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House Floor Speech Anti-War Demonstrations, November 22, 1967
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4526067
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House Floor Speech Anti-War Demonstrations, November 22, 1967
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The original documents are located in Box D23, folder "House Floor Speech Anti-War
Demonstrations, November 22, 1967" of the Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary
and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Copyright Notice
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of
photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. The Council donated to the United
States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.
Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public
domain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to
remain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid
copyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Digitized from Box D23 of the Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
CONGRESSMAN
NEWS
GERALD R. FORD
HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER
RELEASE
--FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE--
November 22, 1967
Remarks by Rep. Gerald R. Ford, R-Mich., on The Floor of The House, Wednesday,
November 22, 1967.
Mr. Speaker: The distinguished majority leader of the House. Mr. Albert,
charged Monday night in Atlanta, Georgia, that the massive anti-Vietnam demon-
stration staged at the Pentagon Oct. 21 was "basically organized by international
communism" and that "the marchers included every communist and communist
sympathizer in the United States who was able to make the trip."
Mr. Speaker, this statement apparently is based on the kind of information
given orally to Republican leaders of the House by the President at a White House
meeting after the Pentagon demonstration. I presume the same information was
made available to the Democratic leaders. I subsequently urged that the White
House make public the information it has on the true nature of the so-called
peace demonstration at the Pentagon. As a result, the Attorney General of the
United States visited me in my office and argued against release of the infor-
mation.
I believed then and I believe now that the American people should be given
full information on the degree of communist participation in the anti-American
policy demonstration so that the people may judge just how deep or widespread
anti-Vietnam War sentiment is in this country.
If the evidence in the hands of the Executive Branch of our government
indicates manipulation of the peace movement in this country by Hanoi, then the
propaganda impact of such demonstrations will be lessened and perhaps destroyed.
This would be a highly beneficial result, indeed.
Mr. Speaker, one of the national news magazines has quoted the Secretary of
State as saying that the release of this information would trigger a new wave
of McCarthyism in this country. I dislike taking issue with the distinguished
Secretary of State, but I believe the American people are now mature enough to
receive such information and to react without hysteria.
Mr. Speaker, in view of the fact that the distinguished Majority Leader
of the House has made charges of a most serious nature regarding the communist
role in the demonstration at the Pentagon, I urge that the President order a
(more)
GERALD LIBRARY FORD
-2-
full report made to the American people on the extent of communist participation
in organizing, planning and directing the disgraceful display which took place
at the Pentagon last Oct. 21. Such a report will be most helpful and
constructive to all Americans. In addition, such a disclosure would be bene-
ficial to the well-intentioned Americans who participated in this demonstration
not knowing who had organized the demonstrations at the Pentagon and elsewhere
throughout the free world.
###
EXCERPTS from an
Address of Rep. Carl Albert, Majority Leader, U.S. House of Representatives,
before the annual meeting of the Cotton Producers Association
in Atlanta, Georgia, November 20, 1967
WHY VIETNAM ?
Undoubtedly, two weeks ago, most of you through your newspaper or
television became aware of the so-called Peace March whose participants
erupted in violence in our national Capitol while attempting to close
down the Pentagon. These people were ostensibly expressing their right
to dissent---a right our Republic does not question. No doubt, there were
many well-meaning citizens among them who have honest differences of
opinion with the Administration, but in my judgment, we would be naive to
think that these marchers included only those who have a distaste for war.
The group certainly was basically organized by international communism,
and the marchers included every communist and communist sympathizer in the
United States who was able to make the trip. It is passing strange that
on the very day this protest was made in Washington, similar demonstrations
took place in all communist countries, in Latin America, Europe, and even
in Australia whose troops are in battle in Vietnam. Of course, the common
denominator, the common organizer of all these events is the communist
world wide apparatus. It is a strange coincidence that counter demonstra-
tions in support of the struggle for liberty in South Vietnam did not occur
in various countries as they did in the United States.