Address in Duluth to Delegates to the Northern Great Lakes Region Land and People Conference.

Senator McCarthy, Senator Humphrey, Governor Rolvaag, Governor Reynolds, Secretary Freeman, Secretary Udall, Majority Leader of the United States Senate--Senator Mansfield, ladies and gentlemen:

I actually came a thousand miles to hear Hubert Humphrey make a speech, but un-

fortunately, I arrived too late. But I appreciate the chance to be here.

I understand that we have three different groups tonight--those who are interested in the Conference of Land and People, and it looks like that audience over there; and then those who are interested in the Democratic Party, and it is difficult to identify them, and those who are wondering; and then those who are students. Actually, my speech is more or less addressed to the members of the Conference on Land and People, but I would like to say one or two other things about the Government for the benefit of those who are students and who might be wondering what they should do.

The problem, of course, that we face as a country, is to try to determine those policies which will help maintain the security of the United States and the peace of the world; to do both. And it was determined in the years following the Second World War, and quite properly and rightly, that our security was best served in a world of diversity. If there could be a whole variety of sovereign states stretching around the world, living, we hoped, in internal freedom, but in any case in external freedom, not part of the Communist bloc, not part of the Communist apparatus, under those conditions it would be impossible for any group to mobilize sufficient force to imperil the United States. In order to do that, we assisted Western Europe, we allied ourselves more intimately with Latin America, we helped rebuild Japan, we joined the SEATO treaty in Southeast Asia, we associated ourselves with the CENTO treaty. In the last 4 or 5 years we have played an intimate role in the developing countries of Africa.

Our basic objective has been to maintain the security and interest of the United States by maintaining the freedom of other countries. And they are stretched around the world. This has been an assignment which no country in history has undertaken.

I don't think the American people realize how extraordinary has been our responsibility, and how extraordinary has been our effort. To attempt to maintain the freedom of dozens of countries, 30 or 40 of which are newly independent in the last few years, with limited traditions, with a limited number of educated people, to try to maintain the balance of power against a monolithic Communist apparatus, was an assignment which challenged even the resources, the wealth, and the experience and the dedication of our own people. There have been some disappointments and some defeats. But it seems to me, all in all, as we look at the world, however imperfect it may be, however frustrating it may be, however limited our authority may be on occasions, however impossible we may find it to have our writ accepted, nevertheless, the United States is secure, it is at peace, and a good many dozens of countries are secure because of us.

This was a policy carried out through three administrations of different parties, but I think every American citizen, 180 million of them, can take satisfaction in that record. One million Americans serve outside the United States tonight. No country in the long history of the world has ever had such a proportion of its population serving outside of its native land without regard to conquest, without regard to material return, but in order to assist to maintain the freedom of countries stretching 10,000 miles away.

So I must say to all of us who are here, that however weary we may get of the burden, however disappointed we may be, however frustrated we may be, it is worth it. This country is rich, prosperous, it can be more prosperous. It has nearly doubled its wealth in 15 years. With the exception of the great failure we had at the time of Korea, we have lived in peace. We have many hazards, many dangers, but we have moved through a period of change almost matched in history for 18 years, and we still are strong and we still have many hopes.

To maintain, it seems to me, that effort, we have to be strong here in the United States. This country cannot afford to move and limp from recession to recession, with increased numbers of people unemployed, with a fifth of our population on the bottom end, passing on, in a sense, from generation to generation a lack of education, a lack of opportunity, a lack of hope, and feel that we can continue to be indefinitely the leaders of the free world. Now the fact of the matter is, it is our responsibility as a nation to master our domestic problems so that we are able to carry our responsibilities abroad, so that we can continue to live here at home in peace. And we cannot say, when Western Europe, which was prostrate at the end of the 1940's, has been able to move through a period of 13 years without a recession, its major economic problem has been a shortage of people for work, when Italy, which was regarded, particularly in its south, as almost an insolvable problem, now has an unemployment rate that is less than that of the United States.

