THE PRESS AND THE BAY OF PIGS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP70B00338R000300180016-9
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 15, 2005
• Sequence Number: 16
• Publication Date: April 29, 1968
• Content Type: OPEN

April 29, 1 968Appror ggngSk)n0 @lj#,DG12 ,?PQq i 1"0180016-9
a number of preliminary steps are necessary,
such as: more adequate employment data;
manpower programs that offer basic educa-
tion and skills leading to jobs in the com-
petitive labor market; upgrading the ability
of public schools to teach the culturally
deprived; enforcement of up-to-date con-
struction codes for housing; and provision
of more public transportation to serve cen-
tral city areas.
Something Is Wrong
HON. JOE SKUBITZ
ing upkeep, $4.20, that comes to $1,076.04 a
year.
How in the world do you expect parents
to provide all these things, plus clothes, rec-
reation, books, medicine . for $600 a year?
With your own figures, you admit it can't
be done.
It is possible, Uncle, that you expect us
parents to manage more efficiently than you,
because we usually do. With all our expenses,
we American individuals have more than
enough savings to offset our debts, you don't.
With all urr``""prasperity, you, Uncle, are still
spendipf per year $2.9 billion more for relief
tha during the depths of the depression.
So may be that you are uncommonly ex-
tr agant.
ut however we try to rationalize and ex-
In you and excuse you, it is still a hurtful
off nt when you allow us hard-working,
duds-paying homefolks only $600 a year to
reaf;a legitimate child.. . . While you un-
der A.D.C. will pay more than $600 a year to
upkeep an illegitimate one!
NO WONDER WE'RE BROKE-
AND GETTING WORSE
Here is what you, the American taxpayers,
have authorized your. government to give or
"loan" to other nations, 1945 through 1966.
This was not to win the war (you had already
paid for that, too) but since the Second
World War's end.
And if you -think it might have been an
investment in the future, look down the list
and see how many dependable friends you
can find. Yet we are still giving away more
billions-billions we haven't got, billions we
have to borrow (and pay interest on) to give
away, billions we desperately need at home.
Here are your gifts. What has it all accom-
plished?
Albania $20,400,000
Austria 1, 198, 000, 000
Betgium-Luxembourg --- _ 2,004,900; 000
Czechoslovakia 193, 000, 000
Denmark ----------------- 920,500,000
East Germany ------------ 800, 000
Finland ------------------ 134,400,000
France ------------------- 9,409,600,000
Germany (Federal
Republic) 4, 997, 400, 000
Berlin ___________________ 131, 900, 000
Hungary 31, 500, 000
Iceland 84, 000, 000
Ireland 146, 500, 000
Italy -------------------- 6,092,900,000
Malta -------------------- 6,100,000
Netherlands -------------- 2, 470, 400, 000
Norway 1, 236, 000, 000
Poland ------------------ 554,500,000
Portugal 519, 100, 000
Spain -------------------- 2, 004, 300, 000
Sweden 109, 000, 000
United Kingdom ---------- 9, 044, 900, 000
U.S.S.R. ------------------ 186,400,000
Yugoslavia --------------- 2, 863, 900, 000
Europe regional _____=_____ 2, 735, 000, 000
Australia ----------------- 275,300,000
New Zealand ------------- 27, 700, 000
Trust Territories of the
Pacific Islands ---------- 125, 400, 000
British Solomon Islands ___ 400, 000
Tonga Island ------------- 300,000
Canada ------------------ $6,300,000
Vietnam ------ _---------- 4, 590, 100, 000
Burma ------------------- 100, 600, 000
Cambodia ____________341, 100, 341,100,000
China (Republic of) 4, 899, 500, 000
Hong Kong _______________ 41, 900, 000
Indochina, undistributed __ 1, 535, 200, 000
Indonesia ---------------- 834, 600, 000
Japan -------------------- 3,972,900,000
Korea -------------------- 6,676,700,000
Laos 473,400,000
Malaysia ----------------- 47,500,000
Philippines -z~5;400;000
Ryukyu Islands ----------- 340, 600, 000
Thailand ----------------- 1, 089200000
East Asia regional --------- 731:800:600
Afghanistan -------------- 346, 400, 000
OF KANSAS
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Monday, April 29, 1968
Mr. SKITBITZ. Mr. Speaker, I would
like to have inserted in the RECORD an
editorial from the Wellington, Kans.,
Daily News of April 15, entitled "Some-
thing Is Wrong," and a record published
by Warner & Swasey of Cleveland con-
cerning amounts our Government has
been authorized to give or "loan" to other
nations from 1945 through 1966. The
source of the figures in the second article
is the Agency for International Devel-
opment, and the article is entitled "No
Wonder We're Broke-And Getting
Worse."
