FAIR PLAY FOR CUBA COMMITTEE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP65B00383R000200240072-7
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 18, 2004
• Sequence Number: 72
• Publication Date: December 19, 1963
• Content Type: OPEN

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A7746 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD - APPENDIX December 19
subordinate to military requirements and cent Supreme Court ruling against school mittee" Inevitably, the teaching of extreme
the national interest. prayer, should have been the very forces hatred and contempt, characteristic of the
In the present instance, there is an obvious which directly instigated the assassination "leftwing" Communists, the Socialist Work-
effort underway to pare military costs by of President Kennedy. All over the Nation, ers Party, became an earmark of the Fair
cutting away the deadwood. Among the the people were urged to pray; so far as I Play for Cuba Committee.
6,700 military installations in this country know, there was no admonition that we pray BACKGROUND AND HISTORY OF THE FPCC
and overseas there must be much of it, and except and unless you were in a public school. The FPCC was launched in early 1960. Ac-
the taxpaying public in general can but ap- How ironic that White House officials had cording to the Senate Internal Security Sub-
plaud this economy move. ordered the Dallas police, in advance of the committee reports, six men were involved
President Johnson has given his assurance, President's visit, to set up a sharp watch over in its founding; Carleton Beals, Waldo Frank,
although it was hardly necessary, that the all suspected rightwing extremists, failing to Richard Gibson, Robert Tabor, Alan Sagner,
Nation's defense posture will not be weak- realize, as they have consistently refused to and Charles Santos-Buch. Waldo Frank was
ened. Indeed, if our overall economic struc- recognize, that the greater danger to this
designated
ed
ture is bolstered, our military position will Nation is from the extreme left. chairman. An chairman; amleton epro co.
automatically become stronger. FPCC pamphlet reproduced
. WHAT WENT WRONG? In n the e Senate report lists the National Spon-
It
i
t
Fair Play for Cuba Committee
EXTENSION OF REMARKS
OF
HON. LOUIS C. WYMAN
.. I' y
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Of the role played by the Communist con- that if they were ever questioned as to the
Wednesday, December 4, 1963 spiracy, there is no question. At its annual source of their funds, they were to claim
national convention held in New York City it came from friends. If further questioned,
Mr. WYMAN. Mr. Speaker, the Seri- in December 1959 the CPUSA gave highest however, they were to plead the first
a
s
e0 late to correct the disastrous ors as Carleton Beals, W. E. B. DuBois, Waldo
events of November 1963. But it is not too Frank, Richard Gibson, Alexander Mefkie-
late to determine why the tragedy happened, John, C. Wright Mills, Harvey O'Connor, Linus
and to take steps to insure that further acts Pauling, Jean Paul Sarte, I. F. Stone, Robert
of violence are not carried out by the Castro Tabor, and Willard Uphaus (with a foot-
supporters in this country. note reading "list Incomplete").
The nub of the question, of course, lies From the very beginning, the FPCC was
with the interlocking relationship of the given financial backing and support by the
Fair Play for Cuba Committee; the self- Castro Communist dictatorship. Dr. Santos-
d
___ . -_
avowed Marxist. Lee H. Oswald, and the Bush. one of the fr
un
ers tee
men r
ousness and effectiveness of slanted pro- priority to.a resolution calling for a "Hands went-the
guarantee of free speech under
Communist propaganda was never better Off Cuba" policy. Henceforth the basic Red the Constitution. Dr. Santos-Bush, how-
illustrated than in the sickness that objective was to do anything and everything ever, showing great courage, told the truth
to keep the Castro Communist government when questioned by the Senate committee.
tainted Lee Oswald's mind. Our people in power in Cuba. A check for $3,500, he revealed, had been
should never forget that Oswald was an Immediately thereafter, the Fair Play for made out by Raulita Roa, a delegate of the
admitted Marxist, that by his own state- Cuba Committee front was established. Cuban dictatorship to the United Nations,
ments Das Kapital was his bible, class However, it was not an ordinary front. It payable to a "Manuel Bisbee," the chief per-
struggle, atheism, and the fanatical goal was, instead, a coalition group which in- manent delegate from Castro Cuba to the
of Communist world domination his eluded not only members of the Communist U.N. Bisbee endorsed the check; Roa then
motivation. Party, but also members of the Socialist cashed it in the U.N. building, and the money
Not enough has been written concern- Workers Party-the Trotskyists-together was then deposited in the Chemical Bank
with the s"; i.e., those although "fellow
ing the Fair Play for Cuba Committee. eler
not dis 1p- New York PCC flourished is Indicated by
The tentacles of this committee are far lined members of the Soviet apparatus itself, some of the checks drawn on their bank
reaching. One of my constituents, the still were in agreement with the Communist account:
distinguished writer and former member policy to keep "hands off Cuba" and to sup- December 27, 1960--$8,613 (for cash).
