days later, launching his political career. this one-hour program comes to us courtesy of pacific gas & electric and the hoover institution archives. ♪ mr. sibley: good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

thank you for the interest and byhusiasm you have shown your attendance and participation in the series. foring with the candidates state office, hearing their views on the issues, engaging them in question and answer discussions helps us as responsible citizens to enfranchise ourselves productively and responsibly. it will be of interest to our guest today to know that so far in this series we have been addressed by the candidates of all parties for treasurer, controller, attorney general, and lieutenant governor, and one of the gubernatorial candidates, mr. brown, was here yesterday. i'm pleased to tell our guest -- [laughter] [applause] i'm pleased to tell our guest that there are four sponsors of this series.

company, the employee association, and the two unions that represent the genie employees. -- pg&e employees. in tune with the spirit of the coming season, may i say that there are only four more shopping days left for governor. it has been a long and interesting campaign. it has been an arduous one for the candidates. we are grateful that these busy candidates found time to come here, especially this week in the home stretch. it is a privilege for us to see and hear from them in person. it is my personal privilege to present to you a man who has made a meteoric rise in the political scene in our state and the nation. we have known him to the media other than politics for many years. he is more than casually familiar with our industry,

having served for so long as a special representative of the general electric company as you will recall. ronald reagan, republican candidate for governor of our great state has a rich background in america. he might be described as the boy next-door who made good in about everything he undertook in life, frequently overcoming obstacles to do so. here are the highlights of his career. he was born in illinois, worked through eureka college during the depression of 1928-1932. waiting on tables, washing dishes, teaching swimming. while earning his degree in economics and sociologist, he managed to play varsity football, captain the swimming team, and serve as student body president. while earning his degree in in his early career, he was a sports broadcaster for the chicago cubs and chicago white sox.

big 10 football games and notre dame. after he became engaged in the movie career for which we know him so well, he served for 14 years as president of the screen actors guild. he also served as the board of directors for the same pop-up. he served two terms as president of the motion picture council and 10 years as a member of the motion council's board. though he has not run for public office before, he has been no stranger to the world of politics and the issue at the political scene. his famous televised speech on behalf of the republican candidate at the 1964 election was so well received across the nation that mr. reagan has been prominent in the political arena ever since. through his career as a motion picture and television star, we have all known ronnie reagan for

many years. many of us, until recently, knew little of his long devotion to public service. as a member of the hospital board of directors and -- he operates a successful horse many years. breeding and cattle ranch. his accomplishments, awards, and honors are many. his wife has proven to be a competent and attractive running mate for him. they have two children. with this too brief introduction, it is my pleasure to present to you, ronald reagan, republican candidate for the governor of california. [applause]

mr. reagan: thank you. thank you, ladies and gentlemen. i'm sure all of you recognized someone who followed me into the room who has been with me, chuck conners. in case there is any question, chuck is an actor. [laughter] but he is a concerned citizen interested in the affairs and the state of the nation and its community. i am interested in what you are doing and what this meeting represents. a great many people have been concerned about an apathy among american people. we have gone through a period in which we forgot if we did not run the government, the government would run us. thanks to companies, to organizations, to people like yourselves doing this, in a sense to participate, not think about how, but to involve yourself -- i think we have

cured that apathy. my opponent in this race, in the last week or two, he said while he has been building california for the last eight years, he asked what i have been doing and i said i have been making movies and appearing on tv. that is correct. i have in making a living. i cannot help but wonder if there has been some question in his mind about that money that is being spent these last several years. he doesn't know that it came from people like you and me who has been making a living. [applause] i have managed to point out that all of my remarks are taped by a representative of the governor. not just the remarks, but the

speeches. he trails me as i go along with an open mic. i won't even say hello to nancy when i get home without looking over my shoulder. i have gotten used to that. our people came to me and said why don't we do it? why don't we have somebody take him? i agreed on one condition, that i would not have to listen. [laughter] at first, i was concerned, because while there have been remarks -- there are one or two magazine writers who insist on talking about whatever i say in the singular, as if it is the only speech that has been made, i have prepared my own remarks and all of the years i have traveled the mashed potato circuit. in the recent weeks of the campaign, as i have heard the governor after eight years begin talking about rehabilitation, welfare, economy, more efficiency.

