Are the borders of constitutional protection too broad for those who despise our laws and desecrate our liberty? Has our own lazy loyalty and indifferent Americanism played a part in this incredible pattern of events? It is not easy to answer. Our hearts are too heavy with the knowledge that our noble young warrior has been cut down in the prime of his days, in the very procession of his triumph, at the very beginning of his most notable achievements. He can no longer lead us in the struggle for justice and decency. And yet, somehow, he leads us still. John Fitzgerald Kennedy had a way of telling us his plans for the New Frontier that made the soul of America stand taller. There was deep conviction in his voice and intellectual authority in every glowing phrase. His was a bold, uncompromising call to truth—a call to arms against injustice and oppression that keeps on ringing in our aching hearts. We hear him yet. We see him as he stood before us, smiling, self-assured, and, oh, so tragically young. He is there-head high, waving to the cheering crowds, rushing forward to shake a friendly hand. Such a man cannot be eliminated by a madman with a gun-no, nor by the madness that walks abroad in the world. Such a man lives in the hope of every citizen, growing with the growth of the great country he served, alive and indestructible in our memories of those few short years when his own stature grew to match those other great Americans to whose ideals John Kennedy devoted his life. Time erects his monument and history will build it high. We weep that Israel has lost this cherished friend. We are outraged at the disgrace that befell our land and took away our leader. But we are proud that our beloved President, in death as in life, stamped the profile of his magnificent courage across the conscience of mankind. He asked not what his country could do for him. He asked only what he could do for his country-and no man could have done more. On this untimely day of atonement, as we sit in the synagogue along with all the generations of Israel, we pay homage to our sacred dead. We honor the image of his remembered glory, his wisdom, wit, and eloquence. Our spirit is warmed again by the fire that lighted his love of America. In his name, let us resolve to strengthen the sinews of our national integrity, to protect the principles of liberty, justice, and equality for which he gave his life. That is the greatest tribute we can pay our fallen hero in eternal gratitude for his ultimate sacrifice, while our hearts follow him, along with our fervent prayers, to that further New Frontier he is entering tonight. Let us rise, beseeching eternal peace and the blessing of Almighty God, as we join in a minute of silent prayer, for the immortal soul of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 35th President of the United States. In the last paragraph of the last speech he ever wrote, he expressed some of this philosophy for himself, for his country, and for the world: "We in this country, in this generation, are by destiny rather than choice-the watchmen on the walls of world freedom. We ask, therefore, that we may be worthy of our power and responsibility—that we may exercise our strength with wisdom and restraint-and that we may achieve for our time and for all time the ancient vision of peace on earth, good will toward men. That must always be our goal-and the righteousness of our cause must always underlie our strength." Mr. Speaker, I wish to bring to the attention of my colleagues a letter which appeared in the New York Times. The letter, written by Jay Newman, a second year law student, is a sensitive and eloquent analysis of the reactions of youth to the death of the late President Kennedy. KENNEDY LEGACY TO YOUTH-STUDENT SAYS PRESIDENT RENEWED THEIR PRIDE IN AMERICA TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEW YORK TIMES: The death of the young President who inspired and encouraged youth was a deep shock and will have a profound influence upon the students of America, who identified with him as he identified with them. The high school and college generation has not experienced as a group-tragedy, anguish, and frustration on a national scale. Pearl Harbor, the death of President Roosevelt are vaguely remembered; take their place as history, not of personalization. The late President united this youth for the first time into one being—a being guided and directed by his heart and mind. For the first time the youth had a leader, for the first time they have seen their leader die. This will profoundly affect their generation. From it will arise a greater maturity and understanding of the amorphous concept called life. This generation never experienced defeat, injustice on such a grand scale. With the rise of J.F.K., the vigor, vitality, and creativity of American youth was centered around national goals and aspirations as never before. All too soon it is over. At first it will appear as if the torch were wrested from their hands and given to another generation; but eventually this attitude will be replaced by a greater depth in youth due to the tremendous impact the late President instilled into this Nation: The renewed sense of pride in their country—the individual personalization with the highest office in the land-giving instead of taking-new dimensions to the word "flexibility" and making human dignity a reality. It will be realized that all this has not ended because of his death, but has just begun. Our leader is dead, but his leadership is within America, never to die. This then is the legacy John Fitzgerald Kennedy has bequeathed to us, the students of America. JAY NEWMAN, Georgetown Law Center. WASHINGTON, December 7, 1963. Mr. Speaker, I wish to draw the attention of my colleagues to an eloquent tribute to the late President Kennedy. This tribute was presented to the joint board of the Millinery Workers Union by the union's manager, Nathaniel Spector. The tribute follows: A TRIBUTE TO THE