NEWS CONFERENCE 173

and went out here and dedicated yourself to the pursuit of excellence.
Would you care to reflect on how much closer to excellence we've
moved in three months?

A. I think it takes a lot longer than three months to move any signifi-
cant distance in a direction of excellence. But I'm basically satisfied
with what we have begun to accomplish during the first months of
office. It seems a lot longer than three months to me because I have
never had a period in my life when such intense activity was packed
into such a short space of time. All we have done, actually, is establish
a framework, a foothold, from which we can go forward to try to
accomplish things that basically were outlined in the various position
papers and objectives that I spoke of during the campaign. We have
done one thing, significantly. We've got the tax structure in a con-
dition where the subdivisions are receiving the relief that they need,
which will mean that essentials of government will be improved at

the local level which is certainly a matter I believe very firmly in.

We've also done a little bit in the field of human relations, not just
in getting through the housing bill, but in changing, through our ap-
proach to the problem, the attitudes of many people who were very
much opposed to any sort of step in this direction. And I might say,
parenthetically at this point, that I think that some of the leaders in
the civil rights movement are doing grave violence to the movement
by their confusing and twisting it into the Vietnam situation. I was
very disappointed in the actions of Dr. King. I think many people
who had respect for him over the years share that disappointment. I
have never had any confidence in Stokely Carmichael in my life, so
I didn't lose any. But certainly Dr. King and Mr. McKissick, those
activists in the movement, are hindering and holding back very astute
and knowledgeable people like Roy Wilkins from the accomplishment
of objectives that he has been working on before they even realized
there was such a thing as a civil rights movement.

Q. In this regard, Governor, when you got the present housing bill
through the Legislature you said you hoped to get a stronger bill
through at the next session of the Legislature. Do you think that the
actions of these civil rights leaders would hamper you in this regard?

A. I think it could. I think that public resistance to this irrespon-
sible outpouring of censure against the United States government has
got to reflect adversely on the chances of going forward with this legis-
lation. One thing I want to continue to make clear every time this
subject comes up, that I will not support — I said it during the