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## II. Serious Part.

This is a tremendous honor for me, to be invited to the Al Smith Dinner. I know of the distinguished figures you have invited to speak at this podium in the past; I know of the good works of the New York hospitals which this dinner is meant to serve.

Cardinal Cooke asked me, in his letter of invitation, to speak about "[my] vision of a better and more peaceful world." At a dinner commemorating Al Smith, it is hard not to recall the distinctively American virtues that he represented -- confidence, humanity, political wisdom in the best sense of the word. Today, thirty years since his death, I think the world needs some of his spirit.

- It is a world of pluralism. It needs a peace of accommodation, not of any group's dominance. This requires political art and creative imagination. This kind of world we have always seen as consistent with America's national interests as well as with America's highest hopes.

- It is a world in which the needs of ordinary people cry out for our concern more than ever before -- for economic and social advancement, for self-respect, dignity and justice. In a period when the problem of war and peace seems to

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recede in urgency, these human concerns come again to
the fore in the international arena. Yet these are the
humane objectives which America has always committed
itself to in the world, even in the period when we were
considered isolationist. Food, public health, economic
progress and development assistance -- these are
international efforts which we have sustained. This is
the field in which we excel.

-- It is also still a world of political turmoil. It needs
America's self-confidence and leadership, in our oldest
tradition, because without them there can be no order or
peace or human betterment. Therefore we will persevere.

For the first time in 10 years, we are not torn by war or
Watergate. We should now be at peace with ourselves. Let us not be
afraid to lead or to act or to have an American point of view. It is
time to put behind us the obsession with our alleged flaws or alleged
guilt.

I have just returned from another trip to the Middle East. The
trust and admiration that both sides there have for America is perhaps
beyond the comprehension of people here. At the end of May, in

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Tel Aviv, when we had just completed the negotiation of the Syrian-Israeli disengagement agreement, I expressed this -- that "what [made] my colleagues and me most proud [was] to think that after 10 years of anguish in the United States it has been America that has been sufficiently trusted by both sides; it is America whose values have been considered sufficiently relevant so that it is the country that could make the contribution in which both sides could trust its good faith, and so that it is our values of commitment to peace and to a better future for all of mankind that [have] been represented as the American contribution to these negotiations."

For America's goals in the world are worthy goals, as they always have been. We will continue our effort in the Middle East to promote a lasting peace through negotiated settlements between the parties.

On this, as on other basic issues, the American people are united as they have not been in over a decade. This is President Ford's great source of encouragement and hope. Already, I am pleased to see that the domestic debates over foreign policy issues have been dialogues, not diatribes. The public hearings on U.S.-Soviet relations, for example, were an occasion for open discussion on a matter where

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there are differing concerns and points of view -- but over tactics, more than over basic purposes. This is the great strength of our democratic society. It has already ensured the continuity of our basic policies even in the face of political troubles and political changes at home.

For this reason I am doubly confident of America's future. Whatever the accomplishments of the recent period, they pale before the opportunities and accomplishments before us now.

We face a very new agenda. As I suggested before, they are issues on which the American contribution to the world will reflect our oldest traditions of concern for the well-being of our fellowman.

[Perhaps I should say "fellow persons."] Our policies should be humane policies, befitting the spirit of the American people.

Gerald Ford -- who addressed this distinguished gathering a year ago -- is, like Al Smith, a man of the people, a man of good will and strength, tested in democratic politics and representative of the best in this Nation. Before the United Nations General Assembly a month ago, he renewed these basic pledges on behalf of the American people:

- "We are committed to the pursuit of a more peaceful, stable, and cooperative world."

- "We will bolster our partnerships with traditional friends and allies around the world to meet new challenges in a rapidly changing world."

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- "We will seek out and expand relations with old adversaries."

- "We will strive to heal old wounds reopened in recent conflicts in Cyprus, the Middle East and Indochina."

- "We rededicate ourselves to the search for justice, equality and freedom."

- On the urgent international problem of hunger, President Ford declared that "the United States recognizes the special responsibility we bear as the world's largest producer of food. . . . The United States will not only maintain the amount it spends for food shipments to nations in need, but it will increase this amount." He announced that at the World Food Conference in Rome next month, the United States will offer proposals for an urgent collective international effort to mobilize the world's resources to address these human needs on a long-term basis.

These are worthy goals for America in a new era.

## Conclusion

President Ford said in addressing this distinguished group a year ago: "My own great hope is that all of us may do honor to the memory of Alfred E. Smith by loving this country as deeply as he did, and by serving her as faithfully."

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If I may end on a personal note, I would want to echo this sentiment. I grew up in this City, and it represents to me the meaning of America -- its vitality, its diversity, its humanity, its strength, its hopes and dreams.

Nothing on earth would give me more satisfaction and inner peace than to know that I had served my country faithfully by reflecting and serving its noble aims.

Public Papers of the Presidents

useful lives. That means to live under institutions that give us an opportunity to expand, that we will not be controlled by others—we will not be regimented. The kind of thing that Dr. Carlson brought out so briefly is the kind of thing that I believe each of us, whether he be interne or student or laborer or high governmental official, ought to be thinking about all the time: this America, what it means in terms of our aspirations, our hopes, for ourselves, and our people—and preserving them down through the years. The healthful body in which we do it is only one thing. But the head, the understanding that we have of all of the tensions and the complexities in the world, and what we must do to preserve them; and finally, after all, the heart. What are the fine, decent things we want of life? How much are we prepared to sacrifice for them, and work for them with our whole selves?

Here is one evidence in this great hospital that the people of New York have worked and sacrificed to provide something to make us healthier in body so that we may be healthier and stronger and better in mind, and give, therefore, better opportunity for us to attain the aspirations of our hearts.

Thank you for letting me come to this ceremony. Thank you for these minutes you have given me to address you.

Goodbye.

NOTE: The President spoke at 12:20 p.m.
His opening words "Mr. Chairman" re-
ferred to Dr. Carlyle Jacobsen, Executive
Dean for Medical Education of the State

University of New York. Later he re-
ferred to Dr. William S. Carlson, Presi-
dent of the University.

301 ¶ Address at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Dinner, New York City. October 21, 1954

Mr. Chairman, Your Eminence, Governor Dewey, Mayor Wagner—and my fellow citizens at this wonderful dinner:

I assure you that never would I have given up anything more cheerfully than a few minutes of the time that has apparently been allotted to me to His Eminence. I thoroughly objected to the sort of "military discipline" they seem to have tried to subject him to.

I would be remiss if I did not, first, try to express to you something of the gratitude I feel for the cordiality of your welcome. And here and

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on the streets of today, New York seems to remember that for some all
too brief years I was privileged to live here. Those years are among the
happiest of the lives of my wife and myself. And I want to assure you
that we are grateful for every smile we see, and every time I hear "Hi Ike."
I would like to crave your indulgence to pay my deep respects to

First, I would like to crave your indulgence to pay my deep respects to
a lady whose early life was devoted to and intertwined with that of the
man whose memory we are here to honor. His confidante, his counsellor,
an admired citizen in her own right, a worthy daughter of a noble
parent—Emily Smith Warner.

On such an evening as this, before such a gathering as this, our attention seems inescapably directed to three subjects, related in our thinking. They are:

First—the man whose memory we honor: Alfred Emanuel Smith.

Second—the practice of charitable giving.

Third—the government and the health of all the people.

None in our generation more warmly sympathized with the needs, the
hopes, the aspirations of humanity than did Governor Smith; none more
earnestly used government as an instrument for their satisfaction.

Yet none in our generation more acutely recognized the menace of
bankrupting waste inherent in a centralized bureaucracy; none more
firmly believed in self-dependence and initiative; and none more firmly
believed that thrift and solvency are hallmarks of good government.

In all that concerned human beings, he was a true liberal; in all that
concerned the economy within which they lived, he was a genuine con-
servative. In his daily tasks, he was a man of charitable heart; a patriot
who loved America and its people. His life made manifest the challenges
and opportunities, the responsibilities and rewards which America confers
on those who serve their country and their fellow men.

His life did not escape the experience of defeat, but he accepted his
defeats calmly, for he knew that if he were right, time would vindicate
him and truth would prevail.

He faced his challenges unafraid, for he was armed in honesty of
purpose and integrity of soul.

He seized his opportunities eagerly, for he was an alert steward of
God-given talents.

