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    "label": "Lincoln Day Dinner, Lorain County, OH, February 13, 1970",
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    "title": "Lincoln Day Dinner, Lorain County, OH, February 13, 1970",
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        "Gerald R. Ford Congressional Papers",
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    "ocrText": "The original documents are located in Box D28, folder \"Lincoln Day Dinner, Lorain\nCounty, OH, February 13, 1970\" of the Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and\nSpeech 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 The Council donated to the United\nStates of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.\nWorks prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public\ndomain.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.\n20 Capies Mr. Fad only\nO Office Copy\nCONGRESSMAN\nNEWS\nGERALD R. FORD\nHOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER\nRELEASE\n--FOR RELEASE AT 6 p.m. FRIDAY--\nFebruary 13, 1970\nExcerpts from a Lorain County, Ohio, Lincoln Day Dinner Speech by Rep. Gerald R.\nFord, R-Mich., Republican Leader, U.S. House of Representatives.\nOne of the greatest fictions of our times is the oft-repeated statement by\nDemocratic leaders that if Abraham Lincoln were living today he would be a Democrat.\nLincoln not only was a great Republican, but the philosophy which guided\nthis great President undergirds the Republican Party today and is reflected in the\nactions of the Nixon Administration.\nThink back to the disastrous decade of the Sixties and the civil strife that\ntore at the life of the Nation and the lives of individual Americans. Recall, if\nyou will, the terrible tensions and the time of the torch, the rioting in the inner\ncities and the arson that set the skies of our metropolises flaming.\nUnder President Nixon, an air of calm has descended on the Nation. He has\nbrought us crisis prevention in place of chaos. He has restored a feeling of\ncommon sense and emphasized for us the moral uprightness of man which balks at\nviolence and unreason.\nThe Nixon Administration has been characterized repeatedly in the press as\ncool and pragmatic. The President has been credited with restoring reason to the\nNation.\nWhat did Abraham Lincoln tell his countrymen on Feb. 15, 1861? \"My advice,:'\nhe said, \"is to keep cool.\" \"If the great American people only keep their temper\non both sides of the line, the troubles will come to an end, and the question which\nnow distracts the country will be settled, just as surely as all other difficulties\nof a like character which have originated in this government have been adjusted.\nLet the people on both sides keep their self-possession, and just as other clouds\nhave cleared away in due time, so will this great nation continue to prosper as\nheretofore.'\nWhat is one of the chief differences between the two major parties in this\ncountry?\nThe Democrats have believed and continue to believe--although their\nconviction may finally be weakening--that a combination of Federal power and\nFederal dollars is the answer to all of our problems.\nGERALD FORD\n(more)\nDigitized from Box D28 of the Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library\n-2-\nRepublicans have never believed that and we never will. We have seen too\nmuch Democrat spending and too few solutions.\nWe have seen Democratic Administrations go $57 billion into debt in the\nSixties with little to show for all the Federal dollars tossed at national problems.\nWe have seen the Federal Government under the Democrats spend $250 billion\non social programs in the last five years of the two previous Administrations and\nyet fail to solve our problems. A quarter of a trillion dollars. Never before\nhas so much been spent and achieved so little.\nWhat did we reap from this sowing of Federal dollars? This fantastic spend-\ning planted the seeds of great expectations. When the fruit proved bitter, the\nharvest was one of explosive frustration.\nThis is why President Nixon earmarks Federal funds judiciously. This is\nwhy our President refrains from fantastic promises.\nThere is no vote-buying in the Nixon Administration. There is truth and\ncandor and an effort to solve lingering problems with as great a fund of common\nsense as money.\nThere is also a great effort to humanize the individual American, a movement\nto make him count again rather than to be counted as a cipher, a figure for the\ncomputer.\nThis effort comes under the awesome name of decentralization. But what it\nreally amounts to is giving the government back to the people.\nAbraham Lincoln said: \"In all that the people can individually do as well\nfor themselves, government ought not to interfere.' And, again, \"The legitimate\nobject of government is to do for the people what needs to be done, but which they\ncannot, by individual effort, do at all, or do so well, for themselves.\"\nThis is the guiding spirit of the Nixon Administration. This is the spirit\nwhich underlies the Administration's proposal to share a percentage slice of\nFederal revenue with the cities and states on a no-strings-attached basis. This\nis the spirit which prompts our President to propose turning manpower training\nprograms over to the states when they can show themselves equipped to handle the\njob. And this is the spirit which inspired our President to propose help for the\nworking poor and an incentive for all able-bodied Americans on welfare to put their\nhands to useful, paying tasks.