funds-$2 million-when all levels of Government cooperate in meeting the basic needs of people. Your program has also been a good example of an orderly approach to help those who live under the burden of poverty. Innovations were tested in carefully managed experiments, critical evaluations were reached, and maximum use was made of the knowledge and capabilities of State and local officials. Through this approach, we can place in general use those methods which work well, and stop those which do not. This successful demonstration provides a sound basis for administration of the ex panded program in the Child Nutrition Act now before the Congress. I am confident that this important legislation will be enacted. As long as a single child lacks sufficient food to take advantage of a school education, we will be failing our children, ourselves, and the Nation. Sincerely, LYNDON B. JOHNSON [Honorable Orville Freeman, the Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.] NOTE: The Child Nutrition Act of 1966 was approved by the President on October 11, 1966 (see Item 508). 341 Remarks of Welcome to Prime Minister Burnham of Guyana on the South Lawn at the White House. July 21, 1966 Mr. Prime Minister, Mr. Secretary: We are delighted today to welcome the distinguished Prime Minister to the Capital of our country. Mr. Prime Minister, you are welcome as an old friend, as the Prime Minister of a sister American State, and as the most distinguished leader of the newest independent nation in our hemisphere. A few days ago we celebrated the 190th anniversary of our independence. You are embarked upon your first year. We know, as you do, that the early years of independence are years of challenge and trial, but they are also of great hope and promise. The task of nation-building really never stops. We devoted the first decades to mastering the frontier of our rivers and our forests, of our plains and our mountains. And then next we tackled the frontier of industrial development. Today we are pushing forward the frontiers of human aspirations and the needs of humankind. We are now engaged in a great struggle to eliminate the last elements of racial discrimination from our society. We are pressing the attack on poverty with equal zeal. We will not rest until our entire educational system has been revamped. We are equally as determined to improve the health of our young, to meet the medical needs of our old. We are committed to rebuilding our blighted cities and preserving the beauty of our land and our landscape. And while doing all of this at home, we will never falter in our commitment overseas in the defense of freedom and in support of economic development. Guyana has many of the same frontiers that we have to conquer. You have an interior to be opened, a modernization process to be undertaken, and economic and social goals to be achieved. You begin your task with a heritage from England not unlike the one possessed by our forefathers two centuries ago. With dedi cation and patience, skill and hard work the Guyanese people under your leadership will score impressive victories for yourselves and for the other free nations of this hemisphere. I think you know, Mr. Prime Minister, of our desire and our willingness to try to assist you in every way we can with your task. Your presence here symbolizes the ties which unite us and the common objectives we share. You are an important part of this hemisphere. Your security involves our own security. Your welfare touches our own welfare. Your success in making democracy work will strengthen the exercise of democracy elsewhere. So we look to the day when you will join us in the councils of the Organization of American States and become full participants in our Alliance for Progress. You will be among close friends, Mr. Prime Minister, here in Washington and as you travel throughout our country. We are glad you have come and we hope you enjoy your stay. Thank you very much. NOTE: The President spoke at 12:40 p.m. on the South Lawn at the White House, where Prime Minister Linden Forbes Burnham was given a formal welcome with full military honors. The President's opening words referred to the Prime Minister and to Secretary of State Dean Rusk. Prime Minister Burnham responded as follows: Mr. President: On behalf of the Government and the people of my country of Guyana, may I express the deepest gratitude for the warmth of your welcome and the warmth of the weather which you have provided for me today. We have in the past-especially in the more recent past-been undoubtedly impressed by the friendship which we have recognized on the part of the United States of America for our own growing country, even in our most difficult days. We have no doubt that we belong to the hemisphere. We have no doubt, from past performances, that we can look forward to continued assistance and a kindly friendship from the United States Government and people. And we have no doubt that small though we are, young though we are, so far as independence is concerned, that we have a tale to tell in this Western Hemisphere and that we can make our contribution to the preservation and maintenance of democracy. I thank you once again, Mr. President. 