00:00:01.720 - 00:00:41.190

they quit. CC one take 197 Smathers is the same. Here in your nation's capital is Senator George Smathers reporting to the people of Florida. This takes the form of an informal discussion. Let's join the discussion while senators matters. It's reported fairly recently. The public accommodation section of the civil rights bill is a rather deep trouble in the Senate and that there are probably not enough votes to invoke a limitation on the bait.

00:00:41.200 - 00:01:06.850

Do you agree with that? I think so. I hope so. I believe that the weakness of this particular section is being rather well demonstrated by the many witnesses who have appeared against the bill. I think it's been rather clearly demonstrated that in trying to give certain people what they call their freedoms, you do not want to take freedom away from a majority of other people.

00:01:07.340 - 00:01:25.650

And certainly inherent in our Constitution is the right for every free American to do that, which he wishes with his own property. If he wishes to do it erroneously, if he wishes even to discriminate in many respects that is his own privilege. It may not be wise.

00:01:25.650 - 00:01:42.820

It may not be morally right. But legally, under our Constitution, he can do with his own property and with his own money, that which he wishes to do. Senator, will this mean that a watered down version of this section will be offered? And if so, what are its chances for passage?

00:01:42.830 - 00:02:03.260

I think the chances of passage of a watered down, uh, provisions as you describe it or much better of passage, we must remember there's some 31 states in the union which now have sort of a privately owned public accommodations law where there's a no discrimination can take place within the state.

00:02:04.040 - 00:02:20.620

But it's on a voluntary basis, and I think this kind of a bill will go a lot further than would Bill, which is calculated to change the basic concept of our laws as we understand them, I'd like to turn to the international scene for a moment.

00:02:20.620 - 00:02:40.360

Senator. This past week we saw the signing of this test ban treaty with a number of your colleagues participating in Russia, and there seems to be some question that's just why we have entered into this agreement. What's your opinion on that? I think it's a desirable agreement.

00:02:41.540 - 00:03:09.200

I believe that, of course it would be a great mistake for us to let the Soviet Union get ahead of us in this matter of development of thermonuclear weapons, and I don't believe that we are going to let them do that. But I think the most informed opinion that we can get here in the Congress and I believe it's the most informed opinion you can find anywhere is that in most respects we're already ahead of the Soviet Union.

00:03:09.740 - 00:03:30.650

We do not prescribe, but we do not prohibit a continued testing by the United States underground. Or do we stop the testing by the Soviet Union underground so we can go forward in our search for the ultimate weapon, which is the anti missile missile, just as I'm sure they will do.

00:03:31.140 - 00:04:05.600

But there's no point in continuing to contaminate the atmosphere by this testing of large nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, which will have for a certainty the effect of hurting all civilization and particularly unborn Children. When there is no need. We have an overkill capacity. Today of some 300% we have enough bombs to destroy every city in the Soviet Union of any major consequence some 300 times over, and they in turn, have some overkill capacity on us.

00:04:05.600 - 00:04:23.060

So it makes sense that we take this step even though a short one toward trying to eliminate, uh, this continued race to develop. What is what would be a weapon which would destroy someone of the question on that Senator, you will still have to ratify this agreement.

00:04:23.200 - 00:04:45.110

In other words, two thirds of the Senate will. Now you will make a close study of this before you, actually, but there's no question we'll have it before our Foreign Relations Committee very shortly, and all the witnesses will be there, will examine into it. And certainly we'll all make sure that there's no danger in this treaty to the United States, because if there is, we won't support it.

00:04:45.110 - 00:05:02.240

But I'm satisfied we can have a treaty which will protect all the interests of the United States in the free world. I gather from this stand, though, that you will probably vote for ratification presently. The way I understand the treaty at the moment, I would support this particular treaty.

00:05:02.240 - 00:05:26.820

I believe it's a sound treat. Its the same treaty, actually, that President Eisenhower offered some three years ago in which, at that time, most all Republicans and most Democrats thought was a good idea. But the Soviet Union didn't accept it at that time. Now, after having looked at it too, which I will be afforded that opportunity much more closely in the next few days, I believe that I will support.

00:05:26.820 - 00:06:30.860

And I intend to support this treaty. I see that our time is up. Gentlemen, thank you very much for asking you questions. And thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen, for looking in. I hope you'll look in again at this same time next week. Okay? All right, then you can pick up number seven.

00:06:31.240 - 00:07:01.060

Oh, I know what he wants to say. Plus See, there's they're having a problem in Haiti today. Yeah. Yeah, I would say so. Why don't you get me for a You can't. You can't answer this Kennedy about himself. You know what? Any of it? There's not much out about it.

00:07:01.440 - 00:07:17.930

Uh huh. What do you What? What do you suggest? I say that would be newsworthy Sunday on. I'm not talking about hate patient situation. That was our reason for not asking that question into it, because what are we talking about now that we're not talking about?

