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Remarks of the President to the American Newspaper Publishers Association.

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Waldorf Astoria Hotel, New York City, April 27, 1961.

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Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen,

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I appreciate very much your generous invitation to be here tonight.

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You bear heavy responsibilities these days,

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and an article I read some time ago

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reminded me of how particularly heavily

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the burdens of present-day events bear upon your profession.

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You may remember that in 1851,

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the New York Herald Tribune,

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under the sponsorship and publishing of Horace Greeley,

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employed as its London correspondent,

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an obscure journalist by the name of Karl Marx,

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we are told that foreign correspondent Marx, stone broke,

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and with a family ill and undernourished,

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constantly appealed to Greeley,

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and managing editor Charles Dana,

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for an increase in his munificent salary of $5 per installment,

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a salary which he and Ingalls ungratefully labeled as the lousiest petty bourgeois cheating.

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But when all his financial appeals were refused,

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Marx looked around for other means of livelihood and fame,

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eventually terminating his relationship with the Tribune,

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and devoting his talents full-time to the cause that would bequeath to the world

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the seeds of Leninism, Stalinism, revolution, and the Cold War.

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If only this capitalistic New York newspaper had treated him more kindly,

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if only Marx had remained a foreign correspondent,

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history might have been different.

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And I...

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I hope all publishers will bear this lesson in mind.

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the next time they receive a poverty-stricken appeal

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from a small increase in the expense account

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from an obscure newspaper man.

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I have selected as the title of my remarks tonight

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the President and the Press.

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Some may suggest that this would be more naturally worded,

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the President versus the Press,

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but those are not my sentiments tonight.

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It is true, however,

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that when a well-known diplomat from another country

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demanded recently that our State Department

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repudiate certain newspaper attacks on his colleagues,

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it was unnecessary for us to reply

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that this administration was not responsible for the press,

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for the press had already made it clear

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that it was not responsible for this administration.

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Nevertheless, my purpose here tonight

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is not to deliver the usual assault

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on the so-called one-party press.

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On the contrary, in recent months

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I have rarely heard any complaints

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about political bias in the press

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except from a few Republicans.

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Nor is it my purpose tonight

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to discuss or defend

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the televising of presidential press conferences.

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I think it is highly beneficial

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to have some 20 million Americans

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regularly sit in on these conferences

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to observe, if I may say so,

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the incisive, the intelligent,

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and the courteous qualities displayed

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by your Washington correspondents.

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Nor, finally, are these remarks intended

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to examine the proper degree of privacy

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which the press should allow to any president

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and his family.

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If in the last few months

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your White House reporters and photographers

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have been attending church services

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with regularity,

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that has surely done them no harm.

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On the other hand, I realize that your staff

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and wire service photographers

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may be complaining that they do not enjoy

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the same green privileges the local golf courses

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which they once did.

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It is true that my predecessor did not object,

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as I do, to pictures of one's golfing skill in action.

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But neither, on the other hand,

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did he ever been a Secret Service man.

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My topic tonight is a more sober one

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of concern to publishers as well as editors.

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I want to talk about our common responsibilities

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in the face of a common danger.

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The events of recent weeks may have helped

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to illuminate that challenge for some,

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but the dimensions of its threat

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have loomed large on the horizon for many years.

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Whatever our hopes may be for the future,

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for reducing this threat,

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or living with it,

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there is no escaping either the gravity

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or the totality of its challenge

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to our survival and to our security.

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A challenge that confronts us

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in unaccustomed ways

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in every sphere of human activity.

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This deadly challenge

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imposes upon our society

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two requirements of direct concern,

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both to the press and to the President.

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Two requirements that may seem

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almost contradictory in tone,

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but which must be reconciled and fulfilled

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if we are to meet this national peril.

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I refer first to the need

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for far greater public information,

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and second to the need

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for far greater official secrecy.

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The very word secrecy is repugnant

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in a free and open society,

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and we are as a people

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inherently and historically

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opposed to secret societies,

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to secret oaths,

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and to secret proceedings.

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We decided long ago

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that the dangers of excessive

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and unwarranted concealment

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of pertinent facts

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far outweigh the dangers

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which are cited to justify it.

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Even today,

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there is little value

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in opposing the threat

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of a closed society

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by imitating its arbitrary restrictions.

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Even today,

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there is little value

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in ensuring the survival of our nation

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if our traditions

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do not survive with it.

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And there is very grave danger

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that an announced need

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for increased security

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will be seized upon

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by those anxious

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to expand its meaning

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to the very limits

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of official censorship

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and concealment.

