THE CZECHOSLOVAK CRISIS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP70B00338R000300190028-5
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 25, 2005
• Sequence Number: 28
• Publication Date: October 7, 1968
• Content Type: OPEN

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October 7, 1.968 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD - SENATE 912143
the Columbia River Basin into the Col-
orado River Basin, but which is broad
enough to preclude other water recon-
naissance studies as well.
In introducing MY amendment, I
made the point that water importation
from Canada is no longer merely the sub-
ject of academic discussion, but that
many Canadian water experts and offi-
cials now recognize that Canadian water
can be marketed to the United States
on a sustained yield basis, and at a
considerable profit to the Canadian prov-
inces involved. and that these officials
Gov. Rampton appeared greatly Interested
as Mr. Smith explained his proposal
However, he questioned the idea that the
U.S. government might become interested
since a 10-year moratorium has been placed
on any federal studies to augment water for
the Central Arizona Project recently passed
by Congress.
Mr. Smith said he hoped Canadian oftxciale
would support the plan to utilize U.S. funds
for developing the Canadian prairies as well
as helping the U.B. If they do, the American
government might become interns
The plan would not talc sriy water from
the Columbia River syst $IT, but might add to
clearly in an article and an editorial -'- .1-
. .., 1._ _ would intros,
Deseret News, a distinguished newspaper ter from
published in Salt Lake City. I ask unani- northwar
would. cost approximately $50 billion to de.-
liver gB million acre-foot to Montana's Cen-
tennial Valley, envisioned as a' 50 million
acre-foot storage area, and another $25 bil-
lion for the secondary distribution system.
To be sure, several other sources of water
are available: Desalinization, reclaimed Mis-
sissippi River water, and others. But, claims
Smith, none offers the feasibility of Cana-
dian Imports.
However, they apply some leverage to the
Canadians that their great water resources
might be bypassed In favor of other water
sources if they delay much longer.
Utah would benefit by water Imports into
the Green River, part of which could be
used for statewide distribution.
The Smith plan has much to recommend
it, although it Is admittedly a long-range
view in its early conceptual stages. Never-
the less, it plants the idea more firmly that
the water-parched Western States may have
to turn to Canada's vast resources to supply
expanding populations during the next
century.
editorial be printed in the RECORD: His pl~.n would divert an undetermined
There being no objection, the items amount outhward, with some being used by TRIBUTE TO MARGARET MAYER,
were ordered to be printed in the RECORD, Canada and the rest flowing down the Rocky REPORTER OF THE DALLAS
as follows: Mount in Trench into a natural reservoir on TIMES-HERALD
the so thwest border of Montana.
CANADA. WILLING To Discuss WATER FOR Prot this 60 million-acre-foot impound- Mr. JORDAN of Idaho. Mr. President,
UNITED STATES - moot, Jnode by darning Centennial Valley, the
(By Dexter C. Ellis) water 1would fan out in natural and man- on behalf of the distinguished Senator
Canadian officials have done an about- made channels to the and southwest. from Texas [Mr. TOWER], who is neces
face and are now showing a "surprising He id it is "surprising how simple" the sarily absent today, I ask unanimous
willingness" to talk about diverting some water ould be diverted and made to flow consent to have printed in the RECORD
of their surplus water to the arid Western along atural channels, a statement prepared by him relative
United States, Gov. Calvin L. Rampton Mr. S kith said that much of the Canadian to Margaret Mayer, a reporter of the
was told Tuesday afternoon. oppositio to NAWAPA was based on the fact Dallas Times-Herald.
The message came from Lewis G. Smith of that it w ld flood the Rocky Mountain There being no objection, the state
Denver, a private water engineer, who has Trench to gr S depth and destroy recrea- ment was ordered to be printed in the
developed a plan to reverse the flow of the tional values.
Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territory His plan, he expla d, would raise the wa- RECORD, as follows:
-bi
of Canada and make it run south down the ter level In the trench ly a few feet and STATEMnNT By MR. TOWEL
Rocky Mountain Trench into the United would not interfere with eqeational uses. Mr. President, it has been my very great
States. Mr. Smith explained that eoliie;,,of the Can- privilege both in Washington and in Texas
Mr. Smith visited -the governor as part adlan water would be diverted iiltd U e upper to work with Margaret Mayer, now of the
of his campaign to win support for his pro- Green River and would be available ftis.,shale Dallas Times-Herald. I can testify from ex-
gram from among the 17 western states oil development in eastern Utah and yo- porients that she is one of the most astute
which will urgently need great amounts of ming Much of the revenue to pay off coffer . o?and accomplished reporters covering this or
additional water in coming years. struction costs would be expected to come y other. town. She is fearless and she is
from this source, he added. fa , I wish we had more like her, and I think
AN EXPLOSION '--" theashington Press Corps feels the same
When the grandiose North American CANADA WATER lawoaTe COULD Sonvir way. ''FFe@xa~ns are particularly lucky to have
Power and Water Alliance (NAPWA) plan to SHORTAGES her worl(ing for them here in the Nation's
tap Canadian water sources was announced Grandiose plans to import water from Can- Capitol. \\
several years ago. it caused somewhat of an ada and even Alaska for the thirsty Western I am ph ased that Editor and Publisher
"explosion." States are not new. magazine h honored her in a recent article
Top officials in Canada said "never." Over the years, 13 inter-regional plane and which sums ii her distinguished career and
However, now they are realizing that un- eight international in scope have been pro- continuing se vice. Under unanimous con-
less they make arrangements to market posed. Among the most ambitious was the sent I include o article at this point in the
their surplus water relatively soon, they North American Water and Power Alliance RECORD for the ( reformation of Senators and,
may miss the boat, Mr. Smith said. plan proposed to Congress in 1964 which on- I hope, as an ilia iration to young journalists
ation:
The thirsty states may turn to desaliniza- visioned diverting 110 million acre-feet of throughout the
1
tion or other sources, he explained. water from rivers in Alaska, the Yukon, and -
EXPLAIN raOeRAM British Columbia at a cost of $100 billion. ONE-WOMAN NE S BUREAU: SHE KEEPS A
Mr. Smith was in in his .~ Lewis G. Smith, a water resources engineer (By L ther A. Huston)
Canada, recently to explain hiprogram to who resigned from the Bureau of Reclama-
efforts to divert 185 million WASIIINGTON. Tho Sunday that Lyndon B.
the Chamber of Commerce there which is ti
rsu
t
on
o pu
e
vitally concerned with development of water acre-feet from the Mackenzie and Liard riv- Johnson annou ced he would not be a can-
'for the vast wheat-growing prairies in that ers for distribution in the U.S. and southern didate for roe ction, Margaret Mayer was
vicinity. Canada. out in the win a of Marylpnd. But she heard
He said he has been invited back to explain Smith's conceptual plan, however, has def- the news, des ed into Washington and wrote
where the four stories, 11 of which made the first edi-
rogram to a broader array of Canadian
his
h
f succeedin
p
alices o
g
finite c
officialdom. NAWAPA plan failed. First, it would divert tion of the lflaliaa Times-Herald.
Also, he and Jay R. Bingham, director of much of the water supply to southern Ca- At the la4 lamented, or lamentable, Demo-
the Western States Water Council, will visit nadian farms, allowing population buildups cratic Convention in Chicago she was in
Friday with Canadian natural resource OM- in that area away from the crowded Eastern charge oira four-man staff, that included her
tiara in Winnipeg. areas. managing editor, and, she says, "we did a
ESTABLISH CONTACTS Second, It would help finance the Cana- damn good job." Her staff kept out of trou-
Mr. ]Bingham said his visit is to establish than projects by the sale of water to the ble, cud not get beaten up by cops, gave the
contacts with his counterparts in Canada U.S., some 38 million acre-feet annually. And Tlm6s-Herald comprehensive coverage of the
and does not constitute endorsement of Mr. third, it would raise the level of the Rocky general news of the convention and the par-
Smith's plan by the Council. Mountain Trench only a few feet.; Canadians titular news of the Texas delegation. She
Mr. Smith said Canada's interest in his were especially incensed at the NAWAPA wrote the leads.
plan stems from two factors. It would divert plan to make a vast reservoir out of this Margaret Mayer is not the only woman who
water southeastward to where it Is needed in primitive Canadian waterway. heads a major Washington news bureau but
Canada, and would provide financing which Smith's Western States Water Augments- she probably is the only one-woman bureau
the Canadians cannot generate on their own. tion Concept-the full title for his plan- in competition with a newspaper that main-
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S 12144 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD - SENATE October 7, 1968
tains a four-man staff in Washington. She
is the first correspondent the Dallas Times-
Herald ever had outside of Dallas and the
first to become the paper's top political cor-
respondent.
