Virgil Blossom Photo

Little Rock School Superintendent Virgil Blossom

Speech by Senator J.W. Fulbright on the Civil Rights Bill (HR 7152)

-8- have now righted this racial imbalance in our national demography. From 1940 to i960, the Negro population more than doubled in Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio; increased three-fold in Connecticut and Illinois, and multiplied six times in the State of California. According to the i960 Census, the Negro population was almost equally divided between the traditionally Southern States and those of other sections of the country. The late President Kennedy last summer described this as "a problem which faces us all — in every city of the North as well as the South." Unless it is considered in this larger context it is sure to be distorted. Senators must bear in mind that the problem cannot be divorced from the historical developments from which it sprang

The Arrogance of Power

-2- moment that America, with its deeply rooted democratic traditions, is likely to embark upon a campaign to dominate the world in the manner of a Hitler or Napoleon. What I do fear is that it may be drifting into commitments which, though generous and benevolent in intent, are so universal as to exceed even America's great capacities. At the same time, it is my hope -- and I repeat it here because it is the major point that I wish to convey in these lectures - that America will escape those fatal temptations of power which have ruined other great nations and will instead do only that good in the world which it can do, both by direct effort and by the force of its own example. The stakes are high indeed: they include not only America's continued greatness but nothing less than the survival of the human race in an era when, for the first time in human history, one generation has the power of veto over the survival of the next

The Arrogance of Power

-13- the power of others appears to be increasing. I said in a speech in New York last week that I felt confident that America, with its great resources and democratic traditions, with its diverse and creative population, would find the wisdom to match its power. Perhaps I should have been more cautious and expressed only hope instead of confidence, because the wisdom that is required is greater wisdom than any great nation has ever shown before. It must be rooted, as Dr. Chisholm says, in the reexamination of "all of the attitudes of our ancestors." It is a tall order. Perhaps one can begin to fill it by an attempt to assess some of the effects of America1s great power on some of the small countries whom we have tried to help. -------------------- Reflecting on his voyages to Polynesia in the late eighteenth century, Captain Cook later wrote that "It woul

The Arrogance of Power

-27- a mockery of their poverty, our success a reminder of their failures. What they resent is the disruptive effect of our strong culture upon their fragile one, an effect which we can no more avoid than a man can help being bigger than a child. What they fear, I think rightly, is that traditional Vietnamese society cannot survive the American economic and cultural impact. Both literally and figuratively, Saigon has become an American brothel. A New York Times correspondent reports that many Vietnamese find it necessary to put their wives or daughters to work as bar girls or to peddle them to American soldiers as mistresses; that it is not unusual to hear a report that a Vietnamese soldier has committed suicide out of shame because his wife has been working as a bar girl; that Vietnamese have trouble getting taxi cabs because drivers will not stop for them, preferring to pick up American soldiers who will pay outrageous fares without complaint; that, as a result o

Prayer given at Former Member of Congress session

Prayer offered at the opening of the Former Members of Congress meeting in Carpenter's HallEXTEMPORANEOUS PRAYER OF BROOKS HAYS AT FMC SESSION IN CARPENTERS' HALL PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA. October 25, 1974 Our Father, we come to Thee with a deep sense of solemnity and with profound gratitude for the blessings of a national life, rich in traditions and principles of spiritual import. We thank Thee that our life is not rootless, that the stream of government has a beautiful source. We thank Thee for the contribution, to human progress made in this place by the giants of another century. And we who have entered a post-Congressional period thank Thee for opportunities to serve our country in a peripheral zone. We thank Thee for watching over us in times of peril and in times of peace. And in our government's policies and activities may nothing ever be done that conflicts with the greatest and highest good of the peoples of other lands who are also within the orbit of Thy love and care. May today's conference be productive. May it be a happy time, but even in moments of gaiety may a sense of Thy presence not be lost. We ask it in Thy name. Ame

Statement on the Civil Rights Bill (HR 7152)

-26- I could recite a whole list of communities which have come to grips with this problem -- where concerted and effective local leadership is solving it on the educational front. 13 school districts and approximately 40 formerly all white elementary and secondary schools in Arkansas have now admitted Negroes. My colleagues from other areas may think that this is not enough and that the process must be speeded up. But unduly rapid change where intense human emotions are called into play, can be counter-productive and create estrangement of whites and Negroes instead of promoting friendship and understanding which must underlie true racial harmony. The citizens of Arkansas have not wasted their time nor their experience in this field. As event

The Changing South

Page 17 4. Composition of Southern Industry. The presence of industries alone does not assure the economic well-being of a region. Some industries are more important than others in boosting the region up the economic ladder — these are the industries that make the most efficient use of manpower, that have a high ratio of capital to labor and thus rank high in terms of output per man hour and value added per employee. The South has made great strides in working towards this goal — it has the same proportion as the rest of the country of employees working in the chemical, petroleum, tobacco, primary metals and paper industries, the top five Industries ranked according to value added per employee, but it still has an over- predominance of the low value industries. Over hal'lf of its employees work in the five lowest industries -- apparel, textile, leather, lumber, and furniture

The Changing South

Page 19 2. Rivers, etc