I cannot vouch for the accuracy of all
the figures in the two articles. I know
some of them are. absolutely correct. But
both articles pertain to matters that
should make every Member of Congress
stop and ponder for a moment.
The articles follow:
[From the Wellington Daily News, Apr. 15
1968]
SOMETHING IS WRONG
(Author unknown)
Hey Uncle, How much does it cost to rear
a child?
You allow us taxpaying parents only $600 a
year to feed, clothe, house and train a young-
ster. In your Federal Government Job Corps
you spent seven thousand dollars a year!
Now, which is the correct, figure? Either
we're allowing you too much or you're not
allowing us enough.
You allow taxpaying parents a six hun-
dred dollar- deduction for the care and feed-
ing of each child-
Yet under the Cuban Refugee Program you
assume minimal upkeep requires $1200 a
year---and if the Cuban boy or girl is attend-
ing school-an extra $1000 a year.
How come you shortchange the homefolks?
In the austere environs of a federal prison,
you have discovered that it costs-to main-
tain one person, with no frills, no luxuries,
and no borrowing Dad's car-$2300 per year!
By what rule-of-thumb do you estimate
that Mom and Dad can do it for one-fourth
that amount?
Under Social Security, you will pay $168
a month to maintain the elderly. What makes
you think we can maintain our youngsters
on $50 a month?
And, Uncle, your Vista Program (Volun-
teers in Service to America) spent $3.1 mil-
lion this last fiscal year to turn out only 202
trainees. That indicates that the cost of main-
taining and training youth for one year is
more than $15,000.
How come we taxpaying parents get an
exemption of only $600 to maintain and train
one youth for one year?
Or let's see how much you spend upkeep-
ing one youngster in military uniform. House
$55.20 a month, Food $30.47 a month, cloth-
E 3469
$101,500,000
Cyprus ---------
19, 300, 000
Greece ___-___--
3, 749, 400, 000
India --------------------
6, 769, 200, 000
Iran ---------------------
1; 752, 000, 000
Iraq --------------------
102, 700, 000
Israel -----------------
1, 104, 500, 000
Jordan --------------- -_
572,800,000
Lebanon --------------- -
87, 900,
000
Nepal --------------------
97, 800,
000
Pakistan -----------------
3,079, 800,
000
Saudi Arabia -------------
209, 100,
000
Syrian Arab Republic____-
73,-800,
000
Turkey -------------------
it
d A
bli
U
b R
5,
039, 800,
000
n
epu
c
e
ra
(Egypt) ----------------
1,
133, 300,000
Yemen -------------------
t
T
t
C
41, 800, 000
en
ral
rea
y
Organization -----------
52, 800,
000
Near East and-South Asia
regional ----------------
1,
082, 300,
000
Argentina ----------------
758, 600,
000
Bolivia -------------------
460, 800,
000
Brazil --------------------
3,
185, 700,
000
British Honduras ----------
4,400,000
Chile _____________________
1,
242, 200,
000
Colombia -----------------
834, 800,
000
Costa Rica________________
149, 000,
000
Cuba --------------------
52,100,000
Dominican Republic ------
320, 100, 000
Ecuador __________________
279, 600, 000
El Salvador--------------
108, 100, 000
Guatemala ------------- -
209, 200, 000
Guyana ------------------
24, 400, 000
Haiti -----------------
108,800,000
Honduras ----------------
88, 500, 000
Jamaica __________________
44, 300, 000
Mexico ___________________
1, 068, 200, 000
Nicaragua _______________
133, 100, 000
Panama ------------------
173,000,000
Paraguay -----------------
106,200,000
Peru ____________________
678,900,000
Surinam -----------------
10, 100, 000
Trinidad and Tobago_____
52, 200, 000
Uruguay ------------------
119, 400, 000
Venezuela ________________
392,200,000
Other West Indies ---------
3,700,000
Regional -----------------
83,100,000
Latin America regional____
997, 600, 000
A}geria ------------------
179, 400, 000
Botswana ----------------
7,400,000
Burundi -----------------
6,700,000
Cameroon
27, 200, 000
Central African Republic__
3,500,000
Chad --------------------
5,500,000
Congo (Brazzaville) __-___
2, 200, 000
Congo (Kinshasa) --------
351, 000, 000
Dahomey
9,700,000
Ethopia ------------------
317,500,000
Gabon -------------------
5,800,000
Gambia ___-_________-__-
600, 000
Ghana ---------------------
174, 800, 000
Guinea _______------- _----
. 75,700,000
Ivory Coast __i,____________
- 28, 800, 000
Kenya ------ __-----------
' 57, 200,000
Lesotho -------------------
1,100,000
Liberia --------------------
241,600,000