In a way, Margaret Mayer had a hand in
shaping the political career of Lyndon B.
Johnson. She covered his final campaign for
Congress in 1946 and his senatorial campaign
in 1948, and in 1950 she left Austin and
went to work for Senator LBJ in Washing-
ton.
"But I wasn't out out for that sort of
work," she said. "I was a newspaper woman
and I wanted to get back to it. So, after
three months, I quit and went back to Texas
as state capitol correspondent for the Dallas
Times-Herald." She stayed in Austin as the
Times-Herald's correspondent for 15 years
and came to Washington as that paper's cor-
respondent in 1966.
Margaret Mayer is as Texan as a cowboy
hat or a longhorn. She was born in that
state, attended the 'University of Texas
School of Journal-lam and went to work for
the Austin American-Statesman after college.
"That was in war time," She says, "and
a lot of the boys were going off to war. The
girls were getting the jobs the boys were
leaving."
COVERED TEXAS POLITICS
At any rate, she started covering Texas
politics in 1944 and has been at it ever since
without any serious competition from the
boys who came back from war or have en-
tered the field since.
Twice she has left journalism. The first
time was in 1949 when she took a leave of
absence from the Austin papers and went to
Vienna in the War Department's information
service. That service was phased out after a
year and taken over by the State Department,
eventually becoming the U.S. Information
Service, so she came back to Austin as a re-
porter for a few months until she joined
Lyndon Johnson's staff in 1950.
. For 15 years she was the Times-Herald's
one-woman bureau in Austin and for almost
three years she has been the paper's one-
woman bureau in Washington.
"I'm used to being a one-woman bureau,"
she says, "and I like it. I love the freedom I
have and the freedom I am given by my
newspaper. It may be that our ideas do not
always coincide but it is an enjoyable
relationship." ,
A cardinal principle of Margaret Mayer's
newspaper code is that a reporter stays on
the job until it is done. She is scornful of
time-clock reporters and the eight-hour day.
"The eight-hour day is something I have
'never known," she said. "The Sunday Presi-
dent Johnson announced his non-candidacy
was a day off for me but I was on the job
15 minutes after I heard the announcement
and stayed there until the first edition
stdrted to roll.,In Chicago I worked around
the clock. I work until the job is done and
I could no more walk away from a story
that is developing than I could walk away
from a person bleeding in the street."
As a one-woman bureau, Miss Mayer has
a lot of chores to do for her paper. Her
first priority, of course is her fellow-Texan,
Lyndon Baines Johnson. Second priority is
the Texas delegation in Congress. These are
general news assignments, producing stories
to supplement wire service coverage on news
of regional interest.
In addition to general news coverage, how-
ever, she writes a once-a-week editorial page
column interpretive of events related to
Texas politics and interests. For the Sunday
paper she does a column made up of half
a dozen items-something like Newsweek's
Periscope column-but beamed on events
related to.Texas and Texans. Although she
is not a "woman's page reporter" she also does
a Sunday column covering the social activi-
ties of Texans in the Capital.
One of the "society" columns she wrote
may have blighted the political career of a
bright young man who had aspirations to be
governor of Texas. Bill D. Moyers then Presi-
dent Johnson's press secretary, had guberna-
torial aspirations. He also was an expert in
cooking Texas dishes and he was in charge of
the food at a jet-set charity ball in Wash-
ington. Miss Mayer wrote about it in her
column and the story got back to the rather
stodgy, backwoods area of Texas from which
came Moyer's major political support. "The
story killed him in Texas politics," she said,
so he turned,to New York and a Job as pub-
lisher of Newsday from which vantage point
he still might launch a political career-but
not in Texas.
Miss Mayer occupies the office from which
Liz Carpenter worked when she was a very
competent member of the Carpenter News
Bureau before she became Lady Bird John-
son's press secretary. Liz and Margaret were
in journalism school together She does not
expect Mrs. Carpenter to rejoin the Carpen-
ter Bureau, headed by Les Carpenter, her
husband, but thinks rather she may try the
lecture circuit.
Miss Mayer, however, expects to continue
writing national and Texas news-political
and general-from her National Press Build-
ing office. "I like what I do," she declares.
THE CZECHOSLOVAK CRISIS
Mr. HART. Mr. President, it is often
helpful to have an opportunity to view
world events from the perspective of an
informed citizen of another nation.
