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    "label": "Virginia Public Relations Conference, Williamsburg, VA, March 7, 1968",
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    "title": "Virginia Public Relations Conference, Williamsburg, VA, March 7, 1968",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/4526096",
    "collections": [
        "Gerald R. Ford Congressional Papers",
        "Speeches"
    ],
    "subjects": [
        "Detroit (Mich.)",
        "Civil disobedience",
        "Federal aid",
        "Independent regulatory commissions",
        "Race relations",
        "Unemployment",
        "Urban policy"
    ],
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    "ocrText": "The original documents are located in Box D24, folder \"Virginia Public Relations\nConference, Williamsburg, VA, March 7, 1968\" of the Ford Congressional Papers: Press\nSecretary and Speech File at the 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 The Council donated to the United\nStates of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.\nWorks prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public\ndomain.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.\nAN ADDRESS BY REP. GERALD R. FORD, R-MICH, AT THE VIRGINIA\nPUBLIC RELATIONS CONFERENCE, THURSDAY EVENING, MARCH 7, 1968,\nAT WILLIAMSBURG. VIRGINIA.\nTONIGHT I AM GOING TO DO SOMETHING WHICH COULD BE\nQUITE DANGEROUS. I AM GOING TO LEAVE MY OWN FIELD OF\nCOMPETENCE - FOR A TIME, AT LEAST--AND TALK WITH YOU ABOUT\nYOUR SPECIALTY, PUBLIC RELATIONS.\nI THINK ALL OF YOU WOULD AGREE IT IS DIFFICULT TO\nDEFINE THE TERM, PUBLIC RELATIONS. IF YOU DISSECT IT INTO ITS\nSIMPLEST FORM IT MEANS, OF COURSE, THE RELATIONSHIP THAT AN\nINDIVIDUAL OR COMPANY OR OTHER ENTITY HAS WITH THE PUBLIC.\nFOR MANY YEARS IT WAS THOUGHT THAT ALL A COMPANY\nNEEDED TO BE LOVED BY THE PUBLIC--OR, AT LEAST, NOT TO BE\nVIEWED WITH DISTRUST--WAS TO HIRE A PUBLIC RELATIONS\nSPECIALIST. THE JOB OF THE\" R\"MAN WAS MIGHTY TOUGH IF THE\nCOMPANY MANAGEMENT WAS INSENSITIVE TO THE PUBLIC INTEREST.\nLIBRARY\nDigitized from Box D22 of The Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library\n-2-\nSINCE THAT TIME MOST BUSINESS LEADERS HAVE COME TO REALIZE\nTHAT INTEREST IN THE COMMUNITIES IN WHICH THEY OPERATE AND AN\nACTIVE ROLE IN SOLVING THE PROBLEMS OF THOSE COMMUNITIES IS\nGOOD FOR THE COMPANY--THAT THIS IS THE BEST KIND OF PUBLIC\nRELATIONS. IN THAT CONNECTION, I BELIEVE THE BEST KIND OF\nPUBLIC RELATIONS SPECIALIST IS THE MAN OR WOMAN WHO SELLS THE\nDUBIOUS COMPANY PRESIDENT ON ACTIVE PARTICIPATION IN COMMUNITY\nAFFAIRS BY COMPANY OFFICERS AND BY EMPLOYEES.\nIF I ASKED FOR A VOTE ON THE PREMISE I HAVE THUS FAR\nADVANCED, I PROBABLY WOULD NOT HEAR ONE DISSENTING VOICE. IN\nANY CASE, I WON'T CHANCE IT. I WILL JUST SAY \"SO FAR, SO\nGOOD\"--AND THEN TELL YOU THAT THIS IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH. THE\nREASON I SAY IT IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH IS THAT BUSINESS HAS A LONG\nWAY TO GO IN FULFILLING ITS RESPONSIBILITY FOR HELPING TO\nSOLVE COMMUNITY PROBLEMS.\nGERALO LIBRURY TORD\n-3-\nIT ALSO IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH BECAUSE THE AMERICAN PUBLIC\nIS FAR FROM SOLD ON THE CAPABILITY OR THE DESIRE OF BUSINESS\nTO SOLVE THE MAJOR PROBLEMS OF THIS COUNTRY.\nthe\nTHE UPSHOT IS THAT MOST AMERICANS LOOK TO THE\nFEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO REMEDY ALL OF THIS NATION'S ILLS. AND\nTHIS IS A MAJOR WEAKNESS OF OUR SOCIETY. NOW IT IS BECOMING\nINCREASINGLY EVIDENT THAT FEDERAL DOLLARS ALONE WILL NOT SOLVE\nOUR PROBLEMS. AND SO I TAKE HOPE THAT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WILL\nRECOGNIZE THIS FALLACY.\nTHIS IS THE CHIEF FACTOR IN AMERICA'S CONTINUING\nINABILITY TO SOLVE ITS MOST VITAL PROBLEMS--ITS TOTAL RELIANCE\nON FEDERAL SOLUTIONS, THE TENDENCY OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE TO\nLOOK TO THE FEDERAL BUREAUCRACY AND TO FEDERAL DOLLARS FOR THE\nANSWERS TO ALL THEIR WOES.\nTHIS OF COURSE SOUNDS LIKE OLD HAT TO MANY AMERICANS\n-4-\nWHO HAVE CLOSED THEIR EARS TO IT IN THE PAST. BUT THE ALARM\nBELLS ARE RINGING ALL OVER AMERICA TODAY AND I AM HOPEFUL THAT\nTHE PEOPLE WILL AWAKE.\nTHE ALARM HAS BEEN SOUNDED BY THE NATIONAL ADVISORY\nCOMMISSION ON CIVIL DISORDERS.\nWE DO NOT ALL HEAR THE SAME AND WE DO NOT ALL SEE THE\nSAME. BUT THE MESSAGE FROM THE COMMISSION IS UNMISTAKABLE FOR\nALL OF US. WE ARE HEADED FOR A WAR BETWEEN THE RACES IN THIS\nCOUNTRY UNLESS WE ACT NOW TO MOVE THIS NATION DOWN A DIFFERENT\nROAD THAN THE ONE WE HAVE BEEN TRAVELING.\nI AGREE WITH THE COMMISSION ON CIVIL DISORDERS THAT\nWE HAVE BEEN MOVING TOWARD A POLARIZATION OF THE TWO RACES,\nA DIVISION OF THE RACES INTO TWO WARRING CAMPS\nFORD\nTHIS IS SOMETHING WHICH NEEDED SAYING--AND THE SAYING\nOF IT IS PERHAPS THE COMMISSION'S GREATEST CONTRIBUTION TRAL TOWARD\n-5-\nSOLUTION OF THE PROBLEM.\nI SAY THAT BECAUSE THE COMMISSION HAS NOT HELPED IN\nONE VERY VITAL AREA OF CONCERN. THE COMMISSION IN FACT HAS\nERECTED BARRIERS TO SOLVING PROBLEMS OF INEQUALITY BETWEEN\nTHE RACES BY FALLING BACK ON THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AS THE\nFOUNTAINHEAD FROM WHENCE ALL SOLUTIONS FLOW.\nTHE PRIMARY EMPHASIS IN THE REPORT IS ON FEDERAL\nDOLLARS, AS THOUGH THEY WERE IN INEXHAUSTIBLE SUPPLY AND AS\nTHOUGH ALL OF OUR RACIAL PROBLEMS WOULD VANISH IF ONLY CONGRESS\nAPPROPRIATED UMPTEEN BILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO DEAL WITH THEM.\nFOR ALL OF THE GOOD ASPECTS OF THE REPORT-AND THERE\nARE MANY-THIS IS A SERIOUS FLAW. THERE IS EXAGGERATED EMPHASIS\nON THE ROLE OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND INSUFFICIENT\nATTENTION PAID TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR.