All language subtitles for The Kennedy Films-Adventures On The New Frontier-1961-E02

Adventures in Reporting.

Adventures on the New Frontier.

The White House, Washington, DC.

The eyes of the world
are turned on a new president

who six weeks ago took on the free
world's most awesome responsibility.

On this day in late February,

he is already showing
how he will handle his immense burden.

You are going to be
with President John F. Kennedy

at work in the White House.

From time to time
throughout the day

you will leave the White House
for other adventures.

In Wisconsin, as Senator Kennedy
fights to win the presidency;

at the Inaugural, where you
will meet some Kennedy friends;

in West Virginia and Africa,

where the Kennedy Administration faces
two of its most important challenges.

The president starts the day
in his ceremonial role.

A friend, Paul Fay, is being sworn in
as undersecretary of the navy.

Thank you very much.

- Thank you very much.
- Good morning, Mr. President.

Now you will begin
to move with the president,

seeing and hearing for yourself
in a new kind of report.

Not a filmed version of summary
and opinion you can find in print,

but rather, a personal ad venture
with the president

as he confronts the great problems
of the US and the world...

serious unemployment in the US,

competition with Communism in Africa,

the urgent need
to control nuclear weapons

before mankind
is wiped from this earth.

Now John F. Kennedy is walking
to the Oval Office in the White House

with Congressman John Shelley.

Some other friends of the president
with whom you will be moving...

a Harvard economist,

a Minnesota senator,

a cabinet member from Illinois,

the president's emissary to Africa.

Morning, Ken.

Fine. How are you?
It's nice to see you.

Good to see you, Mr. President.

First into the president's office
is Kenneth O'Donnell, special assistant.

The president signs correspondence
for his secretary, Evelyn Lincoln,

then puts his signature on
government appointments he has made.

Uh...

this is a memorandum to David Bell,
Bureau of the Budget.

I think we should discuss
the proposed budget request,

or supplemental request

for the construction of reactors.

Perhaps you could talk to Dr. Seaborg
about this and then discuss it with me.

I note that Congressman Holifield

and other members of
the Joint Atomic Energy Committee

are concerned about
the inadequacy of the program.

Would you let me hear from you on this?

The morning
of a day at the White House

with President John F. Kennedy.

The arrival of
Press Secretary Pierre Salinger,

with wire service bulletins
torn from the White House Teletype,

brings the president the latest news,

word of events that hour by hour
add to the burdens of the presidency.

Okay. Thanks a lot.
Bye. Bye now.

But John F. Kennedy
asked for those burdens.

He fought for them.

Just one year ago he was waging
his first primary battle in Wisconsin.

He looked youthful but confident against
a formidable opponent, Hubert Humphrey.

I still have my cup of coffee here.

After all, I met a couple of Norwegians
over here, you see,

and since I'm only half Norwegian
they only gave me a half a cup,

and I wanted to finish it off.

Now, gentlemen...

Senator Humphrey
rallies farm support against Kennedy

with slashing charges.

And I charge here that not a
single candidate in this primary election

has paid any attention to the farmer
at all except Hubert Humphrey.

Too high.
Well, the school...

Here he is now.
What do you think of him?

Mr. Humphrey,
I hope you get good luck.

- Thank you so much, my friend.
- Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

- Thank you very, very much.
- Sure.

- You're very fine.
- I'll see you tomorrow.

You betcha.
I'll be listening in tomorrow night.

If you ever get in,
I will see you, by God.

Say, you come down to the White House
for a cup of coffee. Okay?

- Maybe a schnapps.
- Yeah! Good!

Senator Kennedy is gambling
to win the nomination the hard way,

through the primaries.

Primaries are very risky,

but my judgment is,

I never could have been nominated
if I hadn't run in primaries,

so I'm taking the risk,

but I would say you have to
keep coming up sevens.

And then you focus in,
you phase right in on that.

Then when I say,
"All right, now we have a call here -"

And at that point when they're
saying now we have a call,

you get off that and get back on me.

Must end about one minute.

Now, uh, Phileo,
uh, when it comes, uh, down...

before you, uh, come to me,
you might...

All right, thank you.
We're four seconds down.

Uh, five minutes down. Yeah.

Just joke about your husband.

He's been wondering all day long
where you've been, and so on.

I could say I've come here to meet you.

On the TV.
Well, but you're on this show now.

Just take about 30 seconds
to tell us where you've been.

