PPP:64 "The U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy Story"

we present the United States Senator John F Kennedy [Music] story this is Washington DC official capital of the United States unofficial capital of the Free World where the people of Massachusetts visit today with Senator and Mrs John F Kennedy in this historic building each Senate legislative battle reaches its dramatic climax it is here that a bill is debated it is here that Senator Kennedy and his colleagues vote on its merits the place where Senator Kennedy keeps his fingers on the pulse feed of Massachusetts however is the Senate Office Building a handsome white marbl structure just across historic Constitution Avenue from the capital here most committees all senators and the vice president of the United States maintain their actual working headquarters it is here that scores of Massachusetts visitors and hundreds of Massachusetts letters telegrams and telephone calls are received each day in Senator Kennedy's bustling office let's ask Joan Delaney of quinsey Massachusetts about the activity here she's talking with Ted Ren of Somerville the Senator's Administrative Assistant pardon Us Joan hello won't you come in how many Massachusetts visitors do you have we have between 50 and 100 visitors each day some talk with the senator others talk with his assistants and what about all that mail Jone uh what do you do with it we receive up to 800 letters a day more than any other senatorial office sen Kennedy never lets any letter of message go by on answer when the mail arrives it is read carefully anded according to particular issues or problems some people write us of legislative proposals or comments on bills pending in the Senate other people write the senator on personal matters however all of the mail is carefully examined and replied to as a matter of fact the senator is in his office right now going over the mail with two of the girls won't you go in and join them well thank you Joan we'll proceed on in and talk with the senator as we enter the Senator's office Helen lmart from chapi and Gloria lman from chelse are working with the senator on his Daily Mail Senator Kennedy in his nearly six years in the Senate has either introduced or co-sponsored approximately 350 bills aimed at strengthening Massachusetts he is also an influential member of two of the most powerful Committees of the Senate the Foreign Relations Committee where he consults with Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson and assistant Majority Leader Mike Mansfield and the labor and public welfare committee Senator Kennedy is also chairman of the subcommittee that writes labor legislation here Senator Kennedy confirmed with senator Paul Douglas of Illinois these are unprecedented achievements for a first-term senator as you can see this is an office filled with momentos of Senator Kennedy's family life of his service in the United States Navy and of his Congressional and senatorial career Senator Kennedy could I ask you a few questions oh yeah surely your girls do you excuse me Senator uh won't you tell us about some of the interesting objects surrounding you here yes I'd be glad to to uh this of course is a picture of uh my wife Jackie and my daughter Caroline up here we have a picture of former President Truman and a letter from him and then here we have a picture of former president Hoover I was chairman of the subcommittee on reorganization which considered all the Hoover Commission recommendations we passed about 30 of them in the Senate and uh he expressed his appreciation as I believe it's done a good deal for economy this is a model of a PT Boat on which I serve PT 109 in which I served during the war and of course this is the Democratic donkey what about that coconut on your desk that's a rather interesting object well our PT Boat was sunk by a Japanese destroyer and uh we found a native and gave him a coconut which he took through the lines and wrote a message on it boats came and picked us up about 10 days later and I put the coconut in plastic and have kept it of as as a momento of more unpleasant days Sonic we note that your office is filled also with objects to recall your legislative as well as your military bottles well he on my desk uh many of the bills which uh I've introduced on behalf of Massachusetts of course on many of them I've had the close cooperation of my senior colleague Senator Salen Senator won't you tell us something about your campaign for a stronger Massachusetts of course this is a NeverEnding job because when we reach the solution to one problem we find new ones arising Massachusetts is either directly or indirectly affected by everything we do or do not do let me tell you about a few of the things that we've done one of the most important continuing tasks is that of bolstering New England's economy here for instance is the bill which prevented excessive speculation in raw wool we're a great wool Center in Boston it's part of a broad program we have worked on to ha unfair foreign and domestic competition to the textile and apparel Industries in our state which employ more than 100,000 of