STATEMENT BY Rev. WILLIAM J. GIBBONS, S. J., ON BEHALF OF THE NATIONAL CATHOLIC RURAL LIFE CONFERENCE The National Catholic Rural Life Conference has long believed that better utilization of the land resources of the world would result in higher living standards for those who dwell in underdeveloped areas. In accordance with this belief, the conference has supported the objectives of the technical-assistance program since they were first discussed and formulated. It sees in the program a practical and workable way of helping the world's peoples utilize to best advantage the natural resources, and particularly those of land, which are available to them. Last November, at its 1949 convention in Columbus, Ohio, the conference approved, among others, the following policy statements which touch upon technical assistance: 1. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations performs a most necessary and worth-while task in continuously seeking ways and means to improve rural living conditions, improve farming techniques, increase production, and eradicate disease affecting animals and plants throughout the world, by means of surveys, educational projects, regional organizations, and various forms of technical assistance to cooperating nations * * 2. The technical-assistance program to underdeveloped areas, outlined by President Truman under point 4 of his inaugural address, and promoted by the cooperating committees of the United Nations as well as by our own Government, is basically sound and most important at the present time. Lack of economic opportunity is a fertile source of discontent among nations, just as among individuals. Poverty and hunger amidst the bounty of the world's resources has become a challenge to our ingenuity and the willingness of men to cooperate in economic life. 3. The natural resources of the world, and more especially those of water, soil, and forest, must be utilized, conserved and developed to a degree where the world's population can be properly fed, housed and clothed. The problem of maladjustment between peoples and resources cannot be solved by illicit means contrary to the law of God. All men of good will, and Christian people especially, must accept the moral obligation of using resources socially for the benefit of all men, as well as for the satisfaction of purely personal needs and desires. 5. Men have a right of access to natural resources necessary for human existence on a decent level. International trade and migration of people are two means by which the right can be implemented. In addition to encouraging sound resource utilization on a national basis, persons prepared to use resources wisely and to aid in their development, should not be denied permission to migrate to areas and regions where land and other resources are underdeveloped. Existing immigration barriers must be removed or modified to allow for such migration. The technical assistance program seems a most logical way of accomplishing two things which are necessary for world peace and security. (1) It provides a concrete means, the best yet proposed, for raising the low economic standards which occasion misery, unrest and jealousy among the majority of the world's population. (2) It offers an action program, devoid of imperialistic intent, which should arouse the sympathies and invite the participation of the free nations of the world in building a barrier against the pretentious claims of communism. It seems desirable, to avoid any occasions of misunderstanding among nations being aided, that the technical assistance aspects of the point 4 program be kept distinct from guaranteeing capital investment in underdeveloped areas. Development, through technical assistance, cannot be effected without the inflow of sufficient capital. This can come from local or from United States sources, or both. So far as is possible, private capital investment should be encouraged as against Government investment or intergovernment loans. Nevertheless this encouragement or private capital must not be of such a character that peoples in underdeveloped nations get the idea point 4 is primarily concerned with protection of American business interests abroad. Rather it should be seen as a means whereby they can help themselves, by taking advantage of the know-how of the more developed countries. That the international character of the technical-assistance program may be maintained, it seems well to channel as much of it as is feasible through func tioning international organization which can call upon the skill and support of developed nations other than the United States. Furthermore, the countries receiving the benefits of technical assistance should make their contribution, small though it be, of both personnel and funds to development projects. It is noteworthy that the United Nations specialized agencies concerned with economic and social matters, and therefore those which would be cooperating under a technical-assistance program, are not dependent on the support or votes of Communist-dominated countries. In fact, the Soviet and its satellites have for the most part either not joined these economic and social bodies, or have withdrawn. The Food and Agriculture Organization, which has much to offer in technical assistance, is a case in point. During the United Nations Scientific Conference on the Conservation and Utilization of Resources (UNSCCUR) last summer, it became evident that a number of developed countries other than the United States have very definite contributions to make in technical assistance. The United Kingdom, for example, has made great progress in fisheries research; Canada in mineral utilization; the Netherlands in land reclamation; etc. In addition, in some of the underdeveloped countries, such as India, certain skills, like irrigation, have been developed to a very high degree, even more than in the United States. These countries can make genuine contributions to the technical-assistance program provided its multilateral aspects are taken care of through the specialized agencies of the United Nations. There are good reasons for carrying on a considerable number of technicalassistance projects on a bilateral basis. For some years the Department of State and the Office of Foreign Agricultural Relations of the Department of Agriculture have carried on analogous programs in Latin America. They will probably find it desirable to establish similar relations with such nations as the Philippine Republic, Liberia, and perhaps Japan. Development of the technical-assistance program along multilateral lines and through specialized agencies of the United Nations should be without projudice to these bilateral operations of established United States agencies. In allocating funds to these two types of projects, multilateral and bilateral, the President should be able to make a satisfactory judgment. Attention should be paid to the social customs and outlook of peoples in underdeveloped areas. The program will not succeed unless these are taken into account, for people will naturally resist if they come to think that economic progress means giving up all they hold dear. Similarly, due consideration has to be given to moral standards, or what people regard as moral standards. Technical assistance must not become an occasion of tearing peoples loose from their moral moorings. Through the technical-assistance program, if it carried on without any appearance of commercial exploitation, and with the necessary tact and consideration, the peoples of the world can be taught to take full advantage of scientific discovery and technological progress. Agriculture can be improved and more food supplied to hungry nations without putting them on permanent relief or allowing them to starve. Technical