We must, of course, decide on those policies which will help put our people to work, which will prevent the kind of recession and movement which we had at the end of the fifties--from 1958 when we had a recession to 1960 when we had a recession--and which we may, if we do not take the proper steps, move into a period of decline in perhaps the months and years ahead. So we are here today to determine what we can do to maintain our domestic rise, to make sure that it is shared by the widest possible number of our people, to make sure that in this very rich country which carries so many burdens abroad, that we also meet our responsibilities here at home. And you cannot be a student at this school, or be a citizen of the United States, and not feel that we are capable of looking at the problems as they exist and taking those measures-after this extraordinary record abroad and after an impressive record on the whole here at home--of taking those measures which will do the job.

Therefore, I am here to take part in a Conference of Land and People in an area of the country which shares with certain other areas the difficulties which come when the mines run out, when we are far away from markets, and when, in many cases, the skills have been developed for industries which are no longer with us. What has happened here in this section of Minnesota has happened in West Virginia, has happened in the eastern section of Kentucky, has happened in southern Illinois, has happened in parts of Ohio, and parts of Indiana. It is on the whole confined to those areas which, of course, are the great mining areas of the United States, where the mines have run out, the owners have left, and the people remain, and where we have in some cases chronic unemployment of 15 or 20 percent.

This is a national responsibility. This country cannot continue to expect a steady rise in our national growth rate unless these areas of the United States which have been islands of poverty in many cases and islands of distress in nearly every case in the last decade are dealt with.

I do not make this problem simple. There is no one answer. There are a number of answers, but no one answer. And every answer requires the effort of the United States Government, the effort of the State government, and the effort of the people, most of all here in these communities. What is true here is true also in northern Wisconsin, Ashland and the others where we visited today. What I want to say is that I believe that the Federal Government has a role to play, and I want to make it clear that we intend to play that role because this is a matter which affects the well-being of the United States. This Northern Great Lakes Region has land, water, manpower, resources, transportation, and recreation facilities. It also has distress. The unemployment rate is twice that of the Nation as a whole, which is, itself, too high. Economy of a region which we feel must be prospering has reflected itself in a series of economic setbacks as the mines and mills have shut down. Year after year this area has the short end of every economic indicator. And in the winter it is much worse.

Moreover, whatever the statistics show, these are people and their families, and their standards of living. Economic indicators reflect what has happened in this summer, or last spring. What we have to concern ourselves with is what is going to happen this coming winter, and the next spring, and the next summer. A waste of human resources is disastrous, far worse than a waste of natural resources. And I think this conference, which represents a cooperative effort by the people who live in this area and by the State government and the National Government, gives us some hope that the attention of all will be devoted to these areas until this problem is solved. And I think that the presence of so many representatives of different Federal agencies who have concern for these matters is an indication of our interest.

There are several Federal programs which have been enacted and which must be renewed, which I believe have some importance. We have a good deal of struggle-as John Blatnik knows better than anyone, perhaps--with some of these matters. The Federal Government, it is charged, should be less active. We should withdraw our efforts; we should be indifferent. But the fact of the matter is, unless we meet our responsibilities on the national level, this area, and areas like it, will be left to time until the people finally move out.

Therefore, I suggest the following Federal programs, which I hope will have your support and the support of the people of the United States:

First is the education and training of the labor force. In the aftermath of all the changes which are taking place in science and technology, no American can expect that any skill which he now has can carry him throughout his life. This is a time of change, and a time of opportunity. Therefore, we have to concern ourselves not only with the education of our children, but also with the education and the retraining of those who are already at work. This is particularly true in those areas where the technology is changing and where we have had so many people dependent on two or three basic industries. This is an area which prides itself in education. The attendance at the University of Minnesota, at Duluth, I think, indicates the preeminence which the citizens of this part of the United States have given to educating their children, even if it has meant sacrificing other necessities.

