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    "label": "Communism, Crime and Civil Disobedience, 1965",
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    "id": "4525816",
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    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "Communism, Crime and Civil Disobedience, 1965",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/4525816",
    "collections": [
        "Gerald R. Ford Congressional Papers",
        "Speeches"
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    "subjects": [
        "Civil disobedience",
        "Communism",
        "Crime"
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    "ocrText": "The original documents are located in Box D19, folder \"Communism, Crime and Civil\nDisobedience, 1965\" of the Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at\nthe Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.\nCopyright Notice\nThe copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of\nphotocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. The Council donated to the United\nStates of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.\nWorks prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public\ndomain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to\nremain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid\ncopyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.\nDigitized from Box D17 of The Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library\nprovided\nChicago\nREADING TEXT\nCommunism, Crime and Civil Disobedience\nToday, the heritage of freedom is the target of vicious attacks at\nhome and abroad. A Communist enemy hacks away at man's choice to be\nfree in the jungles and rice fields of Southeast Asia. The enemy\ntalks of peace in Europe and the Far East while clandestinely\nplotting against us.\nThe sinister efforts of Communism spread across the Western Hemisphere\nin Central and South America. In Cuba, the arsonist Castro commands\na treacherous headquarters of Communism almost within sight of our\nshores.\nWhile the Communists claim to be a legitimate political organization,\nthey are active tools of the Soviet Union. They cry for withdrawal\nof American military support from South Viet Nam. They argue for\nnoninterference with Communist terrorists in the Domincan Republic.\nThe allegedly want peace\nbut a peace with a price tag too great\nFORD & LIBRARY GERALD\nto pay. They want world-wide domination as quickly as possible.\n-mpre-\nCommunism\n-2-\nThe shocking state of affairs is the existence of politically naive,\nmisinformed, non-Communist fellow traviers who are used as pawns....\nthe organized and strong attempts to sell Communist propaganda to\nthe youth of America and the world.\nRecently, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover warned that the Communist\nParty has placed \"intense emphasis\" on a campus speech program.\nOf the program, he said, it \"has seen skilled hucksters of atheism\nand treason appear at scores of colleges and universities from New\nYork to California, without objection by the authorities of those\ninstitutions of higher learning and often with positive encouragement\nby members of the faculities... =\nMr. Hoover pointed out what Communist Party spokesmen are telling our\nyoung people. They demand withdrawal of our troops from Viet Nam...\nthe describe the United States as the most hated country in the world.\nthey say the Berlin Wall was built to hold back undesirables from the\nWest.\nGERALD\nBRARY\nmore\nCommunism\n-3-\nThe Communists are getting aid from far too many intended victims,\nas Mr. Hoover revealed. And who are the intended victims of whom he\nspeaks? the pseudoliberals on the extreme, way-out left\nthe misguided zealots of the far-right\nthe Ku Klux Klan...the\nmerchants and spreaders of hate who follow a doctrine of intolerance,\nbigotry\nand\nintimidation.\nthe rabble rousers who defy the law\nand seek to promote disrespect toward family and all forms of\nauthority.\nCivil disobedience, 8 creeping social cancer in America, is too\noften hidden under the phony guise of academic freedom.\nDraft\ncards are burned, riots rip communities, the Nation's tranquility\nis shattered by sit-ins, sit-downs, lie-downs, picketing with\nplacards bearing disgraceful messages.\nCivil disobedience, although the action of very small minorities,\ncannot become stronger in our society. As Mr. Hoover has said,\n\"we must choose between law and anarchy; freedom and chaos.\"\nGERALD LIBRARY\nmore\nCommunism\n4-\nThe FBI director reports more than 2,600,000 serious offenses\nwere reported last year in our country...the largest total on\nrecord. And, the crime rate continues to soar.