PRESIDENT JOHNSON'S ADDRESS TO THE NATION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP66B00403R000200160004-7
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 29, 2004
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: August 5, 1964
• Content Type: NSPR

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Address to the patio
The foliviotd is the official text
address to the Nation last night:
My fellow Americans.
As Preside t and Com-
mander in Chief, it is my
duty to the American peo-
ple to report that renewed
hostile actions against U.S.
ships on the high seas in
the Gulf of Tonkin have to-
day required me to order
the military forces of the
United States to take action
in reply.
The initial a t t a c k on
the destroyer Maddox, on
August 2, was repeated to-
day by a number of hostile
vessels attacking two U.S.
destroyers with torpedoes.
The destroyers, and sup-
porting aircraft, acted at
once on the orders I gave
after the initial act of ag-
gression. We believe at least
two of the attacking boats
were sunk. There were no
U.S. losses.
The performance of com-
manders and crews in this
engagement is in the high-
est tradition of the United
States Navy.
But repeated acts of vio-
lence against the armed
forces of the United States
must be met not only with
alert defense, but with posi-
tive reply. That reply is
being given as I speak to
you. Air action is now in
execution against gun boats
and certain supporting fa-
cilities of North Viet-Nam
which have been used in
these hostile operations.
In the larger sense, this
new act of aggression, aimed
directly at our own forces,
again brings home to all of
us in the United States the
Importance of the struggle
for peace and security in
Southeast Asia. Aggression
by terror against the peace-
ful villagers of South Viet-
Nam has now been joined
by open aggression on the
high seas against the United
States of America. The de-
termination of all Americans
to carry out our full com-
mitment to the people and
government of South Viet-
Nam will be redoubled by
this outrage.
Yet our response, for the
present, will be limited and
fitting. We Americans know,
although others appear to
forget, the risks of spread-
ing conflict. We still seek no
wider war.
I have Instructed tht Sec-
retary of State to make this
position totally clear to
friends, to adversaries, and
indeed to all. I have in-
structed Ambassador Steven-
fore the Security Council of
the United Nations.
Finally, I have today met
with the leaders of both par-
ties in the Congress of the
United States, and I have in-
formed them that I shall
immediately request the
Congress to pass a resolu-
tion making it clear that our
Government is united in Its
determination to take all
necessary measures in sup-
port of freedom, and in de-
fense of peace, in Southeast
Asia. I have been given en-
couraging assurance by
these leaders that such a
resolution will be promptly
introduced, freely and ex-
peditiously debated, and
passed with overwhelming
support.
It Is a solemn responsibil-
ity to have to order even
limited military action by
forces whose overall
strength is as vast and as
awesome as those of the
United States of America.
But it is my considered con-
viction, shared throughout
your Government, that firm-
ness in the right is indis-
pensable today for peace.
That firmness will always be
measured. Its mission is
peace.
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD - HOUSE
ment, and be. able to read all blueprints and Free 'Press of Denver, Colo., on August was one of the 1,139 Americans to suffer
engineer's drawings. 27, 1964. Its publisher is Mr. Charles combat wounds. Under leave to extend
to crash damage structural repairs for one-
time flights to a depot, or permanent repairs
away from MAAMA, also major and minor
repairs, T.O.'s and modifications at MAAMA.
T.D.Y, anywhere in any country or cli-
mate. I have been ' stranded 76 days on'
T-3 (Fletchers Ice Island), 200 miles from the
North Pole, to repair a crash-damaged C-124,
which was later flown to the States. I have
also been to Vietnam to modify C-123 spray
model aircraft, and was required to fly on a
spray mission over" the Mekong Delta. I
have also been required to fly to many other
countries on T.D.Y. ` On '1f D.Y. our base pay
remains the same as at Middletown, also,
there isn't any hazard pay when we fly mili-
tary air and our commercial insurance will
not cover us-while on these flights.
In many cases the' mechanic's decision
could mean the loss of a plane or the life
of A 'pilot, or many dollars to the' Air Force.