Such an opportunity was given to me
recently. I read a speech by Asoka
Mehta, one of India's outstanding po-
litical leaders and thinkers.
Since independence in 1947, as leader
of the Socialist Party and now a mem-
ber of the Congress Party, Asoka
Mehta has been in the forefront of In-
dia's economic development.
During the vigorous debate over the
Czechoslovak crisis in the Lok Sabha,
the lower House of- Parliament, Asoka
Mehta broke rank with his party, voting
to condemn the Warsaw Pact countries
for their heinous action in Czechoslo-
vakia. Asoka resigned from his Cabinet
position as Minister of Petroleum and
Chemicals,
This courageous speech permits us to
see the Czech crisis through the eyes of
an Asian. I ask unanimous consent that
it be printed in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the speech
was ordered to be printed in the REC-
ORD, as follows:
SPEECH ON CZECHOSLOVAKIA BY SHRI ASOKA
MEHTA IN THE LOK SABHA ox AUGUST 30, 1968
I am very grateful to my friend Shri Suren-
dranath Dwivedy for giving us this oppor-
tunity to express our conecrn for and sol-
idarity with. Czechoslovakia.
Why are we so concerned about Czecho-
slovakia? Because of its history, its, long his-
tory of struggle for freedom, of a profoundly
rich culture and traditions of which any
country can be proud. We are concerned with
Czechoslovakia because we have enjoyed the
valued friendship of that country; It rushed
to our help when we were in difficulties, to
strengthen our defences; it has helped us to
build up our economy.
I know something about it because for a
period of time I was Co-chairman of the Eco-
nomic Commission between India and
Czechoslovakia. We are more concerned about
Czechoslovakia because there ?a struggle of
paramount importance is being waged and
people are struggling to make socialism-
or, the proper word is communism-humane.
-It is the effort at giving humanity, impart-
ing humanity, into communism that evokes
our admiration.
It is not only a struggle for humane com-
munism; it is also a struggle for humane
international order. Between nations and be-
tween peoples, there has got to be a civilised
code of behaviour, a code of behaviour which
would evoke the allegiance of the 20th cen-
tury man. Because it is that kind of struggle
that is being waged there, that as socialists
we are deeply and profoundly concerned.
Sometimes, it is said: why is it that some
of us take such keen interest where the com-
munist countries are involved? The reason is
very simple. Those who claim to be the wave
of the future have to maintain standards
which have to be very different from those
who are only the backwaters of the past.
The communists claim to be the wave of
the future. We are entitled to judge them
by the standards that history demands of us.
In this House there are many of us who
are friends of the Soviet Union. I have my-
self had various opportunities of dealing with
the leaders of the Soviet Union and but for
the changed circumstances I had already
planned a visit to the Soviet Union next
month. Therefore, there is no question of
our, not being friendly with the Soviet Union.
Because we are friendly to the Soviet Union,
it becomes all the more necessary that when
that country makes a grievous mistake, we
do not hesitate to voice our protest and our
deep regret.
Czechoslovakia has many lessons to teach
us. When the people are endowed with a
purpose and when the people are able to
have a leadership that is committed to a
cause, nobody is able to cow them down.
There are many colleagues of mine in this
House who are constantly worried about
arms. They do not know what will happen
to India if we do not get all the arms that
we need. I too am concerned about my coun-
try's defence. But it is not arms that will
ultimately save a people; it is the mind and
the heart of the people themselves.
If there is one country in the world that
teaches this lesson that when the people are
united, when they are filled with noble pur-
poses, when their groupings are graced with
a goal and when they have a leadership
which is able to inspire them, even the
mightiest army is not able to do anything,
that is Czechoslovakia. Trying to shape our
policies in the quest of arms may have va-
lidity up to a point. But when we are con-
cerned with deep and profound issues, we
must ultimately anchor our hopes in the
unity and the faith of our people and not
in borrowed arms. -
Then again, Czechoslovakia: whatever has
happened, it was said that 10 days shock the
world in 1917, two days shook the world in
1968. In these two days, the people of Czech-
1968. In these two days, the people of Cze-
oslovakia have shown that given the unity
they are able to assert their will to a great,,
extent. If they have not succeeded fully, it is
because we have failed them; it is the peo-
ples of the world who have been somewhat
mute in their support to the people of Czech=
oslovakia.