\nTONIGHT I WOULD LIKE TO SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT\nGERALD R.FORD VIBRARY\n-6-\nCERTAINLY THE CONGRESS AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MUST ACT\nTO HELP REPAIR THE NEGLECT OF DECADES AND TO HELP THE\nDISADVANTAGED BECOME USEFUL, FULLY COMPETITIVE CITIZENS. BUT\nis gwen the Mortints of does\nUNLESS THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY, ASSUMES THE LEADERSHIP IN THAT\nEFFORT IN PARTNERSHIP WITH GOVERNMENT AT ALL LEVELS, EVEN THE\nMOST MASSIVE INJECTIONS OF FEDERAL AID ARE DOOMED TO FAILURE.\nI SUBMIT THAT AMERICA WILL REMAIN DIVIDED AGAINST\nITSELF AS LONG AS THE NATION'S TOP LEADERSHIP PREACHES TOTAL\nFEDERAL GOVERNMENT SOLUTIONS AND AS LONG AS THE BUSINESS\nCOMMUNITY FAILS TO MEASURE UP TO ITS RESPONSIBILITY.\nI THINK IT IS UNFORTUNATE THAT THE REPORT BY THE\nCOMMISSION ON CIVIL DISORDERS TENDED TO PERPETUATE RELIANCE ON\nifnothynami\nFEDERAL GOVERNMENT SOLUTIONS BY, IN EFFECT ENDORSING PRESENT\nAND PROPOSED JOHNSON ADMINISTRATION PROGRAMS. TO THAT EXTENT,\nAT LEAST, THE REPORT WAS A POLITICAL DOCUMENT.\n-7-\nIT IS IRONIC THAT THE COMMISSION CONTINUES TO PREACH\nA PRE-EMINENT FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ROLE IN THE SOLUTION OF\nAMERICA'S SOCIAL PROBLEMS AND YET MAKES IT UNMISTAKABLY CLEAR\nTHAT ONLY A SMALL FRACTION OF THE NATION'S NEEDY ARE BEING\nREACHED BY THE FEDERAL BILLIONS ALREADY SPENT OR\nAPPROPRIATED.\nIS THE COMMISSION INDICTING THE JOHNSON ADMINISTRATION\nIN ITS CATALOG OF FAILURE OR LAYING THE GROUNDWORK FOR\nGREATLY EXPANDED DEMANDS UPON THE FEDERAL TAXPAYER?\nTO ME IT READS LIKE A LISTING OF NEAR-HITS AND MOSTLY\nMISSES BY THE FEDERAL BLUNDERBUSS IN THE HANDS OF THE PRESENT\nADMINISTRATION.\nCONSIDER THESE FACTS COMPILED BY THE KERNER COMMISSION:\nTHREE MAJOR RIOT CITIES--DETROIT, NEWARK AND NEW\nFORD RAILD LIBRARY RAIL\nHAVEN--RECEIVED SUBSTANTIAL FEDERAL FUNDS IN 1967. YET MOST\nOF THE PROGRAMS REACHED LESS THAN HALF OF THOSE FOR WHOM THEY\nWERE INTENDED.\nIN DETROIT, WHOSE MAYOR CAVANAGH WAS ALWAYS IN ON THE\nGROUND FLOOR FOR FEDERAL AID, LESS THAN HALF OF THE UNEMPLOYED\nWERE HELPED BY THE $19.6 MILLION IN FEDERAL JOB-TRAINING\nFUNDS OBLIGATED FOR THE FIRST NINE MONTHS OF 1967.\nTHE HOUSING SITUATION IN DETROIT REVEALS AN EVEN MORE\nINEFFECTIVE RESULT. ONLY 758 LOW-INCOME HOUSING UNITS WERE\nBUILT WITH FEDERAL AID IN THE LAST DECADE. BUT SINCE 1960\nABOUT 8,000 LOW-INCOME UNITS HAVE BEEN DEMOLISHED IN THE NAME\nOF URBAN RENEWAL.\nHOW MUCH MORE SENSE IT MAKES TO CUT LOW-PRIORITY FEDERAL\nPROGRAMS AND TO PUMP ADDITIONAL FUNDS INTO THE REPUBLICAN\nFORD\nRENT CERTIFICATES PROGRAM AND TO FULLY FUND\nREPUBLICAN\nLIBRAR\nBILLS TO STIMULATE AND EXPAND CONSTRUCTION OF LOW-COST HOUSING\n-9-\nUNDER A SPECIAL PROGRAM TO MAKE HOME OWNERSHIP POSSIBLE FOR\nSLUM FAMILIES!\nHOW MUCH BETTER WE COULD COME TO GRIPS WITH HARD-CORE\nUNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT IN THE CENTRAL CITIES IF TAX\nCREDITS WERE USED TO MOBILIZE INDUSTRY IN A DRIVE TO PROVIDE\nMEANINGFUL TRAINING AND JOBS WITH DIGNITY !\nTHE IRONY IN THE KERNER COMMISSION S REPORT DEEPENS\nAS THE COMMISSION PROCEEDS TO RECOMMEND THAT BILLIONS UPON\nBILLIONS OF FEDERAL DOLLARS BE POURED ON TOP OF THE BILLIONS\nTHAT HAVE FAILED TO REACH THE POOR UNDER GREAT SOCIETY PRO-\nGRAMS.\nAND THEN THE COMMISSION QUITS SKIRTING THE MARK AND\nCOMES IN ON TARGET IN ITS DISSECTION OF THE ANATOMY OF THE\n1967 RIOTS. THE PIECES FALL INTO PLACE WHEN THE COMMISSION\nDESCRIBES WHAT THEY CALL \"THE TYPICAL RIOTER.\"\n-10-\nTHE TYPICAL RIOTER IS A NORTHERN-BORN TEENAGER OR YOUNG\nADULT WHO HAS HAD HIS HOPES AROUSED BY ALL THE FEDERAL\nBETTERMENT PROGRAMS AND THE ORATORY OF ADMINISTRATION\nSPOKESMEN--AND THEN HAS HAD THOSE HOPES DASHED. HE MAY HAVE\nA JOB BUT IT IS PROBABLY MENIAL AND TEMPORARY. IN SHORT, HE\nIS UNDEREMPLOYED. HE IS PROUD. HE IS HOSTILE TOWARD BOTH\nWHITES AND MIDDLE-CLASS NEGROES, AND HE HAS NO USE FOR THE\n\"SYSTEM.\"\nHOW DO YOU REACH THIS TYPICAL RIOTER? HOW CAN HIS\nBASIC ATTITUDES, HIS HOSTILITY, BE ALTERED?\nI THINK THE ANSWER IS ONE THAT REPUBLICANS HAVE BEEN\nSEEKING TO IMPRESS ON THE AMERICAN PEOPLE FOR THREE LONG\nYEARS--AN ANSWER THAT HAS BEEN SMOTHERED UNDER THE\nADMINISTRATION'S TOTAL GOVERNMENT SOLUTIONS UNTIL THE RIOTS FORD\nGERALD\nRARY\nBLEW THE LID OFF.\n-11-\nTHE PRIMARY ANSWER IS JOBS. GOOD-PAYING JOBS. JOBS\nTHAT REQUIRE TRAINING--TRAINING THAT ONLY INDUSTRY CAN GIVE.\nJOBS THAT GIVE A MAN A STAKE IN OUR SOCIETY. JOBS THAT GIVE\nA MAN PRIDE IN HIMSELF.\nFOR THREE YEARS HOUSE REPUBLICANS HAVE URGED THAT\nINDUSTRY BE ENLISTED THROUGH A SYSTEM OF TAX CREDITS TO TRAIN\nTHE HARD-CORE UNEMPLOYED AND THE UNDEREMPLOYED AND PLACE THEM\nIN GOOD JOBS. FOR THREE YEARS THE JOHNSON ADMINISTRATION AND\nTHE MAJORITY PARTY HAVE SIMPLY IGNORED THIS PLEA.\nAS A COROLLARY TO THIS PROPOSED HUMAN INVESTMENT ACT,\nHOUSE REPUBLICANS HAVE SOUGHT TO REVAMP THE ANTI-POVERTY\nPROGRAM WITH PRIMARY EMPHASIS ON JOB TRAINING AND JOB PLACE-\nMENT THROUGH CREATION OF AN INDUSTRY YOUTH CORPS. THIS\nFORD\nPROGRAM OFFERED A DIRECT FEDERAL OUTLAY TO HELP PAY FOR JOB\nLIBRAR\nTRAINING BY INDUSTRY. IT WAS AIMED RIGHT AT THE GHETTO YOUTH\n-12-\nNOW TICKETED BY THE KERNER COMMISSION AS THE TYPICAL RIOTER--\nTHE YOUNG MAN PROUD OF HIS RACE AND SUSPICIOUS OF THE\nSYSTEM, EMPLOYED AT MENIAL TASKS AND RESENTING EVERY MINUTE\nOF IT. BUT THE JOHNSON ADMINISTRATION AND THE MAJORITY PARTY\nIN THE CONGRESS RODE ROUGHSHOD OVER REPUBLICAN ATTEMPTS TO\nGIVE THE ANTI-POVERTY PROGRAM THIS PRIVATE INDUSTRY JOB\nORIENTATION.\nNOW--AND THIS RECOMMENDATION BY THE COMMISSION ON CIVIL\nDISORDERS HAS BEEN LARGELY OVERLOOKED--NOW THE KERNER COM-\nMISSION MAKES A STRONG PITCH FOR THE REPUBLICAN APPROACH.\nTHE KERNER COMMISSION URGES THAT THE FEDERAL\nGOVERNMENT INSTITUTE A SYSTEM OF TAX INCENTIVES TO GET\nPRIVATE INDUSTRY TO HIRE AND TRAIN THE HARD-CORE UNEMPLOYED,\nGIVE THEM MEANINGFUL JOBS AND ASSURE THEM FAIR OPPORTUNITY\nFOR ADVANCEMENT. IF CONGRESS FAILS TO ADOPT THE TAX CREDIT\n-13-\nAPPROACH THE COMMISSION DECLARES, ANY LARGE-SCALE JOBS\nPROGRAM WILL BE BADLY BLUNTED.