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    "title": "Ford Newsletter, July-Dec. 1955",
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    "ocrText": "This document scanned from Box D1 of the Gerald R. Ford Congressional Papers at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.\nYour Washington Review\nKENT\nCongressman\nOTTAWA\n5\nJERRY FORD\nFOR RELEASE July 7, 1955\nOn the floor of the House the legislative agenda was extremely heavy\nWe\napproved the Military Construction and Mutual Security authorization bills which\ntogether legalized about $5.5 billion in federal expenditures during the fiscal\nyear which started July 1st. Your Congressman is a member of two appropriation\nsubcommittees which are considering the adviseability of putting up the money\nfor both programs. It's more than a little hectic attending both subcommittee\nhearings and at the same time keep abreast of legislative developments in the\nHouse chamber. From the testimony to date it looks as though both appropriation\nrequests can be reduced without impairing our national security. Within the next\nweek the subcommittees will make a final determination as to amount of tax dollars\nthat will be available.\nThe Mutual Security Program which is primarily military aid and assistance\nfor our allies is an effective and economic weapon for world peace. It is our\naim to help our allies expand their military strength. As South Korea, Japan,\nGermany and the others enlarge their Armed Forces, the burden on our own forces\nis reduced. The enormous investments Uncle Sam has made in the past few years has\nbegun to show positive results in important foreign policy advantages. I believe\nSoviet Russia now realizes the United States and its allies are determined to\nprevent communist aggression.\nThe Congress has passed a bill to extend for another year the $6 billion\ntemporary increase in the national debt over the permanent ceiling of $275 billion.\nLast August Congress authorized a temporary increase to $281 billion ex-\npiring on June 30 designed to tide the Treasury over the year's low-collection\nperiods. Now that we haveextended this financial elasticity for an additional\nyear, the Treasury has been proveded with enough flexibility to again handle\nseasonal borrowing problems for the coming fiscal year while meeting the new ob-\nligations incurred by thisusession of Congress. Secretary of the Treasury,\nGeorge Humphrey, assured the Congress in committee testimony that the Treasury\ncan expect to wind up on June 30, 1956, after the insurge of taxes next April, with\nYOUR WASHINGTON REVIEW - Page 2\nthe national debt around $273 1/2 billion. At this writing the public debt stands\nat $273,393,905,022.25.\nMr. Humphrey held out hope that this year will be the last time the\nTreasury will need torequest a temporary increase of the debt limit. In fact, he\nindicated the possibility of a $2 1/2 billion cut in next year's budget which\nwould go along way toward balancing the government's revenues and outlays. The\nimportant thing to remember about this is that today Americans are enjoying new\npeaks of prosperity while the public debt has been held at approximately an\neven level and without additional reliance on government spending.\nSecretary Humphrey has informally submitted a unique plan to balance the\nbudget each and every year regardless of war or peace. He suggests that Congress\nhold all appropriations bills following the usual Congressional consideration\nuntil near the beginning of the new fiscal year and until after the national\nrevenues for the next year can be most accurately estimated. Then, prior to\nsending them to the White House for final action, Congress could balance the\nrevenues and expenditures by either reductions in appropriations or increases in\ntaxation. A special subcommittee of the House Committee on Appropriations has\nbeen appointed to study this approach.\nThe House Public Works Committee favorably reported a bill this week which\nauthorizes the Sanitary District of Chicago to withdraw a total annual average\nof 2,500 cubic feet of water per second from Lake Michigan for a 3-year period\nduring which the effects on the water level can be evaluated. This is an increase\nof 1,000 cubic feet per second. It is alleged that this additional diversion\nwill be less than l inch on Lake Michigan and the effects won't be realized for\nseveral years after the increased drain-off starts.\nVISITORS: Mr. Donald W. Magoon, Miss Barbara Damstra, Miss Shirley Williams,\nMiss Rosilyn Ghycels, Mr. and Mrs. Weldon Brumels, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Ryder,\nMr. and Mrs. John Wierenga, Mr. and Mrs. T. S. Vanderveen and family, Mr. and\nMss. Harris B. Timmer, Mr. and Mrs. Nick Mol and family, Miss Bertel Buston, Miss\nGloria McAdams, Miss Ruth Brinks, Miss Ruth Leonard, Mr. Ralph Kirch, Mr. and\nMrs. P. B. N rthouse and family, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Vanderhoff and family, Miss\nAdaline K. Garcia and Mrs. C. Vorenkamp all of Grand Rapids.\nYour Washington Review\nKENT\nCongressman\nOTTAWA\n5\nJERRY FORD\nfor release July 14, 1955\nThe President has urgently recommended that Congress, before adjournment,\napprove the following five bills which are a part of his overall legislative\nprogram.\nATOMIC PEACE SHIP: The House may support the construction of an atomic\npropelled cargo ship even though it was defeated by the Senate Democrats on a\nstraight party vote, 42 to 41. There is some cloakroom talk that House Democrats\nmay abandon partisanship and support Ike's request.\nMILITARY RESERVE PROGRAM: The House passed the President's reserve\nprogram and if the grapevine stories are accurate this legislation should have\nsmooth sailing in the Senate.\nHOUSING LEGISLATION: The Senate has approved new housing legislation but\nloaded it down with provisions contrary to the President's suggestions. One\nsuch provision authorized 135,000 subsidized low rent housing units annually\nat a terrific annual cost for many years to the federal treasury. Ike recommended\n35,000 such units annually for legitimate slum clearance in larger cities like\nChicago, Detroit, and New York. I doubt if the House will approve subsidized\nhousing but will approve the extension of F. H. A. and related programs as\nproposed by the White House.\nHIGHWAY LEGISLATION: This has already passed the Senate but not in\naccord with the Clay Commission Report. The House Committee on Public Works\nhasn't made up its mind whether to follow Ike's plan for better highways or some\nother version. Undoubtedly a compromise will be worked out on this legislation\nprior to adjournment.\nFEDERAL AID TO SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION:\nThis is currently tied up in both\nHouse and Senate committees. This legislation appears to have the least chance\nfor favorable action this year. The Northern and Southern Democrats are fighting\nover the issue of segregation and other similar problems. These intraparty fights\namoungthe Democrats may indefinitely delay any legislation involving federal funds\nfor school construction.\nYOUR WASHINGTON REVIEW - page 2\nDIXON - YATES: The Eisenhower philosophy of electric power development\nwon another round this week when the President ordered a review of the Dixon-Yates\ncontract in light of willingness by Memphis, Tennessee to build its own generating\nplant. Should Memphis construct its own power facilities the need for the Dixon-\nYates contract will be eliminated as will the need for the Democrat proposed\nfederally financed steam plant at Fulton, Tennessee.\nThe President has won a victory for Michigan and U. S. taxpayers whether\na plant is built by Dixon-Yates or by the city of Memphis. All of us in Michigan\nwill be spared the cost of footing the power bill for this favored area. The\nprimary responsibility for power needs should be placed upon the area to be served\nand I'm glad to see Memphis finally assumes its rightful burden instead of seeking\nunwarranted help from taxpayers throughout the U. S.\nWATER DIVERSION: The House has passed a bill which authorized the Army\nCorps of Engineers to study the effects of allowing the Sanitary District of\nChicago to withdraw 2,500 cubic feet of water a second from Lake Michigan over the\nnext three years.\nI opposed this legislation. As a result of my recommendation in 1952\nthe Corps of Engineers is now conducting a comprehensive Great Lakes Basin water\nlevel survey. It is my hope that when this survey is completed we will have all\nthe answers that competent engineers can give us on this perplexing problem.\nI feel that we should let the Corps of Engineers finish their job before\nany temporary or ill-advised action is taken. The comprehensive survey by the\nArmy Engineers should be completed within 12 months. I doubt whether Chicago\nwould be willing to give up this two-thirds increase in diversion after becoming\naccustomed to it for three years, even if the Engineers' report is adverse to the\nCity.\nVISITORS IN WASHINGTON: SPRING LAKE - Jane Schroeder, Mr. and Mrs.\nRalph W. Cook. ZEELAND - Mr. and Mrs. Alto Snellin. BELMONT - Robert F. Goldonner.\nHUDSONVILLE - Rev. Jack Van Dyken, Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Pohler and family. WEST OLIVE -\nRev. G. B. Rozeboom. LOWELL - Thomas Moore. ALLENDALE - Howard Kraker, Ruth Kraker\nMrs. Harm Kraker, and Mrs. Johanna Kraker. GRAND HAVEN - Lynne Sims, J. B. Sims,\nKay Bronson, Raymond Fisher and family. GRAND RAPIDS - Toby, Louise, Erna, and\nLouis Weiner, Mrs. Madelyn Sonigul, Loretta Kersjer, Georgene Thomas, T. J.\nHoffman, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Hoffman, Alice and Hermine Diephuis, Mr. and Mrs. Paul\nJohnson and children, Robert and Susan, Mr. and Mrs. N. C. Neesley.\nYour Washington Review\nKENT\nCongressman\nOTTAWA\n5\nJERRY FORD\nFOR RELEASE July 21, 1955\nAlthough I am strongly in favor of President Eisenhower's Mutual Security\nProgram, I feel that Congress was justified in reducing the President's request\nfor $3.3 billion by about $649 million. As a member of the House Appropriations\nSub-committee on Foreign Operations I participated in debate during the week\nto help justify this cut.\nIn the past, Congress has appropriated funds for specifically outlined\nprograms only to discover at a later date that by reprogramming the money was\nto other uses. We have also found that those who administered the funds have\ncommitted millions of dollars at the very close of the fiscal year inorder to\nshow a minimum of unobligated funds. The administrators on too many occasions\nhave had no firm policy forspending this money at the time the request for funds\nwere made. This isn't good business or sound policy. There has been con-\nsiderable, in fact much improvement in the management of the foreign aid program\nunder Ike but that doesn't justify Congress giving a \"blank check\" to any agency\nfor the spending of millions of dollars.\nIt is the duty of Congress and your Congressman to check upon those who\nspend our tax dollars and to see that there is no waste or unwise expenditure.\nWhen a close look at a program indicates that it can stand trimming, Congress\nhas an obligation to cut the burden on our taxpayers.\nMEETING AT THE SUMMIT: A leading Republican member of the House Foreign\nAffairs Committee, recently expressed one fear about the meeting at \"the Summit\nwhen he said, \"Russia will offer to give up policies which have been unsuccessful\nin return for which the U. S. and our allies may give up policies which have\nbeen successful. ft President Eisenhower and Secretary D, u lles are acutely aware\nof this fact and are prepared for every eventuality. I have full confidence\nin both the President and his Secretary of State.\nI havelearned from a high official in the Administration that the State\nDepartment for months has been anticipating and exploring every conceivable move\nthe Soviets may make at this meeting in order to be prepared to meet any situation.\nThe disastrous results at Yalta to a considerable degree stemmed from the lack\nYOUR WASHINGTON REVIEW - Page 2\nof preparation by our negotiators prior to the conference. This error is not\nbeing duplicated in 1955. A member of the House in discussing Soviet Russia's\nnew attitude had this to day. \"The Soviet wolf in sheep's clothing is no\ndifferent now than before except for a lately given shampool\nLABOR IN 1955: On July 1 of this year, George Meany, President of the\nAF of L, said that American workers have \"never had it so good but we would like\nto look forward to an even better day in the future.\" The facts bear out Mr.\nMeany's statement. For instance, employment for June rose to a new high of\n64 million, the greatest number in our nation's history. In Michigan, the\nemployment increase of 81,000 achieved between January and May of 1955 was the\nlargest ever registered in the first five months of any year. By mid-May our\nstate's wage and salaried employment had reached 2,334,000 or about 20,000 above\nthe April level and about 142,000 higher than the May 1954 figure. The Grand\nRapids area alone registered a gain in employment of 900 during the past month.\nFrom all indications the Congress prior to adjournment will approve an\nincrease in the minimum wage from 75 cents to $1. I will approve this legislation\nif and when it comes to the floor of the House. Statements have been made that\nminimum wage laws are unwise. This point of view is now academic, because the\nCongress more than a decade ago approved the first Wage-Hour Act. A $1.00\nminimum today will indirectly and perhaps directly benefit Michigan in that the\nsub-standard wages of southern manufacturers will be raised thereby equalizing\nto a degree the competitive position of our nothern workers and industry.\n\"T\nADJOURNMENT: The Democrat leaders in the House and Senate have agreed\nCongress will adjourn July 30th. This adjournment date may be alright but the\nCongress has an obligation to complete its job and do it well regardless of the\ndesire of any member or the leadership to adjourn at an early date. Let's be\ncertain the House and Senate get all their legislative responsivilities done\nbefore closing up shop.\nVISITORS IN WASHINGTON: From Grand Rapids: Mr. and Mrs. Emil Schulz and\ntheir two children, Lois and Dick, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Steketee, Mr. and Mrs.\nHarm Spaulding, Alice White Johnson. From Sparta: John, Elaine Karen, and Mike\nFeichtenbiner. From West Olive: Mr. Richard Radikopf.