Remarks at a Swearing-In Ceremony and Reception for Presidential Appointees.

Gentlemen, Mr. Justice, Mr. Vice President:

I want to welcome all of you here to this reception. The purpose was to complete the swearing-in of those members of the administration who had not had the oath administered to them, and also, and equally important, was our desire to have a chance -to see these names we have been reading about in the paper.

One of the unsatisfactory features of a most satisfactory and interesting job has been the fact that we have had a chance to see--and perhaps that will also be true in the future--comparatively few members of this administration.

All of the positions which are held by the men who are being sworn today, and by those of you in the audience who have been sworn before, are all extremely important; and the kind of work that you do is vital to the success of this administration, and vital to the success of our country.

And therefore we want--and the Vice President and I hold this view very strongly--the closest possible working relationship between all members of the administration and the White House; so that I hope that this is the first of many visits you pay here, and I hope that you will also, all of you, feel not only free but also a responsibility to maintain the closest contact with each other and with the Vice President and myself.

Now, if the busiest man in Washington would administer the oath of office.