\nIn some big cities, the climate of fear has no boundaries. The\nvictims are rich and poor. They are robbed, beaten, exparts\nassaulted and insulted on street-corners in broad-daylight, in\nstores, in the center of the city, in their homes.\nAn assistant district attorney in New York sasy \"we're going to\nhave crime forever but there is a great deal that can be done\nto reduce the rate.\"\n\"Somebody has to care,\" he says. \"Everybody has to care.\"\nWe must strengthen our civic pride, our righteous indignation.\nWe must change an incredibly indifferent attitude..we must\nrealistic\nhave more thought and action.\n-more-\nFORD is LIBRARY GERALD\nCommunism\nWe should heed the words of wisdom spoken 41 years ago by an experienced\nattorney and jurist in one of our larger cities.\nHe warned: \"It is not the criminals, actual or potential, that need\na neuropathic hospital. It is the people who slobber over them\nin an effort to find excuses for their crime. The demand of the hour\nin America, above all countries, is for jurors with conscience,\njudges with courage, and prisons which are neither country clubs nor\nhealth resorts.\nToday, in too many instances some jurors deliberately turn away\nfrom the evidence. Too many criminals are free on technicalities.\nToo often the systems of parole and probation are nothing more\nthan freeways from prisons to the underworld and into the streets\nand into the homes of America.\nOur world must be ruled by law. It must be a place of reasons\nrespect for others, responsibility in changing and turbulent times.\nI have spoken with\npessimism. However, I am optimistic\nGERALD\nLIBRARY\nto a large degree.\nmore\nCommunism and Crime\n-6-\nIn the fight against Communism, we are following a firm policy\nin Viet Nam and elsewhere. President Johnson has my personal\nsupport and that of most Republicans and Democrats in his actions\nordered so far against the enemy. I only question whether we have\ndone too little, too late in the use of air and sea power.\nIt is refreshing to see young people banding together in so-called\n\"movements\" supporting our fight against Communist aggression.\nA lad in the East lossed many, many pounds by dieting to meet\nphysical requirements for military service. He reflects the\npatriotism of most young Americans.\nThe Communist enemy begins to feel the sting of American military\nsupport in Viet Nam. I only hope that Peiping and Hanoi do not\nmiscalculate the intentions of the United States due to irresponsible\nactions by some misguided and misdirected young people and\ndissenters in our country.\n-more-\nCommunism and Crime\n-7-\nThe type of faith that dominated Independence Hall when the\nConstitution was framed is strongly evident in America. National\npolls show overwhelming approval of our actions against the Communist\naggressors in Viet Nam.\nAt home in the fight against crime and civil disobedience, local\nauthorities in most cities and communities are seeking and finding\nsolutions to problems of overwhelming magnitudes.\nThere\nis\na\ngrowing civic awareness of the need to\ndo something positive about halting the spiraling rate of\ncrime.\nThe President has signed the Law Enforcement Assistance Act, which\nis aimed at strengthening the process of justice. The Congress\nshould continue to keep this vital matter before it for current\nreview and upgrading. More should be accomplished in the next S ession.\nThe Executive branch should devote even more attention to the national\ncrime problem without assuming federal control over local police\nGERAS FORD LIBRARY\ngovernmental agencies.\n-more-\nCommunism and Crime\nof\nThe Administration can expect complete cooperation from our side\nof the aisle in the House in seeking ways and means to help\nlocal authorities and officials turn the tide of crime and\nlawlessness.\nWe also pledge to support the President when we think he is right\non matters of foreign policy. By the same token, we reserve the\nright to offer constructive criticism when we think it is required\nin the national interest.\nI believe America will continue to march forward in a golden age of\nprogress with dignity and freedom if the people continue to\nbelieve in liberty and justice....and God.\nFeith is our strongest bulwark against those who would destroy or\nrule us, who would turn the tide of civil disobedience into a\nraging floodwater of turmoil, who would create a kingdom of crime\nin a nation of law-abiding, God-loving, justice-seeking citizens.\nThank you.\nGERALD LIBRARY\n# # #"
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