SECRETARY OF LABOR

WASHINGTON

OCT - 2 1970

Dear Mr. Kissinger:

The evening of September 7 was a pleasant one for the
President and Mrs. Nixon, for Mrs. Hodgson and me, and we hope
for you.

There is no precedent for such a dinner honoring American
labor at the White House. For that reason I thought you would
like to have a remembrance of the occasion, a print of the
toasts in which you joined.

I wish to thank you for joining us at the celebration.

With kind regards,

Enclosure

Honorable Henry A. Kissinger
Assistant to the President for
National Security Affairs
The White House
Washington, D. C. 20500

PRESIDENT NIXON

President Meany, Mrs. Meany, Members of the Cabinet, Members of the AFL-CIO Executive Council, Presidents of the AFL-CIO Unions and our guests:

It is a very great privilege for Mrs. Nixon and me to welcome you tonight at this dinner here in the East Room of the White House. In talking to President Meany, I find that this is a very special dinner in the sense that one of this type honoring the leaders of the American labor union has never been held on Labor Day before in the White House.

American labor has been very properly honored in many, many ways over the years, in functions in Washington, New York, other great cities of the country, and now tonight we are very proud to have the leaders of American labor here in this historic room and through you, to honor the 20 million Americans who are members of American labor unions and all of their families that are represented here.

I speak in honoring you of a number of things that we have in common. I was going to say that this meeting was historic because it was the first time, as President Meany has said, that this kind of a dinner has been held for the leaders of American labor or for a labor group on Labor Day in this room or in the White House. Also, as I looked over the guest list, I can say without fear of contradiction that never have so many Presidents been gathered in this room before.

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I should make one qualification. I had in this room on a recent occasion a number of America's business leaders and a number of them are Presidents, too. The difference was simply this: That never have so many Presidents been gathered who were elected as there are in this room. I think most of you won by more than I did, as a matter of fact.

I would like to take a moment, if I could, before presenting our guest of honor tonight, for a response, to introduce only a few people here. We can't introduce everybody in the room, because we have a number of members of our family, officials and personnel in the yard for a wonderful program that is to follow.

But I do want to introduce the members of the official family who are here today and I would start first with the Secretary of State and Mrs. Rogers. Incidentally, not because we were showing any disrespect, for the Secretary of State and I have been working all day in our offices on the problem of hijacking. If any of you have any good ideas as to how to solve it, please tell us first.

We also have from the State of Wisconsin and one many of you know well, the Secretary of Defense and Mrs. Laird.

You see, we shared the wives with other tables so that everybody in the room could have a good table.

The Postmaster General is here, Postmaster General Blount.

And our very good friend from Massachusetts and a great friend of the American labor movement, the Secretary of Transportation, Mr. Volpe and Mrs. Volpe.

And a member of my Cabinet, a man who is known to so many of you in this room, who worked going clear back to the Truman administration and he says the Roosevelt administration—he doesn't look that old, as a matter of fact—but he has worked with me in the Eisenhower administration, Bryce Harlow, Counsellor to the President.

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Coming up to the head table, we have a man who has served in a tremendously responsible position. I will put it this way: Of course, I am a bit prejudiced and this has absolutely no partisan connotation, but when I tried to select the man in the new Cabinet for Secretary of Labor, I talked to George Meany, as he will remember, and when he was in New York, he said, "Well, if you can get somebody like Jim Mitchell, that will be very good."

We think we have got one in George Shultz, who is now head of our Office of Budget and Management.

Actually, George Shultz would have selected as Under Secretary a man also in the great tradition, we think great tradition, of Jim Mitchell, Jim Hodgson, from California, your new Secretary of Labor.

And then, of course, from your own organization, the executive secretary of the AFL-CIO, Mr. Kirkland and his wife.

And since we have been up to this time dealing solely with official families, Mr. Meany and Mrs. Meany both suggested that since this is somewhat a family night for all of us that you would like to see also, if you did not see before the dinner, some very special members of our family who have shared this house and known this house for many years, the grandson of a former President and the daughter of the present President, David and Julie Eisenhower.

