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Show by Senator HUBERrHrHUIVIPHREY US. Senator from Minnesota VTAl Robert Phifcps ' skills into this battle. And we must send people in our mighty effort to build I 1 I . j J ' 1 j . 1 j j ! not just packages the foundation of peace. Anyone w ho doubted that young Americans w ould welcome the Peace Corps now has overwhelming evidence that thousands will volunteer despite no salaries, difficult living conditions and arduous assignments. Since last June, when I introduced the first bill to establish a Peace Corps, hundreds of men and women have written to me about the program. In recent weeks a flood of mail has poured into the White House, too. Here are some comments: A graduate student of engineering at the Uni- versity of California wrote: "Someday I will settle down in a suburb, open my own office and probably make piles of money. But before I do, I want to give myself and my skills to tfie service of my countrys efforts for peace. A young nurse in Georgia asked: "How can I speak nobly about helping others when I am not helping where the need is greatest? Send me to an alone, if necessary. area of hunger and disease A mathematics student in New York said: "My friends and I feel detached from the threats to freedom and peace. We want a role. We want to work for peace. How well will the Peace Corps work in backward countries? We have some excellent examples already of what young Americans dedicated to the cause of peace can do if given a chance. A small number have worked through such groups as International organization which Voluntary Services, a non-prof- it contracts to carry out programs for private foundations and the International Cooperation Administration. One 1VS team organized a farm research center in Vietnam a few years ago and developed a new type of fiber which could be grown locally for an annual yield of $1,200 an acre. This was in an area where the average income of local citizens was less than $100 a year. Models of courage Another IVS team operated just two men an experimental farm in Egypt. When the Suez crisis broke in 1956, they were evacuated by our government. When the conflict ended, the Egyptian government immediately pleaded: "Get those two men back here, and give us ten more just like them. The record of one IVS volunteer stands as the finest example of the courage and determination needed for the Peace Corps. Larry Ulsaker, from Battle Lake, Minn., was serving with an IVS team in Laos a year ago, on a project. A cable dragging from the tractor on which Larry was riding snagged a bridge post, and severed his right leg. Larry returned to Minnesota for medical treatment and was fitted with an artificial limb. As soon as his doctor gave permission, Larry asked IVS to send him back to Southeast Asia. "He never complained about the loss of his leg, IVS Executive Directoj, Dr. J. S. Noffsinger, says. "He asked only the opportunity to be allowed to return to his work bridge-constructio- n for which he is paid sixty dollars a month. Our nation has wasted an obvious opportunity to marshal the skills and dedication of thousands of Americans like Larry Ulsaker. Our young are called to defend freedom in time of war. We must now call them to help strengthen freedom in time of precarious peace. How the program will work This program must and will be carefully planned and efficiently administered. Volunteers will be diligently screened, to make sure each Peace Corps member has a definite skill which is needed for a specific project, the maturity and. tact to work effectively w ith citizens of isolated, backward areas, and a realistic understanding of the difficulties of the duties overseas. Can America afford the cost of the program? I believe the Peace Corps is a real bargain. The cost of sending each Peace Corps member overseas for a conyear will be about $5,000 to $15,000 a year siderably less than the amount necessary to maintain a specialist for the International Cooperation Administration for one year. The effect of Peace Corps work w ill be invaluable. The citizen of an underdeveloped country may forget a case of American supplies quickly consumed; he may resent a load of American guns turned over to his government. But his memory of working with and sharing the skills of an American citizen will be strong and enduring. Less than of the worlds people today are well fed. More than 60 per cent of all human beings are illiterate. The newly emerging nations are desperate for help, and impatient for progress. The technicians of totalitarian powers are streaming into vital areas of Asia, Africa and Latin America. They offer help and progress, but only under the banner of "Hate America. one-fift- h New friends for freedom The United States, working with other free nations, can save lives, spread knowledge, build the foundations of peace and win new friends 'for freedom only if it puts its best resources to work throughout the world. Americas best resource is its people. With the full backing of the American people and the Congress, the Peace Corps will grow in strength and effectiveness. It will become more than an idea, a hope, an experiment. It will become a permanent, powerful balance against the conditions of human misery and war, and a positive force for the peace and progress of mankind. TK End |
