Dear Mr. Secretary:

I have reviewed your report on the fine progress that has been made in implementing Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1965, which created the Environmental Science Services Administration in the Department of Commerce.

In forwarding that Reorganization Plan to the Congress, I stated that the reorganization would permit us to provide better environmental information to vital segments of the nation's economy and enhance our capability to identify and solve problems associated with the physical environment. ESSA's accomplishments are bearing out these predictions.

Your report indicates that the reorganization has resulted in specific economies, improved management of programs, and better services to the public. This combination of achievements is basic to this Administration's concepts of how the public's business can and must be conducted. You stated in your letter that there is further progress to be made in the future. I am confident that this progress will be made.

I want to commend you, ESSA management, and all ESSA employees for the efficiency and sensitivity which have contributed to carrying out this reorganization. These

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accomplishments will benefit substantially the public and other agencies of the Government.

Sincerely,

LYNDON B. JOHNSON

[Honorable John T. Connor, Secretary of Commerce, Washington, D.C. 20230]

NOTE: Secretary Connor's report, transmitted January 27, 1967, is printed in the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents (vol. 3, p. 160). The report listed six major improvements in ESSA programs:

1. Development of a National Disaster Warning System to give rapid advance notice of tornadoes, hurricanes, blizzards, floods, seismic sea waves, and storm surges;

2. Establishment of the National Earthquake Information Center for prompt distribution of precise information on location, time, size, and effects of earthquakes;

3. Coordinated study of problems related to supersonic transport development, such as hazardous radiation and the need for more critical weather information;

4. Institutes for Environmental Research to coordinate programs of the Weather Bureau, the Coast and Geodetic Survey, and the Central Radio Propagation Laboratory of the National Bureau of Standards;

5. Development by the National Environmental Satellite Center of a program to utilize improved satellite sensors to gather data on snow cover, for sea and lake ice reconnaissance and for identification of flood areas;

6. Integration of data collection and dissemination by the Environmental Data Service of ESSA.

Once again we come together to affirm our faith in a Divine Being.

We-the heirs and trustees of a great civilization, richer and more powerful by far than any that has gone before us, cherishing.

freedom and the majesty of the human spirit-ask God's mercy and blessing on us now, and in all that we shall do in the years ahead.

We all know that great civilizations have risen before us, and then have crumbled into dust. We all know that rich and powerful peoples have passed into the night of history, driven by pride and vain pretensions. We know that the defense of freedom and the nourishment of the human spirit have ever been very costly enterprises. We know that at the hour of decision in public and private life, faced with the tormenting choices that are always a part of man's destiny, none of us can ever be certain that we are right.

We know, as Abraham Lincoln said in the midst of war, that "the Almighty has his own purposes"; but that men must be firm in the right, as God gives them to see the right. How we shall be judged, we may never know. Yet we believe, as a great theologian wrote, that the whole drama of human history is under the scrutiny of a divine judge who laughs at human pretensions, without being hostile to human. aspirations.

That is the mercy of God-that, and the spirit that moves men to compassion and courage, that calls forth the best within them in the darkest hours.

I shall close, this morning, with a prayer that I heard in northern Australia in the town of Townsville on a Sunday morning during my trip to Asia and the Pacific last fall. And because I was then going to a council of nations meeting in Manila, and on to visit our brave and selfless men in Vietnam, to deal with the gravest questions of war and peace, this prayer had a very special and a very profound significance to me. Since I have returned home, it has not lost its power to speak to me, and to speak for me.

"O God, Who has bound us together in this bundle of life, give us grace to understand how our lives depend upon the courage, the industry, the honesty, and the integrity of our fellow men, that we may be mindful of their needs, grateful for their faithfulness, and faithful in our responsibilities to them, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

[The President spoke first to the gentlemen in the hotel's Regency Room and then to the ladies in the Blue Room.]

Ladies of the Presidential Prayer Breakfast:

A few moments ago, in my remarks to the gentlemen, I spoke of the opportunities and the obligations that God has given to all of us as American citizens.

I reminded them then, as I remind you now, of the responsibilities that accompany God's mercy and God's generosity. Courage is one of those responsibilities. Compassion is another of those responsibilities.

These need always be present in our hearts. And they must burn brightest during our darkest hours.

Our Government has great power and influence. Yet we all finally depend upon the will and the energy of our individual citizens.

So, if our neighborhoods are to be rebuilt, if our schools are to be renewed, if our people are to be healthy and responsible citizens—the achievement will not be just the work of men here in the Federal Government in Washington, but it will be the work of thousands of citizens, men and women, in private life, throughout the 50 States.

We gather here this morning for prayeras citizens of "one nation, under God, indivisible."

But guaranteeing that our Nation will be one, and will deserve the favor of providence, will take much more than prayers and pledges: It will require action.

I have come here to ask for your prayers and to plead for your action.

For I remember the old rhyme that I learned at my mother's knees:

"In back of every noble enterprise, The shadow of a noble woman lies."

NOTE: The prayer breakfast of International Christian Leadership, Inc., a nondenominational group of lay

men, was held at the Shoreham Hotel in Washington. The President spoke at 9:10 a.m. In his opening words he referred to Senator Frank Carlson of Kansas, chairman of the board, International Council for Christian Leadership, Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey, and Representative John W. McCormack of Massachusetts, Speaker of the House of Representatives.

February 2, 1967

To the Congress of the United States:

I.

Last February I proposed that all mankind join in a war against man's oldest enemy: hunger.

Last March I proposed that the United States take part in an urgent international effort to help the Government of India stave off the threat of famine.

I address you today to report progress in organizing the war against hunger and to seek your counsel on steps still to be taken. For again this year, drought in India as in other nations-underlines the cruel mathematics of hunger and calls for action.

