MARCH 3, 1967 The Texas Observer A Journal of Free Voices A Window to The. South 25c THE N.S.A.-C.I.A. AFFAIR Texas, Philanthropy, 007, And the Varsity Drag Washington, D.C. along C.I.A. money. Nine Texas founda- ganized the anti-Castro Free Cuba Radio. Cong. Bob Eckhardt of Houston cailed tions have been listed in reports so far The founder of Christianform was Nicho- the reaction to the news that the Central ( See accompanying article.) las T. Nonnemacher, former assistant edi- Intelligence Agency has been paying mon- The Hobby Foundation of Houston, for tor of the right-wing publication Human ey to the National Student Assn. "a tern- example, gave $75,000 to the American Events. The advisory board of the Cuban pest in a teapot." This was the judgment Friends of the Middle East in 1964 ( the Freedom Committe includes not only such made by most Southern members of Con- last year for which data is available ), noted right-wingers as John B. McClatchy, gress (it was precisely the wording of $40,000 to Radio Free Europe, $50,000 to Philadelphia businessman who is a life Sen. John Stennis of Mississippi). But the Fund for International Social and member of Christian Anti-Communism some in Congress, and of course many Economic Education, and $100,000 to the Crusade, and ex-Cong. Donald Bruce, a big newspapers, did not take such a com- Berlin Institute for Underdeveloped Coun- man in the Manion Forum and Human placent attitude to what Eckhardt called tries. The last two institutions have not Events world, but also a couple of fairly "subsidizing nice Americans to go over- yet been linked to C.I.A. activities. But well-known Texans, Mrs. Oveta Culp seas and show the rest of the world what Radio Free Europe is generally accepted Hobby, publisher of the Houston Post, nice people we are." to be a C.I.A. activity, and indeed the and Peter O'Donnell, Dallas businessman It will be just as well for Texas' reputa- New York Times has taken the big leap who lead the National Draft Goldwater tion if the promised or threatened or ru- to say so in print. Committee and is the chairman of the mored investigation into the C.I.A.'s Another conduit for funnelling money Texas - Republican Party. largesse does not come off, because it to the A.F.M.E. is the San Jacinto Founda- This is not to say, however, that all C.I.A. now looks like Texans have taken a lead- tion of Houston. funds that were channelled through the foundations were intended for right-wing ing and often questionable role in it all. The A.F.M.E. is ari interesting outfit This is not to insist that the Texas stu- groups. The N.S.A., American Newspaper that has a pro-Arab, anti-Zionist reputa- Guild, and Retail Clerks International dents who were NSA officers knew of the tion. The late, columnist Dorothy Thomp- cloak-and-dagger source of their money; hardly fall into that category. son was one of the founders of Turning to other foundation outlets: they may have, and they may not have. the A.F.M.E. Eisenhower's pastor, the In any event, the University of Texas has Rev. L. R. Elson, was a national chair- N.S.A. officials identified the San Ja- contributed two presidents and six vice- man of A.F.M.E., at which time he likened cinto Foundation as one of their taps, and presidents to the N.S.A., more than any the Zionist movement to the German- also the R. E. Smith Foundation, the latter other school. Other U.T. exes have served American Bund. On A.F.M.E.'s board is apparently named for Houston's well- on the association's staff, men such as Jim Kermit Roosevelt of Gulf Oil Company, known real estate mogul. The M. D. An- Smith, a former president of the U.T. stu- who was rumored to have participated in derson Foundation of Houston, one of dent body, who was one of the N.S.A.'s some Middle East politics that helped whose trustees is President Johnson's pal founders and presided over its constitu- establish governments favorable to U.S. Leon Jaworski, and the Hoblitzelle Foun- tional convention; Ron Story, who was on oil companies. Nine months ago I wrote dation of Dallas, one of whose trustees is the N.S.A. staff in 1963-'64; Jim Fowler, on a similar description in The Nation of the Presidential favorite Judge S'arah T. the N.S.A. staff in 1964-'65, who is now A.F.M.E. and linked that outfit to several Hughes, have also been identified as C.I.A. executive director of the U.S. Youth Coun- C.I.A.