Then you've gotta come
right back to me and say,

"Senator, I want to come
on this record."

'Cause we want to
get on those questions.

We want Muriel to have 30 seconds to
tell where she's been, what she's been doing.

- Yes, sir.
- The moment of suspense.

Well, I don't think the family farm
is impractical at all.

In fact, I would say it's highly desirable,
both economically and, more so, socially.

The family farm has social
and spiritual values to it.

You realize that you are voting
for the most important individual

in the entire free world,

and that the welfare of our country is
heavily involved in his good judgment,

his sense, his responsibility,
his competence, his integrity.

That's how important
the office of the presidency is.

He shall determine what shall be
your policy on Berlin.

He shall determine
whether we shall be at war or peace.

This is the key office.

And I run for the presidency
because, like you,

I have strong ideas
about what this country must do.

I have strong ideas
about the United States

playing a great role
in a historic moment.

When the cause of freedom
is endangered all over the world

in the coming months and years,

all of us as Americans are going
to be called out of the ranks.

Our courage is going to be tested.

And I am confident that we are going
to give the same affirmative answer.

That's what I think
this election is about.

That's what we're going
to begin to do on next Tuesday.

- Thank you.

We want Kennedy! We want Kennedy!

Now I understand, also,

that we will be pleased
to have the privilege

of seeing Bob Kennedy,
Senator Kennedy's son.

- Son?
- Brother!

Uh, thank you very much.

I'm sorry that my mother
couldn't be here tonight.

And I'm sorry that my sister Pat
couldn't come,

and my sister Eunice,
and my sister Jean,

my brother-in-law Peter Lawford
or my brother Teddy,

or my cousin Joe Gargan.

So you're going to have to settle
with me. Thank you very much.

To a Polish-American audience,
an attempt to please in Polish.

His name is Stanislaw Radziwill

And he taught me one sentence.

He has lost weight.

Looks like a farmer's boy.
Got a good head of hair on him.

Well, he was on
that panel this afternoon.

He was good on that panel.

When he talks, he never talks
about anybody or anything.

- The issues.
- He works on his own record.

And if you can't run on your own record,
you haven't got any business running.

Senator Humphrey
is leading Senator Kennedy

by a margin of two to one.

Early returns
the night of the Wisconsin primary,

and Humphrey's ahead.

The, un, ninth is gone.

The, uh, third we have a chance in.

The, uh... But just a chance.
It really depends on La Crosse.

The 10th we have a chance in.

Yeah, I guess the, uh...

Hi. Hi.

How are you?
Glad to see you.

Well, we'll see what happens.

Okay, here's where we go ahead.

The worst we can get tonight
is six to four with the popular vote.

A two-to-one victory for Jack
on delegates.

Hubert Humphrey
lost to Kennedy in Wisconsin

and again in West Virginia
a month later.

The victorious Senator Kennedy
went on to win seven other primaries

and finally the nomination.

Ohh! Ohh!

- Sal, you rubbed him!
- I can't wash my hands!

Now, John F. Kennedy holds the office

with the most awesome responsibility
in the free world.

It is February 1961.

John F. Kennedy
has held the presidency six weeks

and enormous burdens
have settled on his shoulders.

His two greatest problems...

the domestic economy
is in recession

and the Cold War is heating up
and spreading in Africa.

On the decisions
that President Kennedy must make

lie the hopes of men and nations
around the world,

and on him the pressures
to make the right decisions

continue to build up with every day.

We will return to the White House

after this message from Bell & Howell.

Continuing the morning
of a day at the White House,

John F. Kennedy is already at work on
an immense array of fateful decisions,

decisions he must ultimately
make alone.

But he has already set forth
some of the attitudes and principles

that will guide these decisions,

spoken with great eloquence
on the day he took office.

Inauguration Day, January 20, 1961.

President-elect Kennedy rides to the
ceremony with President Eisenhower.

Presidential speechwriter and an adviser
on the address he is about to hear,

John Kenneth Galbraith,
Harvard economist.

Former Governor G. Mennen Williams,
the new assistant secretary of state.

You'll be traveling with him to Africa.

In accordance... This is all in
accordance with the Kennedy policy of

all public positions
publicly arrived at.

We observe today

not a victory of party,

but a celebration of freedom,

symbolizing an end

as well as a beginning,

signifying renewal as well as change.

