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Show Largest Crowd in Years Hears Senator Kennedy Blast GOP Administration What was described as the "largest and most enthusiastic crowd in years" gathered in Salt Lake City's Rainbow Randevu this week to hear United States Senator John F. Kennedy (D., Mass.) charge the Eisenhower administration with blame for this country's lagging scientific program. A crowd estimated at more than 4,000 many standing heard the youthful senator de- 49 1 SEN. JOHN F. KENNEDY clare that it is the president himself him-self and not his special assistants who must pull the United States ahead of Russia in outer-space achievements. The rally drew Democrats from all levels of party activity and from all sections of the state. The Sentaor, who was edged out for the party's vice presidential presiden-tial nomination by Senator Estes Kefauver, is considered a strong contender for the presidential nomination in 1960. The large attendance at the Salt Lake City gathering was taken by some observers as a sign of Senator Kennedy's wide following in the party. He was invited to Utah through efforts of Utah Young Democrats. Demo-crats. Senator Kennedy said President Presi-dent Eisenhower made a good move in appointing Dr. James Killian of Massachusetts Institute Insti-tute of Technology to ride herd on outer-space research. But even this move was a belated one, he added. "While the president's proposals pro-posals are good as far as they go they must still prove they are able to close the gap. No new act of Congress or no special assistant as-sistant is enough. "Only the president of the United States has the power and (Continued on Page 8) Largest Crowd in Years Hears Senator Kennedy Blast GOP Administration (Continued from Page 1) the facts and the position to lead us through these critical years," he said. The senator said that not once in the past five years has the president requested as much for defense research and development develop-ment as large as that in the last Democratic year. He said that "we in New England Eng-land have seen first hand the deteriorating de-teriorating influence of one-party one-party government. The party in power becomes lazy, inefficient and ineffective. It looks upon the state as its private property and upon voters as a necessary nuisance." nuis-ance." His remarks were interpreted as pointing at Utah also. The state has been Republican dominated domi-nated for more than eight years. Senator Kennedy said that the United States is running behind Russia not only in outer space developments but also in other military fields such as jet engines en-gines and fuels. He said the president has told Americans that the United States is trailing Russia but not how badly or why. "He (the president) presi-dent) referred to what he called 'alleged inter-service competition'," competi-tion'," the senator said. "May I respectfully suggest to the president presi-dent that this competition is not alleged it is proven." Senator Kennedy told supporters support-ers here that he is concentrating at present on winning reelection in his home state next year. But it was obvious by his actions here hat he also has an eye on the presidential nomination too. The senator said United States farm surpluses should be used to "fill the cracks in the Iron Curtain ... to help drive a wedge between the Soviet Union and her satellites." Asked at his news conference about the chances for passage of a federal aid to education measure, meas-ure, Kennedy said he thinks this will be done in the next session of Congress. Kennedy said he thinks such aid should be limited to a four-year four-year emergency program to take care of a tide of children now approaching school age. i |
