Dear Fred:
I accept your resignation as of January 20, 1961. You can take great pride in having discharged your duties as Secretary of the Interior with vigor, wisdom, and imagination.
Your report of the accomplishments of your Department during these last eight years is an account of what wise and responsible government can do to advance the well-being of our people.
I am particularly impressed that our production of hydroelectric power far surpasses that of any other nation in the world; that presently underway is the largest water resources construction program in our history; that the Mission 66 program has taken great strides in preserving, protecting, and improving our National Parks System; that there has been a remarkable increase in our Wildlife Refuge System; that considerable progress has been made on saline water conversion; that education and health programs for our Indian population have been expanded and improved; that an Office of Coal Research has been established; and, of course, that statehood has been achieved for Alaska and Hawaii.
As you return to Nebraska, I want to officially express my thanks and appreciation. In the years ahead, may you always have good health and happiness.
With warm regard,
As ever,
DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER
Note: Mr. Seaton served as Secretary of the Interior from June 8, 1956, to January 20, 1961. His letter of resignation, dated January 5, 1961, and his report were released with the President's reply.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, Letter Accepting Resignation of Fred A. Seaton as Secretary of the Interior. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/234776