Statement by the President on the Distribution of Food and Medical Supplies in the Dominican Republic.

I WANT to call your attention to the very effective and selfless emergency relief work done by representatives of our Government, in cooperation with the OAS.

From the very earliest days, we have been distributing food and medical supplies to ward off starvation and epidemic. This work has been under the very able direction of Mr. Anthony Solomon, who is being sworn in this afternoon as Assistant Secretary of State for Economic Affairs.

Under his direction we have now distributed more than 9 million pounds of food, and distribution continues at a rate of half a million pounds a day. We have given out rice, cornmeal, powdered milk, beans, and flour.

In the same way, we have provided medical supplies from U.S. Army sources in repeated shipments. They have included antibiotics and other medicines, oxygen tanks, serums for immunization, power generators for the hospitals, and surgical supplies.

Both food and medical supplies have been distributed all over the country by nine food teams of Spanish-speaking Americans working to relieve need on a straight humanitarian basis. These teams have cooperated fully with private charitable agencies like Catholic Relief, CARE, and the Church World Service. They have been subjected to harassment in about equal measure by suspicious members of both contending groups.

We have also reopened lines of fuel supply for the civilian economy--while at the same time we have resisted pressure to provide fuel for either of the contending military forces.

It is entirely natural that while the shooting continued, public attention focused heavily on the fighting. But it is time now for us all to pay tribute to the work of these peaceful representatives of our country. They have saved uncounted lives and they have taken the lead in the first steps toward the peaceful reconstruction of the Dominican Republic.