BIENHOA INCIDENT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP67B00446R000300190016-2
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 12
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 27, 2003
• Sequence Number: 16
• Publication Date: May 26, 1965
• Content Type: OPEN

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May 26, 1965
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD -- HOUSE
fiumber of cost studies and reports and
believe, contrary to what the Defense
Department contends, that the facts
show such work can be done More eco-
nomically in the private than in the
Navy yards.
Beyond the question of economy is the
need from a defense standpoint to main-
tain the skills and facilities in both pri-
vate and public yards. The reason for
the dispute, in my opinion, is the low level
of new construction and modernization
activity in both the naval and merchant
vessel categories?a trend which results
in a continuing and progressive deteri-
oration of our strength on the ocean
vis-a-vis our principal protagonist,
Soviet Russia.
Ocean tonnage is and will continue to
be vital to our national defense for a
long time to come. There is enough
work that needs ,to be done to keep all
of ous yards?naval and private?busy.
If this is done an arbitrary split becomes
unnecessary.
I am told that the Navy's plans and
projections for fiscal 1.966 are such that
the dollar volume of work allocated to
private yards will be approximately the
same during 1966. I certainly hope so
and shall watch with Interest. I hope
that at least the equivalent volume can
be placed on competitive private bids in
1966 and subsequent years. If not, the
private shipyards in Oregon and their
employees will be out of business and out
of work.
GENERAL LEAVE To =TEND
Mr. RIVERS of South Carolina. Mr.
Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that
all Members have 5 legislative days to
extend their remarks on this bill.
The SPEA.K.ER. Without objection, it
is so ordered.
There was no objection.
The SPEAKER, The question is on
the conference report,
The conference report was agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the
table.
V ENHOA INCIDENT
(Mr. RIVERS of.South Carolina asked
and was given permission to address the
House for 5 minutes.)
Mr vavgRs of South Carolina. Mr.
Speaker, I should like to make the fol-
lowing statement in keeping with the
promise of the Committee on Armed
Services.
Mr. Speaker, today the House Armed
Services CoMmittee received a secret
briefing by Lieutenant General Martin,
the Inspector General of the Air Force
who headed UP a team of experts to in-
vestigate the incident in Vietnam which
I discussed here on May 18, 1965.
I wish to take this opportunity to re-
port to all Members of tbis body that the
committee was impressed with the thor-
oughness_ of, the investigation which is
being condUcted by a team of experienced
,. and highly qualified personnel.
It was apparent from the briefing
which we received that they were leaving
no stone unturned in their efforts to de-
termine the cause of this most unfor-
tunate incident.
However, as of this moment, final
determinations have not been arrived at
and the investigation is being continued.
Extensive safety surveys are underway
at all of the bases in Vietnam, concen-
trating on the handling and loading of
munitions, to insure that maximum
practicable safety precautions are
observed.
There were 27 U.S. Air Force person-
nel killed and 76 injured, 20 U.S. Army
personnel injured, and 1 Vietnamese
killed; 12 U.S. aircraft were destroyed
and 6 damaged. Two aircraft of the
Vietnamese Air Force were destroyed, 30
damaged.
There was no evidence which would
indicate an overt attack initiated the ac-
cident sequence.
There was no evidence that sabotage
played a part in this incident. How-
ever, it has not been completely ruled
out.
The security of the base was and is
considered satisfactory.
There was no evidence to indicate that
poor maintenance was responsible for
the accident.
An engine starter may have caused an
accident of this type and is still under
suspect.
The delay fuses installed in some of
the bombs when the accident occurred
may also have caused the accident and
remains in the suspect area. A special
laboratory type analysis of these fuses
is currently underway. In the mean-
time, the use of such fuses has been sus-
pended.
Under the circumstances, I wish to
again reiterate that this is no time for
speculation'or for any discussion of mil-
itary matters which could give aid and
comfort to our enemy and possibly harm
to our military people who are fighting
and dying for us in Vietnam.
Mr. MAHON. Mr. Chairman, will the
gentleman yield?
Mr. RIVERS of South Carolina. I
yield to the gentleman from Texas.
Mr. MAHON. Mr. Speaker, I just
wanted to concur in the remarks of the
gentleman from South Carolina [Mr.
RivERs] in regard to this investigation.
The Defense Subcommittee of the Com-
mittee on Appropriations has listened to
a presentation of this matter and I feel
that the statement which has been made
by the gentleman from South Carolina,
the chairman of the Committee on
Armed Services, is a very fair and im-
portant statement.
THE RIGHT REVEREND WILLIAM F.
CREIGHTON, EPISCOPAL BISHOP
OF THE WASHINGTON DIOCESE
(Mr. REUSS asked and was given per-
mission to address the House for 1 min-
ute.)
Mr. REUSS. Mr. Speaker, as an Epis-
copalian I rise to defend the Right Rev-
erend William F. Creighton, Episcopal
Bishop of the Washington diocese,
against what was said about him and his
May 17 speech last week by two of my
distinguished colleagues, the gentleman
from New York [Mr. GoODELL] and the
gentleman from South Carolina [Mr.
RIVERS], who are both also of the Epis-
copal faith.
11259
In that speech, Bishop Creighton. ex-
pressed his opposition to the current rule
in the District of Columbia which denies
children of an unemployed father the
benefits of Federal aid to dependent chil-
dren payments, although children simi-
larly situated are eligible for such pay-
ments in every one of the 50 States of the
Union. In making his point, the bishop
had something to say about a Member of
the other body?some reference or other
to bleeding hearts and little children.
For this, the bishop was berated for
expressing "personal venom," and for
departing from the standard of "those
who speak from a position in society
which clothes them with a high degree
of immunity." The bishop was told that
"he should keep his nose out of it."
At the risk of sounding like just an-
other organization man, I am for the
bishop. I am very proud that he does
concern himself with social issues like the
care of the children of the unemployed,
and that he and his Suffragan Bishop,
Paul Moore, Jr., have identified them-
selves with the forces in this commu-
nity?Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish?
who are concerned with bringing about
better treatment for children who are
condemned to poverty through no fault
of their own.
Perhaps the bishop's figure of speech
was not the most felicitous he could have
chosen. But I would point out that when
I last looked at the Constitution it was
Members of Congress who are given legal
immunity for what they say in debate,
not bishops.
As far as I am concerned, Bishop
Creighton is a gentle and saintly man.
We should be glad to hear from him.
BETTER HOUSING FOR MIGRANT
WORKERS
(Mr. TODD asked and was given per-
mission to address the House for 1 min-
ute.)
Mr. TODD. Mr: Speaker, one of the
pressing needs of our migrant farm-
workers, upon whom the farmers of
many of our States depend to harvest
their seasonal crops, is better housing.
These workers have low incomes, move
from locality to locality with the matur-
ing crops, and must depend upon the
local housing supplied them in the areas
In which they are temporarily employed.
In many States, and particularly in
my own State of Michigan, the season
is short?lasting at the most 6 to 10
weeks?and the independent farmers
themselves are in no financial position
to construct housing for labor for their
own particular crop. For example, one
grower may harvest strawberries,
another cherries, another blueberries,
another pickles, and another apples. To
assist in building housing to meet the
need of such an agricultural district,
Government help is required. Without
it, the consequence is inevitable: The
farms will become corporate instead of
family, and encompass enough land and
enough different crops to make it eco-
nomically feasible to the corporation to
construct such housing.
I believe better housing is urgently
needed for our migrant workers. But I
also believe the family farm should not
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11260 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD ? HOUSE May 26, 1965
be replaced with the corporate farm in
order to provide it. This is why we
must have Government assistance.
Enabling legislation to provide this
assistance was passed last year, and the
appropriation before us, I am happy to
say, does include a $2 million provision
to further the housing grant program
which had previously been authorized.
This program is to be run through State
and local governments and nonprofit or-
ganizations by the Farmers Home
Administration.
I do want to note, however, that the
Department's original request was for $5
million. I had hoped that this request
would have been granted in full by the
committee, in view of the obvious need
both to the workers and to the family
farms employing them.
I make these remarks today in the
hope that when funds for this program
are next considered the appropriation
will be better balanced with the need.
VICE PRESIDENT SALUfIiS
CHAIRMAN PATMAN
(Mr. ANNUNZIO asked and was given
permission to address the House for 1
minute and to include a speech delivered
by Hon. WRIGHT PATMAN.)
Mr. ANNUNZIO. Mr. Speaker, it
would be impossible to celebrate National
Small Business Week without honoring
one of our colleagues who I personally
feel has done more for small business
than any other man in this country. I,
of course, refer to the distinguished
chairman of the Banking and Currency
Committee, the Honorable WRIGHT
PATMAN, of Texas.
Let me assure you that my view of
the gentleman from Texas' (Mr. PATMAN]
small business achievements is shared by
the administration. I think this can be
best illustrated by a greeting extended
from the Vice President of the United
States, the Honorable HUBERT H. HUM-
PHREY, to Chairman PATMAN when the
two met yesterday at the Small Business
Administration's Small Business Subcon-
tracting Conference here in Washington.
I would like to quote the Vice President's
greeting:
And here's WRIGHT PATMAN, the man who
has done more for small business than any
other person in. America.
In my short tenure as a member of
the Banking and Currency Committee,
I have come to wholeheartedly concur in
the expression of the Vice President.
Once again, Mr. Speaker, WRIGHT
PATMAN is standing up for small business
by speaking out against those who would
exempt bank mergers from antitrust
laws. Of course, we all know that anti-
trust laws enable the small businessman
to compete effectively against large busi-
ness. Without such laws, small business
could not survive.
I am inserting in the RECORD a copy
of Chairman PATMAN'S speech given yes-
terday to the Small Business Subcon-
tracting Conference in which he speaks
out against exempting bank mergers
from antitrust laws. I commend this
address to my colleagues:
STATEMENT BY CHAIRMAN Wanurr PATMAN,
DEMOCRAT, or TEXAS, AT THE SBA SMALL
Busiavass Snaccarraacrisra CONFERENCE,
WASHTNGTON HILTON HOTEL, MAY 25, 1965
I am very glad to be here to participate
in the SBA Small Business Subcontracting
Conference. In my opinion, the 1961 amend-
ment to the Small Business Act providing
small business set asides in large Government
contracts was a new lease on life to small
business. I had the privilege of serving as
chairman of the House Select Committee on
Small Business as well as on the Banking
and Currency Committee to which, of course,
is referred small business legislation, so I
fully realize the importance of small busi-
ness subcontracts. I am hopeful that small
business will enjoy an ever-growing share
of Government business.
At the same time, however, small business-
men, as well as everyone else interested in
small business problems, must be aware of
all other developments that bear upon com-
petition and free enterprise, not just small
business alone. My own efforts involve two
basic needs of free enterprise: (1) an ade-
quate supply of business credit at reason-
able rates of interest; (2) strong antimonop-
oly laws and vigorous but fair enforcement of
Such laws.
While I suppose that my views on mone-
tary reform are no secret, I would like to
share with you my concern over current
moves to weaken the antimonopoly laws.
Monopolies have been like a plague upon
mankind throughout our history. Un-
checked, they inevitably lead to a police
state as individual initiative and freedom
of choice fall by the wayside. Also, com-
petitive free enterprise will disappear. The
only excuse for permitting a monopoly to
exist 18 where competitive free enterprise
would be simply unworkable; the local tele-
phone company, power company, or gas corn-
piny are obvious examples. Such industries
are frequently exempted from the anti-
monopoly laws as regulated public utili-
ties. Their franchise, territory, quality, and
quantity of service and even their charges
and profits are subject to constant Govern-
ment regulation because they are public
service utilities. Since there is no element
of free competition to spur on such a mo-
nopoly to meet public needs. Government
must see that these needs are met.
Now the banking industry is definitely not
a regulated industry. I am happy to report
that at present there is a great spirit of
competitive - free enterprise among our
banks in most communities, although I am
disturbed by the fact that we have today
exactly one-half the number of banks we
had some 30-odd years ago. Banking IS not
a regulated industry; banking , is a super-
vised industry. The States and the Federal
Government share in the chartering of new
banks, examination of their loen portfolios;
establish merging and branching rules; and
supervise banking matters in general, par-
ticularly with respect to liquidity and sol-
vency. But banks do not enjoy territorial
monopolies like public utilities do, although
some would like that, I am sure. They do,
however, enjoy a franchise to create money
on a 10-t0-1 ratio-410 in loans for every $1
in reserves?and this is certainly a tremen-
dous responsibility as well as a privilege.
And in this sense banks are truly public
utilities. But bankers are not told how
much interest they can charge on loans.
