Statement by the President Following Receipt of the Report of the Board of Inquiry in the Steel Strike.

IT IS ESSENTIAL to the national interest that production be resumed immediately in the steel industry.

Free collective bargaining has not worked in this dispute despite the dedicated efforts of the Federal Government and the fact-finding Board of Inquiry, composed of eminent and impartial citizens.

In order to protect the interest of all of the American people, this leaves me with no alternative except to seek an injunction under the existing law.

America's hopes for a voluntary responsible settlement have not been fulfilled. It is a sad day for the Nation.