Oct. 29, 1967
The rapt attention of two nations and the peoples of two hemispheres centered Saturday on El Paso and its border neighbor, Juarez, as President Lyndon B. Johnson and President Gustavo Diaz Ordaz ended a century-old boundary dispute and ushered in a new era of friendship and international understanding.
It was a never-to-be-forgotten day for the tens of thousands who greeted their arrival from Washington, D.C. and lined the streets along the presidential motorcade to the relocated Paso del Norte Bridge and through Juarez to the Chamizal Memorial Park where the official transfer of sovereign territory was formalized by the two chiefs of state.
A police-estimated crowd of 17,5000 persons gathered at International Airport to greet the Presidents when they touched down in Air Force One. A loud cheer rang out as they appeared at the head of the ramp and descended arm in arm to shake hands with an official welcoming party, accompanied by their wives and President Diaz Ordaz’ daughter.
MAKES ADDRESS
With hardly a pause the presidents entered the bullet-proof bubble top limousine flown in Thursday for the occasion. Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Ordaz rode together in an open limousine, followed by other carloads of dignitaries in the President’s party, Secret Service men and bus loads of photographers and newsmen.
In a last minute change of schedule the presidential party stopped at the Hilton Inn for a 45-minute meeting with Vicente T. Ximenes and delegates to the Cabinet hearings on Mexican-American affairs.
Here President Johnson made a 15-minute address, saying his visit served a dual purpose of celebrating the Chamizal settlement and concentrating attention on the achievements and accomplishments of the Mexican-American citizens.
He said for too many years the government had paid too little heed to the status and hopes of the Mexican-American community but the 1960s decided that the era of neglect must come to an end and wrote into law new measures to heal, educated and house more Americans than ever before.
“We did all this amidst a sea of controversy and opposition. But I had rather be controversial than complacent … or just critical. So far as I can determine, no President has ever done anything worthwhile without controversy,” President Johnson said.
To the standing cheers of several hundred delegates crowded into the Skyrider Club, the President pledged to “do all I can to make the promise of these years multiply among the Mexican-American people. You can all be sure of that.”
He next introduced Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Ordaz and then introduced Sen. Ralph Yarborough, who had accompanied the President from Washington, and waved toward the center of the auditorium. The TV searchlights and all eyes turned to search out the senator but he was not present. He had inadvertently remained outside, and later told reporters he and the other passengers on his bus were told to remain seated.
Although the crowd of delegates were unable to spot the missing Sen. Yarborough, a champion of their cause, they cheered lustily.
The President next turned to the speakers table and introduced Gov. Connally, bringing loud boos and calls of “throw him out.”
Without pause or change of facial expression, the President then introduced President Diaz Ordaz as the “friendly, cordial and able statesman,” bringing forth a standing ovation.
President Diaz Ordaz spoke in Spanish for 10 minutes, praising the purpose and accomplishments of the conference and the improved relations between the two nations and their peoples.
With the delayed schedule due to the conference visit, the Presidential cavalcade sped without stop and at a rapid pace down Interstate 10 to Five Points and along Montana to Mesa and through the Downtown business district.
Large crowds lined the streets in increasing concentration along the route to the international bridge on Santa Fe. The crowds waved Mexican and U.S. flags and carried large posters bearing the portraits of the two presidents. High school bands played “Hail to the Chief” and other rousing military tunes at nearly every major intersection. Confetti showered from Downtown buildings, and the containers tied to the roof as a security measure. Hundreds of City police, Sheriff’s deputies, Border Patrolmen, federal marshals and the Texas and New Mexico State Police were on hand to hold back the crowds, some holding sings such as “LBJ You’re the Most,” and “LBJ All the Way.”
Occasional anti-Vietnam signs were spotted. One read “Peace in Vietnam,” another “Napalm Can be Hazardous to Your Health.”
At the new multi-million dollar Paso del Norte Bridge the two chiefs of state paused briefly to unveil a stainless steel monolith marking the relocated border and to change cars before entering Mexico.
With President Ordaz sitting on the right, they rode the rest of the distance to the Chamizal Memorial Park in President Ordaz’ open limousine at a slower peace. Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Ordaz rode in the bubble top presidential car.
Crowds jammed the sidewalks and overflowed past soldiers stationed at 10-foot intervals with rifles and attached bayonets, surging into the streets and running alongside the motorcade, often darting between the official vehicles.
The motorcade moved in Juarez through a constant shower of brightly colored confetti that covered the pavement inches deep. Horns and locomotive whistles kept up an incessant din and the streets, balconies and rooftops were filled with brightly costumed spectators. All shops were closed in an unrivaled celebration.
21-GUN SALUTE
At the newly completed Chamizal Memorial park on Cordova Island a 21-gun salute was given each president as the two national anthems were played by a military band.
