Proclamation 4085—National Newspaperboy Day, 1971

This day affords an opportunity to pay tribute to the one million American newspaperboys—who every day travel more than a million miles and distribute more than 62 million newspapers, by their diligence earning some $600 million each year for themselves and, in many cases, as a help to their families.

Besides developing sound work habits, these young businessmen—chiefly between the ages of 12 and 15— learn early how to be contributing members of society, acquiring habits of independence and punctuality and a sense of responsibility. Newspaperboys are seldom delinquents. They are busy, and busy boys have neither the time nor the inclination to get into trouble. They are good citizens.

The roster of former newspaperboys reads like a Who's Who of successful businessmen, statesmen, government officials, performing artists, clergymen, doctors and lawyers. A partial listing includes Ralph Bunche, Tom C. Clark, Bing Crosby, Bob Considine, Richard Cardinal Cushing, Jack Dempsey, Jimmy Durante, Dwight Eisenhower, Ernie Ford, John Glenn, Herbert Hoover, J. Edgar Hoover, Bob Hope, John W. McCormack, Charles Percy, David Sarnoff, Alan Shepard, Red Skelton, Ed Sullivan and John Wayne.

Without newspaperboys, freedom of the press would be more an ideal than a reality. Since the newspaperboy is the actual link between publisher and reader, he gives practical expression to this basic American right.

Now, Therefore, I, Richard Nixon, President of the United States of America, do hereby designate Saturday, October 16, 1971, as National Newspaperboy Day. I urge the citizens of this Nation to honor American newspaperboys for their significant contribution to the civic, social and economic good of the United States.

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

RICHARD NIXON