Letter Accepting Resignation of Henry H. Fowler as Secretary of the Treasury.

Dear Mr. Secretary:

For three and one-half years you have sat at my side at the Cabinet table while we met the tests of our time.

I really know that the great adventure we have shared is drawing to a close when I accept your letter of resignation.

You leave behind you a legacy to all the American people that few men could claim.

When the gold crisis threatened to destroy the world's monetary system, your firm leadership helped to avert disaster and assure the strength of the dollar. You were the grand architect of the most significant reforms in the international monetary system since Bretton Woods.

You were the man at the bridge who steered through Congress the anti-inflation tax so essential to our prosperity. And that prosperity--without parallel in the history of nations--will forever bear your mark. Men who know your reputation, and children who have never heard your name inherit that gift which you have labored so hard to fashion.

I know, Joe, at what personal cost you have served the people of America--well beyond the period of your initial commitment. You are one of the American great, who will be long remembered as the Secretary who thought of financial values in the broader context of human values.

Lady Bird and I have always treasured the strength which you and Trudye have given us through the blessing of your friendship. We look forward to drawing on that strength in the years ahead.

Sincerely,

LYNDON B. JOHNSON

[Honorable Henry H. Fowler, Secretary of the Treasury, Washington, D.C.]