Remarks to the President's Conference on Occupational Safety.

Secretary Mitchell, ladies and gentlemen:

First, I have the privilege of bidding you welcome to the Nation's Capital on behalf of the administration--indeed, of the entire Government. Next, I should like to thank each of you, to express to you some measure of the sense of obligation I feel that you have responded to my invitation to give up your own time and to devote your own energies and talents to this problem of providing for safety against the accidents of industry.

It is a subject that is brought to my attention frequently. Like you, I read about it in the papers and am appalled by its frequency. And I have people around me, the Secretary of Labor, and his assistants, who never let me forget it. There are people on the Hill, like Senator Saltonstall, who always tell me I must do something about it.

That something to do about it is what we hope now you are going to help advance and develop.

They showed me a statistic only this morning, that the days lost in 1953 because of industrial accidents would have built one million six-room houses. Wall, when I think of all of the effort and mental agony, and argument and difficulty we go through in order to get started a program of house-building for those who are not properly housed in this country, it would seem, if we could put these two problems together and get a common solution, we would have a great deal done quickly.

You read in your papers about all the different types of problems that beset our country, and you read the differing opinions as to the approach that should be made. You read of Indochina and the various ways we ought to try to help solve the difficulties of that troubled section. We read of India and Pakistan, and of differences in Europe, the differences of opinion among other nations, and among ourselves--about taxes, and so forth.

But among us there is certainly no difference about this one thing: we ought to stop accidents among our people. Particularly we ought to stop the kind of accident that apparently is so often brought about by lack of training, or through carelessness.

If you can help reduce this appalling bill--and I know you can--the appalling bill the Nation must pay, not only in terms of the material things we have lost, but in the suffering of people who undergo the accidents, or the loss of life that occurs, the charge upon our hospitals and all the rest of it, then you will indeed be doing something that you can definitely and clearly know is in the interests of the United States. It is one place where you will unquestionably not have to answer the arguments and the criticisms of those that disagree, because there should be none.

So it is with unusual warmth and enthusiasm that I welcome this body here, representatives of business, of labor, of education, and every other kind of activity that represents and makes up this great America.

I hope also that while you are here, in addition to the constructive work that you will do and the contributions you will make, you will thoroughly enjoy your visit to the Capital City. I assure you, you have come at a moment when through some propitious circumstance the temperature is more fitting to sightseeing and enjoyment than it normally is at this time of year.

Thank you very much.