For I have sworn before you

and Almighty God

the same solemn oath

our forebearers prescribed

nearly a century
and three quarters ago.

The phrases of this speech
will echo through the years to come...

"Ask not what your country
can do for you,

ask what you can do for your country."

And as your day
with the president unfolds,

events will recall other parts
of his Inaugural speech.

After the president's speech,

writer Galbraith and his wife join author
John Steinbeck and Mrs. Steinbeck.

As professionals, they discuss
the new president's style

with verbs, predicates,
participles and infinitives.

How'd you like the speech, John?

I thought it was a brilliant speech.

We haven't heard one of these
for a long time.

Oh, I was thrilled with it.
Just thrilled by it.

What'd you like best about it?

The simple declarative sentences
we haven't heard for a long time.

Speaking professionally.

Verbs and predicates.

This is a reasonably satisfactory
English form.

Yes.

And the participle undangled,
the infinitive unsplit.

And also the delivery was very good.

Yes, it was excellent.

"Never negotiate out of fear,

but never fear to negotiate."

- I like that.
- Mm-hmm.

That'll be widely quoted.

No. Excessive effort
to avoid ending with a preposition.

Mmm.

But it wasn't obvious.

It seemed like speech.

How long do you expect that you will
support the Kennedy administration?

- Twenty-four hours.
- Will it last until the end of the week?

No, I automatically become opposition
within 24 hours.

Well, I shall...

I shall warn the president-elect

that, uh... that Steinbeck
is a purely transitory phenomenon.

- The whole section here is a band...

The Inaugural Ball.

- Oh, boy!

- Did you do that?
- Who has a corkscrew?

- Good to see you.
- Yes, sir.

Thank you.
Nice to have you with us.

How are you? Nice to see you.

Hello. Good to see you.
How are you?

- Good to see you.
- Good to see you.

Hello there.

The climax of the Inaugural Ball

is a look at the new president.

This is what Professor Galbraith sees.

- The president leaves.

The party is winding down.

There is sobering work to be done by the
intellectuals of the new administration.

Professor Galbraith draws
historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.

Into serious conversation

about the problems their president
will face on the new frontier

after the ball is over.

The world is very different now,

for man holds in his mortal hands

the power to abolish

all forms of human poverty

and all forms of human life.

Man's nuclear weapons hold the power

to abolish all forms of human life.

The president has assigned John McCloy,
his chief disarmament adviser,

to try to find ways
to control nuclear arms

before it's too late.

We will not be privileged
to hear everything to be said

in this and other conversations
with the president.

From time to time
the words will be obscured.

Now, with deceptive casualness

the two men approach
a momentous question...

how soon can we start serious disarmament
discussion with the Russians?

- 1812.
- 1812, I suppose.

Here are all the ones we won.

Well, you know, I think if you...

I meant to tell you...
I never had a chance...

The, uh... Mr. Dean,
on the nuclear testing,

we should have somebody
on the disarmament there.

And, uh, we're, uh...

In all these discussions,
disarmament looms so large.

When we talked to
the Canadians the other day,

they were particularly interested
in what we were gonna do on that.

I thought that we probably
ought to have somebody at it

on a judgment about when we would be
in some position on disarmament

to be able to participate
in some negotiations.

Uh, well...

Uh, this is a tremendously
complicated, involved...

And it's awfully hard to give you
time schedules on it.

I have four or five things in mind
that I think we could do.

I believe we would not be prepared

to really move into
a serious negotiation,

either before the Ten-Power business

or, indeed, for that matter,
with the Soviets,

except on a very informal basis,

until fall.

Now, I think, uh,
that'll be probably pretty early fall.

But from the way I can sense
attitudes around town here,

there's an awful lot of, uh...
of, uh, persuasion

and an awful lot of studies
that have to be resolved.

They've got studies all over the place.

As far as saying anything to them
that that was... looked pretty late.

I thought at least ought to
indicate our... if we...

Otherwise, everybody is going to begin
to assume that we're not as serious.

I was talking to Mishnikov the other day
about this very thing and I asked him...

He'd been after me,
as well as a number of other people.

And I asked him
what he thought about it, and he said,

"Well, I think that we probably,
on a more comprehensive -"

They would not be ready,
as he put it, till fall.

And I said, "Well, you're not going
to press us, then, if we suggest..."

"You're not going to try to take advantage
of it, if that's the date we set."