In this effort, Federal programs have been of help. Thirty-two Minnesota colleges and universities participate in the current Federal Student Loan Program, and already that program has been cut back in the last 3 weeks. Some of your sons and daughters will not be able to go to school as a result of it. Two-thirds of all the students in the secondary schools take advantage of federally financed school guidance. Over 500,000 Minnesotans are receiving new or improved Federal library services. Almost 100,000 are getting vocational education to improve their skills. This program is sustained by the National Government. We must strengthen that program. The one thing we will not need in the next 7, or 8, or 9 years is unskilled labor.

I said, speaking the other night on television, this country has to find 10 million jobs in 21/2 years. We are going to have many more times as many young men and women coming into the labor market in the sixties as came in in the fifties, and 7 or 8 million of them will be school dropouts who have no skills, who have only their labor to give at a time when machines are doing the job that men did 10 or 20 years ago. What are we going to do with all of them? Where are we going to find work for them? What we are talking about are 10 million jobs in 2 1/2 years. And we are not going to have them unless we do something about it on the national level as well as the local level.

We have 100,000 people getting new vocational training in this State. As I said, we have a program before the Congress to strengthen vocational training. And I think we need that if we are going to find work for our people.

Under the Manpower Training and Development Program, this State alone has 42 projects approved in the brief period of slightly more than a year. But more must be done. Education must be improved. Higher education must be strengthened. We are going to have twice as many boys and girls going to our colleges in 1970 as went in 1960. That means we have to build as much plant in our colleges in 10 years as we built in 150 years. And these boys and girls are going to be your sons and daughters. And if they get to college, their life prospects are much more secure. If they finish high school, they are still secure. If they drop out of high school their chances are bleak. So this is a job for all of us. It certainly is a job primarily for the State of Minnesota, but this is an area where also I think the National Government can play a stimulating role. Both the National Defense Education Act and the Manpower Development and Training Act must be strengthened. I hope those who speak against these programs would come to these areas where they are so desperately needed.

Second, we must increase our aid to areas of chronic and substantial unemployment under the Area Redevelopment Act, these areas which are chronically hard-hit, where business doesn't want to come, unless we make it attractive to them to come. Businesses would rather establish themselves near the big cities, where the markets are. They are not going to come up into northern Minnesota unless a real effort is made, unless credit and loans are developed, unless retraining is there, unless we develop the resources, unless we put in highways. Otherwise, they are going to move closer to the large markets. What attraction is it for a new industry to go to West Virginia or eastern Kentucky or southern Illinois unless we give them fresh water and pure water, unless we give them retrained labor, unless we give them highways, unless they can get loans at a reasonable rate of interest? They then may be attracted to go. Otherwise, these areas are left behind.

And your United States Senators, Gene McCarthy and Hubert Humphrey, worked harder on the Area Redevelopment Act than almost any other act. We have passed that, but we have to renew it or otherwise a good deal that we have accomplished will be left behind.

Twenty economically depressed areas have been identified in Minnesota, and within these areas 27 projects for financial assistance and 14 for technical assistance have been approved. Ten other projects to train people in job skills in short supply have been awarded, and the technical assistance program of ARA is exploring new uses for low grade iron ore.

All these subjects do not have the drama of the great struggle over the nuclear test ban treaty, but these are the hard jobs of Government, and this country will be able to fulfill its responsibilities as a great, free society if we take care of the matters back home, and if we take care of the undramatic matters which make the difference between life and death in a community and happiness or depression for a family. These programs have some way still to go.

And third, the Accelerated Public Works Program, adopted only last year, has created useful employment in hard-hit areas. More than $61/2 million was invested in conservation projects in national and State forests in the three-State area, creating jobs for hundreds of men, even though there are thousands, but at least for hundreds of men who otherwise would have been out of work last winter.

A hundred and eighty projects costing over $11 million in this area have benefited from this legislation, and I am hopeful that there will be more action in this area in the future.

Fourth, the proposed Youth Conservation Corps, which has been sponsored by Senator Humphrey in the Senate, if passed by the Congress, can serve a dual purpose. Patterned after the CCC of the 1930's, it will provide jobs for thousands of young men entering the labor market, and that is the place where unemployment is the highest. At the same time, it will provide a ready means of advancing the conservation work in our national and State forests. The young men joining this corps will be working for our country, getting a chance to develop some skills, leaving something behind them which will be memorable, instead of being on a street corner waiting for a job that doesn't come.

