CASTRO STRANGLES CUBA'S PRESS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP65B00383R000200240005-1
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 18, 2004
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: August 15, 1963
• Content Type: OPEN

1963 Approved Fo~Rg[ sfAg / A6~2 I P65A PM0200240005-1 A5225
their roles as responsible members of a
democratic country?
These are some of the questions and
difficulties that confront India today.
But no list is complete that does not in-
clude the problem of Communist China.
India and China are the two great rivals
in Asia. In their developmnt both coun-
tries have started at about the same time
at the same level. But in their ap-
proaches to development there has been
a great contrast. Will India and the
democratic path to development that it
follows produce results as fast as the
Chinese Communist totalitarian rule?
The leaders in both countries know that
the stakes in the contest are very high.
The other countries of Asia and the rest
of the developing world are watching
closely to see whether India or China
succeeds best in handling the problems
of progress; The outcome will have a
profound impact on the future.
The interest of the United States in
India centers on the question of whether
or not India can remain outside the Com-
munist bloc and can achieve growth and
prosperity as a democracy. As the leader
of the democratic world, the United
States must be sensitive to the needs of
the people of India. In the past the
United States has contributed generously
to India's development. This country
should continue to do what it can to help
the world's most populous democracy
Castro Strangles Cuba's-Press
EXTENSION OF REMARKS
OF
HON. JOHN 0. MARSH, JR.
OF VIRGINIA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Wednesday, August 14, 1963
Mr. MARSH. Mr. Speaker, on August
7, 1963, Radio Havana beamed a propa-
ganda broadcast in English to Europe
which it described as a interview of cer-
tain students from the United States who
made an unauthorized trip to Cuba and
accepted the hospitality of the Castro
government.
While the broadcast comments of the
students were generally favorable to the
Castro regime, it was interesting to note
that their comments confirmed the re-
pression of press freedom. These stu-
dents from the United States seemingly
saw little cause for -'concern in this, and
several accepted the mission of the Cu-
ban press as a government instrument
to educate and unite the people as rea-
sonable and proper.. They suggested, in
fact, that press criticism of the regime
could not be expected, anyway, because
there was so little anti-Castro sentiment
on the Cuban island.
It is most regrettable that these stu-
dents should lend themselves to the prop-
aganda effort of the Soviet-directed Com-
munist dictatorship which has enslaved
the Cuban people and made of the island
a base for subversiva excursions against
the free republics of the hemisphere.
Their willingness to assist in the attempt
to justify press manipulation by the
Castro government serves to recall, how-
ever, the methodical strangulation of
Cuba's channels of free information.
In this connection, Mr. Speaker, I
should like to include an article which
appeared in the June 1963, issue of Au-
thor and Journalist, a magazine pub-
lished in Denver, Colo. The article,
which follows, was written by George
Holcomb, a member of the editorial staff
of the Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.,
Washington, D.C., who also is active as
a freelance writer, particularly on mat-
ters related to the techniques of the
world Communist conspiracy:
AND THE FREE PRESS WAS DEAD
(By George Holcomb)
Cuba's free press did not die in silence in
1960. Fragile though she was, she screamed
and fought as the hammer rained blow after
blow upon her and the sickle relentlessly
ripped out her vitals. She cried out to the
world in her-mortal agony, but the neighbors
all around would not hear. She expired
alone.
Why? What was the world press doing
during those lost free moments of the Cuban
press? Where were the correspondents of
the U.S. magazines and press associations and
giant dailies?
Writing of the assassination of Cuba's free
press, I see her blood staining the hands of
every free journalist who was there when it
happened but did not let us know. How
many saw, heard, spoke of no evil, until the
deed was done?
There are many ways to sap the life out of
a free press, and Fidel Castro and his Com-
munist and fellow opportunists used most of
them. The methods are always alike,
whether used by Fascists, Communists,
Nazis, opportunists, politicians, quislings, or
what have you.
First and foremost is the method of in-
timidation used against newsboys, drivers, re-
porters, newscasters, editors, typographers,
artists, publishers, advertisers, readers, tele-
vision viewers, legislators, foreign corre-
spondents, and government officials. Differ-
ent means of intimidation are used against
different types of persons.
