A GREAT WHITE FLEET IN THE SERVICE OF PEACE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP61-00357R000100220026-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 20, 2013
• Sequence Number: 26
• Publication Date: July 23, 1959
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

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1959 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD ? HOUSE 12839
tions), railroad junctions, tunnels, railroad
and highway bridges;
(d) Of industrial establishments, scien-
tific research institutionss, design officers
(konstruktorskikh byuro), laboratories, elec-
tric power stations, radio beacons, radio sta-
tions, telephone and telegraph stations;
(e) From airplanes on flight over territory
of the U.S.S.R. and also surface panoramic
photographs and sketches of industrial cities.
Judging from newspaper accounts,
during the months of negotiations the
Soviets have been anything but coopera-
tive in providing answers to our ques-
tions concerning requests made by the
United States in regard to the itinerary
and plans of Vice President NIXON in
Russia. Their stalling on this matter is
not surprising.
As another example of the complete
vacuum we seem to have to operate in,
in dealing with the Soviets, a few days
ago word came out of the U.S.S.R. that
a large Soviet consumer exhibition would
be opened in competition with the U.S.
exhibition. That fair opened on July
22 as thousands of consumer goods went
on sale and vast crowds were treated
to plays, circuses, movies, and concerts.
Another big Soviet fair, the Economic
Achievements Exhibition, opened a
month ago and will be open all summer.
The fact that there would be com-
peting exhibitions was evidently not
known to us, even to the U.S. officials in
charge of the fair, as recently as April
29, 1959. The following is quoted from
the U.S. Information Agency 1960 Appro-
priations hearings, on April 29, 1.959:
Mr. LIPSCOMB. Are you aware, or have you
any idea whether or not there will be some
competing exhibition or show going on at
the same time in Moscow that will be detri-
mental to our exhibition in Moscow?
Mr. MCCLELLAN [ general manager, Moscow
Exhibition]. Our major problem in terms
of attendance will be how to handle the
crowd. That is the view of the Soviets and
of our Ambassador and of the others there.
There will not be another exhibition that we
know of, certainly not in Sokolniki Park.
There will be the annual fair of agricul-
ture, industry, and economy ?which runs
about 6 months every year. That will be in
operation.
Concerning the competing fairs, an
anonymous American official was quoted
in the newspapers several days ago as
saying:
We know there will be some serious dis-
tractions but we expect 4 million people at
our exhibition.
Another anonymous U.S. official is
quoted in today's newspaper accounts
as saying, concerning the rival Soviet
consumer fair:
It will keep our own visitors down to a
manageable volume.
I wonder what that official really
thought about this display of Soviet
rudeness.
We know by experience how the So-
viets actually do business, as opposed to
what they say. Their methods have
been well demonstrated. Let's deal with
them in a realistic way.
In closing, Mr: Speaker, I renew my
request, stated at the outset, that our
policies in this regard be reevaluated.
Our dealing with the Soviets should be
on a basis that will assure us equal treat-
ment.
VETERANS' LEGISLATION
(Mrs. ROGERS of Massachusetts
asked and was given permission to ad-
dress the House for 1 minnte and to re-
vise and extend her remarks.)
Mrs. ROGERS of Massachusetts. Mr.
Speaker, I know there are some Members
of the House who have not heard yet that
the committee in the other body, the
Committee on Finance, will hold hear-
ings on the so-called veterans' pension
bill that passed the House a short time
ago. I understand the hearings will be
next Tuesday and Wednesday.
I hope that the objectionable features
of the bill as it passed the House will be
removed and that it will become a more
equitable bill for the persons affected.
The wife's income should not be taken
into consideration in evaluating the vet-
eran's income. That is very unjust.
The bill was very unsatisfactory in
many respects and there is the danger
of social security taking over the Veter-
ans' Administration activities. The vet-
eran should be treated as a special class
as he is. It is tragic to see benefits taken
away from him.
The bill that passed the House had
some good points, such as the parity for
widows of veterans of different wars
which is only a matter of justice, the
increase in pensions for certain vet-
erans, but a great injustice was done to
veterans going on the rolls after 1960.
The increase in income limitations Was
good but there are other provisions that
would nullify the good effects of them.
GOVERNOR LONG OF LOUISIANA
(Mr. CHAMBERLAIN asked and was
given permission to address the House
for 1 minute.)
Mr. CHAMBERLAIN. Mr. Speaker,
we keep hearing reports of the dubious
and unorthodox conduct of Governor
Long of Louisiana. While I have no
factual information on Governor- Long's
physical or mental condition, I feel that
the press has neglected to emphasize
what the Federal Government should
be learning from this pathetic situation.
Although. President Eisenhower him-
self took the lead a couple of years ago
in urging legislation to clarify the law
with respect to Presidential disability,
Congress has continued to ignore the
problem. From all I can determine, the
Issue is dormant. I think it should be
revived and a solution hammered out.
Irrespective of Governor Long's com-
petence or incompetence, his case dram-
atizes the utter confusion where there
are no guide lines to determine whether
a head of a government is physically
capable of performing his duties. It is
for this reason Congress should give the
problem is early attention as the Presi-
dent has recommended.
r-A GREAT WHITE FLEET IN THE 4
SERVICE OF PEACE
The SPEAKER. Under previous order
of the House, the gentleman from Okla-
homa [Mr. EDMONDSON] is recognized for
30 minutes.
Mr. EDMONDSON asked and was
given permission to revise and extend
his remarks.)
GENERAL LEAVE TO EXTEND REMARKS
(Mr. EDMONDSON asked and was
ask unanimous consent that all Members
who desire to do so may have 5 legisla-
tive days in which to extend their re-
marks in the RECORD on the subject I am
about to discuss, the Great White Fleet.
The SPEAKER. Is there objection to
the request of the gentleman from Okla-
homa?
There was no objection.
Mr. EDMONDSON. Mr. Speaker,
more than 50 years ago a bold and
imaginative President named Theodore
Roosevelt sent a great fleet around the
world in the cause of peace.
The Great White Fleet of Teddy
Roosevelt, headed by 16 powerful battle-
ships and supported by auxiliary vessels,
made its historic voyage in the face of
much opposition and many obstacles.
In Washington, there were critics who
opposed any movement of American
naval forces from our east coast, because
of fears in the Atlantic.
There were some who called a voyage
into the Pacific dangerous saber rattling
in view of already tense relations with
Japan, which was feeling its Far Eastern
muscle after an impressive naval victory
over imperial Russia.
There was also budgetary opposition,
and the strong apposition of some "naval
experts" who said the United States Navy
was not equipped or ready for a voyage
around the world.
No battle fleet of any nation had ever
done it before.
Theodore Roosevelt, who loved a chal-
lenge and believed in the Navy, sent the
Great White Fleet to try.