our citizens we have obtained as part of this program higher duties on wool textile Imports when they are in excess of 5% of domestic production we have also secured lower tariffs on Raw wool Imports on which we Depend and an agreement with Japan to restrict Imports to America of certain Tex stops turning to another vital New England industry I'd like to cite the Kennedy salt and stall fishing and research development Bill $10 million already has been channeled into fishing research and development by this program including funds for the albatross number three this ship has been conducting research activities in and around Massachusetts ports and off the New England coast here you see underwater photographs taken by the crew of the albatross to strengthen this industry which provides income for nearly 50,000 Massachusetts residents another bill to Aid these families is the one leveling tariff on the Imports of fish scks of course nothing can be accomplished on New England without understanding her unique problems one of these is the lack of Natural Resources to provide the kind of cheap electric power which is available in the south and west to counteract this Senator John pastor of Rhode Island and I obtained passage of legislation giving New England preference for atomic energy a new atomic energy plant is now being constructed at Ro Massachusetts as a result of this bill of course Senator we know these are but three vital areas in which you have worked to strengthen Massachusetts another important part of our Massachusetts economy is Commonwealth peer in Boston Harbor we all recall when this vital facility which carries 1/4 of the tonnage that moved through the port of Boston was a safety hazard and was to be torn down now however as a result of the coordinated efforts of Senator Kennedy Senator Salon stall and congressman John McCormick it is once more carrying its heavy share of Harbor traffic safely and economically in the wake of the floods tornadoes and hurricanes that have devastated New England Senator Kennedy successfully sponsored legislation to establish a flood insurance program and new flood control works he obtained emergency disaster relief for those who suffered loss to illustrate another area in which Senator Kennedy has attempted to preserve the historic concepts of this nation and look after the interests of individuals let's talk with Salvatore Tua of Medford [Music] massachusett mr's will translate I am Mrs ruo Mr T's niece my uncle said he came into this country in 1955 but was not able to take his family with him through Mr Kennedy's efforts he was reunited in this wonderful country of ours and he wishes to thank Senator Kennedy very much other families like the Tas now can be brought together in America as a result of Senator Kennedy's bill revising the McCaron Walter Immigration Act the Kennedy Bill opens this nation's doors wider to peoples from friendly countries seeking safety and refuge here between 60 and 70,000 refugees orphans and escapes from tyranny will enter the United States under this law in the field of Foreign Affairs Senator Kennedy has fought to utilize United States economic aid to keep the torch of Freedom burning among poles THS and others held against their will behind the Iron Curtain a major accomplishment of the Senate during the past year and a half has been the fting out of racketeers hoodlums and management hired Union Busters who have infiltrated the union movement Senator Kennedy as a member of the memen Rockets committee and his brother Bob as Chief counsel to the committee have played ke roles in this historic episode well the fact is though that you were paying them a bribe then I was paying him a d a bribe I paid it with the complete knowledge of the United States government I'm not talking now about that I'm talking about your own responsibility you know that that's prohibited by law for you to pay a bribe well there's no bribe as far as I was concerned we're talking about the fact that you gave $175 a week in cash to Mr McHugh and it was your impression at the time you were giving it that it was going into his pocket Now isn't that correct no it was not my impression it's going into his pocket he advised it's for the needy Union men and friend but you've already testified that it first you believed him and that then you didn't isn't that correct later on later on I was from various statements they said and what I heard is told Hannah I was of the opinion that probably they rying coming well then you continued to pay the money I continued to pay the money well then you were giving him a bribe now M offer how did the uh account reconstruct this talk to the people who he talk to I imagine he talked to the people involved he talked to you we discussed the matter yes and you told him what had happened no I told him when I borrowed the money I thought I had borrowed the money and when you thought you'd paid it back and I thought when I paid it back and he checked it and these are the records he gave me which shows how your memory can slip apparently instead of 52 it was 51 I thought who else did he talk to your account who did