Dear Governor_________:
It is my conviction that advances in research, services, and programming in the area of mental retardation make it imperative that a concerted effort be undertaken now to prevent and alleviate this serious condition affecting nearly 6 million of our citizens.
A meeting to coordinate and plan a concerted attack on the problem would seem to me desirable and of great benefit to the whole Nation.
Therefore, I have asked Dr. Stafford Warren, my Special Assistant on Mental Retardation, to call a State-Federal Conference on Mental Retardation.
This Conference will be held in September in the Washington area and will have as its objective the provision of information on implementing State-Federal programs to combat mental retardation. You will be receiving a letter from Dr. Warren within the next few days.
JOHN F. KENNEDY
Note: This is the text of identical telegrams addressed to the Governors of each of the States and Territories.
The telegram was part of a White House release announcing the convening of the first National-State Conference on Mental Retardation at Warrenton, Va., on September 19-20.
For the President's letter to Dr. Warren at the opening of the Conference, see Item 364.
John F. Kennedy, Telegram to State Governors Announcing a Conference on Mental Retardation. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/237263