\nYour Washington Review\nKENT\nCongressman\nOTTAWA\n5\nJERRY FORD\nFOR RELEASE July 28, 1955\nBy July 20 Congress had been in session just about 7 1/2 months. During\nthis period 125 roll call votes and quorum calls were taken in the House of\nRepresentatives. Your Congressman's attendence record for these roll calls\nstands at better than 98 per cent. While answering 123 I was required to miss\ntwo. Those missed were the result of absences from the House floor when I was\nleaving for Michigan to fulfilll engagements of long standing.\nBACKING THE ADMINISTRATION: Out ot these 123 issues, the \"Congressional\nQuarterly\" selected 29 key measures in which they considered President Eisenhower's\nlegislative recommendations at stake. Then they figured out the pro-Eisenhower\nvoting record of each Member of Congress. According to the \"Congressional\nQuarterly\" my own record of 93 per cent places me in a three-way tie in the House\nfor the highest pro-administration batting average. Only on two issues did\nmy thinking differ from that of the President.\nThese two pieces of legislation involved the Alaskan-Hawaii Statehood\nbill and the Customs Simplification proposal which, although rather technical,\nwould change the method of assessing imports for duty. In this latter legislation,\nI did not feel that there was sufficient reason to alter the present system of\ndetermining tariff duties. As for the statehood bill, the President had\nfavored admission of Hawaii but not Alaska. I have consistently advocated the\nadmission of both territories as the 49th and 50th States of the Union and could\nnot see the justification for splitting the issue at this time.\nWHY SUPPORT IKE? Against the background of my pro-Eisenhower voting\nrecord, just this week I received a letter from a lady who asks, \"Why should\na prosperous industrialized state like Michigan send a man to Washington, to\nmake laws to please the President instead of the people of his state?\nI support President Eisenhower because I am convinced his legislative\nprogram is in the best interests of our Nation and State. In view of Ike's\ntremendous national and world-wide popularity, and because he is the represen-\ntative of all the American people, including those in Michigan who gave him\nYOUR WASHINGTON REVIEW - page 2\na handsome 320,000 vote majority in 1952, I feel that by supporting the President\nI am serving the best interests of the people of Michigan and the Fifth Con-\ngressional District. Furthermore, President Eisenhower is not only the great\nleader of our country but he is head of the Republican Party. I believe that\nmuch more can be accomplished by a team effort. This doesn't mean members of\nCongress should be \"rubber stamps\" for the President, far from it, but in the\nlong run more constructive results can be accomplished if everyone is headed in\nthe same general direction.\nCONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT: Through the end of June the President had\na .260 batting average on the proposals he submitted to Congress. Of 200 legis-\nlative requests Ike has made to the Democrat 84th Congress only 52 have been\napproved. Seventy-nine have met with partial progress and 59 have been tossed\naside with no action. Five issues. have been set back and another five rejected\ncompletely. In the 83rd Republican Congress during 1953 and 1954 Ike had a\n.659 batting average.\nHOOVER COMMISSION PROGRESS \"Gobbledegook\" is something we run up against\nin the day-to-day business of government. It may refer to letters over-laden\nwith words and clauses--in fact it may be used to denote any governmental enter-\nprise, however large or small, but done to excess or carried to extremes. Re-\ncently an example of \"gobbledegook\" came into my office. It was a single-spaced\none and a half page letter from the Department of the Army to tell me they\nwould not express an opinion on a certain matter because it was a responsibility\nof the Veterans Administration.\nThe final report of the Hoover Commission said that red tape is costing\nthe government and industry millions of dollars of unnecessary expense. The\nEisenhower A,ministration has taken more than 50 steps to carry out 145 recom-\nmendations of the Commission and the Budget Bureau and Defense Department are\nsetting up units to consider and promote others. As a result we can look forward\nto great savings in taxpayer dollars.\nVISITORS in WASHINGTON From Grand Rapids, Mr. and Mrs. Roscoe MiNER and\ndaughter Lynn, Mr. Harold R. Van't Hof, Mr. Richard D. Ver Veer, Miss Ruth Cole.\nFrom Cedar Springs, Miss Charlene Rayce, Miss Barbara Price. From Belmont,\nMiss Valerie Lasher. From Zeeland, Miss Marjorie Hoeve. From Hudsonville, Miss\nEris Dalman.\nYour Washington Review\nKENT\nCongressman\nOTTAWA\n5\nJERRY FORD\nFOR RELEASE August 4, 1955\nDuring the past week the House shattered all hope for passage of any\nnew highway legislation for this session of Congress. And in doing so it knocked\na big whole in President Eisenhower's list of \"must legislation\" for the 84th\nCongress.\nEverybody agrees that a safe and efficient interstate highway network is\nessential to our Nation's welfare. But as so often happens with projects re-\nquiring large expenditures of money, the death knell is struck by those who may\nhonestly differ over the method of financing. This was the point in the road\nconstruction bill.\nThe President's Highway Program, based on the Clay Report, was beaten\ndown by a vote of 221 to 193. I favored the President's plan which suffered\ndefeat almost exclusively along partisan lines. The Republicans stood by Ike\nand the Democrats rejected his solution for better highways at the earliest pos-\nsible date. The Administration's proposal would have set up a Federal Highway\nCorporation as an independent agency of the government to issue bonds and administer\nthe highway program. The 30-year bonds would be secured by the U. S. Government,\nbut it was estimated that they could be paid off with the anticipated increase\nin revenue from the already established federal excise taxes on highway users.\nPresident Eisenhower estimated that under his expanded highway construction program\ntraffic would double in 15 years. If that is so, existing federal taxes on\nhighway users would bring in twice as much revenue. This \"pay-as-you-go\" policy\nmade sense to me.\nThe alternative to this program of bond financing was a bill sponsored by\nRep. Fallon, Democrat of Maryland, and was submitted to the House by a majority\nof the Committee on Public Works. I voted against this bill which went down to\ndefeat 292 to 123.\nHad the Fallon Bill passed, I feel a whole chain of new discriminatory and\ninequitable taxes on consumers would have resulted. It called for $12,423 million\nto be raised in 15 years on increased taxes from gasoline, tires, deisel fuel,\ninner tubes, and more excise taxes on buses, trucks, and trailers. For instance\nYOUR WASHINGTON REVIEW - page 2\nMichigan has a 6¢ state gas tax as well as the existing 2¢ federal tax. This adds\nup to an 8¢ tax presently paid by Michigan car owners on each gallon of gas purchased.\nThe Fallon Bill sponsored by the Democrats as an alternative to Ike's plan would\nhave increased this to 9 per gallon.\nHigh Democratic leadership in the House has intimated that new road legis-\nlation is killed for the next session of Congress, too. If true, this will be un-\nfortunate for our entire nation. A safe and efficient highway network is essential\nto America's military and civil defense, and to the future economic prosperity of\nour Nation. I hope the Democrat party leaders will accept Ike's suggestion that a\ncompromise on highway financing be worked out. It is too important to let parti-\nsamship prevail.\nTHE SUMMIT Newspapers all over the world hailed the success which met the\nPresident at the \"Summit.\" London's Liberal News Chronical had this to say about\nthe Geneva meeting. \"Twice Eisenhower hoisted the meeting to the true summit. Not\na thousand speeches in Congress or the House of Commons, not a hundred inter--\ngovernmental notes, could have done what one man did who could be seen and heard\nas he spoke.\"\nIt is especially significant to me that President Eisenhower surrendered\nnothing: no territory, no established American policies, and no moral or ethical\nprinciples. Furthermore, nothing was done in secret; all proposals and discussion\nare known to the peoples of the world. And genuine progress toward peace has been\nachieved. An atmosphere has been created in which we can work out some of the more\nserious international disagreements. This is world statemanship at its best.\nIKE'S BUSY SCHEDULE On Friday morning July 29th Ike had breakfast with\nRepublican members of the Congress, his Cabinet and the White House staff. As he\nspoke informally for 15 minutes I marveled at his ability to do what he has done\nso ably in the past two weeks. Here is just a part of that schedule: Ike ne-\ngotiated skillfully and successfully at the \"Summit\" meeting in Geneva. On his\nreturn he reported directly to the American people and in addition fully briefed\ntop Democrats and Republican leaders on what transpired in his conferences with\nthe Soviet leaders and our allies. He kept abreast of legislative developments\non Capitol Hill. He earnestly urged Republican legislators at the breakfast to work\nas a team for an affirmative and dynamic program in the Congress. Yet with all\nthese burdens and responsibilities, Ike looks wonderful and acts healthmer than ever.\nYour Washington Review\nKENT\nCongressman\nOTTAWA\n5\nJERRY FORD\nFOR RELEASE August 18, 1955\nCongress broke through the usual last-minute legislative log jam to adjourn\nabout midnight on Tuesday, August 2nd, and barring a special session, will reconvene\non January 3, 1956.\nIn this session members of the House introduced 7,869 bills, and Senators\n2,759. Also sponsored were several hundred resolutions on various subjects. Pro-\nbably the most outstanding result of this Congress has been the conspicuous lack\nof any big issues or really crucial legislation emerging from these many bills.\nCongressional leadership came up with no original or dramatic legislation of its\nown in the session's seven-month life span.\nWe concluded on a note of disharmony though, when the Democrat leadership,\nunable to pass its own scheme to finance a national highway program through increased\ngas and tire taxes, also defeated President Eisenhower's road-construction program.\nNow while America's traffic problems grow worse with crowding highways and increasing\naccident tolls, the highway bill lies dead in the House. I hope this legislation\nwill be one of the very first matters taken up in the next session of Congress.\nYour Congressman would favor a special Congressional session to get action on the\nbadly needed highway legislation which the country needs NOW.\nCongress refused to act on much important legislation which President Eisen-\nhower considered essential to bur Nation's progress and welfare. Among these\nmeasures were the schoolhouse construction bill, the President's plan for an atomic\npowered vessel, statehood for Hawaii, the President's health reinsurance program.\nON THE ASSET SIDE Although Congress didn't do as good a job on legislation as the\nPresident has done in the field of foreign relations, we can point to a number of\nnóteworthy and positive features of the recent session. Congress passed the $1\nminimum wage which should go far to raise the living standards of many workers\nthroughout the country. The White House program for a modern, balanced military\nforce was accepted, the draft was extended for four years, and Ike's long-sought\nArmed Forces reserve plan was approved. Except for the public housing feature and\nseveral other questionable provisions the housing bill was good legislation.\nis\nLIBRARY\nYOUR WASHINGTON REVIEW - page 2\nSPENDTHRIFT CONGRESS In the Republican 83rd Congress on the President's recommenda-\ntions the House and Senate reduced federal taxes by over $7 billions annually.\nThis was the largest tax cut made by any Congress during the history of the United\nStates. The reduction was made possible only by the increased economy and efficiency\nin the federal government under Ikd's leadership.\nThrough pursuing a policy of taking more federal responsibility in additional\nareas of local responsibility, the current Democrat Congress may rightly be tabbed\na \"spendthrift\" Congress. A careful analysis of the appropriation bills approved\nby this Congress indicates that many of Ike's proposals for reductions in expendi-\ntures have been ignored by the Democrat leadership in Congress. Most of the \"claimed\"\nreductions in the President's budget were really only bookkeeping manipulations.\nFurthermore this Congress has failed to take advantage of the Hoover Commission\nrecommendations which are aimed at making government more economical and efficient.\nFOREIGN POLICY ACCOMPLISHMENTS In the field of foreign relations President Eisen-\nhower has met with outstanding success with not only the Russian leaders but the\nDemocrat Congress as well. He started out in January with an overwhelming vote of\napproval on a resolution to defend Formosa. This has been followed by a three-\nyear extension of Reciprocal Trade, ratification of the Paris Pact, Austrian Peace\nTreaty, South East Asia Treaty Organization and the Nationalist China Defense Pact.\nIKE IN EXCELLENT HEALTH On Tuesday of this week, President Eisenhower held a\nreception in the Rose Garden of the White House for the staff members of Republican\nCongressmen. Frank Meyer, my administrative assistant from Grand Haven, Miss\nMildred Leonard, who lives in Washingto n and keeps this office open all the year\naround, and Barry Brand from Grand Rapids, all members of my staff attended this\naffair. Miss Irene Schroeder, my other secretary from Grand Rapids was on vacation\nand therefore unable to attend.\nAlthough the temperature was in the high 90s and the humidity extremely\ntypical of a moggy summer day in Washington, all three reported to me later that\nIke was in excellent health when he came out to greet all the Republican staff\nmembers. He appeared robust, in fine spirits and rather sun-tanned. They all agreed\nthat the President must be in top physical condition which is responsible in large\npart for the cheerfulness and enthusiasm by which he tackles his job in the White\nHouse.