They sailed from Hampton Roads, Va.,
on December 9, 1907, under the command
of Rear Adm. Robley D. Evans.
The fleet was divided into four divi-
sions, with the first division headed by
Admiral Evans' flagship, the U.S.S. Con-
necticut. Rear Adm. William H. Em-
ery, C. M. Thomas, and C. S. Sperry com-
manded the other divisions.
Not until the fleet was actually under-
way and President Roosevelt had re-
turned from Hampton Roads to the
White House was it announced that the
great ships would not only cross the Pa-
cific, but would return home by way of
the Suez Canal.
Of course the fleet went south down
the Atlantic coast of South America,
through the dangerous Straits of Magel-
lan, and up the Pacific coast of South
America to Callao, Peru.
There was a training stop of 30 days
at Magdalena Bay, on the coast of Mex-
ico, and then the fleet continued to San
Francisco, where Admiral Evans turned
over the post of fleet commander to Ad-
-xtiral Sperry.
From the Golden Gate the course was
westward, to Honolulu, to New Zealand
and Australia, the Philippines, China,
and Japan.
One of the greatest receptions given
the fleet was at Yokohama, where three
special piers, beautifully lighted and dec-
orated, were built for the American fleet's
boat landings.
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12840 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD ? HOUSE
Admiral Sperry reported to President
Roosevelt that more than 1,000 English-
speaking Japanese college students were
on hand to act as voluntary guides for
the Americans, and refreshment centers
in Tokyo refused to accept payment from
American sailors and officers.
The warm Japanese reception, which
our diplomats had watched with appre-
hension, "even surpassed by expecta-
tions," President Roosevelt wrote in his
autobiography.
From its successful stops in the Far
East the fleet continued westward,
reaching Suez on January 3, 1909.
MISSION OF MERCY
In the Mediterranean, the American
fleet paused to perform one of history's
most dramatic missions of mercy.
The terrible earthquakes of late 1908,
at Messina and Reggio, had devastated
Sicily and Southern Italy, leaving the
almost incredible toll of 96,000 dead and
more than 1 million homeless.
News of the disaster reached the fleet
as it steamed through the Suez Canal,
and the President ordered all possible
assistance at once.
In immediate response to the emer-
gency, Admiral Sperry's own flagship
Connecticut led relief units of the White
Fleet to Messina, supported by the tender
Yankton and the supply ship Culgoa.
The fleet units met the Red Cross
chartered vessel Bayern at Messina,
where a burning and shattered city lay
in helpless ruins, under martial law. To
meet the emergency needs for food
ashore, the U.S.S. Celtic, a supply ship,
with 1,500,000 rations for the fleet, was
also ordered to the disaster area by
President Roosevelt, and unloaded its
cargo at Messina.
The Culgoa continued to Reggio, un-
loading stores of food, clothing, oil
stoves, tent canvas, and other emergency
supplies, then continued to Catania to
assist in relief measures for thousands
of evacuees from the earthquake area.
The battleship Illinois later joined the
units at the disaster area, providing sup-
plies and more than 200 pairs of shoes
to meet emergency needs ashore. Four
hundred sailors from the Illinois par-
ticipated in excavation work at Messina.
The work of the White Fleet and its
men in the Messina and Reggio disasters
was a demonstration of compassion and
humanity on the part of America which
won the admiration of the world, and
our fleet sailed on to Gibraltar with the
cheers of both Italians and Sicilians
ringing in the air.
At Gibraltar, the fleet broke out
"homeward bound" penants and con-
tinued west.
On February 22, 1909, the anniversary
of George Washington's birth, the great
fleet steamed into Hampton Roads once
again, to be personally reviewed by the
President?the first battle fleet in his-
tory to circumnavigate the globe.
In his address at the review, President
Roosevelt saluted the men and officers of
the fleet as "the best of all possible am-
bassadors and heralds of peace."
Wherever you have landed you have borne
yourselves so as to make us at home proud
of being your countrymen?
The President said:
You have shown that the best type of
fighting man of the sea knows how to appear
to the utmost possible advantage when his
business is to behave himself on shore, and
to make a good impression in a foreign land.
We are proud of all the shipe and all the
men in the whole fleet, and we welcome you
home to the country whose good tepute
among nations has been raised by what you
have done.
There was no doubt in Roosevelt's
mind as to the solid achievements of the
world voyage.
Not only had the American people and
the people of the world been solidly im-
pressed by the capabilities of the fleet,
but "nobody after this will forget that
the American coast is on the Pacific as
well as on the Atlantic."
In addition to these results, however,
were the larger effects upon the world
community.
Speaking later of the broader signifi-
cance of the voyage, Roosevelt said:
In my own judgment the most important
service that I rendered to peace was the
voyage of the battle fleet around the world.
OUR NEED TODAY
Today, in the world struggle with the
forces of communism, there is need once
again for the boldness, the imagination,
and the initiative which Theodore Roose-
velt exemplified more than 50 years ago.
In this desperate world battle we are
spending more than $3 billion a year on
a multitude of ? projects and programs
designed to strengthen the free world
and its will and ability to resist Com-
munist aggression.
In cost, and in men employed upon it,
our effort today to advance American
interests around the world is one that
dwarfs the cruise of the RooSevelt fleet.
Our foreign aid expenditures, in a
single Asian country each year; far ex-
ceed what the Navy spent to send 16
battleships around the world in a cruise
that lasted 14 months. Our total foreign
aid bill, measured in tens of billions of
dollars, renders irrsignificant the relief
efforts of our fleet at the Messina and
Reggio earthquakes.
The Roosevelt White Fleet was
manned by 12,000 men. We have many
more men than that aboard our vessels
on regular duty in the Mediterranean
today, and many, many times that eum-
ber on foreign duty, all over the world.
I wonder, however, if our results 'to-
day, on a man-for-man and dollar-for-
dollar basis, even approach the substan-
tial results of Teddy Roosevelt's world
cruise?
Many fine things undoubtedly have
been accomplished in America's mutual
aid program.
Literally millions of people in remote
parts of the world have been saved from
starvation and strengthened in their
fight against famine and disease?and
also against communism.
In the Marshall plan, and President
Truman's Berlin airlift, we succeeded in
capturing the imagination of the world
while blocking Communist aims with
bold action.
There was similar appeal in President
Eisenhower's "atoms for peace proposal.
July 23
Today, however, the bloom has passed
from each of these roses, and America's
foreign policy is sadly in need of an
imaginative "shot in the arm" from
somewhere.
From too many observers abroad
there come complaints that our aid dol-
lars are often dumped into expensive
projects that benefit powerful interests
but "do not reach the people."
Other observers report that American
dollars often have the effect of bolster-
ing undemocratic and unpopular gov-
ernments and thereby "lose friends for
America."