Name calling was the most common
weapon. Any writer who charged that Com-
munists were moving into Castro's govern-
ment was repeatedly smeared as irresponsi-
ble, an extremist, as a former hireling of Ful-
gencia Batista, a Fascist, as a current hire-
ling of the U.S. State Department or the
"sia"-CIA (Central Intelligence Agency),
and finally as a promoter of counterrevolu-
tion. Perhaps, indeed, some of the smears
were not smears; perhaps some of the name
calling was truthful. But it made no differ-
ence, obviously not to the principal smear
artists, such as Fidel and his little brother
Raul, who liked to wear his hair long.
There are many other methods of intimi-
dation, and they were used. Mobs were or-
ganized outside radio stations and newspaper
plants from which offending words had come.
Newsboys were beaten. Newstrucks were
sabotaged. Papers were stolen and burned.
Rocks were hurled, windows broken. Pickets
were active. Mock burials of newspapers
were conducted by parading activists. Ef l-
gies of writers and publishers were hung and
burned. Advertisers were threatened, stoned,
boydotted. Employees were forced to choose
between loyalty to their employer or to their
Communist-led unions, and they were pres-
sured and browbeaten until they either
turned against their employer or quit jobs in
defeat and frustration. And then there was
blackmail. And confiscation by the revolu-
tion.
It began the very day 'Batista fled the is-
land, January 1, 1959. Although the sudden
departure reportedly surprised Castro, he ob-
viously had plans ready for immediate action
with regard to the press.
Before the end of the day, armed men took
over five daily Havana newspapers and some
radio stations. Who was to object? They
had been identified as Batista papers and sta-
tions. Similar outright and lawless confis-
cations took place in other cities.
Also on that same day, the Communist
Party daily, Hoy, resumed publication in the
city of Santiago de Cuba. This publication
had. been stolen from the Cuban Confedera-
tion of Labor some years earlier, but the
confederation officials were not ready to as-
sert their claim. Only the Communists were
prepared. Hoy's editor: Communist Carlos
Rafael Rodriguez.
Thus, before Caso entered Havana tri-
umphantly on Janu ry 8, he already had sev-
eral important press outlets grinding out
propaganda for him. One of the stolen Ba-
tista dailies was renamed Revolution, and
Castro designated it as his official publica-
tion, spokesman for his 26th of July move-
ment. Its editor: Communist Carlos Fran-
qui. Thereafter Franqui attended Castro's
Cabinet meetings.
Castro also had ready access to television;
and he made frequent use of TV as he dis-
covered how effective were his speeches. He
easily matches Mussolini and Hitler in dema-
goguery.
The bearded leader was now ready to
manage the news in several ways: By feeding
handouts to favored publications; by permit-
ting only reporters for the Communist papers
to have access to government offices-to
police, military, and judicial areas; by openly
demonstrating his pique about articles
which did not please him; and by monopoliz-
ing a considerable amount of television time
as a means of creating a mob psychology in
his favor.
Two days after he arrived in Havana,
Castro announced he was clearing the path
for the "Communists to act as a legal party,"
using the name of "Popular Socialist Party."
Daniel James, . author of the well-
researched "Cuba-First Soviet Satellite in
the Americas," noted that the only party
Castro. legalized was the Communist and
said,
"More incredible, in a sense, than Fidel
Castro's brazen show of partisanship in favor
of the Cuban CommunistParty was the fact
that no powerful voices were raised against
this act."
But this was the executive of the nation.
There was no Congress to counter his power.
The judiciary was in no position to oppose
him; already he was setting up "people's
courts" to try persons singled out as Batisti-
anos, especially to the military. The mili-
tary forces, however, were divided and dis-
organized. Ultimately, Castro destroyed the
organized military forces, since they repre-
sented. the only possible group that could
copy with the paramilitary might of the
Communists and their allies who thought
Fidel could do no evil.
It has been estimated that at least 60 men,
including several army officers, were sent a
paredon-to the wall-for execution that
night of January 10, 1959, in the Havana
area alone. For many there was not even
the formality of a trial. Their bodies were
covered by use of a bulldozer. -
Who could dare to raise a voice against
Fidel and the Communists under such cir-
cumstances?
But the circumstances were soon to grow
worse, as Fidel used various tactics popular-
ized by misguided or unethical trade union-
ists. For example,. Castro addressed a union
rally and attacked a weekly publication,
Zig Zag, which had published an editorial
cartoon showing a number of bureaucrats
who had been Batista sychophants in the
past but who now were trailing a parade
led by Fidel. He also reportedly criticized
Jorge Zayas, publisher of Avance, a major
Havana daily.