Libya --------- -----------
220,000,000
Malagasy Republic --------
9,600,000
Malawi --------- ----------
11, 800, 000
Mali, Republic of ---------
18, 700, 000
Mauritania ______________
3,000,000
Morocco -------- ----------
584,100,000
Niger -----
10,600,000
Nigeria _________
190,300,000
Rwanda ------------------
5,500,000
Senegal _______----------
21, 500, 000
Sierra Leone --------------
32,500,000
Somali Republics ----------
52, 200, 000
South Africa, Republic of_-
150, 600, 000
Southern Rhoctsia ________
7,000,000
Sudan ----- ------------
108, 400, 000
Tanzania _______________
50,000,000
Togo ____-_______________
12,000,000
Tunisl,a'?__________________
487, 900, 000
,IJ'garlda _________________
21, 000, 000
Upper Volta --------------
6,800,000
Zambia ------------------
36, 100, 000
East Africa regional ------
18, 400, 000
Regional USAID/Africa
1,300,000
Approved For Release 2005/12/14: CIA-RDP70B00338R000300180016-9
 Appro l R A,O t ii ~Ai F sq, s0g?81M9*P18001:1 ri1 29, .1968
Africa regional ----------- $78,000,000
Nonregional total --------- 6,462, 800,000
Total, all countries-_ 122, 358, 500, 000
Source: Agency for International Develop-
ment.
As we said the last time we published such
a list-any sane American can write his own
editorial on this subject. Or obituary.
Endtheyof Pigs
HON. WILLIAM F. RYAN
or NEW YORK
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Monday, April 29, 1968
Mr. RYAN. Mr. Speaker, many Issues
surfaced in the aftermath of the Bay of
Pigs fiasco. One of the most important
and perplexing arguments concerns the
role the press played in the incident.
Jesse Gordon of the Nation has called to
my attention a series of responses to an
article entitled "The Press and the Bay
of Pigs," written by Mr. Gordon and
Victor Bernstein and appearing In the
fall 1967 issue of the Columbia Univer-
sity Forum. These letters discuss the re-
sponsibility of the press in general and in
relation to the Bay of Pigs.
I commend these letters from the
spring 1968 issue of the Columbia Uni-
versity Forum to the attention of my col-
leagues as a part of the historical record
relating to the Bay of Pigs:
iFrom the Columbia University Forum,
Spring, 1988]
THE PRES; AND THE BAY OF PIGS-II
As one of the opposition "consciences at
work" the night The New York Times watered
down Tad Szulc's story about the "immin-
ence" of the Bay of Pigs invasion and reduced
its play from the planned four-column head-
line leading the paper to a single-column
head in a less important position, I should
like to add a couple of footnotes to the article
by Victor Bernstein and Jesse Gordon.
The authors express the opinion that it
probably would have done no good for the
Times to have "told all" on April 7, 1961, ten
days before the invasion, saying that the
planning had reached the point of no re-
turn. That may well be, but It also may well
not be. Arthur Schlesinger Jr. in A Thousand
Days says, in a sentence immediately follow-
Ing one containing the phrase " early in
April." that "Had one senior adviser opposed
the adventure, I believe that Kennedy would
have cancelled it" (pages 258-0). The only
opposition, he says, came from Senator Ful-
bright and himself. Schlesinger also quotes
the President as having said, "You know, I've
reserved the right to stop this thing up to 24
hours before the landing" (page 256). It does
not seem Impossible that had the Times
printed the Szulc story as planned, the pres-
tigious exposure of what was supposed to be
a secret operation and the public outcry and
pressure that probably would have followed
might well have given Kennedy exactly the
excuse he needed to call the whole thing off.
The President is quoted as having said a
fortnight later to Turner Catledge, then
managing editor of the Times: "If you had
printed more about the operation, you
would have saved us from a colossal mis-
take." Messrs. Bernstein and Gorden dismiss
this as an attempt "to share his monopoly
of wrong decisions." But Schlesinger, too,
says, "In retrospect I have wondered whether,
if the press had behaved Irresponsibly, It
would not have spared the country a disas-
ter" (page 201). Schlesinger had no wrong
decisions to share..
That word "Irresponsibly" raises an addi-
tional point requiring clarification. I con-
tend that it would not by any means have
been Irresponsible to print the Szulc story
as written and to display it as originally
planned.