i have a feeling that i have in writing his too. the thing that bothers me the most is the used of the scissors. there is a quote attributed to me. it has me saying, it is a strange paradox, in a society, a system created like ours, created on individual freedom that parents should be compelled to send their children to school. i said that, to a meeting of teachers. let's take the scissors out and finish the quote. i said that is a paradox we gladly put up with, because we know we cannot have a free system unless we have an educated citizenry. it comes out differently when you finish the quote. the governor is concerned that i have never held public office and he has never held any other

kind of job. [laughter] my experience has not been in public life. on the other hand, i don't know of anyone who was born holding public office. i believe that experience can come in a number of ways. i believe the people of michigan think that george romney has had experience with his job by reason of having run an automobile company. you were told in my production, my experience was in the field of a national labor organization. i was president for six terms of my union. throughout most of my 20 years on the board, i was in charge of participating in negotiations across the table. representing our performers with regard to their wages and working conditions. i think that we have a record to be proud of. one thing that i learned, we

asked ourselves -- i don't mean to sound noble, but we asked ourselves three questions before we went to the bargaining table. we look to our demands and said, is it fair to actors? number two is it fair to the other fella on the other side of the table, and number three, is it fair to the public? neither management nor worker, has a right to negotiate a deal over that table that results in a product beyond the price public should reasonably pay. [applause] now, my experience has turned me inevitably toward the people for the answers to the problems. i put my faith in the private sector of the economy. a belief in the people's right and ability to run their own affairs.

instinctually, my opponent 60 answers through government -- seeks the answers through government. there are those today who are telling you that because society has grown so big and so complex, that we no longer can afford our traditional system of freedom. that big government is the only answer to the big problems of this big nation. i say this is based on a false premise and is completely untrue. you have proven it. big business is decentralizing because it has gone through the period of trying to run things with one man at the top and a board of directors, and everything for a requisition from paperclips on down has to go through proper channels, and it will come down hopefully and eventually. businesses are to capitalize on the abilities of the individuals.

to take advantage of their knowledge close at hand, facing the immediate problem. i believe that if we properly analyze this thing being forced on us, we must come to the conclusion that the very reverse of what they are saying is true. that, as we grow bigger and more complex, and crowd in on each other, the only way we can make this system work is to return the authority to the echelon of government closest to the people. i don't believe that anybody in sacramento knows as well as the people in san francisco knows where a freeway should go in san francisco. [applause] as the governor turns toward government as the answer to the problems, he centralized more power in state government, and in turn, he has been willing to

pass that authority on to the central government in washington. more and more, we see them getting on the hotline to washington asking for the answers to the problems. i have articles on my desk written by my opponent. they expressed the belief that the problems are too big for individual states. only can a strong national government do this. if you analyze it again, you cannot envision a government, national or statewide, that can possibly gather together the people with the genius and the talent to make the multitudinous decisions that must be made every day in the running of people's affairs. i stand by the philosophy i have just expressed. as the state government has usurped the authorities from these communities, it has grown great in bureaucracy, and in cost. we have the highest debt of any of the nations, or any of the states of the nation, the

highest debt of many of the nations also. we have taxes. your tax burden is $100 per capita higher than the national average. property tax in california is double the national average and increasing twice as fast as your increase in personal income. it brings you to the realization that unless something is done, when the day comes that we retire on the fixed income of social security or pension, we likely will be able to live in our own homes because that tax burden continues to rise with the inflationary spiral. i believe that something must be done that is based on a sounder basis than helping. at the government will do what the governor has resisted doing, which is to earmark money all these years and -- your marked some money and give it back to us. i have been preaching that story. earmark the money for hours ending without running it through the puzzle palaces on

the potomac to give it back to us minus a carrying charge. there is no such legislation introduced. the man who first suggested this was mr. heller, the economic advisor to the president. after he suggested this, he was no longer economic advisor to the president. for this great size and cost of government, we are leading in all the wrong things. we have doubled our proportion and share. we have 17% of the crime in the nation here in california but only 9% of the population. we've twice 7% of all of the bank robberies in the united states committed -- we have 27% of all the bank robberies in the united states committed in california. i apologize, i did goof. it did not begin with his first term as governor.