of the Communist Party, Herbert Phil- port Castro. December 30, 1060-319,000 (for cash).
brick, of Rye, N.H., has written aThe inclusion of fellow travelers was not January 17, 1961-$16,580 (payable to Cu-
rick, of Rye, an sxceritte a about o t unusual; but the coalition between the bana Do Aviation).
these ten a then an ec llent a ticle Communists and the Trotskyists was both January 19, 1961-$440 (to A. Nash).
apparing In issue of astonishing and alarming. For years, the January 25, 1961-$600 (to Lillian Gruber) .
lar Hollar called "The Roots of Tragedy." Stalinists and the ,Trotskyists had been bit- By April 1961, the FPCO was boasting
I commend the reading of this article to ter, bloody enemies, leading to the assassina- "more than 6,000 members with 27 chapters
all who seek to know and understand the tion of Leon Trotsky by Soviet agents in 1940. , In the United States and student councils
full scope of what is involved in the awful Members of the Trotsky wing of the Marx- on more than 40 university chapters in the
deed of assassination of an American ist movement consider themselves to be United States and Canada."
President. genuine Communists (they prefer the word The Senate committee also uncovered large
Th article follows' Marxist " to distinguish themselves from deposits to the FPCC account. Introduced
the "Stalinists") adhere to the principles of into the record by Mr. J. G. Sourwine, Chief
THE RooTS or TRAGEDY Marx, Lenin, and Engels; they agree that the Counsel for the Senate Committee, was a list
(By Herbert A. Philbrick) Communist system must be extended "over of 55 $100 bills, deposited on April 21, 1961.
The obituary of President John F. Kennedy the entire world and that capitalism must be Mr. Sourwine asked: "Do you have any idea
was written in 1961, by a member of a pro- destroyed; but they believe that Stalin was where the money came from?" The wit-
Castro organization calling itself the "Fair much too soft on capitalism. The Trotskyist ness, Richard Gibson, replied : "It came from
Play for Cuba Committee." it appears in teachings, therefore, are much more savage contributions." Mr. Sourwine exclaimed,
volume No. 8, page 429, of the Senate Judi- and extreme than "orthodox" communism. with astonishment; "Contributions-in hun-
ciary Committee document entitled "Castro's However, for years they were considered noisy dred dollar bills?-55 of them?" Gibson re-
Network in the United States (Fair Play for but harmless, because they did not have the plied, "That is all I know. I don't know
Cuba Committee) ." backing of any major foreign power. where the money came from and I did not
It reads as follows: "Fidel has made it. However, in 1956 Nlkita Khrushchev ask." Gibson was, at the time, the na-
Kennedy has muffed it. If Fidel Castro were denounced Stalin's liquidation of the Trot- tional executive secretary of FPCC.
to pass out of the picture tomorrow, it would skyists and instructed the Communists Gibson also testified that he did not know
not change this die. It has been cast. throughout the world to establish united that Robert Tabor, a cofounder of FPCC and
Throughout South America people will be front relationships whenever expedient, re- the first executive secretary of the organiza-
building statutes honoring Fidel Castro long gardless of differing views. tion, had a criminal record; that he did not
after Kennedy has become the brand name Much to my astonishment, as I know it was know Tabor had pleaded guilty and served
for somebody's baked cookies or a new kind with most students of the Communist move- sentences of imprisonment for armed robbery,
of swiss cheese." ment, the Socialist Workers Party accepted auto larceny, and kidnaping.
Less than 6 months after the Senate In- the offer. What happened is recorded in the Besides the unusual-aad dangerous-cos-
ternal Seelirity Subcommittee had published Annual Report of the House Committee on lition between the Communists and the Trot-
ternal rt, Lee Hubco Oswald, his p b and Un-American Activities for the Year 1961: skyists, however; two other circumstances its soul contaminated by the Fair hisy for Cand the committee expressed concern over the made the picture more ominous.
