pd07se98 Statement on the Northwest Airlines Pilots Strike...

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    I know that you know that there are things we should do, and I 
believe if we don't be harsh and political in our rhetoric, we talk 
about our children and what we know to be true of education, we can get 
a listening ear among enough thoughtful Republicans to join our 
Democrats to build a bipartisan coalition to do what the National 
Government should do to help make possible more stories like the ones 
we've heard around this table today. That is my whole goal. And I know 
that we won't have all the stories we need unless we also do our part. 
So I ask you: Whatever you can do to contact your Representatives and 
Senators, whatever you can do to make it clear that these are not 
partisan issues, these are people issues, and that our future is riding 
on it. If you can do that, I would be very grateful. And thank you for 
what you do here every day.
    Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 12:45 p.m. in the gymnasium at Herndon 
Elementary School. In his remarks, he referred to William E. Milliken, 
president, Communities in Schools, Inc. (formerly, Cities in Schools, 
Inc.).


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[Page 1676]
 
Monday, September 7, 1998
 
Volume 34--Number 36
Pages 1667-1730
 
Week Ending Friday, September 4, 1998
 
Statement on the Northwest Airlines Pilots Strike

August 31, 1998

    I have asked Northwest Airlines and its pilots to redouble their 
efforts to resolve their differences. Senior members of my 
administration continue to be in contact with the parties, but it is up 
to the negotiating parties to reach an agreement. Specifically, I have 
asked Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater to meet with the 
parties' leadership. I hope that an agreement will be concluded soon in 
their interests and the interest of the American people.


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[Page 1676-1677]
 
Monday, September 7, 1998
 
Volume 34--Number 36
Pages 1667-1730
 
Week Ending Friday, September 4, 1998
 
Message to the Senate Transmitting the Guatemala-United States Treaty on 
Stolen Vehicles and Aircraft With Documentation

August 31, 1998

To the Senate of the United States:

    With a view to receiving the advice and consent of the Senate to 
ratification, I transmit herewith the Treaty Between the Government of 
the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of 
Guatemala for the Return of Stolen, Robbed, Embezzled or Appropriated 
Vehicles and Aircraft, with Annexes and a related exchange of notes, 
signed at Guatemala City on October 6, 1997. I transmit also, for the 
information of the Senate, the report of the Department of State with 
respect to the Treaty.
    The Treaty is one of a series of stolen vehicle treaties being 
negotiated by the United States in order to eliminate the difficulties 
faced by owners of vehicles that have been stolen and transported across 
international borders. It is the first of these newly negotiated 
treaties to provide for the return of stolen aircraft as well as 
vehicles. When it enters into force, it will be an effective tool to 
facilitate the return of U.S. vehicles and

[[Page 1677]]

aircraft that have been stolen, robbed, embezzled, or appropriated and 
taken to Guatemala.
    I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable consideration 
to the Treaty, with Annexes and a related exchange of notes, and give 
its advice and consent to ratification.
                                            William J. Clinton
The White House,
August 31, 1998.

Note: This message was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
September 1.


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[Page 1677-1678]
 