The problem is immense. It cannot be solved unless each country reaches a considered judgment on the course to be pursued. The greatest power on earth is the will of free peoples, expressed through the deliberative processes of their national assemblies. I ask you today to take the lead in a vital act of democratic affirmation.

India is not alone in facing the specter of near famine. One-half of the world's people confront this same problem.

India's plight reminds us that our gen

eration can no longer evade the growing imbalance between food production and population growth. India's experience teaches that something more must be done about it.

From our own experience and that of other countries, we know that something can be done. We know that an agricultural revolution is within the capacity of modern science.

We know that land can be made to produce much more food-enough food for the world's population, if reasonable population policies are pursued. Without some type of voluntary population program, however, the nations of the world—no matter how generous-will not be able to keep up with the food problem.

We know, too, that failure to act—and to act now-will multiply the human suffering and political unrest, not only in our generation but in that of our children and their children.

The aim of the war against hunger is to help developing nations meet this challenge. It is the indispensable first step on the road to progress.

If we are to succeed, all nations-rich and poor alike-must join together and press the agricultural revolution with the same spirit,

the same energy, and the same sense of urgency that they apply to their own national defense. Nothing less is consistent with the human values at stake.

Last year, many responded to India's emergency. Canada was particularly generous in sending food aid. Each member of the India Aid Consortium made a special effort to meet India's need. Non-members, Australia among others, also helped. The private contributions of the Italian and Dutch people were especially heartwarming. But the bleak facts require a sustained international effort on a greater scale. Today I propose that all nations make the new Indian emergency the occasion to start a continuing worldwide campaign against hunger.

II.

The first obligation of the community of man is to provide food for all of its members. This obligation overrides political differences and differences in social systems.

No single nation or people can fulfill this common obligation. No nation should be expected to do so. Every country must participate to insure the future of all. Every country that makes a determined effort to achieve sufficiency in food will find our government, our technical experts and our people its enthusiastic partners. The United States is prepared to do its share.

In pursuing the War on Hunger, the world must face up to stark new facts about food in our times.

-Food is scarce. Nowhere is there a real surplus. Food aid must be allocated according to the same priorities that govern other development assistance. -Per capita food production in many parts of the less-developed world is not increasing. In some cases, it is even declining. This grim fact reflects both a

rising curve of population and a lagging curve of agricultural production. -There is no substitute for self-help. The first responsibility of each nation is to supply the food its people needs. The war against hunger can only be won by the efforts of the developing nations themselves.

-Food aid is a stop-gap, not a permanent cure. It must be viewed as part of a nation's effort to achieve sufficiency in food, not as a substitute for it. -Agriculture must receive a much higher priority in development plans and programs. The developing nations can. no longer take food supplies for granted, while they concentrate on industrial development alone, or spend vitally needed resources on unnecessary military equipment. -Agricultural development must be planned as part of a nation's overall economic and social program. Achieving a balance between population and resources is as important as achieving a balance between industrial and agricultural growth.

-Fertilizer, seed, and pesticides must be

provided in much greater quantities than ever before. Their use increases food production and permanently changes the productive capability of farmers. A ton of fertilizer properly used this year can mean several tons of grain next year.

-All advanced nations-including those which import food-must share the burden of feeding the hungry and building their capacity to feed themselves. -The War on Hunger is too big for gov

ernments alone. Victory cannot come unless businessmen, universities, foundations, voluntary agencies and cooperatives join the battle.

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-Developing nations with food deficits must put more of their resources into voluntary family planning programs. These are the facts your Government has been stressing throughout the world. Many of them are unpleasant. But our lives are pledged to the conviction that free people meet their responsibilities when they face the truth.

These facts draw into bold relief the two main thrusts in the offensive against hunger: First, the hungry nations of the world must be helped to achieve the capacity to grow the food their people need or to buy what they cannot grow.

Second, until they can achieve this goal, the developed nations must help meet their needs by food shipments on generous

terms.

The level of food aid will decline as selfhelp measures take hold. Until that point is reached, food aid is an inescapable duty of the world community.

III.

During the past year, the advanced nations have made progress in preparing the ground for the international War on Hunger.

First, the pattern of international cooperation has steadily improved.

Last July we were pleased to act as host to a high-level meeting of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development which focused primarily on the world food problem.

We encouraged greater contributions to the World Food Program by increasing our pledge to that program and by offering to match with commodities contributions in both cash and commodities from other countries.

We co-sponsored a resolution in the

United Nations that launched a UN-Food and Agriculture Organization study of whether and how to organize a multilateral food aid program of vastly larger proportions.

In the Kennedy Round of trade negotiations, we have advanced a proposal to make available from all sources ten million tons of food grains annually for food aid, to be supported by grain exporters and importers alike. This proposal is now being discussed in Geneva as part of an International Cereals Arrangement.

We are now participating in a study initiated by the Food and Agriculture Organization-in cooperation with the World. Bank, the UN and the OECD-to examine how multilateral action might increase the availability and effective use of fertilizers and other materials needed to speed up agricultural production.

At the OECD Ministerial Meeting this fall, we advanced a proposal to develop an Agricultural Food Fund to encourage private investment in the basic agricultural industries of the developing countries.

Second, the United States encouraged a multilateral response to last year's emergency in India.

The worst drought of the century threatened millions with starvation and countless more with disease born of malnutrition. As a result, I recommended, and you in the Congress approved a program to send over 8 million tons of food grain to India. In an unprecedented display of common concern, governments, private organizations and individuals in 42 other nations joined in providing $180 million in food and other commodities to meet the needs of that country. Over-all, India imported almost 11 million tons of grain and used several million tons from its own emergency food reserves.

The fact that India did not experience