And bankers are not told what is the maxi-
mum wont they can earn. So, although
banks enjoy a monopoly, a_ precious fran-
chise to create money both for the Govern-
ment as well as for the people of the United
States, banking is still a free enterprise in-
dustry. I would like to see it stay that way,
and I am sure that most people will agree.
This is why I am disturbed by the flurry of
activity on the part of big eastern banking
Interests and their Washington lobby to ex-
empt banking from Justice Department ad-
ministration of our antimonopoly laws.
Banks are already exempt from regulation by
the Federal Trade Commission and by the
Securities and Exchange Commission. And,
as I stated a moment ago, banking is a
competitive industry, and not a regulated
monopolistic industry. I cannot believe that
those who at this very moment are lobbying
frantically for this antimonopoly exemption
really want banking to be regulated like a
public utility. Do these people want fixed
prices and fixed profits for banking? Does
freedom from vigorous but fair antimonopoly
enforcement mean that much to these
people? I, for one, would prefer to preserve
free enterprise in banking.
I do not believe that the proponents of this
legislation have really thought this thing
through. Such a drastic exemption from the
antitrust laws can only be justified for a
fully regulated industry. I certainly oppose
this for banking, and I am truly surprised
that certain banking interests are pursuing
this course. Such a move opens the door
for further erosion of our free enterprise sys-
tem. Now this is not to say that I would
close the door to all consideration of im-
provements of our antimonopoly administra-
tion. We must always strive for moderniza-
tion and efficiency with minimum disturb-
ance to business, while always recognizing
that the broad public interest must be
served first. As a matter of fact, I would
certainly expect the House Banking and Cur-
rency Committee, of which I am chairman, to
look into during the 89th Congress the gen-
eral question of competition in the banking
industry. Not only should we examine
merger policy, but also branching, new bank
charters, chain banking, interlocking di-
rectorates, and possibly other questions.
Our committee has a full schedule at
present and these are not matters that you
should rush into. Fundamental changes in
public policy must be subjected to the utmost
scrutiny and careful consideration. We have
no emergency in the banking industry, al-
though not everything is, of course, as it
should be.
Superconcentra,tion in banking can only
hurt the small business which depends upon
bank credit to survive. Recently I was in-
formed of a case out west involving a long-
established plumbing contractor who lost his
line of credit when a holding company took
over the local bank. This is not just an
isolated case. I assure you.
So, I think all businessmen?whether a
banker or a nonbanker, big business or small
business?must be informed on serious
matters such as this so that through extreme
haste drastic changes are not wrought in our
free enterprise system for which we all may
be sorry.
ANTIDUMPING ACT AMENDMENT
(Mr. HERLONG asked and was given
permission to extend his remarks at this
point.)
Mr. HERLONG. Mr. Speaker, tomor-
row marks the 44th anniversary of the
enactment into law of the U.S. Anti-
dumping Act of 1921. It provides a sig-
nificant time for me and many of my
colleagues to salute the fair and equita-
ble concept of a law designed to deal with
the problem of unfair competition from
dumped imports without resorting to the
use of tariffs or quotas.
In keeping with the moderate tenor of
the original act, I have the privilege
today of introducing an amendment to
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May 26, 1965
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD?SENATE 187
years, whereas the savings to the Gov-
ernment alone would amount to approxi-
mately $200 million a year.
Mr. PROXMIRE. Mr. President, will
the Senator yield on tat point?
Mr. DOUGLAS. I am glad to yield.
Mr. PROXMIRE. The figures which
the distinguished Senator from ,Illinois
has stated are extremely impressive. I
wish to Make sure that I understand
how much additional was paid in income
taxes.
Mr. DOUGLAS. We make an esti-
mate that those who were employed and
were previously unemployed received,
approximately $80 a week, which is ap-
proximately $26 below the average for
manufacturing, or $4,000 a year, and
of that amount $2,800 would be nontax-
able; $1,200 would be taxable. With a
payment of about 16 percent tax rate,
$200 in Federal income tax would be
Paid per person, not received by the Fed-
eral Government previously, and that
would amount $23 million a year for the
116,000 persons.
Mr. PROXMIRE. So the amount
paid in personal income taxes of $23
million, added to the savings in un-
employment compensation of $144 mil-
lion, added to the savings in relief
costs
Mr. DOUGLAS. Of $8 million.
Mr. PROXMIRE. Of $8 million,
totals close to $200 million a year.
Mr. DOUGLAS. Included in that
should also be the fact that corporations
and employers would be doing business
there, and therefore the profits which
they might make would be subject to
taxation. We estimate that that would.
be about $30 million a year. Then
there would be State and local taxes,
which we have not included.
Mr. PROXMIRE. I point out to the
distinguished Senator from Illinois that
the costs which he was talking about
are very largely interest repayable loans.
Mr. DOUGLAS. That is correct.
Mr. PROX1VIIRE. They were not
grants, but primarily loans.
Mr. DOUGLAS. That is correct.
Mr. PROXMIRE. These were loans
repayable with interest. What is the
record of ,ARA firms in paying back
such loans?
Mr, DOUGLA. I shall supply that
for the RECORD. The losses in the first
year were appreciably more than they
would have been for bank loans, but the
record has steadily improved.
Mr. PROXMIRE. The Secretary of
Commerce testified before the Commit-
tee on Banking and Currency that the
record of repayment on loans was most
Impressive, especially considering the
circumstances under which the loans
were made, and that he felt, as the Sena-
tor from Illinois has said, that the rec-
ord is improving.
Mr. DIOLAS. . That is correct.
Mr. PO MI. The figures which
the Senator from Illinois has placed in
the RECORD are eloquent testimony to the
fact that this is an excellent investment.
It is an investment that is paying for
Itself over a period of years, and paying
for itself rapidly, first, because, as the
Senator has pointed out, more taxes are
paid; second, because relief and unem-
ployment compensation is less; third, be-
cause the loans that are made are very
largely being repaid with interest, and
are being repaid promptly. That is the
kind of information that has not been
brought out previously as to the effects
of the ARA program.
Mr. DOUGLAS. The Senator is cor-
rect. Now I should like to supply the
figures as to the delinquencies as of
March 31, 1965. At that time, the loans
disbursed amounted to $96,500,000.
Loans foreclosed amounted to $808,000.
Mr. PROXMIRE. $808,000 as com-
pared with $96 million?less than 1 per-
cent.
Mr. DOUGLAS. Yes. Loans in fore-
closure amounted to $1,550,000, or total
foreclosures of $3,358,000?approximate-
ly 21/2 percent.
In addition, $9 million in loans were
delinquent, although only a small part
of this amount will result in losses. I
think one can safely estimate that the
vast majority of the loans, amounting
to close to $100 million, will be paid
back, I do not believe that the losses
will be appreciable for this type of pro-
gram.
So on the basis of grants of $93 million
and losses of not more than $10 mil-
lion on loans, the total cost to the Gov-
ernment would not greatly exceed $100
million, and the revenues of the Govern-
ment should be improved by at least $200
million a year.
Mr. PROXMIRE. So the return is 2
to 1.
Mr. DOUGLAS. Not only is the return
2 to 1; the gains are annual gains. The
losses are total losses for the 4-year
period.
Mr. PROXMIRE. So the ratio is 2 to
1 a year.
Mr. DOUGLAS. That is correct. The
gains are really much more than the
amount of money expended. The
amount of money does not take into ac-
count the human part of the program,
namely, the restoration of self-respect,
the aid to the local communities in pre-
venting them from dying, and the greater
utilization of such structures as churches
and schools and of telephone services,
utility services, and the rest.
Mr. PROXMIRE. This is the most im-
pressive feature of all. The very fact
that additional people will pay taxes and
there will be additional economic devel-
opment is most encouraging for the
country as a whole. These are the areas
that are dying, that are extremely sick.
These are the areas where the future is
almost hopeless.
In addition to the statistical assistance
that we can see, there is a very real,
human opportunity for people to live in
communities they know and love, com-
munities where they are acceptable and
have had their family ties; perhaps
where their families have lived for gen-
erations. This is the kind of human
assistance that cannot be measured in
statistical terms, but is, nevertheless,
immensely important.
When that is added to the monetary
return to the Federal Government in a
ratio of 2 to 1 a yea, the record the ARA
has developed is remarkable.
Mr. DOUGLAS. I think it justifies the
existence of the program. I have be-
come a little fed up with the rather
captious criticisms that have been made
of it. It has been a marvelous human
investment and a paying economic in-
vestment.
Mr. PROXMIRE. On that very score,
is it not true that the arguments that
have been made that this is merely bor-
rowing employment from some other
area of the country has little validity
in the economy in which we are oper-
ating?
Most areas of the country are close to
full employment. In the Wisconsin
area, the heavily populated southeastern
part has virtually no real unemploy-
ment. On the other hand, in the north-
ern part of the State there is heavy un-
employment. The fact that additional
jobs can be provided without endanger-
ing in a significant way other parts of
the country means that this program
provides an overall gain in employment.
It is not a question of borrowing jobs
from one area against another as a mat-
ter of unfair or subsidized competition.
Mr. DOUGLAS. The Senator from
Wisconsin is correct.
Mr. PROXMIRE. Mr. President, be-
fore the Senator from Illinois yields the
floor, I should like to ask him one or
two further questions, because he is the
author of the bill.
Is it not true that this is a conserva-
tive refinement of the ARA and of the
accelerated public works program in a
real sense? -
Mr. DOUGLAS. That is true. The
standards are much stricter than they
were in the original accelerated public
works program.
Mr. PROXMIRE. It is my under-
standing that fewer counties would prob-
ably be able to qualify under the rural
criteria. The other criteria were more
lenient. Under this stricter, more con-
servative bill, which requires counties to
have an income of less than 40 percent
of the national average, fewer counties
throughout the country?and I am posi-
tive fewer counties in Wisconsin?would
be able to qualify.
Mr. DOUGLAS. To qualify, they
would have to be areas of need.
Mr. PROXMIRE. Is it not true that
grants must be tied to specific develop-
ments?
Mr. DOUGLAS. Yes; grants would be
made on much stricter terms than under
the accelerated public works program.
Mr. PROXMIRE. Accelerated public
works were made for a much broader
range of purposes. ARA also made
grants up to 100 percent. This bill
would make grants only up to 80 percent.
The accelerated public works program
provided $450 million a year for 2 years
and ARA about $75 million over 4 years,
or $19 million a year, for a total of
about $470 million if the two were com-
bined. This bill provides $400 million
for public facility grants which is less.
Mr. DOUGLAS. That is correct.
Mr. PROXMIRE. Furthermore, ARA
loans authorized by Public Law 87-27?
the Area Redevelopment Act?were
about $300 million. While loans under
this bill would be $170 million annually,
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD -- SENATE May 26, 1965
they would be interest bearing and fully
repayable.
Also, there is a change?the interest
rebate factor?which involves over-
whelmingly private enterpiSe money.
This provision provides for a modest $5
million a year investment by the Fed-
eral Government, but it will encourage
$250 million of investment funds, and
they would be private enterprise funds.
Mr. DOUGLAS. Yes; a 2-percent in-
terest subsidy would make possible the
unlocking of $250 million a year in capi-
tal investment. On a 10-year basis, that
would be a total investment of $2.5
billion.
Mr. PROXMIRE. The Senator from
Illinois has performed an outstanding
service in this field for many years. He
has had to fight his way up the hill many
times to have this program enacted.
First, what I like about the bill is that
it is national in scope as compared with
the Appalachia bill, which was confined
to a limited area.
In the second place, it stresses private
enterprise and private development. It
does not provide for a gigantic federally
controlled and directed public works pro-
gram.
Mr. DOUGLAS. The Senator is cor-
rect.
Mr. PROXMIRE. I believe that the
overwhelming involvement, the public
decisions are made at the local level,
the judgment and discipline of the
marketplace at the local level, is at work
here.
Mr. DOUGLAS. The Senator is cor-
rect.
Mr. PROXMIRE. Basic investment
decisions will be left up to the private
sector of our economy.
Mr. DOUGLAS. Primarily so. How-
ever, of course, there are grants for in-
frastructure or development facilities.
Mr. PROXMIRE. But the whole pur-
pose of the grants is to create a climate
which would be otherwise unattractive
to private enterprise, attractive to pri-
vate enterprise.
Mr. DOUGLAS. The purpose is to
have the initiative and incentive and the
planning come up from the bottom, from
the local communities.
Mr. PROXIVIIRE. The opposition on
the part of conservative people on the
ground that this would interfere with
private enterprise and would be some
Government activity misses the point.
The new jobs would be created by indi-
vidual American enterprise?much of it
corporate enterprise?and would be sub-
ject to all the disciplines and all the
energizing and initiative factors involved
in private individual enterprise.
