 Today, as throughout our history, we bear faithful responsibilities in the world. In times past, it has often been our strength and our resolve, which have tipped the scales of conflict against aggressors, or would-be aggressors. That role has never been an easy one. This has always required not only strength, but patience and sacrifice, the tragic price that we pay for our commitment to ideals. Ushered in by some of the fiercest fighting of the war, the month of May brought American forces in South Vietnam some of their heaviest casualties of the year. Debate at home and abroad focused on Southeast Asia, yet no sign of willingness to seek an end to the bloody impasse came out of North Vietnam. Soon, all debate and attention would shift to another impasse on the deserts of the Middle East. The month of May would close with President Johnson's and the world's determination to avoid new aggressions between nations. His attention is often forced on problems abroad, yet Lyndon B. Johnson desires, perhaps more fervently than any other president, to leave with the American people a new and greater quality in their society. A noon ceremony on May 1st added further substance to this desire. There is still much more to be done, and Betty Furness has agreed to help us do it. These efforts may not seem so dramatic as many great foreign and domestic programs that we have had, but they are, I think, absolutely vital to the health and safety and to the security of the American family. Mrs. Furness was appointed Special Assistant for Consumer Affairs and Chairman of the President's Committee on Consumer Interest. Recognizing that every American is a consumer, President Johnson brought consumer representation into the highest levels of government. Also represented in the highest level of government that evening were the nation's youth. Under a program originated in 1964 by President Johnson, academically selected youths will serve one year throughout the top echelons of government as White House fellows. We must guard every man's right to speak, but we must also defend every man's right to answer. Your generation may, at times, feel a sense of outrage, for it, like every other generation, is inheriting a world with numerous problems that are yet to be solved. A young American who engaged one of those problems yet to be solved was honored the next afternoon. Staff Sergeant Peter S. Connor was awarded posthumously the Medal of Honor. The following afternoon, the President met the men who call young Americans into the armed forces, the State Directors of the Selective Service. By executive order, he expanded appeal procedures and provided more detailed explanations of individual rights under the system. He also established a task force to seek overall improvement of the system. Selective service, as you know, has been an essential part of our nation's security system, and a part of the system security for the free world. It's been that for more than a generation, and it still is as we meet here in the Rose Garden this afternoon. The system was founded on the conviction that qualified men should share equally the responsibilities of service. The principal fairness must prevail, particularly at a time when only some are called upon, as they are today, to fight to defend our freedom. When asked about young people being urged to ignore their draft call, the President expressed the nation's sentiment by saying, we regret when any person asked the young people of the country to refuse to serve what we believe to be the needs of the country. At a dinner that evening, some 1,200 persons, led by President Johnson, paid honor and homage to an American who has answered the call to serve a state and country for over 40 years. Speaker McCormick came to the House of Representatives 39 years ago. He is now serving his 20th term. And if ever an American could say with pride that his life had been devoted to the creative use of politics, that American is John W. McCormick. Look at the record just over the past 22 years since World War II alone. The Marshall Bill, the NATO, and highway construction, the space program, and food for peace, the GI Bill, the aid to education, Medicare, the war on poverty. That is what politics is. That is what politics does. That is the living memorial and the living record of John W. McCormick of Massachusetts. Early in the week, President Johnson signed legislation extending a no-strike period and a current rail dispute. Throughout frequent meetings with his Labor Management Policy Council, he continued to sequent equitable solution to the problem. On May 4th, the President submitted to Congress a proposal, soon to be criticized by the disputants, which hopefully would bridge the gap of disagreement while preserving traditional collective bargaining processes. Following the overriding public interest in averting a nationwide rail tie-up, he recommended a special Board of Labor, Management, and Public Members to intensively mediate the issues. One of the more compelling reasons for settlement was expressed by an opponent of the war in Vietnam when he said, the war is taking place and men are dying in it, and shipments to those men must not be upset. That evening, the White House moved to the LBJ Ranch in Texas, where the President spent a working weekend clearing off the busiest desk in the nation. Saturday afternoon, the 6th, the first family attended ceremonies at the Austin, Texas, municipal auditorium honoring former Mayor Tom Miller. He was the champion of Negro's rights in this city when no other man would really take the leadership and speak up for him. In the field of conservation and health, in the field of education and health, in the field of all that concerned his people, this man gave all that he had. An early associate and longtime family friend, the late Mayor Miller and young Lyndon Johnson pioneered progressive programs in Texas. The following Monday, President Johnson told a Washington conference on women in the war on poverty that the dimensions of poverty are not new. He emphasized that what is new is the all-out efforts to break poverty's grip on millions of Americans. These efforts are epitomized in his latest budget request. If Congress approves, under his administration, the government will be adding to the economy two-and-one-half times more for social programs than was spent in the early 60s. He answered those hesitant about massive anti-poverty programs. They cannot logically oppose the effects of poverty, he said, and at the same time