In some cases, we hear that credit for
American gifts and aid has not gone to
our country, but has been appropriated
by others?and even by Communists in
some instances.
At home, there is undoubtedly grow-
ing discontent in many sections of our
country with parts of our foreign aid
program as it is being administered
overseas.
In the mining areas of America, and
in sections where textiles are a major
industry, many Americans are blaming
foreign aid subsidies for the strongly
competitive position of foreign mines
and textiles.
They are also charging that the peo-
ple of these competing foreign countries
have had little direct benefit from the
American subsidies involved?that wages
of the foreign miners and textile work-
ers have remained miserably low while
big interests have profited heavily from
the subsidies.
Mining and textiles are only two of a
number of American industries which
have felt the heavy impact of rising for-
eign imports in recent years, and have
turned upon our foreign policy as a ma-
jor reason for their troubles.
In my own State, this point of view
has many supporters, and there is rising
public clisSatisfaction with foreign policy
administration which does not deal with
the distress of our own impacted indus-
tries.
This is the backdrop, Mr. Speaker,
against which I have carefully consid-
ered the proposal of a 38-year-old naval
officer from Oklahoma, Comdr. Frank A.
Manson, U.S. Navy, for the establishment
of a modern-day Great White Fleet as an
arm of American foreign policy.
The Manson proposal, which is the
subject of this week's feature article in
Life magazine, calls upon the President
to restore- to active service and equip
naval vessels now in mothballs, using
them as a fleet in the service of hu-
manity for the distribution of surplus
foods, medicine and other supplies at
disaster and distress points all over the
world.
Concurrent resolutions to urge this
action by the President have been intro-
duced in this body on Tuesday by 22
Members of the House, including the en-
tire Democratic House delegation from
Oklahoma. I understand as of today
30 Members of this House have intro-
duced similar resolutions, and I include
the list of those Members at this point.
Similar resolutions have been filed in
the other body by the distinguished
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1959 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD ? HOUSE
Senator from Minnesota [Mr. HUM-
PHREY] and by the distinguished Senator
from Vermont [Mr. AncEN1 and they
have been joined by other Senators.
In each of these resolutions, the Pres-
ident is requested to seek the coopera-
tion and financial assistance of private
organizations in support of the newly
established mercy fleet, which should
include vessels equipped for medical
aid, for electrical power supply ashore,
and for transportation of food, cloth-
ing, and supplies and equipment.
The resolutions specifically provide
that "provision should be made for the
utilization of surplus food commodities
of the United States for the relief of
hunger through this program."
For the first time since "war colors"
were substituted in 1909, the fleet units
would be painted white, and "suitably
identified to proclaim to the world their
peaceful and beneficent purpose."
The cost of a Great White Fleet, Mr.
Speaker, would be comparatively small
in terms of our present mutual security
program.
Naval experts have advised Senator
HUMPHREY that a task group of four or
five vessels could be operated for a year
at between $5 million and $7.5 million,
assuming costs of nonnaval personnel,
supplies and equipment were assumed by
private organizations.
The Life magazine estimate of cost,
figured for 18 months and covering all
aspects,of the White Fleet operation, is
from $20 to $30 million?probably less
than one-half of 1 percent of our pres-
ent annual mutual security bill.
A very large portion bf this cost, in o
my personal opinion, would be met by
private individuals and organizations,
who are eager for the opportunity to
take a personal hand in the world battle
to improve man's lot and block the
spread of Communist slavery.
If there is a question in your mind
about the eagerness of people to meet
this issue headon, on a people-to-people
basis, then I will cite for you two cur-
rent pieces of evidence.
The first is provided in last Monday's
issue of the New York Times, in the edi-
torial page essay entitled "Aspirin for
Dr. Schweitzer."
It tells the simple, heartwarming
story of a young boy, the son of an Air
Force sergeant stationed in Italy, who
wanted to send a bottle of aspirin to Dr.
Schweitzer's famous jungle hospital in
Africa.
The youngster asked the Allied Air
Forces commander in southern Europe
if "one of your planes" could drop the
bottle at the hospital, and an Italian
radio station heard about the request
and publicized it.
The result: a flood of interest and of-
fers to help, and when the several planes
that were enlisted for the mission flew to
Dr. Schweitzer's hospital, they carried
a cargo of 41/2 tons of medical supplies,
valued at $400,000.
With the medicine traveled the 13-
year-old boy who was eager to help in
the world's fight against disease and
human suffering.
1 A second piece of evidence is provided
by the People-to-People Foundation's
experience with an ambitious plan to de-
mothball a former Navy hospital ship,
the U.S.S. Consolation, and to staff and
equip her for medical teaching and
training in southeast Asia. This is the
Project Hope mentioned in the Life
article. .
Annual expense of this operation is
estimated at $3,500,000, and all funds
are being raised by private subscription.
This is a large sum of money, but of-
fers to help have flooded the founda-
tion's office and the sailing date has been
set for January 1960.
The American people are ready, will-
ing, and even eager to help the people of
other countries who need help, and there
is no doubt in my mind about their re-
sponse to the Great White Fleet pro-
posal.
In his Great White Fleet, I believe
that Frank Manson has a plan that
combines two basic pioneering ideas
often missing in our foreign aid pro-
gram. These ideas are giving direct
help to a neighbor in distress and us-
ing the tools at hand to do ? the job.
By using our mothballed fleet to carry
surplus food and American technical
help to disaster and distress areas of
the world, we can place at least a part of
our mutual aid program- upon a direct,
people-to-people basis, and assure maxi-
mum benefit to our own country's in-
terest in the process.
The idea makes a great deal more
sense to me than some parts of our for-
eign aid program as it is now being ad-
ministered.
Here is a national endeavor, built
around units of our mothballed fleet
and our $9 billion food surplus, in which
every American who wishes to do so can
participate.
It also provides a means to channel
America's great medical resources into
parts of the world sorely in need of
medical help.
The extent of that need, even in these
times, is almost unbelievable.
In the enlightened year of 1958, medi-
cal records show that 15,000 people died
in East Pakistan in a smallpox epidemic,
804 died in a 2-month cholera outbreak
in Calcutta, and cholera also killed 912
in a 30-day epidemic in Thailand.
Everyone of these deaths was pre-
ventable through innoculation. So are
the hundreds of thousands of starva-
tion deaths, in the poverty-stricken
areas of Asia, if the surplus foods of
America are put to work for peace.
In the name of divine providence,
Mr. Speaker, how can we justify fur-
ther delays in the use of our abundant
food surpluses, to relieve the hunger of
children all over the world?
At our docks stand the idle ships,
ready to move this abundance to the
starving people of the East.
In our warehouses is the food?food
on which we are paying hundreds of
millions of dollars for storage each
year?and food which is sorely needed
by our neighbors.
