JFK ADDRESSES ETHICAL CLIMATE IN WASHINGTON
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) Fifty-four years ago this morning, November 14, 1963, President John F. Kennedy held what was to be his last press conference in the State Department Auditorium here in the Nation's Capital.
President Kennedy was asked the following question.
"The Fred Korth* and Bobby Baker** cases have prompted some serious questions about the moral and ethical climate in Washington. What is your assessment of today's climate in Washington?"
"There are always bound to be in the government...people who can't stand the pressure of opportunity. This administration has been very vigorous in its actions and I think we have tried to set a responsible standard.
There are always going to be people who fail to meet that standard, and we attempt to take appropriate action dealing with each case."
*Fred Korth (1909-1998) was appointed Secretary of the Navy by JFK in 1962. He was previously Asst. Sec of the Army (1952-53) and president of Continental National Bank in Ft. Worth, TX.
When General Dynamics won the government contract for the TFX fighter plant, at $6.5 billion, the largest contract for military airplanes in US history, and it was learned that the company's principal monetary source was the Continental National Bank, Mr. Korth resigned as Sec. of the Navy.
**Bobby Baker was born in Pickens, SC in 1928. He became a US Senate page in 1942 and Secretary to the Majority Leader, LBJ, in the 1950s. BB was investigated by the Senate on accusations of bribery and he resigned on Oct 7, 1963.
SOURCE
"Kennedy and the Press," by Harold W. Chase and Allen H. Lerman, Thomas Y. Crowell Company, New York, 1965.
JFK's Press Conference
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) Fifty-four years ago this morning, November 14, 1963, President John F. Kennedy held what was to be his last press conference in the State Department Auditorium here in the Nation's Capital.
President Kennedy was asked the following question.
"The Fred Korth* and Bobby Baker** cases have prompted some serious questions about the moral and ethical climate in Washington. What is your assessment of today's climate in Washington?"
JFK answered...
"There are always bound to be in the government...people who can't stand the pressure of opportunity. This administration has been very vigorous in its actions and I think we have tried to set a responsible standard.
There are always going to be people who fail to meet that standard, and we attempt to take appropriate action dealing with each case."
*Fred Korth (1909-1998) was appointed Secretary of the Navy by JFK in 1962. He was previously Asst. Sec of the Army (1952-53) and president of Continental National Bank in Ft. Worth, TX.
When General Dynamics won the government contract for the TFX fighter plant, at $6.5 billion, the largest contract for military airplanes in US history, and it was learned that the company's principal monetary source was the Continental National Bank, Mr. Korth resigned as Sec. of the Navy.
**Bobby Baker was born in Pickens, SC in 1928. He became a US Senate page in 1942 and Secretary to the Majority Leader, LBJ, in the 1950s. BB was investigated by the Senate on accusations of bribery and he resigned on Oct 7, 1963.
SOURCE
"Kennedy and the Press," by Harold W. Chase and Allen H. Lerman, Thomas Y. Crowell Company, New York, 1965.
JFK's Press Conference
Washington, D.C.
Photo by Abbie Rowe (1961)
JFK Library Image
