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The Carolina Forum, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, December 9, 1968
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The Carolina Forum, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, December 9, 1968
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Gerald R. Ford Congressional Papers
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The original documents are located in Box D26, folder "The Carolina Forum, University of
North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, December 9, 1968" 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States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.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 D26 of the Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
THE CAROLINA FORUM, UNIVERSITY OF NORTH
CAROLINA, CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA
8 P.M. MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1968.
I AM DELIGHTED TO BE HERE,
PARTICULARLY AGAINST THE BACKDROP OF
INFORMATION FROM DR. GEORGE GALLUP THAT
VOTERS WITH A COLLEGE BACKGROUND ARE AGAIN
VOTING REPUBLICAN.
THAT IS AS PARTISAN AS I INTEND
TO BE TONIGHT, EXCEPT TO OBSERVE THAT I
BELIEVE THE TWO-PARTY SYSTEM WILL CONTINUE
TO GROW IN THE SOUTH
AND I CONSIDER THIS
A MOST HEALTHY TREND.
IN THESE TROUBLED DAYS WE HAVE
GREAT NEED FOR HEALTHY TRENDS.
IN VIEWING TODAY'S SCENE, WE FIND
AMERICANS LIVING IN A KIND OF SUSPENSE.
YES, "THE MOVING FINGER WRITES."
-2-
THE KILLING GOES ON IN VIETNAM. AND EACH
DAY THE LIVES OF MEN THROUGHOUT THE WORLD
IMPINGE UPON EACH OTHER IN PEACEFUL OR IN
VIOLENT FASHION. YET, FOR AMERICANS,
A
FEELING OF BEING SUSPENDED BETWEEN GREAT
EVENTS PERSISTS.
IT IS THAT AWKWARD PERIOD IN
AMERICAN HISTORY--THOSE DAYS WHEN ONE
NATIONAL ADMINISTRATION IS COMING TO AN END
AND A NEW NATIONAL ADMINISTRATION IS COMING
TO LIFE.
about as non partroom a period as
one can
THIS INTERIM PERIOD, IS NATURALLY get.
A TIME OF REFLECTION, A TIME OF STUDY, A
TIME OF PREPARATION. / AND A TIME OF GREAT
ANTICIPATION.
WE LOOK AT THE STAGGERING PROBLEMS
FACING OUR NATION, AND WE ASK OURSELVES HOW
THE NEW ADMINISTRATION CAN POSSIBLY DEAL
WITH THEM.
WHILE IT MIGHT SEEM UNTIMELY TO
-3-
TALK DURING THE CHRISTMAS SEASON ABOUT THE
PROBLEMS THAT PLAGUE US AS A PEOPLE, WE
CANNOT ESCAPE THOSE PROBLEMS AND WE MUST
COME TO GRIPS WITH THEM.
IN RECENT YEARS WE HAVE LIVED
THROUGH THE BEST AND THE WORST OF TIMES.
WE ARE LIVING IN AN AGE OF
AFFLUENCE AND AN AGE OF VIOLENCE.
COMFORT AND CONVENIENCE ALMOST
CLUTTER THE HOMES OF MOST OF US. YET
POVERTY CONTINUES TO TWIST THE LIVES OF MEN,
WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN THE CORE CITIES AND
SOME OF OUR RURAL AREAS.
WE HAVE MADE CONSIDERABLE
PROGRESS IN RACE RELATIONS. YET IN THE LAST
THREE YEARS THIS COUNTRY HAS EXPLODED WITH
238 RIOTS RESULTING IN MORE THAN 200 DEATHS
AND MORE THAN $800 MILLION IN PROPERTY
DAMAGE.
WE HAVE POURED UNTOLD BILLIONS
-4-
INTO OUR CITIES. YET OUR CITIES ARE
SHAKEN BY A CRISIS WHICH IS A COMPOSITE OF
RAMPANT CRIME INADEQUATE EDUCATIONAL
SYSTEMS,/HARD-CORE UNEMPLOYMENT of DANGEROUS
POLLUTION OF OUR AIR AND WATER ANTIQUATED
TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS DISGRACEFUL HOUSING,
INSUFFICIENT AND INEFFECTIVE PUBLIC
FACILITIES,/DETERIORATION OF THE FAMILY AS
A UNIT OF SOCIETY, /LACK OF EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
I
AND A FAILURE OF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN YOUNG
AND OLDER AMERICANS, NEGROES AND WHITES.
BEYOND OUR SHORES WE CONTINUE TO BE
DEEPLY INVOLVED IN THE MOST UNPOPULAR WAR IN
OUR HISTORY, A WAR THAT HAS SHARPLY DIVIDED
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND HAS PROFOUNDLY
AFFECTED THE LIVES OF ALL AMERICANS. IT HAS
BEEN THE BREEDING GROUND OF VIOLENCE IN OUR
GREATEST CITIES AND ON SOME MAJOR COLLEGE
CAMPUSES. IT HAS PREVENTED THE ACCOMPLISHMENT
OF SOCIAL OBJECTIVES. IT HAS EMBITTERED THE
-5-
LIVES OF MILLIONS OF AMERICANS. YET IT IS A
WAR BEING FOUGHT IN THE NAME OF NATIONAL
SECURITY, FREEDOM AND JUSTICE.
THE DANGER OF ANOTHER FULL-SCALE
WAR BETWEEN ISRAEL AND THE ARAB NATIONS
GROWS MORE ACUTE. THE INTENSITY OF THE
SPORADIC FIGHTING BETWEEN ISRAELIS AND THE
TERRORISTS OPERATING FROM BASES IN JORDAN
HAS INCREASED IN RECENT DAYS. IF A FOURTH
WAR DOES BREAK OUT IN THE MIDEAST, THE DANGER
OF INTERVENTION BY THE SUPER-POWERS WILL BE
GREATER THAN IN THE CONFLICT OF JUNE, 1967.
THE CONSEQUENCES COULD BE CALAMITOUS NOT ONLY
FOR THE MIDEASTERN NATIONS BUT FOR THE WORLD.