We salute them for their solidarity,
strength, determination and the dedication
that they have shown. It is our failure. Let
us accept that at this critical hour, when
people, not with arms but with their bare
bodies, with their hearts and minds, were
trying to oppose aggression and tyranny,
we did not stand up for them.
This is our sovereign Parliament, and I
would therefore like to invite your attention
to what the National Assembly of Czecho-
slovakia had to say on the 28th of August.
It adopted a resolution. I wish it were pos-
sible for me to read the entire text of it and
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October 7, 1968 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD -SENATE S 12145
let it form part of the records of this House, In this House, we are functioning in a
but I will read only two paragraphs from it: multi-party Parliament. In this country,
"The National Assembly considers forth- there is full freedom of speech and full free-
with the occupation of the Czechoslovak So- dom of the press. If this is counter-revolu-
cialist Republic by the armed forces of the tion, I have no doubt that every single dem-
five Warsaw Treaty countries as illegal and ocrat in this House would be proud to be
contrary to international treaties and in vio- called a counter-revolutionary. If revolution
lation of the United Nations Charter as well is, to smother the free voice of Czechoslo-
as the Warsaw Treaty." vakia, I say, fie upon that revolution. If
It goes on to say: counter-revolution is to let the people speak
"The National Assembly insists on uncom- out and express their legitimate right, that
promising pursuance of the principles and counter-revolution is something which the
policies proclaimed and adopted in the Ac- India} people have cherished.
tion Programme of the Communist Party of Therefore, let no attempt be made to cow
Czechoslovakia and the Programme of the us down by using these words. This House
Government. The Members of the National stands fully, firmly and squarely behind the
Assembly pledge that they will do their ut- rights for which the Czechoslovak people
most to keep the process of democratisation are fighting. They have been told, they will
continued without any disturbances." not be permitted to fight for these rights.
It is the will of.the National Assembly, the
will of the Czechoslovakian people that was
expressed by the National Assembly in the
declaration made on the 28th August..
For me, it is a matter of deep sorrow and
abiding regret that our Parliament is the
only Parliament in the world that has gone
on record saying that there has been no vio-
lation of the United Nations Charter.
Sir, may I next invite your attention to
what the President of the National Assembly
said. Like our Speaker, Sir, he is the tribune
of the people of Czechoslovakia, and what'
has the tribune to say after his return from
Moscow? He says: "It is a painful subject.
We chose the path of compromise, but it was
not easy. Please believe we put forward every
argument we had. We were aware in Moscow
that the agreement which was concluded
could be considered as unacceptable and
even be interpreted as treason." He added:
"But it is only thanks to the grand firm-
ness of our people that we were not obliged
to accept a long occupation and an imposed
Government. It was this firmness which
finally influenced the position taken by the
opposite side. . .. Of course, there are mo-
ments when one must reject all compromises
and risk the worst."
He went on:
"We made our decision as patriots and
soldiers in the light of the number of can-
nons and planes on our territory."
18,000 tanks, 1,000 planes and 650;000 sol-
diers-that was the force of occupation that
was imposed upon the little country of
Czechoslovakia. He continued:
"We arrived at the conclusion that the
ultimate moment had not yet come and that
we could seek a compromise while bearing
in mind the material and moral risks this
would entail."
"The future will judge our decision. It
will describe our choice either as wisdom
or as treachery."
No one can charge, even history will not
charge, the brave leaders of Czechoslovakia
with treachery. But I do not know whether
some of us will be condoned of that crime
by history. They have been compelled to
accept this compromise. What is the com-
promise? The President said:
"It will be necessary to grant, the Gov-
ernment special, powers concerning meas-
ires to be taken regarding the press and
-adio, the dissolution of clubs and bans on
.ew political parties."
It is said:
"Czechoslovak party and Government
leaders today worked, against time to find
a communist party leadership acceptable
both to Czechoslovakia and Moscow and to
restore order throughout the country."
They have to find a leadership acceptable
to someone outside their country! That is
what that country is being called upon to
do. It is being called upon to give up a part
of its liberalisation programme. What is the
crime that Czechoslovakia has committed?
It has given freedom of the press and free-
dom of expression. This the Soviet Union
calls counter-revolutionary.
Why are they compromising? It is because
14 million people can fight only up to a
point.
