Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 81.djvu/1141

 81 STAT. ]

PROCLAMATION 3787-MAY 29, 1967

1107

Proclamation 3787 WHITE CANE SAFETY DAY, 1967 By the President of the United States of America

May 29, 1957

A Proclamation

Independence—so important to every American—has a special significance to the blind. Although imprisoned in a world of unceasing darkness, the blind must still be able to enjoy freedom of movement. The White Cane has become the emblem of the blind American's determination to live the most independent, constructive life possible. Since the foundation of the National Federation for the Blind in 1940, the White Cane has symbolized the aspirations and abilities of the blind. Available to every blind American, it is his passport to selfsufficiency. But the blind can enjoy their freedom with confidence only if their fellow citizens learn to treat them with consideration and respect. Today, all 50 states have White Cane Laws, emphasizing that for the White Canes to spell independence to the blind they must also spell caution to the rest of us. We must learn to recognize this symbol from afar, and to understand how much another person's freedom and life depend on our acknowledging his right-of-way above our own. To make our citizens more fully aware of the significance of the White Cane, and of the need for motorists to exercise caution and courtesy when approaching its bearer, the Congress, by a joint resolution, approved October 6, 1964 (78 Stat. 1003), has authorized the President to issue annually a proclamation designating October 15 as White Cane Safety Day. NOW, THEREFORE, I, LYNDON B. JOHNSON, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim October 15, 1967, as White Cane Safety Day. I call upon all our citizens, our civic and service organizations, schools, public bodies and the media of public information in every community to join in observing White Cane Safety Day, so that blind persons in our society may increasingly enjoy the greatest possible measure of personal independence. I N W I T N E S S WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States of America to be jiffixed. D O N E at the City of Washington this twenty-ninth day of May in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and sixty-seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and ninety-first. luyvJUi»Afl/Ui.wC^' • By the President:

Secretary

of State.

36 USC 169d.

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