On the night of April 6 when Orvil E. Dry-
fooe, then publisher of -the Times, decided
after consultation with Catledge and James
Reston, to eliminate some material from the
Szulc story and to reduce Its play, Lewis Jor-
dan, the news editor, and I not only objected
but were distressed. It was the only instance
of any Importance that I could recall in
which a publisher of the Times had inter-
fered with a decision by the editors respon-
sible for the presentation and display of the
news. The next day Mr. Dryfoos, aware of
our distress, asked me to come to his office
so that he could explain his thinking. He
said the matter had been put to him on the
basis of the national Interest. His motives, of
course, were of the highest and he had acted
on that basis. I argued that there was a dis-
tinction between the national interest and
national security and that he had confused
the two. I pointed out, to underscore the ab-
sence of a national afturity consideration,
that not a single American life would have
been Imperiled by our original plan for pre-
senting the news.
When matters of national security arise In
a war situation or a near-war situation, there
Is not the slightest question about what
course the press should follow. Editors can-
not have the Information or specialized
knowledge that would allow them to dispute
an official determination that the country's
safety might be jeopardized. But matters of
national Interest are different. They may well
be political issues, and one man's opinion of
what is in the nation's interest may be as
good as another's. The distinction is much
like that between a doctor's hustling you off
to the hospital for an emergency appendec-
tomy and his suggestion that you cut down
on liquor.
In matters of national Interest the press
has not only a proper option but indeed a
bounden duty to speak up. The press must
keep in mind that even the President him-
self plays different roles on different oc-
casions: sometimes he is the constitutional
commander-in-chief, sometimes he is the
country's poltical leader. The organs of pub-
lic Information have to draw the line between
the national security and the national inter-
est and then act appropriately.
THBODOaS M. BERNS'rEYN,
Assistant Managing Editor, the New
York Times,
Victor Bernstein and Jesse Gordon write:
"In speculating on what effect a news story
might have on a President no longer able to
give evidence, hindsight provides no more
assurance of truth than foresight. Still, we
were guilty of making the first speculation
and Mr. Bernstein is assuredly entitled to his.
We continue to prefer our own line of rea-
soning. If Mr. Schlesinger scores for Mr.
Bernstein on pages 258-9, he scores for us on
page 261: 'But [the Presidents too began to
become a prisoner of events.' As if to round
out this thought, Mr. Schlesinger on page 242
quotes Allen D l1 as saying on March 11,
1981: norgetthat we have a disposal
problem. If we have to take these men out of
Guatemala, we will have to transfer them to
the United States, and we can't have them
wandering around the country telling every-
one what they've been doing."' And Mr.
Schlesinger comments.. 'Having created the
Brigade as an option, the j~7 ,,now presented
Its use against Cuba as a necessity. Nor did
Dulles' argument lack force (italics added),
"Tad Szule, Mr. Bernstein's newspaper col-
league and author of the played-down April
7 dispatch to the Times, put the matter even
more clearly in the book The Cuban Inva-
sion, which he co-authored with Karl Meyer:
'Once the original order to organize en army
had been issued, and once the army became
the best-known "secret" force in the world,
the avenue of strategic retreat was sealed off.
Like a djinn released from the bottle, the
CIA's creation soon seemed to develop a will
Urrts own' (page 100).
"Eisenhower's decision to have a Cuban
force trained in Guatemala was made on
March 17, 1980; American readers got the
first hint of what was going on from His-
panic American Report and The Nation In
November of that year; the force became a
'best-known "so ret"' after a story about the
Guatemalan base appeared in the Times of
January 10, 1961. The time for the press to
have tehaved 'irresponsibly'-Mr. Schlesin-
ger's word-was-not on April 7, 1961, ten days
before the invasion, but in the long months
between March of 1960 and January 10, 1961.
"Noce of the foregoing is meant to detract
in any way from the admiration due Messrs.
Bernstein and Jordan for the courageous
position they took at the Tunes and for the
validity of the arguments they advanced in
support. Mr, Bernstein's distinction between
the 'n?.tional security' and the `national in-
terest' seems pc,rtieularly apt, and it occurs
to us that this distinction, as It relates to the
role of the press, would make a worthwhile
agenda for an Arden House Assembly.
Where did Messrs. Bernstein and Gordon
do their researching? In the files of the news-
papers they condemned? Certainly "neither
reporter took the elementary step of inter-
viewing" one of their principal targets-Lem
Jones issociatess.
Had they done so they could have seen
the communiques and found there was never
any mention of a Russian submarine; that
nothing was ever released that referred to
capture of Castro's brother, or the Isle of
Pines; that nowhere was there the slightest
hint of a Cuban navy revolt.
