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LeHigh Valley Co-op Farmers Banquet, Allentown, PA, April 26, 1966
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LeHigh Valley Co-op Farmers Banquet, Allentown, PA, April 26, 1966
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Gerald R. Ford Congressional Papers
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The original documents are located in Box D20, folder "LeHigh Valley Co-op Farmers
Banquet, Allentown, PA, April 26, 1966" of the Ford Congressional Papers: Press
Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Copyright Notice
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of
photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. The Council donated to the United
States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.
Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public
domain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to
remain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid
copyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Digitized from Box D20 of The Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
JOKE ABOUT PENTAGON
There must be a short-circuit someplace at the Pentagon.. what with all the
shocking statements that have been made lately about / and by the
Defense Department.
First, the sparks were set flying by a celebrated statement about "shocking
mismanagement" of the Vietnam war--a high-voltage charge which so electrified
Defense Secretary McNamara that he promptly called a press conference to
try to pull Shut-off the switch.
Then a House Armed Services subcommittee last Sunday expressed "shock" at
some of McNamara's decisions on bomber development--or lack of it.
GERALD
Apparently in the interests of trying to shed more light on the subject,
MeNamara came right back and accused the subcommittee of paintaing a "shockingly
distorted picture" of the Pentagon's position on the manned bomber question.
2//PENTAGON
All the scherk S hocks seem to bux have their power source in the Pentagon,
so it must be somebody over there has his wires crossed.
####
LIBRARI
DAIRY CO-OP SPEECH before Le High Valley (Pa.) Cooperative Farmers --
--30th Anniversary Banquet.
Cards for Insert in speech on "A Republic If You Can Keep It"--
1.)
American farmer has become whipping boy of the
Johnson-Humphrey Administration.
2.)
Embarrassed by steady consumer price rise, administration officials
trying to drive down farm prices.
average
3.)
Yet farm prices today are 13 per cent lower than in Korean War year of
1951.
Autail
1 The basket of goods ods and services that - costs
4.
prices
$11.20 today cost $9.54 in 1951.
FORD
-
5.
Maybe administration shrank feels no great political risk in attacking the farmer.
Farm population
by 3.2 million persons between April, 1960, and
April, 1965-from 15,635,000 to 12.4 million.
DAIRY CO-OP SPEECH before Le High Valley (Pa.) Cooperative Farmers --
--30th Anniversary Banquet.
Cards for Insert in speech on "A Republic If You Can Keep It"--
1.
American farmer has become whipping boy of the
Johnson-Humphrey Administration.
2.)
Embarrassed by steady consumer price rise, administration officials
trying to drive down farm prices.
average
3.
Yet farm prices today are 13 per cent lower than in Korean War year of
1951.
retail
The
basket of goods and services that - costs
4.
Bx
pricess
$11.20 today cost $9.54 in 1951.
?
FORD
GERALD
LIBRARY
5.
Maybe administration shrank feels no great political risk in attacking the farmer.
Farm population
by 3.2 million persons # between April, 1960, and
April, 1965-from 15,635,000 to 12.4 million.
6
1.95 112.40
11 Y 70 1170
70
/wo-Panty System
Washington
Two major goals must be achieved if the American Democracy is to continue to
exist and to be strengthened throughout subsequent generations,
First, we must maintain a balance in the legislative, executive, and judicial
branches of government as established by our Constitution.
The parallel task is to preserve the two-party system the genius of our
Democracy.
Enlarging upon the first goal, that of keeping the three branches of government
in balance, I believe that if any one of them becomes too strong or too weak, the
foundations of our government will crack and our freedom will be threatened.
There are disturbing signs of slow erosion in the power of the Legislative
branch, a build-up of awesome strength in the executive arm, and a change from the
intended direction in the Federal Judiciary.
more-
Congress, the legislative branch, has been criticized as being toc slow to
react in an age of speed. Critics have described the House and Senate as being too
cumbersome and too old-fashioned.
Those critics perhaps are unaware that in Congress a system of checks and
balances is provided by the Constitution.
When speed is essential, Congress has proved many times that it can react with
dispatch to meet a crisis in war or in peacetime, in days of economic depression or
in times of glowing prosperity.
It has been said that Congress frequently makes haste slowly. However, the act
of deliberate slowness is a safeguard against racing to the brink of decision. It
prevents a dangerous plunge. Congress should reach its major decisions only after
adequate research, thought, and exhaustive discussion.
GERALD
УРЯЯ!Т
moe-
Reflecting on the duties and obligations of the third branch of government, it
can be said that the Federal Judiciary's function is to interpret the Constitution
and the laws.
There is evidence that the Judicial Branch is arbitrarily elbowing its way to
new positions of authority, disregarding the wise suggestions of judicial restraint
made by the late Justice Frankfurter and others,
When the Supreme Court ordered states to reapportion on the "one-man, one vote"
concept, Justice Frankfurter in a dissenting opinion was critical of an assumption
by the Court- of "destructively novel judicial power."
