Remarks at the Dedication of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway in Mobile, Alabama.

President Nunn, President-elect Wallace [laughter]:

As I said to Governor Wallace, this has been a very wonderful welcome we have received here in Mobile. And I must say that I have never seen such a good-humored and good-spirited crowd, here in Mobile, Alabama. I hope to come back some day.

As a matter of fact, when this was put on my schedule, they pointed out that I would be coming into a State where a man had been and might be in the future a candidate for President of the United States, and that there were others in this State who had very great popularity. I must say that Bear Bryant ¹ really scares me.

¹ Paul (Bear) Bryant, football coach at the University of Alabama.

But certainly in the spirit of this occasion, where we are not Republicans, where we are not Democrats, where we are not Southerners or Northerners or Easterners or Westerners, where we know no race, no religion, where we are Americans, it seems to me that it is most appropriate that I should put this event in historical perspective in just a few moments to tell you what it means in terms of the five States that will be affected by it, to tell you also what it means in a larger sense in terms of the spirit of America and where we go in the years ahead.

I studied this project when I was in the Congress of the United States and many of the distinguished Members of the Congress were there then when the Tennessee-Tombigbee, in the 80th Congress 24 years ago, was a major issue. I thought that was when people started to talk about it, but I found that Albert Callatin, who was the Secretary of the Treasury in 1808, 160 years ago, proposed a series of waterways for the whole country that would bring the country together in a geographical sense and also in a national sense and that would mean that all the country could grow economically together. And the Delaware Valley went forward under that program many, many years ago, and the Ohio Valley and the Missouri Valley; but the Tennessee-Tombigbee, some way or other, never got up to the place where the Congress would approve it.

Finally, after 160 years of trying to talk it to death, the Congress decided to pass it and now here it is: the Tennessee-Tombigbee.

I want you to know that it is to the great credit of both parties of several administrations that this project now begins, and I would say in that context that we can think today of, for example, the people that are on this platform representing the States that are involved--Governor Wallace, of course, of this State of Alabama; Governor Dunn could not be here, but his State is, of course, represented, the State of Tennessee; Governor Nunn, who is the present President of the project; Governor Williams of Mississippi; and Governor Askew of Florida, the State from which I have just come.

We think, too, of others that are represented on this platform and how they speak to the whole country in a sense. Only one, except for myself, is here from the national administration, and I am proud that our Postmaster General is from the State of Alabama, and that "Red" Blount could be here with us.

But when we think of the Members of the Senate, the two distinguished Members of the Senate from this State, Senator Sparkman, Senator Alien; the Members of the House of Representatives, and what they have contributed, and particularly your own Congressman, Jack Edwards, who, I can tell you, has been in beating my desk day after day for this project.

Let me say that when they suggested remarks for me, they said, "You ought to give credit to this one or that one or this one or the other one." All that I can say is that when there is a success, there is plenty of credit for everybody, and we give credit to all on this platform for supporting this project in the interests of this State and this region and the Nation.

What does this project mean? Well, it means a lot to this city, because it means that this port, already a great port, will now have a waterway that will connect it with the Ohio and with the Missouri and the Mississippi, but it means, therefore, that there will be more traffic coming in and through the port of Mobile.

It means something to all the States in the area, because as a waterway like this is constructed, it means that all of those States will have more job opportunities; it means that all of those States will have more business that means progress.

And also, I would suggest I am confident that we can carry this out with due respect for the problems of maintaining the beauty of this part of the country, and it has so much natural beauty. We can and we will do that, because the two must go together.

So we think of those prospects, what it means in terms of more jobs and more prosperity for this part of the country, which has such a great, it seems to me, hope for the future.

But in a larger aspect, let's not just think of this Tennessee-Tombigbee project as a great engineering feat, which it will be; as a feat that will join together five States and all five States will benefit from it, and that is the case; but let's think in terms of what this project means as far as America is concerned.

Here I would like to go to a little more historical perspective, if I may. Whenever I visit a city for the first time, I always check to see when the last time was when a President of the United States was there, and I find that the last time that a President of the United States spoke in Mobile was the year I was born, in 1913, when President Wilson spoke in Mobile. And let me say that is too long a time for Presidents to stay away from Mobile.

President Wilson, on that occasion-remember the year was 1913 at the very beginning of his term--made a major foreign policy speech in which he talked about the end of imperialism in the world.

Since that time, let's see what has happened. We have had, as far as the United States is concerned, four occasions when young Americans have gone abroad to fight in wars---World War I, World War II, Korea, and now the war in Vietnam. We are bringing that war to an end-bringing it to an end in a way that we can contribute to a lasting peace for all.