What about the rest of humanity? What
about 500 million people of India? To what
extent are we giving them our hand of friend-
ship and cooperation? To what extent is our
shoulder being put by the side of their
shoulder in their fight for these rights? This
is the humane phase for which we have been
working. This is what the Father of the Na-
tion taught us. This is what we learnt from
our leaders.
If they are fighting for that, surely we are
with them. If we do not say that, if millions
of people in other parts of the world do not
say that firmly and unequivocally, if they
are frightened and petrified, if their own
small interests come in the way of assertion
of their basic personality, are we entitled
to blame the Czechoolovak people and lead-
ers? Let him cast the first stone who has
never sinned. I am a sinner and I will never
cast the first stone at them.
God forbid, that our country should ever
face this kind of situation. But if it ever
does, I hope and trust that our people and
Parliament would behave in the manner in
which the Czechoslovak Parliament and peo-
ple have done. This is the only tribute I can
pay to Czechoslovakia. If ever, God forbid,
such a situation comes, we shall emulate that
illustrious example.
Why did the Russians do it? Mr. Ota Sik,
one of the Deputy Prime Ministers of Czech-
oslovakia, was asked by the world famous
Italian Novelist Alberto Moravia, what he
thought was the motive of the invasion. This
is what the Deputy Prime Minister of Czech-
oslovakia had to say:
"Certain groups in power felt threatened
by the happenings in Czechoslovakia. If our
attempt had succeeded, for them, it would
have been the end. Hence the reaction. It
was a reaction not against a definite change,
but against any sign of life or movement. It
was the pure and simple defence of the polit-
ical status quo."
It is with this attempt at freezing the
whole situation in the world and at con-
trolling the movement of the spirit of man
that this offensive was launched with 6.5
lakh soldiers, 18,000 tanks and 1,000 aero-
planes. It is against that, as the embodiment
of the same human spirit, we are being com-
pelled to raise our voice abiding protest.
There are many writers here. I also claim
to be a humble writer. The occupation forces
in Czechoslovakia have recently destroyed,
razed to the ground, the Writers' Building
because of, their wrath against writers. As a
humble writer, I would like to convey to the
writers in Czechoslovakia that they can raze
the structure, but they cannot destroy the
spirit.
Sir, it is necessary for us to give our utmost
support to Czechoslovakia. There is a very
respected journal in our country. It had the
most exalted association. I was distressed to
find that from its mast-head it has removed
the famous motto, "freedom is in peril, de-
fend it with all your might." Maybe the jour-
nal thinks it worthwhile to erase that motto,
but the deathless message that our departed
leader gave this country will never be for-
gotten. Freedom is in peril. Wherever it be,
we shall defend it with all our might.
May I, therefore, through you, Sir, appeal
to the House, to both sides of the House, that
the Government, the Parliament and the
people must, in unequivocal terms, continue
to support the people of Czechoslovakia be-
cause it is only then that they can be free.
They are on razor's edge if we do not stand
by them.
We read this morning in the National
Herald that Czechoslovakia had been threat-
ened that Slovakia would be made a part of
the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia would
probably be made something else. Anything
can happen there.
Therefore, let us discard, let us throw aside,
limited ideas and think in terms of the great-
nes of the issues involved and extend to
Czechoslovakia the fullest of support and
our solidarity as the Resolution moved by
-my hon. friend Shri Dwivedy seeks to do. To
those who seek to traduce and trample upon
the protagonists of humane socialism all that
I can say in the immortal words of the
Spanish Republicans during the Civil War is
"no pasardn,"
NEW THREAT TO THE OIL IMPORT
PROGRAM
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Prsident, earlier this
month I wrote to the Secretary of the
Interior to express my concern over the
proposed foreign trade zone and refinery
complex to be established at Machias
Bay, Maine. In the past the Department
of the interior has firmly refused to per-
mit foreign trade zones to be used as a
means of bypassing the oil import pro-
gram. I rise to inform my colleagues of
a proposal which calls for a reversal of
that policy and which could lead to the
complete dismantling of the mandatory
oil import control program.
The proposal presently under consid-
eration is establishment of a foreign
trade zone at Machias Bay, Maine, and
construction of a refinery complex by
Occidental Petroleum Corp. after it has
received permission to import 300,000
barrels per day of crude oil into the zone
and has received a license to import 100,-
000 barrels per day of refined products
manufactured in the zone into the New
England area. The finished product
quota for which Occidental Petroleum
Corp. has applied consists of 90,000 bar-
rels per day of No. 2 fuel oil-which is a
substantial portion of the daily home
heating oil requirements in all New Eng-
land-and 10,000 barrels per day of gas-
oline. Most of the remaining production
of the refinery would find, by one means
or another, its way into the U.S. market.
