THE LEGISLATIVE PICTURE FOR EAST-WEST TRADE--ADDRESS BY SENATOR MORSE BEFORE AMERICAN MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP70B00338R000300070015-2
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 12, 2005
• Sequence Number: 15
• Publication Date: April 29, 1968
• Content Type: OPEN

A1N( 29, Y96pproved(5'p~ 1 /kVM MZQS?Q3 R M70015-2 E 3439
a great many of our people, both north and
south, that I feel constrained to give it here.
"We think," said they, 'we are loudly called
on to evince our gratitude in making our
fellow-men joint heirs with us of the same
inestimable blessings we now enjoy, under
such restrictions and regulations as will not
injure the community, and will impercept-
ibly enable them to relish and improve the
station to which they will be advanced.
Honored will that State be in the annals of
mankind which shall first abolish this vio-
lation of the rights of mankind; and the
memories of those will be held in grateful
and everlasting remembrance who shall pass
the law to restore and establish the rights
of human nature in Pennsylvania."
On the first day of March, 1780, the repre-
sentatives of the Keystone State of the Union,
in General Assembly met, in the city of Phil-
adelphia, close by the Congress of the United
Colonies, then also in session there, passed
Pennsylvania's act for the gradual abolition
of human slavery. The struggle for national
independence was then still undetermined.
Continental currency had depreciated so
much that one dollar of specie would pur-
chase three thousand of currency. The British
on the east, and the savages on the west,
pressed hard upon the struggling patriots.
The national government was without credit;
the army and the navy were without the ma-
terial needed to conduct the war to a suc-
cessful ending; and all-army, navy, and peo-
ple-were sadly straitened for the necessaries
of life. And yet, Pennsylvania's representa-
tives, undismayed by their surroundings, and
unheedful what the representatives in Con-
gress of the slave-holding States of the na-
tion might think of their action, gave utter-
ance to their views of slavery, and the con-
clusions they had come to about it, in lan-
guage so beautiful and so forcible, that jus-
tice to their memory impels me to extract
the Preamble to the law they then enacted,
long though it be, as I am satisfied that the
great majority of the people have never seen
or read it.
1. "When," say they, "we contemplate our
abhorrence of that condition, to which the
arms and tyranny of Great Britain were ex-
erted to reduce us; when we look back on the
variety of dangers to which we have been ex-
posed and how miraculously our wants, in
many instances, have been supplied and our
deliverance wrought, when even hope and
human fortitude have become unequal to the
conflict, we are unavoidably led to a serious
and grateful sense of the manifold blessings
which we have undeservedly received from
the hand of that Being from whom every
good and perfect gift cometh. Impressed with
these ideas, we coAcelve that it is our duty,
and we rejoice that it is in our power, to
extend a portion of that freedom to others
which hath been extended to us, and release
from that state of thralldom, to which we
ourselves were tyrannically doomed, and from
which we have now every prospect of being
delivered. It is not for us to enquire why, in
the creation of mankind, the inhabitants of
the several parts of the earth were distin-
guished by a difference in feature or com-
plexion.
"it is sufficient to know that all are the
work of an Almighty hand. We-find in the
distribution of the human species, that the
most fertile, as well as the most barren parts
of the earth are inhabited by men of com-
plexions different from ours, and from each
other; from whence we may reasonably, as
well as religiously, infer, that He who placed
them in their various situations hath ex-
tended equally His care and protection to
all, and that it becometh not us to counter-
act His mercies. We esteem it a peculiar
blessing granted to us, that we are enabled
this day to add one more step to universal
civilization by removing as much as possible
the sorrows of those who have lived in unde-
served bondage, and from which by the
assumed authority of the kinds of Great
Britain, no effectual, legal relief could be
obtained. Weaned by a long course of experi-
ence, from the narrow prejudices and parti-
alities we had imbibed, we find our hearts
enlarged with kindness and benevolence
toward men of all conditions and nations;
and. we conceive ourselves at this particular
period extraordinarily called upon, by the
blessings which we have received, to mani-
fest the sincerity of our profession, and to
give a substantial proof of our gratitude.
".II. And whereas, the condition of those
persons, who have heretofore been denomi-
nated negro and mulatto slaves, has been
attended with circumstances, which not only
deprived them of the common blessings that
they were by nature entitled to, but has cast
them into the deepest afflictions, by an un-
natural separation and. sale of husband and
wife from each other, and from their chil-
dren, an injury, the greatness of which can
only be conceived by supposing that we were
in the same unhappy case. In justice, there-
fore, to persons so unhappily circumstanced,
and who, having no prospect before them
wherein they may rest their sorrows and
their hopes; have no reasonable inducement
to render their service to society, which they
otherwise might, and also in grateful com-
memoration of our own happy deliverance
from the state of unconditional submission
to which we were doomed by the tyranny
of Great Britain. Therefore be it enacted,
etc."
Pfc. Norman H. Reeves Awarded Bronze
Star
HON. JOHN E. HUNT
OF NEW JERSEY
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Monday, April 29, 1968
Mr. HUNT. Mr. Speaker, In full recog-
nition of the tragedies of war, we must
also remember, with deepest pride and
respect, those American men who are
staking their lives for our freedom. We
pay homage to all who dutifully accept
this sacrifice, and especially to those who
under the tortuous and extraordinary
circumstances of battle are possessed of
a quality of uncommon valor.
It is my personal privilege, Mr.
Speaker, to pay tribute to such a young
man, Pfc. Norman H. Reeves, who is the
product of an outstanding background
in law enforcement in my hometown of
Pitman, N.J., and is now serving his
country with distinction in Vietnam. On
March 15, 1968, Private, First Class
Reeves was awarded the Bronze Star
Medal for "exceptional courage and de-
votion to duty." The citation, in part,
reads :
Pfc Reeves distinguished himself by hero-
ism in connection with ground operations
against an armed hostile force in the Re-
public of Vietnam on 6 Dec 1967 while as-
signed to Company A, 4th Battalion, 12th
Infantry, 199th Light Infantry Brigade. On
that date, two platoons of Company A be-
came heavily engaged with a well en-
trenched Viet Cong battalion. Pfc Reeves,
the platoon radio telephone operator, moved
forward under intense automatic weapons
fire and began relaying vital information to
the company commander ... Despite his
wounds, Pic Reeves repeatedly exposed him-
self to hostile fire while calmly and efficiently
assisting the company commander coordi.
nate and communicate with the various
elements involved in the battle. Pfc Reeves'
exceptional courage and devotion to duty
were in keeping with the highest traditions
of the military service and reflect great
credit upon himself, the 199th Light In-
fantry Brigade and the United States Army.
By the grace of God, Mr. Speaker, Pfc.
Norman H. Reeves will be returned to
his family and loved ones to pursue a
responsible and productive life in his
chosen career with the full pride and
knowledge that his contribution to free-
dom's cause has made it possible to
survive.