Monday, September 7, 1998
 
Volume 34--Number 36
Pages 1667-1730
 
Week Ending Friday, September 4, 1998
 
Remarks at First Day of School Festivities in Moscow, Russia

September 1, 1998

    Thank you all very much. I am delighted to be here not only with my 
wife, who has worked for better education in our country for many years, 
but with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce, our American 
Ambassador here, and five Members of our Congress. I thank all of them 
for being here. We are delighted to join you on this day.
    I would also like to thank Vice Mayor Shanstev and Mr. Muzykantskiy 
from the Moscow City School Board for joining us. I would like to thank 
your principal, Ms. Gorachkova. And most of all, I want to thank these 
fine students, Konstantine Sokolov and Valentina Smirnova. I think they 
did a fine job, and you should give them applause. You should be very 
proud of them. [Applause]
    Now, in the spirit of the day, even though Konstantine's English is 
very good, I thought I should try to say something in Russian, like 
privet  [Hello]. How's that, is that good? [Applause] Or S novym 
uchebnym godom  [Happy New School Year]. Is that good? [Applause]
    In America this is also the first day of school for many students. I 
understand that some of you have studied in America. I hope more of you 
will do so in the future, and I hope more Americans will come here to 
study. And in the meantime, perhaps more and more of you can meet on the 
Internet.
    I know that Russian students love to read and are proud of your 
country's great writers. A teacher here in Moscow asked her first-grade 
class why they thought reading was important. One girl stood up and 
answered, ``You can read any book. You can read Pushkin.'' No one in the 
first grade in my country is reading Pushkin. [Laughter] Now, another 
student answered the same question in a different way. He said, ``If you 
can read, you can read a fax.'' [Laughter]
    So whether you want to be a business person reading a fax, a writer, 
or a teacher, or pursue any other career in the modern world, a good 
school will help you get there. In a world where people are working 
closer and closer together, a good school with its languages and its 
learning about other countries is very important. Because more and more 
of our jobs and lives depend on computers and technology, more and more 
of us have to read well, do mathematics, and know other subjects good 
schools teach.
    In the past, America and Russia too often used our knowledge in 
opposition to each other. But things are very different now. Today we 
use what we know to work together for new jobs, better health care, a 
cleaner environment, the exploration of space, the exchange of ideas, 
art, music, videos. Our countries are becoming partners, and more and 
more of our people are becoming friends.
    Your country is going through some difficult changes right now, and 
I know things aren't always easy for a lot of people. But I also know 
that in times of crisis the Russian people have always risen to the 
occasion with courage and determination.
    The challenges of this new global economy and society are great, but 
so are the rewards. For those who have good schools, like this one, with 
teachers and parents who work hard to help children learn, and with that 
learning and the new freedom you have in Russia, all of you will be 
ready for that future, and you will do very well.
    So I say to all the students here, learn as much as you can about as 
many subjects as you can and about other people. And imagine what you 
would like to see happen in the future, for yourselves, your nation, and 
the world. And always keep those dreams with

[[Page 1678]]

you, for in the new century you will be able to live those dreams.
    Thank you. Spacibo.

Note: The President spoke at 3:25 p.m. in the auditorium at Elementary 
School #19. In his remarks, he referred to Vice Mayor Valery Pavlinovich 
Shanstev of Moscow; Galina Bezrodnaya, principal, Elementary School #19; 
and students Konstantine Sokolov and Valentina Smirnova, who spoke at 
the festivities and presented gifts to the President and Mrs. Clinton.


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[Page 1678-1683]
 