it began when he was attorney general. [laughter] [applause] beginning with his first term as attorney general, there has been an increase in crime in california that is roughly three times or more the increase in population. we have a crime right per 100,000 of population that is more than 2.5 times what it was at the end of his first four years as attorney general. first in business failures and bankruptcies. we have more than the other five states next in line put together. there is a slump in the country with regard to the building trade. i'm sure you are familiar with that. it is true that the slump is five times greater in california than the rest of the nation. we have declined 49% in building permits, up 38% in mortgage

foreclosures, and we have the highest the link once he tax rate in -- delinquency tax rate -- i have tried to talk the issues. i'm going to talk the issues. one of the issues is the record of this administration. the governor has shown a reluctance to run. the governor says he has done all that can be done for smog. with all of the divisions between the north and south of california, i'm happy to find in the last couple of days that we have this in common. smog. in los angeles, lewis fuller, our air pollution control officer estimates that 90% of the smog comes from automobiles. that is not a startling statement. he warns that the control of exhaust emissions must be intensified and accelerated if smog is to be controlled by

1980. because smog knows no city limits or state boundaries, the same ancestor responsibility rests with the state and federal governments. i believe that. the governor takes great credit for making small devices -- smog control devices mandatory. but the word is out that the devices are not doing the job. "the clean air quarterly," a state publication, admits that from january 1 to september 30, surveillance results indicate a higher emission level for cars in actual use by the public than the improving ground tests by automobile manufacturers. reliable sources reveal that 50% of the devices are admitting pollutants in excess of the limits and they further believed that certification of these devices should be revoked. they cost us an average of $45

each, and they are on more than 600,000 new cars. this means that a new car buyer, or the buyers put together, have paid more than $30 million for devices that are not doing the job. it is the public that pays. the situation has reached a point where the supervisors in our county have passed a resolution asking mr. fuller to look into the device effectiveness it is -- i believe effectiveness it is -- i believe that this must be some thing that coordinates the efforts of all levels. to bring into play something to solve this problem. anyone who commutes by air, as i have been doing, knows what it is like to see even in the open areas of our state this 30, brown -- this dirty brown blanket. contrary to what you may have heard, i have made specific recommendations. oh, actually --

[laughter] lest you think i am being too partisan, it's actually kind of a brownish green. contrary to what you have heard, contrary to what you have heard, i have made specific recommendations to other problems. i have proposed and actual plan for implementing our labor policies, for management and labor relations problem's, where there is a no man's land in this state. i have made specific proposals for taking judges out of politics. specific recommendations for cutting cost of government. to improve the business climate. public officials are elected for one purpose,. to solve public problems. you have a right to know where anyone of us stand, to ask what we propose, to ask what our positions are.

in that context, i believe that there is no point in me trying to correct some of the mistakes, or misstatements, that have been made with regard to my positions. i would like to suggest that the time has come when you and i have the right to a legitimate discussion, between candidates on where they stand and what they propose, that we can no longer afford the middle-aged juvenile delinquency that goes along with trying to build a strawman, and pretend that someone believes something else, so the people should be against him on the basis of that invented believe. you have a right to make your choice based on what we actually propose. i will not take more time. i have been making speeches for several months. in this context, i could start talking about the issues, and perhaps miss something that is of great concern to you, or something you have been told that you have more desire for

information about. why don't we get right to that question and i can tell you about more specifics if you fire away? why don't we -- how do we handle this? thank you, -- >> thank you, mr. reagan. it is our custom here, from this time, to permit the audience to ask any questions that they may wish to direct to our distinguished speaker. i respectfully request that our friends of the press withhold their questions during this period, reserved for those in the audience. the ground rules. if you wish to ask a question, raise your hand and weight to be recognized. when you are, mrs. kathy mebach, or any of these ladies will hand you a cordless microphone.

