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on today's report from Washington, Senator Smathers discusses domestic and foreign problems of interest to the people of Florida and the nation. Now, here is the first question Senator Smathers, uh, in view of the terrific destruction by this recent hurricane, do you feel that the American Red Cross that aid all of the various countries that are involved in that destruction?

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Well, of course, you're specifically talking about Cuba and Haiti, while I don't believe we should ever do anything to assist the government of Fidel Castro, nor even the government of devaluate. Nonetheless, I think all of us in Florida and the nation understand the devastation of a of nature's hurricane.

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And I think that after all, these are human beings that have been devastated by the hurricane. And I do believe the American Red Cross should go in there and with medical supplies and food for the time being and help these people. And I think it's a matter of fact it would probably have a good propaganda effect in so far as we are concerned, because the truth of the matter is the American people do like the Cuban people, and they do like the Haitians we would like to see them living under a democratic system, and I think it would demonstrate that our concern for them has not in any way lessened, even though they do have these types of government, so on a person to person or human to human basis.

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I think we should help close to this area. Senator Smathers. Of course, there are Central American and Latin American countries. We're seeing consistently military coups, overthrowing various governments. What should our policy be in that regard? Well, I'm sure that our policy should not be a flat, hard policy, that we're never going to help any military dictatorship or military coup or anything of that character.

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For example, if we had that kind of a policy, I suppose the military overthrew Fidel Castro, which may be our best way of getting rid of him or overthrew devalue, for example, why we would applaud that particular fact. On the other hand, I think we must continue to insist that wherever there is a military coup, that where they do throw out and what government, it is not supported even by its own people, and we must put pressure on that military junta to re establish constitutional guarantees and to move in the direction of democracy.

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We have seen this happen in Peru. We have seen it happen in Ecuador recently. We hope it's going to happen in Guatemala. It did happen in Argentina now. On the other hand, we continue to always have to put pressure and bring these people to the realization that this country would believe in hopes that they will move always in the direction of a of a democracy.

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But we must remember, as in the case of the Dominican Republic, Mr Barnes had a very difficult time, not because he didn't work very hard himself, but because he didn't have anybody around to help him and he had no experience in sort of self government. And he abolished his party when he got in, which was a very worthy thing to do in some respects, but an impractical thing to do so.

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The military has now moved in there and one of the three civilians is a graduate of Yale University. We're hoping that that hooter will re establish as civilian and constitutional rights and that that will actually result in a blessing for the Dominican Republic This, of course, remains to be seen.

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The selling of circle suite to Communist Russia and other Communist nations has been up and down, and now it seems to be warming up again. Are you against that procedure? Well, I'm against selling weed to the Soviet Union. I know that there are a lot of my friends in the Senate who have for years been the most vociferous against the communism in the Soviet Union, Uh, and anything that looked like a re approach mint toward the Soviet Union there now strongly for it, because in their areas they sell a lot of wheat.

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Well, looking at it from the Florida's angle, I was one of those who believe that we should not permit the people of Cuba. I mean, of Tampa and Hillsborough County, who made the Cuban cigars cigars in the United States, thereby cut off the livelihoods of a lot of people because we were so, thereby strengthening the government of Fidel Castro.

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I don't see that I could follow any other consistent course, but to say, because I was against that, and I was that I don't see any logic and at any time giving aid and comfort to the government of Fidel Castro, which the wheat would eventually do, or to our of our enemies, the Communist.

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Thank you, Senator Smathers. I trust you'll be with us next week at the same time. One again. We report from the nation's capital. The three people have heard the radio Senator Smathers. The Senate has acted on this fishing bill, several fishing billed as a matter of fact, one in particular.

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I know that you were a co sponsor of which protects our fisheries from the encroachment of the Communists and the Japanese and people who come into our waters. Is that going to be effective? Well, we hope so, actually, that will have to pass the house. The problem has been, as you implied in your question, that the Japanese have moved into what amounts to the United States waters on the West Coast.

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And they're doing their tuna fishing there to the detriment of the American fisherman and the American fisherman. With higher labor costs and some instances, less efficient equipment, they're not doing as well. In the capture of tuna we're seeing in the Gulf areas, we're seeing somewhat the same thing happened in our shrimp operations because the Mexicans and some of the our Latin American neighbors have been moving as this shrimp beds move and they move as you know, every year.

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So as they move into what would be jurisdictional waters of the United States, they fished there, and the law thus far has been they can do so with impunity. In other words, there has been no law which gave to our coast guard or anyone else the right to seize their ships or do anything.

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And the only thing that can be done is a formal protest made by our Department of State to their foreign ministry, which of course, gets bogged down in all kinds of red tape. Nothing ever happens. They have seized our vessels when we have done this in Mexican waters and what we don't have the right to seize there.

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So all we're trying to do is to give our fishermen the same rights that they're given to theirs and see, probably if this cannot lead to some compromise of the matter, which will protect their people the same time, most importantly, protect our own senator. The perennial problem of civil rights is rapidly approaching us.

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And I'm wondering whether you have any thoughts on this matter, because indications seem to be that civil rights will be the next big bone of contention before the Senate. Well, I have a lot of thoughts on it. And I presume, by your question, you mean do I think we're going to pass a bill?

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Yes. I think that I put it this way. I first I don't believe we really need any additional legislation. And this is one of the main reasons that I'm opposed to the so called civil rights proposal of this administration. I recognize that there is discrimination. Some of it is illegal.

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I recognize there is segregation in some instances and some of its illegal. On the other hand, I also recognize that there is a basic choice in American civil right choice of people to make their own Uh huh. Decision as to what they want to do with their own personal business and what they want to do with their own personal like and who it is, uh, business and whom they want to like.

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And so on. Now we're gonna What I think is going to happen is we're going to get highly involved in a debate here in the House and in the Senate. I think the House will pass a bill. I don't believe they will pass the bill that was brought out of the of the Judiciary Committee of the House because I think it's too strong a bill.

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I don't believe the Rules committee will ever give it a rule. But I do think that the House would pass the bill, which is recommended by the Kennedy administration, which is not nearly as strong or severe as the bill, which the House Committee has now recommended.

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However, I foresee in the light of the fact that the Supreme Court has once again sitting and started at session, they have something in the nature of thirty five civil rights cases pending before it. Now each of these cases involve something that, with respect to claim to segregation, which is illegal or discrimination, which is illegal, they claim, Uhh! They involved the question of privately owned use of public accommodations.

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And it's my judgment. It could well be that while we're all engaged in a hot filibuster here along about the first of November, you might well see the Supreme Court of the United States make a ruling on this matter, which, of course, then would in effect, take it out of the hands of the Congress.

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Because whether we like it or not, the law until it's changed, is made by the Supreme Court when Day rue. And they can rule in this instance, as they did in this school desegregation case nineteen hundred and fifty four, and that becomes the law of the land.

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So I don't really know what to expect with respect to civil rights legislation, except that it's everybody's wish that if we're going to have any civil rights argument, it's much better to have it this year than it is next year. Because next year is an election year.

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Next year is an election year, and actually, I have found some of my liberal friends from up north who are anxious to get a bill passed this year because some of their constituents, some of their white constituents, so to speak, are getting very worried about the fact that the bill would have a counter discrimination in fact, and that they, the white people would be discriminated against, and these people want to get this bill passed and out of the way to satisfy those people that it will not be of any major consequence to them.

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Thank you, Senator Smathers. I trust you'll be with us next week at the same time when again we report from the nation's capital.