Remarks to the Women's Patriotic Conference on National Defense.

Madam President and ladies and gentlemen:

It is a very great pleasure for me to have the privilege of being here tonight. I wish I could have been here for the whole evening, but this has been quite a busy day for me. Every day is, for that matter. You know, I spend most of my time urging people to do what they ought to do without being urged. That is what is called the power of the President. His powers are mostly public relations. He is elected the President of the United States, and he is the only member of the Government who is elected at large, except the Vice President; and the Vice President is elected along with him.

But the Vice President, as Mr. Dawes once said, has only two duties: one is to preside over the Senate, and the other one is to inquire about the President's health. The Vice President and I spent many happy hours in the Senate, and he presides over the Senate, and he is not a bit interested in the health of the President.

I had an experience today that is rather unusual. One of my closest friends, the mayor of Independence, Mo., passed away on Tuesday night very suddenly, from a heart attack. He and I were raised together in our hometown. He is 5 or 6 years younger than I am--or was. We were in the First World War together. He started out as the commanding officer of C Battery from Independence. At Camp Doniphan he was made commander of A Battery. After that he was made regimental adjutant of my regiment of field artillery and he was in that position until the war was over.

He has been mayor of Independence since 1924, when he was elected to that office. He was elected to that office when I was in my first elective office. The returned soldiers in that town, with my cooperation and help, made him mayor. He was a great mayor of that great city. And I was most anxious to be present to pay my respects to his passing, but conditions were such here in Washington that I had to stay here and discuss things that affected the whole Nation all morning this morning.

And then this afternoon, the daughter of another one of my closest friends was married, and I was present at that ceremony. That young lady I remember when she was like this--along with my daughter. She is younger than my daughter, but I won't give away her age.

That brings home to me that here are the young people ready to take up for the country, and here are those of us who have passed the threescore mark, passing on to the next world, leaving it to the younger people.

I have but one ambition as President of the United States, and that is to see peace in the world, and a working, efficient United Nations to keep the peace in the world. Then I shall be willing to do what my mayor did, pass on happily so that some able, younger man may carry on the work necessary to keep this Government going.

You know we have the greatest government in the world. I understand that this is a meeting of the patriotic women of the United States. Patriotic means "father," and patriotic means that you are working to carry on for the benefit of your father-carrying on for the benefit of your country. And when you carry on for the benefit of the only country in the world whose interest is the welfare of all the people in the world, you can't help but do what is right.

There is no difference in totalitarian states, they are all just alike. They believe in government for the few and not for the welfare of the many. Our Government is founded on the theory that government is for the welfare of the whole people and not for just a few at the top.

I believe that sincerely. I have made quite a study of government. I have had quite a lot of experience in governmental affairs. In fact, I have been in it for about 30 years, more or less, and my viewpoint has not changed.

I think the Constitution of the United States is the greatest document of government that the history of the world has ever seen, and I expect to devote the rest of my life, if the Lord is good to me, to upholding and supporting that article of government.

When we do that, we will support the United Nations and we will support the welfare of all the people in the world. And eventually we will have permanent peace. That is all I live for.

Thank you very much.