"In this situation, as in others of like nature, appeal for relief does not
belong here," Justice Frankfurter said. "Appeal must be made to an informed,
civically militant electorate. In a democratic society like ours, relief must come
through an aroused public conscience that sears the conscience of the people's
representatives."
Q00
When the balance of power in Congress is steeply tilted by an overwhelming
majority in one political party, the system of checks and balances is endangered.
This becomes even more serious when the executive branch is dominated by the same
party.
Although the President is the chief executive and head of state for all of us,
he does represent especially the views of the people who voted for him. Members of
Congress, and particularly those in the House of Representatives, are closer to the
Nation's citizens because they are chosen by smaller segments of the Nation.
Members of the House are elected every two years, a fact which in itself places
Representatives closer to the people. Every two years a Representative must go to his
constituents for a mandate to continue in office. His record is placed on the line
and he must be endorsed by a majority of the voters in his district.
GERALD
LIBRARY
more
As in the Senate, the House is represented by nearly every major profession,
national origin, and religion. Congress is a cross-section of the American people,
This is your strength. It should not be lessened by an over-balance of power in the
executive and judicial branches of government.
The responsibilities of Congress are clearly defined in the Constitution, and
include the making of all laws which are necessary and proper for carrying out the
duties and powers of government.
Under the Constitution, every statute requiring concurrence of Congress must
be presented to the President before taking effect. If the chief executive rejects a
proposed act, he can be over-ruled by a two-third majority vote of the Senate and
the House,
It is quickly obvious that a crushing over-balance of political power in both
houses of Congress and in the executive branch weakens the safeguards of the
Constitution.
more-
Justice Frankfurter emphasized that the Supreme "Court's authority--possessed
neither of the purse nor the sword--ultimately rests on sustained public confidence
in its moral sanction."
I have stressed the need to preserve the two-party system as among the major
areas of concern in maintaining our structure of government.
Without any indulgence in partisanship, I am sure we can agree that a strong
two-party system is bedrock assurance that our Democracy will survive, prosper,grow,
and help others in the world to accept their role in the society of free nations.
-more-
A crushing over-balance of strength in either party for too long a time makes a
mockery of our traditions in government, weakens and softens the voice of the
people, and places control in the hands of a comparatively small majority.
These it seems to me are currently the major goals to be sought in the area of
government: a sensitive balance in the legislative, executive and judicial branches,
and a strong two-party system,
more-
$ 20
GERALE FORD FIBRARY
CARDS
ALLENTOWN, PA.
APR, 26,1966
Congress of
the United States LE HIGH VALLEY CO-OP Herald R. Ford
Office of the Minority Leader
M.C.
house of Representatives
OFFICIAL BUSINESS
Speech
Cards
Lettigh Valley Corp
alleatoon, Pa,
Banguet
(april 26 )
GERALD 1020
CONGRESSMAN
NEWS
GERALD R. FORD
HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER
RELEASE
FOR RELEASE UPON RECEIPT
SPEECH EXCERPTS -LE HIGH VALLEY CO-OP FARMERS, ALLENTOWN, PA. - APRIL 26, 1966
The American farmer, who has long been treated like an orphan under
President Johnson's one-big-happy-family style of consensus government, now
has become the whipping boy of the Great Society.
Embarrassed by the steady rise in consumer prices, Johnson-Humphrey
Administration officials are engaged in trying to drive down farm prices. They
have chosen to blame the farmer for the high cost of food despite the fact that
61 per cent of the cost of the stuff in a housewife's shopping basket is added
after it leaves the farm.
Agriculture Secretary Freeman has pointed with great satisfaction to every
reported drop in farm prices in recent days. Yet his department's figures show
that average prices received by farmers for their commodities were 13 per cent
lower in February, 1966, than in February, 1951.
These are the facts, not Johnson-Humphrey Administration fiction. The
farmer is not getting rich at the expense of the housewife. The rest of the
nation may be sharing in a spurious wartime prosperity, but average farm prices
are running 13 per cent under those for the Korean war year of 1951.
*
Meantime, consumer prices keep bouncing upward, whipped skyward by the
inflationary spending policies of the Johnson-Humphrey Administration.
The consumer price index for March shows it now costs $11.20 to buy the
same basket of goods and services that cost $10 eight years ago.
Looking back to 1951, when average farm prices were 13 per cent higher than
they are now, the same goods and services that now cost $11.20 at retail then
cost $9.54.
* *
Perhaps the Johnson-Humphrey Administration feels it can attack the farmer
with impunity and run no great political risks in making him the whipping boy of
today's inflation.
After all, the farm population of America dropped from 15,635,000 in April,
1960, to 12.4 million in April, 1965--a decline of 3.2 million farm persons.
(MORE)
-2-
SPEECH EXCERPT
American farmers can thank God for the common sense of their elected
representatives.
The dairy farmer and America's mothers can be assured that the Congress is
not going to cut the special milk program for school children by $82 million
next year as proposed by Mr. Johnson.
The sorry aspect of this and other proposed budget cuts which help
Mr. Johnson come up with a fictitious $1.8 billion deficit for fiscal 1967 is
that Mr. Johnson could not possibly have believed Congress would vote reductions
in these proven and valuable programs.