\nI submit it is Lincoln philosophy which has Republicans believing that\nAmericans needing help want a hand up, not a handout.\nIt is Lincoln philosophy and Republican philosophy which holds that no man\nstands so tall as when he stands on his own two feet.\nAnd I submit that this is the basic philosophy of all Americans, and it is\nthe reason that the people are turning to the Republican Party and will turn the\nCongress over to us next fall as they did the White House in '68.\n###\nDistribution: 20 Capies m. Ford\nMoffice\nCONGRESSMAN\nNEWS\nGERALD R. FORD\nHOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER\nRELEASE\n--FOR RELEASE AT 6 p.m. FRIDAY--\nFebruary 13, 1970\nExcerpts from a Lorain County, Ohio, Lincoln Day Dinner Speech by Rep. Gerald R.\nFord, R-Mich., Republican Leader, U.S. House of Representatives.\nOne of the greatest fictions of our times is the oft-repeated statement by\nDemocratic leaders that if Abraham Lincoln were living today he would be a Democrat.\nLincoln not only was a great Republican, but the philosophy which guided\nthis great President undergirds the Republican Party today and is reflected in the\nactions of the Nixon Administration.\nThink back to the disastrous decade of the Sixties and the civil strife that\ntore at the life of the Nation and the lives of individual Americans. Recall, if\nyou will, the terrible tensions and the time of the torch, the rioting in the inner\ncities and the arson that set the skies of our metropolises flaming.\nUnder President Nixon, an air of calm has descended on the Nation. He has\nbrought us crisis prevention in place of chaos. He has restored a feeling of\ncommon sense and emphasized for us the moral uprightness of man which balks at\nviolence and unreason.\nThe Nixon Administration has been characterized repeatedly in the press as\ncool and pragmatic. The President has been credited with restoring reason to the\nNation.\nWhat did Abraham Lincoln tell his countrymen on Feb. 15, 1861? \"My advice,:\nhe said, \"is to keep cool.\" \"If the great American people only keep their temper\non both sides of the line, the troubles will come to an end, and the question which\nnow distracts the country will be settled, just as surely as all other difficulties\nof a like character which have originated in this government have been adjusted.\nLet the people on both sides keep their self-possession, and just as other clouds\nhave cleared away in due time, so will this great nation continue to prosper as\nheretofore.\"\nWhat is one of the chief differences between the two major parties in this\ncountry?\nThe Democrats have believed and continue to believe--although their\nconviction may finally be weakening--that a combination of Federal power and\nFORD\nFederal dollars is the answer to all of our problems.\nGERALD\n(more)\n-2-\nRepublicans have never believed that and we never will. We have seen too\nmuch Democrat spending and too few solutions.\nWe have seen Democratic Administrations go $57 billion into debt in the\nSixties with little to show for all the Federal dollars tossed at national problems.\nWe have seen the Federal Government under the Democrats spend $250 billion\non social programs in the last five years of the two previous Administrations and\nyet fail to solve our problems. A quarter of a trillion dollars. Never before\nhas so much been spent and achieved so little.\nWhat did we reap from this sowing of Federal dollars? This fantastic spend-\ning planted the seeds of great expectations. When the fruit proved bitter, the\nharvest was one of explosive frustration.\nThis is why President Nixon earmarks Federal funds judiciously. This is\nwhy our President refrains from fantastic promises.\nThere is no vote-buying in the Nixon Administration. There is truth and\ncandor and an effort to solve lingering problems with as great a fund of common\nsense as money.\nThere is also a great effort to humanize the individual American, a movement\nto make him count again rather than to be counted as a cipher, a figure for the\ncomputer.\nThis effort comes under the awesome name of decentralization. But what it\nreally amounts to is giving the government back to the people.\nAbraham Lincoln said: \"In all that the people can individually do as well\nfor themselves, government ought not to interfere.\" And, again, \"The legitimate\nobject of government is to do for the people what needs to be done, but which they\ncannot, by individual effort, do at all, or do so well, for themselves.\"\nThis is the guiding spirit of the Nixon Administration. This is the spirit\nwhich underlies the Administration's proposal to share a percentage slice of\nFederal revenue with the cities and states on a no-strings-attached basis. This\nis the spirit which prompts our President to propose turning manpower training\nprograms over to the states when they can show themselves equipped to handle the\njob. And this is the spirit which inspired our President to propose help for the\nworking poor and an incentive for all able-bodied Americans on welfare to put their\nhands to useful, paying tasks.\nI submit it is Lincoln philosophy which has Republicans believing that\nAmericans needing help want a hand up, not a handout.\nIt is Lincoln philosophy and Republican philosophy which holds that no man\nstands so tall as when he stands on his own two feet.\nAnd I submit that this is the basic philosophy of all Americans, and it is\nthe reason that the people are turning to the Republican Party and will turn the\nCongress over to us next fall as they did the White House in '68.\n###"
}