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4526336
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South Kent Exchange Club, October 28, 1970
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4526336
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South Kent Exchange Club, October 28, 1970
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Gerald R. Ford Congressional Papers
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Crime
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Terrorism
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1970-10-31
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1970
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1970-10-01
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1970
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The original documents are located in Box D30, folder "South Kent Exchange Club,
October 28, 1970" 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States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.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.
all
Fifth
District
only
10/23/70 pm.
Office Copy
CONGRESSMAN
NEWS
GERALD R. FORD
HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER
RELEASE
--FOR RELEASE AT 12 NOON WEDNESDAY--
October 28, 1970
Remarks by Rep. Gerald R. Ford before the South Kent Exchange Club
Legislation which puts together an organized assault against organized crime
and bombings in this country has become Federal law.
This legislation, S. 30, is one of the greatest achievements of the 91st
Congress and a major accomplishment of the Nixon Administration. There is credit
enough for everybody, and credit is due. My only criticism is that the legislation
should have been passed months earlier.
Apart from giving authorities new tools to fight organized crime, the new
Organized Crime Control Act also zeroes in on bombings, arson and other criminal
acts which threaten to turn our citadels of learning into citadels of violence.
I sponsored the anti-bombing provisions which were written into the Organized
Crine Control Act of 1970, in addition to sponsoring other anti-crime measures which
became part of the omnibus crime control bill. I am most pleased that my
legislation has been enacted into law.
Let me impress upon you how critical the campus violence situation has become.
FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover has informed me that the Students for A Democratic
Society, during the last academic year, alone was directly involved in 247 arson
cases, 462 personal injury incidents and more than 300 other episodes of destruction.
Such acts--the most recent at the University of Wisconsin where a student
died in a bomb blast--cannot be allowed to continue. Those responsible must be
tracked down. And the law enforcement agency best suited to that job is the Federal
Bureau of Investigation. I was therefore glad to give my support to the President's
request for 1,000 more FBI agents to investigate campus bombings and arson as well
as to help combat airplane hijackings.
As you know, the FBI now will investigate bombings and arson at all colleges
receiving any form of Federal aid, and that includes virtually all of them.
Under the Organized Crime Control Act just enacted into law, Federal lawmen
will be able to move swiftly and forcefully against terrorist bombers and other
segments of the criminal world.
Not only does the anti-bombing provision cover government buildings and nearly
all college campuses, it also applies to police stations where the City is receiving
(more)
Digitized from Box D30 of The Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
funds under the Law Enforcement Assistance Act as is the case in Grand Rapids.
The new Organized Crime Control Act is of course primarily designed to combat
organized crime.
Basically, it provides for new perjury and contempt procedures calculated to
induce reluctant witnesses to testify and it provides stiffer jail terms for
habitual criminals.
The first five titles of the Act are designed to accomplish one purpose: To
get the facts needed to obtain indictments and convictions.
The new law establishes special grand juries which may exercise more
independence in fulfilling their duties and may sit for up to 36 months. The grand
jury may compel witnesses to talk by guaranteeing their testimony will not be used
against them. If they refuse to talk, they may be held in contempt. If they talk
but lie, they may be tried for perjury. And if the witness puts his life in jeopardy
by talking the Government will protect him and even try to relocate him.
Titles VI and VII of the new law facilitate the actual trial of organized
criminals.
Title VI allows the Government to take a deposition of a Government witness
and use it at the trial if the witness for certain reasons will not be available to
testify in person. This not only protects the Government's case but the witness as
well.
Title VII rules out litigation involving claims of illegal electronic
surveillance by the Government--surveillance which could not have possibly produced
evidence for the prosecution.
Title VIII makes a Federal crime of large-scale gambling operations which are
in violation of State law.
Title IX makes it unlawful to engage in a pattern of racketeering activity as
a means of acquiring, maintaining or conducting a business.
Title X establishes a pre-sentencing procedure for determining whether a
convicted defendant is an habitual, professional, or organized criminal--and provides
an extended sentence for such an offender.
Title XI is the anti-bombing part of the new crime control law.
I do not claim that the new Organized Crime Control Act is a panacea for our
criminal ills. I do not claim we will solve all of our crime problems simply by
having enacted this legislation. But I do believe it will enable local, State and
Federal law enforcement officials and our court system to deal more effectively with
the problem of organized crime.
I have been most anxious to give law enforcement officials the tools to get
the job done. This I believe the Congress has accomplished by enacting the
Organized Crime Control Act of 1970.
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