Campaign Statement in North Carolina.

AS WE approach the end of this year's campaign, two questions stand out:

--Are we going to continue the policies that have made 1972 the year of the greatest achievements for peace since the end of World War II?

--Are we going to continue our advance toward what America has not known since President Eisenhower was in office--prosperity with full employment, without inflation and without war?

Whether we succeed in building a lasting peace in the world depends on the strength of America's resolve. There can be no retreat to peace. We cannot disarm unilaterally, and still expect others to negotiate a mutual limitation of arms; we cannot betray our allies and abandon our commitments, and still expect others to believe our word or respect our commitments.

We have made progress toward peace because we strengthened our alliances and maintained our military forces because we refused to allow America to become the second strongest nation in the world.

As long as I am President, I will never let America become the second strongest nation in the world. That is why we are not going to do as our opponents advocate, and slash our defense budget by $32 billion, cut our Marines by almost one-third, our tactical air wings by 30 percent, and our aircraft carriers from 16 to 6. We are not going to scrap our conventional weapons, leaving us with little more than the nuclear option.

By remaining strong, by retaining the respect we have won in the world, we can continue building what we have begun in these past 4 years: a structure of peace that will last, so that the next generation can be the first generation in this century to live without war and the fear of war.

Here at home, we have been making sure and steady progress toward a new prosperity--and North Carolina is among the leaders in that progress. The economy of this forward-looking State is booming. Total personal income in North Carolina was up 7.8 percent from 1970 to 1971, which was nearly one percent better than the national increase.

North Carolina has succeeded in reducing statewide unemployment to 2.6 percent, well trader the national average. Unemployment in the Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point area is down to 2.2 percent.

In North Carolina right now, we are close to our national goal---that anyone who wants to work will be able to work.

Nationwide, we are also making encouraging and often overlooked progress against higher prices. With our new economic policies, we have cut the rate of inflation almost in half. And just this week, the Labor Department reported that wholesale prices had remained stable all month. The total index for wholesale prices declined by 0.2 percent in October in absolute terms and rose by only 0.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis.

We are making these gains for peace and prosperity because the American spirit is strong--because Americans are not going to yield to the easy temptations of surrender abroad or handout at home. As one who has lived in North Carolina, I know that that American spirit is strong in this State.

With the support of the voters of North Carolina, with the help of Jesse Helms in the United States Senate, and with Jim Holshouser in the Governor's office, we can continue our progress and so make the next 4 years the best 4 years in the history of this Nation.