Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 1 page
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
4526057
label
Fund-Raising Event Honoring Representative Margaret Heckler of Massachusetts, October 30, 1967
core
doc
dtoType
document
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
4526057
sourceUrl
contentType
document
title
Fund-Raising Event Honoring Representative Margaret Heckler of Massachusetts, October 30, 1967
citationUrl
collections
Gerald R. Ford Congressional Papers
Speeches
subjects
Massachusetts
iiifBase
thumbnailUrl
largeImageUrl
imageCount
1
hasImages
yes
source
import
hasTranscription
no
Source extras
naId
4526057
levelOfDescription
fileUnit
recordType
description
ocrSource
nara-archive
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
document
url
mediaId
7422be839cb68eb7
ocrText
The original documents are located in Box D22, folder "Fund-Raising Event Honoring
Representative Margaret Heckler of Massachusetts, October 30, 1967" 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States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.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 D22 of The Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
REMARKS AT FUND-RAISING EVENT HONORING REP. MARGARET M.
HECKLER, R-MASS. -- OCTOBER 30, 1967
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I AM VERY HAPPY TO BE HERE TONIGHT
SINCE IT GIVES ME AN OPPORTUNITY TO TELL YOU HOW VERY PLEASED
I AM THAT THE TENTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS
SAW FIT LAST FALL TO SEND MARGARET HECKLER TO THE UNITED STATES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. I ONLY WISH I COULD STAY TO SEE THE
MOVIE WITH YOU.
THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE A FINE MOVIE COMING UP IN JUST
A FEW MINUTES IS A REMINDER TO ME TO KEEP MY REMARKS BRIEF.
HOWEVER, THE TRUTH IS I DON'T NEED A REMINDER. WHENEVER I AM
IN DANGER OF TALKING TOO LONG IN PUBLIC, I RECALL WHAT
HAPPENED TO ME AT A DINNER PARTY ONE NIGHT. I WAS THE
SPEAKER OF THE EVENING, AND I WAS JUST NICELY GETTING INTO
MY TALK WHEN MY WIFE BETTY SLIPPED A NOTE UNDER MY NOSE.
GERALD R. ALL FORD LIBRARY
-2-
IT SAID WAS K-I-S-S. I SMILED BACK AT HER, THINKING IT WAS
A MESSAGE OF ENDEARMENT, AFFECTION AND ENCOURAGEMENT. WHEN
I FINALLY SAT DOWN, I THANKED HER. "YOU'RE ALL WET," SHE
SAID. "WHAT I WAS TRYING TO TELL YOU WAS, KEEP IT SHORT,
STUPID."
IT'S PRETTY HARD TO BE BRIEF ABOUT MARGARET HECKLER
BECAUSE THERE IS SO MUCH TO BE SAID ABOUT HER. FIRST OF ALL,
YOU PEOPLE ARE FORTUNATE TO HAVE SO ENERGETIC AND HARD-
WORKING A PERSON REPRESENTING YOU IN THE CONGRESS. I KNOW
AND YOU KNOW THAT MARGARET IS SPARING NO EFFORT TO GIVE YOU THE
BEST SERVICE POSSIBLE AND TO VOTE YOUR BEST INTERESTS IN THE
HOUSE.
MARGARET IS A DOER. IT'S VERY APPROPRIATE THAT SHE
REPRESENTS AN AREA THAT LIVES IN THE PAUL REVERE STORY,
BECAUSE MARGARET HECKLER IS THAT KIND OF AN AMERICAN.
IF IT FORD LIBRARY
-3-
HAD BEEN A WOMAN WHO HAD SPREAD THE ALARM THAT NIGHT IN
APRIL, 1775, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN SOMEONE LIKE MARGARET HECKLER.
I WOULD JUST MAKE THE POINT THAT THIS IS THE KIND OF
SPIRIT WE NEED IN AMERICA TODAY, THE KIND OF PATRIOTISM THAT
CRIES OUT IN SUPPORT OF OUR COUNTRY. INSTEAD WE FIND SOME
AMERICANS FLEEING TO CANADA TO ESCAPE INDUCTION INTO THE ARMY
AND THE OTHERS WHO ARE BURNING THEIR DRAFT CARDS IN A
CONTEMPTUOUS GESTURE OF NON-LOYALTY.
IF PAUL REVERE HAD BEEN THAT KIND OF MAN, HE WOULD
NOT HAVE RIDDEN IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT TO EVERY MIDDLESEX
VILLAGE AND TOWN. HE WOULD HAVE SHRUGGED HIS SHOULDERS AND
SAID, "WHY ME? AM I THE ONLY MAN IN TOWN WITH A HORSE."