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CONGRESSIONAL, RECORD - APPENDIX August 15
What was wrong with this? Castro said
lie would never engage in censorship of the
press, since there were other ways to handle
it. He mentioned the boycott.
Carlos Todd. then editor of the Times of
Havana, has reported that he alone among
the many editors In the city expressed con-
cern about Castro's obvious hypocrisy and
attempt to censor the press while saying
he would never censor the press.
What harm In a boycott? Didn't the
Bostonians do worse in protest against a
certain tea tax nearly 2 centuries ago? But
there is a difference- On the one hand you
have the head of a government trying to
use his vast powers to reduce dissent. to
create a one-party machine, a state-run po-
litical monopoly. The communists call it
"monolithic unity," or the use of "disci-
pline." On the other hand you have the
Bostonians protesting the use of monopoly
powers by the government of King George.
Before going any further with this, we
might well pause and ask ourselves whether
we, under similar circumstances, would rec-
ognize the early phases of a takeover by a
totalitarian-minded regime? What are
some touchstones of democracy? I believe
there are at least four, which I've tussled
with considerably so as to make them as
meaningful as possible: (1) Even the least
amongst us is free of coercive Influences;
(2) at decisionmaking times, the use of a
secret ballot which affords ample oppor-
tunity for dissent Is automatic; (3) every-
one amply and equally has easy access to
truly competitive points of view before mak-
Ing decisions; (4) every adult has freedom
of choice between at least two openly op-
posing factions during the regular selec-
tion of government executives and legis-
lators. Perhaps a fifth should deal with
certain basic rights of which no one may
be deprived even by government, but I be-
lieve this is covered under the first point.
On January 29, 1959, Humberto Medrano,
an editor of the Presna Libre, published by
his father-in-law, wrote an article recalling
that in the famous Castro Manifesto of the
Sierra Maestra dated July 12, 1957, Castro
had promised his provisional government
would be based on "absolute guarantee of
freedom of information of the press
and of all Individual and political rights
guaranteed by the Constitution" of 1940.
. The response was Indirect, and hindsight
shows it was part of the Intimidation strat-
egy. The Castro mouthpiece, Revolucion
published an exclusive scoop-a list of names
of writers and others on an undated un-
signed sheet of stationery of the kind used
by Batista. Revolution stated as a fact that
this was a list of persons who had been on
Batista's payroll: The Big Lie technique.
Todd later reported that the "delirious and
credulous people of Cuba" accepted the state-
ment from the Communist-run newspaper
as "gospel truth." Hitler, Mussolini, and
others often used such tactics which they
picked up from their associations with Marx-
ists and Machlavellians.
But If the Cuban non-Communist editors
were too numb to question the Big Lie, still,
they were getting somehow uncomfortable.
Sergio Carbo, publisher and editor of Presna
Libre, and the editors of El Dlario de la Ma-
rina, published by Jose Ignacio Rivero, began
suggesting it was time to prepare for the
free electionsso long acclaimed by Fidel.
This time the response was more undis-
guished than ever before. At a gigantic
open gathering in the Plaza of the Alameda
de Paula. Fidel Castro flourished copies of
Presna Libre and the Dlario and shouted
forth his displeasure. They were trying to
undermine the prestige of the "revolution."
he charged with great apparent emotion.
He seemed especially incensed at Carbo's
questioning the mass dismissals of Govern-
ment employees in certain key departments.
Carbo has-said that months later he rec-
ognized why Castro had reacted so sensitive-
ly; Communists were being brought in to
fill some of the vacancies resulting from the
mass layoffs or discharges. Castro obviously
was trying to cover up.
Castro's denunciations were carried live
on radio and television throughout Cuba.
Many Cubans expressed shocked anger at
the publishers for having suggested that
Fidel was not a great patriot giving his all
for his people. Here and there, It is said,
some Cubans were troubled by Fidel's attack
on the publishers. But these were the gen-
tler folk, who kept their mouths shut. This
was In March 1959.
El Mario. an open advocate of private en-
terprise and, even, of profits, had survived
127 years. through many dictatorships. It
had,been owned by Rlve:o'a family since
1895. Occasionally It opened Its columns to
Lopez Fresquet, Castro's Minister of Fi-
nance. It was conservative but hardly anti-
revolution.