He bore his responsibilities serenely, for he sought the counsel of the
wise and the help of the Almighty.

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He accepted his rewards modestly, for he felt those higher inner satisfactions known only to those who dedicate themselves to service to others.

Through a long life he served his city, his State, his country, to the limits of a great capacity. In every task he was impelled by a fiery faith in the decency and dignity of men and in the purposes of America. So impelled, he labored well. His life was a crusade against inequities rooted in such spurious criteria as ancestry and income.

Therefore, the name Alfred E. Smith is enshrined in history. So long as the Republic endures, he will not be forgotten.

But, beyond that, Al Smith, the man, the happy warrior, the American of great mind and great soul, lives in the hearts of people.

Monuments of timber and stone and metal have recorded human accomplishment through the years. In the history of America there are many who have earned such distinction. To only a few, however, in all the years of the Republic has there been paid the highest of all awards: a public resolve that the causes which they espoused shall not be permitted to die with them; that others, inspired by their memory, shall carry on the work to which those few dedicated themselves.

Our assembly this evening is an expression of that public determination, with respect to the causes espoused by Alfred E. Smith.

In our distant and diverse origins, in our present vocations and affiliations and interests, we are the infinite variety of American life. The roll call of this dinner is a roster of the races and religious creeds, the political parties, the economic enterprises, the cultural movements that constitute the Republic. But the common bond of dedication to values that Al Smith upheld converts our multitudinous variety into a purposeful unity. We are a reflection of our basic national unity that is today a towering beacon of hope to torn and divided mankind.

Our gathering to honor this man, to pay our respect to the causes for which he labored throughout his life, symbolizes our unity. We honor him because through his career he gave himself unsparingly to the American dream.

Since the beginning of time men have deluded themselves—or have been deluded by other men—with fantasies of life free from labor or pain or sacrifice, of limitless reward that requires no risk, of pleasure untainted by suffering. From such dreams, the awakening has always been rude and the penalty a nightmare of disillusionment.

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Q 301

The American dream is a goal that can be achieved only in work and wise thought, in unity among men and faith in God.

Our forefathers dreamed in terms of hard fact and high ideals. Then, they devised a system for man's self-government. Their system has succeeded beyond all others because it is the political expression of a religious faith that man is free; that man is responsive to the call of conscience and duty; that man is endowed at birth with certain capacities and rights. But they knew that man must earn his freedom, his rights, his way throughout his life.

Al Smith was both a product and an apostle of these concepts and this system. His undivided and passionate loyalty was given to America, and to the spiritual and moral values that mean Americanism. Sympathetic as he was toward differing convictions based in conscience, he was incapable of entertaining or of tolerating a thought directed toward the violent destruction of the governmental system of our free country. He was a deadly foe of such things as communism and fascism. Who can doubt that he would have supported and applauded, if alive in 1954, every one of the laws of the recent Congress to make more certain the discovery of subversives, to speed their removal from influential positions, to mete out to them legal punishment. Though he would have repudiated injustice toward or persecution of any individual, yet he would have been as stern as George Washington in dealing with any properly convicted of betraying this Nation.

Among the fruits enjoyed by those who live under the fundamental concepts and principles that define our system—are an abundance in all that makes a good life, unparalleled in the entire history of tribes and nations and empires.

But, since the earliest days, never has the factual realization of the dream been devoid of imperfections. Happily, their correction has been constant and ceaseless. In every generation there have been mighty voices crying out insistently that this evil be eradicated or that wrong be righted. Al Smith was such a voice. He was a man of many concerns for the betterment of human living.

Not the least of his many concerns is the direct inspiration for our gathering here tonight—the care and the cure of the sick and the ailing.

Created for productive life, endowed with talents of mighty potential, man has the right to enjoy adequate means for the preservation of good

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health and its restoration whenever injured or lost. The community,
whether it be tribe or empire, that ignores this right commits slow suicide.

You, in this room this evening, act in an ancient and firmly rooted
tradition of the Jewish and Christian faiths. You are engaged in a noble
work of mercy. By your presence here you are witnesses to the everlasting
truth of our spiritual brotherhood. This brotherhood requires of us that
the fortunate be quick in their aid to the unfortunate.

And here may I salute another lady—the sponsor of this dinner. Hers
is truly the spirit that seeks no reward beyond the knowledge of a good
task well done. For her name is, at her own request, unknown to us.
But, because of her generosity in paying the costs of this dinner, every
penny raised goes to the cause of the sick, a cause so close to the life of
Al Smith. I know that, with all your hearts, you join me in salute to this
bountiful lady.

But the preachers of materialism brand such acts as hers, and the spirit
that animates you around these tables, as an obsolescent manifestation of
that spiritual force which they term "the opiate of the people."

But should we ourselves ever permit the spirit of charity to weaken
among us, we shall by that much weaken America. Thereby, we can
lose that will to sacrifice, which in hospital ward and on battlefield, in
the daily living of the home and the bustle of an industrial world, only
arouses men and women to the heights of greatness. Thereby we can
lose the recognition of our spiritual brotherhood, of our duty that the more
fortunate help those less fortunate amid the accidents of life. And that
recognition is a tie binding tens of millions of Americans into a single
family.

There is a responsibility on every one of us that we, by word and deed,
further the practice of voluntary giving. This practice is rooted in a spirit
that is at once a mark of the American dream and an essential influence
toward its eventual realization.

Yet, so important, so grave, is this responsibility for the care of the un-
fortunate, that it must be borne not only individually but collectively. In
these days of complex and mass living, we must recognize that disease and
calamity, their prevention and correction, require a broad and concen-
trated effort, in which the Government has a significant role.

The health of a people, Al Smith realized, is intertwined with and
affected by their schooling, their opportunities for leisure and play, their
access to hospitals and medicine. Their health concerns their ability to

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afford more than the bare bones of existence, their hours and their condi-
tions of work; it colors all their present circumstances and all their plans
for the future. Within the State of New York, on a many-sided front,
Governor Smith fought a long war for man's right to enjoy the best means
for the preservation of good health and its restoration whenever injured
or lost.

No one dared call his program a wedge for socialism. Rather, we see him as a champion of freedom and opportunity for the individual to plan his own life, in his own way, according to his own conscience. This right is limited only by the equal rights of all others. But we see him, too, as a man of conscience and good will who realized that within an industrialized society no man, no family, no community, no State can stand entirely alone. Illness within a home may be beyond relief by available local measures. Our Government, founded on the free individual, cannot ignore a single home in such plight.

In these late years, another Governor of New York has earned for himself the gratitude of millions by carrying on, in the tradition of Al Smith, the development of state medical facilities. Obviously, I refer to the distinguished leader—Thomas E. Dewey.

It was in full harmony with the convictions of these two great champions of the public good, that 18 months ago there was established in Washington a new cabinet position and the new Executive Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. In many fields of great human concern, this new department of Government helps the individual, the family, the community, the State to do those essential things that they cannot, by themselves, otherwise accomplish. In time, by means of this new department, we can bring into focus the knowledge, techniques, and scientific resources of State, local, and private groups, as a step toward affording every American full opportunity for good hospitalization and adequate medical care.

In recent months, much that is new has already been done.

Newly passed by Congress is a 3-year $180 million program to build diagnostic and treatment centers, hospitals for the chronically ill and impaired, nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities. Through this program, which supplements other funds for general hospital construction, we at last recognize the growing proportion of aged persons in our population and the resulting increases in chronic illnesses.

Newly passed legislation provides more generous tax treatment of some

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8,500,000 individuals and families with heavy medical, dental or hospital bills, saving them some $80 million a year in taxes. This new law also liberalizes the tax treatment of sickness or accident benefits.

Newly passed by Congress is a major expansion of Federal-State re-habilitation services to restore disabled people to useful, productive lives—a program of tremendous humanitarian importance. With the cooperation of those concerned in private groups and on all levels of government we expect that in 5 years we will have progressed from the rehabilitation program of about 55,000 persons annually in this program to some 200,000 a year. Our goal is to afford opportunity for rehabili-tation to every American who is disabled and can be restored to a useful, self-supporting life.

There is expansion, too, in the crucial field of health research—an intensification of direct governmental research in cancer, blindness, and neurological diseases, and many other ills—all this at the National Insti-tutes of Health. Of special importance to every worker was the opening in Cincinnati this year of the new Taft Sanitary Engineering Center to augment research in environmental and occupational health hazards.

