Remarks in Rockport, Arkansas.

My friends:

I am very happy to have come here to take part in this religious service. It means a great deal to me.

This particular spot has seen much history. It has seen many famous men pass through here on their way west. It has seen Americans through many generations, but remember that in all those days, and in this one, religion has taken part in everything that has occurred.

I always remember that in the earliest days of the white settlement of North America, in the days of the landing at Plymouth, the colonization of Jamestown and the founding of New Amsterdam, the first thing that the earliest colonists did when they set foot on shore was to hold a religious service. It seemed to be in our American blood. And so, as the Nation developed and as men moved across the Alleghenies and across the Mississippi, religion went hand in hand with them.

I am glad to think that in these more recent days the spiritual qualities of the American people are keeping pace with the progress of the more material civilization. And that is why, you good people who live in this section of Arkansas, I ask you always to keep that spiritual faith and to remember the early days when your ancestors brought religion across the Mississippi.