Even so, it was a major obstacle to the
state-press monopoly toward which Castro
was driving. He brought Lazaro Pena and
other experiencedCommunist labor agents
to Havana. The Communist Pena had head-
ed the labor federation for Batista some
years earlier.
The labor agents moved cautiously, for
they did not control the unions at this time.
A few months of preparation were needed.
By July 9, 1959, Castro was ready with his
"Code of Special Defense." He explained its
necesr-ity. The "revolution" was being en-
dangered by critics whose intentions were
evil. The code contained many provisions,
such as a couple which would enable Cas-
tro lawfully to execute any writer or broad-
caster found guilty of inciting "counter-
revolutionary crimes" resulting In deaths.
Article 149 said "whosoever shall intro-
duce, publish. propagate, or try to control
in Cuba any dispatch, order, or decree which
tends to Impair the independence of the
nation or encourage nonobservance of the
laws in effect" was subject to imprisonment
for from 6 to 18 years. Who could object
to a law in favor of "Independence"?
Article 156 said "the incitement, carried
out publicly, of feelings that may lead to
the commission of some of the counter-
revolutionary crimes noted In articles 128,
147, 148, and 149 shall be punished by im-
prisonment of from 10 to 20 years. But if,
as a direct or indirect consequence of that
incitement, sets of violence result against
the revolutionary government in which
lives are lost, the penalty shall be from 20
years' Imprisonment to death."
On September 28, 1959, Castro In one of
his television spectacles charged three writ-
ers of Avance with being guilty of writing
"counterrevolutionary" articles. But he did
not move to prosecute.
He didn't need to: some of the writers and
editors could take the hint, and they began
the exodus from Cuba that will continue so
long as Castro finds It convenient to expel
rather than to kill the gusanos-the worms,
those who do not cooperate willfully.
By November, the Communists with Fidel's
open, direct, and personal Intervention man-
aged to force a united-front management
upon the main labor confederation, despite
what has been described as the overwhelm-
ing opposition of delegates at the crucial
convention. The tactics of some unionists,
the obtaining of monopoly control over a
labor force and the use of that monopoly to
prevent competition by "dissidents," were
strangely Identical to those of the Commu-
nists. How could the non-Communists ob-
ject to giving the Communists an equal
opportunity to participate? Weren't they
for fairplay?
This fairplay ploy soon appeared in an-
other form. On January il, 1960, Fidel
opened the New Year with a major speech.
Once again he denounced the privately
owned press and announced that henceforth
all press association articles permitted to
circulate by sufferance of his Government
must-in the Interest of fairplay-be ac-
companied by statements of "clarification"
of any facts or opinions deemed not in the
public interest.
The Prensa Libre, biggest Havana daily,
promptly labeled the "clarifications" as
"coletillas." or postscripts.
Who wrote the coletillas? By now Fidel
felt this duty could be performed by certain
loyal followers who were beginning to run
the newspaper unions.
Some publishers, notably Jorge Zayas of
Avance, refused to run the coletillas. Zayas
had been recalcitrant for some time. Thus,
one time when he returned home from a trip
to the United States, he had been detained
and questioned by the police.
The right of private ownership and control
of a newspaper was at stake. Did the un-
ions, acting with the consent and encourage-
ment of the government, have the right to
dictate what the publishers should print?
"Yes," said the Communists; It was in the
public interest and was part of the right of
freedom of choice and of fairplay. No pub-
lisher should be the sole judge of what he
published; the unions equally had the right
to determine how their product was used,
Insisted the Communist.
On January 18. 1960, according to Zayas'
report, a mob of printers-members of the
graphic arts unlon-marched on Avance and
took possession of it in the name of the "rev-
olution." The leader of the mob was Com-
munist Dagoberto Ponce. Zayas wisely fled,
the first of the major publishers to be driven
Into exile.
Does the tale grow too long? Do the de-
tails bore you? Well, suffice to say, about the
same tactics soon brought down all but the
two biggest dailies: Prensa Libre and El Di-
arlo de Is, Marina.
By June 1960 the coletilla directive had -
been extended to every publication, to every
article circulated in public, In the public In-
terest.
The association of journalists, the news re-
porters' union, was now headed by Com-
munist Tirso Martinez. If any publisher
refused to publish a coletilla demanded by
the association of journalists or by the
graphic arts union, he could be charged with
provoking a strike by locking out his em-
ployees.
