Published on CIA FOIA (foia.cia.gov) (https://www.cia.gov/readingroom)


TRANSCRIPT OF BROADCAST BY FULTON LEWIS, JR.

Document Type: 
CREST [1]
Collection: 
General CIA Records [2]
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
CIA-RDP74-00297R000900090038-6
Release Decision: 
RIFPUB
Original Classification: 
U
Document Page Count: 
4
Document Creation Date: 
December 23, 2016
Document Release Date: 
October 28, 2013
Sequence Number: 
38
Case Number: 
Publication Date: 
December 16, 1957
Content Type: 
OPEN SOURCE
File: 
AttachmentSize
PDF icon CIA-RDP74-00297R000900090038-6.pdf [3]330.08 KB
Body: 
agq n rt ? r4Arl' A r Declassified and Approved For Release @ 50-Yr 2013/10/29: CIA-RDP74-C-1029iR000900090038-6 4 OFF A ? ?NLY TRANSCRIPT OF BROADCAST By Fulton Lewis, Jr. Station MGMS at 7-7:15 P. M. 16 December 1957. Tonight ladies and gentlemen I want to begin for you a series of reports of a very important 'ilbject involving an operation that calls itself the Free Europe (garble) into which I have been conducting a peksonal investigative job for you for some months past. It has been a very time consuming and perhaps more difficult than any story I have ever undertaken because of the road bloc that has been thrown in my way and the attempts that have been made to bring in- fluence to bear through various powerful sources during the course of these investigations I have made casual reference to the subject with you from time to time but tonight begins the over-all comprehensive story I think you will find it as important a story as we have ever tackled, because it has to do with America's foreign policy toward the people behind the Iron Curtain, the future of those people so far as liberation is concerned. I think also that you will find it a very shocking story in many particulars because of the things that have gone on and are going on under the guise of carrying the message of freedom to the people behind the Iron Curtain as it turns out it is not a message of freedom but of socialism or nationalist Com- munism if you will, Tito Communism and Gomulka Communism, any Communism that purports to be independent of the Krem- lin brand of Communism whether it really is or not. A number of people who report on this Free Europe propa- ganda program have defected and have fled back to the Com- munist countries in which they purported to have escaped, suggesting that they never did escape at all but rather, were agents of the Communist government concern planted in the operation for espionage purpose?. I have a so called guidance or directive issued by the organizations to its editors and general personnel the authenticity of which the organization intends to deny but which I am prepared to prove by a number of witnesses who were in the organization in March of 1956 when it was issued which instructed personnel to go easy on any. triticism'of Communism or Communism as such and to play up Tito as a great national hero who has saved his country from for- eign barbarians. I have personnel records on many of ? OFFI ONLY Declassified and Approved For Release @ 50-Yr 2013/10/29: CIA-RDP74-00297R000900090038-6 Declassified and Approved For Release @ 50-Yr 2013/10/29: CIA-RDP74-00297R000900090038-6 OFFICIAL USE ONLY the propaganda planters and broadcasters plus the directing and administrative staffs in New York showing who these peo- ple are, who they were before they were taken into this opera- tion what their experience is or lack of it and from their writings and speeches what they believe in and what they are telling the people they reach. As a sign of original good intentions in the operations that could have been immensely constructive had it been operated by sound and legitimate heads, but which is the (garble) at the operational level from those who sponsor it and stand responsible to the pub- lic for it at the top level is to be traversed. With that introduction let us proceed with the story, the origin of all this was back in the late 40's, back in 1949, to be exact when the crusade for freedom was set up under the spon- sorship of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Mr. Allen Dulles, Ambassador Joseph C. Grew, John Hughes, Arthur Page and others Of similar character. .Pm quoting their own literature in this case a letter signed by Mrs. Willa Mae Price, the head of the Westinghouse corporation, who is presently the chairman of the Board ?of the Crusade for, Freedom. The letter says that all of these men have maintained the closest interest in the operation and that's a direct quota- tion. For personal inquiries that I have made and will go into detail about later it does not seem to be a fact. Obviously President Eisenhower is not in any position with all that he has to do to maintain the closest interest in the operation, as they say at the real operational level and in fact of course he does not. Mr. Allen Dulles is not able to do so either, except through medium of his Central Intelligence Agency and in as much as that agency the CIA is generally reported to have a major finger in the pie that is hardly a reliable check either. Any check by CIA would be the CIA checking itself in effect which certainly is not objective. Ambassador Joe Grew is almost 80 years old and failing health obviously he is not able to maintain a continuous observation on what the organization is doing, what its putting out in the way of propaganda. The purport of this plane is because these men organized the Crusade for Freedom way back in 1949 and because they are men of high reputation and station (garbled) operation involved from their original concept must be good. That is just the point of this story. It does not follow at all and a moments reflection by anyone with any experience in life goes to operate that fact. The truth is that Crusade for Freedom does not conduct these (garbled) self at all it is purely a fund raising operation to finance the actual operation which it raised the funds in an annual campaign for,truth'dollars as you have probably heard from notices and public services 2 OFFICIAL USE ONLY _ Declassified and Approved For Release @ 50-Yr 2013/10/29: CIA-RDP74-00297R000900090038-6 Declassified and Approved For Release @ 50-Yr 2013/10/29: CIA-RDP74-00297R000900090038-6 OFFICIAL USE ONLY announcements over the radio and television and through other mediums. The crusade has a state chairman in every state and the main drive for truth dollars is done by newspaper delivery boys, which is a commendable