Widespread but only partial news coverage was given recently
to a remarkable editorial broadcast from Toronto by Gordon
Sinclair, a Canadian television commentator. What follows is the
full text of his trenchant remarks as printed in the congressional
Record:
This Canadian thinks it is time to speak up for the Americans
as the most generous and possibly the least appreciated people
on all the earth. Germany, Japan and, to a lesser extent, Britain
and Italy were lifted out of the debris of war by the Americans
who poured in billions of dollars and forgave other billions
in debts. None of these countries is today paying even the interest
on its remaining debts to the United States.
When the franc was in danger of collapsing in 1956, it was
the Americans who propped it up, and their reward was
to be insulted and swindled on the streets of Paris. I was there.
I saw it.
When distant cities are hit by earthquakes, it is the United
States that hurries in to help. This spring, 59 American communities
were flattened by tornadoes. Nobody helped.
The Marshall Plan and the Truman Policy pumped billions
of dollars into discouraged countries. Now newspapers
in those countries are writing about the decadent, warmongering
Americans. I'd like to see just one of those countries that
is gloating over the erosion of the United States Dollar build
its own airplane.
Does any other country in the world have a plane to equal
the Boeing Jumbo Jet, the Lockheed. Tristar, or the Douglas
10? If so, why don't they fly them? Why do all the International
lines except Russia fly American planes?
Why does no other land on earth even consider putting a
man or woman on the moon? You talk about Japanese technocracy,
and you get radios. Talk about German technocracy, and you get
automobiles. You talk about American technocracy and you find
men on the moon - - and safely home again. You talk about scandals
and the Americans put theirs right in the store window for everybody
to look at.
Even their draft dodgers are not pursued and hounded.
They are here on our streets, most of them unless they are breaking
Canadian laws, are getting American dollars from ma and pa at
home to spend here.
When the railways of France, Germany and India were breaking
down through age, it was the American who rebuilt them. When
the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central went broke,
nobody loaned them an old caboose. Both are still broke.
I can name you 5000 times when the Americans raced to the
help of other people in trouble. Can you name me even one time
when someone else raced to the Americans in trouble? I don't
think there was outside help even during the San Francisco earthquake.
Our neighbors have faced it alone, I'm one Canadian who
is damned tired of hearing them get kicked around. They will
come out of this thing with their flag high. When they do, they
are entitled to thumb their nose at the lands that are gloating
over their present troubles.
I hope Canada is not one of those!
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