\nI DON'T LIKE SAYING \"I TOLD YOU SO,\" BUT I MUST.\nAND I WOULD ADD THAT CONGRESS ALREADY IS THREE YEARS BEHIND\nSCHEDULE ON VOTING TAX CREDITS FOR JOB TRAINING AND JOB\nPLACEMENT.\nALL AMERICA SHOULD KNOW THAT THE JOHNSON ADMINISTRATION\nAND THE MAJORITY PARTY IN CONGRESS HAVE CONSISTENTLY AND\nREPEATEDLY BLOCKED EVERY REPUBLICAN ATTEMPT TO LICK HARD-\nCORE UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE GHETTOES THROUGH TAX CREDITS.\nI AM FULLY CONVINCED, THEREFORE THAT AMERICA WILL\nCONTINUE TO FALL SHORT OF SOUND SOLUTIONS IN THE AREA OF\nUNEMPLOYMENT AND EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY UNTIL A CONGRESS\nwhich\nAND A NEW LEADERSHIP WHICH THOROUGHLY BELIEVESIN THE FREE\nENTERPRISE SYSTEM ARE VOTED INTO OFFICE.\nGERALD\nLIBRARY\n-14-\nI DO NOT, OF COURSE, SUBSCRIBE TO EVERY RECOMMENDATION\nIN THE KERNER COMMISSION REPORT. BUT I BELIEVE THAT EVERY\nONE OF THE COMMISSION PROPOSALS WHICH CALLS FOR FEDERAL\nIMPLEMENTATION SHOULD RECEIVE CAREFUL CONSIDERATION BY THE\nCONGRESS.\nTHE CHALLENGE THAT IS FACING US AT HOME TODAY IS ONE\nTHAT SHOULD STIR EVERY AMERICAN RIGHT DOWN TO HIS TOES.\nTHE CHALLENGE WILL NOT BE MET--AND DISASTER WILL\nENGULF US--IF THE PEOPLE OF AMERICA FAIL TO TAKE THE RIGHT\nPATH IN THIS TIME OF DEEP CRISIS.\nAMERICA WILL MISS THE RIGHT PATH UNLESS THE BUSINESS\nCOMMUNITY STEPS FORWARD AND TAKES UPON ITSELF THE MAJOR\nBURDEN OF HELPING DISADVANTAGED INDIVIDUALS IN THIS COUNTRY\nHELP THEMSELVES.\nLIBRAR\nMANY BUSINESS CONCERNS ARE DOING THIS, BUT NOT ENOUGH.\n-15-\nTHE STORY OF WHAT IS BEING DONE IS BEING TOLD, BUT THE\nMESSAGE IS BURIED UNDER AN AVALANCHE OF WHITE HOUSE MESSAGES\nDEMANDING THAT MORE AND MORE BILLIONS OF FEDERAL DOLLARS--\nALL BORROWED DOLLARS WITH HIGH INTEREST COSTS--BE THROWN AT\nOUR SOCIAL PROBLEMS.\nTHE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS A LARGE ROLE TO PLAY IN\nMEETING THE CRISIS OF THE CITIES. BUT THAT ROLE NOW IS\nGREATLY DISTORTED. IT SHOULD BE PRIMARILY THAT OF PROVIDING\nGUIDANCE AND INCENTIVE AND GUARANTEES. THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD\nLURE BUSINESS OUT OF THE WINGS AND ONTO CENTER STAGE.\nDO SOME OF OUR BUSINESS LEADERS NEED MORE THAN TAX\nINCENTIVES TO ENTER THE FRAY? LET PUBLIC RELATIONS DIRECTORS\nAND OTHER PR\" PERSONNEL EXERCISE THEIR CHARM AND EMPLOY THEIR\nPOWERS OF PERSUASION ON THEIR BOSSES. PERHAPS PUBLIC\nRELATIONS PEOPLE NEED TO DO A SELLING JOB ON THEIR TOP\n-16-\nMANAGEMENT IF AMERICA IS TO LAUNCH AN ALL-OUT ATTACK ON HARD-\nCORE UNEMPLOYMENT AND GHETTO JOB BARRIERS. T APPEAL TO YOU\nTONIGHT TO LEND ALL OF YOUR TALENTS TO THE TASK\nIS AMERICA DEAF AND BLIND TO THE POWER FOR GOOD THAT\nLIES IN THE PRIVATE ENTERPRISE SYSTEM?\nOPEN UP THOSE EYES AND EARS. TELL AMERICA HOW SOME\nFIRMS ALREADY ARE GOING INTO THE GHETTO WITH MOBILE EMPLOYMENT\nOFFICES, PROVIDING COUNSELING SERVICE, MAKING CONTACT WITH\nMINORITY GROUPS AND PERSUADING GHETTO YOUTHS TO ACQUIRE\nMARKETABLE SKILLS. MUCH MORE CAN BE DONE, MUST BE DONE. AND\nTHE GOOD WILL MULTIPLY AS THE STORY IS TOLD.\nTHERE IS A LESSON OF ENLIGHTENED SELF-INTEREST IN THE\nCURRENT CHALLENGE, JUST AS THERE WAS IN EARLIER DAYS WHEN\nINDUSTRY OPENED ITS FACTORY GATES TO COMMUNITY PROBLEMS AND\nFOUND THIS WAS THE BEST OF PUBLIC RELATIONS.\nGERALD LIBRARY\n-17-\nAS GEORGE CHAMPION, BOARD CHAIRMAN OF CHASE\nMANHATTAN BANK, HAS POINTED OUT, BUSINESS NEEDS TO ASSURE ITSELI\nOF A CONTINUING AND GROWING SUPPLY OF TRAINED MANPOWER TO MEET\nBOTH PRESENT AND FUTURE NEEDS. IT THEREFORE IS SIMPLY GOOD\nBUSINESS FOR INDUSTRY TO CAST ITSELF IN A MAJOR ROLE AS ON-THE-\nJOB TRAINER OF THE UNEMPLOYED AND THE UNDEREMPLOYED.\nIF WE UPGRADE OUR WORKERS, WE WILL BE UPGRADING AMERICA\nIT NOT ONLY IS GOOD BUSINESS FOR INDUSTRY TO TRAIN\nMASSIVE NUMBERS OF WORKERS IN NEEDED SKILLS, IT ALSO IS A\nBUILDING BLOCK TOWARD GOOD GOVERNMENT.\nALL AMERICA BENEFITS TO THE EXTENT THAT WE CAN MAKE\nTAXPAYERS OF TAX EATERS. ALL AMERICA BENEFITS WHEN WE MAKE\nUSEFUL CITIZENS OF POTENTIAL RIOTERS.\nSOME WOULD ANSWER HOSTILITY WITH HOSTILITY. DOES THIS\nHELP? IS THIS THE PATH THAT WILL MOVE AMERICA FORWARD THAT\n-18-\nWILL PLACE US ON THE ROAD TO TRUE NATIONAL GREATNESS AND\nFULLER REALIZATION OF THE AMERICAN DREAM? I THINK NOT. AND\nI M SURE YOU DON'T, EITHER.\nfrom it\nP M NOT PREACHING SOFTNESS I' M TALKING FIRMNESS--\nFIRMNESS IN THE RIGHT, FIRMNESS IN PRESERVING LAW AND ORDER,\nAND FIRMNESS IN DOING WHAT IS HEALTHY FOR ALL AMERICANS.\nTHAT' S WHY WE HAVE TO \"TELL IT LIKE IT is,\" SOMETHING\nTHE PRESENT ADMINISTRATION HAS NOT BEEN DOING FOR SEVEN LONG\nYEARS. THAT'S WHY EVERYONE IN THIS NATION WHO IS IN A\nPOSITION TO POINT OUT THE RIGHT ROAD TO PROGRESS--ONE AMERICAN\nHELPING ANOTHER AND BUSINESS ASSUMING ITS RIGHTFUL BURDEN FOR\nNATIONAL ADVANCEMENT--MUST TELL THE STORY SO ALL AMERICANS\nWILL TAKE THE RIGHT PATH.\nIT DOES NO GOOD TO FUZZ THE FACTS, AS THE VICE-\nPRESIDENT DID IN QUARRELING WITH THE KERNER COMMISSION'S\n-19-\nWARNING ABOUT POLARIZATION OF AMERICA INTO TWO WARRING CAMPS.\nLET' S TELL IT LIKE I.T IS--AND WHEN WE DO I FEEL SURE\nOUR PEOPLE WILL RESPOND.\nAMERICANS ARE A GOOD PEOPLE, A DECENT PEOPLE, A MORAL\nPEOPLE. THEY WANT THE TRUTH. AND WHEN THEY HEAR IT THEY\nALWAYS MEASURE UP.\nYOUR JOB IS TO GET THE MESSAGE ACROSS. THANK YOU.\n-END-\nFORD & LIBRARY 95\nDistribution. Full 4:00 p.m. 3/7/68\nMailing 3/7/68 evening\nM Office Copy\nCONGRESSMAN\nNEWS\nGERALD R. FORD\nHOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER\nRELEASE\n--FOR RELEASE AT 6:30 P.M. THURSDAY--\nMarch 7, 1968\nAN ADDRESS BY REP. GERALD R. FORD, R-MICH., AT THE VIRGINIA PUBLIC RELATIONS\nCONFERENCE, THURSDAY EVENING, MARCH 7, 1968, AT WILLIAMSBURG, VA.\nTonight I am going to do something which could be quite dangerous. I am\ngoing to leave my own field of competence--for a time, at least--and talk with you\nabout your specialty, public relations.