Committee filth, gunnth down the President "ultra-revolutionary Trotskyists movement's First, the House and Senate investigating
of the United States. recent growth in power and influence," and committees found evidence of great influence
The brutal, senseless slaying of the Presi- stated: `The improved fortunes of the Trot- by members of the FPCC, its supporters and
deTt will al down in slaying as he even- skyist movement in the United States are at- contributors, in the field of communications;
marked ll go irony. tributed to the cooperation Trotskyists have radio, television, magazines, newspapers, and by- How ironic t and yet, how unsur received from the U.S. Communist Party * * * book publishers.
that the very Marxist, materialistprisinatheist, Party members was strikingly dlluCommunist strated in bothob epo terse and newswr tel Gibsons CBS in
leftwing forces, the cheerleaders of the re- the operations of the Fair Play for Cuba Com- New York; Tabor, in fact, had made a num-
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD - APPENDIX A7745
not only to America, but England, the world,
and peace.
I still find it hard to believe and must
hang on to the thought that God moves in
strange ways, otherwise I would find it very
difficult to go on believing in God because
this all seems so very pointless. Perhaps this
is one of the supreme sacrifices which will
cause all peoples of the world to move to-
ward better undertanding. I sincerely hope
so.
Thinking of you.
Love,
EXTENSION OF REMARKS
or
HON. JOHN H. DENT
OF PENNSYLVANIA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Wednesday, December 4, 1963
Mr. DENT. Mr. Speaker, we see every
day new evidence of the dangerous trend
toward retail monopoly in this country.
We see small merchants being killed off
by large so-called discounters, not be-
cause they offer the consumer better
service or more efficient operations, but
because they engage in often deceptive
merchandising and advertising tactics
aimed at eliminating competition.
The quality stabilization bill, spon-
sored by a distinguished group of my
estimable colleagues in both Houses of
Congress, would permit the small re-
tailer to demonstrate anew his vitality
and his efficiency. Unless it is passed,
his fate is clear: because he will not en-
gage in shabby techniques, such as run-
ning entire departments at a loss in
order to build traffic, he will become a
part of our vanished scene. And we
shall have placed the consumer in the
hands of a few, a very few, giant mer-
chandisers. We shall have created less
competition, not more; have fewer stores.
not a healthy variety; we shall have an
undue concentration of economic power
in the hands of a few.
The evidence is again before us in the
form of a survey published in Business
Week magazine. Just one item from
it is shocking evidence of the curtail-
ment of competition which we have been
witnessing: in the past 10 years, the
number of radio-TV stores has dropped
from 100,000 to 19,000. How has this
happened? It is the result of a policy of
many predators who run their radio-TV
departments at a deliberate loss just to
build traffic. What has happened to the
brand names which have been cheap-
ened in this manner? Their reputations
have been hurt, their markets have been
killed. What has happened to the 81,000
independent businessmen and their em-
ployees? Their energies have been lost
to the community.
Mr. Speaker, under unanimous con-
sent, I include this significant article
from the November 6 issue of Business
Week magazine in the CONGRESSIONAL
RECORD:
FEWER STORES To SHARE THE PIE-THEY GET
BIGGER BUT DECREASE IN NUMBER As DIs-
COUNTERS, CHAINS SQUEEZE "LrrrLE Guys"
The fates and fortunes of the Nation's con-
sumer goods makers rest in the hands of
fewer and fewer retailers every year. And the
character of those retailers is changing.
According to the 10th National sample
Census of Retail Distribution, conducted by
Audits & Surveys Co., there are now 1.857:
280 retail establishments of all kinds in the
continental United States. This is a gain of
less than 1 percent over 1962, despite an esti-
mated 5 percent Increase in retail sales and
a 4 percent jump in population. There is
now only one store for every 102 persons;
last year there was one store per 100.
BEHIND TiIE CHANGE
The reasons for the change:
Stores are still getting bigger, and large
chain units are squeezing out smaller Inde-
pendents. The number of food stores, for
example, has dropped 0.8 percent. while drug-
stores increased only 0.2 percent.
The discounters and other mass merchan-
disers are still hurting certain lines of busi-
ness. The number of appliance stores fell 3
percent, while radio-TV stores, which num-
bered 100.000 a decade ago, dropped 3.2 per-
cent from last year to a low of 19,000 estab-
lishments.