He said, "No, I think it will depend on how
well the nuclear test ban goes." Yeah.

The president's sister, Eunice Shriver,
approaches his door with some trepidation.

The president autographs pictures
for his sisters and their children.

- This is for...
- Me.

- You're here all the time.

- Should I make it for young Stevie?
- Yeah.

- Or you?
- Uh, one for me.

They tell him the names
to go with the personal greetings.

Peter.

But in signing
autographs for the family,

the president finds it hard
not to be presidential.

It's pretty hard to turn these out.

Now I find myself writing,
"Very best wishes."

Oh, no!

That is really boring.

Well, write it,
'cause it's really funny.

Listen, have a good trip.

Secretary of Labor Arthur Goldberg.

The president has asked him
to help settle an airline strike.

- Hello, Arthur. How are you?
- How are you? Very good.

How are you, Arthur?

Well, I'm happy to advise you,
President Kennedy.

Much, uh...

When will they start to fly?

As soon as the orderly reductions
can work, which is, you know...

- Today? Tonight?
- Today.

Uh, I'd like to give you
a brief report on what we did.

Can we do this now?

But Secretary Goldberg's
primary concern is unemployment.

Not only joblessness
caused by the recession,

but long-term unemployment
due to basic changes in US business,

a persistent blight that is most severe
in the country's 105 depressed areas.

Goldberg is called upon
by Congressional committees.

I would not attempt to overemphasize

the problem of unemployment
in West Virginia.

It's almost impossible
to overemphasize it.

In the state of West Virginia
as a whole...

West Virginia Senator Jennings Randolph.

...be estimated today
as unemployment at 16%.

I would ask you, Mr. Secretary,
for the record,

to indicate what it is
as a national figure.

The national figure...

I was checking with Mr. Wolfbein,
who always corrects me if I am wrong

and whom you gentlemen,
of course, have heard testify,

but the national average
of insured unemployment is about 8%.

We can speak
with a rough approximation

of the unemployment
in West Virginia

as more than twice
the national average.

The situation in West Virginia
is, of course, much more serious

than the national average.

We in West Virginia
have approached a period

which is comparable to the early '30s.

Comparable to the '30s.

What does this mean
to the people in West Virginia?

In the Pigeon Creek area
it means that the coal industry

has long been in depression,

with little hope of change
even after the recession ends.

I've lived here all my life.
I know about it.

These last four years have been the worst
four years ever hit West Virginia.

That's right.

Take an old man's picture, son,
that's been here and knows about it.

It'll show you.
It'll prove what he tells you.

In the town of Puritan, 25 families.

Only two left with jobs.

People don't have enough to eat.

To 20,000 people in this county
the government distributes surplus food.

President Kennedy campaigned
throughout West Virginia

and vowed to help its people

after they handed him a primary victory
over Hubert Humphrey.

His first executive order as president
was to increase their food allotments.

Included in the anti-recession measures
he had sent to Congress

is a $394 million program
to create jobs

in depressed areas like West Virginia.

Where's there any work at now?
There ain't none.

About, uh, '47...

The home of one
of Puritan's unemployed miners.

They transferred me to Lando.

Tom Muncie.
He has a wife and eight children.

Since his mine closed down six years ago
he has had no steady employment.

And I worked there
till they shut down in '55.

More than half the mines are closed.

The rest are cut back,
surrounded by a silent wasteland.

Many of the others
are in the same shape I'm in...

out of a job and can't get one.

Young Tommy Muncie's playground

is the dump of a closed-down mine.

Muncie is on the way to the hospital
to see his daughter.

Three-year old Mally
is too weak to talk.

She's suffering from an illness
that began with malnutrition.

She is being treated free
in a United Mine Workers hospital.

Oh, here you go. Here.

Hello.

Muncie drives on to the county seat
to apply for a job with the state

under West Virginia's
New Hope Program.

In the Mingo County Courthouse,

hundreds of miners wait to register for
temporary jobs on state roads and parks.

Come on over here, buddy.

Handing over his Social Security card,

Muncie explains to the registrar that as a
miner he used to make almost $27 a day.

Twenty seven and...

Back in Puritan, the Salvation Army
arrives with donations of old clothes.

Muncie's daughter, Janice, comes to
see if there's anything for her.

What do you say about that? Huh?

- Go in and get that pair of tennis shoes.
- Yes, sir, boy.

Turn around.