then please stand and ask your question as briefly and clearly as possible. the first question. right here, please. >> it will be a long time for the mic to get there. >> they have several. >> i am wondering about your beliefs. will you be able to provide your beliefs without being influenced by the rest of the politics behind you? mr. reagan: if i heard that correctly. what i be able to implement my beliefs without being influenced by what? >> the rest of the politics. you have your beliefs. can you carry your beliefs out?

do you believe that you can without being pushed the other way? mr. reagan: one of the advantages of not having an engaged in politics, is that i can present myself to you and there are no political iou's out for collection. i don't offer a new deal, i offer a no deal government. [applause] no one so far has sought to in any way influence or change my philosophy, or what i believe. i have proposed throughout this campaign what i call a creative society in which i believe in turning to the people, and the people with the most knowledge of the problems for their thinking, and their answers to them. having mentioned business climate, it is my belief that the answer to the problem in

california, the need to bring us down to the national average in unemployment -- we are 28% above that national average, even though we are at a low point of the last six years, i think due to the war boom and economy, it would be my intention to ask the leading industrial leaders of this state to come to us and try to point out the government, where the government is standing in the way, why we are losing attractiveness to new injury, why old industries are leaving california. i had quite a joke when i read that max factor is leaving hollywood to set up in illinois because he can no longer operate competitively under the conditions imposed by this bad business climate. we need to ask the industrial community what it is that government can do when offering tax incentives.

how can we remove taxes like the inventory tax? how can we encourage industries to come here and give us the broad-based economy that we need? this is my approach to government. a belief in the people. >> mr. reagan, i work in the valuation department. what is your opinion on the north-west california water project? mr. reagan: i know where the eel river is. [laughter] actually, you're talking about the extension beyond our present central california project, up into the northwest area. i happen to be one who is concerned about those turning to the federal government to try to resolve this. i think that eventually, beyond

a certain date, we are going to have to search for additional sources of water he owned our own. the northwest project, the columbia river, and the snake river has been proposed as one that would use the channel of the colorado, which is a more economical way to transport water than the building of canals, and augment the colorado flow. in the meantime, i think we should continue to explore the salinization, which gives us a water supply much closer, but also the recovery of wastewater. here, the actual rate in this -- i heard a caltech scientist the other day. he says he believes that reclaimed wastewater can be delivered as cheaply as our central water project is doing it. the northwest project has been the result of a lack of statesmanship. there is a great mistrust on the part of states with a smaller population, of california.

they think we would be on the taking end while they are giving. they want to reserve the right to have the same growth potential. we can understand that. the point of origin rights must be respected anytime. but why i worry about the federal government is because it seems to me there would be more resistance from those states to joining us, through a federal government plan, because there, they would know they are outweighed. politics being what they are, a state with our population will have more of a voice in the federal government than smaller states. this is why i would think that statesmanship is required, to see if we cannot get together the several states involved, in a regional approach to this, and find out that we can evolve a plan that will respect everyone's right, and their future potential.

question in the back? i had better get away from the one bunch, or we will say in one corner of the room. >> if elected,, mr. reagan, how will you propose to further the civil rights of california citizens? mr. reagan: well, for one thing, i have a great belief that many of the problems that complicated this now are economic. first of all, this might come as strange to you at this point of the campaign to know that all of my life, i have been involved emotionally and actively on the side of eliminating bigotry and prejudice, and the practice of discrimination based on that. i think that this kind of bigotry or prejudice is one of the evil sicknesses that the -- that besets mankind. i don't think there is any place

for it. there are limits to what we can achieve all the time and simply through legislation. i don't believe you can solve the problem by establishing a precedent that will invade the freedoms of all. i have opposed legislation that i believe, regardless of the nobility or purpose, would establish a precedent of giving the government the right to invade basic freedoms. i don't believe we have done enough of using the high office in this regard. right now, i would feel that a governor, without asking for legislation -- i am opposed to the robert back -- rumpert act, as i'm sure you know, but i would suggest the governor gather community leaders and should seek out the responsible leadership in the minority

