Proclamation 3992—White Cane Safety Day, 1970

Tragedy is not always the end of something; it can, with courage and faith, be a beginning. Such is the case in the tragedy of blindness. Blind people have their symbol of courage in the white cane.

The white cane is more than an instrument of selfhelp—it is a familiar reminder to those who can see that any tragedy can be transcended by faith and self-confidence.

It is, therefore, not only the blind who benefit from the white cane, but all men, for it is a symbol of courage and determination that is universal and that speaks to the heart of all mankind.

To make our citizens more fully aware of the significance of the white cane, and of the need for motorists to exercise caution and courtesy when approaching its bearer, the Congress, by a joint resolution, approved October 6, 1964 (78 Stat. 1003), has authorized the President to issue annually a proclamation designating October 15 as White Cane Safety Day.

Now, Therefore, I, Richard Nixon, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim October 15, 1970, as White Cane Safety Day.

I urge all Americans to observe this day by increasing their understanding of the problems of the blind, learning more about the accomplishments of the blind, and seeking ways in which the blind may add even more than they already have to their own personal fulfillment and to the progress of our nation.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth day of June, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred seventy, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred ninety-fourth.

RICHARD NIXON