Well, so we wanted to be sure.

Your name's Tommy?
My name's Tommy too.

How long
will Tom Muncie's children

have to get their clothes
from the Salvation Army?

The president is looking ahead.

I just think that there's a prospect

that we're going to find ourselves with
a longer unemployed percentage

and it won't be over by summer.

I think we ought to be
thinking about that.

What we've got to do is to begin to focus
national attention on this as a problem.

If the problem
is going to exist in the fall,

we've got to focus
congressional attention.

We assume that the measures
we recommended will be passed.

If they're not passed, of course, the
problems are going to be more intense.

But I just think unless
we set up our committee

and get public attention on this,

that it will come as a shock.

The Federal Reserve...

Walter Heller, Chairman of the
President's Council of Economic Advisers,

reports on the immediate outlook
for the economy.

It's still falling off, but
it's falling off a little more slowly.

There are some indications
that it might be bottoming out.

But there isn't anything decisive.

What sort of prediction are you
going to make on the economy?

We don't really care
about predictions, first of all,

'cause, boy, you can get
hung up on those.

Essentially, uh,
there's no real change

in our appraisal
of the current situation.

No upturn in sight.

We think there will be one,
but there's none clearly in sight.

Get me a chart of what the economy...

of what money is going into the economy from
the federal government and being taken in.

I'd just like to see what our cash, now and
for the next six months, is going to be.

Here's an item that I think...

Since this has been such a serious
conversation, you ought to see

one of my items of fan mail.

Just read it from top to bottom.
I think you'll, uh...

Do you know which one this is?

This is my friend from, uh...
from Denver.

He wrote me three letters
like this before.

That's right.

You really considered this, fella.

That's really funny.

It's just that whenever I get
a little bit too serious about all this,

I take this out and read it.

He's with you up till the end.

You'll be traveling
from the White House to Africa

after this word from Bell & Howell.

To those people

in the huts and villages
of half the globe,

struggling to break the bonds
of mass misery,

we pledge our best efforts
to help them help themselves.

To help the underdeveloped
and emerging nations of the world

with their serious shortage of skills,

the president
is creating a Peace Corps

in which young Americans
will volunteer to serve abroad,

teaching their skills to people
of Latin America, Asia and Africa.

The president and an aide,
Richard Goodwin,

discuss plans
for the Peace Corps.

By the end of the year, 2,180.

And then by the end of the year...

October.
That's December here.

There'll be 2,180.
That's abroad or in this country?

- Abroad.
- Participating?

Abroad.

On board... Well, these are...

This figure is a combination
of everybody presented at that time,

including those abroad.

Where are we going to
send most of them?

- This is India.
- Right.

So, 105. Iran, 55.
Pakistan, 30. Turkey, 50.

What about Africa?

The president's interest in Africa

is being followed up by G. Mennen Williams,
new assistant secretary of state.

Well, I'm going to leave tomorrow.

This is a trip that I promised you I
would take right after you nominated me.

As you know,
I'm bringing your greetings

to this, uh, conference at Addis Ababa,

this economic conference.

I think it would be worthwhile...

The idea that we never had a colonial
interest in Africa... quite the reverse...

that our present interest
is the traditional one,

to see Africa developed by Africans
and maintain its independence.

And I think the more we can
hammer that theme,

the more successful we will be there.

Et cetera, and then finally
number three.

All right.

Well, I think I may be running
around the Capitol here.

Williams takes a Capitol subway

for a last minute round of conferences
with members of Congress.

Representative Barratt O'Hara
of Illinois,

chairman of
the House Subcommittee on Africa.

Well, I just came over
to pay my respects.

What time do you leave tomorrow,
Governor?

I leave, I think, uh -
The plane leaves about 3:30.

And, uh, we get into Rome
the next afternoon.

Oh, I don't know, 2:00 or so.

And we have two or three hours there
and then we go on to Sudan.

And then, after refueling,

we go on to Ethiopia
where the conference is,

and then we're off on our trip.

I bet you've been through there
many, many times.

Well, twice. Twice.

And when I was there the last,

I found a climate of expectancy.

Your appointment and your acceptance
of this important position

I think has done more for us in Africa
than anything else could have done.

It gave us a tremendous lift in Africa.

And all the leaders commented on it.

Well, I guess there isn't
a sparrow falls in Washington

but what they know about it
in, uh, Africa.

I don't want to burden you with this.