Ld TAB
The Legislative Picture for East-West
Trade-Address by Senator Morse
Before American Management Asso-
ciation
HON. WAYNE MORSE
OF OREGON
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
Monday, April 29, 1968
Mr. MORSE. Mr. President, the role
of the United States in world trade is of
major concern to Congress. The entire
area is one that demands constant, care-
ful analysis and evaluation in the light
of rapidly changing events.
Early In March, it was my pleasure to
address the American Management Asso-
ciation, in New York City, on the subject
of "The Legislative Picture for East-West
Trade," and to offer some recommenda-
tions for joint action by Congress and
the business community.
I ask unanimous consent that my re-
marks on that occasion be printed in the
Extensions of Remarks.
There being no objection, the remarks
were ordered to be printed in the RECORD,
as follows:
THE LEGISLATIVE PICTURE FOR EAST-WEST
TRADE
(Remarks of Senator WAYNE MORSE, before
American Management Association, New
York City, March 4, 1968)
I appreciate the invitation to speak before
this top-fight group of American business-
men on "The Legislative Picture for East-
West Trade."
It will be a pleasure to do so, and I would
like to take advantage of the occasion to add
some further comments on the general sub-
ject of trade policy, the Congress, and the
business community.
It is my feeling that what is called for is
a "new look" at all trade policy, including
East-West- Trade. I should make some ex-
planation of the term "new look." I am not
using it in the Madison Avenue sense of
appearances, or how our decisions and ac-
tions should be portrayed for public con-
sumption. What I have in mind is the active
sense, meaning that the United States should
be subjecting the potentials and problems
of world trade a keen, rigorous, and profes-
sionally competent analysis.
About four years ago, in May 1964, the
Commercial Councilor of the U.S.S.R. addres-
sed a previous American Management As-
sociation session on East-West Trade. He
reported that Russia had expanded its for-
eign trade 31/2 times in seven years, raising
its rank among trading nations from 116th
place in 1938 to 5th place over the past 25
years. His expectation, however, was that the
volume of foreign trade of the U.S.S.R. would
grow approximately four-fold in the next 15
years. He cited his nation's membership in
the International Wheat, Coffee, and Sugar
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Agreements as evidence of its desire to in-
crease its multilateral as well as bilateral
trade relationships.
What was the American reaction to these
initiatives? One example, was the 1963 agree-
ment for the sale of wheat to Russia which
was completed in two weeks in Canada, while
the comparable agreement in the United
States took two and a half months. Another
was that a Japanese delegation came to Mos-
cow and purchased a license for the con-
tinuous casing of steel in a month, after
American firms had negotiated for about two
years without reaching a decision. The Com-
mercial Councilor concluded by saying there
is "a generally favorable picture for the de-
velopment of Soviet trade . . . with one
exception . trade between the United
States and the Soviet Union."
"To see ourselves asothers see us" can be
very helpful. As Robert Burns went on to
say, "It would from many a blunder free
us, and foolish notion."
In the years between that briefing session
and this one it became clear to all that winds
of change were blowing across Eastern Eu-
rope. Yugoslavia followed its decollectiviza-
tion of agriculture in 1953 by a series of
steps recognizing private enterprise in other
segments of industry, and generally moving
toward amarket economy. This culminated
in the 1965 reforms and their admission to
the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade
in 1966. In the same year, Hungary an-
nounced notable shifts toward the goal of a
quasi-market economy. In 1967 the Czecho-
slovak government proclaimed the most dar-
ing reforms of any Eastern European coun-
try, which could have the effect of reinte-
grating their economy with the world mar-
ket. Czech trade is three times the Eastern
European average; the adoption of these re-
forms could thus have a considerable im-
pact on the standard of living of their popu-
lation, which accounts for what we have
been reading in the newspapers this past
month. In 1965, the USSR itself adopted a
set of economic reforms applying to their
basic industrial commodities. which one of
their principal authors, Professor Y. Liber-
man described as follows: 1
"Increasing the independence of enter-
prises; appraising their work by the cri-
terion of profitability; introducing payment
productive assets; raising the material in-
centives for personnel in ratio to the enter-
prise performance, out of profits . . . and
establishing economically based, as opposed
to arbitrarily set, prices."
In 1966, according to Professor Liberman,
704 enterprises employing more than 10%
of the Soviet labor force went under this
system.
In each instance, these actions came after
several years of discussion and debate. It
will be several years more before the results
can be appraised. We know already, however,
that the public announcement of these
policies represented a decisive victory of
pragmatism over ideology. It is likely that
this will be an era of severe testing for the
reformers, and that they will encounter re-
sistance from elements of their own admin-
istrative and policy-making organizations,
which make the political as well as the eco-
nomic risks of these ventures substantial.
We fully realize that these are internal de-
velopments, which are best left to the na-
tions involved to work out. Our Western and
American policies have only marginal effects,
but they undoubtedly do have some effects.
It is apparent that these changes provide
historic opportunities for the West. Regard-
less of what we might think of the merits of
their social and economic doctrines, and
their ultimate political relationship with the
West, we will certainly be condemned by
history if we do not use whatever influence
we possess to encourage these governments
to move toward- a system which exhibits a
greater concern for the essential human
needs of their people.
The nations of western Europe had been
quicker to grasp these opportunities than
have the United States. Between 1960 and
1966, their East-West trade nearly doubled.
Exports from the West reached a figure of
$8.5 billion in 1966 and imports from the
East rose to $9.0 billion. This represents a
yearly growth rate of 12%. Meanwhile,
American exports to eastern countries fell
from $193 million to $166 million, which is
$3 million below the level of 1938.
In July of 1965, three years of discussion
resulted in an agreement between the Rus-
sians and the Fiat Company to construct an
$800 million plant in Russia, directly in-
volved the U.S. as a supplier of approxi-
mately $50 million of machine tools.
Undoubtedly, many people in the U.S.
began to feel that the fresh winds of eastern
Europe could also be trade winds for us.
In the State of the Union message in 1965,
President Johnson had said:
Your government, assisted by leaders of
labor and business, is now exploring ways to
increase peaceful trade with the countries
of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union."
In February of that year, he appointed a
"Special Committee on U.S. Trade Relations
with Eastern European Nations and the So-
viet Union," under the chairmanship of J.
Irwin Miller, Chairman of the Board of Com-
mins Engine Company. This Committee re-
ported to the White House on April :29, 1965,
in part as follows:
"Properly conceived and wisely adminis-
tered, a free trade with Eastern European
nations and the Soviet Union would become
a significant and useful device in the pursuit
of our national security ... and cI world
peace."
Assistant Secretary of State Solomon spoke
before the Salesmanship Club of Dallas on
October 21, 1965, and advocated expanding
East-West Trade on the grounds that:
"The influence of (Western) trade and
the contacts that have flowed from it .
have had an impact on the internal liberal-
ization of, Yugoslavia."