MEMORY OF OUR Martyred PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY (By Nathaniel Spector) President Kennedy wanted to be President. He fought for it heroically-not for his own glory or power, but for the power of his office to advance the welfare and progress of the American people for disarmament and world peace. With the rise of John F. Kennedy to the Presidency, new vigor, vitality, and creativeness were brought into the life of our Nation. President Kennedy's assumption of leadership of our Nation was a breath of fresh air, a reawakening-like life in spring. His fresh, youthful spirit captivated not only the people of his generation, but most Americans; he revitalized, invigorated and gave new hope for a better life for all Americans. He was a great liberal humanitarian and a true believer of democratic principles and practices. He took decisive action where and when necessary. He was unafraid of new ideas; of problems-national or international; he welcomed those that he thought could bring benefits to the American people and peace to the democratic people all over the world. He was the symbol of a better future; of a new approach to national and world problems. He was the promise of a better tomorrow, free of poverty, prejudice, unemployment, inequality, injustice, and ignorance. On November 22, the day of his assassination, his death inscribed itself deep in the hearts of all Americans for all time. The day of his arrival in Dallas, Tex., a page ad appeared in the Morning News, sponsored by the American Fact-Finding Committee, which had as its purpose to arouse the people against the President. Following the assassination of President Kennedy, a woman teacher wrote to the daily press, stating that the people of Dallas were responsible for the death of President Kennedy. She was dismissed. A traveling salesman was in a movie house when the assassination of President Kennedy was announced; the audience applauded. A priest stated that when the assassination of the President was announced in school, the children applauded. The people in the South made it known now that they had no intention of voting for President Kennedy if he ran for office next year. They would rather vote for a Republican. It is evident that the bloodstream of the people has been poisoned by bigotry, prejudice, falsehood, and hatred. President Kennedy was the captain of his soul. Courage and dedication do not die. Tonight we express our admiration, in sorrow, and pay homage to his lasting memory and, collectively, we pour our grief and tears in a common pool. Our leader is dead, but his leadership is with America-it shall never die. To his courageous widow and his two lovely, fatherless children, our hearts go out. Mr. Speaker, many, many words have flowed since the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, all expressing in some way the grief and sense of loss that people through the world felt about this tragedy. James T. Farrell, a renowned author of many novels and stories, was a great admirer of President Kennedy. In his grief Jim Farrell penned a simple verse to give life to his feelings. He wrote this short poem in a moment of great emotion and then sent it to me to express his sorrow. I am sure that all of my colleagues will be moved by the words of a gifted novelist. JOHN FITZGERald Kennedy He rode, smiling, in sun and triumph And of the ultimate, terrible beauty of death— We wept in the solitudes of our silence, -JAMES T. Farrell. Mr. Speaker, on November 25, the day of national mourning for our late President John F. Kennedy, Dr. Grayson Kirk, president of Columbia University, delivered an address at the memorial service in St. Paul's Chapel at Columbia. Among the many heartfelt eulogies to President Kennedy, I believe that Dr. Kirk's is one of the most inspiring I have read. I am sure my colleagues will be moved by Dr. Kirk's eloquent tribute which follows: JOHN FITZGERald Kennedy On this sad day unnumbered millions of men and women have gathered together as we have done to pay a last word of respect and tribute to the memory of a great man. The earth that this afternoon receives the shattered body of John Fitzgerald Kennedy is wet with the unashamed tears of an outraged mankind. The world has been stunned by the effect of a single senseless and brutal act committed by a creature who at that moment forfeited his right to membership in the human race. No greater blow can be dealt a nation than to strike down a chosen leader who had amply demonstrated, a capacity for leadership rare among men of any generation. The entire Nation grieves, not merely out of a decent sympathy for a bereaved family and close personal friends, but because it knows that it, too, has suffered a crippling loss; that it, too, has been impoverished; that it, too, has been shamed before the world. And as our people bow their heads in their grief, they bow them also in shame that such a thing could have happened in our land and in our time. The poignancy of our grief is all the more intense because we do not need to wait to be told by future historians that this was no mere and ordinary man thrust into high office by the chance results of democratic political process. We know in our hearts, and we know with deep and abiding conviction, that this was a man who possessed in abundance those special and unusual qualities of which our people at this time in their history stood in great need, from which they derived deep and lasting benefit, and without which they must look into a bleak and troubled future. And on this afternoon of national mourning, it is fitting that we recall, for the benefit of all our citizens, some of the reasons why our loss is a national disaster, the like of which few generations have had to endure. So doing, we take some small measure of comfort in remembering what we have had; so doing, we set up in ourselves criteria by which we may measure those who would follow our President in this, the highest of