This proposal can only be described as
a blatant attempt to obtain a competi-
tive advantage in the marketplace by
circumventing the oil import program.
The wisdom of the oil import program
was graphically illustrated a year ago
during the crisis in the Middle East.
Without the program, the closing of the
Suez Canal and the boycott of the West-
ern nations by the oil producing Arab
States could have had a disastrous ef-
fect on our efforts to supply our' forces
in Vietnam and to provide adequate en-
ergy needs at home. Yet, within 1 short
year, actions are being taken to under-
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD - SENATE October.-4 1968
mine the very program which made the
United States self-sufficient during that
hour of crisis.
The privileges which Occidental Pe-
troleum seeks for itself are great indeed.
The Occidental refinery would be the
fourth largest in the United States and
would equal almost 25 percent of the
total existing capacity of all east coast
refineries. The proposal asks that Occi-
dental be granted the right to import into
the United States 100,000 barrels per day
of finished products. This amount is more
than that authorized for importation by
all of the segments of the industry and
would be_ assigned to only one company.
Granting a license to import 100,000 bar-
rels per day of finished products would
give Occidental an opportunity to realize
domestic prices on products generated.at
offshore costs. It is estimated that this
privilege would represent a competitive
advantage of at least $40 million per year
to the company.
Since the refinery output would be de-
signed exclusively for importation ' into
the United States or for sale tgthe
United States for use abroad, the . ci-
dental refinery is equivalent to 4 do-
mestic refinery in spite of its location
within a foreign trade zone. The proposal
contemplates exclusive utilizatio f of
foreign source crude oil-300,000 barels
per day. A comparable domestic refir ry
of this size would only be entitled to an
Where will the U.S. Government draw
the line?
If for any reason the executive arm of
the Federal Government should grant the
necessary foreign trade zone authoriza-
tions and oil import quotas necessary to
the establishment of the Machias Bay
project, then we can look forward to sav-
eral of the following results: impairment
of the national security of the United
States through the failure to provide an
atmosphere in which a domestic oil in-
dustry cari exist and provide a supply of
oil which would be adequate, dependable
and certain at all times; flooding of the
U.s. market by cheap foreign produced
crude oil at a time when the domestic oil
industry is suffering a recession across
the Nation, and the Department of the
Interior has expressed its concern over
the status of the Nation's crude oil re-
serves; a subsidy to consumers of one
region paid for by the increased prices
charged consumers of other regions of
the Nation; an increase in the unemploy-
ment rate among American workers; an
overall reduction in the use of American-
flag vessels by the petroleum industry; a
competitive advantage being granted by
officials of the U.S. Government to a com-
pany that is singled out for special treat-
ment; establishment of many foreign
trade zones which would be used to cir-
cumvent U.S, trades tariff, and quota
barriers; and ultimately, the dismantling
of the mandatory oil import control
import allocation of 13,920 barrels pei,,
day of crude oil or 4.6 percent of its Program.
input. This is a far cry from the 100 per- 'Pie Foreign-Trade Zones Board has
cent input of foreign crude oil which scheduled a hearing on the application
Occidental seeks for itself, and which for the establishment of a foreign trade
would be equal to 50 percent of the total zone at Maehias,Bay, Maine. The hear-
amount now imported to the east coast. ing is to be held 3n l?ortland, Maine, on
The granting of the proposed licenses Thursday, October ?1 1968. Although it
to Occidental Petroleum Corp. is not apparently took the examiner nearly 3
simply a redistribution of the oil impart months to determine the application and
quotas now available. The refinery at accompanying exhibits complied with
Machias Bay would receive 100 percent the regulations.. Much of the vital data
of its input from foreign sources and relating to economic feasibility will` not
would sell most of its output in the U.S. be available for inspection until 9 days
market. At the same time, all other re- before the hearing and 6 days before the
fineries in districts I to IV, also selling deadline for submitting written sum-
their output in the U.S. market, would be maries of testimony. Because of the se-
allowed to receive an average of approxi- rious issues involved, it is anticipated
mately 7 percent of their qualified input that numerous public officials and inter-
from foreign sources, while larger com- ested parties will request permission to
panies average around 5 percent. A appear and that- several days will be re-
suspension of the rules in favor of Occi- quired to hear the testimony. Therefore,
dental would give it a windfall of 284,080 I ask the Foreign-Trade Zones Board to
barrels per day of foreign crude oil pro- reschedule the hearings at a later date
duced at low cost due to favorable geo- which would permit thorough investiga-
graphic conditions and low wages paid tion and preparation of testimony and to
to foreign laborers.
