 Mr. President, there's a most happy occasion for all of us who are assembled here today. You follow in the steps of a number of distinguished presidents in being personally involved in the affairs of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Since first discussing the goals and objectives of this commission with Secretary Watt some months ago, I have spent endless hours studying this most fascinating history of immigration through the Ellis Island station, which goes back to its opening on January 1, 1892. I must say, Mr. President, that I thought I was a pretty good student of American history, but I sure didn't learn in school of the rich history of such a tiny island. I have tried to capture this very important part of our past through a pictorial history and essay of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, the spirit of people who came from distant lands in search of hope and freedom, which remains in all Americans today. I would like to share these vignettes of our past with you and would like to accept the book which we have created. It is a beginning of a commitment more important by all of the distinguished members of this new commission and the American people to restore and rehabilitate the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island so that we and generations to come can visit these two tiny islands in New York Harbor to share the experiences of the millions of people who helped make America great. And also, Mr. President, I have another presentation on behalf of the Statue of Liberty Ellis Island Centennial Commission. And because of Peter Max's generosity, where are you, Peter? Here he is, the talented artist. I'm asking you to accept on behalf of the American people painting number one in the series of six paintings of Statue of Liberty, which Peter painted last year at your fourth of July party on the White House lawn, and it's this one. Well, I'm very proud to accept that on behalf of the people of the United States, my landlords. Well, good afternoon. And today we're launching, as you well know, a commission whose task will be the rehabilitation of one of our most cherished symbols of liberty. Much has been said over the years about the diversity of the American people and the vitality and resilience of the American character. Well, that character isn't centered around any one religious denomination. For in our country, there are many religions. Everyone has a right to worship God as he or she chooses. It isn't based on any one ethnic group or race. For our people come in all shades and shapes, and we remain dedicated to the proposition that all of them are created equal. I've found out in my present capacity now that I love to tell jokes now and then, but I almost restricted to Irish jokes. I can't stray for fear of some misunderstanding. But our national character is based on a common identity with a single ideal, a shared value that overcomes our differences and unites us as a people. What has made us a nation is our love of liberty and our realization that we're part of a great historic venture, an experiment in freedom to test the ability of people to live together in freedom, respecting the rights of others and expecting that their rights in turn will be respected. I've said on a number of occasions that I can't help but believe, you can call it mysticism if you will, that God must have placed this land here between the oceans to be found by a certain kind of people and a kind only in one thing, that whatever corner of the world they came from, they had the courage and the desire for freedom that went with it to uproot themselves and come to this strange land to be getting back when it was the most underdeveloped land in the world and come here leaving family and come to a strange language and everything that went with that kind of a move. I think our vision of liberty is reinforced by shared symbols and experiences. Perhaps the strongest image of them all is the one that four millions of Americans was their first glimpse of America, that statue of liberty. The turn of the century, America was blessed with an influx of new immigrants who became citizens and played a significant role in building our country and protecting our freedom. Most of them entered under the shadow of the statue and were processed into the United States, as we know through Ellis Island. Between 1892 and its closing in 1954, Ellis Island was the clearing house for millions of immigrants. Many who passed through the gates at Ellis Island had little more than what they carried with them, yet they possessed a determination that with hard work and freedom they would live a better life and their children even more so. They were captured to the American dream and both they and their new country were the better for their efforts and their faith because they not only came here for something but just as they came from every corner of the world, they brought something from every corner of the world to this great melting pot and maybe in so doing they proved how artificial are the prejudices and the hatreds that exist in the world because we prove that we can all mix and I don't know to this day one of the first questions you usually ask when you make friends with someone is what is their ancestry, what country, and it used to be that they'd say Irish or German or French or whatever and now they have to say three or four names because they've mixed, in fact I've got three in mind, Irish, English and Scotch and our children are going to add a fourth, they have another country now but today we declare that no longer functioning as it is the Ellis Island as a processing center, its contribution is not over, remains a unifying memory for millions of our citizens. Our goal is to restore Ellis Island in time for the celebration of the centennial of the Statue of Liberty beginning on July 4th, 1984. I might add one note, the Statue of Liberty was built with funds contributed by people from all over France, its base was constructed in part with contributions from American school children. Restoring Ellis Island, another monument to our freedom is worthy of the same kind of heartfelt voluntary effort. Both the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island can help us all remember how great will we should be to live in this land of freedom and goodwill. You know, I know that there's one here, have you already told them? Lee's parents came to this country in search of that kind of opportunity through Ellis Island and he certainly has proven what America has to offer for those immigrants or for the sons and the daughters of them. So now I just thank you all for being here with us today to help launch this campaign. Thank you very much. I bless you all. When I introduced the other members of the commission, I failed to have them stand up. Would you stand up and I'm not sure where you are. The other members of the commission that have been appointed and if Mr. President, I'd like these men that agree to serve on the president's commission come forward. I'd like to introduce the presidency and we'll catch him before he gets out. If I could ask you men to come over here and leave, you'll join us. Mr. President, thank you very much. And you've met Peter, I guess, and here are the other members of the commission. Philip Black is the president. Thank you. Thank you very much. Well, I think we're all grateful to these gentlemen that are going to take on this task. And I know that we'll get it done. And they told me now that I had to leave and go back to work.