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Arthur H. Vandenberg Republican Business and Professional Women's Club, Grand Rapids, MI, January 26, 1971
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Arthur H. Vandenberg Republican Business and Professional Women's Club, Grand Rapids, MI, January 26, 1971
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The original documents are located in Box D30, folder "Arthur H. Vandenberg Republican
Business and Professional Women's Club, Grand Rapids, MI, January 26, 1971" 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States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.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 D30 of The Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
REMARKS BY REP. GERALD R. FORD, R-MICH.
REPUBLICAN LEADER, U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
BEFORE THE ARTHUR H. VANDENBERG
REPUBLICAN BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL WOMEN'S CLUB
AT GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN
6:30 P.M. TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 1971
FOR RELEASE ON DELIVERY
Lyndon Johnson once told me I had done an excellent job of picking a wife
but a poor job of picking a political party. He was, of course, only half right.
Let me today, first of all, assure you that you are in the right party, as
I am--and then go on to prove it. Having done that, I hope to give you some
pointers on what you, as women, can do for the Republican Party.
All of you are, of course, women first and Republicans second. That is why
I feel sure that what I am about to tell you will have great appeal for you.
The initial point I want to make is that it is the Republican Party which
deserves the credit for the national enfranchisement of women.
That's right. It was the Republican Party which pioneered the right of
women to vote and consistently supported the enfranchisement of women during the
long campaign for acceptance of it.
The Republican Party also was the first major party to advocate Equal Rights
for women and the principle of equal pay for equal work regardless of sex.
I might mention at this point that it was a Democratic-controlled Senate
which sat on the Equal Rights Amendment last year after the House had passed it.
And it was a Democratic-controlled House Committee which had to be forced to give
up the Equal Rights Amendment so that a vote could be had on it on the House floor.
And it was the Republicans who supplied the last dozen signatures providing a
majority on a House discharge petition taking the Equal Rights Amendment away from
the Democratic-controlled House Judiciary Committee.
Going back to the right to vote, let me point out that it was Democrats in
control of the House and Senate who on five occasions--from 1913 to 1919--defeated
proposals to enfranchise women.
And in May 1919 it was a newly elected Republican Congress which met in
special session and made passage of the Equal Suffrage Amendment its first act.
When the Amendment was submitted to the states, 26 of the 36 states
ratifying the amendment had Republican legislatures. Of the nine states voting
(more)
-2-
against ratification, eight were Democratic-controlled.
So, with that historical background in mind, aren't you glad you are a
Republican? Don't you think all American women should be?
There are two principal ways in which you can help the Republican Party.
One is to get involved in local programs which promote the cause of equity and
justice for all Americans. The other is to vigorously support the Republican Party
by preaching its virtues--and they are many.
My guess is there are few Republicans who would not become more fervent
backers of their party if they would only take the time to review its accomplish-
ments.
The roll of Republican Party achievements is very lengthy, so let me just
recite a few.
It was a Republican Administration which:
Preserved the Union;
Freed the slaves;
Protected the rights and privileges of Negroes by the 14th Amendment and
granted Negro suffrage by the 15th Amendment;
Started the Homestead program in 1862, giving land to those who would develop
it, and thus opened up the West;
Started the conservation of natural resources program, establishing the
Fisheries Service, most of the national parks, the geological survey, the national
forests, the Forest Service and the Bureau of Mines;
Established the merit system for Federal employes with the Civil Service
Act of 1883 and improved it with the Classification Act of 1923;
Prohibited trusts and monopolies in restraint of trade with the Sherman
Anti-Trust Act of 1890;
Started Federal reclamation and irrigation projects with the Reclamation
Act of 1902;
Built the Panama Canal, starting in 1903;
Achieved the first important voluntary agreement for the limitation and
reduction of armaments at the Washington Naval Conference of 1922;
Enacted the Labor-Management Relations Act of 1947 to protect the rights of
individual workers, management and the public by assuring fair labor practices on
the part of both employers and unions;
Ended the Korean War in July 1953;
(more)
-3-
Achieved the greatest peacetime strength of U.S. military forces in our
history;
Launched 14 earth satellites into orbit, created the first civilian outer
space agency, and put Americans on the moon--an epic first;
Thwarted a Red offensive on the free world, blocking Communist attacks on
Formosa, helping end Red control of Guatemala and Iran, closing gaps in the Free
World's defenses around the Communist bloc of states, and standing firm on
threatened West Berlin;
Extended Social Security protection to 12 million more workers and
liberalized benefits;
Created the Department of Health, Education and Welfare;
Created the Small Business Administration and cut government competition
with industry;
Secured passage of the Landrum-Griffin Labor Reform Law in 1959;
Achieved statehood for Hawaii and Alaska;
Reversed the course of the war in Vietnam and wound it down;
Developed a new strategy for peace centered on the Nixon Doctrine of
helping those nations which help themselves;
Brought about ratification of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty;
Entered into serious negotiations with the Soviet Union on the limitation
of strategic arms;
Renounced biological weapons and the first use of chemical warfare;
Achieved a draft treaty prohibiting the emplacement of nuclear weapons in
the seabed;
Reordered national priorities to devote a greater part of the Federal budget
to human needs than to defense spending;
Pushed through major reforms in the postal system, the Executive Office of
the President and many other areas of the bureaucracy;
Achieved the most significant improvements in the history of unemployment
insurance;
Moved to protect the environment by creating a new Council on Environmental
Quality and a new Environmental Protection Agency;
Sought and won passage of legislation to fight organized crime and drug
abuse;
Brought about more school desegregation in two years than in the entire
period between 1954 and 1969.