-conduit foundations. This was the conduits. cil in New York, which has also been in- first published mention of this organiza- volved in the C.I.A.-money discussion; tion's ties to the C.I.A. The daily press Reed Martin, who was on the N.S.A. staff NOW, YOU MIGHT be inter- ignored it, of course, because oil is a ested to know how it is known that foun- with Fowler in 1965-'66; Don Richard much more sacred thing than college kids. Smith, vice president of the N.S.A. for in- dations such as M. D. Anderson and Hoblit- Earl Bunting, a former president of the zelle have been used. In addition to the ternational affairs in 1961-'62; Hoyt Purvis, National Assn. of Manufacturers and a editor of the Daily Texan in 1961-'62 and N.S.A. staff's tattling, the clues have been former chairman of the A.F.M.E., protest- plucked from Cong. Wright Patman's 1964 editor of the N.S.A.'s American Student in ed the "irresponsibility" of my accusa- 1965 (he is now working for the World hearings on tax-exempt foundations. - In tions. Now there is further proof of just those hearings Patman unloaded a bomb- Association of Youth, Brussels, also one how phony Bunting's protests were. of the whispered groups ); and Julius shell by saying on the opening of the com- Glickman, president of the U.T. student The shuffling of funds among the C.I.A.- mittee's day, Aug. 31, 1964: body in 1962-'63 and on the N.S.A. staff in front foundations was found to profit not "You will recall during our hearing of 1964-'65. only the American Friends of the Middle Aug. 10 [Patman was addressing Acting East, but also an organization called Cmsr. of Internal Revenue, Bertrand M. Christianform, which in turn was discov- Harding] I asked you to explain the fact TEXAS ALSO supplied some of ered to be putting money into the Cuban that the I.R.S. has taken no action on the the key conduit-foundations for passing Freedom Committee, which in turn or- Kaplan Fund for several years, despite II the fact that millions of dollars in tax lia- cheerfully admitted it. Most of the money, sistant, Harry Olsher, in their accumula- bilities may be involved. Whereupon you he ,said, was spent studying South Ameri- tion of foundation data. But a mound of requested that Mr. Rogovin be permitted can politics. Part of the work was done by data is of no value unless the searchers to consult with us privately, and I ac- a University of Texas professor, he said. know which direction to hunt. The left- ceeded to your request. The reason I go into this chronology is wing magazines gave directions, proving "After due consideration," Patman con- to point out that neither Congress nor the once again the reason for the existence of tinued, "I believe the public interest will daily press did much to uncover the such journals as The Nation and Ram- be best served if the information imparted Roods; indeed, considering the great man- parts. to us by Mr. Rogovin is made part of this power and money at their disposal for At one point, apparently completely bum- hearing record. Mr. Rogovin informed us such an investigation, they did virtually foozled by what was going on, the Times' that the J. M. Kaplan Fund has been op- nothing. All of the major disclosures— James Reston recently wrote: "Rep. erating as a conduit for channeling C.I.A. pointing to specific uses of the C.I.A. Wright Patman, Democrat of Texas, has funds and hence you would rather not funds via foundations; and the ties with been threatening to investigate the foun- discuss the matter for the public record. the student groups; and the ties with pro- dations of the country for years, and these He also indicated that the fund's opera- fessional groups—were made through latest disclosures are not likely to discour- tions with the C.I.A. was the reason for the magazines of dissent that are practically afe his efforts in this field." lack of action on the part of the I.R.S." always hard up for money and which are Has been "threatening" to? Where has And for the next half hour, Patman accustomed to having establishment doors sparred around with the I.R.S. officials, slammed in their faces. Reston been? Where has the New York Times been? Of course, we know where bringing out the fact that the . I.R.S. was in Of course, the core of the investigation cahoots with the C.I.A.