George Meany told me that when I introduced David, what would really make a hit was to point out that he was the statistical expert for the Washington Senators.

Mr. MEANY: That doesn't seem to make them win.

The PRESIDENT: That is right. Howard has at least got 40 home runs. We will give him credit for that.

Our remarks will be very brief and I think can appropriately be so, but I think that it is on this occasion very

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necessary to speak about the meaning of this moment in
this very historic room, when we think of what has hap-
pened here. This room was not in existence when George
Washington and Martha Washington were here. The
Washington painting, incidentally, was painted before this
house was built, Martha Washington's afterwards, and
then it was put in this house.

John Adams was the first President to ever live in this
house and this room was then not used for such occasions
as this. His wife, Mrs. Adams, used to hang her wash out
in this room.

But then after that, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln,
all of the Presidents of the 19th century had their great
balls and other functions here. The State Dining Room
was the room where we met previously for the reception.

One historic moment to mention is that Woodrow Wil-
son received the German Ambassador in this room on the
occasion when he told the German Ambassador that he
was withdrawing his credentials and ordering him home
prior to World War I and then, of course, you can imagine
the other events that have occurred, the people that have
been here.

The great, the near great, the ones to be great have
been honored here: Churchill, DeGaulle, Nehru, from all
over the world, the leaders have been here on occasions
over the years in our Nation's history.

And so tonight, we honor the leaders of American labor.
We do so in the sense that this room really stands for. This
is not a Republican room or a Democratic room. This room
belongs to all of America. This house belongs to all of
America. And America tonight very proudly honors Ameri-
can labor and its leaders.

We honor American labor and its leaders because of
what American labor has done for this country, how it has
built this country, how it has contributed to this country.

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I could speak solely in terms of gross national product, in terms of the fact that the American worker is the most productive in the world, which he is; I could speak in terms of solely what American labor has built, its buildings, its roads, its highways, its factories, its automobiles and all the rest.

But tonight, I would like to speak, if I could, in some-
what other terms. As a President of the United States, I
have learned what it means for a President, be he a Re-
publican or a Democrat, to have the solid support of the
overwhelming majority of the leaders and the members
of America's labor unions and of American labor generally
for those policies and those programs which are above
partisanship and beyond partisanship, but which are dedicated to preserving freedom in America and preserving
and protecting freedom in the world.

I think of those difficult issues that we have had in this
administration. I think of those that President Johnson
had in his and that President Kennedy has in his and that
President Eisenhower had in his and President Truman
in his. And I was in government during all or part of those
administrations or on the fringes at least, in some of them.

And I recall that when the chips were really down, when
the great issue was whether or not there was to be sup-
port for not the President of the United States as a party
leader, not the President of the United States as a person,
but the President of the United States as the leader of the
American people with its responsibilities for defending
and protecting the forces of freedom in the world, that
American labor has never been found wanting. It has al-
ways been the first, in war and in peace.

And I think I understand the reason for that. I have trav-
eled to most of the countries of the world. And I have been
to many countries that are free countries, and I have
been to countries that are totalitarian countries, that are

5

not free. And this I can say based not on what I have read,
but on what I have seen in country after country, because
on all of my visits, as perhaps distinguished from some
who go abroad, I make it a point to talk to labor leaders
where there are those who are there, as well as the leaders
in business and government and the rest.

But of all the countries in the world that I have visited,
I have yet to find a country which is governed by a dicta-
torship in which there was a free labor movement, and I
have yet to find a country in which there was a free labor
movement which was governed by a dictatorship.

And that to us is the message of our time.

A strong, free, independent labor movement is essen-
tial to the preservation and the growth of freedom in any
country in the world. It is the bedrock of freedom, whether
abroad or here. The American labor movement knows this,
the American labor movement learned it in some instances
perhaps through the hard way, but it knows it, it stands
for it, and to its great credit it stands for it here in the
United States, it stands for it abroad, and when those
great hard decisions have to be made by a President of
the United States for our national defense, or for our poli-
cies abroad, that have to do for preserving the strength or
developing the policies that will defend freedom in the
world, the American labor movement stands firmly with
the American President, be he Democrat or Republican.