(more)
-4-
These are accomplishments of which we can all be proud. Republican women
should arm themselves with the knowledge of these accomplishments and spread
the word. They should become preachers of the Republican gospel.
Don't let the Democrats get away with their favorite propaganda trick--the
flood of compassion. They would like the voters to believe that it is only the
Democratic Party which cares about people. That, of course, is a blatant falsehood.
The Republican Party has done as much or more for the American people over the
years. And what we have done we have done responsibly--not by writing blank checks
or launching wild experimental programs.
Where Democratic administrations are prone to spend taxpayer's money as
though it came from a bottomless well, Republican administrations administer--and
spend wisely.
Where Democratic administrations proceed on the basis that Washington is
the fount of all wisdom, Republicans seek to help the State House, the County
Courthouse and City Hall solve their problems in ways they know best.
Where Democratic administrations have wallowed in waste, the present
Republican administration is seeking to reform the entire bureaucracy.
You want to help the Republican Party? Become a competitor. Compete with
your Democratic friends in the marketplace of public opinion. You have plenty
of ammunition. If you need more just ask the National Republican Committee or the
National Federation of Republican Women. They'll be glad to oblige.
Be a debater, but be positive in the points you make.
I engaged in numerous debates with my Democratic opponent last fall.
There are those who say an incumbent should ignore debate challenges issued
by his opponent. For my part, I am glad to accept such invitations. I figure that
the facts are on my side.
The reason I feel that way is that the Republican Party is a party of
responsibility and the American people are people with common sense.
And so I just talk to the people. I talk the language of the Republican
Party. I talk common sense. And that is what I would like you to do. Join the
society of Republican lay preachers and lay it on.
How you do is up to you but I personally have great confidence in you. I
don't know any woman who is not basically, inherently, a good talker.
Churchill once said that no one can guarantee success in a given effort--but
he can conduct himself so as to deserve it. And that is all I ask of you.
Conduct yourselves so that you deserve success, and I confidently predict
that you will have it. Thank you.
# # #
Distribution Full
Galleries 12:15pm 1/25/91 Office Copy
mail a.m. 1/25/91
REMARKS BY REP. GERALD R. FORD, R-MICH.
REPUBLICAN LEADER, U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
BEFORE THE ARTHUR H. VANDENBERG
REPUBLICAN BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL WOMEN'S CLUB
AT GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN
6:30 P.M. TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 1971
FOR RELEASE ON DELIVERY
Lyndon Johnson once told me I had done an excellent job of picking a wife
but a poor job of picking a political party. He was, of course, only half right.
Let me today, first of all, assure you that you are in the right party, as
I am--and then go on to prove it. Having done that, I hope to give you some
pointers on what you, as women, can do for the Republican Party.
All of you are, of course, women first and Republicans second. That is why
I feel sure that what I am about to tell you will have great appeal for you.
The initial point I want to make is that it is the Republican Party which
deserves the credit for the national enfranchisement of women.
That's right. It was the Republican Party which pioneered the right of
women to vote and consistently supported the enfranchisement of women during the
long campaign for acceptance of it.
The Republican Party also was the first major party to advocate Equal Rights
for women and the principle of equal pay for equal work regardless of sex.
I might mention at this point that it was a Democratic-controlled Senate
which sat on the Equal Rights Amendment last year after the House had passed it.
And it was a Democratic-controlled House Committee which had to be forced to give
up the Equal Rights Amendment SO that a vote could be had on it on the House floor.
And it was the Republicans who supplied the last dozen signatures providing a
majority on a House discharge petition taking the Equal Rights Amendment away from
the Democratic-controlled House Judiciary Committee.
Going back to the right to vote, let me point out that it was Democrats in
control of the House and Senate who on five occasions--from 1913 to 1919--defeated
proposals to enfranchise women.
And in May 1919 it was a newly elected Republican Congress which met in
special session and made passage of the Equal Suffrage Amendment its first act.
When the Amendment was submitted to the states, 26 of the 36 states
ratifying the amendment had Republican legislatures. Of the nine states voting
(more)
-2-
against ratification, eight were Democratic-controlled.
So, with that historical background in mind, aren't you glad you are a
Republican? Don't you think all American women should be?
There are two principal ways in which you can help the Republican Party.
One is to get involved in local programs which promote the cause of equity and
justice for all Americans. The other is to vigorously support the Republican Party
by preaching its virtues--and they are many.
