Statement by Senator John F. Kennedy on Views of Businessmen

Businessmen across the country are being asked to give Democratic presidential candidate, Senator John F. Kennedy, their views on public policies to stimulate the Nation's business expansion and prosperity, and on problems directly affecting the welfare of the business community.

Looking toward the problems which will confront the next administration, local representatives of the National Committee of Business and Professional Men and Women for Kennedy-Johnson will ask individual businessmen in their areas for a detailed expression of information and comments on fields of their concern. The committee emphasized that at this stage of the campaign Senator Kennedy has begun to look beyond the election. The current project, one of the most thorough ever undertaken during a presidential campaign, is a first step toward planning the economic program of a new administration.

As a part of this project, Senator Kennedy has written to a number of executives of major trade and industry associations requesting their views on questions of direct interest to them. The result of these inquiries will provide him with a detailed sampling of current thinking among businessmen and with valuable background material regarding the problems affecting American trade and industry.

In his letter to the executives released today, Senator Kennedy stated:

A prosperous and expanding economy is the cornerstone of our free enterprise system and vital to the maintenance of America's strength, as leader of the free world. Governmental initiative in achieving this goal can be effectively based only on a partnership of all segments of our population, and particularly upon a pooling of the energies and talents of business and labor.