\nYour Washington Review\nKENT\nCongressman\nOTTAWA\n5\nJERRY FORD\nFOR RELEASE August 26, 1955\nA member of Congress after adjournment and before the next session recon-\nvenes has two major government responsibilities. First, and this is un-\ndoubtedly foremost, a Congressman should spend as much time as possible among\nhis constituents to get their reactions in connection with executive policies,\nthe previous legislative session, and the session coming up.\nI have a full 4-month schedule in Kent and Ottawa Counties starting\non September 6th during which time your Congressman looks forward to any\n\"grass-roots\" observations, comments, and suggestions about the operation\nof our federal government. My office in Grand Rapids will be open during\nAugust, September, October, November, and December and in addition I plan\nto visit all communities in the 5th District one or more times in this period.\nYour views, recommendations, and problems are welcomed.\nSecond, a member of the House of Representatives or the Senate has\nan obligation between Congressional sessions to see how government funds are\nbeing spent and whether or not policies are being carried out by the execu-\ntive branch of the government in conformity with legislative intent. This\nfunction of the Congress can best be performed by first-hand investigation\nand analysis. Reading reports in Washington, D. C. on what the Army, Navy,\nand Air Force are doing in Germany or Korea is not nearly as effective as\nseeing the operation in the field many miles from the Nation's Capital.\nThe Committee on Appropriations, and your Congressman has been a\nmember of the group for 5 years, is primarily interested in how U. S. dollars\nare being spent at home and abroad. My particular subcommittees are directly\nconnected with the Department of Defense and the foreign aid program. For\nthe preservation of world peace and the defense of America the U. S. has\nmany military installations and personnel stationed in practically all Anti-\nCommunist countries. The total dollars spent each year by our government to\nbuild up the \"Free Nations\" and maintain the \"peace\" are staggering but if\nthe basic policies are successful, the effort and burden is worthwhile.\nYOUR WASHINGTON REVIEW - page 2\nCertainly another war would be far more costly in lives and dollars.\nThis all leads up to why your Congressman spent 10 days in France,\nGermany, and the Netherlands between August 8th and 18th. It was a rugged\nbug very worthwhile investigating trip on behalf of my committee. Upon my\nreturn to Washington a full report of my findings will be filed with the\nChairman of the Committee. For the next several weeks my weekly newsletter\nwill contain my personal observations on the status of our Armed Forces in\nEurope and my impressions of conditions on the countries visited.\nThe trip from Washington, D. C to Paris via Military Air Transport\nService along with 45 other U. S. government employees and military personnel\nwas without incident. We left the Nation's Capital just a day or two before\nHurricane Connie drenched the eastern eaboard including I'm certain, Betty,\nMike, and Jack. I'll hear more about that when I get home with the family.\nThe first leg of the flight, about 2400 miles from Washington tothe\nAzores took 9 1/2 hours. After a two-hour layover for aircraft refueling\nand breakfast for the passengers the plane took off for the 1400 mile six-hour\nflight to Paris.\nThe first order of business in Europe was a conference with General\nAlfred Gruenther, the top military man at the North Atlantic Treaty head-\nquarters just outside of Paris. General Gruenther has been Commander of all\nNATO forces since 1953. President Eisenhower, then General \"Ike,\" was the\nfirst military head of the allied forces when the joint defense program was\ninitially organized in 1951.\nIke's problem four years ago was to sell the European nations on the\nidea of a unified military effort for the common defense of the Free World\nagainst Communist aggression. General Gruenther's aim in the past several\nyears has been the implementation of plans from a paper organization to a\nstrong joint allied military force. Substantial progress has been made in\nthis anti-communist build up. NATO's military fibre today is impressive\nespecially to those dictators behind the Iron Curtain. This ever-growing\nstrength in my opinion has convinced the Russians in the Kremlin that a waf\nwith the U. S. and its allies now or in the future would likely result in\ntheir defeat. The Soviet leaders appreciating the determination of NATO to\nbuild up military defenses haveenow launched their \"peace offensive.\" Our\nproblem today in the Free World, including the U. S., Europe, and Asia, is to\nseek an enduring peace but to realize peace is attained not from weakness but\nfrom strength.\nYour Washington Review\nKENT\nCongressman\nOTTAWA\n5\nJERRY FORD\nFOR RELEASE September 2, 1955\nWhat actually happens when a member of Congress appears at NATO head-\nquarters for a conference with General Gruenther and his allied nation staff?\nAfter the half-hour drive from Paris you arrive at the area in an American-\nmade car which gets through the well-guarded gate without difficulty. Flags\nfrom all the NATO nations are flown on the lawn in front of a functional-type\nbuilding. Without delay or formality you are whisked directly to General\nGruenther's private office which is about the size of a modest American-home\nliving room. Charts and maps of Europe from the Scandinavian countries to\nTurkey cover much of the wall space.\nGeneral Gruenther himself is a friendly, informal person of medium but\ntrim build. He is most anxious to lay before you the full picture, not only the\nprogress which has been made in 4 years, the headaches which exist now, but also\nthe future good and bad. The General has appeared before my committee several\ntimes in Washington plus the conference at NATO headquarters. On each occasion\nI have been impressed with his vast knowledge of not only the military situation\nbut the interrelated economic and political problems involving the U. S. and\nour European allies. He is candid and factual to the highest degree.\nSuch a confreence lasts about an hour. He points with pride to the\nprogress NATO has made to the defense of the Free World. Among many he mentioned\none simple but dramatic case. Four years ago when NATO was in its infancy it\ntook General Gruenther 12 hours to get Oslo, Norway on the telephone from Paris\nheadquarters and part of the telephone lines went through the Soviet Zone of\nGermany. You can visualize how the Russians could easily tap the wires in those\nhectic days. Today a phone call from NATO headquarters goes through to Oslo in\nthree minutes with nc assistance or rather interference from the Scviets.\nIn an easy but precise and knowledgeable manner General Gruenther points\nout that several years ago NATO had 15 impotent, combined Army divisions which\nwere only a token resistance to the mobilized strength of the Scviet Army and\nits satellites. This preponderance of military power in the hands of the Kremlin\nYOUR WASHINGTON REVIEW - page 2\nprovided no incentive to Bulganin or Khruschev to talk peace.\nReferring to one cf the many charts in his office the General points\nout that in 1952 NATO had less than 20 airfields adequate to handle jet aircraft.\nIn 1955 NATO has 160 jet airbases in the defense zone which starts in northern\nNorway, covers western Europe and terminates in eastern Turkey. This potent re-\ntaliatory airpower which the U. S. and its allies possess, in my opinion, has\ncontributed significantly to the peace overtures from the Reds.\nAfter an hour of information-seeking questions and fully responsive answers,\nthe General suggested that perhaps I might like to talk with General Norstad,\nwho heads up all NATO air operations. This gave me an excellent opportunity to\nprcbe into the aircraft and airfield details of the allied forces.\nOver the years from 1942 I have heard a great deal abcut this young and\nhighly competent combat strategist in cur U. S. Air Force. In many ways he\nreminded me of the late General Vandenberg, former Chief of Staff of the Air\nForce, who had well-known family roots in Western Michigan.\nWe discussed a particular program which General Norstad has sponscred\namong several NATO ccuntries whereby they would develop and produce new jet\nmilitary aircraft so the burden would be less and less cn the U. S. I asked\nhim specifically about the pctency of the Soviet Airforce. His reply was re-\nassuring, emphasizing that the NATO air staff was not \"surprised\" by the alleged\nSoviet aircraft developments of the past 12 months. Unquestionably the Red Air-\nforce has improved in recent months but there is no doubt in the minds cf those\nwho should know that the U. S. Air Force and its allies are far better equipped\nand trained than the Soviets and satellite air contingents.\nThese conferences with NATO commanders didn't end my day. For four hours\nI had several conferences and briefings on strictly U. S. Armed Forces matters\nin the European Theater. Personnel, fiscal and accounting problems rather than\nstrategic military matters took up most of my time in those meetings. Needless\nto say the day, a full one, was both interesting and productive.\nYour Washington Review\nKENT\nCongressman\nOTTAWA\n5\nJERRY FORD\nFOR RELEASE September 8, 1955\nIn five days one can hardly see and fully appraise today's West Germany but in\ntravelling to and from Heidelberg, Stuttgart, Bayreuth, Hof, and Berlin a vivid im-\npression remains with me that the recent resurgence of the Germans has made the Soviet\nrulers greatly worried. My committee trip was primarily aimed at inspecting U. S.\nArmy personnel and financial management but I also had the mission of analyzing\nWest German readiness to receive U, S. military equipment as a partner in the defense\nof the anti-communist family of nations.\nThe West German economy today is bursting with production and prosperty.\nApparently the German people want to prove to the world that they can join the\nU. S. and others as a democratic, free-enterprise nation. The disgrace of Hitler\nand the Nazi they want the world to forget. Most informed sources with whom I\ntalked indicate Germans intend in the future to erect definite safeguards against\nNaziism and a resurgence of Prussian military rule.\nHeidelberg, my first stop, was hardly touched by World War II. I had lunch\nwith General McAuliffe, who heads up U. S Army forces in Europe. He was the troop\ncommander in W. W. II who replied \"nuts\" when the Germans demanded he surrender\nhis forces at Bastogne. A detailed briefing on overall Army policy in the area was\nfollowed by a flight to Stuttgart for a conference with various field commanders.\nStuttgart was badly bombed during the last war and much evidence of U. S.\nAir Force attacks still exists. Nevertheless the rebuilding job has moved ahead to\nan amazing degree. Today as one stands in areas destroyed 10 years ago you are\ninevitably impressed with the necessity of keeping America strong militarily.\nThe next day I inspected the arrival of a new U. S. Army unit at Bayreuth\nand the departure of a similar group for the U. S. It was a part of our Army's\nprogram to rotate divisions intact with the one from the \"States\" replacing the\n\"old hands\" right in the field. Under this personnel rotation plan the new unit\ntakes over the equipment, the quarters, and the deployment assignment with a minimum\nof effort and expense. To find out for myself I discussed the details of this\noperation with privates, sargeants, and lower.' - ranking officers in both outfits.\nAll were enthusiastic.\nYOUR WASHINGTON REVIEW - page 2\nIncidentally when I was in Bayreuth the annual Wagnerian Festival was in\nprogress. We drove around the grounds and walked in the opera house which Wagner\ndesigned himself. Unfortunately there wasn't time to see and hear one of the\nfestival events but it was tremendously impressive to get just a bit of the local\natomsphere.\nFrom Bayreuth I flew in a small Army plane to Hof, Germany which is within\na few miles of the Iron Curtain between Czechoslavakia and free Germany. Here I\ninspected an Army unit with a particularly important military mission. We were\nstill several miles from the Soviet border SO I flew in a helicopter, up to but\nnot over the Iron Curtain.\nFrom the air you look down to see how the Soviets have plowed about a 20-\nyard strip all along their side of the line. This freshly plowed strip apparently\nmakes it easier for them to track down Austrian, German, Czech, and other satellite\ndefectors who want freedom from the iron fist of communism.\nThe helicopter with the pilot and your Congressman landed at one of the very\nsmall U. S. Army outposts not many yards from the border. I talked with the G.I.s\nwho are manning 24-hours a day the very rim of our defenses. These American boys\nin these vital posts have a serious responsibility as they watch the Soviet and\nsatellite forces across a few fields and the plowed strip. This small unit and others\nlike them are our \"eyes and ears\" in the front line of defense against any Soviet\naggression. Their morale is high and they get the best the Army can provide under\nthese difficult conditions. Believe me, they appreciate their responsibility and are\ndoing the job well.\nWhile at the border outpost and at Hof I interviewed several of the German\nborder patrol. These native German police units assist the NATO forces in their\nhomeland in the detection and apprehension of Soviet agents who seek to slip behind\nour lines. The German border patrolmen with highly trained dogs and tommyguns make\nit tough for Soviet and satellite spies.\nAgain it was a long day for we flew back from Hof, to Nuremberg and then to\nBerlin. Next week's newsletter will include my observations on Berlin which as you\nall know is afree island in the center of the Soviet backyard.\nI hope to see as many of you as possible at the Republican Fifth Congressional\nDistrict family picnic on Sepgember 10th at Kollen Park, in Holland. The picnic will\nbegin at 2:30. A pot luck supper and prizes will highlight the affair.\nYour Washington Review\nKENT\nCongressman\nOTTAWA\n5\nJERRY FORD\nFOR RELEASE September 15, 1955\nFlying into Berlin over Russian occupied Germany gives one a very strange\nfeeling. During the flight up the 20-mile wide air corridor from Western Germany\nto Berlin I chatted with the plane crew and as we flew the pilot pointed out\nseveral Red airfields lined with jet fighters, and a couple of Soviet Army bases\nwith well-used infantry and tank training areas. Paradoxically, just that day\nthe Kremlin had announced the Soviet Armed Forces would be slashed 640,000 by\nDecember 1955. Do they mean it? What is the overall significance?