The President's State of the Union mes-
sage on January 12, 1966, recommended to
the Congress that it assist the expanding
trade between the U.S. and eastern Europe
and the Soviet Union. Pursuant to the prin-
ciple of supporting national independence,
and "building bridges to Eastern Europe,"
the President said:
"I will ask the Congress for authority to
remove the special tariff restrictions which
are a barrier to increasing trade between
East and West."
An "East-West Trade Relations Act" intro-
duced in the Congress in May of 1966 was
based on the Miller Committee recommenda-
tions. It was designed to grant the President
discretionary authority to negotiate com-
mercial agreements containing most favored
nation treatment with individual communist
nations, whenever he determined this was in
the "national interest." 2 In September of
1966, President Johnson made the following
statement:
"Since 1945, we have opposed communist
efforts to bring about a communist-doml-
nated world. We did so because our convic-
tions and our interests demanded it; we shall
continue to do so. But we have never sought
war or the destruction of the Soviet Union;
indeed, we have sought instead to increase
our knowledge and our understanding of the
Russian people, with whom we share a com-
mon feeling for life, a love of song and story,
and a sense of the land's vast promises."
Congress did not act on the East-West
Trade Relations bill, but Under Secretary of
State Katzenbach, in an address before the
National Association of Manufacturers on
December 9, 1966, stated that: "We intend to
press for (this bill) in the Congress."
Despite these declarations, the legislation
was not re-introduced in the 90th Congress,
and the Congress has not acted to liberalize
the restrictions it controls, which could im-
prove the prospects of trade with the East.
It should also be noted that those discus-
sions never extended to Asian communist na-
tions.
In understanding this posture, it is useful
to refer back to the Constitution. Article I,
Section 8, as you know, gives Congress the
power to regulate Commerce with foreign na-
tions and among the several states. Under
Article II, the Prseident has power, by and
with the advice and consent of the Senate, to
make treaties, to appoint Ambassadors, and
generally to conduct the foreign relations of
the United States.
The formation of policy on East-West trade
thus falls into an area of joint responsibility,
calling for action by both the executive
branch and the legislative branch.
The Congress is aware of the issues. As evi-
dence of this let me quote the remarks of the
Senator from Kansas (Mr. Carlson) on the
Senate floor on August 31, 1967. Senator Carl-
son said:
Eastern European imports from the free
world in 1965 were 5 times what they were
in 1950. If our share of this market were
equivalent to our share of the world market,
our sales to that area would be about $5 bil-
lion annually, or 5 tiraes the 1966 level. In
1965, we supplied only 2% of the free world
exports to eastern Europe, while our total
share of free world exports to all destina-
tions was 16%.... In 1.966, the U.S. exported
over $90 million worth of wheat to Eastern
Europe. Obviously, a tremendous potential
market exists in the communist (nations)
but we must carefully weigh the economic
benefits from expanded East-West trade
against the political considerations."
During the past 20 years, Congress has had
many occasions to weigh these considera-
tions. They have not been passive about the
exercise of this power. Legislative enactments
include:
The Export Control Act of 1949, as amended
in 1965, prohibits exports of "Strategic goods."
The Mutual Defense Systems Control Act of
1961, or the "Battle Act," prohibits economic
or financial aid to the USSR or any country
"under its domination."
The Agricultural Trade Development and
Assistance Act of 1964, or P.L. 480, auth-
orizes sales of agricultural commodities, but
only to "friendly countries."
There are other restrictions under the Mu-
tual Security Act of 1.954, the Foreign As-
sistance Act of 1961, and appropriations legis-
lation relating to many government activi-
ties, including procurement of equipment
under the National Defense Education Act?
By far the more serious limitation is the
Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which forbids
the extension of the Most Favored Nation
treatment to any eastern European nation
except Yugoslavia and Poland, which already
possessed them at the time of the Act. This
places goods from other Eastern countries
under the tariff schedule of the Smoot-
Hawley Act of 1930, which was the most pro-
tection level of this century.
Appropriations acts for the Export-Import
Bank have served as vehicles for limiting
the authority of agencies to finance, guaran-
tee, or otherwise extend credit to any country
except when the President determines that
such actions would be in the "national
interest."
Most recently, on February 21, 1968, the
Senate approved the Conference Report on
the legislation extending the life of the Ex-
port-Import Bank, containing amendments
which are quite restrictive. The Senate ac-
cepted the House language, but explained
that this was adequate to cover the Byrd
amendment prohibiting Ex-Im financing to
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any nation engaged in armed conflict, or
which is directly furnishing goods or supplies
to a nation with which we are in armed con-
flict. The Mundt amendment would specifi-
cally prohibit the Bank from assisting in
the co struction of the Fiat automobile
plant. IN effect, therefore, the Bank will not
be able to facilitate exports to any com-
munist country, except Yugoslavia, for the
duration of the Vietnamese conflict, and
then can do so only after an affirmative de-
termination by the President that such fi-
nancing is in the "national interest."
It is apparent that there are a variety of
ways in which Congress may act, either to
encourage or discourage contacts and peace-
ful trade with eastern Europe.
The ways in which Congress has acted re-
flect a variety of definitions, of criteria, and
of standards. There are overlapping and po-
tentially conflicting statements of policy in
the statutes, the proliferating regulations,
and interpretive rulings by the Attorney
General and others. A Subcommittee of the
House Committee on Foreign Affairs is pres-
ently holding hearings designed to collect
the law on this subject.
My prediction is that the House Commit-
tee will not have much praise for the quality
of Congressional legislation in the field of
East-West trade. Such a conclusion would
be a compelling reason for the fresh look
at trade policy under the criteria I have sug-
gested.
The Chairman of the Senate Foreign Re-
lations Committee, Senator Fulbright, has
indicated his intention to share jurisdiction
of any measure on East-West trade policy
which the Senate may consider. This would
allow the trade questions to be appraised
against the broad background of foreign
policy.
As a member of this Committee, I will
support the Chairman in this resolve.
I believe that this discussion demonstrates
that the United States, with its democratic
institutions and the provisions of its Con-
stitution as they are, must formulate its
trade relations on the widest foundation of
public understanding, acceptance and sup-
port. The work of a united executive branch
over many years, many members of Congress,
and many committees, can be undone by a
single contrary legislative enactment. Ac-
cordingly, any improvement in trade rela-
tions between the United States and eastern
Europe must be bound up in the basic com-
mitment by the American people for better
relations between our nations. This involves
the whole question of how the elected mem-
bers of Congress see the world and how
successful they are in adjusting the policies
of our nation to it.
The brief history of these relations could
be helpful in gaining a proper perspective.
In 1931, prior to diplomatic recognition
of the Soviet Union, the USSR accounted for
about 40 percent of the United States
machine tool exports.
After recognition, which the business com-
munity in this country generally favored,
there was a modest growth in trade and in-
vestment; for instance, the Ford Motor Com-
pany building an automotive plant in Gorki.
We found, however, that the Most Favored
Nation treatment accorded Russia was offset
by the State-training methods and its com-
mand form of economy.
Nevertheless, in the 1936-39 period, trade
rose to $169 million, about 1.6% of U.S. mer-
chandise exports.
