547
Remarks in Keene, New Hampshire.
September 11, 1975

Louis Wyman, Mayor Jim Maisello, my many, many good friends here in New Hampshire:

I thank you from the bottom of my heart for this wonderful turnout of young and old, the people of this great State of New Hampshire and the city of Keene. It is a great, great experience, and I thank you very, very much.

The truth is that I, over a long period of time, have known many, many people from the State of New Hampshire. I used to come up skiing here a good many years ago. I came here in the summertime, and as a result, I learned thatthe people of New Hampshire are strong and independent people, and I respect both strength and independence.

I also have learned that it is important in our political system if we have a strong two-party system—whether it is in New Hampshire or any one of the other 49 States. Obviously, you do have a strong two-party system in this great State of New Hampshire, and I strongly urge that you maintain that two-party system so that all of you have an opportunity to make a choice.

I also have learned over the years that the people of New Hampshire believe in competition, whether it is in the political arena or whether it is in anything else. You had a little competition last November, and the net result is that you now have an opportunity in a few days to have the same kind of competition.

The people of New Hampshire, after fighting hard to get the opportunity to make their choice rather than have the politicians make that choice, your election comes, and I strongly urge that everybody who is eligible turn out to participate in this very important decision.

It was my pleasure to be here last April to meet the Governor and to speak to the State legislature. At that time, I urged two things: one, that the people of New Hampshire, rather than the politicians in Washington, ought to decide who should be your United States Senator.

Finally, after a great deal of pressure from all of you and from many others-the politicians decided that the people of New Hampshire have that right to make a choice, and with that opportunity goes the responsibility on your part to participate. So, make it a big election.

One of the important ingredients of a two-party system is that the two parties present good candidates and present a united front.

I am delighted to be in New Hampshire today and to be a part of a unity movement in my party, the Republican Party. I am delighted that Governor Reagan was here in New Hampshire last night.

I am here because I want to show a common front, a united party. I am delighted that my dear friend of many years in the Congress, Norris Cotton, Jim Cleveland, who I served with in the House of Representatives, that all other elements of the party at the national level and your Governor, Governor Thomson, are joining with us together to show that our party is unified, that we can have diversity, but we can have unity, which I think is important for the strengthening of the party and beneficial to the people who want a choice.

Now, let me indicate what I believe in and what Louis Wyman believes in, what our party stands for. We stand, first, for fiscal responsibility in the management of the public trust as far as your taxes are concerned and will fight hardand effectively, I hope, that your money that you pay into the treasury, whether it is in New Hampshire or in Washington, will be spent wisely and economically.

We believe, also, that the free enterprise system is the best way to have a healthy nation. We believe that it is better to put young people, old people, working people not on the public payroll, but on the private payroll. We think it is more important that people work in a free enterprise system rather than working for the government as such.

We also believe that the United States must be second to none in national security. We believe that our Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines must be strong. That is the best way to achieve the peace and to preserve the peace.

We believe that the control of your local community is better when it is in the hands of locally elected officials. We think the people of Keene and the other many fine communities in New Hampshire can run their affairs better than having somebody in Washington tell them how to do it.

We believe that the freedom of the individual is important, that each of you should not be overcrowded by the Federal Government of certain rights, whether they are in education, in industry, in your community. The right of each of you as an individual is a sacred trust to us.

Let me conclude with this observation about my very close and old friend, Louis Wyman: I had the privilege of serving with Louis in the House of Representatives for better than 10 years. I know he is an experienced and able and effective legislator.

He started with a great Senator from your State, Styles Bridges. He served you more ably as attorney general. His record of public service is outstanding. And I can say from personal observation that he is a person who will do a good job for you in the United States Senate.

We have a lot of problems that have to be solved in this country. Louis Wyman understands some of those problems better than anybody that I know in Washington, as his record of attorney general speaks for itself. We have too much crime in America. Louis Wyman knows, as attorney general and as a Member of the Congress, how to effectively meet the challenge of crime in America.

Louis Wyman knows that you need jobs in New Hampshire, and Louis Wyman, while he was a Member of the House of Representatives, worked hard and, I think, effectively in trying to help the job situation in the State of New Hampshire.

Louis Wyman will do across the board the kind of a job that you will be proud of. And I can assure you that my long and personal, close relationshipwith Louis—that I will be proud to have him down there working for you, representing you, and working with us for a better America.
Thank you very, very much.

NOTE: The President spoke at 10:09 a.m. in the town square. Keene was the first stop during the President’s motorcade through southern New Hampshire, which included stops in the following towns: Marlborough, Dublin, Peterborough, Milford, Amherst, Nashua, Hudson, Salem, Hampstead, Kingston, Exeter, and Portsmouth.