Remarks in Springfield to Illinois Teachers of Children With Impaired Hearing.

IT IS really great to see you all. I want to apologize on the one hand and thank you on the other. It is my understanding that this great group that helps handicapped children try to become active participants in the mainstream of our American society had the contract for or the right to use this room next door, and then some guy from Washington threw them out. [Laughter] So, you were gracious and kind enough to take this room in place of the other, and for that I thank you all very, very much.

I was trying to think about something that might be appropriate, and I probably should tell you the experience Betty and I had a couple or 3 weeks ago. She has always been extremely interested in problems of the handicapped. She worked at several of the clinics at home, and she has continued that work down in Washington.

She is down in Florida trying to help me get my polls up to her polls. But the point is, we were up in New Hampshire and we stopped by the wonderful rehabilitation center. And, of course, there were those who had sever injuries to their limbs and there were those who had other serious injuries, disabilities, and they had many young people who were in the process of getting very initial instructions in how to become active participants in the mainstream of our society.

The group that appealed to me the most was the group of young tots, boys and girls who were deaf--and several could not hear or see. And the young people who were 25 or thereabouts of age were trying to take these young boys and girls and get them to understand and see or to hear by a wide variety of techniques that are used.

I came away with a feeling that we ought to make as big an investment as we possibly could in helping those young people, not only the group that I mentioned specifically but others.

So, I just thank you for the jobs all of you do, because I know that all of you do what we have seen at home or Betty has seen in Washington or we saw in New Hampshire. You make a great contribution to a better life and opportunity for people who have misfortunes of one kind or another.

Thank you very, very much.