Senator Ellender of Louisiana
presents a report on his travels.

Oh.

And I visited, as you notice here,

uh, 38 countries this year.

Among them is...

Sudan, Ethiopia, Somaliland,
Eritrea... that's in Africa.

Yes, sir.
I'd be very grateful to have this.

I've been advocating
for the past seven, eight years

that in any program
in these underdeveloped countries,

we should start at the bottom rung
of the ladder.

I talked to the president of Somaliland,

who is the first there.

I found where they were trying to raise
chickens way out in the jungles,

where the rainfall
was 287 inches a year.

Well, anybody
with common sense knows

you can't grow chickens
with that kind of climate.

Well, I certainly think
that business can either be...

Williams talks
with Senator Gore of Tennessee,

chairman of the Senate
Subcommittee on Africa.

We seems to have created...

From my investigations
and experiences

in visiting aid programs
around the world,

I am impressed
that so often we try to overdo.

Advice to go slow.

But the president is concerned about
the rapid pace of events in Africa.

I hope you have a good trip.
We'll be hearing from you on your trip.

You certainly shall.

I hope you'll be hearing good things.

Addis Ababa, Africa.

Governor Williams is on his way.

When he arrives here
he will discover the startling contrasts

and ominous signs that are
springing up all over the continent.

Amid the ancient cultures,
unchanging for many centuries,

the noisy evidences of modernization
started by the colonial powers.

And, contrasting with
the old ways of life,

the even more modern signs
of fast-moving African nationalism.

This is United Nations, Africa Hall
in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

For the first time in a meeting of
the UN Economic Commission for Africa,

independent African states
outnumber European members.

In an anti-colonial outburst,

a Guinean delegate protests having
to address the council in French.

He pleads instead for Africans to address
each other in African languages.

Soviet posters
encourage Africans to hate the West

as oppressors of the black man.

Soviet teachers conduct language classes
for Ethiopian students.

Africans study in a Russian center
under a portrait of Lenin.

Very, very good, students.
Feel free to talk at any time.

And at this time I think I'd like
very much to have you, John...

Behind the portrait
of John F. Kennedy

at the United States Information
Agency Center in Addis Ababa,

an English class
is conducted for Ethiopians.

Well, then the next thing
is this dinner we're giving at the hotel

with the Economic Commission of-

or Economic Council of Africa.

This is a place where
I'd like to try and get close

to as many of these
African delegations...

They say there are about,
uh, 27 countries.

Gonna be pretty hard
to touch base with all of them,

but, uh, I guess that...
that'll be interesting.

It'll be a chance
to warm up my French too.

At the Economic Conference,

delegates from Liberia,
Ethiopia and Nigeria

anticipate Governor Williams' arrival.

His open-mindedness, because he is
one of the liberal, I understand,

governors in the States.

And, of course, he's now being more or
less conditioned with this kind of,

um, I would call, rejuvenated,

um, official opinion in America,

which, as we know,
was not the case before.

I've said, and I honestly believe
that American opinion,

including American official opinion,

was somewhat parochial before.

I think it's becoming
a little more broad, perhaps.

You know, they have had
certain wrong notions about Africa

which made our coming
into self-governance

look too sudden to them.

They thought that we developed
too quickly.

They think, uh, uh,
our progress is too rapid,

whereas our progress
has been going on for years.

And of course the question now arises,
how much... What can he learn?

Governor and Mrs. Williams
arrive in Addis Ababa.

Williams will speak at a formal dinner
for delegates to the conference.

But first on the schedule
is an official visit

to the Emperor of Ethiopia,
Haile Selassie, in his palace.

Oh, well, that's kind of the emperor.

I was so happy to receive that
wonderful autographed photograph

from His Imperial Majesty.

Well, uh,
we'll have them all back together.

We'll take a picture here,
at least.

First of all,

I want to bring to you

the greetings
of the president of my country,

John F. Kennedy.

President Kennedy said to me,

"Tell the people in Africa"

"I'm the same man
who was Senator Kennedy."

"As Senator Kennedy,"

"I was chairman
of the subcommittee on Africa,"

"and as you know
I had many occasions"

"in which to express my sympathy"

"with the aspirations
of self-determination"

"of the people of Africa."

And speaking directly about Africa,

Senator Kennedy said this...

"That we want for Africa

what the Africans want for Africa."