\nFirst and foremost the peoples of the world should emphatically understand\nthat in the past two years the United States has reduced its Armed Forces by\n450,000 and cut the annual military expenditures by $7 to $10 billion. In\nthe same period the Soviets have openly admitted increased military budgets and\ngreater numbers in the Red Army, Navy, and Air Force. In other words, the\nKremlin in 1955 is only doing (if they actually do it) what the U. S. has done\nin the previous 2 years.\nThe Berlin airport is Templehof, Hitler's fabulous air terminal in the\ncenter of the city with a population of 3 million. Despite the tremendous U. S.\nAir Force bombings of Berlin itself, Templehof was not too badly damaged.\nFor the next two and a:half:days I inspected the U. S. Troops, their\nbarracks and their mission in this city with 4 separate geographical sectors under\nthe domination of the British, French, Russians, and the U. S. This lack of a\nreally unified municipal government is an undesirable situation in many ways, but\nthe U. S. with substantial German cooperation has been able 'in its sector to\nexpedite economic recovery and war damage reconstruction. This is in vivid\ncontrast with the lack of similar progress in the Russian zone. One can hardly\nvisualize without seeing it first hand the untouched rubble and half destroyed\nwalls that still haunt the Russian-dominated portion of Berlin.\nIt is most difficult to comprehend why the Reds have made only a minimum\neffort to rebuild their Berlin zone. It is contended by Berliners that Russia\nYOUR WASHINGTON REVIEW - page 2\nleaves the many blocks of war ruin as a bitter reminder to the Germans of their\nfolly in invading Russia in 1941. This attitude to say the least is sadistic.\nIt is in direct contrast to America's policy which is aimed at political and\neconomic reconstruction. No Naziism or Prussianism in the political-military\nfield but at the same time a strong, free enterprise, democratically controlled\nnation with sufficient military strength tied in with the anti-communist world.\nIn Berlin I met several G. I.s from Western Michigan, saw their quarters,\nate lunch in their unit mess and talked with their officers. The U. S. military\nforces in Berlin are excellent American emissaries from top to bottom and are\nmaking a substantial contribution to favorable German-American post-war relations.\nOne evening an official in the U. S. Department of State stationed in\nBerlin had a small dinner party with a prominent German elected official as a\nguest. It was interesting and enlightening to discuss with him local German,\nEuropean, and world politics. He was well informed on the U. S., having spent\nsome time in America after the war. Furthermore he expressed the firm conviction\nthat Germany, whatever her international and internal problems might be, was\nadamantly opposed to the Communist philosophy and deeply appreciative of and\nattached to the United States.\nBefore leaving Berlin I spent a few hours driving around the Russian Zone\nof Berlin. The people who unfortunately must live in that area look grim and\ndiscouraged when you see them on the streets. The shop windows are not filled\nwith usable goods for the civilian population and I'm told the quality of the\nmerchandise is vastly inferior to that produced in Western Germany.\nI asked the German driver of the car what he thought about the difference\nbetween the Russian and American Zones of Berlin and our economic philosophies.\nHis practical, down-to-earth reply made sense and is worth remembering. According\nto him a Russian Zone German must work 4 times as long as the German in the\nAllied or free sector of Berlin to earn sufficient money to buy a pair of shoes\nunequal in quality. This was his simple but effective way of saying he and\npractically all Germans want no part of Communism with its failing economic\nand political philosophy.\nNext week, my comments on a three-day visit to the Netherlands.\nYour Washington Review\nKENT\nCongressman\nOTTAWA\n5\nJERRY FORD\nFOR RELEASE September 22, 1955\nThe last leg of the European Committee trip from Berlin to Amsterdam was\nmostly in soupy flying weather, but as we approached the City of Amsterdam the\nskies cleared and for the next three days we had ideal climate. The Dutch\nthemselves complained it was much too hot (80 degrees) but compared to August\nin Washington or Michigan it was delightful.\nAmsterdam from the air or on the ground makes several distinct impressions,\norder and cleanliness. The more one travels about in Holland other characteristics\nappear. They are businesslike but friendly and mighty proud of the terrific\neconomic recovery made in Holland since the end of World War II. Today in the\nNetherlands there is virtually no unemployment. For the past several years the\nDutch government has been extremely farsighted in seeking new industries sponsored\nby foreign capital including the U. S.\nThe first day I spent talking with the U. S. Army, Air Force, and Navy\nattaches who are on the staff of the American Ambassador at the Hague. Over the\nyears there has been considerable criticism of the military attache system. The\nmain contention has been that too many military people have been tied up in this\nnon-combatant field. In addition many have argued that instead of each service,\n(Army, Navy, and Air) having a separate attache staff there should be just one\nunder a single officer.\nI went into this specific problem in some detail in our Embassy in the\nNetherlands. Analysis indicated no overstaffing in this post. There is logic to\nthe policy of an officer from each branch of the service being assigned to a\ncountry. The military attaches have the exclusive mission to collect Army, Navy\nand Air Force intelligence in the country where assigned. An Air Force officer\nwouldn't be too well equipped to collect military intelligence on Dutch naval\nships and policies or vice versa.\nAlso talked at length with our U. S. military advisory officials who are\nworking with the Dutch Army. Over the years the Netherlands has had an exception-\nally fine Navy but the Air Force is new and the Army has traditionally played\nYOUR WASHINGTON REVIEW - page 2\n\"second fiddle. Now under her NATO commitments the Dutch are expanding and\nimproving the Army and Air Force. The U. S. is helping by making equipment\nand training officers available. Progress is probably slower than most authori-\nties would like but the Dutch are part of NATO's backbone and will unquestionably\nincrease their potency in the contest to prevent Soviet encroachments on the\nFree World. Incidentally, the Dutch are rightfully proud of their contribution\nof an Army battalion to the U. N. Forces in the Korean War.\nIn driving around the Dutch countryside while travelling from Amsterdam,\nto Rotterdam, to the Hague and to other areas where conferences were held I\nlearned to admire the fine highway network that covers all of Holland. They\nnot only build excellent roads but in conjunction construct paralleling and\ncomparable bicycle paths. It is almost unbelievable the number of Dutch of\nall ages who use the bike as the main source of transportation.\nOne of the highlights of my entire committee trip was an hour's visit with\nPrince Bernhard at the Royal Palace at Soestdijk. I had met him in 1952 when\nthe Queen and the Prince visited America and specifically Western Michigan.\nProtocol probably precludes me from repeating our conversation but I can\ncertainly indicate my tremendous admiration for his intense and constructive\ninterest in world-wide problems affecting not only his own people but all\nnations.\nPrince Bernhard recalled the warm reception given the Royal Family in\nGrand Rapids, along the highway and in the City of Holland. His memory of\nincidents and local people was astounding.\nFrom Soestdijk to Amsterdam, to the airport and then the long flight back.\nAside from mechanical trouble in one engine, it conked out between Newfoundland\nand New York, the return to Washington was uneventful.\nA lot of territory was covered in 10 days and in my opinion with worth-\nwhile results. A comprehensive report will be filed with my Committee Chairman\nand in the next session of the Congress, which starts January 3, 1956, your\nCongressman will be better prepared to do his committee job.\nYour Washington Review\nKENT\nCongressman\nOTTAWA\n5\nJERRY FORD\nFOR RELEASE September 29, 1955\nNow after two weeks of visiting the smaller communities in Ottawa County\nin my \"mobile office\" I feel a growing understanding of local attitudes and\nfeeling toward many matters of public concern. On Monday, October 3, when I\ngo to Marne from 2:30 until 8:00 p.m. I will have visited 10 communities in\nOttawa County. Then on Tuesday, October 4, I will move into Kent County starting\nat Cedar Springs followed by Kent City, Wednesday, Sand Lake, Thursday, and Sparta\non Monday, October 10.\nI am finding a great deal of pleasure and satisfaction in meeting local\nresidents in this informal manner. I want to emphasize that you and your neighbors\nare most welcome to drop by either to exchange greetings or discuss any personal\nor national problem which may be troubling you. Or if you wish to question me\nabout my voting record, which is available in the trailer, I will be happy to\ndiscuss it with you.\nSo far the two main problems brought to my attention concern social security\nand the farm situation. Many elderly persons have asked me questions about their\neligibility to receive benefits under the social security law. Also, a great\ndeal of interest is shown toward future legislation in this important field.\nFarmers of the Fifth District are concerned about present conditions in our\nagricultural economy. However, most agree there is improvement this year compared\nto 1954. I am sounding out as many farmers as possible to help discover specifi-\ncally their problems and their recommendations for programs to improve our agri-\ncultural economy. Also, I am explaining positive plans being worked out by the\nRepublican Administration to help the farmer. Distinct progress has been made\nand more can be expected.\nThe third subject most generally brought to my attention was the military.\nYoung men soon to face military service questioned me as to the best time and way\nto fulfill this obligation. A large number of veterans have asked me to find\nanswers to specific questions about their individual status with regard to the\nreserve or veteran benefits. But interest in the military goes beyond those who\nwill or have participated actively in our national defense. Our citizens appear\nYOUR WASHINGTON REVIEW - page 2\nto support President Eisenhower's military policies and question the experience\nand judgment of his critics.\nMy \"mobile office\" is a 31-foot house trailer with two rooms. One of these\nis a reception room and the other an office for private and individual discussions.\nI have placed in the reception room a number of government publications which are\nof interest to many people. One of these, entitled \"Family Fare,\" is a cookbook\npublished by the Department of Agriculture which has attracted the most interest.\nSome of the other publications available include \"Infant Care,\" my voting record,\nsocial security information, military academy catalogues, and budget information.\nI will conclude my \"mobile office\" tour on November 2nd at Standale. By\nthis time I hope to have detailed and constructive impressions about the attitudes\nand opinions of the citizens in Kent and Ottawa counties.\nThe fine work being done by the 850 residents of Kent and Ottawa Counties\nwho comprise the Ground Observer Corps has become more and more obvious to me\nsince my return home from Washington. These people are unselfishly devoting time\nend effort to filling the gaps left by radar in our air defense system.\nVclunteers serve two-hour periods with one other person perched in elevated\nobservation posts at eight-mile intervals throughout the countryside. Naturally\nhis \"first line of civilian defense\" is national in scope. However, broken down\nto our own Fifth District it adds up to 23 required observation posts. Of these,\n15 are in Kent County and eight are in Ottawa County.\nThe importance of the work done by the Ground Observer Corps cannot be\nover-emphasized. Yet an adequate job is not being done in Kent and Ottawa Counties\nbecause of too few volunteers. Only two posts are manned 24-hours a day. This\nmeans 168 persons have volunteered to keep each of these on a full-time alert. Out\nof the 15 posts in Kent County six are inactive as are three posts in Ottawa County.\nThose remaining posts on part-time duty are averaging 16 operational hours per day.\nI hope you can see the acute need for additional volunteers to complete\nthe splendid work already being done in the Ground Observer Corps. This work\ncontributes greatly to our national safety.\nYour Washington Review\nKENT\nCongressman\nOTTAWA\n5\nJERRY FORD\nFOR RELEASE October 6, 1955\nPRESIDENT EISENHOWER'S ILLNESS\nAt the time of this writing it is still a little premature to draw any\ndefinite conclusions with regard to President Eisenhower's illness and his future\nin public life. Of one thing we can be sure however, that is, Mr. Eisenhower\nalways has been a team player in running our national and international affairs.\nTherefore, under his Administration we can be sure his policies and our affairs of\nstate will continue to function smoothly and efficiently during the President's\nconvalescence with the team organization he has set up.\nIn the meantime let us all pray for his full and speedy recovery to a\ncomplete and useful life.\nThe greatest advantage for me in taking my \"mobile office\" into the 27\nsmaller communities of Kent and Ottawa Counties is the opportunity to discover\njust what the people I represent in Washington are thinking about. It gives to\nthe people I am meeting a chance to also meet at first hand their Congressman\nwho represents them in the Nation's Capital.\nThe reasons which are bringing people to my \"mobile office\" vary a great\ndeal. But in all I am greatly impressed by how well informed the people of the\nFifth District I have met are on many matters of national importance. I am\nlearning much from talking with them.