And recent amendments to food and related laws assure better pro-tection of the health of consumers who each year make purchases of $50 billion in this field.

Finally, there was the proposal to encourage the growth and improve-ment of voluntary health insurance.

This was not passed, but by its passage, millions would have had the opportunity—out of their own provident thrift—to increase their pro-tection against the cost of sickness. In this way we would help ease the catastrophic shock of illness and injury on the individual citizens and families of America.

Some extremists of the bureaucratic type challenge the plan because it does not attempt to remove all local and individual responsibility for the care of the sick and the unfortunate. Our refusal to centralize all responsibility and authority in the Federal Government is deliberate; it is an expression of active conviction that though the central Government may aid and coordinate, local authority and private initiative must be supreme in the normal procedure of daily living, else freedom—unless this is so, we all realize freedom, and self-government will be lost.

Others—of the opposite extreme—oppose this legislation on the ground that it might become the entering wedge of socialized medicine. To that

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kind of service in America, my co-workers and I are emphatically opposed. But I hope that none of us confuses social progress with socialism.

We know that the American people will not long be denied access to adequate medical facilities. And they should not be. The program for voluntary health insurance is one further step in achieving this objective in the American way. It is the logical alternative to socialized medicine. We cannot rest content knowing that modern health services are beyond the financial or physical reach of many millions of our fellow citizens. We must correct these defects. I know that in this purpose the Nation has the full support of our unexcelled medical profession which, like all of us, wants better health for all of America.

A proposal to establish a sound reinsurance program will be submitted to the next session of the Congress. It will be an important part of a health program to fill the great gaps in this field of health preservation.

The start now made is only a first beginning on a vast human enterprise—the health of our Nation. This is a task for the individual citizen, the city, the county, the State, and finally, the Federal Government. We Americans have accomplished near miracles in material things. But we are years behind our potential achievement in the availability and adequacy of health services.

But I repeat, the task does not belong exclusively or even primarily to the Congress and the Government. It belongs to each of us—each of us here—and to the communities in which we live. The inadequacy will be fully remedied only as we—each of us—performs his full duty as an American citizen, certain that in so doing he is not only relieving distress but making a more durable contribution to the Republic.

Our goal is a healthier and therefore a stronger America—

Let us, then, resolve that—

Our forward march will be in the tradition of men like Al Smith:

Using Government as the servant of the people—

And cherishing personal sacrifice and the practice of charitable giving.

And, my friends, we will be confident that a healthier and stronger America will better sustain our freedom; better promote our individual and national prosperity; make more certain our security and constantly enlarge our spiritual stature.

I thank you very much.

NOTE: The President spoke at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel at 10:30 p.m. His

opening words referred to Charles Silver, chairman of the dinner, Francis Cardinal

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Let me say, briefly, I believe there are two points. First, those of you who are active in labor, those of you who lead organized labor movements, are concerned about the welfare of your people and concerned about the welfare of the general public, and you know very well, perhaps better than anyone, that this country still has unfinished business, that we have to maintain full employment, that we have to advance the standards of living of our people, of better housing, of better minimum wage, of medical care for the aged.

Franklin Roosevelt could put forward a minimum wage of 25 cents an hour in 1935, but that does not mean the job was finished. Ninety percent of the Republicans could vote against 25 cents an hour in 1935 just as they voted against $1.25 minimum wage in 1960. The principle is the same. It is our responsibility to bring those programs, extension of the right to vote, civil rights, minimum wage, housing, education, to increase the opportunity for all Americans to share in the abundance. And I do not share the view of the Vice President that these programs are extreme; $1.25 minimum wage, not this year, not until 1962, for those people already covered, not until 1964 for the newly covered, and still that bill was voted against by 75 to 80 percent of the Members of the House of Representatives who are Republicans.

Now, I believe the issue is quite clear in this field of social legislation. On those matters of concern to the people, matters which go to the right of a person to participate as an active citizen, because he has to live, I believe we stand on the side of the future.

Secondly, those of you who are active in organized labor are concerned about your country. You hold no narrow view, I am confident, of your position in society. You believe the labor movement and all Americans have an obligation to participate in strengthening our country, making it work, making our system move, providing employment for our people, a better standard of living, setting an example to the world.

So I appreciate your support. I can assure you we are going to keep working and I hope if we are successful on November 8, that it can be the beginning of a great movement forward in this country. Thank you. [Applause.]

SPEECH OF SENATOR JOHN F. KENNEDY, AL SMITH MEMORIAL DINNER, WALDORF-ASTORIA HOTEL, NEW YORK, N.Y., OCTOBER 19, 1960

Senator KENNEDY. Your Eminence, Cardinal Spellman, Mr. Silver, Mr. Vice President, Governor Rockefeller, Mayor Wagner, Mrs. Warner, Members of the Senate, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, fellow voters [laughter], I am glad to be here at this notable dinner once again, and I am glad that Mr. Nixon is here, also. [Applause]. Now that Cardinal Spellman has demonstrated the proper spirit, I assume that shortly I will be invited to a Quaker dinner honoring Herbert Hoover. [Laughter.]

Cardinal Spellman is the only man so widely respected in American politics that he could bring together, amicably, at the same banquet table, for the first time in this campaign, two political leaders who are increasingly apprehensive about the November election [laughter] who have long eyed each other suspiciously, and who have disagreed

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so strongly, both publicly and privately, Vice President Nixon and Governor Rockefeller [laughter].

Mr. Nixon, like the rest of us, has had his troubles in this campaign. At one point even the Wall Street Journal was criticizing his tactics.

That is like the Observatore Romano criticizing the Pope. [Laughter.]

But I think the worst news for the Republicans this week was that Casey Stengel has been fired. [Laughter.] It must show that perhaps experience does not count. [Laughter and applause.]

On this matter of experience, I had announced earlier this year that if successful I would not consider campaign contributions as a substitute for experience in appointing ambassadors. Ever since I made that statement I have not received one single cent from my father. [Laughter and applause.]

One of the inspiring notes that was struck in the last debate was struck by the Vice President in his very moving warning to the children of the Nation and the candidates against the use of profanity by Presidents and ex-Presidents when they are on the stump. And I know after 14 years in the Congress with the Vice President that he was very sincere in his views about the use of profanity. But I am told that a prominent Republican said to him yesterday in Jacksonville, Fla., "Mr. President, that was a damn fine speech." [Laughter.] And the Vice President said, "I appreciate the compliment but not the language." And the Republican went on, "Yes, sir, I liked it so much that I contributed a thousand dollars to your campaign." And Mr. Nixon replied, "The hell you say." [Laughter and applause.]

However, I would not want to give the impression that I am taking former President Truman's use of language lightly. I have sent him the following wire:

DEAR MR. PRESIDENT: I have noted with interest your suggestion as to where those who vote for my opponent should go. While I understand and sympathize with your deep motivation, I think it is important that our side try to refrain from raising the religious issue.

[Laughter and applause.]

One of the subjects that interests candidates and those who write about candidates is whether 1960 will be another 1928. I have had some interest in that question myself, and looking at the speeches of Governor Smith in the 1928 campaign, I am struck by the continuity of the themes. The 1928 and 1960 campaign, with all of the obvious differences, have much in common. In 1928, as in 1960, the Yankees won the penant, the Postmaster General was promising efficient mail delivery at last, farm purchasing power was down some 20 percent in 1928 compared to 8 years earlier, just as it is today. Three million people had left the farms in that period, just as they have in the last 8 years. The stock market was unstable and two-thirds of all corporate profits went to one-fourth of 1 percent of the corporations.

In September 1928, the Republican candidate for the Presidency declared:

> Real wages have improved more during the past 7½ years than in any similar period in the history of our country.

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He spoke of the country's unparalleled progress. He stressed American comfort, hope, and confidence for the future are immeasurably higher than they were 7½ years ago.

The Democratic candidate in 1928 questioned how stable our prosperity was. He pointed to the pockets of industries. We warned of a farm depression. He criticized administration farm vetoes. He stressed, and I quote him, "The necessity for the restoration of cordial relations with Latin America" and he called for more effective action against disarmament.

The Democratic nominee in 1928 spoke 30 years ago tonight about building a stronger America, strengthening not only our economy but our sense of moral purpose and our public duty. In all of these and other ways, 1960 and 1928 may be sisters under the skin.

