Reagan Pledges to Stay on Course : Speech Reiterates Conservatism but Is Conciliatory Toward Foes

President Reagan--saying, “I don’t believe you reelected us in 1984 to reverse course”--delivered a second Inaugural Address Monday that emphasized his conservative principles and his determination to curb federal spending, encourage free enterprise and increase U.S. military might.

Record subzero temperatures combined with strong winds had forced Reagan to cancel the inaugural parade and shift the inaugural event itself from its outdoor site on the west front steps of the Capitol to the Rotunda, the spacious circular chamber beneath the Capitol’s soaring dome.

Wintry sunlight filtered through the frost-covered windows high in the dome above the nation’s 40th President as he repeated the oath of office and delivered his nationally televised address to members of Congress, Cabinet members, other government officials and special guests.

‘New Beginning’

“Four years ago, I spoke to you of a new beginning, and we have accomplished that,” Reagan said. “But, in another sense, our new beginning is a continuation of that beginning created two centuries ago when, for the first time in history, government, the people said, was not our master, it is our servant.”

Reagan largely steered clear of specifics; those will come early next month in his budget message and State of the Union address. But his tone was clear: conciliatory toward his opponents but unyielding on his conservative creed.

“We must not repeat the well-intentioned errors of our past,” Reagan declared. “We must never again abuse the trust of working men and women by sending their earnings on a futile chase after the spiraling demands of a bloated federal establishment. You elected us in 1980 to end this prescription for disaster.”

And on foreign policy, while reaffirming his commitment to reducing nuclear weapons, he also defended his controversial quest for a “Star Wars” missile defense system in space and warned that “the Soviet Union has conducted the greatest military buildup in the history of man.”

With the constitutionally mandated inauguration date falling on Sunday for the sixth time in history, Reagan and Vice President George Bush already had been sworn in for a second term in semiprivate ceremonies in the White House Sunday.

Only the handful of guests immediately in front of the President and the very tallest behind them could actually see Chief Justice Warren E. Burger administering the oaths to Reagan and Bush in the Rotunda.

Sen. Alan K. Simpson (R-Wyo.) who is 6 feet 7 inches tall, said: “All my life people have said to me: ‘You get in the back, you big, skinny kid.’ This time I said to them: ‘Hell, no.’ ”

Three young congressional pages scaled a marble statue of Alexander Hamilton to get a better view, clinging to Hamilton’s sides throughout the ceremony.

Because of the poor acoustics in the Rotunda, most of the guests could not hear the President’s speech either. About a dozen House members gathered around a television monitor to see and hear what was happening just a few feet from them.

In addition to the government dignitaries, the audience was sprinkled with such celebrities as actors Jimmy Stewart and Telly Savalas, evangelist Jerry Falwell, publisher William F. Buckley and businessman Joseph Coors.

Altogether, only about 1,000 persons could be accommodated in the Rotunda, a tiny fraction of the 140,000 who had tickets to watch Reagan take the oath on the Capitol’s west steps.

Reagan ordered the traditional parade on Pennsylvania Avenue and all outside inaugural activities canceled after medical experts advised that the weather was so cold that exposed skin could freeze in 10 minutes. The thermometer hit 4 degrees below zero Monday morning, breaking the record of 2 degrees for the date in 1893, and the wind made the air feel like 30 degrees below.

Inaugural viewing stands and other facilities that cost millions of dollars remained empty as the presidential motorcade made its way for 1 1/2 miles along Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House to Capitol Hill for the ceremonies.

Street Deserted

Except for police officers, television crews and a few hardy souls carrying cameras or waving small American flags, the street was deserted, part of a snow-covered ghost town. In front of the Labor Department, a small group of protesters carried signs including one that read: “Cut Military Budget, Not Our Wages.”

The public ceremony was the first ever in the Rotunda but the 12th indoors. In fact, not until James Monroe took the oath in 1817 was the event moved outdoors.

Reagan opened his Inaugural Address with a tribute to Sen. John C. Stennis (D-Miss.), 83, who recently lost his left leg to cancer and attended the ceremony in a wheelchair. “This day has been made brighter with the presence here of one who for a time has been absent, Sen. John Stennis,” he said. “God bless you and welcome back.”

Then, his voice breaking, Reagan added: “There is, however, one who is not with us today. Rep. Gillis Long of Louisiana left us last night. And I wonder if we could all join in a moment of silent prayer.” The 61-year-old Democrat died unexpectedly of a heart attack Sunday night.

‘Economic Stress’

In his address, Reagan said he first took office four years ago in a “time of economic stress” caused by too much government spending.

The system that has endured since the country’s founding “has never failed us,” he said. But he added: “For a time, we failed the system.

“We asked things of government that government was not equipped to give. We yielded authority to the national government that properly belonged to the states or to local governments, or to the people themselves.”

By cutting tax rates and reducing inflation, he said, “We are creating a nation once again vibrant, robust and alive.”

At the heart of his Administration’s efforts, he said, is “one idea vindicated by 25 straight months of economic growth: Freedom and incentives unleash the drive and entrepreneurial genius that are the core of human progress. We have begun to increase the rewards for work, savings and investment, reduce the increase in the cost of size of government and its interference in people’s lives.”

He said he will soon submit a budget to Congress aimed at freezing government spending programs for the next year. But further steps must be taken, he said, to “permanently control government’s power to tax and spend.”

Reagan, who in 1980 pledged to balance the budget by 1984 but who is presiding over the largest budget deficits in history, urged passage of a constitutional amendment mandating a balanced budget.

The tax system, he said, must be made “more fair” and rates must be brought down “for all who work and earn.” And without being specific, he said America must move with “new boldness” to be sure that all who want to work can find work.

“The time has come,” he said, “for a new American Emancipation--a great national drive to tear down economic barriers and liberate the spirit of enterprise in the most distressed areas of the country.”

The President, whose budget will propose new cuts in social spending programs, acknowledged that government has a role to play in matters of social compassion. But he suggested that private sources should play the major role and that “our fundamental goals must be to reduce dependency and upgrade the dignity of those who are infirm or disadvantaged.”

He said a growing economy and support from family and community offer the best chance that the disadvantaged will be cared for and that “the unfortunate” will be “looked after and made self-sufficient.”

‘No Wavering’

Turning to national security, which he called “the primary responsibility of national government,” Reagan said:

“We have made progress in restoring our defense capability. But much remains to be done. There must be no wavering by us, nor any doubts by others, that America will meet her responsibilities to remain free, secure and at peace.”

Warning that the Soviet Union has conducted the “greatest military buildup in the history of man,” he said the only way to reduce the cost of national security safely is to reduce the need for it by negotiating an arms-control agreement with the Soviets.

Defending his “Star Wars” program to develop a shield to destroy nuclear missiles before they can reach their targets, Reagan said:

“It wouldn’t kill people; it would destroy weapons. It wouldn’t militarize space; it would help demilitarize the arsenals of Earth. It would render nuclear weapons obsolete. We will meet with the Soviets hoping that we can agree on a way to rid the world of the threat of nuclear destruction.”