I70 [12] Enterprise, 560 [6] John F. Kennedy, 560 [6] Louise Lykes, keel-laying ceremony, iio Lusitania, 493, 648, 703 Maddox, 498,499 Maritime labor disputes, 195, 494 n., 614 Navy shipbuilding program, 382 Nuclear-powered. See Ships, nuclearpowered Oregon, 578 Procurement, 216 Samuel Gompers, proposed building of, 430 Ships, nuclear-powered Bainbridge, 619 [5] Enterprise, 619 [5 ] Long Beach, 619 [ 5] Savannah, 719 Submarines. See Submarines, nuclear. powered Shivers, Allan, 767 Shoe industry, news conference remarks, 246 [19] Shoes, imports of, 285 [I9 ] Shoup, Gen. David M., 127 Shoup, Mrs. David M., 127 Shriver, R. Sargent, Jr., 174, 218 [i6], 219, 233, 267, 314, 323, 324, 403, 5I3, 528, 606 Letter, 183 News conference remarks on, 7I [9], I50 [7], 170 [4], 256 [ i4], 294 [2], 316 [26], 336 [20], 516 [4, I2] See also Economic Opportunity, Office of, Director; Peace Corps, Director Shriver, Mrs. R. Sargent, Jr., I74 n., 403, 773 Shuman, Charles, 54 ftn. (p. 68) Shuster, George N., i 6 n. Sickles, Repr. Carlton R., 320, 321,703 Sidey, Hugh S., 294 [26] Sierawski, Frank J., 745 Sierra Club, 427 Sikes, Repr. Robert L. F., 198, I99 Silver Star, presentation, 535 Simkin, William E. (Director, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service), 316 [3] Simons, Milton, 77 Singer Bowl, World's Fair (1964-65), 334 n. Singletary, Otis A., 622 ftn. (p. I206) Sinkiang, China, 686 Sino-Soviet bloc. See Communist bloc Six, Robert F., 415 Skiff, Robert W., 26 Slum clearance, 590, 668, 669, 733 Small business, 598, 6o6, 713 Federal aid, 362 Role in domestic economy, 53 Tax benefits, I32 (pp. i8o, 191), 197 Small Business, National Advisory Council for, 362 Small Business Administration, 336 [3], 368, 567, 598, 6I5, 814 A-85 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Small Business Administrator (Eugene P. Foley), 217, 362, 434, 53I Small Businessman of the Year award, presentation, 362 Smathers, Sen. George A., 198, I99, 709, 7I0, 712,713, 719 Smith, Alfred E., 272, 338, 373, 387, 405, 434,662, 678, 716,736, 75I Smith, Alfred E., Memorial Foundation, 662 Smith, Bishop B. Julian, 301 Smith, Benjamin A., II, 559 Smith, Bromley K. (Executive Secretary of the National Security Council), 417, 678 Smith, Courtney C., 39i n. Smith, Francis R., 742 Smith, Adm. Harold P., 244 Smith, Howard K., 527 Smith, Hulett C., 586 Smith, Kate, i99 Smith, Sen. Margaret Chase, 136, 199, 285 [ I ], 289, 606, 622 Smith, Merriman, 170 [I9], 232 [II], 246 [20], 256 [22], 3i6 [28], 455 [22], 475 [23], 56 [2I] Smith, Repr. Neal, 634 Smith, Preston, 763 Smith, Mrs. Stephen E., I74 n. Smith, Adm. Willard J., 382 Smithsonian Institution, Museum of History and Technology, dedication, 141 Smoking, cigarette Discontinuance by President, 218 [21 ] Effect on health, 211 [25] Smylie, Gov. Robert, 285 [7] Social security, 132 (p. 19I),325,391,477,638 Campaign remarks, 590, 597, 598, 599, 605, 607, 635, 636, 637, 639, 642, 643, 644, 648, 652, 655, 669, 670, 68o, 695, 70I, 703, 7I2, 713, 719, 728, 729, 733, 734,742,745,748 Extension of benefits, 22, 388, 415 Health insurance under, proposed, 22, 91 (p. 115), 105, 124 (p. i65), 132 (p. I89), 150 [5], 158, 170 [I3], I78, I79, 211 [28], 219, 228, 233, 235, 266 [2I], 267, 268, 270, 287, 292, 295, 297, 305, 314, 334, 338, 379 [i6], 4I3, 415, 43I, 434, 516 [9], 552, 562, 566, 571, 589, 590, 604, 606, 6I9 [i6], 637, 642, 648, 712, 732, 733, 735, 746, 748, 750, 755, 76I A-86 Social Security Act amendments, 22, 133, I78, 179, 745 Society of Friends, 39I Socrates, 289 Soderstrom, Reuben, 636, 637 Sorensen, Theodore C., i08, 2i8 [8] "Decision-Making in the White House," 23 Sosa Rodriguez, Carlos, 51 n. South Bend, Ind., 288 Occupational training, 288 Studebaker facilities, closing of, 67, 288 Unemployment, 288, 289, 295, 297, 486 [2] South Carolina Campaign remarks, 719 Gov. Donald S. Russell, 718, 719 Hurricane relief, 563 [4] South Dakota, I7I South Gate, Calif., campaign remarks, 650 Southeast Asia, Joint Resolution on, 503, 507 Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty, (Manila Pact), 499, 500, 627 Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, 272, 274, 285 [ I2], 499, 623, 626 Support of South Viet-Nam, 266 [ 14 ] Southern Baptists Christian Leadership Seminar, 238 Southwest, Graduate Research Center of the, 738 Southwest Texas State College, remarks, 778 Souvanna Phouma, Prince, 285 [4], 294 [i6], 336 [8] Soviet Union, 8, 250, 6I9 [i5], 737 Aircraft speed record, 256 [3 ] Ambassador Anatoly F. Dobrynin, 271 [I4], 674, 676, 678, 68o, 686, 688 [i], 737 Brezhnev, Leonid, 82 Change in leadership, 669, 673, 676, 678, 679, 68o, 686, 688 [i, 8], 693, 694, 734, 735, 736, 737, 745, 746, 747, 750, 780 [23] Communications with U.S., 395, 413, 435, 504 [I2], 607, 662 n., 667, 686 Cuban activities. See Cuba Disarmament, question of, 170 [15], 382 Economy, 23, 2i8 [36], 531, 604, 804 Foreign policy, 68o, 686 Gromyko, Andrei A., 365 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Soviet Union-Continued Khrushchev, Nikita S. See Khrushchev, Nikita S. Kosygin, Aleksei N., 737, 820 Meeting with new leaders, question of, 780 [7] Mikoyan, Anastas 26,218 [7], 820 Military strength, 266 [ o] Nuclear activity, 276 n. Nuclear materials, production decrease, 294 [ 19, 642 Nuclear weapons. See Nuclear weapons; Nuclear weapons tests Reduction in military spending, 129, I30, I31 Relations with Communist China, 182, 246 [ ], 643, 686 Relations with Germany, 3i6 [25] Relations with West, o09 Release of U.S. flier, 232 [2], 242 [18, 26] Sale of gold, 379 [6] Science and technology, 804 Space exploration, 579, 709, 733 Threat to Viet-Nam, question of, 201 [5] Treaty with East Germany, 400 U.S. Ambassador Foy D. Kohler, 365 U.S. industrial research leaders, visit to, 804 U.S. relations with, 26, 54 [i8], 82, 199, 21I [23], 242 [26], 271 [14], 272, 285 [I3], 294 [I4], 529, 638, 662, 674, 678, 680, 686, 693, 733, 737, 788, 820 U.S.-Soviet Consular Convention, 365 U.S. trade with, 211 [II, 8, 24], 266 [II], 294 [20,22] Water desalinization, cooperation with U.S., 420 [2], 435, 480 n., 695, 804 Weather prediction and control, cooperation with U.S., 705 Wheat sales to, 139, 2II [II] Longshoremen's boycott of shipment, i95 Spaak, Paul-Henri, 6o8 n. Spaatz, Gen. Carl, 487 Space Administration. See National Aeronautics and Space Administration Space Commission, Italian, 807 Space research and exploration, 91 (p. I7) 132 (pp. I76, 182, i86, 191), 162, 374, 399, 409, 572 Campaign remarks, 650, 654, 695,703, 709, 7I3 733,734, 735 International cooperation, 493 Man-in-space. See Astronauts; Manned space flights Message to Congress, 155 Moon exploration. See Moon exploration News conference remarks, 54 [i2], 211 [28], 504 [2] Peaceful uses, 493 U.S. cooperation with Italy, 807 See also Rockets; Manned space flights; Satellites, earth; Space vehicles Space vehicles Apollo, 2 I [32] Gemini, 211 [32] Ranger VI, 518 Ranger VII, 492, 501 n., 504 [2], 518 See also Rockets; Satellites, earth; Space research and exploration Sparkman, Sen. John, 