Some say that this will also be true when the ballots are counted, that the religious convictions of the candidates will influence the outcome more than their convictions on the issues. But this is where I believe that 1928 and 1960 are very different. Regardless of the outcome, and regardless of these similarities, I do not believe the American voter in 1960 is the same as the American voter of 1928, for we live in a different world.

There are a billion more people crowding our globe, and every American can hear the rumbling of a distant drum. The next President will have a budget 25 times as large as that of the candidates in Al Smith's time, and he will face problems unprecedented in that time or in any time in our long history, automation and unemployment, farm surpluses and food shortages, a high cost of living in the midst of an economic slump, new nations, new leaders, the world is different across the street and on the other side of the moon. The white race is in the minority, the free-enterprise system is in the minority, and the majority are looking at us harder and longer than they ever looked before.

The people who live in the tenements of Africa and Asia and Latin America want to fight their way out of the slums. The lower east side of the world is looking for help, and unlike 1928 the lower east side of the world has a voice and a vote.

"The world is large," John Boyle O'Reilly wrote, "The world is large when its weary league two loving hearts divide, but the world is small when your enemy is loose on the other side."

In 1960, as never before, our enemy is loose on the other side. In 1928 the voters perhaps could be excused for not seeing the storm coming, the depression, the Japanese conquest of Manchuria, Hitler's rise, and all the rest. But in 1960, the citizens of this country face the great question of whether freedom will not only endure, but whether it will also prevail. Thus, 1960 and 1928 are very different. It will be with this view of America that we shall accept the fortunes of November 8, 1960, be they favorable or unfavorable, good or bad. The American people in 1960 see the storm coming. They see the perils ahead. 1960 is not 1928. I am confident that whatever their verdict, Republican or Democratic, myself or Mr. Nixon, that their judgment will be based not on any extraneous issue, but on the real issues of our time, on what is best for our country, on the hard facts that face us, on the convictions of the candidates and their parties, and on their ability to interpret them.

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When this happens then the bitter memory of 1928 will begin to fade, and all that will remain will be the figure of Al Smith, large against the horizon, true, courageous, and honest, who in the words of the cardinal, served his country well, and having served his country well, nobly served his God. [Applause.]

REMARKS OF SENATOR JOHN F. KENNEDY, MARTIN'S STORE, FULTON AND DUFFIELD, BROOKLYN, N.Y., OCTOBER 20, 1960

Senator KENNEDY. I come here tonight to ask your support in this campaign. I think this campaign in its own way and considering the problems that our country faces is as important as the campaign of 1932 that elected Franklin Roosevelt President of the United States.

Put your thumb down regardless of what you do. We are fighting a candidate, the Republican Party, that for 20 years has opposed what the people need, minimum wage, housing, unemployment compensation. The real issue is which party and which candidate can best strengthen the United States, can best serve the public interest.

I run against a candidate who in 1960 says we have never had it so good. As a Democratic candidate for the Presidency, I run on a platform that this is a great country that must be greater, a powerful country that must be more powerful, and the chief responsibility of the next President of the United States is to build the strength of America, and when we build the strength of America, we build the strength of freedom. We oppose those who wish to stand as we are, and I come over here to Brooklyn, a Democratic county, and ask your support in this campaign. [Applause.]

This is a contest between the comfortable and the concerned, and here in Brooklyn they are concerned as they are all over America. I come over here and ask your help. [Applause.]

REMARKS OF SENATOR JOHN F. KENNEDY, FULTON AND NOSTRAND, BROOKLYN, N.Y., OCTOBER 20, 1960

Senator KENNEDY. Ladies and gentlemen, I want to present to you Judge Ughetta, who is running for the Court of Appeals in New York State. [Applause.] Your Congressman today, [Applause.]

My name is John Kennedy, and I come here as the Democratic candidate for the Presidency of the United States. [Applause.] I come here as the standard bearer of a party which in this century has run men like Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt, and I run in their tradition.

I want to make it clear that this is a contest between two candidates and two political parties who disagree on what is needed to be done to make our country strong. The Democratic Party and I believe in a minimum wage of $1.25. We believe in urban renewal and better housing. We believe in a stronger economy that provides full employment, and we believe in equal opportunity for all Americans regardless of their race or regardless of their religion. And I come over here to Brooklyn and ask your help. [Applause.]

Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964

Oct. 14 [662]

662 Remarks in New York City at the Annual Dinner of the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation. October 14, 1964

Your Eminence, distinguished guests at the head table, ladies and gentlemen:

It is a source of great pride to be invited by His Eminence Francis Cardinal Spellman to participate in this dinner in honor of one of America's greatest men—Alfred E. Smith.

I am particularly proud to say that in 1928, although I was not old enough to vote, I campaigned for his election to the Presidency of the United States. And it is with the deepest pride that I participated in helping our late beloved President, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, prove to the world that there are no religious bars to the highest office in our land. And what I say to you tonight represents what I believe Al Smith would have endorsed had he been here tonight, because he was a man of true compassion.

I have prepared a statement somewhat more lengthy than I think would be appropriate to give at this late hour, but I shall try to hit the high points, and I stand upon everything in the somewhat fuller exposition.

I was delighted to be welcomed back to the great State of New York by my old friend, the affable Governor of this State. I gather that he does not share some of his colleagues' views on immigration, or perhaps we are still free at least to emigrate between the States!

In any event, I always find it a source of strength to come to this, the leading city in America, this, the melting pot of our country. Here I get inspiration and stimulation.

America's policies toward the world have been carefully built through the years by the leaders of both parties. We will continue to follow this course because it has brought us a hopeful world.

We are, and we will remain, the strongest nation on earth. We are, and we will always be, ready to defend freedom anywhere.

Strength and courage are essential, but they are like the fuel in an airplane. You can't go without it. But neither will it take you where you want to go. For that you need a sense of direction, caution in the cockpit, and an experienced pilot.

But strength is not enough. Other nations feared the might of Hitler, but they would not follow him. They will not associate themselves with us just because of our bombs or our missiles or our factories. We have learned that to deal with the world it must be seen in all of its fantastic complexities.

Almost all general statements about the world are wrong. They are not necessarily false; they seem to me just to be inadequate.

It is true, for example, that communism is a deadly danger, but Russia is a different kind of danger from Yugoslavia. A small Communist Party in Africa is a different danger from the Government of Red China. These different dangers require different policies and different actions, and different replies.

As President, I have no special gift or prophecy. But I do have a special perspective, and a very special responsibility to anticipate the dangers and the opportunities of the future.

Tonight I would like to look forward to this future in three fields:

First, we will work to make the greatness of our institutions match the grandeur of our intentions. I intend to do even more to attract the best minds and the most brilliant talents to our foreign operations, regardless of background or race or party.

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[662] Oct. 14

I want, also, to bring more young people to the conduct of foreign policy. This is the first generation to come of age in an outward looking America. It is a concerned generation. Its members are our greatest asset. We intend to encourage them and to give them early responsibility. This will be the first order of our business. Beyond the association of the West is the association of the world. I do not intend to withdraw from the United Nations. I do not intend to weaken it. I intend to do everything I can to strengthen it.

A second field of danger and opportunity is in our confrontation with Russia and Communist China.

Today there is no longer one cold war; there are many. They differ in temperature, intensity, and danger.

Our relations with the Soviet Union have come a long way since shoes were banged on desks here in New York and a summit meeting collapsed in Paris.

In Asia there is a different prospect. The final outcome will depend on the will of the Asian people. But as long as they turn to us for help, we will be there. We will not and we must not permit the great civilizations of the East—almost half of the people of all the world—to be swallowed up in Communist conquest.

In Viet-Nam we believe that, with our help, the people of South Viet-Nam can defeat Communist aggression. We will continue to act on this belief without recklessness and without retreat.

A third field of opportunity and danger is our relation to the developing world. I do not believe that our island of abundance will be finally secure in a sea of despair and unrest or in a world where even the oppressed may one day have access to the engines of modern destruction.

Moreover, there is a great moral principle

at stake. It is not right in a world of such infinite possibilities that children should die of hunger, that young people should live in ignorance, that men should be crippled by disease, that families should live in misery, shrouded in despair. I will propose steps to use the food and agricultural skills of the entire West in a joint effort to eliminate hunger and starvation.

We will seek ways to stabilize the prices of the tropical commodities which are the life blood of many economies. I will press for prompt execution of the worldwide coffee agreement, and seek action for other products.