After all, jobs were growing scarce in the
business, what with the folding of so many
newspapers, so a publisher would be quite
an ogre to refuse to publish copy produced
by his own employees, now, wouldn't he?
Now the parades of unionists carrying
coffins labeled ".Prensa Libre and "Dlario"
became common.
Yet nearly 80 percent of Prensa's staff
signed a bold statement supporting the
publishers right to private property. So,
the next day they were called to a major
union meeting. presided over by David Salva-
dor himself, head of the Labor Confedera-
tion. It is reported that for 7 consecutive
hours. the Prensa workers were ha-
rangued and badgered until they finally
agreed to sign a statement pledging first
loyalty to the union rather than to their
employer. Otherwise, they could be smeared
as "finks."
A similar situation hit Diario. A letter
of su' port for the publisher's rights to pub-
lish was signed by some 400 Dlario em-
ployees.
Editor Jose Ignacio Rivero has reported
that he decided to publish the Diario em-
ployees' letter, and he sent It to the com-
posing room for preparation. Some time
later, while at lunch, he received a frantic
call to return to the plant. He arrived to
find 20 unionists using hammers to destroy
the plate on which the letter had been cast.
Shaken but not intimidated, Rivero
ordered the casting of another cylinder, and
he stood by until he saw the presses begin
their run. Finally, he went home.
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rugged terrain and dense rain forest,
crosses 92 bridges, and passes through 21
tunnels.
The Congo Republic also surpasses
many of the other African countries in
the fields of education and public health.
The Government is spending about one-
fourth of its annual budget on education,
and school enrollment, encompassing
nearly 75 percent of the children of
school age, is one of the highest among
the French-speaking countries of Africa.
The development of medical facilities
and a public health program has -also
been emphasized. The Congo has 2 large
hospitals, 13 medical centers, and over
100 dispensaries.
We salute you, President Youlou, and
the people of the Congo Republic for
your admirable accomplishments since
independence, May your future endeav-
ors be equally successful.
Threat to Liberty
EXTENSION OF REMARKS
of
HON. FRED SCHWENGEL
r
e ale government newspaper Izvestia, edited by
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES few who be for war and certainly we Premier Nikita Khrushchev's son-in-law,
Thursday, August 15, 1963 pray that a nuclear holocaust will never Alexei Adzhubel.
be visited upon the world. But even "The June Central Commitee meeting on
Mr. SCHWENGEL. Mr. Speaker, it is this terrible fate would not compare ideology described the Russian press, radio,
well to remember the words that former with the enslavement of the world b
television and cinema as `the assault forces
President Eisenhower spoke recently in the Communists. y of the ideological front:
behalf of individual liberty and self- Up to this point the Kennedy spokes- "Under the reform papers Mwere oscow's expect naed and
local respect. We must be constantly aware men have relied entirely upon arousing be cut down sharply with the liquidation of
and in control of our duties as responsible the emotions of the people in order to specialized newspapers. But the Izvestia
citizens, least we forsake our privileges get the test ban accepted. In the brief- announcement gave no indication whether
to government control. A paternalistic ings and in the hearings now being con- this plan would be carried out. It was ex-
government is no replacement for a gov- ducted by the Senate, administration pected the new state committee on the press
ernmerit dedicated to. democracy. Let spokesmen shy away from facts. But would concern itself with raising the ideolog-
us keep in mind the words of Eisenhower facts must be presented before we are ical content of Soviet newspapers and nincul inist
as. quoted in the New York Mirror edi- asked to accept the treaty. We must patios Russian leaders with Marxist-Leninist
torial of July 4, 1963, under the title know that the United States is going ph It sop hap
"Threat to Liberty," which follows be- It , happens that state committees
havers for
low: to be protected against a doublecross by radio, television, and the movies have been
THREAT To-LIDERTY - the Soviet Union, that we are not going functioning in Russia for some time. The
to lose our lead in nuclear weapons sys- addition of a state committee for the press,
The "instant liberals" dismissed the spec2h tems, that we can develop an antimissile which has just been announced, merely com-
as the counsel of a fuddy-duddy but more missile. None of the experts have pre- pletes the process of concentrated control of
reflective Americans could do worse than con- sented evidence that we can, but our all. communications media throughout the
sider, on this anniversary of U.S. independ- Soviet Union.