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That I do not intend to permit

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to the extent

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that it's in my control.

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And no official

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of my administration,

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whether his rank

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is high or low,

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civilian or military,

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should interpret my words

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here tonight

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as an excuse

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to censor the news,

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to stifle dissent,

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to cover up our mistakes,

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or to withhold from the press

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and the public

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the facts they deserve to know.

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But I do ask...

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But I do ask every publisher,

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every editor,

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and every newsman in the nation

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to re-examine his own standards

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and to recognize the nature

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of our country's peril.

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In time of war,

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the government and the press

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have customarily joined

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in an effort

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based largely on self-discipline

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to prevent unauthorized disclosures

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to the enemy.

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In times of clear

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and present danger,

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the courts have held

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that even the privileged rights

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of the First Amendment

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must yield to the public's need

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for national security.

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Today, no war has been declared.

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And however fierce the struggle may be,

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it may never be declared

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in the traditional fashion.

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Our way of life is under attack.

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Those who make themselves our enemy

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are advancing around the globe.

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The survival of our friends

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is in danger.

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And yet, no war has been declared.

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No borders have been crossed

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by marching troops.

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No missiles have been fired.

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If the press is awaiting

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a declaration of war

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before it imposes

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the self-discipline

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of combat conditions,

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then I can only say

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that no war ever posed

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a greater threat

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to our security.

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If you are awaiting

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a finding of clear

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and present danger,

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then I can only say

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that the danger

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has never been more clear

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and its presence

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has never been more imminent.

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It requires a change

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in outlook,

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a change in tactics,

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a change in missions,

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by the government,

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by the people,

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by every businessman

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or labor leader,

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and by every newspaper.

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For we are opposed

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around the world

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by a monolithic

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and ruthless conspiracy

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that relies primarily

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on covet means

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for expanding

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its sphere of influence,

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on infiltration

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instead of invasion,

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on subversion

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instead of elections,

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on intimidation

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instead of free choice,

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on guerrillas by night

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instead of armies by day.

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It is a system

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which has conscripted

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vast human

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and material resources

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into the building

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of a tightly knit,

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highly efficient machine

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that combines military,

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diplomatic,

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intelligence,

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economic,

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scientific,

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and political operations.

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Its preparations

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are concealed,

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not published.

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Its mistakes

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are buried,

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not headlined.

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Its dissenters

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are silenced,

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not praised.

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No expenditure

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is questioned.

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No rumor

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is printed.

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No secret

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is revealed.

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It conducts

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the Cold War

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in short.

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With a wartime discipline,

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no democracy

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would ever hope

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or wish to match.

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Nevertheless,

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every democracy

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recognizes

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the necessary restraints

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of national security.

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and the question

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remains

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whether those

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restraints need

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to be more strictly

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observed

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if we are to oppose

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this kind of attack

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as well as

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outright invasion.

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For the facts of the matter

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are

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that this nation's

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foes

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have openly boasted

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of acquiring

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through our newspapers

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information

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they would otherwise

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hire agents

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to acquire

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through theft,

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bribery,

298
00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:40,000
or espionage.

299
00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:41,000
That details

300
00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:42,000
of this nation's

301
00:11:42,000 --> 00:11:43,000
covert preparations

302
00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:44,000
to counter

303
00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:45,000
the enemy's

304
00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:46,000
covert operations

305
00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:47,000
have been available

306
00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:49,000
to every newspaper reader,

307
00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:51,000
friend and foe alike.

308
00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:52,000
That the size,

309
00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:53,000
the strength,

310
00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:54,000
the location,

311
00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:55,000
and the nature

312
00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:56,000
of our forces

313
00:11:56,000 --> 00:11:57,000
and weapons

314
00:11:57,000 --> 00:11:58,000
and our plans

315
00:11:58,000 --> 00:11:59,000
and strategy

316
00:11:59,000 --> 00:12:00,000
for their use

317
00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:01,000
have all been pinpointed

318
00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:02,000
in the press

319
00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:04,000
and other news media

320
00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:05,000
to a degree sufficient

321
00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:06,000
to a degree sufficient

322
00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:07,000
to satisfy

323
00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:09,000
any foreign power.

324
00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:10,000
And that in at least

325
00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:11,000
one case

326
00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:12,000
the publication

327
00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:13,000
of details

328
00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:14,000
concerning

329
00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:15,000
a secret mechanism

330
00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:16,000
whereby

331
00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:17,000
satellites

332
00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:18,000
were followed

333
00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:19,000
required

334
00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:20,000
its alteration

335
00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:21,000
at the expense

336
00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:22,000
of considerable

337
00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:23,000
time and money.