resist the efforts to eliminate poverty, dedicated to his goal that every American will have the opportunity to be a productive, responsible citizen in the society. President Johnson, possibly more than any other American, is convinced that poverty must and can be cured in America. The Clark School for the Deaf of Northampton, Massachusetts represents a 100-year effort to alleviate human afflictions. On the morning of May 9th, President Johnson met United States Senator Edward Rook and seven students from Clark in the White House. He was presented mementos of the school's centennial anniversary. Clark is one of the oldest schools of its kind in the country. Madam C.K. Yen of the Republic of China. A world-renowned economist, Yen has played a leading role in the economic success of Taiwan, a success that permitted President Johnson to announce in 1965 that free China no longer needed American economic assistance. I'm delighted that you and Ms. Yen could be with us, both for personal reason, and for cause your presence is symbolic of a long and cherished bond between our two people. But our alliance goes far deeper. It is an alliance that's been tested in time of war. It's been tempered by our struggle against forces that would have wished to destroy both of us. Mr. Yen reaffirmed the Chinese people's ancient affection for America. He also paid special tribute to President Johnson's war on poverty. He proposed that it be the model for a universal program to relieve the poverty of almost three billion peoples of the world. President Johnson told Yen that China's total progress as a free nation sets an example of hope for all countries around the world. But the Republic of China has gone far beyond any selfish concern with its own fortunes. You have helped many other countries to help themselves. As valiant soldiers in the war against hunger and want, the war on which the future of civilization really depends, farmers and technicians from Taiwan have traveled to other countries and other continents to offer their health and their knowledge and their technical ability to less fortunate peoples. That night, President Johnson was welcomed to the annual Democratic Congressional Dinner honoring the congressmen and senators of his party. These men, representing almost 200 million Americans and the president, reaffirmed their pledge of continued service to American society. All are convinced that their party is the instrument through which the American people can best manage their government. President Johnson talked about what it means to him to be leader of his party. It has been our proud task to take a set of aspirations and then bring them home to reality. We have seen the great abstractions, education and health and conservation begin to come true. We have seen them translated into happier lives. That is what justifies the life of a legislator and the life of an executive and the life of a man that's proud to call himself a Democrat. One of those abstractions brought to reality was self-evident at the Geneva-Switcherland-Kennedy-Round trade negotiations. In a healthy spirit of cooperation, some 53 nations reached general agreements to reduce by one-third thousands of tariffs. Ambassador William Roth, Chief United States Negotiator, reported to President Johnson that the major issues had been resolved. Details were being put into concrete form by the end of June for the final approval of the governments involved. This extensive removal of tariff barriers will affect billions of dollars in American commerce in free world trade. President Johnson hopes that the economic benefits of greatly stimulated American and world trade expansion will become one of the major accomplishments of his administration. As only he can use it to get things done, President Johnson is certainly the most extensive telephone user to occupy the White House. It was a fitting ceremony on May 11th when he was presented a golden telephone commemorating America's 100 millionth telephone. He is a man who knows the value of quick communications. Literally thousands of calls weekly emanate from his offices, many made personally, to every corner of the earth. Or, as in this case, a conference call with some of the nation's governors. The nation's governors were again the President's main interest on May 15th at Hartford, Connecticut. The New England Governor's Conference was one of a growing number of sessions with the state leaders. An innovation of his administration, these working conferences are unique in seeking closer federal state partnership. I want to hear about the problems that exist between us. We all know that the strength of the union is the strength of the states. And we all know that every man at this table wants his state to enjoy peace and the maximum amount of prosperity and the maximum amount of advancement. My job is to work with you in obtaining those goals. Frequently his role is to listen and to learn, then to decide which of the many urgent problems shall have priority. The President, the governors and their aides too often must resolve problems whose solutions are long overdue. Now, why couldn't we today agree who the representatives of the federal government would be in dealing with this problem, the technicians, and the EU appoint similar ones and have them come to Washington and say, what do we do, what are the possibilities, what are the alternatives, and explore them, and then look at it. It may be we have existing authority, maybe you have to go to your legislatures, maybe we have to go to commerce, but we at least have a technical group there that would be working. We have that machinery, Mr. President, could meet with any time you want. What about that? I too will have a meeting the third of the morning. And you'll have the federal people there, and I'll be the chairman of that range to get together. That would be a major legal problem. Let's get some major solutions, but I don't want to leave. There's plenty of problems. Together, Lyndon Johnson hopes the governors and the president can improve state and federal programs. Together they can hasten solution of the many problems facing the states and their cities. Their mandate, he believes, is to improve the quality of American life. Three years, we're doing three times as much as we were doing three years ago, and this year we're doing more than spent on in all the history. Now, you can't measure things just for the money you spend, but it is coming through your local school boards and your state boards. Now, what