Senator George Smathers Radio Broadcast 181

save one. Take 1 11 13. Smathers with men When President Johnson first became president, start over again. You got to get fired. Scene one. Take 2, 11 13 Smothers with men The first appointment that was made by President Johnson when he became president was that of assistant secretary for inter American affairs.

The man to whom he appointed in this job was Tom Man from Texas, the most knowledgeable and experienced men in Latin American affairs that can be found anywhere in the world. I'm proud to have him as my guest at this time, Tom. I'd like to start by asking you what has been done recently.

Certainly since you've been in yes hi job to combat communism throughout Central and South America. Well, Senator, as you know, from your long experience and continued interest in the area, there have been recently a number of favorable developments. First, the enormity of the economic failure of the Castro regime has become more and more evidence.

In the 5.5 years which have transpired since January 1959 Cuba's gross national product has declined about 15% and per capita income by over 20% Cuba's main export crop, sugar was produced at the rate of 68 million tons in 1961 and was only 38 million tons in 1963.

For the first time in their history, the Cuban people, unfortunately, have had to queue up to receive their rations of food and clothing. When Castro seized power, per capita income in Cuba was about 13% higher then in the rest of the Caribbean basin. Today, by contrast, the per capita income of the free peoples who live in the basin is 13% higher than that of Cubans.

Second, Castro's attempt to overthrow the government of Venezuela was frustrated. In November of 1963 this was a victory for freedom, I think. A major one third in April 1964 the people of Brazil, supported by a majority of the Congress and the majority of the elected government governors, replaced a regime which was heavily infiltrated by Communists.

This was another major setback for communism. Fourth in September of 1964 a large majority of the Chilean people voted for freedom, rejecting a Marxist candidate supported by the Communist. This was another major setback for the communist in the hemisphere. Fifth In July 1964 a large majority of the foreign ministers of the hemisphere voted sanctions against Cuba because of Castro's aggression against Venezuela.

And at the same time they served a clear warning that Castro's subversion in the hemisphere would not be tolerated. Since the first of the year, four American governments have broken relations with Cuba. The fight for freedom and this hemisphere is by no means over. But the substantial gains have been made in the past few months, and I am hopeful that we will make some more in the next months ahead.

All right, well, thank you very much time for that statement. Let me ask you this. Are you satisfied with the progress which we're making through the Alliance for Progress? Well, Senator, we're making good progress. As you know, the alliance has three basic objectives. The first is to promote a high and sustained rate of economic growth so that people can have jobs and all the things that go with prosperity.

Secondly, to promote a greater degree of social justice so that everybody has an equal opportunity in a fair break in every country in the hemisphere and third, to bring about economic development and social progress within an atmosphere of political and economic freedom. Now, I think on all three fronts, we're making progress.

The problems are enormous, but reforms are going forward. There's more and more self help. Uh, and I myself am optimistic that about the future Well, thank you very much, Mr Secretary, For those remarks, I must say that I have had long interested in this area, as you know, and I'm greatly pleased with that which I see transpiring, uh, down there.

Certainly Since the time that you've come in, thank you very much for being on the program. Thank you very much for looking in and listening in. I hope you're looking again at the same time next week. Deserve it. Well, Senator Smathers, I have followed Secretary Man's remarks very closely.

They certainly have been well documented, but I'm wondering whether or not his painting of the picture of the possible future might be a little optimistic. Well, I I have reason to feel optimistic about what's happening in Central and South America, as he has so well as you say, documented it.

Things have improved in so far as we're concerned, I think the interest of the United States are probably stronger in the image of us. Is better there at the present time, and it's been for the last two or three years. We come and go, of course, pretty far rapidly in those areas of the world.

But I think Tom Man has done this exceptionally outstanding job of speaking, as he says with one voice, That's what the president wanted heretofore in these countries we have had the ambassador making policy will say for the State Department, and we've had Alliance for Progress. Officials are working on the economic side of it and the reform side of it.

Then we've had aid program, uh, international development Program, and they had their own set of officials and they were going another way. Well, didn't us? I participate in their own way as well, and the U. S. I also participated, and so we had four agencies there, and it was very confusing.

I recall when Tom Mann was the ambassador to Mexico several years ago, and I had a visit with him down there, and he said at that time he actually was thinking about resigning and going back to the practice of law because he was somewhat discouraged about affairs in Latin America and there were too many agencies and nobody really had the voice with the result that the local government, if they got turned down by the American ambassador on a certain project, which they wanted, they'd leave him immediately and go over to the eight people.

