An original plan to stop American corporations from doing business with Communist countries has been launched by an organization calling itself “Stockholders for World Freedom.”
Probably most Americans oppose the granting of aid and loans to Communist countries, but they have been unsuccessful in calling a halt to the steady export of American capital investnent, strategic goods, advanced technology. and scarce natural resources, some of it financed by the American taxpayers.
Congressmen may orate against this when they are home on the hustings, but the majority goes back to Capitol Hill and votes again and again for foreign giveaways, credits, and other inducements to trade with Communist countries such as guarantees of reimbursement in case of loss.
Most loans to Communist countries are financed through a middleman so they do not show up in the Federal budget as foreign aid expenditures. The industrial credits are funnelled thwough the Export—Import Rank and the agricultural credits through the Commodity Credit Corporation. Both agencies have a direct pipeline into the U.S. Treasury.
What’s different about the new plan developed by Stockholders for World Freedom is that it approaches the stockholders, who are in turn encouraged to go after their corporations.
The heart of this idea is in two proposals that individual stockholders are being urged to introduce in advance of their corporation’s annual meetings. Sample resolutions are provided, along with instructions on how to submit them so that they will be mailed out by the corporations along with their annual proxy materials.
One proposal would prohibit citizens of Communist countries or Communist party members from becoming directors or officers of the corporation, and would restrain the corporation from soliciting the sale of stocks or bonds to Communist countries or Communist parties. The other proposal calls upon the corporation to disengage from business deals and trade relations with Communist countries.
An example of the kind of business deal that is currently going on is the recent sale by Control Data Corporation of a Cyber 73 computer to the Soviet Union and two Cyber 172 computers to Red China.
U.S. Commerce Department officials, who approved the sales at the urgent request of Henry Kissinger, claim that the purpose of the computers is to make calculations on oil explorations and earthquakes. There is no dispute, however, about the fact that these multi-million dollar computers are used in the United States in our nuclear and radar programs.
Apparently, citizens’ protests directed at the State and Commerce Departments and to Congress are to no avail in stopping this shipment of our latest technology to our country’s enemies. Yet there is a growing concern about the economic warfare being waged by the Communist bloc toward the West, plus the potential of its growing military power.
Stockholders for World Freedom thinks that any individual who owns one share of stock in a corporation can do something effective and constructive to stop U.S. business sales of vital items that cna be used to threaten our nation’s security. All it takes is postage stamp to submit your resolutions to the corporation 90 days prior to the annual meeting, plus attendance at the annual stockholders’ meeting.
Since there are 25 million stockholders in the United States, this plan could have a significant impact.