ence, some -penetrating observations by leading scientists have presented evi-
former President Dwight D. Eisenhower on dence that we cannot. Thus, a nation of 200 million people, as
the general subject of individual liberty and It is not enough for President Ken- countries well as the In. Ed peoplee in other Communist-held
the survival of self-government, nedy's spokesmen to tag opponents of continue to deprived Europe, will not only
Although Ike spoke on the eve of the cen- the treaty with being for othe rest of the world, f much of the news
ten nial commemoration of the Battle of war and of the rest of the wrbut will be given
e nia co It was a on means just a le of against peace. All the facts must be heavy doses of Communist ideology every day
War talus The ssby he raised ate "civil known to the American people and I, for in a massive "brainwashing" of the public.
sophically much deeper and broader, one, intend to keep asking questions and With only one political party permitted to
Ike posed a number of searching questions urging thorough investigation before the have names on the ballot and with elections
that he suggested all Americans ask them- lives of the American people and other ship more which less holds sway i Moscow affairs, the can at dictator-
selves. Among them: people any
nations are auctioned off on the block moment persuade ods swaade the pthat the West
"Does self-government, for me, mean of Soviet intrigue. is planning a war, that it is aggressive and
sturdy self-reliance-depending upon myself Two significant articles appeared in may prise attack, and that hence
for all those things, tangible and intangible, the aunch a surprise I am able, without government inter- the Washington Evening Star of August thduty of the Soviet Union is to strike the
ference, to provide myself and my family? 14 and I include them here in hope first blow."
Or would I rather take from a paternalistic they may 'arouse others to demand" that This is the heart of the peace-or-war issue, no -
government every possible immediate ad- all sides be heard on this very vital and rl amount of tlebe of ato h prevent vantage it can give, even if I do not really question. The first is by David Law- a free conflict atil be of avail
uo if bete n
need it? no free communication continuously between
"Do I understand that for every responsi- rence, "Behind the Bright Treaty Fa- the peoples of the East and the West. To
bi "D I hope understand shift that
y to to
government I lose cade," and the second by Richard Wilson, draw the Iron Curtain tighter than before
something of my individual rights and op- "Treaty and Khrushchev's Moods": and to erect walls and barriers to the flow
portunities?" BEHIND THE BRIGHT TREATY FACADE: TIGHT- of truth is to threaten world peace and to
The former President agreed that no Amer- ENING OF THE IRON CURTAIN Is SEEN IN relegate to a position of unimportance all
ican would consciously surrender his per- NEw SOVIET CONTROLS ON INFORMATION the agreementt nuclear testing in-the
sonal and political integrity, but. air and in outer er sp spaace and underwater. Be-
Be-
sonal and la (By David Lawrence) cause there is mutual distrust, both the East
by glittering governmental Because of a superficial acceptance of the and the West will continue testing under-
pledgss to relleve us of sometimes burden- emotional cry that world peace is a. step ground and will build bigger and deadlier
some responsibilities for self, family ano nearer by reason of the treaty limiting nu- missiles.
community, and bewitched by enticing offers
of unneeded subsidies, we need constantly
to rededicate ourselves to liberty, duty and
democracy-never forgetting self-respect."
Well said, Ike. External threats to per-
sonal liberty are comparatively easy to spot.
Internal threats are trickier, involving as
they do the erosion of character and subtle
abdication by default.
The Test Ban Treaty
EXTENSION OF REMARKS
HON. BRUCE ALGER
OF TEXAS
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Wednesday, August 14, 1963
Mr. ALGER. Mr. Speaker, the Ken-
nedy propaganda machine is in full op-
eration to force acceptance of the test
ban treaty by making it unpopular to
oppose it. There are those who say it
will be political suicide to be against
the treaty. Perhaps, but I am not con-
vinced the American people are so
easily taken in, even by the publicity
August 15
clear tests, Nikita Khrushchev and his Com-
munist government are getting applause in
many parts of the world, including this coun-
try. The dispatches from abroad give the im-
pression that some kind of major step has
been taken in the cause of humanity. Many
Americans also have been led to believe this,
since President Kennedy has called the treaty
a "victory for mankind."
But the real news is to be found in the
fragmentary disclosures of what goes on in-
side the totalitarian government in Moscow.
A United Press International dispatch last
Saturday night escaped general attention.
Is it because Communist censorship, too, is
accepted now as "normal"? The news item
didn't make many front pages. But it con-
tains the key to what's going on behind the
Iron Curtain and tells more about the dan-
ger of war than do the hackneyed phrases of
the treaty on nuclear testing. The dispatch
says:
"The Soviet Union took the first concrete
step toward a planned reform of informa-
tion media today by setting up a state com-
mittee for the press with a little-known
Communist official at its head.