And the eight people would try to give him what he wanted if he couldn't get it there. They go to the Alliance for Progress People, and it was just the height of confusion. So when President Johnson came in and said, I want to start a program where we have one voice and that one voice will be Tom Man, I think that things have improved because in dealing with Latin America, you have to You can't It's difficult to say to them directly no when they wanted some help.

But the way you have to do it is just postpone, giving them any affirmative answer on their request until they finally get the idea through their mind that they're not going to get it because they're not cooperating with the United States at all. And therefore, if you can correlate the political goals with economic advantages that we have, why we can make considerable headway and that's what I think we're doing today.

Going back to the days of President Eisenhower and President Kennedy, you have made many very firm recommendations in regard to our conduct with these Latin American countries and Cuba. Of course as well. I seem to detect that some of your suggestions have been followed. Well, I had recommended way back many years ago that we eliminate this division of authority in these countries because I'm traveling around.

You could see it as an American citizen. You could see how confusing it was to the ambassadors and to the other heads of the agencies they they would check in Washington. Nobody seemed to know what the other one was doing it. We were all supposed to be on the same side with the result that our enemies in that area played one against the other.

Now we do speak with one voice. This is a recommendation. How long ago made I think I wanna interspersed one comment and ask a question. Senator, would you look ahead now in the coming months. If you would give us a prognosis, That is, if we continue this present system that is being followed, do you feel that we will eventually overcome communism?

Oh, I think that yes, we will. I think communism is a losing cause. Now, In Latin America, communism, as we all know, only flourishes and grows. Whereas there is great poverty and great ignorance and great dissatisfaction, as quickly as we can help these countries get on their own economic feet bring about reforms in their government, begin to have more freedom for their people.

The lure of communism is lessened. And therefore, I think that communism actually is on its way out as a threat. Now, whether or not these people become straight democracy such as we are, is another matter. But I do think that communism is on its way out.

Well, thank you very much. Secretary Man and senators matters. I return you now to your station announcer. Yeah. See, it wouldn't take 1 11. 18 Smathers. By the time you see and hear this program, the gavel will have sounded. Calling an end of the 88th Congress.

President Johnson recently stated that this session of Congress has enacted more major legislation met more national needs, disposed of more national issues than any other session of Congress in the last century. I have served in the United States Congress for 18 years, and I believe that the record of accomplishment in these past two years stands unmatched, as one of which we all can be proud.

This has been a Congress which has acted in the interest of all of our people the farmer, the labor, the businessman, the professional man, the student, the retiree, the age of all the rest. It is acting to maintain our strength of the nation through military preparedness.

The same time we have taken important steps toward assuring world peace is given every American a refund on his tax dollar. While we've worked under a reduced budget, let me tell you about a few of some of these accomplishment. We've had 11 and one half billion dollar tax cut, eight billion of it going from income taxes on persons 3.5 for corporations.

This was designed to increase national purchasing power. This was designed to free that free enterprise system. This tax cut has contributed to the longest period of continued prosperity in the history of our nation. It has meant nearly $200 million in tax savings for the residents of Florida.

I'm glad to have had a major part in securing the passage of this tax reduction. It came from my committee. I had a part in steering it through the Congress. The 88 Congress may also be noted and demolish history books as the Educational Congress. For indeed, it has done more for education than any Congress since the Land Grant College Act 100 years ago.

Educational programs passed by this Congress include billion $200 billion for college construction over three years, $175 million program for a medical facilities construction. And we know how badly we need doctors. We appropriated some $62 million for medical scholarships, appropriated some 581 millions of dollars for vocational education.

We appropriated 125 million the next two years for loans to needy and deserving students. We appropriated some $418 million for the Impacted Area School program. In the field of mental health, we've appropriated some $329 million to construct a mental health institutes and hospitals, as well as to provide for teachers training for retarded Children.

We have done these and many other things in the field of agriculture and conservation, and so far Florida is concerned we pass the meat import quota bill, which restricts foreign importations into our state and nation. This is, of course, great benefit to Florida's cattleman. Importantly, in the field of national defense, we appropriated in the fiscal year 65 some $46,000,000,700 million to provide adequate the appropriations to maintain our strength, uh, actually increasing our striking power while operating at the same time at less money than we did the previous year.