Recently, 1 made a decision that saved the
Air Force a minimum of $114 million for a
minimum 30-day work stoppage period. If
it would have been more than 30 days the
cost would have been more, due to loss of
time of shipment of jigs to the States and
back to. France.
In regards to' Wage ooard employees, we
are considered semiskilled during a wage-
board survey for pay raises, but we are still
entrusted with aircraft costing up to $21/I
million and more. An automobile mechanic
receives more pay to work on a $3,000 auto-
mobile, and there are not as many lives in-
volvecj. I think the wageboard survey team
should consider ' aircraft personnel as skilled
workers for pay raises, and pay us as such.
The Federal Aviation Agency has very strict
regulations in regard to aircraft mechanics
for commercial airlines and their salaries
are not in line with the Wage Board. Twenty
years ago we were Ws-16-5, but have been
cut to WB-10-3 and do the same work. At
that time, and even later,: we were able to
qualify for GS-7's and 9's, although now we
can't qualify for these grades, as their pay
scale is far above ours. Now we have trouble
qualifying for a GS-5, and that pay scale
is more in line with the W-10's.
I would not want you to take this letter
as one of gripes, but as known facts as I
know them. I have been with the Air Force
for quite some time, as I flew 25 missions dur-
ing World War II, and was recalled to duty
for Korea. I have always taken great pride
in my work, and the Air Force, and I hate
to see the backbone of the Air Force broken,
as the morale of the mechanic is the back-
bone.
If you would wish to talk to me on any of
these items, I would be more than pleased
to do so at any time.
Sincerely yours,
ZANE H, CASSELL.
COLORADO MEDICAL PROGRAM
(Mr. BROTZMAN (at the request of
Mr. BELL) was granted permission to ex-
tend his remarks at this point in the
RECORD and to include extraneous mat-
ter.)
Mr. BROTZMAN. Mr. Speaker, Colo-
rado has a fine medical program for its
elderly. The system is provided for in
the constitution and statutes of our
State; it is tied to the Kerr-Mills Act.
Basic control of the program reposes in
Colorado.
To illustrate the attitude of many in
our State, I would like to insert an edi-
torial which appeared in the Bulletin
E. Bloedorn whose opinions are highly
regarded:
KERR-MILLS
A committee of the House has been con-
sidering ways and means by which the Kerr-
Mills Act-which is the basis of the existing
State-Federal health program for providing
medical aid to the aged and needy-may be
revamped to encourage the States to make
wider use of it.
The social security approach-commonly.
known as medicare simply has failed to gain
substantial public and congressional sup-
port. And there Is every reason why that
should be so.
It takes no account of need or whether the
individual wants or doesn't want the benefits.
Almost every authority is convinced that the
official cost estimates are ridiculously low.
And, above all, it presents the very real
danger of governmental, bureaucratic domi-
nation of the medical arts and institutions.
After all, he who pays the piper calls the
tune.
The Kerr-Mills approach is much sounder.
It places administrative responsibility where
it belongs-within the States, and State offi-
cials should certainly have a better idea of
local problems than a faceless group in far-
o1 Washington.
It offers help where help is needed-not
just because a person has reached a given
age. And, in various instances, the benefits
provided are greater than under medicare.
The changes that may be desirable in Kerr-
Mills are a matter of argument. But the
principle on which Kerr-Mills 14 based is the
TRIBUTE TO U.S. SERVICEMEN
IN VIETNAM
(Mr. SHRIVER (at the request of Mr.
BELL) was granted permission to ex-
tend his remarks at this point in the
RECORD and to include extraneous
matter.)
Mr. SHRIVER. Mr. Speaker, we are
hearing a great deal about peace and
tranquility 'throughout the world from
the administration these days. However,
the situation in southeast Asia is becom-
ing more confusion and puzzling for
American citizens each day. Thousands
of American lives are at stake in Viet-
nam where there certainly is no peace.