Similarly, they would have learned that
even the noted historian, Arthur Sctlesinger
Jr.. can be wrong when he "wryly inidmates"
that the Cuban Revolutionary Council knew
nothing of our having been hired. Not only
had Dr. Jost Mir6 Cardona, Council Presi-
dent, hired us, but Council member, Dr.
Antonio Silio, former Judge of the- Cuban
Supreme Court, was left behind as authorized
spokesman for ':he Council in New York City
and approved every communlqu6 tefore it
was released. .
Our agreement with Dr. Mir6 was that once
a beachhead had been established. I per-
sonally would go in with the Provisional
Government as press liaison. .
That old Latin-American hand, Frank Mc-
Carthy, of the United Press International,
should have set The Nation boys straight
with his statement. Of course the Guatemala
training camp was old that by the time The
Nation caught -ip with it; there was recruit-
ing openly in New York City, as well as
Miami long before The Nation got wise.
LAMOYNE (Lew) A. JoNEs.
Assistant city editor and Albany bureau
chief -'or the N.Y. -Herald Tribune; speech
writer and press secretary for Thomas E.
Dewey_ press secretary to Wendell Willkie
in his 1940 Presidential campaign; special
consultant to 'he late Herbert H. Lehman,
then UNRRA Director; speech writer for
Jacob K. Javita in his first cempaigr for the
U.S. Senate; member of the National Press
Club, Washington, D.C., Overseas Prtss Club,
Public Relations Society Association, Silu-
rians,. and Necons.
Victor Bernstein and Jesse Gordon write:
"Mr. Jones flatters himself; he was not
one of our 'principal targets.' He wr.s guilty
of nothing but the relay of bits o:' fiction
manufactured by the CIA. He allege,; we ex-
aggerated the exaggera ons put our by his
office. Perhaps, in some instances, we did;
if so, we more than made up for it by mini-
Approved For Release 2005/12/14: CIA-RDP70B00338R000300180016-9
 April 29, 1968 Appre&#&Uglo"gL2WpM#Ij:-CI BZ Qg3ROi 0800180016-9 E 3471
mizing'others. He chides us for not having
read his communiques. We did. Bulletin No.
1, issued in the early hours of the day of
attack, said: 'Before dawn Cuban patriots in
the cities and in the hills began the battle
to liberate our homeland.' Bulletin No. 2
said: 'Our information from Cuba indicates
that much of the militia in the countryside
has already defected from Castro.' Bulletin
No. 5 said: 'In spite of the continuous at-
tacks by Soviet MIGs ... the Revolution-
ary Command has completed ... contact
with guerrilla groups in the Escambray
mountains.' Needless to say, Cuban patriots
in Cuba stayed home in rematkable num-
bers; Castro's militia didn't defect any more
than did the Navy; there is evidence that no
Soviet MIGs were on the scene; and if there
were guerrillas in the Escambray mountains,
they must have been playing pinochle, or
the Spanish equivalent. And aside from the
bulletins, it should be noted that Mr. Jones'
office was giving out information of like re-
liability to questioning newsmen, much of
It via telephone.
"On another point, perhaps Arthur
Schlesinger Jr. and Mr. Jones were both
right: Dr. Mirb may have known about the
hiring of Lem Jones Associates, but not the
rest of the Council-at least until after the
event.
"Was there really open recruiting for the
Invasion in New York and Miami before Nov.
19, 1960, the day of The Nation editorial?
If so, where were The N.Y. Times, Daily
News, Post, etc., etc.? We thank Mr. Jones
for this contribution (whether authentic or
not) to the case against our principal tar-
get: the American press. We regret that the
failure of the Bay of Pigs deprived him of
opportunity for a well-deserved promotion."
Thank you for sending me a copy of THE
FonuM containing the piece by Jesse Gordon
and Victor Bernstein.
I am glad to see that it is quite detailed,
and, so far as I can tell at this point, most
President is alleged to have made the re-
mark that if the Times had printed more
about the operation, "you would have saved
us from a colossal mistake." While I do not
question Mr. Catledge's veracity, and the
President may have said this to Mr. Catledge
as the meeting was breaking up, it did not
represent President Kennedy's private view
of the press handling of the Bay of Pigs.
It seems to me, however, that the more
important question resulting from the.Bay
of Pigs is not even discussed in the article.
That question is whether a democratic so-
ciety can in fact mount a covert operation
in advance of what it considers to be its na-
tional interest. The openness of our so-
ciety indicates that the answer to the ques-
tion is probably "no," but at a time in our
history when our adversaries are resorting
more and more to covert operations against
us, it seems to be a subject worthy of more
penetrating discussion.