assistance, aimed at raising the world's productivity within all underdeveloped nations ready to cooperate, is a relatively inexpensive way of solving a problem which otherwise would be either insoluble or extremely costly. NATIONAL CATHOLIC WELFARE CONFERENCE, The Honorable Toм CONNALLY, Senate Office Building, Washington, D. C. DEAR SENATOR CONNALLY: As director of the social-action department of the National Catholic Welfare Conference, I am submitting herewith for consideration of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations a statement on the point 4 program. I would appreciate it very much if this statement could be incorporated in the committee hearings. Sincerely yours, Rev. R. A. McGowAN. Director. STATEMENT ON POINT 4 A bold program for the development of underdeveloped areas as a direct benefit to the people in those areas was advanced by the President in his inaugural address January 20, 1949. The purpose of this program is to make available to peoples in underdeveloped areas "the benefits of our store of technical knowledge in order to help them realize their aspiration for a better life * * The social-action department of the National Catholic Welfare Conference supports this idea which in effect recognizes the dignity and worth of the human person, a principle upon which our own country was founded. Such a program will redound not only to the benefit of the peoples immediately concerned but of all peoples, as it is an effective means of making more of the goods of the world available to more of the peoples of the world and, thereby, an effective step toward establishing international peace. The program of technical assistance to underdeveloped areas ought to be carried out as much as is practicable through agencies of the United Nations and the Organization of American States, as well as through bilateral arrangements. The United States itself, through arrangements made directly with the Countries involved in this program, should take a great deal of initiative. The need for assisting the underdeveloped areas is so important that all nations in a position to contribute to the success of the program should do so to the fullest possible extent. Arrangements made between the United States (or other countries) and underdeveloped areas should be coordinated with the projects of the United Nations, other international organizations, and other individual nations. Sound administration of this program of technical assistance is of the utmost importance. The desire for quick tangible results must not overrule the motivating reason for the program-to create conditions under which man may live in dignity as a human person. Only in this way can the program attain any measure of real success. We recommend that in the legislation establishing a program of assistance there be provisions in explicit language specifically requiring due respect for the religious, cultural, and moral standards and customs of the individuals and groups in the underdeveloped areas. A sympathic and appreciative understanding of the peoples concerned, of their traditions and cultures, is essential for making surveys or recommendations, or developing specific projects or programs. Such a conviction ought to be required on the part of the personnel who staff the program and should be held as essential as any other technical competence. The kind of education offered in connection with economic development must also be considered from the cultural, spiritual, and religious standpoint; belief in the family as the primary institution of society, in the dignity of labor, and the immeasurable worth of the human person needs to be made very clear. The essentially religious foundations and dependence on the goodness of God implicit in the whole program must be maintained. Any effort to introduce immoral practices, such as artificial birth control, will be more disastrous to the success of the program than the economic and social havoc which would result from efforts to introduce highly industrial procedures in these areas whose immediate technical needs are most elementary. The participation of private organizations and capital, both foreign and local, should be encouraged to insure a balanced and responsible program. The plan to have an advisory board, "widely representative of private groups interested in the program," to consult and advise on policy is a praiseworthy step in this direction. The mutual opportunities which this program affords to displaced persons and expellees and those areas needing energetic manpower should be emphasized. To Senate Foreign Relations Committee: I. It must be made clear that II. R. 8346, or point 4, can be of definite economic aid to the peoples of America in that, by aiding in increasing the standard of living in undeveloped areas we are alining a future market for American goods; hence insuring favorable conditions for the American workingman. It should be further clear that this state of affairs need not wait until next century; we can enjoy the fruits of these calculated risks before our sons reach mature manhood. II. We must not be "too late with too little" as in China; but destroy the weed of antidemocratic ideologies before they seed the fertile soil of poverty created by years of misguided imperial monopoly. The saying "it is better to prevent than to repair" applies directly here. III. We must recognize that certain European powers have rights in areas of point-4 activity that we may not violate; however, it is equally clear that the American people cannot be expected to forever permit others to spend their moneys as such leaders' whims might direct. IV. That funds be safeguarded for the purposes for which they are intended, and it is clear that this can only be done if the people affected have some say in the spending of point 4 funds. In keeping with this opinion the following points should be kept in mind: 1. That the status of areas, independent or dependent, which can receive aid be declared and that Africa be specifically mentioned in this connection. 2. That the peoples of non-self-governing areas have some representation on bodies appropriating funds under point 4. 3. That American enterprise be given an opportunity to work in these areas on an equal footing with all other enterprises of foreign or domestic vintage. 4. That American firms be permitted to work with funds supplied by point 4, and that they enjoy the aid and advice of governmental technicians, if such are available. pro The above can enhance point 4 and make it a workable "bold gram." Taj Mahal dreams of a recent west African venture have no place in this program, and persons directing such a program must have a real understanding and a sincere interest in the peoples to be affected. Let me go on record as saying that the Sudanental Corp. believes that this bold program can work, and it indeed intends to work in the direction set by point 4. May I thank you for the opportunity of appearing before you. WASHINGTON, D. C. WILLIAM B. P. GRAY, President, Sudanental Corp. X HEARING BEFORE A SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS EIGHTY-FIRST CONGRESS ON THE RATIFICATION BY THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION FOR THE NORTHWEST ATLANTIC FISHERIES SIGNED AT WASHINGTON, FEBRUARY 8, 1949 (EXECUTIVE N) CONVENTION WITH MEXICO FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION FOR THE SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION OF TUNA, SIGNED AT MEXICO CITY, JANUARY 25, 1949 (EXECUTIVE K) CONVENTION FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN INTERAMERICAN TUNA COMMISSION, SIGNED AT WASHINGTON, MAY 31, 1949 (EXECUTIVE P) 94247 JULY 14, 1949 Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Relations UNITED STATES WASHINGTON: 1949 |