The position of the present govern-
ment in Vietnam remains shaky. U.S.
policies and the conduct of the war in
Vietnam must be clarified for the Amer-
ican people.
Mr. Speaker, when American lives are
being. lost, there is no peace. The De-
partment of Defense casualty list, from
January 1, 1961, through. September 14,
1964, reports 193 deaths of American
servicemen in Vietnam. There have been
1,139 Americans who have suffered non-
fatal wounds in the Vietnamese war.
Today I want to pay special tribute to
U.S. Air Force Capt. Roger M. Gibson, of
Wichita, Kans., who is typical of the
courageous Americans fighting with the
South Vietnamese for their freedom
again Communist aggression.
Captain Gibson recently returned to
the United States after a year of fighting
in Vietnam. During that period he flew
162 combat missions attacking the Com-
munist Viet ' Cong guerrilla forces. He
my remarks in the RECORD, I include the
following article written by Frank Garo-
falo, staff writer for the Wichita Beacon,
concerning Captain Gibson's heroism:
VIET VICTORY HOPED BY Ex-WICHITA PILOT
(By Frank Garofalo)
America's combination of military, eco-
nomic, medical, and educational aid will win
the war in South Vietnam.
This is the conclusion of U.S. Air Force
Capt. Roger M. Gibson, who left the trou-
bled Asian country 9 days ago, after a year of
fighting.
The much decorated warrior, who flew 162
combat missions attacking the Communist
Vietcong guerrilla forces, and his wife,
Elisabeth, are here this week visiting an aunt,
Miss Helen Slocum, 159 Circle Drive.
The 29-year-old former Wichita University
student saw several nonmilitary problems
facing the United States in the guerrilla
war:
Bolstering the Vietnamese people's will to
win the war.
Convincing them-mainly the peasant
farmers in outlying jungle villages-that the
democratic government is better than com-
munism.
Convincing the Vietnamese "we are be-
hind them all the way and are going to stick
with them."
"It's going to be a lengthy war," Gibson
said, "but our military, economic, medical,
and educational assistance are the things
that will win."
OTHER NATIONS AID
He said South Vietnamese also are getting
medical support from the Philippines, Japan,
and Thailand. Those nations, he said, have
sent medical teams into the villages.
Militarily, Gibson said, South Vietnamese
and American military forces are definitely
moving toward winning the war.
"It is difficult to explain this type of war.
It's not like World War II, where you knew
who and where the enemy was and you move
across the line to annihilate him.
"Guerrilla tactics are so much different.
The Vietcong operates a lot at night, and
they naturally blend in with the rest of the
people so you can't tell who is Vietcong
and who isn't."
However, Gibson saw a possible break com-
ing for the Government side-the strength-
ening of the Vietcong into a well-organized
army unit.
"Since 1962 the Communists have doubled
their cadre to about 40,000, and their number
of sympathizers has doubled."
This, according to Gibson, is molding the
Vietcong into a well-organized army unit
"that is capable of massing and launching a
major attack on widespread fronts. They
cannot disperse as easily as when they were
in small bands.
"This can be termed an advantage," he
said, "because now we will have army fight-
ing army on the same ground instead of an
organized army (Government forces) fight-
ing small bands of guerrillas."
WOUNDED IN ACTION
Gibson was stationed at Bien Hoa, 25 miles
north of Saigon, with the 1st Air Commando
Squadron. He flew in B-26 attack-bombers
and T-28 single-engine-driven fighters.
He was wounded by shrapnel from auto-
matic weapons ground fire on one mission.
His left leg was hit. He called it "nothing
other than like getting a cut with a knife."
His decorations include Purple Heart, Dis-
tinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Clus-
ter, Bronze Star, and Air Medal with sic
Oak Leaf Clusters.
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Mr. '$peaker, Captain Gibson has ably
expressed confidence that "America's
combination of military, economic, med-
ical, and educational aid will win the war
in South Vietnam."
