June 23, 1964
Page 14748
ROOSEVELT CAMPOBELLO INTERNATIONAL PARK
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 1040, S. 2464.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The bill will be stated by title.
The LEGISLATIVE CLERK. A bill (S. 2464) to establish the Roosevelt Campobello International Park, and for other purposes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the present consideration of the bill?
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill, which had been reported from the Committee on Foreign Relations, with amendments.
[AMENDMENTS OMITTED]
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, I ask that the committee amendments be considered and agreed to en bloc.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, the committee amendments are agreed to en bloc.
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, the establishment of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt International Park on Campobello Island, has long been the dream of those of us who know what this island retreat meant to the late President. It will serve both as a memorial to President Roosevelt and as a symbol of Canadian-American friendship.
S. 2464, introduced by my colleague from Maine, Senator MARGARET CHASE SMITH and
myself, will bring this dream into reality through the creation of a joint United States-Canadian Commission. This organization would be empowered to accept formal title to the property from the owner, Dr. Armand Hammer, to restore the Roosevelt home, and to administer the park as a memorial.
The feasibility for the creation of this park has been established through an investigation of the Interior Department's National Park Service and its Canadian counterpart. They report that the Roosevelt Cottage and surrounding land would be an appropriate site from which the proposed joint commemorative effort could be directed. The cottage is structurally sound and will require a minimum of rehabilitation.
Campobello Island is located within the Canadian Province of New Brunswick. A bridge connecting the island with the coast of Maine was opened in the late summer of 1962. The agreement to establish the memorial was made through the efforts of President Kennedy, and completed by President Johnson and Prime Minister Lester Pearson. President Kennedy had spoken with Dr. Hammer, who graciously agreed to donate the Roosevelt residence. The generosity of the Hammer family is something for which we can all be grateful. Their gift is a contribution to international good will.
In the life of the Roosevelt family, Campobello Island became an important and much loved summer home beginning in 1883. Some of the late President's happiest days of childhood and youth were spent there as well as many days of rest and relaxation after he became Chief Executive. It was there that he won his initial victory over the crippling illness of polio.
The island serves as a meaningful site with deep inspirational values for the people of both the United States and Canada. If established as a memorial, the proposed site would join the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park as a tribute to the kinship enjoyed between Canada and the United States.
The creation of such a park would be of great value to the economy of Maine, particularly the low income eastern county of Washington, and the New England area in general as thousands of visitors would be drawn to this attraction.
Campobello Island overlooks the site of the proposed International Passamaquoddy Tidal project, originally proposed by President Roosevelt. That project had a short-lived start in the midthirties. Twenty years later, the International Joint Commission reviewed the proposal and recommended against construction. President Kennedy ordered a review of the project by the Department of Interior which resulted in a new, economically feasible project combining the tides of Passamaquoddy Bay and the river hydro potential of the St. John River. Authorization of this project is now pending before the Congress. It is my hope that this project will be authorized and constructed as a major contribution to the economy of the United States, New England, Maine, and the Atlantic Provinces of Canada.
Mr. President, affection, respect, and admiration for President Roosevelt has been immortalized in statues, plaques, and other monuments. His words and deeds live on in the written words of scholars, historians, and his friends and family. We have here the opportunity to present to the world a living symbol of his great courage and spirit, and his contributions to the enhancement of good relations between the United States and our Canadian friends to the north.
Mr. BIBLE. Mr. President, I wish to address myself for a few moments to the bill that has just been called up by the distinguished Senator from Maine. The bill was reported to the Senate by the Committee on Foreign Relations. It is to establish the Roosevelt-Campobello International Park.
Previously an order had been entered by unanimous consent whereby when the Foreign Relations Committee completed its consideration of this bill, it would be referred to the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, since the establishment of units in our national park system come within the jurisdiction of the Interior Committee.