Standing before a marble monument, each president gave a prepared speech, with translation, before signing a joint declaration stating that the boundary between the U.S. and Mexico officially changed at 12:01 a.m. Saturday and that the area known as El Chamizal had been returned to the jurisdiction of Mexico.
“We thus lay to rest a century-old dispute. Reason, understating and goodwill have achieved a settlement of which both our peoples can be proud. The monument which the people of Mexico have already erected on this site will stand forever as a symbol of goodwill between our two nations and as a sign to the world of what men can accomplish when they approach their differences in a spirit of compromise and mutual respect,” the declaration read.
It also designated the new bridge on Santa Fe and Juarez Avenue as the “Paso del Norte Bridge,” the bridge on Stanton as “Good Neighbor Bridge,” and the one on Cordova Island as the “Bridge of the Americas.” The relocated river channel marking the new international boundary was designated as the “President Adolfo Lopez Mateos Channel.”
“May these links between our two countries, like the Chamizal itself, stand as testimony to the world of how good neighbors conduct their affairs,” the declaration concluded.
BOTH SIGNED
The declaration was presented to the two chiefs of state for signing by U.S. International Boundary Commissioner Joseph Friedkin, with President Diaz Ordaz signing first and President Johnson next. Each signed with a separate pen. The specially made table was to be shipped to the White House.
The official documents concluding the Chamizal treaty itself, was officially signed Friday in Washington, D.C., by Sec. Of State Dean Rusk and Mexico’s Foreign Minister Antonio Carrillo Flores. It ceded 630 acres to Mexico in return for 193 acres of Mexican territory.
In his preceding statement, President Johnson said, “It is important to the peace of the world that both our friend and our enemies believe that we in the U.S. mean what we say. Here in El Chamizal we have honored our pledge word and we will continue to honor all our commitments.”
He said Benito Juarez had laid down the principal that “respect for the rights of others is peace” as the foundation of our hemispheric relations.
“A few generations ago, fascism threatened that principal. Today it is another doctrine. We see it at work in the subversion and concealed aggression in Bolivia, Venezuela and other countries. The challenge has confronted the American States with a hard choice. And we know that the American States must stand together if we are to assure that the weak are protected, that might does not make right, that our peoples are to have the privilege of democratic choice,” President Johnson declared.
REAL MESSAGE
He said the real message of the Chamizal was that it was a fulfillment possible only to those who respect the rights of others and so insure their own.
“We think we have no better friends than the Mexican people and hope we can be their friend. Long live the friendship of Mexico and the United States,” President Johnson concluded.
In his reply, President Diaz Ordaz reviewed the long history of the Chamizal and gave praise to President Johnson, President Lopez Mateos and the late President John F. Kennedy for obtaining an equitable and amicable settlement.
“What we are going here today is an example of what can be achieved when reason, good-will and a sincere desire to maintain friendship between two peoples prevail. This is not an isolated case of understanding. A long process of joint efforts has allowed us to keep improving our relations.” President Ordaz said.
He said the U.S. and Mexico know they can discuss their problems openly and calmly, to find their solution within a framework of equity, truth and justice.
“I am not certain that it will not reach universal significance,” he said.
He expressed gratitude for U.S. aid to Mexico victims of the recent hurricane along the Lower Rio Grande and, turning to President Johnson, said, “Mr. President, in giving back to us this Mexican territory, I receive it in the name of my people, present here today in spirit as one man and with open arms to joyously receive this small strip of soil returning to the fatherland after more than one century of separation.”
CUT RIBBON
The presidential party then proceeded to the new Bridge of the Americas built by Mexico across the new river channel where Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Ordaz together cut a ribbon opening the new border.
The ribbon was held by two El Paso girls, Misses Kimberly Friedkin, daughter of Commissioner Friedkin, and Kimberly Kaster, daughter of Postmaster J.J. Kaster. Two Juarez girls dressed in the Mexican national costume, China Poblana, also held the silk ribbon. They were Maria Dolores Palacios Pina and Maria Granados Garcia.
The two presidents raised their national flags on either side of he border monument while a military band played the Mexican national hymn and the Star Spangle Banner. Another 42-gun salute sounded as the flags were raised.
President Johnson bid goodbye to President and Mrs. Ordaz and to members of the official presidential party at the bridge, where as a U.S. senator he had dedicated, a short distance away, the first free bridge across the border between El Paso and Juarez.
With Mrs. Johnson and Gov. Connally he sped to the airport and rushed to a waiting Lockheed Jetstar jet that officially became Air Force one for his return to the Johnson ranch near Austin.
The President, who had looked strong and well during most of his four-hour visit, seemed tired and stern as he boarded his departure plane at 2:45 p.m.
The crowd, estimated at 17,500 and the largest ever assembled at International Airport, that had been on hand for his arrival still numbered several thousand when he left.
The town that was so gaily alive in a holiday mood during his visit seemed strangely quiet and deserted with his departure, a city wrung out with emotion and some disappointment that he had made his journey so swiftly.
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