The mobility conferred on the population
by the automobile Is changing a lot of
things. Furniture stores dropped a sicken-
ing 10.8 percent, and the loss is mostly In
the smaller cities. Families tend to drive
to the nearest big city to get variety-
both In price and styling. The same is true
of department stores, which lost 2.4 percent.
The outlets that really suffered were the
small stores in small towns.
Fashions change, and retail distribution
changes with them. The number of shoe
stores declined 3.5 percent because of the
popularity of leisure and sport shoes-loaf-
ers and sneakers, for example-that don't
have to be fitted. A hoot of other retail
outlets, from variety stores to haberdashers,
has moved Into this market. Of the total
gain of 12.274 establishments of all types,
gasoline service stations alone accounted for
over 5,000, reflecting the trend away from
economy cars toward the bigger, heavier gas
eaters.
The lines of retail specialty are blurring.
In the lean days of the compact car. gas sta-
tions Installed tire and battery departments
at a rest clip in order to build volume and
profits. Today, the tire, battery, and acces-
sory outlets are feeling the competition:
Their number declined 2.6 percent this year.
The market is beginning to stay home.
Solomon Dutka, president of Audits & Sur-
veys, sees a long-term movement away from
store shopping altogether, toward catalog
sales, telephone sales, mail order sales, and
door-to-door In-home selling.
LxCEPrION
There is one bright note, however, for the
small retailer. He seems to have a future
in lines where service and expertise is at
least as important as the product. The one
class of shoe store that is increasing to the
pediatric shoe store-where fitting the shoes
Is all Important. By the same token, gour-
met groceries are on the rise, and so are
camera. jewelry, sporting goods, and bobby
stores.
Oh yes. there are more liquor stores, too.
SPEECH
or
HON. BARRATT O'HARA
OF ILLINOIS
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Wednesday, December 18, 1963
Mr. O'HARA of Illinois. Mr. Speaker,
HOMER THORNBERRY leaves this body with
the warm friendship of all his colleagues.
The qualities of mind and of heart that
have established his preeminence in this
Chamber, and have instilled among us
a respect, admiration, and affection for
him in the highest measure, will make
a contribution of immeasurable rich-
ness to the Federal bench of this Nation.
EXTENSION OF REMARKS
Or
HON. PAUL G. ROGERS
Or FLORIDA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Friday, December 13, 1963
Mr. ROGERS of Florida. Mr. Speaker,
much as has been said and written about
the economy moves being taken by the
Defense Department in closing some
military posts around the country. Palm
Beach County experienced a similar ac-
tion in 1959, and while hardships did
result, they were of short duration. To-
day the area is stronger than ever before
In its history.
The Palm Beach Post commented on
this editorially December 14, and because
they speak from the same experience, I
ask that this editorial be printed at this
point in the RECORD:
DO WE HF AR AN ECHO?
The loud cries emanating from Congress-
men and from State and local officials, over
the proposed shutdown of military bases,
sound a little bit like an echo to people of
this and surrounding communities.
We went through the same wringer during
the period from 1957, when the Air Force
announced it would close down its Military
Air Transport Service base here, and 1959,
when it actually closed down, and a $20 mil-
lion payroll left town.
Now the Pentagon says It will deactivate 26
military bases In 14 States during the next
year, and studies are underway which prob-
ably will result In the elimination of several
others. Subsequent trimming of the military
budget may even Involve some of the big
navy yards, such as those at Boston, Phila-
delphia, and San Francisco.
The immediate reaction of the States and
localities involved, not unexpectedly, was an
appeal to their Congressmen for legislation
to reverse or at least slow down the action.
Appeals also have been made directly to
President Johnson. And no doubt there will
be many hardship pleas heard from the com-
munities involved.
They have our sympathy, up to a point.
Sudden loss of a military base is or can be
a staggering economic blow.
The MATS installation at Palm Beach Air
Force Base, for instance, was credited with
providing this area with a stable year-round
economy. Before it was established here In
1951, the local business index went up and
down like a yo-yo with alternate summer
and winter seasons.
But while the military payroll eliminated
the summer slump. It turned out in the long
run to be something less than an unmixed
blessing. We came to depand on it as our
major industry, oblivious to the fact that it
might be withdrawn at any time for good and
sufficient reasons of military necessity, Fed-
eral economy, or political expediency.