\nI think all of you would agree it is difficult to define the term, public\nrelations. If you dissect it into its simplest form it means of course the\nrelationship that an individual or company or other entity has with the public.\nFor many years it was thought that all a company needed to be loved by the\npublic--or, at least, not to be viewed with distrust--was to hire a public\nrelations specialist. The job of the PR man was mighty tough if the company\nmanagement was insensitive to the public interest. Since that time most business\nleaders have come to realize that interest in the communities in which they\noperate and an active role in solving the problems of those communities is good\nfor the company--that this is the best kind of public relations. In that con-\nnection, I believe the best kind of public relations specialist is the man or\nwoman who sells the dubious company president on active participation in community\naffairs by company officers and by employees.\nIf I asked for a vote on the premise I have thus far advanced, I probably\nwould not hear one dissenting voice. In any case, I won't chance it. I will\njust say \"so far, so good\"--and then tell you that this is not good enough. The\nreason I say it is not good enough is that business has a long way to go in\nfulfilling its responsibility for helping to solve community problems.\nIt also is not good enough because the American public is far from sold on\nthe capability or the desire of business to solve the major problems of this\ncountry.\nThe upshot is that most Americans look to the Federal Government to remedy\nall of this Nation's ills. And this is a major weakness of our society. Now it\nis becoming increasingly evident that federal dollars alone will not solve our\nproblems. And so I take hope that the American people will recognize this fallacy\nThis is the chief factor in America's continuing inability to solve its\nFORD\nmost vital problems--its total reliance on federal solutions, the tendency of the\nLIBRARY\n(more)\n-2-\nAmerican people to look to the federal bureaucracy and to federal dollars for the\nanswers to all their woes.\nThis of course sounds like old hat to many Americans who have closed their\nears to it in the past. But the alarm bells are ringing all over America today\nand I am hopeful that the people will awake.\nThe alarm has been sounded by the National Advisory Commission on Civil\nDisorders.\nWe do not all hear the same and we do not all see the same. But the message\nfrom the Commission is unmistakable for all of us. We are headed for a war\nbetween the races in this country unless we act now to move this Nation down a\ndifferent road than the one we have been traveling.\nI agree with the Commission on Civil Disorders that we have been moving\ntoward a polarization of the two races, a division of the races into two warring\ncamps.\nThis is something which needed saying--and the saying of it is perhaps the\ncommission's greatest contribution toward solution of the problem.\nI say that because the commission has not helped in one very vital area of\nconcern. The commission in fact has erected barriers to solving problems of\ninequality between the races by falling back on the federal government as the\nfountainhead from whence all solutions flow.\nThe primary emphasis in the report is on federal dollars, as though they\nwere in inexhaustible supply and as though all of our racial problems would vanish\nif only Congress appropriated umpteen billions of dollars to deal with them.\nFor all of the good aspects of the report--and there are many--this is a\nserious flaw. There is exaggerated emphasis on the role of the federal government\nand insufficient attention paid to the private sector.\nTonight I would like to set the record straight. Certainly the Congress and\nthe Federal Government must act to help repair the neglect of decades and to help\nthe disadvantaged become useful, fully competitive citizens. But unless the\nbusiness community assumes the leadership in that effort in partnership with\ngovernment at all levels, even the most massive injections of federal aid are\ndoomed to failure.\nI submit that America will remain divided against itself as long as the\nNation's top leadership preaches total federal government solutions and as long\nas the business community fails to measure up to its responsibility.\nI think it is unfortunate that the report by the Commission on Civil\nDisorders tended to perpetuate reliance on federal government solutions by in\n(more)\n-3-\neffect endorsing present and proposed Johnson Administration programs. To that\nextent, at least, the report was a political document.\nIt is ironic that the commission continues to preach a pre-eminent federal\ngovernment role in the solution of America's social problems and yet makes it\nunmistakably clear that only a small fraction of the Nation's needy are being\nreached by the federal billions already spent or appropriated.\nIs the commission indicting the Johnson Administration in its catalog of\nfailure or laying the groundwork for greatly expanded demands upon the federal\ntaxpayer?\nTo me it reads like a listing of near-hits and mostly misses by the federal\nblunderbuss in the hands of the present Administration.\nConsider these facts compiled by the Kerner Commission:\nThree major riot cities--Detroit, Newark and New Haven--received substantial\nfederal funds in 1967. Yet most of the programs reached less than half of those\nfor whom they were intended.\nIn Detroit, whose Mayor Cavanagh was always in on the ground floor for\nfederal aid, less than half of the unemployed were helped by the $19.6 million\nin federal job-training funds obligated for the first nine months of 1967.\nThe housing situation in Detroit reveals an even more ineffective result.\nOnly 758 low-income housing units were built with Federal aid in the last decade.