We will give our support most of all to those governments whose efforts are directed toward the welfare of all their people and not just a privileged few.

We will always give first attention to our close friendship with the people of Latin America.

You and every citizen of this land can be proud of the role that we have played over the past 20 years. None has ever given of itself so freely to the needs and the protection of others as the United States of America.

Of course, we acted out of enlightened self-interest. We are a nation responsible to our people. But the pages of history can be searched in vain for another power whose pursuit of that self-interest was so infused with grandeur of spirit and morality of purpose.

We have done this because this is the kind of people we are, and this is the kind of a country that we have built.

We have done this because we have never believed the complexity of human experience could be bound in an iron cloak of dogma.

We have deep beliefs. But we have followed where reason and experience led,

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Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964

Oct. 14 [662]

never sacrificing man to the abstract arro-
gance of ideology.

There were those who thought this was a
flaw in freedom, this was an advantage to
the Communists. Well, they were wrong.
Unquestioned obedience to an unyielding
system will not satisfy the needs of man.
And time is slowly unfolding this truth to
all the world and to the Communists them-
selves.

All of us who live today are also a race
to be envied. These next decades can set
the course of the world for a thousand years
or more. There is much danger. But there
is also the joy of great expectations. We
are not in the grip of history. We are the
makers of history. We have the power and
the faith to forge on the anvil of the world
an age tempered to the hopes of man.

How fortunate we are to live at such a
time, with such a belief, in such a young
and resistless land.

So come with me into that uncertain day
already touched with dawn.

Thank you.

NOTE: The President spoke at 11:20 p.m. at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. In his opening words he referred to His Eminence Francis Cardinal Spellman, Archbishop of New York, founder of the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation. Later he referred to Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller of New York.

The complete text of the President's prepared
statement (see reference in the third paragraph of
the foregoing remarks) is printed below as released
by the White House.

STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

America's policies toward the world have
been carefully built by leaders of both parties
over a generation. We have followed a
steady course, not as the result of a con-
spiracy, and not because we have stifled
debate. We have followed it because these
policies are the only way to defend freedom
and keep the peace.

We will continue to follow this course.

It has brought a more hopeful world.

Let me be clear about the foundation of
our policies. We are, and we will remain,
the strongest nation on earth. We are and
we always will be ready to defend freedom.

Strength and courage are essential. But
they are like the fuel in an airplane. You
can't go without it. But neither will it take
you where you want to go. For that you
need a sense of direction, caution in the cock-
pit, and an experienced pilot.

On these qualities we have built our leader-
ship in the cause of freedom.

To lead, we must be respected. Strength
is not enough. Other nations feared the
might of Hitler, but they would not follow
him. They will not associate themselves
with us just because of our bombs or our
missiles or our factories.

There must be identification with our
ideals and our intentions—confidence in our
wisdom and restraint—faith in our vision
and our purpose.

We have not been blinded by the illusion
that all the world is divided into satellites or
enemies.

We have not been blinded by the illusion
of placing all our trust in bombs and armies.

We have not been blinded by the illusion
that we could have our way through threat
and ultimatum.

Because we have been firm as well as pa-
tient, we have the trust of our allies.

Because we have proved our passion for
peace, we have been supported in time of
danger.

Because we have turned our support to
the forces of progress, the forces of progress
have begun to turn to us.

Because we have been responsible in con-
trol of our power, we have won the confi-
dence of all who know the terrors of the
atom.

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[662] Oct. 14

Let us be clear.

If this country is ever guided by policies
which do not command this kind of respect,
no force in all the world will keep the grand
alliance of freedom from being scattered like
sand before the wind.

We have learned that to deal with the
world it must be seen in all its fantastic
complexities.

Almost all general statements about the
world are wrong. They are not necessarily
false. They are just inadequate.

It is true, for example, that communism is
a danger. But Russia is a different kind of
danger from Yugoslavia. A small Commu-
nist Party in Africa is a different danger
from the Government of Red China.

These different dangers require different
policies, different actions, and different
replies.

Beware of those who come to you with
simple slogans. Theirs is the path of peril
and not of peace.

As President I have no special gift of
prophecy. But I do have a special perspec-
tive, and a special responsibility to antici-
pate the dangers and opportunities of the
future.

Tonight I would like to look toward this
future in three fields.

Foreign policy does not work in the ab-
stract. It is conducted by men working
within institutions. Its effectiveness de-
pends upon the talent of the men and the
toughness of the institutions.

You are already served with devotion and
love of country by thousands of outstanding
men and women you do not know, in places
you cannot name. I am proud of them.

I intend to do even more to attract the best
minds and most brilliant talents to our

foreign operations—regardless of back-
ground, or race, or party.

I want, also, to bring more young people
to the conduct of foreign policy. This is
the first generation to come of age in an
outward looking America. It is a concerned
generation. Its members are our greatest
asset. We intend to encourage them and
give them early responsibility. This will
be a first order of business.

We will strengthen not only our own in-
stitutions but those which we share with
others.

We will continue to work toward Euro-
pean unity and Atlantic partnership, know-
ing that progress will require initiative and
sacrifice from us as well as from Europe—
that success will come from years of patient
effort and not a single dramatic move—that
the steps ahead may be more difficult than
the ones behind.

I do not intend to withdraw from the
United Nations. I do not intend to weaken
it. I intend to strengthen it.

The United Nations has flaws and it has
had failures. It now faces a major consti-
tutional crisis. That crisis must be resolved
so that every nation bears its full share of
the costs and burdens.

Let no one think this position is shaped
by the pressures of an election. This prin-
ciple is vital if the United States is to com-
mand the respect and confidence which its
great purpose requires.

With all its defects, the United Nations
has been a source of innumerable achieve-
ments for peace and for the dignity of man.

And wherever it has gone—from the
Congo to the Gaza strip—the Communists
have not conquered. This is not because it
is our ally in the cold war. But it is on the
side of the independence of nations. And

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Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964

Oct. 14 [662]

that is the side we are on.

Twenty years after World War I the League of Nations was dying and war was near. Twenty years after World War II the United Nations is stronger than ever and peace is nearer.

There is no longer one cold war. There are many. They differ in temperature, intensity, and danger.

The test ban treaty and the "hot line" would not have been possible 10 years ago. Conditions did not permit such acts of reason.

When this is so men must work to change these conditions. This we did, from the Marshall plan to the Cuban crisis.

And men must also have the vision to seize the day of opportunity when it comes. This too we have done.

I believe we may be nearing a time for further and more lasting steps toward decreasing tensions and a diminishing arms race. I will try to take those steps—always in consultation with our friends.

I will expect respect for our courage and our convictions. I will offer understanding for the concerns and interests of others.

I will work for the growth of freedom and the survival of man.

In Asia there is a different prospect. On that strife-streaked continent an ambitious and aggressive power menaces weak and poor nations.

Here—as we have done in Europe—we must help create the conditions which can make peace possible. The task is different and more difficult. It is not less important.

We will assist against attack. We will strengthen our commitments of alliance. We will work with the nations of Asia to build the hope and self-confidence on which their independence must rest.

The final outcome will depend on the will of the Asian people. But as long as they turn to us for help we will be there. We will not permit the great civilizations of the East—almost half the people of the world—to be swallowed up in Communist conquest.

Let no one be foolhardy enough to doubt the strength of that unyielding American commitment.

Here, there is a lesson from our own history—one that I know so well. America still bears many scars because our South lagged behind while the North leaped forward. That gap contributed to a civil war and a great depression.

Today Rio and New Delhi are close to New York; closer than Atlanta or Johnson City once were.

I do not believe that our island of abundance will be finally secure in a sea of despair and unrest, or in a world where even the oppressed may one day have access to the engines of modern destruction.

Moreover, there is a great moral principle at stake. It is not right—in a world of such infinite possibilities—that children should die of hunger, that young people should live in ignorance, that men should be crippled by disease, that families should live in misery, shrouded in despair.

If we truly mean our commitment to free-

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[662] Oct. 14

dom, we must help strike at the conditions which make a mockery of that hope.

Since President Truman announced the point 4 program we have extended the hand of compassion toward the world's oppressed. We will continue this help. But it is now clear that the tools we have developed will not do the job alone.

We will give our support most of all to those governments whose efforts are directed toward the welfare of all their people and not a privileged few.

And we will always give first attention to our close friendship with the people of Latin America. Those who share the views and values of our civilization, who share our convictions in the council chambers, must also share the dividends of progress and the dignity of freedom.

