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Hello. I'm Luis del Apart. I'd like to show you a film about a fearless young man who believe that people were more important than money. And so he walked across the state of Florida for 1000 miles in order to prove it. Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. Hi.

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I'm Lawton Child's. I want to be your United States Senator. People around Florida have named me the walking Senator. I started walking in Century Florida and I'm walking down to the keys more than 1000 miles. And when I get through, I'll have more friends. And I met more people in the state of Florida than any candidate.

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Whoever ran for public office ever before has met. I'd love to have you with me all the way. It's an experience you'll never forget. Come walk with me a few moments and see for yourself as I go down the road. People ask me every day Why in the world are you making this long, hot, hard walk?

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Well, I guess there are a couple of reasons. One, though I've been in the legislature for 12 years, both in the House and the Senate. I found out that people around the state didn't know me. But the campaign experts said that doesn't make any difference. All I had to do was raise a million dollars in the political pros, could create an image for me, and the people would buy.

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Well, I couldn't buy it. I think it's ridiculous for a candidate to spend over a million dollars. The people don't trust any candidate who does. They know His hands have to be tired by those who spend the big money. Then I had to find out what the people of Florida are thinking.

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You know, you can talk to over a million people at one time if you have a state TV hookup, but you can't listen but to one person at a time, and you can't learn anything while you're talking. But you sure can't learn a lot while you're listening.

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I've learned a lot on this trip. I have a confidence because I know what the people are thinking and what they expect of their elected representatives. I know that I have the strength and the determination and the knowledge to serve the people of Florida in the U.

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S. Senate because I know I can do what we think is right. The next question that people always ask me is, Why did I decide to walk When I first ran for the Legislature, I was a young kid, just out of law school. I didn't have any money or any organization, but my wife, Rhea, went down one side of the street and I went down the other.

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And for three months, from daylight to dark, we knocked on doors. I got elected, no strings attached. I upset a man who served for 10 years and couldn't be beat. I knew I couldn't knock on every door in the state, but we determined that I could walk across the state asking people to come meet me by the side of the road and talk with me and walk with me.

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Here are some of the things the walk is proving to me. People are losing confidence in their government. They're frustrated because they know they're governed by bureaucratic agencies the H E W, the F H A and the I C. C rather than by their elected officials.

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A democracy such as ours cannot exist unless the people have faith in it. This is the greatest concern to me. I have a compulsion to go to Washington to try to return the power back to the elected officials, to give more duties and responsibilities to our cities into local and state government.

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This is where the action is. This will allow the national government to pay its attention to national problems into foreign affairs. I'm convinced we don't need any new taxes. What we need to do is eliminate some of the waist and overspending in our bureaucracy and to re channel some of the money to states and cities where it could be used more efficiently.

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I'm convinced that conservation in any pollution practices are not just practices that we should follow, but we must observe in order to sustain life itself. And I want to reflect the kind of leadership that concerns itself with the quality of life, not just the quantity I'm convinced that our public school system must have Is that sole aim the best education possible for each individual child and not just be an instrument of social change.

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I believe in the neighborhood school system with a valid freedom of choice plan. I'm convinced that we must get our young men out of Vietnam as soon as we possibly and reasonably can. President Nixon has announced that we're not seeking a military victory. If we allow this war to go on and on and drain us of our young men and bankrupt our country, then we'd be falling into the Communist trap.

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And I'm convinced that we must move to curb inflation and stabilize the economy. Alarm is growing as people try to stretch their paychecks without too much success. Business is concerned is the stock market goes down and unemployment continues to rise. Many people want to know why I want to be a United States senator when there are so many problems to cope with, well, public services.

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My thing, when I can see hope rather than despair in the eyes of a boy in one of our correctional schools because a program I drafted gives him a good educational program. I have my satisfaction when I talk with teachers whose morale is lifted and whose initiative is quickened by the education improvement expense program.

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I have my satisfaction, and when I see recreational lands, springs and beaches being used by youngsters because of a program to keep them available to the public, then I really enjoy satisfaction. Yes, we do have some severe problems in this country today. And you might well ask, what can anyone man do about them all?

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Change begins with one man. If one man has an idea and it's right and he has the courage and is willing to fight for it, he will soon find that he has an army of support. I believe that this country has a divine destiny to lead the rest of the world, not just in war, but in finding a better way of life for all people.

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In order for us to fulfill this destiny, we must solve our problems at home. I've got to be a part of this great challenge. Will you continue to walk and talk with me? I need your help. Now. I'd like for you to meet the star of our film, a man who I believe will be your next United States Senator.

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Senator Lawton Child's. Thank you, Louis. I appreciate that very much. And I'm delighted to have with us tonight Senator Reyna, PKI, uh, from Hillsborough County and representative Elvin Martinis from Hillsborough County and my colleague from Polk County Senator Alan Trask and Senator Wilbur Boyd from Manatee County.

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Look, and I'm proud to be here with you tonight, and, you know, I start thinking about since 1959 we've served in the state Legislature. And one of the things that I think about is the outstanding record that you had there. I know every session since 1961 depressed, and the members, your colleagues have voted you one of the outstanding members.

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And then I think probably the greatest tribute that I've seen paid to one of my colleagues was the day that this last session of the Legislature was over. You had walked from Century Florida into Tallahassee and planning to walk on the south that afternoon when I believe it was 22 or 23.