\nBut since 1960 about 8,000 low-income units have been demolished in the name of\nurban renewal.\nHow much more sense it makes to cut low-priority federal programs and to pump\nadditional funds into the Republican rent certificates program and to fully fund\nthe Republican bills to stimulate and expand construction of low-cost housing\nunder a special program to make home ownership possible for slum families!\nHow much better we could come to grips with hard-core unemployment and\nunderemployment in the central cities if tax credits were used to mobilize\nindustry in a drive to provide meaningful training and jobs with dignity!\nThe irony in the Kerner Commission's report deepens as the commission\nproceeds to recommend that billions upon billions of federal dollars be poured on\ntop of the billions that have failed to reach the poor under Great Society\nprograms.\nAnd then the commission quits skirting the mark and comes in on target in\nits dissection of the anatomy of the 1967 riots. The pieces fall into place when\nthe commission describes what they call \"the typical rioter.\"\nThe typical rioter is a Northern-born teenager or young adult who has had\n(more)\n-4-\nhis hopes aroused by all the federal betterment programs and the oratory of\nAdministration spokesmen--and then has had those hopes dashed. He may have a job\nbut it is probably menial and temporary. In short, he is underemployed. He is\nproud; he is hostile toward both whites and middle-class Negroes and he has no\nuse for the \"system.\"\nHow do you reach this typical rioter? How can his basic attitudes, his\nhostility, be altered?\nI think the answer is one that Republicans have been seeking to impress on\nthe American people for three long years--an answer that has been smothered under\nthe Administration's total government solutions until the riots blew the lid off.\nThe primary answer is jobs. Good-paying jobs. Jobs that require training--\ntraining that only industry can give. Jobs that give a man a stake in our society.\nJobs that give a man pride in himself.\nFor three years House Republicans have urged that industry be enlisted\nthrough a system of tax credits to train the hard-core unemployed and the under-\nemployed and place them in good jobs. For three years the Johnson Administration\nand the majority party have simply ignored this plea.\nAs a corollary to this proposed Human Investment Act, House Republicans have\nsought to revamp the anti-poverty program with primary emphasis on job training\nand job placement through creation of an Industry Youth Corps. This program\noffered a direct federal outlay to help pay for job training by industry. It was\naimed right at the ghetto youth now ticketed by the Kerner Commission as the\ntypical rioter--the young man proud of his race and suspicious of the system,\nemployed at menial tasks and resenting every minute of it. But the Johnson\nAdministration and the majority party in the Congress rode roughshod over\nRepublican attempts to give the anti-poverty program this private industry job\norientation.\nNow--and this recommendation by the Commission on Civil Disorders has been\nlargely overlooked--now the Kerner Commission makes a strong pitch for the\nRepublican approach.\nThe Kerner Commission urges that the Federal Government institute a system\nof tax incentives to get private industry to hire and train the hard-core\nunemployed, give them meaningful jobs and assure them fair opportunity for advance-\nment. If Congress fails to adopt the tax credit approach, the commission declares,\nany large-scale jobs program will be badly blunted.\nI don't like saying \"I told you so,\" but I must. And I would add that\nCongress already is three years behind schedule on voting tax credits for job\n(more)\n-5-\ntraining and job placement.\nAll America should know that the Johnson Administration and the majority\nparty in Congress have consistently and repeatedly blocked every Republican\nattempt to lick hard-core unemployment in the ghettoes through tax credits.\nI am fully convinced, therefore, that America will continue to fall short\nof sound solutions in the area of unemployment and equality of opportunity until\na Congress and a new leadership which thoroughly believe in the free enterprise\nsystem are voted into office.\nI do not, of course, subscribe to every recommendation in the Kerner\nCommission report. But I believe that every one of the commission proposals which\ncalls for federal implementation should receive careful consideration by the\nCongress.\nThe challenge that is facing us at home today is one that should stir every\nAmerican right down to his toes.\nThe challenge will not be met--and disaster will engulf us--if the people\nof America fail to take the right path in this time of deep crisis.\nAmerica will miss the right path unless the business community steps forward\nand takes upon itself the major burden of helping disadvantaged individuals in\nthis country help themselves.\nMany business concerns are doing this, but not enough. The story of what is\nbeing done is being told, but the message is buried under an avalanche of White\nHouse messages demanding that more and more billions of federal dollars--all\nborrowed dollars with high interest costs--be thrown at our social problems.\nThe Federal Government has a large role to play in meeting the crisis of the\ncities. But that role now is greatly distorted. It should be primarily that of\nproviding guidance and incentive and guarantees. The government should lure\nbusiness out of the wings and onto center stage.\nDo some of our business leaders need more than tax incentives to enter the\nfray? Let public relations directors and other PR personnel exercise their charm\nand employ their powers of persuasion on their bosses. Perhaps public relations\npeople need to do a selling job on their top management if America is to launch\nan all-out attack on hard-core unemployment and ghetto job barriers. I appeal to\nyou tonight to lend all of your talents to the task.