Its eventual departure in 1959 was indeed
a blow, But the blow was softened by a de-
veloping Industrial economy and the realiza-
tion that local interests must of necessity be
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD - APPENDIX A7747
ber of trips for CBS into Cuba, where he had
conducted highly flattering radio and tele-
vision interviews with The Beard. Waldo
Frank, who admitted under oath that he had
been paid $25,000 by the Castro government
to write a book about Cuba, has authored
some 35 or more books; they have received
an enormous amount of praise in the New
York Times book reviews. Carleton Beals
not only wrote for the extreme left "Nation,"
but also testified that he wrote a number of
articles for the highly respected "Christian
Century." Lyle Stuart, one of the first mem-
bers of the New York chapter of FPCC
boasted a publishing business grossing over
$1 million a year. A senior editor of Simon
and Shuster was advertised in a leftwing
publication as the chief speaker at an FPCC
meeting. An FPCC rally in Philadelphia ad-
vertised Mr. James Higgins, editor of the
York (Pa.) Gazette & Daily as the speaker,
to be held at the Philadelphia Ethical So-
ciety. Kenneth Tynan, a drama critic for
the New York magazine and British TV pro-
ducer, wrote a blistering article for the afflu-
ent Harper's magazine, lampooning the Sen-
ate investigation of the FPCC, in which he
falsified the questions asked by the Senate
committee as well as belittling the damaging
evidence. -
How much influence the many authors,
writers, and newscasters affiliated with FPCC
in one way or another had in suppressing the
truth about Castro's network in the United
States will probably never be known; but
Senator THOMAS DODD wrote, in his book
"Freedom and Foreign Power," that when
there are movements like the Fair Play for
Cuba Committee waiting to be exposed, "the
press lies dormant," and the "reports of the
committees are frequently ignored or buried."
FBI WARNINGS IGNORED
Warning after warning was issued concern-
ing the danger, power, and menace of the
FPCC. Mr. J. Edgar Hoover said, in the
FBI annual report for 1961, that "FBI in-
vestigations have shown that the Fair Play
for Cuba Committee has been heavily infil-
trated by the Communist Party and the
Socialist Workers Party, and these parties
have actually organized some chapters of
the committee." Again this year, in the
fiscal 1963 report, Mr. Hoover pointed to "the
discovery by FBI agents of a large cache of
weapons, explosives, and incendiary devices
in the hands of a group of pro-Castro Cubans
who intended to create panic and destroy
industrial sites in and around New York
City."
Earlier this year, Congressman WILLIAM C.
CRAMER, from the 12th District of Florida,
testified that "it is obvious that additional
legislation is needed-particularly in view of
the Justice Department's attitude indicating
that it is difficult to prosecute these violators
under present laws."
THE TEACHINGS OF HATE
But the third-and possibly the most
dangerous of all-is the absolutely vicious,
vitrolic content of the FPCC propaganda
attack against the U.S. Government, laws,
and leaders. Picture, if you will, Lee Harvey
Oswald, in the confines of his tiny room in
Dallas, Tex., feeding his sick soul upon utter-
ances such as these -
"Some Senators sit in Washington, ugly
men in an ugly city, measuring out their
lives in cracker talk and municipal bonds;
measuring their own importance in sensa-
tional headlines. Writhing in the excretion
of their own words * * * growling questions
that are accusations; spewing yellow bubbles
of anger. * * * The State Department was
still rattling its sabers. The CIA was still
financing Batistianos and cutthroats and
rapists and killers and thieves."
"Washington is rolling the drums of
war."
"The United States continues to bayonet
the peace."
"Thrusting U.S. armed and trained terror-
ists onto Cuban soil to murder men, women,
and children, Washington violates every hu-
man law."
"The United States is a cruel aggressor,
bent on mayhem."
"I heard the Voice of America spewing
lies."
"The people were furious (with anti-Com-
munists) and wanted their blood."
FPCC propaganda constantly implies that
treason toward the United States is justifi-
able. Typical FPCC statements:
"We denounce before the world the inter-
vention of our Government in Cuba's do-
mestic affairs. If this be treason, we stand
condemned. If our Government's activities
are, as we believe, illegal and immoral, then
we as a nation stand condemned."
"As for me, I would rather see Cuba Com-
munist than an American colony. If Cuba
were invaded, I would aid Cuba. If this be
treason, may a Carnegie study make the most
Of it."
Ideas not dangerous, you say? Perhaps to
rational people the hate propaganda from
the poison pens of the Castro network in
the United States has little effect. But what
about the bearded, beatnik followers of the
FPCC? What about Lee Harvey Oswald?