I have always maintained that the con-
cept of the Bay of Pigs was a disaster from
the beginning, and that the premature dis-
closure of U.S. intentions by the press can-
not in any way be singled out as the reason
for the failure of the operation. At the same
time, however, the element of surprise was
withdrawn from the Cuban brigade in this
matter,- and as we say so dramatically this
year in the Israeli-Arab war, the element of
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIF.
I
On "The Press and the Bay of Pigs" . . .
threw my hat over the chandelier. It's
splendid.
We are approaching traffic developments.
There is little doubt that a bigger escala-
tion is in the offing, that Cambodia will be
the next victim, and it seems to me very
likely that Johnson, rather than give up his
power in 1968, will provoke China into coun-
terintervention, and the lemmings, other-
wise known as American citizens, will go
rushing over the cliff to mass suicide. 1 hope
I'm wrong.
Managing Editor, the New York Times.
I think it ["The Press and the Bay of
Pigs''] is a perceptive and important piece
of analysis, the kind of examination of the
role the U.S. press plays constantly as part
of the Establishment (when it should in-
stead serve as an independent check and
balance on the excesses of government)
which I wish we could have more of.
LEE LOCKWOOD,
WGBH.
BOSTON, MASS.
The major fact which has not been allowed
to escape to the American people is that
for at least twenty years the foreign policy
of the United States has been one of global
counter-revolution. The Bay of Pigs was a
detail. So is Vietnam. At critical moments,
when it is impossible to maintain the gen-
eral blur, silence and lies, as at the Bay of
Pigs, are called into play. .. .
This foreign policy is contrary to the best
interests of the American people as well as
to the people of the world; I really do not
expect the conventional press, that is to say,
most of the press, to behave differently, since
it is, after all, an institution of the system
out of which the counter-revolutionary pol-
icy flows.
JAMES HIGGINS,
Assistant Editor, York Gazette and Daily.
YORK, PA.
I have read "The Press and the Bay of
Pigs" with a great deal of interest and it
seems to me the article has two failures.
First, as I pointed out in a speech to the Na-
tional Press Group in September of 1966,
I was sitting between President Kennedy
and Mr. Catledge at the meeting where- the
This important legislation, as laudable
as it was, unfortunately created certain
unintended inequities. The closer July 1,
1968, approaches-the date that the act
of -October 3, 1965, becomes fully opera-
tive-the more obvious the shortcomings
are.
This legislation, as originally proposed
in Executive communications submitted
to the Congress by both President Ken-
nedy and by President Johnson, was
sound. The legislation as enacted into
law was deficient.
The Executive communications sug-
gested a 5-year phaseout of the national
origins system. Each country's quota was
to be reduced during this period by 20
percent annually and the quota numbers
freed by this annual deduction were
placed in a quota reserve pool which also .
contained unused quota numbers from
the previous year. The numbers from
the pool were to be available to otherwise
admissible aliens who were unable to
obtain prompt issuance of visas due to -
oversubscription of the quotas or sub-
quotas as determined by the Secretary
of State. After 5 years all quota,num-
bers would be allocated on a first-come,
first-served basis without regard to na-
tional origin. As a safety feature, the
original bills contained provision to au-
thorize the President to set aside certain
numbers which could be used to avoid
undue hardship resulting from the re-
duction of annual quotas. In fact, a
statement accompanying the Executive
communication said: -
Exceptions to the principle of allocating
visas on the basis of time-of-registration
within preference classes are provided to deal
with exceptional problems. Since some coun-
tries' quotas are now current, their nationals
have no old registration on file. To apply
the principle rigidly would result, after four
or five years, in curtailing immigration from
these countries almost entirely. This would
be undesirable, not only because it would
frustrate the aim of the bill that immigra-
Immigration Must Not Be Denied to Any tin from all countries should continue, but
f th countries that
n
o e
HON. PETER W. RODINO, JR.
y
also because ma
would be affected are our closest allies.