\nIs America deaf and blind to the power for good that lies in the private\nenterprise system?\nOpen up those eyes and ears. Tell America how some firms already are going\ninto the ghetto with mobile employment offices, providing counseling service,\n(more)\n-6-\nmaking contact with minority groups and persuading ghetto youths to acquire\nmarketable skills. Much more can be done, must be done. And the good will\nmultiply as the story is told.\nThere is a lesson of enlightened self-interest in the current challenge, just\nas there was in earlier days when industry opened its factory gates to community\nproblems and found this was the best of public relations.\nAs George Champion, board chairman of Chase Manhattan Bank, has pointed out,\nbusiness needs to assure itself of a continuing and growing supply of trained\nmanpower to meet both present and future needs. It therefore is simply good\nbusiness for industry to cast itself in a major role as on-the-job trainer of the\nunemployed and the underemployed.\nIf we upgrade our workers, we will be upgrading America.\nIt not only is good business for industry to train massive numbers of workers\nin needed skills, it also is a building block toward good government.\nAll America benefits to the extent that we can make taxpayers of tax eaters.\nAll America benefits when we make useful citizens of potential rioters.\nSome would answer hostility with hostility. Does this help? Is this the\npath that will move America forward, that will place us on the road to true\nnational greatness and fuller realization of the American dream? I think not,\nand I'm sure you don't, either.\nI'm not preaching softness; I'm talking firmness--firmness in the right,\nfirmness in preserving law and order and firmness in doing what is healthy for\nall Americans.\nThat's why we have to \"tell it like it is,\" something the present\nAdministration has not been doing for seven long years. That's why everyone in\nthis Nation who is in a position to point out the right road to progress--one\nAmerican helping another and business assuming its rightful burden for national\nadvancement--must tell the story so all Americans will take the right path.\nIt does no good to fuzz the facts, as the Vice-President did in quarreling\nwith the Kerner Commission's warning about polarization of America into two\nwarring camps.\nLet's tell it like it is--and when we do I feel sure our people will respond.\nAmericans are a good people, a decent people, a moral people. They want\nthe truth. And when they hear it they will measure up.\nYour job is to get the message across. Thank you.\n###\nCONGRESSMAN\nNEWS\nGERALD R. FORD\nHOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER\nRELEASE\n--FOR RELEASE AT 6:30 P.M. THURSDAY--\nMarch 7, 1968\nAN ADDRESS BY REP. GERALD R. FORD, R-MICH., AT THE VIRGINIA PUBLIC RELATIONS\nCONFERENCE, THURSDAY EVENING, MARCH 7, 1968, AT WILLIAMSBURG, VA.\nTonight I am going to do something which could be quite dangerous. I am\ngoing to leave my own field of competence--for a time, at least--and talk with you\nabout your specialty, public relations.\nI think all of you would agree it is difficult to\\define the term, public\nrelations. If you dissect it into its simplest form it means of course the\nrelationship that an individual or company or other entity has with the public.\nFor many years it was thought that all a company needed to be loved by the\npublic--or, at least, not to be viewed with distrust was to hire a public\nrelations specialist. The job of the PR man was mighty tough if the company\nmanagement was insensitive to the public interest. Since that time most business\nleaders have come to realize that interest in the communities in which they\noperate and an active role in solving the problems of those communities is good\nfor the company--that this is the best kind of public relations. In that con-\nnection, I believe the best kind of public relations specialist is the man or\nwoman who sells the dubious company president on active participation in community\naffairs by company officers and by employees.\nIf I asked for a vote on the premise I have thus far advanced, I probably\nwould not hear one dissenting voice. In any case, I won't chance it. I will\njust say \"so far, so good\"--and then tell you that this is not good enough. The\nreason I say it is not good enough is that business has a long way to go in\nfulfilling its responsibility for helping to solve community problems.\nIt also is not good enough because the American public is far from sold on\nthe capability or the desire of business to solve the major problems of this\ncountry.\nThe upshot is that most Americans look to the Federal Government to remedy\nall of this Nation's ills. And this is a major weakness of our society. Now it\nis becoming increasingly evident that federal dollars alone will not solve our\nproblems. And so I take hope that the American people will recognize this fallacy\nThis is the chief factor in America's continuing inability to solve its\nFORD\nmost vital problems--its total reliance on federal solutions, the tendency of the\nLIBRARY\n(more)\n-2-\nAmerican people to look to the federal bureaucracy and to federal dollars for the\nanswers to all their woes.\nThis of course sounds like old hat to many Americans who have closed their\nears to it in the past. But the alarm bells are ringing all over America today\nand I am hopeful that the people will awake.\nThe alarm has been sounded by the National Advisory Commission on Civil\nDisorders.\nWe do not all hear the same and we do not all see the same. But the message\nfrom the Commission is unmistakable for all of us. We are headed for a war\nbetween the races in this country unless we act now to move this Nation down a\ndifferent road than the one we have been traveling.