338
00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:24,000
The newspapers

339
00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:25,000
which printed

340
00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:26,000
these stories

341
00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:27,000
were loyal,

342
00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:28,000
patriotic,

343
00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:29,000
responsible,

344
00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:30,000
and well-meaning.

345
00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:31,000
Had we been engaged

346
00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:32,000
in open warfare

347
00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:33,000
they undoubtedly

348
00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:34,000
would not have published

349
00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:36,000
such items.

350
00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:37,000
But in the absence

351
00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:38,000
of open warfare

352
00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:39,000
they recognized

353
00:12:39,000 --> 00:12:40,000
only the tests

354
00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:41,000
of journalism

355
00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:42,000
and not the tests

356
00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:44,000
of national security.

357
00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:45,000
And my question

358
00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:46,000
tonight

359
00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:47,000
is whether

360
00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:48,000
additional tests

361
00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:49,000
should not

362
00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:50,000
now be adopted.

363
00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:51,000
That question

364
00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:52,000
is for you alone

365
00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:53,000
to answer.

366
00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:54,000
No public official

367
00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:55,000
should answer it

368
00:12:55,000 --> 00:12:56,000
for you.

369
00:12:56,000 --> 00:12:58,000
No governmental plan

370
00:12:58,000 --> 00:12:59,000
should impose

371
00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:00,000
its restraints

372
00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:02,000
against your will.

373
00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:03,000
But I would be failing

374
00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:04,000
in my duty

375
00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:05,000
to the nation

376
00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:06,000
in considering

377
00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:07,000
all of the responsibilities

378
00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:09,000
that we now bear

379
00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:10,000
and all of the means

380
00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:11,000
at hand

381
00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:13,000
to meet those responsibilities

382
00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:14,000
if I did not command

383
00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:15,000
this problem

384
00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:16,000
to your attention

385
00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:18,000
and urge

386
00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:19,000
its thoughtful consideration.

387
00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:21,000
On many earlier occasions

388
00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:22,000
I have said

389
00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:24,000
and your newspapers

390
00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:25,000
have constantly said

391
00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:27,000
that these are times

392
00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:28,000
that appeal

393
00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:30,000
to every citizen's

394
00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:31,000
sense of sacrifice

395
00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:33,000
and self-discipline.

396
00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:34,000
They call out

397
00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:35,000
to every citizen

398
00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:36,000
to weigh his rights

399
00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:38,000
and comforts

400
00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:39,000
against his obligations

401
00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:41,000
to the common good.

402
00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:43,000
I cannot now believe

403
00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:44,000
that those citizens

404
00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:45,000
who serve

405
00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:46,000
in the newspaper business

406
00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:47,000
consider themselves

407
00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:48,000
exempt

408
00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:49,000
from that appeal.

409
00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:51,000
I have no intention

410
00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:52,000
of establishing

411
00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:53,000
a new office

412
00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:54,000
of war information

413
00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:55,000
to govern

414
00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:56,000
the flow of news.

415
00:13:56,000 --> 00:13:58,000
I am not suggesting

416
00:13:58,000 --> 00:13:59,000
any new forms

417
00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:00,000
of censorship

418
00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:01,000
or new types

419
00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:03,000
of security classifications.

420
00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:05,000
I have no easy answer

421
00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:06,000
to the dilemma

422
00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:07,000
that I have posed

423
00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:08,000
and would not seek

424
00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:09,000
to impose it

425
00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:10,000
if I had one.

426
00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:11,000
But I am asking

427
00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:12,000
the members

428
00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:13,000
of the newspaper profession

429
00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:15,000
and the industry

430
00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:16,000
in this country

431
00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:17,000
to reexamine

432
00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:19,000
their own responsibilities,

433
00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:20,000
to consider

434
00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:21,000
the degree

435
00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:22,000
and the nature

436
00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:23,000
of the present danger

437
00:14:23,000 --> 00:14:24,000
and to heed

438
00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:26,000
the duty of self-restraint

439
00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:27,000
which that danger

440
00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:29,000
imposes upon us all.

441
00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:30,000
Every newspaper

442
00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:31,000
now asks itself

443
00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:32,000
with respect

444
00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:33,000
to every story,

445
00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:34,000
is it news?

446
00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:35,000
All I suggest

447
00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:36,000
is that you add

448
00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:37,000
the question,

449
00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:38,000
is it in the interest

450
00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:40,000
of national security?