he talk to who else did he talk to in making these uh this report to you I assume the people who were involved well how many people were involved all hand you mean the Lo yeah well I have to count and tell you the loone we're now talking about you talk to Mr Holzman Mr Holzman well Holzman happens to be dead that's right so who who else did you talk to probably bushin so in other words the people that he talked to your accountant were you and Mr bushin now he talked to any other people I wouldn't but Mr to you came and read read before the committee the statement that your accountant has been over written has now indicated that you uh borrowed the money in such and such a year and repaid the money in such and such a year now when did your accountant make this study when did he make it yes he just make it the last few months that's right last few days the last few days he made this determination and the only people that he and you can't tell us who he talked to besides you Mr hoer and the other gentleman who I think you have to ask him Senator your accountant I'm asking you the one who made the report to the committee about the what your account and found and now we find that there are no records that he merely talked to you and to the other gentleman involved and the whole transaction was in cash the legislative outgrowth of this long series of Investigations was the Kennedy Ives Bill designed to strengthen unionism by ridding it of those who would Rob The Working Man of both his dues and his rights this important measure passed the Senate 88 to1 but was defeated by a close vote in the House of Representatives these were the words words of Senator Kennedy and Senator Ives the day of the house action only Jimmy harer can Rejoice at his continued good luck honest union members and the general public can only regard it as a tragedy that politics has prevented the bipartisan recommendations of the Mullen committee which passed the Senate 88 to1 from being passed in the House of Representatives constructive labor legislation however for the reform of this general area will be brought again to the Congress next year in the meantime those who defeated this bill will bear a heavy responsibility for the racketeering that will continue to go on unchecked and now we hear from Senator IES of New York the Kennedy IES bill is a good bill would have put haa out of business for example but a lot of the house members were misled by false propaganda from the n the US Chamber of Commerce the American retail Federation the teamsters and the United Mine Workers can you imagine a more Unholy Alliance they represent the extremists in both camps and I want to say this that while the Senate passed this bill 88 to1 we did it by a bipartisan approach Senator Kennedy's a Democrat I'm a republican we work together on this business politics partisan politics has never been within our consideration as I look at that house vote I'm ashamed of my party the vote was in favor of it Democrats 149 Republicans 41 a total of 190 against it Democrats 61 Republicans 137 a total of 198 that speaks for itself the house is a long ways to go before it approaches the nonpartisan attitude of Senator Kennedy and myself and many other Republican and Democrats in the Senate of course Senator Kennedy also has retained a keen interest in other human problems he fought to extend unemployment compensation to 39 weeks he led successful campaigns to raise the national minimum wage to $1 and lower the retirement age for women Senator Kennedy sponsored the legislation which will establish America's First National Library of Medicine this Library will provide the nation with a vital medical research facility the largest in the world will safeguard Priceless and irreplaceable medical journals that are now housed in Antiquated makeshift quarters the people of Massachusetts also know that as a direct result of Senator Kennedy's 1952 campaign pledge he with the cooperation of Senator Sall founded the New England Conference of senators this conference brought together for the first time in history 12 New England Senators Republicans and Democrats in a successful effort to achieve economic and social gains for this are area of the nation Senator since the people of Massachusetts always have been interested in your personal as well as your professional life we would like to share with them in recollection some of the intimate highlights of the last few years let's begin with that day in January 1953 when the Beloved beep Alvin W Barkley swore you in as Junior senator from Massachusetts as your entry into the Senate was an important political event of 19 1953 your wedding to jacqualine bovier was a romantic highlight of that [Music] year another highlight in both your lives of course was the birth last November of your daughter Caroline and her christening a few weeks later by Archbishop Richard kushion we recall also Senator your role in one of the most ensal political d dramas of recent years the fight for the 1956 Democratic vice presidential nomination here are some tense moments from that race which began with your nomination by governor riov