all our offices. We honor the memory of John Kennedy because he was a man of courage. He knew instinctively the importance of this quality among leaders. He wrote discerningly about it, in order that we might all be more aware of our national need for men who possessed it. In his youth he demonstrated that, in his own character, it was stronger than even the primal instinct for self-preservation. In his maturity he did not flinch from decisions that he knew would evoke hostility and abuse from men whose vision of the Nation's welfare was narrow, selffish, and distorted. From among all leaders he faced the terrible risk of nuclear war in order to protect the basic national interests of the people whom he had sworn to protect and defend. But his was not the blind courage in face of danger which, happily, comes to many men in time of crisis. His was the courage derived from the intelligent evaluation of all facets of a complex and perilous situation and fortified by the strength of basic convictions. His was the courage of intelligence, the courage that goes beyond that of many intelligent men who, faced with a grave and unpleasant problem, lapse into the agony of indecision and the error of impulsive judgment. Though as a young man he offered his life for his country, his final gift of this, the most precious of man's possessions, was more than a supreme sacrifice just in defense of his country. He wanted his country to become a land in which our democratic ideals would be more fully realized, a land in which we and our children could take ever greater pride, a land in which the old dreams of mankind might at last be realized. And he gave up his life because despicable and selfish men, hating this prospect, so filled the atmosphere with their venom that one mean creature became their tool and their agent. Now that the deed is done, and our President is gone, their protestations of innocence and even of grief ring hollowly upon our ears. John Kennedy died because he wanted a better America. Consciously he fought them, knowing as he must have, what the risks were. Bravely he died, not so much for the America of today as for the America of the future. John Kennedy had more than courage and intelligence. He had compassion. Born to wealth and, had he so chosen, a life of ease and indolence, he elected a career of public service, one in which he could put his talents to work for his fellow men. Just as he was proud of the great qualities and achievements of his country, he was deeply troubled by the inequities and inequalities which still persisted in a society, ostensibly dedicated to their elimination. He was troubled, too, by the new injustices, the new hazards of life that grew out of social and technological change. He saw a society in which men of one color were being denied that equality of opportunity which is the foundation stone of America. He saw a society in which the benefits of modern medical progress were on occasion denied to men and women because they lacked the means to pay for their needs. He saw a society in which aged men and women of limited resources were being ruthlessly pushed aside and allowed to live out their final years in that quiet helpless desperation that only poverty without hope can breed. And because he was a man of compassion, he grieved over these cancers in the body politic. And because he was a man of action, he strove to exercise them and to heal their wounds. And because he was a determined man, not content to allow an affluent society to be so afflicted, he died. Today, as we reflect with gratitude upon those great qualities, this constructively directed energy, this vision of what our country might be and must become, we must ask ourselves what good, what possible benefit, we as a people can derive from this man's life, what lessons we may take to our hearts from this crushing tragedy. Our grief must be tempered with the resolution that the sacrifice was not vainly made, that out of our national sorrow there may come some good, that from the shrine of this bloodstained soil in Arlington there may come a chastened and better America. In no other way can we justify to him what he did for us. First and foremost, we must resolve to be more responsible in our thoughts and actions. This land of ours is plagued by men of small minds, men of vicious and uncontrolled emotions, men for whom hatred is greater than love, men whose concern for their fellow men is lost in insensate bigotry, men who in their hearts despise all that this Nation stands for, men who do not deserve the land in which they live. It does not matter whether they are of the reactionary right or the radical left, the menace which they present to this country is equally ominous because they would-in order to bring back a world that never was or one that betrays the cause of human freedom-destroy all our effort. Since we are obliged by the imperatives of that freedom to permit such men to carry on, to a reasonable extent, their destructive activities, it is the obligation of those of us who really love our country to be more energetic, more alert to the danger, more willing to remind our citizens about the dangers implicit in the ravings of the extremists. When we are silent in the face of this danger, when we deride our chosen leaders or sit quietly by when others do so, when we allow ourselves to become irrational in our partisanship, when we allow others to sneer at our principles, we are unconscious accomplices in the sabotage of our country. Apathy in these circumstances is cowardice. If this experience through which we have passed does not chasten our hearts, and does not steel our determination to combat these forces of destruction about us, then may God help us, because we will not help ourselves. It has been the historic pride of this country for the past century that our excesses of political partisanship have never reached the point when the conflict on either side jeopardized loyalty to our