Mr. DOUGLAS. I ask the Senator
from Wisconsin, who has been one of
the most valuable committee members
and one of those who helped the most in
forming the bill, if some of our best wit-
nesses were bankers.
Mr. PROXMIRE. Yes. In fact, the
Secretary of Commerce, who is one of the
best known and one of the most highly
successful businessmen in the national
business community, has had a chance
to study the measure carefully and has
given it his unqualified support and en-
dorsement.
Mr. GRUENING. Mr. President, I
want to say briefly that I am very happy
that S. 1648 is nearing passage in the
Senate. It is a very important bill.
A great deal of credit is due to a num-
ber of my colleagues, whom I highly
commend. Among others there are the
senior Senator from Illinois [Mr. DOUG-
LAS], the senior Senator from Michigan,
the chairman of the Committee on Pub-
lic Works [Mr. McNAmArtAl, and very
particularly, the senior Senator from
West Virginia [Mr. RANDOLPH], who has
never ceased to work for and urge this
kind of legislation, from which useful
projects will put people to work not
merely at the site of the project but also
In the factory, in transportation, and on
the arteries in between.
I am very happy to have been one of
the numerous cosponsors of this project,
as was my colleague, the senior Senator
from Alaska [Mr. BARTLETT]. I point
out that for a good many years I have
urged the resumption of accelerated pub-
lic works. I have previously introduced
amendments and bills to bring this about.
This is a bill in a somewhat modified
form which would not go quite as far as
I should like to have it go, in view of the
fact that our experience has shown that
when the accelerated public works proj-
ect was before us, the funds originally
appropriated and authorized for this pur-
pose, some $880 million, quickly vanished
for worthwhile expenditures, and at the
time and subsequent to the expiration
of those appropriations, some $100
million of worthwhile projects, fully
matched and ready to go, had to be
abandoned. Many of those projects will
be resumed now.
I believe that it is particularly grati-
fying, however, that the bill in its original
form has now been amended. The
original version of the bill did have an
appropiration of $250 million annually.
That amount has now been increased to
$400 million.
I should say that I consider these sums
to be not expenditures but investments in
the finest sense of the word. Their use
would create worthwhile needed projects,
and would put people to work.
Much as I applauded the President's
war on poverty, I felt then and feel now
that it was not sufficiently implemented
to do the job of putting the people to
work and putting them to work now.
Much of the war on poverty has not been
a long-range project, then and now,
particularly in view of the fact that we
are at the height of a prosperity never
before equaled in the history of our Na-
tion and that we have continuous un-
employment.
I also applaud the fact that the origi-
nal version of the bill has been changed
to include Alaska and Hawaii, which, in
the original draft, were omitted because
of the fact that they were not areas
which were contiguous to the States.
That has been changed by amendment.
I was glad to listen to the words of
the Senator from Wisconsin [Mr. PROX-
MIRE], who has supported this legisla-
tion very ably and effectively.
I believe that this is an important step.
I believe that this session of Congress
will be noted for its fine and rapid
achievements. We have passed hills
that will be of tremendous value. There
are still many more such measures
ahead.
I am, confident that this Congress will
go down as one of the most productive
Congresses ln history and that the
moves that h ve been taken are largely
and almlt3ioily in the public interest.
L.B.J. VIETNAM POLICY UNANI-
MOUSLY SUPPORTED BY ON-THE-
SPOT EXPERTS
Mr. PROXMIRE. Mr. President,
there are few more expert among the
journalistic fraternity than Thomas B.
Ross, correspondent of the Chicago Sim-
Times.
Mr. Ross has covered the State De-
partment and been a specialist for the
State Department in foreign affairs.
Mr. Ross was sent recently by the Chi-
cago Sun-Times to Vietnam. He has
been there since May 1. On last Sun-
day, May 23, he filed what to me was a
very interesting report on Vietnam.
I should like to quote from it briefly.
Mr. Ross considers the reaction in Viet-
nam to our building up of troops and
forces and launching air strikes in Viet-
nam, and states:
Nevertheless, in the virtually unanimous
view of officials and observers here, thcre
was no acceptable alternative to the major
U.S. buildup which began in Pelaruary along
with launching of airstrikes on North Viet-
nam.
"The clock stood at 1 minute to midnight,"
a high-ranking official here observed, and the
only other course of action was an abrupt
and humiliating withdrawal.
That, in the judgment of every experienced
observer this reporter has been able to con-
tact in this area, would have led eventually
to complete Communist Chinese domination
of southeast Asia.
Mr. Ross is not a man who is in-
grained with campaigning for military
action. He is dispassionate, and an ob-
jective, competent reporter.
Allow me to repeat that last short
sentence. It reads:
That, in the judgment of every experienced
observer this reporter has been able to con-
tact in this area, would have led eventually
to complete Communist Chinese domination
of southeast Asia.
Mr. Ross goes on to say:
Critics of President Johnson's Vietnam
policy may abound in Washington and else-
where in the United States, but they are all
but impossible to find out here.
A Titolst solution may seem feasible on the
American campus, but this reporter has been
unable to locate a single resident Ameri-
can?soldier, diplomat, journalist, or schol-
ar?who thought it was a possibility in the
current climate of militant expansionism in
Peiping.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous con-
sent that the article published in the
Chicago Sun-Times of Sunday, May 23,
1965, entitled "United States Courts a
Showdown in Vietnam," written by
Thomas B. Ross, be printed at this point
In the RECORD.
There being no objection, the article
was ordered to be printed in the RECORD,
as follows:
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May 26, 1965 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD ---- SENATE 11389
TJNITED STATES COURTS A SHOWDOWN
IN VIETNAM
(By Thomas B. Ross)
SAIGON, SOUTEI VIETNAM.-41-though the
United States has been striving since Korea
to prevent the involvement of American
soldiers in a war on the Asian mainland, the
U.S. establishment here is now seeking just
' that as a solution to the grim impasse in
Vietnam.
High civilian and military officials alike are
hoping for a direct confrontation between
U.S. combat troops and the Communist Viet-
cong before the end of June.
The design is to draw the Communists into
a "reverse Dienbienphu"?a decisive defeat
which will force them to sue for peace. The
French, of course, had the same idea in 1954
only to be routed by the Communist-domi-
nated Vietminh nationalists and compelled
to abandon their colonies in Indochina.
But U.S. military men insist there is scant
similarity between the French position at
Dienbienphu and the American position
today.
The French decided to make their stand
in North Vietnam at a point at which the
Vietminh commanded the high ground and
were operating over relatively short lines pf
supply.
In South Vietnam today the Vietcong find
themselves at the end of a long precarious
line of supply which is under heavy bom-
bardment by U.S. planes. And U.S. forces are
deployed in the coastal flatlands in terrain
favorable to their sophisticated weaponry and
With a mighty armada of war and supply
ships supporting their rear.
POsrriox AT LOWEST EBB
There are now at least 70,000 U.S. military
men in the southeast Asian theater?close to
45,000 in Vietnam and the rest in the sur-
rounding waters and Thailand.
VVell so, the U.S. position, in a territorial
sense, has never been at a lower ebb. The
Vietcong control more of the countryside
than ever before and the United States, like
France before it, is largely tied down in static
defense of key installations and urban
centers.
The Government commands so little open
ground and covets what it has so jealously
that, as one U.S. Air Force general com-
plained: "This is the first war where we've
had to rent battlefields."
In these last-ditch circumstances, the
strategy of confrontation is as much a coun-
sel of despair as it is Of hope. It is in effect
an admission that the plan of counterinsur-
gency, promulgated with such promise by
President John F. Kennedy in 1961, has
failed and that the war must be won by
direct force of U.S. arms.
It also represents a challenge to the origi-
nal admonition of Ambassador Maxwell D.
Taylor that it would be foolhardy for the
white man to pit himself against the yellow
man on Asian soil,
Nevertheless, in the virtually unanimous
view of officials and observers here, there was
no acceptable alternative to the major U.S.
buildup which began in February along with
launching of air strikes on North Vietnam.
"The clock stood at 1 minute to midnight,"
a high-ranking official here observed, and
the only other course of action was an
abrupt and humiliating withdrawal.
That, in the. judgment of every experienced
observer this pporter has been able to con-
tact in this area, would have led eventually
to complete Communist Chinese domination
of southeast Asia.
poLTCY pigAsgs AlvlUsTOANs rist vizrzum
Critics, Of ,?PreaitiVat Joh,lison's Vietnam,
policy may abound in Washington and else-
where in the United States, but they are all
but impossible to find out here.
A Titoist solution may seem feasible on the
American campus, but this reporter has been
Unable to locate a single resident American?
soldier, diplomat, journalist or scholar?who
thought it was a possibility in the current
climate of militant expansionism in Peiping.
And so, the growing American presence
in Vietnam is viewed here with great satis-
faction and with a conviction that the
United States cannot now be forced out by
military means. If there is to be a withdraw-
al, the belief here is that it will come through
the pressure of American public opinion, re-
acting to frustrating stalemate and mount-
ing casualties.
This view is clearly shared by Peiping
which has been predicting openly in party
publications that the U.S. Government,
prodded by popular discontent and the
"bourgeois intellectuals," will abandon Viet-
nam.
The nagging question is how the Commu-
nists will seek to accelerate this "historic
Inevitability."
Key U.S. military men are speculating that
the Vietcong will attack U.S. forces late in
June. Several battalions of regular troops
have been infiltrated into the central high-
lands from North Vietnam in the last few
months and U.S. intelligence analysts be-
lieve they must make a move sometime dur-
ing the current monsoon seasons.
? U.S. bombing raids have seriously damaged
Vietcong supply routes and it is felt the
Communists must strike decisively with what
they now have or withdraw for replenish-
ment. Their capacity for sustained combat
on a conventional level is not rated as very
good.
This has led many officials, particularly ci-
vilians, to doubt that the Vietcong will risk
an open showdown. For 20 years they have
prosecuted a successful guerrilla war by
committing their forces only when they were
clearly \dominant.
Their central tactic is to overwhelm iso-
lated, undermanned outposts and then to
dissolve into the jungle or the rice paddies
when superior government strength moves
into position.
SELECTIVE KILLERS
They operate under tight discipline and
with consummate political calculation. Rape
is unheard of among them and, although
they resort to terror when all else fails, they
are highly selective in their assassination.
An ineffectual province or district chief will
be spared. An efficient one will be killed.
The tax collector, nemesis of the peasant
Who must often pay both the government
and the Vietcong, is likely to be the first
to go.
The Vietcong are also masters at the arts
of friendly persuasion, when it serves their
purpose. During one recent incursion in the
central highlands, their first act wa,s to re-
lieve the local women of the chore of sweep-
ing the marketplace. Then, to the delight
of the townspeople, who are without radio,
television, movies, or any other notable di-
version, they provided 2 hours of well-
rehearsed entertainment.
Through such a combination of ingratia-
tion and terror, the Vietcong have achieved
a high degree of immunity. They move
freely throughout most of the country with
little fear that the local populace will betray
them to the government.
FAILURE OF NATIVE LEADERSHIP
In many areas, when wounded, they boldly
resort to hospitals run by the U.S. aid mis-
sion, confident that their identity will be
concealed. In the last few weeks, they are
known to have used Nha Trang, a govern-
ment-held seashore resort 200 miles north-
east of Saigon, as a rest and recreation site
for whole companies of guerrillas from
nearby units.
The Government's great difficulty in ac-
quiring intelligence on the Vietcong is
matched by its inability to respond quickly
to what information it does obtain. This
represents a failure of leadership, a direct
outgrowth of the calculated efforts of the
French to prevent the formation of a native
class of commissioned and noncommissioned
officers.
The deficiencies of leadership are also
reflected in the inadequate performance of
the Vietnamese army. The fighting qualities
of the Vietnamese foot soldier have often
been called into question.
But, in fact, his American advisers are
convinced he will perform competently, even
bravely, when properly led and, particularly,
when he is operating in or near his native
locale.
However, the army has yet to demon-
strate that it can exercise any enduring
control in the countryside beyond the pro-
vincial and district capitals. This has led
to a decision?at least for the immediate
future?to shelve the rural pacification
program.
The focus of the war has thus been shifted
from counterguerrilla activity to a more
traditional form of combat, replete with fire
bombs and supersonic aircraft, in short, the
United States is seeking to substitute a type
of warfare in which it excels for one in which
it has proven somewhat amateurish.
It is still much too soon to tell whether
sophisticated weapons and conventional
ground troops can succeed where counter-
insurgency has failed. In fact, there is some
evidence of popular resentment to the ex-
panding use of napalm, a development which
is not surprising if one has observed a hos-
pital ward full of bleeding women and chil-
dren seared from head to toe.