of Connecticut and reached its climax with a second ballot when you came within 20 and a half votes of capturing the nomination John Kennedy of Massachusetts is an outstanding American John Kennedy of Massachusetts is a great Democrat John Kennedy of Massachusetts is a successful campaigner and a successful candidate every time he has run for public office convention will be in order and the clerk will proceed with the second roll call of the states for the nomination for the vice presidency of the United States Alabama pass it Alaska six vot Mr chairman Alaska cast six votes for Estus ke [Applause] offer New York has one and a half vote fuy father 96 and a half vote for the next Vice President of the United States Senator Kennedy Texas 56 votes Texas proudly cast it vat for that fighting sailor who wears a SC STS of battle and that Fearless Senator the next Vice President of the United States John Kennedy of [Applause] Massachusetts does the state of Tennessee desire recognition Mr chairman Tennessee Mr chairman Tennessee respectfully requests the opportunity for candidate Albert Gore to make a brief announcement Mr chairman with thanks to this great free Democratic Convention I request that my name be withdrawn in favor of my colleague Senator fber hello Mr chairman Florida Now cast 17 and 1 12 Sunshine votes for Senator kova 10 and 1 12 10 and 1 half for Senator Kennedy Senator John Kennedy of Massachusetts uh ladies and gentlemen uh ladies and gentlemen of uh this convention I want to uh take this opportunity first to express my appreciation to Democrats from all parts of the country north and south east and west who have been so generous and kind to me this afternoon I think that it proves as nothing else could prove what a strong and United party the Democratic party [Applause] is secondly I think what has happened today Bears out the good judgment of Governor Steven in deciding that this issue should be taken to the floor of the convention because I believe that the Democratic party will go from this convention far stronger for what we have done here today and therefore ladies and gentlemen recognizing that this convention has selected a man who has campaigned in all parts of the country who has worked untiringly for the party who will serve as an admirable running mate to Governor Stevenson I hope that this convention will make S ke offer's nomination unanimous thank you I move that we suspend the rules and make the nomination of es ke offer by acclamation of course Senator no recounting of your personal triumphs would be complete without mentioning the pullet surprise W in 1957 for writing profiles en courage it was an interesting job because all of us who hold a position in A legislature are concerned with the problems of how other senators and Congressmen have endured the pressures which all of us undergo one of the most heartening things about it has been the fact that the United States information service has chosen it to be translated in order to explain one phase of American life I have here the copy that is in Vietnamese and here a copy in Japanese and it's also been translated into Hebrew for the use in country of Israel and also in Spanish and I have here a letter from George Allen which came this summer the head of the United States information service in which he says that profiles and courage has proved to be exceptionally effective in promoting a clearer understanding of American Statesmen among our foreign audiences and of course that's been one of the very beneficial things which have sprung out of the boook thank you senator for letting us visit with you here in your office now may we meet the rest of your family yes I'll take you to my house and I'll introduce them to you thank you very much Senator Kon [Music] a pleasure to have you here and I want you to meet my daughter Caroline and uh my wife Jackie how do you do I'm glad you had a chance to see something in the Senate and now to see our house where we've lived the year and since Caroline was born I look forward to meeting all of you this fall as soon as the sen is out and we'll be back in Massachusetts you want this thank you very much for coming to see us and we'll look forward to seeing you in very shortly you can say goodbye to good this has been a visit in Washington with your United States Senator John F Kennedy in this great City a glow with tributes to America's past is being written America's future the authors of that future will in a large part part be the 98 members of the United States Senate the Senate's members must understand thoroughly both foreign policy and the day-to-day economic and social problems of the people they represent they must be men of stature courage and ability such a man is John F Kennedy he serves Massachusetts with distinction in the United States [Music] Senate

Channel: JFK Library

Views: 54,106

Keywords: Kennedy, Presidential, Library, Musuem, JFK, John F. Kennedy, 1958 Campaign, Massachusetts, Jacqueline Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy

Id: -wVJtAUBmSY

Length: 25min 30sec (1530 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 13 2016