Remarks to the Delegates to Boys Nation.

GOOD MORNING, I am glad that you could come over and visit with us. And I am happy to welcome you to the Capital and to the White House.

I want to commend the American Legion for giving you young Americans a chance to learn at firsthand about your Government.

I want to speak to you today because you are young and because you have lives to live. Many of you may be looking forward to careers in business.

I would like you to consider an investment. I would ask you, after you have completed your education, to give careful consideration to the investment of a few years of your lives in the business of government, in the work of public service, in the cause of America.

Our country needs men and women who are young--and young enough to dream of remaking America--as some of us did here in this Capital when I came here more than 30 years ago.

We need young people who are confident in themselves and in their ability to meet the challenges that face us today. We need young people who care--and who are willing to work for something that's more than just a paycheck--for profits measured in human happiness and satisfaction gained from helping people to achieve human health and human dignity.

So, I ask that you consider applying yourselves, your industry, your brains, your talent, and your imagination to the problems of the land in which you live.

Emerson once said: "What is man born for but to be a reformer; a remaker of what man has made; a restorer of truth and good."

Well, that is your birthright--to be reformers.

America has always been a nation of reformers. And we have always been a people who knew and who accepted the responsibilities that that role demands.

To be a reformer is to be responsible.

It is to be a remaker--not a wrecker--of what man has made.

It is to be a restorer--not a destroyer--of truth and good.

It is, beyond all else, to respect the laws of society--to rebuild society by changing laws, yes, by improving laws, yes, by using the laws--lest we accidentally or willfully weaken the foundations of law and bring all that we have achieved crashing down upon our heads.

We have been through great trials in the history of this Nation. We have faced problems and challenges before. And in one of our gravest hours, one of our greatest Presidents left us the first commandment for a civilized society.

So here today, on the White House lawn, I should like to remind each of you--and for that matter, every American--of Abraham Lincoln's words:

"Let every American, every lover of liberty, every well wisher to his posterity... never to violate in the least particular, the laws of the country . . . let every man remember that to violate the law, is to trample on the blood of his father, and to tear the character of his own, and his children's liberty. Let reverence for the laws, be breathed by every American . . . let it be taught in schools, in seminaries, and in colleges;--let it be written in Primmers, spelling books, and in Almanacs;--let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced in courts of justice. And, in short, let it become the political religion of the nation; and let the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the grave and the gay, of all sexes and tongues, and colors and conditions, sacrifice unceasingly upon its altars."

So, your role can be not only to respect the law, but to make it a living thing, make it more just, make it more effective.

We have our job cut out for us. It is ahead of us. We have cities to rebuild. We have economy to maintain. We have children to teach. We have old people to care for. We have young people to find jobs for. We have human rights to protect and to enlarge. We have land to conserve and air and water to clean, and a whole world to guard, and liberty and freedom to preserve.

Who will do these things? Who can we look to to get this job done in the years ahead? You--and young men like you-your brothers, even those who today may feel that they do not have a very big stake in our society. Even though sometimes you may feel you have no role to play in making it more just, the challenge is there waiting for you.

I am depending upon you.

You may choose to work in the great world of Washington. You may elect to be leaders in your own communities back home. But the arena of action is not so important. The decision is. The need for leadership--for commitment and responsibility--is upon us. That need is the same in every State in this land. And it will always be so. It will always be your challenge, your opportunity, your responsibility, if you will only face up to and use it. I express the hope that you will rise to it--and I furthermore hope that America will rise with you.

We hope very much that you are inspired by the things you see and that you are improved by the things you learn. We will do what we can to make you enjoy your visit. We thank you for having come here this morning.