Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-12-08

dent JohnSon'S surprise HetDS
conference yesterday.
By the Associated Press
The President: I told Pierre
(Salinger, White House Press
Secretary a little earlier in
the morning I was going to buy
coffee later in the day and
didn't really know how much
coffee I was going to buy. He
has more friends than I antici-
pated.
/ @. More people work on
Saturday than you think.
@. 1t is a new administra-
ton, too.
A. If there Is anything you
would like to ask me, I would
be glad to answer.
@. VIII you be moving In
here today?
A. Yes.
Q. This will be your first
night here?
A. Yes.
@. How do you feel about
it?
A. I feel like I have already
been here q year.
@. We didn't hear that, Mr..
President.
A. I feel like have already
been here q a year. 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 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 Indicating an ad-
joining ROOM and he Is pre-
pared 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.
@. Is the Secretary on a spe-
cific mission or are you Just
asking for q general report Of
the picture In Saigon. Mr..
President?
I A. He Is going to be in Paris
anyway, and 1t won't take him
too long. He can go there
pretty quickly, and we want
to have him make Q few
checks out there. not anything
to be concerned about. but Just
to be sure that we are getting
maximum efficiency.
I made q reference to it the
other~day in my statement on
the Hill, and in a statement to
the State Department en-
ployes.
I am going to the United
Nations to speak on December
II at IL o'clock.
@. December IT?
A. Dece Der II at IL
O'Clock at the United Nations.
We just told Mr.. q 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. 1t will not be q long
speech. I don't want to play 1t
down, but there won't be any
thing shocking to you, but I do
want to establish an acquaint-
ance with them and know
some of them personally.
What I have really tried to
do in the first 10 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 Congress to CO.
operate very helpfully in sever
al fields. We have their an
nouncements 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.
We think that we have made
very good progress in showing
the continuity in our transi-
ton. We have tried to, second
give a sense Of unity in the
country and in the world. We
have met with the leaders
some 80 Of them from all the
various nations Of the world
We have Immediately set ur
more detailed discussions
although we have reasonable
discussions with some 20 or 81
of them, and brief discussions
with all of them, and lengthy
discussions and somewhat
longer discussions with Lore
Home and Gen. de Gaulle and
Chancellor Erhard. We plan tt
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 car
go into Austin. 1t is q very de-
lightful place this time Of year
Mr.. Schroeder can go In there
and brief you regularly, and
Pierre.
Then we will be seeing the
President of Italy and Lore
Home in the months Of Janu.
airy and February.
We think we have answered
all Of their cables and have
assured them there is continui.