However, during the course of deliber-
atinns in the Judiciary Committee, the
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES of the national origins system in less
Monday, April 29, 1968 than 5 years would be desirable and
workable. It was also advocated that the
Mr. RODINO. Mr. Speaker, I have to- first-come, first-served system be insti-
day introduced legislation to insure a tuted immediately without any phaseout
continued flow of immigrants from all period.
countries to the United States. The aims On June 27, 1965, I introduced H.R.
of our immigration policy have been 9312, which provided for a 3-year phase-
frustrated by amendments to the Immi- out period. During each of the 3 years,
gration and Nationality Act which have one-third of the annual quota of each
not satisfactorily bridged the transition quota area would be put in a pool. This
from the discarded national origins sys- scheme, I felt then as I feel today, would
tem to the concepts set forth in the act have had the effect of causing countries
of October 3, 1965. with large quotas to realize and fully
I believe that U.S. immigration policy anticipate the day when they too would
is just and fair. It is a policy based on have to compete on a worldwide basis`for
the tenets of reuniting families giving visas. By reducing such quotas annually,
preference to those who will contribute priority dates could have been estab-
to our expanding society and offering lished which, on July 1, 1968, - would
asylum to refugees. This policy was im- have led to a more equitable, reasonable
plemented and given full effect when the and workable first-come, first-served ap-
act of October 3, 1965, became law. This proach.
act gave recognition to the dignity of - My major concern and principal ob-
the individual and repealed the national jective in considering the immigration
origins concept based upon place of birth legislation pending in 1965 was the Im-
as a system for selecting immigrants. mediate repeal of the national origins
Approved For Release 2005/12/14: CIA-RDP70B00338R000300180016-9
 E 3472 Approv&PPTF*&AgPttb5 kMh c-?D3j9 RQ aMl8OO1??~ril 29, 1968
systems. The system had been proven Section 2 would make available unused
to be unworkable and repeal was long numbers from fiscal 1968 for realloca-
overdue. The repeal was accomplished, tion, notwithstanding the per country
but not without some compromise in the limitation or overall ceiling to preference
area of the phaseout provisions. As we immigrants on oversubscribed preference
are all aware, a 3-year phaseout period lists.
was adopted and unused quota numbers Section 3 Is designed to prevent one
were put in an Immigration pool. How- foreign state from getting a dispropor-
ever, by compromise, no part of annual tionate share of third-preference visas
quotas was deducted with a consequence to the detriment of other states by pro-
that countries such aiS England and viding that no country will receive more
Ireland found it more facilitative to use
their great abundance of nonpreference
numbers and thus avoid a buildup of
priorities under the preferences. Thus,
for those countries there was, in effect
during the phaseout period, business as
usual under the national origins con-
cept. There was an additional impedi-
ment to immigration from some coun-
tries, such as Ireland, because of the
labor certification provision.
By guaranteeing that countries such
as Great Britain, Ireland, and Germany,
would not be disadvantaged by quota
deductions during the phaseout period,
the law only served to place these coun-
tries at a disadvantage in July 1968.
Therefore, I think the time has ar-
rived to take direct action and call a
spade a spade. We in the Congress are
concerned, as are people throughout the
country, about the drastic decline in im-
migration from Ireland and the prob-
able decline In immigration from Eng-
land, Germany, and Scandanavia. This
tragedy we cannot permit. I, therefore,
by my bill seek to continue the flow of
immigrants from Ireland and at the
same permit the Irish to create priori-
ties over the next 2 years so that they
can compete on a fair and equitable
basis with other intending immigrants.
I have refrained from adopting a com-
plicated, mechanical formula which
would disguise the true objectives of af-
fording the Irish an opportunity to emi-
grate to the United States, as well as
to decrease existing backlogs for visa
issuance.
Although I recognize the need for a
revised preference system and have In-
troduced legislation to amend that sys-
tem which would guarantee a more
reasonable breakdown In preferences and
a guarantee of visas to nonpreference
immigrants, I feel that at this time when
The Department of State estimates
that at the end of fiscal year 1968 there
will be approximately 70,000 visa num-
bers that will go unused. The American
Irish Immigration Committee has in-
dicated that there is a need for 5,000
numbers annually to meet the demands
if Immigration from Ireland. The author-
ization for the President to set aside in
reserve 25 percent of the available un-
used numbers will satisfy the needs for
Ireland as well as make numbers avail-
able to alleviate hardship from the Unit-
ed Kingdom, If such arises, Testimony
has also been developed that under pres-
ent circumstances the inequities in the
disproportionate number of immigrants
from some countries will level off in 2
or 3 years so long as intending immi-
grants proceed to register for immigra-
tion to the United States.
_I think that my bill will meet the needs
that exist today and overcome the dis-
crepancies that the present law has de-
veloped. There are other bills pending
before the Judiciary Committee which
seek to accomplish the same alms-some
increase the number of possible immi-
grants and others tend to reactivate the
principles of national origin. I sincerely
maintain that we cannot return even in
the faintest degree to the national origin
concept. My bill does not increase the
overall ceiling on immigration but mere-
ly authorizes use of those visas which
will go unissued.