\nMILITARY RESERVE TRAINING\nIt is apparent that the Reserve Forces Act of 1955, signed into law by the\nPresident on August 9th, is becoming a more real force in the maintenance of our\nnational security. The primary purpose of this act is to provide the trained\nmanpower required by the reserve forces should the need for mobilization ever arise.\nThis Reserve Act creates three categories of possible reservist training.\nOne plan is designed for young men under 18 1/2 years of age who wish to perform\nsix months of active duty training at $50 a month in the grade of private. This\nis followed by participation in reserve unit training for the remainder of eight\nYOUR WASHINGTON REVIEW - page 2\nyears. Another way to perform a reserve obligation would be to serve two years'\nactive duty followed by service as a member of the ready reserve for a period\nwhich, when added to active-duty time, totals five years.\nThe third category applies to persons who were serving on active duty when\nthe act became law and are released from active duty prior to July 1, 1957. These\npersons may join a reserve unit and participate for 1 year which fulfills their\nReady Reserve obligation. The remainder of the eight years may be spent in the\nStandby Reserve.\nPOST OFFICE ECONOMY\nWith its 40,000 outlets and one-half million employees our Post Office\nDepartment is actually the world's largest business. It handles on an average\n175 million pieces of mail each day and as a side line it operates the world's\nlargest savings bank. In past years the Post Office Department has shown annual\ndeficits of about $500 million. This deficit has had to be made up out of the\ngeneral tax receipts.\nThis year the situation is encouragingly different. Policies adopted by\nPostmaster General Arthur Summerfield and put into operation this year will reduce\nthis usual deficit to $360 million, saving the American taxpayer $140 million.\nAnd according to Summerfield new methods and policies are being worked out which\nwill bring additional savings in the future with promises of improving service.\nDEFENSE AND SMALL BUSINESS\nDuring the first six months of this year defense contract awards to\nsmall businesses totalled 23 per cent of all those made by the Department of\nDefense. This compares most favorably with an average of 18.8 per cent for the\npreceding four and one-half years. It is gratifying to see small firms getting\na larger share of defense procurement. In June alone these small business concerns\nreceived $632,000,000 in net defense contract awards.\nYour Washington Review\nKENT\nCongressman\nOTTAWA\n5\nJERRY FORD\nFOR RELEASE October 14, 1955\nMuch is being said about agriculture, present farm prosperity and its\npossible impact at election time. Before we make up our minds about the farm question,\nfirst we should attempt to pinpoint the problem in realistic terms, and then find\nthe causes so as to eliminate them.\nIs farm income declining and are we in a so-called \"agriculture depression?\"\nPer capita net income of farm people was $930 in 1952, $904 in 1953, and $907 in\n1954. Farm real estate valuations jumped by two per cent from 1954 to 1955. Farm\ndebts are only 11 per cent of farm assets, as compared with 19 per cent in 1940\nand 21 per cent in 1930.\nOn the other hand, the parity ratio, which describes prices received by\nfarmers against those paid for goods and services, dropped from 113 in February, 1951\nto 94 in January 1953. Now it stands at 84. So almost two-thirds of the drop in\nfarm prices took place between 1951 and January 1953, and this was under a Democrat\nAdministration. One-third of the drop in farm prices has taken place under Ike's\nAdministration.\nA REAL SOLUTION\nDuring World War II the United States placed agriculture on an emergency\nwar-time footing geared to increase food production. This war footing was based\non rigid price supports for corn, cotton, wheat, tobacco, rice, and peanuts and the\nprogram was in effect until the 1955 harvest. The Republican 83rd Congress enacted\na flexible price support plan to apply for the first time to this fall's crops.\nUnder the Democrat rigid price support policy farm prices not only started to decline\nbut some $7.5 billion worth of surpluses were accumulated and it does cost the\nfederal treasury a million dollars per day for storage fees on these surpluses.\nThis year total agriculture production may break all records.\nNow Secretary of Agriculture Ezra Taft Benson's efforts to shrink the govern-\nment-held surpluses and to modify the role of government in \"managed Agriculture\"\nare piling up illogical, inaccurate, and distorted political charges against him.\nYet it seems that in order to place our agricultural economy on a permanent and solid\nfooting, we need (1) to reduce our surpluses and (2), equate production with markets.\nThe Republican farm policies are working toward these goals. The flexible\nsupport program was legislated with this goal. Secretary Benson is making vigorous\nand imaginative efforts to discover new outlets at home and abroad for our farm\nproduce. Agriculture exports were increased in the past 12 months by almost 10\nper cent. Research is being conducted with many types of products to find new and\nexpanded uses for them. Likewise, in the field of marketing research much effort is\nbeing directed to holding down costs and improving marketing efficiency.\nI don't want to oversimplify or explain away the plight of our farmers. As\nI am talking to farmers ofthe Fifth District in my \"mobile office\" I learn of their\nattitudes and problems. At the conclusion of my comprehensive tour of Kent and\nOttawa Counties I will undoubtedly know the general point of view of our Fifth\nDistrict farmers. At that time I will give a full report.\nSTRENGTHENING FREE ENTERPRISE\nAmerican businessmen, encouraged by the prosperous economic outlook, plan to\nspend about four per cent more for new buildings and equipment this year than they\nspent last year. The Office of Business Economics says business will spend about\n$27.8 billion for expansion in 1955 compared to $26.8 billion last year.\nAnd while prosperity continues the Republican Administration has been trimming\nmany government costs and cutting unnecessary personnel off the payrolls. When\nPresident Eisenhower took office there were 2,365,862 persons on the federal civilian\npayrolls. The latest comparable figure, for July 31, 1955, places the total at\n2,187,021 178,841 less than when President Eisenhower took office.\nThis means an annual saving of $743,263,196 in salaries. It also means less\nbureaucratic red tape and less federal tampering with local and individual areas\nof initiative.\nFROM THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE\nThe armed forces increased their consumption of milk by nearly 100 million\npints from November 1954 through June 1955 under a special program to stimulate\nexpanded use of milk for troop feeding and hospital messes. And the Department of\nDefense is practically finished in writing a new joint-services supply catalog.\nAlready over 100,000 duplicated supply items have been pruned with a $7 1/2 million\nsaving to the taxpayers.\nYour Washington Review\nKENT\nCongressman\nOTTAWA\n5\nJERRY FORD\nFOR RELEASE October 20, 1955\nOften considered the most outstanding printing job done anywhere, when\nCongress is in session the \"Congressional Record\" prints daily the proceedings\nof the Senate and House of Representatives.\nThe debate and discussion entered in the \"Congressional Record\" provides\nvaluable day-to-day information on crucial issues before the Congress. And as its\nname indicates, the pages from the \"Congressional Record\" offer a lasting record\nof what Congress has done and considered. Experts in shorthand take down every\nword uttered in each Chamber which at the close of the day are consolidated, indexed,\nprinted, and distributed by early the following morning.\nApproximately 38,000 copies are printed for each day's session at a cost of\n$1,206,107 in 1954. These are mailed to libraries, newspapers, schools, and key\nindividuals throughout the nation. Also, each Congressional Office receivee two\ncopies of the preceding day's\"Record\" every morning for its own use and 4,000\ncopies are distributed among government agencies in Washington.\nIf you would like to have a copy of the \"Congressional Record\" from the last\nsession to see what is it like, drop me a line and I will be happy to see that one\nis sent to you.\nFEDERAL FLAG PURCHASING\nThe Federal Government is a big flag purchaser, and until recently even\nmanufactured some. In 1952 the Navy, for instance, made 5,300 and bought 6,000\nflags. In 1953, however, the Navy bought all of its ensigns, 22,100, for $145,000.\nThis year the Navy is purchasing even more flags.\nFlags that fly over Government buildings are bought and distributed by\nthe General Services Administration. It orders 8,000 a year, and supplies them\nto buildings other than the Post Office and Defense Departments.\nCIVIL RIGHTS AND CONGRESS\nIn the last session of Congress, 111 bills and resolutions affecting civil\nrights were introduced. But civil rights legislation made virtually no progress\nwhatsoever under the Democrat majority in the Congress.\nOnly one measure, a non-controversial bill to permit federal employment of\nMongolians, was passed by the House; the Senate acted on no civil rights legislation.\nSPEAKING ACTIVITY\nMy schedule has been a full one since I returned to Michigan from Washington\nearly in September. Presently a typical day for your Congressman may include two\nor three morning hours in the office followed by a late morning speaking engagement\nusually at a high school, then lunch with a speech before a service club. At\n2:30 I have been arriving at my \"mobile office\" remaining there until after 8:00 p.m.\nUsually another speaking engagement or TV appearance will follow this taking me\ninto the late evening hours.\nI have been most fortunate to have had these opportunities to talk and\nspeak before school and civic groups, church clubs, service clubs, and military\norganizations.\nSERVICE MAIL AND SUBSIDY\nA report by-the Civil Aeronautics Board shows the trend in subsidizing\nairlines which carry United States mail is decreasing. Government subsidies paid\nto this industry for the fiscal years of 1956 and 1957 will be reduced to\n$48,500,000. This figure represents a decrease of $23,500,000 or 33 per cent less\nthan the subsidy for fiscal year 1954 and $7,200,000 or 13 per cent less than the\nsubsidy for the 12 months in fiscal 1955.\nA number of reasons are accountable for this decreasing need for subsidy\nfor airlines which carry the mail. These include: (1) The high level of economic\nactivity enjoyed by the industry; (2) Expanded and low-cost transportation by air\ncoach; (3) The increased volume of: military mail moving by commercial air carriers;\nand (4) Increased efficiency on the part of the air lines.\nThis reduction in airline subsidies is definitely an accomplishment of the\nEisenhower Administration.\nYour Washington Review\nKENT\nCongressman\nOTTAWA\n5\nJERRY FORD\nFOR RELEASE October 27, 1955\nLittle known, yet a vital element of our democratic process! I am\nreferring to the consent calendar in the consideration of which your Congressman\nparticipated during the last session of Congress.\nThree Republicans and three Democrat Members of Congress are selected\nby their respective House party leaders to serve as \"official objectors\" on the\nconsent calendar. In 1950 your Congressman was first appointed an\"official objector\"\nby the Republican leadership in the House. I have continued in that capacity during\nthe 84th Congress.\nThe consent calendar is adapted only to legislation which is not expected\nto become controversial or draw political lines. After legislation of this kind\nhas been reported from a committee, the chairman may request that it be placed on\nthe consent calendar. I was on the consent calendar dealing with public bills.\nThere is also a consent calendar for private bills. On the first and third Mondays\nof each month these bills come up before the House for unanimous approval. But\nprior to this, I would receive, along with the other members of the objectors of\nthe consent calendar, the legislation recommended by the various committees with\nan analysis of each bill.\nWhen this legislation would come up for House approval any member might\nregister his objection. But it is the duty of the \"official objector\" to have\nsifted the bills and resolutions to prevent the unwitting passage of any measures\nwhich may possibly prove controversial or political in nature.\nShould someone object to the passage of any legislation brought up in this\nmanner, the bill is held over for the next consent calendar. If three persons\nobject the second time, the measure is taken off the calendar to follow the same\nprocedure as any other bill in the House.\nMOBILE OFFICE REPORT\nNow after visiting 22 communities of Kent and Ottawa Counties in my \"Mobile\nOffice\" I feel this project has been extremely successful. With only two exceptions,\nand those very brief, I have been occupied constantly by local residents coming to\nthis \"office.\" So far I have met and talked privately with approximately 800 persons\nin this manner. Later I will report to you more fully on the results from my\n\"Mobile Office\" tour.\nSTREAMLINING GOVERNMENT\nDuring the first three years of the present Administration, the Federal\ngovernment spent $36 billion less than it would have, had the \"spendthrift\"\npolicies of the preceding Administration been continued. This sum represents a\nsaving of nearly $1,000 for every family of four in the United States.\nThe Republican trend toward streamlining government has been apparent in\nall branches and agencies. For instance, the Army's standardization of tank parts\nwill save taxpayers $560,000,000 during the next 10 years. And the Bureau of\nEngraving has cut operating expenses by an estimated $1,350,000 a year starting\nthis November 1 through improving methods and modernizing equipment. The Department\nof Defense recently announced that through the sale of surplus, obsolete and\nworn-out materials in the fiscal year 1955, it was able to collect $143 million.\nThis represents the highest percentage return on these sales in four years.\nREMODELING THE CAPITOL\nLast year Congress appropriated $5 million in the first move to give our\nUnited States Capitol Building a face-lifting. And each successive session of\nCongress can be expected to make additional appropriations until the work is\ncompleted.