Remarks at a Reception for the Association of American Foreign Service Women.

AS MOST of you here in this room are perhaps aware, there is perhaps never a day that goes by in the White House that a reception doesn't take place. Many times, of course, because they are considered social receptions, they get very little coverage in the papers and that sort, but they are not really held for that purpose. They are held for those who come and because of our desire and Mrs. Nixon's desire, particularly, to recognize the contributions of so many people in Government and outside of Government to our national life.

I normally don't get to these receptions. I don't mean that I am doing more important things, necessarily. As a matter of fact, I was just meeting with the Cost of Living Council. [Laughter]

Somebody said, "You don't live by hamburger alone." I said, "I used to."

But anyway, we are working on that problem which affects all of you, and others.

I noted that you were going to be here, and I just wanted to come by to express a personal word to you, just as I had an opportunity to express a personal word to some of your husbands and others who were at the State Department the other day.

A few nights ago here at a meeting of more or less political types--by a political type, that means somebody who thinks enough of politics to either run or to contribute, and both, of course, at a very great risk. [Laughter] But whatever the case might be, as I was speaking to them, I told them that I thought that because their wives were also present--as a matter of fact, I should say it was the Governors and their wives--and I, of course, paid respect to the Governors, but I thought, as I considered the role of women in America today, that the most difficult assignment a woman could have would be to be married to a politician.

I think of my wife and all of the others. I think back of 27 years and of the hundreds and, yes, thousands of speeches that I made. I think of the receiving lines going on and on and on and all of these meetings that we have attended. But really, what is beyond the call of duty, I think of her sitting on the platform with me, hearing that same speech over and over again, and acting as if she is hearing it for the first time. [Laughter]

And this is, of course, true. The political wife not only meets people, and she works hard, and she shows an interest in what her husband is doing, she gives him good advice, like "Don't run," and "Do run." [Laughter]

She, incidentally, told me not to run for Governor of California, you see. But, as a matter of fact, as good as that advice was, if I had not run for Governor of California, I wouldn't be here now.

So whatever the case might be, coming now to you, there is perhaps if anything, one assignment that is more difficult for a woman than being the wife of a political figure and that is to be the wife of a diplomat, a wife of somebody in the Foreign Service.

I say this based not simply on the trips we have taken as President, because those are at such a high level that we don't really have the contact with the people in the Foreign Service and their wives that we would like to have and that we used to have. But I think back to the time when I was a freshman Congressman. One of the most exciting trips I ever took--I went to Europe in 1947, spent time in the Embassy in Rome. Jimmy Dunn was the Ambassador then, and he was kind enough to have this freshman Congressman, along with a few others in the committee, to dinner, and that was very impressive.

But I remember, also, a second man there. His name was Jimmy Jones, and Jimmy Jones' wife was a lovely person. I remember that the nights that Ambassador Dunn did not entertain us, then it was Mr. Jones' job. I didn't realize until later what a burden that was for him, how little his representation allowance was, and I realize that he must have liked us.

And then I thought, just think of the Congressmen and the Senators that had gone through Rome at that time, '47, '48, that he had to entertain.

Now later on he became an Ambassador, of course, and that was, I suppose, some reward.

I think of him. I think of, in 1956 when I was Vice President, going to, at that point, the Hungarian border at Andau to welcome the returning people--those who were escaping from Communist Hungary--coming over into Austria, and I remember staying on that occasion in the Embassy with the Thompsons, Mr. Tommy Thompson and his wife.

And I remember that I, on my trips, usually worked rather hard and never found much time for shopping, and Mrs. Thompson came in and said, "You really ought to get something for your little girls." I said, "But I don't have any time." She said, "Let _me try." So she sent out, and she bought two jackets for them, these sort of Austrian jackets, you know, that little girls wear, whatever they are, and she brought them to us, and that made me a real hero when I came home.

I paid her, incidentally, but for the jackets, but not the gasoline. [Laughter] But she did get that.

I think of those things, but also I think of other things, and this gets to perhaps more important things. Certainly the entertainment that you must do of Congressmen and Senators and others who come, businessmen, all of this must sometimes be boring, sometimes it is quite exciting. It is interesting to have people come in. But the work also that people in the Foreign Service--I am speaking now abroad, and of course, most of you have been abroad or will be going--the work that the wives do in helping their husbands communicate with the people of the countries to which they are accredited is something that many are not aware of.