And now, if I could express a word in terms of our
guest, our special guest, Mr. George Meany, who will re-
spond in behalf of all of you tonight, I think perhaps the
most appropriate thing I could say about him is to refer
to an experience I had earlier today. Perhaps some of you
were there, too.

I went over to St. Matthews to the mass for Vince Lom-
bardi, and talked afterwards briefly to his eminence,
Cardinal O'Boyle about Vince Lombardi. And as I returned

6

from that mass, I thought of this man and why it was that
in New York, in Washington, D.C., and as a matter of fact,
around the country, there was such an outpouring of re-
spect for this man. A great football coach, yes. This
doesn't happen for all great football coaches when they
happen to die. And there are many great ones. But he was
more than that.

He was a man who was really a man of very great charac-
ter, an overused term, I admit, but let me perhaps put it
in a little more precise way.

If anyone listened as I did to what was said at that mass,
they heard that Vince Lombardi was a man who in a time
when so many people seemed to be turning away from
religion was devoutly religious and devoted to his church;
at a time when the moral fabric of the country seems to be
coming apart, he was a man who was deeply devoted to
his family; at a time when it seems to be rather square to
be patriotic, he was deeply and unashamedly patriotic; at
a time when permissiveness is the order of the day in
many circles, he was a man who insisted on discipline—
affection, yes, a good man, yes—but discipline, and
strength. Here was a man who perhaps would be described
by some as being square. But he was a man who when he
died, not because his football teams were great, not just
that, because there he was one of several, but because he
stood out as a man of very great character the whole Na-
tion admired.

And so tonight, I would like to present Mr. George
Meany to you somewhat in that way. I do not suggest that
there are not times when Mr. Meany and I have dis-
agreed—have not agreed on some matters. That will al-
ways be the case where leaders of free, independent or-
ganizations are involved with any government.

But I do know this: That in this time of turbulence at
home and abroad, when the old virtues and the good vir-

7

tues, many of the good ones, are being brought under question, this man has stood like a pillar in a storm—strong, full of character, devoted to his church, devoted to his family, devoted to his country, whether the President is a Republican or a Democrat, standing with that President and his country when he felt that that served the interest of freedom, that kind of freedom which is so essential if a strong, free labor movement is to survive.

And so, tonight in this room so full of history, I would propose a toast in these words: That we raise our glasses to all of those in the 190-year history of this country who have built America, the builders of America, those in American labor, and to all of those who will build a better America in the future, and in raising our glasses, since we must raise them to a man and not simply to an organization, to George Meany, a distinguished labor-statesman, a man who stands for the best in free labor and for the best of America, to President George Meany.

President Meany?

8

MR. MEANY

Thank you very much, Mr. President; Members of the Cabinet who are here this evening, some of them who are real old friends of mine, Mel Laird and Bill Rogers in particular, of course, George Shultz—he used to be in the Cabinet. And I was quite friendly with him and I still am.

And I am just wondering how his wife takes this idea of a guy getting promoted and getting his salary reduced. That doesn't happen in the labor movement. You talk to me, and maybe we can do something about it.

This is a most significant occasion to me. I think this is the first time—well, I think it is the first time in the history of this House, Mr. President, that a Labor Day celebration was held in the White House. And I feel that this is perfectly proper.

I think that it is an indication of the American spirit, of the American tradition, of the dedication of the trade union movement, to the ideas and principles of this great country.

I am sure that the leaders of labor who are in this room, Mr. President, are thinking men. I think they are men who read the paper, I think they listen to the news, and I think perhaps more than any other segment of the American citizenry understand the problems that come to a man who occupies this House.