\nThe last major construction work on the Capitol was completed in 1865.\nEver since then Capitol architects have recognized the need to correct the archi-\ntectural defect which has placed the Dome off center and too near the Capitol's\nfront side. Present plans call for a 40-fcot extension of the front or east side\nto correct this long-standing architectural fault.\nThese same plans make provision for a more substantial central portion to\nreface the sandstone structure which has been there since the cornerstone was\nlaid in 1793. Also, the addition will make space available for much needed\noffice quarters, committee rooms and restaurant facilities.\nYour Washington Review\nKENT\nCongressman\nOTTAWA\n5\nJERRY FORD\nFOR RELEASE November 3, 1955\nAmericans can be extremely thankful for President Eisenhower's rapid recovery\nfrom his illness. It also seems as though we can be grateful to Dick Nixon and\nthe manner in which he has measured up to his responsibilities under the Constitution\nas \"first in command\" during Ike's absence.\nDick Nixon has been a sincere, conscientious and constructive Vice President,\nwho through tireless effort and with President Eisenhower's wholehearted approval,\nmolded his office into an active and dynamic force for carrying out Administration\npolicy. Now the whole country is profiting from these qualities the Vice President\nis exhibiting as the temporary leader of the Eisenhower team during the President's\nconvalescence.\nHOOVER COMMISSION PROGRESS\nThe second Hoover Commission, a bi-partisan group, has made 314 recommendations\ndesigned to modernize and make our government perform more economically and effi-\nciently. Many of the Hoover Commission Reports are now being put into effect within\nthe Executive Branch of Government and the Administration has set up machinery to\ntake action on more of these proposals to streamline the executive branch of the\nfederal government.\nOf the Hoover Commission recommendations 46 per cent do not require the\napproval of Congress for action. The dollar savings which can be attained through\nthese proposals are substantial and according to the Commission should be reflected\nin lower taxes.\nFor instance, the Commission's Task Forces estimated that $360 million a year\ncould be saved on overseas economic activities, $340 million on food and clothing for\nthe armed forces and $151 million on transportation.\nTIMBER FOR THE FUTURE\nThe Department of Agriculture issued a report recently containing some vital\ninformation about future timber requirements for our Nation. It pointed out that our\ntimber requirements are expected to be so high by the end of the 20th century timber\ngrowth will need to be from 70 to 120 per cent greater than it now is.\nThe United States including Alaska, controls 8 per cent of the forested area of\nthe world and 15 per cent of the timber under exploitation. Yet the country has\nno prospect for an excess of forest land because of increasing industrial uses for\ntimber, as well as the downward trend resulting from land cleared for agriculture,\nhighways, and urbanization.\nThe Secretary of Agriculture has directed that several important programs be\nintensified immediately to help increase and preserve United States timber resources.\nThese steps include improved forest management to minimize the dangers of loss from\nfire, disease, and insects; research to improve forest quality and increase production;\nand the search for new locations for planting.\nPENSION FUNDS\nOur elderly citizens have growing assurance of financial security if the vast\npension funds built up by private industry and the government are any indication.\nCorporation pension funds have passed the $11-billion mark. This figure represents\nan increase of 77 per cent during the past three years. And pension funds maintained\nby state and local governments had jumped from $6.4 billion in 1952 to $8.7 billion\nin\n1954. These increases were made possible by the present high level of national\nprosperity.\nTRUE TO THE TEST\nIn 1949 a 12-year-old girl, Helen Liu Kalsbeek came to the United States from\nChina on a six-month visitor's visa. At the date her visa expired I was privileged\nto assist in obtaining for Helen a stay of deportation which extended her visa\nindefinitely and made her eligible for citizenship.\nAt this time a number of people had faith in Helen who as a child had endured\nmany trials during the several wars in China. After World War II an American\nmissionary in China adopted Helen and brought her to Grand Rapids.\nLast week those who had faith in Helen as a 12-year-old immigrant girl were\nshown that, now as a 17-year-cld senior at Christian High School in Grand Rapids\nand a U. S. citizen, Helen has lived up to this faith. For Tuesday night, October 26,\nHelen Liu Kalsbeek tied for top honors in the 1955 high school essay contest sponsored\nby the Grand Rapids Real Estate Board. Topic of the essay: \"What The Bill of\nRights Means to Me.\"\nYour Washington Review\nKENT\nCongressman\nOTTAWA\n5\nJERRY FORD\nFOR RELEASE November 10, 1955\nMy \"mobile office\" tour is now history but many memories remain of the\nexperiences gained from meeting the people living in and around the 27 small\ncommunities I visited.\nI believe that there are actually two different sides to a tour such as\nI took of the Fifth District, One side concerns the educational aspect that\ncomes through meeting people and listening to their comments and observations\non matters of importance to them. Then there is the less serious side which\ninvolves the personalities and compatibilities of people of all ages, occupations\nand interests, Next week I will report on my observations of what the residents\nof the Fifth District are thinking about national and world issues. But this\nweek I want to tell you something about the people I met and a few interesting\nevents arising through becoming better acquainted with them.\nTALKING TO SCHOOL GROUPS\nIn all I had 863 private discussions with individuals in the \"mobile\noffice\" between the regular hours of 2:30 and 8:00 p.m. But this doesn't tell\nthe whole story of my visits to these communities. In 15 areas I spoke to local\nhigh and junior bigh school classes. At Borculo 28 seventh and eighth graders\ntook time out from their classes to ride their bicycles to the \"mobile office\"\nwhere I spoke briefly while they gathered around the trailer.\nIn Allendale I spoke to students from the local consolidated school as they\nchanged buses enroute home and in Cascade a school bus brought 50 seventh and\neighth graders to the trailer. At Lowell 70 members of the eighth grade civics\nclasses (and in Jamestown 7 members) came to the office and questioned me as a\ngroup about the functioning of our government.\nOTHER GROUP MEETINGS\nAlso. in 15 communities I was privileged to speak to local service groups\nbefore my office hours and attend suppers or coffee hours after leaving the\ntrailer office. At Belmont I met the Township Board and a number of local\ncitizens in the Township Hall from 8:00 until 9:00 p.m. A similar informal\nevening affair was staged by the Chamber of Commerce at Cedar Springs; there was\nFORD\na luncheon at Hudsonville and a meeting with civic leaders in Byron Center.\nLIBRARY\nI attended a jointly sponsored pot-luck supper at Alto; while at Harvard I was\nhonored with an invitation to have dinner with a family in their home. At\nCaledonia and Cascade, as in other communities, I met Township and village officials.\nEighty residents of Allendale came to a dinner in their new Township Hall for the\nlargest single gathering of my tour.\nSOME SIDELIGHTS\nAs I have indicated, I had the privilege of sampling the excellent home-style\ncooking of many housewives throughout Kent and Ottawa Counties. These included\nhome-made pies and a number of excellent hot dishes which would often arrive around\nthe dinner hour,\nAt Borculo the local businessmen presented me with a simulated American flag\nmade from red., white. and blue gladioli. In Zeeland a farmer gave me a dozen\ndouble-yoked eggs which were not only unusual but the Ford family found them to\nbe of excellent quality. At Sparta and Marne I was again reminded of the delicious\napples grown in our vicinity with presentations of several half buschels by indi-\nvidualegrowers, On several occasions folks gave me flower bouquets for Betty.\nExperiences such as these represent a sort of special heart-warming compen-\nsation for being your Representative. I am very grateful to each and all for this\nthoughtful hospitality. Another such incident occurred at Marne when two children\nof about eight years brought a bouquet of garden flowers, saying \"We picked the\nbest we could find.\" And at Nunica a group of Boy Scouts on a scavenger hunt\nhad to obtain the signature of your Congressman as one item in their assignment.\nMAKING ARRANGEMENTS.\nAt times there seemed to be endless details involved in making my \"mobile\noffice\" tour. I had to depend largely upon local people in the communities visited,\nand on Tom Boss who with his father efficiently hauled the trailer from community\nto community,\n2 Prior to visiting a town we needed a satisfactory location, an electrical\noutlet. and somehow to get the word around that we were coming. Ted Olmstead,\nwho sells house trailers on Plainfield Avenue just outside of Grand Rapids,\nprovided the trailer. But before we could move into the first community the\ndetail of location, insurance, and adequately equipping the 31-foot \"office\" needed\nto be met. All this never could have been accomplished without the kind assistance\nand response from people throughout Kent and Ottawa Counties.\nIt has been a wonderful experience for me. Thanks to everyone for all the\nhelp,\n[1955]\nYour Washington Review\nKENT\nCongressman\nOTTAWA\n5\nJERRY FORD\nYOU ARE INVITED TO A CITIZENS' METTING WITH\nCONGRESSMAN GERALD R. FORD, JR.\nMONDAY, NOVEMBER 14\n700 P. M.\nROBART SCHOOL\nTOPICS FOR DISCUSSION:\n1. The disposal of federally owned land in Ottawa County.\n(Should it be returned to private ownership? If so, how?)\n2. Fighting the European Pine Shoot Moth.\n3. Tariff duties on Christmas trees.\n4. Some problems of blueberry growers.\nDear Friend:\nYou are invited to meet with other citizens\nof the West Olive area to discuss the above topics with\nyour Congressman at the Robart School on Monday evening,\nNovember 14, at 7:00 P. M. I do not plan to make a speech\nbut rather to participate in a general discussion of those\ntopics in which you are interested.\nMr. Clarence Reenders, Chairman of the West\nOttawa Soil Conservation Board and Chairman of the Conser-\nvation Committee of the Ottawa County Board of Supervisors\nhas kindly consented to accompany me to this meeting. We\nare especially interested in determining what you, as\ncitizens of the area, believe should be done with the\nfederally owned land in your community.\nWe hope that many of you will meet with us so\nthat we may have the benefit of your thinking.\nSincerely,\nYour Washington Review\nKENT\nCongressman\nOTTAWA\n5\nJERRY FORD\nFOR RELEASE November 17, 1955\nThis week I am presenting a few of the major problems and suggestions that\ncame to my attention during the two-month tour with the \"mobile office.\" Almost\n70 per cent of the visitors to the trailer had either a personal problem involving\nan agency or department of the federal government or a suggestion for changes in\nexisting federal laws. Approximately 30 per cent of those who stopped in while\nwe covered 27 communities of Kent and Ottawa Counties wanted to say hello and\nextend a friendly welcome.\nSocial Security legislation seemed to prompt the most questions with the\nexception of queries about agriculture. In a subsequent newsletter I will\nsummarize what appear to be views of Fifth District farmers on the complicated and\ncontroversial farm issue.\nSOCIAL SECURITY QUESTIONS\nIn 1954 the Congress extended the coverage of Social Security to include\nfarmers and several other occupational groups. Many older farmers are apparently\nanxious to retire under this new pension in the law which went into effect\nJanuary 1, 1955. To qualify as a beneficiary the farmer must be extremely careful\nthat his business arrangement for the operation of the farm fits the requirement\nof the law. In addition, during 1955 the farm proprietor must earn at least $400\nin net income and during the first six months of 1956 he must have a minimum of\n$800 in gross income if he intends to retire at that time.\nFor the past year various farm organizations and the Social Security Ad-\nministration, the latter with local offices in the McKay Tower in Grand Rapids,\nhave sought to explain these problems in detail but still legitimate questions pop\nup. This difficulty appears inevitable where there is new legislation and \"big\ngovernment\" invades a previously uncharted field. As a word of caution, may I\nsuggest that anyone who is in doubt about his rights under Social Security should\nimmediately contact the Social Security officials in Grand Rapids. Such action\nmight prevent future difficulties.\nAMENDING THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT\nOne visitor came up with a very sound suggestion for change in the existing\nSocial Security Act. If the \"breadwinner\" in the family passes on while covered\nby Social Security, the widow and minor children receive survivorship benefits.\nThe existing law states that the widow may not earn more than $1,200 per year without\nlosing these survivorship benefits. This so-called earning limitation is bad enough\nin its application to those over 65, but it is especially harmful when it prevents\na widow from earning sufficient wages to raise her minor children. It is my intention\nto sponsor a bill to remove this unsound and illogical earning restriction.\nOther problems involving Social Security related to the amount of monthly\nbenefits, the soundness of the reserves and the need for increasing the tax on\nboth employer and employee. Several suggested that it was wrong to permit those\nwho were not American citizens to be Social Security beneficiaries, particularly\nthose who live overseas. This suggestion has merit.\nPROBLEMS FROM THE MILITARY\nA number of visitors to the \"mobile office\" had problems with the Veterans\nAdministration. There were several G.I.s who were having trouble getting prompt\nVA medical exams. Others wondered why it was taking so long for the VA to process\ntheir pension, disability, or educational applications. One visitor stopped in to\ntell U.S what excellent medical and surgical treatment her father, a World War I\nveteran, had received at the VA hospital at Dearborn.