We would like to share the confidence
demonstrated by Captain Gibson. There
is no doubt that our Nation possesses
the resources, the strength, and the de-
termination to achieve victory -against
any aggressor.
The Congress has passed, and I sup-
ported, the joint resolution which gave
the President authority to "take all nec-
essary steps, including the use of armed
force, to assist any member or protocol
state of the Southeast Asia Collective
Defense Treaty requesting assistance in
defense of its freedom,"
We long have been committed to the
maintenance of international peace and
security in southeast Asia. However, the
administration has failed to provide the
leadership and thus the U.S. position in
southeast Asia Is in doubt.
UNIVERSITY STUDY CRITICAL OF
"GUIDELINES" APPROACH TO
PRICE-WAGE CONTROL
(Mr. CURTIS (at the request of Mr.
BELL) was granted permission to extend
his remarks at this point in the RECORD
and to inelu a extraneous matter.)
Mr. CUR S. Mr. Speaker, two Uni-
versity of Illinois professors recently
published a study of the efforts of a num-
ber of European governments to hold
down wages and prices. The study,
which was based on observations of gov-
ernment policy in Italy, Germany, Bri-
tain, and the Netherlands, concluded
that direct government effortrLbave been
largely ineffective. The application of
indirect measures, through monetary
and fiscal policy, is considered to be more
effective.
Although the study focuses upon pol-
icy in European countries, the findings
have relevance to wage and price deci-
sionmaking in the United States. The
Johnson administration., like govern-
ments in the four countries studied, has
also used the method of exhortation as
embodied in its "guidelines" for price
and wage depisionmaking. The steel
wage and price controversy of 1962 is an
example of the use of such coercive meth-
ods to achieve the administration objec-
tives. The study says that the reason
for frequent application of the exhorta-
tion method Is that, "the high govern-
mentalofficial who urges wage and price
restraint is conveying the message to the
voters that he is on their side, for they
are all consumers," and continues by
saying, that "at the same time, he is con-
veying the message to businessmen and
union officials that the ultimate decision
Is really theirs."
Interestingly enough, prominent U.S.
economists have been at odds over recent
administration policies In this area.
Arthur F. Burns, former Chairman of the
Council of Economic Advisers, criticizing
present policies, sees "clouds" on the eco-
nomic horizon. One of the "clouds" he
cited In a letter to the New York Times
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD - U OUSE
on August 25, is "the' tendency of 1A
Government officials to interfere. in the
price-malting process of our market
economy."
Because of the importance of this
study, I include the article which ap-
peared in the New York Times on Sep-
tember 1, reviewing the study, In the
RECORD.
Since preparing these remarks It has
become apparent that the Johnson ad-
ministration has little intention of im-
plementing its wage-price guidelines,
certainly not in the campaign months of
September and October. Yesterday I
placed In the Appendix of the RECORD-
page A4820-a pertinent news item from
the Washington Post entitled "Wage-
Price Guides Hit by Recent Accords,"
which points up some of the evidence to
support this conclusion.
INplasc'r CoNTaOG or WAGES ADVISED-SPECIFIC
LIMITS INEFFECTIVE, STUDY or FOUR NATIONS
FINDS
(By John D. Pomfret)
WAsEaNaTOx, August 31-Two university
professors have concluded on the basis of a
four-nation study that government efforts to
depress wages and prices directly have been
largely Ineffective.
The study was made by two members of
the University of Illinois faculty, one of
whom has since gone to another school. The
professors found that Indirect measures.
through monetary and fiscal policy, have been
much more successful.
Nevertheless, they expect that governments
will continue to use direct methods, such as
exhortation, establishment of wage and price
guidelines, and outright controls for political
reasons.
BRITAIN AMONG SOURCES
The study covered Italy. West Germany,
Britain, and the Netherlands. It was made
by Professors Murray J. Edelman, a political
scientist, and Robben W. Fleming. then at
the Illinois law school. Both are Industrial
relations experts.
Mr. Fleming recently went to the Univer-
sity of Wisconsin as provost of Its Madison
campus.
