Remarks of The Vice President of the United States

Before the First Annual Conference of The President's Council on Youth Fitness and The President's Citizens Advisory Committee

United States Military Academy, West Point, N. Y.,
September 9-10, 1957

Thank you very much, Mr. Burgess. I am sure you will agree with me that if the enthusiasm and dedication which Mr. Burgess and Mr. MacCarthy have indicated can be in some way transmitted to everybody in this group, there will be no question about our being able to make a significant contribution during this 2-day meeting.

I should like to summarize informally what we currently have before us and to suggest some guidelines we might keep in mind as we go into the Conference this afternoon.

In the first place, I am aware of the fact that very busy people are attending this Conference; however, the President invited you to become members of this Committee because he recognized that you were leaders in the various fields which you represent. I am tremendously impressed by the varied backgrounds from which you have come. Secondly, I know you have attended similar conferences and have given voluntarily and generously of your time and your money in order to render service to your local communities and States, or to the Federal Government.

I realize that those of us who have primary responsibilities for the agenda of this Conference, have a particular responsibility to those of you who are here. We must put forth every effort to make sure this Conference does not end as many such study groups often end. In many instances a fine document is prepared, properly sealed, and beribboned with glowing phrases for presentation to the President of the United States; proper recognition is given in some of the editorial columns of newspapers; then, like similar documents, it goes to the Library of Congress only to gather dust.

We are primarily interested in a program of action—a program that is attainable, as Mr. Burgess has pointed out. We prefer that your reports and conclusions put more emphasis on what we can do and less emphasis on the reasoning behind various conclusions.

I know it is essential for us to have study groups to go into the various theories and controversies as well as the scope of the problem and how it should be solved. However, I am sure you would certainly feel that your time had been wasted unless something positive came from this Conference.

So this is our major aim. Let us conclude our 2-day meeting here at West Point by presenting to the President and the Nation some concrete proposals which will insure progress. If we are able to do that, then our deliberations can be considered worthwhile.

Relating to the general problem, I think that we should have another thought in mind. If we are going to accomplish anything, we must not scatter our shots. As you are aware, the theme of the Council and of the President's Committee is "Fitness for American Youth." The concept, of course, is as it should be-fitness in the total sense. But we must not scatter our shots too much in the general field attempting to define the proper balance between mental, physical, spiritual, and other factors which go into fitness. If there is not enough emphasis on 1 or 2 attainable goals for a specific phase of fitness, we are not going to reach our objective of attaining concrete results.

As far as the President is concerned, when he originally conceived the idea of this Committee, he not only recognized the concept of fitness in its entirety, but he also placed primary emphasis on the physical aspects of fitness. So I urge you to consider the whole problem of fitness and to remember that our primary responsibility is to make recommendations as to how the physical stature of American youth can be improved. Once we have done that and reached the conclusion that this is a proper goal, I think then we have to recognize that we are going to have some very honest disagreements in the various forum groups. We will have disagreement first as to the extent of the problem.

Many do not believe that certain tests have indicated our youth are far below European youth. Some feel our youth are in better shape than others. In this connection, might I suggest that we discuss the problem from the point of view of how we can do a better job than we are currently doing? We can all agree that American youth should be more fit than they are today. I speak particularly of the physical aspects.

There are some, for example, who would place primary emphasis on competitive sports. There are others who would place primary emphasis on programs of massed gymnastics. Others who prefer bicycle riding, or walking, and all other various forms of activity with which we are familiar. I am sure a group as large as this will be able to agree on certain fundamental essentials which we can recommend to the President and thereby be helpful to communities throughout the Nation.

May I emphasize this: I think we must all start with one basic assumption. We are not trying to impose one pattern on the whole country. I have in mind an experience of a few weeks ago. I attended the Boy Scout Jamboree at Valley Forge where I saw 50,000 Boy Scouts marching across the hills to the grounds where the opening convocation of the Boy Scout Jamboree was to be held. They did not march with rhythm in all cases. They had no great master plan which each unit had to follow. There was

individuality, sometimes even in dress, and certainly in characteristics in many respects. What impressed me was that working together in their own individual units, they all arrived in an orderly way at the grounds. It was one of the most impressive meetings I have ever attended.

This morning in New York I attended the Mayors' Conference. All the mayors of the major cities of the United States were there. Some of them have fitness programs, some of them do not. I would say that in these various cities you would find a great deal of disagreement as to what each community should do in this field. They want to have the right to make their own decisions as to how they can approach the problem. So what then can we contribute?