\nAlso, a number of parents and young men stopped in to inquire about military\nservice problems. I was able to point out the various alternatives for service\nin the Army, Navy, and Air Force including the new volunteer program which requires\nonly six months' active duty.\nRAILROAD CAR REFLECTORS\nThree callers urged that Congress pass legislation to require the railroads\nto place reflectors on the sides of their cars. During the past several months\nin Western Michigan there have been fatal accidents when the driver of an automobile\nneglected to see a train passing a rural crossing at night. Apparently it is\noften impossible to detect a train at such a crossing. During the last session\nof Congress a bill was sponsored by a member of the House of Representatives from\nIowe to require the railroads to install reflectors on the sides of all cars.\nOur office contacted the Interstate Commerce Commission to get their reaction\nto such a requirement. The ICC's response was not encouraging. I intend to in-\nvestigate this problem further when Congress reconvenes.\nYour Washington Review\nKENT\nCongressman\nOTTAWA\n5\nJERRY FORD\nFOR RELEASE November 23, 1955\nSince President Eisenhower's inauguration and the changing of government\nreins from Democrat to Republican on January 20, 1953, great progress has been\nmade toward government economy. In these weekly reports I have presented numerous\nexamples of economy measures put into effect by Ike's Administration through\nstreamlining government operations, elimination of red tape, and the abolishment\nof unnecessary agencies.\nMainly as a result of these and other steps which have led to less federal\nspending the prospect for a balanced budget for fiscal year 1956 are excellent\nprovided: 1) Federal spending does not rise above current levels, and 2) the\npresent high levels of business activity and consequent federal revenues are\nsustained.\nDEFICIT TREND DECLINING\nIn fiscal 1955, which ended June 30th, the government had a deficit of\napproximately four billion dollars, that is total spending of all kinds out-ran\nreceipts of all kinds by this much. Secretary of the Treasury Humphrey in August\nestimated a deficit for fiscal 1956, ending next June 30th, of $1.7 billion.\nHowever, this picture according to more recent forecasts, is likely to be brightened\nbecause of government revenues collected by virtue of a continued and expanded\nprosperity of most of our people, combined with additional economies by the\nAdministration.\nIf there is a balanced budget should Congress cut taxes or apply the potential\nsurplus to a partial reduction of the federal debt At the present time it costs\nthe taxpayers of the United States over $6 billion annually in interest on the\nfederal debt of approximately $275 billion. It might be wise to forego a tax cut\nin 1956 and apply the surplus to a reduction of the annual interest payments.\nCONTINUING FEDERAL OPERATIONS\nThe United States Government has become the biggest factor in the life of\nour country. It is the largest employer, the biggest owner of capital assets,\nand the biggest spender of money. This year alone your federal government will buy\nabout 25 million pencils and 150 thousand erasers. Just in Washington, D. C. the\ngovernment owns 155 buildings and leases another 86.\nWith its many agencies and bureaus the federal government has grown pro-\nportionately seven times faster than the nation's population in the past three\ndecades.\nThe General Services Administration (GSA) is the \"housekeeping\" agency\nof the federal government which manages this vast organizational bureaucracy.\nGSA buys the supplies, cleans the buildings, and stores the records. It is a\ngovernmental housewife, of sorts!\nThrough sound business practices GSA has saved your federal government\nvast sums of money. For instance, recently when the Civil Defense Administration\nneeded a half-million blankets, instead of going out and buying them---as the\ngovernment used to do--GSA was able to find enough surplus blankets belonging\nto the Veterans Administration and the Navy to fill CDA requirements. This\nresulted in a $4.25 million saving. This incident indicates very definite progress\nin the effort to eliminate waste and extravagance in the civilian agencies of\nthe government.\nNEWS ABOUT IKE\nPresident Eisenhower has been making steady progress in recuperating from\nhis illness. As in the past when a President was ill, the questions arose of\njust how to handle an accurate and honest flow of public information about a\npresidential disability. When Presidents Cleveland and Franklin Roosevelt fell\nill, the public was denied any accurate report of their conditions; when Woodrow\nWilson became disabled the public received only piecemeal information.\nWe are in agreement with James Russell Wiggins, Vice President and Executive\nEditor of the Washington Post and Times Herald, who said recently that Press\nSecretary James Hagerty's handling of facts about President Eisenhower's illness\nis \"an example of open dealing that should not be lost upon others in government.\"\nPRESIDENTIAL STATISTICS\nTheodore Roosevelt at 42 was the youngest President; while William Henry\nHarrison at 68 was the oldest. Abraham Lincoln's 6'4\" made him the tallest\nand James Madison at 5'4\" was shortest. William Howard Taft's 300 pounds gave\nhim the top weight. John Tyler with 14 had the most children of any President.\nJames Buchanan was the only one who never married.\nYour Washington Review\nKENT\nCongressman\nOTTAWA\n5\nJERRY FORD\nFOR RELEASE December 1, 1955\nThe NATO Status of Forces Treaty was severely criticized during the past\nsession of Congress and a number of persons have asked me about it recently.\nIt is often stated that this treaty gives foreign nations the privilege of\npunishing American servicemen stationed abroad, and that the rights of these\nU. S. citizens are endangered.\nThe best explanation of this problem I have seen comes from Deputy Under\nSecretary of State Robert Murphy in a statement before the House Committee on\nForeign Affairs.\nMurphy points out that troops stationed in a friendly foreign nation are,\nand always have been, subject to the criminal laws of that nation. In the\nabsence of the Status of Forces Treaty, the foreign governments would have the\nright to arrest and try any American accused of a criminal offense. But\nbecause our government believes that our troops stationed abroad deserve special\nprotection, the NATO Status of Forces Treaty was approved.\nCONTENTS OF THE TREATY\nBy this Treaty, foreign governments agreed that they should have jurisdic-\ntion only over criminal offenses committed while the American serviceman was\noff duty. Those offenses committed while the man is on military duty are to\nbe handled by the U. S. Military authorities.\nSecondly, the Treaty gives the U. S. authorities the prerogative to request\nlocal officials to waive jurisdiction and turn the man over to U. S. military\ncommanders for trial. It is significant to note that of the many servicemen,\nemployees, and dependents sent abroad where the Treaty applies, there have\nbeen about 6,000 criminal cases which fell within the jurisdiction of the local\ncourts. In 70 per cent of these cases the local authorities have either\ndropped the charges entirely or voluntarily turned the accused person over to\nhis military commander.\nFinally, the NATO Status of Forces Treaty guarantees certain basic rights\nto those American servicemen who are tried in foreign courts. These are\ncomparable to the safeguards which the serviceman would enjoy in a U. S. military\ncourt martial, including the right to counsel and the American right of being\ncongronted by witnesses. Out of the total of 6,000 cases mentioned above, only\n85 persons have been imprisoned by local authorities in NATO countries, and as\nof May 31, 1955 only 22 were actually in prison in these countries. Most of the\nsentences have been very short. The maximum sentence thus far imposed is 5 years,\nfor highway robbery with violence at night by two men against an old taxi driver.\nSecretary Murphy contends that our agreements with foreign governments\noutside the NATO group are just as favorable to our servicemen. This would\nappear to be the case from the testimony before the Congressional Committee.\nTREATY MAKING\nThe formulation of treaties, as well as the complete conduct of our\nforeign relations, is the responsibility of the President and his Secretary\nof State. Their diplomatic representatives negotiate a treaty, making every\neffort to obtain the most favorable conditions for this country. The document\nwhich they eventually present to the President must be approved by him.\nHowever, under our Constitution, a treaty must pass one more hurdle,\nratification by the U. S. Senate. Generally, the Committee on Foreign Relations\nstudies a treaty thoroughly, and holds public hearings on it. The Committee\nmay then recommend to the Senate that it ratify the treaty. The treaty will\nbe noneffective unless ratified by a two-thirds vote of the Senate. The Senate\napproved the NATO Status of Forces Treaty by a 72-15 vote. Among its supporters\nwere Senators Taft and Knowland, and Senators George and Johnson.\nLATEST POPULATION FIGURES\nMichigan shared substantially in the 10 1/2 million growth in U. S.\npopulation between April 1, 1950 and July 1, 1954. According to a report just\nissued by the Bureau of the Census, Michigan grew 10.3 per cent between these\ndates. Our State's population stood at 7,028,000 on July 1st. Migrations into\nMichigan which totaled 151,000 in this four-year period added a great stimulus\nto our 656,000 increase.\nMichigan is one of 10 states whose populations have swelled over 10 per\ncent since 1950. If this trend continues, our State of Michigan following the\nnation-wide census of 1960 should have 20 rather than 18 Members of the House\nof Representatives.\nYour Washington Review\nKENT\nCongressman\nOTTAWA\n5\nJERRY FORD\nFOR RELIAE December 9, 1955\nThis past week the Ford family made the 680 mile return trip to our Nation's\nCapitol. We left Grand Rapids on Monday morning, December 5th, and now Betty, Mike,\nJack, and I are busily engaged in unpacking and settling down again; for the next\nsession of Congress which convenes on January 3rd.\nMy Grand Rapids office in the Michigan Trust Building will keep hours until\nshortly after Christmas when the rest of my staff rejoins me in Washington. But from\nthen on I suggest that, if you wish to contact me about any problem or legislative\nmatter, you address your letter to the House of Representatives, D. C. It will reach\nme much quicker in this way.\nTHE COMING SESSION\nNext week I expect to start getting my desk in order for the coming session.\nA number of highly controversial issues can be expected to come up which include:\nthe expanded highway-construction program, changes in social security legislation,\nHoover Commission Recommendations, fiscal problems including any tax changes, private\nversus public power, and agricultural programs. These issues require important back-\nground reasarch and study. I hope to do some of this in December before the mad\nrush of next session gets underway. Also, some committee work has piled up between\nsessions which demands attention prior to the first meeting of the Appropriations\nCommittee, I expect to devote a goodly share of my time to these matters during the\nnext few weeks.\nVARIETY OF INFORMATION\nDespite some politically inspired criticism, the Anti-Trust Division of the\nDepartment of Justice has been extremely active lately. For the year ending Sep-\ntember 30, 1955, for example, 52 new cases were filed--34 civil and 18 criminal.\nThese 52 new cases represent a sharp increase over the recent past. Thus in fiscal\nyear 1952, 30 new cases were filed; in fiscal year 1953, 33 new proceedings were\nbrought; and in fiscal 1954, 32 new.anti-trust cases were launched. The bulk of these\n52 new cases involved traditional hardcore Sherman Act violations, such as price-\nfixing and allocation of territories. In other words, Ike's Department of Justice\nhas cracked down on anti-trust violations.\nGovernment officials report that, in contrast to former years, the question\nmost frequently asked by farmers who are plagued by too little or too much and in-\ndustries seeking new plant locations is about the availability of water. Symbo-\nlizing the intensified interest in water is the Department of Agriculture's 1955\nYearbook entitled \"Water.\" This 752-page book is devoted to drought, floods, normal\nsources, and uses of water. The book's 95 chapters are authored by 149 top-notch\nspecialists on the varied aspects of the problem. A copy may be- obtained from either\nthe Superintendent of Documents, Washington, 25, D. C. for $2.00 or Members of Congress\nhave a limited supply for free distribution on a first-come-first-serve basis.\nThe Bureau of Internal Revenue has made a new addition to this year's taxpayer\ninformation. In recognition of the growing need for a publication dealing exclusively\nwith income tax law and regulations applicable to farmers and ranchers, the \"Farmers'\nTax Guide, Income and Self-Employment Taxes\" is available from your County Agricul-\ntural Agent, the District Director of Internal Revenue, or if you wish, by writing\nyour Congressman.\nIn August of this year I spent three days in Berlin checking on U. S. Army\nexpenditures and policies. While there I saw first-hand evidence of the 10,000\nrefugees a month who are fleeing Communist oppression by seeking haven in the Western\nZone. This continuous flow of refugees has had an amazing result. Communist-\ncontrolled East Germany has become the only area in continental Europe with a declining\npopulation losing almost two and three-quarters million of its inhabitants in the past\nten years. More than 2,704,680 Germans have fled from the Soviet Zone into West\nGermany. This amounts to more than 15 per cent of East Germany's 1946 population of\n17,314,000. East Germany's population today is 16,840,000.\nThe number of post offices as of July 1, 1955 was about half those of 1900, a\ntotal of 38,316 as against 76,688 at the turn of the century. However, in 1900 nearly\n95 per cent, or 72,455, of the offices were fourth-class, while only 194 were first\nclass. Out of today's total of 38,316 offices there are but 14,942 fourth-class or\nslightly less than 50 per cent while nearly 10 per cent or 3,613 are currently first\nclass.