451
00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:41,000
And I hope

452
00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:42,000
that every group

453
00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:43,000
in America,

454
00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:44,000
unions and businessmen

455
00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:45,000
and public officials

456
00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:46,000
at every level,

457
00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:48,000
will ask the same question

458
00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:49,000
of their endeavors

459
00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:51,000
and subject their actions

460
00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:54,000
to this same exacting test.

461
00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:55,000
And should the press

462
00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:56,000
of America

463
00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:58,000
consider and recommend

464
00:14:58,000 --> 00:14:59,000
the voluntary assumption

465
00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:01,000
of specific new steps

466
00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:02,000
or machinery,

467
00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:03,000
I can assure you

468
00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:04,000
that we will cooperate

469
00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:05,000
wholeheartedly

470
00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:07,000
with those recommendations.

471
00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:08,000
Perhaps there will be

472
00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:09,000
no recommendations.

473
00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:11,000
Perhaps there is no answer

474
00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:12,000
to the dilemma

475
00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:14,000
faced by a free

476
00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:15,000
and open society

477
00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:16,000
in a cold

478
00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:17,000
and secret war.

479
00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:20,000
In times of peace,

480
00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:21,000
any discussion

481
00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:22,000
of this subject

482
00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:23,000
and any action

483
00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:24,000
that results

484
00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:26,000
are both painful

485
00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:27,000
and without precedent.

486
00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:28,000
But this is a time

487
00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:30,000
of peace and peril

488
00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:31,000
which knows

489
00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:32,000
no precedent

490
00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:33,000
in history.

491
00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:35,000
It is the unprecedented

492
00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:36,000
nature

493
00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:37,000
of this challenge

494
00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:38,000
that also gives rise

495
00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:40,000
to your second obligation,

496
00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:41,000
an obligation

497
00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:42,000
which I share.

498
00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:44,000
And that is our obligation

499
00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:45,000
to inform

500
00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:46,000
and alert

501
00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:47,000
the American people.

502
00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:48,000
to make certain

503
00:15:48,000 --> 00:15:49,000
that they possess

504
00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:50,000
all the facts

505
00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:51,000
that they need

506
00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:52,000
and understand them

507
00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:53,000
as well.

508
00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:54,000
The perils,

509
00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:55,000
the prospects,

510
00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:56,000
the purposes

511
00:15:56,000 --> 00:15:57,000
of our program

512
00:15:57,000 --> 00:15:58,000
and the choices

513
00:15:58,000 --> 00:15:59,000
that we face.

514
00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:00,000
No president

515
00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:01,000
should fear

516
00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:02,000
public scrutiny

517
00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:04,000
of his program.

518
00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:05,000
For from that scrutiny

519
00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:06,000
comes understanding.

520
00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:08,000
And from that understanding

521
00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:09,000
comes support

522
00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:10,000
or opposition.

523
00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:12,000
And both are necessary.

524
00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:13,000
I am not asking

525
00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:14,000
your newspapers

526
00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:15,000
to support

527
00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:16,000
an administration.

528
00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:18,000
But I am asking

529
00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:19,000
your help

530
00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:20,000
in the tremendous task

531
00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:21,000
of informing

532
00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:22,000
and alerting

533
00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:23,000
the American people.

534
00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:25,000
For I have complete confidence

535
00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:27,000
I have complete confidence

536
00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:32,000
in the response

537
00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:33,000
and dedication

538
00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:34,000
of our citizens

539
00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:36,000
whenever they are fully informed.

540
00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:39,000
I not only could not stifle controversy

541
00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:40,000
among your readers,

542
00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:41,000
I welcome it.

543
00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:43,000
This administration intends

544
00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:44,000
to be candid

545
00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:45,000
about its errors.

546
00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:46,000
For as a wise man

547
00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:47,000
once said,

548
00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:48,000
an error

549
00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:50,000
doesn't become a mistake

550
00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:51,000
until you refuse

551
00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:52,000
to correct it.

552
00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:53,000
We intend

553
00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:54,000
to accept

554
00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:55,000
full responsibility

555
00:16:55,000 --> 00:16:56,000
for our errors.

556
00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:57,000
And we expect

557
00:16:57,000 --> 00:16:58,000
you to point them out

558
00:16:58,000 --> 00:16:59,000
when we miss them.

559
00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:01,000
Without debate,

560
00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:02,000
without criticism,

561
00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:04,000
no administration

562
00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:05,000
and no country

563
00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:06,000
can succeed.