groups who want an answer better than taking to the streets in violence. then we should mobilize these people to find out all of the abrasive points, where we are rubbing and hurting, and see what we can do at the community level to solve these problems voluntarily and in the spirit of goodwill. i have a number of spit -- specifics in this regard, but let's get to the economic thing. we don't have ghettos because someone built a wall around them like some countries abroad, and people are denied the right to move. we have ghettos economically. you have to establish the quality of opportunity and job equality for all of our people, so that someone has the ability to choose and move where he will live. economically. there is a program working in the watts area of los angeles. i've gone into detail with this program of mr. hc mcclellan of

the los angeles chamber of commerce who thought of it after the watts riots. regardless of what anyone may what to say in sacramento, it is a model of what could be done statewide. mayor redding of oakland has interviewed mr. mcclellan and has started to put into effect some of the things working. because i literally forcing the cooperation of government with the private sector who have the jobs, they have put into effect a plan that has put 12,000 of the unemployed in that area into jobs in the private sector through job-training. a few weeks ago, they went into the watch area with 35 good paying bus driving jobs and could not find anybody unemployed who was qualified to take one of those jobs. this is how successful it has been. i have proposed a thing called the job opportunities board. it would involve the cooperation of welfare, the state labor department, and the federal job training program, and the

private sector of the economy to direct evil particularly from -- to direct people particularly from welfare into these jobs. to give people the job skills that are needed. we have forth out -- 400,000 unemployed and we have people who don't know those jobs are going begging. the central place where a man who is laid off could find where in the state are is a demand for his particular skill or craft. this would be a part of this job opportunities board, which i have called j.o.b. for short.t h this economic settlement of the problem, at the same time that we try to solve all of those problems created simply by the misunderstanding between the people. [applause]

>> the appointment of judges is traditionally and constitutionally an executive function, both for the president and the governors of the sovereign state. what are your proposals for taking the appointment of judges out of the field of politics? mr. reagan: i favor a program that is similar to something being practiced in the state of missouri right now. this is the appointment of a committee by the state bar augmented by blue-ribbon citizens. this joint committee of laymen and lawyers, will name a panel based on their experience, qualifications, and personal character. the governor would be forced to appoint his judges from that panel, and it would take it out of politics once and for all.

make sure it is based on the qualifications of the individuals. [applause] >> do you believe that unemployment compensation is an extended vacation for loafers? mr. reagan: no, i don't. i tell you where that came from. i tell you what i do think and where i used that term. the unemployment insurance fund in california has undergone some fast and loose playing. there is a philosophy that openly now says that unemployment insurance must be considered in the same philosophy as welfare. i don't think it is. i think this is a legitimate insurance program for the protection of legitimate working men and women, but under this plan, they have done away with the thing that companies once had of being able to pay a lower

tax or no tax if they had a good employment record. they have raised the tax on the employer. the money has been going out faster than it has been coming in, because under this philosophy of calling it welfare, they have violated the original statute which said that it was for the protection of a person laid off through no fault of their own, and should not suffer destitution until they were able to get a new job. under this new philosophy, people are able to take advantage of loopholes that have been discovered, and to voluntarily quit and get this payment. people are able to be fired for cause, and find loopholes, and get this. they are basing it on not whether you are eligible, but whether you need it. there has developed a group in our state who are taking advantage of this. i say, if we should be faced

with a great depression -- i understand the governor has been talking about the possibility that such a thing might happen, we could find we do not have the protection we thought if the legitimate working men and women depending on this had to call upon it. i have said that this class that has taken advantage of it, working just long enough to establish eligibility, has become a group making it a way of life. freeloaders who have expected -- accepted that it is not just to provide protection, but a prepaid vacation plan. the program should be put back on the proper basis so that it can be there when and if the rest of us need it. [applause]