453, 549 Speaker of the House of Representatives (John W. McCormack), 2, II, 26, 55, 172, 197, 218 [9], 224, 228, 333, 341, 366, 527, 528 n., 540, 799 Campaign remarks on, 541, 542, 727 Letters. See Congress, letters to Members of News conference remarks on, 54 [3] Spellman, Francis Cardinal, 174 n., 224 n., 662 Spence, Brent, 678 Spending by Government, II, 9I (pp. 112, 113), 124 (p. I57), I79, 295, 300, 606, 650, 669, 775, 776 Control, 00oo, 216, 26I, 295, 467, 688 [6], 787, 790 Letter to the Speaker of the House, 240 Message to Congress, 132 News conference remarks, 54 [6, Io], 71 [3, I0, II, I6], I5o [3], 2II [9, Io, 28], 256 [I3], 27I [3, 7], 294 [4, 6], 316 [4], 336 [3], 379 [3], 462 [2], 619 [I, 2], 688 [2, 4, 6], 780 [4], 8i8 [3] Overseas, 753 n. A-87 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Spending by Government-Continued Reduction, I8, 37, 54 [6, IO], 71 [3, Io, II, i6], 80, I2I, 150 [3], i68, I97, 2II [9, I0, 28], 218 [I7], 222, 228, 256 [I3], 271 [3, 7], 294 [4], 307, 3I6 [4], 336 [3], 362, 462 [2], 477, 53I, 603, 619 [i, 2], 630, 640, 650, 652, 654, 655, 657, 659, 66i, 679, 688 [2, 4], 689, 723, 728, 749, 753 n., 760, 8i8 [3] Supersonic civil transport, 294 [6] See also Budget; Defense spending Spiewak, Irving, 480 Spivak, Alvin A., 54 [i8], 242 [26], 266 [24], 271 [i8], 379 [20], 486 [i6], 504 [i6], 521 [I3], 56o [i6] Sports, proficiency in, Io6, 401 Springfield, Ill., campaign remarks, 635 SR-7I reconnaissance aircraft, 475 [ I ] Sri Savang Vatthana, King, 336 [8] Srisdi Dhanarajata, death of, 30 Staebler, Repr. Neil, 356, 357, 43I, 562, 745 Staggers, Repr. Harley 0., 586 Stalbaum, Lynn E., 746 Staley, Oren, 54 ftn. (p. 68), 255 Stalin, Joseph V., 686 Stamps Commemorative Eleanor Roosevelt, 35 Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, 58 Food stamp program, 91 (p. 114), 219, 225, 235, 242 [I2], 249, 266 [21], 267, 268, 297, 305, 3I 4, 4, 546, 598, 620, 634, 757 "Register and Vote," issuance, 508 Standard of Living, U.S., 5I, I20, 124 (p. 164), i66, 212, 214, 280, 287, 289, 297, 313, 396, 434, 589, 745, 803, 8II Campaign remarks, 597, 598, 631, 694, 747 Stanleyville, Republic of the Congo, 780 [2, I6] Stanton, Frank, 23, 2I [2] Stark, Abe, 668 Stassen, Harold E., 285 [I], 287, 516 [II] State, Department of, 37, I50 [I6], I75, 272,480, 612, 621 Budget, 8I8 [4] Employees, remarks to, 26 News conference remarks, I5o [i6], 462 [2],8I8 [4] Personnel changes, question of, 8I8 [4] State, Secretary of (Dean Rusk), I9, 26 n., 37, 49 n., 58, 72, 75, 76, I02 n., 107, I09, I34, 135, 140, i86, I94, 2I8 [25], 227, 272, 280 [8], 313, 340, 358, 400, 425, 426 n., 428 n., 429, 439, 445, 471 n., 479 n., 489, 498, 5I3, 53I, 608, 6I6, 621, 632 n., 675, 684, 686, 696, 726, 766, 778, 795, 796, 797, 809, 86 Campaign remarks on, 612, 622, 656, 678, 680, 702, 709, 728, 733, 734, 736, 741, 745, 746,747,749,750 Meeting with SEATO, report on, 274 News conference remarks on, 54 [2, I4], 71 [7, 9], I50 [I3], 20I [5, I8], 232 [6], 256 [2, IO], 266 [I4], 271 [I2], 285 [I, 2, I3], 294 [I5], 316 [3, I6], 336 [6, I5], 379 [I, II], 455 [5, I6], 486 [3], 504 [4], 5I6 I4, I9], 539, 563 [I, 5], 587 [5], 6I9 [8], 688 [I, 8], 780 [5, 6, 8,22], 8I8 [4] Report on East-West Center in Hawaii, 336 [6] Responsibilities, 5I9 Visit to Viet-Nam, 316 [ 6] State Aviation Officials, National Association, 215 State Regional Commission, Federal-, 300 State of the Union Message, 91 News conference remarks, 8I8 [ ] State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, Association of, 482 n. Statehood, Hawaii, fifth anniversary, 534 Statements by the President Alliance for Progress, Inter-American Committee on the, 769 Appointments Driver, William J., 8I5 Hand, Lloyd Nelson, 819 Home, John E., 814 Appropriation bills, House action on, 455 [I] Athletic achievements, U.S., 401 Automobile industry dispute Negotiations, 455 [3] New labor contracts, 624 Balance of payments, report, 753 California's plans under Equal Opportunity Act, 580 Campaign tour, beginning, 633 Canal Zone dispute, U.S.-Panama, 232 [ I ] A-88 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Statements by the President-Continued China, Communist, first nuclear device, 675 Civil disturbances, 600 Civil rights bill, 412 Compliance, 744, 792 Civil Service Commission, report, I68 Coast Guard, procurement and construction appropriation approved, 216 Communications satellites, report to Congress, I80 Connally, Gov. John B., visit with, 281 Cotton insect pests control, 758 Cyprus crisis, U.N. Security Council resolution, 206 Davidson, Roy E., death of, 450 Defense cost reduction program, report, 6I9 [2] District of Columbia, I6 Dobie, J. Frank, death of, 584 Earthquake in Alaska, 241 Eastern Kentucky Emergency Program, 41 Economic issues, 707, 708, 7I4, 722, 723, 724,730,731,739, 740, 743 Economic Opportunity Act of I964, passage in Congress, 505 Economy, midyear review of the, 455 [2] Economy, national, 404, 463, 477, 619 [4], 8II Education legislation, 78 88th Congress, legislative record, 620 Employment, 791 Engle, Sen. Clair, death of, 486 [6] Excise taxes, House action on, 407 Family Breadwinners: Their Special Training Needs, report, i60 Federal education programs, signing of Executive order, 683 Foreign affairs consultants, meeting with, 696 Foreign assistance, proposed reduction in funds for, 45 Foreign assistance programs, interdepartmental committee to review, 69 Foreign Service, change in, 621 General Motors Corp., strike, 687, 733, 780 [31 Statements by the President-Continued Geneva disarmament conference, 395 Resumption of meetings, 130 GI bill of rights, 20th anniversary, 419 Government, cost of, 619 [ I ] Government employment of minority groups, 812 Great Society, 776 Green, Repr. William J., death of, 63 Gross national product and income, 459 Gulf of Tonkin patrols, 497 Hawaii statehood, fifth anniversary, 534 Higher Education Facilities Act of 1963, Senate passage of Conference report on, 36 Hoover, Herbert, death of, 692 Hurricane Hilda, 647 Hurricane inspection trip to Florida and Georgia, 567 Immigration report, Attorney General Kennedy, II5 Industry gains, I96I-64, 697 International Atomic Energy Agency, U.S. support of, 29 International Development Association bill, House action on, 346 International monetary cooperation, 780 [3] Italian San Marco satellite, launching of, 807 Jenkins, Walter, resignation of, 67I King Paul I, death of, 209 Labor Day, 558 Labor-management relations, 85 Lehman, Herbert H., death of, 25 Louisiana, declaration as major disaster area, 618 Maas, Maj. Gen. Melvin J., death of, 260 MacArthur, Gen. Douglas, death of, 247 Manpower Conservation, Task Force on, 89 Manpower control and utilization program, Federal, 38 Medicare bill, passage by Senate, 552 Mobilization for Youth program, New York City, 45I Moon photographs sent to other nations, 5I8 A-89 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Statements by the President-Continued Narcotic and drug abuse, 458 National First Voters Week, 706 National Library Week, I964, 254 North Pacific fisheries, U.S.