"The plan to tighten control over Russian
newspapers and publishing houses has been
in the works for several months. It was for-
mally announced during the ideology con-
ference of the Soviet Communist Party Cen-
tral Committee in June.
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1963 CONGRESSIONAL RECORI) - APPENDIX
The next morning he was confronted by
his own newspaper's headlines labeling him
a "Fascist" and "Yankee imperialist." ac-
cording to Reader's Digest Editors James
Monahan and Kenneth O. Gilmore.
Rivero went to the Peruvian Embassy and
obtained asylum. That evening on televi-
sion he watched the final "burial" of the
Diario being conducted at the foot of a
monument on the campus of the University
of Havana.
The Prensa editors bravely published com-
plete details of the destruction of the Diaries
freedom and printed an editorial attacking
the "gravediggers."
Not unexpectedly, the Communist Revoiu-
cion responded with headlines screaming
the signal to faithful fellow travelers:
"Prensa Libre Going the Way of Diario de
la Marina."
And It did. A mob gathered. Goon squads
seized newsstands' supplies of papers. etc.
The mob, Including a few Prensa employees.
stormed through the plant and took over.
It was May 16, 1960, not even 17 months
after Castro was handed Cuba. And the free
press was dead.
EXTENSION OF REMARKS
or
HON. CHARLES E. CHAMBERLAIN
OF MICHIGAN
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Thursday, August 15, 1963
Mr. CHAMBERLAIN. Mr. Speaker,
with the question of agricultural legis-
lation still pending before this Congress,
I feel it is timely to call attention to a
thoughtful editorial which appeared on
August 4, 1963, in the State Journal of
Lansing, Mich. This editorial under-
scores the importance of the American
farmer to our economy and I commend
it to my colleagues:
DISTORTED FARM IMAGE
Using a Madison Avenue expression, Veril
Baldwin, founder of the 1,500-acre Baldwin
Farms enterprise near Stockbridge. says he
believes there is a great need for improving
the image of American agriculture.
Mr. Baldwin Insists there are many mis-
conceptions in the public's mind about the
role of the farmer in our Nation's economy.
Instead of the public's subsidizing agricul-
ture, for Instance, he contends that to many
instances the farmers are in fact subsidizing
the public.
Here is the reason for the reverse twist:
While the prices the farmer receives for his
products have remained quite constant the
past two decades, the prices he pays for
machinery, equipment. and other things to
keep his farm operating have doubled or
more. Mr.-Baldwin cites as an instance a
tractor, for which he paid $7,500 a decade
ago. Today it would cost $14,000, he says.
Statistics compiled by the U.B. Department
of Agriculture bear out these viewspoints.
Farming has become big business. It re-
quires a much larger investment than was
the case not so many years ago. The average
farm today involves an outlay of $42,000 for
land" buildings, and equipment. That's
seven times what it cost in 1940, But many
have more than $100,000 Invested. The aver-
age return on the farmer's investment is less
than 4 percent.
The trend is toward fewer and larger
farms. American farmers are using less than
half the manpower and 12 million fewer
acres than they did In 1920, but they are
now able to produce nearly twice as much
food and fiber for us and the rest of the
world. The average farm size Increased from
216 acres in 1980 to 302 acres In 1960.
As Mr. Baldwin points out, food is a better
buy today than ever before. The consuming
public spends a much smaller percentage
of its income for food. the quality of which
also has Improved.
Arthur Mauch, extension specialist In agri-
cultural economics at Michigan State Uni-
versity, says that Americans spend less for
food now In relation to our Income than in
all of our history and less than any other
country In the world. In 1947, our $46 bil-
lion food bill took 27 percent of our income.
while the $70 billion spent for this necessity
of life In 1959 took only 21 percent of our
income.
Mr. Mauch points out that the food bar-
gain Is even more striking when compared
with the income and food expenditures of
the American factory worker. The factory
worker now spends only 23 percent of his
earnings for food. Only in years ago the
percentage was 35: 20 years ago, 41: and 30
years ago, 48, or nearly half of his earnings.
Scientists in agriculture have directly im-
proved health and helped cure some of man's
oldest ailments. Nutritional diseases, such
as goiter, rickets, anemia, peilegra. beriberi,
scurvy, and night blindness, were common
a few decades ago but now are comparatively
rare.