First, we can create an awareness of the problem in communities where there is insufficient awareness at this time.

Second, we can contribute suggestions relating to pilot operations that have been successful.

I do not think, however, that we should attempt to impose a straightjacket on communities as to how a fitness program for young Americans should be operated.

I noticed a reference a moment ago to the young manhood of America. Having grown up in a family of five boys, I used to think that this was all that was important, insofar as fitness and education were concerned. But now, having only two girls, and noticing that we do have some representation from the women in the country, may I emphasize that our program of youth fitness must have in mind not only our young men, but also our young

women.

One mistake we might make would be not to recognize that there is an essential responsibility in both of these fields. All statistics show there is far less emphasis on the problem of physical education in schools for women than for men. There is more emphasis needed on an overall pattern in which both boys and girls and their problems are recognized.

If we are to reach attainable goals, we must think in terms of building on existing programs. I say existing programs because we are often tempted in this field to think in terms of what we would do if we had all the money and all the cooperation we needed. Logically then, we think in terms of building more gymnasiums, more public parks, and all that sort of thing.

Reference has been made by Carter Burgess to the battle of the budget in Washington, D. C. I referred to it a few hours ago when I spoke to the Mayors' Conference. I think we should realize that budget consciousness on the part of people in the United States is stronger now than probably it has been at any time in the past 50 years. We feel it at the national level. I know that city officials will tell you they feel it at the local levels. At the National Education Conference which I attended recently in Philadelphia, I spoke to many school superintendents and school officials who told me they

had greater difficulty this year in getting necessary school funds approved by the voters. What does this mean? It means that if we make recommendations for new facilities to be paid for by public funds that such recommendations, in the present climate, are going to be most unrealistic.

It has been suggested that playgrounds be used as community facilities throughout the year. We also have the facilities of our national parks and the like. I trust that you will explore ways and means to make maximum use of these facilities.

This brings me to another very important point that in my opinion has not been properly recognized up to this time. This is the problem of our schools. As you know, there has been a great deal of emphasis on school construction in the last session of Congress. It will be just as vital an issue in the next session.

Physical facilities for schools are tremendously important. More important than the facilities, is getting trained personnel to use these facilities. You can have the finest gymnasiums and swimming pools, tennis courts, and playgrounds, but if you do not have trained personnel who can supervise the young people and encourage them in activities which will develop fitness, it is not going to mean anything.

This problem of personnel, I think, is one that this Conference should emphasize strongly. If we could stimulate in the school districts in local governments a desire to upgrade personnel in this field in order to get more people in it, we would solve a very great part of the problem.

I will refer to one other item which is related to what I have just said and that is, the kind of activities in which we should engage. I realize I am in a field where we will have a lot of disagreements right in this audience. We, of course, are all interested in competitive sports. I know that as far as I personally am concerned, I had a great interest in competitive sports when I was attending school, which has stayed with me all of my life. I imagine that is true of most of the people in this audience. Competitive sports play a very important role in any fitness program. I should like to emphasize that competitive sports are a means to create interest. Young people need to be properly directed and motivated to develop their physical abilities to the utmost.

We should also emphasize as much as possible the types of physical activities that young people can carry over into their adult life. I stress this point for a fundamental reason. All of you are aware of the laborsaving devices in industry today. Those who are here from the Labor Department, from unions, and from industry, can tell you something of the tremendous possibilities in the field of automation as far as our jobs are concerned. As we develop new laborsaving devices, just as inevitably as we are sitting here, the hours and days that men and women have to work to produce a decent standard of living will be reduced. The trend has set in. It is here, and it

is here to stay. Consequently, under these circumstances, we are going to find Americans in 10, 15, or 20 years from now having an increasing amount of leisure time on their hands. What are they going to do with it? In this field we can see the relationship between a youth fitness program and an adult fitness program. If in our youth fitness program we can place some emphasis upon activities that can be carried over into adult life, you can see what a contribution we can make to the physical health of the Nation in the years ahead.

So much for my own general observations.

I must return to New York tonight for a meeting, but I shall be back with you tomorrow afternoon for the next general session. In closing, may I tell you again how deeply we appreciate the time you have spent to attend this conference. You are busy people and I for one am most hopeful that when leave tomorrow night you will feel that it was worthwhile. I am sure that your deliberations and your conclusions will make it worthwhile by producing a practical program that can really mean some progress in the year ahead.

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Thank you very much.