Europe Faces East and West; Prospects of Mankind with Eleanor Roosevelt; 104

Item Information

Title:
Europe Faces East and West; Prospects of Mankind with Eleanor Roosevelt; 104
Description:
Senator John F. Kennedy (D) of Massachusetts, in a National Educational Television and Radio Center episode, called for a strengthening of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. He pointed out that despite the Camp David talks no disarmament agreement materialized between this country and the USSR and therefore the defense of the West should be kept strong. "I think we should go on the assumption that we should maintain our military strength," the Senator said and added, "I don't think we can go into a disarmament negotiation if we go in from a position of inferiority." In one of his first television appearances since announcing his presidential aspirations, Senator Kennedy was a guest of Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt on the fourth episode of the monthly National Educational Television series, "Prospects of Mankind." Erwin D. Canham, editor of The Christian Science Monitor and president of the United States Chamber of Commerce, and Paul Rosenstein-Rodan, Professor of Economics at the Center for International Studies, MIT, also took part in the episode. On the hour-long telecast dealing with "Europe Faces East and West," the Senator stated that Americans must sacrifice more for undeveloped nations to maintain leadership of the free world. He said that much of the nation's foreign aid program now involves surplus military equipment, "which is of no use to us," and that most of that is surplus trucks and tanks, "which are otherwise wasted and therefore do not represent sacrifice." He added that a good deal of the remained is in the form of farm surplus which really means a subsidy to Americans. "In other words, I don't think the sacrifice has been overwhelming. I think we can do more. I think we must obviously do more. If we are not prepared to do more, we might just as well say that we are not prepared to maintain leadership of the free world." As for disarmament, Mr. Canham argued that the US should have a disarmament policy. "This is an enormously complicated problem,' he continued. "It is complicated technologically and militarily and strategically and economically, politically and diplomatically." "It took a Manhattan Project to create the atomic bomb. I think it is going to take something like a Manhattan Project to take it apart. To destroy it, I think we've got to set up the technical and diplomatic work on the disarmament problem on a scale of magnitude far beyond anything we have ever done before just to find out what can be done safely in the reduction of armaments. I don't think we know. I don't think anybody knows just what would be a policy we could pursue step-by-step with security." Turing to the effects of the new European markets, Mr. Canham, head of the US Chamber of Commerce, predicted that tariffs imposed by countries in the new European markets and the cheaper production costs of goods in those areas would be met by a pressure for increased US tariffs. He said this pressure would come in the next year from American business and labor leaders. Senator Kennedy agreed that there would be additional legislation particularly for minerals and raw materials, adding "I would be opposed to increasing our protection. I am sure the administration will - whichever administration is elected next year. I think the more serious areas for the United States, I think we will be able to hold our markets pretty well, is the effect it is going to have on Latin America." The Senator and economist Rosenstein-Rodan concurred that the new strength of the European markets and new protective tariffs would be particularly distressing to countries of Latin America producing sugar and coffee. Dr. Rosenstein-Rodan cited Cuba and the Dominican Republic as sugar producers who could be disastrously struck. This hour-long telecast was recorded earlier on the Brandies University campus, Waltham, Massachusetts, by station WGBH-TV, Boston, for release to more than 40 educational and commercial television stations by the National Educational Television and Radio Center. (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche) This is a monthly series of nine one-hour television episodes featuring Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt. The former first lady serves as the host and moderator. On each episode she will be joined by three guests: 1) A key foreign figure such as a visiting prime minister, a United Nations representative or a man or woman of prominence representing his country unofficially. 2) An important American in public life or a person of equal consequence from the academic world. 3) A distinguished representative from the press or other mass media who will focus the discussion on the relevant issues and controversies at stake. On each episode Mrs. Roosevelt and her guests will discuss a current international problem of major importance in which the United States is involved. The program is made up as two 29-minute episodes with a station break between the two portions. "Prospects of Mankind" is a television series designed to provide a wide public with those facts and opinions important to an understating of the underlying fabric of current international problems. It derives its inspiration from the ideals and endeavors of Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt. On each episode Mrs. Roosevelt joins three distinguished guests who through their position of authority or expression of opinion have a significant influence on the denervation or interpretation of current issues. Saville Davis and Erwin D. Canham, editors of The Christian Science Monitor, at times assist in moderating the discussions. This program is produced for National Educational Television by WGBH-TV in cooperation with Brandeis University. In addition to the audience of educational stations throughout the country they have been seen in the key areas of New York and Washington, DC, through the facilities of the Metropolitan Broadcasting Corporation.
Director:
Davis, David M. (David McFarland), 1926-2007
Producer:
Michaelis, Diana Tead
Author:
Michaelis, Diana Tead
Producer:
Morgenthau, Henry, 1917-
Producer:
Noble, Paul
Production company:
WGBH Educational Foundation
Host:
Roosevelt, Eleanor
Creator:
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963
Creator:
Canham, Erwin D.
Creator:
Gilbert, Emanuel
Production personnel:
Kassel, Virginia
Consultant:
Fuchs, Lawrence H.
Creator:
Rosenstein-Rodan, Paul
Date:
January 2, 1960
Format:
Film/Video
Location:
Library of Congress
Collection (local):
American Archive of Public Broadcasting Collection
Series:
Library of Congress > Europe Faces East and West > Prospects of Mankind with Eleanor Roosevelt
Link to Item:
https://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-69m383nc
Terms of Use:
Rights status not evaluated.
Contact host institution for more information.