BOMBINGS BOOST GOVERNMENT MORALE
But, nevertheless, the massive bombing
runs begun in February have had a decisive
effect on the morale of the government and
the army. Prime Minister Phan Huy Quat,
a reserved intellectual normally given to
cautious statement, has blossomed into a
veritable warhawk.
Even within the Buddhist hierarchy, which
had been flirting with neutralism, the bomb-
ings have produced a marked swing toward
progovernment and pro-American senti-
ment?a "complete turnaround" in the view
of a leading political analyst.
And, particularly in the Mekong River
Delta, which comprises the lower third of
South Vietnam, there are the first faint signs
that the villagers and the peasants are be-
ginning to look upon the government, rather
than the Vietcong, as the likely victor.
This, of course, is critically significant
amongst a populace which is ideologically
neutral, yet relatively well off by Asian stand-
ards. ,
Although 40 percent of its babies die in
their first year and the annual per capita in-
come is just a shade over $100, South Viet-
nam manages to feed its 15 million citizens
better than most of its neighbors feed theirs.
This is a result of the great fertility of
the Mekong Delta which is producing 5 mil-
lion tons of rice?and exporting 300,000 tons
of it?each year despite the pronounced dis-
ruptions of the war. If peace came to Viet-
nam, that crop could be doubled; perhaps
quadrupled within a year, in the estimation
of U.S. economic advisers in the field.
These men, serving with great courage in
exposed rural areas, are held in high es-
teem by the Vietnamese people who, on the
whole, show little resentment to the grow-
ing American presence in their country.
THE CRITICAL TEST AHEAD
The critical test of whether the new white
man is to be accepted as a friend or resented
as the colonial successor to the French will
likely come in the areas of massive U.S. troop
concentrations.
The original Army advisers here were well
schooled in the modern doctrines of psy-
chological warfare, even though they some-
times seemed to bark out their lines like a
military command: "Win the hearts and
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1E390 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD ? SENATE May 26, 1965
minds of the people, and that's an order,
sergeant."
On the other hand, the marines and para-
troopers recently landed see their mission
in old-fashioned terms: "Kill Vietcong."
With little thought for local sensibilities,
the marines guarding the Da Nang Airbase
openly refer to the primitive village within
their lines as "Dogpatch."
When a visiting American asked a guard
for the real name of the town, the marine
replied with conviction: "It's Dogpatch."
Other marines within earshot nodded agree-
ment. It took a call to the eommand post
to produce the correct name, Tong Vu Su,
which, as any marine knows, means Dog-
patch in Vietnamese.
The adult villagers in and around the
marine encampments are conventionally in-
scrutable and withdrawn, though they have
learned to hang out signs which read: "O.K.
Laundry. Done Quickly and Carefully."
The children are enthusiastic and vocal.
"Hello, Hello," they shout at every pass-
ing jeep. "You No. 1. Vietcong No. 10.
Give me 5 P's (5 piastres, about a nickel)."
The marines are responding with normal
GI generosity?too much so in the view of
the local bulldozer operators, who recently
conducted a brief strike to protest the fact
that the town peddlers were taking in 300
piastres a day, 10 times their own wages. An
order by the brigade commander brought the
peddlers under control, but the marines have
refused to stem the flow of money to the
children who have become their tacit allies
in a life-and-death friendship.
CHILDREN'S BEHAVIOR OFTEN A TIPOFF
On their regular patrols of the surround-
ing Communist-controlled territory, the ma-
rines are constantly subject to Vietcong am-
bushes, usually in the email villages.
The adult townspeople can generally be
coerced by the Vietcong into silence and a
convincing display of normal activity. But
the children, whether unconsciously or by
design, repeatedly give evidence in their 'be-
havior of impending danger. So alerted, sev-
eral marine patrols have withdrawn or made
for cover in time.
At some point in the next few weeks, In
the expectation of many high-ranking mili-
tary men, one of these patrols may make
contact with the advance patrol of Vietcong
battalion. Then, the great confrontation
may be at hand.
But even if this should not materialize,
soma climax to the Vietnam war seems to be
In the offing. Ambassador Taylor and his
principal advisers are convinced that North
Vietnam is hurting desperately from the re-
lentless U.S. airstrikes. Should the Vietcong
call off their expected monsoon offensive, it
'would Only confirm these men in their con-
viction that the Communists Will be forced
to the conference table before the end of the
year.
If they are wrong in their calculations, if
the Vietcong can endure despite the pound-
ing of their supply lines and their Staging
areas, then the prospect is for a war that will
drag on for several more years.
And in that event it will not be decided in
the jungles and rice paddies of this patheti-
cally beautiful country. It will be decided
in the United States by a rich and comfort-
able people who must judge the extent of
their interest in saving a poor and desperate
nation.
TRANSACTION OF ROUTINE
BUSINESS
By unanimous consent, the following
routine business was transacted:
EXECUTIVE CORtIMUNICATIONS,
ETC.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
Pore laid before the Senate the following
letters, which were referred as indicated:
REPORT ON CERTAIN SHIPMENTS INSURED BY
THE FOREIGN CREDIT INSURANCE ASSOCIATION
AND EXPORT-IMPORT BANK
A letter from the Assistant Secretary, Ex-
port-Import Bank of Washington, Washing-
ton, D.C., reporting, pursuant to law, on ship-
ments, to Yugoslavia insured by the Foreign
Credit Insurance Association and the Export-
Import Bank, for the month of April 1985;
to the Committee on Appropriations:
AMENDMENT OF SECTION 2634 OF TITLE 10,
UNITED STATES CODE, RELATING TO TRANS-
PORTATION OF CERTAIN MOTOR VEHICLES
A letter from the Secretary of the Army,
transmitting a draft of proposed legislation
to amend section 2634 of title 10, United
States Code, relating to the transportation of
privately owned motor vehicles of members
of the Armed Forces on a change of perma-
nent station (with accompanying papers);
to the Committee on Armed Services.
REPORT ON RECONSTRUCTION FINANCE CORPO-
RATION LIQUIDATION FUND
A letter from the Secretary of the Treasury,
transmitting, pursuant to law, a report on
the Reconstruction Finance Corporation
liquidation fund, for the quarterly period
ended March 31, 1984 (with an accompanying
report); to the Committee on Banking and
Currency.
REPORT ON RESEARCH PROGRESS AND PLANS OF
THE WEATHER BUREAU
A letter from the Secretary of Commerce,
transmitting, pursuant to law, a report on
research progress and plans of the U.S.
Weather Bureau, for the fiscal year 1964 (with
an accompanying report); to the Committee
on Commerce.
REPORT ON ACTIVITIES AND TRANSACTIONS
UNDER MERCHANT SHIP SALES ACT OF 1946
A letter from the Secretary of Commerce,
transmitting, pursuant to law, a report on
activities and transactions under the Mer-
chant Ship Sales Act of 1946, for the quar-
terly period ended March 31, 1965 (with an
accompanying report); to the Committee on
Commerce.
AMENDMENT OF TITLE XIII: WAR RISK INSUR-
ANCE OF FEDERAL AVIATION ACT OF 1958
A letter from the Secretary of Commerce,
transmitting a draft of proposed legislation
to amend Title XIII: WE'S Risk Insurance
of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 (with
an accompanying paper); to the Committee
on Commerce.
EXTENSION OF PROVISIONS OF TITtat X111 OF
THE FEDERAL AVIATION ACT OF 1958, RELAT-
ING TO WAR RISK INSURANCE
A letter from the Secretary of Commerce,
transmitting a draft of proposed legislation
to extend the provisions of title XIII of the
Federal Aviation Act of 1958, relating to war
risk insurance (With an accompanying
paper); to the Committee on Commerce.
AMENDMENT OF SECT/ON 201 OF
COMMUNICATIONS ACT or 1934
A letter from the Chairman, Federal Com-
munications Commission, Washington, D.C.,
transmitting a draft of proposed legislation
to amend section 204 of the Communications
Act of 1934, as amended (with accompany-
ing papers); to the Committee on Commerce.
AMENDMENT OF DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
PRACTICAL NURSES' LICENSING ACT
A letter from the President, Board of Com-
missioners, District of Columbia, transmit-
ting a draft of proposed legislation to amend
the District of Columbia Practical Nurses'
Licensing Act, and for other purposvi. (with
an accompanying paper); to the Committee
on the District of Columbia.
CONTRIBUTION BY THE UNITED STATES TO THE
INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE Ran
CROSS
A letter from the Secretary of State, trans-
mitting a draft of proposed legislation to
authorize a contribution by the United
States to the International Committee of
the Red Cross (with an accompanying
paper); to the Committee on Foreign Rela-
tions.
AMENDMENT OF FOREIGN SERVICE BUILDINGS
Aar, 1926, To AuTmerze ADDITIONAL AP-
PROPRIATIONS
A letter from the Secretary of State, trans-
mitting a draft of proposed legislation to
amend the Foreign Service Buildings Act,
1926, to authorize additional appropriations,
and for other purposes (with accompanying
papers); to the Committee on Foreign Rela-
tions.
PROVISION OF CERTAIN AUTHOR/TY FOR 13.5.
INFORMATION AGENCY
A letter from the Director, U.S. Informa-
tion Agency, Washington, D.C., transmitting
a draft of proposed legislation to provide cer-
tain basic authority for the U.S. Information
Agency (with accompanying papers); to the
Committee 011 Foreign Relations.
AMENDMEN% OF ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES
Acr OF 1946
A letter from the Chairman, U.S. Civil
Service Commission, Washington, D.C., trans-
mitting a draft of proposed legislation to
amend the Administrative Expenses Act of
1946, as amended, to provide for reimburse-
ment of certain moving expenses of em-
ployees, and to authorize payment of ex-
penses for storage of household goods and
personal effects of employees assigned to
isolated duty station within the continental
United States (with accompanying papers);
to the Committee on Government Operations.
REPORTS OF COMPTROLLER GENERAL
A letter from the Comptroller General of
the United States, transmitting, pursuant to
law, a report on unnecessary procurement of
air passenger service on scheduled commer-
cial airliners from Japan and Korea to the
United States, Department of Defense, dated
May 1965 (with an accompanying report); to
the Committee on Government Operations.
A letter from the Comptroller General of
the United States, transmitting, pursuant to
law, a report on loose management in budg-
eting and financial reporting for certain edu-
cational exchange activities, Department of
State, dated May 1965 (with an accompany-
ing report); to the Committee on Govern-
ment Operations.
A letter from the Comptroller General oi
the United States, transmitting, pursuant to
law, a report on unnecessary costs resulting
from the failure to furnish available part:
to a contractor engaged in the production oi
3/4-ton trucks, Department of the Army.
dated May 1965 (with an accompanying re-
port); to the Committee on Government
Operations.
A letter from the Comptroller General of
the United States, transmitting, pursuant to
law, a report on inadequate management of
special purpose ammunition pallets resultecL
in unnecessary procurement actions, Depart-
ment of the Navy, dated May 1965 (with an
accompanying report); to the Committee on
Government Operations.
A letter from the Comptroller General of
the United States, transmitting, pursuant to
law, a report on improper use of funds ap-
propriated for operation and maintenance
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May 26, 1965 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD ? SENATE 11415
being the case, it is the responsibility of
Congress to protect the public purse,
rather than to construct private pipe-
lines from the Public Treasury to private
recipients
I ask unanimous consent to have
printed in the RECORD an editorial en-
titled "Hassle Over Patents," which was
published on May 26 in the Washington
Post.
There being no objection: the editorial
was ordered to be printed in the fl,ECORD,
as' follows;
[From the Washington (D.C.) Post, May 26,
? 19651
RASSLE OVER PATENTS
The long smoldering dispute over the pat-
enting of discoveries made in the course of
federally financed research and development
work has flared up again. Senator LEE
METCALF, in a speech on the floor of the Sen-
ate, accused several high administration offi-
cials of "lobbying" on behalf of certain bush
ness groups. These groups believe that the
patent rights to ideas developed with Fed-
eral funds should be awarded to the con-
izacting business Arra or nonprofit institu-
tion.
"Lobbying" is a pejorative, often Impre-
cise term, and there is little point in at-
tempting to plumb the Senator's charges.
But there is much that should be said and
done out the failure of the Government
to articulate a clear policy in this trouba-
some area.
Some Federal agencies, notably the 'Atomic
Energy Commission, follow a clear and con-
sistent rule. Except in cases where the re-
search contractor already holds patents in
closely related areas, all patents issuing from
Federal contracts antomatioally revert to the
Government. But other agencies are per-
Mitted by law to waive the patent claims of
the Government.