If they believe the depraved propaganda of
the FPCC-and some of them obviously do
they must believe the world was done a favor
when one of their members pulled the trigger
of a high-powered gun in November 22,1963.
But all is not evil to the FPCO. Only the
United States is evil. A gun in the hands of
an American patriot is a horrible machine
of imperialism. A gun in the hands of
Castro is a thing of beauty, a weapon for
liberation. Thus, Robert Tabor, in the ex-
tremist publication the Nation, wrote-
"Cynics were soon disappointed. Even be-
fore Fidel reached Havana, the noble noises
of the Fidelistas were echoed by the crash of
revolutionary rifles as the first and worst war
criminals, notorious torturers and mass mur-
derers of the Batista regime died before fir-
ing squads."
Did not Lee Harvey Oswald, crouched in a
dark window of a warehouse in Dallas, see
himself holding in his grasp a "revolutionary
rifle"? Were not the three, sharp shots
which rang out in Dallas on November 22,
in the ears of Lee Harvey Oswald, "noble
noises of the Fidelistas"? And did not the
bullets sped on their way, in the eyes of Lee
Harvey Oswald seek out "a cruel aggressor,
bent on mayhem"?
The great tragedy of Lee Harvey Oswald,
which became in a few split seconds a trag-
edy for us all, was that he believed the awful
words of Robert Tabor, former CBS newsman
and' later head of the Fair Play for Cuba
Committee.
And the greater, ironic tragedy is that
while Lee Harvey Oswald took the words of
Tabor seriously, many of the advisers to the
President did not.
Why Calm Can Help
EXTENSION OF REMARKS
OF
HON. GLEN ',CUNNINGHAM
. !OF? NEDRASB:A
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Tuesday, December 10, 1963
Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker,
the following editorial appeared in the
Omaha World-Herald December 14. I
am inserting it in the RECORD as I believe
it would be of interest to the Members of
Congress.
WHY CALM CAN HELP
Page i of several recent editions of the
World-Herald was dominated by sobering
news stories:
"Governor Morrison said he would press
investigation of threats against a Cozad
School Board official and her family. She
had resigned after an anonymous letter, say-
ing'it's too bad there is not a Lee Oswald In
Cozad.' The FBI also is investigating."
"Omaha postal authorities conferred with
police about the possibility that an Omaha
man whose house contained an arsenal of live
bombs and hand grenades may have mailed
some disguised as Christmas gifts."
Not all the madness in America is centered
in Dallas. There are twisted minds and po-
tential killers in many communities, and ter-
rible events such as those which occurred in
Dallas last month seem to cause latent ma-
levolence to ferment.
As we have said in these columns before,
we believe the tone and pitch of public con-
troversy have contributed to the irrational
atmosphere in which terrible deeds are per-
petrated and in which threats of violence are
often heard.
This is true of political debate, which too
often degenerates into abuse. It Is some-
times true of religious controversy, even at a
time when responsible men and women pride
themselves on the signs that the major re-
ligions of the Western World are moving ever
closer together. It is not infrequently true
of discussions of racial problems.
It can be argued, and many are so arguing,
that madmen we have always with us and
that the soft voice of reason in examination
and debate has no effect upon them and will
not deter them from violent acts.
Ye b all of us know, as certainly as such
things can be known, that calm and rational
discussion does not inflame whereas violent
talk sometimes breeds violent and irrational
deeds.
If every reasonable person keeps his voice
down he will be contributing to the restora-
tion of a calm and agreeable climate.
Quality Stabilization
HON. JOHN H. DENT
OF PENNSYLVANIA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Wednesday, December 4, 1963
Mr. DENT. Mr. Speaker, so much
has been said and written about quality
stabilization that I feel it is time for the
retailer-the man on the firing line-to
speak out. Then my distinguished col-
leagues can weigh what they have to say
against the testimony of the so-called
experts, officials, bureaucrats and others
who talk so blatantly about competition
in spite of the fact that they have never
operated a retail establishment of their
own.
. Considerable testimony in support of
this legislation has been given by indi-
vidual retailers. Also, it is no mere coin-
cidence that the estimable gentlemen on
both sides of, the aisle who have spon-
sored this measure include many who are
themselves thoroughly familiar with re-
tail operations and know from personal
experience the difficulties of the market-
place.
Quality stabilization, in addition, has
the support of many great trade associa-
tions representing thousands of retail-
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD - APPENDIX December 19
ers. One retail industry-retail jew-
elry-has made a survey which shows
overwhelming support of the quality
stabilization bill.
