Remarks at the Rockefeller Public Service Awards Luncheon

Mr. Rockefeller, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:

At the outset, let me congratulate Mr. Rockefeller again for his generosity and support of a very, very worthwhile program.

Secondly, let me compliment Princeton University and the Woodrow Wilson School of that great university for its participation in this program.

Naturally, I am very pleased and honored to have a part in this awards program and to join in your salute to the five outstanding public servants who are being rewarded here today.

For as long as there has been government--government among men, I should say--it has been fashionable to attack bureaucracy and bureaucrats, sometimes for good and sufficient reason. And I have to confess that in the over 25 years that I served in the House of Representatives, I have, on occasion, joined in that fray, obviously, when I thought the issues and facts were right. I suspect, on occasion, they weren't, but nevertheless, if I did, I apologize.

But the fact remains that career public servants who do keep the vital and highly essential day-to-day business of Government moving year after year-a vast and a very loyal group of good people doing good work for their country.

Now, sometimes the pace is a little too slow for my taste. But when you consider the complexity and the sensitivity of modern government, the question may not be why does government move so slowly, but rather, how does government happen to move at all?

Commenting on public apathy and its effect on government, Adlai Stevenson once joked that our public servants serve us right. Today, we are proud to honor five public servants who have done more than just serve us right. They have served us with great, great distinction.

Each one in his own way has made an important and lasting contribution to our free way of life. The fields these men represent--aeronautics, social welfare, and a range of other areas in the Government related to our economy-but the ability and the dedication which each has brought to his work is the very same.

Fortunately, I have known some, not all. They represent in the best tradition, the best, long tradition of outstanding public servants, and they are among the unsung heroes of millions of men and women who, over a long period of time, have served our Government well and have made it work, despite problems and complexities that few people understand.

So, on behalf of the American people, I wish to thank you, each and every one of you who are being rewarded here today, for a job well done. Your example is an inspiration. It does give a guiding hand to others, those who are your fellow workers. And I hope this ceremony today, like those in the past, will give an inspiration to others, your associates in all departments. And I hope that it will in some way give the American people the proper respect and admiration for those who have excelled, those who have excelled in service to their fellow men in our country.

Thank you very much.