Further than that, we've appropriated some $5,000,000,200 million for our space effort. And of course, this is enormously important to Florida and our economy in the field of foreign affairs, probably the most important single item was the passage of the nuclear Test Ban Treaty. It's important because it reduces the dangers of nuclear holocaust.

At the same time, it prevents the contamination of air by radioactive fallout in the limited time, which I have. I'm prevented from enumerating all the accomplishments of this 88 Congress, but from this partial list, you can see that we have been working long and hard to build a stronger nation in a better life for our citizens.

It's been rewarding work, and I'm honored to have been able to have served you here in Washington. Now, since this is my last program for the year, I want to take this opportunity to thank each of you for tuning in each week. And particularly, I want to thank the station, which has run this program, their news director in their owner.

I expect to go down to Florida very shortly, and while there I hope I have the opportunity of shaking hands with each of you. Thank you very much. I'm hopeful that before the Congress finally adjourns that we're going to have a Social Security increased program at the moment we're tied up in the Congress because of the medical care bill, which was added as an amendment to the increased Social Security payment benefits.

Uh, I do believe that we can get it and I do believe that the Social Security increases are needed by the people of Florida. Florida has actually fared very well during this past year from the activities that have gone on here in the federal government. While it's not our desire to build a pipeline from the Treasury of the United States into Florida, nevertheless, we do.

You wanted yet those funds which are needed in those funds, which might be available to help us expand our economy and improve living and working and developing conditions in the state. Uh, we have increased by some 30% the federal funds coming into the state over the 1963 rates.

There's approximately $254 million was paid under various is federal state cooperative programs during fiscal 64 and this amount has been slightly increased during fiscal 65. And these funds have provided for primarily they're going into education. They've gone into road building programmes, public health programs, airport development programs, waterway programs and things of that character.

Florida actually received a $54 million for highway construction. We received a $23 million for to help provide schools in these military impacted areas. We received $20 million from the Public Health Service, individuals have received some $122 million in the form of refugee payments. Of course, this resulted from the takeover of by Communism of Cuba, and this would not be in, we hope would not be a recurring expenditure.

Old age assistance and aid to dependent Children aged, disabled and blind has gone to make up this $122 million. Approximately 18 million has gone to improve our agriculture and other programs. Of that character. We find the total personal income of Floridians has been running 11% higher, 1964 than in 1963.

This may result in part from the tax reduction bill, which I mentioned a little earlier, uh, strangely and importantly. And Encouragingly, Florida has gained 816 new plants, and there have been included in that major expansions of existing facilities. This is going to add nearly 20 0 jobs, too.

Florida's employment rolls and the Florida Development Commission tells us that this is the biggest gain that has been made since 1960. We are, of course, now embarked on other waterway programs, which we expect to step up, such as the cross State Canal, and to continue the Central and South Florida flood control projects, the Four Rivers projects and many others in which we're all greatly interested.

Uh, it's my belief and hope that this all of this will result in a stronger state, a stronger and better prepared nation. I'm absolutely confident that as we face the challenges of the world, the United States today is is in the good a shape as it's ever been.

We have heard some charges that were not as strong militarily as we ought to be. I think those charges have been totally and completely disproved. I think it's to be stated categorically that are striking power and our defence capability is actually better today than it has ever been.

We must remember that one bomb today that we can drop has more destructive power in it and all the bombs that were dropped on Germany throughout World War number two. I cannot help but believe that our nation is progressing economically to a position where we no longer find very many people poor.

Of course, there's more than we should do with respect to our elderly people, This is why I'm hopeful that we will get the Social Security benefits increased. But aside from that particular area of our people, I think that we find opportunity for jobs is here in great abundance.

I know and believe that we have a greater income. The maximum income for families is higher than it's ever been. And overall, I think the Congress has made the nation's strong militarily defensively, and I think it has contributed mightily to the prosperity of our people. We all hope this will continue into the indefinite future.

Thank you very much for looking in. This is my last program. I want to and let's just cut that here. We can take it. Well, this is my last program for the year and I want to take this opportunity before signing off to thank all of you have who have been regular listeners and to particularly thank the news director of the station to which you're listening and the owner of the station.

I think they perform a great public service and giving me this opportunity to report to you every week are those things which are transpiring in Washington, in which I think you would have. Uhh! I expect to Now that the Congress is closing returned to Florida. And I hope that in my travels about the state this fall, it would be my opportunity to shake hands and visit with each one of them.

Thank you again for listening in. I look forward to being with you in Florida and then again in January at the opening of the next time.