There Is no denying that agriculture has a
good Image as a customer. Dealers In live-
stock feeds, fertilizers, Insecticides. automo-
biles, trucks, tractors, combines, and other
farm equipment appreciate the business they
receive from the farmers. American farmers
spent about $27 billion for all the seed, fer-
tilizer, and equipment It took to produce the
1961 crops. In addition, farm families spent
$15 billion for household appliances, homes,
medical care, education, vacations, and other
things that Americans enjoy.
Yes, agriculture plays a vital role in the
national economy. Its importance explains
to some extent why there has been so much
effort, some of it admittedly misguided, on
the part of Congress to support this in-
dustry. The Federal Government is now
spending about $7 billion a year in a quite
unsatisfactory program aimed at reducing
farm surpluses and rural poverty.
Out of the welter of criticisms aimed at
the agricultural aid program may come re-
visions that will offer at least partial solu-
tions for the farm dilemma.
Any step in that direction would be wel-
come and potentially beneficial to the farmer
and public alike. Particularly encouraging
would be constructive action to pare down
the mountains of surplus farm products and
the huge annual Government subsidies.
This would be progress and it would tend
to do what Mr. Baldwin suggests Is needed.
It would be one way of Improving the Image
of American agriculture.
independence of the Republic
of the Congo
EXTENSION OF REMARKS
Of
HON. ADAM C. POWELL
OF NEW YORK
IN THE HOUSE OF IZEPRESFNTATIVES
Thursday, August 15, 1963
Mr. POWELL. Mr. Speaker, on Aug-
ust 15, the Republic of the Congo cele-
brates the third anniversary of her in-
dependence, and we wish to take this
opportunity to send warm felicitations
A5227
to His Excellency, the President of the
Republic, Fulbert Youlou; and His Ex-
cellency, the Congolese Ambassador to
the United States, Emmanuel Dadet.
Three years ago the Republic of the
Congo-Brazzaville-not to be confused
with its sister republic across the river,
the former Belgian Congo-achieved in-
dependence from France after some 80
years of colonial rule. Its accession to
independence was far less turbulent than
that of the former Belgian Congo, with
the result that in general much less is
known about the country, Its people,
and its progress since independence.
The Congo has been said to be the
"least favored by nature" of the coun-
tries which formerly comprised French
Equatorial Africa, but If this is so, its
people have more than made up for any
natural barriers to progress by their
diligence and determination to build a
politically and econofhically viable re-
public. Its parliamentary government,
headed by its able President, Mr. Ful-
bert Youlou, has already gained a repu-
tation for stability and realistic plan-
ning. With Its neighbors-Chad, Gabon,
and the Central African Republic-it
shares a customs union and has agreed
upon procedures and organizations fbr
joint administration and development
of regional transportation, communi-
cations, fiscal matters, research, and
other services. The Congo Republic has
become one of the staunchest leaders of
movements for African unity, and its
capital city, Brazzaville, gave its name
to the moderate Brazzaville group of 12
French-speaking states. Its relations
with other countries on the African con-
tinent and with the world at large have
been marked by cooperation and clear-
sightedness.
It is true that nature could have been
more generous toward the Republic of
Congo. The chief livelihood of the peo-
ple is agriculture, and the inland Niari
Basin Is a fertile agricultural region.
But except for this area, the land is gen-
erally unfavorable. The swampy coast-
line fades into a sandy treeless plain cut
off from the fertile interior by a range of
forest-covered mountains. The north-
ernmost part of the country is dense rain
forest. The Congo has little mineral
wealth to be exploited, but in spite of
these obstacles the economy is expand-
ing.
Industry is growing, and output now
accounts for 11 percent of the country's
gross national product. Food process-
ing, lumber and woodworking, shipbuild-
ing, iron and metal works, soap and ciga-
rette manufacture, and the construction
industries are presently the most im-
portant. The Congo does have one im-
portant natural resource-its forest
wealth-which is still just being tapped.
Timber and timber products accounted
forover two-thirds of the Congo's export
earnings In 1962.
Although the terrain makes transpor-
tation and communications difficult, the
Congo has one of the best transportation
systems in Africa. The 320-mile Congo-
Ocean railroad links its two major cities,
the ocean port of Pointe-Noire and the
Capital and Congo River port of Braz-
yaville. This railroad runs through
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