If Occidental wishes to operate a re-
finery complex at Machias Bay and play
by the same rules as everyone else, fine;
but every indication is that the company
will not proceed with its plans for the re-
finery complex unless the rule book is
rewritten for its benefit. Apparently the
company plans cannot be economically
justified under the standards which we
require of the rest of the petroleum in-
dustry. If Occidental is allowed to pro-
ceed, other American oil companies will
be in a position to request similar treat-
ment. Will we grant these concessions to
other companies and destroy the Ameri-
can domestic oil industry? Or will Occi-
dental Petroleum Corp. be the only com-
pany singled out for special treatment?-
'-'u aaashin ,cations and the Senate itself indicates a
part of which would be held in Wasg- elmove towards reasserting the Senate's
ton, a more convenient location with ,constitutional and traditional role in for-
fundamental more adequate policy facilities. In questions view of involved, Ithe r ' eign policy matters and, specifically re
would also urge the Foreign-Trade Zones- asserting its leadership role in interna-
Board to conduct the hearing rather tionalization of universal human rights
than the technical Examiner's Commit
tee as now proposed.
THE 90TH CONGRESS-RECORD,` ON
HUMAN RIGHTS
Mr. PROXMIRE. Mr. President, the
90th Congress is rapidly drawing to a
close. It is expected that within a week
or so we will adjourn sine die. With ad-
journment will come an appraisal of the
record of this Congress on human rights.
The Senate-the Committee on Foreign
Relations in particular-has not done
the job we should do in the field of hu-
man rights.
The Committee on Foreign Relations,
through a special subcommittee, of which
the senior Senator from Connecticut
[Mr. Donn] is the chairman, held hear-
ings in early 1967 on the Three Human
Rights Conventions on Forced Labor, Po-
litical Rights of Women, and Slavery.
All three conventions were reported fa-
vorably by the subcommittee. However,
only the Supplemental Convention on
Slavery was reported favorably to the
Senate by the full committee. The Sen-
ate then ratified this convention on No-
vember 2, 1967.
In October 1967, the President de-
clared that. 1968 would be observed in
the United States as International Hu-
man Rights Year. In January 1968, the
President announced the creation of a
special Presidential Commission for Ob-
servance of Human Rights Year. The
President also called for ratification of
nine specific human rights conventions.
They are the Conventions on Genocide,
Freedom of Association, Slavery Supple-
ment-ratified-Political Rights of
Women, Forced Labor, Employment Dis-
crimination, Equal Remuneration, Dis-
crimination in Education, and Racial.
Discrimination.
On September 20, 1968, the Commit-
tee on Foreign Relations held hearings
on the Protocol to the Convention on
the Status of Refugees. This convention
was reported favorably to the Senate and
the resolution of ratification was agreed
to on October 4, 1968. Thus, this conven-
tion became the second to be ratified
during the 90th Congress and the only
one to be ratified during International
Human Rights Year.
Mr. President, we have made some
progress but too little.
However, as I stated in my remarks im-
mediately after ratification, this belated
ratification of the Protocol on the Status
of Refugees is welcome, since this vote
demonstrates clearly that these various
international conventions, designed to
Internationalize human rights, can be
ratified without prejudice to national or
State law. Extending appeal before the
l"nternational Court to the field of human
rights is a milestone which should ease
the path of other human rights conven-
t .ons still awaiting Senate ratification.
I Mr. President, I hope fervently that this
THE ACLU IS RAPIDLY EXPAND-
ING ITS SPHERE OF INFLUENCE
Mr. FANNIN. Mr. President, the third
and final article on the American Civil
Liberties Union, written by Mrs. Shirley
Scheibla has been published in Bar-,
ron's Weekly. In, her first article, Mrs.
Scheibla. describes the objectives and
early activities of the ACLU; the second
article discusses its current activities;
this final article discusses the ACLU's
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