The thousands of small business, like
the retail Jeweler, which are the life-
blood of our communities, are locally
owned and have helped our towns to
grow, are Inherently efficient establish-
ments, able to complete vigorously, and
anxious to do so. They do not ask for
legislation which will shelter them from
the rigors of competition. They ask for
a climate in which true competition will
be fostered, in which their creative
energies will be unshackled, and In which
their inherent efficiency can again be
made apparent.
We have come to the retail jeweler for
our engagement ring and we have trusted
him to give us fair value. We have
bought our wedding ring from him. We
have bought gifts for our babies and
later for our school-age children; we
have turned to him for graduation gifts,
and for gifts for wives and parents. We
have seen him operate effectively. We
have seen proof of his efficiency in the
way In which his store has prospered, in
the way in which his family has flour-
ished as part of community life.
Suddenly, that inherently efficient re-
tailer has been faced with a rapacious
foe, raiding the community for quick
profits for his out-of-town operation,
making no contributions, but merely
draining the vital elements out of the
town and its people. He has done so by
using the lurid come-on by deliberately
taking losses in brand-name items so
that he could then unload onto the peo-
ple a host of shoddy, overpriced items,
marked up to compensate for the calcu-
lated loss he takes on trademarks used
to enlarge traffic. Suddenly, that in-
herently efficient retailer, along with
thousands of others, is forced to the wall.
This not only is a blow to a once civi-
cally active citizen, his family and his
employees but, more important, to the
hundreds of customers who had come to
know and respect him for his honesty,
efficiency and service.
The quality stabilization bill would
once again give the retailer a chance to
compete successfully and to show his
efficiency-to restore an active citizen to
the community. This clearly Is the view
of the jeweler himself, as expressed in
his trade magazine, the Jewelers, Cir-
cular-Keystone of September 1963. Mr.
Speaker I have unanimous consent to
have excerpts of this survey printed In
the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD:
QVALTTr STABILIZATION
(Millions of words have been written and
spoken about the proposed law on quality
stabilization. Politicians, trade spokesmen
and Government agencies all have stated
their cases. But what about the retail
jeweler? How does he feel? This article
gives his point of view and tells why he
thinks this bill will help him.)
Someone up there on Capitol Hill liken the
jeweler after all. To the delight of many
jewelers and the dismay of their cut-price
competitors, a House of Representatives com-
mittee has recommended passage of a quality
stabilization bill.
After detailed public hearings in May and
June, the committee recently Issued Its ver-
dict on the need for legislation. Here. in
part, Is What it said,
"The reported bill Is essential to the sur-
vival of hundreds of thousands of small,
independent businessmen-the corner drug-
gist, the jeweler, the hardware merchant, the
electric appliance dealer, the bookstore deal-
er. etc.
"These small merchants are being hard
pressed by competitors who sell highly ad-
vertised nationally branded merchandise at
very low prices, often below cost, in order
to drive other merchants out of busi-
ness. - ' -
Briefly, the proposed legislation would
allow manufacturers of brandname merchan-
dise to establish retail prices. They would
have the right to withhold goods from any
retailer who changed these prices, who used
the goods In bait advertising or who pub-
lished misrepresentations about the goods.
The bill Is hedged with certain qualifications,
the most important being that the proposed
law would operate only If the manufacturer
is selling In a market where competitive
goods are freely available to the public.
Clearly, one committee's recommendation
doesn't make a law but informed opinion
Inside and outside Congress seems to be mov-
Ing closer and closer to the view that a
quality stabilization bill will be passed, in
spite of some determined haggling in the
Senate.
v . e s
The jewelry industry, through such organ-
izations as Retail Jewelers of America, the
National Wholesale Jewelers Association and
the Manufacturing Jewelers & Silversmiths
of America, is among those on record In sup-
port of the bill. To find out how individual
Jewelers felt about the proposed legislation
and how they believed passage of a quality
stabilization law would affect their opera-
tions, we asked members of JC-E's retail
panel for their comments.
Two reactions stood out. First, almost
ode panelist in three made no comment.
Second, of those who did comment, B out of
10 support the bill. One In ten said the bill
would make little or no difference in his
operation and one In ten opposed the bill.