Fifth, we need to speed up the Rural Areas Development Program, launched last year to encourage more productive use of the land, to create income-producing outdoor recreation, and to aid in the location of industry in rural areas. Unless we all work on this program, we are going to have, as I said before, industry concentrating in the great population centers. The people will go there and the rural areas will be left behind.

Sixth, I think the tax cut--which the House of Representatives will vote on tomorrow, I think--can stimulate the entire economy, and its effects will be felt over the United States.

And seventh, and finally, Federal, State, and privately financed research must apply the genius of American science and technology to the development of this region. A combination of the tax depreciation law of last year and new technological breakthroughs is producing new investment and new hope, for example, in the large-scale use of taconite. Senators Humphrey and McCarthy and Congressman Blatnik have joined Governor Rolvaag in a bipartisan group to encourage the leaders of the steel industry to plan investments on the scale of hundreds of millions of dollars in this new iron ore technology. The more than $540 million already invested in facilities producing 17 1/2 million tons of ore each year will be increased by $550 million, raising the production to more than 32 million tons. Employment, it is estimated, will increase from 5,700 at present to over 10,000, and provide steadier employment than the oldstyle mining operations of the past.

Another important scientific activity undertaken by the National Government and the State government is to control the sea lamprey in the Great Lakes. This could help restore the fishing industry and serve once more as an attraction to people to come to this area of the United States--and there will be nearly 50 million of them in this area in the next years. Also, the Nation's first fresh water quality control laboratory is being constructed by the Federal Govern ment here in Duluth, on the shores of Lake Superior, and at the juncture of the two States which have the greatest number of lakes in the Union. I think it can provide an enormous supply of fresh water, and it is located in the district of the father of the Federal Water Pollution Control Program-the program which is giving us some hope of cleaning up our streams and rivers faster than we can pollute them--Congressman John Blatnik. And this is going to mean industry all over the country.

These are some of the dry, routine businesses of Government, but I think it deserves your support. What we have to decide is, where do we go from here? The programs I have talked about are still quite limited. There are hundreds of thousands of people that need assistance, and we are talking still in the thousands. But if this economy can boom ahead, if we are able to take those steps economically this year which have been recommended to the Congress, I think this country can miss a recession. I think we can enjoy prosperity. I think we can reduce our unemployment rate. And we can concentrate our attention then on those areas of the economy which are not sharing in the general prosperity.

These programs which I have discussed can be most effective if there is a general lift of the economy throughout the entire country. If you have a slowdown in the economy, the kinds of programs which I am discussing won't do the job. There is not enough in there. There are not enough people being retrained. There are not enough area redevelopment programs. But if the economy, as a unit, can move ahead, we can bring our unemployment rate down to the 5 percent or below, and then we can concentrate these programs on the hard-hit areas and we can make an appreciable difference.

We can, I believe, solve a good many of our problems. I think they are man made and they can be solved by man. And I think we must not keep our attention so fixed on those great issues of war and peace, which are perhaps the most desperate and the most serious and the most important, or the great issues of space, but also concern ourselves with what happens in the United States, and particularly in those areas of the United States which have been left behind.

I suggest to any student at this college that he, in considering his efforts in the field of public service, no matter how attractive service may be abroad, and I urge it, there is also a good deal of unfinished business here at home. To those men and women who may be members of one of our great political parties, we still need your help. And to those members of the conference who are interested in land and water, what I have suggested here only indicates the strong support that we give to the effort you make here.

In the final analysis, the energy in this country runs from the community through the State to Washington. It comes back, I hope, with renewed impact, because of these kinds of conferences, which give us some indication of the direction in which we should move. Nearly every program I have described has come about as a result of concentrated work by dedicated individuals on the local level. Out of this conference we ask for new suggestions and new ideas, as to how we can coordinate this one great country of ours, the 180 million people in it, and make this a better country in which to live.

Thank you.