-CanadaJapan negotiations, 559 North Viet-Nam attacks on U.S. vessels, 497 Nuclear task force, U.S., first round-theworld cruise, 6I9 [5] Nuclear test ban treaty, first anniversary, 486 [ I], 653 Ohio River Basin flood, 217 Organization of American States, meeting, 486 [3] Organized crime and racketeering, report by Attorney General Kennedy, go Peace Corps, 4th anniversary, 759 Plant closings, task forces to assist communities with, 690 Presidential appointments, 777 Presidential Medal of Freedom, announcement of recipients, 447 President's Committee on Consumer Interest, establishment, 86 President's Committee for Traffic Safety, report, 565 President's Council on Aging, report, I78 President's Council on Physical Fitness, report, 490 Public higher education in the District of Columbia, 457 Railroad labor dispute, 25I, 252 Settlement, 284 Ranger VII, flight of, 492 Riots in New York City, 468 Saturn I, launching of, 162 School dropouts, 1963 back-to-school campaign, 84 Selective Service System, study of, 6I9 [3] Shipping industry negotiations, 494 South Bend, Ind., closing of Studebaker facilities, 67 Southeast Asia, Joint Resolution on, passage by Congress, 503 Soviet Ambassador, meeting with, 674 Space research, international cooperation, 532 Staffing of international organizations, 519 State university presidents, meeting of, 485 Statements by the President-Continued Supersonic civil transport, development, 355, 789 Taras Shevchenko statue, sealing of documents in, 720 Tax bill Senate approval of, I76 Senate committee action on, I48 Television by communication satellite between U.S. and Japan, 632 Textile industry, 717 New England States, 602 Thanksgiving Day, io 24th amendment to the Constitution, adoption, I45 Unemployment Anaconda, Mont., 99 Decline in, 386 U.S.-Israeli joint water desalting study, 672 U.S. officials held captive by Bolivian miners, 52 U.S.S. Samuel Gompers, proposed destroyer tender, 430 U.S.-Soviet agreement on exchange of weather information, 705 U.S.-Soviet Consular Convention, 365 Vice presidential candidate, selection of, 489 Voter registration in District of Columbia, i67 Water desalinization, 715 Wheat-cotton and food stamp bills, 249 White House seminars for college students, 428 York, Sgt. Alvin, death of, 553 See also Legislation, statements upon approval States Appalachian area. See Appalachian area; specific States Council of State Governments, 178 n. Education, 482 Education legislation seminars, 78 Election laws, review of, 57 Federal aid. See Federal aid to States Fiscal policies, 730 Governors Appalachian area, 285 [2], 293, 294 [2], 300, 7 I Meetings with the President, 8, 52I [2, 5, 7], 536 A-90 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] States-Continued National Guard, integration in, 816 New England, textile industry, 602 Northwestern, 134, 135 Floods in, 573 Southern, electors from, 266 [23] Southwest, water problem, 294 [ 2] University presidents, meeting of, 485, 513 Withholding tax payments, I97 n. See also Federal-State-local governmental responsibilities; specific States Stats, Mrs. Herbert, 208 Statue of Liberty, 267 Steel Prices, 504 [ 6], 780 [5] Production, 504 [i6], 563 [6], 780 [5] Profits, 504 [i6], 780 [5] Steel industry Employment, 290, 780 [5] News conference remarks, 246 [ 9], 780 [5] Unemployment, 289, 295, 297 Steelworkers of America, United, 289, 290, 587 [9], 589, 780 [5] Stehling, Arthur, 544 Stehling, Mrs. Arthur, 544 Steichen, Edward, 27 Steinbeck, John, 568 Stennis, Sen. John, 150 [I2], 487 Stephens, Repr. Robert G., Jr., 330, 716, 718 Stephens, Roger F., 784 Stevens, Roger L., 266 [6], 524 n. Stevenson, Adlai E., 560 [ i6] Letter, 16I See also United Nations, U.S. Representative Stewart, Mrs. Robert J., 289 Stikker, Dirk, 494 n., 608 n. Stimson, Henry L., 294 [21], 747 Stock market, 506, 530, 635, 636, 640, 695, 745, 750 Campaign remarks, 604, 735, 750 News conference remarks, 211 [3], 246 [12] Rise, 246 [ 2] Stockholdings, 455 [2], 477 n., 53I, 555 Stockpiles of strategic and critical materials, 132 (p. 185) Stone, Dewey, I75 Stonewall, Tex., 75 Campaign remarks, 544 Storey, Robert, 271 [4] Story, Joseph, 314 Strategic Air Command, 475 [i], 6io, 612, 685, 716,783 Strategic and critical materials Procurement, 703, 716 Stockpiles, 132 (p. I85) Strikes. See Labor disputes Stroke, President's Commission on Heart Disease, Cancer and, I79, 2II [6], 268, 617,798 Stroke prevention, I79, 268, 650, 656, 669, 733, 798 Stubblefield, Repr. Frank A., 643, 644 Studebaker Co., 67, 288 Student Body Presidents National Advisory Committee, 622 n. Students, 622 American Field Service, 465 Campaign remarks on, 622, 658 College, summer intern program, 428 College Students Registration Week, 560 [I] Exchange programs, 280 Foreign, 313, 465 Loan program, 47, 53, 132 (p. 189), 413, 676, 755 Political support of the President, 622 n. White House seminar, 526 Study Commission on Statehood for Puerto Rico, 242 [5] Stull, Lee T., 26 Submarines, names for, 294, [21] Submarines, nuclear-powered, 635 Casimir Pulaski, 515 Daniel Webster, 560 [5] George Washington, 383 Pargo, 383 Polaris missile-equipped, 383, 449, 786 Sam Rayburn, 59, 786 Vallejo, U.S.S., 449 Subsidies, Federal, 2 I [25] Suez Canal, 702, 728, 734, 736, 749, 750 Suffrage, women, 257 Sullivan, Ed, 199 Sullivan, Repr. Leonor K. (Mrs. John B.), I88, I89, 546,694, 695 Sullivan, William H., 455 [5] Summitt, Robert M., 645, 70I, 702 Supersonic civil transport, I32 (p. I88), 20I [2], 242 [9],294 [6], 355, 789 A-9I Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Supersonic Transport, President's Advisory Committee on, 242 [9, 17], 294 [6] Supplemental Appropriation Act, 1965, 528 n. Supreme Court of the United States, 342, 780 [II] Decision on church-state separation, 271 [II] Surplus agricultural commodities. See Agricultural surpluses Surplus Federal lands, transfer to States, 422, 534 Surplus property, disposal, 8I, 6I7 Swainson, John B., 562 Swarthmore, Pa., 39I Swarthmore College, 391 Swedish Day picnic, Minneapolis, Minn., 435 Sweeney, John, 711 n. Sweeney, Robert E., 679, 693 Swidler, Joseph C. (Chairman, Federal Power Commission), letter, 803 Swing, Philip D., 735 Swords, Very Rev. Raymond J., 396 Sylvester, Arthur, 316 [2] Symington, Sen. Stuart, i88, 189, 263, 273, 487, 694, 695 Syncom communications satellites, I8o n., 632, 779 n. Syracuse University, 499 Taft, Robert A., 612,733,747,754 Taft, William Howard, 560 [Io], 590, 642, 734 Taft-Hartley Act, 494 n. Taiwan, 122 See also China, Republic of Talboys, Brian E. (New Zealand Minister of Agriculture), 267 Talmadge, Sen. Herman E., 330, 332, 336 [9], 716, 7I8, 719 Talmadge, Mrs. Herman E., 330 Tanner, N. Eldon, 737 Tariff Commission, United States, 80 Tariffs Geneva conference, 400 See also Trade, international Tariffs and Trade, General Agreement on. See General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, Kennedy Round negotiations Tate, James H. J., 390 n., 742 A-92 Taussig, Dr. Helen, 211 [6], 568 Tawes, Gov. J. Millard, 703 Tax bill, II, 22, 23, 91 (p. I15), 92, 93, 105, 124 (pp. 158-I6o), 132 (pp. I78, 179, I90), I48, I58, I76 Approval, I97 News conference remarks, 28 [4, 9], 54 [9], 143 [2], 150 [3, 4], 170 [I3] See also Revenue Act of I964 Tax convention, U.S.