Visit to Panama Remarks at Fort Clayton.

Distinguished officials who have operated and de[ended the canal, who have performed superb service for our Government, who are an integral and admired part of the American community:

I come here with a sense of history, a sense of appreciation for what you have accomplished and are accomplishing for our country, a sense of gratitude to you.

A few months ago as I was visiting with David McCulloch, who wrote the book "The Path Between the Seas," I began to sense and to feel the enthusiasm for the extraordinary engineering achievement that the canal represents.

I've just returned from a flight over the canal to see the beautiful operation of it. I've been looking forward to a chance to visit Fort Clayton, Miraflores Locks, so that I could see firsthand the professionalism and the dedication that make this canal work and which keep the canal secure.

I'm very proud of those of you who belong to the various military components of the Southern Command. I was in the Navy for 11 years. And as you well know, we depended on the Army to take care of the canal so that we could go from one— [applause] —

Through a long and difficult period you've maintained a very high level of preparedness for the defense of the canal and for the protection of American lives and property and for the representation of the spirit and character of the United States in the most superb way. It's your effort and your training that have kept Americans assured of our strength and our security here, and I thank you for it.

Those of you who are civilians, both Americans and Panamanians, have contributed immeasurably to the operation of the canal. My life would be easier if every Government employee showed the same consistent combination of efficiency and talent as your group does, and we all appreciate this superb performance. You always do your job and you do it well.

For many years, the legal arrangements governing the Panama Canal and the zone have been a source of contention and argument and dispute between the United States and Panama. Most people who looked at the situation agreed that some change, of some kind, was called for. I think most of you who live in the canal agree with that statement. We disagreed not about whether there should be changes, but what those changes ought to be.

As you know, my predecessors in the White House, President Ford, President Nixon, President Johnson, President Kennedy, understood that some changes had to be made. I know each of you has known you were defending American interests here in the Canal Zone, and I respect your convictions and your spirit and your loyalty to your country, even though we did not always agree about the best course to take.

The Senate of the United States has acted, and the treaties are now a fact. I'm not here to justify them, or to suggest that if you understood the treaties better that you would like them. I know that you understand them, because for you, they are not just a distant and impersonal foreign policy abstraction, but something that alters your lives in a direct and immediate way.

You know, as I do, that a great deal will change as a result of these treaties. A few of you will be leaving the only place on Earth you've ever called home. That's a hard and a painful thing to do. The adjustments and uncertainties that you now face will not be easy. I understand that.

I understand, too, why you love this place. Seventy-five years ago, Americans came here as builders. In quiet ways, often unrecognized, often unappreciated, we have been builders ever since. For all the rest of your lives, every one of you will be proud, and justifiably so, to have been part of this canal, proud of what you've built and protected and loved.

That is evident, not only from what you say but what you do. The care and affection which you continue to show in the operation of the canal is clear evidence of the deep feeling which you and the American people have for the canal. So, I come here today not to win you over to the decision made by me and the American Congress, but because there are two things that I want very much to say.

First, the American people and I appreciate what you are doing here and, secondly, the American people and I care what happens to you.

In the millions of words spoken and written about the treaties, our appreciation and our concern have not been clearly expressed. We've tried to demonstrate these sentiments in the treaties as well as in the separate agreements and the annexes.

The rights of American workers will be protected. The treaties guarantee to employees:

First, in general, terms and conditions of employees which are no less favorable than they are now; nothing will be done to decrease the quality of your status as employees; secondly, the right to collective bargaining and, as you know, for the next 22 years, the entity with which you will bargain will be a part of the United States Government; third, optional early retirement for those who desire it.

We hope that as you understand clearly the conditions under which you will be working and living, that you will decide to stay on as a constructive and a helpful and a dependable employee. But if there should be individual instances where you find this not to be true, then earlier retirement benefits will be made available to you so that you will not suffer under any circumstances.

The United States Government will be responsible to you for implementing the treaty provisions fully and fairly. We will continue to do so in the enabling legislation which the Congress will begin to consider later this year and next year.

We will see to it that this enabling legislation ensures government-wide job placement and liberalized retirement benefits, better than those that you have now. To the limit of our ability in an international agreement, our negotiations with Panama have sought to secure your rights and your welfare and your safety and your peace of mind.

For example, we've tried to preserve during the life of the treaty as many as possible of the civil liberties that Americans cherish. To ensure that they will be respected, I discussed them with the Panamanian officials yesterday and told them of the importance that we attach to these basic and important rights.

Everyone understands that we want to enter upon a new era of harmonious cooperation and good will between the people of Panama and the Americans associated with the canal and that there is no room for bad faith in that relationship. It requires a hospitable and a cordial attitude, not only on our part but Panama's as well.

I think all of you may have observed yesterday a tremendous outpouring of appreciation and friendship expressed by the Panamanian people. The largest crowd that I have ever seen came out in a spirit of appreciation and commitment to a good partnership in the future, based on mutual respect, a desire for peace and a realization that the operation of the canal without interruption is important not only to our two countries and our people but to the rest of the world. We know that Panama will show strict regard for all its responsibilities toward you.

We've also tried to carry out our obligation to you by ensuring that the terms and conditions of your employment will generally stay the same when the treaty goes into effect. We know that the circumstances tinder which you work matter a great deal, as do good schools, medical care, and other services. These have not been neglected in the long negotiations over the last 14 years.

According to the treaties, the canal will increasingly be a place of Panamanian employment. Some of you might leave very soon; others will remain for many, many years. I'm relying on all of you to help make this transition as smooth as possible. That is your duty, your responsibility, and the people of both nations expect nothing less. You've never disappointed our country in the past; I'm sure you will not do so in the future.

We are trying and we hope that you will help us to succeed to bring about a successful new chapter in the history of the canal that you've managed and cared for so long. You've brought credit to yourselves and to your country by operating the canal efficiently, honestly, and honorably for the benefit of all nations.

The time when this was America's job alone is now coming to an end. The treaties reflect that time, and in so doing, they help guarantee that the rest of the world will recognize our essential fairness and decency as a people.

The future of this waterway will depend upon the cooperation and the understanding of both Panamanians and Americans. I know that some day we will ,join in looking back with admiration and respect at the dedication and devotion of the thousands of employees, American and Panamanian, who made and continue to make the canal one of the supreme human achievements of all time.

That's part of the history of our great country. That's part of the future of our great country. In this time of change, as President of the United States, you can consider me to be a partner of yours.

I've instructed all the officials, both military and civilian, in this Canal Zone to contact me directly to alleviate any concerns, any maladministration, any differences between ourselves and the people of Panama as these changing times approach.

And to close my statements to you, I'd like to repeat again that as the leader of our great Nation, the greatest on Earth, I'm proud of what you have done in the past, what you are doing today. And I have complete confidence that you will continue to represent our Nation in the finest spirit of dedication, of competence, and of good will in the years to come.

Thank you everyone. God bless you.