During World War II, American exports
to Russia jumped 24.3%, in support of our
mutual war effort.
Following V-J Day, however, the Soviet
leaders of that day chose to pursue a policy
of territorial expansion by utilizing political,
military and economic forces. Export controls
were then invoked on strategic goods and
were tightened as a result of the Berlin
Blockade and the Korean military action.
In the ensuing years, the U.S. was required
to respond to threats to the peace in Iran,
Greece, Berlin, Malaya, the Philippines, Ko-
rea and Cuba.
I believe this explains the attitude de-
scribed by the Soviet Commercial Councilor
which arose out of a deep skepticism about
the motives of the Russian government of
that time. This period also accounts for the
weight and complexity of the procedures,
attitudes and politics that inhibit the United
States Congress in responding buoyantly to
new opportunities for :East-West trade.
As the Cold War simmered down, the in-
volvement in Vietnam heated up. I believe
that you are well aware that for the past
half-dozen years, my views have not corre-
sponded with those of the Executive Branch
on this subject. It is clear, from the action
on the Export-Import Bank bill, that the
present situation is not contributing to the
betterment of trade relations between the
United States, the USSR, and Eastern
Europe.
Senator Fulbright has said that, in the
90th Congress, East-West trade is another
casualty of the Vietnamese war. I agree with
him, and I feel it is regrettable.
Now, however, let us share a hopeful mo-
ment and look beyond Vietnam. The estab-
lished doctrine in the United States, as ex-
pressed in the Miller report, is that there
should be expanded peaceful trade between
East and West.
This is only the most recent of a series of
documents reflecting the knowledgeable at-
titudes in the business community on this
issue. The most respected business organiza-
tions, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce,
the National Association of Manufacturers,
the Twentieth Century Fund, and the Com-
mittee on Economic Development have
spoken. They have periodically expressed
their support for eliminating unnecessary re-
strictions to East-West trade and expanding
it consistent with our national interests.
The Policy Declaration of the United
States Chamber of April 29, 1964, for in-
stance, points out that at the White House
Conference on Export Expansion in Septem-
ber of 1963, four of the eleven committees
suggested that clarification of the policies
of the Administration as to East-West trade
would be most helpful. The Chamber's Pol-
icy Declarations advocating collective West-
ern measures for peaceful trade with the
East go back as far as 1953.
The May 1965 report of the Committee
for Economic Development joined the co-
operative efforts of research groups in the
United States, Western Europe and Japan.
It highlights the need. for concerted action
by all of the Western countries in setting the
conditions for trade, with the advice of a
committee of businessmen as an integral
part of this process.
I regard the CED suggestions for a per-
manent Government-Industry Committee, at-
tached to the OCED for housekeeping pur-
poses, as a highly constructive suggestion. It
would be a vehicle for the kind of incisive,
professional, and continuing observation of
the kind I have mentioned. The CED recom-
mends several criteria for appraising new
trade opportunities with the East. They point
out, as other business groups do, that gov-
ernments must agree upon the ground rules
under which our businessmen will operate.
Trade is a part of the overall political pic-
ture, which is constantly changing. We have
an obvious interest in maintaining control of
items of military and strategic value and
avoiding a credit race. In setting these gov-
ernmental guidelines, cooperation between all
of the Western allies would be the keystone.
As to specific trade opportunities that arise
within the framework, this report recom-
mends an application of realism, selectivity,
flexibility, and cooperation. A permanent
committee could provide expert assistance
and an exchange of information among al-
lies, and thus put the West in the best posi-
tion to incorporate maximum concessions and
legal safeguards into governmental agree-
ments which permit trade to take place.
In my opinion, this report charts an appro-
priate course for the United States and other
Western nations to follow. It also has been
the doctrine among the American people
that, with the Marxist economy and the 36
state trading organizations, trade will be an
immensely complicated technical task, even
if a political agreement is reached. The Twen-
tieth Century Fund study of March, 1966,
stated that:
"Commercial interests have had perhaps
the least influence on the evolving debate.
because there has been very little (East-
West) trade.... nor has there been any very
good prospect for significant expansion of
this trade."
This was ascribed to the fact that there
appear to be "distinct limits, even theoret-
ically, to what we might want to buy from
them," as well as a lack of a history of
reciprocal trade, a lack of complementary
industries, as well as the policy and prob-
lems inherent in the dealings with a dif-
ferent economic system.
I am not entirely convinced by this kind
of argument.
Examine for a moment the so-called
Khrushchev shopping list included in the
Chamber of Commerce 1964 policy statement,
It contained plants and manufacturing
equipment for the following: Synthetic and
other textile fibers; plastics; fertilizers; con-
struction materials; shoes; food; packaging
materials; equipment; television and other
consumer goods.
Our economy has shown remarkable suc-
cess in meeting the basic human needs for
food, housing and clothing. Ambassador Foy
Kohler has said that the Soviets now lack
even nylon stockings. We can only imagine
how many or how few of the several thou-
sand items that we take for granted in our
supermarkets are commonly available to the
Russian housewife.
The 1964 speech of the Soviet Commercial
Council mentioned a poultry and egg indus-
try which the Soviet Union would like to
buy from abroad. In 1965 an automobile in-
dustry was added. In 1966, Under Secretary
of State Katzenbach commented upon the
amazement of spectators at a Bulgarian trade
fair at which a U.S. firm was displaying a
couple of dozen sets of specialized pliers. In
Bulgaria, evidently, they try to do everything
with one kind of pliers. Of course, this still
leaves us with the problem of what eastern
Europe has that we would like to buy.
Of course, there is gold, and there are
strategic ores. Beyond this, Professor Harold
Behrman of Harvard University, in an ap-
praisal of East-West trade policy which ap-
peared in the Harvard Business Review,
pointed to the lack of knowledge and ex-
perience of most Russian businessmen as
well as most American businessmen as to
possibilities for trade. He suggested that
there might be import-building missions
from the United States. He cites the example
of the Boston businessman who discovered
a surplus of scientific testing equipment in
a warehouse in the Soviet Union which was
suitable for science experiments in Ameri-
can schools.
There would be wide latitude for trade
missions, fairs, and exhibits of all kinds.
This takes us into the "invisible export" area
of travel. American travel to the USSR pre-
sently exceeds Russian travel to this country
by a ratio of 18 to 1. There is the whole field
of educational and cultural exchange. These
possibilities are virtually untapped.
In my opinion, it is very difficult to make
a rational argument against expanded trade
in these kinds of peaceful goods. They are
far from the borderline of any possible assist-
ance to military capability. It is hard for
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one to understand how anyone might feel
that a nation of Yankee traders, with the
most advanced business community in the
world, would not strike a fair bargain in a
trade agreement. Such a person would seem
to suffer from an acute timidity which is not
becoming to the citizens of the greatest eco-
nomic power in the world. It seems to me
that he would also suffer from a lack of logic,
because if any imports are taken to add to
the strength of an Eastern country, then by
the same token, the payments in gold or ex-
ports (produced by resources diverted from
other sources) would "weaken" these coun-
tries just as much.
