ideas. You have been giving us your domestic philosophy. Recently, you have been giving a number of foreign policy speeches looking far ahead, the two yesterday, the one on long-range China, the OAS speech, and so forth. Do these add up to an effort on your part to lay down a basic philosophy for what might be called the next chapter ahead in world affairs? THE PRESIDENT. No. I hadn't recognized them as being a new effort. What I said, really, yesterday at the reactor was what I said the first week I was President when I started writing to Mr. Khrushchev-as I tried to point out. There have been some developments since then. I summarized them yesterday to try to keep them in perspective because I am afraid unless a President does go back and repeat and remind and point up those things, that you may get more concerned with when the airline strike is going to be over than you are with our relations with the Soviet Union. The Denver speech was an elaboration, perhaps, and a freshening up of what I said in the speech I made as a young Congressman on the floor of the House on our relations with other nations when we had the Truman doctrine pending. At that time I said that we should have a domestic policy and people abroad should judge our foreign policy by what we are doing at home. That is not anything revolutionary or new, but it does represent my philosophyand I tried to state it. I thought that was a proper audience. We are very proud of the fact that the largest support we have in the country is the young age group between 21 and 29. Our support there, according to all the samples. or tests, is up in the high 60's. I make it a point every week to have a series of contacts with them. They may be young teachers, Peace Corps groups, White House Scholars, Presidential Scholars, White House aides-some of the young groups. I think I had two meetings last week with them. I purposely picked out the university for that purpose. I wanted to repeat it to some of them who may not have been thinking about what I was saying in 1964, or 1934, about my views on these subjects. I think it is very important for the Communist Chinese, the Russians, the North Vietnamese to know this-as I tried to say in my press conference the other day. We now have exhaustive studies going on as to how we can take these instruments that we have used to deter aggression in South Vietnam for peaceful purposes. That is what we are using that reactor out there for-the one we went to yesterday. That is what we want to use Da Nang base for. We have men asking, “What can we do when we have Da Nang air base available as an instrument for social justice and an increased standard of living?" I read a long memorandum on that coming home on the plane last night. We are hopeful for the future and that was part of the purpose of the speech yesterday in Denver. THE NEED FOR UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN NATIONS [13.] Q. Your statement concerning the Soviet Union appeared to some of us as a restatement by you of the critical need for the two superpowers of the world to understand one another. I wonder if you could say what made you feel that this was essential, or if you feel that there is really a hopeful prospect for this. THE PRESIDENT. I have always felt it es That is a difficulty we have with the Communists when we try to get them to let newspapermen go into China. They refuse it and refuse to let us send them some of our exchange people. This even happens to the Soviet Union. They stop them in Tokyo. That is notwithstanding the fact that I renewed the cultural exchange agreement. That is why I suggested the space discussions. I went to the United Nations in Eisenhower's administration to make a similar suggestion. This year I thought maybe we could have a hope of a treaty with Russia. I made our proposal. They came along some months later and made somewhat substantially the same proposal. We do think that one of our great weaknesses in the world is the inadequate understanding. I think one of our problems is you don't understand my motivations and I don't understand yours, even though we work close together every day. I think it is going to take a lot of explaining for the Russians to see what is truly in our hearts, because it is so different from what they really believe. The same thing is true of China and North Vietnam. When they do understand, I don't think we will have as much trouble. So I am doing all I can to open up these things, to have newspaper people visit them. Look at some of the visas we have approved for people to go there. 