Richard Nixon

I hope that in these years ahead, as the President of this Nation, and as the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, I can be worthy of the men and women who serve in the Defense Department.

Scarcely any of the shops and homes destroyed during the dots of last April have been rebuilt, and very few of those damaged have been made habitable or usable again.

They remind us again of the basic fact that the principal victims of violence are those in whose neighborhoods it occurs.

On January 14, $120,000 was awarded by the National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice for a special study committee.

I want you to know that I want to hear what they have to say.

This should include a restructuring of the Office to provide for two-man prosecutor teams in important cases.

I wish I could report that we had produced a magic formula that would end crime and sweep away despair overnight.

I have never thought of it that way.

It is not enough merely to patch up what now exists; we must truly rebuild.

This time-tested reorganization procedure is not only a means for curtailing ineffective and uneconomical Government operations, but it also provides a climate that enables good managers to manage well.

I should also point out that as he goes to Europe he emphasizes a fact we often forget: that the knowledge which made possible these great discoveries is not limited to this Nation; that it comes from the whole history of scientific…

I simply want you to know that I have great confidence in you.

I always had the very highest respect for their caliber.

Government organization is created to serve, not to exist; as functions change, the organization must be ready to adapt itself to those changes.

I therefore respect you for what you have done.

Because of him--the world is a safer place today.

So, consequently, a group of nine came as guests to the inauguration.

I know that over the years you sometimes may have had doubts as to whether that decision was the right one.

He was a man who brought civility, intelligence, and great dedication to everything he did.

It has become rather fashionable to run down the career servant; and sometimes, I must say, the career servant, like the political appointee, needs a little jacking up.

I, therefore, urge that the Congress promptly enact legislation to extend for at least two years the President's authority to transmit reorganization plans.

We need your support. We want it and we hope to be worthy of it.

We will provide the leadership.

We do want to work together with all peoples on this earth in the high adventure of exploring the new areas of space.

I know that all Americans join with Director Helms, Mrs. Nixon, and with me in extending our deepest sympathy to his family.