We have the skills and resources to improve the life of man. I do not believe we lack the imagination to find ways to shatter the barrier between man's capacity and man's needs.

These are some of the difficulties through which we will move in years to come. There are many others.

For 20 years, under four Presidents, we have kept faith with the same broad principles in pursuit of the same basic goals.

You, and every citizen of this land, can be proud of the role that we have played.

No great power has ever acted with a more abundant spirit or spacious vision than the

United States of America.

None has ever given of itself so freely to the needs and protection of others, as the United States of America.

None has ever walked the stage of the world so exempt of ambition for conquest or domination as the United States of America.

We have done this because this is the kind of people we are, and this is the kind of country we have built.

We have deep beliefs. But we have followed where reason and experience led, never sacrificing man to the abstract arrogance of ideology.

There were those who thought this was a flaw in freedom—an advantage to the Communists.

They were wrong. Unquestioning obedience to an unyielding system will not satisfy the needs of man.

And time is slowly unfolding this truth to the world, and to the Communists themselves.

In 1776 John Adams wrote to a friend: "You and I . . . have been sent into life at a time when the greatest law givers of antiquity would have wished to live. How few of the human race have ever enjoyed (such) an opportunity . . ."

All of us who live today are also a race to be envied. These next decades can set the course of the world for a thousand years. There is much danger. But there is also the

1334

Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964

Oct. 14 [663]

joy of great expectations. We are not in
the grip of history. We are the makers.
We have the power and the faith to forge
on the anvil of the world an age tempered
to the hopes of man.

resistless land.

Come with me into that uncertain day
already touched with dawn.

NOTE: This is the text of a White House release entitled "Statement by the President at the Al Smith Dinner, Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York City." See also note, page 1331, following the President's remarks at the dinner.

## 663 Statement by the President Upon Approving a Veterans' Life Insurance and Pension Bill. October 14, 1964

I HAVE approved H.R. 1927, a bill relating to veterans' life insurance and pension programs.

This bill will immediately increase pensions for over 1 million needy veterans, widows, and children. It will also reopen National Service Life Insurance for approximately 4 million veterans with service-incurred disabilities and for those veterans who are so seriously disabled they are no longer commercially insurable. I urge all eligible veterans to explore this opportunity to help provide financial security for their families.

This legislation also increases the options of those veterans who now carry National Service Life Insurance policies so that they can, if they so desire, convert their policies to plans providing for level premium payments during the rest of their lifetime. Many can avoid premium increases every 5 years, which grow progressively higher as they grow older, often becoming an intolerable burden in their old age when their financial resources tend to be substantially reduced.

Finally, the legislation will make im-

portant improvements in the veterans' pension program, while adhering to the principle that veterans' pensions are based on need as determined by graduated income scales and tests of disability and unemployability. Over 1 million pensioners will receive at least a cost-of-living increase of about 7 percent, and those with the lowest incomes, who are in the greatest need, will receive increases of 15 to 17 percent.

Of particular significance is the change in the pension provisions dealing with recoupment. Until now, in determining eligibility for pensions, veterans were permitted to exclude from income the lump sum value of any contributions they may have made to social security or other retirement systems. Now, H.R. 1927 substitutes a new provision spreading recoupment over the life expectancy of the individual, allowing a deduction of 10 percent annually of the benefits received by the veteran under his social security, annuity, or other retirement systems.

This legislation will substantially strengthen our services to our veterans.

NOTE: As enacted, H.R. 1927, approved October 13, is Public Law 88-664 (78 Stat. 1094).

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Lyndon B. Johnson, 1968

Oct. 16 [540]

and cooperate with the States and the city governments, we can, someday, have a real merit career system for all public employees in this country.

Thank you very much.

NOTE: The President spoke at 5:45 p.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White House. In his opening words he referred to Senator Edmund S. Muskie of Maine, Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee

on Intergovernmental Relations which drafted the bill, Farris Bryant, former Director of the Office of Economic Planning and former Governor of Florida, John A. Volpe, Governor of Massachusetts and Chairman of the 1963 National Governors' Conference, and Price Daniel, Director of the Office of Economic Planning and former Governor of Texas. During his remarks the President referred to John W. Macy, Jr., Chairman of the Civil Service Commission.

As enacted, the bill (S. 698) is Public Law 90-577 (82 Stat. 1098).

## 540 Remarks in New York City at the Annual Dinner of the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation.

October 16, 1968

Your Excellency Archbishop Cooke, Vice President Humphrey, Vice President and Mrs. Nixon, Governor and Mrs. Rockefeller, Mayor and Mrs. Lindsay, Governor Hughes, Governor Dewey, Senator Javits, Senator Goodell, distinguished Members of Congress, Mr. Silver, Mrs. Warner, Mrs. Morrison, ladies and gentlemen:

I was sitting here this afternoon thinking that whoever put this head table together should really be our President.

Because I can tell you that we could use a good consensus politician in the White House.

This is the first time that I have heard of Armistice Day being celebrated in October. Of course, you all remember, we call it Veterans Day now—but you could still fool me with some of the old campaigners who are here tonight.

Even so, I don't think any veteran could appreciate my feelings on this night—except maybe General Custer. And I don't know of any chief—Executive or otherwise—who has ever been surrounded by so many Indians.

It kept me awake all last night. Finally, around 4 a.m. this morning, the ghost of Al Smith appeared at my bedside. He said, "Mr. President, I have seen the guest list

for that dinner, too, and I can't sleep either."

Then Al Smith gave me a tip. He told me to handle you like he had once handled another audience. Soon after his first election as Governor of New York, Al Smith went to visit the State prison at Sing Sing. He was asked to speak to the inmates, but he did not know quite how to start or what to say.

Finally, he began, "My fellow citizens." Then he was reminded that to be a guest of the State's prison meant that you were no longer a citizen. So Al Smith was even more embarrassed. Then he said, "My fellow convicts." That did not sound quite right either, so Governor Smith then waved his arms in a grand gesture and said, "Well, anyhow, I am glad to see so many of you here."

That is my salutation to all of you—for now. But as the resident prisoner of the "big white jailhouse," I do anticipate the very great pleasure of saluting one of you soon with the greeting, "Fellow convict."

I am so honored to have the pleasure of being here with my good friend, His Excellence, Archbishop Cooke, tonight. Although—looking at the company he is keeping—I was tempted to lean over and ask him, Aren't you really in the wrong pew?

I resisted the temptation because of the

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[540] Oct. 16

ecumenical nature of this gathering. To be completely fair, I would have then had to put the same question to Governor Rockefeller—or Mayor Lindsay.

I can just see Al Smith sitting up there tonight with St. Peter—maybe even with Herbert Hoover—chuckling at all the secret thoughts of this head table when they look over at Archbishop Cooke:

- Mr. Nixon, of course, is hoping that the Archbishop has come here to witness a resurrection. He appears to be so confident these days that he is already planning to change the name of Washington, D.C., to Resurrection City.

- Vice President Humphrey is moving a little closer all the time. He is sitting here hoping that the Archbishop perhaps will pass the collection plate a second time. He even suggested to me as I came in that I use my good offices to ask another little favor of the Archbishop—just a small miracle of loaves and fishes.

- Governor Rockefeller is sitting over there smiling and thinking, "Well, they almost got me to the church on time."

- Mayor Lindsay, to his left and our left, always looking far ahead, is offering up a slightly different prayer, "Get me to the church. Get me to the church next time."

There is only one man missing tonight from this very happy scene. I think it is a shame, Your Excellency, that Gene McCarthy has refused to come to church. He has chosen to go off and fast in the desert instead.

I am happy to say, however, that we have another famous American here to console

us. He is an immigrant son who has made good—so good that tonight his name is almost a household word. We are all proud of "Spiro"—Skouras.¹

These days, my friends, I also find myself saying on occasions a nonpartisan prayer. Watching the race from the sidelines, I remember a story that Lincoln once told after he became President. It concerned the man who had once stood right up on the gallows before he got a last-minute reprieve. A year later he was on the way to the gallows again for another crime, and he rode in a slow-moving wagon while hundreds of townspeople rushed to get a front seat at the ceremony. The prisoner stuck his head out of the wagon and shouted, "You needn't be in such a hurry, boys. I have been there—and there won't be any fun until I get there."