The battle now being waged, both in the
Congress and withIn the administration, is
over ' which policy shall prevail. Senator
RUSSELL B. LONG insists that the patents
growing out of Federal contracts belong to
the public, and he has attached amendments
to several important bills which uphold that
principle. The patent law bar, industry
groups and many universities are ranged on
the other side. They contend that the pros-
pect of owning patent rights provides an
important incentive to solve problems
quickly. And they raise the question of
whether the Government has the right to
patents where the contracting researcher
draws upon a previously acquired expertise.
In October 196$, the late President Ken-
nedy issued a patent memorandum which
purported to provide guidance for -Govern-
ment agencies. tut that document and the
Patent Advisory Panel subsequently formed
appear only to have confused matters.
Patent policy issues can be complex, but
not so esoteric as spokesmen for the patent
bar claim when they chastise laymen for
speaking out. When a private business en-
terprise contracts and pays for research and
development work, there is seldom if ever
any question about its right to the patents
that may emerge. The same principle
should apply in the case of Government-
sponsored research. There is no good rea-
son why the taxpayers should be expected to
pay $15 billion a year for research and then
turn over, to the, adequately compensated
COntractorR exclusive patent rights.
To be sure, the rights of the owners of
"background patents" should be protected
When tbey engage in Government contract
Work. But aside ;from that exception, all
patents developed' under Federal contracts
should revert to the Government, and the
Ns?. 95-28
Government in turn should make the pat-
ented knowledge freely available to all po-
tential users.
SUPPORT OF THE PRESID NrS
POLICY ON VIETNAM
Mr. TOWER. Mr. President, recently
I received a resolution adopted by the
18th District Convention of the Ameri-
can Legion, Department of Texas, in
which the actions of our President in de-
fense of freedom and in opposition to
Communist tyranny and aggression are
fully supported.
I concur in the view of the Legion-
naires; and, in order that other Sena-
tors may share the view of these dedi-
cated Texans, I ask that a copy of the
resolution be printed in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the resolu-
tion was ordered to be printed in the
RECORD, as follows:
RESOLUTION 4: AFFIRM SUPPORT OF PR-EMDEN-
TIAL ACTION IN VIETNAM
Whereas U.S. Advisory Forces are in south-
east Asia, especially concentrated in South
Vietnam; and
Whereas they are under continual harass-
ment by communistic infiltrated forces; and
Whereas President Johnson, upon request
by the Government of South Vietnam, has
taken necessary action in bombing supply
lines and troop concentrations in North Viet-
nam: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the American Legion, 18th
district, Department of Texas, fully en-
dorses the action taken by President John-
son in response to the request of the South
Vietnam Government; and be it further
Resolved, That a copy of this resolution
be submitted to the Office of the President
of the United States and with courtesy copies
to each U.S. Senator of Texas; and be it
further
Resolved, That a copy of this resolution
be submitted to the Department of Texas
and the national convention.
Eighteenth district resolution committee,
EARL BASKETT, Chairman.
Members:
JAMES D. O'DANIEL.
W. L. THOMAS.
Date May 2, 1965, action approved.
By vote of the 18th district convention.
Adjutant, the American Legion, Depart-
ment of Texas.
RECOGNITION OF EASTERN
(GREEK) ORTHODOXY
Mr. JORDAN of Idaho. Mr. Presi-
dent, I wish to advise the Members of
Congress that the State Legislature of
my State of Idaho recently unanimously
adopted a resolution to recognize East-
ern?Greek?Orthodoxy as a major re-
ligious faith in the State. Approxi-
mately 30 States have now done so.
Rev. Father Constantine Palassis, of
Idaho and eastern Oregon, and mem-
bers of the Orthodox Church were the
moving forces in bringing to the atten-
tion of the members of the State legis-
lature the need for such a resolution.
I ask unanimous consent that a copy
of the resolution be printed at this point
in the RECORD. I also ask that a letter
written to Members of the U.S. Congress
by the Voice of Greek Orthodoxy in
America, giving some pertinent infor-
m and background on Eastern
Greek Orthodoxy, also be printed at this
point in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the resolu-
tion and the letter were ordered to be
printed in the RECORD, as follows:
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION No. 6 BY
JUDICIARY AND RULES COMMITTEE
A resolution recognizing the Eastern Ortho-
dox Church as a major faith in the State
of Idaho
Be it resolved by the Legislature of the
State of Idaho:
Whereas it has come to the attention of the
members of the Legislature of the State of
Idaho that, whenever mention is made or
matter is printed concerning the major
faiths, usually. only Protestants, Catholics,
and Jews are referred to as constituting the
major faiths of the State; and
Whereas the Eastern Orthodox Church, by
reason of its long and illustrious history,
should be included in the meaning of any
recognition of the major faiths: Now, there-
fore, be it
Resolved, That the Eastern Orthodox
Church is hereby recognized as a major
faith in the State of Idaho, and official ref-
erences to the major faiths shall be deemed
to and will include the Eastern Orthodox
Church; be it further
Resolved, That the secretary of state is
hereby directed to transmit suitable copies
of this resolution to the Most Reverend
Archbishop Iakovos, Archbishop of the Greek
Orthodox Church of North and South Amer-
ica, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Arch-
diocese, to the Reverend Father Constantine
S. Pala,ssis, of Idaho and eastern Oregon, and
to all news media of the State of Idaho.
THE VOICE OF GREEK
ORTHODOXY IN AMERICA,
Washington, D.C.
Re the four major religious faiths: Protes-
tant, Catholic, Orthodox, and Jewish.
To the MEMBERS OF CONGRESS,
Washington, D.C.
DEAR SENATOR JORDAN In the considera-
tion of two major issues before the U.S.
Congress?civil rights and public school
prayers?references at the hearings and in
debates have been made to only three of
the four major faiths, with Orthodoxy, known
as the Eastern (Greek) Orthodox faith, be-
ing the forgotten faith.
To correct this misconception of only three
major faiths?Protestant, Catholic, Jewish?
we of the Voice of Greek Orthodoxy in Amer-
ica give you this background information.
1. The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese re-
veals that there are approximately 7 million
Eastern Orthodox in America. Statistics
show that there are approximately 7 million
40 million Roman Catholics, and 514 million
Jews in America. Thus by statistics alone
Orthodoxy is one of the four major faiths.
2. Twenty-seven legislatures have passed
laws requiring that, in reference to major
faiths, Eastern Orthodoxy should be in-
cluded. Your State may be one.
3, The Armed Forces in 1955 changed
their regulations to permit Eastern Orthodox
identification in the servicemen's records
and their identification (dog) tags. Prior
to that time there were only three designa-
tions?Protestant, Catholic, Jew.
4. Eastern Orthodox chaplains were per-
mitted for the first time in 1951 although
the Eastern Orthodox strived all through
World War II for that cherished right.
5. President Eisenhower was the first Pres-
ident to invite an Eastern Orthodox to give
a prayer at the 1957 inaugural, thus bring-
ing our four faiths together.
6. Many State and city public functions
and inaugurals now have four faiths at-
tending.
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11416 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD -- SENATE May 26, 1965
7. Appointments to high office by Presi-
dents and Governors were being considered
only on the three-faiths basis bit President
Eisenhower and President Kennedy began
including Eastern Orthodox for Presidential
appointments. More of this is needed.
8. Eastern Orthodox have been erroneous-
ly designated as either Catholic or Protestant.
History reveals that Eastern Qrthodoxy and
Roman Catholicism separated in AD. 1054,
and Protestants broke away from the Roman
Catholic Church in the 16th century. There-
fore Eastern Orthodox, Protestants and Ro-
man Catholics are three distinct faiths.
9. Senate and House bills were introduced
to refer to Orthodoxy as a major faith.
Thanking you for the privilege of send-
ing you this brief background which we
hope you will keep handy and make use
thereof, I am,
Respectfully yours,
SAM REVITIIES,
National Treasurer, The Voice of Greek
Orthodoxy in America.
OBJECTION TO PROPOSED REVI-
SION OF SKIP-ROW COTTON
PLANTING REGULATIONS
Mr. TOWER. Mr. President, recently
I received from the Tom Green County,
Tex., Crops Committee a letter of pro-
test about the Department of Agricul-
ture proposals to revise skip-row cotton
planting regulations.
I share the view of the craps commit-
tee that the regulation change is unwise
and unwarranted; and in order that
other Senators may share the commit-
tee's views, I ask that a copy of the letter
the committee has sent to the Depart-
ment of Agriculture be printed in the
RECORD.
There being no abjection, the letter
was ordered to be printed in the RECORD,
as follows:
SAN ANGELO, TEX.,
May 15,1965.
DIRECTOR FARMER PROGRAMS DIVISION,
ASCS-USDA
Washington, D.0 .
DEAR SIR: We protest the proposed change
In the rules for measuring cotton when
planted in a skip-row pattern.
Skip-row planting originated in Tom Green
County in the 1920's. Some of the land in
this area has been planted in skip-rows since
it was first put in cultivation.
The proposed change will be a hardship
on the producers in this county. It will
create much confusion arid make it almost
Impossible for a producer to adequately plan
his planting.
The present rule has not increased cotton
production in this county, and production
figures prove it. Skip-row planting means
the difference of whether we make a crop
or net.
We request that the proposed change not
be made and the present rule be continued
In effect. It is necessary to the economy
of this area.
Yours truly,
Tom Green County Crops Committee:
W. B. Block, Sonora Route, San Angelo,
"Tex.; John Schriever, Jr., Bola, Tex.;
Frank Culley, Route 3, Box 131, San
Angelo, Tex.; J. H. Sims, Route 2,
Miles, Tex.; H. E. Hurst, Route 3, Box
387, San Angelo, Tex.; L. J. Seidel,
Route 2, Miles, Tex.; Walter Fuchs,
Wall, Tex.
ASSISTANT SECRETARY HOLUM
DEID/CATE,S JAMES RIVER DAM
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. President, on
Sunday, May 23, 1965, the people of the
Huron, S. Dak., area joined in the dedi-
cation of an important new darn on the
James River, near Huron. This project
will provide municipal water, recreation,
and wildlife benefits for the people of
central South Dakota.
On hand for the major dedication ad-
,
dress was one of South Dakota's most
distinguished sons, Assistant Secretary
of the Interior Kenneth Holum.
I ask unanimous consent that the ex-
cellent address by Assistant Secretary
Holum be printed at this point in the
RECORD.
There being no objection, the address
was ordered to be printed in the RECORD,
as follows:
ADDRESS BY KENNETH HOLUM, ASSISTANT SEC-
RETARY OF THE INTERIOR, WATER AND POWER
DEVELOPMENT, AT DEDICATION CEREMONIES
OF THE JAMES DIVERSION DAM, HURON,
S. DAK., MAY 23, 1965
Three years ago this coming September, I
sat down with the mayor of Huron to sign
the water-service contract that was necessary
before we could begin construction of the
James River Diversion Dani.
I had no idea that day that I would have
the honor of participating in its dedication.
It is an honor; not because of the size of
the structure?for it indeed is small com-
pared to Grand Coulee, Hoover, Glen Canyon,
or even Oahe Dam?but because of what it
represents to people like you and me who
have learned the value of water conservation
through personal experience here on the
drouthy plains.
Most of you present today are products
of the James River Valley; so am I. We have
seen the "Big Jim" in all its moods, ranging
from springtime floods that engulfed our
farm lowlands, to the virtual dry, useless
stagnation of late summer and fall?and we
have despaired.
President Lincoln once commented that
''the Almighty has His own program."
Our program here is to put our God-given
resources of earth and water to the best possi-
ble use for mankind's advancement. This I
believe?whether it is in South Dakota or
California?is in harmony with the Al-
mighty's plan.
This darn was built at the request of Huron
to supplement that city's water supply. And,
by the way, we are exploring the possibilities
of constructing another darn in the vicinity
of Mitchell to meet that city's water needs.
We were happy to respond to the appeal by
the mayor of Mitchell and his city council,
and the urgent request for swift action by
Senator GEORGE MCGOVERN. Though this re-
quest came to us only a couple of weeks ago,
the Bureau of Reclamation already has a
reconnaissance study underway, at my
direction.
The James River Dam and Reservoir will
not only double Huron's water supply, it will
provide a rgeat source of recreation for the
entire area as Well as some mighty fine fish-
ing. Eventually, and I hope soon, this facil-
ity will become a feature of the Oahe Unit?
that half-million-acre irrigation project,
which will mean so much to the economy
and welfare of this State.
Five recreation areas will be developed
under an agreement with the South Dakota
Department of Game, Fish and Parks. Two
will be here, one on each side of the dam,
and the other three along the reservoir at
several-mile intervals upstream. Shady pic-
nic areas and boat ramps will provide facili-
ties for lots of fun and relaxation.