342 Toasts of the President and Prime Minister Burnham of Guyana. July 21, 1966 pastime of horseback riding. I asked Secretary Gordon, when he presented you with that Western saddle last May, to say then that I hoped you would ride tall in it. I would convey that message personally today. It is very clear that politically speaking you are riding tall in the saddle. You have greatly honored us by sending, as your first Ambassador to Washington, Sir John Carter. It is a double gain for us. We shall profit from his talents and we welcome home his most charming wife, a talented lady from North Carolina. Mr. Prime Minister, we share your con fidence and your hope in the future. Our desire is to make this hemisphere a shining example of what free men, working together, can accomplish together. We want Guyana to work with us and to work with the other American States toward this objective. You may be sure that you can count on our cooperation, our very deep interest, and always our full support. So, my friends, I should now like to propose that we toast the health of the Queen of Great Britain; the Guyanese Government under the very able leadership of Prime Minister Burnham. NOTE: The President spoke at 2:07 p.m. in the State Dining Room at the White House at a luncheon honoring Prime Minister Linden Forbes Burnham of Guyana. During his remarks he referred to Lincoln Gordon, Assistant Secretary for Inter-American Affairs and U.S. Coordinator, Alliance for Progress. Mr. Gordon had presented a saddle to the Prime Minister as a personal gift from President Johnson on the occasion of the independence of Guyana, May 26, 1966. Prime Minister Burnham responded as follows: Mr. President, sir, distinguished guests: My only claim to distinction is that I share the name of your President, though in typical Texas style, he has misspelled Lyndon. The proper spelling is mine, L-i-n-d-e-n. I am most grateful for the warm welcome, the hospitality which has been so far shown me as head of the most recent independent country of the hemisphere. As I observed earlier today, we have in the past been assured of the friendship of the United States of America and have no reason to believe that that friendship will not continue to be extended to us. We share with the United States of America a deep devotion to the concept and ideal of democracy. Certainly we should like to see that particular plant, tender though it may be in our part of the world, flourish. We, in Guyana, are very small, but we are as dedicated as you to a democracy. But our problem is to maintain democracy in the midst of poverty, in the midst of low standards and low productivity. And I have good reason to believe that the assistance and friendship which the United States of America has shown in the past will continue to be shown in the future, so that we will have a fertile ground on which democracy may grow and bear fruit in this part of the world. The President is a tall man, but he speaks for a short time. I can do no better than emulate the President and say thank you very much for everything. Thank you. [As printed above, the remarks follow the text of the White House press release.] 343 The President's Message Greeting the Members of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. July 21, 1966 I SEND my warmest greetings to the distinguished members of the DAC. I congratulate you on a successful meeting and on the memorable decision you have made. Twenty years ago many of your nations had just emerged from the disaster of war. Your peoples were faced with hunger and the threat of social upheaval. At that time, my country had the historic opportunity to provide food and to join with you in the great task of reviving your agriculture and your industry. The success of our joint effort was one of the great humanitarian and material achievements of history. Now in other countries-in two-thirds of the world-people are threatened with a future of unrelieved hunger. Unless we and they act together now, they will suffer mass famine in the years just ahead. This morning Secretary Freeman told you that we are losing the war on hunger but that it can be won. In the resolution we have adopted today we are joining with the developing nations to win that war. Together we overcame the threat of disaster that appeared 20 years ago. Now, together with the developing nations, we must prevent the disaster which threatens them. I pledge the support of the United States to this cause in which all of us now are joined. NOTE: The President's message was read by Secretary of State Dean Rusk at the conclusion of the annual meeting of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, held in the Department of State Building. The text of the message was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary. It was not made public in the form of a White House press release. 