Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Signed petitions containing more than one million signatures have already been received.
Of this total 59,133 petitions, containing 982,275 signatures, have been deli vered so far , by
Reed A. Benson, National Director of Public Relations of The John Birch Society, to Senators
and Congressmen who make up the steadily growing honor roll listed below.
Whatever the intention may be, the net result of the present policies of the Administration
in Washington is to supply our enemies with the means to kill our sons. Our men in Vietnam
are dying from the performance of a Communist war machine that is in large part sustained and
e<Juipped by our own government. And we believe the American people want this criminal folly
to be brought ~ompletely to an end .
The nlllJlber of petitions, number of signatures, and date of delivery are given beside each
name. The dates are in chronological order. Mr. Benson has issued press releases in connection
with each of these deliveries, in which the following points have been emphasized.
" Why fight the Communists in Vietnam, and help them everywhere else?"
" For the United States directly or indirectly to pay bills and supply war materials for both
sides of this war is a tragic situation and we are convinced the American people want it stopped."
Petitions
DtII~
1,200
1,200
1,200
1,217
1,200
3,000
3,000
1,200
1,200
1,200
1,2 00
3,000
3,000
3,000
3,000
1,200
3,000
1,200
3,000
1,200
1,200
1,228
1,22 9
3,000
1,216
1,200
1,205
3,118
1,217
1,210
1,235
1,231
1,217
1,210
Signatures
20,236
20,036
20,020
20,009
20,015
50,145
50 ,235
20,017
20,006
20,009
20,023
50,027
50,662
50 ,006
50,103
20,168
50,191
20,030
50,081
20,019
20,039
20,015
20,033
50,008
20,015
20,023
20,006
50,014
20,009
20,029
20 ,013
20,009
20,012
20,012
This massive petition drive was inaugurated, therefore, as a patriotic service, by the weekly
news magazine, The R eview Of The News, which has been steadily bringing out the truth about
the tragic horror in Vietnam since it began publication three years ago. The signed petitions, as
first received in Belmont, Massachusetts, are carefully studied and checked and tabulated . They
are then sent on to Washington, where this whole procedure is independently repeated . The
coun t of both the petitions and the signatures in any batch is then notarized. And only after
all reason able precautions have been taken to ensure the bona fide quality of the signatures is
any lot of petitions submitted to members of the Congress.
From every country crossroads and every city Main Street in America, these petitions against
aid to our Communist enemies are pouring in to ou r offices in Belmont. Many famous names,
among those of less known but equally patriotic citizens, are found on the petitions received.
They are signed by bakers and bank~rs and barbers; by cooks and carpenters and captains of
industry; by waitresses and debutantes and airl ine hostesses and housewives ; by farmers and
fishermen and factory workers, and factory foremen and factory owners and all the wonderful
kinds of people that constitute any true cross section of America. And all of this is still just
the begin ning of a mighty wave of protest, rising like a conflagration from the grass roots of
our coun try. The emphatic nature of that protest is made clear by the petition itself, of which a
full copy is printed below.
The RetJiew Of Th e News is an affili ated publication of The John Birch Society. Despite
all of the smog created about us by leftwing influences in the press, on the air, and sometimes
even in the pulpit, there is a solidly favorable attitude towards the Society and its patriotic
endeavors, on the part of a preponderant majority of the American people. This has been clearly
revealed by the friendly reactions of individuals and of families, when app roached for signa.
tures on these petitions , as well as by the growing success of the campaign as a whole. And
when anybody does express surprise that thi s campaign is a project of the Society, we ask them,
as we now ask you, gentle reader, to an swer in all honesty: Just where else in America could
you find any group, except The John Birch So ciety, with the organ ization, the dedication, and
the ability to do thi s nationwide job?
..
For docume11tation of statements in this Report, see The Truth About Vietnam, More Truth
About Vietnam, and While Brave Men Die. Individual copies of these pamphlets may be purchased at any American Opinion bookstore, or they may be ordered from us by mail, in assortments, at five copies for one d oliar, po stage paid. Additional copies of this report itself, with
an explanator)' message on the back, may be ordered by mail at ten copies for $1 .00, one hundred
copies for $8 .00, or one thousand copies for $70.00. We qllote prices throllghollt, partly for the
convenience of ollr readers. Bllt it is also because we really mean bllsiness in opposing the
Communist advance, and somebody has to pay the bills.
A Pelition To
THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES
We respectfully urge every Senator, every member of the
House of Representatives, and both the Senate and the House
as a whole, to exert their authority and use their influence in
all honorable ways for the following purpose:
To have this Administration stop, promptly and completely, giving aid in any form, directly or indirectly, to our
Communist enemies.
~n support of this petition we submit the considerations
listed below. The examples and the documentation given to
substantiate these statements are only tiny fragments, by way
of illustration, of those that are available.
1.
We are at war.
Our Presi dent himself has said "this is war." In actual fact,
when measured as to costs, as to the number of our men engaged in the
combat area, and as to the current rate of casualties, it is already the third
largest war in American history - and is steadily getting larger. (See article
by Clayton Fritchey, Boston Globe, October 12, 1966.)