The experience of Project Hope and
Dr. Schweitzer's aspirin surely proves
that the American people are ready, will-
ing, and generously eager to help put a
new White Fleet to sea.
12841
Let us launch this fleet, Mr. Speaker,
and put it to work in the service of man.
Let it be a fleet'of gleaming white ves-
sels?a symbol known all over the world
for peace and helpfulness, and let it
proudly fly the American flag as it steams
across the seven seas on its missions of
mercy.
In this modern atomic age, we have no
swords to beat into plowshares, and the
dangers ere too great to relax our efforts
at preparedness
We can, however, use our idle tools at
hand in the service of suffering
humanity.
We can make our flag, and our fleet,
not only the symbols of the world's great-
est naval power, but also the symbols of
a generous and helpful neighbor in time
of distress and disaster.
Let the Great White Fleet sail once
again, Mr. Speaker, and advance not only
our country's interests, but also a cause
that is dear to the hearts of all people?
the cause of peace.
Mr. BATES. Mr. Speaker, will the
gentleman yield?
Mr. EDMONDSON. lam glad to yield
to my friend, the gentleman from Massa-
setts who was one of the first in the Con-
gress to see the great possibilities of this
idea and to introduce a resolution for it.
Mr. BATES. Mr., Speaker, I wish to
join in the remarks of my colleague, the
gentleman from Oklahoma [Mr. ED-
moNDsorr] on this occasion as I did when
we introduced identical resolutions for
the purpose of establishing the Great
White Fleet.
Some weeks ago, Commander Manson
called at my office with a manuscript he
had written on this subject. The con-
tents intrigued me because they revolved
around a very imaginative and stimulat-
ing concept. While the idea is not a
new one, it has never been developed to
its full potential and shows great promise
in a field where so much can be, and
needs to be done.
I need not advise the House that eco-
nomic aid to foreign countries in recent
years has met with quite a bit less than
universal support throughout our Nation
and is hardly understood overseas. It is
not my purpose today to outline the
reasons that give cause to this reaction
for they are manifold and varied.
Whether these objections rise through
misunderstanding, administration or in
comparison to domestic programs here at
home, it is evident that this supplement-
ary program will be one that can be
understood and appreciated. Consti-
tuted as it is, on people-to-people basis,
instead of a government-to-government
relationship, it will reflect the heart of
America and can be developed to what-
ever degree. the people desire.
In 1955, Chief Petty Officer Murray
Chase, of Haverhill, Mass., who was sta-
tioned aboard the U.S.S. Aucilla, in Bar-
celona, Spain, also had an idea. The
Christmas season was approaching but
that was not particularly important to
the children of that famous city. Chief
Chase, and the officers and crew intro-
duced the name of Santa to that area,
raised $1,500 from his shipmates and
gave a Christmas party that brought
headlines in the Barcelona newspapers
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12842 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD ? HOUSE
and cheer in the hearts of the local chil-
dren. In successive years, the occasion
grew to greater propcktions. The op-
portunity to help and the great need to
receive, combined to start the construc-
tion of a new school. As Chief Chase
retired from the Navy a few weeks ago,
he said he was "going to try to raise
about $10,000 to finish the project." It
is little wonder that Chief Petty Officer
Murray Chase is, as reported in-Noticias
de Actualidad, "muy popular entre los
chiquillos de un barrio de Barcelona."
That is really a people-to-people pro-
gram that can be hardly matched.
An understanding of that program,
together with Project Hope, convinced
me that another road to needy people
overseas could and should be opened?
by the American people themselves.
As a result of the splendid article this
week in Life magazine, I have already
received a heart-warming response with
various suggestions and offers of assist-
anee. A great deal of thought and ef-
fort must go into its policies and pro-
grams. Properly conducted, I believe
tlis "bold proposal for peace" will win
the wholehearted support of the Ameri-
can people and the gratitude of people
less fortunate than we.
Mr. CARNAHAN. Mr. Speaker, will
the gentleman yield?
Mr. EDMONDSON. I yield to the
gentleman from Missouri.
. Mr. CARNAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I
would like to commend the gentleman
from Oklahoma [Mr. EDMONDSON] on his
eloquent and appealing presentation of
the need for establishing a Great White
Fleet. I also commend the gentleman
from Massachusetts [Mr. BATES] for his
contribution to this worthy idea.
Formation of a modern Great White
Fleet of unarmed mercy ships as pro-
posed by Comdr. Frank Manson of the
U.S. Navy is, in my opinion, a sound pro-
posal and one that I enthusiastically en-
dorse. I want to commend Commander
Manson for such an outstanding contri-
bution in the interest of humanity and
world peace, and also I commend Life
magazine for its splendid presentation of
the idea in its July 27, 1959, issue.
In our search for peace we must not
leave a stone unturned, and the Great
White Fleet is an excellent opportunity
for advancement in our practical appli-
cation of the Golden Rule and would be
one of the greatest stimuli we could put
forth to relieve human suffering and
proclaim to the world our peaceful in-
tents.
Along with a number of my fellow
colleagues who introduced like resolu-
tions, I introduced House Concurrent
Resolution 344, declaring the sense of
Congress on the use of a Great White
Fleet in support of American foreign
policy. It is my sincere hope that Presi-
dent Eisenhower will establish from our
mothballed Navy a fleet of mercy ships
to carry American surplus foods, medical
aid, and supplies in the interest of aiding
humanity the world over to meet disas-
ter. There is no question but that it will
be a busy fleet, and one that will no
doubt grow beyond the suggested six
ships to start with?the hospital ship,
complete with operating rooms, X-ray
, facilities, and medical wards; a carrier
supplied with helicopters for rescue
work; a small destroyer escort to provide
coastal communities with emergency
power; a cargo vessel loaded with stores
of food and clothing; a transport con-
verted into a floating technical school to
help improve the local standard of liv-
ing; and a supply vessel to replenish the
fleet. The suggestion to add a seventh
ship with an exhibit of U.S. culture and
industry when the fleet has become es-
tablished is also, I feel, a good one. The
Great White Fleet will be recognized in-
ternationally as a symbol of peace, and
will be one of our best ambassadors of
good will to create a better understand-
ing among the peoples of the world.
Mr. EDMONDSON. I thank the gen-
tleman.
Mr. JARMAN. Mr. Speaker, will the
gentleman yield?
Mr. EDMONDSON. I yield to the
gentleman from, Oklahoma.
Mr. JARMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am
happy to join my colleague from Okla-
homa in strong support of the proposal
for a new Great White Fleet. This is
a bold peace plan for the United States,
with tremendous possibilities. This
imaginative idea could harness Amer-
ica's productive good will and energies
to help insure peace and combat the
spread of communism.
Mr. Speaker, I take pride in the fact
that an outstanding Oklahoman, Comdr.
