Journal of the House of Representatives of the Regular Session of the Sixtieth Legislature of the State of Texas, Volume 1 Page: 108
1946 p. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this legislative document.
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108 HOUSE JOURNAL
taxpayer's patience and his ability to
pay. So far he has tightened his belt
and paid. It is high time for us in
government to tighten ours.
The responsibility of a legislature
is not alone to appropriate money. It
also has a duty to decide how much
money to spend, or even whether. In
this painful process, as well as in
providing adequately for State ser-
vices that cannot be reduced or post-
poned, I offer my own sympathetic
assistance.
The Lieutenant Governor's address
having been concluded, the Honorable
Ben Barnes, Speaker of the House of
Representatives, stated that the Oath
of Office would now be administered
to the Honorable John Connally.
The Governor-elect, the Honorable
John Connally, then took the Consti-
tutional Oath of Office as Governor
of the State of Texas, the Oath being
duly administered by the Honorable
Robert W. Calvert, Chief Justice of
the Supreme Court of the State of
Texas.
Speaker Barnes then presented Gov-
ernor John Connally to the Joint Ses-
sion and the Assemblage.
Governor Connally then addressed
the Joint Session and the Assemblage,
as follows:
My fellow Texans: Once again, I
assume with pride and humility the
sacred trust you have bestowed on
me. I shall uphold that trust with all
the strength I can muster.
As we gather here in the shadow
of this historic landmark, I cannot
help but reflect for a moment.
No man can wear the mantle of
high office that has been my honor
without being touched, and indeed
sobered by the experience.
There have been during these years
moments of defeat and disappoint-
ment.
And there have been the moments
warm with the glow of achievement.
There has been the loneliness of
decision . . . and the drain of human
strength it exacts. And occasionally,
there has been the pride in judg-
ment vindicated by the flow of events.As it must on all men, time has
exercised its tyranny on me.
But the faith of millions of Tex-
ans . . . has provided sustenance for
my endeavor.
And if one indelible mark eclipses
all others, it is my deep and grow-
ing respect for the precious legacy
that transcends all governors-some-
thing born of men but more than
human-the institution of govern-
ment itself. I cannot help stand in
awe of its durability, of its capacity
to shield us from our folly, to pro-
tect us from our incapacity, to in-
spire and retain our admiration even
when it falls, as occasionally it must,
into unworthy hands.
As we set out to write another
chapter in our state's proud history,
I think our cause would be served
if we considered for a moment this
miracle in our lives-government,
and its relationship to the people who
are its masters.
You have entrusted to my hands
and to the hands of the distinguished
Texans who share this rostrum the
machinery which must maintain ord-
er in our society, and must be relied
on to protect from contamination the
institutions which we have defended
in blood.
By shaping and altering these in-
stitutions, we shall influence and
direct every single man, woman, and
child in Texas. I am confident that
we shall exercise this prerogative
wisely, to add new richness to a good
life, to extend by some margin a
greater wealth of opportunity to all,
to protect our heritage from false
prophets and spoilers.
But as we gather here today with
high sense of purpose, it seems to
me we face a compelling concern of
our time: the urgent need to preserve
the precious balance between respon-
sive government and the bold. free
spirit of man which produced this
most advanced civilization in history.
There pervades our land today a
growing and disturbing doctrine of
universality. A relentless cloud of
conformity threatens to envelop us.
Conformity is urged upon us every-
where, in the name of social order
and justice. We are told we must im-108
HOUSE JOURNAL
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Texas. Legislature. House of Representatives. Journal of the House of Representatives of the Regular Session of the Sixtieth Legislature of the State of Texas, Volume 1, legislative document, 1967; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth193874/m1/112/: accessed May 8, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.