THAT'S NOT THE KIND OF PERSON YOU WOULD WANT TO SPEAK
FOR YOU. BUT MARGARET HECKLER IS. SHE'LL ALWAYS BE THERE
WHEN YOU NEED HER.
-4-
VLADIMIR KAZAN-KAMAREK OF WELLSELEY HILLS FOUND THAT OUT WHEN
THE COMMUNISTS TOSSED HIM INTO A CZECH JAIL UNDER AN EIGHT-
YEAR SENTENCE. MARGARET IMMEDIATELY WENT TO BAT FOR HIM AND
IS CREDITED WITH HELPING TO OBTAIN KAZAN'S RELEASE.
YOU KNOW, BOBBY KENNEDY SHOWED UP AT KAZAN'S NEWS
CONFERENCE AT KENNEDY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WHEN KAZAN
RETURNED TO THE UNITED STATES. AND, JUST TO SHOW HOW FAIR
HE WAS, BOBBY PRAISED MRS. HECKLER'S ROLE AS WELL AS THAT OF
HIS BROTHER TEDDY IN ARRANGING FOR KAZAN'S RELEASE FROM PRISON.
THE REASON BOBBY HAS SUCH APPEAL IS BECAUSE OF THAT
HAIR, YOU KNOW. I'M TOLD BOBBY'S HAIRDO RESEMBLES NOTHING SO
MUCH AS A HAYSTACK IN HEAT. BUT MARGARET HECKLER HAS HER OWN
SPECIAL BRAND OF CHARISMA OR I WOULDN'T BE HERE TONIGHT, AND
NEITHER WOULD YOU.
IT'S NOT ONLY THE CZECHS WHO HAVE FOUND OUT THAT
BERALD FORD LIBRARY
-5-
MARGARET CAN BE TOUGH. SHE HAS SERVED ON A HOUSE SUB-
COMMITTEE INVESTIGATING POSSIBLE MISUSE OF THE UNITED STATES
PROPERTY THAT BECAME SURPLUS WITH THE U.S.-NATO WITHDRAWAL
FROM FRANCE...AND SHE HAS TAKEN SEVERAL SWINGS AT THE
JOHNSON ADMINISTRATION FOR KEEPING THE TARIFF ON TEXTILES AT
A LOW LEVEL.
MARGARET IS ALWAYS AT WORK, DOING A JOB FOR YOU. AS
YOU KNOW, MUCH OF THE WORK IN CONGRESS IS DONE IN COMMITTEE.
MARGARET IS A MEMBER OF THE VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE AND THE
GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS COMMITTEE, WHICH DOES CONSIDERABLE
FOREIGN AID SLEUTHING.
MARGARET IS TOUGH, BUT SHE NEVER FORGETS SHE'S A
WOMAN. NEITHER DO HER LADY FRIENDS, AND THEY'RE MIGHT PROUD
OF HER AS WE ALL ARE. THAT IS WHY SHE WAS CHOSEN AS THE
FORD
LIBRARY
KEYNOTE SPEAKER FOR THIS YEAR'S NATIONAL CONVENTION OF THE
-6-
REPUBLICAN WOMEN'S FEDERATION.
MARGARET IS ABLE. THE CLEAREST PROOF OF THIS IS THAT
THE OTHER FRESHMEN WHO WERE ELECTED TO THE HOUSE WITH HER
CHOSE HER AS VICE-PRESIDENT OF THEIR GROUP, THE 90TH CONGRESS
CLUB.
I WOULD BE REMISS AT THIS POINT IF I DID NOT PAY
TRIBUTE TO MR. HECKLER. JOHN HAS BEEN A GREAT HELP TO
MARGARET IN EVERY WAY. I AM HAPPY TO REPORT THAT HE HAS MADE
THE ADJUSTMENT TO WASHINGTON LIFE, AND THAT WASHINGTON HAS
TAKEN BOTH JOHN AND MARGARET TO ITS BOSOM. THEY RE A FINE
COUPLE, AND IT IS THIS KIND OF FAMILY STABILITY THAT AMERICA
DESPERATELY NEEDS TODAY.
I HOPE I HAVEN'T DISAPPOINTED ANY OF YOU BY BEING SO
NONPARTISAN TONIGHT. ACTUALLY, I HAVE SAVED THAT FOR THE
FORD
LAST. IN LEAVING YOU, I'D LIKE TO ADDRESS ONE FINAL WORD TO
LIBRARY
-7-
THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
GOODNIGHT, ROCKY. GOODNIGHT, DICK. GOODNIGHT,
GEORGE. GOODNIGHT, RONNIE. GOODNIGHT, MR. PERCY. AND
GOODNIGHT HAROLD STASSEN, WHEREVER YOU ARE.
