Senator HUMPHREY. I was speaking to my friend, Dr. Benoit, about the same thing and you have the same general idea, too, do you not? Mr. BENOIT. Yes. Senator HUMPHREY. Now we have Mr. Ralph Smeltzer. STATEMENT OF RALPH E. SMELTZER, DIRECTOR OF PEACE AND SOCIAL EDUCATION, GENERAL BROTHERHOOD BOARD OF THE CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN Senator HUMPHREY. Welcome, Mr. Smeltzer. Mr. Smeltzer is from the Brethren Service Commission. (Discussion off the record.) Mr. SMELTZER. Mr. Chairman, my name is Ralph E. Smeltzer. I live in Elgin, Ill. I serve as director of peace and social education on the staff of the General Brotherhood Board of the Church of the Brethren with general offices at Elgin, Ill. SUPPORT FOR DISARMAMENT AGENCY My board has requested me to offer before this important committee hearing testimony favorable to the proposed Disarmament Agency Act as contained in Senate bill S. 2180. We are indeed grateful for this opportunity to testify before this committee. We strongly support the proposal to establish a U.S. Disarmament Agency for World Peace and Security. Mr. Chairman, rather than reading the full text of our testimony, we would like to enter it into the record and call attention to a few aspects of it. Senator HUMPHREY. We will include the entire text as if read. Mr. SMELTZER. I would like to point out the last two sentences of the next paragraph, Mr. Chairman. We believe the bill as introduced to be an excellent draft and we especially like its statement on purposes and functions. I might say parenthetically, as you know, our church has occasionally felt compelled to testify against our Government's policy for rearmament at different times. Today we are happy to be able to testify for this constructive proposal for disarmament. We, I assure you, will urge our members to contact their legislators on behalf of this measure, as you have suggested. Senator HUMPHREY. By the way, we will include your exhibits in the record, too, Mr. Smeltzer. Mr. SMELTZER. Thank you very much. DISARMAMENT AS A U.S. GOAL You will notice on page 2 of our testimony we have listed eight reasons why we support the proposal. I would like especially to call attention to the last sentence of No. 3 and No. 4. to achieve world peace, disarmament, and genuine security without fear of war, we must work as hard or even harder for these goals than we work in preparing for war and for military security. Then, disarmament as a goal of the United States needs to be stated clearly, forthrightly, and unequivocally. Senator HUMPHREY. And unashamedly, I might say; we sort of run around tiptoeing about this part of the time. I thoroughly concur with you. IMPORTANCE OF BEING FIRST NATION TO ESTABLISH A DISARMAMENT AGENCY Mr. SMELTZER. At the top of page 3; No. 5, on page 3: The United States needs to take a greater initiative in moving toward disarmament and to demonstrate a greater measure of leadership toward this goal. To be the first nation to establish a disarmament agency of the kind proposed in this bill would be to seize an opportunity, to set an example, and to encourage serious study and preparation for disarmament by other nations. Senator HUMPHREY. You are the second or third witness to mention this fact, and I hope that it will be stressed by all those who are interested in this particular proposal. That is, that we will be the first to have organized in a formalized manner a structure and a mechanism within the Government that has one purpose and one sense of direction; namely, in the field of disarmament. This is a great thing if we can do this. I believe that these firsts have a tremendous impact. When we went to the United Nations on the International Atomic Energy Agency and took a forceful lead, it passed. It is just like in the Senate. When we really lead and really go to work, we get things done. But if you just wobble around a little bit, things get out of hand. We find that out ever so often. The other day we had a vote on 5-year borrowing authority for foreign economic aid. There was not any wobbling, I will tell you. With a lot of gavel pounding,. we got it passed. We really went to work on this. So I agree with you, my friend, that we must stress these positive points. IMPLEMENTING CONCERNS EXPRESSED BY GENERAL BROTHERHOOD BOARD Mr. SMELTZER. I would like especially to call your attention to No. 7 on page 3. The establishment of a U.S. Disarmament Agency would help to implement a concern often expressed by the annual conference and the General Brotherhood Board of the Church of the Brethren. This concern has been expressed by our annual conferences in 1952, 1953, 1954, 1956, 1957, and 1961, and by our general brotherhood board in 1959. Attached is an exhibit listing these statements for the record. The latest of these was passed just a few days ago, as a matter of fact, before your bill was introduced into the Senate in June and it reads: We urge the President of the United States to use his influence in the community of nations to continue the ban on nuclear testing, to eliminate conventional armaments, and to develop agencies of negotiations, diplomacy, and constructive cooperation. NEED FOR SUFFICIENT FUNDS AND PLANNING FOR NATIONAL ECONOMIC ADJUSTMENT On page 4, we have listed some concerns after the bill is enacted, Senator Humphrey, hopefully expecting its enactment, but concerns that we would like to lift up. The first is that Congress appropriate sufficient funds for the Agency in order that it may be able to carry out its assignment effectively; in other words, that it not be hamstrung at this point. Second, we are concerned that the Agency give vigorous effort and study in planning for the economic adjustment of our Nation throughout the process of disarmament, as, of course, other witnesses have lifted up. CONCERN THAT AGENCY NOT BE DOMINATED BY MILITARY MIND Third, we are concerned that the Agency not be dominated by military men or by the "military mind," but that it remain fully in control of civilians who can see and implement disarmament in the broadest possible framework. Senator HUMPHREY. I want to say respectfully that some of the military men who come down here are a whole lot stronger for this than some of the civilians. I do not know if the civilians are trying to "out general" the generals, but they seem to Mr. SMELTZER. They may see the situation more realistically. Senator HUMPHREY. I think they do. I have been impressed by the approach of the military, not only here but in my private conversations. In the main-those men who deal with the weapons-who are balanced and educated in the sense of not only what life is but what the values are-are deeply concerned about the arms race. I have said several times-and I think this is one of the crowning glories of our society-that out of our society we produce men who are competent in their field and we charge them with tremendous responsibility. But at the same time, they