It is also instructive to shine a brief light
on FIAT negotiations. On May 30, 1966, Busi-
ness Week magazine reported that an agree-
ment was signed in Turin, Italy, by the
Soviet auto industry minister and the Presi-
dent of the FIAT Corporation, calling for
the manufacture of 600,000 units of the new
FIAT 124, as modified for the Russian
weather and roads . i.e., less window
glass, tougher suspension, and a 1400-cubic
centimeter engine instead of the standard
1200 c.c. engine. The article stated further:
"For the Soviets, it will mean quadrupling
annual auto output from 200,000 to 800,000
by 1970, and a giant step toward a con-
sumer economy ... At the start of 1965, the
USSR had less than 1 million passenger cars,
one for every 235 persons, compared to one
for every two persons in the United States
The Soviets' decision to commit nearly
$1 billion of the foreign exchange to estab-
lish an auto industry does prove ... that
government emphasis on the consumer sec-
tor is going far beyond mere words, and ex-
perience suggested that the consumer-
American, Italian, or Russian-becomes more
eager for goods as his standard of living
rises."
The CIA intelligence report published by
the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the
subject indicates how far the USSR has to
travel in order to make up the automotive
gap with the Western World. It is estimated
that in Moscow there are 8 service stations
and 8 garages, and in Leningrad an esti-
mated 3 automobile service stations. The
indications were that the Russians designed
this program to satisfy the increasing de-
mands of their governmental and managerial
elite, who are interested in acquiring cars.
The CIA estimated that by the early 1970s,
perhaps half of the automobiles produced
would be available for public purchase. Thus
for the next decade, at least. an automobile
for the average citizen was not in sight.
But, it would have been a start. The De-
fense Department was willing to state that
most of the machines to be purchased in the
U.S. could be used solely for the production
of a limited number of small and medium-
sized cars. For instance, the heaviest iron
casting to be produced would be an 85 pound
cylinder-block. Other machines were engi-
neered to produce parts of a particular di-
mension and specifications, which could not
be readily used in heavier vehicles. Still other
machines for stamping body panels, painting,
and upholstery are peculiar to the auto-
mobile industry. Despite the case that was
made in public for U.S. participation, the
Congress recently voted to ban it in the
Export-Import Bank act. Although the hot
and cold wars are involved in this decision,
the rejection of East-West trade, it seems to
me, is also a symptom of the inability of
this country to create a viable program of
general trade expansion.
The New Year's Day message of the Presi-
dent marked the fourth time in seven years
that the government announced a program
for coping with the chronic deficit in the
balance of payments. Such a program is of
direct interest to my own state of Oregon.
which is located astride the Columbia Valley,
the second greatest river system in the coun-
try. Its seaboard and fertile land areas, as
well as skilled people, offer a potential for
production, transportation and trade that is
just beginning to be developed.
An export expansion program is also vital
to the nation's economic strength and I have
been concerned, as all Americans should be,
to see the steep decline in our merchandise
export surplus over the past two years.
In 1965, we had a trade surplus of $6.7
billion. In 1966, this was reduced to $3.8 bil-
lion. Because of this trend, on February 1,
1967, I urged the Senate Small Business
Committee, of which I am a member, to con-
duct an inquiry on the possibilities for de-
veloping exports of regional industries in dif-
ferent parts of the country over the next
10 years.
The first of these hearings was held in
Portland, Oregon, in May of 1967, and further
hearings were held in Mobile for the Gulf
Coast, and in Milwaukee for the St. Lawrence
Seaway in November and December. The
fourth or South Atlantic hearing, will take
place at Miami on March 14 and 15, with
the final sessions here in the Port of New
York on April 4 through 8.
The purpose was to identify the potentials
and problems of our regional industries with
export potential. We wish to see what we in
the Senate can do to strengthen Federal,
State, local and private organizations with
programs that can be of ultimate assistance
to our regional and small business commu-
nities.
It has been my belief, and the Commit-
tee's belief, that greater headway can be made
on our balance of payments problems by
liberating the energies of American business
than by restricting them. For instance, if the
export surplus in the last two years even
equalled the 1965 surplus, there would have
been no over-all balance of payments deficit
in 1966, and only about a billion and a half
deficit in 1967. If the surplus had expanded
from the 1965 peak, instead of declining, we
probably would have had no deficit at all for
these years. In that event, there would have
been no necessity to consider the restrictive
proposals now before the Congress. We are
looking forward to hearing from your East
Coast witnesses about additional markets
that could be developed for American indus-
try. Following the final hearing in April, the
Committee will file its report with the Senate
and will seek legislative and other remedies
which it feels will be appropriate and ade-
quate to the challenges of world trade and
its problems. We hope that our efforts will
be able to have some influence on Congres-
sional decisions on trade policy during this
session.
From the evidence that we have already
heard, there are serious questions about the
adequacy of our past national export pol-
icies and programs. They seem to exhibit
shortcomings in concept and organization,
in promotional and marketing techniques,
and in assuring tax and other ion-tariff
equality for American exporters. Perhaps
most important, there seems to be a shortage
of sustained leadership on all levels.
In summary, I would like to give you my
thoughts about what the Congress and the
business community should do about these
shortcomings.
I think we should both be going full-speed
ahead on sound programs of export expansion
for small and medium as well as large busi-
ness enterprises. But, I cannot, under the
circumstances endorse a similar approach as
to East-West trade. This would be too much
to ask of individual businessmen or corpor-
ations during a period of conflict, when emo-
tions are aroused. Businesses are profit-mak-
ing organizations which are legally and
morally responsible to their stockholders. In
any judgment they are not obligated to as-
sume a leadership role that would tend to
impair their basic purposes.
Although Congress has declared itself in
opposition to expanding East-West trade in
the Export-Import Bank Act for the dura-
tion of the Vietnamese war, I hope that it
will soon be possible for our national legisla-
ture to proceed with clarification of our East-
West trade policies, and an affirmative policy
of responding to the increasing opportunities
for economic, social and political liberaliza-
tion in the USSR and the Eastern European
countries.
Though the business community may not
now have a leading role as to East-West trade.
I feel that it has a vital role in formulat-
ing our general trade policy this year and
could even be doing more to lay a foundation
for constructive East-West trade policy in
the future. I would hope that businessmen
and organizations will not only support but
will advocate expansionary trade policies. I
hope they will go on record as favoring meas-
ures that will allow the ranks of our export
traders be widened by an adequate national
program which will bring the consciousness
of benefits of foreign trade as well as the
techniques down to the level of trade associa-
tions, chambers of commerce, regional small
businesses across this country-
If we do not broaden this base, I fear that
the companies which are now enjoying inter-
national trade, as well as the country, will
have a severe price to pay. Policies that are
in the interests of the few will not be sup-
ported, in moments of stress, by the-many.
And if this is true in the United States, it is
probably more valid abroad.
