European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 17, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 12 the stars and stripes saturday september 17, 1977 William Safire from the White House my fellow americans 1 have asked for this television time to night to share with you my feelings and my decisions about what some believe to be a Challenge to the moral authority of my presidency the charges against Bert Lance. Bert was and is my very Good Friend. More important he has proven himself to be a dedicated Public servant in Georgia and in Washington. He is a warm human being a god fearing Man. I am proud to Call him my Friend As i have been proud to have him serve beside me in this administration. Many of you saw the Way he defended his Good name in the Senate hearings this week. He has every reason to hold his head High. He and his Good wife. Labelle have been under the most sustained and often unfair attack for months. I have said nothing in recent weeks be cause i believe that every Man is entitled to his Day in court. Both the Public interest and simple decency demanded that All the charges be fully aired so that Bert could meet them one by one. He did and i can repeat without shame about my Friend Bert. I m proud of you but the american people elected me to be an effective president and not any body s Friend. Bert is no quitter far from it but he is a realist. He tells me that he will abide by my decision without any resentment. As a businessman he has made mis takes serious mistakes. Not out of greed or with any intent to Hurt anybody but be cause he was a Man in a hurry to climb the ladder and he had to Start at the very Bottom. If Bert Lance had remained a business Man those mistakes would have been for gotten because he never cheated anybody. On the contrary As a banker he helped thousands of struggling Small businessmen such As myself get a Start in life. But. At my urging he left the privacy of private life. He made the sacrifice of coming to Washington to help me straighten out this government and what a person Al sacrifice that has turned out to be. Because he chose to serve his country his every past movement has been gone Over with a Fine tooth comb every mistake exposed. Some investigators have proceeded without malice others to show they can be As Tough with democrats As they were with republicans have vented a vengeance on Bert Lance and made it impossible for him to do his Job. Here is what we have decided Bert and Labelle Are going Back Home. Since the lances would have been in no trouble had they not decided to come to Washington i am determined that they shall not be made to suffer More because they did. If any prosecutions grow out of their persecution i will end that Pursuit right out in the open with a presidential Pardon. I suppose every president is entitled to at least one. In this matter my staff and myself Are not without sin. In the first flush of our election Victory when i announced that every member of the new administration would be subjected to the closest scrutiny and held to much higher standards to prevent conflicts of in Terest i made an exception in the Case of the Man i knew Best. It s wrong to make exceptions no matter How deep the per Sonal Trust. I know that now. Although nobody was authorized by me to close any investigations and of course at that time i had no Power to do so various officials in government wanted to make it possible for Bert Lance to get to work immediately. They acted in what in Hindsight appears to be haste and rightly regret that now. My own personal staff decided that cer Tain information need not be transmitted to me. That judgment was wrong and that sort of thing will not happen again and you can depend on it. Most disturbing of All some of Bert s colleagues counterattacked too strongly blaming the messenger for the bad news. It May be understandable to fight Back under unfair attack but it is unworthy to fight Back  that regard i have reprimanded my press Secretary for spreading false rumours about senator Charles Percy who led the investigation in the Senate. I have person ally apologized to the senator. That is the sort of backstabbing that revolted Ameri cans in the past and has absolutely no place in the Carter White House. It is always easier to be a moralist than to act morally. In our Effort to set new and higher standards of ethics it could Well be that we came across As holier than thou. Our critics take that As an invitation to magnify every mistake. But is Good that we Are reaching for those higher standards and that we Are being held to them. If our concern for ethics sometimes hits Home so be it. We Are Strong enough to admit when we Are wrong and responsive enough to set it  offer no alibis and i hold no grudges. Though i am sorry for my Friend. I am glad for my country because the press the Public the Congress and this administration have come together to demand and to provide exactly what America deserves a government As Good As its people. New York turn is Jesse l. Jackson he toe Areedy 1977 lot Angeles Tim commencement should come first the nation s schools have opened their doors for the new school year but How Many have held commencement exercises yet that s right. Commencement exercises exercises to Start things off to set the course ahead As principals teachers and students commence a new and important year in  commencement exercises held in the Spring Are the right idea we be just got the when and Why of them backward. It s time that we begin the school year As it ends with All the school Community gathered together. But the Agenda must be different. No More oratory about dreams and plans for the future no More grand but purposeless reminiscing about the years behind. The new commencement exercises must spell out for All for principals teachers students parents and Community just what s expected of them in the year ahead their responsibilities their goals. To Start the principal needs to make a state of the school  the principal must spell out the real costs of student behaviour that Absentee ism hurts everyone because it reduces the amount of state Money a school gets last year absenteeism reduced school funds to Chicago by $64 million to los Angeles by $80 million plus. And the principal must declare the penalties that the violations of absenteeism and other Misbehaviour Wil surely bring. Commencing the year with a declaration of the state of the school helps everyone begin to understand just How much it is going to take to make september s lofty goals a reality in May and june. First the principal must establish who is in charge who is responsible for production and Quality control. And while stating that the Legal authority comes from the Board of education the principal must admit no one really can be an effective Leader without moral authority As Well. There s Only one source of moral author Ity parents. So at the new commence ment exercises the principal must Foster a powerful cooperative pact Between school and Parent. To do that the goals for the year must be spelled out in terms of last years achievement and Reading tests. What teachers will strive for must be stated bluntly and so must their plans for doing it including How much Homework must be successfully done every  must understand their crucial role to keep kids at Home to do the Home work. A specific goal should be set for instance 15 hours of study a week without radio or to playing and without friends. If school is to be the Crucible of acculturation where Mutual respect is Learned where the information Gap and eventually the income Gap is closed our schools cannot exist As glorified Day care or detention centers. Schools must be the place where minds Are developed As Well As ideas to Advance the human cause. September commencement exercises Are necessary to Chart the crucial nine month journeys that our children begin each september. It s too late to talk about it at the end of the year. After All if a school has t done a purposeful efficient Job what sort of a life does a Young graduate really commence inthe Spring c los Angeles times