2.
.
Please Note
Cut off this whole petition along the line above. Then fold it in any
way that is most convenient for yourself..
Do not sign this petition if you have already signed any petition aeainst
aid to Communist nations which has been issued by The Review Of The
News in any form .
Additional copies of this petition, in the usual fonn of a four.page
fiyer, may be obtained in any quantity, from any American Opinion book
store, or postpaid from The Review Of The News, Belmont, Massachusetts
02178, at 50 copies for $1.00.
We already have over a million signatures on these petitions. If you
agree with their theme and purpose, please sign this one and get others
to do so. When each petition is full of signatures, mail it at once to The
Review Of The News at the above address. The arriving, signed petitions
are sorted, combined for greatest effectiveness, and then delivered - promptly,
personally, and politely - to those offices of Senate and House members
where we believe they will do the most good.
Of the million signatures obtained SO far, petitions bearing 982,275
signatures have already been delivered to the Senators and Congressmen
listed in our published Fourth Progress Report. From this beginning as a
base we hope and expect to receive and deliver enough petitions, bearing
enough millions of signatures, for so powerful a protest from an aroused
public to make continued massive aid to Communist nations an untenable
position, or procedure, for this or any other Administration.
We ask every patriotic American who reads these lines to do his part.
If, besides obtaining signatures, you would like to help us put this advertise
ment in more newspapers, send a contribution for that purpose to T be
Review Of Tbe News. You will receive a receipt at once, and eventually
all contributors will receive an accounting of how their money was spent.
But otherwise no record will be kept of the name of any signer of these
petitions, for any follow up with other. material, or for any other purpose.
Copyright 1968 by The Review Of The News. Neither this petition,
nor the advertisement in which it appears, may be reproduced in whole or
in part, by anybody or in any form, without specific written pennission of
the copyright owner.
5.
Name (signature)
1. . .. .. .... .... ....... .... ..... .. .. ..... .. ..... ... .... ........ ... ... ..... .. ..... .......... ... ........ .......... .. ........ ...... .... .... .. .... .... ..... .. ....... .. ......... .... ......... ........... ....... .. ........ .............. .. ....... ... ....... .. ... ... .
2 . ...... ....... .............. ..... .... .. ........ .... ......... .... .. ........... .. ..... ......... ... .. ........... ... ........ ...... ............. ... .. ...... .... ..... .................... ...... ....... .... .... ....... ..... ... ... ... ..... ...... .. ... ...... ... .. ..... .
3. ...... ..... ... ..... . 'f....... ........... ............. .. ... ... ... ........................ .............................. ... .... .................. .............. ............ .. .. .......................... .... ... .... .. ........ .... ... ....................... .
4 . ......... ... ... ... .. ..... ............ .... ................... ............ ... ........ ....... .................. ... ..... ...... ....... ....... ....... ...... .... .... ... ...... ... ......... ......... ....... ....... ...... ...... .... .. .... .... .. ...... ... ........... ... .
5. .. .. ...... ... .. ...... .... .. ....... .. .............. ....................... .. ... .......... ............ ... ................... ... ... ....... .
6 . ......... .... .. ...... .............................................. .. ... ............. ........ .. .... ................ ... ..... .... ... .. ...... .......... ..... ..... ................. ... ........................ ......... .... ..... ..... .... .. .. ..... ... ........ ....
r ............ ....... ..... . . . ................................. . ................................. .... . . ...................... ..................... ... ........ ........ . . . ............. . ..
8 . ......... ................................... ........... ........... ....... ...... .. .... ........... ... ........... ........ .............. ........ ....... ..... ..... ....................................... ......... .. .. .. ... .................... ...... .......... .. .
9 . ..... ... ...... .... .. ... .. ........... ....... ............................... ............ ............... ......... ..... ..... ..... .. .. ........ .... ... ...... ..... ......... ........ .... ..................... .. ...... ........ .. ... ............... .... .... ......... .. .
10.
A FORECAST ON VIETNAM
1968 by The Rev;ew Of The News
There is only one certainty about the so-called "peace negotiations" in Paris: It
is all an act. But very few people, we are sure, and probably not even most of the actors
engaged in this performance, have seen the whole script in advance. So we cannot turn
to the last page to tell you how the story ends.
There have been, and still are, two possibilities. One is that our negotiators, after
going through a lot of motions, will eventually "sell out" to the Communists. This
means that they will agree to a so-called "peace," on the most ignominious terms for
the United States, and on the most favorable terms to the Communists for their present
prestige and future plans, that seem feasible to our State Department. The road has
been kept open for such a course. And many preparatory steps have been taken, by
protest and agitation here at home, to make such action seem just as plausible as anything else in the whole tragic farce of our government's pretended struggle against
Communism.