Carl Sandburg, Poet Laureate, Becomes
Part of the Tradition of a New York
East Side School
we are fast approaching July i, we can HON. LEONARD FARBSTEIN
best avoid hardship by delegating to the or Naxv YOM
President authority to reserve up to 25 TW 'rsaa wnr,ae n_
fiscal 1968 for use over the next 2 fiscal Monday, April 29, 1968
years to make visas available to prospec- Mr. FARBSTEIN. Mr. Speaker, a con-
tive Immigrants who unfortunately be- stituent of mine in New York City, an
cause of recent amendments to the law elementary school on the East Side, re-
are denied visas. Time is of the essence ports to me an event which is laden with
and a direct approach is demanded to a story of national Interest that should
alleviate what may be complete curtail- inspire the public schools of our Nation
ment of immigration from Ireland. and show the way with standards to be
Therefore, to summarize the provisions followed, and I wish to place it on
of my bill: record.
Section 1 provides that the President The event was Immersed in so much
may reserve up to 25 percent of the un- good will because It happened in the
used numbers from fiscal year 1968 for midst of a series of holidays-the Lin-
use during fiscal years 1969 and 1970, if coln and Washington Birthdays, St.
he so proclaims, to avoid undue hardship Valentine's Day dedicated to mpthers,
resulting from the deduction in the num- and Brotherhood Week. The event itself
ber of Immigrants admitted from any was the dedication on February 14 of
country. the Carl Sandburg memorial plaque at
the Anna Silver School, P.S. 20, on the
East Side of New York City. This is a
document of immense good will which
should be disseminated widely.
Aaron Fish.nan, the dedications chair-
man, writes me:
This was the 5th anniversary celebration
of the new sct.ool rededicating the historic
old P.S. 20. The Carl Sandburg memorial
plaque was on this occasion unveiled in the
presence of Kate Rodina Steichen, Sand-
burg's niece who came down from Connecti-
cut to represent the family. Joining _ier were
Dr. I. Edwin C3oldwasser, the principal of
sixty years ago, Benjamin Felon, the present
principal and t:ae Hon. Charles H. Salver, an
alumnus and former president of the Board
of Edt.catlon.
The color guard presentation and the
pledge to the flag opened the program using
the school's traditional must: of the "Coro-
nation March" of Meyerbeet. The children
now also had a chance to he: r the music to
the pledge to the flag which alumnus Irving
Caesar had written and presented to the
Congress of the United Stater; as a g: ft from
ASCAP.
As an In Memoriam to Carl Sandburg, a
national laureate and famed biographer of
Abraham Lincoln principal Felon opened the
exercise by reciting a teacher to child mes-
sage immortalized in Sandburg's moving
poem 'I Love You":
"I love you for what you are,
But I love you yet more for what ;you are
going to be.
"I love you not to much for your realities as
for your ideals.
I pray for your desires that they may be
great,
Rather- than for your satisfactions, which
may be hazardously little.
"A satisfied flower is one whose petals are
about to fall-
The most beautiful rose is one hardy more
than a bud
Wherein the pangs and cesiacies of desire
are working for larger and. finer
growth.
"Not alrays shall you be what you are now.
You are going forward toward something
great.
I am on the way with you and therefore
I love you."
("One Thousand Beautiful Things,"
CCroiter Inc.)
A group of the children responded by recit-
ing together some of the Sandburg poems
written for children. The unveiling com-
mittee including a boy and a girl prcceeded
to the plaque set on an easel on the stage
and un?,elled it as a boy at the lectern re-
cited the text of the plaque: Tie restless and
venturing hummer spirit of youth mcy per-
form tomorrow with exploits today called
visionary and impossible. What the young
people want and dream across the next hun-
dred yccrs will shape history more than any
other motivation to be named. The walls
of this school mt7ht be saying. "Youth when
lighted and alive and given a sporting chance
is strong for strt;ggle and not afraid of any
toils or punishments or dangers or c.e?th."
As the boy recited this text, the glee club
hummed "America the Beautiful". Xt was
alumnus Harry Golden, the biographer and
neighbor of Carl Sandburg in North Cc.rolina
that obtained this statement for this school.
Dr. Mark Van Doren of Columbia univer-
sity, expert on Sandburg sent a message
which said, "The words of the plaque are
entirely characteristic of this poet whose
faith in the human race, and particularly
in the younger members of it, could never be
shaken. Carl Sandburg will long be rcmem-
Approved For Release 2005/12/14: CIA-RDP70BOO338ROO0300180016-9