Inaugural address of Governor Carl E. Sanders, January 15, 1963

FOR RELEASE: 12 o'clock noon, Tuesday, January 15, 1963
EDITORS: PLEASE OBSERVE NOON EMBARGO)
(Text of Inaugural Address of Governor Carl E. Sanders, delivered at high noon, Tuesday, January 15, 1963, immediately after taking the oath of office from Georgia Associate Supreme Court Justice Joseph D. Quillian. Governor Sanders was sworn into office on a platform erected on the Washington Street side of the State Capitol Building. The invocation was pronounced by the Reverend Ted Boehm, Pastor of the Hill Baptist Church, Augusta. The benediction was pronounced by the Reverend Robert Smith, Pastor of the First Baptist Church, Statesboro. The Governor's address was broadcast and telecast over a statewide n~twork of Georgia radio and television stations.)
GOVERNOR VANDIVER, LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR GEER, SPEAKER SMITH, MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL ASSB~BLY, STATE OFFICIALS, HONORED GUESTS AND MY FELLOW GEORGIANS:
My friends, on this solemn occasion I am filled with emotion and gratitude, emotion and gratitude which I find difficult to express.
My innermost thoughts and feelings are: A simple handclasp with every Georgian; A thank you; A full heart; Fond memories; Our historic traditions; Our State motto: "Wisdom, Justice and Moderation"; Those men who have preceded me in discharging this responsibility; Humility, as I approach the task; A deep sense of duty. These are my thoughts. These things I feel.

It is with pride that my Administration succeeds that of a Governor in whose administration I have taken an active part and whose record is exemplary.
This is a new Georgia. This is a new day. This is a new era. A Georgia on the threshold of new greatness. We are faced with both the gr~atest challenge and the brightest promise of our history. As your 74th Governor, it shall be my dedicated purpose to seek workable methods both to meet the challenge and to achieve the promise. And in so doing, we shall apply as the test of our progress not whether we add to those who have much, but whether we provide larger opportunities for those who have little. And this we will accomplish during the next four years through: Better roads and highways than ever before; More -schools and colleges; A higher quality of education; More hospitals and better mental health facilities; New jobs and payrolls; Higher incomes for our people; More. new and expanded industries; A better farm and agricultural program; A strong program for our youth; Improved welfare administration; More parks and recreational facilities; Better port facilities and airports; New and greater opportunities for all. The improvement of education will be the first and foremost objective of this Administration. If there is to be a star of the show in the four years of my term of office, it will be the Georgia child. Georgia has many rich resources, but none of them can begin to match in importance our Georgia childreno The future is in their hands.
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Nothing is more important than that we give them the best

education which time, knowledge and money can buy.

Our past gains have come only through sacrifice and study.

And the gains of the future will be no different.

But we must begin work immediately e and we must work

without ceasing

to achieve quality education geared to future needs.

I ask all of you who share my conviction that education and

the future are inseparably related to join me in this effort to insure

our State's rightful role in the latter part of this century by inspiring

their children to use their minds and develop their capabilities to the

highest possible degree.

As we do this, we will become increasingly aware that our

State is just now in the spring of her growth.,

We must not fail to make the most of the golden opportunity

which is ours to build a greater Georgia for present and future

generations.

We are now well into the Space Age.

New economic vistas are opened as each barrier of time falls.

The lives of everyone the worker, the farmer, the businessman, the

housewife are all affected. The application of space technology to peaceful uses will

provide mankind with perhaps his greatest economic boon since the

industrial revolution of the last century. And the recent good news

of Georgia's entry into this field marks only the beginning of what

our State can expect if we begin now to gear our Statees economy to

the solid foundation of a balance between new and expanded industry

and a diversified, progressive agriculture.

Tourism, a sleeping giant, will be awakened to make its full

contribution to Georgia's economy. We will promote our beaches and our

mountains, our fertile red hills and pine-covered lowlands, our winding

rivers and beautiful lakes and our historical sites and modern cities.

And we will make Georgia a vacation paradise for Georgians

as well as our welcomed visitors.

Georgia has wonderful natural resources which must be

conserved and protected.