THERE ARE OTHER TROUBLE SPOTS --
IN EUROPE, WHERE SOVIET-LED WARSAW PACT
NATIONS INVADED CZECHOSLOVAKIA IN LATE AUGUST;
IN NIGERIA, WHERE THE BRITISH ARE SUPPORTING
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WITH ARMS AND THE
FRENCH ARE SUPPLYING THE REBELS; IN
-6-
PORTUGESE AFRICA, WHERE PORTUGAL IS BATTLING
INSURGENTS; IN THE PERSIAN GULF, WHERE THE
SOVIET UNION IS MOVING INTO THE VACUUM THAT
OPENED UP WHEN THE BRITISH ANNOUNCED
WITHDRAWAL OF ALL THEIR FORCES THERE BY
THE END OF 1972.
THE PROBLEMS OF WAR AND PEACE MAKE
THE MIND BOGGLE. THE FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC
PROBLEMS CONFRONTING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
ARE IMMENSE; THE LIST, LENGTHY.
AND SO WE LOOK HOPEFULLY TO THE
NEW NIXON ADMINISTRATION AGAINST THIS
CATALOGUE OF PRESENT AND POTENTIAL CRISES
PRESENT AND POTENTIAL WOES. character
Form not
WE ARE A GREAT PEOPLE. OUR
PROBLEMS WILL DEFY SOLUTION AND OVERWHELM
US ONLY IF WE DESPAIR.
By unitatival CANNOT aggressive action /or by stiring into smug instation
WE SOLVE OUR FOREIGN
AFFAIRS PROBLEMS SINGLY., BUT MOST OF OUR
PROBLEMS -- FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC -- CAN BE
-7-
SOLVED OVER TIME IF WE PATIENTLY FORMULATE
REASONABLE REMEDIES AND PERSIST IN SEEKING
TO IMPLEMENT THEM.
WE ARE DEVELOPING VALUABLE INSIGHT
INTO MANY OF OUR PROBLEMS -- INSIGHT THAT
WILL LEAD TO SOLUTIONS.
ON THE DOMESTIC SCENE MANY
AMERICANS ARE LEARNING THAT VIOLENCE SOLVES
NOTHING AND THAT MIS-APPLIED FORCE IS
DESTRUCTIVE OF OUR CONSTITUTIONAL FREEDOMS.
THERE ARE LESSONS THAT MUST BE BROUGHT HOME
TO ALL AMERICANS.
THE RIGHT MUST LEARN THAT
BLIND REPRESSION IS NOT THE PROPER ANSWER TO
DISSENT AND PROTEST.
THE LEFT MUST REALIZE
THAT EVOLUTION, NOT REVOLUTION, IS THE BEST
WAY TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN AMERICA.
WE ARE ALL LEARNING THAT ANARCHIC
AND VIOLENT BEHAVIOR ON THE PART OF
DISSENTERS MUST BE DEALT WITH FIRMLY BUT
RATIONALLY, WITH FULL ATTENTION TO EVERY
-8-
SENSIBLE MEANS OF DE-FUSING POTENTIAL
VIOLENCE AND OF SMOTHERING VIOLENCE IF IT
ERUPTS.
THIS IS AN INTERIM PERIOD BETWEEN
NATIONAL ADMINISTRATIONS. IT IS THEREFORE
A TIME FOR CRITICAL REVIEW BY THE NEW
ADMINISTRATION OF ALL EXISTING PROBLEMS AND
PROGRAMS AND A TIME OF PLANNING AND
PREPARATION FOR THE CRITICAL YEARS AHEAD.
I WOULD APPEAL TO THE AMERICAN
PEOPLE -- ALL OF OUR PEOPLE, AND
PARTICULARLY THE MILITANTS AND REVOLUTIONARIES-
--- LIKEWISE TO MAKE THIS PERIOD A TIME OF
REAPPRAISAL, A TIME TO THINK.
IF AMERICA IS TO SURVIVE THE
SICKNESS OF CIVIL STRIFE WHICH HAS PLAGUED
OUR NATION IN RECENT YEARS, WE MUST AS A
NATION TAKE BOLD AND PRODUCTIVE ACTION. BUT
WE MUST ALSO AS A PEOPLE USHER IN A NEW AGE
OF REASON WHICH WILL ERASE THE UGLINESS OF
-9-
WIDESPREAD VIOLENCE FROM THE FACE OF
AMERICA.
WE MUST, ALL OF US, TAKE A FRESH
LOOK AT OUR OWN LIVES -- AND THE BREAKDOWN
IN DISCIPLINARY PATTERNS ACROSS THE NATION
IN OUR FAMILIES AND IN OUR INSTITUTIONS.
WE MUST RECOGNIZE ONCE AGAIN THAT SELF-
DISCIPLINE IS ONE OF THE GREATEST OF
VIRTUES.
I THINK WE WILL SEE AN
ADMINISTRATION WHICH IS SOPHISTICATED AND
CEREBRAL IN ITS APPROACH TO THE COUNTRY'S
PROBLEMS AND YET IS DEVOTED TO BASIC
AMERICAN PRINCIPLES.
WE WILL SEE A RETURN TO WHAT I
CALL THE THREE R'S OF PROBLEM-SOLVING--
REALISM, RATIONALITY AND REASONABLENESS.
know
THE NEW ADMINISTRATION WILL
CAREFULLY FORMULATE NATIONAL OBJECTIVES,
THEN SET THEM FORTH CLEARLY AND MOVE WITH
-10-
DETERMINATION TO REACH THOSE GOALS.
I THINK MR. NIXON WILL SUCCEED IN
IMPLEMENTING NEW APPROACHES TO OLD
PROBLEMS -- FOR EXAMPLE, TAX INCENTIVES TO
ACHIEVE SOCIAL OBJECTIVES -- AND I BELIEVE
THOSE NEW APPROACHES WILL WORK AGAINST THE
AGE-OLD PROBLEMS OF SLUMMISM.