But our own guess still stands that this is not the denouement intended by the
Insiders who control the show. We realize that the composite mind, within the top inner
circles of this conspiratorial crew, is well-nigh infinite in its cunning and inscrutable in
its plans. And any pipelines to the inside lie entirely beyond our reach, or even our
desires. So we can only project, without any claim to prophecy. But the lines to be projected still point quite strongly, nevertheless, to a very sizable "escalation" of this Vietnam affair, by early in 1969, into a more reasonable facsimile of a full-scale Third World
War. Unless, of course, these plans are given at least a temporary setback by the election
of some real anti-Communist to the Presidency of the United States. Or unless - but
that is getting ahead of Otlr story.
One of these revealing lines is the continuation of the fighting, right while the negotiations are taking place. The sharp limitation by Washington of offensive action on our
side has not brought any reduction by the Communists of their attacks on us, or in the
cruelties inflicted on the South Vietnamese. In fact, just the opposite. According to the
UPI, the highest casualties suffered by our troops, during any week ' since this whole
phony and undeclared war began, consisted of 562 Americans killed, during the week
when the "negotiators" were finally assembling. The second highest number was 549
Americans killed during the first week after the Paris talks began. The total number
per week has remained almost as high ever since. There certainly has not been any
reduction of the "war" on the part of our enemies, out of respect for this peace parley,
nor the slightest sign of any intended reduction in the future.
But there is a far more important indicator of what is to come, and one with which
we are more directly con~erned. This is the record of what is happening to supplies.
For we have hammered home again and again, until all except our newest members are
probably sick of the repetition, these three things: (1) From the very beginning, the
Ijrnicmg ta4:tQ[ QIl llQW fast aRd. QQV' fa, dais " Ia.r ~Qy.ld be esca.la,ed, ha.s beeR th~ aQ1.0UAt
of supplies which could be made available to our enemies, so that they could uphold
their side of the show; (2) there is simply no way that the Insiders can supply enough
war materials to the Communists in Asia except through United States aid to th Communists in Europe; and (3), all of the earlier and shorter truces have been used to enable
the Asiatic Communists, whom we are fighting, to catch up on their supply problems.
It was to be expected, therefore, as was forecast by ourselves by the spring of 1967, that
during this election year of 1968 a much longer "truce" would probably be arranged
- under the disguise of a political maneuver - to enable the Communists in Asia to
stockpile huge quantities of supplies in preparation for the bigger war to come.
Actually, of course, there has been, and is, no truce. There is only a unilateral cessation by ourselves of bombing north of the Twentieth Parallel. In other words, what
our government said to these Communist murderers was in effect, as follows: "If you
. will be so gracious as please to condescend to come somewhere and sit down at a table
with us, we will show our appreciation by discontinuing all bombing against you at any
place where it might cause you any serious inconvenience. Of course you can go right
on killing our men, and our South Vietnamese allies, and bombing our positions, anywhere you wish. That's all understood. We would not be so unreasonable as to ask
anything else."
Apd sure enough, such an order was issued to our Air Force on March 31. But in
our opinion even this incredibly pusillanimous bribery was only a pretense to cover up
some even worse features of the plot, In the first place nobody bothered to explain to
the American people one visible reason for this criminally one-sided truce. Which was
that, even under all of the restrictions previously in effect, our military forces had just
been pounding hell out of the North Vietnamese all over the landscape. They had the
enemy so groggy that something had to be done by Washington, drastic and fast, to
keep our men from going ahead and winning this war despite all the handicaps imposed
upon them.
So the Administration found a noble-sounding excuse, in a hurry, for putting an
end to this crushing of our enemies. There was nothing new about such a maneuver by
our State Department. Back in the 1945 - 1950 period, time after time Chiang Kai-shek
had Mao Tse-tung's guerrilla armies beaten into a disorganized and demoralized shambles. Each time George Marshall stepped in and saved them, by forcing on Chiang some
kind of a truce which would give the Communists the opportunity to recover, reorganize, and be able to fight again. And since Dean Rusk had been very much a party to those
maneuvers, he already knew exactly what to do when similar need to save the Communists from conclusive defeat arose in performance of the present tragedy in Vietnam.
But, again in our opinion, even this achievement by the treasonous forces at work,
"in giving the Viet Cong a new military lease on life" (as it was described by Aviation
Week) was neither the whole story, nor its most important part. For this unilateral
cessation of bombing north of the Twentieth Parallel gave the Communists that same
freedom of movement, in gather!ng and transporting the war supplies that came from
Europe, which had been provided by the earlier and shorter truces. And nobody should
be surprised at the extent to which the Communists are taking advantage of this opportunity, which will extend over several months. We are sure that somebody in "our"
State Department would speak to them severely if they did not. When you are running
interference for an enemy player, you expect him to carry the ball.
And the Communists are carrying it. A very factual but very chilling editorial in the
May 27 issue of Aviation Week and Space Technology contained these sentences: "Air
recoonais ance has provided ample evidence of the frantic pace with which the Hanoi
government has been rushing supplies through the sanctuary created by President Johnson on March 31. Both rail lines from China are clogged with military supply trains.
Supplies that were piling up in the longtime sanctuary area of Haiphong and Hanoi are
now being rushed southward by rail and truck. All of the key damage to the lines of
communication running toward South Vietnam is being repaired without interference ....