These figures indicate very strong support
for the proposed legislation. The clear feel-
ing Is that quality stabilization will help the
retail jewelry Industry. ' ' '
From Indiana: "It should improve our
busines for it will give a stability to prices
lacking at the present time. If the law is
passed and the right manufacturers elect to
operate under the law, we should be able to
sell electric shavers and appliances again.
The sale of watches, silver, and other dis-
count Items also should be much better if
the key manufacturers choose to operate
under the law." This jeweler Is not hopeful
about the law's chances of passing. ' ' '
From New York State: "' ' ' I would be a
good supporter of any manufacturer who
would take advantage of quality stabiliza-
tion and return to the normal channels of
trade. We have had to drop manyprofitable
lines because the discount houses have been
selling items for less than we can purchase
wholesale."
? ? Enforcement of a quality stabiliza-
tion law worries a number of Jewelers. "If
they put teeth into the law and the manu-
facturers enforce It, I think It will bring
back confidence in name brand items," de-
clares a New Hampshire retailer. "If price
cutting is allowed, the law won't help a bit.
I hopethat it Is truly enforced. It will help
the reputable retailer and enable him to
handle merchandise profitably. It will stop
the use of an item as a loss leader. Every-
thing depends on the proper enforcement."
? ' - The scope of the law also raises
questions. "Quality stabilization would
definitely help our profit picture," notes
an Illinois panelist, "provided it is passed as
a national law that can be enforced. Loop-
holes such as States' options, as In the pre-
ent fair trade laws, would weaken its value
to us. We are in a border city in our State
with a neighbor, Missouri, which is quite
anti-fair trade."
It was this Issue of States rights amend-
ments which angered and shocked supporters
of an earlier quality stabilization bill. This
bill was cleared to the House calendar last
year but it arrived so late that It died with
the final sessions of the 87th Congress. Fur-
thermore, when it was cleared by the House
Commerce Committee, an amendment was
tacked on which would have made the bill
operable only in those States which adopted
special legislation to supplement the Federal
law.
In the current bill, the Commerce Com-
mittee once again has added a States rights
amendment but It carries far lees sting for
the bill's supporters. It specifies that
manufacturers would have the right to act
against any retailer not following manu-
facturers' established retail prices except in
those States which passed legislation pro-
hibiting the manufacturer from such action.
The difference in these two amendments
is clear. In one case the Federal law would
have been operable only following special
action by the Individual States: In the oth-
er case the Federal law would be operable
everywhere unless the individual State took
special action to set the Federal law aside.
Some of the immediate and tangible bene-
fits jewelers would get from enactment of
a quality stabilization law were touched on
already: better prices and hence more profit,
an improved flow of quality goods, oppor-
tunity to handle certain merchandise made
unprofitable by discounter competition.' * '
A certain number of Jewelers outside Wis-
oonsln also oppose the legislation. The
main argument Is that the existence of es-
tablished retail prices offers a direct invi-
tation to discount operations. As an Ala-
bama panelist puts it: "If there is no 'es-
tablished price,' 'list price,' 'nationally ad-
vertised price' or whatever you call it, there
is nothing to discount." What these retail-
ers overlook, of course, Is that passage of
the bill would outlay discounting of manu-
facturers' retail prices. The implication
seems to be that discounters would some-
how manage to get around the law.
Panelists supporting quality stabilization
sae the picture from just the opposite di-
rection: to them passage of the law provides
protection from discounters. "This law is
beneficial in every way," states an Ohio
panelist. "We will not be beaten over the
head with cut: prices on nationally adver-
tised merchandise. We will once again re-
gala our status as legitimate merchants In-
stead of being showcases for discount opera-
tions."
A New York State jeweler adds this com-
ment: "The law should be beneficial by
making competitive claims, descriptions, and
qualities more truthful. People who are
misled by many existing practices would be
able to better compare quality, value and
service. In these fields our store should
stand out."
Other Jewelers see the proposed law wip-
Ing out the loss leader, a competitive gim-
mick against which the small store has al-
most no answer. Still others see the law
giving a welcome Injection to the economy
by stabilizing prices and generally increasing
Jewelers' business. Notes a California panel-
ist: "Through deceptive price advertising
and price cutting of brand name merchan-
dise the consumer and the retailer have lost
faith In many manufacturers, resulting in
loss of sales which In turn means loss of
taxes."
A West Virginia jeweler who likes the bill
says: "It means small appliances can be
handled profitably, also shavers which al-
most vanished from jewelry stores. Mainte-
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