WE WILL SEE A NEW ERA OF
CONCILIATION AND RECONCILIATION IN AMERICA --
AN ERA OF GOOD FEELING -- IF MEN OF SOUND
MINDS AND GOOD CONSCIENCE WILL HELP US MOVE
"FORWARD TOGETHER" AS A PEOPLE. THERE MUST
BE AN INCENTIVE FOR CONCILIATION -- AND I
FEEL SURE MR. NIXON WILL PROVIDE THAT
INCENTIVE. THE REST IS UP TO THE REST OF US.
MR. NIXON ALREADY HAS DISPLAYED
A GENEROSITY OF SPIRIT AND A WISDOM OF
CHOICE WHICH SHOULD SERVE AS AN EXAMPLE FOR
OTHERS IN POSITIONS OF LEADERSHIP.
MR. NIXON AS PRESIDENT-ELECT HAS
-11-
BEEN A MODEL OF COOPERATION WITH THE
OUTGOING ADMINISTRATION, AND PRESIDENT
JOHNSON HAS RECIPROCATED FULLY.
MR. NIXON IS SETTING A RECORD FOR
HARMONY DURING THIS TRANSITION PERIOD.
FIRST WE HAD THE UNPRECEDENTED
AGREEMENT BETWEEN MR. NIXON AND PRESIDENT
JOHNSON THAT FOREIGN POLICY ACTIONS TAKEN BY
THE JOHNSON ADMINISTRATION DURING THE PERIOD
BETWEEN ADMINISTRATIONS WOULD HAVE MR. NIXON'S
SUPPORT. THAT WAS AN ACT OF STATESMANSHIP
BY MR. NIXON. WITHOUT IT, THE JOHNSON
ADMINISTRATION COULD NOT HAVE CARRIED OUT
THE DELICATE NEGOTIATIONS WHICH HAVE BROUGHT
SAIGON REPRESENTATIVES TO PARIS AND NOW
PROMISE A START OF MORE MEANINGFUL VIETNAM
PEACE TALKS.
NOW MR. NIXON AND CHIEF JUSTICE
EARL WARREN HAVE AGREED THAT MR. WARREN
SHOULD SERVE UNTIL THE END OF THE CURRENT
-12-
SUPREME COURT TERM NEXT JUNE SO THAT THE
COURT'S WORK WILL NOT BE DISRUPTED. AND MR.
WARREN WILL SWEAR IN MR. NIXON AS PRESIDENT
ON JANUARY 20. THAT, AGAIN, IS A FINE
EXAMPLE OF COOPERATION.
THESE ACTS NOT ONLY ATTEST TO
MR. NIXON'S GENEROSITY OF SPIRIT BUT TO HIS
REASONABLENESS AND A DESIRE TO DO WHAT IS
BEST FOR THE NATION.
IF THE CONGRESS WILL COOPERATE
WITH MR. NIXON IN LIKE SPIRIT, MANY OF THE
COUNTRY'S WEIGHTIEST PROBLEMS WILL BE LIFTED
FROM THE BACKS OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.
THERE ARE HOPEFUL SIGNS IN THE
CONGRESSIONAL ARENA. TAKING EXACTLY THE
RIGHT STEP, MR. NIXON HAS HAD A FRIENDLY
CHAT WITH A POWERFUL DEMOCRATIC MEMBER OF
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, WAYS AND MEANS
CHAIRMAN WILBUR MILLS OF ARKANSAS. MR. MILLS
IS A KEY MAN ON THE QUESTION OF IMPLEMENTING
-13-
MR. NIXON'S NEW APPROACH TO THE PROBLEMS
OF THE CITIES -- TAX CREDITS FOR INDUSTRY
ATTACKS ON HARD-CORE UNEMPLOYMENT AND SLUM
HOUSING. AS A RESULT OF THAT CONVERSATION,
MR. MILLS IS AT LEAST OPEN TO PERSUASION ON
TAX CREDITS.
MR. MILLS IS CONCERNED ABOUT
FEDERAL SPENDING. I SHARE THAT CONCERN, AND
SO DOES MR. NIXON. TAX CREDITS ARE A FORM
OF SPENDING. BUT IF THERE IS A DOWN-HOLD ON
APPROPRIATIONS, TAX CREDITS FOR SOCIAL
OBJECTIVES CAN BE LEGISLATED INTO THE
at the outset
FEDERAL SYSTEM WITHOUT DISTORTING, THE FEDERAL
BUDGET. WE ALREADY HAVE A TAX CREDIT FOR
INVESTMENTS IN NEW PLANT AND EQUIPMENT.
WHY NOT TAX CREDITS AS AN INVESTMENT IN
PEOPLE?
THERE HAS BEEN MUCH SPECULATION
OF LATE ABOUT THE 10 PER CENT INCOME TAX
SURCHARGE. SHOULD IT BE PERMITTED TO EXPIRE
-14-
NEXT JULY 1, AS SCHEDULED? MR. MILLS WANTS
THE SURCHARGE CONTINUED. I BELIEVE THE
QUESTION MUST BE LEFT OPEN, TO BE DECIDED
& other
ON THE BASIS OF ECONOMIC, FACTORS AS THE
DEADLINE APPROACHES.
I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE SURCHARGE
+
2 believe we should keep pressure on to achive That result.
END NEXT JULY 1., BUT WHETHER THIS WILL BE
WISE WILL DEPEND UPON WHETHER INFLATIONARY
PRESSURES MODERATE BY THAT TIME AND WHETHER
THE ECONOMY NEEDS THE STIMULUS OF WHAT WILL
AMOUNT TO A TAX CUT.
or at the very least moderate
I THINK WE CAN ELIMINATE INFLATION
BIT BY BIT THROUGH GOOD FISCAL, monitary MANAGEMENT.
+
However
MUCH WILL HINGE ON THE PROSPECTS
FOR PEACE IN VIETNAM.
INFLATION AND VIETNAM WILL BE OUR
MOST PRESSING PROBLEMS IN THE CRITICAL
PERIOD AHEAD.
I HAVE HEARD TOP U.S. MILITARY
LEADERS SAY FLATLY THAT "WE ARE WINNING
-15-
THE WAR" IN VIETNAM NOW. I HOLD THE VIEW
IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO WIN A DEFENSIVE WAR LIKE
THE VIETNAM CONFLICT IN THE SENSE OF
ACHIEVING FORMAL SURRENDER OF THE ENEMY.