Four more areas are being set aside for
wildlife habitat along the reservoir. These
will be feeding and nesting areas for ducks
and pheasants, and feeding areas for deer.
For many people here today, I am sure
this is all like a dream come true. The bene-
fits of this development will accrue not only
to us and our children, but our children's
children as well.
A community without an ample supply of
Water is one that is headed for economic
stagnation and an end to its growth. I am
reminded of a remark made a long time ago
by an engineer, advising the city of Los An-
geles when it was considering going far back
into the mountains for a water supply. The
cost was considerable, and there was much
hesitation. Finally, the engineer said: "If
you don't obtain this water, you won't ever
need it."
Well, Los Angeles went after that water,
and then more, and more, and you can see
the results today.
To grow and prosper, an area must develop
its land and water resources. In South Da-
kota we have come only part way in this
job. While we are realizing the great bene-
fits of power generation from Missouri River
mainstem dams, in addition to recreation, we
can do much more and must, if the economic
potential of this area is ever to be attained.
I'm talking, of course, about putting the
water to work on our productive farmland.
I'm talking about the proposed Oahe unit
and what it can do to open the doors of
economic opportunity in our State, where
they have been closed to a narrow slit in the
past decade or two.
To get a glimpse of what the Oahe unit
can do, let's look at some of the things that
have happened in areas similar to this. In
1956, a study was made on the North Platte
project in western Nebraska and southeast-
ern Wyoming, Which is a 350,000-acre project,
first irrigated in 1908. The lands extend over
a distance of 110 miles, from Guernsey,
Wyo., to Bridgeport, Nebra.?an area like the
Oahe unit.
In terms of products sold off the farm, the
irrigated land on this project produces 13
times more per acre than the adjacent dry-
land farms. Only 10 percent of the four-
county area is irrigated. But that 10 percent
is responsible for 91 percent of the total in-
come payments in the area. It supports 27
times as many people, and provides 40 times
the income, as adjacent prairie areas of
equivalent size.
Property tax revenues in Scottsbluff Coun-
ty, which has irrigation, are 20 times greater
than in Banner County, which adjoins it, but
has little irrigation. I don't need to remind
you, I am sure, what this means in terms
of schools, roads, and other civic improve-
ments.
During the drought years of the 1930's,
population of the irrigated area increased
18 percent. In the adjacent ciryland areas
it decreased 12 percent. Similar contrasts
can be drawn on project after project
throughout the West. It is the story of
reclamation.
Past experience With irrigation in eastern
South Dakota, and farm management studies
of potential irrigation on the Oahe unit,
show that the most profitable irrigated land-
use pattern would consist primarily of the
same crops now being raised in this area,
but they would be raised in different propor-
tions.
Likewise, we would raise the same types
of livestock we have now. But, instead of
shipping them out of the State to be fat-
tened, we would fatten them on our own
farms here in South Dakota, end the livestock
products would be processed right here in
our own State.
What does the Oahe unit mean to South
Dakota? Let me give you a capsule idea:
The gross value of crops sold after irriga-
tion development would triple, from $8 mil-
lion to $24 million.
Estimated annual value of livestock and
livestock products sold from irrigated farms
would nearly quadruple from $22 million to
about $82 million.
Annual gross farm income would be about
$108 million compared to about $32 million,
without irrigation?an increase of $76 mil..
lion, or four times. Cash farm outlay would
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May 26, 1965 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD --SENATE
without self-righteousness and with a brave
freedom from old dogmas.
THE VETERANS' ADMINISTRATION
IN CONNECTICUT
Mr. RIBICOFF. Mr. President, 20
years ago this month the fighting in the
European theater of World War II came
to an end. The end of that terrible war
marked the beginning of enormous new
responsibilities for the Veterans Admin-
istration, In the State of Connecticut,
those responsibilities have been met very
well. Through the Hartford office alone,
More than $70 million is disbursed an-
nually to administer veterans programs.
The man overseeing the activities of the
Veterans' Administration in Connecti-
cut is Col. Edward W. O'Meara. Colonel
O'Meara and his staff are charged with
care of the records of more than 235,000
Connecticut veterans. The programs
that Colonel O'Meara administers vitally
affect the lives and well-being of ex-GI's,
as well as the lives of their widows and
their children. Colonel O'Meara is no
stranger to such responsibilities; he was
the first manager of the social security
office in New Britain.
Furthermore, Ed O'Meara is an old and
Valued friend. When Governor of Con-
necticut, it was my privilege to appoint
him a member of my military staff.
Everything Ed O'Meara does, he does
well.
I ask unanimous consent that an ar-
ticle entitled "State VA Part of Largest
Business Firm in United States," pub-
lished in the New Britain Herald of May
18, 1965, and describing the fine work
of Colonel O'Meara and the Veterans'
Administralion in Connecticut, be
printed in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the article
was ordered to be printed in the RECORD,
as follows;
STATE VA PART OF LARGEST BUSINESS FIRM In
UNIT= STATES
(By Arthur E. McEvoy)
Twenty years after VE day and the end of
World War II the Veterans' Administration,
through its Hartford office, is disbursing
more than $70 million annually in Connec-
ticut to administer many programs for the
benefit of men and women who were in the
Military service in two world wars and their
dependent survivors.
In the New Federal Building in the capi-
tal city, around which the activities of the
VA in Connecticut revolve, many functions
affecting the lives of ex-GI's, their widows,
and children are carried out by the staff of
Col. Edward W, O'Meara, regional manager.
SERVICES LISTED
These include compensation payments,
pensions, educational allowances, grants to
paraplegic veterans of $10,000 toward build-
ing or buying a home and benefits to widows
and minor children. The extent of the
transactions may be visualized by the num-
ber of checks issued in April. In that month
cheeks went to 42,479 living veterans and
15,973 to widows, widows and children, or
children alone. Of the latter figure, 6,582
Went to the World War I account and 6,401
to WqrldWaI benefielaries.
In a display case in the main corridor of
VA regional headquarters is a newspaper
article saying "Today, the biggest business
Organization in the United States is not
Cieneral Motor? or AT. & T., but the Vet-
erans' Administration. Veterans and their
immediate families comprise almost half the
total U.S. population and the VA has some
22 million `CuStom,,ers!,in.ita active files." -
UNIQUE SYSTEM
The Hartford office has records of 235,000
of the 350,000 veterans in Connecticut. In
a forest of steel cabinets are their military
history, data on medical examinations and
treatments, as well as two-way correspond-
ence. A unique filing system installed as an
experiment for possible use throughout the
Nation enables members of the staff to find
a folder enclosing any veteran's record with
a minimum of time and effort.
Specialists fill many posts in the Hartford
office. A tour discloses the desks of physi-
cians, lawyers, construction experts, occupa-
tion experts, loan administration agents, in-
surance underwriters, and accountants, a
cross section of the professional fields.
Other employees vital to the operation are
flexo-writer operators, stenographers, dicta-
phone operators. In addition are many re-
quiring special skills or understanding.
GOOD MORTGAGE RISKS
In the Loan Guarantee Division are ap-
proximately 95,000 mortgage loans which the
office has guaranteed amounting to about $1
billion. "Evidence of how our veterans have
taken care of their mortgage obligations is
indicated by the remarkably low loss ratio
which is three-tenths of 1 percent," said
Colonel O'Meara, adding, "This, I think any-
one would say, is an extraordinary record."
Versatile machines speed the work and
make possible swift handling of an enormous
amount of business transacted. By means of
a telecommunication system about 520 mes-
sages are sent out monthly and about 525
received. The office can and does "speak"
with all VA installations in the country
through a series of relays.
SUPERVISES ESTATES
The mail desk handles about 70,000 pieces
of mail a month, 40,000 incoming and 30,000
outgoing. Of those received, about '7,000 are
processed by a mechanical locator index that
looked to this writer like a small scale ferris
wheel. A push of a button brings within
reach of the operator's hand the addresses of
many thousands of .veterans in the State.
" Many unanticipated problems are handled
by the chief attorney's office which also ex-
ercises supervision over estates amounting
to $9 million of some 6,300 incompetent vet-
erans as well as beneficiaries and minor chil-
dren.
During the fiscal year 1964, $72,500,000 was
expended in Connecticut to carry out vari-
ous functions of the regional Hartford office.
This undertaking was accomplished by a staff
of 118 whose working space and appurten-
ances occupy 30,500 square feet, the entire
first floor of the Federal Building.
Colonel O'Meara, who heads this big oper-
ation, is no stranger to New Britain. He was
the first manager of the social security office
in this city.
RETENTION OF SECTION 14(b) OF
THE TAFT-HARTLEY ACT
Mr. TOWER. Mr. President, the
Nueces Canyon Chamber of Commerce,
headquartered at Camp Wood, Tex., re-
cently endorsed the proposition that
section 14(b) of the Taft-Hartley Act be
retained. I fully share the view of the
chamber. In order that other Senators
may be advised of how Texans feel on
this most important matter, I ask that a
letter to me from the chamber president
be printed at this point in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the letter
was ordered to be printed in the RECORD,
as follows:
11427
NUECES CANYON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE,
Camp Wood, Tex., May 20, 1965.
Hon. Joxx TOWER,
U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C.
MY DEAR SENATOR TOWER: The Nueces
Canyon Chamber of Commerce has endorsed
the proposition that section 14(b) of the
Taft-Hartley Act should be retained to the
end that the right-to-work laws of Texas can
be continued.
This action was taken by unanimous vote
of the chamber membership at the last reg-
ular meeting held May 4, 1965, and the un-
dersigned was instructed to notify you of
this action and to request your cooperation
in this matter.
Thanking you in advance for a reply at
your earliest convenience, I am,
Respectfully,
HqEE KELLY, President.
THE MESS IN NAM?XV; AN EX-
U.S. OFFICIAL "TURNS STATE'S
EVIDENCE"
Mr. GRUENING. Mr. President,
books of great pertinence and value to
an understanding of what is going on
it Vietnam and in southeast Asia gen-
erally are now coming off the presses.
Considering the great lack of reliable
information about why and to what ex-
tent the United States is engaged and
the omission of many pertinent facts
from official pronouncements, these
books are a distinct contribution to
public information, and they deserve
reading.
Recently, I had printed in the RECORD
reviews, from "The Nation," of David
Halberstam's book entitled "The Making
of a Quagmire," and of Malcolm
Browne's book "The New Face of War."
Mr. Halberstam was for 3 years the
correspondent of the New York Times in
Vietnam; and Mr. Browne was there as
the correspondent of the Associated
Press, and is still there. Both these
books revealed tellingly the efforts to
suppress the bad news from Vietnam
and to give the American people the
rosy picture which has, up to date, been
part of the official line. Both of these
newspaper men were Pultizer Prize win-
ners, because of the excellence of their
reporting of events in Vietnam.
We now have a book written by a
Government official, the Public Affairs
Officer in South Vietnam?John Meek-
lin, whose book, entitled "Mission in
Torment," has just been issued by
Doubleday. In the May 29th issue of
"The New Republic," this book is ad-
mirably reviewed by I. F. Stone, the
knowledgeable editor of "I. F. Stone's
Weekly." He entitles his review, appro-
priately: "An Official Turns State's
Evidence." I recommend to all Senators
the reading of this review; but even
more important is the reading of the
book itself. I ask unanimous consent
that the review be printed in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the review
was ordered to be printed in the RECORD,
as follows:
AN OFFICIAL TURNS STATE'S EVIDENCE
(By I. F. Stone)
The most important battle in South Viet-
nam was the fight to let the American people
know what was going on. Two reporters who
shared Pulitzer prizes for their part in it,
David Halherstain, of the New York Times,
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11.428 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD' ? SENATE May 26, 1965
and Malcolm W. Browne, of the Associated
Press, have recently Published their accounts
of this battle between bureaucracy and press.
Now in "Mission in Torment," we have the
story as seen from the other side. John
Mecklin, a Time staff Man, took leave of
absence to serve as Public [affairs officer of
the U.S. Embassy in Saigon from May 1962
to January 1964. The stoky he has to tell
is not peculiar to Saigon. The seine struggle
gees on in Washington. Covering the Pen-
tagon, the State Department, and the White
House is a continual rassle between reporters
trying to get the news and press officers
putting out the Government's party line.
If the latter had their way we would all
sound like American equivalents of Pravda
and Izvestia; too many do. "In Saigon in
1963," Mecklin writee, "the newt/men were
regarded as enemies not only by local an-
tnorities but also by the American Mission,"
Ia this, Washington Often seems to differ
only in degree from Saigon.
Mecklin charges that the newsmen were
rude, self-righteous, and humorless, but he
substantially confirrans their indictment.