>> i would like to know what sort of program you advocate for reducing property taxes. [applause] mr. reagan: i think there is only one way that property taxes can be reduced. i do not favor the way suggested by mr. cranston which would take away local autonomy from the local taxing agencies. the great increase in property tax has come about from two causes. the state has gathered so much authority with regard to education and welfare, then the state dreams up goodies, and passes down legislation with some 270 pages of legislation aimed at the local public schools, programs that the schools half to put into effect, but never has the state proposed or provided the money for implementing those programs. from the one time level of

paying 50% of the cost of the public school system, the state has dropped from an average of 35%, but in metropolitan areas, it is down to 27%. the state needs to accept the responsibility for getting back to the 50% share of the cost of education. same thing has happened with the cost of welfare. the county has only one source of revenue. it turns to the property tax. so the text has skyrocketed. i believe that the state, by assuming the burden, must envision a broader tech space in which the state would have to have a tax increase, only as a substitute, to pay this back so that the local communities could reduce their taxes proportionately. the suggestion that i have made,

the most logical, i advocate a complete program of in-depth study, but i believe the sales tax offers the best and brightest basis for this. i think we have to review our entire approach to property taxes. i think it is an archaic and outmoded idea to expect property to bear a large share of the general revenue burden. the property tax originally was a kind of income tax. i don't think they ever envisioned millions of people owning a plot of ground and a house. they certainly did not envision a credit system in which millions of people would be living in those homes and only own limited equity in those homes. one of the fallacies in the tax structure now is, you take $1500 and put it on a down payment of a $20,000 house, you don't own $20,000 worth of real estate,

you own $1500 worth. they tax you as though you own 20,000, but it isn't fair as you don't make that much money. we need to readjust the taxing for where it goes in and how it comes out. a combination of income and sales tax. [applause] >> let's try that one first. >> i have one question. when you are governor of california, what will be your stand on the situation of san quentin and death row? mr. reagan: i have charged that the situation there perhaps

represents the reflection of a philosophy that is widespread in our land about a soft attitude toward crime and this philosophy that the individual is no longer responsible for his misdeeds, that society is to blame. we must have a philosophy of believing the individual is responsible, and must stand to an accounting. the situation there grew largely out of the supreme court decisions that changed, with regard to the rules of evidence and so forth. in california, judicial interpretations at the state level went farther than most states. we went beyond what most states believed the supreme court had ordered. we had that paella that was there -- pile up that was there, the moratorium. there are officials who reflect stays and reprieves given prior to those supreme court decisions.

this, i'm sure, is an awful threat hanging over a state or anyone, this great pile up. i'm sure most of these will have to be decided by the courts, because in most cases they have won the right to a retrial. when the courts have made their decisions, the sentence must be carried out. you might as well know, i happen to believe, even though all of us are uncomfortable in saying this, all of us who were raised in our judeo-christian tradition, we wish it could be otherwise, but i have to believe that the death sentence is a deterrent, and does prevent some crimes from being committed, so i believe in the death sentence. [applause]

>> i would like to ask you to reply to the quote by governor brown yesterday, making the statement, a tree is a tree, how many can you see? could you explain what you meant or did you actually say this? mr. reagan: didn't say it. as a matter of fact, it came from a meeting in san francisco. i will explain to you. golly, i hope i can hold this one down. i don't want to run out of time. this situation involving the redwoods is one in which there has been more misinformation than on any issue confronting us. i happen to have been an outdoorsman all my life and a nature lover. i burn oakwood from my own ranch, but i don't cut down a tree. i wait until a limb falls. i think it is easier for the state highway department to bulldoze the trees than to go

around. i'm interested that the governor should think i have a callous attitude, when as i recall, it was his highway department that wanted to push a highway through fern canyon, when he said in response to the trees that would be lost, "we'll plant some more." what i was trying to explain, and about what i think is the misinformation, and i have done my best to study this. we have 115,000 acres in 28 state parks are redwoods. only about 15,000 of those are the virgin growth, but outside those acres, they don't tell you there are only about 8000 acres of those truly great groves left in private hands. half of those are earmarked to be added to the present state parks.

