Remarks in Independence, Mo., Upon Signing Proclamations Marking United Nations Day and President Truman's Role in the Creation of the U.N

I AM AWARE how difficult it is for any citizen--or any President--to pay adequate tribute to Harry S. Truman, who in his lifetime has given so much to this Nation and all its people. But today, Mr. President, we are going to try.

Every year, we proclaim a special day to observe America's commitment to the United Nations.

This year, I am proud to sign in your presence the proclamation marking October 24, 1968, United Nations Day.

But I am going to sign another proclamation which gives me even greater satisfaction. This proclamation recognizes the special role played by President Harry S. Truman in the creation of the United Nations, and the support he gave that organization during his term of office.

President Truman took on the duties of the Presidency at a tragic and critical moment in this country's history. We were emerging from the worst war the world had ever known. The deep yearning for peace touched the soul of every man alive. President Truman spoke for the world with his determination to turn the United Nations from a hope into a living reality. And through every day of his Presidency, he worked to strengthen that organization, and make it worthy of the aspirations mankind poured into it.

Generations still unborn will remember and be grateful to Harry Truman for his leadership in that dark and confusing time.

But the American people have even more cause to revere the name of Harry Truman. The Truman years were years of compassion, when a President acted on his conviction that America must work for all its citizens. And only now is the agenda for America which Harry Truman wrote being completed.

Mr. President, one of my most prized possessions is a scroll which my Cabinet gave me on the occasion of my 60th birthday. It is called "Landmark Laws of the Lyndon B. Johnson Administration."

I have brought a copy to give to you, because it is a tribute in a very real sense to your administration as well as to mine. As I look over the nearly 200 measures on this list, I see so many that began with you. In education, health, housing, and jobs alone, I can count at least 30 that were seeded in your time. They are our laws, but they were your dreams.

You had the courage and the vision to propose them when they were unpopular-because you knew that they were in America's interest. Every one of those bills you proposed added a little heat to your kitchen-because there were demagogues in your day, too, who preyed on the fears of the people, and in a time of urgent need offered only the tranquilizers of the status quo. But each of your ideas is now adding a great deal of richness to American life.

No greater reward can come to any man on this earth than to see his good work continue to improve the lives of his fellow men.

Mr. President, that reward is yours in abundance.

God bless you and keep you.