564
00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:07,000
And no republic

565
00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:08,000
can survive.

566
00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:10,000
That is why

567
00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:11,000
the Athenian lawmaker

568
00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:12,000
Solon

569
00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:14,000
decreed a crime

570
00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:15,000
for any citizen

571
00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:17,000
to shrink from controversy.

572
00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:18,000
And that is why

573
00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:19,000
our press was protected

574
00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:21,000
by the First Amendment.

575
00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:22,000
The only business

576
00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:23,000
in America

577
00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:24,000
specifically protected

578
00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:26,000
by the Constitution.

579
00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:27,000
Not primarily

580
00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:28,000
to amuse

581
00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:29,000
and entertain.

582
00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:31,000
Not to emphasize

583
00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:32,000
the trivial

584
00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:33,000
and the sentimental.

585
00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:34,000
Not to simply

586
00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:35,000
give the public

587
00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:36,000
what it wants.

588
00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:37,000
But to inform,

589
00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:39,000
to arouse,

590
00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:40,000
to reflect,

591
00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:41,000
to state our dangers

592
00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:43,000
and our opportunities,

593
00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:45,000
to indicate our crises

594
00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:46,000
and our choices,

595
00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:47,000
to lead,

596
00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:48,000
mold,

597
00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:49,000
educate,

598
00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:50,000
and sometimes

599
00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:51,000
even anger

600
00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:53,000
public opinion.

601
00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:54,000
This means

602
00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:55,000
greater coverage

603
00:17:55,000 --> 00:17:56,000
and analysis

604
00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:58,000
of international news.

605
00:17:58,000 --> 00:17:59,000
For it is no longer

606
00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:00,000
far away

607
00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:01,000
and foreign,

608
00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:03,000
but close at hand

609
00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:04,000
and local.

610
00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:05,000
It means greater attention

611
00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:07,000
to improved understanding

612
00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:08,000
of the news

613
00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:09,000
as well as improved

614
00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:10,000
transmission.

615
00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:11,000
And it means,

616
00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:12,000
finally,

617
00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:13,000
that government

618
00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:14,000
at all levels

619
00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:15,000
must meet

620
00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:16,000
its obligation

621
00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:17,000
to provide you

622
00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:18,000
with the fullest

623
00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:19,000
possible information

624
00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:21,000
outside the narrowest

625
00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:22,000
limits

626
00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:23,000
of national security.

627
00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:24,000
And we intend

628
00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:25,000
to do it.

629
00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:27,000
It was early

630
00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:28,000
in the 17th century

631
00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:29,000
that Francis Bacon

632
00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:30,000
remarked

633
00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:31,000
on three recent

634
00:18:31,000 --> 00:18:32,000
inventions

635
00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:33,000
already transforming

636
00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:34,000
the world.

637
00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:35,000
The compass,

638
00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:36,000
gunpowder,

639
00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:38,000
and the printing press.

640
00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:39,000
Now the links

641
00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:40,000
between the nations,

642
00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:42,000
first forged

643
00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:43,000
by the compass,

644
00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:44,000
have made us

645
00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:45,000
all citizens

646
00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:46,000
of the world.

647
00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:47,000
The hopes

648
00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:48,000
and threats

649
00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:49,000
of one,

650
00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:50,000
becoming the hopes

651
00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:51,000
and threats

652
00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:52,000
of us all.

653
00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:54,000
In that one world's

654
00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:55,000
effort to live

655
00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:56,000
together,

656
00:18:56,000 --> 00:18:57,000
the evolution

657
00:18:57,000 --> 00:18:58,000
of gunpowder

658
00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:00,000
to its ultimate limit

659
00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:02,000
has warned mankind

660
00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:03,000
of the terrible consequences

661
00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:04,000
of failure.

662
00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:06,000
And so it is

663
00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:07,000
to the printing press,

664
00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:08,000
to the recorder

665
00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:10,000
of man's deeds,

666
00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:11,000
the keeper

667
00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:12,000
of his conscience,

668
00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:13,000
the courier

669
00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:14,000
of his news,

670
00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:15,000
that we look

671
00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:16,000
for strength

672
00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:17,000
and assistance,

673
00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:19,000
confident that

674
00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:20,000
with your help,

675
00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:21,000
man will be

676
00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:22,000
what he was born

677
00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:23,000
to be,

678
00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:25,000
free and independent.

679
00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:27,000
Not with trouble,

680
00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:28,000
but,

681
00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:53,000
including the