THERE MUST BE A NEGOTIATED
SETTLEMENT OF THE VIETNAM WAR. THE HARD
BARGAINING ON WHICH THAT SETTLEMENT WILL BE
BASED PROBABLY WILL NOT COME UNTIL AFTER THE
NEW ADMINISTRATION TAKES OFFICE.
I BELIEVE WE AND OUR SOUTH
VIETNAMESE ALLIES NOW ARE IN A POSITION TO
NEGOTIATE FROM STRENGTH AND TO CONCENTRATE
ON THE "OTHER WAR" -- THE WAR OF
PACIFICATION IN THE HAMLETS OF SOUTH VIETNAM.
SOUTH VIETNAMESE LEADERS MUST LAUNCH A BROAD
PROGRAM OF LAND REFORM AND COUNTER-INSURGENCY
WHILE THE PARIS PEACE TALKS CONTINUE -- AND
WE MUST HELP TO WIN THE PEACE BY PROVIDING
SECURITY IN THE HAMLETS SO THE COUNTER-
INSURGENCY CAN PROCEED. WE CAN WIN THE PEACE
-16-
people, from
at
intillectual
their ONLY IF THE their SOUTH VIETNAMESE PEASANT, CASTS
HIS LOT AND HIS LOYALTY WITH THE GOVERNMENT
IN SAIGON.
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE IMPATIENT
FOR PEACE IN VIETNAM. SO AMI. BUT WE
OUGHT NOT TO BE SO IMPATIENT THAT WE THROW
AWAY OUR ENTIRE INVESTMENT IN SOUTH VIETNAM
AND MAKE A MOCKERY OF OUR SACRIFICES THERE.
I HAVE SEEN PREDICTIONS THAT
MR. NIXON WILL BRING ABOUT A PEACE SETTLEMENT
WITHIN A YEAR AFTER TAKING OFFICE. THAT IS
PURE SPECULATION. I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD
SET ANY DEADLINES. MR. NIXON WILL END THE
WAR, BUT IT IS UNREALISTIC TO SET A TARGET
DATE.
I THINK MR. NIXON AS PRESIDENT
WILL BE NUMBERED AMONG THE PEACEMAKERS. HE
HAS SAID HIS ADMINISTRATION WILL SEEK
NEGOTIATIONS AND NOT CONFRONTATION. I THINK
HE WILL MAKE THE MOST OF ANY AND EVERY
-17-
OPPORTUNITY FOR A U.S.-SOVIET DETENTE -- A
DETENTE BASED ON SUBSTANCE AND NOT ON
ATMOSPHERE.
THERE ARE SOME HOPEFUL SIGNS ON
THE WORLD SCENE. GOOD PROSPECTS FOR THE
RENEWAL OF U.S.-SOVIET ARMS CONTROL TALKS.
A REOPENING OF U.S. TALKS WITH RED CHINA
AT WARSAW ON FEB. 20, THE FIRST CONVERSATIONS
BETWEEN THE TWO NATIONS IN 13 MONTHS AND
PERHAPS THE BEGINNING OF A DIALOGUE.
MR. NIXON ALSO WILL SEEK TO
STRENGTHEN OUR NATO ALLIES AND TO IMPROVE
U.S. COMMUNICATIONS WITH THEM, AND TO
IMPROVE OUR RELATIONS WITH GEN. deGAULLE.
IF THE NIXON ADMINISTRATION IS
SUCCESSFUL -- AND I THINK IT WILL BE -- IT
WILL SUCCEED IN NO SMALL MEASURE BECAUSE OF
THE CLEAR-THINKING INTELLECTUALS CHOSEN TO
SERVE THE NEW ADMINISTRATION.
I REFER TO SUCH MEN AS DR. PAUL
-18-
McCRACKEN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN,
NAMED CHAIRMAN OF THE PRESIDENT'S COUNCIL OF
ECONOMIC ADVISERS, DR. HENRY KISSINGER OF
HARVARD, MR. NIXON'S ASSISTANT FOR NATIONAL
SECURITY AFFAIRS, AND DR. LEE DuBRIDGE OF
THE CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY,
MR. NIXON'S SCIENCE ADVISER. THESE
APPOINTMENTS HAVE BEEN WIDELY ACCLAIMED IN
THE ACADEMIC WORLD. THEY ATTEST TO
MR. NIXON'S DESIRE TO DRAW HEAVILY UPON THE
UNIVERSITIES FOR IDEAS AND ADVICE.
MR. NIXON ALSO HAS APPOINTED
18 STUDY GROUPS TO DRAW UP RECOMMENDED
COURSES OF ACTION IN VARIOUS PROBLEM FIELDS.
SO WE HAVE OUR STAGGERING CATALOGUE
OF NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL PROBLEMS; AND
WE HAVE A THOUGHTFUL, PRAGMATIC NEW
ADMINISTRATION PREPARING TO TACKLE THOSE
PROBLEMS.
THERE REMAINS THE QUESTION OF
-19-
PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR OUR NEW PRESIDENT.
MR. NIXON WILL BE PRESIDENT OF
ALL THE PEOPLE. HE CAN AND WILL SERVE THE
AMERICAN PEOPLE WELL IF THEY WILL LEND HIM
THEIR HANDS AND THEIR HEARTS AS HE CHARTS A
NEW COURSE FOR THE NATION.
I SEE THIS AS A TIME OF GREAT
CHALLENGE AND GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL
AMERICANS -- AN OPPORTUNITY TO MOVE IN NEW
DIRECTIONS UNDER NEW LEADERSHIP TO MEET
THE CRISES THAT CONFRONT US.
LET US ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE WITH
CLEAR VISION AND CLEAR HEADS. LET US
SEIZE THE OPPORTUNITY WITH STOUT HEARTS AND
A DETERMINATION THAT WE WILL MOVE FORWARD
TOGETHER AS A PEOPLE.
