Speech #940051290

And at what cost? In a telegram sent to you April 23. I offered what I consider to be a completely viable and workable alternative to the trauma of suddenly depositing 130.000 refugees in this country. and that is to place them in the United States Pacific trust territories. at least as an intermediate step while the answers to the above questions are worked out and presented with complete candor to the American people. Since this is an international humanitarian mission. the United Nations. which has original jurisdiction over these territories. could not possibly object to the effort. but rather. by the very nature of its being. should encourage it. It is doubtful to me that there are very many Americans who would argue the fact that we have a moral commitment to aidby evacuation--as many of those South Vietnamese as possible who face the probability of dire harm and death at the hands of the Communists. But you can count on the fact that these same morally committed Americans entertaln more than a passing concern over the massive costs represented in depositing this huge number of people in our countrypeople who represent incalculable costs to our taxpayers for several generations. Certainly. it will be costly even to place the refugees in the Pacific trust Islands. but we are talking in terms of a bare fraction of what it would cost to bring them to this country. My alternative. additionally. would allow the affected people to retain their pride and self respect. They would be in a location quite similar to their own in climate and terrain. and with people of similar ethnic strain.