The House Interior Committee has reported, and the House has passed, a companion bill, H.R. 9740, which has been referred directly to the Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. It is my understanding that time is of the essence in connection with this bill due to a planned celebration on the part of our country and Canada in the very near future.
As I understand, that will be within the next 10 days. Therefore, the chairman of the Interior Committee, Mr. JACKSON, has agreed in this instance to waive our committee's consideration of this legislation, and I ask unanimous consent that when S. 2464 is considered by the Senate, H.R. 9740 be substituted therefor and that the Interior and Insular Affairs Committee be discharged from further consideration of the bill. This action has the full concurrence of our chairman, Mr. JACKSON; however, he does wish to stress that this in no way is intended to be a precedent whereby our committee would waive its jurisdiction over matters for which it has responsibility.
In this particular situation, it was thought that the element of time made this the correct procedure to follow.
Mr. ELLENDER. Mr. President, will the Senator from Maine yield?
Mr. MUSKIE. I yield.
Mr. ELLENDER. Was the bill referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations?
Mr. MUSKIE. The bill was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations and to the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. The Committee on Foreign Relations considered the bill and reported it favorably; but because of the pressure of time, the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs has agreed to waive its jurisdiction.
Mr. ELLENDER. What is the authorization for the bill?
Mr. MUSKIE. The authorization is found on page 3 of the committee report. First, the property would become the property of the United States and Canada by way of gift.
Mr. ELLENDER. Is the property in Canada?
Mr. MUSKIE. It is in Canada; $217,500 would be needed for rehabilitation and necessary development work; $15,000 for the acquisition of land for a parking lot near the house; and $27,000 for the installation of central heating for year-round utilization of the facility. The total amount of development costs would be $260,000, of which the U.S. share would be approximately $130,000. The annual cost of maintenance and operations thereafter are estimated at $50,000, of which the U.S. share would be $25,000.
Mr. ELLENDER. The Canadian Government would assume the rest?
Mr. MUSKIE. The Canadian Government would assume the rest.
Mr. ELLENDER. Are there to be charges for admission to the house?
Mr. MUSKIE. There will be minimum charges, to be established by the supervisory agency. The receipts will be divided equally and will go to the treasuries of the respective countries.
Mr. ELLENDER. Does the Senator have an idea as to how much that will be?
Mr. MUSKIE. No; we have no information about that.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. A similar House bill is H.R. 9740. The clerk will state the House bill by title.
The LEGISLATIVE CLERK. A bill (H.R. 9740) to establish the Roosevelt Campobello International Park, and for other purposes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the present consideration of the House bill?
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The House bill is open to amendment. If there be no amendment to be proposed, the question is on the third reading and passage of the bill.
The bill (H.R. 9740) was ordered to a third reading, read the third time, and passed.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, Senate bill 2464 is indefinitely postponed.
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, I move that the vote by which the bill was passed be reconsidered.
Mr. MORSE. I move to lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
Mr. AIKEN. Mr. President, I am pleased to announce that the Canadian Parliament has completed its necessary legislation, with the result that, now that the bill has been passed by the Senate, and no doubt will be signed this week by the President, this shrine will be opened to the public on July 1 of this year.
Incidentally, this memorial or shrine or monument to President Roosevelt will be, as I understand, the only Federal Government recognition, in the form of a shrine or monument or in any other way, of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's long tenure of office.
Even though the monument is to be established in Canada, I understand that all who visit it will have to pass through the State of Maine, to reach it. It is also a monument to international good will, as well as a monument in honor of a great President.
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, will the Senator from Vermont yield?
Mr. AIKEN. I yield.
Mr. MUSKIE. I appreciate the statement the distinguished Senator from Vermont has made. I believe he is correct in stating that this is the first and only monument to the late President Roosevelt in which the Federal Government will participate.
Both the Senator from Vermont and I know this beautiful area of the country; and we hope that as people travel to visit the monument, they will travel through both Maine and the other northern New England States.
Mr. AIKEN. I am sure they will.