LET US TAKE AS OUR MOTTO THE WISE
WORDS OF PLUTARCH, WHO SAID: "PERSEVERANCE
IS MORE PREVAILING THAN VIOLENCE; AND MANY
THINGS WHICH CANNOT BE OVERCOME WHEN THEY
-20-
ARE TAKEN TOGETHER YIELD THEMSELVES WHEN
TAKEN LITTLE BY LITTLE."
TOGETHER WE SHALL PERSEVERE, AND
TOGETHER WE SHALL PREVAIL. FOR FAITH IS
THE TALISMAN OF GREATNESS FOR AMERICA, AND
AMERICA IS STRONG IN FAITH.
-- END --
Office Copy
AN ADDRESS BY REP. GERALD R. FORD, R-MICH.
MINORITY LEADER OF THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
AT THE CAROLINA FORUM
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA
8 P.M. MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1968
FOR RELEASE ON DELIVERY
I am delighted to be here, particularly against the backdrop of
information from Dr. George Gallup that voters with a college background are
again voting Republican.
That is as partisan as I intend to be tonight, except to observe that
I believe the two-party system will continue to grow in the South and
I
consider this a most healthy trend.
In these troubled days we have great need of healthy trends.
In viewing today's scene, we find Americans living in a kind of suspense.
Yes, "the moving finger writes." The killing goes on in Vietnam. And
each day the lives of men throughout the world impinge upon each other in
peaceful or in violent fashion. Yet, for Americans, a feeling of being
suspended between great events persists.
It is that awkward period in American history--those days when one
national administration is coming to an end and a new national administration is
coming to life.
This interim period is naturally a time of reflection, a time of study,
a time of preparation, and a time of great anticipation.
We look at the staggering problems facing our Nation, and we ask our-
selves how the new Administration can possibly deal with them.
While it might seem untimely to talk during the Christmas season about
the problems that plague us as a people, we cannot escape those problems and
we must come to grips with them.
In recent years we have lived through the best and the worst of times.
We are living in an Age of Affluence and an Age of Violence.
Comfort and convenience almost clutter the homes of most of us. Yet
poverty continues to twist the lives of men, women and children in the core
cities and some of our rural areas.
We have made considerable progress in race relations. Yet in the last
three years this country has exploded with 238 riots resulting in more than
(more)
-2-
200 deaths and more than $800 million in property damage.
We have poured untold billions into our cities. Yet our cities are
shaken by a crisis which is a composite of rampant crime, inadequate educational
systems, hard-core unemployment, dangerous pollution of our air and water,
antiquated transportation systems, disgraceful housing, insufficient and
ineffective public facilities, deterioration of the family as a unity of society,
lack of equal opportunity, and a failure of communication between young and older
Americans, Negroes and whites.
Beyond our shores we continue to be deeply involved in the most
unpopular war in our history, a war that has sharply divided the American people
and has profoundly affected the lives of all Americans. It has been the breeding
ground of violence in our greatest cities and on some major college campuses.
It has prevented the accomplishment of social objectives. It has embittered
the lives of millions of Americans. Yet it is a war being fought in the name
of national security, freedom and justice.
The danger of another full-scale war between Israel and the Arab nations
grows more acute. The intensity of the sporadic fighting between Israelis and
the terrorists operating from bases in Jordan has increased in recent days.
If a fourth war does break out in the Mideast, the danger of intervention by
the super-powers will be greater than in the conflict of June, 1967. The
consequences could be calamitous not only for the Mideastern nations but for the
world.
There are other trouble spots--in Europe, where Soviet-led Warsaw Pact
nations invaded Czechoslovakia in late August; in Nigeria, where the British are
supporting the federal government with arms and the French are supplying the
rebels; in Portugese Africa, where Portugal is battling insurgents; in the
Persian Gulf, where the Soviet Union is moving into the vacuum that opened up
when the British announced withdrawal of all their forces there by the end of
1972.
The problems of war and peace make the mind boggle. The foreign and
domestic problems confronting the American people are immense; the list, lengthy.
And so we look hopefully to the new Nixon Administration against this
catalogue of present and potential crises, present and potential woes.
We are a great people. Our problems will defy solution and overwhelm us
only if we despair.
(more)
-3-
We cannot solve our foreign affairs problems singly. But most of our
problems--foreign and domestic--can be solved over time if we patiently formulate
reasonable remedies and persist in seeking to implement them.
We are developing valuable insight into many of our problems--insight
that will lead to solutions.
On the domestic scene many Americans are learning that violence solves
nothing and that mis-applied force is destructive of our constitutional freedoms.
There are lessons that must be brought home to all Americans. The Right must
learn that blind repression is not the proper answer to dissent and protest.
The Left must realize that evolution, not revolution, is the best way to improve
the quality of life in America.
We are all learning that anarchic and violent behavior on the part of
dissenters must be dealt with firmly but rationally, with full attention to
every sensible means of de-fusing potential violence and of smothering violence
if it erupts.
This is an interim period between national administrations. It is there-
fore a time for critical review by the new administration of all existing
problems and programs and a time of planning and preparation for the critical
years ahead.
I would appeal to the American people--all of our people, and particularly
the militants and revolutionaries--likewise to make this period a time of
reappraisal, a time to think.
If America is to survive the sickness of civil strife which has plagued
our Nation in recent years, we must as a Nation take bold and productive action.
But we must also as a people usher in a new Age of Reason which will erase the
ugliness of widespread violence from the face of America.
We must, all of us, take a fresh look at our own lives--and the break-
down in disciplinary patterns across the Nation in our families and in our
institutions. We must recognize once again that self-discipline is one of the
greatest of virtues.
I think we will see an Administration which is sophisticated and
cerebral in its approach to the country's problems and yet is devoted to basic
American principles.
We will see a return to what I call the Three R's of problem-solving--
realism, rationality and reasonableness.
(more)
-4-
The new Administration will carefully formulate national objectives,
then set them forth clearly and move with determination to reach those goals.
I think Mr. Nixon will succeed in implementing new approaches to old
problems--for example, tax incentives to achieve social objectives--and I believe
those new approaches will work against the age-old problems of slummism.