00:07:17.930 - 00:07:45.590

What about the Dominican Republic? And what are we talking about? That simply saying that we that their military has given a demanding the boss he's got to cry, has not cracked down on the soul and the Communists? I don't This is just Hendrix thing. I don't think that's we know that Yeah, he's going to open up with the your plans in Texas and so forth.

00:07:45.600 - 00:08:09.490

I'll come in with number three deficit problems so forth. Why don't we mention that? What the what the House Ways and Means Committee did? Uh huh. Senator, I understand that sometime in the near future, you're planning on taking a trip to the West Coast and Texas with regard to your position as chairman of the Florida Defense Space Industry Advisory Committee.

00:08:09.770 - 00:08:28.580

Could you tell us what the purpose of this trip will be? Very briefly and bluntly, The purpose is to try to get more defense contract work for the state of Florida. There's a large amount, particularly in the missile field, as you know, in the electronic field, still going to California they had the bulk.

00:08:28.580 - 00:09:02.310

They had 42% of all the military contracts. You will work in the aviation field. We're trying to get more of that for Florida. And the purpose of my trip and taking some of these business people with me is ask these major companies such as Douglas and Aerojet, North American General Dynamics and so on if they will not be willing to subcontract more of that work into Florida, because by law they're supposed to subcontract about a third of it.

00:09:02.320 - 00:09:18.640

But Florida is not yet getting its share in. The purpose of this is to get Florida more work. Well, Senator Spanish. Speaking of Florida, sometime ago, you introduced a bill that which would relieve our elderly people who sold a house, for example, from certain tax problems.

00:09:18.720 - 00:09:45.640

I understand the House Ways and Means Committee has taken your bill into consideration and have written that into the new tax bill. It's coming up. I'm delighted that the Ways and Means Committee has seen fit to do that. What this will. This will be a great boon in my judgment to Florida, because here before, we've seen the people from the Midwest and New England, particularly, who have had a house and a big investment in the House.

00:09:45.640 - 00:10:11.850

They were tied down to that house or they were tied down to the area because if they sold the house, they had to pay a large tax on the proceeds, which they realized from the house. Now this would. This law would allow anybody who's 65 years old or older to take the proceeds from the sale of their house and not pay a tax on it.

00:10:11.930 - 00:10:32.740

Therefore, what it would mean is these people would have this money. They could then move to Florida and get an apartment or move in a trailer court or even if they wanted to get another house. And it would be their nasty AG, which would enable them to move into the land of sunshine and flowers and good health.

00:10:32.740 - 00:10:48.070

And I think it would be a great boon to the state of Florida. And I'm delighted the House Ways and Means Committee has adopted it. We're going to of course, keep it in the bill when it gets to the Senate, and as a matter of fact, I think we're even going to make it some more generous than it now is.

00:10:48.200 - 00:11:04.200

Senator, I read in the newspaper recently that you're greatly alarmed over our balance of payments deficit problem and have suggested several proposals to curb the flow of private capital out of our country. Just how serious is the situation and what have you proposed to do to correct?

00:11:04.200 - 00:11:22.960

Well, it's a very serious situation when you stop to think that under present law and are dealing with foreign nations, we are the only nation the world that lets another nation, for example, get our currencies such as dollars. For example, France gets dollars or Germany gets dollars.

00:11:23.440 - 00:11:51.060

They can present those dollars to the United States Treasury and get in exchange for those dollars. Goal. We have so much dollar. We have so many dollars out distributed around the world by virtue of our various defenses and by virtue of our foreign aid program. So many foreign nations hold our dollars that if all of them presented the dollars for a gold at any one time, this nation would be broke.

00:11:51.640 - 00:12:15.860

Now we now have roughly about 19 billions of dollars worth of gold. We do not wish to devalue that gold or devalue the dollar because we must maintain the integrity of it because, after all, we are the banker for the world. And if people lose confidence in the validity and the integrity of our dollar, why, there's no telling what will happen to the free world.

00:12:16.240 - 00:12:55.700

So we're undertaking many measures. The president has recommended many, and I have recommended some. I hope some of them will be adopted, which will stop the outflow of gold. That which I think you have reference to, is an immediate one that I recommend the Congress consider passing, which would stop American citizens who travel overseas from taking with them a large sums of money and spending that money overseas, for example, that some of the countries overseas do not let their citizens bring large sums of money and spend it over here.

00:12:55.700 - 00:13:18.410

There keep their own money in their own country for their own purposes. So I think that we must either force them to relax their restrictions on their own citizens, or we're going to have to start putting restrictions on ours so that we do not spend $400 million like Henry Ford did, establishing a new plant in England or $17 million like H.

00:13:18.420 - 00:13:35.060

J. Heinz recently did in establishing a new plant in England to this must be stopped. If we are to maintain our physical integrity, our time is up. Thank you very much for asking the questions. Thank you all for listening in. I hope you're listening again at the same time next week.