pursue, from conviction, spirit, their religious orientation, or their philosophy of life, a cause of peace. I am not saying that is true of all of them. There are a few colonels that get a litle wild on this. But the big men in the military are pretty good about this. I agree with your general thesis. in the military man. Mr. SMELTZER. That is correct. saying the military mind. Senator HUMPHREY. Proceed. The military mind is not always That is why we added to it by MAINTAINING WILL AND PERSEVERANCE TO ACHIEVE DISARMAMENT Mr. SMELTZER. Fourth, regardless of how fine a bill is enacted and how competent are the staff and funds of the Agency, we are concerned that our Government develop and maintain the will and the perservance to achieve disarmement. We agree with John J. McCloy when he said in submitting the proposed legislation to President Kennedy: I must stress that organization, machinery, and competent people alone cannot guarantee the success of the mission of our country to prevent war, curb the arms race, and create lasting conditions of peace. It is our conviction that any disarmament agency and any disarmament plan can and will succeed only if the Government and the people of this Nation have a committed will and a dedicated purpose to achieve success in spite of many difficulties both real and imagined. Let us be sincere about disarmament. Let us be determined about disarmament. Let us be persistent until disarmament is achieved. We believe with Mr. McCloy that the proposed Disarmament Agency can help to assure "that the best effort of which we are capable is directed toward these ends." We hope, Senator Humphrey, that through your leadership, this important legislation will be enacted. NEED FOR INTEREST IN S. 2180 Senator HUMPHREY. Thank you very much. I hope you will inform those with whom you have contact as to the bill's number, S. 2180, its title, and as much as you can in a succinct way about its provisions. Mr. SMELTZER. We will do it. Senator HUMPHREY. Then go after it and go after it hard. (Mr. Smeltzer's prepared statement follows:) STATEMENT BY RALPH E. SMELTZER, ON BEHALF OF THE GENERAL BROTHERHOOD BOARD, CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, my name is Ralph E. Smeltzer. I live in Elgin, Ill. I serve as director of peace and social education on the staff of the General Brotherhood Board of the Church of the Brethren with general offices at Elgin, Ill. My board has requested me to offer before this important committee hearing testimony favorable to the proposed Disarmament Agency Act as contained in Senate bill S. 2180. We are indeed grateful for this opportunity to testify before this committee. We strongly support the proposal to establish a U.S. Disarmament Agency for World Peace and Security. We have read carefully the draft bill for the U.S. Disarmament Agency for World Peace and Security proposed by President Kennedy and his disarmament adviser, John J. McCloy, and introduced in the Senate (S. 2180) on June 29, 1961, by Senator Hubert H. Humphrey. We believe the bill as introduced to be an excellent draft. We especially like its statements on purpose and functions. On behalf of the Church of the Brethren and its general brotherhood board I would like to urge this committee and the Congress to approve and enact this bill essentially in its present form as a significant step toward the achievement of genuine disarmament, world peace, and real security. Both the annual conference of the Church of the Brethren and its general brotherhood board have repeatedly called for greater and stronger steps toward disarmament by our own and other govern ments. We heartily endorse the bill's statement that an ultimate goal of the United States is a world which is free from the scourge of war and the dangers and burdens of armaments; in which the use of force has been subordinated to the rule of law; and in which international adjustments to a changing world are achieved peacefully. We support the stated purpose of the act; namely, to provide impetus toward this goal by creating a new agency of peace to deal with the problems of disarmament. We feel that the proposed Disarmament Agency with the capacity to provide the essential scientific, economic, political, military, psychological, and technological information upon which realistic disarmament policy can be based is a necessary and long overdue step in the right direction. "WHY WE SUPPORT THE PROPOSAL" 1. The great powers are plunging forward in an uncontrolled arms race. There is a sharply increasing threat of nuclear war by intention or accident. Instead of the military buildups providing increasing security for our own and other nations there is a singular lack of security, indeed a rapidly developing sense of insecurity and fear. 2. No international disarmament plan has been adopted. No international control agreement has been achieved. No effective disarmament machinery nationally or internationally has been established. 3. We and other nations must recognize that lasting peace and real security are possible only in a disarmed world. We must further recognize that if we are to achieve world peace, disarmament, and genuine security without fear of war, we must work as hard or even harder for these goals than we work in preparing for war and for military security. 4. Disarmament as a goal of the United States needs to be stated clearly, forthrightly, and unequivocally. 5. The United States needs to take a greater initiative in moving toward disarmament; and to demonstrate a greater measure of leadership toward this goal. To be the first nation to establish a disarmament agency of the kind proposed in this bill would be to seize an opportunity, to set an example, and to encourage serious study and preparation for disarmament by other nations. 6. The existing U.S. Disarmament Administration has significant weaknesses. It does not have direct access to the President. It does not sit in on National Security Council meetings where disarmament is discussed. It does not have the status within the Government to deal directly with the heads of other agencies on disarmament policy formation. It does not have the research staff that is needed to investigate and study the problems of inspection and control, and all the other political, technical, legal, and economic aspects of a disarmament program. 7. The establishment of a U.S. Disarmament Agency would help to implement a concern often expressed by the annual conference and the General Brotherhood Board of the Church of the Brethren. This concern has been expressed by our annual conferences in 1952, 1953, 1954, 1956, 1957, and 1961, and by our General Brotherhood Board in (See exhibit A attached to this testimony for the content of these statements.) The latest of these statements is that of our annual conference in June 1961: "We urge the President of the United States to use his influence in the community of nations to continue the ban |