\nI agree with the Commission on Civil Disorders that we have been moving\ntoward a polarization of the two races, a division of the races into two warring\ncamps.\nThis is something which needed saying--and the saying of it is perhaps the\ncommission's greatest contribution toward solution of the problem.\nI say that because the commission has not helped in one very vital area of\nconcern. The commission in fact has erected barriers to solving problems of\ninequality between the races by falling back on the federal government as the\nfountainhead from whence all solutions flow.\nThe primary emphasis in the report is on federal dollars, as though they\nwere in inexhaustible supply and as though all of our racial problems would vanish\nif only Congress appropriated umpteen billions of dollars to deal with them.\nFor all of the good aspects of the report--and there are many--this is a\nserious flaw. There is exaggerated emphasis on the role of the federal government\nand insufficient attention paid to the private sector.\nTonight I would like to set the record straight. Certainly the Congress and\nthe Federal Government must act to help repair the neglect of decades and to help\nthe disadvantaged become useful, fully competitive citizens. But unless the\nbusiness community assumes the leadership in that effort in partnership with\ngovernment at all levels, even the most massive injections of federal aid are\ndoomed to failure.\nI submit that America will remain divided against itself as long as the\nNation's top leadership preaches total federal government solutions and as long\nas the business community fails to measure up to its responsibility.\nI think it is unfortunate that the report by the Commission on Civil\nDisorders tended to perpetuate reliance on federal government solutions by in\n(more)\n-3-\neffect endorsing present and proposed Johnson Administration programs. To that\nextent, at least, the report was a political document.\nIt is ironic that the commission continues to preach a pre-eminent federal\ngovernment role in the solution of America's social problems and yet makes it\nunmistakably clear that only a small fraction of the Nation's needy are being\nreached by the federal billions already spent or appropriated.\nIs the commission indicting the Johnson Administration in its catalog of\nfailure or laying the groundwork for greatly expanded demands upon the federal\ntaxpayer?\nTo me it reads like a listing of near-hits and mostly misses by the federal\nblunderbuss in the hands of the present Administration.\nConsider these facts compiled by the Kerner Commission:\nThree major riot cities--Detroit, Newark and New Haven--received substantial\nfederal funds in 1967. Yet most of the programs reached less than half of those\nfor whom they were intended.\nIn Detroit, whose Mayor Cavanagh was always in on the ground floor for\nfederal aid, less than half of the unemployed were helped by the $19.6 million\nin federal job-training funds obligated for the first nine months of 1967.\nThe housing situation in Detroit reveals an even more ineffective result.\nOnly 758 low-income housing units were built with Federal aid in the last decade.\nBut since 1960 about 8,000 low-income units have been demolished in the name of\nurban renewal.\nHow much more sense it makes to cut low-priority federal programs and to pump\nadditional funds into the Republican rent certificates program and to fully fund\nthe Republican bills to stimulate and expand construction of low-cost housing\nunder a special program to make home ownership possible for slum families!\nHow much better we could come to grips with hard-core unemployment and\nunderemployment in the central cities if tax credits were used to mobilize\nindustry in a drive to provide meaningful training and jobs with dignity!\nThe irony in the Kerner Commission's report deepens as the commission\nproceeds to recommend that billions upon billions of federal dollars be poured on\ntop of the billions that have failed to reach the poor under Great Society\nprograms.\nAnd then the commission quits skirting the mark and comes in on target in\nits dissection of the anatomy of the 1967 riots. The pieces fall into place when\nthe commission describes what they call \"the typical rioter.\"\nThe typical rioter is a Northern-born teenager or young adult who has had\n(more)\n-4-\nhis hopes aroused by all the federal betterment programs and the oratory of\nAdministration spokesmen--and then has had those hopes dashed. He may have a job\nbut it is probably menial and temporary. In short, he is underemployed. He is\nproud; he is hostile toward both whites and middle-class Negroes and he has no\nuse for the \"system.\"\nHow do you reach this typical rioter? How can his basic attitudes, his\nhostility, be altered?\nI think the answer is one that Republicans have been seeking to impress on\nthe American people for three long years--an answer that has been smothered under\nthe Administration's total government solutions until the riots blew the lid off.\nThe primary answer is jobs. Good-paying jobs. Jobs that require training--\ntraining that only industry can give. Jobs that give a man a stake in our society.\nJobs that give a man pride in himself.\nFor three years House Republicans have urged that industry be enlisted\nthrough a system of tax credits to train the hard-core unemployed and the under-\nemployed and place them in good jobs. For three years the Johnson Administration\nand the majority party have simply ignored this plea.\nAs a corollary to this proposed Human Investment Act, House Republicans have\nsought to revamp the anti-poverty program with primary emphasis on job training\nand job placement through creation of an Industry Youth Corps. This program\noffered a direct federal outlay to help pay for job training by industry. It was\naimed right at the ghetto youth now ticketed by the Kerner Commission as the\ntypical rioter--the young man proud of his race and suspicious of the system,\nemployed at menial tasks and resenting every minute of it. But the Johnson\nAdministration and the majority party in the Congress rode roughshod over\nRepublican attempts to give the anti-poverty program this private industry job\norientation.