-Philippines, 627 Tax Reduction, Business Committee for, 93,299 Tax Reduction and Revision, Citizens Committee for, 93 Taxes, 28 [4, 9], 211 [3], 787 Capital gains, I32 (p. I79) Corporate, 124 (p. 159), I32 (pp. 179, i8o), I39, I97, 28 [i5], 724 Deductions, 73I Depreciation allowances, 6i9 [4], 724 District of Columbia, I33 Effect on economy, 723 Excise, 132 (p. i8o), 271 [3], 379 [4, 5], 407, 724 Exemption provisions in private legislation, 6i Foreign investment tax credit, 227 Income. See Income taxes Interest equalization tax, 91 (p. 117), 124 (p. i62), 132 (p. I90) Investment incentive plan, 91 (p. I15), 124 (pp. I57, 159, i6i), 132 (pp. 178, I79, I94), 295, 350, 589, 724, 73I, 787 Letter to Representative Mills, i96 Poll. See Poll tax Refunds, 92 Securities, foreign, I96 States, withholding payments, 197 n. Tax bill. See Tax bill Taylor, George W., 27, 253, 256 [I], 271 [17], 284, 297 [2] Taylor, Hobart, Jr., III, 246 [I3], 250 n., 356,448 Taylor, Gen. Maxwell D., 349 n. Ambassador to Viet-Nam, 445, 455 [5], 475 [3] 533, 560o [3], 563 [I, 7], 688 [8], 780 [6, 12], 793 Visits to Viet-Nam, 336 [ 15] See also Joint Chiefs of Staff, Chairman (Gen. Maxwell D. Taylor) Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Taylor, Repr. Roy A., 327, 328 Taylor, Zachariah, 645 Teacher of the Year award, presentation, 309 Teachers, 357, 589, 606, 650, 667, 669, 754 Pay, 132 (p. 189) Shortage of, 47 Training, 213, 357 Teague, Repr. Olin E., 763 Technical assistance to less developed countries and new nations, 45, 132 (p. 185), 471 n., 6i7 See also Economic assistance; Foreign assistance Technological progress, 124 (p. 163), I26, 132 (pp. I91, I94), 213, 214, 396, 578, 589, 598, 629, 735, 756, 804, 805 Technological Progress, National Commission on Automation and, proposed, 214 Technology, Automation and Economic Progress, National Commission on, establishment, 214, 525 Technology, Federal Council for Science and, 456 n. Technology, Office of Science and, Director (Donald F. Hornig), 804 Tejera-Paris, Enrique, 335 n. Telecommunication Union, International, 532 Telephone, Trans-Pacific cable, 408 Television Community antenna systems, 256 [15] Debates. See Debates, Presidential campaign, question of Educational, 173 Interviews. See Interviews of the President Operation on UHF channels, 173 Use in I964 Presidential campaign, 201 [I5] Television and radio addresses. See Messages to the American people Telles, Raymond, 54 [5] Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1961, 22, 305 Tennessee Antipoverty program, 324, 325 Campaign remarks, 645, 701, 702 Candidates for public office, 645, 701, 702 Gov. Frank G. Clement, 324, 325, 645, 70i, 702 Tennessee Valley Authority, 324, 325, 462 [2], 642, 643, 644, 645, 669, 68o, 70I, 702, 711,713 Tennessee Valley Authority, Chairman (Aubrey J. Wagner), 320, 32, 322, 323, 324, 325, 326, 327, 328 Territorial waters of U.S., fishing prohibition, 353 Terry, Charles L., Jr., 749 Terry, Luther L. (SurgeonGeneral),21 I [25] Test ban treaty. See Nuclear test ban treaty Texarkana, John F. Kennedy Square, dedication, 599 Texas, 72, 576, 788 Campaign addresses and remarks, 544, 599, 68, 760, 761,762, 763,765 Candidates for public office, 544, 760, 761, 762 Gov. John B. Connally, 72 n., 280 [Io], 281, 375, 596, 597, 598, 599, 738, 760, 761, 763, 765, 767,778 San Jacinto Day, 281 Visits to, comments on, 780 [23] Textile industry Employment, 719 Statements, 602, 717 Thailand, 476 Assistance, 476 Charusathiara, Gen. Prapass, 476 King Phumiphon Adundet, 30 Srisdi Dhanarajata, death of, 30 U.S. troops in, question of, 379 [9] Thanksgiving Day Address to the American people, 12 Proclamation, 770 Statement, Io Thanksgiving Day message to the Armed Forces, 779 Thanksgiving Day turkey, acceptance, 772 Thant (U). See United Nations Secretary General Thatcher, William, 255 Theater Owners of America, Inc., 354 Theater Owners Association, Independent, 354 Theis, Frank, 741 Thomas, Repr. Albert, 760, 761, 762 Thomas, Mrs. Albert, 762 Thomas, Helen, 28 [15], 2II [i8, 35], 420 ['3],486 [io] 33-171- 65 — 64 A-93 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Thomason, Robert Ewing, 596 Thompson, Repr. Clark W., 760 Thompson, Repr. Frank, Jr., 338 Thompson, Llewellyn E., 688 [ i, 8] Thompson, Repr. T. A., 648 Thoreau, Henry David, 578, 788 Thornberry, Judge Homer, 207, 389 n. Thornberry, Mrs. Mary, 389 Thurmond, Sen. Strom, 382, 383 Tibbetts, Margaret Joy, 242 [2, 24] Tice, Frank, 741 n. Timmerman, George Bell, 719 Tiros weather satellite, 647 Titanium metal development, 201 [2] Tittle, Y. A., 136 n. Tobacco growers, Government subsidy to, 211 [25] Tobacco program, 631, 644 Tobriner, Walter N., 2 11 [2] Letter, 704 Tokyo, Japan, 632, 699 Toll, Repr. Herman, 742 Tolley, William P., 499 Tompkins, Pauline, 208 Tonkin, Gulf of, 497, 498, 499,626, 627 Campaign remarks, 607, 612, 634, 635, 646, 648, 703, 733, 736 News conference remarks, 504 [2], 516 [2], 560 [71,587 [5, 8] Torpedo, EX-io, 382 Tourists. See Travel Trade, General Agreement on Tariffs and. See General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, Kennedy Round negotiations Trade, international, 80, 91 (p. II7), I24 (pp. 162, i66), 244, 248, 278, 295, 311, 344, 529 592, 7I7, 722, 734, 769, 805, 809 Expansion, 695, 736, 739 GATT negotiations, Kennedy Round, 109, I40, i86, 246 [19], 256 [2I], 272, 336 [I2], 394 n., 400, 592, 739, 757, 787, 788 Latin America, 66 Reduction of barriers, 140 United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, 201 [ i ], 237 U.S. balance of trade, 246 [12, I8], 753 n., 757 U.S.-Canada, 80, I40 U.S.-Communist bloc, 294 [20, 22], 641 Trade, international-Continued U.S.-Europe, 76, 788 U.S.-Malagasy Republic, 483 U.S.-Mexico, 193, 767 U.S.-Philippines, 627 U.S.-Poland, 272 U.S.-U.S.S.R., 211 [iI, 18, 24], 294 [20, 22], 266 [II] U.S.-Yugoslavia, 272 Trade Agreements Act of I962,592 Trade Center, Inter-American, Miami, Fla., 7IO Trade Centers, American, 722 Trade and Development, United Nations Conference on, 201 [ II], 237 Trade and Economic Affairs, U.S.