We will see a new era of conciliation and reconciliation in America--an
era of good feeling--if men of sound minds and good conscience will help us
move "Forward Together" as a people. There must be an incentive for
conciliation--and I feel sure Mr. Nixon will provide that incentive. The rest
is up to the rest of us.
Mr. Nixon already has displayed a generosity of spirit and a wisdom of
choice which should serve as an example for others in positions of leadership.
Mr. Nixon as President-elect has been a model of cooperation with the
outgoing Administration, and President Johnson has reciprocated fully.
Mr. Nixon is setting a record for harmony during this transition period.
First we had the unprecedented agreement between Mr. Nixon and President
Johnson that foreign policy actions taken by the Johnson Administration during
the period between administrations would have Mr. Nixon's support. That was
an act of statesmanship by Mr. Nixon. Without it, the Johnson Administration
could not have carried out the delicate negotiations which have brought Saigon
representatives to Paris and now promise a start of more meaningful Vietnam
peace talks.
Now Mr. Nixon and Chief Justice Earl Warren have agreed that Mr. Warren
should serve until the end of the current Supreme Court term next June so that
the court's work will not be disrupted. And Mr. Warren will swear in Mr. Nixon
as President on January 20. That, again, is a fine example of cooperation.
These acts not only attest to Mr. Nixon's generosity of spirit but to
his reasonableness and a desire to do what is best for the Nation.
If the Congress will cooperate with Mr. Nixon in like spirit, many of
the country's weightiest problems will be lifted from the backs of the American
people.
There are hopeful signs in the congressional arena. Taking exactly the
right step, Mr. Nixon has had a friendly chat with a powerful Democratic member
(more)
-5-
of the House of Representatives, Ways and Means Chairman Wilbur Mills of
Arkansas. Mr. Mills is a key man on the question of implementing Mr. Nixon's
new approach to the problems of the cities--tax credits for industry attacks
on hard-core unemployment and slum housing. As a result of that conversation,
Mr. Mills is at least open to persuasion on tax credits.
Mr. Mills is concerned about federal spending. I share that concern,
and so does Mr. Nixon. Tax credits are a form of spending. But if there is a
down-hold on appropriations, tax credits for social objectives can be legislated
into the federal system without distorting the federal budget. We already have
a tax credit for investments in new plant and equipment. Why not tax credits
as an investment in people?
There has been much speculation of late about the 10 per cent income tax
surcharge. Should it be permitted to expire next July 1, as scheduled? Mr. Mills
wants the surcharge continued. I believe the question must be left open, to be
decided on the basis of economic factors as the deadline approaches.
I would like to see the surcharge end next July 1. But whether this
will be wise will depend upon whether inflationary pressures moderate by that
time and whether the economy needs the stimulus of what will amount to a tax
cut.
I think we can eliminate inflation bit by bit through good fiscal
management.
Much will hinge on the prospects for peace in Vietnam.
Inflation and Vietnam will be our most pressing problems in the critical
period ahead.
I have heard top U.S. military leaders say flatly that "we are winning
the war" in Vietnam now. I hold the view it is impossible to win a defensive
war like the Vietnam conflict in the sense of achieving formal surrender of the
enemy.
There must be a negotiated settlement of the Vietnam War. The hard
bargaining on which that settlement will be based probably will not come until
after the new Administration takes office.
I believe we and our South Vietnamese allies now are in a position to
negotiate from strength and to concentrate on the "other war' the war of
pacification in the hamlets of South Vietnam. South Vietnamese leaders must
launch a broad program of land reform and counter-insurgency while the
(more)
-6-
Paris peace talks continue--and we must help to win the peace by providing
security in the hamlets so the counter-insurgency can proceed. We can win the
peace only if the South Vietnamese peasant casts his lot and his loyalty with
the government in Saigon.
The American people are impatient for peace in Vietnam. So am I. But
we ought not to be so impatient that we throw away our entire investment in
South Vietnam and make a mockery of our sacrifices there.
I have seen predictions that Mr. Nixon will bring about a peace settle-
ment within a year after taking office. That is pure speculation. I don't
think we should set any deadlines. Mr. Nixon will end the war, but it is
unrealistic to set a target date.
I think Mr. Nixon as President will be numbered among the peacemakers.
He has said his Administration will seek negotiations and not confrontation. I
think he will make the most of any and every opportunity for a U.S.-Soviet
detente--a detente based on substance and not on atmosphere.
There are some hopeful signs on the world scene. Good prospects for the
renewal of U.S.-Soviet arms control talks. A reopening of U.S. talks with Red
China at Warsaw on Feb. 20, the first conversations between the two nations in
13 months and perhaps the beginning of a dialogue.
Mr. Nixon also will seek to strengthen our NATO allies and to improve
U.S. communications with them, and to improve our relations with Gen. deGaulle.
If the Nixon Administration is successful--and I think it will be--it
will succeed in no small measure because of the clear-thinking intellectuals
chosen to serve the new Administration.
I refer to such men as Dr. Paul McCracken of the University of Michigan,
named chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers, Dr. Henry
Kissinger of Harvard, Mr. Nixon's assistant for National Security Affairs, and
Dr. Lee DuBridge of the California Institute of Technology, Mr. Nixon's science
adviser. These appointments have been widely acclaimed in the academic world.
They attest to Mr. Nixon's desire to draw heavily upon the universities for ideas
and advice.
Mr. Nixon also has appointed 18 study groups to draw up recommended
courses of action in various problem fields.
So we have our staggering catalogue of national and international
problems; and we have a thoughtful, pragmatic new Administration preparing to
tackle those problems.
(more)
-7-
There remains the question of public support for our new President.
Mr. Nixon will be President of all the people. He can and will serve the
American people well if they will lend him their hands and their hearts as he
charts a new course for the Nation.
I see this as a time of great challenge and great opportunity for all
Americans an opportunity to move in new directions under new leadership to
meet the crises that confront US.
Let us accept the challenge with clear vision and clear heads. Let us
seize the opportunity with stout hearts and a determination that we will move
forward together as a people.