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State senators walked out of the capital with you and walk to the first mile of your journey on South when you went on to the Keys. Florida Keys. It's an outstanding tribute to you, and it's a well deserved tribute. Uh, nothing is pleased me more than to have the 23 senators supporting me.

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You know, the cardinal rule in politics is don't get any other man's race. And so I I know how much it means to have these men stick their neck out, uh, and support me. And there are the people that know me best, and certainly that gives me a tremendous amount of satisfaction a lot.

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And let me let me add to that that you may be proud, but I'm a lot more proud to be here with you. And I had the opportunity to join you in your walk for just a part of the way, not the full 1000 miles, but some of the way from Plant City into Tampa.

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During that walking that we did, I saw people come out from the various stores and from across the street wanting they were hungry to have a chance to talk to somebody that was interested in them. And you showed your interest by listening to them at that time.

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And I think that you probably found this same thing throughout the state. Isn't it pretty much a general thing that people just are anxious to get a chance to talk to a candidate who has an interest in what they're what they're what their problems are Yes, Ray.

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They were starved to get a chance to talk to a candidate. You know, the whole mood. A method of campaigning had changed where it was all done on television. Uh, that's a one way conversation. The candidate speaks out, and there's no way that people can speak back.

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And of course, I started. The walk is a means of getting an identification and getting to know people. But it turned into something so much more than that. It turned into an education for me because as I walked that 1000 miles, I talked to over 40,000 people.

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I was on the road 92 days and I feel nine notebooks with the comments that people gave me, and I found that they're so far ahead of the leadership now. They want to solve the problems of today. They want to participate in government, they love this country, and they want to be a part of it.

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Lord, and, uh, I think I'm proudest to be here on the same platform with you because I know that you were always very genuinely interested in and getting the people involved in politics. And I've heard it said that This was a gimmick. Your walk was a gimmick.

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Well, if that was a gimmick, I think people are very hungry for this type of gimmick. The personal sacrifices that I know you went through. I know for a fact that mhm you spent only about $37,000 so far in this campaign. And, uh, that you stand for the fact that the public offices, the public's office, and it's not for sale.

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It's not for purchase. And you've demonstrated this by going to the people. And I'm only so proud to be here in your behalf because I know how hard you have worked in the Legislature in the Senate. And I'm only too happy to say that I've helped you with the tremendous election reforms that the State of Florida has undergone.

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And I appreciate the opportunity of being here with you. Thank you, Elvin. Uh, you know, everybody said you had to be wealthy to run for public office. You had to either have a million dollars or you had to make the financial connections. And when I got elected the first time in Polk County, I got elected by knocking on doors.

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My wife went down one side of the street and I went down the other, as I said, and we just knocked on doors and the people elected us. The nicest thing about that is I was free to serve, and that's what I wanted to do this time.

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And I knew that people were tired of the slick television that's done in some studio with professional actors. I felt at the time for that was over and that they would respond to, uh, coming to see the people again. And certainly they have, you know, a lot, and I'll never forget the thrill that we experience the other night when we sat in the headquarters and listen to these returns come pouring in.

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Excitement just grew to a crescendo, as you well remember. But I got an even greater thrill. A couple days later, when I stopped by was heading to Gainesville and I wanted to take some material with me, and the place was just alive with activity. The phones were ringing off the hook, the mail was stacked up everywhere, and I just couldn't hardly believe that this thing had built to such an extent.

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But you know, I got two games when I found the same thing. And I understand it's happening this way all over the state. Alan, it has, uh My phone has been ringing off the hook and in my headquarters. I'm so delighted that the so many of the members that were hard people that were working for the other candidates have decided to come with us.

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I had a meeting in Jacksonville the other day, and I had a lot of the shoots people and a lot of the Matthews people were there, and, uh, I'm excited about the possibilities we have in Duval County. Hillsborough County was a great county for us, and it looks like we're going to do even better here.

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The same thing is true in Dade County. We're getting a lot of the endorsements of the different groups in Dade County. And I'm convinced that, uh, we've got the momentum that we're going through this race in two weeks and it's going to give us the kind of momentum that we're going to need in November.

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Uh, I've kind of said that my slogan should be Bryant. Now, Cramer later, Uh, I think we've got a tremendous momentum going, and I'm just so delighted with it. You know, I think that one of the most exciting prospects is the fact that as long as Congress works on seniority, that the fact that here we have a candidate who is young, yet seasoned, who can provide the people of Florida the very much attention and assistance that they need as they emerge as one of the most significant states of the union, but also to provide the leadership in Washington, which comes with the years of services that he can render having begun his career in the United States Senate as a young man, this is This is really a great opportunity for for for law and to serve and a great opportunity for Florida to to to make its mark in the nation's capital.

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I thank you, and I want to thank all of you for appearing with me. I can't say how much I enjoyed the walk. It was the greatest experience of my life. It gave me such an opportunity to meet people. I found a man out there that I think needs help.

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The man in the middle, the guy that's earning from 4 to $10,000 a year. The guy that's making this country go. He took care of me on the walker. Everywhere I went. Identify with this fellow. Uh, I need your help. I'm free to serve. I wanna be your United States senator.