Constitution and our democracy. This is still true of the overwhelming majority of Americans, but we face today, in this respect, greater dangers than at any time since the Civil War. Respect for law is lost in the selfishness of men who try to cheat and evade its commands. Respect for law is lost in the organized resistance of men to the application of the Constitution under which they live. Respect for law is dead when our highest officers are physically assaulted, when their lives are threatened, and when such threats become grim reality. To these dangers we must become more alert. Against them we must devise countermeasures. From them we must learn and practice that self-discipline which has never been congenial to our people but upon which the future of our country depends. In this respect, we hang our heads in shame over the spectacle which we present to the world, a spectacle which ill accords with our boasting. More energy against the extremists and their poison, more self-discipline-even these are not enough if we are to justify by the future health and progress of our society the sacrifice John Kennedy made for his country. Each segment of our society must reexamine its responsibilities. The press, radio, and television, through their emphasis upon the reporting of violence often go beyond their basic need to keep us informed; by these emphases they may condone and inflame still further violence, and they cannot escape social responsibility by saying that they are merely giving the public what it wants. In the home, the extreme permissiveness of our modern parents breeds in their children contempt for all authority, a contempt that takes its toll in broken youthful lives and bewildered parents who try to evade responsibility for their own failures by casting the blame on others. And, of course, our schools, our colleges, and our universities need to reexamine their functions and to try to discover how, along with their traditional duties, they can impart to their students a greater sense of social responsibility. The death of our beloved President carries a lesson to every part of our society and to every institution. In his memory we must heed it. Thus, today, in our grief and our remorse, we look sadly, but with new resolve to the future. We are determined to create in this land the democracy in which he believed, one which applies the ancient principles of human dignity, equality, and opportunity to the conditions and necessities of modern life. As we do this, and as we bring nearer to reality, the dreams of men like the man we mourn today, we make out of his gallant life and its tragic ending a national treasure for the future. We can do no more, and we can do no less. His soul is in the hands of God, his heritage in the hearts of our people. Mr. Speaker, at this time of tragedy there is much that all of us could say, yet in a sense there is nothing to say. In this hour of national and international grief let us dedicate ourselves to the principles and purpose of President John F. Kennedy; let us unite in common determination to cleanse our national life of bigotry and vituperation; in doing so, let us consider the words of our beloved President which he had prepared to deliver to the Dallas Citizens Council and the Dallas Assembly. In that speech, an eloquent statement of American policy, it is significant that President Kennedy intended with words of reason to caution against "voices preaching doctrines wholly unrelated to reality, wholly unsuited to the sixties, doctrines which apparently assume that words will suffice without weapons, that vituperation is as good as victory and that peace is a sign of weakness." The text of the undelivered speech follows: TEXT PREPAred for DalLAS I am honored to have this invitation to address the annual meeting of the Dallas Citizens Council, joined by the members of the Dallas Assembly-and pleased to have this opportunity to salute the Graduate Research Center of the Southwest. It is fitting that these two symbols of Dallas progress are united in the sponsorship of this meeting. For they represent the best qualities, I am told, of leadership and learning in this city-and leadership and learning are indispensable to each other. The advancement of learning depends on community leadership for financial and political support-and the products of that learning, in turn, are essential to the leadership's hopes for continued progress and prosperity. It is not a coincidence that those communities possessing the best in research and graduate facilities-from M.I.T. to Cal Tech-tend to attract the new and growing industries. I congratulate those of you here in Dallas who have recognized these basic facts through the creation of the unique and forward-looking graduate research center. LINK IN WORLD AFFAIRS This link between leadership and learning is not only essential at the community level. It is even more indispensable in world affairs. Ignorance and misinformation can handicap the progress of a city or a company-but they can, if allowed to prevail in foreign policy, handicap this country's security. In a world of complex and continuing problems, in a world full of frustrations and irritations, America's leadership must be guided by the lights of learning and reason-or else those who confuse rhetoric with reality and the plausible with the possible will gain the popular ascendancy with their seemingly swift and simple solutions to every world problem. There will always be dissident voices heard in the land, expressing opposition without alternatives, finding fault but never favor, perceiving gloom on every side and seeking influence without responsibility. Those voices are inevitable. But today other voices are heard in the land-voices preaching doctrines wholly unrelated to reality, wholly unsuited to the sixties, doctrines which apparently assume that words will suffice without weapons, that vituperation is as good as victory and that peace is a sign of