Well, I have been there. I won't say that I will be sorry to leave there—to leave it to one of you candidates, but I will say this: This could be my last press conference. Pretty soon you won't have Lyndon Johnson to kick around any more.

But I am very grateful that I could be here in this company tonight. I do appreciate more than I can say the statements of warmth and welcome by Mayor Lindsay and Governor Rockefeller, the very generous references by Vice President Nixon, and the constancy and devotion of Vice President Humphrey.

I want to keep my comments as nonpartisan as possible, so I will include you, Mr. Archbishop, in that final benediction. Just the other day one of our foremost newspapers quoted some of those famous "inside

¹ Spyros P. Skouras, Chairman of the Board, Prudential Lines.

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Lyndon B. Johnson, 1968

Oct. 16 [540]

sources" to charge that a certain important archdiocese suffered from "government by crony." Well, as I have said before, "These are the New York Times that try men's souls."

In all seriousness, my friends, it is a great honor to appear at this traditional charitable dinner in honor of that great American, Al Smith, a dinner that was sponsored so long and so faithfully and so well by that great American, Francis Cardinal Spellman.

The men and women who are here tonight to support the philanthropic efforts of the Archdiocese of New York know the voice of suffering—they know that good men must work and good men must care if we are to have a just society.

So, tonight we can look back 8 years, when Vice President Nixon and John F. Kennedy appeared at this dinner. We can all recall how Americans who cared about the poor and the black and the culturally deprived were very much out of the mainstream.

We know how dramatically and, I think, how profoundly times have changed. Our country has changed and the world is changing.

Tonight, tens of millions of Americans are deeply concerned about the welfare of the less fortunate fellow citizens. Tonight, most all Americans care. That itself, I think, is a great accomplishment.

I would only leave you—both the candidates and the citizens—with one thought. The cause of those deprived and discriminated against is not a cause that can be abandoned or exploited or maligned by any man or party. Their cause and their problems cannot be kicked under a rug or run over by a car. Not if you want America to survive. Not if you want American democ-

racy to remain alive and to remain meaningful.

Yes, there can be and there is legitimate difference about the tactics used to help the poor among us. But one tactic can never be acceptable: that the problem be pasted over by those in either public or private positions of great influence and responsibility; that resources and answers be left only to a few dedicated Americans, to charity, to the kind of people who are gathered here tonight because, I am proud to say, you care about America, and you demonstrate it by your presence.

The goals of private philanthropy can only be reached by broad-based public concern all across America.

I am glad to believe that Americans care tonight. And all of us must continue to care. And whichever of you gentlemen is elected, I know and I believe and I hope and I pray that you will see to that commitment.

Thank you and God bless you all.

NOTE: The President spoke at 11:35 p.m. at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. In his opening words he referred to the Most Reverend Terrence J. Cooke, Archbishop of New York, Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey, Richard M. Nixon, Republican presidential candidate and Vice President of the United States 1953-1961, Mrs. Nixon, Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller of New York, Mrs. Rockefeller, Mayor John V. Lindsay of New York City, Mrs. Lindsay, Governor Richard J. Hughes of New Jersey, Thomas E. Dewey, former Governor of New York, Senators Jacob K. Javits and Charles E. Goodell, both of New York, Charles H. Silver, Vice President of the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation and chairman of the dinner, Mrs. John A. Warner, daughter of the late Alfred E. Smith, and Mrs. Thomas J. Morrison, a major supporter of and contributor to the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation. During his remarks the President referred to, among others, Senator Eugene J. McCarthy of Minnesota, Spiro T. Agnew, Governor of Maryland and Republican vice presidential candidate, and the late Francis Cardinal Spellman, former Archbishop of New York City.

1043

AGNEW

1972

ADDRESS BY THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
ALFRED E. SMITH MEMORIAL DINNER

New York, New York

October 19, 1972

FOR RELEASE: 8 P.M. EDT, October 19, 1972

I would like to talk to you for a few minutes about a topic dear to the hearts of all astute enlightened, observers of the political scene: power.

Now I realize that it is customary not to mention power in front of
professional politicians such as those here on the dias. It's sort of like
mentioning beauty in a roomful of Miss America contestants. Everybody
who has it knows it and doesn't have to be told about it; everybody who
doesn't have it doesn't want to be reminded of it.

Vice Presidents fall into one of those two categories.

Power can be the font of much good; in fact nothing constructive can be accomplished without the benevolent exercise of power. But, like beauty, power is one of those investitures which is talked about far more than it is underatood -- and one which can bring as many problems as it does joys.

To some, the very mention of the word "power" conjures up visions of an
Attila, running roughshod over lesser mortals.

To others, it brings to mind Machiavallien subtley, deviousness without scruple and scheming without ceasing.

Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson, Hubert Humphrey and I agree that there's no way to cram a Vice President into either of those categories.

It was Lord Acton, the great Catholic historian who told us that power tends to corrupt. Our system is based upon the recognition that if government is to be truly free, power must be divided between three separate branches. Indeed, it might be said that the entire political history of the western world is a continuing story of man's successes and failures in dealing with the problems of power.

Now power obviously has its drawbacks. The struggle for power often leads to practices that are at odds with the concept of brotherhood we are honoring tonight.

-more-

-2-

Particularly in an election year we are likely to hear very serious charges made against powerful political figures. Just the other day I read such charges about a figure well known to all of you. I read that he was "an agent in politics and public life of those in Big Business who sought favors and privileges," "that he was "a willing 'tool'" of the "Money Gang," and a "conniving politician." It was further alleged that this political figure was a "brazen performer in politics" and that "hypocrites...liars and press agents 'made'" this man.

I should perhaps pause here and say that while I read these charges only the other day, they were not made this year. In fact they were made 36 years ago. They were made against the man we honor here tonight, Al Smith. It is a comfort to know that Al Smith not only survived such charges but remains today a symbol of honesty and excellence in American politics. The man who made those charges was named Henry H. Klein. Nobody today remembers Henry H. Klein. But everyone remembers Al Smith. There is a lesson there for all of us.

Yes, power is something that, as history teaches us, sometimes brings out the worst in us. But when we are using it for a good purpose, such as the kind of charitable work that is at the heart of this annual dinner, it can be of great benefit to mankind. The power to do good is one of the great gifts God can bestow on any man or group of men -- or any nation. Once attained, such power is a sacred trust.

We in America have that power. Sometimes it is shown by our acts of international beneficence in programs such as the Marshall Plan, the Peace Corps, AID and South Asian Relief, and by programs funded by private citizens through CARE, The Save The Children Federation, the Christian Children's Fund, American ORT Foundation, Catholic Relief Services, the Red Cross and tens of thousands of other charitable agencies.

And then, of course, there is the power to help our fellow Americans who need help, exemplified by such charitable affairs as this.

I know His Eminence, Cardinal Cooke has seen evidence of both kinds of power. As Military Vicar of our Armed Forces he has visited our military men in Vietnam who have been doing what their fathers and their fathers before them have done -- using the power of the United States of America to protect others from domination by Godless dictatorships. And he has also seen the power of organized charity in New York and throughout the country.

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1972

[N]

Yet, when we get down to it, corrupt, repressive power is always
a terminal illness; such power is artificial, a facade. In contrast, there is
what there has always been -- men and women willing to devote their time
and their energy to creating something new or to conserving something worth-
while, and men and women willing to devote their lives to helping their
neighbors. That is what true power is: the force of the human soul in the
pursuit of good. All the rest is more self-aggrandizement -- a transitory
shadow across the path of human progress.

I mention this only because Al Smith had what I would call an almost
inherent knowledge of the true uses of power.

When Al Smith was a young man he acted in plays in his parish. In one
of them, a famous play of the time, a British officer chides an Irish woman
for what he calls her ancestors' extravagance and imprudence. The Irish
woman replies: "Yes... the extravagance of their love for their country and
the imprudence of the fidelity to their faith."

I think those lines must have remained with Al Smith all his life. As a
poor boy, he knew first hand how tough it can be growing up without the advantage
of education and financial security. But he didn't spend his time knocking the
system or weeping and gnashing his teeth over the alleged sickness of his
country. He did what millions had done before him and millions have done
since -- he worked to build a life for himself and his family in the best country
in the world. When he became famous he didn't go to his old neighborhood on
the East Side and tell the youth there how bad they had it or how deprived they
were; he told them what a great country this is and what wonderful opportunities
could be seized. Now that attitude of Al Smith's may be looked upon by some
as naive, or even extravagant or imprudent -- but it's one I think we could use
more of in this country today. He knew that there was a power in faith and love
and hard work that can change the world and he wasn't afraid to use that kind
of power. He loved his country extravagantly and when some might have
thought it prudent to downplay allegiance to his faith, Al Smith would have none
of it.