-Canada Committee on, 140 Trade Expansion Act of 1962, 71 [I3], 91 (p. 117), I24 (p. 162), 278, 295, 297, 642,728,739 Trade Negotiations, Public Advisory Committee on, 278 Trade practices, I73 Trade union movement, 388 Trade Week, World, 336 [5], 350 Traffic accidents, 234, 565 Traffic Safety, President's Committee for, 565 Training. See Occupational training Training Act, Manpower Development and, 690 n. Transportation, 91 (p. 112), I24 (p. I63), 132 (p. 188), 213, 4I4, 579, 603, 650, 669,728, 733 Air, 215, 789 Federal aid, 132 (p. 187), 4IO Letter, I54 National Capital Region, 133 Rapid transit systems, 410 Supersonic, 132 (p. i88), 201 [2], 242 [9], 294 [6], 355,789 Urban, 91 (pp. 112, II5), I24 (p. 163), 132 (p. I88), 152, 357, 410, 453, 620, 630, 654 Transportation Agency, National Capital, I33 Travel Amrericans within U.S., 5 6 [ I ] Foreigners in U.S., 56 I6[ ] President's, 2I8 [4], 242 [19, 2I], 246 [6], 256 [1I4, I8], 3I6 [I5], 336 [9] A-94 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Traynor, Richard, 338 Treasury, Department of the, 33, 271 [7], 277, 462 [2], 5I2, 688 [8], 724 Exceptional Service Award, presentation, 21 Reduction in expenditures, 294 [4] Treasury, Secretary of the (C. Douglas Dillon), 21 n., 23, I05, 132 (p. 192), I78 n., 182, 196, 197, 277, 296, 299, 306, 370 n., 382, 53I, 7I4, 77, 796 Campaign remarks on, 588 n., 605, 659, 667, 747 Letter, bank regulations, 226 Memorandum to, 26I News conference remarks on, 242 [9], 379 [3, 6], 486 [4], 563 [io], 688 [5], 780 [5], 8i8 [i] Report on balance of payments position, 753 Trimble, Repr. James W., 599 Trout, Mrs. Lawana, 309 Truman, Harry S., President, 2, 12, 69, I6I n., 189, 192, I99, 218 [I, 36], 244, 261, 303, 314, 318, 359, 39I, 506, 511, 577, 582, 698, 778, 809 Campaign remarks on, 541, 562, 6oi, 605, 607, 612, 63I, 634, 635, 637, 638, 639, 640, 642, 643, 645, 646, 648, 652, 656, 658, 659, 669, 679, 680, 693, 694, 702, 703, 712, 713, 728, 729, 733, 734, 736, 745, 747, 748, 749, 762 News conference remarks of, 294 [II, 24] News conference remarks on, 54 [9], 71 [12], 21I [i], 242 [14], 294 [I, 8] Truman, Mrs. Harry S., i61 n., 211 [6] Truman Doctrine, 189, 424 n., 648, 736 Trust Fund, Government Employees', 688 [4] Trust funds, 132 (pp. 177, 178, i8i, 188, I9I) Tshombe, Moise, 455 [I2], 475 [8] Tsiranana, Philibert, 478, 479, 483 Tsiranana, Mrs. Philibert, 478 n., 479 n. Tucker, Joseph, 780 ftn. (p. 1612) Tucker, Paul, 317 n. Tucker, Raymond, 188, 189 Tunney, John V., 734 Tuomioja, Sakari, death of, 564 Turkey, 416, 607, 638, 694, 702, 713, 728, 729 733, 734, 736, 749 Assistance, 227 Turkey-Continued Cyprus dispute, 70, 170 [i], 182, 192, 206, 2I0, 423, 429, 504 [5], 5I, 544, 560 [4], 607, 746 Economy, 418 Gursel, Cemal, message to, 70 Inonu, Ismet, 416, 48, 423 U.S. relations with, 416, 418, 5 I Visit of Sen. Fulbright, 316 [ 24] Turkey Federation, National, 772 n. Turman, Solon B., IIo n. Turner, J. Douglas, 577 Turville, Edward A., Io6 Tuten, Repr. J. Russell, 716 TVA. See Tennessee Valley Authority Twain, Mark, 796 Tydings, Joseph D., 703 Tydings, Millard E., 703 Typhoons, Philippines, 627 Tyros IV weather satellite, 733 U.A.R. See United Arab Republic U Thant. See United Nations Secretary General Udall, Repr. Morris K., 649 Udall, Stewart L. See Interior, Secretary of the Udall, Mrs. Stewart L., 649 Unemployed workers Aid to children of, I33, i6o Antipoverty program aid, I24 (p. I65), 219, 267, 288, 289 Food for, 67, 690 n., 732, 757 Stamp program, 91 (p. II4), 219, 225, 235, 242 [12], 249, 266 [2i], 267, 268, 297, 305, 3I4, 434, 546, 598, 620, 634, 757 Increased benefits for, 219 Occupational training, 99, I6o, 213, 32I, 504 [7], 598, 669, 690 n. Unemployment, 22, 28 [9], I24 (pp. I56, I58, i6o), I32 (p. I78), 2II [3], 213, 221, 287, 290, 293, 295, 297, 305, 311, 388, 690, 775, 787 Appalachian area, 213, 246 [6], 32I, 325 Automobile industry, 67, 288, 289, 295, 297,462 [3], 463, 486 [2] Coal industry, 292, 295, 297 Defense programs, 486 [2] Depressed areas, 294 [4] Displaced persons, 67, 99, I26 A-95 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Unemployment-Continued Great Lakes area, 213 Indians, 120 Insurance, 713 Reduction. See Employment Report, I60,211 [3] Statement, 99 Steel industry, 289, 295, 297 Young people, 91 (p. 115), 246 [20], 386, 451, 754, 77, 787, 79I Unemployment insurance, 91 (p. II4), I24 (pp. 163, 165), I32 (pp. 189, I91), 213, 235, 246 [I2], 305, 388, 406, 444, 562, 589,598,643, 703 UNESCO. See United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Unger, Leonard, 285 [4], 294 [i6] Uniformed Services Pay Act of I963, 132 (p. 194) Union Bag-Camp Paper Corp., 350 n. Union Programs for Fair Practices, 221 n. Unions. See Labor organizations United Aircraft Corporation, 201 [2] United Arab Republic Nasser, Gamal Abdel, 460 Nonaligned nations conference, 625 United Automobile Workers of America, 67, 233, 336 [I7], 563 [2], 624, 687, 7I3, 733 United Kingdom, 617, 733, 764 Ambassador Lord Harlech (David Ormsby Gore), 187 n., 263 n., 796 Balance of payments, 780 [3] Butler, Richard A., I84, i86, I87 n. Change in leadership, 680, 686, 688 [8], 694, 701, 734, 735, 737, 746, 747 Cyprus dispute, 70 Economy, 780 [3] Home, Alec Douglas-, 26, 272 News conference remarks on, 28 [4], 285 [3, 2i], 475 [3], 619 [15] Visit, 184-187 Immigration quota to U.S., 97 Interest rates, increase, 2II [34] Nuclear weapons, 653 Nuclear Weapons tests, 462 [4], 653 Queen Elizabeth II, 187, 796 Support of United Nations, 795 n., 797 Trade with Cuba, I50 [I3 ] U.S. Ambassador David K. E. Bruce, 796 A-96 United Kingdom-Continued U.S. relations with, 184, 187, 686, 795, 796 n., 797 Walker, Patrick Gordon, 688 [i], 796, 797 Wilson, Harold (Prime Minister), 676, 678, 679, 68o, 68i, 693, 800 News conference remarks on, 688 [I], 780 [8] Visit, 795-797 United Nations, 28 [3], 193, 244, 396, 426, 435, 566, 579, 590, 6I6, 651, 667, 680, 693,728,734, 736 764 Brazilian support, 56I British support, I86, 795 n., 797 Children's Fund, 227 Communist China, admission, question of, I70 [6], 218 [32] Cyprus operations, 235, 246 [4], 423 Danish support of, 394 General Assembly, 51, 529 Indus Basin development, 227 Irish support, 366, 376 Members, meeting with, 54 ftn. (p. 67) i9th anniversary, 698 Nuclear weapons in space, 395, 486 [I] Record for I963, 529 Secretary General. See United Nations Secretary General Security Council. See United Nations Security Council Southeast Asia operations, 170 [ ] U.S. participation and support, 45, 5I, 91 (p. 117), i86, 19I, 193, 206, 227, 394 n., 50I, 502, 529, 638, 642, 662 n., 669,702, 795 n., 797 United Nations, U.S. Representative (Adlai E. Stevenson), 35 n., 208, 228, 489, 498, 502, 511, 529, 616, 669 United Nations Charter, 122, 483, 502 n., 507, 56I n. United Nations Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, 705 United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, 20I [II ], 237 United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, I91 United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, 480 United Nations General Assembly, 51, 529 United Nations Secretary General (U Thant), 28 [3], 5I, 429, 50I, 502, 545 n. Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] United Nations Security Council, 122, 206, 218 [24], 429, 498, 499, 504 [5], 529, 561 n. United Negro College Development Campaign, 79 United Negro College Fund, 79 United Planning Organization, 537 United States Advisory Commission on Information, 2I I [2 ] United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, 382, 413 United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, Director (William C. Foster), 26, 62, 94, 129 n., 131 n., 15o [io], 395 U.S.-Canada Committee on Trade and Economic Affairs, I40 U.S.