in speaking to this audience, i was pointing out that the need for the national park is not to preserve the redwoods. in california, thanks to public spirited citizens, we have done one of the great conservation jobs of all times. we have between one third and one fourth of all of the truly virgin groves preserved that ever existed in california. i tried to tell this audience what 115,000 acres was. i said, if you could lay it out in a grove one-mile wide with a road done the middle, so you had one half mile of trees on either side, and you took a drive, i said he would have to drive almost 200 miles to go through 115,000 acres. then i said, that is a lot of trees to look at. 200 miles of looking at them. when i was illustrating was that

the redwoods are a scenic attraction to look at. most tourists do not go for recreation. you get 200 feet in and you are smothered over. there is nothing to see. this is the scenic attraction. congressman don claussen has proposed a national park plan that makes sense. i cannot give you all of the details, but it is a park proposal to exchange federal and state lands until we have a national park that includes the redwoods, miles of the rugged sea coast, streams, lagoons, mountainsides, land for recreation. then have a national park helpful to the economy of that area. i would like to point out that we have in that area federally owned land now, in excess of more than half of the land area. the six rivers national forest is 416,000 acres.

the state legislature of california, his own democratic state legislature, for the last several years has had a resolution saying if there were to be a national park, it is uneconomic to take more land from the private sector, taxpaying land, and the park should be created out of already government owned land. i don't know whether he said this yesterday, because i don't know what he said, but i know that he has been saying that i want to sell the state parks. again. let me give you a correction, and you tell me if it doesn't make sense and if i'm governor i won't do it. [laughter] we have only developed 20% of the land we now own as state parkland. the legislative analyst says it will cost $564 million to develop what we already have. i have proposed that maybe we should slow down a little bit on acquiring while we develop what we have.

particularly in the summertime when you people who have campers find that if you don't get there by friday morning, you cannot get to one of our state campgrounds. i suggested this. the idea of a frequent inventory. it is possible that buying went this far in advance, we might buy some that as the years go by, and it isn't developed, doesn't reflect the growth of the state or the taste of the state. who could have protected 15 years ago there would be the great increase in boating that we have today. i said it is possible these inventories would reveal that maybe we have too much of the wrong kind of land and we need, let's say beach or lake frontage. rather than just acquiring, wouldn't it make sense to exchange? if we have an excess, to put it on the market. but always envisioning to buy this other kind of land. i don't think it is a careless idea. i think it makes ordinary sense.

[applause] >> i think we have time for just one more question. i know that mr. reagan has a very busy schedule. we want to do our part to keep him on it. the back corner of the room. mr. reagan: sing out. >> our governor has talked much about his famous water plan, but what he doesn't tell much of the people is that he has continually looked by the problem of flood control in northern california. i believe you are up there and saw the mess created by the misuse of the watershed. they are not taking care of that watershed. this is a little different from the tree problem. it is causing a real destruction of the rivers and the beds. have you seen this and what are your feelings about this?

mr. reagan: i have seen some of it and i have talked to for a -- forestry men about it. they claim there is a lingering of past practices, some mismanagement of the grading of slopes. we now have laws covering that. they say that the recent destructive floods was not caused by the sudden loss of a watershed protective cover, but that it actually was the result of the streams piling down into these channels from the excess rain we had, an almost phenomenal rain in the last floods, that over a certain period of time brought a season's moisture in one period. it is true that there isn't the priority on the flood control projects that i think there should be. on the eel river -- [laughter] the dam that is presently proposed is one at the upper end

that would turn around and channel water back through clearlake. this is a good project. it is a corps of engineers project. it would only present control of 13% of the flood potential of that river. i believe that flood control must be given a high priority because you and i know -- this is the home of unusual weather. the thing that ties in is some misinformation that in order to preserve the redwoods, it is necessary to preserve the watershed around them. this again, for street experts have made plain is not necessarily true. down in the alluvial plains where the great tall trees are

growing, that they are the heartiest, and like a weed, they have the ability, out of a stump to come up several additional trees. i agree with you about the priority of the water control plan. the governor neglects to mention that the water control program is printed under the signature of governor night. yesterday i was in for roseville -- i was in oroville. it was interesting to recall the old-timers who remitted governor night's vision -- visit when he turned the first full spade of earth that started the program. it isn't true that when the governor leaves office, he will take his water with him. [laughter] [applause] ladies and gentlemen, you have