They understand the problems that are placed on his shoulders by virtue of his Office, whether or not the President happens to be a President who we agree with every day, and I am sure that I don't agree with the Presi-

9

dent every day or in fact any President who ever sat in the White House since I have been here. I don't remember anyone that I agreed with every day, but I have found one thing about Presidents of the United States—and it has been my experience over the years. I knew Franklin Roosevelt very well. I knew him before he became President.

I knew Harry Truman not quite as well. I knew Dwight Eisenhower before he became President and had a very close relationship with him when he was commander-in-chief in our headquarters outside of Paris. My wife and I visited him there on two occasions.

I advised him to run for President. I didn't advise him which party, and I don't think he knew at the time which party. But it finally worked out all right.

Of course, I knew our late, lamented John Kennedy, and, of course, Lyndon Johnson.

And one thing I find in common that all of these men had, and that this man sitting on my left has in common with his predecessors is that no matter how political they might have been—and let me tell you, Franklin Roosevelt, he was just as tricky a politician as anyone who bore the name of "Tricky Dick" could be, and let me tell you, Lyndon was no slouch at politics—but one thing they all have in common when they get into this House, when they get this awesome responsibility placed upon their shoulders, and no head of government in any other nation of the world has the same responsibility or the same power, perhaps, as the President of the United States, when they get in this House I have found out that one thing they all have in common is that they want to be the best President that they possibly can be for the American people.

And this applies to this man here, and I may be bouncing on your head tomorrow morning, but this goes. I think you have this in common, as I say, with the men that I knew in this House, that they were dedicated to the idea

10

* of serving the American people, doing the best that they could for the American people.

And while we may have problems in this country and domestic problems, economic problems, problems of inflation and all of these other things, the one problem that I think supersedes all other problems is the future of this society in which we are a part, the future of the American way of life.

Can we in a world that, let us say, would be 75 percent totalitarian maintain this society that we have here?

And it is in the interest of this society, it is in the interest of this way of life to support others in other parts of the world who would like to retain their freedom.

When we see the things that are happening and we see the awesome load that is placed on the shoulders of the President of the United States, our hearts must go out in sympathy to him and certainly with our very best wishes.

So it is in that spirit, Mr. President, that we are here tonight; here as representatives of American workers, here as representatives of the American trade union movement, here as representatives of the American people as a whole, because there is one thing we can agree upon, and I am sure that labor in this country knows this only too well, that this way of life is the best way that the mind of man has devised as yet.

Someone may come along in future centuries and come up with a better way of life. But the American way of life, as we see it, as we have seen it develop in this country in the last 180 years, is the best that the mind of man has been able to devise as yet.

And we are dedicated to the preservation of that way of life and we are sure that you, as President of the United States, are certainly dedicated to the same ideal and the same end.

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KISSINGER, HENRY An / left / H

DEC 18 1970

Dear Robbie:

Thank you for your nice but disappointing
letter. Needless to say, I am very sorry
that you will not be coming to Washington at
Christmastime after all. And the reason
for your change of plans distresses me. I
hope that your surgery and its aftermath are
behind you now and that the results were good.

I will, of course, be pleased to see you, when-
ever you come next year, and have not forgotten
the dinner I owe you.

Happy holidays.

Miss Robbie Holley
Box 2
FPO New York
09540

P.S. Many thanks for the subscription to "Main Currents in Modern Thought." It is one of the few magazines I take time from my required reading to enjoy.

jlp:12/17/70

IMPERIAL EMBASSY OF IRAN
WASHINGTON, D. C.

December 21, 1972

The Ambassador

My dear Dr. Kissinger:

It is my pleasure to forward here-
with Greetings and a gift of caviar just received from
His Excellency Amir Abbas Hoveyda, Prime Minister
of Iran.

With best wishes for the Holiday

Season, I remain

Enclosure

The Honorable
Dr. Henry Kissinger
The White House
Washington, D. C.

KISSINGER, HENRY

Dear Trink and Jon:

I was extremely pleased that you both were
able to attend the festivities on the occasion
of my birthday. To add to my pleasure, you
were so thoughtful as to present me with a
lovely leather picture frame. Please accept
this expression of my appreciation for your
kindness.