But I am sure that when Woodrow Wilson spoke in this city on that historic occasion 58 years ago, he thought, as I think, and as every President of the United States and every citizen of America, Republican and Democrat, must think, of how this Nation could contribute to peace for not only America but for the whole world.

He had high hopes and high dreams, and he died virtually of a broken heart because at the conclusion of World War I the nations of the world would not join him as he thought they might join him, or in the spirit that he thought they might join him.

There were difficulties also with the Senate of the United States, some of those you have all read about and heard about, but now here we are 58 years later, and I, like all the Presidents in this century and the ones in the previous century, speak to you about peace for America, peace for the world.

As I came through the streets of Mobile, I saw lots of people. There were a lot of older people, there were many people who were wage earners, and I am sure people who were taking off from their jobs during the noon hour, but there were also thousands and thousands of children, and I thought of them as you must think of them. We want them to grow up in a world of peace. We don't want them to have to fight in any war, anytime. We have always had that as a goal.

I simply want to say on this occasion that I believe as a result of developments that have occurred and that are occurring at this time, that we have a better chance to achieve what we have not had in this century for our children, and that is a full generation without war, a full generation of peace.

But if we are to have that we must remember that the United States must not withdraw from the world. If we are to have that we must remember that the strength of the United States, its military strength, its economic strength has been, in this century, and will always be used for peace; never to bring on war, but to bring peace if we can; never to destroy freedom, but to save freedom around the world. And, therefore, a strong United States, as long as there are other nations in the world who might threaten the peace, is essential if we are going to have it.

And so, therefore, it is important to note--and I can speak of all of the Members of the Senate and the House that are on this platform, they differ as far as partisan affiliations are concerned, but when the national security of this country is concerned, the national defense of this country is concerned, these men, you can be proud, have voted for strong national defense, and we need that if we are to have peace in the world.

But with defense that is only part of the picture. From that base of strength we then negotiate the mutual reduction of forces around the world, a limitation of armaments, so that we can have a safer, more peaceful world. But we need another kind of strength. America must continue to be economically strong, and this project will contribute to that. But America also must have a kind of strength that it had 160 years ago in 1808. It perhaps had it more then than it has it today.

Just think of that country then. It was small, it was weak militarily, it was poor economically, but Americans had faith in themselves, they were united that they had a mission in the world bigger than their own country, and it was that faith and that sense of mission that built the great nation that we have today.

Oh, I do not suggest that most Americans still do not have faith in this country, that most Americans still do not have that sense of mission, but I do say that it is essential for us to recognize on an occasion like this, as we think of history, as we set in motion a new project for the economic development of this country and the strength of America, that we must think of what this occasion means in terms of our spiritual strength.

And I would summarize it this way: Here we see five States joining together, and the Federal Government working in cooperation with the five States. And in that, it seems to me, that sense of partnership, we really see where the future of America really lies.

We cannot be a strong nation in a spiritual and moral and ideological sense if we are torn apart by regional differences, by racial differences, by religious differences, by differences between States, by differences between State government and the Federal Government.

Let me put it another way: I do not suggest that there are not differences, real differences, between various regions of the country, between various States, between religions, between races, between generations. That has always been the case; that will continue to be the case.

But let us, on an occasion like this, remember that what we must do is to join together in working out those differences in a peaceful and constructive way, so that there will be no difference when we work for peace for America and the world; there will be no difference when we work for cooperation.

There is no difference in our desire to get rid of hunger in this Nation and the world. There are no differences among us in our desire to have better education and better health for all of our people. Let Americans today be united North, East, West, and South, all races and religions, for the great goals of peace, prosperity, opportunity for every American and every people in the world today.

So in dedicating this project as it begins, I do so with great pride, pride that these States have worked together with the Federal Government, pride that this is going to mean great progress for this part of the country, pride also that it has enabled all of us to think of our history, where we come from, to think of our idealism, what it is, and to rededicate ourselves anew- to that proposition that excited the whole world 190 years ago.

America was then the hope of the world. And I can tell you from having traveled to most nations of the world, despite what you may hear about the weakness of American foreign policy, about what other nations may think of us, I can simply say this: I can tell you that as far as this Nation is concerned, 205 million, what we do, our economic strength, our military strength-always for peace never for the purpose of aggression--and our spiritual and moral and ideological strength, that is the hope of the world, let us keep that hope strong and firm as we dedicate this project.