I, therefore, urge that the members of the
American Management Association take a
new look at Federal, State and local govern-
ment and private institutions and to bring
the natural interest of our business commu-
nity to a focus on these issues this year. I
urge you to evaluate the state of the com-
petence that is in being, and that is being
built in these issues of private and public
policy. How capable are our existing institu-
tions of reaching out to regional industries
and small companies and trade associations?
Do they enjoy the confidence of their regions
as being truly representative of the long-term
interests of all businesses in those areas?
How capable are these bodies of helping new
companies to enter and develop export
markets? What is the quality of their staffs?
How much research do they perform and
what is the quality? What capacity do these
organizations have to appraise national or
international issues that may be before the
President and the Congress? What willing-
ness do these organizations have to issue dec-
larations and press releases on subjects of
vital concern to our trade and financial
policy? For instance, it seems to me that busi-
nessmen and business organizations could
have been uniquely helpful during the FIAT
negotiation and debate by speaking out on
the basis of their special knowledge of ma-
chine tools and the possibilities that they
could be used for objectives other than those
that were stated. If situations of this kind
come up in the future, I hope that the busi-
ness community will be ready and willing to
make a contribution.
It seems to me that what we need is com-
petence in foreign trade matters in every
region of the country. We need people who
are willing and able to take the new look
based on new information and new condi-
tions and are willing to say in public what
they have seen. Ideally we should have cen-
ters of research analysis and opinion across
the country-in every State and in many
Congressional districts. At that point, we will
begin to biuld a solid foundation for a general
expansion of U.S. trade, and a base which
will support bridges to Eastern Europe as the
circumstances permit. Business, with its spe-
cial capabilities, should have a prominent
role in developing these capabilities, and in
backing up the judgments in the face of the
opposition, unpopularity, and even irrational-
ity that sometimes creeps into the discussion
of large issues.
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 Err' 29, 196~pprovVbWEpW,RgSotbR]gIAFjQee WA33PUM3W70015-2 E 3443
As a result of our export expansion hear-
ings, Senator Nelson of Wisconsin and I are
in touch with the educational organizations
and business groups to explore how we might
be able to further develop these capabilities
and the links betwen industry, the universi,
ties and government in the field of trade.
We would be pleased to have the views of
the AMA in this matter. Some of the possi-
bilities for the interchange of information
and views are illustrated by the programs
of the Space Agency and the Bureau of
Standards. Since 1958, N.A.S.A. has spent $572
million on the support of research and edu-
cation in the universities. It has trained 3400
graduate students and parceled out $379 mil-
lion in project grants to the schools.
The National Bureau of Standards now has
sixty research associates from industry at
work in the Bureau, and they plan to increase
this to 150 or about 10% of their staff.
I think that when our balance of payments
and economic security and rights of travel
and investment are placed in question, and
when our relations with a vital part of the
world are in flux, we have every right to ask
what the Departments concerned' with trade
and commerce are doing in this field. I in-
tend that our Committee pursue to answer
these questions.
It seems to me that when officials of re-
sponsible local business organizations com-
mune with their Congressmen about what
export trade and East-West trade mean to the
people in their areas, and when they begin to
read about these possible benefits in the local
paper, then the Congress will listen and the
prospects for trading and living construc-
tively with our friends and allies all over the
world will have a more realistic prospect of
improvement.
The only "nay" was from a lady who was
kind but firm. She felt that a convict was a
convict, period-and that he should be given
the business to teach him a good and lasting
lesson.
So that others may know, Bill Graves and
I have a deal. The Beacon Journal will pay
him for his writings--but all the money
will go to his 12-year-old daughter. That was
at my :insistence, and Bill was quite happy.
So today I have a couple of columns writ-
ten by Bill. The first deals with his alcohol-
ism. The second with some advice about
house-burglary-as told by a bad burglar,
name of Bill Graves.
The first column follows:
(By Bill Graves)
Walled AA might take him out of that, and
maybe help him establish healthy mental
habits that might linger with him outside.
The thing in a nutshell is, a prison AAer
pretty near got to do it this way. The think-
ing way, that is. They're not saddled with
the temptations that grab the outside mem-
ber. Saloons and bars are almightly scarce,
and a drunk is seldom seen.
In here when a guy gets a thirsty urging
he don't got the heebie jeebies when he don't
get a snort. I've seen many a case of the
DT's and I've never heard of an AA member
being called Out to help a pal who's slipped
by sipping again.
Now, AA plays an important part in the
over-all scheme of things in a place like this.
AA meetings get a guy out of his cell, maybe
take him away from a pot-walloping chore,
or a coal-shoveling detail. He gets a chance
to meditate, too, and hear some good, down-
to-earth speakers.
Then, too, it goes on record when a man
joins AA and it's frowned on if, after joining
the man becomes an AA dropout.
Being an outside member of Alcoholics
Anonymous, now that's a bird of a different
feather. That outside member is an AA be-
cause he wants to be, and he's pretty sure he
needs to be. The only angle he's shooting is
to stay sober, and he's got to do it where
the action is powerful-amongst the saloons
and bars.
The freeworld member gives us his Sun-
days, and some of the evenings, willingly, to
help insiders and outsiders. When a help-
ing hand is needed he lends his, because in
helping others he gives himself a boost. And
that, I reckon, is what AA is all about any-
how.
Now I don't mean to suggest that some
inside members of AA won't be able to cut
the mustard once they've shucked this place.
I expect a lot of 'em will be helpful, and I
wish 'em well, but I'm trying to point out
the difference between "inside" and "out-
side" alcoholics. The circumstances ain't the
same, and they never can be.
I'm a fair example. In here I was one of the
rocks of AA, a real boulder-type. But out-
side I was something else. What I was out-
side was a weekend drunk. And in here I
never craved a dram, which is not to say I
would've turned up my nose at one if it was
offered.
When the temptation of a thing is taken
away, you see, an insider can give up pretty
near anything-and does!
The day I can saunter into a bar, order a
double hooker, sniff the bouquet, put it down
unquaffed and walk away, why then I'll
have it made. It would be swell if I could
drink one, then walk out. But it would be
even sweller if I could down two, three, or
. See what I mean?
In here, with or without AA, my cup does
not runneth over.
And here is Column No. 2 also by Graves:
It's always been a rule-of-thumb thing
FOOTNOTES
I "The Soviet Economic Reform," Foreign
Affairs Magazine, October, 1967, p. 53 & 55.
2 "East-West Trade Relations Act of 1966,"
S. 3363, introduced by Sen. Magnuson on be-
half of himself and Senators Mansfield and
Javits. The companion bill, H.R. 15212, was
introduced in the House by Rep. Keogh.
3 See "The Battle Act Report, 1966; 19th
Report to the Congress," Dept. Of State, De-
cember 6, 1966, Chapter IV, "U.S. Restrictions
on Trade and Financial Transactions with
Communist Countries."