Let us take as our motto the wise words of Plutarch, who said:
"Perseverance is more prevailing than violence; and many things which cannot
be overcome when they are taken together yield themselves when taken little by
little."
Together we shall persevere, and together we shall prevail. For faith
is the talisman of greatness for America, and America is strong in faith.
###
Distribution - Full
+20 capies Mr. Ford
M Office Copy
Halleries 11:30a.m. 12/9/68
mailing a.m. 12/10/68
AN ADDRESS BY REP. GERALD R. FORD, R-MICH.
MINORITY LEADER OF THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
AT THE CAROLINA FORUM
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA
8 P.M. MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1968
FOR RELEASE ON DELIVERY
I am delighted to be here, particularly against the backdrop of
information from Dr. George Gallup that voters with a college background are
again voting Republican.
That is as partisan as I intend to be tonight, except to observe that
I believe the two-party system will continue to grow in the South and
I
consider this a most healthy trend.
In these troubled days we have great need of healthy trends.
In viewing today's scene, we find Americans living in a kind of suspense.
Yes, "the moving finger writes." The killing goes on in Vietnam. And
each day the lives of men throughout the world impinge upon each other in
peaceful or in violent fashion. Yet, for Americans, a feeling of being
suspended between great events persists.
It is that awkward period in American history--those days when one
national administration is coming to an end and a new national administration is
coming to life.
This interim period is naturally a time of reflection, a time of study,
a time of preparation, and a time of great anticipation.
We look at the staggering problems facing our Nation, and we ask our-
selves how the new Administration can possibly deal with them.
While it might seem untimely to talk during the Christmas season about
the problems that plague us as a people, we cannot escape those problems and
we must come to grips with them.
In recent years we have lived through the best and the worst of times.
We are living in an Age of Affluence and an Age of Violence.
Comfort and convenience almost clutter the homes of most of us. Yet
poverty continues to twist the lives of men, women and children in the core
cities and some of our rural areas.
We have made considerable progress in race relations. Yet in the last
three years this country has exploded with 238 riots resulting in more than
(more)
-2-
200 deaths and more than $800 million in property damage.
We have poured untold billions into our cities. Yet our cities are
shaken by a crisis which is a composite of rampant crime, inadequate educational
systems, hard-core unemployment, dangerous pollution of our air and water,
antiquated transportation systems, disgraceful housing, insufficient and
ineffective public facilities, deterioration of the family as a unity of society,
lack of equal opportunity, and a failure of communication between young and older
Americans, Negroes and whites.
Beyond our shores we continue to be deeply involved in the most
unpopular war in our history, a war that has sharply divided the American people
and has profoundly affected the lives of all Americans. It has been the breeding
ground of violence in our greatest cities and on some major college campuses.
It has prevented the accomplishment of social objectives. It has embittered
the lives of millions of Americans. Yet it is a war being fought in the name
of national security, freedom and justice.
The danger of another full-scale war between Israel and the Arab nations
grows more acute. The intensity of the sporadic fighting between Israelis and
the terrorists operating from bases in Jordan has increased in recent days.
If a fourth war does break out in the Mideast, the danger of intervention by
the super-powers will be greater than in the conflict of June, 1967. The
consequences could be calamitous not only for the Mideastern nations but for the
world.
There are other trouble spots--in Europe, where Soviet-led Warsaw Pact
nations invaded Czechoslovakia in late August; in Nigeria, where the British are
supporting the federal government with arms and the French are supplying the
rebels; in Portugese Africa, where Portugal is battling insurgents; in the
Persian Gulf, where the Soviet Union is moving into the vacuum that opened up
when the British announced withdrawal of all their forces there by the end of
1972.
The problems of war and peace make the mind boggle. The foreign and
domestic problems confronting the American people are immense; the list, lengthy.
And so we look hopefully to the new Nixon Administration against this
catalogue of present and potential crises, present and potential woes.
We are a great people. Our problems will defy solution and overwhelm us
only if we despair.
(more)
-3-
We cannot solve our foreign affairs problems singly. But most of our
problems--foreign and domestic--can be solved over time if we patiently formulate
reasonable remedies and persist in seeking to implement them.
We are developing valuable insight into many of our problems--insight
that will lead to solutions.
On the domestic scene many Americans are learning that violence solves
nothing and that mis-applied force is destructive of our constitutional freedoms.
There are lessons that must be brought home to all Americans. The Right must
learn that blind repression is not the proper answer to dissent and protest.
The Left must realize that evolution, not revolution, is the best way to improve
the quality of life in America.
We are all learning that anarchic and violent behavior on the part of
dissenters must be dealt with firmly but rationally, with full attention to
every sensible means of de-fusing potential violence and of smothering violence
if it erupts.
This is an interim period between national administrations. It is there-
fore a time for critical review by the new administration of all existing
problems and programs and a time of planning and preparation for the critical
years ahead.
I would appeal to the American people--all of our people, and particularly
the militants and revolutionaries--likewise to make this period a time of
reappraisal, a time to think.
If America is to survive the sickness of civil strife which has plagued
our Nation in recent years, we must as a Nation take bold and productive action.
But we must also as a people usher in a new Age of Reason which will erase the
ugliness of widespread violence from the face of America.
We must, all of us, take a fresh look at our own lives--and the break-
down in disciplinary patterns across the Nation in our families and in our
institutions. We must recognize once again that self-discipline is one of the
greatest of virtues.
I think we will see an Administration which is sophisticated and
cerebral in its approach to the country's problems and yet is devoted to basic
American principles.
We will see a return to what I call the Three R's of problem-solving--
realism, rationality and reasonableness.
(more)
-4-
The new Administration will carefully formulate national objectives,
then set them forth clearly and move with determination to reach those goals.
I think Mr. Nixon will succeed in implementing new approaches to old
problems--for example, tax incentives to achieve social objectives--and I believe
those new approaches will work against the age-old problems of slummism.
We will see a new era of conciliation and reconciliation in America--an
era of good feeling--if men of sound minds and good conscience will help us
move "Forward Together" as a people. There must be an incentive for
conciliation--and I feel sure Mr. Nixon will provide that incentive. The rest
is up to the rest of US.