scheme of operation. Let me empha- size the fact, that the merit of demerit of the Free Europe operation should not reflect in any way on the newspapers or the newsboys who provide their services to this end. They have every reason to believe that the contributions they solicit are being used as the slogan says "To fight Communism with truth." Now I'll have more news for you in just a half a minute. Now the peculiar part of this fund collecting proposition is that every year this Crusade for Freedom finances a junket of promi- nent people to Munich where the Free Europe operation has its European headquarters to inspect the operations there and else- where with a stopover in Pails on the return trip. I have a mimeograph list before me which says Crusade for Freedom, Radio Free Europe Munich inspection October 11-21. Please, note that, that is ten days 1957, partial passenger list, and here are some of the names: H. Park Arnolds, Kiwanis International, Glendale, California, Ohio State Chairman, Kenyan C. Fulton, Cleveland, Ohio, William C. Brumder, First Wisonsin National Bank in Mil- waukee, also State Chairman, the honorable George Christopher, mayor of San Francisco, George C. Cornelius, President of the American Heritage Foundation, William C. Crowell, President of the Key Club International, Dallas Texas, Leston Finute, Presi- dent of the Bell Aircraft Corporation, he's New York State Chair- man. Carl F. Feller, President of the United Brewery Workers' of America, AF of L,CIO, Cincinnati. I. W. Garrett Vice Presi- dent of the (garbled) Wilbert Gillen, President of the Bell Telephone Co. of Pennsylvania, State Chairman, John S. (garbled) Jr., National Commander of the American Legion, Mrs. Ray Ruby Godsey, National President of the Ladies Auxiliary Veterans For- eign Wars, Indiana State Chairman,Robert E. Jackson,. President of Program Life Insurance Co., Mrs. J. Pat Kell, National Presi- dent of the American Legion Auxiliary, R. Emmit Kerr, N. C. State Chairman, senior vice president of the American Trust Co., in Charlotte, Walter K. Koke, President of the Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph co., he is State Vice Chairman in Denver, Carl Coacheian, Vice President and general manager of the Georgia Division of the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation and Georgia State Chairman,John Lydon, executive vice president of the Ed Bates Co., Volunteer Advertising Agency in New York, Donald E. McGannen President of the Westinghouse Broadcasting Co., incorporated, New York, Lamarr W. McCloud, Vice President, Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Missouri State Chairman, Mrs. Robert H. Mahoney, President of the National Council of Catholic Women, Hartford Connecticut, Mrs. William T. Vivian Mason, National President of the National Council of Negro Women Incorportated Washington D. C., H. Bruce Palmer, President Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Co.. and 3 OFFICIAL USE ONLY Declassified and Approved For Release @ 50-Yr 2013/10/29: CIA-RDP74-00297R000900090038-6 ? Declassified and Approved For Release @ 50-Yr 2013/10/29: CIA-RDP74-00297R000900090038-6 OFFICIAL USE ONLY New Jersey State Chairman, Mrs. R. I. C. Mable (garbled), Presi- dent of the General Federation of Women's Clubs, Robert K. Rich- ards, Public Relations Councilor for the National Association of Radio and Television Broadcasts, and Broadcasters, Richard L. Roudderbush Commander in Chief of the Veterans of Foreign Mars, William M. Sheppard, Vice President of the Arkansas Pow- er and Light Co., State Chairman, Dudley L. Simms, First Vice President, Lions International Charleston, W.Va., Hermann W. Spinekrause, Connecticut Vice President and President of the Bridgeport Brass Co., and E. H. Will, President of the Virginia Electric Power Co., and State Chairman, Richmond Va. Now I have read you this list in full so as to avoid any popular ac- cusation of having read some names and omitting others, the importance of the list being that it comes from the Crusade for Freedom it- self, provides an authentic example of the people who are se- lected for these junkets. I question the propriety of using truth dollars for any such project and I have the following ex- clamations from the crusade itself. These are the direct quotes: Radio Free Europe welcomes inspection by all responsible people which is why each year the crusade sponsors a trip to view the operation for sixty top American opinion leaders also no part of the Crusade for Freedom collections go toward the Munich trip all contributions to the crusade to the penny are turned over to the Free: Europe committee the cost of the trip is figured into the annual budget of the Crusade for Freedom, payed by private sources. The trip does not spend four days in Paris. The group arrives Friday afternoon and (garbled) to Saturday at a top level briefing at Shape headquarters and takes off for New York on Sunday. We exclamate, that's the end of the quote. The exclamation about the financing of the trip may interest you, the fact is of course that this is hair splitting as be- tween truth dollar contributions and other contributions that if the trip were eliminated that much money would be saved for the Free Europe operation and which pocket it comes out of means nothing. I'll have more news for you in just one minute. There were fifty six persons in all on this year's junket and the cru- sade says that all expenses are not paid. "Group members pay for expenses and all meals other than official dinners and lunch- es. In the case of William G. Brumder, Chairman of the First Wis- consin National Bank, he paid all his own expenses and did not take the trip on the chartered plane in either direction. In any case, no contributions are used to finance any portions of the trip." This after just having told what portions of the junket the crusade does finance, Apparently Mr. Brumder felt some uneasiness about accepting this trip. That's the top of the news as it looks from here. 4 OFFICIAL USE ONLY Declassified and Approved For Release @ 50-Yr 2013/10/29: CIA-RDP74-00297R000900090038-6

Source URL: https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp74-00297r000900090038-6

Links
[1] https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document-type/crest
[2] https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/collection/general-cia-records
[3] https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP74-00297R000900090038-6.pdf