May 5, 1970
Page 14179
THE KENT STATE UNIVERSITY INCIDENT
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, all of us are shocked by the senseless killing of four students at Kent State University.
It raises questions about our national sense of purpose – our regard for the dignity of man – our concern for the sanctity of life.
It raises questions about our responsibility as leaders to recognize and reflect the limits of restraint and support which we can expect from our people for public policy.
It is not enough to lament the ultimate consequences of dissent. It is not enough to plead for restraint.
All of us in public office must exercise restraint – from the President and the Vice President, to Members of Congress, to Governors and State legislators, to mayors, to National Guardsmen and police.
We cannot expect those who disagree with national policies to be restrained, if those in power do not set an example of self-control.
We cannot expect those who want change to work within our political system, if those who represent the system label all those seeking change as "traitors."
We cannot expect those who are disaffected to be nonviolent, if those charged with public safety rely on violence to keep order.
And those who want their rights respected and their views heard must respect the rights of others.
Nothing we do can restore the lives of the students slain at Kent State. But we can act, and act now, to prevent a similar occurrence.
First, we should carry out with dispatch the investigation by the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to develop the facts and to determine whether any participants in the killing violated Federal law;
Second, we should initiate an immediate investigation by the Department of Defense to determine what rules of performance were being followed by the Ohio National Guard, whether those rules are inconsistent with Federal Armed Forces rules on performance of civil disorder duty, and – if they are inconsistent – to take the necessary steps to correct them;
Third, Federal and State officials should take steps to insure appropriate military and civil legal action against those who may have violated military codes or criminal statutes;
And, finally, we should take steps to review rules of performance for National Guardsmen, State and local police, and Federal officials, and to revise them where necessary, to insure against a repetition of the Kent State incident.
All of these actions are consistent with a broader requirement that those in positions of leadership assume their responsibility to lead the American people to plateaus of unity and mutual understanding.
The bonds of trust and confidence and believability which must exist between our Government and our people have been strained to the breaking point in recent years. Events of recent days threaten to destroy them.
We ignore them at our peril.
Let us grieve yesterday's tragedy with the parents of the four students.
Let us respond to the tragedy by focusing meaningfully, sensibly, and prayerfully upon the danger which it portends for us all.