Frank Manson, thought up the idea of
a New White Fleet. I also take pride
in the fact that the distinguished gen-
tleman from Oklahoma [Mr. EDMOND-
SON], in association with the gentleman
from Massachusetts ? [Mr. BATES], and
others in the Congress who have been
so active. The gentleman from Okla-
homa [Mr. EDMONDSON] has led the way
toward a congressional endorsement of
this project.
I congratulate the gentleman on his
fine work.
I would add, Mr. Speaker, that I have
followed his leadership by also introduc-
ing in the House a resolution urging the
President to take the necessary steps to
put the Great White Fleet in operation.
Mr. EDMONDSON. I thank my col-
league from Oklahoma.
Mrs. ROGERS of Massachusetts. Mr.
Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. EDMONDSON. I yield to my col-
league from Massachusetts.
Mrs. ROGERS of Massachusetts. Mr.
Speaker, this morning a representative
of Life magazine called my office asking
if I would be on the floor to hear the
gentleman from Oklahoma [Mr. ED-
MONDSON] describe his wonderful proj-
ect for 30 minutes and that he spear-
headed the Great White Fleet project.
They asked me to introduce a companion
bill to his, which I am, of cciurse, de-
lighted to do and I shall file the bill
today.
I congratulate the gentleman from
Oklahoma for his eloquence and the won-
derful picture he has painted of the
practical and idealistic value of a Great
White Fleet?the peace and mercy fleet.
The gentleman from Oklahoma is always
forceful and plausible. I also congratu-
late my colleague from Massachusetts
July 23
[Mr. BATES] for his fine statement just
made. He was effective also.
We all know that the servicemen are
devoted to children. In every country
where they go they make friends through
their kindness, and they leave money
and supplies wherever their ships go, for
the children and the needy. I have al-
ways found that the way to the parents'
hearts is through the children.
The medical supplies that will be do-
nated will take life and health to the
poor of the countries visited and that
will be bound to make friendly feelings
for the United States. I know what this
will mean to our men in the White Fleet,
and I know what it will mean to the
people of foreign countries to see those
white ships of peace and good will steam-
ing into their ports. They will act as
supercarriers of good will and kindness
and practical help.
Again I congratulate the gentleman.
Please let me know if there is anything
in the world I can do to help in this.
It is splendid that the powerful Life
magazine takes such an interest in the
Great White'Fleet. Their aid will be in-
valuable.
As to the cost of this project, I believe
it will mean fewer dollars in foreign aid
as it will take the place of it and it will
have ready more ships available for war
if needed.
Mr. EDMONDSON. I thank the gen-
tlewoman from Massachusetts very
much.
Mr. MORRIS of Oklahoma. Mr.
Speaker, will the gentlemaniyield? ?
Mr. EDMONDSON. I yield to the
. gentleman froth Oklahoma.
Mr. MORRIS of Oklahoma. Mr.
Speaker, I wish to express my deep and
sincere appreciation to my colleague the
distinguished gentleman from Oklahoma
[Mr. EDMONDSON]; also to the distin-
- guished gentleman from Massachusetts
[Mr. BATES] for having taken the in-
itiative in this great movement; and I
call it that because I believe it is going
to terminate in something really worth-
while. I think it is a great movement in.
fact.
I am happy to join in this effort and
follow the leadership of these distin-
guished gentleman and others. I also
introduced a resolution along this same
line relative to the Great White Fleet
yesterday.
I do believe that this is not a visionary
thing at all; I believe definitely it is not
some fantasy. I believe it has real
validity, and I can see in it a program
that will be of great benefit to the entire
world, including our own great Nation
if it becomes a reality.
May I conclude with just this thought:
It seems such a tragedy to me that we
in this great Nation have such an abun-
dance of food, such a great surplus of
food, and yet in certain areas of the
world there are people starving. The
fact is that we are not getting our food
to these people as we should. I do hope
that this movement, and I call it that
advisedly, will result in our moving some
of these surpluses, that we have, to areas
where there are earthquakes, where
there are floods, where there is famine,
and so forth.
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1959 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD ? HOUSE
It will do two things: It will help pri-
marily those starving people, those peo-
ple in need; and we in this country with
such an abundance of wheat, such a sur-
plus we hardly know what to do with, it
will help us eventually from an economic
standpoint. So it will help first the
starving people which is a tremendous
thing in itself, and indirectly it will help
our farmers in this country and all of
our people. I am happy to join my
colleagues in an effort to write into law
this great idea.
Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. Speaker, will
the gentleman yield?
Mr. EDMONDSON. I yield to the
gentleman from North Carolina.
Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. Speaker, I
would like to join those who have ex-
tended commendation to the gentleman
from Oklahoma [Mr. EDMONDSON] and
the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr.
BATES]. This is a dramatic idea. I
think it is an idea that the common peo-
ple, the average man, will feel they have
a part in.
As you know, our foreign aid program
is a government-to-government proposi-
tion. I have felt many times that in
the administration of this program we
have had many weaknesses and glaring
defects, but I feel that this is a program
that will go from the heart of our peo-
ple to the heart of needy people through-
out the world. I think it will spread
much good will throughout the world
and do more good than some other
things that have cost many times what
this will cost.
Another thing I like about this par-
ticular idea is the fact it will take from
us the things that we have in abundance
to be given to people who need them so
badly. Also it will give the opportunity
to show how we feel toward needy peo-
ple everywhere. The idea that we peo-
ple can give and can have a part in this
program is one that is good rather than
one we as representatives of the people,
taxing the people, could give: I think it
is an excellent idea. I have great hope
that this dramatic suggestion of a White
Fleet will catch on and will shine as a
great star in leading toward world peace.
Mr. EDMONDSON. I thank the gen-
tleman for his effective and common-
sense observation about this proposal.
Mr. AVERY. Mr. Speaker, will the
gentleman yield?
Mr. EDMONDSON. I yield to the
gentleman from Kansas.
Mr. AVERY. Mr. Speaker, of course,
the objectives of the proposal made by
the gentleman from Oklahoma and the
gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr.
BATES] are highly desirable and com-
mendable. The proposal even comes
well recommended to the House by the
very nature of the sponsors themselves.
However, I think we ought to look down
the road a little way on this. It is very
easy to agree at the outset with the ob-
jectives of this, but when we start to
develop the mechanics of it, frankly I
have some reservations.
In the first place, the resolution itself
Is silent as to what the eventual cost
might be to the Federal Government. I
listened to the gentleman attentively, or
intended to, and the only reference he
No. 124-7
made to cost was a reference in the arti-
cle in Life magazine.
Mr. EDMONDSON. I made reference
also to the estimate given by people who
have studied this; for instance, Senator
HUMPHREY, who said it would cost from
$5 million to $71/2 million a year.
