Sept. 28, 1964 - Robert F. Kennedy canceled a rally scheduled for this morning in Union Square in New York. His aides said he did so because of the sorrowful memories evoked by the publication of the Warren Commission report on President Kennedy’s assassination.
Instead of campaigning, he spent the morning with Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy, the widow of the President. “It’s been a rough day for both of them,” an aide said.
All morning assignments today were canceled, including a walking tour of 14th Street in Manhattan from Fifth Avenue to Union Square.
In the afternoon, Mr. Kennedy flew to Ithaca for the start of a two-day tour of central and western New York. He spoke to a crowd of 200 at Ithaca Airport and to 1,000 persons at DeWitt Park in downtown Ithaca.
Mr. Kennedy seemed subdued, and so did his audiences in the heavily Republican Finger Lakes region. Tompkins County, of which Ithaca is the seat, went for Richard M. Nixon in 1960. The vote was 17,061 for Nixon and 7,597 for Kennedy.
Before leaving New York City, Mr. Kennedy issued a statement in which he came out against statehood for Puerto Rico. He said he favored the continuation of Commonwealth status for the island.
The Democratic Senatorial candidate accused Senator Keating, his opponent, of “anxiously” soliciting the Spanish-speaking vote in New York by taking a stand in favor of Puerto Rico statehood.
On the flight up from New York, Mr. Kennedy sat by himself, staring out of the plane. Occasionally, he smiled wanly during his speeches, which lacked fire.
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