We hear so much about the fact that our diplomats are aloof, and they don't know the language, and all that sort of thing. That is baloney. I would say that as I look at American diplomats in terms of their training, in terms of their ability, and in terms of their interest in the peoples of the countries to which they are accredited--I am speaking of our Foreign Service, our career people--there are none better in the world. I know that.

And there are no better wives in the world. I know what you do. I know what you have done. Let me mention one--to show you how very important it is--who was not in our Foreign Service, but who set such a marvelous example and made a strong impression on me.

It was our first trip abroad as Vice President. It was a long one, 70 days. That was 70 days, black tie every night, champagne every night--I have never liked it since. [Laughter] And we visited all of the Asian countries, and I remember visiting one of the great heroes of World War II. He was then in Malaysia. His name was General [Sir Gerald W. R.] Templer. He was a remarkable man. I stayed up very late to talk to him at night after looking at some of the problems of the insurgency in Malaysia, which, as you know, fortunately has been worked out, and both Malaysia and Singapore are now independent and free countries.

But I also heard, in talking to my Malaysian friends there, about Lady Templer, and Lady Templer had a language school. She also was the primary leader in the community there, in all sorts of volunteer activities that reached the hearts of the people. I could tell the people of Kuala Lumpur loved Lady Templer, not because she was the wife of a great general, not because she had that title, but because she was a kind and lovely woman and did these things from the heart.

I mention her. She was British. I could give you examples of our own. I can remember, for example, a wife of an American diplomat in Ethiopia.

Well, without getting into specific coun- tries, whether it is in Africa, Asia, Latin America, all of these countries, there are just many unsung heroines. They are the wives of our Foreign Service at all levels who do the job of the entertaining and all that sort of thing, which, to me, would be the most difficult of all--you may have to eat with somebody you don't particularly care for--[laughter]--but in addition to that, who go out and engage in these volunteer activities, volunteer activities working with the local people, communicating with them in a way that sometimes their husbands really can't do. And for this we are very grateful.

I want to say that we are proud of our Foreign Service, and I would only close by saying something to you that you should say to your husbands.

I was talking to a good friend of mine in the Foreign Service recently, and I said, "What are you doing?" He said, "Oh, it is not very important." He was working on some problem, I think, that had to do with a Latin American country, and so forth, a desk officer and the like.

He said, "You know, it is really not very important when you think of what has happened in the last year, the trip to Peking, and the trip to Moscow, and the ending of the war in Vietnam, these great big plays." And he was working on this little problem in Latin America.

All that I can say, and I think all of you know, is, the world is inseparable, and little problems today can become very big ones tomorrow.

I remember sitting in the only air-conditioned room that I recall in Southeast Asia in 1953. It belonged to Ambassador Heath. Let me say, the Government hadn't paid for it, he had put in his own air-conditioning. It was in his bedroom, and we sat there and talked because it was terribly hot. It was in Saigon.

I remember talking to Ambassador Heath at that time about the problems there, and so forth, and he said, "Well, you are visiting some really exciting countries." I was going from there to India, I had just been to Indonesia, both much bigger than Vietnam. At that time Vietnam was one country. We also went to Hanoi. We never stayed in the Hilton, but we went to Hanoi.

And I remember Heath, a fine Ambassador. He didn't say that his job was not important, because he could see the great forces that were beginning to work even then. But he was pointing out, this is a small country. It may not be the most important country, and yet that was a country that played a great role in the future of America.

Who knows what is the important job? Who knows what is one that is going to matter? Everything matters. Every country matters. And we want all of your husbands to know that while they all didn't go to Peking or to Moscow, that if we are able to build a structure of peace in the world, it is because our Foreign Service-far-flung, representing America all over the world---our Foreign Service and their wives have all helped to lay each of those bricks that was so important in the foundation, without which we wouldn't have a real foundation. And if it is built, and we hope it will be, and we will continue to make progress, you can all take a lot of credit.

That is what I wanted to say to you. Thank you.