Monday, September 7, 1998
 
Volume 34--Number 36
Pages 1667-1730
 
Week Ending Friday, September 4, 1998
 
Remarks to Future Russian Leaders in Moscow

September 1, 1998

    Thank you very much. First I'd like to thank Maxim Safonov for that 
fine introduction and for his very encouraging remarks. Rector 
Torpoulov, Minister Primakov, to all the members of the American 
delegation. We have Secretary of State Albright, Secretary of Commerce 
Daley, Secretary of Energy Richardson, National Security Adviser Berger, 
our Ambassador, Jim Collins, and five distinguished Members of the 
United States Congress here: Senator Domenici; Senator Bingaman; 
Representatives Hoyer, King, and Deutsch.
    I think their presence here should speak louder than any words I 
could say that America considers our relationship with Russia to be 
important. It is a relationship of friendship, of mutual responsibility, 
and of commitment to the future. We are all honored to be here today, 
and we thank you for your welcome.
    On this first day of school across both our countries, students are 
resuming their studies, including their study of history. At this 
critical, surely historic, moment, let me start with a few words about 
what I believe the past can teach us as we and, especially, as the 
Russian people face the challenges of the present and the future.
    Two hundred and twenty-two years ago, we Americans declared our 
freedom from the tyranny of King George of England. We set out to govern 
ourselves. The road has not often--or certainly not always--been easy. 
First, we fought a very long war for independence. Then it took more 
than 10 years to devise a Constitution that worked. Then in 1814, we 
went to war with England again. They invaded our Capital City and burned 
the President's house, the White House. Then in 1861, we began our 
bloodiest war ever, a civil war, fought over the conflicts of slavery. 
It almost divided our country forever, but instead we were reunited, and 
we abolished slavery.
    In the 1930's, before World War II, our country sank into an 
enormous depression with 25 percent of our people unemployed and more 
than one-third of our people living in poverty. Well, you know the rest. 
We were allies in World War II, and after World War II we were 
adversaries. But it was a time of great prosperity for the American 
people, even though there were tense and difficult moments in the last 
50 years.
    The larger point I want to make, as Russia goes through this time of 
extreme difficulty, is that over the life of our democracy we have had 
many intense, even bitter, debates about what are the proper relations 
between people of different races or religions or backgrounds, over the 
gap between rich and poor, over crime and punishment, even over war and 
peace. We Americans have fought and argued with each other, as we do 
even today, but we have preserved our freedom by remembering the 
fundamental values enshrined in our Constitution and our Declaration of 
Independence, by continuing to respect the dignity of every man, woman, 
and child, to tolerate those with different ideas and beliefs than our 
own, to demand equality of opportunity, to give everyone a chance to 
make the most of his or her life.
    Russia's great ally in World War II, our President, Franklin 
Roosevelt, said that democracy is a never-ending seeking for better 
things. For Americans, that means, in good times and bad, we seek to 
widen the circle of opportunity, to deepen the meaning of our freedom, 
to build a stronger national community.
    Now, what does all that got to do with Russia in 1998? Your history 
is much longer than ours and so rich with accomplishment, from military 
victories over Napoleon and Hitler to the literary achievements of 
Pushkin, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Pasternak, and so many others, to great 
achievements in art, music,

[[Page 1679]]

dance, medicine, science, space flight. Yet for all your rich, long 
history, it was just 7 years ago that Russia embarked on its own quest 
for democracy, liberty, and free markets--just 7 years ago--a journey 
that is uniquely your own and must be guided by your own vision of 
Russia's democratic destiny.
    Now you are at a critical point on your journey. There are severe 
economic pressures and serious hardships which I discussed in my 
meetings with your leaders this morning. The stakes are enormous. Every 
choice Russia makes today may have consequences for years and years to 
come. Given the facts before you, I have to tell you that I do not 
believe there are any painless solutions, and indeed, an attempt to 
avoid difficult solutions may only prolong and worsen the present 
challenges.
    First, let me make a couple of points. The experience of our country 
over the last several years, and especially in the last 6 years, proves 
that the challenges of the global economy are very great, but so are its 
rewards. The Russian people have met tremendous challenges in the past. 
You can do it here. You can build a prosperous future. You can build 
opportunity and jobs for all the people of this land who are willing to 
work for them if you stand strong and complete, not run from but 
complete the transformation you began 7 years ago.
    The second point I want to make is the rest of the world has a very 
large stake in your success. Today about a quarter of the world's people 
are struggling with economic challenges that are profound--the people of 
your country; the people in Japan, who have had no economic growth for 5 
years--it's still a very wealthy country, but when they don't have any 
growth, it's harder for all other countries that trade with them who 
aren't so wealthy to grow--other countries in Asia. And now we see when 
there are problems in Russia or in Japan or questions about the economy 
of China, you see all across the world--the stock market in Latin 
America drops; you see the last 2 days we've had big drops in the 
American stock market.
    What does that say? Well, among other things, it says, whether we 
like it or not, we must build the future together, because, whether we 
like it or not, we are going to be affected by what we do. We will be 
affected by what you do; you will be affected by what we do. We might as 
well do it together and make the most of it.

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