-Canada Joint Ministerial Committee on Defense, I40 United States Chamber of Commerce. See Chamber of Commerce of the United States United States Employment Service, 89, 178 United States Housing Authority, 642 U.S. image abroad, 218 [28] United States Information Agency, 200, 621, 688 [8] United States Information Agency, Director (Edward R. Murrow), resignation, 125 United States Information Agency, Director (Carl T. Rowan), 200, 280 [5], 619 [8], 621 United States Junior Chamber of Commerce, 403 United States marshals, 523 United States Pavilion, World's Fair, 283 United States-Puerto Rico Commission on the Status of Puerto Rico, 393 United States Steel Corp., 246 [ 9 ], 290 United States Supreme Court. See Supreme Court of the United States United States Tariff Commission, 80 United Steelworkers of America, 289, 290, 587 [9], 589, 780 [5] Universal Military Training and Service Act of 1951, 89 Universities. See also Colleges; specific universities University of Akron, 693 University of California, 71 [ ], 192 Irvine Campus, dedication, 414 Santa Cruz campus, 4I4 University of Maryland, 808 n. University of Michigan, 357 University of North Carolina, 339 University of Tennessee, 339 University of Texas, 375, 482 Unruh, Jesse M., 415, 579 Uranium, decrease in production, 91 (p. II7), 132 (p. I85), 272, 294 [io, I9] Urban areas, 754 Antipoverty program, I32 (p. 184), 528 College extension service, 414 Growth, 213, 669, 680, 756 Hospital modernization, I79 Housing, 91 (p. II5), 357 Riots, 600 Schools, 725 Transportation, 91 (pp. 112, II5), 124 (p. 163), I32 (p. I88), I52, 357, 4I0, 453, 620, 630, 654 Urban Mass Transportation Act of I964, 453 Urban planning, 756 Urban renewal, 91 (p. II5), I24 (p. I63), I32 (pp. I88, I94), I52, 2II [28], 324, 541, 578, 589, 603, 630, 650, 693, 728, 733 Federal aid, 189 Legislation, approval, 549 U.S.S.R. See Soviet Union Utah, 590 Campaign remarks, 737 Utt, Repr., James B., 414 Vaccination programs, 305 Vagnozzi, Most Rev. Egidio, 788 n. Valdez, Alaska, 242 [ I ] Valenti, Jack, 28 [ro], I21, 149, 294 [26], 52I [8], 539, 560 [I1], 58I, 760, 778 Valentine, Foy, 238 Vallejo, Calif., 449 Vallejo, Gen. Mariano Guadalupe, 449 Vallejo, U.S.S., 449 Valley Forge, Pa., 473 Van Deerlin, Repr. Lionel, 736 Van Delden, Patricia G., 204 n. A-97 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Vance, Cyrus R., 467, 53I, 533, 535 See also Army, Secretary of the (Cyrus R. Vance) Vancouver, B.C., Canada, 575 Vandenberg, Arthur H., I44, 6I2, 622, 634, 635, 643, 645, 648, 652, 656, 658, 669, 679, 68o, 693, 694, 702, 703, 712, 7I3, 728, 729, 733, 734, 736, 745, 747, 749, 750,762 Vanderburgh Humane Society, Evansville, Ind., 3i6 [2] Van Dyke, Dick, 239 n. Vanik, Repr. Charles A., 405, 406, 642 Van Niel, Cornelis B., 98 Van Petten, Harry 0., 650 Vatican City, Pope Paul VI, I23, I47, i88 Vaughn, Jack Hood (U.S. Ambassador to Panama), 245 n., 246 [4], 285 [6], 316 [ii], 809 Venezuela, I43 ftn. (p. 219) Ambassador Enrique Tejera-Paris, 335 n. Communist aggression, defense against, 220, 486 [3] Venezuelan Pavilion, World's Fair (I964 -65), 335 Vermont Campaign remarks, 605 Candidates for public office, 605 Gov. Philip H. Hoff, 32 n., 605 Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, New York, 58i Vessels. See Ships Veterans, 761 Benefits, 132 (pp. I76, i90), 642, 663 Education, 4 9, 709 Housing, 4I9 Life insurance and pension bill, approval, 663 Veterans Administration, 7I [2], 132 (p. I90), I52, 307, 462 [2], 6II, 6I9 [i], 654, 690 n., 8I5 Veterans Affairs, Administrator of (John S. Gleason, Jr.), I52, I78 n., 6II, 654 Veto Messages and Memorandums of Disapproval Imported articles, marking of, disapproval, 8o For citations to private bills (not included in this volume), see Appendix A under following dates: Dec. 3, I963 Mar. 23, I964 A-98 Veto Messages and Memorandums of Disapproval-Continued See Appendix A under following datesContinued Aug. 6, I964 Aug. I, I964 Aug. 29, I964 Sept. I, I964 Oct. 13, I964 Vice Presidency Candidates for. See Candidates for Vice President Constitutional amendment, proposed, 211 [I3, 29], 2i8 [9] Nominations, effect of primary elections on, 2I [I2, I7] Responsibilities, 486 [I2], 780 [22] Succession to, 218 [9] Vickers, Mrs. Marie, 741 Victor, Eugene, 60 n. Viet-Nam, I82, 201 [I7], 207, 235, 336 [15], 399 n., 544, 562, 607, 642, 703, 746, 749 Americans in, Christmas message to, 313 Assistance, 83, I50 [6], 192, 20I [5], 2II [33], 2I8 [24], 223, 227, 246 [4], 272, 280 [8], 285 [12], 379 [I, 19], 400, 420 [i], 436 n., 511, 591, 627, 652, 662, 693, 780 ftn. (p. I6I6), 793, 797 From Australia, 426 From Malaysia, 474 From the Philippines, 626 Message to Congress, 348 Communist aggression, 37, 83, I70 [I, 5, 10, i8], 201 [5, I7], 2II [33], 2S8 [24], 223, 272, 280 [8], 33, 316 [27], 348, 379 [I], 400, 474, 475 [3], 497, 498, 499, 500, 504 [4], 507, 509, 511, 560 [3], 56I, 563 [I], 59I, 627, 662, 693, 793 Defense of, 21I [33], 272, 3I3, 626 n., 662 n., 688 [8], 793 Expansion of war, question of, 597, 607, 643, 693, 7I9, 780 [6, I2] Huong, Tran Van, 780 ftn. (p. I616) Khanh, Maj. Gen. Nguyen. See Khanh, Maj. Gen. Nguyen Military coups, 271 [12] Minh, Gen. Duong Van, 83 Neutralization, question of, 83, I70 [Io, i8], 218 [25], 544 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Viet-Nam-Continued Relation to i964 election campaign, 504 [ Io] SEATO support, 266 [ I4] Sino-Soviet threat to, question of, 201 [5] U.S. Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge, 83, 170 [5], 20I [5, i8], 211 [22], 2i8 [23, 25, 26], 223, 246 [4], 256 [2, 5, 9], 285 [, 17], 290, 336 [ 5], 348, 379 ftn. (p. 735), 420 [I, 4, 6, I3], 436,504 [4,9, II ] U.S. Ambassador Maxwell D. Taylor, 445, 455 [5], 475 [3], 560 [3], 563 [I, 7], 688 [8], 780 [6, 12], 793 U.S. dependents in, 211 [14] U.S. mission to, 211 [33], 223, 256 [2, 5] U.S. policy in, i86, 20I [5], 21I [2I], 2i8 [25, 27], 246 [4], 280 [8], 420 [8], 626 n. U.S. troops in, 26, 83, 2ii [33], 223, 294 [51, 3I4, 379 [IO], 793 Viet Cong, 170 [i, 5, io], 223, 793, 780 ftn. (p. i6i6) Visit of Richard M. Nixon, 285 [I7] Visit of Secretary Rusk, 316 [ I6] Visits of Secretary McNamara, 28 ftn. (p. 34), 20I [5], 2i8 [23, 24, 26], 3I6 [2, i6],336 [i5] Viet-Nam, North, 475 [ I6] Attacks on U.S. vessels, 497, 498, 499, 500, 504 [2, 4, II], 56o [7], 56I n. U.S. retaliatory action, 499, 504 [ I I ], 507, 509, 5I6 [2, 6], 544, 56i n., 607, 6I2, 626 n., 627, 634, 635, 638, 646,648,733,736 Support of Viet Cong, 780 ftn. (p. i6i6) U.S. reconnaissance defense measures, 587 [5] Use of nuclear weapons in, question of, 5I6 [2, 6], 638 Vinson, Repr. Carl, 230, 242 [26], 330, 332, 487, 568, 7i6, 77, 78, 719 Vinson, Fred M., 292,643,644 Violence in the streets. See Civil disorders Virginia Campaign remarks, 628 Candidates for public office, 628 Gov. Albertis S. Harrison, Jr., 359, 47I Virginia Military Institute, 359 Visitors, foreign leaders Benediktsson, Bjarni, 521 ftn. (p. 978) Brandt, Willy, 349 De Valera, Eamon, 364,366,376 Erhard, Ludwig, 72-76,87,399,400 Eshkol, Levi, 377,378,380 