He once ended a speech with a bit of Latin he had recalled from his days
as an altar boy. Many of you here tonight are familiar with that phrase --
*sursum corda* -- lift up your hearts.

And that is the greatest kind of power, the kind that lifts up the heart of
man. It is the power of brotherhood. That was Al Smith's great gift. He knew
it wasn't enough for us to verbally acknowledge the need for brotherhood or
even give to charitable causes. There must be an internal commitment as well.
There must be a lifting up of the heart, a spiritual dedication to the ideals of
brotherhood.

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-4-

Al Smith knew that *sursum corda* was not a phrase from a dead language, but a message of living truth. He knew from his own experience that the United States of America is a nation that since the beginning has said to the poor and the needy and the enslaved of the world, *sursum corda*.

I believe in those words lies our greatest challenge as a Nation. We must be powerful, not because power in and of itself is desirable, but because it can be used for good. We must be strong, not because national strength is an end in itself but because our strength can, as it has in the past, be used to help those human beings, and even entire nations, who are weak. We must be a land of great abundance and productivity, not only because it gives our citizens the highest standard of living ever known on the face of the earth, but because only out of abundance and productivity can come the food and clothing and shelter that the American people have given to help the world.

Let us remain strong. Let our abundance and productivity continue to grow. And let us never turn away from our responsibilities to help the weak to defend themselves, or to feed the hungry, or to clothe the naked as we have done and as we continue to do. Let us keep the United States what it is now and what it always has been -- keep it as Al Smith saw it -- the single Nation on the face of the earth that can credibly say to the needy and discourage, "we will help you, *sursum corda* -- lift up your hearts!"

# # #

REMARKS BY VICE PRESIDENT-DESIGNATE GERALD R. FORD
AT THE 27th ANNUAL AL SMITH DINNER
AT THE WALDORF ASTORIA HOTEL
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

THURSDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 18, 1973

Hold for release on delivery,
expected at 10:10 o.m.

Cardinal Cooke, Judge Mulligan, Governor Rockefeller,
distinguished guests and friends: It is a privilege for me to
be with you.

As you may know, the President himself was looking forward
to being here tonight, and he asked me to bring you his best
wishes for the occasion and his regrets that the crisis situation
in the Middle East will not permit him to enjoy your fine company.

Having attended these dinners when he was a Presidential
nominee in 1960 and 1968, President Nixon told me it would be
good luck for me to do the same as the Vice Presidential nominee
in 1973. I asked him how he could say it was good luck after
what happened to him in the 1960 election, but he said, "Don't
worry, Jerry -- you're not running against an Irishman.

Before coming up here from Washington this afternoon, a
member of my staff reminded me to be sure and acknowledge in my
remarks that 1973 is the one-hundredth anniversary of Al Smith's
birth. I said to him, I wonder how it would feel to be a hundred.
He said, "After you get through with your confirmation hearings
you may well know how it feels."

But the fact of the matter is that I am on very good terms
with members of both parties in both Houses of Congress, and that
is the way I hope it will remain. I encourage and welcome the
closest scrutiny by them of my qualifications for the job the
President has asked me to fill; I think we owe that to the
American people.

And when that process is completed, I look forward to
serving the national interest and serving the President by doing
everything I can to move the legislative-executive relationship

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-2-

in Washington away from partisanship and polarization onto a
more constructive basis of partnership and cooperation.

I believe that is part of what the President meant when
he spoke of a new beginning for America on Friday night. A new
beginning is both necessary and possible, and if we work together
in the months ahead, not as Republicans and Democrats but as
Americans, we can make it happen.

The great task we face is that of reassuring the American
people that their system of representative government still
works -- that it works not just for the self-interest of those
in office, but primarily for the public interest of all the
people. No one, as this audience well knows, understood better
how to make that system work than Alfred E. Smith.

Al Smith started out, of course, in the legislature of
New York State. Throughout his long service there, he never let
partisanship stand in the way of public service, no matter
whether a Democrat or a Republican was occupying the Governor's
chair, no matter whether Al Smith happened to be serving as
Speaker of the Assembly or in the opposite role -- and might I
add, the equally honorable role -- of minority leader.

Later in his career, this gifted man moved over from the
legislative branch of government into the executive, as I now
hope to do. What I admire about the way Al Smith made that
transition is that the change in jobs made no change whatever
in his outlook as a public servant. I hope to emulate him in
that regard. He did not suddenly become an adversary of the
legislature -- rather he remained a leader and partner in the
State legislative process. His example in the 1920's, I submit,
is one that all of us can profit from in the 1970's.

He was the Happy Warrior, and millions of Americans in both
parties will always remember him that way, with the warmest
affection and with the greatest respect.

We will also remember that this Happy Warrior of the
campaign trail was also a generous peacemaker after the votes
were counted, and a skilled conciliator when the good of the
people was at stake. He was too big a man for partisanship when
principle was on the line, and too patriotic for petty politics
when his country's security was threatened.

(more)

Looking to the future, to the great challenges confronting America at home and abroad -- the challenges of redeeming the integrity of public service, protecting our prosperity, expanding our energy supply, and preserving the peace of the world through strength and negotiation -- my own great hope is that all of us may do honor to the memory of Alfred E. Smith by loving this country as deeply as he did, and by serving her as faithfully.

Thank you.

###

MICROBIAL AREA

[Y]

CARDINAL'S OFFICE

1011 FIRST AVENUE
NEW YORK, N. Y. 10022

3-24-85

S.
ACTION

June 27, 1974

is assigned to

Dear Mr. Secretary:

My prayers have been joined with the prayers of your fellow
Americans for the successful outcome of your historic meetings and
deliberations which are so important for the peace and happiness of
mankind.

Each year, for more than a quarter century, the Alfred E.
Smith Memorial Dinner has drawn thousands of the leading citizens
of the New York metropolitan area and beyond to gather together in
a tribute to a great American and to help in the charitable services of
many of New York's Hospitals. During all these years we have been
fortunate in inviting some of the finest and most noteworthy national
and world leaders to grace our podium as the main speaker at an Al
Smith Dinner.

It is my real personal pleasure to invite you to be the speaker
of the 1974 Dinner of the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation. This
Dinner will be held at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel the evening of
Wednesday, October 16th.

There is no one in America who, through his painstaking
efforts on behalf of peace, would be a more welcome guest nor whose
message would be received with greater interest than your own. I am
very conscious of the tremendous demands which are made on your
schedule and that these demands are often unforeseen, but I would be
most grateful if you would find it possible to accept this invitation.
I want to assure you that your presence with us at the Al Smith Dinner
would be a great honor and a most enjoyable event.

Serving Cardinal Cote

12 01 87 5 770778

DOCUMENT ANALYSIS

September 19th, 1974

TIMETABLE FOR DR. KISSINGER - SMITH DINNER - OCTOBER
16TH, 1974 - WALDORF ASTORIA HOTEL - NEW YORK CITY

The basic timetable of the Smith Dinner on October
16th, 1974, will be this:

The Cardinal will be waiting for Dr. Kissinger at
6:10 p.m. in the Louis XVI Foyer.

The press and photographers will be pleased if Dr.
Kissinger will appear with Cardinal Cooke in the Jade Room for
photographs at 6:15. If Dr. Kissinger wishes to chat with the press,
arrangements can be made; if he does not, appropriate arrangements
can also be made without offense to the press.

The Cardinal and his distinguished guests assemble to greet the other guests in a formal reception line in the Basildon Room at 6:30. At 7:15 the Cardinal and Dr. Kissinger will return to the Jade Room to chat with the other dais guests and proceed a few minutes later into the dining room where we hope to start the dinner promptly at 7:30 p.m. Hopefully, at precisely 9:00 p.m. the Chairman of the dinner will introduce our guests, Miss Kate Smith will sing two or three pieces; Judge Owen McGivern will be introduced and will speak for approximately ten minutes; Cardinal Cooke will speak briefly and will introduce Dr. Kissinger. The dinner will be ended promptly at the conclusion of Dr. Kissinger's talk and he will be escorted off the dais before any of the guests leave the dining room.

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