Views of an Inmate of a Penal Institution
HON. WILLIAM H. AYRES
OF OHIO
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Monday, April 29, 1968
Mr. AYRES. Mr. Speaker, in a pre-
vious issue of the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD,
I inserted two column written by Ben
Maidenburg, editor and publisher of the
Akron Beacon Journal. That distin-
guished writer told us of his experiences
with an inmate of the Ohio Penitentiary
in his attempt to rehabilitate him by
giving him a job on that newspaper.
That we can all better understand the
views of an inmate of a penal institu-
tion, Editor Maidenburg turned over the
space of two of his columns to inmate
Bill Graves. The columns follow:
FIRST A Sip, THEN A SLIP
(By Ben Maidenburg)
I am happy to report that the "vote" on
Mr. Bill Graves was at a ratio of 37 to 1. I
asked whether the readers would like to hear
more from my pen pal, currently doing time
in the Ohio Pen, and received 38 letters.
I was asked if an alcoholic could be lured
onto the wagon by joining AA whilst he was
sloughed up behind the walls. That's a
toughy for a backsliding ex-member of AA
to answer. But I'll rassel around with the
thing--mountain-style, natch-and give it
my biased opinion.
For openers I oughts say that I've been
messing with the hard stuff since I was a
shirt-tailed kid, and until recently figured
I was an extra-heavy weekend social sipper.
The last time I was shanghaied and brought
here though, me an' AA got on howdying
terms with each other and I learned that
weekend imbibers can be alcoholic too.
Hearing something like that comes down
pretty hard on a dude like me 'cause after
my bouts of weekend boozing I always
showed up for work. Maybe I wasn't always
bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, but I made
the work scene spiritless. But even so, I ap-
parently had the markings of a true-blue
alcoholic.
A little dab of soul-searching, mingled
with self-pity, and I don't know what all,
decided me to give the AA thing a riffle. I
stumbled up AA's 12 steps, memorized the
creed and got down with the traditions. That
part was gravy.
The ungravied part was getting up in
front of a whole bunchful. of strangers and
letting them know I couldn't hold my licker.
That's plumb painful and oughta be classed
as cruel and unusual punishment, and no-
body oughta try it without having a smidgen
of Dale Carnegie.
But according to those in the know, it
ain't no good less the spanking-new mem-
ber gets up in front of a crowd and lets 'em
know publicly he's afflicted.
AA and I got along tolerable well as long
as I was an inside member, I was even hon-
ored with guilding the steering committee
for a spell. After several years of total tee-
totalling I figured I was a dead-sure cinch
to make it once they turned me loose.
But the everyday grind of tripping past
saloons and bars started to wear me down
and I soon had myself convinced I wasn't a
sure-enough, couldn't pass-a-saloon alco-
holic. Forgetting that hadn't actually been
my problem in the first place. with me that I don't usually monkey round
And the truth is I didn't come back for with what another feller writes about. But
drink alone, but for what I did while juiced tother day I latched onto a piece that
up on the grape. Maybe that sounds like shook me up some and roused my dander.
hedging, but there's a little bitty difference This writer was strapping it on the un-
there and soon as I learn it maybe I can sip suspecting public how to keep burglars off
social again. their property and outa their homes.
I've moseyed way past the question I was Which could be all to the well and good-
gonna try to answer. No. I don't think a man but you don't have to read more'n a couple
can be cured of the alcoholic habit behind of the feller's Hints-to-Householders before
bars. Not by latching onto AA all by its lone- you begin to wonder how many actual bur-
some anyway. glars he's ever had face-to-face truck with.
I reckon it helps though, and it might set Take me now, without meaning to sound
a fellow to thinking about the whatfors and braggy, I can count several burglars amongst
whyfors of where his drinking led him astray. my acquaintances. Then, too, I've dabbled a
Then he might, if he was of a mind to, pon- bit in burglary, and I've been burgled.
der the phenomenon of the dry-drunk, or With a pedigree like that going for me,
the mind-drunk. Whatever you wanna call or against me, I'm what you call qualified to
it? let a little air outs that writer's balloon. The
The natural bent of the prison alcoholic, I man ain't all wrong; he's got a couple of
believe, is to indulge hisself in long spells of goodies that's saying a little something, and
self-pity, depression, blues, things like that. I'm gonna run 'em down to you. But first let
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me clue you in on a few of his dandies that
ain't gonna keep nary burglar outa your boo-
rows and boo-frays.
Personally, I never was a good burglar,
being uneasy in the dark like I am, but even
a bad burglar coulda told this writer feller
he was wasting his time, and yours, by sug-
gesting you change locks when moving to a
new dwelling.
Your homesick burglar don't mess with
locks. He goes round 'em with a jimmy bar.
Might even pry a plank plumb outa your
pine door.
In my pre-burglar days and afore taking
the wrong road fork, I was a tax-paying citi-
zen. And it was as a pillar of the community,
natch, when I was mistook for a loaded
citizen and was beset by pro prowlers.
This feller told about how the house
oughta have screen and storm windows. That
was a scrumptious idea, and they worked
almighty well in keeping the flies and cold
out. But they didn't keep a burglar off my
premises.
I bet it didn't take that nighttime rogue
no more'n a minute to alit my screen, crack
my glass and waltz amongst my valuables.
'Nother place, I believe, where the writer
went clean outa sight was when he advised
homeowners 'bout their comings and goings.
D6n't set no time habits, he said. I reckon
he was talking 'bout if everybody come and
went in a bunch at a set time.
Well, I used to stagger my leaving time
and since I usually come home staggering,
that part took care of itself. But 'twix my
boss bawling me out for showing up stag-
gered, and my misses hollering at me for
the same reason, I'd just as lief be burgled.
Number three on the burglar no-hit parade
was to get a neighbor to mind the grass,
gather the leaves, hold the paper and safe-
keep your cream whilst you was off on a
journey.
You can't hardly beat a deal like that for
getting your chores took care of, and it might
trick a burglar or two, but don't count on it
too heavy. I come from being gone once, and
all I had left after making them kind of ar-
rangements was a tidy front yard.
Well, now, you see how it is? Them ideas
was flawed a little. They'll maybe keep the
ne-er-do-wells from tippy-toeing through
your petunias, but they ain't gonna hinder
a top-drawer pro from invading your privacy.
Best way to do that is sit home with a
scattergun in your lap, which gets mighty
wearisome. The next best way is to follow
the feller's two suggestions he let drop with-
out maybe realizing how powerful they was.
One of 'em was to keep a light lit upstairs
while you're out rousting around. Yes, sir, a
light in the night don't do nothing for the
cockles of a burglar's heart, and it'll keep
most of 'em looking for gloomier pastures.
Tother suggestion was to get a dog. Now
can't nobody find fault with that idea, except
maybe burglars. Dogs loose on the premises
are a plague to prowlers, and I don't know
nary burglar who won't skedaddle if a house
mongrel commences yapping.
You don't want one of them dogs that don't
do no barking. That's playing dirty pool with
your burglar and might get you sued. It's
hard telling what the high court might say
if a barkless dog was to seize a culprit with-
out warning-or a warrant.