344 Memorandum to the Secretary, HUD, in Response to His Progress Report on the Rent Supplement Program. July 22, 1966 Memorandum for the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: It is gratifying to learn of the progress of the rent supplement program. I am particularly pleased to see the wide, representative character of organizations serving as sponsors-cooperatives and labor unions, settlement houses, veterans, civic groups, and especially churches. Their willingness to join forces with private enterprise and government in attacking the stubborn problem of housing the poor must be matched by our readiness to give them all the assistance we can. This is a new kind of venture for most of them. There is little in their normal experience that prepares them as sponsors of housing projects. They will be greatly aided by business and professional people in the building industry competent to handle the complex problems of project planning and construction. On the other hand, their association with those lacking either competence or proper motivation can lead to failures and discouragement. When liberal government assistance is available, as it is in the rent supplement and the elderly housing programs, there is always some danger of attracting those few speculators who would promote unsound projects for selfish ends. Guidance by your Department during the formative stages of these projects can be critically important. It is then that you can give nonprofit sponsors the counsel and technical assistance they need. It is then also that you can maintain controls that will keep out the unscrupulous few who might seek to exploit the program. I want you to give the highest priority to whatever steps are necessary to maintain a system of assistance and surveillance. I shall continue to follow the rent supplement program with keen interest. LYNDON B. JOHNSON NOTE: On the same day the White House made public Secretary Weaver's report on the progress of the rent supplement program following the first 6 weeks of its operation. The report stated that as of June 30, 1966, preliminary reservations had been made for "91 projects involving 8,416 units and some $5.5 million." An attached table set forth the location of the reservations by cities and States. The report further stated that two-thirds of the 91 projects would be under nonprofit sponsorship. Among the sponsors listed were 26 religious bodies, 14 fraternal organizations, 14 "public interest groups," 3 labor unions, and 3 "miscellaneous." Secretary Weaver's report continued as follows: "As you know, there has been a great deal of criticism of public housing on the ground that it tends to create massive institutional concentrations of low-income shelter. Under the rent supplement program, as it has developed to date, there is no indication of a similar trend. As a matter of fact, the largest project is one sponsored by the House 345 Service for Aging, Inc., in Ossining, New York, and it will have 240 units. There are eight other projects of 200 units and 13 projects of 100-200 units. The remainder are of smaller size." The full text of Secretary Weaver's report and the attached table is published in the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents (vol. 2, p. 967). Remarks at the Dedication of the AMVETS National Mr. Speaker, Commander Hall, Senator Last week I met for the first time in the White House the son of a friend of minean Army colonel-who died in 1942 when enemy fire brought down his plane in the Pacific. A stroke of fate had kept me from boarding the same aircraft with him on that day, June 9, 1942, in New Guinea. As I shook hands in the State Dining Room with the Army captain who is now an instructor at West Point, and who was only 6 years old when his father-that colonelperished, I was vividly reminded of how easily we forget that others have died in our place. But they have-as an occasion such as this reminds us. We have come here this morning to dedicate a building they have already dedicated for us. We ought to ask ourselves: What obligation do we have to their sacrifice? What must we do to guarantee that they did not die and they did not suffer without reason. For my part, I think I know. It is to hasten the day when war is no longer the arbiter among nations. The most cruel irony I know is that men require force to serve peace. Three times this century others have chosen war, forcing us to choose the same course. for it. Men went off to seek peace by dying They did not want to die. They were young and they were brave and they were full of life and they had things to do. But they did die because some men thought war was the way to take over part of this world. The whole world could watch the Kaiser's troops marching across Belgium. The whole world could see Hitler's tanks sweeping through Poland. And the whole world could see the Communist army of North Korea hammering south toward Seoul. In each case, aggression was open, was obvious, and was swift. In each case, the valor of Americans helped stop in their tracks the would-be conquerors. And what they achieved was not achieved in vain. Every nation from the Irish Sea to the Sea of Japan owes a great deal to these Americans who died in battle for their freedom and for ours. But that great final hope was not realized. Peace came, but it was not kept. And now some have chosen another form of war to take what belonged to others. They turned to aggression by infiltration and by terror. This kind of aggression is like poisoning a well, drop by drop, until the water becomes fatal to those who drink it. It is a grenade that is thrown from a rooftop into a crowded marketplace. It is a time-bomb that is put |