Remarks at the Swearing In of Frederick DelliQuadri Chief of the Children's Bureau.

Secretary Cohen, Mr. Justice White, Mr. DelliQuadri, Members of Congress, ladies and gentlemen:

Fred DelliQuadri is a man of broad humanitarian vision.

All of his experience and his compassion will be required in his new job, because today:

--10 percent of all American children are referred to juvenile court for delinquency before their 18th birthday.

--Nearly a million young people drop out of school each year.

--Half a million children have cerebral palsy; half a million more have epilepsy.

--And almost 12 million children under 18 live in families that are too poor to feed or to house them adequately or to provide them with satisfactory medical care.

Our Nation does not have the best record of the nations of the world in infant mortality. There are at least 14 nations doing better than the United States. It is a truism to say that today's children are tomorrow's leaders. They are also tomorrow's suffering adults. They are also tomorrow's criminals. They are also tomorrow's failures.

What we do now in our families, in our churches, schools, and homes, and through agencies such as this wonderful agency-the Children's Bureau--to strengthen, to guide, and to care for our children, will determine how many of our children wind up in each of the categories I have mentioned.

I believe that, through the leadership of men like Wilbur Cohen and Mr. DelliQuadri, we can mightily increase the number of tomorrow's leaders and mightily decrease those who wind up at the bottom of the heap.

We are delighted to welcome you to this new position, Mr. DelliQuadri. Justice White, I guess, breaks another record this morning of swearing in a cane holder.