Holyoake, Keith, 464 Home, Alec Douglas-, i84-I 87 Hussein I, King, 258, 259, 265 Inonu, Ismet, 4 6, 4 8, 423 Krag, Jens Otto, 394 Lopez Mateos, Adolfo, 192, I93, I94, 596 Macapagal, Diosdado P., 623, 626 Menzies, Robert G., 426 Orlich, Francisco J., 438, 441, 443 Pahlavi, Shah Mohammad Reza, 385 Papandreou, George, 424, 429 Pearson, Lester B., i28, 134-I38, 140, 574, 576 Rahman, Tunku Abdul, 470,47I Segni, Antonio, ioi, 102, 107, 109, ii8 Tsiranana, Philibert, 478,479 Wilson, Harold, 795-797 VISTA. See Volunteers in Service to America Visit to Canada, 575, 576 Vivian, Weston E., 745 Vocational Education Acts, 53, I33, 219 Vocational education and training. See Occupational training Vocational rehabilitation, I79, 213 Vocational Rehabilitation Acts, 488 Volcanic eruption, Costa Rica, 438 n., 443 Volunteers in Service to America, 8oi Von Braun, Wernher, 75 Voorhis, Jerry, 54 ftn. (p. 68), 352 Voting participation and registration, 5o8 District of Columbia, I67 Women, 289 Voting Participation and Registration, President's Commission on, 57, I67 Voting rights, 9I (p. ii6), 406, 4I3, 433, 541, 8oo Duty to exercise, 57, I67, 171, 50o8, 68o, 702, 7I2, 719, 761, 764 Ratification of constitutional amendment, I7I Young people, 706 Vournas, George, 2I i [ ] A-99 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Wadsworth, James, 563 [5], 59I, 688 [3] 750 Wages, 213, 233, 235, 267, 297, 299, 413, 45, 558, 566, 747, 76I, 775, 787 Construction workers, 444 Increase, 91 (p. 115), 124 (pp. I56, i6i), I66, 285 [15], 314, 327, 350, 404, 405, 431, 434, 455 [2], 477, 506, 548, 562, 599, 604, 640, 652, 655, 65 658, 695, 703, 78, 712, 713, 719, 728, 733, 734, 745, 749, 750, 762, 77I, 811 Minimum. See Minimum wage Stabilization, 124 (p. I57), 642 Wage-price policy, 124 (p. 160), 232 [IO], 242 [8], 294 [23], 3II, 350, 624, 740 Withholding rate, 92, 132 (p. 179) Women, 398 See also Pay; Personal income Wagner Act, 642 Wagner, Aubrey J. See Tennessee Valley Authority, Chairman Wagner, Robert F., 282, 294 [9], 334, 387 n., 388,521 [5], 666, 667, 669,751 Wagner, Robert F., Sr., 334, 373, 667 Wakelin, James H., Jr., 229 n. Walker, E. S. (Johnny), 732 Walker, Elmer E., 57I Walker, Lloyd, 660 n. Walker, Patrick Gordon, 688 [i], 796, 797 Wallace, Gov. George C., 246 [7], 256 [7, I9], 285 [I], 316 [I4, i8, 21], 455 [19], 475 [I8] Walleye guide bomb, I70 [3] Walling, Sgt. Harry A., 535 Walling, Mrs. Harry A., 535 Walrath, Laurence K. (Chairman, Interstate Commerce Commission), 211 [2] Walsh, Adam, 606 Walsh, Jerry J., 302 Walsh, Mrs. Lee, 242 [6,24] Walsh, Rev. Michael P., 266 [4] Walsh, Thomas J., 656 Walter Reed Hospital, Washington, D.C., 476 n. Walters, Mrs. Adelaide, 285 [7] Walters, Sen. Herbert S., 323, 324, 325, 645, 70, 702 Walworth, Arthur, 303 War College, National, 533 War on poverty. See Antipoverty program Ward, Barbara, 289 A-IOO Ward, Henry, 33I, 332 Ward, Mrs. Henry, 332 Warfare, subversive, 382 Warheads, nuclear, 382, 413 Warner Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, 716 Warren, Earl (Chief Justice of the United States), 2, 14, I5, 27, 117, 141, 153, 172, 426,427, 733, 796 Letter, 595 Warren Commission. See Commission to Report Upon the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy Warsaw (Poland) Uprising, 20th anniversary, 49 I Washington, I35 Gov. Albert D. Rosellini, 575, 576,577 Washington, D.C. See District of Columbia Washington, George, 1io n., I4I, 272, 295, 303, 402, 415, 473, 533, 566, 597, 623 n., 774 Washington Action for Youth, 537 Washington Monument, 623 n. Washington Post, 256 [12] Water Conservation Fund, Land and, 756 Water desalinization, I77, 396, 597, 693, 732, 733, 756 Colorado River, 193 International cooperation, 545 Reports, 715 U.S.-Israel cooperation, I75, 377, 378, 380, 480, 672 U.S.-Soviet cooperation, 420 [2], 435, 480, 695, 804 Water pollution, I32 (p. 187), 179, 357, 39I, 422, 578, 669, 755 Water resources development, I32 (p. I87), I34, I35, I75, I93, I98, 23I, 396, 46I, 578, 620, 756 Campaign remarks, 597, 598, 606, 645, 650,656,760 Desalinization. See Water desalinization Water Resources Planning Act, 597 Water Resources Research Act of I964, 461, 756 Waterman, Alan T., 27 Waterways, inland, 132 (p. 181) Watson, Arthur, 296 Watson, Mark S., 27 Watson, Marvin, 780 [I7] Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Watson, Thomas J., Jr., 473, 568, 6oi Watts, Repr. John C., 643, 644 Wauneka, Mrs. Annie D., 27 Weapons Laboratories, 132 (p. 185) New and improved, 382 Production, 797 See also Missiles; Nuclear weapons; nuclear weapons tests Weather Bureau, 336 [3 ], 647 Weather Center, World, Washington, D.C., 705 Weather prediction and control, 518, 597, 647, 705, 756 Weather satellites, 132 (p. 187), 396, 597, 647705, 733, 756 Weather System, World, 396, 705 Weaver, Robert C. See Housing and Home Finance Agency, Administrator Webb, James E. See National Aeronautics and Space Administrator Webb, Walter Prescott, 642 Webster, Daniel, 413, 606 Wehle, Maj. Gen. Philip C., 5 Weiner, Charles R., 285 [7] Weinheimer, Mrs. Tom, 544 Weisl, Edwin L., Jr., 372, 75I Weizmann, Chaim, 175 Weizmann Institute of Science, I75 Welch, Lt. Harold W., release from East Germany, 232 [2], 242 [I8, 26] Welch, Louis, 760 Welsh, Gov. Matthew E., 217, 288, 639, 640, 729 Welfare programs, 132 (p. I88), 669 Antipoverty. See Antipoverty program District of Columbia, 133 Indians, I20 Red Cross, 202 Wells, H. G., 338 Weltner, Repr. Charles L., 330, 716 West Berlin. See Berlin West Virginia, 586 Antipoverty program, 293 Coal industry, 295, 297 Gov. William W. Barron, 217, 293, 360, 586 Unemployment, 213, 295, 297 Western Alliance, split in, question of, 246 [I41 Western Hemisphere, I77, 607, 695, 7I0, 726, 809 Communism in, 26, 3I6 [23], 635 Economic and social development, 340, 443 News conference remarks, 54 [2, 15], 232 [I], 246 [I], 256 [17], 285 [13], 3I6 [23] Relations with Western Europe, 192 Westminster College, Missouri, 263 Westmoreland, Lt. Gen. William C., 294 [5], 780 [6] Wetherby, Lawrence W., 643, 644 Wetzel, Walter, 120 Wheat, 132 (p. 187), 225, 249, 757 Marketing certificate program, 255 Prices, 255 Sale to Soviet Union, I39, 2II [II], 266 [II] Longshoremen's boycott of shipment, I95 Storage, 570 Wheat, Francis M., 455 [8] Wheat Growers, National Association of, 255 Wheeler, Burton K., 656 Wheeler, Gen. Earle G., II9, 256 [2], 316 [2] See also Joint Chiefs of Staff, Chairman (Earle G. Wheeler) Wheeler, John H., 522 Whelan, Quintin, 736 White, Justice Byron R., 782, 784 White, Repr. Compton I., 659 White, E. B., 27 White, John C., 767 White, John R., 169 n. White, Mrs. Katharine Elkus, 208, 257 n., 394 White, Lee C., 246 [I3], 458 White, Dr. Paul Dudley, 568 White, William Allen, 339 White House Cabinet Room, new portraits in, 344 First night residence in, 28 [ I ] Lawn, 521 [ ] Lighting, I2I, I39, 182, 208, 218 [17], 238, 299, 352,358, 657 Rose Garden, beautification, 267, 280, 285 [23], 309 A-IOI Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] White House-Continued Tree planting, 673, 678, 680 