Statement by the President in Response to Messages of Congratulation and Good Will.

BECAUSE of the great number of messages of congratulation and good will which have been received since the election, I am forced to seek the cooperation of press and radio in extending my thanks to the men and women who have sent personal communications to the White House.

I have been made very happy by these messages. They have come in by the tens of thousands and are still coming. What has encouraged me most is the nonpartisan spirit in which men and women from every part of the country, representing every segment of our national life, have been moved by an impulse of the highest patriotism to pledge cooperation in furthering the welfare of our country.

The aggregate of the messages is so great that it would be impossible to send individual acknowledgments without slowing down the necessary day-by-day work of the White House. I therefore ask all the fine citizens from whom I have heard to accept this assurance of my appreciation. Their letters and telegrams have quickened my sense of responsibility as we enter together upon the hard tasks that lie ahead.

From the depths of my heart I thank one and all.