\nNow--and this recommendation by the Commission on Civil Disorders has been\nlargely overlooked--now the Kerner Commission makes a strong pitch for the\nRepublican approach.\nThe Kerner Commission urges that the Federal Government institute a system\nof tax incentives to get private industry to hire and train the hard-core\nunemployed, give them meaningful jobs and assure them fair opportunity for advance-\nment. If Congress fails to adopt the tax credit approach, the commission declares,\nany large-scale jobs program will be badly blunted.\nI don't like saying \"I told you so,\" but I must. And I would add that\nCongress already is three years behind schedule on voting tax credits for job\n(more)\n-5-\ntraining and job placement.\nAll America should know that the Johnson Administration and the majority\nparty in Congress have consistently and repeatedly blocked every Republican\nattempt to lick hard-core unemployment in the ghettoes through tax credits.\nI am fully convinced, therefore, that America will continue to fall short\nof sound solutions in the area of unemployment and equality of opportunity until\na Congress and a new leadership which thoroughly believe in the free enterprise\nsystem are voted into office.\nI do not, of course, subscribe to every recommendation in the Kerner\nCommission report. But I believe that every one of the commission proposals which\ncalls for federal implementation should receive careful consideration by the\nCongress.\nThe challenge that is facing us at home today is one that should stir every\nAmerican right down to his toes.\nThe challenge will not be met--and disaster will engulf us--if the people\nof America fail to take the right path in this time of deep crisis.\nAmerica will miss the right path unless the business community steps forward\nand takes upon itself the major burden of helping disadvantaged individuals in\nthis country help themselves.\nMany business concerns are doing this, but not enough. The story of what is\nbeing done is being told, but the message is buried under an avalanche of White\nHouse messages demanding that more and more billions of federal dollars--all\nborrowed dollars with high interest costs--be thrown at our social problems.\nThe Federal Government has a large role to play in meeting the crisis of the\ncities. But that role now is greatly distorted. It should be primarily that of\nproviding guidance and incentive and guarantees. The government should lure\nbusiness out of the wings and onto center stage.\nDo some of our business leaders need more than tax incentives to enter the\nfray? Let public relations directors and other PR personnel exercise their charm\nand employ their powers of persuasion on their bosses. Perhaps public relations\npeople need to do a selling job on their top management if America is to launch\nan all-out attack on hard-core unemployment and ghetto job barriers. I appeal to\nyou tonight to lend all of your talents to the task.\nIs America deaf and blind to the power for good that lies in the private\nenterprise system?\nOpen up those eyes and ears. Tell America how some firms already are going\ninto the ghetto with mobile employment offices, providing counseling service,\n(more)\n-6-\nmaking contact with minority groups and persuading ghetto youths to acquire\nmarketable skills. Much more can be done, must be done. And the good will\nmultiply as the story is told.\nThere is a lesson of enlightened self-interest in the current challenge, just\nas there was in earlier days when industry opened its factory gates to community\nproblems and found this was the best of public relations.\nAs George Champion, board chairman of Chase Manhattan Bank, has pointed out,\nbusiness needs to assure itself of a continuing and growing supply of trained\nmanpower to meet both present and future needs. It therefore is simply good\nbusiness for industry to cast itself in a major role as on-the-job trainer of the\nunemployed and the underemployed.\nIf we upgrade our workers, we will be upgrading America.\nIt not only is good business for industry to train massive numbers of workers\nin needed skills, it also is a building block toward good government.\nAll America benefits to the extent that we can make taxpayers of tax eaters.\nAll America benefits when we make useful citizens of potential rioters.\nSome would answer hostility with hostility. Does this help? Is this the\npath that will move America forward, that will place us on the road to true\nnational greatness and fuller realization of the American dream? I think not,\nand I'm sure you don't, either.\nI'm not preaching softness; I'm talking firmness--firmness in the right,\nfirmness in preserving law and order and firmness in doing what is healthy for\nall Americans.\nThat's why we have to \"tell it like it is,\" something the present\nAdministration has not been doing for seven long years. That's why everyone in\nthis Nation who is in a position to point out the right road to progress--one\nAmerican helping another and business assuming its rightful burden for national\nadvancement--must tell the story so all Americans will take the right path.\nIt does no good to fuzz the facts, as the Vice-President did in quarreling\nwith the Kerner Commission's warning about polarization of America into two\nwarring camps.\nLet's tell it like it is--and when we do I feel sure our people will respond.\nAmericans are a good people, a decent people, a moral people. They want\nthe truth. And when they hear it they will measure up.\nYour job is to get the message across. Thank you.\n# # #"
}