more wonderful thing can a governor do, or a president do, or a governor also, or any human do, than to take the young and the old and try to make them live better and longer? Federal-state cooperation was furthered on May 19. President Johnson signed a bill providing federal participation in construction of a prototype nuclear desalting plant off the coast of California. The urgency of water problems is clear. In America alone, water consumption is increasing at the rate of 25,000 gallons per minute. Today, we begin the greatest effort in man's history to produce water and electric power from the sea. This plant alone will not suddenly and overnight make our deserts bloom. It does point to the day when lands now dry and empty will sustain life and will feed the people of the world. Yet from those seas he wished to harness to serve humanity came incidents dangerous to world peace. The collision of Russian and American warships in the Sea of Japan brought new waves of tension. On the deserts he hoped someday will bloom, armies were preparing for battle over the threatened closing of an international waterway. President Johnson turned to the hard fact that possible new aggressions were on the rise. Still, on the morning of May 23rd at the International Water for Peace Conference, President Johnson continued to urge all nations to help each other in solving their common problems rather than fight. He pledged America's total resources to new and greater programs of international cooperation for water resource development. As man faces the next century, one question stands above all others. How well and how long can the earth sustain its ever-growing population? As much as anything, water holds the key to that simple question. Our ages past, men have fought wars over water and without adding one single drop to the world's water supply. But that afternoon peace was brushed aside when threatened blockade became a reality. That evening President Johnson went before the country and the world to talk about conflict in the Middle East. In recent days tension has again risen along the armistice line between Israel and the Arab states. We deplore the recent buildup of military forces and we believe it a matter of urgent importance to reduce the troop concentration. Closing of the Gulf of Acreba to Israel's shipping has brought a new and a very grave dimension to the crisis. The United States considers the Gulf to be an international waterway, the right of free, innocent passage of the international waterway is a vital interest of the entire international community. We have always opposed the efforts of other nations to resolve their problems with their neighbors by the aggression route. We shall continue to do so. And tonight we appeal to all other peace-loving nations to do likewise. President Johnson led the world's hope that fighting could be avoided. The efforts and appeals for peace were made by his diplomats and emissaries who roamed the globe seeing the statesmen of the world. His message helped find ways to end a confrontation that could lead to world conflagration. On May 25th, personally leading one such effort, the President visited Canada and Prime Minister Pearson. The Prime Minister was an architect of the peace following the 1956 Sinai War. They consulted on the threats and danger local war held for the world. They consulted on ways to seek and keep peace. President Johnson later termed the meeting very agreeable and constructive and characterized the Prime Minister as a distinguished citizen of the world. He expressed his hopes for world stability when he complimented Canada's Expo 67. We of the United States of America consider ourselves blessed. We have much to give thanks for. But the gift of providence that we really cherish is that we were given as our neighbors. On this great wonderful continent, the people and the nation of Canada, you have focused the eyes of the world on the theme of your exhibition. And we hope that among the other lessons to be learned here will be this. That proud and independent peoples can live peacefully side by side, can live in peace and partnership as good neighbors, that they need not waste their substance and destroy their green with useless quarrels and senseless, unconstructive conflict. But unconstructive conflict, the destroyer of man's brightest hopes too often prevails among men. A beloved and respected American who recognized this fact was honored on May 27. Like President Johnson, he realized America's freedom calls not only for good will but also strength for protection from aggression. Next year, 5,000 Americans will put to sea in this giant ship that's named John F. Kennedy. This is the third carrier since the end of the Second World War to bear the name of a man. Its only companions are named for Franklin Delano Roosevelt and James B. Forestall. Each of them understood that whatever the risk, men must defend freedom, the leaven in the bread of life that alone makes true peace possible. Each of them believed in John Kennedy's moving words, it is the fate of this generation to live with the struggle that we did not start in a world that we did not make. And while no nation has ever been faced with such a challenge, no nation has ever been so ready to seize the burden and the glory of freedom. Here 2,000 and beyond, this majestic ship that we christen here today may still be sailing the oceans of the world. We pray that her years will be years of peace. But if she must fight, both the flag she flies and the name she bears will carry a profound message to friend and to foe alike. But the message is to this man who sought peace increasingly warned of conflict. Events in the lands of the birthplace of civilization more than ever signaled war. His determination for peace wrapped in a mantle of patience, he sought brief respite among family and friends in the land of Pittsburgh. For the leader of the free world, the anxious days of May drew to a close. When Johnson returned to Washington on May 31st, his attention was now to focus on an impasse in the Middle East. May ended with the world and President Lyndon B. Johnson determined to avoid new aggressions between nations. In times past, it has often been our strength and our resolve which have tipped the scales of conflict against aggressors or would-be aggressors. The role has never been an easy one. It has always required not only strength, but patience. The incredible courage to wait for waiting is appropriate. To avoid disastrous results, to shortcut history.