Where Halberstam and Broeme complain of
a constant effort to Mislead the press, Mech-
lin pleads in extenuation that the higher-ups
believed their own falsehoods. "The root of
the problem," he says, "was the fact that
much of what the newsmen took to be lies
was exactly what the Mission genuinely be-
lieved, and was reporting to Washington.
Events were to prove that the Mission itself
was unaware of how badly the war was go-
ing, Operating in a vroeld of illusion. Our
feud with the newsmen was an angry symp-
tom of bureaucratic sickness," The defense
is more damning than the newsmen's accusa-
tions. All governments lie, but disaster lies
In wait for countries whose officials smoke
the game hashith they give out.
Mecklin lets 'us see that even this was not
the whole story. There were falsehoods the
officials belieVed and falsehoods they told de-
liberately. "To the best of my knowledge,"
Meeklin writes, "no responsible U.S. official
in Saigon ever told a newsman a really big
falsehood. Instead there were endless little
ones." When the neWsmen fall for
theta, Washington complained. "There was
a patrealizing holier-than-thou tone in the
?Metal lattitucie toward the press," Mecklin
relates., "We repeatedly received cables from
Walabington Using expressions like 'tell the
correspondents' to do so and so or 'explain
how they were wrong' to write such and such.
This Was like trying to tell a New York taxi
driver hoer to shift gears." This also goes
on in Washington where Johneon sometimes
seal= -to think the Constitution made him
not only commander-in-chief of the Nation's
Armed Forces but editor-in-chief of its news-
papers.
T, one of his lest dispatches as a Time
cOrespOndent in Saigon in 1955 after Diem
had been in office 9 /*eoliths, Mecklin quoted
an inans.illed "prominent American journal-
ist" as saying 'after his first interview with
Diem, "Sort of a screwball, isn't he? His
eyes don't even focus." By the time Mecklin
got back to Saigon 7 years later, U.S. in-
formation policy was designed to make sure
that nobody else's eyes focuteed properly on
Vietnam either. afecklin's book reveals that
the nettoriotts State 'Department Cable No.
1008, of February 21, 1962, which the Moss
subcommittee of the House On Government
Information Polielet later exposed, was re-
garded within the bureaucracy as liberalizing
ptess -relations. This basic directive was
chanted jeititly by Arthur Sylvester at De-
fense and Robert Manning at State; it re-
flects the animosity to a free press character-
istic of both departments. "It was 'liberal',"
Macklin colt/Me/its' wryly, "in the sense that
it rea5OgiilOad Ihe'riaelt of American new-
men au ectver theatafte in Vietnam, but it was
otherwise tittle more than codification of the
errors the mission was already committing."
Conveniently, the text was classified but the
Moss subcommittee was allowed to reveal
that newsmen were to be advised against
"trifling criticism of the Diem government"
and not to be taken along on military activi-
ties likely to result in "undesirable stories."
This is not ancient history. The old
habits march on. Misinformation is still
the hallmark of the Government's informa-
tion policy. Two examples may be cited, one
minor, one major. The minor one concerns
the replacement of General Harkins by his
deputy, General Westmoreland. Every few
months, it would seem, Harkins would issue
a statement saying that victory "is just
months away"?this was his prediction,
Mecklin recalls, the very day Diem was over-
thrown. His deputy and successor seems to
be the same type. But when Westmoreland
stepped into his old commander's shoes, the
tired Army mimeograph machines ground
out the same old tripe. "Like Harkins two
years earlier," Mecklin notes, "Westmore-
land's press notices described him as a 'no-
nonsense' officer."
A major example concerns the State De-
partment's recent white paper. The Meek-
lin book, like Browne's, /abuts its central
thesis. "Like everything else in Vietnam,"
Mecklin writes, "statistics on infiltrated ma-
terial and personnel from the North were
highly debatable. There was no question
that significant Chinese and North Vietna-
mese supplies had been smuggled. * * * But
the vast bulk of Vietcong weapons and
equipment were American." Mecklin also
has "no doubt that several thousand Viet-
cong officers and other trained personnel had
Infiltrated from the North" but he adds that
"the overwhelming majority of their forces
were recruited locally." The white paper
was intended to prepare public opinion for
the bombing of the North. Mecklin says
that by destruction of factories and training
camps in the North "the Vietcong would be
weakened, but probably not much more than
the efficiency of, the Pentagon would be re-
duced if the air conditioning were shut off."
For Mecklin the talk of bombing supply
routes "made even less sense" because most
of the smuggled supplies were moved on foot
or in sampan. In a graphic simile Mecklin
writes, "As the French discovered so dis-
astrously at Dienbienphu, air attacks on
coolie jungle supply routes is like trying to
shoot a mouse hiding in a wheatfield from an
airplane with a rifle."
Two hitherto undisclosed scenes stand out
in the Meath/ book. One was an intervievv
with Kennedy an April 29, 1963, when the
President asked him, "Why are we having so
much trouble with the reporters out there?"
Mecklin thought there would be less trouble
if officials were more candid. He wanted
Kennedy to put a stop to "excessively opti-
mistic public statements" in Washington
and Saigon and the habit of "complaining"
to editors and pubishers "about unfavorable
stories" from reporters in the "field. Mecklin
says he found Kennedy "skeptical but willing
to try."
One wonders whether Mecklin was not
naive. We know from lialberstam's book
that Kennedy himself tried to persuade the
publisher of the New York Times to trans-
fer him out of Saigon. Six months later
Kennedy was to issue the biggest optimistic
whopperoo of the war?the McNamara-
Taylor statement at the White House, Octo-
ber 2, 1963, that all was going so well in Viet-
nam we could withdraw 1,000 men by the
end of the year and complete "the major part
of the U.S. military teak" by the end of 1965.
The desire to primp up the face of truth was
confined to the lower echelons. Mecklin
forgets to mention that speech by Carl
Rowan, now again in charge of Vietnamese
"information," about the public's "right not
to know" which the Moss subcornmittee pro-
tested. Nor the way this echoed Kennedy's
speech to the publishers after the Bay of
Pigs on the need for greater "restraint" in
covering undeclared wars.
Another White House scene on which
Mecklin lifts the curtain for the first time
was a special meeting of the National Se-
curity Council on September 10, 1963, when
the Buddhist crisis was about to bring down
Diem, The Bay of Pigs made Kennedy aware
of how wrong the Joint Chiefs of Staff and
the CIA could be. Had he lived longer, he
might soon have come to feel the same way
about their advice on Vietnam. Mechlin was
Invited to be present to hear a report from
a special two-man mission Kennedy had
hurriedly sent out to Saigon for a fresh look
at the state of the war and of popular sup-
port for Diem. The mission was composed,
Mecklin relates, of a Pentagon general and
a senior Foreign Service officer, "bath rela-
tively unknown, though experienced Viet-
nam hands." Each reported separately.
Their reports turned out to be so different
that when they finished, President Kennedy
asked, with that dry wit which made him
so winning, "Were you two gentlemen in the
same country?"
Mecklin writes that security regulations
prohibit him from reporting anything fur-
ther about the meeting. He does say that
while every other agency thought the time
had come to reform, or get rid of, the Diem
regime, "the Pentagon, unpersuaded that the
war had been affected by the Buddhist up-
heaval, continued to agitate for no real
action at all," -while the cm "was more or
less of the same opinion." This should be
read with Halberstam's and Browne's ac-
counts of how stubbornly deaf General Har-
kins and the top CIA man in Saigon, Rich-
ardson, remained until the very end when
their junior officers in the field tried to tell
them what was going on. The lack of con-
gressional or popular control over these huge
military and intelligence bureaucracies al-
lows them to go on being wrong with im-
punity. Each "mistake" leads on to a bigger
one.
Yet Mecklin would drag us further into
the Asian morass. He advocates the use of
combat troops to take over the war in South
Vietnam, he believes the national interest
requires it and he thinks the war can be
won in no other way, though it may take
many years and many men. At one point
he talks of the need for an army of 1 million
men. I wonder how he reconciles this with
his observation that we have been losing be-
cause we have not won the peasant over to
our side. The peasant, Mecklin says, in the
most perceptive passage in his book, is aware
"If only intuitively" that the United States
is in Vietnam for "global strategic consid-
erations, not because of sympathy for th?
Vietnamese people." To step up the bomb-
ings north and south as we have been doing,
and to follow this with combat troops as we
have begun to do, means to burn up much
of Vietnam for those global strategic con-
siderations. This is unlikely to endear Ise
to the least intuitive peasant in Vietnam or
anywhere else.
SOIL STEWARDSHIP WEEK
Mr. DOUGLAS. Mr. President, dur-
ing the period May 23-30, churches of
all denominations throughout the Unit-
ed States are observing Soil Steward-
ship Week. This annual observance is
sponsored by the Nation's 3,000 local
Soil and Water Conservation Districts.
"Challenge of GrOWth" is the theme of
this year's Soil Stewardship Week ob-
servance.
In the great society of mankind, each
of us has a God-given purpose for being.
In our time, each among us fulfills a
mission on the long progression toward
the ultimate design of our Maker.
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May 26, 1965 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD -- APPENDIX
t?j
the individual worker who would maintain
his freedom of choice enjoys a marked
advantage.
' Anchorage Reborn
EXTENSION OF REMARKS
OF-
ON. RALPH J. RIVERS
OF ALASKA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Thiersclay, May 20, 1965
Mr, RIVERS of Alaska. Mr. Speaker,
on the recent anniversary of the great
Alaska earthquake, Alaskans looked back
to survey their progress of recovery from
the devastation of March 27. In looking
back at that year, they were proud of
what had been accomplished. In special
editions of newspapers, prominent citi-
zens reviewed the work of the year and
praised their fellow Alaskans.
Progress since the earthquake in An-
Chorage, the State's largest city and one
thAt'Nffpbeci vast destruction, is now the
Subject of a survey by a national colum-
nist. This writer, Richard Starnes, finds,
as Alaska= (10, that this year has been
one of great progress. His column,
"Anchorage Reborn," printed in the
Washington Daily News on May 24 fol-
lows:
ANCHORAGE REBORN
(By Richard Starnes)
ANcHoRAGE.?The story of Anchorage is the
story of a city that refused to die.
Thirteen mouths ago the worst earthquake
ever recorded in North America crushed
Anchorage and half a dozen surrounding
communities, seismic sea waves completed
the destruction. When they had subsided,
115 Alaskans were dead and property damage
was counted in the hundreds of millions of
dollars.
A hideous, gaping wound ran through the
heart of Anchorage. Much of the Fourth
Avenue business district collapsed into it;
elsewhere homes and apartments were lit-
erally shaken to pieces as the very earth be-
neath them coiled and heaved as if some
subterranean monster were in its death
agonies. In Turnagain Heights, Anchorage's
Most fashoinable residential neighborhood,
homes were sucked into the ground and
crushed by the earth's convulsions.
Loss of life was unbelievably low in view
of the awesome destruction wrought by the
tremblor, but families saw the work of a life-
time wiped out in seconds?uninsUred and
irreplaceable.
The most remarkable thing about the giant
earthquake was the fact that human beings
faced what, Must have seemed to be the end
of the world with superhuman courage.
Tales of heroism and sacrifice are common-
place, and accounts of hysteria are notably
sparse.
In the epochal year that has passed since
the earthquake, Anchorage has performed a
miracle of rebuilding a city on the very earth
that betrayed it. Today one could spend
clays in Anchorage and see no obvicaie scars
of the cataclysm that beset the city.
Anchorage looks more like a boomtown
than the shattered relic of earthquake. New
construction is going on as if the rich oil de-
posits beneath Co0.il Inlet are the only future
surprises that the earth holds in stare for
Anchorage. Damaged buildings have been
repaired and the_ wreckage of destroyed struc-
tures has been bulldozed away. The J. C.
Penney building that was nearly shaken to
pieces last March ,has been razed, and a new
steel-reinforced concrete structure has re-
placed it. The Anchorage Westward, a new
450-room skyscraper hotel that many a
larger city Might envy, was damaged by the
tremblor but IS now in full operation. The
Captain Cook, another high-rise hotel, is
nearing completion. A new hotel is also be-
ing planned at international airport and
Sears Roebuck has confirmed plans for a
new shopping center as grandiose as any in
what Alaskans call "the lower 48." School
enrollment at 19,100 is higher than it was
when the quake struck, and Anchorage is
feverishly planning new school buildings to
meet the need. The city's population has
grown an estimated 13 percent in the last 3
years?and, earthquake or no, it is still
growing.