? Mr. AVERY. From $5 million to $71/2
million a year. That is for a perpetual
operaton and $20 million to $30 million
for readiness of operation of the fleet
for 18 months.
Mr. EDMONDSON. I think that the
$20 million to $30 million figure was
the estimate of Life magazine, which
included within it 18 months' operation
and all costs from private sources and
everything else. I think that the Hum-
phrey estimate was assuming that per-
sonnel, medical supplies, and things of
that nature would not be at govern-
mental cost.
Mr. AVERY. That is the point I
wanted to bring out. That is, how far
the Federal Government's responsibil-
ity is going to exist, taking into account
the rather intensive effort that the Gov-
ernment will also make in this same di-
rection. The gentleman referred to the
mutual security program. I would like
to narrow that down to the ICA pro-
gram, because aside from the mercy or
the benevolent aspects of medical help,
the ICA program would pretty much
complement the program as was de-
scribe in Life magazine.
In the ICA program, under Public Law
480, funds under title 2 were authorized
just this week under the mutual se-
curity program, which included about a
billion 'and a half dollars for economic
development in these countries, and I
assume it would be about the same coun-
tries this. program would be directed to.
In the field of health we make a
rather substantial contribution there
already through the world health 'or-
ganizations under the auspices of the
United Nations. The United States con-
tributes almost $5 million to that.
Now, would the gentleman agree with
me that if there is an expense to the
Federal Government in the operation of
this Great White Fleet program prob-
ably that expense should be extracted
from appropriations or for programs
that are presently authorized in the op-
eration in this same direction?
Mr. EDMONDSON. I would agree
with the gentleman, to this extent: I
believe that the President with this res-
olution behind him would have the au-
thority necessary to draw from either
mutual security funds or from armed
services appropriation funds. Inci-
dentally, this is being reviewed by the
Committee on Armed Services, and they
might add some language which would
be more specific on that point. It would
be our hope that the very great bulk
if not all of the cost of this proposal,
aside from the cost of the surplus food
and commodities, might be borne by
private subscription. Incidentally, this
project is a very fine prototype for what
we are talking about, a wonderfully far-
seeing venture into this field, one that
should have the support of all people.
This project would demonstrate how the
people of the country would rally be-
12843
hind this kind of movement if given a
vehicle for their help.
Mr. AVERY. That, of course, would
be the ultimate objective to work to.
But the gentleman will agree with me,
we should not set up another Federal
program to compete with programs we
already have charged up to the tax-
payers?
Mr. EDMONDSON. I certainly do not
see that it is any competitive program
at all.
Mr. AVERY/Well, I would just like to
make one further reference to the story
in Life magazine. The first page that
fell to my attention in Life magazine was
a picture of a camel pulling a walking
plow demonstrating the virtues of deep
plowing in north Africa. I suggest that
if we are going to teach the people of
north Africa a better way to plow, the
most desirable way would be to have
some kind of mechanical operation in-
stead of using a camel.
Mr. EDMONDSON. I yield to the gen-
tleman as an expert on plows here. I
have no desire to contend on that point
with him.
Mr. O'HARA of Illinois. Mr. Speaker,
will the gentleman yield?
Mr. EDMONDSON. I yield to the gen-
tleman from Illinois.
Mr. O'HARA of Illinois. Mr. Speaker,
I immediately am responding to the elo-
quent presentation made by the gentle-
man from Oklahoma [Mr. Elm/row:ism],
by dropping in the hopper the great
white fleet resolution as a sponsor.
I am doing this with an especial thrill
because the idea of establishing a great
white fleet for peace came from Teddy
Roosevelt. I am the last man in this
Chamber who served in Cuba with Teddy
Roosevelt years and years ago in the
siege of Santiago in Cuba, and it is most
heartening to me to know that in this
modern age the dynamic, virile patri-
otic leadership of Teddy Roosevelt is
being implemented. I commend the gen-
tleman from Oklahoma for the tremen-
dous presentation he has made here, and
I join with him in his advocacy of a great
white fleet for peace, sailing in a very
real sense into the hearts of people as did
the great white fleet for peace that Teddy
Roosevelt sent more than half a century
ago on a mission so rich in the making
of friendship.
Now, in regard to the cost. If you want
to reach into the hearts of people, you
do not count the cost of a bit of medi-
cine that you are giving to a sick child
or a sick woman or a sick man. You do
not stop to figure the cost of a loaf of
bread before you give it to a starving
human being. The quality of mercy is
not determined by fiscal mathematics.
The cost, as the gentleman from Okla-
homa has so well said, will be relatively
little; that is, the funds will come in large
part, I take it, from the special fund that
we have given the President and for other
programs in our mutual security bill.
Certainly it is much saner to put our
surplus agricultural products in the ships
of the great white fleet, to carry them to
the lands where there is need, than to
continue paying out a million dollars a
day for storage.
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12844 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD ? HOUSE
Mr. EDMONDSON. I thank my good
friend from Illinois; knowing of his big
heart and his strong championship of
the ideals of Teddy Roosevelt, and it
gives me a real thrill to see him join with
US.
Mr. BOYKIN. Mr. Speaker, will the
gentleman yield?
Mr. EDMONDSON. I yield to the
gentleman from Alabama.
Mr. BOYKIN. Mr. Speaker, I con-
gratulate the gentleman from Oklahoma
[Mr. EDMONDSON]. It is a great thought.
I have talked to him about it on a num-
ber of occasions, and I have received let-
ters from him. I also read this great
thought in Life magazine. You just im-
proved on it. You always improve on
everything. I have had the joy and the
pleasure of serving with you on the Vet-
erans' Committee, and I think you are
one of the greatest Members that ever
served there. This is a fine program, and
this will give life to a lot of people. What
you have done is a good job, and I con-
gratulate you from the bottom of my
heart.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr.
MORRIS of Oklahoma) . The time of the
gentleman from Oklahoma has expired.
Mr. BURKE of Kentucky. Mr.
Speaker, the gentleman from Oklahoma
has described in simple, straightforward
language an idea of vast significance.
No one who has read "The Ugly Ameri-
can," or who has had occasion to study
the reports of the various committees of
the Congress, can keep from having some
feeling that in our national effort to help
economically other parts of the world, we
have failed in many cases to convey the
really American spirit of neighborliness.
This may result from a sort of national
self-consciousness, because neighborli-
ness is brotherly love and we are a
little timid sometimes about admitting
that we are motivated by such a basically
good motive.
? The Great White Fleet is as American
as Teddy Roosevelt; the need for it is as
real as the hunger of starving people;
the possibility of implementing the idea
is as near as the mothballed fleet. I am
proud to have been permited to introduce
on yesterday one of 22 identical 'resolu-
tions urging the creation of the new
Great White Fleet.
(Mr. LINDSAY asked and was given
permission to extend his remarks at this
point in the RECORD.)
