Remarks at the Rockefeller Public Service Award Ceremonies

I WANT to say what a pleasure it is to have this opportunity again to give much deserved recognition to our public servants.

I think this program of the Rockefeller Foundation in cooperation with Princeton University and the Woodrow Wilson School is very beneficial to the public service. And I think this also gives us an opportunity to draw the attention of the country to the very extraordinary number of gifted people who are working for the United States at this time.

One of our honored recipients here today is head of our Geological Department. One is most active with the Joint Committee on the Finance Committee of the Senate--the Joint Committee on Taxation. Mr. Staats with the Budget Bureau has been a career employee for a number of years. Livingston Merchant has been our Ambassador to Canada and a former Deputy Undersecretary of State.

This gives us a chance to indicate the wide range of talent available to people in the public service, and we hope that their success will encourage others in the Federal service, and also encourage young men and women to come into the government and make it a career.