Mr. Nixon already has displayed a generosity of spirit and a wisdom of
choice which should serve as an example for others in positions of leadership.
Mr. Nixon as President-elect has been a model of cooperation with the
outgoing Administration, and President Johnson has reciprocated fully.
Mr. Nixon is setting a record for harmony during this transition period.
First we had the unprecedented agreement between Mr. Nixon and President
Johnson that foreign policy actions taken by the Johnson Administration during
the period between administrations would have Mr. Nixon's support. That was
an act of statesmanship by Mr. Nixon. Without it, the Johnson Administration
could not have carried out the delicate negotiations which have brought Saigon
representatives to Paris and now promise a start of more meaningful Vietnam
peace talks.
Now Mr. Nixon and Chief Justice Earl Warren have agreed that Mr. Warren
should serve until the end of the current Supreme Court term next June so that
the court's work will not be disrupted. And Mr. Warren will swear in Mr. Nixon
as President on January 20. That, again, is a fine example of cooperation.
These acts not only attest to Mr. Nixon's generosity of spirit but to
his reasonableness and a desire to do what is best for the Nation.
If the Congress will cooperate with Mr. Nixon in like spirit, many of
the country's weightiest problems will be lifted from the backs of the American
people.
There are hopeful signs in the congressional arena. Taking exactly the
right step, Mr. Nixon has had a friendly chat with a powerful Democratic member
(more)
-5-
of the House of Representatives, Ways and Means Chairman Wilbur Mills of
Arkansas. Mr. Mills is a key man on the question of implementing Mr. Nixon's
new approach to the problems of the cities--tax credits for industry attacks
on hard-core unemployment and slum housing. As a result of that conversation,
Mr. Mills is at least open to persuasion on tax credits.
Mr. Mills is concerned about federal spending. I share that concern,
and so does Mr. Nixon. Tax credits are a form of spending. But if there is a
down-hold on appropriations, tax credits for social objectives can be legislated
into the federal system without distorting the federal budget. We already have
a tax credit for investments in new plant and equipment. Why not tax credits
as an investment in people?
There has been much speculation of late about the 10 per cent income tax
surcharge. Should it be permitted to expire next July 1, as scheduled? Mr. Mills
wants the surcharge continued. I believe the question must be left open, to be
decided on the basis of economic factors as the deadline approaches.
I would like to see the surcharge end next July 1. But whether this
will be wise will depend upon whether inflationary pressures moderate by that
time and whether the economy needs the stimulus of what will amount to a tax
cut.
I think we can eliminate inflation bit by bit through good fiscal
management.
Much will hinge on the prospects for peace in Vietnam.
Inflation and Vietnam will be our most pressing problems in the critical
period ahead.
I have heard top U.S. military leaders say flatly that "we are winning
the war" in Vietnam now. I hold the view it is impossible to win a defensive
war like the Vietnam conflict in the sense of achieving formal surrender of the
enemy.
There must be a negotiated settlement of the Vietnam War. The hard
bargaining on which that settlement will be based probably will not come until
after the new Administration takes office.
I believe we and our South Vietnamese allies now are in a position to
negotiate from strength and to concentrate on the "other war the war of
pacification in the hamlets of South Vietnam. South Vietnamese leaders must
launch a broad program of land reform and counter-insurgency while the
(more)
-6-
Paris peace talks continue--and we must help to win the peace by providing
security in the hamlets so the counter-insurgency can proceed. We can win the
peace only if the South Vietnamese peasant casts his lot and his loyalty with
the government in Saigon.
The American people are impatient for peace in Vietnam. So am I. But
we ought not to be so impatient that we throw away our entire investment in
South Vietnam and make a mockery of our sacrifices there.
I have seen predictions that Mr. Nixon will bring about a peace settle-
ment within a year after taking office. That is pure speculation. I don't
think we should set any deadlines. Mr. Nixon will end the war, but it is
unrealistic to set a target date.
I think Mr. Nixon as President will be numbered among the peacemakers.
He has said his Administration will seek negotiations and not confrontation. I
think he will make the most of any and every opportunity for a U.S.-Soviet
detente--a detente based on substance and not on atmosphere.
There are some hopeful signs on the world scene. Good prospects for the
renewal of .-Soviet arms control talks. A reopening of U.S. talks with Red
China at Warsaw on Feb. 20, the first conversations between the two nations in
13 months and perhaps the beginning of a dialogue.
Mr. Nixon also will seek to strengthen our NATO allies and to improve
U.S. communications with them, and to improve our relations with Gen. deGaulle.
If the Nixon Administration is successful--and I think it will be--it
will succeed in no small measure because of the clear-thinking intellectuals
chosen to serve the new Administration.
I refer to such men as Dr. Paul McCracken of the University of Michigan,
named chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers, Dr. Henry
Kissinger of Harvard, Mr. Nixon's assistant for National Security Affairs, and
Dr. Lee DuBridge of the California Institute of Technology, Mr. Nixon's science
adviser. These appointments have been widely acclaimed in the academic world.
They attest to Mr. Nixon's desire to draw heavily upon the universities for ideas
and advice.
Mr. Nixon also has appointed 18 study groups to draw up recommended
courses of action in various problem fields.
So we have our staggering catalogue of national and international
problems; and we have a thoughtful, pragmatic new Administration preparing to
tackle those problems.
(more)
-7-
There remains the question of public support for our new President.
Mr. Nixon will be President of all the people. He can and will serve the
American people well if they will lend him their hands and their hearts as he
charts a new course for the Nation.
I see this as a time of great challenge and great opportunity for all
Americans--an opportunity to move in new directions under new leadership to
meet the crises that confront us.
Let us accept the challenge with clear vision and clear heads. Let us
seize the opportunity with stout hearts and a determination that we will move
forward together as a people.
Let us take as our motto the wise words of Plutarch, who said:
"Perseverance is more prevailing than violence; and many things which cannot
be overcome when they are taken together yield themselves when taken little by
little."
Together we shall persevere, and together we shall prevail. For faith
is the talisman of greatness for America, and America is strong in faith.
###