There are plenty of ways to cut back on Great Society spending but an
attack on the American farmer should not be one of them.
It's inconceivable to me that the President wants to chop nearly $365 million
out of agriculture's hide while manipulating markets to drive down farm prices.
Yet he has called for a $19 million reduction in the school lunch program
in addition to the $82 million cut in school milk funds, a $26 million slash in
agricultural research, a $100 million drop in the REA loan program, a $120 million
reduction in the agriculture conservation program, a $7.5 million cut in the
cooperative state research program, and a shift of $9.6 million away from the
extension service.
What would the effect of a big cutback in government school milk purchases
be? It seems obvious that more milk would move into the marketplace to depress
dairy prices and this ultimately would mean fewer dairy farmers.
* * *
Actions now being taken by the Johnson-Humphrey Administration to the
detriment of farmers lead to only one conclusion.
There is danger in an excessively powerful central government, although
many Americans seem to have lost sight of that fact.
The American political system now is like a pinball machine that reads
"TILT." The people must see to it in November that the machinery is righted
and a proper balance restored to it.
The two-party system must function adequately if it is to make its own
unique contribution to the American governmental system of checks and balances.
Republicans believe the American electorate will make some much-needed
corrections on November 8.
# # #
FARM SPEECH
CONGRESSMAN
NEWS
GERALD R. FORD
HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER
RELEASE
FOR RELEASE UPON RECEIPT
SPEECH EXCERPTS-LE HIGH VALLEY CO-OP FARMERS, ALLENTOWN, PA. - APRIL 26, 1966
The American farmer, who has long been treated like an orphan under
President Johnson's one-big-happy-family style of consensus government, now
has become the whipping boy of the Great Society.
Embarrassed by the steady rise in consumer prices, Johnson-Humphrey
Administration officials are engaged in trying to drive down farm prices. They
have chosen to blame the farmer for the high cost of food despite the fact that
61 per cent of the cost of the stuff in a housewife's shopping basket is added
after it leaves the farm.
Agriculture Secretary Freeman has pointed with great satisfaction to every
reported drop in farm prices in recent days. Yet his department's figures show
that average prices received by farmers for their commodities were 13 per cent
lower in February, 1966, than in February, 1951
These are the facts, not Johnson-Humphrey Administration fiction. The
farmer is not getting rich at the expense of the housewife. The rest of the
nation may be sharing in a spurious wartime prosperity, but average farm prices
are running 13 per cent under those for the Korean war year of 1951.
***
Meantime, consumer prices keep bouncing upward, whipped skyward by the
ationary spending policies of the Johnson-Humphrey Administration.
The consumer price index for March shows it now costs $11.20 to buy the
same basket of goods and services that cost $10 eight years ago.
Looking back to 1951, when average farm prices were 13 per cent higher than
they are now, the same goods and services that now cost $11.20 at retail then
cost $9.54.
***
Perhaps the Johnson-Humphrey Administration feels it can attack the farmer
with impunity and run no great political risks in making him the whipping boy of
today's inflation.
After all, the farm population of America dropped from 15,635,000 in April,
1960, to 12.4 million in April, 1965--a decline of 3.2 million farm persons.
GERALD FORD LIBRARY
(MORE)
-2-
SPEECH EXCERPT
American farmers can thank God for the common sense of their elected
representatives.
The dairy farmer and America's mothers can be assured that the Congress is
not going to cut the special milk program for school children by $82 million
next year as proposed by Mr. Johnson.
The sorry aspect of this and other proposed budget cuts which help
Mr. Johnson come up with a fictitious $1.8 billion deficit for fiscal 1967 is
that Mr. Johnson could not possibly have believed Congress would vote reductions
in these proven and valuable programs.
There are plenty of ways to cut back on Great Society spending but an
attack on the American farmer should not be one of them.
It's inconceivable to me that the President wants to chop nearly $365 million
out of agriculture's hide while manipulating markets to drive down farm prices.
Yet he has called for a $19 million reduction in the school lunch program
in addition to the $82 million cut in school milk funds, a $26 million slash in
agricultural research, a $100 million drop in the REA loan program, a $120 million
reduction in the agriculture conservation program, a $7.5 million cut in the
cooperative state research program, and a shift of $9.6 million away from the
extension service.
What would the effect of a big cutback in government school milk purchases
be? It seems obvious that more milk would move into the marketplace to depress
dairy prices and this ultimately would mean fewer dairy farmers.
***
Actions now being taken by the Johnson-Humphrey Administration to the
detriment of farmers lead to only one conclusion.
There is danger in an excessively powerful central government, although
many Americans seem to have lost sight of that fact.
The American political system now is like a pinball machine that reads
"TILT." The people must see to it in November that the machinery is righted
and a proper balance restored to it.
The two-party system must function adequately if it is to make its own
unique contribution to the American governmental system of checks and balances.
Republicans believe the American electorate will make some much-needed
corrections on November 8.
# # #