 friends, and fellow Colombians. T sterling, vector of scent, abyssable church will give the invocation. Almighty God who has given us this good land for our heritage, we humbly beseech thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of thy favor and glad to do thy will. Bless our land with honorable industry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion, from pride in arrogance and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. End you with a spirit of wisdom, those to whom in thy name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that through obedience to thy law we may show forth thy praise among the nations of the earth. In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble suffer not our trust in leader fail. Bless and protect these I servants, the wife of the President of our country, and all who are company heard on this journey. Crown their endeavor with success, and this we ask in Christ's name. Amen. It is my extreme pleasure at this time to present to you His Excellency, the Governor of South Carolina, Donald S. Russell. Mr. Mayor, let me say this at the beginning. I am proud to be Governor of South Carolina, because South Carolinians are men and women of good manners and hospitality. And I trust there will be no misguided souls in this audience today who by their conduct will reflect discredit upon the name of this great state. It is my very great pleasure now to introduce to you those of us who are accompanying this trip to South Carolina. First of all, I would like to introduce a friend of ours from our sister state of North Carolina, the distinguished Secretary of Commerce and the former Governor of North Carolina, the Honorable Luther Hodges. So pleased and happy to have with us one of the truly distinguished members of the House of Representatives of the United States, the Majority Whip, and as I say, one of the outstanding members of the Congress of the United States, the Honorable Hale Pogs of Louisiana. Many people have said that the only reason I'm Governor of South Carolina is because of the wife that I have. How I would have gained appeal to those of you who are conducting yourselves in a way that does not reflect credit upon our state to permit us to proceed with this meeting. One of the reasons that I think it can be said that the Honorable Hale Pogs is in Congress is because of the sweet and charming wife that he has, Ms. Hale Pogs, and it is a particular pleasure for me to introduce to you Linda Pogs, who's had so much to do with the success of this meeting. All South Carolina, we've long been proud of the family that if anything happens to me would succeed to the helm in this state. The Honorable Robert McNair and his lovely wife, two of the fine citizens of South Carolina. We have been particularly fortunate in this campaign to have one who has unhesitatingly and unstinningly stood and expressed himself in the cause of democracy, and I refer to our distinguished State Chairman, the Honorable Nancy McLeod. No meeting of South Carolina Democrats would be complete without having present in this meeting the distinguished senior citizen, South Carolina's Democrat of Democrats, and his lovely and beloved wife, the Honorable Senator Olin D. Johnson and Ms. Johnson. And at this time, we would be happy to extend the floor to the distinguished senior senator from South Carolina. Mr. Russell, all the distinguished guests and fellow Democrats, I'm proud to have the privilege to come into South Carolina and tell the people here what I believe is for the best generous of all the people of South Carolina. And Johnson, all the way today into my state and your state, into South Carolina, the first lady of the United States, now that they're coming to South Carolina, Democrat from South Carolina, then what else? Senator Johnson gives for me a great honor for our state to be able to introduce to this audience a beloved, a woman of great charm, a woman of deep compassion, the helpmate of the distinguished and able President of the United States. I know no one more incapable of a boo than Ms. Lyndon Johnson, for within her is that naturalness of spirit, that graciousness of manner that we associate with a true lady. She is a woman of deep character, one that has made her own great contribution. I believe, Senator Johnson, that President Johnson should be re-elected President because he is the best, better qualified candidate. I think also that one of the little special personal reasons that I have is that he has such a sweet and lovable wife. I have never met anyone with more of a naturalness of spirit, more of that real, compassionate kindness than Ms. Lyndon Johnson. For that reason, I am deeply happy today to be able to introduce her to the citizens of South Carolina, my fellow citizens. May I say this to you, Ms. Johnson? 140 years ago, Thomas Jefferson sent his son, grandson, to the University of South Carolina because he said that that was an institution where one could be a Democrat. And I am convinced, I am convinced that that same spirit lives today in South Carolina and that come November the 3rd, South Carolina will express for you and your husband their gratitude, their appreciation, their affection, and their love. It is a great honor for me now to present to this audience the distinguished First Lady of the Land, Ms. Lyndon Johnson. Be here in South Carolina. I am very happy to be here in Columbia with Governor and Mrs. Russell and with our old friends, Senator and Mrs. Olen Johnston. Mrs. Russell has been in Washington helping us with this whistle stop. And I have learned something about her. She reminds me of a combination of two well-known Southern heroines from Gone with the Wind. She has all the grace and beauty of Melanie, but she has the efficiency and the business-like capacity of Scarlett O'Hara. And other people are wondering why I made this trip. I want to help my husband. It is most natural for me to go to the part of the United States I know best, from which my ancestors came and which I have visited many times. I am here on behalf of the Democratic Party, the party of your ancestors and mine. As Americans living in today's world, the thing you are most interested in, and I am most interested in, and every mother and father in this crowd cares most about, is a world at peace for ourselves and our children. Peace is the most safe of many stones. Peace is not only the business of people in Washington, our ambassadors abroad. President Eisenhower made an important start in the People to People program. Since that day, there's been a continuing growth of exchange of students, community leaders, mayors, farmers, and businessmen. Through the exchange of ideas and experience among citizens of many nations and many callings, we learn more about our neighbors in the world, and that works toward peace. And finally, you get to the ultimate responsibility in this nuclear age. It is this responsibility for controlling our country's awesome nuclear power. It rests on the president of the United States. In playing our security, he must have a resolute and careful use of our strength, as he did in the Gulf of Tonkin. But he must also take the lead in the search for peaceful solutions of the differences among nations. He has said, the true courage of this nuclear age lies in the quest for peace. And that is the way I feel. Peace and strength are two sides of the same coin. Our husband understands this double task. During his 24 years in Congress, he sat continuously on the committees of the House and Senate, charged with responsibility for maintaining the strength of our armed services. For three years as vice president, he was a member of the National Security Council. Now, for the last 10 months, he has been your commander-in-chief. So you see, he has lived with the problems of American security for a long time. Over the past four years, during this Democratic administration, we have strengthened our defenses by $30 billion over the previous pace. Yet when the test ban treaty was signed exactly a year ago today, no one rejoiced more than the same Lyndon Johnson, who has sat for so many years. This is a country of many viewpoints. And I respect your right to express your own. Now it's my turn to express mine. Thank you. The test ban treaty came at the end of a long, hard path of negotiation. And my husband is proud to have played a part in gaining this measure of safety for the people of the world because it means safety for the children of this generation. But he does not rest content with first steps. He has moves on to explore further responsibilities. He is a man who works for peace as well as hopes of peace. He has summed up his philosophy in these words, and I think it's a good way to put it in a nutshell. We will be firm, but we will always be fair. Our guard is up, but our hand is out. As a Democrat, I know that the South is the home of our party. A man from among us. I do not believe that South Carolina will be leaving home in November.