Mr. LINDSAY. Mr. Speaker, certainly
this proposal is deserving of full examin-
ation by the Federal Government. I
compliment the distinguished gentleman
from Oklahoma [Mr. EDMONDSON] and
the distinguished gentleman from Mas-
sachusetts [Mr. BATES] on their initia-
tive in taking a leadership position in
espousing this project. It will serve as
a highly desirable impetus to insure that
a full consideration of the merits of the
proposal is given. In my judgment this
is a useful and sensible way to use the
tools already in our possession toward the
promotion of peace. We have a Navy
and a good Navy. Let us show it off in
the best possible light and give tangible
evidence to the world of our peaceful in-
tentions.
I cannot help thinking that if the
Soviet Union should initiate a similar
project of its own and put it into execu-
tion, we here in this country would ques-
tion ourselves as to why we had not
shown at least equal imagination and in-
itiative. At a very small cost, using the
tools we already have on hand, a wealth
of good will could be obtained for the
United States through this project. Let
us not dismiss it lightly.
Mr. DADDARIO. Mr. Speaker, I found
this proposal for a Great White Fleet to
carry out mercy missions a most drama-
tic proposal. Certainly its provisions for
the relief of suffering, the provision of
medical aid to places where it is needed,
show vision and imagination.
The question of the provision of food
supplies must be weighed against the ex-
perience that this Nation has acquired in
recent decades in this area. It should be
studied together with several sugges-
tions made during this session so that it
does not prove harmful.
As a whole, the Great White Fleet,
capturing the imagination of the world,
could be a wonderful and humanitarian
project. It might well have a counter-
part in a Great White Airlift that, in the
spirit of Air Force efforts in recent years
including the airlift to Mecca, could
spearhead our mercy efforts.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, to ac-
centuate the positive in our approach
to foreign policy is the traditional Amer-
ican way of doing things. The most
dramatic proposal that has been
broached in recent years is the demon-
stration of our physical, economic, and
cultural resources in alleviating the
human suffering of peoples abroad by
the use of a great "White Fleet" alerted
and poised to rush to points of distress
and disaster throughout the world and to
assist the develpping nations..
Our American foreign policy must be-
come geared to the strengths of our Na-
tion; not only our physical resources and
the unsurpassed productivity of our
economy but to the ' traditional Ameri-
can symbols of good will, friendship, and
brotherly love for peoples everywhere.
In our relentless struggle against the
forces of communism all facets of our
national energy must be brought into
the fight in a dramatic move showing
the real spirit of the,American people to
our friends and neighbors abroad. The
strength of the "Great White Fleet" pro-
posal is in these areas.
At all times we must maintain our
shield of military strength but at best
this is a negative gesture and must be
reenforced by the positive actions of a
great free people who understand the
dynamic forces moving in the world to-
day and are equal to the challenge of
meeting them.
Coming from a rural area I am acutely
aware of the surpluses of food and fiber
we possess in a world of hungry people.
This is our great blessing if we have the
imagination to use it as a force for good
in meeting the challenge that has been
flung out to us by international com-
munism. President Truman's point 4
program and the Marshall plan were
steps in the right direction. Public
Law 480 is a move forward in the ac-
tive use of our food and fiber abundance,
in programs of economic and technical
assistance, and in the relief of human
July 23
suffering. A further important advance
can be made in the adoption-of the food-
for-peace legislation that I have joined
in sponsoring. All of these are positive
measures which coupled with the "White
Fleet" proposal will dramatically high-
light American efforts abroad in behalf
of other peoples' in the have-not areas
of the world and will prove a resounding
answer to Communist propaganda dis-
tortions of American policy and inten-
tions. This is a use of our strength to
help meet the weaknesses of our neigh-
bors not because we feel it to be a smart
propaganda move but because this is the
kind of people we are.
This symbol of American friendship
and understanding of other peoples
problems is also a use of the services
of the Federal Government in coopera-
tion with private voluntary organiza-
tions in a manner that makes use of
? the strengths of both. The Federal Gov-
ernment would cooperate by providing
ships, planes, and other vehicles from
the mothball fleet, furniihing surplus
food and supplies from Government-
owned stocks, and providing logistics
support through the many facilities of
the Government scattered throughout
the world. Operation of the fleet serv-
ices could be undertaken by voluntary
groups. The cost would prove negligible
in comparison to the amount of good
that would be accomplished.
Mr. Speaker, I am happy and proud
to join with my colleagues in sponsoring
this legislation that has as its founda-
tion humanitarian motivation and is in
accord with the high moral principles
for which our Republic has always stood.
This is our opportunity to channel the
great hope that our people share with
other peoples throughout the world for
a peace based upon brotherhood. This
is a challenge that the American people
will wholeheartedly rise to meet.
Under unanimous consent, I include
the concurrent resolution calling upon
the President to establish the Great
White Fleet which I am introducing
with a number of my colleagues and
to be printed at this point in the RECORD:
Resolved by the House of Representatives
(the Senate concurring), That it is the
sense of the Congress that?
(a) The President at the earliest prac-
ticable time should take such action as
may be required to provide for the estab-
lishment of a White Fleet designed and
equipped to render prompt emergency aid
and assistance to peoples of the coastal
regions of other nations upon the occur-
rence of famine, epidemic disease, earth-
quake, flood, hurricane, or other disaster;
and to further serve as a vehicle for the
carrying out of technical assistance and
training on a continuing basis in the devel-
oping nations of the world;
(b) Such fleet should be established
through the restoration to active service and
the equipment of suitable vessels of the
United States Navy now mothballed in stor-
age but could be operated by appropriate
nonprofit private philanthropic organiza-
tions of the United States devoted to the
rendition of erdergency aiciand assistance
to relieve human suffering;
(c) The vessels of such fleet should be
. suitably identified to proclaim to the world
their peaceful and beneficient.purpose, and
should be divided into task groups, each of
which should include a hospital ship for
the rendition of medical aid, a vessel suit-
ably equipped to generate electrical energy
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1959 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD ? HOUSE
required to meet emergency needs, and one
or more cargo vessels suitable for use in
the transportation of clothing, medical sup-
plies, and other necessary supplies and
equipment;
(d) Fuel and operational supplies, and
port, repair, and navigational facilities, of
tin United States Navy throughout the
world should be made available to such
filet in support of its operational activities;
(e) Provision should be made for the
utilization of surplus food commodities of
the United States for the relief of hunger,
and for the furnishing by the United States
of medical and other supplies required for
the rendition of other necessary aid and
assistance, through the use of that fleet; and
(f) The cooperation of private charitable
organizations of the United States should
be utilized for the furnishing of clothing
and other relief supplies for donation to
meet the emergency needs of inhabitants
of regions to which task groups of the fleet
would be directed to provide assistance.
Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I was
happy to join the Congressman from
Oklahoma [Mr. EDMONDSON] in his
resolution on the excellent idea of the
White Fleet. His leadership in this will,
I am sure, lead to the successful con-
clusion of an excellent proposal.
While the actual advantage through
medical help and through the feeding
of the hungry in disaster areas is per-
haps small, this program will certainly
once more demonstrate the peaceful in-
tentions which we have toward the less
fortunate people of the world.
I am glad that the idea is built around
direct contributions from people rather
than around Government aid because
then this even more truly becomes a
manifestation of intent by the people of
the United States. I wish the Congress-
man from Oklahoma every success, and
again I congratulate him on his usual
brilliant leadership.
OUR MONETARY SYSTEM
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under
previous order of the House, the gen-
tleman from Wisconsin [Mr. BYRNES]
is recognized for 60 minutes.
(Mr. BYRNES of Wisconsin asked and
was given permission to revise and ex-
tend his remarks and include extraneous
matter.)
Mr. BYRNES of ,Wisconsin. Mr.
Speaker, I apologize for taking The time
of the House at this late hour, but the
matter I propose to discuss is of such
importance, I think, that even at this
late hour it should be brought to the
attention of the Members here and the
Members who might read the RECORD
tomorrow.
Mr. Speaker, I am no expert in mone-
tary affairs. In fact, I- wish that some
of the Members of Congress who are
not experts would stop posing as such
in some of the remarks that have been
made on the floor of the House in re-
cent months with respect to monetary
affairs.
In the management of our huge pub-
lic debt, however, one does not have to
be an expert to know that if it is' to be
managed efficiently and managed eco-
nomically and managed in the best in-
terests of all of our people, we must give
to the Secretary of the Treasury and the
President the tools with which to work.
He does not have those tools today.
On June 8 the President of the United
States sent a message to the Congress.
I would remind the membership of that
message and I would quote from it in
part. The President in his message to
us said:
Successful management of the debt of the
Federal Government is one of the most
important foundation stones of the sound
financial structure of our Nation.
The public debt must be managed so as
to safeguard the public credit. It must
be managed in a way that is consistent with
economic growth and stability. It must also
be managed as economically as possible in
terms of interest costs. The achievement
of these goals is complicated today by several
factors, despite the fact that U.S. Govern-
ment securities are the safest investment in
the world.
Further he said:
Greater flexibility of debt management ac-
tion is required, however, under present-day
conditions if a reasonable schedule of ma-
turities is to be maintained and the safe-
guards against inflation strengthened.
Again the President said:
The Treasury always tries to borrow as
economically as it can, consistent with its
other debt management objectives. But in
our democracy no man can be compelled to
lend to the Government on terms he would
not voluntarily accept. Therefore, when the
Government borrows, it can do so success-
fully only at realistic rates of interest that
are determined by the supply and demand
for securities, as reflected in the prices and
yields of outstanding issues established com-
petitively in the Government securities
market.
The President at that time asked for
legislation to remove the statutory in-
terest ceiling of 3.26 percent on savings
bonds. He asked also for the removal
of the 41/4 percent interest rate ceiling
on issues of intermediate and long-term
Treasury bonds. And he said:
The present ceiling seriously restricts
Treasury debt management and is inconsis-
tent with the flexibility which the Secretary
of the Treasury has on rates paid on shorter
term borrowings.
In addition to that message, Mr.
Speaker, on June 29, there was released
by the President the Interim Report of
the Cabinet Committee on Price Sta-
bility for Economic Growth. I would
call your attention to a very important
finding of that Cabinet committee, and
mark these words:
Without firm control of the quantity of
money and credit all other measures to
check inflation will be futile. Sound mone-
tary policy requires that the Government
avoid making its bonds, other than those of
comparatively small denomination designed
for family savings the equivalent of money.
Government bonds are the equivalent of
money if they can always be changed into
actual money at virtually face value not
only when they are due and payable but
any time before. This is the case if the
Treasury is forced to issue only very short
term bonds or if the Federal Reserve System
stands ready to buy at a pegged price all
Government bonds offered to us In advance
of the date when they are due to be paid
by the Treasury. There is only an impercep-
tible difference between the Government's
issue of bonds that are the equivalent to
money and the Government's just cranking
12845
up the printing presses and rolling out green-
backs.
The Government will be forced to con-
tinue issuing, large additional amounts of
short-term bonds that are the near equiva-
lent of money until Congress allows the
Treasury sufficient flexibility to achieve a
balance in our debt structure by inducing
people of their own free will to invest their
savings in long-term Government bonds.
Thus to avoid inflation it is essential that
the present limitation on the interest rate
on long-term Government bonds be removed
as the administration has already recom-
mended.
The issue is whether we want price sta-
bility or whether we want in a concealed
way to do the equivalent of printing money,
something the American public would not
stand for if done openly.
-Thus spoke, in part, the Cabinet Com-
mittee on Price Stability for Economic
Growth. That, Mr. Speaker, was on June
29.
Following the message of the President
requesting the lifting of the interest
ceiling on long-term Government bonds
the Committe on Ways and Means held
hearings. Those hearings commenced
on June 10. We then went into executive
session for days on end getting all of the
best advice we could from those officials
charged with the responsibility of man-
aging the debt. I do not think there
could be a question in any reasonable
person's mind that the ceiling existing
today is unrealistic and that the Federal
Government cannot finance any part of
the debt in obligations beyond 5 years'
duration as long as the present ceiling
of 41/4 percent exists. I do not think any
reasonable person would question but
what if those charged with the responsi-
bility for managing our public debt are
to do so in the best interests of our coun-
try and in the most economical fashion
that this ceiling has to be removed. But
in spite of that fact the majority party
members on the Committee on Ways and
Means have procrastinated and they
have delayed, and it would now appear
they have decided to do nothing. We
met just a couple of weeks ago and got
to the point where the committee voted
to request the chairman to introduce a
clean bill so that the committee could
then meet to report out legislation. But
since that time no meeting has been held
and no bill has been introduced. There
is a bill that has been introduced, how-
ever, carrying out the Administration's
program. I am speaking of a bill in ac-
cordance with the action taken by the
majority of the members of the Commit-
tee on Ways and Means, acting in execu-
tive session.
Last evening the 10 minority members
of the committee, because of the impor-
tance of this matter, addressed a letter
to the Speaker of the House requesting
that he use his good influence to get this
matter to the fltoor of the House and get
action so a8 to untie the hands of the
Secretary of the Treasury and the Presi-
dent and enable them to properly man-
age this huge national debt of ours.
Mr. Speaker, I ask permission to insert
at this point the letter addressed by the
10 minority members of the Committee
on Ways and Means to the Speaker of the
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/20: CIA-RDP61-00357R000100220026-9