You, Jon, have been a good friend and aide
through many rough periods and I want you to
know that I fully am aware of all that you have
contributed

CDR and Mrs. Jonathan T. Howe
Quarters Y, U. S. Navy Yard
Washington, D. C. 20390

drc/6-7-73

RECEIVED

JUN 12 1973

CENTRAL FILES

THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON

August 17, 1971

Dear Dr. Hoxie:

You were very kind to send me a copy of _The White House: Organization and Operations_ and to inscribe it so generously. I look forward to the chance of reading it soon. I also appreciate the invitation to address your symposium in October which Mr. Sonnenfeldt conveyed to me. Much as I would like to, I have not been able to accept invitations to speak and unfortunately do not anticipate that this will change. I do, however, wish you another successful meeting.

Mr. R. Gordon Hoxie
President

×Center for the Study of
the Presidency
17 East 80th Street
New York, New York 10021

KISSINGER, HENRY A.

September 10, 1970

Dear Sam:

Many thanks for sending me a copy of "Social
and Institutional Dynamics of One-Party Systems."
It is interesting reading and I appreciate your
thinking of me.

Professor Samuel P. Huntington
Center for International Affairs
6 Divinity Avenue
Harvard University
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138

Why don't you look in on me on your next visit here? HK

jlp:9/9/70

RECEIVED
SEP 10 1970

CENTRAL FILES

ex meo capite

by Jesse Ishikawa

My ten most admired people

Earlier this year Dr. Gallup released the results of his Ten Most Admired Men Poll. Not surprisingly, the list was made up of politicians, the Pope, Billy Graham, and an assortment of Kennedies. The only refreshing, new face was that of Ralph Nader.

For this issue, I have made up a list of my ten most ad-
mired people--I make no discrimination between men and
women. Without further ado, here they are, in no parti-
cular order:

1. Thor Heyerdahl

2. Increscent Typists

3. John Ashbrook

4. Bernadette Devlin

5. Haille Selassie

6. Muhammed Ali

7. Myself

8. Lloyd Barbee

9. Henry Kissinger

10. Adam Bier

When a middle-aged, world famous anthropologist like Thor Heyerdahl can leave his security to sail a raft across the Atlantic twice, that's admirable. The typists I add because they represent the truly deserving, admirable people who seem to go unrecognized more often than not.

After McCarthy, McGovern, McCloskey, and all the ot-
her liberal Don Quixotes, it's refreshing to see a conser-
vative martyr running for president. Add John Ashbrook to
the roster. Bernadette Devlin represents an entirely new
breed of leaders precedented only by Joan of Arc. Haille
Selassie of Ethiopia, on the other hand, rules one of the
last medieval monarchies left in the world. We'll always
need a few of these to keep the Bernadette Devlins in check.

Muhammed Ali is an athlete who dared to be a person as
well. I list myself for one reason: where would we be with-
out egotistical columnists?

Lloyd Barbee, the assemblyman who has introduced bills to abolish police departments, legalize prostitution and marijuana, and do away with prisons, seems to be the only state legislator who's enjoying himself.

Henry Kissinger I note because he appears to be not only
the most knowledgeable, valuable asset to the Nixon Ad-
ministration, but the most colorful one as well. And of
course, there's Adam Bier, the Increscent's most prolific
writer, and a dedicated, but unnoticed, staffer for the past
four or five years.

Next issue: My Ten Least Admired People

The Increscent

Beloit Memorial High School
1225 Fourth St., Beloit, Wis.
published bi-monthly.

Managing Editor
Jesse Ishikawa

Assistant Editor
Debrae Weltman

Associate Editor
David Vogelstein

Feature Editor
Robyn Ennocent!

Sports Editor
Brent MacDermot

Art Editor
Linda Patterson

Photography Editors
Brian Brown
Mike Wirtz

Mike Wirtz

Advertising Manager
Marjorie Stosk

Production Manager
Vicki Wike

Circulation Manager
Laurie Cushman

Business Manager
Beth Driscoll