Dwight Eisenhower actually said...
The very purpose of a statute of limitations--whether it relates to suits between private citizens or to suits brought against the Government--is to avoid stale claims and to procure a reasonably prompt initiation of judicial action before records are lost or scattered, memories grow dim, and witnesses die or become unavailable.
Context
Memorandum of Disapproval of Bill Concerning Claims Arising as a Result of Construction of Elephant Butte Dam
08/31/1954