The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1963-12-06

/, Congress and the nation carries will
it a promise of emergence of 6
strong leader. Johnson seems deter
mined to repeat in domestic affairs
Mr.. Kennedy's famous conformation
with Khrushchev during the missile
; crisis, that is, to make the enemy
back down.
In this case the Democratic party s
die-hard Dixiecrats are the enemy.
Whereas Mr.. Kennedy could not
bulge them, LBJ has let them know
that they have a new adversary, one
who does not seek fight but one
who will not run from it. The sig
nificance of the speech is that Mr..
johnson has let them know that it is
the richards who will have to give
ground.
SITDOWN STRIKE MUST END
He has, in effect, said that Cong
ress cannot continue it's sitdown
strike, that it cannot consider going
home without record of accomp-
lishment unless it is. prepared to
meet an aroused public, which has
waited all year for action ON civil
rights and enactment of vital parts
of the Kennedy program.
There were two ways that johnson
could have played it. His first mes
sage could have been a call for
vague, mushy sort of national "un-
ity'', in which he CLOSED over the
big issues that confront and to some
extent divide the nation.
He could have told the Congress
men what they wanted to hear-take
a vacation, reflect, calm down.
Or he could have chosen the other
course: face up to the big problem
that has become the major issue of
our time, the civil rights of that one
tenth of the nation that has been
given in many parts of the country
a third class education, RELOCATED to
second class, non-voting citizenship
and has been the first to feel the
pinch of unemployment.
ACTED DELIBERATELY
Johnson deliberately acted-as he
always acts. He took up where JFK
left off. Let us begin" the late
President had urged. "Let us con-
tinue', Johnson said. 1t was call
to forward action, rejection of re-
treat. We went further than Mr..
Kennedy, in his final days, and gave
civil rights priority over the tax cut.
First, said the new President,
no memorial grafton or eulogy
could more eloquently honor Pres
ident Kennedy's memory than the
earliest possible passage of the
Civil Rights bill for which he
fought. We have talked long
enough in this country about equal
rights. We have talked for 100
years or more. 1t is time now to
write the next chapter-or to
write it in books of law.
81 urge you again, as / did in 1857.
nd again in 1860, to enact a civil
lights law so that we can move for
rard. :"
Johnson came close ITO pronouncing
again" as sa-gain", just as Frank
n D. Roosevelt did. He knew it
'ould be noticed and he wanted it
oticed.
Critics have said that the John
On address bore the earmarks of
ed Sorenson's writing. This does
OF detract from the content; in
eed, as JFK knew when he used
orenson's talents, the Sorenson
'uch added to it. For Sorenson was
ne of JFK's best minds, one of the
Tented and realistic members of
le Kennedy White House staff.
OLLOW-THROUGH WILL
E WHAT COUNTS
Fine rhetoric, of course, will not
Lffice.. 1t was not enough for JFK;
will not be enough for LBJ. The
st comes in the follow-through
'hnson chose at the outset to be
sted; he almost dared the Cong
SIS to challenge him. The obstruc-
onists may decide to forego that
nor.
Over the years Johnson's
trength on Capitol Hill was that
lie was regarded as a "no-non-
Ia 81 Io~Iz~ A. "a