Williams spoke the phrase
"Africa for the Africans" in Nairobi,

throwing the white settlers
and colonial powers into an uproar

and a question to the president.

The ambassador to Africa
has been widely criticized

for some of the statements
he has made... that is, Mr. Williams.

Including the one of "Africa
for Africans" and the like.

Do you find any validity
in this criticism?

And would you consider
that his tour of Africa

has been a plus
for the United States on policy?

Oh, I don't... I think that
Governor Williams has done very well.

I'm wholly satisfied with his mission.
It's a very difficult one.

Africa is, uh...

is, uh, not an easy
matter, uh, to, uh...

The problems of Africa are not easy,

and there are a good many conflicting
forces that are loose in Africa,

as well as in all parts of the world.

The statement, "Africa
for the Africans,"

does not seem to me to be
a very unreasonable statement.

He made it clear that he was talking about
all those who felt that they were Africans,

whatever their color might be,
whatever their race might be.

- I don't know who else Africa should be for.

You'll see the president
in his role as commander-in-chief

after this message from Bell & Howell.

We dare not tempt them with weakness.

For only when our arms

are sufficient beyond doubt

can we be certain beyond doubt

that they will never be employed.

The president
is strengthening US military forces.

He confers with aide Walt Rostow
and McGeorge Bundy,

special assistant
for national security affairs.

Let me say to you that I think
we can postpone or cut out

the National Security Council
meeting for tomorrow.

Because you cut out one item

that you were talking with McNamara
about here the other evening.

And there was another matter
that Dean Rusk is happy to put off

and would rather not discuss.

This is the general problem of discussing
serious matters in that rather general forum.

So we just cancel that.

You gonna do that with the Joint Chiefs
or in the National Security Council...

I want to do it with the Joint Chiefs,
and I would think that, uh-

- We've got acceptance...
- It should stop with the Joint Chiefs.

I've got a separate study going on,

because you tagged that question
a week ago,

and Gilpatric is supposed
to be working on it,

and we're supposed to have
a really detailed

and pretty highly classified briefing on
all this business of command and control

ready by the end of next week,
if that's time for you.

And that ought to come right to you
and whoever you want there,

rather than
the National Security Council,

because it's very edgy stuff.

When are we going to...
Is Kissinger going to look at these...

Kissinger is coming down on Monday.
Do you want to see him?

Yes. I'd like to have him
look at this proposal.

I was going to say, if you want
to get the best single chapter

on this question of whether you mean
counterforce or stable deterrents,

you could take this
and look at it during the weekend.

What about the... When are we supposed
to meet McNamara again on that?

When you're ready.

- I would think, uh...
- When is his schedule?

I have to be
before the committee today.

He's supposed to be
not talking about anything.

All he's done is make proposals,

and he's going to try to steer away
from what they are.

I don't think this'll work for too long.

I'm going to look at that,
uh... finish reading the memorandum.

And I think that we probably ought to
have a conversation with Bell and you,

and I'd like to get
Kissinger's judgment.

There's no way to speed his coming
down here, is there, before Monday?

Uh, yes, I think he'd come
if you want him.

Well, if he could look that over,

then we could have a conversation
with you and I and Bell

before we meet again
with McNamara.

As President,

John F. Kennedy is commander-in-chief
of the armed forces.

In the Cabinet Room
the Joint Chiefs of Staff await him.

We can do that,
if that's all right with you.

The Chairman,
General Lyman Lemnitzer.

Army General George Decker.

Navy Admiral Arleigh Burke.

Air Force General Thomas White.

Can we forge against these enemies

a grand and global alliance,

north and south, east and west,

that can assure a more fruitful life
for all mankind?

Will you join in that historic effort?

In the long history of the world,

only a few generations

have been granted the role

of defending freedom

in its hour of maximum danger.

I do not shrink from
this responsibility.

I welcome it.

The hour is late.

The official day is ending.

Now you will see John F. Kennedy
in the more intimate moments of evening,

moments that reveal
the workings of the presidential mind

and the warmth with which
he treats his close associates.

To an admiral, whose speech-making
he has publicly curtailed,

the president shows
obvious affection for the navy,

his World War II service.

The president's desk was built
from timbers of a British sailing ship.

As you see, we've got all the navy...

Yes, sir.

...pictures up around here.

This was loaned to us by
the Philadelphia Maritime Museum.

I have a picture in my quarters
that you may... you might like.

