Remarks of Welcome to the Graduating Class of the Glen Lake, Michigan, High School

Congressman Hechler, Congressman Griffin, boys and girls:

I am glad to see you here. I must say I don't think that there is any group of high school students who have been more welcome in Washington and welcome here at the White House.

Is Duane Richardson here? I understand the young man might have come with you. Duane, I am glad to see you.

We want to say that we are particularly glad to welcome you for the reasons you know. The fact that this high school class spent several years in building up a $700 fund to get them here to Washington, and then to help a classmate, gave up their trip, makes it really in a sense unnecessary for you to have come to Washington because all the things we hoped you might learn, all the lessons that a trip to this capital, to this very old house might have taught you, I think you learned in your own home town, in your own home school. But, nevertheless, I am glad you came anyway. And I do think it demonstrates that on occasions, on more occasions perhaps than we think, acts of generosity and consideration bring back returns many times.

You are very much honored guests here. This house belongs to all of you. You can't possibly move through Washington without getting a greater sense of devotion to your country. This house which is, I think, a symbol of all that is best about our country-that magnolia tree which was planted by Andrew Jackson; that building over there, if you can see through there, is the Treasury. They had trouble deciding where it should be, and one day while Jackson was out walking, he put his cane down and said, "This is where we are going to build the Treasury."

Washington is full of these very close contacts with the past. All the people you have read about in your history books--Lincoln, the Adamses, Monroe, the Wilsons, Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, and all the others all lived here and all participated in making this country greater.

So, we are very glad to have you, and I hope this will only be the first of many trips, that some of you will come to work in Washington, and others of you will think of how you can serve your own home town and State, and others of you will think of going abroad to serve our country.

We are glad to have the best resource this country has--all of you--and we are particularly glad to have had a chance to welcome you here.

I first heard about this when Senator Hart made a speech on the floor of the Senate, and Ken Hechler--who doesn't even come from Michigan, nor do I--said how important this effort was.

Congressman Griffin whom you all know, all of the Congress, all of the Government, all of the country welcome you here to Washington. We are very glad to see you.