Our Stz-ite' s scenic couritry~;ide - unpc1.ralleled in all the Southland - will be preserved and protected from wanton and wasteful practices.
To our senior citizens - to whom we owe so much and who expect so little - I pledge my cooperation, my support, my interest, my best and most constructive thoughts to help in making the evening years happy and rewarding ones.
To our cities and counties, I pledge my full cooperation in the strengthening of local government and local determination of purely local affairs.
To all of our people, I pledge responsible State government and determination to handle our affairs without outside interference or intervention.
As we look to the future, we must be ever mindful of the enduring lessons of the past.
The dark days of government for the benefit of the few at the expense of the many - when evil men triumphed because good men did nothing, are no more in Georgia.
They never again will be allowed to return so long as I am your Governor.
On that you have my solemn oath! There can be no co-existence of good and bad government. I pledge to you that there shall be none during the Sanders Administration! Honest government demands sacrifice - sacrifice of selfinterest and personal advantage. The Sanders Administration will endeavor in every area of its operations to provide the dedicated leadership which will create such a climate. And, in so doing, it is my hope to inspire a new and compelling interest in our State government by our younger citizens. Their energy and their idealism are necessary to Georgia's achievement of her highest destiny. It is a source of great satisfaction to me that the Administration which is being inaugurated today is the product of
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nistory's greatest participation by Georgia citizens in the electoral process. I shall constantly remind myself - and those who serve with me - of that fact, and it shall serve as a continuing inspiration to all of us.
To realize our hopes and achieve our goals, we must have unity among all Georgians.
By unity, I mean teamwork and cooperation. Teamwork among officials at all levels of government. Cooperation among citizens of every geographic area and economic segment of our St ate. In short: An unqualified belief in one Georgia by all Georgians. Last year, I told the people of Georgia that I tipped my hat to the past, but took off my coat to the future. I am not one of tho..se who supports change just for the sake of change. Change in government can be dangerous, but to refuse to change when the world around you is changing is even more dangerous. And I believe, and believe strongly, that change to achieve efficiency, economy and better government is both wise and justified. We revere the past. We adhere to the values of respectability and responsibility which constitute our tradition. We believe in law and order and in the principle that all laws apply equally to all citizens. Tomorrow, I shall go before the General Assembly to state in clear and concise terms the legislative program of our Administration. At the same time, I shall set forth a proposed budget and submit an appropriations bill. During the next four years, the State of Georgia will collect and disburse nearly two billion of your tax dollars. You may be certain that every dollar will be accounted for and spent wisely for the people's benefit and that those who handle such funds will be dedicated to the principle that a public office is a public trust. The change in the moral climate of Georgia's government in recent years has been both amazing and gratifying.
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fvery employee ~nd official whom I appoint to serve you, the 10ople, will do so first and always as a servant of the public interest.
Those men and women whom I have chosen to work with me in carrying out your mandate have been selected on the basis of their vital dedication to the principles of a sound, businesslike administration.
With them, and with all Georgians, I am reminded of a prophetic stanza:
"There is a destiny that makes us brothers; "None goes his way alone. "All that we send into the lives of others, "Cornes back into our own." Our mandate is good government by competent people. The recent gains made in State budgeting are impressive and augur well for the future. Much ground still remains to be covered, especially in the field of better personnel recruitment, better personnel utilization and better personnel management.
I wish to assure those efficient public servants who have made their careers in the government of our State that they have
nothing to fear from my Administration. The Sanders Administration will be a working administration. Everyone on the State payroll will be required to do a full
day's work. My Administration does not now, nor will it ever, subscribe to
a vengeful pattern of patronage. Our policy will be to assist and help only those who can best help our State.
My friends, I appeal to all Georgians to close ranks for the good of all Georgia.
I hold malice toward none and I hope no one holds malice toward me.
earnestly I/seek the support, advice and prayers of all Georgians. You have given me the greatest blessing of faith the people of Georgia can bestow that of being chosen to serve you in our State's highest office of government. It is a responsibility which I accept with humility and a deep sense of duty.

It is my heartfelt hope that the time capsules of the future will thus record my efforts:
He offered to the people his finest; his worst he kept, his best he gave.
My friends, our future is b.righter than ever before. Together, we shall walk into the bright gardens of tomorrow. Together, we shall ford all rivers of trial and doubt which may cross our path. Together, we shall serve others, and in so doing, serve ourselves. Together, we shall build a Georgia on which we, our children, and our children's children,can look with pride and in the certain knoweldge that God smiled upon our humble efforts. These are my words. This is my pledge.
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