16 Address "Peace Without Conquest" at Johns Hopkins University, April 7, 1965 (see 1965 volume, this series, Book I, Item 172). We would like to see people go into Red China. We would like for some of them to come in here. I have gone into that in other areas. I tried to touch on that when I talked about our interests in the Pacific in my television speech that Mr. Fulbright 17 pointed out might have involved new commitments. It doesn't. We have no new commitments. We made that clear to him. I have no desire to make any commitment by implication, or otherwise, without the approval of Congress-as I showed you before I sent the planes and Marines into North Vietnam. I got that resolution from the Congress on resisting aggression. All I am saying is that we do have commitments and obligations out there already. I am trying to make those people see that we are not a big, bad wolf, who is going to eat them up. We ought to find a better way in the world to live together, rather than just shooting off people's heads and cutting their throats. PROBLEMS OF A PRESIDENT'S WIFE [14.] Q. Mrs. Johnson, what are you going to have for dinner tonight? Q. What did you give the President for his birthday, Mrs. Johnson? MRS. JOHNSON. The present is not a secret, but it is not something that I am going to talk about. As for what we are going to have for dinner, we are going to have barbecue, western-style beans-because they are expandable and, as you have heard, my husband has a habit of adding a few extra people-a couple of birthday cakes, and some homemade peach ice cream, which is one of our favorites here. Q. What has your job been as a political 17 Senator J. W. Fulbright of Arkansas, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. wife over the last 30 years. MRS. JOHNSON. That is a large question. I guess it has been sharing all of my husband's experiences and learning about our country. If I may, I would like to add a sentence or two about what a trip like yesterday's means. I think it is something like this: You come back with an enormous appreciation of the lusty vitality of this country. Did any of you ride in that helicopter over Idaho and look down? It looked like beautiful, lush, green patches and right next to it was a slot that looked like the landscape of the moon. It was as if a giant pin had been drawn across the land dividing it. The difference was water. That is one of our big problems. It is far from solved, but as long as it is there waiting for you, anybody in public life can't help but just get excited about it and you are bound to be hopeful about man's ability. Then you go to that reactor plant. It is very hard for me to understand anything about atomic science. But I can understand a light bulb. There you see the great possibilities for power that that opens up. My husband has talked at length about what we saw in Denver, but something else was registering about every step of the way as we rode along several big boulevards with their gorgeous green median strips, bordered by great trees, and with brilliant flowers-all so well kept. I was thinking that somebody loved this town and gave it a long lead time in planning it. Maybe they are not even around now, but their children are-just as ours will be 30 years from now for the plans that we need to make for the future of our cities. You have no idea how delighted I was when we got out of the car and the first thing you (turning to the President) said to me was, "Isn't this the prettiest city you ever saw?" I was pleased you were thinking along the same lines, because what happens to our cities is at the top of the list of problems. Q. Mrs. Johnson, are you planning any trips of your own this fall? MRS. JOHNSON. I think mostly I will just go with him. I do have one or two that I want very much to take. THE PRESIDENT'S CLOSING REMARKS [15.] THE PRESIDENT. I would like to point out one thing that the publishers pointed out to me yesterday. They told me that when Denver was born there was no grass growing in the area, there was not a tree present. They said that all of that was manmade. Man brought in the grass, the trees, the water, the fertilizer that led to the beautiful scenery we saw. That is what can be done with that kind of an area. We saw the same sort of thing in Idaho. One of the deepest interests that I have had in the legislative field has been in the field of space, as you know. I had the Sputnik hearings, the investigation where we wrote the first space bill, the selection of the Administrator, and so forth. I never had a chance to go to Idaho. I shall always be deeply in debt to Joe Martin.18 He appointed me as a member of the House on the Joint Atomic Energy Committee. I sat next to Senator Vandenberg all during my period of service on the committee. I remember how he presented his deepest thoughts on the effect of the atom on international relationships. He was always making excellent doodles. When he would leave the room I would go over, pick them up, and put them in a little case. I have some of them framed now. When I left the House to become a Senator, the first thing I shot for was the Atomic Energy Committee. When I became the leader I had to give it up. Senator Pastore didn't have a major committee and the only way to give him one was to give him one of my own. I did give up that one and now he is the ranking member of that committee. I said in Idaho exactly what I said in Llano. We had a river washing any number of people into the Gulf. We put in six dams there. Now we have irrigation and beautiful crops, and a pretty recreation area where poor people can enjoy themselves. I can remember in Llano when you could buy a thousand acres for $500. Recently I saw