been very kind. i should have quit talking earlier. this is fun with the questions. let me, in closing, i'm not forgetting the fact that i am a candidate. i am here for one reason. i would be proud to have your support and your votes, but i would like to suggest that i am not soliciting those votes on the basis that i have any idea of going to sacramento and running the state of california by myself. as i said earlier, i don't think anyone can. maybe that is what is wrong. but i do solicit your vote, if you believe in yourself and if you believe in i -- as i do that the greatness of our state is dependent on the people of this state, that there isn't anything we cannot solve that will get out of the way of the people. that we hear intel for near --

that we here in california, we have the greatest people from the 50 states. we have attracted people from all the states. we attracted people from every nation of the world. we did not build the state by waiting for an area redevelopment program. there isn't anything we can't accomplish if we will mobilize and use the power and the ability of the people of this state. we have the highest level of professional skill and training in education. i hope to present an administration that will turn to the people for the answers to these problems. you have heard a great deal about my lack of experience. that is true. lack of experience in holding public office. i know that there comes a time when, if you want a job done, maybe you get somebody who has not found out all of the things you cannot do. i am quite sure that perhaps i

will make mistakes in that office. they will be the mistakes that you can understand, the mistakes of trying to improve efficiency and productivity. trying to cut overhead and waste, and streamline the practices of this government. i will bludgeon companies like your own to try to get even on a leave of absence basis. men and women who are qualified to come in and take over the administrative decisions, and some of them, i will not get anyone for because i do not think they are necessary. they were created as rewards for political favors and we are not going to give that kind of reward. partisanship is going to end november 8, if we are elected. we will set up a government for all of the people. many of you are democrats, and i offer a government not based on any narrow, partisan concept, but a government based on the idea of all of the people in our state having a voice in their destiny, some control in running

their own affairs, and some control in spending their own money. i believe we can have an economy and government if we have a governor who believes in the economy and believes the cost can be cut. this is the basis for which i would solicit your support. i'm sure you are aware there has been a great tourist trade coming out in the last several weeks. [laughter] i thought it was kind of interesting that the one senator who is a citizen of massachusetts, lives in virginia, and represents new york should be brought up to run california -- to tell us how to run california. [laughter] [applause] we are not doing that because we believe this is between the candidates and the people of california. i am also interested that the tourist trade, representing national leadership, is coming from 3000 miles away.

leadership in this state, most familiar with the problems is constituting a tourist trade going the other direction, men like mayor yordy, mr. warshaw, they seem to be avoiding this campaign and i think they might have inside knowledge about the way the state has been run. this is the basis upon which we solicit your support, not only myself, but this entire team that i represent. i will try to continue to get to as many of you as i can, talking specific, and making recommendations. if you should choose the philosophy i have expressed, i would be proud and happy to have it and i will do my utmost to give us a government that is truly of, by, and for the people. thank you very much. [applause]

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>> tired following 2016 give the news? american history tv will travel back in time with our series, road to the white house rewind. we will bring you heart i've will presidential election coverage, including victory and concession speeches and campaign films from the 1956 campaign of dwight d. eisenhower through the 2000 election between bush and gore. on c-span3, providing context for today's public affairs issues. american artifacts takes you to museums and historic places to learn about american history.

douglas o'gara there was a five-star general, who commanded allied forces in the pacific during world war ii. at the macarthur memorial in norfolk, virginia, we learn about his role during the war, the occupation of and his life after serving in the military. this is the second of a two-part program. mr. kolakowski: hello and welcome. my name is christopher kolakowski. it is my honor to be the director here. we are a museum, and research center, dedicated to the life and times of douglas macarthur. we will look at some of the treasures in our collection from world war ii, the occupation of japan to the end of his life. with that, let us take a look at our first item. in 1935 wasrthur offered the job of military advisor of the commonwealth of the philippines.