Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Oregon statesman. (Salem, Or.) 1916-1980 | View Entire Issue (April 21, 1975)
Stove Ellingson MM !1 11 M BMSJIsY I lilt ill 1 111 tfHMmiMMHHHMMMHWMIMMMMHHMMAaMkMMaMl A dispUy of U.S. idni attracts Grool crowd of ol -ig-. Wete Gpottut Am fBosi tro Ucuosills on iV Sicilian law student, a fu ture leader of his community, deckles . to learn for himself about the conflict ing ideologies of East and West, both fighting for his loyalty. He goes to a nearby bookstall and finds that by skipping cigarets today he can afford to buy the communist ' teachings of Marx, Engels, and Lenin in paper-bound editions in his own language. . What books can be buy to learn about America? Mostly cheap novels about dope addiction, sadism, or un scrupulous business executives. To read a copy of The Federalist," a basic explanation of our Constitu tion, the Sicilian would have to travel hundreds of miles to Rome where he'd find three copies in English. Lincoln's writings might be even harder to find. We've distributed only 25 copies throughout the world to show why we think our government is best But this failure in providing the world with "the bibles of democracy" is being remedied. The political and - social philosophies of Jefferson, Madi son, and Franklin to name a few are being translated Into 25 languages and will be made available in crucial areas of the globe at prices within the reach of the poorest student, teacher, : or worker. ' The books represent democracy in theory; how they came to be trans lated and distributed represents de mocracy in action. In 1952, a Chicago teacher, Thomas B. Stauffer, returned home after government service abroad during which he saw many situations like that confronting the Sicilian student Something, be ' decided, should be done. In American fashion he wrote his congressman, Barratt O'Hara. O'Hara was immediately interested in Stauffer's suggestion that our infor : mation centers not only tell the free world what is wrong with communism, but what is riflfct with democracy. But he pointed out that Congress would need additional facts before it . could consider subsidizing a library of American' political classics for over- ; seas book markets."; " At OHara's suggestion, Stauffer's neighbors such people as ministers, office and factory workers, and college students pitched in to assemble those facts. They contacted 3,500 leaders in industry, religion, journalism, politics, and other fields for suggestions on ex porting our most precious commodity, political ideals. - 1 Without any prompting, many of the 3,500 wrote their own congressmen about "bibles of democracy,'' and soon O'Hara was beset by legislators ask ing, "What is this book idea my con stituents are deluging me about? How is it important?" Thanks to his hard-working group at home, O'Hara had the answer. We were losing the battle of books and minds. In Moscow, the Russian Printing Bureau, working on a budget larger than that of our entire informa tion service, was on a 24-hour sched ule turning out communist writings In 40 languages. Foreign students in our . own universities told how their lands were flooded with Marx and Lenin while they heard only references to Madison and Hamilton, "America,' said O'Hara, "is known abroad for autos and tractors, for riches and technology, but the sped-, fically American political philosophy and the fundamental ideas of political and social democracy are not widely -known in foreign lands.' ' The big .danger in this, historians pointed out, was that whenever a na Uon adopted democratic government, it did so on the basis of political ideals, , not material wealth. Still there was the question would people read the "heavy" writings of , America's political thinkers? This an swer came independently from two U. S. industrialists who helped finance publication of The Federalist" in Italian. Although relatively expensive, the publication skyrocketed to second place on Italy's best-seller list, was hailed in speeches and editorials, and ' excited deep interest in similar Amer ican writings. The U. S. government, responding ,to citizen opinion, next tried a test in Asia by distributing a "year's supply" of The Federalist" In three months, all were sold. The last doubt about the worth of the program was dispelled, and Con gress appropriated funds for 20 mil lion' books. They will be translated and sold in bookstores which now sell only communist ideology. The first of these translations al ready are in the hands of people who influence opinion in their countries. Should they ever feel the books are merely words, dreams, or ivory-tower theories, they have only to remember how the books came to them through people like themselves who wrote a lawmaker and moved a government . remit WariU. 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