a green spot and asked how much it was worth. I was told $1,400 an acre. The same thing has happened here. The land has gone from $200 to $600 an acre. The reason is water. Man made the land in Llano 100 times more valuable, because of those dams. Everybody in this country fought them. We had a big public investigation saying that I caused a manmade flood because we tried to build them. The power companies tried to keep us from building them. Bob 19 will remember, because in those days we had that Senate investigation. We saw what can be done. We had done it here and we are trying to do it in other places. Merriman Smith, United Press International: Thank you. NOTE: President Johnson's seventy-first news conference was held in the living room at the LBJ Ranch, Johnson City, Texas, at 11:15 a.m. on Saturday, August 27, 1966. 19 Robert E. Baskin of the Dallas Morning News. 418 Remarks by Telephone to the Members of the Western States Democratic Conference. August 27, 1966 YESTERDAY Mrs. Johnson and I traveled west from Washington, along with a number of Congressmen and Governors, to visit the atomic reactor testing station in Idaho, one of our leading universities in Denver, and a promising new industrial development in Oklahoma. We saw in a few hours three of the basic elements of the American West of 1966: -One was the powerful influence of modern science. -Another was the advancement of education and its meaning to all human progress. -The third was the growth of industry with its new jobs and new dollars, made possible in part by the wise stewardship of our natural resources. I wish my schedule had been flexible enough to stop off in Glacier Park and attend the Western States Democratic Conference. Then I would have seen two more vital elements of this great section of America: --a spectacular national playground and scenic wonder; -and perhaps the most important of all, the men and women whose leadership gives life and meaning to all of these other things. Since I couldn't be with you in person, I'm grateful for this opportunity to greet you by telephone and wish you well in your good work. The 89th Congress will soon become history-and what a bright chapter in history it will be. It has passed more landmark legislation. than any other Congress-the elementary and secondary education act, the higher education act, voting rights, Medicare, traffic safety, and many more. So I want to thank you for helping elect a wise and responsible Congress to carry forward the program of the Great Society. I know your efforts this year will be just as effective. But I am mindful that no Congress and no President can solve all of the problems of 20th century America. A great segment of our leadership resides in the States-in your Governors and legislatures and in those of you who guide the policies of our party. So much of what we do requires the closest cooperation and mutual respect among all levels of government. We cannot be satisfied until our air is clean and all of our rivers, lakes, and bays are free of pollution. We cannot be satisfied until all of our streets and neighborhoods are safe from crime. We cannot be satisfied until all of our people have equal rights, and as good an education as they can get, and enough medi cal care, and decent homes and good jobs. Your communities and States have very heavy responsibilities in accomplishing these objectives. No country on earth has ever had more freedom, greater wealth, or a higher standard of living for so many people. The fact that we are still not satisfiedthat we are still concerned about those who do not yet share in these advantages-is, to me, the mark of a noble people. I deeply appreciate your support of this administration's program. I am especially grateful that you would depart from your regular business to give us encouragement in our policies in Southeast Asia. Please continue to give us your wise counsel and strong leadership in the coming weeks and months. Know that we value your work, and know that the time and energy you devote to the Democratic Party are important contributions to your country. NOTE: The President spoke at 1:30 p.m. by telephone from the LBJ Ranch at Johnson City, Texas, to the 13-State conference of Western Democratic leaders meeting in Glacier National Park, Mont. During his remarks he referred to a resolution, passed unanimously by the conference, expressing support for the President's efforts to secure a peaceful settlement of the Vietnam conflict. As printed above, this item follows the text released by the White House Press Office. 419 Statement by the President in Response to President Truman's Statement on the Effect of Rising Interest Rates. PRESIDENT TRUMAN, in his usual forthright manner, has spoken out against the rapid escalation in interest rates. As I said in December, and have repeated several times since, I, too, am concerned about the interest rate rise and what it means August 29, 1966 to many Americans. However, I cannot agree with President Truman that our economy is in danger of recession or depression. The tightness of money mainly reflects the extreme buoyancy of our economy and |