\nThis class differentiation is based on receipts, that is, amount of stamp sales\nplus several other smaller types of revenues. This reduction in post offices stems\nlargely from population shifts, better roads with the corresponding extension of\nRural Free Delivery service, and faster means of delivery.\nYour Washington Review\nKENT\nCongressman\nOTTAWA\n5\nJERRY FORD\nFOR HOMEASE December 15, 1955\nTalking with about 400 Western Michigan farmers individually and many more\nin groups in 1955 gives one a rather good insight into what our agricultural\nproblems are. A limited few farmer visitors to our \"mobile office\" were bitterly\nangry and you can imagine what they said. In contrast most of the others were\nconscientiously concerned with the present \"price-squeeze\" and naturally wondered\nwhat the future had to offer.\nHere's a listing of some farmer complaints: 1) Since January 1951 to the\npresent, prices received by farmers have generally gone down while prices paid\nby farmers for the things they use have increased. 2) The price support legisla-\ntion whether it be the rigid 90 per cent of parity on the so-called six basic\ncrops (corn, cotton, wheat, tobacco, rice, and peanuts) or the new flexible program\nis discriminatory against our type of farmers in Kent and Ottawa Counties. 3) The\nfull-time farmers are concerned about the competition from the part-time farmer\nwho works up to 40 hours a week in a factory or at other employment but at the\nsame time milks a few COWS, has several hundred chickens, and plants, harvests,\nand sells wheat, corn, or other crops.\nThe full-time farmer also looks with misgivings at the so-called hobby farmer\nwho is a city fellow that bought a farm without expecting to make a livelihood from\nhis investment. 5) The wheat support program is most irritating because of its\nacreage controls and the disenfranchisement of many farmers by the 15-acre limi-\ntation on the vote referendum.\nDIFFERENCES IN MICHIGAN\nThe record shows that Michigan agriculture is quite different from farming\nin other areas, particularly when compared with the big wheat farms in the\nKansas, South Dakota, and Montana regions. Their farms of 1,000 or more acres\ndwarf ours, and with such large acreage they can mechanize their operations to the\nmaximum. Their weather and soil vary from that in Michigan. In addition, wheat\nand the amount they produce for the market place differs from that of the West\nMichigan farmer. Wheat in the plain states is a \"big\" crop while here its\nimportance is minor compared to dairy and poultry production. Despite these basie\ncontrasts a Michigan farmer is in effect bound by the same agricultural legislation\nincluding acreage allowances, cutback penalties, and price supports.\nThe red tape and regimentation of the price support laws irritate our farmers,\nand particularly so, when they get S.O little, if any benefit. Kent and Ottawa\nCounty farmers see whatever benefits there are from these programs accruing to the\nbig plain state wheat farmers, the North Carolina tobacco grower, the Mississippi,\nTexas, and California cotton farmer and the Georgia peanut grower. Simultaneously\nthey hear the city folks complaining about Uncle Sam owning $7 billion in farm\nsurpluses with relatively little of it coming from their Michigan farms. They know\nthat Michigan farmers as a whole get less than 15 percent of their income from price\nsupported commodities. Yet when an uninformed city fellow condemns the farmer for\nhis alleged dependence on Uncle Sam, the Michigan farmer is chastised with the rest.\nThis blanket criticism rubs the wrong way our enterprising farmers who work long\nhours with a big investment in land and equipment.\nALTERNATIVES IN THE OFFERING\nWhat's the answer? The Democrat leaders including Stevenson, Harriman, and\nWilliams favor the re-enactment of the, 90 per cent of parity on the six basic\ncrops. Under such a law which was in effect until the 1955 harvest season the\nFederal Government had accumulated, directly or indirectly, surpluses valued at\nover $7 billion. In addition, while this law was in effect farm income dropped\nabout 22 per cent and the parity ratio slumped from the January 1951 high of 113\nto the September, 1955 figure of 84.\nIn other words, under the Democrat-sponsored legislation as a cure for the\ncurrentfarm ills, recent history shows that farm prices dropped and surpluses\nzoomed upward. Furthermore, it is admitted by the advocates of this policy that\nthere must be further acreage cutbacks and increased penalties. It is also agreed\nthat 90 per cent rigid supports on wheat and corn kept feed costs high to the\ndetriment of the dairy and poultry producers. It should be noted that about a dozen\nDemocrat Senators out of 49, including former Secretary of Agriculture Clinton\nAnderson, voted against 90 per cent supports last year. They were in the minority\nin the Democrat Party but they are the admitted agriculture authorities in their\nparty. They might well do so again on the ground that higher subsidies stimulate\nsurpluses and aid the big farmer more than the little fellow.\nBut what have the Republicans to offer? In next week's newsletter, I'll\nindicate the G. O. P. approach and several personal suggestions.\nYour Washington Review\nKENT\nOTTAWA\n5\nCongressman\nJERRY FORD\nFOR RELEASE December 22, 1955\nLast week I listed some complaints farmers of Wostern Michigan expressed to me\nbetween the sessions of Congress. Farmers are deeply concerned over the effects of\nthe current \"price-squeeze,\" national farm legislation discriminating against Michigan\nagriculture, government controls, and irritation caused by part-time and hobby farmers.\nThis week I will indicate the Republican approach as well as a few personal\nsuggestions to solve this perplexing and most serious problem.\nFARM INCOME\nFarm prices and total income are down, but the big drop came under rigid 90\nper cent supports. That is, the parity ratio of 113 in February of 1951 dropped to\n94 under the Truman Administration. Under the Eisenhower Administration, which\noperated with the same rigid price support law until last fall's harvest, the parity\nratio dropped from 94 to 84 where it stood last September when the Republican flexi-\nble support law came into effect. Per capita net income of farm people was $930 in\n1952, $904 in 1953, and $907 in 1954, and 15 per cent higher than in 1947. Under the\nrigid support legislation vast market glutting surpluses were created totalling $7\nbillion and stored by the government at a cost of about $1 million a day.\nThere is wide agreement that the farmer is not sharing fairly in our present\nhigh level of national prosperity. But the real issue boils down to \"farm income,\"\nand not necessarily the level of price supports. Farm income must be raised, the\nquestion remaining is \"how?\" The record proves rigid supports on a limited number\nof crops are not the answer in either the short pull or the long haul.\nSLIDING PRICE SCALE\nThe Administration as well as the majority of the Republican Members of Congress\nfavor the flexible support program for the six basic crops. Republican policy opposes\nrigid supports because the record clearly indicates they created a distcrted market\nwith zooming surpluses, declining incomes, and excessive federal regulations. Rigid\nprice supports were designed and legislated for a wartime economy when peak production\nwas encouraged and essential.\nThe huge surpluses built up under rigid price supports have a very adverse\neffect on the market. For instance, when the September crop report estimated the\nsoybean crop down 8 per cent from August the market jumped 20 cents a bushel. The\nsame September report estimated corn production down 10 per cent, but the corn market\ndidn't budge. The soybean market was not clogged by a surplus; the corn market\nwas.\nThe flexible support program on the six basic crops was legislated with two\nobjects in mind which seem necessary if we are to place our agricultural economy\non a permanent and solid peacetime footing. These are: 1) to reduce our surpluses\nand 2) equate production with markets. Republican farm policies are working\ntoward these goals.\nREFINEMENTS DESIRED\nTo gain the maximum benefits for our farmers through the flexible support\nprogram the following minimum revisions in the law should be considered by the\nCongress. To better meet the needs of the diverse national farm pattern, including\nMichigan agriculture, a regional or individual state basis for legislation is\nhighly desirable. In other words farm legislation which is helpful to Kansas\nagriculture is not necessarily sound for a Michigan farmer. Consequently federal\nagricultural legislation should have exceptions or provisions which are specifically\ndesigned to apply to agriculture in states like Michigan.\nSecond, to maintain and encourage the family type farm, provisions of law\nmust insure that the small farmer shares in the benefits of the law to the same\ndegree as the 'large, commercial type farmer. This applies particularly to the\n1,500,000 farm families of the country which struggle along on a cash income of\n$1,000 a year or less. Unfortunately in the last session in the Democrat-\ncontrolled House and Senate the Congress cut down the amount requested by Ike\nand Secretary Benson for aid to these low-income farmers.\nBENSON'S PROGRAM\nSecretary of Agriculture Benson recently outlined a program to supplement\nthe flexible support law and help equalize farm income with that of other segments\nof the national economy. It includes: (1) A stepped-up program of surplus\ndisposal and expansion of exports. Substantial progress is being made on this\npart of the program. Everyone is familiar with Secretary Benson's decision to\nmake surplus commodities available to religious groups for distribution to the\nneedy overseas. (2) A vigorous purchase program to remove market gluts. (3)\nAn enlarged program of soil conservation and incentive payments to divert\ncropland into grass, trees, and forage and (4) Expansion of the rural development\nprogram for low-income farmers with additional credit and management assistance.\n(5) Expanded research to emphasize lower production costs and new uses for\nfarm crops.\nYour Washington Review\nKENT\nCongressman\nOTTAWA\n5\nJERRY FORD\nDecember 29\nFOR RELEASE January 5, 1955\nAnother yuletide season is upon us and bringing with it Christmas and the\nNew Year. Let's hope and pray that through the lessons of 1955 we have learned\nto live more constructive lives in 1956.\nFirst and foremost, the Fords extend to all our very best wishes for a\nhappy, healthy, and successful 1956. The spirit of Christmas is very conspicuous\nin Washington as I know it is back home in Michigan. It would be a much better\nworld if this joyous holiday spirit could continually be present in the affairs\nof the coming year. With this personal note should be added the hope that Peace\non Earth may be more certain and secure with the well-being and prosperity of the\npast expanded and enlarged for the benefit of all, now and forever more.\nOUR RELIGIOUS NATION\nReligious principles are deeply rooted in our American way of life. History\ntraces the religious roots of our Nation back to its founding and early settlement\nby humble people seeking religious freedom. Our Constitution guarantees \"that\nall men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain\ninalienable rights...\" And at this time each year we are reminded of Him whose\nperfect life taught us the principles by which we try to guide our actions.\nThe strong feeling toward matters of a spiritual nature has not been lost\nin our government through the years. If anything, it has grown stronger with\nour government officials dedicated to the preservation of values upon which the\nUnited States was founded.\nEVIDENCE OF RELIGIOUS INTEREST\nA number of national practices have been maintained and encouraged through\nthe years which reflect the basic religious nature of Americans. Not only does\nthis include Christmas, but Easter and Thanksgiving as well. Also, ours is one\nof two countries in the world whose national legislature opens each daily session\nwith a prayer by a chaplain. President Eisenhower directed when he became Chief\nExecutive that his Cabinet meetings commence with a prayer. This practice has\nbeen faithfully followed during the past three years.\nIn accordance with a Congressional Resolution of April 17, 1952, President\nEisenhower proclaimed October 26th as \"National Prayer Day.\" In the Spring of\n1954, a Director of Religious Policy was appointed in the United States Information\nAgency to help show to the world \"the way in which our Biblical idealogy is the\nbasis for our democracy\" and to show that we are a \"mature, intellectual, and\nreligious\" nation.\nLast Spring a Prayer or Meditation Room for Members of Congress was opened\njust off the rotunda in the Capitol. And the phrase \"under God\" has been added\nto the pledge to the flag, indicating our dependence upon Him. Also, in the\nrecent session Congress voted to place in the future the phrase \"In God We Trust\"\non our paper money as well as on our coins. It may take at least five years to\ndo this, however, as the phrase will only be added to new plates as they are\nprepared by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.\nAll this national symbolism and form is not sufficient though unless each\nof us, as public officials and private citizens, live our religion and practice\nits precepts.\nThe new session of the Congress opens at noon on Tuesday, January 3rd but\nthat morning at 8:00 A.M. the National Council of Churches and the Washington\nFederation of Churches will again sponsor the traditional service for all govern-\nment officials and their families. This annual interdenominational service is\nintended for all among the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches of the\nGovernment who desire to pray for the nation, for peace and justice, and to make\na fresh dedication at the opening of the new legislative season. This fitting\nand proper service is always well attended.\nThe Fords, Mike, Jack, Betty, Sugar ( family dog), and Dad made the trip\nback to the Nation's Capital without incident. We are looking forward to the\nforthcoming session and hope visitors to Washington will stop in to see us.\nRecent visitors to Washington include Mr. and Mrs. Wendell Emery and Mr. Robert\nJames of Grand Rapids."
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