My guess is there are few Republicans who would not become more fervent
backers of their party if they would only take the time to review its accomplish-
ments.
The roll of Republican Party achievements is very lengthy, so let me just
recite a few.
It was a Republican Administration which:
Preserved the Union;
Freed the slaves;
Protected the rights and privileges of Negroes by the 14th Amendment and
granted Negro suffrage by the 15th Amendment;
Started the Homestead program in 1862, giving land to those who would develop
it, and thus opened up the West;
Started the conservation of natural resources program, establishing the
Fisheries Service, most of the national parks, the geological survey, the national
forests, the Forest Service and the Bureau of Mines;
Established the merit system for Federal employes with the Civil Service
Act of 1883 and improved it with the Classification Act of 1923;
Prohibited trusts and monopolies in restraint of trade with the Sherman
Anti-Trust Act of 1890;
Started Federal reclamation and irrigation projects with the Reclamation
Act of 1902;
Built the Panama Canal, starting in 1903;
Achieved the first important voluntary agreement for the limitation and
reduction of armaments at the Washington Naval Conference of 1922;
Enacted the Labor-Management Relations Act of 1947 to protect the rights of
individual workers, management and the public by assuring fair labor practices on
the part of both employers and unions;
Ended the Korean War in July 1953;
(more)
-3-
Achieved the greatest peacetime strength of U.S. military forces in our
history;
Launched 14 earth satellites into orbit, created the first civilian outer
space agency, and put Americans on the moon--an epic first;
Thwarted a Red offensive on the free world, blocking Communist attacks on
Formosa, helping end Red control of Guatemala and Iran, closing gaps in the Free
World's defenses around the Communist bloc of states, and standing firm on
threatened West Berlin;
Extended Social Security protection to 12 million more workers and
liberalized benefits;
Created the Department of Health, Education and Welfare;
Created the Small Business Administration and cut government competition
with industry;
Secured passage of the Landrum-Griffin Labor Reform Law in 1959;
Achieved statehood for Hawaii and Alaska;
Reversed the course of the war in Vietnam and wound it down;
Developed a new strategy for peace centered on the Nixon Doctrine of
helping those nations which help themselves;
Brought about ratification of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty;
Entered into serious negotiations with the Soviet Union on the limitation
of strategic arms;
Renounced biological weapons and the first use of chemical warfare;
Achieved a draft treaty prohibiting the emplacement of nuclear weapons in
the seabed;
Reordered national priorities to devote a greater part of the Federal budget
to human needs than to defense spending;
Pushed through major reforms in the postal system, the Executive Office of
the President and many other areas of the bureaucracy;
Achieved the most significant improvements in the history of unemployment
insurance;
Moved to protect the environment by creating a new Council on Environmental
Quality and a new Environmental Protection Agency;
Sought and won passage of legislation to fight organized crime and drug
abuse;
Brought about more school desegregation in two years than in the entire
period between 1954 and 1969.
(more)
-4-
These are accomplishments of which we can all be proud. Republican women
should arm themselves with the knowledge of these accomplishments and spread
the word. They should become preachers of the Republican gospel.
Don't let the Democrats get away with their favorite propaganda trick-the
flood of compassion. They would like the voters to believe that it is only the
Democratic Party which cares about people. That, of course, is a blatant falsehood.
The Republican Party has done as much or more for the American people over the
years. And what we have done we have done responsibly--not by writing blank checks
or launching wild experimental programs.
Where Democratic administrations are prone to spend taxpayer's money as
though it came from a bottomless well, Republican administrations administer--and
spend wisely.
Where Democratic administrations proceed on the basis that Washington is
the fount of all wisdom, Republicans seek to help the State House, the County
Courthouse and City Hall solve their problems in ways they know best.
Where Democratic administrations have wallowed in waste, the present
Republican administration is seeking to reform the entire bureaucracy.
You want to help the Republican Party? Become a competitor. Compete with
your Democratic friends in the marketplace of public opinion. You have plenty
of ammunition. If you need more just ask the National Republican Committee or the
National Federation of Republican Women. They'll be glad to oblige.
Be a debater, but be positive in the points you make.
I engaged in numerous debates with my Democratic opponent last fall.
There are those who say an incumbent should ignore debate challenges issued
by his opponent. For my part, I am glad to accept such invitations. I figure that
the facts are on my side.
The reason I feel that way is that the Republican Party is a party of
responsibility and the American people are people with common sense.
And so I just talk to the people. I talk the language of the Republican
Party. I talk common sense. And that is what I would like you to do. Join the
society of Republican lay preachers and lay it on.
How you do is up to you but I personally have great confidence in you. I
don't know any woman who is not basically, inherently, a good talker.
Churchill once said that no one can guarantee success in a given effort--but
he can conduct himself so as to deserve it. And that is all I ask of you.
Conduct yourselves so that you deserve success, and I confidently predict
that you will have it. Thank you.
# # #