Address at Byrd Field, Richmond, Virginia

Chairman Hatcher, Mr. Robertson--My fellow Americans:

First, may I thank you sincerely for the cordiality of your welcome, a welcome that I appreciate all the more because I know some of you have been waiting here a very considerable time so that I might greet you and express to you a few thoughts in this political campaign. I do apologize for the lateness of the hour. But things happened that we couldn't prevent. In any event, because you stayed here, I want to thank each of you personally on behalf of myself, my wife--my whole party.

Now I am especially regretful that I could not stay here on this trip long enough actually to visit your historic city. But I determined that at the very least I would stop here momentarily, if I could do nothing else than merely to pay my respects to this State where so many of America's patriots had their homes--and where on the more personal side my mother was born and spent her girlhood.

Now always when I do come here, I feel inspired by the giant figures Virginia has brought forth on the American scene--from Washington to Lee, to Woodrow Wilson, to my old chief and friend, George Marshall--one of the truly great men of this generation.

Through all history, certain concepts have seemed to characterize Virginia leaders. You believe in honesty and integrity and dignity in government--in all echelons. Moreover, you believe in doing things yourselves. You want State and local authority preserved. In Washington you want a proper respect for the constitutional division of powers between Federal and State governments. Your tradition is that big central government is likely to be bad government, that the freer our people are to run their own affairs, the better off all will be.

And as for the simple, old-fashioned virtue of not spending more than you make, you have here in Virginia the living symbol of this concept: Senator Harry Byrd. I am proud to pay my respects to him. He is true to your great heritage for efficiency in government, elimination of extravagance, strong local government--these concepts were as dear to Thomas Jefferson as they are to your leaders today.

Now, of such concepts, my friends, is what I intended to speak to you tonight, however briefly. They have been in my thoughts since this campaign began. But out of regard for the lateness of the hour, and for the length of time you have been here, let me say this:

I would like to visit with you just a little while personally. You have heard all the arguments pro and con. You know what I and my associates promised to you four years ago. We promised to restore honesty and integrity in government. We promised to cut useless government expenditures, and to return to the people the taxes we could thus save. We promised to work for full employment for everybody, for an increasing prosperity, widely shared throughout this nation.

Now, today, four years later, we point to the record. We say, look at it!

Now the opposition says to you: you are not prosperous, you are starving--you are poor--we are not working. They pay no attention to statistics, that here this last October we just went up another 100 thousand over the previous month--we had the biggest employment month, in October, in our history. And the lowest unemployment month. These are the things they say are not true.

They don't believe that you have cars and television sets, that you are the most prosperous in the world. They say, if it's prosperity, it's false prosperity. Why? I don't know.

Now, ladies and gentlemen, they go into the cities and they say, we will keep a sound dollar and we will keep down living costs. They go to the countryside and advocate a loose expenditure of money and carelessness in our fiscal affairs so that they can spend more billions. And in all of this, they are going to balance the budget and cut taxes. This just can't be done.

Now, by no means do we of this Administration say, now we have reached the millennium, that peace is here permanently, that we have reached the heights of our possible prosperity, that no one can advance in education or in his intellectual level or anything else.

We say: we are on the way, and we are doing it with sound, decent, fiscal policies--with sound methods that will stand as long as the nation will stand.

They propose get-rich-quick policies, and pie-in-the-sky promises that have no validity whatsoever.

This, I maintain, is the difference between us.

Now, through these past four years, there has been one subject that this Administration has lived with, worked with, done more with, than any other; and that is, trying to develop and build the road to peace.

Without peace, we cannot have these things that we have been enjoying the past four years. We cannot have lowered taxes, we cannot have prosperity, we cannot have confidence among ourselves.

Unless in our generation the world can solve this fearful dilemma, and choose rightly between annihilation and permanent peace, then the future of this country--indeed, of mankind--is bleak indeed.

We maintain it can be done.

We believe that with the strength of America behind the effort, with every man and woman doing their best to help along the way, we can be strong--and from a position of strength can gradually bring about those conditions that we must bring about, if this world is to be fruitful and serve the purposes and best aspirations of men.

With respect to this question of peace: four years ago I promised you to work faithfully--to work with all the force and dedication at my command--in order to win a just peace, a lasting peace.

That pledge, I say most earnestly, we have faithfully kept.

I am profoundly convinced of this: all that concerns us today, in our homes, in our jobs, in our country, is as nothing compared to the awesome choice now awaiting the decision of mankind.

For the race of man, if there is no peace, there will be no hope.

The building of that peace is my all-embracing goal.

It is my determined, unshakeable, fixed purpose--and so it will ever remain.

Three and a half years ago we ended the Korean war. Since then our people have not known the tragedy of daily casualty lists. But as we look to the future, we know that the risks of new Koreas are sure to be there.

Yet we know also: from Iran, from Guatemala, from Indochina, from Formosa, from Trieste--that difficult though our road may be, we can--by dedication and endless patience--reach solutions to world tensions by means short of war, when those most affected do not become completely unreasonable.

Now, my fellow citizens, even as we speak this day of our hopes and strivings for peace and justice in the world, we know that there persists real and present danger to that peace. This danger is in various places, none more critical at this moment than at the ancient crossroads of the world, the Mid-East, where old civilizations meet and ancient animosities flare anew. Fears and hatreds deeply divide nations, with all of whom America would be, hopes to be, and seeks to be, a friend.

Only yesterday I repeated on behalf of America a solemn warning to the people in that area, that America and all the civilized world expects the peace to be kept.

The news in this area is not good. But I do say this: In this specific case, as in all our efforts throughout the world for a just and lasting peace, here is my solemn pledge to you: by dedication and patience we will continue, as long as I remain your President, to work for this simple--this single--this exclusive goal.

Now, as I repeat on behalf of Mamie and myself our gratitude for your heartwarming welcome, I want to say again that to come back to this Old Dominion--my mother's State--is always a tremendous privilege. And because it was her State, I would like to ask you a special favor.

There remain between now and November 6th a few days in which all of us can work to make the decision of America, no matter what it may be, more decisive, more representative, of our whole national thought.

So my request is this: first, of course, that you vote. Next, that each of you between now and next Tuesday spend your time trying to get any of those who otherwise might not vote to the polls, so that they register their belief in America, show their respect for the priceless right of voting--and making the decision of America that of all, rather than just a part of our country.

For I tell you this: not only would I accept completely and confidently any decision that all America makes, but I do believe that there is something especially thrilling--especially wonderful--which each of us can experience as he walks into the secret place and says, "Here is my decision for America"--whether it be, in my own case, for my side--or the other. I hope that every citizen will experience that great thrill--that great privilege.

Thank you. Goodnight.

[After an ovation the President added--]

Due to the fact that I didn't pay as close attention to my script as I should have, I inadvertently overlooked the opportunity to say a good word for your Congressional candidate in your District: Mr. Cabell. I apologize both to him and to you, because he would make a good Congressman.