Visitors to, 280 [2] White House, Committee for the Preservation of the, 211 [7, 35] White House announcements or statements Certificate of Commendation, citation to Eddie Cantor, 163 Desalinization of sea water, 480 Employment of minority groups in Government, 205 Geneva Disarmament Conference, resumption, 94 Guantanamo naval base, Cuba, U.S. guarantee of security, 177 Kennedy, John F. Assassination investigation, 7, 14 Funeral plans for, 2, 5 Painting presented to White House by family of President Kennedy, 24 Panama Canal Zone dispute, 95, 104, 114 Test ban treaty safeguards, 276 Viet-Nam mission, 223 White House Conference on Export Expansion, 248, 592 White House Fellows, Commission on, 622 "White House Fellows" program, establishment, 622 White House Press Corps, 339 White House seminars for college students, 428, 526 Whitney, John Hay (Jock), 796 Whitton, Rex M. (Federal Highway Administrator), 217 Wholesale Price Index, 23, 124 (p. i60), 294 [3], 336 [ ], 463 Wholesale prices, 124 (p. I57), 271 [3], 472, 6I9 [4], 630, 657, 689, 740, 775 Wichita, Kans., campaign remarks, 741 Wickersham, Repr. Victor, 309 Widnall, Repr. William B., 453 Wiener, Norbert, 98 Wiesner, Jerome B., 98, II6, 146 n., I75, 420 [2] Wilde, Frazar B., 775 Wilde, Oscar, 224, 303 Wilder, Thornton, 27 Wilderness Act, 554, 578, 620, 657, 669, 728, 756 Wilentz, David, 338 Wiles, Harry, 741 Wilhelm, Kaiser, 648, 703 Wilkerson Corp., 350 n. Wilkes-Barre, Pa., campaign remarks, 66i Wilkie, Wendell, 622 Wilkins, Fraser (U.S. Ambassador to Cyprus), 20I [I3] Wilkins, Roger C., 604 n. William Randolph Hearst Foundation, journalism awards, 339 Williams, G. Mennen, 356, 43I, 478 n., 562, 588 n., 745 Williams, Sen. Harrison A. (Pete), Jr., 233, 338,422,453, 66o Williams, John C., 666 Williams, Sen. John J., 256 [ I3], 775 Williams, Kenneth R., 709 Williams, Ransome J., 719 Williams, Roger, 6oi Willis, Repr. Edwin E., 648 Willis, Sid, 267 Wilmington, Del., campaign remarks, 750 Wilson, Edmund, 27 Wilson, Harold (Prime Minister of United Kingdom), 676, 678, 679, 680, 681, 693, 800 News conference remarks on, 688 [i], 780 [8] Visit, 795-797 Wilson, Kenneth L., 782 Wilson, O. Meredith, 622 Wilson, Robert E., 242 [3] Wilson, Lt. Gen. Walter K., Jr., 217 Wilson, Woodrow, 272, 287, 305, 314, 338, 357, 391, 433, 473, 566, 576, 588, 636, 695, 718, 719, 728, 736, 748, 799 Winston Churchill Memorial Library, 263 Winthrop, John, 282 Wirtz, W. Willard. See Labor, Secretary of Wisconsin Campaign remarks, 746 Candidates for public office, 746 Gov. John Reynolds, 746 Primary election, 246 [7], 256 [7], 3I6 [i8] Wolfe, J. E., 284 Wolfe, Thomas, 526 Women, 297, 388 Employment and training, 213 Equal opportunity, 170 [ 6], 2I3,398 In the armed services, 298 A-I02 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Women-Continued In Government service, 150 [i6], 204, 208, 211 [5], 213, 242 [2-7, 24], 257, 289,298, 305, 360, 398, 6I9 [7 9] In politics, 298 Peace Corps volunteers, 289 Role in antipoverty program, 289 Submarines named for, question of, 294 [21] Suffrage, 257 U.S. dependents overseas, 266 [ 7] Voting and registration campaign, 289 Wages, 398 Working mothers, 160 n. Women, President's Commission on the Status of, 294 [21] Women in the Services, Defense Advisory Committee on, 298 Women Voters, League of, 289 Women's Aviation Committee, 310 Women's National Press Club, 208 Wool imports, 717 Wool industry, 246 [ 9 ], 602 Worcester, Mass., 396 n. Mayor Paul Mullaney, 396 Work-study program, I32 (p. I89), 219 Work-training program, 219 Workmen's compensation, 444 Workweek, 91 (p. 116), 124 (p. 163), 233, 404, 57, 590,642,669, 761 World Bank. See International Bank for Reconstruction and Development World Health Organization, 179 World Meteorological Organization, 705 World Trade Week, 336 [5], 350 World War I, 703 World War II, 37, 628, 648, 703, 764 Great Britain in, 796 Philippine veterans of, 627 President's service in, 426 World Weather Center, Washington, D.C., 705 World Weather System, proposed, 396, 705 World's Fair (1939), 282 World's Fair (1964-65) Civil rights demonstrations, 285 ftn. (p. 52I),290 Singer Bowl, 334 n. Time capsule, 282 United States Pavilion, 283 Venezuelan Pavilion, 335 Worthington, Leslie B., 290 Wren, Sir Christopher, 263 n. Wright, Dr. Irving S., 2 1 [6] Wright, Dr. Jane, 2 1 [6] Wright, Orville and Wilbur, 310, 680, 783 Wriston, Walter, 296 Wyeth, Andrew, 27 Wynn, Douglas C., 701 Wyoming Campaign remarks, 657 Candidates for public office, 657 Yarborough, Sen. Ralph, 72, 375, 544, 596, 599, 676, 760, 761, 762, 763, 778 Yarborough, Mrs. Ralph, 544, 762, 763 Yarborough, Maj. Gen. William P., 535 n. Yarbrough, Willard V., 645, 70I Yarmolinsky, Adam, 504 [I4], 516 [12] Yeats, William Butler, 220 Yellow fever, eradication program, 179 Yellowtail Dam, 656 York, Sgt. Alvin, death of, 553 York, Mrs. Alvin, 553 Yorkshire, England, 796 n. Yorty, Samuel W., 194 Yorty, Mrs. Samuel W., I94 Young, Repr. John, 763 Young, John A., 728 Young, John M., 296 Young, Joseph, 514 Young, Ralph, 296 Young, Sen. Stephen M., 405, 406, 642, 678, 679, 680, 693 Young, Whitney M., Jr., 800 Young American Medals, presentation, 315 Youngblood, Rufus W., 21, 330, 619 [ I ] Youngblood, Mrs. Rufus W., 21 Youth, 622 Athletic achievements, io6, 40I Crime, 537, 658 Delinquency, 133, 213, 266 [21], 280 [5], 334, 537, 590, 630, 658, 680, 704 Education, 267, 737 Employment and training, 55, 89, 91 (p. 114), 132 (pp. 176, i8i), 199, 213, 2I8 [15], 246 [20], 267, 45I n., 504 [7], 658, 704 n., 742, 787, 79I Health and welfare, 403, 490, 590, 755 Job Corps recruitment, 219 Junior Chamber of Commerce, 403 A-0o3 Index [Main references are to items except as otherwise indicated] Youth-Continued Mental fitness, 89, I26 Mobilization for Youth program, 451 Morals of, comments on, 246 [20], 280 [5], 622, 750 Physical fitness, 89, io6, 126, 401, 490 Presidential Scholars program, 266 [4] Role in antipoverty program, 323 School dropouts, 47, 53, 84, 213, 2I8 [15], 233, 246 [20], 398, 658, 680, 733, 754 Unemployment, 91 (p. II5), 246 [20], 386,45I, 754,77I, 787, 791 Voting rights, 706 "White House Fellows" program, establishment, 622 Work-study program, 219 Work-training program, 219 Young Democrats, 372, 729 See also Children Youth, Washington Action for, 537 Youth Administration, National, 622 Youth Crime, President's Committee on Juvenile Delinquency and, 334, 537, 704 n. Youth Employment Act, proposed, 89, 132 (pp. 184, I89) Yugoslavia, 617 U.S. trade with, 272 Yun, Suk Heun, 35 n. Zablocki, Repr. Clement J., 746 Zambia Independence, 721 Kaunda, Kenneth D., 721 Zammit, Themistocles, 585 Zanzibar, 597, 607 Independence celebration, 32 Sultan Jamshid, 32 0 A-I04 Id ~.A ~r1 DATE DUE iAR 8, p: 1,; — r ~ --- —----------------- S lt en I I i i i. i i i 5 + i i i i i i f + i.. + i. I _ _ GOVT.GS4.113:963-64/bk.1/c.2 United States. President. (1963-1969: Johnson). Pubic papers. GOVT.GS4.113:963-64/bk.1/c. 2 United States. President. (1963-1969: Johnson). Public papers. BATES COLLEGE LIBRARY 3 5033 00566 0493