Udall Speech

Rep. Morris Udall (D-Ariz.), a Democratic presidential candidate, said last night that full employment will be a top priority in his administration if he is elected president.

Speaking to a mostly young, college-age crowd, which filled Boston's Faneuil Hall to capacity, Udall said he disagreed with the idea shared by President Ford and Ronald Reagan that a choice must be made between fighting inflation and solving the unemployment problem.

Calling for a national unemployment of no more than 4 per cent, Udall said that such a rate would eliminate the $75 billion deficit in the budget recently submitted by President Ford.

With greater employment, Udall foresees the easing of the financial problems of American cities. "The pressure would be taken off Abe Beame and Kevin White and the other mayors, and the revenue would go up because more employees would be paying taxes," he said.

Turning to the defense budget, which Udall has pledged to reduce by $10 to $15 billion, Udall said, "if the Soviets want to spend themselves into bankruptcy with 50 times [nuclear] overkill, when we've only got 40 times overkill, then they're quite welcome to go ahead as far as I'm concerned."