weakness. At a time when the national debt is steadily being reduced in terms of its burden on our economy, they see that debt as the greatest single threat to our security. At a time when we are steadily reducing the number of Federal employees serving every thousand citizens, they fear those supposed hordes of civil servants far more than the actual hordes of opposing armies. STEVENSON QUOTED We cannot expect that everyone, to use the phrase of a decade ago, will "talk sense to the American people." But we can hope that fewer people will listen to nonsense. And the notion that this Nation is headed for defeat through deficit, or that strength is but a matter of slogans, is nothing but just plain nonsense. I want to discuss with you today the status of our strength and our security because this question clearly calls for the most responsible qualities of leadership and the most enlightened products of scholarship. For this Nation's strength and security are not easily or cheaply obtainednor are they quickly and simply explained. There are many kinds of strength and no one kind will suffice. Overwhelming nuclear strength cannot stop a guerrilla war. Formal pacts of alliance cannot stop internal subversion. Displays of material wealth cannot stop the disillusionment of diplomats subjected to discrimination. Above all, words alone are not enough. The United States is a peaceful nation. And where our strength and determination are clear, our words need merely to convey conviction, not belligerence. If we are strong, our strength will speak for itself. If we are weak, words will be no help. STRENGTH OF AID PLAN I realize that this Nation often tends to identify turning points in world affairs with the major addresses which preceded them. But it was not the Monroe Doctrine that kept all Europe away from this hemisphere-it was the strength of the British Fleet and the width of the Atlantic Ocean. It was not General Marshall's speech at Harvard which kept communism out of Western Europe-it was the strength and stability made possible by our military and economic assistance. In this administration also it has been necessary at times to issue specific warnings that we could not stand by and watch the Communists conquer Laos by force, or intervene in the Congo, or swallow West Berlin, or maintain offensive missiles on Cuba. But while our goals were at least temporarily obtained in those and other instances, our successful defense of freedom was due-not to the words we used-but to the strength we stood ready to use on behalf of the principles we stand ready to defend. REVIEWS AREAS OF STRENGTH This strength is composed of many different elements, ranging from the most massive deterrents to the most subtle influences. And all types of strength are neededno one kind could do the job alone. Let us take a moment, therefore, to review this Nation's progress in each major area of strength. First, as Secretary McNamara made clear in his address last Monday, the strategic nuclear power of the United States has been so greatly modernized and expanded in the last 1,000 days, by the rapid production and deployment of the most modern missile systems that any and all potential aggressors are clearly confronted now with the impossibility of strategic victory—and the certainty of total destruction-if by reckless attack they should ever force upon us the necessity of a strategic reply. In less than 3 years, we have increased by 50 percent the number of Polaris submarines scheduled to be in force by the next fiscal year-increased by more than 70 percent our total Polaris purchase program-increased by 50 percent the portion of our strategic bombers on 15minute alert and increased by 100 percent the total number of nuclear weapons available in our strategic alert forces. Our security is further enhanced by the steps we have taken regarding these weapons to improve the speed and certainty of their response, their readiness at all times to respond, their ability to survive an attack and their ability to be carefully controlled and directed through secure command operations. But the lessons of the last decade have taught us that freedom cannot be defended by strategic nuclear power alone. We have, therefore, in the last 3 years accelerated the development and deployment of tactical nuclear weapons and increased by 60 percent the tactical nuclear forces deployed in Western Europe. Nor can Europe or any other continent rely on nuclear forces alone, whether they are strategic or tactical. We have radically improved the readiness of our conventional forces-increased by 45 percent the number of combat ready army divisions-increased by 100 percent the procurement of modern army weapons and equipment-increased by 100 percent our ship construction, conversion and modernization program-increased by 100 percent our procurement of tactical aircraft—increased by 30 percent the number of tactical air squadrons—and increased the strength of the Marines. As last month's Operation Big Lift-which originated here in Texas-showed so clearly, this Nation is prepared as never before to move substantial numbers of men in surprisingly little time to advanced positions anywhere in the world. We have increased by 175 percent the procurement of airlift aircraft-and we have already achieved a 75 percent increase in our existing strategic airlift capability. Finally, moving beyond the traditional roles of our military forces, we have achieved an increase of nearly 600 percent in our special forces-those forces that are prepared to work with our allies and friends against the guerrillas, saboteurs, insurgents and assassins who threaten freedom in a less direct but equally danger ous manner. But American military might should not and need not stand alone against the ambitions of international communism. Our security and strength, in the last analysis, directly depend on the security and strength of others— and that is why our military and economic assistance plays |