The study was prepared for the American
Foundation on Automation and Employment,
a joint venture of U.B. Industries, Inc., and
the Ipternational Association of Machinists,
It did not cover the United States.
Nevertheless, Its conclusions are relevant
to the United States, where the administra-
tion through the President's Council of Eco-
nomto Advisers has been trying to persuade
unions and employers voluntarily to limit
gains in employee compensation in most in-
stances to the average annual gain in output
per man-hour in recent years. This is rough-
ly 3.1 percent.
A test of the Council's guidepost Is cur-
rently being made in the negotiations be-
tween the automobile industry and the
United Automobile Workers. The union has
Indicated that it has no Intention of being
confined by the Council's formula.
GUIDELESES DrMCVLT
In a footnote on the American situation,
the two professors said :
"The formulation of wage guidelines
abroad has been as difficult and as unsatis-
factory in end result as in the United States.
Productivity--output per Doan-hair-re-
maina the popular favorite, except in appli-
cation.
"The difficulties In calculating productivity
on any except the broadest (and therefore
least meaningful) base have not been over-
come; the realities of bargaining power re-
main the more potent infiuence.-
September 23
The study said that all governments ex-
hort businessmen and unions to exercise
moderation and sometimes suggest guide-
lines or prescribe ceilings "not because they
necessarily bring economic stability, but
because there are political advantages in do-
ing [these things] and because the public
and the public officials alike find them re-
assuring."
"The high governmental official who urges
wage and price restraint Is conveying the
message to the voters that he is on their side,
for they are all consumers," the report con-
tinued. "At the same time, he is conveying
the message to businessmen and union of-
ficials that the ultimate decision is really
theirs; and this too is a welcome and pop-
ular message, likely to bring political sup-
port."
Though pronouncements on wages and
prices by governments, unions, and manage-
ments have doubtful direct impact of eco-
nomic trends, they often have considerable
Impact on political and organizational loyal-
ties, the study found.
MEXICAN FARMERS' ADVANTAGE
CITED
(Mr. TEAGUE of California (at the
request of Mr. BELL) was granted per-
mission to extend his remarks at this
point in the RECORD and to include ex-
traneous matter.)
Mr. TEAGUE of California. Mr.
Speaker, I call to the attention of my
colleagues an article which appeared in
the Santa Barbara, Calif., News-Press,
September 19, 1964. The article cor-
rectly points out that, as a result of the
termination of the bracero program De-
cember 31, 1964, Mexican farmers will
have a terrific advantage over California
farmers and that the bulk of strawber-
ries, tomatoes, and cantaloupes will in
the future be grown in Mexico, rather
than In California, unless a supple-
mental labor supply is made available:
BRACERO NEED TOLD -MEXICAN FARMERS'
ADVANTAGE CITED
The end of the Mexican bracero program
December 31 Is already giving Mexican farm-
ers a big advantage over California farmers,
and the bulk of the strawberries, tomatoes,
and cantaloupes are being grown south of
the border, according to Ezekiel Villasenor,
Jr.
Because the American farmers have to plan
ahead with their crops, they are not willing
to take a chance on having enough labor for
the harvests and are not putting in the
crops, the president of the Villasenor Labor
Camps here told the Downtown Lions Club's
weekly meeting.
"In the next 3 years a million more acres
will be put Into production in northern
Mexico for the market," the speaker said.
"As a result, the prices of fresh fruits and
vegetables are going up locally. California,
which has been producing more than 50 per-
cent of the fresh produce of the Nation. is
dropping rapidly."
BRACERO HISTORY
Villasenor. a Renssalaer Polytechnic Insti-
tute .graduate engineer and former Mexican
Air Force military attache In Washington,
recited the history of the bracero (Spanish
for "someone who lends his hands") pro-
gram, which started at the end of World
War II. Such labor Import has been going
on for a century In the United States, with
men from Ireland to China coming here.
Public Law 78 went into effect in 1951 and
has continued until the present.
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