-END-
FORD & LIBRARY GERVID
Remarks by Rep. Gerald R. Ford, ReMich., at a Fund-Raising Event honoring Rep. Margaret
M. Heckler, R-Mass.
reading Copy
10/30/67
Ladies and gentmlemen, I am very happy to be here tonight since it gives me an
opportunity to tell you how very pleased I am that the Tenth Congressional District
of Massachusetts saw fit last fall to send Margaret Heckler to the United States
House of Representatives. I only wish
I
could
stay to see the movier with
you.
The fact that you have a fine movie comingum up in just a few minutes
However, the
is a reminder to me to keep my remarks brief.
truth is I don't need a reminder.
Whenever I am in danger of talking too long in public, I recall what happened to me
nicely
at a dinner party one night. I was the speaker of the evening, and I was just getting
into my
talk when my wife Betty slipped a note under my nose. All it said
was K-I-S-S. I smiled back at her, thinking it was a message of endearment,
affection and encouragement. When finally I sat down, I thanked her. "You're all wet,"
she said. "What I was trying to tell you was, 'Keep it short, stupid."
so
It's pretty hard to be brief about Margaret Heckler because there is/much to
be said about her. First of all, you people are fortunate to have so energetic
andyou
and know hard-working a person representing you in the Congress. I know
that Margarent It is sparing no effort to give you the best pessible service possible
and to vote your best interests in the House.
Margaret is a doer. It's very appropriate that she represents
an area that lives in the Paul Revere story, because Margaret Heckler is that kind
of An American. If it had been a woman who had spread the alarm that night
would
in
April,
1775,
it
have
been
someone like Margaret Heckler.
I would just make the point that this is the kind of spirit we need in America
today, the kind of patriotism that cries out in support of our country. Instead
some
induction into the Army
we find Americans
fleeing to Canada to escape
are burning their draft cards in a contemptuous gesture of
non-loyalty.
If Paul Revere had been that kind of man, he would not have ridden in the dead
of night to every Middlesex village and town. He would have shuruggedhis
shoulders and said, "Why me? Am I the only man in town with a horese?"
That's not the kind of person you would want to speak for you.
But Margaret Heckler is. She
always
be there when
you need her.
of Wellseley Hills
Vladimir Kazan-Kamarek found that out when the Communists tossed him into a
immediately
Czech jail under an eight-year - sentence. Margaret wenting to
Kazan's
bat for him and is credited with helping to obtain release.
-2-
You know, Bobby Kennedy showed up at Kazan's news conference
at Kennedy International Airport when Kazan returned to the United States. And, just
to show how fair he was, Bobby praised Mrs. Heckler's role as
well as that of his brother Teddy in arranging for Kazan's
release
hair
Thereason from prison. Bobby happeal because ofthat
has
I'm Fold Bottly phairdo resembles nothing
so
much
as
a
haystack in heat. But Margaret Heckler has her own special brand of
charisma...or I wouldn't be here tonight, and neither would you.
It's not only the Czechs who have found out that Margaret can be tough. She
has served on a House subcommittee investigating possible
isuse of the
United States property that became surplus with the U.S-NATO withdrawal from France
and she has taken taken several swings at the Johnson Administration for keeping the
tariff on textiles at a low level.
Margaret is always at work, doing a job for you. As you know, much
of the work in Congressi is done in committee. Margaret is a member of the Veterans
Affairs Committee and the Government Operations Committee, which does considerable
foreign aid sleuthing.
Margaret is tough, but she never forgets she's a woman. Neither do her lady
friends, and they're might proud of her...as we all are. That is why she was chosen
as the keynote speaker for this year's National Convention of the
Republican Women's Federation.
Margaret is able. The clearest proof of this is that
the other freshmen
who were elected to the House with her chose her as vice-president of their
group, the 90th Congress Club.
I would be remiss at this point if I did not pay tribute to
Mr.
Heckler.
John has been a great help to Margaret in every way.
I am happy
to report that he has made the adjustment to Washington life, and that Washington
has taken both John and Margaret to its bosom. They're a fine couple, and it is
this kind of family stability that Amertica desperately needs today.
I hope I haven't disnappointed any of you by being so nonpartisan tonight.
Actually, I have save hat for the last. In leaving you, I'd like to addre
one final word to the next President of the United States.
Good night, Rockly. Goodnight, Dick Goodnight, George.
ORD
Goodnight, Ronnie. Goodnight, Mr. Percy. And Goodnight Harold Stassen,
LIBRARY
whengrever you are.
####