You got enough trouble without worrying
'bout fringing on some burglar's constitu-
tional rights.
FOR A FATHER IN PRISON, THERE'S A TERRIBLE,
NAGGING DOUBT: How LONG Is FOREVER?
(By Ben Maidenburg)
I keep getting letters asking why in tarna-
tion I have "adopted" Bill Graves. Or even
tried to befriend him. Bill, as you may know
from reading previous columns, is down in
the Ohio State Penitentiary. He was paroled
last year, and then got himself boozed up,
"borrowed" an automobile and immediately
found himself back in the Spring St. Hotel-
which is what they call the state pen.
My correspondents think I am (a) either
stupid; or (b) seeking to build for myself a
halo; or (c) wasting my time with. a "con"
when I could be doing something for some-
one who was true, blue, honest and not in
prison.
I might be stupid. Certainly I could lend
more efforts to out-of-luckers who are not in
the state calabozo. As for the halo, rest as-
sured that the most forgiving angel would
think twice before anointing one like me.
Bills Graves writes me once a week. I write
him almost as often. I find him a most in-
teresting gentleman.
I've never set eyes on him. I don't know
whether he is short or tall; skinny or fat;
bald or hairy. I do know he has a- touch with
the pen (or typewriter) that I wish. I had. I
do know that when he was paroled, I offered
him a job-only to discover that he'd yield-
ed to the powerful persuasion of sill. As you
know, sin is easy; living the straight, and
narrow is tough.
Anyway, I made a deal with Bill Graves.
He would write for our Beacon Journal read-
ers a column, periodically. We would pay for
the columns-but the money would go to
daughter Debbie.
Well, Debbie is in need of some money to
make a trip to Washington, with a school
group, and so today I'm helping her along
by using this column by her dad.
The column is worth your reading-par-
ticularly it is worth the reading of any-
one who might be tempted to a life of
crime. It is not the criminal who suffers
by incarceration, but the people around him,
his family, his parents, his friends.
(By Bill Graves)
"Daddy, you don't have to send me money
to make me love you. I think you know that,
at least I hope you do." Those were the
first words in a letter from my 12-year-old
Debra. She had just received a letter and
a check from Ben Maidenburg for an arti-
cle he'd printed in the Beacon Journal.
Debbie then went on to say she had read
a story Mr. Maidenburg did on me and
thought it was super-duper, and she liked
it. Then, bless her heart, she said. "I can
sure use the money." I won't give you the
in-betweens of the letter, but Debbie ended
it by saying, "Daddy, I'll love you forever,
and ever, and ever ... 11
A powerful long time is forever, but I
know she means it. But how long can a dad
who's in prison expect his daughter to go
along with his prison habits? She knows
I can't be with her now, but she knows I
had the chance to be with her-and I blew
it.
And I, for the life of me, can't explain to
her, or to myself, why I muffed that chance.
Then, too, I wonder constantly what she
tells her little friends when they ask where
her daddy is. Questions like, "How come your
daddy's never around, even on your birth-
days?" "What does he do?"
Questions like that are hard to answer,
and I'd like to know how Debbie handles
'em. Fraidy cat that I am, I'm ashamed to
ask. And I wonder how long Debbie will
go on putting up with her ne'er-do-well
daddy? A daddy who's never grown up to ac-
cept responsibilities; a daddy who sends his
undying love once a week on prison sta-
tionery. I wonder, and the wondering nearly
drives me up the wall with the miseries.
Once on a visit before I made parole, Deb-
bie looked at me, holding my hand across
the visiting-room table, and said, "Daddy,
when you come home I'm going to take
you by the hand." I wonder too, what kind of young lady
Debbie said that with all the solemnity she'll grow into. I don't know. But this I DO
of a grown-up 11-year-old, which she was KNOW. If she grows up straight, it will be
then, and I couldn't turn away fast enough in spite of, and not because of, me.
to keep her from seeing the tears flooding I needed an 11-year-old to take me by the
my eyes. She didn't want to embarrass me hand and pull me up to her level. And I
by mentioning the tears, but went on to say didn't have the sense to know it. In the
Approved For Release 2005/11/21 : CIA-RDP70B00338R000300070015-2
she would be there to meet me when I got
out if she had to come by herself.
She came, too, but not by herself. My
mother was with her and when we walked
toward the street, Debbie, true to her prom-
ise, took me by the hand. Again my eyes
stung with scalding tears, but Debbie didn't
notice, or pretended she didn't.
For two weeks, gloriously happy ones, my
daughter and I got acquainted. We went
everywhere together, the zoo, shopping, the
library, movies-everywhere. Sometimes she
wanted to race me to the corner, right out
in the public. I didn't care, though, and
we'd race.
I never won, but Debbie would wait on
me and once I got there, she'd take me
by the hand. As long as Debbie had me
by the hand, I functioned, I lived, and I
was completely happy.
I'd hurry home from work just to be
with her a bit sooner. My mother told me
Debbie would hang out the window looking
for me till she saw me coming. But when
I got there Debbie would be doing some
household chore, always pretending she was
surprised to see me.
But I could tell she was happy, she'd give
me a kiss and tell me what we were hav-
ing for supper.
The best part - of all though, was around
bedtime. I never felt more like busting than
when Debbie would ask me to piggyback her
to bed and tuck her in, giving me a moist
kiss for my trouble.
You might wonder, as I do constantly,
how I could get off the track and onto the
path that led back here. I can't offer any
bona fide excuses, just a few no-count ra-
tionalizations.
My mother was called back to West Vir-
ginia, and with no one to look after Debbie
she went with her, with a promise to come
back soon. She never made it 'cause of dad
had let her down again. I got lonesome, had
a bit too much, in that order, and headed
toward West Virginia to see her.
I never made it, but the compulsive deci-
sion dead-ended into a 22-month stay at the
penitentiary.
I don't know what l: thought I was doing,
and if I had the answer, I could hang out a
shingle and commence practicing psychology.
But I had no excuse for my actions.
Now, of course, I can see the error of my
ways, because my hindsight has always run
faster than my foresight. For that goofy
caper, though, I have to face Debbie across
the visiting table again for some time to
come.
If I had it to do over, I'd go at it different.
First, I'd spend a great deal of time with
Debbie, maybe even get better acquainted.
Enough so that she'd tell me some of her
troubles and let me in one some of the things
that are bugging her.
I'd take the time to listen like a full-time
dad oughts do. I'd let her get me mixed up
with new math; tell me about the boy who
wanted to carry her school books home; tell
me about her new teacher and relish a bawl-
ing out if she'd let me help with her school
work and I gave her a bum answer, say, in
history.
I'd be proud to let her show me off a little,
and I'd like to meet her little friends. Then
she wouldn't have- to refer to me as "my
dad, who's away."
The way it is now, my Debbie, if she has
a problem, who's going to listen? Not me, I'm
too busy doing time. Who's she going to talk
things over with? It's a big problem, you
know, when you don't have anyone to hash