Support of the President's Poli f y on
Vietnam ,\i'?/
EXTENSION OF REMARKS
OF
HON. JACOB K. JAVITS
OF NEW YORK
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
Wednesday, May 26, 1965
Mr. JAVITS. Mr. President, I ask
unanimous consent to have printed in
the Appendix of the CONGRESSIONAL
RECORD the text of a resolution adopted
on April 26, 1965, by the Niagara Palls
City Council, in support of the Presi-
dent's policy on Vietnam, together with
a petition, with 1,561 signatures, initiated
by the members of the Zeta Beta Tau
Fraternity, at Queens College of the City
University of New York, also in support
of our present policy on Vietnam.
There being no objection, the resolu-
tion and the petition were ordered to be
printed in the RECORD, as follows:
RESOLUTION ADOPTED AT A MEETING OF THE
NIAGARA FALLS CITY COUNCIL, HELD APRIL
26, 1965
Whereas North Vietnam Communists,
without provocation, have infiltrated and in-
vaded South Vietnam with military force;
and
Whereas the United States has committed
itself to defend the self-determination of
South Vietnam against the North Vietnam
attack; and
Whereas the President of the United
States has firmly held to this policy, and
has taken appropriate military action to
defend the right of South Vietnam to gov-
ern itself according to its own national in-
terests: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the city council of the
city of Niagara Falls does hereby commend
our President for his steadfast purpose to
defend South Vietnam while maintaining a
policy of unconditional discussion on peace;
and this city council further resolves to
urge our Congressmen and U.S. Senators
to stand by the President with unwavering
support until a successful conclusion of the
conflict is achieved, and be it further
Resolved, That the mayor of the city of
Niagara Falls be directed to send this resolu-
tion to the President, our Congressmen, and
U.S. Senators. .
E. DENT LACKEY,
Mayor.
Attest:
HELENE M. BREED,
Acting Deputy City Clerk.
We, the undersigned, support our present
policy in Vietnam. We feel that this policy
is in line with the U.S. tradition of support-
ing freedom throughout the world,
A2675
Accomplishments of the Johnson
Administration
EXTENSION OF REMARKS
OF
HON. RICHARD FULTON
OF TENNESSEE
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Wednesday, May 26, 1966
Mr. FULTON of Tennessee. Mr.
Speaker, in editorials which recently ap-
peared in the Nashville Tennessean,
President Johnson is commended for his
actions in the Dominican Republic and
record of accomplishment over the first
100 days of this administration since the
inauguration January 20, 1965.
Mr. Speaker, I request unanimous con-
sent to place these editorials in the REC-
ORD and commend them to the attention
of my colleagues:
(From the Nashville Tennessean, May 3,
1965]
PRESIDENT'S FIRST 100 DAYS EVENT FILLED,
PRODUCTIVE
President Johnson has just completed 100
days in office since his January 20 inaugural
oath. It has been a busy time, marked by
fast-paced activity on the domestic front and
days of tension on the international scene.
The war in South Vietnam has occupied
much of the President's time and concern.
And if that were not enough, at the end
of the first 100 days he was also concerned
with a revolt in the Dominican Republic.
Despite the clouds of omen, there were a
good many bright signs for which the Presi-
dent could feel pleased. The Nation's econ-
omy has been booming. Some threatening
strikes have been averted, or in the case of
steel, at least delayed.
Furthermore, the President should be
highly gratified thus far with the first ses-
sion of the 89th Congress. With successful
passage of the sweeping education bill, the
aid to Appalachia program, House passage of
medical care and social security legislation,
and the expected enactment of a voting
rights measure, it can be said that Congress
is bath busy and productive.
In comparison with the first 100 days of
President Roosevelt, there are fewer bills
and Congress is not booming them through
at the same hectic pace. But the 73d Con-
gress had an altogether different economy to
deal with; there was less time for debate and
study in 1933.
President Johnson was swept into office on
a tidal wave of votes. Few, if any Chief Exec-
utives have had a larger mandate in terms of
ballots. But the President is too wise a poli-
tical leader to attempt to move mountains
suddenly.
Mr. Johnson has retained a friendly and
constructive relationship with Congress. Mi-
nority opposition is there, but it has been
generally more constructive than blindly
obstructive.
The President's program is moving ahead
at a steady pace, and he has every right to
look back on the 100 days with great satis-
faction, insofar as domestic problems are
concerned.
The war in Vietnam has been his great-
est headache, but at the same time exten-
sion of that fight and the President's Balti-
more speech has begun to change the world's
image of him from something of an unknown
quantity to one of a Chief Executive with
stature, toughness and shrewdness. In
short, even with those who disagree with him
elsewhere in the world, President Johnson
has won grMiginq respect.
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A2676 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD ? APPENDIX May 26, 1965
No one can predict with any certainty
what the next 100 days in office will bring
for the President. It is safe to bet they will
be filled with great activity and great events
and that the world will have even a stronger
picture of the President who is firmly in the
saddle, and riding his men horse.
[From the Nashville Tennessean,
Apr. 30, 1965]
PRESIDENT MOVES To BAR ANY CUBAN-LIKE
TAKEOVER
The dispatch of U.S. Marines into the Do-
minican Republic was bound to have reper-
cussions in Latin America and elsewhere, but
President Johnson obviously felt that there
was a, greater risk there than any critical
reaction.
The Marines went in to give protection to
American citizens, but they were subse-
quently fired on. and they fired back. Be-
hind their presence may be the very strong
fear that Castro Communists were interested
in the Dominican uprising.
President Johnson has made it plain
enough that he doesn't intend to have an-
other Cuba in the Caribbean, even If he
must risk raising the old specter of U.S. im-
perialism in Latin America.
Reports from Washington indicate that
the administration is concerned with ac-
cumulating evidence that the Dominican re-
volt has gone beyond the normal experience
of such revolutions; that several cease-fires
have been pledged and broken; and that peo-
ple have been stood against the wall and exe-
cuted to cries of "paredon," which means, "to
the wall," and was a familiar noise of the
Castro takeover in Cuba.
The coup that was attempted nearly a
week ago was net so much a matter of issues
as an effort by the supporters of ex-Presi-
dent Juan Bosch to restore him to power.
The loyalist forces have claimed that Bosch
is supported in his bid to regain power by the
Communists. The pro-Bosch forces deny
this.
But it has become quite apparent that the
Communists are looking for a chance to play
a role from the sidelines.
At first, the United States apparently de-
cided to remain officially neutral. Its main
efforts were to seek a cease-fire, and those ef-
forts had appeared to be a success. But re-
newed fighting broke out.
At this point, President Johnson an-
nounced that he would send in the Marines
to protect American citizens. He said he
acted after being informed by Dominican
military authorities that the lives of these
citizens were in danger.
The presence of the Marines and U.S. war-
ships off the Dominican Republic will have a
large message to the hemisphere. Undoubt-
edly it will disturb deeply a good many in
Latin America. But it will leave no doubt
that the Nation will act when the lives of
American citizens are threatened.
The Cost
EXTENSION OF REMARKS
OF
HON. JIM WRIGHT
Or e'Exse
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Wednesday, May 26, 1965
Mr. WRIGHT. Mr. Speaker, taking
note of President's Johnson's recent re-
(luta far1700 million to finance Ameri-
can efforts in Vietnam, the Dallas Morn-
J46 Nevis pointed out that the defense of
freedom is never cheap, either in lives or
in dollars.
In a May 6 editorial, the News goes
ahead to spell out the indisputable logic
behind the policies President Johnson is
pursuing in that embattled southeast
Asian nation. The editorial follows:
THE COST
President Johnson's request for $700 mil-
lion to finance the free world effort in Viet-
riahl was not the first bill to come due for
that bloody conflict. It probably Will not be
the last. Though we often seem to take it
for granted, freedom does not come cheap.
it must be Won, often at great sacrifice,
and it must then be constantly defended
against those who would destroy it. The
eost, in lives and treasure, is unavoidable if
we mean to be free.
We learned long ago that we cannot buy
our freedom in the counterfeit coin of ap-
peasement. When we try to trade others'
freedom to save our own, we pollute our
honor along with our liberty. The loss of
freedom by one people diminishes the free-
dom of all people.
That is why we have assumed the respon-
sibility for helping those nations that are
threatened by Communist enslavement. We
did not ask for it. But we have it. We have
it because no one else in the free world is
strong enough to do the job.
This does not mean that we Can defend
the entire free world alone. Our power and
resources are not infinite. But we can and
must conceive every nation willing to defend
its own independence from Communist im-
perialists that we will come to its aid if it is
attacked.
Furthermore, we must show that we will
keep the faith when the going is hard, when
the war drags on or when fortune turns
against us.
Brave words and firm promises are not
enough. They must be backed up by deeds.
If we extend our support to an embattled
nation, then withdraw it later because the
task has become too burdensome, we will
not be asked for help again. An ally that
abandons its friends in the midst of a con-
flict when its help is needed most, is worse
than an enemy.
The aim of the Communists in Vietnam
encompasses much more than the conquest
col the southern half of the country. Their
goal is to show that the promise of the
American Nation to stand firm with a free
people is worthless, that communism is ir-
resistible. They want to show every small
or weak nation in the world that it is sui-
cidal to fight in defense of its freedom and
that an American commitment to that de-
fense will dissolve into a betrayal when the
American public tires of it.
If we back out of Vietnam, the Commu-
nists' point is made. Thousands of South
Vietnamese soldiers and hundreds of Ameri-
cans will have died for nothing. The de-
struction and misery suffered by South Viet-
nam will have been suffered for nothing.
The Communists have told us that they
intend to prove in South Vietnam that the
inevitable result of a "liberation war" is a
Communist triumph and that surrender is
therefore the wisest course for any nation
coveted by the Communists.
The cost of proving them wrong is going
to be heavy, but we must pay it, for it is the
cost of freedom for ourselves and for our
children.
Two Constructive Statements
EXTENSION OF REMARKS
OF
HON. PHILIP J. PHILBIN
OF MASSACHUSETTS
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Tuesday, May 25, 1965
Mr. PHILBIN. Mr. Speaker, under
unanimous consent to revise and extend
my remarks I include therein two very
well written and timely editorials touch-
ing upon the critical international situa-
tion, one entitled, "The Other Vietnam
Story" from a recent edition of the Bos-
ton, Mass., Globe, and the other one en-
titled, "No More Cubas" from a recent
edition of the New Bedford, Mass.,
Standard-Times.
These editorials make a real contribu-
tion to the discussion of the grave Viet-
nam and Santo Domingo problems?the
first one calling for strength, calmness,
and firmness, and the second pinpoint-
ing the constructive, humane phases of
current developme9,ts in Vietnam and
'the Far East.
I think both of these writings are
worthy of careful reading by Members
of Congress and the American people.
The articles follow:
[From the Boston Globe, May 14, 19651
THE OTHER VIETNAM STORY
An inconspicuous press dispatch from
South Vietnam recently described the arrival
of thousands of native men, women, and
children at Saigon, and at a U.S. base area
further north on that country's coast. They
were terrorized fugitives from inland villages
sacked by the Communist Vietcong, who had
murdered their local chieftains.
To this tragic human side of the current
war, and to the hitherto little publicized
story of the help our own nation has been
giving the Vietnamese during the past
decade, President Johnson addressed him-
self in his speech Thursday. Seldom has a
report so cogent been offered to the Ameri-
can public at a more appropriate moment.
Hitherto during this war the only drama-
tization of our country's peaceful recon-
structive efforts in South Vietnam was the
President's disclosure a fortnight ago of his
postwar billion-dollar assistance program.
That scheme, as he noted yesterday, is al-
ready moving ahead.
But the main burden of President John-
son's accounting Thursday was of work in
progress, work begun long before present
hostilities were unleashed by Hanoi, work
that is continuing despite raid, battle, and
terror. It is the story of the $2 billion in
American aid which began in 1954 and con-
tinues the modernization of Vietnamese ag-
riculture, the building of schools, health
centers, hospitals and industries, and the
training of administrators. His report was a
warm and well-deserved tribute to the
courageous civilians, Americans and Viet-
namese alike, who are carrying that work
forward.
[From the New Bedford (Mass.) Standard-
Times, May 3, 19651
No MORE COMAS
The President of the United States, in
ordering U.S. fighting men into the frontlines
of the Dominican Republic uprising "to help
prevent another Communist state in the
Western Hemisphere," deserves the fullest
support of the American people.
Mr. Johnson's evaluation of the Dominican
situation is based upon constantly emerg-
ing evidence that, whatever the revolution
was when it began, other and sinister forces
soon seized control of it. The former U.S.
ambassador to Santo Domingo, John Bartlow
Martin, commented that he was "convinced"
the uprising had been completely taken over
by Castro-dominated Communists. Mr.
Martin said the insurgency had started as a
"genuine revolution to restore exiled former
President Juan D. Bosch to power," but
added, "Bosch would be heartbroken to see
the results now."
It also is evident that the United States
delayed its military intervention to the last
possible minute when such action could have
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