It's a big one though.

Probably too big for this...

We have the Constitution, and then we...
These two are both the, uh...

And the other of these
was John Paul Jones, and this...

- He's waiting right out...
- I better get moving 'cause it's getting late.

My problem with that was...

The president's mind
works in many channels at the same time.

If something catches his interest
in an outer office,

he's likely to drop everything
and go out and check on it.

Now, Ted Sorenson
is posing a question.

Watch how and when Sorenson
finally gets his answer.

And "defense" at the end
of all that.

Now, is that too long,
the wait on "defense"?

But since the assurances were not given,

and since the question for...

The United Nations in Leopoldville

sent a note today to Antoine Gizenga,
pro-Lumumba leader in Stanleyville,

telling him that political killings
have to cease now.

The UN also demanded
a full and factual report

on the fate of 15 or 16
political prisoners

who were reported
to have been put to death.

The events in the Congo, however,
could fail at any moment

in the flash of an explosion
in neighboring Northern Rhodesia.

It is a member of
the Central African Federation

along with Southern Rhode...

Sorenson's question is still hanging.

Yeah, this is fine, Ted.

If you don't mind if they put it to
a hundred-percent vote in Congress.

- Yeah.
- It's bad enough as it is now.

When are you gonna start hearing...
You're not gonna have any...

He abandoned the wage base,
abandoned...

The president grasps information

in a way that Goldberg
can deliver it...

the facts, fast and in a lightning
interchange with all the details.

What he does is... No. No, no.

3.5 on the rate of the tax.

What's the dollar?

What's the wage, uh...
H-How much...

- Oh, this isn't the minimum wage.
- No, I meant on the, uh, tax base.

- I think we said 5,200?
- 48. He left it alone.

- He increased the rate of the tax.
- What is it now?

3.1 to 3.5.

- What's the dollar base now?
- Three thousand.

- He didn't put that up at all?
- No.

He said he'll talk about that
in the permanent legislation.

But the important thing is...

When are we due to send
the permanent legislation out?

We made a promise that we would
do it by March... sometime in March.

Well, anyway, on this matter, I
appreciate your willingness, all of you,

to take on this airline matter.

I must say, in just talking to Arthur
the last two or three days,

it's a terribly... tough one.

Thank you very much.
I appreciate it very much.

- Very wise men.
- Good to see you again.

- Thanks a lot.
- Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you very much.

In the late hush,
Kenneth O'Donnell whispers,

trying not to distract the president.

MAN: Incidentally, they've been
very pleased about your letters.

- Who? How do you know?
- I have a wire here.

Today, John F. Kennedy has faced

some of the most soul-shaking
problems of the United States,

the free world and all mankind.

But with more of the same
promised for tomorrow

and every day
for the next four years,

he remains calm in his deliberations

and relaxed with an old friend,
Kenneth O'Donnell.

- It's interesting.
- Isn't it?

Read this, Kenny,
just to show you how not to...

That one should stand.

I do not believe

that any of us

would exchange places

with any other people
or any other generation.

No!

The energy, the faith, the devotion

which we bring to this endeavor

will light our country
and all who serve it.

And the glow from that fire

can truly light the world.

And so, my fellow Americans,

ask not what your country
can do for you,

ask what you can do
for your country.

You have seen John F. Kennedy

fight to win the presidency,

and as president you have seen him
in some of his many roles...

We shall be at war or peace.

As ceremonial head of state,

as chief executive,

as commander-in-chief...

- How are you?
- Good to see you.

And as spokesman for the principles

of the United States and the free world.

And you have met some of his friends...

Senator Humphrey, now an enthusiastic
supporter of the president,

is the new Senate whip.

Just check into Chet
Bowles a little bit.

Well, hello there!
How are you?

John Kenneth Galbraith

has been chosen
the president's ambassador to India.

Governor Williams
will continue his mission in Africa.

These people you have seen
in a new way, moving about,

seeing and hearing for yourself
what it is like to be with them.

This has been the first
Adventures in Reporting.

The Next Adventures in Reporting
will appear on Bell & Howell Close-up

over the ABC Network April 27,

continuing with
Governor Williams in Africa

until an unexpected event
captures in camera in Nairobi, Kenya.

The American Broadcasting Company

wishes to thank its sponsor,
Bell & Howell,

for encouraging our complete editorial
freedom throughout this series.

And now a final word from Bell & Howell.